2008 was quite the year. It was eventful to say the least. But as we could see a lot of triumph and victories, we also saw a number of defeats and losses as well. As I look back on this year, there were a lot of things personally that touched me.

I think one of the things that I’ll remember in the news are the two major natural disasters this year that shook Asia. We all remember Chengdu and the 69,000 people that died due to the massive 8.0 earthquake that hit the region. But just about ten days earlier, there was an even more disastrous event in Cyclone Nargis. Over the course of those two weeks, over 200,000 people died due to those two events. It’s just baffling to think about. Think about it this way. The number of lives lost is equivalent to about half of the population of Seattle…

But the responses that the two areas had were different. Myanmar’s government and leadership failed to really answer the problems that they now had to deal with. The Chinese now had to answer the calls of the media questioning the concerns of the structural stability of their buildings and other national concerns with regards to safety and emergency response. But it makes us wondering about our ability to respond to disasters of such magnitude, should another one happen. How will we respond?

A lot of people were in the news as well. Arguably the biggest individual in the news was that of Barrack Obama. Charismatic, charming, and young, he became the first African-American (and minority in general) to become elected as President of the United States. Now the question is how will he help the country respond to the struggling times of the world economy and other issues that he inherits from the past eight years?

But as one person came to power, another one fell because of her enemies. Benazir Bhutto was looking to become the next president of Pakistan. But as she addressed her supporters and people, she was shot and the target of suicide bombers. If it wasn’t for her assassination, it could have changed relations around the world completely with new leaders coming to power this year.

But I think it was also a year of triumph as well. The Beijing Olympics provided a lot of great news and new rivalries. Out is the rivalry between Russia and the U.S. and in is China vs. the U.S. Both competed until the very end in terms of the medal count, and while the U.S. won the most medals… The Chinese came out on top in the pedestal with more golds.

The headline of it all was Michael Phelps though. Sure, Usain Bolt set two new records, but for someone to win eight gold medals was a major feat. It did require some help from teammates, but he pulled it off. It was a true showing of stamina, endurance, strength, and will by Phelps to achieve the impossible in such a time where athletes are getting stronger and quicker by the second.

I know for me, personally, this year was definitely one of its ups and downs as well. The struggle with finding a job, figuring out my future, struggling relationships, and other issues, it was definitely tough to grind it out and get through it all.

But in the midst of that, there were a lot of surprises as well. One of the things I never expected was that I would be working with youth. I figured I was too old and also not the greatest influence on those that were younger than I am. But this year, opportunities arose to work with youth, namely at Mt. Hermon and through the youth group at my church. I came in with a lot of fears and worries as I had no real experience as a youth leader. But that’s where God’s grace and strength came in. It’s been an amazing process and experience so far in the past six months to see many of the students I’ve been work with grow in their faith.

I kind of took for granted the importance of family too. As it came closer to Christmas, the weather started to worsen and grave. It became more difficult for me to go home, to the point where I had to spend Christmas away from family. While I was thankful and enjoyed spending Christmas with friends of mine, I realized how important my family was to me.

Soccer and work has been very much an experience as well. As I play on my teams and work with Underdog Sports Leagues, I’ve enjoyed hanging out and working with my teammates and co-workers. Sure, winning division titles and watching and working the games have been fun, but it’s about the relationships that I’ve gotten to develop over the course of the year. There have been a lot of great memories this past year and I know there will be many more in 2009.

I think what I really experienced most was grace. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be in the kind of shape or mentality that I am in today. I can still run around, talk to people, and well, live. In May, I managed to suffer my third concussion in as many months playing soccer. The effects of the concussion could have been much, much worse, but I managed to come out alright from the incident.

Thinking about everything else, I’m much better off than I could be. I’m not struggling financially, my health is alright (barring another concussion), and I have clothes on my back, a roof over my head, and food on the table each day.

As I went to a Seattle City Council meeting to speak to them with regards to their 2009-2010 budget, I listened to other individuals and groups advocate for specific issues, whether it be homeless shelters, youth at-risk programs, or other services that serve the community. But to hear and see the needs of just the city alone made me aware of the reality of the world today. Today, I still think and hear the stories that I heard from that meeting and constantly think about how I can help when I can, and how fortunate I am to be in the position that God’s put me in.

As 2009 comes around, I know there will be a lot more surprises, a lot more victories, and a lot more trials that I’ll encounter as well. But I’ll be ready and take them as they come.

I’ve always been a fan of the Olympics. I could remember watching the Olympics in 1992, when I followed Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and the rest of the Dream Team squad crush all their opponents in rout to their gold medal in Barcelona. That followed with Atlanta in 1996 (and the Olympic bombing tragedy), Sydney in 2000, and Athens in 2004.

