joshx80's Xanga

Updates...

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:10:06 GMT

For the past couple of Sundays, I've had to fill in for sermon portion of our Sunday youth service. I'm not particularly comfortable with speaking and it always seems like my mind goes off on some random tangent, so I'm not sure exactly how much the kids are retaining.

Fortunately for me (and probably for them as well), we've found a replacement youth pastor. He's a good friend and I'm really excited to see what the three of us (me, rick and the new guy) will be able to cook up for this upcoming year!

More growth, I hope...

New Year's Resolutions...

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:50:44 GMT

This is the time of year in which people make a resolution to improve their lives by dieting, exercising, or doing various other activities that will make their lives better. Usually people's resolutions fall in the following categories (categories from a website I found):

1. Lose Weight and Get in Better Physical Shape - The battle of the proverbial "bulge" is a constant fight for Americans obsessed with weight. Americans spend $115 million on ab workout machines alone in order to attain the ultimate sign of physical health in today's obsessed and oft-deluded culture: the six-pack. However, despite the financial commitment to this supposed physical excellence, it seems that it has yet to translate over to the general population as obesity rates have doubled from 1980 to 2002, reaching the current rate of 32% of the adult population. That's alot of fat folks of which I'm sure half reside in Houston...

2. Stick to a Budget/Debt Reduction - If you're an accountant and want a bad case of insomnia, google National Debt Clock. We owe over $10 trillion as a nation! It makes you wonder, where in the heck did this money go to? I guess $10 trillion just doesn't go as far as it used to...

3. Enjoy More Quality Time with Family and Friends - I suspect that the people who make this resolution tend to be on the older side. I can't imagine some of my friends telling me, "Ya know, Josh, being awesome 24/7 at the night club scene just isn't cutting it for me anymore. I think it's time I settle down. I can just imagine it now. We'll play Cranium with other couples, watch romantic comedies, and sit down to the occasional scrumptious brunch. It'll be great!"

4. Find My Soul Mate - Matchmaking and online dating services is now a billion dollar industry. Every year, I hear people say, "<insert year> is gonna be the year I find <Mr./Mrs.> Right! I can feel it!!!" And every year, the people at e-harmony get a little richer and the optimism fairy gets a little sadder. BTW: I looked it up online and the average cost of a diamond engagement ring is $3,500 to $4,000. That's about the price of a pretty sweet plasma TV. Just sayin'...

5. Quit Smoking - While I applaud anyone who wants to make a change in their lives, it should be noted that studies have found that only 12% actually ever achieve their New Year's resolutions. That percentage is probably depressed quite a bit due to people in this category. Thanks alot, smokers. Not only are you giving us second-hand smoke cancer, but you're also depressing us with the afore-mentioned statistic! >___<

6. Find a Better Job - Someday, Lord willing, I will move up from assistant burger-flipper to cashier at McDonald's. I hear they get to wear a nifty hat...

7. Learn Something New - This can either end harmlessly with the book on how to learn French in 60 easy lessons lying unused in the corner when 2010 rolls around...or it can end quite not-so-harmlessly with the poor sap trying to serenade the crush of his life with the new "skillz" he learned playing the guitar and singing Extreme's "More Than Words"...badly...VERY badly. And no...I'm not speaking from experience. Really, I'm not. Why do you ask?

8. Volunteer and Help Others - Tip #148 on how to be world's best wingman: When your best bud says out loud to a girl, "Hey, I'm thinking of joining the Peace Corp"...it probably means that he's hitting on her. So, if you wanna earn your "wings" as wingman, it probably isn't the best time to bring up his vast collection of semi-automatic and slightly illegal automatic weaponry that he so proudly keeps. Seriously...not a good time.

9. Get Organized - I don't know why people would want to make this resolution. I mean, the floor IS the world's largest shelf, isn't it? It's MEANT to have that pile of day-old clothes on it! And if you're wondering if that shirt is safe to wear, just try Josh's Three-Sniff Test. Guaranteed to screen out the "WHOAH...what the heck was that?" from the perfectly wearable clothes...

Just thought I'd share...

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:45:24 GMT

Studies show that only 12% of all people actually achieve their New Year's resolutions. Please don't hate me for sharing the truth!

Last thoughts for 2008

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:55:42 GMT

I'm not exactly sure when I'll be getting internet back at home and so I thought I'd take this time to post some random last thoughts for the year of 2008. I don't know who reads my xanga anymore. I suspect that most who do read that don't comment are the few true remaining hardcore xanga-stalkers out there. For that...ummm...*ahem*...I commend you.

Haha...just kidding.

Anyways back to the random thoughts:

1. A transition year. There definitely was much scrambling around this past year. We've had alot of changes since the church moved into the new building. And with me going back to grad school, that was definitely a transition as well. There were some struggles in both areas for survival, but looking back on it now...I can see that it was a time of "seeding" that will hopefully bring much fruit in the year 2009. And for that, I'm very excited. I want to see a thriving church next year. I want to bring some financial stability (and independance) in my life next year. God willing...

