Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC

 

 

 

Notice the Cop in the side view mirror

 

Easter Day - Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley, Washington

Our two Old English Sheepdogs, Loki and Thea, awww...

The Squirrel and His SAE Drinking Fountain
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September 5, 2002 - As I was walking over to the computer lab today, I saw a very curious sight. It was really cute, actually. A squirrel (one of the hundreds that inhabit the University and surrounding area) was probably a little thirsty. The SAE house on the row had just watered its lawn earlier in the day. And if you know SAE, all houses nationwide have two statues of lions by their front door. Now, water had collected on one of the statues between the lion's tail and his foot. And so this little squirrel was on his toes leaning up to get a drink. And he was having a good ole' time. I wish I had my camera.


Now my days here aren't all that exciting, I subscribed to the local newspaper and was looking at the Swatch webpage again... I'm addicted. I also watched "We Were Soldiers" which wasn't all that great. I read a little poetry and journalled a little while sitting on the steps of Red Square overlooking the fountain and Mt. Rainier. It's been a ho-hum of a week. I'm waiting for my free bus pass to come in the mail... then I'll be free to terrorize the city. Mwahahahaha.


One thing I noticed about Seattle, the quality of things just aren't the same. The DJ's aren't as cool or as funny. The local news has glitches all the time in its production... bad cues... bad camera work... bad clips... its just not the same as good ole LA.

Weird Looks

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September 4, 2002 - This morning, after working out and the such, I took a stroll down to the computer labs on campus. It was a crisp morning, a little cold, but the air was fresh and the sun was out. I donned my USC football jersey (and I had worn my USC Orientation sweatshirt the day before) and I get strange and dirty looks from all the students here. I guess it comes with the territory. Nothing will detract from my Trojan Pride, though. Go Trojans! You can also totally tell who here is from the Pacific Northwest. They're usually in jeans with hiking boots. They also tend to be a bit heftier.



Current Listening Selection: Jack Johnson and The Vines

A Week in Seattle...

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It's been... One Week... hehe... don't know if many of you remember that song. But yes, it's already been one week since I arrived here in Seattle. A little recap. For the first few days, I stayed with Dr. Wu at his house in Lake Forest Park, about 20 minutes north of the University. His house is huge! And at around $500,000 I wouldn't mind living in a house like that. Maybe I'm here to stay, who knows.



Friday, August 30, 2002 - We went up to Northgate to visit Auntie Alice. She's a friend of my mom from her college days. They were editors for the Campus Ministry Press in Taiwan. Alice was responsible for the artisitic side, while my mom was a part of the literary side. And for those of you who don't know, my mom is a pretty famous translator in Taiwan - she translates Christian books from English to Chinese. Alice is very nice and friendly, she showed us around Seattle, taking us to the Chinatown and taking us out to lunch. We saw all the places to shop for "asian" stuff. And there's an awesome Japanese grocery store downtown.



In the evening, Dr. Wu took us with him to the bible study at his church. His church is an assembly church, which I didn't really figure out what the difference was until Sunday service. I met quite a few friends - Joe, Gary, Ben, and Carrie. They were all very friendly nice people. I look forward to joining their fellowship.



Saturday, August 31, 2002 - I spent the day vegging in front of the TV all morning watching college football. Well, okay, my dad did drag me out to take a look at Bellevue Square. We went to the mall, and it was reminiscent of malls in Southern California. For some reason, the people here don't drive very nice cars - usually old compact Civics or Corollas. And finally in Bellevue, I saw all the nice beemers that rule L.A. So yeah, it was a ho-hum day.



Sunday, September 1, 2002 - It was a warm day. It was also a BIG day. I moved into my new place today! But first, we went to Dr. Wu's church first. I wasn't used to the Assembly style of service. There was a lot of spontaneous prayer. Also, apparently they have communion every week as well. I think I'm going to try University Presbryterian next week first. It's not that I don't like the service, but I just wasn't used to it. After I moved all my stuff in and unpacked, my dad and I went to hit up Best Buy and Target (pronounced Tar-je a la ze French). We got me a stereo, a flat screen tv (woohoo!) and a dvd player. All the essentials, basically. We had to drive quite a bit to get to the stores. Hopefully a bus route is nearby. One more day till SC v. Auburn



Monday, September 2, 2002 - My father and I took a 3 mile hike around Green Lake. The lake is absolutely breath-takingly beautiful. Only thing that detracts from it are the signs warning people about the "Toxic Algae". I was thinking it'd be great to live out here and be able to take walks here on a regular basis. Also, its fun to people watch. There are some weirdos of course, like the guy on a 7 foot bike. Also, lots of cute dogs. Then I wonder, how many of these people are here to pick up members of the opposite? How many are here to pick up people of the same sex? If only this lake were so far from the university.



And it rained today! It hasn't even been a week, and its already started raining. I went outside to take a walk before the USC v. Auburn game and it started raining.



I went to Home Depot and erected a shelf with some cinderblocks and some 2 X 4's. The cheap part of student living.



