raydog's Xanga

say it ain't so!

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 01:54:20 GMT

ok, so it has been 10 weeks since my last post. you know, i do this all the time. live with it.

i had to wait until i finished my semester to write. it has been pretty busy. as some of you may know, i am back in school now, this time at georgia state. let me just say that i have been dealing with a major guilt complex the past few months as i've returned to school. those of you who knew me during the emory days are probably aware of my slacker-ish tendencies. i mean, i was the ULTIMATE slacker, if there is such a thing. i was such a slacker that during my freshman year, an upperclassman and i won a KSA "slacker tournament," which consisted of bowling and spades. this was in the middle of midterms. i was pre-med until my 3rd day of college. wow. i overslept a final exam and ended up with a C in the class even after being allowed to take the exam. this was in music flippin' 114. INTRO TO MUSIC THEORY! a C in music theory! i had an 8:30 physics class that met 3 times a week. i think i went to that class 5 times total. i couldn't even go to my chem 111 class, which met at 9:35. you know, that walk from DOBBS to the CHEM building, yeah, all 400 feet of it. so yeah, i felt really guilty going back to school, knowing how i was.

so let me tell you how nerdy i am.
- i like accounting.
- i like accounting a lot.
- i like math a lot.
- i like baseball a lot (baseball fans = nerds)
- i married a math teacher.
- i have an xbox headset and i look forward to playing tonight.
- i brought my books to paul and christina's housewarming, and studied while everyone else played.
- i take my calculator with me everywhere i go.
- now i have 2 calculators that i take with me everywhere i go.
- i play sudoku puzzles.

so yeah, my 10 weeks of xanga non-activity was due to school. and let me tell all you aspiring slackers - don't become like me!!! or else you too will have to go back to school! (i have my degree, by the way, for those of you who are wondering at this point if i ever graduated from emory)

alright, time to post some random pics from the last year or so...

this is me and paco (and scooby doo) from the AJC auto show back in april. he's so cute. and so is scooby.

the lees and the laus, going wave-running during memorial day weekend at hilton head.

no comment.

me and harley during one of my good hair days.

the nicest mcdonalds in the entire world. it better be, considering that it is the closest mcd's to its worldwide corporate headquarters in oakbrook, illinois.

me and the misses and ronald at said mcdonalds.

the view from the condo (28th floor) where i stayed with my parents during the 4th of july weekend.

mary and the blue man.

the magnificent mile (michigan avenue, chicago)

going way back. this is from my bachelor party at andretti speedway.

check this out

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 22:11:23 GMT

so i just finished watching 24, season 3. and of course, for those of you who have seen it, the final episode takes place on the los angeles subway. and so it got me thinking about subways in general. i take marta twice a week to georgia state, and the ride is pretty comfortable. it's pretty good for going to class, going to the airport, and going to falcons games. but i still need a car. wouldn't it be cool to live in a city where you didn't need a car? for comparison, check out these 2 maps.

Marta - Atlanta, GA

not bad, huh? my route is from NE10 (doraville) to N1 (peachtree center). about 28 minutes.

now look at this map.

this makes my head hurt.

okay, quick poll. yay or nay on this vehicle?

2006 vw gti with factory votex body kit and 19" bbs rs861 wheels. *drooling over keyboard* so if i lived in NYC i wouldn't need this.

double standard?

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:23:02 GMT

so, after almost 2 months of non-posting, this is what's on my mind.

the yankees have gone up in flames in the postseason for the sixth straight year, while their payroll has climbed to over 200 million.

the braves have gone up in flames in the postseason as well, and, in fact, didn't even make the postseason this year. all this with a payroll that has shrunk to a (comparatively) low 80 million dollars.

yet the braves are criticized for being october choke artists, and the yanks? well, they never get that label.

let's look at the yankees more recent postseasons to see what's going on.
2001 - lost to arizona in the WS. couldn't get it done vs. randy and schilling. and mariano rivera gave up the game in the 9th inning.

2002 - lost to anaheim in the division series. anaheim had a super low payroll and how did they beat NY? as you recall, they didn't hit many homers. but they doubled new york to death.

