May 31, 2002 (Friday)

Carmen will be leaving tomorrow. Life is kinda sad. This is something that I avoid to think and talk (shortly before the week I leave Canada, things that I avoid to think are: how sad I will be in leaving home, whether the job is a joke or not, what the custom will do to me....) I don’t plan to share with her. By the time she checks this homepage, I hope that I am ok.
Today is also the beginning of the World Cup. People talks about it! I still remember that during the Stanley Cup final in Vancouver, people also talk about that, but since I am not a hockey fan, I did not benefit much about that. Now I feel like home here because people do share my passion about soccer.
I went to the bank and get my ATM card. I am having some trouble with the ATM machine because it is in Spanish. I guess that I have to do it by faith in the future. I also investigate a bit about MCSE. Browse to some websites and check out any good thing to help me to pass the exam.
Before going home, I struggled to whether buying a flower to Carmen. Well, I figured that, since 1) I don’t usually buy flower (once every two years?), 2) I am romantic, 3) I really appreciate what Carmen did to me and want to show my love, 4) she is leaving tomorrow, therefore, I want to buy her a flower. And this is the first time that I have to bargain in Spanish. I need to learn how to say "how much is it" and my desired price. Well, it ends up I can not reduce any price, but I will next time!
We went to the "Lee Hamilton" steak house for supper. This is one of the best places you can get in Venezuela. There are several waiters, dressed black and white, serving us! The price is not too expensive, averaged to be $25 Cdn per person. I tried to use debit card (btw, I don’t even have debit card in Canada) the first time and it went wrong (somehow one of the bank does not recognize my account!)
Late at night, we had some sharing and praying time. Surely we both enjoy the night!

May 30, 2002 (Thursday)

Today I talked to boss for about an hour about my certification path and the company goal on me again. Wow, MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer) by August and Security CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Engineer) by Christmas. They really do push me hard (usually people take about a year for MCSE and two years for CCIE). But hey, I figure that one of my gifts (sorry if I sound "hu") is to learn fast. And I sort of expect that before I accept this position and basically it is this point that makes me excited. Well, mountains after mountains and I need to have confident in myself.
I went to Cisco afternoon to meet customer. Basically it is someone else in my company demonstrate the IP/TV service (hey, my IP/TV project actually involves more than recording the World Cup alone!). I basically have not much idea what they are talking about (because I am not yet familiar with the technology and they speak in Spanish) but I still have to be responsive. By now I am an extremely good "guessimator". Sometimes people speak *VERY POOR* English (I only understand 15% of what they are saying) and I need to use my "sixth sense" to guess the remaining 85%.
And they did some causal talk (of course in Spanish!). I am totally transparent! Don’t know what they are talking about (who said that body language count for 70%? And given that I am already an excellent "guessimator"). Well, this is what I have to face for the coming years. And this is another reason that I must learn Spanish quick (did I mention before that my boss expect me to learn quickly and pass the MCSE and CCIE by this year? and did I say that I am in Venezuela, a brand new culture for me?) Okay, I am ready to learn (let me try to break the Genius record!)
We went to the Baptist Church prayer meeting at night. We are fare-welling Mrs. Lam´s mom and Carmen. We had dinner together; Mrs. Loh made most of the food and this is the most "home-sick" meal I had in Venezuela because the chicken taste like the one my dad used to cook. But thank God that I have brothers and sisters in Christ here and they really look after and take a good care of me. I must thank God for that.
Thanks to Carmen for shaving my head at night. Now I feel much more "free". (Check photo)

May 29, 2002 (Wednesday)

Basically, I finally figure it out how to make the IP/TV works. (For those of you that are not into internet, here is the concept of IP/TV: normally, we watch TV through cable company. However, there is a way to transmit TV signal through internet, using the Internet protocol (IP). My job is to record the World Cup soccer game using the IP TV server. Normally, people would just program to VCR machine to the appropriate time. Now I need to use the IP TV to program it. Afterward, anyone that has internet access can view this TV program just like that have the VCR tape)
Afterward, my boss and I went to the bank to open an account. Since Apr. 1 I look at this job posting, I always think that this is a joke. This thought stop at May 18 when I have the air ticket. This becomes a reality when I receive my first payment, which will happen tomorrow. (I always think that if this job is a joke, I just treat this trip as a vacation)
Since I am pretty much done with my IP/TV project, I am moving on to the next hot thing: wireless. My boss asked me to set up a wireless network to his apartment (which is also the one that I am staying now) so that he can access to the company network at that apartment. And I got a Cisco Aironet 350 today and play around. That is kinda fun and I don’t think that I will ever have this kind of experience if I am stuck in TELUS
The telephone at the apartment failed for two days already. Therefore we can not call anyone. We went to my work desk after dinner just to make a phone call to confirm that I will be renting Dr. Chugs bedroom. And they will provide food for me too (of course, I need to pay them back). That does not sound too bad. Hope to move in to their home Saturday, after fare-welling Carmen.

