New Year's Resolutions

I was just wondering what some of you were thinking about for your New Year's Resolution. I haven't really come up with anything, and I don't know that I will. But I am really thinking about getting a gym membership and starting to work out regularly. What better way than this: Bally's Total Fitness.


Have a happy New Year and give me a call on my cell at 12 if you want. Peace.

Favors

Do you ever feel sometimes that people only call you when they need something? Well that is how I have been feeling lately. Certain friends only call when they want something, to hang out or whatever, and then employers only call when they need you to work.

I have been an employee at this restaurant for three years now, and I am thankful that I always have a job when I get home on vacation. However, I do not like the fact that they always wait till the last minute to call me into work. This is what must go through their heads, "let's not schedule Val as much, that way we know she will not be busy and then we can always call her when something goes wrong and we need someone asap." I swear this is their logic. And it sucks, I hate it. I just keep thinking to myself, it could be worse, I could have no job at all and then I would be in trouble. So I am thankful for my managers and all, but it still sucks being called in an hour before they need you, or right when they need you.

Enough of my grumbling, I need to go get ready for work, because they just called me in to work. Peace.

I thought that was only for school?

When I came home for winter break, I was left without a job for some time. During this time I sat around and wondered what I should do, so Andrew told me to read and listen to what God was trying to tell me. So that is what I did. I went down to Barnes and Noble, and picked up a few books that he recommended. Also, for Christmas my parents bought me some Bible Studies. So I started reading the book, In the Name of Jesus, but put it down after Christmas and picked up the study of Ruth. I have always loved the story of Ruth, she is an amazing woman. So now, I am studying the book of Ruth as a whole, and not just the person. It is amazing to me how God can put certain things in your life just at the right time. The study is talking about love, not just romantic love, but love in all relationships, which is something that I have been struggling with lately.

So that is what I am reading/studying right now. But I also plan on studying King David and Elijah (the other two studies my parents got me).

Today I am thankful for long time, life-long friends. They are always around no matter what and are always going to be there no matter what. I love them.

Beliefs

Today I am thankful for differences of opinion. If everyone believed the same things, felt the same way about all issues, and had the opinion on every issue, this world would be very boring. I love being able to sit down with different people in my life, and talk about different issues. I also find interesting that I can have serious debates now that I am older and more mature. I used to get so defensive and upset when someone couldn't understand what I was trying to say, or when they told me I was wrong and didn't agree with me. But now I know better and can accept that they don't agree with me, and that is cool, that is a great thing.

I am not thankful for ignorance. I was listening to a conversation that was taking place in my living room today and I got very offended. A comment was made that a young man was "a loser." As the conversation progressed, I heard that this man was a firefighter who had moved to California and started his own life. Now I ask, how does any of that make him a "loser?" I just don't understand some people. I think that being on your own and providing for yourself as well as your community is something so amazing, and should be praised. Firefighters, paramedics, and police risk their lives everyday to save those around them including you and me when called upon. No matter what circumstances they are in, they should never be called "losers." I hate when some well-to-do person looks down on someone else because they can't provide the best for themselves, but they get by and they live happily, they are not losers. I just want to tell some people to get off their high horse and look at life from a different perspective. It is not about having the nicest, cleanest house, or the best/ newest car, or the biggest ring on your finger. What matters is how you deal with what God gives you. God will only give you what He can handle for you, and what you can handle.

Back to life once again

Today I had to return to work after a very fun and exciting holiday. This weekend was awesome getting to hang out with family (especially my niece and nephew). I love being able to hang out and chat and play games (such as pinochle). I am so lucky and thankful to have a wonderful like mine. It makes me sad when I hear of people whose families are broken, or not as tight knit as mine. I want everyone to be as happy as I was, and it breaks my heart to hear that some families to have the love and devotion like we do.

I am also thankful for Jesus Christ who came and died for my sins. If it were not for him, my life would not be the same. I am thankful that I found Christ at an early age and was not tempted by society. I am thankful that I can have relationships with Christians and non-Christians alike. It makes me happy when people see Christ through me, and my actions. Thanks be to God.

Happy Holidays

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and to all a good night. I hope your holiday was all that you wanted and that you understand the real meaning behind the word CHRISTmas. May God bless you and keep you.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Well I finally got my butt in gear and got myself a job. I am going back to the restaurant I always go back to, Coho Cafe. YAY! I have to say that I am very thankful to them for always having a place for me, or making a place for me. It is nice to feel that they value my work so much that they would do that for me. And of course, I love the people that I work with. Coho is like my second family. I have a family friend that works there named David. He is like my second father. A lot of my friend's moms are my 2nd, 3rd, or 4th mom, but I don't have many other fathers besides my own. So David takes care of me, and makes sure that nobody hurts me. If you need more explanation just ask Bill about David.

