<center>2004.05.08</center>
<a name=""><h3></h3></a>
<p>946a, sat morn: i'm waiting w/ sooni 4 <a href="http://www.happytailstoyoudogtraining.com" target="_blank">happy tails</a>. &nbsp; earlier, i dropped the beautiful <a href="http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~kaela" target="_blank">kaela hwang</a> off @ the compaq center 4 a christian womens' conference. &nbsp; then, i walked sooni up n' down willow glen's lincoln ave.
<p>[later]351p: lately, i've had some pretty selfish prayers answered: on thurs nite, when i got to campus 4 my class, i aktually quickly prayed that i'd find parking, n' i found parking. &nbsp; on fri afternoon, after bocce ball, when i got to campus, i prayed that i'd find parking n' i found parking. &nbsp; both times, i just sort'f prayed cos the idea popped into my head that maybe i should pray to find parking.  both times, @ 1st, i thought, "eh, i don't c ne parking. &nbsp; oh well, i guess it's just not god's will; i guess it's not in his plan." &nbsp; then i found parking. &nbsp; i mean... it's not that it's hard to find parking @ sjsu during the late hrs that <i>my</i> classes r, but what i was aktually praying 4 was a <i>close</i> parking spot, right @ the curb near the entrance'f the engineering bldg. &nbsp; parking's such a trivial thing; it's not like i was praying 4 a single morsel'f fud to calm my growlingly empty stomach, no. &nbsp; i wasn't praying 4 protektion from a violently abusive spouse. &nbsp; i wasn't praying 4 'nother day to speak deep, emotional words to a dying loved 1. &nbsp; i prayed 4 such a trivial thing: a good parking spot. &nbsp; it was such a greedy thing, yet god answered my prayer. &nbsp; else, u could say: 1) i got lucky, or 2) it's just the odds that u'll find a good parking spot now n' then. &nbsp; back in my sr yr'f hi.skool, i think i mentioned sumpthin' christian to my fellow bassoonist in my youth orchestra who wasn't necessarily a spiritual or christian person as far as i knew; but he started telling me that some university's research on quantum physiks proved that human "volition" (i think he sed, albeit that <a href="http://www.m-w.com" target="_blank">m-w.com</a> defines "volition" as "an act of making a choice or decision") -- else basikally <i>wanting sumpthin' to happen -- affekts probability. &nbsp; he sed, researchers tracked the position of electrons n' found that if they <i>wanted</i> the elektron to turn up @ a certain position @ a certain time, it'd more likely turn up there. &nbsp; the dude i was talkin' to sed this explains why ufo fanatiks more often end up spotting ufos. &nbsp; *shrug*
<p>do u find my faith: 1) tacky, 2) stoopid, 3) ridiculous, 4) mundane, 5) condescending, 6) judgmental, or 7) foolish? &nbsp; in <i>21 grams</i>, u meet some1 who'd be easily labelled as a "religious fanatic." &nbsp; would <i>u</i> label me a "religious fanatic"? &nbsp; personally, i'd hardly find that reasonable. &nbsp; me, i <i>need</i> to be more spiritual n' have a stronger relationship w/ god / jesus / the holy spirit. &nbsp; it's 2 bad that i don't, n' it's not enuf 4 me just to say "it's 2 bad." &nbsp; @ the same time, all u non.christians tolerate me better cos i am who i am n' <i>not</i> some1 u'd label a "religious fanatic." &nbsp; we christians have heard numerous, numerous sermons 'bout how "god hates lukewarm christians." &nbsp; often these sermons say that u gotta go on a missions trip n' evangelise, or else u'r just a lukewarm christian whom god hates. &nbsp; <tt>>:-/</tt> i dunno, man; i'm sorry, but i don't buy that. &nbsp; i think that kind'f talk involves 2 much generalisation, n' every1 has a diff situation; really! &nbsp; god has a diff purpose 4 each person. &nbsp; however, many disciples'f christ'd say that god's purpose 4 every christian <i>still</i> must involve evangelism. &nbsp; well, each'f us has his/her own style'f evangelism. &nbsp; i'd <i>like</i> to think i've led some1 to christ b4. &nbsp; i know i've encouraged certain ppl to go to church b4; 'specially in my hi.skool days back @ canaan taiwanese christian church (ctcc).