May 28, 2002 (Tuesday)

I got help this morning for configuring IP/TV. Somehow, I can view live TV now. I guess this is some sort of cable problem between the satellite connections to the server. I regretted that when I was in Vancouver, I did not do much about the TV/video cabling. Hansel did most of them (because I don’t watch TV nor play video game, so I don’t interact the TV)
Researched training books and courses. In order to climb the next mountain (security CCIE), I need to prepare myself now as much as I can. I know what lie ahead of me (I feel that when I took my last CCIE exam, that stress and concentrate level is highest even compare to my UBC life)
We went to Pastor Loh´s house to have dinner at night. It is a special event that invites lots of Chinese new immigrant. This gives me a brand new experience - Pastor Loh used his pick up truck to pick me up from work. Instead of sitting at normal "human being" seat, I was sitting at the back (place where goods are put). That truck (with 5 seat belts) carried 12 people! This is illegal to do in Canada (and I guess in Venezuela too! but who cares!). It gives me a "third world country that u always sees on TV" feel. Dinner was ok. The food is homemade food. I have more than 10 days that I did not eat any regular homemade food that my dad used to cook! And I washed dishes. There are lots of dishes! (For 15 people) I treat this as a serving because the reason for this dinner is to invite some new Chinese immigrant together as a pre-gospel work. I want to free up their time so that they can either talk with each other or see the movie "there is a boss up there" (Chinese Christian movie called "angel’s city"). Afterward, they asked me to share about my feeling in Venezuela. Nothing too special. But I need to be more careful in my sharing. I want to identify with them and don’t want them to think that I am rich and have lots of knowledge compare to them (they are the type of Chinese mainland immigrant that work in a restaurant and also without much education background). I tried, but Carmen said that I still have lots of rooms to improve.
And today it gives me a perspective that missionary really do down-to-earth job. I usually find missionary-conference boring in Vancouver. But after these 10 days in Venezuela, I feel that they really are boring compare to what they have to go through in their mission field. When I was in FCGC, I thought that VCAC has lots of man-power to do the church work. I thought that it is hard to find anywhere else that needs people as desperate as FCGC. Hey, my Carmelites, if you think it this way, join some kind of mission trip and see what a missionary has to go through! And my VCAC fellow, give thanks to God. Chinese saying: Who will cherish when he still has!

May 27, 2002 (Monday)

Spent a lot of time to do organize my life again. I cleaned up the work desk, organized the folders, typed out some emergency contacts and studied some Cisco thing too. I did not go home to eat because Mrs. Wong asked Carmen out for lunch (drink tea?); since we have only one set of key, I am stuck at work.
Also spent some time to check the Cisco website for the certification requirements. Another "mountain" is in front of me! And also spent some time to fix the IP/TV. It is not working yet. Better get it done before this Friday (world cup begins on that day!)
We went to Dr. Chu's house at night. They have a room for rent. That is quite a suitable place for me to rent - the price is cheap; they speak Chinese, 25mins from work. Oh well, we will make the decision by one or two days.
I did some exercise (push up and sit up) at night. And I got mad because my pen (from the Winter Conference souvenir) is not working. I got mad quite easily and would calm down quite easily too.

May 26, 2002 (Sunday)

We went to "Iglesia Bautista China De Caracas" (Church Baptist Chinese of Caracas) for worship and Sunday school. Tired. Read the "One Piece" comic and then went to the "Iglesia Evangélica Gracia De Dios" (Church Evangelical Grace of God, this is a MB church and it is my first time visit). Tired again.
Now this is a struggle. What church should I go to? I have made some friends at the Baptist church and they are really nice to me and helped me a lot. On the other hand, there are more people within my age group that speak Chinese (within 10 years?) in the MB church. Now I am stuck. This is also my spiritual intersection point. I will either learn the lesson of humbleness (or something like that) or I will not go back to my Vancouver state again. Pray for me if God places me in your heart.
Pastor Loh will go back to Canada next month. He will visit Vancouver and share about his ministry in Venezuela. I want my parents to meet with him to know the place. Also, I want to invite some of the Vancouver friends to see the "missionary conference" if they want to know how Venezuela church is like. I feel so excited about this because I found a way to connect with my past.

