My Favorite Twila Paris Songs

Here's the link to my Twila Paris iMix on iTunes.
Looks like they only list the songs which can be purchased on iTunes.












Here's the complete (unordered) list via screenshot of iTunes. Click to enlarge it.

"It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life."

How Denise and Alan Jackson's marriage was saved!

Here's the interview on CNN.com: Click here to read it.

Nice quote from the intro to the interview:

A revelation came one day when a friend told her she wouldn't pray for Alan Jackson to come back, but instead, would pray for Denise Jackson to become the woman that God intended her to be. From that day on, Denise Jackson began to reassess the role God played in her life -- and, instead of focusing on how to repair her relationship with her husband, put her efforts into rebuilding her relationship with God. In the end, she says, becoming closer to God helped her become closer to her husband -- and save her marriage.

Jackson writes about her journey in the new book "It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life." And while her husband is on the cover of the book and included a CD of two songs, after the first few chapters, it becomes clear that the country singer is not the ultimate focus of her book.

Alan Jackson is a country music singer.

Favorite Steve Green Songs

I've been loading all my music in iTunes lately so I can finally really put away the CD's into the garage. There are a few where I have the box, but not the CD. *sigh*

Anyways, the exercise has allowed me to continue to re-discover old favorites. I shared earlier about my Contemporary Christian Music Greatest Hits. Here are my favorite Steve Green songs...

Of course, you could be my friend on SimplifyMedia and you could stream them for free to check them out!

Stay tuned- my favorite Twila Paris and Amy Grant songs are coming soon!

Shoot! Dead Digital Camera. AGAIN.

Aw man. The lens isn't retracting back into the body. When it's turned on, the motor whirs but nothing happens. Worse yet, the LCD is completely black even in Setup and Playback modes.

All three of my digital cameras have died on me...

1. Sony DSC-F505V
Bought: 2000, Summer
Died: 2003, Spring
This was my first camera. No really. I never was really into picture taking, but I got this b/c I wanted to take lots of pictures w/ my new g/f. I thought the big honking rotating lens was pretty cool.

BTW, that g/f was G and we got engaged that summer and married a year later!


2. Sony DSC-F717
Bought: 2003, Spring
Died: 2007, Spring
We'd just had our 1st baby, M, and the F505V wasn't functioning properly. Sometimes the LCD would freeze up, or the pictures were all messed up. We had to get a new camera as we were just missing too many shots of Baby M.

The F717 is still my favorite camera of the three. Great resolution at the time and it shot pretty fast. I didn't mind that it was big. Actually I thought it was an asset as it had a big battery. After taking lots of shots, even with flash, the battery would last. With smaller cameras which had tiny batteries, when the battery drained down, the autofocus would become sooooooo sloooooooow.

We hadn't used this for a while b/c G used the Canon Elph b/c of it's portability. Earlier this year, when I fired this baby up, the LCD screen displayed a jumble of stuff. I'm holding out hope this can be recovered, but it's not looking good.

3. Canon PowerShot SD500 DIGITAL ELPH
Bought: 2005, December
Dead: 2007, August

We got this camera b/c the F717 was too bulky for G to lug around in the diaper bag. By now we had 2 boys- a 3 and a 1 y.o. So this was G's Christmas present that year.

Great thing was the portability and the 7 Megapixels. Plus it used SD cards and not expensive MemoryStick. But the small battery drained fast, hence the autofocus speed faded. Overall, this camera was in fact harder to shoot with. It was just too slow.

So... now what? I want a Nikon DSLR, but don't want to spend the money right now. My dad just got the D40, which he really likes. Maybe I'll borrow his old Sony compact camera... hope that one doesn't bite the dust on me too.

Lenovo ThinkPad T61: Spec'n it out

Can't believe the T42 is more than three years old and is out of the extended warranty already. It's still a toddler! Little G, my youngest son, isn't even 3 until December!

And so it's time to spec out a new laptop... (boo hoo hoo, crocodile tears)

One of the reasons I liked the T42 (14.1" LCD) was b/c it was so darn thin at just a tad over 1". The T-series seem to be getting ever so slightly thicker w/ each new line.

