Author Archives: The Yellow Forest

01.28.12
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Team United 2011 Turkey Bowls

I gathered a group of girls to play in two Turkey Bowls up in LA in November.  That was actually a bit much – back to back tournaments.  I wanted it to be a pretty casual thing where I just grabbed a bunch of people who wanted to play football to go up and play.  It was something like 5-7 practices – sort of.  We had a group of girls where the majority didn’t ever play on defense.  We also had new girls which was great.  I must admit that when I initially heard about the Charity bowl and I was a bit arrogant in my thinking.  After seeing their videos and hearing about the tournament, I was really thinking that our team was pretty good and could do very very well in the tournament.  However, I think God quickly put me in my place.  It took us awhile to get adjusted since we play such a different type of game with different type of rules at Mission Bowl.  Also, we had two big injuries – which the girls are STILL healing from.  L After seeing that M. had to go to the hospital I was actually kind of distraught.  We ended up being 2-2.  We also raised over $1,000 for NightLight International!  I was getting a bit concerned with the fundraising because I didn’t originally know it was a fundraiser.  I just heard it was a turkey bowl which apparently turned into a charity bowl.  I set us at a goal of $1,000.  And even with my doubts, God provided.  We met our goal.  Speaking of – I still need to write our team letter and mail off all the money to them.  (Which is now done.)

The Black Friday tournament the weekend right after that and when I looked at my roster – we didn’t even have enough people to play!  So we met together to discuss what to do.  People wanted to play but people were scared and concerned.  It was going to be a much more physical tournament – we already had two big injuries from what was supposed to be a “non-physical” tournament.  Was it worth the risk?  I felt like the whole time we were having the conversation, it was just focusing on the negative – not necessarily if someone would get hurt, but when they would get hurt.  That was a really bad direction to go.  At this point when we were discussing, we had the exact number of people to play – but not everyone was 100%.  And as we discussed and as I thought about it – two things had come to mind.  One was that if I wasn’t in charge, and I was just a player, I would want to play even if we only had the exact number of people.  But hey, that’s me.  The second thing was that, I’m not just a player, I am “in charge” and while I’m willing to risk my own safety to play, I’m not willing to risk the other players getting hurt.  Because now…I am not only responsible for myself, but I am responsible for all of the others.  So, if it was going to be the exact number of players – then no, we weren’t going to play and we were going to pull out of the tournament.  The next part of the conversation then turned towards, well, how many people would we want on the team to feel comfortable playing?  Turns out that the magic number would be 13.  So we decided, as a group, that if we could find 13 people in 48 hours – we would play.  That night, as I was chatting with L., I was overcome with an unsettling feeling, like I had made a bad decision.  We had the numbers – 17!  We were going to play.  I talked more about it with M. the next morning and felt better.  We decided together – team decision.  Everyone that had wanted to play football signed up themselves.  People wanted to play.  What I had originally thought of as a casual game of football with just a few girls was obviously more than just that.  I had extended Team United beyond Mission Bowl.  Because Team United isn’t just about Mission Bowl – it was about relationship building, it was about providing exposure to Christianity through football, fellowshipping with other churches, etc.  The extra girls that played – perhaps they didn’t know about Jesus.  God provided the people.  He could have just as easily closed the door but He didn’t.  And maybe it took a moment for me to be reminded of what Team United was about.  The thoughts on ministry had been on my heart for quite some time, I just slipped for a moment with that Charity Bowl.  And perhaps, as I realigned my thoughts and heart – He opened up the doors.  This was an opportunity for the new girls to be exposed to Christians, this was an opportunity for us to be good witnesses, for them to experience a piece of God.  I still remember…2 days before the tourney, we had 17 girls – that was 4 more than the magic 13 – then we dropped to 15, then 1 day before to 14, and on the day of the tournament, exactly 13.  EXACTLY 13.  God really provided.  He made it happen.  Our major focus was to have no major injuries.  It would be a long day with 4 games.  13 girls still isn’t very many compared to the troops of 20-30 other teams have – similar to the number we bring at Mission Bowl.  Praise God – no major injuries!  We went 2-2.  We had fun.  People got to play football.  People got to be part of our team.  It was good.  God is good.

This now brings me to Team United now which has a whole story on its own – which will come at another time.

01.27.12
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Network

I went to my first meet up earlier this evening – Geek Girl’s Tech Talk.  They basically had a panel of women who worked within the tech industry in startups.  It was pretty interesting being able to listen to the experiences of these people.  It was also cool to meet other women in the industry.  Although, I felt a little odd since nearly everyone I met was an entrepreneur and were CEO’s or something flashy with their own company.  I also need to get some of my own business cards so I stop handing out my company affiliated cards.  It’s cool to talk to people and hear about what they do and their businesses.  Although, networking really sucks the life out of me.  I find these scenarios to be difficult to handle and somewhat uncomfortable.  I’m not that social.  A few times I found myself standing by myself – gah, that’s lame.  But anyway, networking is so important and I can totally see the value in it.  It’s pretty huge.  I was able to provide some of my insight and expertise (if you will) to this one lady who just started her business in November.  I liked hearing things about the tech industry and networking is pretty important so I think I might have to attend these things more often.

