twenty.ninth..

..i love golf..

i got to play golf for the first time last saturday and it was awesome.. i went with my father-in-law, and two bros.. i took these two pics and decided to try to edit them.. three cool guys i tell ya..

ps: brent, sorry we had to rain check the garlic fries..

twenty.eighth..

..santa cruz sentinel..

yesterday i was in the newspaper for a interview i had with a reporter.. it was about this photo (above) of a burned american flag i helped save from being completely burned.. here is the link to the article..

santa cruz sentinel

the funny thing is, every time one of our firefighters makes the paper or news they owe the squad ice cream.. this is the 3rd time ive made the paper/news.. thats a lot of ice cream..

peace..

twenty.seventh..

life is good.. firefighting is going great.. i just got home from the martin fire here in county.. because we are so close, we were one of the first five engines on scene.. to make a long story short.. about 4:00 pm on wed. 6/11/08..

we walked into this guy..

above: this was the front page of our local paper.. i got these pictures off their website (www.pressbanner.com).. this is our engine E2320 pictured on the right flank of the fire..

above: this is what the fire looked like before it took off into the trees which were about 100 ft tall.. when the fire took off, all of the trees looked like the tree in the first picture.. the fire literally went from picture 2 to picture 1 in 5 minutes.. it was like walking along side a 150 ft tidal wave of fire.. needless to say, it was rippin.. we had to back out of the fire as the fire jumped to the other side of the street.. im the second guy with the red hose pack.. the media kept sayin that the fire station on martin road was lost, but our strike team saved it.. there is a cool picture at the end of this slide show of a melted american flag that i tried to save.. i also left a comment on the website..

twenty.sixth..

cry baby vol. I

as i said before, i started this blog to keep some sort of record of my thoughts, memories, things that i dont want to forget.. i came on tonight to reveal a confession.. im slightly embarrassed but i find it hilarious to admit that from time to time, i tend to cry over certain things.. i know it isnt normal for a man to admit when he cries but i find it so freeing when i can act against societal stereotypes, finding freedom through vulnerability.. so, i decided to blog these crying experiences from here on out..

heres how itll work..

1. each blog will carry the title, cry baby vol. (I, II, III, etc)
2. i will put the date along with the cry rating
- a: onion chop (good ol watery eyes)
- b: single tear (you know, the "my little boys growin up" tear)
- c: streams of tears a.k.a. the rivers of salt water.. jk
- d: the choke cry (the one that starts with a short breath taking moment and ends with snot)
3. ill put a description of what happened
4. if i can find a picture, video, or link of what made me cry, ill put it on here..

now some of these may be for fun and some may have been emotionally/spiritually moving moments.. i guess im mainly gonna just have fun with it.. now here is a list of moments in the past, mainly from the past 5 years and mind you, im turning 24 next month so these arent cries from childhood.. yes, from my adult years..
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date: 2003
cry rating: streams of tears

i was at home watching this program on tv of a youth conference in a sporting arena filled with over 10,000 teenagers.. the theme of the conference was about reigniting the fire in their hearts.. the speaker gave a great message on how the death of jesus on the cross related to their lives.. after his message he asked the teens to think about what he said and challenged them to make a public proclaimation of their faith and commitment to reignite their hearts and living for christ again.. the way he did this was he said that if they were up to the challenge, they could proclaim this by shouting at the top of their lungs, "i choose the cross!"..

