12/30

thankful for

1) scarves.
took it out for the first time.
warm!

2) birthday gatherings.
I guess any reason to gather with friends is a good thing.

3) chocolate.
pretty much ate chocolate products for dinner.
fondue, cake, crackers.

12/29

thankful for

1) bacon.

mmm.

2) health.

been getting physical check-ups lately,

and even though I did feel fine,

it still relieves me when the doctor says that I'm fine.

had my eyes checked today,

and they're fine, it seems. 

3) service in church while in college.

got a call from someone in the church I went to in Michigan,

asking me if I can fix something in the church website.

I had made the website for the church, 

and I guess they thought I would still be able to handle it.

thankfully I was able to help--

seems some syntax became outdated when PHP was updated. 

12/28

thankful for

1) a full day.
woke up early and got a lot of things done.
tried to switch my driver's license from Michigan to New York but didn't have enough documents
(forgot passport)
and got a physical exam from the doctor.
all by lunch time.

2) good movies.
"Looper".
it had a well-thought plot.

3) praise.
went to a praise service
that had a Korean praise band (예수전도단)
leading praise.
it was the first time seeing a well-known Korean praise band,
and it was a good experience.

12/27

thankful for

1) running water.
had no water until the afternoon
probably due to yesterday's freak rainstorm.
just washing my face never felt so clean and refreshing.

2) no rain.
after yesterday's rain
and the forecast that it was going to rain all day today also,
it felt good to be walking around with no umbrella.

3) free time.
watched 2 movies and read about embedding jetty into Java.
I think I get it,
but understanding it and applying it are different.
gotta keep reading and learning.

parallel processing

put my laundry in the washer at 9:20,

only to realize that it's open until 11 only on friday/saturday

and open until 10 today.

so I have 40 minutes,

but the washer itself takes 30 minutes.

laundromat lady looks at me like

"what were you thinking"

and the only thing I could do was shrug my shoulders.

as I sat in front of the washer,

thinking about how 10 minutes of drying would do anything

and what a mess I have to go through

to try to dry all these clothes in my room somehow.

then a eureka moment.

the speed of a dryer drying clothes is inversely related to the amount of clothes in a dryer

(less clothes, faster dry speed),

and because it's nearly closing time,

alot of the dryers were available.

so once the clothes were done washing,

I split them into (hopefully) equal loads,

put them in multiple dryers,

and let them spin for 10 minutes.

the result was the equivalent about 20~30 minutes of drying in a single dryer.

doing this may sound like an obvious course of action now,

but at that moment,

I was so pegged on the normal process of "one washer, one dryer"

since that was what I had always done.

anyways,

it felt like I was applying what I had learned about parallel processing

in a.. different, yet applicable, situation.

12/26

thankful for

1) guiltless sleep.
just slept all the way into the afternoon.
felt bad that the sun was already setting,

2) barbeque ribs!
nothing would have consoled my rain-soaked,
wind-battered,
hungry self more than a full slab of
mouth-watering barbeque ribs with friends.
and these ribs were amazing.

3) a cab ride home.
great food topped with a ride all the way to the front of my doorstep? awesome.
not getting wet and getting my umbrella flipped over 5 times on the way back home? priceless.

12/25

thankful for

1) Jesus and His gift of salvation.
today we celebrate the day when Jesus was born to live a life that will bring us salvation from sin.
the greatest thanks I will ever give.

2) a whole day of spending time with people.
this was probably the most eventful Christmas I had in years.

3) group games.
specifically mafia and card games.
time just flew.

spent all night playing.
so tired,
but very happy.

12/24

thankful for

1) trying out make-up for the first time.
only because it was for the play.
downside was that it was impossible to clean it off my face after the play.
increased respect for those who put on make-up frequently.

2) children's Christmas performances.
if children are adorable,
children doing Christmas performances can only add an exponent to that level of adorable.

3) the play.
it was a really fun experience.
I also got to talk to people I had seen around church frequently
but had unable to talk to.

12/23

thankful for

1) a power nap.
it really works wonders when you're tired in the middle of the day.

2) not needing to pack up after service.
got to keep everything around for the Christmas event tomorrow.

