4 Days left till I head out to Seattle and Vancouver. This is where I'll be staying at the Executive Inn Express Aiport, not too shabby. I was reading the reviews and I guess it is an average hotel. No biggie, as long as it gives me shelter then I don't care too much. Plus it's in the center of everything so I don't mind that either.

After KUMC v-ball tonight, I had dinner with my parents, my aunt, and Derrick all of whom will be going this weekend too. We're all excited for different reasons. My mom and aunt's reasons are to go to Chinatown of course. Derrick just seems to be able to relax. While my dad, wants to go to a new area such as myself. It's funny though because Derrick and I have different mindsets bout going. He wants to relax, hang out together, and at nite go out to the bars/clubs. While I told him I'm bringing all my b-ball gear to go ballin. I'll probably cruise back and forth to Seattle to Vancouver to play some b-ball or some sand v-ball. I can't afford to relax too much and be a step behind.

However, Derrick and I are defintely going to look for a restaurant where we can do a all you can eat Vancouver King Crab Legs for dinner. I'm kind of bummed though because I have to miss 1 day of ACA Day Camp. A lot of my kids are upset because I'll miss a day and the first time ever. The past two years I've gone to NYC and drove straight into work while this year my flight arrives Metro Airport at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. So I told my boss already that I'll head straight to work from the airport. After work, what more can you ask for but to go to 5:14 Fellowship, so I may not hit home till later at nite. Hopefully I'll have the energy to do all this, because it's different from the past 2 years due to the time zone difference.

Man I'm in total scramble mode to get everything done before I leave. It would be cool, if my flight was close enough to Team Taiwan, and VBallLinz so I got peeps to chat with on Saturday.

Turn Me On

Finally home from Oliver's party and it had it's ups & downs. I walk in and boy did I stick out because it felt wierd being the lone representative of the fam. However, He provided and next thing ya know my crew arrived. I had Victor, Andrew and my baby cuz where we dominated one side of the room. I also had Ro's lil bro Si with me too. Because the party was somewhat of a snoozer, my baby cuz and I cruised around Warren. I realized that I need to help my baby cuz's driving skillz. She needs to stay in 1 lane for more than 10 seconds.

I did not think this would happen but it did. Back then Oliver's parties used to have these clowns and magic shows. Well, to bring back dem memories, we had a magic show. It was funny because I ruined one of the tricks :) It was thanks to Daddy Moy for doing the same trick at Jr. Church this morning and teaching me. During the show though I stood against the wall so that everyone can see. Then you had those people who peeked their heads through the sides so they can get front row view. The magician decided to do a couple of tricks to the back of the crowd. This one old lady peeking her head who had a front row view now has a back row view says:

Lady: Hey Bandana Boy, can you move?
Me: Why don't you just grab a seat lady?

Si was cracking up because she called me, Bandana Boy. Other than that, let's see I didn't talk to Oliver although his mom kept talking to me, revealing more to me bout my past with him. One thing's for sure, he has changed which surprised me. I also got a chance to share to Juice's aunt bout CBC is the place to be ya hear ;) Man it felt wierd meeting all her cuz's too because one of them could pass as her twin. Anyways, it was a learning nite for me as I continue to put the puzzle together.

Thought of the day as I observed both members of YTF and D-Ship: It's amazing how much they want to fellowship and worship with one another for the glory of God. While other's take fellowship/worship for granted.

Bright spot: A bigger turnout than I expected for all my Jr. Church boyz who came to do a special prayer meeting for my Chou Boyz and Team Taiwan. His Spirit was felt and amongst us.

What's Your Fantasty

Pride, it's something that we all struggle with. It's something I have a tough time dealing with. There have been times where someone would say something and I'd fight back. Then there have been times where I've just bit my tongue and swallowed it although not with the best attitude. Nonetheless sucked it in :(

Which leads me to this Sunday's dilema. I go back to a place in the past to see a person whom I despise. I still remember that day when that punk, Oliver did what he did to me and my moms. At his next b-day, I gave him present alright and after that I was never invited to his b-day parties anymore. Now I return to represent my fam's at his grad party. I saw his updated pic and boy is he one big boy now. He always liked picking on kids smaller than him, well from the looks of it I'm smaller than him and I welcome the challenge. However, my moms already talked to be because she's worried bout me raising chaos there. I still have a tough time trying to agree with her on this one.