May 25, 2002 (Saturday)

Today is the "exploring day". Carmen and I went to Subway to eat lunch. I spent about 7000 Bs (about USD $7) on food and gave the cashier 10000 Bs. However, the cashier only wrote a note of 3000 Bs and did not give me back any money! I was confused and thought that this is some kind of coupon for the future Subway visit (which I don’t want). I tried to use my limited Spanish plus body language to say "money". She said something that I don’t understand. I found out later that they have no spare change and need me to wait till the next customer to pay! Now I know.
We also went to grocery-shopping too. I must learn it quick because otherwise I would be starving to death. (But I have common sense and I know that this help).
We also took Metro to church for the youth fellowship. They all speak Spanish and I was lost. I used to be "the guy" to go to. Now during the discussion time they kinda ignore me (not that they want to but they have to). I am not sure how I can stay in the fellowship for long. Afterward, we went to Pastor Loh´s house to farewell his son (he will go to Toronto for University). I made my first salad in my life and learn how to cut the vegetable into thin pieces. We also played some game. (I have to guess how to play that game again, because they explain the game in Spanish. But being a game-wiz, I picked up very quickly). Late at night, some older youth and we went to Karaoke. For those that know me, I seldom go to this place. But in order to get to know the crowd, I must learn how to socialize..

May 24, 2002 (Friday)

The day started off quite soar. Hansel sent me a message saying that mom really misses me and checks my homepage everyday so I should update my homepage more often to comfort mom. He is not the kind of person that would email me like this. This must be something really important! Ouch!
I made my first big mistake today. There are four Ethernet connections in my area. Two of them are not working. One of them is for my lap top and the other one is for the IP Phone. Now I am working on the IP/TV project and I need an Ethernet connection so I disconnect my IP Phone and connected to the IP TV. I guess that IP TV has lots of travel and so it screw up the IP Phone network
I don’t drink coffee at all in Vancouver, even when I live for the darkness hour of my UBC study or CCIE study (well, may be one or two cups in a year!). Now, in Venezuela, I fall in love with something called "Mokaccino" (Vancouver may have it too, but no one told me). It is a mixed of Chocolate and Coffee.
I had some discussion with boss. He said that he does not really care what I know now (I admit that I know nothing except Cisco Routing and Switching); he hires me because he wants me to learn fast. Lots of thing will happen in the future, e.g. IP/TV, IP telephony, Wireless, security and MCSE. Wow! But one of the thing that I comfort myself is that I have a steep learning curve (but flatten out at the end!). Hope that next year this time when I read back, my proud would not be in vein.
After several hours of work, I finally made a bit progress to the first project (IP/TV). Computer (Cisco? Microsoft?) is stupid enough that no space in the file name is allowed.
Night time Carmen and I dined with Pastor Loh and his wife. Finally I have some western food (steak and chicken) after all those Chinese or family food (ha ha, not that Carmen’s family food is not good). And I met Loh´s children (Missionary Kids) too. They speak English!! I miss English very much!! (Btw, they are tri-lingual: Chinese, English and Spanish. That would be very useful in the future, no matter what position they will be in!) This is one of the very few Fridays that I don’t go to fellowship. At first, I thought that it would be very miserable. But that’s to Pastor Loh, it is not that bad.

May 23, 2002 (Thursday)

Today is the first full day of work; I had my first cell phone and IP phone. Lunch time, I went home for about two hours and did some exercise and practiced my violin too. I also spent a long time to try to configure the IP/TV. This is the first assignment that my boss gave me and I want to do a good job. I am getting there now.
Venezuela taught me a lesson of "weather is not predictable". It was very sunny and hot in the afternoon. And then by the night time, it suddenly rains really badly! I thought that Vancouver was bad until I met Venezuela....
We went to Baptist Church’s prayer meeting / Bible Study at night. This is in both Chinese and Spanish (some of them can’t speak Chinese). I learnt some Spanish songs; one day I am gonna to teach it to other people. I was quite tired but luckily I did not fall asleep. And then I get to play around with Pastor Loh´s guitar. Really misses my guitar and my piano! (But I still practice violin every morning after my devotion)
Shared with Carmen about my pride. I always think that I am really good (which is quite true :) ) and humble is something that I lack! I believe that this new place can teach me a new lesson
Somehow, there are lots of mosquitos at night. I had several bits (and so did Carmen). I learnt two things: 1. Mosquito itchy is like drug addict. It is ok after I overcome the first wave of itchy. 2. God used a worm to teach Jonah. God is using a mosquito to teach me some kind of lesson too.

