random poll

What do you do when you encounter a person asking for $ on the street?

Time to blow this joint

In the words of my carpool buddy, it's time to "blow this joint".
By joint, i mean work of course!

Yes, indeedy. I'm quitting my job and giving up the cushy salary to go back to being a poor (literally!) grad student. I'll be starting SJSU this fall and I'll be studying Library & Information Science. (yes, major career change) It's a little intimidating, but I'm excited to finally leave the work that i haven't been enjoying for a while now and moving on to something more interesting, more rewarding, and more fitting to my skills & personality (at least i think so). No end date has been set yet, but i think it may be sometime in Aug (probably right up till school starts...gotta save while i can!).

This also means that i'm now gonna have to learn how to budget (and how to live w/i my means...no more impulsive shopping sprees? or extravagant european vacations? waaaah!), which i've never done before. Anyone got any pointers for this newbie? :)

Oh...and as i bid adieu to the hi-tech industry (and for all my fellow nerds out there...) =P

not here

“Heaven is not here, it’s there. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next.” – Elisabeth Elliot

it's so easy to get wrapped up in busyness, the details of the daily grind and just getting thru the day such that the big picture is forgotten. i don't wanna "settle"! i don't wanna get lost in the mechanics of living and forget what my real purpose is. That i'm looking forward to something greater than this world & this life & what i can see. and what's more, i can't afford to forget it! the consequences are far too great.

lost in my stream of consciousness

gosh..is it already time for another almost weekly post?
i have lots of pics i need to download off my camera...that'd make for a perfect post...too bad ih aven't gotten around to downloading them yet. i don't have much to say besides i'm sooooo tired and i can't believe it's only tues!! i feel like my head's been in a fog since i woke up mon. it's really weird actually. i don't think i had an especially busy weekend or anything. pretty typical. maybe it's just all accumulated and that's why i suddenly feel so tired. or maybe it's the weather! such dreariness lately. maybe i'm suffering from SAD? i hope i don't get sick!! this weekend's church retreat. we're going down to asilomar. and hopefully ppl will humor me again this yr and toss the frisbee for a bit! yay!! and i wonder if we'll be able to get a bonfire going. that'd be cool. oo! i have a free blockbuster rental coupon that expires soon! arg! i guess i'll have to get something on sun or something. shoot! i was gonna say something, but i forgot in the midst of my previous stream. hrm...it was good too! let's see...what else is happening? oh. i'm gonna see an allergist 2moro for the rashes i've been getting. i'm sure you're thrilled to know that. :) oh yeah. and i'm gonna have to share what i was like in jr high/HS/college with the youth at the end of the month. oh and i really should look into getting my ticket for NYC. *sigh* so much to do and so little will & time to do it....is it time to go back to work now? guess so.....

i feel like i should post something to draw focus/attention away from the past 2 posts on chivalry ;) but i don't really have much to say. Oh...btw, i should put a disclaimer that the list on my friend's post does not necessarily reflect my personal views and opinions. i linked to it more to be informative. :D

My brother passed his quals. So now he's officially an PhD candidate. and now he can relax cuz he plans on taking full advantage of his full ride & stipend and is in no hurry to graduate. :) heh heh

My dad flew in yesterday night from Kunming so we'll be celebrating his bday and father's day (cuz i'll be gone on a church retreat and mimi & myron'll be busy the weekend after) this saturday! think we're gonna be making sushi and lobster and thai spring rolls...i'll probably make a pecan pie while i'm at it (it's my dad's fav...no oil and lots of sugar).

Thankfully, i believe the last of the activities i need to help with are over and hopefully i'm gonna get a break from organizing stuff for a little bit. Ahhhhhhh....that'll be nice cuz i feel like i've been jumping from one event to another since Feb (ski trip, scavenger hunt, europe, GA...). whew! it's been a busy couple of months. so i look forward to a bit of downtime.

chivalrous acts - #8 & #9

I'd like to submit a few more items to the list of chivalrous acts (mentioned in my previous post). They're pretty simple & probably obvious to most ppl but i thought i'd mention it anyhow (and #8's one that applies to everyone, men & women).

#8 - When dropping someone off, it's nice to wait until they're safely inside (or at least have opened their home door) before driving away. I think this is pretty practical because i view making sure a person gets home safely as part of my responsibility when driving anyone home. (i mean. what if they forgot their house keys and you've already left and they have no cell phone. then they're stranded!) Of course, guys, it's nice if you walk your date to her door when you're dropping her off, but i personally wouldn't hold it against you if you didn't. On the other hand, driving away after i've barely shut the car door would be viewed as highly inconsiderate.

#9 - (disclaimer: i didn't come up with this one...a guy actually gave me this one) Walk a girl to her car at night. This one can get a bit tricky depending on logistics...if it was a hangout at your place (the guy) and there's several ppl leaving at the same time and they all probably parked close by, then you probably don't have to. but what if the neighborhood's super safe? what if there are 2 girls and only 1 guy and they parked in totally opposite directions? ...so use your best judgment.

One last note. Chivalry is defined as "The manifestation of any of the qualities idealized by knighthood, such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women." So basically (imo), chivalry's not about performing all/any of the acts on this list...it's more like an attitude that will naturally result in doing of some of these things. So this list is really just examples of chivalry in action. There are a ton of ways to be chivalrous so i'll just leave it at this and i'll step off the soap box...for now. :)

it's a small, small world

i was recently referred to a blog by a girl giving advice on asian american christian dating and imagine my surprise when i discovered that the blog author is none other than an old high school classmate of mine!! :) it took a while cuz i didn't recognize her from the photo on her blog. but as i read on, the pieces started falling into place and i couldn't shake the feeling that i knew her! so i emailed her and asked. and sure enough...it's her.

she makes some good points on her blog. especially this post on the lost art of chivalry. :D Now guys, before you turn away in disgust, I really urge you to read her post cuz, speaking as a girl, i can vouch that these little, seemingly insignificant & pointless acts really do make a difference. they make a girl feel safe and cared for. they show that you respect and care about her as well. (of course, i'm not saying you've gotta to all 7! that's reserved for the fairy tale prince charming :]) AND if you do it for ALL women, then HUGE kudos to you cuz that TOTALLY shows character.

i feel like i've gotta give a shout out to my carpool buddy,C, who is the only person i know who does this. i was pretty shocked that he always opened the car door for me, but i soon learned that he does it for all his female acquaintances. that's just impressive beyond words. so way to go, C! =P hope that doesn't embarass you too much. hee hee