did i mention i try to learn how to play basketball the most from watching tayshawn prince? maybe that's why i like him so much, cause i would believe that i have about the same type of build, and given who i usually play against, i have a slight advantage in height and wingspan, but disadvantage in weight. and he's left-handed :D

plus, he never really tries to do anything flashy(unless if you're counting the time vs twolves that he went behind the back to cross up troy or latrell before driving for the 1-handed jam, or if you counted yesterday's massive play against lbj which i am still getting shivers about *yea sure, keep telling them prince goes middle, and then watch what happens*), he just tries to do what's needed to go for the win, or what's effective. he doesn't even look to score first; he looks to defend his man as much as possible, then whatever else comes, comes. not a stat-sheet filler, but you know his abilities are strong all over; sometimes when i'm watching pistons play, i don't even watch where the ball is and i just watch how tayshawn guards his man off the ball. or what he does on the offense w/o the ball. it's like larry brown said on sunday, "a lotta rookies come into this league thinking about scoring... tayshawn thinks about winning." plus, it's kinda nice how he plays mostly low-post when he has the ball, as i tried to play that way even before i really started to like him... nothing fancy, just back them in, if you see an outlet, throw the ball there, otherwise go for the left mini-hook. i need to get my left floaters and hook shots down...

i'm hoping that if pistons get to the finals again and they win it, that tayshawn gets the mvp... would send a great message to everyone who plays bball.

i'm starting to think that i should pull the kjv vs niv research back til summer... i am really swamped with classes this quarter, and they're not easy classes either... they're all upper div science classes. obviously, finding out if the modern bible is loaded with fallicies is very important, but i can't risk it at the expense of my grades... i already have a kjv, use it as my only bible now, and summer is a load of freetime for researching purposes.

btw, uc davis is amongst the uc's where most students don't finish in 4... that's depressing...

tentative verse of the week: Isaiah 55:8-9

that spin move that prince put on lbj just before he 1-handed it down deserves to be on sportscenter top ten tonight... heck, it deserves to be on courtside countdown this week... i have not seen james shook that badly ever before.

i wonder if darko is EVER going to be of any use to the pistons... larry brown tried to get all his bench players involved to get ready for playoffs today, and yet, darko was the only one who did not get any play.

mvp: nash(yes, that's right, i'm picking nash, even though shaq's a more complete player)
most improved: tayshawn
defensive player: larry hughes(i would've wanted to make big ben the nominee, but if we're going for people who recently came outta nowhere to make a stand, hughes is a really good choice, with monstrous steals almost every game)
rookie: emeka ofakur
coach: rick carlisle
6th man: gordon

i'll only elaborate on my picks if you want me to.

what i'm predicting is going to be the matchup for nba finals: spurs and heat
what i WANT to see for nba finals: spurs and pistons(i would've wanted suns and pistons, but only if i knew for certain that that meant suns would get rocked by the pistons)

guitar center and bereans can wait til next week.

i'm telling you... the nba NEXT SEASON is gonna be so good... there's gonna be very few bad teams

basically, here are the teams that were lower than 5-6th place in their conferences, that will get better...

warriors
jazz
lakers
minnesota
magic
cleveland
pacers
new jersey
philedelphia
(i didn't put clippers, cause though they have the talent, it seems like their management always has a way of screwing their team up... but it would be great if they could finally get over the hump... gsw and clippers would be the new norcal socal rivalry :D)

here's the teams that will stay on the top...
detroit
miami
chicago
boston
washington
spurs
suns
sonics
mavs
nuggets
kings

i'm sure i've forgot a lot more, but i really see it this way... the nba's gonna be a lot more interesting next season... the emergence of chicago and boston and washington, and gsw's late run has showed previews that very few teams will actually suck next season. not like the "glory days" laker fans dream so much about in the past, when the east sucked like crap aside from maybe 1 or 2 teams, and the west was pretty much just 3-4 teams attempting to take down the evil laker kingdom.

speaking of which...

the laker fans/sympathisers who wished the lakers were the only good team again can just go and suck it... i have never seen the nba so interesting again...

just have to hope sonics find their groove again, and you could say all the top teams will stay at the top...

except for suns... i hope suns die a horrible 4-0 death in 1st round playoffs... they're to me what the mavs were to me a season or two ago...

Interpreting IQ Test Scores; IQ Score Interpretation

just in case you don't get your score, if you decide to try the IQ test yourself :D

edit: jerm got 129

took a free IQ test; unfortunately, they don't let me link to the page, so i had to instead take a screenshot... not bad... i wondered if some of my IQ went to waste considering i was supposed to be really good, having gone to the whole super six program on part of having a really good iq back then. or maybe it got better? 

i'm on the outside, all right... but i ain't looking in... i'm looking even further outward.

indeed, they say that knowledge can't save you... but i beg to differ... it is when you don't know exactly what's up, but refuse to take the time to do your homework and get to the bottom of things as quickly as possible, as comprehensively as possible, as unbiasedly as possible, that when you end up in deep crap, well, it's your fault... like whether christianity is the truth, or whether the kjv bible really is the canon english bible, or whether the pope really is the antichrist. now the key in life is, to know exactly what issues to pursue, and which to leave alone. or more exactly, it'd be great to tackle all of them, but which ones matter more, and which ones can afford to sit on the backburner.

and i have just got to say, that that microcassette voice recorder of mine is just too useful... i can only imagine how many grade points and time it could've saved me if only i'd bought it 2 college years earlier. you gotta admit; sometimes the professors' lips move way too fast for your hands to follow. actually a lotta times it's the truth.

i call bs... call my hypocritical in return, but chinks can be so prideful... no way yao should've made that list over what jrich did... (and definitely no way would he have made that list at tops if the entire country of china didn't vote for him) when's the last time you saw a guy swat the ball into the stands, run into it, save it back in, then run all the way back, beating his man to complete an alley-oop? yea that's what i thought. 

working towards trying to being able to pray DEEP whenever and wherever, not just at 4:00 at the arboretum. for this quarter, i guess i'll start by working towards changing that time towards 11:00-12:00, same place though.

and i'm trying the partial fast this week; no fighting game boards, no fighting games played, no sports websites.

ok; can't let myself fall too far behind.

picks of the week:
week 4/3/05 - 4/9/05
updated fri/sat/sun

1. bible verse:
psalm 12:6-7
2. food:
beef noodle soup
3. music equip:
tascam guitar cd trainer; honorable mention to the headphone amp i saw on sale for march, and the pedal that changes lines... unfortunately, i can only afford the cd trainer, but that's ok for now.
4. place:
my apt bedroom... i just wished i had nothing to do and could just sit down and repick up my electric guitar and retone my left fingers
5. song:
jeremy camp - restored
6. sports game:
philly defeats boston - (finally get to watch boston play, despite them losing) honorable mention goes to warriors just ROLLING as of right now; their recent stompings included phoenix... again(!).
7. thought:
trying to find evidence that the kjv bible is the only english bible's a lot harder than making a case for christianity; it's not as clear cut or generally accepted. i'm about 70% certain that's the truth though; the evidence supporting it is strong
8. video game:
Tekken 5(still) - not that i'm playing it yet @florin mall, but no other video game's
preoocuping my mind this week except for that... it's a given that my manual dexterity is not that good(for wavedashing and BDC'ing), so i wouldn't be surprised if my devil jin packs a LOT more losses than wins, despite him being a quality character... my nina might be fine.
9. other(product):
digital voice recorder; (some professors talk too fast and don't write down everything they say; they cost a lotta money though) i don't intend on blowing more money past 80 dollars though.
10.other(various):
i should get out more often... like get out and play... in a pool or at the arc

now that i've kept you in suspense for about 1 week, here's the answers

1.if you believed that god kept his promise...

turns out this did occur; around the middle ages, when an english bible was greatly needed for the masses, as a unanimous one did not exist yet, the great majority of hebrew and greek texts, regardless of time it was produced, were thoroughly examined by the greatest of biblical scholars, and found this: 95% of all of them agreed with one another; only 5% did not. GOD DID KEEP HIS PROMISE! the texts that were in majority of agreement were then pooled together, and then a greek text was written. this was called the "textus receptus." this text would become the basis for which was used to write the kjv of the bible.

if you believe the bible to be the pure word of god, then this is your book.

no other single bible version uses this method.

