The upcoming Olympic games hosted by China will give the rest of the world perhaps its first "in-depth" look into life there. It'll be interesting to see whether the unseemlier parts of China will get brought to the fore in the international media, like the smog (check out the pics here and here).
Yes, it would look really bad if athletes wear masks to compete outside, and some teams have apparently contemplated doing so over the objections from Chinese officials... but at some point a person's health takes priority over losing face, right? Maybe not in a nation that doesn't put a high value on individual human rights.
Apparently China also hasn't done well at following through on its promises that won them the Games in the first place - rather than cleaning things up from the root level, they've instead spent money on gorgeous new sporting facilities and giving behavior booklets to the locals.
I'm wondering whether China will attempt to censor any type of unflattering news that gets broadcast out of the country, and whether the worldwide media will comply. Should be a fascinating month.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Pre-Olympics Team USA thoughts
Aside: In case you didn't notice, dear reader, that my August output for posts is already an infinite multiple more than July with 0, I am trying an exercise for this month where I try to post once per day, or at least one post for each day. So, I should have at least 31 posts by the end of August. I can't promise that every, or any, will be that entertaining
Couple of short thoughts from watching Team USA take on a few other countries in exhibition games:
Did anyone see the news item a few weeks ago that China was trying to restrict the Olympic teams from bringing their own food items in order to stimulate traffic to local restaurants? Can you imagine being a world-class athlete deprived of your Gatorade and Powerbars in exchange for local food that might give you the runs?
Also, Bill sent me a link to an amusing article about how China has been legislating behavior and hygiene "improvements" for local residents - things like learning how to stand in line, no public spitting, no bare chests or rolling up pant legs, all for the purpose of presenting the best public image to the world.
Couple of short thoughts from watching Team USA take on a few other countries in exhibition games:
- Deron Williams may be the most effective player out there. He seems to make the right pass, right cut, right drive to the hoop, right decision nearly every possession - plus he is physically capable of going anywhere he wants to on the floor.
- While Chris Paul impressed me greatly in the NBA playoffs, he hasn't been able to do much in international play because he is getting bumped a lot more (refs are allowing more contact)
- The team already has problems rebounding - several teams, in and of themselves not that talented, have been able to get several extra possessions simply by stationing 2-3 big men in the paint and batting the ball up in the air. Leaving Tyson Chandler behind in favor of Boozer may end up biting the team in the butt.
- LeBron and Carmelo are not able to defend the PF position - not that they are that much smaller or less physically imposing than the guys they guard, but they're not smart enough to know when to reach, when to body up, and most problematically, when to slide over to provide help defense when a guard gets beat off the dribble.
- Given the short three-point line, it is imperative that the guards put in extra effort to prevent penetration because a kick-out results in a mid-range jumper for 3.
- What's with the weird pattern on the back of the jerseys?
- The coaching staff has clearly put the team through some drills on breaking the zone defense - sliding a forward to the free throw line in the middle of the zone, and having a big man lurking on the baseline for a dumpoff pass.
- Michael Redd is still the only deadeye shooter. Here's hoping 2-3 other guys will get hot each game.
- AK47 is a lot more versatile/crafty/aggressive when he's leading the Russia team than when he's playing 3rd/4th banana to Deron, Boozer, and Okur.
- So begins Lebron's quest to be the first basketball billionaire - by taking over China.
Did anyone see the news item a few weeks ago that China was trying to restrict the Olympic teams from bringing their own food items in order to stimulate traffic to local restaurants? Can you imagine being a world-class athlete deprived of your Gatorade and Powerbars in exchange for local food that might give you the runs?
Also, Bill sent me a link to an amusing article about how China has been legislating behavior and hygiene "improvements" for local residents - things like learning how to stand in line, no public spitting, no bare chests or rolling up pant legs, all for the purpose of presenting the best public image to the world.
On hope management
I read an article on leadership a while ago on Christianity Today where the writer, John Ortberg from Menlo Park Pres, makes the argument that while leaders need to do many things involving their followers in the process of leading - identifying gifts, putting people into positions to succeed, delegating their weaknesses - it is necessary that the leader never delegate optimism and hope. Leaders need to be experts in "Hope Management."
He writes this about former President Franklin Roosevelt, who was apparently a man with a "second-rate intelligence but had a first-rate temperament":
This hits me deeply because I have been, through choice or necessity, been trying to take on greater leadership roles in several areas of my life. The challenge for me is that I've evolved to a point where I am generally optimistic and encouraging with other people, but generally negative and pessimistic about myself. In other words, I think or act like others are awesome ("You/we can do it!") perhaps more than is warranted, in the hope that they can exceed their capability; yet I will consciously or unconsciously degrade myself ("Bob, you failed before, and you're going to fail again, why not give up?").
I'm finding now how important it is to have, and to be, leaders who are not just competent, trustworthy, and possessing integrity, but if there is no hope, no belief that a goal can be accomplished, then every follower's spirit will be broken. I've seen this positively and negatively reinforced in my workplace, in church, and in my relationship - as a follower in some cases and as a leader in others. Even though it is sometimes exhausting to try and cling to an existing hope, or generate a new hope, I'm hoping that God will be able to supersede my natural cynicism to believe in spite of myself.
He writes this about former President Franklin Roosevelt, who was apparently a man with a "second-rate intelligence but had a first-rate temperament":
In the middle of a Great Depression, or World War II, or a capital campaign, or a staff crisis, people inevitably wonder: "Can we get through this? Is it worth all the effort and confusion? Can we really overcome this challenge?" They inevitably look to the person at the core; the man or woman leading the charge, the one who sees the big picture. When people see a leader with this kind of vital optimism, who radiates a sense that together we can do what needs to be done, then people tend to decide not to waste their energy wondering about "if" but focus their energy going after "how."He then mentions how his journals as a leader tend to be full of chronicles of failure - not confessions of shortcomings, but vague discouragements that don't allow him to feel forgiveness or grace from God and in fact would cause him to spiral deeper into discouragement. As he put it, instead of "encouraging himself in the Lord" like King David writes about in the Scriptures, he was "discouraging himself in the Lord."
On the other hand, when Eeyore is at the helm, the whole ship is in trouble. Eeyore may be the most intelligent, gifted, attractive, educated, credentialed person in the room. But if he or she is easily deflated, sensitive to defeat and criticism, and de-motivated by setbacks, the whole community begins the long slow spiral downward.
