i just realized that whenever i post a new blog, they use American time and not korean. i thought the whole time thing would be relative. well, korean time is 16 hours faster than US. man, it's really hot...102-103 degrees. sticky icky. gross.

so i met my friend, In-gyu, last night. he's still the same funny guy except he got chubbier, darker, and wears different glasses. i say this every time i see him coincidentally. anyways, it was great seeing him again. we always talk about the stupidest things such as WWF, hamburgers, dance parties, and how much simon sucks at korean. haha.

(in korean)
in-gyu: so the place you live in america. can you get to the WWF places?
me: ahahahahahaah.

in-gyu: so, you're 18 now huh? now i can take you to some "fun" places!
dad: where?
in-gyu: somewhere "fun."
dad: where?
in-gyu: it's a secret.
dad: can you take simon?
in-gyu: nope.
his mom: don't worry, he just says that to make it sound exciting.
in-gyu: it's a secret!
me: ahahahahahahah.

well, i guess it's not so funny cause i translated everything. hearing it in korean is SO funny.

today, i saw my 5th uncle (the rich bastard) and one of my old cousins. it's so awkward talking to them. of all the uncles, i hate seeing him the most b/c he's "different." it seems like he deserves the most respect even though he's the 5th of the 6 sons in the family. anyways, he was talking about how struggles make us stronger people and crap. pleasure only spoils you. blah blah blah. he always talks about how i should perfect my korean so i can get a REALLY good job in the future or something. but he did have 2 interesting conversations with my dad over lunch. they were talking about how crazy the Worldcup was. they started talking about each game, how we tied with US, beat Portugal, going to sudden death with Italy, fighting til the end with Spain, and looking pitiful with Germany. i can tell these guys were hardcore fans. i mean, everyone in korea was! i just couldn't imagine my uncle getting all worked up. the second conversation was totally unexpected...

uncle: so simon. does your brother beat you up?
simon: no.
uncle: but he used to right?
simon: yeah.
uncle: yeah, all brothers beat each other up. i used to get hit by 3rd uncle all the time.
dad: oh did you? 2nd uncle doesn't seem like he would hit you alot.
uncle: yeah, he didn't. but i know 1st uncle used to hit him alot.
dad: and you didn't hit me much either.
aunt: except for that one time a few years ago!!!
(awkward silence).
dad: but he never hit me when i was young.
(cough).

i don't know. he's not like my mom's side of the family. now those folks are cool. they're like pretty poor and don't have anyone who did really well in school. they're more down to earth you know? they know how to have fun. they're MY kinda family! but yeah, everyone seems to want to take me to dinner. just about every person i meet in korea ask me what my schedule is cause they wanna take me out. yes, i am mr. popular in korea. the coolest bastard alive!

ugh, i enjoy almost EVERY meal over here! even breakfast is DA bomb cause they still eat rice and stuff. i know you're getting sick of this but I LOVE KOREA!!!

Thought of the Day: Why does my uncle have to be like that?
Song of the Day: Cool-Truth

on friday, i watched Austin Powers 3 with dykas. it's been a while since i cracked up that hard. i think this one had to be the funniest one out of the trilogy. it's weird when you compare the first one and the third one though. the humor is REALLY different. i mean, they're both funny but they're both different kinds of funny you know? anyways, i liked it. picky mother trucking phil liked it. OK TERRANCE?! i also went shopping at hillsdale for my cousins' gifts. i got 3 bath and body gift set things for 40 bucks and 2 Tommy Hilfiger shirts for 25 bucks. i brought 120 to spend but came out of the mall only spending about 70. praise God!

ok, it is REALLY hot in korea right now. you know how it's usually hotter inside your car on hot days? well in korea, it's the opposite. all the humidity is outside so it's usually cooler inside the car. it's weird. man, right now it's 10:18pm sunday night, which means it's 6:18am sunday morning for the people in US. praise God for a safe trip here. however, it wasn't the most pleasant ride. i had these 4 chinese people sit behind me and this one kid was kicking my chair the whole time. if he wasn't kicking, he was hitting the tray. if he wasn't hitting the tray, he was back at kicking. i was really annoyed but i didn't have the cajunas to ask him to stop. i'm such a weener. i tried to stay up on friday night so that i'd be knocked out on the plane and not have to dread the 11 hour ride. unfortunately, my weak sauce body fell asleep at 4am and woke up to a miserable 9am. this caused my body to be tired enough to want to sleep, but not tired enough to FALL asleep. but it was pretty cool getting off the plane and seeing my school friends at the airport. Pat, BS, and Ted were picking up Dykas and byung's little brother. they all said hi and stuff and my dad found me.

