okay.. enough of the stalling, i finally got me an imagestation account and uploaded some vegas pics. holy cow, it's been two months.
here they are
i suppose you'll need an account there to see em, so if you don't have one.. tough!
this might work
February 23, 2004
This isn't the first time I've had a "WTC" dream. Last night it was one of those "dream within a dream within a dream" dreams. I dreamed we were all at some kind of huge event, one that President Bush was at. This massive plane flew overhead and just as it was above where Bush was giving a speech, it blew up. It was total chaos, people were running every which way, and Bush and his protective entourage ran off somewhere. I saw the front end of the plane, cut off from the rest of the plane still trying to fly like a helicopter, and when it finally did land (I know this makes no sense since it doesn't have wings), it exploded and everyone inside died. Then there were reports that Bush had been hit by some of the shrapnel, and sure enough they found his head lying in the debris. His head.
Then for some reason I was crying, from the sadness of Bush dying and I woke up from my dream, but when I woke up I was in my old house, in my room in the basement. This didn't click though, and I woke up and told my brother about the dream, but he wasn't really listening. I went outside and found myself in a museum, and I got to this american history section and read a panel about how President Bush had been killed in a terrorist attack. And I was like "wth?! that was only a dream!". So then I tried to wake up from the dream, and I did.
Only I hadn't, because I found myself being chased by CIA agents, as if I had been the one who had engineered the attack. At that point I realized it had to be a dream. And of course, when you know you're dreaming, you can do anything, so I started flying straight up into the air, with one hand clenched in a fist like superman, as if to try to break through the dream barrier. Higher and higher I went, through space and beyond, until I found myself in a pinkish blue (pastel colors) area, whereupon I forced myself to wake up.
And finally, for real this time.
Then for some reason I was crying, from the sadness of Bush dying and I woke up from my dream, but when I woke up I was in my old house, in my room in the basement. This didn't click though, and I woke up and told my brother about the dream, but he wasn't really listening. I went outside and found myself in a museum, and I got to this american history section and read a panel about how President Bush had been killed in a terrorist attack. And I was like "wth?! that was only a dream!". So then I tried to wake up from the dream, and I did.
Only I hadn't, because I found myself being chased by CIA agents, as if I had been the one who had engineered the attack. At that point I realized it had to be a dream. And of course, when you know you're dreaming, you can do anything, so I started flying straight up into the air, with one hand clenched in a fist like superman, as if to try to break through the dream barrier. Higher and higher I went, through space and beyond, until I found myself in a pinkish blue (pastel colors) area, whereupon I forced myself to wake up.
And finally, for real this time.
February 22, 2004
Today after church we went to First Markham Place for lunch. Sometime while we were eating I think it was kenric who came up with the following scenario:
"Let's say you're not a christian and you're engaged to a guy/girl who isn't christian, but then you become a christian. Do you still stay with this person?"
We discussed this topic for a good 15-20 minutes. Maybe, you could hold off on the wedding and try to wait for your partner to become a believer. But what if the wedding date is already set? Just pray hard? Cancel the wedding date?
The simple answer is "no", you don't stay with that person. But things can be more complicated than that. Then someone brought up the verse in the bible, Acts 16:31, that says:
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household.
Except this is an isolated incident, taken out of context it could mean a lot of things, but in this situation it was the jailer asking Paul how he could be saved. I think in those days the head of the family carried more respect in that if the guy believed in Jesus, then his family would follow suit, and thus fulfill the Bible verse.
So I guess the real answer is NO.
"Let's say you're not a christian and you're engaged to a guy/girl who isn't christian, but then you become a christian. Do you still stay with this person?"
We discussed this topic for a good 15-20 minutes. Maybe, you could hold off on the wedding and try to wait for your partner to become a believer. But what if the wedding date is already set? Just pray hard? Cancel the wedding date?
The simple answer is "no", you don't stay with that person. But things can be more complicated than that. Then someone brought up the verse in the bible, Acts 16:31, that says:
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household.
Except this is an isolated incident, taken out of context it could mean a lot of things, but in this situation it was the jailer asking Paul how he could be saved. I think in those days the head of the family carried more respect in that if the guy believed in Jesus, then his family would follow suit, and thus fulfill the Bible verse.
So I guess the real answer is NO.
February 21, 2004
lunch and thereafter
Most of my posts below were rants, which don't need to be read. Just me blowing off some steam.
After the contractors fiasco, I went over to Charita's house for lunch. Her parents invited me over. They have a new house now, and the layout of the house is really close to my parents' home in Vegas. It was a wonderful time of catching up, just talking about my parents, and how I'm doing. It was great seeing them, we really haven't done that sort of thing since we left M3C. I miss hanging out with 'families', too. I haven't been able to do that since I visited mine. Also, I got to finally have some real home cooking, first time since Las Vegas.
In some ways it made me a little bit homesick, but it also reminded me again of God's blessings.
I stayed for about 3-4 hours at their home. After lunch I watched a tape of last weeks' Apprentice with Charita. Her dog Tiny is so cute, he cuddles up with her on the couch. Tiny was afraid of me because I was dressed in all black, and apparently he'd had some traumatic experience as a puppy with guys dressed in black. Namely, Naoto and Will used to tease and scare the crap out of him.
Charita's mom gave me a tub of leftover [guo tieh], which I'm about to consume for dinner. I've lost 10 pounds since I visited my family in LV. I really need to start cooking again.. it is just not good, the way I am caring (or not caring) for my body.
