I mentioned to Sarah that I don't wear makeup to work on days I'm working out at the gym. It's just one extra step, when really, I go most of my day without seeing very many people anyway.

I don't know what it is about make-up and the attachment women have to it. It's like we get to cover up and hide behind things called translucent powder. (the irony of caking it on for the sake of looking natural) I remember girls in high school/college refusing to even run to the grocery store without putting on their makeup first.

I do admit, I hate seeing/talking to people at the gym. That's probably because I feel like I look my worst then. That's private time. It's when I can sweat and look my grungiest. I don't want to stand around making small talk while I'm sweating profusely and my face is beet red.

So if you happen to catch me on a gym/work day and I'm not wearing makeup, don't call me out on it. I know I don't look all that great, and I don't need you telling me I look like crap. :)

I used to be a thrower in high school. Shotput and discus. Don't be fooled by my size. I actually sucked. A lot of times we'd go to out of town meets... and just imagine, hundreds of throwers. And each person gets 3 throws each. So to minimize time, if you don't meet a certain distance, they don't bother to measure it. There were so many times our coach would put up results for the meet and next to my name, NM (No Mark). One time I finally got a mark. You don't know how happy I was to see a number next to my name. I hit the minimum 25' with the shotput. hahaha. But dude, some of those girls are monsters.

I mention my throwing days because we're having a mini-reunion this friday. Just a quick dinner, because I really need to study. But it'll be good seeing old throwers, and our old coach. He was quite a character. Loved WWF-style wrestling. He used to be a bouncer. We'd make fun of the way he walks. He kind of sways his body because he's so built...

I used to throw him dirty looks when he piled on the weights on weight training days. The worst was circuit training outside in front of the baseball players... Lying face down on the ground doing reps of "supermans." If you don't know what I'm talking about... man, that was embarassing.

I need to study hard this weekend because I'm spending all of Saturday at Great America for their Spring Celebration. I'll get to see one of my favorite Christian singers... Steven Curtis Chapman. I know some of you think this songs are kind of cheesy, but what can I say... I'm a big cornball.

I've been listening to his "Speechless" album. My favorite song...


What I Really Want To Say
(1 Jn. 3:18, Gen. 2:23, 24)
Steven Curtis Chapman


I say I love you, I say I need you
I try so many ways to say how my heart beats for you
I say I'm always thinking about you
There's no way I'd want to face this life without you
And even though these words come from deep inside me
There's so much more I don't have the words to say


[CHORUS]
'Cause what I really want to say
Is what the sun would say to the sky
For giving it a place to come alive
But my words get in the way
Of what I really want to say
Oh, what I really want to say


I know that sometimes my words can be as hard as stone
And sometimes my words have left you feeling so alone
So please forgive me and hear the words I'm saying now
I will spend my whole life looking for a way somehow
To let you know just how precious you are to me
I'll use the best words I know but I still won't say it all


It's like a tale too great to be told
It's something that my heart can only show
I'm gonna take my whole life
Just to let you know
What I really want to say
Oh, what I really want to say to you
What I really want to say
Oh, what I really want to say

Busan in the house!

My aunts are visiting from Korea. Well, they went on one of those Korean bus tours... probably make their way to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas. But it was fun seeing them for a little bit yesterday.

They came bearing gifts of dduk, dried fish, and seaweed. hahaha. Wouldn't be a visit from Korea without those things. They also brought a bunch of "healthy" snacks from my grandma.

I love hearing that Busan satooree. It's so much fun. My aunts would keep laughing at me and asking, you don't know what that means, do you? I have to admit... they use some straaaaange words.

I got a letter from my sponsored child yesterday. It was addressed to "Uncle Chris." haha. It doesn't really bother me because I've received plenty of letters in my lifetime addressed to Mr. Chris Son, or Mr. Seo Jin Son. But... I sent this kid a (labeled) picture once before. Maybe he thinks my brother is Uncle Chris.

I always thought my korean name was less ambiguous than Chris. Seo Jin... that definitely sounds like a girl's name...at least to me it did. But it wasn't until I went on a 2-week program in Korea right after my senior year in high school that I realized, maybe not. My roommate on the program told me she had a guy friend named Seo Jin. She even showed me his senior picture. Engraved in gold in the corner spelled Seo Jin.

In my high school Korean class, our teacher signed us up for a pen-pal program. We would write letters in Korean and they would write back in English. The very first letter I received from my pen-pal, she wrote matter of factly, "oh, you are a boy. I like boys." Well, honey, so do I, but I'm definitely not one. Talk about awkward, having to reply with "Actually, I'm a yujah." I don't think we wrote too many times after that.

So now I have to either write my kid and tell him, sorry, it's actually "Aunt Chris" or send him another (labeled) picture without any boys in it.

Remembering happier days... 

I need to work on being nicer. I really do. Not just say I'll work on it... but really make the effort.

Sorry everyone. Give me 4 weeks and hopefully I'll have all the time in the world.