Hosive

is nyc all fun and games? sometimes. some weeks……..it seems like it.

here we are at the u2 3d in imax! in limited release across our nation…..and of course it is playing at the local imax near our home in soha(south of harlem). we invited vision folks and club vision but it turned out to be a romantic date. of course, we were first in line….however, we got there early not to get in the front row….but the very back…the very last row. imax and 3d makes front row dizzy land.

but we went twice and club vision joined us…..dave, pei li, weiling, steph, susan, some ocm folks and us! its almost as good as being in the front row of a u2 concert! it still does not beat the energy of live music but its worth watching….twice! at least!

but u2 concerts has always been about being with friends…not just the shows. its about reunions and creating memories with old friends from la to chicago to boston to philly to nyc to wherever our friendships take us in the future. and maybe soon in dallas with jaq.

here we are watching another tom stoppard play….last year, we caught the 9 hr trilogy of plays: the coast of utopia……we were again in the front row for this story of the downfall of communism, the power of music, the power of love and the power of the love of music. it was a breezy 3 hours and theresa liked it a lot more than last year’s marathon.

this is in part, in fact why to live in nyc: to see shows that only play in london and here. however, i wish i was smart enough to take it all in and process it. tom stoppard’s plays and other intellectual fare humble me. i wish i had more time to think on this level and read on this level.

jonathan came back after a long hiatus for cooking lessons. we made a fancy beef stew. i mean i ate a fancy beef stew that theresa, wendy and weiling made. as dennis and i waited, we ate our customary doritos and played wii.

these are always enjoyable. i’ve been friends with weiling and dennis for close to 20 years(ever since they were teens) and to have time to develop these friendships in a different city and as adults is a joy.

toward the end of the week, we made it down to the beacon for they might be giants! no front row for us this time but 4th row aint bad. the fun part was that they opened for themselves! they did two sets! the came out….had intermission….and came back out! they played a ton of songs which is good news for theresa. i only knew two songs and they only played one of them. but i did enjoy their humor. i wish my bands would talk more to us.

theresa will get to go to another tmbg concert designed for families in the spring….while i get my nerd on at the nyc comic con.

finally, we got invited to a fashion week post-show party. we went to a fancy schmancy lounge and sat in vip areas thanks to visionite, jo song. we got swag bags including one of the vip goodie bags. theresa had a few beers and i drank a few sips of some fruity drink theresa ordered for me. i even got to meet the designer, jo’s boss…..she was super down to earth and i didn’t even know it was her. she was mingling like a regular person.

some will ask why a pastor is in a place like this. as if there are only good guys and bad guys. only good places and bad places. stark black and white. but my reality is that i love people…and i go to where the people are. and when i was there, i felt my heart swell with love for people. for regular people. not just the bible nerds in holy ghettos. most i suspect who have poor stereotypes of jesus, pastors and faith. i hope i get to share with them a better vision.

a flu wiped me out at the wrong time so i’ve been behind on blogging ever since……let’s catchup…..

we said good bye to our good friends liz and leonard as they headed back to la with a meal at one of their hidden treasures in nyc. its a steakhouse right above the fairway around 72 and broadway. fairway is a regular(but very good)supermarket in nyc and inexplicably they also cook steaks. big honking steaks at reasonable(nyc)prices. we had a great time eating meat….which t and i have given up for lent….we’ll likely break lent at some point using the gift certificates for the all you can eat meat-arama that leonard and liz got for my ordination…….

we miss our friends dearly.

christmas eve and christmas day were spent at da sto. my in-laws have random shops….jewelry, pool hall, beauty supplies…..booze. its not the holidays unless……..

i spend the day catching up on dvds……futurama, alien nation and blade runner. theresa spent it helping sell 40’s and lottery tickets. the program is set up so that koreans can operate it easier.

the official name of the store is called vision! its nice to know that my faith is having an impact on the family. so when people ask me what i did at christmas, i say i spent it at vision!

we proceeded to philly to actually have a more spiritual christmas at chinese mission 2007. i did workshops. t did sound. steff did art. peter did the big talks. LT did everything.

i have done this conference every three years since 1995. but mayhaps my time with youth are drawing to a close. i can still tell some funny jh jokes. maybe that’s the only kinds i can tell.

finally, we wrapped up with a week with the tsangs before the new year! more like the brownings and the tsangs. but life was dreamy and slow…the way christmas used to be

life is good and content. then we all caught the flu. boo flu. yea, u2.
i got my u2.com fan club t-shirt as part of my dues. it also came with a double cd set of a dvd i already own. eh. the real prize we hope are access to concert tickets. i was part of the original fan club, propaganda….and they rewarded me with double access to tickets last time around. hoping to keep my status. i’m also part of the killers fan club and we are part of the hallmark ornament club which used to have two good selections per year but lately, only one. but its the club that allows us to keep collecting the christmas windows ornaments that mark our anniversary each year. more about that in may.