It's Working!

"Bravery could only be found in a knight's heart..."

COPPED IT: I bought the new kanYE west cd right after class was over. Literally, sat and watch the clock errlike 5 min. to see how much time I had left. When I got to best buy there was like all these other people waiting for best buy to open too. Then we all ran to go get the cd as if it was gonna be sold out already. I didnt know there was going to be a limited one and a regular one. The only difference iis that there's a poster included in the cd I think. ANyway, the cd is pretty tight, the tracks make you bop your head. Yup, thas kanYe for ya, he has you singing 'ring ding dong...'

HISTORY: Besides, english, one of my favorite subjects history cuz it's such a rich subject to learn. To me, its not something boring but there's so much valuable stuff to it. Learning bout your country, how it was born, or the struggles it went through and how it was able to overcome it. Its kinda cool to cuz you can have your opinion bout certain things too and even though you may have heard the same story when you were younger, there's always more to learn. There's something new to open your eyes a little bit and kinda wonder. When I was in high skool, in one of my classrooms there's this quote that went somethting like. 'those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' I think it pretty much speaks for itself.

EXORCISMS: At work we were sitting there talking bout spirits, ghosts, and exorcims. One of my coworkers asked if I was going to see that movie, 'the exorcism of emily rose.' Then from there we all juss started talking bout all kinds of skurry stuff. He asked if I really believe in exorcims and was wondering how it happened. Interesting question cuz I didnt even know how someone gets possesed. One of my other coworkers told us bout this place called 'turbo canyon' in whittier. APparently, its where this abanonded mental hospital is. Gangstas and other people go up there and try to give themselves a good scare. He was saying how there are those tall fenced w/those human wires. Supposedly people have died trying to climb over the fence. Anyone up for a mini late nite road trip?! haa

GOOD ONE: Had a real cool convo w/jesty today at work. Normally, we dont get to work together cuz we're at two different centers. We talked bout errthang from politics to current events. Its cool having convo w/people who watch the news and know whas going on in the world. We both said that pretty much for any type of job you have, you gotta pay attention to whas going in the news. There are tons of stuff that could real affect you in the long run if you take the opportunity to find out the facts and make a decision.

SCRC: This is gonna be 4th SCRC convention and I'm really looking forward to going. Its cool seeing people young and old there juss praising God and people receiving healing and all sorts of answered prayers. I remember the very first year I went to scrc I was helping out at the youf track. During adoration I was praying in front of the altar, closing my eyes. When I opened them, as I looked up I saw a white dove flying in the air. I tripped out but it was so clear and so visual, I cant even begin to describe it. THen the year after that I moved up and along w/banne helped out w/the young adult track. The first year they had ever had one at scrc. Now I kinda like juss going and being a participant. One thing I love besides the masses are the vendors, tons of vendors! Im so excited to buy some more books to start reading again. I have an scrc tradition though ha I always have to carry the flags at least during one of the masses. SCRC hurr we go!

OFF OF MAIN: Went to have dinner w/fr. paul last nite in huntingon beach. We went to eat at this italian restaraunt off of main street. Its called luigis or something like that, good italian food. I had this pasta w/calamari in it, it was real good. I guess cuz I was trying not to eat all day so I could finish my food for dinner. The only thing I didnt like was it was so saucy, I dont like my pastas that way. ANyway, afterwards, we walked around the beach and on the pier. It was so relaxing it felt real nice. The nite wasnt too cold, it was great. One thing I love bout so cali are the beaches! I was walking on teh sand and I felt so in awe of the wonders God has creAted. Stuff like this really makes you appreciate the beauty of nature.




















THANKFUL: The nite ended at the adoration chapel which was the best way to end. Giving thanks to God for juss errthang. A whole bunch of great stuff has went on this past summer. The starting of HOW, being at holy family, helping out w/the youf ministry...what more could you ask for? At the same time offfering up prayers for the people in south. I cant imagine what'd be like to loose errthang, home, car, the works. Father told me they have adoration mon. thru wednesday errweek. It's time to come back to the heart of worship...

Be at HOLY FAMILY TOMORROW 7pm!!!

"And the reason is you..."im done, im out God bless!

Every Little Step

"Stretch forth your hand towards God as an infant towards its father to be conducted by Him..."

EXHAUSTED: Man this weekend wore me out, I dont know what it was. You know having the growth retreat at sPv was real convient for me ha. I didnt have to use a lot of gas driving to some place far. My alarm went off at 7am and I juss wanted to go back to sleep! Good thing I had today off to look forward to. Otherwise, I dont know how I would've been able to make it through the day. Another thing to look forward to is having this monday off! I juss want to sleep in til like 10-1030ish thatd be great.

SKOOL: Ah its still hard to get use to getting back into the groove of skool. I still need to get my books for classes. Geology was boring as usual, well we had an interesting conversation about hurricane katrina. Thas crazy juss how much damager these hurricanes are doing. I did learn how come we dont have hurricanes down hurr on the westcoast, or more less here in cali. You need warm water to start one up. Over here on the westcoast, something like the water starts off warm the moves up to alaska then cools down. Then in my multicultural dance class, I learned bout this native american tribe that has young kids have sex at the age of 14. Its this type of ritual they have. Kinda interesting I thought, but at teh same time crazy.

BACK HOME: WEnt to mass yesterday at sPv @ 1215pm. Thas the first time I've gone to mass there in a while. Lately, I've been going to holy fam at the 11am mass cuz it so cool. ha Anyway, some girl had fainted in the back and had hit her head real hard. Then errone turned over to see wha was happening, it was hard to refocus at mass. Even father seemed a bit distracted cuz errone kept looking in that direction. One of my kids came up to me afterwards and told me he's become an errsher for mass now. I thought that was cool, it makes me smile when I see one of my kids at mass.

READINGS: Yesterday's readings were something I think many people could relate to. Stuff you can relate to on an everday basis I'm sure. DeAcon rey said in his homily that Jesus calls us to overcome obstacles, to follow him. Yet thas not all easy to do, were called to make daily choices to help make a difference in our lives and the lives of others. Holding on to Jesus, no matter wha the circumstances are. For example, Jeremiah expresses his dissapointment and hurt w/God though despite all that, he knew he couldnt hold it in. There was this deep sensation to continue to praise God. Then in the gospel Jesus straight out tell us were gonna go through stuff, but dont let it stop you from serving Him.

THE JOY: I realized that the joy in serving can be found in juss doing the simple stuff. Like St. Therese said, 'doing small things w/great love.'

SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER: This upcoming month its going to fly by so freakin fast. The holidays are coming up already and I can hear the sleigh bells ringing! SCRC this weekend, I love it! The masses, teh speakers, the people you meet. I wonder if I'll run into my annual scrc friend that I met two years ago. Then we have juss tons of stuff going on at holy family. With the youf's Jesus and and Me jams nite. 2nd annual spirit games is less than a month away. Followed by the youf's prayer rally. Noreen's wedding, mark anthony's birfday, my grandpa's 99th birfday...I dont know if there's gonna be any room for rest! Defiently, one september to remember!

DID IT AGAIN: KanYe you did it again! Yeah his album comes out today, and I'm so excited to go out and get it. I was listening to it in jay's car tonite and the tracks are pretty d0pe! So after class its to best buy I go! His performance at the vmas w/jamie foxx rocked on sunday. Id love to go and watch another one of his concerts. I went last september at the staples center when errsher was there and lil jon. Too bad I didnt take any pictures from that concert.

Come check it HOW's evening of songs and prayers THIS THURSDAY!

Congrats to archie the winner of the game!

"Now I aint sayin she a gold digger..."im done, im out God bless!

Light The Fire..Again

"However great the work that God may achieve by an individual, he must not indulge in self-satisfaction. He ought rather to be all the more humbled, seeing himself merely as a tool which God has made use of..."

BUSY ONE: I cant believe how fast this weekend has gone already. It has been quite a busy weekend, yet also productive at the same time. Good things took place this weekend, a time to reflect one some different things going on in my life. My outlook going into this weekend changed and God showed me why today. Im feelin these pics cuz it kinda describes of how I felt today. Sometimes all it takes is really opening up your heart up to God. This weekend juss confirmed that its not worth putting up pettiness and sweating the small stuff. The only thing that I didnt get to do this weekend was work out. Oh well, that was the least of my concerns for the weekend. Hmm so let's see where do I begin? ha

IT CAME IN: Pretty much the whole morning and afternoon, I stayed home waiting for the UPS guy to come. Checking on the status of my shipment errlike 5 secs. Finally at around 430ish, it finally came in yay! I was so excited to open up the package and pull out my nokia 626o. The only thing that I was worried bout is that I get errthang working then find out its doesnt work out for cingular. Though, it all worked out! This phone is freakin tight, its juss gonna be a matter of figuring out all the different features and stuff. Now the next thing is to get me a blue toof, especially when I'm driving or the around the house, I dont have to worry bout missing calls. Yeah, so it's a little bit and not as thin as the razr, I dont care its wha I've always wanted...a nokia flip phone!

