ok, that's the last time i slack... but god was merciful to me this friday, so even in my sleep-deprived state, i was able to (i think), do reasonably(as in B+ to hopefully A- range) on the 2 quizzes i got on friday. the good thing is because i chose not to come home this 3 day weekend, that i have plenty of time to get things done and get WAAY ahead before school starts again... i just have to hope i don't EVER sit down and say, "i'm gonna watch nfl playoffs til monday night!"

cafe night was nice @msm; they had one of their former worship leaders use an electric guitar and played lead fills and riffs... a first... however, i think he could've turned himself a bit more up; i dunno though... THAT'S just me... which reminds me, i gotta get back to playing the electric guitar. also, pastor started w/spiritual disciplines, with meditation today, but the emphasis he placed was upon the definition as seen in psalm 1; maybe this is just me, but he made it seem the same as "studying the word." i like richard foster's definition though; simply the ability to hear god's word; stop trying to make yourself heard, and just sit down and wait for god. to make it short, i still remember that prayer and meditation are not the same. neither is study.

i found out jerm's anniversary edition of street fighter has the sf2 animated movie(yes!?!?!) on it(still haven't seen tekken animated movie, but i heard it's pretty short), so i watched it friday night out of boredom... it's funny though... i've watched the movie before, but on this cd, it's shortened a LOT(probably to save space on the cd, since it's already massively huge w/2 games). which led to a couple of problems; they took out some of the best scenes in the movie or made them a lot less visually appealing; like when ryu dragon punches sagat and you see all this blood fly cause of the scar he just landed in his chest. here, they took all those scenes w/blood out, so it just looked like ryu knocked sagat down, nothing big. and i think they were trying to make it suitable for young children, so they dubbed different words in for the swearing, which, IMO, turned out to really make me laugh out loud... hmmm... vega can't call chun-li b****, how bout witch? or instead of m-----f-----s, how bout we use "pieces of meat?" it's not exactly the same. watching the movie wants me to use denjin ryu and ssrk ryu in 3rd strike again... ryu is too cool.

joe dumars told grant hill he was probably going to get cheers when he played yesterday; grant hill bet that he was going to get booed... sounded like a mixture on espn... but i heard he did get a warm welcome...

well, well, well, look at how the suns got exposed yesterday... no depth, no defense... and no nash... and how lakers are shallow now... hehe...

hehe... tom tolbert said it was the "ra-show" yesterday... couldn't agree more... he had 6 blocks, and a couple of other slew of things... great backup center...

but to close, plz warriors, get a frikkin win and go on a streak...

edit: i forgot to say steve francis mustve been on the and1 tour last night against the pistons... what was that, like 4 steps before he bounced the ball to himself for a self alley-oop? :D

ucd bball team NARROWLY defeats ucr on on-road victory... not that i REALLY care(until we go division I, not II, which sadly will shortly happen after graduation); ucd's bball team as of right now is like composed of 90% white people, and 1 black person. which explains the lack of slashing on offense, the attempt to lay back on 3s, and the lack of athletic D... the black guy supplies all the D :D it's not that the other guys don't try, but well... let's just say he's the only one who gets up... and being we're close to sactown, i wouldn't be surprised that the majority of peeps here want nothing but offense...

speaking of sac, i think doug christie for cuttino mobley is a bad idea... for both teams. you throw out the kings' d(or whatever type of d there used to be), and you gave up the chemistry that is francis-mobley for magic... if magic wanted to up their d(which was why they did the trade in the 1st place), they should get their coach(whom i heard is not very D-related) to start teaching it... or be fired... but that's just me...

i wish we didn't have to eat/sleep/drink... imagine how much extra time we'd get... on the other hand, modern-day society would adjust to make us work even more time... so there's that drawback...

nerfs aren't as big a commodity as super soakers... but nevertheless, i regret buying the hydro bazooka over the master blaster, and not buying the super soaker 10(REALLY small, but yes, you could pump it and shoot; now you can't find it anywhere) i was lucky to find out woodland target still sells the new skool super soakers, so i got one for myself, and i'm thinking of getting another just for future purposes. oh, and 1 more nerf.

