Awesome volleyball game tonight!!!

This was probably one of the best that we've played all season. Everyone was hustling to get to the ball. People were hitting left and right. People were committing to the plays and following through. Everyone was talking and communicating. It didn't always looked pretty but we worked out tails getting the ball over. Everyone seemed to be relaxed but focused and having an awesome time. We played the best team in the league and lost but nobody seemed to be down about it. We came close to winning the game and had a blast competing!! Quite a game, quite a journey!!

This year, this season of my life, has been like the game that I played tonight. Life didn't always look pretty, it wasn' t always fun; there were times when people got hurt and times when people got burned but there were also time when things were clicking and things were working out. This year I had to make big commitments and back out on some; I had to let go of some 'comforts' that I've been accustomed to and accept and enjoy some that I've been entitled to but have been neglecting to recognize. To my own surprise, I actually think that I've been more focused and determined than I've ever been. And, if you've spent some time with me lately, you'll be able to tell that I've been very relaxed! There were things that I've done right and things that didn't go so well but all in all the journey has been sweet and rewarding.

As this season of my life goes on, there will be more challenges to face and games to play. Wins and losses will count for something but it will never count for everything. In the process of becoming... I will learn... I will win... I will fail... I will laugh... I will shed some tears... I will have the adventure of my life. In the end, when all is said and done, then, I will become.

Home sweet home!!!

I could go on and on about my trip but nothing can describe it better than the pictures that I've posted. So go ahead and click on the picture to check them out!!

The highlights of my travels: *playing mahjong with dad, joyce, florabel, and jasper; *shopping @ 12am till 3:30am with joyce and jasper on black friday and driving around town singing to an old CD; *falling asleep lying under the sun and drinking pina coladas anytime/anywhere; *going to chichen itza with mom and dad; *finishing a couple of books; *wearing flipflops all day long in November; *having an awesome conversation with Kelli (one of my college roommates) about schedules, community, church, doing missions abroad, and life in general; *hanging out with jen (of jen and jenn from UCONN95) and heather (my UCONN hiking/biking/bowling buddy) and doing an impromptu road trip to the old stomping ground;

Coming back home to WI ain't so bad either. I got to hangout with my crazy friends and play vball tonight with the team.

Life is good!!!

If there's one thing about me that I don't hide it's this, I LOVE to travel. I usually try to get out of the country at least once a year but haven't gone anywhere in the past 11 months. Now that the year is closing, my feet are itching, itching to touch international grounds.

So, to cure this itch, I'll be heading to Mexico!!! I'll be sipping pina colada, working on my tan, and even learn some spanish words in the process. Maybe the next time I speak to my friend Juanita I'll be able to say more than 'Hola'.

Other than traveling to Cancun, what I'm really looking forward to these next couple of days is seeing my family in Connecticut. Living 1100 miles away from them makes me appreciate them more than ever. We have our quirks and different perspertive on things but when it boils down to it, we still tend to stick together. This year, more than ever, we stuck together.

To add the icing on the cake, I'll also be hanging out with my old college buddies from UCONN. Oh, how much we've changed and yet stayed the same. Who would have thought we'll be where were at.

This Thanksgiving holiday, I'm thankful for my family and friends in Connecticut and Wisconsin, old and new, young and old. You make my life quite an adventure and my travels meaningful. God Bless.

Lately I've been finding myself in a reflective mode. It could be because 'things' are changing or maybe it's just a sign of getting old-er. Either way, I've been thinking a lot about the my life and what it will become.

Where I'm at, I really don't know how it will turn out. I'm stepping into a new adventure where I don't know where it will lead, all I know is that it's something that I must take. Most of the time I don't even know what the next step will be until I get there then it just presents itself. Honestly, this is somewhat an unusual place for me, I used to always have a plan, not this time. A scary place to be, yet freeing.

There is so much uncertainty, but I am confident that this is where I need to be.

Remember when you were young and thought about what you'd like to be when you grew up? Now that you've grown up is it what you wanted it to be? Would you rather take hold of your life or give it back to the one who has created it? Could it be that life is just 'like a perfect piece of art displayed for all to see'?

Ten years ago I came across a song that I always go back to when I'm in this mood. This is how it goes...

