New post on old event

Just had an all you can eat Jap food dinner, and I feel bloated and obese. So, I figured I would write about an incident that occured weeks ago.

It started out when a highschool friend (whom I shall call "Jorge" to mask his/her true identity) sent me a testimony on one of those online friend-network sites. It was a rap testimony, so I wrote one back to this individual. Minutes later, I checked my friend's page to see if it's up. I notice there's a rap testimony for Jorge from his friend, so I read it. (I shall name this friend's friend "Beatrice" to mask his/her true identity) Beatrice said in her rap that Jorge copied her rhymes, so I went to Beatrice's page to see what Jorge copied.

And what do I find, but MY rhymes copied as well! Jorge stated in his testimony to Beatrice that he did indeed copy her rhymes as a joke, but made no comment about stealing my lines. Furious, since having my work stolen has always been my fear because I'm such an arrogant kid who thinks my rhymes are worth stealing, I sent Jorge another rhyming testimony saying how he used my rhymes without my permission.

But it all ended well. It turned out Jorge saved all the online rap battles he ever had, and reuses his own rhymes every now and then. That I can understand, because I do the same thing. Jorge had accidentally saved my lines in his own folder and mistakenly believed that he was the writer of those rhymes. Once rebuked by me, he apologized immediately and asked Beatrice to remove his testimony. What a nice guy/girl he/she is behind all that gangsta rapper image he/she tries to present.

You're probably wondering what the raps were, but seeing as I'm a paranoid person, I refuse to post my rhymes on a public site where anyone can access and steal. Another reason is because Jorge's lines contain profanity which I refuse to post on my blog.

Long Weekend - Continued

Said I'd write more about the past weekend, so I'll give this another try.

Day 2 (Again)
Let's rewind it back to before the practice commenced. At Harding, there were climbers, slides, swings, and such by the baseball diamond. Being the dumb, brave, and immature late teen I am, I went down a slide improperly. I went down two slides that were connected simultaneously. It was shaped like a W with the bottoms flat instead of pointed - |_|_|. I slid down the slides with a foot on each side, but lost balance at the foot of the angled metal. I sat down hard on the dividing ridge, and it creeped in between my bottom much too close for comfort. In fact, I had a splitting pain around my iliac area, all the way down to the coccyx. Had a good laugh. Or at least Gummi did.
Moving on to practice, we had two players coming to practice for the first time, so we did a brief intro of the players again, and soon proceeded to a game of follow the leader, Sam Hui style. In addition to actions, the leader must make verbal outbursts as well. Angie was selected to be the spotter of the leader, and was escorted away by Bobs. Then we found out that it was a joke on Angie, because it was her special day. The plan was that I be the leader to start off. I was supposed to shout and stuff and everyone would follow. Gummi suggested I do Johnny's "Ultimate D," which involved the waving of both arms in the air like limp noodles and swaying the cranium like a rock on top of a limp noodle. Gummi also suggested I say "Ultimate D! Ultimate D!" as I swayed, which I did. It didn't go too smoothly however, since I was the first to say the phrase and I was caught immediately. My voice is pretty recognizable, too, which didn't help.
So I was off to be the next spotter, and Angie was chosen to be the new leader of the group. After a few minutes, I was called back, and Karin was hiding from the rest of the team far away with a candled-cupcake in hand, whispering to me to tell Sam and them to hurry up. I got in the centre of the circle with my back to Angie, thinking she would start the actions/shouting if I didn't look at her. That didn't go well either. The plan was that the group would count to 3 and everyone would start doing their thang at the same time. At least that's what Angie was to believe. But in fact, the team was to remain silent, leaving Angie the only one to do something dumb and obscene. She didn't start, however, when she noticed that no one moved on the count of 3. Took a few tries, but when she did say something, others joined in as well, which ruined the whole thing. Bob made some suggestions that went against the plan, but we later found out that he didn't even know it was a plan to surprise Angie.
Anyway, that was that, not much else worth blogging about concerning practice. Gary picked up me and Gums after the practice to surprise Janette at her place. The plan, as far as I knew, is as follows:
Sam intentionally didn't do anything with Janette on her actual birthday, which was on Friday, and arranged to have dinner with her on Sunday. He was to cook for her at his place, but at the last minute changed it instead to have dinner at her place because Sam's parents "supposedly" had guests over. Around fifteen of us at Jan's place were to hide somewhere, and Sam was to call Karin to let us know when they were coming. Once Sam and Jan entered the house, they were supposed to head up to her room, which was decorated with all kinds of things which I never got to see that night.
But happened, however, was something like this:
Sam didn't get a chance to call Karin. Half of us were cooking and making a lotta noise in the kitchen, while the other half lounged in the living room and watched The Contender's second last episode. The living room was in clear view of the main door. It wasn't much of a surprise in a sense. It was supposedly ruined before they entered the house. Janette spotted Eliot's parked car on her way home with Sam.
Anyway, we had a fun time of barbecuing, chilling, and shooting Roman candles in the middle of the night. Got home around 2 or so I think, and didn't fall asleep until 3 am probably. So I was up from 6 am til 3 am. Probably the longest stretch of time I've ever stayed up. I've never pulled an all-nighter. At least I don't remember ever doing it.

Final Day
Met up with Angie at around 2:30 in the afternoon, and stayed til 10:30 or so. Always fun to hang with Angie. Did a lotta things there, mostly Chinese chess, which I actually did well in for once. Saw Twins Effect 2, which was weird and...very weird. Chinese fantasy isn't the greatest genre out there. Walked around Times Square a little bit, and bumped into a few Lights who were there for lunch after defeating the Apostles in an exhibition game. Will, Becca, and Chouji were going to Kim Po for their victory meal.
When I left Angie's place, my brother and I picked up some McFlurries on our way home. Good day indeed.

Long Weekend

So much has happened in the past few days, my brain can only recall the events starting from Saturday, May 21st.

Day 1
It began around 10 am. I was to meet up with Sam to shop for supplies that will be used to make the Dunamis team banner. We started out later than we should have, and it took us awhile to find a home depot that's on the way to RHCBC. Bob was along for the ride as well. He grabbed lunch, while Sam and I went to buy a tarp, paint, and brushes. We didn't get everything we needed, but the total cost was already ridiculously high.
After that, the three of us went to worship practice at church. My first worship practice for a Sunday service. I've always liked singing, but I knew I'd never be pro at it. I was thrilled to be on stage, but it wasn't the fact that I could show my stuff on stage that excited me. I was a part of the worship team that would lead the rest of the congregation to praise the Lord through singing. I was honoured to be a part of it. The experience was awesome.
Next up on the schedule was painting the banner at Helmkay park, where the Lights were practicing. We only had black and white paint, and not enough of each. A few of us from Dunamis were present, and we coated approximately 2/3 of the tarp with a layer of white, all the while getting messy and Caucasian. That took us maybe 20 minutes or so, and the rest of the time we were there, we had our own little softball practice on the soccer field beside the baseball diamond. That went on for about 3 hours.
All of us from Helmkay then went to Kelsey's for dinner. The parking there was ridiculous. I spotted the tightest vacant space and Andrew tried to squeeze us in there. We didn't get in there all the way, but more at a 45 degree angle, with the hood sticking partically out. It was okay though, since the car besides us had plenty of room to leave. Since we wouldn't be seated for another 45 minutes, a couple of the guys, including me, went to Indigo next door and wandered through the aisles for a while. For an avid writer/reader like me, it was a good way to waste time. Food at Kelsey's was all right, nothing too spectacular. Had a barbecue burger, and I could taste the whiskey in it. Not too bad. I would recommend it, but it didn't blow me away or anything.
Went home after dinner. End of my day, because I had to wake up at 6 in the morning the next day for worship practice.

Day 2
Woke up at 6, feeling more refreshed than I expected. I usually wake up at 11 in the late morning regretfully. I could stay in bed for another 2 hours if given the option. I didn't eat breakfast on Sunday, so I had extra time on my hands after I showered and packed up everything I needed for the day. Got a ride from Sam again, and we stopped at the Timmy's close to church. Got 2 coffees and left immediately. A few from the worship team were there, too.
I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to sing well, because my voice usually cracks when I'm tired. I was definitely tired that morning. Had a few laughs when Joyce was leading the vocal exercises, when I couldn't hit the high notes, but made some low ones. I was looking quite frutiy with my vibrant colours that morning, with a bit of orange, yellow, and red. I received some criticisms on the way I dressed, but I ignored those comments. I wear what I want when I want. The practice went pretty smoothly. Karin suggested we do some hip-sways and clap during "Father of Lights," which I could not follow during the practice. It was simple, but I never could clap and sing at the same time. I throw myself off.
Come the actual worship, however, I nailed the sway-clap. I confess, I bellowed out the wrong line on stage, but that didn't really bother me. It made the experience more fun for me. Hopefully no one minded my error.
The Herminator was the speaker that morning, and I was doing something others may perceive as disrespectful as the pastor spoke to us. I helped out Iris with her little project, but I found it easier to concentrate and stay awake when I'm occupied with something else during the sermon. Yes, I also confess that I have felt drowsy in many sermons in the past. I try to stay up though.
I don't remember much that went on after the service, so I'll jump to lunch. Got a free hamburger because Johnny was being generous. Got myself some free stuff as well, but I didn't redeem them. Too full and fat. Practice was in less than an hour.
So far, every Dunamis practice we have had had been fun. The leaders are always encouraging and supportive to the members, and everyone helps everyone out. It's a very tight group. A softball was lost because of me. I batted it over the fence and into the bushes. Too bad it wasn't over the right fence, and it ended up in a very off foul ball. I look forward to the next practices. Yet, I hope the season never ends, heh heh.

Can't write anymore. I'll come back to this another day.

ANGIE!

Happy birthday! May you have another pleasantly eventful year ahead of you, and may God continue to watch over you and guide you in the right direction, my sister in Christ!

It's Rap City Up in Here!

Cut loose your saturation
Of them gangsta influences
Gums and I will please your senses
With our hit collaboration
Vandalizing "Wanksta"
Cuz we be the true prankstas!

Yup, the rumours are true! I'm back in the rap game with a different style. Like Mase, but only better. The writing has been going well, only encountering a minor problem which will be solved soon I hope. MC Gummi, we're gonna do this ungangsta style!

Sun At Noon, Tan Us!

Back online, but I'm feeling paradoxically regrettful and relieved at the same time. Happy to be connected again, but in doing so I deprived my friend Casey of his by repocessing my wireless USB adapter. Apologies, Casey. Hope my other thing works again, so I can lend this one I'm using now back to you.

Since it's Mother's day today, I wanna say "thank you" to all you mother figures out there. Yes, including those who are not biologically mothers, but have been role models in a child's life.

And being Mother's day today, the scheduled inter-church basketball game was postponed to next Sunday, which no one will participate in because most RHCBC softball teams have practices then. Instead, 11 of us played a game by ourselves. CSC vs ESC, and we sucked thrice. Played 3 games, lost 3 games. After that, we crashed the Apostles' practice. Tired and dehydrated, I couldn't do anything other than sit on and tan. I look dark and hot now. It's great.

That's my day.

May 7, 2005, 3:15 am.
It’s ridiculously late, and I just found out my wireless Internet thingy is busted. Hopefully I can get the other one back from Casey as soon as possible. This is going to be tough if I don’t get it back. Yes, the Internet has become a big part of my life these years, but it’s not the first time I’ve been disconnected involuntarily, and I have survived those connection-deprived days. I will not live on Internet alone. This is why I’m currently typing away quietly in darkness on Microsoft Word, instead of typing quietly in darkness on my online blog.
Today has been a great day for me. Today, meaning May 6th, that is. The day of my birth 19 years ago. It’s unfortunate that my good friend Angela is away in Hong Kong, and cannot celebrate both of our birthdays together. I miss you, twin! Hurry back! Another reason why I would like to regain connection to the Internet soon. I want to be in touch with those who are difficult to reach by phone, and the absence of online connection is definitely an obstacle.
Back to today’s events. Starting at 12 am on May 6th, my buddies online hurled instant messages of “happy birthday!” at me. I’m definitely blessed to have such loving friends in my life, and I thank God for all He has given me. One great friend in particular had such an impact on me that I’ll probably be smiling for the entire month. You know who you are, and I thank you for being there for me through the thick and thin, deep and shallow! I hope I can reciprocate the love you have shown me all these years. Not that many years, really, but they were great years nonetheless.
In the afternoon, my friends from Haig popped by and we played ball at two of their homes, which were across the street from each other. We could’ve played a full court game, but a weird shaped court at that. A “Z” shaped court, not to mention dodging the occasional car that cruised through half court. We stuck with only one net for a game of 3 on 3 however, and my team won. We had the more experienced players, so it wasn’t exactly an evenly matched game. Couldn’t stay for long, since dinnertime was just around the corner. After one game, I had to leave.
At fellowship, I got gifts, hugs and smiles from fellow Salties and a few Bethelians. The last I get all the time, but the first two not so frequent. It’s a great feeling, knowing I’m loved. Not only the greatest love from Jesus, but also the love from my friends. I thank you all for being such amazing friends. Had another game of basketball after fellowship, which was pretty tiring, since I wore thick, heavy pants, and I had to guard a geared-up, speedy sharpshooter by the name of Andrew Tam “al’Thor”. Yes, usually the nickname comes between the first and last names, but it wouldn’t make sense in this case. If you don’t understand the name, don’t worry about it and just read on. I got burned by Andrew’s 90+% if not 100% shooting tonight, but it was all fun and games. Basketball is so fun.
Afterwards, we went to Bubble Star at Commerce as usual. To be safe, I ordered a Chocolate Black Milk Tea, instead of ordering the ones I’ve had in the past, which usually end in disappointment, or trying new drinks that could potentially be lethal. As I waited for my drink to come, I was surprised by a special birthday “cake” from Janette and a strident presentation of the birthday song. The “cake” was a McDonald’s Fillet-O-Fish with a match stuck in the centre of the top smooth round bun. The match burned quickly, and I blew out the flame before my bun got toasted. Haven’t had one of those in a long time, and despite seeing Super-Size Me only days ago, I chomped down the sandwich with joy. Delicious! Tastier than any other fast-food sandwich I’ve ever bought myself.
By the time I got home around 2 am, my eyes were sore and dried up, and the carnations given to me by my dear fruity friend was in a less desirable condition, due to my mishandling of the delicate plant. Sorry Mango, but they’re still in relatively decent shape. All the flowers are still there. I dropped them in a Styrofoam cup of water inside a clear glass vase. I figured the vase was too big for the two branches(?) so I just used the cup instead. Then I showered and here I am.
So that sums up my day, with a few details left out because I’m too lazy to write it all. Praise the Lord for His love and blessings. Goodnight to you all.
3:52 am.

I'm starting to dislike the Toronto Star. Mainly because of the writer and supposed theologian Tom Harpur. Every week, I would see his article in the Star, and every single time he would try to disprove Christianity without any solid support. This last one talked about the "religion" of Christianity and its lack of creator who started it all. He said stupid things like "Who created Christianity? There is no known human founder behind this belief."

Jesus, perhaps?

This old fool Harpur said that Christians should not take the Bible literally, and should be like the other religious groups, who take their scriptures metaphorically. Without directly calling Christians stupid because we truly believe in the existence in Christ, he did so subtly. He tried to back up his point by saying that literary experts are able to strip away the Bible's supposed metaphorical imageries and such, to find the Bible not very coherent. Or something along those lines. Harpur does not explain these "experts'" ideas, but merely states that their conclusion is fact.

He's right in that Christianity is different from all the other religions that do not take their own scriptures literally. Because Christians know what's true. If other religious groups do not actually believe in their own scriptures, then in my opinion they believe in what they believe just to make life seem more pleasant. But believing in what you yourself perceive as lies can only get you so far.

If Harpur does not believe in Jesus, then there really is no known human who started Christianity. Unlike the world's religions, we Christians do not worship something we ourselves created. And why would we? Is the producer not more powerful than his/her/its product?

I'll be following old man Harpur's work from now on. Stay tuned for more critiques of his work and ideas.