I fancied the 15.4" T61, but Lenovo support informed me that that measures in at 1.4" thick! How can Apple have 15" and 17" MacBook Pros that are just 1" thick?

The T61 only came w/ widescreen LCD's until just a few days ago, but the standard aspect ratio cost more. Since HDTV LCD's are 16:9 aspect ratio, it's cheaper for them to manufacture laptop LCD's to the same ratio.

From a Lenovo blog, they personally preferred the integrated graphics over the discrete nVidia as it gives well over one hour extra battery life for business use. But I want to drive the ThinkPad at it's highest resolution (1440 horiz. on the T42), and drive an external 24" LCD monitor at high res as well: Dual head display in extended desktop mode. More screen real estate = better work efficiency. Lenovo customer support said the integrated graphics only runs 1280- not good enough.

So here's the configuration I'm looking at:

• ThinkPad T61 with nVIDIA Graphics - 1 Year Depot Warranty
• Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)
• Operating System: Genuine Windows XP Professional
• *No Vista for us yet. Lenovo dude said Micro$oft will disallow XP pre-loads sometime next year.
  
• Display type: 14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ Camera
• *Wonder if the camera is like the one on the Apple laptops?
  
• System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
• Total memory: 3 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
  
• Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
• Hard drive: 160GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
• *The largest 7200RPM HD is 100Gb? I say more space wins.
• *Apple offers a 160GB 7200RPM HD. C'mon Lenovo, bring it!
  
• Optical device: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
• *A Blu-Ray disc drive would be awesome... later.
  
• Wireless card: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
• Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN
• Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
• 3 year depot 9x5 Next Business Day
• Extra Battery: ThinkPad Advanced Ultrabay Battery

$1990.10 (per web-site)

Any suggestions?

Not that it matters since IT only lets us get Lenovo or Dell laptops, but a similar MacBook Pro is only $2573.00. It has the same CPU as above, only 2Gb of RAM, a 160GB 7200RPM HD, and the 15" screen, and AppleCare.

Spider-Man: The High-Definition Trilogy (Blu-ray)

I guess it's never too early to start my wish list for Christmas or my birthday...

Spider-Man: The High-Definition Trilogy (Blu-ray)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2007 / Rated PG-13
Street Date: October 30, 2007
List Price: $99.98

Shameless.

Thanks be to God, Maui-style (Aug 4, 2007)

Before and during the entire travel experience we prayed and prayed and prayed.

We prayed that we would get on a flight to Maui, together. We prayed on the way to the airport, on the way to lunch, on the way back to the airport and as we waited at the gate as they called for stand-by passengers. We prayed and thanked God even though just M and I were initially on the plane. I prayed for G and little G when it looked like they couldn't get on our flight. I prayed and thanked God when they did get on. We prayed and thanked God when we were able to sit all together. I prayed w/ M during take-off, turbulence, and landing as he was a little scared. I prayed for us all as we went to stay w/ the Canuck. I'm sure G was saying her own private prayers throughout the trip.

Count your blessings. The ways God provided:
1. Stand-by tickets from friend of G.
2. Getting on the flight to Maui, on the 1st day at the airport.
2a. We didn't have to return to the airport on Friday to try to get on a flight.

The airport staff said that the previous week was a little slower and the Hawaii bound flights were not as full. My theory is that families are taking vacations before the kids start school within the next month.

3. We sat together on the flight.
4. The kids were well-behaved the entire day.
5. We had a place to stay.
6. We had a car to use.
7. We found a dear, dear brother in Christ on Maui.

Think about this: I had to sit in that specific seat, on that specific flight, on that specific day otherwise I would not have met the Canuck, my brother by our bond in the Holy Spirit! Furthermore, the Canuck had to return to Maui early for the science teacher that was to teach at the summer program dropped out and they needed the Canuck to jump in! This brother is like an angel God sent down at such a key time of need for us. It's as if God said to me,

"Don't worry Wilson, I've got this thing all worked out. One of My guys is going to be in that seat right next to you, on your flight, on that day and he's going to take care of you and your family because in his heart is My Holy Spirit."