dad: you look a bit skinnier but simon obviously got fat!

man, it's pretty cool coming back to korea again. i almost forgot about all the retarded store names.

simon: hey phil! look. it says Buy The Way! ahahahahahahahah.

i even got a warm welcome from one of dad's friends. he especially likes simon. however, you know how korean people tend to be a little "too touchy?" gosh, that guy was straight up rubbing my face and patting my butt a few times too many. i'm serious dude. if he was in the US, they'd put him away for good! but yeah, he's nice. "too nice" most of the time.

dinner was awesome. we had galbee for only like 10 bucks! but the special thing is that this crap is quality! the kimchee here is incredibly excellent. they even give you watermelons for desert! and boy were those suckers juicy! i enjoyed my meal very much. sidenote: Californians should not take for granted the fact that smoking in restaurants is illegal. over here, they puff away like it's part of the meal! man oh man, it's hot!!!! i already know i'm going to enjoy the next 3 weeks. woohoo!

oh, another thing. can i just say that korea has the coolest cell phones?! everyone has these really neat ringtones that sound like they're coming from a tv! they would seriously laugh at the garbage we use in the US!

shoutout goes to the Girl in Red: thanks for the 5 dollars. it's the small things that makes us happy. 5 bucks is small. 10 bucks is small. even 20 bucks is small ok? oh, what's that one chinese girl character thing called again? =D

welcome back missions people!

Thought of the Day: It's FREAKIN' hot in here! So take off all your clothes!
Song of the Day: Fly To the Sky-Sea Of Love

i got back from irvine around 1am this morning. boy did i get some gooooood sleep last night! gosh, so much to talk about. where do i begin?

so we took off from millbrae around 4 in the morning. we were just cruising and everything was fine. b/c i had not eaten in the last 12 hours, we decided to stop by Harris Ranch. as usual, i had my Ranch Burger, which i am convinced is my favorite burger in the whole wide world. it was a bit odd though, eating such a meal at 6am. haha. but no worry. i was one satisfied customer.

we continued our journey and shortly approached "grapes of wrath" or better known as Grapevine. all LA drivers know this cursed area b/c it totally rapes our cars. dykas thought of changing it to "RAPE-vine." anyways, right before i was about to enter Los Angeles, i see a cop waiting on the side a good 50 feet away? i slowed down from a comfortable 90 mph to a safe 65-70 mph. i looked into my rear view mirror. he started following me. NO!!!!! the siren went off. NO!!!!! so i got my first speeding ticket for going 88 mph at a 65 zone. i have to appear in court a month later in this place called Valencia. for the rest of the day, i was what my friends called a "zombie." i was incredibly pissed at what had just happened and could not get it out of my mind. i felt like my whole trip had just fallen apart. WHY GOD WHY?! i was totally in a bad mood. i had not gotten ANY sleep for the past 24 hours, it was pretty hot, and i had just gotten my first ticket. no sir, that is not a good combination.

fortunately, the Marriot we were staying at was a sweet piece of cake! it was just like Char said it would be. they had some hecka comfortable beds, a tv, a sofa, and a kitchen with pots and pans. all of this for only 60 bucks! yeap, we were definitely pleased.

at irvine, we went to the advising session and picked out our classes. we were really hungry so we decided to go to k-town for dinner. man, we got soooooo lost...

justin: alrite phil. is it 10 east or 10 west?
me: (after looking at the map) um, i think it's 10 west. but i'm not sure.
justin: i think it's 10 east. yeah, this place definitely looks familiar!
(1 hour later)
me: ok, how about we try 10 west ok?
justin: i don't know man. i'm pretty sure it's 10 east.
(we get onto 10 west and see Western right away).
justin: sorry guys.

the whole time, we were driving around Compton and Inglewood. justin and dykas were getting really frustrated and started hating on Mexicans. we were lost. we were hungry. we were tired. it was hot. they were pissed. we finally found Hodori and ate our crappy meal. the service was really bad. the food was over priced. the food did not make us happy.

justin: can we get some more ban-chan?
unhappy waitress: just wait til the other food comes out ok?

we then went to Alexandria plaza to find Intercrew Cafe. that took us a while. it took me a long time to figure out that Intercrew was actually on another block, and not in THAT plaza. our waitress was pretty cute. however, they once again did not have any pat-bing-soo! we left and went to this other cafe. after eating a delicious desert, we headed back to the hotel.

