Every Lunar New Year, my dad & I volunteer our time at Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, CA.  Today was no different.  Waking up at 5 AM, I dragged my exhausted body to the temple in a reflective bright yellow vest, ready to serve as the liaison between the LA Sheriff's Department and the temple.  Months and months of planning culminated in today's events, and I was (theoretically) prepared to handle any and all challenges.

I must premise in stating that compared to last year, everything today felt like child's play.  Up to this point in my life, nothing has been able to remotely measure up to the amount of exhaustion I felt during last year's Tiger Lunar New Year.  Last year, LNY happened to fall on a long weekend, on a Sunday, and on Valentine's Day (February 14, 2010).  As a result, 80,000 people descended upon the temple in the span of 12 hours.  It just so happens that my dad & I are the annual LNY coordinators for all the traffic logistics for the temple.

A little background:

Each year, thousands of people descend upon the temple to make wishes for a prosperous year.  Most of them are not regulars of the temple.  The temple has enough space on-site for ~230 cars.  Approximately 40,000 vehicles seek parking spots during LNY celebrations.....

Which, as you might have been able to figure out, is a logistical nightmare.

So, every year it is our duty to negotiate with the Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District a deal to rent out their La Subida School property's field.  We then hire people to draw lines to denote parking spaces. 

To get people to the La Subida School from Hsi Lai Temple, we hire around 40 buses of different shapes and sizes.  We also have to hire around 50 Sheriff's Deputies & Reserves.  I figure out the contracts & draw up different plans for how to route traffic.

Then I approach the LA County Department of Public Works to rent cones, barricades, and signs.  With the County Supervisor's office, the bus drivers, the Sheriff's Department, & the temple monastics, we draw up a blueprint for where people are allowed to park and how we want traffic to flow during the day.

It's not easy and it can be a pretty thankless job, but someone has to do it.....

Some of you might find it interesting that 1.) I'm not a religious person (although I would argue that I'm spiritual), and 2.) I "grew up" at Hsi Lai Temple.

Hsi Lai Temple served as my Chinese language school for 13 years of my life.  I am indebted to Hsi Lai for my fluency in the language -- my ability to read & write was drilled into me by the Saturday school, after school, & summer school teachers who believed in me.  I also am grateful to the monastics of the temple for instilling in me the belief of "karma."  To this day I believe that everything happens for a reason....what goes around, comes around.  Thus, every year I willingly volunteer my time & energy to coordinate the traffic logistics.

Anyhow, I spent all day today riding alongside Deputy Wells who serves as the LASD's liaison to the temple for each year's LNY activities.  We were the dynamic duo last year, and again this year.  Things went off without a hitch aside from the 3 times I got yelled at by people angry that they couldn't park at certain spots.  And I mean truly YELLED at.  I mean, sorry.  "No Parking" means NO PARKING. <shrugs>

So, now that all the chaos is done with, I wanted to take the time to wish all of my friends & readers a Happy New Year! 

& now it's finally time for me to catch up on some sleep......