Lastly, the game was awesome. Not just because USC won, but because it was back and forth. And Auburn's running back was a beast. Carnell "Cadillac" Williams was simply running people over left and right. Sadly, Carson had two INT's but we still managed to win. Go Trojans!



Tuseday, September 3, 2002 - Daddy-O goes home today. I'm a little excited just to be on my own and have a little freedom. I walked down to University Ave where lots of homeless people, loonies, and drug addicts hang out. It's a little scary, but I managed. The bookstore here is huge and I picked up a few things: two Pablo Neruda anthologies, a few gift items, and some postcards. Lastly, I went and picked up a couple of CD's and Gremlins II. (I write a little bit about the movie in my Random Scribbles page")



Current Listening selections:

Duncan Sheik

Our Lady Peace

Cold Play

Seattle Greenery
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Day 2 in Seattle: Seattle is beautiful. Beautiful lakes, beautiful trees. It is very green up here in the northwest, lots of trees fill the hills. One sore spot, the grass is all yellow. No one trims or waters their lawns up here, which makes sense due to the abundance of rain during the year. There isn't the sprawling suburbia with mini-malls at every street corner and a shopping mall every 3 blocks. It looks very much like a countryside.

I'm definitely excited.

Five more days till USC Auburn!

So I'm also quite frustrated with my dad. His driving causes quite a lot of stress. A) His blinkers are always on. b)He slows to 15 mph (ON A MAJOR ROAD!) C) He doesn't understand how to lock the doors. I tride to explain to him how, but he's just so stubborn he won't listen.

I signed my lease today and so I get my keys and can move in starting Sunday. In the afternoon we went and bought a camera and went to the beach. Not a REAL beach of course, it was a beach on Lake Washington, which is just amazing. I also saw lots of bigger, nicer apartments which I could definitely look forward to move into in the coming years. There were a lot of people flying kites too.

Quizno's for lunch. mmmmmm

I think I got a little dehydrated today, and hence I now have a pretty bad headache. Being weened on Nalgene filled waters all summer, I drink lots of water daily now. First order of business when I move in - buy 2-gallon Arrowheads and fill up the Nalgenes.

So the journey begins...
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My father and I got into LAX around 6 am. It was a little strange leaving my neighborhood realizing I wouldn't really ever "live" there anymore. So its like a cowboy of the old west riding out of town, headed to a new town with a clean slate. At the airport, we were met by long lines that continued like an anaconda out the doors of Terminal 1. Why were there so many people travelling on a Wednesday, and then it dawned on me. FIrst of all, it was going to be a long-weekend, so people probably took an extra couple of days off to leave early, have a longer vacation, and avoid busy airports. What they didn't realize is if they all thought this way, it'd be just as crowded. I guess also, a lot of college students were travelling back to college, since semester system schools start this week or the next.

We had a stop in San Jose, which reminded me of the couple of times I flew up to see Mr. Lescroart. I thought about giving him a call, but then I realized he was in Japan. We got into Seattle around 11 and drove around the city. We found a place to eat before we met up with the people we were going to stay with. And we found a tiny Thai restaurant in the Lake City area and decided to have lunch. During lunch, sitting at the table next to us, were two guys either in their late twenties or early thirties. One was in t-shirt and shorts and the other in a business suit. They were talking about finding jobs (in this torrid economy) and the whole interview process. (they looked like real dorks to me). And their dorkness was confirmed when, after they finished eating, they started playing Magic cards! Can you believe that? There is some absurdity in seeing grown (out-of-)business men in suits playing magic cards. And as big of a nerd as I was, I never ever EVER could have stooped to the level of dungeons and dragons or playing stupid cards like that.

Now, funny story, when we parked our car, we were just wandering around the city looking for a place to eat. And the amazing thing was, when we got back to the car to drive to Dr. Wu's office(Dr. Wu is the dentist we're staying with), we were surprised to find that it was right across the street. Amazing coincidence or happenstance? Quite amazing, methinks. Dr. Wu is a man of a fairly small stature with a bad comeover. He's really nice and friendly. He has two amazing kids. Well, they're not really kids, since they're both my age. I haven't met them, but their accomplishments are amazing. Abe the older one, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harvard, now that is impressive as all hell, that's top 1/2 %, isn't it? from Hah-vud, no less. And he's in his second year of medical school. From the looks of the books on his shelves and his posters of miles davis and john coltrane, I knew I can easily get along with Abe. (You can't tell a book by its covers, but you can surely tell a man by the books on his shelves.) Joanna, the younger one, plays the harp and is in the last year at Stanford. She's going to be a dentist like her father. Yup, typical over-acheiving asian kids.

In the afternoon, we went for a drive around the areas close to the university, looking for apartments. Some areas looked pretty slummy... and so we steered away from those areas. We finally found one that I liked, but it was full already, but the owner promised that if I was willing to stay in another of his properties, he'd move me into the new place ASAP. So for the next few months, I'll be living in a shared house, kinda like the ones you find on Severence or Portland. The house is located on 17th Ave. which is their fraternity row. So we'll see..