A shapeless piece of steel, that's all I claim to be
This hammer pounds to give me form, this flame, it melts my dreams
I glow with fire and fury, as I'm twisted like a vine
My final shape, my final form I'm sure I'm bound to find

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for thee, the hammer holds

And the water, it cools me gray, and the hurt's subdued somehow
I have my shape, this sharpened point, what is my purpose now?
And the question still remains, what am I to be?
Perhaps some perfect piece of art displayed for all to see

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for thee, the hammer holds

The hammer pounds again, but flames I do not feel
This force that drives me, helplessly, through flesh, and wood reveals
A burn that burns much deeper, it's more than I can stand
The reason for my life was to take the life of a guiltless man

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the pain
And hurt a little, hurt for me, my future is so bold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for thee, the hammer holds

This task before me may seem unclear
But it, my maker holds

The Hammer Holds by Bebo Norman

Noticed the new template that I'm using?! I had too much time on my hand today because I'm sick and stuck in the house so I thought I'd be more productive and play with beta Blogger.

Beta-ing is actually something I don't get to do very often. As a software engineer I tend to be the one sending away beta products for testing. Being on the other side of the equation is quite refreshing. I've crashed my web browser at least 3 times but I haven't gotten to the point of giving up. I'm excited for the developers that created this, seeing your work being used is priceless - but I'm also feeling the pain of testers that are getting stuck. As an engineer my first reaction would be 'user error' but since I didn't create this program I say 'it's definitely a bug!'.

So far I'm liking the new Blogger. I think I'll stick with it.

How does your community look like?

Here's mine.

Click on the picture and check it out!

Last night was the reopening of the 2nd Story. It was packed! A couple of local musicians brought their instruments and played their tunes. There were people listening to music, playing games, chit-chating, catching up with 'life', and drinking their choice of beverages; I had my first 2nd Story espresso with a shot of hazelnut. Last night, this was the place to be: 'hot coffee, warm athmosphere, cool people'.

For a handful of people who casted this vision about 4 years ago, this was a dream come true. If you're one of them and you're reading this, I don't think I need to dig up memories of long hours and long nights that you've put into this. What I do want to remind you is to continue to partner with God and dream big because dreams do come true. 'Your labor is not in vain'. I wished that you could have been there last night and experienced it for yourselves. Know that as I sipped my espresso, I was thinking of you.

If you're ever in Lacrosse, WI on a Friday night stop by at the 2nd Story at the corner of State and 5th.

Good times!
Good tunes!
Great conversations!
Great company!
Great surprises!

From left to right: JJ, Bebo, Jenn, and Joy.

Enough said.

I spent this past weekend with close friends.

There was a time when our lives were closely knitted. Life seemed so simple back then. We would get together for no special reason. We laughed, we cried, we shared our possesions, our dreams, and our failures. We simply did/lived life, together.

So 2-5 years later, here we are, spread out all over the country. Life lived 'together' is taking a different form but the same meaning. Things have definitely changed but somehow for a short period in time, for a weekend, it felt like the 'Good Old Days'.

Thanks everyone! I'm looking forward on seeing you again next year.

Today I said goodbye to an old friend, the red truck. I got a call this morning about my ad on the paper, the guy came over this afternoon, literally looked at the truck for 5 minutes then wrote me a check for it.

Five years ago, I wanted to learn how to kayak so first I bought a truck then a kayak.

The kayak served its purpose, I've used it to float through the streams of the Mississippi, survive the storms of Lake Superior, and breeze through the friendlier waters of Lake Michigan. The kayak and I had a ton of adventures and through it I've met a lot of very interesting people.

The truck served a much bigger purpose, which was unknown to me when I first bought it. Through the years it has helped a lot of people move their 'stuff', specially the big ones, couches, swings, washer, dryer, you name it and the truck has moved it. It also became the vehicle of choice when someone is in need of a transportation, not just for a day but sometimes even weeks. The truck became everybody's best friend!

At the end of five years I've learned a lot of lessons through the kayak and the truck, probably the biggest is that there seems to be a bigger purpose in some of the things that we do. We don't always see them right away but given time, that too will be revealed.

Well, it has been a great ride.

I really just wanted to learn how to kayak!

Had a bet.... / Signs...

On my way out of a meeting tonight I saw my friend BeckyR. By the time our conversation was done we had a bet going. Whomever the first to update their respective blogs twice, gets to be taken to McD's for a fresh batch of large fries. So here's my first attempt to winning....

Now, I can stop right here and I could argue that this would be considered as an update but why waste the space. So, here it goes...

I took this picture about 5 years ago when I was visiting Hong Kong. Supposedly these are signs. Are they still signs even though I can't read them?! They are pretty, eye grabbing, but since I cannot read them, it's not serving its purpose. Or is it? I noticed it enought to take a picture of it.

Everyday I ask God to give me signs on what I'm supposed to do or where I'm supposed to go. Sometimes I see them and there are times that I totally missed them even though they are right infront of me. There are times that I see them because they are as obvious as the lights on the streets of Hong Kong and yet I don't know what to make of them. If I can only speak God's language... If I can only trust my Translator, I would be on my way...