Day 31: 2014 Year of the Horse (Chinese New Year!)... & Let's Take a Break

Happy Chinese New Year!  It is the Year of the Horse!

I really don't have much to say today except that it is a new beginning of the Lunar Calendar.  There are many websites that provides information about Chinese New Years, so to rewrite it all would be a daunting task for me.

Being in the United States and not close to a city with a Chinatown, my parents have modified how to celebrate the New Year.  We have mainly the meal before New Years Day to close the year and a New Years dinner to open the year.  I have learned to clean the house before New Years day to get rid of the bad luck of the previous year and not clean on New Years day so we do not sweep the good luck away.  I think that's about it.  

And let's take a break!

When I first propose writing a blog every day, I didn't know what I was getting into.  I wrote a lot of great topics but I also wrote very short blogs saying, "I'm tired!"  And indeed, I have been struggling every night recently to find something to write about.  So, if this is allowed, I would like to take a break, maybe a week, and regroup my head.  Thank you all for being my audience!  I will be back. ;-)

Day 30: Hong Kong Humour vs. British Humour... Go!

Once in a while, I often wonder what the differences are between Hong Kong humour vs. British humour.

Hong Kong and Great Britain share about over 100 years together.  Britain established a trade harbour in Hong Kong, war happened, and the UK took over officially in 1898.  Not only goods were exchanged, culture were exchanged as well.  But not all things translate and are the same, like for example humour.

I think I had the privilege to watch a variety of different TV shows and movies growing up.  I watched a lot of American shows (since I grew up here) but my parents exposed me to Hong Kong shows as well as some British shows.  It was much later when I was in high school and college that I started watching British comedy as they were made available first on PBS and later BBC America.

Humour, to me, is a bit hard to separate in my head on the various types.  I think being exposed to mainly 3 cultures of comedy, my mind and head tends to laugh at anything, literally.  But humour can differ between each culture and plays on the current events, news, and trends in that country.

Much of British humour is sarcastic, dry and witty.  Deadpan is another word for it.  For example, someone could make a joke or say something but have no facial expression or tone changes in their speech.  The joke could be sarcastic or it could be a pun which has a "punch" to it if you get it.  Through that, you find the dry witty humour run across most genres of British comedy (situational, slapstick, absurd).

Hong Kong humour, however, is not always sarcastic, dry, nor witty. However, they have their own "witty" through their language and a humour called "mo lei tau".  Literally, it means, "have no heads or tails" and figuratively "nonsense talking" or "silly talking."  The comedy plays on their language and culture and trends.  I think maybe the best American sitcom to compare is Seinfeld.  Seinfeld is pretty much a "show about nothing".  A lot of Hong Kong's shows in some cases is a show about them talking about whatever and nothing at all.  Often times, my dad is left saying, "This show doesn't make any sense."

While they may share the same taste for tea and spices, it seems humour is very localized to their language and local cultures and trends.  However, Britain certainly has a greater influence around the world just because Great Britain has conquered a lot of countries around the world and spread English along the way.  Although Hong Kong may have borrowed a little bit of British "non-sense", I think in a lot of ways, there are no real similarities between the two.

Day 29: Snowmaggedon Part 2!

As typical of the South, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools closed today and a few businesses and companies went on a 2 hour delay over not even an inch of snow. Part of it is that there were not enough trucks and salt to go around all the roads, so it was quite patchy with ice this morning in some areas.

I had the pleasure of sleeping in but it threw my schedule off a little bit, leaving me sleepy most of today at work.  Coupled by the fact that half the office was empty/full with very little phone calls and email technical difficulties, I was about to take solace under my desk and just sleep.  That wouldn't be productive.

What I find interesting today in the news is the situation that happened in Atlanta.  It seems as though in less than 3 hours, the whole city of Atlanta went into gridlock on Tuesday during the "snowmaggedon".  One thing that really amazes me is that the city of Atlanta had had this problem before several years ago.  The mayor said that they have employed a lot more trucks and vehicles to plow and salt the roads.  Yet, still, Atlanta went into a state of chaos.  This is what happened:

1. Almost 12pm on Tuesday, it started snowing in Atlanta.  Previously, weather forecasted that the system will move south, then east of the city, missing the main arteries.  However, by very early Tuesday morning, the forecast changed showing that the weather pattern has shifted and moved the snow NORTH of the city.  In any case, Atlanta is going to see snow IN THE CITY.
2. About, oh, 3pm, when school was about to let out, businesses and government decided to leave work early.  So, everybody in all 5 or 6 counties surrounding Atlanta left work, school, and everywhere else.  This caused the gridlock.
3. On top of that, because the city was working on a very earlier forecast of the weather, they didn't expect to see this much snow, thus didn't respond in time or appropriately (salting roads, etc) before everybody was leaving work and school.  
4. Thus, all of hell broke lose and froze over, vehicles were stuck and stranded on the roads, kids had to spend the nights in schools, people had to find shelter elsewhere at retails and strangers' homes, and the National Guard had to go out and rescue the kids still on school buses out in the middle of these icy roads.

What amazes me is that CNN and The Weather Channel are both located in Atlanta.  Two very professional news teams.  I mean, I depend on The Weather Channel for my daily forecast and temperature and most of of the time, the Weather Channel is pretty accurate.  Why it failed Atlanta is beyond me.

GA-DOT.  If Georgia is anything like North Carolina, it must be very limited on the budget for proper snow handling.  Seriously.  We see snow once every 6-12 years.  It's not like we see 6 feet of snow every year.  it does help (a little) that GA did send people up to the north to study how people handle the snow.  But how it really works in the South might be different.  The snow part is not really innate in our brains.  So, it's not like we say, "Hey, even though the weather is a little wonky, let's go ahead and salt everything just in case."  Inexperience has played a factor in the downfall of this event.

