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December 24, 2004
Merry Christmas!
Update: God is awesome! There were some broken relationships in my life that I had been praying for; how fitting that God chose this day to bring healing and reconciliation!
What a year it's been! Not much else to say right now, except Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!
Meanwhile, here are some long overdue pictures of my cousin's wedding! To access the private pictures, please enter the password in the main gallery page.
P.S. Dear Santa, I've been a ...well, in any case, I sure would love to trade in my current camera body, flash, and lenses for a 20D camera body, 580EX flash, 50mm/f1.4, 24-70mm/f2.8 L and 70-200/f2.8L IS lenses! *drool* =D
Posted by stevelee at 03:14 AM | Comments (4)
December 19, 2004
Fellowship
I just came back from a wedding for two friends from church, and man, I had a great time! If I ever needed a reminder as to why I enjoy taking pictures, tonight was a perfect example: a bunch of us career fellowship people (plus some from the college fellowship =)) just tore up the dance floor and had fun until the very end!
As I looked around at the smiling faces on the dance floor, that's when it hit me: that I truly felt comfortable around these people -- my brothers and sisters -- enough to dance and shake my thang like a polaroid picture! Haha. Seriously, if I danced/goofed off the way I did tonight, it means: (1) I felt comfortable; (2) the DJ played good music (John Jow -- lots of good old school, hip hop, and dance/high energy!); and (3) I felt happy (optionally: buzzed ;)).
But back to pictures (as usual, this entry is very stream-of-consciousness)... as I looked around, and thought the above things, I really wished I could take pictures... to freeze these moments in time, and treasure them forever. I had to settle for trying to commit everything to my failing memory, instead. =)
I feel so blessed to have found my spiritual home. But more than that, I praise God for continuing to deepen the relationships in career fellowship - that I am able to become more transparent/comfortable with them, and vice-versa. To "keep it real," yo! ;)
Man, we had a blast! It was cool seeing the "ghetto-ness" come out on the dance floor! Hehe. I love dancing to this kind of music; I even got a little freaky (with another brother)! *grin*... like this one girl remarked: "Dang, your fellowship has lots of cool people who know how to have fun!"
I have to admit: I was happily surprised too! ;)
Final random thought: it felt really really weird not having a camera in my hands! Kinda nice, since I didn't have to run around and stuff... but weird. =) I helped usher ("usher, remix... 7 o'clock, on the dot, in my drop top, cruisin the streets..." haha), but for the most part, I sat and *gasp* enjoyed the wedding. Plus, I got to cha-cha, so it was all good! ;P
I thank God for blessing and guiding our church and fellowship. I'm really happy here (and continue feeling challenged to grow)... and tonight made me realize that I really can't see myself (or my future family?) elsewhere...
Posted by stevelee at 12:26 AM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2004
"That's HOT!"
Dec. 14 Update: Wow, I really like the pics I took for E & Craig's wedding so far! *pats self on back* Hahaha, j/k... man, it's going to be hard picking out pics...
I really need a flash power pack, and some portable HD (left my laptop at work, grrr)... I could've used the extra space and lighting for
=====
(...too bad the weather around here is anything but!)
Since I know you guys read this: huge congrats to my beautiful cousin E and my new cousin-in-law Craig! (ugh... haha, j/k!) Craig, now that you're family, I guess I'll have to let you win in our competitions every now and then, huh? ;)
The entire wedding was awesome... I really enjoyed the Hawaiian touches! Both of you seemed like you were having a good time and (relatively ;)) relaxed! ...Well, except at the end when Craig looked so pathetic...err, out of it after his drink! Haha. =P
All my love and warmest wishes to you both!
P.S. Dammit Craig, now you got me saying (or at least thinking): "That's hot!"
P.P.S. I always knew that my dad was a good dancer, but man... I never realized he was that good! I can definitely see why so many women want to dance with him...
Posted by stevelee at 04:08 PM | Comments (5)
December 11, 2004
Company Christmas Party
Have I mentioned that I love my company? =D We had our Christmas party tonight, and it was a blast! Free food, open bar, buzzed people on the dance floor and karaoke machines -- it seemed that everyone there had a good time.
