Random Study Notes

Studying for an exam, and I stumble upon a page of my textbook where they used the Chick-fil-A job application form as an example - that made sorta made my day.

Rant about the Hockey Memorabilia Industry

I've just about had it with a certain company in Toronto whom has been making a huge mark-up on consumers (merely my opinion, not backed by any actual numbers or figures) for a piece of autographed hockey memorabilia. This company has signed many of today's young guns to exclusive contracts, and therefore completely monopolizing the markets for collectors in obtaining autographed collectibles from these certain players. While I have no problem in a company having a desire to obtain are player's exclusivity, I do have a problem when an autograph picture of an unproven rookie is going to cost me more than getting the same sized picture signed from a 6 time Norris trophy winner. I have a problem with paying more for an autograph jersey from the current Calder Trophy recipient compared to the reigning Hart Trophy winner.

Now I am unsure of the exact reasons why said company is charging such a price for their products, nor will I speculate the reasons, but when their other local competitor is charging equal amount for higher caliber players, it brings into question whether it is the contracts they offer to these players to obtain their exclusivity, or whether it is simply greed driving up the prices. At the same time, not only do their competitor offer lower prices, they even offer the collectors a chance to meet the players in person, giving fans a chance to meet their heroes, giving kids a chance to create memories to last a life time.

Unfortunately, with players like Crosby/Malkin/Toews/Kane etc. exclusive to this company, it forces collectors to hand over a healthy sum of money for various valued collectibles. As one, I would like to see changes over time, but given the demand for products from this company, it is extremely unlikely for that to happen - which is unfortunate for collectors like myself whom may never own a piece from these players for the exact reasons listed above.

*the views expressed here are merely by the author and is not associated or affiliated with any of the companies mentioned

Travelling Pet-Peeves

Now that I'm back from a 10 day "vacation" and having taken 4 separate flights, I have now compiled a list of flying pet-peeves

1. People who pulls on your head rest to get up from the chair
2. People on stretch with completely disregard to their invasion of your space

Something that will now be a must in my travel bag - ear plugs

US Election

Below is written by a friend of mine, and since it pretty much is how I feel for the most part, I won't even try to write something that might sounded remotely as intelligent as his, and just copy his words

"I'll even go ahead and say that it's a good thing that the next President of the US is half-black. It's not that I wanted him to win simply because of the colour of his skin, but it's a good symbol that a mixed race person was able to win the highest position in government. And given the poor treatment of blacks throughout a large portion of US history, I'm going to go ahead and call it a win.

In all likelihood, by the end of Obama's term(s), he will be considered the most charismatic president in at least a half-century. I actually have mixed feelings about this. To be sure, Obama is great at giving speeches and is very good at making people feel good and happy. But this actually scares me a little. Most of the worst politicians and figures in history have been charismatic individuals. I fear charismatic politicians. When it comes to a position of power, I'd much rather have a guy with just so-so charisma; someone that people like but aren't entranced by. Obama creates this wave of excitement and fervor everywhere he goes. It's probably just me, but I'm genuinely scared when I see massive, massive throngs of people gathering to hail any one man as the messiah and saviour and the great bringer of change and bearer of hope. People have always showed up to political rallies to support and cheer for their candidate, but Obama supporters seemed particularly fervent. And today, when his win was made official, people were so fucking happy. There's this great sense of pride among Americans that they elected Obama. And all of that is scary to me. Because at the end of the day, he's still a politician. He and his ilk are still going to take away liberties, still spend other peoples' money, and still make up laws to benefit some at the expense of others. He will say things he doesn't believe or are grounded in fallacy, and he will say them with a straight face because they are the popular things to say. He will do these things because he is a politician, and that's what politicians do."

-Terrence

Change of Plans

Life, is like baseball.
Life throws you a fastball, you swing, but you can't catch up to it cuz it was too fast.
Life throws you a curveball, you swing, but you were thought the pitch was going to be straight, but it wasn't.
Life throws you a change-up, you swing, but you were too early cuz you thought it was going to be a fastball.
Life throws you a slider, you swing, but you just couldn't reach it.
Life throws you a knuckleball, you swing, but you didn't think the ball would be out of control due to the wind.
Life throws you a gyroball and an oky-doky, you swing, but you didn't know you were up against Boston's Dice-K and Okajima.

Stolen from a certain person's blog.

Anyways, reason for this blog, is because of something really unexpected, yet not necessarily a bad opportunity came up recently. As a avid sports fanatic, its pretty much a dream for me to one day be working within a professional sports organization. However, it is also a very small industry, and also very hard to get in. My whole plan was to graduate with my Economics degree with Human Resources Management as my specialization, continue on and get a job while completing my Canadian Human Resources Professional designation, and see where it leads me. However, I've been approached with an opportunity to "kick off" my sports management "career" through the Department of Athletics and Recreational Services at the University of Waterloo. No, its not some big deal with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, but its a start somewhere. This is not a co-op job, but rather just a job placement for a term. Which means - I won't graduate on schedule like I plan to, but this is also a great opportunity for me to get started within the sports management industry, gaining valuable experience for the future.

Nothing is really set in stone yet as I haven't been offered the job, but I am pretty confident that my involvement with the Department of Athletics will have be ranked pretty high as a candidate - I guess we'll wait and see.


