Day 1 - Going Vegetarian

Cucumber salad for breakfast. Going on a month long vegetarian diet with Hao. Apparently, it's more "healthier" says the doc.

This whole vegan diet talk began when I made Hao and Xiao watch The Cove (Oscar winner for sure) with me. It's basically a documentary about the lucrative dolphin capturing and killing business going on in a small town in Japan. About 23,000 dolphins are captured each year to be sold to Sea Worlds and aquariums. The dolphins that don't get selected and bought are slaughtered for their meat. The meat is then disguised as high quality whale meat and sold at markets in Japan. This wouldn't be much of a problem except dolphin meat often contains high level of mercury; and mercury is poisonous, and the Japanese government has allowed all this to happen. The fishermen explain that they need to slaughter these dolphins because they are eating up all the fish and world's fish population is decreasing at a drastic rate. At this rate, it's estimated that the fish market will crash in 40 years due to lack of supply. To make a long story short, I told Hao I would do my part and eat less seafood. Being the discordant guy that he is, Hao says why don't you also eat less meat and help the bovine population.

Foolish or not, I'm hoping this vegan diet will at least help me see just how hard it is to be vegan in this meat-infested world.

Deborah C: and vegetable protein isnt that good
Deborah C: high cholesterol
Deborah C: and youll get manboobs
Deborah C: from tofu
Deborah C: i read it in menshealth

A good article about the decline of fish in the world.

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A New Year, A New You

2010. (Wasn't there a movie made years ago named that?) Y2K really didn't seem that long ago. But what a decade it has been. And being the reminiscent person that I am, here's my Top 10 list for the past decade.

10. 2001 - Junior year HS. Probably my lowest of lows.
9. 2000 - Mom became deathly ill.
8. 2006 - Struggled with major. Dealt with family illnesses.
7. 2008 - College -> Real Life transition.
6.2003 - Graduated from High school.
5. 2007 - Graduated from College. Found a job.
4. 2005 - Formed lifelong relationships with my class.
3. 2004 - Fell in love with China and Missions.
2. 2009 - Bought a house. Relive missed moments with parents.
1. 2002 - Accepted Christ. Became a JPG. Found lifetime friends.

Bring it on OH TEN!

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Discipline

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments."

Every year, I keep track of my New Years resolutions in this notepad file. Though I usually open it once a year to write down my new resolutions, I stumbled on it as I was cleaning out my hard drive.

Grab rim with both hands.
Score 1500+ on SATs.
Get into CalTech.
Lose 10lbs.
Bench my weight.
Find a home church.
Get a girlfriend.
Find an internship.
Lose 20lbs.
Read 1 book a month.
Find a job.

And the list goes on...with my oldest resolutions from 2002. Looking back on some these, I can't help but to laugh a little. New Years resolutions have never really been something I strictly follow but I did it anyways to just document some of my goals throughout my life. However, as I cross out the goals I actually did accomplish in those years, I find that there weren't that many. To be honest, I'm not surprised.

Jim Rohn, who is considered a "businessman philosopher" of our time, said the quote above. Throughout many people's lives, we don't lack dreams nor hopes but what we lack is discipline. And without this discipline, our dreams and hopes just stay where they are -- a mirage, a false reality, something that keeps our spirits up.

I recently had a conversation with a close friend, and he mentioned how it seems like so many of our peers are already starting to "settle" or seem to lack focus/direction in their lives. As I began to think of each of my friends, I can't help but to feel that I fall into this category as well. What's my focus? Where is my life headed? What am I doing now that will positively affect my future? I don't have all the answers to these questions, and I think some of these questions are to be answered throughout this journey called life; but what I do know is whatever it is that is ahead of me -- be it my goals, my dreams, God's will -- it will require discipline.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
-1 Corinthians 9:25-27

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Rockets: I know what you did last summer...

I usually don't like to blog about sports or write anything officially because I have a rather weird and twisted POV, but this summer in the NBA has been too crazy to not talk about. Here are my predictions for the rest of the off season and upcoming season:

East:
1. Boston - This is a lock. Sheed is just exactly what they needed. Anyone realize Sheed's been in the playoffs for 14 years straight? Like they say at MIT, winner winner chicken dinner.

2. Cavs - Shaq's one of the only 2, I mean 1 (*sad face*), centers in the NBA who can stop Dwight. Anyone else crossing their fingers for a Shaq vs Big Baby conf finals?

3. Magic - Don't get wrong, VC > Hedo. But Orl+VC < Orl+Hedo. Either way, #3 is a lock for them.

4-8. Who cares?

West:
1. Lakers - This is a lock. Ron woulda been a genius if he chose 73 instead of 37. Because 73 just might be the number of wins they'll have this year. Chyeah I said it.

2. Spurs - Definitely top in SW. Would give the Fakers a run for their money but inevitable injuries will hold them back. No way McDysess, RJ, TD, and Manu will hold up for the whole season + playoffs.

3. Mavs - I'm not kissing anyone's butt with this pick because Marion + Kidd is the real deal. As much as I hate everyone else on the team, Gortat's a legit guy who hopefully will not learn to flop. With Ericka out, Gortat is the new 2nd best center in the league (this actually could be a legit comment now.... *sad face*)

4. Nugs - I'm not getting off of the billup-parade any time soon. Though the rest of the team will eventually be losers in their careers, as long as Big Shot's there, they're a conference finals threat.

5. Jazz - BARKLEY WAS BEAR HUGGED.

6. Trailblazers - This team still needs a PG. Roy's a star, Alderidge is a young Juwan Howard, and Oden makes Kwame look good.

