Glory Glory Hallelujah!

A little over a year ago, I was baptized at what is now my home church and shared my testimony with my brothers and sisters. My baptism was right before finals week so my testimony was a little rushed and I wasn't properly prepared to go up to the pulpit, but it was a tremendous blessing for me to see where God had brought me.

So fast forward to today. The weird thing about testimonies is that they are constantly growing. This is because God is constantly working in our lives. So I wanted to make a little annual tradition for myself to reflect and build upon my living testimony before a living God.

I remember that when I was first trying to write my testimony, I couldn't pinpoint the single event that brought me to Christ. I didn't see the flashing lights that Saul saw, and I took this as a sign that my own testimony was "nothing special". But one day, after men's discipleship, I was in James Chung's STI (r.i.p.) and talking to him about my testimony and I shared the same concern with him, that I couldn't pinpoint what brought me to Christ. His response was just to laugh a little bit and say "it was God!"

"It was God"

I was looking for some amazing story of a life/death situation to validate that my knowing Christ is a miracle. I wanted some moving story about how I beat smallpox and saved people from a burning building. But I failed to see the true miracle, that Christ took an incredibly hardened heart and an immature mind and broke them apart with His glory. It was ALL God.

What I realized is missing from my previous testimony is repentance. God showed me His glory. He showed me the good news. He showed me grace. But I never brought my sins before Him to be judged. I never brought my pride before Him to be crushed. I never asked Him to completely wipe my slate clean so that I could be reformed in the image of His perfect son.

Which brings me to where I am today. I've heard that God has to be the #1 priority in our lives over and over again. That everything has to be for building His Kingdom on earth. But today, I broke down in prayer and admitted that I have no idea what that means. I've seen examples through Christ, the disciples, Paul, etc. but I can't see how that fits into my life. I need Him to change my heart once and for all so that I can pick up my cross and follow Him.

I never imagined how hard it is to be a Christian. I stumble constantly and I am positive that I make others stumble as well. But what I do know is that our God, the one who brought me to hear His voice, can change my heart because "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". LORD, help me trust in You.

Let's all praise God together.

In closing...

1:27:58 AM me: that always helps me set things straight
1:28:07 AM me: "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"
-Phillipians 3:13-14
1:28:24 AM highs0cieties: sick verse

sick indeed

No, You Are Wrong

Here's something I hear a lot. 

"Dude I'm going to get an iPhone because I need it."

Now I don't have any problem with people that say they got a crackberry or iPhone simply because they want one. That's totally fine. If there's a toy out there you want, save up some money and go out there and get it (or ask mom and dad to get it for you). But there's this strange way people like to justify their purchases by turning something they want into something they need.

Especially for people in school, where does the need for an iPhone come in? Are you taking 4 classes so your schedule is going to be CRAZY??? Do you need to make sure you can respond to your facebook wall posts while walking to class? Do you need to update your twitter so everyone knows "how stoked you are to go out with the gurlz tonite?" 

And for the young professionals out there, you sit in front or in the vicinity of the computer for a good chunk of the day yet you need a separate device for e-mail? I can understand if you are in a field where you must be on call 24 hrs a day, then it is necessary to have access to e-mail at all times of the day. But if your day ends when you leave the office,  then your attachment to e-mail should end too. And besides, how often do you use those things for something work related? (FYI: Going on BBM != work related)

Smart phones are fun, convenient,  etc. but do not try to justify spending ~70-100/month by saying you need one because chances are you don't . The people who need them will get the plan subsidized by their employer and everyone else can enjoy using it to download the lightsaber app. pew pew.

If you want one, just say you want one because the moment the word need passes through your lips, you make yourself look a little bit douchier. 

With that said, I want an iPhone for no damn reason.

UCL

Champions League knockout round starts in ~12 hours. 

Arsenal are looking truly mediocre in EPL play but AS Roma is beatable and we need to bide time until Walcott and Cesc come back so we can have some semblance of a REAL midfield. Scheiss. Need to look for nothing short of a miracle in this one.

I hope manyoo crashes out in the first round. 

UP THE ARSENAL!

Fat + Stogies = No Plz

Take a look at the picture above.

