The Daily Adventures of Erwin Lee

I have been flying with Cebu Pacific for 2 or 3 years. Ever since they introduced the cheap fares, I’ve been taking advantage of their flights to travel. Last year, I started working in Shanghai and because of that I have been taking Cebu Pacific flights 2 to 3 times a year to go home.

I’ve tried Cathay Pacific to fly to Hongkong. I’ve tried Philippine Airlines to fly from Shanghai to Manila, and tried Cebu Pacific a lot of times to fly from Shanghai to Manila as well. Cebu Pacific’s service in my opinion is way way on top of what I paid for. You know, we often hear people saying “You get what you paid for.” I got more than what I paid for with Cebu Pacific.

February 2009, I took Philippine Airlines back home. I paid good cash but got the service lower than that of Cebu Pacific. The stewardess is the same generation as my grandmother and some of them are even so fat that they can’t fit the aisle. Well, that’s just one. 2nd, the flight was delayed and to add to the frustrations because of the service, the weather was not good for flying as well. There was a lot of turbulence, and had a bad headache the whole duration of the trip. When landing, I would expect Philippine Airlines to hire competent pilots but the plane bounced as it landed. Unpleasant as well. From start to end, Philippine Airlines was a symbol of Manila, it could have been a good city, but it’s not because of reasons that are deep. Promised myself never to pay good money with Philippine Airlines anymore unless the schedule fits exactly to what I want, and if the price is cheaper than Cebu Pacific.

On the other hand, Cebu Pacific offers lower prices, as low as 330RMB for a roundtrip ticket. That’s just around 3000Php and around 60USD. Crazy huh? Compared to the crazy 4000RMB/24000Php/480USD of Philippine Airlines. I am not expecting good service, pleasant flight, and on time departure/arrival. But that was not the case, Cebu Pacific was above expectation. The stewardess were young, energetic, and attentive. The flight was on time if not earlier than scheduled. The plane lands without you knowing that the wheel already touched the ground and sometimes there were some small, short games to kill of time. I didn’t expect much, but I got a lot. There’s no food in Cebu Pacific unlike Philippine Airlines, but you can bring your own anyway.

Another thing, PAL uses the old and small airport, NAIA 2. Cebu Pacific the new one, NAIA 3. There is a Yellow Cab pizza stall, Dimsum and Dumplings restaurant, Jollibee, Mister Donut, Kopiroti, Ministop, Japanese restaurant, Seattle’s best, a small massage area, duty free, and even National bookstore!

I never regret flying Cebu Pacific. I don’t have anything to ask for, I got what I paid for and that’s good! Philippine Airlines should improve themselves, show that the expensive price tag means top quality service.

Cebu Pacific rocks!

To me, today is like the first day of spring 2009. Yea, I know it seems late, but it seems like the winter has been stretching and stretching from Feb to March, then March to April, then April at last! The weather is good!

A little background where I got the time to bike…

My friend convinced me to wake up early and go to church at 9am. (I go to church at Shanghai Community Fellowship that normally holds services 2PM and 4PM. Recently, the church has a new branch in HongQiao, and it has service at 9am and 11am) I was hesitant at first but since she tried to go to the Hengshan service at my request, I agreed to try the 9am service even if that means I have to wake up extremely early… 7am. During workdays, I wake up at 8:30am and because I live just near the office, I can be there by 9:30am. So, 7am for my body clock is extremely EARLY. Anyway, I did it for 2 weeks already and it is working perfectly for me.

So today, I went to the 9am service again for the second time and then finished the service at 10:30am. Walked to the nearby restaurant alley (….by China standards, might be around a kilometer or two walk from church). There is this burger restaurant named Blue Frog. Although a bit pricey for me, I think the meat, and French fries is worth it. I love the burger!  Well, I love meat… haha!

Where did I get the idea of going around on 2 wheels?

It is from the City Weekend magazine titled Road Warrior (Your Guide to Exploring Shanghai on two wheels). Well, I’ve tried to bike from my house to the office and then maybe the furthest is to Hengshan SCF, but this time, we tried to cross the Huang Pu River to go to Pudong. This river divides Shanghai into 2 parts – Puxi and Pudong. Pudong is where the cool beautiful, modern, international airport is, the famous Shanghai Pearl Tower, the two big towers of Shanghai – World Financial Center, and Jin Mao Tower. Well, anyway, I live in Puxi area, near the Chang Feng Park and the East China University. That’s on the opposite side of Pudong.

