oh baby
darn. i thought i had written in this thing a lot more recent than that last posting. oh well. the highlights of the last month would have to be the fact that my dragon boat team won a gold in kelowna (SOLID!), i got to watch that documentary on biggie and tupac at the vancouver international film festival showing of it (very insightful), i got to watch 2 pre-season canuck games (one of which was last night when the queen dropped the ceremonial puck... yeah, woohoo.), and i got a bunch of new music thanks to andrew. music is just SO the best thing ever. i've said this many times and i'll say it again: if music were a being, i'd marry it. although, one of the cooler things that happened to me is that i heard from my pirate friends last week. haven't heard their voices in at least 3 months... i hope they make it home for christmas. everyone out here misses you guys!

oh boy
last night i also watched crazy freaky movies that were being featured at the film festival... oh man, they were harsh messed up. and now i just realized that i left some clothes in the laundry and i have to throw them in the dryer... in the basement!! dammit i hate it when i get all scurred!!!

things that make you go hmmm...
so i was watching that show beyond belief or whatever it's called... it's got star trek the next generation's "number one" as the host. well, the first story showed a girl house sitting and there was a creepy sound coming from the basement. even though she's scared out of her mind (it was a dark and stormy night), she took a knife with her to investigate the noise. all i gotta say is that is the dumbest thing i've ever heard of. i'd never go and investigate a noise...
THEN, as i was sitting here at the computer all alone in my house, i heard a noise. it sounded like someone trying to get in through our back door. it freaked me out. and without even thinking, i grabbed the cordless phone and investigated the noise. now, it ain't a dark and scary basement, but the house is pretty dark right now. it turned out to be noises from the neighbour's yard. nobody was trying to get in (*knock on wood*). i guess it's just in one's nature whether or not they'd go and investigate a noise. i'm REALLY not down for that, but i found myself doing it anyways... dammit. curiosity killed the cat, right?

sour face!
so i get an email from sabz with a picture attatched. it was one of us girls at the cabin from august last year. even though i had a good time out there, it also reminded me who else was there at that time... yuk. all i gotta say is that if i make a sour face when i think about you, then i guess i just don't like you. i must have subconsciously tried to block you out of my memory to get a reaction like that out of me. not to say that i'm not trying to be mature about it... but i am only human.

i'm back
so we got back last night from california and all i can say is that was some road trip. friday involved arriving in the afternoon, clubbing that night at an 18+ club (can we say "highschool gym"?), going for eats at denny's, but getting into a scrap before being seated (to clear it up for some of you who know me well, NO, i didn't start this one). all i have to say is that despite the horribly messed up situation we got into, everyone else (short of the firemen, policemen, paramedics and denny's workers) was really nice about it (and forgive me for sounding pdiddy-ish... shout out to the wolf pack. thanks guys.)... but i really really REALLY didn't want to ride that ambulance. really. *sigh*
saturday was the car show, which was much much more than i expected. i was impressed. sarah got such a cool job too... she got to go around and do the interviews of people at the show and the 20 models that were there. and she didn't have to dress like any of them models (yes, a huge sigh of relief from me). and she STILL had people asking me if it was cool to take pictures with her. i tell you, us three (my two sisters and me) have that certain je ne sais quoi that people would pay for! okay, we're not really hot at all, but we're damn good at fooling guys into thinking that! ;op
sunday was a complete shopping day (for everyone 'cept me. i'm broke as a joke.). that night we hit this crazy huge club called mission rock. holy cow, i've never seen a line up so big for a club. for a hip hop club at that! seriously, that place was where it was crackin' that night. luckily we got the hook up and got to run past the two city block length lineups. and once we were in, my god, it was unlike any clubbing experience i've ever had. it was an indoor and outdoor club and that was just so cool. i met so many people that night, saw some old friends, made some new friends... thems were some crazy good times.
the next day we just got up to leave the bay, and got home last night at about 7pm. notice how sleep wasn't a really big factor in this long weekend excursion. and work started for me this morning at 830am... yeah, it was a long day.

hmmmm
so i just finished watching american idol tonight... yay for kelly! damn, they all sang well. my mom commented how they only win $200, 000 dollars... i was all "mom, some people don't make that much in a year, and the winner ends up making that in a summer." on top of a record contract at that. all i have to say about that is i wish that i was that talented. i know i'm not the prettiest thing to look at, and my voice got a bit wrecked from dragon boat, but before that i was alright. i know i could carry a tune. back then if i had the chance to sing even for a few bucks, i'd do it. shoot, i'd do it now if someone paid me for it. anything that comes natural would be a sweet ass job, don't you think?

i'm going (going) back (back) to cali (cali)...
so apparently there's a car show in san mateo this saturday. so since my little sister is into her "car model" phase, she's going to be there... as will her oldest sister (yes, that would be me, but i'm not in that "car model" phase... just in the "older sister who will kick your butt if you get too close to her" phase.... sometimes it's just hard to grow out of i guess). we're leaving on thursday night to drive down... i think i have the proper directions: from my house, drive west 3 blocks to oak street, then head south for about 20 hours, then we're there! i guess if anyone i know in california is around that area on saturday til tuesday, email me before i leave... i'd love to see you there!

when i grow up...
i want to be a double agent. or something to that effect. i don't have a particularly quick wit, nor am i exceptionally creative when i'm put on the spot, but i'd really like to pretend that i'm doing the right thing and think that i'm pleasing everyone... and maybe earning some money off of my "good deeds."
see, ideally i'd like for everyone to get whatever they wanted. but we all know that that's not possible. for every one thing that someone wants, there are like a dozen more who won't get what they want... it's sad but true. so the only way that everyone could be happy is if everyone believed that they were getting what they wanted. but i guess that might not work too well if i trusted someone by telling them my secret, and that in turn makes them completely distrust me and never think i'm sincere... then nobody would ever trust/believe me. darn, i knew there was a downside. maybe i should just go into politics or something...

my neck, my back
oh my GOODNESS i am in pain!! too much dancing for someone who was supposed to be the dj... note to self: runners are always better than heels to dance in, no matter how silly you might look! annie's wedding went well yesterday and everyone's still talking about it. i had such a good time that i didn't even have the strength to take my hair down (yep, it's still up in its do!). there wasn't a single horrible thing that coulda happened to sabbotage the day. and even though i couldn't mingle as much as i wanted to, i had fun. too bad the groom's side wasn't as extroverted as our side... they knew how to get their drink on, but i guess no matter what i played, they couldn't get down with their bad selves, short of the father of the groom and one of the nieces. it was kinda funny cuz our family SO took over the floor... we took over the whole thing almost! it was great. even the crew (we were on a little cruise ship for the reception) said that this was one of the better receptions they've ever hosted... not plain at all. well, you get about 60 filipinos, a lot of cheap wine, put them all in a contained environment, throw in a little bit of classic 80s and a lot of old school and hiphop and what do you get?... the always entertaining typical filipino party... we had titas getting tipsy, titos getting their freaks on, and us kids just laughing so hard that we all left with a cut up set of abs. any of you reading this that weren't there, hit me up... i'll invite you to the next big function... and this time i'll make sure to include kool and the gang in my playlist, and to throw a big lechon in the mix.

i've stopped moving... for now...
so it's been forever since i last wrote. i slack a bit, but not without good reason. after cuba was a week and a half of getting things all figured out before my next trip. i organized annie's bridal shower 4 days before leaving for cuba, then i got back and figured more of it out before it went down the friday before i left for long beach, california. i had good revues from the ladies who attended the shower, even though i think i could have done better. no matter. everyone left the party with lots of happy, if not completely hilarious memories.

summertime in the LBC...
so my dragon boat team made it to long beach with barely enough tolerance of each other to last the weekend. what a weekend. the few of us who made it down on thursday probably had the best time of them all... we partied at the yard house that night, friday we went to newport beach to play in the ocean, then we had a practice, a dinner (the first time we had a real full meal since we left vancouver) and then clubbing at laguna beach (club m). saturday we raced... art and i were looking at butts to see if there were any to see. not much, 'cept for this one guy who worked as security. he was rockin' his blue jeans like i've never seen! i swear, i really got it bad for how pants look on a guy. the next day i actually spoke with him for a bit, and he was cool. our team ended up winning silver in our division :o) yay us! thank goodness i didn't have to resort to violence and force to get myself some hardware to bring back home.
well, the next day the team all went their seperate routes home. i on the otherhand made my way out to modesto.

modesto?!
i know, who the heck lives out in modesto?! well, ron's mom and brother for one thing. they picked me up from the train station. i didn't realize how not bad the train would be to take it for such a long trip. i even made a friend. friendly, polite, good conversationalist... exactly what i needed on that 6 hour trip. well, sonder and his mom picked me up and we went to their place in ceres. it's so hot out there. the next day we went to the bay... sonder and i went to the winchester mansion, and we were going to hit the beach, but turns out that we were too lazy to beat the traffic so we watched goldmember instead. what a horribly nasty movie! it was great. the first 2 were better, but i did really like the cameos in this one. and of course the musical part dr. evil and mini-me had in the jail... that was arranged by dr. dre so i hear. crazy.
thursday consisited of me and sonder driving out to the city before picking up sabby and cin from the airport. that night we kicked it with roel, ray and a few of ron's friends. it was so funny! i think they really miss ron :o). friday we went to gilroy. shopped the outlets for 9 hours. damn we're good. it was just like the last time we went out there, but better! our rental car really carried a lot this time around too. afterwards, we kicked it with eden... mahjong all evening. i miss that guy... he's so funny. saturday we went to sausolito and took pictures. we took pictures on sunday at coit tower and we did a bit of shopping too... but i took off to meet with david in oakland while the girls hit fisherman's wharf. i ended up going to sacramento for the evening, then stopping by in davis before heading back to the bay. it was cool. monday was the great mall (after i got kinda lost getting there... but we got it after a while... note to self: hang a right on serra). so we shopped til we had to fly back home. it was a fun but i can't believe the whole trip is gone already. and the worst part is that i couldn't get to see kuya. this is the first time i've ever gone to cali and not seen him. :o(

i won't stop, cuz i can't stop
so you'd think that it'd be just a daily routine i gotta get back into once all my trips were done. i would love to have one, but my sister's getting married in 5 days. and i have so many things to do. so simple, yet so much. well, we'll see how all that goes. wish me luck... i hope i won't lag anymore about updating my blog...

