Kenya reflections and prayer requests

After coming back to Kenya, I’ve been struggling to gather my thoughts about the entire experience. So many things to share and pray about, and putting it all on paper seems inadequate because there is so much! But rather than concede to feelings of being overwhelmed, I will try to keep things simple and share a couple key thoughts.

God revealed to me was that He is much bigger than I’ve imagined Him to be. (Does that make sense?)

Here in the states, I am at best a nominal Christian and make God a very small part of my life. He’s but an afterthought when I go about my day and many times I make decisions without coming to Him first. I compartmentalize God in a small box, reserved for Sunday service, and small prayers with no heart.

After listening to Missionary Lee and Samonim’s powerful testimony, and witnessing the power of prayer in Kenya, I’ve come to realize that our God is sovereign, and is very active in our lives. When one gets distracted with all the insignificant things that we make important before God, its hard to see this. With all the doubts and hesitations I felt before the trip, I feel extremely blessed and humbled that God intended for us to go, that He pulled us out of our small bubbles in the US, and that He revealed His love for us and the people of Kenya. I learned the importance in building a relationship with God that centered on prayer, reading the Bible, and being obedient to his call.

Another thing I learned in Kenya is that God commissions each and every one of us to be an active member of His family. No one sits on the sidelines on God’s team. God has made each and everyone of us perfect for His plan and we shouldn’t allow our feelings of inadequacy hold us back. He asks that we relinquish control of our lives to Him and wonderful blessings will be bestowed upon us and everyone around us.

Tied into that, I also realized God has commissioned all of us to share His love. Its not meant for a privileged few, but for all people, regardless of where they live, what ethnicity they are, etc. etc.. He’s commissioned us to be his vessels for sharing the Good News, whether we’re in Kenya, or we’re in NJ. Sounds so easy, but what has been holding me back? Am I embarrassed to proclaim my faith to nonbelievers? Afraid of offending people? Often times,I feel God tugging at my heart to be more involved in His ministries, but I’ve become an expert at making excuses and/or pretending not to hear. But God doesn’t want excuses. He wants obedience. So I will try to obey.

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19 (NIV)

I have a lot more to share but I’l stop here. Thanks. Rob

Prayer Requests:

1. Disciplined prayer and reading of the Word: I want to make God a bigger part of my life. Kenya missions taught me that God will reveal His sovereignty and love through commitment to reading His Word and prayer.

2. Be more involved at Praise Presbyterian Church: I have been complacent, looking to be a nominal Christian. Go to church, do a few things here and there to help out, but deep inside, I know I can do more. The excuse has always been, I’m not qualified to do this, or do that. But Kenya taught me that God uses all gifts, as insignificant or inadequate as they may seem and multiples it to something much more substantial. Pastor Sam’s Sunday sermon on the feeding of the 5000 was a good reminder of that. Anyways, God has been leading me to be a more active member so I pray for an obedient heart.

3. Be a better husband: I want to be more encouraging and patient to Soo, especially when she’s struggling with work and personal issues. Rather than be the solution finder, be a better listener. Concede more to her wishes even when they don’t make sense sometimes because a happy wife leads to a happier life. Lead our relationship to more committed prayer and reading of the Word.

Jesus Land

sorta a partial book review and spoiler alert.  you’ve been warned…

I just got home from B&N and am still in shock after readin 141 pages of Jesus Land, a memoir written by Julia Scheeres.  its one of those books that opens one’s eyes and stirs one’s heart…i’m saddened by the trials and tribulations that the author and her brothers go through.

in the heartland of “Christianity”, the kids struggle through their adolescence surrounded by hypocrisy with their parents, their peers, and the community.

its like they never had a chance to live a normal life.  and its so sad…

I haven’t even finished reading the book, and frankly, i’m a little scared to.  i mean, the blatant acts of racism, sexual abuse, and trauma that has already taken place…and i’m not even 1/3 through the book!  =/

as much as i sometimes bitch about life being “unfair”,  I am humbled by you Julia Scheeres, and you Lord.

right now, my heart is heavy, and my eyes are watery…the recipe for contemplation and insomnia.

