i can see it already... daddy's little girl!

dob: 10/23/2009 (post is delayed b/c i was in nepal…)
time: 09:04pm
weight: 8lbs 1.7oz
height: 19.5in (will probably be super tall, look at her dad)
to: proud 1st time parents… papa jim + mama esther

can’t wait to see you when we return!
love,
auntie viv + uncle george

are viv + i?
“namaste…“
nama-stah,
ma-ma-coo-sa from nepal!

definitely a dream destination (more so for vivien + her love for outdoor adventure than i). the sights were spectacular and awe-inspiring… how could one look at it all and not acknowledge the Creator?

the places:

• kathmandu (1400m/4593ft)
• pokhara (910m/2986ft) – a short 25min flight from kathmandu.
• phedi (950m/3116ft) – starting point of our 6-day trek with a gazillion stone steps and insane incline grade!
  we were blessed to have our guide: manoj + our porter: kumar. over the journey they became more like family! while we had our hiking boots, performance gear attire, trekking poles and only carrying day packs… kumar wore nike tennis shoes, jeans, a button-up shirt, used NO poles and carried our 35lb. backpack through some sick terrain. he saved our lives (and our backs… literally).
  ** note: am thankful for international porter protection group (i.p.p.g.) and hope they continue to look out/care for the porters. and in the future, we hope trekkers will have enough porters for the gear they bring as to not overload/work and pose potential harm to them!
• tolka (1790m/5872ft) – first night’s stay. having no electricity at this teahouse, viv + i, ended up going to sleep at 7pm! one of the most restful nights of sleep i ever had! only took going to nepal to find it. who would’ve thunk it?
• ghandruk (2020m/6627ft) – imagine having this view while eating breakfast!
  

  momo having mint tea + traditional chapati bread

• tadapani (2520m/8268ft) - took this shot right outside the teahouse we stayed at on my panasonic gh-1. i stayed as motionless as humanly possible for about 40 seconds to capture this shot. but after seeing the picture, i think it was worth it! stunning to see: the starry night and (from l. to r.) annapurna south (7219m/23684ft), hiunchuli (6441m/21132ft), gangapurna (7455m/24457ft), annapurna III (7555m/24786ft) and machapuchare (6993m/22943ft) – a.k.a. “fish tail peak” so clearly. nice being away from all of the city lights now and then…
  

  annapurna range (l. to. r. annapurna south, hiunchuli, gangapurna, annapurna iii + machapuchare) + starry night

• ghorepani (2850m/9350ft)
• poon hill (3210m/10,531ft)
  - start hiking @ 4:30am for a sight that literally takes your breath away (from the beauty as well as the cold weather + uphill climb). from poon hill you will witness an unobstructed view of sunrise over the high himalayas.

   

   

  

  sunrise @ poon hill

  

  "subha bihanie" from poon hill... love, g+v

  

  one happy family (l. to r. - kumar, momo, v, g and manoj)

• tatopani (1220m/4002ft) – means “hot water” in nepali.
  - after spending days climbing upwards, i figured a steep descent of almost 2000m through rhododendron and magnolia forests would be a welcomed relief. but trekking for 8+ grueling hours passing smaller/secluded villages, secondary schools, long/scary bridges and a pretty severe landslide, i concluded that climbing downhill (as well as uphill) = still “sucks“… thankfully the hot water spring helped all our aching leg muscles!  :)

   

   

  

  viv loves height... especially this scary suspension bridge!

trekking for days + aching legs + natural hot springs = ahhhhhhh....

• beni (820m/2690ft) – took an almost 2 hour jeep ride averaging 5mph through the most bumpy, dusty dirt path you can ever imagine. then we switched into a taxi to continue on for about 4+ hours to pokhara. i really contemplated getting out and hiking b/c i couldn’t take the motion sickness + diesel/exhaust poisoning.  :(
• back to -> pokhara
• back to -> kathmanda
• back to home #2 -> hong kong…

currently, suffering from some traveller’s diarrhea. definitely = NO FUN.
and according to this article, looks like we left nepal just in the nick of time (…maoist rebels plan to shutdown tribhuvan airport and all hghways!)