2.if you believed that god didn't keep his promise...

this method was also used; modern day biblical scholars(let's say, somewhere around the mid 19th century) decided that only the earliest biblical texts could be used; the earlier, the more accurate. they were able to find 2 biblical texts, which still remain the earliest than anybody else's, that exists(around 200 AD i would say? gotta go back and check). these two are named the vaticanus and the sinaicitus; the 1st was found in the Vatican, and lay in excellant condition, but was virtually unused for 1000s of years. it lacked MANY key christian doctrines. the sinaicitus was found in a wastebasket in a monastery at the base of mount sinai. it was reedited so many times and scribbled so badly that anybody staring at it could tell you that it was a bad job. both not only disagreed with most texts and lacked MANY verses, but also disagreed with each other. and yet... both were used to create all other bible versions that were NOT the kjv... niv, tniv, rsv, nlt, nasb, nkjv, etc.
furthermore, what did the scholars do when they came across a verse where both texts disagreed? they had an expert scholar pick what they thought was the right one. so in essence, you're not reading the word of god; you're reading what a scholar thinks is the word of god.

yes, what i'm stating down here is VERY contraversial. i am basically saying the kjv is the only english bible you should be reading. you may be thinking i'm nuts. you may be thinking i've been too gullible, and picked this up from some random joe's site. but we know something like this is not found on biblegospel.com. would never be. that's why i believe now it's my turn to research in the tradition of the skeptics-turned-christians. except now i'm travelling a road is even less clear-cut. evidence is truth, and once i compile enough and can safely say i've looked at the majority of what matters, i'll be able to determine the truth, whatever it is, and it'll set me free. but don't worry; jerm and jon are skeptical enough to keep me in check every step of the way.

only pray that i won't give up on this quest; most likely it'll take all of my spring quarter and maybe 1 year to more than 3. and that i don't lose sight of everything else in the persuit(grades, jobs/internships, spiritual life, etc)

yeah... jon and jerm are going along for this ride whether they like it not.

one thing's for certain though... no matter the outcome, i think i'll end up a changed man.

let's say you want to create the 1st mainstream english bible. the NIV, KJV, NASB, RSV, etc, has not been created as of right now. at this point in time, the printing press has not yet been invented, which means copyists of the bible ARE subject to some error, depending upon how careless they are. you have to be careful, as you know this bible will influence the rest of 20th century and beyond americans and englishmen. this will become the essential word of god(or word of satan, if this bible becomes corrupted). you have a variety of texts to choose from. cost is not an issue. how can you approach this? there are 2 ways in mind...

well, if you truly believe that god has preserved his word to always be with his people and not let it become corrupted over time(as stated in the scriptures), you could compare the majority of current hebrew and greek texts used throughout the world. you could gather the majority of the texts together that agree with each other. if one copy is false(ie does not match up with the other 95%), you assume it was a sloppy copy and throw it away. you pool together these scriptures that agree with one another, then use these as a basis for writing a new english bible.

or, if you truly believe that the word of god has become corrupted up to this point in time, that would mean you should look for the earliest manuscripts possible. these will be used for the basis of creating the new english bible. the fact is that there are too many factors that influence the bible, that we must simply choose the earliest manuscripts to ensure least amount of error. copyists are prone to error, and so, when all is said and done, it's better to look as far back as possible.

what would you do? think about it for a sec, and if you want, reply in the comments. or not. but seriously think about it. because this is what's really been preoccupying my mind lately. i'll post the results later this week. i already know what the answer is. however, it's more of a matter of research for me now to make sure all of this is true; this is why it's now my turn to do research on what i have never truly thought about before; this subject has popped up before for me; but i brushed it aside.

don't worry about me...

i plan on doing a LOT of research on this topic before i can truly arrive at a conclusion.

just trying not to accept what's thrown at me straight up, but not disregarding it immediately either...

picks of the week:
(updated every friday, saturday or sunday)

1. bible verse:
back to Jeremiah 29:13, as i've realized the urgency of my situation
2. food:
*haven't really been thinking about food this week* but i guess cooking beef noodle soup again was nice; gonna fast for 2 days starting sunday night, as it's that time of month again, plus, it just so nicely fits in with my current situation, so that kinda gets rid of thinking about food those days as well(haha... well, i DO like food, but somehow, i don't find it as interesting to throw up every post of mine with "oh i tried this today" or
whatnot, unlike mandy)
3. music equip:
Speed Mechanism for Lead Guitar instruction book(this should help my solos)
4. place:
wasn't for most of the week, but as the next one approaches, it's gonna have to be my meditation spot, the good ol arboretum... unless if it rains, doh!
5. song:
3rd day/mercy me/steven curtis chapman - i see love
6. sports game:
Warriors win at Sonics(I should've posted later last week when it came to the game of the week; say all you want about Fisher, but on friday with Bucks at Oakland, let's just say you were glad Fish was on your team)
7. thought:
I MUST find out the truth before it's too late(the other big thought of mine has become "it's now my turn to search the truth")
8. video game:
Tekken 5
9. other:
Antichrist Conspiracy - 1st e-book i've found on the web(that's free)... it's very clashing with what a lotta uninformed christians believe, but i'm
starting to get scared reading it... it seems like what it says is really true, and i'm afraid of what that means i'll have to do... i'll talk later
about where i found it and stuff
10.other 2:
prayer request that i might find out the truth soon, but that i don't neglect my studies enough to make me suffer; i'm asking god that he'll grant me the grace to allow me sufficient time to find out what i need to find out as soon as possible, and that ultimately i find out the truth, but that i don't drop in my studies or my future stuff

anybody else liking the celtics and the bulls?

ok, two tidbits i wanna throw at you today:

(but lemme first get aside that school started yesterday; now the time comes for me to not slack)

anyways:

-today, i actually saw "jews for jesus" ppl on campus today! i got 2 different pamplets. and well, if you want more info, try going to www.jewsforjesus.org. apparently they're based in sf. i wish they would come back soon; would've talked and stuff, but that would've stretched out a LONG time. and somehow, i found them a bit more refreshing to see than the gideon bible people, as not all of them were old and stuff. they seem to call jesus "y'shua" cause i saw a lotta t-shirts they were wearing like that.

-ok, i know this MAY not be entirely true. it's completely speculative. but hey; test everything; hold onto the good right? don't just flat-out reject everything you see; read up on it, think about it, then make a sound judgment.

the antichrist slideshow

so, don't completely agree with this and say that the pope is the antichrist. don't believe fully that the roman catholic church is the antichrist's church. but... check yourself. cause it does seem that we exult the pope a bit. and don't you think it's weird that the majority of people would shun christianity and the church, but put the pope on this high pedestal? and think about this: the pope did get hit by a gunshot wound in the head, but recovered. so the speculation is that MAYBE the pope will come back from the dead, if he IS the antichrist?
now look; i'm not trying to point fingers just yet. nobody really knows who the antichrist really is. i don't know either. but it's highly believable, that since jews will take him as the messiah, that he could either come from a jewish family, or from a really highly powerful church. such as the roman catholic church.

am i evil for *INITIALLY* laughing at this?

durrrrr.blogspot.com

anyways, here's something to think about; is a braindead person really alive? does his/her status drop to that of a vegetable? does that mean we can pull the plug now?

some random thoughts to think about:

why it was right for terry to die
---------------------------------
michael shaivo waited 11 years after terry shaivo became a vegetable in the hopes that she'd recover to pull the plug; only did so after doctors made it clear she would no longer recover.
was given 1 mil in malpractice money; spent almost all of it caring for her and fighting in court.
was just trying to respect what he thought was his wife's wishes.
terry shaivo "died" 15 years ago; she became a vegetable after an eating disorder; she had in a sense, brought this upon herself.

why it wasn't right for her to die
----------------------------------
her parents insisted she had responded to them when they touched her(most vegetables do respond to touch though anyways)
michael shaivo has another wife and 2 children(debatable whether that means he doesn't care about her)
(i'm not going to debate whether she's going to hell or not because she got into this state by a vegetative disorder)

why this is not news
--------------------
you think the media would cover this if terry was black, asian, hispanic, etc?
it's only news because it draws the liberal left into a huge clash with the religious right.
it involves the entire country, whereas, we should be concentrating more upon the world's problems

i'll post later

thank god for the big miracles, as well as the small favors he pours out everyday...

-my "check engine" light comes on and stays on til i drive home from davis on thurday
+my car didn't crap out on the highway, and i didn't die, plus it still started after i drove home and turned it off, then tried to start it
-could not drive the car for 2 days because mom got work on thursday, then actually took the car to get it serviced on friday
+found a good speedo @costco, as well as a good set of gym shorts, which *surprise*, unlike my prev shorts, HAVE pockets
-found out i had to replace the clutch as well from the dealer
+got to drive it maybe 24 hrs before my mom gets freaked out after calling my bro
-bro tells my mom that a worn clutch makes a car undrivable, meaning i'll essentially crash on the highway if it's not replaced; mom freaks out and then tells me i can't drive the car til we get it to mr. huang's(from church)
+mr. huang takes a look for all of monday, then tells me the saturn guy was just overexaggerating; replaces the transmission oil instead, saving me from having to not drive around davis or bumming a ride to davis, either of which would've been a huge inconvenience
-missed monday jury duty and start worrying like crap
+called the jury commissioner's office, find out it's not a big deal, get reassigned to today when i actually got my saturn back, and then go to realize ALL full-time students more-or-less got excused from the case i got reassigned to(no jury duty calls for a year! woot!)

to be honest, i actually wanted to serve on jury duty to see what it was like, but not during college, as then there's a good chance my grades would drop... i found out it would take at least 2 weeks, and not 1... i thought they got done with everything in 1 week; wrong; they only select the jurors the 1st week, then get to work the 2nd.

oh yeah, and i played tekken 5 too; that's a great game. i like how the memory card thing works at the arcade. too bad no one was around to play me today, but that's alright; i just wanted some space to try some stuff and see how jin was; i would've tried other characters, but i didn't want to blow too much money this time around, and i had only done some hw on jin, not devin jin, nina(my 1st and best tekken char i can use in tekken 3, tag, and i would guess, now tekken 5), and heihachi; maybe next time i come back. jin's really cool, but he's really slow sometimes; like molasses. i guess namco finally heard all those guys who were bitching about jin being broken in the previous 2 tekken games, and finally fixed him, which explains his extremely slow speed. he's really powerful though, and looks like he's using actual shotokan karate.

