#reasonsformovinghome

A list of [reasons for moving home]. Continually edited until I actually do move home

07.30.11 my friends are so far away

08.06.11 the comforts of home

08.10.11 to wear fall clothes like this :)

09.07.11 the weather is too hot for me in socal

Mint Chocolate Christmas (MC^2) Is Done!

Finally finished my fixie late last night with the help of Jon, Rey, and Bri :) Pictures are pending. I'll take some soon and post them. (Actually I'm kinda just waiting for Rey to post them. kekez) After, we went on a night ride to the airport and then back. I really miss riding at night with a group of people. There were no cars on the road and we got back around 2:30am. It was really nice. My cooch was hurting while I was riding! I had my mustache handlebars flipped down so I was leaning WAY too far forward. Basically I was in the sprint position the whole time. And my back was killing me.

This morning Jon, Garrett, and I went on a morning ride to meet my parents at a local coffee shop and Safeway. We flipped my bars up and it felt so much more comfortable. Then we continued to ride around Bay Farm down the shoreline. It was such a nice ride and great weather! I can't wait to ride again.

Surprise Encouragement

Right now, this very instant, my brother is sharing a praise report with me about a girl who's in his Bible study group that he leads.

Let me tell you some background. When I was in college and in Miles Militis core, my prayer request was for my family especially my brother. I never knew where he stood spiritually; and I guess I just always doubted that he stopped believing once he entered college. I don't really know why I thought that. But starting his third year at UCSC, he told me that he's on core for UCSC AACF and I was shocked. I didn't even see it coming. But when I heard the news, I was really happy. Even so, we never really shared about our spiritual lives with each other or anything like that. He just knew that I go to church on Sundays, was apart of core, etc. And all I knew about him was that he was on core for AACF. Every once in a while I'd visit UCSC AACF's tumblr page because I get their Facebook messages and I'd see entries by my brother. They're all so encouraging to know that he's been reading the Word and what he's getting from it.

So today, he IMs me out of no where and starts sharing with me a praise report about this girl who started coming to the Bible study he leads and how she didn't even know how to look up verses in the Bible. She didn't own a Bible so my brother and the other core member he leads with bought her a NIV study Bible - the super heavy, hardcover one. It's now almost the end of their school year and she shared a verse that she found on her own.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

My brother was just so amazed at how someone can go from not knowing how to read the Bible to accepting Christ. I still can't believe that he just straight up shared with me. I am in such a good mood right now. God is good.

bye bye

I hate this part right here....

(Pussycat dolls reference)

How To Put Eyedrops In from My Brohan

me: i bought eye drops
me: nd im scared to put them in my eye
me: should i lie down?
bro: lols
bro: dont matter
me: you know i cant do it
me: lol
bro: i think u should stand up
bro: and tilt head back
bro: cause then when u put it in
bro: u can put head straight
bro: and start runing around

Describe a major challenge that you have experienced that has helped prepare you in some way to be a professional provider of health care. How did you deal with that challenge?

One of the greater challenges I faced occurred outside the physical therapy setting. It happened after playing hours of basketball when my friend, Mike, began to experience muscle cramps in both his hamstrings with pain so great he started to cry. We drove separate cars to the restaurant of choice and once I parked, I got a call of despair to help him out. I quickly ran to where he was only to see him laying in the trunk of his SUV curled up screaming in pain. I calmly asked him what happened all while our friends were watching with concern. He yelled at me telling me his hamstrings locked and that he didn’t know what to do about it. I analyzed the situation quickly in my mind and directed the bystanders to help me lay Mike supine so I may passively stretch his hamstrings. As I stretched the muscle, even more pain came across Mike’s face but I knew this was the right thing to do. After stretching it, I had him lay prone so I could massage out the muscle. During the massage, Mike started to scream in pain again but this time because his quads were tightening up. I immediately thought, “Why is the quadriceps muscle group – the antagonist muscles to the hamstring – cramping up now?” I didn’t think too much into it and directed the others to help me get him prone so I could stretch out his quad. I also asked if anyone had Gatorade or water around to give to him while I treated him on the spot. I stretched and massaged the quadriceps and another shout of pain came out of Mike; this time his calves! I quickly dorsi-flexed his foot in the position he was already in. He almost kicked my face as a reflex to the pain, so I instructed him to carefully stand up and do a runner’s calf stretch against the car. Once he got on his feet, his pain decreased to a tolerable level. By that time, our names were called and we ate. After dinner I followed up on Mike’s condition and he said he felt much better.

I believe in applying what I’ve learned from my past experiences to situations outside the professional health field and not limiting it to just professional settings. I have the ability to think on my feet and respond to emergency circumstances while keeping a calm demeanor amidst a panicked crowd. I trust that my confidence and care will help the patient recover quicker on a psychological level opposed to being treated by someone who is just as anxious as they are.

