12/10/00: First Aid, Family

Hi,

I had fun this Saturday night at the Christmas party for our young adult
group. We had a really good dinner, played games, sang Christmas carols,
and played a "white elephant" gift exchange game. I had a pretty good
first pick, so my selected gifts were constantly "stolen" by others. I
finally ended up with the "Young Messiah" tape, which I'm happy with. It
was quite fun.

I was disappointed that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" did not open here
in LA this past weekend. So, I'm organizing a group of people to go watch
it this Saturday, 12/16. We can meet for dinner, and then go watch the
movie. Let me know if you want to come and I'll send you more details
later on this week. I'm really looking forward to this film!

Jhemon Lee, a college friend and member of APEX's board of directors asked
me to give a presentation on "How to Give an Effective Presentation". When
I was at Andersen Consulting, I attended training in this area and
subsequently, adapted the materials into a workshop I gave two other times.
This presentation will be on Monday, 12/18, starting at 7 pm, in Glendale.
It will be free for APEX members, and $5 for non-members. However, I've
asked permission to invite a few friends to come for free (limit 5). So,
if you are NOT an APEX member and want to come, please let me know. If you
are an APEX member, please RSVP to Josephine Cheung at:
jjcheung98@yahoo.com. Light snacks will be provided.

I'll be in New York City from 12/20 to 1/6. I look forward to seeing all
of you there! Let's get together for lunch, dinner, coffee, visits to art
museums, Broadway shows, sightseeing, whatever. My cell # is:
818-438-8930. My parent's # is: 718-454-7608. Talk to you soon!

Valerie Cheung asked me to invite everyone to an Asian American theatrical
performance. I love to watch Asian American plays, and I encourage all of
you in LA to go. Here's a brief description:
______________________

5 Young Asian Americans.
1 Apartment.
ZERO Life.

Come join us for a special staged reading of Michael Golamco's seriocomic
"Achievers," a new play about being young, getting evicted and coping with
roommates (real and imaginary) who hate you.

"Achievers" will be performed at 7:30pm on Tuesday, December 19th at the
Morgan-Wixson Theater, 2627 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica.

Directed by Howard Jonathan Hong, the reading will feature in alphabetical
order: Ray Chang, Karin Cheung, Corrine Chooey, Kennedy Kabasares, Noel Wu.

** ADMISSION IS FREE, BUT SEATING IS LIMITED **. Please call 323-692-2880
or email performances@propergander.net for reservations. The Morgan-Wixson
Theater is located 1/2 mile east of Santa Monica College. There is free
parking on Pico Blvd., 26th and 27th St.
______________________

This week's thought provoking question is: "If you could have the mind of
someone from history and remain in your own body, whose would you choose?"

Many of you sent me your scores for the interesting personality test I sent
out last week. Almost all of the scores are between 40 and 50
(self-selection bias?). Derek Wong sent me this link to some other
personality tests. I definitely recommend the Keirsey test (Myers-Brigg).

http://www.2h.com/Tests/personality.phtml

This week's humor was forwarded from Anna Man. The inspirational story was
forwarded from Lily Wei Chen.

Enjoy!

-Josh.

P.S. Remember the true meaning of CHRIST-mas!
______________________________________________

First Aid Help

On a stifling hot day, a man fainted in the middle of a busy intersection.
As traffic began to pile up in all directions, a woman rushed to help him.
As she knelt down to loosen his collar, a man emerged from the crowd,
pushed her aside, and he said, "It's all right, honey. I've had a course
in first aid."

She stood up and watched as he took the man's pulse and prepared to
administer artificial respiration. Then she tapped him on the shoulder.
"When you get to the part about calling a doctor," she said, "I'm already
here."
_________________________________

Family

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake that night in my bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the children you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise.
You never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Please wake up, little one," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for
could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind
will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it,
we pour ourselves more into work than to our own family. An unwise
investment indeed, don't you think?

So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY=(F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU!