April 2016

I started the first weekend by going to the annual "Taste of Asia", which I used to take part in organizing this event when I was attending the college here at Morris. It's nice to see this event still go on since graduation and enjoy watching the new students of ASA each year organize this...

"Picture of Kevin C., who I got to know through my current renter"

I spent the first weekend doing my taxes, which is a little later than last year due to no snow days this past winter. I like to do it on days with bad weather, which there weren't that many. I was then able to have some "fun" by going golfing on Monday (4th), which I took a couple of my English students from Brazil (1st time)...

"Trying" to teach golf (driving range)

The second weekend of April, I joined thousands online around the world watching the #Azusa Now Revival 2016 that was being web telecasted "live" via online. This comes in a critical time in our nation-world with the up-coming "crazy" Presidential campaign election.

I went to the cities the 3rd weekend to celebrate both my mom and sister's "be-lated" birthdays. We celebrated at a Chinese restaurant (House of Wong) in Roseville, which was a good quality time spending with family.

I got back on Sunday evening, so I can attend a concert some friends were putting on at the Platform. I bought a CD and was flattered to see my name on the credits (thank you)...

The Platform Present: Matt O' Leary & Friends (Nina & Kurtis) 4.16.16 Pt1

I then came home to upload this video (above) and realized my name was mentioned in the song ....aww :)..thanks Matt O!..

Passover (around the time of Jesus' resurrection) was the 4th weekend of the month. I "tried" to recognize this "feast of unleavened bread" by not eating "bread" for some days as a rememberance of God's blessing. I attended a concert by a guy from IHOPKC on Sunday name Ryan Kondo, who will be going to New Zealand by the end of the summer for a mission calling.

The following day, we had our annual staff board -appreciation supper, which my co-worker's husband (Fred M.) cooked some great ribs. I rarely eat "red meat", but was opened to it just this once ;) Thanks Tammy & Fred M!

August 2015

I started the month in St. Paul visiting family. I went to the cities for my niece's (Disney theme) birthday. First, I took my mom to Dragon Star for "Asian" grocery food shopping. Both my mom and I got Bubble Tea, which was a good drink to keep cool in this warm sunny day. We ended up getting ingredients to make Halo Halo. Unfortunately all these "cool" sugary desserts increased my mom's blood sugar level, which didn't make her feel good :(. I went to a couple of Bike shops nearby (Woodbury) to "window shop" for a better bike, which I found a model (Shimano) that seem eye-catching. I would later find a cheaper version online since I would have to assemble it myself. I thought this was the better route!
The next day (Sunday, August 2nd 2015), I attended Alysa's 10th birthday, which they organized numerous variety of games. It was fun to see my niece have a good time and has grown a lot! Thank you Lord for a beautiful day!
When I got back to Morris, I continued my bathroom remodeling project, which took less than a week. I felt it was an answer to prayer to get this finish on time as I prayed that a "friend" would pick-up the materials from Menards in Alexandria on-time, and He answered it! I was able to finish ahead of schedule before my renter came back from his vacation overseas.
I attended my first ever auditions for a play called Aladdin, which I did on the 7th (Friday). I just wanted a small minor role with my "no theatrical" experience. I ended up getting the villain role (Jafar). It was more lines than I wanted, but this will be a great experience. I think they were so short of guys that this was probably the best fit character for me! I shared this with my housemate/renter and he confirmed this by saying I look like Jafar (e.g. big eyes, mustache, etc..)..lol!
During this second weekend of August, I did a variety projects besides working on my bathroom. I worked an old bike my "former" housemate (Yuu) donated, which was a lot of work. I would later find out it wasn't fixable. However, I did learn a lot of bike repair skills!
We had our 1st week of practice for Aladdin beginning August 10th. It was somewhat overwhelming at firs as the lines were more than I expected. However, towards the end of the week, I felt more confident. I ended up ordering this vitamin supplement (Tumeric) to help boost my memory to memorize these lines better.
I continued by bike challenge as I found some a couple of new friends (Chase & Dwyer) to bike with on Wednesday (12th of August). Then I went to the annual Stevens County Fair on Thursday (13th) to hangout with various friends. I would unexpectedly meet Eric & Sunny (visiting all the way from Watertown, South Dakota)!
I got my new bike I ordered online on Friday (14th) and got a new egress window pit digging job again. It would take two separate "hot" mornings to finish. I would later share at church the following Sunday (16th) that praying and singing worship songs (some that I was practicing for my local church worship team) gave me strength to finish...Praise the Lord!
On Monday (17th), I got a couple of "used" bikes worked on. I was able to do what I can do with fixing my bikes, so I had my friend/co-worker (Paul J.) use his handy skills. He was able to fix my current bike, which I used to have problems pedaling up the hill. The bike that was donated won't be able to be fix, but I can salvage the parts.
The next day we had some rain, which is always a blessing (compared to what our friends are going through in the northwest section of the country). I would go to the cities for the second time this month on the 21st. I was scheduled to pick-up my friend/current renter (flew from South Korea) on Saturday. I came on Friday early to do family stuff as I played basketball with my niece and nephew. We even saw the wild turkey that has been running around their front yard (was seen "pooping" on top of a vehicle in their driveway the other day).
My friend (Jin)'s plane arrived safely Saturday night despite the severe t-storms (and Tornado watch). Also, he left his country safely despite the threats of neighboring North Korea..thank God! Keep praying for that area of the world. I would attend Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul the next day with my mom before going back to Morris with Jin.
On the 25th (Tuesday), I finished my kitchen tiling project (using new grout). As I was finishing-up, I was getting inspired by a motivational speaker, Nick Vujicic, who is known for with "no arms no legs". A friend/co-worker (Paul J.) shared an inspirational video on his facebook, which got me inspired to listen to more of his speeches.

