gripes about asians in san francisco:

-do you know what really annoys me? when asians think they can do anything they want on the road. especially ones in expensive cars. for instance, last nite a chinese guy in a mercedes was making an illegal left turn. stuff like this happens everyday and it angers me... asians who double park on crowded streets... parking in the red zone... illegal left turns... i cant' stand it!!! so anyways, behind the mercedes was a cop and he gets pulled over. i was so happy to see that. i was literally shouting at the guy as i drove by. the chinese driver probably will say it wasn't his fault.

-also, while walking back to my car from a restaurant, i saw a rat in one of the chinese dim-sum places on Clement St.

ATTENTION: SWEET DELIGHT DIM-SUM ON CLEMENT ST. HAS RATS.

- yesterday, a store threw out in the dumpster a lot of chinese videos that they no longer wanted. in a real dumpster. it was full. i saw a crowd of 5 or 6 chinese men yelling for joy, scrambling to get as many as they can. they weren't homeless, no, they were actually from the cafe right across the street playing chess with their buddies. but just because they were free videos, they were literally scrambling to get them. from a dumpster. there was ONE white homeless guy probably looking for food, and they pushed him aside.

reasons to move to North Carolina:

1. car insurance is much cheaper. i just got a quote for $380.23 for 6 months. i currently pay $970 for 6 months, and that's just basic coverage.


2. rent. if i wanted to get my own apartment, i could pay $700, and that would be considered high-end expensive. i'm probably going to move into a 2 bdrm with a housemate, and my rent is expected to be around $300 dollars. this is within a mile from campus.


3. i can park on campus, right in front of my building.


4. tax is only 6%.


5. no more annoying asians.


6. there are going to be no asians, so i'll probably be considered "exotic" by all those hot southern blonde belles.


7. hot southern blonde belles.


8. fresh, non-polluted air.


9. hot southern blonde belles.


10. now i get to taste what a real southern bbq tastes like


11. hot southern blonde belles.

I guess it is finalized. Wake Forest in the Fall. I am going to be a Demon Deacon.

people seem to have issues with my posting about non-english speaking people living in the country. i don't think they understand that i meant people who cannot speak english at ALL. accents, slurs, whatever, that's fine as long as you can speak and people can understand you. it is also acceptable when you have just immigrated and are trying to learn the language. what is not acceptable is if you have been living in this country for a long time, over 10 years, and you still cannot communicate at all to others outside your race. i'm sorry, but i think that is horrible. i see people all the time that own businesses and do not speak a single word of english (especially in chinatown). i can go to a restaurant, and it takes a very long time for the waiter to understand that i want a glass of water. i have even seen grocery store owners cuss at a russian lady for not knowing how to read chinese. "THIS LADY IS CRAZY! THIS LADY IS CRAZY!" she shouted to the entire store. the old lady left saying "I just wanted to know how much this orange costs..." i really believe that the united states needs to enforce it's citizens to learn english and make it the official language. call me communist, but i think it's essential to keep the country as a whole.
my freshman year in college, there was an initiative to make english the official language of california and it would require kids to learn. i used to think, "that's terrible! this is america! there is no official language, cuz it's the country of freedom!" but man, after experiencing so many horror stories all because i couldn't communicate with a fellow citizen, i would push for it.

my old history teacher from high school was right when he said that "the United States is not a melting pot, it's a salad bowl." you have so many cultures in the country, which really makes it great. but when you have all these cultures that do not mix, what do you get? you have division and separation. the asians only live and hang out with other asians, blacks with blacks, latinos with latinos, arabians... etc...this country is becoming more and more divided and i don't like the way it is headed. how can we called a united country when we can't even order a glass of water in a business? people need to learn a single language where we can all live as one. english, spanish, watever. i really believe it's language that can keep people together or separate them apart. i guess the best example of this would be the Tower of Babel.

this country is great in that we can all live peacefully with different cultures and races. but are we really unified with each other if we never interact and do not even have the means to? for now, maybe, but the problem can become much worse.

aileen graduated on sunday. her entire family from her father's side was there, and it was a pretty tense time for me. i was definitely scared. pictures will be up soon, as soon as i figure out whether i should subscribe to pbase or not (23 dollars a year for 100MB ain't bad... but thinking about getting my own webhost). oh, and the video of aileen's name being called will also be posted - a definite must see. the person calls aileen's name "aileen Rye-SHOOL" and the aileen's reaction is quite funny. all on video, thanks to my nifty digital camera.

also, decided to take advantage of the great day and went for a bike ride with my roommate art. he's really into biking, and really good at it. i have not ridden a bike since high school, let alone own a bike. we biked 16 miles... that is quite a feat for me. from my house, along the coast up to golden gate park, through golden gate park, and back around, but circling lake merced on the way back. CRAZY. by the end of the ride, i couldn't even feel my HANDS. how sad is that, i got so tired biking that my hands went numb. but it was a great feeling and i would want to do it again. i was cramping, sweating, struggling the whole way. art didn't even break a sweat. he let me borrow his biking shoes, with these special attachments that clip on to the pedals, and his helmet which had a little rear-view mirror attached to it. all i could see was my face... struggling. we also managed to get a person a ticket, because a guy didn't stop for us at the crosswalk almost hitting art, and a cop saw the whole thing. quite humorous, cuz art felt bad but i sure didn't. stupid asian drivers... i mean, all the OTHER cars were stopped... get a clue.

