Two Months Left

Right now, I'm reading and watching so many things at once.

Books:
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. Hinds' Feet on High Places
3. The Hunger Games

4. Among the Hidden

Shows/Movies:
1. Castle Season 1
2. Seven Samurai
3. Band of Brothers
I'm a man of great simplicity, so doing multiple things at once has always been a challenge for me. I usually commit to one thing and go all out, but I've somehow put myself in this multi-tasking place. It kinda reminds me of how I've been doing my Bible reading for the past few years. Ever since I started the 1 year Bible reading schedule, I've always been reading four different books at once, two from the OT and two from the NT. But I've found myself lacking in meditation and being so focused on finishing that day's "assignment."

However, I have exactly two months left before 2010 ends, so I think I'll be able to 정리 everything pretty well. In that sense, I look forward to a new year with a more focused approach on a just a few things. I've never liked spreading myself thin with my friendships, so I definitely don't want to do that with the other areas of my life either. Two months left. How are we going to finish up?

Note: all those dark marks on the reading schedule are the body count of several mosquitoes that died this year. Another reason to change up my devotionals. =D

Thought of the Day: Giants 3-1

Song of the Day: Girls' Generation-Hoot

Coolest Reformed Theologian

"So if we can agree that the election of the Father is not universal, and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit is not universal, why would the atonement of the Son be universal? That would put the person of the trinity completely at odds with one another. But the triune God is completely unified."

-Shai Linne from "Mission Accomplished"

He's also got a cool blog with a very interesting discourse in his August 25, 2010 entry about one of his songs that I like. He's awesome in everything I'm not! Thanks, Dago.

Thought of the Day: Among the Hidden

Song of the Day: Shai Linne-Mission Accomplished

FANtastic

Sports fans back in the states are pretty different from the ones over here. One of the things I love about watching American sports is the fans' signs that are held up in the game. During yesterday's World Series game, I particularly liked the sign: "What TX does big, SF does GIANT!" Gotta love them puns. My brother tells me that NOBODY is into the World Series in LA while he's going nuts all by himself. Haha. As much as I love So Cal, I will never cheer for any of their teams. Ever. Go Giants!

I think Korean fans can be quite wild when it comes to sports and singers. But I gotta say that I was really disappointed with the audience during Psy's recent comeback stage. The guy has got so much charisma and sweat. I don't see what there isn't to like.

It's a shame the audience wasn't really digging him. Probably my favorite Korean song these days.

Thought of the Day: Hunger Games

Song of the Day: Girls' Generation-Hoot

Celebrate good times, come on!

Yeah, yeah. I'm total bandwagon after I heard that they had gotten into the playoffs and started to keep up with all the games through mlb.com. All I gotta say is the sports commentator for Texas sounds old and boring. Let's go, Frisco!

I asked my mom what she wanted for her birthday, and she obviously told me she didn't want anything. But when I told her I'd take her shopping at Times Square (best mall in the world) and she could choose something she liked, she didn't refuse. She bought herself a handbag. I never knew handbags could be so expensive. I never knew my mom could let me spend that much money on her. I never knew handbags could make her so happy.

My dad bought her a hiking backpack for her birthday. My gift is so much better.

The other day, my mom and I were talking about the irony of my dad being so tone-deaf even though he loves music. Homeboy can't even sing Happy Birthday properly! Haha. Since it never crossed his mind to get her a cake, I went out to my neighborhood Dunkin Donuts that is open til midnight to surprise my mom in the middle of the night.

And surprised she was.

Don't forget, Sheemones.

Thought of the Day: 혜미

Song of the Day: Not To Us

Booked

I've added more books to the reading list, some by choice, others by obligation.

This was one of the few books at Elite that I never got to read. Johanna had told me it was whatevers, but I thought it was great. It's so hard to find films or literature on Korea's colonization period, let alone something in English. If you're Korean, I think you should pick this up.

This is one of the books that I have to read for one of my classes. Unfortunately, it's not that great so far, and my student has decided to give up halfway. Her adolescent fickleness is starting to get to me, but more than that, I'm too stubborn to not finish it. Does anyone know any other good books for 6th-7th graders? Chances are my student has already read all the fun ones.

