Hi

Our family is really thankful for the existence of this blog.  Your sentiments and memories have uplifted our spirits.  Thank you.

'Hope you are doing ok.

I uploaded all the pictures from the slideshow shown at Thuan's funeral.  

https://drive.google.com/?authuser=0#folders/0B9rDyfh7TZOxTFJCd2VhODBuN00

Helen

Thank you Thuan

Thank you, Thuan, for showing me what it means to be committed to other people and to place others before myself. As I reflect upon the memories I've had with you, they were always positive ones that involved you showing your kindness and generosity to me and others. I'm inspired by your generosity and thoughtfulness, and your acts of commitment to others have never ceased to astonish me.

Many of the blog posts here mention how much you like giving others gifts: a stuffed Nemo and a rabbit, biking equipment, and penguin soap dispensers. Yes, penguin soap dispenses! I remember a few years back when we both lived at Bernardo, you gave me penguin soap dispensers. Of course, you knew about my obsession for penguins. You always seem to know what people like and this resulted in  so many fun and unique gifts.

Although I don't know what I ended up doing with these soap dispensers, it was indeed the thought that counts. And I still keep your kind thoughts near and deep to my heart.

Viktor Frankl, wrote in Man's Search for Meaning that "No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him." In your life, you might not have known it, but I think you've had such great meaning and purpose by the way you loved others. And through this, you have inspired so many people to do the same. I thank you for teaching me how to have greater purpose and meaning in my life to act like you did in yours.

-Jason Chan

Taiwan Missions

This is one of the clear memories I have of my appreciation for your friendship and presence in my life. We were one of the few people at Bridgeway that decided to go on Taiwan missions in winter of 2008.  I think it was just three of us- you, Jon and me.  It turns out there were 80 people total on our Taiwan team from the rest of the Gracepoint church in Berkeley, SF and Davis.  Since I had just joined the church, I was extremely overwhelmed by the number of new people I was meeting every day.

I remember even on the weeklong trip, there would be moments where I would feel extremely lonely and uncomfortable because there were so many new faces.  It was hard to still be meeting my own teammates at the end of the week since there were so many of us!

You probably didn't know, but on several occasions, I would find you sitting somewhere watching everything that was happening and come and sit next to you.  It gave me a sense of comfort, in knowing that I had a friend there that knew me and was from the same place.  Sometimes, we only exchanged a few words, laughed, or just sat silently.  Watever the case, your friendliness and easy-going personality made it easier to get through those overwhelming moments.

Thank you for being such a sweet friend!  Miss you Thuan!

Nemo

Thuan, if it weren't for you - I wouldn't have this cute Nemo with me!  I'll remember you as super romantic.  I remember thinking that the girl you end up with would be super lucky to have found you!
We met in 2007, when I started hanging out at your apartment with the guys at Bernardo.
I started hanging out and then dating Jon at the time --- and remember brainstorming date ideas with you.  You were always so adventurous and fun!  I remember trying to pick your brain to come up with something more fun to do for our dates.  We would just take a stroll around the park and you would encourage us to go to half moon bay and go see places!

There was one time, I was hanging out at the girls place across the way and I mentioned to Jon that I wanted the stuffed Nemo they had (it was so cute!)  I tried to be direct and hint to him that's what I wanted for my birthday.  When my birthday came around, I was overjoyed to find that Jon had gotten me the Nemo I wanted!

A few weeks later, I went by your apartment just to hang out --- and found a smaller looking Nemo sitting on the shelf.  Later, I found out, Jon went online and bought one - that wasn't quite the same one as they had, but figured it'd be good enough.  You, being the super romantic awesome roommate, saw it and made sure that he got the exact one I wanted.  THANK YOU THUAN!  :D  Perhaps more of our successful courtship is due to your friendship and thoughtfulness.

We miss you!!!

Kite Flying

I can't remember exactly when, but seemed like a perfect summer day we (Thuan, Terrance and I) went to go fly Thuan's kite.  It was not an ordinary kite, it was one of those fancy Kites that can do tricks and spin around.  We went to a mini kite field in Mountain View where other people were flying their kite.  I of course was really good at crashing Thuan's kite straight to the ground.  Terrance managed to do some spins and Thuan was coaching and generously letting us play with his kite.  Thuan was just that type of person.  He'd get something really nice and would not hesitate to share it with his friends, even if they might break his stuff.  As we were leaving the field, Thuan stopped to help the kite flyer next to us.  Thuan taught the guy how to do a quick release knot and that guy was really happy to learn.  Then we went to the car and said our goodbyes.  It was not until later that I realized it was an expensive kite.  Thuan never mentioned it.  I guess he valued quality time with friends over materialistic things.

