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. =)
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
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!
Wish everyone a great time with family and friends wherever you will be spending it! Love alla ya, and catch you next year!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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.
Friday, December 18, 2009
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
*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.
So apparently scientists are now flip-flopping their findings, saying there is no clear correlation. Read and decide for yourself.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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!
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.
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.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Comic
hahahaha... had to share this b/c it was so cheesy it was funny. It took me ~6 sec to figure it out.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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.
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.
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)