Wednesday, November 30, 2005
so much to say
i’ve had so much to say over the past couple’a days but unfortunately it was always at the wrong time, like, when i lost internet, or when i had to teach, or while i was driving, or when… well, you get the idea. i wanna talk about the crazy dreams i’ve been having lately, i wanna share ‘deep thoughts’ i’ve had about life in general, i wanna say how happy i am right now, or how tired i am, and the causes of both of those. geez… but unfortunately, i have to go prepare for my next few classes again, so i’m not gonna do any of those and instead i’m just gonna say that i have tons to say. one of these days maybe i can get all my thoughts “down on paper” (or out there on the internet… whatever.... you know what i mean). so yah. let’s hope i get my work finished soon…
Monday, November 28, 2005
5 days off can make you lazy
i haven’t done anything work-related since tuesday when our staff meeting ended at 3pm. yup. and boy, was it nice!!! that, combined with the cold this morning, made it incredibly hard to feel motivated to get up in the morning. i just wanted to turn off my alarm clock and tuck in until it warmed up outside.
i have to say, though, that i really enjoyed this break. i didn’t get a whole week off but it was sure a heckuvalot better’n last year’s break =) we had tuesday night dinner with both kat & rita, wednesday night at square1, thanksgiving in montebello (where i won $20), yammerz thanksgiving on friday (where i won $30), cosmic bowling on saturday, and then just chilled and watched a movie on sunday. nice ‘n relaxing… yes, it was… the way a vacation should be…
Saturday, November 26, 2005
happy Sabbath!
my dad is speaking today at the grove, so that should be nice… happy Sabbath y’all!
Thursday, November 24, 2005
happy thanksgiving!
i’m thankful for my job and my school, which i love. i’m thankful that God took care of me this summer and that His timing was perfect, even though it seemed like everything was falling apart this summer those were just temporary delays as he kept me waiting for my interview at the Grove.
i’m thankful for family, and that i get some time off today to be able to see them. i’m thankful that my cousins invite my family over like we’re siblings and that we have one large family to share the holidays with. i’m thankful for the good food and the good times we have whenever we get together, whether it’s a big holiday like today or whether it’s just when i’m stopping by, because the house is always open to me.
i’m thankful for my friends, both the new and the old. it’s very nice to be included in a group that’s been friends since they were little even though i just met them this year. i’m thankful that woy asked me to join so that even though i mostly hang out with the guys to play sports or poker, the girls are still my friends too. i’m thankful that my old friends and i can get together for a weekend here or there and the conversation just flows. i’m also thankful that my ‘old friends’ allowed me into -their- group back in the day - they too had been friends since forever and i was adopted into the group as an add-on… and they forget that i wasn’t around for the younger years because we fit together so well =) that’s always nice…
i’m thankful for tuesday nights…
i’m thankful for the internet =)
and in general, i guess i’m just thankful that God has taken good care of me. he’s blessed me in so many ways, and i’m sure i don’t even know the half of it. i’m sure he’s offered me protection from things i didn’t know i was in danger of, he’s given me blessings when i don’t know what it’s like to be without… for small things like being able to walk or even being able to type this post, i wouldn’t be able to do any of it without God’s blessings, and i take it for granted as everyday life… so for all those things, everything He’s done, i’m thankful =)
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
laptop party
hahahhaa… the three roomies are reunited, and we hung out on monday night. everyone had something to do, but at least we did it in each other’s company =) hahahha… and yes, at one point in the evening, we emailed each other - rita sent me an email about watching rent today, and kat forwarded me a picture i had lost (but one that was originally taken with my camera). i dunno if you can tell the laptop sizes but kat’s 17-inch mac is the papa bear, and rita’s 15-inch is the mama bear, and my li’l 12-inch is the baby bear.... =) this is reminiscent of the days in the old house when everyone would come over to watch the laker game but we’d all be studying/working/browsing the web on our own machines… i think we maxed out at 6 laptops and 1 pda =) don’tcha just love how we spend time together?
Monday, November 21, 2005
picture taking IS fun!
if you don’t know by now, i’m a picture taking maniac! i’ve taken over 13,000 pictures with my current camera, which is my second digital. back in the days of my first camera, we’d take group pictures w my own left hand, even though i was in the picture myself. we’d end up with multiple variations of the same picture, trying to fit us all in the frame. with kat around, this would usually result in us making funny faces and basically having multiple funny variations of the same pics. i’d wanna print them all… so i would end up just tiling them into one pic and printing them out 9 to a page so that i wouldn’t have to make 9 prints of subtley different pics.
sorta like this:
yah… so that’s how i ended up with so many pictures =)
people (and by ‘people’ i mean ‘perry’) are always like, “dude! why do you take so many pictures!” and they CLAIM to not like taking pictures… OHHH, but i have evidence to prove otherwise!!
hehehehe....
