just do it

Japan 2010

2010-10-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write about Japan before too much time passes by after.

So I got back from Japan on Monday, and I want to say that it was the most cleansing and refreshing time out of all the times that I went to Japan.

When people say they're going to Japan, most people assume or picture a crazy time in the city or all night bar hopping and unlimited shopping, loads of great food in high tech areas. Or just somewhere in some city. But my experiences when I go to Japan are filled with nature, farming, and no technology.

I go to this city called Kinasa in Nagano, which is where the '98 olympics were. No internet cell phones or friends. polar opposite of my life here in the US. just constantly surrounded by nature's beauty and family. I could just enjoy spending all day standing outside and taking big breaths in and our slowly and feel so alive. Coming back to the US (or even just the city over there) was such a downgrade of air quality. I could drink out of the faucets because the water from the mountains and pipes were that clean. The houses in the area that my grandparents' place are all spread out but most of them are empty now because most of the neighbors have passed away. So I'm literally just surrounded by my grandparents, mom and green mountains and beautiful skies with moving clouds in the blue sky.

I definitely am reminded of patience and appreciate my life for what it is just by being there with no one to really talk to. (aside from my family). My life here in the US can get so cluttered and stressful but just being in nature with no distractions brings me to a clear mindstate. It's so humbling to be reminded by the simplicity of life and not get washed away by my own personal world here. I left the US a little stressed about my future and career, and confused about where I am in my life. (typical post grad state of mind haha) so this trip came at such great timing. I'm back with a refreshed, clear mind and ready to take my life one day at a time. small things seem so stupid to me now a days.

Anyway, my days in these mountains were literally filled with farming, cooking, bugs, hanging out with my grandparents, and watching TV. yes we had a TV! It had like12 channels but unlike american TV where there are 70+ channels and not a single interesting channel, 5 out of the 12 japanese channels that we had always had something interesting to watch. god I love japanese TV hahaha its so funny, and they know how to keep the viewers watching, and commerical breaks are short(er) [even though they used to be even shorter. they seem to get longer everytime i come to the US] Farming with my grandparents is always a great experience. Builds my patience (not in a bad way) and I get to spend time with my grand parents and make jokes with them, things that I would NEVER be able to do here in the states. In my spare time during the day, I seriously just catch bugs or something and throw them into spider webs or watch a frog and play with it. Old fashion japanese boy style. hahaha I miss carefree times like that.

Anyway, I am so convinced that I can't live without nature. When I'm surrounded by it, I get a body high and I'm filled with so much energy from it. Maybe one day I'll do something with nature.

Being in Japan this time around made me seriously consider living out there. Not like my Japanese is good enough to make it out there, but if I studied some and just used it more I think I could pick it up. hhaha maybe. If I really tried. its hard to keep goals like that here when I don't really have a Japanese outlet.. are there any japanese community events and stuff out here in OC? Anyway, one day I wanna do something bilingual and make some money off that too. that would be really rewarding for me too.

Aside from the majority of my time in the mountains, I DID get to go to the city (Tokyo) for like three days. met up with an old friend of mine that moved back to Japan in middle school, some friends that I met at UCI when they were exchange students and a friend that went to UCI who's now teaching english. I highly considered teaching English too,but then I found out I have to give up my Japanese citizenship, so I kind of didn't wanna do that just yet. But it was so good catching up with these people and seeing the kind of fun life they get to have over here. Actually it was my first time out in the city at night because I was always stuck to my mom whenever I went to the city or wherever, so it was really fun being able to go out to the bars and stuff. (and speaking english all of a sudden haha)

Getting to experience both the city and rural life was just the whole package that made me feel so satisfied about my stay in japan. I mean I'm satisfied everytime when I go, dont get me wrong, but this time around was just that much more refreshing especially for my post-grad mind state.

Well I guess that's it for now. I will post pictures later. I have bursts of nostalgia about Japan at times now that I'm back. Like my heart tightens thinking about how I loved the environment there and wanting to be there again. But life is here for me for now. And I'm ready and excited to take on my life and goals one day at a time. I feel more motivated to do the things that I do and want to. Not in like a gungho crazy way but in a calm way where I just wanna make sure I'm moving forward in some way or another in my life.

Thanks Japan for such a refreshing trip.

