Mr mmMok: um Mr mmMok: hakeem is coming back? mok says: shaddap
right then and there, without him having to go on, i knew exactly what was going on. he coulda just left it at this, and saved himself any further embarrassment, but no, he continued..
Mr mmMok: http://www.clutchfans.net/ mok says: do i really need to look at this Mr mmMok: apparently yao and mutombo have been recruiting him
at this moment, i coulda joined in on the act and tried to get him all riled up and excited, but i decided to be a nice guy and just let him in on the trick.
mok says: it's april fool's man mok says: i'm not even gonna read it Mr mmMok: hm. Mr mmMok: hah
so it was done. finished. he had been stumped for just a couple seconds, but now he saw the light.. right? wrong. here comes our hero.
poor kid. what's that line? "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." yeah..
mok says: are you trying to trick me mok says: or do you really not know mok says: espn.clutchfans.com mok says: you kidding me? Mr mmMok: oh Mr mmMok: iddn't see that Mr mmMok: good call Mr mmMok: you win once again mok says: as always mok says: clutch can't get me Mr mmMok signed off at 5:30:45 PM. Mr mmMok is offline and will receive your IMs when signing back in.
in my mind, i figure this is when he gets offline to laugh at himself a little bit and just take in everything that's just happened. you know, maybe lay low for a few hours so i can't make fun of him about it. but join with me as we assess the mood behind these next few lines.
Mr mmMok signed on at 5:34:35 PM.
okay so he's back. at this point, he's contemplating whether he should IM me again.
Mr mmMok: why are you so smart
i'm thinking he's in a state of admiration for me right now. can't really blame the kid, can you? i mean i just saw through the april fool's joke that had him all tangled up without even clinking on the link.
Mr mmMok: i feel dumb
okay now he starts feeling a bit ashamed for falling for such a trick.
Mr mmMok: thanks again
i'm sensing feigned appreciation now, with a hint of sarcasm.
Mr mmMok: I HATE YOU
it quickly turns to hatred.
Mr mmMok: BYE.
dismissal and probable denial.
mok says: maybe next time rookie Mr mmMok signed off at 5:41:22 PM. Mr mmMok is offline and will receive your IMs when signing back in.
and our protagonist exits stage left. i'm guessing as you are reading this, he is probably crying himself to sleep in the corner of his dorm room, but hey, i'm just a genius, not a prophet.
it's time to bring this toast to a close. i wouldn't be as confident in my intelligence without his help, so raise your glasses to mr. jason mok. i couldn't have done it without you, bro.
the moment you've all been waiting for has arrived -- the top 5. no more talk, here goes.
5. paulino's game-winning 3-pointer against WV to reach the elite 8
i remember i was in my room working on a poster that took an eternity to ask ophelia to go to o&w with me. sat through a game before the UT one, and then watched the entire UT one while cutting up and gluing construction paper. if you know me, you know that college basketball is nonexistent to me until march rolls around because we all know it's all about march madness. UT had dominated the first half but allowed west virginia to crawl back into it, with them tying the game with a long 3. i couldn't believe that first 3 went in, i think i almost dropped the scissors i was holding in my hand. but then without calling a timeout, texas comes back, and paulino wins the game! man, 2006 was a great year for UT sports, wasn't it?
4. music city miracle
it was january 8, 2000. it had been less than 4 years since the houston oilers had been moved to tennessee, so i, along with many other houstonians, still considered ourselves titans/oilers fans. the titans jumped to a 12-0 lead, only to let buffalo take control of the game with a 1-point lead with 16 seconds left. it all seemed lost, as if it would be another repeat, to a lesser extent, of the 1993 playoff game between the oilers and bills, where the bills overcame a 32-point houston lead to win the game and complete the largest comeback in NFL history. but then, the miracle happened. i remember i was ready to turn the tv off so i wouldn't have to watch the bills celebrate on the field, when frank wycheck lateraled the ball across the field to kevin dyson, and the rest is history. this play has been the source of many IM football trick plays, believe you me. unfortunately, nobody else in my family cared/cares about football, so i was the only one rejoicing in my living room. good times nonetheless.
