Drum roll, please...

2011-06-15T00:45:00.000-04:00

earlier tonight, my mom's youngest brother passed away from complications that arose after he suffered a heart attack sunday morning.

some of you who read this blog (if there are any left) may know him if you've been going to ncfc long enough. his name was james choi, although everyone called him jae, (big dude, kind of nasally voice, usually making jokes). he was an older member of focus for quite some time, although his presence at church diminished over the past couple months due to his health problems.

those months were rough for him. he had always suffered with diabetes, but was able to control it with insulin and other remedies. but recently, the disease grew more serious and caused both his kidneys to fail. since then, he began falling down a slippery slope of one medical complication after another. numerous times he was found at work, unconscious from dangerously high blood pressure.

finally, sunday morning, his dad (my grandpa) went into jae's room at 5 am to find him complaining of chest pressure/inability to breathe. he called the ambulance, but jae suffered a heart attack going downstairs to meet them. the emt's were unable to resuscitate him on the 10 min ride to holy cross. while the doctors at the hospital were finally able to get his heart beating again, by then his brain had been irreparably damaged and he lay in a coma.

we found out later that evening. at first, i had some hope that he might open his eyes again and return to us (after all, people wake up from comas), but this afternoon i received a text from my dad saying we needed to go to the hospital.

turns out, the doctor basically said there was no way he was going to wake up and we needed to make a decision on whether to pull the plug or not. i never expected to be involved in a situation like this (at least at this point in my life). to me, this stuff only happened in movies or on the news. the whole ride to the hospital, i was kind of in shock. i wasn't able to face my emotions at all (if i even had any at the time).

it wasn't until i got to the hospital room that my emotions finally got ahold of me my mom told us that the doctors said that a person's ability to hear is often the last sense to go when they're in a coma. so she had us think of things to tell him as we said goodbye. in the back of my mind, i really doubted he could hear us, so i almost didn't see the point in saying anything. i figured i should though, since everyone else was. i didn't really even expect to cry or anything since i'm a pretty stoic guy. i didn't even cry when my grandpa passed away a number of years ago. if anything, i would say my peace and be done with it. but as soon as i opened my mouth, it was like the first word caught on my throat and refused to leave. i don't think i remember ever crying that hard in my life. i managed to choke out a few words till i couldn't think of anything else and let stacey have a turn.

that's pretty much all the details i remember. turns out, his heart rate had started to slow before we got there so we didn't need to make the agonizing decision to take him off life support. it's almost like he was trying to make it easier for us. i heard my grandpa say he had even gone through the trouble of cleaning out most of his drawers/closet a couple days before all this happened. i think he knew deep down that he only had a few days to live. even in the face of death, he tried to make his family and friends happy. that's the kind of person he was.

he lived a modest life to say the least. he never married. never even moved out from his parents house. wasn't ever really successful career-wise (worked retail at macy's). in the world's eyes, he wasn't all that. but he loved his family and friends (often without receiving the same amount of love/appreciation in return). i can't even count the number of times we'd be leaving his house after a family get together when all of a sudden he'd reach into his pocket or car trunk and bring out a random present he had bought for us since the last time he saw us. he'd just say, "i thought of you while i was at the store." it's not like he was even the worlds greatest gift giver either. sometimes the gifts were downright tacky, but it really was the thought that counted. let me remind you that he worked the sales floor at macy's for a while before having to be on a fixed income due to his health problems later on. he didn't have much to give, but he gave what he had. i only regret not wearing some of the things he bought me more often. i could have shown a little more appreciation, even at the expense of looking tacky for a little bit.

he was also a really goofy guy, even into his late thirties. a real kid at heart. always making up crazy nicknames for us nephews and nieces (stacey and i were always "cutie patooties." even well after we started college). always quick to tease his mom when she was being a little neurotic. he was one of those people who are able to lighten the mood of the room just by his presence.

so i guess that's how i'll remember him. he's gone much too soon, but he made a very strong impact in my life in the short time he had here. if you've read this entire post to this point have a cookie on me. also, tell your loved ones how much they mean to you before it's too late.

no title

2011-06-04T23:58:00.000-04:00

i think i want to go back to school.
---

it's late, will expand on this later.

resolutions

2011-01-07T23:46:00.000-05:00

ok, so the last part of my last post wasn't completely true. the sunday after i wrote it, i made my sixth graders make resolutions for the new year, so i jotted a couple down as well.

1. be more proactive - (i tend to keep my resolutions very broad so anything remotely resembling progress toward one is a positive thing). proactivity is something i lack unless i'm extremely motivated or galvanized by a task set before me. i'm too content to just, "let things be." after college ended, i've become more aware of the fact that nothing will probably ever be handed to me again. if i want something, i need to find a way to take it or make it happen. opportunities rarely just present themselves unless i do something first. i think this might be my hardest goal to accomplish, mainly because there's no way of really measuring it.

2. budget my money better - early on, when i first got my job, i made a mint.com account and set up a "budget" for my money. x amount of dollars allocated for food, shopping, gas etc. every month. what i didn't realize was that budgets are hard to keep. i ended up just increasing the amount of money allotted to each category every time i went over budget.

ex. "hm, this says i spent 40 dollars on fast food this month when i should have only spent 25.... i must have under allocated."

after a couple months of doing that, i said, "to heck with it. i'll just wing it" and i've been doing that for the past however many months. my finances aren't in complete shambles or anything, (i pay off my credit card in full every month, tithe, even manage to pay some of my student loan back here and there), but i've realized i am woefully lacking in the area of saving. any money i have left over after all the necessary expenses goes toward food/clothing/gizmos/musical instruments, basically things for my enjoyment and pleasure. i've set a goal of being able to put a down payment on a car by the end of the year, so i need to be saving money. if it keeps going like this, i will be money-less and car-less at year's end.

3. eat healthier/exercise more - pretty self explanatory, but important nonetheless. i've made the decision to eat "just a little bit healthier" for every meal i eat. whether it's substituting a salad for fries at wendy's or skipping out on rice and a tortilla at chipotle (extremely difficult) or just eating less than i usually do, something needs to change every time i eat. i kinda got started on this before the new year began so i hope i can keep it up.

4. build relationships - this one is kinda funny. i wrote it down with my timothy kids in mind, but my kids took it to mean "build relationships with girls." that's all they ever want to talk about. also kind of interesting is that j. birk actually preached about this very topic last thursday night at impact (the emphasis for this semester won't be so much on doing 1000 different activities, but building lasting/deep relationships with those around us). i didn't even realize i had written this down as my #4 until afterward, when i decided to write this blog. kind of neat.

as a result of this, i've decided to try to spend more time with my class. earlier this month, my old 8th grade class got together with our teacher (ms. rachel park) for a dinner. not everyone was there, but enough to make it seem like a reunion. you could tell even though we'd been separated by distance, we were still part of a family. i want that in the future for my kids.

---

so, i guess you could say i'm close to perfect, but not there yet.

new year

2011-01-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

i guess the new year is a good enough reason to update again.

i guess by most accounts, 2010 was a pretty crummy year. economic collapse, unending war/joblessness, various disasters (both natural and man-made), and a pervading sense of doom and gloom seemed to rule the news headlines. it's not that good things didn't happen, it's just that the problems seemed so much bigger. i don't know; maybe that's just how i tend to perceive these sorts of things.

of course, we tend to dwell on the past. it's natural. but fear not, my friends! God makes things new! (thanks p. jamie) i'm not usually one to wax philosophic or even religious in my posts, but this thought really hit me during the message this morning. what a refreshing (and relieving) idea. i'm locking this one up in my mind for 2011.

---

as far as family activities related to this day goes, not much has changed ever since i was a kid. church in the morning, dad's family during the day, mom's fam at night. sae-bae and dduck gook along the way. while not much changes, i'm glad some family traditions have stood the test of time.

one very important thing was different, however. since i'm now "a working man" (as my mom likes to say), i no longer get money for doing sae-bae. while i was just a little bummed about it (not really), it was good to bow to and honor my elders without the financial incentive. it's almost like not getting presents for christmas. you get to reflect on what's really important without any of the distractions. it was funny seeing some of the baby cousins learn the ropes though. bow, mumble something in korean, profit! a few were reluctant at first, but once they figured it out, the change in their attitude was like night and day.

i guess this is one of those "seasons of life" things. one period has ended (my poor un-self-sustaining era), and one has begun (not as poor, a little more self-sustaining). soon, i'll be filling those little bank envelopes with cash and wondering where all the time went. not until i have kids though. so hopefully, not too soon. :)

(for my non-asian readers who have no idea what i'm talking about, koreans get together with family on new year's day to pay respect to elders by bowing and saying something along the lines of "may you be blessed in the new year." it's tradition for the elders to give some cash in exchange. yeah, we're just a little bit materialistic. but we don't put as much of an emphasis on christmas, so i guess we're even.)

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resolutions? i don't have any. i'm perfect.

sick days

2010-12-16T12:17:00.000-05:00

I've missed work the past 3 days due to a cold. In those 3 days, I have...

-woken up past 10am and gone to sleep before 11pm every day. that's about 11 hrs of sleep a night. word.
-beaten at least 3 video games i'd started a while ago but never played to completion
-spent an inordinate amount of time reading blogs/random websites/youtube (my newest thing = food blogs)
-started reading 3 books
-attempted to play the guitar. having to stop every 15 seconds to wipe my nose put an end to that endeavor quickly. side note, being sick makes my voice all gravely and low so its kinda fun to sing. except being sick also makes me cough. pros and cons i guess.
-finished off every half-eaten bag of chips in our pantry (and one slightly suspect half eaten hershey's bar. totally worth it.)
-watched wayyyy too much sportscenter even though nothing ever changes. (it's like a drug. once that intro music starts, it's like a tractor beam for my eyes.)
-not changed out of my pajamas.
-had to schedule a doctor's appt b/c the federal gov't wants a note if you skip work for 3 days or more. wtf man. i thought i was done with school. now i'm gonna be that idiot who wastes the doctor's time (and $20 worth of my insurance copay) all for a stupid cold. i wish i could just go in and say "i need a note. i don't even wanna see the doctor."
-blown (literally) through 2 double sized rolls of charmin ultra. my trashcan is overflowing.
-been bored enough (and had enough time on my hands) to update this thing.

but i'm getting over it. i should be back to normal by tomorrow if not the next day. hooray work. :(

all i want for christmas is....

2010-12-02T21:17:00.000-05:00

1. slippers for wearing around the house so i don't have to put on socks (already checked off, i think)
2. wool socks for when i do have to wear socks (possibly checked off)
3. warm leather gloves
4. a pair of hop-along boots and a pistol that shoots
5. dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
6. starbucks' salted caramel hot chocolate (it's like caramel popcorn....but you drink it. yeahhhhhhhh)
7. this lil' guy (watch from 40secs on)
8. a commute that doesn't require me waking up 3 hours before i sit down at my desk. or...
9. tons and tons of snow (enough to cancel work from now until march)

my mom loves me

2010-11-18T00:27:00.000-05:00

when i told her i thought my big head might be a hindrance to getting a girlfriend, she says...

"...don't worry, pretty girls like ugly boys!"

thanks, mom. i love you too.

about time i showed this blog some love

2010-11-04T11:23:00.001-04:00

after a long hiatus, i've decided to update this thing once more (for real this time). i don't know why i've been so streaky with my updates. let's just overlook my negligence and move on together, shall we?

some things that have been happening:

i started teaching a 6th grade sunday school class (mentioned in this post). although i was a little hesitant at first, the kids are awesome (most of the time) and easy to teach. i think i dodged a bullet because none of them are outwardly rebellious in class and they all seem interested in contributing/making their observations and opinions heard. i think one of the difficult parts of youth ministry is getting kids to open up, especially once they hit high school. from my observations, it seems that sixth graders aren't as self-aware yet, so they don't mind talking at length about whatever comes to mind. to them, everthing is important and must be discussed at length NOW, even if it's woefully off topic. this has a negative side too, of course. i have to keep reminding them to respect each others' opinions and be quiet when others are talking. but i'll take too much talking over none at all.

while teaching has its perks (being a teacher means i get to make the rules), it's weird being in a position of (limited) power. i'm much more comfortable in situations where an organized structure is already set in place and all i have to do is fit in and play nice (being a student or an employee). the burden of leadership is one that i'm not completely familiar or comfortable with yet. sometimes, in class, i kind of zone out and wait for someone to say what we're doing next or give instructions. then i realize that everyone is staring at me. but, i'm getting better at it.
--

recently, i was challenged by a friend to try to go one week without being sarcastic/self-deprecating. it's kind of a weird challenge, but one i brought upon myself after one too many of my comments online may have verged on "mean" territory. so, of course i had to agree. it seemed easy at the time, but let's just say i failed spectacularly. the very next (again, online) conversation i had with someone had me stumbling over my words like a fool. i must have pressed the backspace button more than any other key. in fact, to be honest, by the end of the week i had pretty much forgotten about the challenge and was back to my old ways.

i never realized how much i rely on sarcasm and self-deprecating humor in my day to day conversations. in my mind, it keeps things light and easy going. i hate confrontation/awkwardness so i use occasionally self-deprecating humor (inwardly focused sarcasm?) to defuse potentially awkward situations. also, when i'm comfortable around people, i tend to tease them; most of the time using sarcasm. it may be a guy thing. we rag on each other a lot. sarcasm just helps accomplish that goal, i guess. it's almost never biting or mean spirited (indeed, most of it is very well-intentioned), but man, do i use it a lot. and i can see how it might not be as tolerated among members of the opposite sex.

to be fair, sarcastic comments have a way of losing some of their meaning in translation (esp. online), but i guess that's all the more reason to scale back my usage. i'm sure there is some scientific explanation for why some people are more sarcastic than others. it probably has something to do with it being a coping tool used by some to deal with some psychological deficiency/insecurity blah blah blah. for whatever reason, its a part of my personality. i don't think i'll ever be completely rid of it (nor would i necessarily want to), but i am focusing on being a little more cognizant of what i say and who i say it to. being a little nicer never hurt anyone, right?
--

here, have a picture.

my class

Fall Festival 2010

2010-10-30T23:53:00.000-04:00

some pics.

fruit ninja. or healthy terrorist?

