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I opened my inbox this morning and saw an e-mail entitled “Donations for Myanmar Victims.” Blah blah cyclone this, death toll that. I didn’t want to hear about or read another e-mail from the many non-profit e-mail lists I’m subscribed to.

But looking closer I realized it’s not from an organization, but from my friend Dana from college. We were both RAs and we both love social dance. So I read the email below and was moved to donate the meager amount I can afford in my soon to be college-studentesque budget.

Often the damage can be overwhelming, as my rockstar friend George points out. But the little things matter to those who receive the help, and they matter to God.

Over the last year and a half, I have been working with a non-profit organization, IDE (International Development Enterprises - http://www.ideorg.org/ ) on developing a deep lift water pump for villages in the dry areas of Myanmar. I have traveled to their Myanmar office twice and have had a chance to work with these amazing people. They have an incredible team of people working on development for the rural poor.

However, with Cyclone Nargis, the lack of food and shelter, and difficulty in getting aid through the Myanmar military government, IDE Myanmar finds themselves in a unique position to leverage their resources to help. They have operations in almost all of the hard hit areas and they have government permission to work in these areas.

I recently received an email from Jim and Debbie Taylor, the directors of IDE Myanmar and two very close friends: “The current situation in Yangon is quite grim. We have no electricity, water, or phones… the fuel supplies are running short and food may become scarce soon. There are many people who are in desperate conditions.” However, they are doing what they can to help.

I am writing to ask for donations (of any amount) to help them in their efforts. Donations designated for “Myanmar” will go directly to IDE Myanmar, from which they will be able to offer aid to needy families.

https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=3264

I know it may not seem like as one person we can do much on our own, but if you feel moved by this story and the photo below, I would encourage you to follow the link above and donate what you can.

Note: If you donate, be sure to specify the “Other” option and make the donation “On behalf of: Myanmar Relief”.

I know I haven’t left Microsoft until the end of today, but it’s never to soon to make a difference. It’s too easy for me to grow apathetic to these things but slowly I’m learning to care about more than just myself.

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My friend told me about a blog post mentioning this fact:

In their fascinating study “Would you be happier if you were richer?”, published in Science, Princeton professors Alan Krueger and Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize for his work in behavioral economics, found that perhaps the best indicator of happiness was frequency of eating with friends and family.

While the paper is pretty academic, it does raise some interesting questions for why we (of course I’m included) seem to always be striving for more money. But I think all we’re really looking for is love. Not the romantic kind necessarily, but the kind that true friends and family can give you.

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Usually I don’t think much about December 7th (except that it’s my friend Elaine’s birthday - happy birthday , btw!), but today I wanted to reflect a little bit on the 66th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to visit a couple friends in Hawaii and one of the places we went to was the USS Arizona Memorial which was built over the sunken battleship that serves as an eternal grave for 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors killed on the USS Arizona that day. It was a pretty moving experience to stand over the submerged wreckages and gaze down at the rusted hull housing all those soldiers’ bodies.

I’m not a huge history nerd (yet), but World War II has always fascinated, frustrated and challenged me. Perhaps because of its role in Filipino history like the Bataan Death March or maybe it was when I visited Hiroshima while studying abroad in Japan and witness the place where 70,000 Japanese died instanaeously. I won’t try to compare the two tragedies since I don’t beleive human life can me measured like that, but after being dramatically moved at Hiroshima, it was thought-provoking to see Pearl Harbor and the site that marked the United State’s entry into the war and let to the inevitable bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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I know it’s been awhile since my last post. I think I’ve resolved to make my posts more frequent but also shorter. I’m gonna try posting the all the photos on a separate page w/ captions, and just including a few in each post.

Anyway…. today I got a colonoscopy. Since Oliver had colon cancer, everyone in my family gets checked every 5 years or so. Good news - it was normal, so I definitely thank God for my health. The doctor even gave me a little printout with photos from inside my colon:

Pretty cool, huh? I had to censor out photo number 4, since, well, you know… just look at the diagram. The whole procedure wasn’t bad at all since I was heavily drugged and basically unconscious the whole time. I actually don’t remember changing back into my clothes from the hospital gown which is both scary and cool at the same time. I wasn’t allowed to drive after the procedure, and they even told me not to go to work - so I didn’t. I’m not one to break the doctor’s orders now.