Word of the day: Amazing

Final Countdown...
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So it is almost 3 am. I just got done going through two piles of stuff: one for UW and its never ending list of rules and regulations, how much I'll get paid, workspace, yadda yadda. The other pile, I didn't actually finish, but it was for the state department. And that's coming up close too. We'll probably leave around 5 am or closer to 6. Our flight really isn't until 7:25, but its always good to get there early. I'm bushed, hopefully I'll be able to sleep on the plane. At least I'm done packing... no... not packing a gat... packing stuff. =)

I'm going to miss you OC... with your sunshine and your beautiful people, especially the most beautiful of them all. I'm going to miss my doggie too. See you in a few months!

Shit Hit-teth the Fan part II
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I did not speak to my mother all day today, if you can imagine that. After our spat last night, she's been mad at me. And I'm not about to apologize. So I wonder what's going to happen on Wednesday, because she won't be able to see me for 5 months. She's going to have to deal, I guess. (She's supposed to take us to the airport too!) I'm curious. I basically kept to myself today, working on my application to the Department of State. If you're ever considering a job in the government, I'd advise against it, simply because of the amount of forms you have to fill out! You need to go back 10 years recording everywhere you've lived, worked, gone to school, left the country, I'm surprised they don't ask you how many times you go to the bathroom a day. And not just the details, but they also want a reference for each thing. And I can just picture them checking up on the information.

FBI agent: "Hi, can I ask you a few questions?"
You, my friend: "Uh who's this?"
FBI agent: "Agent Mulder, FBI..."
You: "uhhh what kind of stupid X-files prank is this?"
FBI agent: "All right, cut the crap, just answer the questions. On Sept. 10, 1997, Did you or did you not see Dan Chen walk into the bathroom at Los Al High School?"
You: "uhhhh"

What are they gonna do with the information? I just can't imagine.

Current listening selections: Dashboard Confessional, The Vines, and The Amelie Sndtrk.

And the hits just keep on coming
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Now today, the holy day of days, my last sunday here in OC(and yes, it might be my actual LAST one... read on). But before I get to the nastiness, we'll delve into the more pleasant notes. After church today, we all met at Andrea's house, just to hang out before everyone disperses. So we played a whole bunch of MENSA riddles and logic problems... quite boring by my standards. Now for the nightcap, Esther and the rest of the Tsai clan came over for dinner. And it was a lot of fun. The kids watched movies while the adults talked (I'm still a kid). We watched Indiana Jones first, then I introduced Esther to the wonderful world of "The Mummy". And to say that she liked it would be an understatement.

Now, after they had left, my mom went to a hissy fit. She just went hysterical. Yelling at me, telling me that she never wanted to see me again, glad to see I'm going.... yadda yadda... I know she doesn't mean it, but I don't and can't understand my mother sometimes.

The Big Presentation and the Changing of the Guard
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I hate beginning blogs. I always just want to write how I talk. And if I did that, every sentence or thought would begin with "so..." or "anyways..." And that'd just be horrible writing. So you'll find neither... wait... dammit... did it again. Anyw... ARGH... Well, okay, I've had it, today isn't my bad day. "Well..." is another one of my common paragraph starters.

Enough of a side-track. Back to business. The last two days have consisted of me frantically trying to put together my presentation for Dr. Wong and Luke Christian Medical Mission (LCMM for short). My presentation was on change, the dying of the old self and becoming a new being (whether this is in Christ or not). We used the illustration of an acorn and having to break the shell and shed the skin before it can germinate. And then I used some of what I learned in my social psychology class taught by Dr. Jellison. So why did Winston have me make this presentation? I think Winston is an instigator, a person who adds fuel to the fire. He is an activist and wants to see drastic changes in both LCMM and Medical Services Incorporated. MSI is the medical arm of OMF - Overseas Missionary Foundation? something like that... OMF is built on the legacy of one Hudson Taylor. The man is a legend, one of the most prominent missionaries in modernity. He opened up China to Christianity. I guess my salvation is in some way indebted to him, but at the same time, I believe there has developed a cult of celebrity and hero worship. (Did you know that the Taiwanese, who are big on idol worship, now worship Chiang Kai-Shek? Who was a Christian himself) And I think Winston is out to break this mold. OMF and MSI are becoming dinosaurs in the modern age of evangelism. Their sole source of support is from donations and not from fund-raising... by faith is all that the Taylor legacy allows. No begging, no solicitation. God will provide. I don't know if I agree with Winston or the other side, but this I do believe, that the younger generation of doctors need to start stepping up to the plate. I think I am called to be a connector for the older generation and the new. I want to be a servant in that respect and enlist the latest generation of doctors to serve as missionaries. I don't know how much I'll keep this pledge up, but I believe with persistence and prayer, I should be able to get it done.

t- 3 days...