On another note - Chicago in 3 days!

NHL Awards

So I was bored tonight, and needing something to do to procrastinate, I decided to watch clips of NHL Awards again. Part of me was just curious how many seconds of mistake the producer made by getting my famous head into the shot, and the answer was approximately 5 seconds.

Yes...I was THIS bored.

Chicago

I was sitting at work (I work as a front desk staff for the athletics office) today and saw a post on RFD - half price for flights out of Buffalo. As...2 of you know, I was looking for a short trip to Chicago to visit Carrie, and to watch some sports. Been targetting Nov 8/9 since the Bulls, Blackhawks AND Bears have a home game all within the same weekend. When I was checking this out earlier...the price of $160 USD was tempting already, and now it sonly $80 for both ways! How gross is that! If Carrie is free...I think I am 100% a go.

Leafs Game

So yeah, finally something to post about. This past Thanksgiving weekend, I ended up going to the Raptors preseason game, as well as the hockey game between the Leafs and the Blues. First time I've ever sat in the lower bowl for a hockey game, and I won't lie, being in the lower bowl makes a huge difference. Definitely doesn't compare to being rinkside, but the perspective of being slightly higher up is does provide a much better line of sight.

[BRAG] First time being in the lower bowl - a puck was deflected right to me
[BEAT] The guy sitting directly in front of me decided to move his shoulder at the last minute and tipped it away from me
[BEAT[ Could've caught a puck, but it ended up deflecting off my thigh and hitting the armrest and bouncing to the next section over
[VARIANCE] Watching the Leafs cough up a 3-0 goal lead, AND sitting through Antropov and Kubina attempting a shootout shot.

Will try to get some pictures up at a later date.

NYC - Part II

Holy crap, its been like 6 weeks since my last post. I'll blame this inactivity on..summer. With work, and then softball, I hardly get around to really sit down and blog. Not much really happening for awhile between my Vegas trip and now, as it was all pretty routine with work, softball, sleep and so forth, until this past week.

Finishing work on the 22nd, I made my second trip down to New York this summer, this time strictly a "sports pilgrimage". With this being the last year at the historic Yankees Stadium, it was a promise I made to myself that I had to watch a game there at least once before it closes down. With that said, I planned a trip with one of my friends down to New York from Aug 24 to Aug 27. An extended trip report will come later, but this trip was definitely a memorable one.

Here are a few pictures for now...

WATTS!!!

Congrats to Mike "SirWatts" Watson for taking down the $15K WPT Bellagio Cup for $1.6 million.

Key Hands

Hand #149 - David Benyamine has the button, he raises to 500,000, Watson raises to 1.5 million, Benyamine moves all in, and Watson immediately calls with AK. Benyamine shows QQ, and it's the classic race, with the tournament or a huge chip lead at stake.

The flop comes 1082, and Benyamine retains the lead with his pocket queens.

The turn card is the 5, and Benyamine retains the lead. Watson's large group of friends starts shouting for an ace, and things like, "One time!"

The river card is -- the A!

Watson doubles up with a pair of aces.

Watson's friends cheer and clap on the rail, but he almost looks sheepish as he walks back to the table. Benyamine goes over to look at his stack to see what kind of damage he's gonna take.

AND the winning hand

Hand #154 - Mike Watson has the button, he moves all in, and Benyamine immediately calls all in for 2,985,000 with K9. Watson shows Q9, and he'll need to improve to win the tournament here.

The flop comes AQ6, and Watson pairs his queen to take the lead.

The turn card is the 9, and Benyamine needs a king on the river to stay alive.

The river card is the 7, and Mike Watson wins the pot -- and the tournament -- with two pair, queens and nines.

David Benyamine finishes as the runner-up in second place, earning $840,295.

Mike Watson wins the WPT Bellagio IV, earning $1,673,770, a WPT bracelet, a Bellagio bracelet, and entry into the Season VII WPT World Championship next April here at Bellagio.

Vegas Observations

Will probably post a more detailed trip report in the near future, but just want to note a few things as I remember them.

Vegas is a city...
...that best examplifies what "money talks" means
...where alcohol is free and a bottle of water costs $3.50

...to be continued

Vegas!

Just a quick blog here - arrived in Vegas late on July 1, and have been just hanging out and having a few meetup with guys on various forums, checking out places like the forum shop and what not. Probably going to see some July 4 festivities (will figure it out when I wake up) and then the UFC fight on Saturday. Nothing really planned for the few days after that before I come home. Will probably play a poker tournament or two, maybe head out to Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam or something.

Wes

Quick Update

Nothing really new to update on since the NHL Awards a couple of weeks ago. Still work from Monday to Friday, and pretty much softball on evenings and weekends. A few more days before I leave for Vegas for a week and a half, and half planned my second New York City trip for this summer where I will be able to visit Yankee Stadium before they moved to a new stadium next year.

A couple of interesting conversations lately, and a few things happening/that has happened got me thinking a bit lately.

Still praying to see where God is leading me in terms of the whole visitation/trip to Hong Kong in the fall - whether I will take the term off or go back to do school full time or do school part time. And if I choose the first or third option, how will I break it to my parents. Still not sure where I am headed in terms of career - with "1 year" left in my undergrad, I really don't know what my career will look like after graduation - just leaving it all in God's hands I guess.

