Today was errand day, and it was quite productive. I began with a run to the dry cleaners on College Ave, bringing along 5 pairs of dress pants and 1 suit jacket. Yeah, I’ve been meaning to go for awhile now. It’s expensive to dress well; not only is the initial purchase cost of formal attire more expensive, weekly trips to the dry cleaners also adds up. I had even planned on getting cheaper dress pants so I wouldn’t mind too much the daily wear and tear, but I ended up getting Banana Republic when it went on sale sometime in May. Okay, that last sentence is a tangent.

After the dry cleaners, I headed over to Sleep Train in Emeryville and got myself a new mattress, a Tempurpedic to be more specific. The corporate living issued mattress I’m currently using has a very noticeable indentation when I lie on it; the sides tilt down into the center, which cannot be good for the back. Every morning, I wake up with some stiffness in some section of my back/neck/shoulder or other. It’s quite annoying and so I figured it was about time to invest in a good mattress, which I’ve also been wanting to do for a while now (a while roughly equaling about 2 years ago). Yes, the Tempurpedic definitely has a price premium, and like the iPad, it comes with MAP pricing (minimum advertised pricing policy), meaning vendors are contractually not allowed to price the product below a certain level (meaning no negotiated discounts). But it’s a good product, has a 20 year warranty (if the foam ever sinks 3/4 of an inch, I can get a new one), and has a good resell value once I grow out of the twin size. Also, Sleep Train itself has a pretty good service policy with a 100 day trial period in which you could return the mattress at any time if you’re not satisfied, as well as a credit program in which one could pay off the sum of the costs over a 36 month period with 0% interest and no required down payment. For me, it should come out to about $30 a month, which is not too bad, b/c if you think about it, that basically amounts to paying $1 every night for better quality sleep and the preservation of one’s back. And they also do free delivery. The entire process was relatively painless; I got to ask all the questions I wanted in order to be more informed in my purchasing decision, received sufficiently adequate answers, had ample time to try out different mattresses, filled out the paperwork, didn’t pay for anything (yet), and left knowing that I’ll be getting my mattress tomorrow afternoon, and this all within a 45 minutes span of time from when I entered the store to when I left. Exciting.

Leaving Emeryville, I got back on the 580 and went to Costco, mainly to buy supplies for the Lord’s day morning coffee table. The best thing about Costco? The free food samples! It’s like having a mini-meal each time. Today, I got to sample the tri-tip, chicken sausage, meatballs, wonton soup, teriyaki chicken & sirloin from the Hana Japan stand, and a cracker with almond butter spread. Yum. If I ever get locked in a supermarket/store overnight, I’d  want it to be Costco. In fact, I bet I could live at Costco for a few months without any problem…as long as the security personnel don’t usher me out.

And lastly, swung by Ranch 99 for some groceries, got a papaya milk smoothie from one of the boba stores (maybe more on papaya milk in a later post), and then went home.

All in all, I think all the errands only took me 3 1/2 hours. I was also pretty pleased with myself on how my route swung through all the spots in an efficient sequence with minimal backtracking.

From Matthew 1:5, footnotes 1 & 3 in the RcV, concerning Rahab and Ruth in relation to the genealogy of Christ:

Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho (Josh. 2:1), a place cursed by God for eternity (Josh. 6:26). After she turned to God and God’s people (Josh. 6:22-23, 25; Heb. 11:31) and married Salmon, a leader of Judah, the leading tribe (1 Chron. 2:10-11), she brought forth Boaz, a godly man, out of whom Christ came. Regardless of our background, if we turn to God and His people and are joined to the proper person among God’s people, we will bring forth proper fruit and participate in the enjoyment of the birthright of Christ (note 1).

The origin of Ruth was incest, for she belonged to the tribe of Moab (Ruth 1:4), the fruit of Lot’s incestuous union with his daughter (Gen. 19:30-38). Deuteronomy 23:3 forbade the Moabites to enter the assembly of Jehovah, even to the tenth generation. Ruth, however, not only was accepted by the Lord but also became one of the most important ancestors of Christ because she sought God and God’s people (Ruth 1:15-17; 2:11-12). Regardless of who we are and what our background is, as long as we have a heart that seeks God and His people, we are in a position to be accepted into the birthright of Christ (note 3).