Reina the penguin

trash boy. seriously.

hannah montana.

my cousin's kid, chloe. she was unhappy with having to wear the hood.

caleb the viking.

bumblebee twins.

those stripes are were individually taped on by hannah kang's mom.

i don't know if i'll ever love my kids that much.

this was the most normal pose he'd let me take a picture of him with.

more cousins' kids.

constipated dorothy and hitler sheriff.

maybe more pics tomorrow if i decide to go to md campus' fall festival.

ultra food coma and update

2010-08-23T11:37:00.000-04:00

i need to stop hanging out with friends on the weekend. this is because my time with friends inevitably turns into my time with large quantities of unhealthy (and delicious) food. if i just stayed home all the time, i would probably be skinny. and not in the middle of the worlds most intense food coma right now.

that being said, i'd rather be fat and happy than skinny and lonely. my life is filled with such complex dilemmas.

other happenings:

as i'm writing this, the first wave of college students have started school again. now i can laugh while they study and write papers and rack up debt up to their ears. its only fair after being miserable this summer; having to wake up at 5:30 while everyone else stayed up late and woke up around 3 everyday. oh, how the tables have turned. enjoy your exams, suckas!
the timothy retreat was an absolute blast. it's amazing to see just how much everyone has grown and matured within the last year. even though sometimes i wish they'd mature faster, it helps to realize they're just going through the same process that i so awkwardly struggled through just a short time ago. and i'm not exactly "mature" either, so what are you even complaining about, dude? (i constantly have to remind myself to not take myself too seriously, or else i end up making myself look foolish)
on a related note, this coming fall, i will be charged with the task of teaching the rising 6th grade class. not an easy challenge, but one i will relish (i think). i asked my mom how to approach it and she said something very wise, "discipline without relationship incites rebellion." the kids have to know i care about them and love them, or else they won't respond to anything i tell them. what gives me the right to barge into their class and set up a list of rules for them to follow if they don't even know who i am? we'll see what happens.
my dumb computer broke, so i'm going to the store to get one today. somewhere in tysons corner, there is a brand new macbook pro with my name on it. yes, i am going over to the dark side. i can't resist the multitouch track pad and the overall shininess. i'm afraid i am too easily enamored with style over substance (in many areas of my life) and i will pay way too much for it. but this has both, so it's a little better right? still extremely expensive.

overall, a packed week. and i didn't even mention the AMP concert (which was awesome).

inside my stomach....

2010-08-11T23:57:00.000-04:00

...there is a war being fought between a medium #6 from wendy's, a cup of frozen yogurt (with toppings), and a platoon of mcdonald's chicken nuggets.

this won't end well.

(a visual interpretation)

IRON CHEF

2010-08-07T18:17:00.001-04:00

I wish we did cool things like this when I was in timothy... (watch in HD)

The vid is pretty long, but amusing. Honestly, I was expecting inedible food from the kids, but they continue to surprise me. Each dish was pretty tasty, which is more than I can say about some of my cooking endeavors. Our team made the "Southwest chipotle bbq chicken burrito with coleslaw filling." What a mouthful, literally. Although it looked pretty plain, we ended up tying for first place (in the initial tabulation) only to lose by the judges final decision.

I was extremely proud of my group though. They were all good sports and all got their hands dirty while working as a team. I technically couldn't help, so I was just running around, getting things from the kitchen and telling them what to do. I felt like a stressed out mom.

A typical exchange in our corner of kitchen stadium went something like this...

me : "You! Grill the chicken!"
me: "You guys, cut the veggies!"
me: "Who took all the knives?!"
me: "HEY! Watch the chicken, its burning!!"
everyone else: (whimpering) "yes master"

As much as I was proud of the kids, I was also a little impressed with myself. I mean this in the humblest way, becase I've never cooked anything in my life other than popcorn and microwave pizza - most of the time, burnt popcorn and still cold microwave pizza. Maybe I should branch out now that I know I can at least make "Southwest chipotle bbq chicken burritos with coleslaw filling."

Anyone wanna take cooking lessons w/ me?

eventful weekend

2010-08-02T23:49:00.001-04:00

i turned 22 over the weekend. it feels the same as 21, which felt the same as 20, which felt the same as 19, etc. so, although my legal age is 22, my mental age is still hovering somewhere around 6. i still laugh when i hear the word, "fart."

the problem with growing older is that, at some point, people start expecting you to act your age. all of a sudden, it becomes unacceptable for a guy to still enjoy video games or watching cartoons. well, i'm not getting any younger, and spongebob still makes me laugh (and i will probably never tire of killing zombies). seems like my parents forgot to pass on the "growing up" gene. but i'm sure as the rigors of life continue to pile on, my sense of wonderment and carefree attitude will slowly give way to structure and boredom. :(

kinda random, but related, i have 2 cousins who were born on my exact birthday (july 31). its just that one was born 12 years later, and the other was born 20 years later. also, i share a birthday with harry potter. and it's not in november (ahem, jonathan).

today, i took one of the youth kids out to a h.s. parking lot to practice driving for the first time. i was a little nervous, but he handled it like a pro (just like me). only, i found out later that he doesn't actually have his permit yet... so, what we did was very illegal. sigh, you try to do something nice....

arubaruba

2010-07-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

just got back from aruba. some photo highlights of our trip below (taken from my sister's fb).

iguanas and lizards everywhere...

my sandals chillin' on the beach

free rum punch (already in my belly)

awkwardfamilyphotos.com nominee

random goats in the street. we killed one and ate it for dinner that night.

no joke, there were more chinese grocery stores/restaurants on this one 80 sq mi island than all of the md/dc/va area, including this particular gem.

coolest little hybrid shopping basketcarts.

baby beach. look how shallow it is. also, my dad likes to wear shirts in the water.

my hero. this pic originally also included a lady wearing the most scandalous thong, but stacey wisely cropped it out. oh, those crazy brazilians!

dinner on the beach.

stray dog we met at airport (and fed garlic bread to).

other things worth mentioning:

flying 4000 miles to a foreign country only to eat home-brought korean food for every meal. or hard rock cafe...i know, lame.
we got into a minor fender bender. apparently our tiny rental car was too small to be seen in this guy's rearview mirror, so he backed into us in a parking lot. not our fault, but my parents still had to drive all over the island to try to get it all worked out with the insurance company and police department.
getting bumped up to first class seating b/c the airline overbooked economy. they give you hot towels and hot nuts. hehehehe.... hot nuts
getting into the airport lounge at chicago o'hare b/c of my dad's ballin' g frequent flyer status.
successfully tanning without burning.

but its nice to be home.

wedding fun and vacation time

2010-07-17T22:22:00.000-04:00

After today, I've decided I only need 3 things at my wedding to be satisfied:

1. a live band
2. friends
3. a wife

Heck, the last one isn't even all that important. In my mind, a perfect wedding would consist of good food, friends, lots of gifts and staying in control of your finances as soon as you walk out the door. Like a really fancy birthday party almost.

All rambling aside, congrats to my friends Taylor and Tiago even though they prob don't read this blog.

my cool name-card with drumsticks

wedding cupcakes

Didn't take too many pics, but it was a nice wedding.

This Sunday (tomorrow), I'm leaving for Aruba to meet my family (who is already there) for a week. 7 days of nothing but sleeping and beaching sounds alright to me. Bring on the babes.

this looks sweet

2010-07-13T20:02:00.001-04:00

i'll give a dollar to any girl that watches this with me.

edit: the video was removed from youtube for a copyright infringement. :(

98th percentile in protective instincts? Not quite...

2010-07-08T15:53:00.002-04:00

Semi-serious/introspective post. I'll probably stumble upon this post in the future and think I was incredibly lame for writing about this, but these thoughts have been resurfacing in my mind for the last 3-4 days so I decided it would be best to get them out. Bonus points for anyone who gets the above reference. It shouldn't be hard if you've been semi up-to-date in watching recent movies (er, not so recent anymore).

I was recently talking to some friends and the topic of relationships came up; specifically speaking, those of our siblings (Stacey, if you're reading this, sorry). As we were talking, the question was posed to me, "Are you a protective brother?" When asked to clarify, they said something along the lines of, "You know, not laughing at your sister's bf's jokes, making him feel like he's on thin ice when he's around you, just being intimidating etc." At the time, I kinda laughed it off with an "of course blah blah blah I'm so tough" type of answer and didn't think much of it. But for whatever reason, later on, my mind kept coming back to this issue of protectiveness. Upon much further introspection, I finally succumbed to the realization that I am NOT the most intimidating person to be around. And furthermore, were I ever called upon to "protect" anyone in a physical sense, I'd probably get the crap kicked out of me. Some people just happen to be blessed with 6'3" 220 lb bodies and aggressive personalities. I am not one of them.

However, I don't necessarily see that as an excuse not to be protective of my sister; at least in some way. Who says protectiveness and physicality have to go hand in hand anyway? I know plenty of people who are fiercely protective without being the most physically imposing (most mothers, heck, even my dog). I think protectiveness has more to do with always having someone's best interests in mind and showing them that this is the case.

Regarding my sister's situation, I think it means giving honest feedback and advice when needed, trusting her to make good decisions, and always being available to listen to her, should problems arise in the future. I think my sister and I are very fortunate in the fact that we trust each other, and we're able to talk about pretty much anything. I'm pretty sure that if I acted like an insensitive d-bag every time her bf came around, our trust would start to deteriorate and she would probably stop taking my advice altogether, even if it were well-intentioned. Furthermore, if things were to not work out between them, she might even harbor some resentment toward me for never fully accepting him in the first place, or at least acting like it. And from the guy's point of view, it's much easier to live up to the standard of being a good boyfriend if you're treated like one by your girlfriend's family instead of being looked upon with suspicion all the time. I know this from experience...

I still won't laugh at his jokes though. :) Gotta make him sweat a little bit, right?

fourth of july weekend

2010-07-06T00:36:00.003-04:00

friday: I left work early and went to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. I hope I still have a job tomorrow. Afterward, went to chik-fil-a to try their new spicy chicken sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised. Usually, american fast food restaurants' version of "spicy" anything just requires adding some black pepper, but this sandwich actually made me take a few extra gulps of coke. Bravo chik-fil-a. You are quickly becoming my favorite fast food restaurant.

Also, on this particular friday, the chik-fil-a I went to was PACKED. I actually had to wait for a table (which I've never had to do). As I sat down to eat however, I noticed a commotion in the adjacent parking lot. Turns out, the chik-fil-a I ate at holds some sort of muscle/sports car show on the first weekend of every month. The entire lot was filled with tricked out camaros, corvettes, mustangs, and practically every other type of car from the 1960s-1970s. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I don't pretend to know all that much about cars (technical specs etc) but I do know they're awesome. I think every guy is born with an innate attraction towards the shiny, loud, fast machines. Why do you think "Transformers" did so well at the box office?

Anyway, here are some of my favorites:

Ironman's car

Mustang Shelby GT500 (modern version)

Same car, just 40 years older.

Chevy Monte Carlo SS (my dad's old car!)

Pontiac GTO

Saturday: I had worship practice in the morning and a VA Impact/Focus meeting at night. Its still kind of weird thinking I'm no longer in Impact. Focus still seems too foreign to me.

Anyway, the bigger story is that I had to lead worship for the first time during that evening's meeting. I think it went pretty well, except for two things. 1. I would forget to sing at times. I would start singing a song, then get too caught up in my guitar playing or some other distraction and my voice would trail off into mumbling. Lucky for me, I think the group was pretty understanding. And 2. how do people play the guitar for prolonged periods of time? I must have only played for like 10 mins tops, but my fingers/hands were killing me by the end.

Sunday: Fourth of July. I went over to CP to have a cook out (or a cook in? we ate in an apartment) and watch fireworks. It was kind of hectic and cramped, but after two trips to the grocery store, spilling burger grease all over a kitchen counter, and almost burning the crap out of my hand (at least twice), it turned out to be a fun evening. Who knew grilling burgers could be so easy? Thanks George Foreman grill.

Today: Slept late, ate junk food and watched movies all day. The only productive thing I did was my laundry. And I finally got to watch the new "Karate Kid." It was well worth the wait because it was awesome. Jackie Chan still remains one of my favorite actors (even after some of his terrible movies. "The Tuxedo" anyone?) Also, after seeing that movie, China has definitely moved up on my "places I'd like to visit before I die" list. The scenery looks absolutely stunning. Now, it's right up there with Italy, Greece and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL.

Back to work tomorrow.

i'm all alone

2010-07-02T13:46:00.000-04:00

i think i'm the only person in my branch in the office today. i've only seen 3 people on my entire floor. seriously, this place becomes a ghost town on fridays. something tells me i'll be leaving early...

va campus timothy lock-in

2010-06-26T03:17:00.000-04:00

NCFC VA campus lock-in 6/25/10 from Daniel Pyon on Vimeo.

shot and cut on my new phone. pretty cool, no? i think i wanna upload more videos.

i'm so excited

2010-06-23T12:10:00.000-04:00

my iphone is coming today! its been over 2 years since i got my (now dented and scratched) current phone. just last week, i shut my car door on it, further damaging it.

except, i don't wanna be "that guy" who sneakily tries to show off his new gadget by taking it out whenever anyone is within visual range, so i think i'll hide it until they get more common.

the only problem is, since i left my family plan to get it, att is giving me a new number. this leaves me with a dilemma of sorts. how should i let people know of the change?

i could either:
1. make a facebook group and selectively invite people who i call/get called by alot.
2. send out mass texts
3. do nothing and enjoy never being called again (there are pros and cons to this).

what do you guys think i should do? do you get as annoyed as i do when you get invited to phone # groups on facebook?

completely unrelated, but that us/algeria match will be talked about for decades. i thought yesterday's game (sk/nigeria) was exciting, but this one definitely takes the cake. talk about determination and sheer willpower. lousy officiating aside, i could not be happier with this world cup.

children's retreat

2010-06-20T20:52:00.000-04:00

kids are the best.

i plan on having 10 and forming a family band.

world cup and stuff

2010-06-18T11:09:00.000-04:00

1. call me a soccer noob, but i think it'd make the games more interesting if people knew exactly how much time was left during stoppage time. the way it is now, only the ref knows how much time is left. can't they hook something up to the ref's stop watch so it shows the time remaining on a main scoreboard somewhere? some of the most exciting moments in sports have involved amazing plays that occurred as time ran out. i'd argue that a large part of that excitement is because fans know exactly how much time is left for the player to make a spectacular play. maybe i'm just whining.

