Come, Emmanuel, Come

As a Spurs fan in Laker territory, I'm used to getting ganged up on by hordes of purple and gold. It happened all throughout high school, and it looks like it's gonna keep happening as long as my Spurs are a threat to the entire league. 

If they weren't the least bit scared of the Spurs, they wouldn't think to pick on me. That's the bottom line, baby. 

Y'all are just scared.

Manu's back. Things are about to change (or go back to the way they were).

I'm not saying that the Spurs are gonna win the championship because honestly, they're a long shot at this point. All I'm saying is that Laker fans need to stop acting like the Larry O'Brien trophy's already been handed to them. WAKE UP. We're not even 20 games into the season. What's gonna happen to their arrogant little comments when Kobe goes down with an injury like Parker did? What are they gonna do then? 

A little humility never hurt anyone. 

And this is exactly, exactly why I'm a fan of the San Antonio Spurs. I have zero tolerance for arrogance. I can't stand chest bumps in between every single damn play. And I hate drama queens who talk crap just to get attention. 

So go ahead. Pick on me. Maybe I'm the odd one out, but I don't care. I let the game speak for itself.

Go Spurs Go.

Thank You

I am thankful for:

- my family. Thank you for always supporting me. Everything I am now, I owe to you.

- my friends. For Melissa and Vannalyn who watch over me as I bounce around the apartment walls every weekend. Sometimes they join me, but more often than not I get the "what the fuck?" face that I've gotten accustomed to. 

- my ninjentern buddies. It's amazing how we just bonded together over the summer. In all honesty, I've never felt a more binding chemistry with any other group than you guys. Let's be friends forever. :)

- the opened doors, the countless opportunities. Thank you, to the TWF and the TWLC for investing in my growth.

- this school year. Sophomore year at Cal. Everything's gone swimmingly so far (except for a couple of...hmmm...). Classes are okay, I'm finally getting involved, and...I've never been more proud to be a Golden Bear. :)

- Project Smile. :) For my awesome mentee. And for keeping me busy in the best possible way.

- being ALIVE. And being in the position to be grateful for more things to come.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Random Musings

1. I think we all know too much about President-elect Obama now. Just off the top of my head, Yahoo! headlines have included, over the past two weeks: 

- the breed of dog (it needs to be a hypoallergenic mutt) he's getting for his daughters when they move into the White House (plus several stories on CNN about willing donors!!),

- the fact that he can't be all over the Internets no mo' cause everything he does is on record (although he's very Internets-savvy),

- the book that he's currently reading, 

- the names that Secret Service assigned him and his family (they all start with Rs, I believe),

- and that he has a good jump shot.

Certainly, I'm missing more points. But my point is, ENOUGH! He's cool; I get it. He's too cool to make fun of. Like you know...nobody makes fun of Will Smith, right? It's 'cause he's so damn cool (I think I got this from The Daily Show).

2. When you say pirates...It doesn't have the same gravity as, say, "hijackers on sea." I blame good ol' Cap'n Jack Sparrow for this. Thanks Cap'n, for causing me to ignore this potentially alarming issue.

3. Twilight. Fine, I'll give in. I'll read it. Over winter break, maybe.

Psh.

4. Me? A political junkie? Maybe...

5. A Colbert Christmas on Sunday. Love.

Thanks in advance

I am looking forward to Thanks with Susie and Omar. 

:)

I've missed them dearly.

Here's to mindless wanderings, lively talks, never-ending munchies, and sleepless nights. I love you guys! Can't wait to see you! ♥

Where Amazing Happens

Cue music.

This is ten percent luck

Twenty percent skill

Fifteen percent concentrated power of will

Five percent pleasure

Fifty percent pain

And a hundred percent reason to remember the name.

My Spurs are in trouble. :(

2-5. Wow. Never in the Duncan era have we had a start this bad. Manu's down. Parker's out for a month. Barry's with the flippin Rockets. Finley/Bowen/Duncan (take your pick!) is getting older. And I honestly don't know the names of half the guys on our roster.