성은 introduced me to a bookstore in 이태원 called Whatthebook. They buy/sell used books and even have new books for a slightly cheaper price than Kyobo. Although I wasn't able to get rid of my heavy and thick hardcovers, I used my store credit to find a used copy of Wicked. I was THIS close to buying a new copy but made one final look around the store and discovered the used fantasy books section. Jackpot!

The other used book I got was Dracula since I've always wanted to read it. Although the Twilight books/movies have totally ruined vampires for the world, I have always had a special interest in the father of all vampires. If it weren't for him, vampires wouldn't be the coolest monsters out there. They're strong and good-looking. They can fly and pick up babes. I guess turning into bats is cool too?

I wish I was a fast reader.

Thought of the Day: 12AM/PM

Song of the Day: Psy feat. 서인영-Thank You

Jordan Classic Low

I take pride in the fact that I'm able to go through a pair of shoes for several years. My current basketball shoes are a few months shy of two years, but I'm going to have to retire them quite soon due to cheap quality and excessive use. That is why I got these Jordans. I've never gotten Jordans for myself because they were always too funky or expensive. When I was in college, my mom and I got Simon a pair of some awesome Jordans that he still claims are the best shoes he's ever had. I don't think my new pair will be on par, but I'm very excited to use them for 2011.

I don't like how I have small feet.

Thought of the Day: Brian

Song of the Day: OLIVIA-Into The Stars

Can you keep it down?

For the past 15 years, I needed to have music wherever I was. I got my first walkman when I was in 4th grade and always listened to it in the car. I bought my first cd player when I was in 9th grade and always listened to that in the bus. In high school and college, my car ALWAYS had something on. And after mp3s and file-sharing, my computer was always playing some playlist. Now, I'm always listening to music on my phone in the subway or when I'm riding my bike.

But for the past couple of months, my computer has been very quiet with no music on. Even now, I type away in silence and feel perfectly fine. This used to bother me as I couldn't stand any silence in my room. Why do I no longer feel the need for sound?

I read an article on cnn.com about noise harms and how many people "stated that street or traffic noise was bothersome...[others] said it was so bad that they wanted to move. More Americans are bothered by noise than by crime, odors and other problems listed under 'other bothersome conditions.'" Reading this article helped me to realize that I'm constantly surrounded by noise because I live in the city. One of the big reasons why I listen to music or sermons is to block out all the noise of this world. But when I come home to my room, that's the one place where I don't have to worry too much about hearing people, traffic, or construction. My ears can take a break for once.

According to the article, Robert Fifer, an associate professor of audiology and speech pathology at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, says: "If you can still hear what people are saying around you, you are at a safe level. If the volume is turned so loudly that you can no longer hear conversation around you, or if someone has to shout at you at a distance of about 2 or 3 feet to get your attention, then you are up in the hazardous noise range." In the end, we all live in a noisy world that needs a lot of blocking out, but I think I need to turn my music down.

Thought of the Day: 대공황

Song of the Day: M.I.A.-There's Space For Ol Dat I See

Actually, better make it pizza day #5. Breakfast and lunch, baby. =D

Pizza Day #4

I came home from basketball only to find a midnight snack waiting for me. Destiny, anyone?

Thought of the Day: Margaret

Song of the Day: De La Soul-Ooh feat. Redman

Piece of Pizza

I had pizza three days in a row. Once for dessert with Nate. Once for church dinner. Once for tonight's last class snack (I love this family).

For my 5th birthday party, I remember going to Round Table and opening up a pack of red peppers. Unfortunately, I spilled all the peppers onto my single slice but didn't want any of it to go to waste. After taking the first few bites, I started crying because my mouth was on fire. I think that's when I fell in love with red peppers.

Like everyone else, I used to pretend to be a Ninja Turtle any time I ate pizza. Of course, I chose Michaelangelo.

