Diary

My Life at July 2007

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July 31, 2007(Tuesday)

I washed two cars today. I did a lot of house work during my stay in Vancouver. I mowed the lawn three times, paint the stair, wash car twice and vacuum must of the house. We went to Central Park for a run this afternoon. This is probably our last run in Vancouver. Then at night we had dinner with families. We wanted to walk around to digest food afterward, however, almost everywhere are closed. Therefore, we have to go back home. For Bloomington, at least there is a Kroger and Wal-Mart that opens 24 hours, and some nice park for us to walk!

July 30, 2007(Monday)

We played golf with Carmen's parents, Carol and her fiancé (they just engaged one or two days ago) Liam. We played a mini-18 holes at Central Park. This is the first time that I played 18 holes. For some reason, there is a while that I always miss the ball when I first serve the ball. I am quite frustrated and disappointed at myself. Carmen thinks that this is much fun than driving range. We went home for dinner at night.

July 29, 2007(Sunday)

We went to the FCGC church this morning for Sunday worship. We have involved in this church back in 2000. Today they asked me to have a short sharing. So I shared about my experience in Venezuela (this is such an important event in my life that I have shared this many times). I am glad that there is something to encourage them. However, they asked me to share in English (and someone translate to Chinese) and Carmen told me that, even though I have good enthusiasm, my English grammar is not good and there is lots of accent. Too bad.
Then I went to Squamish to do hiking with four other boys from church. We walked all the way to the second peak, which took us 2 hours going up. However, we go really slowly because one of us needs a lot of rest. So I don't feel exhausted at all. And in order to climb up to the top of the peak, we need to use the chain to climb up. It is actually challenging and I really enjoy that. It only takes us an hour going down hill, but I have to be careful about my knee so I did not use the top of my speed.
On the way back to Vancouver, there is an accident somewhere in front of us, and that cause us a long time before getting back. A 1 hour drive ended up to be 2.5 hours drive. I think that there is no way for Vancouver to host the Winter Olympic like this. One accident would ruin everything!

July 28, 2007(Saturday)

I had a haircut this morning. Since our marriage, Carmen always cut my hair. However, since this is not that expensive to have a hair cut in Vancouver, I had one in the shop. Then I had late lunch and snack with long time discipleship training friend Derek. We had lots of sharing about my study, his study, serving in church and so on. At night, we had dinner with Karl and Joyce. We also have good sharing time as well. We have met most of the friends already!

July 27, 2007(Friday)

I had a relaxing day today. I did not spend time on studying. Rather, I read a Christian book called "The Life you've always wanted". After reading this, I think that I have the "hurriness disease". It is because no matter what I am always in a hurry. For example, when there are several queues available for the supermarket check-in, I always try to find which is the fastest line, taking the number of customers and number of item per customers into account. I also like to cut lane when driving, even though I may only save 3 minutes. I need to relax and try to always drive on the slow lane, or line up in the longest queue.
I also talked to Joey, the daughter of a friend of mom because she is interested to go to US to study university. She asked a lot of questions and I am helping her to find some info as well.
We went to a late-night hot pot. The advertised price is $19.99 for two. There isn't much food, but we are quite full and I am satisfied with the amount of food. However, when we checked out, we find that we have to pay for the soup (the soup for hot pot) as well, which cost for $8.5. I am really upset with this hidden cost, because after all a soup shouldn't be that expensive. If it is advertised before hand that the price is $28 for two, I may still go. However, with this hidden cost, I am quite discouraged.
Then we helped to install the new DVD machine. For some strange reasons, the DVD machine broken down several days ago, so we need to buy a new machine. In fact, many things broke down during the time that we were here. For example, the internet, and even the phone, did not work for some time. The "black box" for the TV does not work for some times. And the DVD just broke down in the middle of nowhere. This is very strange.

July 26, 2007(Thursday)

We had lunch with Carmen's relative. Then we went to play golf. This is the second time we played and I am trying to make sure that I have a good rotation when hitting the ball. The golf is a must-learn sport and I am trying to get a hang of it. At night, I watched DVD while Carmen went out to have dinner with her friends.

July 25, 2007(Wednesday)

We went to pick up the passport today. It only takes us five minutes wait before getting the passport. The procedure once again is pleasantly simple. I am very impressed about the whole experience!
We also went to Garfield's house to pick up some clothes for Carmen. I played around with her elder daughter Ashley, and Carmen got a great connection with her younger sister Zoe.