I remember in the winter 2005 (January), something similar happened in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill.  I was working at a bakery at the time, so my morning commute was quite early.  I remember the weather being really cold and remembered that it started snowing that morning.  I didn't think anything of it, as sometimes these snow flurries will just come and go.  As the day progresses, the snow turned into freezing rain/ice/hail/sleet, and just about anything that is ice.  2 pm came around, which is the end of my shift anyways, and I left work.  About this time, I had heard that all of Wake County, Durham County and Orange County schools was let out early.  With that, parents who work in the Research Triangle Park, Downtown Raleigh (pretty much, the government of North Carolina), NC State, UNC, and Duke, the hospitals, etc, went out to pick up their kids.  All 3 counties gridlock.  At least with the Triangle area, it is not nearly as many people as Atlanta, so kids were stranded only 8 hours in buses.

The #1 lesson learned about snow in the South.  Please be forgiving.  Due to our inexperience, we will never get it right as this is not a yearly occurrence for us.  Just live with it.  And if the DOT or anybody is out there doing their best to keep us safe (attempted salting of the roads, plowing, etc), please keep the hell out of the way and please pray for those who are out there trying to do their best.  (Don't be like this lady.)  It's freezing.  It's dangerous.  They have thoughts and feelings and families too.

The #2 lesson learned.  If snow is brewing and starts from the South, just shut everything down and not go to school and work.  Forget it.  Stay home.

The #3 lesson: If you can, and if there are incidents where there are major issues with roads and travelers are stuck, lend a helping hand.

Day 28: Snowmaggedon!

Today marks the day of a fun event.

It snowed in Charlotte!  It was lovely to watch.  I wasn't home but taking breaks from work, I went to the some of the windows at work and watch it fall.

If you have lived in the South before, snow is not a usual event that happens every year.  If I could explain the weather patterns in the South... I would.  My best explanation is that the South is a meeting point between two jet streams.  The jet stream in the north is a polar jet stream and the jet stream is a tropical stream (sometimes we say it's the Gulf Stream).

Most of the time, these streams do not intersect and usually push one way or the other.  During the winter months, although mild to cold, the polar jet stream will swoop over the South.  During winters with warm to mild climates, the Gulf Stream will push through with warmer wet air and may cause a wetter winter than most.

In a rare event, usually once every 9 to 12 years (note, almost the same times as the solar flares), the two jet streams "crash" into each other so that a snow event may occur in the South.  If the jet stream from the Gulf collides with the polar jet stream, voila.  Snow!  In other words, if it is snowing in Atlanta, it's will snow in Charlotte!  And it has to be below freezing for the snow to stick on the ground.

However, if the Gulf Stream is weak and stays in the Gulf, and polar jet stream and weather dumps snow in the Appalachian Mountains (moisture from the north), it will not snow in Charlotte.

Anyways, enough of the science.

Usually, when snow occurs, all hell freeze over.  Literally.  I mean, you are talking about either school delays or school being let out early.  Some companies may ask the employees to leave early.  Since snow doesn't occur much here, the NC DOT don't always employ enough trucks and equipment for preparation of the snow.  While main roads will be clear sometimes (note: sometimes), secondary roads may remain snowy and icy.  In many cases I've been here and there's snow/ice, there are grid locks and many accidents all around.  But usually after one day, the snow melts and everything goes back to normal.  For me, that's about enough snow for me.  ;-)

Day 27: Top Gear

I don't always know what I am going to write about every night.

But tonight, while watching the BBC show "Top Gear", I thought, "I'll write about Top Gear!"

I'm embarrassed to say that even though I majored in Mechanical Engineer, I don't know much about cars.  I know basically how the engine works, and what sounds cars make and should make and shouldn't make, and I pretty much know that if anything in my gauges sounds an alarm light, I take the car to the mechanics.

Pitiful, isn't it?

Anyways, back to Top Gear.  I think the only thing my Mechanical Engineering major helps me with is that at least I understand part of what's going on during the show.

There are two formats for the show.  Most of the show talks about racing cars and the specs of each cars.  Usually, they are comparing 2 or 3 cars or trucks or SUV's, what their main function is (racing, hauling stuff, family taxi), and sometimes a race occurs on a track.  Sometimes, the show also invites a celebrity who could be British, European and even American.  Said celebrity will then also race against maybe a professional or one of the three host.  Or, maybe they do stupid things to the car, like "car rugby" or the vehicles get rigged up for something (like limousines racing around London and trying to clear double round-abouts).

But my favorite episodes usually deals with the three hosts (Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond) racing in some country.  I get to see them race cars, each with a car, of the same built (like a Volvo, Volkswagen, and BMW) but also with that, I get to see the countries they are in.

The first show had the three racing across Africa.  Seeing them put cars on a raft to go across a river was quite amusing.  It's almost like watching MacGyver rig up a boat out of toothpicks.  They finally found their way to the source of the Nile River, which was pretty cool.

The second show I'm watching right (at 10:21pm Monday) is showing the three race across Boliva in their 4-wheel drive vehicles.  I think the show convinced me to get a Range Rover if I'm ever living out in the rugged woods.  It is very entertaining how they solve problems getting around natural obstacles, up and through the mountains on the dangerous Yungas Road, and watching a bunch of Brits driving on the right side of the road (not the left side).  Do they get confused?  Maybe not, considering they have to go everywhere around the world.

What I enjoy most is their experience traveling around the world.  I always want to travel around the world...

Day 26: Weekend Update

Well, the weekend is over.  And tomorrow is another day back at work.  I think this past weekend was pretty good.  Nothing too dramatic happened.

If you ask what is the best part about this past weekend is probably sleep.  I am typically a night owl, so going to sleep at night is kind of rough.  But once I'm asleep, I can sleep about 6 hours straight until I get up naturally or the alarm clock wakes me up.  And I can still function after 6 hours or so.  If there is no alarm clock, I tend to sleep about 7.5 hours before I wake up.

Another epic thing is probably food.  Saturday afternoon, my dad and I went to Grand Asia and I had hot milk tea.  That might sound a little gross but it's actually not bad.  It's really a British thing but the Hong Kong version is very good.

Sunday afternoon, my dad and I went to Sangam Indian Restaurant.  The buffet was great.  I always like Indian food, so this find was right up my alley.  I can't believe though that after living in the North Charlotte area for 9 years now, I haven't been to this place.  But I've been meaning to go; I pass by this area so many times.