3. tmac game-winning shot against dallas in 2005 1st round
the beginning of the houston-dallas rivalry, this was my sophomore year at UT. i remember for this game, we had everybody and their momma pack into the jester fireplace lounge -- rockets and mavs fans alike. it was a back-and-forth game with one side cheering before being silenced by the eruption of the other side of I-45. then, finally, with dallas down 2 with less than a minute left, dirk did the impossible and made a clutch basket to tie the game. dallas fans were going nuts, but tmac, without calling timeout, calmly dribbled the ball up the court, got a pick from yao, and drained a 22-footer over keith van horn. THAT'S when the place went nuts. i remembering high-fiving dennis, chest-bumping MJ, and just yelling my head off. and then, for about 2 months after that, i copied that gesture he did after he made the shot.
2. vince young game-winning rushing touchdown vs. USC in 2006 rose bowl
ah, the 2006 rose bowl. never in my wildest dreams would i imagine the 2006 version being anywhere near as dramatic and exciting as the 2005 version against michigan, but man oh man, what a ballgame. i gathered with hundreds of other UTers at sugar land's town center, where they had set up a gigantic projector to display the game. i sat in the front in a "lucky" lawnchair -- can't remember whose it was -- but on vince's 2nd-to-last touchdown, as he was 5 yards away, i knew that he was gonna make it, so i stood up and raised my arms to the heavens. unfortunately for everybody else at town center that night, i also blocked the entire projector in the process, so nobody saw how he got in. suckas! anyhow, with UT down 5 points with 26 seconds to go, it was 4th and 5, and it was now or never, do or die, and insert whatever other cliche you can think of. it was the moment that would define vince young's college career and send him, inevitably, into the waiting arms of the NFL. vince dropped back to pass, then scrambled to the corner of the end zone, and the rest is history. 41-38, who wants some?
1. chris burke's game-winning, series-winning walk-off home run in game 4 of the 2005 NLDS against the braves
the MLB is very sheisty about its videos being put online, so no video for this one. but it's okay, cuz i remember this game like it was yesterday. took a short road trip back to htown for this game -- weili, simeon, and lawrence bought me my ticket as a birthday present. it was one of those typical low-scoring astros games, with good pitching and good defense, and it ended up going into extra innings. a LOT of extra innings. so many that by the 16th or 17th inning, i decided to look around the stadium for some grub cuz i was getting hungry. to my dismay, there was no food left in the entire building, but the show, or game, must go on. when i returned to my seat, it was the bottom of the 18th inning, and chris burke was up to bat. for you non-baseball people out there, a normal game lasts 9 innings. so there had been, in essence, another full game played. we got our money's worth fasho. anyhow, chris burke was up to bat, and with one swing of the bat, he hit the ball into the crawford boxes for a home run, and the house went CRAZY. storybook ending to the game -- couldn't have written it better myself. man, is it baseball season yet?
and thus concludes my top 10 sports moments of my life, and here's to the hope of many more.
sports is a huge part of my life. to be honest, i can't imagine my life without it. i've thought about it, and many of my happiest (and saddest) moments came at the hands of cheering for my favorite teams.
anyhow, for no apparent reason, i've decided to jot down my top 10 sports moments of all time. well, one reason is that this will be something interesting for me to look back on a long time down the road. i can even remember exactly where i was, who i was with, and what i was doing at each moment.
some quick rules, or guidelines, rather, about these sports moments. they are all moments that i personally witnessed (in person or on TV) live. in other words, it can't be just some random game i saw on espn classic, or a summary i caught on sportscenter after the fact. i guess that's the only guideline. well, here goes!
honorable mention: jeff kent's 3-run game-winning walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in game 5 of the 2004 NLCS against the cardinals
i was leading a sophomore prayer meeting when this happened. i remember i wanted to watch this game SO bad, and it made it even worse that i could hear yells and groans from people watching in the jester TV lounge. weili texted me right after this happened, and my first reaction was pure disappointment that i did not get to see it for myself. but then, i came to my senses, and thanked God for the win.
10. yao's game-winning dunk to beat the lakers in OT (1/17/03)
this was yao's first encounter against shaquille o'neal. prior to the game, o'neal had jokingly made some racist comments towards yao, but the game started with yao scoring 6 points and blocking shaq twice. i remember watching this game at david zhu's house with a bunch of other guys, and with the score tied in the final minute of overtime, francis drove into the lane and dumped it off to yao, who slammed it home for the game-winner. we went absolutely nuts after that point. granted, it was just a regular season game, but c'mon. it was yao's coming out party!