Kenya Missions trip

Dear friend,

Hi!  If you’re getting this letter, you have either heard me talk about the missions’ trip that I was going on this summer, or you’ve unknowingly supported me financially (yikes!).  LOL.  Either way, I wanted to first off thank you for allowing me to share more details about the exciting opportunity I’ve been given this summer!

From July 17^th to July 28^th, I and 14 members of my church (Praise Presbyterian) will be going to Kenya to partner with the ministry of Bethany Missions Center near Kenya’s second largest city, Mombasa to share God’s word!  How exciting right?

I was first presented this opportunity through my friend, Harry, at church.  He shared about his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Young-Chan and Soo-Ja Lee, who are currently serving as missionaries in Kenya.  His uncle and aunt had recently visited Harry and his family during their furlough, and shared about their ministry in Mombasa.  After listening to their testimony, Harry felt a strong calling to organize a short term missions’ trip to help out with the effort there.  He spoke with our church’s leadership and they agreed it would be a great opportunity.

Here are some details from Harry:

My uncle and aunt have been serving as missionaries in Kenya since 2001.  In 2005, they were led to move near Mombasa, a predominantly Muslim area on the southeast coast of Kenya.  This area is predominantly occupied by two tribal groups, the Digowa and Duruma.  By 2007, the Bethany Missions Center compound was constructed in a town named Matuga, where 99% of the locals identify themselves as Muslim.  Bethany Missions Center has an exciting and ambitious vision to share the gospel to this region through education, youth ministry, public school outreach, church planting, leadership training, and clean-water well supporting.

During our time in Kenya, we will be working with 3 different schools and doing local outreach as well.   We are developing a curriculum of Bible Stories, English Classes, Sports/Games, Arts/Crafts, and possibly Music or Math to share with the students.  Bethany Missions Center opened a Kindergarten in January 2009 and we will be working with them when we first arrive.  Then we will be spending two days each in Maponda Primary (Grades K-8) and Tsimba Secondary (Grades 9-12).  Maponda Primary and Tsimba Secondary are public schools that will completely shut down their normal schedule while we are there.  We will have complete control over the curriculum for two 8-hour days.  It is actually pretty amazing to have that type of access.  We expect to be extremely busy as Maponda Primary has close to 600 students!  For many students, this will be their first exposure to the Bible and to the gospel.  Please pray that God would lead our time of preparation.  After working with the schools, we will spend 2 days in Chizimbani Village doing door-to-door evangelism and inviting the locals to Sunday Service.

It’s strange, but after speaking with Harry about Kenya, my initial reaction was a sense of excitement and a strong desire to participate.

But the conservative (specifically, fiscal) side of me had a lot of questions:  Why should I be spending this large amount of money to go on a trip that is only for 2 weeks?  Do you know what kind of economy we’re in right now?  Isn’t going on a trip an extravagant expenditure?  How will I come up with the money?  Should I be spending money while my wife and I are saving to prepare for a family and home?  Why do I need to go all the way to Kenya to spread the Good News?  Aren’t you being a bad husband by going without your wife?  What kind of impact do you think you’ll actually be making, Rob?

On paper, there were a lot of reasons why this trip didn’t “make sense”.  Yet through all of it, I felt a strange tugging in my heart that wouldn’t go away.  I decided that I would spend time praying about it and let God make the decision for me.

Then some crazy things started to happen.  I began to get answers to my questions and resolutions to my concerns.

The money started to come out of nowhere.  Money was provided through various means to the point where it is no longer a concern.

Despite being unable to attend because of work, my wife, Soo, has been extremely supportive of me going.  She has been extremely encouraging throughout the whole process.  This reminded me how lucky a guy I am.  =D

So the only unanswered question that remained was: What impact are you going to have in Kenya, Rob?  When I continued through my meditation, I saw a slow transformation in answering this question.  It no longer became what am I going to do, but what is God going to do.  How will God use this missions’ trip to make an impact with the Kenyans?  How will God use this trip to impact each team member in his or her spiritual life?  I am excited to see what God has in store for us!

During my short inadequate preparation for this trip, I have found that an overall theme has become prevalent.  It is the need for prayer.  Whenever I address my concerns to God, he answers.  And though there are times when these answers aren’t what I’m expecting or desire, I have found peace in His decisions.

