march into the sea

i'm using this huge, giant, ridiculously oversized computer monitor right now that's plugged into my laptop.

i don't want to give it back. this thing is....awesome.

anyone see the new gilbert arenas commercial? the "impossible is 0" one?

youtube it. it's an awesome commercial if you like gil.

incomplete

i just watched stranger than fiction.

A SEA FOAM FENDER STRAT!!!

that's my dream guitar! i wanted to buy a sea foam strat but couldn't afford it, so i got the white dano.

stranger than fiction indeeeeed. i wonder if this means someone is writing a book about my life.

i bet it'd be a pretty stupid book.

i need a friend with a boat

i've been told my recent lack of appearances are starting to push me into the fringe of our little socialsphere. well now, that's just unkind.

busy busy, but i'm trying to make time for people, i swear to god. my best friend right now is definitely....my car. and the soothing voices of CBC radio shows.

so it would appear that despite the protestation and snarky remarks about people who get into relationships then disappear from their friends lives, i have clearly become one of those people, hahaha

not that i have any regrets; nor would i conclude any causes should be directly shouldered by my lovely better half (or as facebook calls her, my "significant other") that i could not arguably rationalize as equal parts due to work and school responsibilities.

i am, however, willing to concede that truly, i have become that which i at one time mocked.

naturally, i remain pragmatic and optimistic about the situation. i have but a month of school left, after which i hope to reconnect with people who i am essentially ignoring right now.

in the meantime however, this is a most general and impersonal attempt at an apology for my utter self-alienation. at least the irony is not lost on me, non?

keep sending me emails to stuff. at least then i'll know what i'm missing when i'm missing it.

and no, that was not sarcasm.

and neither was that.

now bed time. the favourite, most cherished part of the my day....

for agent 13

we can run all we want, but sometimes you just can't outrun the truth.

it's kind of funny. being purposely vague is like, just this thing i do.

i can't explain it, naturally.

dark horse

wow.

i'm so not as young as i used to be....

national anthem of nowhere

Raptors reaching new heights.

As the Toronto Raptors continue their unexpected success atop the NBA’s Atlantic division, the optimism surrounding the team is at an unfamiliar high.

Not since their mid-90’s playoff run to the Eastern Conference finals have fans and observers been so keen to see what lies ahead for the young basketball team.

Sporting the leagues third best winning percentage since the all-star break behind such perennial powerhouses as Dallas and Detroit, much of the turnaround concerning the team’s future centers (no pun intended) around first overall draft pick Andrea Bargnani.

The seven-foot Italian has quickly proven draft night critics wrong, developing faster than perhaps even the Raptors expected. Bargnani, averaging 11 points and nearly 4 rebounds per game, has quickly become a valuable contributor to the surging team off the bench.

Witnessing the ball movement, unselfishness, and rapid development of their prized rookie, one cannot help but wonder what could have changed so drastically in Toronto over the course of a year.

When Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo arrived in the city a year ago, his vision was to build a team that many coined “Phoenix North”.

Colangelo acquired players that fit the Phoenix run-and-gun mold -- athletic, unselfish individuals who could all handle the ball, and shoot from the perimeter. Indeed, much was made about the Raptors pushing the tempo and attempting 100 shots per game during the early stages of the season.

As the games wore on however, the Raptors eventually realized that running the floor was in fact not their greatest advantage. Rather, it was their players.

With all-star Chris Bosh and Bargnani both comfortable on the perimeter, the Raptors have begun to move the ball in their half-court offense, daring opponents to double Bosh in the low post and leave one of his teammates open. This is particularly frustrating because almost every player on the Raptors roster has a solid outside jumper, and is capable of making it should they receive that pass from Bosh.

Moreover, Bosh and Bargnani have been creating mismatch nightmares for opposing defenses, running a high-post screen and roll with point guards TJ Ford and Jose Calderon. Defenders are forced to step out on the speedy guards, creating space for either of the Raptor big men to roll to the net and receive the pass, or pop out and shoot an 18 foot jumper.

Although almost every team in the NBA utilizes this same play, the Raptors have been able to make it their bread-and-butter offensive set. And the reason the Toronto can run the basic basketball play so well, lies with the team’s personnel.

In their point guard platoon, the Raptors have two pass-first point guards with high basketball IQ’s. This is a necessity in an effective screen and roll, and a vast upgrade over the shoot-first mentality of ex-starting point guard Mike James.

Most importantly however, Bosh and Bargnani have developed a comfort level with their guards, setting solid screen and making good decisions that usually result in the ball being in their hands, and an uncontested look at the rim.

The results have been astounding, as the Ford and Calderon combination is averaging nearly 12 assists per game, Bosh (23 ppg) is having a career year in scoring, and Bargnani is now a leading candidate for rookie of the year honours.

However, the most curious aspect of the Raptors rise is not their current winning record, or even the emergence of Bosh and Bargnani to the cusp of superstardom.

Indeed, the most fascinating aspect about Toronto is their tantalizing potential. Watching teams struggle to defend the teams prized pair of big men, one cannot help but see the future of Basketball blossoming in the cold corners of Canada.

7 footers who are comfortable putting the ball on the floor, shooting off the dribble, and stepping outside to shoot the three are rare. 7 footers who do all that while also rebounding, contesting shots at the rim, get their teammates involved, and play tough in the post however, are nearly impossible to find – and Toronto has two of them.

A team built around a pair of such versatile big men has never been assembled, and so there is little precedence for where the Raptors may go from here.

Historically, dominant centers and guards have ruled the NBA. With a new generation of ball-handling forwards however, the mold created by Kevin Garnett, and expanded by European imports such as Dirk Nowitzki, continues to evolve.

With do-it-all giants such as University of Texas freshman Kevin Durant set to enter the league, the paradigm of what players an NBA champion needs to be built around seems to be shifting.

The recent emphasis on skill brought on by the Phoenix suns fluid style of play only magnifies the potential of big-men equally comfortable playing with finesse and power.