Watching a James Bond movie with my dad was pretty exciting too.  I haven't taken the time to find the "Bondathons" and Bond specials on TV.  Buying the box set for my dad proves to be a great spend because I get to watch them too.  I will try to watch most of them (my dad has more time to watch them than I do), but maybe I can give a quick analysis of who I think makes the best Bond.  

Day 25: Non-Essentials (Part 2)

Earlier last week, I started a blog called "Non-Essentials" not realizing that there is so many topics to discuss.  I think this will be my last one for this little series but I'm sure there are way more other topics to discuss.

Communion

This hasn't been a big thing to argue but in early days amongst the earlier followers, it was a big thing.

Carnivores?

Vampires?

Really... Some people thought the early believers actually ate the body of Christ and drank the body of Christ.  I'm sure even today, there might be a few Christian sects that practices this (ewww).  Okay, maybe I'm making that up.

However, there might be a few denominations that require that you need to consume a first communion before the initiation to being a believer or being a church member.  As I said in an earlier blog, only faith alone can guarantee your salvation.

I have also experienced different types of communion.  Most of the time, it is in a church service setting, whether it's passing the communion things around or going up to the front for communion.  There is only one particular church that we did communion in small groups, just as the early Christians did in their small groups and house church.

Out of our faith, the Bible does say we must take the bread and take the wine in memory of Christ.

Membership/Confirmation

There are only a few churches that I know that ties membership into your beliefs.  They say you have to join "this church" because they are the only true church of God.

And that to be a member, you have to baptize into their church.

And before that, you have to pray in faith that Jesus Christ is your salvation, with their members.

You see how complicated it gets?  My personal beliefs is that once you have faith that Christ is your savior, you are automatically in a worldwide network of believers.  Most importantly, you are a citizen of heaven.  You are not your own.

The Bible does show that once a believer, you do have the responsibility to be in unity with the Body of Christ.  Namely, to join a church.  It shouldn't be forced upon you, as I have described before.  You should have your freedom to choose how you should worship God with other believers.

Doctrine

In older times, not many people can read, much less read the Bible.  The Bible was in old languages like Greek and Aramaic and only the educated can read them.  In the years coming from the ascension of Christ, the Word of God spread verbally and through the small groups.  However, as this was first done orally, there were many confusions on what it really means to be a Christian.  From the confusion, there came the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed.  Both are really great summaries of the beliefs of being a believer.

However, as the church continues to grow, it also felt the pains of growing.  Schisms happened (Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, then Roman Catholics and the Protestants) and denominations formed and it was once essential that each church groups have their own doctrines.

As we move forward into this century, how important is it to have church doctrine?  Honestly, some of it is quite baloney.  I have to say, I can't think of any off the top of my head, but from other friends' account of different denominations, doctrines can really muddle the true meaning of the Bible.

So, in the last 50-100 years even, another movement of charasmatic and non-denominational churches came, to practice the truth of the Bible.  Most people now can read the Bible, so there is no excuse if you have a question.

But back to the original question: how does this play into our salvation?  Maybe not much.  Doctrine can confuse people in thinking this is really what I am supposed to believe as a Christian.  But simply, our salvation is our faith in Christ.  Doctrines can help us grow in faith but in the beginning, not essential as a part of salvation.

I do respect some doctrine.  In the Methodist Church, there are practices I still miss doing since I am not a part of the Methodist Church at this time.  But sometimes, practices and doctrines are just in the way if someone is trying to figure out salvation.

Day 24: Music Can Change Your Life

As a little girl, I always liked music.  You can tell from this picture.  (Sorry, too lazy to boot up the scanner! There is always technical difficulties in scanning pictures around here...)

When I was almost 6 years old, my mom wanted me to take piano lessons.  She asked if I would like to take piano lessons and I said yes.  So for 10 years and maybe 3 piano teachers, I took piano lessons.

If you asked me if I enjoy it, of course, there were many times I question myself.  But I was 6 years old, so what do I know?

But taking piano lessons has taught me these things:

• Being patient.  Some people are born patient and others, not so much.  I think I was in the middle.  My parents knew I was a very spunky kid but if I set my mind on something I truly enjoy, I can spend hours and hours doing it.  Piano (or music) was one of them.  When I didn't get it, I played until I get it.  So, the other half of learning music was teaching that half to be patient with myself.  It propelled me into learning in school later, when I had a lot of calculus and science to figure out.  I did the homework until I get it.
• Creativity.  Many people may not always see the point in learning art or music.  But it releases another side of the brain that helps you think openly and freely.  It definitely helps you dream beyond what you can do and helps you relax by playing music.
• In learning music, you learn patterns.  Reading notes on a staff, you have to follow the road signs in the music to know when you need to go back to verse 2, continue onto a chorus, or play it out through the coda, or when to speed up or slow down, when to get louder or softer.  Many of my computer friends play an instrument: piano, guitar, violin, banjo.  If you think about it, computer programming follows a patter.  Music definitely follows patterns.  Math follows patterns.  Working on a spreadsheet, yes, you need to know how the formulas work and follow the path it references.
• Helps with memory, or at least the steps in getting the information.  Learning music by memory is not hard.  From the bullet above, you learn patterns.  Once you get the pattern, you can learn the music by memory.  And with that, this carries over to your life and school and jobs. I think learning where things are on the server (or anything in your life), and a general pattern of getting there, keeps you from actually remembering things.  And believe me on this one, compartmentalization is a wonderful thing.

Especially, the one thing I enjoy in playing music is the lives being touched.  I remember once that someone told me, "Every time Josephine plays the piano, she plays with emotion."

I remember when I started going to church, I listened to the hymns and the words in the hymns.  I paid attention to the harmonies as well as the melodies.  I was especially touched by the emotions of the hymns and choir music.  Many people now may not have heard hymn music.  It's ashame, really.  People's hearts need to be touched by classical and choir music.

It is part of my story growing up.  I played the piano.  And later the flute.  Patience and creativity taught me how to play the guitar.   

Music can change your life.

