The Scenic Route

This is for real!

2010-12-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, October 31, 2010 Brian proposed to Stephanie and she said, “Yes!” It is with great joy and gladness that we announce to beloved family and friends that we are engaged!

How We Met

Stephanie moved to Los Angeles in the fall of 2007 to pursue of year of urban mission work with the DOOR program. She moved into the Community House in Hollywood to tutor children in the neighborhood, teach their parents English, and work with the homeless. She also looked forward to leaving Los Angeles when her year was finished. She told herself that she would go to graduate school for Clinical Psychology as soon as the year ended, so there was no chance she would date anyone.

Brian returned home to Los Angeles in the fall of 2007 after a summer at Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp in the Poconos. That summer, he reconsidered his post-grad school self, figuring out how to live a life he was passionate about, including the kind of work he should seek and the qualities he should look for in a wife. This does not mean he was looking for Stephanie. He was actually just looking for a job. The writers’ strike started in Hollywood and the probability of him finding work as a writer/director seemed small (however, he was and is very grateful for the deck-building job he landed back then).

First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood owned the property that Stephanie and her three lovely roommates were living in for their volunteer year, and funny thing, Brian not only attended FPCH, he was serving as an elder on session at the time. Some staff at FPCH discovered that Stephanie and her roommates could sing, and invited them to sing for a service. It was while they were rehearsing for said service that Brian walked into the room in which they were practicing, and introduced himself to the lovely ladies. Stephanie did not notice him very much because, earlier that day, she had sideswiped her parent’s Oldsmobile on an inanimate object. There was a very large gash in their car and she was not sure how to inform them of this.

Over the next few months, Brian helped out at the Community House and invited Stephanie and her roommates to several Hollywood functions. They really did not know many people in Los Angeles, so it was nice to have a welcoming friend those first few weeks.

How to Win Over the Friends

Not only did Brian care for Stephanie, he was equally attentive to her friends. He helped out and loved on the children of Gregory Avenue in Hollywood, attending tutoring times and tried playing basketball with some of the kids. Stephanie noticed that Brian was at ease with some of the more challenging kids. He also brought over the makings for root beer floats for Stephanie and her roommates! He earned friend points taking Stephanie to see Enchanted on their first official date (but do not ask Stephanie about the tortilla soup).

Stephanie was an immediate hit with Brian’s extended family. His nieces and nephews quickly made Stephanie the lead and Brian the supporting cast whenever they visited. The rest of his friends thought she was yet another figment of his imagination as most of them did not meet her until after her year at DOOR ended.

The Plot Thickens

Over many visits to parks in Los Angeles, surprise dates, explorations of art (Dali is creepy), and oral readings of C.S. Lewis, Stephanie realized they had a lot in common. Brian had that figured out after a few dates. Only people meant to be together could sing the Olympic Theme in harmony while driving the treacherous streets of LA. Brian was put at ease about his work situation when Stephanie shared about her family’s struggles through periods of unemployment. They discovered a shared love for cooking, the outdoors, and cooking in the outdoors. Stephanie is growing to appreciate the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Sabres. Brian is still developing his ice skating ankles.

Questions, Questions

Brian took Stephanie to a park for the afternoon on Sunday, October 31. They went to Brand Park in Glendale, where they had their first kiss about two and a half years before. Brian wanted to ask Stephanie to marry him; she wanted to take a nap. The nap didn’t happen as the conversation moved toward the question. Brian showered compliments over Stephanie about the qualities he saw in her and admired about her. Stephanie told him he was putting her on a pedestal. Brian said that was where Stephanie belonged. As Stephanie got up to leave, Brian said, “Speaking of pedestals, this is what it looks like to be on a pedestal.” Brian dropped to one knee and a certain important question was inquired of a surprised Stephanie. After Stephanie said “Yes!” and then “Is this really happening?!” they shared the news with family and some friends before wrapping up the night at Phantom of the Opera. In the room to celebrate with them was Andrew Lloyd Weber and Sarah Brightman . . . or maybe they were just there to close the 18-year national Phantom tour. You decide…

Looking Forward

Stephanie is excited to one day soon recycle, have a compost pile, and till a garden with Brian. She also anticipates her return to academia in the near future. Brian looks forward to continuing his writing, directing, and teaching. Together, they are excited to read through many great books on rainy evenings, and even more excited to read on snowy evenings next to a fire. They look forward to much hiking and adventuring in the great outdoors (but no more getting lost like they did in Sequoia). In their future they foresee chasing after many tennis balls gone astray and potentially learning the Tango. The couple’s first feature screenplay, Miss Connections, is a Romantic Comedy ode to the 405 freeway in Los Angeles and will be available for option in a few months.

What is popular...

2010-12-08T11:37:00.001-08:00

Wow! Long time since I have updated you all. I'm attempting to capture more of my thoughts about life in the Southland electronically, so here goes, after more than a year hiatus from blogging:

I have been doing some work for PATH in San Diego for two months, engaging business owners and residents in downtown and assuring them that we will be working with them as we move forward to build a homeless shelter and permanent supportive housing units in downtown San Diego. This has not been an easy process.

Yesterday, I presented to a group and there was one person in particular whose scowl at me was so daunting, I almost didn't make it through the presentation. It's hard when you are the only person in a room of 15 other business leaders, and most of them do not have a reason to like what you or your project represents. My age of 25 probably does not help matters; I seem young, naive, innocent, a bleeding heart...

But that's when I realized, I am not doing this to be well liked or respected. Yes, I want to gain respect for being the hard worker that I am, but the work that I am engaged in right now will not always be popular. I am doing this to aid a portion of the San Diego community right now that has no voice, and no access to services in the immediate area which will see them sheltered on the coldest night.

I remember several of my middle school classrooms having a banner over the blackboards which read: "What is right is not always popular, what is popular is not always right." It is my hope to strive towards the former whenever popular, realizing that the former will probably not give me much money, success, popularity.

I believe this ties into an advent sermon I heard recently about John the Baptist, preaching to "prepare the way of the Lord." He didn't just mean prepare the world, he meant prepare ourselves. One of the ways I am preparing myself this year is through letting go of opinions of others. I'm going to look silly, bumbling and unprepared at many points throughout my life, not just this. But what matters is that I understand my own need for Christ's redemption, my own need for a Savior every day. Who cares who is staring at me? The only person I should care about is the Divine Gazer, watching my struggles, joy, pain, and sin, and saying amidst the many difficulties, "This is my child, whom I love."

Encounter with God

2009-10-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday night, to celebrate the ending of one of my GRE tests, Brian and I went out to eat and In n Out burger. We had a great time, as always we enjoy this restaurant a lot.

There was an older deaf couple that was eating nearby us, and when they got up to leave the husband gave me a little message on a small sheet of paper. The message read "God Bless You :)". I guess Brian and I must have looked confused about what we would have done to deserve such a compliment, because he and his wife were both pressing their hands together and bowing towards us, in an effort to explain. They were both Caucasian, so I know that they were not doing some kind of greeting that is normally seen in Asian cultures... finally the man turned over the paper he had given me and wrote: "Pray before eating." They had seen me say a quick blessing over our meal before we started eating.

What a blessing! I really had needed encouragement that night, because I don't know if I did all that well on my test, and boy was I so blessed to have been able to receive that small token of love from the man. He is my brother in Christ! And how amazing that it just took one small act that seems so elementary and rooted into me, praying before I eat, to give someone the opportunity to converse with me about my faith.

