Childhood Years: Birth - 1979
I was born on November 22, 1966 in Taipei, Taiwan. My father taught Arts and Bible at San-Yu Adventist College in Taiwan, where he met my mother. My father was called to work as Assistant Editor at Signs of The Times in Singapore. I was about 1 year old when my family (mom, dad, and I) moved to Singapore, and soon I found myself with a younger sister.
I received my primary education at the Seventh-Day Adventist School in Singapore; the school was located in the same "compound" where I lived, and played with my friends. Early on, I had been very interested in music and tinkering. I admired my dad's ability to fix just about anything, and loved the music my mother played on our family piano and tape recorder. I grew up listening to lots of "classical" music; one of my favorite recordings is a tape of opera arias sung in Chinese, which my soon-to-be-father had bought for my soon-to-be-mother as an engagement gift.
Mother made sure I had piano lessons before I turned 8. I often dreaded having to practice playing the piano for a full hour. I sometimes cheated by turning forward the timer so I could go out and play with friends. My dear sister took violin lessons, and as kids we made sure each other played fair or else, we would tell you know who... Fortunately, I have come around to appreciate the values of persistence and discipline I learned through my music lessons; more importantly, I would cherish the exposure to the beauty of music.
Some of the kids I grew up with showed me the value of true friendship. My first close friend Chong Kai-Meng and I built many motorized model tanks and cars. It was my wonderful friend Amelia Han who inspired me to develop piano improvisation skills, which eventually led the way for my interest in music composition. My parents gave us lots of toys and all kinds of activities that would stimulate interest in many areas.
My father, Lin Beh-Han, is a fairly well known artist in the pacific rim countries; he became vice-president of the National Arts Society in Singapore. His seascapes and traditional Chinese paintings were frequently sold to foreign customers before the formal opening of an exhibition. But he took time on weekends to take us to the harbor and have us draw pictures of ships arriving and leaving the ports of Singapore. I recall spending weekends throwing ball back and forth with dad, wondering when I would ever be able to throw one he couldn't catch.
In October of 1973, while I was practicing piano at home, and while my parents were cleaning the kitchen, my father slipped, fell, and struck his head on a large hinge. Father went into a comma for about a week, and the rupture of blood vessels in his head threatened to form blood clots that would paralyze him for life. Doctors gave little hope for recovery, and was preparing us to accept dad's terminal condition. Many church members prayed, and several ministers visited him and annointed his head with oil. In the event of death, my mother was ready to donate his organs, and I almost gave up hopes of seeing him alive. We were elated when he suddenly came out of comma. During the next few weeks, he would make little sense and complain about a splitting headache. The doctor authorized nurses to administer aspirin for the pain (this happened 20 years before people knew that aspirin could prevent blood clots), but gave no other treatment. Father did not receive surgery, partly because the neurosurgeons "just happened" to be unavailable when he was admitted to the hospital. On the 43rd day, dad awoke and wondered what he was doing in the hospital. We brought him home from the hospital on my birthday that year, and to this day has not had a single medical complication related to this event. This trying experience is one of the key events in our family that has helped us recognize God's working in our lives.
Teenage Years: 1979 - 1987
In 1979, two years after my father left work at Signs Of The Times Singapore, my family moved to the heart of South America. We arrived at La Paz, Bolivia with little preparation for what was to be a dramatic change in our lives. We spoke no Spanish, my parents were out of work, and we knew nothing about Bolivian culture. We were warmly received by the Seventh-Day Adventist church in Sopocachi, where we were called "hermanos and hermanas". Part of the culture shock we experienced was to hear younger children address my parents as "brother and sister"; contrary to oriental regard for age, family position and hierarchy, our Christian brethren treated everyone with equal regard. The warmth and sincerity of their Christian fellowship were evident in their care for our well-being and support in our lives. In about two months, my sister and I learned Spanish; besides being important for socializing with Bolivian people, the ability to communicate in Spanish would eventually shape my sister's career.
Here's a pencil sketch I made of my sister in 1984:
At age 13 I found myself playing organ for the church. Due to my position as organist, I was asked to lead a choir made up of Pastors in the Western Bolivian Conference. This short assignment taught me to quickly lose fear of dealing with people who were several times older than myself. I then led a choir of teenagers who liked to imitate the "Heritage Singers" and "Maranatha". We had a lot of fun touring every Seventh-Day Adventist church in La Paz. My sister supported my choir endeavors by leading out in the Soprano section. Our church choir became the hub of youth activity in the church, and it was wonderful to work with church members who believed in treating us as the future of the church.
