TRAVEL BY AIR: ARRIVE EARLY!

As we all may know, the security at the airport is being tightened again due to the failed terrorist attack aboard Northwest Airlines flight 253 by a Nigerian national, Umar Farouk Abdulmuntallab.

Because the attempted terrorism act involves liquid explosives hidden in the area around male private area, the new security measures by TSA is expected to address that. There were rumors spreading around about the excessive pat down procedures, limitation of the number of carry-on allowed, to the limitation of usage of electronic devices in a portion of the flight segment (which means no laptop, portable DVD players, MP3 and other similar devices are allowed to be used).

After all the confusions and rumors, I finally managed to find an internet posting which claimed to have acquired the leaked US Dept of Homeland Security's notices to TSA, effective from Dec 25, 2009 to Dec 30, 2009.

Here is the copy of the leaked notice:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
Aviation Security Directive
Subject: Security Directive
Number: SD 1544-09-06
Date: December 25, 2009
EXPIRATION: 0200Z on December 30, 2009
This Security Directive (SD) must be implemented immediately. The measures contained in this SD are in addition to all other SDs currently in effect for your operations.
INFORMATION: On December 25, 2009, a terrorist attack was attempted against a flight traveling to the United States. TSA has identified security measures to be implemented by airports, aircraft operators, and foreign air carriers to mitigate potential threats to flights.
APPLICABILITY: THIS SD APPLIES TO AIRCRAFT OPERATORS THAT CARRY OUT A SECURITY PROGRAM REGULATED UNDER 49 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR)1544.101(a).
ACTIONS REQUIRED: If you conduct scheduled and/or public charter flight operations under a Full Program under 49 CFR 1544.101(a) departing from any foreign location to the United States (including its territories and possessions), you must immediately implement all measures in this SD for each such flight.

1. BOARDING GATE

1. The aircraft operator or authorized air carrier representative must ensure all passengers are screened at the boarding gate during the boarding process using the following procedures. These procedures are in addition to the screening of all passengers at the screening checkpoint.
1. Perform thorough pat-down of all passengers at boarding gate prior to boarding, concentrating on upper legs and torso.
2. Physically inspect 100 percent of all passenger accessible property at the boarding gate prior to boarding, with focus on syringes being transported along with powders and/or liquids.
3. Ensure the liquids, aerosols, and gels restrictions are strictly adhered to in accordance with SD 1544-06-02E.
2. During the boarding process, the air carrier may exempt passengers who are Heads of State or Heads of Government from the measures outlined in Section I.A. of this SD, including the following who are traveling with the Head of State or Head of Government:

1. Spouse and children, or
2. One other individual (chosen by the Head of State or Head of Government)
3. For the purposes of Section I.B., the following definitions apply:
1. Head of State: An individual serving as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth, or any other political state (for example, King, Queen, and President).
2. Head of Government: The chief officer of the executive branch of a government presiding over a cabinet (for example, Prime Minister, Premier, President, and Monarch).

2. IN FLIGHT

1. During flight, the aircraft operator must ensure that the following procedures are followed:
1. Passengers must remain in seats beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
2. Passenger access to carry-on baggage is prohibited beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
3. Disable aircraft-integrated passenger communications systems and services (phone, internet access services, live television programming, global positioning systems) prior to boarding and during all phases of flight.
4. While over U.S. airspace, flight crew may not make any announcement to passengers concerning flight path or position over cities or landmarks.
5. Passengers may not have any blankets, pillows, or personal belongings on the lap beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.

AIRCRAFT OPERATOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The aircraft operator must immediately provide written confirmation to its assigned PSI indicating receipt of this SD.
AIRCRAFT OPERATOR dissemination required: The aircraft operator must immediately pass the information and directives set forth in this SD to all stations affected, and provide written confirmation to its PSI, indicating that all stations affected have acknowledged receipt of the information and directives set forth in this SD. The aircraft operator must disseminate this information to its senior management personnel, ground security coordinators, and supervisory security personnel at all affected locations. All aircraft operator personnel implementing this SD must be briefed by the aircraft operator on its content and the restrictions governing dissemination. No other dissemination may be made without prior approval of the Assistant Secretary for the Transportation Security Administration. Unauthorized dissemination of this document or information contained herein is prohibited by 49 CFR Part 1520 (see 69 Fed. Reg. 28066 (May 18, 2004).
APPROVAL OF ALTERNATIVE MEASURES: With respect to the provisions of this SD, as stated in 49 CFR 1544.305(d), the aircraft operator may submit in writing to its PSI proposed alternative measures and the basis for submitting the alternative measures for approval by the Assistant Administrator for Transportation Sector Network Management. The aircraft operator must immediately notify its PSI whenever any procedure in this SD cannot be carried out by a government authority charged with performing security procedures.
FOR TSA ACTION ONLY: The TSA must issue this SD immediately to the corporate security element of all affected U.S. aircraft operators.
FOR STATE DEPARTMENT: Retransmittal to appropriate foreign posts is authorized. Post must refer to STATE 162917, 201826Z Sep 01, Subject: FAA Security Directives and Information Circulars: Definitions and Handling, for specific guidance and dissemination.

Gale Rossides
Acting Administrator

(From http://gizmodo.com/5435188/leaked-homeland-securitys-post-underwear-bomb-airplane-rules, retrieved on December 28, 2009 at 3:45 PM)

Now, what should you do if you plan to travel in the coming week:
1. Arrive early, the TSA suggested at least one and half hour earlier (than what it was) for international flight heading to the US, and an unspecified time for domestic flights (I assume about 30 minutes earlier than what it was).
2. Be prepared to go through longer lines and more intensive screening. Follow the direction of the TSA agent and do not complain or whine too much since you may have to endure a longer screening that way. (I've been there and done that... so I learned my mistake)
3. Be sure not to carry too many bottle of liquids in your carry-on since you may have to endure a longer screening time. It's probably best to keep all your liquid essentials (from shampoo, body wash, lotions etc.) stowed away in your checked baggage if you have one (and specially if you don't have to pay for one).

And lastly, be safe and pray that you don't meet an overzealous TSA agent who performed excessive patting a little too close to your sensitive area.

We will never forget (And I personally am included)

When I read the news about the failed "crotchbomb" by a Nigerian national, Umar Farouk Abdulmuntallab, I was just getting ready to sleep after searching for the latest update of the anime movie that I followed online.

I immediately thanked God that he failed to detonate the bomb in that Northwest Airlines flight 253. I personally commend the spontaneous response and the brave acts of passengers in that flight which managed to subdue the perpetrator quickly and therefore prevented another humanitarian tragedy.

This latest attempt of terrorist act is another reminder that terrorism threat in the air is real and active despite all the money, time and efforts spent by the US government, the TSA, and authorities in other airports all around the world to prevent it from happening again. The fact that a sizable liquid explosive pouch was managed to be smuggled inside a plane is more than enough proof to say that all those efforts by the authorities around the world were not sufficient to guarantee the safety of the air travelers.

I personally don't mind the extra security, however many other business travelers (especially those who always seem to be in a hurry and those who have whiny and spoiled kids with them) may not like being searched and patted down more intensively (and sometimes intrusively, especially when we cannot tell them: "Hey, watch where you're touching!"). Now, (again, always right after something happened) we can surely expect a stricter check point, a longer line and more whines as people slowly (and begrudgingly) moving along the long lines in the airport gates. And don't forget, more hassles or intrusive checks.

One time, I have the "privilege" of being pulled from the lines by an TSA agent in an airport to undergo some security measure, not long after 9/11 took place. At that time, I was 30 minutes away from my flight departure time and I just barely managed to be in front of the line before the security check point when I saw the lady (TSA agent) scribbled something on my boarding ticket. And I suddenly realized, "This is definitely not a good sign and I could miss my flight"

I was right, when I showed my ticket and ID to the male agent at the security gate, he told me that I needed to step aside and follow him to go through additional checks. I politely asked the agent of how long the check will take since I would have barely made my flight even without the check, and he stiffly replied, "Sir, we will let you go once we finished the mandated security check on you and your belongings." And I suddenly realized that I may have talked too much. Man, it will cost me greatly, I assume.

The agent asked me to stretch my arms and keep my legs away from each other about one and a half foot apart. He then began patting down my arms and legs and ran his metal detector along my body. As expected, it beeped when it passed just below my belly (Of course, it's not because I carried a crotch bomb, it's just because of my belt comes with metal buckle). The agent told me to take off my belt, and I seriously wanted to joke with him but I realized that he was not in the mood for joking so I clamped my mouth shut. After I took off my belt then there was no more beep, then he asked me to sit and wait for my belonging to be inspected. At that time, I noticed that the agent wiped clean cloths along the edges of my roller bag (which I later found out to be a part of a security test conducted by a "puffer" to detect the trace of explosives).

He even opened my laptop bag, ran another cloth wipes (I truly wished the would wiped out the whole laptop instead of just the edges since my laptop can surely benefit from a full wiping). He then turned on my laptop (I guess to make sure it's not an IED). Well, the process took almost 30 minutes and he finally released me.

As I expected, that TSA search cost me my flight, because I missed my flight because of the extra pat downs (Hopefully, it's without any accident such as "Ouch, not the groin!") Ok, that's a little out of bound, I was just kidding... Once again, I do not mind the extra security measures but I honestly felt somewhat vindicated after the checks, I even joked to myself: "The agent must have thought that I looked like Osama bin Laden, even though I believe I looked more like Hu Jintao than Osama." Well, it may be just my tough luck!

I honestly missed the times when the security of the airport were very lax (just before 9/11 tragedy) but then again, I don't really mind an extra security measure for the safety of all travelers as long as it's done professionally and in a timely manner. And also, if I am allowed to ask, I would personally request to not pat down the area between the leg too much.... j/k

Good luck to you all who travels, have a safe trip and remember to come early. And also the best of luck for all TSA agents whose job is to pat down the selected travelers.

Be safe everyone!!! In a worst case scenario, we just have to learn to jump on those stupid terrorists. I am sure I am heavy enough for it.

Trickery or Reality

I was on my way to the parking lot at LAXs P4 parking, and suddenly an old lady waved her hand and called me, "Excuse me!" I turned toward her direction and I asked her, "Do you call me, ma'am?" And with a gentle face she replied, "Yes, could you come over?" As I approached her, suddenly an airport police officer passed by. Seeing the old lady waving her hand at me, he them asked her, "Is there anything I can help you with, ma'am?" And surprisingly, I saw that her expression changes, she looked at the officer with a stern face and said, "No!" as if she was just telling him to go away. The officer left in a breeze.

She began to tell me a story while showing her CA senior citizen identification. According to the ID that she showed me, ber name was Brenda S (I abbreviated her last name just in case if she was actually using someone else's ID). In short, basically she claimed that she needed some money and kind of short $16 for towing cost of her broken down car. Personally I thought she could ask the officer and he could probably help her better, but I don't know. She probably just tried to scam me (and I was fully aware of that), but I believe it's a good time to exercise my faith. I believe God had given me so much even while He knows that I will not always be faithful to Him, yet He still loves me and gave His One and Only Son to die for me.

I also remember that many people had helped me in the past without demanding anything in return, and I felt compelled to do something even though I may be scammed (I didn't mind and I didn't care). I was also reminded about my past experience how I often refused to help those who plead for help simply because I distrust them. Every single time I did that, I always regretted that I did not give them any money at all, what if they really needed help?

I was completely aware of the situation, and I know about the risks. I have heard stories about people who did some scams using tricks like this or similar, but I did not care. It was not easy, I had to admit. As a very rational guy, I have doubts that that lady probably did not really need any help at all after witnessing how she turned away the offer from the officer, I immediately thought she probably just needed some money. I forced my mind to cast away all negative assumptions and prejudices that I had, and I voluntarily allowed myself to be tricked. I said to myself, "It's OK if I am being tricked, it's still better than if what she said was true and I did not help while I actually could help (at least a little)."

I reached into my wallet and began to count how much money I had in my wallet. Luckily I had some money that night (more than enough to pay for the parking for sure). I politely told her that I don't have much money but I am willing to help her (even though I know she may just be tricking me). I spared some money to pay for the parking and I gave her the rest. She thanked me and left.

Personally, I am sad. Firstly, I am sad that I can't even give her $16 that she asked, even though I had more than that but I kept some to pay for the expensive airport parking and for my own personal emergency. (Just recently, I went through a blown out tire in the middle of a busy I-60, it was not pleasant, and if it was not because one nice customer's help, I probably would have to pay a lot of money for the tow trucks). Secondly, I am sad because I see these poor people more and more every single day. Whether they be on busy intersections, freeway exit ramps, even in front of the supermarkets or stores. I have never seen them there when the economy was doing well. I guess these are just signs of the times: More and more poor and needy people.

Seeing all these, I could not help but trying to cast the blame to anyone else, but I realized have no one to blame but myself. If I, who claimed to have known God and possessed conscience about this matter, could not be moved with compassion for them, how would those who did not even know God or those who have muted their inner conscience. No wonder the world is in a big mess right now. With more than 6 billion people who are more or less as messy and complicated as I am, the world is surely a dangerous place to live.

However, I was (somewhat) surprised when I noticed that she did not even complain, although her thank you tones indicated that she was not overly excited (I don't know maybe she already got money from others, or maybe I was just one of her victims that night). But I am perfectly fine with that, I remember that I once give a small amount of money to a beggar and he just looked at me as if he was saying, "Huh, that's it?" I wish that she really needs the money, and that she can use it wisely. Nevertheless, I sure wish her the best since she is an old lady so she probably needed the money more than me.

Regardless if it was trickery or not, I am personally glad that I went through the incident for two things. First, that I was privileged to help her (regardless if the case was true or not). Secondly, I am actually very glad that I was privileged to exercise my faith, hope and love by helping others without any prejudice or negative thinking. And that alone is worth more than all the money in the world.

God bless you, Brenda (or whoever you are), I hope you are doing OK where ever you are. I hope you did not trick me, but I don't really mind even if you did. I truly wish that the money I gave you can be helpful. It was a hard earned money, as I did not have much money myself. Anyway, thank you for giving me a chance to exercise my faith, to learn to give even while I am still lacking myself.

Justice and Equality

About justice and equality, I liked how Bono phrased it, "Only love can do it."
I admit that I was not a Bono fan (Note: I still am not truly a "fan" but I admired some of his perspectives) before I moved to So-Cal. In fact, I used to despise Bono just like many other Christian conservatives because Bono was a rock star and due to his so-called "socialist" approach. But now, I started to open my eyes to the ugly reality of this world... Inequality and injustice. I am not supporting or trying to vindicate either Democratic or Republican party, but I began to see the pluses and minuses of both parties in a more balanced way.

Republicans often only care about moral values while they grossly neglected the poor and the needy. They're not much different from the Pharisees of Jesus' days. On the other hand, the Democrats are so concerned about these issues of poverty, rights to assemble (unions), immigration, and other commonly called "liberal" agenda while trashing everything else regardless of their absolutism.

Honestly, I now think that if Jesus were once again to be "reincarnated" (meaning "physically taking human flesh and body again) in this world today, perhaps most Conservatives will call him "Socialist" while He was merely being compassionate to the poor and the needy. But wait, He also will gladly rebuke those "liberals" because of they compromise on His words too much.

Fever or Reality?

Well, I recently read the latest edition "Charisma" magazine, a Christian Magazine (FYI, I got the subscription for free), and it does not surprise me that the headline was the "end of the world fever." Historically, the church often went to "end-of-the-world" modes during difficult times, whether it be harsh persecutions, poverty, or deep recessions like today. It is quite understandable because we human tend to seek for safety and security that we cannot find in our present condition. That's why we tend to be attracted and caved in to any promises to release us from our present condition, whether it be the all too common "get rich quick" schemes or the church promise of the glorious day when Christ is coming for the second time to bring us to the place where there is no more tears and sorrows.

So, should we just cast away everything we have and gathered in an exclusive group of the fervent believers like those of the doomsday cults? Maybe not but it is indeed an interesting phenomenon, the same exact one that I witnessed during 1998 financial crisis in Asia. Two things that I am truly worry about. First, how long will it last? We know that once the economy was turned around for the better, churches in Asia began to shelf the idea of second coming of Christ and indulged in their old sins. Secondly, I honestly am afraid that these overzealous drive can lead to even worse or disastrous ends for some of those people, especially those who are willingly giving away their everything while expecting for a quick exit. Many will probably commit suicide or leave the Lord when they finally see that they do not get what they want soon enough.

God's providence? Or wrath?

A pastor recently told me that he believed that God has "sheltered" His children who are faithful to him and kept them safe from the recent financial mess. Well, his assessment may indeed be true, at least for his congregation, but I immediately was reminded about news of declining tithes and contributions from churches elsewhere. Politely and respectfully, I replied to him that I was glad that his church was doing OK, however I cautioned the pastor that the situation is not as rosy everywhere else.

I did not judge this pastor of implying anything, but I just worry that some Christians may indeed take His words for its face value. There is a widespread belief that God will bless those who are faithful literally and at any given time. I just simply can't agree to it for some sound theological reasons. I believe that we cannot simply judge one's spiritual condition based on one's financial condition. I am sure I don't have to remind anyone of the story of Job, the godly man of God who lost almost everything, except his wife who asked him to curse God and die.
(Surprisingly and for some unknown reasons to me, except for God's mercy, that the woman survived and God did not seem to punish her for her harsh comment -because the Bible did not mention whether she ever died or whether Job remarried or not- We only know that Job later begot more children).

Honestly, as the economy worsened for me personally, I also often asked myself, is this terrible economy really God's wrath for my unfaithfulness or for my past sins? I often concurred that while it may be partly true, I also think that it may not be very wise to simply judge one's spiritual condition simply by looking at their financial condition. I am also more tempted to give to the church while hoping that God will repay more back many times as He promised. He did, to a certain extent, but I still am hesitant to give more since there's hardly more than $60 in my pocket at any given time these days. Ah, maybe I am a man of little faith...

But I noticed and heard stories about some people who continued to give and tithe and God blessed them and lifted them out of the deep financial holes. I truly am happy for them that (hopefully) the story will lead people to glorify God more instead of mock or curse Him. However, as a person who has responsibility to pay lots of bills (plus a demanding wife), I have to at least keep a $20 bill in my pocket to buy our lunch or dinner for the day. I don't know, maybe that's why God's withheld His blessings from me. But honestly, I am just trying to make sure I have foods for the day.

