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alvonator
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Country: United States
State: California
Gender: Male
Interests: God, missions, basketball, computers, blogging, sports, AIM, working out, eating, swing dancing, shared experiences, trying new things in a safe/comfortable environment, psychology, and discussing relationships...=P.
Occupation: Engineering
Industry: Computers (Hardware)
Message: message me
Member Since:
6/26/2003
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| We are entering week 36 now, and are entering the home stretch, where our family of 2 becomes a family of 3. As I'm reflecting on becoming a father soon, I'm reminded from our infant care class to really cherish the first time we do anything. Like change a diaper, hold the baby, put on clothes, etc. I think our home is mostly ready for this new transition. After putting up some new blinds, and then hanging up some more pictures in the nursery, it will be time to do a lot of laundry. I first didn't think I would like the "high-efficiency" washer/dryer that my sister purchase, but the more I use it, the more I like it. I discussed during Sunday School yesterday with the junior high boys what dreams their parents have for them, and what dreams they might have for their own children some day. Of course, the discussion didn't go far, and I had to send three boys out of the classroom, but it started me thinking of what I would want my child to be. I think first and foremost, I want them to love the Lord with all them heart, mind and soul. I want them to be independent and confident in who they are as people. I want them to have life balance and to have opportunities to try and experience many different things and appreciate, love and respect all people. I want them to do their best in everything they do. Anyways, life is changing very soon. I better get more rest. =P. | | |
| I have been teaching junior high boys Sunday School. The students are in the 7th and 8th grade. Sometimes we have great discussions, and other times like today, are very challenging.
Since the 8th graders were graduating to the high school sunday school class, I decided to do something fun, like play Jeopardy and also play "Catch Phrase."
The boys didn't seem very interested in all. Their first questions were, "Are there any prizes?" Another kid goes, "I don't want to play." Anyways, I just moved forward with playing Jeopardy. In choosing teams, I just asked the boys to either put their palm up or palm down. Two boys who wanted to be on the same team, whispered to each other what they wanted to do. Come on. Even choosing teams, you have to cheat. hahahaha. Hilarious.
Anyways, we started the game, and since I didn't have any official buzzer, I would see the boys raise their hands, and based on that, let one team answer the question. One student on an opposite team said, "You favor the other team." I'm like...who do I favor? He said a boy's name, and then I asked him, "How do I favor him?" He goes, "I don't know." I said, "as a teacher, I can't play favorites." I said it's even worse in a family, if a parent favors one kid over another. Anyways, he backed off his statement. I said, if I see the hands go up equally I'll choose your team.
Later, after Jeopardy, I decided to play Catch Phrase. Now, since catch phrase uses a randomized timer, the easiest way to get through items is to do it as fast as possible. What one team devised a strategy to describe a word by making a statement with the first letter of each word of their being the answer to the clue. The clue was circle and he said, "cat is round, cat loves eating" I was like, "that's not in the spirit of the game," and docked them points. Anyways, they then gave me attitude and said it was smart way to playing the game. Hahaha. I'm glad I can laugh it off, but Wilma can sense my frustration.
Anyways, every week when I go into class they go, "I have an idea, let's not have class today." Hahahahaha. Hilarious.
As these boys grow older, my hope is that they'll eventually mature and know that we care about them. Junior highers need structure, but they desire freedoms that they can't handle.
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| my sister/bro-in-law/nephew left for thailand about 2 weeks ago now. it was a bittersweet goodbye, as i was so happy for them to begin this new season overseas, but also difficult as we won't be seeing them for awhile. i miss them. my father and mother have been devoting themselves to preparing my brother's house for rental, and my parents and myself will begin the process of refinishing the hardwood floor in our homes in the upcoming weeks. for us, that requires the removal of all the carpet, and therefore, the removal of all the furniture and stuff that sits on top of the carpet. honestly, it's not that much stuff, but just daunting that we need to clean up our whole home except the kitchen. as i reflect on the upcoming process of refinishing the floor, i'm a little overwhelmed, but also expectantly excited. once we finish that, we will be able to prepare the nursery for our upcoming baby. we went shopping at babies r' us last weekend to get an idea of the things we need. let's just say, that babies r' us did a fabulous job of creating their own market, and transforming into a top-notch store that caters to babies. kudos to them. we have lots to clean up in the upcoming days. =P. who reads xangas anymore? | | |
| Sorry to my readers for not posting more often. Most people are using facebook these days, but I still prefer xanga.
Physical Health:
My head is improving, and it's almost gone. I'm at about 2% of the dizziness. When I came back from Europe I was at about 25%. It really has made a difference for me, as I feel a lot more positive about things. I was going through bouts of being frustrated and depressed, but now I'm much more positive. I have been seeing the chiropractor for a couple weeks for my chronic hip pain, and saw him for about 6 weeks. It really helped to improve my hip, and I was able to run for 30 min. on Mon. I haven't been able to run pain free since a half-marathon last Nov.
