A little appreciation goes a long way

Shally and I celebrated V-day this year one day early to avoid the crowds. We had reservations at Osteria in Palo Alto for 7:30 pm, but due to a multitude of factors ended up running late. Since the restaurant is quite popular and typically has a line out the door most nights, I began mentally checking through backup destinations.

I called the restaurant at about 7 pm to let them know we were anticipating an arrival time 20 minutes after our reservation. We showed up 15 minutes late, got checked in, appeared to get bumped to the top of the line, and to my pleasant surprise, didn't have to wait long for a table. As the host showed us to our table, he mentioned, "Thanks so much for calling ahead. You'd be surprised how many people show up 20, 30 minutes late and then act stunned that their table isn't being held for them anymore."

You know what? Knowing that a simple 30-sec phone call had helped him out by relieving the stress of the unknown, and that he in turn was able to help us out by getting us a table more quickly than if we had lost our reservation... that small gesture of appreciation felt really good. So thanks, Mr. Host Guy, for letting me know that what I did helped.

What do you read first?

GODISNOWHERE

Read it again. Does your reading change?

I'll write what I saw in the comments.

2007 recap - entertainment

Some faves from the past year...

MUSIC (2007 Music Journal)
Favorite albums I listened to for the first time in 2007 (not necessarily released in 2007)...

"Accelerate", Testimony A Capella - Shally and I got some free tickets to a local concert where this Stanfurd a capella group performed. I wasn't expecting much, but afterwards I ended up purchasing the album - their harmonies were on point and they had someone to do beatbox percussion.

"In Between Dreams", Jack Johnson - one of the most relaxing albums that I own.

"Glo", Delirious - I didn't get into this band aside from their modern worship stuff until I took a chance on this album. They've done a great job continuing to grow their sound into modern atmospheric rock a la U2.

"Recollection", Nichole Nordeman - her debut Wide-Eyed is one of my favorite albums. This best-of collection has a pretty good cross-section of the rest of her catalog.

"Rodrigo y Gabriela", Rodrigo y Gabriela - unique, Latin/flamenco/metal inspired acoustic rock. It's like nothing else I've ever heard.

"Better Questions", Todd Agnew - surprisingly smart songwriting from this musician, best known for his single "Grace Like Rain" that had success on Christian radio. This album didn't have anything as radio-ready as that CCM hit, but did a pretty good job posing questions to God that many Christians face.

"Mute Math", Mute Math
"Cities", Anberlin
- straight up modern rock

BOOKS (2007 Book Journal)
Favorite books...

Pleasure reading:
Various books, Lee Child - Mike L introduced me to this thriller/action writer and I ended up devouring 4-5 of his novels about his hero, Jack Reacher, over the course of 2007.

Various books, Bill Watterson - I also had the chance to re-discover my love and enjoyment of the Calvin and Hobbes comic book series. Shally was cool enough to check out from the library a few of the compilations I hadn't read before, and now I have the full compilation on my bookshelf as a Christmas gift from her!

Christian stuff:
"Practicing God's Presence", Brother Lawrence - this was a theme for myself and many folks in the church for much of this year - being able to experience God in day-to-day life and not just in "church" stuff. The text of this classic can be found here.

"Authentic Christianity, Ray Stedman" - I also got turned on this year to the teaching of the late Pastor Ray Stedman from PBC. I find his stuff a good combination of practical, relatable teaching and theological complexity. This online book provided several insights into living an authentic faith in words that I hadn't necessarily considered before.

"Leading Congregational Change", Jim Herrington
"Communicating for a Change", Andy Stanley
- reading for church leadership purposes

Personal development and other non-fiction:
"Tipping Point", Malcolm Gladwell - fun read about how trends begin and are sustained

"Now Discover Your Strengths", Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton - learned a lot this year about how people are wired and uniquely created by God - strengths, weaknesses, personality, spiritual gifts, etc. This was a good handbook on the idea of unique strengths and helped me discover and clarify some of my own.

FILMS (2007 Film Journal)
Favorite films first viewed in 2007 (not necessarily released in 2007)...

"Ratatouille" (theater, DVD) - takes the top spot. I ended up watching this 3 times.

"The Bourne Ultimatum" (theater) - storyline and script was better than the first two. Much easier to follow.

"The Simpsons Movie" (theater) - Spider-pig, spider-pig...

"Amazing Grace" (DVD)
"Blood Diamond" (DVD)
- watched the two of these within the space of 3 days... both were surprisingly moving, not just for the story they told but also for the social justice causes that formed the backdrop for each movie - the English slave trade and diamond mining/child warfare in Africa.

"Serenity" (DVD) - bring back Firefly!

TV

24 - disappointing season 6. Was hoping for a bounceback season 7, but looks like that won't be happening any time soon.
Lost - boring 1st half, awesome 2nd half. The first 8 eps of this season should help sway public opinion to the side of the screenwriters in the strike.
Top Chef - my bro turned me on to this reality show, which was surprisingly fun to watch as much for the personalities of the chefs as the mouth-watering culinary creations.

