Author Archives: kreptonic

Iron Mountain

 

Iron Mountain
Hiking…it is possibly the most boring physical activity in the world. There are two semi-redeeming qualities about hiking: the view at the end and the workout. Without one or the other and it’s a waste of time. You know that feeling you get of accomplishment when you finish a hike and you can’t wait to do it again sometime? yup…never feel that way.
On the other hand, some of my friends do seem to enjoy it immensely. Apologies to K.Nguyen, M.Lau, and A.Jang for whining the whole time. You guys are too good.
Iron Mountain

Epic Julian Pie Time

youtube’s latest sensation…it’s EPIC MEAL TIME. warning: nutritionist and health nuts stay away.

Epic Julian Pie Time
Do yourself a favor and avoid Julian on a 3-day holiday
Epic Julian Pie Time
 Best pies in the running: Mom’s vs Julian Pie Company.
Whatchu know about pies? Kreptonic presents “Epic Julian Pie Time” special. When we’re in the mood for pies, we don’t make our own. We go to the source, Julian, California…home to the world famous apple pie.

We don’t just go to any old apple pie place, if we’re here we go to the best. The gauntlet’s been thrown down. Last time, Julian Pie Co. rocked our world, but we’re looking for a little something more. The line outside Mom’s screams overhyped. We’ll see.

 
Now we’re not some collection of Canadian frat guys, and we certainly can’t eat 10K+ calories in one sitting, but we are a hodgepodge of pseudo gangbangers and ninjas. Take that.
 
Epic Julian Pie Time
M.Sandoval & R.Moy
They say it’s not as cold when it snows, well they’re stupid. Once you’re inside and in front of the ovens, you don’t want to leave. It’s one thing to simply enjoy pie, but it’s a whole ‘nother game when you want to just demolish it. The game face says it all.
 
Epic Julian Pie Time
S. Dai
Apple Crumb Pie. How many calories? I have no *squawk*-ing idea. No Stanley didn’t finish it by himself, we tag teamed that yummy goodness. Cooked fresh apples inside a crispy crust with cinnamon ice cream on the side. My belly’s about to burst and we got an hour ride home. 
Julian_5

Next time…we eat a boat.

CEC Family Retreat: Snow!

CEC Family Retreat: Snow!

I missed the wintery cold season having gone down under for xmas but this weekend made up for it. About 4-6 inches of snow on Saturday night meant the kids got to start Sunday morning with an all out snowball fight!

CEC Family Retreat: Snow!
photos (left) by Kye Cheung
 
CEC Family Retreat: Snow!
(left) Don Xayasone (right) P. Allen

CEC Family Retreat: Games

CEC Family Retreat: Games
photos courtesy of Kye Cheung (full album)
 Steven Chan and I battling it out: rock-paper-scissors style
 
Retreat isn’t without its fun. Our speaker challenged us that if we were truly family we’d make an attempt to learn every single name in our family.  Challenge accepted.
 
The game tonight would determine the ultimate rock-paper-scissors champion at CEC with a twist. Every time you defeated someone in battle they would then follow you around as you continued your conquest. The catch. At random points in the game a time out would be called. If you could not name every person trailing you, you became the tail of your own line and the 2nd person following you became the new head.
 
Well with ~250+ players from multiple congregations, it seemed chaotic at times but surprisingly everyone had a great time and learned a whole bunch of new names! I doubt anyone could have really named all the names but some were able to rattle off the 20-30 people they conquered with real ease. A fun ice-breaker.

CEC Family Retreat: Games
I tried stoking the competitive fire by challenging the cantonese to see which congregation could produce the champion. Ultimately, youth prevailed!
 
CEC Family Retreat: Games
The next game was human scavenger, finding people who had unique characterisitcs and talents. ie Who can do the splits, handstand, & backbend. Who has the most siblings, who has the longest last name (we had someone with 14 siblings!)?
 
CEC Family Retreat: Games
 Seems like the Cantonese congregation had fun pointing at Edison
CEC Family Retreat

CEC Family Retreat

CEC Family Retreat

Chris Changchien leading worship

Every year we have the pleasure of getting away from the hustle and bustle of life and enjoy God in nature. This year CEC’s family retreat was moved to Presidents holiday weekend instead of the usual Memorial holiday weekend. We returned to a familiar campsite, Pine Valley Center, where LIFE and the youth have had their fellowships for the last seven or so years.

This year’s theme came from 1 Cor 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!” A great look into the transformed life that God desires in His creation. 

CEC Family Retreat
P. Barry Gin, who bears an uncanny resemblance both in physical appearance and mannerism to Jeff Pih.
Often times, it is time spent with the church body that really gets me floored at how amazing life can be. The moments we get together and the things we share are even though we’re of different life stages and backgrounds bring hope in a sometimes depressing world. It’s in these times of sharing, silence, and prayer that I get a chance to refocus my mind on priorities that matter in life.

Ladies’ Lighthouse Mission Bowl – Team United

Full HD footage of semi-final vs Kairos and final game vs Southland will be released later this month so stay tuned!

You see…Team United came from humble beginnings and were underdogs at every turn. We as fans were typically outnumbered 3:1 by our opponent’s fan base but our cries rang louder and truer. Years ago, the tournament lasted 3-4 games because they couldn’t advance past the round robin stage. We’d lose our voice (still do) and spend the next day nursing sunburns and dehydration induced headaches (yup, still do).

As the seasons went by, I saw a team mature in every aspect. I stood witness as the team went from underdog to perennial contender. A United player used to play the QB position, went on missions, came back to play Center, and this year anchored the Right Guard O-line. Talk about the evolution of a team.

I’m aspiring to follow that career path, so far my coach hasn’t let me take a snap at center yet.

Much has been said about this team (recap and photos), and much more will continue to be said. They leave the field this year victorious.

Ladies' Lighthouse Mission Bowl - Team United