After that I went to Mitchell's to hunt for a new devotional book. I started looking for a men's devotional book but they only had one, and they were short daily readings based on one short verse. I didn't think I'd get anything out of it. Then I remembered Lon telling me that I'd really like Max Lucado's writing, so I headed over to his section, and found a book that had been reviewed by someone at the store. I bought it. It's called "Traveling Light". I also got a CD called "WOW Hits 2004". I don't know why I bought it. Hope it's good.
Most of my posts below were rants, which don't need to be read. Just me blowing off some steam.
After the contractors fiasco, I went over to Charita's house for lunch. Her parents invited me over. They have a new house now, and the layout of the house is really close to my parents' home in Vegas. It was a wonderful time of catching up, just talking about my parents, and how I'm doing. It was great seeing them, we really haven't done that sort of thing since we left M3C. I miss hanging out with 'families', too. I haven't been able to do that since I visited mine. Also, I got to finally have some real home cooking, first time since Las Vegas.
In some ways it made me a little bit homesick, but it also reminded me again of God's blessings.
I stayed for about 3-4 hours at their home. After lunch I watched a tape of last weeks' Apprentice with Charita. Her dog Tiny is so cute, he cuddles up with her on the couch. Tiny was afraid of me because I was dressed in all black, and apparently he'd had some traumatic experience as a puppy with guys dressed in black. Namely, Naoto and Will used to tease and scare the crap out of him.
Charita's mom gave me a tub of leftover [guo tieh], which I'm about to consume for dinner. I've lost 10 pounds since I visited my family in LV. I really need to start cooking again.. it is just not good, the way I am caring (or not caring) for my body.
After that I went to Mitchell's to hunt for a new devotional book. I started looking for a men's devotional book but they only had one, and they were short daily readings based on one short verse. I didn't think I'd get anything out of it. Then I remembered Lon telling me that I'd really like Max Lucado's writing, so I headed over to his section, and found a book that had been reviewed by someone at the store. I bought it. It's called "Traveling Light". I also got a CD called "WOW Hits 2004". I don't know why I bought it. Hope it's good.
Hrmm... another no-show. The 10:30 guy never showed up. I think the biggest problem is people underestimate the value of this job. People hear "water damage", and right away think there's a few holes that need patching, nothing more than maybe a $1k job. Little do they know how much damage there is, plus the drywalling of the attic, the whole thing should come out to a nice little 5 digit earning.
I can tell, after an estimate each person (who actually showed up) wanted the job badly. It's a huge job.. I mean the kind of money these people are going to rake in after I pay them is about how much I am earning in about 4 months. It's a lot. And these guys will get it in just over a weeks' work. Okay, so you split it over 3-4 people. That's still a months' salary for me. Let's say the material is about 25% of it, that's still 3 weeks' of my pay that I give them for 1 week of work. It's a sweet deal, considering most of them didn't have to spend $40k on a university degree.
I can tell, after an estimate each person (who actually showed up) wanted the job badly. It's a huge job.. I mean the kind of money these people are going to rake in after I pay them is about how much I am earning in about 4 months. It's a lot. And these guys will get it in just over a weeks' work. Okay, so you split it over 3-4 people. That's still a months' salary for me. Let's say the material is about 25% of it, that's still 3 weeks' of my pay that I give them for 1 week of work. It's a sweet deal, considering most of them didn't have to spend $40k on a university degree.
sleep.. lost forever
It all started on Thursday night. My co-worker let me borrow his Bad Boys 2 dvd, and so I decided I would watch half of it that night, and the rest of it the following night. Instead, I ended up watching the whole thing. To my surprise, this movie was 2.5 hours long. I finished at 2am, and went to bed. The following morning I got up at 7. (loss of 2 hours)
I didn't feel like sleeping on the subway so I didn't. On the way home I did sleep though (loss of 30 minutes).
Then there was the frustrating evening last night of waiting 3 hours for 1 hour of work to be done, which ended in me going to bed at 10:30pm. However, things didn't go quite as planned. I couldn't sleep, and I experience intermittent sleep for several hours. I remember glancing at my clock at 3, 4, 5, 6, 6:15, 6:45, 7, 7:05, 7:15, ....
So really I got about probably around 4-5 hours last night. (loss of 3 hours). To make matters worse I had to wake up early for the contractor, who showed up right on time 8:30am. He was standing at my door knocking when I arrived on the scene. Another pretty friendly guy, probably from Romania or Russia. Said he worked in Japan for 2-3 years, in Osaka and Kobe. Perfectionist type of person. Funny as hell too, we had some pretty good laughs about the Canadian government and japanese people.
I called the 9:30 guy and the funny thing is he's still at home with his wife. It was 9:15 when I called. He said how bout 11:30, and I said no, because I'm going out for lunch. Then he suggests Sunday and I said no way. So he says he'll come at 11, and I tell him at 11:30 I'm leaving, so if he's late, too bad. So he says okay, 11.
My next appt is at 10:30, so I came back to do some blogging and possibly some gaming as well. I was hoping to go to Mitchell's but there's not enough time between the first and the 3rd appts.
Now I just received a called from the 11 guy (Alli), and he says he's having car trouble and won't make it. We rescheduled to Monday at 5:30. Then he nixes that and says he'll be there between 5:30-6:00. He swears he's never done this to a customer before.
Hey, maybe it's true, and maybe God messed up his car because he was never meant to do the job for me. Or maybe he'll feel so bad about it he'll end up getting the job because he'll offer a much lower price than everyone else. Who knows..