If you could put your gut reaction (no pun intended) to the picture in one word what would it be?

Sexy?

Hot?

Lovely?

Jizz in my pants? (I cheated)

Now smoking is not good for anyone. This is a well known fact. No one starts smoking because they want to run the LA Marathon.

But smoking is ESPECIALLY bad for fat people. It's so bad that they should never have an excuse to smoke in the first place. Think of it in this way, there are two primary reasons why people start smoking:

(1) Stress Relief: We all know this is bunk because cigarettes taste like crap to everyone the first time. Cigarettes become a stress reliever after you have the nicotine pumping through your veins. So if you don't smoke, then you don't have nicotine in your veins, and then it won't be a stress reliever. So on to the real reason one might start smoking...

(2) To Look Cool: This is it. The holy grail of reasons to start smoking. Everyone will give you their bullshit rationale for why they picked up their first pack of Marlboro Reds but this is the real reason right here.

Everyone looks cooler with a white cancerstick poking out of their lips or between their index and middle finger. Why do you think the smoking patio at clubs are always packed? Because every douche inside is trying to make themselves look cooler. However, not EVERYONE looks cooler. People that do not look cool are usually:

• A little kid
• An infant
• Someone inherently uncool (e.g. Joseph Stalin, Strom Thurmond, Judas Iscariot)
• Fat

Yes fat people are incredibly unattractive smokers. That is because their massive bodies dwarf the tiny little cigarette. They also do a good job of advertising the many negative health effects of smoking with their wheezing, heavy breathing, and awful smell. So if you cannot look cool smoking, then why start smoking in the first place? Either drop the pounds or drop the Parliaments and do yourself and everyone who might glance at you a favor. Keep the bones out your bizzyness.

Songs I'll Never Get Tired Of v.III

Broken Social Scene - Almost Crimes

The indie rock supergroup from Canada seems to be unclassifiable. They don't fit neatly into any particular genre because like the band itself, they are always experimenting. "Almost Crimes" is my personal favorite track from the album "You Forgot it in People" because it just beats the crap out of you from the beginning to the end. It starts with some cluttered piano scales and static and goes right into a drummer that sounds like he discovered cymbals for the first time ever.  The way the song is arranged is a three way  conversation between Kevin Drew, Leslie Feist (from iPod Nano fame), and a saxophone. The song ends with every instrument going crazy and Drew and Feist just screaming out "I think it's almost crimes" until the entire band fizzles out together. Legen...wait for it.... DARY!

For your consideration:

Almost Crimes - Broken Social Scene

Get Off the Bandwagon

Hello! Do you know me?

This goes out to those who say I am a "bandwagon" fan because Pierce was, and is still one of my favorite players.

This goes out to those who say I am a "bandwagon" fan because I love watching LeBron play.

Oh you say you hated the Celtics the whole time? Before KG and Jesus Shuttlesworth? Did you really hate a team that went 24-58 the year before? Did you even know who Paul Pierce was? Raef Lafrentz? Tony Delk?

"But Lakers and Celtics have always hated each other!"

Yeah, I remember watching the Magic-Bird rivalry when i was -3 years old. Those were the days huh? I also remember voting for Reagan.

I'm glad you found your way back to southern Cali after the Warriors decided to return to the bottom of the league standings. You can hang up the "We Believe" shirt and throw on the #24 jersey now.

Let me tell you a secret:

Being a Laker fan doesn't mean you have to hate every team the Lakers lose to. It also doesn't mean that you have to hate every player that is in the MVP race besides Kobe. It is very possible to like another player from another team. 

Liking Lebron is not an affront to Kobe. They're different basketball players, get used to the idea please. Just take a breath and get off deeez.

Not a Cavs fan, just a Lebron fan. Not a Celtics fan, just a Pierce fan. Just like you're not a Lakers fan, just a Kobe fan. 

Go Lakers, keep that jello jiggling. And I still hate Odom. Forever. Even if he averages a triple/triple. Okay maybe not if he averages a triple/triple.

And here's a nice song to set the mood!

