another list

1. Can't wait for the semester to end! I'm tired of writing lectures.

2. Went to Foshan last weekend with my wing chun group, and was struck by Shenzhen's and Guangzhou's urban sprawls. Their cities go on forever!

3. The pollution in China is horrible. Eleven years ago, I spent a semester in China and some of the cities we traveled to then were already horrifying. This was my first trip to Shenzhen and Guangzhou and I can't imagine living with such grime. Winters in HK are bad too but we do get to see blue skies every now and then. I don't have evidence that S and G and perpetually covered in smog....but the thought that they are is a difficult thought to have. How can people live without blue skies? How can people live without beauty that some other folks take for granted? SoCal may be polluted as well but at the very least they live with the sun and sky.

4. Class difference. There are clear differences between what I have in my life, and what my wing chun buddies have in theirs.

5. What would it mean to lead a church home group?

No answers for now. Just lots to think about.

good sermon on running the race of faith

I enjoyed this sermon last night and this morning. I sometimes listen to sermons before bed but if I'm too sleepy, I repeat them in the morning especially if I found them interesting in my sleepy state.

update to previous post

I have mixed feelings about today's class. A few students clearly made a lot of leaps today. In that way, it is a success. But I also feel like a failure because only a third of the students showed up (the top third of the class)! What to do??

Well, I feel like a failure but I am also happy because I learned a lot today myself when I prepared for the lecture. Life is good when you learn new things.

TGIF

I can't keep my eyes open. Chose a playlist on youtube and have that playing to keep me awake. I don't usually have music on when I'm trying to work but I feel so sleepy! I have to deliver this lecture in a few hrs so I should get cracking!! Yesterday's class went well but I usually have more trouble writing and delivering my lectures for my class on Friday. I'd really like to do well this week but all I can think of is going back to bed....

I can't remember if I posted about this before, but I got a new mattress a couple of months ago and I have really come to love it. The mattress is really firm. It would be more accurate to describe it as rock solid because when I first got it, I thought I was sleeping on a slab of rock except that my hips don't get sore and it felt very strange. But after a few months, I can't imagine sleeping on another mattress anymore. It's firm but it doesn't cause any soreness! So, yes, I love my bed.

happy

The world continues to whirl by me and I understand so little of it. But the sun is out, the weather is warm, my body works (more or less), I enjoy my meals, and I'll be playing Cluedo and Monopoly Deal with friends later tonight. Life is good.

spring day

I'm in the office on a Sat afternoon and I'm happy to be here. I just need to remember that Mondays are tough but that the week usually gets better especially because I have such wonderful students this semester! Need to format my journal article that was accepted and will be published later this year but that is the only big thing I need to do today!

hello march!

For awhile, I thought I was getting bored with badminton. (Shocking.) Okay fine, there are moments when I am less interested in the game now. But it could be because I'm not as fast anymore. Not going to the gym during the week and a less than healthy diet can do that to you. Am resolved to get back on the treadmill twice a week! And am also resolved to eat more vegetables and less meat.

(Maybe all this will help me focus better too. Although I am almost all convinced that I am a hopeless procrastinator and won't get around to working hard until the deadline looms.)

Two recommended books because they have given me a lot to think about: The Contemplative Pastor and Taking Your Soul to Work.

Unfortunately, while these books have given me a lot to think about, the work of the soul still belongs to the Spirit. That is to say, my prayers are as desperate as ever: "Oh God, help me because I cannot help myself!"