Day 23: The Art of Being Unmarried & Something about Marriage

I have written about this some time ago.  (If you go through my archive, it is a series back in June 2013.  There are 5 entries.)

I try not to obsess about it.  Rather, now that I am older and wiser and more secure in who I am, I learned the art of being "unmarried".

Let's just joke about it.

Some other unmarried people might asked, "Really, what the freak is wrong with me?"  I once asked that question before.  Am I just too short, chubby, Asian, dumb, too smart?

But the problem with asking "What's wrong with me?" is that it's a question of being toooooo self-absorbed in yourself.  You really take yourself too seriously, analyzing the wrongs in your life and never fully appreciate everything else you are good at or enjoy.  Most importantly, you start to question God's intention in your life and focus too heavily on the earthly eros relationship instead of your love relationship with God.

A few years ago, that clicked in my head.  I focused too much on myself.  I mean, I still loved God but God had to hit me with a frying pan.  If I didn't love God, even a little bit, that wouldn't have happened.

So, I thought... I'm nice, cute, educated, make a decent amount of money, I own a house, I have a car, I exercise regularly, I enjoy being outdoors.  I hate shopping sometimes, I despise soap operas and chick-flicks.  I rather sit at a bar, pub, or tavern, drink a beer and eat wings while watching a sporting event (preferably American football but I can settle for associate football).  I go to an awesome church, secure in my faith, and do a lot of charitable work around Charlotte.  So, there is nothing wrong with me.  I just need to get my perspective straight, and be thankful for the things God has given me and the continuing discovery of the things that I never thought I would enjoy.

And I started to think, something is wrong with society, which is a fallen world.  So much is stressed on the "singles" finding that special someone.  When all you need is God.  My focus totally shifted but it took some time to get to the point I am now.

So, switching from "me" to "Him", I started to recently joke about it to a degree.  Maybe not get too cocky or arrogant about it.  I'm sure I'll find some humorous ways to joke about myself.  :)

Something about Marriage

However, don't get me wrong.  What do I think about marriage overall?

When I was growing in my faith as a young Christian, I was in a great church that focused on good and holy relationships with friends.  I learned a lot about marriage through observation of Christian couples in the church.  There were a few that had their ups and downs and had to go through counseling but overall, it set a precedent and foundation on what I need to strive for. I truly love and respected these couples, what they had gone through, and what they can share to young college Christians.  And I will say this:

Marriage is a covenant.  

A promise to uphold God's love in the marriage.  A representation between our relationship between us and Christ.  Just as it is between woman and man.  (Ephesians 5:32 - This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.)

I find some people who enter into marriage (whether you are a believer or not) do not really understand that once you are married, you represent something far greater than your earthly relationship to your spouse.  (And to the charismatic sense, you also form soul-ties, but maybe a later thing to discuss.)  It's a very interesting thing amongst humans, really.  We are probably the only beings on earth that go through all the ceremony to get married, where most animals just do what they instinctively need to do to reproduce and survive.  Even to the very atheist, it's also very psychological event.  Relationships are not always easy and people can easily hurt people with their human, selfish ways.

Day 22: Daily Life

Not my cubicle.  I will go nuts if this was my desk!

Much of my daily life is mostly at work.  It can be a very exciting place since I'm a dork and all.
But there are times where it is not so exciting.

I start my day around 6:15-6:30, where I do this mad scramble of getting ready (pee, brush teeth, stretch my back, make coffee, put on contacts, get changed, pack my lunch, pour me a cup of coffee, devotion).  I usually barely leave by 7:50 am, although work is not that extremely far far away.

I get to work usually 15 minutes later, dodging slow cars, buses, people, bikes, and busting through lights.  Actually I do follow the road sides and common sense when driving.

Then 9 happy hours.  Sometimes there is a meeting stuck in there somewhere.  Lunch is usually an hour in this mix.  sometimes I go for a walk or a jog during lunch break.  But usually, it's sitting on my rear, doing a lot of calculations on spreadsheets all day long.

What makes my job exciting are the people.  Some people are just interesting at work.  It seems that there are always the same characters in each firm, just different names..

After work can be fun.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are German language classes.  Wie gehts?  Other nights, I go to the gym or go straight home.  There is one night that I go to a church small group or some other church/Christian event.

Then I head home after 9 hours of fun.  Very exciting....

Yeah...

...I would type more tonight but I am dead tired.

Day 21: Brokeness

I went to the first "ICU Talk" (In Christ Unity).  It's modeled after TED Talks but speakers from all walks of life come to share their faith, testimony and thoughts.  The general theme tonight was "Brokenness".  

There are quite a few Bible verses that talks about this but the one verse I found is in Isaiah 61:1...

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted   
to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners...

We are all broken, no matter what our journey is.  Many of us may have illnesses, others are literally financially broke.  Even though I may seem to have it all together, I still feel rejected by men.  (And I work in engineering... full of men!)  Others are literally starving.  Others are starving themselves with anorexia or causing themselves pain with self-inflicted cuts.  Many men I have met are not confident with who they are, their career, finance, education level.  Many women have self-esteem issues.  There are many women who cannot have children naturally.  There are other women who are having abortions right now.  

How can life be fair?  Why has God given us this world?

Since the fall of man, the book of Romans have explained that we are born to a world of sin.  The world was and is broken since then.  And we are broken too.  But in the brokenness and pain, there is healing.  (It reminds me of the song by Lightouse called Broken.)  Only Jesus can heal those who are broken and give purpose to those who seeks him.  Everybody's story is different.  But no one's problem is greater than the other.  Because at the end of the day, we are all broken.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  ~Matthew 11:28-30~

It's like this analogy I once heard from my pastor.  We are all broken people, like broken tiles.  But once we come together, we make a beautiful mosaic.

Day 20: My British Obsession

Some of you wonder by now, "What's with Great Britain, Josey?"  (I write quite a few things about Britain.)  I can't really explain it, to be honest with you.  When I was in 3rd grade, I wrote a report about Hong Kong.  That's when I learned about the Brits.  I was born in Hong Kong when Hong Kong was still part of the UK as a British Overseas Colony.  So you can say, I was a British citizen for 3 months.  Technically, I don't know if I ever was a British citizen.  I could very well be.