Get Off The Bandwagon - EPMD

Songs I'll Never Get Tired Of v.II

Dilated Peoples - Worst Comes to Worst

I'll say right off the bat that I don't think Dilated is that great. I've listened to "The Platform" and "Expansion Team" and aside from a few songs here and there, they are boring as hell to listen to. Evidence and Rakaa can spit decent but I feel like Babu lays down some pretty monotone tracks for the most part.  

I guess it's no coincidence that this track is produced by The Alchemist.  This is one of my favorite all-time beats. Babu does his contribution by cutting in the Mobb Deep "Survival of the Fittest" sample in between verses and playing with the fader as if he's touching turntables for the first time. Rakaa and Evidence also do a decent, but not stellar, job on the track (with the scale tipping in Rakaa's favor). GURU is featured on this track too, but he lays down an absolute piece of crap on the beat. Awful. It's like he can't rhyme properly without Primo.  In spite of GURU's misstep, the beat takes care of everything here, with William Bell samples ushering in the end of the track.

I've listened to this song 1000 times, and I'll listened to it 1000+ more.

Note: Can you spot Lamar Odom in the video?

Do the Wicked Never Lose?

There's nothing here worth saving

there's no one here at all

is there any net left, that can break our fall?

It will be a day like this one, when the sky falls down

and the hungry and poor and deserted are found

Are you discontented?

Have you been pushing hard?

Have you been thrown down this broken house of cards?

It will be a day like this one, when the world caves in

This Switchfoot song was the soundtrack for my trip in NYC. I took it from Roy's laptop and got hooked instantly. The feelings of emo-ness it produces while waiting for the 1 train at the 96th St Station are something else.

What made this song stick out to me was how it put my complaining heart in perspective. There's so much I seek for my own personal gain without even thinking if it glorifies God. We make hundreds, or even  thousands of decisions each and every day, but how many of them do we involve God in? Can you count the number on one hand? 

The short-term outlook is killing me. The moment I think of everything in terms of a 6-month time span is when I take my eyes off the terms of my salvation. And just like the mega i-banks that pawned off CDOs and SIVs like crack rocks and tailored everything to the year end bonus, it's truly a path to nowhere. 

Eugene was sharing with me how many of us get so caught up in what others have. There are non-believers that are more successful, healthier, have better relationships, and so many other things that even the most devout of believers do not. But he shared with me the following verse:

"Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,

And the LORD listened and heard them;

So a book of remembrance was written before Him

For those who fear the LORD

And who meditate on His name

"They shall be Mine," says the Lord of hosts,

"On the day that I make them My jewels.

And I will spare them

As a man spares his own son who serves him

Then you shall again discern

Between the righteous and the wicked,

Between one who serves God

And one who does not serve Him."

-Malachi 3:16-18

God will always remember us for being faithful. If the author of our salvation can remember the lowliest of sinners, then we have no excuse for not remembering Him every waking moment of our lives. When we remember God, it doesn't matter what we have or don't have here, because we know what is waiting for us. Let's do better.

Songs I Will Never Get Tired Of v.I

Shadowboxin' - GZA ft. Method Man

It's only right that I start off this series of posts with a Wu banger. This is my favorite cut off of GZA's "Liquid Swords" hands down. Everything about this track is perfection. Silly Kung Fu movie samples, grimy RZA-style beats with a little bit of tasteful scratching thrown in here and there, GZA coming correct as always, and Meth killing the track like he has never killed a track before. I seriously think the verses Meth lays down in this song are his best ever. Perfectly on beat,  swagger x million + another million, even his bantering over the samples during the "chorus" oozes swagger. 

I think Meth sends out the perfect message to every rapper right before GZA's verse:

"Because your naps ain't nappy enough

And your reefs ain't rugged enough

Bitch"

There it is, no one will ever match the Wu's grimy, rugged, straight NY gutter style. EVER.

For your consideration:

Deja Vu?

I get the feeling I did one of these not too long ago, but per Roy's request:

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 16 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 16 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

alright. henry...