I felt extremely happy leaving the restaurant. This is why I love In N Out, and maybe even LA so much; there is such a diversity of people here and BOOM: before you know it, you are pushed together into community with people that you never would have interacted with on your own. And there you are, sharing your lives with one another like you had never expected to.

Classical Conditioning at its Finest

2009-10-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the city of Los Angeles, California has a pigeon problem. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out! The most disturbing part about the pigeon problem is that there is actually a woman living in the Hollywood Hills who, for some reason or another, goes out every morning to feed the pigeons all over Los Angeles. She has no furniture in her living room, just bag after bag of pigeon feed, and she faithfully feeds the enlarging pigeon community all over Los Angeles. I even think I saw her on my street one morning with crusts of bread (*and of course I got out my angry eyes, why would I want someone to feed the pigeons on my street?!).

To combat the growing pigeon population, the city of Los Angeles has come up with an amazing, but age-old, solution: put distributing sites around the county on rooftops that don't get very much traffic, where pigeons can go to get their food. And when the food is being distributed, some kind of light signal/sound signal will go off to let the pigeons know that the food is being distributed on their rooftops. Sound like Ivan Pavlov, doesn't it?

Can anyone else see a possible issue with this? I can. The woman is still going out to feed the pigeons. I'm talking about every single morning. People have actually tried to catch her and she somehow manages to evade them. And this will be her routine for the rest of her life. She loves these birds! So while the pigeons might learn to go to the distributing sites because they will learn to pair the noise/light signal with their food, they also will still be getting their food from her. This is a huge issue. Instead of getting rid of the pigeon population, we will be exacerbating it!

A possible solution (if anyone else wants to chime in with another solution be my guest...): at the distributing sites, make sure the pigeons eat the feed and deliver a small shock to them at the end so that they learn not to eat the food? This is very difficult, though for severals reasons. 1. several animal rights activists frequent this lovely city I find myself in and 2. the pigeons could just learn not to come to the distributing sites and still they would be fed by the pigeon lady. So really, I don't know if there is a sensible solution. But the next time you are in Los Angeles, and you see a pigeon, just think of me and smile.

Housed: One Veteran!

2009-08-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

The scene: Los Angeles Housing Authority, Friday, August 28th. A room with florescent lights and no windows.

Those present: 30 veterans, 5 case managers with LA Housing Authority, myself and my partner Herman.

Required: Clients present submitted an application, and also had 90 days sobriety, a physical and mental health evalutaion, as well as copies of bank statements.

Getting to see one of our clients in a room with 29 other vets receive a voucher for his own apartment: priceless!

Now, for the other 90,000 homeless in LA, let's get cracking!

In all sincerity, it has been a crazy ride with this particular client seeing him through to this point, and it has taken a lot of sweat to actually get all of the required components gathered and all of his appointments met.

As I looked around the room, I realized that most Veterans do not have the luxury of getting case managers to aid them in looking for apartments. They are going to be making their appointments on their own. Although most veterans in the room receiving their housing vouchers appeared to be middle-aged or higher, I did see some younger looking men that could not have been much older than me. I wondered what must be different about their lives now. We're awarding these veterans who served our country with reduced fee housing vouchers for single and one bedroom apartments, and yet they should be able to have a house of their own, not just an apartment in this crazy, jam-packed city. One man asked about his PTSD and how that was going to affect his ability to find an apartment approved with the program in the given 120 day limit. He has a 2 year old daughter. I hope that there will be reform in this program, and in similar programs to come, as we continue on the quest to house every homeless and underserved person living in this city.

For now, I must celebrate along with my wonderful team the small feat that has been accomplished with the collaborative effort of case managers, social workers, and doctors, all who had a small part to play in getting our one client the dream of his life, an apartment he could afford on his SSI that is in West Hollywood, CA.

Glorifying God in the Dull

2009-08-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

Currently I am studying for two Graduate Record Examination (GRE) tests, which will be taken about a month/month and a half from now. One is in psychology, and the other is the general which I took a few years ago. The majority of my summer (post-relative visit, that is!) has been establishing a regular pattern of study on two weeknights and on Saturdays. Boy has it been difficult for me to get back into the swing of things. I told someone recently that it was like retraining a muscle I haven't used in a while. There are days where doing math problems and reading an abbreviated version of a general psych text book is less than desireable. Yet I continue to press on. Part of me is happy to be studying again, because I know that I will be closer to my goal of getting into clinical psychology programs. But the other half says to me daily, "It's summer. You should be outside. Or in an air-conditioned movie theater. With friends."

One of my professors at Seattle Pacific said that we glorify God when we show up with a grateful and willing heart. This means that in showing up to study, grateful that God has given me the chance for some higher learning, and also willing to humble myself and learn the magnitude of that which I do not know, I am glorifying Him! Although many days when I sit down to study I do not feel like studying and I do have a bad attitude, I am trying to re-focus that energy into feeling like my score will be that much more positive because I am studying so diligently. I think this can be taken into anything and anywhere we go. This week, I am praying for a grateful and willing heart as I show up to work, to studying, to the gym, to hang out with friends, and in my quiet times. I know that God will meet me there and work out the rest for me.

The Day MJ Passed...

2009-07-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, June 25th, a momentous thing happened here in Hollywood. I'm not referring to Michael Jackson's death, either, although it has been crazy to be living in the city he was living in while he died...

I'm talking about Project Connect, a nation-wide program of services available for the homeless. Here in Hollywood, we call it the Y!MBY, meaning Yes! in my backyard. Many people today have the opposite, or N!MBY (Not! in my backyard!) mindset and for that reason each year it becomes more and more challenging to provide low cost, permanent affordable housing, and to build shelters and other service centers to help the homeless and other high needs populations. When I was in high school and living in Michigan, there was talk of a new county jail being built in a residential neighborhood. Many residents of that neighborhood combatted the jail being built there. They said they did not want a jail in their backyards.

This illustrates the idea of N!MBYism, the current attitude that yes, the homeless should be helped, but let's send them on a bus away from our community to get them help somewhere else.

Project Connect Day's goal was to assist our clients who are homeless in Hollywood, actually in Hollywood. It took place on Thursday, June 25th, and we saw 518 homeless people that day. Everyone completed an intake and was seen in an orderly fashion. There were representatives from many agencies, a church group was doing foot washing, there were free haircuts, and many persons were placed into shelter. All in all, it was a very successful day. To give you a picture of what the day was like, I've included this link:

http://www.epath.org/yimby/Connectday2009report.html

At this site, you can view a video of the day. Although I'm really not so sure that it complies with HIPAA, since the clients signed a consent form when they came in but I can't remember if it said anything about putting their pictures in the media.

Whatever the case may be, the same day that Michael Jackson died, 518 people in Hollywood were given a meal, some were given a place to stay for the next 3-6 months, and much much more.

Gym Saga Continues

2009-05-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

(Warning: you will need to read my past blog called spirited aerobic to understand who I'm talking about in this blog...)

The week after my gym friend gave me the Bible tract, I approached her after class and told her that I was a Christian. She was happy to hear it, but she couldn't speak at all. When I asked her what her name was, she had to write it for me on a napkin! But, nonetheless, I told her my name and why I was here in Hollywood (a little bit about DOOR, PATH, etc...) and that I was going to Hollywood Presbyterian Church. I asked her if she had a church to go to, and she said she did. But I invited her to Hollywood Pres anyway.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. I had let Brian drive my car home since it was late Saturday when he left, so I was walking to church and he was going to meet me there with the car. As I turned onto Hollywood Blvd, I happened upon my gym friend! I said, "Carole, hello, it's so good to see you! I'm actually just going to church right now. Would you want to come with me?" And she nodded! So then we walked to Hollywood Pres the rest of the way and she came inside with me. I showed her where Brian and I were going to sit, and asked if she wanted to sit with us, but she felt more comfortable sitting in the back. But I looked at the end of the service, and she stayed through the whole thing! So she must have enjoyed worshipping there.

Now whenever I go to gym class I say Hi to her! Yay! I have made a new friend!

Music of the Night

2009-05-20T19:22:00.001-07:00

I live off of Santa Monica Blvd, one of the busiest streets in Hollywood, and maybe also the US. Those of you who have talked to me before know that I struggle sometimes with the noise in trying to get to sleep at night, but for the most part I enjoy the proximity to being close to the "action."

Often there will be some events in our neighborhood that remind me of what a wonderful community I live in, and Sunday night was no exception. I had just gotten back from playing clarinet in the orchestra concert, and I was pretty tuckered out. Maybe it was the 1.5 hour rehearsal before the 2 hour actual concert, but I was exhausted...

I parked my car, only to be greeted with: Mariachi music! That's right, friends, there was a real live Mariachi band playing at the house kitty corner to me. I mean, it doesn't get any better than this! Costumes and all. I think that someone over there was celebrating their birthday, because they were playing this song called, "Las Mananitas" which I remember learning in Spanish I my sophomore year in high school. It's a traditional birthday song that people normally sing as the birthday boy/girl is waking up. Thank you Lord for the wonderful blessing of this neighborhood! When I start questioning why I am in Hollywood, may I look back and read this blog...

Next year's Holloween costume...

2009-05-20T19:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, as I was walking home from work there were these three men a few apartments down from mine, obviously had had a little too much to drink, but I had to walk by them anyway, so I pressed on... and as I passed by them, one of them said in slurred speech to me, "Hey, can I borrow that pink shirt you're wearing for Holloween next year?" I frowned my Miss Stephanie doesn't think you should be talking to her frown that I sometimes have to wear here in Hollywood and firmly replied, "No!"

Seriously, though, how random is that? Holloween? I don't know... the best part of living in LA sometimes is how random it is.

Will we really find each other on Facebook?

2009-05-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

A few years ago as a college student, if I met someone that I really enjoyed hanging out with, all we had to do to ensure that we would meet up again would be to make sure we had each other's phone numbers. Fast forward a few years to life in LA (and maybe everywhere else on this earth that has unlimited internet access), and the response at the end of a great event or party is, "I'll find you on Facebook." There is not a sentence more disgusting than this one. There could not be a more passive way to communicate with the world at large. And will I really find whoI'm looking on Facebook? Access to Facebook is blocked at work, and I am a limited Facebooker, mainly keeping up with friends who are out of town. Let's face it, I don't have time to track down a person I barely know whose last name I don't recall.

In my opnion, telling someone that you will find them on Facebook is another way of saying that they are either a)not worthy enough b)didn't catch your attention enough or c) they're too creepy to give them your cell phone number. What has happened to our culture?! Instead of relating to people, we're stalking them! Like we have to know their religious, political and sociological beliefs before we will actually decide to communicate with them in an active way. Maybe it's self preservation. We want to be liked by others and, in turn, want them to like us, so we hide ourselves behind our internet persona and then decide, after a few I Chats, whether or not the real us will come out.

I have had an increasingly difficult time making meaningful friendships here in Los Angeles. The population itself is so transitory, and at times fake, that there have been some lonely moments. Also some really great ones. But this whole Facebook phenomena, I have to admit, makes it seem even more difficult at times.

I press onward. I actually added someone as a friend on facebook today! It's fun to connect with people, even if it is only via the internet. And I challenge anyone reading this to try to find me; you might be hard-pressed to succeed because my privacy settings are way up high. Anyone who knows me well knows the best way to get to me is calling me up and planning quality time!

Found: one dentist!

2009-05-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord, huge answer to prayers! I found an amazing dentist here in LA who accepts my insurance and who does not think that anything is wrong with my mouth, namely, that I do not need a nightguard. He even gave me a free toothbrush and floss, just like my dentist in Michigan. And he gave me a little calendar to keep track of my next appointment with him in six months. I found a winner, yes indeed. This just goes to show that we as consumers have an amazing freedom of choice- and that if I don't like the dentist I'm with or uncomfortable with the way he's treating me, I don't have to stay. But for now, I have found a great dentist and I'm so happy! Now I just have to check off eye exams on the list and I will be a walking picture of health.

A Day at the Zoo

2009-05-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

Rudy and I at the zoo. He loved the flamingoes!

Brian and I, through a wonderful gift of some friends of mine, were able to take a crew over to the Los Angeles Zoo! We loaded up into two cars. We had five adults, a 7 yr old, 4-yr old, 2.5 yr old,1.5 yr old, 9 month old, and a high school freshman. Whew! What a day! We packed bag lunches and set out for the zoo. We got to bypass the incredibly long line because we already had our tickets, and the day went splendidly. Looking after that many moving children at one time was at times difficult. But the adult:child ratio was pretty good itself. I had many favorite memories of the day, but my favorite one is when I got to hold Rudy, pictured above, as he was looking at the flamingoes. He was so happy, he loved it! He wouldn't stop pointing at them, it was so great. I think I saw a little bit of Heaven that day in his excitement.

Health "Care" Providers...

2009-05-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Having just moved to a new city only a year and a half ago, and finally having established some benefits, April and May months are labeled Take Care of Myself months. I have began the search for doctors, dentists, eye doctors, etc. Found has been my primary doctor, after a four hour wait in her office. She did apologize for running so late that day, and as they took care of my insurance, were very kind, and were able to help me out with my second Hep A vaccine (it's taken forever to find someone willing to give me the second shot... hello, I work with the homeless, kind of a necessity...) I have decided to stay with her as my primary doctor.

My real healthcare woes in LA come from attempting to find a dentist. Let me preface this whole conversation by revealing that out of my whole family, my "health file" is probably the thinnest. I am the healthiest in my family. I have only ever had one cavity in my life (see my blog entry entitled "star teethment"), I have gone to visit the doctor twice a year every year since I was a small child, and I take great care of my teeth. In January I had gone back to the upscale dentist who did my filling last year for a normal cleaning, only to discover that he is not in my healthcare network. Translation: he is super expensive! It was time for me to find a dentist in LA. This was a scary proposition. I mean, my dentist in Michigan that I have had since I was a child gives me a toothbrush every time I come in that says, "Smile, Dr. Mead loves you." So I was not prepared to search for a new dentist.

I finally found someone who would take my insurance, and let me tell you, they were really rude over the phone with regards to my insurance and even what I was needing on my visit. I just want to find someone in LA who will fit me for a nightguard (sign of stress, I realize) for the price that my insurance lists. But LA is a big place...

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I let them know that I was covered under blue cross, and they said that they had contacted my insurance, and my insurance would not cover the nightguard. I called my insurance back and asked if they would cover the nightguard, and they said that they would. So I called the dentist's office back and let them know that my insurance did cover the nightguard. They told me that if I came in I would have to pay a $50.00 deductible. I quickly let them know that I had already paid a deductible for the year and I should not have to pay. They checked back with my insurance, and called back and said that I still owed the deductible.

