The Red Onion

• In spite of all the recent roadblocks and closed doors, I will not give up on my dream of traveling the world with my family. #
• Prayer and meditation : keys to calmness and focus. #
• Just joined the Recipes community to keep track of the best experts. Join me here: http://mrtweet.com/c/recipes?v=jt #
• Just joined the Travel community to keep track of the best experts. Join me here: http://mrtweet.com/c/travel?v=jt #
• Still not sure how this mr tweet thing works. Oh well… back to the books. #
• Have a fantastic weekend everybody! #
• WOW! If every class was like tonight's this program is going to be so much fun! #ubc #ptmba #

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This video made me smile. Reminded me of the great times in 태백 .

Remember 고현직’s mom would get so excited whenever we’d come over to teach her.

“아이구!!!! 선교사왔고나!!!” And she’d give us a tub of 김치 after the lesson. Totally like the mom in the middle of the video.

I hope that my parents live long enough so that my children can have a similar experience.

One reason why I’m glad that I stayed in Vancouver.

• OMG. (yes that's right). I have just turned down an opportunity to work abroad! Turned down my dream job for those I love even more. #
• That's it! Buying a 16GB micro SD card and going HTC hero for my podcasts and videos. Less gadgets to carry. #

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Someone must be praying for me.

But this evening, I’ve never felt more calm, more at peace and more hopeful than I have in several months.

Things that I’ve learned lately:

Sadness, if left unchecked, can lie to you. It can convince you to believe some of the most heinous of all lies. It is the tool of the adversary to twist you. To hurt you. To pull you away from the light of truth.

Hope, and its close cousin, faith… hope and faith in truth and righteousness, even the Savior, can conquer and overcome sadness.

Prior to today, hope was a commodity that I did not cherish or recognize. That’s why I was so miserable, so full of despair and empty of life and vigour.

But today, the small bit of hope and faith invested in reading and viewing things of hope, filled and exceeded the pain that I felt.

And the thing that caused me to feel so much grief? Of no consequence.

And my dream? My new dream? To give my wife and children the happiest, most extraordinary life they deserve. And maybe,  just maybe along the way, all those other dreams I had before can come true too.

If you prayed for me, or even thought about me in the past little while, hoping that I’d feel better, thank you. It worked. It really did.

And here’s what started it all for me today. Take a good look and take it to heart. Perhaps it can give you a little push to feel better.

I’m still trying. Still here. And I know that eventually, things will look up.

I recently turned down the chance to pursue my dream job – Foreign Service Officer to the government.

I turned down all that came with it:
- guaranteed employment
- guaranteed career path
- generous pension
- prestigious preparatory school for my children
- my dream of travel from country to country and the cultural experiences that came with it

Why?
- I prayed about it and came to the conclusion that this was not the opportunity for me
- my family did not want the continual adjustment every five years
- they’re happy where they are.
- Family didn’t want the chance of going to a country that didn’t have the same standard of living as Canada’s
- I didn’t have buy in from the rest of my family
- I can’t force this on my family. They will not be happy.

Implications – Cons
- I have to live with the words “what if” for the rest of my life.
- I will never have this chance again – federal budget has been cut for the next five years – freeze on new hires.
- I will have to live in the same city as them – people who want to see me fail and who influence my family on a daily basis

Implications – things to do
- Find another dream in life
- Find a way to forget the old dream
- Focus on the positive – try to be happy
- Find a way to deal with the negative influences on my family.
- Find a way to compete in my highly, highly competitive work environment

Implication – Pros
- At least my family won’t have to adjust. At least they will know where everything they want is.
- At least they will be happy
- At least they will have a stable life to live in – provided that I stay sane.

The Implications -things to do list will be difficult. Although my prayer gave me the strongest impression to turn in down, my heart and mind have been focussed so long on that goal that it’s hard to change. And now, I don’t know where to focus on anymore. Sure, school is there, but what after that? I had this dream of travel, but I know that it won’t happen any more. Missions to pay for, children’s education to pay for – things that the Foreign Service Job could have helped with… in all honesty, the door to travel has been shut.

Tightly.

As with other dreams in the past, I must forget the old dream. Or at least push it out of the way. It hurts too much. And the fact that I chose this path makes it hurt even more because it’s the right choice.

I need to find another dream. What that is I have no idea.

• Go to 7-11. Buy transit daypass. Avoid Scott rd station. Go to gateway station. You will avoid the huge skytrain lineup at Scott road. Thank #
• That big lineup at Scott road station is for those buying tickets. Buy a transit daypass at 7-11 first the u can skip the line. Thank me lat #
• Anyone know how long the the line up for the Olympic line is from the Olympic village side? #vancouver2010 #
• On the way to Cypress Mtn with my son to see Aerial Freestyle Skiing Qualification round. Nico is so excited, his dad is happy to be w him. #
• Hard to believe that I have been reduced to this. Baby, weird and crazy. Been there. Done that. #
• Japadog. Comfort food. Yum. #
• Time to follow my own advice. Smile! It's not as bad as you think it is. #
• Me: Let's go out for dinner. Wife: But it's hockey night. Let's stay home and order Indian instead! #huh #amIdreaming #van2010 #

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• Finally someone has explained the basics of curling to me. #overheardonskytrain #Vancouver2010 #
• Although most everyone else is partying at #vancouver2010 this morning's assurance makes me so happy. Getting back to the books. #

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What an eye-opener!

Recently, the beloved Jamie Oliver won the Ted prize for the opportunity to share his wish with the world: to educate our children about food. If you watch only a few videos off the internet this year, this should be the one of them. Pass it on! Comments?

It’s amazing how much some gentle and assuring words from a loved one can bring so much comfort.

and its sad that I put so much energy into the negative side of my personality lately. So much time has been wasted and lost. But hopefully, no more.

I’m not saying that I will be positive all of the time, or that I’ll have that so-called Polly-anna view. The last little while taught me that things can change quickly if you’re not careful. But what I can I say is that for the rest of the day, I am happy, productive and successful.

And I feel like I’ve contributed and did the work that I was supposed to do.

Anyway, back to the books.

• Ah the many layers of the mind. What the mind can't forget will bury very deeply for good reason. Wish it would just stay there. #
• Late night tweets can be just as damaging as texting while drunk. I desperately need some shuteye. #
• Last night I learned that Complete honesty doesn't always work. I guess I have to live with this alone. Even w opposition fr those closest t #
• "Never mind everything's cool." – John Hughes #
• The torch is going right by our house right now. I hope E takes pictures #
• First time I ordered a clam chowder that had lots of clams in it. #townhall on alberni #
• RT @Zadi Video: Beaker will turn your frown upside-down. http://tumblr.com/xmi6ah8kd #
• A nice walk to the Lion's Gate Bridge is so tempting right now. I heard it'sca beautiful view. #
• I am nothing more than.a mule.. please observe… a,mule. #

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