2. children's retreat this weekend. somehow, in the midst of all the (sometimes) annoying kids, incomprehensible skits, bug bites and sleepless nights, i always manage to have a good time.

3. i really wanna watch toy story 3.

frustration is eating my soul

2010-06-15T14:36:00.000-04:00

F APPLE.COM AND THE NEW IPHONE. I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU MY MONEY, STEVE JOBS. WHY DO YOU TEASE ME WITH THESE STUPID ERROR MESSAGES. GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER APPLE.

weekend update

2010-06-13T17:42:00.000-04:00

i went to a baby shower for my cousin and his wife yesterday. things have definitely been changing in my family. i have 5 aunts and uncles on my dad's side and they all have 2 children apiece (if you wanna see a pic, click here). so, i've grown up being surrounded by cousins; some older and some younger. now, all my older cousins are getting married and having kids, so there is a new generation on the rise within the pyon family. imagine how crazy it would be if each cousin in my generation (12 total) all had 2 kids like their parents. family gatherings would be CRAZY (24 kids running around). at that rate, we could start our own country within a couple generations.

btw, i learned that your cousins' kids are called 'first cousin once removed' (not second cousin, like i always thought). the 'once removed' refers to the fact that they are a generation younger than you. people who share great grandparents (but not grandparents) are considered second cousins. there's your interesting fact of the day.

stephen strasburg was born 11 days before me

2010-06-10T15:27:00.000-04:00

...that makes me just a little depressed. i'm pretty sure i couldn't even strike out a little league team 14 times in one game. hooray dc baseball. the goal is to see him pitch live at least once this summer. anybody up for another nats game?

completely unrelated (and tmi), but i hate pooping at work. it seems like everyone on my floor suddenly has the urge to go too right when i sit down. might as well open the door and have a party in there. also, the toilets are automatic so you can't courtesy flush unless you want to stand, wait for the little sensor thingy and sit back down. sometimes that doesn't even work. oh, and another thing, there are way too many people who either a) have conversations in the bathroom while doing their business or b) talk on the #*%&@ phone. newsflash, the person on the other line can tell . hang up for 5 mins and call them back later. your kids' daycare schedule/this evening's dinner plans/your fantasy baseball squad/whatever meaningless thing you're talking about can wait. am i wrong to be annoyed by this? as far as i'm concerned, men's rooms are for taking care of discrete personal business, not talking. i swear, today i saw two guys just chatting it up while parked in front of side-by-side urinals like it was no big deal. i'm pretty sure they made eye contact multiple times too. gross.

in the past two weeks, i've bought two wedding presents for two different weddings. i don't think this is something i'll grow accustomed to anytime soon. going to friends' weddings (where i am the sole invitee in my family) is still kind of a weird idea to me. don't worry, i plan on waiting a long time before i subject any of my friends to this situation (but when i do, we gonna have a party....).

random post, but i promised i'd write more so here it is.

i don't update enough...

2010-06-07T11:18:00.001-04:00

...but i like to think i have (or had) a good reason.

i used to update this blog quite frequently about any random event that happened in my life (hair cuts, chinese food delivery etc), but somewhere along the line i think i decided that people didn't want to hear about that mundane stuff and that i should only update when an big event or semi-important activity happens (thanksgiving, graduation, moving). my whole reasoning for this paring down was because i didn't want to come off as too self-obsessed or over-invested in the social media scene/online social interactions in general (aka a fb/twitter/constantly update about everything-phile) as some people are prone to do. the only problem is, ever since i started working, those important events/activities seem to happen less and less. i've also noticed i usually write a significant amount when i post. maybe i just avoided it for awhile because i knew i couldn't invest the time that i felt was needed to make a decent post that people would want to read. but maybe its not so much about the readers as it is about just writing. whatever the reason, this blog has suffered enough, so i guess i'll change my blog philosophy up a little bit just to get back into it. i'm pretty sure only a handful of people read this anyway. and you guys probably aren't impressed by me trying to take this thing too seriously.

i won't give myself a schedule for updating (no weekly updates), but hopefully i can find inspiration through smaller, more insignificant events in my life and that will lead to more frequent (maybe shorter) updates. actually now that i think back, over the past couple months, things have happened, i've just been in such a writing funk that i think i downplayed them in my mind as un-blogworthy.

some occurrences that may be worth mentioning:

first time missing out on an obx trip. extreme jealousy does not even begin to describe my feelings during that week. now everyone else is happy and tan. if only the florescent lights in my office could emit powerful uv rays...
ate some pad thai at a place that beat bobby flay in a "showdown with bobby flay" episode. it was pretty good, but i really can't taste the difference among the various pad thai's i've had over the years. maybe a little hyped, but its fun to say i ate there. the whole place is decorated with pictures from the event. i guess if your chef beats bobby flay, you advertise the crap out of it.
my sister and i decided we were gonna eat healthy and exercise about a week ago. since then, we've jogged once, did one p90x workout and eaten a truckload of fast food, sometimes at ungodly hours (thanks, ihop). willpower ftw.
sometime during the past month or so, i decided that since i was now a semi-independent "working stiff," the next logical step in my transformation was to update my wardrobe with some essentials (dress shirts, khakis in different shades, dark jeans etc). but, i kind of went overboard with my spending. in the past month, ive bought at least 6 shirts, 5 pairs of pants, and 4 pairs of shoes(!). that may not seem like a lot to some of you hardcore shoppers out there, but this is coming from a guy who used to wear one pair of sneakers till they fell apart and never owned more than 2 pairs of jeans at one time. i shopped more than my mom and sister combined.... i think i have a problem. its not like i look for deals either. i just see something i think i need and buy it, regardless of whether it is on sale or not (my mom would kill me). the thing about one of the stores that i shop at is that they make well-made, simple, classic clothing that screams "i'm a wardrobe essential! buy me now. everyone has at least one of me in their closet!" and these essentials all happen to be in one place so there's no need for me to go anywhere else. and they all just happen to be ridiculously overpriced. i guess that's how they get you. i know they could be found somewhere else for cheaper, but i find myself making up excuses to continue shopping there. ("but this shirt fits better and has a cool little stitching detail on the inside that only i can see when i hang it up at night.") one day it'll probably catch up to me. i'll be broke and starving in a cardboard box surrounded by my endless supply of shoes and dress shirts. anybody feel like going shopping?
i really need to move closer to work. 3 hours of my day is spent commuting. think of all the blog posts i could have written.... although, i think i should resist renting an apartment and just save up for a place of my own in the future. a few inconvenient years is worth it in the end right?

that's all for now, hopefully the next one doesn't take so long.

final exercises

2010-05-24T09:14:00.000-04:00

i don't know why U. Va. has to be all different and call it 'final exercises' instead of graduation like most schools, but i guess tradition isn't a thing to be messed with.

for those of you who missed me at church on sunday, no, i wasn't sleeping in or playing hooky; i went down to charlottesville for my college graduation ceremony. i actually drove down the day before with my dad to disassemble my bed and load it into the car. i felt kind of bad because he drove two hours, did some manual labor, then drove back 2 hours. oh well, he got a free meal out of it.

the rest of the evening was spent eating, drinking, and reminiscing with old friends whom i hadn't seen in awhile. it's nice to know that i have some friendships that remain (mostly) the same without regard to time and distance. after visiting some of our old haunts (for perhaps the last time? at least for awhile), i went back to my apartment (now bedless) to get some sleep. what i didn't realize was that our normally 4 person apartment was to house 6 people that night. i guess i got lucky because i got to sleep on the loveseat, but it still was far from ideal. also, some nice people decided to party it up right outside our window the night before graduation, so between the lumpy couch and their drunken shenanigans i found it hard to fall (and stay) asleep.
regardless, the morning came and i had a graduation to attend. the night before, i had set my alarm really early to beat the expected shower rush and it paid off. only my roommate was up before me, so we decided to hit up a local diner for breakfast. when we got back, the apt was a flurry of activity with both showers running, hair dryers plugged into hall outlets, people frantically searching for digital camera batteries and of course, caps and gowns being fussed over.

throughout this whole ordeal, i think i did a good job staying levelheaded. maybe it was because i really "graduated" back in december, but i remember being pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. i just wanted it to be over so i could go home and eat a nice meal out with the family. it wasn't until i was standing in a bustling crowd of 6000 of my peers in the shadow of the rotunda's impressive facade that i started to feel a tinge of accomplishment and pride. the previous four years of frozen dinners, studying, procrastinating, late night chinese food, relationship-making, and learning had all led up to this day.

the ceremony itself was a blur. i'm sure the speaker had lots of good things to say, but those words are probably already forgotten by 90% of us. it was supposed to rain (i even brought an umbrella with me), but the clouds parted right as the ceremony started and the sun came out. (enough to give me a mild sunburn) we really couldn't have asked for better weather. (last year's class didn't have it as good, it rained all morning)

here are some pics.

from my econ dept diploma ceremony

brother bear + sister bear

la familia

got my papers, so long suckas!

congrats class of 2010! wahoowa!

trip from hell

2010-04-23T11:02:00.003-04:00

i hate fog.

i had to go on a trip to jeffersonville, indiana for work this past tuesday and wednesday. the trip itself was fine. it was the return flight (and subsequent chaos) that destroyed my will to live for a few hours wednesday night and into thursday morning.

let me explain...

my return flight wednesday night was scheduled to leave from louisville, ky at 8 pm and layover in charlotte, nc from 9-10 before arriving at dulles around midnight. the first leg of the trip went without a hitch. on the way from charlotte to dc however, the pilot reported "low visiblity" (fog) on the ground at dulles and said we'd circle for 15 mins or so. we waited, but to no avail as his voice came over the intercom after the 15 minutes were up saying that conditions were worsening so we were headed to harrisburg, pa to wait it out.

at this point it was rounding midnight on wednesday (thursday morning) and people were getting antsy. the plane was a small, cramped express-type jet with seat cushions that desperately needed replacing (think cardboard, but with less padding). nothing could be done however, so we flew the extra distance to harrisburg and landed there. the pilot came on the intercom again saying we had to wait on the plane for an hour before trying again at dulles. at that point, he gave us the option of getting off the plane and either staying at a hotel in harrisburg or getting a cab to dulles (a 3 hr/$260 trip). i guess this was a good thing because all the impatient people got off the plane, leaving all of us good-natured, generally pleasant people (the majority) with the plane to ourselves. usually i'm pretty unflappable when it comes to things like this, but at this point, my phone was dying, my butt was aching, and my nerves were wearing extremely thin. the flight attendants did whatever they could to appease our disgruntled, tired selves but there's only so many dry crackers and cups of lukewarm water one can take at 2 am. if i were them i'd say "f it" and start handing out the miniature bottles of tequila and bud light, but sadly they had more self-control than me.

an hour later, the pilot's voice came over the intercom yet again saying dulles had shut down for the night(!) due to thick fog and the plane would be heading back to charlotte. at that point, he gave the rest of us the opportunity to get off the plane and said that the airline would pay for a taxi ride to dulles, or we could fly back to charlotte, wait a couple hours in the empty airport and hope to find another flight home in the morning. most of the remaining people (including me) elected to take the free ride home and get off the plane. what they didn't tell us was that the number of taxis in harrisburg that operate at 3 am are few and far between (we probably should have known). so, once we got off the plane and were herded into the terminal, we had to wait another 45 mins for the taxi company to get people out of bed and to the airport. and we thought we had it bad...

finally, i (along with three other random strangers) piled into a taxi driven by a cranky 60 yr old grandma that reeked of cigarette smoke. she looked like a female version of clint eastwood. all the similarities ended with her appearance however, because she stayed true to form when it came to her driving skills. she drove SO SLOW. i'm talking 45 mph max on 4 lane highways. and of course she didn't know the way so she had to follow another driver who drove at normal speeds, who we subsequently lost about 30 seconds after getting onto the highway. this led to her squawking into her cellphone the entire way asking for directions (girlfriend seriously needs to invest in a gps) which made it almost impossible to sleep. at one point (about 30 miles from frederick, md) the fog was bad enough to make her uncomfortable driving (i don't blame her, the stuff was like soup) so she pulled over and decided to wait until daylight to continue. i think it was around 5 am at that point. so there we were, a bunch of random strangers whose feeble attempts at civility had long given way to tired grunts and incoherent mumbling, sitting on the side of rt.15 in a bright orange harrisburg city taxi trying desperately to get some sleep. needless to say, it wasn't pretty.

i woke up around 6:30 to find we were in the middle of rt. 7 traffic. the taxi driver decided to save her best for last and crept along at a mind boggingly slow 35 mph on rt 7 (55 mph limit). cars were literally racing past us. i thought we were gonna get pulled over; it was that bad. it took us another half hour to drive a total of 5-6 miles on what was more or less an open highway despite the normal morning traffic.

finally, a full 7 hours and 30 mins after our original posted arrival time, we made it to dulles. i almost cried when my feet hit the pavement. i'm pretty sure my leg muscles had begun to atrophy from being wedged in various cramped positions over the course of the previous 8 hours because my knees literally buckled when i tried to put weight on them. i had to re-teach myself to walk for about 5 mins after getting out of the cab. it was sad. i didn't even say bye to anyone after i got out. you'd think i would have formed some sort of bond with the people i had just suffered through this ordeal with, but nope, i just walked away without so much as a glimpse back. my mind was mush and i'm sure if i had tried to say anything it would have come out as either angry raving or jumbled gobbedly-gook, so i decided to spare my fellow road warriors and just find myself another taxi home asap. i will say that some people definitely had it worse. one lady had to take another 2 hour cab ride back to her house after arriving at dulles. she's probably dead.

but i guess all's well that ends well. i took yesterday off, got 14 hours of travel comp time (make up vacation time, some of which was used immediately b/c of my day off), and took a much needed 6 hour nap with my dog on the couch.

i'm never flying again.

doubledown

2010-04-14T11:52:00.001-04:00

you guys know you secretly wanna try this beast.

the funniest part is that kfc's marketing strategy for it makes use of the word "unthink" over and over again. as in "don't think," which is exactly what one needs to be doing to order one of these bad boys. either incredibly stupid or incredibly smart (and somewhat subversive) of the ad guys who thought this one up.

well played, sirs.

lipstick

2010-04-12T14:10:00.000-04:00

how do you girls eat/drink things while wearing lipstick?

i'm wearing some burt's bees lip balm right now due to an unfortunate onset of allergies over the weekend which led to dry/cracked lips from too much contact with tissues (tmi?) and i hate it b/c every time i try to drink something, the cup or straw gets all sticky. then i have to reapply. last night, i felt like a noob b/c i put on the burt's bees right before i washed up for bed. needless to say, it all washed off. what a waste.

maybe its just a personal problem....

work

2010-04-07T12:31:00.001-04:00

we had an ice cream party at work today. (cookies 'n cream w/ reese's pieces = money)

in may, we're having a golf fundraiser for our division. (paid to golf? hollaaaa)

later this month i'm going to jeffersonville, ky to visit the national processing center for the decennial census. (if you ever wondered where your census forms go, that's the place.) travel/accommodations paid by the gov't.

i write all this fun stuff first because the actual day to day routine of my job is pretty boring. i basically sit at a comp and enter numbers/analyze data/fix issues all day. so, i have to have things to look forward to. i think the census bureau is pretty good about planning activities for new employees though.

the other day, my mom asked if i'd rather be back at school instead of working. its a tough question to answer so i'll make a pro/con list.

