2005 Year In Review

"Be careful to give no credit to yourself for anything; if you do, you are stealing from God, to whom alone every good thing is due..."

ALWAYS PROVIDES: The first week of work, has been great. Some suprises and unexpected things but other than that praise God. First off, I cant praise God enough for helping w/my grandpa's surgery. Let me tell you, it was such a scary experience, these past few days. Its kinda like walking on eggshells, cuz errthang seems so tense and you're juss full of anxiety cuz you dont know what's going to happen. Though through errthang, you juss gotta surrender it to God, keep the faith, and trust in Him. I juss ask for continuous prayers for healing and comfort, the hard part is now over. Thank you Lord for providing!

WEEK IN REVIEW: It's been a busy week, going from here to there, to there to here. Im glad I was able to have this time off. Great way to enjoy spending time w/friends. At the same time, new relationships building, and others getting stronger.

MONDAY: Went w/elizabeth, jamie, joanne, and mel to san pedro. Went to make a deposit for the dance and check out the location. Finalized the m7 effect performance. Back to the rectory to start planning for the 2006 year w/the youf group. It was very productive meeting in fact. Talked bout where are spiritually, and then juss reflecting on the upcoming readings for the year to help plan themes. Later that nite I met up w/the guys at bjs, well not all the guys the usual jeif, fred, jei's friend, and abby. Ended up spending half of the time on the phone w/joanne. Something else was suppose to go down too, but I dont think it ever followed through.

TUESDAY: Tuesday mornining was spent w/allen. Well actually more less the early part of the afternoon. Went to the catholic book store, went to lunch at fridays, some where else, and then back to his house. I like that guy, he's fun to chill with. Then went to joanne's house and then spent the rest of the afternoon w/her. Went to the catholic book store, spent a while there, joanne bought a bible and the miracles of the rosary book. Chilled at the rectory until the core meeting. Core meeting, well I guess was interesting. Was planning on going to the jamba on s & g, but ended up talking in the parking lot forever. That always ends up being the case after meetings, is chillin in the parking lot talkiing bout errthang. Good day, long but it was pretty good, family comes in from the midwest late that nite. Worked on my myspace till 3am, since leslie gave me the code to change my friends list. Woo! Whew, good thing I didnt have to drive to LAX.

WEDNESDAY: Breakfast w/toni in the morning at denny's. Geez, that was one dramatic morning alright. However, despite the negativity that was taking place, it didnt ruin a great morning w/toni. She caught me up on her trip from rome, sharing w/me the stories of her trip.. . She was lucky enough to see the tomb of JPII...wow!! Italy has so much to see there, I can juss imagine how beautiful that place is. I'd love to travel and visit the different places, especially italy However, I juss dont have the patience to sit in a plane for 12-13 hours. Came home and ended up taking an early nap. The famz went to HB later on in the afternoon, I stayed back instead. Got ready, then picked nicole up and went to the cerritos mall. Finally made the exchanges, I had been wanting to do since after christmas. Went back to the rectory for the dance committee meeting. Man, I tell you I'm at the rectory almost 5 days a week! Had dinner w/nicole at pinoy pinay...it felt like a corny romantic movie w/the kost 103.5 love songs playing in the background ha. Picked up the dance tickets at the rectory and was off to mai tais. Mai tai's was d0pe, even though were early, gave us a chance to talk more. It was juss coo, getting to each other better.

THURSDAY: Stayed home pretty much all day. One of those lazy type of days, where you dont feel like doing much. The fam bam went to universal studios that day and spent the whole time up there. Went to sears for my eye exam and to get new glasses. It's going to be great to be able to see again! wooo! I can't wait for my new glasses to come in. I had really thought bout getting contacts but seems like too much of a hassle. The eye doctors took forever though, I was sitting there falling asleep waiting for my sister's appointment to finish. Come home to find out some scary news that my grandpa fell and was being rushed to the ER. Went to the hospital that nite and found out that he had broken his hip bone. Thanks mel for the talk last nite, and juss comforting me.

FRIDAY: Cooked a 'breakfast cassarole' for banne's belated birfday gift. Ran into some complications that morning but errthang in the end worked out. For being the first time making that dish, it turned out not too bad. I think next time, I wont as much meat on the bottom though. Nice time catching up bout whas new and going on in our lives. I'm going to miss our adventures we'd take together. Rushed over to 12pm mass at sPc, ran into one of the youf from holy fam there. Ray Vailente was there also, sititng behind me, didnt know it was him until I turned to do 'peace be with you.' Came home and then rushed over to fullerton to pay for my traffic ticket. I thought I had until the literally end of the month, but it was to the 29th. Praise God the lady was nice, and that there was no line there at all! Went to lincoln video and ran into gleanne there, I dont even remember the last time I saw her. Had a catch up session w/toni, along w/carlo, antonintette, and mel at bjs. Ran into roland passion over there, got hooked up w/great seats. Grandpa's surgery was sucessfull, praise God!

Transition now to the 2005 year in review...

JANUARY: A new year, was defiently a year of new adventures in so many different ways. New things were about to happen that year that I would've never expected. The strengthening of friendships, making new ones, healing, and forgiveness. Talk bout extreme home make over, my ceiling in my closet started to leak and messed up a lot of my clothes. Man that was a huge mess! Almost a year later I still dont ahve closet doors. Lola turned 80, praise God that God still continues to keep her healthy and strong. Took my first trip to new york w/my cousin, sarah. We were fortuante enough to stay for the weekend w/denise. One of the best trips, I had ever taken! I can't wait to go back! Lost my camera w/all my cool pics on the train there, oh why?!? Watched that movie, 'coach carter' which became another one of my fav movies to add to my collection. Prayed the rosary w/SH at the abortion clinic, that was humbling. Received a phat tax return in the mail. Plans for the 'Calling' retreat was in the works. The annual Holy Spirit Saturday for youf alpha, gave a talk on 'Wha does the Holy Spirit do' sharing my testimony for the first time.



FEBRUARY: The month of love...aww. New adventures continued as I started to work at a new center for stanton. We opened up a temporary community center at fern street in this run down, low income neighborhood. THat was my new project for the new year to run programs out of this center and keep going strong. My confirmation class was relfection on St. Therese, reading and learning about her. We did a 9 dya novena as a class together. Watched alaine's pcn in fullerton, which was pretty good. It brought back memories of watchign troy hs' very first pcn. Started the search for a new job...but had no success witht that. Lent starting early this year, stations of the cross fridays. SH music min. learning the song, 'the voice of one calling in the desert.' Learning bout St. Cecilia and her intercession through music. Crazy Horse in irvine for lyn lyn's birfday was real fun...I'm talking bout the club in irvine, not the strip club. Had the annual 'philly cheesesteak valetine's luncheon' w/rob on valentine's day. Finally watched the famous napoleon dynamite movie, freakin hilarious! Youf day at congress comes and goes again. Highlights of the month was my mom's 50th birfday party and then first ever morality retreat called, 'The Calling.'