The little island that calls itself Great Britain, may just be a dot on the map (okay, maybe a big dot) but out of this island comes a great number of explorers and a legion of people to take over land to form an empire.  The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire, it was once said.

We see it when they had the original 13 colonies in the Americas before the American Revolutionary War.

They have taken over countries in Africa...

...and they have taken over India...

...and they have taken over Hong Kong.

Most of these countries, including the American states, are not ruled by Great Britain anymore.  But in each countries/cities, there is still a touch of Britain left.  Even in America, there might not be much left except for the English language and quite a few ex-pats.

In growing up, my parents listened to the Beatles and most British music from the 1960's.  They were teens in the 1960's in Hong Kong, and British culture is very present in Hong Kong.  Much of this carried over to the 1980's when I was a little girl.  Music was probably the largest part of my upbringing because I was always dancing and singing to music.

My dad's vinyl. Sweet. No, It's not for sale.

Hm, what's in here?

Tea, chocolate and beer.  I think these can go here...

I don't have to write about tea.  Not a 3rd time at least.

Chocolate.  Later on, I grew to love Cadbury chocolate, especially in college.  I had a hallmate from England whose mom would sent over chocolate in a care package.  It was the best chocolate (and tea) I've had.  Since then, I realize why I don't like American chocolate.  American chocolate has a lot of fillers.  European chocolate has no fillers.  I don't understand, America.  Why?

Beer and pubs.  I'm not sure how I came to like pubs.  There are actually a few British style pubs in Charlotte.  One particular one I have frequented is Sir Edmond Halley's in the Park Road Shopping Center.  The beer is pretty good (and hoppy) and the food is pretty typical of Great Britain (like fish & chips, shepherd's pie, bangers & mash).  A close to the English pub is the Flying Saucer, an American tavern.  This actually might be the beginning.  The Flying Saucer in Raleigh is where I first hung out with friends in an actual bar.  There are no fish & chips or bangers & mash, but it's a nice cozy place to hang out with friends and have a beer or two, maybe watch some sporting event as well.

In the past 10 years or so, cable network has brought us BBC America.  Before then, those in America who miss or love British shows have to catch Mr. Bean, Keeping up Appearances, and Are you Being Served? on the local PBS stations.  There were also quite a number of other British shows but these are the ones I remember watching.  I honestly fell in love with Doctor Who (David Tennant, Matthew Smith, and now Peter Capaldi).  I say that I am a big sci-fi fan, and Doctor Who really excites me with sci-fi geekiness and dorkyness all around.  Top Gear is not bad.  I'm not into too much cars and I'm a mechanical engineer.  How does that work?

Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  It's one of those that you either love or hate.  It's British humor that is totally ridiculous.  I guess I know why some people might hate it.  But I like it.  (And I also like most British comedy.  It makes more sense than American comedy.)  Speaking of movies, I remember my dad watching James Bond.  I'm not a big fan of spy movies but James Bond is pretty good.  I always want to be a ninja though.  Then from books, there were Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.  The most recent one I have watched is Slumdog Millionaire.  I really like how the Brits can make a movie showing the Indian culture because of their history with India.  Bend it like Beckham (very mediocre but a nice start for Keira Knightley and nice cameo from David Beckham).  

England also produced a lot of great books.  I once took a course in Victorian British Literature in college.  What a mistake.  I can't read 12 books in a semester.  But I do recall reading Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre.  The last 2 books, I've already read before.   I think Great Expectations is somewhere in there too which is another great book.  In more recent publishing, I have read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and currently reading Mere Christianity.  Brave New World is also a great book (didn't know Aldous Huxley was a British writer until just now).  There might be more I am missing...

I'm mildly interested in the Royal Family.

I'm sure I can go on but these are the things off the top of my head that I like about Britain.  Maybe one of these days, I'll go to England.  :)

Day 19: Epic Weekend

Where did today go?

Well, in summary, this was my weekend:

• Watched the movie Jack Ryan
• Went on a 5 mile hike
• Watched SpongeBob SquarePants
• Attended a service at Mosaic Church Charlotte (Spiritually Strong)
• Went to eat lunch with Dad
• Watched some football

Well, I guess it doesn't sound that exciting, but at least I had an active weekend.  I hope by tomorrow, I can finish Non-Essentials and edit the previous Non-Essentials blog as I have left off a lot of things.

Good night, y'all!

Day 18: Spiritual Revelation... or Maybe Not

Looking to get away from the world for a few hours, I decided to go for a hike.  (Although, it's not quite like the beach...)  I wasn't sure how long it will take me and how the trail was laid-out.  It was a very lovely hike.  The sun was shining, the wind wasn't blowing so badly, and I made frequent stops to eat some trail mix and drink some water.

In my thoughts and prayers today, I prayed for my own future.  Specifically, my current state of being single.  I realize a lot of my friends are married, some with a kid or two.  Many have their own lives and their own peer groups which involved other families.  I suddenly felt alone, which I haven't really felt in a while.  I know that in God and in Church, I am never alone.  I do have some friends who are still single or "single again" (divorced/widowed).  But there is that something inside me that says, I haven't truly connect with a few good friends in the Charlotte area.

You, who are my friends, might say, "We are always with you.  Why do you say this?  What is wrong with our small groups, church?"  As a purple person and as a few personality surveys suggest, I'm a deep spiritual intelligent thinker who do not always let everybody into my thoughts.  Truly.  As bubbly, out-going of a person that I am, there is yet a deeper side of me that I only let a few in.  Between me and God, I'm okay with that too.

So, let's go back to the single thing.  It's probably my own damn fault.  Not that I intentionally push people away.  I do find a very few people interesting to talk to.  But overall, and to be honestly truthful, I find some people boring to talk to.  I try to be friendly.  Really I do.  Most people know that, I hope.

As I meandered through the woods this afternoon, I realize I want to and need to break out a little bit.  I never took the time to discover... me.  Most of the time I rely on my friends to produce the fun but as I mentioned before, most of them are married too.  Most of the time I volunteer for charity groups and just doing.  However, there were and are so many other things I enjoy doing.

