If you haven't seen the finale yet, don't read any further.
But if you have, how bout that finale, huh?
OH MY GOODNESS!
I've watched that ending about 4 times and each time I am still completely caught off guard by the suddenness of it. It totally blows my mind every single time, even though I'm already expecting it!
May 28, 2005
May 22, 2005
NBA: Semi-finals
Well, I predicted everything including the teams who would win and how many games it would take them to win.
My new predictions for this round are Spurs over Suns in 6, and Pistons over the Heat in 6. I truly believe it will be a cakewalk for the Pistons, however, Wade will put out some memorable moments and help the Heat win a couple of games, just like Kobe did in previous years. The only difference this time around is that Shaq is not as good as he used to be. In fact, if he doesn't play, Pistons should take it in 5.
I'm tired.
My new predictions for this round are Spurs over Suns in 6, and Pistons over the Heat in 6. I truly believe it will be a cakewalk for the Pistons, however, Wade will put out some memorable moments and help the Heat win a couple of games, just like Kobe did in previous years. The only difference this time around is that Shaq is not as good as he used to be. In fact, if he doesn't play, Pistons should take it in 5.
I'm tired.
May 21, 2005
Unite in Worship, Day 3
I think if I got anything out of this conference, it would be that I finally "let go". Let go of my burdens, my inhibitions, my fears.
I have had about a day of downtime today, to reflect on the conference.
Yesterday morning was led by Brian Doerksen. Brian Doerksen has written a lot of songs. YL attended his songwriting workshop and found out he's only 39, has 6 kids, and has been in the worship songwriting business for 20 years. Its unbelievable the number of songs he has written, notable ones like "Refiner's Fire", "Come and Fill Me Up", "Come, Now is the Time to Worship", "Faithful One", "Humble King", and on and on. I could go on for hours.
I was really tired in the morning but after his worship time I was totally refreshed.
I went to the Vicky Beeching "Intimate Worship" workshop. Throughout the conference there were several of these intimate worship settings where the worship leader just sat and worshipped with the attendees. I think it was at this point, that I developed a boyish crush on Vicky. I guess there's just something about a girl and her guitar, who can sing. She's awesome... <3 <3
The worship time was 1 hour, and it featured an acoustic guitar (Vicky) and some dude on a bongo drum. And we just worshipped God, in our own way. Some people stood, others sat. Some even knelt on the floor. All in all it was the best time of worship I experienced in this conference. It was as if no one was there with me, just me and God.
At lunch time I was determined to get a good seat for the evening Hillsong United concert, so I decided to eat a massive (double leg dinner from Swiss Chalet) lunch. Then proceeded to buy a box of granola bars and a Mello Yello. YL thought I was crazy.
After lunch, worship time was led by a group called LMT. They are part of the Empty Heart Series, and new ministry that consists of new (christian) music that is in cd, that also contains an evangelistic tract. There are 5 of such cd's, one of each of the following genres: Jazz, Rhythm N' Blues, Rock, Pop, Classic. I got one of each, it was $5 for 6 cds. LMT was really good. For the afternoon they sang 3 classic songs (classic gospel), and 3 RnB ones. I fell asleep during the RnB, but the classic ones I really really enjoyed. There was one called Fly Away, it was fantastic. I picked up an extra one of these so I can keep on for myself :)
In the afternoon, we had two workshops to go to. The first one I attended was another Intimate Worship, this time with Something Like Silas. They're a fairly new band from San Diego, CA. The lead singer is asian!! The drummer too, I think. The lead Eric Owyoung is so talented, he can do it all - sing, guitar, piano. And he was really deep, the words he spoke during the presentation were very inspiring. YL can also attest, as she attended a workshop led by him called "The Beauty of Non-Religious Encounters". SLS were good, but I felt like their instruments were too loud and I couldn't really hear what they were singing.
The second workshop. I was tempted to go attend Vicky's songwriting workshop. But I stopped myself realizing that I was taking this "crush" thing too seriously. Instead I attended Noel Richard's seminar on "Worship In The Real World". His talk had nothing to do with the topic though. He talked for about 45 minutes and then realized he hadn't covered a single one of his points.
