Campfire Stories

So what do you do when you're camping and it's too early to sleep, but it's too dark to do anything. Well, if it's me and Harrison we tend to goof off. So a bunch of us started building a big fire. We decided to use all our firewood that was left since it was our last night of camping. So the flames got really big and for some reason I thought it looked like a big cauldron out of Fantasia or something like that. And I said, "Someone should go behind it and pretend like they are conjuring something." And so being one to rise to the challenge, Harrison delivered.



Scary. Ha ha!

That's so awesome, Harrison. Good job!

Yosemite 2005

This weekend I went to Yosemite for some camping and hiking. I'm not a big fan of camping. I like being clean and I like a comfortable bed neither of which I get while I go camping. However, I really enjoy Yosemite's hikes and that's why I make it here on a regular basis. This year I did the Yosemite Falls hike. Although it's a little under 6 miles round trip, it's still pretty strenuous as it's about a 2500 foot climb. I was really feeling it this year for being out of shape. I'm looking forward to going back to the gym after taking the last two months off and starting some cardio workouts. I took some pictures of the hike. Check out my pictures here.

Au revoir famille

Tonight was my last visit with my mom and brother before they leave for their home in Paris. This time I remembered to bring my camera.





You're probably wondering if I took any normal pictures with my family. Yeah, but those aren't funny.

Miss you already.

Star Wars Car

I saw this on my lunch break. From a distance, it looks like a trashy car, but close up it's a geek fanboy's dream. This car is made to look like an X-Wing as close as possible. I was really surprised how much detail went into it.


Check out R2-D2 in the back.




It even has the guns on the sides.




The Rebel Alliance insignia on the hood.




It's got a computer inside (not sure if it's real) and the parking brake is a lightsaber!

I can't help but feel ashamed at how cool I think this car is. It's not a car I would want for myself per say, but I'm glad someone made one. I'm also glad my coworker had a camera. The description would not have been enough. Thanks Brian!

UPDATE: It's an H-Wing fighter, excuse me. I found a website for it here.

So this weekend I had the privilege of emceeing my first wedding. I think having Harrison as a partner made it alot easier since we share the same sense of humor. The evening had some great moments.

There is much comedy in dancing and Tony knew it as he performed all the dance moves from the movie Hitch. "Slow Thriller" is my favorite.

All the centerpieces were romantic comedy DVDs (although I seriously object to The Princess Bride being labeled a romantic comedy). So for fun, Harrison and I did a survey of how many movies the men in the room had seen. I think Harrison came up with the best line "Count on your fingers as the names of the titles are read, if you've seen more than ten, use your wife's or girlfriend's fingers cuz clearly you have one." And then later,

Me: I've seen only 7 I'm proud to say. That's less than half.
Harrison: I've seen 10.
Me: Well, clearly you've been on more dates than I have.

So whenever the glasses were clinked, instead of the couple kissing, we played a game. The game was either name that tune from a romantic comedy or the imitation kissing game. The latter game turned out to be way more popular since it was far more humiliating. As we, uh, randomly selected married couples from the audience to demonstrate a kiss and then Tony and Monica would have to imitate it. Well, the first couple we chose set the bar way high and I think the whole thing kinda backfired on Tony and Monica, ha ha. Anyways, we chose our pastor and his wife as one of the lucky random selections. I knew there was a huge risk in embarrassing my pastor. One main reason is he's basically the emcee every Sunday morning. He has far more opportunities to embarrass me. I counted the cost, and it was still worth it I think. Kim is totally going to get me back though. Too bad we're going through Luke right now at church and not Hebrews.

The wedding video was pretty awesome too. We did a spoof of "24". I was really impressed with the editing. I'd like to put it online, but it might be too big. It always amazes me what people laugh at. Some of the stuff people laughed loudest on, I thought was only chuckle worthy. At this point, anyone who has seen my stuff knows where I contribute. If it involves a dummy falling off from somewhere high or a fake appendage, that's my signature, ha ha.

Anyways, we sat a table where some of the people didn't know us and they asked if we were professionals, ha ha. I was like, "No, they just asked us to do it cuz we goof off alot." They couldn't believe it was our first time either. I think most of the reason why the evening was great though was cuz Tony and Monica pushed for such a wacky wedding reception. I never seen someone work so hard to add so many funny details. Good job guys!

Lately I've been checking out the Rix Mix on the Crossroads website because I enjoy reading Rick Holland's insights on various topics. (Crossroads is the college ministry back at Grace.) Anyways, if you're familiar with the site, at the top they cycle various pictures of Crossroads activities and events. They all look pretty relevant and self explanatory. Until I saw this one that looked strangely out of place...


What does this old man have to do with the college ministry? Why is he glaring at the camera? And why on earth did they put it on the website?

The Busiest Month Ever!

So when nothing is going on, I tend not to blog, and it turns out when I'm extremely busy, I tend not to blog, too. So this has been like the busiest month ever! It started out where I signed up for too many things at church and didn't realize that they all occurred at the same time. So with Iron Sharpens Iron, T3 Basketball (I'm a scorekeeper), and Hermeneutics class that keeps Wednesday thru Friday plenty busy. Oh, but it doesn't stop there...

This weekend I'll be joining Harrison as co-emcees for a wedding. When people at church find out I'm going to be the emcee, they like have this "oh goody!" expression on their face like it's going to be some fantastic show or something. What are you guys expecting?? I think it could be fun, but it also could be very normal. The thing is I never know what will come out of my mouth and usually people love it or hate it. I warned the couple though, are you sure you want me to do this??? Anyways, I have the feeling I'll be the worst emcee ever, but that will only mean no one will ever ask me to do it again, ha ha. Anyways, there's been some planning and preparation involved for that wedding.

Like that wasn't enough, working on the Skit DVD has been a labor of love. I love that people want it, but it's been such a pain finding a seamless way to produce them. I think we're finally getting a handle on it, but it still means I have to make runs to Kinkos to print the box covers and labels. Then we have to order the boxes and buy the blank DVDs. Then I still have to ship a few to those who have been waiting patiently all this time.

Then on top of all that, much to my joy, my mom and my little brother are in town for the first time in 6 years so I got to take them around and let them witness the glory of Torrance. I also took them to church with me which they enjoyed very much. Then I went off with them to Pismo Beach to hang out with them and some extended family.

Is there anything else? Yes! The weekend after this one, I'm going to Yosemite. If I knew I had all this other stuff going on, I'd probably never do the trip cuz I'm getting pretty exhausted from activities at this point.

You probably think I'm complaining. Really, I'm not. I'm just marveling at how busy I've become. Only two months ago, I was bored out of my mind wondering what better things I could be doing with my time. Now I'm kinda missing those days. I can't wait until September!