July 24, 2007(Tuesday)

We went to UBC for a tour today. Other than the very short tour two weeks ago, we haven't returned there since taking our wedding picture April 2004. And even at that time, we really did not explore much. There isn't any nearby free parking lot, so we parked quite far away, which is about 40mins walking distance from the bookstore. We walked to different memorable places, such as PhySoc, SUB, Psychology building and so on. There is a lot of new building in UBC too! We totally spent about 2.3 hours walking!
After dinner at Carmen's parent house, we had a drink with our old Canaanites friends. Since all of them are female (Mabel, Garfield, Debbie, Jessica x2), I spent most of the time playing with Jessica's son Nathan. I think that they have never met the side where I like to play with kids, so they are quite surprised that I like to play with kid!

July 23, 2007(Monday)

I stayed home the whole day today. I only did some studying and watched some DVD. So this is another relaxing day.

July 22, 2007(Sunday)

We went to English worship this morning and attended the English Sunday School, because they talked about the Dead Sea Scroll and we are quite interested in that topic. The speaker is a PhD student in Dead Sea Scroll and we enjoyed that.
Then I went to lunch with parents while Carmen went to a Baby Shower of our friend Jessica Yeung. I also went out for some jogging during the time between raining. Vancouver's weather is very weird because it was hot three weeks ago when we returned, but cold and rainy now.

July 21, 2007(Saturday)

We visited our long time friend Arthur and Garfield this afternoon. We have known them for 17 years and now they have two daughters. Therefore, we had a great time playing around with their children. They also shared some tips about taking care little kids too!
At night, we went to Elim fellowship. The program is about a psychology test about different type of character. We are glad to go to a fellowship which we don't have to be responsible for anything.

July 20, 2007(Friday)

I always want to play golf. Today I finally got the chance. We played at driving range with Carmen's parents. It is quite fun and I am able to hit the ball quite far away (about 120). However, my left palm is a bit pain because of the club. Nevertheless, I should play again soon.
At night, we had dinner with Peter Pang's family. We played around with his 1.2 years old daughter and talked a lot about baby. Now the focus is all around baby.

July 19, 2007(Thursday)

We had lunch with Carmen's auntie during lunch. Then, we took advantage of the nice weather and mow the lawn and went out for jogging as well. At night, we went to a small fellowship group, called the Chosen, and led Bible study and sharing. We are glad that we are able to share and serve in Vancouver as well.

July 18, 2007(Wednesday)

Parents, Carmen and I had a one-day Vancouver shopping/eating tour. We went to Granville Island for some tour. Then we went to QE Park to have a high-class western lunch, with awesome view of the park and downtown Vancouver. Then we went to Richmond for many malls to walk around and shopping for some grocery that we need to bring back to Bloomington. Lastly we had dinner with Carmen's parents. I had a lot of food and I am very full! However, it is good to spend time with family. They treated us as tourists and bring us to tourist’s hot place.

July 17, 2007(Tuesday)

I had lunch with my long time school friend Alan. We have known each other since 1993 when I studied first year. It is good to catch up with him. He is also interested to study PhD as well, so we exchange some thought. He is working in Toyota, and Toyota is a very good company so I read a lot of paper regarding about this company. His job is a process engineer and designs some process flow, which is very related to what I am studying!
Then I went to Far East Broadcast to talk to people about my church's situation because I am asking them for some CD for mandarin speaking Chinese scholar. They have something for me!

July 16, 2007(Monday)

Parents and I had lunch with Pastor King and his sister today. Pastor King used to be a professor in HKU and retired 20 years ago. He also retired from being a pastor too. I went to his Bible Study 15 years ago, and amazingly he still remembers me. My parents help to bring him to bank or buy grocery or lunch every now and then.
Carmen and I went to Central Park for jogging. At night, I watched the "Shrek" DVD.

July 15, 2007(Sunday)

I went to my mother church VCAC for Sunday worship. Then we had lunch with Carmen. At night, we went to a talk about creationism. The speaker is too subjective and absolute. From a normal person's perspective, it was ok but if I really put my logical hat, I would not like this.
Then we went to the Richmond's night market for walk and dinner. Even though I have been in Vancouver for a long time, I never visited this place. There are so many people and so many shops outdoor! If I am really a tourist in Vancouver, I would definitely visit this place and take as many picture as possible!

July 14, 2007(Saturday)

Today is the 17th anniversary for leaving HK and moving to Canada. And that was a Saturday that we moved here, and today is a Saturday too!
I stayed home today to do some house work, and also do some studying. The advantage of coming to Canada for a longer time is that I am able to do some house work. For instances, I am supposed to organize my stuff in the storage room since 2002 when we moved to this place, but since every time I am really rush in Vancouver, I never have the time to do it. Today I finally have the time to finish what I am supposed to do 5 years ago.

July 13, 2007(Friday)

I had lunch with Wilson and Preston and shared thing about church and having baby. At night, I went to FCGC. I had known them since 2000 and saw a lot of them grew up. I remember some of them used to be in elementary school or high school, and now they are in college! I can't recognize some of the faces, but I am glad that they continue to go to church! We went out for a drink afterward, and also played some riddle game.