3) meeting with the '89ers.
nothing was planned,
but somehow we all just came together
and ended up eating dinner.
good time of talking and joking.

12/22

thankful for

1)  no rain.
forecast had today as rainy,
but not a single drop.
it's getting cold,
so rain is not welcome.

2) holiday market.
despite living close to it,
I haven't gone there this year.
I happened to get off the union square station today,
which got me right in the middle of it.
just looked around.
despite my bad memory,
I was able to notice some things I had seen from last year.

3) random dig into philosophy.
one of the things that happen when I end up just surfing the internet.
read about Descarte and dualism (a soul is non-material)
and some modern thoughts that tries to believe it is wrong
(mind is not independent from the physical body).
not that I'm starting to question my stance on it,
just happened to stumble across it.
this led to a look into interesting paradox
called the ship of theseus.
the question is that if an object has all of its components replaced,
is it still the original object,
or a new object?
interesting.

12/21

thankful for

1) quiet time in the office.
coming in early and the holiday season (people out on vacation)
gives me time to just relax before the workday starts.

2) vacation days.
I am done with work for 2012.
first time starting and finishing a year working.

3) dried mangoes and green tea.
green tea just goes well with so many things.

triple threat

if it's

cold,

raining,

and windy

on any friday morning,

there exists someone in the city who's

wet and carrying a guitar, two bags, and an umbrella that's flipped inside out.

12/20

thankful for

1) break time with manager.
manager must have been tired today,
took me out to two coffee breaks.
good causal talk time.

2) music I'm listening to blending with the surroundings.
was listening to music on my way back from work,
and there was that moment where it felt like
the music was describing my surroundings.
not literally,
but just complementing the ambiance.

3) quick practices.
went to practice expecting to be there for several hours,
but it only lasted one hour.

train snack cart

suddenly remembered the snack cart in the trains,

especially the ones in the mugoonghwa class trains.

it seems they got rid of them when I went back to Korea couple of months ago, 

instead creating a separate food car.

it was a more fun experience with the cart.

I miss the dried squid and peanuts.

oh, those peanuts--

they weren't honey-roasted

but coated with a thin layer of some kind of sweet glaze.

I never found them outside the snack cart.

I miss them.

president

Korea has elected its next president

through an election with a 75.8% voter turnout rate--

it's a really impressive turnout (the US had ~57% for 2012),

and it is good to know that the people believe that their opinion is important.

as for the result of the election,

after looking at the president-elect's policies,

mostly centered on the economy,

I think what they are aiming for isn't bad,

and despite being the conservative platform,

it sounds like a very moderate-liberal policy with respect to US policies.

policies I've read so far

will try to create policies that will regulate the chaebol culture and prohibit any more of such structure to be formed
 - similar to a policy against "big-business", something that a conservative in the US would try to avoid in their platform. it would be hard to carry this out knowing how much influence the chaebol companies have (hearsay, but I remember something like a 20% number on their influence on the national GDP), but as long as the president pushes with small and steady changes with the patience of an ox, it it's not impossible. I haven't read any specific measures that will be taken, so time will tell.

3 times the current spending to support small and medium businesses
- I guess it will be more of how it will be spent that will make this any good, but the efficient spending of the budget was one of their other goals, so that once again will be explained in time.

increase R&D spending to 5% of GDP
- it seems current R&D spending is 3.36% of GDP. it's a pretty big shift, and it's possible that this will be a  part of the solution to the "3 times current spending on small/medium business" policy by rewarding most of these to small companies.

increase the "middle class" to 70%
- very subjective goal, unless there is a defined condition for being in this social class, and I have not found a definition yet. possibly more reasonable to say make 70% of people consider themselves middle class, but that is also very vague in how such a result will be obtained. however, this would also be indirectly achieved through extra funding of small/medium companies.

halve tuition through financial assistance; third child gets free pass to college
- addressing the need for the nation to increase the birth rate. the intention is good, but it should look at the US and definitely avoid a financial assistance program that involves loans that are interest-free only during college (long term disaster for many graduates). other than that, sounds like increased government spending like the others above.

plus increased government-subsidized retirement pensions and extended national medicare coverage.

so far, I have heard nothing about spending cuts,

which means down-to-earth policies have yet to be revealed,

unless it's going to be a straight-up tax hike.