He spoke of churches that truly worship. Over his career he had been invited to many churches to lead worship for various EMs, fundraisers, Sundays, etc. So he described some of the churches he went to, ones that didn't *worship* God, meaning, they were rigid and overlooked God's commandments, such as love your neighbors, helping people to belong on Christ's home.
Noel Richards has a dream, to fill up the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, on Saturday July 15, 2006. He wants all Christians who are able, to travel there from North America, Australia, and all of Europe, for one massive global gathering. Here's the website. In 1996, Noel organized a "Champion of the World" even with 11,500 people worshipping at London's Wembley Arena. Then in 1997, he had another one at Wembley Stadium, with 45,000 people.
I have had about a day of downtime today, to reflect on the conference.
Yesterday morning was led by Brian Doerksen. Brian Doerksen has written a lot of songs. YL attended his songwriting workshop and found out he's only 39, has 6 kids, and has been in the worship songwriting business for 20 years. Its unbelievable the number of songs he has written, notable ones like "Refiner's Fire", "Come and Fill Me Up", "Come, Now is the Time to Worship", "Faithful One", "Humble King", and on and on. I could go on for hours.
I was really tired in the morning but after his worship time I was totally refreshed.
I went to the Vicky Beeching "Intimate Worship" workshop. Throughout the conference there were several of these intimate worship settings where the worship leader just sat and worshipped with the attendees. I think it was at this point, that I developed a boyish crush on Vicky. I guess there's just something about a girl and her guitar, who can sing. She's awesome... <3 <3
The worship time was 1 hour, and it featured an acoustic guitar (Vicky) and some dude on a bongo drum. And we just worshipped God, in our own way. Some people stood, others sat. Some even knelt on the floor. All in all it was the best time of worship I experienced in this conference. It was as if no one was there with me, just me and God.
At lunch time I was determined to get a good seat for the evening Hillsong United concert, so I decided to eat a massive (double leg dinner from Swiss Chalet) lunch. Then proceeded to buy a box of granola bars and a Mello Yello. YL thought I was crazy.
After lunch, worship time was led by a group called LMT. They are part of the Empty Heart Series, and new ministry that consists of new (christian) music that is in cd, that also contains an evangelistic tract. There are 5 of such cd's, one of each of the following genres: Jazz, Rhythm N' Blues, Rock, Pop, Classic. I got one of each, it was $5 for 6 cds. LMT was really good. For the afternoon they sang 3 classic songs (classic gospel), and 3 RnB ones. I fell asleep during the RnB, but the classic ones I really really enjoyed. There was one called Fly Away, it was fantastic. I picked up an extra one of these so I can keep on for myself :)
In the afternoon, we had two workshops to go to. The first one I attended was another Intimate Worship, this time with Something Like Silas. They're a fairly new band from San Diego, CA. The lead singer is asian!! The drummer too, I think. The lead Eric Owyoung is so talented, he can do it all - sing, guitar, piano. And he was really deep, the words he spoke during the presentation were very inspiring. YL can also attest, as she attended a workshop led by him called "The Beauty of Non-Religious Encounters". SLS were good, but I felt like their instruments were too loud and I couldn't really hear what they were singing.
The second workshop. I was tempted to go attend Vicky's songwriting workshop. But I stopped myself realizing that I was taking this "crush" thing too seriously. Instead I attended Noel Richard's seminar on "Worship In The Real World". His talk had nothing to do with the topic though. He talked for about 45 minutes and then realized he hadn't covered a single one of his points.
He spoke of churches that truly worship. Over his career he had been invited to many churches to lead worship for various EMs, fundraisers, Sundays, etc. So he described some of the churches he went to, ones that didn't *worship* God, meaning, they were rigid and overlooked God's commandments, such as love your neighbors, helping people to belong on Christ's home.
Noel Richards has a dream, to fill up the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, on Saturday July 15, 2006. He wants all Christians who are able, to travel there from North America, Australia, and all of Europe, for one massive global gathering. Here's the website. In 1996, Noel organized a "Champion of the World" even with 11,500 people worshipping at London's Wembley Arena. Then in 1997, he had another one at Wembley Stadium, with 45,000 people.
