School Daze

There are a few things I love about school. Today was a great reminder:

Since it was Christopher Columbus Day, the Credit Union was closed. That meant I didn't have to wake up super early to be there by 8:30a. Thank goodness! I woke up at nearly 11:00 this morning. I took my sweet time gettin' ready for class--had a big breakfast, bathroom time (which included a shower, teeth brushing, and a mini facial), and skimming over the Law Book. Yep. Communication Law. Nice, huh?

Well, I scurried on out of the house 15 minutes before class started and scoured the first level of the parking structure upon arrival. Bingo. Thank You, Lord, for that parking spot! After trekking those most hated Hills, I reached my final destination just a few minutes late. With the lectured already started I whipped out my handy-dandy notebook and doodled. Not.

An hour had passed, and it turned out I was the last one into class. To my dismay, some guy comes waltzing in and sits right in front of me. I expect him to take out a note-taking contraption, but instead chooses to turn around ever-so-friendly to ask, "What time does class start?" Is this fool really asking me that question!? In all niceties and such, I simply and quietly reply, "Two." Ugh. Then a flood of sarcastic remarks and looks came upon me. I suppose I am glad that my response was short and sweet; however, I would have relished the opportunity to be a little snooty booty.

So what was that I loved about school? Silly stories such as this. Don't worry; I've had my share too. Remember that one time I walked into class and didn't know there was a test!? Oh, the good times.

Disney Days

So the Disney Days are back with the mama! My momma, DLand, and sweet fellowship--what more could a daughter ask for? We made our tracks out of the hometown to The Happiest Place on Earth for our favorite breaded bowl of soup from Boudin, fireworks, and Fantasmic! engrossed with God and His glorious plan for our lives and the lives of others. It was a great time for my mom to remind me that I need to trust God with my brothers' lives and to stop worrying about how things are going to turn out. Maybe I need to trust in Isaiah 55:11. Maybe I need to read the Word more, period. Maybe I need to spend more time in prayer. Maybe I need to do all of the above more. Mm, I think yes. PtL for quality time with the mom. God knew I needed it.

Engaged

Sunday's message was a simple and blessed challenge, taken from Matthew 28:16-20. I needed to be reminded about Jesus' authority and His command to go out.

I want to be engaged. I want to be engaged with God and His work for His kingdom. I want to be engaged, filled to the brim with love. I want to love God's people so much that it would cause them to pause and realize His love for them. I want to wake up from this daze of an ordinary day; I want to participate in the extraordinary wonders of God's everyday miracles. I want to be engaged.

Dear God, Give me the grace I need to live out this engagement. Amen.

P.S. Today was my cousin's engagement party. Congrats Cousin! Love you much!

Long Days

The days seem too long when you're cooped up inside a dreary building with depressing walls. Don't get me wrong, I thank God for His perfect provisions. There are a few things I need to spruce up. Pictures? Flowers? I need to see some color! I need to see some faces with smiles! I need happy!

Enough of the boring. Well, there's not much else. When I come home, I'm hungry, tired, and in need of some kind of outlet to make me feel alive. I'm too young to be livin' so old! Kidding. How's your summer? I'd really like to catch up sometime. Looks like email and text are the best ways right now, unless you'd like to schedule an appointment?

Ha. An appointment. "Do you have an appointment?" I think I'm going to watch that movie tomorrow; that's if I have it!

Summer Time

Summer started on Monday, and I missed it! How did that happen? Finals are over, school is done; how did I miss the beginning of summer? I don't want to miss one bit of it anymore. Unfortunately, life isn't that easy.

I'd love to be young and care-free again, to watch t.v. 'til the break of dawn. I dream of driving off in the early morn for who-knows-what to come home in the evenings for an impromptu pool party. I want to spend a lazy day at home in my jammies, prepared for a marathon of movies and a series of shows to watch. I just want free time to do stuff. I don't care what that stuff is, as long as it has nothing to do with an eight hour obligation.

Oh, the taste of the real world, it is bittersweet. I don't enjoy the toil, but I do love the reward. This summer's plans aren't what I want, but it's God wants for me. This summer is for learning, for growing, for attempting to understand God's plan for my life. Let's see where this summer takes me; hopefully, I'll update more!

Everyday Grace

God gives grace like no other!

I most totally do not deserve the grades, but God has blessed and kept me by His grace--including all other aspects of my life for the past two months.

