R e - P e t e

Capturing Life

This past memorial day weekend Emily and I went to LA to attend Mike Chan’s wedding (her college friend). I’ve been to a few weddings and each of them have their moments. At Em’s sister’s wedding, THAT moment was when her father was recalling his early years back in New York. He reminisced about his memory of coming home, entering that backyard and seeing his little daughter’s run up to him to greet him.

At Mike Chan’s wedding, THAT moment was when Mike couldn’t contain his emotion while saying his vows and Sandy, his wife, reaches over to dab the tears away from his eyes. Awww. If that doesn’t make you laugh or feel good you’re most certainly made out of metal and circuitry.

It was a combination of this and spending the weekend scanning old family albums that put me in a reflective mood. Life has its moments where it’s sweeter than chocolate, brighter than the summer sun and grander than a snow-capped mountain. While we watched the requisite slideshow during the reception, I couldn’t help but think that I want to capture that. Well, WE ALL want to capture that, don’t we? That moment where a father gives a daughter away, that moment where vows of love and commitment are made, that moment where friends come together to share a good time.

And yet, as I continued to watch the slideshow, I realized how wrong I was. Things like this cannot be caught or held. And, if you can, it can be held for only so briefly. It’s like capturing smoke in your hands. You think you’ve got it but when you open your palms a crack to peek inside, it’s gone.

Time always wins. That doesn’t mean you lose. Once you accept that time wins, you learn that it’s more fun to surf on the wave of life than to swim against it trying to go back to a time and place that is no longer there. Catch the next wave, for the last wave is gone.

It seemed like just yesterday, and not 30 years ago, that my parents came to america.

And it was just last week when my brother and I were making trouble and having fun doing it.

Then our parents had their revenge by forcing us to wear traditional korean clothing. (My mom clearly is having a great time while my brother and I are miserable. I have the “Have A Day” face.)

I don’t know how to conclude such an entry. Something like this has no beginning or end. I can only say that I long to continue a life of living, loving, laughing, crying, seeking, finding, discovering and, most important of all, feeling.

Btw, my mom’s birthday was last week. I love you mom! And she clearly loves me.

Ode to Nerdy Chix

Only for the self-proclaimed, proud, nerdy chix:

Ernie Cline’s spoken word on nerdy chix

Below: The poor dog of a nerdy chick

Soundtrack to my Life

I can’t believe I did this but the results are amusing. My comments are inline.

Put your music player on shuffle.
Press forward for each question.
Use the song title as the answer to the question even if they don’t make sense. You might be surprised though.

Survival of the Hippest

[15:49] peter: so i was listenign to the bravery the other day and thinking about your guys’ comments about how he sounded a bit liek robert smith

[15:50] bryan: yeah?

[15:50] peter: and was just thinking about the music i’ve heard in my life and the evolution of it
[15:50] peter: since there’s synth in this music but also like raging guitars and awesome drum beats
[15:50] peter: and it really made me think about how music evolves.. not just in general but for a person
[15:50] peter: like how the music they create is a culmination of their experiences and influences
[15:51] peter: (this after reading about how the killers and the bravery have this thign going on because they sound alike)
[15:51] peter: and i checked the age of the leader singer and he was born in 1978

[15:51] bryan: oh wow…so basically the bravery listened to the same music that we did growing up

[15:54] peter: i mean i knew htat music always evolved but in some ways it’s like a chronology of music during our lifetimes.
[15:55] peter: “After he quit, Flowers responded to an ad in the Las Vegas Weekly by future guitarist David Keuning, about forming a band which was inspired by bands such as Oasis, The Cure, New Order, and The Smiths. ”
[15:58] peter: in a way one could say that the reason why bravery and killers sound so similar is because they grew up with the same influences.
[15:58] peter: and maybe that’s why we like it
[15:59] peter: because we grew up listening ot the same thing.

[15:59] bryan: yeah…so true
[15:59] bryan: which scares me about music that will come out of the britney spears generation in 10 years

[15:59] peter: hahhahha
[16:00] peter: some organisms become extinct.
[16:00] peter: the evolution of music has to survive the test of time.

[16:00] bryan: survival of the hippest