2. Humility. It's been a "humiliating" year. It's not that it was particularly embarressing, b/c I'm not ashamed to share about my failures in life (and trust me...there are plenty of material to write about on this here blog)...but rather that I've had much to learn about true humility. Never take others for granted. Treat others as better than yourself. Respect yourself AND those around you. PRIORITIZE what is truly important to you...

3. Some things never change. I still eat as if there's no tomorrow. I still hate Mariah Carey with a passion. I love buffets. I'm still single. Dukboki is and always will be the pinnacle of human achievement (Mona Lisa? Nah. The Great Wall of China? Whatever. Dukboki? Oh yeah...that's what I'm talking about!). I still want my ten bucks back for the stupid Jackie Chan 4-pack movie package (long story). Oh yeah...and I'm still poor which I'm sure has some correlation to the previous sentence.

4. My holiday summarized. Six Flags was good. Learned lot bout guitar from friend. Guest speakers for church lined up and it was good. Seeing good ole friends was very nice. Eating wayyyy too much. Parents loved my gift (of course! ). Been watching way too much tv (House marathon is addicting!).

5. OH EM GEE!!! They're making a new Street Fighter movie, the story of Chun Li...starring Kristin Kreuk!!!

"Da bean"-er...

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:01:57 GMT

It's the new thing.

Trust me.
-----

EDIT: I will explain later tonight (hopefully).

EDIT, Pt. II: Will update on Monday when the internets comes unclogged at home! Arrrrgh...

EDIT, Pt. III: Ummmm...make that Tuesday! Sigh...:-/

Foodie thoughts...

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:53:24 GMT

My birthday was on thanksgiving this year.

On the upside, I do loves me some turkey. On the downside, this year there was no turkey. Oh well...at least I more than made up for it with plenty of other food outings. For example...

1. Kinkaid's (Southlake location) - The place reminds me alot of Braum's. Very southern with its picnic table decor, etc...and having all sorts of tabasco sauce condiments was definitely a plus for me. The burgers were humongous. I was very satisfied by the servings and the onion rings were very onion-y and crunchy. It was worth the drive...and the hype (somewhat). I'd go again...

2. Lee's Sandwiches (Richardson) - Saigon Mall is freakin' huge. I had no idea there was something like that in Richardson. Anyways, the banh mi was pretty darn good. The jalapenos in that sandwich had quite the kick! And for $2.45 you get a pretty huge sandwich...a meal in itself! I DEFINITELY would go again...

3. Omi (Carrollton) - All you can eat Korean bbq. There is nothing more that needs to be said. My friends think I'm kidding when I say that my future wife better be prepared to marry a fat man. Little do they know...

4. Yogurtland (Carrollton) - After Omi...there's Yogurtland. Sigh...I'm destined to become a fat guy...

The art of wrapping...

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:05:12 GMT

Wrapping stuff is HARD.

I went to church today to re-wrap some of the "creative" wrapping jobs done by my youth kids for Operation: Christmas Child. Now, you might be thinking, "Was that necessary?"

Trust me...yeah, it was necessary.

I went in today right after work to re-wrap some of the shoeboxes. I thought it'd be a pretty easy job, but I had no idea that wrapping requires SOOOOO much skill! It was such a frustrating experience, that there was a point where I just got mad at those shoeboxes....

"WHY WON'T YOU WRAP!!!! WRAPPPPPPP!!!!....please???" <-- defeated or as my friends would say...pwned.

I went in there armed with scissors, wrapping paper, tape, and all sorts of supplies. I came out with multiple paper cuts/lacerations, some poorly wrapped shoeboxes, and a very bruised ego.

The aftermath of the wrapping...the room was clean in the beginning, but after that battle...it looked like a war-torn refugee area with tinsel, twine and scraps of wrapping paper strewn all over the place like the casualties of war that they are...

It was a DISASTER.

I kept thinking to myself, "I should be good at this, right? I mean, it's kinda like origami...and since I'm asian, it should be in my blood, right?"

Ohhhh, grasshoppa, your kung fu...weak it is. Learn from master, you must...

Sigh...

After I finished "wrapping" the shoeboxes, I loaded them up all in my car so that I could drop them off at the Operation Christmas Child drop-off center. Turns out that I was a little too late to turn them in. Gonna have to turn them in tomorrow...

Great.

Can't wait to see the expressions on their faces when I turn in the shoeboxes....:-/

Josh - 1; Burrito - 0

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:39:46 GMT

"Sigh..."

I hope it was well worth it, because I definitely felt the effects. Nursing a bloated stomach and woozy head, I valiantly fought off the urge to throw up.

