Upgrade, Upgrade

After staying overnight @ the Sheraton, I'm ready to try flying to Narita again... except I got a pleasant surprise as the lady at the counter told me and my dad that we got bumped up to... Business Class! Hollaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Oh God, I hope my flight has all the stuff below. =)

Traveling Woes

The past 3 times I've flown I've experienced ridiculous delays. Today was no exception, but on a totally extreme level.

I left Austin at 5:45am for my 7:45 flight. Got through a long security check point with no problems and waited to board. Everything started off smoothly and I settled in to sleep through the entire flight.

After 2 hours, I woke up feeling really thirsty. As I was looking around, someone kept hitting the call button. "Dang what a freakin annoying jerk." I'm sure that's what everyone was thinking until the mom screamed that her son was going through seizures. That's when things kinda went crazy, with attendants rushing over to assess the situation. Everyone's heads kinda snapped over to see what was happening, but just as quickly turned away, probably because they didn't want to be snoopy.

What was pretty impressive was how professional the staff was. They announced over the PA the situation, asking for any doctors or nurses to help assist, then went about dealing with the kid efficiently. In the end, there was a nurse and a dentist who were able to settle things down, but then the captain said that we would make a emergency stop in Indianapolis.

In my head I was definitely hoping the guy was safe, but also really anxious at how long the delay would take. It's really funny how our thinking becomes more and more selfish as our plans get taken away. After 45 minutes, the captain announced that we were all set to take off again, and I could sense the mood on the plane was very annoyed, almost on the verge of pissed.

Long story short, I ended up landing in Detroit, got a voucher for a free stay in the Sheraton and got $20 food vouchers. Looks like I'll be spending Christmas in the hotel. Wooooo!

Merry Christmas and Safe Travels Everyone!

I'll be flying off to Taiwan (fingers crossed) tomorrow morning @ 7:30am and arriving at 4:30pm on Christmas Day. It's been a great year, albeit a year that flew by too quickly, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming year.

Wish everyone a great time with family and friends wherever you will be spending it! Love alla ya, and catch you next year!

Playing Matchmaker (Comic)

*click to enlarge

After a year of planning and waiting...

I finally got my 1st tattoo. I've reposted an entry I wrote on January 8th, 2009 on a private blog so those of you who had no idea what I wanted or didn't even know I wanted one... there you go.

I was actually really nervous in the morning, so I asked Tou Fue if he wanted to join and he was good enough to accompany me to Diablo Rojo. The place looked pretty intimidating from the outside but after being greeted from the Ryan inside, a lot of my apprehensions were assuaged.

It took almost half an hour explaining my concept and finding a design that we all thought looked good, and then another 20 or so minutes figuring out the location. He kept insisting that getting something that small would be best in a lower back or ankle region (which I immediately dismissed mentally). I eventually decided on my upper right chest, as it would be somewhere I could see every day and would be safe for work.

How was the process? All the hype about the pain was only partly true. In short intervals (4-8 secs), the pain wasn't bad; it is comparable to getting bit by an ant or stung by a bee. What makes it suck is that the artist would sometimes go for a good 20 seconds without stopping and the cumulative pain was pretty intense. Overall though, the process took about 10-15 minutes, which was pretty quick.

End Result can be seen here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 8, 2009

Some concepts I would like to include into this design:

1) Passion- a constant reminder to pursue God's calling for my life with all of the vigor and zeal that comes from knowing my purpose. I don't want to just live a life of complacency and weakness, the people that make the biggest splashes are people that are crazy for something.

2) Purpose- The 2nd "P". Arguably the most important of the two, I feel like this is something so many people seek for, but never find until it's too late. I believe that God has called me to this particular area of education, but WHATEVER my purpose will be, I will obey obey obey.

**In my head, I would like the 2 "P's" to be intertwined somehow, showing how they are not functional without the other... a really simple concept shown below.



3) The gospel/ cross- Originally, I was pretty adamant about not having any really cliche depictions of my faith (aka the cross), but the more I think about it, there is a classic beauty and simplicity to what the cross means. Everything I have (the passion and purpose) should be centered on the gospel. I teach to impact the kids and their parents so that doors can open up to share about God. This should be the central theme of whatever design I get.



4) Tribal influence- There's something about tribal art that is fascinating for me. It has the perfect blend of simplicity and complexity that makes me drool whenever I see it. Since I plan on having it somewhere I can see it every day, I would also like the tattoo to have meaning and aesthetic appeal for me.

Inner-workings of a Guy

Hahaha Holy crap this is awesome.

Talent + Youtube= Bank

This guy, Fede Alvarez, spent $300 on the video below and got signed for a $300 million contract. Freaking amazing and inspiring all at once. Makes me want to make music videos again.

This kid's superpower? Fast typing

This 5th grader is ridiculously fast.

Morgan Freeman, most versatile actor in the world?

Morgan Freeman has played characters from a slave to God, and everything in between. Skill.

*seen on I Watch Stuff

Knuckle Crackers be Relieved

I've always been told that people who crack their knuckles are stupid because they are gonna get arthritis when they get older. The articles I read all supported it with big words like "synaptic fluid" so I believed them. I didn't want to have stiff hands and feel the cold winter nights when I'm 70 so I quit cracking my knuckles cold turkey.

So apparently scientists are now flip-flopping their findings, saying there is no clear correlation. Read and decide for yourself.

Work Update

There are so many entries that I would be writing but honestly, I just don't want to do anything when I come back from work. Ever since Thanksgiving week, the kids have been acting increasingly crazy, and not just the kids in our DARTS program but all over the school. You can notice it from the morning because they just seem so much more restless as they're sitting at the lunch tables or in the way they talk to each other... it's like something's in the air and they're going stir crazy.

I can't go into specifics about stuff that goes on, but last friday we had two fights happen our classroom and multiple student meltdowns every day. At this point, all my coworkers in the program are counting down the days to break this Friday.

There are definitely bright spots throughout the day, so not everything is a downer. During freetime last week after mock testing, I got to work with one of my students in building a popsicle stick ship. As we were working on it, he was explaining that because he was starting an E.T club (extra terrestrial), he wanted to build a ship to hold a tape recorder that would test to see if there were any strange activity happening in a pond near his home. I found that hilarious, but of course you can't show negative reactions so I nodded along and asked him on specifics on his boat design. Over the next couple hours, we kept adding different things to it and eventually it actually turned out really well! I'll try to take a picture of it tomorrow, but it was really tight and it actually floats!

My Trail of Tears

***WARNING: This post may contain moments of grossness that may be disgusting for some readers.***

There are few experiences a person can go through that will cause him to undergo such a sense of delirious irrationality that normal social boundaries no longer seem so unbreakable. I experienced one of those moments last night coming back from a dinner with a friend.