Thats it for now...

NHL Awards and After Party at Carlu

Ok...so this is a "trip report", or it can even be a complete brag post - so if you dislike people boasting, you can stop reading now, otherwise, read on. A word of warning though, this will be a long read.

June 12, 2008 - Elgin Theatre is the location of the NHL Awards Show. Initially I was given a ticket to attend the show as an audience, but seeing where the seat is located, I decided to attend the show as a seat filler. Turned out to be an excellent decision as I literally rubbed shoulders with who's who of hockey. The evening began with the arrival to Elgin Theatre, a crowd was slowly forming around the red carpet anticipating the arrivals of their hockey heroes. As I walk by, I was approached not only once, but twice, with a intrigued by-stander whether or not I was anyone of importance - I assured them I was not worth their time. Upon signing in, an hour passed waiting in foyer of the mezzanine level as there were approximately 100 or so seat fillers that needed to be processed. The evening seemed like the high school prom all over again - everyone very well dressed, guys in suits, girls in dresses, and you have your one or two guys that are under dressed and stuck out like a sore thumb.

6:30 rolls around, and the fire alarm goes off. The crowd was assured that the fire department will be on scene and simply ignore it, although it is very difficult to ignore a constant loud irritating noise, but we try out best with the anticipation of being in an exclusive evening with our hockey heroes. People were divided, with a group whom were given a ticket to seats with obstructed view to depart from the waiting area first. What and how they organized the remaining seat fillers, I have no idea, as I was led down along with 3 others to the theatre to fill the seats of 3 stars whom will be making an entrance with the cup to begin the show. While I made my descend from the mezzanine level to the orchestra level, players/coaches/executives/politicians/tv personalties etc. have filled the lobby of the Elgin Theatre, among the crowd I was able to pick out Zdeno Chara before being ushered into the theatre - not hard to pick out someone that stands 6'9". Anyways, the three seats that needed to be filled were - Pavel Datsyuk's, Dominik Hasek's, and Henrik Zetterberg. Being the gentlemen that I am, I offered the first two seats to the ladies whom filled Pavel's and Dominik's. To my surprise, Henrik's seat was a front row seat - what a reward for me gentlemen gesture! I ended up being seated beside Henrik's girlfriend - Swedish Model and TV host - Emma Andersson, as well as the lady from the Diabetes association whom assigned the seating named Jaynelle. Stumpin' Tom Connors kicked off the show with "The Hockey Game" to a standing ovation, with the Red Wings and the Stanley Cup making its way into the theatre. While I was seated in my seat prior to the beginning of the show, I was like a kid in a candystore. Eyes open-wide and just taking in the scene. The endless number of players walking by, shaking hands with each other, it was hard to keep track of who's where and who's who. My front row seat lasted for about the first half an hour of the show, when Henrik returned and sadly I must give up the seat back to the original holder. In my despair, I was shown a seat that was in an better location - front row, towards the middle, alongside commission Gary Bettman and the Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. I was not seated there for long, as Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, soon came down to take his seat as he is the recipient of the first NHL Life time Achievement Award.

Following the second commercial break, while I was hanging out at the side, I was instructed to take the seat of either Henrik Zetterberg, or Pavel Datsyuk, if they were to win the Selke Award as the best defensive forward. While secretly cheering for Henrik, I was not disappointed either when Pavel Datsyuk was given the award, thus allowing me to sit in his seat for awhile (as the other nominee - John Madden - was seated on the other side of the theatre, therefore would have had his seat filled by someone stationed on the opposite side for convenience). This was a seat I would return to 2 other times in the evening, the second time after receiving his Lady Byng, and the last when he was pulled away for interviews. As the evening went on and awards were getting handed out, it appeared as I was assigned to be Datysuk's personal seat filler as I was jumping between his seat, and the box seats. Finally, as the event drew towards the end, and the last two awards were given out, I took my third seat assignment - whomever wins the Vezina Award, I will be filling his seat. With Martin Brodeur winning it once again, I promptly took his seat, directly behind Evgeni Malkin, and it was almost opposite of the seat I am now very familiar with, Pavel Datsyuk's. As the camera zooms into the Hart trophy nominees, with Ovechkin winning the Most Valuable Player award which was already a foregone conclusion, it wrapped up a tremendous evening at the Elgin Theatre, but not the last of my adventure. As the cameras went off-air, the theatre became a zoo. Many kids were in attendance, and they were already running around during the commercial breaks for the autograph, and the trend continued after the show. Being around the same area the entire night, I made eye contact with several of the Red Wings and proceeded to have a chat/handshake and a word of congratulations with their head coach Mike Babcock, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Dominic Hasek, as well as a few guys around the area - Jason Blake and Evgeni Malkin. Not quick to leave the theatre, I eventually got my first picture of the night (and only picture) with Jarome Iginla. Also introduced myself to various TV personalties to the likes of Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, Darren Dreger, Gord Miller, Scott Morrison and James Duthie.