1. does not beat around the bush

2. hates stinky tofu

3. is a snob when it comes to rap music

4. has a mancrush on Lebron James

5. hates waking up when the hour hand is at the double-digits

6. is scared of getting a beer belly

7. has seen superbad and the first harold and kumar 5 billion times

8. reads calvin & hobbes if he can't fall asleep (from 1st grade until present)

9. has an addictive personality

10. can't stand every song on "rock band", even the ones he used to like

11. is allergic to something at Todai but doesn't know what, so never ever goes

12. used to spend all his money on SB Dunks

13. would rather freeze in cold weather than burn in hot weather

14. doesn't like using a towel more than once

15. is anal about how his mp3s are organized

16. had ear piercings for ~2 yrs

Oscar Picks from Someone who has Watched About 25% 15% of the Nominations

Now that the nominations are out, it's time for an acclaimed film critic like myself to give my thoughts on what the finest performances of 2008!

Best supporting actress

Nominees:
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

My Pick:
EVA - Wall-E
I haven't seen any of these movies so I'm going to stick with what I know. EVA gave the best performance a white robot that looks a suppository ever can give.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

My Pick:
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Gotta go with the Joker here. Sick + twisted = sick wit it.

Best Actress

Nominees:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

My Pick:
Britney Spears - Her Life
Once again, a bunch of movies I have not seen yet (probably will not see ever). But give it up for Britney huh? She went from shaving her head to having the most annoying song on the radio by far. That HAS to net a golden statue.

Best Actor

Nominees:
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

My Pick:
Tony Starks - Ironman
Alright so the only movie I saw out of the nominees was Milk, and Sean Penn was amazing in it, but c'mon, Tony Starks starred in the first comic book movie I ever liked. He was one of the coolest movie characters I have ever seen and deserves a statue for being so. A solid gold rendition of Ironman molded in the same position as the Oscar statues.

Best Picture

Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

My Pick:
Slumdog Millionaire
Alright so we all know the Dark Knight was snubbed for the nomination. We also all know (by this point) that my pick does not necessarily reflect a film that has been nominated. But honestly, Slumdog is the movie of the year. Dark Knight is cool as hell to watch but Slumdog is cool as hell to watch AND poignant. And they play Sigur Ros - Hoppipola in the trailer too. Also cool as hell. If you haven't seen it, it is a must watch.

You Got BBC All on Ya Bedroom Walls

Every now and then, I see the most bizarre headlines on my homepage (news.bbc.co.uk). What makes  them funny is that this is supposed to be a legit news source, but everyone makes mistakes right? Right. Here are a couple of choice ones that have come my way:

Exhibit A: Hi! My Name Is...Who?

Maybe this is because it is British media but "Dog-Fighting NFL Man" sounds a bit... sophomoric to be published don't you think. 3x Pro Bowler might not mean anything to the BBC but "Michael Vick" is less characters to type. It almost sounds like a superhero with a power that no one else wants. Like Professor X was handing out powers and he was the last one to get picked so he had to pick dog-fighting. If only he cut in line in front of Gambit.

Exhibit B: Advice for the Ladies

Not much needs to be said here.

Speaking of news media, is anyone else tired of hearing about how Chief Justice Roberts and President Obama took a misstep on the swearing in? I mean CNN's Rick Sanchez brought in Carlos Mencia to discuss it, come on y0. 

K(rack)-Pop

The cookie-cutter is hard at work.

It's really amazing to me how K-Pop maintains it's popularity year in year out. It's a given that pop(ular) music will always dominate the charts in it's respective country but K-Pop is a truly special case.  Here are a few of the more salient features that led to this post:

1. It is consistently redundant

K-Pop has not evolved AT ALL in the last 10 decades. DBSK are just as fruity and homo as H.O.T. (in the "Outside Castle" phase) was, People Crew suck as much at rapping as Jinusean did, and Wonder Girls are just as corny as S.E.S. was. The only reason people think K-Pop evolves is because the ky00te little boys and girls of the SM and JYP super groups grow older. K-Pop = nonstop trip down memory lane.

Also, the themes are consistent as well. You either have (a) falling in love or (b) falling out of love. K-Pop does a good job of dichotomizing the entire spectrum of human emotions into being happy + in love or being sad + in love. And this is always love in the teenager who just finished watching "A Walk to Remember" sense. It will be the day when I hear a Korean version of "Ain't No Fun" or "Let's Get High". 

