F o o d... c o m a...

It's late Sunday afternoon and I'm not feeling too hot. No, I'm not hungover, despite the fact that it was my birthday on Friday, and I went to Canada yesterday... yes, blame Canada! hahaha

Actually, Saturday was a blast, even if it started with a crappy wake-up call at 8:00AM. Mr. AT&T cable man had to come by and install cable modem at my apartment so I would not longer have to endure the pain of dial-up ('cause broadband rules!). But I digress. I rode with my friend Ray as a part of 12-person, 3 car caravan all the way up to Vancouver, BC. There we made the usual rounds - downtown Chinatown, restaurant for dinner, sticker pic arcade, and Jack's Loft for bulba cha. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a routine Canadian excursion, except dinner was GREAT.

We ate at place called "Shabusen", where the menu is all-u-can-eat Chinese / Japanese / Korean. You pick two and here's the kicker: You get to cook some of the food right at your own table, where there are built-in gas stoves. The group chose to eat Korean BBQ / Japanese sushi and yes... I made out like a T-Rex in a petting zoo, proceeding to consumer mass quantities of kalbi (Korean shortribs), sushi, sashimi, and Jasmine tea. I was happy with both the quantity and quality of food... quite good.

Of course, today, I'm paying for it. I woke up this morning with a pretty quesy stomache and a very scratchy throat... so I didn't go to church. I didn't get sick in Canada, I've actually been battling a cold for the past few days, but yesterday's eating-free-for-all probably didn't help. Time to make some tea, take a nap, and call for white-cell reinforcements in my battle-weary body. heh =)

On a completely related note, I joined a webring called Rice Bowl Journals, a collection of other online BLOGS of the evolving Asiatic experience. I'm actually featured as the newest member, whoooohooo! Hopefully, my time as "newest member" won't be half as wacky as my time as "member of the week on Asian Avenue" hahaha.

posted by G at 4:11 PM   | (0) comments

Been a long day... but a great birthday. Time to go to sleep with a happy heart (and belly)...
posted by G at 2:46 AM   | (0) comments

It's a strange world.

I stopped by the library today to pick-up my paycheck, and en-route to deposit it at WaMu, I felt an urge to stop by Tower Records. After checking the newest releases in the hip-hop section, I cruised down the magazine aisle to the music/lifestyles section to look for the usual rags I read. As I was walking down the aisle, I noticed this dressed-up Korean girl giving me this funny eyeball, but I didn't think much of it and pulled my baseball cap down lower on my head. Half the time the funny looks are because of the haircut, but because I was wearing a hat, I figured it was for the way I walked quickly by her and said "Excuse me", without giving her a second look. A strange portion of the population, predominately of girls, get strangely offended if you don't "notice" them with a second look. It's like you're calling them ugly or unattractive with your eyes or something, so they give you the maddog as your a reward for refusing to stare at them like everybody else. hahaha.

Obviously, I really didn't care about this girl's funny maddog, 'cause I was in a grumpy mood, on the account that it was cold and I had to come all the way up to the U-District to pick up my damn paycheck. I hadn't been reading a copy of Giant Robot for more than 5 minutes when I heard somebody clearing their throat closely to my right...

"Ummm... excuse me..."

The voice was tentative. It didn't take much Sherlock-ification to figure out who the source was. I turned to look at the girl I had just walked by moments ago..

"Were you in a thing called the Urban Newspaper Workshop?"

I looked her for a second, and mentally subtacted braces and pimples, added a couple inches of height and colored, shortened hair.

"Tammy?"

The girl smiled, while I'm sure my left eyebrow was half-lifted. Tammy K. and I had been part of a group of highschool students that spent one summer in this program called the "Urban Newspaper Workshop", a program to encourage minorities to enter into journalism. For more than two weeks, the group of us lived in the dorms at Seattle U while taking a crash course in writing, reporting, editing, graphic design, and all the other stuff that goes into making a newspaper. We learned it all from actual people who worked at the Seattle Times, and yes, were minorities. It was an interesting experience, though I remember feeling a bit alienated, being one of the older students in the workshop and one of the only seniors. That was almost 5 years ago.