But then there is Juice's prayer request about trying to be a light to her family members. Yeah that's a sucky part, Oliver is Juice's cousin which makes this even harder. It's funny that she and I knew each other way back when. What are the odds ya know. Anyways, none of my cuz's are going with me on this one. As in the past, Oliver had his crew and I had mine at his little parties. This time I go alone as I found out today. I still feel like their still must be some sort of retribution must be paid for what he did. Then again there is the point of setting an example. One thing for sure is that I don't care that Oliver and I are actually related. I'll be banging my head and woosahin on this one.

Naughty Boy?

As I continue to watch the NBA Draft, I gotta admit that this is by far the most boring draft I've seen yet. This for sure beats out the Yao draft, 2 years ago. At this point, I am only interested in which Euro player the Pistons draft. The only jerseys worth getting in this draft that I would consider are Shaun Livingston, Ben Gordon, and Sebastian Telfair. I like Dwight Howard because of his faith but his game hasn't impressed yet.

Anyways, this morning I walked into ACA, and I heard a couple of voices saying hi. I looked down and saw Henry! I turned around and there she was Crystal and her mom! I couldn't believe it, to know that they were gonna go with us to today's field trip. I was so excited and even my boss had to ask me at the end of the day just how happy I really was. It days like this, where I could do this job for free because to me it's never bout the money here. Even some of my kids asked me if she was my apprentice and she is just one of many. I'm prayin really hard now that I will get a chance to see the other half of my girls from a couple of years ago, Nancy and Jessie. Although Nancy has moved out of this state, I can still have hope. Crystal and Henry will be with me for at least a month now on field trips, which makes my job easier because I trust Crystal looking after the camp more than some of the counselors. I miss those days when Crystal and I would read our Bibles during the after camp program.

We're also doing this raffle ticket at work where our kids can earn tickets for a special prize. Today, we found out that counselors can recieve tickets too. So as my boss was bout to make the announcement of who that counselor was, all you heard was my name being chanted throughout the room. However, I didn't get it which was ok with me because I probably would of gave my ticket to one of my kids. When the name was announced, all you heard was "why?" It's nice and all but my real prize is seeing if I can be a positive role model for them.

I also learned today that in a few weeks once the Canton Camp starts, I'll be working there starting at 8:00 a.m. However, I'll be there for only an hour til Ashley's mom gets there then I can head back to the D to take care of camp there. Which means I gotta leave my house at bout 6:30 a.m. drive to Canton to open, then back to the D, then back to Canton to lock up which by then is about 6:00 p.m. which means I won't be home til 7:00 p.m. What a challenge that will be, gosh I'm just excited thinking bout this. Being with both camps, and peeps could complain bout this crazy schedule. But hey, ungreatful vs. I'm thankful to be in this position to make an impact on them.

Wow, we drafted Rickey Paulding! I hope he makes the team next year although chances are slim. FYI for all you Pistons bandwagoners, Paulding grew up in Pontiac and was one of the top players in the state of Miiiiiiccchhhhhhigan! I remember reading bout him all the time in the paper, glad to see that he got drafted. Wow Bernard Robinson got drafted too.

My Kids = My Band

Right now I'm eating dinner, and it is my Aunt's Kalbi. I gotta admit this is the best I've had from her yet! I hope this year she'll go to either or both Korean v-ball tournaments.

Anyways today was the first day of work. I walked in and all of a sudden all eyes on me because they were all waiting to see what to do. Last year I had that luxury where Tracy would do that role, the year before that was Elaine as my sidekick. This year, it's all on my shoulders now to make sure this camp is successful. To this day, Elaine still had more passion than any of the counselors I've encountered. I miss working with these two ladies. It sucks because I had to see one of my prodigy's leave for the summer today. Yup, my Wei Wei or as she wants to be called now Jessica. She's been at ACA as long as I've been there and now she is going to China for the summer. I took a pic of her before she left that door and she meant a lot to me. She was what I considered one of the leaders amongst the kids that I had. She was always my 2nd in command and obeyed everything that I told her. A double whammy was that she informed me that my girl, Crystal is leaving for China soon too. I remember Crystal telling me and it just sucks that I won't see them this summer. I remember those day just going with their parents to see them at their ice skating practice. What does China have to offer that my girls can't stay here?

