Timothy - Dog Year

I Just Called to Say, "520"

07734,
A little 74...
721, 456,
Yes, I know, I'm 56,
So please 08376.
530, 3406 -
Two years ago, 535172306,
No matter how I tell myself I 8206.
To now, I've not stopped 260,
And now, I 19420.
59420, 5487...
When you are hurt, I 2037.
Though you've long begun to 8056,
I refuse to admit that 546.
On this special day, I 9089;
I'll 2099, I 8309.
657, 596,
199, 886!

Is Happiness a Choice?

Is it a choice when

• you get hit by a truck?
• you have no one you can trust?
• someone dispises you no matter how much you've loved him/her?
• people rather believe rumors and misquotes about you than asking you directly?
• your only reliable friends are too busy for you?
• you're not allowed to freely worship God?
• you're labelled selfish despite giving all you can?
• you're judged solely by your faults, not your strengths?
• a loved one departs from you for an indefinite amount of time, likely permanently?
• your sadness is jeered by those whose opinions matter to you?

Is a smiley face a choice in these situations, or just stubborn, stupid pride?  Which is worse, miring in self-pity, or putting on a mask of false bravado?

"He jests at scars that never felt a wound." - Romeo and Juliet

Destiny

Predestination: the boon and lifelong hope of those who believe that God is perfectly just and loving, and the bust and lifelong excuse of those who are not so sure.

I Can See Clear Care Now

Back in February this year, when I bought a new year's worth of extended wear soft contact lenses (yes, I've still not mustered up the courage to go through a LASIK operation, especially since I know my remaining years in front of a computer at the office will only make my eyesight worse again), my optometrist recommended a product by CIBA Vision called Clear Care, a hydrogen peroxide-based lens cleaning solution that could help lessen the dryness in my eyes.  I absolutely loved how comfortable it made my eyes feel wearing lenses cleaned by this product.  Problem was, I could not locate this product in any stores, locally or online.  I then learned from doing some further research that CIBA had temporarily suspended Clear Care production.  So begrudgingly I went back to using Renu's Multiplus saline (which made the news weeks ago when, after numerous complaints from users about eye infections, Bausch and Lomb discontinued the MoistureLoc series and went back to their old saline).  Yesterday, while shopping at Target, lo and behold, a very welcome sight: a whole row of Clear Care!

What makes this solution so special?  It's certainly not new - this type of cleaning solution has been around for at least two decades.  I can only speak from personal experience, since I'm quite ignorant when it comes to all the chemical details of these things.  Unlike the other salines, Clear Care is preservative-free.  I can wear my contacts an entire day (from early morning to late night, a rather typical weekday for me with work and church) without redness or dryness in the eyes.  It hasn't helped allow me to wear my extended wear lenses for an entire week or month, but it's certainly the best cleaner I've found for wearing and removing my lenses daily.  Today, having gone out of town for a wedding, I was able to step through all kinds of conditions that could irritate my eyes: extended time outside under a hot sun, hours inside a movie theater, and then some hours in front a computer monitor.  No dryness or redness problems still after 16 hours, despite my getting sleepy.

The only downside to Clear Care is having to wait at least 6 hours after placing your lenses into the solution before full neutralization occurs and you can wear the lenses again.  Minor issue in my opinion, as most people do that with regular, "use anytime" saline anyways every night.  In addition, it's kind of fun sometimes just to watch all the rising bubbles inside the lens holder when neutralization begins.

Speaking as a general user, I highly recommend Clear Care for soft and extended wear contact wearers.  You eyes may not have felt so "contact-less" while wearing contacts in a long time.

Alphabet Relay

Animal babies
Babies crawl
Crawl down
Down enough
Enough fighting
Fighting groundless
Groundless hope
Hope imperiled
Imperiled justice
Justice kept
Kept law
Law maneuvered
Maneuvered nicely
Nicely ordered
Ordered pizza
Pizza quality
Quality redefined
Redefined system
System test
Test user
User violation
Violation warning
Warning: xerosis
Xerosis year-round
Year-round zoo
Zoo animal

Don't Ask Songs

Below are fourteen well-known songs to help those who are feeling isolated, lonely, and rejected feel even worse.  Why would anyone want to hear these songs then?  If you must ask this question, then you have never heard these songs or have never been truly depressed or lonely.