As I close this letter, I come to the most uncomfortable part and that is a request for support.  I’ve been told the better way to think about it is to call it a partnership.  So that is my simple request to you: your partnership.  I ask for your partnership in spending a few minutes of your time to pray for me.  I know some of you don’t believe in God but I still challenge you to try it.  I know it will be tough but think of it in this way: it’s like the Megamillions drawing. You never know.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.  I’d be happy to share more details about the trip whenever you have time. Lunch is on me!  =D

Your Brother in Christ,

Robert Kim

Prayer Requests:

For the Team:

1. Pray that God would adequately prepare our team through disciplined meditation of the Gospel and prayer, so that we are able to lovingly share about the love of Christ.
2. Pray for the students that we will be working with: Bethany Kindergarten, Tsimba Secondary, Maponda Primary; that our sharing of the Word and summer program would penetrate their hearts, so that they are able to know and love Christ.
3. Pray for our team’s physical and spiritual health during our time there.

For Missionaries and the Mombasa Area:

1. Pray for the local public school outreach and discipleship.  That God’s Wisdom would lead so that their ministry would be most effective.
2. Pray that Mr. and Mrs. Lee will be able to disciple and train local Kenyans, so that they can take on leadership roles and in the community.
3. Pray for sustained physical and spiritual strength for all the missionaries there.

Kenya Flag and Fast Facts
	Location:  Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and TanzaniaPopulation 39,002,772 Capital Nairobi Area 580,367 square kilometers (224,081 square miles) slightly more than twice the size of Nevada Language English, Kiswahili, numerous indigenous languages Literacy Percent 85	Religions: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%, other 2%note: Estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.3% 15-64 years: 55.1% 65 years and over: 2.6% Median age: total: 18.7 years male: 18.6 years female: 18.8 years

Sources: CIA.GOV and National Geographic

Facts from Mission Statement:

Mombasa

-          2^nd largest city in Kenya where we will be flying into.

Kwale

-          Region 1 hour away from Mombasa

-          Populated by Digo and Duruma tribes

-          80-90% Muslim

Matuga

-          99% Digo Muslim town

-          Bethany Missions Center complex built here.

a year later…

Wow…a year of married life has passed so quickly.  time flies, when you’re having (and sometimes, not having fun).  Its been both a wonderful roller coaster ride, filled with unknown drops, curves, and loops.  i realize that despite being together for most our 20s, we haven’t figured each other out completely.

for instance, i just found out that one of Soo’s biggest pet peeves is my constant noisemaking while eating.  slurping my hot Korean soups, and proclaiming “aaaahh” after a nice cup of coffee, didn’t sit well with my wife’s appetite, but it took over 8 years (!) to find out it bothered her.  talk about having patience!!!  

Soo is an amazing woman, and I am lucky to have her as my life partner.  I know this because despite all the obstacles that laid in front of us throughout these years, we have been able to hurdle them with the ease of Edwin Moses.  God has placed us together, as only He saw fit. 

We were fortunate enough to get away for a few days in St. Thomas to celebrate our 1st year anniversary.  I took a risk in booking the vaca being that it was hurricane season and what not, but the deal was too good to pass up. 

And fortunately for us, the weather held up until the very last day of our trip at 6 pm.  WE got to see beautiful beaches and other sites on the island, eat delicious (albeit sometimes expensive) foods, and meet wonderful natives and other travelers.  

Meanwhile we got word that the NyC area got hit with some horrid weather (torrential downpours, hurricanes, and such).  I guess we all get lucky sometimes… 

Its not to say that Soo and I didn’t have our share of disagreements during our trip.  its something we’ve grown accustomed to.  People’s reactions to our “interactions” are either laughter and joy because they feel like they are watching a live Korean version of the Honeymooners, or of discomfort or concern because they see it as very unhealthy.

and for us, either interpretation is fine.  As long as we stick to the 4 Ls rule: Love, Loyality, LOL, and most importantly, Lord, I know we’ll be ok.

Love you babe.

