When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember The Mayonnaise Jar and the 2 Cups of Coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

Saturday, July 15th, 2006

This past Saturday was a truly special night for Tik and myself.  It's been awhile since I've felt something so powerful and so heart warming as that night.  We stood on a sand doom on top of the beach while the sun sets to the West and the rainbow floats on the East.  It would be the night in which we exchange our vows and look to the future over the beach's horizon to see that the world lies ahead of us and we will walk this place called Life together.  In blunt honesty, this has been a very special moment for us and the tears and the smiles could never be forgotten.  I still could remember it so clearly.  The lighthouse in the near background, friends watching and taking pictures, the sun setting behind the faint clouds and we're just surrounded by sand and water.  To be perfectly honest, Tik and myself is so content with how the occasion turned out that we still talk about it to this day.  Something that may have seemed like a small occassion to people has turned out to be one of the biggest step and event in our relationship's lifespan.  I believed in the end it has become a very big heartfelt experience to us and it really meant alot (more than what people may think.)

I'd really like to thank everyone who was there for our special occasion.  The night really meant alot to us inside that words could never express.  And for those who did not make it, I wished you had been there to share an occassion that meant so much.  In my heart, I honestly feel that on the night of Saturday, July 15th, 2006... we spent one of the most memorable moments on that beach in which we received complete happiness and sincerity for each other's love.  I felt something I've felt before and I miss that feeling although I could remember so well in my mind and feel it in my heart.  That night meant so much more to me compared to my traditional Laos wedding.  I wish others could have seen or felt what we felt but I know I could always turn to my wife to express to her how I felt that night.  I could not wish for anything more than to have her in front of me as happy as I was that night.

With love Tik, the most happiness I can ever find is to be see you before I sleep and to see you again when I awake in the morning.  Nothing can ever replace that warmth that I feel each morning from your presence.  I love you... 

Poem reading during our vows:

EE Cummings - i carry your heart

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                    i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant 

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

The Power of Love - Celine Dion

I brought Tik on a date to watch movies on Friday.  I think we both had a very pleasant time at the theatres because we haven't gone for so long.  We got some spicy french fries and a fried doughboy then we got into the theatre early enough to have our freedom of choice.  Perfectly perched right in the middle of the upper theatre so we can look straight at it and we were surrounded by adults so it wasn't obnoxious or noisy.  Then the show started...

ICE AGE: The Meltdown

What a hilarious movie!  We both definately enjoyed the movie.  Can't wait to go next weekend with Tik again.