The title of my story today is a bit unusual. People usually use the words ‘wonderful’ or ‘beautiful’ to describe the quality of gifts they receive. But for me now ‘wonderful’ is just too common. And ‘beautiful’ also sounds pretty ‘girly’ at this time. That’s why I choose the words ‘handsome’ as a man and, by chance, I am feeling a bit handsome now. 😀 Anyway, thanks for clicking on this post… here is a little glimpse of my first new year’s experience in North American country.

The first gift was the opportunity to visit my uncle’s family in Los Angeles, California by the end of last year. Although it was just a very short visit, from December 29th to January 1st, I was so excited because finally I could meet my uncle, his wife, and his son for the first time after nearly 20 years. I am so happy to see them all in a good and healthy life. I arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the evening of the 29th and my uncle so kindly picked me up at the airport, and from there we went for dinner and then shopping at a groceries store. On the first day (30th), my uncle drove me to Hollywood and we took lots of pictures there, some of which I could only see in the movies when I was a kid, such as the Hollywood sign and the star signs along the Walk of Fame. On the second day (31st), we all (my uncle, aunt, cousin, and me) went to San Diego to visit La Jolla Beach. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, but we still enjoyed some delicious food (of course ‘provided’ by my uncle) and took some pictures, as normally happened. 😀 After arriving back at home, my uncle and cousin took some rest while my aunt and I just spent time watching a new year’s countdown on TV at that night. On the third day (the first day of new year), we went to a Sunday service at Saddleback Church, one of the world’s megachurch, founded in 1980 by Pastor Rick Warren, the author of a best-selling book, Purpose Driven Life, one of my most favorite books that has pretty much encouraged me and influenced the way of my thinking. We were so happy to have such privilege to start new year with worshipping God at his church, and of course we did not forget to take some pictures (again) there. 😀 After the service, we went for lunch and then my uncle sent me back to airport. Thank you so much, Akiu and Aking! (that’s how I call my uncle and aunt by the way). Even though we had met only for a while, but I learned many valuable lessons from you two. Inspiring!

The second gift was the acceptance of my latest work in Korea for publication in a scientific journal. I received this delightful news from my professor on December, 16, 2016. I am going to remember it as 16-12-16. Time has been running so fast since my first publication in 2014. What makes this gift special is because this paper is my fourth published work after four years study and research in Korea, meaning that my publication rate is a paper per year as the first author. I even did not have a chance to write the story of my second and third publications in this blog. Really… I have never even imagined this could happen before. Deepest gratitude to my professor, Dr. Jungho Jae and my colleague as the co-author, Haryo Pandu Winoto for without their continuous support and intellectual contribution this work would never be done; and of course to many other people (lab mates, technician, friends) who helped me a lot with their physical, emotional, and intellectual support. I remember one of my Korean professors has implied that I could probably have graduated as a PhD had I joined the integrative program in 2012. But, I feel that my knowledge and experience are still far from enough to be a PhD graduate. Nonetheless, knowing that your hard work has paid off is always rewarding! At the end of the day, I can only thank God for everything…

The third gift, last but not least, was the snowshoeing experience in Cypress Mountain today with my landlord’s family here (David, Stacy, Devon, Brendan) and with my “hiking mate”, Kwan. What makes it special is because today is just my 30th birthday! 😀 After arriving back at home from LAX, I had only a very short time to take a rest. This morning David drove us to Cypress and it took about an hour to get there from home. All I can say is that the snowy view was stunning! The snow on the ground was deep enough that you wanted to throw yourself and sink in the snow pile without any worry of being injured. You may also like to hear the ‘crunchy’ sound when you are walking on the snow ground. As normally happened, I took lots of pictures and videos as well. 🙂 A bit unpleasant thing was that the weather was a bit too cold that I could hardly grab my phone with bare hands. We spent about 4-5 hours for the round trip (walking up and down the hills) there. After reaching back to our first starting point, we stopped by a mini cafeteria and enjoyed some delicious snacks. From there we decided to leave for home, Kwan gave me a carpool and we enjoyed ramen noodles for dinner. 🙂 Overall, this brand new experience was great and I sincerely thank David, Stacy, and Kwan for organizing this event on my birthday (although they had unintentionally arranged it for this purpose). Lucky me! 😀 Definitely, I would like to go there again next time if given a chance. Again, at the end of the day, I thank God for everything…

Alright, that’s it! Thanks so much for reading and hope you enjoy the pictures too. See you on the next post.

Vancouver, January 2017