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
May 05, 2005
April 29, 2005
Best movie ever?
I had a coupon -- a 2-for-1 deal at any Cineplex Odeon theater. The expiry date was last night so I had to use it. So Kenric and I went to see a movie called Millions at the Sheppard Grande.
As with all indie-type films, I didn't expect a great deal of it. Usually films like this hit more often than miss, but you never really know. Kenric and I are both big fans of these types of movies. I guess you could call us "artsy" but I prefer to call it "selective".
There are good movies and then there are great movies. And further, there are special movies. "Millions" fits in the Special Movie category. I wouldn't say it was as good or better than my all-time favorite movie ("Forrest Gump"). But I think it just became my #2 all-time favorite, toppling "Almost Famous".
You can read the synopsis on the website I posted above.
I would recommend it to anyone. 10/10.
As with all indie-type films, I didn't expect a great deal of it. Usually films like this hit more often than miss, but you never really know. Kenric and I are both big fans of these types of movies. I guess you could call us "artsy" but I prefer to call it "selective".
There are good movies and then there are great movies. And further, there are special movies. "Millions" fits in the Special Movie category. I wouldn't say it was as good or better than my all-time favorite movie ("Forrest Gump"). But I think it just became my #2 all-time favorite, toppling "Almost Famous".
You can read the synopsis on the website I posted above.
I would recommend it to anyone. 10/10.
April 27, 2005
April 25, 2005
Most wonderful scent
This morning I put on my jacket and I was overcome by a wonderful aroma. I was almost taken aback, and I immediately disrobed it, exhaled fully, scrunged up my jacket into a ball, and thrusted my face into it. I took the biggest inhale and -- Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
PHO!
I love pho. It is my favorite food, better than anything that I can think of. I love the very idea of pho -- noodles and beef, lots of beef. And it's cheap too.
It's the total package -- tastes great, filling, cheap. And to top it off, the smell soaks into your clothes and that aroma lasts for days.
It is pretty much the only food that I can still have a craving for even though I just had a hunking bowl of it. You can get me to do anything for you just for a bowl of pho. I'm salivating even as I type this. Sigh.. I better stop, can't concentrate!
PHO!
I love pho. It is my favorite food, better than anything that I can think of. I love the very idea of pho -- noodles and beef, lots of beef. And it's cheap too.
It's the total package -- tastes great, filling, cheap. And to top it off, the smell soaks into your clothes and that aroma lasts for days.
It is pretty much the only food that I can still have a craving for even though I just had a hunking bowl of it. You can get me to do anything for you just for a bowl of pho. I'm salivating even as I type this. Sigh.. I better stop, can't concentrate!
April 22, 2005
NBA Predictions
Awards
MVP: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
There's no question in my mind that Steve Nash should be the MVP for this season. Yes, Shaq has made a difference in Miami -- but it *IS* the Eastern Conference. Miami was already a playoff team last year, whereas Phoenix was a 50-loss team last year.
Rookie of the Year: Ben Gordon
I called this one last year before Gordon was even drafted. It really comes down to him and Okafor. It's hard to argue because Okafor averaged a double-double. Although Gordon beat him in ppg. Bottom line here goes to overall record and how much they affected their team. Ben Gordon is responsible for why the Bulls are in the playoffs. He led the league in scoring in the 4th quarter -- this not just a stat among rookies, he beat *everyone*.
Coach of the Year: Rick Carlisle
Rick deserves this because he was devastated by injuries and suspensions, and still managed to lead this team of misfits into the playoffs. He rejuvenated Reggie Miller, lost his best player in Ron Artest and was missing Jermaine O'Neal for half of the year.
Executive of the Year: Danny Ainge
Ainge had a fantastic year, putting together first of all, an amazing draft by getting Al Jefferson, Delonte West and Tony Allen. Then he went and traded for Antoine Walker, and gave Boston something to cheer about as they won their division.
Sixth Man of the Year: Ben Gordon
On top of the accolades I have already mentioned about Gordon, he also led all scorers of players coming off the bench.
Most Improved Player of the Year: Grant Hill
Injured over the past 3-4 years, he finally put together a healthy season, and although not quite the Grant Hill that once made him my favorite player, had a really solid season.
Defensive player of the Year: Andrei Kirilenko
Missed half the year, but those numbers he's got.. he averaged, 3 blocks per game, 2 steals? He's a phenomenal player. Unlike other defensive specialists, he also averaged 16 ppg.
All-NBA Teams
First Team
C: Shaquille O'Neal
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: Tim Duncan
G: Lebron James
G: Steve Nash
I have seen Lebron listed in some places as a guard, and sometimes as a forward. If he were a forward, I would Tim Duncan down to the Second Team -- that's how good I think Lebron is. And actually, Duncan has been listed as either a Forward or a Center.
Second Team
C: Amare Stoudamire
F: Kevin Garnett
F: Tracy McGrady
G: Allen Iverson
G: Kobe Bryant
Since these lists are based according to how good they are at their position, Kobe makes the list. Otherwise he wouldn't make the Fourth Team! To continue on Lebron's alternate position, McGrady would fall to the 4th team. If Duncan were a Center, he would have fallen to the Third Team. Amare Stoudamire would not be as good as he is without Nash, but with Nash he is a beast.
Third Team
C: Yao Ming
F: Vince Carter
F: Shawn Marion
G: Ray Allen
G: Gilbert Arenas
Yao Ming would not make this team if Duncan was a Center. I hate seeing Vince here but he has had a great year since being traded. He seems to be his old self now. And from what recent articles suggests, I hate Rafer Alston.
Here are my predictions for the 2005 NBA Playoffs:
EAST
Miami over New Jersey in 4.
Washington over Chicago in 6.
Indiana over Boston in 6.
Detroit over Philadelphia in 4.
Miami over Washington in 4.
Detroit over Indiana in 4.
Detroit over Miami in 4.
WEST
Phoenix over Memphis in 5.
Dallas over Houston in 6.
Seattle over Sacramento in 7.
San Antonio over Denver in 4.
Phoenix over Dallas in 6.
San Antonio over Seattle in 4.
San Antonio over Phoenix in 7.
Detroit over San Antonio in 6.
Btw, I will be cheering for Indiana in the East and Phoenix in the West.
MVP: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
There's no question in my mind that Steve Nash should be the MVP for this season. Yes, Shaq has made a difference in Miami -- but it *IS* the Eastern Conference. Miami was already a playoff team last year, whereas Phoenix was a 50-loss team last year.
Rookie of the Year: Ben Gordon
I called this one last year before Gordon was even drafted. It really comes down to him and Okafor. It's hard to argue because Okafor averaged a double-double. Although Gordon beat him in ppg. Bottom line here goes to overall record and how much they affected their team. Ben Gordon is responsible for why the Bulls are in the playoffs. He led the league in scoring in the 4th quarter -- this not just a stat among rookies, he beat *everyone*.
Coach of the Year: Rick Carlisle
Rick deserves this because he was devastated by injuries and suspensions, and still managed to lead this team of misfits into the playoffs. He rejuvenated Reggie Miller, lost his best player in Ron Artest and was missing Jermaine O'Neal for half of the year.
Executive of the Year: Danny Ainge
Ainge had a fantastic year, putting together first of all, an amazing draft by getting Al Jefferson, Delonte West and Tony Allen. Then he went and traded for Antoine Walker, and gave Boston something to cheer about as they won their division.
Sixth Man of the Year: Ben Gordon
On top of the accolades I have already mentioned about Gordon, he also led all scorers of players coming off the bench.
Most Improved Player of the Year: Grant Hill
Injured over the past 3-4 years, he finally put together a healthy season, and although not quite the Grant Hill that once made him my favorite player, had a really solid season.
Defensive player of the Year: Andrei Kirilenko
Missed half the year, but those numbers he's got.. he averaged, 3 blocks per game, 2 steals? He's a phenomenal player. Unlike other defensive specialists, he also averaged 16 ppg.
All-NBA Teams
First Team
C: Shaquille O'Neal
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: Tim Duncan
G: Lebron James
G: Steve Nash
I have seen Lebron listed in some places as a guard, and sometimes as a forward. If he were a forward, I would Tim Duncan down to the Second Team -- that's how good I think Lebron is. And actually, Duncan has been listed as either a Forward or a Center.
Second Team
C: Amare Stoudamire
F: Kevin Garnett
F: Tracy McGrady
G: Allen Iverson
G: Kobe Bryant
Since these lists are based according to how good they are at their position, Kobe makes the list. Otherwise he wouldn't make the Fourth Team! To continue on Lebron's alternate position, McGrady would fall to the 4th team. If Duncan were a Center, he would have fallen to the Third Team. Amare Stoudamire would not be as good as he is without Nash, but with Nash he is a beast.
Third Team
C: Yao Ming
F: Vince Carter
F: Shawn Marion
G: Ray Allen
G: Gilbert Arenas
Yao Ming would not make this team if Duncan was a Center. I hate seeing Vince here but he has had a great year since being traded. He seems to be his old self now. And from what recent articles suggests, I hate Rafer Alston.
Here are my predictions for the 2005 NBA Playoffs:
EAST
Miami over New Jersey in 4.
Washington over Chicago in 6.
Indiana over Boston in 6.
Detroit over Philadelphia in 4.
Miami over Washington in 4.
Detroit over Indiana in 4.
Detroit over Miami in 4.
WEST
Phoenix over Memphis in 5.
Dallas over Houston in 6.
Seattle over Sacramento in 7.
San Antonio over Denver in 4.
Phoenix over Dallas in 6.
San Antonio over Seattle in 4.
San Antonio over Phoenix in 7.
Detroit over San Antonio in 6.
Btw, I will be cheering for Indiana in the East and Phoenix in the West.
I Thirst!
I have been ultra thirsty the last few days. I think on average I've had about 1L per day for the past 3-4 days. (Yes, I know that we're supposed to be drinking a lot more than that, but realize that I used to drink maybe one cup of *fluids* per day).
As a result my bladder has been going haywire. I could barely survive the subway ride home, and then while I was getting my haircut I had to go so badly.
Ooh, at the haircutting place, they had some magazines. I read one that was talking about Shrek, and they said that there are two more on the way -- Shrek 3 and Shrek 4! w00t! The next one will be about Shrek meeting King Arthur and the knights of the round table, and then the one after that will be a prequel about why Shrek lived in the swamp.
Also, they said that Chris Farley was originally supposed to do Shrek, not Mike Myers. That's pretty amazing, considering how Myers' career has pretty much taken off as a result of this "gig". It could have been all Farley.. if he hadn't OD'd. And let's face it.. his career pretty much sucked. What a shame.
My haircut -- I'm completely bald. There is more hair in my eyebrows than on my scalp. After they cut it, I asked them to shave it with a razor. It's pretty nifty but my head feels really cold all the time now. I might have to wear a toque to work tomorrow.
By the way, work is better now. I am enjoying it again. That March thing was a killer for me, February and March dragged so much that I was thinking about quitting, but it's passed now. I'm really enjoying it.. I feel like I'm making a strong contribution each day and sometimes it really tests me which makes it that much more enjoyable.
Also, I talked to my boss about my planned vacations and he seemed okay with it when I mentioned possibly 3 weeks in June or July. I mean, if he's okay with 3 weeks, then when I tell him it'll be 4 weeks, he won't flip out.. at least I hope not. The City operates minimally in the summer, because everyone is on vacation. That's probably the only reason I could get away with doing something like this. (Taking an entire month off). I'm not bald btw. It's way too cold right now for that. Maybe in the summer.
As a result my bladder has been going haywire. I could barely survive the subway ride home, and then while I was getting my haircut I had to go so badly.
Ooh, at the haircutting place, they had some magazines. I read one that was talking about Shrek, and they said that there are two more on the way -- Shrek 3 and Shrek 4! w00t! The next one will be about Shrek meeting King Arthur and the knights of the round table, and then the one after that will be a prequel about why Shrek lived in the swamp.
Also, they said that Chris Farley was originally supposed to do Shrek, not Mike Myers. That's pretty amazing, considering how Myers' career has pretty much taken off as a result of this "gig". It could have been all Farley.. if he hadn't OD'd. And let's face it.. his career pretty much sucked. What a shame.
My haircut -- I'm completely bald. There is more hair in my eyebrows than on my scalp. After they cut it, I asked them to shave it with a razor. It's pretty nifty but my head feels really cold all the time now. I might have to wear a toque to work tomorrow.
By the way, work is better now. I am enjoying it again. That March thing was a killer for me, February and March dragged so much that I was thinking about quitting, but it's passed now. I'm really enjoying it.. I feel like I'm making a strong contribution each day and sometimes it really tests me which makes it that much more enjoyable.
Also, I talked to my boss about my planned vacations and he seemed okay with it when I mentioned possibly 3 weeks in June or July. I mean, if he's okay with 3 weeks, then when I tell him it'll be 4 weeks, he won't flip out.. at least I hope not. The City operates minimally in the summer, because everyone is on vacation. That's probably the only reason I could get away with doing something like this. (Taking an entire month off). I'm not bald btw. It's way too cold right now for that. Maybe in the summer.
April 18, 2005
Happy Birthday, Bell
Tonight was Bell's 125th birthday. 125 years is a really long time if you think about it. That's over a century of business.
Anyway, to celebrate, the employees of Bell within the Toronto were treated with a live concert of the Barenaked Ladies -- free I might add -- and I was there to celebrate with them. Thanks to Ben, who's friend at work didn't want to go so he had a pair of extra tickets for Kenric and me.
What can I say other than BNL can really flat out entertain. They are a hilarious bunch of guys just having a great time and helping everyone else have a great time.
Anyway, to celebrate, the employees of Bell within the Toronto were treated with a live concert of the Barenaked Ladies -- free I might add -- and I was there to celebrate with them. Thanks to Ben, who's friend at work didn't want to go so he had a pair of extra tickets for Kenric and me.
What can I say other than BNL can really flat out entertain. They are a hilarious bunch of guys just having a great time and helping everyone else have a great time.
April 16, 2005
Spring is finally here!
I *love* having hardwood floor. I've been rollerblading all over my condo for the past 2 hours and having fun doing it. I cook while blading, play guitar, watch tv, etc. It's great.
Check out this hilarious video I found.
Check out this hilarious video I found.
April 13, 2005
Always one step ahead
Do you ever feel like God is always one step ahead of you? I mean yea, He's God, why wouldn't He right? But still, sometimes I find it so frustrating. Every time I make a haste decision, or stick with a certain viewpoint, it seems like God puts me back in my place. And He always gives me time to reflect on it, almost like He's waiting for it. And then, BOOM! It dawns on me and I curse at myself for not seeing it. Another life lesson.
He's like a parent that every teenager dreams of having, the kid who says: "Dad, why can't you just let me learn from my own mistakes?". That's God.
This week's chapter in Seizing Your Divine Moment is called Advance. We *should* have done this chapter last week but we did a bible study on Prayer instead. Not that Prayer isn't a worthy topic either, it's just that the timing seems off for me.
The next day I went to MissionFest and got absolutely nothing out of it and came away disappointed that I didn't receive some kind of a sign. I had prayed basically that if God wanted me to go, that I would be presented with an opportunity, or that something would jump out at me and I go for it. But I got nothing out of the Fest, and went home somewhat dejected.
As I spoke to a friend about it, about how I tend base my decisions on emotion; so my contention was that since nothing happened, that perhaps God was telling me that my mission field is where I am. "Just stay home."
The first line in this chapter says "go unless you get a no". What bugs me is that I also read a bible study, while prepping for last Friday, that had a quote:
"God does not respond to our prayers. God responds to us: to our whole life. What we say to Him cannot be separated from what we think, feel, will and do. Prayer is communication from whole persons to the Wholeness, which is the living God. Prayer is misunderstood until we see it this way."
It's just sad that I didn't see this or remember it until today when I was reading the book. McManus writes: "many times when we claim we are waiting on God, He is waiting on us.". And therein lies the answers I've been searching for. It was just that kind of awakening where I thought to myself "Damnit Bri.. why did we read this last week?"
He's like a parent that every teenager dreams of having, the kid who says: "Dad, why can't you just let me learn from my own mistakes?". That's God.
This week's chapter in Seizing Your Divine Moment is called Advance. We *should* have done this chapter last week but we did a bible study on Prayer instead. Not that Prayer isn't a worthy topic either, it's just that the timing seems off for me.
The next day I went to MissionFest and got absolutely nothing out of it and came away disappointed that I didn't receive some kind of a sign. I had prayed basically that if God wanted me to go, that I would be presented with an opportunity, or that something would jump out at me and I go for it. But I got nothing out of the Fest, and went home somewhat dejected.
As I spoke to a friend about it, about how I tend base my decisions on emotion; so my contention was that since nothing happened, that perhaps God was telling me that my mission field is where I am. "Just stay home."
The first line in this chapter says "go unless you get a no". What bugs me is that I also read a bible study, while prepping for last Friday, that had a quote:
"God does not respond to our prayers. God responds to us: to our whole life. What we say to Him cannot be separated from what we think, feel, will and do. Prayer is communication from whole persons to the Wholeness, which is the living God. Prayer is misunderstood until we see it this way."
It's just sad that I didn't see this or remember it until today when I was reading the book. McManus writes: "many times when we claim we are waiting on God, He is waiting on us.". And therein lies the answers I've been searching for. It was just that kind of awakening where I thought to myself "Damnit Bri.. why did we read this last week?"