Call me a man of little faith, a lost and prodigal son, I don't really know and maybe I don't really care anymore. I have to admit that I am quite lost myself in this case, as I can't hear His still small voices anymore. Maybe He turned His face away from me because of my sins... or was it a trial? I am not sure frankly, I am probably just like a blind man looking for a safe exit route while trapped in a treacherous land with enemies and deceivers lurking around, while searching for the presence of the only One who can save me.

Honestly, I sometimes think maybe I really am lost, and other times I don't think so... Perhaps, I am really just fighting for foods with the swines while forgetting the fact that I have the ever-forgiving Father who always welcomes me with open arms, but I am afraid I just can't help it... I never ever felt so worry in my life before... Never. I may not have money at all when I was in high school or college, but I survived maybe because at that time, I only have myself to worry of. I can skip lunch and/or dinner, I can save money by relying on the mercy of others. I don't have to buy new clothes or cosmetics... I hardly had any of those at all in my high school and college years. I remember some people who teased me for "rotating" my shirts too often... but I did not care.

But now, it's a different story. My wife does care for those small little stuffs. She threw away some of my oldest shirts (the ones I had from high school or college years). She wants me to buy good perfumes and nice smelling fragrances, which I enjoyed but didn't think that I really need them. She also wants to buy certain cosmetics and hygiene needs... Now, I am hosed. Should I be acting as a wicked hubby? Jesus said even wicked parents will not give stone in lieu of bread, or snake in lieu of fish.

Now I can understand more why some people did the most unbelievable things in this world... Maybe, just maybe it was simply because they have no better options. Sadly, those who are more privileged or more well-versed in God's words often blocked the way, just like the Pharisees and religious leaders were taking advantage of the poor widows in Jesus' days in the world. I will no longer guess for the true reasons behind one's actions... I am not God, and I can't read anyone's mind (I am not even sure if I understand my own mind completely). Let God be the judge, and I am just one of His creations. Why would a pot scream to another pot because of envy or jealousy, it's not up to us, it's up to the Potter.

I have a dream, or more like I have a wistful thinking, that someday all the rich people will be willing to share perhaps 10% of their true wealth to others, perhaps this world will be a much better place to live with. Perhaps there will be less tears and sorrows, just like the utopian world imagined in one of the classic Michael Jackson's song: "Heal the World."

But wait, I am quite afraid that will never happen in this present world... It almost sound as if a dream or longing for the world to come.

Health care? Do we really care?

I met a certain pastor, a very kind godly man, who expressed his disagreement of the current administration because of their "socialist" agenda. He dislike the White House idea of health care reform because it will lead to socialism and more government control. I did not totally disagree with his comment, however I simply replied that a little more oversight is better that lack of oversight. The pastor then said he is open to a little more oversight but he was worried that the big government will eventually take over everything.

Yes, Americans are proud of their freedom, and that's actually one of the reasons I was attracted to America. However, as I live here for more than 10 years I began to realize that we often fought for "freedom" too much while sacrificing other values. No, I am not talking about terrorism and their surveillance. I am talking about the heated debate about the current health care reform. I did not agree a hundred percent with the plan, partly because of some critical flaws in the plan, but in general I can see the importance and the possible benefit from the plan (if it was run successfully). However, I still can't believe that lawmakers (whom many of them proudly called themselves as "conservatives" or "Christians") repeatedly invoked the concept of freedom as one of their reasoning. Yes, I like freedom, but I am afraid that what concerns those lawmakers more are not really freedom but money. I am afraid that all these propaganda was just a smokescreen to cover up the traces of the lobbying money from big insurance companies.

I personally think some Americans are truly overpaying for the health care insurance, while others are actually enjoying it for free. Sadly, America has an interesting approach toward illegal immigrants (something that I agree in principal but often disagree in application). Poor immigrants can have free health care if they go directly to the ER (that would explain why we see that many low-paying workers actually have more kids that those who have more money). Some of them even received food stamps to pay for their kids nutrition needs (I believe some of the recipient truly deserve the food stamps while others don't). I think the idea was noble but it was grossly abused by a certain group in the community that it became a burden for hospitals.

However, I disagree with the fact that every Americans must have health insurance from private for profit insurance companies or pay penalty. I think this would only work if the premium is very cheap. Some people simply do not have money to pay for the premium amount, how would they pay for the penalty. Sadly, I don't think the premium will be cheap (those private companies are for profit, remember?). Even non-profit title can be misleading these days. Many people simply open non-profit orgs for their own benefits while proudly claiming "helping others while helping ourselves." I did not disagree with the jargon, but I would like to ask how much they actually help others compared to helping themselves?

Sadly, many communities who called themselves as Christians, conservatives or religious were often the most staunch opponents of some of the government's sponsored social programs. Why? Some of them are claiming that they were simply against the idea of big government, some cried out "Socialism," while others invoked the conspiracy theory of government control as the early form of the end-times' "one world government" as prophesied in the book of Revelation. If they were so worried about the government, why would not they consider the "non-profit" or religious organizations to run it instead? Ah, separation of church and state? Now, that's another long topic to discuss.

But honestly, I want to ask: Can Christians really justify this? Do we not care about others' needs just because of our unfounded fear and worries? May I ask, who are truly our neighbors?

Deed and Greed

Many of us would have probably heard that the recent economic turmoil was partially caused by the overreaching greed of a group of people. Yes, some blamed the greedy bankers and financiers, others blame the Feds and the regulators, and many also blamed speculators both big and small. Well, we cannot pinpoint exactly who's responsible for this whole mess, but very likely many of us are responsible to this mess to a certain extent (some may be more responsible than the others).

Honestly, the recession not only bring difficulties and troubles to the poor and those who were trapped in the financial problems, but it also brings out "excellent" opportunity for those who have money and able to leverage themselves. The abundant foreclosing had prompted many people who used to "own" homes but now forced to rent. Rental rates is steady and actually going up in certain areas. And even amidst the high foreclosure rates, some realtors and few friends who are buying houses actually told me that they saw multiple bids over properties in desirable areas and for investment properties.

I don't blame the rich and their opportunistic approaches, but I think it was the consequences of the "capitalistic" countries. The rich will have bigger and better opportunity to become richer (in the best scenario). It's good for them. If those were godly Christians, I am "forcing" myself to be happy for them, just as Paul the apostle's message to the church in Rome (Rm 12:15). Why do I say "forcing myself"? Sadly, it was because of my sinful human nature, I know that deep inside we have the tendency to be jealous to others who are more successful than us, while overlooking those who are less fortunate than us.

My only wish was that those who have more will feel more compelled to do more with the more resources that they have. How many of us have hardened our heart when we saw the story of suffering and difficulties experienced by those among us? No, I am not talking about poor and malnourished children in Africa that we often saw in TV commercials sponsored by different charity groups. I am talking about those nearby, the panhandlers on the street corners? The homeless on the streets?

There are many reasons or logic that we can use to justify our actions. I remember an old colleague who used to tell me that those homeless or panhandlers are lazy bums who do not want to look for jobs. He told me that those healthy young men should just look for jobs like the Hispanics who often gathered in Home Depot's parking lots and looking for hourly jobs. Well, he may indeed be correct, but once again, how do we know for sure that the panhandler was indeed lazy? Some other colleague used to argue that those homeless are simply "spoiled," they just want to get easy money to buy booze. And once again, I think his observation was also true, I saw some panhandlers who just bought a can of beer at a gas station after he finished his "shift" at a certain street intersection. But I would like to remind myself once again, how do we know that he was not simply addicted to beer, or whether or not he had eaten at all?

Honestly, I am also guilty to this terrible over-thinking (generalizing) and stereotyping, and that I need to learn to not speak out my mind too quickly when I saw those people. When I have money, I will always try to give them (without any prejudice or stereotypical mind), but when I don't, I would simply ask forgiveness from God that I cannot give. To be fair, as poor as I am, I probably still have more money in my wallet than that person at the street intersection, however, I often felt so difficult to part from my limited amount of money. I probably could eat cheaper food, or perhaps skip a meal altogether (I know that I need to lose weight anyway), but I often simply can't do that. I guess I still love my money even though they're not much at all. Maybe that's the true definition of greed.

In that case, I often just did what some Christians often did, simply wish them mercy from God (sounds religious, ain't it?) and that they can have a great day so that they can at least have enough foods for the day and a good healthy rest. It's probably the safest solution for some of us who wants to be "safe" and not violating our personal conviction. Never did we know, that by doing so, we acted exactly just like the Priest and Levite in Jesus's story of the Good Samaritan.

In my head, I am quite aware that it was not really the best reaction for the problem, but even as I know it, I still found it very difficult to do. I found it easy to just read over James's epistle and simply skip or ignore his warning about our greed. James had sternly warned believers who see those who are less fortunate to do something and not just express our "wistful" thinking while we still have something at our tables. Once again, I admit that I am still guilty to this sin too. And there's still more to learn.

Money Talks

Believe it or not, even though most "scholars" may disagree with this statement. This statement is indeed true. Many people, even those who deny the prevalence of the notion of "money talks" in today's world, may actually live in the realm where money indeed does talk. Of course, we are here talking about money talking in figurative sense, not the literal sense.