9. biggio's 3-run game-winning home run against the phillies (9/8/05)
this is actually kind of a random memory, but there was this one day my junior year in 151, when we had a few people over and i was just watching the end of the astros game that day. the NL wild card race was real tight, i think we were only up by 1 game, so every game was huge. in this particular game, we had a lead until the bottom of the 8th inning, when our bullpen gave up the lead. so, going into the 9th inning, the astros were down by 1 run. we got 2 men on base, and with 2 outs, craig biggio walked up to the plate. it was the first time he was facing his old teammate, billy wagner, who threw over 100 mph. so here's the random part. i just remember simon and lawrence were also in the room, and we just so happened to have some extra craig biggio posters lying around from when someone went to an astros game. what are the odds, right? so we each grabbed a poster, and started cheering for good old craig to pull us through. then he hits the 3-run game-winning home run while we were holding his posters! naturally, we all went crazy. sigh, good times.
8. eddie johnson's game-winning 3-pointer against the utah jazz in game 4 of the 1997 western conference finals
if you are a rockets fan, there is perhaps no more hated team than the utah jazz. from the dirty play of karl malone and john stockton, and just the annoying look of jeff hornacek, i would rather lose my legs than say anything good about the jazz. so in one of the epic playoff battles between the rockets and jazz, the score was tied going into the final seconds of regulation. the jazz led the series 2-1, so a loss in this game would be devastating. i remember watching this game in my old house, in one of those "i don't want to watch but i have to" stances, just hoping for the best. it ended up being a very broken play, and i was prepared to just fight it out in overtime, when eddie johnson launched a very long 3-pointer, and it goes in! the crowd goes wild, eddie goes wild, and i go wild! i was just yelling and screaming in the living room, with my brother and sister copying me, wondering what the heck was going on.
7. hakeem blocking starks to end game 6 of the 1994 nba finals
ah, the nba finals on NBC. anyone else miss that old school stuff? this was truly an awesome series to watch. i was watching at home with the rest of my family. it was game 6, and the rockets were down 3 games to 2, meaning if the knicks won the game, the championship was theirs. the rockets held a 2-point lead, when john starks (who btw was shooting red hot that night), pulled up for the game-winning 3-pointer. luckily for houston fans everywhere, the dream rose to the occasion and blocked the shot, sending the series to a decisive game 7. and of course, we all know what happened after that. that moment was truly one of the most clutch plays i have ever seen.
6. hakeem's game-winning tip-in to beat the orlando magic in game 1 of the 1995 nba finals
it was a bit tough cheering against the orlando magic in this series because penny hardaway was my favorite player back then. just ask anyone who used to trade basketball cards with me back in pastor tow's office at HCC. i would trade any players away for sam cassell's or penny hardaway's. needless to say, penny hardaway eventually lost me a buttload of money, but that's a whole other story.
anyhow, this game in and of itself was simply amazing. the magic stormed out to a 20 point lead at one point in the game, but the rockets, led by kenny smith's 3-point shooting, gradually clawed back into the game. in the final minutes, in what i see as THE most UNclutch performance of all time, orlando's nick anderson had a chance to seal the game by just making 1 of 4 free throws, but he missed all 4, and the magic's lead remained at 3. on the very next play, kenny smith hit his 7th 3-pointer of the game over my boy penny to tie up the game and send it into overtime.
in the waning seconds of overtime, with the score tied, clyde drexler drove into the lane and flipped up a layup that bounced off the rim to the other side. hakeem was there to tip it up and in off the backboard. at first, i didn't know what to think because i don't think even hakeem knew that he had just won the game. but finally, he raised his arms in triumph, and me and the rest of my family celebrated like there was no tomorrow.
this post is pretty long as it is, and it's taking a lot more time than i anticipated, so i'll split these things up. so here are the bottom 5, the top 5 will be coming soon. any idea what they are? $50 to anyone who can name my top 5.
For about a month or 2, I have been experiencing some pain on the bottom of my right foot. So, naturally, I did what any self-respecting man would do, and I went to get it checked out by a doctor.
Of course, I am not only a man, but a money-conscious Asian man, so I did what seemed like the most obvious thing to do -- I asked my good med school friend for a free diagnosis. Close enough to a doctor, right?