MARCH: Learned that making out was a mortal sin that always heats up a big debate. I discoverd a new lump near my scar from my previous survery. Ended up taking a month off of work to get that taken care of. In the meantime, while I'm gone work gets crazy and the kids run a rampage to the point where they closed the center down. A new networking site was discoverd called, 'catholic connect.' Similar to myspace, friendster, and all taht stuff but made for catholics. Watched western's annual international week performance...wow brought back tons of memories! The planning for spirit games '05 launched with jon, gene, and courtney being selected as the new leaders. Reconnected w/an ol hs friend that was cool. Watched the annual passion of the Christ play at St. Lucy's. Im anal bout keeping up w/traditions. A new baby was brought into the parel family, my cousin has a brand new baby...kai avery. Particiapated in the washing of the feet, holy thurs. liturgy for the first time. ONe memorable holy sat. helping out tito raoul and tita stella move at 530am in the morning. Oh maan! Easter came and went in a flash. Liwanag's annual spirit rally was real lenten like, helped appreciate the lenten season more.

APRIL: My grandparents celebrated their 60th anniversary that month. That was a really cool day full of different festivities. From dancing, to singing, to filipino dancing, good times! The church went into mourning, as our beloved Pope JPII had past away. Wow I was speechless, I was juss in awe. Then followed the news errday to see wha was going to happen w/the selection of the new pope. SpV had their first parish mission w/these redemp soomething priests from out of state, the talks were really good. I had only gone to a couple though, I wished I had gone all week. SOL's annual youf rally, was fun. Took a lot of my kids this year and they enjoyed it. REceived a couple of responses from garden grove skool district for testing. YFC's annual praisefest was a hit. Bishop Luong coming out to sPv and taking pics w/him. Sunny Hill's pcn was alright, juss a little disorganized. New Pope is selected, Cardinal Ratz becoming Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th Pope in the Church and the first german pope in years. New people were added at stanton at my job, more girls.

MAY: Freakin' pcn tour was almost to a close, watching CSUF's and UCI's pcn. UCI's was really phat, juss cuz it was all high tech in errthang. CSUF's was aiight, like a loner I went on my own ha juss cuz I had to make it even...two hs pcns and two college ones. My thurs nite. kids make their first communion, they were so happy. Confirmation came, which was a happy but yet at the same time a sad one. Juss knowing that I may not see some of these kids again after confirmation was over. Graduations galore, w/burr & boss lady getting their masters, and peebs getting her bs. Vegas celebration was totally fun! Started to change the look on my blogs, trying out a new format. God closes a couple of doors on me, which was kinda hard but it was for the better I guess. Star Wars episode III comes out with a lot of religous lessons you can take from the movie. Surgery was the next thing on my plate as they took out the tumor that grew back inside my ankle. Kuya ariel and georgia get married at hte cathedral and I ran into someone during communion on my wheel chair. Yikes! Wednesday in home prayer meetings, meeting fr. moses and gettting to know him. End of hte year SRE dinner, was a classic moment knowing that the next year wasn;t going to be the same anymore. Jennif and dave get married, a really cool wedding, jammin to all the ol skool freestyle songs. Wow may was jam packed!

JUNE: The summer heat begins, as well as a month long of different celebrations. Rob & Em's birfday/graduation party. Attempting to go traffic skool...what a bust! Made a goal to try and work out by running on the track at cypress errday. That went well for a little bit...then errone got back on the 24 hr. fitness track and I was left behind like the movie ha! The search for jobs within the diocese of orange and the archdiocese of LA begins. Getting interviews here and there, driving from place to place. Conference room 2b in the mornings were hilarious. A friend from the ol skool crew returns home after 3 years on his mission. House sitting for my boss became a new thing, attempting to throw small kick backs. The birth of Heart of Worship at holy family was probably the hightlight of the month. We were singing for mass, getting accquainted w/the new parish and a new beginning. The debut for how during the evening of songs and prayers was a major hit. Running into my cousins blessing altogether. The return of fern street, reopening the center for business after a month long of being shut down. Summer has juss begun.

JULY: The fiscal new year begins, I get a raise at work! woOo! The augustian sPv with the new diocesian priests taking over. SPirit Games 2005, made its official announcement of Spirit Games being in stanton park in stanton this year. Finally watched the notebook, probably the last one in the world who hadn't seen it. My pare, abe turns 17 with a big hawaiian birfday celebration at his house. He got a new scion xb for his birfday, aka the big yellow bus. 4th of July spent w/moya-soratorios at la mirada regional park. The other half in fullerton w/the fam beezy. Fireworks gallore! The day of my birfday was difficult, nothins officially leaveg too exciting though. Tough day at work to kick it off, then had a small birfday shin dig at bjs w/some of my coworkers. Learned bout a new dance showed called '360' a show that I had always tried to make sure I was home for to watch. BUrr and boss lady, celebrate their 1 year anniversary and took a trip to texas, 'dont mess with texas!' Jennifer's suprise party at the park, was cool, errone from errwhurr was there. SOL's annual bondfire was filled with food, prayer, and more. Tuesdays became coffee nite for a little while w/the coworkers. Those were fun, I miss those. Myron's big birfday bash at boomers felt like I was at pdiddy's birfday party. haha Started to go to theo on tap talks at St. Bernards, great talks, great drinks! Ended the month with a fundraiser dance for spirit games...the after party at cana. Made my first apperance at holy fam youf ministry, checking it out and seeing wha they do. Real similar to YFC I thought ha...

AUGUST: SOL's anniversary party was fun filled with dancing, pictures, raffle's and more. Come to think of it, that was the last time I think I spoke to leslie. Its been that long...wow I need to call her. Thanks to arch and murphy lee ha I was able to hop on the 24 hr. fitness bandwagon. That became the summer thing for a while. Disneyland for nini's birfday was fun, and then spending the rest of the day w/tito jess and cha cha was even better. My cousin gets accepted to NYU for dentistry and makes a big move out to the big apple. BEcoming more acquainted with the youf ministry and getting to know them more. Meeting Jesus through francis and jan-michael, the first two kids that I got to know at holy fam. Summerfest comes and goes, which I was really glad it was done with. Found a new place to go and eat, VIP buffet made all of us feel like VIPS. Learned about another show that I ended up watching religously! So You Think You Can Dance...wow nuff said! haha Bought a new celly, after the old one juss dying out on me. Too bad its kinda scratched up...bleh! World Youf Day, was something I wish Id gone to. Skool begins again, a new semester, new classes ha. The mayor of stanton died leaving behind a legacy to build upon. My pillar the growth pillar, hosted a weekend long workshop bout growing in the faith. Big turn out, great fruits. Went to my first underground concert in downtown LA, pretty interesting. Copped the new kanYe west cd, its aiiiight. Took a trip down to daygo for the day, learned how to kayak.

