this is dave putting together our beer can (we used san pellegrino cans but put beer inside) chicken! (dave and susan did an awesome job marinating):

our two birds sitting on the grill:

perfection!

we also had some amazing ribs but i didnt take pictures of them when they were fresh bc we were too busy eating em… meat falls right off the bones…

after we hung out on the pier in LIC:

the rest of the photos can be found here: flickr set lic bbq

some pics i snapped of other people’s burgers…

we also got a chance to check out the cherry blossoms in DC. we missed the peak pink bloom by a day or so but still got some nice pictures.

pictures are in the flickr album here.

[photo from Andrew B. via yelp.com]

it’s a nice little coffee shop on park ave between 24th and 25th. there’s nothing super duper special about it. they don’t make coffee blends from all around the world or have fancy decor… but they make pretty good standard coffee. their pastrys aren’t too bad either. they have free wifi (so a good place to sit down and do some work). and it’s a good place just to hang out w/ friends.

this past sunday my friend maria came to visit NY. (she’s the one who actually introduced me to this place). we went to hang out there w/ some friends after church. not much to say. just some good times. some pictures below.

the rest of the pics are in flickr.

this is my friend peter and his 6-month-old nicholas. peter’s got to be one of my favorite people in the world. every now and then i get a chance to visit him and see how much baby nico has grown. i was there when he was born and every time i go see nico, he gets so big… and has awesomer hair. this picture is from this past tuesday.

one was that i got to meet up w/ my HS friend, mei. i think mei and i catch up maybe…. twice a year or so. but every time its always good even tho i was dead tired on tuesday. she’s a friend of mine who has been thru a lot and hasn’t quite taken the “normal” 4 yr HS, 4 yr college, working adult schedule. but each time i meet with her its good to see that she’s doing well. this time especially…. perhaps because it’s been a long while since i’ve seen her last. we got a chance to go to this tea place near st marks that has like tea for super expensive. but they had matcha (a frothy green tea), which i haven’t had since my 06 trip to japan. i took some pics.

the matcha rice cake combo

zoom of the tea

the rice cakes

i also went to get lunch w pb… and we went on bikes

quickly afterwards i went celebrate franks bday. we first played a game of assasins in bryant park… yes i kno…. 24 yr olds… in bryant park… with waterguns…

happy birthday frank!

small group was very fun. good to be back since i was out last week for veritas stuff.

haemin’s bday

first up is MOM’s (haemin’s) bday thingy! twas good to see her after so long. she was very very happy!

me and MOM!

haemin and funko!

we had cool lights everywhere. that’s dan in the middle. and behind him is a big projection of rockband which was played at high volume all night.

Smallgroup Wars 2008

besides having the best cheer ever, we also made out w/ first place! woohoo kneeling ninjas! or…. spamjas! i couldn’t take that many pics of my own group since i was involved… but here are a few.

kneeling ninja’s right before we go in for the cheer presentations. it was not my idea to look like cats.

some pictures of people outside.

our team picture w/ SPAMalot. #1!

all day i was sending texts to peter and getting updates from him. i don’t think i’ve ever seen peter so tired. hahaha but he’s happy! yay! peter’s a father!

and here’s me and steph w/ jamie the new mom. yay!

i didn’t realize how much what they thought and felt meant to me until last night when a small joke went horribly wrong. as i looked inward, i dont think i felt the way that i felt last nite since i made someone else who is very very close to me upset. ::sigh:: too close?

the more i think about it, i’m leaning on a ‘no’. this is part of growing together as friends and loving each other. i think what i told WT is still true. things will get good, but also kinda messy.

i’ve interacted with more people lately than i’ve had in a while. i keep joking with close friends that i have this invisible sign (to myself, but visible to EVERYONE ELSE) on my forehead or on my back that says “talk to me”. i don’t really think myself that approachable a person… i might even say i seem stand-offish. terri always says to me “why do you have friends?”. i think i’d be a hard person to get to know.

so in all these meet ups i’ve been catching myself speaking into people’s lives. i tell them things about their lives and their personalities and my suspicions on what their motives are for what they do. it’s very comfortable to me… it just comes outta me… its natural… but at the same time its kinda scary. is this God’s way of preping me for stuff? his way of giving me more opportunities to grow… and to fail?

this has also bloomed into some time of self reflection and self analyzing. i want to know myself. i want to know my strengths and weaknesses.

looking back just two weeks after i started to realize all this i think i see this is God trying to convince me into the ministry. theres still a part of me that doesn’t want it… and honestly i think that part will always be there. but i think i know my course. i know what God has and is prepping me for. and… ::sigh:: if that means leaving a comfortable job and good income to… ::sigh:: lead a financially more difficult life, then… ::sigh::…….. ::sigh::….. Your will be done.