So earlier that day during lunch, one of my coworkers had brought a giant crockpot of chili and rice, and she invited me over to eat it (which I gladly did). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take my morning deuce because the day had been so crazy, so the entire day I was walking around feeling incredibly bloated. Thankfully because my mind was constantly occupied with the students, I never had to think about my discomfort and the need to poo eventually disappeared.

At 6:30ish, I got home and gave Kevin a call to see where he wanted to eat, and we decided on this NY style pizza place 3 blocks away. By this time I was starving so I ordered a large oreo milkshake and a medium 14" pizza (yes for myself). We were just chilling, watching the Cardinals get crushed by the 49ers and catching up, and by the end of it, I had eaten a little more than half the pizza. We walked back and about 2 blocks from my apartment, I got the first warning signs that I had to drop some dead weight. Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to him (he graduated and might not be coming back) so the goodbye was extremely long, but I thought I could handle it at the time.

Finally after I started walking back, the warning bells in my head were starting to warm up, and I was still about a block and a half from my apartment. Tightening up all my muscles, I started walking a bit faster, silently yelling at myself for putting myself in this position... again.

When I reached my block, I knew that release was imminent, each step was torturous and I seriously was afraid that a moment of relaxation might be the end of me. However, on my last 15 feet to the apartment, there were two options. One, I could try entering through the front door, which was a lot closer to where I was, but the problem was my key was incredibly finicky and usually took 10 swipes to let me gain access (thus wasting valuable time)- not to mention there was also the need to add in waiting for the elevator to come. Option two involved walking through the alley on the side and trying one of the side doors and running up 3 floors to get to my door (right next to the stairway). When I reached the proverbial fork in the road, I finally decided I trusted my ability to hold things together and run up to the bathroom so I turned into the alley.

Now, if you've ever gotten to the point where you're turtle-heading, then you know the anguish I was feeling at this point. I could no longer walk straight anymore, instead, adopting a modified shuffle/limp helped by hunching over as low as possible with the hopes of maintaining as much tightness in my stomach as possible. My mind was racing a hundred miles an hour trying to think of possible outs, and one that I was beginning to seriously consider was dropping a dukey right there in the alley.

Before you start judging me and thinking I'm disgusting, you have no idea how panicked I was at this point. I was on the verge of tears and I was not in my right mind. I was starting to justify the notion of pooping in the alley because:
1) it was really dark, no one would be able to see me.
2) I'm a really fast pooer so I could probably do it before anyone walked by.
3) The place already smelled and looked nasty, so it'd fit right in.
4) I was close to giving up and letting go.
5) All the side doors that were normally open, were LOCKED.

I think I actually cursed a bit in my head when I reached the last door in the alley and found it locked. I rounded the corner and walked to the elevator in the back of our apartment since it was my last hope. This elevator has special significance because my first month in Austin, I was joking around with a friend as we were goin down that it smelled like she took a dump in the elevator. We were still laughing at it when the door opened up on the ground floor and there in front of us on the ground was a fresh steaming pile of human dung. Someone had freakin took a dump in front of the elevator! Granted it was in a back alley, but still we were pretty disgusted and even to this day, whenever people ride that elevator, we talk about that.

Anyways, remembering that story as I was waiting for the elevator kept freaking TEMPTING me and honestly, if the elevator didn't come as quickly as it did, I would probably have recreated that event. The ride up I got to rebuke myself and berate how stupid I was for all my mistakes that day that led to my situation, and when the door opened, I booked it to our apartment. When I keyed in the door, I threw off my shoes, started stripping as I ran to the bathroom, threw my leftover boxes into the sink on the way to the bathroom and made it in the NICK of time.

You would think this would be a lesson learned, but it has happened to me far too many times to count.

Comic Part Deux

Normally don't post multiple comics in 1 day, but this was amusing.

Comic

hahahaha... had to share this b/c it was so cheesy it was funny. It took me ~6 sec to figure it out.

Skating is COOL!

This past Friday I got to go skating for the first time in my life. Yes. I haven't gone even though I lived in MI for 15+ years, but it's cuz no one ever went before, so get off my back.

But you know, despite all my preconceived notions about the loserishness of people who go skating, it's actually a lot of fun. A warning for people who have never done it before: Don't use rental figure skates, use the hockey skates because they have better ankle support and are a lot smoother to use. My knees, ankles, and back were killing after only 15 min w/ the figure skates, but when I exchanged them for the hockey skates... INSTANT improvement.

It's such a rush to be moving so fast with so little effort, and the wind across your face is pretty thrilling. I think the speed was getting to my head because I believed that I would be able to master a jump, but I didn't really know how to do it. My proposed solution? As a person that looked the most professional.

Despite people's assumptions, I didn't do it because I was trying to hit on a girl, I did it because I really wanted to learn. The girl that I chose WAS in high school, but I asked because I thought if she was a student @ UT, then I could get her connected w/ other people.

Anyways, after an hour of trying, I had to give up (trying to jump), battered and bruised.

One of the Good Days

Today was CRAZY. I don't even remember all the stuff that happened today, but two of the students that have been having the most trouble behaving in class really got their act together and were great all day. We had a new student join our program, so we started explaining procedures, but we decided to let the two students explain things to the new guy (partly to make sure they remembered the rules and because we were so swamped). I was working on some paperwork near them when I overheard them talk about us as teachers.

Student A: "All three teachers are OK. They're actually really nice. Mr. B is cool, so is Mr. Lee. They're all cool except for Mrs. S."

*i mentally cringed*

Student B: "Yeah Mr. Lee is tight."

Student A: "Yeah, they're nice when you're good, but when you break a rule... boyyyyyy, you better be ready for some punishment. It's really gay but just don't get in trouble."


Aside from the dig @ the female teacher, it warmed my heart to hear him say that he respected me b/c the past couple weeks I felt like he was a brick wall. Even yesterday he was incredibly stubborn when he kept asking for help in math, but refused to try learning it my method. Secondly, it was good to hear him verbalize that he understood the purpose of the rules; they were there to teach them acceptable social behaviors.

Success! for now at least.

Also during some break times, they drew pictures for my side of the room. Coming from them, it was actually a really huge gesture that I really appreciated.

Kids Say the Darndest Thing

When our students throw fits, they say the most hilarious things that I want to start documenting cuz it's so funny. The hardest part is trying to hold in the laughter in front of them.