DIFFERENT THINGS: I think some people would call me crazy for spending over $100 on shoes, or if I spent over a $100 on a phone or something. THough, errone has their own particular interets. THings that like spending $200 on a certain video game may seem crazy to me, but to you its all worth it. Thas why they call stuff like collecting top of the line shoes or purses or phones or video game systesms hobbies right? Stuff that you love to do or love to collect...yup hobbies are cool, but they can get a little too expensive! ha In the end though they're all worth it, unless it breaks down ha So when it all comes down to it, it goes w/that one them song to that old show where they go...'differnt strokes for different folks.' It sure is...

FIRST ONE: MY I've never gone to too many concerts in my lifetime. In fact I can probably count on my fingers how many concerts I've gone to. What I miss going to are those ol skool 'episode concerts.' I had only gone to two of them I think, but it was still cool watching it. Anyway, so I went on friday to go watch this guy murs perform. It was my first time watching an underground hip hop artist perrform. Good show, only I wish I wasn't so tired. The music was good, and the people were pretty crazy ha. Great experience though, juss watching something totally different from the norm. I had a good seat up top sitting on top of the couch leaning agaisnt the air conditioner to keep me cool! ha















WORKSHOP: Growth workshop, went real well this weekend. Praise God that it seemed a lot of people were able to truly 'grow' spiritually and w/in their own community. Serving on sunday, God juss opened my eyes to something. Spent a lot of time this weekend too at the blessed sacrament, which is always good. The importance of community was really shown through the actions of many. Its true, its hard to keep that fire alive and burning on your own. Pretty much impossible, thas why God created people to help you keep the fire burning. Watching communities come up one by one and light that 'fire' was humbling and yet also inspiring. God showed me this weekend, why certain things that took place this year, why He allowed them to happen. Basically it comes down to lighting the fire again, by making disciples of all nations.















AT THE CAR WASH: Dropped by UTC's car wash fundraiser yesterday, had them watch my car. Which has been dirty for the longest time. I hated walking to my car and seeing it so filthy and gross. Well its not the shinest car on the block, but hey its a lot cleaner then it was the other day. On top of all taht, it looks like they came out making some bank on the fundraiser too. Making more then wha you spent on the project is always a happy thign to know. While watching them I juss wanted to start bust out the song and start dancing...working at the car wash, at the car wash.

COOL THING: Dane, one of the youf group leaders found this pamphlet on top 10 reasons why people come back to the faith. Its pretty tight.

#10-Because they want meaning in life.
In the hustle of today's busy lifestyles, lots of people suddenly realize that their lives have lost a sense of meaning or purpose. They begin to ask themselves, "What is my life all about? Why do I do what I do?" There is a widespread confusion in our culture regard to morality and truth. The Catholic Church offers a beacon of light that gives meaning to our existence and leads to eternal life.

#9-Because childhood memories surface.
Some people say childhood memories of feeling connected to God surface in later life. They begin to ask themselves, "Is it possible to recapture that simplicity of faith? Can I ever really believe that God is watching out for me? The secularization of our society leads people away from the spiritual side of themselves. The Catholic Church offers both religious and mystical experiences that feed the heart, the mind, the body, and the soul.

#8-Because they made mistakes.
Some people become burdened with the weight of accumulated sin. They want to get rid of the guilt of having hurt themselves or others. They begin to ask themselves, Will God ever forgive me? Is there any way I can start over with a clean slate?" You can always tell God that you're sorry. But if you want complete assurance of God's forgiveness and grace to start again, the Catholic Church offers absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

#7-Because they need to forgive others.
Sometimes people hold on to anger and resentment toward individuals who have hurt them deeply. Maybe it was a family member or friend. Maybe it was someone or something in the church. Our modern culture condones and encourages anger and revenge. But hatred and bitterness are spiritual cancers that eat at the heart of a person. The Catholic Church provides the opportunity to seek God's help in forgiving others, even when the other person does not ask for forgiveness, or does not deserve it. The ability to forgive is a gift that opens a person's heart more fully to God's love and peace.

#6-Because they want to be healed.
Some people carry deep spiritual wounds. They struggle with anger at God over bad things - a terminal illness, a debilitating injury, a broken relationship, mental or emotional problems, an act of violence against an innocent person, an unexplainable accident, some natural disaster, the death of a loved one, or some other deep disappointment. The Catholic Church cannot change these situations or explain why they happened. But there are people in the Church who can assist in spiritual healing and help you get on with your life.

#5-Because the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth and grace.
Many people who leave the Catholic Church are blessed by the experience of worshipping for awhile in another Christian denomination. But some people come back when they realize that Catholicism has the fullness of truth and grace. The Catholic Church was not founded by a single reformer or historical movement. It is not fragmented by individual interpretation of Scripture. There are thousands of Christian denominations, but only one Catholic Church, which has been guided and protected by the Holy Spirit from generation and generation for some two thousand years.

#4-Because they want their children to have a faith foundation.
Some people return to the Catholic Church because they recognize that raising children in a culture that promotes "doing your own thing" can lead to disaster. Children need to experience the spiritual dimension of life. They need a structured system of belief and firm moral foundation that goes beyond human logic and reasoning. People return because they want a solid foundation upon which other children can build lives.

#3-Because they want to be part of a community.
Many people seek a sense of belonging. But community is more that just a friendly people, good sermons, interesting activities. A Catholic Christian community is a group of people who gather around the person of Jesus Christ to worship God and live in the light of the Holy Spirit. Catholics come together in Mass, in the sacraments, and in parish activities to pray, to celebrate joys, to mourn losses, to serve others, to provide support, and to receive strength for daily life. A Catholic parish offers all of this- and much more - to people who recognize the importance of walking with others toward union with God.

#2-Because they want to help other people.
There are lots of opportunities within the secular world to volunteer. What's missing is the spiritual dimension that service within the Catholic Church provides. It's more than just a "feel-good" activity. It's part of the great commandment to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. In reaching out to others, Catholic volunteers become instruments of God's love. The Catholic Church offers opportunities to touch lives of people at home or around the world.

#1-Because they hunger for the Eucharist
Many people come back to the Catholic Church because they feel an intense longing for the Eucharist. Sometimes it happens at a wedding, funeral, baptism, a First Communion, or confirmation. Sometimes it happens when people are alone or facing difficulties in life. They describe it as a deep hunger for the spiritual nourishment that comes when they receive the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. This hunger for the Eucharist triggers recognition of the presence of Christ in other sacraments, which draws them even more deeply into the practice of their Faith. It is, without exception, the number one reason people come back to the church. Most people discover coming back to the Church is not an event as much as it as a process that involved a little pain, a little laughter ,some thinking, some prayer, some discernment, and a lot of letting go. "My actual return to full participation in a parish took about three years after I felt the first longing." One person admitted.
And what do they get in return? The Catholic Church offers union with Jesus Christ in scripture, in prayer, in the community of others, in the Eucharist, and in the other sacraments. It offers spiritual support in good times and bad. It offers divine wisdom that is thousands of years old. It offers meaning and purpose in this life and the promise of life after death. You’ll know you are home when you begin to feel a deep sense of peace.
Which of these applied to you?!

TRIPPY: I dont believe in tarot cards, astrology, horoscopes, and all that kinda stuff. Before I use to love reading that kind of stuff. THough now that I've learned the dangers of it, and how we try to 'play God' I stay away from it all. Anyway, one of my friends called me tonite, telling me how she went to a tarot card reader or palm reader or something like that. Anyway, the reader told her how her bf been cheating on her for a month now and that they're gonan break up and all this other stuff. Well, my friend goes home and goes to her bf's house first calls him and tells him she's ending it. She asked him why he was cheating on her, and well instead of him denying it he juss said, 'who told you' and 'how do you know.' Hmm pretty crazy I think.


thank you Lord for opening my eyes today

"hey get your car wash today..."im done, im out God bless!

Ah Last Friday!

"The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist..."

IT IS NICE: I must admit having no work and no skool on fridays is freakin the best! Especially no work, is wonderful. Back at my previous job, when fridays would come its like 'ahh, I dont want to work!' Then when I got hired at stanton, and found out the city was closed on fridays, it was great! Which is even better is I have this monday off too, so I have 4 day weekend. Ill probably spend most of the time learning how to use my new phone. Which I'm so excited bout, I juss hope I'm setting myself up for a dissapointment.

FIRST WEEK: So the first week of skool is over, thursdays and mondays are always the most challenging ones. Mondays cuz its the beginng of the week and thursdays cuz its the end of the skool week, so the laziness starts to kick in. THe first week was alright, I have a friend in one of my classes which is good. I told her we can keep each other in check, so we dont end up getting lazy. I think imma be adding a couple more classes, online classes that is. We'll see how it all ends up working. My schedule this semester is nice with all the breaks inbetween. However parking is pretty killer, Ive found myself having the most difficult time this year then in the past. Speaking of parking as I was searching endlessly for parking cuz I was really running out of time, I said a quick prayer, 'Lord help me find parking.' Then low and behold God answered my prayers right then and there, right in front of me was a guy pulling out! How cool is that! Praise God.