my trip to cuba
here is how it all went down... in a nutshell of course :o)

monday, we arrived at about 730ish cuba time. didn't do much except get used to our rooms and the hotel. we ate dinner and walked around til we found the beach. it was beautiful, eventhough we could barely see it...

tuesday, we booked our tours and dinner reservations for the restaurants on the resort, then we hit the beach all day. we went on one of them pedal boats out to the middle of the beautiful blue blue water and then laid in the sun. it was HOT! then we went on a banana boat. it was fun enough, i guess. but the pedal boat was cooler. so yeah it was a beach day pretty much... and yes, i am now dark like chocolate.

wednesday, we went to havana. i bought some cigars for nurse chris and annie... yeah havana was awesome. i wanna go back to that place. so much history... we went to the cigar factory that's been up since 1901, and we went to the christopher columbus cemetary to see all sorts of cool tombs and graves (ex. we saw the tomb of the bartender who invented the daquiri... yes, that is a cuban creation)... we only spent a day there, and it wasn't enough. i'll definitely go back there again someday.

thursday was another beach day. then we decided to rent mopeds and drive down to downtown varadero. so yeah i got to drive with
sabby sitting behind me. so fun!! we went to the flea market and that's when i got my hair braided. it was fun! we were riding back and then it started to rain... a LOT. they call it "tropical rains"... i think they mean "torrential storm". we could barely see cuz the rain was hitting us SO hard! like someone was flicking us all over our bodies! it hurt a lot mostly cuz we were wearing shorts and tank tops. but yeah we made it back with no scrathes. it was SO fun!

friday we went on a river tour (rio del canimar) and i saw jellyfish in the water! and when we got to the little ranch at one point
along the river, jac and genalyne rode horses as sabby and i lounged on the hammocks that were tied to mango trees! very relaxing.
that afternoon, we went to another tour called the "sunset cruise". it was on a large catamaran and we sailed out to the middle of
the ocean and one of the men went and snorkled for fresh lobsters that they cooked and fed us for 10 bucks a lobster! me and jac and sab didn't get one cuz we forgot our money. no big though... we got caught in another "tropical rain" which was so bad that we heard and saw thunder and lightning at the same time! everyone was huddled together under the canopy hoping they wouldn't get too soaked... they had to stop the boat and wait out the storm for half an hour. some people were all "this is it. it's the end..." crying and all. it was pretty scary. but the girls and i decided to take pictures of each other cuz we figured what else was there to do? so we smiled, took photos and i think that brightened the mood a bit... there were almost 60 people on that boat. but we got out of it unscathed. :o)

saturday, we woke up late (11pm). we decided to have another beach day, then we kicked it at the pool after :o) then later that night,
jac and i sang karaoke with a live pianist, saxaphone player, and bassist. it was COOL! people really liked us :o). after that,
a couple other people (karen and emma) we met out there took me to a club (yeah the girls didn't wanna go.. go fig). they took
me too "la rhumba" and it was so cool, cuz everyone who danced danced to salsa! then they had their little rap/r&b set. the snoop and dr. dre song (the next episode) came on. so i started c-walking. then i realized no one knew what i was doing so i stopped. it was cool tho. we saw a bunch of half decent looking guys... turns out they were all gigolos though. too bad. seeing all that is an experience.

sunday... we woke up a bit later, but we managed to get to downtown again. sabby's hair got braided, and i bought all sorts of souvenirs. then at night all we did was listen to a local band on the terrace of the hotel, and they sang this hilarious song that's been in my head ever since. it's called "la manzana" for all of you who want to surf the net for it... one key line is the one where they say "tengo una manzana en la cabeza" (i got an apple in my head). us girls (including emma and karen) just ended up kicking it out there til 2am. talking... it was fun.

and that brings us back to monday. we woke up, went to the beach for the last time, washed up, checked out, then ate lunch and kicked it in the hotel lobby til 3pm when we had to jump on the bus for the airport. and now i'm home :o)

it was all really fun, but i'm glad that i'm home and get to sleep in my own bed. now i know how kuya feels when he gets home after returning from someplace for a long period of time...

some call it experience...
okay so i remember when i was growing up that i always hated to listen to any form of "old school" on the radio. they were all songs that meant nothing to me. but now, i realise that i'm old enough to actually like the "old school lunches" on the radio... i've been listening to it this morning and i love all the songs that i used to hear in late elementary to highschool days... it's awesome. but then again, that means we're really old. yikes, highschool ended 7 years ago for me... elementary ended 12 years ago... i think i'm feeling some shooting pains in my left arm...

it's madness i tell you!
so i've been clubbing every night since wednesday. sonar, loft 6, legends and mesa luna... and the weekend's not over yet!! i still have to hit fubar tomorrow night at richard's on richards... man, i think this is what happens when i have too much energy... and no boyfriend ;op. oh well, at least my cardio's doing well.

and that's not all...
so if anyone wants to hear drama, here goes. i was so proud of my dragon boat team. i really thought that it was a really compatible set of people. but alas, i am wrong. i've never heard so much bickering about the financial situation of any team in any sort of oraganized sport as this one. is it cuz half these guys are in business? or at least know someone in business? it's really retarded if you ask me. we are such a strong team on the water, so charismatic off the water, and yet when the issues about who was responsible for what comes up, everyone is more quiet than a rock to admit it, but noisier than an explosion to blame it on someone else...
we're headed to the long beach dragon boat competition (among other ones) this summer. when i say we, i don't mean the original team. this is because some people on the team (minus the ones who really can't make it) just don't feel the need to go further with the team than the vancouver festival. what i thought when i decided to get on this team was that this was going to be the most competitive recreational team i've ever seen. i thought that everyone on this team shared the same attitude towards the same goal... but this is not true. so what i want to know is what were those people thinking when they joined? did they think that was it? doesn't sound too competitive to me. and then there are the ones who were so gung ho about the whole success of the team so they tried to involve themselves more (i.e. with the finances), but ended up scrapping the whole idea and leaving the team out to fend for themselves with no clue about what was going on. really people, you have got to get your hands on this thing us teacher-types like to call RESPONSIBILITY. it's not too hard to do, but you really gotta stick to your guns if you want it to work. and some tips for those who can't seem to do anything but complain that things weren't going as planned: if your ideas were so great, where was your initiative to take on that exact thing you were complaining about? some of you just don't seem to understand that nobody wants to do the dirty work for our team. at all. so quit all of your whinning and complaining and cussing and whatever else you're doing that doesn't send any sort of possitive vibe, and do something. we should all be in this team because we want to be in it. and do things for this team (i.e. fundraising, balancing the books...) because it's for the team, not because there is an outside influence (i.e. sponsorship money that could possibly reimburse us) driving us. if you don't agree with that, then take your 20$ and go. don't come back though... you're too much trouble.

*note, my commentary is purely from my point of view, based on what i know, and i don't know anyone on the team that would agree with me. sorry if you don't like it

yay for friendship!
so i really like taking my arnis class. i wouldn't miss it for anything. but this past saturday i had to so i could kick some butt with my dragon boat team. we placed first in the two races we had that day, and impressed all of our fans. sunday, we got our fastest time of the whole weekend (it took us 2 minutes and 8 seconds to paddle from science world to just before the cambie street bridge), and we won the race for the friendship cup. it would've been nice to win a medal too, but i guess the cup will have to do. well, we did place 9th overall in the festival (out of nearly 200 teams). now all that's left for me to look forward to is the dragon boat festivals in long beach (cali!) and in kelowna. woohoo, my team kicks ass!

no more teachers no more books...
tomorrow (or rather later today) is the last day of school. and it's only a half day! i can't wait til it's all done then it's summer break! honestly, the 2 month summer vacation looks sweeter and sweeter to me the longer i hang around the education field. it's enough to motivate me to stay... or just become self employed. i mean, how many of you out there would die to have 2 months summer vacation again? and let's not forget winter break and spring break either (both of which are paid breaks!)! remember back in the day when you were a kid? relaxing and not worrying about homework was all you ever looked forward to. that is the life!

it's getting hot in here
the weather's been really great lately. i have no complaints. and i'm sure it's nicer than what i've been hearing about san francisco lately (nothing but short shorts out here kuya!! ;op). as long as it doesn't rain for the dragon boat festival this weekend, i'll be just fine. i'm nervous as hell about the competition though... my voice feels like it'll be shot by the end of the first race. maybe i'll do what celine dion does and not talk 24 hours before the gig. yeah whatever! if i suddenly stop talking, you know the end is near! ;op

crazy
i got SO much to do today. and none of it is work-related... i wonder how most people do it. i only work 4 days a week and i still barely have enough time to deal with my personal life, even with my 3 day weekend! is it because i'm just a busy person? or is it cuz i'm lazy?... hehe, i bet it's a little bit of both ;op. but i guess planning for annie's wedding does keep me a bit busier than the average person.