2. It is consistently unoriginal

There is absolutely NO ORIGINALITY when it comes to K-Pop. It is just a trickle down effect of the table scraps from American chart toppers. Every time I hear the new "it" song of the month, I always hear remnants of whatever was on the Billboard top 100 last year. It is just a repackaging of whatever worked in the American markets with a "^_^" face. 

I would say K-Pop is one of the premier showcases of capitalism. You have these big super mega record labels that pick out pretty Korean people or ones with a decent voice and butt heads with each other over who can market their team better. They thrust these pop icons into every talk show and quirky game show out there to give them maximum visibility. It's just a huge puppet show where studio execs have preset tracklists and cute little dances and they are just looking for a face to slap onto them.

Of course, K-Pop is incredibly catchy. That is why it is pop(ular). But I find it hard to be into K-Pop for more than a ~3 month stint. When there's that little substance, the same damn topic gets old really fast.

And NO, this has nothing to do with "hating my identity". If you think Korean culture is defined by the hot steaming cesspool that spews out "Nobody but You", then you probably spend the bulk of your day reading DBSK fanfics and are in line hoping to get tickets for their next sub-par, lip-synced live performance.

On an unrelated note, here is my song of the week.

The Saltwater Room - Owl City

My Year in Lists

2008 is coming to a close and I just wanted to go over the highlights of each month in a sort of photo montage. If you click the picture, then you can see the whole thing. I cheated on July, August, and September because I did not have proper pictures. The legend is below.



01. DFC elementary teacher
02. Vince's passing
03. Baptism
04. Giving Kathy the credit she demands
05. John Terry shanks a penalty
06. Graduation
07. Angy
08. LSAT
09. LSAT
10. Jon and Kathy get engaged
11. 21st & Vegas for the 1st time
12. NYCity

01-12, praise God for all of it.

To the Moon and Back if You'll Be...

Conversation between a ~6yr old and his dad at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC

Dad: Hey look at this scale! If you step on it, it tells you what you weigh on the moon.

(Steps onto the scale)

Dad: I weight 5.6 pounds! Now you try it.

(~6 yr old steps on)

Dad: Oh, it looks like you don't weigh anything on the moon.

6yr old: Why??? (in a very distraught voice)

Piecing Together the Rotten Apple

Anything I'm missing from the list? Let me know people! 

Does Stu Lantz have ESP? (or maybe he just has amazing hearing)

Whenever you watch Laker games on KCAL9, you are graced by the voices of Stu Lantz and Joel Meyers. They're not exactly the best commentating team (how awesome would it be to have Tommy Smyth commentating NBA games) but they do say some bizarre things that keep the games entertaining during the lulls (e.g. away @OKC). 

I'm sure many people have picked up on this but Stu Lantz loves to make up dialogue for what's happening on the floor. He likes to make up for KCAL's lack of TNT's "Wired" (where they put a mic on a player) by sticking in his own dialogue about what they are saying (or sometimes...gasp...what they are THINKING).

Exhibit A:

On a fast break play with Kobe and Ariza vs. the Bulls. Kobe throws a lob up backwards for Ariza to finish at the rim but Ariza passes it back.

What probably happened

KB24: This n00b better finish this alley-oop

TA3: F&*#* what kind of retard pass is this, now I have to try and save it

KB24: My team sucks, time for a trade demand

What Stu says happened

TA3: I don't want it

KB24: Ok, I do!

Exhibit B:

On an alley-oop from Gasol to Kobe vs. the Pistons.

What probably happened

PG16: !Tomar la bola saltando hombre negro¡

KB24: WTF you say to me? Ship your ass out!

What Stu says happened

PG16: Go get it!

Kobe: Oh? Go get it? That's my nickname!

Make sure to listen for it next time. Nothing says "Stu-ism" like faux, corny dialogue between Laker teammates. 

