It is finished...

As of 3.31.07, all of the Leung boys are married.  And now some interesting facts:

We were all married within 1 year (4.1.06 – 3.31.07)

For 1 month out of the year all three wives are the same age.

2 have names that start with ‘A’ (Amy, Alicia)

2 are teachers (Amy, Alicia)

2 are Taiwanese (Amy, Lydia)

2 are formerly Yangs (Amy, Lydia)

The oldest child married an oldest child, the middle child married a…somewhere in the middle child, and the youngest child married a youngest child.

Together we have inherited 8 sisters-in-law (Alicia-6, Lydia-2) and 1 brother-in-law (Amy).

I'm sure there are other things but I won't bore you.  I'll post some pics later.

Countdown

 Finally within reach of Weather.com's 10 day forecast.  We'll see how it changes over the next week.  I'll be tracking by adding to this entry instead of new entries if possible.

What a difference a day makes, eh?  Meteorologists are such a sham.  For those who are checking back often, I might as well add something more interesting than the forecast each day.

It's a small world after all p.1:  For those who know Albert and Rini, we now go to church with Albert's brother Simon.

Seems to be stabilising.  Too cold for outdoors so will be inside.  The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom.  Should be nice.

It's a small world p2.  My Dad's friend from youth group in HK lives in MD.  Her daughters work at the same company as me.  One of them is married to a guy from Colorado.  He went to church with Joe/Ching from WHCC and Henry/Althea from HCC. 

Too much of a stretch?  Here's another.  The guy coordinating or ceremony lives here now, but grew up in CA.  He went on a missions trip with my brother over 10 years ago (I think).

Finally updating!

And this is the year in review.

Change is the only constant, as they say.  And this year has been full of that.  New places, new faces, a family that has basically quadrupled in size.  More to come in 2007, of course, but here's a look back at 2006.

It's tough to know how to divide this up.  To break it down by category, by date or just monologue it in large paragraphs.  Looks like it will be the latter so I can just talk it out.  Maybe I'll add pictures later if I decide to make the effort to.  Wouldn't bet on it though.  =/

So let's begin at the beginning.  The year really flew by and sometimes things blend together.  I'm sure things will be missed, but hopefully not too much.  First and foremost, the Texas Longhorns won the national championship with a dominating performance by Vince Young.  What a great way to start the year off.  This, of course, led to the great debate in Houston over whether to draft Reggie Bush or Vince Young.  Well...I don't really want to get into what happened there so let's just move on.  Lydia had been back in Maryland for a few months already and long distance was alright.  I continued job searching while very anxiously awaiting the day I could leave, half (or more) hoping that I would get laid off instead.  In the meantime, life continued as usual.

And as usual, in recent years, has meant weddings.  My middle brother got engaged in February(?) with my oldest brother's wedding coming up.  I was a groomsman for my good friends John and Michelle in March.  A special couple who are special to me.  Some of the most gracious hosts I know it was a joy to see them finally tieing the knot (7 yrs?).  Shortly after that, my oldest brother Gordon married Amy.  My first sister...it's still strange to hear her call my mom 'mom.'  And when she calls me brother or bro it seems half joking, which is fine since I don't know how serious I can take that.  She is a very welcome addition to the family, however, and I've enjoyed how supporting and encouraging she is.  I guess I should say something about my brother too, eh?  Trustworthy.  Reliable.  Enthusiastic.  I always feel confident he can provide a good answer to my questions.  Probably because he does extensive research for anything that he is involved with.  They will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary right after our wedding.

I quit!!!  Probably the biggest news following the wedding was resigning from my job.  Boy what a weight off of my shoulders.  It took a while for Lydia to be open to me moving up unemployed, but a little bit of long distance and some comforting words from someone she trusts (not me) and I was finally able to put in my notice.  You would think the prospect of unemployment would be the cause of some anxiety, but besides some new financial constraints there was too much relief and anticipation for that.  I would work until early June to extend my benefits a little while and then I would be off.  My move date was set a short while after that.