ITS BOUND TO COME UP: At history today, we had this inclass discussion bout, well what else other then history. The instructor wanted us to think of items to put into a time capusle. Stuff that represents history from 2000 to today. Things that other people later on will look and say 'ahh wow that was important.' So we talked bout errthang from technology, ipods, dvd players, to health/make over issues, plastic surgery, working out etc. Then later on we started talking bout current events. I knew this was bound to come up, some guy raised his hand and said, 'why dont we throw in priests collar in there also. This has got to be the lowest point in the catholic church.' My friend both looked and each other and rolled our eyes. So I sat there waiting to see wha my instructor's response was. He replied back w/something like, 'ahh so not good times for the catholic church huh but what bout the protestants, they have not so good times too. Though this whole thing w/the priests is only in america. Theyre saying that rome is telling that it's an american problem. If you look anywhere else in the world you dont see that. On top of all that the catholic church is still floursihing everywhere. It still remains one of the top religons in the world.' The guy shut up after that. I was suprised by my instructors response being he's a secularist. Praise God for that moment in time, he was used. Otherwise we wouldve had a hmm a huge debate in class.

THEIR RIGHTS: After my geo. lab today, this girl stops me asking for a min. of my time. I said 'well okay.' SHe then asked me what I thought of same sex marrages. I told her I was agaisnt it, so she asked if it was a personal choice or a religous. I told her both, she comes back with 'well do you think it's fair to stamp into law someones religous values?' I said no however, when it comes to moral issues then its important. So she then asks if I was familar with the domestic partners law or something like that. Well she kinda starts to explain it, then I said well I hvae to go now. Ha her and her 'friends' were ouot there having people sign petitions to get same sex marriages or something like that on the ballot for the election. Crazy stuff...

LAST DAY: Today was the last day at fern street, the last ever for now. Theyre gonna demolish the building in a couple of weeks. We threw this pretty big end of the summer kids day in the backyard. Its nice to have a huge backyard for them for the kids to run around in. So we had two moon bounces, one water one, and a regular one. Maan it was madness! Then bringing in the hotdogs, they ate those things up like no other. The kids had a good time though, it felt like the end of skool year cuz we stripped down the entire building. Its practically empty now except for rollaways. Imma miss that place, despite the challenges we had. One of the kids was pisssed at me and I mean pissed! Well, all of us broke into a water fight, my coworkers and I got soaked. The kid thought it would be cool to get me wet also. So he threw a bucket of water on me. So when he came out of the building, I threw a bucket of water over him. He was sooo pissed, the threw a bucket at me, started cussing at me, swearing at me in spanish, the whole works! ha His thing was cuz he was wearing new clothes, well then he shouldnt of been playing if he ddint want to get wet.

MUSIC MIN: HOW has been practicing lately for our sept. 1 event. I'm pretty hyped up for it, cuz its gonna be great. These night of songs and prayers are like mini SH cafes. This time, were having a couple of the other choirs join us also. Anyway, if you're free it's this THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 at Holy Family in artesia. 7pm be there to support us! Yay! Join in for an evening of praise & worship, great people, and a whole lot more! This is one event you dont want to miss out on!

MYSPACE: I have a new friend on myspace ha! See if you can figure out who the friend is. The winner will receive a free meal at vip buffet on me. Each person get's 3 guesses and guesses have to be posted on the chatterbox or tag yo man on the tag board. The first person to tag w/the correct answer will win. All guesses have to be in by monday, august 29, 2005 by 11:59pm. Good luck and start guessing!

pump it!!

"Everybody's talking all this stuff about me, why they dont just let me live..."im done, im out God bless!

Too Excited

"By humble and faithful prayer, the soul acquires, with time and perseverance, every virtue..."

BORING: There's nothing boring then waking up to lecture on different type of geology. This instructor is so funny cuz she's so passionate and into her subject matter. Which is good, it juss doesnt seem appealing to me. She kinda reminds of mary from apologetics, except w/o the eyes looking at each other. Its hard to get into a subject that seems so bland. I didnt realize how much more there was to geology then juss well rocks ha.

BREAKS: It works out nicely having these small breaks inbetween each class. The extra time gives me a chance to go home and either eat breakfast or take a small nap. My mornings are so hectic that I dont have time to eat anything. Its funny cuz the moment I get into the classroom I sit and cant wait til I can go back home. Ahh the feeling of going back to skool again..its tiresome juss thinking of the next day. GOod thing today is the last day of skool for the week. The weekend is here...finally!!!

NEW ONE: Im planning on getting my phone today. Hopefully it'll ccome in the mail by tomorrow. I love buying new toys to play with and learn. I miss the convience and easiness of my old nokia. This new phone I'm planning to get has blue toof! That's gonna be cool to have and it has a camera on the phone also. Ahh yes, it'll be much easier to send texts and Ill be more familar with errthang on it. On top of all that its a flip phone! I've always wanted a nokia flip phone, but none of the cingular stores hurr carried them. Im glad I didnt buy the first one I saw in new york.

SO YOU THINK: I missed tonites episode, but I taped it! wooO! I cant believe the stupid judges put melody on the bottom 6! I think the chick snow the christina aguilera look alike should get kicked off. Anyway, I think melody's closing performance was pretty good. The whole hat dance thing, it caught my attention! ha Errone in the world seems to know that one guy ryan personally. Its cool that he could change his element of dance and be able to adapt to more difficult things like mambo and salsa. Im curious to see whos gonna get kicked off. I really wanna go watch a taping of it, but I aint down to go by myself, whos willing to go?!

MAGGOTS: Another gross thing happened today at work. Well, let me start off w/a positive first. Ever since I bought the 'sequence' game last week, some of the older kids love playing it! I think this has been the summer of board games. Mastering how to play monopoly, relearning what 'life' is all about, 'attacking uno' all over again, and learning critical thinking skills through 'sequence.' Thanks noreen for intro. me to that fun game! Anyway, so I went go to use the restroom and I look down and I see maggots juss all over a roll of toilet paper. Ew I was real disgusted that it seemed like it was some kind of skurry movie. Good thing the place is being torn down next week.

RIP: Our mayor of Stanton, died today from I think low blood pressure. It came real sudden to errone this morning. He was a great guy, who loved his city. The thing bout our city council members is that they're humble old men. They dont come in wearninng these designer suits ready to talk bout politics, they come in ready to serve their community. Which is real hard to find these days in political leaders. The mayor was a real people person, errmonday he would come to the center and eat lunch w/the seniors. He will defiently be missed by many, but now his purgatory is over and he can be w/his wife eternally. Eternal rest grant upon Harry O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. Amen.

MEETING JESUS: I had gone to the 630pm mass tonite at holy family, first time I've gone to daily mass there. We celebrated the feast of St. Barthlomew who was one of the apostles of Jesus. Fr. Peter had a great homily about him and the life he lived. Then related it all back to us on how were called to live. Whas crazy is I got to church right at 630pm, and they were already on the responsorial psalm! Maan they mustve started like 10 min. early or something, I know I wasn't real late. Afterwards, went to chill w/the youf at their music min. practice. Since how was practicing at 8pm, there was no point in going home. I love the youf at holy family, they're so full of energy and so fun to be around. Juss the things they do make you laugh, it reminds me of wha its like to be their age again. Not that I'm a lot older than them, but juss the hmm 'childlike' faith and attitude they have in God right now is amazing.

Cant wait for my new phone!

"Before you tell him goodbye..."im done, im out GOd bless!

Cancel The Subscription

"Anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to him,a great joy cannot be kept to oneself. It has to be passed on..."

OVER THE ISSUES: I love magazines, in fact I suscribe to like 3 different ones. I have the entertainment weekly, which basically speaks for itself. My montly vibe magazine, that they lag on sending out. Vibe, a urban magazine on style, music, hip hop, and more good stuff. Lastly, complex, a magazine created by marc ecko based on men's style. A lot like vibe, but focuses more on clothes and style. Anyway, well you know how it is, sometimes we get tired of the subscription cuz we dont read them or we aint feelin them anymore, whatever the reason is. What do we do? We call and cancel the subscription, please stop sending me the issues. Well I'm to the point now where I'm juss tired of the petty drama, as much as I live for it, I'm over it. Its gotten where I'm done dealing w/it all. Ill juss close w/this, 'cancel my subscription, cuz I'm over the issues.'

JUSS GROSS: At work today I had to do the sickest thing ever. Well apparently, some kid had put a piece of poop in the bathroom sink. One of the kids went to use the bathroom and as he was about ot wash hands he saw big piece of crap. Yuck! I went there and I started gagging like no other, if you know me well enough you know I cant stand gross stuff like that. Well, I had to take a big piecec of paper and pick it up then throw it in the trash. Unfortunately, I wasnt able to get it all in one piece, so when my coworker got back I made her do it. Ha I couldnt stand it any longer, it makes my eyes water juss thinking of it. agh!