However, I do have some satifaction because they've grown up into very mature young teenagers. I also reminded myself and to my kids that this is the standard that Jessica has set. I wanna see my kids continue to grow up and mature the way she has.

Speaking of China, well Taiwan that is where I want to go. I was so proud of a couple of my kids today. They prayed before eating lunch, then Phillip and Anna looked at each other. They realized that they didn't pray for what Uncle Fred asked them to do, which was pray for the Taiwan Team. So those two knuckleheads quickly went back into prayer to pray for Team Taiwan. So if you are a part of Team Taiwan, I just want to let y'all know that my Jr. Church Class are spiritually praying for y'all. As I said in my last entry, I couldn't be any prouder of just seeing my kids whether ACA or CBC continue to mature and grow.

My Business

I can say that I'm really pissed at a lot of things that are going on, but I'm gonna focus on the blessings. I'll try to woosah my way out of the pissed mode. The past week has been a blessing because of the fact that I was at VBS. This ministry still means a lot to me because it was the first chance where I got to serve God. What a risk that Anna and Daddy Moy took by making me a 1st assistant and an MC. As Mommy Moy said it best, all the kids learned as their memory verse "Whaazzzz Up!"

As I was observing throughout VBS, I was really impressed with the way my kids handled themselves. When some of them got out of hand, I talked to them and bam they back trying to set the example. Or those who were willing to take the initiative to be in groups with new kids who don't go to CBC, and did it without complaining nor hesitation. I was kind of bummed to see who will be leaving my 3rd-4th grade class after this term such as Phillip, Anna, Abby, Joseph, Clare and etc. They have really grown the past year and know the expectations of the classroom. Such as today, a few of them stayed after to help clean up and finish their projects. However, they stayed so late with me that they missed lunch, and not a single complaint from any of them. During prayer time in class, none of them wanted to do one quick prayer, it was like pulling teeth to get one of them to pray. Now a handful have always volunteered to do the closing prayer. I'm really blessed that God has been using me this way to teach His children. I'm gonna miss those who will be leaving my class this summer.

On the bright side, I saw those who I'll be getting into my class. Boy am I excited to continue to teach and serve this ministry. I'm getting my first Moy Boy, Jonathon, then I got my little Jessica, Booboo Christine, SideKick Belicia, Gymnast Wonder Lulu, and Ashley! I think I'll have over 20 kids after this term and I'm ecstatic bout it. Again, praise God for using me in this way to reach out to all of them. I have a lot of those who are in 1st-2nd grade that want to be in my class, while those who have gone through my class, and now 5th-6th want to come back to my class. I'm glad that they can come to me if they think they are having a bad day and want to talk about it. Or just happy they know I'll do my best to be there for them.

Speaking of which, on Friday I had a chance to spend time with my Yu 2 Girls. Well actually now I have another set of Yu 2 Girls, so it would be Yu 4 Girls, but I mean my originals. We had a good talk bout the direction of the YTF ministry, and I'm glad they were willing to share with me. I'm kind of bummed because they don't feel as if the ministry has been concentrated on. So now I'm considering doing something with the YTF peeps because I deal with them on a constant basis. I can only continue to pray if He wants me apart of this ministry. I apologized to a few of them today for not meeting their expectation of me being at the Joshua Picnic too.

Now ACA is only hours away from starting, and I'm thankful for this job and having a godly boss. A lot of people say, Thank God It's Friday so they don't have to work. I say Thank God It's Monday because I love my job! It's funny that a lot of my campers are already asking me what my nickname will be for this year. The past ones have been Slim Shady, and The Great One. This year, I think I'll use The People's Champion after all my campers are my peoples anyways.

Rocket Queen

NBA Champs 2K4 are your Detroit Pistons! This is my 3rd time now watching the Pistons win the championship. This series stands out to what I've always believed in about sports:

1) Defense wins Championships
2) Individual talent is great, but chemistry is what takes you to that level.

Now here comes the good and bad:

Good - Parade is on Thursday
Bad - Deja vu of the Red Wings parade, I have a group presentation on Thursday.

Good - Parade ends at Hart Plaza
Bad - Parade goes down Jefferson instead of Woodward.

Good - Gonna purchase my locker room shirt and hat on Wednesday.
Bad - They may be gone by the time I get out of class.