Remodeling:
We are working on remodeling our master bathroom and it has been a long and arduous process. We have been going back and forth with this Chinese lady that we bought products from. The first shower pan we got was broken. A 2nd was ordered, but it has taken a long time to receive. Hopefully we can get started next week with the work. I'm looking forward to a new bathroom. I am also starting to work on the kitchen remodel. It's sometimes difficult to put everything together, but I'm trying my best. I went to Lowe's yesterday for some design help, and it's really cool because they come up with 3-D drawings. We're also going to ripout our carpet, as it will be better for allergies and my asthma. Our goal isn't to spend a lot of money, and really what I want is a two bowl sink to wash dishes and a reverse osmosis system for water.
Work:
Work has been alright. My work model has been challenging as my entire team is in Irvine and I'm in Santa Clara. I have only been down to Irvine once this year, and it's been good that I haven't had to travel as much. As we are going through "Hole in Our Gospel" during men's group, it's challenging because I don't interact with people on a daily basis (co-workers). I love the freedom of my job, but I need to interact with more non-believers.
Church:
Wilma and I are settled in at LGCC. It has been challenging at times since we are older than everyone else in the young adult gruop, and since we were newcomers. It has been really good now. I started to teach junior high boys sunday school, and am going to Belize on a STM with the church. There are 35 people going. Pretty cool. We have been meeting in a married couples group about once a month, and that has facilitated getting to know people better and allowed us to share in the journey of marriage with others.
Personal Training:
I interviewed with the YMCA a couple weeks ago, and haven't heard back. I wanted to volunteer as a personal trainer, but they were fairly adamant that I would get paid. Unfortunately, they would require me to work at least 5 hrs. a week. However, during basketball season, I would have to shift my schedule, and I don't think they can trust me to be committed when I'm working part-time while having a full-time job. It would be nice to work there for the free membership, but honestly, I'm not that committed to working for them. If I could just volunteer maybe 2-3 hrs. a week that would be ideal. Within the next year, I'm going to have to decide if I want to renew my personal training certification.
Family: My sister and bro-in-law and nephew are planning to head to Thailand to be teachers to TCK (third-culture kids). They are raising financial and prayer support. If you're interested in supporting them, let me know and I can put you in touch with them. I'll write more later. Thanks for reading. | | |
| Wilma and I had an interesting discussion with a AACF staff worker at a Red Egg and Ginger Party on Sat. afternoon. The jist of the discussion was understanding the trend in declining numbers within college ministry and college fellowships. I encouraged him to write a paper about it. Anyways, the discussions focused around Gen. Y. It's the generation after us, and I would consider those born in the 1980s. I better caveat this post to say that these are generalizations, and not all Gen Yers exhibit these characteristics, but moreso to give the Gen. Xers a better understanding of what ministry might look like to the next generation. =P. Gen. Yers have grown up with the Internet, text messaging, and cell phones. Access to information is always available, and they can get antsy when they can't get what they need or want right away. I would call this "Instant gratification and instant fulfillment." If you are running 5 min. late, they'll send you a text message, "where are you?" Delayed fulfillment is difficult, and impatience is a common characteristic. I think it starts in how they have been raised. Their parents may had needed to work 2 jobs to provide for the family and because of that, most of their lives have been spent indoors, with electronics as their stimulation (TV, computer, video games, etc.). Not enough time to play with others and be outside. Why do they get antsy so fast? I think it may deal with their parents not having the patience after a long day to comfort them, and the parents sitting them in front on a TV when they are cooking or taking care of other household errands. The TV can become the primary babysitter. It's been interesting that it's so rare to receive phone calls these days. The phone calls we receive are from people saying they are engaged, are pregnant, or are running late. Even when we call other people, they go, "are you expecting?" We're like, "No, we just want to see how you are doing." Most of communication is done online now, and Gen. Yers are growing up lacking meaningful social interaction. Getting an update on facebook or twitter is feeling like you know someone, but in reality, it's not closeness in relationship, but an update on life. It's easy to hide behind the computer. We live in an information age, where there is so much information. It's hard to process all of it, and allow it to go deeper in our brains and mind. Our minds turn to mush. I think it can translate to going to church/fellowship. It may feel awkward or weird to have to interact with real people. Online community vs. real community. Maybe they are all becoming like engineers, who are in the lab all day. Hahahaha. =P. Anyways, just some thoughts. The Internet and communication has been a good thing for society. It's learning how we can apply it in good and meaningful ways. | | |
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