MVPs

There are two NBA players that I think are absolutely amazing this year: Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose.

Blake Griffin. I have yet to see any highlight where he doesn't alley-oop a dunk. Not just any dunk, but homeboy dunks it harder than 99% of the NBA. I love how the nba.com commentators love this guy. Did you know that he is exactly the same age as my brother? Same birthday and everything. This guy makes me want to cheer for the Clippers!

Derrick Rose. This guy is fast. He can drive, shoot, pass, and break all kinds of ankles. He is my favorite point guard in the NBA right now. He is the reason why I cheer for the Bulls as well. You don't know how happy I was when he beat the Lakers a few weeks ago. But then again, any Laker-beater instantly becomes a hero on my list.

Speaking of the Lakers, Kobe's been getting into technicals and quarrels these days. Sorry, LA, but I relish his frustration. =D

Thought of the Day: American Psycho

Song of the Day: Rainway-혼자 만난 그림자

Never Too Late

Turns out that this was NOT the first Christmas where I didn't receive any Christmas cards. Being the Koreans that they are, two of my students(' moms) got me gifts in response to the gifts that I had given them. Here is what they wrote:

Student A:

To .Philip teacher

Teacher! I'm very very thank you for your present. I ate chocolates delicious~!^^ and I listened to music which in CD. They are very good songs~! They were very exciting! Also, I saw your card. I was very very impressed to your card.

Wrapping was nice!!~~I was very impressed to your presents. and I prepare socks for you. HAPPY NEW YEAR~~!!

Forward I will study with you earnestly~!!

I like your present very! but I think my mom more like than me!~

I'm very very thank you for you!! Happy New Year!!

Student B:

(He wrote "cut with the sords!" three times where he put stickers to enclose the letter).

Great student, mark...

dear. Pilip teacher...

Hello? I'm mark. I think you are the great teacher. Because, everyday, you showed the 'magic card trick', and it was like a talk show. I like the talk show. I bought the muffler for you. I want you will like that. Watch out the cold, and you got the happy new ("year" is erased)

2010. December. 26

for mark

It's actually a pretty dope muffler too. I've got one of the best jobs in the world.

Thought of the Day: Blomkvist

Song of the Day: OneUp Mushrooms-Super Mario World Super Mario's Sleigh Ride (OC ReMix)

I made a funny!

This weekend was filled with meeting new friends and also getting to know some older ones better. I probably upgraded my face wrinkles by 80% after laughing so much the past couple of days. Whenever I'm around funny people, I realize just how UNfunny I really am. But it's these people that make you feel really special when you can make THEM laugh. Every once in a while, you'll meet good natured people who will laugh after every other sentence. But if you can crack up a funny guy, now that's just flattering. I wonder how it felt to make Jesus laugh.

This was the first Christmas where I didn't get a single Christmas card from anyone (e-cards don't count =D). But all the laughing that I did definitely made it a merry one. All the eating too...phew!

Thought of the Day: A is for Alice.

Song of the Day: Sheean-Every Day

Narnia in 3-D

I watched my first 3-D movie today. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Like most films based on books, the movie didn't do justice to C. S. Lewis' children's novel. I was looking forward to seeing Aslan hack up the dragon, but there wasn't a single drop of blood in the entire movie. But like the other two movies, I appreciated all the scenes where the mighty yet gentle Aslan comes out as I have a better idea of why Christ is referred to as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5).

As I've finished the preaching series, I've begun a new series on the history of Christianity. One thing that I learned recently was that there have been records of infant baptism as early as the second century and that the early Christians weren't as concerned with the modes of baptism such as dunking, pouring, sprinkling, etc. One thing that caught my attention in the introduction to this course was that it pointed out how Americans are very ignorant or apathetic towards the study and significance of history. Even when it comes to studying church history, we often focus merely on the history of the Catholic Church, Martin Luther and the Reformation, and the pious Puritans. Since I qualify for both categories, I felt a responsibility but also a desire to learn of our rights and wrongs from the past. I'm taking seminary courses for free!

Thought of the Day: 냠

Song of the Day: I Exalt Thee

Say AHH

I finally went to the dentist today after not going for over two years. Four cavities. Two taken care of. Two more to go on Monday. Did you know that they now have tooth-colored fillings? But since they were 80,000won apiece, I had to settle with my favorite color, metal.

Along with going to the dentist, I am hoping to cross off a few more things on my list of things to do before 2011 like finishing my bedtime book, bathroom book, Korean For Foreigners book, and the Bible. I thought I'd have more things on this list, but whattya know...they're all books.

Simon, Mom says you have to go to the dentist.

Thought of the Day: Dentist

Song of the Day: 어른아이-Oh Happy Day

Fatman Forever

Remember how I shared about that one anecdote of me finishing half a box of Costco pizza? Well, I did it again over the weekend. Only this time, my mom wouldn't let me keep going.