SEPTEMBER: Wow, defiently a september to remember with so many different things happening. WEnt to my annual SCRC convention conference, I loved it! Ran into will again, helped out and volunteered with the young adult ministry. There were times where I juss wanted to say, 'wake up when september ends.' HOW holds it's 2nd evening of songs and prayers. Toni packs her bags and gets ready to leave to italy to go study abroad. YOuf ministry holds its first ever 'JAM nite.' Jesus & Me nite, displaying the different talents of the youf ministry. The US senate elects another chief justice to the supreme court. 2nd annual spirit games, comes bringing lots of fruits. A major success once again! However, I end up loosing my job after being w/the city of stanton for 3 years. Ryanimay replies back to my myspace message I sent him...thas juss the beginning! haha Thursdays become happy hour nite, hitting up different places fo drinks and fun. Holy Fam youf ministry holds its 1st annual youf prayer rally, oh man an evening under the stars. Praise & worship, skits, sleep over, I had a great time bonding with my new ministry. Noreen and michael's wedding, I wish I wouldve been able to stay for the whole reception but it was one jam packed day. Im sure it was a wedding to remember though. Its funny who you run into at these places. Enjoyed the few weeks of unemployment juss chillin. Also september was a month of healing and peace. Praise God!

OCTOBER: Went to the san perdo region's young adult event. A nite of adoration and a talk bout the Holy Eucharist. Good stuff on growing. Watching roll bounce, made me want to get up and started boogie oogie oogie w/my blades. Brought back memories of my childhood. I decided to teach SRE again this year er rather faith formation. COnfirmation II and eucharist I, both classes with a whole new set of kids. Confirmation II, is still an interesting to come to on tues. nites. God provides me with a new job, at centralia skool district at danbrook elementary skool. Walking in blind folded not knowing exactly what to expect. Holy Fam's parish festival comes around and oh man was it one busy weekend. Pictures galore though, mucho muchO! We had the official first meeting for the young adult meeting, good turn out for the first meeting. My grandpa's sister in law passes away, a huge suprise to errone. Danced the nite away at the RCIA's barn dance...heeehawwwwwwww! Going to friendship games bymyself, and whoooa nelly ha ran into a few people that I knew...star struck! Allen becomes my official confirmation aide, and I really got the chance to get to know him better. ALong with two returning students, carl and jett, becomng my other two aides. Rocked the nite out at club moxie aka club curves w/fred and jei franxis...way to celebrate halloween!

NOVEMBER: A month of different struggles. Highlight of the month meeting ryan along with some other of the dancers in person at d & bs! haha Celebration of birfdays as always in november. We have another special election on some major prop issues. Most of them didnt passs, one major one didnt. Hit up downtown fullerton to celebrate mike and arch's birfday, that was fun d0pe nite. Babyvee turns 21 and so we take a trip down to vegas to celebrate woO! Liwanag's annual benefit concert was tight. HOW's performance had a whole new flava to it then usual. GOing to another wedding, my mom's coworker. They paid me $200 to put together a whole wedding montage for them. Thanksgiving was aiight, couldve been better if there wasn't a lot of drama. Youf ministry hosts a harvest dance to celebrate thanskgiving, rocked the nite away on that one. Ryan gives his yes to come and share at my confirmation class wooo!!

DECEMBER: We had to put my other dog to sleep today, and I was really saddended my that. That's the 2nd one in one year. The Youf ministry's retreat up in the mountains, bore a lot of fruits. Praise God! Giving my yes to serve as an official advisor for the youf. With suffering comes fruits, and a major prayer request is answered. Ryan comes to confirmation at sPv! ha The kids were in total suprise, highlight of the month! ha Work becomes difficult with transitioning of one sub after another. Went to vegas to celebrate my sister's 21st birfday, too bad I came home empty handed. HOw's 3rd evening of songs and prayers, teh christmas edition, was very seasonal. Waking up early to help out with simbag gabi was difficult, but felt good at hte same time to help out. Caroling with the young adult ministry was very joyful. Sharing the christmas spirit to those who were in need. Then doing it again w/the youf ministry at the christian home w/the seniors. Christmas was a very different christmas, realziing how diffrent and unique my family is. Making new friends at the end of the month...ha

THE END: So there you have it a highlight of the different things thaht took place in 2005. What will 2006 bring? More blessings Im sure and we'll wha else God has in store. He has been so great to me this year, despite the trials that I know even better things are yet to come.

"By a Cherokee and a green drop-top..."im done, im out God bless!

The Day After

"Peace begins with a smile..."

LAZY DAY: I wanted to go shopping today, but it didnt turn out that way. It was such a lazy morning, especially w/the rain too. One of those days where you juss sit in your pajamas and watch tv or chill at home all day. THough as much as I love those days, it'd kill me to stay at home all day. Therefore I have to go out and do something, otherwise I'd die! Being on christmas vacation is freakin nice! Especially cuz there's no skool/work and many of my friends are the same too. So it work out even better! My cousin's back in town from new york, I wanna hang out w/her before she leaves on thurs. Burr and boss lady are in hawaii now...dang one of the top 10 places I want to go back to!

THE HOT SPOT: Went to go check out the place on where the winter formal is going to be held. Pretty comfy spot, juss small, I can juss picture the dance floor being real crowded. YOu know that place where they had the kappa formal a while back ago was nice. I forgot where that place was though. You have a nice patio view of the ocean and all the boats. Hopefully, there's a lot of people who go and get their boogie on. M7 effect will be performing live too on that nite. It should be overall a fun time. SOooo if you're reading this, jan. 15 sun. come out to the holy fam youf ministry winter formal at simon's port in san pedro. Tickets are $35 for a free buffet included with prime rib!!! mMmM cant beat that deal! Hit me up for tickets!! I need to sell at least 5!

PLANNING: The rest of the evening, well almost the rest was spent planning out the youf ministry for 2006. Its going to be a pretty exciting year instore for hte community. A lot of great things planned, great themes for the upcoming months. Hopefully it'll be a year of growth for all of us. Growing in the faith is such a blessing, to learn new things bout yourself, to learn new things bout the church or juss to grow more spiritually is exciting. I need to find myself a good book to read. I remember it took me forever to read my St. Catherine of Siena book, but whenever I started to read it, I could never put it down!

FEEDING: One thing I learned in serving in ministry and through retreat etc. is that as a leader you gotta constantly feed yourself. You can only give wha you have and if you're not nourishing your soul w/all that good stuff, then you can possibly feed others. I remember after going through my first lss, the hunger, desire I had to learn more bout the church, my faith in general. Im so glad that I went through tito jess' apologetics class, it has helped me in so many different ways. It has really taught me how to defend my faith, as well using it as tool in my own walk. Wha can I say, I love the church!


Wow the year is almost over...

"Better is one day in your courts, a thousands elsewhere..."im done, im out God bless!

Till Next Year

"For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God..."