The Olympics is a special event. Every four years, the world gets an amazing opportunity to see all its’ best athletes gather together in one city to compete in various events. It isn’t all about who wins or how many they win (usually is though), but the stories that each athlete brings to these events. How they may have had to endure through various struggles from their past to get to where they are today. Or how they overcame obstacles, physical or emotional, to persereve and succeed. It’s amazing to hear the stories that the broadcasts bring in with their coverage. And then there are the controversies and the suprises as well.

For me, these were the stories that really came out from these Olympics (in no particular order)…

Michael Phelps and his eight gold medals… Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was a bit of skill. I don’t know. Two events could have prevented him from beating Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals, yet somehow, him and his teammates managed to beat the odds to do so. Why was the record of seven gold medals in one Olympics so difficult? Imagine having to work out, swim in one heat, finish that, prepare for another heat 45 minutes later, then another one after that, workout still, have time to eat, and then go to bed, and start all over again? For seven days straight? It’s amazing how he managed to do that. His coach prepared him for it though and the formula worked. Eight medals… All gold for now the world’s newest golden boy… And remember this. He’s only 23.

Gymnastics… I have to admit that I’m usually not a fan of gymnastics. While its beauty and artistry are impressive, it can get rather boring to watch over and over again. However, I think this time around, I managed to actually have some respect. Watching the men’s events, it’s impressive how strong and tough they are. Watch the parallel bars or the still rings and you can see what I mean. Try doing those moves. But like every Olympics, there is some kind of controversy. This time, it was the age of some of the athletes. Whether the Chinese chose athletes too young or not remains to be determine, but think for a second… 16 year old… 68 pounds. Is that right? In any case, Liukin follows the footsteps of her parents and wins the all-around title… and somehow, the U.S. men managed to get a bronze medal.

The beast known as Usain Bolt… While Phelps dominated the water, Usain Bolt did that on land. It wasn’t so much the fact that he won three gold medals or beat them all in world record time. It’s how badly he did so. Watching the first heat of the 100 meters, I knew that guy was going to be hard to beat. When you have a 6’5″ sprinting and beating people while jogging, how do you expect to beat him while he’s at full speed and effort? That was what the 200 meters showed. When he put out a full effort, there was no chance that anyone could beat him. The second closest competitor was at least 0.50 seconds behind him (that’s a huge gap in sprinting). His gigantic size and stride will make him dominant in future major events for many years to come for this 22 year old runner.

The U.S. dethroned from their title as “World’s Best Sprinters”… One of the big reasons why the U.S. dominate in the medal counts is their amazing performances in the sprints in track and field… However, this Olympics was not the case. Instead, the Jamaicans took the spotlight, dominating those events easily, as the U.S. teams faltered big time when it mattered. Could it have been the jitters? Was it because they couldn’t handle the pressure? Or was it the lack of drugs… I mean…

The murder in Beijing and the men’s volleyball team winning gold… The first official day of the Olympics was marred by tragedy. The men’s volleyball coach’s father-in-law was murdered by a madman, who later committed suicide. He left to be with his mourning wife and family-in-law. As he mourned, the team had to do their best without him. And they did. They proceded to win match after match, overcoming some of the best teams in the world. It eventually lead them to the gold-medal match against the defending gold medal champions and number one team in the world: Brazil. As their coach returned to help lead them, they struggled early, losing the first set. But after getting rid of their jitters, they started to regain their composure. In turn, they started making shots and mounted a comeback. One set… Two sets… Match. Gold medals. While tragedy overcame the team in the beginning, the team managed to stay strong and win one for their emotional coach.

Lopez Lomong… This was definitely an amazing story to hear. While he did not manage to medal, it was how he even got there that was amazing. He was originally from Sudan and was separated from his family when he was six. Spent 10 years at a refugee camp in Kenya, living off one meal a day. In 2000, he walked five miles just to watch the Sydney Olympics and eventually wanted to be on the big stage someday. Eventually he did as he got into the U.S. and became a citizen. And as the U.S. poured into the Bird’s Nest stadium, there was Lomong in the front of the group, carrying the U.S. flag proudly.

Chinese and their attraction to gold… While I don’t agree with their training techniques (basically training from the toddler years), it has contributed heavily to their success on the podium. And not just on the podium, but at the top of it. They’ve got 51 gold medals to the U.S.’ 36. That’s a huge margin. But maybe that has to do with some other factors as well, like U.S. somehow dropping their batons in both men’s and women’s 4×100 meter relays.