So today I am thankful for work, and the people I work with.

Got to get ready to head to work. Peace.

Congrats

I was talking to Bill and I heard that Jono and Erin had their baby. Congratulations to them!!! That is so exciting. It sounds like everything went well and Erin and the baby are doing great.

If anything like that happens in Cali while I am gone and you hear about it, please call me and tell me or comment here or email, do something so that I feel informed and loved. Thanks. Peace.

Best Wishes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TED!!!! Today my big bro turns 31. Oh my gosh....that means I turn 21 soon!!! Watch out!!

Rain Rain go away

I don't understand why little children always want the rain to go away. Why can't you go outside and play in it? It is more fun to play in the rain than it is to play in the sun when it is really hot, or at least I think so. Today as you can probably tell, I am thankful for the rain. I love WA rain, it is not like CA rain, where it either drizzles or down pours. Here it rains and it rains hard for days. The only down side is that it is very dark. It is only 12 in the afternoon but it feels like 7. Anyhow, rain does not need to go away. Although I do hope for snow soon. I really want a white christmas.

Yesterday was an adventure and a half. My mom and dad went shopping at Costco early in the morning, and then I met them around noon. From there, my mom and I went to a few local stores to check for gifts and then headed to the dreaded Toys R Us. Oh my gosh, it was insane. That store was packed with people, but the check out lines weren't too bad. Then we headed to another Toys R Us which wasn't as crowded but the lines were long. Then my mom had the wonderful idea of going to the mall. YAY, did you catch that sarcasm? I was not thrilled about going to the mall, but I did anyways to have some quality time with mom. It was fun, not too crowded and I even got some clothes that were not for christmas which was cool. So yesterday was a long day, my mom and I were shopping yesterday for almost 11 hours. That is crazy to think about. You can imagine all the money we spent. OUCH!!!

Peace.

Whistle while you work

Today I am thankful that my parents have an extra car so that I can use it when I come home.

Today I spent most of the afternoon driving around downtown Bellevue looking for jobs. So far I have applied at the Pine Lake Club (an athletic club near my house), Toys R Us, and a small little store called Lakeshore Learning Center. All three have taken my application and said that somebody would call me.

I really hate it when managers think they are too busy to step outside their office for two minutes and talk to applicants. I think that they need to get a first impression of all applicants. Maybe that is just me, but it really helps. Oh yeah, and Tim is also talking to his boss at Sears to try and find me a job. So now I just have to sit and wait to hear back from people. My next few days are probably going to be spent sitting around and waiting, or calling managers back that I gave apps to.

And all my friends come home this weekend. YAY!!! Peace.

Its a brand new day

Today marks something new on my blog. I want to use my blog, not only as a journal of thoughts, but as a journal of thanksgiving and gratitude. Each day I am going to give one thing that I am thankful for that made this day a little bit better. It might be a person, a group of people, an object, or something random. I think that this is going to help to stay accountable and humble and most importantly grateful for the things I have in life.

Today I am thankful for my time of solitude. Today I have been able to embrace it, and can handle it.

Reflections

Thanks to my good friend Andrew, I have been using my time of solitude to reflect on my life, and to really listen to what God is trying to tell me. Or maybe I am waiting for Him to tell me something. Whatever the case, I am all ears, I am going to spend my winter break working on my relationship with Christ and exercising. The two things I need most in my life right now. This is the perfect time, while I am stress free from work and school, and not distracted by people/friends. Hopefully, through all of this, God will provide because I still need a job in order to pay the bills. Please be praying for me during break. Thanks. Peace.

Where am I?

Today was my second full day back to Washington, and I have to say it feels very awkward. I feel like I am in a foreign land or something. I woke up this morning around 11 to head to downtown Seattle to the Paramount. "The Lion King" is playing and my mom wanted to get some of us tickets to see it but she couldn't get them at Ticketmaster, so I had to go down to the box office. YAY!! Driving in Seattle with the truck (a manual transmission I might add). Not too fun on the hills of downtown. All the Paramount had for tickets were individual seats so my mom said no thanks, and I was left with nothing to do and didn't want to just turn around and come home, so I drove around Seattle for a little bit and watched people from my car window and just took in the atmosphere of the holiday season. It is so pretty down there, with all the trees lit and people walking with big jackets and seeing all the store decorations. But I was lonely, I miss my friends from the valley and none of my friends from here are back from school yet. So I drove back to Issaquah and had lunch with Mommy, and then headed to Grandma's house to visit with her. She is lonely too. I sat with her and helped her cut out pictures to put in her Christmas cards and talked and caught up on life with her. Then I headed home. When I got home, I didn't just want to sit in front of the tv, so I tried to keep busy. I checked my email and my grades online, nothing. Ok, now what? So I went into the living room to turn on the radio but then that didn't help, I still had nothing to do. So I ended up just sitting in front of the tv trying to think of something to do. My mom came home and needed my help putting desserts on a tray and then she left again. So I was alone once again. Today has been a day of loneliness for me.