2003 - lost to florida in the WS. ran into josh beckett and his flame of an arm. if i recall correctly, florida's payroll was lower than 50 million.

2004 - lost to boston in the ALCS. remember, the yankees were up 3 games to 0 and had the red sox down in the 9th inning in game 4. arguably the greatest "choke job" in postseason baseball history.

2005 - lost to anaheim in the division series.

2006 - lost to detroit in the division series.

so, the yankees haven't even made it out of the first round in 3 of the last 5 years. shouldn't new york's postseason failures be magnified even more than atlanta's, considering the braves don't have the financial means to compete with them? now, some will say that new york gets a pass because they won 4 WS between 1996 and 2000. but that october success is getting further and further in the past. i mean, its been 10 years since that first one! anyway, i'm so glad they are out. and now i'll be rooting for the cardinals to take out the mets, because i can't stand them either.

by the way, i'm writing this entry while sitting in my accounting class. shows you how diligently i'm paying attention in class, right? just kidding, today is just a review day, and the teacher is going over stuff that i've got figured out already.

Go Go Technologic!!!

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 03:11:48 GMT

Congratulations to my cousin, Doug "Technologic" Kim, who finished 7th at the 2006 WSOP!!!

How does $2.4M sound to you? cha ching! cha ching!

of course, he has to pay taxes now. but still... =) way to go doug!!!

Crazy. Crazy, I tell you.

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 01:26:41 GMT

$907,128. does anyone know the significance of this number?

this is the amount awarded to the 14th place finisher at the 2006 world series of poker.

this is the amount awarded to Luke "The Duke" Chung, who bowed out with a 14th place finish minutes ago in Las Vegas.

this is crazy, not just because it's almost a freakin' million dollars, but because many of us know this guy! yeah, you know luke, he of jani-link cleaning supplies and with the doctor wife, liz. i guess stardom in the world of poker was inevitable for this guy, considering the fact he tried to organize a poker game any chance he could. he would say, "come over for cell group!" (but he really wanted to play poker.) hehe, just kidding, but anyway, congrats luke on your awesome finish!

ok here's where it gets crazier.

it turns out there's a guy, a really young guy, still available as of 9:20 p.m. tuesday night. his name is doug kim. as i write, he's sitting in 8th place with a chip count of 4.8 million. he just finished college at duke and he loves to play poker. if he finishes 8th, he'll walk away with a cool 1.9 million dollars. let's hope he finishes higher than that!

ok so here's doug "justice" kim.

why is his presence significant? check out this pic:

yeah, that's right. it's the guy in the middle. that's my COUSIN, yo! yeah, the guy who i was like, "hey he looks exactly like me!" anyway, so i spent the afternoon staring at my computer, rooting for these two guys who started the day in 11th (doug) and 23rd (luke).

*update* during the course of writing this entry, doug has just jumped to 6th place! oh snap! go doug go! go doug go!

It's Good to be 40!!!

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 01:38:23 GMT

This post is dedicated to everyone's favorite surgeon, Koodaddy B. H. Koo......M.D.

For those of you who know this wonderful guy, let's just say there's no one like koo. whether he's dreaming of plapissmusses in australia, claiming that orange rhymes with storage, or flirting with all the nurses at the hospital, koodaddy is always on the prowl. man, i thought i talked a smooth game. but my secret is - everything i know, i learned from koodaddy. =)

this is koo ragging on me at my wedding. it really was a great toast, i must say.

this is koo back in the old emory days. gotta love that hair.

this is koo and me in chicago. what a road trip. if you wanna go on a road trip, and you want to laugh the whole time, ask koo to go with you.

the groom and the best man. i could not ask for a better friend. =)

here's to you, koo koo. have a wonderful 40th* birthday!!!

* never ask koo koo how old he is, because he won't tell you. but i know. this is how i found out:
we watched the falcons beat the vikings in the 1999 NFC championship game, taking our beloved dirty birds to the super bowl for the first time. he later posted to learnlink: "I've waited 33 years for this!" and so i did the math. 1999 - 33 = 1966. 2006 - 1966 = 40!!! yowsers!

