Korea

My family trip to Korea was a blessing in disguise for me. At first I didn't want to go; I remembered the disgustingly humid weather the last time I went, Korean history is really not very interesting to me, Korean tours telling me about Korea's history is not very interesting to me, and of course, I can't even speak Korean very well. But my mom and dad really wanted to go, and even though I whispered my complaints, I obliged to go. I knew that a few other people from America were in Korea, so maybe I would be able to hang out with them in Seoul. I just wanted to think positively for this trip.

Strangely, I didn't get to hang out with anyone with US citizenship, but I didn't really hate the stay in Korea. I mean a lot of the things I did was really boring, but it was a good chance to get away from the craziness in America. Even the weather in Korea was not only tolerable, but quite nice most of the time we were there. The most surprising thing for me I think was that I actually, somewhat, kinda enjoyed the tour we went on during the first week. The bus we were on was not bad at all; it had nice comfy seats, shades for the sun, a nice tour guide who had a good sense of humor, a bunch of Koreans who lived in America who came to visit Korea (like my family), and people who spoke worse Korean than I did (we had 4 white people, and one Korean dude from Seattle that could barely speak a syllable of Korean). It was weird how everyone on the bus got along so well and everyone became so friendly. I think it was the karaoke machine in the bus that got everyone so close. The bad singing of old Korean songs and plenty of soju must have done the trick. Either way, everyone was friendly and not hostile, even though the average age on the bus was in the late 50's. Because of this warm and friendly environment, I wasn't bitter about being surrounded by a bunch of wrinkly people, but I enjoyed the sites we went to and even got to have a few nice conversations with the people on the bus. It was definitely surprising to me that the tour wasn't a painful experience.

After the tour, my family went back to my Grandma/G-pa's apartment in bundang and stayed there for the rest of the Korea trip. We went around to Seoul and stuff, and wow. Seoul is a CRAZY ass city; we went on a the subway around the morning rush hour time, and I almost got dragged out of the train by some angry little lady trying to get out. I never want to bump and grind with that many men and women ever again.

I think the best part of the trip was seeing my entire family for Korean Thanksgiving. I got to see all of my uncles and aunts because they came by whenever they had the time. But I never got to see my cousins because all of them are in high school/graduated, and they're all studying 24/7 to try to get into college. Thankfully Korean Thanksgiving brought us all together. We ate and just hung out all day. It was a blessing to see how much all of my cousins have grown.

On the day we left, we said our goodbyes and everything, and I was happy to go back to LA and all, but it was a quite a sad day. My grandfather and grandmother started to cry when we were leaving. Because trips to Korea don't happen very often (this was only my third time in Korea), my grandparents pretty much accepted that this would be the last time they see us because of their old age. They started crying, my parents started crying, my sister started crying, but I didn't. I was actually kinda confused as to why everyone was crying, but I realized the reason, and it made me sad as well. I didn't cry or anything but I realized how much my grandparents loved us through all that they did. Even though my conversations with them weren't very deep, I knew that they loved me and my family a lot. Now there was a good chance that this would be the last time I would ever see my grandparents again. I already lost my grandpa from my mom's side this year, and thinking about never seeing my dad's parents again was painful. But I knew that there was nothing else we could do about it. We said our goodbyes and we went on our way.

Imagine if I completely refused to go to Korea and stayed in LA. I would have missed out on everything that I had experienced. I truly think it was a blessing that I was able to go to Korea for the past two weeks and have such a memorable time there. About my grandparents, there really is nothing I can do about it unless I earn like $2000 a week to send my whole family and myself to Korea every month to visit them. All I can do is make them proud in America, do my own thing, and be successful in life like they want me to be. So I gratefully thank God that he gave me the oppurtunity to go and reconnect with my family in Korea and for giving more motivation in life.

Gone...But Still Here

While many people are leaving or getting ready to start a new year of college, I sit here knowing I still have about 4 solid weeks of summer left. Thanks to the quarter system that UCLA runs on, I can sit on my ass without a worry in the world. My sleeping pattern has been a bit messed up lately, so I've been sleeping in the early AM's and waking up around noon everyday; the sad part is that I have nothing planned anyway, so it's not like I'm getting in trouble. It's awesome.

But in all honesty, I like having things to do. I may feel overwhelmed and stressed when I have a lot in my daily schedule, but the feeling of accomplishment is always rewarding. That's why I can't wait for school to start. I'm not even excited for the social aspect of it; I just want things to do.

Schoolwork is kinda like a game. You have to kinda strategize and organize your schedule to get tasks done; whether it be finding time to study, going to class on time, or just grabbing a meal with friends, time can become very valuable during crunch time. I think that's why I feel extremely stressed at times of poor time management, and extremely satisfied when I successfully accomplish a goal.

So while I lazily let the days go by, I know I'm gonna wish it was summertime when I'm stressing over homework assignments and midterms. But those times of stress and troubles are what help us grow and mature. Much better than the times where we learn nothing and gain nothing.

p.s.
I'm not sure, but it looks like I'll be going to Korea for about 2 weeks. Not too thrilled.

Basketball Players

My Favorite NBA players in no particular order:

#1 Magic Johnson
I was probably too young to watch this guy play and fully comprehend his skills. How could one guy play any guard position, any forward position, AND the center position?! His passing skills were insane, he rebounded like a machine, and had the power to bang down low. His smile was brilliant. He is honestly one of my favorite players of all time. Thank God he was a Laker.