booty
so the pirates (as one of the kids i tutor once called ron, eddie and neo) have lived up to their reputation... they had to go on yet another journey, to far away lands, for a long period of time, to pillage poor unsuspecting victims for no reason... okay, they just went on their 6 month cruise. but the other way sounded way cooler. but yeah, before they left, they left annie, nurse chris and me a bunch of their booty... as in belongings. and they are such good belongings... mostly consisting of dvds and cds... the odd guitar(s) hanging around... i'd say more but i fear people coming to pillage my house for their things.

music
i like music everywhere i am. i wouldn't mind if my life was like a big music video... not for the bright lights and the video hos, but for the fact that no matter where you go, the music is right there.
and i know of all the cool technology for music that is marketed towards people like me, but i still want to get me a new transistor radio. the one i got is so ghetto. it's cute and compact, but it's whack. if i wanna listen to the beat in the shower, then i'd bring the radio into the bathroom and switch it on. a typical radio wouldn't have any problems, but mines requires me to be holding my arm up as i balance on one leg with my other arm holding the radio over the sink... it sucks. so i end up usually turning up the house stereo loud enough for my dad to turn it down before i'm rinsing and repeating... :o(

woohoo!
only 2 more work days for me then it's summer vacation!! i swear, the summer, winter and spring breaks are the only reasons i'm still considering education as a career. that's it. wouldn't you tho?..

comments are back up and running!! yay gabe :o)

know what i hate?..
when people get all butt-hurt about things that they would do to someone else... for example, the second grade teacher at my school is nice... enough. as long as you don't impede on her rights, cuz she just doesn't like that. this includes the fact that everything "should" go her way if the people around her want to have a bearable time with her. see, if she doesn't follow through with what she scheduled with me, i don't get all upset. it just gives me more free time. but if i do the same thing to her, she gives me attitude like a 16 year old... as in cold shoulder for a week or two (lucky for me it's the last week of school! i won't have to see her for two months!). grow up, cougar! ;op

we found my dog on saturday. my parents looked all day friday for him, even at the city pound and the spca, but there was no sign. then saturday morning mom saw an ad in the paper saying that a dog was picked up 2 blocks from my house on thursday and that he was at the spca hospital. so we went and it turns out he was run over by a car not too long after he ran out of the yard. the driver must've picked him up and driven him straight to the hospital. my dog's pelvic bone was broken in 4 places and his insides were all torn. i got to see him for a little bit and he was so happy to see us, but he couldn't get up or anything. all he could do was wag his tail and lift his head, and even then, you could tell that he wanted to do more despite his injuries. but he was really hurting. it was so sad. he was already almost 13 years old so his chances of surviving after an operation wouldn't be good. so we had to put him down :o(

my dog ran out of the yard today. it's been almost 6 hours now and we still can't find him. mom thinks the spca or the pound got him. he isn't the smartest dog (think odie from the garfield comics) and he's really friendly. we'll go out again tonight when it's a bit cooler. i hope he's okay.

i'm gonna be alright
nope, no brain-draining nightmares for me this time... but that was still messed up.
anyways, i had the best work day i've had in a while. i only worked til noon and instead of tutoring 3 kids this afternoon, i'm not tutoring anybody! yay!! summer vacation's almost here! thank goodness that parents (or at least some of them) realise that with less than 2 weeks left of school, there's no amount of tutoring that could result in a change in their report cards now. what i also like is that today was teacher appreciation day, so despite all the cake and gourmet pizza the kids and their parents gave us today, there's no way that the grades i already recorded are going to change... i'm sorry ma'am, your child just doesn't have what it takes to be a rocket scientist... but with a little more practice sucking up with the gifts and food towards the right people, he could be anything he wants!!

so fresh and so clean
so what did i do on one of the most beautiful days of the week?... i stayed inside to tidy up. i organized the huge cd drawer, but the dvds will still have to wait til i regain my energy before i get to them. it took me oh about 4 hours to do this all... and what's worse is that i found some of my cd cases completely empty! poo. well, hopefully i find them. if anyone out there has an extra copy of a diary of a mad band or the show the afterparty the hotel, you know my email... ;op
so now i'm done and i think i should treat myself to some icecream.

one last thought...
when a guy stops persuing you, why is it always your fault that he fell for you? i'm not the one with the word "sucker" tatooed on my forehead. to all the playettes out there, when you meet someone who looks like a potential sucker, don't forget to warn them. you know with something like "don't fall for me. i'll make you cry home to your mommy." it's only fair. then if they still try to go for you, no worries. when it's all said and done, don't forget to tell him "i told you so."

hehehe

my nightmare
it was so gross. i was in my kitchen with a tickle in my nose... the kind you feel when you're just about to sneeze. well, i didn't get to the sneezing part because i heard a little rumble in my head. then all this liquid and mucus stuff dropped out of my nose! from BOTH nostrils!! in a second i realized that my brain had just fallen out, through my nose! despite my brain now being on the floor, i remember thinking "what the fu..?!" then i saw sarah walking by, so i told her to call 911. nobody seemed to be picking up so she just waited as i paniced. then i woke up.
dang, that was messed up.

i'm melting!! i'm melting!!
that's how it felt like up here last weekend... friday started out nice enough. sunny with a little bit of wind. tom took me to beau's photo to buy me and the girls some photo supplies we need. man it felt cool to come into the shop with my school supply list and say "hi. i would like all this times four, please." then i got to spend about 250$ on us... i felt like such a baller. too bad i'm not rich for real. *sigh* one day :o). that night i checked out the chinatown night market and this little "c-town urban dance off block party" which was also in chinatown. there was a dance dance revolution game contest, and some singing and dance performances. it was short but really fun to watch.

become the stick
saturday got hotter, and as most saturdays, i spent the afternoon indoors... arnis was good this week. i almost broke my knee cap by hitting it really really hard with the bamboo escrima stick. then of course was the trapping exercises which contributed to my new bruises on my arms... again. i think i have to hit the weights again soon cuz defending myself won't do me any good if i don't have any muscles. and i think i've got to practice a bit more with them sticks...

keepin' it g-a-n-g-s-t-a
that night almost felt like a clubbing night but at the last minute eddie was all "naah, skip it" even though we were the next ones to get in. we even got a good parking spot! well, you know you're "gangsta" when you can afford to be like that. most people would be upset if they had to spend any amount of time in a line up and not get what they lined up for. but not us! according to eddie, "there are only 2 kind of people in the world. haters and gangstas." which side are you on?... ;op instead, we decided to hook up with sabby and li and them to eat us some all you can eat sushi!!! yum yum. we were all SO full that we just headed home to sleep! it was good cuz at least i got some rest before the races that were happening the next day.

please don't feed me to the rabid killer seals!
sunday was cloudy... at first. i was on the water at about 945am and yelled my brains out. although i was worried about not being able to call a proper race piece, i think i did okay. the second race i felt better about even though we placed first for those first two races. the third race was a bit harder... to make a painful story short, i messed up the calls, and we got third... hopefully i wasn't the only reason we dropped, but i'm pretty sure i had something to do with it (my bad!!). well, at least there's 5 more practices for me to get it all right before the big festival on the weekend of the 22nd...

who got game?
sabby picked up nurse chris, eddie and ron and they came to watch. but when we were done we went to check out the hoop it up 3 on 3 basketball tournament... this is when the sun decided to come out and burn us as much as it could without letting us die. i felt worse for manny, jaywin and russell tho. they were actually playing in this scorching heat. good thing they had something to show for it more than sunburn and heatstroke... they got first place in their division :o). yay!

on your marks...
we were all kinda bored in between the games so we decided to take a little walk to chinatown. now, there is a part we had to pass through that i wouldn't walk through at a pace slower than a sprint if it were around dusk or later. we call it "cracktown". lucky for us it was 2 in the afternoon. so off we went to explore all the cd/dvd/vcd stores we could... some of us found one or two good movies for cheap (like the beijing bicycle and full throttle) and we got these cute little bags that fit the dvds perfectly... and one of us (NO names... *cough* ron! *cough*) found so many that the cute little bag was not an option... he got a big unsightly bag instead. hehehe... i really shouldn't clown though. he's going to end up leaving most of them with me!! yay! i've got movies to last me oh, say, 6 months!! ;o)

SOLID
and despite all the movies purchased, we decided to end the day by going to the movies... undercover brother was SOLID!!! if you're up for a funny movie watch this one. i laughed til i hurt. plus it doesn't run too long so it's perfect for a comedy.

it's the end?
no. i've got more junk to clean out of my email than i thought. found this entry... yes it's still about california ;op
enjoy!...

