Archive for January, 2006

FAR/PAR 15 Part II
Okay, back to posting photos again. Our small group got together for the first time this semester and spent the night just having a casual dinner at Za’s to catch up with everyone. Let’s have a great semester as we push each other to grow more closer to the Lord. This post is a shout-out to what Irene claims as the “best-looking” small group of FAR/PAR. Enjoy it guys & Go FP15!

A Tribute to Ms. Rohr

I normally don’t share my thoughts or insights on xanga. Rather than filling these pages with pictures, I thought I’d share something happened today which made an impact on me. If you know me, you know that I majored in graphic design and got a degree in bachelor of fine arts in college. It may not be that big of a deal, but to one teacher, it might have made her proud. That teacher’s name is Ms. Deborah Rohr. My freshmen year in high school, I took her intro to art class. She was a fun person to be around. Very blunt, straight-forward lady who was not afraid to tell you what was on her mind. She always caught me chewing gum in class, called me a “dipstick” and told me to spit it out b/c I looked like a cow grazing on field of grass.

Not to boast, but she recognized that I had some talent in art and encouraged me to take more classes in advance art during my high school. Even though art was fun for me, I was more concerned about being “cool” and hanging out with the “popular crowd.” (can you see my ‘like-me’ heart motive behind this?) Being an art student was not a cool thing to do at that time so I didn’t follow her advice and did not take any more art classes in high school. But she was always persistent until the day I graudated. She kept reminding me and encouraging me to pursue my talent whenever I ran into her. Her last words that were penned in my senior yearbook was something along the lines of: “keep following your dreams and see where it leads you…, etc.”

Well in college, I took that path and decided to become an art major. One thing led to another and now my profession involves designing things. All throughout college, the words of Ms. Rohr kept coming to my mind. I reminded myself that I want to visit my old high school to tell her what I’ve become and wanted to thank her for always encouraging and believing in me. But I kept putting it off.

It’s been about 13 years since I graduated high school and today I found out that Ms. Rohr actually passed away last month at an early age. I do not know the cause of exact death but I do know she wasn’t that old so some kind of illness took her life. I meditated and thought of her for good part of my day and regret not visiting her earlier when I had the chance.

Recently my friend told me that you should seize the opportunity before it’s too late. It’s so true. So If you read this far and have those Ms. Rohr’s in your lives, don’t wait any longer but tell them how you feel. I now have to live the rest of my life never being able to tell her how much I appreciated her.

And to all those teachers (Lord knows I know hundreds of them!) out there, I know it’s not easy doing what you do, but I hope this encouraged you. Know that you are making an investment in the lives of your students.

And finally, IL vs. IND tonight. I’m watching a taped game tonight later. So please do not leave any game-related comments. Thanks and God bless.

EDIT————————————————————————
It happened again. I was all ready to watch the recorded Illini game after my class was over. I didn’t know the result. I didnt’ talk about the game with anyone to find out the result. As I stand there talking to some people, I hear a girl talking to someone on the phone. She yells out “WE LOST? AGAIN?!? WHAT’S WRONG WITH US?” I wanted to go up to her and say: “what’s wrong with you!?!” Arrgh. Now I can’t watch the game any more. Sigh…:-(

On a brighter note, my buddy Amer just won his first round @ the Australian Open. He lasted 5 sets to edge his opponent 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Way to go Del! Next up, Amer will face Australian Nathan Healey in the second round. They have played once before, a match which Amer won in 3 sets. We’ll see how it goes. Way to represent the Illini!

Roger is also doing well in CBA. He’s on the path to become the rookie of the year. Here’s an excerpt from one of his many news articles that were published about him:

Two days after recording a season high of 35 points in a win over the Albany Patroons, rookie forward Roger Powell scored 38 points in a 110-91 victory over the Michigan Mayhem.

The Lightning trailed by 5 at the half after losing the first two quarter points to the visiting Mayhem. They came out on fire in the third and outscored their opponents 30-15 in the quarter. They never looked back as they took the fourth 27-18 and improved their record to a league best 15-6 (92.5 quarter points).

This week he is participating in the CBA All-Star game. Go Rog!

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EDIT————————————————————————
OIL UPDATES
Testimonials from this year’s OIL are now available. Read as the brothers and sisters from all over the States share about their blessings from OIL. OIL Conference Link

Mark your calendars for OIL 2007. It will be from January 3 – 6 at Montrose, PA.

Did you know OIL now has online store where you can purchase/download sermons? You can also subscribe to their xanga: oilupdates to find out the lastest news from OIL. Pretty cool eh?
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Random Post


I’ve been running into our old coach Lou Henson everywhere. I saw him at Gameday Sports the other day. He probably thinks I’m stalking him. Growing up, both of my grandfather passed away at my early age. If I could ask for a grandfather, I wish coach Henson would be it. He’s the nicest man you’ll meet. He’s moving back to Champaign in the near future. Looking foward to seeing him more often. Thanks Coach.

IL vs Michigan
Whew, that was a scare. But what an exciting game. Thanks to athletic staff for offering to take me to the game last minute. Got to enjoy a nail-biting game, thunderous dunk by Randle and another great performance by Dee. I also saw Arden Cho cheering at the game. We met up after the game and chilled for bit. Way to represent Arden!

Hello, Goodbye…
Goodbye my friend…you’ve been great for the past 4 years….

Hello to intel iMac. I love their new slogan:
“What’s an Intel chip doing in a Mac? A whole lot more than it’s ever done in PC.”