I realize one thing I got out of is outdoor activities.  Yes, I am a closet tree hugger (sort of), which started probably in college when I was working at the North Carolina Solar Center.  The place was a solar house, built to have geothermal heating system, a sunroom to heat the house during the winter, solar panel heating system to heat the water for showering, etc, and solar cells to capture the sun's energy.  It was pretty groovy.  Another thing I did was work at coffee houses.  I think having fair trade coffee is near and dear to my heart, yet, somewhat expensive.  And I do like saving the planet, sometimes.  I have a water bottle that I can refill, I recycle wherever I can, and I try not to print as much at work.

So, outdoor activities, like the hike I just did earlier today.  One thing I did as a teen at a summer camp was white water rafting and canoeing.  Anything on a boat or water is very enjoyable to me.  And camping.  I love camping but can't seem to find friends to go camping.  I don't know if this counts too but I have been getting used to and like jogging.  Maybe someday, I'll run a marathon.  I'm still stuck on 5K's.

Recently, I signed up for a Charlotte group called Charlotte Outdoor Adventures (Facebook page here).  It used to be a more active group 9 years ago (yes, I joined once before 9 years ago) but it seems dead right now.  I also signed up for an outdoor group via Meet Up, so I hope this proves to be more active.

There. I'm starting to do something about this.  And I hope that this will ultimately lead to a new era in my life in finding new adventures.

Day 17: Non-Essentials

So, what are non-essentials?  Pretty much any topic that may seem to be relevant in the argument of Christianity but in actuality, may not be all that important towards the conversation of Salvation.  I'm going to hit a few here in this blog and where I personally stand on some of the hottest issues.

Gays and Lesbians

This title in itself hits on so many many levels.  Many believe by being gay or lesbian, that person is automatically going to hell.

But to cut to the chase, here is a thought: people are made in the image of God.  (Genesis 1:27)  Many may ask, "How can a gay person be made in the image of God if he/she is practicing being gay?"  Or the other side of things, "God must have made gays too and must be in favor of gays."

To a few who have actually read a good majority of the Bible (and who truly believe the Bible is God-inspired and relevant even to today's society), there are quite a few verses, both in Old Testament and New Testament that tell us about the stories and harm of having homosexual relationships:

• Genesis 19:5
• Judges 19:22 
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
• Leviticus 18:21-22
• Leviticus 20:13
• Romans 1:26-27
• 1 Timothy 1:8-10

So, what shall we do?  My personal belief is that God doesn't like the BEHAVIOR of gays/lesbians.  (It is a lot different than not liking them as a whole.)  He loves everybody and desire for all to change.  He tells us to love them.  No matter how we think of gays and lesbians, we love them regardless of their position of their sexuality.  Gays/Lesbians are people too.  They go through crap just like you and me.  I may not agree on their behavior but I love them regardless.  Invite them to church.  If they proclaim they are Christians, invite them to also do ministry (but in wisdom, allow them to do what is appropriate).

Because by love, one of two things will happen:

1. He/she will eventually come to Christ and learn of their habits and how it is against the original design of man and woman.  This person will also eventually turn to being heterosexual.  If you don't think so, I ask that you read the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.  One great story of a drag queen who turned to Christ.
2. He/she will eventually come to Christ, learn of their habits and although may still have gay tendencies, do not partake in any homosexual behavior.  

Marriage and Equality

So, what about equality?  What about having healthcare benefits or even simply using a coupon for gay couples at a restaurant?

I'm actually quite disturbed by this, the fact that government and insurance would think about giving equality to a gay married couple the same as they would give to a straight couple.  By saying, "I will give insurance to both parties."  You are saying and encouraging that gay marriages are okay.  Which leads up to the first topic I have discussed.

Marriage is the covenant between man and woman, just as God created it to be.  (Genesis 1 & 2)  God created man first, Adam and then created woman, Eve, so that Adam will not be alone.  That is the first marriage.  God married them by the creation of them and them being together.  In that, not only do you receive the benefits through a "straight" marriage that you have in your respective countries, whether it is government benefits or work benefits, you receive the spiritual benefits of God and from God.  In uniting physically with someone, one experience another dimensions of spirituality.  I don't want to make it sound that weird; only in the covenant of a Biblical marriage that there is a whole other level a couple experiences.  [And okay, I'm not married but I believe it from my married friends.]

There are a few verses in the New Testament that tell us that a man should be united with his wife (Ephesians 5:31) and even practices of leaders if they are to go into leadership as a male, indirectly saying if they are married, they should be married to a woman.

Baptism

Many people have differing opinions about this.  A few may have grown up with the tradition that baptism is "sprinkling" water on the head.  A few may have grown up with the tradition that baptism is the pouring of water over the head.

There are other extremes where baptism has to be a part of your salvation.  What?  Yes, in order to be part of a few churches, these churches requires you to be saved and be baptized by them.

Now wait... If you have read my earlier blogs about Salvation, faith alone saves you.  Baptism does not guarantee your salvation.  Only your belief and faith alone.

So, my quick and simple opinion: If you are truly a believer of Christ, get yourself dunked.  The early Christians do the dunk.  It was described to me in this way:

• When you are a sinner, Christ died for you.  
• Once you past through the waters (the immersion), your sins are washed away.  Even Christ set the example when he was baptized by John the Baptist.
• After the immersion, you come out of the water a new creation.  You are a believer in Christ.

Money

Many of you have heard of Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett.  These are said to be the gurus of money management by the Word of God.

As much as I respect their ideal philosophy, and many people really do need to dig themselves out of debt, their practices are only good for the 10-15% of the world.

What?

But they are good!

Yes, I agree.  If you are of the small population of the world that makes more than over 50% of the world's wealth, you may need some words of wisdom to manage your money.  But the other 50% or so?  They can barely earn enough to make ends meet.  Most people may not have enough saved for mortgages.  Or others believe that the earth is their house.  Who needs a mortgage.

***
In summary of all of this, why do we need to talk about these things if Salvation is all we need to talk about?

To be continued... (Really, there are a lot of talk about!  Remind me to bring up pro-life and pro-choice, and something else... if I can remember that something else.)