now, at this point i had been following jesus and his teachings for about 3 years.. i was involved with a youth ministry called younglife, which worked with tennagers.. at this point in the program, 1 by 1 you would hear faint voices in the arena shout "i choose the cross, i choose the cross".. in an arena of over 10,000 teens, it got louder and louder and more and more of them shouted, "i choose the cross! i choose the cross! i choose the cross!".. i was so moved at that point to see so many teenagers make a commitment that it brought me to tears.. i remember my dad being on the couch next to me and i was lying in a place where he couldnt see me.. even though my dad is a pastor and im sure he would of understood why i was crying, for some odd reason i hid my tears from him.. maybe i still associated tears with weakness and i didnt want my father see me cry.. i hope my children some day dont ever feel that they could ever change the way i truely feel about them..
-
date: fall, 2003
cry rating: choke cry

the year of 2003 was a hard time for my whole family.. that fall, my grandfather decided to take his own life.. before that event i recently decided to move to pigeon forge, tn to take part in a fall discipleship program (it was a continuation of the 10 week summer program i attend that year).. during this time that my family was dealing with the loss of my grandfather, i still felt that i need to be a part of this fall program.. after all of the funeral events were over with, i moved to tennessee..

while i was there, i watched a movie called "wide awake" that one of my roommates owned.. its a story about a 10 year old boy who goes on a search for god after his grandfather passes away.. the whole idea being, he needed to find god to make sure that his grandfather was going to be ok.. throughout the movie he refers back to memories of things his grandfather would do and he would try to mimic them.. every opportunity he had to impress his grandfather, he would see to it that he wouldnt let his grandfather down..

at one pivotal point of the movie, the boy has a flash back to a memory.. in this memory, he was getting ready to run in a race.. he was competing against other boys in his age group.. right before the gun goes off, he tells the boy next to him that he was going to win the race for his grandpa.. when the race begins, to the kids disappointment he trips, falls, and loses the race.. at that moment i could relate to his feelings of failure and sense of letting someone down.. but when he stood up and ran crying into his grandfathers arms, i watched helplessly and could only wish that i could share in his flashback of being able to run into my grandfathers arms one more time.. i dont know why my grandfather did what he did, but i do know that i love him more now than ever before and i wish he didnt believe the lie that his life was worth giving up..
-
date: 2005
cry rating: streams of tears

nothing sad here.. more so funny to me.. i was in my college dorm room and i borrowed "remember the titans" from a friend.. i dont know what about it was so different from the hundreds of times i had watched it before but when it got to the part where they are at camp and the white and black teammates became one, i lost it.. i was crying and laughing thinking "i need to lock my door before one of the fellas walk in"..

same thing happened that year with the ending of "cool runnings"..
-
date: june 2007
cry rating: long single tear

watching my best friend casey and his lovely wife shannon get married.. during their first communion and prayer, the song "divine romance" by phil wickham played.. i was caseys best man so i was in front turned toward them watching.. while listening to this song and watching my boy casey commit his life to his wife, i dropped a tear one time for the homies.. it was a real special event..
-
date: february 2008
cry rating: choke cry

while i was visiting my brother aisea in santa monica this past january, he recommended that i watch the movie "freedom writers".. the movie is about a teacher in los angeles trying to make a difference in a group of students who battle wars of gangs and racism.. there was a part in the movie that hit me hard and i lost it..

ive always been a believer in the underdog.. my oldest brother taught me long ago that you should always stand up for those who get picked on.. in the movie, the students spend their 10th-12th grade years with their teacher.. when the students came back for their second year (their junior year) one particular student addressed the class.. he was a guy that many of the other student didnt recognize, let along know that they were in the same class together the year before.. he gave a moving speech about how over the summer, he and his mom got evicted from their home and were now homeless.. he expressed how in his return back to school with the same old cloths and beat up shoes, he felt that he was finally home again..

i think that my emotions here were similar to when i watched remember the titans.. being that i hate racism and pity those who remain trapped to ignorance, when i watch this type of movies, i feel a sense of joy in seeing likeness found in difference.. watching this class and that football team overcome what the societies of their time say is normal, helps me remember that the world is changing and that even in a world of trouble and heartache, it can/is still becoming a better place..
-
finally..

date: today, april 2008
cry rating: 0.5 onion chop / 0.5 single tear

my brother and sister-in-law got me hooked on the mtv show "americas top dance crew".. this show is by far in my opinion the sickest show mtv has ever put out.. im usually not a fan of mtv other than pimp my ride.. anyways, the show is about these dance crews from around the country competing to be americas top dance crew..