These are days when I sit and think about my life. I sit and pray and thank God for what he has given me in California. I thank Him for all my friends and family. I thank him for the wonderful world that He has created, and all of the amazing things he has given me to look at in Seattle. It really is a beautiful place and I do love it here, it is just that I am not sure if it is home or not.

What is home? I have been defining my home as: the place where I am not. This means that while I am living in CA, my home is Washington. If I am in WA, then my home is California. Is this true? Or is home, where the heart is? If that statement is true, than I have two homes but right now my heart is in California. Dictionary.com has a few good definitions of what home is. It can either be, The physical structure within which one lives, such as a house or apartment, or an environment offering security and happiness or a valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin. The first one makes me thinks WA is my home, but then again I do have an apartment in CA, so I don't know. The latter definition makes me think of CA as my home. The environment that I am in down there offers me protection and security, as well as a lot of happiness, it is my refuge. The people that I am around in CA make me feel secure and safe, and protected, and that is what I love about CA. I don't know how I could live without those people (and hopefully they know who they are). They are amazing, and make me feel amazing when I am with them. Ok, enough blabbing, and enough sobbing.

I am going out to dinner with my dad and my bro. Peace:(

Nutcracker

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that my parents and I are going to see the Nutcracker today in Seattle. I am so excited, I have never seen it before. Should be cool.

Travel Woes

Yesterday was yet another day spent in the airport. I think I am becoming Tom Hanks in his movie, "The Terminal." I have spent more time in the airport in the last month than I wanted. I wrote about what happened for Thanksgiving, and yesterday was fun also.

I arrived at Burbank this time, at about 1:30 in the afternoon for my flight at 2:40. Not too long to wait, I could handle it. 2:40 comes and goes and the Alaska Lady (don't know her name or what they are called) comes over the PA system and informs us that they are delaying my flight because the brakes over heated during landing, and they need to call the mechanic, should be about an hour. Well, it took the mechanic almost an hour to get to the plane and then he still had to check it out. So now it is almost 4pm and still don't know what is happening. So I keep waiting patiently. Just after 4 the lady came on again and announced that our flight would be leaving at about 5:30 after the mechanic changes the brakes out. Not a big deal, I am not in any big hurry to get home. They were allowing people to change flights to one that left at 5, but I didn't feel like dealing with it, and it was only a half hour difference. It was 5, and the lady came back and announced that unfortunately the plane could not be fixed and we were all forced to get on the plane leaving at 5. It wasn't bad, it was just another day of sitting in the airport by myself for hours on end.

The flight wasn't bad, I sat next a nice man who had recently moved to Washington from Northridge, and his daughter went to UCLA I believe. Very interesting.

I love being home, except for the freezing cold weather. And when I say freezing I mean it, last night it got down into the 20s and today when I left for church it was only about 30 degrees. It sucks, but I love being with family again. HOWEVER, I do miss all my peeps back at home in Cali. Boys, it is just not the same without you guys to hang out with, and Nicole I miss you too, and I want a pedicure. Bill, thanks for the CD, it is awesome. John, thanks for the John Mayer CD.

Peace.

Wow, technology rocks

As you can tell I am still a little new to this whole blog idea. I just found out how to post pictures, which is very exciting. There will definitely be more pics to come.

My new haircut.  

What is up

Ok so I have been really bad about blogging, but it is to be expected. This week is finals week so I have been studying and stressing and haven't even thought about blogging. Actually, this is not totally true. On Saturday night I wanted to post some pics of my new hair do, but it wasn't working, so I have thought about it, and tried, but failed.

I mentioned I got my hair cut, it is so short, and there is a story that goes with it, but I don't want to talk about it here. If you want the story call me and I will tell you, I am just trying to get used to the shortness of my hair.

I can't wait for this week to be over, but at the same time I am not ready to go home on Saturday. I do this all the time, I always get so bummed when it comes to the end of the semester and then I never want to leave. It sucks, I want to go home and see friends and family, but I also want to stay here with friends. Such difficulties.

I just want to say that I love my friends, each and everyone of you. If you are reading this, I love you. You guys and girls make my life so much more fun and I am thankful that God has placed each and every one of you in my life. I love you and thank you.

Back to studying and taking finals. Peace.

I just can't get enough

Last week in my Deaf Culture class, we had a man come in who teaches at Columbia University in New York. He is a deaf man and teaches in the education dept. He was telling us about a master's program that they offer if you want to be an ASL teacher for grades 7-12. You go through this program and get certified and get your master's.