Yesterday, as one student was just getting over a tantrum, he was sitting on top of his desk breathing heavy when he looked up and saw the two other teachers laughing (they were laughing at an email a teacher sent) and said, "Why're you laughin? Stop lookin' at my face! Why you always lookin' at my face and laughing? Does my face look funny to you? Do I look like a fu**in monkey to you?" We could only look at each other puzzled and just suppress our laughter.

Hmm... after writing it down, it doesn't seem as funny, but at the time it was hilarious. Probably a case of the "had to be there's". ahh well.

R & R'ed

Well, it's past my bedtime right now, but I wanted to say it was an amazing time back at home. Getting to sleep in, chill w/ family, catch up with friends, and eat amazing food all day was just what the doctor ordered. I wish I could go more in depth with all the things that made the break special, but I'm really tired. For those who I got to see/talk to, it was great seeing you again, and for those who I didn't get a chance, hopefully this upcoming summer sometime!

Salt Lick: Restaurant Review

The hype for this BBQ place was insane. Everyone I talked to in Austin always raved about the place, not to mention it was freakin on the Travel Channel as one of the must-visit restaurants. I was going in with crazy high expectations.

The drive there was pretty considerable (roughly 30 min from Austin) and this place was in the cornfield boonies out in nowheresville. Seriously for a good 15 minutes we saw nothing but barns and corn. We were starting to doubt our directions when all of a sudden we hit a wall of burning wood smell. All of us were giddy trying to find the restaurant cuz we figured it had to be close by, but nope, we drove for another couple miles until we finally came upon Salt Lick.

When we walked in the door, all the glorious smells of burning meat combined with the great musty smell of burning wood just sweeps over you and you can't help but get excited. That's before you see the source of it all: a giant open pit where giant slabs of all the meat are slowly cooking and roasting right before your eyes. It was one of most beautiful sights I've ever seen in my life (I'm not even joking). The wave of joy and excitement that came over me was almost overwhelming, and I could tell the other guys were feeling the same way.

GIANT DOWNER ALERT: The place only accepts cash, which sucked for me because I only had $10 or so on me, which means I couldn't get the sampler of all the meats. I ended up splitting a full rack of ribs and 1/4 lb of brisket (complete with sides of cole slaw, beans, and potato salad) with Yeoh. After we ordered, the food came out very quickly, which was a giant plus in my book, and the food looked amazing.

Now with ribs, you know it's cooked well when you can take a bite and the meat just slides right off the bone. I took a bite, and the bone was pristine where my mouth went. That tender. The sauce was sweet and tangy and had that awesome smoke flavor infused in it. Something that I love about Salt Lick is the fact that their food comes slathered in sauce. I LOVE wet BBQ. When it's just dry rub seasoning, the meat just starts tasting disgusting, but the sauce here only served to enhance all the great aspects of the meat. Man. Just thinking about it a couple weeks later still makes me drool.

The brisket was just as good as the ribs. They provided an extra bowl of their mango bbq sauce, which was really cool because I loved that sauce. I remembered seeing Andrew Zimmern from his show on Travel Channel making a brisket sandwich with their homemade bread and brisket, so I tried it too. Instant winner. The bread was thick and hearty and soaked up the sauce while the texture of the brisket combined to make a party in my mouth.

Even the sides were great. Cole slaw and beans are pretty low on my list of foods (if I had the choice I won't eat it) but I figured I should at least try it to get the full Salt Lick experience. Dang. I was glad I tried it. The cole slaw was not soggy, but crisp and tart and full of flavor. The beans were pretty good, although I'm not too good at distinguishing good vs bad beans, but they tasted pretty good. Potato salad was great. It was definitely not the normal style with heavy sauces, but it was very subtle and focused more on the potato itself.

As we were eating, the table next to us had ordered desserts and they looked so good we all decided we had to try it as well. (When in Rome...) We ended up trying the peach and berry cobbler with vanilla icecream. Crumbly crust. Good. Sweet pieces of fruit. Good. Warm pie/ cold ice cream. Good.

Only thing to watch out for are the random charges they get you with. The waitress asked us if we wanted jalapenos, we said sure, thinking it was complimentary... it wasn't. +$.50. The ice cream on the pie... +$1.

Final Verdict: Go. Immediately.

Mellow Mushroom: Restaurant Review

You might be thinking to yourself, "Dang, there doesn't seem to be a restaurant that Tim's reviewed that he hasn't liked!" Well, you would be correct in that assessment, but this review will be the first that is not a glowing recommendation. (which says a lot about the quality of eateries in Austin, or my ability to choose good restaurants)

First of all, Mellow Mushroom is another quirky-looking restaurant that focuses primarily on pizzas. It resides on "The Drag", which is a hotspot for all the restaurants on UT campus. Location-wise, this place is clutch. Unfortunately, that's pretty much it.

The menu looked pretty promising, with some unique-looking pizza combinations, and if anything, it seemed like the Austin version of California Pizza Kitchen. I ended up deciding to try The Philosopher (steak, portabello mushroom, artichoke, provolone, feta and mozzarella cheese, with an oil and garlic base).

First strike against this place: it took over 1 hour for us to get our food. Granted, we had roughly 10 people ordering 4-5 pies, but still... that's ridiculous. My stomach was in the process of digesting itself by the time the food had arrived. When our Philosopher was delivered to our table, it looked like it would be good, even though it was a thin crust pizza (and I'm not a fan).

First bite... the dough was tough to bite apart and the meat was overcooked and tough. Blegh. So disappointing. In theory, the ingredients sounded like it would go amazing together, but in reality, the oil just made things kinda messy and the pizza ended up being baked too long cuz the toppings were really dried out.

I got to try someone else's Mighty Meat, which is pretty standard at most pizza places, and it tasted OK, not anything special. Once again, the crust was just too chewy for my taste. Ambience and comfortability were OK, it was pretty trippy decor, but not overwhelmingly so.

Final Verdict: Don't come here.

Torchy's Taco: Restaurant Review

Just from looking at the sign, you know you're in for a quirky experience when eating at Torchy's Taco. It's one of the smaller places; with only 5-6 tables in the entire place, but it still draws a crowd at all hours of the day. I've gone early morning on the weekend and around dinner time on a week day and the lines are out the door. Thankfully, the line moves really quickly since the menu is pretty condensed into two major categories: tacos and miscellaneous.

Of course, the draw is the creative variety of freshly prepared tacos, but I think the experience of waiting with the small crowd of eager eaters is also part of the appeal. It's got a very hippy/edgy feel to it, and the staff all rock tattoos and wear those artsy thick black frames. So very stereotypical but it fits for the place.