they even now have a special console package(anniversary edition) for the ps2 version: a QUALITY hori arcade stick(hori's considered as one of the best arcade joysticks), tekken 1-3, AND tekken 5 all included for just $100. if you were to buy all of them separately, that'd easily be maybe 20+20+20+50+150

re: balance between thought process being governed with emotions and knowledge. well, basically, i've realized that when all is said and done, you are more likely to act on emotions than knowledge. why else would there be cases where people know what they should do, but are afraid to do it(ex: knowing jesus is king, but being jewish, and thus, afraid to proclaim it and stand up against the crowd)... now, because we can assume a lotta guys are knowledge-based and not emotionally based, i could say this is why a lotta guys appeared laid back(not a lotta emotions to spur them into doing something)... but know a lot and don't let a lotta things get to them. on the other hand, girls can be very diligent and stuff, but they'll let other things get to them as soon as possible, when there's no reason(or sound knowledge) to do so. and that's why i believe you gotta achieve that balance to do things right; enough knowledge so that you know what you're doing. and enough emotion to do the job wholeheartedly and as soon as possible. i'm tempted to write more, but that's the basic gyst of it, and besides, i'm not the author of "women are from venus, men are from uranus"

it's funny though; i see how a lotta personalities and other various ish gets carried into you from your parents, creating a sorta hybrid of the two. my dad was known for carrying a lotta stuff on the inside, making him very silent. but he was in love with always finding new stuff and discovering new things. my mom, on the other hand, is very outward a lotta times, worries a LOT about the most minute things.
i may not appear to be very worrisome on the outside like my dad, but i've come to realize i really do worry as much as my mother sometimes. and usually(pertaining to my observation about emotions and knowledge), i have to be REALLY fretting about time to start studying like mad(i'm trying to lay off it now more recently), or use anger to get myself to do something i really don't want to do, but know i must do. and though i'm not exactly AS nerdy as my dad, poring over all things scientific or engineering-wise, i still have that love for knowledge; all of my hobbies that i loved, i have STUDIED them... bball stats, fighting game strats, electric guitar(well, i'm starting to rekindle it), christianity... i don't know where i get all this anger though; maybe my mom?
athletic ability, i think i got my build from my mom. dunno exactly how athletic my dad was, however, it's more or less true that i got my dad's face, but my mom's build, while phil got mom's face(well, while he doesn't look exactly like her, he did when he was still a baby), and my dad's build(became fat like my dad was for a while), but phil always seemed to be a better athelete than me IN HIS PRIME, so i guess that means dad was more athletic than mom(he did serve a bit in the army in taiwan, but that was mandatory for all taiwanese youth); i'm all-over more consistent with being athletic though than my bro; not always gonna be "better" than him(though i think i am now), but i think i've never really been out of shape(can't say for sure though). he'll always have strength though; i'm just quicker.
and yea, one last note, is that i see that emotions really do put your actions into motion, cause when i utilize my athletic ability with sports, i usually try to use my anger to get myself to play harder; i may study up some, but all said and done, your knowledge has no time for contemplation and it has to become instinct; emotionally, it's not that i'm trying to get myself to want to kill or beat my opponents to hell, but it's like you're playing for that big play that will rile you up and put your opponents in their place, like a hard tackle in football, or a huge block in bball.

haha

oh shit(literally)

enlightening...

why's it that UCD's the only UC that does spring break w/a half week followed by a half week?

new thought of the week: thoughts determine your actions; so what determines thoughts? IMO, emotions + knowledge(not the same as wisdom), and though women are usually dependent upon the emotions part more and men upon the knowledge part, i think i've come to the realization that you need a balanced combination of BOTH to do what is right; i'll post more on this when i have time this week; i should be going to sleep early.

pray that i might be excused from jury duty.

iBreatheMusic.com - Professional Music Theory and Lessons for Guitar & Other Instruments

That Stubborn Sin

hmm, now i wonder, do i need that book i wrote down beforehand? maybe just printing out this article will do.

and in a strange way, it kinda matches the vision that i got from God.

USATODAY.com - Taiwanese hold massive demonstration against China

Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar - Tony Stetina: 19.95
Tascam Guitar CD Trainer: 149.99
Tekken 5 data card: 5.00
Say Goodbye to Stubborn Sin: A Surgeon Explains the Psysiological Factors that Trigger It - Clark Gerhart: 13.99
(apparently, your toys just get more expensive as you get older)

damnit, saturn's so high maintenance; looks like i'm gonna have to go nowhere/borrow rides sun - wed as well; hoping they fix the clutch by wed, or that will suck, as that i'll have to bum rides all the time i'm up in davis.

foot, meet mouth; please insert...

i realized i said the stupidest thing... ever... in the previous post:

chanukuh: begins on 25th day of the Jewish calendar on Kislev. basically, approximately in december before xmas

passover: around the time of nisan, i think the 15th? (starts 23rd of april this year)

easter: feast of eshtar... basically, 27th of march this year i believe

in other words, the actual date for "resurrection day" and "crucifixion day" is a mere 2-3 weeks in difference.

i had wondered why easter wasn't celebrated half a month later...

oops...

goes to show just how little i know about the jewish culture... i should really try to study up on it... reggie white did...

elaborating on the ...of the week's, i thought it was a good idea(to be honest, the idea wasn't exactly OG; i found it out from www.sonichurricane.com, a good SF-related site, and i guess today it just seemed like a good idea to try to begin)... i might have more topics, but for now, we'll keep it at the ones i posted. and when i'll do them, i'll keep it short and post what the thing is, instead of elaborating; if you want specifics on one of them, you gotta comment on which one you want eleboration, and maybe i'll bring out some thoughts.

anyways, sports game of the week: warriors def sacramento on sunday. why's this strike me? because of a number of things: sacramento is TONS better than warriors right now. and yet, it seems like gsw's the kryptonite to many superman-ish-teams. it's funny how pistons can beat warriors, but kings murdered them on a sunday ago or two. but gsw beat kings like mad this season. on sunday, they showed that they got the better of kings in this year's regular season series, losing only 1 home game. what also sparked my interest is this: this time, their player whom they've been having the most problem against, jrich, was missing; troy murphy acted like a white KG and posted his own double-double, leading gsw to the win. i would've loved to go to that kings game and stood up against the crowd to root for the warriors.

btw, seeing how the pistons are sliding again, makes me wonder that maybe every single player on this team is THAT valuable(compared to each other)... look at how much they ran into trouble when ben wallace took time off due to the 6 game suspension, or his death of his bro. now look at how they slide when rip went out injured; i've never seen billups run into so many TO's before! and i have a feeling that if tayshawn ever gets injured in the future, though they never let him carry the team to victory yet, that they'd suffer too; he's their best all-around player. however, the truth about the pistons, is that their best player, is IMO, not even a player: larry brown. that's right. makes me wonder just how much influence a coach has upon the game. i'm thinking that a coach has influence upon the gameplan that a team has to carry through, as well as motivational encouragement; am i missing anything else? maybe reputation? they're more willing to listen to him if he's got a reputation for winning, or turning low-tier teams into winners?

seeing how good friday and easter's coming up, i wanted to paraphrase the book of the week that i read: it was about a jewish businessman whose older daughter converted to christianity; he tries to use logic and research to disprove what she's come to believe, and ends up being converted to a christian, as well as his entire family. he is now a pastor to jews and gentiles alike. anyways, in one of the chapters, he tries to tackle exactly why christianity spread apart from judaism. now, i'm not gonna tackle the entire thing, but i wanted to elaborate on easter, as this book opened my eyes on that issue(it goes far beyond what the bible says; a bit of history is needed)

the reason is this: if you remember correctly, jesus died when? on the 1ST DAY OF PASSOVER. when did he rise? 3RD DAY OF PASSOVER. think about that. why do we celebrate easter about half a year away? wouldn't it make more sense to celebrate it during passover? because the christian gentiles at the time had utter disregard for jews, despite the fact that we all know christianity is a jewish religion 1st and foremost. passover at that time, was celebrated according to the jewish calender, not the secular calender. the 17th of nisan(the original passover date; sometime around late march and early april), was not a meaningful date for christians. so what they did was proclaim at a council in cesarea that ressurection day would be celebrated on the date known as the "feast of eshtar," producing easter sunday. they then widened the gap even further by later proclaiming that all believers celebrate the resurrection on easter sunday, and even later, that anyone who attempted to celebrate passover in the church was to be excommunicated. so sad...

now, i realize that the original passover date was around late march to early april; the date we about have easter sunday. however, i think it would also be a good idea, to ALSO(not exclusively) celebrate easter on what is now present-day passover. does it make you a better christian if you do so? no... but i believe that you show even further respect for jesus if you do so. remember that those who knows more, more will be entrusted with him. now that you are REALLY aware of when jesus died, doesn't it do more justice to him to worship him in a like mind around passover?

just some thoughts.

have a happy good friday and easter; remember all that he's done for you... and then some...

Academictips.org - Memory Techniques, Memorization Tips

i'm gonna have to go back to this site and print its contents out at the library

... of the week's(something new that i'd thought i'd post each week that's on my mind):

book: stan telchin - betrayed
song: jeremy camp - restored
food: tsing tao's spicy noodle soup(yes, since i'm home, i ALWAYS think about it)
bible verse: jeremiah 29:13
musical equip: tascam guitar cd trainer
video game: tekken 5
sport game: (haven't thought about it yet)

i gotta find a meditation spot in cupertino; so i've got one in davis, now i need one in my hometown; i'm thinking of memorial park...

so that means i gotta find 4 meditation spots:
cupertino, dry weather: memorial park
cupertino, raining: ?
davis, dry weather: UCD, arboretum
davis, raining: ?

i'm back...

and i need to get the saturn fixed... again... i'll do it tomorrow...

it gets so many problems... and started showing me the "service engine soon" sign again on the road, and that's been about 4-5 months since the last time the engine got fixed... ugh...

it's a love-hate relationship, haha...

so while i did plan a LOTTA stuff today, i guess that leaves me with just writing down lessons on "celebration of discipline" today...

there's no snacks in my house, haha... but i'll be okay; i've been trying to check myself to make sure i don't fall too much in love with food.

i'll go to guitar center, bereans and MAYBE golfland(tekken 5!) tomorrow...

