Monday, February 28, 2005
Worship Team Retreat:
The first ever worship team retreat was this weekend. It was great. The whole team never really hung out together outside of practice sessions. One of the things that stood out was the adventure we had trying to drive up to the Lake Arrowhead cabin. We all had different schedules so we decided to carpool up at different times and meet at the cabin on Friday night. I was in the first car with Pastor Jonathan, Nikki, and Aimee. We were supposed to stop by the rental office first by the village and pick up directions to the cabin from their mailbox. It's like the Amazing Race! Anyway, we were driving up the mountain when we saw a sign that said "Hwy 18 closed except with CHP escort." Interesting... we still kept driving and saw another "Hwy 18 closed" sign. Now at this point, we were thinking, "Is it really closed? There are all these other cars here. They're all passing us even." And so, we kept driving along. And yes, we encountered more "road closed" signs.
We finally came to a point in which the traffic going uphill came to a standstill. We were stuck. We couldn't move any further forward. Cars came up behind us and stopped as well. We couldn't turn back either. There were all of these other cars going downhill in the opposite direction.
We decided that the situation we were in would make a really good illustration some day. We were suffering the consequences of not following the warning signs. Sort of like the warning signs God gives us to keep falling into sin. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't necessarily mean it will be okay. We couldn't say we didn't know the road was closed. We got plenty of warning. We just decided to ignore them.
After about half an hour of just waiting there, we finally started moving. It turns out that Hwy 18 was closed to due damage from all the rain. It was probably covered with boulders from rock slides or something. Thankfully, we got to that section during the time slot in which one side of the road was open. They were allowing one direction (uphill or downhill) through for about a half hour at a time. Well, we finally got our turn and ended up in unfamiliar territory after a detour. Needless to say, we somehow made our way to the rental office where they had a map for us. We obviously made it to the cabin eventually... after about 6 hours. We could have gone to the Bay Area or to Las Vegas within that same time. ^_^
Worship Team Retreat Pictures
The first ever worship team retreat was this weekend. It was great. The whole team never really hung out together outside of practice sessions. One of the things that stood out was the adventure we had trying to drive up to the Lake Arrowhead cabin. We all had different schedules so we decided to carpool up at different times and meet at the cabin on Friday night. I was in the first car with Pastor Jonathan, Nikki, and Aimee. We were supposed to stop by the rental office first by the village and pick up directions to the cabin from their mailbox. It's like the Amazing Race! Anyway, we were driving up the mountain when we saw a sign that said "Hwy 18 closed except with CHP escort." Interesting... we still kept driving and saw another "Hwy 18 closed" sign. Now at this point, we were thinking, "Is it really closed? There are all these other cars here. They're all passing us even." And so, we kept driving along. And yes, we encountered more "road closed" signs.
We finally came to a point in which the traffic going uphill came to a standstill. We were stuck. We couldn't move any further forward. Cars came up behind us and stopped as well. We couldn't turn back either. There were all of these other cars going downhill in the opposite direction.
We decided that the situation we were in would make a really good illustration some day. We were suffering the consequences of not following the warning signs. Sort of like the warning signs God gives us to keep falling into sin. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't necessarily mean it will be okay. We couldn't say we didn't know the road was closed. We got plenty of warning. We just decided to ignore them.
After about half an hour of just waiting there, we finally started moving. It turns out that Hwy 18 was closed to due damage from all the rain. It was probably covered with boulders from rock slides or something. Thankfully, we got to that section during the time slot in which one side of the road was open. They were allowing one direction (uphill or downhill) through for about a half hour at a time. Well, we finally got our turn and ended up in unfamiliar territory after a detour. Needless to say, we somehow made our way to the rental office where they had a map for us. We obviously made it to the cabin eventually... after about 6 hours. We could have gone to the Bay Area or to Las Vegas within that same time. ^_^
Worship Team Retreat Pictures
Friday, February 25, 2005
I'll be going up to Lake Arrowhead in a couple of hours for the worship team retreat. It's the first one in a long while. Maybe the first one ever. So no updates until the end of the weekend. Not that I've been posting everyday recently anyway.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
God's Promise:
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Search strings:
Blog topic to write about when you can't think of anything #23:
Write about search strings people use to find your blog.
1. "Any Romantic Story in the Province of Nueva Ecija...." - Sorry, I don't know of any offhand. I wonder what brought about this inquiry, though. I didn't know Nueva Ecija had a reputation for being a romantic place. Palawan, yeah, but Nueva Ecija? That's central Luzon, right in the middle of the island. That's like saying North Dakota is romantic. But hey, you never know. I'll be going there in a couple of months so I'll let you know if I find out anything.