It is fitting then, that the small ball era Bryan Colangelo started in the desert, will grow (literally) and take its next step here in Toronto. Regardless of whether the new, larger NBA turns out to be a fad or an actual revolution, Raptors fans will have front row seats to watch it unfold – fittingly in the home of the world’s tallest free standing structure.

this fire

it's awful white outside. and i don't mean that as some overarching social commentary on race relations. i mean it's snowing a lot.

i'm wearing a long sleeve shirt under my hoodie. i have my hood on my head, and i'm wearing a pair of those really thin wool gloves that the lady cashiers use at the local chinese supermarket.

the thermometer in my room reads 14 degrees Celsius. uncool. uncool.

anyways, i've decided to start lugging my laptop around the house and working in other corners, hoping to perhaps kickstart my productivity. first stop, my big red chair.

also, i start my two week today, where i will drink nothing but water. if i don't make it till the weekend, know that i loved you all.

black wave

there's a herd of deer living in my backyard. they all seem to be does or fawns, i have yet to see a buck.

i've counted as many as 8, and usually they just hang around my house, or eat the bushes in my backyard. last night when i came home, all 8 of them were eating the shrubs in-between our neighbours and our front yards.

it's so odd. when you get close, they kind of just all freeze and state directly at you. i mean, it seems that they're pretty accustomed to human presence since they don't run away at noise or anything. i drove up, parked in my garage and walked to my door, and they just kept eating.

well, eating and staring. it's kind of spooky. but kind of.....cool.

anyways, it's only odd because they're don't seem to be just visiting. i've been seeing them almost every other day for the past couple of weeks. and they're SO close. i mean, sometimes i wake up in the morning and look at the window, and i swear they're peering in at me wondering what i'm up to. or i'll be watching tv in the basement and look out the window, and theres 3 of them just chillin by the bbq.

i feel like i live in Nara.

intervention

things just gotta get done sometimes, y'know?

the biggest mistake is thinking i have to do it all alone. that life is some sort of burden for me to bear.

letting it go not by giving up, but by embracing it all as a testament to how amazing He is.

knowing when to say thanks, instead of "i got this"

learning to be humble, and learning that humbleness is what really makes you stronger in the end.

cool breeze on the rocks

anyone see that clip of pairs figure skater Jessica Dube getting kicked in the mouth by her partner? all i can say is.....ouch. i just hope for dude's sake that they aren't one of those pairs that are dating too. imagine trying to get out of the dog house on that one.

"i'm sorry i kicked you in the face with my skate and caused severe lacerations sweetie....have you lost weight? you look great...."

anyways, the weekend rant:

i want to build my own furniture.

ok, i guess that isn't really a rant, but you know....a guy's gotta have goals.

suffer for fashion

change freaks me out man.

i just realized that the past year has been ridiculous. my life a year ago is absolutely unrecognizable compared to my life now. i was moseying along just fine until i became aware of how much my life has actually changed.

now i'm all freaked out and unsure of things.

stupid brain. i should stop thinking while i'm ahead. oh well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
amusing parent anecdote #51

*Simon finishes a cell phone conversation towards the end of dinner*

mom: who was that?
me: a friend, he was asking for restaurant suggestions for valentines day dates
dad: it depends on his budget
me: i think he's aiming for around $50 per person
dad: that's not very much....that's like a normal meal. he should just go to a chinese restaurant
me: i think he's looking for something a little more romantic....
dad: valentines day is stupid anyways. it's such a waste of money. just go to swiss chalet.
me: uh....ok
mom: when we were dating, all your dad did was come over and eat free meals at my house.
me: smooth dad, smooth. any other keen dating tips for me?
dad: what? it's not about money. me and mom used to eat cheap food all the time, it's about memories, not money
mom: i don't remember any of those meals...

*about ten seconds of awkward silence*

dad: tell carmen to come over and eat with us for valentines day.
me: uh....i'm going to pass
dad: you should take her to a chinese restaurant
me: uhhh.....
dad: or swiss chalet
me: i have to go now.....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

you know what the kicker to this story is? guess what we were eating for dinner at the time?

yup. swiss chalet.

warning

oh boston.

you are officially the most uncool american city, and the laughingstock of pretty much the entire world.

bravo, squares. bravo.

we/fall/down

sometimes, we can forget who we are.

i found my parting gift from ACF and popped it in tonight on a whim. although undergrad was a mere two years prior, it feels like an eternity ago. how quickly have i forgotten what i learned at ACF, losing track of the love that surrounded us there.

i always did regret my time at western, in that i never gave ACF my all. i always held back, socially, spiritually; my commitment was not there, nor was my undivided heart. my friends were amazing, and the fellowship was an inspiration and community that i cannot describe adequately in words. if i could go back and do it all over again, i would embrace ACF much, much more.

but God always gives us second chances. and the lessons learned in my past will not go unheeded.

the hardest part isn't not knowing what's next.

it's knowing full well what you are capable of, and holding yourself to those expectations and responsibilities. to not run away from who you know you are, or what God has in store for you, and especially who you know you could be. even if that means working harder, or sacrificing, or committing to things that you would rather not commit to because that might make your responsibilities that much more tangible.

growing up is such a strange phrase. i mean, we're in our mid twenties and most of us have full-time jobs already. we're grown ups. but at the same time, we still have so much more to learn -- hell, i plan on growing up until the day i kick the bucket. we'll never stop growing as people.

but some steps are bigger than others. but you gotta take one, before you can take the next -- regardless of how scary those steps may seem.

waiting for the 7:18

it's 14 degrees Celsius in my bedroom.

i'm cold.

and in perhaps the news of the day:

Caffeinated Doughnuts!

lovestoned//ithinksheknows

yes, i enjoy this song way more than i should. i'm not ashamed to say it.

you know that scene in Big where tom hanks goes back to the fortune telling machine and wants to be a kid again?

that's like....exactly how i'm feeling this past week.

come onnnnn non-busy days ahead!

pam berry

wow.

the new shins album is just.....

wow.

ride

there is absolutely not a bone in my body that has come to grips with what the next 4-5 months are going to be like.

no a one.

i just want to shut it down man. this....this ain't right.

province

i want an iphone....

www.apple.com

youshouldbehatedhere

i should be asleep, but i'm up comparing my new koss-ksc75's to my senn hd477's. they're actually pretty close. it's almost a crapshoot at this point, i'm debating just using them to listen to different genre's of music. the fact that i have these portable suckers for my mp3 player now is icing on the cake though. it honestly is the best $20 i've spent in many many moons.

it's funny how happy a pair of $20 headphones makes me. i feel like i accomplished something, as if i'm starting my own little budget audiophile headphone collection. anyways, now that i'm done nerding it up, i'm going back to my music.

it's gonna be one of those long, pensive, quiet nights where i give my last.fm charts a much needed workout.

i'll be tired tomorrow.

it'll be worth it.

worlds apart

i always end up back at this song....

wait for you

facebook finally.

i feel so dirty. honestly though, i looked at it and there's too many things to click on. too many groups to join, too many steps to go through. i don't get the appeal. on the bright side, now i feel less left out with all my school friends since they're all alllllways on it, with inside jokes and stuff.

this is like how i held out on MSN for 5 years. i always cave. i'm so ashamed.

clapyourhands!

merry christmas folks.

sawdustanddiamonds

my freestyle rapping career ran into a little stumble today. my audience had a tough time deciphering my sick rhymes. maybe i'm too ahead of the curve, ahead of the times (i rhyme even when i don't mean to. i'm awesome). maybe the game ain't ready for me. maybe.....maybe.....

ever feel good, but yet not good, because all that goodness seem everyday to be held together tenuously by a thin and straining thread? yea, that's how i feel these days.

i wish i weren't so cynical. i mean, sure, i wouldn't have my dry and charming sense of comic wit, but seriously -- it's tiring being cynical all the time. i wish i could just have a little faith once in a while, just put my brain into cruise control and hope for the best, instead of over analyzing everything and expecting the worst.

