Blog: Gifts of Time, Gifts of Effort
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Gifts of Time, Gifts of Effort - Thursday, June 25, 2026
The past couple weeks have been full—of people, service, and unexpected moments of connection.
After our plans with family fell through earlier this month, Priscilla and I decided to join our small group for a dinner outing at Cava in Westlake Village. It was only our second time joining for a restaurant outing in the nearly two years that we've been part of the group.
I'm glad that our small group didn't sing or get a dessert for my birthday this year. The reason might've been partly because I told people that I don't care to celebrate my birthday, but it was probably mostly because we skipped our regular meeting due to the group leader and his wife traveling.
But I did share the anecdote about how for my 30th birthday, my men's group leader made us all do 30 pushups because he knew that I would enjoy that more than a cake. That's a memory I will always treasure.
Motivated by that, our current group leader (who's also my workout buddy) sent me a video on my birthday of him doing pushups—one for each year. Of course, I had to send one right back. That was the most meaningful gift I've gotten since probably the last time!
Then for Father's Day, we all helped my dad with reinstalling a 40-ft rain gutter. He recently got a new roof but the roofers weren't able to reinstall the gutter. So with some extra hands there to help, we had five guys holding up the gutter (standing on ladders that my dad borrowed from the church) and my mom and Priscilla bracing it with long strips of wood, while my dad went around drilling holes and putting the screws in. As they say in the corporate world, teamwork makes the dream work.
The day after, my dad dropped me and Priscilla off at the airport for our flight up to the Bay Area. The occasion this time was that my former manager had invited me to a retirement BBQ for my former coworker, Jim. I normally would politely decline such things, especially when it involves travel, but as others have blessed me with their time and presence, I'm learning to do the same. As a quote from The Chosen goes, "If we don't make time for friends, we won't have any."
Since we'd already driven to the Bay Area in March and would only be there for two days this time, we decided that flying was the best option. Since I was given fairly short notice, tickets on Southwest were quite pricey. Round-trip tickets were $1,133.60 for the two of us, more than we've spent on almost any other flight. But there's something to be said for spending money, a renewable resource, to optimize for time and comfort.
During our time, we also had dinner at Google with Tracy and got to talking about some deeper things, lunch with Randy and Eva where we talked for 4.5 hours, and I ran and did calisthenics with Frank. Priscilla also ate with Emily and Sharon on Wednesday when I was at the BBQ.
The BBQ was nice. I was able to surprise Jim when I suddenly appeared next to him, and I myself was surprised to see another former team member who had left the company a couple years ago. There were maybe 40 people and I recognized about half of them. Almost all of my old team members were there, and also a bunch of people from adjacent teams, several of whom I've worked with before. A lot of my conversations involved answering the same questions about what I'm up to now that I no longer have a paid job. But I got to share about some of the more meaningful things that I've been doing. The time there with people just flew by, and before I knew it, it was three hours later and we were packing up and it was time for me to head back to the airport.
Priscilla had been chilling at the airport lounge, and I rejoined her for our flight back down. After my dad picked us up and we ate with them and loaded up the car with food my mom had made for us, we finally arrived home, exhausted but grateful.
Traveling is tiring, and seeing people requires planning and effort. Ten years ago, I likely would've passed on doing an impromptu trip like this and then later wondered whether I should have gone. I'm glad that this time I chose the option that will allow me to look back and remember fondly. Showing up was as much a gift for me as it was for others.
After our plans with family fell through earlier this month, Priscilla and I decided to join our small group for a dinner outing at Cava in Westlake Village. It was only our second time joining for a restaurant outing in the nearly two years that we've been part of the group.
I'm glad that our small group didn't sing or get a dessert for my birthday this year. The reason might've been partly because I told people that I don't care to celebrate my birthday, but it was probably mostly because we skipped our regular meeting due to the group leader and his wife traveling.
But I did share the anecdote about how for my 30th birthday, my men's group leader made us all do 30 pushups because he knew that I would enjoy that more than a cake. That's a memory I will always treasure.
Motivated by that, our current group leader (who's also my workout buddy) sent me a video on my birthday of him doing pushups—one for each year. Of course, I had to send one right back. That was the most meaningful gift I've gotten since probably the last time!
Then for Father's Day, we all helped my dad with reinstalling a 40-ft rain gutter. He recently got a new roof but the roofers weren't able to reinstall the gutter. So with some extra hands there to help, we had five guys holding up the gutter (standing on ladders that my dad borrowed from the church) and my mom and Priscilla bracing it with long strips of wood, while my dad went around drilling holes and putting the screws in. As they say in the corporate world, teamwork makes the dream work.
The day after, my dad dropped me and Priscilla off at the airport for our flight up to the Bay Area. The occasion this time was that my former manager had invited me to a retirement BBQ for my former coworker, Jim. I normally would politely decline such things, especially when it involves travel, but as others have blessed me with their time and presence, I'm learning to do the same. As a quote from The Chosen goes, "If we don't make time for friends, we won't have any."
Since we'd already driven to the Bay Area in March and would only be there for two days this time, we decided that flying was the best option. Since I was given fairly short notice, tickets on Southwest were quite pricey. Round-trip tickets were $1,133.60 for the two of us, more than we've spent on almost any other flight. But there's something to be said for spending money, a renewable resource, to optimize for time and comfort.
During our time, we also had dinner at Google with Tracy and got to talking about some deeper things, lunch with Randy and Eva where we talked for 4.5 hours, and I ran and did calisthenics with Frank. Priscilla also ate with Emily and Sharon on Wednesday when I was at the BBQ.
The BBQ was nice. I was able to surprise Jim when I suddenly appeared next to him, and I myself was surprised to see another former team member who had left the company a couple years ago. There were maybe 40 people and I recognized about half of them. Almost all of my old team members were there, and also a bunch of people from adjacent teams, several of whom I've worked with before. A lot of my conversations involved answering the same questions about what I'm up to now that I no longer have a paid job. But I got to share about some of the more meaningful things that I've been doing. The time there with people just flew by, and before I knew it, it was three hours later and we were packing up and it was time for me to head back to the airport.
Priscilla had been chilling at the airport lounge, and I rejoined her for our flight back down. After my dad picked us up and we ate with them and loaded up the car with food my mom had made for us, we finally arrived home, exhausted but grateful.
Traveling is tiring, and seeing people requires planning and effort. Ten years ago, I likely would've passed on doing an impromptu trip like this and then later wondered whether I should have gone. I'm glad that this time I chose the option that will allow me to look back and remember fondly. Showing up was as much a gift for me as it was for others.