We shot small talk. Tammy had always been one of the more introspective and smarter people at the workshop, so I wasn't shocked to hear about the last few years. Turned out she'd gone off to college at Yale and majored in philosophy, which her parents weren't so thrilled about. She was thinking of going to law school, but her explanation was that it was more of a consolation for her parents. I told her about my double major in journalism and business, and she raised her eyebrow, saying I had always seemd more like an art major than a business person. I suppose it's a bit ironic since I think she was one of the few students to receive a college scholarship from the UNW and the UNW's goal is to promote journalism... only she didn't and I did. Funny.

It's not everyday you get to meet a fellow witness to the past, but after the small talk had dried up, I kept hoping the conversation would die down. Everytime things seemed to conclude themselves, she'd keep kicking it back up with other another question about what I wanted to do or what was interesting to me now. Maybe she was more eager to relive the past than I was, and I as nonchalantly looked closer, I thought I could see marks of stress, the inevitable wrinkles and baggy eyes of college life, hidden beneath the cover of makeup. Fortunately, she finally excused herself when her "friend" gave her an anxious look in the middle of one of our silences. All throughout our conversation, he had been poking his head in and out to look at the two of us, as if he needed to make sure she hadn't run off with me. He was giving me a half-maddog look too, and although he was probably aiming for Mobb Deep-esque bust-a-cap-in-your-head stare, it looked alot more like "The Grimace of Dietary Irregularity". The cycle ended when she took his arm and said bye.

I guess the past doesn't really interest me as much as it used to. The encounter with Tammy was sort of like randomly finding a forgotten old shirt or book in your closet when you're really looking for your favorite Transformer. A passing curiousity on the bumpy road of my life. Needless to say, I'd rather forget the unremarkable parts of my life, especially the parts when I was a very different person.

As a sidenote, I'd hate to say it, but I wasn't too surprised to see Tammy become a statistic. Statistics don't bother me as much as they did in my younger, more militant days. Cynical old bastards like myself have enough experience to know everybody makes their own choices and they got their own lives to live. 'Sides, I could always just write it off to the fact that Tammy is a Korean girl, after all. Did I mention her "friend" was a gwai-lo? Probably freshly imported from the East coast and terribly unfond of bald Chinamen...

Guess we're just too damn shifty eyed to leave around other asians... heh >)

In any case, I was a bit relieved to get back to reading my Giant Robot... life in the present has enough drama of its own.
posted by G at 3:39 PM   | (0) comments

Insomnia sucks.

It's now nearly 8:00 in the morning... and I've just a ridiculous amount of time doing absolutely NOTHING. I would have preferred having an excuse like working on a research project, watching movies, or even playing a game, but I've just been surfing... and surfing... and surfing. Ugh.

I guess the irony is that for a person who thoroughly enjoys sleeping, I can't seem to do it right now. Maybe the melancholy-ness of the season is getting to me, or maybe it's just that I don't feel very happy to be home right now. =(

Who knows...

Did I mention gray seems to be favorite color these past six months or so?
posted by G at 7:35 AM   | (0) comments

It's 5:00 in the morning. The day after Christmas. Where is sleep? hmmm...

Well, it might be a little late to say so... but I'll say it anyways...

Happy Birthday, Savior.
posted by G at 4:57 AM   | (0) comments

Christmas Eve...

Well, it's officially Christmas Eve, but I still consider it Sunday night. It's been a long, long day... I just got back from Chris' house, where a bunch of us were hanging out after seeing "Lord of the Rings". Most people say the movie is too long, but I didn't seem to notice. Maybe it was the nap I took before the movie as my Mom drove up, because she wanted to see Auntie Nancy, Chris' Mom.