This hits me deeply because I have been, through choice or necessity, been trying to take on greater leadership roles in several areas of my life. The challenge for me is that I've evolved to a point where I am generally optimistic and encouraging with other people, but generally negative and pessimistic about myself. In other words, I think or act like others are awesome ("You/we can do it!") perhaps more than is warranted, in the hope that they can exceed their capability; yet I will consciously or unconsciously degrade myself ("Bob, you failed before, and you're going to fail again, why not give up?").
I'm finding now how important it is to have, and to be, leaders who are not just competent, trustworthy, and possessing integrity, but if there is no hope, no belief that a goal can be accomplished, then every follower's spirit will be broken. I've seen this positively and negatively reinforced in my workplace, in church, and in my relationship - as a follower in some cases and as a leader in others. Even though it is sometimes exhausting to try and cling to an existing hope, or generate a new hope, I'm hoping that God will be able to supersede my natural cynicism to believe in spite of myself.
Friday, August 01, 2008
The end of one era
About 3 years ago, after living at home for nearly 5 years, I moved out to Mountain View with Chris and Hanlin in the "Kittoe House." It's been a blast... living with two Godly guys, being centrally located for small group and social events, cutting my commute in half, late night video games, potlucks, birthdays, barbeques, gearing up for hoops, date nights, movie nights, NBA games (including the Warriors playoff run), TV shows ranging from Lost to Iron Chef, conversations galore, and a million more memories.
As I get ready to move on to the next stage of my life with Shally in January, I've decided to move back to my parents' home at the end of August to spend some time with my current family before I begin my own. At some point I'll also need to begin finding a place for Shally and me to live as well. There are a good number of logistics to work out this month, but more than that, as a nostalgic person by nature, I'm still coming to terms with the end of this stage of my life. It's been a great 3 years with 2 great roommates - I believe we've been able to bless each other and bless others, which was our stated goal when we moved in together. I don't know who will be taking my place, especially considering Hanlin's own impending move-out, but I hope that the spirit of the Kittoe House tradition will live on somehow.
As I get ready to move on to the next stage of my life with Shally in January, I've decided to move back to my parents' home at the end of August to spend some time with my current family before I begin my own. At some point I'll also need to begin finding a place for Shally and me to live as well. There are a good number of logistics to work out this month, but more than that, as a nostalgic person by nature, I'm still coming to terms with the end of this stage of my life. It's been a great 3 years with 2 great roommates - I believe we've been able to bless each other and bless others, which was our stated goal when we moved in together. I don't know who will be taking my place, especially considering Hanlin's own impending move-out, but I hope that the spirit of the Kittoe House tradition will live on somehow.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Proposal Story - Bob's side
Cliff's Notes Version
A summary for those in a rush or who have little patience for my periodic bouts of long-windedness (this means you, EricH ;-)). Skip down to the pics afterward.
On Wednesday, June 25, 2008, I took the day off work and got some help from Shally's sister to surprise Shally. I picked her up (she was definitely surprised to see me on a weekday afternoon), put a blindfold on her, and then drove up to Golden Gate Park, where we got engaged!
After spending some time in worship, prayer, and revisiting milestones and memories from our nearly-2-years of dating, we drove back to South Bay and had a celebratory dinner at La Fondue in Saratoga. We're currently aiming to have the wedding in January or February 2009, but that is subject to change as we begin planning.
Full Version
How did I decide on my plan?
I knew that I wanted to propose in a place that was local enough that we would be able to visit regularly in the upcoming years to come (an idea borrowed from Brian and Sherry's engagement story). So that ruled out doing something like proposing on our recent vacation to Taiwan. So, for all my friends who were laying down bets that we would come back from Taiwan engaged, that's the reason why... well, on top of the fact that I wasn't ready in May. However, I did talk to her parents and ask their permission during our time there, so it wasn't entirely devoid of engagement-related activity.
After a few weeks of working on another idea for a local spot (that I won't share here because it's now in the drawer of "potential future special occasion ideas"), I was casting about for another option. Inspiration struck while I was reading through some of the memories of our relationship in my journal - in summer of 2007, after her grad school semester had finished, we had taken a day trip to SF where we visited the Cartoon Art Museum and spent a relaxing afternoon reading books and talking together next to Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. That was one of my fonder memories of 2007, so after doing some scouting I was able to identify the same secluded spot. So, the location was set.
I knew that I wanted it to be a surprise. This would be something of a challenge to pull off, however, since we had previously discussed engagement and so she had some inkling that I was planning something coming up soon. I was able to get around that by enlisting the help of her sister, who had a cute baby late last year and frequently invited Shal over to play with her niece. I asked her sister to schedule a playdate with Shal for a weekday afternoon, ensuring that she wouldn't be running errands or something when I went to go pick her up, and filed to take the day off.
After waking up early on the big day and spending some time with God to calm an anxious heart and nerves, I gathered all the details together. Ipod with her favorite songs on a playlist for the drive. Guitar and music. A timeline of significant events/dates/conversations from the nearly-two years of our relationship. A light picnic lunch. Change of clothes. Camera and tripod. A reed mat to sit on. Jackets/blankets for the chill of SF.
Roses - incidentally, this was the first time I ever gave her red roses - past gifts were other colors. Just one of those things that I wanted to save for engagement.
Obviously, can't forget the ring. If you look at the picture on her blog, you'll see that it's non-traditional. This is a promise ring, with a more traditional-looking one coming later.
After getting the call from her sister that Shally had arrived, I parked my car well away from the window and snuck up to the door. I had arranged with her sister to have her ask Shally to answer the doorbell, expecting a package. When she opened the door, the effort into planning the surprise was worth it - her eyes widened as she straightened up in shock, she mumbled a few unintelligble syllables, and she stumbled backwards while her hands flailed slightly in front of her as comprehension slowly dawned on her face. I figure this is one of those moments in life you don't really forget.
To keep the surprise going, I put a blindfold on her and led her out to the car (after she spent some time playfully berating her sister for being in on it), where we drove up to the City while I deflected questions about where we were going. She even suggested that this might all be an elaborate decoy so that the real proposal would be a real surprise.
Arriving at the park, I left her in the car while I went to set up the mat and other items. Fortunately, the park is relatively empty on weekday afternoons, and we were able to enjoy some privacy. Taking off the blindfold, I presented her with the roses, said a few words (fewer than I had rehearsed earlier in my mind, as my brain went into lockdown mode seeing everything come to fruition), and asked her to marry me. Lucky for me, she said yes. And to answer one of the common questions I've been getting, she didn't shed tears when I asked.