after a good 9.5 hours of sleep, we were all refreshed. the hotel gave us a continental breakfast, which was much more than just muffins and water. we had lots of eggs, toast, soup, and cereal. quite pleased. after we all washed up, we were ready to go to Irvine once again. dykas had to take his Subject A Exam and i had to take care of financial aid. before that, dykas and i took our pictures and received our id cards right on the spot! dude, college id cards are so much cooler than the ones in high school! gosh, i love looking at that crap. as dykas was taking his test, justin and i took a housing tour to check out the dorms. OH-MY-GOSH! i was incredibly happy about the rooms. they are just so nice! the desks were alot bigger than i thought and all the rooms have windows! woohoo! justin was pissed cause he said that the dorms at Irvine were bigger than any IVY school dorms he's ever seen. he was overflowing with envy. eheheheheheh. praise God! i love my school! however, as were walking back to the parking lot, we saw a lady writing tickets and putting them on cars. as we approached my car, we were once again pretty angry. justin tried to talk to the lady but she said we were in a reserved spot or something. the ticket was only 20 bucks but still! it's just so stupid you know? 2 tickets in 2 days. ugh.

we went to k-town for our last meal there. we were trying to find this one place that chang recommended but we had trouble finding it. we stopped at this small area to ask for directions until we saw the words, "sullong tang $2.99!" justin was instantly attracted. it looked like a piece of crap from outside but we decided to give it a chance. shoot! this was definitely no mistake! gal-bee was only 6.50 and it was totally good stuff! justin's soup was REALLY good too. and to top it off, our waitress was just so nice to us! we couldn't have asked for a better restaurant. they were also pretty generous in terms of quantity. that lady received a 5 dollar tip from a 16 dollar meal. haha. totally earned it.

no matter how full we were, there was ALWAYS room for pat-bing-soo. haha. that crap is just so good! as we were eating outside, we saw this cop who pulled over like 4 cars on the same block! as i watching each unfortunate event, i was totally empathizing with the drivers. dude, it just sucks man! those cops are just out there to get you. we then went to ABC plaza as always to buy some korean cds. i also bought a car freshener and a new map cause the one we were using was getting old. we finally took off at 6pm.

dykas: dude, pray for me that i'll be able to get a dorm even though i'm on the waiting list.
justin: my mom said that we should pray before we take off.
me: alrite then pray.
justin: dykas pray.
dykas: no! you pray!
me: why are you guys so ashamed?
justin: alrite. i'll pray.
(prays for safety and thanks for a good trip).
everyone: amen.
dykas: DUDE! you didn't pray about my dorm! that's messed up!
me and justin: ahahahahhahahaa.

this time, i was driving no more than 75-80 mph. i definitely learned my lesson and began putting it into practice. it was so weird though b/c the whole time, i was thinking why God had given me a ticket. what were His reasons? well, i found out one of them as we were driving. on Grapevine, there was this cop that was waiting on the side of the road. i wasn't speeding or anything but that got me thinking. if i had NOT received my ticket yesterday, i can almost promise you that i would've been doing well over 100 mph. and we all know that that is considered reckless driving...supposedly over $1000 tickets or something. i had a really good feeling that God was preventing something even worse from happening. THEN, as were getting off of Grapevine, there was ANOTHER cop that as waiting on the side of the road. i thought to myself...if i had NOT gotten caught the first time on Grapevine, i definitely would have gotten caught the second time! and this too would have been at least at 100 mph too! i mean, i'll never know WHAT exactly would've happened. but of course, i would like to think those were parts of God's reasons for my ticket the other day. then of course there are other reasons that i may not know such as prevention from future accidents/tickets or to just merely discipline/humble me. all in all, it happened and i cannot do anything about it. however, i have faith that God works for the good of all of His people, right?

but boy did we have some great talks in that car! we talked about racing cars, why justin and dykas hated mexican people, the awe of watching star wars, the finest girls in the korean music industry, and about independent, stupid, lazy, and fake girls. haha. CURIOUS JYKAS! lol.

we stopped at McDonald's to take a break. then out of no where, we see Ken Mak! he was visiting UCLA with Lucerne and they were on their way home too! it was such a coincidence! what are the odds you know?!

ken: phil, lots of hot girls in irvine?
me: eh, it's alrite. what about UCLA?
ken: HELLA HOT GIRLS!
me: ahahahahahahaha.

so finally, we arrived and here i am after an amazing 8 hours of sleep. my goal: watch Goldmember and buy gifts for cousins today. boy oh boy, lots to do!