May 19, 2005
Unite In Worship, day 2
It's Joel Houston!! Spin-out! 
This morning, it was Vicky Beeching leading worship. Hopefully I'll get a picture with her tomorrow during her workshop. Oh, did I mention I bought her cd yesterday which just came out -- you guessed it -- yesterday. I also bought the worshiptogether How-To songbook #1. Now I have all of them :)
In the morning I went to a workshop by Todd Phillips, who spoke about Spiritual CPR. In a nutshell, the workshop focused on the topic evangelism, and why we should do it. Often Christians skip over evangelism, doing it instead out of guilt. The old "bring a friend to church next week" deal. They'll do it, and then that's it. They feel relieved that they don't have to bring a friend every week. I can see what he's talking about, although for different reasons. I wouldn't want to bring a friend to T3C, to be honest. It's just not very seeker friendly.
But I digress. Todd described that we already know the what and the where. The great commission speaks of What we should do Where we should do it. Go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But it doesn't cover the Why. Why should we evangelize, why should we do missions?
1 John 1:4 explains that it will make our joy complete. This is why we do it. Because no matter what else we do to fill in the void, like take on massive responsibilities at church, doing worship, sunday school, bible studies, welcoming, choir, pastoring, counselling, ushering, etc etc. We can do all those things, but without evangelism, our joy will never be complete.
One thing that especially hit me was that the act of evangelism is all it takes. It's not the conversion part -- that's God's doing. Once we have done our part, it's God's turn to do the rest. The act of evangelism is what makes our joy complete.
After lunch I lined up for 30 minutes so that I could get a decent seat for Hillsong United, which was leading the after lunch worship. What can I say other than it was.. moving. I was deeply moved. I find that Hillsong music, the words that they use and the instrumentals.. they awaken something inside me. I feel more aware for the Spirit's presence. I thought for sure I would lose my voice, but it turned out alright.
The speaker for the afternoon was Jason Hildebrand. He is an actor/musician, who is starring in a show called "Blue Like Jazz/Live". It's a monologue of sorts. Very interesting and funny. We got it free of course, but it is travelling from coast to coast (the show) so if you get a chance, I highly recommend it.
In the afternoon I went to a workshop led by Joel Houston (the bloke in the pic). Australians say "spin-out" instead of "crazy". Haha.. I really went there for the fun and because there was nothing else that interested me. He spoke about inspirations that came to he and Marty Sampson when writing the songs they did for the various Hillsong United cd's.
Oh by the way, Marty Sampson is not here. I made that mistake yesterday. The person I mistakenly thought was Marty was actually a guy named Jad Gillies. He's another Hillsong guitarist/singer. A very very VERY good singer, and a very very good guitarist. Well, he's a better singer than Joel, but not sure about the guitar. Probably better too.
The night session was led by Brian Doerksen. I don't think I need to introduce him..
This morning, it was Vicky Beeching leading worship. Hopefully I'll get a picture with her tomorrow during her workshop. Oh, did I mention I bought her cd yesterday which just came out -- you guessed it -- yesterday. I also bought the worshiptogether How-To songbook #1. Now I have all of them :)
In the morning I went to a workshop by Todd Phillips, who spoke about Spiritual CPR. In a nutshell, the workshop focused on the topic evangelism, and why we should do it. Often Christians skip over evangelism, doing it instead out of guilt. The old "bring a friend to church next week" deal. They'll do it, and then that's it. They feel relieved that they don't have to bring a friend every week. I can see what he's talking about, although for different reasons. I wouldn't want to bring a friend to T3C, to be honest. It's just not very seeker friendly.
But I digress. Todd described that we already know the what and the where. The great commission speaks of What we should do Where we should do it. Go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But it doesn't cover the Why. Why should we evangelize, why should we do missions?
1 John 1:4 explains that it will make our joy complete. This is why we do it. Because no matter what else we do to fill in the void, like take on massive responsibilities at church, doing worship, sunday school, bible studies, welcoming, choir, pastoring, counselling, ushering, etc etc. We can do all those things, but without evangelism, our joy will never be complete.