#2 Michael Jordan
Truthfully, I hated this guy. The Lakers would always lose to the Jazz during the playoffs and the Jazz would always lose to this guy and the Bulls. I hated how he always won and how he was so damn good. But I only hated him because he was such a winner. His swag was too awesome. He couldn't be stopped. I knew this. His opponents knew this. HE knew this too. Plus he was in Space Jams, one of the greatest movies ever.

#3 Shawn Kemp
The RAIN MAN!! This guy was awesome. His dunks were so damn powerful. He was quick and agile for a Power Forward. I will always love his super dark skin, high top fade hair cut (which matched his teammate Gary Payton's), and my favorite dunk of all time (actually, I just love the taunting AFTER the dunk).

#4 Eddie Jones
Before there was Kobe Bryant, there was Eddie Jones. Throughout 3rd grade (when I really got into watching NBA), this guy was my favorite. I remember I used to write stories in class and he would be the main character. #6 was my favorite number because of him. I used to have multiple collectible basketball cards of Eddie Jones. Eddie Jones was my hero. I LOVED Eddie Jones. Not many people can say that....

#5 Shaquille O'Neal
Yeah, there's a lot of Lakers on here, but Shaq was the shizz when he was on the Lakers and won those championships. He was the diesel and he was unstoppable. I remember how bad I felt for Mutombo when he couldn't stop Shaq. Shaq had such a good sense of humor too. Too bad he ends up being fat and lazy everywhere he goes now.

#6 Kobe Bryant
How could you not love this guy? Being a Lakers fan, I loved how people compared this dude to Michael Jordan even when he was a rookie. I remember reading little kid books on him and reading Sports Illustrated for Kids articles about Kobe Bryant. I remember watching him win the dunk competition his rookie year. Now he's arguably the best player in the NBA and my current lover. KB24FORLIFE.

Others to mention:
Kevin Garnett (before Boston), Baron Davis, Allen Iverson (76ers AI was my favorite), Penny Hardaway, Josh Smith.

Hatchu Life

I'm so bored. But I'm stressed as well.
I hate being bored with life.
And the stress doesn't entertain me.

Can't wait for everything to settle down.

Dark Knight

Like every other person in the world, I watched the new Batman movie. Just a few thoughts I had from the movie:

- I didn't fully watch the first movie, Batman Begins, because I heard it sucked. 'Dark Knight' was pretty damn good.... now I'm thinking that I should go watch the first one.
- The movie was long, so long that I think I HAVE to watch it again to fully grasp everything that happened.
- I wish they went more in depth about the Joker.
- I wish Heath Ledger didn't Heath Ledger himself. He made the Joker such a ridiculously good part of the movie. Now he can't come back for the next Batman movie.
- Christian Bale's 'Batman' voice sounds like he's trying too hard.
- The Dark Knight lives such a simple yet sad life; lots and lots of money, works by himself, no friends, no love.
- I can't believe I didn't recognize Harvey Dent's name. He just looked like a bad guy...
- I'm still blown away by the Joker character.
- Maybe it's just me, but I thought the fighting parts with Batman were kinda.... lame. Lame and slow.
- Why was Maggie Gyllenhaal not so attractive in this movie? She was 230598 times more likable in Stranger Than Fiction.
- Morgan Freeman TRULY never has to change his role; doesn't it seem like all the parts he plays are specifically made for HIM?
- The plot was good. I have done lots of thinking due to this movie.
- I hate saying the same thing that probably 3/4 of our US population is saying.
- Joker = awesome.

Change!

Why is it so hard to break free of immature habits? I feel like I've changed a lot since college started - definitely learned a bunch of stuff, found out stuff, figured out stuff, realized stuff. But I think APPLICATION to real life is so hard, especially if you're embedded in the bad habits. Those bad habits become automatic, a reaction, something that cannot be stopped.

For this one particular subject area, I feel like I've been doing/acting the same way about it since Junior High. I think back on how people affected me and who I made an effect on. In some ways, it was advantageous for me to act that way. But in many, many, MANY other ways, it was a disadvantage to my growth and maturation. I talk about how "I've changed so much, I've matured so much," but to myself, I know who I am and how I haven't changed for some things.

The end of high school was when I truly realized that I had not matured in this field of life. All the situations went through the same cycle - same start, same problem, same "solution" by me, same mistakes, same BAD ENDING. Sadly, very few people pointed out to me that this was not right. And of the people that did, many of them thought it was somewhat right at the same time.

When the "situations" that caused all this somewhat slowed down for me, it was a lot easier for me to step back from the problem and realize what I was doing. And when I fully did realize it, I knew I had to change.

But like I said before, APPLICATION is so much harder than just thinking and planning changes. So now that I'm being thrown into the same field of life that I had so much trouble maturing from again, I feel like the easiest/best way out is to act on impulse - do what comes to mind first. So when those bad habits come back again, I realize what I'm doing is wrong. It's probably going to negatively affect other people, and definitely come back to bite my ass and say "Karma's a bitch, mu'fucka."

So now, it's time. Judgment Day. Either:
Be an immature pussy, act on that damn first-to-come-to-mind impulse, never change, talk big shit, miss out on something good that could affect the rest of my life
-OR-
Grow some balls and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Change! Be a mature person about it!

No one said life was gonna be easy. That's the theme for advice from my pops: "Who cares if it's hard, if it's the right thing to do?" So while I try to change and be the mature person that I should be, I want you all to do the same. You're probably not in the same situation that I'm in, but everyone has problems they're going through. Don't take the easy way out and regret it; work it through, be a man, LEARN, and if it's right, God will make it work.

Easier said than done right?