Following the Awards ceremony, I managed to get a ticket to the after party at Carlu. As I make my way out of the theatre to get on the shuttle bus, I was approchaed by those waiting outside the theatre for an autograph, again I assure them I am a nobody. Getting on the bus behind me was Guy Carbonneau, and his first words were "Man I'm thirsty! This bus needs some drinks!", and we were off to Carlu for a night of open bar. Fans were already lined up at the entrance seeking a picture/autograph of their favourite players, and again I was asked, and responded with a "I'm not important" and proceeded into the building. Carlu was a gorgeous venue - multiple rooms and the acoustic inside the concert hall was spectacular. The architecture was stunning and the displayes were magnificent. Oh yeah, and theres also all the players/execs etc who were in attendance. The open bar and food was a delight to my stomach, and the room was a delight to the eyes.

All in all, it was an evening to be remembered. Hopefully I will be able to do this again next year.

Brag x2 - this is just going to be a brag list of the celebrities in attendance whom I spoke with over the course of the eveing.

Jason Blake, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Mike Babcock, Scotty Bowman, Dominik Hasek, Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, Darren Dregr, Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, Scott Morrison, Jarome Iginla, Evgeni Malkin, Martin Brodeur, Craig Simpson, Cassie Campbell

Interesting points of the evening - this is more the various things I noticed/heard while at the awards or at the after party that was funny, awkward, or just worth mentioning in general.

1. Ron MacLean's jokes during the awards. There were a few that had a bit of an awkward moment before some clapping
2. Ron MacLean bringing up the Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs issue during the awards
3. Ron MacLean's "phone" started ringing with "The Hockey Theme" (aka Hockey Night in Canada theme) as his ringtone
4. The speeches of Pavel Datysuk
5. The figiting of the players' feet on stage behind the podium after receiving their awards

I did manage to take a couple of pictures in the theatre, so I will get that up tonight or something.

NHL Awards Show'd + After Party'd

WOW! What a night! I'll post a more detailed report later, as I'm a tad tipsy right now due to the open bar from the after party - expect one coming on Friday or something.

Wes

NHL Awards Predictions

I'm back with another round of predictions - this time for the winners of the various awards. Winner in italic

Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Jarome Iginla, F, Calgary; Evgeni Malkin, F, Pittsburgh; Alexander Ovechkin, F, Washington.

Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender): Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Henrik Lundqvist, N.Y. Rangers; Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose.

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman): Zdeno Chara, Boston; Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary.

Calder Trophy (Top Rookie): Nicklas Backstrom, G, Minnesota; Patrick Kane, F, Chicago; Jonathon Toews, F, Chicago.

Lady Byng Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike): Pavel Datsyuk, F, Detroit; Jason Pominville, F, Buffalo; Martin St. Louis, F, Tampa Bay.

Adams Award (Top Head Coach): Mike Babcock, Detroit; Guy Carbonneau, Montreal; Bruce Boudreau, Washington.

Selke Trophy (Top Defensive Forward): Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit; John Madden, New Jersey; Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit.

Masterton Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication to Hockey): Jason Blake, F, Toronto; Chris Chelios, D, Detroit; Fernando Pisani, F, Edmonton.

Pearson Award (Most Outstanding Player): Jarome Iginla, F, Calgary; Evgeni Malkin, F, Pittsburgh; Alexander Ovechkin, F, Washington.

Summer random update

Long time no post! I think that is the direct result of not having school anymore and with that, the beginning of summer. Not much really has happened since last update, been pretty much just working for the past 6 weeks since school finished. Other than work, it has just been softball along with some other sports in there, and putting in some hours at the virtual felt.

Going to be going to New York City for a weekend next weekend, and aiming to go again probably sometime in July.

Just finalized my flight for Las Vegas yesterday - going to be flying out of Buffalo on July 1st, and returning July 9th. Probably not playing any WSOP events since there is none except for the Main Event while I'm there, but I'm still on my quest to get a seat in the ME. Came very close last night where first gets a seat, but fell short and got third. Not too many weekends left to play and try to win one through Stars, but hopefully I'll be able to get lucky on my first or second try.

Softball season is right around the corner in terms of CCSA, but with my other league it has been under way for a few weeks now. Nothing like being called Team Roger Clemens, and having a picture of a needle as your logo...Loving it!

I was close to tears seeing Manchester United pulling off the double winning the Champions League this past Wednesday and the Premier League a couple of weekends ago. I seriously believed that John Terry would miss that fifth penalty, and he did not disappoint. While not as the dramatic come back against Bayern in 1999, but watching the game in its entirity at a bar with a group of Man Utd. fans is pretty awesome...only wished I would've been able to hit up Main Event Sports Bar where it was the official spot for Man Utd supporters - hopefully there is next year.

This is going to be a great Stanley Cup finals. Two very skilled teams in Detroit and Pittsburgh, the youth of Pittsburgh against the experience of Detroit. This year is the year for Pittsburgh, Marian Hossa won't be returning next year, and probably a couple of the other role players like Gary Roberts...sad to see the cap being the direct result of the possibility of Malkin/Crosby/Fleury breaking up after next year - something has to be done with the cap system.