But enough about the setup, what about the tacos? Well, they are delicious. I had the Brushfire Taco (pictured below) that had Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapenos, mango, sour cream, and cilantro served on a flour tortilla with Diablo sauce. If you check out their menu, it is simple, yet every taco has some kind of twist that you just wouldn't think of that makes it so special. Even their presentation added to the eating experience, which was a complete shock to me considering the slightly ghetto layout, but the tacos looked gorgeous when they were set out on the counter for pickup.

The only thing that I can think of as a "con", is the price tag on each taco. One taco will run in the neighborhood of $3-$4, which isn't bad considering the quality of the ingredients, but it is definitely something that would cut down on how many times I would eat there.

Whenever first time visitors come to Austin, this is one of the places that they are introduced to, and they always leave satisfied that they got to try it.

Verdict: Highly recommend.

Free Music

Hey all, for all you music lovers who aren't into the illegal pirating, follow this link to to get $3 worth of amazon mp3 downloads. It works and lasts until Nov. 30th so get on it!

link to amazon

Barbarians Level Up the Fastest

So Jorgy and I have been playing Diablo 2 for the past two weeks now. Even Tou Fue has joined in with us every once in a while in some good ol' dungeon crawling. Playing this game brings back my high school days where I used to rush home from school so I could play with my friends over modem-to-modem multiplayer Warcraft II or Red Alert games. What always sucked about the technology back then was that it was inevitable that someone's parent would pick up the line halfway into the game, thereby disrupting our games. It got to the point where we worked out a system that the person who's home was responsible for the disconnection was responsible for calling the other parties to reestablish a new game.

But I digress. I think I noticed that most guys, maybe 90%, no matter how masculine or how sporty or artsy, enjoys games where they can disappear into a new character. I like to think of myself as fairly normal, and I still enjoy firing up my Barbarian and wrecking havoc with my 2-handed Great Maul (complete with matching Carthan's helmet and boots). Maybe for me it's a sense of escape from a job where I feel like I'm always reacting to crises and it seems like there's limited results, but it just feels good to be in total control of how that character will develop and "level up". Not to mention, it's a pretty brainless activity that lets you have fun w/ friends.

That's why I am not ashamed to admit that I have now created one new character for each available type, meaning I now have a pool of 5 characters I can choose from.

I just bought...

The first 4 seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 2 days ago on Amazon for $44.00. Can't freakin WAIT! If you've never seen it, it's so stupid it's hilarious.

This season has also been really good too.

What Consumes Me?

When I was still in undergrad, I always wondered what it would be like to be working. What kind of things would I be focused on? Would I end up working at a place just because I wanted bi-weekly paychecks? Will I be motivated every day to continue learning and getting better?

It's so funny how old questions always resurface and you're able to do some real evaluations on how some of your expectations were totally off; or right on the money. One of my biggest worries when I started the teaching program @ EMU was whether I would be a teacher who just does the bare minimum to get by and get paid or if I would be genuinely invested in the students' well-being.

As of now, I think I am a bit relieved to see that I definitely do care about seeing my kids grow and learn, although I am starting to become a little alarmed at how much my thoughts always drift back to them. Pretty much every week I'll have at least one dream where I'm trying new teaching strategies with my kids, and even more recently, I find that when I start zoning out, I'll randomly start brainstorming ways to motivate a particular kid that I've been having problems with that day.

In moderation, I definitely see how this can be a healthy desire to help my students, but I think I'm walking closer and closer to that fine line between that appropriate self-reflection and obsession. What is my motivation for all this? Are there hidden agendas? I dunno right now.

But all I know is that I am so thankful that I don't have to go through these draining experiences by myself. During the day when I feel helpless, I find that when I lift up a quick prayer I get re-energized. I remember once again why I'm teaching, why I'm here in Austin, and why I'm still alive.

Thoughts on Education

I've been working for about two months now, and in my limited time in the school, I've come to see a lot of aspects of our education system that are incredibly frustrating. Many times on the ride back from work, Tou Fue and I will just be discussing our day and we'll end up critiquing flaws in our education system.

Ask any teacher at any level and they will probably tell you a big reason they decided to go into this field was to impact the lives of the students. That's all well and good if teachers are given the freedom to run their curriculum based on the state standards and benchmarks. Unfortunately, teachers also have to bow to the requirements of the administration who are trying to run the school as effectively as they can.

I totally understand that running a school is a thankless job because there are definitely money shortages that can only be met by having teachers focus on certain areas while cutting down on others. Unfortunately, that overhead decision often comes at the expense of student learning. For example, in the high school, the administration decided that homework should not account for more than 5% of a student's grade. Their reasoning is that a majority of the students in this district have to work after school, and their purpose as a school is to "cater to the community". What it tells me is that the district is worried about dropping their student failure rating by artificially boosting student grades. I also heard that it is common practice for teachers to "preview" tests by going over questions days in advance which leads to higher test grades. This is by no means condemning those actions, in fact, many of them actually have very innocent intentions (helping in reinforcing vocabulary, going over test formats, etc), but one would have to be really naive to believe that all teachers do it for those reasons.

The reason why I've been thinking about this so much the past couple weeks is because the students I work with in my classroom are so behind in their conceptual understanding in all their subjects. Part of my frustration probably stems because the students in my program are typically the lowest in each grade, so my experiences are obviously incredibly skewed versus a "regular" classroom. But dang... I'll be sitting down with these kids and they don't even have a firm grasp of how to multiply numbers, much less understand the concept of adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. Thankfully, many of them are slowly picking up on the foundations of the different concepts I help them with, but it makes me so bitter at the teachers before them who just passed them on to the next grade without really testing their understanding.

Something I was thinking would be really interesting was if teachers stayed with the same group of students throughout their stay in the school. For example, a group of elementary school teachers would work with the same batch of students in first grade all the way through fifth grade and a team of middle school teachers would be in charge of the same group of students from 6th-8th grade. It would be really cool since the students would already know the expectations of each teacher and they would already have that rapport built from the previous years, thus cutting down on wasted time having to reteach and getting to know a new group of students. There would also be more of a sense of investment on the teacher's side guiding the children and seeing their growth throughout the years and when the students end up graduating to the next level, there will be a healthy sense of closure.

I'm pretty sure there's a ton of holes in running a school like that, but the concept itself was novel enough that I wanted to share about it.

Backed Up

Bahhh. I have so many posts I want to write, but honestly I'm so tired every day that I don't feel like doing anything but eat, vege out, and then sleep. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely really enjoying life right now, but work is straight up owning me right now. The past 2 weeks have been one of the most stretching and junk-exposing (in my heart) times of my life. I'm definitely not as loving as I like to think I am, and I can't rely on my own energy to serve and teach the kids effectively.