It all started on Thursday night. My co-worker let me borrow his Bad Boys 2 dvd, and so I decided I would watch half of it that night, and the rest of it the following night. Instead, I ended up watching the whole thing. To my surprise, this movie was 2.5 hours long. I finished at 2am, and went to bed. The following morning I got up at 7. (loss of 2 hours)
I didn't feel like sleeping on the subway so I didn't. On the way home I did sleep though (loss of 30 minutes).
Then there was the frustrating evening last night of waiting 3 hours for 1 hour of work to be done, which ended in me going to bed at 10:30pm. However, things didn't go quite as planned. I couldn't sleep, and I experience intermittent sleep for several hours. I remember glancing at my clock at 3, 4, 5, 6, 6:15, 6:45, 7, 7:05, 7:15, ....
So really I got about probably around 4-5 hours last night. (loss of 3 hours). To make matters worse I had to wake up early for the contractor, who showed up right on time 8:30am. He was standing at my door knocking when I arrived on the scene. Another pretty friendly guy, probably from Romania or Russia. Said he worked in Japan for 2-3 years, in Osaka and Kobe. Perfectionist type of person. Funny as hell too, we had some pretty good laughs about the Canadian government and japanese people.
I called the 9:30 guy and the funny thing is he's still at home with his wife. It was 9:15 when I called. He said how bout 11:30, and I said no, because I'm going out for lunch. Then he suggests Sunday and I said no way. So he says he'll come at 11, and I tell him at 11:30 I'm leaving, so if he's late, too bad. So he says okay, 11.
My next appt is at 10:30, so I came back to do some blogging and possibly some gaming as well. I was hoping to go to Mitchell's but there's not enough time between the first and the 3rd appts.
Now I just received a called from the 11 guy (Alli), and he says he's having car trouble and won't make it. We rescheduled to Monday at 5:30. Then he nixes that and says he'll be there between 5:30-6:00. He swears he's never done this to a customer before.
Hey, maybe it's true, and maybe God messed up his car because he was never meant to do the job for me. Or maybe he'll feel so bad about it he'll end up getting the job because he'll offer a much lower price than everyone else. Who knows..
February 20, 2004
I hoped that two estimates would take maybe 1.5 hours, but instead they stretched into 3 hours. *sigh*
Physically I am totally exhausted. Mentally, just really really frustrated. I missed small group. *bigger sigh*
Anita's uncle is a really nice guy (he doesn't know i'm a friend of anita), he came about 15 minutes late but did a thorough job. Unfortunately I found out he's not bonded or insured, so I highly doubt dad will pick him. Unfortunately that's the truth of this business though.. most of the 'asian' "companies" aren't completely legit, although they offer an equally good service and lower prices. I felt it wouldn't be fair to him to tell him I knew Anita, because he might feel obliged to give me some kinda deal. I know that sounds silly, but I know guys like this are already offering a pretty lower price already.
Chris was supposed to come at 7:45pm, Anita's uncle took longer so I called Chris to move it to 8:15pm. Of course, the shows up at 8:30. The worst thing of all is, I actually like the guy. He had an even lower estimate than yesterday's impressive sell. In fact it's not even close; he's about 60% of what Sandra offered, although she promised to have in done in a few days, whereas this guy says it'll take over a week.
Sandra hasn't given me her full total estimate, while Chris gave it to me straight up as he was leaving. He finished fast. Can I forgive a guy for being late 3 times? Hard to say, since my dad will make the final decision.
3 more tomorrow, first one starts at 8am. Joy!
Physically I am totally exhausted. Mentally, just really really frustrated. I missed small group. *bigger sigh*
Anita's uncle is a really nice guy (he doesn't know i'm a friend of anita), he came about 15 minutes late but did a thorough job. Unfortunately I found out he's not bonded or insured, so I highly doubt dad will pick him. Unfortunately that's the truth of this business though.. most of the 'asian' "companies" aren't completely legit, although they offer an equally good service and lower prices. I felt it wouldn't be fair to him to tell him I knew Anita, because he might feel obliged to give me some kinda deal. I know that sounds silly, but I know guys like this are already offering a pretty lower price already.
Chris was supposed to come at 7:45pm, Anita's uncle took longer so I called Chris to move it to 8:15pm. Of course, the shows up at 8:30. The worst thing of all is, I actually like the guy. He had an even lower estimate than yesterday's impressive sell. In fact it's not even close; he's about 60% of what Sandra offered, although she promised to have in done in a few days, whereas this guy says it'll take over a week.
Sandra hasn't given me her full total estimate, while Chris gave it to me straight up as he was leaving. He finished fast. Can I forgive a guy for being late 3 times? Hard to say, since my dad will make the final decision.
3 more tomorrow, first one starts at 8am. Joy!
Well, it's 6:45pm now. This Chris guy didn't show up, again. He called at around 6:30pm and said he'd be late, we've rescheduled to 7:45pm. I don't know why I'm even bothering with him. I mean if miss an appointment and then miss another, that's not exactly a very great track record, huh?
I'm about to head back over again to meet Anita's uncle, scheduled for 7pm.
The way I figure it he'll be on time, but then of course there's Chris, who knows when he'll show. I will definitely be late for small group today.
I'm about to head back over again to meet Anita's uncle, scheduled for 7pm.