I remember going to Ben Kim's pizza birthday party when I was in 5th or 6th grade and seeing boxes and boxes of pizza. That was the first time I had ever heard of Meat Lovers. That was the first (but not the last) time I ever ate so much that it hurt to breathe.

I think it was my fourth year in college when I used to tutor Juho and took him to church on Friday nights. A couple of times, he wanted to stop by Little Caesar's to pick up a $5 pizza on the way home. That boy never offered a single slice to me...and I was so mad every time. Selfish little...

This one time in Korea, I was so excited to eat Costco pizza that I ended up finishing half the box. My friend looked at my uncomfortable face and asked why I had done that. I told him I didn't even know.

But the truth is, I LOVE P-I-Z-Z-A.

Thought of the Day: Korean

Song of the Day: De La Soul-Set The Mood (Feat. Indeed)

Out Of Place

The other night, I had two dreams that were so vivid that I can still remember what they were about. The first one was about being in a world where everything was black and white in the 40s or 50s. I was the only one in color and stood out for obvious reasons. The second dream was about being at a new church but having a lot of difficulty fitting in. In both dreams, I was definitely out of place and very alone. I wonder if this means anything.

A couple of days ago, I asked my 아줌마 students what their short-term and long-term goals were. They all had boring answers like raising their kids well and having good health. So when I told them that I had expected someone to have something related to English, one of them responded, "English isn't a goal; it's a dream," and they all laughed. I don't know whether to think that's funny or sad.

Thought of the Day: PnP?

Song of the Day: Nada Surf-Where Is My Mind

I want to ride my bicycle

Everyone always eats a grip on 추석. I actually didn't eat as much as usual this year though. I had a much better picture of my cousin and aunt taking big bites, but somebody deleted the picture. Why would somebody do that?

I'd been wanting to buy a cheap bike for a long time now and finally got a used one a couple of weeks ago. Ever since, I've been taking more notice of nicer looking bikes and found myself being surprisingly excited over the bike design exhibition at Sports Complex.

The future of bicycles.

The grand prize winner won my heart. Notice how none of these future bikes have chains? Amazing!


We don't have anymore red days until 설날 in freaking February. It was good while it lasted.

Thought of the Day: 유미나

Song of the Day: Naughty By Nature-Feel Me Flow

추석 = Entourage

I watched three hours of Entourage today. It was a nice 추석 holiday.

Thought of the Day: Evolution

Song of the Day: Saigon-Repercussions

No I in Team

Whenever I play basketball with my friend, we always consider the strengths and weaknesses of our team. We pay special attention to the fact that we lack a center or point guard, so we find ourselves playing multiple positions at once which inevitably doesn't work well for our offense/defense. But every once in a while, we have a team where everyone matches their own position, and our team becomes unstoppable. Everything clicks. Chemistry left and right. We feed off of each other's energy and never get tired. A complete team is something very very beautiful.

The church is in many ways a team that has people who do and do not play their positions. Sometimes, we have to take on multiple roles or others have to take upon themselves our burdens. But one thing is certain; no member is self-sufficient. We all have something to offer that others cannot. Although our team is lacking in many ways, today was a reminder of the beautiful and perfect team we are becoming. Four years is a long time, but I am thankful for the team I'm on. The freakin' pink team.

Thought of the Day: Sticker Pictures

Song of the Day: The Brilliant Green-I Just Can't Breathe

Cell Phone Blues

For the past couple of days, I've been trying to fix the lagging problem on my Galaxy S. There are several forums and videos on how to root and tweak your phone so that it's super fast. I tried so many different things, but nothing worked...until I found this one video that happened to use the "International Version," which is what I have. Well, all seemed to go well until my phone was supposed to reboot but got stuck at the reboot screen. I could scroll up and down, but couldn't choose any options. When you're at a boot screen and cannot choose anything, you end up getting stuck there forever. It was like a permanent error.