May 22, 2002 (Wednesday)

In the morning, after about an hour of work, Carmen and I went with Pastor Loh to check out an apartment of Dr. Chu. I am just renting a room. This is not huge, but sufficient for me. And then work till lunch. And then Carmen and I, for the first time, took Metro train by us. And then went with Pastor Loh to check out another two-bedroom apartment. That is nice place, and if I have two or three people live with me, that would definitely be a good place to stay. It is not too expensive ($450) but a bit too luxury for one person.
And then we walked on the street. Wow, it feels like I am back to 1980´s ¨warn kok¨ (In Kowloon, HK) There are a lot of street-sales and we must to ¨talk price¨ whenever we buy thing.
Work till quite late (7:30). If it is not that Carmen is at the apartment doing nothing and waiting for me, I will be off work at 10:00. I thought that I am late but there are still people at work at that time! Wow, I am expecting a fully charged company that people work overtime all the time (and no OT pays :( ) I have to update my homepage, reply some email. I also get my first assignment: to configure the IP/TV (So that they can see the World Cup 2002 without staying up at midnight). I have no idea how to do it now; this is important to gain a good impression. So hope that I can somehow figure it out ASAP.
I also have the urge to learn Spanish. If I continue to work late and staying at this routine for long, I would never be able to pick up Spanish. I spent sometimes at night with Carmen to listen to the Spanish tape. UUUmmm, she has gift at language and I have gift at logic/math.

May 21, 2002 (Tuesday)

Today is my first day to work. Usually I am very enthusiast about my first day. Well, hope that I am not ¨tiger head snake tail¨.
In the morning, I was introduced to a lot of people. Well, I have no idea who they are by the end of the day. There are just too many names to remember. Also, I experienced that 99.9% of the voice are noise to me because they are in Spanish. This is good in a sense that I would not gossip or listen to any gossip. People called me ¨Chino¨ here because I am the only Chinese around. Compare to Vancouver, Chinese is really a minority here!
In the afternoon, the secretary Mayra showed Carmen and me an apartment. And then showed us the environment around. After 1.5 hrs of ¨travel garden¨, I was back to the office again. And I have my lap top and I can get on net finally! (For people like me, one day with out Internet access is like forever!) The first thing that I need to understand is the keyboard. It takes me a long time and I still need to ask people how to type ¨@¨. This Spanish keyboard has so many unfamiliar key strokes. I download ICQ, MSN, and AOL. And try to put my friends´ addresses too. Wow, I am not done yet and still have lots to do.
Night time, Carmen and I chatted with my boss Jorge. We are staying at his apartment and this is the first time (since our arrival) that he stayed at his apartment. Overall speaking, this is a small but growing company. Nice place for young, smart and ambition people like me to work. This is vastly different from the large, old and fixed-structure TELUS that I used to work. Well, different people have different personality. And so is company. I want to try my best to work here without sacrificing any of my personally belief.
I still have to update the diary in the May18-20 weekend. I will do it later.

May 20, 2002 (Monday)

Today we went with Pastor and Mrs. Loh. Got a taste about how missionary is like. First, we went to the coffee shop and enjoy the Venezuela coffee. And then we also had Chinese lunch. The taste is ok, if I don’t compare it with what I had in Vancouver. We also visited some of the congregation members.
I was too excited and so Carmen and I went to visit Desca today. (Work supposed to start tomorrow). I met my bosses and was introduced to a lot of workers here. Wow, I have to learn a lot of new names. They are different from English names: I have no way to tell, from the name alone, whether this person is male or female.
By the way, I am having some problem with this stupid Internet Explorer 6.0. And somehow Netscape can’t be opened in my Window XP machine. Why???

