Simon, I've got one just for you...

So last week I was handing out a couple of awards. Apparently, this got Simon Hu's attention. He instant messaged me and asked me if there was an award for him. (Sort of felt like Dorothy asking the Wizard if there was anything left in the bag for her.) I couldn't think of anything right then and there, but I promised that I would work up something for him.

After much thought and consideration, I've decided to go one step better and name an actual award after him; it's called the SIMON HU AWARD FOR BEST XANGA. Since I enjoy visiting his Xanga because he has such an exhaustive list of links to the Xangas of others, he wins the inaugural award for best Xanga and receives the digital medal on the left. Good job Simon! His Xanga can be found here.

BTW, it's official, I've lost my mind.

IAMAMORON 2.0

One of the constant requests that I get from people is for me to grow hair again. I think people see old pictures of me and wonder what I would look like if I went back to my good old high school and early college days. I've decided to appease these inquisitive souls. I've tried a new treatment that grows and restores hair fairly quickly and if you're prepared to see the results, click on the image to the right. But do as it says and "BE PREPARED!"

On a side note, I quite enjoy being constantly almost bald. Though it gets quite cold in the winter, I have to say that it feels quite nice and weird at the same time to get your towel stuck on your head as you try to pull it over the rough surface that is the almost bald head. Perhaps in 2006, I will get the courage and try to "Bic" my head.

On another side note, I shave my head with clippers set at "zero" about 2-3 times a week.

The Supremacy of God's Word...

What God's Word means to me...



















Hahahahahaha...
This just announced on K-Love radio: the third week of September (this week!) is...National Unmarried and Single Americans Week. According to www.CelebrateLove.com, "there is no shame in being single." Thank you.

And some pictures from Nike's Run Hit Wonder Chicago 2005...

What's a "gulf" club?

Time to issue some awards:

The "I'm A Space Cadet" Award
So I was bored and decided to check out people's profile/away messages. I found a couple that had me snickering. Apparently, Natalie Moy and Randy Chen had some sort of run in and felt it necessary to explain what happened on their profiles/away messages. Here's what Natalie's said, "if anyones having a bad day.... know this... randy hit me in the head with a gulf club. no lie."

To which Randy also wrote, "if anyones having a bad day.... know this... i hit natalie in the head with a gulf club. no lie."

One question, what's a "gulf" club? Congratulations to our pair of space cadets.

The "We're Bored and Need to Get a Life" Award
Michelle and Janice win this award. Even as I type, they are watching the Mrs. America pageant. Some of the contestants in this pageant are a little old, a little wrinkly, and/or a little ditzy. For the special performance part of the show, they had the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Team perform. Good grief.

That's all for now. More awards to come.

Now, that's interesting...

Here's an article I found in today's Sun-Times. It's actually taking from September 9th's edition of the Wall Street Journal. I found it quite vindicating.

Fewer dating relationships may benefit teens in long run, studies say

When their son was a teenager, Doug and Suzanne Schiffman worried that he wasn't dating enough. Adolescence is a time to build relationship skills, the Chevy Chase, Md., couple believed - but their son had just one long-term girlfriend late in high school, and none in college.

As it turns out, the lack of dating didn't hurt. Their son married at 24 and now, at 33, is "the happiest married person we know," Schiffman says.

A growing body of research is challenging popular notions about teen romance.

As the Schiffmans saw, lots of dating isn't necessarily a good thing; new studies show fewer, deeper relationships are better preparation for happy adult partnerships.

The research shows teen dating can play a unique developmental role, helping to equip teens with the intimacy skills they need to form lasting, happy marriages.

It also holds valuable clues for parents on figuring out how well their teens are shaping up as future spouses, and how they as parents can best guide that development.

Conventional wisdom has long held that "dating around" gives kids the experience they need to make good choices about adult partners.

But two new studies, in particular, buck the idea that lots of dating is best.

One, based on a 28-year look at 180 Midwestern subjects at the University of Minnesota, shows teens who date a lot, or have more than seven to nine dating partners from the ages of 15 to 17, don't have a higher likelihood of developing healthy adult relationships. Instead, their romances in their 20s are likely to be more troubled.