• "Heartbreak Hotel" - Elvis Presley, 1956
  midi  lyrics
  
• "Only the Lonely" - Roy Orbison, 1960
  midi and lyrics
  
• "Another Saturday Night" - Sam Cooke, 1963
  midi  lyrics
  
• "Mr. Lonely" - Bobby Vinton, 1964
  .wav and lyrics
• "Tears of a Clown" - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, 1966
  midi  lyrics
  
• "I am a Rock" - Simon and Garfunkel, 1966
  midi  lyrics 
• "Those were the Days" - Mary Hopkin, 1968
  midi and lyrics
  
• "Long and Winding Road" - Beatles, 1970
  midi  lyrics
  
• "All out of Love" - Air Supply, 1980
  midi  lyrics
  
• "Memory" – Cats, 1981
  midi and lyrics
  
• "Some Guys Have All the Luck" - Rod Stewart, 1984
  midi and lyrics
  
• "On My Own" – Les Miserables, 1985
  midi  lyrics
  
• "Right Here Waiting" - Richard Marx, 1989
  midi and lyrics
• "My Immortal" - Evanescence, 2003
  midi  lyrics
  

炫 or 遜? A Look Back at the 80s

The two Chinese words in the title are very popular among Chinese speakers today.  These two words are antonyms.  One, 炫 (xuan4 in pinyin), means awesome, cool, cutting-edge, superior, distinctive, dazzling.  The other, 遜 (xun4), means old, obsolete, inferior, embarrassing, hillbilly, uncool.  The two words are often used to describe technologies, fashions, and individuals.

What are examples of 炫?  If you were to ask me, I would say the following - back in the 80s:

"That's easy.  It's my Members Only ski jacket and white LA Gear hi-tops.  On warmer days, I look great in my black jeans, brown loafers which I wear without socks (eat your heart out, Don Johnson), and mullet hairstyle.   Oh, my girlfriend, she's got it all, the big, beautiful curly hair, and those sexy faded-blue jean shirts and skirts.  Always the top name brands for her - Jordache, Guess, Esprit.  She also looks hot when she does aerobics, wearing the loose sweatshirt and neon-colored leg warmers (hey, Swatch yourself!).  When we go out, I like to drive her in my V-8 engine Iroc-Z28 (no plain Camaros for my girl) and go check out any movie starring the Brat Pack.  Occasionally we might even go to a concert, to see the best entertainer ever, Michael Jackson (I can almost moonwalk and breakdance as well as he), or if we're in the mood for some loudness and headbanging, the Monsters of Rock (yeah, Van Halen rocks).  I've got a nice big collection of hard rock albums on metal-quality cassettes; they sound amazing coming through the speakers on my huge ghetto blaster.  If we don't go out, there are always the cool TV shows - Knight Rider, Family Ties (which takes place right here in Columbus, Ohio!), Star Search, etc.  Ok, I admit I still watch some cartoons, but what could be cooler than He-Man or the Smurfs?  My girlfriend likes the Cabbage Patch Kids and the Care Bears, but those are just too cute for me.  In my free time I like to challenge myself with my Rubik's Cube or add to my collection of BASIC programs on my awesome 64K Commodore 64 home computer.  Someday I'd like to upgrade to that state-of-the-art 128K black-and-white Mac with the 20 Mb hard drive (no, I don't mean Gb - what's that?).   Then I'll have it made, fer-sher!  I'm so poor - psych!"

Alas, all these things and people above that once seemed so 炫 are now purely 遜.  Nobody's asking "Where's the beef?" anymore with the mad cow disease breakout.  We've a new generation of 炫 - metalllic belts for women, Louis Vuitton, reality TV, American Idol, Brad Pitt, Fantasy Leagues, Playstations, X-Boxes, MP3, IPod, wireless Web-enabled cell phones, instant messaging, surround-sound home theaters, SUVs, hybrids...But you know, before you laugh at how 遜 I was in the 80s, take a honest look back at history and you'll realize that all these 炫 things and looks we're spending megabucks and megahours on today will all very soon become quite 遜.  In fact, I can guarantee that the popular use of the words 炫 and 遜 will itself fast become 遜 (to the max).