I called my insurance... long story short, I finally get to the office, and they tell me that they will have to charge me $50.00 service charge or something shady like that. I should have run the other way, I later found out. But how was I supposed to know? The only other dentist in my life I've ever had is such a wonderful man, he gives T-shirts to kids who come in on their spring break that have toothbrush palm trees on them. I still have mine.

I signed some paperwork, and then the financial manager of the dentist calls me in and said that he was the one that makes sure the dentist gets paid. Like I wasn't going to pay the dentist? The thought never crossed my mind. What followed was a battle of wits, which I clearly lost. The manager and the dentist came in, looked at copies of my most recent X-rays, and told me that it looked like I had four new cavities. Which could not be the case, as those x-rays were looked at by a certified dentist three months earlier who said I was cavity free. (too bad he wasn't in my network of care... I like him...). They then laughed at me for still using a retainer, said that they thought I just liked wearing the retainer and that's why I was using it, and proceded to tell me that I was too stressed out, and that someone my age shouldn't need a nightguard. But they did tell me that I needed one, so that's good, I guess.

The financial manager, when telling me that my insurance doesn't cover the nightguard, after I told him that I called him back and they did, told me that my insurance was a liar and that they were "sticky." What?! How unprofessional! I wanted to cry, I had never felt so degraded at the dentist's office before now. At the end the receptionist also questioned my knowledge of what really happened at my January non-covered appointment when she said, "It shows here on your insurance that you've never had your teeth cleaned." After I told that they had indeed been cleaned in January, she replied, "Well, I guess it's whatever you say..." How would I not know when someone is cleaning my teeth?! What in the world?

I left their office and proceeded to file a complaint with my insurance. And as I spoke with someone over the phone, they revealed that I should never have had to pay the $50.00 the dentist charged me. The man was so nice, but he basically said something like, "your health care is in your charge. You need to get copies of all paperwork that you sign at a dentist's office, and if you are uncomfortable with the office itself, you need to run the other way. If they still are not listening to you, you need to have them call us, your insurers, while you are present."

I am not going to try to get my money back, because I don't ever want to talk to those callous people again. But it is disturbing to me, that I have to be on my guard against a healthcare provider who is supposed to be providing a service to me-- who might try to swindol me out of my money instead and claim that I have problems with my teeth when in fact I really do not. What has come to us in this country? Or at least the city of LA?

I am now starting to understand what it really means to be searching for a helath care provider in a responsible way. A friend, after hearing my woes, recommended another dentist to me, and so I went ahead and made an appointment after of course finding that they were in my network of care. But then I went online and read some horrible reviews of this particular dentist's practice. So I actually called the dentist back and lied to them about my work schedule changing so that I could get out of my appointment! I believe, after careful perusing of the internet (God bless Yelp LA) I have found a dentist whom I feel comfortable with contacting. But look at what it took to get me there. What a huge learning experience for me. I now feel that I can go to battle in any doctor's office. This happened for a reason, and while I wish I could put that horrible dentist out of practice, he has a family too and provides services to people who must like him. I must forgive, forget, and move on, but move on knowing that I am in control of my own care. And if I get a fishy feeling about someone, as the insurance agent handling my complaint noticed, I have a right to walk away, no questions asked!

Spirited Aerobics

2009-04-02T17:08:00.001-07:00

Jen and I have been going to this really amazing gym class on Monday nights at the gym closest to our house. I say the class is really amazing, and by that, I mean that it kicks our butts every Monday night. The class is a mixture of aerobics and kickboxing, normally put to Brittany Spears (seems like she's popular with our instructor).

Two things were really funny/interesting/great about this past week's class:

The first, we got to cool down with a little dance to Jai-Ho, or however you spell it, which is the song from Slumdog Millionaire that they all do a dance to at the end of the movie. It was so fun!!

The second, is that we have a slew of really interesting people at this class. I mean, really interesting. There is this older woman who wears multiple layers of shirts and shorts, and she's always wearing her hair in pigtails. Instead of jogging during our warm up, sometimes she dances around in circles. The people watching at this class is great! She is one of many really fun people. However, she is the focus of my second point, so I must digress: as we were walking out of class this past week, she passes me a little pocket book entitled, "The way to God." It is a 46-paged little book that takes people through the gospel message, complete with pictures and everything. My favorite was p.7: "It was a sad day for the human race when Adam and Eve sinned." I checked out the book and it seemed pretty theologically solid (not a Jehovah's Witness tool, or anything like that). So I think it safe to say that either a)I have made a new friend at my gym class in this concrete jungle of Los Angeles, CA or b) I really look like I need Jesus, which is probably true most days.

Ferrets away!

2009-04-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

This past Monday, while eating dinner in our apartment, Jen got a call from our neighbor Fernando in apartment #6. He said, "Help, there's a ferret stadning outside our door and he's trying to come in!" Sure enough, Jen and I looked outside, and behold, there was a ferret pawing at their door trying to enter. So we tryed to coax it down the hall to our door (we're #1) and it went that way, but then ran back to the boys' apartment. We couldn't figure out what to do, becuase if you call animal control they will just kill it, or at least that's what Fernando thought. So Jen grabs our broom (I don't know if I will ever use this broom to clean our house again...) and she and Fernando try to start pushing it away from their door. Meanwhile Jullian, Fernando's roommate, and I are afraid that it is going to bite Fernando's feet (he wasn't wearing any shoes). The ferret will just not go down the stairs, and that's when the people from the apartment building right next to us walked out of the apartment building. Just randomly and casually Jullian asked them, "You all by any chance wouldn't happen to own a ferret, would you?"

And by George, one of the girls was like, "Oh, my gosh! He's been lost for a few minutes now!" So we were able to return the ferret. When we admitted that we were trying to push it down the stairs and out of our apartment complex because we had heard that ferrets were really mean, she replied, "Oh, not Rico, he would never hurt anyone."

Well, there you have it. Add one more layer to the cake: supposedly ferrets are illegal in California state? Who knows... things in Hollywood never surprise me anymore.

Mental Health 90210

2009-02-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

For some reason, this past week's outreach efforts in Beverly Hills were coupled with our viewing of some mental disorders that are pretty stark. Sometimes I feel I am getting exposed to more mental health out here in LA than I ever did working on the floor of the inpatient psychiatric unit at Seattle Children's Hospital. I digress...

Our first encounter of the day began with a client that we see very regularly. She definetely is struggling with some mental health disorders, and always says that she is working with ASCAP to get her music published and they are in the middle of writing her a large check. She also says that Beverly Hills used to be a jungle and that people living there will pay for making it into anything other than a jungle. She says that there are scary spirit things going on in Beverly Hills. We will converse with this client in the most normal of ways, as if everything that she is saying is not out of the ordinary. However, this Tuesday I heard something that made me put on the brakes: she told us that if we spill any blood onto the sidewalk we must beware because we will be cloned, all it takes is one drop of blood and our DNA will be used to clone us.

Fast forward to later that afternoon. We have a client with major scabies issues. I mean major. A few weeks ago we referred him to a health clinic with the hopes that he would be able to get the scabies taken care of. This week when we saw him he was scratching away, and I asked if he had gone to the health clinic to get his arms looked at. He replied that he had not; he was working on a major case with the FBI and did not have time to go to the doctor. At present, he said he was only struggling from dry skin and would go to the doctor if it turned into an emergency.