When you are ready, He will grant it to you

Wedding 032010

I know this is late but I just got around to uploading and editing photos. Enjoy :)

This past weekend I went up to Norcal for my uncle's wedding. It was a small wedding and my dad was the unofficial official wedding photographer (he usually doesn't do weddings). He asked me to help him out, more with the candid/atmosphere (as he likes to call it) photography. I don't really like shooting weddings, especially if you're a guest at the event. Luckily, I was able to sit and eat the food while my dad ran around and shot. :)

• holding hands at the altar
• the bouquet
• the newlyweds
• the cake
• the girl cousins
• the boy cousins
• the cousins

New Year

Lord,

Continue to reveal Yourself to me and I pray that I can have an open and willing heart to learn and serve You.  Teach me new things everyday and I pray that my salvation will never be old or something I take lightly. Give me boldness and courage when it comes to reaching out to the ones I love.  I pray that I will be an even brighter light tht shines for You.

And above all things, LOVE ♥

Being an Adult

Being an adult is stressful; so many responsibilities. I just filled out something for my RETIREMENT PLAN! I'm only 22 years old and I'm filling something out that I will tap into when I'm 60+!  That's crazy!  Also having to deal with benefits and choosing a plan.  There are so many choices to choose from.  I'M SO THANKFUL THAT MY DAD IS AN ACCOUNTANT AND KNOWS THIS KIND OF STUFF.

Those who are going into business, I applaud you, and so do your future children. :)

The Future

I just came back from a drive around Alameda with a friend and we got to talking about our futures, more specifically significant others, marriage, and spouses.  My friend asked me, "Do you think you know your future husband now?"  That question is so mind boggling.  Maybe I do, maybe I don't.  I still have graduate school to go to.  Will I meet him there?  Do I already know him?  Where will I even go for graduate school?

As we grow older, we tend to think more into the future; so we have a plan; so we could feel more secure about our lives now.  I say, we learn how to trust in God that He will lead us to where we need to be.  No matter what happens, His plan will surely surpass any plans we have for ourselves.

Small Church v. Mega Church

So I just came back from Rockharbor Church in Costa Mesa.  And it's one of the mega-churches in the OC which branched off from Mariner's.  For some reason, on Friday, I felt compelled to go check it out.  I've been once before, a long time ago - maybe 1.5 years ago.  One of my co-workers goes there on Saturday nights and I knew of one of my patients who attends Rockharbor.  While at work on Friday, I asked my patient if he was going to go tonight and he said yes.  He gave me his number so I could meet him there.  Then I asked my co-worker if he was going to go tonight and he said yes.  My co-worker is someone who attends Rockharbor without knowing anyone. Visiting a church when you know someone is so much more comfortable than just going alone.

When I announced on Twitter an invite to see if anyone I knew wanted to go to Rockharbor's Saturday night service with me, they all raved about it.  How good the pastor is and his messages.  I was more looking forward to the crazy worship set because I know they have the funds to have great worship leaders/singers/musicians and instruments/technology.

So I get there and text my patient and my co-worker is already waiting for me.  We go in together and take a seat.  The place is HUGE and really decorated for Christmas and the winter season.  It's really pretty.  People are talking and then all of a sudden music begins to play.  No announcement or anything, just straight into worship.  The pastor cuts worship in half to give announcements and then worship continues.  Then the message - it was about how Jesus is the fulfilled prophecy that the Jews have been waiting for and how John the Baptist paved the way for the coming King.  We read out of Luke primarily.  He tied in a lot of Old Testament parallels that I never knew of.  That was awesome.  Then we had a time of reflection and prayer, then ended with worship.  Then off me and co-worker left.

It's so different than Home of Christians, East LA, the smaller church I normally attend.  (I wish we had a website so I could link it...)  People hang out before service and then whoever is leading worship announces that we're starting.  We have uninterrupted worship with announcements at the end of worship.  Then the message and then good fellowship at the end with food, sports, and studying.  (I'm referring to Sunday service when we have combined service and before the new church plant.)

Worship is more free at HOC where people jump and dance and truly sing songs to the Lord.  At Rockharbor, I didn't really feel the Spirit during their time of worship.  People were more rigid and reserved.  The message was good at Rockharbor and the pastor did really speak with a passion.  I learned a lot and it felt good to be fed with new knowledge and understanding of the Word.

What I really did not like about Rockharbor is that people just leave.  At HOC, when service ends, people catch up with others whom they haven't seen all week and I can really see the unity and family dynamic at HOC.  I felt intimidated to try to talk to others, even my co-worker.  We never really hung out outside of the workplace, so maybe next time I decide to visit Rockharbor, it'll be different.

I personally prefer the smaller church setting over the larger church setting. Although HOC may not have enough money to pay for the best equipment or the nicest location, I really see the heart behind the people who serve there.  I'm not saying that people who attend Rockharbor do not have a heart to serve in their church, maybe it's just harder to see.

Thank you God for giving me a place in your church.  A place where I can build relationships with others that I know will last a lifetime.  A place where I can grow from the pastor and a place where I can grow with my brothers and sisters.  Thank you for a group of people I can truly call "family."