(btw, i've begun to realize something; if you're planning on visiting the arcade, you need to blow $2+(or depending upon the machine's cost for 1 game, 8 games) if you intend to get better playing against others... $1 just doesn't cut it no more, so for me, i guess that means i have to cut down on the times i go)

k, showertime, then i gotta write on the cpu

CNN.com - Appeals panel won't order Schiavo fed - Mar 23, 2005

wow... how sad... and the fact that her history spans back 10 years...

ok, i gotta get back to cramming for my last final, but for a quick word: it's made me wonder... if you requested that if you became a human vegetable, that others pulled the plug on you, and it came to pass... would that be committing suicide in god's eyes? and hence, would you be sent to hell for that? i've really wrestled over this question a lot before... well, not really wrestled with it, but i've never reached a definitive conclusion. i mean, how can you be committing suicide if you are basically, beyond recovery? braindead people can't think at all. so they are literally useless. and yet... you're killing a human. and human worth is so high, that to request that others pull the plug on you is still suicide. ugh...

i know that my mom's wishes in this case would've been that yes, i'd be allowed to pull the plug.

it's not all that bad for asian guys

HAHA!

ok, after much searching on the internet, i think i've finally found the preamp/miniamp that i've wanted...

TASCAM GDGT1MKII

nice eh? and a good training tool too(i can use the thing to practice on cds)... i'm just hoping that i can use the headphones AND lineout at the same time without a cd inside... if that's possible, i've got one sweet ass preamp...

and it's only 150 at guitar center this month...

NBA.com: Billups, Richardson Named Players of the Week

woot! go warriors and pistons! (haha... warriors beat the kings in series... take that, sacto! didn't even NEED jrich to get the job done for the 2nd time at sacto!)

"i think we're going to be tough to beat the rest of the season, especially for teams fighting for the playoffs. We want to try and ruin a lot of those team's chances. That's all we can really play for right now." -mike dunleavy jr.

*grins* such a nice guy, that dunleavy...

there's so many warriors' last names which i can't pronounce off the top of my head...

here's an interesting nba question; me and jerm went back and forth yesterday; which player has better backup; lebron or kobe? both teams have been slumping a lot lately... jerm argued that the lakers provided kobe with more depth, cause lamar odom is a good big man, and various other guys... (so i guess he's inferring that the reason why the lakers are doing worse is that they need more time to mesh, and or kobe is not as good as lebron) i thought z and eric snow, as well as a buncha others on cavs gave lebron better support. i dunno; maybe the fact that cavs overall do better than lakers is maybe cause i believe lebron will become a better player than kobe, but i'm still a believer in the team concept.

it's gonna be quite interesting in tinseltown if the lakers don't make the playoffs... maybe they're gonna cut loose on kobe? well, i wanna say "i told you so" but then kobe wants this i guess... so either you're gonna look like a genius cutting shaq loose, or you're gonna hafta step up and say "i accept this"

btw, i never got around to answering my stupid little question i threw out there about my bibles and headbands:

i have three of each; 2 of 3 of both my headbands and bibles are blue and green(green student bible given to me from phil, blue pocket bible which i bought and use exclusively on ucd; blue headband is the official ucd headband, and i got the green headband because i was into paul pierce at one point)... the 3rd bible is that old, large, worn out monstrosity that i carry around ctcc for so long, and has tabs falling out left and right. the 3rd headband is a white one made w/dupont, so it's probably the best one, supposedly has a patented fabric that helps keep sweat away from you; i originally got it cause ben wallace is wearing a white headband all the time, but now he's switched to red :( ah well; i'm not gonna bother buying another one; i have too many already.

1 more, that's it; just one more... see you guys back on wednesday.

i have got to stay on track a lot more during spring quarter; if you don't keep up RIGHT at the beginning, it doesn't matter how much you try in the middle; you're gonna end up cramming...

leave it to me to make french toast look like crap... it looked like it was diseased before i put it in the frying pan, due to the chunks of butter... tasted good though, and it WAS my 1st time trying to make it from scratch... next time fools, next time... ask jerm about the tastetest...

Pray for me; looks like i might have to attend jury duty
my jury number btw is 700, so you can see how i'm just hoping the numbers fall short before the week of 27th... it's so close... i gotta find nelson and talk to him on sunday.

The Purpose-Driven Life by Warren, Rick - Berean Christian Stores

is this book good? i hear ppl talking about it all the time

also, while we're talking about this, what's a good book to learn about the scriptures that deal w/prophesy? any recommendations?

(for some strange reason, i have always wanted to buy and own sun tzu's "the art of war - victory without combat", but i don't think it's gonna be much use, even if i take up martial arts @ucd)

my current library of christian songs 

woooooooowwwwww...

i'm loving the warriors... especially considering they beat a defensive-lacking team, the suns...

the game on thursday was so fun to watch... yes, it killed me to watch warriors not defend all the way, but jrich and davis are so fun to watch when they're hot...

classic, fun(to me) match on sunday... spurs and pistons... call it what you want, but you can't win games w/o defense... you may see airballs and blocked shots all over the place and see a terrible game, but i see the skill and defensive pressure both teams and esp the wingmen and post-defenders are going to put on each other... it takes skill, and both teams are here to win, not impress you...

------------------

don't come to me complaining about how it's no longer sunny and starting to rain again, or how your hair and clothes are gonna get messed up, or how you don't like the wetness, or i may feel angrily compelled to backfist you across the face...

at least it's not downpouring like crazy... light drizzles are kewl... trust me, they are...

tekken 5's gonna be really kewl... they even did the memory card thing that vf4 did... although, i feel that my win record's gonna be crap...

MSNBC - Cardinal's plea: Don't read 'Da Vinci Code'

if the cardinal's gonna tell ppl not to read this book, the least he can do is provide reasons why it's false... b/c the way i see it, all this is gonna do to the general unbeliever is make them think, "what's so bad about it that you're trying to hide from us?" and make them want to read it even more. calling a book "rotten food," and then being able to back it up...

and even if catholics want to read it, then you could just provide some books that disprove it...

although, i really don't know... supposedly, if we were to call this book "evil," then it's best not to dabble in it at all, instead of using it to test your faith?

i mean, i have heard the arguments in the book ARE convincing to some ppl, but i think if you're strong in your faith and have a good knowledge of the bible, you should have no problem... it's just that everybody's looking for some reason to disbelieve the gospel.

now to finish strong... 7 days left...

4 finals left...

fast food chains gonna be see a lot more of me this and next week... during dinner of course...

see ya'll back on wednesday, or thursday of next week...

tekken 5's out now(or real soon)! ooooh, now i don't know whether to get espn nba 2k5 still, or to save money to get tekken 5 instead...

(or instead of espn nba 2k5, blow the money on ttt, since i'm playing tekken 3 again, and i can't for the life of me get down jin's EWGF, b,f+2,1>2, DEWGF combo; can't do the DEWGF consistently; i need to work on f,f *pause* d,df~2 more...)

waitaminute, i think i've heard some reports that t5 devil jin = ttt jin...

alright, if they can confirm that i can practice b,f+2,1>2, DEWGF, then tk5 it is...

man, i dunno what it is with me, but i've been getting blessings and blessings from god this week. and i'm not talking about the "oh, i managed to wake up in time for class even though i hit the snooze button stuff," or "i should've gotten a parking ticket, but i didn't," it's even better than what happened last end of fall quarter. i'm talking about the stuff related to fasting and prayer i did this week. granted, my fast was over yesterday afternoon, but it's enough to show me the power of fasting, prayer, and meditation, all working together. if that isn't something worth talking about, what isn't?

i'll probably pay some extra hours for it tonight, as i've got a lab due tomorrow and other ish, but it's worth it.

i'll just cut and paste the entries i made today... you gotta read it to believe it... plz be patient and read both entries... i hope that you will gain something from it and be encouraged further from it... whatever i quoted was what i wrote directly out of my diary... as King Nebuchadnezzar best put it in Daniel 4:1-3,

To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world:
May you prosper greatly!
It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.

(this one i started out seeing another weakness of mine, and then it just made me sadder and sadder thinking about it; in case you don't know as I reference in the entry, me, jon, jerm and sam all have a small group thing we do every tuesday night outside of msm and whatever-church-group-sam-goes-to-in-ucsb)
(begin quote)
I see another weakness of mine; I get easily ensnared by the prospect of new things. In some cases, this is good b/c as a genetics future wannabe, it’s good to want to know more and explore and find out more. But this is also bad, b/c it means I am that much more easily ensnared by the “treasures” of this world.

In the case of fighting games, that means I can so easily be ensnared by a game I haven’t tried mastering or playing. As of right now, I am hooked upon the ol skool versions of SFII. It ended up distracting me during my MCB class b/c I started thinking and replaying the matches I played against someone @the MU instead of the class subject.