[add on]
I choreographed a piece inspired by my trip to Japan, and I was lucky enough to teach it for Boogiezone's Japan week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCOr8IvDcCM

2010-05-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

you know what i cant wait for?

http://www.hiphopinternational.com/

although ive only competed once, ive been at HHI for the past three years and really really love the experience and vibe. its just so different from our little circuit here. cant wait to go out there and support again. some of my best memories are at HHI. remotivated and reinspired every time.

a nice day at UCI

2010-04-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

sometimes i just wanna stay in aldrich all day. its so nice these days.

Competition..?

2010-03-29T01:18:00.000-07:00

just wanted to write about how it really sucks to compete these days.

i mean. EVERYONE is so good.

Just got back from Fusion XI tonight, and was just thinking how i feel like everyone was equally good.

who's to say who's better than that other team that has that completely different style. to even be competing in the same general category is so subjective, and i feel like its unfair. i mean, im not discrediting the judges. they're all legitimately chosen people of course. but they're seriously just five individuals who are all looking for different (maybe the same) things, and it just sucks for those teams that aren't really in their favor. hip hop these days is so amazing in every way that its so hard to just..JUDGE. i mean why judge anyway? everyone should just showcase, and life would be much easier. haha competitors won't be so nervous, people won't be offended by placings, and everyone would be happy. hahah i dont know, i just feel so bad for the teams that didnt place that were EQUALLY great as teams that did place. placings just placing right? haha maybe im just not so competitive anymore and i just dont wanna see all this unnecessary tension. haha

anyway, im rambling now.

GOOD JOB TONIGHT to the teams that competed and showcased their art. everyone was dope! studio429/choreo cookies really reminded me of whats so great about dancing--thanks for that! and im sorry KM and CG for missing you guys.. I didn't make it in time!

spring quarter (and hopefully my last quarter at UCI) starts tomorrow! WOOO

lets do this

Moving On

2010-03-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

I feel really content right now with my circumstances, and what's given to me.

I feel like I'm moving on with my life, even though I haven't physically moved on from UCI, I feel like I'm taking the first step towards being able to leave UCI with nothing tying me down. For the past few years I was so in love with KM and SPOP that I feel like I was starting to get lost in it. Of course, the two were the organizations/programs that really built who I am today, but I'm glad that as I'm graduating I'm able to put these things behind me and use them to move onto the next steps in my life. Whatever it may be.

Choosing not to apply for SPOP and not re-auditioning have been very liberating actually. and free, because I cared so much about both when I was in it, that its easier to let go now that I gave so much. I feel like I'm getting a breath of fresh air as I'm finishing up school (just got done with my hardest quarter at UCI), doing things towards my career like internships, taking classes finally (outside of KM), starting KM Legacy, doing things like barebones and simply finding things that I couldn't do before when I was so buried in the two things that consumed my life. I'm excited to live up my last quarter at UCI (hopefully my last haha) and dance again.

Random post, just thought I'd write it here.

2010 is definitely giving me some new answers and questions that I'm excited about.

For once, I really have no idea what's coming. and that feeling to me is really exciting.

REMEMBERING 2009

2009-12-31T01:08:00.001-08:00

Inspired by PJ's reflection of the year, I decided I wanted to do something similar.

Before I move onto the year 2010 that I'm looking so forward to, I want to remember all the great times that I've had and the many emotions that I felt at certain events that overcome the lower times of 2009.

I don't even think anyone reads this, but i want to come back to this later on and remember all the great times I wanted to remember about 2009. Of course there are too many times that a photo wasn't taken, but looking through my pictures, I found many that took me back to the time I felt something from the event.

It's not gonna be in an order because my pictures aren't saved in chronological order haha.

on January 1st 2009, I remember my mom and I joined her friends in SF to see the very first sunrise because it was supposed to be this beautiful thing with it being framed by the golden gate bridge. and as you can see, we could see EVERYTHING. hahaha. we started off the year with this beautiful scenery hahah. and i remember the drive home was the hardest drive cuz we were both pretty much sleeping and the coffee from ihop wasnt keeping me up. hahah

SPOP staff 2009 were many of the best people that I've met at UCI. being able to staff with a good number of these people have taught me many things about myself and others, and I don't wanna ever forget about the great times I had at Spoptics and random hangouts that I got to know people on a level that I couldn't with most dancers.