Look at the industry that survives even amid recession, porn industry. A friend of mine a while back chatted with me and he expressed his disbelief (or perhaps more like his sense of confusion) about the fact that many pretty girls had fallen into the trap of the "adult" industry. And my response was simple, one of the most obvious reason is that money talks. Believe it or not, people who had lived their lives in affluence since their birth probably will never understand the hardship involves in being "poor." And this friend of mine was likewise. He came to the US as a graduate student in computer science and he ended up getting a job at a top search engine company in Silicon Valley. Of course he always claims that he has no money... (Who doesn't?). But in reality, he is probably a lot more affluent than he was willing to admit.

Enough about him. Now back to his question and my response. He probably found it unbelievable that some pretty girls will be willing to undress and do the embarrassing acts in front of camera for "entertainment" of poor, lonely and perverted souls around the world, but in reality many did. Why, because (partly) it's easy money.

Well, let me clarify.. I am sure easy money is not the one and only reason for people who jumped into the "adult" industry. Some probably went that direction due to coercion, past "mental" or "spiritual" baggage, some for fame (or thinking that they can be famous) and many other reasons. But, whatever the reason, no one has ever truly dispute the facts that money is one of the main drive, and how it can attract people to do the most unbelievable thing.

If people in third world countries would be willing to kill someone else for the equivalent of a dime in the US dollar (which continues to slide). How many more will be willing to get hundreds or thousands of dollars just to perform the lewd acts, (even though it may grieve his or her soul)? Money is not everything in this world, but it is something that some people are lacking or desiring very badly and that's how it went wrong.

God forgive me... I am not here to promote, endorse or justify for the existence of the adult industry... My primary goal will be to remind people about the importance of justice and equality in this world, at least to those who are the least fortunate among us. What I meant with justice and equality is not equal to the idea of communism or socialism, as promoted by Lenin, Che, Marx and others.

My dream is not the distribution of wealth (which sadly is controlled by a very few groups of people), but more like no more poverty, no more people died because of lack of foods or medicine. A "commune" (which is the true ideal of the communism) is not necessarily bad as it was evidenced in Israel's kibbutz, which is another word for a commune, and perhaps one good example of the successful real community life styles (not communism). But sadly, not many people are now interested in living such novel idea. Most of us would rather live our lives the way we want it and "the hell" with others.

Sadly, the more money we have, the stronger we hold onto it. No wonder Jesus said that our hearts are in the place where our treasure is located. See, money not only talks, it also binds our hearts.

Can there be a better world where we can be better off (at least slightly)? Only God knows, probably not, especially if we continue doing what we're doing. However, I truly believe some good things can come up if and if only we decided to do something for others selfishly.

Complacency

Today is the first day I heard about terrorist bombing in Jakarta after many years of peace. Truthfully, it's not because I don't believe it won't happen again. I believe terrorist attacks will continue to take place as long as we human still live in this planet, but of course the severity of the attack will vary.

Honestly many people in Indonesia has become very comfortable after several quiet years without any significant terror attacks. However the latest bombings will remind everybody to always remain vigilant and brace for the worst to happen. The world is old and probably is getting closer to its final chapter... Let's just hope for the best and prepare for the worse. After all, that's all we can do.

RIP to the victims and their relatives.

What is truth?

Somehow, in this world certain "cheats" are considered fair play if you play it by the "rule." For example, a person cheats on taxes by claiming "exemptions" is acceptable, but a person cheats other people money by shortchanging them is not acceptable.
I guess the key is knowing the loopholes.

I once received an order from a person who claimed to be a pastor in the US (with poor English though), and he gave me a certain credit card to charge the orders. He said he will have someone picked up the orders, and asked me to contact his "shipping agent" which is apparently not a regular shipping agent (with @yahoo.com email... pretty suspicious). And yes, this "shipping agent" said that the shipping charge is $1,500 or something and he wants the money to be sent via Western Union to a suspicious African name. And I asked the person, and he tried to trick me by promising to pay for the order plus the shipping, and even gave me extra money if I charge them to the card. Surprisingly, the card went through, but I later received a call from my credit card processor that there's a problem with the card, the person did not say what is the problem. And I confronted him and asked why would the credit card processor let it through, and he said it's the bank's problem and not his. One thing he assured me is that the bank will not pay. And I asked, what happened to me then, and he said, it's my loss.

As we heard that the banks are being cheated by their customers, I can't help but thinking, "Doesn't it sound like karma? You reap what you sow." But I also can't stop thinking, is it banks' fault? Or customers? Or ??? It gives me more headaches with no clear solution.

And I ask myself again, what is truth again?

Second Market for California IOUs

We all may have heard that our great Golden State of California is broke. Not only that the state is unable to improve its public services, the state was forced to issue IOUs to its vendors. Even though many state vendors usually overcharge the state for their services, I am sure nobody likes being paid with IOUs. To make the matter worse, banks had refused to take the IOUs since last Friday.
Today, MarketWatch reported that a broker had opened a secondary market for IOUs. Some people may think, "Wow, it's nice of them trying to help those IOU holders to cash their checks," but my first impression was whoever started the business sure knows how to make money from someone's misery.

Why? Because the dealer did not buy the IOUs for themselves, instead they basically merely created a marketplace for buyers and sellers of IOUs to meet, and reaped profits from the transactions. I don't know how many cents per dollar will the IOUs go, but I am sure not very high because of the risk of defaults and the facts that some IOU holders are desperate.
The winner? The broker dealer... No wonder the word "broker" has "broke" in it.

I guess the only way to survive in this economy is by becoming crooks.

The Pain of a Small Business Owner (2)

Hurray, Santa Claus is coming to town again ... When? Not Christmas but this tax season!

Contrary to popular belief, the last two years' tax season had somehow turned out to be seasons to be jolly. Now another tax season is coming and Santa is coming again this tax season. No, please do not think that I became delusional because of the burdens I bore as a small business owner. I am serious and I am really not mistaking this season from Christmas.

But why is tax season a season to be jolly? Because it really is, at least for some people, because the US government once again is giving away billions of dollar again this year for working people (just like whet they did last year). Good for them, but what about us, small business owners? I guess we're not as lucky. We're never in the best interest of the government because we're probably not that important albeit we provide employments and pay more taxes than employees. Most employees do not realize that for every cents deducted by government for Medicare, FICA and social security taxes, we small business owners pay the same amount of taxes, the only difference is that we cannot claim them back in our tax return.

When the economy was good, small businesses were doing quite well. In the past few years during the real estate boom, many new small businesses sprang up like weeds in spring, but now most of them had either gone bankrupt or changed owners. I recently went back to a small Asian shopping complex in Milpitas where I used to eat lunch when I was working in Fremont, and I noticed that the whole complex had changed. The place whee I used to buy my House Special Fried Rice for lunch is no longer there, it was replaced by another Chinese Restaurant. The place where I used to eat dim sum also went out of business, and now a sit-down place. The only restaurants survived in the complex are Vung Tau 2 and Tung Kee. I guess they have made enough money in the past so they can still subsidize their current operation.

During the boom, many people envied small business owners because they thought that small business owners make easy money. Well, easy money it is for those who are successful, like the guy who started Fantasia in the Bay Area or YogurtLand in Irvine, but life was not as easy for most business owners. And now as the economy is dying, most people cut off their spending because they do not have too money to spend in the first place. Many have already maxed out in their credit card and witnessed the decline in their savings, investments and property value and they reacted drastically. These situations affected small businesses greatly, small businesses are fighting for the small remaining customers with lower prices and free perks but it still does not work very well. The increase of raw material costs last year did not help small business owners either. The increase of cost is hard to pass on to customers who are already deserting their shops. Some raised their prices modestly, while others kept their old prices while reducing the portion or the quality of their products or services. It hurts both the customers and the small business owners. Still with less revenue, many small business owners could not generate enough income to cover their fixed and overhead costs, no wonder small businesses all across the country are floundering in 18 months or so.

Many small business owners lost a lot of money even up to every single cent of their investment, if they paid with their own money. Those who received loans from the banks fared a little better because they did not lose as much (the banks did), but they were still forced to either file bankruptcy and/ close their business completely. Some were even haunted by relentless calls from debt collectors. Now, if I were to ask you guys who do not run a small business, don't you feel glad that you just work for another people? You should!

Indeed some small business owners still thriving amidst the dire situation, but many did so at the expense of other people or the government. Many small business owners cheated on their taxes (That's nothing new, isn't it?). There are few common ways small business owners cheated their taxes. The first one is cheating their income taxes, many small business owners claimed a lot lower revenue than last year, which is partially true because there is indeed a large decrease of revenue coming into their pockets, but some people even went further. They operate their business from their homes and never really report the income. The popularity of online auction and marketplace sites like E-Bay provides a great avenue for such small business owners. The second way to cheat is by cheating their sales tax revenue. Many small business owners began charging no tax to customers who pay cash because they wanted to lower their sale price, and they did not pay their sales taxes either.
The third way to cheat on taxes is by buying products and/or services which are supposed to be taxable direct from wholesalers without paying taxes by claiming to resell them. Small business owners who have a valid reseller permit often exploited this by buying things like signs and printed material directly from wholesaler. Their acts were the shadiest of all, because large wholesalers are slow too these days, so they're pretty hungry and willing to take any orders from anybody just to keep them busy. Some wholesalers even did this deliberately by selling their products direct to retail customers, while others do not bother to distinguish between true resellers and end-users. I know for a fact that a sound system company in Ontario, CA who purchased their signs and graphics from a wholesaler while claiming they're reselling them. In fact they merely want to pay less for their signs plus not having to pay sales tax.