I haven’t counted the mileage but because of our stroll speed, the stops we made to look at the BBQ street food in WuJiang Snack road, the stops to refresh at convenience stores, crowded places (yeah, this is Shanghai, China, expect this everywhere), no bike lane streets, and getting lost, we spent almost 7 hours. That also includes almost an hour in the Super Brand Mall. (This mall is just across the river, so we stopped there for a break before going back.)

Anyway, we had to bike a long way, and People Square is quite difficult to get past because we don’t know how to navigate around it. We had to carry the bike on top a pedestrian crossing just to cross the street. Whew, at least we made it. Well, I almost gave up, but Dennis insisted. After getting through People’s Square Park, we had to find the Ferry that allows bikes to get in so we can go to the Pudong, the other side of Shanghai.

That’s me! With “Bike” waiting for the ferry to dock.

Then, we finally reach LuJiaZui, the first area in Pudong from the HuangPu River. It’s closest to the river.

This is when we reached the other side,

Pudong finally!!!

Anyway! We saw some people selling kebabs on the street. That’s normal, but what’s weird is that their charcoal and their BBQ are installed on a bike, a real mobile BBQing store. Dennis bought 10RMB worth of beef kebabs, he ate a stick, I barely ate half of it. It doesn’t taste good. :( So that’s a waste of money, and we just threw it away.  Again, what' a waste!

Anyway, we continued going to Super Brand Mall to feel the airconditioned mall and relax a bit. Visit Toys R’ Us and then took a photo with my friend… Ultraman!

and finally, the ever so famous, Oriental Pearl Tower.

Whew, what a day! so tired… time to crash!

So, this is the story!? Commentary: Don't rush bonus tax

Why did the AIG Executives received their bonuses despite bailout?

“The AIG bonuses were allowed to happen precisely because Congress, in its race to pass the stimulus last month, approved that bill with an exemption added at the last minute allowing any bonus guaranteed before mid-February to be paid out.”

So, who rushed and approved the bill that bonuses guaranteed can be paid out? CONGRESS.

As an employee, I understand AIG. The company’s executives are important employees because they are the ones who maneuver the company to where it should go. AIG wants to keep the best and the brightest, and one way to do that is by giving them the right compensation. What I am saying is that AIG is just doing their contractual obligations and they did it in a legal way. It seems to me that the economy crisis has caught the government off-guard, and now they are scrambling, and rushing everything without thorough thoughts.

Have you seen Titanic? The whole big boat didn’t sink in one single blow. First, the water fills the lower parts of the boat, then it goes up, up, up, until the whole boat sinks. With the recent moves to pass a new bill that will tax 90% of the bonuses, is the Congress thinking thoroughly? Some congressmen are saying it should be 90%, 95%, and others said, their people wants it all back. Going back to the Titanic, when the boat started to sink, everyone did not try to jump out of it right away. Some tried to cover the holes with their hands, with some objects, but whatever you do, a hole is a hole, and water will sip through, and the ship will eventually sink.

I am in doubt what will happen to United States after all of this mess. They are so messed up now. On the other news, President Barack Obama is in Tonight’s Show with Jay Leno. Is the US becoming the biggest Hollywood, with President Barack Obama replacing Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt?

Despite all these bailout mess, I hope Americans will come out of this crisis better even with the mess politicians are making. I hope that US won’t sink like the Titanic.

Surfing through the internet and found this image…  yes Shanghai is crowded but because of that people need to create these sophisticated beautiful and complicated flyovers.

I find this idea of William Young about the accomplishment of Jesus on the cross. It is all about love, and God’s love is really perfect, but never forced.

Honey, you asked me what Jesus accomplished on the cross; so now listen to me carefully: through his death and resurrection, I am now fully reconciled to the world.”

“The whole world? You mean those who believe in you, right?”

“The whole world, Mack. All I am telling you is that reconciliation is a two way street, and I have done my part, totally, completely, finally. It is not the nature of love to force a relationship but it is the nature of love to open the way.”

An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others. – A. W. Tozer

Our God is an awesome God.

PC have started out as a device for geeks, and Apple have been attacking that ever since. Now, Microsoft is punching back. The ads are quite good and non-offensive.

After Kyle, and Alexa, I thought Microsoft will continue using children to show that Microsoft software is easy that even children can use it. However, they changed! More interestingly, the new ads were about a battle between 7 years old Alexa and a 70 year-old grandpa… a 8 year-old and a 80 year old… a 9 year-old and a 90 year-old. Still, my favorite is Kyle. She’s the cutest of them all.