Thats it for now...probably will try to update a bit more frequently

NHL Round 1 Predictions

Montreal 4 - 1 Boston
Pittsburgh 4 - 1 Ottawa
Washington 4 - 2 Philadelphia
New Jersey 2 - 4 New York Rangers

Detroit 4 - 1 Nashville
San Jose 4 - 3 Calgary
Minnesota 2 - 4 Colorado
Anaheim 4 - 2 Dallas

There goes the bracelet

After a month and a half, the bracelet from PassionDC has come off.

NYC

315am, instead of sleeping, since I didn't sleep last night, or studying for my in-class exam in 15 hours, I'm up looking at the schedule for the Yankees and the Mets in an attempt to schedule a couple of visits down to NYC this summer to check out a few games before they move into new stadiums next year. First weekend and last weekend of August looks to be the dates that work, just waiting to see what kind of job I can land for the summer, and how I can work that schedule around my travel plans.

So much for studying

The time of massive-pointless-sports-plus-other-related-and-unrelated-blogs has arrived - or otherwise known as its-exam-time-so-i-procrastinate-by-blogging period. Its approximately 9am when I start this blog, and I got back into Waterloo about 30 minutes ago. I got an exam in 7 hours and I have barely started studying for it.

I was listening to the FAN590 this morning for part of the drive, and a thought crossed my mind. With teams like the Leafs out of the playoff, and a few games remaining that is considered meaningless, what should a coach/management do with regards to managing playing time for their players. This issue comes up especially when they play a team that is fighting for a playoff spot, or playing a playoff bound team looking to move up in the standings. The reason this thought crossed my mind this morning, is because the Leafs will be starting Andrew Raycroft in net tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, his first start in 30 games. The Buffalo Sabres are currently mathematically still in the hunt for a playoff spot, despite their chances of actually making the playoff being slim, that is not the point. The Leafs themselves were a victim of a team not playing their best player last year which might've had a direct impact of them missing the playoffs (The New Jersey Devils decided to start their backup goalie instead of Martin Brodeur in the last game of the season which the New York Islanders won and took over the 8th spot from the Leafs). It is a widely used tactics in basketball to rest your key players in the last few games of the year if you have clinched a spot so that you are able to have your best players rested and have time to heal bumps and bruises from the regular season so they may be rested for the second season - also known as the playoffs. Got a bit off topic for a bit, but going back to the original issue - how should a coach manage their players going into the last few games of the season? There are two thoughts - a season is 82 games (or 162 in baseball, 16 in football), and therefore a coach shouldn't manage their team any differently in game 1 of the season or game 82. The second thought is that the ultimate goal of any team is to win the championship, and if by resting players will give them a higher chance of succeeding in achieving the ultimate goal, the coach should do whatever it takes to increase the chance of achieving that goal.

9:05 - that took a bit over 5 minutes. I shall come back to this topic later on. I really should study...

Back to Toronto

I've officially moved out of my place in Waterloo and now I'm back in Toronto full time. Will be commuting on Tuesday/Wednesday of this week, and that will be the end of my school term in terms of lectures/classes. Long day these next two days though with 2 in class exams, with one being possibly worth 40%. It is also a class that I haven't doing too well in this term, and yet I haven't exactly done much studying. Probably going to be an allnighter tonight, but whatever. Wednesday's won't be as bad as its only worth 25%, so not really going worry too much about it right now. A couple of exams at the end of next week, and another 2 weeks from now, and then summer officially begins. Still trying to figure out what to do about summer employment.

Back to "nerding"

Bad Habits

Its been pretty bad lately. Not sleeping until 3/4/5am in the morning, and eating like 1.5 meals a day...

I'll be unofficially moving out of the place I've been living at for the past 7 months tomorrow. Time flies, still felt like yesterday when I met these guys for the first time. Don't think any of them will ever read this, but thanks for everything...the past 7 months has been alot of fun. Looking around the room, I'm not sure if I can fit everything in my car tomorrow, might have to come back after Grad Dinner on Sunday to get whatever I leave behind due to space.

Still need a summer job...NYC tripS planning in progress...still praying for HK...contemplating whether or not to apply to be a don...

Priorities

Very hard decision, but...

CCF Grad Dinner > Wrestlemania + Raptors game + Chris Bosh All-Star Bobblehead..

Intramural Volleyball

A random note...currently in the semi-finals for advanced vision bracket 1 - if we win the next game we'll be playing the finals on varsity court...something to strive for.

I'm hoping that yesterday's storm was the last one for the winter...am really getting sick of the coldness and winter in general. Time for spring/summer - aka softball, soccer, you name it! Time to bring back that flipflop tan!

Sleepless Night

Another night where there are so many thoughts running through my head that I just can't seem to fall asleep....don't even know where to begin.

Relationship Building

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother...its like why I do I even bother wasting time and effort in a losing battle, or at a lost cause. Thinking back, it seems like my fingers are always pointed outwards, should it be time to turn that finger inwards? Am I the problem? Am I going about it the wrong way? I'm not talking about a romantic relationship here, but merely friendships and a relationship between a brother/brother or brother/sister. It feels like there is always a barrier somewhere, some kind of invisible shield. Is it that hard to be able to have and maintain connections? Sometimes it seems like when I try to get closer to Him, I end up getting further away from people. Ever since I came back from Passion, where I've striven to try to get to know Him more intimately, I seem to have messed up more relationships by either saying things that probably are better left unsaid, or I don't say things that I should. Sometimes it feels like I'm wasting time on the wrong relationships...trying to build something out of nothing, something that is non-existent, pursuing something that should not be pursued, and then I turn around and turn away ones I should invest time in building up...I need to get my head checked.

