12/24/13 Do you Believe In Angels? Part I Angel In LA

Do you believe in angels?  I do!

As Christmas is just one day away, most of us know a message that Christmas represents--a message that God came down from heaven to be with us, as we call Him Immanuel.  A message that was delivered by heavenly beings called Angels.  First, it was a special Angel, Communication Director Angel, Gabriel, that delivered a special message to Mary about her role as the mother of the Son of God.  There was also a group of Angels that delivered a message in songs to the lowly shepherds that the Christ had been born in the little town of Bethlehem.  There were many stories of encounters between angels and men as well as women in pre-Christ Old Testament.  I love stories of these angels including the story of the Angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ having a wrestling match with Jacob or Israel.

So there were stories of angels in the olden days of Bible; what about modern days?  Does God care enough to send angels to people?  Do I believe in angels in these modern days?  The answer is an emphatic “Yes”!  I will talk about some of the stories of special people that could be angels in various times during my life.  I will have three part stories about angels and I; let’s start with Part I: Angels In LA!

This part of the Angels stories was an updated version of the one I posted in Facebook more than a year ago.  Enjoy and be touched by the angels too!

Sometimes angels came in the form of human strangers and friends; they are sent by God to rescue you or offer you comfort in time of distress, loneliness, and fear like the stories we read in the Bible such as Jacob’s and his dream of Angels ascending and descending on the ladder from heaven to earth while he was on a lonely journey.

In 2011, a friend, Jeremy Koff of Koffeehouse, a famous LA producer of events to promote new named musical talents, invited me to a private fundraiser event for Fender Music Foundation.  The place is called Hummingbird Nest Ranch, which is outside of but not too far from LA city.  Being directional challenged, I had slight problem because according to the invite, the place was in Santa Susana, but my GPS only had it as Simi Valley.  Since I had no choice at the time when I was already in the car and no time for Map Quest, I just had to trust my lady in the GPS and selected Simi Valley.

 http://www.hummingbirdnestranch.com/

The place was very nice as you can see from the picture in the link that I am posting.  When I went there, it was still daytime and the weather was quite nice and sunny.  There were refreshments, appetizers, fruits, and good companies of people who supported the cause.  There was of course music because the event was to raise funds for music education to students in underprivileged areas where music budget in school was extremely limited.  I enjoyed the event and pledged to partially adopt one of the schools in LA (Jeremy was able to raise over $25,000 for this event.)

Then the evening came and the sky outside the window was dark; since I came by myself, I thought it would be wise to leave before the event was over, and because I promised an artist friend, Ashley Cuellar to go and support her that night at her “Cabaret Idol” competition in Hollywood (she won, by the way).  So after I stopped by the powder room, I walked outside, but the place outside was not lighted brightly with spotlight that night the way it looks now in the picture.  I parked on a slope with a line of cars between there and the building, and since it was a ranch like surrounding on rolling hills and mountain, the area was very dark.

Being directionally challenged, I was a little concerned that I would get lost in the dark, so I asked for direction to the parking from the only gentleman that came out of the building at that time.  I couldn’t even see his face, and it started to sprinkle.  He said he parked in the direction I said I parked as well, and he would accompany me there.  He offered his arm for me like an escort the way they do in wedding when the usher offers the arms to a lady guest, or in old movies; you know what I mean?  I held the arm he offered as we walked down the steps of the Spanish style building.  I felt like a familiar person was being my company, and I felt safe.

It was pitch dark and as we started walking down the slope, the rain started to pour!  I was not prepared for the rain as I was wearing summer high-heeled slippers for the party.  He asked me what type of car, and I told him as we walked briskly.  I got to my car first, so I quickly thanked him for his company and escort.  All this time, I didn’t see or recognized his face, the way the disciples were walking and unknowly meeting with Jesus on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection (Luke 24:13; Mark 16:12).