It's becoming increasingly painful to have to watch an entire game, but I'm still here.

Spurs fans have been notorious for brandishing "our" four championships whenever other teams' fans start berating us for our team's age and/or underachievement, so I won't disappoint.

Remember this?

05 baby. The stars were aligned.

Could it happen again? 

Well, it is an odd-numbered year, and we still have our Big Three intact. :) Anything is possible. Maybe my hopes are leaning on Ginobili's superhuman abilities, and maybe he's just not gonna be the same after his surgery...but if I didn't have hope, what else would I have? Memories? Memories of four distant championship runs? 

Nah. Let's save that for when the Big Three retire. :)

Go SPURS Go!

In other news, I am no longer an NBA virgin. 

Warriors-Wolves game on Nov. 11th! :) It went into OT, just like I wanted it to. Hehe. It took a lot of effort to shout, "Let's go Warriors!" but I did it, okay. I did it. I'm not proud, but I just got into the game. I am an NBA fan, after all. :)

Today We Wake Up to a Different AMERICA

Something weird happened last night. It's midterm season, but people weren't cooped up in the library (or drinking their woes away). I know I live in the middle of Shattuck Avenue, amidst the life of Downtown Berkeley, but I still found it a bit odd that cars wouldn't stop honking well into midnight last night. How many people were caught in a traffic jam? Were there really that many bad drivers on the road last night?

What the hell happened?

CHANGE happened. That's what. We You did it, America! 

YES, WE CAN!

I let the victory get to me. Even though I wasn't a part of it, I let it carry me away. I am proud to be American a permanent resident of the United States. 

So...I stepped out into the streets of Berkeley last night and found...Berkeley. So this is what Berkeley looked like in the 60s. People just came together for a common cause. LOVE WAS IN THE AIR; there's no better way to put it. For once, I genuinely felt like EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY. Optimism radiated in that big crowd that started singing as a chorus, cheering Obama's name, and high-fiving drivers who themselves were fist-pumping and yelling in their cars. 

I've never seen such a vision of unity. Such happiness. Such optimism.

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY.

Change has come.

...Is everything going to be okay?

This turnout. It feels like a mandate. It feels like so many expectations lie squarely on the President at this moment. What if he doesn't deliver? What if he's not all we've made him out to be? And then what? Are we going to destroy him, much as we've destroyed many a US President? 

I HOPE Obama won't be destroyed by the presidential institution. I HOPE, in turn, that HE will destroy the institution as it stands today, that he will revolutionize the executive office (without abusing power, of course!), and consequently, that...everything will be okay.

Over the Sea and Far, Far Away...

It rained today. It rained and rained and rained. And I'm pretty sure it's still raining right now. I can't tell. I'm cooped up in a cubicle in the main library, so...I guess I'll find out later. I'll ask my friends - the wolf crying to the blue corn moon, the sycamore, and the eagle that's gonna tell me where he's been.

Today was not unlike the day that I first stepped foot on Berkeley soil and fell in ♥. I will always remember.

Look at the stars.

Look how they shine for you,

And everything you do.

Yeah they were all yellow.

I came along.

I wrote a song for you,

And all the things you do.

And it was called yellow.

So then I took my time.

Oh what a thing to have done,

And it was all yellow.

I swam across.

I jumped across for you.

Oh what a thing to do,

'Cause you were all yellow.

I drew a line.

I drew a line for you.

Oh what a thing to do,

And it was all yellow.

Have I told you? This song will be played on my wedding. :) 

Anyway.

I took a shower against my will today. It was an accident. It happened on my way home, from Barker to Gaia. It was cold. 

Don't you wish you never had the misfortune to meet certain people? Don't you wish you could just be sheltered from what's difficult and what's heartbreaking (sheltered from life, then)?

I have nothing but questions.