I took one last trip to DC before moving up.  More good friends Josh and Sarah were visiting the DC area from St. Louis, so I booked a ticket up.  It was good seeing them.  And they were kind enough to help me talk with Lydia's mom.  It's good to know you can count on your friends to help out with unusual and awkward requests.  It was fun.  The more people come visit, the more familiar I will become with DC and the good touristy things to do.  Still need some time, though.

Mid-Point.  We kick off our second half of the year with more weddings!  Lydia flew down so that we could attend one of her friends' weddings in Austin.  This was also the weekend that I would surprise her with a proposal.  I won't rehash that, but she said yes.  It was very much a surprise for her.  We spent the week apart as I took care of some last things in Houston and she flew down for another wedding in Austin.  This time it was more of my good friends, Yvonne and Gordon.  A hot, summer Texas wedding, but a beautiful venue.  Despite their respective personality quirks, they complement each other very well.  They're good at what they do whether professionally or recreationally.  Their wedding was also my last goodbye to the Lone Star State.  Lydia and I drove up to Maryland together that week.  The drive was just a straight shot with one overnight stop.  Not too much to say about it, but definitely glad she was along with me.

Life in MD.  Probably the biggest change in my life for a long time.  I am so appreciative of Lydia and her family for taking care of me during this time.  It definitely was easier to come here than it would be for me to move somewhere I didn't know anyone (although she was the reason I moved to begin with. =/ ).  Her mom generously opened up her home to me.  We spend a lot of time with her family, as they are very close.  That is part of the quadrupling of my family.  My two brothers getting married and me joining Lydia's family.  She has two older sisters and they are both married as well.  The oldest have a little girl.  I guess they are the most 'grown up' of the group.  Still fun to hang out with, though.  The middles are my year.  Recently I've thought about whether we would have been friends if I grew up here.  We play a lot of games together.  It's good times.

We've decided to stay at Lydia's church.  Most of the other people I've met here have been through there.  Relationships are slowly building and should continue growing now that we're there every week.  Once we get more involved I will feel like more of a part of the community there, but not planning on too much until after the wedding.  I think the first thing that people in a new situation do is find familiarity.  So new people you meet you try to compare them to people you know and the same goes for new places.  I'm not saying that I'm necessarily doing this or finding matches.  I just think it's a common state of mind.  It's nice that the church has a young adult congregation, though.  Helps finding people in a similar life stage as you.

My Two Jobs.  Unemployment was somewhat fun while it lasted.  Glad it didn't last any longer than it did, though.  While I was never really worried, it's still a tough situation to be in.  Uncertainty about the future and constant questions and status updates.  I enjoyed the time off since I hadn't really taken any long breaks since starting to work, but I was definitely ready to get back into the working life.  The job has been a learning experience.  I'm enjoying it, though.  Getting to know my coworkers better and finding a lunch crew has definitely made it easier to get connected there.  My other job, wedding planning, is coming along.  It has definitely been tough at time feeling busy all the time, but I think we're doing well.  I think Lydia's fear of not getting things done has us at a good place in our planning.  Being more laid back and having come from many shorter engagements than ours, her...encouragement...was somewhat stressful at times, but I definitely appreciate all the effort that she's put into it above everything that we've worked on together.

There have been far fewer landmark events in recent months.  Besides visiting churches and deciding on one, it's been business as usual.  And now I guess business as usual meaning work and wedding planning.  In August at another hot summer Texas wedding, my middle brother Ed married Alicia.  Alicia and I were friends in college and even then I thought they could be a good fit.  But God's timing is what it is and it wasn't until several years later that they started dating and now have gotten married.  Ed is now an english pastor at an extension church from my home church.  As I said in my speech at his wedding, he is really good at saying things in a way that can make you want to change something while not actually telling you to.  If that makes any sense.  Anyways, I think he'll make a great pastor even though he never has cleared his stories involving his family with us first.  =P