Ephesians 4:22

Thursday, November 14th, 2002
4:04 pm - henry's mu'ffuckin birfday

today was henry's birthday and he wanted grand theft auto vice city cause that's what we got for joel for his birthday on sunday. me, joel, and joseph chipped in money to buy henry's present and in algebra class, i had to wrap it in a book cover because joel bought the gift and he also let me borrow the money for my share. on my first try, it wasn't very successful because i had excess paper leftover and it looked all crinkled and ghetto. then i got a hall pass from the teacher and walked to the bookroom to get another book cover. it took me all period cause the rapper guy kept on telling jokes and i kept cracking up. then i wrote "happy mu'ffucking birthday nigga" on the front and wrote "from: joel (with 2 big ears on the sides of the o), vincent (=X =X =X =X =X =X), and joseph (with a -_- on the o). all in all it looked pretty nice but stupid joel erased "mu'ffucking" and on the back he wrote "joel paid for the whole thing." stupid flip. he thinks he's all smart but he's fucking dirty and ashy. i scratched his arm and all this ash fell from it and it felt like i was scratching an old lady or somethin. then at lunch there was a packet of taco sauce on the floor and i stepped on it cause i was wondering if there were anymore left in there. and then i guess i stepped on it too hard, and coincidentally, henry was standing right in front of me, and instead of going on his shoes or his pants, it went on his new sweater! damn i felt so bad and then joseph tried to be funny and kept on trying to stone-cold stun me. Happy birfday you nigga. HA stupid joel try to erase that u dirty filipino.

This is an entry from my friend Vince's livejournal. The date on it was over six years ago, when I was a sophmore in high school. I think I can speak for absolutely everyone when I say that we are very different from how we were six years ago. There's the obvious physical and circumstantial differences. I don't have that stupid haircut anymore, I put on a little (but not much more) weight, and my brother hit a borderline unfair growth spurt.

But things are different in much more significant matters as well. The person who wrote that entry six years ago is no longer alive. The question that I'm left with after reading this entry is, is the subject of the entry still alive as well? Is the same impulsive, hedonistic, duplicitous, arrogant, pugnacious 15-yr old still around?

What makes this question important is that in Ephesians 4:22, Paul emphasizes the importance of laying aside the old self. Prima facie, I think it's easy for me to say that I have set aside the old me. I spend my Sunday mornings and Friday nights in way that my 15-yr old counterpart never would have, I have the "religious views" box filled in on my Facebook profile, and I know who Chris Tomlin is. But that's nothing more than what's on the surface - prima facie.

Unfortunately, I think I fail when it comes to Paul's urging. Just because I hold my tongue doesn't mean that I am rid of the bitterness I harbored before. Just because I haven't choked off a bong rip in years doesn't mean I have stopped letting the worthless objects of the world have such a profound influence on me. And just because I pray before I sleep doesn't mean that I am truly repenting of my sin-ridden self.

But, in Christ, I will always have hope. The single most important event of my life from Nov. 14, 2002 until now was when I came to know Christ, and I'm going to redouble my efforts to truly show that it is. No matter what the world throws at me, it will be an awesome year. Praise God, and bring it on.

P.S. In the entry I quoted above, my French II teacher saw the GTA: Vice City game that was wrapped in the book cover and she was reading what my friends wrote on it. When she got to the "Happy Birthday Niga" part (it was missing a second "g"), she kept reading the "Niga" over and over trying to figure out what it was. She then asked another student what a "nye-gah" was and the student replied "try pronouncing it another way". She then looked at it again, said "oh my" and handed it back to me with a shocked look on her face. Classic Vince.

Yes, I Did

from Postsecret

I'm excited about what the future holds for this country. I desperately hope that the 44th President will be more than an empty suit speaking forceful words. I'm not completely sold on Obama yet, but I am looking forward to being proven wrong.

It was quite an experience voting for the first time today. I woke up early enough so that I could go to my polling place as soon as it opened. The day started by digging through my dirty clothes and picking the ones that smelled acceptable. I was tired but I read about the free coffee ad Starbucks so I was running on some form of pseudo-caffeine when I walked into the polling place. My heart skipped a beat when the poll worker couldn't find my name on the list of registered voters. I had been bugging Angy to register and go out and vote and I threatened to kill Jasmine if she didn't vote the night before so, needless to say, I would have looked incredibly stupid if I didn't cast my own ballot. Fortunately, the absence of my name on the list was just a minor oversight and I stamped a couple bubbles here and there and jammed my ballot into something that looked like the bastard child of a paper shredder and R2D2. 