April 12, 2005
Track 4
All I Need Is You - Hillsong United
Left my fear by the side of the road
Hear You speak won't let go
Fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray
I got every reason to be here again
Father's love that draws me in
All my eyes wanna see is glimpse of You
CHORUS
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord
One more day and it's not the same
Your Spirit calls my heart to sing
Drawn to the voice of my Savior once again
Where would my soul be without Your Son
Who gave His life to save earth
Rest in the thought that You're watching over me
Mini Bridge:
All I need is You
All I need is You
All I need is You
All I need is You
Bridge:
You hold the universe
You hold everyone on earth
You hold the universe
You hold You hold
Left my fear by the side of the road
Hear You speak won't let go
Fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray
I got every reason to be here again
Father's love that draws me in
All my eyes wanna see is glimpse of You
CHORUS
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord
One more day and it's not the same
Your Spirit calls my heart to sing
Drawn to the voice of my Savior once again
Where would my soul be without Your Son
Who gave His life to save earth
Rest in the thought that You're watching over me
Mini Bridge:
All I need is You
All I need is You
All I need is You
All I need is You
Bridge:
You hold the universe
You hold everyone on earth
You hold the universe
You hold You hold
April 11, 2005
Get better
It turns out that Hillsong United has 6 CDs. I have 4. For the first 3 albums, they went under the name "United Live" and then the last three as Hillsong United. The first 3 each have a header of "Hillsong Music Australia". I guess they wanted to make sure people knew they were Hillsong.
Anyway, what struck me most about the six albums is that they progressively get better and better. It's not just that the style of music goes from modern worship to praise rock. At first, that's exactly what I thought they were doing -- just changing their music to cater more and more to the young people; reinventing themselves.
I suppose it is a little bit of both. The first CD "Everyday" is mellow, almost like a more recently done Hillsong album. Compare that to the reaction of our english congregation to the youth leading worship with songs like One Way or All Day from Hillsong's 5th album "More Than Life". It's like shell-shock.
But I guess what I'm trying to get at is that they get better. Musically, the guitarists, and the singers, get better.
Maybe this seems obvious to you, but to me it's a big surprise. I'm really curious about it, did they take lessons to get better? Or did it just take practice? Or maybe they listened to other music and tried to figure out how to do it themselves?
air filter guy
Every 6 months, a guy goes through the building replacing air filters for every unit. I remember this guy because last year when he came in he saw my electric guitar and told me about how he had started to take guitar lessons after going on a retreat with some of his buddies and one guy was just a wizard on the guitar.
Anyway, a follow-up, he was making his rounds again this weekend so I talked to him again about it. He'd made large strides since we last spoke. He now owned two electric guitars and was planning to buy an electric acoustic -- but his wife wouldn't let him. He was taking lessons still and was getting pretty good. For a minute there I dreamt that we'd just start jamming right there and then.
This guy had no musical background and had picked up basic guitar theory. That really impressed me. Also, he was at least 40 with two kids, and still found the time to persue his dream of guitar playing!
I guess next time I see him, I'll try to catch his name :P
Anyway, what struck me most about the six albums is that they progressively get better and better. It's not just that the style of music goes from modern worship to praise rock. At first, that's exactly what I thought they were doing -- just changing their music to cater more and more to the young people; reinventing themselves.
I suppose it is a little bit of both. The first CD "Everyday" is mellow, almost like a more recently done Hillsong album. Compare that to the reaction of our english congregation to the youth leading worship with songs like One Way or All Day from Hillsong's 5th album "More Than Life". It's like shell-shock.
But I guess what I'm trying to get at is that they get better. Musically, the guitarists, and the singers, get better.
Maybe this seems obvious to you, but to me it's a big surprise. I'm really curious about it, did they take lessons to get better? Or did it just take practice? Or maybe they listened to other music and tried to figure out how to do it themselves?
air filter guy
Every 6 months, a guy goes through the building replacing air filters for every unit. I remember this guy because last year when he came in he saw my electric guitar and told me about how he had started to take guitar lessons after going on a retreat with some of his buddies and one guy was just a wizard on the guitar.
Anyway, a follow-up, he was making his rounds again this weekend so I talked to him again about it. He'd made large strides since we last spoke. He now owned two electric guitars and was planning to buy an electric acoustic -- but his wife wouldn't let him. He was taking lessons still and was getting pretty good. For a minute there I dreamt that we'd just start jamming right there and then.
This guy had no musical background and had picked up basic guitar theory. That really impressed me. Also, he was at least 40 with two kids, and still found the time to persue his dream of guitar playing!
I guess next time I see him, I'll try to catch his name :P
April 10, 2005
May 20
As some of you know, there is an upcoming conference on May 18-20th for those of us who are involved with worship ministry and/or just really like it. :)
The Unite In Worship conference is organized by unite productions and features tons of workshops taught by many of our favorite Christian songwriters, musicians and worship leaders: Noel Richards, Paul Wilbur, Marty Sampson, Joel Houston, Vicky Beeching, Brian Doerksen, Phil Dooley. In other words, about half of the authors of the worship music you've sung in the past year will be there =P
I am planning to take both days off (May 19-20) to attend this conference. Anyone who's interested please let me know before April 20 (early bird deadline).
May 20th is the last gathering/concert. It starts at 6:30pm. Hillsong United, Vicky Beeching, Noel Richards, Phil Dooley and Something Like Silas will be performing and I think it'd be cool to go as a group. $14.95.
---
Vicky Beeching
---
Who's Vicky Beeching, many of you are wondering. She's one of the hosts of one of my favorite things on the web, the New Song Cafe on worshiptogether.com. New Song Cafe invites an artist in to play one of their hit songs, and the host asks what inspired them to write the song, and then the artist plays it once and teaches (us) how to play them.
Anyway if you check it out right now, you'll see they do an April Fool's joke where Vicky interviews herself and she teaches her song "Yesterday, Today and Forever". Pretty good song if you ask me, although her guitar skills are uber and I still can't play it.
The Unite In Worship conference is organized by unite productions and features tons of workshops taught by many of our favorite Christian songwriters, musicians and worship leaders: Noel Richards, Paul Wilbur, Marty Sampson, Joel Houston, Vicky Beeching, Brian Doerksen, Phil Dooley. In other words, about half of the authors of the worship music you've sung in the past year will be there =P
I am planning to take both days off (May 19-20) to attend this conference. Anyone who's interested please let me know before April 20 (early bird deadline).
May 20th is the last gathering/concert. It starts at 6:30pm. Hillsong United, Vicky Beeching, Noel Richards, Phil Dooley and Something Like Silas will be performing and I think it'd be cool to go as a group. $14.95.
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Vicky Beeching
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Who's Vicky Beeching, many of you are wondering. She's one of the hosts of one of my favorite things on the web, the New Song Cafe on worshiptogether.com. New Song Cafe invites an artist in to play one of their hit songs, and the host asks what inspired them to write the song, and then the artist plays it once and teaches (us) how to play them.
Anyway if you check it out right now, you'll see they do an April Fool's joke where Vicky interviews herself and she teaches her song "Yesterday, Today and Forever". Pretty good song if you ask me, although her guitar skills are uber and I still can't play it.
April 09, 2005
Apathy
I went to MissionFest today.
I spoke to some people, but I felt nothing. I felt no urgency, not eagerness. No spark, no fire. Nothing. Maybe there's something wrong with me. After praying all week for discernment and an open heart, I left feeling numbness and frustrated.
If there's more to this life, it's not here. My questions have been left unanswered -- or rather, the answer I got was not something I expected.
So I'm back to square one. Still feeling like I want to get away, still feeling bored of this life, still wanting more. In fact, I started to feel like I had to get away WHILE I was there, which prompted me to walk back to my car and drive home, without even saying goodbye to akt. About all I got out of the festival was a bunch of pamphlets and the new Hillsong United CD "Look To You".
Anyway..
I spoke to some people, but I felt nothing. I felt no urgency, not eagerness. No spark, no fire. Nothing. Maybe there's something wrong with me. After praying all week for discernment and an open heart, I left feeling numbness and frustrated.
If there's more to this life, it's not here. My questions have been left unanswered -- or rather, the answer I got was not something I expected.
So I'm back to square one. Still feeling like I want to get away, still feeling bored of this life, still wanting more. In fact, I started to feel like I had to get away WHILE I was there, which prompted me to walk back to my car and drive home, without even saying goodbye to akt. About all I got out of the festival was a bunch of pamphlets and the new Hillsong United CD "Look To You".
Anyway..
April 08, 2005
Recover post
Haha.. anyone else notice the new blogger feature? I bet it's there because of the thousands of complaints on the forums about lost posts! Hmm.. Did it really take 24 hours to implement this feature?
Recently been listening to Mariah, albums 1-5. It never ceases to amaze me the kind of range that she had. She had 4-octave talent. Think about that. I can sing maybe 4 octaves, but a couple of those octaves are either whimpers or falsetto's. She could sing (no) -BELT- out 4 octaves. FOUR OCTAVES. This is why, despite what she has been doing in the last 10 years, I still love Mariah.
MissionFest is tomorrow. Or rather, it's today and tomorrow but I'm going tomorrow. I'm going. I've been praying all week about it, praying for the ability to discern thoughts going through my mind, between which thoughts are mine and which are what the Spirit is feeding me. Or, maybe that something in me will spontaneously push me forward and just do something. Last year I came real close. Before, I'd just walk past people and smile at them. Last year I picked up pamphlets. And I spoke to a few people.
It's weird going to these things, as opposed to job fairs where the ultimate goal is to just get whatever freebie they are giving out. Mission booths aren't giving away free pens, mousepads, or stress balls. They're giving out opportunities in life to please God. So my approach to each booth is entirely different. It's a lot scarier, because they are essentially looking to take a freebie from me -- my love, my will -- instead of the other way around. I dunno, I find that incredibly daunting.
Anyway, I'm late for small group.
Recently been listening to Mariah, albums 1-5. It never ceases to amaze me the kind of range that she had. She had 4-octave talent. Think about that. I can sing maybe 4 octaves, but a couple of those octaves are either whimpers or falsetto's. She could sing (no) -BELT- out 4 octaves. FOUR OCTAVES. This is why, despite what she has been doing in the last 10 years, I still love Mariah.
MissionFest is tomorrow. Or rather, it's today and tomorrow but I'm going tomorrow. I'm going. I've been praying all week about it, praying for the ability to discern thoughts going through my mind, between which thoughts are mine and which are what the Spirit is feeding me. Or, maybe that something in me will spontaneously push me forward and just do something. Last year I came real close. Before, I'd just walk past people and smile at them. Last year I picked up pamphlets. And I spoke to a few people.
It's weird going to these things, as opposed to job fairs where the ultimate goal is to just get whatever freebie they are giving out. Mission booths aren't giving away free pens, mousepads, or stress balls. They're giving out opportunities in life to please God. So my approach to each booth is entirely different. It's a lot scarier, because they are essentially looking to take a freebie from me -- my love, my will -- instead of the other way around. I dunno, I find that incredibly daunting.
Anyway, I'm late for small group.
April 06, 2005
Lost
If you haven't watched tonight's episode yet, do not read any further.
No television show has made me cry like Lost did tonight. I remember shedding a few tears when Cheers ended. I cried when Will Smith's father abandoned him for the second time on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But nothing could have prepared me for tonight Lost episode when Boone died. It was the single most sadest moment of television I can think of.
I guess in some ways we can all relate to Boone. He was kind of a loner. He didn't have a really important role on the show. He was kind of lost, searching for meaning in his life. He didn't have much purpose but what kept him going was his loved ones. He was in love with someone who would never feel the same way in return. The sacrifices he made for his sister, they were reckless but he did them anyway. I dunno, I really felt sorry for the guy.
So when he died, or when he told Jack to just let him died, I bawled my eyes out. It's just a sad story, when a person is ready to give up on his life. Jack was ready to amputate the dude's leg and just regained consciousness, enough to tell Jack to "let go". And then with his last breath, he asked Jack to tell his sister "tell Shannon.. tell Shannon.." and then he died.
It's like.. when a loved one dies, it's sad. But the flip side of it is when you die, you are losing your loved ones. I guess I see now, what it would be like without Christ, knowing that if I died and that was the end, the finality of it.
I don't even watch this show all that regularly. I guess it was either really good acting or really good directing, or a culmination of both. It moved me.
Then afterwards, I was filled with joy when Claire had given birth to her baby boy, and then Jack, faced with the beautiful child and then seeing Shannon returning from a romantic night with Sayid, only to find that her brother was dead. And that Jack had to be the one to break it to her.
Man it was brutal, I cried again there, probably harder than Shannon did.
No television show has made me cry like Lost did tonight. I remember shedding a few tears when Cheers ended. I cried when Will Smith's father abandoned him for the second time on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But nothing could have prepared me for tonight Lost episode when Boone died. It was the single most sadest moment of television I can think of.
I guess in some ways we can all relate to Boone. He was kind of a loner. He didn't have a really important role on the show. He was kind of lost, searching for meaning in his life. He didn't have much purpose but what kept him going was his loved ones. He was in love with someone who would never feel the same way in return. The sacrifices he made for his sister, they were reckless but he did them anyway. I dunno, I really felt sorry for the guy.
So when he died, or when he told Jack to just let him died, I bawled my eyes out. It's just a sad story, when a person is ready to give up on his life. Jack was ready to amputate the dude's leg and just regained consciousness, enough to tell Jack to "let go". And then with his last breath, he asked Jack to tell his sister "tell Shannon.. tell Shannon.." and then he died.
It's like.. when a loved one dies, it's sad. But the flip side of it is when you die, you are losing your loved ones. I guess I see now, what it would be like without Christ, knowing that if I died and that was the end, the finality of it.
I don't even watch this show all that regularly. I guess it was either really good acting or really good directing, or a culmination of both. It moved me.
Then afterwards, I was filled with joy when Claire had given birth to her baby boy, and then Jack, faced with the beautiful child and then seeing Shannon returning from a romantic night with Sayid, only to find that her brother was dead. And that Jack had to be the one to break it to her.
Man it was brutal, I cried again there, probably harder than Shannon did.
March 31, 2005
March
I read somewhere that March feels like the longest month of the year. January feels alright because you're fresh off a Christmas break, and February is a shortened month. And thus March is a month that seemingly lasts forever.
Earlier this month I was in a rut. It's not that I don't feel that way anymore -- I still do -- but not as strongly. I was feeling bored at work, at church, just bored with life in general. I felt like I needed to make a change. I felt like my life was too comfortable.
At first, I thought of very drastic things, like quitting my job. Moving into the wilderness and living in a hut. Giving away everything I owned and travelling to a poor country and living there for the rest of my life. I thought about going back to school, and even took some time looking over what courses I might take. I thought about moving, and where I could move.
I just wanted to get away.
I held off on posting any of this because I figured that over time these feelings would pass over and I would be back to normal. But I was wrong, the feelings remained over a 3 week span. I prayed about it daily. I talked about it with close friends, and with my parents.
Final verdict: I need a vacation.
My plan is to go on a vacation but not just any vacation. I plan to go for an entire month. And I don't want to be lying on some beach getting a sun tan, or doing water sports. I don't want to be sipping a cocktail or wining and dining in some classy restaurant. I don't want to sleep in a nice hotel or a cozy bed.
So that pretty much eliminates 90% of vacation spots.
There's a lot of specific things I want to see -- I'd like to go to visit the following people's churches: Chris Tomlin, Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Erwin McManus, David Crowder, Jason Morant, MercyMe, Hillsongs.
But most of those places I'll be able to see 20 years from now. I'd rather go see something that I can only see right *now*, as a 26 year old, single person, with no major responsibilities, no dependants, and no debt. And I don't want to see "modern" places, I think that would be a waste of my time.
I've basically narrowed down my list of countries to visit to: Africa, India, China. Africa, because there's so many different cultures I can see. The idea of safari's, seeing the pyramids, those types of things are exciting to me. India, because it is one of the few places that I would ever consider doing any kind of missionary work. And China -- well, because it's home.
My friend and I have talked on a few occasions about going to China. We'd go to the north western regions, and the purpose would be to experience their way of life and the culture. We would try go find a relief organization or underground church that has set up shop there and find a means to voluntarily join the cause. Such an endeavour would require a few things fall in our favor. My friend would need to have another job lined up for when we returned, because he'd have to quit his current job in order to go. For me, either I'd still be working for the City and would be using my 29 days of vacation, or I'd be unemployed as well. I'd still go either way.
As for Africa, since my french is limited, there's just no way I could do a backpacking type of thing unless I had a friend or two with me. I was joking with a friend that I should try to catch malaria, so that I could get the "full" Africa experience. That's probably not a very good thing to joke about.
I've checked out a few tours of Africa (main focus being the pyramids) and they all cost quite a bit. I've concluded that I need a travel buddy or two to come with me if I go to Africa.
I have not even started looking at India yet.
camping
I am going camping between August 14-20 this year, which is great because I won't be here for my birthday. I've never been camping for more than 3 nights, so 6 will be interesting. I think it'll be in either Utah or Arizona.
Earlier this month I was in a rut. It's not that I don't feel that way anymore -- I still do -- but not as strongly. I was feeling bored at work, at church, just bored with life in general. I felt like I needed to make a change. I felt like my life was too comfortable.
At first, I thought of very drastic things, like quitting my job. Moving into the wilderness and living in a hut. Giving away everything I owned and travelling to a poor country and living there for the rest of my life. I thought about going back to school, and even took some time looking over what courses I might take. I thought about moving, and where I could move.
I just wanted to get away.
I held off on posting any of this because I figured that over time these feelings would pass over and I would be back to normal. But I was wrong, the feelings remained over a 3 week span. I prayed about it daily. I talked about it with close friends, and with my parents.
Final verdict: I need a vacation.
My plan is to go on a vacation but not just any vacation. I plan to go for an entire month. And I don't want to be lying on some beach getting a sun tan, or doing water sports. I don't want to be sipping a cocktail or wining and dining in some classy restaurant. I don't want to sleep in a nice hotel or a cozy bed.
So that pretty much eliminates 90% of vacation spots.