Our last encounter of the day was with a client who normally sits in a very commercial part of Beverly Hills where names like Tiffany and Co are common. When I approached her asking if she wanted something to eat, she replied that she was getting married that very day, but she did want some of the things in the lunch bag. After talking to her for a while, she said that she could not accept any lunch that was not in a designer hand bag.

Well, there you have it. Needless to say, it was a very interesting day!

Long Lapse

2009-02-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

My Friends,

Yet again I feel that I must apologize for the long lapse in my updates. I could blame going halfway across the world to Bahrain to visit my twin sister for 3 weeks as getting me off track, but really that does not explain away anything except the fact that I have been back for almost two months, have gotten over the jet lag and have once again started wearing shirts that show off my shoulders (scandalous in Bahrain, no doubt!). Anyway, posted here are thoughts about Hollywood and life in general for any who may be interested.

Comic Relief

2008-11-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday night was date night, and Brian first made me Cincinnati Chile before we went to go see Changeling, a movie based on the true story of a woman living in LA in the 1920s whose son disappears. The movie focuses on the corruption in the LAPD at the time (however, this could be very true to the LAPD today as well). The movie was wonderfully directed and very well done, but it was so difficult to watch. There are some hard themes throughout the movie, and I was crying so hard halfway through the movie that Brian had to ask me if we needed to leave. I stuck through it, but the movie has haunted me for the rest of the week. It is so gripping, but not for the faint of heart. I will say that I would recommend it to anyone; just because a movie is hard to watch does not mean that it shoudl not be watched.

The "comic relief" part of this post comes when Brian and I were exiting the movie theater and saw none other than Will Ferrell! Apparently he and the director of one of his movies must have been screening a film to see how it was received by audiences. I told Brian that we should go up to him and say that we just saw Changeling and needed him to tell us a joke, but felt kind of strange about it. We ended up walking within two feet of him. Oh, Los Angeles. Only here can I go see a movie at the local movie theater and be watching with famous people.

A long- awaited update

2008-06-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

It's been an extremely long while since I've posted anything on this site, and for that I apologize. My mother, who I believe checks the site everyday, will be happy to know that I've started to post again. :)

The most new piece of news is that I have been sick with bronchitis for the past two weeks and am having a very hard time recovering. I have just finished the antibiotics I was prescribed and have had the hardest time gettign through the day without having to go back to sleep. I hope to be in top shape soon, because Alicia is coming out for a visit next Friday. Disneyland is in our plans for her stay, so I must get all the rest that I can for that endeavor. If you all think of me, please say a prayer for my health. I'm sick of being sick! (but friends remind me that this too shall pass...)

Homeless Count

2008-03-31T20:05:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday, from 9:00pm-6:00am, everyone in my office joined with law enforcement, private security forces, businesses from the area, other social service agencies from the Hollywood area, volunteers from the faith community, politicians, and property owners from the area. Our task: to conduct a snapshot count of Hollywood's homeless.

I was a team captain for my area, and with the help of four other people, we set out in the field and counted our area. I was given a map of places to count, and was looking not only for people sleeping on the street, but also persons encamped in cars, vans and RV's. We also had two Senior Lead Officers from the police department following us in a squad car, to make sure that we were safe.

The night was very successful, everyone was safe in all their counting, and hopefully the report of homeless numbers will aid local politicians in coming up with strategies and policies to help homeless people in the future.

The count consisted of two parts: the first part, from 11pm-2am, was done in the area of the map that I was given. The second part, from 2am-5am, was a separate count to count the number of youth in the area. Besides seeing a coyote running down Hollywood Blvd at 4:00am, the evening went as planned. There was a shooting close to the area that some of us were counting, and as my team and I were being picked up by one of my co-workers to go back to the dispatch center, my co-worker Brendan asked if anyone would mind if we prayed. He was driving the van to get us back. Granted, I knew that he and a few other people in the van were Christians. But there were also some people in the van who were markedly uncomfortable- for example, someone who worked with the city's Chamber of Commerce. Brendan started to pray for the people who had been in the shooting, for their families and for the person that they were still looking for. This moment to me, praying at 2:30am in the morning in a minivan filled with people from different walks of life, is one of my favorite memories of the year so far. Being able to pray for the unnamed people we hadn't even known, while we were working this strange shift, was such a testimony to the power of God and the fact that He kept us safe in the midst of the shooting. Some of my co-workers actually heard the shots from where they were counting.

I also felt very honored, humbled and blessed to get to be a team captain. God is teaching me that I can lead! I was very scared at first (if you knew how bad I was at reading maps, you would be, too!) but then felt God's leading and guiding hand with me and my group for the whole time. The air of collaboration and sharing that night between agencies and people from all different walks of life was so amazing. It was simply one of the most rewarding things that I have been involved in all year.

Wow!

2008-03-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

It was just a simple Saturday afternoon. Brian and I were out walking in the Larchmont neighborhood, a place not so far away from where I live that is more peaceful, quiet, and a lot less populated. We had just had lunch at Noah's Bagels (the perfect lunch!) and were walking down Larchmont Blvd. when suddenly someone caught my eye. Sitting at Peet's Coffee and Tea was someone who looked suspiciously familiar. Who could it be? I thought. Then it clicked, and I thought, "No, it can't be!" but then at that same moment had another contrasting thought, "It is him!" I had just walked within two feet of Victor Garber. I walked by, trying not to make a spectacle of myself, and then when I was respectfully out of earsight I exclaimed, "Oh, my gosh!"

That's right friends, Victor Garber- the father of Sidney Bristow on Alias, the builder of the Titanic in Titanic (of course), and the father of the Prince in Disney's sad and politically correct remake of Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella, where Victor Garber is the Caucasian king, Whoppie Goldberg is his wife the queen, and they both have an asian son who is the Prince. I can't believe it! What a small world we all live in... maybe I'll go up to Larchmont on a Saturday afternoon more often. :)

A Weight off my... shoes?!

2008-03-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Some of you are aware that my health this year has not been what I would have wished it to be. I'm always tired. When I walk home from work in the afternoon, at times I am so exhausted that all I can do when I get home is crawl into my bed. I also have been getting some pretty bad headaches during the day, so much so that one day I had to leave work early. Last week, I eagerly went to the doctor to try to figure out what the problem could be. The doctor's office just happened to be at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a hospital in Beverly Hills where many famous people go. (Case in point: it's where Dennis Quade and his wife had their twins). I chose my doctor from this hospital because my insurance is a little sketchy and a few of the doctors I had called previously were not very encouraging. In other words, I wouldn't want them to be my doctor. I knew that if I could find a doctor at my insurance from this particular medical center, even if their office was not at the hospital, they would be legit.

So up I went, to the 11th floor of the hospital. A plastic surgeon rode with me up to the 10th floor. And the doctor's office was nice and inviting, the nurses accomdating with my insurance plan. However, when the nurse went to weigh me, she first weighed me and then told me she was subtracting two pounds for my shoes. How crazy! Only in Beverly Hills! My shoes that I was wearing that day didn't even weigh two pounds. Besides that fact, I am happy with how I weigh. What difference does two pounds really make?!

We discovered that I had a sinus infection, something that I was expecting. I am feeling much better this week. However, the blood test they did revealed some abnormal liver readings (whatever that means). Please pray as I go back two weeks from now that the next test will be normal. My mom's dad passed away from serosis of the liver, and my mom now has to be pretty careful with her liver. I'm not too worried, I think that all will be well. Continued prayers for my health are appreciated!