2. "rommel abesamis" - I'm sure it's not too hard to figure out why my blog would come up from this. I asked Faye, Aimee, and Joe if this is someone they knew, but it doesn't look like it. Maybe if Joe and I get married, I'll change my name to Rommel Abesamis. Ewww... Or maybe I'm their long lost brother. I did have a neighbor up in Westwood with the last name Abesamis. His roommate was my old roommate's brother. Plus, he was also Faye, Aimee, and Joe's first cousin. And I knew all of this before there was even Friendster. So ha! Take that, Friendster and your degrees of separation.
3. "Are duck eggs okay to eat" - This is almost self-explanatory, and I don't think a lot of people would appreciate me posting up more pictures of balut. *evil grin*
Blog topic to write about when you can't think of anything #23:
Write about search strings people use to find your blog.
1. "Any Romantic Story in the Province of Nueva Ecija...." - Sorry, I don't know of any offhand. I wonder what brought about this inquiry, though. I didn't know Nueva Ecija had a reputation for being a romantic place. Palawan, yeah, but Nueva Ecija? That's central Luzon, right in the middle of the island. That's like saying North Dakota is romantic. But hey, you never know. I'll be going there in a couple of months so I'll let you know if I find out anything.
2. "rommel abesamis" - I'm sure it's not too hard to figure out why my blog would come up from this. I asked Faye, Aimee, and Joe if this is someone they knew, but it doesn't look like it. Maybe if Joe and I get married, I'll change my name to Rommel Abesamis. Ewww... Or maybe I'm their long lost brother. I did have a neighbor up in Westwood with the last name Abesamis. His roommate was my old roommate's brother. Plus, he was also Faye, Aimee, and Joe's first cousin. And I knew all of this before there was even Friendster. So ha! Take that, Friendster and your degrees of separation.
3. "Are duck eggs okay to eat" - This is almost self-explanatory, and I don't think a lot of people would appreciate me posting up more pictures of balut. *evil grin*
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Naruto anime licensed for American release:
Read the article.
So this means a few things:
1. No more fan subbed episodes (or they will be a lot harder to come by.) No more episodes within days (or sometimes hours) of being aired in Japan. :( Although I'm glad I don't always need subtitles. ^_^
2. Dubbed episodes.
3. Naruto on TV.
4. Naruto merchandise everywhere... action figures, clothing, posters, plastic shurikens, contact lenses. (I only really care about the videogames.)
5. Naruto fans everywhere. Little kids dressing up as Naruto characters for Halloween.
I'd rank Naruto up there with Macross/Robotech, Akira, Dragonball Z, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, meaning it's one of those anime shows that has the potential to go "mainstream". Here comes the next wave of immensely popular anime. But as of today, they have 122 anime episodes to catch up to with translations. I'm calling it right now. I'm a Naruto fan before it was even "cool". You heard it here first. ^_^
Sharingan eyes of the Uchiha clan. Haha. What a dork!
Read the article.
So this means a few things:
1. No more fan subbed episodes (or they will be a lot harder to come by.) No more episodes within days (or sometimes hours) of being aired in Japan. :( Although I'm glad I don't always need subtitles. ^_^
2. Dubbed episodes.
3. Naruto on TV.
4. Naruto merchandise everywhere... action figures, clothing, posters, plastic shurikens, contact lenses. (I only really care about the videogames.)
5. Naruto fans everywhere. Little kids dressing up as Naruto characters for Halloween.
I'd rank Naruto up there with Macross/Robotech, Akira, Dragonball Z, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, meaning it's one of those anime shows that has the potential to go "mainstream". Here comes the next wave of immensely popular anime. But as of today, they have 122 anime episodes to catch up to with translations. I'm calling it right now. I'm a Naruto fan before it was even "cool". You heard it here first. ^_^
Sharingan eyes of the Uchiha clan. Haha. What a dork!
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Jewelry store and the O.C.:
I went to Tito Jules' jewelry store in Newport Beach to arrange my flight to the Philippines. It's a jewelry store and a travel agency. So, as I was booking my flight, I also browsed their inventory and saw some prototype wax models for the jewelry. Anyway, my parents are also going to the Philippines for separate reasons this May. So after the mission trip officially ends on April 23, I'll hang around for a few weeks and fly back here with them come mid-May. Hopefully, I'll have more chances to share my faith with my relatives over there, especially those on my Mom's side. I didn't get to see much of them the last time I was there.