I met some of the most wonderful people in Bolivia. Because this country is landlocked in the middle of the South American continent, I got to meet people from just about every South American country there is (and learned some distinctive accents used in these countries). Bolivians are warm-hearted folk who tend to lead humble and simple lives. I developed many friendships, and shared many adventures and growing pains with one of my best friends Sandro Clavijo and Airton Carlos Beltran.
From 1983 to 1986, I attended high-school in Instituto Adventista "Los Andes". The academic program at this school was rich and diverse. The courses we were required to take included four years of Literature, Physics, Philosophy, Psychology, Music, Chemistry, Geopolitics, and History. I was involved in several extra-curricular activities, including pianist and assistant conductor of the school choir, and editor of the senior class newspaper. The school choir entered several state and nationwide choir competitions, and we won every one of them hands down.
One of my most memorable experiences during high school, was a paper I wrote for my music class. The paper started from a class project that was to focus on 20th century popular music. By the time I wrote this paper I had several objections against popular music in general; so I developed a set of principles for appreciating music. The first edition of this paper came out to 73 pages, and the second revision resulted in 82 pages. As you can tell, I had a lot to say! (Not that I would say the same things today :-) My music teacher (who also conducted the school choir) was very supportive of my project, and eventually used the paper as teaching material for the senior class; I even got to design and grade the final exam! This writing assignment eventually prepared me for college, as it helped form habits for organizing my thoughts so I could express them clearly in written assignments.
It was about this time that I also started work on an opera project based on the biblical book of Esther. This ongoing project continues to be a source of creative outlet during weekends. Progress on this project is reported in my Project Esther pages.
My parents ran a Chinese restaurant, and I ran an electronics repair shop inside the restaurant. I really liked fixing radios and other home appliances, and had created a formidable clientele through word-of-mouth advertising. I didn't make much money out of this little electronics venture, but it sure paid for the experiments and the little electronics lab I was building. The skills acquired through this adventure served me well during college.
College Years: 1987 - 1991
My first experience living away from home was in coming to the United States for college. I attended Loma Linda University La Sierra Campus, which is now known as La Sierra University. I was fortunate to live in the home of Daniel and Shirley Lee, who took me into their family and treated me as their son. My parents earned Bolivian pesos, and worked hard to pay off my college tuition in American dollars. After a lot of soul-searching, I decided to double-major in Computer Science and Music, because I thought my life experience so far had led me to enjoy both subjects. During my Sophomore year, my parents health had taken a bad turn, and I was almost sure I had to transfer to a more affordable college. At about the same time, my sister moved to the US to attend college, placing additional demands on my parent's financial resources. It was the caring intervention of faculty and staff like Dr. Ed Karlow, Dr. Jeffry Kaatz, and Dr. Bud Dickerson, who were able to arrange for campus work, scholarships, and large anonymous donations that kept me on campus.
Some of my favorite people in college included my music theory teacher Dr. Rene Ramos; besides being a walking encyclopedia of musical knowledge, his theory classes were my "daily dose of sanity" as I strived to understand how music works. Dr. Barbara Kreaseck was one of my favorite computer science instructors; she managed to make taking daily quizzes in her computer networks and operating systems class, a fun thing which also "forced" us to read our textbooks. I remember Dr. Ed Karlow with a great deal of affection, because he understands how to make a difference in the academic lives of his students and has always used his influence to benefit those he cares for. Dr. Don Thurber is my favorite conducting teacher and choir conductor, besides being one of the few faculty who takes his students to lunch; I admire his ability to put people together to work on complicated concert projects.
As a student, I worked at the Academic Computing department as System Operator running the PDP-11/44 and VAX 3900 mini-computers. I tutored computer programming and music theory classes at the counseling center. My electronic skills enabled me to work as electronics technician at the Physics department.
I attended Loma Linda Chinese Church, and led out in the Sanctuary choir, took turns playing the church organ, and taught Sabbath school to young adults and kids. Shortly after joining (La Sierra) University Singers, I decided it was time to join the Loma Linda University Church choir. The LLU Church choir has since become my extended family.