Academy Awards

2008-02-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

The whole country was watching the Academy Awards last night (with the exception of myself, as we don't have cable...) and was able to see the wonderful talent that is brought to the city of Los Angeles. For many actors, directors, producers and writers an Oscar is a life goal and a career goal; it is an honor to have achieved it.

In living here, I was able to see the Oscars from a different angle. First last week, I was able to see them setting up the red curtains at the Hollywood/Highland mall. Little do many people know that the Kodak Theater is actually inside of a very nice shopping center on Hollywood Boulevard.

For me, the Oscars affected me in a unique way. On our way to West Hollywood to do outreach last Thursday, my boss and I noticed police who had pulled some people over about a block away from where the Oscars would take place. We decided to investigate, and saw that they were writing tickets for two homeless people who had been loitering by the Starbucks. We were able to talk to the two individuals, and they actually decided to come in to our shelter and stay with us. As we were driving them to the shelter, one of the homeless individuals remarked, "The police are tightening down on this area this week because of the Academy Awards." Indeed, many of the police were attempting to move homeless persons away from where the Academy Awards were held. And I suppose for good reason; when the press comes in and there is such a high profile event going on in the area, who wouldn't want it to look extra nice?

Yet this moving of a people group out of a certain area, even for a week, does not give the casual observer a clear picture of what Hollywood is really like. For the stars and their guests who pose for cameras on the red carpet, they get to come to the Hollywood/Highland mall after it has been transformed into a red-curtained palace. If they had returned even a day after all of the decor was taken down, they would see Hollywood Boulevard as it truly is: tourists mixing in with persons working on the Boulevard, the occasional famous person (maybe), and many homeless people, some of who have been homeless on the Boulevard for several years. It is these homeless people I hope we will remember and give face to in the coming months. Some will choose to come with us into shelter. Others will stay on the street and continue using their drug/drink of choice. I hope that we will be able to grant them one of the core human rights: dignity. Dignity in noticing them, in saying hello, in making eye contact, in offering them a lunch and a warm bed.

Star Sighting

2008-02-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

Some of you know that our mailing address is not at the house because there were issues before with people going through the mail. This past Thursday, I ventured over to Hollywood Presbyterian Church to pick up our mail and happened to run into... Louis Zamperini. He is an Olympian from the 1936 Olympics, he shook hands with Hitler over his finish there. He was also a prisoner of war in Japan and upon returning to the United States became a Christian at a Billy Graham crusade. He then traveled back to Japan to come face to face with the person who tortured him as a POW. He told this person that he forgave him. Louis also ran with the torch in the Nagano Olympics in Japan. He told me that he is 91 years of age.

I feel that I have met a "star" that is worthy of his stardom. I can not believe the stories that Louis was telling me. In this city that prizes itself on appearances, this man lives with integrity and faith. I cannot imagine going back to Japan... the next time I decide to hold a grudge against someone I will think on Louis' life and the amazing work that he has done.

Commuters, Unite!

2008-02-21T18:03:00.000-08:00

For those of you who knew me in Seattle, you'll remember that when I worked at the UW I loved to be a bike commuter. I loved to ride along the Burke Gliman Trail and watching the water as I rode.

Fast forward to Hollywood, CA. Any water near me is 45 minutes away in Santa Monica, a strange distance after living in Seattle. Before Christmas I had been mainly walking to my job, a 30 minute walk. Our bikes are in the process of getting fixed, or at least we need to get them fixed, and so I decided that to take time off my walk I would bring my roller blades back from Michigan. On New Year's Eve I completed the first ever roller blade commute to my job. Just to give you all a visual: I was wearing my helmet, wrist guards and Colombia fleece- not exactly looking like a Los Angelain. And the commute went well, but I decided that there were too many bumps in the sidewalks to make using roller blades a regular occurance, if I value my life. Since then my roommates and I have joked about what a site I was and how un-Hollywood and strange I must have looked.

However, two days ago, as I was walking home from work again, I saw it: a girl riding towards me on roller blades! Now, she did not have the nerdy one size fits all roller blades, hers actually looked pretty expensive, and she wasn't wearing a helmet or anything, but seeing this girl proved to me that there are people here who roller blade to work! And that thought makes me smile. I'm not the only one...

The Little Children

2008-02-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Last week on Ash Wednesday, our supporting church, Hollywood Presbyterian, had a nighttime service. We normally have tutoring time on Wednesday nights, but we decided beforehand that we would invite kids from the neighborhood to the service instead of having tutoring. We gathered kids into our cars and headed out to the service. Our next door neighbor came, as well as a high schooler and her 5 year old brother from down the street. Also attending was our friend Angel, a 5-year-old whom the 4 of us love dearly.

As we went into the service, we had to break into two groups, one sitting in front of the other. Angel was sitting on Jen's lap and asking her lots of questions, like, "Is this where Jesus lives?" He ended up falling asleep during the sermon and was snoring. Our next door neighbor actually fell asleep as well. I looked back at the pew behind me and saw Angel asleep on Jen's lap, Odalys drifting to sleep, and my other roommate Shelton getting heavy eyelids. (In all of our defense- it was a very early morning and in general we were pretty tuckered out!) I thought to myself, "Oh, no, they're dropping like flies. We're not going to make it through the whole service!"

Well, we made it through the whole service, to the part where we went up to take communion and have ashes put on our foreheads. The girl sitting next to me looked over at me and asked, "Is it okay if we go up, too?" "Of course!" I replied, "Everyone is welcome." And as I sat there, pondering the wonder of communion and of Christ's love for us, I almost cried out of joy. God does not care which neighborhood these children came from, He loves them. I saw God's love so clearly as I watched our kids walk up to the front to receive communion. No matter what state we entered the sanctuary in, God received us that day as we received Him. God didn't care that some of us fell asleep or even snored through the sermon- He welcomed the little children to Him on that night. This is by far one of my most favorite memories with the kids this year.

Ash Wednesday

2008-02-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

Last week was Ash Wednesday, and my roommates and I went to a Catholic Cathedral downtown for their 7:00 service before going to work. At the very end of the service, we had ashes placed on our foreheads in the shape of the cross.

I was unprepared for the reactions of people I came into contact with throughout the rest of the day. At the homeless shelter I work at, one of the clients thought that I had been marked by Charlie Manson. As I was driving around with my partner, Soraya, who had also gone to the service with us, the clients we talked to kept looking at our foreheads. We actually brought a client into the shelter on Ash Wednesday and he asked us if we had been marked as Satanists. One resident at the shelter assumed that I was Catholic because I had the ashes on my forehead. Soraya and I took a bathroom break at Trader Joe's, and as we were leaving a person at the checkout started talking to us in Spanish, asking if we had gone to mass. Soraya replied that we had, and he smiled at us.

Throughout the whole day, I did not see one other person with the ashes on their forehead, with the exception of my partner Soraya. I went to the post office after work and the clerk selling me stamps said, "Do you know, you're the first person I've seen all day with ashes? You'd think I would have seen someone by now."

For me, the ashes were not meant to be a way to publicly proclaim my faith in this city, they were to remind me of my brokenness without Christ and my need for Him. And yet, the ashes were a witness to my faith in this busy city. What a reminder that God uses the little things to speak to His greatness.