May 19, 2002 (Sunday)

This is my second time to write this day again. Somehow the first time was lost. I hate to do thing the second time.
We went to Venezuela Caracas Chinese Baptist Church (don’t know the exact name yet) today. Morning service and then the Sunday school. This is not a big church. The congregation size is about 45 people; feel like the FCGC where the older group is Chinese speaking and the younger group is Spanish speaking.
After that, they hosted a luncheon (for us maybe?). Met a lot of new church members and asked lots of questions about Venezuela. Lots of mystery about it is gone. That is good. I feel that being a Christian not only has salvation but also has brothers/sisters support. They bought us to some old tourist area to visit at late afternoon. That is quite an old place and reminded me about my August 01 tour to Eastern Canada
Share with Carmen at night time. I got the first taste about how tough it is to live behind Vancouver and come to Venezuela by myself. But this is also a good test for us (Carmen and I). God will have a nice plan on both of us. This is one thing that I am sure

May 18, 2002 (Saturday)

Did not really sleep after my last FCGC fellowship. Gotta do a lot of last minute pack up. I wanted to update my homepage but geocities is down for service. At 3:00-4:00 am, I sat at my bed, reviewed my life in Vancouver and slept. Twins came to our house at 4:00 and my final time in Vancouver started. Enjoyed my last good meal and prayed for my departure.
Parents, Hansel, Twins and I arrived airport at 5:15am and met Carmen’s family there too. There is a problem with my pre-paid ticket: American Airline originally told me that I can just pick it up but the service desk said that I am supposed to pick up a week earlier. It was settled about an hour. Thanks for this confusion, there is no mood for us to cry. I had my final hug and kiss to my dearest parents and Hansel. Both Carmen and I left Vancouver.
It takes 3.5 hrs to Dallas (TX) and another 5.5 hrs to Caracas. Since I did not sleep the night before, the flight is not long at all! Everything is smooth. The custom did not give us any hard time at all. Thanks God for that. Nothing is stolen and nothing is broken. My supervisor Rhamer and wife picked us up at 9:30 pm (Venezuela time) and brought us to the temporarily apartment and met another supervisor Osmundo there.
I was told that Venezuela is a very dangerous city. Lots of thief, driving habit is crazy, very old and dirty and technology behind. And here is my first impression about Venezuela. It is like HK in her earlier 80s. It is kinda hot but not too humid. There is some ugly building (called rancho) but overall it is not too bad. I arrived to the temporarily apartment and it amazed me. It is very nice (check the photo!) and the rent is not as expensive as I think (USD $1250 for three bedrooms; about 1300 ft^2). I later found out that this is one of the best areas to stay in Caracas. Also, ladies (at least the two wives of my two supervisors) dress little (I later found out that this is generally true) too.
We had some talk and then started our unpack process. Finally we can sleep at 1:00am. It takes some time to find out how to phone Canada too.

May 17, 2002 (Friday)

Today is important (not that other days are not important).
I visited the new house with my parents. Feel really strange. I will not be living in that house for a long time. And then, I had my final 52mins jogging and piano practicing. Wow, it will be a while when I can run safely or practice my piano.
The confusion started at night. I take a good look at FCGC one last time. Comparing Jan 2001 when I first visited this church, they did grow a lot. I must thank God for putting me as part of the witnesses. There were no worship team at that time (using CD!) and there were no Advanced Bible Study at that time. In fact, Tai and Allen were not there at that time too! They grew a lot. Hmm, I wonder what they will be like in one or two years.
I did have my good time in one last singing song time. We sang "Not be Shaken", "You Alone", "I the Lord", "We will worship" and "Be Strong". I really enjoy the time to sing praises with my friends.
And we had Acts 9:32-10:23 one last time too. We had good sharing and questions periods about seeking God's will or prayer. And then, we played "The Game" (camera hunt).
I am so confused after the fellowship. I don't feel like I am leaving Vancouver in several more hours. I am still in a happy and joyful mood. Can't imagine that all these will not be with me (temporarily!) in several hours!
People always say that "What you would do if you have one more month to live?" This indicates what you really treasure in your life. I thank God that I can experience it now. I can spend time with my family, my church friends. This is awesome.
My life completely changed when I migrated to Canada. God did wonderful thing in my life. So what is waiting ahead for me? Anything more exciting than this?
Lord, guide me and help me. I want to walk in your way more than what I did in Vancouver. I want to serve you whole heartedly. Please protect me from temptation. And your will be done on me, as in Heaven!