I’ve read over these notes countless times, and still, I never fail to appreciate them each time. As we grow older and realize more of who and what we are, these footnotes are even more a consolation and encouragement. What mercy, that in spite of it all, when we turn to God, we can still be a factor to usher Christ in.

SF Chefs 2011 Restaurant Week is here! Yay!!

Since I’m right there in the city, it’s hard to resist trying at least one place. And so I did. For lunch, Silks at the Mandarin Oriental — a smooth corn soup with truffled popcorn and a pan roasted Pacific cod with curried cauliflower, peas, and potatoes. It was a fairly decent meal, though the portions for the cod were a little less than I would have liked. The kicker, however, was that the Maitre d’ asked if I wouldn’t mind giving her a critique of my experience once I finished the meal. Now that was cool.

After everything on my plate found its way to my stomach, the Maitre d’ revisits my table, and I proceed to give her a comprehensive review on the service and the food, pointing out a few things that they might improve on (i.e. serving the butter in a chilled container is nice for presentation, but practically, makes it difficult to spread and the flavor doesn’t come out so well). Apparently, she had also tried the main course, and agreed with my evaluation that while the texture of the cod was perfect (a gentle firmness with a slight bounce), the flavor (though done right) could be brought out a little more, and that the potatoes were a bit bland and perhaps could use something like a light crisp so that they’d be bringing something to the party.

I was crossing my fingers and hoping that she’d be so grateful for my straightforward, candid reviews that I’d get some future discount or a free dessert for my services. But alas, that was not to be. Still, it’s not every day a restaurant asks you to play food critic.

On a tangential note, but also related to food: Tonight, I learned about a dish that had been served to someone’s co-worker while in China. Now, I’m normally not that shocked by the crazy things people put into their mouth, but this was pretty up there on the unbelievable/slightly insane scale. The dish? “Three Squeals.” The primary ingredient? Baby mice. And apparently the saying goes something like this — “The first squeal is when you pick it up. The second squeal is when you dip it in the sauce. And the third squeal is when it goes into your mouth.” Now that, that is crazy.

Tomorrow’s August. Yeah, I know, big revelation right? But it does show how much of the summer is already behind us. Although it’s been only about a little over a month since the summer solstice, the days have already started becoming noticeably shorter. (Technically summer began on June 21st, which is the date of the summer solstice, but since I’m in Berkeley, summer began for me when the school semester finished in late May. And c’mon, the summer solstice is also known as Midsummer, which any reasonable person would figure to mean that it marks the middle of the summer, except that it doesn’t.)

But that’s just how things are. The days will continue getting shorter and shorter, until they start getting longer and longer, and then the cycle repeats. To think that it’s already been a year since summer ended last year, and that it’ll be another year until the next summer begins. Shocking, huh.

In other news, my forearms and scapula are apparently too tight, so my chiropractor gave me this one exercise where I straighten my arms downward at a 45 degree angle and pretend I’m pushing against two walls. As of now, doing the exercise makes my forearms feel all tingly and my fingers numb.

I love free concerts in the park!

Went out to grab some quick Thai food for lunch today, and discovered a blues band playing in the nearby Transamerica Redwood Park! How cool is that? So I found a place to sit in an adjoining section where I could listen in while eating, but then moved to better seating directly in front of the musicians after finishing up my food. The lead singer had a pretty rich voice and played the sax (sweet!), supported by an electric guitar, a bass guitar, and, of course, the drums. And though they seemed pretty up there in age (they looked to be in the vicinity of their 60’s), they were pretty darn good. And it gets better. Partway through, a harmonica jumps in! That was a real treat. Listening to them inspired me to pick up my own harmonica again. It’s too bad that I only could sit in for two songs before I decided it was time to get back to work. But finding that random little gem definitely put a bounce in my step and brought a smile to my face.