After I got in the car, I drove off, but directionally challenged as I was (and still am most of the time), I went the wrong way, went down a pitch-dark road along the mountain, and I saw a house, which is probably a living quarter for the caretakers of Hummingbird Nest Ranch.  I asked for the direction of the exit, and he said I had to drive back the opposite way.  Then there was a car that probably was following me to this wrong way, so the car backed out as I did, and led me to the right path in a little winding road down the hills and out of the ranch compound.  The car went different way and disappeared in the dark.  I made it to Ashley’s “Cabaret Idol” competition that night, and arrived home safely after.  Guess what Ashley sang in her first competition-it was one of my favorites, Sarah McLachlan's “Arms of the Angel”.  See Ashley’s performance in this Youtube video link.  You may also like her fan page on Facebook following the link here: https://www.facebook.com/fansofashley

Ashley Cuellar's rendition of Sarah McLachlan's Arms of the Angel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1IQ3YRet9Y

Another time that I encountered human angels was when my church friend invited me to attend a concert at Forest Lawn Memorial auditorium, Hollywood Hills.  It was a fundraiser concert for Glendale Adventist Academy music department.  After the excitement for the amazing presentation by the students and the music teachers, I had to leave and walk down the hill from the Hall of Liberty, where the event took place.  Without the help of a couple, who drove me to my parking place at the end of a very dark road, it would be possible that I would be roaming the Forest Lawn cemetery looking for my car all night.  Again, strangers became my angels to the rescue, and I just want to write about the sighting, to celebrate them and God’s amazing love towards me!!

My next post will be about my experience with angels in Japan, probably in a few days.

End Note:

1) Jeremy Koff’s Koffeehouse production website is http://koffeehouse.com/.  The site is now open for applications from musicians that wish to perform at Koffeehouse Chateau, the largest evening of independent music at Sundance Film festival on Sunday, January 19, 2014.  It was voted “Top 10 Parties of Sundance” 2011 by Film.com.

2) Also note that the lighting at Hummingbird Ranch was sufficient in my subsequent visits at the Ranch.

12/20/13 My Favorite Things

I like to watch movies during Christmas month of December.  Apart from the usual movies such as “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Miracle on 34^th Street”, “While You’re Sleeping”, one of my most favorite movies for the holidays viewing is  “the Sound of Music”.  I had “the Sounds of Music” in both tape and DVD, but due to their popularity, both changed hands and gave to one of my family members, and I can’t recall who.  So I was glad when there was a remake of the musical on TV, starred Carrie Underwood.  Although most of my friends had harsh critiques on her performance as Maria, I was just happy to hear the music again, and did not compare the production with the original “Sound of Music”, the movie, which won Academy Award, and starred Julie Andrew.  The movie just brings more good memories from my high school year as an Exchange student in the US.

After the initial time of adjustments to culture shock in America, I was introduced to a musical production based on my favorite movie, the Sound of Music!!  Kenwood High School, where I attended for one year staged a musical production, with members of the school choir, the Thespians Club, and the school band participating.  My American host sister was one of the stage lighting crewmembers, and her boy friend at the time played Ralph, the seventeen year-old boyfriend of Liesl, the oldest girl of Captain Von Trapp.  I was cast as a nun singing with the chorus the Morning Hymn and Alleluiah, and the wedding march chorus.  Just for fun, I was almost assigned a role of the nun that sang “A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown”!!   Since I had not perfected my regular English speaking just yet, I had to decline the fun challenge, and stick to the regular beautiful chorus songs like Morning Hymn, and Alleluiah!  I sang first soprano then, but would not attempt that nowadays, since my voice now is several keys lower.  “Climb Every Mountain” may suit me better now. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3oxDzO2Isw&feature=kp

It was an exciting and fun experience that I have treasured.  These are the words I wrote in the Year Book in which I was given a page of the AFS Exchange Program section: “..The picture of the cast and the stage crew, some yelling, some crying with delight in the success of the play is still staying in my mind and it is so clear that I think it is the event of yesterday.”