It was weird doing SPOP 1 again for some reason. being a returner and not a CP was VERY comforting and to have jenevieve take over this first one was SO great, and i learned a lot. and i was a little bit rusty, but it was fun picking it back up and being able to be a part of other people's TFO's. BBBBB was the only time i did returner for the hall, and it was really fun

but CPing, was one of the best things that I got to experience this summer with SPOP. I went through a lot of emotions through these, but learned SOO much. and for the first time in 2009 i was proud of myself for being able to live up to what i wanted to do as a CP. i wanted to thank off of my staffers for being so supportive and understanding to my CPing style and helping me see something that i couldnt see in myself. HIGHLIGHTs of 2009 for sure. and im sorry to the CP's that said that I shouldve been more sensitive to the other CPs that couldnt put that much money into making them for their halls. (but for my defense, i only spent 3 bucks on each tank and had the rest, and took my own time to make them for my staff)

This day was fun because me and joyce invited everyone but the macs were the only ones that showed up. turned out to be hella fun and we made a 3D apple. the day regina engraved "a shit ton" in my head

i remember i have THE MOST fun when i perform for welcome week. Something about a fresh new year, and the great number of people that I love that come to support make me have the most fun when I dance for welcome week. i really love welcome week performances. maybe because i rarely get to perform at school.

This reminds me of the time that we were all still thinking about applying for returners and thinking about the new incoming staff. not knowing if i was gonna get to be a returner for SPOP and wanting the best for the program had a lot of emotions going through me. Obviously turned out for the best, and am so thankful for it. Great coords they were.

My first year dorm-mate reunion. Whispering Woodies 2006-2007. I loved how no matter how long its been, some people never change, and we can all still be the same. This night was interesting to see how some people grew closer, and some people grew farther. My dorm-mates will always have a special place in my heart.

something about seeing kei and tina at every competition brings me a sense of comfort. the ones who really inspired me and encouraged me to be a dancer in high school. Theyll always be my idols. we now hold a special HS dance bond that always brings us together when were back at home now. Vibe 14.

This isn't a picture of me, but I wanted to remember that I got these stoles for KM. i dont think we ever had KM stoles and we finally got them this year, and they looked really. It was great seeing mike bui regina and clarizcel being able to showcase their accomplishments on KM for graduation.

PCN this year was really special to me because I was a part of the choir, and not just part of modern. It really showed me a different light about filipino culture and the people that I didnt get to interact with until I did choir. I had so much fun experiencing a fresh new taste of people in the PCN production. I miss you all!

And PCN was my last time sharing the stage with Jay Mcdaniel. Fellow class of 2007. I fucking miss you. you bring something no one else can bring to my experience on modern. i miss the blunt things that you were able to say that i couldnt even say. and you always having my back meant a lot to all of us. Thanks for being apart of my KM experience. i miss you jay.

KASA dance off 2009 in LA. wow my first and last KASA dance off. One of the best things that I got to experience this year. I forget how much i love being part of a production, and bringing it together with other great people. All the dancers were so dope this year and the choreographers had a lot of chemistry working with each other. the experience was just so fun for me. I have nothing but good memories about KASA dance off. I really wish i got to do it three years ago, but this year made up for that.

When KM went to stanford to perform for their korean culture show. The performance was fun. ill remember attempting the breaking part and failing miserably. and how both my parents came to watch LOL. and being able to see christie and eunice and lizzie. and that all night cafeteria in the first picture, that any of the students can go to whenver, and they can just eat...whenever?! we were so intrigued by that. hahaha Ill remember sleeping in the big common room because they wouldnt let us sleep in the same room cuz we were differnt genders? haha and the hardcore lambda guys hitting on the girls and always being separated. haha interesting experience, but always so grateful for being given the opportunity to do what we do.

spicy leg photo shoot day. we all wore plaid just for a day of taking pictures. Im not gonna sum up things with my spop family into one picture cuz theres more later on. haha i love my family.

The workshop that I taught fireflies. This piece surprisingly got a lot of good feedback. haha I'll remmeber not wanting to use this song because I heard that tony was gonna use it. and then he never used it. hahah fun times. the workshop was packed and didnt get to finish teaching my piece but nonetheless had a great time being able to share my artistry with the KM family and public

Spicy leg thanksgiving. I loved that my son put this together, and had so many people still show up. I'm proud of my family for staying so genuine and always proving to me that they are GREAT GREAT people. I love spending time with this family that I brought together with Diana. even after a whole quarter and three months after SPOP had ended, we can always still come together as a family to celebrate each other (ralph, stacey and diana missing)

When we found out coords 2010 I had many many emotions going through my heart and thoughts through my mind. but the main thing that I felt was that the team is in such good hands. and in the end i was so glad it wasnt me cuz this gave me the chance to finally be okay with letting it go. it was a relieving feeling. everything happens for a reason.

