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.

Personality Counts for Nothing

Hahahha! One of the best comics I saw in a long time. Immediately made me think of Matt Jorgenson. Funny comic, but also a sad truth. I dare you to deny it.

You just got served!

Hilarious. I was at home trying my hand at making this Russian dessert (Pirojki) which is pretty much a baked dumpling which I wanted to modify by putting in fruit topping on the inside. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any, so I tried using jelly instead.
Long story short, make sure you've tried the food at least once before trying to modify. I thought I could just switch out the meat filling with fruit and it would be OK. Nope. Definitely a fail.

Anyways, so I'm in the middle of trying to make this and there's a knock on my door. I go and this guy w/ a stack of papers asks if he can tape these papers to the inside of my door. That sounds kinda weird, since he could just as easily just give me the papers, so I ask him what they were. He seems a bit flustered and he just tells me to read it and tries backing out as quickly as possible. I keep the door open and quickly open one of the stapled papers and at the top there's a giant NOTICE TO VACATE at the top. Holy crap! What the heck? I skim the letter and it claims that we had not paid our rent yet and had 3 days to vacate the apartment.

My mind is racing, but I remember everyone giving Matt the rent a couple weeks ago. As I'm reading the letter, the guy is knocking on the apartment across the hall and hands the guy the same letter. I realize that the stack of papers he's holding are actually all eviction notices, which totally doesn't make sense, because we are not all delinquents. I call out to the guy as he took a couple steps to leave, and he seriously looks scared. (haha!)

****************************************************************************************

Hey man, I think there's some kind of mixup cuz we definitely paid our rent a couple weeks ago.

"Ummm, I'm sorry, I don't know anything about this."

Well, this is something pretty serious, we're being asked to get evicted. Is there anyone we can talk to?

"Uhhh yeah sorry. Umm, here call this number XXX-XXX-XXXX. They'll sort it all out for you."

*I notice the giant stack of eviction notices in his hand*

Ok... don't you think that it's kind of funny that you guys are serving all these people eviction notices? Could there be a mixup with the office?

"Hey, I'm sorry, I don't have anything to do with this, I'm just the messenger!"

****************************************************************************************
Austin Apartments Suck.
1. ant infestation
2. shoddy internet connection
3. bad management
4. trying to evict paying tenants
What else can happen?

How low can you go?

A couple days ago, I got this email shown below:

Dear Timothy Lee,

Upon review of the resume you sent us, we would like to bring you in for an interview this Thursday at 11:00 a.m.

Please confirm if you can make this time and date as soon as possible.

Also, to save you and us time, we will need your employment/credit scores prior to the interview.

If you do not have your recent scores, you can get them for free here: http://www.freeemployeescore.com

Please email me your scores, and confirm that you can make the time and date.

I will give you a call upon your confirmation.

Sincerely,

Janice Walsh
Human Resources

Initially, I was ecstatic, and couldn't wait to get ready, but after thinking about it, I have NEVER heard of a job asking for a credit check before, and the email mentioned nothing about what company they were from. I fwded the email to some friends for their opinion, and they agreed that it seemed a bit sketchy.

If this is, indeed, a scam trying to get me to use their website, then that is incredibly dirty. I wish nothing pain and misery for the person in charge of this scam. Do you think it's a possible legit job response? What would you do?

Making Lemonade

It's funny how quickly things change. I've pretty much gone through the entire gamut of emotions, and thanks to spraining my ankle, I can add disappointment to the list.

It actually happened a week ago, but due to lack of internet connection, I have been unable to post any entries recently. Anyhoo, some guys had met up to play some ultimate frisbee, but since a student group was already using the "6 Pack" field, we decided to play in a small enclosed field with a giant flag in the middle. I should have known something bad was going to happen because I specifically noted out loud that there were a lot of holes in the field (as well as a ton of bees... which I hate). Things did not bode well. But whatever, we started playing and I was definitely not on top of my game.

Maybe it was the humidity, or maybe it was a new field, but I was a split second slower in my reactions, and my body just felt really heavy. After playing for thirty minutes or so I was running to intercept a pass when my foot got caught in one of the holes and as I planted to turn, I literally heard a loud crack and I immediately pulled up in pain. At the time, my ankle was feeling a minor discomfort, but it wasn't unbearable, so I waved off everyone and told them that everything was alright: "you guys just keep playing! I'll just watch from here."

They played for another half an hour or so, then Jorgy and I left to meet up with the rest of the church team and prayer walked around campus. Minti and I stayed behind with all the bags and just prayed @ the flagpole (ironically since we both had leg injuries) until everyone came back. I ended up walking to the Union for this Asian American event I heard about (free door prizes and raffles!) and ended up stayin for the 3 hour show. By that time the adrenaline had definitely worn off and as I was walking home, I was sweating from the exertion. Holy crap, I had not felt this amount of pain in a long time.

I'm not a fan of medication, so I told myself to suck it up and just sleep it off. At 6:30am, I woke up cuz Tou Fue asked me to drive him to work but I felt like my leg had gained an extra 15 pounds. When I looked down at it in the light it had swelled to mammoth proportions. I had elephantitis of the freakin foot. So disgusting! Anyways, the pain was so unbearable that I was panting from exertion and I saw stars. Thankfully, Minti was able to drive Touf, and I gave in to drugs, and popped Tylenol and tried sleeping off the day.

The interesting thing that happens to me when I take medication is that I tend to have a lot of lucid dreams (day dreams, if you will). I was just thinking a lot about how things were going so well with the group of guys I've been able to get to know, and how this jacked up ankle really effed all that up. In my mind I went through a mental status check of my life: still had no job, still missed people, still feel a bit disoriented around the city, feel creepy sometimes when people find out how old I am compared to them, and the one positive in my life (sports) was taken away from me.

It was weird, I always read about how Jacob wrestled with God and wouldn't give up until he got blessed, and every time I would think that Jacob was such a whiny and needy guy. Who goes up to God and demands things? But I think I finally realized that at that point in his life, he was at wit's end out of fear of Essau killing him, yet so full of confidence that God's promises would be fulfilled that he just knew that God was going to bless him.

I have no idea how long I spent mulling and thinking that over, but I came to the realization that in a way, I had replaced my dependence on God with my own abilities and strengths. It took this moment of total ownage for me to realize that all that I had could be taken away in an instant. Interestingly enough, even though my life would seem incredibly pathetic, God has really blessed me by revealing a community that really loves. I'm not going to list out all the things people have done for me the past week, but it was an amazing portrayal of compassion for me.

As for now, my ankle has been exponentially getting better, although today was a bit of a setback with a lot of pain, but I am pretty sure that by the beginning of next week, I'll be able to play sports again... hopefully. =)

quickbeforemyinternetcutsoutagain

sorryforthelackofsubstantialupdatesthepastcoupledays.ourinternethasbeenonforburstsof5minutesbeforecuttingout. hopeitgetsfixedsoon!!!!

DPS

It's confirmed. DPS is universally lame across all states. Spent the entire day getting a TX drivers license.



Overheard on the TV:

"The key to a woman's heart is an unexpected gift, in an unexpected time"
- Finding Forrester