new apartment!

I found a new place! It was really coming down to the wire. With the lease ending this month and my roomates moving downstairs. I got a nice place in Jefferson Park. It's great because it's by a large public transportation station and the highway. It's a bit further out so I'm closer to my friends in Morton Grove and what not. The landlord is really cool. The inside of the apartment is really nice (and it's on the garden level this time- not the third floor!) and there is even a pool in the backyard. I'm very much looking forward to getting all my crap there and starting over. The situation at my current apartment was awesome when it started, but it's pretty crappy now. I'll have pictures up soon.

weird

So I went to a wedding last Saturday with a friend of mine. It was pretty low key. At the house in the very casual clothing. Still, it was really nice. My friend, Stacey, was one of the bridesmaids so she was tending to the bride. Meanwhile, I was chatting with some folks there. Crazy enough, this one guy there was ripping on Chinese people and Asians in general. I think he was making fun of how a Chinese couple at a store or restaurant they went to talked. Obvoiusly, he didn't know that I am Chinese, but that's not even the point.

Yes, in many ways race and ethnic relations in the U.S. are improving, but racism still very much exists. It kind of caught me off guard because it really didn't happen to me much growing up. It's just ignorance. Maybe he thought that all Chinese people in the U.S. speak like that? He even asked me if I was Chinese! I didn't really say anything, mainly because the only person I knew there was tending to the bride. And I'm not saying that was right or wrong- just how I felt at the time. Anyways, cannot change what happened now. It's best now just to let it go.

Minnesota visit

The Twin Cities were pretty awesome. I arrived Sunday night and just chilled with Kasey, Ben, and Kasey's parents. Monday I had a lot of downtime but then I met up with Kasey, Ashley, and Stephanie for dinner right across the street from the Target Center. Ashley's friend, Andrea, also came later on to join us. After dinner, I said bye to Stephanie, then went to the Fray show with Ashley and Kasey. We were actually the first ones in our box seats. Eventually, Shera, Heather, George, Brett, and more people arrived for the show. Sovady was also at the show with some of her friends but she was able to stop by the box seats for a visit.

The show was good. Mae was really good, although not too many people were into them. It's hard being the opening band. OK Go was really good live. The Fray performed pretty well but the crowd didn't really move too much in general, for any of the bands.

On Tuesday, I got to talk with Kasey's mom for awhile. It was interesting hearing about their family and where she went to high school. Later on in the afternoon I went to see Katri at Bruegger's Bagels, and then to REI to hang out with Katie O. It was good to see these friends. I'm glad I caught Katri at work, because otherwise, I would not have seen her during my visit. Katie hung out with us that night though. We had dinner at Kasey and Ben's and then to Friday's for some drinks. Catie and another friend of Ben and Kasey's also joined us.

Wednesday morning, I met up with Ashley again at Caribou. We got around to talking about volleyball and I mentioned I had one in my car, so we went back to Ashley's house and peppered for a bit. Her friend and temporary roommate, Brett, also joined in for awhile. Fun times. I started my drive back to Chicago hot and sweaty.

blessings

p.s. To show how much of a genius I am, here is a good quote I made. When I was visiting Katie and REI, she tried on some shorts that she was going to buy. "What do ya think?" she asked. "They're pretty good," I replied. "A bit outdoorsy though." Yeah, I called something from REI "outdoorsy." I'm a genius.

in MN now

Just chilled at Ben and Kasey's tonight. Tomorrow is the Fray! Pretty exciting. Tuesday, hanging out with Katie O. Hopefully I'll see other friends in town too. More blogs and pics later.

out the box

Disclaimer: I am not putting down any experiences or groups that I have experiences or been a part of. These are just ideas I would like to see materialize.


I've checked out a few young adult groups the past several months. They have generally been good. Great worship music. Passionate speaking. Definitely encouraging. But painfully familiar.

Anyone who knows me knows I hardly like to do the same thing in the same way. As great as these young adults group are, I feel like they don't really make me come alive nearly often enough or as much as they should. Part of that reason is that a lot of them are pretty much the same. Worship music time. Prayer time. Speaking time. Hang out and fellowship afterwards. Again, nothing wrong with that but I have been going to church programs with the same format since high school, probably even jr. high. What if young adults could come together in different ways, different settings, but still fully devoted to Jesus Christ?

I thought about this for a bit tonight and I always have thought about it every now and then. For example, why not have bible study in a coffee shop or a bar? Getting together at a secular music show? Why not rent out a room at Vision night club and have fun there. Pray with people from the group there. Perhaps meet new people and offer to pray for them too?

Obviously some of these ideas don't really have the room to get very intimate with the Lord or deep into prayer. First off, a lot of prayer should be done beforehand. Second, one needs to make judgement calls and be accountable for certain decisions. If someone has an alcoholic problem, certainly they need to be held accountable should they choose to be at such a venue with a young adult group.

This is really just the first time I'm writing these ideas down so there will probably be more in the future. I'm sure there are some people, some groups that are doing stuff like this. They are just harder to find. Any thoughts?

a twist of Rummi 500 and Phase 10

Last night I got to hang out with Matty and Karina, who I haven't seen in awhile. It was awesome. Matty cooked a Chinese dish for dinner. We got to catch up on life. Afterwards, we played a card game. It sounds like "karaoke" but it's not that word exactly. You have to get a certain amount of "treos" (three of a kinds) and "escalas" (4-card straights) in each round. That's the part where it is like Phase 10. I almost always have a great time with Matt and Karina, but last night was more than usual. Matt shared some crazy stories from his past. Karina's English keeps getting better and better. If only we had more time to hang out with each more often...

faith like a child

At the church I work at, I sometimes sit in with the kindergardeners during their Chinese school time. Although I have only gone a few times, two different boys have done actions that remind me what faith in God should look like. The first boy just came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek at various points during the class. The second boy (a different day) came up and gave me a hug. Then he came over to sit on my lap during various times of the class.

Keep in mind, these are boys that I just met on those mornings. Yet they showed love and trust to me. Sometimes I wish my love and trust in God was more simple and pure like that. No gimmicks or inner complexities. Just a child who feels comforted in the hands of the Father. Think about that. And listen to "Like a Child" off of Jars of Clay's first album.