Of course fucking Surreal PROM 2009. This experience is always one of my favorites. to share the stage with fellow UCI dance crew members and friends that will support each other in this community?! how could i ever pass up on an opportunity like that?! I've gotten closer to my already team mates, but built new bonds with new friends and stronger bonds with the ones that i only knew from the stage. Highlights of my dance life of 2009 for sure.

welcome week before the kababayan general meeting. i just remember i was in such a good mood, and wanted to drink my favorite snackbite before me and joyce went to go sing the national anthem. Good times. haha

When me and my spuddy went to go watch RENT on the last day that it played at the OCPAC. this musical was SO moving i actually cried. I was heavily sick that day, but was still able to fully experience this musical for what it was. SO much better than the movie haha. I just remember relating every emotion from this production to how i was feeling about modern, and my life. its crazy how one musical can move you so much. it was so raw.

HOW could i forget this vegas trip with some of my favorite people. we called it part one cuz were gonna have more (which i really hope we do) but we got hooked up SOO much from the one and only. notice the double fisting of alcohol. FREE clubs and FREE alcohol. CRAZY. i would like to say the best time i had at a club, but i bang my head so hard on a ice chest that it kinda ruined my buzz hahaha

Some people tell you they love you constantly. Thank you Jamie Lee. you are truly one of the best people I have ever met.

When KM went to go support chris for his first solo. I love this because it shows the life is not about dancing, for most, and i like to celebrate what people love to do, whether its dancing or not. we were very proud of chris this night.

One of the last practices with the KM 08 team. what a trip. preparing for VIBE 14. enough said.

On my choreo day this summer, so many spop people came to support me and dana. I felt SO much love and support just so that I could teach a little piece, and was so thankful for people who come to learn what i love to do. teal gold and royal coming together. thank you again for those that came. (and helped us reach the record # of people that came to take class in the summer haha)

spvegas. even though a lot of people didnt have that great of a time, i still did haha and I just remember my pants matched her dress haha. and this was the first time i went clubbing in vegas since i had turned 21 so it was a really fun experience within that itself. doris was my vegas clubbing cherry popping buddy.

Some people remain your friend no matter what and where they come from. Thank you Sonia Park.

Hikari's Boogizone class. even though the shady videographer didnt come, great friends like tina and kei came to support and take the class. again, we have unlimited conversations with these two, and share that special bond. thank you kei and tina. and sorry to ramy amy darina and marko for waiting while we talked for a long time outside..

I was really proud of this three way mixer we had with two other spop families because it was really fun and dry. and really hot haha. but either way we had a lot of fun. this was the ginger bread houses we made, and ours was the party house and the other house was the goody goody house haha. great times. white christmas theme

rino nakasone came to teach for a KM summer class. need i say more.

This picture brings back an emotion that i had that morning in vegas. sorry to marko for posting this. haha. but this was the FIRST time that it hit me that i was an oldie. it was weird. i hadnt really felt like an oldie til this. just listening to the things that marko was saying just really took me back to how i was when i was a newbie and how i looked at my oldies.

in 2009, i met the biggest toad of my life. thanks abe.

this picture really captures and brings me back to the time me and diana revealed ourselves as the discussion leaders/parents. what a trip

princeton 2009. one of the funnest trips that ive had with modern. what a blessing to have been given this chance to perform at princeton. from irvine. hahaha my favorite time to bond with the other oldies, and made some good friends from princeton. it was seriously like harry potter. haha look at the first picture.

for my best friend edwin's birthday, we all met up in LA, and there was this used lynbrook reunion. i love it when we randomly have these great reunions and i get to see people that i hadnt seen in ages. haha not everyone from lynbrook wasnt even pictured

im posting this one, because this was pretty much my first tikko. my first action shot that was like pretty legitimately just me. hahaha i remember i felt cool when i first saw it. haha

There's something special about being able to STAFF with your spopper. Michelle Wong was my spopper SPOP 2008. and its crazy that i was able to staff with her. Like a full circle. its inspiring that we are all part of this cycle that we keep flowing in UCI.

