New flare for reading?

Recently I began using Stanza, an eReader app for my iPod that’s really helped me rekindle a flame extinguished long ago for books.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Sent from my iPod

With Everything by Hillsong

Hillsong – With Everything  
Download now or listen on posterous

With Everything.mp3 (6819 KB)

I love this song so much. I get pumped every time I hear it and it just transports me to a whole different area where it's just God and me.

What to get for Christmas

Until now I’ve realized that when Christmas comes, so does selfishness. For me, I’ve always forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, that Christ was born today. That’s one of the best gifts ever given, yet my mind is focused on the materialistic gifts that entice me during this time of year. I stumbled upon an article by Nick Schneider that really helped me open my eyes to this holiday. Here’s a quote from author Oren Arnold that I think is great:

“Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart. 
To a customer, service. 
To all, charity. 
To every child, a good example. 
To yourself, respect.”

- Oren Arnold

Mall Stories

So today my friend Tracy and I went to Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro, MA. Usually there is this lady up at the food court that gives out free Chinese restaurant chicken samples to people that pass by. Out of all the times I've shopped there, this is the first time I've been rejected by her.

A little background info before I finish this story will help. I'm Asian and Tracy's African American. So we go up to her expecting to get a sample of chicken, but she suddenly puts the tray down on the counter and looks away.

We're thinking to ourselves, "Okay? Did she do that on purpose or not?". So we go back again after a minute and she does the same thing. She puts the tray down and pretends we're not there. At this point we're confused but laughing our heads off. We go back one more time, but for this trip I decided I would go ahead and ask if I could have one rather than expect one. She puts the tray down and I ask.

"Can I have a piece of chicken?" I say. No response. I sense a quick movement indicating that she's about to give me one. Suddenly, she changes her mind and decides to use her body language to tell me to get the chicken myself in a rude way. I chuckle in disgust and leave.

My friend Tracy is laughing with me at this point because we don't know what to make of this. Finally after shopping a while we decide to go back for the heck of it.

I stand in front of the restaurant this time, pretending to look at the menu as if I'm interested in buying something. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I see the lady coming towards me with the piece of chicken resting on a toothpick. She says nothing, but I thank her for the chicken. Then I walk away laughing hysterically while my friend Tracy is obviously upset. 

"She didn't give me anything!" She said. Her reason was that she was black, which made sense since she pointed out that another black man had asked for chicken and received nothing. 

I've never experienced this kind of treatment before by an employee, especially one that is trying to promote their business through samples. There was no smile nor conversation, just silence and refusals. I think I will still try my luck there though, because who can turn down free chicken samples?

– 
- Calvin

Testing, 123

Trying to update my Posterous from a new service called Glue. It allows me to update to multiple sources, just like Posterous does. Since there’s no Posterous app for the iPhone/iPod touch, I’ll use the new Glue app to publish to Posterous which will then publish itself to Twitter & my Facebook news feed. Awesome, it’s just one big chain of updates.

via Glue

Arguments

Arguments have the power to break people to bits within seconds. Arguments are no doubt an evil force waiting to grab someone and ensnare them into its trap. However, they can also build relationships, if settled correctly.

I know I can get into heated arguments and yell nonstop at people, blinded by anger and unwilling to reach a conclusion. I talk back, I scream, I say all these things I don't mean with the hope that I can get some sort of regret or sympathy from the opposer. Oh I know it all too well. I say I'll learn from past arguments, but it never happens. I'm a mold that needs a lot of shaping. But it seems I always look at my mistakes rather than the progress I've already made.

Anyways, how can you reach a peaceful conclusion with all this hatred and yelling going on? Well both people need to realize they're both acting stupid. Seems kind of crude, but it's true. In an argument, I know I'm acting stupid, yet I continue to try to show dominance in the altercation. 

Next, deal with the issue with talking, not yelling. If someone gives you sass, be patient. We should never be quick to get angry.

Finally – apologize.

All these things I've said are beliefs that I have in my mind, yet I struggle to follow. In arguments, I tend to just forget about all these things. No surprise considering I basically inherited my temper. But nonetheless I must learn from mistakes and try harder to make sure my relationship with whomever is not permanently scarred by unforgiving anger.

Before you speak

Before you sputter words of hate, before you criticize, before you echo your harsh opinions, before you stereotype, before you discriminate, before you judge, before you even say one word, just remember that there is always someone listening. You may not realize how easily you can impact someone's life by the words you speak, whether or not you know they're listening. 

So think before you speak and think for others and how they feel. You think it's harmless, what you say, but it may not be. Those words could be like sharp daggers piercing one at the deepest parts of their soul. 

The End of Counting

Yes, that's right! Calorie counting has ended today for me. After hearing what my mom had to say, I pretty much decided I didn't really need it. It had become an obsession and it was something that was constantly on my mind at some point. So what does this mean for me? Does it mean that I go back to eating every bad food that caused my weight gain in the first place?

No. It definitely doesn't. Though I'm not counting calories, I am still uptight when it comes to what kind of food I'm eating. Healthy is the way to go, guys. If you don't believe me, then there's nothing that I can really do about it; it's your choice!

– 

- Calvin

The Two Sides to Humanity

Reflecting upon my life and my actions always leads to the discovery of an imaginary mirror. A mirror that extends itself into every vein of my body, revealing mysteries and secrets that I rarely think about in every day life. It's a mirror that will help me establish the good and bad.

I recently acted wrongly against my parents. I was disrespectful and grumpy basically and my words and actions expelled themselves from my hardened heart. In the end I was left feeling guilty and empty, having wronged my parents & myself. I pray for a change in the way I act and show myself to others. I believe it's important I really let my light shine. God is in me, but can anybody tell with a person that's acting out of anger? Can anybody tell there's a God in me when I join in on conversations fueled by the pleasures of the world? 

I need to hold this mirror up high. I must adjust it so it's reflecting my very soul. What can I do to uproot the evil in me and implant the good? I pray that I will receive the answer to this and that I can change. I can show a good side to others, but the bad side still erupts time to time. I know I won't be able to be perfect but I can at least try to improve the way I act and display myself.

After all, when my mirror is reflected upon society and all of the nonbelievers, would I want them to see light reflected or a shattered mirror that resembles the many out there?

School helps? What?

Today I was sitting in my English class taking a vocabulary test when one of the words stood out to me – supercilious. I never thought much of it until today but here's why: I look around my school and all I see (in general) are a lot of girls that decide that they are better than other people because of many reasons, like beauty or money, etc. It's not only girls, it can be upperclassmen and in rare cases underclassmen. Guys can do it too although it's not as obvious as girls. 

Yes it sounds like I'm over generalizing but it's only my opinion and observation. I know however, that one of my friends Trevor is a good kid that wouldn't do that. (There, Trevor, happy?)

So the next time you ever find yourself people watching, think of whether you act supercilious sometimes or not, because you are most likely part of the majority if you do.