I feel like I hate (well..not hate since hate is such a strong word), but dislike(?) who I am/have become/am becoming?

Some random notes. I really really really do not have any motivation for school. Its been going on since mid-Feb, and to this date, I've probably skipped more classes then the ones I've attended. Granted, I did have 2 weeks where I was sick, and 1 week I skipped for TC, but even the weeks I'm in Waterloo - I just don't feel like going and attending classes. I think this third year in general has been pretty brutal for me academic wise...I'll need to find a way to dig deep and finish off strong, 3 exams next week and 1 is definitely not going to be pretty...

Crazy Week

Just felt like randomly blogging a note here for some reason...these past few days (or a week and a bit) has been crazy. A sort-of last minute decision to serve at TC...to being in Toronto during school week, into London for Friday night and in Waterloo during the weekend, its been nuts. Finally had a bit of time to rewind on Saturday/Sunday and my body decide to get sick. Ended up sleeping for like 16 hours on Saturday, missing out on the fashion show and all.

Sometimes I just feel like the more things change, the more things stay the same...maybe its just a coincidence, but I really don't know whether I should embrace that, or if I should look at it as an insult to myself by myself...:S

Back to making the playoffs schedule for intramural volleyball, captains meeting is in 2 hours

There goes 4 days

And...TC is over. It was an eye-opener to say the least. Seeing TC from a different perspective, and more importantly being humbled through serving. I'll probably write up something sometime soon....

Still...

Still hate trying to think of titles...

Still learning...

Still being changed by His grace and mercy...

Still wondering...pondering...whether or not some things needs to be said...

Still waiting in anticipation of what is to come...

Still losing at Roll Up the Rim to Win..

Winter + PassionHK?

Again..at a lost for a title..will get back to it.

I'm seriously getting sick of winter. I've never been much of a winter person, but I never really minded winter until the last couple of years. I think it has something to do with not being able to go boarding/skiing, but yeah, I want winter to be over, and summer to come.

A short update I guess on my "renewed" walk. I've had the desire to read God's word alot more lately. I'm not really reading through any particular book or following any particular tracks, I'm more just flipping to various passages, and really seeing what God is trying to say to me through those few passages. Also reading through Louie Giglio's book "I am not but I know I am"...

Another thing that's been on my mind lately, in Passion Hong Kong. Ever since PassionDC, where Sam shared her story, my relatives have been on my mind...ALOT. It think more of it started with Chris Luk said something along the lines of "no money (or monetary value) can represent how you would feel if you know your son/daughter is going to go to hell" (sorry if I butchered this Chris - if you ever read this - but after I heard it thoughts just starting rushing through my mind). I have talked to a few people about this, but its something I've been praying over lately. With almost all my relatives in HK, and only a couple of them being Christian, its really been on my heart to go back and spend some time with them and hopefully have a chance to share the gospel with them. Praying to see if God is calling me to go back for a week or two and just devote it to the relatives (and maybe serve at Passion HK). How awesome would it be to serve the students from the universities in HK and allow them to experience the worship environment/atmosphere that we've experienced here in Canada/US. In the end, its all about God's timing, and like I committed to His will and His timing, I'll go - whenever HE calls me to go.

Still can't think of a title...so I guess I'll just have to go with something plain and simple

Be Still

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

Something Random

Man..I hate coming up with titles for blogs...especially something short like this...

Anyways...so I bumped into a friend at the library yesterday, and I just though "man, I must not have changed very much if some guy I haven't seen since like grade 4 can still recognize me"

That is all

Post Passion...

My reaction so far to everyone's question to "how's passion" has been "it was awesome, learned...or more like relearned alot of things"...but, what does that really mean? I've been thinking and rethinking what it all meant, how it all came together, and what I can do. I don't think it is something I have fathomed, nor is it something I can really put in writing within one post. My guess is that it can probably be more reflected by the changes over time..hopefully.

Ever since I've entered university, saying my spiritual life is like a roller coaster on rocky tracks is an understatement. I've been trying to hide it, trying to say to myself "it'll improve", but each time, I find myself saying "I'll get to it tomorrow". What it boils down to, I think is the fact that I no longer associate myself with a group where I belonged to that helped me with my spiritual walk. Throughout my days at MGC, and later the reason why I ultimately had to leave, was that I didn't feel I was growing. In my heart I still believed there was a reason God placed me in that church, and it was tough, very tough, to really pray to see where God was leading me to, and whether or not a change was necessary. With that said, I always had an avenue outside of the church itself where I was growing. Whether it was through TC or other things like online sermons/studies, I was striving to build a relationship with Him... But as I entered university, that flame that I had seemed to have been extinguished. I never really regained the passion to study his word (but then again, I never really regularly did "devos"). I slacked off in my prayer life, and when it comes down to it, most of the time, I was a walking hypocrite. Proclaiming to be a Christian, but other than believing that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and has redeemed me from death, I did nothing. I'm not saying faith along is not enough, in contrast, it is stated in the bible that all we need is faith as small as a mustard seen and nothing is impossible. - "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matt 17:20). Anyways, I was simply a "believer", and not someone who continued to pursue a relationship with Him. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, it just kept growing and gaining momentum.

