We got problems

I remember watching this video a few years back, I would put the video up, but it's not that important. There was one line in the video that I found to be very true, although it was said in a joking context.

"You have pressure, I have pressure, we all have pressure"

And there was this other quote, I'm pretty sure I'm misquoting it but it goes something like

"We're not judged by the problems we have, we're judged by how we handle them."

Basically, everyone has problems, big or small, and we all need to deal with it some way, some how. And sometimes, there is nothing you can do to fix the problem, so what do people do?

Some eat ice cream, some hit things, some run miles, and some sleep.

Most of us do these things to get our minds off our troubles.

What do I do?

I skip rocks.



This is weird because I have never skipped a single rock as a child. The closest thing I remember that resembles skipping rocks is when I was in elementary school, my parents would take me to this DimSum place on a peninsula, and after we finish eating, I would go out to the shore to throw rocks as far as I can.

As I grew older, I watched several movies where rock skipping was made to look SOOOOOO COOOOOOL! I just HAD to learn it.

So as a teenager with more freedom, whenever I had the opportunity, I would go to the local duck pond, lake, beach, whatever, and just start throwing rocks.

The more I went, the better I was at it.

So what's the point of this whole anecdote of me throwing rocks as a kid?

Well, for me, during the short time I'm at the lake or pond, all I can think of is skipping the rock as many times as I can. That's it.

All the stresses from school, family, and friends seem to disappear. They didn't matter. All that was in my head was "find a flat rock, throw it!"

We all need that "escape". So instead of eating a tub of chocolate ice cream or crying yourself to sleep, I suggest everyone to give rock skipping a chance. In a way, you're literally throwing away your problems! ;D

Re: i want to love again

This is a response to my friend John's blog. (http://killerapathy.xanga.com/707095980/i-want-to-love-again/)
Well, originally it was just for John, but since summer meets the half way mark, I realize that I will probably be far away from those I spent my high school years with, so in a way, this blog will be universal. But because everyone is different, not everything will apply. So deep down, this is still for John Lee, but for the most part, it applies to what I have to say to everyone I've loved (whether it's romantic love, bromance, friendships, or teammates) and made a difference in my life.

Although your physical ties to your past will be broken when you move to Florida, your emotional ties will always be there. No matter how far you go, the people from your past will always be with you. The experiences you had with certain people has changed the person you are, whether you realize it or not. So when you're in Florida, 3000 miles away, the people you knew in the bay area will show up in the way you act, the way you speak, the decisions you make. You will NEVER be able to get away, no matter how far you go. This also mean you'll never be alone. When things are bringing you down, you can always call, email, instant message a friend from high school and no matter how little you knew that person, they will be more than willing to listen to your problems and give the best advice possible. I know I will be there to give you whatever advice I have to give.

We've argued and antagonized each other in the past, but you helped me grow. You have changed my life, and my moral compass. Many times when I face a dilemma, I would think "What would John Lee do?" no matter how corny that sounds, it's true. John, you were a great person, teammate, friend, and inspiration to me.

Because of that, I know you'll get far in life. You are the only person I know that steps out of the conventional mold to pursue his/her own dreams. For that, I respect you.

I hope we keep in touch, you are definitely a person who is one in a million.

I'll end this with just a few more words.

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans"
-John Lennon

Your time in the Bay is diminished to a few weeks. But these few weeks will seem like an eternity when you're down to just a few hours. Cherish these days. Make the most out of it, because when you're busy planning for the future, you are missing the present. And sometimes, life will throw you a curve ball and disrupt all your plans. It'll be as if you've never planned at all.

So do what you feel like doing, but don't be reckless.

LOVE YOU JOHN LEE(roy)

CalSO

Hm, I had my orientation at Cal earlier this week. The experience was like no other.

My alarm went off at 6:30. I slept through it.
Me, being the smart guy I am ;], I set another alarm to go off at 6:45.
When that one went off, I woke up...drowsy.