On Wednesday (26th), my workplace went to Chanhassen Dinner Theatre for our annual trip, which we saw "Mary Poppins". One of my favorite Disney movies growing-up. I was trying to skip this trip, so I can join my peers for our Aladdin (Act 1) rehearsals. However, there was no way getting out, but it was a win-win for me since this just inspired and equipped me more with this up-coming theatrical performance.

Great trip (drove da work bus) overall 2 Chanhassen Dinner Theatre 2 watch "Mary Poppins" http://t.co/K6QjOwr2hy pic.twitter.com/Z1nQ7pdem9

— Dapalsal (@Dapalsal) August 29, 2015

..it was a great road-trip with my boss and a couple clients on the 16-passenger bus (Big) that I was in charge of driving back and forth. The next day (27th), I would get a visit from a former ESL student of mine from Uzbekistan. It was good to sit down and eat at Grand Buffet in Alexandria with him and my supervisor from our literacy classes.

I would spend the last weekend of the month by going to St. Paul for the 3rd time within this month (most that I can remember). This time, I chose to go in order to help my sister and James move out of their old apartment to their new one. It was good to visit them and a great time hanging out with my parents while driving to and from. I also took advantage of the weekend for my 20th (Harding Senior) High School reunion, which it was a blessing to catch-up with "old" friends-classmates.

December 2014

I had another day off from my full-time job on the 5th (Friday) as my "last" days to take days off for the year. It was good timing as I took advantage of this time to "catch-up" (e.g. errands). I finished my last "CHRISTmas" shopping for family as I was able do it all in one website (family Christian store), which I wished they still had the Family Christian Bookstore in Morris (City Center Mall). It closed years ago, but it was a great place to go in my "early" years as a Christian.

The following day, it was a "packed" day as I had a list of scheduled events to go all day. I started the morning by attending a new "training workshop" my local church is hosting called "Toast to the Master" (parody of Toastmasters-see Good News Words). It's a 2 hour training workshop to be better public "speakers/teachers". I took speech classes back in college, but one gets "rusty" if one hasn't fine-tuned/sharpened their skills. It was a great workshop as I got great advice/tips (e.g. don't look at the sky, but look at the audience; begin your speech with something that will captivate your audience right away-getting their attention right away is key!, etc...). We all did 3 different speeches (e.g. I shared about my recent song writing, my recent weekend with parents to see "Cirque de Sol", and ?) in various lengths in our own groups (two) , which was very fun and informational.

Afterwards, I went to see the movie "Frozen" finally for the 1st time after doing various music videos (parody and the theme song-"Let it Go"). I invited some friends, which they were there too. It was fun to see and hear the kids present take part of the "sing-along" version. It was a pretty good turn out for a Saturday morning at the college.

I then decided to drive to Hancock for a special service of a guest speaker (Paul Rapley) on healing. We got "more" (been to Rapley's teachings before) "equipped" on this ministry gift area, which we then applied around town though "treasure hunting" in two different groups. My group went to Willies Super Valu and Regional Fitness Center. Great testimonies from this 2nd time experience as my group prayed for a lady that I know who was limping as she was pushing her grocery cart. Another guy was someone we just chatted with and he seem to want to just talk-great conversation with a guy that I've seen regularly around town. An advantage of living in a small town!