We spent some sweet time in musical worship next to the lake - just my guitar and our two voices, singing songs of God's greatness, our wonder at his desire to have a relationship with us, and our desire to serve him as a couple. It occured to me - having served as a worship leader for most of this decade, one of the things I've learned/observed has been that as much as I might strive to lead a congregation into the experience and presence of God in a life-changing way through music, ultimately my efforts only had so much influence on whether people would in fact open themselves up to God. I realized that day that I would be taking on a new role and a higher level of responsibility as the worship leader in my family - that God charges me to identify how best to lead, encourage, support, rebuke, and love my wife and (hopefully) children in such a way that they would be able to love God and be loved by him. Kinda scary, but kinda cool at the same time.
We spent some time in prayer - sharing our joy with God, our thankfulness that he brought us together and grew us through tough times and good times, our fears and dreams for the future. Shally did shed some tears during this segment.
Affter some more time at the lake, we reluctantly packed up and made our way back to South Bay to change and go to the celebratory dinner at La Fondue - a first-time visit for both of us (at least for dinner). Very nice ambiance, and for future reference, buffalo meat is really tasty. After dinner, we visited my folks, her sister/bro-in-law, and then retired for the evening, resolving to begin notifying other friends and family the next day.
I have a fiancee. Wow!
In the week since, and particularly in the first few days after, even in the midst of some extreme busyness at work, I periodically found myself suddenly smiling at the thought of being able to build a life together with this wonderful, Godly woman. Tim Keller, in his sermon series on marriage, uses the analogy that a dating/marriage relationship is kind of like a semi truck or heavy train going over a bridge - the weight of the relationship reveals the cracks in the foundation of the bridge, but also serves as a test for the built-in strength. Before we began our relationship, it was much easier to be willfully ignorant of the cracks in my character that I wasn't allowing God the space to patch. It was also easier to have a hardened heart and to present a stoic facade to the world, without dealing with unprocessed emotions. I've learned that the great battle I'll have to face in myself, probably for the rest of my life, is against apathy/inaction/loafing - I've hurt more people through my lack of action than with my action. In the relationship, I've grown to have a greater appreciation for the Gospel cycle or the drama of salvation, seeing it not just in the pages of the Bible, but seeing it lived out in our lives - times of peace/harmony/fun, interrupted by sin and offense, dealing with estrangement, reaching out for redemption and reconciliation, and restoring peace. I'm delighted to look forward to marriage with someone who knows how best to support me when I'm frustrated or under stress, who helps challenge me with her dream to honor God and bless people through our service and possessions, and who is simply a lot of fun to be around. I'm fascinated by the glimpses God has given me of the person he is making Shally to be, and I want to help bring that about.
Pictures
The spot next to the lake where we got engaged:
Roses and the ring:
My future bride and me:
Check out her blog for details on the big day from her perspective!
A summary for those in a rush or who have little patience for my periodic bouts of long-windedness (this means you, EricH ;-)). Skip down to the pics afterward.
On Wednesday, June 25, 2008, I took the day off work and got some help from Shally's sister to surprise Shally. I picked her up (she was definitely surprised to see me on a weekday afternoon), put a blindfold on her, and then drove up to Golden Gate Park, where we got engaged!
After spending some time in worship, prayer, and revisiting milestones and memories from our nearly-2-years of dating, we drove back to South Bay and had a celebratory dinner at La Fondue in Saratoga. We're currently aiming to have the wedding in January or February 2009, but that is subject to change as we begin planning.
Full Version
How did I decide on my plan?
I knew that I wanted to propose in a place that was local enough that we would be able to visit regularly in the upcoming years to come (an idea borrowed from Brian and Sherry's engagement story). So that ruled out doing something like proposing on our recent vacation to Taiwan. So, for all my friends who were laying down bets that we would come back from Taiwan engaged, that's the reason why... well, on top of the fact that I wasn't ready in May. However, I did talk to her parents and ask their permission during our time there, so it wasn't entirely devoid of engagement-related activity.
After a few weeks of working on another idea for a local spot (that I won't share here because it's now in the drawer of "potential future special occasion ideas"), I was casting about for another option. Inspiration struck while I was reading through some of the memories of our relationship in my journal - in summer of 2007, after her grad school semester had finished, we had taken a day trip to SF where we visited the Cartoon Art Museum and spent a relaxing afternoon reading books and talking together next to Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. That was one of my fonder memories of 2007, so after doing some scouting I was able to identify the same secluded spot. So, the location was set.
I knew that I wanted it to be a surprise. This would be something of a challenge to pull off, however, since we had previously discussed engagement and so she had some inkling that I was planning something coming up soon. I was able to get around that by enlisting the help of her sister, who had a cute baby late last year and frequently invited Shal over to play with her niece. I asked her sister to schedule a playdate with Shal for a weekday afternoon, ensuring that she wouldn't be running errands or something when I went to go pick her up, and filed to take the day off.
After waking up early on the big day and spending some time with God to calm an anxious heart and nerves, I gathered all the details together. Ipod with her favorite songs on a playlist for the drive. Guitar and music. A timeline of significant events/dates/conversations from the nearly-two years of our relationship. A light picnic lunch. Change of clothes. Camera and tripod. A reed mat to sit on. Jackets/blankets for the chill of SF.
Roses - incidentally, this was the first time I ever gave her red roses - past gifts were other colors. Just one of those things that I wanted to save for engagement.
Obviously, can't forget the ring. If you look at the picture on her blog, you'll see that it's non-traditional. This is a promise ring, with a more traditional-looking one coming later.
After getting the call from her sister that Shally had arrived, I parked my car well away from the window and snuck up to the door. I had arranged with her sister to have her ask Shally to answer the doorbell, expecting a package. When she opened the door, the effort into planning the surprise was worth it - her eyes widened as she straightened up in shock, she mumbled a few unintelligble syllables, and she stumbled backwards while her hands flailed slightly in front of her as comprehension slowly dawned on her face. I figure this is one of those moments in life you don't really forget.
To keep the surprise going, I put a blindfold on her and led her out to the car (after she spent some time playfully berating her sister for being in on it), where we drove up to the City while I deflected questions about where we were going. She even suggested that this might all be an elaborate decoy so that the real proposal would be a real surprise.