There's a lot of specific things I want to see -- I'd like to go to visit the following people's churches: Chris Tomlin, Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Erwin McManus, David Crowder, Jason Morant, MercyMe, Hillsongs.
But most of those places I'll be able to see 20 years from now. I'd rather go see something that I can only see right *now*, as a 26 year old, single person, with no major responsibilities, no dependants, and no debt. And I don't want to see "modern" places, I think that would be a waste of my time.
I've basically narrowed down my list of countries to visit to: Africa, India, China. Africa, because there's so many different cultures I can see. The idea of safari's, seeing the pyramids, those types of things are exciting to me. India, because it is one of the few places that I would ever consider doing any kind of missionary work. And China -- well, because it's home.
My friend and I have talked on a few occasions about going to China. We'd go to the north western regions, and the purpose would be to experience their way of life and the culture. We would try go find a relief organization or underground church that has set up shop there and find a means to voluntarily join the cause. Such an endeavour would require a few things fall in our favor. My friend would need to have another job lined up for when we returned, because he'd have to quit his current job in order to go. For me, either I'd still be working for the City and would be using my 29 days of vacation, or I'd be unemployed as well. I'd still go either way.
As for Africa, since my french is limited, there's just no way I could do a backpacking type of thing unless I had a friend or two with me. I was joking with a friend that I should try to catch malaria, so that I could get the "full" Africa experience. That's probably not a very good thing to joke about.
I've checked out a few tours of Africa (main focus being the pyramids) and they all cost quite a bit. I've concluded that I need a travel buddy or two to come with me if I go to Africa.
I have not even started looking at India yet.
camping
I am going camping between August 14-20 this year, which is great because I won't be here for my birthday. I've never been camping for more than 3 nights, so 6 will be interesting. I think it'll be in either Utah or Arizona.
March 23, 2005
Rick
Rick lived a simple life until the day came when he was called upon. He had a strict schedule, waking up at 7:30 in the morning, showered, got dressed. He'd walk down to the subway station, take the same flight of stairs down to the platform. He liked to sit facing the back of the train, but at the front of the train, because that's the only place he knew he'd get a seat for his long ride downtown to work. Before cashing in his token, he would grab a newspaper to read on the ride.
Today was special though. There was a crowd forming on the platform, seemingly circled around something. Heads were bouncing up and down trying to see what had happened. There were gasps, some people were crying. There appeared to be someone in the middle of the circle, directing others. Rick, still eager to get a chance at a good seat on the subway, walked right past it without even noticing all the commotion. He stood at the platform in front of the GAP advertisement as always, and waited for the subway to arrive.
4 minutes passed. No train. Another 4 minutes. Still no train. The announcer came on the loud speakers: "Attention, due to the emergency situation, the local police have been called. The trains will not arrive until this matter is resolved."
Crap. Rick stood there mystified, and as he finally looked up from his paper, he noticed the crowd standing just a few feet away. Curious, he weaved his way through the onlookers to see a dirty man lying in a pool of blood, in the middle of the circle face down. Another man stooped over him, and appeared to be trying to turn the fallen man over. The man looked up and saw Rick, and asked him for help. But Rick turned away. He was wearing his favorite suit. And besides, he wasn't that strong and didn't know CPR. Finally someone else came over to help, and together they turned the man over.
There were loud gasps followed by screams amongst the crowd. Right away Rick could see what the problem was. The man had shot himself, twice, once in the stomach and once in the chest. He was still clutching a shotgun with his hands. Rick gave the man a once over. Judging by his shoes, he looked like someone living off the street. His pants were ragged, patches on his knees. Rick thought to himself, smugly, that this man is probably better off now. The jacket (now soaked in blood), was also old and rugged looking. It looked like it hadn't been washed ... ever.
Rick's gaze moved over to the poor man's face. It was all craggled up, all wrinkled and dirty. Dried up. His expression was that of a man in pain, and not just physically. The man clearly had not bathed in few months. It was hard to make out his face because it was so disfigured from scrapes, dirt, and wrinkles. But somehow, behind the pain, dirt and wrinkles, was a face of a man who appeared somewhat familiar to Rick.
As he stared into this man's face, a strange feeling crept over him. He wasn't just some random fellow, but someone he knew. All of a sudden, he cared. He bent over, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and frantically proceeded to clean off the man's face, hoping to gain more clues about who he was. As his identity was being revealed, Rick was taken aback and fell backwards on top of the man, as he realized who it was.
It was ... find out next time, in the exciting conclusion of "Rick", coming soon to a blog near you!
Today was special though. There was a crowd forming on the platform, seemingly circled around something. Heads were bouncing up and down trying to see what had happened. There were gasps, some people were crying. There appeared to be someone in the middle of the circle, directing others. Rick, still eager to get a chance at a good seat on the subway, walked right past it without even noticing all the commotion. He stood at the platform in front of the GAP advertisement as always, and waited for the subway to arrive.
4 minutes passed. No train. Another 4 minutes. Still no train. The announcer came on the loud speakers: "Attention, due to the emergency situation, the local police have been called. The trains will not arrive until this matter is resolved."
Crap. Rick stood there mystified, and as he finally looked up from his paper, he noticed the crowd standing just a few feet away. Curious, he weaved his way through the onlookers to see a dirty man lying in a pool of blood, in the middle of the circle face down. Another man stooped over him, and appeared to be trying to turn the fallen man over. The man looked up and saw Rick, and asked him for help. But Rick turned away. He was wearing his favorite suit. And besides, he wasn't that strong and didn't know CPR. Finally someone else came over to help, and together they turned the man over.
There were loud gasps followed by screams amongst the crowd. Right away Rick could see what the problem was. The man had shot himself, twice, once in the stomach and once in the chest. He was still clutching a shotgun with his hands. Rick gave the man a once over. Judging by his shoes, he looked like someone living off the street. His pants were ragged, patches on his knees. Rick thought to himself, smugly, that this man is probably better off now. The jacket (now soaked in blood), was also old and rugged looking. It looked like it hadn't been washed ... ever.
Rick's gaze moved over to the poor man's face. It was all craggled up, all wrinkled and dirty. Dried up. His expression was that of a man in pain, and not just physically. The man clearly had not bathed in few months. It was hard to make out his face because it was so disfigured from scrapes, dirt, and wrinkles. But somehow, behind the pain, dirt and wrinkles, was a face of a man who appeared somewhat familiar to Rick.
As he stared into this man's face, a strange feeling crept over him. He wasn't just some random fellow, but someone he knew. All of a sudden, he cared. He bent over, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and frantically proceeded to clean off the man's face, hoping to gain more clues about who he was. As his identity was being revealed, Rick was taken aback and fell backwards on top of the man, as he realized who it was.
It was ... find out next time, in the exciting conclusion of "Rick", coming soon to a blog near you!
March 14, 2005
tired of this (again)
Today at lunch time, for the first time ever, I thought "I'm tired of this" while having lunch with my friends. This is normally a thought I have at work -- to have this thought a few of my closest friends is just... odd.
I'm not exactly sure what this means. I just felt like, for the entire time at lunch, like I was I tired of it, like I didn't want to be there, or didn't know why I was there.
Lately I've been feeling really anti-social, just feeling like going off on my own and doing things by myself. Passing up opportunities to hang out with friends. At first I thought it was because my mom was home so I naturally felt the need to stay home with her. But she's gone now and I still feel the same way.
I'm not exactly sure what this means. I just felt like, for the entire time at lunch, like I was I tired of it, like I didn't want to be there, or didn't know why I was there.
Lately I've been feeling really anti-social, just feeling like going off on my own and doing things by myself. Passing up opportunities to hang out with friends. At first I thought it was because my mom was home so I naturally felt the need to stay home with her. But she's gone now and I still feel the same way.
March 12, 2005
So there I was, driving up an onramp, in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic.
Actually, it wasn't the opposite because everyone was going the wrong way. I'd just dropped off my mom at the airport and was on my way home. On the 401 (east). Once I'd cleared the terminal and was allowed to go 100 km/h, I hit a parking lot. It was insane, it wasn't even like stop and go, we were just parked there.
*I saw people get out of their cars and walk around*
On the way to the airport, the roads had been treacherous. It had snowed for around 15 minutes of heavy heavy snow. I'm guessing there was an accident ahead. So anyway, I was on the leftmost lane, and there weren't any exits nearby. But there was, just ahead of us, an onramp of local traffic merging into the highway. I saw cars go past it, and then start backing into the onramp, and then driving *backwards* back up the ramp to local traffic. It was insane.
Well as you all know I have a very poor sense of direction. I had no idea where I was so the idea of going backwards up the ramp into local (i guess it was etobicoke) would be sheer madness. So I just sat there in my car listening to MercyMe's Almost There album. I got through about 6 tracks and we hadn't moved (I had turned my car to Park by then already).
So, I went for it.
By then most of the cars to my right and in the vicinity of the ramp had decided to take it. So now cars were just going up the ramp, not backwards but still the wrong way. They were just driving up now. I saw some big ol SUV's just hop the curb and go up. I inched my way over and finally made a big U-turn and started going up.
Then when we got the intersection, as luck would have it, a police car was up there waiting for all us illegal ramp jumpers.
So I spent the night in jail.
Okay maybe not. But that'd be cool eh? He just let us through, probably because he didn't have enough tickets for all of us. I followed some other cars for awhile, cursing at myself for not bringing my cell phone. Eventually I saw Finch and started heading East, before I knew it (nearly an hour later), I was home.
Actually, it wasn't the opposite because everyone was going the wrong way. I'd just dropped off my mom at the airport and was on my way home. On the 401 (east). Once I'd cleared the terminal and was allowed to go 100 km/h, I hit a parking lot. It was insane, it wasn't even like stop and go, we were just parked there.
*I saw people get out of their cars and walk around*
On the way to the airport, the roads had been treacherous. It had snowed for around 15 minutes of heavy heavy snow. I'm guessing there was an accident ahead. So anyway, I was on the leftmost lane, and there weren't any exits nearby. But there was, just ahead of us, an onramp of local traffic merging into the highway. I saw cars go past it, and then start backing into the onramp, and then driving *backwards* back up the ramp to local traffic. It was insane.
Well as you all know I have a very poor sense of direction. I had no idea where I was so the idea of going backwards up the ramp into local (i guess it was etobicoke) would be sheer madness. So I just sat there in my car listening to MercyMe's Almost There album. I got through about 6 tracks and we hadn't moved (I had turned my car to Park by then already).
So, I went for it.
By then most of the cars to my right and in the vicinity of the ramp had decided to take it. So now cars were just going up the ramp, not backwards but still the wrong way. They were just driving up now. I saw some big ol SUV's just hop the curb and go up. I inched my way over and finally made a big U-turn and started going up.
Then when we got the intersection, as luck would have it, a police car was up there waiting for all us illegal ramp jumpers.
So I spent the night in jail.
Okay maybe not. But that'd be cool eh? He just let us through, probably because he didn't have enough tickets for all of us. I followed some other cars for awhile, cursing at myself for not bringing my cell phone. Eventually I saw Finch and started heading East, before I knew it (nearly an hour later), I was home.
two movies
First of all, I'd like to apologize about the format of my blog template. I'm not sure what I was thinking but it's gone now and let's all just forget it ever happened.
Tonight was my mom's last night here so I decided to spend the night with her instead of going to small group. We rented a couple of movies to watch.
My cousin and I were having a debate over a movie called "The Notebook". I only know what I know from reading reviews and comments from friends. I knew that it was a movie that invoked tears from the viewer and that it was a romance chick-flick. My cousin had seen it and was raving on about how great it was. He and I have never seen eye-to-eye on movies so I certainly had my doubts about how good the movie was.
Well, to make a long story short that movie sucked. I would have to give the movie a 4/10. It copied just about every love story I can think of. *Spoilers ahead*
Let's list the story and you tell me how many movies you've seen with the following themes:
1. Summer romance.
2. Two people who don't really get along or have much in common but are in love.
3. Rich girl, poor guy, rich parents think girl throwing life away by being with guy.
4. They break up, but both long for eachother and regret the loss.
5. Guy writes girl, but someone hides the letters from the girl.
6. Girl moves on with her life, finds another man.
7. Guy vows to one day win her back.
8. A chance meeting, memories come flooding back.
9. Mother decides daughter should choose love over wealth.
10. Girl chooses the summer romance guy.
Sound familiar?
I gave it 4/10 for one reason alone (instead of 0/10), the outer shell of the movie was original. That being the old man who reads the story to the old lady with dimentia (she's the girl and he's the guy). He reads to her every day because he loves her and wants to try to jog her memory of the love they once shared.
Despite having my doubts about the quality of the movie, I thought for sure I would cry, but I only cried once, it was when the old lady finally remembered who she was and who the old man was, and remembered their love -- only to forget all of it again. That was really sad..
*No more spoilers*
So yeah, overall the movie was a big disappointment for me.
I don't have a lot to say about The Terminal, except that I'm glad I saw it second so I could erase most of the memories I had of The Notebook. (Although writing this blog has jogged my memory again, doh!) I found certain situations in The Terminal to be really funny. The difficulties he had in communicating with people, and just some of the ways in which he improvised so that he could actually live there, for the months he did.
Tonight was my mom's last night here so I decided to spend the night with her instead of going to small group. We rented a couple of movies to watch.
My cousin and I were having a debate over a movie called "The Notebook". I only know what I know from reading reviews and comments from friends. I knew that it was a movie that invoked tears from the viewer and that it was a romance chick-flick. My cousin had seen it and was raving on about how great it was. He and I have never seen eye-to-eye on movies so I certainly had my doubts about how good the movie was.
Well, to make a long story short that movie sucked. I would have to give the movie a 4/10. It copied just about every love story I can think of. *Spoilers ahead*
Let's list the story and you tell me how many movies you've seen with the following themes:
1. Summer romance.
2. Two people who don't really get along or have much in common but are in love.
3. Rich girl, poor guy, rich parents think girl throwing life away by being with guy.
4. They break up, but both long for eachother and regret the loss.
5. Guy writes girl, but someone hides the letters from the girl.
6. Girl moves on with her life, finds another man.
7. Guy vows to one day win her back.
8. A chance meeting, memories come flooding back.
9. Mother decides daughter should choose love over wealth.
10. Girl chooses the summer romance guy.
Sound familiar?
I gave it 4/10 for one reason alone (instead of 0/10), the outer shell of the movie was original. That being the old man who reads the story to the old lady with dimentia (she's the girl and he's the guy). He reads to her every day because he loves her and wants to try to jog her memory of the love they once shared.
Despite having my doubts about the quality of the movie, I thought for sure I would cry, but I only cried once, it was when the old lady finally remembered who she was and who the old man was, and remembered their love -- only to forget all of it again. That was really sad..
*No more spoilers*
So yeah, overall the movie was a big disappointment for me.
I don't have a lot to say about The Terminal, except that I'm glad I saw it second so I could erase most of the memories I had of The Notebook. (Although writing this blog has jogged my memory again, doh!) I found certain situations in The Terminal to be really funny. The difficulties he had in communicating with people, and just some of the ways in which he improvised so that he could actually live there, for the months he did.
March 09, 2005
tele-comm
I have a hard time believing that people have time to talk on the phone at random times. When I'm doing something and someone calls me, I try to make it short so I can get back to whatever I was doing. You can tell someone's busy when they try to conclude every sentence or that you can hear this sense of urgency in their voices.
On the other hand you could be really busy but enjoy the company of the other person. Then it's not a conversation at all. It's two people connected by a thin wire but neither is saying anything. You're still connected, but you're doing your own thing at the end of the line. You both just like the idea that if anything does come up, you'll have someone to tell right away.
Just a random thought.
geekdom
I think I've lost all my geekiness. I feel dumb. :(
american idol
What gets me about American Idol is that all of the 20 finalists could easily beat out any of the previous Canadian Idol winners. Why is Canada so lacking in this department? Okay, maybe not all 20 finalists. Like that girl who sang the Barbara Streisand song. Sorry, did I say sing? I mean *butchered*.
fob stage
As you may have guessed by now, I'm going through an Asian music phase. Not to worry, these things don't last for more than a couple weeks. I remember in University I went through a FinKL stage. And a group called As One.. they were really good.
Right now I am listening to a song called ¹ú½á Àϳâ by ºê¶ó¿î¾ÆÀÌÁî. I took it off some dude's blog from Singapore. I've got absolutely no clue what this dude is singing about, nor what language he's singing in. Although once in awhile he says "I believe in you", and then it's either "I believe in your mind" or "I believe that you're mine". Haha.. This is something I find very amusing, the fascination of mixing English into their songs. It sounds so silly. No one else does it, just the Asian folks.
Yea so Asian music right now, with a mix of Mariah Carey. The trouble with listening to Mariah is that I have a tendency to want to sing along to Mariah, which is just not possible at work! "All I want for Christmas... is you!"
Speaking of which.. I really miss Mariah Carey. I hope she comes back to us someday.
I have a hard time believing that people have time to talk on the phone at random times. When I'm doing something and someone calls me, I try to make it short so I can get back to whatever I was doing. You can tell someone's busy when they try to conclude every sentence or that you can hear this sense of urgency in their voices.
On the other hand you could be really busy but enjoy the company of the other person. Then it's not a conversation at all. It's two people connected by a thin wire but neither is saying anything. You're still connected, but you're doing your own thing at the end of the line. You both just like the idea that if anything does come up, you'll have someone to tell right away.
Just a random thought.
geekdom
I think I've lost all my geekiness. I feel dumb. :(
american idol
What gets me about American Idol is that all of the 20 finalists could easily beat out any of the previous Canadian Idol winners. Why is Canada so lacking in this department? Okay, maybe not all 20 finalists. Like that girl who sang the Barbara Streisand song. Sorry, did I say sing? I mean *butchered*.
fob stage
As you may have guessed by now, I'm going through an Asian music phase. Not to worry, these things don't last for more than a couple weeks. I remember in University I went through a FinKL stage. And a group called As One.. they were really good.
