God has given me my personality and my talents. It is no good to compare what others have to what I have. I need to know my shortcomings and my strengths. What matters is how you use your talents and to not waste them. How can I use my life to help others that are in my sphere of influence? I am in the unique position of having more time than others, and I should not squander that opportunity. I want to be able to love others and not feel like I need something in return. The people that I mostly gravitate to are probably those who feel more on the fringe, those who don’t always fit in or have as many social graces. Perhaps that is because that is sometimes how I feel I am like. 

My dad’s side of the family has some issues with mental health. I think I can relate to it being that I can’t take too much pressure (examples are my breakdowns at Maxreal and BWC). It makes me feel inadequate. Why is it that others can stand the pressure and I cannot? In a way, it helps me recognize that I cannot stand on my own strength. I should still try to make use of time in a way that glorifies God. In the meantime, what I should try to do is be more in God’s word daily, read books, avoid entertainment that does not edify/wastes time, reach out to different friends down in LA or other church friends on my days off. Live this life well and live it for God. Easier said than done, but should just take it one step at a time. 

I went down to LA from Wed, 3/14 to Sat, 3/18 for my mom’s birthday. I also went down in January for my dad’s birthday. As they get older, I think it is a good excuse to visit them. I have the ability to see them because of the flexibility of my job, points from Southwest making it free(ish), and not having kids which gives me the time to do things others may find much harder to do because of other responsibilities. 

On Wednesday, Anson brought me to the SJC airport, and I was able to have lunch at one of the airport lounges. I love their new system in which they have QR codes on the tables, and you can order your food thru the phone and they will bring it right out to you in minutes. I had a cheese plate, a half deli sandwich, two sweet and sour meatballs over rice, avocado hummus with veggies, a Bloody Mary, and a cappuccino. I’ve missed going to lounges and I’m glad that I have the Capital One Venture X card to get free Priority Pass.

My dad normally drives and my mom helps navigate on the GPS. I usually drive back. I’m thankful that there wasn’t too much rain as I am worried for them in their older age. We had Yoshinoya for dinner. On Thursday, I worked a little, my mom’s friend, Joanne, brought her some bread and Costco chicken for lunch, I walked to Smart & Final to get her roses and hid them behind the couch, we had some sushi, yakisoba, and potato croquette from Mitsuwa for dinner, and I rewatched Top Gun: Maverick since I had been meaning to (such a good movie that I bought it with my Google Play Credits) with my mom and had to kind of explain what was happening to her, but I know she hasn’t really watched a movie in a long time, so it was nice to love on her in this way.

On Friday, I made Trader Joe’s pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and Anson was on the call when we sang happy birthday to my mom when I gave her the flowers. I’m glad she was surprised since there were a couple times when I thought she would see them. I did a little work again while my mom went to the Asian Youth Center and got some fresh vegetables and food (it is nice that non profit organizations try to reach out to the community in this way. I just wish there wasn’t as much waste in our society). I helped them with some technology questions and also took their tax documents so that I could work on their return. As “payment”, my mom gave me a $25 Amazon gift card that she received from someone else at church. For dinner, we went to Kami Buffet in Rosemead. I ate so much sashimi (feels like that is the only way to make it worth it).

Saturday is my flight back to the Bay Area. I made the Trader Joe’s pancakes again for breakfast and had a good talk with my mom. There are times when I feel like I don’t always know what to say to my mom, but it was a good, deep conversation about the past, our present and future life. I sometimes feel like we are pretty different and I am more like my dad. She is what I aspire to be in how she is able to make different friends and serve in the church. 

Anson and I participated in this year’s walk for life hosted by Real Options. We do this as an annual thing. In 2020, we did this right before the world shut down from the pandemic. In 2021, we participated, but more in a socially distanced setting (hosted by the Kwok’s) and went around a school’s field near their house. I remembered talking to Sharon for most of the walk. In 2022, we weren’t able to make it because of Anson’s Spartan event in LA, but this year, we are back into the swing of things!

There were a bunch of people who came this time from our church. I probably did not have to register at the event since they already had all our money from FundEasy online, and I declined the wristband and shirt since I know I probably won’t wear them again. We were fed our customary Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuit for breakfast (my favorite part of this whole event). I walked and talked with Emily, Vivian, Janine, Kelly, and Julie, while Anson ran and placed 2nd overall!. His mile time was under 7 mins. I think that’s a pretty cool feat! We also had some pretty good runners as Jojo and Conner both got first in their age groups. Overall, we raised $1000 as a couple and over $16k as a church.