I do remember reading that there is going to be a gradual increase in taxes,

but there definitely has to be something else to make all these plans possible.

then again,

it's possible a lot of these policies will not see light.


anyways,

it's time to be one nation again

and support the newly elected president.

hats off to you.

12/19

thankful for

1) online lectures.
MIT freely distributes a lot of the video lectures for its classes.
I've been listening to their calculus lectures,
and it's surely better than trying to re-read the textbook.

2) care packages.
thanks mom,
I now have enough sugar to last me through the new year.

3) small talk.
while it might feel like a breach of privacy/space for those unaccustomed to the culture
(not to mention the high chance of awkwardness),
I believe that the passing of small talk is one of the key characteristics of American culture.
as long as both parties are comfortable,
it becomes one of those moments that show that American culture is friendly in its roots.
anyways,
as I was waiting in the post office to get my package,
this lady/girl who was standing behind me started talking to me.
"so what are you waiting for?"
I tell her it's a package, from home.
"and so am I! I'm getting a present!"
asked her if it was for Christmas.
"no, birthday present! my birthday is this friday."
so much details, no?
asked if she ends up getting only one present because of the proximity of the days.
"no, I get little things over the course of the month, and I like that!"
she continues
"you know what I like the most? the socks I get for Christmas!"
something about that warmed my heart,
being excited for the little things.
"oh, I wish I'm getting socks!"
then again,
it could be that she's getting some sick silk socks.
couple more exchanges continued until I received my package and wished her well.

12/18

thankful for

1) getting to see some innovative projects.
it was the finals for the contest that the company held for
innovative software ideas,
and the final submissions were indeed respectable.
a finalist from the SF office had a project that was similar to ours.

2) my email account's draft folder.
I tend to write quick notes down in them every once in a while,
and I was looking at things I wrote up to three years ago.
one of them was an essay I wrote for the church program
(church program had a church member write an essay for the back cover every week).
it was an anecdotal piece that concluded with the anecdote being an analogy.
fun read.

3) acting.
somehow got in a last-minute role for this year's Christmas play,
and it's not too bad.
I actually have that urge to do better than the last run.

unconditional

read a blog post of Paul Buchheit,

Google's employee #23 and the creator of GMail.

http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-gift.html

he talks about a life-changing moment in his life--

the death of his brother and

the birth of his daughter--

and how it defined life for him: unconditional love.

he implies towards the end of this post that he is agnostic in his religious views,

but he does explain his beliefs in an "analogy":

Human intelligence and understanding is deeply connected to stories, so I've tried to encapsulate my ideas and experiences in a little story, using the familiar characters of God and the Devil:

Long ago, the Devil boasted that he could easily gather more followers than God. God's way of gathering followers was simple: give everyone Unconditional Love and Forgiveness, nothing more and nothing less. Naturally the Devil was more devious. He knew that most people would not knowingly follow the Devil, so his plan was to lie and claim that he was the One True God, promise his followers a great reward in the afterlife, and threaten that those who didn't worship him would be sent to hell when they died. God was betting on Love, but the Devil believed that Greed and Fear are stronger than Love, and therefore even good people could be tricked into following him. 

The idea behind this story is quite simple. If a God promises to reward you with 72 virgins in paradise in exchange for flying an airplane into a building, it's a false God. If a God threatens to send you to hell for loving the wrong person, it's a false God. If a God tells you to coerce people into worshiping him, it's a false God. If a God promises protection in exchange for doing his bidding, it's a false God (or perhaps the Mafia). God brings union through unconditional love. The false Gods bring division through fear and greed. 

Genuine, unconditional love is a gift that must be freely given and freely accepted, with nothing expected in return. Love can not be delivered at gun point, or with the threat of eternal damnation. That's more like rape.

this is an opinion, of course,

but it was one of those "well said" pieces,

from a software developer, no less.

the valley

somehow find myself in the entrance.

