surfing and brotherhood

hmm...sisterhood? made it to mission beach this morning for the first time in months. since i keep my board at a friend's house, i've been riding the waves, shredding the gnar (which i had to ask, stands for gnarley...of course it does) in ob and sunset. Then today i realized i've been missing out on our mission beach tradition. the waves were long and clean, the ocean was as vast as ever and the dolphins were out in full force with a few duos and trifectas. i was probably 15 feet from them!

anyway, was on my way to catching a really nice wave until i realized it was a steep beach break and my board took a nose dive and my neck experience a bit more than whip lash. no problem, went right back out. caught another good one until i fell off and the board decided to hit me in the eye propelling me into a series of water gulping fun. oh, i still love surfing. i still love that i had a chance to see coult and jon lee. i loved that in the water i can feel god's presence and i'm hoping/waiting for another day where i can just get up and spend a whole day basking without having to run home on empty (i need to get gas).

peace. love. waiting.

Daddy please...

from the time i got home this evening till about one and half hours ago, I was looking for the lyrics of a song that made me cry in church today. today i cried more in church than i have ever. today was father's day. my heart cried out for my friends that have lost their parents, but mostly it cried out for my dad, for his health, for the day that he may see my first child and walk me down the aisle (hopefully not in that order as EC would say).

the song was the same song my sister chose for her father daughter dance. am i scared that I will lose him? yes, a little. Do I have hope? yes, a lot. Do i know that God's will will be done and that his will is good? yes. Do I pray enough? no. Do I truly believe we can be a witness to one of God's miracles? yes and no. how do you balance modern/man medicine with god's power? pray. ok, that's good. i can do that. anything else? (responses here would be helpful. thanks guys)

so i never found the song. i know my sister sent it to me and i feel like it's in my itunes library which makes not being able to hear it now even worst.

my step mom is frantic. "Hang, come here, something is wrong with your dad."
she turns the door knob. it is locked. crap. I put on clothes. my shirt is inside out and backwards. dad's probably seizing. he is seizing.

it's ok. just relax.
"co ngoc," i say sternly as i calmly stroke her hand that is agressively pulling and holding onto dad's feet and hands, "it's okay, relax, dad, just breathe."
the sound of deep breaths.
"it's okay. how do you feel?" oh crap, asking questions right now doesn't help. In vietnamese, "hey dad, you are seizing right now, but it's okay, just breathe okay."
the sound of forced breaths and muttering lips. "breathe in, breathe out."

okay, you are better. still residual twitching. oh crap, he bit his tongue. shoot, what do i do?
"he is starting again."
"O.M.G. he is. Co Ngoc, call 911"
"Call 911?"
"yes, call 911."
"here take the phone."
the usual conversation.
911 paramedic on the phone: "hey you can stay on the phone with me if you like, we don't have to talk."
"thanks, dad, it's okay, just breathe. he is still seizing. he hasn't calmed down."
2 minutes later.
"okay, he's calming. i think he bit his tongue again. his mouth is still twitching and his eyes are red. i think the paramedics are here."
"do you want to hang up?"
"yes, if the paramedics are here. thanks. have a good night."
the usual conversation.

that was the end of my father's day. daddy please dance with me (is a part of that song...but i still can't find it).

in love and faith,

your daughter.

a picture perfect morning

Not everyday can be perfect and I am sure even perfection can become boring, but today might have gotten pretty close for me.

woke up without an alarm at 6 am
grabbed my bible, my wallet, my keys and headed down to sunset cliffs
perfection would have been having the opportunity to hit the water
but i got a hold of a black, rusty beach cruiser and rode all along the cliffs.
stopped off to count the handful of people in god's vast ocean and said to myself, everything else is uncountable yet you call them by name so us, you must truly love.
i observed. i said hello to strangers and i rode back.
perfection would have been to not have to get in that car at all.
pulled into my driveway. opened the door and found my dad at the dining room table.
and now, an adventure with my new nonstick griddle and banana - blueberry pancakes.
and lauryn hill on the pandora
with intermittent john legend love songs.

phillies brooms padres

good game phillies. petco park is a san diego jewel especially on ground level. bondi is a one year old restaurant and bar that is both intimate and spacious with incredible service and now plays jazz on wednesdays. yo quierro aprender a tocar percusion and practicar espanol. tucson arizona and guatemala trips planned. kinda excited. i think this one is actually going to happen!?!!

thoughts on capital punishment? i am for it. can it be done right?
can't wait to actually hear obama's entire speech in cairo.
i can't remember what i've really wanted to write down. dang it.
having fun with daddy and that makes a lot of things that much better.

mass media taking on a new form with twitter etc. cnn staying relevant by using twitter to get people's viewpoints?

yikes...why can't i remember. until next time then.