i am not as big a fan of fruit as some other people i know. still, i find the occasional fresh juicy watermelon, or plump sweet orange, refreshing in these dog days of summer.
what i've discovered is not as nice, is when you take a bunch of fruits that in theory should taste good, and blend them together randomly.
so here's a tip: if you ever come over, and my mom offers to make you a banana-strawberry-orange-cantaloupe-watermelon smoothie......respectfully decline.
Jul 31, 2006
Jul 28, 2006
a samba in the snowy rain
i like the tactile feel of a real keyboard. after having nothing but a laptop for a few years, it's a little bit odd to suddenly have keys with any significant depth to type on again. odd, but nice.
sitting on my toilet, leafing through the latest tigerdirect.ca catalogue, it dawned on me that this was a pretty nerdy thing to be doing. but then i thought -- what does that even mean anymore? certain female friends call us nerds for playing video games, but frankly i'm not entirely convinced that's what makes people nerds anymore. and even if it does, being a nerd simply doesn't carry the same sort of negative connotations it once did.
buying a new computer is almost like buying a car nowadays.
"whooo....nice. got a new computer eh?"
"yup, just picked it up yesterday"
"what's under the hood?"
"dual-core intels, SLI Nvidia cards, 2gigs of ram..."
"sweet, i bet it runs HL2 like a hot knife through butter"
sure, that might sound nerdy to girls. but as if girls understand if i were to go into the details of Audi's new DSG transmission, explaining how amazing it is that torque is available at the low-end of the band without having to compromise the quick shifts of a normal slushbox.
boy talk is boy talk.
what even makes a nerd anymore?
my vote is sitll for dungeons and dragons. but hey.....maybe one day that'll be subculturally chic like computers and gadgets are today. only negrodamus knows.
sitting on my toilet, leafing through the latest tigerdirect.ca catalogue, it dawned on me that this was a pretty nerdy thing to be doing. but then i thought -- what does that even mean anymore? certain female friends call us nerds for playing video games, but frankly i'm not entirely convinced that's what makes people nerds anymore. and even if it does, being a nerd simply doesn't carry the same sort of negative connotations it once did.
buying a new computer is almost like buying a car nowadays.
"whooo....nice. got a new computer eh?"
"yup, just picked it up yesterday"
"what's under the hood?"
"dual-core intels, SLI Nvidia cards, 2gigs of ram..."
"sweet, i bet it runs HL2 like a hot knife through butter"
sure, that might sound nerdy to girls. but as if girls understand if i were to go into the details of Audi's new DSG transmission, explaining how amazing it is that torque is available at the low-end of the band without having to compromise the quick shifts of a normal slushbox.
boy talk is boy talk.
what even makes a nerd anymore?
my vote is sitll for dungeons and dragons. but hey.....maybe one day that'll be subculturally chic like computers and gadgets are today. only negrodamus knows.
Jul 27, 2006
five dollers
Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey. ~O.C. (utmost)
Jul 24, 2006
knock 'em out
i don't understand why just because something says "prada" on it, it has to cost twice as much as something that says "esprit". especially when it's not clothing. just a piece of plastic, the same fit, make, and quality, but a different little word stenciled on the side.
stupid capitalism.
i think buying a new pair of glasses today was a microcosm of my shopping history -- i like something, but am not willing to pay for it. and so instead of buying something i really want, and would realy be happy with, i end up settling for something that's nice. not great. not perfect. just....pretty nice. but i know i have to settle, because in a year or two, these glasses are probably going to end up like all the others -- in shambles, being held together with tape on my face.
on the bright side, thank God for crazy glue.
stupid capitalism.
i think buying a new pair of glasses today was a microcosm of my shopping history -- i like something, but am not willing to pay for it. and so instead of buying something i really want, and would realy be happy with, i end up settling for something that's nice. not great. not perfect. just....pretty nice. but i know i have to settle, because in a year or two, these glasses are probably going to end up like all the others -- in shambles, being held together with tape on my face.
on the bright side, thank God for crazy glue.
