Catching up with blogging

Wow. It's been 10 days or so since I last blogged. Lots have happened.

Li Soon passed her driving test on the second try on Tuesday. It was really a miracle, as she said she made a number of mistakes, but the tester was really understanding and nice. So now she can finally drive on her own. However, don't know when she will actually drive by herself as she is not confident of knowing directions and she doesn't really read maps. So will have to slowly teach her how to get to the important places like supermarket, shopping centre, her exercise class etc. May have to consider getting a GPS unit as getting lost in some neighborhoods can be dangerous, especially at night.

On Friday, we did the second of a series of seminars on issues in the family. The first 2 seminars were about parenting pre-teens. It was the ending of a month of preparation and execution. We are quite pleased with the result, although there are still things to be improved. The content will be on the web and available on DVD soon.

I am finding the work here very interesting as it is very varied and challenges me in many different areas. Many of these things I wouldn't really do in Singapore as we will normally call in contractors to do it. However, in the US, contractors are very expensive, so we try to do as much as possible ourselves.

1. Carpentry - we had to adapt the old studio set into a new configuration to accomodate the new seminar format with a live audience of almost 30. Previously, the set occupied most of the space in the studio. We had to move the set to a corner and reduce the platform to a smaller size. So he had to unscrew the platform and reconfigure it.
2. Painting - After reconfiguring the set, we had to re-paint the portion of the back wall which was too dark before. So we had to do interior design, choosing the color of the paint and actually painting the wall ourselves. We also had to color match and choose a curtain for the window on the set. The previous set had everything in brown, which looked too boring and old. Finally choose a royal blue curtain which looked quite nice.
3. Pulling cable - We had to put in a number of new audio, video, VGA and network cables to set up the studio for the new setup. Had to pull the wires through conduits, and then terminate (put in the connectors) and connect up everything in the correct way. After that, testing and making sure that everything works.
4. Computer configuration - Had to change out a VGA card in the studio computer so that we can drive a monitor and a scan converter to convert the VGA signal to a video signal.
5. Lighting design - redesigned the studio lighting, making use of 12 100W Videssence studio fluorescents to minimize heat due to the number of people that will be in the studio. Unfortunately, there is no air-conditioning in the studio, so when the lights are on and there are a larger number of people, the temperature rises. Used scoops and fresnels for the main stage area with key-fill-back lighting setup.
6. Sound engineer and tape operator - Operated the sound mixer during the actual recording. Also made sure that the Video tape recorders were recording properly. Recorded on DVCAM, BetaSP and direct to the MAC on Final Cut Pro.
7. Technical director - Set up the cameras and camera electronics and making sure that the recording levels were correct. Also in calibrating the video and audio levels.
8. Trainer - Been doing training of the mass media and tech crew on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. This is going to be an investment in the future and bringing in the next generation.
9. Air-con design - I've also specified a split heat pump system for the studio which the financial controller just approved. Will need to order and then fix it up ourselves in the next few weeks. It will be good once it's up so that the studio will be cool.

I've lost about 3-4 kgs since I arrived. The schedule has been quite busy, with lots of physical work, moving and carrying equipment etc. Also, the laundry room is 5 stories down and we need to do about 4 bags of laundry twice a week, so have been lugging them down and up 3 times per load.

Overall, we're quite settled and happy here. Thanks for praying. Continue to pray for strength and guidance from God and to multiply the ministry to reach out to many people.

Last night, we had a chance to go to Wing Kong and Do Hui's place for dinner again to mark the end of CNY. Steve and Linda, their friends, were also there. Had a good time. Matthew also had a good time playing with their kids Benjamin and Andrew. Watched the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade on TV. Quite simple, nothing like Singapore's Ching Gay, but at least something to commemorate.

Tomorrow's a start of another new week. Got to get the summer school curriculum up and a plan for the training school too.