i pretty much watched every episode of the first season and today i watch the finale.. the team that won, JabbaWockeeZ, had a cool story of coming on to win this competition for their fellow crew member who just passed away.. before they revealed who won, they did a rap up of their time on the show.. when they played the rap up for JabbaWockeeZ, i found myself in tearville.. what can i say, sometimes im easily moved.. here is a link to the video of the finale.. its at the -6:30 mark..
-
so that brings me up to date.. sure was a long blog.. im tired.. my wife is asleep.. its time for me to join her..

peace.. one love..

twenty.fifth..

so the firefighting has been goin well.. both the fire aspect and the medical experience as well.. i took these pictures today while i was on a call.. whenever we get trauma victims, we have to fly them over to santa clara county because we dont have a trauma center in this county.. we had an injury accident today and had to fly the driver out.. the engine i responded with was in charge of setting up the landing zone (LZ).. here are a couple of pictures.. click on the image to enlarge..

life flight flying in from stanford hospital

my good friend, a.dawson, and the life flight staff

patient being loaded into helicopter

twenty.fourth..

beauty all over..

so my wife just came back from the bahamas and she had a great time with her family.. it sucked not being able to go but i had a good time home too.. when i went to pick her up at the airport, it was one of the greatest feeling to see her walking toward outside baggage claim.. its as if something wonderful walks back into your life and you remember how much she means to you..

on sunday we were driving back from church and we had a great time just driving, talking, listening.. she was disgusted with all of the bug bites she had over her body, bummed about the sunburn she received.. now i have to say this because it is the honest truth and i feel obligated to share.. the thought of, the smell of, the feeling of, the sight of, the taste of, the love of my wife turns me on.. this isnt just limited to my body, but my whole being.. there is something about being married to her and going through everyday life that increase my love for her, devotion, appreciation for what we have.. as we go through life my heart, mind, body, and soul are constantly stirred and challenged, leaving me deeply in love with her..

back to the short story.. on sunday, the day was right.. the sun was out.. the sky was blue.. the heat hugged your skin.. the wind blew early spring goodness.. we are driving and shannon is bummed about bug bites and sunburns.. as she talks about this, i replied by saying that "imperfection is just a misunderstanding".. whether i was trying to drop a line on her or be smooth, this struck a chord with me..

i was reminded that no matter how we feel about ourselves, true love always looks beyond our faults, blemishes, bug bites, sunburns, shortcomings, failures.. when we feel imperfect, we misunderstand the truth that we are loved no matter what we think is wrong with us.. there is nothing about my wife that can change my mind that she is completely, perfectly made..

the way we feel about ourselves also tends to reflect the way we feel about the world or about others.. sometimes i find that the things that i dont like or annoy me about some people are things that i dont like about myself.. i guess the issue is, we all need to learn how to love ourselves.. i think that most of the time, i tend to put all my energy towards loving others that i forget or choose not to love myself.. i come from a very insecure past and only learned to love myself at the age of 18.. it started with putting an end to self-hatred..

well, i have to go now and i feel that i have so much to say but so little time.. i hope this wasnt too confusing.. i know that i grew up in church learning to love others.. i wish someone could have taken time to teach me to love myself too.. live n learn i guess..

disclaimer: some may think that some of this may be too much to share but i dare not see the day that i could no longer say these things about her.. part of this and many of my other blogs are on here for my own personal record.. there are blogs that i do not want to forget.. this is one of them.. plus, a man should never be afraid to share his feeling about his wife.. sometime wives need to hear them.. sometimes men need to hear their own feelings too..

twenty.third..

