Black Friday.

Every year follow Thanksgiving there is a great American Holiday, "Black Friday." It's the busiest shopping day of the year and kicks off Christmas shopping season. The term "Black Friday" was coined in Philadelphia in reference to the terrible pollution of that day.

This morning I experienced "Black Friday" for the first time. And I can understand why they really call it "Black Friday." Picture this: the store is full of hundreds of people, lines wrapping around the store and grumpy employees. The perfect way to begin the holiday season.

On a more serious note, I just learned that an employee died this morning at Walmart. He was trampled under the feet of stampeding shoppers. Unfortunately, this event is appropriate commentary on our society and consumerism. Sometimes it seems as though we get so caught up on what WE want and what WE need that we are blinded to the needs or well-being of others.

Let's try to remember what's important this Holiday Season.

Light of the World - GCC Overflow

the thought of thanksgiving...

makes my stomach rumble,
it sure isn't a time to grumble...

i'll play a round with the lee men,
and just call up some good ole' friends...

watch some football on the tube,
and just eat some delicious food...

the thought of thanksgiving makes me smile,
i'm off to kansas to rest a while.

:)

thankful.

In light of Thanksgiving I began creating a list of things I'm thankful for... then I realized how tremendously blessed I am.


God is good.

absolute hilarity: my challenge to you.

Sometimes during some of my classes, I like to take my laptop to take notes and also occasionally check my email and other sites during slow moments. Yes, it's not a good habit but it definitely helps me make it through some very dry lectures.

Today I briefly opened my laptop during Chinese class to look up some Chinese translations. While doing so, I happened upon a friend's blog and began reading an article which I found HILARIOUS. Soon, I found myself giggling like crazy. I tried as hard as I could to restrain myself, but I began shaking and tearing. I could only stop when I bit my lip and closed the blog. It was quite bad, luckily my professor didn't seem to notice.

Below is said article. If you can, don't read it now. I challenge you to read it during class and see if you can not laugh. Or atleast, try not to laugh at all while reading it. If you succeed... you either have amazing self-control or you have no sense of humor.


--

Below is the complete email conversation that Adelaide man David Thorne claims he had with a utility company chasing payment of an overdue bill.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles


From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.

Regards, David.




From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles


From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.

Regards, David.


From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles


From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,

Yes please.

Regards, David.


From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Attached




From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?

Dear Jane, Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.

Regards, David.


From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95. Please make this payment as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles


From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response

Thankyou for contacting me. I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.

Regards, David.


From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.

Regards, David.




From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles


From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

I understand and will definately make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.

Regards, David.


From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Attached

you can tell alot about someone...

...by what kind of cupcake they are.

Apparently I'm a Copacabana! Cupcake.

Borrowed this from a friend (thanks Nancy). Found it interesting, you can tell me if you think this is an accurate description. But try it for yourself, I'd love to hear what kind of cupcake you are. Forget the myers-briggs, take the cupcake test!

The Dozen Cupcakes Quiz

Copacabana! Cupcake "Pineapple vanilla cake, mango buttercream, rolled in coconut and topped with a pineapple wedge. always in fashion!" You are the life of the party, the belle of the ball... the frosting on the cupcake! You love to party, to socialize, and you are not afraid to make your own fun. People are drawn to your amiable nature and sense of humor, and you have never been known to badmouth a friend because you like everybody. The epitome of an optimist, you keep spirits up in dark times and your smile is infectious.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

boys rule and girls drool.

You may remember a from last December titled "a war has begun" - in that post I described being the victim of an elaborate prank pulled by the '09 sisters of GCC. After which, I stated, "Justice will be served."

Well, after much waiting and planning... it has. We struck on Friday during the '09 sisters sleepover. In anticipation of the night we bought 12 cheap alarm clocks. We set them at random times through the morning (beginning around 4am) and placed our photos inside them as well. Then we strategically hid them throughout the room so that they would be woken but wouldn't be able to find the source of the alarms. Our hiding places included ceiling vents, toilet bowls, oven panels, ac units, etc.

It was a great success and yet again proves that boys rule and girls drool.



'09 girls, consider yourselves served.

life lessons from disney

A couple days ago during Chinese class we each gave an oral presentation on our favorite movie. I of course, shared about American History X (just one of many favorites). One of the other students began sharing about his favorite movie "Beauty and Beast."

As he was sharing about the plot, I began thinking to myself, "Yah, that was a great movie." I had watched it and several other Disney movies as a child and I really enjoyed them. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how deep of an impact Disney movies had on my life and my perspective.

Take Beauty and the Beast for instance, I learned from the antagonist Gaston that looks and physical strength are not terribly important. Probably the reason that I've never been much of a gym rat, weight-lifter.

