I am in the Bay Area now. Been here for a week. My major accomplishment in that time is getting an apartment and moving in. Every week seems to go by fast, but this week felt long. Every week from now on will probably go fast again. I start work on October 9.

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

--Mark 11:24

I recently discovered that the young adult ministry at the Church I attend participates in a homeless ministry.  They cook dinners twice a month and serve food and fellowship once a week with the people at a shelter in Kakaako.  I have been wanting to do something like this for the last two years I have been back in Hawaii.  Maybe I will get to be involved this week.

Kyle told me about this chapter in a book called "The Revolution": Clean Water. The chapter is about desperate need for clean water in Africa and in poor countries in general. Kyle is writing about it in his blog, which you can read here. I agree wholeheartedly that beyond just developing a clean water supply for these communities, it is important to form relationships with the people. Through relationships, an understanding of the people's needs can be gained as well as their trust and cooperation. Then, a sustainable clean water supply can be developed tailored for the people. Not that I know too much from experience, but it sure makes a lot of sense.

Clean water for all humanity is something I care about a lot. I believe that it is something God has put on my heart. I haven't been able to do too much about it yet, but it is my dream to, somehow, someday, use the education and skill God has given me to bring sustainable supplies of clean water to those who desperately need it.

The Anteaters lost. UH's season's ended. How sad. I was just thinking, I used to watch a lot of college basketball, but not so anymore. I wonder how it happened that I switched over to volleyball. It must have been from watching Wahine vball. They're fun to watch. Anyway, the men's vball is still returning a very good core, despite the loss of 5 excellent players. I would be looking forward to watching them play next year, though I may not be around for that. ;)

They still have a chance to get an at large berth to the NCAA tournament. Hopefully UCI wins the MPSF tournament. Then their chances will be better. On other news, here is my thesis time table:

Monday, May 29: Submit thesis to committee for review
Friday, June 2: Defense
Friday, June 9: Submit final copy of thesis to committe

If everything is on schedule, I will be done in about 1.5 months from now. So crazy! What happens after that? I'll save that for another entry.

It's so depressing. I can't imagine the emotions the UHM men's vball team are currently experiencing. They had an awesome season, which ended just now, before the NCAA playoffs even began. The game was painful to watch. It was only the MPSF quarterfinals, and they were ousted by 7th ranked UCLA. Hawaii was ranked No. 2, btw. Their 19 game winning streak and amazing season came to end, just like that. Sigh. It's unlikely they will get an NCAA berth, despite their regular season performance. Next year will be a rebuilding season as they lose 5 seniors, 4 of which are starters, to graduation. The one senior, who was not a starter, would have been were it not for an injury early on. I sympathize for them. =(

I failed! I took the road test today for the first time and failed. It was miserable. I feel miserable. I screwed up before even getting out of the police station, and it just went all downhill from there. Sigh. Hopefully, success can be found on the second try.

Only 2 out of the 11 blogs I read have been updated recently (i.e. within the last week). But I can't complain; I haven't updated in a while. But I will now.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It is the Catholic tradition to abstain from meat today and to do a pseudo fast, where you eat 2 small meals and only one full meal (and not snacks in between). I didn't eat meat today. I also ate a small breakfast and lunch and a regular dinner. But I ate cookies right before dinner and counted them as a part of my dinner. Then I thought back about it and saw how I was very Pharisee-like in doing that. Technically, I followed the rules, but I wasn't recognizing the spirit of the rule. Those cookies were tempting me the whole drive home from school (ride actually, since my mom drove today....she though with me driving, we wouldn't make it on time for the 5:30 Mass). I managed to not give it until we got home after Mass. And then I ate them right before eating dinner and justified it by saying it was a part of my dinner. But who am I tricking but myself. This Lent, and all the days to follow, I will strive to be less like a Pharisee and more like a disciple of Jesus. I am giving up prcrastination, btw, and also candy. I was going to give up chocolate, which I really like and have been eating a lot of lately, but the cookies I ate had white chocolate chips in them, thus foiling the plan. So it's going to be candy that I give up. I was going to only just focus on not procrastinating, but the one thing that tempts me into it is almost done, so it seemed kind of a jip. So I decided to tag on chocolate candies, but making it candies in general, which will require more will. Anyways, I'm getting sleepy, so sleep to I go.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.