Can’t wait. I’m gonna be the first guy to lug an iMac around using this cool bag.

Yes, call me weird. I don’t care. I’ll be the pioneer to lug around (no pun intended) my iMac to random places. Okay, I gotta get ready for church. Have a great day everyone and U of I peeps, looking forward to seeing you all back.

OIL WEEKEND UPDATE: Part 3 of 3 – The Big Apple
So the final leg of this long trip consist of visiting the place that was originally coined “the city that never sleeps.” After going through long and winding roads of PA, we arrived in the beautiful mahattan area to spend a day hanging out with beautiful random heads of CFC buddies (Melissa, Genuine, Joel, Mike Oh, BJ & Selah). I believe Genuine11 and Puckhead already updated their site with some of the photos so you can visit them to see the trip from a different perspective. There’s about 90 photos. Enjoy them!

BTW, did you know that I get vacation hours in addition to stock options and health benefits working @ Starbucks as a PART-TIMER? Whoever thought making flavored water could be this fun and beneficial? Crazy I tell ya.

I met Genuine’s friend Jane out there. No she’s not standing on a box or wearing ridiculously high heels. She really is this tall. Apparently she does Korean modeling and acting on the side.

Got to experience everyday NY life. Got up early in the morning and walked across the street to get some NY style bagel and coffee. Big thanks to Gen’s friend Ben for being a good host to me!

Worshiping with the brothers and sisters at the Redeemer church. Actually I only said hi to one person there.

I think Melissa is getting excited to tour the city

These walking scenes remind me of Oceans 11 for some reason

This weekend I realized BJ is a good looking guy. Ladies…? Hmm…

Picture of some random chinese family at the Grand Harmony restaurant.

Joel anticipating some good chinese food

Selah praying for our meal. Wait, why was I not praying?

I don’t usually like drinking tea, but this green tea was pretty good

Selah can’t wait and decides to spoil her appetite by drinking chocolate soy juice

This is how NOT to hold chopsticks…messed up I tell ya. Oh well, at least he’s good looking

Picture of what’s to come

In the mean time, Selah wants more chocolate juice

Dim sum…bring me some more dim sum…

Their food quality meets Mike’s stanard

Cute. BJ and Melissa sharing food

Food…bring me food…

Ok, i’m not sure about this mushy thing…but I’ll try it any ways

Eating time….

Yo BJ, you wanna save some noodles for us?!

Mel is mesmerized by this dish

By the way, all these dishes only cost us $40 bucks between the 6 of us. We all had our fill and full and cost only like $7 per person. That’s what I call a deal!

Walking off all the fat that we consumed

They are like typical college kids…never looking both ways before crossing the street…aigo

I saw a fire truck and couldn’t resist but to jump on

We all were inspired by Ralph Macchio of Karate Kids when we were growing up…

Selah reenacting a scene from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Selah was so cute. She designated herself to be my official cup holder while I took all these photos. Everytime I got done taking a photo, this is how she look at me as she walked towards me and offered my coffee

Mike got a clapping ovation from strangers walking on the street for this pose

Melissa loves being in front of the camera too much

NY is full of these hole in the wall bakery shops

So many choices…

While the boys picked out their sweets, Mel and Selah wanted to do some cute poses

Selah: “It’s not a mistletoe, but it will do”

We all got a good laugh when Joel took a big bite out of his cheesecake only to find out he ate huge piece of paper that was attached to the cake

Then we visited Ground Zero. Ironically this was the only remaining foundation left from th building – and it’s in the shape of a cross. wwwwwoooooohhhhhh!

We look on with sobering realization of what took place 4.5 years ago…

BJ: “I still don’t see what was wrong with the way I holding my chopsticks…”

This is the statue that was in front of WTC before it got damaged by the explosion. They moved it to another location and now has an eternal flame lit to remember the lost ones

Walking to visit the old Ms. Liberty

This shot reminds me of a promotional poster for a korean drama…

You gotta love Genuine’s guy-llike sitting pose

I pulled a Will Smith in Hitch when I accidently hit Mel in the head before taking this shot

Gotta loves this classic pose

I have to admit, it was nice for a change to be on the other side of the camera and let others have fun with the camera

Selah’s so cute. Wish I had a little sister like her

This picture was definitely worth the $1

Selah performing her thumb separating trick

Hanging out in the subway…

Will someone throw Selah some change?

Gotta give mad props to Genuine for taking these two photos

You never know what you’ll find in NY sewa…I mean subway

Waiting to get seated at Patsy’s restaurant…props to Jane for finding this local joint

Here are more photos of Jane, the korean actress

Everytime Jane and Gen talked, they leaned their heads in together

Mike waiting patiently for them to order…

Selah, would you like a slice of pizza? Selah: “No, I’ll just have the whole thing.”

Genuine can’t get enough of it…

Mel getting the food coma…

Final group shot

And this concludes the long, extended series of OIL/NY 2006 3 part series. We didn’t get to visit lot of the places that we wanted to (central park, serendipity, etc.) but it was still lot of fun. By the way, I was totally kidding about Jane being a Korean model and actress. You have to admit that it made the story a bit more exciting, right? But in the words of one of my good friends who still goes down as the greatest korean story teller, “a good story is always an embellished one.”

I hope you guys were amused and blessed. Have a great weekend everyone. Go Illini!

Back to making coffee @ Starbucks!