And I also see this wanting of temporary, new things in the way I buy stuff sometimes. Always wanting new things, never satisfied with what I have; is everything I buy that useful? Is this the meaning of the 10th commandment? To not be envious of what we don’t have? Or the 2nd commandment? This is terrible. Nothing I have tried is really that new, that satisfying in the long run. I can say all I want, but fighting games are basically pushing buttons and tapping joysticks. Music is basically hearing the same notes played in different rhythms; it’s JUST NOISE! Basketball is pushing a stupid ball through a new. And all these things get us angry or saddened just b/c we can’t do them consistently? Useless. Lacking.

Soloman was right(Ecclesiastes 1:8-10); nothing is new. AT ALL. How weak I am. How lacking my soul is. I guess I could tell the others tonight about how I’d feel, but they’d probably brush it off, saying “oh, we all have wants” or “as long as it’s in proper perspective with your placement of God first,” but really now, do you realize how much we think of finding joy in these things?

I guess I really don’t know where I’m going with this; I don’t know exactly how God is going to rid or diminish my want of things new or that I don’t have, and I’m not trying to say we all should give everything away and just be like monks. I guess what I could do is bring forth this issue as a confession before the other guys tonight and ask them to forgive me on part of God, as well as to ask God to begin that work of being content only in God.
(end quote)

(you needed to read the above to truly appreciate the entry i made below; i then spent a long time in prayer just griping to God, and then spent some moments in meditation, trying to let God speak to me; what followed was just gold... i don't know how else to put it... this meditation experience felt the most real to me out of anything i've done; it was like me and god were talking to each other without words; i was adding something with my imagination to the vision, and he was doing the same)
(begin quote)
(We all know that imagination allows us to use our mindpower to create images in our mind, and that it’s a suggestive way to meditate before God, but what I’m about to say next felt more like a communication w/God w/o words, making this feel so genuine, like no other meditation experience I’ve ever felt. I’m trying to recreate the imagery as best I could, but some of the words I said or heard couldn’t be remembered exactly.)

I just had the most incredible meditation experience ever; I was contemplating how sinful I was for wanting temporary things, and then God just took my imagination and used it for his glory. I saw the personification of James 1:22-25 and John 6:33-37;

I was standing in front of a large body-long mirror, which was the perfect law(as seen in James), and then saw my hungry, thirsty self. I looked dead, shriveled, gray. And then I complained to God, saying “How can I ever change myself? I am just so weak, I can never be satisfied. I know I need you, but I don’t know how.” And I said some other things along these lines.

All the while, Jesus was in the same room as me, slightly behind me, looking at me and the mirror. And then after hearing me, he tells me, “Then I’ll become a part of you.” He turns into a slice of bread, then says, “Take me and eat me, and I’ll become you(or a part of you).” But I protested, saying, “My Lord, please, no! My vessel(body) is weak and imperfect! You don’t want to dwell there!” And Jesus replied, “I love you too much. I can’t let and see you go hungry like this again. I’ll let my body be broken and destroyed so that I can live in you and be a part of you. That way, you will become perfect b/c I dwell in you and am perfect myself. You just need to believe in me, and that I can do it.” I said, “Lord, I believe; help me to believe,” and then took him and ate him.

The vision ended there, b/c I started thinking(by myself, not visions given to me) about whether Jesus would come out of my body as poop, but that b/c he’s perfect no poop would come out, so then I basically decided to just open my eyes.
(end quote)

Davis Police Department Weekly Crime Synopsis - City of Davis

just 4 more hours of fasting to go, or such...

you'd be surprised(or not) what's in your fast food... take a look at jack in the box or wendy's or burger king's official websites... it's like 80% hydrogenated soybean oils, 15% EDTA preservatives, and 5% actual meat(well, not exactly, but the long list of crud that follows the actual meat makes it seem that way)... i dunno if this'll motivate me to eat even more at in n out and redrum exclusively... not that eating out's healthy in the 1st place... man am i thankful i like cooking, or i'd be in a bind...

i guess i am kinda stupid about this, cause the truth is that you KNOW this stuff isn't healthy, so you wouldn't be that surprised, and yet, when you do look @the ingredients, you are taken aback...

have fun eating out... I'M out...

Photos that will never make the news

my christian diary entry, after about 1 day of my 2-day fast:
"I have come to the realization of why fasting’s important in a Christian life; habitual fasting helps us to remember God’s provision and how weak we are. There’s a lot more reasons why it’s so important as a stepping stone God uses to draw us closer to him, but I’ve realized that(at least for today) it creates adversity and trouble when it is not there. As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a lb of cure.” However, it is well-known that Christians have to suffer adversity to grow, so how can we solve this problem? Fasting: we allow habitual occurrences of testing to occur upon ourselves so as to place ourselves in the rich soil for spiritual growth; it’s easy to be loving, patient and kind when all is well. Does this mean we’ll never suffer trouble outside of fasting if we do so? Of course not, but we become that much more equipped to handle modern society’s problems. Note that this thought only deals with fasting as a mechanism God uses to help you grow; there are many other benefits and insights to God using a combination of prayer and fasting to reach you that I personally haven’t discovered yet; I would hope with God’s grace that I can eventually discover these things sometime soon."

"I’ve also come to realize that due to the above paragraph, that unless if God directly tells you to, there’s no useful purpose in fasting beyond 10-12 days w/o solid sustenance. What you want to use to glean yourself is the hunger pangs, fatigue and what no from starvation. As you know, after 10-12 days, the pains stop until ~40 days. But b/c we use that hunger for God to shape us, I really don’t see a reason to fast beyond that time; if it doesn’t hurt(and hence, can’t be used to bring you closer), why fast?"

i'd also like to add that when fasting, it's not that good of an idea to do any strenuous activity, which is quite weird, since if you try strenuous activity on a buldging stomach(as i have painfully experienced after the 200 m dash to the bus stop after a pot-full of dinner soup), you feel DA PAIN. but it's true also for fasting; your stomach will hurt; slow your motions down, take your time walking around.

everytime i'm tempted to cut my fast short or delay it, i have to ask myself "what are you doing this(fasting) for?" then i have to remind myself that god is more important that the bowl of noodles i would've been whipping up, then consuming at the apt or what not. yeah, it is a struggle each month to attempt to fast; to begin it, and then to prolong it. i really had no idea i loved food this much. but i know about how valuable it is, so i'll keep fighting myself to do it once a month.

(although i would like to end the fast tomorrow w/a jack in the box fish n chips combo w/fish fillet... that'd be good, but whatever, that's later)

L33t cereal

with that tidbit of humor, study hard peeps... it doesn't mean a damn thing if but were hardworking the entire quarter, but don't finish up strong...

depending upon whether i get selected for jury duty or get cut on the week of 27th, i may have a 3-4 day break...

gonna fast for 2 straight days w/o food... sunday dinner, all of monday, tuesday breakfast and lunch... b/c i've lost sight of what this life is all about...

good thing that sore left thigh was only a 1 day thing... it feels fine now... time indeed heals all wounds.

comcast sucks so much recently... again...

my left thigh's aching so much... no, i didn't think i broke any bones or sprained anything, but it hurts... but i grit through it... like ai and brett farve.

TTIIIIIIIME! (man oh man, that makes me laugh so hard; ask jon and jerm for specifics if you don't know why it's so funny to me)

nerf n-strike maverick is so k3wl...

man, i can't believe how cheap stuff is at guitar center during their green tag sale... ridiculously cheap stuff...

stop trying to play by the world's rules for a change if you remember to do it...

i can't believe koreans play THAT type of a prison game... at a msm junior guys' fellowship... ugh... felt like a sausage party... rock scissors paper has now hit an all-time low...

other than that it was fun... i still need to work on my foot quickness though; if it were better, i'm sure football and basketball would be a lot better for me... not too sure how to go about doing liners though.

hmm... nba's so interesting these days... walker's back in boston, so that'll solve the problem of chemistry(of pierce fitting in and having to take the load of the team), and flat-out make boston a much better team than with payton. everybody knows about the cwebb trade, which, imo makes both teams better, not by much, but still a lot better; kings had peja and cwebb clash all the time, and we all know sixers need someone other than ai to go to all the time. and davis is now in a warriors uniform; this is so exciting! they just need some big men now! plus, you got detroit starting to turn it up on d like the world champs they are. plus, spurs aquired more pieces in place of rose(not that they would need it; spurs have ANY weaknesses?)

i'm noticing that prince is starting to pour it on in the pts category now(20+ in the last few games); i'm predicting that in the late future(think 6-7 years down the road), he could be a legitimate all-star. the reason why he doesn't get noticed is because he's not a stat player, but i think he is either the piston's no 1 or 2 guy(i guess maybe number 3 if you consider billups for the offense and ben wallace for the defense, but he's great on BOTH ends of the court) no one's gonna argue with his defense, given what he's done with tmac and kobe, and he's a good rebounder and i read somewhere that somehow always knows when a person's open and hits them with an assist. of course, i could be talking out of my ass, since not only do i like the pistons a LOT, but prince is probably my 2nd favorite player on that team. but the truth is this: he's improving, he's young, and he's got a long ways to go. hence, i think he's only hitting the tip of the iceberg for his potential.

i was listening to dream job, nba edition, and i do agree; i think they should make the all-star game count for something; you get home court advantage for the nba finals. otherwise, it never really counts for anything, and the players sometimes don't feel like they should get into it for fear of injuries.

i'm not too sure i should be joyful that god is revealing every single weakness to me; i like that i now know what my enemies are and where to concentrate upon improving my relationship with god, but i don't like how many of them there are. didn't fast at all the last week, but here's another weakness of mine i saw; i can't "finish strong." basically, i get to the weekend, and then i get lazy. so maybe the issue is not fasting on the weekdays at all(since i never play videogames on the weekdays), but the issue lies with the weekends; no classes, no bus to take you to the uc davis campus to study til 11:00 PM, so if you aren't strong with yourself, you have a big chance to get lazy and screw everything up. that's my weakness.

ooooo... ooooo indeed...

and kings are pretty close to dealing away cwebb as well... looks like a good move imo.

chinese in houston

i have no idea whether barry did the right thing or just dug himself into a way deeper hole, given what he did on tuesday...