Goodbye friend

Thuan,

You were always quite impulsive. I'm generally a planner and like to invite people out to trips so I can get to know them better. I like creating an itinerary for a day trip and planning all the details. I needed to know who wanted to come on these trips so I would ask a week before the trip. Whenever I asked you a week before the trip, you would say you were interested but then wouldn't be able to make it. However, I found a small trick when it came to asking you. I would wait until the last minute and then ask you, and you being the impulsive person that you are, would say yes and come on the trip.

I enjoyed your company and we had some good times together. I remember when we went on a camping trip to Yosemite with Joe Lin and Joe Chen. I've been to Yosemite previously, but when I asked you about some of the trails, you knew about them like the back of your hand. You knew all the secrets, where to go, which trails to take and the best times to take them. I was impressed with your knowledge of Yosemite. It felt like you lived there. You also had a lot of gear and were prepared for all scenarios. I asked you once about why you bought so much gear and you said it was for others, so they could have a good time and other people could use the equipment as well.

You were also quite generous. We have a bunch of the board games that you bought at Bernardo. You bought so many and some of them you never even played before. I remember you came over once and I showed you a board game that I found in our closet. It was called Memoir '44. I was really into this game for a couple weeks and would play it with anyone who I could convince to play. I invited you to play once and said you said that this was your game but you never played it. I was confused about why you never played it, but you said you bought it so others could play.

We went mountain biking a couple times. You were going really fast on those dirt trails, I was just a beginner and had trouble keeping up. However, you encouraged me and were supportive. We went running a couple times before and I remember you said that while I could run better than you, mountain biking was your domain of expertise.

During the last couple months, you came over a bunch of times just to hang out and talk about what was happening in your life. I would talk about how I was looking for another job and you always seemed enthusiastic about finding out how that was going. We would talk about technology, hiking, snowboarding, and many other hobbies that we both enjoyed.

The last conversation I had with you, I shared about how I got a new job and you seemed really glad for me. The last thing you shared with me was a vision you had. Here are your own words:

Thuan: I used to have this dream/thought that i had discovered cold fusion like in Iron Man... how would i go share it with the world? I would want to benefit the USA first and i have to be careful about the oil company trying to kill me etc.
I thought about sharing it to the military first and power companies and Tesla's Elon to help form the company. ahha

Me: that's quite a vision

Thuan: silly me. but i mean. it would be so disruptive

Those were the last words we shared together. I wish we would've had more talks like that, but that's impossible now. I'll cherish the times we had together. Goodbye friend.

Nature + Thuan = Fun

I always look back to this 2007 Yosemite Trip with great fondness and it's the defining trip where I really got to know Thuan. He selflessly drove us to Yosemite and back!  From 5am to 2am the next day! He chugged down countless energy drinks and we laughed in the car throughout the trip. Great times and Great Memories!

The next trip I recall fondly is our 2011 Lake Tahoe Trip with Jason Chan. We are stuck 3 hours on a Parasailing boat that had technical difficulty but luckily we got to jet-ski afterwards! Boy oh Boy, he is fearless jet-ski going at ultra-speed and going "whheeeeee". This dude has a fearless sense of adventure hard to match. Yup, as expected, he drove again. 4 hours to Tahoe and back in the same day. And oops, we got into a little accident where our vehicle grazed the vehicle on our right. lol.

This picture is from April 30th 2012 - We run the Big Sur Marathon together. As you can tell from the picture, he completed the marathon from the medal hanging from his neck and I didn't. I recall we had a great time hanging out at Carmel the previous day and he offered to pay my meal because I am not working. Very generous! And yes, he drove again!

Bunny Power

I got a bunny as my birthday gift back in 2007 from Thuan when I was obsessed by Game Rayman Raving Rabbids. From the gift, you can tell that Thuan is an fun-loving individual that exudes much love and positivity! Here is a abridged chat-log from 10/02/07 further fortifying this point!

Me: it's the talk of the town! you transform jon's room and how u offered to do up mr leo's place!
Thuan: haha. yeah.. it's fun. the possibilities are fun to me. I'm in the wrong career =P
Me: i think all the girls are impressed.. they are surprised you are so neat!! :)
Thuan: only initially.. i am not at maintaining it./ but i do love changing thing up once in a while.. complete overhual
Me: wah! a man who can change!! i tot those man are extinct! i need to market you more :)
Thuan: lol. how about you market yourself more and get married and have tons of bunnies around. haha. no worries, I'll make sure to drop off carrots regularly

Me: haha!!

 you are funny!

Thuan, when I think about what you did, who you were, and what you left behind, three descriptive words come to mind. You were a positive person, a passionate person and you were present.

