Turkey Day Weekend Recap

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to church for the Thanksgiving Day service. We led the church kids to memorize a couple bible verses and Jenny Teacher, DDS, led them in a couple of praise songs in front of the main chapel service. I think the kids liked it, but one kid asked, "Aren't the adults tired of watching us up on stage so often?" I thought that was hilarious. We had a Thanksgiving Day lunch at church.

Then, we went to my sister's house and we had Thanksgiving Day dinner there. The food was delicious. Ben, Saejin, Saewoon, and my mom were also present.

Learning from previous Black Fridays, I did not go anywhere near the mall or Fry's Electronics on Friday. It's just too crowded, and they only have a very limited amount of the advertised deals. Plus, there were some people that got killed during Black Friday fights and stampedes. Now, it's dangerous shopping on that day. We need a new laptop and desktop computer, so we're hoping on getting in on some better deals as Christmas approaches. I'm betting that there will be bigger and better deals since the economy is getting so bad.

On Saturday, we went hiking in Arcadia with Christine, Saewoon, Grace, Saejin, Ben, and their dog, Destiny. I've never seen it so crowded there before. People were fighting for parking spaces like they were in a shopping mall on Black Friday. We hiked for 3 hours or so, but we didn't get to see the waterfall this time. I think we'll go again next time. It was still a beautiful hike on a beautiful day in a long time, after the rain the previous weekend, and the wildfires 2 weeks ago.

Sarah and I bought an all in one printer at Office Depot and then bought another one in Garden Grove.

On Sunday, I gave my Sunday School kids an exam on Exodus. I told them that I would test them, and I meant it. I think I am going to give them tests more often since they seem to be quiet when they're taking tests. We're giving out tickets for prizes as an incentive for good behavior now as well.

Man, the stock market went down a lot today. It was the 4th steepest point loss in Dow Jones' history. This was after news that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007. I knew we were in a recession since last year. Didn't we all? The economy has been bad for a while now. I guess now it is official.

Audi Driving Experience

This year's Audi Driving Experience was much better than last year's. Instead of just one measly lap around the race track, we were able to drive about 3.75 laps around the Auto Club Speedway track with the new 2009 Audi A4's. Also, we were able to drive around an autocross track in the parking lot with the A4's along with their direct competitors: the BMW 328xi, Lexus IS250 AWD, and Mercedes C300 4Matic AWD. Last year, we just drove the Audi line-up around the autocross track. It was kinda chaotic because you have to quickly get in and get out of the cars so that everyone can get a turn driving the cars within the short time allotted. This year seemed better organized.

They split the group into 2 different autocross tracks while another group got to drive around the Speedway Track where some NASCAR races are held.

One track went clockwise while another clock went counter-clockwise. I liked the counter-clockwise course better. It seemed better laid out. I had no problem on that one and was able to drift around the first big turn.

The clockwise track was a different story. This course seemed to be laid out entirely wrong. The turns were just not proportioned properly for great drifts. I love stomping on the gas pedal and really making the cars scream out in pain. Unfortunately, when I was driving the BMW, I mashed the throttle trying to drift around the last turn but the car understeered horribly into the cones. I got a scolding by one of the instructors. Hopefully, I'll be invited back next year.

All the cars were All Wheel Drive (AWD) so that we can compare the Audi Quattro system to the competition. The Mercedes C300 4Matic was last place in my book because of the soft suspension. The car seemed to fishtail around corners. The Lexus IS 250 AWD was 3rd. They should have had the IS 350, but they said that would make it much more expensive. So, we got the underpowered IS 250 which was sluggish getting to the first major turn. In 2nd place was the BMW 328xi. It was excellent handling (except for the part when it understeered into the cones), but the Audi A4 Quattro performed the best. Their new Audi Drive Select System is awesome. You can select between comfort, auto, and dynamic. It can also automatically sense changes to your driving and accommodate the input accordingly. You can also manually change individual settings like accelerator response, shift points for the automatic transmission, amount of power steering assistance, steering ratio, the electronically adjustable shock absorbers, and a number of other chassis settings just like in a race car. There is a ton of technology packed into this car. The new 2009 model looks elegant on the outside, and I still think that Audi's have the best looking interiors out of all the other manufacturers.