Right now I am listening to a song called ¹ú½á Àϳâ by ºê¶ó¿î¾ÆÀÌÁî. I took it off some dude's blog from Singapore. I've got absolutely no clue what this dude is singing about, nor what language he's singing in. Although once in awhile he says "I believe in you", and then it's either "I believe in your mind" or "I believe that you're mine". Haha.. This is something I find very amusing, the fascination of mixing English into their songs. It sounds so silly. No one else does it, just the Asian folks.
Yea so Asian music right now, with a mix of Mariah Carey. The trouble with listening to Mariah is that I have a tendency to want to sing along to Mariah, which is just not possible at work! "All I want for Christmas... is you!"
Speaking of which.. I really miss Mariah Carey. I hope she comes back to us someday.
March 07, 2005
mark burnett
Today I took my mom out for dinner, we went to the Shanghai place over on Silver Star. It was good food again, very yummy and we brought food home so I'll have a yummy lunch tomorrow!
It's rare for me to watch TV on a Monday night, but I did..
I watched this new show called "The Contender", another of Mark Burnett's reality television shows. He made Survivor and also Apprentice. He's also helping to produce Martha Stewart's show too.
The Contender was amazing. It started out with team competition, some brains/brawn team contest, much like Survivor or Apprentice, but it's the second half of the show that really brought out the drama and excitement. The winning team chooses one guy as the real winner, who then gets to 'call out' a fighter from the other team and challenge them to 5 rounds of boxing.
The guy who won (West coast team) picked one of the best fighters from the East Coast. It was a surprise because you usually want to take out the weaker fighters first. The East Coast guy was a really good boxer, 21-0 lifetime.
Anyway, to make a long story short the underdog guy won! There was so much drama.. his entire family was in the stands cheering him on, and the other guy's wife and daughter were looking on.
Mark Burnett has done it again... I can't believe how good this show is! I don't even like boxing!
Today I took my mom out for dinner, we went to the Shanghai place over on Silver Star. It was good food again, very yummy and we brought food home so I'll have a yummy lunch tomorrow!
It's rare for me to watch TV on a Monday night, but I did..
I watched this new show called "The Contender", another of Mark Burnett's reality television shows. He made Survivor and also Apprentice. He's also helping to produce Martha Stewart's show too.
The Contender was amazing. It started out with team competition, some brains/brawn team contest, much like Survivor or Apprentice, but it's the second half of the show that really brought out the drama and excitement. The winning team chooses one guy as the real winner, who then gets to 'call out' a fighter from the other team and challenge them to 5 rounds of boxing.
The guy who won (West coast team) picked one of the best fighters from the East Coast. It was a surprise because you usually want to take out the weaker fighters first. The East Coast guy was a really good boxer, 21-0 lifetime.
Anyway, to make a long story short the underdog guy won! There was so much drama.. his entire family was in the stands cheering him on, and the other guy's wife and daughter were looking on.
Mark Burnett has done it again... I can't believe how good this show is! I don't even like boxing!
jammin'
Does the font appear all blurred? It does for me at home, but looks fine at work.
I hosted jamming last night. We had a pretty good turnout. duncan & nancy, andrew & gladys, and bigjon. We spent a good amount of time churning through the WorshipTogether book and the Chris Tomlin (Arriving) book. I can't believe it's been so long since I last played guitar. Seems like whenever my mom comes to visit I stop practicing. I guess I'm just more comfortable playing when no one is listening..
Anyway, we learned some songs here and there. I must say I really enjoy playing and singing with bigjon. He's got a great range that he can hit which makes it fun to try to match him on harmony. Also he changes things up with his strumming pattern, which is good for my learning and practicing. I think the most fun I've ever had while jamming was the times when it was just me, jon and kevin.
Further on the topic of jamming, is that I've been struggling with the concept of it. It seems (to me at least) that jamming is really more of a guitar practice time than singing praises to God. I am guilty in terms of that, in that I try harder to please myself with my guitar playing than I do trying to put my heart into the singing. I'm more focused on sounding good to everyone else and to myself, rather than focusing on Who we're singing to.
5 more days
5 more days til my mom leaves. She leaves behind her parents which I need to take care of for an additional 18 days. So far it has been fine because I have that buffer (my mom) to keep them from harrassing me. If you'll recall all my stories of grandma. I'm sure there will be more to tell once my mom is gone.
wow
I've played this game for 3 months and I'm starting to (this doesn't mean I'll stop) get bored. I've been thinking of taking a break and giving Knights of the Old Replublic 2 a try. The first game was fantastic — great game, versatility and storyline. I've read the second is more of the same but just more story. I'm interested in giving it a try, but I will probably wait until my grandparents leave before I start.
Does the font appear all blurred? It does for me at home, but looks fine at work.
I hosted jamming last night. We had a pretty good turnout. duncan & nancy, andrew & gladys, and bigjon. We spent a good amount of time churning through the WorshipTogether book and the Chris Tomlin (Arriving) book. I can't believe it's been so long since I last played guitar. Seems like whenever my mom comes to visit I stop practicing. I guess I'm just more comfortable playing when no one is listening..
Anyway, we learned some songs here and there. I must say I really enjoy playing and singing with bigjon. He's got a great range that he can hit which makes it fun to try to match him on harmony. Also he changes things up with his strumming pattern, which is good for my learning and practicing. I think the most fun I've ever had while jamming was the times when it was just me, jon and kevin.
Further on the topic of jamming, is that I've been struggling with the concept of it. It seems (to me at least) that jamming is really more of a guitar practice time than singing praises to God. I am guilty in terms of that, in that I try harder to please myself with my guitar playing than I do trying to put my heart into the singing. I'm more focused on sounding good to everyone else and to myself, rather than focusing on Who we're singing to.
5 more days
5 more days til my mom leaves. She leaves behind her parents which I need to take care of for an additional 18 days. So far it has been fine because I have that buffer (my mom) to keep them from harrassing me. If you'll recall all my stories of grandma. I'm sure there will be more to tell once my mom is gone.
wow
I've played this game for 3 months and I'm starting to (this doesn't mean I'll stop) get bored. I've been thinking of taking a break and giving Knights of the Old Replublic 2 a try. The first game was fantastic — great game, versatility and storyline. I've read the second is more of the same but just more story. I'm interested in giving it a try, but I will probably wait until my grandparents leave before I start.
March 04, 2005
fun template
this isn't it
This is not the template I've been working on. I found it on the web and thought it looked pretty nice, so I through it in. I like the color changing thing. Kinda cool.
vertical music
This is a site that I found purely by accident after buying the Jason Morant cd. They have some good stuff, you guys should check it out sometime.
I found a band called the Desperation Band, they have some good songs. The band is lead by 3 associate pastors: Jared Anderson, Jon Egan and Glenn Packiam. Jared Anderson's stuff is a mix between a toned down Paul Baloche. Jon Egan is just like Vineyard or toned down Hillsong.
Then there's Glenn Packiam who is more fitted to what I like, more full band rock-style. Songs like "Satisfy", "From You", "Willingly", "Everyone (Praises)", "We Lift You Up" and "For Your Name". This guy rocks..
almost called
I almost called you up yesterday but then I realized a certain television show was on and didn't want to disturb you. Let me know when's a good time to call!
This is not the template I've been working on. I found it on the web and thought it looked pretty nice, so I through it in. I like the color changing thing. Kinda cool.
vertical music
This is a site that I found purely by accident after buying the Jason Morant cd. They have some good stuff, you guys should check it out sometime.
I found a band called the Desperation Band, they have some good songs. The band is lead by 3 associate pastors: Jared Anderson, Jon Egan and Glenn Packiam. Jared Anderson's stuff is a mix between a toned down Paul Baloche. Jon Egan is just like Vineyard or toned down Hillsong.
Then there's Glenn Packiam who is more fitted to what I like, more full band rock-style. Songs like "Satisfy", "From You", "Willingly", "Everyone (Praises)", "We Lift You Up" and "For Your Name". This guy rocks..
almost called
I almost called you up yesterday but then I realized a certain television show was on and didn't want to disturb you. Let me know when's a good time to call!
March 02, 2005
yahoo's 10th
Subject: ice cream
Today was Yahoo's 10th birthday. They had this giveaway of ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We all printed out coupons at work and I was really excited about the prospect of free ice cream. I even emailed out to some friends. But then later on, I realized that in the fine print it said for US only. What a bummer.
I had this crazy build-up in craving for mint chocolate chip though. All day I was thinking about it. Mmm... mint chocolate chip..
Then later on, one of my friends at work discovered it DOES work in Canada. So that got me super excited again about the prospect of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Oh boy I thought..
But to my disappointment, there weren't any Baskin Robbins near my work.
So anyway, when I got home I went to Loblaws and went searching for mint chocolate chip. All they had was "mint chocolate swirl". Bleh.. but I bought it anyway. After dinner (I forgot to save some room for it) I had a massive bowl of it, I am so full from it. I swear if I have another bite I'll throw up.
bracketology
subject: sports
Lots of predictions and projections coming up for the NCAA basketball tourney. My pick this year is the North Carolina Tarheels. I think this year they have what it takes to win the whole thing. I've accurately predicted who would win it all for the last 2 years (pretty much since I started watching it).
more prediction
subject: sports
I also said about 10 months ago that Ben Gordon would be rookie of the year in the NBA. Emeka Okafor has pretty much run away with this award. He is averaging a double-double, and though he's already hit the rookie wall, he continues to put up solid numbers. Ben Gordon has only started (about a month ago) to play like I thought he would. I don't know if he can still win the ROY anymore, but at least he's played close to my expectations.
Maybe if the writers see the impact he's made with the Bulls, and maybe if Gordon makes some more game-saving plays and become a key cog in the Bulls' return to the playoffs, he might force Okafor to share the award?
Today was Yahoo's 10th birthday. They had this giveaway of ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We all printed out coupons at work and I was really excited about the prospect of free ice cream. I even emailed out to some friends. But then later on, I realized that in the fine print it said for US only. What a bummer.
I had this crazy build-up in craving for mint chocolate chip though. All day I was thinking about it. Mmm... mint chocolate chip..
Then later on, one of my friends at work discovered it DOES work in Canada. So that got me super excited again about the prospect of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Oh boy I thought..
But to my disappointment, there weren't any Baskin Robbins near my work.
So anyway, when I got home I went to Loblaws and went searching for mint chocolate chip. All they had was "mint chocolate swirl". Bleh.. but I bought it anyway. After dinner (I forgot to save some room for it) I had a massive bowl of it, I am so full from it. I swear if I have another bite I'll throw up.
bracketology
subject: sports
Lots of predictions and projections coming up for the NCAA basketball tourney. My pick this year is the North Carolina Tarheels. I think this year they have what it takes to win the whole thing. I've accurately predicted who would win it all for the last 2 years (pretty much since I started watching it).
more prediction
subject: sports
I also said about 10 months ago that Ben Gordon would be rookie of the year in the NBA. Emeka Okafor has pretty much run away with this award. He is averaging a double-double, and though he's already hit the rookie wall, he continues to put up solid numbers. Ben Gordon has only started (about a month ago) to play like I thought he would. I don't know if he can still win the ROY anymore, but at least he's played close to my expectations.
Maybe if the writers see the impact he's made with the Bulls, and maybe if Gordon makes some more game-saving plays and become a key cog in the Bulls' return to the playoffs, he might force Okafor to share the award?
February 28, 2005
Raptors 108, Lakers 102
Thanks to Uncle Kenric, we finally found 2 people to take the extra two tickets I had for the Raptors-Lakers game. We ended up taking Chris and Stan.
The game itself was good. We were up for most of the game until near the end when Kobe took over the game (what else is new?) and the Lakers came from behind and almost stole the game from us. I drew a little bit of ire from Chris because I kept cheering whenever Kobe scored. Kobe is amazing. I like his sheer determination and his ability to rise to the occasion when needed. And he makes some near impossible shots look easy. It's always a pleasure to someone like that play — 19,799 people also agreed with me; it was the 5th sell-out game of the year. Luckily for us Kobe was the only Laker playing well for us his drive wasn't enough and we still won the game.
What made it more fun, was the added bonus that we were babysitting two kids. One of them (Stan) was quiet, but the other one (Chris) had a very inquisitive mind. He was asking so many questions, and pointing things out to me throughout the game all matter-of-factly. I love kids. He was noticing every single pattern he could, whether it was the colors on a billboard ad, numbers on the rafters or jerseys, the score, etc.
Also I found that kids don't like to hold things. Or rather, "mom" holds everything, and they're used to it. One line I heard over and over all afternoon was "can you hold this?". Haha.. a jacket, a hat, candy, ticket, etc etc. Kids like to have their hands available so they can freely grab onto things and touch things. And boys like to compete on how high they can jump, how fast they can run, etc. I really reminded me of my childhood and times when me and my brother were little and did the exact same stuff.
:)
—-
oscar notes
I felt that Chris Rock held back on his jokes, forcing himself to be conservative so as to not offend the viewers. I think it's unfair to limit a comedian from doing what he does best and then expect him to perform well. I doubt he'll be back next year.
Beyonce can sing. I think she outsang Josh Groban. I mean sure she's also thicker than he is, but still..
I saw The Aviator just after watching the Raptors game so I pretty much knew where each award would go. The only surprise of the night was Clint Eastwood winning Best Director (more on this later).
I think it is a shame and a waste that an important film like Hotel Rwanda didn't get any recognition last night.
Oscar Rant
I've got nothing against Clint Eastwood. I think he's a cool guy who garners a lot of respect because he has been in the business for so long and because he is one of the few remaining Hollywood stars left from the older generation. But something bothers me about him winning it.
Everyone actor who has worked with Clint always talks about how he gives his actors free reign on how and what they should do, giving them their creative space, letting them do what they want and think they should do. To me, that sounds like he doesn't do a whole lot of directing. When they gave the lifetime achievement award to Sidney Lumet in directing, all everyone said was how he was very precise, how he would tell each person how to act, where to stand, how their character should behave. Seems to me that *that's* what DIRECTION means.
But Clint Eastwood has made some pretty good movies, so you wonder, how does a guy direct good movies when he doesn't "direct" at all? Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Bridges of Madison County, Unforgiven. What do these movies all have in common? How about: Morgan Freeman, Hillary Swank, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Meryl Streep, Gene Hackman. Aside from Hillary Swank (who now has 2 oscars out of two nominations) all these people are some of the best in the business.
Phil Jackson is considered to be a great NBA coach. All he does is win. But the biggest knock on him is that he coaches teams that *should* win. Is that really coaching? Many people wonder.
To me, Clint takes a group of actors who *should* win, and wins. Take a look at some of his not-so-good movies: Blood Work, True Crime, A Perfect World, The Rookie. James Woods, Dennis Leary, Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen, Jeff Daniels.
This is why Phil Jackson shouldn't and won't take over for the Knicks next season.
The game itself was good. We were up for most of the game until near the end when Kobe took over the game (what else is new?) and the Lakers came from behind and almost stole the game from us. I drew a little bit of ire from Chris because I kept cheering whenever Kobe scored. Kobe is amazing. I like his sheer determination and his ability to rise to the occasion when needed. And he makes some near impossible shots look easy. It's always a pleasure to someone like that play — 19,799 people also agreed with me; it was the 5th sell-out game of the year. Luckily for us Kobe was the only Laker playing well for us his drive wasn't enough and we still won the game.
What made it more fun, was the added bonus that we were babysitting two kids. One of them (Stan) was quiet, but the other one (Chris) had a very inquisitive mind. He was asking so many questions, and pointing things out to me throughout the game all matter-of-factly. I love kids. He was noticing every single pattern he could, whether it was the colors on a billboard ad, numbers on the rafters or jerseys, the score, etc.
Also I found that kids don't like to hold things. Or rather, "mom" holds everything, and they're used to it. One line I heard over and over all afternoon was "can you hold this?". Haha.. a jacket, a hat, candy, ticket, etc etc. Kids like to have their hands available so they can freely grab onto things and touch things. And boys like to compete on how high they can jump, how fast they can run, etc. I really reminded me of my childhood and times when me and my brother were little and did the exact same stuff.
:)
—-
oscar notes
I felt that Chris Rock held back on his jokes, forcing himself to be conservative so as to not offend the viewers. I think it's unfair to limit a comedian from doing what he does best and then expect him to perform well. I doubt he'll be back next year.
Beyonce can sing. I think she outsang Josh Groban. I mean sure she's also thicker than he is, but still..
I saw The Aviator just after watching the Raptors game so I pretty much knew where each award would go. The only surprise of the night was Clint Eastwood winning Best Director (more on this later).
I think it is a shame and a waste that an important film like Hotel Rwanda didn't get any recognition last night.
Oscar Rant
I've got nothing against Clint Eastwood. I think he's a cool guy who garners a lot of respect because he has been in the business for so long and because he is one of the few remaining Hollywood stars left from the older generation. But something bothers me about him winning it.
Everyone actor who has worked with Clint always talks about how he gives his actors free reign on how and what they should do, giving them their creative space, letting them do what they want and think they should do. To me, that sounds like he doesn't do a whole lot of directing. When they gave the lifetime achievement award to Sidney Lumet in directing, all everyone said was how he was very precise, how he would tell each person how to act, where to stand, how their character should behave. Seems to me that *that's* what DIRECTION means.
But Clint Eastwood has made some pretty good movies, so you wonder, how does a guy direct good movies when he doesn't "direct" at all? Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Bridges of Madison County, Unforgiven. What do these movies all have in common? How about: Morgan Freeman, Hillary Swank, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Meryl Streep, Gene Hackman. Aside from Hillary Swank (who now has 2 oscars out of two nominations) all these people are some of the best in the business.