SECOND DAY: Tuesdays I think are gonna be great days cuz I only have one class. Even though it sucks having an 8am class, there's a benefit. This is my only class on tuesdays, so by 930am I can go home and sleep. I think though imma use that time as my 'workout' time, since I wont have to be at work til 2 anyway. The class I had was american history the early part until the civil war. Great teacher, I've taken him before and he always has a way of making teaching/learning fun. On top of that, I have someone I know in my class yay!

WEIRDNESS: Today I had received these two weird friendster messages. I dont know if its some kind of porn add or what, aghh I wnated to post it up on here but its not letting me. Basically, I had gotten two different messages from two different random girls. Both talking bout wanting to meet up and get to know me blah blah blah. Too bad they're not really my type though. I sat there scratching my head for a while thinking 'uhh okay?' Im still debating whether to reply back to them or not. Maybe I will juss to test the waters and see if it's real or not. I juss dont want to come off either as being a jerk too. Ahh I remember the friendster days, rob and I would compete to see how many friends we had. haha Those were the days alright, summer of 03. Man that seems like it was soo long ago!

ON REPEAT: I went to my friends house and chilled there tonite, ha she had recorded on tivo 'so you think you can dance.' Being, I didnt get to watch the whole thing, until the end we watched it over. That show is amazing, I cant wait to wathc tonite's episode and see wha happens. I gotta give them dancers props for being able to dance in a whole different environment. My friend and I were talking bout how I'm sure they sit and get impatient w/their partners. That girl melody is really hot! ha I found her on myspace, I dont know if it's the real her, but oh well. Then that guy ryan is freakin d0pe! That's abe's friend, I think theyve dance together or something. I was totally blown away by his performance though, he got a standing ovation!

LISTEN TO YOUR HEART:Ive been hearing that song, 'listen to your heart' a lot over the radio lately. It sounded familiar as if it was remade or something. Well, sure enough like all songs now a days, it was remade. Roxette was the original artist, which is the version I actually perfer more. Anyhow, its juss funny how you can listen to the lyrics of a song and get amazed. When I was at jacks w/jan michael and phrancis, we were talking bout song lyrics and how much you can get out of it. Or how a song can sound so much better once you understand the lyrics. So as I was listening to this song, I thought the chorus can relate to our relationship to God in so many different aspects. This refers to me, how I have a hard time juss sitting peacefully in front of the blessed sacarment w/o talking. Sometimes, I guess we really have to juss, listen to your heart When he's calling for you...

2 more work days left!

"I know there's something in the wake of your smile..."im done, im out God bless!

It's All Over

"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is..."

THE FIRST DAY: The first day of skool is always interesting. I remember when I was younger, the first thing I'd do was check out who was in my class. Hmm like that one jack johnson that goes something like, 'its always better when were together...' Having someone you know in your classes make a world of a difference. Sometimes, it can be a bit more difficult to meet random poeple in your classes. Personally, I'm not one that starts up a random convo w/someone I really dont know. Anyway, I had two classes today, they ddint seem too bad. What I hate though is when its time for q & a, and people sit there and ask questions that have already been answered! Its even worse when its closing time and you're sitting there anxious ready to go. Yeah that happened to me today, and I have no patience for that kind of stuff. agh juss pay attention!

DUMB & WEIRD: Work today, was pretty chill I didnt get in til bout 10 after 2. Played that game sequence, I love that game! Then went directly to my center. Afterwards, kinda got in trouble by my boss for staying later then scheduled. Whas kinda dumb is, its only an extra hour that I'm staying. They put me doing these programs and things which require time and energy. Yet, if I dont get it done in time, they get upset, though at the same time he/they dont want me going over hours. He told me errone is going over their hours, well duh! Hello didnt you anticiate that for the summer?! I mean cmon now, you put these huge events, big programs, and want results. Ahh then for summerfest I put 730 on my timecard and I get the whole 30 min. taken off! Wha the heck?! I worked that extra 30 min! If I dont get a certain amount of hours a week for the fall, Imma have to start looking for a new job.

DISSAPOINTED: I have to admit I was bit frustrated and dissapointed in friend today. Its funny how as people seem to grow up, so does their personality too. What I hate is when you're talking to someone or having a convo and they sit on the other line and you can tell theyre not even listening! They're not even paying attention to what you're saying. Its like why even bother talking to you, when youre not even giving me your full attention. Yet, at the same time, you expect the other person to listen to you. Maybe some people juss need to take classes on listening skills all over again. Or when they pull the whole high skool stunt, 'can you please tell _______, to leave me alone or to stop bothering me.' Agh I hate that, juss relay the freaking message yourself!

HOLY FAMILY MONDAYS: Errtime I step foot to holy family, I always feel so thankful. Sometimes its kinda like is this really happening? I dont think the reality fully has hit that I'm part of a new parish. Its cool that youf group meetings are on mondays cuz after a long day of juss stuff, its nice to offer it all up at the meeting, Its nice to juss escape to a different world, where I can offer up to God all my trials of the day. Especially, since these past couple of mondays have been...well manic. It sure has been juss another manic monday, though I wish it were saturday. Last week I had bought some rosary bracelets, so I gave them out tonite. I guess God really didnt want me juss buying 2. Phrancis told me he's always wanted one, and yesterday he was trying to pray the rosary but didnt have one on him, so he used his fingers. ha Dane told me his mom has been meaning to get him a rosary, but hasnt had the chance. I guess it all worked out perfectly. Afterwards, went to go chill at dennys(no, I didnt eat)w/some of the peeps. Prayed for mark, as father peter did an anointing of the sick Pray for him and his surgery today @ 3pm. Saw jason #2 as well as my other cousin there, I didnt know they knew mark. I know how he's feeling right now juss the whole anticipation of surgery and waiting...ahh yes. Decided to stop by savio and spend time w/Jesus, it was a great.

its juss another manic monday...

"Well i will always feel that way and if a time a change should come..."im done, im out God bless!

Always better when were together

"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of..."

GOING BACK: AGh so freakin skool starts already tomorrow! I wish I had another week to juss chill. Im praying that this will be my last semester at, well ha I think we all know where. And why are all the classes that I kinda need at freakin 8am in the morning! Which means, I have to wake up early errday. Monday is barely even here and Im wishing for it to be friday already. Something positive to look forward to, is that I have next monday woOo! You know I always sit and think I should juss take a random day off, but then I end up changing my mind and not doing it. Anyway, lets juss hope I have some interesting people in my classes tomorrow. Agh! hope we get out early too, since its the first day and all...

WYD '05: I was sharing this w/a fred and rob bout how cool world youf day is. It wouldve been cool to have been there. I dont know if I wouldve been able to last the whole week, but maybe juss a couple of days wouldve been nice. ANyway, I think world youf day sends so many different positive messages to the world. More importantly, it goes to show the world, that despite the struggles the catholic church has or has had, its still continues to grow strong. The faithful are still committed to serving the church. That even though the church may have its own problems, that to this day it is still very much alive. To me thas juss something inspiring and goes to show how important our faith is.

RED EYE: Watched red eye on friday nite w/fred, it seemed longer then it was. The movie was only 85 min. but it seemed longer then that. Pretty suspenseful, I thought it was good for the most part. I cant imagine sitting on plane next to someone whos all psycho and crazy. A good thing is, that I didnt have any drama. In fact the theatre wasnt as packed as I expected it to be. Maybe errone heard how bad the raitings were so they didnt bother to go. Oh yeah, I saw like 4 of my confirmation kids too that nite. They were all in teh same theatre watching the same movie ha thought it was pretty funny. I thought, 'wha is this SRE nite?' ha

PRETTY TRIPPY: Last nite after swimming at 24 hr. I realized how aquatically out of shape I am. ha Though swimming in the lane brought back memories of doing water polo my freshmen year. I never knew how much of work out you get from swimming until then. Halfway through my 100m freestyle I was already tired! ha Couldnt do the backstroke cuz I totally suck. Breaststroke, I was getting tired half way through also. Butterfly ha thas juss too much energy. So I ended up juss swimming around and then chillin in the spa. My knee is killing me though from the other early sat. morning at the santa fe 24 hr. I thought I could be non chalant and close my eyes while on the treadmill, ha apparently not.

NEW PHONE: My phone is pretty much dead, I miss it already. I dropped it on thursday coming into work and it screwed up the screen. Ever since then its been all whack. I checked w/cingular to see wha my opitions were. Nice to know I have two opitions, renew my contract for antoher 2 years and get a new pone...or use insurance. Well I figured since they didnt have the phone I exactly wanted, I'll juss buy a new one off of ebay. Hopefully by this week, Ill have a new nokia flip phone! woOo! For now though, rob graciously let me temporarily use his old phone. We like to do the whole 'hand me downs' thing in our friendship. ha! Although, Im having a hard time adjusting to this new phone. Ever since I've had a cell phone, I've always gotten a nokia. Well, this phone isnt a samsung and it functions a lot differently...a little more complicated but like I said its coo for now since its only temporary...I hope.