Gotta see Terence Chow today. I have not seen him for a while. Glad to know that he is still survive. And I talked to Rev. Miller Zhuang. He gave me tips on how to survive in Venezuela. Thanks.
I finally played my last game of basketball with Hansel. The weather is not that great. In fact, it rained at the final 15 mins. But I did enjoy my time with him. This is one of the must-do things before I leave. Otherwise, I will regret for the entire trip! It makes me nuts because it only rains on the Monday and Thursday afternoon (the time that I want to "b" with him) but remain sunny for the rest of the week!
And I had my last family dinner. One thing that was in my mind is that I will definitely cry when I leave Vancouver!
I also spent some time with long-time friend Mabel, Garfield and Arthur (and Carmen of course!) Wow, I have known Mr. and Mrs. Cheung for 11.5 years! That is long
My hubert_pun2002 geocities website finally full. Today I applied the hubert_pun2002b.

May 15, 2002 (Wednesday)

Woke up very early (6:00am) so that I can spend some time with our friend William and Karen. Have not share with them for a while and really treasure all these moments. And also, I had my last cell group with Tai and Grant too. They grow a lot spiritually. At least I have contributed something in FCGC. Still remember Aug 01 when Valerie asked me to discipleship Tai. At that time, I refused because I have no time. And she said that "this is a soul". And I always promote the idea about discipleship (life affect life). I am glad that I took up the challenge at that time and I don't regret that.
Dinner with my family, Carmen's family, Fiona and twins. That is very full Japanese all-u-can-eat. And then late at night I have to do more and more packing. It seems like never ending. I still need to prepare myself for the trip.

May 14, 2002 (Tuesday)

Today I take care of quite a bit of thing that I really need to do. Gotta say bye to my long time university friend, Alan. He is one of the few good friends that I know not from a church environment. Of course I will pray for him and hope that one day he would understand the truth too.
I get to dine with my VCAC friends. I am happy to see Chris there too. I can't attend his wedding. I miss some of my good friends wedding, e.g. Wynants, Henry and him. This is one of the regret I have. Oh well, hope that they can attend my wedding though ;-) Once again, I really thank God for allowing me to build up great friendship with them. I can recall personal interaction with all the people that I met today. I treasure each of them and will remember their voice. And I sure want to have good friend like that in Venezuela (but I always heard that it is hard to build up friendship as we get older. I hope I can prove it wrong from a Christian context)

May 13, 2002 (Monday)

I get to have lunch with my friends in Enoch Outreach, Joyce and Winnie. They are really nice Christian and really encourage my growth in Christ. Even though I have just known them for several months, I did learn a lot from them and get the support too. I wish that I could involve in Enoch Outreach several months earlier!
And today is a rainy day. It made me mad! I plan to play basketball with Hansel. This is one of my best times, but now this is not possible. But I still insist to run outdoor. Who cares about the rain!
I do lots of packing today too. Wow, can't imagine that I am leaving in several days. Time really flies. I must enjoy every little second that I still in Vancouver.

May 12, 2002 (Sunday)

Today is the beginning of my last seven days at Vancouver. It begins with my last Sunday Service with FCGC friends at Willingdon Church
And today is "Family Day". It has been a very long time (7 or 8 years?) that we have not been together for the entire Sunday (except going to trip)
I went to VCAC Sunday service (second service of the day) with my family. And then I had to farewell my friends in VCAC. This is kinda sad because I don't know when I will see them again. And lunch with my family and Carmen family and Fiona. I really wish to have a strong bonding between us.
Afterward we went to see "Spiderman" movie together. It has been more than 14 years that I went to see movie with my family. And in fact this is only the second time my parents watch movie in Canada. It is not what movie that I watch is important. It is the togetherness.
We talked a lot after the Mother's Day dinner. Both Hansel and I agree that our parents are awesome and deserve a 9.7 out of 10. I don't think that, as long as they are imperfect human being, they can get any better. So here, I need to say: "I love you, dad and I love you, mom" (I am going to say this verbally to them [they are sitting besides me now] in one minute). And I did visit my grand parent's grave again.
Wow!! I just said "I love you" to my parents. Another great challenge that hard to speak. But hey, I did it again. Thanks God for the courage. I know that this is one of the most important things that you can ever say to your parents.

May 11, 2002 (Saturday)

I went to Pastor So's funeral today. There are about 900 people attended this ceremony. I am paying attention to each of the person that pays the last respect. It made my eye wet. I can finally begin to understand the true meaning of Jn 11:35 (Jesus wept). This also helped me to prepare my focus when I am about to depart to Venezuela.
Night time, I went to have dinner with some of my ex-Hebronians/Canaanites friends. And also went out to "drink thing" with Derek Lo too. These friendships are my treasure. I thank God that He, not only gave me His Son, but His people too. I am determined to develop true friendship in Venezuela too.