If you don't know me.. i fucking LOVE finals week. One of my best memories of UCI are in finals week. Theyre just SO much fun. I'm gonna miss finals weeks so much. hahaha lounging til 8am every morning, because we can. studying with your favorite study buddies and planning a game plan for where your gonna study and when you were gonna eat and sleep is all part of the finals week experience that i love. i just dont like taking the actual final. haha

returner revealing 2009. need i say more? hahaha i had a whole post about this before this post. (which was a while ago haha) but either way, you can tell that this meant a lot to me and showed me a lot of things about SPOP. This core group of returners that keep the SPOP cycle flowing was the reason why I believe so much in this program. thank you all.

FSSJ alum after sungod. its crazy how we all started in FSSJ. and being where we are now, i love that we can all still connect through where we first started.

Meeting charice pempengco. She...wasn't the brightest girl but was a BOMB ass singer. hahah obviously. im so filipino. myxTV!

My first contemporary class with Will and Marissa. CRAZY dancers that inspire me EVERY single time i watch them. thanks for the fun class!

This was the first time that my home friends and i all went drinking together. it was a weird feeling that we were all old enough to go do things like this but a very good feeling. we will be doing this pretty often haha. i love my home friends.

WHO wouldve thought that my returner revealing video would have gotten me this. This unintentional award was surprisingly a good feeling knowing that people had a good time impersonating me for something that i had fun making for the staff. hahaha

This one is the DC clubbing event. This night I was able to go because I was on break from KM. it was a really interesting feeling. the feeling of what it would be like when i wasnt on modern. it was good that i was able to show support to DC at the same time. I had fun. But had that slight empty feeling for not being at practice.

Some people try to understand you no matter what and stay true to you as a friend. Thank you Kevin Duh. and for having a matching outfit.

SPalumni party. seeing my STAFFER from his purple year is a trip. i love that i still keep in touch with him

at prestige housewarming. macfams. something about just us four brings me back to the fondest times of my KM experience. I love thinking about how we were really a family.

some of us ASUCI people with gym class heroes lead singer. Shocktoberfest 2009. Also my first shocktoberfest without modern. what an interesting feeling too. definitely questioned myself for what i wanted.

Body Rock awards. definitely a highlight of my year as well. had NO idea that we were gonna place so we were already waiting in the lobby to leave. and we were still confused when they called us. hahaha third place never felt so great. what a refreshing night-morning

body rock trophie with the oldies. this picture means a lot to me

claws (aka boiling crab but no line) with my KFAM. i remember i was so excited to have a Kfam and was just excited to be a part of yet another great family. TEEN TITANS ftw! and also my first time getting hot sauce in my eyes, and didnt know how much it would hurt. haha never again

Disneyland with some of KM. hadn't been to KM since like feb/mar. so it was really nice to be back. i want my pass back.

It's always weird being recognized for what you put into something. cuz you do things because its solely what you want for the betterment of whatever organization your doing it for. so to get recognized for what ive done for KM was one of my most grateful feelings that i had for 2009. thank you KM.

The best home friends that ive had. edwin aaron and caleb. always there for me. always the same when we get back together for any break or time we make to see each. the beauty of friendship that has history like that of home friends.

MACFAMS food break bento night. This night holds a pretty high spot in my memories actually. not getting any sleep to cook for 30 people just for a food break. if you think about it, its pretty crazy. who would do that? we would. and what why i love being a mac. thanks joyce for doing everything with me. and i was/am really proud of always having the most alumni support that comes out and helps us. macfams ftw literally. i seriously miss all the macs.

like this one. the father. the one who brought me up on this team, and who i have to thank for everything that ive learned and tried to pass on about KM and macfams. haha maybe not everything. but hes taught me too much. this was the last time i saw him before he moved back up to norcal. one of the most influencial guys in my life.

a family dinner for thanksgiving. nothing else needs to be said.

one of my favorite vegas trips with some of my closest people. regina died this night. after this warm family dinner.

this picture illustrates the vegas strip walking feel. im gonna miss it with these people that ive been so used to going to vegas with for three years.

I just like this picture because when we first starting training for HHI, we took a picture everyday like this telling ourselves "if tikko came and took a picture, we wanna look like this." and this one was our favorite. hahaha

SPICY LEGS. I dont know where to begin, but these people are the best thing that happened to me in SPOP Royal year. They are my kids, my family, my everything. Knowing where we started and how far weve all come, is a crazy feeling. It's seriously the perfect family that i could ask for and everyone plays that different role. i know every parent says this, but i have the best kids on staff, hahah. thank you to my kids for being the greatest things that happened to me, and to my wife diana for helping me to bring up the best family. one of my TOP highlights of 2009 easily. what i love even more is that they are all doing great things after SPOP and changing the world. yeap, those are my kids.

