Rekindling......

I thought a post would come sooner than this.. was hoping for a spark of randomness where one would do the unthinkable (new post). However, that obviously has not happened...

Time to redeem myself, just quicks and ups with the life updates..

school
trying hard this year.. pretty good results.. just got my marks for some half courses.. guess it's true when you work hard at it, successes do come along the way. Another proof to myself that I am not dumb, JUST lazy at times and I can compete with the rest of the nerds at UofT.

play
Partying's been down since school started for obvious reasons, trying to focus and living at libraries rather than crashing over at friend's rez. Poker and bowling has been the story for this Christmas holiday. Got a 168 in bowling, and I am quite proud of that achievement.

girls
pretty good.. since the summer there was a few and now its one.. will keep you guys updated hopefully even tho it's hard to discuss on a public blog about this sensitive issue. I think there is something to this one tho as oppose to the others during the summer, however school and friends still comes first since I really do need to do well. =]

New year is coming up soon, will make a new year resolution and this time I will push myself.

Sorry this post is so simple and not written very well, I just to make a sneaky post before the new years and I think I owe it to echoes for at least one post this whole semster since he has been basicly carrying the load and keeping this blog to its true roots.. With that said, I hope this post can be some sort of spark that will lead many more posts to come..

thank you, come again
m&ms

Anime and God (Re: Major)

I’ve had a similar post on my facebook notes, but thought I’d make another one here. I find these little connections between what I watch in anime and kind’ve what I know from the bible. So HERE WE GO!

-Major- Season 1

This show tugged on bits of my heart because it touches on what I’m currently learning. The first one is pride. There’s always someone out there who’s better than you at something. This gives you room to develop and grow. The next is perseverance. When trials or hardship comes, you’ve gotta press onward and fight to the finish. Trying your absolute best is all anyone can ask for, just don’t give up! The last is surrender. Sacrificing things in your life for one purpose.

Major is about a journey of a boy named Goro who loses his mom as a little child and soon loses his dad due to a wild pitch to the head by a well-known american baseball player, Gibson. Goro then goes through his life aiming to be a good enough pitcher to face off with his dad’s killer. Meeting many friends and rivals along the way, he grows from the mistakes and losses and celebrates the wins.

In comparison with other anime such as dragonball z, bleach, one piece – when they lose, they usually get severely injured or die… and they somehow come back to life somehow more stronger than they used to be. Not saying that the other anime’s are bad, I thoroughly enjoy watching and reading them, but major I find is more realistic – you lose sometimes, that’s how you grow and become better. Goro’s team doesn’t always win. There were a few major upsets throughout his baseball career, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The anticipation of facing his rivals or facing good teams motivated him and his team to train and develop their skills. Meeting people who are better at certain things does not mean they are a better person than you are. Though it does open up room for you to grow in that area.
"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark 9:35)

Goro is simply passionate about baseball. When trials come, it’s simple, try your hardest because at the end of the day it isn’t about winning or losing, but having fun because he’s playing with many other players who share his love for baseball. When hardships come our way, we can’t quit.
“Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)
and…
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3).
Goro’s passion for baseball overflows to other players motivating them to play harder as a team. Goro himself cannot win a game, as baseball is a team sport. He needs the support of his teammates to win. Shouldn’t our passion for God, for Jesus, overflow somehow to point others who may be in the same boat towards God? How does this impact me? I’m still thinking about… just writing down ideas… but,
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Gibson went through his life playing baseball so that one day he could face Goro. He even risked his life to fulfill a lifelong promise. Because of one mistake, his whole baseball career has been about waiting for the day that Goro would come and meet him for a showdown because he feels like it’s the only way he can be redeemed for killing his father. Though a lot of what Gibson is doing doesn’t ring true in a Christian sense, it’s his act of surrender and sacrifice that kind of stuck out to me. When stood on that field pitching against Goro’s team with a (spoiler alert)  heart condition that may kill him if he continues pitching, I found it pretty touching to see him try his absolute hardest even with that risk to fulfill a promise he made many years ago. If we set God as our first priority, what are the things we’re willing to give up? Is it truly everything? Would we risk our lives for God? Sometimes I find myself wondering what I would do if I was persecuted for being a Christian. A gun pointed at me, person asking if I believed in Jesus… what would I do?
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." (Matthew 16: 24-28)

-Major- Season 5

Major

There are only a select few anime’s that i still keep up with. The majority of them I just read on manga instead of watching because the actual anime has secret filler episodes that get annoying. They’re also very behind the manga as we all know!! Bleach, Naruto, One piece, and History’s Greatest Disciple Kenichi I read on manga, while Major is the only anime I still watch.