Thought of the Day: Well, at least mom's not so pissed.
Song of the Day: Um Jung Hwa-Looking For The Hidden Picture

so i'm supposed to be leaving for irvine in a few hours. unfortunately, i am a prisoner to my insomnia right now. i tried going to bed around 9 so i could get about 6 hours of sleep. i awoke around 11 and watched some tv. i went back to bed after simpsons and just could not fall asleep. i played some chess with simon and went online til 2. for 30 min., i remained captive to this sleepless curse. so here i am, blogging. nothing else to do.

this past weekend was just full of chang chang CHANG! we played lots of chess, went to some good burger joints, and ran alotta his errands. chang took me to Barney's for the first time after lying to me, promising to take me to La Burrita. anyways, the burger was most excellent. it's definitely up there on my top 10 list...perhaps #1? the thing that i really liked about it was that it wasn't super duper greasy. it was big, filling, and almost healthy? for dinner, i was once again promised a dinner at La Burrita (i am officially addicted to the Cheesesteak Burrito). however, jomo wanted to take us to this place called Rubio's. i was initially unhappy about this, but my meal definitely made up for it. they have this thing called the Lobster Burrito. it sounds disgusting but it tastes pretty good. very unique. Rubio's is like a MUCH better version of Una Mas. thanks again jomo. and finally, my chang weekend concluded with him coming over to my house, playing chess with simon.

simon: checkmate.
chang: DUDE! you KNOW that game was supposed to be mine. admit it simon. admit it before i rip you apart. admit before i "jjejuh" your "beh!" ("rip your stomach open" in korean).
simon: okok! that game was yours!
chang: GOSH!

it's really nice not working for once! i have like hecka weeks off b/c i'm on "vacation!" so here's my new master plan for this week.

1. go to irvine in a few hours.
2. come back thurs. night and rest.
3. go shopping and pack for korea.
4. go to ficy.
5. stay up so i'll be tired enough to sleep on the plane.
6. korea! freedom!

hmmmm, i wonder how the missions people are doing?

Thought of the Day: i JUST want to sleep!
Song of the Day: EOS-Not A Stranger

Clueless was alrite. not the funniest or too thought-provoking. just alrite. however, i do think now that Reese Wetherspoon looks like a retarded version of Alicia Silverstone. i remember when everyone used to think she was the hottest girl. eh, she's alrite. just kinda cute. i know they exaggerated the whole valley girl stereotype alot, but i do know too many girls from mills that fall under the description. "whatever...as if!"

Mafia-almost as bad as the first time i saw it. it was really a waste of time. so stupid. very immature humor. they only made fun of Godfather 1 and 2, Casino, and Scarface. it was really dumb.

just now...

allan: so you going to korea huh?
me: yeap.
allan: you gonna have alotta fun?
me: yeap.
allan: ahahhahahahaha. you gonna bring one home?
me: hahahahahaha. NO! the girls there are really different from here. really immature.
allan: no, those korean and japanese girls are really simple. girls here are really complicated...blah blah blah...if they come here...blah blah blah...get married....blah blah blah...take care of the house...blah blah blah...get your degree and trod on back!
me: ok.

i'm at work so i'll make it quick. all missions people, have an awesome trip. i will try to remember to pray for you guys everyday. have a safe and God-glorifying time! i'm sorry i could not donate much. i'm sorry i could not encourage much. bye guys.

Thought of the Day: One desk and one bookshelf is so much trouble.
Song of the Day: for once, there is no song of the day. *shrug*

dang, char can hecka hook it up with Marriott! since me, dykas, and justin will have to stay somewhere down in Irvine, char told me that she gets fat discounts for family and friends at any Marriott. she works there part-time as a waitress so she gets employee benefits. anyways, the first thing she offered was 1 bathroom and 2 queen size beds for $70. that's a pretty good deal compared to its original price-$180! then she told me about the Marriott Residence Inn, which is supposed to be alot nicer with 1 king size bed, 1 bathroom, refrigerator and kitchen with utensils, continental breakfast, and last but not least complimentary parking! this would only be $60 compared to the original $160. i practically spent the whole day "working" on my whole hotel thing. she's so cool.

char: you fa sho?
me: i'm fa sho!

then at Mrs. Field's...

me: so i'm going to korea next saturday.
beth: oh really?
me: yeah. i'm going to see my dad.
beth: oh, can you get me one of those tequila glasses? give me one that says korea on it or something.
me: tequila glasses?
beth: yeah. i collect them.
me: so it's like your hobby?
beth: yeah. it's like hobby. i have over 20.
me: woah.

beth: omg! 9.99 for a shirt? too expensive!
me: what? then what's cheap?
beth: 3.99.
me: dude, that's like straight up Burger King right there!