Ecclesiastes 9:9 (New American Standard Bible)

9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your ^(A)fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your ^(B)reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

Gene UPshaw

so if you read the sports news as often as I do, you probably read that Gene Upshaw died today, at a relatively early age of 63…

my first thoughts were good riddance…after all, this was the leader of the NFL’s Player Union, who refused to lend a helping hand to the retired players, only concentrating his efforts for current players in the league…

i read countless articles and watched numerous TV segments about broken NFL players who were now a shell of their former selves, physically crippled, and unable to pay for basic needs due to the exorbant amounts of monies spent on health related issues…

these tear jerking stories angered me of course…these were the pioneers of the sport, before there were things such as multimillion dollar contracts and endorsements…why couldn’t the NFL or at least the NLPA, put out some monies to help out their former brethren…

Especially Gene Upshaw…the guy was a former player, who was one of them…why did he not have a heart to help???

well, today i came across an article (http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1109275/index.htm) that presented a different side of the Gene Upshaw story…and it was a bit enlightening. in the least, it opened up a different perspective of a person who has been ripped up in the media and by the retired players…perhaps despite this article, Gene UPshaw deserves the crap that he gets…it doesn’t help that he pulls in 6Mill. a year.

but its always good to not jump the gun, and try to hear the whole story, isn’t it?

Words of affirmation

Words of affirmation…its one of those those things I struggle to provide to my wife.  i’ve always justified the lack of encouraging words to her because I’ve always felt that love through form of action, rather than words, are more effective vehicles of displaying this.  actions speak louder than words, do they not?

I felt that displaying my love could be seen by the fact that I provide financial stability for our family.  work my ass off and keep my internal struggles inside…thats how to “be a man”

interestingly enough, i only discovered through the help of our mutual friends, that my wife had been feeling slighted by me, because I had not been giving her simple words of encouragement…and that she felt the things I would communicate to her were criticisms, telling her what to do, solving her “problems”,etc, etc…in my stupidity, i was completely oblivious to what i was saying, and how my words and tone were being conveyed…

With further thought, i completely forgot about the times when i used to write long letters to Soo, just opening myself to her and sharing words of encouragement.  simple things like that were what she appreciated and looked forward to… Recently, either through assumption, or laziness i completely stopped…

it all hit home this past weekend, when my wife went off to a women’s retreat.  Jess, one of the retreat organizers, suggested that the men of the church write to the ladies, short words of encouragement.  at first, i didn’t understand the reasoning behind it.  i mean, i see my wife every day.  why do i need to write this letter?  she knows how much i love her and all that…

but in any case, I took a few minutes out of my work day, and put the following few words together…

Dear Soo,

Hope you’re having a good time…I know there was a part of you that was hesitant in going to this retreat, but it’s just another opportunity for God to share His love with you =).

Even though I complain that you worry about me too much and that you should trust me more, inside I am comforted that God has placed someone in my life that loves me so much as you do.

I love and miss you.  See you on Sunday.

Rob-boon

just to give you a little background, Soo really didn’t want to go to the retreat, but felt pressured into going.  it started on Friday, but Soo initially planned to wait until Saturday to go.  it annoyed the crap out of me. there was no reason for her not to go, she wouldn’t get the full experience.

finally, through my constant nagging, Soo reluctantly changed her mind and went on Friday.  so my letter kinda reflected a small apology for being a jerkface…

Fast forward to Sunday, Soo comes home (i didn’t get to go to church b/c my car broke down on the NJ turnpike…another post), and gives me a big hug.  we have our initial small talk and whatever, and then she shares how she was so touched that I wrote my little note and that she shared her note to the other girls.  she went on and on about it for some time.

lol the only thoughts going on in my head were that i probably sounded corny or whatever.  but it finally hit me that i wasn’t doing something fundamental to husband 101.

as a husband, one of the most important responsibilities are to shut up, listen, and encourage.  hopefully, i can remember to refer to this post as a helpful reminder to continuously perform this duty: remember to willingly and joyfully, vocally speak more words of encouragement , and take the time to write small notes letting her know I’m there for her. =p

a good type of argument…

reasons why my life is so good…and my wife is dabomb…

Fronkey: yoshi
Fronkey: u there?
me: hi lil jangu
me: whta u doing
Fronkey: what do you want me to make for dinner?
Fronkey: korean food?
me: i dont want anything
Fronkey: or american food?
me: u go to fg
Fronkey: i know
me: i’m going to eat leftovers
Fronkey: but i’ll make you dinner
me: its fine
Fronkey: before i leave
me: no its ok
Fronkey: do you want omurice?
Fronkey: or eggplant?
me: lol i told u its ok. i jsut watn to eat leftovers
Fronkey: there are no leftovers
Fronkey: i haven’t cooked anything
me: i rather u clean out the fridge today
me: if u have time
me: rather than u cook
Fronkey: the fridge is cleaned out
Fronkey: i threw all the stuff out
Fronkey: that we don’t eat
me: ok cool thanks.
me: i’ll be ok babe
me: love u