Lin Dan, Angel Matos, Usain Bolt and several other athletes… Bolt comes up again, along with Lin Dan and Matos. Why? I think if they were to have a competition for unsportsmanlike conduct, it would go to one of those three for sure. Probably others that I can’t think off the top of my head. Lin Dan and his over-the-top display after winning gold (throwing his shoes into the stands?), Angel Matos for kicking a referee after being disqualified in taekwondo, and Usian Bolt for his display in the last fifteen meters in the 100 meter dash. Which one would you choose? I would say probably Lin for gold in lack of sportsmanship because his lasted at least a few minutes.

The U.S. Basketball team winning gold… The Redeem Team stood by its name, winning the gold medal against the Spaniards, in a fairly close championship game. To see the gold medals and title of Olympic champions under the U.S. name again was quite relieving. Coach K’s coaching and Jerry Colangelo’s design were heavily the reason for their success. They found a winning formula that worked great and saw them play unselfish basketball (for the most part… the championship game wasn’t so much that).

Russia and Georgia playing each other in beach volleyball… The Olympic Games were slightly overshadowed by the fighting going on between Russia and Georgia. War broke out and that became the focus, despite the fact that the Olympic Games usually signals to all nations to set aside their arms for the two weeks to cherish the gathering of athletes and nations across the world. Then came the match-up between Georgia and Russia in women’s beach volleyball. Rather than competing on a battlefield, they competed on sand… across a net. And in the end, politics and bloodshed were not the focus of this match. It was sportsmanship, friendship, and unity. It showed how much sport conquers above war.

There were a lot of other stories throughout the games. The Chinese woman’s marathoner that overcame career-ending surgery to her long distance track and field career to compete in the marathon and complete it… The ending of Olympic careers for Laura Wilkinson (diving), Lisa Leslie (women’s basketball), and others… The end of baseball and softball as events in the Olympics… How Beijing managed to spare themselves in light of the issues with smog, their politics, and other issues…

So many more, but the fact of the matter is that the Olympics are finally coming to a close. The ceremonies will likely have been completed by the time I finish this post and the torch will be passed onto London as they host the 2012 Olympic Games. One thing is for sure: Just like all the other Olympic games, these games will be ones to remember for people all over the world.

… Carlos Quentin has been amazing for me in fantasy baseball. Not only that, but also for the White Sox as well. He has practically carried the offense on his shoulders. Leading the AL in home runs and up there in runs and RBIs.

… I’m now convinced that Zidane is probably the best technical player and teammate ever in soccer history. He might have not won as many World Cups as Maradona or Pele, but he did win one in 1998, lead them to the finals in 2006. But just his skill, his touch, his presence on the field, and vision was simply amazing. The other thing is that when he was on the field, he made his teammates better. The fluidity and beauty of his game is stunning. Unmatched. Never will be. Still sad that he’s retired…

… If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight yet, it’s either because you don’t have the time, you’re not ready for it, or you’re just insane. I wouldn’t say it was the best movie I’ve ever seen (Schindler’s List is still first for now), but it’s definitely captured my imagination and pretty much set the standard for me in terms of how I view action movies now. Batman Begins started it and The Dark Knight just proceeded with astounding success. It’s no longer this goofy “I’m invincible” look but rather humanistic side of the protagonist. It’s going to be hard to match that.

Also, Heath Ledger has the Joker was probably one of the best casting I’ve seen for an antagonist. I’ve never seen someone so enveloped into a role. It was impressive. Award-winning? I would argue that it definitely was. He sold it well. Maybe a bit too well…

… I also have a fear for pencils now… Especially ones that are sticking out of a table… With a clown standing next to it.

… The summer’s so far created a lot of great memories. The trip to Northern California was a unique and good experience for the most part. Camping with the SYTE group was fun and a blast. Hanging out with people, serving, traveling. It’s definitely changed my outlook on certain things. That’s for sure.

It also means I need to travel more, which I might. Depends if my family in Southern California is around when I’m planning the trip. (David, Lindsey and Ryan, you’ve been warned).

… The 2008 Beijing officially starts in two weeks. The Olympics have to be one of my most favorite sporting events. Partly because of all the coverage on TV (except for the gymnastics, diving and synchronized swimming… bleh). It’s almost 24/7 for just over two weeks. I’ll probably write something up about it over the course of the two weeks.

But when you think about it, it’s a pretty amazing concept. Bringing all the world’s best athletes together in one place to compete. Setting aside political differences (except for the Iraq controversy), social differences, and other similar things and uniting everyone together under sport. It’s a great sight to see.

If only we could do that outside of the Olympics…