One thing that especially hit me was that the act of evangelism is all it takes. It's not the conversion part -- that's God's doing. Once we have done our part, it's God's turn to do the rest. The act of evangelism is what makes our joy complete.
After lunch I lined up for 30 minutes so that I could get a decent seat for Hillsong United, which was leading the after lunch worship. What can I say other than it was.. moving. I was deeply moved. I find that Hillsong music, the words that they use and the instrumentals.. they awaken something inside me. I feel more aware for the Spirit's presence. I thought for sure I would lose my voice, but it turned out alright.
The speaker for the afternoon was Jason Hildebrand. He is an actor/musician, who is starring in a show called "Blue Like Jazz/Live". It's a monologue of sorts. Very interesting and funny. We got it free of course, but it is travelling from coast to coast (the show) so if you get a chance, I highly recommend it.
In the afternoon I went to a workshop led by Joel Houston (the bloke in the pic). Australians say "spin-out" instead of "crazy". Haha.. I really went there for the fun and because there was nothing else that interested me. He spoke about inspirations that came to he and Marty Sampson when writing the songs they did for the various Hillsong United cd's.
Oh by the way, Marty Sampson is not here. I made that mistake yesterday. The person I mistakenly thought was Marty was actually a guy named Jad Gillies. He's another Hillsong guitarist/singer. A very very VERY good singer, and a very very good guitarist. Well, he's a better singer than Joel, but not sure about the guitar. Probably better too.
The night session was led by Brian Doerksen. I don't think I need to introduce him..
May 18, 2005
Unite
So there I was, sitting in the 4th row in the Toronto Congress Centre. To the right of me, sat Yee Lee, a worship leader at Toronto Chinese Community Church. In front of me, Phil Dooley, the youth pastor from Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. Beside him, his wife and their baby. In front of Phil, was Joel Houston a worship leader with Hillsong United, author of songs like "One Way", "Evermore" and "Everyday". To the right of him was Mia Fieldes (okay, so I had to look that one up) singer and songwriter for Hillsong United (the only female in their group). And then beside her to the right, Marty Sampson, worship leader for Hillsong United, author of songs like "All Day", "God is Great" and "King of Majesty".
Wow. I was totally starstruck and yet, not at all because we were all standing their worshipping God and looking at the legendary Noel Richards, rocking it up on stage and leading a congregation of hundreds in raising the roof in God's name.
The night started with the song above, "Above All Else" by Vicky Beeching. Then Tehillah Toronto played a few songs. They are a pretty crazy band, lots of members and they kind of went nuts. The pianist was rocking so hard that the keyboard almost fell over!
After that, Noel Richards joined the band and rocked hard.
More to follow..
Wow. I was totally starstruck and yet, not at all because we were all standing their worshipping God and looking at the legendary Noel Richards, rocking it up on stage and leading a congregation of hundreds in raising the roof in God's name.
The night started with the song above, "Above All Else" by Vicky Beeching. Then Tehillah Toronto played a few songs. They are a pretty crazy band, lots of members and they kind of went nuts. The pianist was rocking so hard that the keyboard almost fell over!
After that, Noel Richards joined the band and rocked hard.
More to follow..
May 17, 2005
The end
Back in the day, I used to blog about events. Things I did, places I went, people I met. I remember posting pictures with captions. This was all before the whole big "blog movement" began. Digital cameras were still fairly new and I was one of the few who had one, so I posted just about anything we (Lon and I) saw. It was the days when you took a picture of *anything* at all — because you could — because we couldn't get over the concept that nothing was a waste of film. And plus you wanted to justify how much you spent on the darned thing.
Blogging came naturally then. When I did something, I posted about it. I didn't post daily because I wanted people to know what I had done, I did it as a personal journal and I didn't feel like I had to update in order to get people to read, because as far as I knew, I didn't have any readers. People would ask me where I posted yesterday's pictures, and I would point them to my IP address.