When it came to PassionDC...when you asked me at the beginning, "why are you going?", I would not have been able to give you an honest answer. Do I know now? Yes and no. I know why I was called to go, but I am yearning to find out more. I want to dig deeper...I am no longer interested in just scratching the surface. At points during Passion, I felt like I caught of a glimpse of heaven. No longer are people worried about what others will feel about the way they're worshiping, but rather it was genuine worship. So often I realized that, even myself, I wonder what people might think about me, that I am no longer genuinely worshiping. Its definitely an atmosphere I can get used to :D. Everyone around was there for one and only one reason, God. There were times in the past, I guess it was more during high school prior to the roller coaster (not to say there wasn't any back then), I've felt alone, I felt like I was the only one. But seeing 3000 other college (or university) students there, it was a great reminder. Not only am I not alone, but I'm part of a bigger army, God's army.

I feel like I'm rambling here...another reason why I should really start journal-ing. It feels like there were lots of time where I've had my thinking time, or mediation time, and then when I get back to it, most of it is gone. I guess it's hard to really gather all your thoughts at times...but yeah...I guess more to come...

2078.1 km, 1 purpose, 1 destination

To be continued...

A journey renewed

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what break yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

For greater things
Have yet to come
And greater things
Are still to be done

edited: not my fault the site I c+p from couldn't type! and funny how loey didn't catch it :D

Modernization of Religion?

Had an interesting conversation with a few friends over dinner last night that got me thinking a bit. As we all know, Christianity, or for the most part, all of the religions, has become more open/accepting over the years. But since I guess I'm most familiar with Christianity, I'll stick to that. There is alot of the "traditional vs. revolutional" discussion, ever since, forever. As secular culture evolves, it seems like the church follows suits. I guess most relevant example would be worship music - there are alot of debates for hymns vs. more modern worship music. While I will not take sides because it is not necessary for this discussion, but with this example, we can see that as the secular culture evolves, the culture at the church also evolves with it. While the "typical" argument would be that the church is simply providing people, mainly teenagers, something relevant and familiar to them, and thus does not discourage the congregation to come as they feel what they are doing is "old-school", but is that a religion evolving, or is that a religion modernizing itself to remain "relevant" to society. Are the true purpose of religion (or have the true purpose, or will it ever be) lost as the culture of the church continues to try to remain "relevant" to the secular society, and the continous attempt to appeal to the youth culture.

Probably sounded alot like a bunch of mumble jumble, but definitely something that got me thinking...

0 for 4 in FTOPS

Haven't had much success this year yet...good thing I satellited into all of the events instead of buying in directly, would've been costly. Had my best showing tonight in the $216 6 max Limit event. Had Rizen (one of the best tournament players) to my left for like 4 levels so that really hurt, but I was able to get up to 2x the average stack for awhile before my hands decided to stop holding up against loose calling donkeys. Guys were calling 3 bets with hands like A2, Q10 and hitting...oh wells. Busted out right before the 3 hour mark and about 100 short of cashing. Taking the next few days off, and hopefully will get in a couple of events next weekend before the series is over.

And as for sickness, I feel like I'm almost back to full health...so thats definitely a good thing.

FTOPS VII

FTOPS = Full Tilt Online Poker Series

Basically a series of poker tournaments (20 in total) which spans 2 weeks. And like any other major poker sites, well fine, Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker decides to give some money away to players to lure them back to play (and it works, because I have already generated $250 in rake for 'em in 3 days). So I just somehow decided to get sick these past few days, so I figred "meh, why not" and decided to dump some extra money in and satellite into a few tournaments.

So far, I've already qualified for 3 events, and hopefully more in the days to come. Just played in their first event, $216 No Limit Hold 'em, had around 5300 entrants and generated a prize pool of over $1 million, and first place getting about $180K. Unfortunately I just couldn't get a grip in this event at all. Probably only won like 2 pots in the entire hour and a half that I was in the tournament for. Raised with hands like 1010/JJ, and each time was called and flop put 2 overcards on board, or limped with small pocket pairs and came out empty each time. Last hand ended with blinds at 50/100, and I pushed all-in with AJo after a min-raise by the player to my immediate right, and one of the blinds just decided to wake up with QQ. Flopped a gut shot but somehow missed my 4 outer. Oh wells...next event it is.

Got a seat in tomorrow night's $535 HORSE event, as well as both the $216 Pot-Limit Hold 'em and $216 Limit Hold'em event on Friday. Won't be able to play any events after Friday with midterms and stuff the week after, but hopefully will satellite into the big $2500 2 day event and also $535 main event next weekend.


On another note, Mike MacDonald, aka "timex" won $933K Euro (around $1.4 million USD) this past week in EPT Dortmund...so sick..He's been running so hot this year its gross..