It's all a side note, though... the main event of the day was Shiv leaving to go visit her family for Christmas in San Jose. Saying goodbye for only two weeks should be easy, but it was harder for me than I thought. I guess feelings can be strange like that. They tend to have a life and logic all to themselves. In any case, I think the vacation will be good for her, even if I miss her. Her family is very important to her, so I couldn't imagine her not going home to visit.

So begins my two weeks of doing nothing... whooohooo!
posted by G at 1:18 AM   | (0) comments

"It's A Wonderful Life"...

... and I just watched the classic Jimmy Stewart movie again with Shiv. She'd never seen it before, so I figured it was my duty to make sure she's seen one of the best movies of all time, heh. =)

I must have seen that movie over a dozen different times, but each time, it seems it always brings me back to being thankful for the things, or more accurately, the people, that are in my life. To be honest, these past few days, I haven't been feeling the greatest about my life and where it stands right now. Maybe it's because I've been occupying my mind with all the things that I don't have, rather than the things that I do. I know, sounds corny, but how easy it is to forget in this day and age...

Afterall, isn't that what the modern world is built on? The creation of want of things we don't have and don't need, and especially, can't afford? The fast growing religion in America... SELF-ism.

But 'nuff of that... funny how Christmas is almost like Thanksgiving, part two... being thankful for people, and most of all, the coming of Christ, gift of gifts. Good stuff. Fortunately for me, the events of today have pointed to me to that rather than my own sorrows.

Did I mention my friend Mel gave me a totally unique gift? That was cool too.
posted by G at 8:13 PM   | (0) comments

I got this forward from a friend... it's pretty funny, especially if you can imagine somebody saying it in the "local" dialect...

DA NITE BEFO KALIKIMAKA
(AKA The Night Before Christmas, Hawaiian pidgin style)

Wuz da nite befo Christmas an from hea to Wailuku,
No creetcha wuz stirrin, not even one uku.
Da Keikis wen snuggle down safe in da beds,
Big dreams of tofuti wen dance tru dey heads.

An me wid my Primo an Ma wid her poi,
We jus settle down fo talk story...wen Ho Boy!
One awful big clattah come from da lanai,
I tink maybe coconuts wen fall from da sky!
I wen jump up so fas I knock ova da chaia
I wen run to da windo to see what stay dea.

All ova da beach da kine silva moonlight
On da sand an da sea it shinin so bright,
I can see all da tings on da shoah plenty clea,
An I see sumtin out dea dat stay mo plenty quea!
One tiny surfboard lyin der on da groun
An eight tiny sea horses jus swimmin aroun

An one little ol surfah so lively, so quick...
I wen tink to myself, "Ey, brah! Dat Saint Nick!"
He wuz chubby an jolly, da kine roly poly,
An dressed all in fur fro da chin to okole.
He had one white beard an one little roun belly
Dat went shake when he laugh like Tutu's guava jelly.
He wastin no time, brah, he wen put down da sack
Dat wuz big as one mountain slung up on his back.
He got plenty good tings for all da keiki
An he wen pile dem unda da coconut tree.
He work an he work an he neva pau hana
Til he put someting der fo all da o'hana.

He wen give me one wink an one shaka, an...pau!
Da seahorses dey know it come time fo go now!
He wen pick up da board an go run to da ocean,
He wen harness da team an he set em in motion.
Mo fasta dan outrigga dem seahorses dey swum
He wen whistle an shout an call em each one...
"Go Kimo, Go Noni! Gettum Kipo an Lani!
Go Kona, go Pua! Geevum Kiki an Nani"
To da cres of da wave, tru da foam an da spray,
Dey swimmin like crazy, dey goin away!
Til all I wen see on da wata out fah,
Wuz one twinkle of light like one small kine stah.
But I hea ol Nick go holla cross da sea,
"Mele Kalikimaka to all and Aloha to Hawai'i!"

-written by unknown
posted by G at 5:24 PM   | (0) comments

Lots of movies these past few days... got to see "Rush Hour 2", "You Can Count On Me", and "Princess Diaries", all for the first time. I know what you're thinking... Garrett, watched the "Princess Diaries"?!! HAHAHAHAHAH.