from the bay to l.a.
so saturday started off with driving from my kuya's place in daly city to modesto... man that was a long way. for those up here that don't know, it's kinda like driving from my house in vancouver to mission... yeah it took that long. but we made it... we got to ron's place at about 2am and two of his cousins and his brother were still awake, waiting for us. we unloaded our purchases, grabbed a set of clothes and our toothbrushes, then next thing you know, we were all piled into the van by 230am and headed for someplace near long beach...
getting to sleep was a little bit tricky. there were 9 of us in a minivan that holds 7. at first you'd think that 2 more people wouldn't be too bad. but for a 6 hour drive, it gets a little bit uncomfortable... long story short, i found myself very comfortable sleeping on the floor. we all awoke to a very brisk stop somewheres along our trip. we were rushed out by ron's mom telling us to "pick which one you like"... turns out we were right in front of a filipino bakery in delano. so we all piled out and walked in, excited to eat some pandesal or maybe even some ensaymada if there was any. i looked around and saw a bunch of breads and things i didn't recognize short of the pandesal. so we all just pointed to this bread that had the shape of a cinnamon twist, but instead of cinnamon was full of sugar. we were all a bit sleepy still, but wondering what time it was. the sun was coming out and it looked like it was going to be a really nice day... turns out it wasn't even 530am!! needless to say, we ate our bread and fell back asleep. we were at uncle richard's house by 830 in the morning and the house was already busy with everyone cooking food and setting up for the party. later in the morning, the house and food was blessed, and by then everyone was ready to go to the mall! well, at least "the kids" were. we really needed some walking of some sort after a long trip of sitting so we headed out.
we did a bit more shopping, then we all decided to watch a movie that night... too bad we all wanted to see different movies, but it was all good. sonder, ron and i went to watch episode 2... that is one cool movie! i think i'll take rafael to it. anyways, the rest of that night involved all of us being too tired to do anything else except for making fools of ourselves and karaoke-ing til the wee hours of the morning... good times!

bling-bling
ever been to a vietnamese mall? it's a lot like going to aberdeen or yaohan in richmond, but it's vietnamese instead of chinese or japanese. all i can say that is very distinct about it is that there was a heckuva lot of jewelry! it was like in disney's aladdin when aladdin walked into the cave of wonders and saw all the riches... and there were diamonds everywhere! ron's mom bought this really nice bracelet and was looking for a pinky ring, but she couldn't find one. now that i think about it, i shoulda looked harder for something out there because i can't think of anyplace here that could compare. oh well, just another excuse for me to go back!
to rest my eyes from all that glare, sonder suggested we look at the cds. we were browsing through the mixes and ron came across this one cd and asked me what i thought of the songs... i thought it looked good, so we got it... turns out it was this mix cd we were bothering a guy at this one shop in the great mall about. see, there was a store in great mall that was playing this tight mix. we were asking the guy at the cash what cd it was and he told us his friend burned it for him. we asked what the album was and he told us it was from his friend... i was getting a bit irritated cuz the mix was pretty darn good and i wanted it. so ron was all "i'll give you 20 bucks for it" but the guy said "no." so we were all drove (heheh that's slang for "upset") but we couldn't do a thing about it. so we left it alone. then we found it at the vietnamese mall obviusly burned from its original... and we bought it for 5 bucks.
YAY for cd burners and the desire to make a quick buck!!

and the recap continues...
here's the first part of my trip to cali... in a way, i'm happy that i'm finding these all in installments. a LOT happened... too much to read in a sitting. i won't be able to get any comments from you all anymore... well, for a bit anyways. some dork hacked into the comment page server and made it all retarded. we'll see what happens... til then, enjoy part 1 of the cali trip...

it's been a crazy week back from the long weekend... i finally have a chance to sit down and recap how the trip to cali went. man, was that a nice weekend...

burritos, ducks and sushi, oh my!
thursday, ron's mom and brother took us out to eat at mexicali... sonder was impressing us with his extensive spanish speaking skills... but somehow i don't think that only being able to pronounce the food names makes you an advanced speaker...
afterwards, ron and i hung out with his homeboys at the basketball court. they were so happy so see him! and on top of that, they are fun to just kick it with. i hope we get to see them again...
friday, ron and i were driving out to rasputin records and lo and behold, there were ducks crossing the street! there were theses really cute signs that had the sillouette of a big duck and three little ducks following it and at first i thought it was a joke, but they really did cross the street! too bad i didn't get a shot of that... after all that excitement, we hit the great mall... and did some good shopping :o). after being in milpitas, we drove down to san mateo to meet up with my kuya and his girlfriend at sushi sam's. that has got to be the best tasting sushi i've ever tasted in the bay area. and if any of you find yourselves there (it's on third avenue west) do try the sushi sam's special. it's bomb (thank's bev!). after eating, we went to back to kuya's crib in daly city to watch donnie darko... that is one crazy movie. and the rabbit really freaks me out. definitely a movie to see.

hello?...
okay, so it's not like i haven't been trying to update my blog... i'm just forgetful to put up what i wrote... see me do a "mass may update" today. to start, here's something i wrote around may 9th... i thought i lost this one...

sonar
that's probably my most favorite wednesday night club since i turned 19. it's consistently had the best hip hop r&b and reggae music for at least the last 5 years. and usually, you could get there at 11pm and still get in within the half hour. but last night sonar disappointed me (as well as others, i'm sure). wating in line for an hour there is not acceptable. then again, that vip line was crazy huge. the only way i could've gotten in was if i were rolling with a bunch of females... which is not possible cuz the only ones i do kick it with are SO non clubbers. oh well. my homeboy nurse chris kept good company as usual. we ended up eating at the wonton house on cambie and 23rd afterwards.
i think vancouver should have a club like this one i heard about that's in montreal... there's no line up, just the rope. what people do is go up to the bouncer and he will tell you if you are good looking enough to get into the club... now, i'm not suggesting this cuz i think i'd get in. i don't think ugly people should be seen in public anyways!... i'm just saying it cuz there were just WAY too many ugly people getting into sonar last night, and that's just wrong.

(bitter am i?! ;op)

passion
i'm told i have this in everything i do, no matter how bad i am at it... that kinda makes me feel good. especially since i'm feeling particularly creative this year, what with photography and music and anything i'm considering a "hobby" going on til the end of summer at least. of course, my friend jan has this crazy passion that only a red robin's chef can have. really, it's beautiful jan. keep up your good work. ;op

california
yay! i'm so excited. only 2 more days and then i'm off for the "land of the city of the crypts and bloods"... well, hopefully my trip won't be THAT dangerous, but it'll be fun at least. thing is, i've got so much to do before i go... aiya, doesn't it always happen like that? i really don't mean to leave things til the last minute... well, maybe this time, i won't stay up the whole night before like i usually do before heading south......

i just wanna love you...
i am going to bite someone's style. this person i know is doing what i shoulda done a while ago... she's taking a "sabbatical," as she likes to call it, from any sort of commited relationships. she's got herself all set, putting her foot down against any guy that wants anything more than being just friends, and at the same time meeting any "needs" needed to be met... she's got some skill. actually, she's just avoiding having a boyfriend.
i feel a bit more like cameron diaz in the sweetest thing... i'm just tired of "the game." yes my friends, the hat and cane will soon be hung up on the wall, once and for all... i don't know when, but hopefully i'll be able to retire from being the pimp that some of you like to call me.
don't get me wrong, i still like meeting people. some guys fall under the "he's so cute but so stupid" category, but there are a few guys i meet who are awesome quality people. it's just too hard to meet a guy and try to be their friend when all they got is dating on the brain (or worse!). and on top of that, you're the one who'd have to eventually break it to them (sometimes repeatedly) that you don't want them, so you're ultimately breaking it up. ooh, but it's the worst when they hear exactly what they want to hear, even though what you said wasn't even remotely close... you say "i'm not looking for a boyfriend right now" or "i don't have time for a relationship" or even "i'm not interested" and all they hear is "wow, you could possibly be the man of my dreams... i want to be your girlfriend, no doubt about it!!". and suddenly no matter what you do, it's interpreted the wrong way. like if you make any sort of physical contact, it's taken as a "sign"... be it you accidentally knocking his foot at dinner, or your arms sharing the same rest at the theatre, or even you feeling the sleeve of his shirt because you like the material (after asking permission of course). and don't even get me started on the non-physical contact! like if you look at him at all, he'll think "yeah, she doesn't know it yet, but she wants me."
after i handle this, i'll be rid of all of them (although i wish i could just get rid of the bad parts and keep all the good parts). then i'll have a fresh start and be able to have a "normal" life where nobody will notice me or ever ask me for my number or anything... maybe even have a few things go my way. right now, the only thing i'm happy about is that i can go into hiding (none of those guys read my blog... wonder how many would care?.. wonder how many can read?..) so i can spend some quality me time.

dammit, guys suck.

like woah...
it's 1:14am and i am SO full... i think i have succeeded in eating 3 square meals a day since thursday!.. i've had bistik, sushi, bagels, more bistik, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, sinigang (with lotsa hipon), ravioli, scrambled eggs, sweet and sour prawns, and some pho... and on top of that, i've snacked a LOT as well! what is wrong with me? my homeboy nurse chris tells me it stems from someone teasing me at the dinner table one day a while back. he said "someone said to you "marion you can't finish all that food" and you were all "yeah i can! watch me!" and you haven't stopped eating since." that was 2 summers ago! dang... as my ate winnie would say "ang sarap mag kumain si marion!" (loosely translated: "dang! that marion can eat!!").

so ron likes buying things online and addressing them to me. and the cool part is i always get these packages when i least expect anything. there were a couple mix cds from radio stations in the bay... a tshirt, tuque and apron with the words got adobo? on them (it's like got milk? pinoy style)... and today was the latest installment of things addressed to me... a couple books of sheet music! and not just ANY sheet music.. one was alicia keys and the other was the tupac shakur collection. yes, the tupac makes for an interesting sound... especially on the piano. but hey, music is music right?.. but yeah, thanks ron for brightening up my day. i swear he can read my mind ;o)

full moon
ever heard that song?.. it's funny how when you hear a song (especially one you like) you automatically try to relate it to your life, just to see how close it comes... kinda like horoscopes or psychic "predictions," even though the only predictions they predict are things that already happened.