i'm like one of those guys who is scared of planes coming out of the sky and killing him. actually, i just realized someone told me they legitimately feared that once. i guess we're all in this crazy world together sometimes.

have a little faith

some things are worth staying up for. friends around the world, but still near and dear.

dcsy says:
i'm smitten
dcsy says:
smmmmitttttten
nomiS. says:
are you saying that actually
nomiS. says:
or just for the sake of saying it?
dcsy says:
yeah i am hahaha
nomiS. says:
words that end in "mitten" are generally cute
nomiS. says:
like, kitten
dcsy says:
or itten
nomiS. says:
oh yea
nomiS. says:
kmitten
dcsy says:
kmitten
nomiS. says:
whoa
nomiS. says:
actually, i guess there are only 3 words that end in itten
nomiS. says:
but they all seem cute
nomiS. says:
so you're smitten huh?
dcsy says:
cute soft and furry
dcsy says:
im not smitten
nomiS. says:
that's quite the quote
nomiS. says:
hahaahha
dcsy says:
i was just saying it for the sound of it
nomiS. says:
you can't take it back
nomiS. says:
i have it archived for future reference. (thank you, MSN)
dcsy says:
i hate u
dcsy says:
archive that one
nomiS. says:
dcsy says:
i'm smitten
dcsy says:
smmmmitttttten
dcsy says:
i really hate u

lovestoned

i think i should start sleeping and waking up earlier. i seem unrested when i wake up in the....afternoon....

i don't understand the big deal about the rumble in MSG last week. we're all just a bunch of racists. tie domi can punch a heckler in the face while tom cheek eggs him on from the box, roger clemens can throw a heavy piece of splintered wood at someone, and it's news, but not any sort of negative reflection on the game.

but a fight breaks out because of competitive spirits in basketball, and everyone assumes black people are thugs. like...what? i don't understand how todd bertuzi or marty macsorley could not have a long term impact in peoples minds for hockey, but for some reason fist fights are a black eye on the public image of a sport, turning into an event that is hard to let go or forget.

like, come on mainstream america, be a little less subtle about your deep rooted discrimination at least. i'm just waiting for the guys at CNNSI to blurt out....."while we're at it, oj was guilty, rosa parks should have stayed at the back, and martin luther king junior was a hate monger. also, uncle ben makes crappy rice."

chinese new year

www.willitblend.com

we use a blendtec at work to make cold drinks.

the scientist guy is just hilarious though. the shots of him just smiling are worth the price of admission. which is....free.

from the inside out

tea, guitar, and a lazy afternoon.

good times.

good monsters

dammit.

holidays and saturdays

the song title for this post is eerily apt. i suppose it could be even more appropriate if i was already on holidays, but enh. close enough.

life moves on.

things i can no longer do in my house:
- walk around in just my boxers
- shower and use the toilet with the door open
- blast music at 1am
- drink like a fish
- play guitar at 2am

on the bright side, my parents have been home for less than a full day and my fridge is already stocked with orange juice and soya milk.

it's nice to have some constants in life.

l o o k a t u s n o w

a great story about dwayne wade. we lose track of the fact that athletes are human beings, who more often than not have overcome a million-to-one odds to reach where they are.

SI's Sportsman of the Year

o h m y g o d

"Sometimes I can not forgive
and these days mercy cuts so deep,
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep.
While I lay, I'd dream we're better, scales were gone and faces lighter,
When we wake we hate our brother, we still move to hurt each other,
Sometimes I can close my eyes and all the fear the keeps me silent,
Falls below my heavy breathing, what makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder, we all feel the need through wonder.
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the plunder.

Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven,
All the times I thought to reach up, all the times I had to give up.
Babies underneath their beds, in hospitals that cannot treat them.
All the wounds that money causes, all the comforts of cathedrals,
All the cries of thirsty children, this is our inheritance,
All the rage of watching mothers, this is our greatest offense
Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God."

and the snow made it perfect.

as it turns out, the second i even heeded the voice of the cynical side, it was over. i realized i was no longer content because i was content. and the fact that i knew i was soon going to have to move from my contented spot immediately made me discontented.

we. people. i. am such a fool. always thinking its whats in the picture that matters -- that means anything in the long run. when really, it's irrelevant.

the work, the accolades, the great situations, the perfect people, the fortunate happenstances.

it all comes up short when the din dies down, and you start to really think about it. when that cynical voice starts to question, and pushes you to want more -- to consume more, desire more, think that more will help you feel what you need to feel.

and really -- what you needed was not a feeling.

it was meaning.

a meaning that was here all along.

a meaning that never left you in the first place.

a meaning for which i am thankful beyond words.

t h e e x e c u t i o n o f a l l t h i n g s

i feel completely content.

the cynical side of me is screaming that this can't last.

s t a r t h e r e

i wonder sometimes if i'm actually not that busy, but rather just manage my time horribly.

i think this is about 80% the case, while 20% is that i really am pretty busy.

then again, if this was true, i probably wouldn't know how busy i really was anyways, so i would have no way to accurately gauge.

damn you time management. damn you. at least i didn't double book anything this week. i hate when that happens.

h e a v e n

i went ahead and brought my coffeemaker down into my room yesterday, then set it to brew a fresh pot when my alarm clock was set to go off.

i'm such an addict it's not even funny anymore.

on the brightside, i think i finally found an alarm that's going to work for me.

open my eyes, drink a mug of coffee, and now it's barely 10:30am and i've been awake for an hour, but i feel ready to destroy the day, hahahaha

man, at this rate i'm going to be drinking 10 coffee's a day.

current count: 2

s u n d a y m o r n i n g

it's funny how perspective can change so quickly. we think our eyes are open already, but in a matter of days -- or hours even, everything we thought made sense seems stupid and petty.

funny. but ultimately....humbling.

fists up

i'm supremely disappointed in the CRTC that this station will not be airing in Canada.

i'm not saying al jazeera is the saviour of the free-press, or inferring that they are somehow "better" than any other news station. but the fact is, they are based in, and have a foothold in the area of the world where the most pertinent and important news today is developing. they have information bbc world or cnn may not have. they have sources those stations may not have. and most of all, they have a presence in the culture of the middle east that cannot be ignored.

the opening was pretty lame (especially the botched breaking news bulletin. somebody clearly missed a cue). and really, i know you just started, but the opening story of your network is.....yourselves? yikes. don't let all that western screaming get to your heads or anything now....

they probably won't change the way we get our news. but al jazeera may challenge not just how our established media reports stories, but rather what news is defined as, and why.

rootless tree

is there a precedence for keeping or deleting pictures of exes? i mean, it's one thing if you don't throw away print photos. it's understandable to me that you just keep all your photos that have been printed because memories are meant to be remembered.

digital photos however seem to pose a more complicated scenario. i mean, if a girl is looking through your photos and you have old pictures of your ex, i think it's safe to assume she'll understand.

but if a girl is looking through your digital pictures on your computer and you still have like, entire folders of stupid random pictures of your ex, doesn't that seem a bit....uh....i dunno.....uncool?

personally, i think the digital medium makes them more expendable, simply because most of those pictures were probably not very good anyways because they were taken loosey-goosey.

i dunno, for some reason it just seems like digital photos should be deleted, but printed ones are ok. it's almost like prints get grandfather claused whenever you meet a new girl, because she understands the nostalgia associated with paper photos.

i'm curious what opinions the ladies have on both sides of the ledger.

mount washington

nothing scares me like old people driving expensive cars. especially when you look over and it looks like they can barely keep themselves awake until the light turns green.

like.....honestly. scary stuff.

in other news, i'm still awake and it's 2:30am and i think i'm starting to develop an alcohol dependency.

this is not gooooood........