SOMETHING TO READ: Here's something that the german cardinal opened wyd with. I thought it was pretty inspiring...
OPENING OF THE XX WORLD YOUTH DAY ON 16 AUGUST 2005 IN BONN - TEXT
Sermon by Joachim Cardinal Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne:

1st reading: 1 Sam 3:1-10
2nd reading: 1 Cor 12:12-27
Gospel: Mt 2:1-2a


"The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord." – "We have observed his star at its rising, and have come."

The light of God, my dear young friends, reaches us humans in many different ways. God's light reaches Samuel at a time where expectations are low. Eli, the high priest, has become old and frail, messages from the Lord are few and far between, and visions are rare. It is a time similar to the age we are experiencing in Europe: few big ideas, few truly challenging visions, few public figures to offer us guidance, and no more than a weak light to accompany us on our journey. This is true for the life of the Church, life in society, and for many individuals. Young people, above all, find it difficult to find a clear direction, as their vision is often obscured by unemployment and profound fears of the future. In addition, the noise created by the multitude of opportunities available today makes it difficult to recognize the voice of God among all of the other voices calling to them.

Yet in the Church, which in Europe appears to grow ever older, God is untiringly calling out to us. He will not let us sleep when we close our eyes from exhaustion because of our many negative experiences. He will not let us rest when we have fallen asleep, tired of dealing with all the opportunities open to us. He will not stop calling out to us, calling us by our name as he called to Samuel, and calling upon the uniqueness of our lives, by our talents and skills, by our weaknesses and our failings.

He calls us through the desire of young people for something greater; He calls us through people whose credible lives inspire us and wake us up; He calls us through events such as this; He calls us through our astonishment at His creation; He calls us in the silence and solitude in which we open our lives to Him; He calls us through the highs and lows of our lives; He calls us through His Word, which we read and hear again and again; above all, He calls us in the celebration of the Eucharist and in the sacraments, in the sacrament of reconciliation.

Sometimes it takes us a long time to find people that can help us understand what He is saying. Even the aging Eli needed time to recognise the voice of God, which did not speak to him, the experienced man of God, but to someone else: a young person called Samuel.

But there are also other, older, experienced people that have woken us?and continue to awaken us?to the voice of God. One such person was Pope John Paul II who, despite his advancing years, woke young people up and never tired of drawing their attention to the voice of God. And so, this Pope speaks to us today from another place: if the Lord calls you, then stand up and say: ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!’

Let us allow ourselves to be encouraged by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, not to answer the Lord as we might like to answer by saying: ‘Listen, Lord, for your servant is speaking!’ No, let us instead open our lives to the voice of God which?while often quiet and unassuming?never stops talking to us.

Is it not wonderful that God gives us so many opportunities to listen to His voice, that He remains patient, even if we keep falling asleep, and eventually lets us meet people that help us hear His voice and answer His call?!

Dear young people, you are all Samuels, the people who hear the voice of God in the heart of our good old Church. It is you who keep the Church young. Pope Benedict XVI said: ‘The Church is alive. And the Church is young. She holds within herself the future of the world and therefore shows each of us the way towards the future. The Church is alive and we are seeing it: we are experiencing the joy that the Risen Lord promised His followers. The Church is alive: she is alive because Christ is alive, because He is truly risen’ (homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI given on the occasion of the mass marking the beginning of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome on 24 April 2005).

The lamp of God is not yet extinguished. And this week you are showing the whole Church and the whole world that the Church is alive and that young people are willing to listen to God: Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!

And then there were the three astrologers from the East who set out on a long journey to find the Lord. Tradition has it that they were kings. Despite their affluence, possessions, and power, they were still able to set out and go in search of something. They were able to do so because they were awake to the signs of the time, to the signs in their life that God had given them. In sharp contrast to the sleeping Samuel, to whom God made His voice heard in the silence of the temple, God showed Himself to the astrologers in the form of a star. This star spoke to the three kings, their awareness of reality, and their desire for something greater.

But the three astrologers didn’t find what they were looking for immediately. They too covered much ground, experienced highs and lows, and passed over seas and though deserts, and made many encounters before they found their way to the Lord. Their real willingness to set out and their dogged determination not to give up the search kept them going: Where is He, the new One whose light, whose star, we have seen? Where is He in our world, in our lives? Where and how can we find Him among the sea of bright and attractive images in the world and among all the suffering and need that people have to endure. Where is He?

And this is why they set out, left their familiar environment, faced the unknown, and came. They came as they were, with their talents, skills, and treasures, but also with their insecurities, fears, questions, and desires. They came. And that, my dear young friends, is what you too have done in large numbers: you have come to seek and find the New, the Completely Different, the Christ. You have come from over 160 countries around the globe; you have come to our Europe, to our country, where Christ is not always easy to find and where one can easily lose sight of the star because the heavens above us have become so bright with the lights of advertising and the market, and because we so often turn night into day, making it difficult for us to see the stars.

But we in Germany will not be your ‘Jerusalem’, your Herod, or your scribes, who knew where the Christ child was, but did not themselves set out to find Him, preferring instead to stay in their towers of power and knowledge. No, we in Germany want to walk with you, want to set out with you, want to seek and find with you, want to let ourselves be guided by the star that God has shown us, and want to go with you to Bethlehem to find Christ: the God who became man, the God who is not distant and cold, but comes so close to us that He is a child, a human being.

Together with you, we want to watch for the signs of light that God sends us today in our Church and in our life. We don’t want to stop questioning and searching?where is He?? even if we meet people who do not have our best interests at heart. Together, we will meet Christ this week both in the Holy Masses and big events, and in small groups and the stillness of our intense, personal encounters with Him.

Thank-you for coming, for following the star that was the invitation sent out by our Holy Father, for answering the call as Samuel did, and for deciding to follow a similar path to that of the three kings.

This week, we will see and experience what the Church is: the people of God on the move and the body of Christ, as the second reading so impressively described it. The body of Christ: in the unity of the body and the variety of its limbs; the body of Christ: in the variety of vocations and ways in which we search for God; the body of Christ: in the freshness and originality of young people.

We all rely on each other because no-one can walk the path of life with Christ and with God alone, we all need a large community for the path of faith and vocation. As a well-known prayer in Germany says, ‘God did not give anyone everything, nor did He give anyone nothing.’

Wherever the networks of hate, violence, terrorism, and disaster, and the networks of a purely economic globalisation become all-powerful, the importance of the network of salvation and peace grows. This network covers the global Church and includes all Christians (even those of different religious denominations) and all people of good will, who are on the way to God either within a religious community or outside it.

My dear young friends, we all need each other; we all need both our small, personal world and the global nature of the Church. And the global Church needs the talents and skills of every one of you. Let us strengthen one another in faith, hope, and love. Because the lamp of God has not been extinguished; His star continues to shine today, and He is waiting to be found by those who set out and come to seek and find Him. Him: Christ, the God who became man and walked among us.

Once again, welcome to this celebration of our faith! Amen.

HEY MOMMA: There's this pretty d0pe track off of kanye west's new album. Its calleed 'hey momma' which is dedicated to his mom. I was feelin' it, check otu the lyrics!

[Chorus]
(Hey Mama), I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I'm so proud of you
Let me tell you what I'm about to do, (Hey Mama)
I know I act a fool but, I promise you I'm goin back to school
I appreciate what you allowed for me
I just want you to be proud of me (Hey Mama)

[Verse 1]
I wanna tell the whole world about a friend of mine
This little light of mine and I'm finna let it shine
I'm finna take yall back to them better times
I'm finna talk about my mama if yall don't mind
I was three years old, when you and I moved to the Chi
Late December, harsh winter gave me a cold
You fixed me up something that was good for my soul
Famous homemade chicken soup, can I have another bowl?
You work late nights just to keep on the lights
Mommy got me training wheels so I could keep on my bike
And you would give anything in this world
Michael Jackson leather and a glove, but didn't give me a curl
And you never put no man over me
And I love you for that mommy cant you see?
Seven years old, caught you with tears in your eyes
Cuz a nigga cheatin, telling you lies, then I started to cry
As we knelt on the kitchen floor
I said mommy Imma love you till you don't hurt no more
And when I'm older, you aint gotta work no more
And Imma get you that mansion that we couldn't afford
See you're, unbreakable, unmistakable
Highly capable, lady that's makin loot
A livin legend too, just look at what heaven do
Send us an angel, and I thank you (Hey Mama)

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
Forrest Gump mama said, life is like a box of chocolates
My mama told me go to school, get your doctorate
Somethin to fall back on, you could profit with
But still supported me when I did the opposite
Now I feel like it's things I gotta get
Things I gotta do, just to prove to you
You was getting through, can the choir please
Give me a verse of “You, Are So Beautiful To Me�
Can't you see, you're like a book of poetry
Maya Angelou, Nicky Giovanni, turn one page and there's my mommy
Come on mommy just dance wit me, let the whole world see your dancing feet
Now when I say Hey, yall say Mama, now everybody answer me (Hey Mama)

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
I guess it also depends tho, if my ends low
Second they get up you gon get that Benzo
Tint the windows, ride around the city and let ya friends know (Hey Mama)

[Verse 3]
Tell your job you gotta fake em out
Since you brought me in this world, let me take you out
To a restaurant, upper echelon
Imma get you a jag, whatever else you want
Just tell me what kind of S-Type Donda West like?
Tell me the perfect color so I make it just right
It don't gotta be Mother's Day, or your birthday
For me to just call and say (Hey Mama)

Yay for being catholic!

