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  • if you're happy and you know it clap your hands...

    it is truly amazing to
    watch my own lil neph grow and progress. he's always pulling new tricks
    out of his hat. here he is clapping (poor video quality...):

    and then while laughing, he now does this silly thing where he scrunches up his face and laughs (poor video quality...):

    i think he's finally understanding
    the action/reaction concept. if he laughs, everyone else laughs. if he
    claps, we start clapping too. what a smart little cookie. he must get
    the smarts from me.

  • good wednesday morning. it is with optimism that i look towards the weekend- for i have been cleared to go for an official run! woohoo! okay, so i'm to keep it to 20 minutes max- but that's a nice two mile run and i'll take that over nothing. we hopped on the treadmill today at PT and i ran about a half mile... and that felt wonderful. i can't wait to hit the road.

  • i'm way overdue for an entry. i've had no time it seems. but real quickly- last week included bobby vans, ardeo, work/work/work/work/work. most of the weekend was spent at my "summer house" with the family, soowon in centerville, a hair cut, watched knocked up, matchbox... i feel like i've forgotten a few events. the past week seems like a bit of a blur. i guess it was the usual shenanigans though.

    i think i'm going to soon be entering into a period of more working my ass off even a bit more. my boss is leaving for three weeks and i'm in charge. boooo. responsibility sucks.

  • some random notes:
     
    - swagger. that's a term i rather like.
     
    - let me toot my horn for a minute. i think it's amazing, the great instincts i have about people when it comes to my work. i pick up on "it" factors when interviewing people and i love seeing talent i've spotted flourish for my company. i'm a pretty darn good judge of character. but outside of work, i'm a lost cause. what's the deal with that? perhaps i don't take things serious enough outside of the office walls? who knows.
      
    - faux intimacy. good term. and i have concluded that i'm a sucker for faux intimacy. if i think about my patterns with people, i fall for faux intimacy, and actually, i probably seek it out. it ramps up quickly. phone calls, the want to spend time together- "let's" "we"- dinner, dates... and then i mistake it for something it's not. one person- me or he- inevitably realizes this constructed intimacy isn't real. and then the quick decline ensues. it's the same pattern over and over. sharp incline, sharp decline. faux intimacy. and there is nothing wrong with it, per se, as long as i recognize it for what it is. 
     
    - i must admit that i like making the band on mtv. "boom clack. boom clack." LOL. and i like p. diddy, not for his musical talent, but just because he is who he is. i like a mogul. i like a mogul who has some swagger. i was a little embarrassed by tonight's episode though. shenanigans. foolery. silliness. great drama though.
     
    - thanks drew, for the introduction to george nozuka. i'm a sucker for cheese like this. i'm especially feeling "talk to me." interestingly, his uncle/aunt are kevin bacon/kyra sedgewick. the fact i still like this kind of music, and still like watching making the band... i really am still just a kid. i'm in total denial that i'm heading towards my late twenties. late twenties! i was getting freaked out earlier just merely by saying "late twenties." geez. where did the time go and how did i arrive here? this isn't what i was expecting. it's great, and fun, and i love every minute of it. but i didn't ever think it would look like this.
     
    - sometimes i think i should be a song writer. i swear i could have penned a dozen if not more songs. certain lyrics just hit me like a ton of bricks; like the words were taken straight from mouth, my mind... or worse, my heart. how is it possible for a song to hit me in such a way? i guess certain experiences are just universal.
     
    - koreans are always ahead of the curve. replacement drivers. awesome. read the article.
     

  • okay... so i admit that it was through oprah that i became exposed to and really aware of cory booker. but ever since learning about him, he's peaked my interest and i've followed along via the nytimes on his first year in office as mayor of newark, NJ. i wonder as he settles in more, and adrian fenty of my own DC settles in more, whether the parallels between the two of them will grow.

  • i hit a big time low this weekend: throwing up in public, in broad day light. it was horribly embarrassing, for me, for my family. but yesterday, there i was, at the national zoo with the family and i couldn't help but to throw up in bushes there. and then there was the moment when we pulled up in front of my apartment building after leaving the zoo and i opened the car door to put my head outside and throw up some more. and then after getting out of the car and while standing on the sidewalk outside of my building, i proceeded to throw up a bit more. and then right next to the entrance of my building, i left another treat there for my fellow residents as i was struggling to still hold anything down. it was lovely. and i have no clue what caused this mayhem. (although definitively, i know that this wasn't a hangover. something else took hold of me. craziness.)
     
    weekend recap: stetson's, mie n yu , modern, five, the zoo, international lounge, local 16, the diner, the pool @ wardman park marriott. i'm sunkissed and rejuvinated, ready for the week, despite yesterday's regurgitations. on a different note, isn't this a great definition of happiness: when you don't want to be anywhere else than where you are. i love it. i know i'm happy when i don't want to be anywhere but where i am.