UNIQUE IN ERRWAY: This christmas was actually fun, well not that all the other christmases weren't but it was special. I realized today how cool my family is, juss how unique we are from other families. We have such a diverse age group, from the little babies, to the little kids, to wha use to be 'the big kids' and 'little kids' all young adults now and then you have your 'adults.' ITs funny how we've all juss grown up. At the same time, its a blessing that errone in my family is alive and healthy. That we can all get together and share each other's special moments. Whether its buying a house or getting married or getting engaged or having a baby.

THE LOW DOWN: Christmas this year was at my grandparent's house, went back to the old tradition. Stopped by tito raoul's house after lunch, to eat again. Damn, all the christmas food, now Ive probably gained even more weight oh why?! ha Went back to my family party and we took the traditional christmas family pics. I dont even remember if we took any pictures last year. Erryear the family picture is getting bigger and bigger, it's juss too bad we wont really ever be complete. My cousin got a new camera and so I had fun playing w/it all day today. From taking pictures of myself ha to taking pictures of others or w/others. I love digital cameras!

UNWRAPPING: When I was younger during christmas the adults would always make the little kids sing to get their gifts. Christmas was always a time of doing some kind of talent show. My grandparents use to have this wood platform in the backyard, so we'd all stand there and sing. We would be split up into age groups and they made us sing/dance to christmas songs. Aww man those were the good ol days. Now we juss hand errbody their gifts and we all open them. This year I took over some unopened gifts my friends gave me and opened them there. This way I had more stuff to open ha My mom started to ball when she opened her gift. There's this book I bought at target called, '100 reasons why a son needs a mom.' So I printed out a picture of the two of us, then wrote a little note on the inside. She was so touched ha

WHITE ELEPHANT GONE WRONG: The only part that sucked bout today, was the whole white elephant exchange. I think we were better off to juss draw names, it would've been much easier. Oh well, too late for that now. So they changed the rules, once you got your gift you couldnt open it until the very end. Being unable to open the gift taht you chose, put a whole handicapp on the game. No one really wanted to steal or was stealing cuz they didnt know wha was inside the gift. Obviousy, the enevelopes were the gift cards and the packages were a mystery. I ended up leaving with a bunch of photo albums, which I dont even neeed! Who's birfday is coming up...hmmm haha! Next time we juss stick to the normal white elephant game.

SINGING CHRISTMAS SONGS: Then my aunts and uncles all started to sing the christmas tagalog songs. Well basically, only the ang pasko sumpait one. My uncle was all hardcore and split up the song into 3 different groups. IT sounded pretty cool though, then from there we all started to sing your regular christmas songs. THough we all ended up messing around. We get crazy ha and we dont even need to drink to get all crazy and wild. Im telling you my family is unique...really it is.

PICTURES: Below are some of the pictures from christmas. I cant wait till my cousin uploads his from his camera. He's got the better ones that I can't wait to post up on my myspace! Anyway, below is a picture of each family minus one. A picture of all the grandkids mixed with the great grand kids minus 5 great grand kids and 6 grandkids. Then a picture of all the greatgrandkids minus 5. Wow my family is juss too big.

BINGO: We brought back from the dead an ol family party tradition of bingo. Instead of gambling and playing cards we played bingo. It was fun cuz errone was playing and the prizes were stuff like food and snacks. That went on forever until the final game of black out...$60 pot that I was 3 numbers away of winning! Oh why?! I think most of the day was spent in juss laughing together and really enjoying each other's company. Praise God!






have a safe trip burr and boss lady!

"Please take me, take me by the hand..."im done, im out God bless!

A Very Merry Christmas

"Let Jesus live in your heart and Christmas will be every day for you..."

TRUE APPRECIATION: I was juss telling jan-michael tonite, how holidays like christmas helps me appreciate the richness of our catholic faith. Midnight mass is always something special, it brings me this joyful feeling, that's kinda hard to describe. THough as the priests walk up to the altar, you juss smile knowing how great our God is. Especially on Christmas, the day when a small boy who became a light to a world of darkness. Devoting His life serving His father in any and errday way possible. You know, you can't go to calvary chapel or 1st filipino christian community or any other protestant church and expect to have a midnight service. Nope, you won't find that there, however you will find a midnight mass and almost errcatholic church. It's so freakin d0pe how at different parts, different times of the world there's someone going or coming out of midnight mass, celebrating Jesus' birfday. Wow...being catholic is probably one of the greatest gifts.

HERE AND THERE: I accomplished my goal of dropping off all my gifts before christmas! A few christmas cards will be late, but its okay liturically it's on time! ha. So where did I begin this morning. Well, my first trip was suppose to be allen's but ended up being my second to last trip. Actually, I was lagging this morinng cuz I ended up being on the phone w/francis for a while. So after all that conversing, went to burr & boss lady's to drop off her gift. Stayed there for a bit to chatter it up w/the burr. Then afterwards, I went to allen's to give him his gift. I wasn't planning on getting him a train, but the more I saw it, I juss had to get it for him! ha He got me this really d0pe jacket from express. I love it! Lastly, stopped by heif's house and was there till after 1pm. Her dad's fuunny he comes by and says hi to me, goes 'did you gain weight?' I said yeaaah, then said to me, 'yeah you gained weight in your face' oh why?! hahaaha Now I really need to work out and loose all the fat.

THE FOG: Went to HB afterwards to meet up w/fr. paul for lunch. Errtime I go to sPv, I miss the spirit of the augustinians. So we go and eat lunch at bj's and the server kept coming by trying to pick up the check and we weren't even ready. Fr. asked how much he should tip her, the bill was $27, I told him to put $30 then let her keep the rest as her tip. Really though cuz tax was only $2, so we'd be jipping her $1, thas it. Well he felt compassionate being it was christmas and gave her $5 instead. He goes I gave her $5, it's christmas, is that alright? ha I told him yeah I guess so ha. You know I didn't realize until today how much being in america for him is such a culture shock. Even after being here for so long already, it's still so many things he has to learn. Anyway, well it was juss a nice lunch and good times catching up.

RUSH, RUSH: Rushed over to sPv to catch the 4pm, mass. I thought I was going ot be really late, but I got there in good time. Missed all the readings, but I was still there for the homily. Fr. Ted doing a teachign w/the little kids bout wha Christmas is all bout and St. Nicholas. I was suprised to see it so pack for it being 4pm mass. This is the first year we've had a late afternoon christmas eve mass. Usually, I think its juss a midnight mass and then this is the first year also, that they're changing the christmas day mass schedules. Im glad, I go to holy fam now for mass, its juss different at sPv.

CHRISTMAS OUTSIDE: Went to my grandparents house after taking a nap. We're going to be going back to the tradition of celebrating christmas there. So we have a christmas tree, not inside but outisde! ha I was a little perplexed to see it ooutside, but our family has gotten so big that it's juss not enough to fit all the gifts and all inside. In fact now a days, I'm sure all the gifts would fill up the whole living room. It'll be a nice setting to take family pics and all that stuff outside in front of the tree rather the inside. Gosh, I cant believe it's here already.