Sports
2007 marked a wonderful turnaround for one of my teams and the cementing of a legacy for another.

For the Warriors, the revamp of the team from the lovable-yet-frustrating losers of the last decade to the tough, fun, still-occasionally-frustrating team of today was immensely gratifying to watch. Warriors fans are perhaps the best in the NBA - enthusiastic and knowledgeable even for midseason games. SJax provides toughness and surprising versatility. Biedrins has grown into a surprisingly effective inside player, Monta can score from anywhere, and Baron holds everything together. Man, it feels good to be respectable.

For the Spurs... I guess the 2007 championship is kind of like business as usual for one of the classiest and most successful organizations in sports.

Video Games
Edited this post to add this section... figured I might as well highlight all the gaming I did in 2007. The following games got a lot of play in Chris' XBox360, my PS2, and just in my general social circle:

Guitar Hero II (PS2) - my bro gave me his old copy, I bought a second guitar off Amazon, and ever since Shally and I have been enjoying rocking out.

Lego Star Wars I and II (PS2) - two bastions of my childhood combine to form a surprisingly entertaining game that I played through with both Shally and Chris.

Gears of War (XBox360) - this dominated evenings after community group in the first half of 2007. Ladies were especially put off by the "chainsawing bad guys in half" sound effect. Being able to play co-op and using cover made for more interesting gameplay than typical first-person shooters.

Rainbow Six: Vegas (XBox360) - IMO, a better game than Gears, but it didn't quite catch on outside of the Kittoe household. Still has a lot of replay value. Nothing more satisfying than ducking out of cover into heavy fire, sniping a terrorist, and sliding back into cover.

Rock Band - Drums, guitars, and vocals may dominate the next year or so. Talk about a cool drum learning tool!

2008 Film Journal

Updated 2008/06/17

Recent films
"Quantum of Solace" (2008/11/16, theater)
"Kung Fu Panda" (2008/11/12, DVD)
"Casino Royale" (2008/10/25, DVD)
"The Empire Strikes Back" (2008/10/07, DVD)
"Star Wars: A New Hope" (2008/09/19, DVD)
"PS I Love You" (2008/09/10, DVD)
"Enchanted" (2008/09/03, DVD)
"Dark Knight" (2008/07/26, theater)
"Roman Holiday" (2008/06/30, theater)
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (2008/06/18, theater)
"Children of Men" (2008/06/04, DVD)
"Jumper" (2008/05/29, plane flight)
"I Am Legend" (2008/05/21, plane flight)
"The Fellowship of the Ring" (2008/05/12, DVD)
"27 Dresses" (2008/05/10, DVD)
"Iron Man" (2008/05/05, theater)
"District B13" (2008/04/27, DVD)
"Heroes Season 1" (2008/04/07, DVD))
"American Gangster" (2008/04/05, DVD)
"A Better Tomorrow" (2008/03/04, Youtube)
"Hard Boiled" (2008/02/24, Youtube)
"The Kingdom" (2008/02/06, DVD)
"Juno" (2008/01/23, theater)


2007 Film Journal
2006 Film Journal

2008 Book Journal

Updated 2009/04/11

Recent books read
"Outbound Flight," Timothy Zahn
"The Bourne Identity," Robert Ludlum
"Simpsonology," Tim Delaney
"The Protector," David Morrell
"Dark Victory," Jeph Loeb
"Deep Six," Clive Cussler
"Echo Burning," Lee Child

"Blue Like Jazz," Donald Miller
"Moneyball", Michael Lewis
"The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - Book Two", Bill Watterson
"Bad Luck and Trouble", Lee Child
"One Shot", Lee Child
"The Enemy", Lee Child
"I Am America (And So Can You!)", Stephen Colbert

Recent books re-read

2007 Book Journal
2006 Book Journal

2008 Music Journal

Updated 2009/04/11

Recent albums
* "The Blue Album", Weezer (2008/09/02)
* "Echoes", Testimony A Cappella (2008/04/15)
* "The Ringing Bell", Derek Webb (2008/03/12)
* "Salvation in Lights", Mike Farrirs (2008/03/05)
* "Wait For Me", Rebecca St. James (2008/03/03)
* "Tell Me What You Know", Sara Groves (2008/03/01)
* "Roaring Lambs", Various Artists (2008/02/26)
* "Mmhmm", Relient K (2008/02/20)
* "Overdressed", Caedmon's Call (2008/02/20)


2007 Music Journal
2006 Music Journal

2007 LA trip recap

Got to take my first vacation in quite a while this past week for New Year's, visiting Shally's/my friends/relatives in Vegas and LA. Some highlights and observations:

Prius
We showed up at National rent-a-car at LAX, filled out the paperwork for the cheapest compact-level, and walked out to pick up our car. We had two choices - a PT Cruiser, and a Prius! Naturally we went with the latter. Some amusing idiosyncracies about the Prius:
- it took us 10 mins to figure out how to turn on the engine. There's a power button (like a computer!), but what we didn't know was that you need to remove the emergency brake and hold down the brake pedal, then hit the power button in order to turn on the engine. Even then it was hard to tell whether the engine was on because the electric motor is just about completely silent.
- the onboard computer display can be very distracting until you get used to it, because it gives you a real-time update on whether you're using the electric or gas engine, when the battery is being charged, and what MPG you're getting at any given moment. Maybe this is why Prius drivers are notorious for going slow... they're too busy trying to max out their MPG.
- I haven't figured out yet how the hybrid's gas/electric motors know when to engage. Using the electric to go from 0 mph to 15 mph makes a lot of sense since accelerating from a stop is when most of the gas is used, but it seems like the gas engine needs to be restarted often... not sure how they do that.
- we averaged 44 mpg for the trip. I've never been able to fill up a tank with less than 9 gallons before.
- it gave me a surprising amount of peace of mind in the midst of the legendary LA traffic to know that I wasn't idling and spewing emissions into the air while not moving. All in all, I'll probably get a hybrid as my next car.

Vegas
Didn't spend much time on the strip this year aside from a visit to the Wynn and walking in the fashion mall. We spent most of the time at the house of one of Shally's HS friends, played a ton of Rock Band.

Old friends
I enjoy seeing how people live - what their typical week looks like, their homes, offices, frequently visited stores, people they hang out with, etc.

Spent New Year's w/ NorCal Canaan transplants Andy and Esther at their place in Orange, with Chris making the drive over from his parents' place.
- Mario and Sonic at the Olympics on the Wii, Speed Scrabble (Chris is a monster), hot pot, cake, some catching up, reflections on 2007. It was neat to hear about the adjustments that A/E have made in setting the foundation for their marriage and adjusting to LA.

Got to see Cal buddy Danny, hear him order food in Korean (don't think I've heard him speak Korean before - maybe that helps with the illusion that many people have thinking he's Chinese - speak more Korean in public!), learned a bit about the social justice/law scene and talked some about Obama's presidential campaign.

Finally, got to hang out with my bro at his pad in downtown - very posh (full court indoor basketball gym!), see what a young high-powered lawyer lives like, and got to play with some of the neat gadgets (see below).

Other gadgets
- we got to borrow my brother's GPS system while down in SoCal. Talk about a lifesaver! LA freeways are so utterly confusing - lanes on either side that suddenly lead to other freeways, the well-known traffic, carpool lanes that you can only enter in designated sections... having a GPS to help correct our route when we went off-course, and letting us know when to stay in one lane or the other, combined with the Prius' electric drive system to make what would normally be stressful LA driving into... well, not stressless, but much easier.
- my dad recently got me an iPod, so I've now joined the iPod generation. I'll admit, it is awfully nice to have all my music in one place, available anywhere. We spent a good portion of the drive from Vegas-LA and back listening to an audiobook of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, the author of the Tipping Point, which I also finished on the trip. Blink is about the psychology and science of human instincts... pretty interesting stuff, may warrant its own post in the future.
- does anyone know if it's possible to sort by "Album Artist" rather than "Artist" from the iPod interface?
- my brother's HD-DVD setup was quite impressive. We watched the "Planet Earth" HD-DVD and were stunned at the clarity and detail of nature - better than the human eye. That's the future right there.

Food
No vacation is complete without food! We got a pretty good variety:
- SoCal frozen yogurt from Pinkberry and Red Mango - why don't they open up one of these in NorCal?
- famous moist, flavorful bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Vegas
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Hot Pot @ Andy/Esther's
- Andy's recipe for French toast with mixed fruit/Grand Marnier topping and maple syrup
- cheap Chinese food in Monterey Park (7 dishes for < $50)
- dol sot bi bim bap with kalbi bits in Koreatown
- sea bass, duck confit, and sweet potato fries from a French bistro in LA downtown
- high-quality sashimi lunch from Sushi-Gen for a relatively bargain price of $15

Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions

Got this in a email devotional and thought it might be applicable for anyone looking for some spiritually-focused resolutions to make for the new year:

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8, NIV)

From the Works of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), Vol. 1:

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake.

[I will] remember to read over these Resolutions once a week:

1. Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence.

2. Resolved, To do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.

3. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

4. Resolved, To live with all my might, while I do live.

5. Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

6. Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge.

7. Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

8. Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

9. Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.

10. Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.

11. Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

12. Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

13. Resolved, Always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it.

14. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.

Catch up on Lost in 8:15

Happy New Year everyone! Just got back from a vacation visiting friends and my brother in Las Vegas and LA, will have some highlights up soon as well as some 2007 reflections once I get the change to go back through my journals.

In the meantime, Lost is returning at the end of this month (albeit for only 8 eps due to the writer's strike). To get caught back up, you can go to wikipedia and read up in detail on what happened, or you can watch this cleverly edited video:



Who are the Others? Who was on the freighter? Who gets off the island? How many questions can really be answered in 8 episodes? We'll see soon...

It's a Magical World...

Let's go exploring!