Enter Simon Yau.
mok says: hey i got pain on the bottom of my right foot mok says: can you diagnose it Simy85: u have plantar fascitis Simy85: the glen rice season ender mok says: really Simy85: its probably the arch of ur foot right mok says: it's like Simy85: is it deep or superficial mok says: middle mok says: kind of feels like a bruise mok says: not really Simy85: sharp or dull pain mok says: nothing visual mok says: i guess it's not too sharp mok says: just nagging mok says: been about 2 months Simy85: hmm Simy85: yeah Simy85: probably a strain Simy85: mihgt need to amputate
Hm, an amputation was certainly not what I expected. I decided to seek a second opinion. Soon-to-be Dr. Sime0n Kwan to the rescue.
mok says: i got pain on the bottom of my right foot mok says: can you diagnose it sime0n kwn: yeah sime0n kwn: plantar fasciitis mok says: serious? mok says: what is that sime0n kwn: haha sime0n kwn: look it up sime0n kwn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis mok says: that's a real injury?
So apparently I don't get enough arch support. I'm flat-footed as it is, and while I don't want to come to the horrifying conclusion that this is all because of my crocs, it's hard to argue that point. Anyone else smell a lawsuit?
Anyways, I suppose the moral of the story is:
Who needs doctors when you have Simon, Sime0n, and Wikipedia? That's 2 medical opinions and some free treatment advice. I probably saved myself about $100. What a deal!
Alright, gotta go get this thing amputated. Doc's orders.
monday the 14th marks the beginning of the end of what has been an amazing college career. i'm taking 6 hours this semester. 6. SIX. i would jump on the bandwagon and post a picture of my schedule, but i'm pretty sure that would just be rubbing it in. but yeah, that's it. MW 2-5. how amazing is THAT?
unfortunately, it won't be all fun and games, as tomorrow i will begin studying for the CPA exam, which i will be taking this year. and that, my friends, is gonna suck. so in the end, it really all evens out. 6 hours of class + CPA exam = full schedule. maybe not, we'll see. here is a picture of my study materials. doesn't that just make you wanna dive right in and go nerdy?
anyhow, today, on the other hand, was the first day i hit the gym in 3 years. 3 years! when i say "hit the gym," i mean to work out. unfortunately, whenever i had the slightest notion to go lift weights, i would end up just going upstairs and shooting hoops. but alas, this time shall be different. planning on going at least 3 times a week. when will i stop? when you start seeing me walking around campus without a shirt on, then you will know that i am done working out. so i guess there's something for everybody to look forward to.
tickets have been purchased for my los angeles/las vegas spring break trip. all i've gotten back so far are a bunch of "maybe's," so let this be a sign that i'm serious, yo. and you cali folk, suit up. because it's gonna be legen..
it's been a while, huh? i've actually been meaning to update this thing with various stories, but i've just never gotten around to actually getting it done. sorry about that.
well for the past few days, my family has been on vacation. well, let me put questioning quotation marks around the word "vacation." whenever i happened to tell someone that i was going to the state of arkansas for vacation, i'd get 1 of 2 reactions. they would either start chuckling or just stare at me blankly.
i can only assume that the first reaction is because they thought i was joking. the second one, i guess they were just waiting for the punchline.
my family and i went to arkansas to visit my dad's host family. it was my grandma's (host family grandma) 80th birthday, so we drove up to surprise her. let me just say one thing: when i am 80, i hope i have old 80-year-old friends to invite to my birthday party because it was pretty awesome being at hers. makes me wonder who i'll be hanging out with when i'm 80.
everytime we're there, grandma likes having someone play piano for her. so the first night we were there, while we were eating cake, she asked me to play piano for her.
grandma: play some piano for me, jonathan! me: i don't know how.. grandma: go sit over there and play! me: alright, you want me to play?
i stroll over to the piano and start playing "mary had a little lamb." perfectly, as a matter of fact. everyone laughs a bit, and then i finish the song.
grandma: play me a real song! me: no, seriously, i don't know how.. grandma: how old are you? me: 23. grandma: then you're old enough to play me a real song!
all this while the rest of my family is just sitting there laughing. my knowledge of the piano consists of 2 weeks of lessons when i was about 5. so unless she wanted me to play "twinkle twinkle" or another rendition of mary and her little lamb, i was not the man for the job.
so this exchange of lines went on for a few more minutes, until she finally gave up. now i look like a jerk who wouldn't play the piano for a sweet 80-year-old woman on her birthday.
on a different note, happy new year! you'll hear from me later.