Sunday, November 20, 2005
mmmm... creme brulee...
so last wednesday, inspired by my brother’s success at baking pastries, i decided to try to make creme brulee. i think i was most excited about the torch! so i stopped by several stores looking for a torch, ramekins, and then the ingredients. i got the extra cute star ramekins even though they were 3 times the price of the regular round ones, but i think they’re too deep to make a good brulee. maybe they’ll be perfect for a chocolate souffle or something =)
anyways, i was real excited about my star shaped brulees and we had so much fun torching our own star. the creme part wasn’t as done as i’d’ve liked it to be, but the brulee part was awesome! i’ll just have to try the recipe again to see if i can do it right =) oh, and what fun i’ll have trying!
Saturday, November 19, 2005
clippers vs lakers
i went to the clipper game tonight…
...with alan, vicky, and dave
the clippers led the entire game - several times the lakers caught up and tied the score, but elton always answered with a basket, and they would pull ahead again. it was a pretty exciting game, and we were the only clipper fans sitting in our area, all decked out in red surrounded by a whole bunch of yellow jerseys. we didn’t let them intimidate us, and we’d yell and scream and cheer for our team regardless of the opposition sitting near us. it was alotta fun… and i’m glad my team won =)
and then i had to go take a picture with my boy, #4, luke walton =) hahahaha… he didn’t get to play tonight, but that’s ok. i’ll just have to make sure to make it to another laker game =)
Thursday, November 17, 2005
glove? balloon? hat?
sometimes my students can seem so smart....
but what is up with the balloon/glove that he’s blowing up with his nose?!?!?! wow…
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
the last samurai
ryan’s hair is getting pretty long...and when he ties it back like that he reminds me of the last samurai =) ok… trying to be tom cruise! hahahhah… anyways, i took this pic of him posing with knife in hand (i know, you can barely see it) at “potluck” at elephant bar this weekend.
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Monday, November 14, 2005
wabi sabi
today i went with laurie out to santa monica to visit my brother =) we got there towards the end of the farmer’s market and had some yummy quiche and just sat in the victorian watching him work and catching up on life. it was really neat just being able to hang out with the puen side of my family =) living out here in the IE i’ve been surrounded by the banaags, and i don’t normally like heading out to LA at all. but it was nice having a sunday just for them.
i was supposed to head back to loma to hang out with WOY but then my brother said i had to go to his restaurant and try his food. it’s technically not even his restaurant anymore, since he no longer works at wabi sabi, but they still serve the desserts that he created, so it was still cool. his pomegranate creme brulee was awesome! and i really hope he teaches me how to make that and also how to make the mushroom potstickers - i normally don’t eat anything mushroom, but this stuff was mmmm… so yummy!
i met my brother’s volleyball classmates mika, mariko, and kohei (but i’m not sure i’m spelling their names right...)
and we took a picture with laurie
and my brother finally came out of the restaurant to take a picture with us =) he knew everyone there and was catching up with all his friends - hostesses, waiters, bussers, and the sushi chefs… i think it’s cool that he knows everyone =) and it’s obvious that they all love him and want him to work there again. i’m glad i got to go with them and spend time with my family =)
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Friday, November 11, 2005
the dance of life
so… last saturday night amanda, chris, and i went swing dancing for shelia’s 30th bday… and i was marveling at how the guys know how to lead and the ladies know how to follow their lead. to me, it’s amazing that two people who haven’t ever danced together before could dance in harmony together, depending on how well the guy could communicate his intentions through his actions as he led.
then again, last night, i went with jill and amanda to sevilla for salsa dance. we stopped by early for the quick lesson, and then at the end they told us to grab a partner and told the guy what to do to lead us and make us turn. then they turned on the music and set us loose. i was pleasantly surprised at how many guys were good leads there, since i consider myself a beginner, but they had me dancing at a more advanced level. it was pretty funny how every once in a while i’d flub it up totally and realize he wanted me to turn to the left and i was already headed to the right and my hands would fly out of their lead and i’d realize that i read it wrong. usually, when that happened, i’d laugh, and then ask them what it was they were trying to do. and then if they tried it again i would do the right thing… i guess i amazed some of them cuz then they told me that i learned quickly, and that i was good for a beginner. but i would have to give all the credit to them for being such a great lead, because they were able to pull me up to their level.
i made a comment before i went to sevilla’s - that when you go out there you see the old couple that are so fluid together you know they’ve been dancing together for years! i’ve always thought it’d be nice to have that kind of dance partner where you know each other so well that there would never be the misunderstandings like i had last night, but we’d be able to dance beautifully together on the floor complementing each other and moving in harmony with each other. and i guess… it made me think of that metaphor, ‘the dance of life’, and i realize that the give and take between two people is so similar to what you see out there on the dance floor. how lovely it must be to be an old married couple where you know what each other wants without having to verbalize it, but instead you’re able to move together in complete harmony because you’ve worked through all the misunderstandings when you were younger, and you’ve just gelled with the other person. but that’s something for later in life… it’d be nice, even at the stage of life i’m in right now, just to find the person who makes me dance at a better level, metaphorically speaking. just to be able to understand the pushes and pulls to move in harmony and learn what each other means by our actions…
Thursday, November 10, 2005
on his way out
last night i went to the pool club with rafa and juanito… it was sorta nice having something to do since i’m trying to stay away from gym night (my ankle is outta commission again!!), but mostly, i went just to hang out with rafa a li’l bit.