Arriving at the park, I left her in the car while I went to set up the mat and other items. Fortunately, the park is relatively empty on weekday afternoons, and we were able to enjoy some privacy. Taking off the blindfold, I presented her with the roses, said a few words (fewer than I had rehearsed earlier in my mind, as my brain went into lockdown mode seeing everything come to fruition), and asked her to marry me. Lucky for me, she said yes. And to answer one of the common questions I've been getting, she didn't shed tears when I asked.
We spent some sweet time in musical worship next to the lake - just my guitar and our two voices, singing songs of God's greatness, our wonder at his desire to have a relationship with us, and our desire to serve him as a couple. It occured to me - having served as a worship leader for most of this decade, one of the things I've learned/observed has been that as much as I might strive to lead a congregation into the experience and presence of God in a life-changing way through music, ultimately my efforts only had so much influence on whether people would in fact open themselves up to God. I realized that day that I would be taking on a new role and a higher level of responsibility as the worship leader in my family - that God charges me to identify how best to lead, encourage, support, rebuke, and love my wife and (hopefully) children in such a way that they would be able to love God and be loved by him. Kinda scary, but kinda cool at the same time.
We spent some time in prayer - sharing our joy with God, our thankfulness that he brought us together and grew us through tough times and good times, our fears and dreams for the future. Shally did shed some tears during this segment.
Affter some more time at the lake, we reluctantly packed up and made our way back to South Bay to change and go to the celebratory dinner at La Fondue - a first-time visit for both of us (at least for dinner). Very nice ambiance, and for future reference, buffalo meat is really tasty. After dinner, we visited my folks, her sister/bro-in-law, and then retired for the evening, resolving to begin notifying other friends and family the next day.
I have a fiancee. Wow!
In the week since, and particularly in the first few days after, even in the midst of some extreme busyness at work, I periodically found myself suddenly smiling at the thought of being able to build a life together with this wonderful, Godly woman. Tim Keller, in his sermon series on marriage, uses the analogy that a dating/marriage relationship is kind of like a semi truck or heavy train going over a bridge - the weight of the relationship reveals the cracks in the foundation of the bridge, but also serves as a test for the built-in strength. Before we began our relationship, it was much easier to be willfully ignorant of the cracks in my character that I wasn't allowing God the space to patch. It was also easier to have a hardened heart and to present a stoic facade to the world, without dealing with unprocessed emotions. I've learned that the great battle I'll have to face in myself, probably for the rest of my life, is against apathy/inaction/loafing - I've hurt more people through my lack of action than with my action. In the relationship, I've grown to have a greater appreciation for the Gospel cycle or the drama of salvation, seeing it not just in the pages of the Bible, but seeing it lived out in our lives - times of peace/harmony/fun, interrupted by sin and offense, dealing with estrangement, reaching out for redemption and reconciliation, and restoring peace. I'm delighted to look forward to marriage with someone who knows how best to support me when I'm frustrated or under stress, who helps challenge me with her dream to honor God and bless people through our service and possessions, and who is simply a lot of fun to be around. I'm fascinated by the glimpses God has given me of the person he is making Shally to be, and I want to help bring that about.
Pictures
The spot next to the lake where we got engaged:
Roses and the ring:
My future bride and me:
Check out her blog for details on the big day from her perspective!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
On turning 30
A recurring nightmare that I have is dreaming that I'm back in college. It's near the end of the year, finals are coming up, and I just realized that I've been enrolled in a hard class for the entire semester without knowing it or attending any class. The entire dream is spent in a gradually increasing state of anxiety, panic, and spiralling despair as I frantically try to find the appropriate textbook and read up on as much as possible before the final the next day, while knowing full well the futility of trying to do so.
I sometimes feel this way as I think about hitting 30 years of age.
One of my character flaws / natural bents is to compare myself to others, in particular my peers. This usually isn't for the purpose of building up my ego by seeing if I'm better than my others, but rather to see how I'm falling behind in some area that I should be current or mature in at my stage of life, compared to those around me.
I see more and more friends younger than me on Facebook or LinkedIn with "Senior," or "Lead," and in some cases even "Vice" or "Chief" or "Co-Founder" in front of their job titles and wonder if I'm falling behind where I should be in my career. Am I ambitious enough? Is there career growth available for me at my current job? When I was younger in my career, I could safely rely on the mentality of "Doing whatever is needed because I'm still junior and just trying to establish myself," but as I mature professionally it becomes more and more clear that it is necessary to become a subject matter expert.
I see the long list of "life maintenance" responsibilities I need to learn or just do - for example, taking greater control of my personal finances, basic investments, working out more regularly (to offset the sore back and knees I often have after basketball on Sundays, and to just have better overall health) - and I wonder why I haven't developed good knowledge or habits in these areas yet when it seems like others have.
I wonder whether I'm obedient to the purpose God made me for. Doing a word search on "thirty years" on Biblegateway shows that a couple of significant people in the Bible stepped up to the most important work of their lives starting at age 30:
Joseph had already gone through the betrayal from his brothers, been imprisoned unjustly for a crime he didn't commit (making a pass at someone else's wife), and at age 30 became the right-hand man of Pharaoh where he would be the instrument of Israel's deliverance in the upcoming famine.
David had already cultivated a soft heart for God while minding the sheep and fighting off lions and bears, become a master musician/poet and warrior, and eventually became king over Israel at age 30, reigning for 40 years and setting the standard that every successive king couldn't match.
Jesus began his ministry at age 30 and lived perhaps the most significant 3 years of any human lifespan.
It's really easy to look back at the last decade and think about all the regrets, opportunities not taken, potential not realized. Why didn't I study harder in college? Should I have gone to grad school? Should I have travelled more? Did I effectively invest in people? Why did I lose touch with so many family and friends? Did I waste some of the prime years of my physical health and mental agility?
It's also really easy to look at where I am now and allow fear to be a really significant thing in my life. Taking a warning from the story of King Saul, another Biblical 30-year old who was woefully underprepared/unqualified for the business of leading a nation when he first took the throne, I have a perception in my head of how far behind the curve I am. It's then very easy for my heart to make the connection that God will only meet me once I shape up and catch up to where I should be - until then, I don't really deserve having him around in my life.
It's so easy to believe this lie.
Dr. Andy had a good quote today: "Comparison is the tool of the devil."
It takes a conscious act on my part to break through the lies wired between my heart and head - to not give in to fear, self-pity, regret, anxiety, and everything else associated with feeling "left behind by life" because these are things Jesus seeks to free me from.