I took part of the worship team the first weekend of the month, which was always a blessing, which I just forgot to check my email of our monthly schedule as I wrote this (January 2nd 2014). Joining the worship team has given me the heart to sing more and practice wherever I go.

On Monday (8th), I celebrated a birthday with some friends (former ESL student of mine) at Bella Cucina, which is always a treat going there. It's the most priciest restaurant, which I usually don't go here unless it's a special occasion. I went to Insanity (cardio fitness group)at the local gym (RFC) a couple of times this month, which has been very beneficial (keeps me warm during the cold winter season, great for the heart, and it's probably the most intense work out with the help of a motivating instructor-I highly encourage this fitness group if your looking for one for the "new year".

On Thursday (11th), we had our annual "Christmas Tea Party" at my workplace (full-time job), which I didn't over do it this year with the "sweets" (gets me sick and seems like it does with everybody, which isn't good with the high rate of "flu" victims around the country lately). Later in the evening, the local "Morris Special Olympics" hosted a basketball fundraiser at the local high school, which was a great community promotion and awareness (e.g. disability) of volunteers needed.

The next day (12th), my workplace celebrated the retirement of our boss at one of my co-workers house after work. I'm very thankful to her for giving me this job since I was invited back in 2006. Thank you Emmy! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay longer as I had to leave for a friend's wedding party as one of the groomsmen. We had practice that evening and went to Bella Cucina..my second time within a week! What a blessing :) I had a chance to get to know both families of the bride and groom (both friends), which is always an extra blessing.

We had our (Morris Literacy Project )last class (ESL & GED) of the year, so we had a party! We celebrated the birthday of one of our students and made it a holiday party too!

The following day, I met up with a buddy from church as I'm trying to better on equipping other fellow believers through meeting ("discipling") one and one regularly. We ended up sharing our own personal testimonies and just building that bond as a family or brother in Christ.

On Sunday (21st), I did my first "share" at my local church's (Morris Community Church) annual CHRISTmas program (<-start 18:00-30:00 minute mark in podcast), which I never had the boldness to do since I've been part of the church. Two years ago, I shared about my trip to the Philippines, but I ended up doing it the Sunday after due to schedule problems. I ended up sharing a video I made a month prior with the theme...

Afterwards, I just shared a brief glimpse of my testimony (e.g. knee injury due to "pride" before the fall while downhill skiing at a nearby ski-resort during "financial" challenges in college). Then I shared about the abundant life (John 10:10) that comes after coming to Christ as one gets ride of their sinful nature (Galatians 5). I videotaped the other great performances/shares, which can be viewed in private settings via facebook if interested-contact me to be added.

I had my last day of work on the 23rd as we had to make a day up due to a "snow day" last month. It was fun as we had our annual Christmas part (clients opened presents). The next day, I took advantage of the start of my 2 week vacation by finishing some errands and going out with friends to do things I'm not able to do during my busy work schedule. On the 24th, a couple of friends and I checked out the newest restaurant in town (Mi-Mexico)...muy delicioso (very delicious in Spanish)!

I had to work the overnight (holiday pay..oh yeah!) on Christmas Eve and then went to St. Paul on Christmas morning after work. It was a pretty good drive (nice weather) despite a little traffic as I got closer to the Twin Cities. As I exited off interstate 94 (eastbound) in St. Paul on Ruth St., I had the opportunity to share some "Good News" with some "Folks with Signs Along the Highway Exit Ramps" (<-see blog) both on CHRISTmas day and the day after (after dropping off my car to get an oil change). We had a Christmas gathering at my younger brother's family house and enjoyed the company of the "whole" (in-laws) family as we did on Thanksgiving last month. My dad, mom, and I would end up going to a movie matinee of the anticipated showing of "Unbroken". We got there 15 minutes before the start and there were only 3 rows open up front as this was the opening day. It wasn't the most ideal seating, but we were glad to get in with the crowds. The movie was about 2 1/2 hours, which my mom got antsy the last hour-kept asking "when was the movie going to end". My dad was looking forward to this movie as I shared Louis Zamperini's amazing story online via facebook. I was so touched by the movie, I decided to listen to the audio book online after writing his blog...

Personal Life Messages from the movie Unbroken December 28, 2014 goodnewseverybodycom.wordpress.com

During my 4-days in the Twin Cities, I was able to do a lot of family quality time [e.g. ride my bike at Battle Creek Park in Maplewood with parents, who walked (26th-Friday); this is before the snow the following day (27th-Saturday, driving with bro and his fam to a couple of Christmas "Holiday" Drive-thru displays (e.g. Valley Lights at Rockpoint Church in Elmo Lake, sharing some "old" classic Filipino music with my dad, clean the house, etc...]