Phil Jackson is considered to be a great NBA coach. All he does is win. But the biggest knock on him is that he coaches teams that *should* win. Is that really coaching? Many people wonder.
To me, Clint takes a group of actors who *should* win, and wins. Take a look at some of his not-so-good movies: Blood Work, True Crime, A Perfect World, The Rookie. James Woods, Dennis Leary, Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen, Jeff Daniels.
This is why Phil Jackson shouldn't and won't take over for the Knicks next season.
February 26, 2005
thirty
Tonight a talented friend celebrated his 30th birthday by performing in a concert and invited all of his friends. The performance was, needless to say, amazing. I always knew he was good just by listening to him sing when he led worship or special music during Sunday service. Or the fact that he's asked to play for just about everyone I know's wedding. But tonight he exceeded all my expectations. He showed off his range and his creativity.. he switched from moods and (I thought) took hold of the audience and helped us to *feel* the songs. It was truly a night to remember. Most of all he had fun out there and brought a smile to my face through the entire night. After all of it you kind of just exhale and say "wow".
So afterwards I run into some old faces and someone asks me, "So Brian, when's your concert?". Pfft.. right. Concert of what... farting? Besides, it's a long ways away (since I still get carded at some places, I'm going to say it's 10 years away and you'll just have to believe me). As I drove home tonight, I thought about where I'd be when I was 30. I suppose that if you asked me this question 7 years ago, I would've told you that by 30 I'd be married and my second child would be on his way.
But.. life is what it is. Anyway, these are some of the ideas that popped into my head, at age 30, what I'd be doing:
Sitting at my desk blogging about where I wish I could be instead Living in a tiny hut in the wilderness; maybe even on the moon Might be dead by then, and the rate I'm going with fast food Dying (see above) George Costanza: Single, bald, living with my parents Married: Mail-order bride, anyone? [It's a form of evangelism!] Back in school?
And that's all I have to say about that.
So afterwards I run into some old faces and someone asks me, "So Brian, when's your concert?". Pfft.. right. Concert of what... farting? Besides, it's a long ways away (since I still get carded at some places, I'm going to say it's 10 years away and you'll just have to believe me). As I drove home tonight, I thought about where I'd be when I was 30. I suppose that if you asked me this question 7 years ago, I would've told you that by 30 I'd be married and my second child would be on his way.
But.. life is what it is. Anyway, these are some of the ideas that popped into my head, at age 30, what I'd be doing:
And that's all I have to say about that.
Ups and Downs
Sometimes I feel like I'm helplessly stuck in a hole and am being prevented from being myself. I'm in this reclused shell of my former self. I don't know if it's self-imposed or not, but I feel like I've gone down the deep end of anti-socialness. It feels like a part of me is missing.
Then the next day, I'm totally upbeat and happy.
And it keeps going like this, a few days good, a few days bad. A few days sad, a few days glad. Boy I'm moody these days..
Last call for Lakers tickets.. 2 available, tomorrow afternoon 1pm, row 9. Come sit with us! $15 for a free slice of pizza and an afternoon of fun fun fun!
Then the next day, I'm totally upbeat and happy.
And it keeps going like this, a few days good, a few days bad. A few days sad, a few days glad. Boy I'm moody these days..
Last call for Lakers tickets.. 2 available, tomorrow afternoon 1pm, row 9. Come sit with us! $15 for a free slice of pizza and an afternoon of fun fun fun!
February 25, 2005
oops..
I am totally, totally out of the loop. I miss you MSN.. I miss you so much.
I forgot to turn on my cell for the past few days, so with that I've been pretty much unreachable lately. It's almost as if I really am on the moon, (which I am, of course). The weather here is very nice :)
This week has felt so long for me. Days usually fly by but this week they've slowed down to a halt. I'm so bored at work. Also after having slept almost all of Tuesday, I am so energetic now that I get restless really easily, and my metabolism is going nuts, I'm hungry almost all the time. Crazy.
feeling out of place
There's been times in the last couple of weeks that I've considered leaving this job because I feel like it's not going anywhere and that I'd rather be doing something else. But until I figure out what that "else" is, it'd be silly to just leave. I went onto the United Nations (got this idea after watching Hotel Rwanda) site yesterday looking for jobs. There were a few IT postings for Damascus. But that's Syria.. a political and terrorist hotbed. Can't be very safe there.. heh.
It was around this time last year, during MissionFest that I developed my first real "inkling" to go on a missions trip to India. Why India? I don't really konw what drew me to India as opposed to other countries. I think it was because at the time I was still hanging out with my classmates, and half of them were Indian/Pakistani, (the rest are chinese). It's pretty much a split at work too, either brown or yellow.
searching
For that reason I guess, and the fact that MissionFest is back on its way again, I have been looking to the Good Book for answers. I started about 2 years ago, planned to read it from cover to cover. I stopped. About 1.5 years ago. Heh. Well I've started again, reading the bible while on the subway. Since I am so energetic these it has been easy, reading without falling asleep. Actually it's so much that I'm hyper but that I just can't sleep. Sometimes I'm tired and I just can't sleep. Stuff on my mind I guess.
Even though the stuff I've been reading (1 Samuel right now) is mostly storybook stuff, I feel comfort reading His word. The words kind of leap off the pages and before I know I feel like I'm right there on the battle field, the shield guy for Jonathan, following him around and slaying the Philistines. It's like a fantastic adventure!
And I hear "Ding, ding, ding..." *Dangnabbit*, it's my stop, time for work. :|
I forgot to turn on my cell for the past few days, so with that I've been pretty much unreachable lately. It's almost as if I really am on the moon, (which I am, of course). The weather here is very nice :)
This week has felt so long for me. Days usually fly by but this week they've slowed down to a halt. I'm so bored at work. Also after having slept almost all of Tuesday, I am so energetic now that I get restless really easily, and my metabolism is going nuts, I'm hungry almost all the time. Crazy.
feeling out of place
There's been times in the last couple of weeks that I've considered leaving this job because I feel like it's not going anywhere and that I'd rather be doing something else. But until I figure out what that "else" is, it'd be silly to just leave. I went onto the United Nations (got this idea after watching Hotel Rwanda) site yesterday looking for jobs. There were a few IT postings for Damascus. But that's Syria.. a political and terrorist hotbed. Can't be very safe there.. heh.
It was around this time last year, during MissionFest that I developed my first real "inkling" to go on a missions trip to India. Why India? I don't really konw what drew me to India as opposed to other countries. I think it was because at the time I was still hanging out with my classmates, and half of them were Indian/Pakistani, (the rest are chinese). It's pretty much a split at work too, either brown or yellow.
searching
For that reason I guess, and the fact that MissionFest is back on its way again, I have been looking to the Good Book for answers. I started about 2 years ago, planned to read it from cover to cover. I stopped. About 1.5 years ago. Heh. Well I've started again, reading the bible while on the subway. Since I am so energetic these it has been easy, reading without falling asleep. Actually it's so much that I'm hyper but that I just can't sleep. Sometimes I'm tired and I just can't sleep. Stuff on my mind I guess.
Even though the stuff I've been reading (1 Samuel right now) is mostly storybook stuff, I feel comfort reading His word. The words kind of leap off the pages and before I know I feel like I'm right there on the battle field, the shield guy for Jonathan, following him around and slaying the Philistines. It's like a fantastic adventure!
And I hear "Ding, ding, ding..." *Dangnabbit*, it's my stop, time for work. :|
February 24, 2005
oops..
I am totally, totally out of the loop. I miss you MSN.. I miss you so much.
I forgot to turn on my cell for the past few days, so with that I've been pretty much unreachable lately. It's almost as if I really am on the moon, (which I am, of course). The weather here is very nice :)
This week has felt so long for me. Days usually fly by but this week they've slowed down to a halt. I'm so bored at work. Also after having slept almost all of Tuesday, I am so energetic now that I get restless really easily, and my metabolism is going nuts, I'm hungry almost all the time. Crazy.
feeling out of place
There's been times in the last couple of weeks that I've considered leaving this job because I feel like it's not going anywhere and that I'd rather be doing something else. But until I figure out what that "else" is, it'd be silly to just leave. I went onto the United Nations (got this idea after watching Hotel Rwanda) site yesterday looking for jobs. There were a few IT postings for Damascus. But that's Syria.. a political and terrorist hotbed. Can't be very safe there.. heh.
It was around this time last year, during MissionFest that I developed my first real "inkling" to go on a missions trip to India. Why India? I don't really konw what drew me to India as opposed to other countries. I think it was because at the time I was still hanging out with my classmates, and half of them were Indian/Pakistani, (the rest are chinese). It's pretty much a split at work too, either brown or yellow.
searching
For that reason I guess, and the fact that MissionFest is back on its way again, I have been looking to the Good Book for answers. I started about 2 years ago, planned to read it from cover to cover. I stopped. About 1.5 years ago. Heh. Well I've started again, reading the bible while on the subway. Since I am so energetic these it has been easy, reading without falling asleep. Actually it's so much that I'm hyper but that I just can't sleep. Sometimes I'm tired and I just can't sleep. Stuff on my mind I guess.
Even though the stuff I've been reading (1 Samuel right now) is mostly storybook stuff, I feel comfort reading His word. The words kind of leap off the pages and before I know I feel like I'm right there on the battle field, the shield guy for Jonathan, following him around and slaying the Philistines. It's like a fantastic adventure!
And I hear "Ding, ding, ding..." *Dangnabbit*, it's my stop, time for work. :|
I forgot to turn on my cell for the past few days, so with that I've been pretty much unreachable lately. It's almost as if I really am on the moon, (which I am, of course). The weather here is very nice :)
This week has felt so long for me. Days usually fly by but this week they've slowed down to a halt. I'm so bored at work. Also after having slept almost all of Tuesday, I am so energetic now that I get restless really easily, and my metabolism is going nuts, I'm hungry almost all the time. Crazy.
feeling out of place
There's been times in the last couple of weeks that I've considered leaving this job because I feel like it's not going anywhere and that I'd rather be doing something else. But until I figure out what that "else" is, it'd be silly to just leave. I went onto the United Nations (got this idea after watching Hotel Rwanda) site yesterday looking for jobs. There were a few IT postings for Damascus. But that's Syria.. a political and terrorist hotbed. Can't be very safe there.. heh.
It was around this time last year, during MissionFest that I developed my first real "inkling" to go on a missions trip to India. Why India? I don't really konw what drew me to India as opposed to other countries. I think it was because at the time I was still hanging out with my classmates, and half of them were Indian/Pakistani, (the rest are chinese). It's pretty much a split at work too, either brown or yellow.
searching
For that reason I guess, and the fact that MissionFest is back on its way again, I have been looking to the Good Book for answers. I started about 2 years ago, planned to read it from cover to cover. I stopped. About 1.5 years ago. Heh. Well I've started again, reading the bible while on the subway. Since I am so energetic these it has been easy, reading without falling asleep. Actually it's so much that I'm hyper but that I just can't sleep. Sometimes I'm tired and I just can't sleep. Stuff on my mind I guess.
Even though the stuff I've been reading (1 Samuel right now) is mostly storybook stuff, I feel comfort reading His word. The words kind of leap off the pages and before I know I feel like I'm right there on the battle field, the shield guy for Jonathan, following him around and slaying the Philistines. It's like a fantastic adventure!
And I hear "Ding, ding, ding..." *Dangnabbit*, it's my stop, time for work. :|
best actor
The best actor in my books if you were to ask me today would have to be Don Cheadle from Hotel Rwanda. That was hands down the best performance that I've seen so far. Yes, Jamie Foxx was excellent in his impersonation of the late Ray Charles -- but Don Cheadle moved me. He moved me. All I need now is to watch Leo in Aviator to complete the set.
Hotel Rwanda is an important film in acknowledging the unspeakable atrocities that occurred in Rwanda a decade ago. It was truly an eye-opener. I felt really depressed after watching it. It's kind of odd, how Rwanda was ignored and how the Tsunami victims get so much attention. It's such a contrast, one caused by nature, the other caused by hatred and evil. Both are tragedies, but which is sadder, a big wave wiping out half a country, or hatred/violence that leads to a massacre of half a country?
big mistake
Well, from the fantasy perspective this is a huge blow for my keeper league team. Although it does make my life a whole lot easier when it comes down to keeper decision time, it's a disaster too because I went from having the best fantasy receiver in the league down to just an average #3-5 guy. He's no longer a keeper in my opinion, at least compared to the guys I have. (My top 3 keepers will probably be Shaun Alexander, Willis McGahee, Julius Jones).
In RL though, I think this is a big mistake for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are a high powered offense with one the most sorry excuses of a defense in the NFL. They now go from a high powered offense to an average offense, and barring a major draft coup, they will still come away with a below average defense. In otherwords, it's back to the drawing board for the Minnesota Vikings.
You can at least make the playoffs if you have no defense and a strong offense. But now with neither one, the Vikings are toast. I can't understand this trade at all. It's going to be a very long season for the Vikings.
Hotel Rwanda is an important film in acknowledging the unspeakable atrocities that occurred in Rwanda a decade ago. It was truly an eye-opener. I felt really depressed after watching it. It's kind of odd, how Rwanda was ignored and how the Tsunami victims get so much attention. It's such a contrast, one caused by nature, the other caused by hatred and evil. Both are tragedies, but which is sadder, a big wave wiping out half a country, or hatred/violence that leads to a massacre of half a country?
big mistake
Well, from the fantasy perspective this is a huge blow for my keeper league team. Although it does make my life a whole lot easier when it comes down to keeper decision time, it's a disaster too because I went from having the best fantasy receiver in the league down to just an average #3-5 guy. He's no longer a keeper in my opinion, at least compared to the guys I have. (My top 3 keepers will probably be Shaun Alexander, Willis McGahee, Julius Jones).
In RL though, I think this is a big mistake for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are a high powered offense with one the most sorry excuses of a defense in the NFL. They now go from a high powered offense to an average offense, and barring a major draft coup, they will still come away with a below average defense. In otherwords, it's back to the drawing board for the Minnesota Vikings.
You can at least make the playoffs if you have no defense and a strong offense. But now with neither one, the Vikings are toast. I can't understand this trade at all. It's going to be a very long season for the Vikings.
February 23, 2005
February 20, 2005
sure? ...unsure!
I feel tired. Not like sleepy tired. Just tired of this. Not blogging.. just *this*.
I really wanted to jam because I felt like I need some sort of a release.. to let go of things and let the Spirit transcend over me and bring me peace. Sometimes you just *need* to jam. This was one of those nights.
Unfortunately it didn't happen due to the inclimate weather. Instead I spent most of the night on the phone and watching the all-star game (which was pretty entertaining btw). I discovered something today. When my cellphone battery is down to 3/4 bars of battery, it has approximately 1hr:15mins left of life. Also, it gets REALLY hot if I used it for more than 30 minutes.
I can't remember the last time I spent that long on the phone having a real conversation with someone. This whole Lent thing is driving me nuts, but it was really great to talk to a human being instead of staring at a bunch of text on a screen.
no regrets
Basically what happened, is I did something that I pretty much set my mind on not doing. I did the opposite of what I would normally do and just went for it. I seized my divine moment!
It's kind of daunting, after seeing the amazing performance by today's worship team, the thought of me standing up there is both intimidating and scary. I'm not sure what came over me on Friday when Yee Lee called asking me about whether I was moving or not, and I just blurted out to her that I'd help her with worship, even though I had already told her that I wouldn't.
It's like.. something just took hold of me, wiped away my inhibitions and took over my body. And I said: "No, I am NOT moving, and by the way, I'm going to sing for you on Sunday." Who said that?! And even though I still had doubts seconds after I hung up the phone, I felt this reassurance (more like ridicule) coming from God, who was saying "What are you worried about?".
[At the end of the day] it's not about me.
If There's One Thing - Tim Hughes
You call us first to love Your name, to worship You
To please Your heart, Our one desire Oh Lord
[CHORUS:]
If there’s one thing we are called to do
It's to love You, to adore You
We will bring our all and worship You
Bow before You, as we love You
Your honor Lord, Your name's renowned
We long to see
So let the glory of Your name be praised
[Bridge]
I will celebrate this love
Jesus You are everything to me
Furthermore Lord what can I do?
I will give this heart, this life to You
I really wanted to jam because I felt like I need some sort of a release.. to let go of things and let the Spirit transcend over me and bring me peace. Sometimes you just *need* to jam. This was one of those nights.
Unfortunately it didn't happen due to the inclimate weather. Instead I spent most of the night on the phone and watching the all-star game (which was pretty entertaining btw). I discovered something today. When my cellphone battery is down to 3/4 bars of battery, it has approximately 1hr:15mins left of life. Also, it gets REALLY hot if I used it for more than 30 minutes.
I can't remember the last time I spent that long on the phone having a real conversation with someone. This whole Lent thing is driving me nuts, but it was really great to talk to a human being instead of staring at a bunch of text on a screen.
no regrets
Basically what happened, is I did something that I pretty much set my mind on not doing. I did the opposite of what I would normally do and just went for it. I seized my divine moment!
It's kind of daunting, after seeing the amazing performance by today's worship team, the thought of me standing up there is both intimidating and scary. I'm not sure what came over me on Friday when Yee Lee called asking me about whether I was moving or not, and I just blurted out to her that I'd help her with worship, even though I had already told her that I wouldn't.
It's like.. something just took hold of me, wiped away my inhibitions and took over my body. And I said: "No, I am NOT moving, and by the way, I'm going to sing for you on Sunday." Who said that?! And even though I still had doubts seconds after I hung up the phone, I felt this reassurance (more like ridicule) coming from God, who was saying "What are you worried about?".
