Yao is my BEST FRIEND

The picture says a thousand words. Yao and I are best friends. We can work through my broken chinese and his poor english...his tallness...my shortness.

Thank you Jason for the invitation!

MORE!

Fun Times

House UPDATE

THE FRAMES ARE UP!

UofH

Mike's Dorm Room


Sunny and I in the Dorm Quarters

We got to visit my brother at UofH. I bought matching sweatshirts for my proud parents. I cannot bear to wear UofH gear. HAHA

Vanhdy and Jenny also came! We played ping pong. Weird place to play ping pong, eh?

WEEKEND FUN

We had a lot of fun this weekend.

Saturday - Saturday morning, I had Russian lesson with Liu's wife Bing Bing. I bought Russian for Dummies and ... it was Russian for Dummies. They spell how things would sound in english instead of spelling it correctly in Russian. Bing Bing says that I need a new book. :)

Saturday afternoon, we had lunch with Howard and Lindsey HUANG!! It was super fun. Their house is very cute and classy. Lindsey is a vegetarian, so she made sauteed vegetables and pasta. I complimented with rosemary chicken. OH and we had zucchini bread for dessert with apple butter. AWESOME!

We then had plans to have dinner with Cary, Arthur, and Michael at El Patio, the best Mexcian restaurant in town. They were closed, so we ate at La Conchita. After that, the guys went to the Lin's house to watch the UT football game. I went home and watched the US OPEN Women's final. AND YES it was more important than the UT game! IT'S PRIORITY TO ME ARTHUR!!!!! Hee Hee

SUNDAY - A new Hispanic speaking family came to church. ...I realize that my Spanish is now very poor. It's time to brush up. It's hard juggling two languages man.

Finished up Sunday with golf at the driving range!

Tired Body

Saturday = Volleyball in H-town
Sunday = Basketball in H-town
Monday = Tennis in H-town
Tuesday = Tennis after work
Wednesday = Tennis after work
Thursday = Tennis after work

It all started out Saturday playing super spike Vball. Played till 12:00pm. Shoulder kinda sore from swinging my arm so much trying to spike.
The next morning we ended up playing bball, half court / full court and then crash from the 3 point line. My legs and back were so sore from trying to box out Vanhdy.
Then four days of tennis in a row. I think my right forearm's worn out. My tennis game steadily declined each day to the point where I couldn't hit a ground stroke anymore. Not to mention my legs felt like bricks.
Maybe i'll relax this weekend and watch UT beat OSU and hit a few golf balls. =P

House Update

I drove by the new house the other day and took a few snapshots.

Sometimes we forget the very person we most wanted to become when we were children...when the soul was simple and simply for God.

Mosquito

There was a mosquito in mom's room. It was so bad that I had to move out of her room. It was a little mosquito and anyone who's dealth with mosquito infestations know that the little ones are the most cunning ones. I was bitten twiice on the bottom of my foot, once on my ankle, once on my eyelid, and once on the palm of my right hand. Needless to say, one of my eyes looked as if someone's punched it. Finally, I gave up and moved out of my mom's room to mine. But periodically, there were bursts of "HELENA!! I hear it. I'm going to lay still...You come in and swat at it!" Of course after each of the outbursts, I ran back in her room, turned on the lights ,and swatted at small black moving dots abover her head. At 2 AM, the battle ended. Mom and I sat on her bed looking at each other. I was scratching the bottonm of my foot looking at her with one good eye, the other had been rendered usless by now. Her hair's all crinkled and messy. Mom bent over laughing. I made a face, stumbled back into my room, fell forward in a mound of disarrayed sheets, and passed out.

Katherine's Classroom

Ms. Steel at her desk


I'm reading in the cubby area.

I helped Katherine decorate and organize her new classroom this past Saturday. It was really nice. There's 18 desks for her 18 kids. In the top right corner, there's a reading cubbing area decorated in Hawaiian style. She left her mark with giraffe decors here and there. I haven't stepped in an elementary school in years. It was all very strange. There were posters with positive comments like "Do Your Best Today!", "Be Honest!", "Be Nice", "Be Helpful!". I couldnt help wonder if we all paid more attention to these little reminders when we were children, remembered them, and acted upon them grwoing up....we would all be better selves.

Mike's Relocation 8/17/06

Mike moved into the dorms today. My informant was a crying mom at around lunch time. I remember when I was dropped off ...August 1999 at the Madison House...I was literally dropped off. I didn't know my parents could drive off so fast. Then I found out that the cafeteria was not serving any meals for another three days. I lived off of the Christians On Campus welcome dinners (thank you sisters), Jason Avairah's candy bars, and the military food packs that my dad bought for me.

Gina's bar 8/16/06

I AM SO SORE FROM TENNIS. SO SORE!

It's official. Sunny's parents' house is now a neighborhood bar. Every aunties and uncles have come for drinks. And yes, there were underage drinking. Johnny Wu had to be driven home to Jason...intoxicated.