I see the significant experiences and lessons from the last 10 years - graduating from college, job experience from the smallest startup to one of the largest, developing new and significant friendships through church and work, moving away from home, learning leadership principles in different contexts, understanding more about God and how to be obedient in my life to him, being in a relationship that has served as an agent of personal growth as well as a lot of fun - and I am grateful.
I look at the snapshot of my life now - good health, uncomplicated financial situation, opportunities, a personal and intimate God who loves me and even likes me, a girlfriend and friends and family who seem to enjoy having me around, even though I can be a dork sometimes - and I am grateful for that as well.
In closing... I know that the part of me that I don't like very much is going to continue periodically browbeating my spirit into thinking less of myself. I can only cling to the promise that the more I seek God's help in breaking the power of my self-criticism, through confession, reflection, and thanksgiving, that this voice will get quieter and quieter. Turning 30 is a significant milestone. As Danny put it, it's entering the "Jesus Years (30-33)." I probably won't have a 30th year like Jesus, or David's, or Joseph's, but let's see what God will do with my 4th decade on earth.
I sometimes feel this way as I think about hitting 30 years of age.
One of my character flaws / natural bents is to compare myself to others, in particular my peers. This usually isn't for the purpose of building up my ego by seeing if I'm better than my others, but rather to see how I'm falling behind in some area that I should be current or mature in at my stage of life, compared to those around me.
I see more and more friends younger than me on Facebook or LinkedIn with "Senior," or "Lead," and in some cases even "Vice" or "Chief" or "Co-Founder" in front of their job titles and wonder if I'm falling behind where I should be in my career. Am I ambitious enough? Is there career growth available for me at my current job? When I was younger in my career, I could safely rely on the mentality of "Doing whatever is needed because I'm still junior and just trying to establish myself," but as I mature professionally it becomes more and more clear that it is necessary to become a subject matter expert.
I see the long list of "life maintenance" responsibilities I need to learn or just do - for example, taking greater control of my personal finances, basic investments, working out more regularly (to offset the sore back and knees I often have after basketball on Sundays, and to just have better overall health) - and I wonder why I haven't developed good knowledge or habits in these areas yet when it seems like others have.
I wonder whether I'm obedient to the purpose God made me for. Doing a word search on "thirty years" on Biblegateway shows that a couple of significant people in the Bible stepped up to the most important work of their lives starting at age 30:
Joseph had already gone through the betrayal from his brothers, been imprisoned unjustly for a crime he didn't commit (making a pass at someone else's wife), and at age 30 became the right-hand man of Pharaoh where he would be the instrument of Israel's deliverance in the upcoming famine.
David had already cultivated a soft heart for God while minding the sheep and fighting off lions and bears, become a master musician/poet and warrior, and eventually became king over Israel at age 30, reigning for 40 years and setting the standard that every successive king couldn't match.
Jesus began his ministry at age 30 and lived perhaps the most significant 3 years of any human lifespan.
It's really easy to look back at the last decade and think about all the regrets, opportunities not taken, potential not realized. Why didn't I study harder in college? Should I have gone to grad school? Should I have travelled more? Did I effectively invest in people? Why did I lose touch with so many family and friends? Did I waste some of the prime years of my physical health and mental agility?
It's also really easy to look at where I am now and allow fear to be a really significant thing in my life. Taking a warning from the story of King Saul, another Biblical 30-year old who was woefully underprepared/unqualified for the business of leading a nation when he first took the throne, I have a perception in my head of how far behind the curve I am. It's then very easy for my heart to make the connection that God will only meet me once I shape up and catch up to where I should be - until then, I don't really deserve having him around in my life.
It's so easy to believe this lie.
Dr. Andy had a good quote today: "Comparison is the tool of the devil."
It takes a conscious act on my part to break through the lies wired between my heart and head - to not give in to fear, self-pity, regret, anxiety, and everything else associated with feeling "left behind by life" because these are things Jesus seeks to free me from.
I see the significant experiences and lessons from the last 10 years - graduating from college, job experience from the smallest startup to one of the largest, developing new and significant friendships through church and work, moving away from home, learning leadership principles in different contexts, understanding more about God and how to be obedient in my life to him, being in a relationship that has served as an agent of personal growth as well as a lot of fun - and I am grateful.
I look at the snapshot of my life now - good health, uncomplicated financial situation, opportunities, a personal and intimate God who loves me and even likes me, a girlfriend and friends and family who seem to enjoy having me around, even though I can be a dork sometimes - and I am grateful for that as well.
In closing... I know that the part of me that I don't like very much is going to continue periodically browbeating my spirit into thinking less of myself. I can only cling to the promise that the more I seek God's help in breaking the power of my self-criticism, through confession, reflection, and thanksgiving, that this voice will get quieter and quieter. Turning 30 is a significant milestone. As Danny put it, it's entering the "Jesus Years (30-33)." I probably won't have a 30th year like Jesus, or David's, or Joseph's, but let's see what God will do with my 4th decade on earth.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Thanks for the bday wishes...
Running list of folks:
PDan, parents, bro, Shally, Wilma, Summer, Maria, JohnnyC, AndrewN, LauraD, SamH, Crystal, Phuoc, AndrewM, AndrewW, AmyL, [running list]
and everyone tagged on this note on Facebook (idea stolen from DaveC, or was it MichaelC?)
Thanks for brightening my day!
PDan, parents, bro, Shally, Wilma, Summer, Maria, JohnnyC, AndrewN, LauraD, SamH, Crystal, Phuoc, AndrewM, AndrewW, AmyL, [running list]
and everyone tagged on this note on Facebook (idea stolen from DaveC, or was it MichaelC?)
Thanks for brightening my day!
Monday, June 02, 2008
Taiwan recap
I had a pretty crummy time in Taiwan. First I got arrested:
Then I had an encounter with death:
Fortunately, like the proverbial Ghosts of Christmas Past/Present/Future, Death was only bringing me a warning - not to drink and drive or something like that. Kinda spooky that it was addressed directly to me in a subway station.
Overall, my first visit back to the land of my fathers (and mothers) was a lot of fun, somewhat profound in some ways, and definitely quite fattening. I'm not sure whether my Chinese got much better though. Some highlights:
Meeting family
We (Shally and I) spent some time with her mom's side of the family in Taizhong as well as my mom's and dad's sides of the family in Taipei.