I am unbelievably buzzed right now -- I'm just thankful I was sober enough to drive home, but man, it was so worth it! Hopefully, I can remember half of the people I met tonight come Monday!
One thing though... I really have to watch myself when I get that buzzed... as it was, it took a lot of self-control to behave *sigh* =/
I took some pictures; unfortunately, they're password protected to protect the identity of the "innocent" (and I use the term very loosely, haha). E-mail me for the password. =)
...Time to get some sleep for E and Craig's wedding tomorrow! Oyyyy... waking up early is going to suck!
Posted by stevelee at 02:33 AM | Comments (4)
December 06, 2004
Building up communities
Last Sunday, Law spoke about "Redefining Church" and the building up of communities. Essentially, as we grow in a certain community, we (should?) develop a natural desire to move from independence (or even dependence) to interdependence with other members of the community. We also begin valuing the relationships we build within that community - placing those relationships ahead of "getting things done." We begin revealing our needs, while responding to the needs of others. Law brought up many other thought-provoking points and challenges, but for the purposes of this entry, not so relevant. =)
I found the timing of this message interesting, because I had recently been reflecting on my own relationships with various groups of friends.
I suppose I've always been an open person... in that if someone asked me a specific question, I would answer truthfully. But other than with certain close friends, I really never initiated sharing my innermost thoughts and demons with others. I suppose part of me felt that there was no need to bring that stuff up, and other part wanted to keep a certain image around them - that I was this nice, good boy... (which I really am... just with a slight dash of freak ;))
In a sense, I realize now I was denying myself... and that's probably why I felt so unhappy or uncomfortable with certain groups in the past. Why, for example, I could never share my testimony or pray in public before my current church.
But, I'm discovering for myself that the more I open up -- to become more transparent, so to speak -- the more... free I feel. As the "need" to maintain a certain image diminishes, I feel more relaxed and comfortable. Which I'm sure helps people feel the same around me. =)
(Or maybe I'm just at the point where I don't give a crap (not as much, at least...) what people think about me anymore?? Hehe.)
With that said, I'm still not quite ready to share about some of the crazier things I've done... when I met up with a new friend and she asked me about my sex life, I still fumbled over my words! ...But I'm at the point where if someone from church asked me a direct question, I wouldn't dance around it.
With this new attitude towards my relationship with my church/fellowship, I feel like all my different worlds/communities are coming together... that I really can be myself, all the time.
With minor differences, of course. ;)
By no coincidence, I've also felt really social recently -- probably the most social I've felt since my college days! In addition to building up those relationships at fellowship, just continuing to meet all sorts of cool people. =)
Crap, it's 12:30 already... so much for getting lots of sleep tonight. *sigh*
Posted by stevelee at 12:23 AM | Comments (5)
December 01, 2004
"I think I'm gonna like it here"
Excuse the cheesy song title... but hey, bonus points if anyone knows which show the song is from, without Googling the answer? (Hehe, truly a sign of our times when we have to add that kind of disclaimer!)
Anyway, today was my first day with the new company, and I'm happy to share that I remain as excited as ever working here! Everyone I met has been really cool and friendly -- I also enjoy the fact that most seem to be around my age, so there's a noticable "professional yet youthful" energy/vibe in the air! I'm making the effort to hang out and chat with people... unlike at my previous companies, I'm determined not to fall into my usual "all work, and no play" mentality.
I'm also stoked that if I work late (which will likely be the case because I am so not a morning person!), there'll be a cool group of regulars there to keep me company. =)
Another reason to love my company: the view from the office is breathtaking! My camera and I will have a field day!
Over the course of the interviews, I knew the company was doing well financially. But I was really impressed by how everyone had aeron chairs, and by their kitchen! Talk about free drinks and food galore! Haha.
Finally, as a developer I'm thrilled at how technology-driven this company is! I work with some really smart people. =D
...Now, if only I can get more than 4 hours of sleep... been having a really tough time sleeping recently... have no idea why.
Posted by stevelee at 09:17 PM | Comments (4)