PROS: $$$, free (homecooked) food, $$$, being close to d.c. and surrounding areas (cville starts to feel pretty enclosed after awhile), $$$, being (relatively) close to church/ friends, did i say $$$?

CONS: much less free time, having to wake up at 5:30 am, 1 hr + commute, taxes/paying back loans, slowly coming to the realization that maintaining a social life requires much more effort now.

so, i can't really answer that question definitively. i didn't really go crazy on the weekends in college so it's not that much of a shock to live at home. plus, my parents give me space, which i appreciate. its funny because i always said i'd live at home to save money, but i find myself just spending that money on other things... maybe if i moved out, i'd be forced to live frugally. meh.

speaking of shopping, now that i'm working i've decided to upgrade my wardrobe. first thing on the list: business attire. no suits (yet), just shirts, nice slacks and maybe shoes. i've been wearing the same 5 shirts/2-3 pairs of pants to work for the past month and a half. i think my coworkers laugh behind my back, "he's wearing those khakis again??" probably not, but you never know. someone at church made the point that living and working in dc makes you feel all kinds of lame because you start noticing all the good looking people with their nice clothing and comparing them to yours. i can attest to that. i know i shouldn't give into the pressure, but i'm weak.

i've never just walked into a store and shopped with the intention of putting together complete outfits. usually i just get random pieces here and there, so it'll be interesting. i need a fashion guru (i've vowed never to read a fashion magazine, even if its geared toward men, for personal reasons). i've tried shopping on my own and it usually ends in a return trip to exchange what i bought for something my mom and sister approve of ("that shirt and tie could not clash any worse than they do already. take it back!").

maybe i should just be a farmer and wear blue jeans and flannel all day. am i being materialistic? shallow?

sorry for the disjointedness of this entry. its been awhile since i wrote the last one and i'm not in the mood to write something coherent and unified. so today you get word barf.

moving

2010-03-22T09:13:00.001-04:00

this past saturday, my dad and i moved all (most) of my stuff down to the spare room in the basement. i had been planning on doing this as soon as i moved back from college, but it seemed like there was always something stopping us (business trips for dad, work/church stuff for me, a little bit of laziness for both of us).

originally, i planned on buying all new furniture and making it look like something out of an ikea catalog, but that idea quickly died when i realized 1. new furniture costs money, 2. the nearest ikea is at least an hour away, and 3. i don't know if i'd be comfortable sleeping on something that sounds like it was named by a 3 year old with a speech impediment (vanvik, malm, kviby etc.). so, my room is currently furnished by a hodge podge of items we've collected over the years (parent's old 1980 style bed/dressers, random bookcases/desks etc). i never realized it, but my family owns something like 6 mattresses (for 4 people). i've also realized that we have some ugly sheets/bedding in our house. i don't know what my mom was thinking when she bought some of these. i tried looking for a matching set that would go well in a 20 something yr old guy's room, but ultimately had to settle on a funky multi-colored pattern (it was either that or bright yellow). my bed looks like joseph's coat. something tells me i need to go shopping soon. i don't know anything about bedding or sheets, so it should be interesting.

the main reason i wanted to move was because there is a ballin' walk-in closet in the new room. except, when i put all my clothes in the new closet, they only take up 1/10th of the space. so it looks pretty bare. i also get a bathroom all to myself, which is nice. stacey's pretty clean for a girl, but sharing a bathroom still sucks. i tried taking a shower yesterday but quickly found that the shower head needs to be replaced. there is no steady stream of water. it's more along the lines of 4 disjointed trickles that start and stop at whim and shoot off at the most inconvenient angles. i feel like i'm running around just to get wet. so, i'm also adding a new shower head and clothes to my shopping list.

but for now, its nice to have my "own" space. i used to dislike going into the basement because it was always cold/dark/filled with monsters, but now that its mine, it feels more like home. once i add some personal touches (posters, knick-knacks, my extensive beanie baby collection) it'll be as if i'd lived there all along.

life

2010-02-26T11:05:00.000-05:00

1. I've started working. Although I probably shouldn't call it that because what I've been doing for the past week or so could hardly be considered "work." After orientation last week, my first week in the office consisted of hours of reading old Stephen King novels (courtesy of a sympathetic coworker) and doing crossword puzzles/sudoku at my desk while I anxiously awaited the arrival of my computer and phone. Apparently the huge storm a couple weeks back made life tough for everyone in the IT department which made life tough (or easy) for me this past week. Now, as you can see, I finally have a computer...except I don't have access to any of the drives I need to start doing work. And so I wait.... At least now I have internet access. I don't know if I could have taken any more sudoku (although I did get really good in a really short time).

2. I've been loving these winter Olympics. So many great stories and drama filled moments have been interspersed throughout these past 2 weeks. While the games got off to a rocky start, the athletes have risen to the occasion and delivered some incredibly memorable performances. A few that come to mind include Bode Miller redeeming himself with gold and silver medals after coming away empty handed in the Torino games (deservedly so) and the Chinese couple that came out of retirement and gave up the first years of their marriage to train for pair's skating gold one more time (and it paid off!). Oh, and I guess I can't fail to mention the domination of the Koreans in speed skating (judging incompetency aside...)

The only quibble I have with the games is that all the good competitions come on close to midnight, and I have to wake up at 5:30 every morning. So, I either have to miss watching some events live or wake up feeling like a zombie. Some nights, I go to bed earlier than my parents. I feel like a grandpa.

Regardless, last night I resigned myself to this morning's impending zombie-ness so I could watch Yun-ah Kim compete in the ladies figure skating competition. I have to admit, I was a little nervous for her after the NBC announcers hyped her up so much. While they have their flaws, they are certainly adept at milking the drama out of every situation, especially for all the high profile skaters. However, it was as if Yun-ah wasn't aware of the incredible pressure surrounding her, because she was crazy good. I don't know much about the technicalities of figure skating but I do know that phrases like, "best ever" and "one of the greats" (both of which were hushedly mentioned several times after her dazzling performance) only apply when a program is, well, the best in a long time. And to think she did that with the weight of an entire country's hopes on her 19 year old shoulders astounds me.

So I felt incredible pride. I was a little disappointed though, when I logged on to facebook this morning and saw that that same pride in me had evolved into downright arrogance in some fellow Koreans. I'm fine with celebrating a great win, but verbal harassment toward her competitors (most of which was pointed toward the Japanese Mao Asada in second place) is below us I think. I know there are cultural differences and deep-seated tensions between the two nations that run far longer than I've been on this earth and I'm not saying that a friendly rivalry between the countries is necessarily even a bad thing, but come on, are we still so obtuse as a people that we have to resort to using words like "dirty Japs" or being downright giddy when anything bad happens to a Japanese person? Most of the people I'm referring to have little or absolutely no reason to be this crass and insensitive either. If you're 70 year old Korean man who refuses to buy japanese cars or tv's after living through the Japanese occupation that's one thing (not saying its ok, but at least somewhat understandable), but a 17 year old high school kid who spouts hatred like that is just copying the cultural arrogance and xenophobia of their parents' generation. Learn to think on your own. And this is all without even mentioning the spiritual implications this has for those of us who call ourselves Christians. There are (or have been) Japanese people who attend our church for goodness' sake. Japan is one of the most unreached developed countries in the world. How are we ever going to spread the love of Christ to them if we have none of our own to give?

I know I may be blowing things out of proportion just a little and that my audience is indeed small, but I've seen careless remarks by a few people (especially of the racial kind) have huge effects in the past. Sorry for preaching; I know I'm hardly qualified to do so, but it needed to be said.

I guess its back to sudoku now... :)

vday

2010-02-15T03:03:00.001-05:00

i found this on a website and thought it was funny.

if you rearrange the letters in "valentine's day" you can get some interesting combinations. A warning, some of these are a little risque...

"Any valid teens?"
"A lady sin event"
"A venal destiny"
"An invested lay"

the english language never ceases to amaze.

blizzard of 2010 brings out the best (and worst)

2010-02-09T13:10:00.000-05:00

my mom came into my room this morning saying, "something's wrong with our car, come outside!"

i went outside in my groggy, pre-showered state to see that my driver's side window had been completely shattered. at first i thought the weight of the snow on top of the car had crushed the window after 3 days of weighing down the car, but after shoveling a path around the car to investigate further, i noticed that the driver's side door had a huge dent in it too. it looked like a crumpled soda can. also, i discovered glass from the window underneath the 2 and a half feet of snow, which means this all happened before the snow came on friday.

some idiot was probably driving too fast friday night despite the snowy conditions, lost control, and sideswiped the car. now that i think about it, it was the perfect hit and run scenario. with all the snow in the forecast, it took us 2 days to get out to the street to notice the damage. also, because the car was literally buried, it looked completely fine underneath all that snow. only after the snow melted a little bit could we see the damage. i hope the jackass gets stuck in the snow and freezes to death.

we called some nearby relatives to help us shovel the rest of the snow around the car so we could put it in the garage, only to find out that the car battery had died sometime during the past three days. luckily, our neighbor is handy with cars, so he helped us recharge our battery. finally, after an eventful morning filled with shoveling, phone calls to geico, cleaning bits of broken glass, and even more shoveling, we got the car into the garage. now we're just waiting for a tow truck to come get it; hopefully sometime before the snow starts up again (blizzard of 2010 redux?).

so, i guess all's well that end's well. a bad situation brought forth good company (and a good workout). i'm just crossing my fingers for at least a couple incident free days. with another foot or more of snow in the forecast however, i doubt we'll be so fortunate. oh well, spirits remain high in the pyon house.

ps. since my dad is away in sunny vietnam for business (90 degree weather, seriously?), my mom and i cleared our entire driveway and street in front of our house on sunday and monday. i'm so proud. she didn't even complain once (unlike my dad who claims he's gonna have a heart attack every 15 minutes).

uva bball 2010

2010-02-05T02:18:00.000-05:00

i'm no rick reilly or mike wilbon, so forgive me for trying my hand at a sports-related post. i just have nothing else going on in my life right now and the public (jonathan) is clamoring for a post.

this vid basically sums up my experience with uva bball this year. i dunno what tony bennett is doing, but it's got our guys fired up and motivated (and playing solid d? now i've seen everything). what everyone expected would take at least a couple years (hoos were picked to finish second to last in acc this year) has happened almost overnight (as i'm writing this, we're currently tied for second in the acc with a 5-2 record), and i couldn't be happier with the way the team is playing. yes, we have encountered a few bumps in the road (painful, close losses to teams like penn state and auburn come to mind, ugh), but we've responded with strong showings every time. i never thought i'd see the day when we'd come off a heart breaking overtime loss at home to our instate rival and respond with a beat down of epic proportions in the dean dome vs last year's national champ. i guess it also helps that the acc as a whole isn't at its strongest, but hey, i'm not complaining.

the best part is that everyone seems to have bought in to this system and everyone is contributing in their own way (not to mention having fun). case in point, will sherrill, a junior walk-on who hadn't played more than a few minutes in his whole college career must have impressed his coaches during practice, because he has become a solid part of the line up. his stats may not show it, but he makes his teammates better by doing all the little things right; hustling, boxing out, locking down on d, setting good screens, etc. Oh, he also dropped 25 in the game against cleveland state.

the fact that we only lose 2 seniors next year (our top scorer is a sophomore) and have a pretty stacked recruiting class makes me even more giddy. so, not only does bennett coach well and motivate, apparently he attracts talent too.... could it be? i think i'm in love. scouts has our incoming class ranked at 14th in the country (although duke, nc state, wake, and unc are all top ten... i guess some things never change) and it looks like we'll be more than comfortable at every position with some much appreciated big guys coming in to help beef up our post presence and at least 1 all-american guard to give us more options around the perimeter.

i know the season is still a long way from being over and we have lots of tough tests down the road, but for these reasons i can't help but to be at least a little optimistic. i only wish i had enrolled for another semester so i could go to some games without paying. 30 bucks to drive 2 hours and sit in the nosebleeds is steep when you're used to sitting basically courtside and walking to every game for free. listening to games on the radio is the next best option most of the time, and that's like dating a really nice, funny, sincere, smokin' hot...... hologram. exciting maybe, but so far from the real thing. maybe i should just count my blessings and be happy with the way things are going.

restless

2010-01-24T00:27:00.000-05:00

as much as i love not having to worry about things like class schedules and homework and online wait lists anymore, these past couple weeks have reminded me that i'm at my best when i don't have hours and hours of free time to waste. case in point, i now know the daytime tv schedules of all the broadcast channels like the back of my hand. i think my parents have caught on to this, because they've recently started giving me things to do while they're off at work (vacuum, pick up x-item from y-location, fix ____ , etc.). i've also started to dig into my pile of books i got from urbana. 1 down, 6 to go. maybe i'll finish before i start working.

other things. i received my diploma in the mail today. so i guess its official, im a college grad. it wasn't that bad of a shock though because i was already forced to come to terms with it a while back when i tried to sign into uva's online student ticketing system for basketball games and got denied :( . that's when it really hit me.

i also received 2 notices in the mail saying i need to start paying back student loans come july. same message as my diploma, worse medium.

to face my new financial responsibilities head-on, i made an account on www.mint.com. its a personal budgeting website that links to your online banking account to show you how you spend your money and give you alerts if you spend over your set budget. i felt so good about myself for taking initiative to get my finances straight, until i got a warning email telling me that as of right now, my net worth is in the red... so i need to start working pronto. i know i'm supposed to find worth in god and identity in christ, but the realization that you are worth less than $0 to the rest of the world is still pretty humbling.

but while this all sounds melancholy and brooding, it's amazing what an unexpected round of golf with your dad can do for one's psyche. one nice drive and you feel like you're on top of the world. it was a good day.

been awhile?