HE WAS RIGHT: Fr. Ed was right last sunday in his homily when he talked bout firsts. First time celebrating christmas w/an extra set of friends. Yesterday I managed to chill at 3 different houses in one nite. First at the de la ramas, which was cool. Getting fed with food and all kinds of desserts, then having tea and talking session w/micah. GOing and singing karaoke w/mel...for some reason it was a slow jam nite. ha Then ending the nite at elizabeth's talking bout days of our lives and being catholic. How those two conversation topics interwine? ha dont ask me. I love sharing gifts w/others, as much as I like to receive too ha I do enjoy sharing more. Its fun when you get all excited cuz you found the perfect gift taht would fit that person. Like allen and the train ha! Alright well its time to get some shut eye, its late and I got a long day tomorrow!


Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

"I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart..."im done, im out God bless!

Don't Forget Bout Us

"Let your light shine. Shine within you so that it can shine on someone else. Let your light shine..."

FINISHED: I spent the final hours before christmas eve, finishing all that left over shopping. Errone is now officially crossed off my list. I was lucky enough to stay away from the big main stream malls like cerritos. Parking was going to be hell there and so I figured I'd be able to finish all my shopping locally. Plus, tax is cheaper over here in the oc, rather then in the cerritos area. Errthang is pretty much almost wrapped too, I had my mom take care of all the wrapping business. My wrapping is the worst, I dont have the patience and I always measure the wrong way and I end up having this extra amount of paper.

SLEEPING IN: Ever since I've been off work, actually this whole week I havent even had time to rest. Ive been hoping to either sleep in longer or get some room in for a nap. Doesn't always exactly turn out that way. Actually this whole week has been pretty much all youf ministry stuff. Im telling you my life really does feel like the white rabbit, hopping from place to place, trying to fit errthang in all at once. Hopefully, I can sleep in at least till 10am tomorrow. This morning I was awaken my sister's oaness. Aghh so from there I couldn't back to sleep. Praise God I have a week left of vacation to hopefully catch some naps and some extra hours of sleep!

SHARING THE SPIRIT: Last nite, the youf ministry went to go caroling at the artesia christian home. The looks on the seniors faces were so priceless. They loooved the singing and the dancing the youf did. It made me smile watching them, christmas songs make me smile and feel all happy. Im glad that were able to share the christmas spirit w/those in need. There was this lady who wanted us to sign w/her 'hark the herald angel's sing.' THen the lady next to her was a real grouch, she was trying to trip some of the youf and kept snapping, 'shut up!' Sheesh talk bout scoorge! The kids did a really good job, sharing that joy that I'm sure many of the seniors are missing this christmas. Even fr. vic came w/us also, so that was cool. It's nice ot see that the priests at holy fam are so supportive. Anyway, thursday was exactly wha God has been preparing us for in the weeks prior to advent. Sharing the gifts and talents w/others, sharing the light of our smiles w/those in need. Calling to be compassionate and loving.

RUN IT, RUN IT: Ran into a couple of people at the mall today. Both of them I havent seen in ages...so it was great to stop and catch up. Its funny cuz it always happens during christmas, you're shopping and you run into someone you know. Catching up w/ryan was pretty cool, in fact it's funny cuz I was juss reading an old email he sent me from 4 years ago. Yeah, I know I keep all that kind of stuff. Thas crazy, hes already done w/his nursing skool, and gonna be an lvn. He's a lot younger than I am too. I thought it was gonna be weird talking to him, but it ended up being nice. I dont know how we became so distant all of a sudden though. Anyway, I also ran into windy. Whas funny bout her is that we went to hs together but never talked until I started working at stanton.

PLACE TO PLACE: Went to target this morning, to get a few last minute items. The starbucks at target rann out of gift cards...agH!!! So then I had to go starbucks on beach and get 2 of those. Followed by a trip to claim jumper for a $25 gift card there. Once that was done, chilled at home for a little bit till the afternnoon. I was suppose to meet up w/micha but then she had to go and do something herself. Chilled at home till bout 3pm, then went out to finish the rest of the errands. Went to confession at sPv, which was paaacked! Fr. Huessy is back, always enjoy going to him when he's around. Then dropped off the vasquez's christmas gift and their casa. Went to the buena park mall afterwards, which was pretty busy. Went to wal mart which was a huge mess! Sears was jam packed, w/real long lines. Luckily I was able to escape all that and I find a cashier open down stairs.

CHILLIN' IN THE 562: The rest of the evening was spent in the 562, dropping off gifts. Went to mel's for a little bit. HElped her scan some pics at sav on, then to find out I ahve a swollen thing in my ear lobe! I dont evne know where it came from, until I felt it tonite. It looks so weird too! I dont even know where it came from and when I got it either. Sang our hearts on the magic mic, singing all these songs from christmas songs to secular. Ended up going by micha's house to stop by her gift. Ended up eating dinner at their house, hung out and chilled there for a while. After that went to elizabeth's house, first time there for me. Nice convos bout protestant teachings and liturgy and juss being catholic.


almost here...

"Let Earth receieve their king..."im done, im out GOd bless!

Sharing the Joy

"It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look farther than you can see..."

FINAL TOUCHES: Spent the past couples of days continuing the christmas shopping. Slowly, the names are being crossed off the list. Even though I think erryear the Christmas list gets bigger, I think each year it remains the same. Its juss erryear there's a different people switched around. The certain people you would ahve to get from last year, are now replaced w/the people you have to get for this year. Its hard to shop for people who have pretty much errthang they need. You sit there and wonder around the store, trying to figure something useful to give, but then come to realize they already ahve it, or don't really need it. I juss wanna stay away from the malls on saturday cuz it's gonna be crazy house.

LAST DAY: Tuesday was the last day of work, I wanted to take a picture w/my kids, but I totally forgot. So many things going on that I had forgotten! Agh!! It was a pretty chill day though, didn't have a party but we made all these different crafts. I made a winter picture out of paint and a heart christmas tree out of fabric. My boss, who happens to be my ol 5th grade teacher, told me something that kinda convicted me in regrads to these kids. She told me that I have to use my head and not my heart when working w/these kids. I cant let my emotions get the best of me otherwise they'll never make grade level. Its hard though, cuz some of them you juss totally feel sorry for them, cuz you know their living arrangements aren't the best. Then they come to skool and can be their only comfort zone. At the same time, if they're not pushed at skool, ppushed by me or the teacher, then they'll only stay where they're at and there's no progress. Its kinda like a catch 22 at times, but in the end you want them to succeed. I need to learn classroom management skills.

THE LOUNGE: Okay so during my lunch time I sit with a bunch of women, most of them all pretty young. The stories that they all share and talk bout is amazing. One teacher was talking bout how one of her students called two other students in their class a lesbian. Can you believe that?! 2nd graders and having the word 'lesbian' in their vocabulary. Tuesday we had this cool meal set up for us in the lounge, buffalo wings, chips, meatballs, and other lucious desserts. This one teacher was talking bout how she slaps her sister's butt. Well we all have our 'weird' thiings that we do w/our families. So she was saying how somettimes she does it to her friends and forget those people aren;t her sisters. She started to joke around and said to me be careful I might accidently hit you one of these days. Then I started laughing and I ended up choking on my chicken I wsa eating. ALl the teachers were all laughing...oh man we have some crazy teachers.

