i just felt an earthquake...lasted a second, maybe, but still a good jolt. sat in my chair...still sitting in my chair. my parents are in the house, nothing said, nothing done...so blase. weird...

in the past two days, i've had some pretty random encounters. yesterday night, art and i went to shilla buffet (on vermont and wilshire) 'cuz my mom got a dinner certificate from one of her kids' parents. art and i went together, so we planned on using the certificate and just paying for one person...we walk in, and it's pretty empty, so the first thing i notice is the waiters all looking at us...one in particular looked semi-familiar, but i didn't really think anything of it. later, he comes by, and he recognized us...one of the youth group guys from knhpc back in high school...all growns up! i don't think i've seen him in almost 7 years...crazy. he's now going to college and plans to become an architect...i feel old. anyways, he paid for our dinner, which was really, really nice of him, and we exchanged numbers.

then today was my day off for work and school, so my dad and i went to have lunch with my mom by her school. afterwards, my mom had to go back to school, and my dad and i went to hk market to pick up some things. i was immersed in the list that my mom gave us, when i heard my name...mike was apparently getting some kimbop for lunch and was running by...random. he was in a rush, so i just introduced him to my dad and he ran off.

then, just now i was working on my brother's computer doing some homework, when someone imed, thinking it was art...justin hwang, who i haven't seen in ages. he's down here now working, but i dunno if art's hung out with him yet. anyways, i just explained and we left off pretty much just saying that we'd probably run into each other sometime soon...

one of these days, i'm gonna pretend that i'm art...though i know art's im style is really different from mine. it'd probably be very obvious.

sorry for the length of the previous blog...i realize that i'm a blog binger...don't write for a while, but when i do, it's crazy...

anyways, i just had a good time on saturday, which is why i wanted to capture it...susan and i were talking after the tournament, and we were just saying how much fun we have playing volleyball with the team...we have a pretty good team dynamic 'cuz though we're semi-competitive, we don't get down on each other when we're not doing well. it's all about having fun playing..and we really enjoy hanging out off the court, too...

so i've been trying to work out a little bit more. on saturdays, callista and i try to meet up and go walking/jogging. the first week, i was a bit afraid for my back, so we just walked a few miles at la cienega park. the second week, we decided to jog a bit, so we walked a bit to warm up, then i jogged a mile, then walked a few more laps...hating it!! it was so hard just to do one stinking mile. two days later (like clockwork-i get delayed soreness), my legs were soooo sore. boy, did i feel out of shape.

this past saturday, i couldn't meet up with callista 'cuz susan invited beektory to her church denomination volleyball tournament. art, hubert, and i met up with susan and her church at this national park in irwindale from 8 in the morning to 6 in the evening. we started off a little shaky, losing out first match (at least it went to three games and the scores were pretty close), but we went undefeated from that point on. yup, we won first place! i think we played about 7 matches in all. toward the end, i was so exhausted, and all i was doing was passing! the last match, it was seriously art and hubert going strong that won it, 'cuz it was so evident that most of us on our side and everyone on the other team was really, really tired. but i was standing there watching art and hubert hit and block over and over again, and i was just thinking, "good thing they're still okay 'cuz i'm barely standing up back here." i mean, they were tired, too, but they were still so awesome!

i hafta say, art, hubert, and susan were awesome as always, but everyone on the team was really good. there was this other passer next to me who basically never played volleyball, but he ended up getting served more than me, and his passing was excellent. and the back row, which usually doesn't see much action in a 9-man team, really stepped it up for some clutch plays.

and susan's church is so great! we met a lot of the kids and the adults, and they were so nice to us. and her kids are soooo cute. there was a point where arthur's legs started cramping up, and the adults were so concerned, offering acupuncture, and the kids were all massaging him and stuff. and then one time i kinda hurt my wrist a little, and this pastor kept on giving me this handkerchief he soaked in ice water to wrap around my wrist during our breaks...so nice! and susan's kids are sooo cute. at every time out and after every game, they would give us water and try to cater to our needs. we had some "espn moments" where the kids would rush the court after we won some of the matches. they gave us all nicknames...art was "secret weapon," hubert was "shotgun," and i was "evolution." (okay, secret weapon and shotgun i understand, but evolution? i guess it sounds kinda cool...hehe).