2010-01-14T17:43:00.000-05:00

i thought it had been a really long time since the last time i updated this thing, but a week and a half doesn't seem that long now that i think about it. maybe it's just because i've been sitting on my butt doing nothing all day but watch tv and the occasional house chore for the duration of that week and a half.

but not anymore! after interviewing with the census bureau last week, i got an official job offer today! now comes the fun part of filling out a plethora of forms and paperwork, as well as getting a background check done (includes going to the police department to get fingerprinted), and orientation. it was such a relief to open up the email and see a big, bold CONGRATULATIONS!! from the hr lady who sent it. she seems like a nice person. god bless people like her. and all the people who have helped me along the way. i wouldn't have even gotten the opportunity to interview had it not been for the efforts of a friend of mine from church who works there. there are countless more, from the career counselor at U. Va. who helped me update my resume and gave me some interview pointers, to my cousin who helped me practice my handshake (not even joking), to my parents who have been ever-supportive of me this entire time and were gracious enough to let me come back home to live with them after college. they said it was to save money. i think it's because they like having me around.

so, the earliest i can come in for orientation is mid february (i know its far away), which means i am a free man for one month longer (free and bored). then its 9-5:30 till i retire. ugh, maybe i should rethink this whole "graduating from college early so i can work" nonsense. :)

urbana

2010-01-04T12:25:00.000-05:00

as many of you know, i recently came back from urbana 09, a student mission's conference held every three years in st. louis, MO. about 17,000 students, campus staff workers, and pastors came together to learn about the state of God's global kingdom work and how they can get involved. each day was jam packed with great speakers, incredible worship, drama, dance, thought-provoking seminars, and insightful bible studies. it allowed me to experience a week without all the distractions of school, career, media, sports, the list goes on and on.

while the conference was very much outward focused (what do you expect from a mission conference?), i couldn't help but to gain some insight about the state of things in my spiritual life. leave it to me to learn more about myself than others at a missions conference... self-centered much? regardless, god showed me some shortcomings in my life that were limiting my effectiveness as a servant for his kingdom. it was almost as if he was saying, "before you can go out and make a difference in other people's lives, examine your own heart. do you really love me? do you really care about making my name great?" i got hit pretty hard by a sobering reality check during one of the speaker's talks about money and possessions. these past couple months, i've really been occupied with the next step in my life and how i'll become financially independent and make the best career decision for my life. when i heard a story about multi-millionaires who chose long ago (when they were young and poor) to live on a fixed income no matter what they made, i was taken aback. these are the kinds of decisions i should be praying (or at least thinking) about now, while i'm young.

i also learned a little bit more about my own path to salvation. one of the seminars talked about how the path to salvation is just that, a path, not a single point of conversion. it's only at the very end of that path that non-believers make the choice to follow christ. i think too many christians are too concerned about that last step in the process, just focused on adding numbers but not focused enough on the (often harder) steps that lead up to the point of conversion. the guy who led the seminar wrote a book after he interviewed thousands of new believers about their path to christ. surprisingly, most of them followed a very similar route with 5 common thresholds they crossed before giving their lives over to christ. the five thresholds are:

1. trusting a christian
2. becoming curious about Jesus
3. being open to change
4. actively seeking God
5. conversion

he then talked about how these five steps could be applied to the conversion story one of his nonbelieving friends. as he was talking, i realized that i did things completely backwards in my own path to salvation. i became a christian when i was 7, basically because i wanted to go to heaven and because everyone else was doing it. so i started at step five without experiencing the true change of heart that is usually required for anyone to start following christ. i had nothing in my life that i needed to change (i was a little kid), and i was completely uninterested in seeking God (learning about him and seeking him are two different things). because i was a pastor's son, i could tell you all sorts of facts and bits of information about the bible, but facts without belief are useless. growing up, i mistook my knowledge about God for an actual relationship with him. needless to say, i was humbled and shaken by this realization.

one thing is certain. my eyes were definitely opened this past week. the number of opportunities out there for christians to spread his love are greater than ever before. i didn't receive a specific calling, but i was challenged to widen my gaze and consider the world around me. i'm glad i went.

my christmas

2009-12-26T00:17:00.000-05:00

first, i'd like to wish everyone a (late) merry christmas. hope your day was filled with lots of food, family, friends, and fun. if you'd like a rundown of my hectic but very happy christmas, head on over to my sister's tumblr for a humorous recap.

after the fun-filled festivities were over and everyone had gone back to their respective homes, i went upstairs to put away some of my newly acquired shirts, only to realize that my closet was getting way too crowded. so, i decided to get rid of all my clothes that i had outgrown (physically or stylistically) over the years. now, mind you, i hadn't done this since before i left for college (summer of 2006!), so by the end of the evening, i had about four trash bags worth of unwanted clothing.

i thought this was going to be a quick and easy process, but, as i was going through my drawers, i was soon confronted with the painful realization that i was quite possibly the world's worst dresser throughout high school. words cannot even begin to describe the tragedy. so, for your viewing pleasure (or horror), i have included some pictures of the more impressive pieces that made up my wardrobe for much of that era.

first, we have a pair of baggy jorts (one of many). you may be thinking, "eh, they're bad, but not that bad." this may be true, but only if jorts are worn on occasion. i wore jorts 95% of the time. the other 5%, i was either naked, or wearing a pair of....

carpenter jeans! funny story about this particular pair of carpenter jeans. the day i bought these pants, i came home and showed my sister, only to have her shriek in horror "CARPENTER JEANS? YOU CAN'T WEAR THOSE!!!" she then proceeded to tell me how they are a fashion faux pas and no respectable human being would ever be caught dead in them. so, i never wore them. thats right, i bought them and never once put them on after that day. i've decided this means i was either really insecure back then, or really respected my sister's advice when it came to fashion. probably a little bit of both.

next we have...

a nautica t-shirt. nautica was my absolute favorite brand back in the day. i know this is only one picture of one shirt, but trust me when i say this was one out of MANY. i didn't count, but i must have seen at least 10 different shirts go in the trash bags, all emblazoned with "NAUTICA" across the front. all shameless brand propaganda that my teenage mind eagerly bought into.

next...

my second favorite brand, tommy hilfiger. i should point out that 80% of the clothing i found (including this lovely number) were sized either large or extra large. i think i intentionally bought clothes one size too big as an answer to my fascination with all things baggy, but this eventually turned into a necessity as i slowly but surely started to grow into my "baggy" clothing as i gained weight. needless to say, my high school years weren't my most attractive... more evidence below.

i don't even wanna talk about this one...

some other quality finds:

my baby/securty blanket. its hard to believe, but this used to have colorful pictures of dinosaurs on it. i played with it so much that its completely white now.

some time ago, i decided that, of my two school colors, blue looked the best on me. and here you see the result.

my awesome best buy shirt.

the final result. 4 bags of clothes for goodwill, and some much needed closet space. i should do this more often. cleaning out the closet is therapeutic.

!@#$%^

2009-12-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

im so mad. i got a haircut today and i told the lady to leave it long on top b/c its cold outside and half an hour later, I LOOK LIKE I'M JOINING THE $&*#%*&# MARINES.

there must have been a HUGE misunderstanding on her part, b/c i think i made my instructions pretty clear.

this is my second haircut post. both have been negative. needless to say, my luck does not seem to be improving. :(

asldghjawoeghiagleawghoeawlmkaewfoihawegiaAHOIJAOIHAWOTHOAWHTEOWEHIJFOAJDSLKMKLCPO

happy day

2009-12-17T16:21:00.000-05:00

my last day of college was a hectic one. for some reason, even though i went to bed at midnight last night, i couldn't fall asleep until well past 3. i was really irritated b/c i had to wake up at 7:15 the next morning. i kept getting overwhelmed by all these thoughts and anxieties that would just pop up randomly in my head. i guess its not everyday that one marks the end 17 years of combined education, so maybe the thoughts were justified in some sense.

anyway, that sleepless night ended at 7:15 am, which is the earliest i have been awake this semester. i think its also the first time i ate breakfast at a dining hall this year. thinking back, it probably would have been a good idea to schedule some classes before 11 this semester so i could get used to the feeling of being awake before 9. regardless, my body was not enjoying the abrupt change in sleeping schedule. i dont think i was even fully awake by the time my exam started at 9. luckily i think i got through it ok. i dont think there's anything quite like the feeling you get when you realize you just finished the last question on your last exam ever. no joke, my heart was beating out of my chest as i turned in the paper, thanked the professor, and walked out the door. everything inside me wanted to yell out "SO LONG SUCKERS" as i left, but i thought it might be a little much, so i refrained.

then came the hard part. i had to figure out a way to get all my clothes, tv, bedding, and computer stuff out of my apartment and into my tiny little acura integra. i put all my clothes (minus the clothes hanging in my closet) in trash bags and one small suitcase and shoved them in my back seat. i dunno how i managed to close my trunk with everything inside. but it worked, and after 12 trips back and forth from my apartment to the car, i finally left charlottesville for good (not quite, i still have to go back in may and get my bed/dresser/desk).

now i'm sitting at home on the couch with my dog watching oprah. life is good.

things

2009-12-11T16:44:00.000-05:00

1. took one final today after studying all day yesterday. it was short and not too hard (i hope). now all that stands between me and freedom is one more final. and i have a week to prepare. and the prof. is letting us use a cheat sheet. this seems like the perfect recipe for procrastination.

2. my phone kept vibrating during my final. so, after the test, i checked it and i had two missed calls and a voicemail from a potential job opportunity. it wouldn't be so bad if it was the first time, but we've been playing phone tag for weeks now, so i was pretty agitated. but i called him back and he said he'd like to have me in for an interview in early January! hope it works out.

3. started reading "blink" by malcolm gladwell today. its an interesting book, but even more interesting because he talks about one of my previous psych professors in it. apparently my professor helped design some experiment (implicit associations test) that tests whether people have implicit biases toward (and against) certain races. thought provoking stuff.

4. uva soccer takes on wake forest tonight for the college cup semifinal game. go hoos.

getting into that christmas spirit

2009-12-07T00:34:00.000-05:00

snow + holiday concert with the cville/university symphony orchestra = me in a christmas-y mood. can't really imagine the season without the music that goes along with it.

i'm not usually a sappy or sentimental person when it comes to christmas-time (i usually ask for money), but this year, for some reason, i can't help but become overwhelmed with excitement when i think about the season. example: i found myself listening to the all-christmas song station for the first time in a while today. maybe it's because this christmas will be my first christmas without having to worry about going back to school the next month. it takes some stress off and allows me to just enjoy the present. but that comes with its own challenges. im sure when i find out how bleak the job market really is, i'll beg to come back.

i think i'm ready to be out on my own. which won't really be the case, b/c everyone knows i'll be living with my parents again, but you know what i mean. i hope it doesn't become high school all over again, with curfews and stuff. part of me wants to stay at home and not pay for laundry (or food) ever, but another part of me secretly wants my parents to kick me out after a couple months so i can learn to be independent (and cook). that part of me also wants/needs a job.

applied to be a substitute teacher today cuz i'm not hearing back from the census bureau and i need work. we'll see about that.

said my first "good byes" today. we finished cleaning up the instrument room after the concert and someone said, "aw, this is your last concert. we probably won't see each other for awhile." i think that's when it really hit me. after these next two weeks, everything that has been my life for the past 4 years is over and done with. i didn't really have anything to say then b/c i'm terrible at good-byes and being the center of attention, but i will dearly miss the people that have been a part of my life at U. Va. my sentimental side wants to stay in touch, but reality says a lot of the bonds made during these past four years will become weakened or cut in the future. don't really know how i feel about that. i guess i'm glad i got the opportunity to meet such wonderful people. hopefully i have had as much as an impact on them as they have had on me. and there are still many more goodbyes to be said. i should get on that before time runs out.

being in such a contemplative mood always leaves me kind of sad. so, to cheer myself up, i watched some youtube videos. here's one of the gems i ran across today (thanks, stacey).

hope you all find time to experience the joy of the season and to celebrate the love of the one who gives us reason to be joyful.

forget hillsong...

2009-11-29T10:47:00.002-05:00

ncfc needs to start doing worship like this.

thanksgiving

2009-11-26T23:09:00.002-05:00

(edit: picture should be fixed now)

today, i am thankful for my family. here is a picture of everyone on my dad's side.

1 grandma +
6 children +
12 grandchildren (me included)+
3 great-grandchildren +
9 wives/husbands/in-laws =

31 beautiful people

(yes, we also did a 'goofy' pic)

thanksgiving break

2009-11-23T22:15:00.000-05:00

due to my extremely fortuitous class schedule (no monday or friday classes) and my willingness to skip (one lecture on tuesday), i started my thanksgiving break last thursday afternoon. if it sounds like i'm bragging, it's because i am. :)

a quick recap so far:

thursday: finished class at 3:15, packed and drove to ashburn. almost killed myself a) because it was raining, b) visibility was low, c) i was speeding, d) i was sleepy. but i managed to get home in one piece. spent the rest of the evening watching tv and playing with the dog. my sister also got home that evening. family reunion!

friday: played a round of golf with dad at 10 am. i hadn't touched my clubs since october and it showed. shot a 118. yikes. in the afternoon, went to ncfc md campus for a revival and saw lots of friends for the first time in months. good to see them again.

saturday: went to the mall with stacey and spent most of the afternoon watching college football. in the evening, had dinner with va campus oikos members (moby dick) and then to md again for the last night of the revival.

sunday: thanksgiving sunday. ate thanksgiving food at church (really quite good) and succumbed to a massive food coma during the service. shouldn't have had that second plate of sides only. after church, drove to md again (3 days in a row for those who are counting) for a timothy retreat planning meeting. im thinking of moving to md after i graduate. god knows i spend all my time there already.

today: bummed allllll day. life is good.

things to look forward to:
tues - movies with f
wed - impact potluck
thurs - thanksgiving w/ fam
fri - golf again
sat - josh and tina's wedding
mon - back to school

Classy?