Jul 21, 2006
we're here
i am addicted to the guillemots. anyone familiar with my more neurotic -- and debatably pretentious -- idiosyncratic listening habits will know that i rarely put things into constant rotation. now i must admit: i have been listening to this album (nearly) non-stop.
on an unrelated note, i think if i were a communist dictator for life, one of the first things i'd do is update the wardrobe of my regime. neutral coloured leisure suits are awesome if you're going for the mod look, but come on -- you're going to have to prove to the world you're the good kind of dictator. lets splash a little colour in there.
see, that's where i think all the communist regimes so far have gone wrong. the PR battle. currently, north korean's kind of look like lower class refugees from china circa 1953. but if the government spent a bit of money and bought everyone just ONE cool outfit and made them wear it every day, we'd think the northies were not all that bad.
just imagine turning on CNN and seeing a city full of asians in stylish and bright fob clothes. sure, their faces would still seem depressed, but could the average north american tell the difference between beijing and pyongyang then? i bet not. asian are skinny to begin with, so the malnutrition probably wouldn't even be noticed on camera. is this tactic not obvious to anyone in in north korea? just think about it! presto! guess what? with some cool clothes, north korea now seems like china! and china is kind of cool lately! thus, north korea must be a-ok too!
easy as pie.
anyways, if i ruled a country, i'd also make everyone wear a crown all the time. that way if anyone ever wanted to attempt a coup, they'd have to figure out who the REAL ruler was first, and by then, i'd have had time to get into my secret shuttle and escape to austin, texas. hopefully in time for the next taping of ACL.
on an unrelated note, i think if i were a communist dictator for life, one of the first things i'd do is update the wardrobe of my regime. neutral coloured leisure suits are awesome if you're going for the mod look, but come on -- you're going to have to prove to the world you're the good kind of dictator. lets splash a little colour in there.
see, that's where i think all the communist regimes so far have gone wrong. the PR battle. currently, north korean's kind of look like lower class refugees from china circa 1953. but if the government spent a bit of money and bought everyone just ONE cool outfit and made them wear it every day, we'd think the northies were not all that bad.
just imagine turning on CNN and seeing a city full of asians in stylish and bright fob clothes. sure, their faces would still seem depressed, but could the average north american tell the difference between beijing and pyongyang then? i bet not. asian are skinny to begin with, so the malnutrition probably wouldn't even be noticed on camera. is this tactic not obvious to anyone in in north korea? just think about it! presto! guess what? with some cool clothes, north korea now seems like china! and china is kind of cool lately! thus, north korea must be a-ok too!
easy as pie.
anyways, if i ruled a country, i'd also make everyone wear a crown all the time. that way if anyone ever wanted to attempt a coup, they'd have to figure out who the REAL ruler was first, and by then, i'd have had time to get into my secret shuttle and escape to austin, texas. hopefully in time for the next taping of ACL.
Jul 19, 2006
sao paolo
staring outside into my backyard, i can see dozens of clouds of mosquitoes hovering ominously over my lawn. the thought of my lot being overrun by bloodsuckers gives me the chills. and thus the pros and cons of living near a ravine. i went for a jog last night and came back more itchy than sweaty. on the bright side, i now know that having the duel distraction of scratching my arms and picking a wedgie while i run makes the time pass surprisingly fast.
to me, conciously trying to appreciate all that i take for granted is kind of like falling down an escalator -- you never get to the end (also, fruit baskets are cool.....).
my family isn't what you would call "the full-house family". i don't even think we'd qualify as the typical asian canadian family. but i certainly take them for granted. however, they sometimes surprise me with reminders of how much they actually care, despite the fact that as much as i hate to admit it, i often act like the immature baby of the family because i know i can get away with it. and i hate doing that, because i don't treat anyone else that way. only my family, who will always let things slide, and who will always have my back.
and what else is family there for anyways? if not for you to depend on them, and to be dependable for.
its weird how growing up i always thought my family was devoid of affection, or emotion. nowadays though, as life gets more complicated with age, i find myself understanding the simpler and more subtle gestures of love.
and who would have thought -- but my family is teaching me what it really means to love. something i'm conciously trying to pay attention to.
its always the last place you look eh? funny how that works....
to me, conciously trying to appreciate all that i take for granted is kind of like falling down an escalator -- you never get to the end (also, fruit baskets are cool.....).