"My money was thinner than Sean Paul's goatee hair..."im done, im out God bless!

A Freebie

"If ya don't fit "common" description, don't be discouraged...just be you..."

TOO CUTE: I got to know for the first time the mejia's babeh, camille. Oh man she's so freakin adorable, I juss wanted to sit and talk to her forever. I can totally see her on that show kids say the darnest things. Anyway, she comes up to me and says, 'can I ask you a question?' This little girl is only three and she said clearly, 'why are you silly?' hahaha I was laughing! Later on I asked if she knew my name. She said, no so she asked wha my name was. Then I was like :sigh: I don't remember. She told me, 'its okay, as long as you try your best.' awww! Rob and I taught her a few of our own expressions and she sat and chilled w/us. We taught her, 'hi friend!' then we added an extra word to it, 'agh hi friend!' She totally did it too! haha it was soooooooooo freakin funny! I asked her camille whhy are you so cute? She goes cuz I am cuddly see telling us to touch her skin. Haha Thanks God for brightening up my day w/this little girl.

more to come...juss had to post bout how freakin cute camille is!

Coming to a close

"People spend their whole entire life looking for Mr./Ms. Perfect, but can they give it back in return? Instead of looking for Mr./Ms. Right, maybe they should be one first..."

CLOSING: I cant believe summer is basically over for me! Aww heck, which means skool starts up again next week! I wish I could say I went some where exotic this summer ha but I didnt. Maybe later on I can take another trip down to the nyc for like a weekend or something. What would be extremely cool, is juss taking a day off before skool starts, but its kinda too late for that. Id love to call in sick tomorrow, but ha it wont happen. I juss want to sleep and juss chill for a day. Lately, errthang juss seems to be constantly moving. One thing after the other, non-stop, especially last weekend working back to back. I love sleeping, its juss sometimes the best thing to do.

AMAZED: My mind is still amazed on how God managed to work certain things out. How he was able to juss touch certain hearts, even ones that were far away. So I guess I was given such a task for me to be taught at the same time. THere was a certain lesson that I needed to learn for myself. While one door closed, another one opened that same nite. Ive begun to realize that God in His unconditional love for us, closes certain opportunities cuz He knows it may onyl end up causing pain and hurt. So as any loving parent would do, they sometimes do wha they can to prevent it. Of course, its not always easy to see nor understand at taht direct moment in time, but eventually we do. Then thas when we say 'ahh now I get it!'

CHALLENGES: Also I think God pushes us to the test during certain times. This past week has been one difficult challenge. Today we had our yaa meeting, and I was hm doubtful that the girls would come. Being w/all that drama we had on monday, I thought they were going to call it quits. When they walked into the door, I had this weird feeling cuz errthangs different now. Its like there was some type of tension I could still feel. Yet God I think has put me in such a position to challenge my faith, to challenge my love for Him. Tto help me set aside my pride and juss do what I can do to serve. Despite it was difficult today, it went okay.

THE OUR FATHER: Praying the Our Father and living it will lead us toward holiness. The Our Father contains everything: God, ourselves, our neighbors...examine how well you live what you pray as you mediate on the following:

I cannot say OUR if I keep my faith only to myself and never share it with others.
I cannot say FATHER if I do not trust in His loing and complete concern for me, forgetting that He always answers prayers how and when He knows its best
I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN if I am so attached to the ways of this world that I neglect to seek God first in everything.
I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME if I am unwilling to let His HOliness penetrate my life and help me grow in my own holiness.
I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME if I am not using my life to bring His love into the world.
I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE if I live by my own ideas of morality or choose to follow the world's standards.
I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN if I am not devotiong my life to serving Him here on earth.
I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD if I am not willing to be generous with wathever God gives me.
I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES if I dont want to put worth enough effort to change.
I cannot say AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US if I still hold a grudge, if I'm still angry, or if I still insist that other people change.
I cannnot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION if I deliberately or knowingly place myself in a position to be tempted.
I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL if I'm not actively fighting agaisnt evil through deeds of love and service for everyone in my life, especially those who cause problems.









SO YOU THINK: For the first time I watched that show 'so you think you can dance.' Its a pretty d0pe show, even though I only got to see the end of it. I like these type of shows the whole dance contests. They ahve this filipino bboy from downey competing on the show, I saw his audition tape and man he was good! Then they hahve this girl on there also named melaine, she's pretty cute. In fact ha I found her on myspace too, and I'm pretty sure it's the real her not some made up person. Now I want to wathc the show errwednesday! Move over 360...ha I got a new dance show to watch.















BIRFDAY SHOUT OUT:A very special birfday shout out going to my uci liwanag friend, 'aimee joyce adviento.' She has one amazing voice that is juss wow errtime I hurr it. NOt only that, she's an wonderful servant of God. Humble and meek, always giving back to God wha he has blessed her with. I miss seeing her around uci, but I know God is calling her to serve in other ways. Praise God for a such a d0pe friend who's always so cheerful, happy, and ready to give her heart to God at all costs. So ms. joyce, thanks for all you do and may God continue to bless you and your loved ones. Happpy BirFday! yay!

MISCELLANEOUS: Stopped by the Manila trade & arts store tonite w/my friend keturah. I was looking for some rosary bracelts, but they didnt have the kind I wanted. Errtime I go there, they hardly have the kind I like. I had given one of the kids on monday at holy fam mine. He was the only one who knew all 5 luminous mysteries, I thought he could use it to help him stay close to Mama Mary as well continue to pray the rosary. Afterwards, went to wal mart and some other stores and it was funny cuz I was making this huge scene in the parking lot. Keturah and I go way back to hs, so as we were walking to the car I was really yelling at her, telling her to come over here and to walk by me. People were kinda staring at her cuz she was so quiet trying to hold in her laughter. Im sure they probably thought 'why is she w/that jerk for?!' haha OH yeah you can have 200 friends now on your AIM buddy list, not this only 100 max stuff.

2 more weeks of august left!

"Like I was starin out of Stevie Wonders glasses..."im done, im out GOd bless!

Keep On Smiling

"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's rib, not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal, under the arm to be protected, & next to the heart to be loved..."

LATELY: These past couple of weeks, I've felt so appreciative, so thankful for the blessings. I know I sholud be thanking God for blessings errday(which I do still), but you ever feel juss soo extremely blessed w/certain things in particular? The feeling is great cuz you can juss sit and talk forever bout the joys in your life at the present moment. Like I've mentioned before in a previous entry...It's ironic how the things you thought you never wanted evolve into pieces of your life you can't live without. Obviously I didnt exactly write that but that statement I found puts together in a nutshell errthang thas been happening these past couple of months. The way I see is it kinda like this, God trying to put together this huge puzzle. Yet you know how it when you put together a puzzle, you dont get it right away, it takes time. Some of the pieces dont exactly fit, so you gotta try something else. Thas wha I think God did, tried to look for all the pieces to put together.

CONTESTS: We had this city-wide contest going on for the past month at work. Erremployee has their own office/cubicle, well city council decided to create a conest out of it. Erremployee's work station was going ot be judged on like 3-4 different catagories. The winner of each catagorey would win a prize that pertains to that certain catagorey. ANyway, last week I finally had the chance to bring back all my junk from home to put back up in my office. I love it! I filled it some wha up again w/pictures, knick knacks, and more. I hope I win at least in one catagorey that would be d0pe! Its cool at work how they have this kinnda stuff and that we as city employees share a great relationship w/the city council.

ROOTS: Went to SH on tuesday nite, its the first time I've gone to prayer meeting since end of March. Wow thas like almost 5 months. Praise God it felt nice being back in the room again. Its like coming back to where it all started for me. Jeanne gave a really cool talk bout St. Therese of Lisieux, which is funny cuz I was sharing w/jan michael and phrancis bout her novenas. Which reminds, I need to send out to jan michael the St. Therese one. Anyway, I miss reading bout her, in fact I think imma read more of her novena stories. Id like to read that book the story of a soul, I haven't read a good book in a while. So glad scrc is comng up so I can get more books yay!I'm glad to see that SH is growing and new people are coming in to check it out. Like mo said tonite, in times like these prayer really is an important part of our lives.















