january 10, 2001
this is part two of "phil kim 2000: year in review" - enjoy!
april - as much fun as i had during my trip to the east coast, i came back to the bay area feeling somewhat down. i realized that when i got back, my close friends would not be there, and whether or not this was a healthy response, i felt lonely, to be totally honest. never more so than on the first sunday of the month. a good friend of mine - a roommate in college - passed away in june 1999, and his mother wanted to hold a special ceremony in remembrance of him, in the courtyard of the dorm we used to live in. a tree had been planted in memory of my friend, and his family and friends were invited to commemorate the occasion. i thought the grief of losing him had passed, but hearing his loved ones talk about him again, and seeing the pain that lingered even 10 months after his passing brought tears to my eyes. i realized once again how very quickly our lives can change, and that the things we hold dear to our hearts can be taken away in an instant. i spent a lot of time wrestling with god in the ensuing weeks over these issues, asking him to show me his love and to provide comfort during a time when i felt - for lack of a better phrase - like i really, really needed it.
may - the academic calendar comes to an end in may for students at berkeley. i happened to have several good friends graduating at the end of the month; however, my sister was also graduating, which made an already very memorable time of year even more so. thus, i got a chance to spend some time with people that i wouldn't be seeing around quite as often once they finished school and were on their way to the next phase of their lives. seeing my sister get ready to finish up (most of) her time in college was also really special for me. we were born a year and a half apart, so we've always been very close. being up here in the bay area together during school made our relationship - our friendship - even stronger and i'm very grateful that we were able to spend these important years in our lives together, for the most part. i was - i am - really proud of my sister and i always pray that the lord will continue to bless her no matter what she does or where she ends up in the future. my parents came up for graduation which was cool. we got to spend a lot of quality time together. actually with my pops, spending family time together really isn't an option - it's more like a duty! ha ha...just kidding. but seriously, that weekend was very special and something i'll remember vividly for a long time to come. it was another reminder of the constant change in our lives, but one that brought about lots of hope, lots of joy.
june - i realized by now that hanging out by myself, while it had its advantages (no need to argue about what to do, no need to worry about others being prompt or having enough money to tip the waitress, etc.), it left something to be desired. i mean, after a movie, you can't really discuss it with anyone. ballgames aren't quite as fun when you can't give a friend a high five. well, you get the picture! fortunately for me, i finally starting taking advantage of opportunities to either start making new friends or spend time with other people that i hadn't before: people at work, friends from school that i hadn't kept in touch with, people at church that had previously been more like acquaintances. in fact, i consider a number of the people i met and hung out with during the summer some of my closer friends here in the bay area now. i also got a chance to attend a couple weddings (both on the same day - one in san diego and the other in newport beach. i drove A LOT that day!). dave kim and susie lim got married in the morning, and kris song and melissa koo later that afternoon. man, weddings are great. it's such a good feeling to see two friends that love each other get married. one day i hope that i'll be able to share the same experience with the woman i love as well. yeah, eventually i'll meet that special someone. i'm looking forward to it - should be fun! ha ha. (by the way, i caught the "garter" at one of the weddings. that makes two in two years. and still, no luck.)
man, these reviews are long. ha ha. stick with me though, we're halfway done!