=(

How would you feel if you came to your home and your house looked like this...


Pray for those fire victims

Volunteering!

Ever since I saw "Southern California burning" on TV, I wanted to take action and help those who were affected by these devastating fires.? I always?had those usual excuse like "I don't have time" or?"I have too much on my plate," but I?was then?presented an opportunity where I?could help.? It was time for me to take action to what I wanted to do...

Anyways, tomorrow Bryant, my aunt, my uncle, and I will be heading out about 4:30am to San Diego to help out 500+ volunteers clean up burned sites for the day.? I am really glad I decided to go.

On other news, I recently was intervied by JPL!?? Ask me more about it if you want more info on that.

I have to sleep now..have an early morning tomorrow!

Huge Cookie and Best Costume Ever!

Last week I made a gigantic cookie because I didn't want to make so many individual ones.? It was good too! (BTW, that cookie is about 1' in diameter)

Also, last Friday, my church had a Harvest Night which was somewhat like a halloween party which meant we had to dress up.? Being broke, and wanted to go as something creative, I spent a large portion of my day on Friday making a Bible costume...? I still didn't have enough time to finish it, but I turned out ok.? The paint was still wet when I was wearing it at church...lol

Please forgive my overspray.... I was rushed near the end and made too many mistakes...

*** Oh yea... I GOT MY FIRST INTERVIEW EVER!? (Even though it is for a position at school...)? YAY!

Right Brain or Left?

Interesting...

When you first look at the spinning girl do you see her spinnign clockwise or counter?? I can see?her going both ways...and switch the way?she spins whenever I want.? Click on the picture to determine if you your right side of the brain more or the left.

Before and After

A long overdue before and after shot for those who cannot come to our house to see...

BEFORE

?

AFTER

Summer's Over! =(

Well, I'm packing up once again and leaving back to LA today....

I can't believe how incredibly fast this summer went by.? It is probably because I was practically working everyday since I came back to SJ.? It only seems like yesterday that I was packing kitchen things in boxes to be stored for about two and a half months.

For those of you who have been following our kitchen remodeling, I have to say, Greg and I (and the rest of the family too) put a TON of work into it, literally sacrificing pretty much everything else to get this kitchen done.? Yet, we were unable to finish everything we wanted to do (mainly the backsplash tiles and some finishing work for the cabinets).? Even though the kitchen is still yet to be completed, it is fully functional AND still looks incredibly beautiful!? I still?can't believe we were the ones who created it.? If you saw how our old kitchen looked (you can look at the gallery), our newly remodeled kitchen is?a THOUSAND times better, and A LOT more space than before.

I do have pictures, but I am?NOT going to post any recent ones just yet.? I will save that pleasure for those of you who wish to see the kitchen in person.? But, if you absolutely must see how it turned out, contact me... =)

Alright, I still have lots of packing to do...

?

Updated Kitchen Pics!

Updated Kitchen pictures on the gallery.

http://gallery.jsnag.net/v/homeimprovement/kitchen2007/

Also, click the "Kitchen!" link above to view a log of each day.

Thank You ALL!

Thanks to all who called, left voicemail, left messages on myspace/facebook, texted, e-mailed, IMed, e-card, and hung out with me today...er yesterday... for my birthday!

The End of an Era!

Yup... the end of Greg's long hair has finally come to an end... I think the heat got to him....? It is still not as short as mine, but it is MUCH MUCH shorter than he usually cuts it.? Sorry,?you can't really see his shaved head?anyways.? So without further ado:

BTW:? We don't look like this, we are just extremely tired from all the kitchen work.? Greg's starting to to get crossed eyed because he is focusing on hitting nails too hard, while I'm still astonised that greg let me shave his head .

Anyways, so much has happened!?

After?dropping off my mom and sister at the departure drop off lane at SJO Airport, our van just decided it didn't want to start.? Fine, we fought back by calling in the courtesy service car to jump our van, but for some reason the van just didn't want to start.? After about 30 minutes of the guy trying to figure out why, the Airport Traffic attendant kindly asked us to get our van towed ASAP, or else the police will impound it...? So we rushed to get a tow truck out and tow our truck back to our house.? (The attendent was actually super nice about it...man a?car that won't start at the airport is just about the worst place for your car to break down...)? Anyways, the tow truck came and pulled it on teh bed.? The tow truck only had one seat for a passenger, yet there were three of us: me , my dad, and my bro.? So we all had to squish in there for about a 30 minute ride.? When we got to our house, my butt and legs were so sleepy, i fell down to the ground as I was getting out.? The tow truck driver was actually pretty nice.? I felt bad for him because he was suppose to go home, but his company made him tow our car and off-set his schedule by an hour to an hour and a half.? We gave him some extra tip in the end though.? That was a little fiasco on Tuesday...