Good - The real Pistons fans will be there at the Parade.
Bad - So will the bandwagoners that probably still don't know what is going on.

Good - Karl Malone has not captured his precious ring yet.
Bad - Kobe didn't get his 4th ring.

Gosh dang it, will I let class hold me up from going to a parade for the 3rd straight time?

However, this has been a blessed week. For my next post, I'll go more into it. But why has it been a blessed week I got to go see my Edmonson 4th grade class, VBS's ministry is going strong through God's power, Pistons winning of course, KUMC v-ball, and finally having a nice fellowship dinner with my lil sis ;)

Throw your hands up!

Dong! Dong! 1 more win baby, the question remains is not whether this Tuesday nite will be the clincher, but how many more bandwagoners the Pistons can carry on.

Speaking of which, this past Saturday's b-ball was a rough one for me. We're called to be a child of light, yet I was like a black hole to that concept. Then again, I was so frustrated at the beginning because our team's offense was what I like to call, the "pick my butt" offense. All we did, was stand outside the 3 pt. line and wait for the ball. I felt like I ran a marathon after each game trying to get open and create offense for others. But as you've seen in the NBA Finals, selfishness gets a team no where. This was the most frustrating thing because everyone was trying to do their own agenda. Although, this is no reason for doing some of the things that I did. I missed playing with those who know and can accept their roles, plus knowing their fundamentals of the game of b-ball helps. As Coach Brown says, let's play the right way.

That was pre-sharing, now comes the stuff of post-sharing. I noticed my patience for some people are starting to wear thin. I had to keep hearing bout from some peeps of how CBC ball is too easy or what not. Now I know that CBC ain't Joe D's Fieldhouse, but I take personal offense to it. CBC ball is where I came to know Him and meet those whom I call bro's. To those who said some garbage, I kicked myself to my higher gear and do what I do best, attack on both ends of the court. I whispered into some peeps' ears trying to see what they got, if CBC ball was that easy. I swatted a shot away and stared that person down, to see if he can back up his talk now. Moral is, if CBC ball is that easy then don't sing it just bring it.

Of course it helped that I got picked up on a new team too. A team where peep's know their roles, and I could finally come off screens, get the ball and either pass or shoot. I gave different hand signals out for different plays and the team responded. Last thing was, that yeah Saturday was very intense, tempers flared, etc. To a degree though, I like that stuff because it shows that players actually care bout winning. It beats just going through the motions of playing the game. The competitiveness of everyone raised up and that got fun. But I did not like some of the flagrant fouling going on out there, that is crossing the line of the game. Anyways, peeps need to watch Tuesday nite's game, whether they need to know more bout bandwagoning jumping or understanding the fundamentals of the game.

1 More Win

Hahahaha, Kelly you crack me up! Yes I agree Darvin is one of the worst Pistons right now, but before him I had to give that honor to Bob Sura when he was on the team. Anyways, 2 more wins before we marchin down Woodward! If this does happen, I am for sure taking a day off from ACA and camping down there. Kel are you willing to come back to Deeeeeetrooooit for the parade and celebrate with another fellow diehard Pistons fan who has bled for this team since '88?

Only 3 more days of classes, and I just need to hold on a little bit more. Today, I should of woosahed but I let out some of my frustration to some of the peeps sitting with me. I'm just tired of some of the drama going around in the class. Some of them thinking that they know me or what not, now that is annoying. Peeps saying that you live in the Twp. and not knowing my life when I was raised in the D. I said this the other nite too, I just get sick of peeps thinking they from the D and can do certain things. I gotta keep telling myself only 3 more days, but some of this crap happens outside of school too. Gotta remember them pressure points.

2 more W's!

It's like 1:15 a.m. and I'm not feeling sleepy just bored or trying to reflect. Eh, I could use this time to study for my quiz but I think I'll reflect about something that I did about a month ago.