anyway, gonna take a LONG, hot shower and rest/recover before our next assignment, stay tuned…

for more reading:
- where in the world… (pt. 1)

congrats you two!
been exciting to see your relationship develop…
may the Lord continually bless you guys in your engagement journey!

mad props + happy belated birthday to p.e. and his wife, minhee for giving birth to an important dream of theirs with the start of one day’s wages on october 20th!

for more information, check it out here, investigate it and if you feel compelled, join in…

then: eating traditional korean jjah-jjahng-myun in the beginning of october @ h.mart in seattle, wa (usa).

now: eating traditional sichuan jjah-jjahng-myun in the middle of october @ a local family’s home in jiuzhaigou, south west china… CRAZY!

will i get swine flu if i eat what’s below…?

[UPDATE] now #2: eating sichuanese hot-pot @ a packed restaurant in chengdu, south west china with a nice cold coke… and “yes” that IS pig’s brain (just for you, peter + lotus!)

nothing hits the spot like a good pig brain!!!

are viv + i?
“ni hao ma” from china!

so far, it’s been:

• hong kong
  then off to the sichuan province (where the great 2008 earthquake had struck):
• shenzhen
• chengdu
• huang long (here’s a pic right before i got some major altitude sickness/sweaty throat… NOT fun!)
  

  g, v + baba @ huang long (approx 12800 ft. elevation)

  and more…

• jiuzhaigou also known as “valley of nine villages“ (the scenery… seriously breathtaking, will post more pics/vids later!)
  

  entrance to 1 of 3 tibetan villages in jiuzhaigou park

  

  here's viv welcoming you in traditional tibetan garb!

   

  

  viv in front of "five-colored lake"

• back to -> chengdu
• leshan (buddhists mecca!)
• emeishan (see above)
• back to -> shenzhen
• back to home #2 -> hong kong…

and another cool pic of viv posing  @ jiuzhaigou park:

more to come…

had the privilege of helping joseph with the wedding of these two cool peeps/dentists on 10.10.09…
i have never been to an egyptian/chinese wedding before in my life, but can now cross it off on my ‘bucket list’.
when joseph and i were in the bride’s room as she was getting prepped, i almost dropped my camera when i heard the mother walk in and begin to holler at the top of her lungs… i thought she had either burned her hand on a hot curling iron or something crazy extreme, i mean seriously, i thought someone died!
then, the other women in the room began to join her in the hollering (about 1:00 min into the video) and i was sure hotel security was going to knock down the door any second to see if we were all still alive.

now i know that screaming at times can help relieve tension but i was later told that this was going to be recurring throughout the day as a form of celebration/joy and their culture. cool… good to know and so i don’t further get startled and drop anything.  ;) the whole day/atmosphere was crazy wild and fun! the energy and pure joy you experience when you get the honor of being a part of someone’s special day is simply magical. no other word to describe it (well… perhaps that and the word “stress” at times, but c’mon folks… that’s to be expected!).
plus, they had a killer live band playing + egyptian folkloric dancers. seriously… off the hook!
joseph had raced like a madman to prep the various footage shot for the SDE. another job well done, diggy! and a shout out to the always pro and always kick-A photog of the day: jane lee! while eating dinner, i laughed as i thought of hun’s recent blog entry!
the excitement and happiness is seen so visible on the looks of rosana + mike’s faces! hope you enjoy the highlights as much as i have.

_______________________________________________________
ceremony: st. james cathedral | seattle, wa
reception: hyatt regency | bellevue, wa
photographer: jane lee
dj: chic sound productions

before:

after (color: valspar’s venetian plaster in sea glass from lowe’s):

after #2 (color of accent wall: painted in “chocolate plum”):

after putting primer on to prep the master bedroom… we began the arduous task of personalizing it. and wouldn’t you know it that vivien has the incredible knack for choosing the… how shall s say… the most “interesting” of choices?
in this case, it was a technique called “venetian plaster“. this gives a marble-esque look and feel.
it’s kinda cool that the more uneven and random you apply the plaster application, the more natural it looks like real marble (beats having to apply coat over coat with a paint roller). but you have to put some serious sweat equity to make this work. see below for the instructions from valspar on how to attain this look:

Step 1. Working in a 3′ x 3′ area, use a large steel spatula to apply a small amount of Venetian Plaster in an overlapping pattern. Continue overlapping the plaster until you have spread a thin coat on the surface. Do not worry about completely covering the surface at this point; let some areas of the original wall show through. Keep your edges random to avoid leaving a pattern as you move across the wall. Let dry 1-4 hours. When plaster is evenly matte and lighter in color it is dry.