Another new study shows deeper, more-lasting teen relationships also increase the likelihood of marriage. Released last month at an American Sociological Association convention by Ann Meier, a University of Minnesota sociology professor, and others, the research shows unmarried teenage girls who settle down with longer relationships or just one partner at 16 or 17 - and were still unmarried at age 21 - are more likely to eventually be married by ages 22 to 25; the pattern was less pronounced for boys.

CCUC Turns 90!

Chinese Christian Union Church turns 90 this year. It's been quite a day. The Lee brothers (Tommy and Jimmy) are well known for their ability to come up with brilliant ideas only to expect the peons around them to figure out how to bring these ideas to reality.

As I type, Jimmy Lee is on a plane to China. Thank goodness. Who knows what other things he might be having me do if he were still on U.S. soil and able to contact me. On Sunday afternoon, my phone rang and I noticed on the caller I.D. that it was Jimmy. I seriously contemplated not answering because when he calls on a holiday, it's usually because he has one of his "special projects" for me to work on. Since Jill is in Hawaii and Randy doesn't really know how to use Illustrator, I became his special friend for the day.

THE PROJECT - Create banners commemorating CCUC's 90th anniversary that will hang on the lightposts in Chinatown. What he provided for this project wasn't going to work well because most people, myself included, don't have a clue about what's needed to created high-quality, print-ready artwork. Eventually, using an entire collection of Adobe software, we were able to create vector images that will print clearly regardless of the size. The project has taken most of my work day. As I sit here even now at 6:15PM catching up on other official work projects that I didn't have time to complete today, I think to myself that I probably shouldn't answer when Tommy or Jimmy call anymore. It's not that I mind doing these things, it's just that I get so consumed by these things that it's hard to think straight when I'm done. It may not look like it takes much effort to do these things, but you wouldn't believe the countless hoops that need to be jumped through to get to the final product. It's not as simple as typing text into Word and watching the final product evolve on it's own.

The nice thing is that Jill and Randy have already created all the graphics and logos. My job is to do the file conversions, clean-up the little quirks, place the text, and prepare the art for print. I'm the one who waits and wait and wait for people to review and give the ok that I can put the project to bed. From start to finish, this particular project took about 7 hours.

Anyway...hope you enjoy the sneak peak. I think they should look cool hanging on the posts in Chinatown. Gotta finish this post as I must make it to my parking lot by 7PM in order not to be locked in. Who knows? Maybe we'll be lucky and they won't let Jimmy back into the country. J/K. Seriously.

3 for the price of 1

Today we get three stories for the price of one...

Homecoming Continued...
In yesterday's "Homecoming" post, I neglected to mention that I took my obsession with Sweet Tomatoes a step further. Maybe a step too far. The image on the right displays one of those circular adhesives that you'll find stuck on top of every table at the restaurant. These circles advertise the current month's specialties. Guess where this particular adhesive is at? Click on it to find out. I don't know what possessed us to take it. This particular one was stuck to a plate on the wall. We figured that if they had so many that they could just frivolously place one on a decorative plate, then we could take it and they wouldn't miss it. With that in mind, Barry grabbed the plate off the wall, took off the sticker and gave it to me. Later that evening, I found the perfect place to put it. I know. I've lost my mind.

Please Take Out Your Punch Cards...
I've been driving Tanya Jeong to work. On this particular morning, we discussed gas prices and how rediculously high they've gotten. On her advice, I've decided to sell punch cards for people riding in my car. For $5 you get a card that entitles you to five rides in my car. The fees go to subsidize extremely high fuel costs. I really don't want to do this, but things have truly gotten out of hand. Please be sure to thank her for this excellent brain storm. You know what, so that you benefit too, the sixth ride is always free.

Giant Rats Invade Chicago...
I've been driving through the Dominick's parking lot every morning to get to Barry and Tanya's house. Since the overpass at Ashland and Archer is being torn down, traffic has been a nightmare. Today I noticed something very interesting on top of a regular looking car on my way through the lot. IT WAS A GIANT RAT!!! How freaky! I pulled my car over and asked the guy with a sign what was going on. He said that they were striking because, as I understood it, the new Pacific Global Bank at 33rd and Ashland is being constructed without union bricklayers. My response - Oh, I see. Can I take a picture of the rat? His response - Sure, go ahead. Knock yourself out. Seeing as how I work for a pseudo-union, I have to support my union brothers and sisters. I get the message they were sending loud and clear.

It's amazing the kind of things you see each day living in a big city.