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| what a weekend. after a particularly stressful week at school, i was so ready to just have some fun and relax. what an awesome beginning to my spring break. (warning, this is a long entry. you may wish to print it out and save it later for the metro ride home or when you're taking a deuce)
the weekend started off on friday when i got a call from my sis to come out and have lunch with her and richard. since it was her birthday, i gladly acquiesced as i got my sushi on. little did she know that richard had planned well in advance for a surprise party for her that night and i was just a lowly accomplice. after lunch, i recommended we go see 300, a movie i had been dying to see ever since the preview where the lead character yells out "this is sparta" and kicks some dude into an endless pit. without going into much detail, the movie rocked the house. it had everything. even as i have been gushing about it all weekend, i still cant get out how much i liked this movie. it was almost so good that i dont think a raving review will do it justice. perhaps its because there's been such a dearth of good movies; whatever the case, i thoroughly enjoyed myself. afterwards, we went to starbucks where we just chilled, waiting for dinner time. i had been cued earlier to nonchalantly suggest "maggianos" for dinner, which i pulled off in a performance worthy of an academy award. noona didnt suspect anything. richard had planned well. so off we headed to the restaurant where a bunch of my sister's friends would be eagerly expecting here. did i mention that i was the only male at this gala affair (save for the husband)? truly the estrogen did flow. anyways, my sister was completely surprised upon seeing all of her friends and her reaction was truly one of happiness. (the full recap can be seen at noona's).
however, i'm sorry to say that this was not the highlight of the night. rather, the high point came when a tall black man entered the restaurant and casually made his way to the pick up window where he was apparently getting some food to-go. he seemed awfully familiar, this man with the intense eyebrows. yet noone around was acting the least bit aware. maybe its because of the cool, confident way he walked; perhaps it was the fact that he seemed to be deliberately trying to travel incognito. but i knew this was a baller. no, not a "balla." he was an actual baller of the nba persuasion. or so i suspected. yet, i wasnt going to let my suspicions go unheeded. and as he turned around to walk out the restaurant, i knew it was him. so i grabbed him by the arm and i asked like a wide-eyed school boy on his first day of kindergarten, "excuse me, are you antawn jamison?" and as he nodded in affirmation, i signaled my accomplice, one gracious shally, friend of my sister, that he indeed was antawn and that she must get ready the camera. so i then asked, "can i take a picture with you?" (i may have actually asked, "may i take a picture of you?" to which he gave me a strange look, but i think i corrected myself) in any case, this was the fruits of my labor:
notice the casual dress of antawn, a man who needs no fancyness to hide the fact that he's part of the top .0001% basketball players in the world. also see the odd smile on my face as i cant believe i'm touching an nba star. also, my hand, actually holding onto antawn's arm lest he flee this deranged asian boy. and the white male in the back, looking amused? confused? perhaps jealous because he didnt think of taking a picture with antawn first. what an awesome day. oh yeah, and happy birthday noona :)
saturday would come and with it, perhaps the last day of the snowboard season. as one used to boarding at least 10 times a season while in cali, coming to the east coast was truly a rude awakening. the snow was harder, the base smaller, the mountains pitiful compared to even the smallest resorts in southern cali. and to make matters worse, last year i was unable to go at all for the first time in six years. thus, i was determined this sesason to make up for last. and i'm proud to say that i have, for in the last three weeks, i've managed to go three times, leaving me with a satisfied feeling that though the conditions left much to be desired, at least i was able to ride. but i digress. so judy had convinced me to go this saturday, though i was iffy because of the chance for gross conditions. gross meaning rain. and if you've ridden in rain, you know what i mean. your clothes become soggy instantly; your eyes are blurred by the falling drops, as your goggles only exacerbate your vision; the portion of the landing area after the lift is like a pond, gaping wide, daring you to fall in (which one of our party actually did, landing flat out back in a huge puddle, his back soaked to the core. i laughed). but i knew that this would most likely be the last chance to go this season and i knew i must go up one more time. and we did. and surprisingly, i had a lot of fun. did i mention i also hate going on weekends? the crowds are normally beastly and it takes forever to get on the lifts. furthermore, with sprawled newbies strewing the mountainside, the chance of bailing out and going over the cliff are that much greater. perhaps it was the gloomy forecast, but whatever the case, the crowds were way less than i anticipated, thus adding to my joy. this wouldnt take away the fact that half the time we were riding in a downpour, but it did help. in any event, we had a great time of riding, capped off by a trip to lighthouse where we got our soondubu on. was it worth the bts? you betcha. pictures can be found at judy's
look at what we had to wear while riding in the rain. is that dedication or what? though in reality it looks like we were part of the janitorial staff:
the weekend would end on sunday (well, duh). because of the new switch
to daylight's savings time, not only was i sore from the previous day's
excursion, but i also lost an hour of sleep. yet, it turned out to be
a great day at church, with a good message, capped off my a
particularly enlightening small group leader's meeting where i was
further reminded of the grace we are so undeserving of. this was then
followed by, but of course, another trip to the movie theater where i
would watch 300 yet again. are you getting how much i like this movie
yet? once again i'm gushing, but i really believe this movie was that
good. the dialogue, acting, action sequences, all done to a
perfection. and yet again i came out of the theater ready to go to
battle. why couldn't i have been a spartan born during the time of
ancient greece. sure, they probably would've made me a councilman due
to my small stature and bulbous brain, but i'd like to believe that i
would've risen against all that and become at least one the rear
soldiers who built the wall full of the dead. in any event, the second
time was as good as the first and i think i could watch it again. so
go watch it already!