my family isn't what you would call "the full-house family". i don't even think we'd qualify as the typical asian canadian family. but i certainly take them for granted. however, they sometimes surprise me with reminders of how much they actually care, despite the fact that as much as i hate to admit it, i often act like the immature baby of the family because i know i can get away with it. and i hate doing that, because i don't treat anyone else that way. only my family, who will always let things slide, and who will always have my back.
and what else is family there for anyways? if not for you to depend on them, and to be dependable for.
its weird how growing up i always thought my family was devoid of affection, or emotion. nowadays though, as life gets more complicated with age, i find myself understanding the simpler and more subtle gestures of love.
and who would have thought -- but my family is teaching me what it really means to love. something i'm conciously trying to pay attention to.
its always the last place you look eh? funny how that works....
Jul 15, 2006
where'd you go
the funniest commercial on television right now is the gillette fusion spot where some dude catches two fireballs thrown at him and combines them into a five-blade razor. really? i didn't realize a manual razor was the result of a dragonball battle. i know it's about image, and being over dramatic is part and parcel of advertising...but really? is there a cheesier ad anywhere out there right now?
the best part is right after he shaves his face with his fireballs, a chick that looks displaced from the swedish bikini team magically appears just to stroke his face.
i must concede -- my razor doesn't do that.
the best part is right after he shaves his face with his fireballs, a chick that looks displaced from the swedish bikini team magically appears just to stroke his face.
i must concede -- my razor doesn't do that.
Jul 14, 2006
strings
from the BBC:
does anyone else find that hillarious? they pioneered the holy war man, they're the OG gangstaz.
that's like duchamps looking at someone's art and being all like "dude, wtf? you call that art? lets have some standards here"
anyways, in all seriousness, watching CNN work around the clock to make a bad situation seem even scarier is making my afternoons pass so much faster. i realize i'm watching a potential war unfold the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. but still, you KNOW they're pressing for those family dinner tv neilsons.
i may be imagining things, but if you look carefully, i swear every time a new report of rocket launches into israel reaches the studio, i see wolf blitzer wet his pants a litte.
French President Jacques Chirac said the Israeli air strikes were "completely disproportionate" and the Vatican described them as an attack on a sovereign and free nationthe french, no one cares. but you know it's bad when the catholics are telling two other religions to stop fighting. they're like "whoa jews, whoa. calm down there, lets not get all loco here".
does anyone else find that hillarious? they pioneered the holy war man, they're the OG gangstaz.
that's like duchamps looking at someone's art and being all like "dude, wtf? you call that art? lets have some standards here"
anyways, in all seriousness, watching CNN work around the clock to make a bad situation seem even scarier is making my afternoons pass so much faster. i realize i'm watching a potential war unfold the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. but still, you KNOW they're pressing for those family dinner tv neilsons.
i may be imagining things, but if you look carefully, i swear every time a new report of rocket launches into israel reaches the studio, i see wolf blitzer wet his pants a litte.
Jul 13, 2006
the coast is always changing
i normally don't make a habit of posting pictures of my underwear for the world to see, but this is truly a case worthy of encyclopedia brown (and trusty old sally, the brawn behind the brains). we'll call it: the case of the destroyed drawers.
this morning when i put this pair of boxers on, they were perfectly normal. i did nothing out of the ordinary in the morning and afternoon, some sitting, some standing, some walking around the house. in the evening, i went to play basketball for about 3 hours straight. i do feel compelled to note that the gym was insanely humid -- as in, we had to wipe the floor down a few times to keep the condensation (and twisted, mangled body parts) at bay. it was a long run, i didn't sit at all during those three hours.
upon returning home, i proceeded to take a well deserved shower. as i disrobed however, i noticed that my underwear had for some reason transformed from normal boxer shorts, into the textile equivalent of the black guy in a freddy kreuger movie.
how did this happen? was the friction from my muscular (and frankly, greek god-like) legs simply too much for the fabric to handle? was the humidity and sweat combined simply a recipe for material disaster?
this morning when i put this pair of boxers on, they were perfectly normal. i did nothing out of the ordinary in the morning and afternoon, some sitting, some standing, some walking around the house. in the evening, i went to play basketball for about 3 hours straight. i do feel compelled to note that the gym was insanely humid -- as in, we had to wipe the floor down a few times to keep the condensation (and twisted, mangled body parts) at bay. it was a long run, i didn't sit at all during those three hours.