Is it bad enough? Not yet. Many other small business owners preyed on their subcontractors, contractors and resellers. Many did not know this, but many small businesses relied on other businesses to run their operation. Many small businesses who claim to be manufacturers are merely brokers, especially if they sell their products very cheaply. Let's take a simple example of a flag and banner seller in E-Bay, many of them claimed to be the manufacturers but in reality the manufacturers is in China, they're just brokers. Did you notice that some of them have location in East Coast and yet their stocks are stored in the West Coast? Yes, that further reinforce the assertion that they're just merely brokers. They bought their flags and banners from a direct importer in California, and just have them shipped from their warehouse instead. In this tough economy, some wholesalers are starting to complain that some of their accounts do not pay their bills and now they start asking for credit card instead. Many companies which subcontracted their jobs often lost money also because their subcontractor suddenly disappeared too. Some small businesses even pay for products and services by using checks with non-sufficient funds, one example is Platinum Audio in Murieta, CA.

The worst possible action done by small business owners these days is cheating their customers. Well, customers are important for small business owners because they bring business, but some small business owners are not shy or afraid in cheating their customers. The problem is widespread in the online community, take E-Bay sellers again for example, although there are many good and reputable businesses in E-Bay, many other sellers are simply crooks who take your money and never ship the products. Many online businesses are also targeting customers by shady practices like offering free or cheap products or services while in actuality they led you to sign up for unnecessary contracts to pay a certain amount of money every month. Take freecreditreport.com or similar online sites. The worst part of this scam is that they're difficult or almost impossible to cancel. They do not provide an easy way to cancel.

Sadly, the plague is not only spreading in the online world, but also in the real brick and mortar businesses. Some brick and mortar businesses also "learned" from their online counterparts and started to sign people up for free or cheap services in which they secretly altered the contract and forced people to pay for exorbitant charges like a multi-year commitment and/or exorbitant cancellation fees. One easy example TanMan in West LA which tricked people to sign up for a cheap tanning session while actually charging them for a multi-year commitment.

Now, can anybody still say that a small business owner is having an easy life? Well, not for me... I have been tricked so many times that I almost become a paranoid. I now always ask for a down payment when I committed to a certain job, because frankly it's quite hard to get the payment these days, especially when dealing with people from Middle Eastern descents. No down payment means no job, simple. Even large companies skimped on their payments, maybe because my company is too small. They could have just told me, "Go to hell! Sue us!"

Specific about people from Middle-Eastern, let me clarify I have nothing against people from Middle Eastern descent in particular. I am sure some of them are honest people (I knew some people from Middle Eastern background when I was in SJ and they're fine people) but all Middle Eastern people I dealt with in Southern California seemed to crooks. The guy who gave me blank checks was a Lebanese, the guy who stole my money was a Iranian, and the other guy who shortchanged the payment was an Arab. Do not discriminate, but be very careful when dealing with them.

Follies

"Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.
"On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
I will tear down the winter house
along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
and the mansions will be demolished,"
declares the LORD.

(Amos 3:13-15, NIV)

I don't know why, but I often feel good when I was doing poorly and I heard that other people were also not doing very well either. It may just be my selfish ego or my fallen human nature, but I admit that it's difficult to get rid off. I remember my first math pop-quiz in High School on the first day of the class. I only got a mere 2 point (of 10 point maximum), but I did not feel as bad because more than half of the class got the same grade or less (In fact the teacher said that about one third of the class got zero). I remember the teacher told us that the quiz was just used to measure our math comprehension, because many students came from different junior high school all over the country. Frankly, I was glad not because our grades from the quiz would not be recorded in our report card, but because I was not alone and many people are doing worse than me. Well, isn't selfishness an interesting built-in human trait?

And the same applies here to the calamity befalling Israel. I don't know why, but frankly I felt that Israelites' misfortune somewhat makes a part of my heart feel happy. Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to gloat on this.... I also feel bad and sorry at the same time. Well, I know that my business is not doing OK, but I was still somewhat comforted because at least I did not experience the same thing as the Israelites in those days. Well, I know I never have a summer and winter house like those referred to in the verse, but at least that I would not feel as miserable as those owned such properties and suddenly lost them.

True, we often don't appreciate on what we have until we lose them. I bet those rich people who owned summer and winter houses would probably have never been grateful having owned such majestic properties until they day they lost them. I saw an online commentary about rich people who lost their money in the stock market crash 2008 and early 2009. Truly, at first I was not a bit sympathetic to them because even though they may have lost millions or billions of dollars, they still have many millions or billions left. But as I tried to picture myself in their positions, I began to realize that losing millions of dollars (which may only be 20%-40% of their net worth) could really mean a great deal for those rich people.

I am afraid that those rich people really feel that by losing those amount of money, they can no longer afford their lavish parties or expensive accessories, and it may have affected them greatly. For a second, just imagine yourself being a rich and spoiled millionaire who used to throw binge parties daily but now is forced to do it twice a week. It feels bad, isn't it? Some leechers who used to hang around us will start sneering over our decision and start leaving our parties and choosing other people's instead. It hurts, doesn't it? Well, it does... in a foolish way.

Sadly, that's who we are, foolish people who often chose to live in our folly and rejected the wisdom from God. Too bad we often realized our mistakes only after we were almost drown in the ditches. It sounds more like the regret of a small kid who were caught stealing red-handedly, but that's how we chose to live our lives and it will not change... not until we found ourselves in a deep trouble because of it, and then we cried out... Lord, lord, have mercy on me!

True, God does have endless mercy and compassion if we truly humble ourselves and seek his forgiveness, but sometimes we may found ourselves in a bind when we didn't have time to do so... Just think of Ananias and Sapphira story in Acts, I still believe that God would have forgiven them if they confessed and sought his mercy, but they never did because of their foolish belief, and we all know how their lives ended up....

O Lord, please forgive our foolish acts, guard our heart from doing such follies.

The Life of a Confused Seminarian (1)

My life as a seminarian was a very interesting life. My first quarter went quite well because it was my first quarter and I was totally excited for it. I had two great profs who are quite nice and very understanding. However, I also found it hard to blend into the crowd. Everyone was nice when we meet in the class and during the mandated discussions because everyone was also seemed distant when it comes to their personal lives. No one really opened up to one another, it was as if they put a high wall in front of them. I began to question myself: Is this really the life that I wanted?

Despite my doubts, my first few quarters went by pretty fast because I did not have too much time to worry about it. I have to go back and forth to my Quiznos in SD. And the gravity of my Quiznos problems also forced me to push the seminary issues away as secondary or issues of lesser importance. But then, one day I decided that I have had enough with Quiznos and I sold it... From then on, I started to spend more times in class and tried to build genuine relationship with some friends but no luck at all. Some Korean friends were nice enough, but they were mostly sent by their churches and they have a large language barrier to overcome. There were not that many students who has other full time jobs. Even if they have full time jobs, they either worked for Christian organizations or churches. Having been attending Indonesian churches in America for a while, I was quite surprised by the number of full time positions their churches have (Indonesian churches usually only have one full time staff, the pastor himself). And I started to think that Indonesian churches in America are either too stingy because they do not want to spend their money to hire full times or too blessed because they have a large group of volunteer laymen and laywomen.

After few months, I finally met one person who worked full time outside churches sphere, his name was Mike. He repeatedly mentioned about the busy-ness of his works at his office, and later I found out that he was actually the boss of the company. He was pretty nice during class discussions but he seemed so distant outside the class. I once met him inside the Talbot lounge before evening class started, I sat by him and started to ask some questions. To my surprise, he was very cold. Well, he did answer me nicely, but his words and gestures seemed to send me a message, "Go away! Go away! I am busy," or something like that. Maybe he had to concentrate on his upcoming class but I still found it as odd. Do I really go to a seminary? Is the love shown by people here are merely camouflage? or is it a mere illusion?

The Pain of a Small Business Owner (1)

Since I left my corporate job and started taking classes I began to understand the difficulties of being an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur during a boom time is easy, but trying to survive as one during a recession is very difficult. I began my venture with Quiznos, a sandwich franchise. I have to admit that I love Quiznos' sandwich (Notice the tenses, I still love them even now), but I hated Quiznos corporate management, especially the local "area director" where the Quiznos I owned was located. I initially thought that by being a business owner I could take control of my time fully, but that;s not the case with Quiznos.

My first bad experience with Quiznos' local area director began when I took off at 4pm to go to my class at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada. I left two of my employees to take care and handle the shop while I went to school. Unfortunately, in a few minutes after I left, the local area director, Luann, came to visit my shop not for a routine check to to borrow some meat for another store from my store (This is actually one of the most commendable traits of Quiznos franchisees in the area). She noticed that I was not there at the store and she marked my store as "red" because I was not there. But, hey, am I not the owner? Do I have to stay at the shop every single minute? Haven't I stayed at my shop long enough? I was in my shop every single day from opening to closing except on the days when I had evening classes. I was left speechless when my employees told me the next day, I can only ask, "Why?"

