Divine Providence

As your can probably tell from the title, this post is going to be about religion.

Today some church guy (I think his name was Chris) revisited my doorstep and talked to me (again) about why the Bible is good and yadda yadda yadda and handed me a piece of literature which, frankly, I doubt I'm going to read. It reminded me of a conversation I had with Kim a couple days ago about the subject.

I don't really remember the specific details of that conversation. I think it was about the ramifications of religion in the world, either way, that's what I'm going to be writing about.

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not, nor will I ever claim to be an expert on any type of religion (irony gods, please don't turn me into a monk....) the following is just my thoughts on the subject. If you find holes in what I say, feel free to tell me. Just don't be a twat about it. Also feel free to tell me your opinions as they are always welcome.

Let's start with some pros and we'll work from there. One pro of religion is all the hope it brings to people in their time of need. For example, while I was in a coma in 2004, buddhism kept my mom sane and gave her hope that I would pull through (which I did, obviously, though it did get pretty shaky at times). Depending on the religion, the existence of an afterlife or a "promised land" gives people something to be good for and I guess keeps people in check, because really, if we knew that there was no Heaven and there was no Hell, people would be shooting each other in the face left and right over small disputes. I mean, why restrain yourself when the end result will be the same? Although there is always the basic human instinct to futher the survival of the species as a whole... so would we have naturally created order regardless of the existence of organized religion?

Speaking of organized religion, I hate it. A lot. I think there would be a lot more peace in the world if we didn't have to label our beliefs and pick a side. I mean, sure, organized religion does give people a sense of community in which you can meet people who believe the same thing, and if it ended there, that would be great, but it doesn't and it never has. The religious group is never big enough and what happens is that people try to force their beliefs onto you (like Chris) and when that gets out of hand, you get things like the crusades and other religious cullings and wars or people visiting your doorstep every friggin Sunday morning. Another thing about organized religion is that there are so many people who claim to be a part of a specific religion and yet are ignorant as hell about it; it's like they're a part of it because they think it's trendy or something. That really pisses me off because, I think, it's just plain disrespect to the other people who believe it, are devout, and actually take the time to learn about why and what they believe in.

I think I'm going to stop here. I have a crapton more to say, but my mind is just too jumbled (and I guess, emotional?) right now for me to write anything coherent.

So what do you think? Is religion good or bad?

Time to twerk. Awww yeah.

Here are the pieces of choreography I hope I can learn over the summer:

1. Will.I.Am - Heartbreaker - Meredith "Sevin" Kerr

I don't know what drew me into this one.. maybe Meredith's smile. That thing is gorgeous :O anyways, it's fairly short and simple. Plus I think the song is catchy xD. I've basically learned it already, just need some polishing.

**JUST KIDDING** Crap I just realized she was doing this in a mirror (shut up I know I'm slow) well, gotta reverse everything I know now... daag.

2. Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me - Kyle Hanagami & Nick DeMoura

Honestly, didn't like this when I first saw it, but it REALLY grew on me. Watched it like 800 times on the way to China. Seems pretty chill. Also seems easy but experience tells me that this'll be hard (that's what she said) D:

3. Girlicious -Like Me - Erik Saradpon

One of my favorite pieces. Didn't know about it until my friend Robin demonstrated it (well, half of it) to me one day. I thought it was so hot and wanted to learn it ever since. My best friend Henry learned it when i was in China and took me through the steps on my birthday (the high of what was basically the worst birthday I have ever experienced, but I digress) and I just finished polishing it about 30 minutes ago. It's a really fun piece. Also the girl in the front is haWt with a capital W. Chyeah.

**Disclaimer: Pull your boxers up boys (and girls?). That spread eagle move (0:11-0:13) will tear yo' shiet. Trust me.

4. Juelz Santana - Mic Check - Lyle Beniga

The God himself. I don't know how this man comes up with these moves, but I do know one thing; I want to have his babies. Real talk. It just overflows with swag and attitude, plus I really like Juelz Santana (where did he go?)

5. LMFAO - Yes - Don Mach

This is probably the most fun piece of choreography I've ever seen. Well, I guess when you're working with a song about pancakes and Oprah, it's hard not to create something fun. I've already learned most of this piece from the man himself (check him out, I think he's going to be big) I just need to polish it and make my moves more confident and whatnot.