[At the end of the day] it's not about me.
If There's One Thing - Tim Hughes
You call us first to love Your name, to worship You
To please Your heart, Our one desire Oh Lord
[CHORUS:]
If there’s one thing we are called to do
It's to love You, to adore You
We will bring our all and worship You
Bow before You, as we love You
Your honor Lord, Your name's renowned
We long to see
So let the glory of Your name be praised
[Bridge]
I will celebrate this love
Jesus You are everything to me
Furthermore Lord what can I do?
I will give this heart, this life to You
February 19, 2005
*not*
First off, I wrote that comical piece to describe how I was feeling that day. I hope it's clear to everyone that I am *not* moving. Yeesh. I know now that if I ever DO move, I need only post it here and news of it will spread rampantly to every single person I know. Once again: Yeesh!
tired
I'm tired. I sort of know how Kenric feels now except that I didn't have to work all day. My flight back from Vegas was delayed and so he woke up early to pick me up for nothing (thanks again). I did the exact same thing today because my mom's flight was also late. I guess the only real comparison is that normally Saturdays is the only day I can sleep in. Whereas Kenric was probably going to wake up fairly early since it was a work day anyway. Regardless, I'm grateful and exhausted.
char
char is ill from apparent food poisoning and missed small group last night. Please pray for her. Char: I have the cd back if you want to borrow it (I Can Only Imagine).
tim hughes
I bought two cd's. One is "Here I Am To Worship" and the other is "When Silence Falls". So far I'm liking the first one more. Seems more playable and more upbeat. I like the song "If There's One Thing", I swear I've heard it before (pretty much all the songs on this album are like that.. very familiar).
Both cd's will need more play before I can give a review but I'm pretty happy with my purchases.
grandma
Funny thing happened today on the way to lunch. We were taking the elevator down (me, mom, grandma). Grandpa couldn't make it because his legs hurt when he walks. So anyway, we were heading down, and when it got to ground, me and my mom stepped out. Now if any of you have been to my building, you know that the elevator doors are a bit nutty. So anyway, we turn around and before grandma gets a chance to get out of the elevator, the door starts closing all you see is her face in this frown and she makes a hilarious whimpering sound.
So now the elevator door closes, and me and my mom are bolting over to press the up/down buttons to call the elevator back. Well, that didn't work. We both watched helplessly as the elevator ascended, up to the 6th floor. It stopped, and then it came back down. *Phew*
Doh! The door opens and 3 strangers step out, we look inside and there's no one inside! So we both take it up to the 6th and sure enough grandma is standing there in the hallway with this funny frightful look! Hahaha..
los angeles lakers
I have a pair of extra tickets to the Lakers vs. Raptors game on February 27, 2005 @ 1:00 pm. They are Section 318, Row 9, Seats 4 & 5. $15 a pop. The only downside to these tix are that you'll have to sit with me.
tired
I'm tired. I sort of know how Kenric feels now except that I didn't have to work all day. My flight back from Vegas was delayed and so he woke up early to pick me up for nothing (thanks again). I did the exact same thing today because my mom's flight was also late. I guess the only real comparison is that normally Saturdays is the only day I can sleep in. Whereas Kenric was probably going to wake up fairly early since it was a work day anyway. Regardless, I'm grateful and exhausted.
char
char is ill from apparent food poisoning and missed small group last night. Please pray for her. Char: I have the cd back if you want to borrow it (I Can Only Imagine).
tim hughes
I bought two cd's. One is "Here I Am To Worship" and the other is "When Silence Falls". So far I'm liking the first one more. Seems more playable and more upbeat. I like the song "If There's One Thing", I swear I've heard it before (pretty much all the songs on this album are like that.. very familiar).
Both cd's will need more play before I can give a review but I'm pretty happy with my purchases.
grandma
Funny thing happened today on the way to lunch. We were taking the elevator down (me, mom, grandma). Grandpa couldn't make it because his legs hurt when he walks. So anyway, we were heading down, and when it got to ground, me and my mom stepped out. Now if any of you have been to my building, you know that the elevator doors are a bit nutty. So anyway, we turn around and before grandma gets a chance to get out of the elevator, the door starts closing all you see is her face in this frown and she makes a hilarious whimpering sound.
So now the elevator door closes, and me and my mom are bolting over to press the up/down buttons to call the elevator back. Well, that didn't work. We both watched helplessly as the elevator ascended, up to the 6th floor. It stopped, and then it came back down. *Phew*
Doh! The door opens and 3 strangers step out, we look inside and there's no one inside! So we both take it up to the 6th and sure enough grandma is standing there in the hallway with this funny frightful look! Hahaha..
los angeles lakers
I have a pair of extra tickets to the Lakers vs. Raptors game on February 27, 2005 @ 1:00 pm. They are Section 318, Row 9, Seats 4 & 5. $15 a pop. The only downside to these tix are that you'll have to sit with me.
February 18, 2005
rtfm
Goodness gracious.. people need to learn to RTFM. The "F" in this case, is FULL.
etiquette lesson #2
Today I saw a girl in the underground PATH that I knew, but I didn't say "hi" because I couldn't remember her name. But I remember now.. "Jessica". I guess it's too late now. Same thing yesterday, I saw another girl Cindy, I remembered her name that time, I said hi but I kept walking.
(Hmm.. what are the odds I run into two people from S&YL's wedding party within 24 hours?)
What is the proper ettiquette when you meet someone on the street? Is it enough to smile/nod and go on with my day, or am I expected to stop talk with them? If it is the latter, then I suppose everyone who has ever run into me has thought that I was a total jerk.
The way I see it there are 3 possible exchanges between two people in passing.
First with two guys:
A: [raises eyebrow]
B: [raises eyebrow while nodding]
A: [nods]
Guy sees girl:
A: [eye contact]
B: [eye contact, smile]
A: [smile]
OR
A: "Hi there"
B: "Hi!"
A: "How are you?"
B: "I'm fine thanks, how are you?"
A: "Great"
B: "That's good!"
[conversation follows if he knows her well]
OR if you're a jerk like me:
A: [eye contact, smile]
B: [smile] "Hi!"
A: [half-smile] "Hi"
[jerk walks away]
Girl sees guy:
A: [poke] "hey"
B: "Oh, hello!"
A: "How are you?"
B: "Fine thanks, and you?"
...and so on.
You need to look at it both ways though. Maybe that person is busy and
doesn't have time to talk. Maybe they're in a rush to get somewhere, or
are late for a meeting. Who am I to stand there and force them to waste
their time on me? And it's not like I gave them a dirty look. I *did*
smile. I made eye contact. That should be enough.
A week ago I ran into Baun, an old highschool buddy of mine. We stopped, chatted for few minutes to see what was up with eachother. He had finished his bio degree and was taking film now. Pretty cool. We almost took down phone numbers but figured we'd just bump into eachother again (because we take the same paths home every day) so we went on our way.
I think that was a pretty good exchange.
etiquette lesson #2
Today I saw a girl in the underground PATH that I knew, but I didn't say "hi" because I couldn't remember her name. But I remember now.. "Jessica". I guess it's too late now. Same thing yesterday, I saw another girl Cindy, I remembered her name that time, I said hi but I kept walking.
(Hmm.. what are the odds I run into two people from S&YL's wedding party within 24 hours?)
What is the proper ettiquette when you meet someone on the street? Is it enough to smile/nod and go on with my day, or am I expected to stop talk with them? If it is the latter, then I suppose everyone who has ever run into me has thought that I was a total jerk.
The way I see it there are 3 possible exchanges between two people in passing.
First with two guys:
A: [raises eyebrow]
B: [raises eyebrow while nodding]
A: [nods]
Guy sees girl:
A: [eye contact]
B: [eye contact, smile]
A: [smile]
OR
A: "Hi there"
B: "Hi!"
A: "How are you?"
B: "I'm fine thanks, how are you?"
A: "Great"
B: "That's good!"
[conversation follows if he knows her well]
OR if you're a jerk like me:
A: [eye contact, smile]
B: [smile] "Hi!"
A: [half-smile] "Hi"
[jerk walks away]
Girl sees guy:
A: [poke] "hey"
B: "Oh, hello!"
A: "How are you?"
B: "Fine thanks, and you?"
...and so on.
You need to look at it both ways though. Maybe that person is busy and
doesn't have time to talk. Maybe they're in a rush to get somewhere, or
are late for a meeting. Who am I to stand there and force them to waste
their time on me? And it's not like I gave them a dirty look. I *did*
smile. I made eye contact. That should be enough.
A week ago I ran into Baun, an old highschool buddy of mine. We stopped, chatted for few minutes to see what was up with eachother. He had finished his bio degree and was taking film now. Pretty cool. We almost took down phone numbers but figured we'd just bump into eachother again (because we take the same paths home every day) so we went on our way.
I think that was a pretty good exchange.
February 17, 2005
when things work out
Isn't it great when things just work out? Today, things are going to finally work out for me. My mom's been bugging me about picking up a passport application form. I went down to the Staples downstairs to get it from the post office they have inside, but they'd run out. I have nothing left in the fridge for dinner. Yesterday the Raptors lost but scored enough that I can get a free slice of pizza from Pizza Pizza. But, there aren't any Pizza Pizza's near my home.
Yesterday I got a notice in the mail for me to go to the post office to pick up a package. I think it's the two Tim Hughes cd's I ordered, though I could be wrong. Maybe it's a bomb or anthrax or something. [ebrian shrugs]
So this is how it all fits together. It's the only post office near my place aside from the one in the Staples. With my mom flying in on Friday, I had to get the application ASAP. I have to go there anyway now because of the package. And to top it off, the nearest Pizza Pizza is right across the street from ... you guessed it —- the Post Office!
Perfection..! At last.
moving
This is probably too short notice for everyone, but... I'm moving away.
I've thought long and hard about this and I've decided that I'm going to move away from this place. The condo, the cushy job, fast-paced city life. I've even alluded it to some close friends but no one really took much notice. Toronto, it's been great living here for the last 25 years. But it's time to move on. My bags are packed (it's not like I had a whole to begin with) and the moving company has been booked. I will be gone in less than 2 days.
To the people who will miss me or who's lives will be adversely affected by my absence: I do apologize but this has been a long time coming.
Why the short notice. (Notice how I put this post as a sub-post to another) I dunno, in all honesty I wanted to give zero notice. I wanted to disappear like Matt Damon did in Good Will Hunting. You know what I mean -- when Ben Affleck comes over to pick him up as they do every day, and he finds that Matt has moved out without so much as a goodbye, and Ben just smiles to himself and while he's sad his friend is gone, he's happy that his pal has finally moved on with his life.
That's how I'd like to think of it.
Destination? I've given this the most thought. Moving away is one thing, but where to, that's the tricky part. The easiest thing would have been to move down to the US to live with my family, or out to the West Coast at least so I would be closer to them. But that would be too easy. I wanted to move somewhere that I'd have to learn a new language in order to communicate with the locals. Sometimes it's nice to be where "everybody knows your name", but I think I enjoy the solitude of being in a place where no one knows me. It'll be great. That's why I've decide to live on the moon.
As Frank Sinatra once said: Fly me to the moon, and let me sing among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.
Farewell!
Yesterday I got a notice in the mail for me to go to the post office to pick up a package. I think it's the two Tim Hughes cd's I ordered, though I could be wrong. Maybe it's a bomb or anthrax or something. [ebrian shrugs]
So this is how it all fits together. It's the only post office near my place aside from the one in the Staples. With my mom flying in on Friday, I had to get the application ASAP. I have to go there anyway now because of the package. And to top it off, the nearest Pizza Pizza is right across the street from ... you guessed it —- the Post Office!
Perfection..! At last.
moving
This is probably too short notice for everyone, but... I'm moving away.
I've thought long and hard about this and I've decided that I'm going to move away from this place. The condo, the cushy job, fast-paced city life. I've even alluded it to some close friends but no one really took much notice. Toronto, it's been great living here for the last 25 years. But it's time to move on. My bags are packed (it's not like I had a whole to begin with) and the moving company has been booked. I will be gone in less than 2 days.
To the people who will miss me or who's lives will be adversely affected by my absence: I do apologize but this has been a long time coming.
Why the short notice. (Notice how I put this post as a sub-post to another) I dunno, in all honesty I wanted to give zero notice. I wanted to disappear like Matt Damon did in Good Will Hunting. You know what I mean -- when Ben Affleck comes over to pick him up as they do every day, and he finds that Matt has moved out without so much as a goodbye, and Ben just smiles to himself and while he's sad his friend is gone, he's happy that his pal has finally moved on with his life.
That's how I'd like to think of it.
Destination? I've given this the most thought. Moving away is one thing, but where to, that's the tricky part. The easiest thing would have been to move down to the US to live with my family, or out to the West Coast at least so I would be closer to them. But that would be too easy. I wanted to move somewhere that I'd have to learn a new language in order to communicate with the locals. Sometimes it's nice to be where "everybody knows your name", but I think I enjoy the solitude of being in a place where no one knows me. It'll be great. That's why I've decide to live on the moon.
As Frank Sinatra once said: Fly me to the moon, and let me sing among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.
Farewell!
February 16, 2005
Oscars, cont'd
I've seen a bunch of movies. Originally I thought I would put down a review for each of them and critique the acting and my analysis of everything. But it's too much. I've seen countless movies and I can't go back and do individual analysis' of each of them like I did with Collateral.
Our goal (mine and Kenric's) was to watch all the movies or actors/actresses nominated for an Oscar. This includes best pictures, best directors, actors and actresses and best supporting actor/actresses. Here's my rankings so far, and "x" denotes movies/performances I haven't seen yet.
Best Picture
1. Million Dollar Baby
2. Finding Neverland
3. Ray
x. Sideways
x. The Aviator
Best Director
1. Million Dollar Baby
2. Ray
x. The Aviator
x. Sideways
x. Vera Drake
Best Actor in a Leading Role
1. Jamie Foxx (Ray)
2. Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland)
3. Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)
x. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator)
x. Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
1. Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
2. Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
x. Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake)
x. Catalina Sandino Morena (Maria Full Of Grace)
x. Annett Bening (Being Julia)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1. Clive Owen (Closer)
2. Jamie Foxx (Collateral)
3. Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby)
4. Thomas Haden Church (Sideways)
5. Alan Alda (The Aviator)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1. Natalie Portman (Closer)
x. Cate Blanchett (The Aviator)
x. Laura Linney (Kinsey)
x. Virginia Madsen (Sideways)
x. Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda)
Admittedly, we will probably never see movies like Vera Drake, Maria Full of Grace, Being Julia or Kinsey. If I was a betting man I'd say it won't matter.. Hilary Swank is most likely a lock to win best actress. The Aviator was the highest nominated movie of all (11 total nominations) and we still haven't seen it yet. That one will clear up 5 of my ranks. I still need to see Hotel Rwanda too.
I like movies with a point, and preferably movies that teach you something good or something profound. For movie sites I like to read Focus On The Family's reviews. It's not what you expect though. It's not just the pro's and con's of a movie from a Christian perspective. It also has some in-depth character analysis , which I find useful in determining whether or not the film is worth watching. They have a similar perspective towards movies that I have.
doodie: don't read this if you're eating
If you're still reading, then I'll reward you with a comical story. Yesterday I was in several meetings spread over the day. I literally had no time to spare in between. I grabbed lunch in between and scarfed it down in about 10 minutes, then went to another meeting. Anyway, after lunch I had to go. My kids wanted to go to the pool but I didn't have time to drop them off. There were like 500 items we had to go over for the meeting so about halfway I took charge and started rushing through them. "NEXT!" "NEXT!" "OKAY! #341. NEXT!" I was rushing through it because I had to go so badly.
Finally, it was over and I rushed back to my desk to complete the work I had to get finished before everyone went home for the day, so I did that. Finally, after 4 hours of holding off I ran over to the bathroom and... as luck would have it, both stalls were occupied. It's funny that for some reason I had this feeling that they'd be full, because the last time I ever needed to go this badly, the exact same thing happened.
Anyway I ran to the elevator and took it one floor down. Got to 26th and.. *damn* I didn't have access to this floor. Paced around between elevators (by now one of the kids had stuck his head out the window. 'Not yet son.. get back inside."). Finally got on and took it down to the 20th, stumbled my way over to the bathroom and aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh....
Our goal (mine and Kenric's) was to watch all the movies or actors/actresses nominated for an Oscar. This includes best pictures, best directors, actors and actresses and best supporting actor/actresses. Here's my rankings so far, and "x" denotes movies/performances I haven't seen yet.
Best Picture
1. Million Dollar Baby
2. Finding Neverland
3. Ray
x. Sideways
x. The Aviator
Best Director
1. Million Dollar Baby
2. Ray
x. The Aviator
x. Sideways
x. Vera Drake
Best Actor in a Leading Role
1. Jamie Foxx (Ray)
2. Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland)
3. Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)
x. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator)
x. Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
1. Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
2. Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
x. Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake)
x. Catalina Sandino Morena (Maria Full Of Grace)
x. Annett Bening (Being Julia)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1. Clive Owen (Closer)
2. Jamie Foxx (Collateral)
3. Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby)
4. Thomas Haden Church (Sideways)
5. Alan Alda (The Aviator)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1. Natalie Portman (Closer)
x. Cate Blanchett (The Aviator)
x. Laura Linney (Kinsey)
x. Virginia Madsen (Sideways)
x. Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda)
Admittedly, we will probably never see movies like Vera Drake, Maria Full of Grace, Being Julia or Kinsey. If I was a betting man I'd say it won't matter.. Hilary Swank is most likely a lock to win best actress. The Aviator was the highest nominated movie of all (11 total nominations) and we still haven't seen it yet. That one will clear up 5 of my ranks. I still need to see Hotel Rwanda too.