I have a huge extended family. My mom has 11 siblings (one younger brother passed away in recent years) and my dad has six, so I have aunts/uncles/cousins that I literally have never met, and the ones that I have, I may have not seen in the 20 years since my last visit to Taiwan. I think that the magnitude of the size of my family has made me almost reluctant to develop good friendships with even the cousins near my own age, especially considering the wide social network I've developed through collegiate and church experiences. I felt that there were too many people to try and get to know.
In Taiwan, it was surreal and kind of disappointing to me that I hadn't even made a cursory effort to know my own flesh and blood. My mom's side threw a family reunion-type dinner party at a swank Western-style steakhouse, and afterward the cousins around my own age took Shal, myself, and my other cousin from the US (and his gf) up to the top of Yangmingshan to check out the view and chat about life over drinks. I got to get a glimpse of the lives of my relatives - hearing about some of the triumphs, the close ties my cousins had hanging out with each other, relationships, the life disappointments, the bad habits, little idiosyncrasies, and somewhere in the midst of observing everything, I realized I had missed out.
Honestly, I'm not yet sure what to do with this realization.
The day after, I got to see where my dad grew up. My dad happened to be in Taiwan the same week we were, and had a free morning where he was able to show us around the neighborhood he grew up. I got to hear stories about how, as a junior higher, he helped lay the foundation for the house his family would grow up in - 2.5 floors of cement, plaster, constantly being remodeled for the needs of 7 children and eventually some grandchildren, as well as my aging grandparents. I vaguely remembered the living room where I first got to play Contra on the old red-and-white 8-bit Nintendo system, and learned the Code of 30 Lives and Awesomeness. I saw the room where my dad grew up as a kid (it's now part of the kitchen as part of the constant remodeling referred to earlier). I saw the furniture set my parents used when they got married. I saw the graduation pics of my parents and aunts and uncles and marveled at how young they looked. I got to see my great aunt/great uncle on both my grandpa's and grandma's side. I tried to picture living my dad's life in a cramped Taiwanese neighborhood, living in a house I helped build, enduring the legendary cram schools and military service and then finally immigrating to America.
I think family showed me that life is a much more complex thing than I can possibly imagine. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it. Don't know if I ever will.
Meeting a random American traveler
Being an inexperienced traveler, I've heard stories of friends who met fascinating people while on vacation from all manner of nationality and walks of life. While visiting the gondola ride in the mountains of Maokong, Shal and I got the chance to meet and hang out with Cynthia, a woman in town for a semiconductor conference who was heading back to DC the day after. After sharing a cab in the pouring rain and finding out we were using the same Lonely Planet guide to find the same teahouse, we got to chat about our respective backgrounds, the history of Taiwan/China tensions, and the traveling habits of Europeans. We then went for a short hike in the freshly-rained jungle on the mountain and promptly got lost. It seriously did feel like an episode of "Lost," as we slid down muddy semi-paths clinging to trees and tried to decipher hastily scrawled danger signs written by former (less-fortunate?) hikers on scraps of cloth, all the while mildly panicking that the sun was going down and no one knew we were there. We then got to ride the gondola down, relax, and enjoy the view. Altogether an unforgettable experience.
Food
Much food was consumed on this trip, in keeping with the legendary reputation the country has for tasty and cheap comestibles from street vendors to homey mom-and-pop shops. You can see photos of most of what we ate on my Facebook album (if you're a Friend of mine on FB), but here are a few notables...
Foods I had never eaten before this trip (as far as I can remember):
1. durrian - not as bad as I thought it would be based on smell, but no more
2. black sesame dumplings - think shao long bao (soup dumplings) but stuffed with a sweet black sesame paste for dessert. This was absolutely delicious and doesn't appear to be available in the US. I think this was Shally's favorite dish the entire trip.
3. ba wan - glutinous stuff with meat and preserved veggies from a night market. Not bad.
4. lien wu - a fruit that reminded me of a cross between an apple's coloring and a pear's shape, with a crisp texture... apparently you can only get this in Taiwan
5. oyster egg pancake (ou-ah jen) - we had fresh oysters at a different restaurant that tasted better than oysters in the states (I don't typically like them), but the ones in our oyster pancake were mediocre.
Top 5 Favorite Taiwanese foods in no particular order:
1. Fan Tuan - this is a nice breakfast
2. Shally's grandma's lion's head meatballs - apparently this was the first time she had made them in like 8 years, and no one has yet been able to replicate them
3. black sesame steamed dumpling dessert
4. Ice monster shaved ice - I have something of a sweet tooth, so the enhanced sweetness of Taiwan mangos (compared to American ones) was right up my alley
5. Very big fried chicken - they took a thigh, pounded it out flat, and seasoned it, breaded it, and gave it a light frying. The line for this at the Shilin night market went out to the street, clearly the most popular food item in the entire market.
Miscellaneous other significant experiences/observations
Coming from a Taiwanese home and a predominantly Taiwanese church, I've been around quite a few Taiwanese people. This probably explains why everywhere I looked, I saw someone that looked like someone else - I was constantly nudging Shal and saying "That woman looks like so-and-so's mom!" and "That guy reminds me of somebody!" I guess God just used 4-5 face templates when making Taiwanese people and just did little tweaks.
I like the fact that most of the eateries in Taiwan are mom-and-pop joints rather than chain restaurants. It gives the country so much more character. However, as delicious as the street food may be, both Shally and I experienced some gastronomic issues the first few days back (although this may have been due to plane food).
Seeing the display in the National Palace Museum describing the millenia-long history of the religions of Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, and Confucianism, and their impact on Asian philosophy and sociology, helped drive home for me that the world is much bigger and older than my American mind learned about in school (the world began around 200 years ago when we decided to leave the British, right?).
Bullet train from Taizhong to Taipei. So that's what going 186 mph at ground level feels like.
Shally's six-month-old niece's delight at getting a whole hotel bed to play on. That might be the definition of pure, unadulterated joy.
Dinner with Shally's missionary friends and JT/Ring - an entire mealtime conversation about relationships. Finally heard about how JT and Ring got together.
Karaok'ing with JT and Ring at a Cashbox. Man, they're nicer than in the States... too bad the selection of English songs is pretty limited. Since it was a smaller group than the typical 10-15 that go out here, I felt a bit emboldened to try going solo on "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" by Boyz II Men and "Change the World" by Eric Clapton.
Conversation with my cousin Mario, who grew up in LA and the Bay Area and is now teaching English in Taipei. He said that basketball players there tend to call a lot of ticky tack fouls and seem to think an unimpeded dribbling path is a right. I would probably get pretty frustrated playing there.