Meat Lab

well, i shouldn't be surprised... this IS davis(and not berkeley, which is a good thing; protestors would surround the area)... check out the prices, not bad eh?

and at 2.00/lb for beef ribs, why not? plus, i bet the meat is fresher...

extended hrs reading room

muga

josh smith got hops... on offense AND defense!

robert horry's been getting up too a bit more this season...

but we all know warriors are gonna own heat tonight :D

i gotta start going to sleep earlier... i think everytime i have my laptop on @home, that i tend to just stare at it... and that makes it hard to wake up early. meaning my study time in the afternoon sucks, because i'll fall asleep, instead of making something outta it. it's still an improvement over last quarter, where i'd just stay home and play 3rd strike or jedi knight.

the apple cinnamon pancakes that i tried to make @the apt weren't too good; the apples made it hard to flip, and well... tasted good though... gotta figure out a better way to add the apples. i'm thinking of adding them after i've flipped the pancakes over once.

i gotta get back to playing the electric guitar again...

there's this thing we understand in genetics, involving the issue of complementation; suppose an organism lacks a gene 13. if it gets paired with an organism that lacks a gene 14, or something other than 13, and they produce offspring, they produce a healthy, non-diseased organism. and for some reason, that thinking has led me to see how we are all imperfect in god's eyes, yet with true fellowship with each other, we become a perfect entity, a perfect body of christ.

fyi, i've tried all types of gel ink pens for writing(because i like how it's a LOT bolder than regular ball point ink pens, making it very easy to read your notes), and i've found the 0.7 Pentel Energel to be THE best one... incredibly good, ink NEVER smears, and a nice medium-fine line... rubber grip, refillable, and an interesting quirk; if you clip it to a pocket or clipboard, the ink automatically retracts. pilot G-2 0.7's my choice for runner-up, as it has a bolder line and cheaper, plus you actually see refill cartridges everywhere, but it'll smear a bit more...

LOL! GGPO PACKERS!

habitual readers of my journal: if you have a bible verse that's truly stuck in your mind, and feels deep to you recently, plz share... either on the comment lines below, or in your blogs; i'll check either. or if you aren't on my list of links on the left, lemme know where your blog is, and i'll check out your deep insight. i dunno where i should go now, now that i've researched "mercy" and "grace" and "prayer requests to god" to death now.

'k; maybe i should go on a blog-fast... or internet fast... or tv fast... these would all be good... they eat way too much of my time often.

kelis - milkshake has got to be THE WORST SONG EVER... how do ppl even like this crap? but more importantly, how did this crap even become mainstream?

in other news, big dismal - rainy day is one of my favorite christian rock songs at the moment; it's the song on the passion of the christ soundtrack(i don't have the cd, it's just that if you wanna buy it, it's on that cd)... i thought kutless was the one who wrote the song, but i was wrong... and i think the lyrics are great...

www.bigdismal.com

i love the chorus; very good definitions of love and faith:

love- it keeps us hanging on/ even when all hope is gone/ i believe that your love rains down on me/ faith- it carries us away/ and takes us to a place/ far above this world/ i can see you in the clouds/ like a rainbow shining down/ on a rainy day

i keep asking jerm if he wants to play 3rd strike w/me, and he keeps telling me he's gotta practice(aka i don't wanna play you cause i'm hooked on world of warcraft)... my response is always to imitate ai and come right back with "PRACTICE!?!??! we're talking about PRACTICE here! we're talking about PRACTICE here!"

i know every1 in davis has seen these 2 emails, but for the rest of you:

December 15, 2004

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

By now you may have seen or heard initial news media reports of the
tragic shooting death of a young man on campus late yesterday afternoon
after he fired first at UC Davis police officers. It is the first
officer-involved shooting death to occur on our campus.