Un-4C-able

The local church I attend, the Columbus Chinese Christian Church (CCCC), celebrated its 30th anniversary this weekend, complete with a birthday cake and group photos at the end of the special combined Sunday service.

Perhaps more than most people in the current church, I've a special attachment to CCCC.  It's basically the only church I've ever attended, except for a Taiwan church I went to with my grandmother back when I was a little kid.  In CCCC I attended years of children Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, followed by years of youth group.  Here I was baptized in 1985, only to be followed not long after by my abandoning church in general during my college and early professional years.  Since returning to church in 1998 by God's grace, I've continuously served in ministries from leading Bible study to being a church deacon to developing Web pages.

On this big church anniversary, I'm wondering why I'm still here.  The thought of the countless preachers, teachers, and friends who have moved (or even passed) away over these past decades makes me rather sad.  From founding pastor Rev. Ning, down through the rest of the pastors:  Wu, Koh, Lee, Branch, Cheung, Mak, Lok...then there were those who mentored and befriended me while I grew up: Ken, Duncan, Raymond, David, George, Tam, Sarge, Lai, Peter, Aaron, William, Brian - the list goes on...where are they now?  How are they?  What are they doing?  Do they still think about CCCC?

Go through a revolving door, or even just stare at one, for too long, and it takes a toll on your energy.  With the nonstop church ministries, not to mention certain relationships with brothers and sisters that won't be solved in the foreseeable future, I want to throw up my hands and just say, "stop, no more."  No, I'm no Job or martyr.  Many church members are far busier, more active, and have served longer than I in CCCC.  Yet I feel burned out, uninspired, and often even unmoved.

Is it wrong to have such feelings?  Some who see themselves as pious would say yes.  But I disagree.  Who should have the deepest feelings if not those who get to live life the most abundantly?  Who should experience the greatest drama and tests in life than those who most passionately compete in the race?  I'm not talking about being drama queens - all emotions should be subjected to the unwavering truth and hope from God alone.  Yet how painful the growing pains are sometimes in the church, where nobody's perfect, just loved and disciplined by He Who is.  Those who deny such pains usually see church as no more than another club or "good cause," something perhaps to add to one's resume.

Happy Birthday, CCCC.  I don't know if I'll still be around for the 35th anniversary.  Regardless, you're a core part of who I am, because through you God taught me the hard lesson that I am a relational being like everyone else, and without fellowship with other believers, I am a fish out water.

Metaphors

Analogies and metaphors work only when the audience is willing to see the similarities and ignore the differences, for when analogies and metaphors match what they represent on every point, they cease to exist on their own.

Over the Hedge

Score: 8.0 (out of 10)
Directors: Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick
Distributor: Dreamworks Animation
MPAA Rating: PG

Computer animation has come a long way, in both the photorealistic rendering and natural movements.  The film that revolutionized both areas was Shrek. I still recall being blown away by the swaying grass, swirling mud, and facial expressions when I first saw that film.  Five years later, Dreamworks has produced another masterpiece.

Over the Hedge is based on the comic strip with the same name, created by Michael Fry and T Lewis.  The characters are the same, as is the general theme of wild animal "foragers"' encounters with human suburban life.  The film includes some witty jabs at the excesses and contradictions of suburban life, including the obsession with food and the general wasteful lifestyle.  Each animal character has an appealing, distinctive personality, aided by the superbly cast voices, which helps overcome the relatively simple plot.  Despite a certain edge to the humor, it's generally clean.  The computer animation is not groundbreaking for 2006, though the predominantly green palette is still visually pleasing and easy on the eye.

Despite the happy ending, the film left me wondering what will happen to the animals' little habitat surrounded by a giant, developed subdivision.  Hmm, is that food I smell, or a sequel?  Being the suburbanite that I am, I hope it's both.