2008

2008 is finally here, tho i mentally switched to 2008 about a month ago. i know this because i started writing the year as 2008 on documents when i signed stuff... it wasn't that i just made a weird mental error either, it was just that i couldn't remember what year it was. it got to the point where i had to ask people the date, but they wouldn't include the year, so i'd just guess. and i mostly guessed wrong. =/ weird!

anyway, i had a little time to think about my new years resolutions. the most obvious one was to get more connected with God. but to me that doesn't mean getting more involved in church, going ice skating at the park to fellowship, getting plugged into a small group or whatever the usual God-stuff entails. to borrow one of fred's phrases, i want to press into God, like how my feet press into the sand, or how gravity presses down on me. its a matter of pressure and conflict. there's closeness and intimacy, like in quiet and in song. then there's the pressure that breaks molecules and bonds and makes me... better? like a diamond? or smashed, like play-doh. some are smashed, some are broken. God can be quite frightening.

so it's not asking God to be my bff, or just my Lord and Savior or this or that. he is to me the word that made life and gives life meaning, so not just one word or one description or relationship. God is the tree and the rock and the air. just kidding. i'm not into atman. no but really, the word was with God and the word was God. words were spoken to make the world and give it life. the word was made flesh, life that gave life made flesh, words that made life gave life, so isn't that kind of a big deal? but for me that doesn't translate well to ice skating.

anyway, my second resolution is to not be such a selfish bastard. it's easy to think of how things affect me, but i think it's time to stop being such a little b and suck it up. we'll see how long this lasts. but sub-resolutions to this would include being more helpful around the house, being a better friend to the few friends i have here and not being such an isolationist, at home and at church.

my third resolution is a mainstay as far as these things go, and that's to get huge. i just worked out at this gym called fitness 19. i picked this one over the expensive and glamorous gold's gym mostly because i pay just $15 a month, and it's totally ghetto. there's no smoothie bar, no spa, not even a locker room. its just a big room full of heavy weights. today was my first time going and i was pretty lost. i think i did almost every machine once (sometimes literally doing one rep) and i'm pretty beat. good thing i have my nitro-tech protein shakes to help me bulk up. the next six months in cali are like an incubation. no better yet, it's like a cocoon, and when i move out east i will emerge with an extra 30 pounds, which would make my new troublesome nickname obsolete (the skinniest man alive... wtf, thanks "friends").

what else. read and write. i want to read all the russians. russian art is dark and powerful, probably cuz everything bout russia is cold and oppressive, from the weather, the govt, the food, even their backwards language. i'm glad nobody reads this blog, especially not russians with the exception of leo on a longshot. anyway. i'm reading tolstoy now.

sometime in 2008 i want to move to new york and get a cat. and a job. but i don't want to sell my soul in the process.

well. enough of that. here are some pictures from the new year. enjoy!

we played a lot of sahgoo in ny. it's like regular pool but for koreans. consequently, dave and i sucked really bad.


mike and jay are actually good at sahgoo, but we've yet to see maria's skills at the game. i hung out with the above ppl most of my stay.


i went to the met and took pictures. i started taking some video but a security guy let me know it wasn't allowed, after almost tackling me.


i hung out with jennie and friends, and we got cupcakes from magnolia's bakery. note the similarity between jennie and me - not just our glasses, but in how our flat asian noses don't properly hold them in place. anyway, the night was marred by this lady who cut us in line. actually i didn't particularly care, but some of my friends were ready to cut her (like with a knife). btw, i wore this outfit 4 days in a row.

i visited my cousin in jersey, and he has an awesome wife, two crazy kids and one more on the way. lets see if i can't get some video working here...

his kids are adorable and have seemingly endless energy. rachel wouldn't say hi to aunt stephie. sorry staf! and yes i am still extremely awkward around children

i arrived in sactown last night and i had a full day of classes today. as i drove home i saw this crazy sky that i decided to shoot. maybe it was the recent storms that passed through cali, but these clouds were weird and they moved fast.

this is the entrance of the park.


this was the view of the sky at the end of the park. man it was awesome.


this was the sky after i found the 16:9 option on my camera.

this was a tree in the distance that i found odd and lonely, and then more of the sky.

have a happy 2008 everyone!