I write to provide you with as much information as can be shared at this
point in the investigation, to convey our police department's belief
that this was an isolated incident and that the campus is secure, and to
advise you of support services that are available to those in need.

Here is what we understand to have happened: Three UC Davis police
officers responded at 5:06 p.m. yesterday to a report of a suspicious
person outside the student housing office. The man was reported to be
acting in a bizarre manner, using irrational language and reportedly
threatening a student. When the officers approached him, he brandished
a handgun and fired at them, causing the officers to return fire. Paramedics
responded, but the man died at the scene.

The three officers have been placed on administrative leave while an
investigation is conducted -- a routine action in cases when an officer
fires his or her weapon. I know from conversations with Police Chief
Calvin Handy at the scene last night that these officers have been
deeply affected.

A three-tiered investigation is now under way, involving the UC Davis
Police Department, the Yolo County District Attorney's Office and the
Yolo County Critical Incident Response Team. Also, the California
Department of Justice is assisting our police in reconstructing the
scene.

As I write, we are not yet able to release the identity of the man or a
possible motive, but we have confirmed that he is not a student. We
will provide updates on the campus's Web page, www.ucdavis.edu, as
information becomes available to us.

Such tragic incidents -- thankfully rare on this campus -- are shocking
and cause profound sadness. Should you find counseling support helpful,
please seek our counselors' assistance. Students should contact
Counseling and Psychological Services at 752-0871. Faculty and staff
should contact the Academic and Staff Assistance Program, 752-ASAP.

Students who may be experiencing difficulties in completing exams this
week because of this incident are encouraged to contact Interim Vice
Provost for Undergraduate Studies Fred Wood at 752-6068.

Sincerely,

Larry N. Vanderhoef
Chancellor

January 5, 2005

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

When I wrote to you just before the holiday break about the first
officer-involved shooting on this campus, I promised to provide you with
more information when it became available.

As we start the new quarter, we are still awaiting investigation results,
but we have a bit more information we can share.

The man who was shot and killed Dec. 14 near the student housing office
in the vicinity of Regan Hall has been identified as 26-year-old Martin
Louie Castro Soriano of Antioch. He was not a UC Davis student but is
thought to have been distraught over a breakup with a former girlfriend
and to have come to campus to contact her.

Three of our veteran police officers responded to calls for help that day
from students who reported that Mr. Soriano was acting in a bizarre and
threatening manner. Our officers tried unsuccessfully to subdue him with
Taser stun guns. After he fired several shots at them with a
semiautomatic gun, one of the officers returned fire. Paramedics
responded but the man died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the
chest.

I know this was a very difficult circumstance for our officers and that
they are deeply concerned over the taking of a life. But I know, as
well, they were trying to protect the lives of others who were nearby.

We expect investigation results in February from the Yolo County District
Attorney's office, the Yolo County Critical Incident Response Team and
the UC Davis Police Department. The coroner's office is also expected to
have completed its pathology report next month. In the meantime, tips
are still sought on the police hotline, 752-9944.

Such tragic incidents, thankfully, are rare on this campus but are
shocking and cause profound sadness. Without a doubt this holiday season
has been marked by an unusual measure of sorrow -- from the massive loss
of life in South Asia to the tragic loss of two of our students here at
home, the heartwrenching deaths of an employee's remaining two children
in a Christmas Day car crash and the unexpected death of one of our most
beloved elected officials, Congressman Robert Matsui.

As a family, we share those losses, seeking both to find and to give
comfort. If it'd be helpful, please take advantage of our counseling
services. Students should contact Counseling and Psychological Services
at 752-0871. Faculty and staff should contact the Academic and Staff
Assistance Program at 752-ASAP.

Sincerely,

Larry N. Vanderhoef
Chancellor

now i praise and exalt and glorify the king of heaven, because he has shown me mercy. and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

and we will give you glory/ bring you honor/ king above all kings/ you deserve our everything/ we will lift our voices/ with your praises/ jesus you are our king

my throat feels dry, for some strange reason