So as I was driving past Fashion Island, I thought of how supposedly the Newport area is pretty much the only part of Orange County represented in The O.C. (I've never really seen the show, by the way. ^_^) Sure it's a distorted picture. I also heard the show is filmed in Malibu instead. Ah, but somehow, the show has become popular enough that residents of Orange County have started referring to the county as "the O.C". Before the show came out, the only times I've ever heard anyone say "OC" is during Friday night bible studies at Grace on Campus.
I went to Tito Jules' jewelry store in Newport Beach to arrange my flight to the Philippines. It's a jewelry store and a travel agency. So, as I was booking my flight, I also browsed their inventory and saw some prototype wax models for the jewelry. Anyway, my parents are also going to the Philippines for separate reasons this May. So after the mission trip officially ends on April 23, I'll hang around for a few weeks and fly back here with them come mid-May. Hopefully, I'll have more chances to share my faith with my relatives over there, especially those on my Mom's side. I didn't get to see much of them the last time I was there.
So as I was driving past Fashion Island, I thought of how supposedly the Newport area is pretty much the only part of Orange County represented in The O.C. (I've never really seen the show, by the way. ^_^) Sure it's a distorted picture. I also heard the show is filmed in Malibu instead. Ah, but somehow, the show has become popular enough that residents of Orange County have started referring to the county as "the O.C". Before the show came out, the only times I've ever heard anyone say "OC" is during Friday night bible studies at Grace on Campus.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
On Saturday, I spent over 12 hours at the marriage enrichment seminar, and I was the only one who wasn't married or engaged. My task: video coverage, of course. I got a lot of "Who are you here with?" and "You should take lots of notes." Haha. It was pretty interesting at times, but I couldn't really tell you much about it. I wasn't really paying too much attention. I was filming mostly random shots of the people and the place and was making sure the camera stayed aimed at the speaker. I felt kind of bad (or it was kind of sad ^_^) because I was falling asleep at one point. At that time, I was in a corner at a table by myself doing nothing but panning the camera back and forth. It didn't help that they served a pretty big lunch, and I was sinking into a food coma. How I wish I had a tripod with a remote control so I could pan in comfort. What would be even cooler is if they had a camera/tripod combo that could auto track the subject. ^_^
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
My hour of TV for the week:
"I know you. You know you. And I know you know that I know you." - White Goodman, Dodgeball
Chloe was acting more like how Pete Ross was in the comics with knowing Clark's secret. Clark, not knowing she knows, would do double takes whenever she'd say something that would hint at the fact. I liked her "destined for greater things than making touchdowns" line. It reminds me of the "You're here for a reason, and it's not to make touchdowns" line from the movie. There wasn't too much interesting that happened beyond that. At least there probably wouldn't be much more football related storylines.
Next week: Krypto. I didn't know he was a Golden Retriever. I thought he was supposed to have white fur. Haha.
"I know you. You know you. And I know you know that I know you." - White Goodman, Dodgeball
Chloe was acting more like how Pete Ross was in the comics with knowing Clark's secret. Clark, not knowing she knows, would do double takes whenever she'd say something that would hint at the fact. I liked her "destined for greater things than making touchdowns" line. It reminds me of the "You're here for a reason, and it's not to make touchdowns" line from the movie. There wasn't too much interesting that happened beyond that. At least there probably wouldn't be much more football related storylines.
Next week: Krypto. I didn't know he was a Golden Retriever. I thought he was supposed to have white fur. Haha.
Happy Birthday Amy!
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Of Photography and Chloe:
Hmm... it must be difficult (at least for me) to be some sort of reporter or photographer and not get attached to the "story" in some way. For example, during last year's medical mission trip, it felt strange at times taking pictures and filming the people that were sick instead of doing something else that helps them more directly. Of course, that was part of the job I was assigned to do, as part of the media team. But still, there was this one time when Faye and Aimee's dad pointed out to me a bunch of guys carrying an old man. I thought he meant for me to help carry the old man. No, he was actually trying to tell me to take a picture of the guys carrying the old man. So in my attempt to help out, I ended up missing a good photographic moment. Not that I was able to help out anyway. These were all big military men the size of football players. I think I actually ended up getting in the way when I approached them.
There was also this incident at the last basketball tournament a couple of weeks ago. A few minutes into the first game, someone sprained his ankle really bad. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. I debated whether I should keep taking pictures or help out somehow. I don't know what I could have done to assist, but I ended up not taking pictures at that point anyway. I sort of just stood there and watched as others did their thing. I don't know... I guess I'm glad that I'm not completely a cold, unemotional observer when I act as historian. This must have come from training myself not to say anything or laugh out loud whenever I film a skit or wedding. (Having the cameraman's voice recorded is a bad thing in these cases. Although not showing emotion might be good for playing Poker or Mafia.)