Basically, I think I am interested, but there are few road blocks. First, it would mean being away from my family for more time (2 or 3 years) and this time it is even further away, across the country. Second of all, is the money. I don't think I can afford to put myself through grad school. My parents informed me that I would have to foot the bill for that. Those are the two main issues, not including having no friends out there and being in an even bigger city than I am now. It is scary, but yet intriguing. So I don't know if I will persue that, but I am definitely considering it.

We have a weiner!!

Oh my gosh, I would never have guessed that this day would come. Miss Nicole has become part of the blog world. She set up a blog tonight. Check her out at her site. I am so excited for her. YAY Nicole!!

Vacation? I don't think so....

What an adventure. I left from Northridge and headed to Van Nuys to catch a cheap shuttle that drops you off right at LAX (thanks Sheila). It was a good investment, for only $3.50 they drop you off right in front of your airline check-in and you don't have to deal with the stress of driving into LAX. So I arrived at LAX at about 2:30 and my plane was scheduled to leave at 5:10.

I walked into Alaska Airlines, to which I was amazed! NO LINES!!!! I had checked in online, so all I had to do was drop off my bag. No line, and then I took my bag over to be checked for security, no line. Then I proceeded up the escalator to the security metal detectors, no line. By now, this has only taken me less than half an hour. It is not even 3 and I am sitting at the gate. What do you do in an airport for the next 2 hours? People watch....it is fun. They started to board the plane at about 4:45 at which they also announced that they were looking for people to take a "bump" onto a later flight because they were over booked. Of course, I took it because I got a FREE round trip ticket and a meal voucher to use. The only problem was that I had to wait for a flight that didn't leave until 9:30 at night. I had to sit in the airport for 7 hours total with no one to talk to, except those of you that I called. Anyhow so that was my wonderful adventure of sitting in the airport trying to keep busy.

Now I am home, and the madness has arrived. I got home to a peaceful house but was woken up Thanksgiving morning by my loud cousin Bert and my Aunt Sandy. I was so thrilled (did you catch my enthusiasm?). Dinner was wonderful because it was mom's and my Aunt Debi's jello salad was bomb as usual, and it was just amazing to get to hang out with the cous, and aunts and uncles I haven't seen since I graduated from high school. I love my family!!!

We are doing a family outing today to go bowling.....can't wait, I have wanted to go bowling for so long, and now we are all going as one big family. YAY!!!

Talk about last minute

I don't know what my deal is. I am always putting things off until the last minute. I have had to do this sign language video for so long, and I am just getting around to it because it is due tomorrow.

I have a problem with procrastination. I think it is just because I work better under pressure. The quality is better, I think, but I always get so stressed when I procrastinate. You would think over the years I would learn to start things earlier, but no, I haven't.

Late nights...almost all nighters

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe it is almost 4:30 in the morning. This is the second day that I have stayed up talking to a friend. It is just one of those wonderful things about friendships, you can talk and talk and never get bored or run out of things to talk about. How awesome is that? I love my friends.

I don't say that enough. I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!! I am so blessed to be surrounded by the friends that I have. You are all amazing and I love each and every one of you, even if I don't tell you enough or at all. Thank you for being a friend.

Good night, or morning.

You are joking right?

Last night I got a telephone call from THE Mr. Bill Sperry. He wanted to go out and shake his "tailfeather." I thought that would be a lot of fun so we were off. Only one little problem, out of all 6 of us that went (Bill, his friend from Fuller, Scott, Laura, and Miguel), I was the only one under age.

We started off waiting in line at the Avalon only to find out they are a 21+ club. No biggy, there was one just down the street. We walked the "few" blocks which ended up being like 6-8 blocks. The club was called "Floretine Gardens." Let's just say that it wasn't the most happening club in Hollywood, so the three girls and Bill took a cab ride from there to Hollywood and Highlands (Scott and Miguel walked). This just happened to be my very first cab ride ever. Very exciting. We got the club DV8, or what we thought was, and it turns out that DV8 is only on Saturday nights and on Fridays, it is 21+. Now what? That's right, we took a VAN CAB, back to Florentine Gardens. From here, it wasn't too bad except getting in, they wouldn't let me in with a tank and they wouldn't let Scott in with a white shirt, So we did a little clothes swapping and finally got in. Once in it was quite interesting, but we made the best of it. Yes, even Bill Sperry did a little pole dancing. Very good times.

It was a night of firsts for me. First cab ride, and first time getting turned away from somewhere. Oh yeah.

Single Life

I just have to say that this whole being single thing is really killing me. I just want to be with someone and love someone and feel loved.