dang
i just had one of them "reality realizations"... it's about my job (but i guess it could be for any job). well, in my case, i figure i am too inexperienced (or rather too nice) to do it properly. i get too tied up in the fact (or should i say dream) that i could make a change in the world... you know, help kids wanna get smarter. dammit, i wish i didn't worry about the children i tutor. but that'd be like saying i'd be fine if they grew up to be rude and impolite and close-minded... maybe head down the path that leads straight to everything their parents don't want them to grow up to be. if my sister or dad got a chance at doing my job, they would be quitting more than educating. i think that's where both of them are alike. they'd both say "if you don't like it get out" and not give two shits about what could happen to anyone else if you quit. not like i carry my job on my shoulders that severely, but it's hard to be in a line of work where you're just supposed to help little kids, but their other "parental figures" just seem to be countering all your efforts... wait have i complained about this before?...

choclair
this is one canadian rap artist that really needed to grow on me. he's got some good beats on this latest album of his (the memoirs of blake savage), but i still have a special place in my heart for let's ride from his last album. and that's all i have to say about that...

poppin' collars
yeah so my weekend was crazy busy... i really need to just learn how to sit back and chillax... well, it'll happen one day but not today.. or this weekend. the weather just started picking up today so, despite my allergies or any other medical conditions, i'm gonna go out and enjoy it. more about my weekend in a little while... yeah i'm just THAT busy ;op

this blog was especially updated for my kuya... happy?... ;o)

yay!!
now i have a comment system! now all of you who read this blog can identify yourselves to me!!

props out to kuya, randell and uigui :o)

k... let's see if this works...

i'm not normal. i thought i just had a breathing problem, but the doctor needed to check and see if there was anything else that could be contributing to it. so he took my blood to test, and luckily i don't have anemia. but now he doesn't know what the deal is with my breathing. tune in next week when i fill you in on the new prognosis!

going back to cali
yeah, i think so. in may. i'm so excited!! and my kuya had better not be out of town when i get there...

it's friday (hey!) and i'm ready to swing...
sabby and i got our nails done wednesday after work and talk about claws! damn our nails look good! my esthetician is awesome. but what a chore it was to get used to them. wednesday night i couldn't type faster than a 2nd grader, but now i'm back to par... tonight sabby and i are going to a dragon boat fundraiser. i think the team's called m-power... yeah, they got a bmw dealership to sponsor them. anyways it's at that infamous club purple onion that i'm always complaining about. well, at least the company is going to be good. tomorrow i'm going to take my little cousin rafael to watch ice age. we're both the last of our friends who hasn't seen it yet (funny, his friends and my friends are like 14 years apart!). then we'll eat lunch, then play some ps2... woohoo! talk about some good fun... and i just love that i don't work on fridays!

dammit
i can't find a working reblogger! i'm going to bed.

how come you don't call me?...
friday, i was doing my usual thing, trying to figure out which lakad* i should do first... i had the option of going to the arts county fair at ubc to watch swollen members, baby blue soundcrew and choclair perform, or to purple onion where dj jazzy jeff (yes, as in the one with "the fresh prince") was spinning, or to legends for the grand opening of this hiphop night (fabulous fridays). the arts county fair i couldn't attend cuz i ended up having to work in the afternoon... poo. and the peeps i thought i'd hit purple onion with ended up being too inebriated from the fair that they couldn't make it out. so my super crazy friday ended up with me relaxing and dressing nice so i could go to legends with sabz, rick and biggie. it wasn't too bad for the first night. it's a bit classier than the old starfish gig we used to always hit (good times, good times!). but even before that, palladium was the place to be... ahhh, now those were the days.
anyways, after the club, i pulled out my phone to check the time and what happened? the tip of the antenna broke off. i don't have to tell you that i own a startac. yes the antenna's crap, but i have to say that mine is one that lasted for almost 2 years. funny, i think it's just on the first couple digital startacs that the antenna is not as solid. at least i still have an antenna... now it's just stuck inside my phone. other than that, i really don't have any big complaints. i'll just have a harder time getting reception in those "barely there" reception areas.

(*lakad litterally means walk... in this case, it means plans ex. "anong lakad mo?" translates to "what are your plans?"... dig it?)

troubles...
i think i'm going to take voice classes. i've found that with my hopefully temporary lung problem i get short of breath most after i'm running or talking. yeah yeah, laugh if you will, but it's true. i just talk that much. the thing is, i want to have the right breathing technique so when i sing, i won't get so short of breath too. i came to this conclusion after i went to karaoke last night with the usual crew. yeah, my singing was pretty hurt for someone who doesn't usually sound so bad. argh, it looks like a long road for me... a.k.a. the girl who was built like a ford...

i g-g-g-got it...
k, i think that's the name of that jagged edge, jd and nas song... but yeah that is one good song. it's got that infectious beat that makes you wanna just dance. i was rereading my last blog entry and you know, the way i wrote it really reflected how my weekend felt. now that i got some music on, i think i can write a bit more enthusiastically. it's real weird how music can just influence your emotions so easily. well, it does that to me...
so yeah, i'm in the middle of discussing with ron about going to cali in may. well, i've actually had to discuss with several people about that... lots of us want to go, but we just can't get in synch (woah, i used the term "in synch" without having to refer to the boy band!). hopefully everything works out... we'll see. all i know is that i gotta visit my kuya out there. i haven't seen him since august and that's already been too long! i used to go down there all the time, but now time is a lot less free for me than it was last year. it's kinda sucky but i guess it balances out in other ways...

...
so this past long weekend was pretty sedate. i guess it being the holy-est part of "holy week" is the only explanation i got. i almost forgot that fun was supposed to be a big no-no for the whole week, not just from thursday til saturday. see, waaay back in the day, the thursday before good friday (a.k.a. holy thursday) was when jesus had his last supper, so we (as in catholics) have to be real solemn that day, cuz jesus knew he was going to die the next day... that being good friday, where we are supposed to not have any fun, cuz we gotta think about jesus dying for the sins of man. as my friend aimee put it "it's a day when you think about what you've done, and what you're gonna do about it." well, either way, those two days are the most unexciting, unfun days of the whole year for a catholic. i don't really mind it cuz it ain't so bad that we gotta just stay at home and chill... everyone lives such fast-paced lives nowadays, that taking a day or two out really doesn't hurt at all. besides, sunday was easter so we all partied it up. i got to hide eggs for a little easter egg hunt for my little cousins and some other family friends' children, then we all ate a big dinner. as for today, i went shopping with my friend ivan... i just bought a plain white gap t-shirt. i figure if i want to go clubbing, i usually just want to wear comfy clothing anyways. add some blue jeans and my cortezes and ta-da... another classic outfit!

YAY!
one night a while back, the family was just sitting around in the kitchen after dinner, watching some show. nothing too exciting. anyhow, we (the daughters) were getting a bit restless and were wondering when our friends would be calling to ask us to go out. just before we all decided to get up and leave, a hallmark card commercial came on that caught our attention. a boy went up to a girl in the playground and recited a poem to her. it went like this:

i place a kiss in both my palms
and hold them to the wind
in hopes that someday you'll think of me
because the kiss has made its way to you.

she told the boy that it was a nice poem, and gave him a kiss on his cheek... he then proceeded to another girl and started reciting the same poem.

my sisters and i laughed and laughed. we all wanted to use this poem for our valentine's day cards... but in our enjoyment, we completely blanked on the poem. so our dad said "i'll get for you." and tonight, just 5 minutes ago, dad came up to me and recited the poem. hehehe... my dad is awesome.

ooh ooh!..
so it's not quite saturday but it's close enough. i just read my kuya's blog and his girlfriend's blog too... you know, from what i've read, she sounds pretty cool (yes kuya, i approve). and i know some might think this as anal but i love that she has no grammar or spelling mistakes like my kuya sometimes does! it's so nice on the eyes. yes, the teacher in me is shining through ;op. but yeah, she seems to be having a good influence on him ;o).

anyhow, i just wanted all 5 of my faithful readers (wait... do i have that many?..) to know that i'll be off to the sunshine coast this weekend... a little bit of rest and relaxation and partying before heading back to school. *sigh* spring break is over so fast! and i am so disappointed in myself... i wanted to hang out with my ate winnie this week. sorry ate!!! i'm slacking off on my chismis (sp?) time with her!! i'll make it up to her next week i promise.

and to all of my pirates, i miss you guys already! come back soon!!!

i gotta make the song cry...
i decided to get back to listening to the unmarked cds... ron, if you're reading this, i just want you to know that despite needing to do some real work, i'm going to avoid it (yes, i aspire to be like you!! ;op hehehe) just so i can label these cds! yeah, i'm not complaining... i love listening to music ;o). i could sit indoors and listen to music all day... of course, the weather helps too. it's been hella snowing here for the last 2 days, so i really wouldn't be able to do much else anyways. and i guess me possibly developing asthma doesn't help either. yeah i'm pretty choked (no pun intended). i went to a doctor at a clinic last week and he said i might have a sort of asthma, but not like a real asthmatic's type of asthma. so this week i went to my family doctor and he was more sure that i "may have developped asthma" after the last virus or cold i got. boohoo. at least hockey won't be too hard on me anymore since it ended last sunday... but there's still dragon boating (maybe)... and dancing... and karaoke! man, all them activities that require me breathing easily are really making me want to cry...