On the downside, I lost my Clipper Card (public transit pass) after work. Boo. And I was dreading all the hoops that I thought I’d have to jump through to get a replacement, let alone recoup the original balance loaded on the lost card. But it turns out that they’ve made it just as easy as reporting a lost credit card; you just log-in, click a few buttons, and then you’re done. The lost card is blocked, the balance is retained, and a new card gets shipped within five business days. After this experience, I now have a warm fuzzy feeling towards Clipper Card management. Okay, maybe not really, but kudos to whoever was in charge of setting up that system. It works.

Oh, and this came to me this morning:

Every new day’s a new start.
Lord, again we’re coming to You.
Lord, could You ever break through within us
If, Lord, we gave You a part?

O Lord, we can’t do it on our own.
O Lord Jesus! How we need You!
Win us, woo us, to Thyself, Lord,
That we’d ever stay, Lord, with You.

I just vacuumed a bug off my wall. Awesome, quick, clean, and painless. Forget the fly swatter or the futility of a waving palm; hand-held vacuums are the way to go.

Sometimes, it’s just nice to leave everyone in the living room and quietly step out onto the back porch by yourself. And while standing outside, in that solitude, to allow the shoulders to drop and to breathe in deeply of the crisp night air, savoring the subtle fragrances in the gentle breeze. In the quiet calm of the night, the cares and burdens ever pressing down are felt even more keenly, but with each exhale, “Lord Jesus.” …… “O Lord Jesus.” ……”Lord Jesus.”

And before anyone notices that you’ve been gone, you’ve already rejoined the group.

I’m hungryyy.

This may very well be the result of eating only a fistful of Romaine, one tomato, one cob of corn, and a bowl of cherries for dinner. The question is, go to sleep hungry or eat something and have the food just weigh on me in my belly while I’m trying to sleep. And if the second option, what to eat? Hmm.

Oh! That’s right, I have a box of Thin Mints stashed in the bottom left cabinet of my desk. I’ve had it there since the beginning of March, yet I’ve only consumed 2-3 cookies so far. Yum, Thin Mints. Yes, that should do the trick–appease my stomach while avoiding the bloating. Hoarded foodstuffs do come in handy!

Today was one of those great days. The first half started with some good fellowship with the brothers in the morning, followed by a pleasant hall cleaning with a delicious grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup brunch. And then I spent the majority of my afternoon trekking around Berkeley, poking my head into different places/stores, snapping photos, and thoroughly enjoying myself. It’s pretty awesome how there’s so many nifty little things you can find if you just pause and allow yourself some time to closely look around. And especially with the campus, you can find some fresh perspectives that you normally miss when rushing to and fro from class.

I think that’s the same with a lot of things in life. We’re so busy with the task on hand or with getting to the next destination, that we don’t or aren’t able to fully take in nor appreciate our surroundings, and sometimes end up oblivious to all the other “minor” (or so we think) things taking place around us. I guess that’s why they (the always mysterious, anonymous “they”) say it’s helpful to stop once in a while, take a step back, and observe/consider what’s going on, before rolling up your shirt cuffs and wading back into fray.

It seems to me that I sit around quite a bit with not much going on around me. Good thing I have reading material readily accessible in a click…and a swipe…and four more presses. I can almost feel my brain cells growing again as I redevelop my ability to read things (in the secular realm) other than news articles, market reports, and op eds.

Current secular selection: Sun Tzu’s, The Art of War
(I’ve temporarily put The Brothers Karamazov on hold. I figured Part II was a place as good as any for a pause.)

Current ministry selection: Authority and Submission

Two quotes I enjoyed this morning from excerpts taken from The Conclusion of the New Testament, Msg. 31:

Christ, as a Minister of the true (heavenly) tabernacle, ministers heaven (which is not only a place but also a condition of life) into us, so that we may have the heavenly life and power to live a heavenly life on earth as He did while He was here.

The supply we need comes from the Christ who is both the Lord in the heavens and the Spirit within us. He is interceding for us, caring for us. Now we may experience Him in all His functions as the ascended One. In particular, as the heavenly Minister He transmits what we need from God the Father, who is the source, into our spirit to supply and sustain us.

What we need to live a heavenly life on earth, He directly supplies to us straight from the source.