Cultural traditions.

Recently, I've been noticing some phenomenon that happen in our daily lives that often become mundane activities that everyone does, but that have much more depth to them once you stop and reflect on it. These suddenly stand out to me.

One of these is waiting for the bus. Most of the time, I'm the one waiting for the bus, so I'm the one fulfilling that role. But it's not often that I pay attention to other people waiting for the bus, while I'm on the bus itself. I realized this when through the bus window, I see a person standing at the bus stop, patiently waiting for it's arrival, but having to wait due to a red light. I'm sitting on this bus that's stopped at a red light 20 ft away from the passenger waiting, and there now exists this semi-awkward waiting period, where you know the bus is right there. It's so close, yet so far away, almost as if there is a connection that exists now between the bus and this passenger. And at the same time, a question begs to be asked: "Will the bus driver stop for the waiting passenger?" Due to many reasons, the answer to that question would be no. The bus could be full; the driver could be having a bad day; it might be a Limited bus that doesn't stop there. This all just adds to the tension that's created in that minute of the red light status.

Another example is seeing freshmen move in and go through orientation. This is something that I've already been through myself, so I'm able to relate to them and their experiences. But at the same time, I know I'm in a different situation in life now, and I can look at them and laugh a little bit because it's cute to see them be so innocent and new and lost. The experience of parents sending their high school graduate off to college, the child that they have invested so much in and have had to take care of for 18 years.

Watching through my window on the 3rd floor, I can clearly see the back door of my building where a constant stream of cars and vans are parked to unload their child and his/her college junk. Parents sacrificing themselves and their health just to make sure all their child's heavy boxes and mini-fridges and other useless stuff can get up to their room safely, and be neatly stowed away in the semi-adequate dressers and closets that the University provides to students. All because of their mixture of unconditional love, desire for their child's wellbeing in hopes of their success, and their feelings of unease and uncertainty of letting their child go to be independent and live on their own in a completely new environment. So of course the parents want to inspect their dormitories and their rooms to see what kind of a secure, weather-proof and insulated four walls their beloved offspring will be hopefully surviving and studying hard to be successful.

It's just very interesting to observe these types of events that happen on a very frequent basis that we often overlook, or treat as just "another one of those things". Take a look around you, and observe the things that happen in your daily life, and let it speak to you.

the joys and frustrations of being a sound tech.

is there any possible way to account for all of the people that use equipment in this church? to be quite honest, i don't think so. with the vast amount of people that interact with equipment in this church, it's too much of an endeavor to try to make sure each person is following the preset format of doing things. of course, there's a reason for everything that exists. rules and procedures are preset for a reason, to make sure that certain things are used for that specific purpose, in a safe and proper way, and to protect the quality and health of the product. holding group trainings can only do so much, and can only go so far. just because i explain how things work and should be handled does not guarantee that the multitude of listeners will first of all remember all of it, and secondly actually put it into practice when they next interact with equipment. i wish there was a way for me to shadow each person who touches a piece of equipment to ensure that it's being handled safely and correctly, but of course, that's not possible by any means. i'm not around most of the school year, and even the times that i am here, i have my own things going on that i need to do, or be at, and can't be with other groups all the time.

i think the only way for true growth to happen is if the individual personally cares about what they're doing, and makes an effort to learn more and experience more in that area or craft. a soundperson who truly wants to learn their craft is probably already engaged in what they're doing, and takes steps to learn more about it. i only wish that there would be more people who care that much.

i was offered a soundperson position for a wedding that's happening this saturday, and i accepted simply because of the need, and i also thought it would be fun. it's always fun to do weddings, and you also get to experience the wonderful experience that is the holy matrimony of two people in love. from a soundperson's perspective, it's super fun because there are so many aspects to the wedding, and so many facets to the sound mixing for the wedding band. for this wedding, we had 2 acoustic guitars, 2 electric guitars, 1 bass guitar, piano, drums and 3 vocals. it's always a welcome challenge for me to mix larger teams, and to make it run smoothly. it requires me to carefully think about what equipment is available for the situation, and what channels are open, and then being able to execute it and setup all the cables and gear to fit that model i created in my head. it gives me joy and pride to make things happen like that, knowing that everything is accounted for and is functioning properly and smoothly. it's my hope and desire for the current soundpeople and youth to have the same joy and pride in the work they're doing, and not just be comfortable or complacent.

it has been my lifelong dream (and still is) for there to be an increase in number of people with willing hearts to serve, specifically in sound ministry and presentation ministry. in recent years, that has slowly been coming more and more true. there have been more and more young people stepping up to help out with sound and presentation, for which i'm very thankful and happy to know. whether they were appointed or self-appointed, i do not know (but of course, i hope it is the latter), but at least their hands are there to serve. but it's hard for me to see great desire in learning in any of them yet. "yet" is a hopeful word.

