Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Well Wishes. Last night was Imelda's last night before she takes off to Shanghai for a year of studying. There was a small gathering at her cousin's place. I went there thinking I could be there to encourage her and be of a moral support. Instead I was touched by everyone's love for her and her reluctance to leave behind these friends and family who had been so good to her. I wish I knew what to say. But my ability to communicate and my ability to think decreases drastically as my emotions increases. Even now, that feeling lingers with me and my heart goes out for her. May God be her comfort to keep her strong and help her through the transition.
Major Milestone Completed. Jim B., a good friend of mine and one of the smartest guy I know, is working to publish a paper for the custom circuit that he designed for our HDTV decoder chip. In order to do so, we had to collect post-silicon data for the analysis portion of his paper.
We literally spent our entire Christmas break last year at the company doing just that. However, to our dissapointment, we were unable to finish all the measurements. Since then, it had been a struggle trying to gather all of the equipments again. When one equipment is available, the other one would not be.. Getting ALL of the equipments together seemed harder than getting a hand of royal flush. When we almost lost all hope, things turned around for us in late July. It was definitely a miracle. We knew we had to seize the short window of opportunity and we had to work fast because our measurements would be at a halt by losing just one equipment. The fear drove us to work 14+ hour days, weekdays and weekends.
Originally, we estimated that we would be done with the rest of the measurements within one week, however, that was not the case. There was a hiccup every step of the way. Things just did not go our way. As soon as we think we were almost done, new data bids us different. When we think we got the behavior figured out, the very next day, we found ourselves clueless. All I can say is I am again in awe of God's greatness and his intelligence becuase even a small chip that is man-made is beyond my comprehension.
Monday, we made our final measurement. As I was returning the equipments and cleaning up, I had mixed feelings. In one sense, I was relieved that it is done. Mostly because I felt that I had been a pest in keeping other people's equipments for so long. And of course, my life can resume again. On the other hand, I have grown attached to working with Jim and spending crazy hours with him. As crazy as it may sound, I am a little saddened to see it come to an end and a small part of me wants it to last. This sense of loss is unexplanable. Perhaps, mentally, I still can't believe it is FINALLY over.
We literally spent our entire Christmas break last year at the company doing just that. However, to our dissapointment, we were unable to finish all the measurements. Since then, it had been a struggle trying to gather all of the equipments again. When one equipment is available, the other one would not be.. Getting ALL of the equipments together seemed harder than getting a hand of royal flush. When we almost lost all hope, things turned around for us in late July. It was definitely a miracle. We knew we had to seize the short window of opportunity and we had to work fast because our measurements would be at a halt by losing just one equipment. The fear drove us to work 14+ hour days, weekdays and weekends.
Originally, we estimated that we would be done with the rest of the measurements within one week, however, that was not the case. There was a hiccup every step of the way. Things just did not go our way. As soon as we think we were almost done, new data bids us different. When we think we got the behavior figured out, the very next day, we found ourselves clueless. All I can say is I am again in awe of God's greatness and his intelligence becuase even a small chip that is man-made is beyond my comprehension.
Monday, we made our final measurement. As I was returning the equipments and cleaning up, I had mixed feelings. In one sense, I was relieved that it is done. Mostly because I felt that I had been a pest in keeping other people's equipments for so long. And of course, my life can resume again. On the other hand, I have grown attached to working with Jim and spending crazy hours with him. As crazy as it may sound, I am a little saddened to see it come to an end and a small part of me wants it to last. This sense of loss is unexplanable. Perhaps, mentally, I still can't believe it is FINALLY over.
Monday, August 04, 2003
The Dating Scene. Sunday, went to dinner with some friends. Somehow, they got into the conversation about the dos and don'ts of dating.
- Girls would wait at least 2 days before returning a guy's phone call.
- Even if girls have no plans for the entire weekend, they would not go on a date if not given few days notice.
- Girls expect guys to pay on the first date regardless who asked who out. Otherwise, the guy is considered cheap.
- While searching for a bigger and better "catch", people would continue a relationship that is heading nowhere.
All of which were a bit shocking to hear, especially the last one. Deep in my heart, I like to believe that people are genuine and not treating something as serious as dating like a game. I prefer to be naive and straight-up about my own feelings and I expect others to treat me the same. As I was eating quietly, I was saddened for those who had been hurt by the rules of the "game" whether knowing or not knowing. I feel even worse for the players of the "game". Even though they are lover of themselves, free to do whatever they please, the more they alienate from the meaning of love, the more empty they become. They risk losing the chance of experiencing a joy that is beyond this world. I am not criticizing them... I know something must have gone terribly wrong to cause them to not take love seriously. Could they have been burnt numerous times before? Could they have grown up in a tough environment? Could they have lost hope in true love? In either case, I pray that the healer would heal them of their pains, and that they would have a change of heart.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
- Girls would wait at least 2 days before returning a guy's phone call.
- Even if girls have no plans for the entire weekend, they would not go on a date if not given few days notice.
- Girls expect guys to pay on the first date regardless who asked who out. Otherwise, the guy is considered cheap.
- While searching for a bigger and better "catch", people would continue a relationship that is heading nowhere.
All of which were a bit shocking to hear, especially the last one. Deep in my heart, I like to believe that people are genuine and not treating something as serious as dating like a game. I prefer to be naive and straight-up about my own feelings and I expect others to treat me the same. As I was eating quietly, I was saddened for those who had been hurt by the rules of the "game" whether knowing or not knowing. I feel even worse for the players of the "game". Even though they are lover of themselves, free to do whatever they please, the more they alienate from the meaning of love, the more empty they become. They risk losing the chance of experiencing a joy that is beyond this world. I am not criticizing them... I know something must have gone terribly wrong to cause them to not take love seriously. Could they have been burnt numerous times before? Could they have grown up in a tough environment? Could they have lost hope in true love? In either case, I pray that the healer would heal them of their pains, and that they would have a change of heart.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