On the plus side, I'm soaking up a lot of great experience watching and practicing different teaching techniques as well as FINALLY getting to know some of the other teachers/ teacher's aides.

Pray for perseverance and dependence on God for joy. I am so looking forward to going back to MI for Thanksgiving Break. I really miss being home.

Probable Schedule:

Arriving in MI: (11/25 @ 12:30pm)
-stay in Troy until Saturday night or Sunday morning

Visit AA: (11/28 or 11/29)
Leave for Austin @ 5:30pm

I would love to see people, so gimme an email or call.

Tuxedo Mask Fail and Biking Tights

I typically really enjoy coming up with Halloween costumes, but this year I had the hardest time trying to come up with a costume idea. Partly it was because my hair is in an awkward medium-length that I can't really hide and can't work into what I want. It wasn't until literally the night before (Fri night) that I came up with the idea of trying to become Tuxedo Mask. (Those too young to know who he is, check the clip below)

Since I took so long to think of the idea, I couldn't just go out and buy it, so I thought I'd be able to make his mask with the help of some volunteers. Below is the process of trying to make the mask.

Ben laying down the foil foundation

KOk was in charge

As I was immobilized, Ben and Tou Fue kept putting glue all over my face

Glue in my eyes, mouth, and nose and the mask still ended up being a fail

I really wanted to go as something, anything, so as I was eating lunch w/ P Pete and some other people, I remembered that Minti (one of my roomies) was an avid biker and had all the biking gear in the apartment. Thankfully for you guys, the party I went to had kids there, so you won't see me in the biking tights, but I was definitely wearing them.

FYI, biking tights have built in pads in them, supposedly to help keep your butt properly cushioned. It was so bulky I can imagine what wearing pads feels like. Anyways, some highlights below.

We placed 2nd in the pumpkin carving!

Freakin got volunteered to play a game where we had to fish 6 gummy worms out of chocolate pudding. I ended up smashing my head down onto the bowl, broke it, and slurped up 3/4 of the contents and spit it out and got the rest of the stuff and spit that out too. All within 3 seconds. FTW

After a couple hours and it got dark, we went out with the kids and took them trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. It was actually really cool to see how excited they were to go house to house. I remember when I used to go as early as possible with my friends and hit up as many houses as we could. If we got to a house that gave out the best goodies (chips, king size candy, money) we would mark it down and hit them up again when it got dark.

All in all, a very chill Halloween, different from the past couple years of Focus Halloween Parties (which I really missed), but a good time nonetheless.

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It Tastes so Bitter

Losing sucks. There's no other way to put it. When I don't win (whether it's a team game or individual) I immediately do a self analysis of what I could have done differently/ better to change the outcome. If I felt that I played a part in the loss, I'll go through phases of guilt, disappointment, frustration, and eventually settle on sadness. Usually this starts and finishes within a couple hours depending on how important the game was to me. (Losing a pickup ultimate game I'll get over it within a couple minutes vs. losing in the finals of flag football on a technicality will stay with me for a couple days)

The worst thing is when you participate in something on a regular basis and lose every single time. When you lose in one time events, you can always justify it with "Oh the other person just got lucky", or "I'll get them the next time". When you lose consecutive years even when the odds should be in your favor, you can't really use those excuses anymore.

Ever since my freshman year in HMCC, H-Games has always been something I looked forward to because it was so exciting to see all the small groups pumped up and decked out in brand new t-shirts. I am a firm believer that groups always get close after working together on a similar goal, and H-Games provides that spark to get people interacting.

My personal enthusiasm and desire to win were never enough to bring me the ultimate joy of being immortalized in the annals of H-Games Winners. All through undergrad, I would lose and have to watch the FOCUS groups celebrate their domination of H-Games. In my head I would just tell myself, "Just wait until you get to join them, then you'll finally win." HA! Fate was cruel because when I joined FOCUS, the games miraculously changed from being games of athleticism to games that can only be described as random. After trying to figure out why FOCUS lost for the first time in years, I happened to overhear someone talking about it and they mentioned how they specifically changed the games so that the undergrad groups would have a chance. Three years of FOCUS, three more years of defeat and I lost all hope of notching an H-Games victory before I left AA.

That was until I made the decision to come to Austin. The stage could not be any more ready for me to win my FIRST H-Games EVER. Literally, the odds were 50-50 here because we only have two lifegroups! I'm not going to go into details, but long story short, our team got crushed. It literally took until today (over a week and a half later) to be able to blog about it. The loss still leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, but at least we got to see a bunch of friends come out and enjoy themselves.

Team L7Fav pic of the day

Restaurant Review: Magnolia Cafe

I've been here three times already and it's fast becoming one of my favorite breakfast spots. Right when you pull up, the first thing you'll notice is the huge crowd that is always in front of the place. While this isn't an accurate gauge of how good a place is, Magnolia draws out consistent packed restaurants every time I've been there.

Once you're able to get seated, the first thing you'll notice is the unique decor. It's a combo of Davy Crockett era log cabin with tinges of hippy accents. It's kinda weird to describe, but it somehow works. There is also a constant gentle murmur of conversations and various restaurant-y sounds (dishes being stacked, food sizzling, etc) that makes it really comfortable to chill and talk.

Food here is a high quality version of Denny's. Obviously, the place is a cafe, so there are a lot of similarities, but they have a great selection of unique items as well as weekly specials handwritten on the walls. When I went last week, I tried their Texas Benedict and we split their famous Mag Mud.

The Mag Mud is served with a large bowl and freshly made crispy chips that get replenished whenever it gets eaten up. What's in the Mag Mud? There's a base of black beans at the bottom and a hearty layer of mildly spicy queso on top. In the center is a scoop of avocado and a spread of pico de gallo along the side. Typically people mix it all up into a lumpy mud-like mixture. Upon first inspection, the dip looks pretty disgusting, but after your first bite, you're guaranteed to be hooked on it. Typically one order of Mag Mud is too much for 4 people (I would recommend for 5-6) so it is well worth the price.

My order of Texas Benedict was a twist on my favorite Eggs Benedict. Instead of hollandaise sauce, they used a sauce with a light spicy kick and a more tart flavor that made it taste like a totally different dish. The food was served pipping hot and each bite was flavorful and very comforting as good breakfast food should make you feel. The potatoes had a light dusting of seasoning and had that crispy outer layer with the soft crumbly inner goodness that all good potatoes are made like. What surprised me the most though, was actually the oranges. Usually when you get fruit at restaurants they taste pretty disgusting. Sometimes you'll be surprised with a palatable serving of fruit, but more times than not, the fruit seems to be an afterthought. Not here. When I took the first bite, I was blown away by how sweet it was. The juices pretty much rocked my world, and I'm not even that big of a fruit person.