  • to be a good person- kind hearted, with values and morals- what does it take? does one need the structure and discipline of a religion in order for that happen? or is it possible for me to know right from wrong, and be a giving, kind soul- one who is humble, optimistic, loving, selfless, lacking judgement and caring- on my own and because i simply choose to be a good person? and if i believe in a heaven and hell, will me simply being a good person who embodies all of the above, get me a ticket in the door of heaven despite the fact that i might not believe in the God, or a god, or actively practice, worship, or seek out fellowship within the institution of a church or a religious organization?

    i'm far from that profile of what i consider to be a good person although i'd like to think that i have some of that stuff and it's just in the making... i know that as of right now, i'm too selfish, too immature and still have wild oats that i'm sowing. i fully intend on getting there at some point however. it's just that when i do, i wonder if i can't just do it on my own because i choose.

    something to think about.

    good night.

  • there's little competition when it comes to name dropping if my sister's around. she's met oprah, kevin spacey, archbishop desmond tutu... and then of course there was that period that she worked with ashley judd. anyhoo, my sister passed along this email and i thought i'd post it for what it's worth. vote for dario!

    ----------------
    From: AJ
    Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 15:48:56 -0400
    Subject: DARIO nomiated for an ESPY, vote for the gentleman racer NOW!
    To: AJ

    dear friends and family~

    IT'S
    TIME TO VOTE FOR DARIO! he has been nominated for BEST DRIVER at the
    ESPYS, which take place this wednesday! it will be hard to beat the
    massive nascar marketing machine, but if each of us votes, and forwards
    this to our entire address book, company, etc (i am bold, eh?), he may
    have a chance of being honored.

    to refresh your memories, he is
    having an extraordinary season. it began at st pete when tony kanaan
    bumped into him and his steering broke, putting him 2 laps down.
    however, with great tenacity, he raced back up to 5th,slashingthrough
    all the traffic...with bad brakes to boot.

    of course, he won the
    indy 500,was and won at iowa and at richmond. at richmond, where heset
    3 track records. his web site has more details about his very, very hot
    season! he has been top 5 in 7 of 8 races this year and currently LEADS
    THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

    mario andretti recently said dario is as good
    a driver as he has ever seen on street circuits and road courses, with
    unbelievable tenacity while also being keenly smooth. he marveled at
    his demeanor off the track, wondering how he can be so shockingly tough
    in the car but a good guy at heart.

    pretty cool, eh?

    thanks
    for letting me brag. i am very proud.l i hope you'll vote to help this
    dream season take on another fun dimension with an espy.

    to access best driver category, use scroll bar at right, the thin blue line

    ox
    ashley

  • shallow jess.

    it is no surprise that i am still awake. i'm hoping that by staring at the computer screen, my eyes and brain will tire and both will shut down and turn off. 
     
    so here's something. the other day, someone made a comment to me that essentially was to the effect of me having limited interests. he based this on the fact that all i seem to talk about (with him at least) are my going out adventures. going out, drinking... what else do i do, he asked. is there anything else to me? i was taken aback by his observation. true, i like to go out. true, i have a good deal of fun drinking. and true, that may be all i ever discuss with him. but does this mean that that's all there is to me?
     
    i made up some b.s. response to his comment... that i don't show all my cards at once, or that just because i don't discuss them doesn't mean that other interests do not exist... which are fair statements. come to think of it, with him, i don't talk about family outings. i don't talk about work. i don't discuss my running. i don't tell him about when i go check out museum exhibits. i don't discuss my movie interests. i only share with him the things that are of the common thread and of the context from which i know him and only ever seem to see him- at night, in a club or bar, and while drunk. but never the less, i was surprised to learn that someone would think about me in such a manner - shallow and lacking depth!
     
    and now as i'm typing this, i'm reminded of how another friend of mine may only see me in that same light. i recognized a bit ago how he would make comments about how i'd get along with a certain person, or a certain crowd because they/we/i like to drink. is this all he thinks of me? how is it that this this perception of me has come about? i mean, aren't i more compelling than that?
     
    it's somewhat funny. i can't help but to laugh at it a little. i care a little bit, what people think of me and how they view me... but if that's their current point of view, then i guess they'll be surprised as they get to know me better and find out more about who i am and what i'm about. sure, sometimes, i don't even know who i am- i'm a work in progress- but there's certainly more than meets the eye... they're just beginning to scratch the surface. this much i know is true.

  • happy fourth of july. what a pleasure it is to live in DC and be able to head down to the national mall to watch the fireworks! here are some snapshots of the show from where i sat:


    some snapshots from yesterday - we closed down the office early, so i went to go hang with the sister for a bit. some of our dinner, and ike trying to put an adult's spoon in his mouth (he puts everything in his mouth nowadays!):

    Picture 002 



    we also went to the doc for ike's nine month checkup. he's healthy:

    Picture 001

    that's it for now. i think it's going to be impossible to fall asleep tonight seeing that i woke up a little after 4pm today. yikes.