May 10, 2002 (Friday)

Today is a long day. I did a lot of preparation for going to Venezuela. Woke up at 8am because a telephone call from Venezuela woke me up. And then work all the way till 5pm (including running and practicing my piano). I am also preparing myself mentally for my next CCIE challenge.
And I went to FCGC at night. My second last time there. They made a video for me. It is not professionally made outside, but professionally made inside (hope that you would understand what I mean). I really appreciate their appreciation. I had such a good time today, took lots of pictures. I have to upload them until 3am in the morning!
These groups of young people are the most the I miss in Vancouver. Too bad that I can not bring them along with me. I really thank God for giving me a chance to serve at FCGC. I love them and I know that they love me too.

May 9, 2002 (Thursday)

Finally today I have my air ticket ready. Here is the reservation info. My American Airline Flight Reservation number is CUDSFD and Carmen's is FFGVJO. And we are sitting on a Boeing 757 Jet

	May 18, 02 (Sat)	June 1, 02 (Sat)
First Flight	Flight AA-1086 Vancouver (YVR) @ 07:15 --> Dallas Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) @ 13:17 Seats 31B and 31C Gates E85	Flight AA-2154 Caracas (CCS) @ 09:57 --> Dallas Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) @ 14:42 Seats 24D and 24E Gates ??
Second Flight	Flight AA-2155 Dallas Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) @ 14:30 --> Caracas (CCS) @ 21:00 Seats 21B and 21C Gates A26	Flight AA-0395 Dallas Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) @ 19:24 --> Vancouver (YVR) @ 21:39 Seats 31C and 31D Gates A21

The return trip may be changed.
And here is my apartment address. I will stuck in here for the first month.
Av. San Felipe, Cruce con Av. El Bosque, Edificio Doral, Piso 10, Apartamento 101 La Castellana, Caracas Venezuela
And here is my company address:
Plaza La Castellana Edificio IASA Piso 8 Ofic. 802-A Caracas 1060-A
They don't make any sense to me now, but I m sure that it would after my arrival.

I also went for my last piano lesson too. I was extremely interested in piano in university time and determined to be a pianist in church. And then I bought my self a piano in July 1998 when I graduated from UBC. I self-learn that until I was laid off in Sept 2001. And then I took an hour lesson every other week. I am learning some classical music. This is a way to train my determination.
I also read the "One Piece" comic in my twin cousin house. I will bring some to Venezuela because comic is my medicine. Night time, I went to bubble tea with Carmen and read comic there too. The title of the comic was something like "very sister". This was the same author as the one who drawn my favorite comic - "touch". Carmen also teased at me saying that, everytime when I see comic (with a bit of love story there), I would get excited.
I have lots to do now. I have to start packing up. And I am very thankful that I have friends that I need to say farewell to. (I remember that when I first come to Canada, I have no one but my immediate family) This is the blessing. I am looking forward to my next blessing in Venezuela. And God, please make me a blessing too! I want to spread your love to the Venezuelan.

May 8, 2002 (Wednesday)

Get a chance to share with Winnie and Joyce in Enoch Outreach. Thank God that I can get involve in this ministry. I have been involved in Winter Conference and ACM choir and Chinese Christian Mission. But the Enoch Outreach is a bit different. This is a relatively small and young organization, therefore, there are fewer boundaries. Different people would have different taste, and I find that Enoch Outreach can outreach certain type of non-Christian that others can't.
Also, I can feel the heart and the enthusiastic of the people helping there. This is an encouraging sign to see that more and more young people are willing to serve God. Well, there are difficulties (e.g. deadline isn’t met, politics, conflicts...). However, general in a whole, everyone is helping and proud to help out there. The only regret I have is that I help out too late (sorry for my poor grammar!) I thought that (once again!) I am helping out but eventually I am the person that benefits a lot too! This theory always works (same feeling in FCGC too!).
I still feel bad that I can not attend the leadership camp in June 28- July 2. But oh well, I will pray for them!

May 7, 2002 (Tuesday)

Oops, I am a day late in writing May 7's diary. I am learning to get used to this online diary thing. Hope that this would not happen too often.
I ran today again. Here is my usual route: my house, along Canada Way all the way to Burnaby Central Secondary School. And then, go along that Deer lake Parkway (the road changed to Moscrop) until Willingdon Church. And then, run along Willingdon Avenue all the way to Lougheed and then up Douglas and back to my house. It takes me about 53-58 mins. But I ran around Hardwood Park for 15 times. I like the feeling of running under the sun and on the grass. After my shower, I feel that I have accomplished something productive. I like to time myself always too.