But at the same time, I want to be single. Which is it, single or dating? That is my debate/dilemma.

How much am I short??

Andrew, this blog is for you.

I am a supervisor at work and at night when I close I have to count the registers. For awhile, the registers had the exact amount they were supposed to or they were just a few cents over or short. Recently they have been like $5 short or $10 short. I am not even the one that works on the register, I just report what the amount is in the drawer, but somehow I am still the one that gets chewed out by the managers for being short. I am so sick of being told that the drawers are wrong, I know that, I counted them. It is especially bad when I have just worked for 8 hours and I am extremely tired, and I just want to get out of there.

Enough ranting......off to study or sleep whichever comes first.

Children #2

These last few days have been all about children. It seems like everywhere I go, the subject of children comes up. What is the deal?

Yesterday I went to get my nails done with John and Nicole and while John and I were waiting, we were talking about how we would or wouldn't take our kids out shopping with us. Then the whole babysitting experience.

Today, I had my emergency procedures class. We talked about poisoning, and bites, and other emergencies, but then came the fun part. Can you guess what we talked about??? Yep, that's right, emergency CHILD BIRTH. We had to watch this lovely video of a woman giving birth. My class is so mature, everybody was making jokes and stuff, I felt like I was back in middle school or high school. I have REALLY decided that I am not going to have 4 or 5 kids just because of the birthing process. I don't know if I can handle all the pain and pressure.

It was so sad. This kid that sits behind me in class passed out because he couldn't handle the video. All of a sudden he just fell to the floor and seized a little bit and we all just stared at him, and then our teacher came over and helped him. You would think that all of us, would like rush over and be eager to practice what we have been learning, but we just yelled for the teacher.

Good times....not having so many children.

Children...God's little miracles...or are they?

I was just babysitting for the couple bible study at our church. They meet every other week in someone's house. This week we were in this immaculate, huge house. It was amazing, I want to have a house like this one day.

Anyhow, that is beside the point. We (Nicole and I) babysit for 8 kids. For the most part, they are pretty controlable, they listen and obey well. But then there are the few that have separation anxiety and scream the ENTIRE time. I am not exaggerating. This one kid screamed for his mom for two hours straight. It was awful, it gave me the worst headache.

So this made me rethink how many children I want to have as my own. I have always said that I wanted 4 or 5 kids. But now that I have been babysitting more often, I don't know how I could handle having that many kids running around screaming all day. But then again, my kids would hopefully been more disciplined and well behaved, but there is no telling before you give birth. Maybe I will only have 3 kids. We'll see I guess.

The freak comes out

Last night we had an awesome surprise party for my friend Liana from work. She had no idea, she was so happy to see everybody. We started the night off with some drinks and a birthday shot for Liana. This was enough to send me over the top. I was buzzing, and boy did the freak in me come out. I was ashamed after I looked back on what I did. It wasn't that bad, no worries, but still, if you know me well enough, I was not myself last night. Anyhow, I had a great time last night hanging out with all the girls from work (and Fred).

Friday Night Games

Andrew and I had this brilliant idea to play night games (such as capture the flag, kick the can, sardines) but nobody else wanted to play. So we ended up at the dorms at like 8:30 with Kerri, Sharon, and Brian M. trying to decide what to play. We couldn't really do much because if we had teams they would be uneven (since there were only 5 of us). We decided to call Brian Lewolt's roommate and force him to come play with us and he did. He wanted to play basketball so we did.

That was fun and all, but I didn't realize how out of shape I am. I couldn't breathe after the first few runs. I was winded and now, only a few hours after the game, my whole body aches. I can't believe it, I am the girl who used to be able to run forever during a soccer game, and now can't even run around the block. I am becoming a pathetic lazy old woman (or least that is how I feel tonight). I have decided that I need to start working out, either at the gym or at home to some wonderful tapes that I have. Maybe I should just start running again. Whatever the solution, I need to start doing something more active.

Is it over yet?

I am so ready for this semester to be over. I am so sick of reading, writing, and researching, I can't wait for winter vacation. Those 7 weeks are going to be well spent sleeping, relaxing, and doing a whole lot of nothing.

But until that day comes, I must press on with the reading and the rest of my homework. Wish me luck.

Why must you be so difficult?

Working at Freudian Sip (a coffee shop on campus) is really getting on my nerves. Especially Wednesday nights. Hence, I am writing about it to release the tension built up inside of me.

Our coffee shop closes at 9, and the 7-10 classes usually take a break at about 8:30 or 8:45. That means that they all come in and place special orders because we are the only place open on campus that late. I had everything cleaned and ready to go and then like 25 people came in and 5 ordered frappes (our version of frappechinos) and the rest ordered usual drinks. It is just frustrating because I want to get out on time and then I can't because I have to reclean everything. Oh well, that was just 20 minutes of my time at work, the rest was fun.