<p>2day, ever since i came back home in the early afternoon, i've had lots'f 'puter troubles. <tt>>:-(</tt> u c, all i wanted to do was to werk on my master's projekt report n' maybe some werk from werk.com, but all sort'f bad things happened: i wanted to dl some video footage i shot yesterday nite'f sooni playing fetch w/ me. &nbsp; as i dled that footage from our camcorder via firewire, i discovered i had accidentally taped over footage'f mason from last weekend. <tt><:-o</tt> <tt>>:-(</tt> &nbsp; *sigh* i was very disappointed. &nbsp; then as i let that footage dl, i started up the laptop i borrowed from werk. &nbsp; it beeped crazily n' refused to start up. <tt><:-o</tt> &nbsp; uh.oh! &nbsp; then i decided to try to plug it into the wall outlet, instead'f running it off battery. &nbsp; to try that, i had to unplug kaela's laptop, to which i was dling video footage. &nbsp; i tried to turn on the werk.com laptop, but it still didn't turn on. &nbsp; then i went to kaela's laptop n' discovered the screen had gone black n' blank n' the 'puter had shut down. &nbsp; i tried to restart it. &nbsp; it refused to restart. <tt><:-(</tt> <i>now</i>, i'm in a big mess! &nbsp; i have no laptops to use, n' i want to werk on things including very important stuff. &nbsp; <tt>:-(</tt> <i>now</i>, i'm waiting 4 the answer to some prayers! <tt>:-(</tt> so <i>this</i> is how it feels to make a desperate prayer as opposed to a prayer 4 convenience! &nbsp; i trust that god'll take care'f me 1 way or 'nother.
<p>[later] 503p: i'd like to pause from my worrying 'bout 'puters (which ought to be eliminated n' replaced by trust that god'll take care'f this mess 1 way or 'nother) n' thank ppl who've recently signed my <a href="http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~beno/gbook.html" target="_blank">gbook</a>: 1) the person who spammed my <a href="http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~beno/gbook.html" target="_blank">gbook</a> 4 the sake'f curing pleural mesothelioma, the private entry person, manolo (who's promoting <a href="http://www.barcelona-es.net" target="_blank">barcelona-es.net</a>, <a href="http://www.bjunkyard.com" target="_blank">jerome</a>, n' kathi. &nbsp; thank u very much! &nbsp; i'm not <i>2</i> sure who kathi is but wonder if she's 1'f the kathy's from church. &nbsp; i think so, but i'm not 2 sure. &nbsp; i'm not 2 sure what "dink couple" is but guess it means "disciples in new korea." <tt>?:-(</tt> yah, puzzled.
<p>kathi, u "always drool after reading about the many places [kaela n' i] go eat out at?" &nbsp; well, heh heh... aktually, lately it's been pasta pomodoro over n' over cos they don't discriminate 'gainst dog owners; thus just like a true european eatery, i s'ppose. &nbsp; well, u know what? &nbsp; last nite, kaela n' i <i>did</i> go somewhere other than pasta pomodoro. &nbsp; @ 1st, when i got home from my class, i thought maybe we should leave sooni @ home n' take a break from italian; maybe hit up a nearby indian or korean joint. &nbsp; it's been so long since we went to a korean restaurant, n' we used to hit up korean restaurants on el camino every single day 4 lunch. &nbsp; what korean places on el camino real would let us bring sooni n' eat outside? &nbsp; i thought maybe 옹고집 onggojip, 난다랑 nandarang... &nbsp; they both have tables outside, but i worry they're just 4 old bizness men to smoke @. <tt>>:-(</tt> i'm sure those ol' 시골뜨기 아줌마 @ 옹고집'd <i>love</i> sooni! &nbsp; (시공띠기 아줌마 = shigolddeugi ajoomma = ol' country bumpkin women) &nbsp; well, kaela really wanted to bring sooni cos she's so cute, n' i had to agree that sooni <i>is</i> so cute. &nbsp; i then suggested we try to hit up some joint in the rivermark. &nbsp; yup, we did. &nbsp; we went to <a href="http://www.piatti.com" target="_blank">piatti</a>. &nbsp; do u know what <a href="http://www.piatti.com" target="_blank">piatti</a> is? &nbsp; well, u know what santana row is, of course; n' santana row has href="http://www.straitscafe.com" target="_blank">straits caf&eacute;</a> n' <a href="http://www.leftbank.com" target="_blank">left bank</a>. &nbsp; <a href="http://www.straitscafe.com" target="_blank">straits caf&eacute;</a> n' <a href="http://www.leftbank.com" target="_blank">left bank</a> both have original locations in ritzy, glitzy palo alto, aka <font color="red">stanf<i>u</i>rd</font> territory. &nbsp; <a href="http://www.piatti.com" target="_blank">piatti</a> is also a restaurant that has an earlier established location in palo alto, but <a href="http://www.piatti.com" target="_blank">piatti</a> aktually currently has 15 locations, so it's now a bigger company than these other 2 restaurants. &nbsp; now that i've made myself sound pretty knowledgeable 'bout bay area cuisine, even the good stuff <i>outside</i>'f sf, n' after i've now aktually <i>visited</i> <a href="http://www.leftbank.com" target="_blank">www.leftbank.com</a>, i can prove to u all that i'm totally bsing, as <a href="http://www.straitscafe.com" target="_blank">straits caf&eacute;</a> doesn't <i>have</i> a palo alto location! &nbsp; their locations r: larkspur, menlo park, pleasant hill, san jos&eacute;, n' san mateo. &nbsp; well, u've gotta admit: those r some really ritzy neighbourhoods!