CAROLING: Yesterday the youf were practicing for their caroling at the artesia christian home. For only practicing once, they sounded pretty good. Granted we dont have the geetar or piano, but we still were able to get creative with it. I can only imagine the looks on these old people's faces to see that christmas spirit light up inside of them. I know that happened tonite, when we caroled w/my family. My grandparents totally loved it! Especially, my lolo was smiling and pointing. Stuff like that I can say that I'm blessed to be able to see. It's soo awesome that God has allowed my lolo to spend another christmas w/the family. Our family is kinda like the hortons from days, well size wise at least. Im really praying that my grandpa will continue to stay healthy thorugh the new year.

HOLIDAY BONDING: ITs fun going shopping w/friends, it allows quality bonding time. The past couple of days, I've been chillin' w/ms. dj pon de replay. Well actually, we juss went ot holy fam and the mall real quick yesterday. Though today, went to lakewood mall, the ghetto mall. We met Jesus though through this person was kind enough to give us their parking space, that was real close. We were in the car on the way to cerritos mall, and I was sharing bout my hs days. Wow the memories were totally playing in my head like a power point slide show. Some of the stuff vague memories, but others priceless. ANyway, I juss had really enjoyed her company shopping, she even let me finish her cookies ha yum!

HOW EXCHANGE: The hwo gift exchange was fun, scored away w/some movie passes yay! The only part I hate bout white elephant gift exchanges is the fact you can steal the gift. If it's something good, then your gift is most likely gonan get jacked. Then it sucks if youre #1, then you gotta go first and dont have the opition of stealing anything. The easiest way is always juss drawing names, this way nothing can get stolen. Actually, there's advantages and disadvantages to white elephant. Though there's more dis then ad.


Christimas time almost hurr yay!

"Why dont you give love on Christmas day..."im done, im out God bless!

Feels Good to be Back

"To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose, the next best..."

VIVE LAS VEGAS: Spent the whole weekend in vegas, and wow it feels like I've missed out on so much. The trip was alright, there were some cool moments. Ate some good food, went to some hot places, lost some money. All in all, vegas is always more enjoyable to go w/friends. Left early friday morning and got to vegas in good time. Spent a lot of shopping at the outlets. The outlets had some really good deals! I bought 2 bags cuz it was buy one and get one free. Took care of my secret santa gift for the youf ministry, good deals at quicksilver, american eagle, and robinsons may. Half of my list is already done now! yay! Gotta get a couple more items for tomorrow, get a couple of things blessed, and im set to go.

FRIDAY: We got there at around 3pm and then checked errthang in the room at circuus circus. Chilled there for a while, until my cousins and other aunts and uncles came. Circus circu had this meal deal, buy one buffet, get one free or half off or something like that, so we did that fri. nite. The food was blah, not really a great selection to choose from. In fact I left feeling still hungry. My sister, cousin, and his gf, went to club pure at caesar's palace, I only brought clothes for 1 nite of clubbin, so I juss did the whole gambling thing at the different casinos. Freee drinks at the casinos are the best. Walked ot mcdonalds late that nite for dinnner and the line was forever long. Id hate to work there, I'd so hate my job.

SATURDAY: Woke up early, see thas the thing when I go to vegas w/the fam, not a min. is wasted. Had an early lunch at mandalay bay...lunch portions there kinda suck. I'd perfer the dinner menu instead, but oh well. From there we split up into 3 diffrent groups. Went to the mall and found something ot wear for christmas yay! Its a pretty cool mall, then they had this christmas show going on and cool posters inside the mall. Then went to the wynn and had to luck there, brought back memories from last time ha! Went to the orleans and that was aiight, didnt win anything there. LAter on went to harrahs and to ross, at that poiint I was juss already tired. Had hooters for dinner, they all brought back chicken wings to the hotel.

IN THE CLUB: Oh yeah I have nice story to tell. I was at the vending machine trying to get a drink. The stupid machine my quarters and I had already put in $1. Here I am hitting the machine, looking for my change. This man comes seeing that I was tearing up the machine, and asks if I needed a dollar. I explain the story and then he gives me a dollar. Whatta nice guy he was. Got ready to go to tangerine at treasure island. We take a limo over there for only $30, nice deal and then gave us VIP passes to the club. We still had to wait in line, but the admission was free! The place was aiight, juss reallllllyy crowded and there was such a diverse age range. From young all the way to old and I mean literally old. I saw this elderly couple there maybe late 40's, early 50's. It was kinad boring cuz there wasnt anyone to dance with..and I wasnt about to dance w/my sister. The music was crackin, mixed with errthang. Then inbetween the music and eerrthang there was a fashion show happening. The funniest thing though after coming out of the club, this gay guy stops my cousin's friend's gf and says to her, 'I like boys, but you're efffing gorgeous!' hahahahahahhahahahahaah Then went on and on, it was funny though.

GETTING TOGETHER: DUring the holidiays, the one thing I enjoy is getting together w/friends. Doing the whole going to dinner, catching up, messing around etc. For the youf ministry, we got together after the meeting, at olive garden. Im really forunate to have made some really great friends. Despite all the messing around and all, they're geniunely cool people. Starting over isnt exactly the easiest thing to do, but I praise God for these people who became a reflection of Christ's love to me. The late nite convos in the parking lot, the 'classic moments', then the moments where we can laugh so hard until our stomach hurts. Then, there's the other group of friends, who when I'm not around them I miss them. Juss cuz they know me pretty much inside out, were the ones who have helped me grow and we pray together its juss awesome. Christmas time really is great...

ALMOST DONE: So I'm pretty much almost done w/the shopping. HAve a couple more major gifts to get then Im done. Being done w/your christmas shopping, big accomplishment! The thing I hate though are the last min. you forget to get. Then you have rush out into all the traffic and get it. The one thing I hate bout christmas is the wrapping! Agh!!! Thas why I usually have somemone do it for me. I cant make it all neat or anything like...its juss easier to put em bags then you're set to go. Goal to finish w/errthang by thursday...yay! Tomorrow is the last day of work...then I;m off for two whole week! woooO!!!


Please pray for my friend thanks!

"Yes, its true..."im done, im out God bless!

Combination of 3

"The Church. . . believes that the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master..."

ALMOST ALL NITE: I had two papers that I had slacked on getting done. Good thing they weren't anything where I had to to write sources on. THough it took me till 4am to finish, and I pretty much only did the minimum on both! ha One of them was how would I teach the class if I were the instructor...so basicially I had to rewrite the syllabus and put in my own two cents. The other part was juss reallly what'd I learn this semester in that class. I notice that I ask my kids to do critical thinking and analysis when it comes to things they do w/me, yet I had doing it myself ha. I know wha a great teacher I am.