The way I figure it he'll be on time, but then of course there's Chris, who knows when he'll show. I will definitely be late for small group today.
the apprentice was too hyped up by me over the week that the show was a little bit disappointing. amy got switched so i was kinda right about some sort of merge. sooner or later it can't be teams though. i mean it can't always be about the teams. team building/leading is only one side of being a great leader. Omarosa really bugs me. She's supposedly a woman who comes out of the projects and now works in the White House. But she wouldn't lift a finger while they did the apartment renovations. She's like a princess.
Tammy got voted off as ina predicted. I'm glad, since Tammy is the only person I didn't like on VersaCorp. Sooner or later Omarosa has to go. Yeah, she brings drama and everyone hates her, but even in Survivor 2, eventually Jerry Manthey had to go. She didn't make the final 4, and I don't think Omarosa will either. Princess Di absolutely hates her guts, she's never said anything good about her during the final discussions between Trump and his two lackeys. I think yesterday proves they are willing to vote people off simply because they're annoying.
I think the final 4 will be Amy, Nick, Troy, Heidi. Seems to me that everything that Amy touches turns to gold. She's the only person on the show who has never lost a challenge. I like Nick because I think I can relate to him the most in that we have similar personalities. I like Troy because he puts forth 110%, and he leaves everything out there. And Heidi just has the feistiness to make it well. I don't think the 4th could be Ereka (too emotional), Omarosa (princess.. actually more like queen). Katrina is a possibility but it still doesn't make sense to me why she didn't do the negotiating last night. Perhaps from her experience she knew they wouldn't turn as high a profit as the other team, and so she needed a scapegoat?
Kwame hasn't really done anything except appeal to the african american fans (and probably a lot of women). Bill is more like a great right-hand-man, not really a born leader. Besides, I'm pretty sure it'll be 2 guys and 2 girls at the end.
February 19, 2004
a woman's touch
Today I left work early so that I could meet up with the first of two contractors coming to my house to give me an estimate. The first guy (Chris) was scheduled for 5:30, and the second at 6:30. Well, Chris never showed up, and called me at 6 saying he was in a "pickle" and would come tomorrow at 6 sharp. I know you guys are thinking Chris must be asian, but no, he's italian, I think.
The second contractor (Sandra) came promptly at 6:30pm. I mean she was at the doorstep *at* 6:30pm. Impressed. Her analysis of the damage and everything was really good. She even showed sympathy and when I told how it all happened, she actually said "Aw.. you poor thing." Ha! She threw in suggestions of what color the laundry room should be painted, to better match the flooring and counters. She suggested not to use stucco because it wasn't "in" anymore. She said if I picked her, she get could "her boys" in starting next week and be done in less than a week. She told me the damages could all be fixed with $5-6k, a far cry from the $25k the other guys were quoting us.
My dad also wants the attic done, and an A/C installed there as well. The A/C itself will fetch about 5 grand. But all in all the total price will still be pretty cheap compared to what those others (crazies) were saying.
I mean, I hafta say it was a good sell. She did a really great job, and not surprisingly she is the president of her company. What impresses upon me is how a little bit of cordiality, kindness, sympathy and just knowing your stuff without being shady about it -- it's really to me that extra bit of attention, that a woman's touch -- put into a job that a man would never think about doing. And that's not to say a guy wouldn't do a great job on it. I still have 4 more quotes coming in. But let's just say that I'm impressed so far with "A. Lifetime Contractor Ltd.", and leave it at that.
Today I left work early so that I could meet up with the first of two contractors coming to my house to give me an estimate. The first guy (Chris) was scheduled for 5:30, and the second at 6:30. Well, Chris never showed up, and called me at 6 saying he was in a "pickle" and would come tomorrow at 6 sharp. I know you guys are thinking Chris must be asian, but no, he's italian, I think.
The second contractor (Sandra) came promptly at 6:30pm. I mean she was at the doorstep *at* 6:30pm. Impressed. Her analysis of the damage and everything was really good. She even showed sympathy and when I told how it all happened, she actually said "Aw.. you poor thing." Ha! She threw in suggestions of what color the laundry room should be painted, to better match the flooring and counters. She suggested not to use stucco because it wasn't "in" anymore. She said if I picked her, she get could "her boys" in starting next week and be done in less than a week. She told me the damages could all be fixed with $5-6k, a far cry from the $25k the other guys were quoting us.
My dad also wants the attic done, and an A/C installed there as well. The A/C itself will fetch about 5 grand. But all in all the total price will still be pretty cheap compared to what those others (crazies) were saying.
I mean, I hafta say it was a good sell. She did a really great job, and not surprisingly she is the president of her company. What impresses upon me is how a little bit of cordiality, kindness, sympathy and just knowing your stuff without being shady about it -- it's really to me that extra bit of attention, that a woman's touch -- put into a job that a man would never think about doing. And that's not to say a guy wouldn't do a great job on it. I still have 4 more quotes coming in. But let's just say that I'm impressed so far with "A. Lifetime Contractor Ltd.", and leave it at that.
February 18, 2004
As a joke i told Nate's friend Ken to make sure he gets a good shot of Vince Carter's facial expression when he falls injured. Talk about foreshadowing, he really did get injured again. In our entire section, not a single person showed any bit of concern for him. Some people laughed when he went down, while others yelled "GET UP!!". Kenric and I sorta just sat there and didn't say anything. I think it's safe to say that Toronto is sick and tired of Vince getting hurt.
Ken's got this great idea of putting binoculars in front of his digital camera, and then taking the picture. He showed us the results and they were pretty nice. He got a few great pics of Vince clutching his leg. It was pretty funny. There's one of three other players standing over him and I swear it looked like one of them was laughing..