When I combine the comfortable ambiance of the restaurant with the great tasting food along with the great service, it is easy to see why so many people make the trip out to Magnolia even though parking is such a hassle. Even having to wait 30-45 minutes to get seated seems so inconsequential when you get the total fooding experience with your friends.

Definitely a Highly Recommend from me.

Ladies Man?

This conversation happened for real @ school about a week ago...

During lunch, two students were eating in the classroom and we're just talking about random stuff when one of them (whom I'll call Francis*) started bragging about how he was able to pick up girls 2 years older than himself. Billy* thought Francis was full of crap, and they went back and forth about each other's game (or lack thereof).

This entire conversation was extremely amusing for me, so I was content just to eat and watch both of them explain what they thought girls wanted in a guy. After a lull in the argument, Billy turned around and asked, "Hey Mr. Lee, are you a ladies man?"

I had no idea how to respond so I just asked back, "Umm, what do YOU guys think?"

Francis went right ahead and blurted out, "Yeah, I bet he was," while Billy nodded in agreement.

Outwardly, I just laughed and shrugged, but inwardly I was so filled with joy. That was quite possibly the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.

Halloween Funny

In honor of Halloween, I thought I'd share this amusing comic until my next substantial posts.

Veritas Forum

Human Trafficking: Our Response. Why We Care. from Veritas Forum UT on Vimeo.

Rediscovering Old Joys

You know the saying, every cloud has a silver lining... well, I just realized that the silver lining to being stranded in two different airports was that it caused me to rediscover how great reading is. At my first delay I was incredibly bored so I ended up just wandering around and walked into a store. As I was browsing through the top 25, I noticed the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I read Tipping Point years ago and I loved it so I figured, what the heck, and splurged $18 for it.

It's really sad how being forced to do something totally sucks the joy out of it: even something as cool as reading. But that's what happened to me after 7 years of college and post-bacc: reading became a chore. Maybe when you're totally bored the most mundane things become interesting or my mind was craving some kind of intellectual stimulation, but I really started enjoying reading again. I'm just about finished with Blink, so if you have any suggestions for good reads, feel free to let me know!

Synopsis: A study of how good decisions are made and an analysis of the decision-making process.

TYW a wedding, a new job, and a new look

Shoot, it's been over a week since I last updated...

Wedding
Grace and Yohan's wedding was gorgeous. Yohan was pimpin' it and Grace looked beautiful, not to mention every aspect of the wedding was balling! It was great getting to see and reconnect w/ so many people, but it was a bit bittersweet since I had to say goodbye so quickly. Just wanted to also give a special thanks to Yong Woo for being a great host and driving me all around New York.


New Job
After getting a week under my belt, work has been incredibly draining. I work as a Teaching Assistant in the DARTS program at Del Valle Middle School, which is a place where students who have difficulties staying under control in the classroom get sent for us to calm them down. Needless to say, it gets pretty hairy in there. Most of the kids are good underneath their rough exterior, and I'm excited to keep working with them.
Once again, I just have to give a huge praise to God for this job, and an equally huge thanks to Touf for all his help in my job searching. I know many of you also lifted up prayers for me this past 2 months and I know each and every one of them played a part in my being employed now. Thanks Thanks Thanks!!!
I'll try to share more about the job later, but I don't want to overwhelm you guys.

New Look
Most of you probably don't remember Jorgy in anything other than his viking beard covering his face. On a whim, Matt decided he wanted to shave it off and asked for my help in figuring out the best way to shave it off. Below is the documentation of the transformation from "Wildman" to "prepubescent".

Best News... EVER!

So you guys remember that interview that I mentioned a couple weeks ago @ Del Valle Middle School? I just got the call today that told me to officially come in to work...TOMORROW. Holy crap, I am so excited! Nervous too... but freakin overjoyed. Seriously, God is GOOD.

Flight Delayed

When you're traveling, one of the worst things to hear from the front counter are the words, "Flight Delayed". For my trip to NY, I heard that a total of 4 times: 3 times on my return trip. Normally delays aren't that bad, merely inconveniences, but when you're flying solo after staying up the entire night before, trying to stay awake for fear of missing the next announcement... it's one of the toughest marathons you will ever undergo.

After the reception, some people went to Flushing for Korean BBQ until approximately 3am, then Victor, Tina, and I took a cab to the airport cuz we all had morning flights. I think if anyone invents a device that makes it comfortable to sleep in hard plastic chairs, they would make bank, because it was actually pretty funny watching people try to sleep in the airport.

But yeah, on the return leg, here is the breakdown of my day.

4am: arrive @ LGA @ Northwest Terminal
~5:3oam: say goodbye to Tina and Vic (they left for their gate). Take shuttle to AA terminal
7:40am: board airplane to Dallas. Sleep in fitful 30 minute intervals.
12pm: land @ Dallas
2:20pm: receive our first delay announcement. Call Jorgy to inform about delay.
3:30pm: receive the second delay announcement. Call Jorgy. Decide to walk around to stay away. Find TVs showing the Dallas Cowboys game. (Thank GOD)
4:15pm: Informed that we're getting a plane, but it's just getting in... at a different terminal.
4:30pm: get on the plane, call Jorgy, pass out.
5:45pm: land in Austin.

Oh, all this was compounded with the fact that I was flying in coach for the first time in almost 10 years. How I miss first class. hahahha that sounded really bratty, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Coach seating SUCKS.

On Vacation

Heading to New York for Grohan's Wedding tomorrow!

Peekaboo!

I think I'm losing my touch a bit. Only KOk got scared this time. =(

Sleepless Night

Lots on my mind tonight. Rain all day and night. Flooded sidewalks. Can't sleep. When I close my eyes I feel like my brain is whirling around at 100 mph. Nights like this I truly appreciate being able to give up all my burdens to God. It's been a long time since I've been so overwhelmed and unable to help. I keep seeing myself on a ship with giant gaping holes and cold, dark water rushing in and I'm trying in vain to plug up the holes with anything I can find. No matter how hard I try and whatever progress I make in one area, another hole opens up somewhere else. As the water rises, it gets so cold, and I get more numb and frustrated at my inability to fix the situation. Seems like God is trying to drill home this lesson to me this year. Let go of control. Let go. Let go. Trust in My plans. Your attempts at helping are noble, but I am the Healer, the Redeemer, not you.

Sometimes it takes nights where you just throw up your hands in frustration to gain the right perspective.