BIRFDAY SHOUT OUT: Happy birfday to my cousin, Sarah who will be leaving in a couple weeks to the nyc. We've always been pretty close and I'm glad that she hasn't changed. I remember like her sophmore year at UCI, how I'd drive up on a thursday and go visit her in newport beach. She shared a really cool apartment w/a couple of friends of hers. We'd sit there for hours either juss talking or going out to do hw in the libary. Then we went to new york together this past january and got to explore the city together. Imma be sad knowing that I wont see her anymore, but Im glad that she got accecpted to follow her career at nyc.

VIP: That VIP buffet place is really good, in fact I like it better than the asia buffet at the bpd. They have a good variety of different things to eat and the quality of the restaraunt is nice. Im definetly going to be going back over there more often. Well, not anytime soon ha but I will be taking a trip back. Went there w/rob and fred this evening, and it was packed! oh yeah I also went there on sunday too. Wow buffets twice in one week yikes thas a killer! ha Oh well its bout enjoying life and all hte things that come w/it...even if its buffets! ha!















CONFIRMATION: Some of the most sublimable moments of your life come packaged deep between the familiar and the foreign. Appreciation takes a new form when you're pushed to look at your life from a distance. It's as if a change of location sweeps the slate clean of everything you pick at about your life and you're able to appreciate the people you love, including yourself, that much more. It's ironic how often we tend to take advantage of the things we depend on the most. Most of the time it isn't the things we gain that affect our lives. It's about the things that we already have but learn to appreciate in a different way. I love HoW. Holy Family is amazing.

Ahh cant wait til the week is over

"And I shall prepare him my heart..."im done, im out God bless!

Beautiful Disaster

"Accept as blessings the casualties that befall you, assured that nothing happens without God..."

DRAMA FOR YOUR MOMA: I took my girls from the youf action alliance to universal studios today. Note to self, never take a group of teenage girls anywhere. Too bad most of the trip was spent arguing and fighting each other's pride. For the past month, I've really gotten a long w/my new job assignment w/the yaa. Then when I got the approval to take a trip to universal studios, I was excited cuz it was gonna be really fun trip. Apparently it didnt turn out exactly the way I envisioned it in my head. From the moment we stepped into the car all I heard was girl's complaining. Then it continued even at the theme park, this and that. I admit some of the battles could've been easily avoided, but I've done my best to give them all they wanted. Apparently, it wasnt good enough and they wanted more. We came home 2 hours earlier then expected, and they felt the need to complain to my supervisor bout the trip. Oh well, good thing it only kinda backfired in their face.

DISSAPOINTMENT: As if having drama all day w/5 teenage girls wasnt enough, I had to be given a dissapointment. Im not going to go into details bout it, but it juss kinda suprised me coming from this person. The news kinda killed the rest of my day er rather trip. It was kinda like one thing after the other. Yet, God gave me the grace to juss accept for now and continue on w/the rest of the day. It was juss suprising and taken back that someone would make such a comment bout well nevermind, I guess I'll stop dwelling over it.

MISS THEM: Since last friday, my parents have been missing! ha kidding, no they took a trip to yosemite. Its quiet around the house w/o them. No one to greet me hello how was my day when I come home, no one to tell me there's food in the fridge before I go to work. I guess this is what it feels like to live away from your parents, in a sense. I dont know if I'll ever move out ha! Im so attached to my way of living now that whoa moving out would be crazy!

good stuff I found...

LOSS: Dissipation is a mentality. We love, we lose, we learn, we grow, but eventually we reach a turning point in our lives that push us back to realize that life is internal. You can't lose what made you who you are. Some things may be harder to dig out, but effort...real effort...can restore anything. A flame can reignite. A memory can float to surface. We often intertwine the meaning of impossible with the improbable. Don't be so quick to tag an element of your life as gone. Fight to keep afloat the things that time burries away. Life is an onward struggle towards maintaining perspective, but at the end of the day we have to realize that love needs no restoration. It just needs to be remembered.

CHOICE: There are those profound moments where words escape you and silence evokes substantial gratification...and then there are those moments where the stillness of it all knaws at the back of your neck. There are extremes to every situation. Your reaction to one thing can change dramatically with a shift of environment. Surround yourself with positivity. When you underestimate your worth, you overestimate your adversit

NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE: After a day full of negativity, God some how managed to take the sun out. I guess in a sense the drama was good that it happened cuz it allowed me to still make it on time for holy family. It was cool tonite cuz chie and aela came to support also. I love coming there errweek cuz I get so much out of it. Praise God for the Holy Spirit juss filling me up especially on last min. circumstances. Praise God also for the Holy Spirit using them as well to be open. Praise God for aela and chie for praying for me and helping me out. At the end of the day, despite some thorns, beautiful roses still managed to bloom. Thank You Lord.















MEETING JESUS: I met Jesus today through jan michael and francis, who juss inspired me all over again. Well, I went to bjs cuz I thought erorne was going there, but none of the advisors went so it was a little awkward at first. Then some of them decided to pack up and leave cuz it was juss too busy at bjs, on top of that it was the gratuity was goingn ot be killer. So 6 of us decided to go to some place cheaper and faster...jack in the box. It was really cool cuz I got to know some of them better. Sharing our first moments we fell for God, wanting to help out youf more etc. Its funny cuz jan michael totally remind of chris baclig when I see him. In fact he kinda looks like him too. On my way home, I looked up at my cross hanging from my rearview mirror and all I could say was 'thank you.'

You have turned my mourning into dancing...
(even though I wasn't exactly mourning but you get the point)

Whatta a day...

"And be by your side forever more..."im done, im out God bless!

Til Next Year...

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen..."

LACK OF ENTRIES: Apologies for my lack of entries as of late, its been a pretty hectic and busy life. Been busy trying to take care of some errands that Ive been procrastinating on. Yeah, procrastination has become my middle name. Also, now with summerfest I shouldnt be as tired? I dont know thas a whole other story I'll get into later on. I guess I am feeling the age level rise up inside of me...I realized I'm getting more and more tired each day. Well, not exahausted to the point where I cant do anything, but juss dont have the energy to blog or do other things. Part of too comes with laziness, that darn laziness sometimes juss gets the best of me. ha!

ITS OVER: Finally! So erryear, the city hosts the biggest event of the year...summerfest. The biggest even I dread of the whole year. Its one of those events that require months of planning and it goes all out. Its always in august, and I always dread for it to come. I was really hoping not to work it this year, but apparently that didnt quite work out, hence I'm still at stanton. Anyway, this year wasnt as bad, I was pretty much in a booth all day selling pizza w/the teens. At the same time driving back and forth picking up more pizza. We mustve spent like $300 altogether on pizza, profited maybe like $100 after all the deductions. Im juss glad that its over and we all can let out a deep sigh of relief. Good thing it wasnt blazing hot this year like it was in the past. Oh yeah I also got to drive a golf cart around for the first time...tiight!

LOOKING BACK: The past couple of days I've been reading and looking back on some of my old journal/blog entries. I have this journal that I've kept since I was ehh 14 or so. Im such a pack rat when it comes to momentous stuff like notes etc. Remember passing notes during class or writing letters to your friends then giving it to them inbetween periods. Its funny I have some ol notes and letters from old friends. Maan was I crazy kid! All I wanted to was attention, I had so much pride, and was so into myself. Its fun though reading back and some of the stuff you wrote, at the times were you so angry, your happiest moments, and also your downfalls. Its like while youre reading it, youre back in that moment of time when it all took place. Good thing we all grow up...some of us at least.

BRUSHING UP: I went back to apologetics last nite to brush up on some review. Last year when tito jess started the morality apologetics, I never got to finish it. So I'm going to try and finish it this time around. This way, I'll have all 3 sections completed and I can get the d0pe binder w/all the secret codes and notes. I loved teaching apologetics to my confirmation kids, explaining why catholics to certain things. I think through apologetics, my kids have a found a deeper devotion to their catholic faith. Which is really cool for people their age now a days. The only thing bout apologetics that I juss cant do is sitting and listening to mary and mike. Ahhhhhhh they talk forever! Too bad we cant go straight into the tito jess' talk and skip the two of them. ha

HAPPY HOUR: Went to happy hour on thursday at el torito to celebrate my coworkers going away. This girl I had gone to hs with and worked with got a new job at the city of los al. So we threw a going away happy hour for her. Its fun chillin w/co workers on a informal basis. We use do the happy hour thing all the time, but this is the first in a while. Oh yeah and my other coworker juss got engaged! She had no idea it was coming and she was sharing the story its so creative. They went to dinner in san pedro then he took her to docking area or something like that, then they walked up to the light house and he proposed to her. Awww! They're really a cute couple.