highway 1 - santa cruz, ca

this week my home has been wifeless cause shannon has been out of town.. my good friend david branch happen to have his spring break this week so he decided to come out for a visit.. today we went to san francisco to see the sites.. the day consisted of fisherman's wharf / pier 39 / the bush man / clam chowder bread bowl / golden gate bridge / haight - ashbury / and lumbard street.. on our way back to santa cruz, we decided to take highway 1, a 60 mile drive back home.. it was a beautiful drive.. we stopped at the pigeon point lighthouse to catch the sunset pictured above.. it was my first time taking highway 1 from san fran to santa cruz.. definitely will be doin that again.. i highly recommend it..



ps.. as david and i were walking towards pier 39, when we passed her, some random old lady started yelling, "i hate hawaiians.. go back to hawaii.. go back to hawaii".. she then started to try to tell me to go back to samoa, only it sounded like a mix between samoa and somalia.. i didnt really know what to say.. i wasnt sure if i was more offended by her hatred of polynesians or that she didnt know i was tongan.. oh well, i figured we all have our story and shame on the hawaiian man that broke her heart in the past.. well i dont know if thats why shes so mad.. just run with it..

on our way back, we saw her from a distance and i decided to walk right past her with a blank stare.. she didnt say a word.. my first thought was "man she could of gave me a great blog to write".. i guess i'll just have to settle for the sunset..

pss.. this blog took me 4.5 hours to write cause me firefighter pager has been goin off all night.. only medical calls though.. its 4:36 am.. im tired.. nite..

twenty.second..

jon mclaughlin, doin it!

last night, shannon and i proudly watched our friend jon mclaughlin perform a song at the 80th annual academy awards.. it was so weird to know someone who was not only at the oscars, but also performed at it.. he sang "so close" a movie from the motion picture "enchanted" which he also sang the song in the actual movie..

here's a picture from the Oscars rehersal..

here is another pic i found on the internet of jon and his beautiful wife amy on the red carpet.. every time shannon and i have gone to see jon in show, we have had the privilege of having dinner with them after.. they are some of the nicest folks if you ever get to meet them.. it is just so incredible to see such a good guy makin it in the music biz..

















here's a pic from way back when.. shannon and i were in atlanta, ga sept. 2006 while traveling with our last job.. it was the first time i met jon and amy.. he played a awesome show and was opening for dave barnes..









jon really does have so much goin for him and hes got a good head on his shoulders.. its neat to see amy's interaction in his career.. the two of them seem to work so well together.. well, i guess thats pretty much all ive got to say bout all that.. last thing is..

he performed at the oscars wearing a hollywood lookin suit with small dots on it.. one word.. uh wee

twenty.first..

waimea canyon.. kauai, hi

(click to enlarge)

here is a photo from the honeymoon.. popularly known as the grand canyon of hawaii.. or of the pacific.. i dont remember, either way it was awesome.. this was a collection of 3 pictures i took, then digitally aligned and merged together with adobe photoshop..

twentieth..

..victory is mine..

its has been a long process of healing since my knee operation, but things are going back to normal.. for the past few weeks, i started playing soccer on mondays and basketball on wednesdays.. i play soccer with a bunch of the mount hermon staff guys who happen to be of some central american origin (i was trying to find a way to not label them as just being mexican).. anyway, these guys are awesome and fun to play with.. they are all good soccer players.. ive had a blast playing with them but tired of being one of the only guys to not have cleats and of them running circles around me while i slip and fall frequently..

due to our financial situation, i knew it would be hard to convince the mrs to let me buy some cleats.. i searched many different websites but no luck finding cheap, size 14, cleats.. i eventually found these cleats (pictured above) on ebay, brand new and in the original box.. they were worth $100.. the starting bid was $14.99 and i decided to try my luck.. i put a bid in for $15.00, only a penny above the requested starting bid.. watched for 2 1/2 days and it went untouched.. i won the cleats for a penny over the starting bid..

now, i would say "to make a long story short" but i cant..

thats it..

story done..

i won..




personal points record:

me - 1
part of the economy that makes things expensive - ZERO