The Audi A4's handled pretty well along the Speedway track. I love the way it handled. If only I could have driven the RS4 or the R8. That would have been awesome.

After driving the awesome new A4's around the track, we were able to sign up to drive a different car from Audi's line-up. I was able to drive the TT and the A3.

I had an absolute blast drifting around the turns in the TT. That little sports car is a ton of fun to drive. The track was just perfect for testing out the handling capabilities of the car. About 4 cars followed closely behind the instructor in a paceline. The TT was just so nimble I was able to flick it around turns and mash the throttle for some drifting action. The A3 was pretty good too for a station wagon. I'm sorry I think it likes to be called a sport wagon, especially since it was Audi's S-line, which is their sporty line.

This was definitely a fun event to go to especially for car maniacs such as myself. Last year, I was able to drive the S5. The new 2009 A4 looks like it was modeled after the A5/S5 except with 4 doors. I can't wait for next year.

Pasadena Marathon

There were no actual fires in Pasadena during this latest batch of L.A. wildfires, but the Marathon was canceled due to very poor air quality. The afternoon before the race, you could see smoke across the entire sky of L.A. I went to the Marathon Expo the day before and nobody said anything about canceling. The air quality got worse as the day progressed. There were so many fires going on at the same time: Montecito, Santa Barabara, Yorba Linda, Brea, Corona, Diamond Bar, Placerita, Sylmar. It seemed that L.A. was in a warzone with all the smoke in the air.

I still biked to the marathon bike tour by 6:00 a.m. When I got there I saw people on bikes, but there weren't that many people. When I asked when the race was starting, someone told me it was canceled due to the smoke. I think it's going to be rescheduled to another date. I had some time, so I biked to church by 7:00 a.m. and then biked back home in the late afternoon. There was so much nasty smoke in the air, it felt like I smoked a pack of cigarettes after my bike ride.

I feel bad for the thousands of people who lost their homes in the fires. This a tough time with the economy falling apart and now the fires burning L.A. County. Most of the homes that burned down are located near the mountains. Now I know never to buy a home in the hills...if we can ever afford to buy a home in L.A. Homes in L.A. are still ridiculously expensive despite all the foreclosures.

2008-2009 Sunday School Classes

The Sunday School Faculty: James JDSN, John, Ji Yeon, Pearl, Hye Jin "Grace Bae", Soo Jin, Tony "PonJin", Jun, Eun Jung, Sarah, Kate, HeeJin "Irene", Grace Lee, Michelle "MJ" "Moon Jung", Jenny, Sharon, David.






5th Grade Class: Teachers: David, Jun, Michelle.





6th Grade Class: Teachers: Eun Jung, Kate.






1st Grade Class: Teacher: Jenny.





1st Grade Class: Teachers: Grace Lee and Grace "Hye Jin" Bae.





4th Grade Class: Teacher: John Moon.





3rd Grade Class: Teachers: Tony "Pon Jin" and Soo Jin Koo.





3rd Grade Class: Teachers: Sharon Park, Pearl.






2nd Grade Class: Teachers: Sarah, Ji Yeon, Whoony (Not Pictured).

Also not pictured: Joseph Teacher (4th Grade).



Here are the pictures of this year's classes. Everyone looks really great! Thanks to Jay for taking the professional pictures. Click on the pictures to view a larger image.

4th Wedding Anniversary

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary. I can't believe it. The years go by so fast. It's like a dream. On one hand, time went by so quickly. On the other hand, it's hard for me to imagine my life without Sarah. I can hardly remember what life was like before I married Sarah. My single years are like a distant memory now. Well, I've always had a bad memory. I'm always thinking about the future and not the past. This blog helps me to remember the things I've done in my life.