Giving credit to where credit's due

The NY Giants defence played a huge game from what I've read and saw. Yes, I was cheering for the Patroits, and I'm not afraid to admit it, but I'm also just a regular sports fan who enjoy a close, nail-biting, and exciting game over a blowout. I'll have to watch the game again as I missed half of it, but I don't regret that decision at all. Eli Manning played a great game, seemed to be very composed and in control, and the pass rushing defence of the Giants were simply too much. In any case, congrats to the Giants for winning Super Bowl 42, the 1972 Dolphins team members will probably get a good night sleep tonight.

As for the band wagon jumpers, please don't even start...you do not become a fan of a team just because they knocked off a huge favourite in the biggest game of the year..

Super Bowl Props Results

I'm sure I went 0-for with the props...oh wells. Just glad that I took the line early even though it didn't make a difference, but too bad I was such a girl and middled the game...

Super Bowl XLII Props

Something just for fun

Coinflip: Heads
Winning the coin toss: New England Patroits
Team to receive opening kickoff: New England Patroits
First play from scrimmage: Pass
First scoring play: Touchdown
Highest Scoring Quarter: 2nd
Highest Scoring Half: 1st
First Coaches Challenge: New York Giants
Result of Challenge: Play stands
Total points in the first half: 41
Total points in the game: 75

Argh!

This sucks! After fixing my sleeping patterns this week, my stupid throat just has to start acting up and itch tonight, and now I can't sleep!

Not being able to sleep, it got me thinking, and thus started a bit of link-stalking. What do people even blog about now-a-days anyways? Is it just a diary? If its a diary, then why does some people not write everything down? I don't know, I'll probably end up going in circles anyways, since I'm not really organizing my thoughts and just writing them down. So if a blog is not a diary by its traditional definition, how would you explain what a blog is to someone who have been on Mars for the past decade? Something/someplace/an avenue in which a person uses to express their thoughts and opinions? But blogs aren't only about thoughts and opinions, some people keep others updated about their life via blogs (like mine to a certain degree). How would you define a "blog"?

Speaking of blogs, is it a fad like Friendster (and potentially Facebook)? Or is it here to stay? I've found many old blogs where the writer neglect the blog, or has neglected the blogs for months, if not a year or more. Sometimes a user goes back to it periodically, or will never go back, or one day just decide to "revive" his/her blog. I know I have done it, and many others have done so. Is "blogging" something that have phases as well?

The Variance

It feels like crap to run this bad. So I've had some Frequent Player Points (FPP) saved up from Poker Stars for awhile, and I decided to play some of their steps tournament which could turn into an EPT trip. It was running good for awhile as I started maybe 10 step 1s, and have built it up to 3 step 4s, 2 step 3s and 1 step 2s. (To advance from one step to the next, you must finish in the top 2 from a 9 player tournament). And then the doom switch was pushed. I have never, I mean never, ran this bad before. This is not just AK vs. A3 where the guy hits a 3, or top pair against a flush draw because those I can deal with, but these are KK vs. AA, QQ vs. KK, or the odd time when I have KK vs. 99, or AA vs 1010, they manage to hit one of their two cards by the end. It has been sickening. So I have lost all of my tournament tickets, and I will again, be taking some time off (seems like I say that alot). It feels like I have "spurts" where I play alot (compared to others, its like nothing - but in any case), which usually takes place for 2 weeks or so, and then I take "breaks" of anywhere from 2 days to 2 months. I really do not have the desire to grind low limit cash game anymore. It doesn't feel as fun as it used to be, and tournaments/SnGs have such incredibly high variance, so I just play whenever I feel like it. It is still a very fun, and sometime profitable game/hobby, but my motivation to put in the hours and hands is simply not where it was a year ago today.

The World of Judy Yan

The way to wish people good luck before an exam...

"and when u write an exam u want to have a brain diarrhea..where all the info in ur brain just spills out onto the paper HAHAHAHHAHAHHA"

Or..if you really hate the other person...

"I hope you have a brain constipation"

Aussie Open

My sleeping pattern is official messed...been up watching tennis til sunrise for the past few days. At least the women's finals is tonight and I really have no interest in the men's finals, so hopefully after this weekend I am going to be able to somehow correct my sleeping schedule back to normal.

But wow, Federer and Nadal losing in straight sets in the semis. Watched both matches almost in the entirity and both Tsonga and Djokovic had the match of the lives (more so for Tsonga). Both players were dominating in their matches and deserves to play in the finals...but its just weird seeing Nadal and Federer losing in straight sets...oh wells, sleep time!

Another Early Morning

I had one of those nights/mornings again, I was up until 5:45am watching the Aussie Open. It was a great match by Federer and Blake though. But I seriously need to do something about my sleep schedule, I can't continue this nocturnal-ness for the entire term...

Staying up does have its incentives

One of the benefits that came from not being able to sleep tonight was watching a 5-set thriller between Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic. What an exciting 5th set...

So its 4:30am....

...and I am still wide awake. For some reason my sleeping pattern has made a turn for the worst after I went back to Waterloo. Its not like I've been skipping class, heck, I've been to every single one of my lectures so far (well..I did leave one early), but yet I still have trouble falling asleep at a "normal" time. So now I am home in TO, up at 4:30am, trying to find a way to make myself tired...hopefully reading about personnel selection will do the trick...