lol.  in all seriousness, arguments between husband and wife are a commonality…sometimes, arguments like the one posted above, are light and not too serious…and other times, they can be full blown, heated, destructive, unforgiving, unyielding, no-holds-barred, emotional confrontations where neither side can see eye-to-eye…

and wow, sometimes the arguments my wife and i have, can be HARSH!  I think the Joker puts it best when he says, “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.”

my wife and i have come to accept these types of confrontations as something we’ll go through.  Soo insists that its because we are both first born children, and used to running the show… perhaps it is.

i’m sure that open communication is a necessity for a solid marriage, but truthfully, these arguments get to be very tiresome and straining…oh well, nothing except God is perfect so i guess its something we have to go through…

whatever the case may be, a rule that we make sure to always follow is to squash any argument before we go to sleep.  That is, we apologize to one another, and sleep by each other’s side…

hmm, i’m not sure about what the point of the post was other than to say, that despite the arguments, there is no one i’d rather have it with…does that make sense?

the “Last Lecture”…

I heard about the “Last Lecture” for some time now, but avoided it as much as I could.  maybe it was because its one of those things like Jim Valvano’s last speech…one of those moving speeches that could possibly make me cry…

as a guy rule, I try not to be emotional…its not manly to shed a tear.

but after viewing it (warning: its 76 minutes so make sure to block out some time to watch), I was pretty inspired by Randolph Frederick Pausch’s words.

“I am flattered and embarassed by all the recent attention to my “Last Lecture.” I am told that, including abridged versions, over six million people have viewed the lecture online. The lecture really was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful. But rest assured; I’m hardly unique. Send your kids to Carnegie Mellon and the other professors here will teach them valuable life lessons long after I’m gone.”

lol, its funny because I was actually going to go to CMU until financial aid didn’t pan out…it would have been nice to meet the guy.

—-

edit:  wow, Pastor Neah did a sermon this past Sunday regarding the recent DR missions trip and it was cool how she plugged in the “Last Lecture”…head fakes is such an interesting concept…i think Mr. Pausch used football as the example.  But, to him he found that football taught him so much more than just the three point stance or how to read a play.  Football teaches players things like, “Teamwork, Sportsmanship, Perseverance…etc.” That’s the head fake. Kids go into something like football because they enjoy it. But, they get out of it life’s lessons that they will carry with them once their days of playing football are over.

wow, thats pretty powerful stuff.  and just like a child, i can see how God uses head fakes in my life to teach me important life lessons…pretty crazy

Dark Knight impressions…

unbelievable…i left the movie speechless.  

for the haters who didn’t understand the evolution of Batman, depicted by him taking the fall for Dent and other people’s death read this article.

“I can understand why many are bothered by what seems like a thematic rather than realistic choice for Batman to take the blame for the murders, but I think that’s only because they didn’t really touch on another significant reason for doing so…. other than to keep Dent as Gotham’s incorruptible white knight.

He is still in the process of developing the Batman persona. As Batman he is anonymous, so his human ‘weaknesses’ can’t be targeted as easily. He is also a symbol. The one thing that the Villains do have on him is he is self-righteous, and so they focus on that. In both movies the villains focus on Batman’s ‘one rule’ that he won’t break. It’s the one weakness in the Batman persona.

After the destruction of Harvey Dent and Bruce tells Alfred he has seen what he would have to become to defeat men like that. Men like that. He is not just talking about the Joker, but all the villains Batman must face in the future and the one he faced in the past.

In the end taking on the blame for the murders means future villains will no longer assume Batman is above killing them or anyone else. He will be even more feared by them, and will not be perceived as having that one weakness they can exploit or try to corrupt.