Since Sarah works until late at night on many weekdays, including today, we went out yesterday when she was not scheduled to work. We went out to one of our favorite local Japanese restaurants. After that we ran some errands at Target and Bed Bath & Beyond. Whenever we go shopping, it feels like we've been shopping all day long.

It's my blog's 4th Anniversary as well. I wanted to make a new template for the 4th Anniversary, but Sarah said my template was fine. That's cool with me, because I just don't have time to tinker with different layouts and stuff. I kind of get obsessive with stuff, and that would take a long time. It feels like my life is getting busier and busier all the time. It's hard to get all the stuff I want to do and get done accomplished. I'm always running behind. Such is life.

Holy Eve

Everyone had a blast at the Holy Eve celebration on Friday, October 31. We had a rousing worship and praise time. Then, we had delicious snacks. Finally, we had a night of fun relay games.

Most of the pictures are of children praying since it was a lot easier to take pictures of them when they're sitting still. The pictures of the games turned out to be too blurry due to shutter lag and speedy kids.

Celebrating Holy Eve at church with our friends was so much better than going out and trick-or-treating. It was a lot safer and wholesome than wandering out at night in dangerous neighborhoods.

You can see the Sunday School blog at:

www.bsbckids.blogspot.com

or click the link below:

BBQ Fellowship Dinner

We had a bbq fellowship dinner for the teachers at BSBC church at Eun Jung and John's house. Everyone seemed to be really hungry especially since the Korean BBQ Calbee (Kalbi, Galbi, however you choose to spell it) was so good. In fact, I was so busy eating, I forgot to take pictures earlier in the day.

After everyone was stuffed from eating the delicious triple berry cheese cake, we played some games. As the fellowship director, Pastor James appointed me as the Game Master. We had fun playing a few games such as Smackers, Tell me, tell me lies, and Never Ever Have I.

There were a lot of people who attended. Those who attended were James, Sarah, Ji Yeon, Miju, Irene, Jenny, Michelle, Jun, Erwin, Fenny, Tony, Soojin, Whoony, Grace, Laura Kim and her husband, Richard, Olga, Mikey, Jonah, and Tyler.

In the morning I ran to church again. My legs and feet were hurting, especially my left foot. I was running on the concrete sidewalk for almost 13 miles. I think the slants in the sidewalks whenever there were driveways, were affecting the way my foot landed. My foot was landing a little bit at an angle. After thousands of those footsteps, my foot really began to hurt. Plus, I only slept an hour the night before. I was so tired, I couldn't think straight. When it was my turn to do QT quiet time sharing, all the wonderful things I planned to say turned into crap. I couldn't remember a thing, and everything I said sounded dumb.

Honda Ya Japanese Restaurant

On Saturday, Sarah and I had dinner with Andy and Ayako. I haven't seen them since their wedding back in March. These days it's hard to meet up with friends since our schedules are so busy. We met at Honda Ya in Tustin. The food was good, but Japanese restaurants usually don't give enough food for me. I could eat those $6 sushi rolls in one bite. Afterward, we ate at Yogurtland. I liked the fact that you could make your own cup of frozen yogurt from the big variety of flavors they have. It's cheaper than Pink Berry's, but Sarah likes Pink Berry's better than Yogurt Land. Then, we went to a pumpkin patch and saw some farm animals. We went grocery shopping at the new Korean H Market and bought some food. Earlier that day we bought a lot of stuff, ran some errands, and bought an ottoman at a furniture store.

Naples

Sarah and I had a good time riding our bikes along the canals of Naples. It's quiet and peaceful there. It seems like a fairytale land with gondolas going by and wind chimes in the air.

On Sunday morning, I ran to church. I was only able to get an hour of sleep. Trying to sleep early when I usually sleep at a later time backfires horribly. I'm just too much of a light sleeper and am too sensitive to noises. I just couldn't fall asleep. Plus, I was kept awake by some cats having an orgy. These neighborhood cats were having such loud cat sex by screaming their little lungs out that I couldn't sleep. They sound like little kids crying and screaming for hours.