afterwards, we went to superior and ate some nice chinese food. we were treated so well - we had an order of clams on the house and i drank an entire pitcher of water because i was still cramping and dehydrated. also, while i was in the bathroom going pee, i was using the stall instead of the urinal because someone was already using it. interestingly enough, there were no paper towels left, so after the other guy washed his hands, he entered the stall with me and took some toilet paper WHILE I WAS STILL GOING PEE. that was quite scary. i was definitely in shock.

what's annoying: Fobs who have lived in this country for a long time, and still can't speak english. it really irritates me. maybe i'll give them the bird too.

one way i have changed is becoming more independent and sticking up for myself - letting my voice be heard. sotto voce to grande voce. well, not grande, but somewhere in between. (remember sotto voce from adam sandler's operaman skit on SNL? classic.) i think i wrote about being non-confrontational before... okay, yes, i did on 5.7.2001... almost exactly 2 years ago(btw, the "friend" is aileen). so basically, through aileen, i have become more confrontational. she always told me to speak up for myself more, and i think it's a characteristic that i really needed to develop. especially if i'm going to business school i guess. so i have been taking some bold moves out of my comfort zone to let it be known to strangers that i am pissed... be confrontational.

but lately, i think i have been taking it too far.

one thing that really irritates me are the drivers in california. people for some reason think they belong on the left lane of the freeway when they should either be on the right lane or taking the subway or bus. it really irritates me to know that traffic just starts because of slow drivers in the front of the pack. another thing that irritates me is how selfish drivers can be. last week, a person almost caused an accident with me because she didn't want to let me in her lane when another car was entering the freeway into my lane and not yielding. basically, i was on a collision course, and i needed to switch lanes really quick. i couldn't brake because another car was tailgating me, and if i breaked suddenly, there would be a rear-ending. this is on the 280, where the minimum speed limit is 80 mph. there was no way that i was going to slam on the brakes. i put my left turn signal on, and what does the car do in that lane? speed up of course, because they think that letting me in her lane will cause her to be late going to an appointment or something... when it's just one car. so i don't really have a choice because the car is coming really fast, so i just swerve into the lane anyways seriously missing hitting either car by like a few inches (i'm sure everyone has been in a situation like this before... two cars that are basically merging into one lane - but next to each other instead of behind or in front). the car that wouldn't let me in of course starts honking and cussing me off. i was extremely irate, so what did i do? i honked back to a car BEHIND me, and what's worse, i flicked them off. yes, i gave them the middle finger. my first time ever. i have never flicked anyone off before, well, maybe my friends in high school as a joke, but in a serious manner, never. for some strange reason afterwards, i felt that i should be proud. but honestly, it was not satisfying at all. first of all, my whole hand kind of hurt when i did it because my finger rarely stretches in that position, and second, i don't even like it that much. it's boring and it honestly doesn't really affect me when people do it to me. i just think it's funny. but yeah, needless to say, i was still angry after the incident and i think that flicking someone off didn't help at all. as a matter of fact, i felt really guilty. next time, i'm just gonna honk (a lot) and pretend to be cussing at them.

i told aileen about it, and of course, she was not pleased.

road rage... i never thought i'd have it, but i guess the jersey in me finally broke out.

Passengers sucked out of plane

I always thought the worst way to die would be by drowning or crucifixion. But now, I think dying by getting sucked out of a plane would be really really bad. I mean, imagine... you get sucked out of a plane at 30,000 feet knowing that you are going to hit the ground. can you imagine just floating up there? watching the ground come to you? on impact, you won't feel pain, but man, how much does that suck?

i remember reading "Flight of the Bumblebee (or some book with the words bumblebee)" and the book ends with these two kids who commit suicide by launching their go-cart off the top of this building. but they never feel the ground because they just kept flying and flying - their spirits that is. they look back, and their dead bodies are on the ground, but they never experience that. if anything, that would be an awesome way to go.

but to just get sucked out of a plane and watching the ground come closer to you when you are at terminal velocity... man, talk about "terminal" velocity...i just shuddered.

Study finds that the percentage donated is lowest in Santa Clara County.

Says John Hayes, a fund-raising executive for the charity's Golden State Division: "I can't say it's because they are more tight or more stingy. I'm not sure why."

I'll tell you why John Hayes. It's cuz the Cheap Chinese that live in the area. I hate to stereotype, but the Chinese are by far the stingiest race. Not to say that Koreans suck even more, but Chinese... man, they cheap.

the OFFICIAL can-pj-not-sign-on-AIM website!

DAY 8, 23 MORE DAYS TO GO

updates:

• lillian chickens out of the bet
  
• i'll take pj out to Tony Roma's for dinner if he can do it.
  