Visiting Taipei 101.
Reading Moneyball by Michael Lewis and getting about 1/3 of the way through Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. The latter has been a really good read about Christianity and reflects a lot of things that I had been planning to write about at some point.
On the plane, watched "I Am Legend" with Will Smith (not bad) and "Jumper" with Anakin and Mace Windu from Episodes 1-3 (skip the movie)
And that's all I've got to say about that.
...
One last thing... 'twas Shally and my first trip overseas together, and that was a lot of fun.
Then I had an encounter with death:
Fortunately, like the proverbial Ghosts of Christmas Past/Present/Future, Death was only bringing me a warning - not to drink and drive or something like that. Kinda spooky that it was addressed directly to me in a subway station.
Overall, my first visit back to the land of my fathers (and mothers) was a lot of fun, somewhat profound in some ways, and definitely quite fattening. I'm not sure whether my Chinese got much better though. Some highlights:
Meeting family
We (Shally and I) spent some time with her mom's side of the family in Taizhong as well as my mom's and dad's sides of the family in Taipei.
I have a huge extended family. My mom has 11 siblings (one younger brother passed away in recent years) and my dad has six, so I have aunts/uncles/cousins that I literally have never met, and the ones that I have, I may have not seen in the 20 years since my last visit to Taiwan. I think that the magnitude of the size of my family has made me almost reluctant to develop good friendships with even the cousins near my own age, especially considering the wide social network I've developed through collegiate and church experiences. I felt that there were too many people to try and get to know.
In Taiwan, it was surreal and kind of disappointing to me that I hadn't even made a cursory effort to know my own flesh and blood. My mom's side threw a family reunion-type dinner party at a swank Western-style steakhouse, and afterward the cousins around my own age took Shal, myself, and my other cousin from the US (and his gf) up to the top of Yangmingshan to check out the view and chat about life over drinks. I got to get a glimpse of the lives of my relatives - hearing about some of the triumphs, the close ties my cousins had hanging out with each other, relationships, the life disappointments, the bad habits, little idiosyncrasies, and somewhere in the midst of observing everything, I realized I had missed out.
Honestly, I'm not yet sure what to do with this realization.
The day after, I got to see where my dad grew up. My dad happened to be in Taiwan the same week we were, and had a free morning where he was able to show us around the neighborhood he grew up. I got to hear stories about how, as a junior higher, he helped lay the foundation for the house his family would grow up in - 2.5 floors of cement, plaster, constantly being remodeled for the needs of 7 children and eventually some grandchildren, as well as my aging grandparents. I vaguely remembered the living room where I first got to play Contra on the old red-and-white 8-bit Nintendo system, and learned the Code of 30 Lives and Awesomeness. I saw the room where my dad grew up as a kid (it's now part of the kitchen as part of the constant remodeling referred to earlier). I saw the furniture set my parents used when they got married. I saw the graduation pics of my parents and aunts and uncles and marveled at how young they looked. I got to see my great aunt/great uncle on both my grandpa's and grandma's side. I tried to picture living my dad's life in a cramped Taiwanese neighborhood, living in a house I helped build, enduring the legendary cram schools and military service and then finally immigrating to America.
I think family showed me that life is a much more complex thing than I can possibly imagine. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it. Don't know if I ever will.
Meeting a random American traveler
Being an inexperienced traveler, I've heard stories of friends who met fascinating people while on vacation from all manner of nationality and walks of life. While visiting the gondola ride in the mountains of Maokong, Shal and I got the chance to meet and hang out with Cynthia, a woman in town for a semiconductor conference who was heading back to DC the day after. After sharing a cab in the pouring rain and finding out we were using the same Lonely Planet guide to find the same teahouse, we got to chat about our respective backgrounds, the history of Taiwan/China tensions, and the traveling habits of Europeans. We then went for a short hike in the freshly-rained jungle on the mountain and promptly got lost. It seriously did feel like an episode of "Lost," as we slid down muddy semi-paths clinging to trees and tried to decipher hastily scrawled danger signs written by former (less-fortunate?) hikers on scraps of cloth, all the while mildly panicking that the sun was going down and no one knew we were there. We then got to ride the gondola down, relax, and enjoy the view. Altogether an unforgettable experience.
Food
Much food was consumed on this trip, in keeping with the legendary reputation the country has for tasty and cheap comestibles from street vendors to homey mom-and-pop shops. You can see photos of most of what we ate on my Facebook album (if you're a Friend of mine on FB), but here are a few notables...
Foods I had never eaten before this trip (as far as I can remember):
1. durrian - not as bad as I thought it would be based on smell, but no more
2. black sesame dumplings - think shao long bao (soup dumplings) but stuffed with a sweet black sesame paste for dessert. This was absolutely delicious and doesn't appear to be available in the US. I think this was Shally's favorite dish the entire trip.
3. ba wan - glutinous stuff with meat and preserved veggies from a night market. Not bad.
4. lien wu - a fruit that reminded me of a cross between an apple's coloring and a pear's shape, with a crisp texture... apparently you can only get this in Taiwan
5. oyster egg pancake (ou-ah jen) - we had fresh oysters at a different restaurant that tasted better than oysters in the states (I don't typically like them), but the ones in our oyster pancake were mediocre.
Top 5 Favorite Taiwanese foods in no particular order:
1. Fan Tuan - this is a nice breakfast
2. Shally's grandma's lion's head meatballs - apparently this was the first time she had made them in like 8 years, and no one has yet been able to replicate them
3. black sesame steamed dumpling dessert
4. Ice monster shaved ice - I have something of a sweet tooth, so the enhanced sweetness of Taiwan mangos (compared to American ones) was right up my alley
5. Very big fried chicken - they took a thigh, pounded it out flat, and seasoned it, breaded it, and gave it a light frying. The line for this at the Shilin night market went out to the street, clearly the most popular food item in the entire market.
Miscellaneous other significant experiences/observations
Coming from a Taiwanese home and a predominantly Taiwanese church, I've been around quite a few Taiwanese people. This probably explains why everywhere I looked, I saw someone that looked like someone else - I was constantly nudging Shal and saying "That woman looks like so-and-so's mom!" and "That guy reminds me of somebody!" I guess God just used 4-5 face templates when making Taiwanese people and just did little tweaks.