<p>neway, last nite, the sun didn't set till *shrug* sometime a li'l past 900p. &nbsp; we sat out on the patio'f the rivermark <a href="http://www.piatti.com" target="_blank">piatti</a>. &nbsp; 'twas a bit chilly, but they turned on the patio heater. &nbsp; ppl who walked by n' who couldn't c sooni cos'f the wall blocking their view prob'ly thought we were either really crazy 4 wanting to eat outside on a brisk evening like last nite, or else the restaurant must really discriminate 'gainst ppl like us. heh, well, they don't; i'm just joking. &nbsp; what did we eat? &nbsp; we shared a "warm napa cabbage salad," which had some totally awesome prosciuitto or sumpthin' in it. &nbsp; kaela had this shroom risotti. &nbsp; i s'ppose shroom = funghi. &nbsp; i had this awesome seared ahi, which they warned me would be rare in the middle, to which i assured them would be completely fine w/ me. &nbsp; personally, it's good to eat animal raw now n' then. &nbsp; it's been 2 long since i've had some 육회 yookhwe, n' i'd sure love some sometime. &nbsp; they <i>did</i> have carpaccio on the menu as an appetizer, but i figured i didn't need to go so fancy, u know? &nbsp; we <i>did</i> share a bottle'f fontana pinot grigio tho', if that's 2 fancy 4 u. &nbsp; *shrug* we were 2 full from dinner 4 dessert but had our usual espresso drinks. &nbsp; i hope u know what those r by now. &nbsp; afterwards, we went walked 'round the rivermark. &nbsp; walking 'round the rivermark isn't as nice as walking 'round santana row. &nbsp; they're both pretty hip, trendy places; but santana row's more'f a weekend place, while rivermark's more'f a place u go during lunch as a break from ur hi.tech, silly valley job. &nbsp; we went to the blockbuster there to rent a movie or 2. &nbsp; the blockbuster there isn't a full.sized blockbuster. &nbsp; if u know what <font color="blue">berkeley</font> like, then u know 'bout the 2 blockbusters: the 1 on shattuck n' channing the 1 on durant by telly. &nbsp; the 1'n durant is convenient 4 the hi.rise dorm dwelling university students, but it's a baby blockbuster, not a full.sized blockbuster. &nbsp; it doesn't have a big library'f dvds. &nbsp; this rivermark blockbuster's like that. &nbsp; luckily, the blockbuster near our house is bigger but has longer lines. &nbsp; in that sense, it's like the shattuck blockbuster in <font color="blue">berkeley</font>.
<p>now that we have our own house n' doggy, we cm to be doing more'f these "blocbuster nites" as opposed to doing our "amc moviewatchers" nites. &nbsp; it's aktually <i>cheaper</i> to rent movies than to go to the theatres. <tt>:-/</tt> however, it's nice to be outside now n' then i s'ppose. &nbsp; moreover, we still don't have a nice tv, u know. &nbsp; *shrug* sometimes i wonder if i should've joined that blockbuster rewards club thingy. &nbsp; else, would it be worth it 4 me to do netflix or that monthly blockbuster program? *shrug* well, 1nce korean tv comes back on, we'll spend more'f our tv time on that, i hope. &nbsp; i hope it comes back soon.<br><br><br>