Sunny, Ken, Cary, and I missed most of the excitement. We were on the TENNIS COURT fighting for glory. Ken and I lost to Sunny and Cary 4-6, 6-7 (4-7). It was pretty close!

We are now more than half way done with the Grey Goose vodka bottle. I'm eagerly awaiting for it to be emptied so that I can use it for a vase...or to hold my stars!!

UP CHUCK Charles 8/11/06

Today was a rather odd day. A former coworker was arrested on the charges of strangulation of a woman in Victoria. He made the front page.

After work, Sunny and I drove to Austin. We stayed with Ken. The Houston crew wanted to go bowling after dinner. So we went to Highland Lanes. I did terrible as usual. THEN CHARELS threw up a little on Tammi.

There may be many different interpretations...Here's mine called...Through the eyes from yet another VICTIM:

Charles and I were talking about this pair of shorts Sunny accidently took back with him to PL. I thought it might have been his. When all of a sudden Charles turned towards Tammi and burped real loud. He turned back to me and started talking to me like nothing happened, but I smelled something that reaked on his breath. I asked him what he brought back with him. I held my breath and pinched my nose. It was THAT bad. I was just about to offer him some gum when Tammi discovered that there was a little bit of vomit on the sleeve of her tshirt. Apparently, Charles had up chucked throw up along with his burp. How was I a victim along w/ Tammi? I had to smell his reaking vomit BREATH!!!

Austin, TX

Last weekend we deviated from our norm of playing in H-town and traveled to Austin. We did so much in so little time it was exausting, yet so fun.

We left Friday right after work and on the way I lost my voice from coughing and singing, haha. First stop was Rudy's BBQ, can't resist the extra moist brisket and the tasty cream of corn. Then it was to Highland Lanes for some bowling action and a few laughs. Burp! The rest of the night was spent at Einsteins playing video games.

Saturday started out with a quick brunch and then kayaking. Note to self, never go alone again! I almost didnt make it back. A big thanks to the people who towed me half way back, haha. Putt putt golf afterwards was just way too hot, we should have went home after kayaking and played putt putt at Austin Park and Pizza later on. Dinner was at Mikado's and it was freezing in there. Food was good though. Austin Park and Pizza needs to fix their arcade games, everything was broken, unplayable, sucky. Laser tag was fun, i shot alot of people, but apparently alot of people shot me as well. While others got in line for go karts we took off back to PL. I spent most of Sunday sleeping and relaxing. I don't know how the rest of pack survived Schlitterbahn on Sunday and then more activities on Monday. I was pooped!

Got my Bags all packed and I'm ready to go...

Got my bags all packed and I'm ready to go... love that Song.

I am ready to move into our new house. I already have boxes!

Living in a predominately Taiwanese neighborhood.

Living in a predominately Taiwanese neighborhood sucks. I will make sure we have good locks on our doors to keep out the busy bees. And there are A LOT of them.

We played tennis yesterday. I was playing with Grace and was very impressed on how much she progressed with just a little bit of instruction when an odious woman approached us. Within minutes, she has insulted Grace and changed my tennis partner. She first asked me if I was payed to play with Grace. NO. I play with Grace, not because she is a good player, but because she is good company. By then, I couldn't help making faces...I think my face turned red. She said proudly that she is so and so's mom. I shrugged and told her that I don't know her or her daughters. Impatiently, she goes on to tell me that she had been on vacation in California for the past 4 weeks. She repeats 4 weeks several times and sticks up four fingers like I didn't really get that she is telling me her husband has been in Formosa for a long and probably is an important man. Who gives a crap! We are not at work. SHE DOESN'T EVEN WORK. Don't you hate it when women have to use the status of their husbands to appease their insecurities for being idle? So, her daughter comes on the court. I assume that it's ok that Grace hit with us. OH NO. She comes up to me and tells me...not in a lowered voice and with no shame. "Grace is not your level nor my daughter's level." She needs to just watch you hit with my daughter. That is when I deemed her as an odious woman. There are a lot here, but she tops the list.

NEW HOUSE!!!!

Check it out!! How do you like the color of the bricks?

Another busy weekend

First off Happy Birthday to Helen and a belated one to Sam.

So this weekend Vanhdy apparently brainwashed Helen into thinking she was 26. Someone at work made a comment in regards to her being 25 now and she blurted out "I'M NOT 25!!! I'M 26!!!" hahaha. Then there was silence and then "STUPID VANHDY!!!" LOL.

Sam's dinner party took awhile to get started, but once it did everything went smoothly. I've never been to such a large party, practically took 1/3 of Cheesecake Factory. It was pretty entertaining watching him pull out "Navy" related gift one after another, haha. Later at After 5, Sam and Charles messed up their N'Sync routine. Charles didn't have enough alchy and Sam claimed he didnt know when to start dancing. Also I surprised myself with my alcohol tolerance. First time in many many many years since I took so many shots. Usually I turn really red and feel sick but this time I only turned red, no sick feeling at all!! Dunno what happened, but i'm not going to complain. =P What really messed me up was the lack of sleep that night.

