Pamper Me Today... Pamper Me Tomorrow

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha!

What a Day! What a DAY!

Today has to be by far the BEST birthday I've ever had! Ever!
I think.

My skin is sooooooooooooooooooo soft...
And I smell so darn good!
No wonder women typically live longer than the guys.
Forget stopping to smell the roses. Stop and pamper yourself once in a while. It's grrrrrrrrrreat!

My friend Sue took me to Glen Ivy Hot Springs Day Spa today.
It was an entire day experience!

She picked me up from my house around 9:30am.
We went to Beyond Bagel Me for breakfast (this place is sweet! great coffee)
Then we were off to Glen Ivy Hot Springs in Corona! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai !

It was definitely a new experience for me.
Felt like I was on vacation...at some resort definitely nowhere near So. California. Weird... who would've thought there'd be a place like this here?
The mountain backdrops that surround the Day Spa looked like a scene from the tv show Lost. Sue says the place reminds her of Hawaii. I wouldn't know. I've never been out there.

First, the Mineral Water Pool (to open up your pores).
This was great! It's just like sitting in a jacuzzi, except it's natural mineral water so I didn't stink of chlorine. We sat in a little two-person pool. Talked. Watched others.

Then the Red Clay Mud Pool (to exfoliate your skin - whatever that means).
It was crazy! When we first got to the Day Spa, we were watching and laughing about people covering themselves all over with mud. These people are nuts!
Then we jumped in the pool, covered ourselves all over (including our faces) with this red clay that's supposed to be really good for your skin (yeah, right), then walked into the Wafa.
Wafa's nothing more than a temperature-controlled room full of people (mostly women) who look like primates, now covered with mud, sitting around chatting and relaxing, waiting for the mud to dry.
I was the only guy in there. Of course. Then others joined in later - among them a middle-aged male/male couple. Interesting.
After a long time spent in the Wafa - relaxing, chatting, people wathing - we rinsed off all that mud.
Holy Smokes! My skin's so amazingly soft!

Now the Grotto (to deeply moisturize your skin).
Wow, this was... fun!
After being escorted into the Grotto, I was covered with some crazy moisturizer. The attendants told us to keep rubbing the moisturizer all over the body. So we rubbed. It was some weird super-thick moisturizer stuff that - no matter how much I rubbed onto my skin - would not dissolve! We must've sat there for a good 1/2 hour - talking, relaxing, people watching, and rubbing.
After rinsing off the super-duper-crazy moisturizer, we sat in some cave, ate a fresh green apple, drank a tanquility hot tea - relaxing, talking, listening to others talk, and people watching.

At the Spa we ran into some lady who told us about Chardonay with peach spritz. So... we ate a vegetarian pizza and a Chardonay with peach spritz. Mmmmm.... alcohol....

We stopped by some cute country-style store out there. It was crazy!
Felt like I was somewhere on the way from Roseville to Tahoe. This place was cool! They sold all kinds of cool stuff! Ahhh..... thinking about the "dream" home...

Of course we couldn't end the day without dinner.
So we went to a Pho restaurant. Mmmm......warm bowl of Pho on a rainy day... (how it's supposed to be had.)

And of course who ends the day with dinner.
We sat in her car and talked forever - about life, about people, about life - listening to the rain outside. I love the rain!

Of course what good is dinner and talking about life without some sweets.
We had the usual mixed berry tart and coffee at the usual cafe.

Then she drove me home.

What a Birthday!
I didn't go to work.
Hungout with my bestfriend all day.
Got pampered at Glen Ivy.
A souvenir from Glen Ivy.

What a day!

What I'm really thankful for though (I'm really thankful for Sue. I love her so very much!)
But aside from my lovely friend Sue and our day of pampering...

I'm really thankful for all my friends who called (I didn't have my phone with me all day long) and left me a Happy Birthday message - especially when one told me not to call back, just relax and enjoy the day and call her tomorrow.
And for all my friends who sent me a Happy Birthday e-card.
And for all my friends who sang me Happy Birthday songs and shared birthday cakes with me.
And for a friend who didn't get to share the cake but baked one for me.
I've never felt so thought-of and loved on my birthday before.