6. Wale - Nike Boots - Lyle Beniga

I encountered this in high school and just completely forgot about it. It is an amazing piece and again, lots of swag, which is always nice.

7. NLT - Let Me Know - Lyle Beniga

Probably my favorite piece of choreography ever. Even after watching it thousands of times, I still go "hoooly shit" when the video is over. This might be the hardest one out of the list. I've tried learning some of it, and wow, it is so intricate; each move has so many components it's hard (well, for me) to keep track of them. The electric boogaloo at the end is just too hot. Dag.

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Honestly, at the rate I'm going, I probably won't be able to learn and perfect all of these; but I don't really expect to. Not to say I'm not going to really hard to complete the list, but I'm a (somewhat) busy boy with little to no privacy/space at home (not to mention I'm ADD with things like this), so I do what I can when I can. I hope you guys learn some of these too, maybe we'll get to do them together one day. Wouldn't that be fun?

Also, I have to think up of some choreography for the UIUC Annual Asian American Association Fashion Show's Business/Casual Scene. Reeeally nervous about that position... eesh. Hope I make my predecessors proud.

Ebonics Word of the Post:

Real Talk - the truth; truthfully; without bullshit

Ex. "Real talk, her ass is so big you can see it from the front."

Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear

So I have a good amount to talk about today. Lotta deception goin' on in my life.

Today, was my grand return to the back of the literal wheel in which I found out that I REALLY SUCK AT DRIVING. I mean, I've never *knock on wood* gotten into an accident as of yet (thank the Gods for that too 'cause I'm not insured.. shhhhhh) but really, I think that's just because I've been lucky. Basically, I was driving my mom to work today, and had to take a small detour onto a "street" I've never driven on before. At first I thought "Damn this is a wide ass street, where the hell are the markings?" in which my brother yelled "DUDE, GET OFF THE SIDEWALK! WHAT THE FUDGESICLE (he didn't say fudgesicle) ARE YOU DOING?!". In my defense, the "sidewalk" did not look like a sidewalk at all, kinda looked like a small lot.... which turned into a sidewalk after a few yards... Yeah... I was decieved by the concrete and it's non-sidewalk-esque shape. Too bad no one was walking on said "sidewalk"; if there were, I probably wouldn't have driven over half of it.. eesh.

**Sidenote: No damage to the car 'cause, again, the sidewalk wasn't really a sidewalk.

After that ordeal, me, my brother, and his friend Steve went to Al's beef for lunch because we saw a Man vs. Food episode featuring it. For those not in the know, Al's beef is the home of the number one italian beef sandwich (allegedly) in Chicago. Anyways, on that particular episode, Adam Richman (the host) took one bite of this sandwich and basically had six orgasms, thus sparking my desire to have said sandwich shoved in my mouth. While the sandwich was very good, it was not worth the price (8 bucks?! For that?! SERIOUSLY?!) and it was hardly good enough for me to make a mess in my boxers. I suppose it was my naïvete that made me think that it would actually be that good, but needless to say, I was a tad disappointed to find out that the travel channel faked it :/

**Afterthoughts: This paragraph was needlessly sexual. I apologize.... kinda.

Alright, here's the event of this particular day. After a trip to the gym, I watched a documentary/interview/movie called "Collapse" (I highly encourage you to watch this movie) which was basically about how freakin' screwed our civilization is due to our greed, our government, and our lack of balance with nature. This movie really shook me and opened my eyes. The interviewee, Michael Ruppert, gave extensive evidence on why our economy is in the shithole, how he saw it coming, and how modern civilization is thoroughly fudgesicled. The movie also goes into government cover-ups, which I always suspected the government of doing, but I never knew the magnitude of the crap the government, OUR GOVERNMENT, did. Of course, you can't really take everything at face value (this movie definitely teaches you this), but damn, he made a really good argument. Kinda shows how you really can't trust anything or anyone but yourself.

**Afterthoughts: Seriously, watch the friggin movie.

Just got my ass whupped by water

So I've been going to the gym everyday for the past week now (ish, I missed a day but worked out at home) and today I decided to swim some laps.

Good. God.