....mainly because i can't afford to be an alcoholic.

i can't believe this is even late for me now. this used to be like, prime-time.

man, i'm getting old.

parantheses

basketball in two weeks again for multisport.

this is a sign.

redemption is at hand.

the perfect crime 2

i apologize if i depressed anyone (cammie) with my bitterness after losing. i don't blame anyone but myself. i just....hate losing.

i know for sure after basketball i'm not the nicest guy after i lose. if its pickup, i'm not AS angry because i know i'll get to play again right afterwards. but when it's any sort of organized competition, losing at basketball brings out like, the absolute worst in me.

to be honest, i thought i was being pretty good on monday, hahahaha

you should have seen me during TCSSC league. or even university intramurals. i almost killed a ref once because i was trying to intentionally foul and he wouldn't blow the whistle.

actually, if i saw that guy on the street again, i'd probably still punch him in the neck. what a bastard he was.

anyways, don't feel bad. at least i didn't yell at you guys during the game like i do to people i actually play basketball with.

hoppipolla afturabak

busy weekend past. busy week ahead.

i was telling ivan recently how i feel like i've been thrown into some strangers life, what with all the changes that have occurred around these parts lately. my schedule is suddenly hectic, my responsibilities suddenly many, my days off suddenly far and few between.

i embrace it all though. i know that the challenge is where my lessons lie. that's always the way i've been, and i'm slowly....painfully learning to step up to the task. especially when it's the easy, obvious tasks. those are the ones i usually take for granted, and as such, the ones i usually screw up. for me, the problem is never handling the crisis. it's merely maintaining the status quo, so as to avert crises.

a lot of strange thoughts floating around in the head lately, what with funerals, birthdays, and so many great friends whom God has shown His love through to me. much to be thankful for. much to learn. thanks everyone for a great first week of November.

here's to many more.

content was always my favourite colour

Toronto -- Bruna Nota often gets stopped because of the two poppies on her lapel.

It is not the traditional red poppy that people are curious about. It is the one beside it -- her homemade white poppy that she has worn for over a decade of remembrance days -- that attracts the most attention.

“The White poppy is totally against war, commemorating the civilian losses. Not just the people killed in combat” says Nota, a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

The idea started in 1933, when the Co-operative Women's Guild of England produced the first white poppies to be worn on British Armistice Day. WILPF, now a 40,000 member international organization, continues to champion the ideals behind the white poppy.

“The red poppy has become a glorification of war. It is the great valour that has been displayed by the veterans. But all of the rest has been totally subsumed” says Nota “all the genius spent on war making could have been spent on making global peace. But those energies are siphoned off in making weapons”.

WILPF does not have the resources to mass produce white poppies. Rather, Nota hands out leaflets wherever she can, encouraging a grassroots effort for people to make and wear their own poppies for peace.

She admits that veterans she has encountered have sometimes felt offended or slighted by the unfamiliar flower on her chest. She may not agree with them, but she is firm in her respect for their sacrifice.

“We don’t mean to supplant or minimize the honour that is due to the veterans. They are mistaken, but that doesn’t take away any of their value. I certainly – and many of us – suggest that we wear both [poppies]”

Indeed, the white poppy has recently found support with some veterans, including the Veterans Against Nuclear Arms, a Canadian organization focused on peace and disarmament.

Nota observes that the popularity of the white poppy seems to be growing.

“People from other countries ask me about [her poppy] more” says Nota. “People are here because their land was in such a state of turmoil that they had to get out. I think there is more awareness that we need to do something else. To find alternative options to war”.

portrait of an apology

this past weekend at church we had an egyptian christian retelling his testimony of how he was imprisoned and tortured in egypt for his faith. he told a daring story of courage, faith, and adventure, that ultimately led to him escaping a 100-thousand dollar fatwah in egypt by stealing a sea-doo, and racing between israeli and egyption warships in order to claim UN-political refuge status in israel. eventually, he was freed and supported by the UN and Amnesty International.

i must say, it was a hell of a story. he was tortured like....Alias style, the kind of stuff you only see in movies. he had to hide from authorities in his own city, escaping by night like some....egyptian...ninja guy....

anyways, his ultimate message was that every day, there are millions of persecuted christians that we should be praying for and stuff. to which i can't help but think, are persecuted christians really the greatest of my worries? i mean, i respect his exemplary strength and courage, but frankly it seems kind of hypocritical to concern myself only with persecuted christians. what about muslims in our western society? sure, they're not overtly tortured, but surely they live under an opressive social stigma in our current day and time. should i not pray for their rights? for cultural understanding in our own home? the hundreds of political prisoners taken in by the US government and held indefinitely in secret, without trial nor trace?

i dunno. i guess i have no point. i don't want to say the dude's message was unimportant, because i'm sure it is. all i know is that i felt kind of insulted that we should for whatever reason care more about certain persecuted individuals than others, simply because they are the same religion as me.

is that silly? i mean, i suppose it's like how we're expected to care more about our own family than strangers. but is it....actually, wrong to care about strangers as much as your family? would i be morally and ethically misprioritized if i took a bullet for a stranger before my own brother?

i'd like to think not. maybe i'm naively altruistic, or maybe i don't love my family enough. i dunno, but either way it bothers me to think otherwise.

the lottery

i can't believe it's october 24th.

where the hell did this month go? i mean, seriously. i actually might have to start doing some school work at this pace.

my favourite things about living alone, most of which i had forgotten i loved:

+ playing music as loud as i want
+ peace and quiet
+ i can do my laundry whenever i damn please
+ playing music as loud as i want at 3am
+ taking a dump with the door open
+ nothing is as comforting as a game of DOTA, with the volume cranked, while drinking good wine from the bottle.
+ i can wake up without someone ripping my comforter off me and carrying it upstairs
+ having friends over
+ freedom to come and go at anytime without feeling guilty
+ i don't have to wear pants
+ always have the car
+ the television is never...ever on fairchild
+ getting to cook again. i had forgotten that was actually kind of fun.

cons:

+ boy am i hungry
+ i think i have scurvy

where cedar nouns and adverbs walk

this band has....blown my face off.

i find myself listening to an awful lot of cancon lately. must be all that cbc radio permeating my very soul.