News and Notes

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 03:21:59 GMT

so what's been going on in my life? here's an update:

- for all you prime wings lovers... we are resuming our saturday hours. 12pm - 6pm. yummy. you better come out and buy some wings or we'll have to close down again. =)

- just ordered my first textbook from half.com. i feel like an undergrad all over again. go STATE!!!

- watched the all-star game yesterday. phil garner (NL manager) = stupid. garner != smart (for all you computer science types) you've got a one run lead late in the game, and your 2 best defensive players are sitting on the bench (scott rolen, andruw jones). for any of you who saw that ground rule double in the 9th inning, either rolen could have stopped it from shooting through the hole, or andruw jones could have stopped it if he were out there playing left.

- my stint as youth group worship leader has ended. it was fun and rewarding. now i'm back to leading praise once a week. God has really been blessing this ministry and sending people to help. exactly what i asked Him for. =)

- still anxiously awaiting the release of civilization 4 for mac. meanwhile, a bunch of you guys are playing settlers of catan. i am stubbornly refusing to play this game. don't ask me why, because i really don't know why. i'm sure it would be lots of fun and a lot like civ. i'm just being dumb, i guess.

- my trip to panama city with my parents was pretty fun. i took a wrong turn onto shalimar drive one afternoon. for those of you who are feeling a bit nostalgic, that was the place where they had ACF chapter camp. so as i drove up the street, i saw all the same buildings from "endless summer retreat." that was pretty cool.

- i was introduced to this pretty cool game the other day. try it out!

and now a random thought...

- do you ever wonder what websites everyone visits on a daily basis? i'm sure everyone has a few that they have to check. the one i check every single day is the vortex. if you guys like cars (like me) then you will have hours upon hours of enjoyment here. you can find funny pictures too. check these out...

and of course, the not so funny pictures. like these... (2007 TOYOTA CAMRY!!!) makes you wanna buy a camry doesn't it?

ok that's all for now. bye.

Not as eventful as a STING operation...

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 23:13:36 GMT

wow.

i tell you what. wow.

i'm sure everyone and their brother now knows about the sting operation that went down this week. it's flippin' sweet, if you ask me. some punk kid steals some stuff from a church retreat, only to be an idiot and sell it on ebay and get caught. knowing the darkness of my heart, i don't think i could have the forgiving heart that "jerry" has. very funny with the name changes ("shamrock," "lion," "king").

anyway, it has been 8 weeks since i last posted. the braves are so pathetic i don't know what to do.
their needs: 1) leadoff hitter. 2) setup man. 3) closer. so sad, the division title streak is gonna come to an end. it's all good. maybe they can sneak in as a wild card and win the whole thing.

PCA retreat was really good. i know i didn't stay for the whole thing due to work, but the time i was there i was really blessed by what the Lord was doing. i thoroughly enjoyed the praise time, not because of the sound, the setup, or anything like that. but simply because God was being worshipped. my favoritest sound of all time is not some crazy loud and tight bass that goes doong doong doong doong, or a thick electric guitar riff that goes midilee midilee midilee midilee, or a keyboard going "boop boop boop boop." (those are strong-bad references by the way)- my favorite sound of all time is the sound of a congregation singing to the Lord. if you ever wanted to know why i always walk away from the mic and start singing, it's because i like to hear the voices, what i believe to be the purest expression of musical worship. man, what a beautiful sound, to hear hundreds of people, broken, and in love with Christ, singing to Him alone. "Jesus, oh Holy One, I sing to You, forgiven...Savior, I'm overcome with Your great love for me..." BAM that was sweet...

and get this, when the dust settles from an awesome retreat, it isn't the programs, the games, the praise, the skits, or even the friendships made that transform people. it's the gospel. still the greatest story ever told, too perfect to be made up, too satisfying to leave us wanting more. people talk about how all these movies have these Christ-like themes to them (titanic, matrix, SUPERMAN!!!, LOTR, narnia) even when the director has no intention of giving it any sense of a Christian message. this is something i was talking to paul about, but maybe the reason the Christ comparisons are everywhere is because that's how God made us. we know we are doomed and we need a savior. we know we are screwed unless someone comes in and saves the day. and for some reason it makes the best "feelgood" story, doesn't it?
"...since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. for since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." -Romans 1:19-20.
OUCH.

ok enough with the essays. time for some good ole' "stream of consciousness..."