2009-11-19T02:24:00.000-05:00

many of you know it is a so called "tradition" at uva to dress up for football games. "guys in ties, girls in pearls" is the mantra. i think its safe to say, every other school in america (save a few others in the south) snickers when uva football is mentioned because the aforementioned image is the one that comes to mind. well, believe it or not, this movement, like any other fashion movement, is not without its detractors. I personally always found it a little bit ridiculous when people would say "lets be classy" then down a fifth of vodka before passing out midway through the 1st quarter, but i never raised my voice. that is, until today.

here is an actual letter to the editor that was published in our school paper today, i've bolded all the important parts in case it's too long:

"Class Act"

Tuesday’s opinion column, “Putting on Airs,” argued that U.Va. students create an “embarrassing” atmosphere on game days by following the tradition “Guys in Ties, Girls in Pearls.” I couldn’t disagree more. Since my first day at U.Va., I have worn a dress and a three tiered strand of pearls to every football game. I pride myself on always upholding this tradition. I firmly believe that by wearing button down shirts or dresses, students show their pride and respect for the University as well as for its sports teams. At the William & Mary game, for example, I walked into the stadium behind two girls wearing sports bras who had painted their bodies green. They were discussing how “fancy” the girls at U.Va. dressed for games. In that moment, I felt a swell of pride. No girl at U.Va. would ever attend a football game so underdressed, and the fact that we dress like sophisticated women shows our confidence and respect for ourselves.

I do agree, however, that there should be a change in the implementation of “Guys in Ties, Girls in Pearls,” but I do not agree that this should be done by telling students to wear T-shirts. Instead, students should be encouraged to dress traditionally, but to do so in shades of blue and orange. I’m originally from Georgia, and my best friend attends UGA. She wears a red or black dress to every single game, as do all the other female students. Guys at UGA wear red and black bow ties or oxfords. As a result, the stadium is a sea of red and black. The ideal game day outfit is not a T-shirt and jeans — this is a fundamental shift away from the principles of U.Va. — but rather a classic, traditional outfit in shades of color that show support for our football team. In fact, corner stores other than Mincer’s and the Student Bookstore should encourage this trend: Finch, for example should have a selection of appropriate game dresses in blue and orange.

----

suffice it to say, the banality of this girls argument astounded me. in fact, the sheer stupidity of her reasoning led me to write a little something of my own. now, most of you know, i'm a pretty even tempered guy. not much gets me riled up. i used to even laugh at people who responded to letters to the editor, but i guess that's all behind me now.

my response:

I think it’s funny how you think wearing a t-shirt and jeans to a game is in your words a “fundamental shift away from the principles of UVa.” Really? What principles would those be? The one that says the only way for girls to show their confidence and self-respect at games is to wear a gaudy outfit and a “three tiered strand of pearls?” That’s a terrible principle if you ask me. I hope there are girls here that find self-respect and confidence in things other than expensive jewelry and frilly clothing. What if I think going all out, with no regard for your personal image, and painting your body to show your support for your team shows more so-called confidence in yourself and respect for your team? Anyone can wear a nice dress in public. Not many people are willing dedicate the time and put up with the humiliation that comes from painting their body to support their team.

The only “principle” at U. Va. regarding fashion that I can think of comes from the mouth of Thomas Jefferson himself. “In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.” In this day and age, I’d say the “current” is strongly going in the direction of dressing comfortably for football games. Jefferson himself would be appalled at how many students try to stick to this antiquated tradition for tradition’s sake. News flash, Jefferson was one of the most progressive men of his day. He knew that useless tradition and pageantry only suffocated the formation of new ideas and culture. An unwillingness to break from tradition is what lost the British the Revolutionary War. It is what keeps confederate flags waving on porches in neighborhoods across the south today.

I’m not saying everyone should wear an orange t-shirt to games. I personally could not care less about what the guy next to me is wearing (as long as it covers all the important bits). If you feel compelled to dress up for a football game, then so be it. Go all out. Dress to the nines. However, I do have a problem when people start thinking that they need to dress up to somehow honor the memory of Thomas Jefferson or the University. Or, when people find their “self-respect and confidence” from the little logo stitched into their clothing label and how many more strands of pearls they have than the next girl. You honor the University by acting with decency and honesty in all situations. Not by wearing a nice dress or blazer. Definitely not by stumbling drunkenly down a muddy hill in it. Classy indeed.

-----

i've put up with the crap for too long. nice to finally get some frustration off my chest. although i suppose i could have just screamed obscenities into the air. it would have probably taken less time.

john mayer wrote a song about me

2009-11-18T00:36:00.000-05:00

insomnia = $@$#%&#!!!!

2009-11-15T02:43:00.000-05:00

for the past week, i haven't been able to get a good night's sleep. i think, early on, it had to do with my cold/coughing. i figured out that lying down put pressure on my chest which made me cough like crazy. i had to resort to sleeping in my (semi) comfy chair, with my legs propped up on my desk chair and a blanket over me. it worked decently, but i'd wake up in the morning feeling sore and cold. but last night, i wasn't even coughing (much), and i tossed and turned until i ended up drifting away to sleep past 5 am (!). i think my body ended up adjusting to my new sleeping habits and refused to fall asleep.

that's why im up this late, writing this blog entry. kind of scared to go to bed. but i also realize i have to get my body back on a remotely "normal" schedule somehow, so i guess i have to try again tonight.

somebody read me a bed time story and sing me a lullaby.

happy guinness world records day

2009-11-12T10:24:00.002-05:00

who invents a sport like this?

bleh

2009-11-06T00:16:00.000-05:00

i had the worst fever i've ever had in my life last night. woke up at 4ish and couldn't fall back asleep cuz my feet and hands were ice cold but the rest of me was burning up. felt like i had to throw up but didn't want to so i was nauseous all night too. woke up this morning shivering and soaked with sweat. skipped two of my classes, went to student health, bought a thermometer and some lozenges, took four separate, hour long naps throughout the day, went to a 3 hour long orchestra rehearsal, came back and watched the office.

it was a rough day. i'm feeling better now though. thank god for tylenol ultra strength.

halloween weekend

2009-11-02T03:03:00.000-05:00

1. friday, i went to kings dominion again. we were successful this time. we took a pretty big group too; thirteen people in all. they were open from 7 pm to 12 am for their annual "Halloween Haunt" festivities. basically, they transform certain areas of the park into "scare zones" by placing fog machines, scary decor, and creepy actors dressed up as zombies, ghouls, etc. to scare park guests. they also transform various attractions (bumper cars, arcade, certain rides' queue lines) into themed haunted houses/mazes. the one we visited was meant to look like a back hills' slaughter house with deranged zombie butchers wielding butchers' knives and chainsaws. it was mildly amusing. i even got startled at one point, when at the very end, right before the exit, a guy jumped out with a fake chainsaw. i almost took a swing at him. and, of course, most of the rides were open as well.

on the way there, i realized i hadn't been in over 2 years. i guess absence makes the heart grow fonder, because i started to get really excited (like a little kid). i should mention that that park has a special place in my heart. when i was thirteen, i had a really bad fear of roller coasters. i decline to use the word phobia because that has a pathological connotation. i can't blame it on being some kind of medical issue. i was just a wimp. i was always the kid who waited outside the ride exit and watched everyone else's stuff while they enjoyed themselves.

sometime during 8th grade, i decided i had enough. girls started to make fun of me (btw, for any 8th grade girls out there who may be reading this, not cool). around this time, i was also really into the game "roller coaster tycoon" for those of you who don't know, its kind of like sim city, but with amusement parks. yes, i realize that its kind of like being really into mario brothers despite having an irrational fear of italian plumbers, but i was a weird kid. anyway, i guess my interest in the game piqued my interest for the real thing, so i decided one day that i would conquer my fear once and for all.

i invited a friend from school, asked my dad to drive us, and went down to kings dominion that saturday. when we got there, i immediately noticed the size of the coasters. looking at animated depictions of roller coasters on a 17 inch computer monitor cannot do them justice. the second thing i noticed were how loud they were. (a small aside, i also kind of don't like loud noises. another topic for another post. stay tuned) just as i started to doubt the whole thing and run back to the car however, i was pulled by my dad and friend into the line for "the grizzly." my friend was actually really cool about the whole thing. i had told him previously about my fear and my goal, and he totally understood that we would play it slow that day. he was very encouraging and didn't tease me at all. the same thing goes for my dad (who i took my first ride with.) yes, there is nothing like having your dad next to you to calm your nerves. anyway, the car pulled up to the station, we got in, buckled our seat belts and heard "all clear." i was shaking as the train rolled up out of the station, onto the first hill. i guess my dad noticed, because he grabbed on to me tightly and told me the best way to get rid of the anxiety was to scream on the way down. that helped. as we crested the hill, with my heart pounding out of my chest, i let out the most terrified, primal, relieving screams of my life. as soon as i got my wits about me, i realized i was enjoying myself. needless to say, it was one of the greatest moments of my young life. overcoming a fear and enjoying yourself while doing so. i still remember the look on my dad's face as i told him that it was fun. i enjoyed it so much that we rode every single other coaster in the park that day. since then, i've been a roller coaster fiend. i cannot get enough. ask my family. i consider a family vacation to be a waste if we havent been to at least one amusement park during the week.

so, on friday, as i rode some of my old favorites, all of those happy memories came back to me. fun times.

2. for halloween, i actually didn't have a costume planned until 6 pm that evening. our football team had just lost to duke (leaving us with a dismal 3-5 record), so i decided to dress up as al groh, the head coach, and wear a sign on my back saying "I NEED A JOB" (cuz he sure as hell isnt staying here one more season). here's a side by side comparison.

pretty good, no? i got a couple death threats from people that night, but as soon as i showed them my back, they got it and laughed. the only bad thing about the night was that it started raining pretty heavily later that evening.

other things i noticed.

1. where the wild things are was a very popular theme. i saw at least 2 max's and a couple 'wild things'
2. sometimes simple = best. 6 guys dressed up as tetris blocks during the football game and one by one descended the "hill" (an all grass student seating area) until they all stacked together at the bottom. i think they won a 100 dollar prize or something.
3. its best to stay in, at small gatherings during halloween. bars/clubs were packed. literally, i could not move because people were so close together.
4. dressing slutty and then calling it "cute" doesnt change the fact that you look like a ho. also, if your tube top says 3XL, try another costume. just because they make it doesnt mean you should wear it. you don't see oprah wearing spandex do you? i hope you all get swine flu.

all in all, an enjoyable weekend.

the real thing

2009-10-29T16:51:00.000-04:00

went to the job fair yesterday. got a buncha stuff: cupholders, cellphone holsters, pens, staplers, thumb drive, tons of brochures, and an interview. :)

i guess most companies don't give out interviews at job fairs. the fairly standard response i got was, "go to our website and fill out an application." which left me wondering , "why did i come here if i could have just stayed at home, on the computer, in comfortable clothing no less." what's the point of sending recruiters to college campuses all across the country if they just give out information i can easily find on your company's website ? (besides all the free goodies they give out)

but i guess the census bureau is really actively looking for people because about 5 mins into our conversation, the recruiter told me to sign up for a preliminary interview with him the next day (today). so, around 10 this morning, i trekked all the way across grounds to the stadium (they hold interviews in the private boxes) and talked with him for a good 45 mins. he told me some stuff about the bureau and asked me some general questions (what makes a good leader etc) and i feel like we hit it off pretty well. we even had an in depth conversation about the future of dc sports teams (prognosis? good things coming for everything except football.) he said i'd be a perfect fit for the bureau and that he'd actively shop my name around the office whenever employment issues come up. on top of that, jenny kim from church (who also works there and got me interested in the first place) is trying to get my name "out there" as well.

so i feel like my chances of getting contacted are pretty decent. its not a 100% guarantee, but because i'm graduating in december and (hopefully) firmly expressed my desire to work there, i think i have a shot.

in the mean time, i'm gonna be filling out more applications just in case i don't hear back.

the downside of today was 1. i had to walk around all day in a suit. 2. i was late to a class b/c of the interview 3. i had a test that may or may not have gone well.

but hopefully, if all works out in the end, it will have been worth it.

embarrassing

2009-10-22T02:02:00.000-04:00

i know i already posted it on facebook, but i thought i'd elaborate...

this story starts yesterday, as i was sitting in my very dry econ lecture, pondering my future. the teacher was talking about how people forgo wages right after high school and pay to go to college, all to receive an expected higher wage in the future (labor economics 101). this got me thinking whether this idea will actually come true for me. my mind started thinking about how i haven't gotten any interviews yet, and how i will probably have to do some sort of menial labor for the next 30 years because the universe hates me and i hate my major. needless to say it was a depressing sort of day.

fast forward to later that afternoon. i returned home, not completely out of my existential funk, and was pleasantly surprised to find an email about a career fair sitting in my inbox. i opened it up, expecting to find that it only applied to engineers, or anthropology majors, or anything that would disqualify me from attending, but lo and behold, all majors were welcome, and tons of employers would be there. i then got an email from my econ professor about how the census bureau was actively hiring students with econ backgrounds. till this point, i had hoped to find a government job. not exactly great pay, but good benefits and good job security. furthermore, i checked the list of employers who would be at the fair, and the census bureau (as well as many other fine agencies and firms) was on the list. it had to be a sign. at this point i was ecstatic, pumping myself up, printing out resumes, practicing personal statements, researching firms, you name it. i was motivated.

fast forward to this morning. after a good nights rest (dreaming about my now secure future), i got out my new suit, put on a freshly starched shirt, and fussed over my tie (thanks flo).

my mind was racing at this point. actual train of thought:

"should i take a notebook? do i need my backpack? whats the point of wearing this nice suit if i just mess up the professional image by wearing a backpack? ok i wont wear it. but what if i get free stuff from the fair, where will i put it? i definitely need my resumes though, dont forget those. where are my keys? did i brush my teeth?" etc.

finally, after checking myself twice in the bathroom mirror, i got out the door (god forbid i walked in there with a tag still on my suit). i usually dont drive to grounds, but today was special so i parked in the parking garage and walked in, ready to face my destiny. as i was walking up the stairs to the ballroom however, i noticed something kind of odd. i didn't seem to hear any sort of commotion or crowd noise that one usually expects when walking into a crowded career fair. i shrugged it off, thinking the doors were probably closed or no one had shown up yet. yet when i reached the floor on which the fair was to be held, i noticed it was way too quiet. sure enough, i opened the door to the ballroom and peeked inside. NOBODY. i kept thinking to myself, "calm down, they probably just moved the location." completely unwilling to face the obvious, i looked frantically for some sort of sign saying "dont worry, we moved to _____," or, "we're starting an hour later today" or, "congratulations, daniel! this is all a test, you win a million dollars for taking initiative." no such luck.

finally i asked the receptionist (who was eying me this entire time) why there wasn't a career fair going on. she checked the schedule and said "i dont think we have anything scheduled for today." i tried to convince her that i knew for a fact that a very important, potentially life changing career fair was supposed to be going on and maybe she had the wrong copy of the schedule. she finally agreed to let me use her computer. so, i logged back into gmail, only to find, to my horror, that the date on top of the email, in bold letters no less, said "October 27-28."