mr.cheeks
i'm listening to a song by him... "mamma said mamma said mamma said mamma said mamma said..." yeah it's pretty chill. ron brought me like 8 unmarked mix cds this weekend so now i get to listen to them so i can label them somehow. i'm on my 3rd one, and i'm getting all into it now... the first ones were actually from the last time he gave me unmarked ones so it wasn't too hard to get through them... but now i'm listening to this one and i'm all "what? jay-z? then some nas?!" for real, if these guys were all together on tour it'd be harsh "song fighting." you know, kinda like j.Lo (in her ain't it funny remix) and p.diddy (in his i need a girl). for those who don't already know, check out the lyrics to them songs... it almost brings tears to your eyes... almost. but yeah, i wonder how ruthless it could get. wonder if it'd be like eddy and neo talkin bout mike... oooh, and neo, i still think your "plan" is pretty tight ;op.

you three boys take care...

big tings
so i am starting to get into reggae... music and dancing i guess. it's a nice beat. and the words are awesome: "bombaklat", "the original dondatta", "boom-boom", "bum-bum"... the list goes on. and those are only the words i'd dare to try and spell! the rest i have no idea what is being said. i think i might start trying to understand it. but my gawd how do them girls move like that?! i can only do the basic booty shake for like 10 seconds then i get a cramp. do i gotta stretch or something first? and on top of that, there are other moves... how the heck does ANYONE manage to do that?! i wanna learn the matrix. my sister keeps trying to show me, but i have a feeling that losing balance and falling is not part of it.

emotions...
yay!! i fixed up my archive!... i guess that was the kind of "active" activity i needed... check it out tho. i am SO cool ;op

okay, maybe not.

don't you hate it when you got so much work to do, but you just can't get yourself to do it? i got a bunch of things to do, work and non-work type things, but i just don't want to be sitting down anymore! yeah, i know. and yet i'm sitting at the computer right now complaining about sitting... i need to do something active, but non-productive. like going out and spending money on food, movies, shopping... but everyone worth hanging with is so not anywhere near me! you all know who you are!!

jumpin' jumpin'...
yay! i changed the template! woohoo!... k, time for sleep...

foolish... bouncin' back...
hey everyone!!... or should i say "anyone?"... ok, so me reviving this blog is way overdue. i've been busy... doing things that would just sound like a really long excuse so i won't bother explaining. neo figured out how to blog and i have to say that got me back into it... check his site out, he's a pretty funny guy. that's all for now... although, i can't go on without shouting one to my kuya... he got me into this in the first place. he's the coolest. hi kuya!! ;op

the fifth grade
so the fifth grade looked cool. they pulled the dark curtains and turned on a multicolored disco ball. the food of choice was orange soda pop and shortbread cookies that looked like witch fingers. but the best part was the music...
"it's over, it's my turn now, it's over, the game's shut down... sorry!.." they were singing. then i heard the familiar beats of one minute man come on... "HOLD UP! who's cd is this?" i asked. "mine," said chanella, who was dressed as a movie star "but they're all clean versions, mademoiselle marion. don't worry."... sweet. then jlo and ja rule came on. then a lil zane song. man, these kids had good taste in music! i walked in and i felt like i was in a club, but with cleaner air, no alcohol and a better tempered crowd. and these kids could dance too!! and i'm not talking "vancouver special" here... i'm talking c-walking and that! they are gonna be cool cats when they get big.

hallowe'en parties
... remember having them in elementary school? you know, when the teacher organized who would bring food and drink and music, so you could all have your little party in your classroom with all your little friends... well, yesterday was hallowe'en and since i really didn't have any work to do, i party hopped. here's what i thought... keep in mind this is all very exciting for the little ones...

kindergarten - lots of candy. it's like they charge up for all year on this day.

grade 1 - games like musical chairs burned off their sugar intake. good thing too. they,d end up a lot like the kindergarteners...

grade 2 - cookies, doughnuts, and cupcakes! these kids are gonna be fat... lucky for them i helped them out by alleviating some of that off their plates ;op

grade 3 - jello jigglers, bite sized brownies and chips. yummy!!

grade 4 - not much of a party. i didn't get much food either.

grade 6 - all they listened to was n'sync. they so define the meaning of pop. i got a bag of candy from them though.

note i missed the 5th graders. that's because their party has to be told about in great detail... i gotta get back to work though, so you'll have to wait...

i'm in a bad mood
so i've been told that i should be flattered that more than one guy wants me. so maybe i'd be flattered by one or two (at most!), but the whole mess of others, i just wish i was as lyrical as TLC...

Now don't get me wrong cuz I'm not a ho
But I know what I got you can't handle though
...
Nigga you must be crazy
What you gonna do with a bitch like me
I'm so good at being bad
I'm the best you never had
I epitomize the word sexy
...
Sorry I turned you out
I guess I didn't know
That a man could be so soft
Hope that you don't mind
I'm not the mushy kind

(from i'm good at being bad by tlc)

i guess i feel a bit better now... >:o) i think i'ma go shoppin'!

gold is for the honey
so last weekend, our "compilation dragon boat team" a.k.a. A.C. UNITED went for our first competition together out in kelowna (this is in a beautiful area of british columbia, 5 hours drive from vancouver, near lotsa vineyards and orchards. needless to say, the weather was awesome). we ended up doing really well in our prelims and qualifying races. and despite some almost disasters, we got into the jade division finals... and took home the gold! i really really like this team. we took practically whoever wanted to go to kelowna from both my team (apocalypse) and our sister team (cylone... hence the name A.C. UNITED) and threw them all in a boat and practiced together for a month. i knew we'd be bringing home some sort of hardware, but i didn't think it'd be the gold. but what a great way to end off the season. if anyone from the team is reading this, i would like to say thanks for being there... we couldn't have done it without you! we rule!!

tony and tina's wedding
oh man this was funny! char invited me to go with her and len, ai, meesh, and some of meesh's friends... i took eric with me at the last minute, even though he saw it already... what a sport. i don't know of many (i mean ANY) guys that would do the "broadway show" type thing. and i didn't expect eric to be one... for all y'all that know who eric is, you understand what i mean, right? but we had a great time. the show starts out at a real chapel... we are acting as guests at this wedding, so we "attend" the ceremony. i don't want to spoil anything about the actual show, but that nun who sang madonna was just SO funny! after the crazy ceremony, we were led to the hotel next door for the reception. this part was highly entertaining, because there were actors everywhere. something was happening wherever you turned. the actress who was ushering us in had hecka attitude (i swear, ai got so riled up, she was gonna feed this chickie a knuckle sandwich!!). we even got seated with 2 actors at our table. i went to the washroom and ran into the hired entertainment for the wedding. she and her "husband" used to have a show in vegas, so their story goes... and the bride's ex was in attendance to cause a stir... each one of these actors have their stories down pat! it was great. if you want a really different broadway show experience, this is it.

audition?
that was what jac asked me when she found out that UBC's CVC club wants to have us perform for some multicultural evening they're running. we both found out last thursday that we were being put down to audition for this thing. they just want us to sing (and boy can jac sing!!) and pump up the crowd. so we went to the audition last night and sang from this moment by shania twain, even though we were both not at our best (jac had a cold and i am still recovering from yelling in kelowna), and we got it. we thought it'd just be a simple little thing, but they're expecting like 700 to 800 people to attend this function (comprising of students, rich people, sponsors, and politicians). wow. but then again, jac and i aren't really the shy types. maybe this will be our big break!!... popstars, watch out now!!!

where to begin?
the last couple of days have been something i (or anyone else for that matter) have never experienced in my life. tuesday morning
i woke up 45 minutes before my alarm to my little sister's radio blaring what sounded to be some news channel. i remember thinking
to myself "since when did sarah start listening to radio news?... i thought this was the pop station... at least be blasting music
at 7am instead of news!!". i was so grumpy that i didn't even bother listening to what they were talking about. i was robbed of an extra 45 minutes of sleep, so i decided that i should just get up and get a early start on my day. i walked into the kitchen and turned
on the television to check out the local morning news when i saw this amazing sight of the twin towers on fire... i thought it was
some movie, or some stunt... then i realized that it had just happened and i was staring right at what used to be the world trade center. i was madly trying to turn up the volume and change the channel to cnn when i passed the french news channel and then saw
the pentagon was in flames. i was like "what in the world am i watching? is this all for real?!" cause i couldn't believe what
i was seeing. when i finally got to cnn, it was only 5 more minutes til i saw the second tower collapse. my mouth just hung open.

i was so sure that all hell was going to break loose sometime during the hours that followed. when work was over, i (literally)
ran home as fast as i could to see what was happening next. i heard about the missiles hitting in afghanistan. that made me so worried. then i heard about bush wanting 20billion (i think) for guns and ammunitions and gas to hunt down and punish the "folks" that did this...

all i can say is that i am upset. i'm 23 years old. i still have big plans for my future. this event will put my plans on hold, and i am not pleased about that. even a simple trip to cali this october is most likely not going to happen... all because some crazy people who hate americans decided to accomplish the craziest feat of terrorism ever. damn.

what bothers me the most is that none of this will be solved anytime soon. everyone is angry, and we all know how poorly one
can rationalize with a hot head. i hope things simmer down, but i have a really good feeling that they won't. i also have a really
good feeling that this will change a lot of people, kids and grownups... whoever. the kindergarteners were talking about a big building
blowing up on television, and the 4th graders were already talking about how young you are allowed be if you wanted to join the army.

wait... what about canada?
all we've been doing the last few days was accepting airplanes diverted from the states, cuz the americans were worried that there would be more terrorists coming in... step back for a bit. canada is a country too... it has people and cities and ressembles america
in some ways. so if there were a bomb on the plane, wouldn't it have the same chance of going off in canada as it does in the states?
we may be acting as the big brother who can help out, but i wonder if the united states would do the same for us if ever this situation
were to happen up here. i only think this way cuz i know that when "it" happens, the united states will be using all its power to drag
us canadians to fight right beside them (if not in front of them!)... it's not that i don't think revenge is the answer (that
i'll save for another blog entry), it's just that there is going to be a war... so i'm just scared.

back at it!
yipes... i knew i had a busy august, but who knew it would take this long for me to write in here again?...

so today was the first school day for students and teachers everywhere. for me, it was okay. nothing special happened at all. all i know is that i wish it was still summer vacation. i'm already looking forward to the thanksgiving weekend (for the americans reading this, our thanksgiving falls on your columbus day).

friends
i remember seeing a poem that was hanging in a kindergarten classroom a few years back, and i really liked it. it described the meaning of friendship real well. i dedicate this poem to all my friends.

you are my friend.

you are special.

you are my friend.

you are special to me.

you, my friend,

i like you.