Watched Transformers!!!? IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!? I won't ruin it, but GO WATCH IT NOW!? I'm not really a hardcore fan, but saw it opening day, and what was really weird is Greg and I were the first one's in the waiting line for our showing since we were like an 1 hour early.? We were expecting a much longer line...? Oh well, we got good seats. =)

Also saw Fantastic 4, nothing compared to Transformers, but worth mentioning. haha

Alright...I'm done for today.

Tired + Kitchen Update

Sorry that I've been behind on updating the pictures on the gallery.? I'm just so dead tired each day after?we finish working.? Sometimes, we don't even quit until 9pm...? Right now we are in the process?completing the gas line?to where the new range will be, adding the new wood frames for the raised ceiling and to-be-installed-skylights, and electrical/lighting.? Up next is redoing the plumbing and then putting?sheetrock everywhere.? Once all that is done, the majority of the hard jobs?will be complete.? Then it will start looking like our new kitchen!? MUHAHAHAHAHAH!!! (*INSERT DIABOLICAL LAUGH***)? Ok...? that's just the tiredness talking... night.

Kitchen Update

Our kitchen remodeling has been put on hold for the past couple of days...and probably for another few days.? We will probably start full scale when my grandmother is in SF.

Friday - all I really did was sell the refrigarator.? After that my cousin came over to discuss apartment stuff with Greg?and I was preparing for worship based prayer for?Phileo that night.

Saturday -?Amy and I did A LOT of yard work.? I swear, our backyard looked like a jungle...? It was due for some choppin...? I spent 3 hours removing ivy from a corner and?man that stuff grows like crazy if it isn't maintained...? Amy cut the grass and I pulled a lot of weeds.? I was sooo tired after that, but it was all good because we BBQ'd for dinner...mmmmm yummy!

Sunday - Church in the morning, went out to Chevy's for lunch with some church friends.? It was great reconnecting with some of my friends at CBCSJ ? Came home and helped my dad with a side project that he is doing for work.? Went out to Spencer's Steaks and Chops at the Hilton Double Tree Inn near the airport for Father's day dinner.? That was some good food!

Monday - Worked on the side project for my dad again.??We are building a custom machine for another company's use.? We want to finish it before we start the kitchen remodeling.

Other things that I've been doing:
Since I came back, I started recording all our HI-8 camcorder tapes to my computer.? I plan to do all of them plus all our DV tapes as well.? It brings back so many childhood memories! ?It's been a pain trying to record at the right settings.? I recorded over 20 hours worth of videos, only to find out that the audio quality really sucked and was really off.? I am re-recording everything, but at least now the video's are at the right settings.? Stay tuned for a really funny video of Greg when he was little.?

*** As promised...? Enjoy...*** (I got permission to post this to YouTube =)

Greg and I are scanning some old photo albums that our Grandma made a LONG time ago.? We are planning to put the pictures on her Photo iPod for her birthday?so she can look at some of her past memories whenever she wants.? Actually Greg's doing most of the work right now since I am writing this blog and recording video at the same time.

Going back to the kitchen, I have created a page where I will give a little bit more information what happened that day along with the gallery album that I set up.? You can check it out here, or click the Kitchen link at the top of the page.

Alright, that's all I have to update...so tired...night!

Kitchen Remodel

Wow, only the 2nd day since I have been back,?and I have already?done so much.? But?there is so much?more to do.? Our kitchen is going to look SWEEEEEEET when it is done...?

For those of you who would like to see the progress of our kitchen, I will be uploading pictures after each day so you can see what I've been up to.

http://gallery.jsnag.net/v/homeimprovement/kitchen2007/

?

Gallery

I am slowly adding to my JSNAG's gallery that I have had for a long time...? So far I have uploaded a bunch of CBCSJ and CGBC pictures (over 2,000).? If you are visiting my home page http://blog.nicktam.com You'll see random pictures on the right side bar.? If you are on xanga, you'll have to go directly to the gallery at http://gallery.jsnag.net.? I'll be adding lots more pictures soon.

=)

Scariest Dream!

I had the scariest dream last night...? It was so scary that I woke up with my heart beating super hard, all sweaty, and short of breath.? It felt soooooo real...

I can't even write it down... I don't want to remember it.

What's been happening with my life?

I realized I haven't really posted anything relating to?what's been going?on in my?life for a while now, for those of you who like get updates this way.

I've been super busy since the beginning of the year, since I was working, school (with a programming class), still involved?with the Youth?Ministry,?and I then took on the task of organizing and planning an english retreat for my church that I just came back from over Memorial Day Weekend.