Just finished watching the final episode of its 6th season. Daaaang, had to actually search that up. I’ve been following it for 6 seasons. As I watch it, I just catch myself thinking that I love this show! It’s kind of like all the other anime that I watch, except it’s more realistic. Jess asked me if they had magical powers as I was watching it today, and I found myself quite shocked that they actually do not haha. Well, History’s greatest disciple kenichi doesn’t either but those characters are just superhuman (for more information on this anime, go on my facebook profile notes >.<).

I’ve grown to love this anime because there really is growth and great morals that are placed in more realistic situations. In a nutshell, its a show about baseball. The story is actually quite complicated… i tried to explain it, but it got too annoying to type so you may just have to go on wikipedia or just watch it. In the most simple way I can put it, the main character’s (Goro) dad dies of a wild pitch to the head playing baseball against a famous pitcher from America (Gibson). Goro seeks revenge by eventually being great enough to play in the majors one day and facing off with his dad’s killer. This event basically sets up the plot for the whole show until perhaps the 6th season. Though his goal is to face Gibson in the baseball diamond, he is still playing baseball because he loves it. Goro is a really simplistic, innocent/ignorant character who had that personality that affects everyone he meets (just like naruto). His love for baseball overflows to those he meets and inspires them. Now that I think about it, he really is like many main characters out there in animeland. Somehow, his persevering attitude affects me more than all the other animes i’ve watched.

I have watched him through his growth from a kindergartener to little league, junior high, high school, minor leagues, and now the major leagues. When he dislocated his right shoulder, he became a southpaw to continue playing baseball. His mom dying, his new mom, his dad dying, his new dad (haha… dang), witnessing the amount of work every season that he puts into becoming better and the hardships he has to overcome is inspiring. I think it’s his raw passion for baseball is what brings me to liking this show. [] Through many seasons he has played on many teams with many different teammates. Some characters continue to make appearances bringing a sense of nostalgia with the stories they each hold with Goro.

This is a rambling blog post >.< Just getting all my thoughts out.

The childhood rivalry, the many other rivalries, playing on the same team with your rivals, the growth, friendships, and most recently his relationships, I feel very attached to this character haha. It’s hard to compact 6 seasons worth of great entertainment in one post… just wanted to make a mention of what I’m thinking at the moment… especially for the 6th season. Just MIND BOGGLING!

Ok, i’ve rambled on for quite enough, i shall end it here… for now…

2/3 done my deadly weekend!

With a lab due 2 tuesdays ago and a 30% lab due this past wednesday, I’ve only had 2 days grace period to study for 3 exams this weekend. I have finished 2 out of the three exams so far!

Lab due 2 tuesdays ago: 100%… my first 100…

Lab due this wednesday: don’t know mark yet, but handed in 1 minute before final due time

1st exam: this morning at 9. Took basically 2 hours and 50 minutes. 10 short of the full 3 hours because I was too tired to continue double checking. Result: DONE STATS!

2nd exam: tonight at 7pm. Took the full two hours. Brutal exam with many tricky and picky questions and answers. But nonetheless… rsult: DONE ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY!

Tomorrow (sunday) I got Laboratory on Exercise Physiology at 7pm-10pm. Started studying… now haha. GG.

Also 7 months with Jess and I =D

And that is about everything my friends… who may not read this… ever…

The Little Gestures

Just a random post

Was walking to class yesterday and had to open a few doors to get there. There was a guy walking behind me as I was opening the doors so I held it open for him and he obviously walked through it. However, in my mind there are two door holding etiquettes.

1) The door hold reach –> When people are in a hurry and they may not know you, they open the door with arm fully extended, outside leg may be off the ground so their next step is already in progress. This tells the person behind them that they’re courteous enough to hold it open for you, but they themselves have to get somewhere.

Response –> Person behind speeds up a bit showing their understanding that the other person isn’t going to hold that door forever. Responder also extends arm forward to hold the door so the door holder can be relieved of his/her duty to hold that door.

2) behind-the-door hold –> person is probably with you and is waiting for you to cross that door so they can continue walking with you. They are positioned beside or behind the door like a door man/woman, out of the way so the responder can walk through in comfort.

Response –> just walk through the door and say “thank you” ? haha

The first situation happened to me. I had to get to class, but there was someone behind me. I held the door with arms full extended coz I was in a hurry to get to my track practical. The person didn’t speed up, nor did he show any verbal/non-verbal communication that he was thankful. I think he was just having a bad day =S Still, he didn’t reach out his hand to hold the door, his arms was i believed crossed as he walked through the door. In my head, I’m just like “wth?”. It’s not a big deal, just something random that i noticed.

You don’t notice the little things until they’re missing.