Quoted from “The Bible Jesus Read” by Philip Yancey

Pascal concluded that faith sometimes resembles a wager. He told his friends, “If I believe in God and life after death and you do not, and if there is no God, we both lose when we die. However, if there is a God, you still lose and I gain everything. “

I think it’s a good reflection and a convincing argument to convince someone who is still finding reasons to believe. I am once in that position -- finding reasons to believe and what I wanted was a win-win arrangement. I think that this argument is a good start to start thinking about our faith, and after life. I just hope that as we move forward, we don’t get stuck in this mindset – just wanting to gain everything, but instead move forward to find God, His grace, and His unconditional and steadfast love for sinners. Learn to love God, appreciate His grace, and learn to let go of ourselves, trusitng in God with all our hearts, all our minds, and being sure that He knows what He's doing.

I reflected today where I usually spend my time… this is usually my schedule for weekdays and Saturday is definitely unpredictable because I sleep as long as I want and only go out if I feel to. Sunday, however, is a different story, it’s God’s day.

Monday to Friday

8:00am – 8:30am Wake up.

8:30am – 9:00am Prepare myself. Take a shower, brush my teeth, hang washed clothes.

9:00am – 9:15am Walk to the office.

9:15am – 12:00pm Work.

12:00pm – 1:00pm Work and Lunch in front of my PC.

1:00pm – 6:00pm Work.

6:00pm – 7:00pm Go home and dinner at my choice of restaurant.

7:00pm – 7:30pm Cook my lunch for the next day.

7:30pm – 8:30pm Quiet time with God

8:30pm – 10:30pm Quiet time with my girlfriend (every Tuesday) Me time, the rest of the week, watch a movie, read a book, do whatever.

10:30pm – 8:00am Sleep time.

That’s my ideal time table, but if I work overtime in the office like today, the whole time table will adjust and I’ll be able to get to bed around 12:00pm. Still, I believe that I am making use of my time very well. I’ve got plenty of me time, and have a time to be with God.

Another exception is on Wednesday, below is the schedule change.

7:30pm – 9:30pm Church friends time every Wednesday. (cooking will be delayed to 11:00pm and quiet time with God will be delayed to 11:30pm, and I get to sleep around 12:30)

On Sundays….

11:00am Wake up

12:00pm Lunch, maybe some light brunch, noodles and beef.

2:00pm – 3:30pm Church, time to worship and give praises to God for the blessings all through out the week and prayer for the next week.

3:30pm – 4:30pm Travel back home. yes the church is quite far from me.

4:30pm – 5:00pm supermarket for next week’s lunch food.

5:00pm – 6:00pm cook for today’s dinner or eat out with friends.

6:00pm – 6:30pm dinner

6:30pm – 8:30pm Me Time! fix the room, keep dry clothes inside the cabinet.

8:30pm – 9:30pm Quiet time with God

9:30pm – 10:30pm Me time again!

Notice I have lots of me time everyday and Saturday is a me time as well except for the quiet time I a lot for God everyday. I love Me Time next to spending a little time to thank God for every day’s blessings and asking for wisdom and guidance for the next to come.

I hope one day, when I look back at this blog entry, I will not regret that I didn’t spend my time better but realize how blessed I am to have plenty of me time, and plenty of time to reflect with God.

When Jesus says, “I will” – he will.

1. I will never cast you out. (John 6:37)
2. I will cleanse you. (Luke 5:13)
3. I will acknowledge you before my Father (Matthew 10:32)
4. I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19)
5. I will come to you (John 14:18)
6. I will raise you up at the last day (John 6:40)
7. I will take you into glory, to be with me where I am. (John 17:24)

Jesus is the only reason we need to have joy in our heart no matter what other people do, or what circumstances we will be into.

Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sheep.

What is Fibonacci number? It is a number series that gets the next number by adding the previous 2 numbers.  So 1, 2, the next number is 3, and the next is 5, and the next is 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, and so on.

That’s how we should look at the responsibilities we have. Let’s say you’re already loaded with 6 major responsibilities. Then two more comes along. According to normal math, you now have eight. But on the Fibonacci scale, you’re suddenly at a much higher number. The eighth number in Fibonacci sequence is not but; it’s 34! Each new responsibility brings more to the equation than if you had added just one thing. In the end, our lives gets too busy, too crowded, too tiring, and we don’t have time for the Lord. We tried improving ourselves too much, we end up doing it all by ourselves and relying too much on our own efforts and energy. Always remember the Fibonacci sequence when accepting responsibilities and make sure you leave time for the Lord. Always remember that Fibonacci sequence grows exponentially.