May 6, 2002 (Monday)

I took my Hep B shot today. Well, I guess that I will know within several years that whether I will be healthy or not. Thankful that I am a "clean" person and would not do any dirty activities. This is a safe way to make sure that I am healthy.
I am glad that I can run for an hour, practice my piano for an hour and also afternoon nap for another 1.5 hours. This is a healthy life style. After all, people work so hard because they want to be as relax as I am. See, now I have that, during my laid-off period.
I also get a chance to join the Enoch outreach sharing night. It is another chance for me to re-think about my priority in serving different Christian organization.

May 5, 2002 (Sunday)

Today is my last time to join the Carmel committee meeting. Quite a feeling for me. Remember 1.4 yrs ago when I first join FCGC Carmel fellowship, the committee is still very young and the fellowship is not mature yet. Under God's grace, it is a much stronger fellowship now. Thank you Lord! I wish that the next time I come back to the Carmel fellowship, God will rise up even more leaders to serve Him!
Just like any other fellowships, there are still some weak points. Unity is one that is common to most churches. But it does not make it an excuse for us not to improve. Just like what Dr. Rick Watts in the ECBC Bible conference says tonight, don't do the work for Satan. And I hope that none of us are doing anything that could potentially split up the fellowship.
Night time, I went to ECBC for the Bible Conference with Allen, Eileen and Eliza. One point that really hits me. Are the Christian activities that I am involving now can change the world? If not, then this is not what God wants! Wow, let me sit back and thing. Hmmm, if the whole world is the FCGC Carmel fellowship, or if all the people are Hubert (wow, we are into this "Hubert-land" thing), then would the world be a better place? I guess that I need some serious time to think about that!
We then went to eat "all-you-can-eat". This is the third time in five days! I had one with Carmen on May 1, one with VCAC Canaan worship team yesterday and one today! I am very full! I have enough! I need to go out and do some running tomorrow. Please, don't rain! I hate to run in the rain
It is late now (2:00am). I like to upload all those pictures on the same day that I took the picture. It is because that I don't procrastinate (different from most of the people that you know). Plus I am in the "Hawaii Time Zone" (exactly 3 hours behind the Pacific Time Zone). I am just a normal teenagers (<-- what? I am in hexadecimal) I like to sleep late and wake up late. I guess that I need to learn the new schedule when I have work

May 4, 2002 (Saturday)

Lunch with Carmen and family. Oh well, have to learn more how to interact with her family. This is the key of her heart. In Chinese, there is a "love house including its bird" concept. This is especially a good lesson for me, a selfish person.
And then, I join the VCAC Canaan worship team gathering. It has been a while that I join the Canaan fellowship. Flash back about 4 years ago, we started the worship team so that the worship atmosphere. It is quite a fun time! Most of my best Canaan memories are with the worship team. We went to "Golden Bull" to "all-you-can-eat" hot pot. Oh boy, I am full!
I really regret that we don't have a lot of sharing time today. Also, I really feel bad that I can't see some of my good VCAC friends. I must give them a phone call and say that I miss them before I leave Vancouver!

May 3, 2002 (Friday)

I am running today as usual (I like to run for about 10km every other day). And this is the time that I think the most. I am leaving Vancouver in about two weeks. How can I keep a close contact with my family and my friends in Vancouver? I don't want them to worry about my life in Venezuela; I want them to know what my life is (without repeat telling the same story for 10 times ;) Also, I want to keep track of my growth too!
In 26-28 April 2002, I went to the Enoch Outreach retreat. One of the group members told us that she has a "web diary". I did not really pay much attention at that time. But today, this sparks my intuition and this is what I am looking for!
I have a habit of writing diary since 1991 May. It is 11 years already. So I should have the determination needed to maintain this diary.
Put this page in your bookmark. Put your comment into my guest book and let me know what you are thinking. And please don't complain my grammar ;)
I went to the Revival meeting at ECBC at night. Nothing much impacts me. But when the speaker (Rick Watts) says that it's ok to be a doctor/engineer as long as these do not make me think that I am more superior, my heart soared. I know that this is more or less a dark side in my heart that I am not willing to look at it yet. Well, God is doing something tonight again.