Seasons Change.  Fall came and went without much incident.  The leaves changed and fell, but never seemed so vibrant where we were.  Driving around there were definitely some brilliant spots that showcased what I guess we expect fall to be like.  Thanksgiving was spent in Houston eating a lot and meeting up with friends.  The time flew by as always, but it was good to be home for a little while.  My first winter here has been mild thus far.  There's still time for it to be bad, though.  Hopefully it will not be too cold when the wedding rolls around in a few months.  I recently celebrated my first birthday here in Maryland.  Lydia threw a 'surprise' party for me including korean food and karaoke.  She has some pics on her xanga.  Speaking of change.  Lydia likes change.  She enjoys trying new foods and restaurants.  Rearranges her furniture periodically.  Well I was curious how that worked when it came to relationships.  Apparently it meant a new hairstyle.  Temporarily changed for now, it's sort of similar to when it was spiked.  She's not sure she likes it so more changes ahead, no doubt.

Wii.  Rob (the middle brother in law) got a Wii over the holidays.  From what I've seen so far, I have to say that Nintendo did a great job with the system.  The Wii is sort of a silly name, but it really fits.  It's fun (whee!), small (wee?) and is for everyone (we...).  It doesn't necessarily take a lot of gaming skill to get involved and have fun with the system.  Lydia also appreciates how active it is, which could help deter childhood obesity.  =/  She also likes playing with the Mii's.  If anyone hasn't checked it out yet, you definitely should.  It's entertaining to play and watch.  Thanks Rob and Vicky for letting us play!  =D

So long 2006.  Will 2007 bring more frequent updates?  Probably not.

Semi-Annual Update

Howdy Y'all!  =P

Well it's been over a month now since I've rejoined the working world.  The break was nice, but working (and getting paid) is good as well.  As far as the job itself, it's a significant improvement over my last one.  I have good amounts of freedom and responsibility.  And I feel like the work I'm doing actual results in tangible results.  The company culture is good.  We've gone on one department outing already, and another is planned later this year.  The company picnic just passed.  They encourage additional learning and enrichment, and there seems to be ample opportunity.

Nothing is perfect, though.  There is a lot of turnover.  Mostly people staying within the company but moving around.  So stable, but unstable at the same time.  There are still people unhappy.  People bored.  Rumours of upcoming changes.  But I'm enjoying it so far.

I feel like I'm settling in a bit.  Narrowed down churches to a couple and should probably be deciding in the next couple months.  It's been good getting to know people better here.  Although a rumour has spread like wildfire at Lydia's church that I can sing.  =)  I'm curious what the origin of that was, but it's fine.  I'm enjoying the time off for now, but eventually I definitely want to get back to worship team or some other service.

Regional sports is tough, but at least there's the internet.  It's not like I'm able to watch a lot of games while I'm here anyway, but it's interesting being in foreign territory.  I haven't heard of any sports viewing get togethers so far.  Any get together is welcome, though.  I've gotten to hang out some, play some games and play some video games with people.  A good start.

p.s. apologies for being a mostly words and hardly any pictures poster.  but be glad for any post at all from me.  =)

Summer's over, but it's still so hot!

Well my summer break is drawing to a close.  I'm trying to find something to do the last week or so I have remaining.  In case you didn't catch that, it means I got a job.  So the next couple weeks I'm thinking about taking a trip somewhere.  I'll be going to Dallas for my brother's wedding next weekend.  After that I may stay in TX to hang out a bit before coming back up.  But I'm looking at my options to see what else I can do.

The job search was apparently more successful by my being here as I anticipated.  God was definitely faithful, though, in providing for me.  First, my accommodations.  I'm definitely appreciative to Lydia's family for taking care of me in my time here so far.  Second, the job search itself.

I hate interviewing.  I've always taken the 'be yourself' approach.  I don't like feeling like I need to say the 'right thing' or be someone I'm not.  So maybe some companies will be turned off by my relaxed and laid back demeanor.  But at least I know that the company that chooses me knows what I'm about and knows what I have to offer.  Or maybe it speaks even more to how God provided for me in the job search.  I was able to get two offers, one all on my own and one that started from a reference.  I chose the company that I thought fit me better.  Guess we'll see in a few.