So, it is an amazing testimony of God's providence. I'm not sure why He provided, and I won't say it is based on our merits, but in His compassion, He provided in a big way. He is our awesome God.

First Day in Maui (Aug 3, 2007)

Hawaii is 3 hours behind Pacific time, so the boys always wake up around 6AM local time. Just thinking about that makes me yawn.

The Canuck got up early and went to buy some groceries for breakfast! He'd been away from home for two months and had sublet his place out during that time. So he literally did not know what he had in the fridge and it was literally nothing! We felt so blessed to have home cooked bacon and eggs, and pb&j that morning.

G and I were trying to figure out what we wanted to do that day. We didn't want to be in the Canuck's way, but he said that he didn't have anything planned other than a short meeting at school in the afternoon. We thought about renting a car for the day b/c we didn't expect him to chauffeur us around- it was already too amazing to have a place to stay! In the end, he said we could borrow his car for the day and take the kids to the beach or to the Maui Ocean Center then we'd meet up later. He'd use his friend's car which she left w/ him while she was traveling.

Unbelievable- we had a place to stay and a car to use. Those were the two things I had to get once we arrived in Maui and there it was.

We took the car and visited the MOC which is quite nice, though it's no Monterey Bay Aquarium. The kids fell asleep in the car on the way back and we stopped at Safeway to get some things for "home" since the Canuck was in need of some necessities like napkins etc.

Shortly after we got home, the Canuck returned. (Yes, he gave us the car keys and the house keys.) We wanted to take him out to a nice dinner, but he suggested that we get some meat and fixin's and BBQ hamburgers for dinner. I'm not being at all gracious when I say that those Canuck burgers were the best I've ever had.

G got the kids to bed and she turned in w/ them.

The Canuck and I got into chatting about music (U2), science/theory of evolution, and finally theology. Genesis 1. It was a very engaging chat and the evolution/Genesis 1 part was not a debate, if you're wondering. He headed out to meet up w/ some buddies for sushi while I went to bed.

The next morning, he'd drive us to the airport to pick-up a rental car and then we'd meet up w/ my family.

Next: Thanks be to God, Maui-style

Arriving in Maui (Aug 2, 2007)

We arrived in Maui without incident, though the landing was a little rough, which my friend assured me was pretty smooth for this airport. As we all got off the plane, my friend came up to us and said, "I know this is pretty forward, but would you guys like to come stay at my place the next two nights? You need a place to stay, and I have an empty place w/ toys for a 4 y.o. boy. From one Christian brother to another." G and I were stunned!

Now, the 1st thought through my head was, "What if this guy is an ax murderer?" But having spent the last 4.5hrs on the plane next to him, I thought and felt that he was real. We said, "yes!" At this point, we formally introduced ourselves and, finally, learned each other's names. I'll call him "the Canuck."

A friend would pick him up, then he'd return and pick us up and we'd all head over to his home. He lives on the west side of the island, so we pretty much continued chatting as if we never got off the plane! When we arrived at his home, it was the perfect little place for us to park until our family arrived and the vacation rental home was available. We all slept in the Canuck's son's room, which had a queen bed. He whipped out two inflatable beds for the boys- one Cars and the other Thomas the Tank Engine- and his son had lots cars and train engines. Needless to say, my boys were in heaven and made themselves right at home.

After the boys showered, we all had a Maui Tacos dinner then went to bed after a long travel day for everyone.

The Canuck and I did stay up a little bit to talk g33k stuff: Apple- Noticed his pretty new iMac w/ a black PC keyboard- his little boy spilled water on the Apple keyboard. Other topics included Google software and services, SimplifyMedia etc.