upon returning home, i proceeded to take a well deserved shower. as i disrobed however, i noticed that my underwear had for some reason transformed from normal boxer shorts, into the textile equivalent of the black guy in a freddy kreuger movie.
how did this happen? was the friction from my muscular (and frankly, greek god-like) legs simply too much for the fabric to handle? was the humidity and sweat combined simply a recipe for material disaster?
encyclopedia closed his eyes for a minute, as he always did when pondering his most difficult cases.turn to page 76 for the answer to: the case of the destroyed drawers.
"put those questions away yau. it's clear that the reason those shorts are ripped is because...."
Jul 12, 2006
trains to brazil
something i will never understand is why people would have both a xanga and a blog that they update regularly. who has so much to write that they require two websites to keep track of their life and thoughts? strange.
Jul 11, 2006
sake
the following things are some of my simpler pleasures.
- close and timely parking spots
- sports movies
- microwaveable tupperware
- discovering a new kickass band
- good conversations
- anything that was free
- high download speeds
- my bed
a constantly updated list. what's yours?
- close and timely parking spots
- sports movies
- microwaveable tupperware
- discovering a new kickass band
- good conversations
- anything that was free
- high download speeds
- my bed
a constantly updated list. what's yours?
Jul 10, 2006
truck driving man
one of my hobbies is playing sports. any sport. i'll play them all, and even better yet -- i'll play them all competitively. i spend five of my seven days a week playing some sort of organized sport.
this has often caused me to make some difficult decisions concerning how i allocate my free time.
on top of playing an absurd amount of sports, i am also the type of person who spends a lot of time with friends. sure, i have some mild introvertive tendencies, but by-and-large my car is usually tooling around the city hopping from place to place meeting people.
up to this point, i've always figured that i have all my life to hang out with friends. but i'm only young once, and as such i should do all the things my body still allows me to do while it lasts. this includes playing every sport i can find.
as the summer ticks away however, i find myself increasingly feeling guilty for not spending enough time with people. for not keeping in touch with old friends, bothering to reach out to new ones, and perhaps not caring for the ones i already have quite as much as i should.
i realize i am no one's saviour. i don't claim to be that egotistical or naive, though i may feign it at times.
but i still feel that God has blessed me immeasurably. with health, with friends, with a wonderful situation in life. someone recently reminded me of the thought that we are expected to give back to God what he has given us. that it is our responsibility to take the talents and resources we are blessed with not for our own satisfaction, but for the purposes that He has set out for us.
i've been putting myself first for so long. and to what end?
reality slap in the face.
so long coming. so badly needed.
this has often caused me to make some difficult decisions concerning how i allocate my free time.
on top of playing an absurd amount of sports, i am also the type of person who spends a lot of time with friends. sure, i have some mild introvertive tendencies, but by-and-large my car is usually tooling around the city hopping from place to place meeting people.
up to this point, i've always figured that i have all my life to hang out with friends. but i'm only young once, and as such i should do all the things my body still allows me to do while it lasts. this includes playing every sport i can find.
as the summer ticks away however, i find myself increasingly feeling guilty for not spending enough time with people. for not keeping in touch with old friends, bothering to reach out to new ones, and perhaps not caring for the ones i already have quite as much as i should.
i realize i am no one's saviour. i don't claim to be that egotistical or naive, though i may feign it at times.
but i still feel that God has blessed me immeasurably. with health, with friends, with a wonderful situation in life. someone recently reminded me of the thought that we are expected to give back to God what he has given us. that it is our responsibility to take the talents and resources we are blessed with not for our own satisfaction, but for the purposes that He has set out for us.
i've been putting myself first for so long. and to what end?
reality slap in the face.
so long coming. so badly needed.
