Biggest crab ever!

I'm a Fisherman's Wharf self-declared crab connoisseur. Today I went and asked for the biggest Dungeness crab they have. In the past I've only had $14 dollar large crabs ($8.95 / lb), usually in the middle of a Berkeley Physiology class that was easily ditchable. But today they went to secret reserve bin and pulled out a $21 behemoth! It was so huge and cool! After a boiling and a good smashing, there was so much meat. It was maximum meat for the same effort! Nice, nice.

My cousin, Michael, and I building a rocket together. 6/16/04 

Michael and I at Mission Park ready to launch. It flew over 1000 feet! 

My hair currently, but making it darker brown tomorrow for the more formal DC look. 

Malachi on my mind.

"For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations. (Malachi 1:11)." The imagery behind the rising and setting sun is so powerful and beautiful. It only serves as a glimpse of God's true power and glory. Amazing!

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"My covenant with him (Levi) was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me, and stood in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips, he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity." (Malachi 2:5-6)

Above reproach. I admire the description of the Levite's faith so much. Josh Chien used to train GMG (Godly Men's Group, high school) to be above reproach. It had stuck with me since, but in many ways it contradicts a lot of the craziness in my life and in the previous blogs. Being exposed to the harsh world is like playing "hardball." It takes real heart preparation, and a strong walk with God. When I'm not careful, it easily enflames a battle that rages within.

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"From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statues, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you." (Malachi 3:7) The last line blows me away, for His mercy is so great... and his arms are open to receive.

I love my sister so much!

Mary just returned to SD from Guadalajara today after 4 months in Central America, mostly Guatemala and Honduras. I would give anything to sit down with her at our favorite coffee shop in La Jolla and just share adventures until late early in the morning. She has much wilder one's than me. She's wild, in general. I'm so proud of her. It's ok, we're planning on hanging out in New York or Vermont in a few weeks.

As an illustration of her life, here's a taste of her day so far. She was fine all of the time alone in Central America, only to return to the US and find a man masturbating at her on the empty trolly car. She was furious and just told him how pathetic he was. I feel sorry for the guy who tries to take advantage of her, she's not the kind of girl to mess with. I'm so proud of her.

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My naysaying backfired!

Ok, so I'm often a naysayer to my closest friends because it can be funnier to see them devastated, in a good joking way (if that's possible). One of my closest friends had a rough breakup with his ex a while ago, followed by a lot of drama. We were told over dinner that she was going to his house today. He ate less, and his anxiety was so intense his eyes were glazed over. I was making fun of him all night, but I had decided to protect my brother as his "wingman" tonight. I was so amused at his misfortune, and totally deserve what happened next.

We go back to his place and see his ex. Then from the livingroom comes MY ex (the one from the June 11th story of trauma). What the?! I thought she was 500+ to 2000+ miles away! The wingman was going down in flames... it was an ambush for the both of us. I was surprised, shocked, and taken aback for a few minutes. Then it was fine... actually it was great. Over the months, my rose-colored glasses had slipped off and she was just an old friend again. Sa-weet! But I hear that she's dating again and I wish her the very best!

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Choir boys with British accents

We went to watch my little cousin Michael sing in a boys choir today. They were so cute! It was, like, all falsetto. Cool!

Rouge + Jeff from LSF

Today I woke up at noon, watched a movie "The One" with good ol' Albert and talked / joked / made fun of it the whole time like we always did back in high school / college. It felt like great times again!

Then I rushed off to work, and cooked for a wedding. NY Strip steak was on the menu, along with other hard to pronounce French words. Tonight, we used lemon aioli (sauce) to top the crab cakes. My cooking partner Matt (culinary grad) mentioned that it is also used to top empanadas, which was on my mind since reading Annie Tran's blog about her empanada lunch. I asked him what they were, and he said they were like apple turnovers with meat instead of apple. Being a carnivore, I thought: Hook it up! It also unraveled the mystery behind Annie's empanada story.

My eight hour shift ended at 11:30 pm, and immediately Jerm and Niki picked us up to go clubbing at the Rouge. It didn't end up being a non-Niki girl after all (inside joke). There were a total of 7 of us there: Me, Lisa (IV), Tina Chiang (IV), Merm, Niki, Jeff (LSF), and Jeff's friend. Going with a big group made it infinitely better than last nights experience. Unfortunately, cover was $20 a person. But you really get what you pay for, and this place was nice. There were 3 simulataneous bachelorette parties happening, and the place was mainly full of wild girls dancing on the bar... which is enough to make Ken Kong jealous that he didn't come :). We had a great time, but the best part was spending time to get to know our friends in a different context (ex. dancing with Tina, slight drama with Lisa, dancing with some random bachelorette (causing slight drama), letting Jerm turn my shirt into a bikini top while people stuffed cash into my pants as I danced). But on a deeper interpersonal level, I'll explain...

I've been impressed with Jeff (half Korean, half white) ever since I met him. At first, I think it was his confidence, sincerity, supportiveness of others, and faith in the Lord. I sensed those things about him right off. Plus he's super athletic. Over time, I've found that we have similar tastes: We split a bottle of Mondavi cabernet sauvignon (our favorite) in Napa, we dress similarly, and he sipped Jack Daniels tonight in a cognac glass (which I would do). Only, I feel that in all of these things mentioned above, he's a step ahead of me. That's why even though I rarely hang out with him (total of 4 times), I admire him a lot.

Disclaimer: I include the antics and details in my life and stopped being afraid of what my friends think. Even so, all of the craziness at the club was really just superficial "razzle dazzle." The best moments were the experiences of being goofy together, as brothers and sisters. There may be those who will read my stories and scoff. I don't need to write this stuff, it could just be about sunshine and butterflies in my walk with the Lord. I just feel that I get so much judgemental, conservative flack from my Christian friends, which is ironic because I used to be so uptight and critical of anything "worldly." I've come to realize that it's always easier to stand on the side and shake our heads, yet harder to truly live in the world... but not of it. I've since stopped isolating and insulating myself, and that has been the most powerful witness of all.