..
Ever since reading about worship in PDL, I've often paused and not sung along during worship times so that I could reflect on the words themselves rather than be caught up with the music. Because I do that, I can get caught up in the music and I have to stop myself from letting that happen during worship, because I can get into a trance almost of just enjoying the music. Like, I could react the same way to a praise song as to a Josh Groban song, or even a Michelle Branch song, and I think that would be wrong of me to do so. So, despite my love for singing, I force myself not to sing and just reflect on words only.
So when asked what my favorite praise song is, I couldn't tell you. I could easily name off a bunch of songs I enjoy singing, but in terms of songs that mean a lot to me, I can't think of any. Maybe.. "I Will Offer My Life" or "Will You Worship".
I will offer up my life in spirit and truth
Pouring out the oil of love as my worship to You
In surrender I must give my every part
Lord receive the sacrifice of a broken heart
Chorus:
Jesus, what can I give
What can I bring
To so faithful a friend
To so loving a king
Saviour, what can be said
What can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done
Oh my words could not tell
Not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart
You deserve my every breath for You've paid the great cost
Giving up Your life to death, even death on a cross
You took all my shame away, there defeated my sin
Opened up the gates of Heaven, and have beckoned me in
What can I give
What can I bring
What can I sing as an offering, Lord
(What can I give
What can I give to You, to You)
Ken's got this great idea of putting binoculars in front of his digital camera, and then taking the picture. He showed us the results and they were pretty nice. He got a few great pics of Vince clutching his leg. It was pretty funny. There's one of three other players standing over him and I swear it looked like one of them was laughing..
..
Ever since reading about worship in PDL, I've often paused and not sung along during worship times so that I could reflect on the words themselves rather than be caught up with the music. Because I do that, I can get caught up in the music and I have to stop myself from letting that happen during worship, because I can get into a trance almost of just enjoying the music. Like, I could react the same way to a praise song as to a Josh Groban song, or even a Michelle Branch song, and I think that would be wrong of me to do so. So, despite my love for singing, I force myself not to sing and just reflect on words only.
So when asked what my favorite praise song is, I couldn't tell you. I could easily name off a bunch of songs I enjoy singing, but in terms of songs that mean a lot to me, I can't think of any. Maybe.. "I Will Offer My Life" or "Will You Worship".
I will offer up my life in spirit and truth
Pouring out the oil of love as my worship to You
In surrender I must give my every part
Lord receive the sacrifice of a broken heart
Chorus:
Jesus, what can I give
What can I bring
To so faithful a friend
To so loving a king
Saviour, what can be said
What can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done
Oh my words could not tell
Not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart
You deserve my every breath for You've paid the great cost
Giving up Your life to death, even death on a cross
You took all my shame away, there defeated my sin
Opened up the gates of Heaven, and have beckoned me in
What can I give
What can I bring
What can I sing as an offering, Lord
(What can I give
What can I give to You, to You)
A coupla days ago I had a dream about The Apprentice. We (i can't remember who) were all sitting in the boardroom, and Donald Trump was trying to decide which of us to fire. He decided in order to decide he would look at all of the notes we had taken, so one by one he went through peoples' notes, and then when he got to me, my notes were filled with doodles, cartoon drawings, etc. He was pretty mad. He couldn't even make out my writing. I was so sure he'd fire me but then he fired someone else (again sorry I can't remember who was there with me). Anyway, I just thought that was a little weird.
Speaking of The Apprentice, I'm really excited about this week's episode. I think this is the week that Omarosa finally gets fired. It'll be either her or Heidi, both of whom I find disturbingly scary. Troy is also a possibility. Although it looks like Heidi might leave the show in a manner similar to Jenna on Survivor All-stars. Oh yeah, and I'm also predicting some sort of merge. There are 10 players left.. usually Survivor merges at 10.
Speaking of The Apprentice, I'm really excited about this week's episode. I think this is the week that Omarosa finally gets fired. It'll be either her or Heidi, both of whom I find disturbingly scary. Troy is also a possibility. Although it looks like Heidi might leave the show in a manner similar to Jenna on Survivor All-stars. Oh yeah, and I'm also predicting some sort of merge. There are 10 players left.. usually Survivor merges at 10.
February 17, 2004
apes
to anyone who hasn't seen "planet of the apes", the more recent version -- don't. what a terrible movie.. and the ending.. omg.. what a waste of time!
i have been reading my small group book as my devotional, simply because i haven't gone out to buy a real devotional. of course i have to be careful because we have only covered two chapters so far, and i'm already a full chapter ahead. i have been waiting for alf to finish his book because he said he'd let me have it afterwards but it appears it might take over a month before he finishes. because he's using it to write a paper for a course he's taking at tyndale.
i guess it's time for me to go and buy another book. originally i was thinking of getting a max lucado book since they such easy reads, but now i'm wondering if it will be challenging enough. i like that challenging stuff, it's good especially in the mornings to get me thinking before i fall asleep on the subway.
btw, alf says he did well on his interview, but they will talk it over. hopefully everything will work out for him.
i have been really tired the last couple of days. i blame my inability to sleep in past 8am.
to anyone who hasn't seen "planet of the apes", the more recent version -- don't. what a terrible movie.. and the ending.. omg.. what a waste of time!
i have been reading my small group book as my devotional, simply because i haven't gone out to buy a real devotional. of course i have to be careful because we have only covered two chapters so far, and i'm already a full chapter ahead. i have been waiting for alf to finish his book because he said he'd let me have it afterwards but it appears it might take over a month before he finishes. because he's using it to write a paper for a course he's taking at tyndale.
i guess it's time for me to go and buy another book. originally i was thinking of getting a max lucado book since they such easy reads, but now i'm wondering if it will be challenging enough. i like that challenging stuff, it's good especially in the mornings to get me thinking before i fall asleep on the subway.
btw, alf says he did well on his interview, but they will talk it over. hopefully everything will work out for him.
i have been really tired the last couple of days. i blame my inability to sleep in past 8am.