....................................

i quickly thanked the lady for her troubles (she had the worst "im trying so hard not to laugh right now" look on her face) and walked as quickly as i could back to my car, drove back to my apt, changed out of my itchy clothing, and ran back to campus just in time to make it to my 11 o clock class.

anyway. that was my day. i consider it a practice run for the real thing. come next week, i'll be a pro at this.

i really like it when...

2009-10-19T00:31:00.000-04:00

...i hear a song i like, open up itunes to download it , and find out i already have it.

and with that, i'd like to say "before the throne" (shane and shane version) is a really good song.

f the rain

2009-10-17T03:51:00.000-04:00

today, i drove an hour and a half to kings dominion only to find out it was closed because it was raining.

if my friends weren't in the car with me, i would have cussed. alot.

disney/job/winning

2009-10-12T01:43:00.001-04:00

congratulations to the uva football team for (seemingly) turning things around these past 2 weeks. lets keep up the W's. i hear they'll be serving turtle soup in college park next weekend.

on a related note, the band played disney songs during halftime. i know this is really cheesy and hokey, but for about 10 minutes, i was taken back to a much simpler time and place. a place where mundane townspeople could break out into complex musical numbers at any given moment, where the rub of a rusty old lamp could change a guy's life forever, where a girl with identity problems could defeat the largest army the world had ever seen, bring honor to her family, AND get the guy in the end (with just a little help from her friends and a not-so-lucky cricket), where the great kings of the past took their places among the stars after they passed on and where even the most powerful evil spells could be broken by the power of (true) love.

i've been thinking about it, and i say its about time for another disney renaissance. a re-renaissance, if you will (the first one happened in the nineties, when they were virtually untouchable). i'm not commenting on all the current pixar/computer animated stuff (which i have no problem with, they're great movies). i'm talking about old school disney. the disney we all grew up with. the last animated feature length film disney made was 'tarzan' in 1999. since then, i'd say we've been through a whole lotta crap as a country. america could use a over-simplified outlook on life right now. you think snow white had to worry about a failing economy? or a prolonged war halfway around the world? the only thing she had to worry about was avoiding creepy looking old ladies, keeping that cottage clean, and finding her true love. overtly sexist agenda aside, disney movies have always been good at pointing out to people what's really important: our friends, our loved ones, and spontaneously bursting into song every now and then.

in other news, i applied for another job today. i had to fill out a 151 question survey and now i feel like i probably won't get it. they all pertained to previous experience or coursework i've had, and on the scale of "no relevant coursework" all the way up to "many years of professional experience," my answers usually were near the bottom, at "some relevant coursework." oh well. nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? crossing fingers....now.

or maybe i should just consult for disney. robert iger, if you're reading this, give me a call. i have some ideas you and i need to discuss. two words. mulan 2. (kidding)

chapstick and other things

2009-10-07T22:36:00.000-04:00

1. today, i bought some burt's bees lip balm. i balked a little at the price (3.50!), but decided it could be worth it. as soon as i left the bookstore, i popped the yellow cap, turned the wheel, and applied a liberal amount to my parched lips. it was glorious. needless to say, i don't feel girly putting on chapstick anymore. or, i don't care enough to abstain.

2. a group of 3 or 4 guys were going around grounds today, "preaching" at students and other passers by. except their brand of preaching can probably be better characterized as berating/yelling/condemnation. what made it so frustrating was that they were teaching sound biblical doctrine, just in such an insensitive and downright rude way. i'm pretty sure the first "rule" of evangelism is that it must be done out of love. yelling over people and screaming about how they will go to hell is not gonna help people see the love and acceptance that can be found in christ. i even overheard two guys at the bus stop saying something along the lines of, "i'd probably listen if the guy just calmed down and wanted to have a discussion over coffee or something. this is the perfect way to turn off everyone who happens to hear you talk." thats the way i've always seen it. make relationships. develop trust. share personal testimonies. win them over through love.

anyway, it led me to think about the way i carry myself and portray christ through my actions. i realized there are things i do and ways that i act that can be just as bad an influence as yelling about people going to hell. although my actions may not be as egregious, or affect such a wide group of people, i still am responsible for the way i act. even if it's only around a group of my close friends. i was so quick to point out this (rather large) piece of sawdust in their eyes, yet i didn't see the 2 x 4 in mine.

thought provoking day.

random

2009-10-05T00:48:00.000-04:00

1. this cooler/dryer weather has left my lips extremely chapped, yet i feel girly putting on chapstick so i live with it.

2. today, my dad was lying on the floor and said, "why does it smell like pee?" after about 10 minutes of searching, we found a spot on our area rug (its dark so its hard to see stains) where pepper thought it would be a good idea to relieve herself and not tell anyone. it was gross.

3. zombieland was awesome.

4. both my football teams won this weekend. lets hope they keep it up. its gonna be a long season if they both suck. i'm not quite ready for basketball season yet.

5. golfing with pops tomorrow.

6. the harvest moon (big orange full moon) these past two days was pretty sexy. looked like a pumpkin. or a basketball.

7. chicago didn't get the olympics. i'm bummed because that would probably have been a good excuse to visit that city and see the olympics (although i hope to visit before 2016). rio seems a little out of reach right now. 5000 mile plane ride vs half day driving. one thing i am looking forward to? an army of brazilian ladies carnival dancing during the opening ceremonies. seriously, that's all they need. china had a good opening with their 2000 drummers and magic lcd scroll, but nothing could compare with adriana lima and a few of her friends wearing headdresses made of feathers and forming a mile long conga line for 3 hours. forget the parade of nations, forget the torch lighting. that stuff is old and boring. i wanna see someone light a fire with their hips!

i probably just alienated half my readers. but everyone know's its gonna happen. i'm really only stating the obvious.

8. i need to stop starting blog entries so late. i only write at night, so by the time i finish some of these, it's like 2 am. tonight was a little better. good night.

Muse/U2 concert

2009-10-02T01:53:00.000-04:00

today, i can scratch off two of the items on my bucket list. #23 "see muse in concert" and #16 "see U2 in concert." i should get a bonus for doing both in one night.

(no, i don't actually have a bucket list)

a few of my favorite songs by each band:

muse

hysteria: the song that launched my love affair with this band.

knights of cydonia: this video was actually taken at tonight's concert. looks like the camera man was watching from outside the stadium. the first years who live right across the street got a heck of a show without even having to buy tickets.

U2

these next two were also taken by someone at tonight's concert. albeit, by someone a lot closer to the action.

mysterious ways

stuck in a moment: check out the pipes on 'the edge' at 3:53

some more thoughts:

1. their stage/setup was RIDICULOUS. i have never seen such a huge, complicated, enormous monstrosity of a stage in my life. if you've ever played halo (nerd alert), it looked almost exactly like a scarab, except 10 times bigger. 360 degree circular stage, moving bridges, expanding video board, countless lights, camera men, disco balls, the list goes on and on. i tried to count the number of speakers but got to 216 and gave up. and that was only one side of the stage. it took over 126 tractor trailers just to haul the entire thing into charlottesville and i've heard it takes $750,000 to set up and tear down the entire production every time they do it. that is an enormous amount of money. especially considering this is only the second leg of a year long, 3 leg, world wide tour. i can only imagine how they ship the entire thing overseas. must be a logistical nightmare. and thats not the worst part. apparently, there are 3 of these alien stages touring with them. im guessing because one takes so long to tear down/set up, they have to have a regular rotation going. unbelievable.

2. because of this, apparently they still have yet to turn a profit after 3 months of touring. i guess its not really of great importance to bono what the profit margin on his current tour is (seeing as how he's a millionaire rockstar with a somewhat humanitarian outlook on life), but still, i hope they're at least covering their costs. i know they're trying to have net zero emissions by using some kind of carbon footprint offset donation strategy, which makes me feel a little better about paying them my hard earned money. i can just imagine environmentalists cringing at the energy costs alone. still, its safe to say that this probably doesn't help the profit margins either.

3. judge me all you want for liking U2. they are a seminal band who practically invented many of the effects used in recording today. first band to widely use delays, feedback loops, etc. to a great effect. not to mention its been almost 30 years since they started, and they don't look to be stopping any time soon. most bands can't keep things fresh past their 2nd or 3rd studio album. U2 has 12. they also use their fame to spread goodwill and humanitarian aid throughout the world. most people say they don't like bono because he's "too political." give me a break. he's using the sway he has to try to bring about good things. if he wants to use the stage as a soapbox every once in awhile, fine by me. better than sitting at home watching tv all day.

that was longer than i intended. great way to start fall break.

if you spell "awkward" backward, you get "daniel pyon"

2009-10-01T02:43:00.003-04:00

I know college is supposed to make everyone more eloquent and help develop social skills for the "real world" and all, but I can't shake the feeling that it's done the exact opposite for me.

Over the past three years, I've noticed that I can be a pretty awkward guy. I absolutely hate being in one on one situations with people I just met, or barely know through acquaintances. Some people can take nothing and make conversations (even friendships) out of it. Not me. I tend to just stare off into empty space, totally ok with the fact that there is no conversation happening and completely ambivalent as to what the other person might think of me. I don't know whether its because I don't care enough of their opinion of me to impress them with small talk, or because I care too much about their opinion that I dare not ruin it all by opening my big mouth. Probably a little of both.

It's gotten to the point where I purposely avoid making eye contact with people that I know but have nothing to say to when I pass them on grounds or in the dining hall. (I am a pro at this. Or... at least I think I am. Maybe people notice me avoiding them. Which makes it even more awkward.)

Example. Today I was in the coffee shop and saw a professor across the way. I pretended not to notice, but it was too late. He caught me looking and turning away. Already an awkward situation. He came over and we said hi. Usually, people will say hi and go their separate ways. Not this time. I could tell he wanted to make small talk because he stood next to me. I, of course, was only thinking about what I wanted to order and wishing he would leave. He did. Fifteen seconds later (I counted). A sufficiently awkward way to start my day.

Also, I feel very awkward when people give me compliments. I'm sure its not as bad as I make it out to be, but I can't help but to think I should say something more than, "Thanks." I think it has something to do with the fact that I don't think I deserve them. Or, it could be because I don't like being the subject of attention.

I think it also has to do with my preconceived notions about an encounter with someone. If I think beforehand that a situation will be awkward, it usually turns out that way. Maybe its all mental. Could mean I have hope. I just have to remember to go into situations with a positive outlook. Somehow I don't think its that easy.

Ok bye. (How's that for an awkward ending?)

new look

2009-09-28T02:45:00.000-04:00

I was unhappy with the way my blog looked, so I changed a couple things. I think it's an improvement. I also thought the title was pretentious sounding so I changed that too. Hope you enjoy.

good fortune?

2009-09-27T12:56:00.001-04:00

today, my fortune cookie said, "you will be showered with good luch" (emphasis added).

i figure this could mean one of two things.

1. you will be showered with good luck
2. you will be showered with good lunch

i dont know whether i should be happy or walk around with a heavy duty umbrella all day.

to do

2009-09-25T02:06:00.000-04:00

(not in any particular order)

look for work
clean my desk
go to the driving range (asap)
get some brown dress shoes
buy some dress shirts
get money for ^
clip my fingernails
find my nail clipper
call home
study for econ 415 test
listen to new music from stacey
eat healthier
develop an appreciation for salads
develop an aversion to fried food
do a qt

home for the weekend

2009-09-19T01:30:00.001-04:00

put two college kids together with a mac and this is inevitable...

random

the hunchback of notre dame

p90x day 20

they call me 'afro thunder'

we're so cool

reset

2009-09-16T02:13:00.000-04:00

Today, I finally got fed up with my computer's slowness so I did what I should have done a long time ago.

I wiped it clean.

That's right, I restored factory settings. Apparently each computer comes with a CD that allows you to do this. Envision it as an atomic bomb for your data. Don't worry, I moved most of the important stuff to my external HD before I let the cleansing begin.

No more old episodes of entourage. No more adware/spyware. No more itunes installer programs (I swear I had at least 5 of those on my HD). No more random codecs for even randomer file types that I only had to use once. No more weather bug. No more unused software. The list goes on and on.

It feels like my computer has been holding in the worst load of diarrhea for the past 4 years and I unclogged the drain. Now, everything is lightning fast. Before, it took literally 15 minutes to boot up the home screen (True story, I timed it). Now, it takes less than a minute. Before, I had to cross my fingers whenever opening large programs like itunes, because I was afraid the computer would freeze (which happened more than once). Now it can handle multiple programs at once without a hitch.

I'm not gonna lie, it was a little bit of a pain to reinstall my printer driver and firefox and itunes and all that, but it was worth it. The only thing I really need to do now is get a copy of microsoft office (left my cd key at home) and I'm good to go. Good thing the bookstore sells it for 10 bucks. Gotta love student discounts.

a small rant

2009-09-12T02:34:00.004-04:00

Today, I was waiting at a crowded bus stop and out of the corner of my eye, I saw (and heard) a guy riding down the street on one of these...

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather be caught roller blading (wrist pads and all) than cruising down the road in one of these whiny, high pitched crap mobiles. I don't know how many people were at the bus stop with me, but I'm pretty sure no one was thinking, "That guy is SO cool," as he drove by. If you need to validate yourself by driving a motorcycle, at least make sure its adult sized. Dude looked like a clown on a tricycle.

He looked so mind bogglingly stupid that I even tried to rationalize it by thinking to myself, "Maybe he's really late to something and had no other transportation." But I realized even that excuse sucks. What event could possibly have been so important that he needed to sacrifice all dignity to get there? Let me put it this way: If I had to choose between missing my first child's birth and riding one of these to the hospital to get there on time, someone else is gonna be cutting the cord. I'd rather watch the birth on video later than give up my dignity so easily (the small amount I still carry with me).