I took a quick shower and ran to pack my stuff. I was all ready by 7:00 and I was heading towards Berkeley.
At 7:13, I realize I didn't bring any paper to take notes. Oh well.

Got to Berkeley at 7:30, JUST IN TIME! Or so I thought... Turns out that sign-in's last until 9. -___-

So I did the usual, checked in, got my dorm key, checked out my dorm, met my roommates, and it was off the breakfast!

I got to admit, breakfast was mediocre.

After breakfast, everyone at the orientation went to the Welcoming Address. We had to sit with our designated group. This was when I realize how easy it was to talk to people at CalSO. I turned to the person sitting next to me, introduced myself, started small talk, and yeah, it was cool. Ahah.

After the Welcoming Address, people broke off to their designated groups and the tour began!

We did some ice breaker exercises. My group did something called "Get Jiggy With It". Everyone got in a circle and took turns saying our names and then doing a dance move that has the same movement as the number of syllables in our names. Unfortunately, on my name tag, I put Tim, so my "dance move" was a single fist pump. (Looking back now, I wish I did a pelvic thrust)

Ah, I forgot to mention, my first friend in CalSO was this girl name Jamie. We pretty much stayed together during the morning of the first day. She's really cool, she plays tennis and thought I was a Korean basketball player name Andrew Kim. What What.


During lunch, I went on to talk about the usual, stuff like how Pokemon: The First Movie made me ALMOST cry. The part when Ash turns into stone is epic.
This is where I met a really cool guy from Bulgaria, named Mario.


Anyway after a lot of tours and playing ice breakers, like Ninja [I will explain the game to whoever asks me], everyone broke off to groups based on their intended majors. Jamie was doing Pre-Business and I was doing Pre-Med, so we separated [Insert Dramatic Korean Drama Music]

-Wait a minute, I think I messed up the order, I think we played Ninja, Lunch, then broke off to majors. Oh well, you get the point-

So when I was walking towards the Pre-Med group, I met this girl name Jennifer. She's weird. We were separated from the rest of the group because she got us lost. (Not really) She likes to break dance and watch concerts.


I hanged out with her for most of the afternoon. But during dinner, we split because she went to go to other things.

Dinner was the best. Chicken + Pizza. Yum!


After dinner, there was a "First Year Experience" Presentation. It was given by a few current Berkeley Students. They talked about their first year. I sat with this girl name Becky. She's from a town near Malibu. She almost barfed, minutes after this photo was taken.


At some point, I met this girl from LA, Kate Kim! Unfortunately, I didnt get a picture with her. She's a tiny little korean girl with glasses. What else is there to say?


After this last presentation, I tagged along with KateKim and the rest of her SoCal posse to explore Berkeley. We walked all the way to Frat Row just so we can walk back. Wtf right? Lol.

When we got back, we all went to the 7th floor. This guy, I cant remember his name, but he had a muffler on, busted out a laptop and they started karaoke-ing. At first everyone was too shy to sing, I wanted to tell them to put some Kanye West or Taylor Swift on so I can own it. But for some reason I didn't.
I left early to go back to my room because I realize I didn't plan my schedule at all!

After frantically looking for classes and talking to my roommates, I finally slept at 2:00AM.

Day 2. I don't have much to say. We just signed up for classes. Learned a few cheers. Did a few more tours.

One thing about Day 2 though, the Closing Ceremony was amazing. The video presentation they had made me wish CalSO lasted forever. Maybe it was the enthusiasm of the crowd, or maybe it was just the sad music, but it made me believe that CalSO was a GREAT experience. People were easy to talk to. You don't have to worry about people ignoring you. Everyone is willing to get to know you. All you have to say is "Hi, my name is Tim" and you just started a conversation.

CalSO was awesome, I met awesome people, and I cant wait to experience the awesome Cal Berkeley!

I'M A CAL STUDENT!


Darn, webcam inverted it. Oh well, you get the idea!