And thought that tarnishes the morality of the Batman symbol, he decides that Gotham doesn’t need Batman to symbolize morality any longer. They have a far better symbol for that… the white knight. This also may help solve the issue of the copycat Batmen running around with guns. He said early on in the film that when he wanted to inspire the people of Gotham that wasn’t what he meant. It was the unintended consequence of being a ‘moral’ symbol of justice.

He could better serve Gotham as a Dark Knight. Not one to be idolized and mimicked, it’d be better for them to idolize and mimic the symbol of Dent he helps manufacture. On the other hand he also can’t really start killing criminals or villains like the Joker or else he would be corrupted.

The end gives him his path out out of this issue… and it’s tragic. He is even more isolated.

The more I think about it, the more the movie seems to have pieces that back it up. The Joker tells Batman that as soon as it’s convenient they will turn on him for the freak he is. This assumes that Batman needs their acceptance. And maybe he did, but he evolved to no longer need that.

I guess the only weakness I see is that they didn’t have Batman and Gordan have that lengthy conversation before he takes flight, but now that would have been really contrived and unrealistic.”

New blog page…

following the footsteps of my friend Won, I decided to leave Xanga scene.  The contents of my posts will be the same, but I figured this is will be more anonymous, as I haven’t told anyone I moved…

Anyways, I read a fantastic article on ploomy titled

“The 12 Types of Pickup Basketball Players: Which Type Are You?”

I’ll post the contents here as the page might be down due to too many Diggs…

If you regularly play pickup basketball, then you can immediately recognize a certain kind of player. Go to any gym or playground across America, and you’ll probably notice most of these types of “ballers” [disclaimer: this term is used very loosely]. While you would want a few of these guys on your squad, most of them spend more time on the sidelines than the actual courts, as they’re typically on the losing squad and are quick to call next. Here are the 12 types of pickup basketball players.

1. Big Dude who Thinks He’s a Guard

You can recognize this baller immediately because he’s usually the tallest person on the court, yet he never bangs for rebounds and has an atrocious perimeter field goal percentage. He’ll lead a 3-on-1 fast break and pull up for a contested 17 footer. Despite repeated attempts to get him in the paint, he shrivels up like he’s taking a swim in the ocean. Next time you pick teams, be wary about choosing the biggest guy. NBA equivalent: Antoine Walker

2. Guy with the Endorsement Contract

He really doesn’t have a deal with a shoe company, yet he’s dipped from headband to toe in all the same gear, usually from Jordan Brand. He runs a little slower since he can’t crease his brand new kicks. Also his gear contains all the latest wicker proof technology, just in case he might break a sweat. He’s the person checking the other games not for people’s skill level, but more so to checkout what other people are rocking. NBA equivalent: Quentin Richardson

3. The Man

This cat hasn’t left the court in about 6 games since his team always wins, and still doesn’t get tired. He possesses a textbook jumpshot, finds the open man, and is efficient on defense as well as offense. And during these games, his actions look effortless. The best player on the opposing team tries to check him since he doesn’t possess the typical baller look, but he gets defeated along with the rest of his challengers. NBA equivalent: Steve Nash

4. The Fake Baller

This guy looks the part. Has a sinewy and strong body, has a basketball-themed tattoo, either rocks corn-rows or has a shaved head, wears a jersey from an old league he has participated in, and just appears to be a player. But in reality he sucks. He takes most of the shots on the offensive-end and slacks off on D. He possesses poor footwork and is a digital clock – aka no hands. NBA equivalent: Kwame Brown

5. The OG

You know this person because he is there everyday, as he’s a true gym rat. Those kicks he’s wearing aren’t the retro models, they’re just the original shoes. Just like older guys on the golf course always hit straight drives, the old cat is money from 20 feet in. Because he may have lost a step or 3 due to age, he’ll compromise this by playing a little dirtier, so watch them elbows, pulls and grabs. No one really calls off-the-ball fouls during pickup, so you might wish that someone else is guarding you rather than him. NBA equivalent: Robert Horry

6. The And-1 Guy

Probably the most despised in the group, this person watched one too many mixtapes. His basketball aspirations ended prematurely because he couldn’t make the simple pass or make an opposite hand layup, but he could do a 360 crossover between the legs at half-court. Besides either traveling or carrying during every other possession, he usually tries shots with a degree of difficulty of 15 on a 10 scale, and acts surprised when he misses it. In between his trash-talking, he yells “And one!” after every shot attempt. NBA equivalent: Smush Parker