After that, my relationship with the local area director went worse. She began to complain about many things about my store. She complained that I have older chairs and tables, and I have to replace them. What? Why? I bought the business from someone else, it was not a new construction. I saw many older stores which have the same chairs and tables like the ones I have in the store. Even the store where I went for training still have the old sets of chairs and tables. And I got another marks. I asked her about the reason why I was asked to replace my tables and chairs while others were not (even the guy whom I bought the business from was not told to do so), she only said that it was a new requirement for my store, because she had put those conditions before the transfer took place. She showed me the check sheet provided to me prior to the store transfer which provide the list of equipments in the store, and the chairs and tables were marked as older model. And I told her, wasn't that just a checklist for me as the new owner? And she said that it was the list of things to be fixed by new owner. What?

She then pointed out more things from the list, like the scratch and graffiti marks on the windows, the older soup station and many more. How can I avoid my windows from being scratched out, the marks were already there even before I took over the store, and the previous owner even told me that they were there even before his time. I began to feel that I was singled out because I was an Asian, and not Caucasian or Hispanic like the previous two owners, but I cannot have any conclusive evidence to proof it.

Getting red marks not only eroded my confidence and trust toward the Quiznos corporate management, but also my finances because Quiznos kept a portion of my purchases from McLane food supply as an award every quarter (And the amount was quite sizeable, about $1500-$2000 per quarter). I even called the corporate office regarding the issue, and the only thing the customer service rep told me was that the local area director has the final say in making any store to fix anything or not, and there's nothing they can do about it. Every time I asked Luann about the reason I was always asked to replace more and more stuff, the only thing she said was, "Well, didn't you make money?" Well, yes I made a little money still but I became a business owner to make money not to lose money.

I ended up replacing the chairs and tables, and I later had someone to polish my windows and put up protective films on them. I could not afford the money needed to replace them all because I was quoted over $20,000 at that time. After about a year, she began asking me to replace the channel letters on the store too. Well, the store was in downtown area and we closed at six, so I do not see the reason of having the new channel letters, especially because it costs between $5000-$7500 each set from Quiznos approved vendors (I checked around, and I found out that it costs less than $2000 from independent sign company or contractor at that time). My store would need two sets of them because we have two street frontage. That time I decided enough is enough. And that's when I decided to sell my store... and I did!

So, what's the moral of the story. First, being a small business owner is not as easy as it seems. Second, franchises have their own advantage, but they also have their own downsides. Franchisees do receive benefit from joint franchise marketing efforts and their name brand, but franchisees would also need to follow every single rule of the franchise. So, if you don't want to wag your tail at the order of the franchisor, do not buy a franchise, or buy franchises owned by Asians like Quickly or Lollicup because they gave their franchisees more freedom. Third, always do your homework first. Before you buy any business, due a thorough due diligence works. DO NOT trust the financial statement they provided unless it was audited by an auditor. Remember, many sellers inflated their books to sell their businesses at a much higher price. Beware buyer!

Happy Chinese New Year

For me, Chinese New Year often means foods, foods and... foods. Yes, I can only think of foods when I think about Chinese New Year. Some of you may ask, why only foods? Isn't New Year a time for gathering and family time also? Well, it should have been, but that's not the case with my family. My family was a pretty large family with seven kids and large extended families, but yet somehow most of the heads of the families chose to do things by themselves on Chinese New Year.

My mom always tried to celebrate Chinese New Year by holding a small smorgasbord in our small home, but most of my twelve uncles and aunts seemed to have forgotten that we existed. Year by year, only three families gathered in our tiny home, squeezing ourselves in small rooms while avoiding stacks of items for sale. Yes, our home was small and filled with stacks of salable goods. My mom utilized our home as both home and warehouse. The only think come to my mind when Chinese New Year nearing was the good foods that we could have. My parents rarely prepared good foods on our dining table because we were not very rich to begin with, but they somehow always went out of their way to prepare the best foods they could provide for the New Year.

Since I lived in the house, I could care less for the stacks of goods since I was quite used to them. But that may not be the case with my extended families, my aunts and uncles and their kids. They must have been living more decent lifestyles that most of them seemed to hate coming to our small and not-so-clean place. I don't know if they really hated our homes, it could also have been because they were too busy with their routines, who knows? Throughout the years when I lived in the house, only two other families came to our homes, one of them because they lived next door and the other one used to live under our roof.

But the absence of others did not seem to bother the young me, because the more relatives showed up, the higher the chance for verbal fights and arguments to break out. At times, my cousins and my siblings often fought over foods even to the point that we had to roll on the "not-so-squeaky clean" floor. In my selfish mind, I was happy because I could eat more foods without having to fight over them with more competitors. But never did we realize that we would have had enough foods to eat without having to fight over them, because the amount of foods prepared was based on the anticipation that my other extended family members could show up. And yes, we always ended up having too much left over foods which we had to finish up for the following two weeks or so.

Yes, I had a bittersweet childhood memory about Chinese New Year, maybe just like most of us. I often envied some other people who had fond memory of their Chinese New Year as a time of gathering and family reunion, a time of laughter and joy. But for me, it was about foods, foods, and foods because that was all that I ever knew of.

When I moved to the States, I started to forget about some of my old bittersweet memory. I did not even celebrate my first Chinese New Year in the States because I was too busy working, but I began to expose myself to Chinese New Year celebration again as I met new friends when I joined the Indonesian Evangelical Church in San Jose, California. From there, I noticed that most people celebrated Chinese New Year truly as a joyful event, a time to celebrate and enjoy with friends and families. It's almost like the feast of Thanksgiving in Western hemisphere, without the hams, turkeys, mashed potatoes, or gravies.

From that time on, I began to see Chinese New Year from a different lens. I began to celebrate the New Year with glad tidings, with new and old friends I met in the Bay Area. I had never participated in a large smorgasbord party for Chinese New Year during my years in the Bay Area, but it does not mean that we did not have a great New Year celebration at all. True, sometimes we did not even have to go out to eat but the presence of laughter and smiles, and warm feelings extended by friends were more than enough to warm the coldest corner of my heart. Yes, I miss those days when people smiled and expressed their feelings with joy as they welcomed the New Year, and I hope this New Year will be the same, at the very least.

Happy Chinese New Year!

The "have" and the "have not"

Recently, some of us may have noticed about the increasing rate of violent and brazen crimes in our neighborhood. I live in Greater LA area, and Yes, I knew that violent crime is nothing new to LA, but the degree and frequency of such crimes in the last few months or so had been a lot higher than ever. Last Christmas, I saw news about party shootings done by a man wearing Santa's outfit. And yes, almost every week we heard news about robberies or grand thefts, affecting common people, banks, and yes, even the rich people and celebrities who lived in Pacific Palisades, Bel Air and many other affluent places.

In many instances, both the law enforcement authorities and victims seemed to agree that the increasing rate of crime they were facing had a lot to do with the economic hardships faced by most people, especially those who can be categorized as the lowest rank in the financial pyramid. Yet, many of the rich people seemed to be unfazed by this compelling arguments and kept on showing off their wealth by wearing expensive clothes, bags, or jewelries, as if they did not realize that the not-so- lucky people around them are silently watching their actions with envy, some even held grudge against them.

The overwhelming facts of the gap between the rich and the poor in America nowadays is a big concern for me, since such issue had been the driving force behind many riots, revolutions and even civil wars all across the globe. Riots, revolutions and wars are sad realities which should not have happened if we all have truly live our lives as brothers and sisters. Yet, all those bad things happened over and over again because of our insensitivity toward one another, or our callous heart which prevent us from being able to sympathize about the needs of others. Some of us may be unable to do much for others because of the personal circumstances in our lives, but some others may have been blessed enough to be a blessing toward other people.

For me, it's sad to see rich people who would rather spend their hundreds of dollar by eating at a fancy restaurant or shopping for unnecessary items at fancy boutiques or specialty shops when they know that they could have used those money to help the local relief groups or homeless shelters around them which may be able to use the money to feed many people who are needy and hungry. Don't get me wrong, I do not see those actions as despicable or sinful, but I see them more as proof of negligence or insensitivity.

I know many of us did not really enjoy to be around homeless people or poor people because of many reasons. Some of us may have had bad experience dealing with poor or homeless people, while some others may simply dislike the poor because of the common stereotypes we heard about them.

Here are some of the most common stereotypes:
1. Poor people smells bad
Yes, many poor people smells bad or stinks (literally), especially those who lived on the street. Many of us who had been raised in proper homes probably do not want to even get near such people. Yet I do not believe we should judge them by the cover. (Let alone those people who had never been taught about propriety, even some of us who are raised properly may still have few bad habits that we still do every now and then)
I believe some of them probably did not really care of hygiene because of the bad influence of those around them, maybe because they never have a family or maybe they came from a dysfunctional family. On the other hand, some poor people probably just did not have money to buy soaps or take a bath at a paid shower room. Yes, some of us may argue that these people seem to have money to buy beers, how could they claim that they have no money to take a shower. Well, I believe the main reason behind that is priority and accessibility. What I mean by priority is the fact that many poor people, especially homeless people who lived on the street for most of their lives simply did not have a good grasp about life's priority. They simply consider beers to be more important for them than shower, maybe because they think beers are necessary to warm their bodies or perhaps just to satisfy their addiction to beer. Availability here means the lack of public showers or restrooms in the neighborhoods where these people live. What makes it worse is the abundance of beer-selling venues on the street where they live. The beer-vendors seem to have either targeted these poor people or their neighborhoods.