From Aladdin, I learned that even a street rat can win over the heart of a beautiful princess (in my opinion, the MOST beautiful).

Lion King? Importance of friendship.
Mulan? Perseverance and hard-work.

There are SO many more... I miss the old Disney classics.

in case you missed it: KASCON23 promo video

So many of you have seen this already and many of you have already given me grief about it, but in case you haven't seen it... here is the KASCON23 Promo Video - "Launch Crisis"



Yes, that's me... as JACK BAE - the Korean American, butt-kicking, launch crisis-solving agent of CTU (reference of 24's Jack Bauer). The only reason I share that is because my parents' response to this video was classic:

"Bruce Lee!!!" - Mamma Lee
"Looks like we have new James Bond and Tom Cruise..." - Papa Lee

My parents are pretty hip, cool and usually in the know, but I don't think they've ever seen an episode of 24 before. Anyways, I'm a programming manager for KASCON23 @ Penn this spring, it's developing into an awesome conference that Korean Americans don't want to miss.

www.kascon.com

senior revelation

Today I received a sign-on check in the mail from Bain and I had a revelation. This money is going into MY bank account. It is out of this bank account that I can fully sustain my life. Making me financially independent from my parents. Here was the real takeaway: I'm getting old and I'm ACTUALLY going to be entering into the real world next year.

For some of you, this is no big deal.. you've been financially independent for years and have been paying your own way through college. And I commend you. Since I was young, however, my parents always encouraged me to study instead of working.

I guess I'm beginning to realize that this is the beginning of the end for me. Wow, that sounds a little depressing. Let's end with a grand finale, shall we?

pondering serious questions: hair length

Now that I have successfully obtained a job and have decided what I want to do with my life in the near future, I find that I have much more time to ponder the more serious questions of life like: How do they get those wooden ships into those bottles? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? Should I grow my hair out or not?

Recently, I had a lengthy conversation about this last question with a good friend of mine. She strongly urged me to grow it out, but oddly enough, that made me want to cut it more. She insisted that it doesn't look good, but I insisted that I really don't care what people think. I figure that this might be the last opportunity I have to grow out my hair before I become another suit in corporate America. Anyway, just something that crossed my mind; feel free to share your opinion.

I realize this post is not substantive nor deep nor eloquent; but give me a break, I'm trying to ease my way back into the blogosphere. I promise many more compelling and thought-provoking posts to come.

hope prevailed.

Tonight is a historic day that will forever be marked in the history books of our children and the generations to come. Tonight an African-American man was elected the President of the United States of America. President Barack Obama, it's music to my ears.

I spent some time looking through my past posts regarding Obama and one post in particular struck me the hardest. It was from my final day on the campaign in New Hampshire summer of '07.

It really reminds me of the audacity of hope. Tonight, hope prevailed.

---

dare to hope.

Today’s my final day in the office. So I’m finally taking the time to sit down, look around and take it all in. It’s the pillars in the office that strike me the most. All of the pillars throughout the office are covered with signatures of the community leaders, staff workers, interns and local volunteers who have spent countless hours working for the cause, the cause that is boldly painted on walls “hope.action.change. Obama ‘08.”

People continue to ask me as I leave, “What did you learn from your time here?” and I’ve been pretty stumped. Sure there are the obvious things: I learned how campaigns worked, I learned how to work 12 hour days, I learned how to communicate my opinion on difficult issues and I learned the importance of civic duty. But those were implicit lessons that I knew I’d learn when I flew out to Manchester. What did I really learn on this campaign?

As cliché as it sounds now, I learned about the Audacity of Hope. In our imperfect world full of imperfect people there is a necessity for hope, a desire and belief of something better. I don’t think that we can live in this world without hope: whether it is hope in the goodness of people, hope in a better tomorrow or hope in God. Unfortunately, these days people are disillusioned by hope. They are afraid to hope because they are afraid of being let down or being wrong, and that fear is paralyzing.

It’s here on the Obama campaign that I once again discovered the audacity of hope. I’ll be honest, before I joined the campaign I was a cynic. I supported Obama but couldn’t bring myself to believe that he could win. I couldn’t bring myself to put my hope in him. But here in Manchester I met thousands of people who had put their hope in Obama, everyone from the staff worker waking up at dawn to assemble the press clips to the single mother who had shown up with her child to volunteer for the campaign. It was remarkable and it challenged me to hope once again. And it was hope that sustained me through the 12 hour days, it was hope that helped me survive the sweltering nights on the couch and it is hope that allows me to believe that Barack Obama can and will be sworn in as President on January 20, 2009.

I double-dog dare you to HOPE.