Just as it should be.

After work, I went to Ray & Joyce's place to watch the UNC-Dook game at Cameron. Being the first of two rivalry games we play this season, we had high hopes of beating them on their home court for a second season in a row. Joyce (Faith's older sister and UNC alum) and I were anxious to see a blowout, since our team had improved considerable in this new season. However, the game turned out to be a lot closer than expected, with Dook surprisingly leadin until five minutes left in the game.

Needless to say, we came back and beat 'em on their floor again. I love this. It was a great night.

Mo Money, Mo Problems.

To my excitement, we returned to the city at around 2pm. This had been the earliest I've ever been at home on a weekday since I started work and I was both excited to enjoy the day in the city and exhausted from the trip. However, once I got home, I wound up recuping and napping. When I woke up, I was disappointed to find out that it was close to dusk. And while I wanted to simply enjoy the rest of the evening indoors, my lack of walking the typical daily 2+ miles to and from my shuttle stop left me feeling uneasy, so I decided to go for a walk.

Since it was still nice, I decided to walk to Chinatown, since I haven't really walked through that neighborhood at night. While m original intent was to look for a shot that would embody the nightlife of that area, I stumbled across this phrase tagged on the side of a Bank of America building, The juxtoposition of the statement and the institution was no doubt deliberate, yet I still found myself drawn to it boldly tagged message. I think it has somethig to do with the fact that although I've only experienced four months at my first real job out of college, I somewhat feel the tension between the desire for money and the desire for something more. Sure, money can get me nice things and get the bills paid, but deep down inside, I know that it's not what wholly satisfies me. While the temptation is still there to get more to get comfortable, I have come to the conclusion that I'd rather be satisfied with knowing how to wisely use what I've been provided with than always hunger for more. I guess it has to do with my upbringing- looking back, I realize that we were by no means well off (but at the same time not poor either), yet my parents made a conscious effort to not let money, or lack thereof, become a factor. Unconventional as it may be, it has shaped my value system to what it is today. So although I didn't find the shot that I intended to take that nght, I left Chinatown satisfied.

In the words of the late great Biggie Smalls, "Mo money, mo problems." Or rather, in this context, "Money makes us tired." But that's merely looking at it in the standpoint of the pursuit of money. What I'm trying to say is while earning money is hard work and often tiring, no matter how much of it you have, if used for the right purposes, it's all worth it in the end.

Snowglobe 2007: Just Another Day at Work.

My company has an annual ski trip up to Lake Tahoe, which I was looking forward to since I started work. Although I heard people raving about past trips, I had absolutely no idea what to expect and was anxious to experience this event firsthand. I wound up signing up on a day when most of my small group friends/co-workers were going, which made the trip that much more memorable.

I spent most of the day snowboarding with Caroline, Jesse, and Abe, and in the evening, we met up with the rest of the gang. While the schedule of events stated that there was a after-ski party later that evening, I wasn't expecting it to be a big deal. However, in hindsight, I can honestly say that it was far better than the holiday party (which also blew my mind). I spent most of the night with the crowd I went boarding with, along with Christina, Gina, and Jeff, although we would also do our own thing and mingle with other friends. All in all, I like work days like these! Needless to say, this was an amazing day, and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Erin and Caroline: co-workers, yet Dookies.

[props to Jesse for the first picture]

Cheap Good Food.

PPQ Chicken Noodle House is one of the few restaurants we frequent after church on Sunday nights. This is mainly because there are only a handful of restaurants that can seat large groups without making reservations in advance. All in all, the restaurant, although being limited in serving only chicken dishes, is pretty good. But then again, I don't really go for the food anyway.

Interior Design.

Jason and I met up and went to Christina and Erika's apartment before heading out to celebrate Hannah's birthday. While the girls were eating a quick dinner, I noticed the postcards that were hanging on their kitchen wall. Project 365 has trained me to pay more attention to things that I normally overlook. Along with the postcards, I realized that their apartment decorated with various colorful photos and images- all things that distinguish it as being feminine.

These collection of photos intrigued me the most. And my observations in their apartment made me realize that I'd like to improve the aesthetic value of my apartment as well. But whether or not I actually will, I dunno. We shall see...

Meet Erika.

Erika is a trip. As a member of our small group and a fellow Googler, we often share rides on Fridays to attend 24/7 in the city. On this particular evening, we decided to take the shuttle to Monster Park and carpool with Jeff to small group. As Christina and Jeff were busily chatting away in front of me, I was enjoying watching a movie on my laptop when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Erika whipped out her ginormous headphones that she brought from work. Although I tried to ignore the site of my petite friend in her massive headphones, I noticed a few minutes later that she had even more humorous mannerisms.

I looked up from my screen to see her head bobbing up and down, not to a steady beat, which indicated that she was in that nodding off stage. And while her head was bouncing to the rhythm of the shuttle's engine, I noticed that her fingers were still typing at lightning speed. And then the following thought came to mind:

"I've heard of sleep-walking. But is she sleep....typing?"

I proceeded to laugh and document this event. So yes, among other reasons, Erika, and her alter ego Audrey, is a trip. I guess I'll have to explain Audrey in a later entry as well...

An Evening with Shane & Shane.

You may have noticed that this has been the third concert I've attended in the past four days. Crazy, I know. The Shane & Shane concert was brought to my attention last week, and without prior knowledge of John Legend's visit, I decided to join the group that were going to this concert. I even left work early to meet up with Lisa and Daniel and we headed off to Berkeley to meet up with the rest of the gang. While the night was pretty long, as I got home at around 11:45PM, I really enjoyed this evening.


This has been the third time I've seen Shane & Shane live, and each time is extremely special. To have a pair of my favorite contemporary Christian artists lead a congregation into worship is something absolutely incredible. Although much of their set was the same as the concert I went to in September in Cary, NC, I enjoyed it immensely.

This last picture was taken as they sang "Embracing Accusation," a song that Shane Everett wrote about how the devil often twists the Word to try to bring us down. It isn't on any of their albums yet, and having heard the testimony to the song and the actual song live twice now, it's an incredibly moving piece. The context of this song is taken out of Galatians 3:10-14, where we are often misled into forgetting the last two verses, but instead focus on the curse of our sin. But, as they sing, the devil sings over us the first two verses, and forgets the refrain...Jesus saves.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham
might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,
so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
-Galatians 3:13-14