Shuddup. Just wait until you got a girlfriend... yeah, that's right... I know. Garrett KNOWS! =)

In some completely unrelated news, Christmas is just 5 days away and I'm not even that excited. I'm not sure why... maybe going home to see my family doesn't thrill me as much as it used to, huh?

Oh well.
posted by G at 1:48 AM   | (0) comments

Monday... a busybusy day to end a busybusy weekend.

I woke up Monday morning at 7:00AM thinking I had to work at 7:45AM to cover a friend's shift (he's taking a final). After doing my usual routine, I marched off to work to find only that another co-worker wanted to work my friend's hours because she needed the $$$. Under most normal circumstances, I might have been pissed considering my poor body was roused at the unholy 7:00AM hour, but being it Christmas, I was in a good mood, and that I was friends with the co-worker who needed the hours, I let it all slide. I pretty much walked all the way back home, showered, changed back into my PJs, and jumped back into bed. heh...

At about 12:00PM, I got back up to go pick up Shiv's car at the preschool to drive Angel's friend, Steven, to downtown Seattle to site-see and shop. Steve crashed at my apartment the previous night, so I didn't really mind and plus, after getting to know him better, I didn't think of it as a chore... more like helping out a friend. The actual goal of the trip was a pilgrimage to the birthplace (AKA first store) of the corporate coffee monster known as "Starbucks". I myself had no idea of really where it was, so I had to look up an address online at NW Source.

Unbeknownst to myself, the first Starbucks is actually located in Pike Place Market. Steve and I managed to find some cheap parking ($4) near Cheesecake Factory and Niketown, so we hiked down the hill to the public market and puttered around for awhile at the first Starbucks (got coffee) and the usual Pike Place highlights (flying fish market, metal pig). Then we walked to Pacific Place, looked around, and had lunch at Gordon Biersch, where Steve generously treated me and we got to just talk story about our lives. Good deal. Around 4:00PM, we went back to the garage and I drove him to Helen Ono's workplace at Emerald City Outreach Ministries.

The evening was pretty laidback... I came back to the apartment and watched TV with Shiv... first cartoons, then a wacky episode of "The Weakest Link", a re-make of "A Miracle of 34th (?) Street", and "Sleepless in Seattle". Not a lot of activity, but I sensed that work at the preschool had drained Shiv's energy, since she had to work more early and stay much more late. It's tough, especially since Christmas is nearing so fast and she still has to work. I know she misses her family, being away from them, and yet at the same time, I find I myself don't miss my family that much. Not that our situations compare, with my family living in this area, but still... it's strange, but I guess I don't feel like explaining it now. More later, I suppose.
posted by G at 4:00 AM   | (0) comments

Busy busy weekend... a lot of stuff is going on this weekend, when I find odd now that I've endured another quarter of agony-inducing finals. Two friends are up visiting from Cali... my friend Angel from UC-Irvine AACF, whose online conversation and sage advice I've enjoyed these past couple of years; and Kirk, a really laidback guy I met on my trip to Brasil two summers ago. Throw in the Maplewood Fam Christmas party, back-to-back choir concerts, and last minute Christmas details... lots of fun.

It's pretty early in the morning, and yet, I find it difficult to go to sleep. I suppose a part of me wants to relish every second of my freedom from work and school, no matter how unwisely I'm spending it right now. I re-vamped my old links page, removing the useless content (bad links, pseudo-award-age, etc) to make it basically a list of the sites I visit most frequently when I'm online. I actually go the idea from Abe, since I noticed that his compu, he's made his UW webpage his "true" homepage - the page that loads up everytime he opens his browser. I thought it was a good idea, considering amount of time I myself waste... heh.