the night would end with some tasty
steaks, courtesy of big D, a group of us playing the "bean" game, a
card game that takes go fish and adds a hundred new rules, followed by
me trying to learn how to play settlers, but in five minutes time
becoming bored and going home.
in conclusion, even though
the lakers were utterly demolished by dallas, the bruins fell to a
number 2 seed because of their lackadaisacal play in the pac10
tournament, and the rain fell in the mountains, the weekend was
awesome. and now i must turn to my books. i cant wait to graduate...
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| i always liked dwight howard as a basketball player. as the first pick of the draft, he was destined for great things. plus, it didn't hurt that he was a christian. but after yesterday's all star slam dunk contest, he really now is my favorite player (behind kobe). as a 7 footer, the judges were already biased against him (the commish rejected his request to dunk on a 12 foot rim... 12 feet! that's more than 2 of me!), since they seem to favor the shorter players (nothing wrong with that). but his dunk was something else. on the creative meter, it was off the charts. taking an alley-oop pass from his teammate, dwight sky'ed, simultaneously slapping the backboard with a sticker near the top of the backboard and slamming the ball down. official measurement, 12 ft, 6 inches. it was something sick. but that wasn't what got me so hyped. i had pre-recorded the slam dunk contest and as the camera quickly zoomed onto the sticker, i paused the picture so i could read the fine print. i then took a pic of it with my phone b/c i couldnt find it online.
on the sticker, it showed a picture of dwight's face, but written in a
sharpee were the words: "All things through Christ. Phil 4:13." how
sweet is that.
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| dancing movies rock. today i was able to catch "stomp the yard" with a couple of willing friends who actually wanted to watch the movie as well. i have not had the best track record when it comes to picking movies (see "hellboy," "van helsing," et.al) but i was really hoping that this movie would live up to my great expectations. as a proud fan of cinema gems such as "bring it on," "you got served," and "drumline," i knew i had to watch this movie. would "stomp the yard" be the hybrid dance movie melding tight battle sequences, smooth dancing skills, and "bring it" mojo that i was waiting for all my life?
on friday, a bunch of us went to the theater to get some five guys (in n'outs still better) and catch "stomp." while eating a semi-leisurely dinner, some mentioned that we should probably buy tickets before showtime in case it sold out. not thinking clearly, we never imagined that a movie about stepping would ever sell out. unbeknownest to us, people in tysons corner like to get their stomp on as well, and when we went to buy the tickets, the show was sold out. however, unperturbed by this set-back, we couldn't just waste a night moping about and calling it quits when we had been so close to watching the homies stomp the yard. fortunately, our friends who had had dinner with us that night, but had chosen to skip the movie, lived close by and allowed us to crash their pad. what to do now? well, we had all gathered to see someone getting served, and whatdya know, our hostess conveniently had "bring it on" and "drumline" on dvd... two movies that were close enough. so we spent the night watching "drumline" (a pretty good movie, actually makes me wish i had kept up my trumpeting skills and joined our college marching band, but nick cannon will always be way too cocky for my taste), satisfied that although we didnt get to see frat boys steppin to it, the upbeat drums of the atlanta a&t marching band would have to suffice.
thus, we come to today's events, highlighted by the matineee showing of "stomp the yard." i wont go too much into detail because i'm sure most of you are going to rush out and see it, but it was basically the most predictable movie i have ever seen. every nuance, every line, i could pretty much see a mile away. but did that take away from its overall awesomeness? no sirree bob. most of the movie i was on the edge of my seat, wishing that i too could stomp with such fluidity, battle with such aplomb, and rise up from the hood to become the theta frat bro that destiny had planned for me all along. sure the plot mirrored "you got served," to almost copyright infringement levels, but does that take away from the tight battle sequences that hit you from start to finish? of course not. you cant expect to go into a movie titled "stomp the yard," and expect to use your brain. you go because the dancing cant stop, wont stop and rocks the beats to the break of dawn. but seriously, i dont think anyone would be disappointed after watching this movie. after watching the disappointment that was "the good shepherd," i needed something poppin to wash the taste of damon's bland performance out of my mouth. forget those squares from the washington post, this movie gets two windmills way up.
"i don't stomp... i battle" - dj ("stomp the yard")
truer words were never more spoken.
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| its finally over. hallelujah. half way done with school. i can see the light. you know what that means. no more xanga entries for awhile. played video games till 3 am last night. how old am i again? but it feels oh so good. three weeks of bliss. you ever have so much free time on your hands you dont know what to do with yourself? first order of business, watch 24 season 5 from start to finish (thank jer). merry christmas and happy new year. | | |
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