And I’m amazed by You. Cause You’re never far away
And all that I’ve been through, Your love has never changed

Chorus:
You make oceans from the rain
Breathing life into this place
And I will drown inside your love
Until I see your perfect face
And nothing I’ve acquired means anything at all
Cause you’re everything I needed
You’re so much more than I deserve
(Chorus)
And I thank you Lord (repeat 4 times)
(Chorus)
The blood of Jesus can wash your pain away
Seventh Day Slumber- Oceans from the Rain

Round Rock Donut Review

I had planned to do a quick review of all the local restaurants I tried in Austin, but definitely failed for the first 10 or so new places I've tried because I kept forgetting to bring my camera. I wanted to be able to provide pictures to go along with my critiques, so I held off. Hopefully as I go back to the good ones, I'll be able to provide more in depth reviews. But I digress from RRD...

Round Rock Donuts is approximately 20 minutes away from Austin and is home to the famous "Texas Donut" shown on the Travel Channel's Man vs. Food; which coincidentally was what prompted us to visit this place. The shop opened in 1929, and the decor and feel of the place holds true to its humble origins. As we pulled in around 9:45am, the first thing we noticed was the gigantic line of people coming out the door as well as a giant line of cars wrapping around the block waiting in the drive-thru. Simply amazing! It was a good thing it was a rainy day, so a lot of people ended up leaving the line when it started drizzling, so we were able to get inside fairly quickly.

On the inside, the display of mouth-watering gut busters made our knees wobbly and our stomachs growl. Their freshly fried donuts, eclairs, various baked bread items, and of course the reason we drove out here: the Texas Donut. This beast is approximately 15 inches in diameter and they use a bucket to cut out the mold from the dough. The line moved incredibly quickly considering they only had one counter for both drive-thru and walk-in orders. Service was incredible. Hands down, the workers were one of the friendliest and helpful workers I've ever interacted with in my life. Everyone worked quickly and accurately, and were very patient with first-timers like us.

After debating, I decided on ordering 2 Texas donuts (one original glaze and one chocolate glaze), a cherry bismark, a Pigs n Blanket (just cuz I love'em), and 6 regular glazed donuts for the road. When I got the boxes of goods, I could feel the heat radiating from the bottom of the boxes because they were that fresh. Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't eat outside, so we ran back into Jorgy's car and popped open the Texas donuts.

Texas Donut/ Donut- heavenly. I'm sure many of you will doubt how incredible a donut can possibly taste, but let me be completely honest with you; the feeling you get from the first bite of a pipping hot Texas donut is mind blowing. Dunkin Donuts and even Krispy Kreme don't hold a freakin candle to this beast. The texture is soft, yet firm, and the special orange glaze adds an extra level of crisp to the bite. Once the donut hits your tongue the flavors all kinda blow up at once. The dough just breaks down and the glaze oozes all over and the flavor is straight up INTENSE. For $5.50, a group of 4 hungry 20+ year old guys couldn't finish one Texas Donut.

Pig n Blanket- Disappointing. First of all, there was way too much bread in relation to the amount of hotdog. I should have expected it since it just looked like a roll of bread in the display. After 2 bites I got my first taste of the tiniest little hotdog I'd ever seen. Bread didn't taste fresh and the hotdog was unsatisfying.

Cherry Bismark- TBD

Overall, I loved the place. The simple homestyle aesthetics combined with the friendly staff only serve to enhance the quality of their product. The only warning would be to stick with what they're known for (donuts), since their other baked goods don't seem to have the same high standards.

Final verdict: Highly recommend to everyone.

Ultimate Fraud!

Wow. Kimbo Slice straight up got owned. No other words can describe how badly he got rocked by "Big Country" tonight. I have to say, other than watching the training and listening to the back and forth between the coaches, the show has been starting to disappoint. Other than a couple minutes of good back and forth sparring each episode, the rounds always end up with Team Rampage getting completely man-handled by the middle of the 2nd round.

Watching Kimbo Slice redeem himself during this season was supposed to be the big draw, but with him out only after 3 episodes, it looks like Dana White is manipulating the situation to get him back into the show. I could just be cynical (and I really hope that's it) but having Marcus's "health problems" as a reason to get Kimbo back on the show seems incredibly sketch.

Anyways, this is why heavyweight fights SUCK. Slow action and poor conditioning leads to mediocre first rounds and boring contests with guys just laying on each other. This is confirmation that speed and skill are more entertaining than brute force. Watching Welterweight and Middleweight fights is almost poetic. Case in point: Anderson Silva. This guy is an assassin. (warning: video is violent)

I want Kimbo to do well... he seems like a down to earth and pretty humble guy, but dang, he is so one-dimensional it's not even funny. Here's hopin' the future episodes turn out better.

Much respect to Colt

I heard that Matt Wertz was performing for free at Bass Auditorium, so naturally I wanted to go. Jorgy and I ended going together, not really knowing what to expect. Apparently the night was meant to be this Christian call-out, where Christian organizations met together for good music and a gospel presentation by Joe White (An ex-coach at Texas A&M).

I never really followed Matt Wertz that closely, I had a couple of songs from when he first came onto the scene 6 years ago, so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised when he came out w/ his first set b/c his voice was really clear and smooth, kinda like a mix of John Mayer and Jason Mraz. He was a bit awkward at times, but his stage presence was very chill and the songs he chose were light and upbeat. Unfortunately, we were sitting in front of 8 guys who spent the entire time making snide comments, so I was too chicken to record pictures.

After 4-5 songs, who stepped onto stage, except freakin Colt McCoy. His faith was something I had always read about, and I thought it was really cool how he was not just an athlete that just says he's christian, but he actually lives it out. Anyways, he gave a testimony about rededicating to Christ in his sophomore year, and encouraged the audience to be active in living for God.

Now, most big-name athletes could just peace out after their responsibilities end, but Colt stayed the entire time (even through the presentation by Joe White). During the response time, he helped with nailing the "sins" to the cross and holding it up with a bunch of other guys. That really spoke to me that such a "big-time" guy was willing to do such bizzle work because he really wanted to help. Much respect, Colt.

Anyways, the presentation itself was actually pretty cool. One thing that stood out was the analogy of us being bond-servants, CHAINED to our master because we want to serve Him. That imagery never really made sense to me, but it's such a powerful picture of how our hearts should be.

Anyways, I've posted a couple clips of some of Matt Wertz below, so check it.

Matt Wertz singing "You Said" Video
Matt Wertz singing "Carolina" Video

Quote

A great quote I stumbled across in a book...

"A great man shows hit greatness by the way he treats little men."

Thomas Carlyle

TV is back!

Normally I don't get too excited for TV shows. The only ones I've consistently followed for the past 5 or so years has been Smallville and Scrubs, but with the eventual deaths of both shows looming, I've had to open my eyes to fresh new ones to replace them.