anyways, life continues to roll along -- surprises are rare, but i find changes are more and more common every day. if that makes any sense? i rarely do i suppose.

we're all getting busier it seems. everyone is starting to settle into phases of life.

some of us are really digging into school, some of us into careers, and some of us still searching, or perhaps dabbling in some of both. either way, i can finally see the paths i have walked with friends for so many years begin to diverge. not that this is a bad thing, nor would i ever wish for complacency or stagnation among my friends or any of their individual journeys.

nonetheless, it's an observation that is at once exciting, yet bittersweet. i know no one is actually GOING anywhere (well, with the sole exceptions being those who are already gone) but being in the same city is not the same as being in the same lives.

moreover, being in the same lives in different capacities is sometimes the same as having to adjust to people being physically away.

i'm not being all pansy or anything, it's not like i'm sitting here crying over my keyboard. i still see people, i talk to people, i keep in touch the best i can.

but when you step back, right now you can actually see us growing up. coming in and out, relationships changing, evolving, dying and blossoming. it happens all the time, but it seems with the way this school year has started, these things are going to start happening kind of in bunches.

maybe it's because i've been kind of disconnected from large groups lately. maybe my time in relative isolation has led me to exist more on my individual relationships than i have in the past. maybe my feelings are circumstantial -- but then again, maybe i'm actually changing.

regardless, this kind of perspective on life is rare for me. so i'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

enough

all of you
is more than enough for
all of me
for every thirst and every need
you satisfy me
with your love
and all i have in you, is more than enough

there's so much crap that i have my heart set on. so much pride, so much envy, so much bitterness, so much selfishness. i've sung this song a million times, and it still floors me to think that i might reach the point where i'm truly content in God. that i would be able to stand in front of Him and say with honesty that His love -- His will -- is all that i want and need.

there's so much i have my heart set on. so unwilling to let go of my own desires.

but i know He's perfecting a work in me, and what He's started he has promised to finish. and that's something i can stand on.

more than enough.

hanging on for hope

its hard sometimes to keep track of where you stand in your faith -- and sometimes, whether you're standing at all. i could correlate my current malaise with falling into routine, closing myself off to others, or perhaps even being burnt out by a few strings of exhausting days. but deep down, i know all these things aren't issues that i can't't deal with.

the bigger thing -- the more frustrating thing -- is feeling disconnected from your Creator.

just feeling so helpless when you're in such a comfortable (and productive) routine, and yet knowing your priorities are so very very misplaced. i mean, i may be doing all the right things -- ok, not all, but some -- but for all the wrong reasons.

i feel like i've been so incredibly selfish, paralyzed by my own fears that God will take me places I don't want to go, because i am so comfortable with where i am in life. scared of more responsibility. scared that i could become this man who does great things for God, and yet knowing that in becoming that man, i would have to accept greater consequences for my actions. that i must be accountable to God and my brothers and sisters, and to my immediate family, more than i even believe i am capable of.

i.....feel like i'm being forced to grow up.

to stop pretending He's not asking me to do more. to be more.

i don't want to grow up. but i realize at some point, i'm going to have to.

we're all pretty old now, but that means so little. having my friends getting married, things are put in perspective in terms of the kinds of sacrifices and lifestyle changes that are going to have to occur -- inevitably -- for me to hold myself to higher standards. sacrifices suck.

it all sucks. and i don't want to do it. i want to stamp my feet, and whine like a small child. it startles me a little how resistant and defensive i become even when i think about this train of thought, and talk to...uh...myself, about it.

but i also realize very very clearly now that if i keep on resisting, if i keep ignoring all the little whispers and chances God gives me, i'm going to end up destroying every hope and dream i've ever had.

and that's possibly the one thing scary enough to move me towards the right direction.

thermal theatre

question du jour: whatever happened to carpenter pants? did they gradually become uncool? because it seems like one day they just dissapeared. in all honesty, i don't even know what happened to the pair i had.

short term goal of the moment: use my sauna sometime in the near future. i could use a nice sweat, my room is an icebox. read into that what you will.

current long term goals: talk my parents into buying a new digital camera so i can have their old one. as hand me downs go, my dad's third tier goods are usually still nicer and newer than my own.

kick push

society

i think i'm addicted to busying myself.

doing nothing used to be my forte -- now i can't stand it.

conversely, i seem to have become a social recluse. hands up if you've hung out with me recently.

yup, no hands.

tetragrammaton

congrats off the bat to the newly engaged. i couldn't be happier for you two crazy kids!!

in other news, we got whupped in dodgeball yesterday.

apparently our division has only 4 teams, so we'll have a chance to redeem ourselves against them sooner rather than later. i've decided i'm much better at real sports than at this made up crap.

basketball-rugby? what the hell is basketball rugby??

it's too bad we don't play softball. i bet we'd crush them all at that.

this time

in hindsight, my blog seems awful prophetic.

i suddenly (and thankfully) find myself employed.

surprise!

buzz saw

i have absolutely zero expectations going into this school year.

between now and next summer, absolutely anything could happen and i wouldn't be surprised.

then again, sometimes i do manage to even surprise myself.

easier

i've decided that one day i'm going to new york for 9/11 to see in person the tribute of light before they have new buildings up.

putting aside all the political animosity and posturing, and even ignoring my own jaded sense of journalistic integrity (or lack thereof) regarding the events of 9/11, i can't help but feel somewhat.....amazed, that this tragic event will be one of the defining moments in our lifetimes. everyone remembers where they were, and what they were doing that day. everyone has a story. it's a day where we are all united by one common event, and that's something that happens so rarely in life, be it for heartbreaking or joyous reasons.

it's funny that while CNN is doing the larry king, feel good special to fallen heroes and survivors, the passionate eye is replaying that "falling man" documentary.

i sometimes wonder how objective and fair-minded canadians would be when the tragedy hits closer to home.

the reason no titles lately? no time for new music....

no time for thinking. no time for sleep.

so.....damn.....tired.....

hana
Thursday, September 07 6:00 PM VARSITY 8

pan's labyrinth
Sunday, September 10 3:00 PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)

everything's gone green
Sunday, September 10 9:30 PM PARAMOUNT 2

156

is.....is this seriously a little knot in my stomache?

what is this? this strange....feeling....

get it together yau.

snow brigade

been watching morgan spurlock's "30 days" show recently. i find it really interesting and endearing in an "extreme home makeover" kind of way. except this show is not only emotionally heartwarming at its best moments, but actually informative and educational as well. it's kind of like "wife swap", but with a cultural/ethical bent. everyone should check it out, especially if you liked supersize me.

i should be asleep, but i can't stop thinking about stuff. like, all sorts of stuff. things i have to do, things i never did, things i can't control, things i must control. i guess when you realize what a juggling act every day is, life can seem rather intimidating. double, triple booking my days and just trying to squeeze everything in before school starts -- its enough to drive a guy to insomnia.