see, i read his post the other day, and i was wondering what that meant… and i knew i’d have to find out in person. it turns out he’s moving to oregon… go figure… i finally have some friends (kat) moving back to town, and now other ones are leaving. hmmm… how weird =/ anyways.... there wasn’t a big to-do about him leaving, no ‘i’ll miss you’ or anything else like that. i did ask if he was gonna have a going away shindig, which he isn’t, and i said we should hang out sometime again before he takes off… but that was about it. no fuss. i guess it’s just one of those things i’m getting used to - that my friends aren’t necessarily the people who live in the same town as me or who i will see in my weekly activities… but instead, my friends are those (who happen to be spread all over the world) who have helped me discover who i am.
even though we played many games (i won the first two and the last two, and played cutthroat and a few other games in between) it would seem we spent more time picking music on the jukebox and talking than actually playing. a li’l bit o’ life plans, a li’l bit o’ relationship talk, and of course, a li’l bit of rafalosophy. he thinks i was doggin’ him last time cuz of what i posted, but even tho i might tease him about his delivery style of jamming it down our throats, i still enjoy conversations like these with my friends. i like it when my friends theorize on the best way to live a full life, partly because i’m looking for them to share their wisdom, but also just because i know that they’re honest with me, and they’ll tell me exactly what they think of what i’m doing with my life, whether it’s good or bad. whether it’s late night roomie talks with kat, 2am phone calls with ching, the occasional visit with rafa, driving ‘round loma linda with alan, or weekends with merv, and emails/blog comments with several other close friends, i know that each of them has their own style of keeping me in check, and i do my part with them to keep ‘em honest to what they’ve told me they wanna be.
i guess this is the part of friendship that i’m talking about… the part where we stay friends through thick and through thin, where it’s not all fun and games and hanging out with each other, but tackling the larger issues of life, knowing that they’ve got my back. these are the people i can count on, no matter how long it’s been since i’ve seen any particular one of them.... they’re the ones i was talking about… the ones i said i get excited when i see that they’re calling me =) i’m willing to open my life up to them for scrutiny and harsh criticism, and yes, they can be WAY hard on me sometimes… no, i’m not talking about rafa last night, i’m just talking about my friends in general. when there are so many people in my life, why do i choose to open up to them? especially when i know they’ll give me their brutal honest opinion? i guess i could say i appreciate that they’re willing to spend the time and energy evaluating my situations and helping me think about what i’m doing, instead of letting me do whatever… and, even though it might be tough on me, there’s a sense of security i have knowing that while they might not approve of what i’m doing, they love me all the same. and we’ve weathered the storms together, and our friendship holds true.
what more could you want?
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
i knocked out his tooth!
this past Sabbath at church, griffin, cole, & connor were running around following each other, and just having a lotta fun. i went over to the corner they were zooming thru and knelt down and said, “hey, come kiss me!” griffin ran to me first and kissed my cheek, then cole followed, and then connor ran up and kissed my shoulder =) it was so adorable!
then i heard griffin talking to ate becky and she was saying, ‘that happened when you kissed auntie kimi?’ and i wondered what was going on. turns out… his tooth was so loose, when he came up to kiss me it knocked his tooth outta his head =) hahahahha… he was so proud o’ himself he showed all of his aunties/uncles and we all took pictures (you can see ate becky’s relatives in the background - they were visiting from oregon)
griffin’s the only one who calls me auntie kimi, by the way. cole has started calling me “kimi”, thinking it’s hilarious and telling everyone i’m no longer his auntie. i’ve started calling him “uncle cole” to get him back =) hahahaha… we’ll see how long that lasts.
connor, on the other hand, started calling me “auntie donna” and wouldn’t stop laughing!
(click on the picture to download the video of him giggling and saying ‘auntie donna’ over and over again)
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
indestructible tower of jenga
perry and i played jenga and then we decided just to play ‘building blocks’ instead. we divided up the pile of blocks and tried to see who could build the higher tower. i, of course, had the taller tower (11 heights and 8 widths tall), while perry kept on talkin’ smack and saying that his bigger’n’better tower was soon to come… but he stopped trying and decided instead to turn them into dominoes, creating this trail that would lead to the destruction of my towering building =) hahahaha… if you click on the picture you can see his attempt at destroying my tower… yes… only an attempt =) my tower stood tall and proud =)