It was like a month ago when I kept complaining about my Pontiac student teaching place this semester. It just wasn't my Edmonson class and hard for me to appreciate being at Owen. Ever since that day, I've been praying about it long and hard. Cause if that is one thing I can not stand, it's complaining. I hate it when I complain and I hate it even more when I hear/see people constantly complain. Anyways, as I believe tomorrow is my last day at Owen, my attitude has really changed for the most part. I really love my twin chicas, Martha and Veronica they are just so cute. Trisha is my little peanut who beats me up during down time. Omar is my boy who'll do whatever I tell him to do. Da'Ja is my girl and I'm glad she felt that she could trust me, as she asked me about relationships. Man 1st graders, talking to me bout relationships already. Jessica is my littley smiley girl who loves flashing those dimples at me. Kyle is just my 1st grade Cali pimp with his bleached blonde hair. I'm glad that my attitude towards my 1st grade had changed because of Him. I'm still praying for a chance to see my Edmonson class one last time though.

To those who complain, man y'all just ungreatful sometimes. I know I still complain bout things but I hope to continue to catch myself and correct my attitude. One thing that sticks out to me whether I am on campus or whatever is peeps complaining bout the weather. Today was just absolutely gorgeous chilling outside the ED building. However, you have peeps who complain bout how hot it is. To me it's like you ask the question of well where do you want to live then. People say westcoast most likely Cali. So it's like ok, and Cali is colder than Mi because? Then during winter time, people complain bout the snow and you ask the same peeps well where would you move to. Well I like to live in the eastcoast, and again I ponder so does the eastcoast get less snow then Mi because? I guess I'm just tired of listening or seeing people complaining. Yeah my patience's been lacking but I tell ya, eventually you get tired of hearing oh it's too hot here, or oh it's cold here and I just wanna move, my response is oh here we go again please put a gun to my head already. Ahhhh, now I'm complaining bout people complaining, guess I should move on to my studies now.

Darvin Ham representin Saginaw baby!

P-I-S-T-O-N-S Power! What a game tonight, like I said to all them haters out there, ya gotta have faith and believe. For those asking bout my tickets luck, well that Thursday morning I left class early. However, I could not get tickets online, by phone, not even with my cuz waiting in line at Lakeside and he was 15th in line! However, an hour later one of my high school buds called me to inform me that he got suite tickets for $8000. If I wanted to go or anyone that I know of wanted to go then it would be $320. Normally, I would pay that for a ticket, but I personally do not like suites because to me it's like watchin the game in my living room but at the Palace. At least I finally got a chance to talk to another hardcore diehard Pistons fan, this past weekend who would drop as much as I would for the Finals. However, too bad this Pistons girl is out living it up in D.C. Hope to see ya soon! Anyone up for PalaceVision this Tuesday nite? I've always gone to JoeVision with the Red Wings, so if you interested then let me know.

Finally, to my boyz out at Harbor have fun because of y'all I have decided to fast from my PS2 for a whole week :( It's a good thing though as I start work at ACA this week so I'll be back in the D on the afternoons. With the NBA Finals this week, CCUC talks heating up, the boyz gone, and my disappointing performance this whole week, time to hit the Rec Center even harder to prepare myself without any distractions.

Woohoo 3 more Dub's till we marchin down Woodward Ave.

Deeeeeeeeeetroit Bassssssssssskkkkkeeeettttttbaaaallllllll! What a game I tell ya, and as the Pistons continue to move on. More and more bandwagoners ya see jumping on the wheels. Gosh it seems like just yesterday, when I was watchin the first Pistons Championship run with my dad. I remember not being able to go to the parades due to school or parents were working for the other reason. I remember the MC Hammer song that he did for the Pistons. I wonder if I still have the tapes of the Pistons parades? I was with them during their sucky years when Zeke had to pretty much retire due to injury. Joe D's last game, the Triple H era, and so forth. Difference is the wagon hoppers don't really know how to really appreciate this.

Now, KG and I have decided to get tickets on Thursday morning. I don't care I am leaving in the middle of class to call and check online with him. Price don't mean a thing to me as we want to see if we can get courtside tickets. It would be nice to go to a game with my first true running mate on the playgrounds. It was due to my small size back then, I had to run around off screens to get the ball much like my idol back then Reggie Miller. So I was kind of sad as a Miller fan that I didn't get to see him go any farther. How much did I idolize Reggie growing up? Well I remember back then, he used to talk about some of his rituals on Game Day. On ESPN tonight they brought it back up, and I still carry some of those rituals that he does into my own habits. Hopefully with the 2 of us trying to get tickets, we'll get some good seats. We'll try to get tickets for Games 3,4, and 5. So if we have extras, does anyone want them because I will do first come first serve if we order too many?

Only 2 Teams remain and 4 Wins Left to go