God has just showered me with His blessing with a job, supportive family and friends, and wisdom to name a few. This isn't a joke. I asked, and He gave. There was so much to learn and be grateful for. One thing that God continually reminds me to do, is to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. It's by His grace that I will.

Let's get together for some stories. I'd love to share with you!

Hangin'

Remember my Surf City Half Marathon? The toes took a beating. Now my toenail is hangin' by a skin. Just thought you should know.

P.S. The other two are still too gruesome to look at, but I do it anyway. Scratch that. I don't look; I ogle over it. Haha! Ew.

Bu--ons

I-'s a -ery la-e Sa-urday nig--, and I would lo-e -o s-ar- on wri-ing papers for my final week of s--ool. Don'- ask -ow i- -appened, i- jus- did. W-a- s-all I do now? Borrow a -ompu-er? Buy a new one? Maybe i- would be more effe--ie if I did i- --e old-fas-ioned way--wri-ing by -and. I'm a bi- frus-ra-ed, bu- flabbergas-ed a- --e w-ole si-ua-ion. I'm reminded of a book I read long ago, Ella Minnow Pea. I- is a fi--ional s-ory abou- a -ommuniy and i-s leaders, w-o de-ided -o slowly remo-e le--ers from --e alp-abe- as --e s-ory progressed. How does i- rela-e -o my si-ua-ion? Well, I find i- ex-ep-ionally diffi-ul- in finding synonyms for words I would use o--erwise, -en-e --e -yp-ens. Ella Minnow Pea is an in-eres-ing read. I jus- mig-- read i- again. Hopefully, --is problem will go away if I res-ar- --e sys-em. Here's -o -ope.

O-, wai-! I found a solu-ion! T-ose missing le--ers appear only if I use --e s-if- key! Howe-er, my papers wouldn'- look as professional or impressi-e if I use --e following:

abCdefgHijklmnopqrsTuVwxyz

THaT would be ridiCulous. And I Tried using THe Caps loCk buTTon--fail. WHaT To do in suCH liTTle Time.

EDIT: Problem solved! All my computer needed was some R&R! Saved me a ton of money.

Ketchup

Time to play catch up with blogging and such.

Die Familie: My momma had a quiet celebration with the fam including Nicole. She had everything, a giant pancake from the Guasti Homestyle Cafe (her fave breakfast stop), browsing stores at the Ontario Mills, and an early dinner at Yashima (the family's beloved Japanese joint). My parents are growing into their years, so we all need to watch how we treat our bodies. Philip is graduating next month. Yep. NEXT. MONTH. Mitch is hustlin'--in getting his school stuff situated! It's about time! I look at my little, little brother, and I don't see him so little anymore. They're both not little anymore, and I miss 'em being so young and carefree. Time waits for no one, for sure. I'm happy to watch these two grow into young men, though Mitch has a lot more growing. Why are they growing up so fast?! Nicole is as sweet as ever. The other day, she baked these bomb choco chip cookies. Choco ANDES MINTS cookies! Deeelish.

Die Schule: The quarter is just about halfway through! I've made a friend or two or three, including an accountability partner! God has mosdef answered my prayers about having friends at school, let alone a sister in Christ!! PtL, for sure!! And I've some challenges ahead of me, and I'm ready to tackle 'em. Which reminds me, I've got a massive case study to handle by Friday.

Die Arbeit: Crazy. Unpredictable. Tiresome. I have a job, but don't. I tutor on days the kid has math homework. Aside from tutoring, I pretend I'm an arsty-crafty type o' gal. I make stuff, doodle stuff, and other stuff. I tried the Etsy thing, but it didn't succeed much. My motto: Try, try, and try again! What about picking up a temp job at a credit union as an accounting clerk? Thank God for an opportunity like this!

Das andere Ding: Sheesh. There's so much more to say and do! I want to do this. I need to do that. "I'll tell you about it. When are you free?" type stuff. I mosdef need to fix up this computer. My dad recently wiped my hard drive clean because it contracted a virus. Yep. Sucks, but it's like brand new now. I just don't know what happened to my Google Sidebar, that icon tray at the top, and my scrolling sidebar on the touch pad. Help me. On top of that I need to download all these things I need and upload other stuff. Wah.

I need to handle this business. We'll ketchup soon! And like I almost always say, "Pictures to come soon", but it never is soon enough. You still love me, don't you?