me: ok beth. i'll see you in a month.
beth: OH! ok. buy that for me ok?
me: ok. bye beth.

we really don't talk much. but i know she's going to miss working with me.

i saw alotta people at the mall today. i first saw Alice at the foodcourt and got some super nachos from her. as i was walking to work with nachos all over my face, i saw Amanda. i found out that she works at Body Shop. then, right before i got to work, i saw my cousin, alan, again. he told me simon ditched him so he was all alone or something. as i started work, BS, Justin, and Calvin came to my store. unfortunately, Calvin was forced to pay for his cookies b/c the manager was standing right next to me, watching my every move. during my break, justin's mom came to the mall b/c she needed to talk to justin about some medical form. as i was working, i saw this one guy who used to be in PE class during my junior year. also, this white guy named Adam came to my store. we didn't really talk much in school but he said wassup to me. 2-9:30 on saturday and that's it!

today, right before i got off the bus, i looked at the bus driver and started doing some random thinking. i was thinking about how much i hated my job and how much crap certain people give me. it sucks, busting your balls for some lady and not even getting a single Thank You. even if it's a Thank You that didn't sound meaningful, I STILL WANNA HEAR IT! so right before i got off the bus, i made a decision to start getting off the front of the bus and to ALWAYS say Thank You to the bus driver. if working with cookies sucks, imagine driving up and down El Camino to pick up/drop off people in the middle of the night. the least i could do is say a simple Thank You. and every time from now on, i'll mean it.

i spent the weekend with my cousin, alan. well, we're not exactly related-he's more of a second cousin (my uncle's wife's brother's son). anyways, i haven't seen this sucker in pretty long. i think the last time i had actually talked to him, face to face, was when i was in 7th grade? yeah, it's been a while. alot happens in 5 years you know? haha. he's so tall now! just slightly shorter than me. his voice has changed from a light squeal to a low mellow tone. the kid actually dresses up and puts on cologne! however, after spending much time with him, i realized that he was still the same ol' alan. weird, immature, and laughs at my stupid comments. it was nice seeing him again.

after ficy, we went to La Burrita in Berkeley. of course, i forced everyone to buy the would famous Cheesesteak Burrito! gosh dang! i cannot help but praise God for such food! my favorite burrito at a most decent price. man, they also give you lots of nachos to eat with your burrito. dude, that green hot sauce is some mean crap! i swallowed too much of that stuff for one night. my stomach was crying all night and morning. ugh, but it was soooooo worth it! lol. i apologize if i'm overdoing it. i tend to do that sometimes. ok, lots of times. but let's just say that the Cheesesteak Burrito is my favorite burrito in the world.

after that, it was time for desert-Top Dog. man, i ordered this thing called the Hot Link. for 2.50, i think it's a great hotdog. however, i realized i'm no longer a big fan of hotdogs. it's just too overwhelming you know? especially with that Russian mustard stuff-what a kick! i guess it's a good snack.

one more week of work and i'm a free man! i am seriously dreading these days. it's such a struggle to go to work. i just cannot stand it! maybe if my life had some fun in it. man, 6 days a week of work. no fun. i guess i have a GLIMPSE of what i-fang's life must be like. of course, i'm no where even close to that unacceptable lifestyle. i seriously give that girl props! man, you are so hardcore...and you somehow seem to make time to be a yg teacher. gosh, somebody give that girl some balloons or something! haha. anyways, i am sooooo looking forward to korea. i emailed one of my cousins that i changed my mind and i was going to korea. she wrote back and told me she was going to take me out alot! and trust me, when they say "alot," they mean ALOT! oh freakin' joy! haha. notice how i haven't even been mentioning my Irvine trip at all? it's almost not even a part of my summer. i know it'll be fun. but korea beats the crap out of it!

what?! did you guys hear that Iverson might have to face up to 54 years in jail? somebody update me on the details.

Thought of the Day: "goo-gyung MAHNEE shee-kyuh-jul-ggeh!"
Song of the Day: The Neptunes & Clipse-Grindin'

testing...