FOUR BROTHERS: Watched four brothers tontie w/fred, though I think he was able to enjoy the movie more than I did. I ended up having some drama after the movie was over. Last time I checked you dont walk into a movie, after the previews are over and its already 10-15 min. into the movie. Its juss distracting and you end up missing wha ended up going on. Besides the drama of this whack lady and her daughters talking crap bout me, the movie was good. Oh yeah when they show those consideration rules before the previews, no talking is one of them. Anyway, like I was saying beisdes all that the movie was good. A lot of twists and turns throughout the whole movie, good stuff!

i juss want to sleep forever!

"I dont care I just want to be yours..."im done, imo out GOd bless!

That Feeling

"You represent the Goodness of God to the Poor..."




















BIRFDAY GREETING: Happy birfday to my hoj friend, john reyes! I first met this guy last year during SH's lss. He was in my group and he helped really break the ice for the rest of the kids. Sharing his experience how he first fell in love w/God and all that. Amazing friend who has helped me out w/a variety of different things. On top of that extremely blessed with some great desktop publishing skills. I always like to mess around w/him cuz he freakin cracks me up sometimes. He's an awesome brother who is so committed to helping others. Even though he's only 16 I always think of him as older. Anyway, john reyes happy birfday and may God continue to shower you w/his love and blessings.

WHO WOULDVE THOUGHT: Had this great interesting convo w/alaine tonite. Normally, we dont have these serious convos, its juss usually small talk. We both said how it seems like errthang is changing but yet were stuck in the same place. I wouldve never thought so many different people would be starting a whole chapter in their lives this year. So much has happened this past year that its crazy how errthang juss happened in a flash. I think too I realized I've become very attached to many different things which have prevented me from growing. Pretty sad, I know...I juss gotta make a list of things that I need to do to get my act back together. Which is probably the most difficult part pulling yourself together again. With 4 months left in the year, I want to make the rest of the year productive. This way by the time december rolls around I've gotten my act together.















FEELING GOOD: I spent the evening in irvine at yfc tonite. Its been a while since I've gone there since how is on wednesdays. Its funny as I walked through interfaith, it was different seeing unfamiliar faces. Its defiently going to be weird not seeing kristel fama and toni there as much. Being there felt great, made me forget bout errthang else going but juss allowed me to focus on emptying myself. As I was looking around the room, it brought back memories of the first summer I met them all. Had a nice talk bout catholic apologetics w/diana tonite. She gave a great talk bout Jesus and the gospel on the walking of water. Seeing randell was coo again, its funny cuz there are people you wouldve never expected to be such good friends with. Im so glad God opened the door to yfc for me...thas great!


lets juss skip the weekend!

"To the Lord of heaven and earth..."im done, im out God bless!

Moving On...

"Remember, a worn out Bible is a sign of a Catholic who is not..."

MOVING: Within the past couple of months it seems like a lot of people are moving. Moving in I guess a variety of different aspects. Moving on by literally relocating to a different location. Moving by taking a break from the norm and trying someting else, moving w/life by getting married...wow. My cousin is moving in a couple of weeks to do her dental skool in new york. She's going to be gone for like 4-5 years doing her thang up in nyc. Pretty crazy to start off a whole new life and adapt. Being completely away from your friends, your family etc. Toni is going to be leaving to rome in a couple of weeks for skool as well. Obviously, new journeys is a time to start off fresh and I guess really be open to wha God has in store ofr you.

WHACK: On the way to my center today at work, one of my coworkers asked me if I happen to like my other coworker(i know, i know wha is this hs?!). I told her no why? Apparently, she gets this feeling that Im jocking her or that I like her. I was kinda appauld when I found out, cuz of the fact that I thought she knew me well enough by now. First off, she's only freakin 19, I'm 23...doesnt quite pass my minimal requirement. Two, she's not even my type, sorry but I'm not a big fan of braces. Three, she's getting freaking married in a couple of months. I wsa like is she into herself that much?! Though imma fix the solution before she starts chismiss and rumors start. Imma confront her and straight out tell her I dont like she isnt my type.

CONCERN: One of my kids texted me earlier this evening aksing if smoking hooka was a sin? Thas kinda a hard one to answer, but I dont know the way I see it is if youre of legal age to smoke and you dont over do it then its cool. I found out funny yet, hmm great knowing that he still shows concern for his own soul. I asked him why he asked and I guess he's curious to try it, but wanted to know first whether it was a sin or not. Praise God that the seed that was planted a couple years ago, is still growing.

BACK TO ROUTINE: Ive been eating like non stop these past few days. From mexican food to more mexican food, to buffalo wings sheesh. So I went back to the gym tonite, it felt good to get back into the habit of working out again. Didnt exactly kill myself but did a lot of cardio activity. The laziness started to kick in but good thing I was able to push myself to get there. I dont like to really eat after working out, I kinda think it defeats the whole purpose of working out. So instead I juss drink a bottle of water. By the time I'm done I'm too tired to even think bout food. Its nice to know I can actually go to a gym and do the work out thing.

cant wait for this week to be over!

"Everybodys talking all this stuff bout me..."im done, im out GOd bless!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

"Let us always meet each other with a smile,...for a smile is the beginning of love..."

HAPPY BIRFDAY: A special birday greeting going out to leilani, nini. This little girl is really special to me, I consider like one of my own kids. She's so fun to play with and so cute that you juss want to smother her w/love. Over the past couple years, I've been blessed to watch this little one grow up and its amazing. I love playing games w/her, whether it's her barbie meets burbie dolls or juss making up our own games, we have a lot of fun. I'll never forget that one nite before going to disney on ice, I sat there in the living room at the soratorios throwing box foam in the air and yelling 'snow!' Like I said earlier, this girl is special to me and is blessed ot have such a great loving family. Lord, continue to watch over her, protect her, keep her safe from harm. May she continue to learn bout your love and seek you in whatever she does.

THANKFUL: Praise God for the grace to get through the day. I was reallly struggling pretty much throughout the whole morning-afternoon, yet God juss opened up the sun for me. He made His presence known in so many different ways, that I needed. As the day was over, God turned this rainy day to sunny day. I guess all it takes sometimes, is juss total surredance and emptying yourself out for Him to use you. Thanks Lod for the simple reminders that everything is okay and well if it isnt it'll be okay!

CHILL MODE: Work at least work at my center is back to chill mode. The kids went back to skool so for the first couple of hours it's real chill, not a whole lot to do. I had like 4 -5 kids for most part of the afternoon, then later on they all started piling in. It was cute as they walked in w/their new skool clothes and errthang. I asked them how their first day of skool was...ha it kinda felt like being a parent picking up their child on the first day. Anyway, it helped take some of the things off of my mind. I juss cant wait til this weekend is over already, hate working summerfest ha! I was hoping that I could juss be a spectator by this time, ahh oh well. Oh yeah, so when I got back to the civic center I had heard a lot of noise and cheering. So me being noisy, went to go check it out. Turns out they were having their own 360 at the boys & girls club. ha There was this little girl small, short, w/freckles and she was busting out w/all her moves. It was soo funny! She started moving her body all over and then ended it w/a cartwheel before she 'tagged her man.' hahaha oh man good times.

UNITY THROUGH CHRIST: Went to 'Unity through Christ' last nite at holy family, its the new name for holy family's youf group. They're always so welcoming whenever I go there which makes me feel comfortable. WHas cool bout them is that the youf really step up to run most of the show. When I got there they were playing that one game signs or something like that. It was funny watching them battle it out to see who was gonna end up winning. Then they taught them a new song, 'heart of worship.' There this special feeling I always get whenever I hear/sing that song. Its hard to describe exactly wha it is but juss knowing God has sent us on a new a mission. And after months of prayer and patience, it's paid off. Even though its not exactly the end, its kinda like I felt God tell us, 'well done my faithful...'














FOREVER YOUNG: After the meeting some of them were jammin to some praise & worship jams, it was fun watching them. I miss doing that kind of stuff like action songs and all that kinda stuff. Toni and pj was there, i havent seen those two people in a while! Great seeing toni again, she told me I got darker...ha! thas funny maybe cuz she hasn't seen me in a while. Or have I been in the sun that much?! I think imma go down to yfc on wednesday, I havent been there in ages. I miss them peeps down there. Had a great discussion group bout wha life meant to you. I really had to sit there and think bout that one for a minute. After the neeting was the after party at bjs. It was fun hanging out w/some new peeps getting to know holy family peeps.

MEETING JESUS: Met Jesus through jamie last nite, we had a nice talk bout youf ministry. I shared w/him how I had applied to different parishes. He told me his experience and how he applied to different parishes before as well. It was a great convo cuz I could tell he has so much passion serving the youf. Encouraged me to keep on going and that God has something out there for me.

CHARLES SCHULTZ PHILOSOPHY: from angie!
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Acheivements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

THE LESSON: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already
tomorrow in Australia." - Charles Schultz

St. Francis of Assisi pray for us

"Turn up the radio, blast the stero..."im done, im out GOd bless!