February 16, 2004
passion
I just watched the special, hosted by Diane Sawyer who interviews Mel Gibson concerning his film, The Passion of The Christ. It was interesting that in the title, the word Passion actually comes from the greek word pathos (ðÜèïò), which means suffering. So the movie is really titled "The Suffering of The Christ".
Which I suppose is more accurate since the movie depicts the last 12 hours of Christ's life, whereas maybe it if covered the first 33 years of His life, then it would actually show more of His "passion".
Mel Gibson still seemed the same as before, except that to me it seems like he's been through a life-changing experience. He's been there, to the top, in terms of popularity and riches, a place where most can only dream of. But he's realized how meaningless all of it is and he's not afraid to share his experience with the rest of the world.
Most of the show centered around the issue of people being afraid of the backlash of how people might react to the movie. It's not anti-semetic, and neither is Mel Gibson, but in the movie it makes it appear as though the Jews are to blame for Christ's crucifixion. The whole time Diane kept trying to nail this point. But the thing is that's not the point and Gibson obviously knows this as well the rest of us knows this, so he seemed to have a difficult time answering her questions straight up.
Mel's message (or rather God's message) through this movie isn't about who's fault it is, but rather to show the love and conviction Christ had in going through this ordeal for the sake of saving mankind. I guess at a certain point though, even through the drama and violence, people still miss the point. But I think Mel made a good point by bringing up just about any movie, in which one side harms another -- these movies don't encourage hatred nor do they spark a backlash against the brutalizers. It's just the way that it happened, and Gibson tries to capture it in the movie.
I don't think that if they did a movie about Hiroshima, that the Japanese would hate Americans any more than they already do (or don't). Just the same I don't see why there is so much hoopla over "who's fault" it was that Christ died. It was God's will that Christ died for us. If it wasn't the Jews, then He would have made it someone else. Regardless it's not about fault but about salvation and sacrifice.
I think I repeated myself in this blog, in trying to articulate my ideas. Sorry about that! I taped the show, if anyone is interested in seeing it.
I just watched the special, hosted by Diane Sawyer who interviews Mel Gibson concerning his film, The Passion of The Christ. It was interesting that in the title, the word Passion actually comes from the greek word pathos (ðÜèïò), which means suffering. So the movie is really titled "The Suffering of The Christ".
Which I suppose is more accurate since the movie depicts the last 12 hours of Christ's life, whereas maybe it if covered the first 33 years of His life, then it would actually show more of His "passion".
Mel Gibson still seemed the same as before, except that to me it seems like he's been through a life-changing experience. He's been there, to the top, in terms of popularity and riches, a place where most can only dream of. But he's realized how meaningless all of it is and he's not afraid to share his experience with the rest of the world.
Most of the show centered around the issue of people being afraid of the backlash of how people might react to the movie. It's not anti-semetic, and neither is Mel Gibson, but in the movie it makes it appear as though the Jews are to blame for Christ's crucifixion. The whole time Diane kept trying to nail this point. But the thing is that's not the point and Gibson obviously knows this as well the rest of us knows this, so he seemed to have a difficult time answering her questions straight up.
Mel's message (or rather God's message) through this movie isn't about who's fault it is, but rather to show the love and conviction Christ had in going through this ordeal for the sake of saving mankind. I guess at a certain point though, even through the drama and violence, people still miss the point. But I think Mel made a good point by bringing up just about any movie, in which one side harms another -- these movies don't encourage hatred nor do they spark a backlash against the brutalizers. It's just the way that it happened, and Gibson tries to capture it in the movie.
I don't think that if they did a movie about Hiroshima, that the Japanese would hate Americans any more than they already do (or don't). Just the same I don't see why there is so much hoopla over "who's fault" it was that Christ died. It was God's will that Christ died for us. If it wasn't the Jews, then He would have made it someone else. Regardless it's not about fault but about salvation and sacrifice.
I think I repeated myself in this blog, in trying to articulate my ideas. Sorry about that! I taped the show, if anyone is interested in seeing it.
lots of time!
It's still not too late to pray for Alf -- his interview is tomorrow (he incorrectly told me today), so there's still time!
There is a cool breeze in my bedroom. I feel.. cold.
I think for the first time in a long while, I am not intending to see a movie this Tuesday. I keep checking my email and sure enough, no email invitation for a movie.
Mel Gibson is going to be on TV tonight at 10pm, on the VR and possibly some american station. He is going to be interviewed by one of those american ladies that does interviews. Like either Diane Sawyer or Barbara Walters? Anyway he is going to be talking about his upcoming controversial film, The Passion of the Christ. Be sure to tune in!
Today when I got home I found a message from the concierge that I had received a package. Excited, I rushed out, and took the elevator down. As it descended, all these thoughts popped into my mind about what this package might be. Gee golly willickers, was I ever excited. The Passion CD doesn't come out for another week or so, so that couldn't be it. Perhaps it is flowers from a secret admirer? Or maybe another subpoena for me to appear in court? Or maybe my parents sent me something? Maybe it is something from the publisher's clearing house and I've one a billion dollars? Or perhaps my inflatable err... nevermind.