ok, i finally have some good...no, GREAT news about my life. I'M GOING TO KOREA!!! i know i was planning on not going cause i needed to work/save money and stuff but these past few days, i've been doing alotta reflecting about my summer. i basically work every single day except for sunday. i don't go out. i don't play. i simply just work and play chess with simon. that's it. and like i said before, i have been overwhelmed with bitterness. work sucks amen? anyways, i was just thinking about korea and why i decided not to go in the first place. i basically came up with the same list as before-save money for college. then i started thinking about the flipside-why i SHOULD go to korea. the last time i saw my dad was february 2001. that's exactly 1 year and 6 months. i thought about the next time i would see him/korea again. there was no realistic future date that i could point to. i mean, if i can't go to korea my summer right after high school, how in the world am i going to be able to go to korea in my college summers? i know my dad really wanted to see me. it must be tough, working too many hours in a failing business and not being able to see your beloved sons in over a year. i also thought about my whole summer in general. basically, it's turning out to be the worst one ever. i know that money is a factor, but i knew it'd be cheaper if simon and i went...compared to my dad coming here for like one week. soooooo, i talked to my mom about it and she said she'd talk to my dad about it. the other night, my dad was totally YES! i'm planning on going sometime after my Irvine trip. it'll be the best 2-3 weeks of my summer!

so the night i found out, i wasn't able to sleep for the longest time. i went to bed around 2. i didn't fall asleep til 4:30. for approximately 2 1/2 hours, i couldn't stop thinking about korea. i struggled with thoughts of cousins, trips, gifts, girls (ehehehehehhe), and the indescribable food (praise God!). it just hit me that i was forced to bury my love for korea for a long time. i can't describe how much i love going to that country. i seriously have the greatest time stress-free fa sho! and finally, after 2 years, i get to go back again. my repressed excitement has finally been released. man, LA is NOTHING compared to korea. ugh, i can go on and on. but don't worry, i'll be back in time for the retreat. can't miss that for the world.

Thought of the Day: "DAE-HAN-MIN-GOOK!"
Song of the Day: Perry-Get Ready (for korea!)

work:

me: hey allan.
allan: OH HEY! (startled).
me: (smile).
char: so, you got a physical yesterday huh?
me: um, kinda.
char: did they do the "complete?" ahahahahahahahaha.
me: hahahahhahaha. no. they did not do the "complete."
char: yeap. my sons hated that.

wow, susannie was right! Jimmy Eat World is one awesome group! after watching their music video, Sweetness, last night, i decided to give them a chance this morning. i downloaded all of their songs and instantly, my ears were pleased. they have a good combination of slow depressing music and softcore punk rock. i don't know if that description does justice. well, they remind me of Weezer in some subtle ways...but alot less mellow. i like it. susannie believes they're the best alternative group right now. i disagree. i think Blink 182 is still doper (ahahahaha. i'm so stupid). of course, my opinion is totally biased. Blink 182 has had hecka albums and went through many changes, mistake after mistake. however, Jimmy Eat World came out better than decent with their very first album! i'm impressed. what do you think?

Thought of the Day: "It's getting hot in here! So take off all your clothes!"
Song of the Day: Jimmy Eat World-Sweetness

man, adam sandler is starting to suck. he's not as funny as he used to be. remember Happy Gilmore and Wedding Singer? dude, that crap was hilarious! Mr. Deeds was weak sauce. alotta time wasted on attempted romantic scenes and cheesy morals. now don't get me wrong...there were a few parts where i laughed with decency. but at the same time, it's becoming apparent that adam sandler is starting to run out of ideas. my movie madness was just as i predicted. i'm watching alotta movies this summer. i believe i watch an average of 3 movies a week. i think that's alot. oh well. on to Clueless!

Thought of the Day: Now I know how you guys felt. I'm terribly sorry.
Song of the Day: T-Memories

i had a crappy day at work yesterday. everything was alrite until 9:00 hit. this moron named sam, who works at GAP, always comes to our store and asks for free cookies. this guy is so consistent in coming all the time that it makes me sick. so yesterday, i was closing with the easiest and most lenient manager. once our store closed, the guy comes to the store and tries to talk to me. i walk to the other side and do some work there. he follows. i go back. he follows. "hey, do you have any really old cookies that i can have?" i was really tired and frustrated that i didn't want to deal with his crap. so i gave him some of the less popular cookies and told him to never come here again. as soon as i give them to him, the manager barks at me cause she saw the whole thing. throughout the rest of the night, she lectured me on how i could get fired b/c of the other managers, the video camera, other people who got caught, telephone calls, lack of responsibility, blah blah blah. it sucks dude. supposedly, the district manager comes in every morning and reviews the previous day's work by watching the recorded video. she's the strict lady, monina. the same lady who was THIS CLOSE to firing me. ugh, i don't know. i'm a bit anxious to go to work on monday. once again, i did another stupid thing that could jeopardize my employment. man, i was just so tired, busy, and frustrated. i didn't even think about making sure the manager was looking or not. perhaps God was trying to show me that He was displeased with the fact that i hook people up. afterall, it IS wrong right? at the same time, i'm so pissed at that guy sam. man, so annoying.