I don't have a whole lot to blog about anymore. With the daily grind of work — that and living alone, means nothing really happens. I find I have nothing to post about unless I have recently been with someone. No one wants to hear about my gaming experiences, nor do I really want to post about them. Perhaps, I can take photos of the dishes I cook, but what good would that do? It's not interesting.
For this reason I've decided to discontinue my bnyao.blogspot.com blog site, for the simple reason that I have nothing to say there that I can't say here. And I plan to close this one down shortly after if I find I can't become more active here. Nothing is more "ugh" than constantly checking a website that isn't up-to-date. It's a matter of principle — if I can't keep it up to date, then I won't have it.
Blogging came naturally then. When I did something, I posted about it. I didn't post daily because I wanted people to know what I had done, I did it as a personal journal and I didn't feel like I had to update in order to get people to read, because as far as I knew, I didn't have any readers. People would ask me where I posted yesterday's pictures, and I would point them to my IP address.
I don't have a whole lot to blog about anymore. With the daily grind of work — that and living alone, means nothing really happens. I find I have nothing to post about unless I have recently been with someone. No one wants to hear about my gaming experiences, nor do I really want to post about them. Perhaps, I can take photos of the dishes I cook, but what good would that do? It's not interesting.
For this reason I've decided to discontinue my bnyao.blogspot.com blog site, for the simple reason that I have nothing to say there that I can't say here. And I plan to close this one down shortly after if I find I can't become more active here. Nothing is more "ugh" than constantly checking a website that isn't up-to-date. It's a matter of principle — if I can't keep it up to date, then I won't have it.
May 08, 2005
NBA: Round two
Admittedly this is coming late because the first round has already started. But let's do a quick recap.
Ben Gordon did not win Rookie of the Year.
Ben Gordon won Sixth Man of the Year.
Grant Hill did not win Most Improved Player.
Andrei Kirilenko did not win Best Defensive Player of the Year.
Steve Nash won Most Valuable Player.
Miami swept New Jersey.
Phoenix did not beat Memphis in 5 games. (They swept)
Detroit did not sweep Philadelphia. (Took 5 games)
Washington beat Chicago in 6.
Dallas did not beat Houston in 6. (Took 7 games)
Indiana did not beat Boston in 6. (Took 7 games)
Seattle did not beat Sacramento in 7 (Took 5 games)
San Antonio did not beat Denver in 4 (Took 5 games)
So.. I was wrong on most of the predictions, but at least I got all the teams right. Given some surprising performances, I'd like to revise my next round of predictions:
EAST
Miami over Washington in 4 (no change).
Detroit over Indiana in 6 (I now think that this series could go either way. I realized having watched them play Philly, that Detroit isn't as good as they were last year. Their bench is very thin. Also I think this series will turn out a lot more even than I previously thought, because of these two teams' history.)
WEST
Phoenix over Dallas in 6. (no change)
San Antonio over Seattle in 6. (I didn't know Seattle was as good as they turned out to be. I thought they were all shooting and nothing else, but Jerome James has proven he can put together more than 1 games in a row where he plays really well. I still think they'll lose though.)
The only series worth watching now is Phoenix and Dallas. It'll be quite a matchup, crazy scoring. I suspect every game will total 140 points or more. The Detroit series will be interesting, just to see Reggie Miller's farewell tour.
Ben Gordon did not win Rookie of the Year.
Ben Gordon won Sixth Man of the Year.
Grant Hill did not win Most Improved Player.
Andrei Kirilenko did not win Best Defensive Player of the Year.
Steve Nash won Most Valuable Player.
Miami swept New Jersey.
Phoenix did not beat Memphis in 5 games. (They swept)
Detroit did not sweep Philadelphia. (Took 5 games)
Washington beat Chicago in 6.
Dallas did not beat Houston in 6. (Took 7 games)
Indiana did not beat Boston in 6. (Took 7 games)
Seattle did not beat Sacramento in 7 (Took 5 games)
San Antonio did not beat Denver in 4 (Took 5 games)
So.. I was wrong on most of the predictions, but at least I got all the teams right. Given some surprising performances, I'd like to revise my next round of predictions:
EAST
Miami over Washington in 4 (no change).