Professional Single Years: 1991 - 1999
Two months after graduation, I started work at La Sierra University's Micro-computer Lab (MICOL). My first boss was Enoch Hwang, who I had been working for since 1988. We had a great working relationship, and his wife Windy is one of the most caring people I know. My responsibilities include hiring student workers to assist people with computer questions at the computer lab, design and teach software seminars for university staff and faculty, maintain computers in the lab, and provide software support for the university.
In 1991, I met my first girlfriend during a Christmas party. She is a very intelligent micro-biologist and physician. I prized the wonderful dialogue and sheer fun we had in each other's company. Despite the wonderful dating relationship, we did not share similar religious convictions; three months into the relationship we broke up. Contrary to most former dating relationships we remain good friends. I taught her to drive and play piano six months after the break up; she even invited me to her wedding, and I was very happy to see her being married to someone who was as intelligent and fun-loving as her. My first dating relationship revealed just how much I value my religious convictions.
Craig Kinzer is one of the few great friends I met during my college years. When he and Esther decided to get married, I was thrilled to be asked to be best man at their wedding. I cherish the e-mail and times Craig and I spent debating ethical matters, and discussing long-term strategic decisions for MICOL. We often put on a good and fair verbal fight that actually leads to useful conclusions.
What I consider one of the milestones in my professional career at MICOL, was in designing and implementing a $134,000.00 computer upgrade proposal and plan, which equipped the lab with state of the art computers and software. In September of 1994, I was appointed Interim Director of Academic Computing upon the departure of my boss. This professional experience taught me that the position one acquires in life is pretty much irrelevant, unless one can make a difference with that position. The truth is that one can make important contributions even without a prominent position; very often, the political pressures that come along with prominence actually reduces one's abilities to contribute.
My sister graduated with a Spanish degree from California State University San Bernardino at the top of her class. I was proud that she made it through college, probably more so because I had given some financial support for her tuition bill. She continued to pursue graduate level classes at California State University Fullerton, and received a Masters degree in Spanish Literature; I was very happy when she got several teaching jobs at Loma Linda University, University of Redlands, Valley College, Crafton Hills College, and La Sierra University.
In December of of 1995 I met Audrey and Darryl Benson, and I talked to them about my Esther opera project. Darryl is a multi-talented and very creative Chemistry teacher who works at Loma Linda Academy; he produces musicals, and writes the story, lyrics, and builds the set for these productions. Audrey is one of the best examples of "help-mate" I know; she is involved in many behind-the-scenes details such as pulling together volunteers for orchestra, fund-raising, cheer-leading, and cook extra- ordinaire. Everytime I'm invited to their home, Audrey manages to cook a meal I've not tried before. We have had many meetings about Esther's life, and have started work on parts of her story. Upon request from our church pastor in July of 1996, we started working on a Christmas musical called "A Captive's Christmas". This Christmas musical made extensive use of black spirituals, and it was while working on piano and vocal arrangements for this musical that I have come to appreciate the influence spirituals have on popular music.
In 1996, we made an unsuccessful attempt to present another Christmas musical written by Darryl Benson called "A Christmas Controversy". This production uses music based on several 19th century composers' works. We simply were not prepared to put together a production that involved ballet dancers, a 60+ member orchestra, and difficult music. However, we did not give up. In January of 1997, Duane Hilliard joined our team, and helped us organize rehearsals, prepare orchestral scores, and conduct performances. We worked on Darryl's "The Adventures of Amy Abel", using music by Leroy Anderson; this musical was succesfully presented in March of 1997, and taught us how important it was to identify and schedule critical events in a musical production. I'm happy to report that work on "A Christmas Controversy" is coming along very well, and if you're in the Loma Linda area around December 22 and 23, 1998, come and enjoy this production. These projects are done on a voluntary basis, and I find a great deal of sheer fun and intrinsic satisfaction in being involved.