on the way home, i was listening to a sermon by John MacArthur on the lordship of Christ. i was surprised to learn that many people just accept Christ as their Savior and not Lord. making him Lord takes place some time later in your "christian life." many churches and evangelical movements out there discourage evangelism that involves the discussion of lordship. they only encourage believing "the facts." i was very unhappy about this, thinking about all the corruption that goes on out there. some seminary writers even believe that evangelizing that Christ is Lord is a heresy! it's really sad. the way our God is portrayed has been so jacked up. i mean, they have good intentions i'm sure. however, they focus too much on saving the person, rather than being faithful to God's word. remember guys, our job is to evangelize FAITHFULLY. God takes care of the rest.

to conclude that day's discouraging events, i saw Lilo & Stitch and Shallow Hal on my computer. i really enjoyed both movies, probably b/c i was expecting some low quality. to my surprise, i really enjoyed Lilo & Stitch. i can see why some people may not have liked it, but i thought it was a decent Disney movie. there were a few funny parts and Stitch was a pretty cool looking alien. in fact, i kinda want a small toy of him now. i could add it to my collection of Psyduck and the Senior Banquet piggy bank. ah, and we come to Shallow Hal. another masterpiece by the Farrelly Brothers (thanks tiff). i think this was the only movie that was perfect for Jack Black. he did a pretty good job with the part they gave him-fat, immature, and nice loser. i actually laughed more than 10 times in this movie! well, i guess this would have to include chuckles but i consider that alot. now that i think about it, i REALLY like some Farrelly Brothers movies like dumb & dumber and kingpin. their other ones were alrite. anyways, do yourself a favor and watch these movies.

today, i bought another chess set after church. i know what you're thinking-ANOTHER ONE?! so right now in total, i would have 4 different chess sets. well, the reason why i bought this one was b/c it looked JUST like PJ's and it was on sale for 10 bucks! haha. it looks so cool when the black chess set and this new one are sitting side by side. they are so ready to be played by people. ahahahhahaah. i crack myself up. and besides, i'm going to be taking one to college, so simon can still have a nice one to play with while i'm gone. 10 bucks yo. what an investment!

prayer request: that i would be more disciplined in work and have a stronger appreciation for the jobs that i have right now. (i am so bitter dude).

Thought of the Day: I think i'm supposed to go to EM from now on.
Song of the Day: J-You, My Dream

my 4th of july wasn't as bad as i expected it to be. i called up a few of my friends but there was just nothing to do. however, moe and olivia decided to entertain me pretty early during the day instead of watching a movie with their friends. we sat in my room for 3 hours, but i honestly enjoyed those 3 hours, talking about summer school, hated teachers, weird cousins, and our beloved korea. later that day, jonna came over to my house and we really didn't have much to do since we had to wait for terrance & tiffanie to come over. well, since we had some time to kill and i felt like moving around, i decided to take these poor souls to Sky Farm! Sky Farm is actually my x-country's HARDEST workout. you go 3 miles straight. 2 miles up. 3 miles back. and walk down Trousdale. well, the 2 miles up part is Sky Farm, the longest and steepest hill in san mateo county i believe. the freakin' thing is literally hills on top of hills. and not just any hills, but rather mini-mountains. even cars struggle going up this crap. trust me, just b/c you're walking doesn't mean this is a piece of cake. any form of transportation is a struggle. of course, none of the kids knew what they were in for. i merely told them it was a huge surprise that was going to overwhelm them. haha. and of course, they WERE overwhelmed.

(seeing one of the steeper hills)
jonna: WOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHH MY GOSH!

by the time we reached the top, they were all really quiet due to having an incredible amount of bitterness towards me. moe hated me the most. i have never heard so many complaints come out of her mouth. however, i still enjoyed the time. we still got a chance to talk alot and see some pretty nice houses...afterall, we WERE walking through hillsborough. but yeah, i don't think i'll ever do Sky Farm to "surprise" anyone ever again. lol.

after this 2 1/2 hour journey, we met up with chang, phil, terrance, tiff, their friend from korea, and justin. we went to Chili's and i think our table was seriously quite a site. it was me, hwang, justin, terrance, and of course chang! never in our lives have we seen chang swallow his food so fast! i mean, that guy had a mean looking burger and that was gone before we could ask him for a bite! that guy is one speedy gonzalez! crap. but all in all, i was dissatisfied with Chili's. i think everyone was.

later that night, i watched Serendipity at chang's place. it was a short, romantic comedy with a pretty girl. there were a few parts that i chuckled at and a really nice scene at an ice skating rink. i didn't think it was too bad. i was hoping for more romance but they just kinda cut everything off at the end. i wanna say i was disappointed but i can't. it was enjoyable. "serendipity-fortunate accidents."