7. Hornets - This team is still trying to get rid of Chandler. CP3 will carry them to a playoff series. (side note, Marion on this team woulda been sick)

8. OKC - Sleeper!

Okay, with that outta the way, let's talk about the Rockets. What Morey did last summer was pretty much perfect. Setting up a Big 3, good role players, everyone was smelling championship even John Hollinger. But a bad back (or maybe more so, a bruised ego) and a left foot got in the way of that. Back to the drawing board, right? I would say, not so fast. Look Houston fans, Yao Ming is not going anywhere. This guy is a cash cow and we're milking him for all he's worth on and off the court. Though I fight this internally everyday, Yao Ming will be in a rockets uniform for the remainder of his career which also means he'll be soaking up a chunk of the salary. T-Mac. I still vividly remember 5 years ago, I was driving with Mok in Houston and a random friend of Mok's calls him to tell him we got T-Mac. I just couldn't stop smiling the whole day. I even went on to get his shoes. Look Houston fans, it sucks that T-Mac didn't turn out the way we imagined it in our heads or the way the commercials portrayed him. It sucks that the only positive memories we'll have of him is him ending shawn bradley's career and then also destroying devin brown's in "13pts in 35secs." But if you've never busted your back, you don't realize what that does to you physically and emotionally. Therefore, I'm still holding onto hope. Look forget it guys, T-Mac will never be THAT guy again. If he can come back and have a Grant Hill like effect on our team, I'll be ecstatic. With that said and looking onto the future, I truly believe Rockets are frontrunners for getting Dwade. No need to give any reasons because I'm sure the NBA will get jacked up in the next year anyway (like this summer). But book it now, Dwade is coming to Houston.

In the mean time, I'm going to preorder this.
http://store.nba.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3043870&clickid=cart

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GMATs: How this blog got her groove back

So to practice my verbal and writing skills for the GMAT, I thought, what better way to do that than to start blogging again! Hopefully during the course of the next 6months-1year, my discipline of blogging regularly will help to improve my score. My goal? To get a perfect 800.

Shoot for the moon, if you miss, at least you land among the stars right?

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Going Green

After spending the past 6 years of my life living in Austin, I've noticed that the Austinites have a thing for going green. I'm not too sure how this trend got started but it seems like everywhere you go, you'll find businesses 'going green.' I guess having the world's first Whole Foods in your city helps that.

So, as I start a new year, I will find my ways to serve the environment.

I resolve to use only printed paper when I cannot use electronic documents.
Save paper and get 250gb worth of virtual space free.

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The Birth of a Salesman

What is the American Dream? To many people, it means different things. However, I think at the basis of the American Dream lies this: hard work, dedication, high morals lead to success in life. I think many people in our society exhibits these qualities but why does the American Dream often escape their grasp? Is it really just -- a dream? To those who have entered the "real world," we truly realize how real this world can be and how it's not a dream but can become a nightmare. Many of us during these troubled times have seen co-workers laid off or even worse, having that happen to a family member or yourself. And then you hear horror stories of those who spend their entire lives working 9-5 Monday through Friday and when it's all said and done, finally at the ripe age of 65, they can live out their American Dream. Hard work, dedication, morals paid off finally. Is this really what we imagined it would be like when we first stepped out into the working world? Why is the American Dream so elusive?

But maybe we need to ask a better question. Maybe we need to ask ourselves, what is success in life?

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God's working in China

It's no surprise that the Beijing Olympics have helped to reinforce the truth that China is a growing and dominant power in the world today. From the first sparks of the Opening Ceremony, the world saw with its own eyes that China has come a long way since opening its borders back in 1984. The grandiose architecture of the Bird's Nest and Water Cube only highlights the tremendous power of the Chinese people. As I watch these games, there is a great sense of pride that comes from seeing my home country exhibit such great precision and technique in preparing for the games and also a dominance in many of the Olympic events. In a way, the games have also helped many to put aside their ignorance in believing that China is still a 'Marx-Mussolini-Castro-Stalin' communist society. By and large, China is in essence a totalitarianism, but much have changed, ie. The Tianan Men Square, once the site of the infamous 1989 Massacre where tanks ran over college students is now the center of the 2008 Olympics where over 205 nations gather to compete in the peaceful Olympic games.

But with all the growth and change, many large issues still affect the world's negative perception of China: human rights issues, Muslim groups in XinJiang, Buddhist groups in Tibet, China-Taiwan relations, organ harvesting, and lack of religious freedom. It's obvious that there is still work to be done, and China's far from becoming a nation known for her integrity, fairness, and peace. But I think that's the beauty of it. There's no doubt in my mind that God's getting His hands dirty in China. And we (I'm assuming you're Chinese or of some Asian ancestry) are living in this age and time and bearing witness to a growing world superpower that has a great potential to be molded and transformed by God's love.

In a recent article of missionaries working in Beijing during Olympics:

One outreach success came ahead of the Olympics, when a U.S. team was in China for an exhibition match. The U.S. team and the Chinese team — Britton wouldn't name the sport — gathered in a hotel room the night before the match for a 30-minute prayer meeting arranged by a foreigner who had access to the Chinese team.
"It was very powerful," said Britton, who said he had seen photos of the meeting, where members of both teams prayed and sang. "God pulled it together."

- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26334578/

I can't help but get excited about how God can use those of us who are willing to serve to change the next generation of the Chinese people in China. The opportunities are boundless, and people are more willing than ever.

The ephemeral magnificence and glamour of the Beijing Olympics will fade away, and the chinese people will resume their hard-working lifestyles but one thing is for certain, God's glory will continue to shine in China if we answer His call.

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