When I watched the remake of the Sound of Music, starred Carrie Underwood, it brought back the delightful memories of the good time.  Memories are strange things, at the same time as good memories came; another kind of scene from my memories came back to me--a visit to Austria, beautiful place, which was the backdrop of story of Maria, Captain Von Trapp, and family.  In the year I went to Europe to attend a post-graduate diploma program, we had a chance to travel on the Euro train to several countries after the study and before I came back to work in Thailand.  One of the countries that we visited was Austria, where we visited beautiful Schoenbrunn Palace, where Mozart used to perform for the royalties and honorable guests in 1772.  The trip was supposed to be a happy trip, when my then husband re-united with me after 6 months apart while I studied abroad, and he was back at home.  Receiving some hurtful words and bad news in the course of the conversations during the European trip, I knew that life storms were brewing beneath the calm and beautiful palace and the hills of the Sound of Music…

http://www.vienna.info/en/sightseeing/sights/imperial/schoenbrunn-palace?gclid=CJCsk6uZvrsCFeZ7Qgod3k4Aew

With good and bad memories that emerged once again from this show, I chose to stay with the good and beautiful memories, and like the song, I simply remember My Favorite Things, and then I don’t feel so bad!

Enjoy your holidays every one!!

Long Live the King!

The Artist King's Birthday

This week is the week that Thai people celebrate the King’s Birthday.   Most of my American friends might not know that His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born in Massachusetts on December 5, 1927.   His Royal Father was Prince Songkla, and was a medical student there.  Prince Songkla, the King’s Father was a younger son of King Rama V or King Piya the Great, who abolished slavery in Thailand over a hundred years ago.  The King’s Mother was a commoner, who took care of her three Royal children so well after the untimely death of her Royal husband.

The King with Princess Mother:

The Young Royal siblings, King Rama VIII, and his Royal sister, Princess Kalayaniwatana:

He was very active in finding ways to do things better, such as agriculture, engineering, and other projects that bettered the lives of Thai people.  I can remember a few of his projects, such as the Artificial Rain Project that helped provide water in the drought regions of Thailand, engineering endeavors that helped divert water from flooded area in and around Bangkok.  He had quite a few experimental pilot farming projects within the gate of his estate surrounding the Royal Palace right in the City of Bangkok!

For more of His Majesty information, follow this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhumibol_Adulyadej

 His Majesty became King in 1946, and has since tirelessly worked and visited Thai people all over the country.  In recent years, he has been in ill health, but has not stopped to provide guidance with his love for the Thai people.  Another thing that connect me most with His Majesty was that he used to be an avid jazz musician.

When I was in the Pre-university School in Bangkok, there were occasions that he came and joined with Chulalongkorn University Students band.  His sense of humor and showmanship lifted up the spirits of students then.  I felt privileged to be an alumnus of Chulalongkorn University even though my time there at the Liberal Arts Faculty was only four days.  My late husband, who was the bandleader for Thammasat University had the honor of playing with His Majesty at the University and occasionally at the Palace Radio Station and with the Royal band.

During my junior high school days, there was so much time in the afternoon for the morning group of students in the all-girls school.  One of my activities was Thai Classical music.  I learned Saw U with the Master of Thai Classical music, whose name was Phraya Phumi Sevin, who was the Chief Musician of King Rama VI.  Here is my picture when I still remembered how to play Saw U.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_u

Any way, the perk for students who endured the strict Master was to play at the Royal Radio Station at Dusit Palace!!  When there were occasions like the Prince or Princess’ birthday, the teacher would compose Thai Classical songs to wish them Happy Birthday.  Sometime, we got to see the Prince came out to play on the other side of the gate at his residential Palace.  Another perk was after the performance that was broadcast on radio, we got to eat a simple but delicious meal.  My favorite was the huge yellow banana that came with the dessert!  That was one of my childhood amazement: to eat a banana from the Palace!!

While I was playing there at the radio station, little did I know that my future love of my life was there in the next room, and fate would bring us together one day, I was just a little kid then.…

Did I mention that the King was an avid jazz musician and songwriter?  Here is one of my favorites from his song collection that I used to sing a lot---H.M. Blue

            We’ got the Hungry Men’s Blues.