• tommy, if pj wins, i'm going to take you out at the same time. i want to get together.
  

okay. so i haven't really written about my own Christian issues lately, but that is not to say that I haven't been thinking about them. stop laughing. okay, fine you got me (especially aileen and pj). in any case, something that i wonder about is CityChurch's weekly communion. i guess i'm used to doing communion like 4 times a year, and it would be a really big deal at KCPC. we would devote entire lessons just about communion and why it is so important, what it means, etc. at CityChurch, it is done weekly because they believe it is important that it should be done everyweek to remind us of our commitment to God and what Christ has done for us. so what's the problem? the problem is, i take communion really seriously and sometimes i feel that my heart isn't into it so i refrain from partaking some weeks. in college, i would spend the the nights before the communion preparing myself for it, praying that i would be ready. paul wrote in 1 Cor. 11:

27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

so again, what's the problem? that's good that i don't partake when i have not prepared, right? i guess my issue is that i don't want to fall into the trap that it's just a weekly ritual that loses it's meaning rather than a very important one that should be taken with the utmost severity. so yeah, i guess that's my main problem. people at my church who are doing it just cuz.

saw X2 over the weekend. it was a great great movie. i think that putting the new Matrix 2 trailer also helped everyone like the movie more. but X2 was a great great movie.

also went to visit janette and she gave a tour of her work, the animal facilities at lawrence hall of science. if you want to watch videos of aileen and the cutest chinchilla brutus, aileen handling a snake, and janette handling a huge boa constrictor, click here (please right click the movie and do "save target as")

bets are on!

pj has decided to go on an AIM fast for a month! i probably don't know anyone more active in the world of online chat than he is.
anyone care to place any wagers? i say he can't do it and i'm willing to put dinner on it.

EDIT: okay, before i owe like 30 people dinner, i'm saying i'll bet against pj ALONE unless you specify you want to place a bet against me. AKA, if peter, i mean, WHEN peter comes online to talk on AIM he is going to owe me a dinner alone. if pj's computer dies out for some reaon till june 9th, i'm going to owe him a dinner ALONE. the only condition is if you specify you want to take that bet against me - otherwise people (especially cheap chinese and kcpc people) are gonna be like, hey man i took that bet but just didn't tell you.

some people only see things in "black and white" while others see things in color, or as i like to call them, "shady." i am definitely a monochrome kinda guy, and that brings numerous problems especially when you are involved in any kind of relationship with a 'shady' person. to "black and white" people, yes means yes and no means no. to "shady" people, yes means 'maybe, i'll try' and no means 'maybe.' this is evidenced most in terms of being punctual. for example, you set a date with someone, type 1 is the "black and white" person and type 2 is the "shady" person.

type 1: hey, let's meet up tomorrow.
type 2: sure, on the corner of 5th and main at 6 pm?
type1: you sure at 6?
type 2: yes, at 6.

the next day, type 1 is at the meeting place at 6, and finally 6:20 rolls around and type 2 shows up.

to type 1, 6 meant 6. to type 2, 6 meant AROUND 6. so what happens? type 1 ends up wasting time waiting for type 2, and probably a little annoyed. say they meet up several times, where type 2 is often late. will type 1 think type 2 is reliable? the answer is no. just because he can never be on time, type 2 will not be as easily trusted regardless of what it is.

if type 2 had said "i'll try to make it at 6 but i might be a little late" the situation could have been drastically different. the person could have still been reliable. however, they confirmed at 6, and still showed up at 620. to me, that's unreliable - especially if they do it multiple times.

so some might say that being punctual does not mean a person is not reliable. people who usually say that are usually the 'shady' ones themselves, i might add. i say that being punctual may not necessarily mean that person is not reliable, but from past experiences, it is a definite indicator for me and should be at least a warning sign to others. now mind you, everyone can be late from time to time, but constantly? only the unreliable are like that. from my experience, those who are not punctual are usually the ones that break appointments, dates, and even promises.

now when someone can't keep a promise, that is one thing that really irks me. i guess "its was how i was raised." a promise is a promise, no matter what scale it is. to other people, those who see things in color, there are different levels of promises and it's okay to break the unimportant ones. when i make a promise, i do my best to keep it and make it a priority. clashes would happen where i would say "but you promised!" and the other person would say "dude, it's only ___________ (insert trivial act here, i.e. going to walk in the park)... chill out!" now obviously, it may not be a big deal to go take a walk in the park/go shopping/feed my goldfish, but what if i was really looking forward to it? what if i made plans around it? what if i had gone through a lot to prepare for it? what if i turned down a hot date with kirsten dunst because i promised to give you a ride to the airport, and then you find your own ride? obviously, one party has the potential to get slapped around while the other feels no effects at all. to me, people who cannot keep promises are people who always put themselves first before anyone or anything else.


so after all this stream of consciousness, what the hell is my point? my points are:
1) i see things in black and white and have problems trusting people who are never on time.
2) if you don't think you can keep your word, then don't ever promise. it leads people on.