Detroit over Indiana in 6 (I now think that this series could go either way. I realized having watched them play Philly, that Detroit isn't as good as they were last year. Their bench is very thin. Also I think this series will turn out a lot more even than I previously thought, because of these two teams' history.)
WEST
Phoenix over Dallas in 6. (no change)
San Antonio over Seattle in 6. (I didn't know Seattle was as good as they turned out to be. I thought they were all shooting and nothing else, but Jerome James has proven he can put together more than 1 games in a row where he plays really well. I still think they'll lose though.)
The only series worth watching now is Phoenix and Dallas. It'll be quite a matchup, crazy scoring. I suspect every game will total 140 points or more. The Detroit series will be interesting, just to see Reggie Miller's farewell tour.
Motabo
This is the second movie in a row that I've seen, that ended with a tribal african song. I really like that kind of music..
Went to see "The Interpreter" tonight, with Eric & Nicole and Ina. 9:20pm showing @ Rainbow Theatres, Fairview Mall. I love going there because it's so cheap that even if you see a bad movie there, you don't feel ripped off. Except of course, if you went to see "King Arthur" there like I did. *shudder*
When you see Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman, you at least expect a good movie for the simple reason that these two professionals wouldn't pick a bad script. They are both well established and respected in their industry.
The Interpreter was a good movie. It wasn't an 'edge-of-your-seat' thriller but it was definitely very engaging and exciting. You could tell by looking over at Ina who had her hands over her ears for most of the movie, expecting something to happen. (Just a guess, for all I know it could have been because her ears were cold..)
*possible SPOILER*: I was expecting an even bigger twist that didn't happen. Pretty much at some point I clued in that it might be Silvia who would be the assassin. I thought somehow she would be the shooter, and that her flute was a piece of some elaborate make-shift sniper rifle. *end of possible spoiler*
I would say that the actors made an otherwise okay movie into a good movie. Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman gave SUPERB performances. The two of them were brilliant in their roles and in my opinion, carried the film, turning a 7/10 movie into a 9/10.
("Millions" sets the standard for any movie I rate this year. This movie wasn't as good as "Millions", and thus I can only give it a 9/10. With that said though, since "Millions" instantly became my 2nd favorite movie of all time, you might say that 9/10 = 10/10, but you won't hear me say it.)
Went to see "The Interpreter" tonight, with Eric & Nicole and Ina. 9:20pm showing @ Rainbow Theatres, Fairview Mall. I love going there because it's so cheap that even if you see a bad movie there, you don't feel ripped off. Except of course, if you went to see "King Arthur" there like I did. *shudder*
When you see Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman, you at least expect a good movie for the simple reason that these two professionals wouldn't pick a bad script. They are both well established and respected in their industry.
The Interpreter was a good movie. It wasn't an 'edge-of-your-seat' thriller but it was definitely very engaging and exciting. You could tell by looking over at Ina who had her hands over her ears for most of the movie, expecting something to happen. (Just a guess, for all I know it could have been because her ears were cold..)
*possible SPOILER*: I was expecting an even bigger twist that didn't happen. Pretty much at some point I clued in that it might be Silvia who would be the assassin. I thought somehow she would be the shooter, and that her flute was a piece of some elaborate make-shift sniper rifle. *end of possible spoiler*
I would say that the actors made an otherwise okay movie into a good movie. Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman gave SUPERB performances. The two of them were brilliant in their roles and in my opinion, carried the film, turning a 7/10 movie into a 9/10.
("Millions" sets the standard for any movie I rate this year. This movie wasn't as good as "Millions", and thus I can only give it a 9/10. With that said though, since "Millions" instantly became my 2nd favorite movie of all time, you might say that 9/10 = 10/10, but you won't hear me say it.)
May 06, 2005
I'm bustin' Jerry, bustin'!
I like to go places when it fits into my plans.
So anyway, yesterday I had to get my picture taken at church for the new church directory and PLUS there was a sale at Mitchell's, so I was really happy.