Anyways, here is the new list of TV shows I'm diggin this season (no particular order):

1. Heroes- (NBC Mon @8/7c) The show is always back and forth for me. One season it is gripping, full of twists and turns, the next it's just too whack to enjoy. But from the season premiere last week, it's back to it's old form. Sylar is still the man, and even annoying characters like Peter and Matt Parkman have become more watchable this season. On top of all that, but they added someone w/ a freakin Irish accent... how cool is that!? If you love a show that gives you super powers and will surprise you with crazy plot developments, definitely give this season a go!
2. Glee- (Fox Wed @ 8/7c) Granted, I've only seen 1.5 episodes so far, but I've been pretty entertained by it so far. When I saw promos for it, I immediately scoffed and disregarded the show as having any chance of drawing my attention. I stand corrected. The show's biggest draw is the musical talent and hilariously cool dance numbers they do every episode. Last week's plot basically had the HS football team stinking it up, and in order to shake things up, the coach had them take choreography lessons from the Glee club teacher or something. Anyways, they're losing in the final game, and the QB decides to bust out what they've been practicing on the field; Beyonce's "Single Ladies". HA! It was pretty funny. I'm not entirely sold on the actual plot of the show yet... seems a bit contrived and adolescent, but the singing/dancing alone makes this show a good watch.
3. The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights- (Spike Wed @ 10et) Mixed martial arts fighting, seeing a group of alpha-dog males trying to coexist in a house/ gym, and two hilarious coaches= hilarious times. Rampage and Rashad clearly hate each other, and watching them bicker and make fun of each other is grade-A comedy. It's simply priceless to watch. Obviously seeing the fighting and training is another draw, although the fights have been incredibly disappointing. One of the reasons I hate watching heavyweights is they have crappy endurance, so if a fight lasts longer than 1 round, it's incredibly painful to watch the fighters trudge around throwing tired jabs. This is probably why Dana White went and got freakin KIMBO SLICE to participate in this season which is pretty exciting, b/c we will finally put to rest all the speculation on whether he can be a legit fighter or not.
4. Community (NBC Thurs @ 9:30/8:30c) Joel McHale fans will love this show (host of The Soup). Basically, he plays a washed up lawyer who needs to go back to a local community college to get a real degree, and it follows his experiences there. Very simple premise, but I foresee a lot of great storylines in the future.
   

No $$$, Mo Problems

Effffff.... having to deal with $ really SUCKS. Got my hospital bill in the mail a couple days ago and the estimate the nurse gave me that day was definitely grossly under the actual cost. Please pray that the charity application I applied for will cut a large portion of the costs, otherwise things could get ugly.

Also, there are a couple job openings in some elementary schools in Del Valle (district where Tou Fue's school is) that I just applied for as a Teaching Assistant and/or Tutor.

Things are tough, but outlook is still hopeful. God is good... that will never change.

Old People can be Cool Too

Today our church had signed up to spend the morning helping a couple elderly women w/ various errands and tasks around their house. When I visited Austin a couple months ago with Kavin, I was able to get to meet Ms. King as we spent time helping with yard work. As we were pruning bushes, cutting down branches, etc, it was cool just learning about her story. At first, she was a bit wary of us (we were three Asian people and one White man) and didn't really talk much, but seeing us working hard for so long, she slowly opened up.

Side story: when we mentioned that we were part of a local church, she asked if Jorgy was our pastor. hahaha!

Anyways, when I heard we got to help out at her house again, I was really excited to see her again. Our group was definitely a lot larger than last time, but when she saw us coming up, it was great to see how excited she was to see us. Even though it was really difficult for her to walk around and maneuver, she wanted to help us as much as she could. Her demeanor towards us was so open and warm; it was such a beautiful sight to see her getting to know the other people in the group.

After a couple hours, we had finished all the jobs she laid out for us, and some of us were just chilling w/ her on the porch. As we were talking, I had asked her about the local churches she was a part of, and then she went around asking us about our personal faith. At first it was a bit off-putting being asked all these questions which I had always considered so elementary. During our conversation, she asked me when I was "born again". As I started answering, I mentioned that, "I was born into a Christian family..." I was promptly interrupted by her mini-sermon about the importance of being able to consciously dedicate our life to Christ. (hahah!) It was pretty funny, but still really cool to see someone at her age so passionate about living for God.

I've always been wary of spending a lot of time around elderly people, probably because I don't like the idea of getting attached to them and having to deal with their eventual death, but I realize how much can be learned from just spending time with them. Hmm... maybe there is something to be said about the whole mentorship thing.

Take a Stand Already

As I was perusing my Google Reader, I came across a link that led to this article on annoying airplane travelers in the NY Times. Even though it was a simple enough article explaining the inner debate on how to deal with the situation, it really got me thinking about times in my life where I really wanted to say/do something to alleviate the situation, but ultimately chickened out and ended up squirming in discomfort.

It's actually pretty interesting to see how especially in large crowds of strangers, we justify inaction by "passing the buck" under the assumption that someone else will do something. Unfortunately, if everyone has that same mentality, absolutely nothing will happen. This is by no means a novel revelation, but it is something that I always have to fight for in my own heart. It's not enough to have a bleeding heart for causes and people; actions speak loud and get things done.

Interview with the Head Hunters

I had an interview with Career Consultants yesterday, this company that Ben and Michelle used to find their current job. It wasn't supposed to be anything too serious, but I wanted to look professional so I put on a shirt and tie for the occasion and did my hair. Once again, I was struck by how difficult it was to dress up and walk outside in the heat. I normally don't have issues with sweating, but man, I could feel steam building up underneath my collar and I had to vent it every couple minutes to keep from boiling. It's no wonder that all buildings blast their AC, I don't think working people could survive in their get-ups without it.

Anyways, I show up 30 minutes early 1) b/c I left an hour early in case I got lost and 2) because that's how my dad raised me. After quite a bit of time, I finally meet my consultant, Mr. Grant S. He seemed like a pretty cool guy, and we just spend a couple minutes just getting to know each other and all that good stuff. After discussing my long term goals and career options the company could offer, we basically came to the conclusion that for now, it would probably be best to look for temporary positions (jobs that will last a couple months at a time) instead of permanent ones since I wasn't sure how long I would be in Austin.

All in all, it went well, and apparently I ask good questions, because as we were wrapping up, I reached over to pick up the stack of papers he gave me, I saw him mark off on a list of characteristics "intelligent". Hahaha, definitely fooled him!

Something to start thinking through and praying over... how long I'll be in Austin for.