Royal year color revealing. i didnt have any other picture haha. but it works cuz i got to share it with one of the most impactful friends Jamie.

This picture really brings me back to my summer nights after SPOP ended. Careless nights that ended at 7 am 8 am every morning cuz we all just wanted to hang out and do nothing. go to the beach, feel the warm waves, enjoying the summer life. I miss those nights.

mike and lawrence. I saw these guys here at a random spop gathering that we had from gold year, and what i love about them is that no matter how famous theyve become, theyre the same fucking amazing people that i met 3 or 4 years ago. and to know that they were also the ones that picked me to be a part of KM back in 07 is also crazy. my life long role models.

random oldie hang out that i had a lot of fun just eating together. we never have time to get together enough to feel complete like this. it was a really warm feeling.

early mornings that were typical body rock hell weeks. im gonna miss these nights. definitely a must when your on a competing team. haha

KMCIA love bomb. one of the best ideas that brought unity to our teams. thanks MCIA for inspiring others to be genuine and giving. We should really get going on that love bomb for DC haha

mixer with 220 after sungod at abe's place. haha what a fun night. we had a freestyle circle that was epic. everyone went in and did random things. hahaha

macfams 2009. me and regina missed CPing so we made these tanks.

something that i really miss. VDC study sessions. i wonder if this will happen ever again. these study nights hold a very heavy part in my memory. ever since 2007, going from brian me joyce and aakriti through the 2008 class and this years 2009 class, its come a long way and been through a lot for me. or maybe its just me cuz i still live there LOL. how sad.

oldie guys at the bar cuz we were all finally 21 in vegas. crazy how time flies.

hands down, the funniest and most awkward performance that ive ever done. Soul of Korea 2009. and cant forget joyce's waving hahaha

a SPOP picture that we took at a KMDC mixer. its great how we can integrate things like this. being in two different crews we can still come together and reminisce on these great times that weve all shared together through a different program

I was really proud of us for actaully even putting together this KMDC mixer that weve been trying to do officially forever. great times with two teams that share the same love and turf. its about time we came together to party haha

USA teams: kaba modern, so real cru and poreotics

it was such a fun experience being able to represent the US in a world level.

hip hop internationl 2009 was one of my favorite memories of 2009. being able to put together just a 2 minute set to represent who we were to compete with the different styles of the world and to even make it TO the world level was a blessing. 3rd place in the US and 11th in the world was enough for me to be grateful for everything that i had. to even be standing and dancing on that stage was an experience in itself. and to have had to perform and compete 4 times to get to the world finals was so nerve wracking. Ive never been as nervous as world prelims in my life. i thought i was gonna die from being so nervous that night. thank you KM for this great great opportunity.

PCN with my lil's lex and june. enough said about that, except that IM SO FUCKING PROUD OF THEM.

my birthday dinner--thanks for coming. i remember having to wait over two hours. and aakriti was scaring the workers there cuz we were demanding to get seated haha.

working the door at my birthday par-- i mean PCN pre party. this party pretty much felt like my birthday party cuz i turned 21 that night. this picture really shows how much i love working the door. hahaha i LOVE working the door-- so many of my clubbing memories are in this booth. thanks aakriti and angelee for taking care of me afterwards hahaha

when me and hikari took our mom to disneyland. she hadnt been in a long time so she had a really good time.

car rally with my lil lex. hes gonna be on sytycd someday. just watch

the only picture that has our "supposed to be" entire oldie class with geo. hahha

practicing for KM auditions 2009 was surprisingly much funner than i remembered from previous years. but we took breaks to study cuz we had midterms. haha it was fun sneaking into these rooms and finding out there actually was internet.

KM newbie debut. this performance meant something to me cuz obviously the first time the newbies 09 performed with us, but also beacuse it was the last time that my vibe piece performed.

caleb's birthday. i think i came a day early hahah but we had a good time. this was our korean family portrait. i shouldve black and whited it.

i twitpiced this picture from fall 2008 when my great grandma passed away this year. i had never lost anyone before especially in my family, so it was shocking to lose her. and i didnt know how to take it at first. the following week was painful because small things would remind me of her, like the slow dragging footsteps of old people i specifically remember at langson. Rest in Peace great grandma, i love you and i miss you.

haha finals week fall quarter. definitely one of my favorite finals weeks. great times with connie chow

wow. i dont know how to put this one into words.