Thank You, Everyone!
So much! For thinking of me! =)

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Happy Birthday, Jaimito!

Now Skype-ing in Orange County

I just had a converstaion with Bryant, who's living in Thailand. For free!
This VoIP stuff is COOL! Way Cool!

I downloaded and installed Skype because I need to keep in contact with Bryant, who will be our host when our team goes out to Thailand.
I've tried VoIP thing years before, when it was just starting to make its debut... and it sucked! And since then I haven't been a believer of Free Phone Calls.
That is... until now.

This stuff is cool!
So get a Skype account and call me.

Encouragement

A friend of mine sent me the following passage this morning.
She's an awesome woman! And I feel so blessed with the new friends I've made recently...

Isaiah 40:29-31 (New International Version)
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Thank you, Erin!

I just can't...

I just can't be happy these days.

I don't know what it is.
Looking back, it's almost like when I was in school -- back in those earlier days. It's a little different, though.
I'm not lonely like I was (or at least I don't know it), and I'm not as stressed as I was (it's a different kind of stress, but not so intense as before).

So then... what is it?

Why can't I be happy? Or at least show that I'm happy.
I don't know. Maybe I just got too comfortable being unhappy.
But then how long has this been going on?
I dunno.

My friend Liz always seems to be happy.
She's such an inspiration to me.

Why can't I be like her?
How can I be like her?

Here's an Announcement I Haven't Made

I'm going to Thailand!

I will be going as a part of a team embarking on a two week journey to either help build a school in a very remote village somewhere in northern Thailand, help build a fish farm in a small island in southern Thailand, or teach English to young professionals and work with an orphanage somewhere in the middle of Bangkok.

I'm in the process of writing a support letter right now. So I can ask for financial support as well as emotional and spiritual support, and have a team of supporters praying for the team while we work in a foreign country that I know nothing about.

I didn't realize writing a support letter will be so difficult.

Just like all previous writing assignments, I'm trying to write something true to my heart, and it's proven to be the same over and over again.
I'm trying to do something that's way more complicated than it ought to be.

'tis life.

SO FRIGGIN' TIRED...

"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HEART. I WANT TO BELIEVE AS HE DOES."
-- Robert the Bruce (Braveheart) --

One

Going Nuts!

Didn't go to work today.
Got a call this morning from my work, telling me not to come in because today's testing had been cancelled due to bad weather.
Sweet.

I'm fasting internet browsing and television.
Not having to work today, I had a lot of time on my hands.
I have a ton of things to do -- prepare for my Short Term Missions trip this summer, contact my team members, study for my real estate class, study for my spanish class, clean the house, wash the car, make more phone calls...
But I didn't wanna do any of that. This was my day off!

By 3pm, I was going crazy!
Can't watch TV. Can't browse the internet other than sites that I had designated as worthy of use. Can't watch DVD because I said that I wouldn't do that either.
Arrrgh!

I went down to Anaheim Hills Edwards 14 to watch Munich.
Felt like I was gettin' my fix.

Movie was over and I'm back to my media-less world.
Perhaps TV and internet is not the answer.

Maybe what I need is a vacation from all responsibilities - no matter how small.

I Feel Lazy

Feeling lazy...

I got a ton of things to do and I don't wanna get started.
I even told my friend I won't go out to grab a drink with her because I plan to study.
Procrastinate.

I don't think that's it.
My heart just isn't ready for it.
Maybe I ought read one of my books...
...to calm my heart and thoughts.

I want a Coke.

One Day

You think your life is... well, just dandy.
Then one day something different.

You get a message from an old friend. Then curiosity kicks in. What if?
Could it be that easy? Noooo.....
And all of a sudden your heart drops.
Cringed.
Squeezed out of all its life.
And all of a sudden you feel that familiar pain deep in your chest. Except this time it's different kind of pain.
Disappointment. Realization. Remorse.

I didn't do it right...

I didn't do it right...

What the hell am I doing?
I'm on a fast!

It was too easy. Just too easy to get caught up.

FUCK!

I Want

I wanna watch a tv so badly.

I just wanna plop down on my couch and relax...
Watch some crappy shows on TV because there's never anything good on tv.
Or just put in one of my DVDs and watch a movie aimlessly.
Ahhh... the bliss of having no cares...