2. Poor people are irresponsible people
The other reason for our reluctance to be near the poor is our perception that poor people as those who are simply irresponsible with their lives. Yes, some poor people are indeed irresponsible, they used the money they received from others to buy beers or drugs on the street or other similarly stupid things, but that does not mean that all of them are like that. Many of the poor people are not very well educated, some of them did not even finish their grade school, therefore many of them do not have a very good understanding about their responsibility as part of a society. I believe it's our duty, as people who have better understanding in this matter, to teach them to become more responsible in action, with love and grace. I know that it will take time, I also realize that such actions may not even have a lasting impact in their lives because they may be too old to be able to change from their old bad habits but I still believe it's worth trying.

3. Poor people did not have willingness to leave their lifestyles.
Some of us view the poor as those who do not have willingness to get better. Yes, some poor people may have such inclination, especially those who had been homeless for a long time or those who had completely lost their hopes. To give us a better understanding on this matter, let's take a look at an ancient story from the Orient. Some of us may be familiar with the ancient Chinese story of a frog in the well who have a very small and narrow perspective, yet this frog even dare to brag over another frog who live in a big ocean. Indeed, the main reason for his foolish action was because the well is the only place the frog ever knows of. The same thing applies to the poor people. Those poor people may never have the slightest imagination of leaving their "lifestyles" because they may have never known of another world better than the world they currently live in.

Now, hopefully most of us can agree on the fact that we may have judged the poor people so much, then what should we do after knowing that we may be able to do something for them. It does not have to be something grand or extravagant by any means, even simple gestures may help bridge our worlds with theirs.

Few suggestions:
1. If you have extra money, you could donate small amount of money to your local relief organizations, such as LA Mission, Food Bank etc.
2. If you have items that you do not need, you could donate them to local organizations such as Goodwill, Salvation Army etc.
3. If you do not have extra money or items to give, don't worry, you can still help your local relief organizations by volunteering at local homeless shelters. In greater LA area, you may find LA's Union Rescue Mission in downtown LA, First Day in Whittier, Long Beach Rescue Mission in Long Beach, Orange County Rescue Mission in Tustin and many more.

Wait, even if you have nothing to donate... you may be broke and have no time to go to visit your local social services organizations, you can still at least do one of the following suggestions:
1. Pray
Yes, you could do this in your own bedroom or wherever you are.
Pray that the Lord will raise up more and more people who are willing and able to move forward for His sake. Pray that the Lord will once again relief the poor from injustices around them.
2. Act
You could also kindly show your love and mercy toward others in your daily life. Yes, you may be tied up because you spend your whole day at your workplace, but you can still do your part there. If you have exposure or contact with people (maybe you work in department store, grocery store or restaurant), show mercy and kindness to those who are less fortunate than you.
3. Raise Awareness
True, some of us may be stuck in cubicles or work in front of our computers everyday without much chance to interact with other people, you can still do your part by raising awareness about this issue, either via your own website, or your profile in MySpace or Facebook.

God bless y'all

Love of money, the root of all evil

As the economy is getting worse, we all know that money are harder and harder to come by for people. Interestingly, with the current job market, more and more people are looking for "creative" ways to make money. Some people followed more legitimate ways, such as opening new business and such, but other people want to get rich quick by doing something almost unimaginable, cheating others.

Here is some new ways people make money by any means, starting from the ones least trustworthy:

1. Sell something free for money.
One of such example is a loan modification business. This type of "business" asks the struggling homeowners to pay in advance for their service. the fees usually range about $2500 to $5000. And it's not guaranteed either.
Interestingly, many people fell into this trap.
Many people don't know that the government had actually set up an organization to help struggling homeowners to modify their late loans. The organization is called HUD. And HUD actually had some HUD approved counselors who can guide you through the process at no cost or a very little cost. I realize knowledge is power, but I don't think you should abuse it to extort money from helpless people.

2. Sell lies
I recently stumbled into a website where someone who claimed that he can show you how to make money online. And I managed to find his "get rich quick idea" without paying, courtesy from one of his customers who posted the guide online. The concept is simple and can be true. You can sell anything which cost you nothing or close to nothing, and sell them for a small amount of money (say $1.50-$5.00) and basically instructed your buyer to do the same. Similar to the pyramid scheme.

3. Start a Ponzi business
Well, Ponzi business is nothing new but it's recently being under a lot of scrutiny in the media because of recent Madoff case. The basic of Ponzi is basically offering a high return rate for "investors." The money used to pay the "investors" is basically received from the new investors. It was a very good way to attract more investors since most people will claim hat they indeed receive a steady return. The question is: Will it last? You know the answer.

4. Start a chain letter to get money (another pyramid scheme)
I recently stumbled into this type of paid chain letters, its quite surprising because it has been around for a long time in many Asian countries. The concept of this chain letter is simple, the sender asks 10-20 people to send money to someone on the top of the pyramid. The sender's name can only start at the bottom of the pyramid if 10-20 of his friends sent money to the person on the top. They usually make sure that the person at the top of the pyramid is not the sender, just to make it sound more plausible, (the sender is usually on the bottom of the pyramid). They usually make up a success story such as making millions of dollars or having a great life without working.

Less obvious ways people make money by taking advantage of others' gullibility:
1. Recruit free sales people who only receive a small commission when they bring it client to sign up for high margin referral "businesses."
Examples of such high margin referral businesses are life insurance services (the boss can get pay to 40% commission on the dues paid, and the sales person only receive 5% of the commission), home modification business (the boss will make between $2500 to $5000 while paying you $200)

2. Make a networking chapter,
The way this works is you just send out invitation to all small businesses in the area you targeted. Invite them for a breakfast in a sit-down restaurant and tell them that they are cordially invited and that there is only one business can represent your own trade. Asked them to pay $500 a year and invite the other businesses they know. Yes, out of 20 people who showed up you may only get 5 of them joined your new chapter, but you already make $2500 and you probably spend less than $300 for the breakfast.
I really don't know if this is legit or not. True, some people can really expand their networking through this chapter, but isn't it too much to pay?

And many more.......

Seek and ye shall find

In these tough economic times, I often find myself engulfed in a personal battle in my mind. Indeed tough economic times had forced many people to do the unbelievable things they would never have considered in the past. We all heard the statistics that crime rate always go out during a period of economic crises and I have no reason to dispute that. In fact, tough economic times also often prompted large demonstrations, riots, or even wars in many third world countries. But here in America, the effect of the economic crises had somehow been subdued (at least on the surface). When we do out to the chic malls or designers boutiques, we can still find people who splurge on their hedonistic desires as if the economic crisis does not have any impact on them.

Yes, the world is unfair. Poor people who do not have access to large money from the government or the financial institutions often end up committing crime in order to get what they want. Yes, and many of them were caught and jailed. I am not trying to defend their actions or anything here. Yes, they're wrong and therefore they deserved to be punished, but somehow I felt they were being incriminated because of their social or financial situation. Had they been a little bit more lucky or a little bit richer or more connected, they may not have to commit those crimes.

Let's imagine. If they were from middle and upper class families, they could have just borrowed thousands of dollars from their wealthy friends or relatives to cover up their late mortgage payments. Had they been celebrities or other famous people, they could even write a book to raise money. Or if they were fund managers in Wall Street, they could have swindled money from hundreds of rich investors who would not be affected by the loss very much (just like the way Madoff did it). Had they been investment bankers, they could have just asked the government to bail them off. If they were executives of large corporations, they could just laid off the lower ranks in the company to preserve cash and then shower themselves with big bonuses for saving the company some money.

But then... that's just a wishful thinking, a dream. A dream that may never come true. Let's go back to reality. If you were out of cash and you were late on your mortgage payment, what should you do? Don't grab a gun and rob the bank, that's foolish. Neither should you spend few dollars left on your pocket on lottery or casino games. Yes, you may have a chance to win, but your chance to win is smaller than your chance of becoming a celebrity overnight. Here is what I think you should do:
1. If you have no job, go and look for job. Any job is better than no job.
2. If you have a job but need more hours to pay your bill. Go to your employer and beg them to give you more hours. And even if your employer was not able to give you more hours, look for other employer.

Yes, you may not get what you wanted immediately. In fact, you may have to persevere for a while before you actually find one, but I can assure you one thing: Your chance of improving your life is a lot better than if you're not doing it at all. Yes, you could say that I am daydreaming. In fact I have personally tried the steps that I listed above and yes, I admit that I have not been successful, but I believe that I am better off than I used to be (albeit slightly).

Never give up, never surrender ... Even though the world is unfair, if you try hard enough you may find someone who is willing to help you out. Even amidst unfairness in the world, you may be able to find someone who is merciful to help you out. No, do not dream of Oprah's giving you money to pay off your home, neither should you dream of having Home Makeover host to fix your home and pay off your debt. There are many other people in this world who still have money to spend at their discretion. Who knows if you're lucky enough to attain mercy from them. And you'll never know until you ask them.