Time, time... thoughts of my rapidly approaching 23rd birthday are already on the outer rim of the galaxy of my consciousness. Holidays always seem to involuntarily induce a slight melancholy in me, as much as I love the season... the reflection of Christ's birth, the giving of gifts to loved ones, the singing, the winter weather, etc. I guess thoughts of my father always come to mind, since the more I become older, I wonder how much I'm like / not like him. Except for March & Easter, December & my birthday tend to be the times I think about him the most. In fact, thoughts of my family weigh pretty heavily on mind, especially in light of the events of this year. I'm sure things must be different for my Mom, considering that her mother's birthday was this month as well. Hmmm.

I guess a personal ritual during my birthday is always a sort of mental evaluation of where I think my life is headed. As I'm about to leave college, I sense I'll be diving in to the murky depths of unforeseen circumstance again, waiting for a sign of where exactly it is that God intends me to be, especially career-wise. Though I enjoy ministry activities a lot (AWANA, choir, etc.) I sense God is calling me to the "real work" world right now, even if it's just a short period of time. I think having that experience is important in order to appreciate a variety of other things, but especially the sort of "unconventional" life that is often created in the pursuit of sincere faith. I know people who've gone into full-time ministry, missions work, off to study at seminary... and though I see a lot of good things happening in the lives of friends around me, I'm not sure those things are things God has ordained me to include in my own life, especially ministry-work. The words seem to not come to now, but I suppose a less vague sort of entry is in order to explain my thinking on my life right now...

Yeah.
posted by G at 5:19 AM   | (0) comments

Psalm Twelve-Twelve-Zero-One
a psalm of Gar
spoken to the sound of an accoustic guitar
and the rolling beat of twin Technics SL-1200s

Praise be to the Lord on high,
God of my father, God of my mother,
your faithfulness echoes in the silence of my trials.

When I entered into the valley,
feet treading a ground of darkened shadows,
foolishly I said to myself, "I will be my own guide."

But alone amidst the cold night,
my feet stumbled to find the path,
Until you reached down and led me to safety.

Before I even cryed out,
your spirit took compassion upon me,
the righteousness of your hands carried my brokeness.

On your holy mountain, O God,
I was brought not to be accused of my transgressions,
but put before your presence to recieve mercy and grace.

Let all the earth know of you,
God of forgiveness and hope,
the Lord and Savior of even men such as I.
posted by G at 10:27 AM   | (0) comments

One final down. One to go.
posted by G at 1:14 PM   | (0) comments

Change...

In the odd moments of clarity in my life, I find I always need to change something about myself. Not change in the sense that I want to don some superficial personality trait, or heaven help me, style or trend, but there are times where I feel the need to change like a tree feels the need to stretch out a new limb to the sky or dig into the earth with another root. The change I find that I desire is growth, a movement toward maturity, wisdom, and all that other good stuff.

So if the desire to change comes so easily, why is it so hard to do?

You'd think that as human beings, it'd be easy. After all, isn't the ability to change one of the hallmarks of humanity, one of things that sets us apart from the poo-fling'n chimps and tree hugging sloths?

No real answers today, just questions... though a piece of Scripture does come to mind...

Matthew 26:41M
"...the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
posted by G at 12:54 AM   | (0) comments

Today was a good day, even if it started a little early... heh.

I woke to have breakfast with Shiv at this joint called "The Jitterbug Cafe"... a nice hole-in-the-wall place with some definitely good cooking. In Shiv's words, a mini "5 Spot". Definitely head and shoulders above Denny's or IHOP. In the evening, after the usual madness of running AWANA game-time, Shiv and Steph came to CBC got to watch the children's musical, "Operation Christmas Child". Lots of singing and dancing... wheeee.
posted by G at 11:28 PM   | (0) comments

Well, yesterday was a nice to relax & just chill... I didn't feel much like work or school, so I went to neither... heh.

I did however, go with Shiv to her church to help out a children's carnival, which was a lot of fun. I got to work the face-painting booth just like at AWANA carnivals of old... only this year, I didn't have to draw a ton of Pokemon characters (*phew*). There were however requests for robots, sharks, baseballs, and Santa Claus. Kids nowadays... hahaha. =)
posted by G at 1:14 PM   | (0) comments

Binary Star is great. Some of their lyrics that in my head right now...