20 more days 'til the end of my fast.

I Love

I love my friend Andy Duong's comments.

DUDE! Where do you come up with these quotes??!?!?!!?!?

In regards to blind leading the sheep...
" The man with one eye is king in the world of the blind."

I especially like the...
" Beacause she's mormon."
You ought to know all about that, huh?

Speaking of which....
Dude! This is our 10 year! CRAZY!

=(

Felt like crying today.

Good thing real men don't cry.

My job sucks!

Terrible Lead

You don't put a blind man to lead a herd of sheep.
Eventually the man will stumble and fall and all the sheep are without direction.
F.U.C.K.!

Day 6

Didn't go in to work today.
Starting tomorrow we're going into what I like to call, "the Nazi schedule." For the next two weeks I'll be working from 10 am to 2 am. Roughly.

So in order to cut OverTime cost, the management had asked us to take the day off. I didn't like the idea. I'd rather go in and get paid than sit home and do nothing.
Little did I know this would turn out to be one of the best things I've done in a long time.

Today was great!
I got a whole lot done and I feel great about it!
I went to Costco to buy some goodies and in the process bought a printer, which I had ordered two weeks ago and hadn't been shipped out yet. So I just sent in a request to cancel the previous order.
Hooked up my new printer and networked it so I can print from any computer in the house.
Went to water store and bought some water. Water store! What a concept!
Ate a double double from IN-N-OUT.
Sent out some emails.
Had a change of heart.
Went to workout for the third day in a row!
Went to Big Lots to buy some more stuff.
Fixed my steering wheel remote controller in my car. Hopefully it works.
Feels like I did some other things, which I can't remember.
And after it all, I feel great about today!

What a difference from my normal Monday.
Go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch some TV, play on the internet, go to sleep.
And feel like I've lost yet another day and accomplished nothing! Absolutely nothing!

IN-N-OUT Girl

There's a girl named Christine who works at IN-N-OUT just down the street from my house.
Everytime I've been in there -- which is a whole lotta twice -- she's been so cheery and happy.
That girl has energy!

So what makes these people so happy?
What is it about them that emanates this positive vibe?

I just gulped down a protein style double double.
Not completely full. But good. Because I don't feel all slugish, like I would have been had I eaten a regular burger.

Listening to Aventura -- "Yo Creo"

30-Day Fast

Ever watch "40 Days and 40 Nights"?
With Josh Hartnett and ever-so lovely Shannyn Sossamon.
Yeah...

Newsong is doing a 30-day fast in preparation for a kick-off at a new long-term site for its Norch OC campus.
So I've embarked on this journey for clarity and order in my life.

I'm fasting Television; and Web browsing at home -- among few other things. I figured web browsing at work is ok. I don't do much of that anyway.
Four days into it and I've realized that this is much harder than I had initially envisioned. I do most of my finances online; and email - without a doubt - is one of the core means of communications. AND I watch TV while I eat.
Needless to say, I bent the rules a little bit.

No internet usage except a few designated sites such as sites for all my financial stuff, email, and this site.

No TV. Does that mean DVD is ok?
Well... so I decided to say that watching DVD is alright.
Between dinner lastnight and dinner tonight, I've watched two DVD's! ...and I've come to conclude that it's just a waste of time.
So No DVD either.

-----------------------------------------------

It's only been four days since the start of my fast, and I see a tremendous change in my life.
For one thing, I have a whole lot of extra time on my hands!
During the weeknights when I wasn't out with a friend or in class, I found myself pacing the floor because I have this extra time.
I eventually sat down and started reading.

Another shocker was when I went to the gym today. Yes, I actually did make my way to the gym (it's been more than a month, I think). And I washed my car (the interior, anyway), cleaned up the backyard a little bit, mowed the lawn, took out the trash, and installed steering wheel remote controller for my new CD player in my Tercel.

Anyway, back to the gym.
The big shocker was when I went to the gym, got on a treadmill to put in a couple of miles of run, and the exhilarating sensation that engulfed my body when I looked up and saw a row of televisions playing all kinds of tv shows!
Whoa!
I didn't know I was so attached to TV's. And I don't even watch all that much of tv.

So that's it.
Day four of my fast.
How exhilarating!