The worst part was the day before when I had to drink basically a gallon of this gel-like liquid which was supposed to clean out your bowels. It came in fun flavors that were supposed to improve the taste, but I’m not 100% sure if they made it better or worse. And then I wasn’t allowed to eat anything for the whole day. It was only one day - and I could drink clear fluids like water and gatorade. Still, being around food and watching other people eat definitely was challenging. It really made me a lot more thankful for the fact that anytime I want to have to have something to eat, I can. And I can even eat good food now that I’ve escaped the mass produced dining hall food from college. It definitely let me reflect on other people in this country and around the world who can’t necessarily say the same.

More than that though, this whole experience really took me back to when Oliver was sick. From the simple act of wearing a thin, cold hospital gown in a very air-conditioned hospital to being wheeled around on a bed with an IV in my arm, electrodes on my chest, oxygen in my nose and a pulsemeter on my finger - it all reminded me of Oliver. I’ll admit - there were a few times when I almost lost it in the hospital. The nurse and doctor saw on my records that I had an older brother who had colon cancer at age 25. They asked me how he was, and I would simply reply that he passed away last year. I was barely in the hospital for 2 hours. I bet Oliver spent over 2000 hours in a hospital bed. I didn’t eat for one whole day. Once his digestive system couldn’t handle anything anymore, Oliver didn’t eat for a month.

It’s been over 13 months since his passing, and though I still have some low moments like I did today in the hospital, when I think about Oliver’s story overall, I still can’t help but smile. My experience today gave me a snapshot of what his life was like for almost 3 years. And yet he was able to persevere through it all. He stayed strong and had hope. And though he’s no longer with us today, his hope lives on. He had hope in Jesus, who who had giant “needles” pierce his hands and feet when he died for us. I think when Oliver was facing all those needles, wires and treatments, he thought of the cross and knew that the pain is only temporary. One day without food followed by a few hours in the hospital has helped to remind me of what truly is important in this life.

Thanks Oliver.

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted - and I have some catching up to do, but in the meantime I figured I might as well live in the moment. I’m currently sitting in a youth hostel in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, Japan. We flew in yesterday afternoon and had dinner with our students from last summer. That’s why I’m here - along with a few other Stanford students, I was a host for the American Language and Culture program, part of VIA (Volunteers in Asia). We hosted about 75 college students from Taiwan and Japan during the month of August. We were kind of like RAs, helping organize activities and trips for them, and helping them with their English homework. As part of that volunteer program, each host gets to go on a trip back to Japan and Taiwan the next summer, and the program will pay for part of the trip. So that brings me back to Japan - the first time I’ve been here since August 2005 after my internship.

So far, things have been a bit nostalgic. It’s cool to be here with Adam who was also here in 2005 when we worked in Tokyo. It is a bit different though, since I’m no longer a student, and also since we have tons of Japanese students here to help show us around. My Japanese is pretty bad though - but I guess that’s what happens after 2 years..

Anyway, here are some pictures from the plane ride and dinner last night. I’ll try to post a bit more frequently during this trip so my posts are super long..

Julie and Wei Wei on the plane.

I was sitting across the aisle from them. It was a long 10 hours…

We met the students at the giant lantern in Asakusa.

Taking the obligatory tourist shot.

And then proceeded to go eat okomiyaki (a kind of savory pancake omlette).

Adam eating with Manabu and Takayuki.

Okonomiyaki is basically one of my favorite Japanese foods.

I watch the master chef Saori mix the batter before she cooks it on the table.

A similar dish, called monzayaki - just a little bit more runny.

The guys got a little crazy with the sake - already.

Adam and I relive old memories of Pocari Sweat (kind of like gatorade) in the Konbini (convenience store)

We’ve got a pretty busy day planned today, so hopefully you’ll see some more interesting photos soon. See more photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/dcruzin/ALCJapanTrip.

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