It was all girls working tonight, so what did we do but flirt with the male customers to try and get more tips (it worked we made $4 each). Of course we picked and chose our flirting customers. It was fun, and it passes the time.

When I first got to work my manager pulled me out into the hallway....I thought something was wrong, that I had done something bad, but I had just gotten there. It was so nice, he told me that we were going to be training the new people that are going to be working at other Freudian Sips when they open and that may mean an additional pay increase (but I am not holding my breath). Also, he told me that he was very thankful to have me as a "red shirt" (supervisor) and so he is taking me and the other red shirt (also named Val) out to brunch one sunday. How cool is that? I felt so good that he actually recognizes how much we do for him and that it is good quality work.

Enough about work, I am off now, now it is "me" time.

Wake Up

I have come to the realization that I am not over Tim yet. I have just been fooling myself.

Giving Thanks or Thanksgiving??

I am excited to say that I am going home to Washington for Thanksgiving. I give thanks to God for the opportunity. I wasn't going to be able to go because it was too expensive and I would be going home two weeks later for winter break....but now I get to go home and be with my family.

The majority of my family is going to come up to our house.....aunts, uncles, cousins and their families (with kids) and even my grandparents are coming up. I am so ecstatic....I love my family and I am thankful that I have a home to go to. And I am thankful for my grandpa whose birthday is on Thanksgiving day....he is turning 84 (I think).

College v. High School

Today has been a day that live on forever....I day and time that I am proud to be a part of. Granted my presidential candidate did not win, I am still proud to be witnessing these times.

So in my political science class we talked alot about what was happening, and what will happen. Naturally we would because it is pol. science. But then I went to my second class of the day, sociology. We started off talking about Kerry conceding and that sad stuff. Then we discussed where our nation was headed (way to the right). We got on the subject of abortion and the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade. Which then led to a discussion on sex, leading to STDs, leading to prevention and the importance of women getting regular pap-smears. Don't ask. So almost 40 minutes into the class (which is 50 minutes) we were still talking about all these wonderful things.

My point being.....I love being in college because the curriculum is still important but teachers are more flexible in how they run the classes. It allows for some interesting debates, conversations, and discussions of what our nation is going through. Whereas in high school, teachers are so rushed to cram all this information into our heads, that one day of discussions throws off the whole curriculum so they don't acknowledge national issues that arise.

I never thought I would be saying that I love college, but it is actually not as bad as I thought.

Wow, that was a semi- long blog. Gotta go get my laundry out of the washer and into the dryer.

D-Day of the Elections

Duh Duh Duh!!! So the day has come when we all head out to the polls. I wanted to get it out of the way so after I dropped off my roommate at school I headed up to Granada Hills High School to place my vote. I ran into a problem though. About two months ago I went online to Rock the Vote and filled out the online form and then mailed it in to the Secretary of State. However, up until this date, they still have no record of me filling out the form and mailing it in. So I am technically not registered to vote so I had to fill out a provisional ballot (so it will count unless there are questionable voting issues like 4 years ago).

But the good thing is I still was able to go and cast an informed vote for the candidate of my choice (*cough, Kerry, *cough).

Down to the Wire

So I am not totally down to the wire, but I do need to make a decision quick about who to vote for. After talking to a few friends and relatives and reading some more articles online, I have made the decision that I am going to vote for..........Mr. Kerry. My faith makes me want to vote for Bush, but then I believe in separation of church and state and I am not one to force non- christians to conform to our beliefs. I believe that people have choices that they must make, and therefore, I am voting for Mr. Pro- Choice himself, John Kerry. I hope that you fellow christians don't think less of me or other christians that vote for him.

I hope I am making the right decision. I guess I just have to keep thinking that ultimately God is in control of everything, and His will is going to prevail despite how America votes at the polls.


May the best man win.

Choose to Lose

So tomorrow is the big day. It is election day. Who is one to vote for? Bush or Kerry, the question of the century. I am not sure, I am still an undecided voter and the elections start in about 11 hours. I don't really like either candidate, so I feel like I am choosing to lose either way. I agree with some of what Bush is doing or will do, but also with Kerry on some issues. And there are also some things that I don't like about both.

My question is: Is there/could there ever a/be president that people love 100%, or do American voters have to sacrifice for the candidates at hand?

I guess I will spend the rest of my night praying, and hopefully God will work in my heart and help me to decide who to vote for, because as of now, I am still on the fence.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to try and persuade me. But you better have a good argument. Don't waste my time and your energy.