this past sunday, i was actually planning to sleep through church again. sometimes i just go to bed on saturday nights and i think to myself "i'd rather sleep". so i turn off my alarm, and just plan to not wake up until noon. i tell people i slept in when they ask at times, but the truth is half the time i just...skipped...church. not exactly the kind of thing i'm proud of, but i'm not going to lie and say just because i teach sunday school, or play a guitar, that these things don't happen.

the thing is, church to me is a lot like class. i *know*i should go. and i know that if i go, i'll like it, and enjoy it, and learn from it. yet sometimes i'm just so indifferent towards something i know is good that i don't even care that it's good. how sad is that?

anyways, so for some reason my my mom left early for church sunday, and my dad walks in and says he's hitching a ride with me.

argh. my restful plans foiled.

so i wander into service 30 minutes late with my medium regular in hand, and spend most of the service playing little funny face games with the little kids in the overflow. to be honest, i don't even know what the sermon was about, but i do remember one single question being asked by pastor tim: "what is your refuge?"

even though i've retained almost nothing from sunday, that question has stuck with me. it is in my mind, because i know my refuge is not God. it's music. it's sports. it's friends. it's sleep. it's tv. it's reading. God is so far down that list it makes me shake my head, yet i can't force myself to care more. actually, often God is my *last* option. my deperation hail mary pass. my cliched and metaphorical emotional crutch.

sometimes i think it sucks being Christian. it's so much work -- so mentally and morally straining when things could just be simple. it's...tiring. and yet i know where the truth in my life has always been. and despite it all, at the end of the day i just can't deny that truth.

it's who i am. it's rewarding beyond anything i've ever known, if i would just let myself be committed to it. what else is new eh?

trying to learn to take refuge in God is my ultimate goal. it encompasses everything i know i need -- prayer, quiet time, obediance, relationship building. things i know i should be striving for but hardly ever do.

i guess admitting you have a problem is always step one.

everyone always makes a big deal abouts step one.

i'm finding in all honesty, every step only gets harder. for anyone who knows me, prolonged hard work is my kryptonite.

wish me luck.

chicken pox

oh man....what a week.

sleep has been a premium commodity, and i'm running on fumes. i wish i could have been in town to hang out with certain cool people before they went back to calgary -- my sincerest apologies for not getting a chance to say farewell. i promise we'll (me and my heterosexual life partner) will one of these days make it out to visit. PROMISE.

so despite my aforementioned bad personal scheduling, chicago was again a whirlwind of good friends catching up. most of that catching up took place while shopping and stuffing our faces full of food. that's multitasking in the best possible way.

thanks to everyone for the lodging, having us over, feeding us, letting us interrupt quality time with our stupidity, and of course for being all-around so awesome to be worth visiting to begin with.

i went down there armed with only $100 in cash, and i returned with a trunk-load of clothes, bags,and shoes.

mmm....shopping. how i have missed the feeling of sating my sad sad materialistic desires....

in other news, i've concluded that between me, steph, and des, our mutual presence actually creates a rip in the fabric of reality that lowers the collective maturity in a fifteen metre radius of us. we're like the bermuda triangle of rational thinking; the area51 of common sense; the brain of your average female human being.

some might say we're bad people (hallway-bar-face-girl, for example). i have nothing to say in our defense. but i wouldn't have it any other way. good times....good times.

hug it out bitches.

the dogs of b.a.

nothing like a heavily irish coffee and some mirah to get the productivity for the day rolling.

i like going stretches without sleep, then catching up all at once. it may not be the wisest, or most efficient means of doing things. but boy does it feel nice.

i haven't worked out, gone jogging, or played basketball in almost three weeks.

i'm getting soft.

first time

i seem to have hit a blogging speed bump. rare in these long summer days of....uh...barely existing.

the schedule has consisted of a few weeks of non-stop going out, which i have followed up nicely with two straight days of nothing but camping out in my room catching up on the new seasons of freshly downloaded television shows. as much as i've made fun of some people for watching tv instead of going out, it's nice.....in moderation.

time to hit the stretch run of the summer by soaking in as much of the gorgeous weather as i can. thankfully, most of those outdoorsy activities are easy on the wallet.

i can't believe i have school again this fall. the idea is so.....surreal. i thought that university was the best years of my life when i initially finished undergrad. and you know, they honestly were right up there as some of the best damn months i've ever had.

but i just can't say they were my best years. and i'm glad i feel that way, because it actually means i believe the best is yet to come. and i know it's cliche, and that everyone says it. but to really, honestly feel that in yourself? to trust that even despite your inner cynic, you really aren't rationalizing, or bullshiting yourself?

sometimes we slog through the crap of life hoping to catch a glimpse of a reason to go on. our reasons are so often put up on pedestals, invested into long term committments that you expect not to bear fruit for at least several years of your life. but man, i have to say -- optimism is addictive once you catch that glimpse of what lays ahead.

keeping myself running on coffee just to survive for the next month? that's probably going to cost me a tupperware container full of quarters.

to be able to do it guilt free?

priceless.



.....this is completely unrelated, but did you know that sloan from entourage grew up right here in toronto? she's a local product, baby!

be still my beating heart....

say it aint so

i find flipping through the ikea catalogue to be a welcome distraction from the doldrums of daily life. who doesn't enjoy the prospect of buying an image here or there?

it mildly annoys me that i have no option outside of walmart when it comes to buying cheap furniture. i mean, it's the opposite of clothing and cars and stuff where the status quo comes at a premium. i shop at ikea because it's the cheapest option. period.

which makes me wonder -- is the cost of assembly really twice that of the furniture itself? otherwise, why is every other furniture store in the city so....damn....expensive?

the avalanche

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

Psalm 19:8-9

i find there are times where i choose to ignore Him. where i'm ashamed, or i refuse to admit there is only one correct stand to take. times where i don't want to seem like i'm fanatical in front of my friends, or admit that despite all the hopes and dreams i share with others, i really do live only for one reason.

i don't want people to think i'm some bible thumping, hell preaching, conservative mudslinging hypocrite who does nothing but judge.

that's not me.

and in maintaining that anti-perception, i find at times i feel like i have to compromise anything that might even remotely taint me with that brush. and it's hard. because the truth is, there are times i want to stand up and scream the message from the moutains. but i remain subtle. i maintain tactful, because i feel that is the safe way to go.

but i know that's not necessarily what i should be doing. sometime i know i'm being asked to be bold.

and yet i cannot commit to it.

like so much in life, hollow words flow from hollow hearts. is faith suppose to feel like school? must the distinction between discipline and joyful obediance be ascertained? and where?

people say all christians should be in africa helping the poor. if you ask me, there is logical truth to that -- but if people think for a second we're taking the easy way out by staying here, then i say you've obviously never been a christian.

it's easy to drop everything you're responsible for and live an idealized life.

it's harder to balance the reality of your circumstances with what you're trying to do and who you want to become.

laws don't usually give my heart much joy. i'm not sure what david experienced when writing this psalm -- probably something humbling and terribly painful, yet ultimately joyful in his total dependence on the Lord.

i long to feel that again. to know and trust to that extent again. to pray, and actually believe that what i'm praying for isn't just the selfish manifestations of my own misguided desires.

killing moon

i thought i'd be more sore after so many games of softball. surprisingly, i feel pretty good. maybe i'm not as old as i keep thinking i am....

i have a strange, pulsating pain from deep inside the lower-rear part of my head. it's like my brain is trying to get out of my skull or something. my first thought is that i might simply have spent too much time in the sun this weekend -- somewhere in the area of 20 hours in two days.

maybe i have mild sunstroke resulting in a little bit of a headache. but i don't feel dehydrated, or particularly tired or anything.

and yet, there goes that jabbing pain from my brain again.

maybe something burrowed its way into my head and laid eggs.

enh. i'll do what i always do to cure my mystery ailments. sleeeeeeeeep.

glósóli

i
love
listening
to
music
really

really

loud

an evening well spent.

i was a lover

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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....