Tonight, I finished the remaining two slices before going to class.

Then one of my students gave me three slices of Pizza Hut for class.

Then one of my students gave me a Big Mac set for class.

I didn't want to be rude or anything, so...

I had trouble biking home.

Thought of the Day: 민승 & 보현

Song of the Day: Yuna Ito-miss you

DUNK IT!!!

Last night, some of our church people went to watch a Korean basketball game across the street from church. Although we were supposed to cheer for the Seoul Knights, we ended up cheering for the opposing team, particularly their black center, Rodrigue Benson. Nate was causing such a ruckus and getting all kinds of dirty looks from the people in front of us, but he was also able to get Benson to point at us after a monster dunk.
After that, Nate and our new buddy, Joe, were determined to meet Benson after the game and get a picture with him. Not only that, but they were also able to get an autograph. And not only that, but Nate was able to sneak his business card into the bus to Benson who looked very confused. I can't believe that giant's the same age as me.

Then I came home and played basketball till midnight with a bunch of high school students. What a great day!

Thought of the Day: Benson!!!

Song of the Day: Chae Yeon-둘이서

Christmas Media

Here is some Christmas-related media that many of us our familiar with.

Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

I never knew the Charlie Brown Christmas was so Christocentric. If you actually watch the whole thing, it's a lot more awkward compared to when you were a kid. Kinda feels like a bunch of children put the cartoon together. At least, Peanuts was clearer about the meaning of Christmas compared to Dr. Seuss.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Moral:

Christmas is about more than presents.

A Christmas Story (1983)

This is definitely one of the Christmas classics that will never get old. There are too many good scenes, but I chose this clip just because I had totally forgotten about it.

Elf (2003)

I remember Elf being really popular when it first came out, but that only caused me to expect too much. However, this was the one scene where I had a good laugh.

The Nativity Story (2006)

On Sunday, we watched The Nativity Story, which exceeded most of our expectations. I've always imagined the Virgin Mary to be in her 20s, but this movie brought a more realistic perspective with Mary in her teens. I once heard Pastor Dennis say that he didn't like the Christmas carol, Silent Night, because he felt that it probably wasn't a very silent night with all the crying and barn animals. Maybe we all have Jesus' birth so wrong.

The Office Season 6 (2009-2010)

"Polluticorn wishes!"

Everyone tells me every year that The Office is no longer good and not worth watching. But every year, I beg my brother to buy the previous season's dvd and send it over to me. I have to admit that it's not what it used to be, but I never regret asking him for the annual favor, this year's favor being a Christmas present. "Recyclops will have his revenge!" I love it.

Yeah, The Office is no Christmas classic. I just needed an excuse to upload that random clip...along with this one.

I don't care so much for the story. I just wanna watch robots fighting each other!

Thought of the Day: Mutual Edification

Song of the Day: Park Bom-You And I

I Need My Fix

Five fixes in less than a week.

#1 Cable TV

My parents have been watching TV on their computer for a while now by hooking up the cable to a special video card. But Mike donated his unused TV to us last week, so we had to figure out a way to have the cable go to two different connections while still being able to use the Internet. So my dad had some dude come over who was able to figure out the cable but no Internet. So I decided to take a look and fooled around with the wires and connections for a few minutes. And voila, I got all three to work!

#2 Mechanical Pencils

My wealthy student that I mentioned in my previous entry was showing me all his lead pencils that were no longer working and was about to toss them in the trash. But when I saw that these were not cheap pencils, I stole them away from his hand and started to repair a few one by one. Since much of our time was going towards fixing his pencils instead of fixing his grammar, I told him that I'd take the remaining five pencils home and fix all of them as a Christmas present. I finished fixing the last one a few minutes ago and will now open up a mechanical pencil repair shop.

#3 Phone

I have been enjoying downloading and playing around with many apps now that my phone is significantly faster and smoother after the Froyo upgrade. One of my favorite apps is Launcher Pro, which gives you so much more freedom to customize your display screens and menu bars. But after a recent update on the app, I somehow lost my customized homescreen and ended up on the default one that I had when I first got the phone. Fortunately, after a helpful forum here and a new app there, I was able to restore everything just the way I had it. This saved me HOURS.

#4 Bike Bell

I bought a bike just after Simon left Korea and have been riding it back and forth to Mokdong almost every single day. Although it's kinda embarrassing to have a bike that's smaller than some of my students' bikes, I truly appreciate it to the fullest. But what I don't appreciate are the times that I slip or fall down in public places. I have two memorable falls where I literally thought I was going to fall on my face and eat so much ground. There was actually a third experience too, but I probably fell on my head so hard that I can't remember what exactly had happened. Anyway, I jacked up my bike bell's position after the most recent incident. Well, it snowed a lot today. And I was in that snow riding my bike. And the bell just made nasty clicks instead of pleasant rings. And I tried jamming the bell into its correct position and was surprised to see how easy that was. And voila again, I got it to work!