it's hard for QHC to do big events, like retreats, or even weddings, because there is simply just not enough people to run sound at these events. i can't always be the one to run these types of gigs, and there needs to be other people who can handle big events with complex setups like that. Aaron Lim has been steadily improving and showing that he is responsible and caring, and it makes me a little more at ease to know that there is someone i can defer to when i'm not around. i'm very thankful for him, what he does, and what he's willing to do.

if only people understood the full extent of what being a soundperson really is like. there are tons of magazines and nationwide annual conferences dedicated to sound equipment and sound mixing training. take a look at the kinds of setups that live concert venues work with, and how much more elaborate and complex their systems are. the magnitude of that always blows my mind, how traveling sound technicians have to setup their monster rigs every day, and mix together dozens of channels of vocals, instruments, and effects. knowing how to master all of that is real skill. what we do with a 32-channel mixer, two guitars and vocals is small potatoes compared to the stuff that is out there. but because i know the professionalism that exists out there in the industry, i try to take that for myself and incorporate it into the way i mix and the way i setup. because people out there make money off of their work doing stuff like this. i just do it out of love and service, and the small joy that i get knowing that others are able to experience musical worship, a sermon, or just live music that's pleasing to the ears because of what i can contribute.

how disappointing.

My parents and I decided to go to Tea Shop 168 on Utopia today for lunch. We were originally reluctant to go there because we pretty much knew that chances were, there would be a mass of high school kids from Francis Lewis hanging out inside, and that's not a very peaceful environment to be eating your lunch in. Luckily, it was a pretty quiet day inside, so we ordered and sat down to eat. I'm almost done eating my baked Portuguese chicken over rice when a bunch of high school kids appear and start loitering in front of the restaurant. They're looking in through the glass, and I can tell that they're obviously wanting to hang out inside, but since all the tables were taken, they couldn't.

A few minutes later, the table in front of us gets up to leave, and four of the high school kids outside come in to sit down. As soon as they come in, a wave of commotion and restlessness comes with them. And suddenly, the restaurant is in a state of unease. Why? Because of all the boisterous talk and snickering coming out of their mouths being directed at the girls about having sex. Not to mention the two guys cacophonously insulting the two girls at the table, hitting them on the head, grabbing their hair and pushing them down to the tabletop, and threatening them with a fist raised and a sly grin, as if it's nothing. I guess you could call it joking from their perspective, but I think it crosses the line when any guy can have so little respect for himself and for others that he would dare to hit a girl. Coupled with the kind of vulgar language being used and disrespect for their surroundings and the other restaurant patrons, any respect I had previously had for high schoolers suddenly went down the drain. I know there must be decent high schoolers who actually possess morals and some sense, and I really do and want to believe that not all high schoolers are like this. But it's just so sad and disheartening to see the current state of our youth today.

"Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." -Ephesians 5:4

time goes by so fast.

i used to be really close to this girl named Nancy, and she became my little sister. it's kind of funny cuz it was all AIM based, and we never actually ever met in person. but it was a pretty significant part of my life. i was 15, and it was 2005. now i'm trying to dig up those long conversations we had, in an attempt to recover those moments, and to piece together what that portion of my life was like. time goes by so fast, and memories so easily fade. really have to cherish every moment in life, and take every opportunity so as to not have regrets. how is it that we can be so close to someone, and become so distant in just a short manner of time? it's sad.

what do you really enjoy?

wouldn't it be great if the world was a place where people could study what they truly enjoy, and be able to pursue the passions and professions that they actually want to have? all instead of going through the system and taking classes to achieve a number, which dictates your degree of efficiency and success.

first post!

so i've decided i should start blogging again. i've become kind of scared about time, seeing as how it's hard for me to remember things from middle school that i know were very significant in my life, including close friendships. i'm hoping that frequent blogging will allow me to remember things that happen in my life when it becomes the future. i'm so thankful for iChat logs and AIM logs. i definitely need to boot up my Windows machine and retrieve those chat logs from my high school years. just wish i could retrieve middle school chat logs. so indicative of a childhood that can only be lived once, by me. and the longer i live, the harder it'll be to remember those things.

gonna be sharing my CTI testimony tomorrow morning (well, this morning). i have like, 91 slides of photos to share, talking about them and sharing stories while i go through them with the congregation. i really hope it won't take over 20 minutes... it's a lot to share but i may have to cut it short if i can't get that much time from pastor ben. really pray that God will speak through my sharing, and encourage/inspire the congregation to go out into the mission field.

can't sleep, as usual.

I think I will try to write posts in the future that are more insightful and objective, instead of merely using this as a canvas on which to spill out my thoughts.