The Internet has Arrived

2008-02-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

I think the title explains all... but in case you didn't get it- you can now e-mail me and I will e-mail you back before a week is over (or at least try to!) Yes, my friends, we now have internet at our house, after all those months of waiting. What a joy.

I must say, though, that I think not having the internet for our first 6 months of living in LA was crucial to our ministry. Although it did make life a little harder, for example, not being able to mapquest things/looks up public transportation directions, I believe that we did not have the internet so the four of us could build our community up together. I am thankful for that time, and now thankful for the internet.

I am blessed!

2008-01-16T13:58:00.001-08:00

A few of you have heard from me that I have started teaching English to some neighbors who are new to the area. They have only been in the US for 6-10 months (a few of them more than others) and came over from Mexico.

I, who love learning but by no means have any experience teaching English, have been so blessed by this family! Last week the mother said to me, "Dios te bendigaras por todo to haces," which means (well, the Spanish is a little rusty...) "God is going to bless you for teaching us.

I was moved almost to the point of tears. All I've taught them to say so far is, "Hi, my name is _________." and "How are you?" And they tell me that God is going to bless me. I told them that God is going to bless them for allowing me to teach them, I who have no teaching experience. What a sweet family God has placed in my life! I'm so thankful for them. They bring me so much joy each week that I get to teach them.

To Protect and to Serve...

2008-01-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

This past week I was able to meet some senior lead officers with the Hollywood police. Occaisionally there will be times when the police will come through with a dump truck and the "Hollywood beautification team." They will not only pick up large trash items (such as leftover Christmas trees) but will also clean up encampments and send people on their way who are staying in the encampments. On Tuesday of last week, we rode around in our van following the police officers.

*Note: This is for the internship portion of the program here, in which I ride around in a van with a partner and ask homeless people if they need any services.* The police were warning the homeless people in encampments that on Wednesday, they would be cleaning out the area and the people would have to leave. We were there to offer bus tokens to anyone wanting to go to a winter shelter, as we had no room in our shelter. A couple of the officers we rode with started to get angry with the homeless people. "We've seen you here before," they said, "and when we try to help you, you don't go with the people we bring to help you. This looks like crap, we're coming through to clean it out tomorrow." There were more blunt statements like this said, and then we moved on to the next encampment.

Wednesday rolled by, and we were not sure what to expect. We most definetely did not want to associate ourselves with the police who were forcing the people to leave their only homes, but we wanted to be there to help the people access services. Imagine our frustration when clients began to look at our team differently. When I asked one particular client who we had started to build rapport with if he wanted a lunch, he just looked at us with eyes that said we had betrayed him. "No, thanks," he said as he walked away.

The hardest part of the day was listening the way that some of the officers were talking to the clients. "Get the hell out and don't come back, and take your s*** with you." One officer actually told me that after working in LA's infamous Skid Row area for 10 years or more, she only saw a handful of 'legitimately' homeless people who weren't substance abusers or mentally ill. As if the people who are those things aren't legitimately homeless?! A few of the officers began to tell the clients where they could and could not move to, based on where the boundary lines of their patroling areas were.
"Don't go over to Sunset," said one officer, because that's my area.
"You'd better not go over there," said the other officer, "because that's my area."
"Where am I supposed to go?" The woman I was talking to asked.
"Go over to Riverside drive," the first officer said, "because that's LA county and not where we go."

I will say that, much to my encouragement, I did meet a couple of officers who were more interested in helping and collaborating with us than shooting down the people they were forcing out. One officer said he had taken a tour of the PATH regional homeless center and he thought all of the Hollywood police officers should take a tour, so they knew what services were there. The officers who I thought were abrubt were in all honesty doing their jobs. It is their job to keep the streets clean and safe. And yet, I look forward to the day when all people can be treated subjectively. Hopefully in seeing the way we treat our clients, the officers can change the way they address the homeless. Overall, the week was successful because it was the start of a relationship with the senior lead officers of the area. The more they know about how we can help people, the more alternatives they can give the homeless people they run into on the streets.

It's been a while!

2008-01-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone! I know that it's been a while since I've last updated all of you. I hope to be making more regular posts on my blog in the near future (call it a goal or resolution, whatever you like...)

Here's some highlights that I'm particularly thankful for from my Christmas break:

Seeing some real snow- we had a snow storm the right before I left. I really wanted to get stuck in Michigan, but it didn't happen.
Cooking with my mom, particularly our cranberry salad and mashed potatoes.
Playing clarinet and singing in the Christmas Eve service at Chapel Lane Presbyterian church.
Playing Mexican train dominoes with my parents. Always a highlight.
Getting a Daddy-daughter date at Arby's (our tradition- Jamoca shakes).
Talking to Alicia on Skype for like 2 hours.
Going skating at the Midland civic arena!

And my parents hosted a Holiday Tea at Chapel Lane for me in which I was able to share a little more about my experiences here in Hollywood. I'm so thankful to all who attended and helped out with this! I felt so encouraged by your being there. That was pretty much my holiday. I actually slept in till almost 10 everyday, and if you know me, you know I must have been very tired to do that because that's not characteristic! It was a time of recharging and I am very thankful for the time to be with my parents.

y= mx+b

2007-11-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

A few of you know that I love math, specifically, algebra and statistics. About a month ago, I was able to begin tutoring a boy in algebra. For security's purposes, I'm going to call him Juan. When I sat down with Juan at his first tutoring session, he presented me his paper with an equation similar to y=mx+b and some graph paper where he was supposed to graph the equation. When I first asked Juan what he would do if he got this question on a test, he replied, "Copy off a friend." My reaction to this was, "Let's see if we can come up with a better way to answer the question." I then proceeded to explain that y=mx+b was a line and how he could get that line from the equation.

Since then, Juan has been coming to our tutoring sessions every night that we've been holding them. Some nights are better than others, but on Wednesday night, I saw a note from his teacher and a 0% on one of his assignments. When I asked him why he hadn't finished the assignment, he said that he had been skipping class and was failing math. It is also quite possible that he is being pressured to join a gang or is in one already, and if this is the case there is not much motivation to keep him in school.

Juan is very good at algebra, when he concentrates! I am encouraged by his progress in tutoring sessions, and if he starts going back to class he could very well not only pass but get a great grade. I ask for your prayers for Juan as he is in school, that he would become motivated to go to class and that he might be able to complete any make-up work. Last night I pulled him aside and said that I would be more than happy with him to have a meeting with him and his teacher, and to talk to his teacher about possible make-up work that we could be doing in the tutoring sessions outside of class. Pray that my words of encouragement would build Juan's confidence in himself up, and that he would not feel afraid to meet with his teacher. I hope to keep you all updated in the future about Juan's progress. Most of all, please pray that God would place a wall of safety around Juan in anything that he is involved in, and that he would feel like he can be himself when he comes to the community house for tutoring. Thanks everyone for your prayers. Let's rally around Juan in prayer.

Walking the Line

2007-11-12T15:39:00.001-08:00

For those of you who do not live in LA and may not know, there is a strike going on here with the Writer's Guild of America. My walk to and from work entails that I walk past one of the studios, the Sunset Gower studios. Last week, when the picketing of the writers began, I walked by two lines of picketers, one on Sunset and the other on Gower street. After walking home from work for a week, I feel very attached to these writers.

There are two crowds: the first, the Sunset Blvd crowd, is nice but distant, and doesn't really talk very much, unless talking to each other about their scripts or other writing techniques. Since they are carrying "honk for support" signs, lots of people are honking their horns when they pass by in their cars.