Eric came along because he had nothing to do. We went to Mitchell's where I finally picked up my own copy of "Seizing Your Divine Moment" by Erwin McManus. And I also bought another CD, Jeremy Camp's "Stay". This purchase was a long time coming since I had been sampling his CDs off his website for at least 6 months.
Then I had my picture taken, and then.. THEN --- we had PHO!!!!!
--
SPRING CELEBRATION FESTIVAL ONTARIO, CANADA
DETAILS:
May 21, 2005, Early Afternoon
Paramount Canada's Wonderland
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Seating: General Admission
TICKETS:
On Sale: Tickets On Sale Now!
Door Price: $35.09 - $55.42
Advance Price: $29.24 - $49.57
Group Price: $2 off per ticket(before tax) plus 1 free ticket per order
http://www.sonshineconcerts.com/showProfile.asp?id=159
Although it says "Early Afternoon", Ticketmaster says 10:00AM.
So anyway, yesterday I had to get my picture taken at church for the new church directory and PLUS there was a sale at Mitchell's, so I was really happy.
Eric came along because he had nothing to do. We went to Mitchell's where I finally picked up my own copy of "Seizing Your Divine Moment" by Erwin McManus. And I also bought another CD, Jeremy Camp's "Stay". This purchase was a long time coming since I had been sampling his CDs off his website for at least 6 months.
Then I had my picture taken, and then.. THEN --- we had PHO!!!!!
--
SPRING CELEBRATION FESTIVAL ONTARIO, CANADA
DETAILS:
May 21, 2005, Early Afternoon
Paramount Canada's Wonderland
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Seating: General Admission
TICKETS:
On Sale: Tickets On Sale Now!
Door Price: $35.09 - $55.42
Advance Price: $29.24 - $49.57
Group Price: $2 off per ticket(before tax) plus 1 free ticket per order
http://www.sonshineconcerts.com/showProfile.asp?id=159
Although it says "Early Afternoon", Ticketmaster says 10:00AM.
May 05, 2005
Wow!
I used to blog every day. I used to do a lot of things..
I have had World of Warcraft for 159 days. In that time, I have spent a total of approximately 31 days in the game, in the kingdom of Azeroth. That means I've spent 19.5% of the past 159 days playing WoW. To give you a better perspective, I sleep on average 7 hours per night, which is 29% of the past 159 days. So in the past 159 days, I have spent nearly 50% either sleeping or playing WoW. And that doesn't cover all my video gaming — what about the breaks I took to play Knight of the Old Republic, and countless hours of Bomberman, Smash Brothers Melee, or Halo 2.
31 days. That's 1 month, a long month. An entire month spent playing with Smee, Wahya and Havarti (she's new).
The friends I've made. I didn't really know Duncan that well until we started playing WoW together. Smee and Luffy constantly competed in the race to reach level 60. First it was to see who could reach 40 first, then who would get their mount, then who'd hit 60. It was no contest though, Smee had more time on his hands, plus he isn't engaged and getting married in the fall. Smee also met and played with Luffy's real life friends — people like Jooky, Jeir and Eponine. Without them, Smee would never have met Kiran or Unon.
Ah, Kiran. He is the closest thing I have to a close "pal" in the World of Warcraft. "Kiran and Smee, we was like peas and carrots." We did everything together — questing, instances, grinding and even ganking. Kiran and I met in the Deadmines, and became nearly inseparable for the next 20 days. What do you expect though, the duo of Hunter and Rogue is nearly unstoppable. And over time we learned eachother's tendancies, and timed everything to the tee. I knew exactly when to Cheapshot and exactly when he was going to send Cuddles in to tank. I always knew which mob to Sap and which Horde to ambush. We got along great and we still do. Probably the only thing we disagree upon is the New England Patriots — I hate them, and he loves em.
I don't know much about the man behind Kiran except that he's also chinese and lives in Southern California. I believe he attends USC and is currently on an internship. He's the reason I say "bleh". Those were some good times. He had even more time than I did, reaching level 60 nearly a week before Smee.
All that is sort of gone now. We both left the guild "The Knights of Unon", and both winded up joining "Brethren". Brethren is a massive guild compared to Unon, and we've gotten lost in the crowd. Luffy has stopped playing, as has Jeir and Eponine. It's sad, although I've made new friends now, like Onyxx, Nephlite, Deviate. But it's not the same.