I like movies with a point, and preferably movies that teach you something good or something profound. For movie sites I like to read Focus On The Family's reviews. It's not what you expect though. It's not just the pro's and con's of a movie from a Christian perspective. It also has some in-depth character analysis , which I find useful in determining whether or not the film is worth watching. They have a similar perspective towards movies that I have.
doodie: don't read this if you're eating
If you're still reading, then I'll reward you with a comical story. Yesterday I was in several meetings spread over the day. I literally had no time to spare in between. I grabbed lunch in between and scarfed it down in about 10 minutes, then went to another meeting. Anyway, after lunch I had to go. My kids wanted to go to the pool but I didn't have time to drop them off. There were like 500 items we had to go over for the meeting so about halfway I took charge and started rushing through them. "NEXT!" "NEXT!" "OKAY! #341. NEXT!" I was rushing through it because I had to go so badly.
Finally, it was over and I rushed back to my desk to complete the work I had to get finished before everyone went home for the day, so I did that. Finally, after 4 hours of holding off I ran over to the bathroom and... as luck would have it, both stalls were occupied. It's funny that for some reason I had this feeling that they'd be full, because the last time I ever needed to go this badly, the exact same thing happened.
Anyway I ran to the elevator and took it one floor down. Got to 26th and.. *damn* I didn't have access to this floor. Paced around between elevators (by now one of the kids had stuck his head out the window. 'Not yet son.. get back inside."). Finally got on and took it down to the 20th, stumbled my way over to the bathroom and aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh....
February 15, 2005
meaning
I kind of understand what anita was talking about now, when she asked me about the 'negatives' of listening to too much Christian music. I've listened to it so much that I've somewhat become lost in the tunes and have been missing out the powerful words of many songs. It's something I've struggled with before as well, just getting caught up in the music and losing the meaning of the songs themselves.
STILL -- although I've become slightly desensitized from the true meaning of some songs, I still feel like I'm better off than having secular songs stuck in my head.
Let's focus a minute on what it means to lose the point of a praise song, thus turning it into just another song. Is that blasphemy? I guess it would be if I was missing the ENTIRE point of the song. So it's really more like a semi-blasphemy.
I'm not knocking all secular music. I realize that some of it is okay, but whereas the object of secular music is:
1. Me
2. Love (between people)
3. Some girl/guy
4. Money/fame/power
5. Authority (rebellious)
6. MDK;
Christian music is always first and foremost about God. Even semi-blasphemy has to be better than any of the above. Perhaps I'm just overanalyzing all this stuff.. I thought that listening to strictly christian music would influence me positively, but instead I've become ... what's the word ... "immune" to it?
Mmm.. my chest hurts. I guess it's bedtime.
STILL -- although I've become slightly desensitized from the true meaning of some songs, I still feel like I'm better off than having secular songs stuck in my head.
Let's focus a minute on what it means to lose the point of a praise song, thus turning it into just another song. Is that blasphemy? I guess it would be if I was missing the ENTIRE point of the song. So it's really more like a semi-blasphemy.
I'm not knocking all secular music. I realize that some of it is okay, but whereas the object of secular music is:
1. Me
2. Love (between people)
3. Some girl/guy
4. Money/fame/power
5. Authority (rebellious)
6. MDK;
Christian music is always first and foremost about God. Even semi-blasphemy has to be better than any of the above. Perhaps I'm just overanalyzing all this stuff.. I thought that listening to strictly christian music would influence me positively, but instead I've become ... what's the word ... "immune" to it?
Mmm.. my chest hurts. I guess it's bedtime.
February 14, 2005
day 4
I sat in front of my computer this morning and out of habit turned on my MSN. *Ack* Luckily I had switched off the "autoconnect" thing and closed it as soon as I realized what I'd done.
Human beings need contact with other human beings.. the alternative is pets, but that's not the same.. and besides I don't have any pets. I think I used MSN as a substitute for human contact. Even if you can't see the person at least you can sort of sense their company. And knowing that people care, that is also a comfort.
And video games.. is just a distraction from the fact. Yesterday I basically finished the game. Smee is level 60. Game over. I started a new character named Wahya, a night elf druid. Wahya is native american for "Wolf". I also have a gnome warlock named Goan. Goan has a pet.. I'm so jealous!
In 5 short days I will lose my independence but regain my sanity. My mom and grandparents are returning from the Sin City, to do some citizen stuff, and hopefully help me do my taxes. This means we'll need to re-locate the jamming. Dunc is always busy now, someone else will have to open up their home for us..
I finally got a haircut on Saturday, and washed my car too. My car was sooo dirty. This was the first time I'd washed since about June. It's all shiny now.. whee!
Yesterday we had a surprise-not-surprise-anymore-yet-still-a-surprise birthday party for Drew. All week we tried to plan this thing but we were uncertain of whether he could even make it there. In the end someone had to tell him the -partial- truth to convince him to come out! But it was a fun night. We had it at Baton Rouge.
Oh, speaking of jamming. Last night we had 3 guitarist and one vocalist. Elsa, bigjon, Kev and me. It was really fun.. Jon is talented enough to figure things out with looking at the music, and he'll play a different key to change things up. Kevin was messing around on my electric and I was just playing straight. I think mixing it up spices up the worship time. There's just a lot more combo's we can play with when there are more people. Later Jon used his guitar case as a set of drums, Kev played straight and played with a cut-capo. Good times..
Human beings need contact with other human beings.. the alternative is pets, but that's not the same.. and besides I don't have any pets. I think I used MSN as a substitute for human contact. Even if you can't see the person at least you can sort of sense their company. And knowing that people care, that is also a comfort.
And video games.. is just a distraction from the fact. Yesterday I basically finished the game. Smee is level 60. Game over. I started a new character named Wahya, a night elf druid. Wahya is native american for "Wolf". I also have a gnome warlock named Goan. Goan has a pet.. I'm so jealous!
In 5 short days I will lose my independence but regain my sanity. My mom and grandparents are returning from the Sin City, to do some citizen stuff, and hopefully help me do my taxes. This means we'll need to re-locate the jamming. Dunc is always busy now, someone else will have to open up their home for us..
I finally got a haircut on Saturday, and washed my car too. My car was sooo dirty. This was the first time I'd washed since about June. It's all shiny now.. whee!
Yesterday we had a surprise-not-surprise-anymore-yet-still-a-surprise birthday party for Drew. All week we tried to plan this thing but we were uncertain of whether he could even make it there. In the end someone had to tell him the -partial- truth to convince him to come out! But it was a fun night. We had it at Baton Rouge.
Oh, speaking of jamming. Last night we had 3 guitarist and one vocalist. Elsa, bigjon, Kev and me. It was really fun.. Jon is talented enough to figure things out with looking at the music, and he'll play a different key to change things up. Kevin was messing around on my electric and I was just playing straight. I think mixing it up spices up the worship time. There's just a lot more combo's we can play with when there are more people. Later Jon used his guitar case as a set of drums, Kev played straight and played with a cut-capo. Good times..
February 11, 2005
initial reaction
I miss instant messaging already. I'm one of those borderline ADD people. Things pop into my mind and I need to tell people these things otherwise I will go nuts, but I couldn't do that today. As a result I am completely wide awake with all kinds of ideas that I need to try to remember so I can tell people later when I see them!
There are things that I kind of took for granted too. When I could see that someone was online, then I would know if I'd be able to call them without getting their voice mail. Now it's just a pure guessing game. And I don't know anymore whether or not if I call someone they are "busy" or not.
Sometimes you just want to leave someone a message. What if I call someone and they pick up? I wanna leave a message damnit, not TALK to em!
Also messaging allows the "hiya" and not expect any purpose behind it. It's perfectly acceptable to message someone with "hi" and not expect them to even reply. And if even if they do, you don't have to have any kind of purpose behind saying "hi". I guarantee you that if I called someone and said "hi" and they said "hi", and I said nothing else, they would think I was insane.
And what about emoticons? How do you do a :'( on the phone?
There are things that I kind of took for granted too. When I could see that someone was online, then I would know if I'd be able to call them without getting their voice mail. Now it's just a pure guessing game. And I don't know anymore whether or not if I call someone they are "busy" or not.
Sometimes you just want to leave someone a message. What if I call someone and they pick up? I wanna leave a message damnit, not TALK to em!
Also messaging allows the "hiya" and not expect any purpose behind it. It's perfectly acceptable to message someone with "hi" and not expect them to even reply. And if even if they do, you don't have to have any kind of purpose behind saying "hi". I guarantee you that if I called someone and said "hi" and they said "hi", and I said nothing else, they would think I was insane.
And what about emoticons? How do you do a :'( on the phone?
February 10, 2005
wrong again!
Thanks to Ina for pointing out to me that Lent actually began yesterday. I was on MSN today.. for shame..
And so it begins..
And so it begins..
lent
Last year I went 40 days without video games. Yes.. 40 days. It's hard to imagine if you know me, but I pulled it off and then at the end of the 40 days, I went nuts on games and got sick from it from lack of sleep and food.
I thought about doing 40 days of no games again, but have decided against it.
Over the past few days I've been thinking about what else I could do, what the meaning of Lent is, and what would be something worth that which I rely heavily upon that I could offer up to God. See, gaming isn't heavily relied upon. If I didn't game, I would be watching TV, or renting DVDs, watching movies. It's just a form of entertainment.
In the last 3 days I realized that I heavily rely upon instant messaging. When MSN was down for a few hours I didn't know what to do. I felt as though I had been locked away from the rest of the world. I forgot about all the other lines of communication and sat there dumbfounded that I had no one to talk to.
I guess where I'm going with this is that I've decided to give up all forms of instant messaging. This includes Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, AIM. I'm still kinda iffy on the email part. I use email for work, so I can't exactly give that up. My parents communicate with me via email as well.
I feel that this decision will force me to open the lines of communication with others in different forms, and rather than spend time chatting online, I could spend more time with God in that way. Ie: when I feel lonely, I will turn to God instead of trying to find someone who is willing to chat with me.
Easter is March 27th, which means on February 18th I will stop using instant messaging.
[edit]It occurred to me just now that February only has 28 days. Thus I need to begin my Lent February 16th, not 18th.[/edit]
Last year I went 40 days without video games. Yes.. 40 days. It's hard to imagine if you know me, but I pulled it off and then at the end of the 40 days, I went nuts on games and got sick from it from lack of sleep and food.
I thought about doing 40 days of no games again, but have decided against it.
Over the past few days I've been thinking about what else I could do, what the meaning of Lent is, and what would be something worth that which I rely heavily upon that I could offer up to God. See, gaming isn't heavily relied upon. If I didn't game, I would be watching TV, or renting DVDs, watching movies. It's just a form of entertainment.
In the last 3 days I realized that I heavily rely upon instant messaging. When MSN was down for a few hours I didn't know what to do. I felt as though I had been locked away from the rest of the world. I forgot about all the other lines of communication and sat there dumbfounded that I had no one to talk to.
I guess where I'm going with this is that I've decided to give up all forms of instant messaging. This includes Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, AIM. I'm still kinda iffy on the email part. I use email for work, so I can't exactly give that up. My parents communicate with me via email as well.
I feel that this decision will force me to open the lines of communication with others in different forms, and rather than spend time chatting online, I could spend more time with God in that way. Ie: when I feel lonely, I will turn to God instead of trying to find someone who is willing to chat with me.
Easter is March 27th, which means on February 18th I will stop using instant messaging.
[edit]It occurred to me just now that February only has 28 days. Thus I need to begin my Lent February 16th, not 18th.[/edit]
February 09, 2005
happy new year?
Gong Xi Fa Chai -- It's chinese new year. Happy New Year to those of you who celebrate this. I checked under my pillow this morning to see if the red pouch fairy had come, but she hadn't.
dreamt
I was wrong about the dreams.
In the last week or so I have been having similar types of dreams. I've dreamt about each of my friends pairing off with eachother. Most of them have been obvious pairings, like as in Ross & Rachel obvious. There have been a few surprises with some of the matchings my brain as come up with. Disturbingly, some of the dreams have been "graphic", I don't know what to think about that.. as if my mind thought "hey, let's see how he'll react if we show him THIS.."
Perhaps with all the weddings going on in the past year and following year, it has given me a bit of a sense of "pressure". I totally blame my parents, who constantly hint at wanting grandchildren before they're too old to care for them, and suggesting random people from my childhood that they "always thought were nice".
I just wanted to get these thoughts down before I forgot about them.
almost
I predicted the Craptors would score 88 points last night which put me within 3 points of the actual score. Unfortunately someone else on asbntr chose 93, which is closer. So I missed out a copy of Back To The Future 2 on DVD by one point.
rafer
Eh, just wanted to say I told ya so.
Gong Xi Fa Chai -- It's chinese new year. Happy New Year to those of you who celebrate this. I checked under my pillow this morning to see if the red pouch fairy had come, but she hadn't.
dreamt
I was wrong about the dreams.
In the last week or so I have been having similar types of dreams. I've dreamt about each of my friends pairing off with eachother. Most of them have been obvious pairings, like as in Ross & Rachel obvious. There have been a few surprises with some of the matchings my brain as come up with. Disturbingly, some of the dreams have been "graphic", I don't know what to think about that.. as if my mind thought "hey, let's see how he'll react if we show him THIS.."
Perhaps with all the weddings going on in the past year and following year, it has given me a bit of a sense of "pressure". I totally blame my parents, who constantly hint at wanting grandchildren before they're too old to care for them, and suggesting random people from my childhood that they "always thought were nice".
I just wanted to get these thoughts down before I forgot about them.
almost
I predicted the Craptors would score 88 points last night which put me within 3 points of the actual score. Unfortunately someone else on asbntr chose 93, which is closer. So I missed out a copy of Back To The Future 2 on DVD by one point.
rafer
Eh, just wanted to say I told ya so.
February 08, 2005
homesick
I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.
Work has become really boring lately. Not as in I'm not busy, but just boring as in repetitive and unchallenging. I'm finding more often than not that I'll be sitting in a meeting, or talking to my boss, and in the back of my mind I'm thinking "What's the point of this? What am I doing here?".
I wake up, I shower, play guitar, get dressed, go downstairs. Sleep for 40-60 minutes in the subway. Walk through the underground path. Sit down at my desk. Work. Eat lunch. Food coma. Work. Walk back to subway, sleep another 40-50 minutes. Buy food. Either watch tv or play WoW while eating. Sleep. It's the same damn thing every day.
I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.
Nothing seems to be going right for me. I never reached any goals, but then again, I never set any. I have no dreams or aspirations. And that's just the metaphorical aspect of it. I don't think I've dream dreamed in a long time either. I feel like nothing I do makes a difference. I feel like I'm disconnected. When I try to reach out to someone, they either turn away from me or ignore me.
—
Have you ever been on a vacation, where you went for too long? It's like the time I went to Vegas for 2-1/2 weeks, after about 10 days, I wanted to go home. There was nothing left to do there. Instead of vacation, "something new", it had become something old. I wanted to get out, I wanted to go back home.
Right now I feel like I want to go home.
I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.
Work has become really boring lately. Not as in I'm not busy, but just boring as in repetitive and unchallenging. I'm finding more often than not that I'll be sitting in a meeting, or talking to my boss, and in the back of my mind I'm thinking "What's the point of this? What am I doing here?".
I wake up, I shower, play guitar, get dressed, go downstairs. Sleep for 40-60 minutes in the subway. Walk through the underground path. Sit down at my desk. Work. Eat lunch. Food coma. Work. Walk back to subway, sleep another 40-50 minutes. Buy food. Either watch tv or play WoW while eating. Sleep. It's the same damn thing every day.
I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.
Nothing seems to be going right for me. I never reached any goals, but then again, I never set any. I have no dreams or aspirations. And that's just the metaphorical aspect of it. I don't think I've dream dreamed in a long time either. I feel like nothing I do makes a difference. I feel like I'm disconnected. When I try to reach out to someone, they either turn away from me or ignore me.
—
Have you ever been on a vacation, where you went for too long? It's like the time I went to Vegas for 2-1/2 weeks, after about 10 days, I wanted to go home. There was nothing left to do there. Instead of vacation, "something new", it had become something old. I wanted to get out, I wanted to go back home.
Right now I feel like I want to go home.
February 06, 2005
baby got book
(my attempt on the lyrics)
Oh my goodness
Becky, look at her bible
It is so huge
She looks like one of those preacher guys' girlfriends
But who understands those preacher guys anyway?
They only talk to her because she looks like mother Theresa, Okay?
I mean look at it, it's just huge
It's Gross
She just looks so.. Righteous!
I like big bibles and I cannot lie.
You christian brothers can't deny
That when a girl walks in with a KJV
And a bookmark in Proverbs
You get stoked
Got a name in grace
So you know this girl is saved
It looks like one of those large ones
With plenty of space in the margins
Oh baby
I wanna read witcha
Cuz you bible's got pictures
My minister tried to console me
But that book you got makes "me so holy"
Ooh, mamma mia
You say you want Koinonia?
Well bless me, bless me
And teach me about John Wesley
I saw her praying
While I was DJing
She got grace, pretty face
She ain't goin down to a bad place
I'm tired of heathen guys
Sayin they like pocket size
I say the average Christian take a look
She gotta pack much book
So fellas (YEAH)
Fellas (YEAH)
Have your girlfriends got the book?
Oh YEAH!
Well READ IT! (READ IT!)
READ IT... (READ IT!)
Read that holy book
Baby got book (NIV with the ribbon bookmark)
Baby got book
I like them leather
And bound
It's 50 pounds
I just can't understand how it is some weanie
Wants bible on CD
She wanna get you saved
AMEN double up A-MEN!