July 12, 2007(Thursday)

We watched the "Harry Potter" movie this afternoon. Originally we thought that the line up will be long, but the theatre is only half filled up an hour ago, so after purchasing the ticket we went to another cinema to watch other movie. Then we also walked around Metrotown for awhile. At night I went out to have a drink with church friend Chris.

July 11, 2007(Wednesday)

We slept early last night in order to wake up early for getting the passport. However, our tenant was loud when returned home and played piano near mid-night and that woke me up completely. Once I am up at that time, I am not able to sleep, especially because I am quite frustrated. So I spent the next 3 or 4 hours studying and brainstorming for my dissertation.
My passport is expiring the end of this year. I used this passport to travel to a lot of places in the last four years, and the passport is completely full, with no empty pages. I am sad to say farewell to this passport.
I was told that the line up for the passport is very long. Some told me that they went to line up at 5am even the office open at 7:30. Some told me that people line up for 6 hours. So I am ready to battle for a long line up day. We arrived to the place at 7:30 and to our surprise, we finished everything by 8:50. This certainly is a very good surprise and makes me feel good. (On the other hand if I did not prepare myself, I would blame the one hour line up to be extremely long).
Since we have some time afterward, we went to Metrotown. Carmen tried to renew her driver license. However, the counter people told us that it is illegal to hold two North America licenses simultaneously. She either needs to surrender the BC or the Indiana. Of course she surrendered the BC. However, if we knew this in advanced, we won't even go there. A US driver license allows us to take the license here, but a Canadian driver license is not powerful enough such that we need to take the road test again in US. This is not too fair.
She walked around Metrotown while I spent several hours reading comics. Then I went home to have afternoon nap and then we had dinner at home.

July 10, 2007(Tuesday)

I had lunch with Ricky and then dinner with Gary, Jessica x 2. It is good to see our long time friends. Our sharing topics change as time goes on. Now we are always sharing about baby.
I also spent three hours washing car, vacuuming and organizing our home. It is tiring. But I treat this as a very productive exercise.

July 09, 2007(Monday)

We went to Bestbuy to purchase an All-in-one printer/fax/scanner/copier today. Parents want to upgrade as many things as possible while I am still in Vancouver. AT night, I also spent some times to help connecting the device. So far, it seems working, except the scanning function is too slow. May be we will buy a new computer.

July 08, 2007(Sunday)

We went to Willingdon Church for Sunday worship today. We used to go to this church for worship and we really miss the worship atmosphere and also the message. We are glad to be able to go there again and enjoy the worship. Then we went to Central Park for jogging and enjoy the nice weather.

July 07, 2007(Saturday)

Hansel and Fiona are leaving Vancouver today. Therefore, parents and I went to the airport with them. Then after they have checked in, we went out for lunch and walked around Richmond's Aberdeen center. Usually when I take a flight, after I check-in, I would just stay inside the airport because of transportation arrangement. However, this is a tradition that when parents take us to airport, we will go to eat after check-in.
Afterward, I went back home to read comic (I read a lot of comics lately!) and study. Carmen went to her best friend Joyce and Karl's wedding. At night, I also went to their banquet. I am able to see a lot of long-time friends that I have lost contact. Those that I met from the Winter Conference committee during 2001, and those from VCAC. It is always great to have some update from them. I also asked them whether they continue to go to church, and hope to encourage those that did not.
I checked some church magazine from our HK church. Our families were involved deeply in different church ministry, and in fact, grand father has served as the chair person of the church council before! Currently Carmen and I are also serving in church, from Vancouver to Venezuela to Bloomington. I am glad that I would make them proud.

July 06, 2007(Friday)

I am home most of the time today and spent some times to read paper for my dissertation. I am glad that I am able to spend some time for studying again! Time to regroup.
At night we went to church for a sermon by a famous speaker "Won Wai Yue". A very good sermon and I will probably use this for my sermon next month. I also met a lot of friends from church. Unlike friends from Venezuela or Bloomington, I knew these people for over 13 years. It is good for a "tourist" (one who always travel around) to catch up with long term friends! We also toured around UBC a bit and find that there is a lot of new building!

July 05, 2007(Thursday)

Carmen and I went with dad to buy grocery in the morning. Then the six of us had lunch at home and dad cooked his famous dishes and we enjoyed that. We also went to the graveyard to visit grand parents. This is a must-do thing in Vancouver. AT night, Hansel and Fiona went with me to "The Keg" to eat prime rib. Hansel really likes the food, but I think that given the price (Cdn $24), the steak at Indiana is much better and cheaper. Hansel and I also went to play basketball with friends and this is another must-do thing in Vancouver. We also spent some times today to clear up the storage room. We had a lot of stuff and we need to throw away or donate it. For instances, I have a lot of spiritual books inside a box. They are "dead". I want to donate it to church so that it can make it to live again.