Call me a hater, but stupid stuff needs to be hated on.

weekend

2009-09-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

Friday - Game night with old drumline friends. We played charades and taboo for 3 hours. Yes, we are college students. No, we don't care what you think.

Saturday - Watched the public humiliation that was our football team's loss to William and Mary (an FBS team). I didn't even know they had a football team until I saw that we were scheduled to play them. The best part of the day was the free beer and cheeseburgers I got at some girl's tailgate before the game. Delicious.

Sunday - Went to Portico (a church) with S. It's a medium size church, but seems like they have their act together. I know its superficial, but I couldn't help but notice that their service has a pretty high production value. I'm pretty sure everyone on the worship team (and doing the sound in the back) is a professional. Also, the speaker is pretty gifted. Held my attention for about an hour. Props.

After, ate at Panera and drove home. Eating before driving is a mistake. I almost fell asleep numerous times. Had to stop at a Sheetz for some coffee (which I never drink). Luckily I had my Ipod with me. It held me over till I got home.

Then, Frontline (at Mclean Bible Church) with F and her friend. I can never get over the hugeness of that place. Also, the same thing I said about production value goes for them too. The speaker talked about Christian community. And at one point during his sermon he said "swole." I laughed.

Monday - Whenever I come home from school, I have a day where I get destroyed by allergies, then they go away after that. I think its my dog. Monday was that day. Also, it might not help that I stayed up till 3 the night before. I'm sure lots of factors contributed to my stuffiness and misery.

First thing I did was attempt to mow the lawn. I got on my scrubby clothes and walked outside, only to realize it was raining. I secretly rejoiced (and felt guilty for doing so) and went back in. Then, I watched the tennis match between Melanie Oudin and the Russian girl (Nadia something). It was awesome. I have never been so into tennis in my life. Filled with drama and tense moments, it was a pretty exhilarating match. The spunky 17 year old American newcomer vs. the intimidating Russian veteran. Sounds like some cold war era propaganda story. If you haven't heard of it already (which is impossible if you watch ESPN at all), basically the story goes like this: Young up-and-coming American girl from Georgia is known for dropping first sets then coming back to win in most of her previous matches. She loses 6-1 in the first set. Battles back and wins a hard-fought set #2. Then, with her opponent reeling, strikes the final blow and demolishes her in set 3. Youngest player to reach the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam event since Serena back in 1999, the next great hope for American tennis, the Russian killer, yadda yadda yadda. You should have seen me, sitting there on my couch all alone in my scrubby lawn mowing clothes, watching the match with my dog, screaming at the TV, "COME ON, ONE MORE POINT!" Even the commentators were rooting for her, saying stuff like, "For all of us with the privilege of being involved with sport, these are the moments we live for..." Made my day.

Then, went to Tyson's with F. Watched "Extract." Pretty funny comedy from the writer of "Office Space." I could definitely see the similarities between the two. Ate at Gordon Biersch (sp?) for the first time. Ordered their beer sampler. Didn't finish it. There were some pretty funky tasting ones. Needless to say, I am not experienced enough at beer drinking to discern the fine nuances that exist between the different varieties. Also, ordered fish and chips. Mistake: ordering garlic on my fries. I just burped 5 mins ago and it still tastes like garlic. Then, browsed the mall for a bit. Tyson's has every store imaginable inside (How many sunglasses stores does one place need? I counted at least 3). I was winded just walking from one end to the other. Looked at some shoes. Decided I could wait to buy them after looking at the price. One day I will be rich enough to shop at Nordstrom. Yesterday was not that day.

Came home and oovoo'ed with Stacey. It was 3 of us (4 including the dog) huddled around one webcam, talking to Stacey down in blacksburg (boo hokies). My mom was especially amazed at the webcam technology.

"You mean we can talk to her and see her at the same time???"
"No, Mom, we just stare at each other over the internet. Of course we can do both...."

I love my Mom.

Today - woke up early. Allergies were gone. Ate some cereal (Kashi Go-Lean Crunch. Can't decide if I like it or not.), filled up the car and drove back here. Remembered that food makes me sleepy and fought drowsiness the whole way back. This time without the help of an Ipod (battery failed). I arrived at my apartment and the first thing I did was take a nap... at 11:15 in the morning. I woke up feeling very out of it and went to class. It was a mistake to schedule two 1.5 hr econ classes, one right after the other. By the time the second one rolls around, I'm so fed up with hearing about cost curves and isoquants that it basically goes in one ear and out the other. Luckily the second class is mostly review for now. After that, came home, worked out (shoulders and arms, aka the "glamour workout"), showered, went to jazz, played pool, ate dinner, did hw with friends, came back to apt, wrote this blog.

Pretty hectic weekend.

Hump day

2009-09-03T00:53:00.000-04:00

Ordered Chinese food again today. Guess who delivered my food? That's right, my special friend. This time, I was smart though. I paid with credit card so I could just write the amount of the tip on the receipt. I ended up tipping him close to 40 percent because I felt so bad about the last time. I even apologized. And it turns out, he didn't even remember!! When I said, "Sorry about the last time," he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language (maybe not so far from the truth). I reminded him about our little encounter and he just said, "No big deal." I guess all's well that ends well.

That probably won't be the last of my blog entries mentioning him. I'm thinking about running a series entitled, "The Adventures of Chinese food delivery guy and college boy," where I'll chronicle our journey through the school year. The only problem is, our encounters are usually not so interesting. Next time I'm thinking of waiting by the door with a water balloon and surprising him. Stay tuned.

Also, I found out today that I need to procure a tuxedo sometime in the near future. Apparently the Charlottesville University Symphony Orchestra likes to roll classy. I called my mom to schedule a shopping trip when I come up this weekend, but she would have none of it.

"I'm not buying you a dang tuxedo! I'm looking on craigslist."

So, for the next 20 minutes, I had to sit through her reading off craigslist entries trying to unload used tuxedos. It went something like this...

"Look! 'Used tuxedo in Herndon.' Oops, its from the 1960s."
"Look! 'Used tuxedo in Germantown.' Oops, its for toddlers."
"Loo... Oops, its powder blue."

Pretty soon she realized it wasn't happening, so I think I convinced her to take me shopping. At least if I get a used one from the store, it will fit and hopefully have been dry cleaned.

till the next time...

My Saturday

2009-08-30T00:12:00.000-04:00

Today I did three things.

1. Pay for Chinese food in quarters -

So, I woke up around 11 this morning and went back and forth in my mind for about an hour about whether I wanted to drive to a dining hall or order in. My lazy side took over and I decided to order from the only place that delivers orders under 10 bucks; the local Chinese place (Too lazy to drive. I know. Pathetic.). Over the years, I've ordered so much from this place that the lady who takes the orders over the phone knows me by my voice and the delivery guy and I share a special bond that could only exist between an overworked delivery man in his forties and a low tipping college student. Knowing our relationship isn't exactly "peachy," I decided before he came that I'd tip him more than average (because I'm such a nice guy). Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang, and sure enough, there he stood with my General Tso's lunch special and spring roll in hand (I like to play it safe.) He even smiled and asked me how my summer was. We made small talk until I reached for my wallet to pay him. At this point I was envisioning in my head the smile on his face as I'd pull out a ten and tell him to "keep the change" (all cool, like they do in the movies). What I didn't expect was to pull out my wallet and only see 3 dollars. I mentally kicked myself for not checking if I had enough cash before I called and suffered a minor panic attack until I remembered where I could find more cash. My laundry fund. (Lucky for me, getting quarters for laundry was #1 on my back to school to-do list). So, I scampered back into my room and grabbed a fistful of quarters. Ten seconds later, I ran out victorious, pockets jingling, and dumped 5 dollars worth of quarters into his unwilling hands. Needless to say, he didn't even want my tip. He just mumbled, "It's ok," and walked back up the steps to his car. :(

Now I can see why people stereotype college kids as bad restaurant patrons. It sucks that I added to that stereotype. My deepest apologies to all my college friends. I did not represent you well today.

The next time I order from there (if I have the balls to) I fully expect my special friend to either 1. spit in my food (which he is so entitled to do) or 2. put me on the "do not deliver to" blacklist. Maybe God is telling me to stop eating unhealthy food.

2. Yoga. Not even kidding.

Two hours passed. After letting my stomach and shamed conscience digest what had just happened, I convinced myself to do something healthy. (A little background knowledge. I, along with what seems like every other male at NCFC, have faithfully been doing the famed p90x workouts). With renewed energy, I excitedly grabbed the workout manual to see what gut busting, manly workout was on the schedule for today. Imagining sweat rolling down my glistening biceps as I'd grimace at the mirror, I did a double take when I saw what could only be a typo; "Day 4 - Yoga X."

"Yoga X? Get that crap out of my face. I'm no girl. What will the roommates think?"

In the past, when I'd thought of yoga, this is the lady that popped into my head. Manly indeed.

I don't know what did it, but I decided to swallow my pride and get on with the workout (along with my good sport roommate, Jeremy). Resigned to my fate, I reluctantly popped in the DVD and immediately cringed at the sound of the soothing, quasi-oriental music that wafted from my television speakers. This was going to be a long hour and a half.

Well, suffice it to say, I was wrong. About everything. Yoga is HARD. Holy crap, I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life. No joke. Mad respect for Wai Lani and all her fellow Yogis. The things they can do with their bodies is crazy. And a little disturbing. I never knew I was so inflexible. I was struggling halfway into the second move and was dying by the end. If you ever want to hear me squeal like a little girl, watch me do yoga.

3. Wrote this blog entry.

Full day. Got a lot done. Proud of myself.

Haircuts

2009-08-26T10:42:00.000-04:00

I hate getting haircuts.

Its not that the actual process of having clippers buzz around your head for 20 minutes is so unbearable. I think it has more to do with my inability to properly convey to the barber the way I think my hair should look. I feel like every time I walk into a barbershop, everyone starts speaking in some code language just to spite me. All this talk of "fades" and "tapers" and "layering" goes straight over my head. My two most descriptive words when describing my desired cut are "short" and "long."

"Cut it short in the back and sides. Not too short though. A little longer on top."

Then I usually mutter something about scissors and pray the barber knows what he's doing. Needless to say, I've had some pretty awful haircuts in my life; everything from a modified high and tight to almost a buzz cut. I'm thinking one day, I'll walk in there and just yell, "Shave it off!" (Funny story. When I went to get a cut on Monday, an Indian guy with a baseball cap walked in and showed the barber the spot on his head where his drunk friends decided one night while he was passed out that he had a little too much hair. He had a beautiful head of hair, except the 2x2 inch box right above his forehead that had been shaven off. I think he ended up shaving his entire head.)

Not cutting it isn't an option either. Some guys look good shaggy. Others (namely me) start to look like a grizzly bear. When my hair grows, it grows in one direction only: straight out. After about 3 weeks, it starts to resemble the offspring of a porcupine and a chia pet.

Maybe I should look into hats.

New blog/thoughts

2009-08-26T02:51:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my new blog. Lets get started.

People keep asking me what it feels like to be in my last semester of school. I usually respond with, "It feels good," or, "I'm excited," and quickly try to change the subject. I guess this is because I don't really know how I feel. I'm a fourth year econ major with no interest in being an economist. How would you feel? Like you wasted your time and parents' money? Same. Sure, I know I'll probably find work after school ends, in an entry level position that most people would be content with, but I have bigger dreams; dreams that some would call unrealistic.

About a year ago, I got this crazy idea that I should be doing something related to music for a living. Sure, I had given up hopes of being an international drumming sensation a while before, but I convinced myself to keep my options open and look into what other opportunities were available. I remembered a short conversation I had with my percussion instructor from high school where he said something along the lines of, "99 percent of the people involved in the music industry never step on a stage." Being a laid back/not in the spotlight kind of guy, I guess I took it to heart and started to look into opportunities to learn about music production. My first step was to take a class offered at UVa called "Intro to Music and Computers" which was basically a crash course in music production. I figured, if I liked the class enough, it could be a sign. Well, needless to say, the teacher sucked, there was little hands on time (in a very hands on subject), and the class just wasn't as great as I had hoped it would be.

Despite all that, I fell in love.

Something about the subject drew me in to the point where I found myself arriving to class early and even looking forward to the (sometimes terrible) lectures. There were times when I caught myself reading the text book in my spare time (who does that?). Needless to say, I was convinced that I had found my calling. Now it was just up to me to 1) find the next step and 2) convince the parents that it was the right step. I googled "recording studios in the washington dc area" and found one hit in particular that looked especially promising; a studio in Rockville that offered classes in recording techniques and music production. This was it. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was gonna graduate from UVa as soon as possible with whatever degree they would give me, and enroll in this school to pursue my true calling. The problem that was my future was solved.

Not so fast.

A conversation with my parents quickly brought me back from my cloud 9 to the soggy ground that is reality.

"Who's gonna pay for it?"
"Do you know how much these people make?"
"It looks like you're graduating from a 4 year university to enroll in a technical school."
"How are you going to provide for a family, not to mention yourself?"
(this last one was a killer)

I don't want it to sound like my parents are cold-hearted dream killers who wish nothing more than to see their son crushed by the weight of his own delusions of grandeur, but they do have a more "practical" outlook on life (to put it subtly). In my rush to find a suitable profession for myself, I realized that I had overlooked everyone else in my life. My family is very important to me and I know someday I'll have to provide for my own. I reluctantly looked at a list of average entry level salaries for people who graduated from this program and was pretty bummed to see that I could make more doing almost anything else. I'm not talking pennies more either. These salaries were looooooww...In that light, an econ degree from UVa (or any school for that matter) doesn't look so bad. Not to mention, if I decide to enroll, I'll be paying for the school myself. 20k for 9 months. That's on top of the student loans I need to pay back once I graduate.

What am I trying to say? I'm saying I'm scared. And frustrated. Why couldn't my "calling" have been something like medicine or law? At least you're guaranteed some level of comfort after the 8 or so years of hell you go through. With this music school, I could very well be wasting my time and not see a dime of return for the tons of money I could spend. Do I really even know what I'm getting myself into?

Anyway, I'm not asking for advice or pity. This is by every definition of the word, a rant. I feel better already.

I promise not all my posts will be this emo or long. Just needed to get this off my chest.

love all you guys