the other thing that i really liked about our team was that we didn't stack it the way a lot of other teams did...we played some junior high kids, while most of the other teams had mostly college kids and adults. also, all the other teams had pretty much the minimum two girls, usually stuck in the back row, doing nothing but serving (although there was this one ahjoomah we played against that was really good serve receive/defense...she even dug art up a few times). we had three, one in the back, me in the middle for serve receive, and susan setting...she was the only girl setter in the whole tournament. but then, she's that good. then, most team had more guys up front (because they had a guy setter), so they were sometimes able to put four blockers up, usually about 3 went up on hubert in the middle. we had three guys up front only, with susan hanging back for defense, but we still blocked really, really well, and most teams couldn't stop art and hubert with their blocks. so anyways, all this just to say that i love that we won without doing the typical things to milk all the advantages of playing 9-man...

so pilgrim got first place, and we won a 27 inch tv and some really nice crystal trophies. hubert and art were named mvp, and they got their own trophy and a portable cd player + car kit (with the price tag still on it...59.99...not too shabby) ;p

it was a good day to play...hot at times, but otherwise, a pretty nice day. the only thing was, we literally watched smoke coming over the mountains and head toward us...those wildfires. during the second to last game, i started realizing that it hurt a bit to breathe in deep...but i asked hubert and susan if they felt anything, and they said no...art said that he felt it at the very end...kinda scary...

the church treated us to dinner afterwards, and then susan, hubert, and i headed over to susan's place, where we met up with art, michele, eric (michele's friend), eunice, and jenny. (we had to call eunice on the way over to share the news - she couldn't make the tournament 'cuz she was studying for the upcoming cpa exam) since susan, hubert, and eunice hadn't seen it, we watch matrix reloaded...after wrestling with susan's tv to hook up the dvd player for about 30 minutes. susan, of couse, fell asleep, but woke up for the architect scene...

then we just hung out and talked...got home at around 2:30. 'cuz of daylight savings, we thought of it as 1:30...

i recently had problems with sound and spirit (the christian branch of bmg) 'cuz i'd try to log on to their website to decline the monthly selection, and it wouldn't let me on...i dunno if i just didn't remember my password, which might have been the case, but i'm pretty sure i tried the right one, but the stupid thing about it is that they didn't have one of those "forgot your password?" options, and when you tried their website, there was not way to contact them or figure out what to do. (they have a help option, but the button doesn't navigate anywhere.) so finally, i responded to one of their generic advertising e-mails and crossed my fingers. i actually got a response, which surprised me, and they basically told me that i have to make a new on-line account, yada, yada, yada. so all's well in wellville (an expression that i borrowed from my co-worker), but when i went to decline this month's selection, i couldn't get in again...did i choose a different password when i made the new account? anyways, now, when you can't get in, they have something new similar to the "forgot your password?" option...so it's all good, but i was just thinking...i wonder if they created that because of me...

yes, the world revolves around me.

argh! another case in point (refer to two blogs before)

today i woke up and decided to do some homework in the house on art's computer...and i locked myself out of my back house and the main house. thankfully, i had my phone with me, so i called art, and he was (God's provision) on his way home from church. so i only ended up being locked out of the house for about 5 minutes.

i think there may be something seriously wrong with me...

i'm going to urbana...

i've been kinda thinking about it for a while, going back and forth, but i just decided to go for it...just bought the plane tickets and paid the registration fee. still feeling a bit unsure, but sometimes i find i need to just go forward and commit myself before i'm a 100% certain. if i waited to be 100% certain about everything i do, i'd never get anything accomplished...i'm that indecisive.

sometimes i'm so absent-minded i worry myself. recently, with work and school and everything else, i've been feeling like i'm a little past my limit of what i can handle...just in terms of keeping things (activities, assignments, etc.) straight. back in college and grad school, i used a planner to list all those things, but though i have one now, i'm not using it the way i used to and it doesn't seem to be as helpful...