I had to get back to Morris on Sunday (28th) since I had to work the overnight at my part-time job. It was a good drive as I made a couple of singing videos along the way home with the CHRISTmas holidays (e.g. What Child is this?). I spent the last days of the year enjoying my last week of my two week vacation from my work by "catching-up" on some projects (e.g. multi-media projects). I ended the year with a "big bang" by videoing a friend's wedding ceremony and reception-dance party in town. I had to work the overnight that same night, so I entered the new year-2015 at work on the computer and went to bed!

More coming for 2015! Feel free to share yours too with me via in person (e.g. hangout over a meal), phone call, email (e.g. on facebook), etc... Keep in touch friends!

February 2014

I started the month by driving to St. Cloud to see my 9 yr-old niece (Alyssa) compete at a gymnastics tournament. I brought a cheering section with me from Morris to join with her favorite fans (family). She won a position (3rd) medal too in the individual floor competition! It was a blessing to hangout with family (bro and his family) and friends (housemates and another UMM college student from Japan).

The following day (Groundhog Day) was the Super Bowl, which some friends (Ed & Aisanne) invited my housemates and I over for a party. I stayed for only for the first half and half-time show (Bruno Mars!)as I had to do some other stuff at home and jump start (one of many times during this cold-winter season) my other housemate's (Jin's) vehicle.

On Monday morning during my overnight shift, I had some dispute with a particular individual. It started to get "unfriendly", but I kept praying for this individual despite my anger was building-up. I'm glad I've been asking God for patience, peace, etc.. (fruits of the spirit) over the years since I became a Christian. It paid off several days later...see story-> How to Overcome Offense (through forgiveness) .

The following day (4th), I went to Jane Adams with my housemate (Rai). During the 2nd weekend of the month, I went to visit family in the cities to celebrate my younger brother's be-lated birthday. We went to a Japanese-Chinese "buffet" restaurant in West St. Paul. I got my food "freshly" cooked (see shrimp-seafood imitation crab noodle dish) , which I've started to do this instead of going through the buffet lines. While I was in the cities, I took advantage of the automotive services, like getting an oil change at Firestone (great discount with coupon from the back of the receipt of Cub Foods).

I got a discount card (50% off) from my workplace for Pizza Ranch, so I treated (Buffalo Chicken) my housemates on Thursday (13th) with a large pizza there. The following day (Valentines Day, I celebrated a friend's (Ed) birthday with some friends by going bowling at Crystal Lanes.

During the 3rd weekend (February 15th), I walked two blocks with my housemates to Dairy Queen's annual "50% off everything Customer Appreciation" sale for lunch. Then I went back with the same housemate and joined another friend (Chris) for supper later (to avoid the "meal rush hour") in the evening and got two different sandwiches (e.g. fish & Chicken). On Sunday, a friend (Ed) and I played some football indoors. I made a youtube video of Ed making the "Longest Football Throw into Basketball Hoop..in Morris (as we know of yet.).... ".

Temperatures were the warmest (mid 30's) in months on President's Day (Monday, February 17th), so I took advantage of this time to continue my car project (replacing new headlight covers-just did my right-passenger side). It started to get cooler, so I went inside and cleaned more of my attic (going through all my totes of ESL stuff). On Wednesday (19th), my housemate (Yuu from Japan) joined me in my weekly ESL-GED classes, which we a great conversation with a couple of students (Cambodian and Ukrainian). The "nice" warmer weather lasted only several days, which was a nice break during this "long" colder than average winter season. We ended up having a blizzard on Thursday (20th), which wasn't too bad as we had only a 1-hour late start the next day.

On Saturday (22nd), I had a family (Michael, Kerri, and son) from my local church over to hangout with my housemate (Rai) and I for lunch (e.g. Willies' Jo Jo's). We shared videos (e.g. Germany) from youtube as our educational and fun entertainment. The following day, we had our annual guest speaker (Jim M. from City Hill in Eden Prairie) come from the Twin Cities to encourage us. He actually brought a challenging "reminder" message on "Who is your #1 passion?...Jesus? We (muah) get so busy in life that we fill our time with all these "things to do" and forget our Creator. This challenged me to analyze where and how I put my time each day.

I ended the shortest month of the year with the annual fish fry (with Yuu, Ed, and Aisanne) during the start of "Lent Season", which I'm currently challenging myself to "fast (eating healthier, prioritizing my time that's more "purposeful", and sustain from certain foods also to improve my eye sight for next month's eye exam for my every two year bus driver license certification) and pray" during the 40 days to seek my "Heavenly Father's heart" more (e.g. David in Psalms).