I guess what got me thinking about all this was reading a few posts from fellow Brethren about quitting the game. It's the realization that a game has taken over your life and become #1 priority. I'm really glad that that hasn't happened for me, although it almost did a couple of months ago. In some ways, I'm lucky that I have such a low attention span.
One guy blew off his sister's surprise birthday party because he had "other plans" — that being, taking part in a guild raid. Another guy admitted to have 58 days of playing time. Ponder this for a moment: 58 days. Out of 159 days. That's over 1/3 of the time playing one single game. It's unbelievable when you think about it. He had played the game more in the past 159 days than I had spent sleeping. Even more unbelievable when you consider it takes on average 20 days to reach level 60. That means he'd spent more time at level 60 than I have played in total. I read about another guy who had to quit because his wife was complaining about not getting enough attention.
O_o
I have had World of Warcraft for 159 days. In that time, I have spent a total of approximately 31 days in the game, in the kingdom of Azeroth. That means I've spent 19.5% of the past 159 days playing WoW. To give you a better perspective, I sleep on average 7 hours per night, which is 29% of the past 159 days. So in the past 159 days, I have spent nearly 50% either sleeping or playing WoW. And that doesn't cover all my video gaming — what about the breaks I took to play Knight of the Old Republic, and countless hours of Bomberman, Smash Brothers Melee, or Halo 2.
31 days. That's 1 month, a long month. An entire month spent playing with Smee, Wahya and Havarti (she's new).
The friends I've made. I didn't really know Duncan that well until we started playing WoW together. Smee and Luffy constantly competed in the race to reach level 60. First it was to see who could reach 40 first, then who would get their mount, then who'd hit 60. It was no contest though, Smee had more time on his hands, plus he isn't engaged and getting married in the fall. Smee also met and played with Luffy's real life friends — people like Jooky, Jeir and Eponine. Without them, Smee would never have met Kiran or Unon.
Ah, Kiran. He is the closest thing I have to a close "pal" in the World of Warcraft. "Kiran and Smee, we was like peas and carrots." We did everything together — questing, instances, grinding and even ganking. Kiran and I met in the Deadmines, and became nearly inseparable for the next 20 days. What do you expect though, the duo of Hunter and Rogue is nearly unstoppable. And over time we learned eachother's tendancies, and timed everything to the tee. I knew exactly when to Cheapshot and exactly when he was going to send Cuddles in to tank. I always knew which mob to Sap and which Horde to ambush. We got along great and we still do. Probably the only thing we disagree upon is the New England Patriots — I hate them, and he loves em.
I don't know much about the man behind Kiran except that he's also chinese and lives in Southern California. I believe he attends USC and is currently on an internship. He's the reason I say "bleh". Those were some good times. He had even more time than I did, reaching level 60 nearly a week before Smee.
All that is sort of gone now. We both left the guild "The Knights of Unon", and both winded up joining "Brethren". Brethren is a massive guild compared to Unon, and we've gotten lost in the crowd. Luffy has stopped playing, as has Jeir and Eponine. It's sad, although I've made new friends now, like Onyxx, Nephlite, Deviate. But it's not the same.
I guess what got me thinking about all this was reading a few posts from fellow Brethren about quitting the game. It's the realization that a game has taken over your life and become #1 priority. I'm really glad that that hasn't happened for me, although it almost did a couple of months ago. In some ways, I'm lucky that I have such a low attention span.
One guy blew off his sister's surprise birthday party because he had "other plans" — that being, taking part in a guild raid. Another guy admitted to have 58 days of playing time. Ponder this for a moment: 58 days. Out of 159 days. That's over 1/3 of the time playing one single game. It's unbelievable when you think about it. He had played the game more in the past 159 days than I had spent sleeping. Even more unbelievable when you consider it takes on average 20 days to reach level 60. That means he'd spent more time at level 60 than I have played in total. I read about another guy who had to quit because his wife was complaining about not getting enough attention.
O_o
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