Positive - Thuan, I often dumped my worries, concerns, fears, and insecurities on you. You always had a way to encourage, to reinforce and to show me a path to success. Graduate school was a tough time, aside from being several thousand miles away from home, I had a lot of decisions to make about school, career and ultimately life. I looked up your classic greeting "joe joe joe" and you said it 146 times in chat from 5/2007 to 1/2013. Thanks for being uplifting and always having something positive to say. 

Passionate - You had so many interests! You showed me the universe! From hiking to traveling to food to music to art, I simply was amazed at how much you enjoyed things and how diverse your interests were. When I first met you, I was just out of college and my world was still very much limited by engineering interests. I still remember the time you brought us all to a hiking trip after church were we saw a magnificent sunset dip behind the rolling mountains. You taught me to venture out, to experience and to enjoy all that life has given us. 

Present - Thuan, thanks for simply being there. I know you were someone who often wanted to be alone, but when I looked, you were there. When you were there, you were fully there and you knew how to engage, understand and build someone up. You were usually just a text, ring or facetime away. One thing I appreciated about your presence were the couple of times we arranged some kind of activity. Instead of driving out and meeting you there, you actually drove by, met my parents, picked me up and brought me back. My parents were actually quite impressed with meeting you and were so sad to see such a wonderful person depart this earth.

Thuan, it has been great knowing you. It saddens me to think of all the experiences we had and will never have. I pray that you're in a better place and that you've found your peace with God. 

Warning Light

Back around 2007, when you were driving your Honda Accord, you came home pretty late.  After I had inquired what had happened, you remarked that you had to call AAA to tow your car.  You explained that you had thought that there may be something wrong with your car, but after an investigation by the mechanic, you car broke down for a very simple reason - you ran out of gas.

You remarked that you never thought that the gas warning lights actually meant that you should find a gas station as soon as possible.  Instead, you thought that you could simply postpone the inconvenience of filling your tank to another day.

Thuan, you taught me a few life lessons that day:
1. Never ignore your gas warning light.
2. In general, it is wise to heed warnings.

The Final Goodbye

Thuan.

When I heard the news, I turned white and nearly fell out of my chair.

I can’t believe you’re gone. We still had many stories to share together.

Do you remember one of the last conversations we had? It went like this:

Thuan. It was an awesome time as usual. I'm glad to hear things are going well in your life.

It was great seeing you again as well. Take care. Bye!

No. Don't say goodbye.

Why not?

You know I don't like goodbyes. Goodbye has too much of a permanent feel to it.

Is that right?

You know we'll see each other soon. And if not, it's because I'm always on the go. We'll just catch up on the phone. No worries, right?

Right. Take care. Bye!

Except this time, this was goodbye. It was not the end of a chapter, but the end of a book. The end of our elaborate plans. The end of our friendship. The end of a brilliant mind. The end.

Damnit Thuan. Why did you have to make me do something that I hate? This is an irrefrangible rule of etiquette. I'm still trying to process what this goodbye means.

We were supposed to experience more adventures together. Like the time you did a whirlwind tour of Yosemite. We drove four hours up to the park, and you showed us Yosemite in its full glory through a dozen handpicked sites. Slow down, we told you. But you were always two steps ahead, educating us about the park, and leading with that trademark classic exuberant smile of yours. At the end of the day, when we were all tired, you decided it was best to drive back, in typical maniacal fashion. I thought we were going to fall off the cliff. That was you, the effervescent crazy man, making this all happen in one day. You made life exciting even for the least of us. Your avidity was contagious.

I won't forget the time you let me borrow your fully loaded desktop. The shell was so big I thought it was from the 80’s. You said it was your fully loaded gaming rig. It must have cost you a fortune, but you let me use it for a full month, because my laptop was broken. When two weeks passed by, I insisted that you take it back. But no, you said; I only had it for two weeks, and that I should use it for two months. Maybe three months, or however long it took to get my laptop back in one piece.

I never told you that you were the one who gave me the crazy idea for my business. It was you who planted this seed in my head that would later on blossom to what is now my life, my baby. And you did this through your crazy antics. You always pushed the boundaries. Only you were crazy enough to take advantage of free shipping to order 30 t-shirts online, bring the entire mall to your home, return 29 of them, and then and call it normal. And this was back in 2007, before free shipping became the norm.

You left too early. We were supposed to share more experiences and battle wounds when we had gray hair and fully grown children. I can't count the number of times we'd burn the midnight oil talking about obscure topics. You were a sagacious scholar of current events and seemed to know the answers to them all.