Thought of the Day: I just learned that i dislike people who seek attention all the time.
Song of the Day: Cam'ron-Oh Boy

i saw MIB 2 with terrance yesterday. man, i was pretty dissatisfied with that movie. i mean, it wasn't like i was looking forward to a GREAT movie, but it couldn't even meet my low expectations. well, terrance and his friend, martha, think i'm some hardcore critic. to them, i appear to be this bitter moviegoer who just likes to complain. haha. funny. i guess i might have to agree with them only sometimes. however, my other friend also heard from others that MIB 2 sucked as well. *shrug* i don't recommend wasting your money on this one. it'd only be appropriate to watch this one on vhs or dvd. but the good part about going to the movies yesterday was that i got to check out Century 20 (no where even close to being an AMC), i got the see the Lord of the Rings 2 preview, and i found out that T3 (Terminator 3) is coming out next summer! yeah, that's about it.

i also watched Idle Hands b/c i was curious and had a free rental at Blockbuster. i enjoyed watching this so much more than watching Will Smith. this movie actually made me laugh in several parts...mainly b/c i can relate to many of them. more and more, i'm coming to appreciate Seth Green as a small actor. i just like the characters that he plays in his movies. haha. oh yeah, and the whole Jessica Alba thing. frank, she's a good 100 points behind Jennifer Love Hewitt. the word, "fine," should not be tossed around like a baseball. it is to be used appropriately. i realized that i love B-rated teenage movies. you know, kinda like Can't Hardly Wait and 10 Things I Hate About You. actually, i'd have to give Can't Hardly Wait an A-/B+ b/c it satisfied me in too many ways. if you guys know anymore B-rated teenage movies, holla at me dawg!

these past few days, i realized that i haven't been enjoying my summer. all i do is sleep, sleep, sleep, work, work, WORK! justin pointed out to me that i look very bitter these days. bingo! i AM bitter! i work practically everyday, don't get paid much, and have no fun when i have available time. haha. justin said this was the typcial American life or something when we're adults. i'm trying to make the best of my summer. i really am. i try making friends at work. i try being productive in the mornings. i try going to bed earlier. these past few days, i haven't been getting good sleep. i go to bed around 12:30ish and fall asleep after 2-3 hours of tossing and turning. i'm such a bitter guy. i mean, i know my contentment is to come from God, and not from "fun." it's depressing though. my last high school summer and it's turning out to be one of the worst.

Thought of the Day: Today. July 4th. Another day. Just no work.
Song of the Day: Lee Jung Hyun-I'll Never Die

yesterday at work, i got a chance to work with Beth, a short filipino lady who looks older than my mom. the first time you meet her, you can't help but assume that this lady hasn't slept in days. her eyes always look tired, she rarely smiles, and she talks in a pretty low tone. but after working with her yesterday, i got to slip in a few conversations with her.

me: so what do you do for fun?
beth: nothing. sleep and watch movies.
me: uh. i see. well, why don't you do anything else?
beth: everything's boring. i used to go clubbing every single weekend for a long time. i just recently stopped this year. i started clubbing when i turned 21.
me: oh. so how old are you now?
beth: 27.
me: *ahem* oh. that's a long time.
beth: yes.

beth: yeah, i love japanese food.
me: yeah, you should go to Todai's. it's all you can eat japanese food!
beth: oh really? but those "eat all you can" places are too expensive!
me: (cracking up inside). yeah, i know.

that sounded so funny. "eat all you can." it almost sounds like a command!

during my break, i passed by Wetzel's and the manager saw me walking by. she waved me over to come and talk to her. as we were talking, all these customers started lining up. then when it was down to one customer, the manager pointed at the customer and me. and i back off showing that i didn't want a pretzel. then i look at the customer and it's MELODY! melody used to work with me at Wetzel's, a very unstable girl who has random emotional outbursts. she was wearing this colorful shirt and had pink hair. man, what a freakin' coincidence! the last time i saw her, she was working at Journey's and yelling F You! at a buncha teenagers for knocking over a whole buncha shoes. psycho fa sho! i can't say i enjoy her company but it wasn't bad seeing her again.

i'm going to bed earliest 2. waking up earliest 12. don't call me b/w these hours! (you know who you are!).

Thought of the Day: Cookies, cookies, and even MORE cookies! ahhhhhhh!
Song of the Day: 1tym-One Love *saranghae* (lol)