수요일 아침: 1 more day till the depeche mode concert. i wish i weren't so bizzy w/ werk n' that i had the time i had when i was a kid to get fully excited 'bout this. i mean, yah, i am excited, but man... back when i was a kid, i had time to get really excited, u know? *sigh* it makes u question why we ever grew up, eh? yesterday, the beautiful kaela hwang told me that she dropped her nice sony vaio laptop n' the monitor's got a prob. *sigh* i'm sure it'll ¢o$t like $500 or more to fix. it sucks that w/ so many things, u pay sooo much to get them fixed. i hate that! it's kapitalisme/consumerism @ its worst. companies just want u to keep buying new things n' never getting ur existing things fixed. it sucks! it's unenvironmental! it's frustrating that she keeps breaking n' losing things. it makes me think we should buy only the most rugged elektronics 4 her. then 'gain, there's a prob w/ elektronics 2day: there's not 'nuff mechanical engineering in them... so produkts rn't built rugged 'nuff n' they rn't serviceable 'nuff etc. sucks, sucks, $u¢k$. kaela lost her ipod mini back in washington, dc. she hadn't owned it 4 very long.
2nite, i hope to hit up the 730p turbo kick box (tkb) class @ the e. arques 24 hr fitness aktive. i could instead go to the 700p turbo kick box (tkb) class @ the fremont ave 24 hr fitness sport; but i doubt i'll get out'f werk in time 4 that. i dunno... i like the idea'f going to more fitness classes now that i'm @ 24 hr fitness. i think they'll help keep exercise fun. also, i think they'll help me werkout @ a good pace. 2 often, when i werkout on my own, i'm inefficient or lazy. i realised on mon nite @ 24 hr fitness, that over the past few months, while only werking out @ my werk.com gym, i'd been werking out amongst ppl who just rn't as fit as the ppl i was 'round @ 24 hr fitness. the atmosephere @ this club, from what i saw on mon nite, is a li'l interesting. like @ the capitol expwy bally that kaela n' i used to go to, it was a bit'f an asian or latino meat market, w/ lots'f ppl who looked like they were single ppl there just to meet/watch other single ppl. @ the hamilton ave bally, we saw more serious athletes n' fitness types. on mon nite, i saw sort'f a combination'f the 2: a lot'f fit single ppl who looked like they were just there to watch other fit single ppl. however, later in the nite, i saw more'f the out'f shape ppl come in. it's kind'f interesting. it's like there r shifts. earlier in the evening, many'f those folks looked like the young single ppl i c @ grx. kaela n' i saw 1 guy who was aktually wearing a grx t.shirt, but i was very sure many, many more'f those young, asian ppl were grx regulars. i know that, in a good n' not as good way, grx has a rep as being a place 4 young, single asians. however, i hope the fakt that i'm leading a couples small grp sort'f balances that out, u know?
[later] argh, my 'puter froze, so i restartd it (hard reset) n' lost a bit'f text here. neway... it wasn't much.
last nite, i went w/ sooni to taekwondo praktice, but kaela didn't come. lemme emphasize 'gain that mark n' i r teaching a adult beginners class, starting in june! plz come n/or tell ur friends to come. it's s'pposed to be $200 4 10 wks, including 도복 dobok (uniform).
kaela n' i've been watching the mbc drama 내사랑 팥쥐 (nae sarang patzzi) (my love patzzi) (starring 장나라jang nara) on dvd, thanks to roland. it's a bit'f an older miniseries but of course still fun. it reminds me'f the kbs miniseries loving you (starring 김유진 kim yoojin [eugene kim]'f s.e.s.). "유치하게 yoochihagei" = "childish, juvenile."
[later] man's best friend: u know, i wish i could express to u in wurds the joys'f dog ownership. i'm happy when i come home n' sooni's so happy to c me. i think almost all dog owners experience this. dogs r very social animals, as they say. sooni's a great dog.
[later] 오후: its depeche mode wk here @ the beno journal. here r some lyrics to commemorate 2morrow's concert:
"precious" by depeche mode
precious and fragile things we always try to share things get damaged angels with silver wings if god has a master plan things get damaged i pray you learn to trust things get damaged
need special handling
my god what have we done to you?
the tenderest of care
now look what we have put you through
things get broken
i thought we'd manage
but words left unspoken
left us so brittle
there was so little left to give
shouldn't know suffering
i wish i could take the pain for you
that only he understands
i hope it's your eyes he's seeing through
things get broken
i thought we'd manage
but words left unspoken
left us so brittle
there was so little left to give
have faith in both of us
and keep room in your hearts for two
things get broken
i thought we'd manage
but words left unspoken
left us so brittle
there was so little left to give
during my lunchbrk, i went to a spin class @ the nearby 24 hr fitness. it's really close to my office. it felt great. afterwards, i picked up a 6" coldcut sandwich meal to go from the nearby korean subway, where julie used to werk. [later] in that same area is the haircutting place that took off all my hair. i do badly need 'nother haircut asap. i need to set a deadline, when if i don't get a haircut from kaela by that date, i'll just pay 4 1.