September 2013

I started the month with Labor Day weekend, which was a nice time to "rest" before my full schedule (M-F) started next week. My friends (Ed & Aisanne) invited my housemates and I over for supper on Sunday (1st) as it was great weather. It was a 1/2 day when I and my co-workers went back to work on Tuesday (3rd), but the other 1/2 of the "work day" was our annual inservice training-good refresher course to remind ourselves the "mission" of why we work ("serve our clients and train them to be as independent as they are capable to "succeed" in life-paraphrase). After work, I continued more of the ongoing roof project (put screws on the panels to hold them down).

On Wednesday (4th), I helped out at our weekly ESL-GED classes. My housemates hosted a sushi get-together as a farewell party for my housemate (Adnan) who will be leaving this coming weekend :(. The next day, his supervisor from work invited my housemate (Kazu) and I over for a BBQ potluck with his co-workers. We continued the farewell celebration with a BBQ in our backyard on Friday night (6th). It was excellent weather as we had over 10+ friends over. I did a "Bollywood" music slideshow of some pictures taken to reflect his short 6-month time with us. I took Adnan the following day with more goodbyes and left Morris to the Twin Cities. We met up with his cousin (Manan) as he took a bus all the way from Madison, Wisconsin. He would hang out with us for the weekend (e.g. Rosedale Mall, Holy Land , etc..)

After dropping Adnan and Manan (just waited to say good bye) at the MSP International Airport, I went to visit the nearby Fort Snelling State Park for the 1st time...

...It's a great place (when it's open) to visit/park while waiting for folks at the airport (arriving/departing).

On Wednesday (11th), I learned how to fix a bike for the 1st time. My housemate taught me how to replaced my flat tire, which I wished I knew how to do this long ago. If you would like to know yourself, feel free to join our facebook group (Good News Financial), which I started to help friends save and budget their money with everyday life tips.

I spend most of the 2nd week of the month screwing various parts of my metal roof after work. I wanted to get as much done until the missing parts arrived that I ordered last month. It was great weather to do so.

I took a break the 2nd weekend by going to Alexandria with housemates (Jin & Yuu). I had my quarterly inservice teaching training (ESL & GED), so I dropped my housemates off at Walmart as I went to my 3+ hour training. After the training, I picked-up my housemates and then did some "running-around" the town. We 1st went to Ron's Warehouse, but didn't buy much since my housemates already got most of their stuff already shopping this morning at Walmart. We then went to Carlos Creek Winery for the "Grape Stomp". Unfortunately, it was raining and we didn't want to get wet. We decided to just leave, so I took them to the local bowling alley and showed them this "cool" place (e.g. played some games). We decided to head back home in the rain. Along the way, my wheels started to make squealing noises. When I got home, I would realize I would need new brakes. This project would last almost a month! I'm just thankful to God that I didn't have any accidents and this break issue didn't happen in a much longer road trip.

I took one of my newest ESL student (Gaetan from France) to a rock concert with my housemate (Yuu) on Sunday at the campus. It was part of a KUMM (local campus radio) weekend concert.

My brake project started on the 16th and would last till the next month. The 1st phase was getting my front brakes redone (just changed it 2 years ago-> see both 2011 & 2013 pics), which my friend "mechanic" (Ed) told me it was due to the brake system in the engine. I would then do the front brakes a week or so later, which I decided to record the process-> Toyota Corolla 2000 Rear Brake Project

My rear brake project finished by the 20th in time for my every other month or so trip to Moose Lake. I feel this was a God-timing blessing as I got everything done in time before the 21st when I visited a friend in Moose Lake Prison. I brought my housemate (Yuu) with me, which I dropped him off at Crosstown Mall: Scheels, where he would wait for 5+ hours until I got back to St. Cloud. Before leaving, we toured around the city and went to a great Somali Restaurant.

I spent the last full-week of the month finishing my roof ridge project, which I finally found a way to get on the slippery roof (see Equipment for Climbing A Metal Roof) video). I thank God for His protection, which I prayed a lot for wisdom and protection-safety despite having a harness. On Friday (26th), I was able to workout (lift weights) for the 1st time since my wrist injury. It still was in pain, but felling much a lot better. I finished in time before friends came over for 2013 UMM Homecoming Weekend. I spent some time with Shannon battling cancer, who has taught me more about the fragility of how life can be and to not take anything (God's blessings each day) for granted! Please keep him in your prayers for healing!

Talking about healing, my month ended with a great healing service at my local church. See some of God's everyday testimonies=> Good News Thankful-what are you thankful for?