#5 Cracked Lip

I've had a crack on the side of my lips for a couple of weeks now. Angular cheilitis they call it. I always thought that chapstick would heal it instantly, but it turns out that its one of the worst things you could do to the cut. While I was eating dinner, my mom noticed the crack and said something along the lines of me trying to open my mouth too widely to eat more food. Although that wasn't much help, her antiviral agent cream seems to be a good replacement for my chapstick remedy. What's that one cold sore medicine stuff called again that starts with a V? The only two words I keep thinking of are Valcro and Viagra, but I have a hunch those aren't it. Help me out here..I'm forgetting America.

It's nice to be able to fix things for once.

Thought of the Day: Love Ark Church

Song of the Day: Standing Egg-내일은 잊을거야 with J.ae

Origami 2

I learned how to make a few more things out of paper to make some cheap x-mas gifts for my students. Although the main purpose was to be resourceful with my time and money (and my drawer filled with paper), I found myself spending many more hours on preparing these gifts than I ever have for any other Christmas. I've been using all of my free days learning, practicing, and folding...some in vain like that stupid pentagon box thing sitting on the top that took me forever to figure out even though I decided to not use it. As my mom told me, "If they only knew..."

But for the handful of students that "deserve" a real gift, I realized that choosing gifts for young children can be a very challenging task. You don't want to spoil them with something too expensive nor get them something useless and undesirable. I'm still stuck on one of my wealthier students who really has EVERYTHING except for an iPad. His mom seriously buys him EVERYTHING, so much that he may be numb to any sense of appreciation. What in the world do 6th graders like?

In a lot of ways, I am spending these long hours on gifts with selfish motives. I want the parents to like me. I want them to see that I'm different from those other heartless teachers who merely teach and walk out with an envelope of cash. I can already see a handful of my students not saying thank you or even showing the gift to their parents. But that's ok. It's not like I'm so good at being thankful either. But I do want to be able to give selflessly because that is how my Savior gave of himself for me.

Better get back to folding.

Thought of the Day: Angular Cheilitis

Song of the Day: DCT-NiGHTS Into Dreams The Polar Express OC ReMix

Beautys and Beasts

My brother sent over a bunch of stuff through one of my students who visited LA last week. One of the things I had requested was the (500) Days of Summer dvd. Even after watching it for the third time in less than a year, I thoroughly enjoyed all 95 minutes of it and was even able to notice little things that had never stuck out to me before like the downward spiral shot when Tom is running down the stairway after finding out about Summer's engagement and this quote: "People don't realize this, but loneliness...is underrated." Anyway, I'm going to give this dvd away as a Christmas present this year. What a terrific gift!

One interesting thing I noticed was that many people said that Zooey Deschanel was particularly beautiful in this movie. I actually argue that she was not objectively beautiful but rather quite attractive due to her character. Clearly, we all know that attraction and beauty are different, but we often interrelate the two. I know that I for one have become deeply affected by people's appearances when it comes to things like attraction or dating. When people say that I'm "picky," I think it's their nice way of saying that I only like pretty girls. When I look back on the history of the girls I've ever liked, I'd say that's about 90% true. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being attracted to good-looking people, but I've also come to realize that being beautiful often brings about a beast.

The Bible speaks of several beautiful women throughout the Old Testament, but many of them (if not all) undergo hardships or actions leading to sin due to their appearance. We have Sarah's beauty that caused Abraham to lie to the Egyptians. We have Rebekah's beauty that caused Issac to lie to the Philistines. We have Rachel's beauty that caused Jacob to love her more than Leah. We have Bathsheba's beauty that caused David to commit adultery and murder. We have Tamar's beauty that caused her own brother to rape her. We have Esther's beauty that caused her to be a part of the king's harem. We have Solomon's hundreds of wives and concubines that were probably beautiful and led him astray. And judging from Samson's temperament and behavior, I have a feeling that Delilah was beautiful as well who brought about his downfall. What's up with all these beautiful women?

"We desire physical beauty to cover a sense of shame and inadequacy...only if we see what he did for us and only if you see that the ultimate beauty in the history of the world was the beauty of giving himself for you, the beauty of his losing his beauty so that you can become beautiful in the eyes of the only one that counts. Only as we see what he did for us will our hearts be melted and freed from the belief that we can judge a book by its cover or the need to."

-Tim Keller

It's December, but why are there still mosquitoes?!

Thought of the Day: Paris Park

Song of the Day: The Temper Trap-Sweet Disposition