I like the fact that most of the eateries in Taiwan are mom-and-pop joints rather than chain restaurants. It gives the country so much more character. However, as delicious as the street food may be, both Shally and I experienced some gastronomic issues the first few days back (although this may have been due to plane food).
Seeing the display in the National Palace Museum describing the millenia-long history of the religions of Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, and Confucianism, and their impact on Asian philosophy and sociology, helped drive home for me that the world is much bigger and older than my American mind learned about in school (the world began around 200 years ago when we decided to leave the British, right?).
Bullet train from Taizhong to Taipei. So that's what going 186 mph at ground level feels like.
Shally's six-month-old niece's delight at getting a whole hotel bed to play on. That might be the definition of pure, unadulterated joy.
Dinner with Shally's missionary friends and JT/Ring - an entire mealtime conversation about relationships. Finally heard about how JT and Ring got together.
Karaok'ing with JT and Ring at a Cashbox. Man, they're nicer than in the States... too bad the selection of English songs is pretty limited. Since it was a smaller group than the typical 10-15 that go out here, I felt a bit emboldened to try going solo on "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" by Boyz II Men and "Change the World" by Eric Clapton.
Conversation with my cousin Mario, who grew up in LA and the Bay Area and is now teaching English in Taipei. He said that basketball players there tend to call a lot of ticky tack fouls and seem to think an unimpeded dribbling path is a right. I would probably get pretty frustrated playing there.
Visiting Taipei 101.
Reading Moneyball by Michael Lewis and getting about 1/3 of the way through Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. The latter has been a really good read about Christianity and reflects a lot of things that I had been planning to write about at some point.
On the plane, watched "I Am Legend" with Will Smith (not bad) and "Jumper" with Anakin and Mace Windu from Episodes 1-3 (skip the movie)
And that's all I've got to say about that.
...
One last thing... 'twas Shally and my first trip overseas together, and that was a lot of fun.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Back to the motherland
It's been over 20 years since I've been to Taiwan, where my parents and ancestors came from. My parents didn't really emphasize the history/culture/politics of the country growing up, so I only heard about some of the differences between Taiwanese and Chinese culture in passing at church or among a few friends who had a lot more nationalistic pride than I did.
It's been quite fascinating to read the Lonely Planet guide and see the cultural and political history of this country, ranging from the aboriginal tribes, the first immigrants from the mainland, Japanese occupation, the group that came over with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, the military dictatorship, and then the ongoing tensions with China and recent political and economic reforms. I've come to understand a little bit more why some of my friends and relatives identify themselves so fervently as Taiwanese, why the elders at my Taiwanese church are opposed to removing "Taiwanese" from the name of our church... it really does come down to a deep-seated identity issue.
I'll be there for a week starting tomorrow with Shally, meeting up with relatives that I either haven't seen in 20 years (aunts and uncles) or have never met (cousins), hanging out with some friends and other cousins, and doing a little bit of sightseeing. I'll see about updating every so often over the next week.
Oh yeah, I hear the food's pretty good too.
It's been quite fascinating to read the Lonely Planet guide and see the cultural and political history of this country, ranging from the aboriginal tribes, the first immigrants from the mainland, Japanese occupation, the group that came over with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, the military dictatorship, and then the ongoing tensions with China and recent political and economic reforms. I've come to understand a little bit more why some of my friends and relatives identify themselves so fervently as Taiwanese, why the elders at my Taiwanese church are opposed to removing "Taiwanese" from the name of our church... it really does come down to a deep-seated identity issue.
I'll be there for a week starting tomorrow with Shally, meeting up with relatives that I either haven't seen in 20 years (aunts and uncles) or have never met (cousins), hanging out with some friends and other cousins, and doing a little bit of sightseeing. I'll see about updating every so often over the next week.
Oh yeah, I hear the food's pretty good too.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
$106 a Day
Seeing as how many of my friends are avid Food Network watchers, many have seen Rachael Ray's popular "$40 a Day" show where she explores the sights and food of a different city without going over a self-imposed budget of 2 $20 bills. While it's fun to see the different local hole-in-the-wall places she'll visit in each show, the frugal Asian in each of us invariably grumbles that $40 is an awful lot of money to drop on food in a day when we're good at finding $4 breakfast pastries, $7 sandwich lunches, and maybe $15 entrees - at most! - for dinner while on vacation. Heck, when not on vacation, I personally try to set a guideline of approximately $5 a meal while trying to eat relatively healthy, so many of my lunches during the week are a $2.33 (including tax) self-assembled salad, a small handful of chips (brought from home), and a grapefruit juice (free from the company).
A while ago I came across a few articles talking about the heady per diem given to NBA players during the season when the team is on a road trip. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players' union and the league provides - get this - $106 a day for food and other knicknacks while on the road. $106!
Here's what one former NBA player does with that much money:
Another excerpt from a different article:
Considering so many NBA players love the Cheesecake Factory, you can get quite a lot of salmon with teriyaki rice plates with the per diem.
What would you do with that much money for food every day?
A while ago I came across a few articles talking about the heady per diem given to NBA players during the season when the team is on a road trip. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players' union and the league provides - get this - $106 a day for food and other knicknacks while on the road. $106!
Here's what one former NBA player does with that much money:
We get per diem. At the beginning of each road trip we receive an envelope containing our per diem—a cash allotment meant to cover the cost of our meals on the road. I LOVE PER DIEM. By some formula detailed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement we get $99 dollars per diem (each day) on the road. It is wonderfully ridiculous. It is true that I COULD spend a hundred dollars a day on food, but it would take quite an appetite. Especially considering that I have adopted Subway as my restaurant of choice on the road. Unable to eat 20 foot-long subs each day on the road, I invariably end up with some extra cash in my pocket—which mysteriously migrates to my wife’s wallet as soon as I get home! During my first year in the league, I actually paid my RENT with my per diem.
Another excerpt from a different article:
Players can use the money as they choose. They can order room service at a ritzy hotel, which could set them back more than $80 for a meal...
"Man, we gamble away that money right away on the plane," said Nuggets guard DerMarr Johnson, referring to high-stakes card games. "We put it right into the gambling pot."
Nuggets forward Reggie Evans recently dropped $85 for a room service afternoon steak at the swank Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco.
Portland Trail Blazers center Jamaal Magloire spent more than $80 last week for a room service steak at The Westin Tabor Center.
Considering so many NBA players love the Cheesecake Factory, you can get quite a lot of salmon with teriyaki rice plates with the per diem.
What would you do with that much money for food every day?
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