Alas, it was none of the above, just some mail from the Canada Post, the "Stamp Travellers Club" that I am a part of. Yes, I'm part of the Stamp Club, because I am *so* cool!
*sigh*
It's still not too late to pray for Alf -- his interview is tomorrow (he incorrectly told me today), so there's still time!
There is a cool breeze in my bedroom. I feel.. cold.
I think for the first time in a long while, I am not intending to see a movie this Tuesday. I keep checking my email and sure enough, no email invitation for a movie.
Mel Gibson is going to be on TV tonight at 10pm, on the VR and possibly some american station. He is going to be interviewed by one of those american ladies that does interviews. Like either Diane Sawyer or Barbara Walters? Anyway he is going to be talking about his upcoming controversial film, The Passion of the Christ. Be sure to tune in!
Today when I got home I found a message from the concierge that I had received a package. Excited, I rushed out, and took the elevator down. As it descended, all these thoughts popped into my mind about what this package might be. Gee golly willickers, was I ever excited. The Passion CD doesn't come out for another week or so, so that couldn't be it. Perhaps it is flowers from a secret admirer? Or maybe another subpoena for me to appear in court? Or maybe my parents sent me something? Maybe it is something from the publisher's clearing house and I've one a billion dollars? Or perhaps my inflatable err... nevermind.
Alas, it was none of the above, just some mail from the Canada Post, the "Stamp Travellers Club" that I am a part of. Yes, I'm part of the Stamp Club, because I am *so* cool!
*sigh*
February 15, 2004
church, amusing
Today, Rev. Dr. Harding Ng, rapped. He rapped the words from "Where is the love?" by Black Eyed Peas. Actually he just read the lyrics, but there was a time when it really started to flow, and he was kinda beating his hand against the podium to make a beat, and also sorta swaying from side to side a little bit. It was truly a moment to remember..
In our small group we're always talking about Harding because of his direct approach, and how we're often so offended by what he says but then later on after pondering about his sermons, we realize how right he is. His level of discernment and his ability to strike a chord within us whenever he speaks is pretty uncanny.
Something that I've always felt was amusing was some of the wording of songs at T3C. For instance, they never sing the "brokenness" verse for the song "Holiness" (Holiness, holiness, is what I long for... etc). But today something even more amusing were the words for "Do You Feel The Mountains Tremble". On two occasions the words up on the screen were wrong, and it was funny what they used as alternatives.
The part when the song says "To wash away our brokenness", they changed it to "To wash away our broken mess". Broken mess? LOL!
Also there's another part, that says "Dancers who dance upon injustice". They had "Dancers who dance upon His justice". Hahaha.. Oops! Hahaha!
Today, Rev. Dr. Harding Ng, rapped. He rapped the words from "Where is the love?" by Black Eyed Peas. Actually he just read the lyrics, but there was a time when it really started to flow, and he was kinda beating his hand against the podium to make a beat, and also sorta swaying from side to side a little bit. It was truly a moment to remember..
In our small group we're always talking about Harding because of his direct approach, and how we're often so offended by what he says but then later on after pondering about his sermons, we realize how right he is. His level of discernment and his ability to strike a chord within us whenever he speaks is pretty uncanny.
Something that I've always felt was amusing was some of the wording of songs at T3C. For instance, they never sing the "brokenness" verse for the song "Holiness" (Holiness, holiness, is what I long for... etc). But today something even more amusing were the words for "Do You Feel The Mountains Tremble". On two occasions the words up on the screen were wrong, and it was funny what they used as alternatives.
The part when the song says "To wash away our brokenness", they changed it to "To wash away our broken mess". Broken mess? LOL!
Also there's another part, that says "Dancers who dance upon injustice". They had "Dancers who dance upon His justice". Hahaha.. Oops! Hahaha!
February 14, 2004
st. V's day
yesterday after work i actually gave "valentines' day" a little thought, because i saw all these guys running around trying to grab the last card, flower, etc. and a lot of women carrying gigantic bouquets of flowers, some of them so big they had trouble walking. i found that a little bit amusing. one woman on the subway kept tipping over because her flowers were so big. haha..
something i've always wondered, is how a guy can forget until the last minute and buy something that has absolutely no meaning at all. it boggles the mind. this day comes just once a year, how hard could it be to think of something nice to get her, i mean he's got at least a month to think about it (after recovering from whatever thinking he needed to put into the christmas gift). and sure, valentine's day is not a true holiday but just a Hallmark thing, but is it that much to ask for someone to put some thought into a gift? and it's not like valentine's day just pops out of nowhere. with all the sales and banners, guys get *plenty* of notice.
another thing that's probably even scarier is the fact that these gifts are being sold, it means that women can actually be satisifed with something as generic as a box of chocolates, or a bouquet of flowers, or a card? i mean if that's not a clear indication of the low expectations they have for their men, then i don't know what is. to think, 50 guys run into a store and 49 of them come out with chocolates or roses, and the woman is actually satisfied with the gift, as if she knew her guy couldn't have come up with something better anyway --- it's better than nothing!
finally the last thing is the whole thing how guys make it sound like a chore. i asked my friend at work what he was going to do for his wife, for valentines day, and he starts complaining about back home (romania) he didn't have to put up with this crap.. hehe. from my observations (and i could be wrong), i think these kinds of special days were built for men. perhaps it's the way God made us, men are just not very sensitive and tend to take spouses/girlfriends/children/parents for granted.