Your Brain is 46.67% Female, 53.33% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

at least i'm not more female than male... i'd be disturbed... though i am slightly confused about what this means considering it's pretty close... am i too girlish inside?

but here's something i wanna leave w/you: the man thinks w/his dick... the woman thinks with her heart... god thinks with both... it's true... my analogy isn't actually too formal, but it's da truth...

Oh sure, I can stop whenever I want eh?

Napster doesn't go nostalgic... ie they don't have some music groups on their program at ALL... like big dismal, 12 stones, umm, there's a lot more...

i'll try to refrain from the huge temptation to comment about the nba all-star weekend, or bball at all...

it was great to finally see michelle and phil again after what seems like an eternity...

anyways, i saw my nephew for the 1st time this weekend... k3wl; it's weird being an uncle at 21 and having the evidence stare right back at you. biut that's what having an age gap between you and your older sibling of 8 yrs does i guess; it has its benefits. anyways, very huge eyes, has a nice smile... very nice. one thing that irks me... do all babies cry like crazy? seems like almost anything that did not involve michael looking at phil or michelle set him off. oh yea; i didn't know how i was supposed to carry him... *shrug* guess that's something i better learn fast...

so i ended my fast of a weeklong denial of no videogames... what did i gain? well, i think i lived out the meaning of Matthew 12:43-45; i did myself no good to just deny myself videogames(despite it being a good idea), because i found out that whatever else i used to use to waste time, simply magnified itself; i ended up spending a lot more time on nba.com... so, the issue then, of course, points out another weakness of mine... when i do a "non-food" fast again, i'll have to deny myself of videogames AND sports AND blogging AND web-surfing for one full week. the internet part's kinda hard to enforce, because i do have to go online to print out lecture notes and stuff, so i guess i could limit the sites to myucdavis.edu and hotmail.com. but that's not all; i HAVE to lean upon God...

richard foster's completely right; whatever your weaknesses are, will be seen and magnified during any fast:

what i have learned about myself from the cumulative fasts i have done this year have shown me just how weak i am.

where do i go from here? well, there's nothing i can really do, except pray to God that he'll be willing to change who i am; alone i can't do it, although i'd love to; the only way is for God to do so. that doesn't mean i can't plant the seed, but the growing part will be done by God.

fasting indeed, is an integral part of any growing christian's diet. no wonder the modern day individual experiences no spriitual growth.

apparently jerm's not the only bad dancer

didn't even know the air force had bad dancers :D

k, i got home kinda late, and found the next gen of tsai's all asleep at 11:00 PM... hmm... apparently phil and michelle got O.L.D. dot com when they got married... and while it's good that the heater's FINALLY on at home, i'm surprised how frequently it keep turning on... hey, cupertino ain't THAT cold...

anyways, i haven't seen michael yet, but that'll happen tomorrow...

time for some meditation... then sleep... can't waste tomorrow... i keep praying to god to help me treat every single minute of my life as gold...

therein lies a minor problem though... i WANT to not waste every single minute of my life; i like to think every moment that we get another chance to live on this earth (before finally being eternally consigned to heaven or hell) is a gift from god, so that if we do waste that time, we're essentially not giving thanks to god for what he's given us. wasting our talents, money, etc. and yet, i know that god wants us to not play by the rules of the world, to take our sweet time when we come to him and spend time with him, however way we do it. so i am constantly caught in this dilemma of how to take my time slowly and sweetly, but not waste so much time that i screw my studying time over. what to do?

so tired... at least the midterm's done... average effort i say... with some luck on the grading on the midterm, i could get a B+(or even A-), instead of barely making a B-... could've been a lot better... i gotta stop blowing my weekend time away...

just 1 1/2 more hours...

maybe i'll take a long shower before i actually head home... ykno, so my mind stays sharp while driving home and not groggied...

and my right thumb hurts so much... i think i clipped my nails a little too close to the meat, and then when i was chopping jalapeno peppers last night, they might've gotten under the skin... ugh... hurts...

summer might turn out to become very fun... if i end up getting a bio job/internship up in davis(most likely), and jon and jerm spend most of the summer in taiwan on missions, phil can actually take their rooms and just hang w/me... as he's got stuff to do in davis during the summer, and needs a place to stay... this could be really cool... kinda like days of old, but with no mom and dad around... (makes me wonder though why phil has to do so much med stuff in davis... out of all places, but then, it's all better that way)

ok, take care of this mcb 161 lecture which is happening in about 15 min, and then i'm outta davis... screw getting the last graded quiz back, that can wait til tuesday when i get back... i'm just exhausted dot com from cramming for the biochem midterm...

approx 17 more hrs until i can see my bro again...

but first i'll have to brave another midterm first...

btw, chopping up jalapenos and stick them in stagg beef chili is great... i never knew how great fresh jalapenos are, and the kick they add to food... too bad they're not cheap, so don't count on me doing this again for a while... but man, how i love spicy stuff... i'm not one of those cocky overboard ppls though, so yes i like spicy stuff, but i think i'll settle for something short of habanero or capesian, or those sauces which scorch your tongue for prolonged periods... i like the mouth burn, but something close to 15 min is really not my style. i also for some reason don't like tabasco sauce, cause the sour, vinegar smell i think adds a different type of style to the hotness...

jeremiah 29:13... keep this verse with you wherever you go... it's gold...

i find that when i'm not trying to look up bball stats or 3rd strike ryu tips and videos online these days, that i'm spending more and more time @daviswiki.org.

seriously, i think i learned more about davis and the way uc davis works by this site alone than anything else.

some interesting stuff i've picked up:

-parking's free on weekends anywhere(didn't know that)

-pools are free to swim in if you show your reg card(whoopie; i'm gonna be lap swimming on the weekends in spring when i buy some swim trunks)

-said this before, but yes, ucd does sell their own meat. cut and butcher.

-lists what you can do in sacramento(malls, chinese markets, etc)

-etc... too much to list, too easy to get lost and lose track of time.

-this really cracked me up yesterday; it's a joke fraternity that often advertises alongside the rows of frat signs near the huge grassy center area:
click here

etc... have fun!

and oh yea; go warriors...

most of the times i love rain, and the recent sudden outpour in davis again has been great...

there's just one problem...

NOW where do i choose my meditation spot to be?!?!?!? i don't wanna get my pocket bible soaked...

's gotta be somewhere quiet and lonely, hopefully outside, dry, but on campus... and that's a hard gem to find in rainy days...

...

i'll find a way... no... god'll find a way...

aw man, bulls vs kings tonight; i've always wanted to see the new bulls! too bad i probably won't be able to, cause i've got a midterm to look after on friday, and other ish to be concerned with, such as our tuesday little accountability thing. well, maybe i might be able to get a few peeks at them...

funny how jordan basically ruined the careers of two of the greatest ballers to play the game... the person whom many consider to be the greatest baller to play the 4 spot has to leave w/o a ring... the shooting guard whom many consider to be the best at shooting off the screen also has to leave w/o a ring... they both came so close, but got away empty...

not that i'm complaining... i respect both players, but i never really liked karl malone or reggie miller.

edit:

heh, this probably means jerm's not going to be a pacers fan anymore, once this season ends... ever meet sports fans who are like that? they don't truly grasp the great strengths of a team, choosing instead to concentrate upon 1 single player?

seems like i watch a lot more kings games on comcast to root for the other team, heh heh. celtics, bulls, warriors(yayyay!), and now: pistons are coming up in march, i'm SERIOUSLY going to enjoy that; if detroit manhandles sac the way they did on lakers last season, i dunno, i might just get a big grin on my face... detroit's starting to pick it up now, so i guess they were just trying to be cautious not to pick up injuries in the 1st half of the season, or getting used to things, although everybody at the get-go were looking to see if they'd just come out strong every night. i'd think, with the emergence of miami, cleveland, as well as some really good west teams, for people to take detroit seriously, they have, HAVE to go on a huge winning streak where they just hold everybody down defensively. sorta like last season, when they first got rasheed, and then just raped about 5, 6 teams in a row, holding them all down to below 80 pts(or was it 70?)

anyways, i watched about the remainder of the bulls game, and i have to say, i'm impressed. kirk hindrich really does play good defense, and he shares the ball a lot. his ability to steal is awesome. and he handed out 12 assists. he's not like where he'll do something jason kiddish, but he almost recognizes who to give the ball to right when he crosses the half court line and nears the perimeter key. there were a lotta plays where he gave it up right to eddy curry cause he saw him alone on the low block. eddy curry is also a great big man, and ben gordon is something really special. he split the kings' double team, then just took it in... crazy.

although, most norcal ppl are gonna be mad tomorrow when they realized brad miller was called for an offensive foul instead of correctly getting a 3-pt play.

