My Return

It's been a year since I posted anything on this site. The few friends I had visiting my site, perhaps they have already given up long ago on the hope of seeing my return. To them, I am sorry I had left for so long.

I am back now, and even though I do not know for how long, I think I am going to attempt at writing my thoughts to share with all of you for as often as I feel disposed to do.

I often have the tendency to disappear from time to time, often for a rather long period. But some how, though, I have not failed to return, even if just to reappear briefly and soon depart again.

I have thought much lately, about life, about country, about my people - about what I can do to contribute to revitalize my homeland. I have not arrived at an answer yet, not even a shadow of it.

I hope that with my return to this page, and with the act of thinking and writing, I shall soon come closer to an answer.

Pictures of graduation day with friends, professors, and family.




The Dean of the Department of English and Comparative Literature with my favorite close friend and professor, Dr. Irena Praitis.

A Few Photographs from Mt. Carmel Cambodian Catholic Center, Long Beach, CA.


Mary Blatz and I in the NAPCO meeting in Tucson.


My French-Cambodian Godmother, Phansy, and her friends sitting on the sofa bed in the Cambodian Catholic Center.


I'm enjoying a bowl of delicious Khmer Nom Banhchok made for me by my lovely students.

A Look at My Experience with the Khmer Krom Youth Scholastic Association, The Long Beach Chapter.




A Khmer Celebration of some sort for the Khmer Krom at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center next to Mark Twain library in Long Beach.



Khmer Krom youths

The preparation the night before, beefing the sticks.

A break after had just finished unloading the equipments and cooking apparatuses for the event.

Watching the birds while others studying the plan for our sign.



Here is another batch of loyal customers. They're actually my distant cousins and their dad.

We got a rave review and an excellent commendation from one of our loyal customers, and might I add, an attractive one at that, for our booth and food.


Look! The people actually lined up to buy our food!


A glance into the look behind the scene..hehe Does it make any sense?


These little ones sure did enjoy the what we had to sell.

Selling Fried Chicken to fundraise for the KKYSA at the Khmer New Year Celebration in El Dorado Prk.



The two beauties, Mary and Nisa, in our Khmer Kampuchea Krom Youth Scholastic Association. The photo taken when we held our BBQ/Potluck outing at the El Dorado Park along the Studebaker Road in Long Beach.

Here we spent an evening enjoying bonfire festivity with our newly formed Vietnamese Student Association, of which I was supposedly the first designated member. I only signed up because she was my good friend, the president. But the whole group turned out to be very nice people. There I met a Chinese man who were in love with one of the Vietnamese girl member, as well as another Cambodian friend.

A picture of my first niece, Jasmine, and myself taken several years ago on Christmas Day beside our old mission church in Long Beach. This church is reputed as the oldest standing mission church in the area, standing tall and proud after more than 100 years.

I only remembered to take a picture of my food after I had ravished it.


Sitting at the lunch table and enjoying a delicious meal after the morning session.


People lined up for the fruit salads and desert.

Group pictures with the Bishop of the County of Orange, who was so kind as to fly all the way from California to be with us for the experience and presided over our weekend liturgical celebration.

Aww... Look at our Lovely Theologian Couple! Theologian Edmund Fook Chia, a professor of Theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, with his recently wedded wife Mrs. Gemma Cruz Chia, who teaches at in the Department of Theology at the St. Abrose University. They were our distinguisehd speakers for the renewal experience under the title "An Introduction to Asian Theology".

My room at the Redemptorist Renewal Center. Very plain and simple, but clean and quiet.

This was my room from March 9-12, 2007, in Tucson, Arizona.


Here is a gorgeous nature trial that leads from the very footstep of my door to the renewal center library and bookstore, which you can see looming in the background.




One of the dormitories used to house the retreat participants. This one is called the St. John Neumann, which is adjacent to the one where I selpt.

A bottle of Arrowhead, a borrowed digital camera, and a good classic novel did if for me in a desert renewal hideout like this one.


A view from the top of the steps looking down to the valley and the rest of the dormitory rooms and buildings.


The National Asian Pacific Organization meeting at the Redeptorist Renewal Center, Tucson, Arizona.


Me at Ron's apartment uploading pictures from the renewal experience in Tucson, Arizona.


Ron my buddy