7. The Player/Coach

This person plays with the mentality that every guy is his last. He wears knee braces on both knees and would wear a whistle around his neck if it didn’t get in the way. You might be cutting, yet he’ll yell “Cut!” He is also the first person to call out the screens for you, and remind you every possession if you fail do to so. He’s out calling plays, yet no one really listens to him. He’s scrappy on the defensive end and heady on the offensive side, and he looks for the pass more so than the shot. Yet despite his good intentions and knowledge of the game, he’s more of a liability on the court. NBA equivalent: Jacques Vaughn

8. The Football Player

This baller treats the hardwood as his personal gridiron. He probably just finished lifting weights, so he has even more adrenaline before the game even starts. He dives after every loose ball and fights for every rebound, so you want him on your team. He’s probably moving on all the screens he sets, just to feel that contact. He might even wear a mouthpiece for an added touch. NBA equivalent: Matt Harpring

9. The Perspirer

This guy looks like he just took laps around the pool with his clothes on. And worse yet, you’re guarding him with he’s playing on skins. He might have back hair or bacne or both, and naturally he always wants to play the post. You feel like you might catch some new disease from him after too much contact. He doesn’t use deodorant, as his body odor can enhance his interior game. NBA Equivalent: Andres Nocioni

10. The Hustler

He appears like he’s hustling because he’s huffing and puffing, not because of playing good defense but rather he’s out of shape. Since he is the 6th option on a 5-on-5, he doesn’t worry about getting offensive touches, and tries to contribute elsewhere on the court. If his physical attributes matched his passion for the game, then he would be formidable. He actually keeps his own stats easily because his line is filled with goose eggs. He is the Hustler because he’s hustling a more worthy player of playing time. NBA equivalent: Eric Snow

11. The Cherry-Picker

After a missed shot, usually by him, he casually tries to play D but ends up on the offensive end because the other squad already scored. He’s yelling for the ball since he has a breakaway and gets upset when he doesn’t receive the rock. He rarely ventures within 15 feet of the basket during a half-court set, is indifferent to D, and does not make an impact on the outcome of the game whatsoever. NBA Equivalent: JJ Redick [if he’s still in the NBA].

12. The Chick

There’s bound to be at least one chick during a run. She probably played Varsity for her high school but still maintains that competitive spirit. She’s a little more fundamentally sound than her counterparts, so she’ll generally make the right basketball decision. And she’s kinda cute in a weird sort of way. For some reason if you end guarding her, you almost want her to post you up, just be careful not to pitch a tent. WNBA equivalent: Sue Bird

Which type of player are you?

i’ll keep it real by calling my play similar to Eric Snow…just a hustler.

but for me bball is just a way to run around without getting bored, sweat out toxins, and play to win…

last night I trek’d down to Princeton to play at an open gym…i planned it all out, take an express train to Princeton Junction where my boy Harry would pick me up, head over to Hun school, play pickup games for a couple hours, hit Hoagie Haven for a Heart Stop, then train it back to Secaucus (wife pickup)…

well i neglected to think about the travel costs to go down there.  as i was paying for my train tickets, the cashier said “$23.50″…i was like “$23.50?”….she responds “$23.50″

*doh* kinda retarded to pay so much ($5bucks to play at open gym), but at this point it didnt matter.

anyways, we get there and eventually start a 4on4 pickup, later followed by a 5on5 pickup…

i was in horrific shape, but ran and hustled as best as I could…my shots were way off so i kept my attempts to a very minimum…

everything was going great…our team never lost a game…we are tied up in the last game, and i started feeling a twinge in my calf..

uh oh, cramping up….i try to ignore it and keep playing, but eventually my calf doesnt comply to my wishes, and down i went…

it was sad because i started screaming like a girl…as a couple of the dudes tried to straighten my leg, another dude yelled out “thats what she said”

low blow…made me a bit sad inside…not b/c of the comment, but b/c i had gotten into such bad physical shape, that i could no longer play for 2 hours straight..

pathetic…

i guess that humility goes hand in hand with passing age..for me, that is…

as much as I’d like to ignore the obvious signs, i’m getting old…*sigh*