Now the Gower street peeps are definetely very fun to walk by. The first day of the strike, they said they would let me pass if I walked the line with them. So I walked around in a circle with them a few times. "Aren't you guys dizzy?" I asked. They informed me that they have been alternating directions for sanity's sake, and then asked me what I do. I told them that I work on an outreach team assisting the homeless, and that I had been in Beverly Hills that day helping the homeless there. I'm not really sure what they thought of that.

The Gower street peeps are increasingly creative; the next day I walked by they were playing a game of trivial pursuit, and on Thursday they had brought out the gloves and mits and were playing a game of catch with one another. Someone had also brought some drums and was drumming away, reminding me of marching band drum cadences.

Now, I hear that the striking could go on until March. And while I hope that for the sake of these poor writers and their families, this does not happen. But they are very fun to pass by on my walk home from work. I'm hoping to make friends with some of them, as they seem very down to eart.

The Silver Badge of Crashes

2007-11-12T15:17:00.000-08:00

I am informed that, being in LA, there is no one here who has not been in a car accident. That being said, I guess my time came...

Fast forward to Friday, November 2nd. Picture my workplace: a shelter on top, the parking garage on the bottom. In order to get into the parking garage, there is a driveway on a slight incline with a microphone box on the left and a swinging gate that swings off to the right. As I pushed the microphone box and asked to be let in, and started to pull in, I heard a little tap on my left passenger door. I looked behind me, and lo and behold, the microphone box was stuck to my dad's car! How did that happen, I wondered?!? So I reversed, hoping to get the little box "unstuck". But as it scraped along the car, I realized that I had to pull forward in order to get the box away from the car. The result: a nasty silver gash about the length of my arms held out to the sides. And poof: the realization that I had just sideswiped my Dad's car.

Since then, I am increasingly thankful that I did not hit anyone in this little accident, but only the microphone box (which, by the way, is in full tact, has no traces of paint from the car, and definetely got the better end of the deal, although it is only 1/200th the size of the car). I am also very thankful for the graceful response of my parents, who told me they would not have let me drive out here unless they trusted me.

Driving around in my "marked" car for the past week and a half has been humbling. This is the city of shiny new showy cars, and here I am driving around with my side-swiped car that still has ash remains from driving through the fires in San Diego.

Metaphorically, my car is an example of God's abiding grace. We are all marked- some with more scrathes than others (imagine being rear-ended or having a collision), and yet God still allows us to serve Him, in fact, He calls us to serve Him no matter where we are in life. Thinking that a car is no less worthy because it has a mark on it is similar to us thinking that we are no good after we have sinned. God still has the ability to use us! No matter how bad the crash, God has the ability to turn any crash into an opportunity to serve Him and be a testament to His grace. Now the question of serving Him falls to us: will we serve amidst our imperfections. My car still drives, it will really only need some body work and paint. In a city where it is necessary to drive to many places, my car is still a blessing. And the mark on it is a testament to God's protection in this city of very crazed drivers. For this I am immensly thankful.

Pictures of my silver badge of crashes will be following, be sure.

You've never been homeless before, how can you help me?

2007-10-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

This was the question my roommate Jen and I were asked in Tuscon, AZ as we observed a church day labor program. The woman who asked it was possibly in her 50s. When I first asked her what her name was, she said, "Delicious." As I was talking to her, she said, "I know that you mean well, but you've never even been homeless before. How can you pretend to know how to help me? You don't know what it feels like!" She then invited us to stay with her at her camp site. As I was leaving the next day, I could not stay. But I told her that there are opportunities to experience homelessness, similar to the Urban Plunge program at Seattle Pacific University. As soon as Jen and I addressed the want of experiencing and empathizing with her, Delicious told us her real name: Sheryl. She only told us her real name because she respected us for wanting to approach her life from her point of view.

We had to leave the church almost as soon as she told us her real name. But Sheryl hurriedly mentioned to me that she was having a historectomy next week due to cancer in her uterus. After learning of this, I told her that she would be in my prayers. Because she does not have medical insurance, she will only be allowed to stay in the hospital for 2 days. I cannot imagine having to recover from a procedure like this living on the streets! Please remember Sheryl in your prayers.

And, friends, I would ask of you: if someone blows you off at first like Sheryl first did to me, how will you respond? Will you try to approach them with love as Christ did? Or will you merely see them as an angry, lazy homeless person and brush past them. I challenge you to try to see their life from their shoes. The perspective this brings you will be life-altering.

Star "Teethment"

2007-10-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

I pride myself on never having had a cavity before. So last week, when a black spot developed on one of my back molars and wouldn't go away, I decided it was time to take action and look up local dentists. One of my roommates proved very helpful in finding one that we live very close to.

As I entered the office, I was greeted by classical music and an assistant and was shown into an examining room. X-rays were then taken of my mouth, but not just any x-rays. These were digital x-rays, with 99% less radiation, go figure. After also putting a wand-type camera into my mouth and taking lots of pictures, the dentist finally saw me. He first congratualted me on having amazing teeth, and then proceeded to ask if my parents were in the health professions. When I replied no, and that I had had a very good dentist in Michigan, he was still perplexed. "You mean your dad isn't a doctor?" "No," I replied, "but my dentist was great."

The dentist then proceeded to tell me I would need a minor filling, but no one would be able to tell, and that I could even tell my dentist in Michigan that I had never had a cavity. I was then given a little printed-up booklet of the pictures of my teeth and cavity, and then a welcome note from the dentist.

Right before he left, the dentist also mentioned that we could whiten my teeth on the same day. Teeth whitening?! On the same day as having a cavity filled?! Only in Hollywood, the city of appearances, could this have happened. I am happy to say that the cavity was filled successfully (it was more of like a sealant on a developing cavity...) and that my teeth were not artificially whitened. If I want whiter teeth, I can use Crest white strips, thank you. But I did feel like a celebrity or something, having so many people happy with what a great set of teeth I have!

Images of Hollywood

2007-10-06T12:53:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from the first week of September:

An advertisement for the Dr.Phil show, which films at Paramount Studios, right behind our house.

My wonderful roomies and I, from L-R: Jen (from Iowa), Kristina (from Massachusetts), and Shelton (from Alabama), watching a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary.

And last but not least, who could forget the famous Hollywood sign, which we see pretty much every day, depending on where we are going.

Welcome to Hollywood!

2007-10-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hello, All,

Welcome to my blog. Many of you already know that I am in Hollywood for a year doing urban ministry with the Presbyterian Church USA through their young adult volunteer program.

I live in the city of Hollywood, CA. This statement alone may bring many pictures to your mind. The movie stars, the crazy traffic, the beach. When I first mentioned that I was headed to Hollywood, many people asked me if I had been cast in a movie. At first my reaction was to laugh and give a description of the program I'm participating in, but I actually ended up convincing someone that I had been cast as Liesl in a remake of the Sound of Music. My joke was foiled, however, when they replied that the Sound of Music could never be remade without Julie Andrews. True statement, which is why I am not in Hollywood to be in a movie!

I am in Hollywood to live in an intentional Christian community and serve in my neighborhood, which is made up of predominantly migrant people from Latin and South America. I also intern 32 hours a week at an agency called PATH, which stands for People Assisting the Homeless. I look forward to the coming year and all that the Lord is equipping me to do and learn in Him. And I also look forward to updating all you on what is going on in the city of Hollywood, CA!