Marathon

I ran half a marathon last Sunday, February 07. I am so thankful for the grace God gave me to finish it. Stories to come, so stay tuned.

Saturdays

I love Saturdays. It isn't because it's my day off from work--by the way, I don't work anymore. I love Saturdays because after a week of watching loads and loads of television, we have time together as a family to try out places we've seen on our fave shows! It began Saturday, January 30, 2009.

My Saturday began with some t.v. surfing through my family's fave networks: FLN, Discovery: Travel, Food Network--you get the idea. Slowly, each family member woke up and moseyed into the family room and plopped onto the couch or the computer. Philppe's anyone? Yes, please! We all got dressed, except for Philip, headed out the door and hopped on the Metrolink.

Let me tell you, I love the train. It's nice to take it easy every once in a while. There are so many experiences to be had, like taking it easy, seeing faces ready for adventure, and the quiet, elderly couples; but there a few that I could do without. These were noisy children, people almost falling over on you while the train is moving, and overhearing CRAZY life stories. For reals. I overheard this one person talking about living in the projects of LA with a bunch of other people, mostly women. This person went on to tell experiences of jail time, the eye-witnessed murder of his mother, escaping to San Bernardino for a fresh start, and whole bunch of other crazy stuff. Crazy I tell you, crazy.

After the train ride, walked all over Union Station and made our way out to Philippe's. Man, this place is DEEELISH!! If you haven't been, you must--it's worth it. I was so excited to eat a double-dipped roast beef sandwich that I forgot to take a picture of the establishment. I regret not having eaten breakfast because of this, BUT lunch was soo worth it. My double-dipped roast beef sandwich, potato salad, and lemonade.

After Philppe's, we walked around Olvera Street and had ourselves more goodies to munch on. Yep. Churros, Mexican candies, taquitos drenched in avocado sauce, tamarindo juice, and horchata. We were so full from everything, we had to sit out and watch the world go by for a while. No pictures because I was feeling a bit slothful after the mouthfuls of yum. We could have walked around China Town too, but we'll save it for another Philippe's trip.

So where to next? I don't know yet, but I'm sure it will be just as tasty as this trip. I can hardly wait!

Antithesis

Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we SUCCEED.

Post-It

This is for you. You know who you are. Thank you, thingsweforget. 'Til next time, have a wonderful week.

Highlights

I miss thumbing through that magazine. On a more reflective and meaningful note, some moments I would love to relish upon as the third full week of January 2010 comes to a close are:

My Dad turned 50. My relationship with my family is tighter than it has ever been. I discovered my love for learning and physical activity. My closest grandparents--Lola, Grama, Grampa--are praising the Lord all day and all night. I had a bad Spring 2009. I had a great Fall 2009. I made some new school friends. My family has Verizon Fios. My cousin Jen and I are inseparable. I met some strangers who were later to be revealed as family; apparently I have a famous pastor uncle.

So a few of the aforementioned may seem insignificant or irrelevant to others, but it covers the spectrum of big and small things that happened. And I didn't realize that we're in a new decade now. What!? When did that happen?

Major Do

Major 10 To Do's

1. Realize the need for an insistent and incessant prayer life
   
2. Re-Cultivate a love for reading, especially the Living Word
3. Handle the irresistible impulse to be idle
4. Reason the importance of a minor
5. Commit to school and its end
6. Let the creative juices flow and permeate the lifestyle
7. Make consistent life changes for the health
   
8. Play an instrument well
   
9. Take advantage of opportunities
10. Be grateful for all things and in all things

Ten things to handle and check during 2010. Wowzers. That's a lot to be accountable for, and these are the published ones! Here's to the year: Let it be a good one.

All Ready

School starts Monday. Wow. A few more things I need to get done before the school life sucks fun out of life: blog about life in the '09, list 10 things to do for '10, and have somewhere between 12-20 units for the Winter quarter.

A bit ambitious, am I? It is all good and gravy because I have a life now. If you are wondering about how this can be possible, please stop. This is all made possible by the leap of faith I took by quitting. Yes. I quit that thing cold turkey. I dropped it like a hot potato. I may not have money, but living is more important. Thank God for God and all who He is. I promised that details are to follow. If they don't, then drop me a message. I would be more than grateful to fill you in on how life has been lately.