July 04, 2007(Wednesday)

This morning Hansel and I helped to mow the lawn. We are fulfilling the housework that we did not do for the last several years. Then I went out to have a jog with Carmen. At night we went to Carmen's parent's house for dinner. I was enjoying reading comic at that time!

July 03, 2007(Tuesday)

We purchased the house during summer 2002, and this is time to re-paint the stair on the back side of our house. Originally I thought that this would be simple and only take 1.5 hours if Hansel and I worked on it together. However, it is harder than I think and ended up taking 5 hours! I am glad that Hansel is helping out because it will be extremely boring if I have to do those ourselves. Mom thought that it may cost Cdn$600 if we ask other to do it for us! I think that, the labor is certainly intensive and we would rather do it ourselves or use the money to hire people, or ask dad to do it by himself!
At night, we went to have dinner with Carmen's family, to celebrate mom's 60th birthday. This should be done 3 months ago, but we were not here at that time. So it is good to have dinner together. Then we went to visit our cousin Peter Pang and his family. Auntie 1 was there as well. Mainly we spent our time playing around with Peter's 1 year old daughter Tiffany. They are happy to share our news that we are pregnant too. In fact, their second child are expected November this year. So we share some joy in having baby!

July 02, 2007(Monday)

We took a flight to LA and then to Vancouver today. In order to get to the airport, we took public transportation, which costs $18 in total, while if we take a taxi, it will cost $40. However, it takes a longer time and I have to carry the heavy luggages.
The traveling experience today with Delta airline is terrible. The Kiosk check-in in NY does not support us using the Canadian passport. This has never happened to us before. We have to go to a special line-up, and there is only one server. The group in front of us has some problem and the server has to call the support desk and she was placed on-hold for about 30mins. Since there is only one server, none of us can do anything. I asked her whether or not she can do something about it and she refuses to do anything, just waiting on the line. What a stupid person! Even the line up for the first-class is very long, over 30 mins!
After flying 5 hours to LA, the next flight supposed to start an hour later. However, for some reason it is delayed for 30 mins. Then when we have all boarded, we were told that the crew put the whole flight's luggage to another plane, and put another plane's luggage to this plane. We are totally delayed for 1.5 hours.
Nevertheless, we made it safe back home and without any problem with the custom. I am happy about this, because about 30% of the time I got stuck at the Vancouver's custom. Then the two families waited at the airport for us for 1.5 hours. They checked the flight schedule online and it says that on time, so they waited for 1.5 hours, but the truth is that, the flight is delayed for 1.5 hours. Anyway, we are happy to see them again and we ate some nice food as dinner.

July 01, 2007(Sunday)

We went to the "Abyssinian Baptist Church" this morning for Sunday worship. This is supposed to be a very famous church located in the NY Harlem area. The worship started at 11, and when we arrived there at 10:20, there are several hundred people lining up for the worship! I don't think that I have ever seen that before! When it is about 10:55, the usher starts to let people go inside, but require all the people wearing flip-flop to buy shoes (someone is selling shoes on the street) or else they can't get in! That hawker only sells female ballet type shoes (in baby blue), so when some men went there, buy and wear the shoes, it looks very funny! They only limited a certain number of visitors to enter into the church so that their members have spaces to sit. Hence, some of the visitors are denied access.
The worship is tradition style, with organ and choir. The choir sounds pretty professional, but I don't enjoy the overall experience to this church. First, this is the only church that I have been to that does not treat the church visitor as visitor, i.e. letting them sit in somewhere if they come early, and not deny them to church! The announcement was very long, about 15 mins. The speaker of the sermon is not like sermon at all, only keep on yelling and yelling (but this does not really bother me). There is only about 1200 people showed up, and about 400 of them are visitors! I don't know what makes this church so attractive! And I doubt whether the member would really enjoy being a member of this church! I wonder how many visitors today come to this church, just for sight seeing! And it is very hard to be a good Christian in this church!
Afterward, we went to visit Elaine and Qiao. We know them from Venezuela and they went to our place to deliver their first baby during Christmas 2005. This is their second baby and they delivered it 10 days ago in New York. Therefore we went to visit their new born! We had great sharing about baby-related topic. We also shared about the brothers and sisters in Venezuela. We went to have dinner together as well!
Then we walked from Times Square back to hotel. If there is only one place to visit in US, it will be New York. If there is only one place to visit in New York, it will be Times Square. We went there every night during our stay in New York and we have enough of that! I actually enjoy walking on the street with so many people! (But if I have to live here, I wouldn't enjoy it at all!)