What’s Going On?

These last four days have been a series of ups and downs of emotion for me. I haven’t felt this way in a long time and to have something so emotional just inspired me to do something about it. Lately, I’ve just decided to blog about things that have been eventful, things that have impact on society or me, and things I can look back on to remember. However, these past couple of days have included all the aspects I just described.

Friday, I had a great time going to a group of friend’s housewarming party. It was a blast. The theme of the night was “Friday Night Lights.” I had worn a pair of jeans and a shirt that my friend got me from UT at Austin. I also had made my own eye black out of  two strips of athletic tape that I had colored in black with a Sharpie. Eye black is used by athletes to help reduce glare from the sun. I, however, did not have any on hand so I just made my own for free. I must say it was very efficient and practical because there was really no mess or clean up. I just pealed them off and had a clean face in a matter of seconds. The party that night was great, friends came over and had a good time having food and drink and participated in several party games.

On Saturday, I was happy to find out that my two friends from college both got hitched. I met them both in college at San Jose State and at the time they were dating. Who would have guessed that several years later that they would go on to get married? I had no idea, but nonetheless was very happy to see a union of two people .

Sunday was a great day. I visited San Francisco Bible Church, a church that I frequented when I was in my youth. It’s been a few months since I’ve been back to my home church, but nonetheless it was great to see their faces again and to be warmly welcomed. (Currently, I frequent Great Exchange Covenant Church in SF that meets at night which offers convenience for people that cannot wake up early on Sunday mornings). Several of my friends after service went out to eat for a great Chinese meal at a local restaurant that I used to frequent because of their really cheap eats. However, I guess over the last couple of years the restaurant remodeled and raised their prices. The dining crowd was non-existent, but the food was still good. I think that the owners should bring the prices back down to increase consumer traffic. Later that night my friend had a birthday party. I just couldn’t believe how much fun I was having. It was like college all over again. We had boxes of pizza, chips, and soda. Played some Scattegories, American Idol Encoure (karaoke) on the PS3, some game I can’t recall, and watched hippos attack each other on the Discovery Channel. After all that, friends decided to go bowl at Sea Bowl in Pacifica. I must say that bowling alley has come a long way from it’s earlier days. Remodeled to have a cool retro look the bowling alley brings in more bowlers.

After having a great weekend thus far, today was probably one of the saddest days that I’ve had in a long while. One of my friends that I’ve met through a small group from church passed away. Patrick was his name and he was loved by many. I attended his funeral and burial earlier today. Patrick lived a good life where he touched many people’s lives. He particularly touched my life in ways I can never forget. He was a good friend that truly understood me, he knew when I was in a funk and tried to talk things out. He also knew when I wanted to go out and have fun. He was a guy that had a weird sense of making people laugh, he had a way of making a lot of quirky faces. He was a guy that believed in my passion of photography, he liked my work so much that it inspires me to keep doing what I love doing. It is people like Patrick that make me want to capture people’s lives on camera. Making people happy is all I ever want to do in my life and for Pat he lived it out. He helped others placing their needs before his own personal needs. Truly he is an inspiration.  Honestly, I regret not spending a lot of time and getting to know him as much as I have wanted, but I know that he will have a long lasting impression on my life.

During the memorial service many friends and family came up to the front of the room to share about Patrick’s inspirations on their lives and about the life that he lived. In addition to the service, the burial ceremony was great. At the site a friend and Patrick’s father shared. His father illustrated what kind of guy Patrick was at heart. He said although Patrick seemed tough on the outside, at heart he was really a softy. He recalled a moment when Pat broke his collar bone and Pat asked his father to hold his hand while on a gurney headed towards the operating room. He illustrated this point because most Asian boys wouldn’t ask their father for their love, but Patrick did. On this day of mourning, his father held Patrick’s hands throughout the service at mortuary, it was only fair for him to hold Pat’s hands as Pat once asked him.

Following the services, I had a chance to eat at the reception with Pat’s father along with my two other friends. At the table, we went around explaining what our relation to Pat was. One expressed concern that his father expressed was that about the guest book because it only had the information of people’s names and address, but no information on the relation that Pat had with these people. I think by having this small, but very important detail would bring more closure to family and close friends of the type of people that one reaches out to throughout their lives. Although, today was a very sad one, it was also a great day to remember the life that Patrick lived. Why wait till someone passes before we can say so many good things about someone? Make every day count. Patrick will always be that inspiration and that person that I’d like to be. He will be missed.

On another happier note, today I bumped into two friends whom I haven’t seen in over 8 years that flew up from LA who was also at the cemetery paying respects to their loved ones. Today was also great because I found out that my two other friends are going to be having a baby boy in about 6-7 months. I told one of them that they should name their child Michael because I think that name is so cool.

Overall, this weekend had it’s extremes of ups and downs and of life and death. This weekend will be one that I hope to reflect on in future years. Life is temporary. May the life that you live be one that can impact and change the lives of others.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF PATRICK ANDREW KONG (1981-2009)