The Best Blonde Joke Ever!

seems like everybody's giving up something for lent... well... i wouldn't call this something i'm giving up for lent(40 days? why's everything gotta be given up right @lent for 40 days? you telling me you try not to make sacrifices each month to remind yourself of who god is, til lent? and why's it almost always gotta be food?), but one of those things i'm gonna hafta do.

i planned to fast 1-2x each month to remind myself of how god is my king. but this time for feb fast no 1, i'm not doing food; i'm doing something more akin to what daniel in the bible did. i'm giving up my delicacies.

so obviously, this one's gonna be a bit longer. (who fasts for what i'm gonna say for only 1 day? LOL) but let's see how it goes:

no street fighter for 1 week(maybe i might even push it to 2, or 3)

by no street fighter/no fighting games/no video games, i mean:

-i do NOT at all even step inside the muga... if i wanna get some twenties to refill my wallet, i go downtown.
-i do NOT visit srk.com or cv.com or anything related to fighting games or sf
-don't bother looking at any online document relating to sf...
-and don't touch the ps2 at the apt either...
-when i get back, i also can't go to golfland...
-if i do go to fry's, i can't stop by the x-arcade(if they still have 3rd strike there); if possible, try to avoid going to fry's AT ALL...

why am i doing this? it's simple; i'm so sick of having to "rely" on this... i always planned on trying to cut back my arcade time after being given a 2nd chance, but to no avail... studying time's up, but every time i make it to the weekends, instead of keeping up w/the good work, in sheer exhaustion, i just unload in front of the ps2... and waste all the time i've spent in front of the books, so i have to play catchup again... so the least i'm doing is throwing this up on the web and hoping that now that it's made public, that i have to remain true to my word... yes, i know i can do this... but the reason is because not of what i'm losing, but what i'm gaining... when you sacrifice, you'll gain, not the otherway around.

i don't HAVE to do this... but when you believe you're blessed, you should follow up on it. those who have more will be judged higher. and the more i spend in deep, real prayer, the more i believe there is so much that i have been blessed with, either the little, more frequent, daily things, or the big, rare great blessings. stop trying to follow the crowd and follow what's right for a change. so i have to follow up on it. just cause your friends play W.O.W. for huge amts of time each day does not mean you should cave in yourself and play 3rd strike the same way... 4 classes/quarter is a lot, but then, with that, i should aim higher.

anyways, it's on starting today... so, it'll either end this saturday, or if i wanna push it to 2 weeks, ends next saturday.

(in the future, i think i'll try fasting from the web(i'm been meaning to try to fast from blogging) AND videogames, due to the sheer time that both take outta my daily life, but you always learn to crawl b4 you walk, so let's try this first, k?)

in other news:

i think getting a preamp for me for some reason has just become a lot more impt than saving money to get a delay pedal... alter bridge has convinced me that the delay isn't thinking about quite yet... having a preamp though(playing on a worship team sometime in the year sounds good), would greatly help playing on a stage...

*sigh* nfc still can't beat the afc...

anyone else surprised by the firing of flip? i was... i believe the fault still lies w/the players(specifically, sam i'm NOT and shopping spre)... however, despite the fact that this looks like a blame game, you could argue that players and coaches are interconnected, so if one's screwing up, perhaps the other's also to blame. maybe mchale can turn some things around... hopefully.

looks like boston's starting to earn their 3rd place, hope they can do it, but they did suffer a tough loss @home to the kings...

ouch... warriors couldn't beat hornets, came SO close, but couldn't beat suns...

anybody else get this weird, fuzzy feeling on your tongue after you eat cooked spinach?

heard this pass my ear on sportscenter, but was it really true that reggie white tried to study up on judaism in order to become closer to christianity? heard that ppl ended up thinking he was trying to convert to judaism... and that disturbed him greatly. i would agree too; christianity IS judaism... for him to do so, was to deepen his christian belief, not muddle it... there was this vision he had, where he saw something in hebrew written on a paper in a treasure chest, which was what he was seeking in his entire life... it was "redeemed" in hebrew... also, is reggie white's wife a jew or something? she looks white, so i'm not too sure.

napster's gonna see me sometime in the near future buying 1-2 of their prepaid songcards...

yeah, sacramento isn't exactly like davis... the arden center, aka the cal expo, has a lotta stuff... i'll have to go back some other time; guitar center's there, as well as a buncha other stuff...

our msm bible study group decided to go to cheesecake factory in that area after friday, and while some of us ordered dishes, others ordered different slices of cheesecake and sampled them...

oh yeah, speaking of which, guess who we saw sitting at the cheesecake factory behind us, eating a meal?

mike bibby!

(no, i didn't go up to him and ask for an autograph... neither did most of the others; it looked like he was going to eat, so it would've seen rude to do so; it was funny, because i think we would've left 2 hrs earlier than expected, but since we saw him, some of the girls couldn't decide whether to go up to him or to remain by themselves)... and it was funny, cause when we did go outside, we saw all these cars w/shiny rims on them...

random trivia about myself:

do the number of bibles that i own equal the number of headbands(that i use for various sports) that i own? how many of my bibles' book covers match the color of my headbands?

just something to think about if you don't have anything else to; can't believe it hit me today; i'll answer the question about a week from now.

you always learn something new each day, provided you're just willing to actually open your eyes and your ears...

for today: it is good to desire spiritual gifts; however they strengthen your relationship with God, not the belief of others... prophesying is what does help unbelievers.

other; s.fierce(close) will not combo into DP off of a jump-in with ryu in 3rd strike; c.forward is much better, and a lot more consistent.

shin nen qwuy luh...

whenever your new year is, may god continue to enrich your relationship with him and draw you closer to him, to everlasting springs of love...

celebration of discipline: yeah, this book is deep... and it's always good to go back and review it...

as for me and the supposed 2nd new year, i better be getting a fat red envelope soon :)

(this is the mad ups for being a chink over a kook, even though we all know we go to msm and dkc :D although, knowing my mom, i'll prob just get a penny or something :D)

my tv sports cycle during the year is something like this:

winter: nfl, nba spring: nba summer: tennis, olympics if available fall: nba, nfl (always considered myself more of a summer olympics guy than a winter olympics guy)

so now you know; i'm a casual baseball fan. if that wasn't that obvious so far. so yeah, after the pro bowl, you'll know what i'll be thinking about sportswise.

so yea... i'm starting to wonder really how much of minnesota's failures and downfalls this year are tied to mchale's ineptitude to satisfy cassell and spre's checkbook. or are the two players to blame...

yay for gsw for t3h win tonight against the magic!

booo, the eagles lost... was close though

i agree w/jerm; if to was fully recovered, eagles could've either won or tied it at the end of the 4th. he didn't have his speed, although he did make a lotta good catches; he just couldn't followup and burn the d all the way to the goal...

on another note, i made my 1st batch of guacamole for the super bowl... pretty good...

i also got a pocket bible, specifically for those times i spend by myself w/god each day on the campus

k that's it from me... maybe next year eagles... otherwise good run this year... but it obviously don't mean a thing if you don't get that trophy...

NBA.com: Sprite Courtside Countdown

vince carter outdid my 360 random shot...

and how did mo peterson do that blind?

it's interesting watching kings vs warriors at "the other guy's" tv network... and had ridiculous amounts of fun the 1st half, then just got frustrated the 2nd.

basically, no offense, but the kings announcers were more or less treating the warriors like crap... they weren't saying anything, but when you say stuff like "wow look at all these teams who come in here and walk away with triple-doubles" and ish like that...

it also peeved me how a lotta ppl in the crowd cheered for the kings... ok, so kings and warriors are both norcal teams. but cmon now... at least they cheered louder for the warriors.

watching the game more-or-less still proves what i believe; warriors need a good 4 or 5. (man, imagine how beastly the warriors' backcourt would've been if they still had arenas)

on the flip side, the good stuff is that pistons and celtics won...

man, i gotta stop playing 3rd strike on a ps2 controller and play on the real thing against real ppl at the mu; i get so used to the controller that i can't unload hadoken xx denjin at will. "practice? we're talking about PRACTICE here!" only practice i'll need is against others...

i pray that i might be able to discover my untapped spiritual potential, that i might discover what spritual gifts god has blessed me with, before i believe that the holy spirit has not baptized me...

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

really? *grins*

rudy t's stepping down... outta nowhere...

"god has already cleared me..." that's cool, dawg... now SHOW ME, T.O.! andy reid better be wearing a skirt or some tights when the super bowl's done!

Pistons meet Dubya

physics on wheels and stuff like that is making me dizzy... it's way too weird...

seems that as you grow older, your toys simply grow more and more expensive.

check this out:
128 mb usb drive: 19.99(most were 29.99; i was luck to find one for 20 dollars at fry's)
foam cushion mousepad: 14.99(comfy, and the old one was wearing out anyways)
nerf air maxx 2000 2-pack: 5.41(practically a steal, as w/the leftover credit from target, i was able to cut 9.99 down by 50%), and gave one to jerm; i've heard if you mod this particular nerf(they have instructions online on various webpages), it becomes gold; you can fire it up to 100 feet...
and if i was filthy rich, i might've spent even more money this weekend. but i'm trying to hold back; i want to get a ucd sweatshirt and a pocket bible.

anyways, it appears i was wrong; all targets apparently carry super soakers now; wasn't just yolo county area.

yo ballers: i'm making a word .doc that if you print it out, you can use to help design plays for 3-on-3; its useful, for if you wanna kick your game up a notch. if youre not one of the davis 3, email/aim me and ill see if i can hook you up; for you others, you can just use MySpace to find it.

warriors really need to get a good 4 or 5.

t.o. needs to outdo moss during the super bowl. and donovan mcnabb needs to go "jeff garcia and beyond"

just my luck...

i've been selected for jury duty...