I think it takes about a week to fully adjust to a new sleep schedule. I can't just go to sleep at 10:00 p.m. when I sleep later at 1:00 a.m. and expect to sleep soundly through the night.

Anyway, I ran 13 miles to church. It took me about 1 hour 45 minutes. Since I left a little early, I got there at 6:30 a.m. The church was locked, so I ran all the way to Whoony's house and ran back to church. I just got there a few seconds before they opened the door at 7:00 a.m. I ran almost 18 miles. After that, I was really tired. The last couple of miles really tired me out. I had blisters on my feet and sore muscles for a couple of days.

I need to start training for the L.A. Marathon and Triathlon for next year.

Long Beach Marathon Bike Tour

It was a pretty cold Sunday morning when I started biking. I was just in my short sleeve jersey and short lycra shorts. I knew that I would start getting hot after biking for awhile so I didn't wear my long sleeve jersey. I had to spin really fast in order to increase my body temperature. It started at 6:00 a.m. so it was dark. One old guy fell when he either hit a pole or the curb when he was riding in a pack. He was crying out in pain. I wanted to stop and help him, but there was a woman who was already running out to help him. I think she was a volunteer. I'm sure she would have done a better job of assisting him than I could have.

There was a shorter Filipino rider who was really fast. All the tall riders seemed to be amazed at his speed. At the mile 25 mark, I started sprinting towards the finish. Unfortunately, that last mile seemed pretty long. I think I started sprinting too early. It was a 26.2 mile ride. There was still 0.2 miles to go and I got passed by the Filipino rider at the end. I almost ran into one of the volunteers at the Finish Line who was trying to slow me down as he was yelling at me "This is not a race!"

Then, I sped back in my car to church and got there before the 8:00 a.m. service.

My First Blog Award

Thank you to Portia from her multi-award winning blog, Groove On.

She has passed on this lovely award to me. I only hope that I can live up to this award. Sometimes, I feel I am unworthy, especially since I don't like editing my work. I just like recording my thoughts and moving on to my next project.

I know that my blog is long overdue for a newer version. I've got to find something cool for the 4th anniversary of my blog which is coming in November.

Check out Portia's Blog "Groove On" here:

http://grooveonward.blogspot.com/

or click on the link here:

Biking to San Diego

This past Saturday, I went with the Young Nak Cycling Team to San Diego. Personally, I think it was the most fun road bike ride ever. Cycling along the coast for 100 miles was really fun and the views were breathtaking. The YNC team had great support along the way. They had snacks, lunch, and dinner stops. There were 15 riders total. It was a charity ride raising money for the community around Young Nak Church. I'd totally like to ride there again. Sorry for the lack of updates these past few weeks, but I've been working non-stop. Some days I didn't even sleep. It was the toughest few weeks ever for me in terms of lack of sleep. I seemed to have gotten used to surviving on 3 hours of sleep a day. Other days were worse than some though.

Last Thursday, the Young Nak Cycling team had a carbo-load dinner at the Olive Garden to get ready for the ride to San Diego.

The riders were Joel, Joshua, Phil, Michelle, Yun Hui, Brian, George, Kirk, Tallis, John, Ken, Steve, John, Jay, and me. We also had delicious Hodad's $12 hamburgers at the end of the ride in Mission Bay, San Diego. I wish I took better pictures along the way, but I was biking too fast to be taking pictures.

Next time, I want to bike to San Diego and back to Los Angeles. That will make it over 265 miles round trip for me. I will have to make sure I bring enough drinks, money for food, and know the directions back home without getting lost at night. I'll also have to make it back to church at 7:00 a.m. the next day. Now that will be a challenge.

Sorry my post is all over the place. As you can tell, I don't like editing my posts. I just like recording my thoughts as fast as possible and then moving on to the next thing in my life. Although, I probably should work on my editing skills.