You were a intemerate genius. Even after I moved to the East Coast, I'd call and ask for your opinion. Your ideas flew mellifluously from your lips, and often, I would use a couple of them. It wasn't just me that you spoke your mind with; you shared it with everyone. You were genuine, and really wanted to affect change in others. When you said something, you actually meant it and followed through with it. That was you, the generous seer – wise, intelligent, and full of exuberant thoughts.

Life’s a roller coaster, and sometimes, those lows get to even the best of us. I know that you had your inner demons and that you weren’t perfect. You’d whinge about certain things and sometimes, it seemed that those negative thoughts spoke more loudly to you. Deep down however, I knew you as a compassionate and caring person.

Many people showed up at your funeral. You touched all of our lives. Others shared countless stories that revealed your spontaneous, athletic, competitive, and crazy nature. We all cared about you deeply. I wish you knew that.

I’m going to finish crying now.

Rest in peace Thuan. I’ll miss you. This world was not ready for you. Goodbye my friend. Goodbye.

Fashion

(2011 Spring)
Generally the words fashion and Thuan would remind me of cargo pants, polo shirt, white long socks and sneakers.  But there was this time when I went shopping with Thuan, and he bought a sort of flashy cool light blue shirt.  It was funny because he was sort of insecure about how he looked in it, but he liked the shirt.  I reassured him that although it was different, it looked good on him.  He bought the shirt but weeks later returned it because it was too bright.  I know deep down, Thuan was creative, even in fashion.

Guitar Hero

Back in 2007-2008, when we moved down to Sunnyvale, we had much fun with your belongings.  You had every toy that a bachelor could want - Console games, board games, movies, music, books.
One game in particular was very popular back in that time - Guitar Hero.

Guitar Hero was a game that we I played on your PS2, where classic rock songs would play, and we would hit buttons on a toy guitar to display our imaginary musical prowess.  You stopped playing after a short while, but I was addicted.  I played until I beat the game.  After beating the game, I played it again, on a higher difficulty level.  However, I couldn't beat the game in expert mode.  Every time I would fail in the middle of the song, I would need to restart the song.  This was very frustrating to me, and I vowed to learn how to play a "real" guitar.

I bought a bass guitar, because it was closest in playing style to the toy Guitar Hero guitar.  I even took lessons for a year.  I eventually got the hang of it and joined our Bridgeway church band.

It so happened that two our roommates - Eric and Leo -- also played on our church band.  We would jam together in the living room late into the night, much to our neighbors' dismay.  At least that's what the police officer kindly notified us.  I'm not sure if that's the reason why they moved out, but it did make room for more of our church members to move into our corner of the apartment complex.

Thuan, it is because of you that so many of our Bridgeway church members still live in that same apartment complex, especially in our original corner.  Thanks to you, I still play the bass guitar today, and I owe the inspiration to you.

The Couch

When we moved into Alameda together after college, you were instrumental in buying the furniture for our apartment.  You would scour Craigslist for couches, dining room furniture, and other various amenities for our new apartment.  We had a system where we would split the costs - we would simply input our expenses on a Google Spreadsheet, and we would settle accounts at the end of the month.

I don't remember what happened to all of our furniture when we moved down to Sunnyvale in 2007.  We probably donated it to other under-classmen in our church who were also moving into Alameda.  This meant that we had to start all over in looking for new furniture.

We attended Bridgway Church for a while, and after a year, we had enough brothers wanting to live communally that you took the initiative to rent the apartment across the hallway.  This was great, but it meant that we had to find another set of furniture yet again.

I opposed you when you said that we needed to get another couch for the living room.  After all, we were moving every year, and every year, we would have to get a new set of furniture.  Surely we could delay this buying decision, couldn't we?

No, you took the initiative to buy a nice couch set off of Craigslist, but instead of charging it to the house account, you paid for it all by yourself.

Of course, you could have been angry and not allowed me to touch your newfound couch, but you were quick to forgive, and our living room became the source of much fun, hospitality, and fellowship for many years to come.

Grand Central

Thuan was a person that you would call an early adopter.  He was always into tech blogs, and was usually one of the first to try them out.  Before the FCC passed a law in 2004 to allow us to keep our phone numbers when we switched carriers, it was commonplace for us to send out mass emails informing our family and friends of our new phone number.

Thuan found a solution to this - Grand Central.  Grand Central was basically a service where they assign you a phone number, and it would then forward the incoming call to whichever number you had at the time.  This could be a home phone, cell phone, or a pager.

Thuan encouraged me to sign up, but I didn't use it.  Eventually Grand Central would be bought by Google and become the ubiquitous service that we use now - Google Voice.

Because of Thuan, I was one of the first people to choose a Google Voice number, and is the reason why my number is so easy to remember.