Dig - Imma put it on the table/ I ain't a thug n*gga and playa, I ain't playful
I'm just Senim Silla, man without label/ Standin' on my own to you tryin' to stay stable
Speakin' what I know to only what I'm able
I ain't the kinda guy who carry on for dough/ The material cat who walk around for show
I'm just your everyday, merry way joe-on-the-go/ While others go with the flow
I ain't never been the one to follow trend, I do my own bit
Can't keep up with the Joneses, I'm on my own sh**
I don't care what you drink/ What you stress, how you dress, or where you got the link
I ain't impressed
These lames run around like mice in a maze/ Tryin' to get up on cheese, it's just a rat race
Wanna change times' schemes to make man worship things/ Over the supreme being, or stop, fill up?
Should I join the hypocrites?
Or side with the suckas by choice/ It makes no difference that y'all product of environment
It's just coincidence/ The world's a violent place baby, there ain't no more innocence
Or civil men or penitence, just ignorance cats dunno know right from wrong
They mimic sh** they see on TV or hear in a song
What that tell you they on?
A sucka act up every minute
The righteous live on but the the n****s are infinite...

Download the song, "Honest Expression", here.

posted by G at 6:56 PM   | (0) comments

Yesterday was a long day.

I spent pretty much from 9AM to 5:30pm doing school stuff... had a test in the morning, and then about 6 hours in the afternoon on my final group project for my IS480 class, which thank the Lord, I finished this afternoon. The whole day I pretty much felt tired and nothing really helped too much, including an e-mail from AT&T about my application that pretty much amounts to "a lot of people applied for this internship, we have to dump a bunch of the applicants, and you're one of them..."

Doh.

I guess I'd be lying if I were to say I wasn't disappointed. The internship would have been a good resume builder with the added plus of good pay and a deal on a new cellphone (which people keep asking me to get). Oh well. Back to square one in the hunt for a internship / job... *sigh*.

Another bummer was I got a gift certificate in my e-mail from Digital Gravel as a reward for my patronage over the past year. Nothing bad about that, right? I was pretty excited about getting the shirt that was on my wish list, but... they're all sold out! They even sold out of some other items I was looking at too... I guess everybody has similar tastes. Wackness.


posted by G at 5:24 PM   | (0) comments

Well, today was the presentation for my BCMU class. It probably wasn't the greatest piece of oral communication ever, but I think I can safely assume it got the job done. Another thing outta the way, whoohoo! >=)

Speaking of getting things outta the way, I finished my Christmas shopping once again using the power of online shopping. I should make a commercial for it or something... "Fast and convenient for car-less, poor university student!"

In completely unrelated news, check this out. Great design and funny too... I got 11 on my first try. The average is 7.


posted by G at 6:55 PM   | (0) comments

Mondays. Ugh.

I don't feel especially verbose about talking about today, except that it's Monday and I'm anticipating a very busy last few weeks of school. Tuesday is the day of my final presentation for my BCMU class, Wednesday is my final test for my HRMOB class, and Thursday is the due date for Project 3 for my IS480. Next week... well, I'm not thinking that far ahead. Yet... heh.

Anyway, I haven't been thinking of school too much. I spent most of last week organizing the bits and pieces of Shiv's surprise party, which went well yesterday. A surprise party that was actually a surprise... how often does that happen, huh? It was a lot of fun and I'm glad everything worked out. Birthdays are a special thing, because it gives a chance for people to appreciate the individual and the person, especially somebody like Shiv, is one of those "under the radar" type of people - the type of person who does a lot for others and often doesn't get recognized for it. I suppose, being her BF, I'm biased... but that's what I think. =)

Well... only 22 days left until Christmas. Reminds me... gotta buy stuff for the apartment gift exchange.


posted by G at 4:28 PM   | (0) comments

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33