I know there is nothing to fear,

but I guess I will be facing things that are worth fearing.

but You will be with me,

with Your rod and Your staff.

12/17

thankful for

1) umbrellas.
and not forgetting it when I left work.

2) craigslist.
bought something from there for the first time--
a full-length mirror.
it's plain, simple, and nice.

3) wikipedia.
learned so many trivia from it.

"gift of death"

interesting blog post about the economy, some politics, media, and the environment:

http://www.monbiot.com/2012/12/10/the-gift-of-death/

12/16

thankful for

1) mta bus.
arrived at church at a relatively alright time.

2) Christmas carols.
I guess it's already a legitimate time to sing them.

3) movie with Efrain.
watched a movie called "safety not guaranteed,"
an indie-styled movie.
it was great.

really need that vacation next week.

timing

I swear,
I miss the train that comes once in ten minutes
by 30 seconds
every week
man

12/15

thankful for

1) getting to wake up late.
it feels like it's been a while since I got to leave home after 12.
all the people in santa costumes for santa-con was interesting also.

2) homemade coffee.
wish I have time to make them every day.
I did make too much today--
drank everything in one sitting
and it kept me awake for the whole day.

3)  brother's new start.
he found a new place,
packed all his things up,
said his goodbyes,
did all of his graduation exhibits,
and finished his last finals
in one week.
tomorrow he works.
I don't know how he managed to do all that in such a short time.
he's really happy though, and so am I.
and I get a place to stay in the middle of Seoul.

12/14

early fill today--

thankful for

1) the morning determination.
during the semi-conscious struggle to choose between
an extra hour of sleep and going to service,
did the right choice.

2) ramen at hide-chan.
the super-rich pork broth gets really 느끼해
by the time you're done with the noodles,
but I really do miss it every once in a while.

3) corporate benefits,
was able to treat Efrain with an entrance to the MoMA.

12/13

thankful for

1) clean running water.
water stopped running the day before,
and it was gushing out some brown gunk in the morning.
had t go to work early, but this prevented it.
clean water eventually came out,
and what a sight for sore eyes it was.

2) company year-end party
at the hard rock cafe on times square,
good time talking to previous managers
and everyone around me in the office.

3) having old friends visit!
Efrain came from Seattle today--
spent time talking,
it seems he went through a lot after graduation.
짜식, 전에 좀 말해주지.

12/12

thankful for

1) finishing the presentation.
team members were beleaguered with unexpected production issues,
making us unable to practice beforehand,
but we did alright considering that.

2) walking down the Upper West Side.
went to mike's to borrow a sleeping bag,
and decided to walk down a bit before getting on the subway.
such a nice atmosphere--
it feels like Christmas.

3) blues.
Eric Clapton has soul.
he can play the blues,
and he sure can sing it too.

space

for someone who talks to only a few,

(you know, more than just "hi" and "bye")

the absence of just one person

who you frequently converse with

really leaves a vacuum.

but if that's how it's gotta be,

I'll deal with it.

didn't think it would be easy,

and it surely wasn't.

12/11

thankful for

1) gamjatang.
now I cannot deny that at least one of the things I'm thankful for
is always going to be food.
it only proves that "먹는게 남는거다"

2) two monitors.
I can watch a show full screen while working on my presentation materials.
had to pause a lot so that I can concentrate though.
man, have to become a better multitasker.

3) something to be motivated about.
recently my brain has been shutting down for any useful operations around 1:30,
but the fact that I'm up right now doing something meaningful is refreshing

12/10

thankful for

1) staying late at work?
more for being able to stay late without feeling bad about it.

2) teamwork.
developing a software with a team,
and good chemistry just feels swell.

3) "seinfield."
for a show that started in the '80s,
it's such a great show.
and just like "friends" and "how I met your mother,"
it's based on New York City,
so it's nice to hear familiar references.

12/9

thankful for

1) the accidental short nap that thankfully didn't become a whole night's sleep.
didn't want to just let the rest of the day pass by,
but I was really tired and just fell asleep.
I guess the posture wasn't so great.