For Helen's B-day we ate in and Andrews. Preparation for lunch started late because everyone was tired from dog piling Sam the night before. haha Good thing Helen showed up late due to traffic on 610. She was happy with all her gifts, even that duplicate Banana necklace which she went and bought herself that morning, heh sorry Jenny. Then came the big one. I must brag about it since it totally messed up my own plans on how I was going to spend the $$$
http://www.tagheuer.com/the-collection/aquaracer/woman/quartz-watch/index.lbl?w=WAF1412.BA0812
I kinda want one for myself now =P. The guys version of course.

Then remainder of the day was spent playing vball and driving home.

San Anton Zoo

The Zoo crew!

After I was thoroughly humiliated for passing my citizenship test (please refer to Andrew's webpage), we went to the San Antonio Zoo. IT WAS SUPER FUN...except I got real sweaty. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Sunny rode the Lion.

My lepard pic is better than Andrew's cause his tongue's out!

We love Marsupials!

They made me take a picture...with the "blald eagle".

Love the HAIR KEN!!

Working Man

So sad what work does to you. I checked my body fat and it was a whopping 15%. I think i better start working out again and get into better shape.

On a brighter note, I don't have to work tomorrow, Seaworld on saturday, San Marcos outlet shopping on Sunday, and I don't have to hide Helen from the INS anymore hahaha. Just playing.

Welcome to America !!!

MOST BEAUTIFUL SETTING

This was taken on my way to PL from Houston. It was real strange because this yellow light enveloped us in the car. It was so beautiful.

It was one of those moments when you can feel His presence all around. You have to stop everything and just thank Him, praise Him for giving us moments like these.

Venus Williams and THE HOUSTON WRANGLERS

Tonight, we have tickets to the Houston Wrangler's game against the Philadelphia Freedom (featuring Venus Williams) at the Westside Tennis Club! It was awesome. The game was suppose to start at 7PM, but it rained out. So, the actual game started at 9PM.

Sunny and I getting pumped up before the game.

Vanhdy and Sunny bonding.

I'm swinging a gigantic Yonnex racket.

We were in the nosebleed section. I heard that Ken and Jason sat in the "baller" section during the Monday game.

Venus Williams vs. Anna-Lena Groenefeld

Of course after the game, I had to get autographs from all of the Wrangler's and ... VENUS WILLIAMS. The only thing that stood in my way was the "AGE LIMIT" ... 16 and under for autograhs. Did I let that stop me? OF COURSE NOT, I seldom take no for an answer. I waited in line. No one suspected that I was older. But God knew. YUP. He knew and he put the most ANNOYING kid in front of me, who kept trying to mark all over me w/ with his permanent marker and take my pink autograph tennis ball.

Me and the kid that I slapped.

My sister was waiting with me and ... he kept poking at her... I made some threats. "If you touch me or her with that marker, I will throw your permanent marker into the stands, and you won't be able to get autographs." Of course being a 7 year old...the boy was very annoying...didn't stop. So... the next poke came...and I said "BOY, I'm going to stap you upside your head with my backhand..." -- very dramatic, very tennis...backhand...HAHA. By then my sister is freaking out...she's like "OMG helen NO!!!!!!!" Then the pernament marker came again...so I slapped his hand. My sister is like "HELEN NOOOO child abuse."

Right after that...was when the Venus Williams crew came and told us that she has left the building. "VENUS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING." I was like oh man, but I still wanted the other autographs...plus I've made it this far. THEN...something awesome happened. They started giving out cards that were already signed. There was this older lady in front of me. She was denied a card. Then they got to me. AND YES I GOT A CARD...BOOYAH.

The autograph pink tennis ball and the Venus Williams autograph card.

Katherine and her FAKE CATCH

Katherine, Natalie, and Gina came to visit PL for the weekend. We went crabbing. We caught about 12 crabs total. All of us caught crabs except...poor Katherine. It's her second trip and still no catch. I let her pose with my crab in the following photo.

Katherine and her fake catch. HAHA

She keeps trying though!

Our Sleeping Crab.

CRABBING with the LIAOUs

I woke up this morning at 6AM...to do what?? TO CRAB OF COURSE! This trip was taken with the LIAOUs. I showed up and no one was ready. It was like the Friends episode called..."the one where no one was ready". We caught 2 crabs. To ease the disappointment, we drove to Seadrift and bought 30 crabs from the local Vietnamese vendor...right off of the boat.

Daniel and I with the huge blue crab he caught.

Daniel almost dropped the big blue crab he caught on my foot. This was me screaming.

Bonding.

Soloman's afraid of crabs.

Soloman likes hermit crabs though.