Step 2. Scoop up a small amount of Venetian Plaster on the large steel spatula. Holding the spatula at a 90° angle, skim the surface filling in any lower leveled areas, leveling and smoothing as you apply. Proceed across the surface evening out higher and lower areas until the wall is complete. Let dry as before. If more depth or texture is desired, repeat with a 3rd or 4th coat.

Step 3. Let the plaster dry to a matte finish after applying the final coat. Using 600 grit sandpaper, lightly polish the surface in circular motions. Use the steel spatula for a more polished look. Hold it almost flat against the wall and rub rapidly in a circular motion while applying pressure. The higher the polish or sheen you desire, the more you will have to burnish the finish. Note: It is important to keep the steel spatula clean while applying Venetian Plaster. If dried plaster is not removed, it can create unwanted marks on the surface.

all i can now is ‘HALLELUJAH!’ that it’s done! we are NEVER moving out of this place… or if we do, we’re taking the venetian plastered wall with us to the new home.
now we can actually move things into the master bedroom… and have a good night’s sleep in our venetian plastered sea glass colored oasis!  :D

i can’t promise you wealth nor power nor fame (at least not until you send me a money order or payment of $995)…
but if you take some time to listen to PE’s message on colossians 3:12-17 titled “things that build community” i can promise you a great message that will challenge and speak God’s words that you just might need to hear.

i know it was for me.

are we getting too comfortable at church and stuck in a “gimme gimme” mentality as we sit in the pews, fancy brown cushion-y chair (or whatever you sit on) and sucking dry a church and getting what we want/need from it and then claiming it lacks this or lacks that… or pointing out this fault or that to justify the need to move on to another church in hopes of satiating an insatiable desire? and if we keep doing this, won’t we eventually end up in a loop and back at the starting church? because what church will ever meet all of our lofty ideals?

don’t get me wrong there will be some drop-dead theological issues that might be a deal-breaker… and if so, fine. then move on to a place where you can embrace the teaching and find connection to the church body.

but if we would simply roll up our sleeves, take more ownership and actually care for the church/community we call “home/family” and are willing to acknowledge its flaws (that all churches have) and commit to being a host church would be the coolest place to be.

can you spare a brutha 56 min. 58 sec… ?

click here for the audio: things that build community or see below for the video (thanks randall!)

The 10 contextual points PE shared:

1. Know who you are. Created in the image of God. Genesis 1.27
2. Be a Host & Not a Guest. Acts 2:42-45
3. Learn People’s Story. We learn to love by learning people’s story and seeing them through #1 and through the eyes of Christ:Colossians 3:11
4. Make Sundays Count. Hebrews 10:25
5. Join a Community Group. Acts 2:42-45
6. Get involved & Serve. Potluck – First to eat, Last to volunteer, First to leave. John 13:1-20
7. Give – Your Treasure. Matthew 6:21
8. Forgive. James 1:19. Colossians 3. Forgiveness = Blessing someone to flourish & prosper.
9. Rejoice [Party with people] & Mourn with one another. Romans 12:15
10. Worship. Loved by God. Saved by Jesus. Guided by teh Holy Spirit. Items 1-9 above are nice but must be covered by our desire to be a Worshipping Community. Colossians 3:16 // Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God

p.s. my fav line: WATER THE DANG GRASS!!!

we did it!
they say that the first year of marriage is supposed to be the toughest… and though there were definitely tough times it’s also been the best year because now my life is no longer just mine but yours as well, and i would have it no other way!
you continue to amaze and teach me what 1 cor. 13 personified is. you aspire me to be a better husband, friend and advocate.
i am truly the most blessed guy b/c i get to journey this life (and the world) together with you!

i love you and am looking to celebrating as many more anniversaries as the Lord allows (and not making you upset!).

(to those who’ve been married for > a year, you’re our heroes! please feel free to pass along any marital wisdom, tips and advice. )

(amazing photos courtesy of our dear friends at ghkim!)