case in point: beektory has been meaning to crash at susan's new place since she moved. so i started e-mailing (inviting ourselves all over in the process...sorry, susan), and we eventually settled on monday (which i had suggested b/c others said that night would be okay)...yesterday, i looked at my planner and realized that i had already made plans to see a movie with vanessa...when i told eunice, i said, "i'm so stupid, i forgot that i had plans already, but i'm going to try to work it out, yada, yada," and she - i hope it was 'cuz she was disappointed - exclaimed, "you're so stupid!" ;p yup, i've been feeling it...

at any rate, i talked to vanessa, and we're probably going to postpone...

yesterday i hung out with lyn for her birthday...that was back in june. okay, let me explain...i told her that i wanted to take her to the producers for her birthday, and because we could never settle on a date, and i didn't want to get the tickets through ticketmaster (they charge so much! i figured i might as well save some money and just go by the pantages theatre since it's only about 20 minutes away...but i kept on forgetting or not making box office hours), we didn't end up going until yesterday night.

so anyways, we went to chinese for dinner (lyn was craving), and then headed over to hollywood and vine for the show. it was hilarious! and martin short and jason alexander were so cute as the producers...they're so little - all the showgirls towered over them - but they definitely had their own touch to the roles (martin short's spasms and voices and dancing), had amazing singing voices...the whole cast was really, really good. and it's a mel brooks musical, so it was definitely funny...

afterwards, lyn had this hollywood party she had to make an appearance at...she's interning at a production company right now, and one of the executives was having a birthday party at his house. talk about feeling out of place. lyn kinda dressed up for it, so i thought i should a little, too, and everyone was in jeans and a top...very casual...i felt overdressed. then, i met some of lyn's friends, and i was at least two years older than all of them...and in talking to them, i realized that though some of the party-attenders might have come just to have fun, a lot of them were also there to network and meet people to further their careers (they're all aspiring actors, screenwriters, directors, etc.)...it's all about schmoozing, which i guess is necessary for that industry, but it just seems...i dunno...

i guess the highlight of the party was recognizing some actors...a few that i knew looked familiar but i don't know their names, and then shane west...that was weird. actually, one of lyn's friends from work went to high school with him, so that was his/our in, i guess. we were in a small crowded room with him and some of his friends, and for a while, our backs were pretty much brushing up against each other...then outside, he asked us if we had a light...oooh, so cool. (you know i'm being sarcastic, right?)

it's kinda funny...everytime people would ask me what i do, i'd tell them grad school, then they'd ask for what, and i'd answer public health...a good conversation-stopper in that environment. a few brave people asked me in more detail, but then i'd just feel really awkward talking about prevention of disease, research, and all that stuff. it was such a surreal experience...

on wednesday i went to study with cal and vanessa again...went to mani's bakery, and they gave us free dessert - this banana tart that was really yummy. this is a recurring theme...

on monday, i finally felt like a student again...i think i've complained to each of the two people who read this page, but i've been feeling more like i'm still just working than like i'm a student. anyways, i went with callista and vanessa to barnes and noble at the grove and studied there for about 3 hours. had a good time and actually got a lot done. when we left, the other stores in the grove were closed, so it had that late-night-studying feel...didn't realize how much i missed that.

so this is how my schedule's been...i work full days on mondays and wednesdays, then on tuesdays and thursdays, i work in the morning, and go to school in the afternoon. fridays off, baby!
though i hafta say, tuesdays and thursdays are pretty crazy. i get out of work around 12:15ish just to make sure i get to school on time, but it doesn't leave me enough time to eat lunch. i always plan on eating at my desk at work, but for the past coupla times, something's always come up that has me running around right before i leave. the good thing, though, is that i went to costco and got those campbell's soup on the go thingies, and they're actually pretty good to drink in the car. i didn't even know how useful they would be when i bought them...thank goodness! (the thing is, i remember seeing commercials for it on tv and thinking, what a stupid thing to do...what is campbell's doing, who's going to drink soup like that? eating my...um, thoughts?)
other than that, i'm totally still in my work mode...i'm not used to studying when i get home, and i still feel like i should be able to veg and waste away my time the way i usually do...gotta refocus and get on track. i'm already a little behind...and it's only the second week!