yesterday after work i actually gave "valentines' day" a little thought, because i saw all these guys running around trying to grab the last card, flower, etc. and a lot of women carrying gigantic bouquets of flowers, some of them so big they had trouble walking. i found that a little bit amusing. one woman on the subway kept tipping over because her flowers were so big. haha..
something i've always wondered, is how a guy can forget until the last minute and buy something that has absolutely no meaning at all. it boggles the mind. this day comes just once a year, how hard could it be to think of something nice to get her, i mean he's got at least a month to think about it (after recovering from whatever thinking he needed to put into the christmas gift). and sure, valentine's day is not a true holiday but just a Hallmark thing, but is it that much to ask for someone to put some thought into a gift? and it's not like valentine's day just pops out of nowhere. with all the sales and banners, guys get *plenty* of notice.
another thing that's probably even scarier is the fact that these gifts are being sold, it means that women can actually be satisifed with something as generic as a box of chocolates, or a bouquet of flowers, or a card? i mean if that's not a clear indication of the low expectations they have for their men, then i don't know what is. to think, 50 guys run into a store and 49 of them come out with chocolates or roses, and the woman is actually satisfied with the gift, as if she knew her guy couldn't have come up with something better anyway --- it's better than nothing!
finally the last thing is the whole thing how guys make it sound like a chore. i asked my friend at work what he was going to do for his wife, for valentines day, and he starts complaining about back home (romania) he didn't have to put up with this crap.. hehe. from my observations (and i could be wrong), i think these kinds of special days were built for men. perhaps it's the way God made us, men are just not very sensitive and tend to take spouses/girlfriends/children/parents for granted.
today
tonight i was planning to have people over to watch the nba all-star festivities. no one showed up though. that's fine since i didn't exactly prepare for them coming, i didn't go out to buy anything.
today as usual, wasn't able to sleep in, got up at 8am and "surfed" until about 11am. then i went to futureshop, and finally got myself two things i've been yearning for, for awhile now. a printer, and a dvd player. futureshop had some cool deals going on. i got my dvd player for just $70+tax, and my printer i got for $250. pretty sweet deals.
the dvd player is an "aspire digital" (brand). you'd think it'd be crappy, but it's actually way better than the panasonic one i eventually returned a couple of months ago. it plays everything.. and i don't have to turn the volume full blast to be able to hear anything. i sorta watched Two Towers today, but not really, i was in my room most of the time while the movie was playing.
tonight i was planning to have people over to watch the nba all-star festivities. no one showed up though. that's fine since i didn't exactly prepare for them coming, i didn't go out to buy anything.
today as usual, wasn't able to sleep in, got up at 8am and "surfed" until about 11am. then i went to futureshop, and finally got myself two things i've been yearning for, for awhile now. a printer, and a dvd player. futureshop had some cool deals going on. i got my dvd player for just $70+tax, and my printer i got for $250. pretty sweet deals.
the dvd player is an "aspire digital" (brand). you'd think it'd be crappy, but it's actually way better than the panasonic one i eventually returned a couple of months ago. it plays everything.. and i don't have to turn the volume full blast to be able to hear anything. i sorta watched Two Towers today, but not really, i was in my room most of the time while the movie was playing.
atm
i forgot to mention this, but on thursday morning, i forgot to bring my subway tokens and i was late for work and had no cash on me to buy more tokens. anyway, I went to the scotiabank atm underground across from the loblaws to get some cash. in my haste, i typed in the wrong pin number, and it spat out my card. so then i pushed it back in again. and nothing happened!
the screen flashed "please enter card". i was like: *oh crap*. i hammered all the buttons and nothing happened, so i called the 1-800 number and they told me to wait until the nearest branch opened, and then run over there and ask for help. in the meantime I called work to tell them I'd be late.
some guy walked over to get some money and i told him what had happened, and he told me about this time his mother had almost been scammed by a couple of guys trying to trick her into giving them her pin number in order to retrieve her card. then this chinese woman came over and again i warned her not to use it since my card was stuck. she ignored me, brushed past and jammed her card in too!
so then the machine is trying to reject her card, but it wouldn't come out, and she tried to jam her fingernails in to grab her own card. well anyway, eventually hers came out followed by mine. i just found it really shocking that this woman would risk putting her card in, knowing mine was already stuck. amazing..
i forgot to mention this, but on thursday morning, i forgot to bring my subway tokens and i was late for work and had no cash on me to buy more tokens. anyway, I went to the scotiabank atm underground across from the loblaws to get some cash. in my haste, i typed in the wrong pin number, and it spat out my card. so then i pushed it back in again. and nothing happened!
the screen flashed "please enter card". i was like: *oh crap*. i hammered all the buttons and nothing happened, so i called the 1-800 number and they told me to wait until the nearest branch opened, and then run over there and ask for help. in the meantime I called work to tell them I'd be late.
some guy walked over to get some money and i told him what had happened, and he told me about this time his mother had almost been scammed by a couple of guys trying to trick her into giving them her pin number in order to retrieve her card. then this chinese woman came over and again i warned her not to use it since my card was stuck. she ignored me, brushed past and jammed her card in too!
so then the machine is trying to reject her card, but it wouldn't come out, and she tried to jam her fingernails in to grab her own card. well anyway, eventually hers came out followed by mine. i just found it really shocking that this woman would risk putting her card in, knowing mine was already stuck. amazing..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