(it just brings tears to your eyes, don't it?)

like
it sucks when someone likes you more than you like them. as much as they think you wouldn't understand how sucky that is, take it from me, we do. that's all.

*tune in next time when i'm bored and decide to write about my august adventures!*

scrub?
okay, so i was reading my kuya's blog... he asked what girls think about guys who live with their parents. the situation that kuya was saying included the guy being in his mid-20s, and him making payments for the house he helped them buy. i don't see how that could be such a bad thing, unless his parents are treating him like a teenager or something. but i personally don't know anyone (right off the top of my head) that is in this situation.

in the group i've got, i don't know any girl who's got her own place (apartment or house). we're all over 20. but i think it's just a typical girl thing that their parents let them stay as long as they want. it's not that our parents don't want us to move out, or that they won't encourage it. it's just that they won't boot us out of the house. besides, it's not that bad. some of us are spoiled and we don't have to pay rent or do anything for our parents to help support the family. the rest of us support our family in different ways, from just paying to keep gas in the car, to contributing a bit to the bills, to helping out our siblings so our parents won't have to worry about them so much. yeah, that's pretty much how it works in my neck of the woods. i know of a few people that strongly believe that after 19 (that's when you're considered an adult in canada), they will kick their kids out of the house to fend for themselves. unless i know that my kids are going to be able to do what they want to do (ex. school, travel, or work) AND support themselves financially, i won't even hear of that. the last thing i'd want is to kick my kid out of the house before they felt they were ready... imagine having to pay off student loans or credit card bills or having no real work experience so you'd be on welfare before the age of 20. and on top of that, they'd have to pay rent, electricity and grocery bills every month... maybe it's just a maternal thing, and i know this is a worst-case scenario, but i'd hate to think that my kid could have a really rough start on his or her adult life.

of course, if i think back to how i was when i was 19, well, i guess i was mentally ready. but i was still in school... definitely NOT financially ready. it's sad that money has to play such a big part, but it does.

but as far as if a guy was in this situation, i dunno. i think most guys make a point to be independant of their parents as soon as they can, regardless of if they still live with them or not. i know of some that live on their own, and those are the ones i hardly see cuz they're always working. of course, it would be a bit of a drag if you wanted to have a romantic evening with a guy and you couldn't cuz his mom and dad were upstairs watching television or something... privacy and independance are the main advantages to having your own place. but really, a guy (in his early to mid 20s) living with his family doesn't bother me so much. it's not like he'd be living in his parent's house forever. besides, it's different if a guy owns his house and has his parents staying with him rather than him living with his parents. now, if he complains about his living situation and is doing nothing about it, then i would consider him a scrub.

pender island
man, i am so beat. i just got back from sabby's uncle's cabin on a local island and was that ever a well-deserved rest! first off, this cabin was BEAUTIFUL! it was a log-cabin, with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a great kitchen and dining area, and a living room with a gas fireplace and a HUGE view of the lake. it was right at our back yard!! this morning, deer were grazing in the yard, the sun was shining, and the girls and i canoed out to the middle of the lake and sunbathed on these raft things... it was SO sweet. i wish we didn't have to come back so soon... after this beautiful weekend, i really feel like my summer is over. i guess it's cuz work for me is an elementary school. it's like waaaay back in the day when you were a kid. once you saw the school supply shopping commercials on television, you know another year of hard work and effort is on its way.

cool... take 2
so my kuya told me that this friend of his wrote something about my "cool" entry in her blog. her name is bernadette and her blog is pretty... well... COOL (really, it is!). it's true, that it's all in how you say it, and i agree with her... it's got such diverse meanings for such a little word. i really have a special place in my heart for this word. but just watch... the english language will eventually collapse on itself because every word will want to be the same word... okay, maybe not, but hey. it's still a scary thought.

i need...
music!! argh, i was thinking i could just chill back and blog while listening to the latest mp3s sarah and i downloaded on this ancient machine... but it's just not working. oh well, i guess i could listen to the radio... but i really felt like listening to some sugar jones, the canadian popstar group (yes, from the tv show). i'm quite impressed with their voices, actually. i heard a taste of the australian popstars group bardot, and they're just okay.

but anyhow, i'm just taking a break from doing some work. need to do some mindless blabbing...

is there another word for COOL?
i was talking to a friend earlier and he likes to say the word cool. that's not a bad thing... i use it a lot too. i (and others i know) use other words like sweet, tight, awesome, and all good to mean the same as cool, but cool comes up the most in conversation. i think it annoys some people (mostly the ESL kids i talk with... or old people ;op ) but i don't think i can help it. although, you'd have to be really cool for me to say you are (yeah, i'm talkin to you PAWNK!... hehehe).

got books?
reading is something i used to have to force myself to do. now i wasn't one of those kids who absolutely despised reading. i actually really liked it. i was just kinda slow at it. and of course when i got to the highschool level, i read what we had to read for english or literature class, so i didn't really have an urge to read other books when i had free time. but in university, i found that reading was one of the best ways to procrastinate (next to playing video games, watching movies, and email). now, since i go to the library almost every week to get kids books to tutor with, i look around for books i'd like to read that have more than 15 pages, pictures optional.

the latest one i have is just SO good! i've never been interested in anything more than the bare minimum about history, but in the last little while or so, my interest has been sparked. it must've been around the time i was reading timeline by michael crichton... anyhow, the book i've got now is about the battle of stalingrad. it's the setting for that movie enemy at the gate was about. yes, it has to do with the war, a topic not many of my friends talk about, but the story is just SO unbelieveable.

*grumble*
i have so much to do. this weekend i'm headed out to a cabin on pender island with sabby and the girls (i wonder if more than jason and rick will be joining us to represent the guys?..) so we have to do some major food shopping soon. then when i get back i've got to get back into the intensive tutoring scene... then our dragon boat team will be hella practicing for our victoria competition in a couple of weeks... then i'm off the following weekend with my little sister to L.A. for our cousin's cotillion.

i guess most of these activities are going to be fun... i'm just complaining about the busy-ness of it all. i wish me and my friends could just sit back and chill together and not worry about work or anything. at least it'd be a relaxing end to the summer.

sonho meu
that's the name of a brazilian song i'm listening too... i think i've practically memorized it already. and for those who know me, it's not unusual. there's just something horribly wrong with me. it's that damn "phonographic memory" i've got with songs, and it doesn't matter what language they're in either. now if only i could learn a filippino song other than nandito ako...

sugar
i love sugar. and i really like those crazy asian candies too. the other day, i went to richmond with annie and we spent $20 (canadian... so that makes for about 12 of your american bucks) on chinese and japanese imported candy. now before you go on thinking "what? is that candy really that great?" i have to say YES it is. there are so many cool flavors that north american candies wouldn't have. like lychee, mango, muscat and green grape to name a few. there's a buch of weird ones too (like scotch flavor.. eeep!) but i'll tell you about those if we ever have to eat it. the best tasting candy we bought has to be this lychee flavored chewy candy. yummy!! we tried the mango version of it, but it tasted pretty bad. and now i'm chewing on some sour green grape flavor gum drops. the candy has a site... it's so funny, the characters on the site really look like the character on the package! annie picked up this bubble gum that has fizzy popping things in the center of it. it really made us salivate. the most interesting one has to be the peach-grape flavored gum. it had a cotton candy consistancy and turned into chewing gum once it hits your saliva. it was really neat. but weird at the same time. you gotta wonder what kind of kicks people get out of buying this regularly. there's this one candy in front of me with a cartoon of a hamster on it... it's got a website too... and my candy really looks like that! these candies are so entertaining.

nekked!

so i went to the nude beach in vancouver called wreck beach for the first time last week. it's such a beautiful beach! remind me to take you if you ever come and visit me, and provided that the weather is good. it was so much less crowded than the local beaches, and that really was refreshing. plus, the area has some historicity (is that a word? well it is now!) to it. back during the war, we feared that we could possibly be attacked, being on the pacific and all. so there were three big guns placed up above the beach level (around where our museum of anthropology is), and a couple lookout towers on the actual beach. it's really cool.

i can't really tell you much about the naked people though. i was busy walking around looking down because there are a ton of big rocks just waiting to turn your ankle for you. but when i DID look up, i saw an awful lot of women with those ugly banana shaped tits. i know i have far from the best tits in the world, but i'm sorry, they were quite gross. no real nice boobies were hanging out (pardon the pun!) that day. i also saw a lot of big ol' burly men, with itty bitty wee wees. the younger, fitter men were either too far out towards the water or sunbathing on their stomachs so i couldn't really get a good look at their packages. aww shucks. but i must mention that there was this one guy who looked pretty relaxed, sleeping sprawled out on a big log, with the largest penis i've ever seen. it was just laying there on top of his right thigh. it was easy 6 inches long. but enough about that.