"Seek and ye shall find, Knock and the door will opened unto you."

God bless you all...

Roller coaster ride

I myself am not a fan of roller coaster, just as I thought: What is the fun of riding something which only makes you worry and scared? But many people who actually love riding roller coasters often claim the excitement they experience in the ups and downs of the roller coaster ride. Sadly, when it comes to money and investment vehicle, not many people are really excited with the roller coaster ride of their investment.

With so much uncertainty in the market, many people withdrew their money from the market and keep them elsewhere such as in bonds, CDs, gold or silver, just as they want to be able to sleep without worry.

What is the main cause of our worry? I guess the main cause of our worry is our unwillingness to lose something that we have (Whatever they are). Many psychologists, neurologists and psychoanalysts had studied about worry for a long time yet they cannot really find a permanent solution to fix our worry-ness. True, scientists had found a way to suppress our anxiety with drugs (as they managed to find the nerves activated when we become worry), but these "suppressants" are not the true answer to our worries, since they basically suppress the after-effect of our worry-ness only, and they do not treat the cause. They basically numb the nerve, it's not much different from the illegal drugs which were sold off the street. They pretty much have similar effects: They are addictive, create temporary happiness or illusions with long term consequences.

One of my former employees (back in the days when I used to manage a sandwich shop) told me that his wife was addicted to the "anti-depressant" pills that she was prescribed to treat her problems of anxiety. I remember asking him what happens if his wife missed her daily dosage, and he told me that she will start screaming and throwing things off like a mad woman. Sad but true, but here in America, we are used to these type of situations. We often treat everything as medical, biological or neurological problems. We try to solve everything by drugs or medicines. If one catches a cold, he/she should take cold medicines (which basically treat the symptoms of the cold, and not the cold itself). And the same thing applies to our economy as well.

When the economy collapsed because of the credit crisis, US government responded by lowering the interest rates, which basically provide cheaper money to the banks, but yet the credit crisis still persisted. Then they moved by opening a special credit window for any financial institution, but the credit became tighter and the rate was still high. Later on, they moved by providing more liquidity (read: money) to select financial institutions by pouring billions of dollars to banks (regardless whether they want it or not) under the controversial TARP. Then what happens? Nothing. The credit market remains tight (and for some people it's even tighter than ever). The economists in our government think like those scientists in the medical fields, they tried to treat the symptoms and not the cause.

What is the cause of the crisis? Well, there are many factors but some of the main factors are the drop of housing price and the job loss (at least in my opinion). When people truly have extra money to spend (not from borrowing from their credit cards), the economy will definitely be better. Until then, any superficial things that the Feds and Treasury do will be like treating the symptoms of the economy and not the cause. In fact, their actions will more likely benefits the rich (Wall Street financiers, bankers and the likes) more than the poor who really need them.

My solution? Conceptually, it's simple. Don't give the money to the banks or bankers, give it directly to the people who need them! But it is not as easy as the theory. There are a lot of problems involving this seemingly simple concept. How do we determine who needs them or not? How do we do that? How can we make sure that only those who need them gets them? How do we eliminate frauds? How can we make sure that everybody will feel that the distribution is fair? And many more questions... The more I think about it, the more I see a probability of more problems.

After all, this world is a complex world because of the complex beings who live in it. And sadly, many of these beings live like wolves toward one another, devouring one another for their own benefits... Could we just change (maybe just once) for the sake of the world? I guess it's a question for us to answer personally.

Count our Blessings

One of the biggest headline of the day, which also brought down the stock market index is the warning from the semiconductor bellwether, Intel Corporation. For those of us who follow the market recently, we may know that Intel had already lowered its earning prediction a couple months back, but this time they actually claim that they may miss the lowered prediction. No wonder the stock market tanked. The fact that Alcoa announced that it will lay off 15,000 workers does not help the market either. One of the only bright side of the day is the sinister joke I read from a member of the MarketWatch forum (I forgot his/her user name, since I could not find the comment anymore... But the credit still belongs to the person)

The person wrote an interesting "How to" (in a sinister mode):
(Please note: This wording being conveyed here is my own paraphrase - or in my own language - and may not be exactly as the person wrote them originally)
"How do I get $1 million from the stock market? Easy, I put $2 million in the market months ago and now I get $1 million from the market."

Well, if I am not mistaken the real intention of what the person wanting to convey, I believe this statement is a sinister joke about how much money people lose from this volatile market. But then again, we should go back to reality. Yes, it's true that many people people lost thousands of dollar from the stock market, but many of these people who lost money still have a lot money saved elsewhere (either in CDs, bonds, etc.), can you imagine how hard it is for those who actually lost everything that they have (home, savings etc.) because of their unwise choices which may not be as evident as the stock market (like those who bet on the housing market etc.)?

Yes, some of us may have felt that the heaven may have fallen upon us (something that's feared the most by the ancient Gauls), but even amidst all the uncertainties surrounding us, maybe we can still find a silver lining behind every storm. Talking about my own experience, I felt that I am poorer than ever these days, but still somehow I could manage to find something to thank for. So I am sure you also could do the same...

I remember the old song I heard from the church, "Count your blessings, name them one by one..."
Yes, even though I may only have one thing to thank for today, I am still thankful for it. And the more I count, the more I realize that there are plenty of things to thank for...

Another wave of bad news

Here is the snapshot of one of the biggest news of today:

=== start ===
Ford, GM, Chrysler end year with big sales drops
Toyota, Honda hit even harder in December than its top two U.S. rivals
By Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler LLC on Monday all reported steep drops in December U.S. vehicle sales, closing the books on one of the toughest years the domestic auto industry has ever seen.
=== truncated ===

Here we go again... Another wave of bad news in the market, looks like it. Most automakers reported that their December sales were down substantially, led by Chrysler which dropped 53%. And again, the drop not only impacted US brands of autos, their Japanese competitors (like Toyota, Honda and Nissan) are also affected (in fact, their sales were hit harder than the Detroit 3).

Now, what does this mean? Is the end of the world coming? Well… yes, it is coming soon, but we don’t know how soon it is. Meanwhile, we should be thankful for two things which prevented the numbers from getting worse for US automakers.

First of all, I believe we should thank the government for providing lifelines to the Detroit 3 (including last minute injection to GMAC, the finance arm of GM) as the savior of the day. Truly, the number could be a lot worse if the government did not provide lifelines to the Detroit 3. It’s not very surprising that GM’s sales jumped in the last week of December 2008 because GM not only lowered its price tags, but it also lowered the standard of credit-worthiness it required to finance the vehicles (Thanks to GMAC lowering their standard of lending after the government provided them the life support of $6 billion).

Second, we should also be thankful for the lower gas prices at the pumps (Yes, I myself had thanked God repeatedly for this). Gas price drop not only encourages the owners of gas-guzzling vehicles to drive their “tanks” back on the roads (I believe that I’ve seen more Hummers on the road in the last month than the previous 6 months combined), but it also discourages prospective buyers from getting a gas-sipper cars. Well, it’s not very surprising at all. When gas prices are this low, buying a gas-sipper won’t save buyers as much money as when the gas was near $5/gallon. Also, with the additional saving from US automakers and the relaxed requirement to finance the vehicle, buyers will have a hard time to resist the temptation from buying vehicles from the Detroit 3.

Don’t get me wrong. Truly, I am not trying to give US automakers bad reviews here. I believe US automakers had recently started to embrace fuel-efficiency as one of their goals, although they’re a bit too late to start. True, GM had Chevy Cobalt which is on-par or even better than Toyota Corolla in its fuel consumption. Ford also had Ford Fusion, a chic car which also consumed less gas than many competitors in its class. The only problem with US automakers’ recent sale event is that the majority of the vehicles they’re pushing to their customers right now are the gas-guzzlers.

A mechanic friend of mine had recently told me that he was told by his customers that they were being offered big trucks like Ford F-150, GM Suburban and others for a very cheap price, it comes with a good financing too. I won’t blame the dealers for trying to entice their customers with the least-sellable vehicles they have in their lots, but I am afraid to say that the worst is yet to come yet. Even with the boost of last minute sales, many US automakers’ dealers still have too many unsold vehicles, and with the new model year arrival, the older vehicles have to go. When GMAC had used up the $6 billion they received from government, the credit crunch will probably return, since not so many lenders are willing to loan money cheaply these days.

I guess until the bank is ready to loan their bail-out money, we may not stop hearing these bad news about the Detroit 3. And God knows when… since those bankers had repeatedly stated that they cannot reveal how they used the money they received from government (So much for a transparency, huh?). Maybe they’ll continue buying smaller banks and competitors or injecting the money to their other asset overseas with their bail-out money (like what Citigroup did).

References:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Automakers-end-year-big-sales/story.aspx?guid=%7B671DCD3F%2D60EA%2D4E82%2DA7C2%2D3C63C5BC8666%7D
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/22/bailout.accountability/index.html
http://libn.com/blog/2008/12/11/big-banks-go-shopping-with-bailout-money/
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/29/news/companies/citi_south_korea.reut/index.htm