I ain't talkin about a paraphase
Cuz Paul wouldn't use those anyways
I like em real thick and red lettered
You can't find nothing better
Southpaw's in love
Bibles that big are unheard of
So I'm sitting here thinking "what if"
I find me a girl shows midrift
You can have those bimbo's
I keep those chicks that do devos
A word to the Christian aistas
I can't resist ya
I'll do God's time witcha
But I gotta be straight when I say I wanna
Pray till the break of day
Baby got it goin' on
Like the wife in Proverbs 31
We just might get engaged
When we finish reading this page
Cuz it's worn, and it's torn
And I know that girl's reborn
So ladies (YEAH)
Ladies, (YEAH)
Do you wanna save people from Hades? (YEAH)
Then read it
'Til the pages fall out
Even white preachers got to shout
Baby got Book (Thompson Chain with the big red letters)
Yeah baby
When it comes to a good book
Stephen King's resume just can't compare
39 plus 27
Equals 66 books
And if you're catholic... there's even more
So your girlfriend quotes Bill Hybels
But does she got a big bible?
Cuz that little thing she's got
Won't start a revival
My bible study don't want none unless you got book, hun!
You can read Clancy or Grisham
But please don't lose this book
Some brothers want to play that hard role
And tell you that book's too old
So they toss it
And they burn it
But I pull up quick to just learn it
So your girl like paperback
Well I ain't down with that
Cuz my girlfriends hot and her bible's rockin
And she's got good doctrine
To the atheist chicks who try to diss
You ain't it Miss Priss
Give me a Christian I'm insistin'
And I'll greet her with some holy kissin'
Some pervert tried to chase
But he didn't make it past first base
She's quick to resist temptation
And she loves the new translation
So ladies who are lost and found
If you want the triple six thrown down
Dial 1-800-READS-ALOT
And teach me about those Psalms
Baby got book
February 03, 2005
By now some of you have noticed the change in layout. This is not what I had in mind. In fact, I don't even know how it happened. If someone has hacked my account and figured out my blatantly obvious password * then I congratulate you * thank you for not changing my posts..
introject
Last week at Sunday school, I went to Kinson's class because there was a potential of it ending earlier than the other classes. Yes.. guilty as charged! But it actually turned out really good. It kind of confirmed some of the things that eBrian often ponders about.
I've always thought about ways to say things, to either completely insult someone, or ways to charm someone without making it like I was trying to do so. Or ways to convince someone to do something for me without saying so. Anyway, in class we learned about introject - to incorporate ionto one's own psyche unconsciously.
Such as, say you say to someone: "I like your shirt!"
That person could take it objectively, and say "thanks" and deep down, think: "mental note: this is a nice shirt".
Or that person could take it subjectively, and say "thanks" and deep down, think: "omg, i'm gonna burn this shirt"
Or if you said "Wow, you look fantastic today." One person may focus on the word "fantastic", but another person might focus on the word "today".
It's easy to laugh about things like this. As a child I would have been the second person. If someone said I had a nice shirt, and I would never wear that shirt again. Nowadays, I couldn't care less. Some might say that clothing and appearance is TOO far down my list of priorities. I've received complaints from friends that I didn't dress appropriately for various occasions.
I was just thinking to myself, how can I go and compliment someone without the fear that I completely insult them? How can I say something to someone without offending them, or internalizing what I said to them and hating me forever for saying it? Perhaps I can completely throw out the idea of making negative comments or observations. Yes, some people can take criticism, but some might bury it inside and end up jumping off a bridge 10 years down the road.
I'm not kidding.. this is serious stuff.
One idea I had was to constantly compliment people. If I did that, then I would be known for it and people would always know that I was being genuine and not malicious. But then I realized that if I did that to *everyone* and then missed out on some people, then THOSE people would be offended.
How about being brutally honest to everyone? I can just imagine standing in the middle of subway and getting everyone's attention:
"Hello everyone, I have an important announcement to make. You, you, you and you. You all have bad breath. You 3 over there should be wearing a lot more clothes. Cover yourselves up.. especially you! What are you, like 14?! Sir! Yes * you, the guy who is in dire need of a haircut * ever heard of deodorant? And Miss, you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.. and your boyfriend over there, has not stopped ogling those half-naked teenagers over there since he got on the train. He's a pig, miss. A pig. I think you should leave him for me."
I can just imagine the bruises and cuts that would result in that sort of behavior. And the years and years of counselling and therapy I'd have to endure.
lost
So yea, I wrote the above at work inbetween stuff I had to do, kind of my downtime thoughts. But about halfway through the day I forgot all about it, and now I've completely lost my train of thought.
The idea that you can alter a word or two in a statement to another person and you can affect their deep psyche. It's just that sort of thing that makes me realize how important it is to think carefully before I say anything.
See, I can't even think of what to say next. Completely lost..
I watched Finding Neverland. I'll post up a review of it tomorrow.
introject
Last week at Sunday school, I went to Kinson's class because there was a potential of it ending earlier than the other classes. Yes.. guilty as charged! But it actually turned out really good. It kind of confirmed some of the things that eBrian often ponders about.
I've always thought about ways to say things, to either completely insult someone, or ways to charm someone without making it like I was trying to do so. Or ways to convince someone to do something for me without saying so. Anyway, in class we learned about introject - to incorporate ionto one's own psyche unconsciously.
Such as, say you say to someone: "I like your shirt!"
That person could take it objectively, and say "thanks" and deep down, think: "mental note: this is a nice shirt".
Or that person could take it subjectively, and say "thanks" and deep down, think: "omg, i'm gonna burn this shirt"
Or if you said "Wow, you look fantastic today." One person may focus on the word "fantastic", but another person might focus on the word "today".
It's easy to laugh about things like this. As a child I would have been the second person. If someone said I had a nice shirt, and I would never wear that shirt again. Nowadays, I couldn't care less. Some might say that clothing and appearance is TOO far down my list of priorities. I've received complaints from friends that I didn't dress appropriately for various occasions.
I was just thinking to myself, how can I go and compliment someone without the fear that I completely insult them? How can I say something to someone without offending them, or internalizing what I said to them and hating me forever for saying it? Perhaps I can completely throw out the idea of making negative comments or observations. Yes, some people can take criticism, but some might bury it inside and end up jumping off a bridge 10 years down the road.
I'm not kidding.. this is serious stuff.
One idea I had was to constantly compliment people. If I did that, then I would be known for it and people would always know that I was being genuine and not malicious. But then I realized that if I did that to *everyone* and then missed out on some people, then THOSE people would be offended.
How about being brutally honest to everyone? I can just imagine standing in the middle of subway and getting everyone's attention:
"Hello everyone, I have an important announcement to make. You, you, you and you. You all have bad breath. You 3 over there should be wearing a lot more clothes. Cover yourselves up.. especially you! What are you, like 14?! Sir! Yes * you, the guy who is in dire need of a haircut * ever heard of deodorant? And Miss, you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.. and your boyfriend over there, has not stopped ogling those half-naked teenagers over there since he got on the train. He's a pig, miss. A pig. I think you should leave him for me."
I can just imagine the bruises and cuts that would result in that sort of behavior. And the years and years of counselling and therapy I'd have to endure.
lost
So yea, I wrote the above at work inbetween stuff I had to do, kind of my downtime thoughts. But about halfway through the day I forgot all about it, and now I've completely lost my train of thought.
The idea that you can alter a word or two in a statement to another person and you can affect their deep psyche. It's just that sort of thing that makes me realize how important it is to think carefully before I say anything.
See, I can't even think of what to say next. Completely lost..
I watched Finding Neverland. I'll post up a review of it tomorrow.
February 02, 2005
Jamie Foxx (Collateral), Nominated for Best Supporting Actor
Last night I watched the movie Collateral, directed by Michael Mann. Mann is known for movies like Ali, The Insider and Heat. So yeah, you could say I was expecting a pretty damn good movie.
The movie also starred Tom Cruise and Jada Pinkett-Smith. I was rather suprised to see Jada in the movie. I had not heard she was a part of it.
Jamie Foxx was really good. He really got into character, as this timid man who had set his dreams beyond where he could ever reach. Kind of a man who is stuck in a rut but doesn't know it. In denial of where he is in his life, where he ought to be or where he wished he could be. And regardless of his shortcomings, has a good feel for life. And values life. Puts himself before others.
So yea I thought he deserved the nomination.
The movie. I liked it. Everything was good from the beginning, the soundtrack set the tone and the camera work was really good. I've yet to see a Tom Cruise movie that I didn't like. He's a been around long enough so he knows, and has built his career around making the right choices. I suppose here I can make another point about Ben Affleck. As we know he's a big gambler. This might explain his penchant of picking up the worst scripts in the world and just doing them. Maybe he just needs the money?
There was kind of a lot to kinda think about. Tom's character - Vincent - had an interesting way of looking at life. As a hit-man, he justified his killings by pointing out that thousands of people are dying in Rwanda, and most people don't even know about. So why would anyone care about the people he kills? His life is so empty that you feel sorry for the guy. He has no reason to live, no one to live for. He feels absolutely no remorse for his killings. He just shrugs it off.
But then he also keeps Max (Foxx) alive.
I can't quite understand why he keeps saving Max's life, other than maybe he doesn't know the city well enough and needs someone to drive him around. Or maybe it's just his "style". One of the policemen alludes to a previous job, about a cab driver going around killing people and then shooting himself at the end. Could this be one of Vincent's previous jobs? Possibly. So maybe it's just the way he goes about things so he feels it's important to finish his work with Max, and then maybe shoot him afterwards and make it look like a suicide.
Whatever. The perfectly good movie was ruined at the end. Um.. Spoiler Alert. At then end in the subway there is a shootout between Max and Vincent, face to face they start shooting at eachother, and by some miracle, the cab driver outshoots the contract killer. A man trained to drive a car from destination to destination, OUTGUNS a gunman. A man trained to kill people, is killed, by a man trained to drive a car. A driver kills the killer.
If you didn't understand that, it's like training to be a boxer your entire life, fighting professionally for 6 years, and then getting knocked out by a ballerina. Now how realistic is that?
Okay, so the ratings. I'll give 81/100 on Foxx's performance and 71/100 for the movie.
Last night I watched the movie Collateral, directed by Michael Mann. Mann is known for movies like Ali, The Insider and Heat. So yeah, you could say I was expecting a pretty damn good movie.
The movie also starred Tom Cruise and Jada Pinkett-Smith. I was rather suprised to see Jada in the movie. I had not heard she was a part of it.
Jamie Foxx was really good. He really got into character, as this timid man who had set his dreams beyond where he could ever reach. Kind of a man who is stuck in a rut but doesn't know it. In denial of where he is in his life, where he ought to be or where he wished he could be. And regardless of his shortcomings, has a good feel for life. And values life. Puts himself before others.
So yea I thought he deserved the nomination.
The movie. I liked it. Everything was good from the beginning, the soundtrack set the tone and the camera work was really good. I've yet to see a Tom Cruise movie that I didn't like. He's a been around long enough so he knows, and has built his career around making the right choices. I suppose here I can make another point about Ben Affleck. As we know he's a big gambler. This might explain his penchant of picking up the worst scripts in the world and just doing them. Maybe he just needs the money?
There was kind of a lot to kinda think about. Tom's character - Vincent - had an interesting way of looking at life. As a hit-man, he justified his killings by pointing out that thousands of people are dying in Rwanda, and most people don't even know about. So why would anyone care about the people he kills? His life is so empty that you feel sorry for the guy. He has no reason to live, no one to live for. He feels absolutely no remorse for his killings. He just shrugs it off.
But then he also keeps Max (Foxx) alive.
I can't quite understand why he keeps saving Max's life, other than maybe he doesn't know the city well enough and needs someone to drive him around. Or maybe it's just his "style". One of the policemen alludes to a previous job, about a cab driver going around killing people and then shooting himself at the end. Could this be one of Vincent's previous jobs? Possibly. So maybe it's just the way he goes about things so he feels it's important to finish his work with Max, and then maybe shoot him afterwards and make it look like a suicide.
Whatever. The perfectly good movie was ruined at the end. Um.. Spoiler Alert. At then end in the subway there is a shootout between Max and Vincent, face to face they start shooting at eachother, and by some miracle, the cab driver outshoots the contract killer. A man trained to drive a car from destination to destination, OUTGUNS a gunman. A man trained to kill people, is killed, by a man trained to drive a car. A driver kills the killer.
If you didn't understand that, it's like training to be a boxer your entire life, fighting professionally for 6 years, and then getting knocked out by a ballerina. Now how realistic is that?
Okay, so the ratings. I'll give 81/100 on Foxx's performance and 71/100 for the movie.
February 01, 2005
peeve
The first time I ever heard "pet peeve" was at an ACEM Conference at McMaster. I remember I was paired up with a girl named Grace, and she asked me what my pet peeves were. Of course I didn't know what it meant so I said "dogs". Which shocked her because then she said "Really?? I LOVE dogs". At which point I realized my error but rather than admit my stupidity I just played along and made up some excuse about why I hated dogs, which is a blatant lie.
One thing that really peeves me is when I see someone stand in front of a door, press the wheelchair assistance button and wait for the door to open. And 95% of the time it's an asian woman who does it. It really pisses me off. What's worse is they do it when there's about 40 people behind them trying to get home or get to work, and they just stand there almost impatiently, as if the door is opening too slowly. And everyone else is standing behind em waiting for the door to open, like a bottleneck of pedestrian traffic.
It just bugs me that people abuse this button that was placed there to help disabled people. If they were used properly, you would never see a person in a wheelchair push the button and find that it was broken. Even worse I've found people use their feet to push the button. That's pretty disgusting. First of all some physically challenged people *need* to use the button. And let's not forget the children who love to press buttons.
You know how when you're wearing earphone/headphones, you can't really hear anything, and sometimes end up yelling just so you can hear your own voice? Anyway, about 2 weeks ago this happened again, an asian woman pressed the button just outside the subway station and waited. It was windy so the door was moving really slow. She kinda just stood there staring at it. I was late though, so I just budded in front of her, muttered "lazy" and opened the door and walked through. As it turns out I said it bit louder than I thought I did, because later on this same woman was giving me the "evil eye", glaring angrily at me on the subway platform.
rafer
Rafer Alston is the Raptor's new whipping boy. This guy is a complete unprofessional. If you guys thought V**** was a headache, be prepared for the next 4 years of Rafer. You'd think that a 28 year old could grow up a little, but that is not the case.
Apparently after a disagreement with a teammate in college, Rafer dropped a weight on some guy's groin while he was asleep. Yes that's right, a weight. He was kicked off the team shortly after. Rafer also once grabbed his ex-girlfriend by the throat and threw her to the ground. Classy.
He has threatened to retire because his coach benched him, sobbing on television that he wasn't used to this kind of treatment and that it was so much better at his old team. Boo V****-ing hoo.
Then in the last game we played, as the game was winding down he asked to be taken out of the game because he was being embarassed so badly by Kid Canada. Our floor general pulled out his little white flag and surrendered. Rafer also thinks that he's the reason fans come out to see the Raptors!
Oh the humanity!
The other thing that bothers me is that I keep mis-typing his name as Rafter.
fat
I think if I keep up the way I have been eating these past two weeks, I'll get fat again.
The first time I ever heard "pet peeve" was at an ACEM Conference at McMaster. I remember I was paired up with a girl named Grace, and she asked me what my pet peeves were. Of course I didn't know what it meant so I said "dogs". Which shocked her because then she said "Really?? I LOVE dogs". At which point I realized my error but rather than admit my stupidity I just played along and made up some excuse about why I hated dogs, which is a blatant lie.
One thing that really peeves me is when I see someone stand in front of a door, press the wheelchair assistance button and wait for the door to open. And 95% of the time it's an asian woman who does it. It really pisses me off. What's worse is they do it when there's about 40 people behind them trying to get home or get to work, and they just stand there almost impatiently, as if the door is opening too slowly. And everyone else is standing behind em waiting for the door to open, like a bottleneck of pedestrian traffic.
It just bugs me that people abuse this button that was placed there to help disabled people. If they were used properly, you would never see a person in a wheelchair push the button and find that it was broken. Even worse I've found people use their feet to push the button. That's pretty disgusting. First of all some physically challenged people *need* to use the button. And let's not forget the children who love to press buttons.
You know how when you're wearing earphone/headphones, you can't really hear anything, and sometimes end up yelling just so you can hear your own voice? Anyway, about 2 weeks ago this happened again, an asian woman pressed the button just outside the subway station and waited. It was windy so the door was moving really slow. She kinda just stood there staring at it. I was late though, so I just budded in front of her, muttered "lazy" and opened the door and walked through. As it turns out I said it bit louder than I thought I did, because later on this same woman was giving me the "evil eye", glaring angrily at me on the subway platform.
rafer
Rafer Alston is the Raptor's new whipping boy. This guy is a complete unprofessional. If you guys thought V**** was a headache, be prepared for the next 4 years of Rafer. You'd think that a 28 year old could grow up a little, but that is not the case.
Apparently after a disagreement with a teammate in college, Rafer dropped a weight on some guy's groin while he was asleep. Yes that's right, a weight. He was kicked off the team shortly after. Rafer also once grabbed his ex-girlfriend by the throat and threw her to the ground. Classy.
He has threatened to retire because his coach benched him, sobbing on television that he wasn't used to this kind of treatment and that it was so much better at his old team. Boo V****-ing hoo.
Then in the last game we played, as the game was winding down he asked to be taken out of the game because he was being embarassed so badly by Kid Canada. Our floor general pulled out his little white flag and surrendered. Rafer also thinks that he's the reason fans come out to see the Raptors!
Oh the humanity!
The other thing that bothers me is that I keep mis-typing his name as Rafter.
fat
I think if I keep up the way I have been eating these past two weeks, I'll get fat again.
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