KM oldies 2009. beginning to end (almost) but this marks the end for most. I've met some of the best people within this class. I have met true friends, brothers, artists, visionaries, leaders, and people within this class. I've been loved, betrayed, hated, appreciated, taken for granted by people in this class. I've laughed, cried, fought and smiled with people in this class. but above all, i love these people no matter what. They've helped me become who I've become and helped me find myself especially in this last year. We'll never be together like this again, so 2009, thank you for bringing us together under the arcs of crawford. I will never forget the most rewarding experience i had with these people that i truly love.

Now that I look back, 2009 was pretty bomb. I'm looking back and I'm so thankful for all of the great things that happened to me.

Now I can await 2010 without looking back.

Thank you for everything 2009.

returners

2009-05-29T23:51:00.001-07:00

these people make my life easier.

really big toad

2009-05-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

After sungod on friday, my team went to Abe Chung's place.

There I saw the biggest toad of my life. hahahaha it was SO FUCKING COOL.

i even touched it, and it felt like rubber. SO COOL! hahaha

out of it

2009-05-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

i was microwaving some rice to eat for lunch.

when it was done and beeped, i opened the freezer thinking it was gonna be there...

??????

im so out of it sometimes.

tank full and remote

2009-05-10T12:39:00.001-07:00

nothing beats the feeling of driving on a full tank of gas.

i feel like i can offer as many rides as the world needs.

------

i fell asleep watching TV yesterday night cuz i was hella tired and i woke up at like 5am with the TV on and i was like, fuck i fell asleep with this loud ass TV on, so i was gonna turn it off and go back to peaceful sleep. and then i realized the remote dropped between the bedframe and the wall, and the only way to get it is to get my ass out of the bed and crawl under the bed all the way to the other side and retrieve the damn thing. and who wants to do that 5am when your still half asleep right? so i was like fuck it, im just gonna sleep through it. hahaha i dont know about you guys, but i couldnt sleep even more cuz i kept thinking about how loud the TV was so i got out of my bed, shoved all the tubs and stuff that was under my bed to get through, crawled all the way over with my eyes half closed and bed hair exploding. i swear i was under there for a good five ten minutes trying to put as least effort as i could... but i pretty much woke up trying to get the damn remote and i finally turned off the TV. i was ready to sleep peacefully after i turned the TV off so i lay in bed thinking about how proud i was for making it out of my bed just to turn off the tv, but i pumped too much blood to get the remote that i was having trouble falling asleep hahaha. took forever, but i eventually fell asleep..

the things we do for comfort..

edit* oh yeah the button on the TV doesnt work. hahaha thanks doris

blowing your nose

2009-05-07T02:17:00.000-07:00

is SO HARD while driving.

and its one of those things that really bother me if i don't do it so i have a box of kleenex in my car conveniently. But everytime i feel like i want to blow my nose, i can't do it comfortably it bothers me. i have to do that thing where you wait for a straight road where you don't need to move the steering wheel so you can time a quick blow, but naturally the car cant just drive straight on its own so you have to catch the steering wheel before the car goes out of the lane. but then sometimes when you do, your not done blowing your nose so you have half a boogar sticking our of your nose and you have to wait til the next good timing to wipe whats left over.

man ... why cant life be easier?

Congrats to CG

2009-05-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that I'm really proud of CG.

Their vegas set is really something different from how they've been i think in my opinion and has so many different levels. Way to step it up

I also miss CG a lot. I miss the surreal project. i miss having that chance to dance with other great dancers and the genuine side of people that we don't get to see unless we share the stage together. Especially Jeff, Mylien, Angela, Melissa, Clarence, Chris, Kim, Henry, and Karen. I miss you guys. I have a sense of pride in other teams that I get closer with as people and not just as dancers too.

anyway, congrats to CG for taking home gold at UB.

GeoDefense

2009-05-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

So I got addicted to playing this game on the iPhone. Definitely one of the best games I've ever played. hahahah

The only problem is, I don't have my own iPhone or iTouch and I cant play this on a computer.

sad day.

EDIT**

THIS is close enough for me. (http://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=18047)

hahahha

i play every day.

Princeton

2009-05-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Princeton, NJ, because we had a performance there on Thursday night for this Club Fusion event that they were holding at their school. it was for sure one of the best things I've done this quarter, especially because i never really get to travel.

Some interesting things that stuck out:

Just how cool the school looked. it seriously looked like Hogwarts from harry potter. The buildings looked old, but they were like castles and it was all like that dark grey brick stuff. It was fuckin tight. i felt like I was in the movie.