Boys will be boys

I can't believe the feelings I am having right now. My worst nightmare just happened in real life. Tim just broke up with me. I feel like I am having withdrawl symptoms of a drug. I am shaking uncontrollably, I am shivering from being cold, yet I am sweating at the same time. I don't understand yet I do. He needs some time to grow on his own and he doesn't think it is fair to me. But at the same time, I love him and he loves me. I don't know, my head is filled with mixed emotions, I can't think straight. I just want this to all be one big mistake or a dream. I want to be with Tim, and I can't and that hurts. Basically I am just hurting right now.

homosexuality

How do I feel about homosexuality? I disagree with it. But then again I can accept that other people are gay because they may not believe in God like I do. Is it ok to think that way? Or should I not think it is ok BECAUSE I believe in God. Should I not hang out or be friends with homosexuals just because they don't believe what I believe? But then what about my friends who are not christian, should I not hang with them because they don't believe what I believe? I am just not sure of my stance on homosexuals.

The other thing that bothers me are those gays that proclaim they are Christians yet live the lifestyle of being gay. I don't understand. If they are true Christians, they should know that homosexuality is a sin. So if they are gay, then they cannot be Christian. I am just confused. Are they saved or not? If anyone can answer my question, please let me know. Thanks.

You might be asking what brought this about. I was just watching MTV's Real World and there is a gay man that comes from a Christian family and says that he is a Christian.

Rain Rain Go Away

Just kidding, I don't want the rain to go. It makes me feel like I am back home. You can't say that the rain sucks. It is such a blessing and such a wonderful change from the nasty heat we have been having. We needed the change of weather whether you like it or not.

So I like the rain, but I am so sick of school. I recently got back a political science test. Thought I did pretty well but my grade showed otherwise. I got a D+. Not so good. I understand the Constitution and the political system and how it works, but I missed all of the people. It was so dumb. Oh well, nothing I can do about that now, I just have to keep working and study harder for the next test. I cannot wait to be finished with all these useless general ed classes.

What is this stupid show?

What are you all doing this Friday? Hopefully nothing except sitting at home in front of your computer or your tv (if you have satellite). Why would you do this? Because you will see me on the show I am about to tell you.

I have working on a tv show in Washington for about a year or so, and our first episode/pilot show will be airing this Friday at 10 on JC-TV. You need to check it out and then tell JC-TV how good it was. Please please please. We really want this show to take off and I would appreciate your help. Thanks a bunch. If you have any questions about the show please feel free to call or comment.

Oh, by the way. The show is similar to David Letterman but with Christians. We are all about having fun on the show and sharing our testimony with our audience and viewers.

Mr. Clean or whatever you have under the sink

So yesterday was not my sabbath, I spent my afternoon cleaning our absolutely nasty kitchen. I spent a total of 3.5 hours scrubbing and washing dishes that had been sitting in our sink for weeks. I found my new favorite product to get rid of "dirt and grime and grease in just a minute." No it was not Mr. Clean (although I am a fan of his Magic Eraser). Bar Keepers Friend is now my new best friend. That stuff works miracles. It got rid of our nasty grease on the stove and countertops. So yeah, that was my Sunday afternoon.

Hello, are you there?

Ok I know Andrew, it has been awhile. That just shows how busy I have been. School and work are taking over my life. It sucks. I don't even know what has happened since I last posted.

But here is what is going on now.

I talked to my mom the other night for almost 2.5 hours and got caught up on the things that were going on with different family members. Lives are changing and I am not aware of them. She also told me about some stuff that happened at my old job at Coho Cafe. One of my close friends had left a crack pipe in the employee bathroom. She obviously got caught and has signed herself into a rehab. facility. The first weekend that she was there, she was sent home because she had to have her gallbladder removed. Needless to say, she is not doing so well. All I have to say is thank God she is willing to go to rehab and that she realizes she has a problem.

I am still looking for a new job if anyone has any ideas. Keep me posted.

Worries

I have thinking a lot lately about my life and my faith and trust in God. I have been looking for jobs in the area that are somewhat less stress and less hours. At the same time, I am worried about not making enough money to support myself and all of the things (bills, rent, gas, etc.) that need to be paid. But then I struggle with thinking that way because God tells us in Matthew 6: 25-34 to "not worry about what we shall eat, drink or wear" and also to "not worry about tomorrow." I am not really worried about eating or wearing and all that, but I still need to make enough money to live where I live. I guess I can apply the above passage to that as well but it is hard. It is so frustrating. I just want to be able to have money and not have live paycheck to paycheck. Wouldn't that be nice?

Practice makes perfect, or so they say

I just got back from my last class of the day. It is my "Emergency Procedures" class. Pretty fun to tell you the truth. We learn all about CPR and first aid and get certified at the end of the semester.