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.

strings

from the BBC:

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 nation

the 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.

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?

encyclopedia closed his eyes for a minute, as he always did when pondering his most difficult cases.

"put those questions away yau. it's clear that the reason those shorts are ripped is because...."

turn to page 76 for the answer to: the case of the destroyed drawers.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

worlds apart

i find i'm purposely vague an awful lot.

especially on the blog. i wonder what people actually think when i type stuff out, and really, no one but me has any idea what i'm talking about.....

oh well, here's a picture to change the topic. click on it to see all the gory details.

strawberries

insight into my thought process when seeing a cute girl:

gut: whoa, she's a cutie. you should talk to her.
brain: what should we say?
gut: i dunno, anything. just say hi, who cares! look at her!

"uh, hello"
"hi"

gut: you have to say something else now. you can't *just* say hi you retard!
brain: i....i don't know what to say! you said just say hi! you got us into this mess!

"so...."

gut: so?! so isn't a topic! talk about something, anything!

"what's up?"
"do i....know....you?"

gut: i hate you.
brain: i'm not good under pressure alright. i can feel myself shutting down already....

"um.....i'm going to stand over there now...."
"duhhhhh......"

reason to believe

you know what's awkward? when your friends say things like "what are you getting so-and-so for their wedding?" and so-and-so is a mutual couple of friends who are getting married soon. obviously, they ask because they assume i am going. but alas, i am not invited.

yea, that's awkward.

i don't take it personally, (maybe i should?) but still. it's like lining up at a swimming meet and not being picked to be on a team. i know its for a good reason, but still.

everyone thinks i'm strong. but sometimes i do cry a little inside.

just a little.

tigers not daughters

notting hill is on tv.

i loathe this movie. but since we stayed there for a day, i am somewhat inclined to watch it and see if i can recognize any of the places we may have walked by. also, i'm curious as to this wall that they apparently climb over in the movie to get into the park. we never did find it in real life......

on a different note,

letting down people you care about only serves as a fresh slap in the face. am i guilty because i'm selfish? or guilty because i actually let people down? the fact that this is unclear to me only perpetuates my consternation that i am....deep down....a robot.

watching this retarded movie only reminds me how trite our concepts of love can be.

nervous in the light of dawn

all goes out the window

personally, i can't help but feel a little slighted when a place that doesn't have any ice takes home the cup. this makes two years in a row now that's happened.

not that there's anything wrong with it! i'm just saying....you don't see toronto collecting any deep sea diving awards.....

in other news, i have decided. putting my foot down. drawing a line in the sand.

baby steps champ. baby steps.

postcard of a painting

you could see it coming. after 36 minutes of pounding the ball inside, the first play of the fourth quarter was a flattened isolation for dwayne wade to go one-on-one with devin harris. never mind that he was shooting somewhere in the range of thirty percent from the field at that point. he drove, stopped on a dime, went straight up and camly stroked a 16 foot jumper.

nothing but net.

everyone in the building knew it. dallas knew it. hubie brown knew it, and everyone watching at home knew it. most importantly, dwayne wade knew it -- it was his time, and he wasn't going to pass the rock.

watching wade blossom in these playoffs just makes you excited to be a basketball fan. this is the stuff legends are made of. as wade continues to blaze his own trail into the annals of NBA greatness, we see glimpses of those that came before him.

slicing through the defense like earl the pearl, making it look effortless and graceful.

a shoulder fake and turn around fadeaway from the elbow that is positively jordanesque.

drawing fouls and pump faking his way through a bad shooting night like reggie at a spike lee roast.

the only thing more fun -- more amazing and humbling -- than knowing that we are witnessing the long awaited renaissance of the L, is that #3 is not alone.

#41 on the other team was less impressed by wade's clutch performance. he knew better. struggling through his own shooting woes, dirk came up big when his team needed him, draining clutch jimmy after another in the final minutes just to keep the game close.

to those who questioned his heart -- who thought he might be soft -- he replied by sinking an off balance rainbow over a double team in the corner. immediately afterwards, he ripped out his mouth guard and gave the crowd a (now patented) angry-dirk sneer, daring the haters to keep doubting him.

even better than that, as the cameras followed dirk into the locker room after another heartbreaking loss, he was clearly not dissapointed. he was pissed. he was kicking everything he saw, punting the ball into the stands, trashing a stationary bike, pushing over a table. one can only imagine what must have been going through his head -- the last minute timeout mistake by Jho, or his missed free throw towards the end of regulation -- either way, dirk was angry. dirk smash.

i loved it.

and the great thing is, it doesn't stop with these finals.

you don't think lebron is watching these games, growing even hungrier with every off-season jumper he shoots? every windsprint he runs?

that stat isn't watching, rehabbing, more anxious than ever to get back to where he was and help his team back to the cusp of the finals?

that the pistons aren't doing some serious soul searching? determined to come back with a chip on their shoulder?

and thats just the start of it. the league has more young talent right now, more guys with the tools to be legit champions, than it has had since the bird, magic, mj, zeke era.

we're not just watching the climax to an amazing spring playoffs -- we're watching the start of something special.

promiscuous

oh come on.

Apple - Nike iPod

i'm poor already you corporate bastards. you can't do this to me.