They had a little preschool/elementary school looking building that really reminded me of the movies, where it looks like this one big church or something, and the kids were in a line, coming out of the building running to the yellow school bus and the teacher would watch them all go into the school bus to see them go. It was like a movie.

They have EATING CLUBS?! i was really confused, and still very confused about what this is exactly.. apparently theyre like frats and sororities but not, but its a bigger deal than the actual frats and sororities at their school. its cool. they talked about it like it was THE thing to do. i wanna start one here at UCI. hahaha

cool lingo: dodgy. i dont really know what it means and how to use it exactly. but apparently its like dangerous, or something like that.

princeton students dont sleep. party hard, study hard. end of story. haha

most of the princeton clubs have officers who are 2nd years, and the 3rd years and 4th years just retire cuz they have to write thesis papers and something else that they ned to do to graduate. crazy.

people dont really drive their own cars. like they share one person's car with like five people cuz they dont all need it all the time. WTF?! hahaha that scared me.

what else... ill update this later with a few pictures.

but i met some dope ass people like grace, stella and princeton. hopefully one day they can com here to CA and we can show them a good time like they showed us.

if you ever visit princeton, go to hoagie haven and eat the HEART STOP. it stops your heart cuz its so unhealthy for you, but its SO FUCKING GOOD that itll be worth dying for.

and this pizza place next to it. it was so different and so good. I think the street was nassau or something. check that street out. it had hella good food.

2009-05-02T18:14:00.001-07:00

i think I'll actually start writing in this.

SPOP

2008-07-11T02:44:00.000-07:00

so theres a very beautiful program here at UCI called SPOP.

its stands for student parent orientation program.

i've met some damn amazing people here on SPOP and i can't wait for the summer to continue because SPOP 1 was pretty much one of the most amazing things that ive been through. its crazy thinking about how much impact i can have on someone. I learned so much from SPOP1 and i hope to be a better staffer for the next SPOP.

PRADO. you know, i'll never forget my first hall. ever. thanks isa brenna stacy david hana and ana. you guys made it the best it couldve been for me. :-)

Let the summer continue.

this is the most chill summer ive been through.

pre body rock

2008-05-29T06:20:00.001-07:00

i know i haven't written here for a while... but i just wanted to post something to remember my feelings of what its like to live my life. hahaha

so this is the view from my apartment when i GET HOME FROM practice. the time? 6am. when did we start? 9pm. typical hell week times right?

in the end itll be worth it. it always is. all thanks to these guys.

saturday will be memorable.

Body Rock 08...

time to sleep! WOOOO

spring break

2008-03-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

hahaha i completely forgot i even started this thing at the beginning of the year.

anyway, its the last day of spring break, and im at work. for the entire day til practice. so my spring break is actually over. oh well. it was really chill and im just glad that i was able to sleep and eat. and wonder about that i was going to do that night.

i definitely dont want spring break to end. its been so relaxing to finally not have school and

work and modern practice as much as i love my team and being with them. i just feel like im getting old already. thats bad huh. i get tired really easily and i feel like i need to nap in between everything.

anyway onto the more exciting topic. kaba modern. hahah

its a new year, new team and everythind is different. i cant decide if its for the better yet, but im definitely adjusting and im having a lot of fun with the newbies. my heart will always be with my own class though.

this marks the beginning of this new chapter in our years together. i love my returner class so much. i was reading allibon's note on her boobies, and its how i feel about my class, but its not even to her level yet. i dont know how to explain it. i just wanna grow with my class and make this years growth bigger than last year.

last night we sessioned at angelees for some random reason and it was really fun. i hope we do that again.

yesterday was also the car rally with kreative and it was really fun. my group with theo ronna and amy got fifth place, but it was experience to remember obvisously. damn that hill. good thing theo was an athlete. that was non stop.

on another note, MTV crew is back. the show was whatever, we all know how we all felt about the voting and stuff.. im just glad jabbawockeez actaully won. and for us im just glad were back together again. its been too long without them. i never knew that it was gonna be this serious when they decided to do the show. hahaha tonights the first practice with everything there together again. i cant wait.

ill try not to write too much, so i can actually continue this thing.

onto a new quarter. hopefully itll end up better than the last (academically) and with modern i hope to grow more than my body can handle. im motivated at this moment, but i dont know how long itll last. hahaha let the quarter begin...

i love my family

2008-01-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

family dinner for christmas 2007.

i love my family.