Dad

There were always certain things about my dad that seemed unreachable to me. He would take me to the park in humid Hong Kong and he would run around the track for what seemed like hours while I would shoot baskets on the towering hoops at Waterloo street. Sometimes I would try to run with him but I could never outlast his endurance.

I'd work on my book reports for school while he plowed away on his doctorate thesis in the basement of the SUNY library. He would read and read and read and write and write and write and pick at his patchy beard and think and just keep reading. I would sometimes sneak glances at his stuff and think, "man, it must be really good, cause he spends a lot of time on it and I don't understand a word of it!"

I can remember I'd like next to him eating ice cream on the bed watching Bruce Lee movies and was amazed that my heart had to beat twice to catch the rythm of his.

It's funny that as I get older I can run longer. I still don't think I've ever run with him but I wonder if I can beat him. Even in my latest driver's liscence photo, my right eye droops in my smile in this strangely familiar way.

I'm a lot like my dad.

Tomorrow/today he turns 58! Happy Birthday. I hope it will be a great year. I'll catch up to you some day ;)

Hulu

My friend Dustin showed me Hulu tonight and I think I'm hooked. Free on-demand episodes is an easy sell to someone with a 13" TV with rabbit ears. Enjoy the season finale of The Office...

Accomplishments?

I'm starting to think I'm a glutton for change. Some friends of ours recently went on a 10 year anniversary and listed all the things that have changed since they were married 10 years ago on their blog. I laughed at myself when I realized our three year marriage has sustained the same amount of changes...maybe more.

Just for fun, here's a comprehensive list of jobs I could technically include on my 24 year old resume:

1. Schlotzsky's Deli - Food Prep.
2. Swanson Pool - Lifeguard
   
3. Gap - Sales
4. Subway - Sandwich Artist
   
5. Hoosier Cafe - Food Prep.
6. Read Front Desk - Clerk
7. Heckman Deckoration - Painter/Gruntman
8. McDonalds - Grillman
9. Starbucks (Woodruff Rd./Ironwood & 23/ Main St.) - Barista
10. Lieu's Chinese Bistro - Server
11. Papa Vinos - Server
12. House Dad - Slave
13. Southside High School - Teacher
14. CrossRoads Community Church - Intern

I am a jack of all trades but a master of none...

100 Posts

After 5 months of blogging okaywong has published 100 posts. According to our labels (found at the bottom of the blog) we have spent

26% of our blog talking about family
13% talking about life
12% talking about teaching

Perhaps this is revealing.

Water Day!

Thursday at youth group is going to be a water day free-for-all. Here's one of the ideas we found:

Dunk and Run
Description
This game is very simple yet very hilarious. All you need is 4 sleeping bags (preferably old ones) and 4 garbage cans (or something large to fill with water.)

Set the 4 garbage cans in a large square, perhaps along the perimeter of the field you are working on.

Fill each can with water and put a sleeping bag in each.

Split the kids up into 2 teams and then split each team into 2 sides.

The object of the relay is to get from one side to the other along the diagonal. When the relay starts, each kid has to grab the sleeping bag and put it over their head so that they can't see and can't move their arms.

Then they have to cross the field and get to the other garbage can. Whichever team gets side to switch places wins.

What's funny is when they are all running at once and they crash into each other. Plus, it's just hilarious to see these kids try to run with sleeping bags over their bodies.

Can't even wait...

In case you wanted to know...

Kyra's birthday is Aug 6th. A week from Wednesday. Send all greetings to okaywong@gmail.com. Make all checks to Oliver Leon Wong.

Name That Movie

Elephants don't have any feelings. They're made outta rubba'.

Inspiration

Sorry so many posts about movies lately but... saw "The Dark Knight" tonight. I won't talk so much about the movie except there is a type relating to Jesus at one point and it reminded me of something about the cross and that is what I will share.

To start out, if you've ever heard or if you like the worship song "Above All"...I'm sorry. I think it sells Jesus and what was done at the cross short. The line "like a rose trampled on the ground" steals the glorious act of bravery, hope, and all out righteousness that was accomplished by it. Jesus with all power, knowledge and will took his cross to his hill where he gave his life. To his death he took his power to save himself, his face, his possible fame and chose to be despised as a criminal is and said nothing to defend himself. To his death he took his knowledge of all hope and all evil, his knowledge of every mans heart and he chose his cross regardless of what evils those hearts contained. I don't believe he was trampled, he did exactly what he set out to do, and there he conquered. Any church I've ever been in has focused when addressing the cross mostly on the personal side of Jesus' motivation there, and I feel loved. So important. But when I remember just what options Jesus had and see the path he chose in the midst of a evil world... O Lord! I am inspired!

The actions of Jesus awaken the hope in me that I too could stand for goodness despite opportunities for mere justice. In other words, the world has no qualms about permitting justice but the cross suggests a love that is greater than justice.

John 10:11-20
11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

19At these words the Jews were again divided. 20Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"

August Rush

Every couple of years I see a movie that stays on my mind the days after I've seen it. Oli and I stayed up late Wednesday night to watch "August Rush" and it was well worth a sleepy Thursday morning. It's a beautiful movie especially if you love music so much that at times you can actually feel it in you bones as you listen or play. And if you think that's an oddball statement, that's okay b/c I know I don't stand alone in this... just watch the movie! Have any of you ever seen the film? felt this way about music at times?

Over-used quotes.

Oliver and I had a great time today revisiting overused and abused famous quotes. The perfect person to imagine saying these quotes is anyone like Michael Scott; inappropriate at times and undoubtedly awkward.

Enjoy:

Who let the dogs out?
Houston, we have a problem.
Run, Forrest, Run.
AAAAlllllriiiighty then.
Can you hear me now? Good.
Beam me up Scotty.
Cowabunga Dude.
Yeah Baby Yeah! (Austin Powers)
I'll be baack.
Hasta la vista, baby.
Luke, I am your father.
E.T. phone home.
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
Go _________ it's your birthday.
I'm the king of the world!
Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!
Show me the money!
You had me at "hello".
Mo' money mo' problems.
Bringing sexy back. (substitute whatever for sexy)