From the list of my symptoms, you'd think I was pregnant. Alas, a guy being pregnant would probably make alot more sense than what I eventually did for my Friday lunch last week.

"But he called me CHICKEN..."

On a dare with a friend of mine at work, I ingested a Super Monster-sized Freebird's burrito. For all you Chipotle burrito lovers out there, it's about the size of two or three of them put together. Seriously, a huuuuge burrito.

But apparently for 12 bucks, you also get your guac and sour cream for free!

"Load it up, lady! I can take it!"

Yeah, it probably didn't help that I egged on the serving lady to pile it on. Seriously, did she have to put that much guac in my burrito? Oh well, since it was free...

During our conversation while she was making the burrito (it was a rather lengthy process involving ritual sacrifice of a baby calf, de-horning said baby calf, and then piling it on the grill for burrito)...I learned that the fastest time she heard of anyone eating a Super-Monster was around 2 minutes.

I ended up finishing mine at around 17 minutes.

"Some people say, 'Why?" I say, 'Why NOT?'"

About halfway during the eating/devouring of the burrito, I seriously had my doubts about finishing it. But by summoning my inner-Kobayashi, I was able to overcome with a series of belches that cleared out space in my stomach for more Freebird goodness.

And you wonder why competitive eaters are single...

Although you probably didn't wonder that about meeeee...>_<

...

HAHAHAHA....

"Yo, Adrian! ADRIAN!!!"

I always thought after Rocky IV, they should've ended the series right then and there. It was a great ending with Rocky beating up on the Russians and single-handedly ending the Cold War. From then on, a guy's career can only go downhill, right? Plus, how much more of a beating could Rocky take? After each movie, it seemed like Rocky was about an INCH away from dying before summoning the inner strength and the requisite bad 80s music to overcome the latest boxing challenge. After awhile, you gotta think that there's only so much a guy's body can take, right?

Which brings me to Josh v. Super-Monster II.

I seriously doubt it'll happen again. I felt HORRIBLE after finishing...and while there was no ralphing involved. Yikes...

But then again there was Rocky V...and Rocky VI...and with the way Hollywood is...I wouldn't be surprised to see a Rocky VII.

So, I guess we'll see!

Thought bubble...

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:24:36 GMT

I'm thinking...

I wonder what it would be like to see your thoughts in third person. You know how when people see themselves in a video recording or a picture they realize how stupid they look. They might be a sloucher or even worse...a stupid grinner. Mind you, I'm not talking about a stupid person grinning, but a person STUPIDLY grinning.

I hate when that happens, b/c I do it all the time. Can't help but look stupid. Arghh...

Anyways, I think the reason why un-photogenic peeps like myself hate having their pictures taken is b/c they already know that the likelihood of looking weird is pretty high. And so they go to great lengths to avoid having their picture taken.

Which brings me back to my original thought trail...what would it be like to see your thoughts in third person? Because I think that's the reason why people have stopped blogging. I think most people eventually realized that maybe they're truly shallow? or racist? or just plain stupid?

Think about it.

Sure, the first couple years xanga was out, people blogged b/c it was the cool thing to do. But after the novelty wore out and the realization that posting your thoughts online would actually allow people an intimate view inside that little noggin of yours...well, I suppose that WOULD be a scary thought.

What if people thought it was weird that you really do believe in the Easter Bunny? Would people hate you for subscribing to the Yellow Fever Theory? Could you deal with the aftermath of people losing all respect for you once they find out that you secretly DO love Mariah Carey and that the only reason you constantly bash her online is b/c you're just too ashamed to admit it?

NOTE: All of the above scenarios are entirely hypothetical, btw...having absolutely nothing to do with the author of this entry.

Anyways, I think people have become way too blog-shy, which has resulted in a plethora of uber-vague entries, such as this:

"What a great weekend...too bad it had to end."

Seriously. What kind of douche leaves that as an entry? (Don't answer that question).

If it were up to me, I would go back and change it to something like this:

"Oh, man. What a great weekend. We hit up a local amusement park and rode every single rollercoaster. You'd think a person would get sick from the big ones like the Batman or the Titan, but let me tell ya...watch out for the teacups! BLEAH...I have pictures of the aftermath. And ladies, just be forwarned: it ain't pretty. We did the typical asian things by taking pictures of everything that moved and there were times when we wished we hadn't, i.e. Green Lantern awkwardness. And just like any other great asian holiday, we ended it by hitting up the karaoke (fyi...best session ever). I think NSYNC got nothing on us! >_< Unfortunately, this is the last weekend of freedom for myself, since I have a death march of schedule as the semester winds down. Sigh...too bad it had to end."

See? That's more like it.

Hmmmm...I wonder if that sounded stupid? or shallow? or even racist???

DELETE?

Great weekend...

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:04:54 GMT

Too bad it's over.