NOT FEELIN IT: I woke up feeling so blah, I think it was cuz my body was so exhausted, not getting a whole lot of rest. Really tempted into calling in sick, and juss sleeping for the whole day. Though I know how difficult work can be without two teachers in the classroom. So alas after taking the final, I went to work. Praise God that 7 kids were absent today, Im worried though that I might catch something. I shoudl wear some kind of mask or something ha. Most of the challenging kids were gone.

FORMAL: The youf ministry is having a winter formal in january and Im already set to go w/someone wooO! The theme is, 'heart of the ocean' the place is gonna be san pedro, at this buffet. Im kinda excited to get all dressed up and stuff. Now its time to start loosing the fatty fatty to get ready for the dance! Geez, I havent really gone to a formal dance in a long time. Its always kinda fun dressing up real nice...at least every once in a while. THe fun part is going out to find something to wear.

SUB DAYS: Last week we started the final sub transition. The final one before we get the new teacher in the new year. The funny thing she's only a year younger then me! We get a long pretty coo, which makes work a lot easier. Not that I didnt get along w/the other teacher or anything. So she was telling me bout her bf who's brazillian who's going back home to brazil for 3 weeks. At the same time he lives in vegas...hence long distance relationship. I thought maybe they met online or something, but actually they met through a friend. She was telling me how his sister works for jet blue and is getting this deal getting x amount of $$ to fly to europe, pretty much paid trip and paid hotel. On top of that be given $$ to spend on food. Wow...thas a great deal. Her and I get along really well, in fact it's too bad she can't be the regular teacher for the rest of the year. I think its cuz of the whole age thing being were only a year apart. She's a fun person to talk to though, it makes work a lot more smoother when you enjoy the people you work with. I like my job, despite the whole once a month pay check. There's no boss that really watches over me, no real deadlines, juss do my job and I'm cool.

KEEPIN' IT ALIVE: Final confirmation class of the year, and the new class keep party tradition alive. I told them last week, that whenever I have class parties, we always have real food. None of this junk food, where we have 10 different bags of chips, brownies, cookies, and juss junk food. ALthough, this year they managed to keep it...being its their first time with me. We had fried rice, chicken, meatballs, taquitos, and pizza. Then had cream balls, cookies, chips, and some other type of snacks. Its always easier to have errone bring all kinds of different good food, rather then juss all that junk inside that trunk. I remember my party at the end of the year, oh man that was the best!

STARBUCKS: Met up with francis at starbucks to plan out some caroling stuff. He's a cool kid, I'm glad that I'm going to be his advisor, he knows how to get things done and taken care of. It was cool hour of bonding and sharing stories bout life. Its interesting being service, cuz it's something new to me and him. I've always done fellowship type of projects, games, bringing people together etc. So this whole service thing is gonna be a new and yet exciting experience for me.

ITS OVER: 2 more days of work next week then I have a break for 2 weeks! woOo! That means I can soo sleep in and have the whole day ot myself to take care of whatever needs to be done. Like finishing my christmas shopping...for one. I'm really starting to like my kids at work, not that I didnt lke them before. Those transition w/subs being in and out has helped me grow with them. Most of the time, I actually feel like I'm really leading/teaching the class. Its helped me also in a lot of ways, discover the true essence of teaching. Though, I juss dont think Im fit for teaching primary. Thas why I juss stick to the upper grades. My kids at work are too funny sometimes, and the things they say makes me want to laugh.

LOUNGE STORIES: We were in the teachers lounge at lunch and oh man the stories that I hear. The topics that get brought, I freakin laugh soo hard that I end up putting away my food. Its funny cuz I'm the only guy in the lounge and I'm young like them, so it can be a good time. Today we were talking bout growing up being nieve bout certain topics. Im glad that lunch time is interesting rather then a bunch of old ladies sitting around talkng bout nothing. Actually yesterday was funny cuz I was in the lounge bymyself, on the computer. So here I was online on AIM iming people, all of a sudden one of the upper grade teachers walks in and laughs asking me who Im talking to. ha At first I was like oh crap, then I juss kept going she didnt seem to care. Then as more teachers came in, then I stopped ha didnt want to get too carried away now.

SIMBANG GABI: Went to first simbang gabi mass this morning...oh man was it killer to get up this morning. THen having to work afterwards...agh! Mass was coo, errthang was in tagalog, and I didnt understand anything. Even when they gave communion, it was in tagalog. I wish I could do the whole nine day novena, but my trip to vegas is ruining it! agh! Im not really feelin the whole vegas trip at the moment, in fact I juss wanna stay home. Alas, though I cant, hopefully the trip will be fun and bland. Mr. Wynn here I come again ha!

SHARING IT: I love sharing my faith filled books that I buy w/others. Though sometimes I cant remember who I lend them out to and I dont get them back! For example, Im missing my hidden power of kindness book. Im almost positive that I lent out to someone to read, I juss cant remember who. Im giving JOanne my 15 days of prayer w/St. Therese to read also. That was one ofm y favorite books, next to my answered novena one. Like I said before I much rather perfer nourishing my soul w/good books, rather then protestant type of inspirtaional books. The books that the Saints have written are so incredible, the things you can take away from them...amazing!

HAPPY BIRFDAY: Happy birfday shout out going ot banne. Her and I have had some pretty creative/interesting convos. The analogies we come up with when referring to life and our spirituality is funny. From LOTR, to days, to disney, anything and errthang. Our weekly trips down to westco for scrc young adult meetings, st. therese novena questions, teaching and classroom mangement tips...ahh yes those were the memories. Now she's getting married in 6 months...crazy! Time does go by too fast...anyway, wishing you all the happiness on your special day friend yay!
lets hope i win big in vegas!

"So sick of love songs, so sick of you..."im done, im out GOd bless!

Caught Up

"He who is kind is free, even if he is a slave. He who is evil is a slave, even if he is king!"

SUCKS: I had a whole blog entry ready to go and publish, but the stupid firefox froze up and now I have to start from scratch. Oh why?! So I think I may be coming down w/something. Though Im trying to fight it. All weekend long, been having a little bit of hard time sleeping. Tossing and turning all that kind of junk. Its my sinsues acting up, a little stuffy here and there. One thing working w/kids that I hate is juss the easiness to get sick. Thas why Im always telling the kids at work to cover their mouth when they cough cuz I dont want to get sick. I dont get flu shots either, cuz well I normally stay pretty healthy...I dont get to the point where I'm bed ridden...maan thank God too otherwise I doont know what I'd do.