I eventually had to quit work.??Although I was gaining great experience, and income to pay for school and the raising gas prices, it was affecting my school work, and more importantly my spiritual life.? I've been?focusing more time and energy with the Youth and the retreat planning in the past quarter and I have definitely seen God at work.

I guess I'll share how the retreat went:
I planned the retreat along with my cousin Kimmie, and friend Lisa (all college students), as well as God (Could not have done it without his helping hand...), and I would have to say the retreat went great!? Everything came together so well, that I could just see God's hand in it.

38 people went to Deersprings retreat site from Saturday, 26th - Monday, 28th.? The site had 3 different fully furnished cabins that could hold up to about 80 people comfortably, plus a?meeting room.??.? The view was absolutely amazing, and I couldn't have asked God for better weather.

(View from the retreat)

We booked Daryl Watts to speak at the retreat, unfortunately he couldn't stay?for the whole thing.? He spoke for three different messages: Increase Prayer, Be Like Christ, and Trusting In God.? If you want to listen to the sermons, you can visit the church page here.? You can also view more pictures of the retreat here.? Tony Jordan, a good friend of mine?spoke for the last message on evangelism, and reminded all of us that the harvest is plentiful, yet the workers are few.? Don't get caught up in your everyday lives and remember our mission here on earth.

The neat thing about this retreat is that we didn't plan it to be very activity based, but more of a place for our congregation to connect with each other by sharing and small groups.? I think they went well and everyone had something to share.? We still?had lots of fun like volleyball, group games, feeding the mini donkeys, llamas, and emus, as well as running away from them , arts and crafts, hackey sack, and just jamming with instruments that we brought up.

Well, that's all I can really update on.? If you want more details ask anyone who went, I'm sure they'll have lots of stories to tell you.? I pray that everyone who went has been impacted by this retreat, and their lives would reflect that impact.

I'll leave you with our group photo:


Also, I'll be going back home?this summer!? We are starting ANOTHER home project... We are going to remodel the kitchen, which will be well worth it.? See you NorCal-ers soon!

SHINE English Retreat

?Anyone is invited!? Please let me know ASAP if you want to come!

• Promotional Video
  


• Retreat Registration form

Peace with God

Contemporary Service 1/21

Today, er, yesterday, we had our Contemporary Service at Chinese Grace Baptist.? It was awesomeeeee.? I had a good time playing the electric, and I hope that our music enabled everyone in the congregation to worship Him.? The last song I was jumping up and down and I didn't even care what chords I was playing...

Anyways, if you missed the worship part of the service, or just want to check out some of the worship songs we did, here are the videos.

For Who You Are
Joy
How Great Is Our God
To The Ends of the Earth
In The Secret
Unchanging
Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?

shoot...? I wrote down about?3/4 my super long post and I accidently refreshed my page, and it cleared everything!? Man...sorry, I don't feel like writing it all again, so I'll give aquick list of what I wrote:

• Finished school.? It was a tough quarter


• Work, cleanup, mowing lawn, etc.


• Amy graduated. CONGRATS!


• Lots of parties


• Lots of parties


• Lots of parties


• Snowboarding in Reno


• Worship Team Diner


• Family Dinners


• Christmas was awesome!


• Lots of driving, good times to just think.? Took me 8 hours to drive back down to LA the day after Christmas.


• Lots of last minute planing, packing, for Tsunami and snowboarding.

Ok, I'll start back at Tsunami.? Since CGBC was hosting some youths and adults form CBCSJ, I was asked to act as a laison between both youth groups.? I simply loved doing that.? I got to coordinate a lot of things with Dean, and Abel, and I think that both youth groups connected really well throughout the whole conference.? At first, it is always a bit awkward bringing two groups together, but once they get to talking and interacting, it's awesome.? And another plus was I got to attend the Tsunami conference, as an adult this time.? I missed it all these years, and it was just as last time I went, which was like 4 years ago I think.? The speaker was Francis Chan, and he is an awesome speaker.? Anyways, there's so much more that happned in the conference, but you'll have to ask me about it.

After Tsunami, I went snowboarding with some peeps.? I was kinda tired and beat from the conference, but when I was up in the mountian I was fine.? I taught some people how to?snowboard, well, mainly how to stop.? After that I got a couple of good runs on the rest of the mountain.

Sunday was New Years Eve, and I didn't even stay up.? I probably slept around 9:45pm because I was just so beat after the past few weeks.

On a different?note, I recently started Myspace and facebook, mainly to stay connected with family and friends, so add me!
http://www.myspace.com/nktm85

I haven't had much time to play around with both, so it will take some time before it I can add some good content

Well, I start school tomorrow...?My first class is at 8 in the morning, so I'll be hitting the sack soon.? Ask me for more details!? Maybe pictures to come...