food... yummm

on friday, jason and i went to a barbecue at one of our brazilian student friend's homestay house. it was so sweet. he had a pool and a jacuzzi. this is not a common luxury for us vancouverites, because it's usually rainy or cold 9 of the 12 months of the year, so most of us spend our extra cash on hard-top convertibles, or trips to warm and sunny places. lucky for us it's been sunny for 3 weeks straight so this bbq came at the perfect time. we didn't do much except for chill by or in the pool all night, but it was all good. eating barbecued steak, chicken, and sausages was fine by me!

mmmm... more food!!

saturday was jp's (my godbrother) birthday party. it was another barbecue, this time at a park in new wesminster (for my cali friends, picture oakland, but with more apartments than tenement housing). the amount of time it takes to take our skytrain from downtown vancouver to there is about the same amount of time it takes for the BART to take you from downtown san fran to the second oakland stop (if i recall correctly, it's the west oakland stop). funny, isn't it? anyhow, me and char chilled and ate steak and rice, and reminiced with our godsiblings. we are all pretty much around the same age, and we often wonder when we get older, if we'll be running the family barbecues as much as our parents run them right now. it's funny, but we all see it as a kind of torch that will be passed to us, the younger generation, to preserve our filipino culture through family traditions. it's really interesting to think about, cause we're all canandian, and canadians are notorious for not having a specific culture. that's what we get for having a multicultural society rather than a melting pot.

and you'd think the food would stop there. that same evening, i went to sun sui wah, a great chinese seafood restaurant, for cin's 24th birthday. i gotta say, if you love seafood and chinese food, go to a really good chinese seafood restaurant. it's delicious! and as odd as it may sound, jellyfish tastes AWESOME. i can't describe how it's cooked, but it's not as gross as you'd first think. it's so delicious. i had such a good time that evening, mostly because i was hanging with people i don't see very often anymore. but regardless of our busy lives, we never lose touch. it's so great.

all for you
so last thursday was supposed to be janet jackson's first concert of her all for you tour. it was to be here in our very own GM place arena. she rented the whole place out for most of june so she could practice before the tour started. but it ended up that the concert was postponed until monday the 9th. regardless of the delay, it was SO worth it! this woman is amazing. her choreography was perfect for every dance number, and her singing was so on key it gave me chills. and the place was full up til the rafters. it was a great concert.

and of course, how could i rave about it without raving about 112? these guys are the best guy r&b group i've heard live since the days of boyz2men. sarah and i went to their first performance out here and it was beautiful (wouldn't you agree craig? ;op) and their second apperance was just as great. if ever you get a chance, check them out live. it's so worth it.

until i write again...

dragon boat

holy cow am i tired (still!) of this past weekend. the vancouver alcan dragon boat festival started on friday and ended sunday. did you know that it's the world's largest international dragon boat festival? i just found that out myself. as for my team, team apocalypse, we did pretty well for ourselves... we won silver in the second highest recreational team division. it was a great weekend, despite the stress of it all... i'll tell more about it later when i post the link to the pictures.

so much to read...

and so little time! there is just too much information out there. it's times like this i wish i could read faster... much like that guy on the speed reading infomercial. he just runs his finger down the page and he's done. PLUS he says he understands every detail of what he just read! my friend andy had some sort of reading product like that when we were in highschool. i wonder if it worked... think it's just a crock? but it would be SO useful!! take my daily interests for example. i have email that i read, respond to and compose, i like to read at least the front page of the paper to see yesterday's news, i read about more current events online, i write in my blog (not all the time, but i'm consistent), i tutor/teach kids constantly, and if i'm not already square-eyed from all that information, i like to read my book before going to bed. and of course i feel bad that i can't email back everyone that writes me, but let it be known that i at least read what they write. it's usually by then that i'm so burned out from all the words i see in a day that writing more is just torture. i should start typing with my eyes closed... if you can handle the typos. i can't wait til voice command technology becomes more refined and less expensive. forgive the corniness, but it'll be a sight for sore eyes!!

hey mer, how's life?

that's what everyone's been asking me lately. no one's seemed to catch me at a full stop for the last month... well, in a word, my life is BUSY. like i told my kuya, i'm kinda torn among three things: my job, my family, and everything else (all lumped into one big pile).

work is work

work is keeping me busy, but that's just temporary. it's report card season again, you know. you will not believe how many teachers know very minimal about computers, and typing is not a forte they all posess. the last day of school is on the 25th, and the report cards have to be entered into the computers/system by this weekend. that amounts to stress on them which, suprisingly, doesn't stress me at all... although, it's not enjoyable sometimes when you have to teach a weathered teacher how to save their work. you think they'd be as open to learn as they are to teach. some of them are just so cranky. whenever i encounter a situation where a bad attitude is involved, i try my best to remember it. that way, if i find myself acting that way, i can remind myself how stupid it looks from another person's shoes. it's just a theory, and probably a bad one, but i'm hoping to become a better person that way.

thicker than water

my family is doing fine. we've got lots of flowers, and my relatives are always bringing over food with their well-wishes. it's hard doing all the things i have to do, let alone the things i want to do when we have to make sure my mom's not doing anything but relaxing. and the relatives mean well, i know, but sometimes i have the feeling that too many cooks spoil the pot. one weekend a couple weeks ago, i went out for a walk at queen elizabeth park with jason. no one was expected to be here, but low and behold, the relatives came and a party ensued. it wasn't something that would have been highly recommended, but it happened anyway. everyone was fussing over anybody that asked mom anything, cuz "she has to rest! don't disturb her!!" it got hard to bear. as much as i know i should've been around, i'm kinda glad i wasn't. you know how family can be. i'd have probably gone crazy.

life?

i don't have time for an interesting one. i've got jason (thank GOODNESS) so he's what keeps me smiling mostly. i don't know what i'd do without him.
tonight is the big fundraiser for my dragon boat team. it's gonna be at daddy o's. this place has been renovated since it's early days of being big bam boo. it looks good... but i'm not too sure about the two cages with elevated podiums some girls choose to dance in. i guess that's what happens when your club also hosts "ladies night". hopefully, there will be some happenings worth repeating... then maybe my blog/my life will be a bit more exciting. strange, my entries used to be less mediocre than this... maybe someone stole my qi...?!

let's recap last weekend... before this one starts!

friday, i went downtown with mom. aside from running errands (ie. shopping), we paid a visit to ming, our jeweler. now, someone once told me that in life all you need is a good doctor, a good lawyer, and a good barber/hairdresser. well i can't help but think that a jeweler should be up there somewheres. it's just so much more worth it rearranging your old jewelry than buying completely new ones... at least in mom and my case :o)
anyhow, she had some of her pearls set in white gold. one cultured pearl was set into my lola's engagement ring band, and sized to fit my finger! i know this might be boring for most of you, but if you ever get the chance to see this ring, WOW is it ever beautiful!

an ice cold beer makes you wanna cheer...
(yes, i think i will start putting titles on my entries now)

saturday was my dragon boat team's first race of the year, and my first race ever. i was more than a little bit nervous about it... i was worried i wouldn't be loud enough, or that i'd fall out of the boat mid-race, or that i'd make us lose. but it turned out to be SO fun! it was like a track meet on water. although, getting soaked after our final race wasn't quite as fun as we played it to be (no thanks to darryl! you are SO going to get it boy!). but the salty false creek water stinging my eyes didn't matter. we won :o)

mother's day "lupper"

see, it would've been a brunch if we had actually had it before noon. instead it was a late lunch or early supper, or "lupper".
annie, bébé (a.k.a. rafael), and i cooked buttermilk pancakes and omlettes for our parents and us. it was hilarious trying to get bébé to cook with us. he's only 7 so imagine the excitement in the kitchen. tune in for a repeat performance this father's day.

i miss cali

i can't help but think how beautiful it is down there at this time, while up here, sun is quickly becoming a myth. monday was crazy torrential rain all day. by 9pm, there were power outs in many parts of vancouver... of course, the other reasoning could be because california has been sucking out all OUR electricity... what is up with that? i thought you guys were a rich state! freeloaders ;op

so i'm in the field of education... now, i know i can do it, but do i really want to do it? the idea of having a winter, spring and summer vacation is just great, and i must say, that is what first attracted me to teaching. of course, i was six years old. now that i've grown a little bit older and wiser, school is still school. i liked it when i was a kid, i liked it less when i was a teenager, and those who know me well can tell you how little i liked it in university. now that doesn't mean that i'm against teaching or education or anything like that. i'm all for it. it's just that i'd rather do something i like. i had to man the fifth grade yesterday afternoon when the regular teacher was called away. i am familiar with the class, and was prepared to have to deal with complete chaos. well, it didn't end up being complete chaos, but there were always the kids who were intent on not listening. boy were they in for it.

see, the fifth grade has a nickname for me: nice lady. some have even come up to me and said that they weren't scared of me. that kind of concerns me. does that mean that i have to be "scary" to be a successful teacher? by successful i mean getting the respect that all teachers should have from their students. after all, teachers are trying to teach the kids something that they'll be able to use sometime in their lives. it's just so hard when they don't want to listen. not only do you get a bit ticked off when they refuse to cooperate (trust me, teaching is a thankless job), but imagine having the opportunity to make an impression on a child's life and it turns out that it's a negative impression instead of positive. yikes, the repercussions could be severe!! i'm all for being a pillar of the community, but i am just not comfortable knowing that getting the kids to listen and obey means that you'd have to be some sort of dragon lady. well, i don't know if they were scared of me after yesterday, but the two kids that i had to give lines to must have serious hand cramps this morning. my new nickname: don't mess.