[later] beno the revelator: the depeche mode track "john the revelator" from their most recent playing the angel album criticises the modern day christian church. check out this mildly interesting online article: http://www.stillspeaking.com/arts/music/110705.html on some somewhat interesting site called "god is still speaking" (http://www.stillspeaking.com/default.htm) put up by the "united church of christ," some group i don't know much 'bout. is it a good group? bad group? i dunno. (i can't tell if they're either a "seeker friendly" church or a cult. *shrug* i hope they're just a good grp.) i church that belongs to this denomination is fccb in berkeley. from the pic on their website, i recognise their bldg. it's that bldg that looks like a train station. i think they're a legitamate church, yes. neway... how do i as a christian feel 'bout lines like "he's stealing a god from the israelites, stealing a god from a muslim too"? well, i do agree that it's funny how ppl'f 1 religious grp can be so antogonistik 'gainst ppl'f 'nother relgious grp, when well... some'd think we'd get 'long better cos 'least we're not atheists! rt?! "there is only one god, through and through" is the next line in the song. well, if i were to say, 'aw, it doesn't matter what religion u choose, they're all the same,' most christians'd label me as way 2 liberal n' maybe think i'm some kind'f gnostik or sumpthin', n' i'm not a gnostik... nor am i an agnostik. i did buy n' started reading anne lamott's plan b: further thoughts on faith. as much as i hate the term "liberal christian" cos it's so inaccurate, i guess most ppl'd call anne lamott a "liberal christian" cos she does go to a christian church n' does write 'bout the christian faith, but i think she sed she attends a church w/ a lesbian pastor n' she talks 'bout native amerikan religions, etc. am i kewl w/ that? well, personally, yah, i'm kewl w/ that. i don't c her book in berean, the christian bookstore; so i can only assume that many christians rn't kewl w/ that. oh well... neway, i have a religion. i believe in the christian bible. as u know, 1'f my best friends from college is an indian muslim. @ times, he's been more'f a muslim n' @ times, he's been really against his family's traditional faith. however, in the end, he cms to have decided to go w/ it. he still 'least goes thru the motions, n' i suspekt he really does believe in his family's religion. sure, as a christian, i wish he also believed in my christian bible, but... *shrug* in the end, should i hate his religion more than the absence'f religion or even satanism? should i hate atheism? i dunno; i s'ppose the answer i'd come to from my berkeleyism is that i don't need to hate ne belief system. ok... well, that, in a way 's an empty statement, cos i could easily plug in "dislike" 4 "hate," n' then i would no longer be "hatin'" but just disliking, n' there ain't nuthin wrong w/ disliking, rt? "playa hatahs" get a bad rap in hip hop songs, but u never hear much criticism'f "player dislikers," rt? :-p yah, u know? i feel like in recent decades christians r always being pitted 'gainst some media.created opponent. what's the opposite'f christianity? sometimes the media sez it's political liberalism. sometimes the media sez it's homo$exuality. sometimes the media sez it's commuism. sometimes, the media sez it's islam. sometimes, the media sez it's satanism. sometimes, the media sez it's atheism. sometimes, the media sez it's judaism. perhaps, growing up asian.am, the opposite'f christianity's buddhism. after all, "santa doesn't leave presents under the bodhi tree!" (plz visit http://www.snpp.com/episodes/DABF02 immediately if u don't know 'bout "she of little faith," simpsons episode dabf02!) when i was in hi skool, i went w/ the leland hi skool amnesty int'l student chapter to watch the oakland interfaith gospel choir sing. i think they sang @ de anza college's flint center, but i 4get. well, neway... i'll tell u this: in a way, i guess i feel a li'l more "akin" to "the israelite and a muslim too" cos in a way we worship a god. sumpthin' i say 'bout relgion is "u've gotta putchur chips somewhere." "reach out and touch faith"*: it's been said that "it's called faith cos u can't c it w/ ur eyes." it takes faith to be a christian, a satanist, a muslim... n', if u ask me, it takes faith to be an atheist! how does the athesit "know" god doesn't exist? it takes faith... n' well, can i say 'lot is @ stake in that bet? there's a somewhat trite bumper sticker that reads, "if you're living like there's no god, you'd better be right." it's trite but true. i guess modern american christianity's obsession w/ finding an antichristianity lies in exposing false prophets. i'm sure many christians'd say that i spew false prophecy cos'f my tolerance, but i insist that i don't. @ some pt, yah, u' just have to put ur chips down somewhere n' take a stand. an ol' friend sam whom i haven't cn in almost a decade who was my intervarsity christian fellowship small group leader called himself a "fundamentalist" but not in the way the media uses the term. he sed was a "fundamentalist" cos he sticks only to the basic truths presented in the bible, not the political b.s. that the media or politicians have added.
* that's a line from depeche mode's "personal jesus."