Day 16: A Funny, Witty, Weird Mind

I don't proclaim I have a funny, witty mind.  English is my second language, so words sometimes escape my head and the Chinese become cluttered in my brain.

But I do love to talk to a witty person.  Nothing makes me laugh like the wit and the brains of an intelligent friend.  Somehow, humor and wit can be a strange, weird thing.  People look at us funny, like we are from some alien planet.

Clicking with someone is important to me.  I don't readily click with many people.  I might appear slow or just very observant.  Which I am.  For some folks, it takes time to learn who they are.  But a witty person, I can quickly latch on and begin to be just as "punny".

Puns makes the English language very enjoyable to learn.  I don't know where I got the love of puns and metaphors.  It might have been a carry over from puns in Chinese.  My dad can be the punniest person, in Chinese.

Lately, I have found a few great pun jokes.

• The past, the present and the future walked into a bar.  It got pretty tense.
• I once tried to make a belt out of watches.  But then I realize it was a waste (waist) of time.
• I was struggling with playing baseball.  Then it hit me...
• I haven't thrown a boomerang in a while.  Then it call came back to me.

 Oh dear, I'm nuts.  :)

Day 15: Salvation - Advance

I explain about Salvation on one of my last blogs as simply accepting by faith Jesus.

But why is it so complicated?  After Jesus's death and Resurrection, many groups form underground churches and spread.  Each church group will have their own practices which eventually resulted in arguments on what the Bible truly means for salvation.  Over time, there are splits in the groups into sectors and denominations and with that, there are many doctrines on the points of Salvation.

In this blog, I may just touch on a few topics so not to confuse you guys.  It's still a lot to research and chew on, but here's a few that I have encountered over many years before and after becoming a Christian.

Repent and You Shall Be Saved.  Your Sins will be Forgiven.

Growing up I have heard this many times.  It particularly comes from the Southern Baptist.

"Repent and you shall be saved.  Your sins will be forgiven."

Stop right there.  The flaw in that is assuming that you know something about the Bible.  But what if you were/are agnostic and knew nothing of the Bible? You believe there is a higher being out there.  This "being" has given you many things but also a conscience and the ability to determine good and evil.

But what if good and evil was relative?  (I have to warn you, I start reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, so I am taking a bit from his first part of the book...)  Really, we all know that stealing a bank, or killing the store clerk is completely wrong, correct?  But what about making a white lie to protect the innocent?  What is the killing of the store clerk, you are actually killing the very person who is stealing the bank?  Well, then, you may say, "Let's not go steal the bank!"

I know this is a crazy example but even stupider examples or even serious examples can be made to note that good and evil are relative.

So, how can someone repent if he or she thinks they are not doing anything wrong?  I have ran across a few people in this camp.  They have no need for God.  They are already good.  Or they are so consume in their crimes, they don't need God either.

Good news.  Even when we were sinners, GOD ALREADY FORGAVE YOU!  (Romans 5:7-8)  Christ died for us when we were doing bad things.  I think we do need the conscience to say, "I am a bad person." But instead of repent, people need to receive the free gift of love, grace, forgiveness and of course, salvation.

Bridge Diagram

After becoming a Christian, the church I attended had this diagram as an aid to bring people to Christ.  It seems pretty simple enough.  Man stood on one side, sinful, upon judgment, and death can become them. But if you cross over the bridge of Christ and to God, God will save you.

But it let's go back to the first thing I explained in this blog.  If you are the extreme agnostic, you are automatically a good person.  Who needs God?

From this diagram, it is saying that in Romans 3, "For all have sin and fall short of the glory of God."  Can you convince someone that he/she has fallen short?  A good agnostic person will not be convinced.  Even if you do your "Jedi" mind-tricks to try to make him/her think that, it may not even work.  

Sometimes, it does take simply faith to believe.  Even if you don't feel you are a sinner.  What?  I mean, really, all the arguing around may result in further separation from God.  (Actually, nothing can separate us from the love of God, but that's a different topic.)  Sometimes, God reveals himself to someone after the acceptance of God by faith to really know how much they have gone under in Sin.  

At least for me, it was the sense that I have harmed someone in my own decisions and judgment in life. Especially, my own misconceptions that God will not love me if I don't turn to him.  Which is not true.

Furthermore, this sometimes suggest and already place judgment on oneself.  The person who is listening to all of this and seeing all of this will get offended.  "You are calling me a bad person?  But I am always good!"  Exactly the point.  Christians got the bad rap of being "judgmental" especially in this society.  And that is not what we all want, to be labeled judgmental and haters.

Faith and Good Deeds

I think many Christian groups fall into this trap and going back to old age religion.

"I must do something to earn the favor of Christ."

Sometimes the Book of James, chapter 2, can really confused others on what they need to do to have salvation.  It simply says, "What is faith without deed?"  If this was in the old writings of that day, I wonder what it really says.

In reading other parts of Scripture particularly Ephesians 2:8, it talks more of having faith alone than actually doing work to earn His Salvation.  What James is really talking about is that out of our faith and love for Christ and in reverence of what He did, we do good deeds.  

An example that works for most people is love.  Most people have fallen in love.  And when you are in love, you want to do things for your love one.  Aww.... It's very similar with Christ.  God loved us that he gave his only son (John 3:16-17).  So, because of our love for God, we do things for him.

Justification, Sanctification, Glorification

This is more or less the different stages of Salvation.  To me, this actually make sense.  I think, however, it shouldn't be seen as stages but an all-in-one *bang*!  It all happens at one time!

Justification states that your past sins are cleared.  You are declared "not guilty".  It's like committing a crime but being set free later.  It's that simple.

Sanctification states that you should work out your Salvation.  Philippians 2:12-13 reads “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”  Again, this is not so that we work to earn Salvation and His favor.  Rather, "working out your Salvation" could simply mean to display the goodness that God has done for you.  When I think of "sanctify", I think of a cleansing process.  Babies are born pretty nasty.  They are pure and young and helpless.  Just as we come to Christ dirty, that is how He wants us to come, as we are.  Through Him, God continually cleanses us through and through, and in this progress, we display His love and grace towards others.