2) the time to watch a movie.
haven't watched one in a while.
movie was "127 Hours",
starring James Franco.
considering the whole movie was about a man with his hand
stuck by the rock on a canyon,
it was a good movie.

3) online QTs.
the one I used to use stopped offering theirs
about a month ago,
and I was without a good source.
seems living life offers theirs online also.

12/8

thankful for

1) long sleep.
though unintentional
and made me late,
long sleep is long sleep.

2) barbecue.
I've been blessed with food lately.

3) barbecue.
See what I mean? blessed with food.
ate barbecue for lunch and dinner.

12/7

thankful for

1) gom tang.
suddenly craved it in the morning,
and it was as good as I thought it would be.

2) free pizza.
from the boss to the team.
I guess today is a good day for food.

3) video games, but not really.
don't play it that much,
but when I do,
I remember why I don't/shouldn't play.

12/6

thankful for

1) a good day of coding.
working on a new project from scratch is refreshing.
not to mention so much progress in such a short time.
time just flew today.

2) songs of praise.
additional thanks to the praise team--
I'm always given a playlist that I can listen to throughout the week.

3) Dave Brubeck,
a famous jazz musician,
who I just found out through news of his death.
such relaxing music.

12/5

thankful for

1) getting a lot of work done today. 

going to be working on a special project for the rest of the week

and wanted to get my current work finish up.

almost done (I think).

2) podcasts. 

specifically this one podcast that I listen to every once in a while about history,

called "hardcore history."

the host, 

someone named Dan Carlin,

talks about history with such enthusiasm 

that it's not hard to just breeze through his 1-2 hour podcasts.

very detailed explanations

and insightful opinions.

3) green tea.

I've been drinking a cup before going to sleep for a couple of days now.

12/4

thankful for

1) five guys burger. just can't get enough of it.
and best fries ever, seriously.

2) the opportunity to walk around outside during work.
left the desk for a bit to go pay rent
(and also to pick up my phone, which forgot at home),
and the weather was great.
I went to a little coffee bean store that I always pass by to go to work that
also sold coffee to-go,
and tried their americano.
sipping coffee and walking through East Village was refreshing.

3) chocolate-covered raspberry creme thin mints.
I was reaching that point of sleepiness at work,
and every time I popped a couple of these in my mouth
I was functioning again.
it was my steady flow of sugar today.

12/3

thankful for

1) 6 hours of sleep. it was so wonderful. no bouts with sleepiness during work. why can't I do this more often.

2) madelines. manager brought some from France, and they are just wonderful with coffee.

3) having a elementary/junior high/high school friend in the city. met him after work and watched monday night football. caught up with life as we watched. it's just nice how I can just talk to this guy as if I had been meeting him always.

lend me your ears

suddenly remembered a Shakespeare piece and started reading it,

from "Julius Casesar":

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest -

For Brutus is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men -

Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must pause till it come back to me.

I've never heard this acted out,

but as I read it, 

I could just feel the sadness that pours out of the speaker. 

his sarcasm when he calls Brutus "honourable" is biting every time,

and his delivery of counter-examples of Caesar's "ambition" comes out in force. 

and the last part,

"bear with me, my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me"

made me pause in awe.

haven't read Shakespeare in a while,

and when I did, I didn't feel much for it,

but this makes me think about reading some again.

12/2

thankful for

1) the 30 minute nap I got while waiting for the 1st service sermon to end. I really needed it

2) my small group. nice kids, and they're involved in the discussion

3) being home before 7. it's been a while

12/1

thankful for

1) 2012. thought it'd be too cliche if I wrote this on 12/31. I'll probably get into detail with specifics in time

2) the praise team. practicing all day is actually not bad now. good people to be around with

3) my guitar. I thank my past self for shelling out my life savings at that time to buy it, just because I saw a cartoon about it and thought it was cool.

I won't be exaggerating if I say that it is what brought and kept me close to God since leaving for college. 

11/30

thankful for

1) this scene

a full moon in the early morning.
I'm supposing that it's shining really brightly because the sun is almost up and therefore giving more sunlight to reflect.

2) staying awake at work when I don't really deserve it. I really should get more sleep

3) the boss' blessing of a week well done before heading out for the weekend