Next: First Day in Maui

Traveling to Maui (Aug 2, 2007)

We're flying standby and we knew that it'd be tough getting on a flight as it's high-season. Though G resigned from her position at United, a friend was so kind to give us passes to fly stand-by and help get us listed on the various flights. In our predicament, all options are considered hence stand-by flights to another island and then buying a cheap one-way inter-island flight to get to Maui is in the cards. The rest of the family was to arrive today, Saturday August 4, but we knew it would be near impossible getting on via stand-by today so we decided to leave S.F. a day or two earlier. The weeks and days leading up to the trip we lifted it to God's providence in our daily family prayers.

Thursday morning, bright and early, we hustled our way to SFO to try to get on the 1st flight to OGG. Unfortunately, "the system" flagged our entire family for the Security checkpoint Special Search. (On the lower-right corner of our check-in pass was "SSSSS" which meant we were in the special security line.) That meant that the TSA had to inspect every single carry-on item and we had to go through the special scanner. By the time we finished we'd already missed the 9:15AM UAL flight, but the it was packed full anyways, so we had no prayer of getting on. Same for the 10:40AM flight- packed.

The rest of the day looked dire but we decided to go to lunch in San Bruno then rest at a friend's home nearby before trying the 4:45PM flight.

3:30PM we were back at the gate to try the 4:45PM, the last direct flight of the day to Maui. As we waited at the gate, the check-in agents called many other people who were also on stand-by. Stand-by priority goes to revenue passengers, then employees in order of their seniority, then friends of employees using their "companion passes." G's no longer w/ United, hence we were in the lowest priority. Plus the plane is a 737(?) which is pretty small. Needless to say, of little faith, I was prepared to come back again Friday for a do-over.

Then we noticed that many of the names they called had not showed up! Hope! G turns to me and says, "What if they only have space for two of us?" I didn't want to think about it, but it made sense that I travel w/ M first, and she would try to get on another flight w/ little G.

"Leung, party of four- Please come to the check-in desk." we heard! "WOW! We're on! WooHoo! Thanks be to God!"

"There's only room for two of you!" the agent said. My heart sunk. M and I got our boarding passes, hugged+kissed G and little G and made our way down the jetway to board. That walk was one of the most bittersweet walks I've ever had to make.

Being among the last to be assigned seats, ours were not together so the flight attendants kindly went to see if some passengers would switch seats so I could sit w/ M. While I was waiting, G and little G turned the corner of the jetway- they got on the flight!

By now, they attendant had found seats for M and me towards the back so we made our down the aisle. Now they had to find seats together for G and little G together!

In the row in front of mine, there turned out to be an empty seats between two guys (aisle and window seats). The attendant asked if Aisle would move up to a middle seat in front so the two G's could sit together. He was pretty belligerent repeating over and over, "This is my rightful assigned seat. I asked for an aisle." This was right in front of my family! The attendant offered to buy him a $5 drink if he'd agree to move and then he did w/ out a peep. Incredible. So, now we got to sit all together across two rows!

The flight was pretty smooth and the kids were really good. They ate their snacks and M watched part of "The Incredibles" on the portable DVD player.

Through out the flight, I chatted off and on w/ the the guy to my right, in the window seat. He's a Canadian who moved to Maui for a teaching position there and was returning after a couple months traveling in the States and in Canada to see family and friends. He was returning a few days ahead of his wife and kids as his school needed him to teach at a week long summer program the coming week after the original teacher had to pull out.

I shared with him our incredible story of getting on this flight and how the rest of my family was to arrive on Saturday for our vacation. Flying stand-by in high season, I mentioned that upon arrival I had to rent a car and a place to stay through Saturday since I hadn't booked anything since we didn't know when we'd arrive.

Next: Arriving in Maui

Happy Anniversary! August 4, 2007

Today is our 6th Wedding Anniversary. Time sure flies.

This year, my sister and her husband invited my parents and our family to join them in Maui for a week. He's attending a medical conference in the mornings Monday-Friday Aug 6-10.

The following blog posts started as one post, but I've split them up b/c it got very long. Read on to see our awesome God do awesome things...

1. Traveling to Maui
2. Arriving in Maui
3. First Day in Maui
4. Thanks be to God, Maui-style