Things I need to do:

  • Get personalized business cards
  • Fix my website
  • Be more social
01.25.12
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Jaded

I think I’ve become jaded.  Well, maybe I already became jaded awhile back – I’m just consciously recognizing and thinking about it more these days.

I guess it’s bad if when someone speaks to you, what you think in your head is that they’re just faking it, that it’s insincere, that they’re doing it for alternative reasons.

I feel like I’m too far in and the cause is no longer worth fighting for and that…is unfortunate.

01.21.12
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twenty

TODAY marks the day that I have lost 20 pounds since June 2011.  Yeah, that’s crazy.  Never thought it would actually be achievable. I say June because that’s the last clear point that I had weighed myself.  That was the heaviest I had been ever.  But in terms of actual weight loss, I think I lost it in the last 5-6 months.  I am unclear about how long it took because I had sort of started exercising/running occasionally and I had lost a few pounds.  It was probably late July or August when it barely started.  I had lost 7 pounds up to the second week of November and have since lost 13.

If I lose 5-7 more pounds, i think I’ll be at my post-college weight.  I think I’m going to plateau really soon thought.  5-7 more sounds like a lot.  I’m doubtful but in trying to be optimistic, maybe it’ll happen since I didn’t think I’d ever get back to the weight I am now.

Anyways, it feels great.  Thanks to everyone for the encouragement, compliments, and special thanks to C. for helping me run.

MINUS 20 FTW :)

Now, let’s see what happens in a year…hahhahahah.

01.16.12
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Eventful Weekend

This weekend was eventful.

I ran 6 miles for the 2nd time.  It was easier than the first time – maybe because it wasn’t so hot.  Maybe because we took a short break trying to get a better view of the waterfall – then I guess it’s not a straight 6 miles but whatever.

My precious car got rear-ended.  If you aren’t looking for damage, you won’t find it.  It’s not visible from afar.  It’s basically the screws of the guy’s license plate.  Good thing my bumper is strong and good thing this wasn’t my little corolla which surely would have crushed being that cardbox it is.  Thank God that L. was there – I hate dealing with this stuff and I felt so much more secure having a guy there and just having someone there.  I was rattled.  I hate car accidents.

I played on worship team for the first time ever.  It was okay – better than expected.  I wasn’t as scared as I probably would have been if I were my old self but I was still nervous and not confident about it.  I wish we had practiced more the morning of but we didn’t really get a chance to.  I got lost in one of the songs but I think I masked it well – haha.  Playing guitar is fun.  Playing guitar also hurts my back/shoulder that I hurt a few years ago.  In fact, after practicing last Wednesday, it was pretty painful and bothering me the next two days.  This happens every time I play – but you know what, it didn’t hurt after worship at all which was weird.  Must be God taking care of me.  :)

Most of today was okay until the end of the day.  Then it sucked.  Maybe it’s cause I’m PMSing – so I’m more prone to be easily agitated, irritated, and emotional.  I’m getting tired of it.  It’s like a game that people are playing here and frankly it’s unhealthy and taking a toll.  Once again, a reminder.

I’ve also woken up with a headache 2-3 days in a row and I don’t know why.  Stress?  Too much caffeine?  Not enough caffeine?  Not enough water?  Not enough sleep?  Don’t know but it’s kind of annoying.

I feel like a lot is going on or rather a lot is up in the air.  I feel like this year is going to fill up ever so quickly just like last year.

I feel like right now, I just need to FEEL that Jesus loves me.  Yes, yes, I know he does, but I want to feel it. Just right now, for a moment.

12.29.11
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Fear

Need to remind myself…

“Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

I have a fear of failure and a fear of success at the same time.  That sounds like paralyzing fear and it’s a bad thing.  Need to remind myself that the camel’s back has been broken and for all those good days there are many more bad ones.  Take care of yourself first cause if you don’t watch out for yourself, who will?

Always hold on for too long.  Need to get a move on.  Move on.  Move on.  It’s time.  Need courage.

12.27.11
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2011 to come

I started writing on reflections of 2011, then I realized that each section was really long.  I might have to break them down into mini posts.  It’ll be like blogging for all the things I’ve wanted to blog about but never had a chance to – a flood of posts.  Or maybe, I’ll just make it one excessively long post.  Who knows…

12.25.11
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Food Combos

Liking or not liking specific foods is a weird concept.  Why don’t some people like some foods while others like it?  Why do some people not like foods when cooked a certain way?  Why do some people not like specific foods by itself but like it when mixed with other foods?

These thoughts just came to me as I’m eating this Taiwanese Rice Roll (fahn tuan (no I don’t know the correct pinyin)).  The outside is rice, and the inside consists of pork sung, and a chinese donut (chinese cruller) (yo tiao).  The thing is, I think these are pretty good but I also don’t really like pork sung and I don’t like chinese donuts!  I never eat the chinese donut when we go to chins.  Odd.

Another thought – I don’t like mustard – it’s gross.  I also don’t like pretzels – they’re not that good.  BUT, mustard flavored pretzels are good! Haha.  Random right?

End.