So I took my phone to the AS (After Service) Center and waited a good three hours. In the end, they told me that what I had tried to do was illegal and there was no way for them to restore my phone, which is why I had to pay an embarrassing amount of money to practically replace the motherboard or whatever the crap it is. I lost so much time, money, sleep, and all of my phone numbers. I don't think I've been this discouraged since I lost my camera just over a year ago. Something always goes wrong at the end of every summer. What a way to finish my fourth year. Happy Birthday, Phil.

Thought of the Day: 할부

Song of the Day: Hyuna-Change

September Night

I'm trying to play as much basketball as possible these days because it will soon be too cold to play...for a long long time. So last night, I played four full court games non-stop because our team was just that awesome. Unfortunately, this one guy charliehorsed me in the same leg twice, once while we were on the same team and once when we played against one another. As a result, I couldn't make it out to the courts tonight as I could barely make it up and down any flight of stairs, including the bus. So here I am blogging on a perfectly weathered Monday night. ㅠㅠ

I started watching Entourage cause I had nothing else to watch. I didn't care much for the first season, but the second is pretty enjoyable so far. It's like the Sex in the City for guys or something. I like how every episode always has celebrity guests who you'd never think would make time to come out in the show. Man, these guys need Christ.

After taking nearly half a year to finish Ender's Shadow, I finally started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Hinds Feet on High Places. The first is my secular bedtime book. The second is my Christian bathroom book. These will probably go into 2011. The Christian one maybe 2012.

Hope your September night was better than mine.

Thought of the Day: Cholesterol

Song of the Day: 2NE1-Go Away

Stingy Moms and Crybaby Dads

Me: Do you know what "stingy" is?

Student: No.

Me: You know, like 짠돌이...구두쇠.

Student: Oh! My mom!

Yesterday, my dad broke down and cried. My mom was so scared that someone had died or gotten into an accident. She had never seen him cry in their 30 years of marriage. It turned out that he just missed my brother. What a baby.

Thought of the Day: 평화롭다 vs. 평화스럽다

Song of the Day: Sweetpea-유기

Simon's Time in Korea

Although Simon should probably be the one posting up these pictures, these memories are mine just as much as they are his.

These are Simon's first friends that he saw in Korea.

Finally, being able to try Mr. Wow. Best hotdog in the world.

WC reunion.

Favorite sleeping position.

Cambodia Team at 돌돌이.

Best 갈매기 in the world with 계란찜 to go around.

My beloved Snugs.

현백 빙수.

Lots and lots of ball.

Gabriel aka Rocky. My favorite cousin.

First time subwaying with entire family.

감자탕 볶음밥.

My favorite 냉면. Check out my stack of bowls. =D

Everyone's favorite 삼겹.

Funny Koreans.

Doing what I do best.

Simon's two favorite 형s. Our unstoppable basketball team.

Best 오겹 in the world.

Amazing water show at 호수공원.

Does that look similar or does that look similar?

Simon's first time eating 회.

Freaking hiking.

Look how wet he is.

Interestingly enough, our only family picture.

Nasty 아구찜.

Times Square. Best mall in the world.

Valence Burger with family.

Dracula Burger. First time eating a garlic burger. Very satisfying.

BoA paid us a visit, but she couldn't get through to us.

Summer Retreat fun. Nate, our awesome gamemaster and hamburger man.

Small and intimate.

Charis and her mother.

Special guest appearance: Jae Kim.

The only reason why I came to retreat.

Here are some of Nate's awesome pictures

.

The EMPCL pastors.

Of course, my dad wanted us to go hiking for his birthday.

I think this was the first time I ever saw my parents holding hands.

Dad's birthday.

The right way.

One more time just father and son.

The last supper.

Although it was difficult to make time for friends, I had a grand time with my family. After not being together for so long, we had our occasional hiccups too. I remember during our third week, I literally got so upset and annoyed by each family member one day after another but only one person at a time. The summer heat didn't help. Mosquitoes were awesome. Nevertheless, 97% of our time was wonderful. It was kinda ironic how it got so cold today on the day Simon left.

I felt so sad and empty when I came home after work and the house was empty. What a summer.

Thought of the Day: Penicillin

Song of the Day: 브로콜리 너마저-보편적인 노래