I felt a little embarrassed asking for the cashier for a free tall of coffee, not because I was embarrassed about asking for free stuff but because of the evil eye and curt nod she gave me. However, the barista who handed me my coffee was friendly enough such that I felt only slightly pathetic. Then I took a step outside, felt the temperature drop a good 20 degrees, glanced at the overcast skies, and felt damn proud to be an American.

Voting is awesome.

The Burger Court and Why You Can't Always Have it Your Way (or Why I am Flip Flopping on the 11th Hour)

What to do with Prop 8...

A "yes" vote entails - ultra-conservative, narrow-minded fascist who endorses discriminatory practices to preserve a status quo

A "no" vote entails - godless homosexual with no respect for traditional family values which potentially opens the floodgates for all sorts of abhorrent sins

Not voting at all entails - coward who should move to Saudi Arabia where all legislative agendas will comfortably be picked for you by the royal powers that be

Obviously, these are all gross exaggerations (except for "not voting at all". if you don't want to do your basic duty as a citizen, then you are a motherf****** p*****). 

Anyone who has talked to me about the issue, overheard me talking  about the issue, talked to another person about my opinions on the issue, or inferred from my facial expressions my opinion on the issue knows that I am a "no" voter on Prop. 8.  

Why?  Simply, it is unconstitutional. 

Our government's job is to protect, preserve, and enforce the rights we enjoy for all citizens, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, hair color, favorite sports team, geographic location, and SEXUAL ORIENTATION. I enjoyed attending schools with Chinese, White, Black, Mexican, Indian, Persian, etc. students and I have Brown v. Board of Education to thank for it. I like not looking for the "Koreans only" bathroom when my bladder is about to burst. Equal rights is an awesome thing and it's one of the things that makes me so proud to be an American. I think it is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to not see a ban on same-sex marriage as anything other than discrimination.  You are creating a second-class of citizens that don't enjoy the same rights as the majority on the basis of one feature - their sexual orientation. 

But of course, there is the kicker - the "volta" if you will. Homosexuality is SIN. Not just because it is an uncomfortable notion or just because it deviates from the norm but because biblically, it is what you would classify as a sin. And therein, lies the bottom line. 

Is same-sex marriage rights a price I have to pay for enjoying the freedoms that I do now? I think it should be.

Does "yes" on Prop. 8 go against the Christian mantra of unequivocal love for all, including sinners? It might. 

Does it make me a hypocrite to enjoy these freedoms and tolerate discrimination against others based on sexual orientation? ABSOLUTELY

But what else can I do? It seems there's no middle ground in this case. "Civil unions" is Plessy v. Ferguson for the 21st century. My pastor said that whenever you are caught in a dilemma, side with grace. Am I really showing grace by voting "yes" on Prop. 8? 

There are a lot of questions about the issue that I have no idea how to answer. But I do know what the Bible says about homosexuality, and the day I came to know Christ was the day I vowed to serve Him. So it seems I have no other choice.

So I am going to vote "yes" on Prop. 8. I am going to say "yes" to discriminate and establish a status quo that seems incredibly undemocratic and fundamentally unamerican. Just like Warren Burger, I am going to take a stand against equality.  Not because of the ludicrously IDIOTIC arguments about gay marriage being taught in schools and the floodgates opening for all sorts of social deviants and the concept of family being destroyed (see Slippery Slope Fallacy), but because I am going by the only thing I know for sure. I think it is the only way to justify voting "yes" on Prop.8, because it is a sin and there is nothing more to be said on the matter.

Whether I vote "yes" or "no", I will be disgusted with myself so it is better that I side with God, right?

P.S. I am not advocating you to vote any certain way. The only way a democracy will truly represent the will of the people is if the people vote according to what they think is important, not what some blogger tells them. So do your part, think about the issues, and cast your ballot with your OWN views in mind.