I remember back in the day when I could swim 25-30 laps in one sitting with no problems. Guess how many I could do today? 2. Yeah, TWO. What the hell happened?! It was like I was having a heart attack! I am quite ashamed.

I finna get back to my former glory by the end of the summer.

Officially summer goal #1.

P.S.

Just to be clear, I didn't swim two laps and get out of the pool. I swam like 15 today (still shitty, I know) and had to take major breaks in-between.

You can't outrun me! I'm BLACK!

So today was a fairly eventful day. In the early afternoon I was able to enjoy a very nice meal with Kim and her family. In the late afternoon I got to watch "Get him to the Greek" starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill and have dinner with some of my high school friends. The way the day unfolded allowed me to do a little experimentation and observation on the relationships in my life.

Don't get me wrong, both events were really fun; however, I realized something when I was hanging out with my high school friends: I couldn't relate to most of them anymore. I mean, I wasn't close to a good amount of them to begin with, but even some of my friends who I had hung out with for most of my high school years I couldn't really talk to them or have fun with them like I used to. I don't know if the time apart has caused us to drift apart (most likely the case) or my personality and interests have morphed to the point where I can't really connect with these people anymore. Honestly, I felt kind of awkward and tense most of the time, and any/all jokes I tried to make seemed kind of forced. When I went out today, I really hoped that this wouldn't be the case... but I just don't feel like I belong in this group anymore. Again, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I'm going to discard all these people from my life and hope I never see them again; no, no, no I just feel that a good chunk of these people have devolved into acquaintances rather than friends. (incase you were wondering, the rest of that chunk are still my friends are people I can connect with)

It's just that I find it weird that eating and hanging out with Kim, a girl I've only known for about half a year, was more enjoyable to me than watching a movie and partying with people I've known for about 2+ years.

I guess I've just lost like 80% of my friends in Chicago.

Well, shit.

I guess this is the beginning.

Well, I'm on the blogging bandwagon now. I don't know how I got on it, but hey, might as well enjoy the ride (that's what she said)..... hey where are you going?

First off, I would like to say that I am not a good writer, so don't expect anything great to spout out of my fingertips. Don't expect good grammar or proper sentence structure either.

Secondly, you're probably asking yourself "What the banana cream pie is a Kid Chiclet?". I suppose I should start by explaining what that is. It's not really a pseudonym, but more of a nickname. I got it a couple months back by one of my good friends Kim. Being a year older than me, she referred to me as kid. One of the first things you will learn about me, is that I hate being called kid. So once realizing this, she called me kid more, I mean, who wouldn't? The "Chiclet" part came in because she used to call a group of us freshmen "Chiclets" as in "Come, chiclets" or "I finna kill you chiclets". As "chiclet" was just a synonym for "kid", I didn't really like being called that either. So, she put two and two together and bam, I became Kid Chiclet. At least that's how I think it happened. At first I didn't really like the nickname, but it's grown on me over the months. I even etched it into the Great Wall when I was in Beijing a few weeks back. (Will post up picture of that when I get it)

Anyways, moving on from the topic of adolescent chewing gum, let's go onto the crux of this post.

For a while now, there's been a question eating away at my brain: "Why do I dance?" I mean, it seems like a fairly simple question to answer, and mainly everyone I've asked seems to have a genuine answer, but for some reason, I can't think of one.

Well, that's not completely true, I do have some hypotheses. It might be a simple answer in that dancing looks cool to me. It might be because I've met some of my closest friends through dance and would like to meet more. It might be because when I dance, all the problems in my life disappear for a while. Maybe because it's good cardio?

I gave these hypotheses to my good friend Alex, who to me is an amazing dancer, and asked what he thought of it; he said that it might be that dance helps me deal with or hide my insecurities. This answer really intrigued me. Being a obese ,fat , thick, pleasantly plump individual, I've always had self-esteem problems (still do) and although I really don't see it, people say that I'm good at dancing and it's feels good to hear it. Maybe I dance because I need the ego boost. Jesus, that would be sad and a terrible reason but I don't think that's it either. It might be that I don't have a single reason. Perhaps I dance because of all these reasons and more. I just don't know yet.

P.S.

Good lord, my blog looks like a freaking mypsace page. I gotta relearn HTML and fix this... eesh