Fairy tale love is a concept that’s been around for a long, long time now.

But that’s all they are–fairy tales.

Love doesn’t come in the form of a knight in shining armor or a prince charming that wakes his sleepy beauty from her slumber with a kiss.

It can seem that way at first, but when it gets down to the nitty gritty, it takes work.

I know people who are so consumed by the idea of fairy tale love that they continually commit themselves to shallow, destructive relationships.  Then they wonder why they can never seem to settle into a good, lasting relationship.

It’s funny–I can’t watch chick flicks (i.e. romantic comedies) because I tend to get jealous of the happy outcomes.

Irony?

Medical assistant Augustine Hernandez, right, checks a newborn Tuesday at an Aurora, Colo., provider that treats many low-income patients.

When I saw this photo and the caption underneath it, I thought, “Man, it’s so cool that a dude like him can help people like that.”

Then I thought, “Ya know, I bet he’s been through some hard times himself.”

That may not be true.  Perhaps I’m just stereotyping this guy because he’s Hispanic, bald, and has pierced ears.  But most people who grow up in affluent homes in the suburbs don’t decide that they want to go to work for a medical provider who provides for low-income patients.  Jobs like that aren’t exactly super cushy.

That’s the beauty of going through hardships in life, I think, though.  They make people more compassionate.  The world needs more compassionate people.

[ image by Getty Images via the Wall Street Journal ]

When I was nine years old, my mom went with this old man to translate for him at a diagnostic imaging appointment.  For some reason, she had to bring me with her.

He couldn’t see very well.  His son had to fill out all the paperwork for him.  When it came time for the old man to sign, someone would have to point his finger to the signature line.

I remember asking my mom, “If he can’t see, why does he wear glasses?”

My mom laughed.  ”Vy asked why you wear glasses if you can’t see.”

For a moment, I was horrified.  It seemed awfully insensitive to say that out loud.

The old guy laughed, too.  ”I think they make me look more handsome.  Don’t you?”

[ image by Andrew Huff ]

I have had a total of three jobs, each one being less fancy then the one before.

My first job was working the front desk at the doctor’s office.  Held that one down for about four years.

The second job was working the front counter at a LAN center at a mall here in Charlotte.  It was pretty chill, but I only stuck around for a month and a half.

Now I’m bussing tables at a Chinese restaurant here in Rock Hill.  I’ve gotta say, it’s not that bad.  In fact, I kinda like it.  My coworkers are pretty fabulous and I don’t have to interact with customers more than I really want to.  Sure, the job has its…quirks, but that was to be expected.

This job has been a lesson in patience, humility, and simply enjoying what God’s provided me with.  It also feels like I’m properly paying my dues for once.  It’s kinda nice.

[ image by laverrue ]

Wrestling with salvation has been a weird thing for me, but it is what it is.

It’s been this constant feeling of peace and unrest.

There’s peace in the fact that I’ve been saved from the world and myself.  And once I’m dead and gone, I’m not really dead and gone–I’ve just gone home.

There’s unrest in that the future is often uncertain–never knowing what life’s gonna throw my way.  The decisions I’m going to have to face in the future are going to be very real.  There’s no doubt about that.

Sorry for the recent string of less-than-light-hearted posts.  It’s been a period of real introspection for me.  It was partly inspired by the music I’ve been listening to as of late, the people I’ve met, and the events that life has throw my way.  It was completely inspired by the Lord Jesus Christ.

[ image by Wouter Brandsma ]

God speaks to you in weird ways.  Tonight, it was through a game of Settlers of Catan with my RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) folks.

Settlers is like a cross between Monopoly and Starcraft/Warcraft in that it’s a race to see who can garner the most capital in the shortest amount of time, thus making it a very capitalistic game (duh, Vy).

One of the things about capitalism that’s always made me really sad is that people work to gain more at the expense of others.  You’re either trying to run down the competition or cutting corners by having your goods manufactured in sweat shops.  I don’t know how many times I’ve read about potential copyright infringement suits between companies (Apple, Palm, etc.) on sites like Gizmodo or Engadget.

In a capitalistic society, most everyone’s looking out for “number one.”  But when you’re in the mindset where you’re always wanting to take in more than you give, how much is enough?

I recently purchased a documentary called Planet B-boy.  It follows b-boy (that is, breakdancing) crews from around the world as they talk about how breakdancing has impacted their lives and what it would mean to them to win Battle of the Year, the biggest international breakdancing competition in the world.

During one segment, a member of the American team talked about how they needed to bring the b-boy glory back to the States, the birth place of breakdancing.  “The other countries took it and ran with it, but we need to bring it back home.”  They placed sixth in the competition.  FAIL.

In all seriousness, though, I often get a bit too territorial with my intellectual property.  I might have a good idea, but I’m not always the best person to execute it.  Sometimes, you gotta let someone else run off with your brain child because you know they can do it better.

Below is a video of the Japanese team, Ichegeki, whose show wiped the floor with the American team’s.

I’m a part of the first generation of Americans in my family.  My dad always tries to emphasize to me to importance of staying in touch with my Vietnamese heritage.

Which is cool.

I guess.

I mean, having something that makes you distinctly different from most other people is something worth holding on to, I suppose.

But at what point do you go from just “keeping in touch with your roots” to “being mired in the past”?

I’m trying to make a point of carousing more news sites like The Charlotte Observer and BusinessWeek.  Of course, I skip all the boring stuff about the housing market and finance and read articles like the one that was published about Jon & Kate.

“I have a lot of anger,” she summed up, “because this is not where we were supposed to be, this is not what I envisioned for us.”

Funny how things don’t always turn out the way we want them to, even if we have the best of intentions.

Here’s my problem with books on leadership or “how to run a successful business venture”:  They outline methods that have already been done.  They worked, but they’ve been done.

What’s already “tried and true” isn’t good enough anymore.

Break the mold.  Do something radically different.

It might just be crazy enough to work.

Just don’t go and publish a book about it afterwards.