Through a mutual friend, I met my would-be second girlfriend in August of 1994. My second girlfriend is a very successful registered nurse and nurse practitioner. She asked my first girlfriend for references, and was quite surprised to receive positive remarks. This first meeting did not result in any dating relationship. We met again in the end of 1996 when she decided to break up with her boyfriend due to religious differences. We went out together as good friends and enjoyed our time together at the beach, mountains, and cooking. Most importantly, we shared similar religious values and common life goals. Six months into our good friends relationship, I asked her to be my girlfriend; the relationship lasted less than a week, because she had not completely broken off from her previous dating relationship. Losing her as a friend was more traumatic than losing a girlfriend.
I took a trip to Taiwan and Singapore in July of 1997, and got in touch with old acquaintances and made some new ones. It was great to relax, and put work aside because I had not taken a vacation or traveled anywhere since I started working. I liked the emphasis Taiwanese society places on the family; the highly hierarchical nature of Chinese culture, is often reflected even in the way their streets are labeled. While in Singapore, I was quite surprised to see so many home computers, as this tiny city-state strives to equip every household with computers. Amelia was extremely helpful in arranging my stay in Singapore, for which I will be always grateful. Another aspect of the trip I really liked, was mother's cooking. Though I'm not a purveyor of the culinary arts, there is simply no comparison between what I get by with when I eat by myself, and the meals mother cooks.
My sister and Bill Shull were married in August of 1997, and I have enjoyed their emotional support through many trying times. Bill and I have lots of similar interests, even if we don't always see eye to eye on everything (who does?). We had a blast improvising and arranging Mozart-like music after an evening of church choir rehearsal, and this experience remains some of the most spontaneous and memorable events in my life.
In November of 1997, my friend Chong Kai-Meng toured the US with his wife Priscilla. It was wonderful to renew our friendship after having lost touch for more than 18 years. We talked about how we've changed over time: how he went from plastic model building to a technical-maintenance job, while my interest in music changed from hating to practice the piano into passion for musical arts. Kai-Meng remains as one of the most unprejudiced friends I've ever met.
During my 1997 trip to Taiwan, I met my wife Eunice; actually, I met her and her family at age 6. She holds a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education, and comes from a remarkable family of educators and ministers. Eunice directed a very prestigious childcare and education center, and is currently teaching in central Taiwan. We share similar religious convictions, have similar goals in life, and we spent almost a year maintaining a just-friends relationship over long-distance telephone.
During the last week of July and first days of August 1998, Eunice and I took a 7 day tour through Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterrey Bay, San Francisco, St. Helena, Lake Arrowhead, and San Diego. During the trip, we rented motel rooms (by the way, we slept in separate beds as we are committed to being virgins, and abstaining from sex until we're married), and found that despite spending all that time together we enjoyed each one of those moments.
"The happiness of your smile,
the spark of joy in your eyes,
inspire a song in my heart."
"Those verses sing of your love,
they celebrate your kindness,
and the peace in our silence."
I popped the marriage question and she said yes. We were formally engaged on New Year's Day 1999 in Taiwan. Our commitment to make this relationship work, lead us to have extended discussions about our responsibilities as a married couple, and a counseling session at our church. I would highly recommend pre-marital counseling for anyone considering marriage, because it has helped us focus on what issues to pay attention to as we sealed our lives together in marriage.
Married life is wonderful and has exceeded every expectation I had. Eunice is a wonderful cook who somehow manages to make a different dish every day. Waking up next to each other in the morning is such a wonderful experience, and the time we now spend together is even better than the time we had while dating.
In September of 2000, we bought a house in Riverside. We were really blessed to be able to afford a brand new house where the neighbors are truly wonderful.
During Winter of 2001, I started teaching a PERL programming class at La Sierra University. This fulfilled one of my dreams of teaching Computer Science. I became a US citizen in February of 2001; it was very special to finally be able to vote!
On our second wedding anniversary (August 2001), Eunice and I decided to do something of "lasting aesthetic significance". We painted the wooden fences of our house, which appeared to motivate other neighbors to do the same. As of this writing, all but one of the eighteen houses on our tract have painted their fences!
We had been vacationing in San Diego with Eunice's mom, aunt, and brother, when we saw on TV what terrorists had done to the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. Despite the tragedy, I was very moved by the acts of God carried out by the Policemen and Firefighters from New York and all over the US, who sacrificed their lives to answer the prayers of those who cried out to God for help.
In June of 2002, I finally graduated from California State University at Fullerton. Though I did march a year earlier, this time I had my thesis approved and completed.
You are visitor number