Glorification states that someday with Christ, we too will be lifted up to God in heaven, transforming to a new being in heaven.  And it's that simple.

Sometimes the problem with this is that it provides a human view "step-by-step" to what Salvation should or could be like.  I somehow do believe in the whole justification/sanctification/glorification.  But so many of these things seem like a 3 step program, just like getting rid of alcoholism or getting out of smoking cigarettes.  Why 3 steps?  I think there are so many dimensions of salvation, not only 3 steps.  Yes, I believe these 3 things happen, I think also that something far greater happens is that we receive Love.  Ultimately, this is the driver of everything above.

Hopefully, this gives you some advance topics to think about.  Sometimes the progress to Salvation is not that clear cut and can be confusing.  The heart of Salvation is simply faith in Christ.  Some denominations form too many doctrines to muddle this fact.

Day 14: Agh, I didn't quite make it!

Agh!  I didn't quite make the blog today.  Actually, this will count but I have started writing my second part of salvation.  Stay tuned, my friends...

In the mean time, I can give you a glimpse of what I will write next in this coming week:

• Salvation - Advance
• Non-Essentials (maybe two parts)
• The Reason for our Existence

Day 13: My Mind is Tired

Sometimes a long day working on whatever you do can make your mind tired.  Obviously.  Even loving dogs and loving baby makes you tired.  Aww... :)

But really, my mind has actually been going at 10000000 mph on many thoughts.  But a day of "death by meetings", and presenting 3 of those presentations, can be very draining to the brain.

So, with that said, I'm going to take a small mental break tonight.

Day 12: Salvation - A Beginning

In continuation of the blog of Essentials, I thought it might be good to go into the topic of Salvation before jumping into non-essentials.  This may even go to 2 parts simply because Salvation is not an easy topic to discuss and can be lengthy to explain through all the nuances.  

It is for a fact that the Bible says that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light.  To get to God, we have to go through Jesus Christ.  Without Christ, there would be no Salvation.

But as simple as this may seem, there are arguments about how to attain this Salvation and also for what reason do we need Salvation.

For Muslims, they are told to do deeds to have favor with Allah.  For Buddhist, to escape pain and suffering of this world, one must attain a form of enlightenment and empty your mind of worldly things.  For Hindus, they believe in honoring their gods and goddesses and in hopes that the afterlife would lead them to reincarnation into a better being.  

Even for some Christian denominations, there seems to be things like "3 steps to salvation" or a type of working our your salvation.  You have to do something to earn it.

The common thread with the above is this: they have to do something to earn the favor or receive the peace their religion says they will have.

Only in the Bible, it says this: 

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—" ~Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)~

Salvation, in this sense, doesn't come from our works.  It doesn't come from anybody except from God.  It is in fact a free gift.  Only Jesus did something: died on the cross and rose again.  In many parts of the Bible still, God tells us that all He wants from us is our heart.  And if we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts.  

After this initial belief, how do you go about becoming a Christian?  The Bible actually doesn't show anything about anybody going down on their knees to pray the infamous prayer to receive Christ.  Actually, it doesn't even say to repent and you will be saved (some Christian circles say that).  Is it just that simple to believe in faith the One who was sent to us?   But that's just too easy!  (Where's the easy button?)

There is a point of realizing God loves us this much (John 3:16-17).  One doesn't just say, "I believe in Christ."  Really, if it were that easy, everybody should be a follower of Christ.  However, there is a conscience acknowledgement that Jesus died for our sins and that he was raised from the dead.  Sometimes I feel the ultimate Sin is the disbelief in God.

But what for?  Why did Jesus die for our sins?  In most Christian circles that I have been in, the belief is that the Bible shows that He made us to have a relationship with us.  I don't think any other religion speaks to having a personal relationship with God.  Most other religions, actually all other religions, seem to talk about either an impersonal god who just does whatever he wants with their magical fairy powers, or a very frightening god who scares the hell out of you.

The events after creating man and woman, God used to roam the earth just like any other guy and talk to Adam and Eve.  But because of their decision to eat the fruit, there was a schism, if you will, between man and God and communication became less.  God does continue to speak to us in the burning bush or from the clouds or even a mule (Numbers 22).  But eventually, God gave us Jesus also as a medium and eventually still the Holy Spirit.  Earth was meant to be a haven.  (Or maybe God was just lonely, He wanted to talk to somebody.)  From there, we are all prewired to have relationships and from the earthly sense, relationships with parents, siblings, spouses, children.  But ultimately, God made us to have a relationship with Him.  He is a personal God.  A simple analogy that Jesus taught is in John 15: the vine and the branches.  (You should go look that one up.)  

So, I will end here, as I feel I have established the basics of Salvation from the Bible.

Day 11: The Color Purple

The last few blogs I wrote have been a little heavy, so I thought I would break it up and write something about my favorite color.

Ever wonder about your personality behind your favorite color?  Why do you like the color you like?  For some psychologist and sociologist, color says a lot about a person and a society.

For instance, the royalty of China is always red and yellow.  For Great Britain, it's purple... I think.

But for an individual, color says a lot about the person.  I don't think I really honed in on a color until middle school.  I think for myself, I always want to have a healthy balance of different colors in my wardrobe or items I have around the house.  But usually, a good majority of my clothing have some shade of purple, violet, or lavender.

Why do I like purple?

1. Deep mood.  When I was much younger, although I may appear to be a happy-go-lucky kind of girl, deep down I can be a bit melancholy.  I've learned to suppress it a lot more in recent years, knowing that not all people like a downer.
2. Royalty.  I think there wasn't anything that told me that this color mean royalty.  I just knew it's royalty.  (Princess status.)
3. It's pretty.  I guess that's self-explanatory.  At least I think it's pretty.  :)

From many personality descriptions of purple, here are a few common things I found out about my color:

• Spiritual
• Moody/Calming
• Creative
• Intuitive
• Dreamer/Visionary

I think most of these descriptions fit me fine.  I can totally relate to all of the items in bullets.