Jul 8, 2006
lightning blue eyes
is it possible to have had a simultaneously productive, and yet unproductive week? many awesome things, yet not some simple things that i promised myself i'd get done.
also, i should be asleep now, and yet i'm awake early on a saturday morning. painfully early.
illuminate was good times. much fun was had and i'm so blessed to have a church full of talented and open hearted young people. i learn so much more than i am willing to admit from them, and i'm starting to feel like i have a purpose for being home -- for having this burden to help them grow and mature in ways that i did, and so much more. church is exciting again, and that in itself is amazing to me.
church is encouraging. personally, i have seen better days.
i often think about whether being in a cave is a bad thing. i've heard the cliches, that God does good work in caves, that we can't always be on the mountain top.
my worry is that i'm using this rationale to dwell in the cave when God is actually calling me out of it. that perhaps i am using struggle as an excuse to not strive for more. it's the wrong kind of struggle right now -- its not the passionate struggle to find His will. it's more simply a struggle to give a damn at all.
i pray not just for discipline, but to thirst for discipline.
not just to show love in action, but to know intimately what love truly is.
such a thin line. such a huge difference.
also, i should be asleep now, and yet i'm awake early on a saturday morning. painfully early.
illuminate was good times. much fun was had and i'm so blessed to have a church full of talented and open hearted young people. i learn so much more than i am willing to admit from them, and i'm starting to feel like i have a purpose for being home -- for having this burden to help them grow and mature in ways that i did, and so much more. church is exciting again, and that in itself is amazing to me.
church is encouraging. personally, i have seen better days.
i often think about whether being in a cave is a bad thing. i've heard the cliches, that God does good work in caves, that we can't always be on the mountain top.
my worry is that i'm using this rationale to dwell in the cave when God is actually calling me out of it. that perhaps i am using struggle as an excuse to not strive for more. it's the wrong kind of struggle right now -- its not the passionate struggle to find His will. it's more simply a struggle to give a damn at all.
i pray not just for discipline, but to thirst for discipline.
not just to show love in action, but to know intimately what love truly is.
such a thin line. such a huge difference.
Jul 4, 2006
the professors here
it is a dry time in sporting news. basketball and hockey are done, baseball games don't matter yet, and football has yet to start. no good sports on tv make for long, slow, lazy days. fortunately the free agency market for both hockey and basketball have been frantic, and major moves are being made by teams and players alike.
toronto actually has a bit of sports buzz going this year. the leafs have a solid defense for a change, the raptors are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the jays are hanging in there despite injuries. this fall will probably be exciting for all the major teams here, something we haven't experienced for some time now.
it's pouring outside right now. it looks like typhoon season has hit southern ontario.
a few years back, i remember having a discussion with people about how realistically people can only have like, 15 close friends, and any more then that and you start to replace people. something about us only being able to handle so many relationships at any given time.
i've concluded that my number is probably somewhere closer to five.
since i've moved back home to SCAC, the kids just keep growing on me. watching them grow up and learn, take on responsibility, mature and eventually teach you a thing or two back. that seriously makes the days that much more worth waking up for.
finally, i just got an email about an H&M warehouse sale this thursday and friday.
doesn't that store already sell stuff for like five bucks? this might be like the cheapest warehouse sale ever. but its in brampton. that may be a good thing however, since if it were a toronto sale, the lines would be several hours long.
i guess if i'm willing to drive there for an ikea dinner, dirt cheap clothing might be worth the trip.
maybe.
toronto actually has a bit of sports buzz going this year. the leafs have a solid defense for a change, the raptors are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the jays are hanging in there despite injuries. this fall will probably be exciting for all the major teams here, something we haven't experienced for some time now.
it's pouring outside right now. it looks like typhoon season has hit southern ontario.
a few years back, i remember having a discussion with people about how realistically people can only have like, 15 close friends, and any more then that and you start to replace people. something about us only being able to handle so many relationships at any given time.
i've concluded that my number is probably somewhere closer to five.
since i've moved back home to SCAC, the kids just keep growing on me. watching them grow up and learn, take on responsibility, mature and eventually teach you a thing or two back. that seriously makes the days that much more worth waking up for.
finally, i just got an email about an H&M warehouse sale this thursday and friday.
doesn't that store already sell stuff for like five bucks? this might be like the cheapest warehouse sale ever. but its in brampton. that may be a good thing however, since if it were a toronto sale, the lines would be several hours long.
i guess if i'm willing to drive there for an ikea dinner, dirt cheap clothing might be worth the trip.
maybe.
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