- my freecell streak ended. at 236 games. i may not be good at sports and stuff, but don't mess with the freecell.

- somebody find my friend (koo) a girlfriend. please.

- superman was pretty good. the dude doesn't look real though. i think people have been mentioning how his skin is perfect or something, or there are no blemishes, etc. etc.

- anybody play team SWAT on halo 2? it's some fun stuff. i almost had more kills than busterben one game. almost.

- my wife is going to the dominican republic in 2 days. good thing for team SWAT.

- the NBA draft is tonight. my guess: #5, the hawks will pick shelden williams, yet another 6-9 forward. please, we don't need anymore of these guys.

- somebody find my friend (koo) a girlfriend. pretty please.

- i like watching the sopranos on hbo. does this make me a bad person?

update on the braves post...

Wed, 03 May 2006 22:00:15 GMT

thanks to those who perused that massive list and managed to pick out some more braves.

chris pae and fred lee : francisco cabrera
chris pae: jose capellan
richard lee : rico brogna
yoeung chiem : bruce chen (how could i forget)
sonia lee : rick mahler (yes, he played for them in 1991)

oh yeah,

here are some more that i forgot. by the way, it took about 30 minutes to do that other list.

dwayne wise
charles thomas
jesse garcia
tommy gregg! (remember this pinch-hitter?)
jay powell (had a career-ending injury on the mound at turner field)
gregg olson (not the catcher who played in '91, but the pitcher with 3 g's in his first name)
rudy seanez
armando reynoso
tony tarasco

and there's probably 50 - 100 more, but i'm an enthusiast, not a loser. =)

how many braves can you name?

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 02:14:14 GMT

i had this crazy notion that i could name at least 100 players who wore a braves uniform since their magical run began in 1991. so i will now attempt, online, and without the aid of any internet research, to do so.

01. john smoltz
tom glavine
steve avery
charlie leibrandt
pete smith
greg maddux
kevin millwood
denny neagle
russ ortiz
odalis perez
11. john burkett
jason schmidt
turk wendell
david neid
paul byrd
mike hampton
jorge sosa
jason marquis
tim hudson
kyle davies
21. albie lopez
horacio ramirez
john thomson
sid bream
brian hunter
fred mcgriff
andres galarraga
ken caminiti
nick esasky
ryan klesko
31. julio franco
adam laroche
matt franco
jeff treadway
mark lemke
keith lockhart
bret boone
mike mordecai
tony graffanino
marcus giles
41. jeff blauser
rafael belliard
walt weiss
rafael furcal
wilson betemit
ozzie guillen
terry pendleton
jim presley
chipper jones
vinny castilla
51. mark derosa
tony pena jr.
pete orr
martin prado
andy marte
charlie o'brien
greg olson
damon berryhill
javy lopez
eddie perez
61. henry blanco
brian mccann
johnny estrada
todd pratt
ron gant
david justice
otis nixon
deion sanders
mike kelly
roberto kelly
71. marquis grissom
brian jordan
j.d. drew
gary sheffield
andruw jones
ryan langerhans
kelly johnson
jeff francoeur
mark whiten
raul mondesi
81. kenny lofton
juan berenguer
alejandro pena
mike stanton
mark wohlers
john rocker
chris reitsma
dan kolb
pedro borbon
brad clontz
91. greg mcmichael
mike remlinger
chris hammond
ray king
alan embree
jung bong
joey devine
tim spooneybarger
kerry ligtenberg
tom martin (boo, the worst brave ever)
101. ken ray
oscar villareal
lance cormier
marvin freeman
edgar renteria
reggie sanders
lonnie smith
steve bedrosian
jeff reardon
mike devereaux
111. dwight smith
kyle farnsworth
jermaine dye
kent mercker
paul bako

ok i think that's all i've got. 115 braves that i can think of since 1991. please comment if you can name some that i missed.

//edit

while i was lying in bed last night i thought of some more.

116. eli marrero
117. matt diaz
118. robert fick
119. mike bielecki