I think this topic somehow came about because of last week's episode of Smallville. For those who don't know, Smallville High's resident reporter came across some super secret information that she wonders if she should report about or not. That episode was better than the last oh... 5 or 6 episodes. This new plot development might be interesting. We'll see how the WB takes it in tomorrow's episode.
Hmm... it must be difficult (at least for me) to be some sort of reporter or photographer and not get attached to the "story" in some way. For example, during last year's medical mission trip, it felt strange at times taking pictures and filming the people that were sick instead of doing something else that helps them more directly. Of course, that was part of the job I was assigned to do, as part of the media team. But still, there was this one time when Faye and Aimee's dad pointed out to me a bunch of guys carrying an old man. I thought he meant for me to help carry the old man. No, he was actually trying to tell me to take a picture of the guys carrying the old man. So in my attempt to help out, I ended up missing a good photographic moment. Not that I was able to help out anyway. These were all big military men the size of football players. I think I actually ended up getting in the way when I approached them.
There was also this incident at the last basketball tournament a couple of weeks ago. A few minutes into the first game, someone sprained his ankle really bad. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. I debated whether I should keep taking pictures or help out somehow. I don't know what I could have done to assist, but I ended up not taking pictures at that point anyway. I sort of just stood there and watched as others did their thing. I don't know... I guess I'm glad that I'm not completely a cold, unemotional observer when I act as historian. This must have come from training myself not to say anything or laugh out loud whenever I film a skit or wedding. (Having the cameraman's voice recorded is a bad thing in these cases. Although not showing emotion might be good for playing Poker or Mafia.)
I think this topic somehow came about because of last week's episode of Smallville. For those who don't know, Smallville High's resident reporter came across some super secret information that she wonders if she should report about or not. That episode was better than the last oh... 5 or 6 episodes. This new plot development might be interesting. We'll see how the WB takes it in tomorrow's episode.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Philippine Medical Mission 2005:
Well the other day, I went to the Missions Committee meeting. Yes, I'm planning to go back to the Philippines this April for the medical mission trip. It's going to be from April 10th to the 23rd. During the first week, we'll be on the island of Palawan. Then for the second week, we'll be going to the town of Gen. Tinio in the province of Nueva Ecija, the same place we went to last year. We will be providing free medical and dental care to the poor people in those areas as well as sharing the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not quite sure what exactly I will be doing, but from last year's experience, I might end up being mainly a photographer, videographer, and translator. Quite exciting, I must say. I wonder if the local kids would still remember me. Aimee and Faye won't be able to come this time, but Jed is still going. I guess I have to keep an eye on Jed for Aimee. Heheh.
As a side note, Palawan is where that one missionary couple, the Burnhams, were kidnapped back in 2001 by the Abu Sayyaf. Gracia Burnham went on to write about their ordeal in her book, In the Presence of My Enemies, which is a great book, by the way.
Anyway, I just did my taxes last week, and it looks like my refund amazingly covers all my expenses. God definitely provides. I'm just not sure how soon I'll get the refund but not to worry. My boss is pretty cool about it when I told him, too. We're going to juggle around the schedule for future video projects. Well, I'll put up more updates in the future. Before I go, here's a map so you can see the locations I'm talking about:
Well the other day, I went to the Missions Committee meeting. Yes, I'm planning to go back to the Philippines this April for the medical mission trip. It's going to be from April 10th to the 23rd. During the first week, we'll be on the island of Palawan. Then for the second week, we'll be going to the town of Gen. Tinio in the province of Nueva Ecija, the same place we went to last year. We will be providing free medical and dental care to the poor people in those areas as well as sharing the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not quite sure what exactly I will be doing, but from last year's experience, I might end up being mainly a photographer, videographer, and translator. Quite exciting, I must say. I wonder if the local kids would still remember me. Aimee and Faye won't be able to come this time, but Jed is still going. I guess I have to keep an eye on Jed for Aimee. Heheh.
As a side note, Palawan is where that one missionary couple, the Burnhams, were kidnapped back in 2001 by the Abu Sayyaf. Gracia Burnham went on to write about their ordeal in her book, In the Presence of My Enemies, which is a great book, by the way.
Anyway, I just did my taxes last week, and it looks like my refund amazingly covers all my expenses. God definitely provides. I'm just not sure how soon I'll get the refund but not to worry. My boss is pretty cool about it when I told him, too. We're going to juggle around the schedule for future video projects. Well, I'll put up more updates in the future. Before I go, here's a map so you can see the locations I'm talking about:
