Monday, May 21, 2007

Body politics

[Rock-climbing in Salt Lake City, UT; summer 2005]

Those of you who know me at all know that I like being active. I especially love playing sports—soccer/football, baseball, softball, volleyball, swimming, tennis, badminton, water-polo—you name it, I probably enjoy doing it. Currently, I’m limited by time to just intramural softball on Fridays and soccer on Saturdays. I’m not even finding time to hit the gym (which I also enjoy … most of the time). I loved surfing when I tried it out, I loved rock-climbing when I tried it out, and I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy most activities requiring physical exertion and adeptness.

Fortunately, I’ve been blessed with good health and few injuries. However, I am still playing softball despite a sore wrist (from landing on it a month or so ago while playing soccer) and a sore thumb (from landing on it a couple months ago while playing soccer); I also got hit by a softball last week on my index finger and knee (yes, I know I’m supposed to catch it with my glove). And I’m still playing soccer despite various lower body ailments (ankle, calf, knee, hip) caused by fouls, collisions and other side-effects of three-hour sessions.

Some would sigh and bemoan the fact that I ought to be taking better care of my body and not playing 110% all the time, maybe resting once in awhile; in fact, some have. The argument, which makes much sense, is that I could be more physically active for longer if I just calmed down a little bit. But the way I see it (and I’m totally open to being wrong), I have no idea when my body will break down with age or incident (whether I ‘take care’ of it or not), so I suppose I’m going to make the most of the physical ability God’s given me while I still have it. Obviously, I’m not going to kill myself with exercise—at least, it’s not my intention, and God’s been good to me in helping me avoid any serious injuries (barring a fractured leg a few years ago that was completely not my fault). Long may the grace continue.

On a separate note, congrats to Micah and Christie on getting married this coming weekend, to Matt and Sara on their two-year anniversary today, and Daren and Helen on their anniversary tomorrow (I forget how many years it is now—fourteen?). And happy birthday to Christie last week, to Fi (as she turned 21 … again), and to Abi and Mom this coming weekend.

Big love to y’all,
Jus.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Almost there ...

[Ben, Rob and I at Hermosa Beach pier on a less than sunny day (boo) during their visit to CA last month.]

Alright. There are three weeks until the end of the quarter, and the beginning of summer. I’ve been hard-pressed to find time to take a breath, let alone blog.


Lost in translation?
So I had one of the strangest experiences of my time here the other day. I went to get my course notes for my online class printed out and filled in the request form with the page numbers which I wanted printed: “8-15, 22-24, 51-114, 116-147, 159-222.” Pretty straightforward, I thought.

I came back the day after to pick them up. The lady manning the copy shop gave me a sheaf of paper that was ten pages thick. Hmm, something’s not quite right. I quickly deduced that she’d only printed pages 8, 15, 22, 24, 51, 114, 16, 147, 159 and 222. So I explained this to her. Her reply: “No, that’s not what the paper says. It just says ‘8, 15, 22, 24, etc.’”

I was very taken aback by this, being unsure how else I could write down what pages I wanted printing, short of writing down all 140-odd page numbers on one line. In the end … I had to write this: “8 to 15, 22 to 24, 51 to 114, 116 to 147, 159 to 222.”

Totally unexpected. I thought Arabic numbers and notation were (pretty much) universal. Apparently not applicable in my part of California.

Series finales
This fortnight also marks the culmination of a number of TV shows that I watch. Coinciding with the end of the quarter is the freeing up of a few hours in my week: Bones, The Office, Scrubs, 24, and Lost. And Veronica Mars, but I don’t really publish my following of that show. Until now. Doh.

[Yes, watching TV is another factor in my week being busy, but I’ve never watched TV without doing some work or reading at the same time. My grades have not suffered thus far (and I'm going on my eighth year of higher education. Thank you very much.]

Anyway, that gives me another 4/5 hours to my week, which will be greatly appreciated with this summer coming up.

Summer plans
Speaking of the summer, in case you’re wondering—well, you’ve read this far, so you’re at least a little interested in what I have to say …
  • I have two weddings: Micah and Christie’s in Orange County next Saturday, at which I’m the ‘lead usher’ (I’ll tell you when I know what the difference between ‘lead usher’ and ‘normal usher’ is); and Tim and Tiff’s in Colorado in four weeks’ time, at which I’ll be the best man (probably the only time in my life I see myself being a best man).
  • I’ll also be taking a couple of 2-week intensive classes (unless one or both are gone by the time I register tomorrow morning) at the beginning of July and August, respectively.
  • I’ll put in some hours at the Admissions Office (so I don’t go broke when I have to make my next car insurance payment or buy my ticket back to HK for Christmas).
  • And I’ll go to the beach lots, playing soccer lots, hanging out with friends lots, and spending lots and lots of time with God. Amen.
I’ll let you know how the implementation of this plan goes come September. I’ll also blog again soon. (No promises, though.)

Thursday, May 3, 2007

About being in love ...

We're both looking for something we've been afraid to find;
It's easier to be broken
, it's easier to hide

Looking at you, holding my breath;

For once in my life I'm scared to death.

I'm taking a chance letting you inside:


I'm feeling alive all over again
,
as deep as a sky under my skin
;
like being in love, she said, for the first time.

Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right

where I belong with you tonight;

like being in love, she said for the first time.


The world that I see inside you
waiting to come to life;
waking me up to dreaming,
reality in your eyes.


Looking at you, holding my breath;

for once in my life I'm scared to death.

I'm taking a chance letting you inside:


I'm feeling alive all over again
,
as deep as a sky under my skin
;
like being in love, she said, for the first time.

Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right

where I belong with you tonight;

like being in love, she said for the first time.


We're crashing
into the unknown;
we're lost in this,
but it feels like home.

I'm feeling alive all over again
,
as deep as a sky under my skin
;
like being in love, she said, for the first time.

Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right

where I belong with you tonight;

like being in love, she said for the first time.


Like being in love, she said for the first time;

like being in love, to feel for the first time ...

"The First Time", Lifehouse
New album coming soon ...