            You’ll be hungry too, if you’re in this band.

            Don’t you think that our music is grand?

            We’ve got the Hungry Men’s Blues.

            You’ve eaten now all of you.

            We’d like to eat with you too,

            That’s why we’ve got the H.M. Blue.

Although the relic was composed by Prince Chakrapan, it was His Majesty’s idea during the JAM session while he was in Swizerland.   The name H.M. Blues was thought first as His Majesty Blues, but actually it is “Hungry Man” Blues.  The story was that as a musician, he played long and hard the music in the band for the entertainment of his palace staff.  While all the royal court’s servants were enjoying eating and music, the jazz musicians were hungry, and thus came the song “Hungry Man Blues” (Credit story to The Royal Music Book from which the music for H.M. Blues as shown below is taken).

Also, each year, to celebrate His Majesty birthday, I will show off the medals I received during the time of being Civil Servant at Thammasat University.  There are the Crown medal and the White Elephant medal.  I think the White Elephant medal, which was received later has higher honor. 

  I would like to take this opportunity to pay respect to the King and wish him Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!!! 

Me and Thai Costume for this auspicious occasion!

12/1/13 Know Where You Came From

“Know where you came from, examine how your Creator has guided you, then where you’re going will be a delightful destination with plenty of joyful experiences on the way.” ~Me

At first, I was not going to blog today, but since I still have one more day before the Thanksgiving holiday is over, and since today is December 1^st starting of birthday month of a few people that are significant in my life journey, I still have time to tell a couple of stories.

Today is my baby brother’s birthday.  Well, he’s no longer baby, both he and his wife have been my very good friends and support after my husband’s death.  I still remember him as a younger brother that shared many of fun adventures during our days at church youth group in Bangkok led by a Chinese missionary couple from Malaysia.

Was it a co-incidence that three of us siblings were born in the month of December?  Actually it is not a co-incidence but a convenient way that my mother used when she registered with the Thai official to get birth certificates that she needed to get license for teaching Chinese language.  She did not remember the exact dates of her kids’ birthday like many Thai and Chinese parents, who often registered birth certificates long after the birth of their children.  In my mother’s case, she didn’t register her kids, and forgot the birth dates probably because of the war and many traumatic experiences during and after the war: first losing her husband during the World War, surviving in the war camp, and death of first daughter, and her own mother on the way back from the War camp to Thailand.  So my brother, being the only boy got December 1^st as birthday, my eldest sister’s December 15, and mine toward the New Year.  My second elder sister was lucky since she was born seven days after the Chinese New Year during the season when Chinese ate the left over from the feast, and made seven vegetables stew.  But since Chinese New Year is lunar New Year, which has no set date, so I guessed my Mother settled for April 13, which is “Songkran”, Thai New Year.

In yesterday's blog, I shared my adventure as a little girl in the small town of Minburi, where my baby brother was born, so the story now continues about the time of my brother’s birth pretending that it was December 1^st.  My Mother’s water broke and was having birth pain, so she asked my eldest sister, who was eight or nine at the time to go get the village midwife.  Where was my father?  It was not mentioned when the story was told, so I assumed he was taking care of his other family when he concurrently had children of the same ages as us.  It was late in the night, my sister had to run in the dark across paddy field, with chorus of frogs and crickets welcoming the birth.  My sister probably stepped on some other creatures like snakes or snails on the way, but she was brave because Mama didn’t have any one, and she was in pain.  She was able to wake the mid-wife up to come to deliver the baby at our house beside the water.

This is what remains of the birth house, when my elder sister and husband went to visit Minburi last year:

To these days, my brother is forever grateful for my eldest sister that helped my Mother to bring him into this world.  He is now a doctor living back east.  Here’s his picture with me, who was like his twin when we were little.  This picture was taken when I was about seven at Lumpini Park in Bangkok.  See, I still remember about the photo shoot J.

Happy Birthday December babies!!!