WHY DO THEY HAVE TO MAKE SUCH COOL (expensive) CRAP?!

the search

you ever have the feeling where you feel like you should be doing more, but you can't seem to find the time to be everywhere you wish you could be?

it's kind of a helpless feeling. where the spirit is willing, and even the body is willing, but reality itself is kind of weak.

all we can do is try our best i guess.

at the end of the day, that's all i can claim to have done i suppose. and perhaps one day, i'll learn to accept that as good enough.

your letter

so my friends have been in a matchmaking mood the past year and a bit.

nothing involving me (they know better), but it's still amusing watching the gears turn. candidates analyzed and proposed, rejected and catagorized systematically. it's funny because i know that at least for me, the whole concept of matchmaking is fun not because i want my friends to be happy -- it's fun because it's like playing the stockmarket.

all you do is try and back a winner. you want bragging rights -- to be able to say at their wedding "well, i remember i met so-and-so and thought they'd be perfect. and i was right!" i mean, i owe cam like a hundred bucks, but if i introduce her to her husband, she's going to owe me a lifetime of favours. forget bluechips, you can only cash them out once. i'm investing in relationships.

sadly though, we should be pragmatic. who actually knows what they want? and if we don't know what we want for ourselves, what are the odds someone else knows what we want?

my proposal is if you cannot consistantly think of a good present to buy for someone, you have absolutely no jurisdiction to try and set them up with someone. that should be like the general rule of thumb for friend matchmaking.

bankrupt people should not be day-trading, so why should lousy gift givers be able to matchmake?

we needs standards people, standards!

the downfall of this however, is everyone thinks they're a good gift giver.

oh world, how cruel you can be at times, making a cosmic joke of our ignorance.....

silently leaving the room

i went to a vocal recital today. when i was told it was a recital, i was expecting it to be in like, an auditorium and stuff. nope.

i walked into a small classroom where we crammed about 40 people in. the class went up to sing one by one accompanied by nothing but a piano track piped out of a mini-stereo system. it was an absolute treat.

you could just tell they were nervous, and it made it all the more endearing to me. it takes so much courage to just go up and sing in front of a group of family and friends, especially when you've spent so much time preparing for it. karaoke is one thing, because it's spontaneous and whatever -- but with a recital there are expectations you heap on yourself. i would never have the courage to do what those students did, it was awesome.

i find a lot of times we're just scared people won't like us for who we are if we show too much of ourselves. or perhaps we don't actually like who we are, and we hide it from others.

i suppose learning to be proud of our gifts (and who we are because of them) is part of this whole growing up business.

am i officially too old to say i'm still growing up? maybe i should just say i'm growing.

fatter.

for the record, my friend knocked 'em dead. she has an absolutely gorgeous voice. up to that point, all i had heard of it was a stream of girlish chatting and the occasional giddy cat noise.

crazy kids. they certainly do make a guy proud.

mushaboom

so i guess alot can happen in a month after all.

belated congrats where congrats are due. may God continue to bless you two crazy kids as you continue your journey together!

maybe sparrow

the world is amazing. there's so much to see out there.

but for now, i only have one home. and how sweet it is to be back.

the empty threats of little lord

it's raining in europe.

this should be fun.

us ones in between

is heart a quantifiable characteristic?

and when i say heart, i don't mean hockey grit -- i'm referring to the human perspective. as in, when you describe someone as having a good heart, what does that mean exactly?

i have many great friends. i know many amazing people. but even of those i am close to, i would not say they all have good hearts in the sense that they are inherently selfless. there are people who think about themselves first, and those who put others before them.

to me, having a good heart is when you put people before you without having to make a concious effort to do so. when loving those around you is just instinctive.

why the semantical monologue you ask? i don't know. i've just been spending a lot of time this past week examining my priorities, and what matters to me in life. funerals will do that to a guy.

apropos, there was no actual conclusion reached at the end of my daydreaming and mind wandering. all i know is i want to take no one around me for granted ever.

alone jealous & stoned

how things can change in the blink of an eye.

when you realize what you have only because it's finally taken from you. how stubborn are we?

perspective is this awesome aspect of our lives that we use to cope -- to stay level headed when we're up, and to keep ourselves above water when we're down. it's perspective that we grow in when life takes turns for the tragic. it's perspective that allows us to look back and laugh.

but in the here and now, sometimes there are no words. sometimes it really might not be ok. sometimes you just have to face up to reality, and accept that things are out of your control. sometimes, all we have is hope.

and sometimes, that isn't enough.

earthquakes and sharks

some memorably sad moments in simon's laundry history:

- pullover windbreaker stained pink/orange
- the febreeze debacle; 3 lambswool sweaters fall victim to my mothers madness
- the franklin marshall zip-up; bleeding all over itself

on top of the fact i just lost thirty bucks, i really liked that silly white zip-up. it was so....white.

mental note: no more buying anything that has felt lettering stuck to it.

my parents need to stop doing my laundry without telling me. i know they mean well, but they ruin something one in every two times. whenever i come home and realize they've emptied my hamper, i get that anxious feeling -- like a prostitute waiting for an HIV test result. it's like they know i'm mooching off them by living in their basement and eating their food, so they're exacting their revenge on me by selectively destroying things that i bring home.

"oops. did that tag say COLD water? either way, you shouldn't buy clothes that have both dark AND light colours on them. it's your own fault really, smarten up"

parents. they're sneaky like that.

3000 flowers

the devils will win the cup, over the sharks in the final.

the pistons will win the larry o'brian trophy, over the mavs.

the jays are going to win the AL wildcard and play the yankees in the first round.

i am going to pee.

the song i swore to never sing

there's this scene during the princess bride where the lovely buttercup is about to commit suicide by stabbing. she's just so damn heart broken over Wesley having not come to save her -- having lost her one true love not once, but twice -- and now condemned to spend the rest of her life with that darn Prince Humperdinck. she simply can't take it.

with her dagger raised high in the air, ready to plunge deep into her own heart and end her pain forever, Wesley says to her:

"there's a shortage of perfect breasts in the world. it'd be a shame to ruin yours"

don't we just love to take for granted the goods we have?

self-confidence is one thing -- lots of people are assured of themselves. but not everyone believes they are capable of making a difference. so often we think we're stuck in our little ruts, destined to live mediocre and entirely irrelevant lives that will serve only to fade away one day into the recorded annals of 'history that no one cares about'. we give up on greatness.

what a lie this is. and what a tragedy that the biggest liar of all would convince amazing people that this could possibly be true.

not to say we should spend all our time basking in the glory of a perfect set of breasts.

but you know, when things seem to be going not the way you had planned, there's always a bigger picture. there's a point, and an explanation, and as a consequence there will always be another reason to pick yourself up in the morning, even if you got TKO'd the night before.

we're just not meant to win every battle. the war's already won.

it's like Rocky 1, where even when Apollo knocks Rocky on his ass -- Rocky still wins. he wins the hearts of the crowd, the audience, his girlfriend, even Apollo.

some of you may be thinking "hey now, that's loser talk", but the fact is that's kind of how God works, y'know? he sees the bigger picture. and when we believe that us losing is somehow going to ruin God's plans, that's so narrow minded of us. it's placing these limits and doubts on how powerful He is.

who's standards are we measuring ourselves to? what do we expect of ourselves, and where did those expectations come from?

i spent a whole sunday school class talking about this, and it's still in my mind.

time to end the rambling, it's getting incoherent.....

intimate secretary

nothing like a busy weekend to get you ready for a 15 hour night of sleep. that was nice.

it's weird how productive i can be when it doesn't involve doing anything for myself. in fact, i thrive off it. i love running around helping people, it just makes me feel so....alive. i'm so willing to completely destroy myself in an effort to help everyone around me, but i always slack off and half-ass things that are to or for my own benefit.

i should learn to like....harness that dilligence towards my own life.