It’s all because we’ve bought the lie of trying to “do it all” We need to remember, “unless the Lord builds the house, who who build it labor in vain." We need to leave time for the Lord, because the time for the Lord is time for worship, thanksgiving, repentance, and peace. Trusting in the Lord, with everything in our life means salvation, contentment, and peace. Don’t try to do everything by yourself, leave time for God and get to know Jesus, and make Him part of your daily life.

I find Kylie so cute. :)

Windows 7 Beta is looking good for a stable, and consumer-friendly release to the point that it knows that my notebook’s battery is broken. It warns me that the battery I am using might cause my machine to shut down quickly and it’s right. My notebook’s battery has been broken for a year and it only lasts for 5 minutes. Sometimes the charge it have isn’t even enough to boot up Windows.

Thank you Windows 7 for telling me. :)

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statues. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your percepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me.

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. I have taken oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much; preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word. Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your percepts. Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.

Jesus answered in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

God is so good. We’ve sinned and fall short of His glory but He made a way for us to come back Him. If we look back in the Old testament, we’ll see that God is a face that we can never see. He is a God that is feared just because of His sheer magnificence, and terrifying beauty. There are many instances in the Old Testament that God’s people asked to see Him but God always responds with a NO.

In Exodus 33:18-20 Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you and you will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Psalm 13:1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

Psalm 27:9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

Psalm 44:24 Why do you hide  your face and forget our misery and oppression?

Psalm 69:17 Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for  I am in trouble.

Psalm 80:3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us.

Psalm 88:14 Why, O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?

Psalm 102:2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn you ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly

Psalm 143:7 Answer me quickly, O, Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will like those who go down to the pit.

God made all these possible through His love for us in Christ Jesus. Paul celebrated that truth in 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

We don’t deserve to see God, we don’t deserve God’s glory because we are sinful and we’ve grown too far apart from Him. But God’s grace is something we can’t understand either, it is so beautiful that He gave His only Son to die for imperfect people, wrap them in clothes of righteousness them and make them look white and holy in front of Him. It is a gift that we will never deserve but He whole heartedly blessed us with it. God loves us so much that it is impossible to see Him the Old Testament but today, I cannot imagine living a life without Jesus. Jesus is the ONLY way to see God.

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin.

J.B. Phillips translates Hebrews 4:15: For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible - he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation except that he never sinned.

It's as if he knows that we will say to God... "God, it's easy for you up there. You don't know how hard it is from down here." So he boldly proclaims Jesus' ability to understand. Look at the wording again.

1. He himself. Not an angel Not an ambassador. Not an emissary, but Jesus himself.

2. Shared fully. Not partially. Not nearly. Not to a large degree. Entirely! Jesus shared fully.

3. In all our experience. Every hurt. Every ache. All the stresses and all the strains. No exceptions. No substitutes.

Why? So he could sympathize with our weaknesses.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Find peace in Jesus Christ. In times of stress, pain, sorrow, he understands. Never stop praying, never stop talking to God, trusting Him to give you peace.

Proverbs 4:7-8 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.

Read these from January 6 article of Our Daily Journey written by Mart De Haan.

1. What’s at the center of our attention is what has us. King David is a positive and negative example of this. Whatever he gave his attention to either “make him” or “break him”.
2. God loves us enough to accept us as we are but He loves us too much to leave us that way. Could anything be better? (Philippians 1:6)
3. Nothing is so relevant as eternal. A Jewish man, Asaph learned this while struggling with feelings of envy, disappointment, and doubt.(Psalm 73)
4. Attack problems, not people. I get the two confused until I remember the words and spirit of Christ. ( Matthew 5:43-44)
5. To change, we must want something else more than what we now have. Scripture say we will find the Lord only when we look for Him with all our heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
6. Live for what you will not regret when you die. “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?” (Matthew 16:26)
7. The secret of abundance is found not in what we have, but in what we enjoy (or are thankful for). Paul expressed this in Philippians 4.
8. Fear God – not to run from Him but to Him. This might be even more basic than loving Him (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10)
9. We can learn more from our critics than our admirers. Some tell us how wonderful we are. Others tell us the truth. (Proverbs 27:6; Psalm 141:5)
10. When I am in the presence of God, it seems profoundly unbecoming to demand anything. (F. Schaeffer). None understood this better than our Lord who said, “Nevertheless, not my will but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)