(reminds me of how getting old ISN'T everything; i knew that all along, but then again, maybe i needed to be reminded)

why can't the ucdavis winter break be a whole week, instead of a partial wed-fri and another partial mon-wed?

now i have to decide whether to postpone some finals, or miss a few classes.

utter bull...

although, i know it's not exactly set in stone, as the lawyers have to decide whether i'm partial or impartial, or ish like that, plus i have to consider what the case issue is. etc.

great... i hope this is not like "the runaway jury," where some hired agent followed me all the way to davis to find out exactly who i am, thus deciding i'd be a good choice for a jury.

and i hope, even if i'm selected, that the subject is something so blatantly easy for me to decide for myself, that i'd never even choose the other side.

although, every person has a chance to make a difference in this world at different times; maybe missing 1-2 classes isn't that bad after all; i preach being impartial myself too; maybe this is my chance to see whether i live up to what i think.

can someone who's been on jury duty enlighten me on the specs? is it like "12 angry men" where they have to be all or nothing?

from those who have been entrusted with more, much more will be demanded of him...

this biblical quote is suggesting nothing of the sense that you are better than your peers; no, this quote is showing that because your mindset is "better than that," because of the way your talents and gifts are shaped, you should be "better than that."

i find it so tough to remember AND do this, but it's the truth... following peer pressure's so overrated...

vacaville target has some really good nerfs...

yolo county area targets ALL have super soakers...

there is nothing like coming to god in the middle of the day, and EMPTYING everything out for a good 30 min or so... as college is in session, i've found it harder and harder to devote so much time to god 3x a day(i do pray in the morning, but it's not very long, and deeper in the night, but i would say it's iffy; sometimes passionate, sometimes rushed, cause i just want to hit the bed), but that's the beauty of ucd's arboretum... just give me earplugs, a black gel ink pen, a clipboard, and a pocket bible(don't have this yet; will have to do some searching soon), put me out there on a bench after my midday classes have ended, and the time you spend out there w/nature and just praying and emptying your soul is great... it's gold...

fyi, best earplugs i've ever used are howard leight's; look for these red-orange ones, and they should be either 33 db reduction or 34 db. those are best for studying imo. the best for sleeping(yes, i do use 2 types of earplugs) are flents Quiet Down!... these ones are green, and have a 22 db reduction(you want it to not be exactly as tone-deaf, because you DO want to be able to hear your alarm :D), and a little more comfy on the ears.

*sigh*...

this is, hopefully, the 1st, and last time i ever pull an all-nighter this quarter(or any other quarter here) at davis...

god, have mercy on me...

new third strike ryu denjin setup learned: far standing mp, jab hadoken xx denjin, charge for 2-3 hits, do yo thang...

apparently far standing mp carries a whopping +4 on block(highest advantage ryu can get on a blocked move), so they have to red parry the hadoken. it might be strong hadoken though to force the red parry. but jab will shield better, unless they can jump outta it.

although, my execution on doing hadoken xx denjin sucks so much right now... as well as my gameplan. plus, all the ppl @the muga can't even beat dp xx denjin or knockdown, jab hadoken xx denjin whenever i can get the dp to hit or the knockdown.

i'll be coming home this weekend. cause the superbowl's next weekend. go eagles!

and fyi, phil will be visiting the bay area around feb 19th; i'll be home as well then. all yo peeps can finally see michael in person(as well as me :D)

btw, has anyone seen that new dr. pepper commercial? the one where they're playing "stacy's mom" in the background as a mom driving a minivan pulls up to a buncha kids playing sports or something?

laugh... out... loud... hilarious...

they cue the music and camera angles like they're trying to make the mom look sexy, ykno? and the kids gaping at her... it's only later in the commercial that you learn the kids weren't bum rushing her... they were bum rushing the van filled w/dr pepper... but oh man, it's so hilarious.

first time me and jon saw it, i couldn't stop laughing, and jon was like "errrr... what the..." i came right back with "that had the potential to become the sickest commercial right there."

(i ran outta space to comment, so i'm gonna hafta reply to grace's response here... stupid backblog)

i think backblog has always had only 10 smilies to use. not that i use em anyways. go for the ol skool ish; :) <- works fine. i use :D all the time though.

and on the issue of somehow knowing all these stats all of a sudden: it's not that hard; it just sorta comes naturally. what comes first is the LOVE OF THE GAME. then afterward, you just become amazed at how the players of the game play the game, and you can't stop spouting stats fresh off of espn.com to back up what you saw.

how do you get this love of the game? my suggestion: just sit down, and start watching some games... front to back. instead of trying to watch from both sides of the game(like in the case of the upcoming superbowl, eagles and patriots), try to follow one team, and root for them from the opening tip-off, til the end of the game(and don't switch sides mid-game if the team you root for is losing; that's a big no-no in my book; stay true; don't be a bandwagon fan :D). pretty soon, you start loving the game for what it is, and then somehow, you start caring about stats or the guys on the team you rooting for coming up huge. "OH! DID YOU SEE WHAT HE DID!" will quickly become part of your vocab :D

the only reason some girls never get to that "love of the game" part is they get together on superbowl sunday, see guys' rowdy reactions to big plays(and not the game itself), and their initial reaction is, "i don't get it; all these stupid guys going rowdy over some man being able to throw a ball and another man being able to catch it." or, "stop acting all depressed cause your team lost." they see the facial expressions, not the game. kinda like that old spice commercial. either that, or some girls see their girlfriends' reaction like that, and they proceed to think they should follow suit. but i'm not a girl, so don't ask me on the patterns that girls do too much. :D

grace, you have a bf right? if he's a big sports fan, next time you two do things together, ask if you can just join him and watch some football every now and then. or basketball(*gives a thumbs up*). or whatever you think you or he would like. this might help out.

(but great, now i got started on blogging, and can't stop)personally though, for me, i got started really liking sports during senior year in high school; my apps were done, i had only 5 easy classes, there was nothing to do, and nbc still had the nba, so i could watch some games(i had no cable @home). i did something rare, and actually watched a basketball game front to back. it also helped that the game was so close, that they had to stretch it to 2 overtimes... i was hooked, and the more games i watched, the more i grew to love this stuff. when i started seeing and appreciating more of the defensive stuff that basketball players did, that got me to loving hard-hitting stuff; guess where that led to; that's right; me starting to really love football.

but of course, you could always say my love of video games helped make this happen; i love sega sports, and when they came out w/nba 2k, that was video game basketball, for the 1st time in my life, done right. it flowed; i played a lot of it during high school, and it, combined with a few nba games on nbc, got me hooked. one of the reasons i also grew to love tennis was also cause sega made virtual tennis, and that it was so fun and realistic.

1 for 1...

go eagles! this is your year! now win it all!

edit: whadda know; i'm 2 for 2; the patriots won... but i stand corrected; the game wasn't close at all; big ben played a sloppy game, and the patriots took advantage of it. near blowout status; 40-something-ish to 20-ish.

edit: i pick the patriots to win the super bowl over the eagles, but i'm giving them a SLIGHT advantage, not a huge one; both teams are very well built, and play hard on both ends. both had OUTSTANDING seasons. and w/to back in the lineup for philly, that's great news(can you say pass creator?). so while i stand by what i'm saying, the truth is that i'll be rooting for philly. cause i like donovan and to. i do like the brilliance of the patriots' defensive coach, tom brady's overall solid play, and corey dillon though. but trust me; this superbowl will be a battle on both ends for both teams. it'll be great(even greater if philly wins or to scores a td, cause then andy reid will have to wear tights or put on a skirt :D). unless if you're just stupid enough to be there for the party or cause all your friends are watching.

which reminds me... superbowl must be THE time of the year where girls have to actually watch football (or sports for that matter) to be in the "in" crowd... else they just look plain geeky. it is, i think, one of the few events in the US where ppl HAVE to watch(that explains why so many commercials vie for the superbowl spot so much)... some of course are doing it for the commercials, some for the party, but others... there is, was, and will be only the game(and oh, deep down inside, how good it feels to know you're part of THIS group, and not the others; you have your heart set in the right place :D)

so while it's obviously not true that ALL girls don't like sports(i tend to think for them, it's not the activity they're doing that counts, it's who they're doing it with; girls = relationally involved beings, males = activity involved beings), it's more likely that they just don't care(unless if all their friends are football fanatics). until the super bowl. and they're only doing it cause all their friends are watching too.

which reminds me of fall quarter 2004 when the red sox were playing @the yankees; my bible study group was just chillaxing before getting started, so we were watching the game; being that our group was bisexual(heh heh...), there were some girls who obviously didn't care about sports, or follow it up on a regular basis. i joked to the other guys about how matsui looked a lot like jackie chan, and i get a response from a girl who asks, "jackie chan's playing?"
-silly rabbit; why would yankees want to play jackie chan during the playoffs? you wanna choke? oh wait... they still did...

out, around to the nearby elementary school, up to the other apartment complexes, and back... supposedly, in 10 min or less...

not that i'm impressed w/myself; i used to do a lot better... i was at my peak in 7th or 8th grade... 6:20 for a mile time, if i am not incorrect... that was when i was on the swim team, and my pe coach made us run for 10 min every other day...

but it felt good... should do this more often... go to sleep early, wake up early, take a jog... exercise is good, and helps keep you alert...

i saw a couple that seemed to not be able to stop kissing each other(peeved me off) at safeway... then i saw what they were buying... only one thing... a small little box called "simply sexy"... i presume it was condoms...

where do i go from here? where does god want me to go from here? so, he's granted me his grace... now how do i followup? only time will tell...