So today we talked about Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the steps involved. We were supposed to get into pairs and practice, however we ran out of time. Our instructor told us that we really do need to practice the steps in order to pass our practical. So if anyone is interested, Nicole and I need "dummies" to practice on. It should be fun. If you think you know CPR already, try this test given by the American Red Cross.

So sorry

So I have been a little busy as you can see by my lack of posts from the week. I have been actively seeking another job. I applied at Linens 'N Things and they told me they weren't hiring. Sad day. Oh well.

Wednesday afternoon Nicole and I went up to Granada Hills to watch the reveal of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It was pretty interesting to see how much they cut out of the show and how it really works behind the scences.

Bible Study on Thursday went well I thought. Especially considering I had to interpret for awhile. I thought I did a fair job, as well as I could do. So after finishing we talked and mingled for awhile and made plans for mini-golf again on Sunday.

This weekend I was determined to do something other than just sitting around doing nothing by myself. Friday night after work, Andrew came over and cooked dinner for me, very yummy. Then we went over to Jen Spence's for a night of playing Pinochle (fun game, not only for old people). It was nice and fun, even though Kerri and I lost. Of course, I went to sleep early because I had to work at 7 on Saturday.

Work was a lot of fun. Good times at the coffee shop. David and I really got to know eachother and bonded on a different level. He is so funny. He is the most cultured boy I know. He listens to all kinds of music, hangs out with all different people, enjoys doing all sorts of things. He even made a list of activities that he wanted to do in the upcoming weekends. Pretty unique guy. So that was a good day at work. And of course after I came home and slept all day because everybody was gone to the beach house.

This morning a group of us went to Sherman Oaks Castle Park to play a game of mini-golf before church started. It was a lot of fun. Andrej and Sarah showed up, nice to see them (it has been awhile). Also, Brian M, Betsy, Lance and Andrew and I played a full 18 holes. At one point we were the only group there and after every hole, we would look back and there would be another group catching up to us. One group in particular was just a man and his wife and one son. He came charging through yelling that we were so slow and he couldn't believe how long it was taking us. We just let him pass and then ended up having to wait for them on the next hole, no biggie, we weren't in a hurry like he was. It was kind of a sad game, Andrew was having some problems with getting the ball in the hole, so he got upset. It was humorous to all of us, but definitely not to him (sorry buddy). So yeah, that has been my life. Pretty boring I know.

If anyone knows of a decent paying part-time job let me know please. Thanks.

Ghetto land

Last night Joseph and Andrew and I were trying to find something cheap and fun to do. We decided that Sherman Oaks Castle Park was the way to go. Once we got there we felt like the "old people." It is definitely a younger crowd and a ghetto crowd. It was still fun though, especially watching Joseph swing the putter like he was trying to drive a ball down the fairway of a full size golf course. Good times boys!!

Today I was kind of sad going to church. I had invited a girl from work to come with me because she asked about the college group. I was driving down to the dorms to pick her up and she called me and said that she had changed her mind and didn't want to come. Bummer dude! Oh well church was good anyways.

Pastor Jim had an awesome talk today that really touched my heart and my life situation right now. He spoke about "passion." Who or what am I passionate about? I really think that I am spending too much time on other things and not on God. I am passionate about my belief, but I do nothing to show others that I am passionate about Christ. That saddens me to think that because my life is so busy that I have no time or don't make time to be with God. It sucks, and it's convicting. Very good sermon.

So after church today, we all went to Del Taco for Miss Angela's birthday. While we were there we ran into people wearing bright blue t-shirts from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We thought, "they must be doing a show around here." So we asked them and it was just a few blocks up the street. So being the curious minds that we are, John and Nicole and I went up to check it out. Pretty cool process. Then John made a death wish. He wanted to go to Costco on a Sunday afternoon.

I know better than to go to Costco on any weekend day. Sundays are especially bad. The lines are long and everybody just pushes around and it is pure madness. But today was good because we got Gelato (Italian ice cream). Very yummy stuff. Now I need to go read for hours on end for homework. HELP ME!!!!!

Work History

For those of you that don't know where I work, I work at a coffee shop on campus where I am an overworked supervisor. I recently got the promotion and now I am working a lot of hours and doing 3 times as much work for not very much money. $7.65 to be exact. Does that sound like the kind of money a supervisor should be making? NO!

Anyhow, so today we were supposed to be busy because there was a sorority party next door. I was not exactly thrilled about the idea because on Saturdays there is only one other person and myself. So I went in expecting the worst and it actually ended up to be quite nice. Not too slow, but not too busy.

Now I am just hanging out waiting for something to do. Maybe I will just lay around and catch up on sleep and do some homework.

Friday night boredom

So here I am sitting all alone in my apartment and then the phone rings and it's Andrew. The two of us were bored sitting around so he decided to make me my very own Blog. So here it is, my own Blog.