THE SHOW: Friday was the How christmas performance and it was really good! The spanish was good too, a little long but it was allllllright. ANyway, errtime I hear how sing, it juss amazing the different talents God has blessed the group with. From instruments to singing...and errthang they sing juss meshsses so well together. My favorite song out of the whole nite though was the angels medley. In fact I recorded it and was trying to upload it but was having trouble. Maybe I'll try it again tonite...Gloooooooooria, gloooooooria, gloooooooooria in excelsis deo. I left my sisters party for a while to go watch and it was worth it ha. Christmas songs reallly get you into the mood for christmas, especially when you're at the mall by yourself shopping. Its kinda sad after christmas is over when we have ot put them away again until next year.

HOUR OF POWER: Sat I was in hb that nite for my cousin's birfday party, two birfday parties back to back. So much fooood from subway to enchiladas to pasta the works! As I was watching tv, I was sitting there debating wha I was going to do for the rest of the nite. Had three different choices, go caroling, watch a play at the westminister community center, or juss stay theer for the nite. Being I was feeling a little blah I wasn't sure if I was up to driving. So robert schuller's 'hour of power' came on tv and I was watching the end of it and they started singing christmas songs... it kinda set the mood for the rest of the nite, so I decided to go carol. It was a lot of fun, I wish I can go this weekend, but I'm going to vegas. IM not really feelin to go this time, but oh well.

AVE MARIA: One of my favorite songs...the Ave Maria. Has such a joyful melody to it. At mass on thurs. the girl who was singing it, wow sang it so well. THose latin words can be real difficult to pronounce and sing. Then at mass yesterday, the choir did their own version of the ave maria, which was so tight. I remember clare telling me bout it before, it sounded so cool. Yeah, the Blessed Mother is pretty d0pe. I told my group during the retreat that I'm a big Marian fan. I have like 3 different versions of the song...the kenny G. sax version is my fav. though total lullaby song. Oh yeah thas why at weddings I love it towards the end when the couple walks to the statue of Our Lady asking her to intercede for them.

OUR LADY: Speaking of Our Lady, today is the feast day of Our Lady of guadalupe. I spent the whole day pretty much hepling out w/the hispanic ministry. They had a game booth and a moon bounce and the hall was decorated and eveyrhting. They had this raffle game where you can get 1 ticket for .25 cents or 5 for $1. Some of the tickets were labled with a # on the back, the # matches with a particular prize. They had some big prizes too lke a computer, doll house, and a some type of remote control car. Man the kids were coming in bunches lining up buying ticket after ticket. Even after the comp was won kids were still coming! It was fun though helping the hispanics celebrate. Thas wha building community is all bout!

ORGANIZED: Dane was telling me yesterday that he likes my blog cuz its real organized. Im assuming he's talking bout how errthang is put into some type of section. Then he goes, the only thing is that I write bout errsingle detail of wha goes inn my day. I only do that, cuz it helps me to juss remember to enjoy the day. To share the small and big things God has blessed me with. If youre reading this part dane, I have like 6 3" binders full of all my blog entries. Imma pass them on as gifts to my children when they grow up ha! Juss imagine though, years later if I have kids, they're gonna sit and read bout my life, wha I did, the things that went on during my day, my struggles, frustrations, joys, and sorrows. Yup, I like my blogging style, helps me to remember wha I did each day.


final tomorrow pray for me!!

"Its that time of year, christmas time is here..."im done, im out God bless!

Turn It Up

"We say yes to Jesus and Mary, then we can have a real genuine christmas for God..."

WRONG: On tues. one of my students was trying to correct me bout the feast day of the immaculate conception. Explaining that well, this was the feast day when Mary was conceived withouot sin. I didnt believe him, I always thought it was when Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary. Well little did I know that he was correct until I went to mass today and fr. vic clairifed exactly wha it meant. He had a great homily bout who the Blessed Mother was. On top of that, I think it was the young adult choir, at any rate the girl on there did a great job singing the 'ave maria.' Wow it was really good.

CRAVINGS: I had a craving for chinese food yesterday so after mass jay, mel, and I went to go get some. Sometimes the best chinese food are those hole in the wall places. Juss like the best mexican food are those kind of joints too. We sat there and messed around, made fun of each other, juss a grand ol time. Really thankful to GOd, that even though starting over seemed as if it was gonna be difficult, it wasnt. Ive made some d0pe friends through the youf ministry, as well as reconnected w/some old ones.

SUBS: HAving a sub. at work really puts me in awkward position at times. Juss cuz there are two different types of subs, the ones wheere they expect you to do errthang for them, run the classroom, deal w/the kids etc. Then the other ones where they dont want you to really do anything, they want to deal w/it all or more les smaybe juss help them. So each time there's a new sub, I dont know where the border line...how far to go, wha they want me to do etc. Today we had a sub who was juss horrible, maybe cuz she didnt feel very well but still. She was clueless how do things!! Then after lunch she walks in 5 min. late, all non-chalant! maaan those are the ones youd be afraid to have in the classroom.

GOOGLE GROUPS: The youf ministry uses email to communicate w/each other throughout the day. They use this thing called google groups and you can add whoever you want to the group, and itll send out email to the whole group. So instead of havign to find each person's email for a group announcement you can juss use the google group. ANyway, ever since I got put on it tues. Ive had tons of email errday. I think gmail is so convienet, how it juss tabs all your email responses to one email, rather then juss having 30 different email threads. The thing that can suck is that if you dont check your email hmm daily, it starts to pile up like bad habbits. ha Its juss a fun way though to send random emails out or messages or have a whole convo going on through email.

STANTON: There's apart of me who every once in a while wants to be bitter at the them for juss a lot of the stuff I;ve been going through. Though, its kinda ridiculous to hold on to something thas happened so long ago. Im grateful that despite the circumstances of wha happened, they always welcome me back w/open arms. Stopped by yesterday and it juss brought back so many memories. They were getting ready for tree lighting, and wow how glad that I wasn't working it. The holidays there are always the most busiest especially during christmas cuz its one event after the other. At the same time though, I do miss the connections and bonds I had w/errone. Its still pretty crazy thinking of how it all 'happened.' Thas all in the past now, I'm juss grateful to God, that he's provided me w/something else.

TWO BIRFDAYS: Two birfday shout outs for today. My sister who turned 21...wow the memories of being 21. Sometimes I forget that I'm 23, juss cuz it doesnt feel like that. So my sister and I, dont exactly have the greatest relationship, however she does some wha look out for me. I do have to be grateful she got me an ipod, though I wish she wouldve waited another month or a couple more weeks later cuz the I wouldve had a video ipod haha Oh well, at least its a colored screen. Anyone want to buy one?! haha The other birfday shout out goes to my former student, jett. This guy has been w/me since day 1 of confirmation, has had me for 4 years, and now is helping me w/confirmation this year. Bought me some tight lebrons for my end of the year gift, and always brings lumpia for our class parties. He's a good kid, makes me laugh. Im glad to see that he's juss on the right path...so easy at that age to be thrown off. Happy birfday to them!


who turned off the radio














"Who turned off the radio..."im done, im out God bless

Amazed

"You develop courage by acting courageously whenever you feel like acting otherwise..."

STILL PICTURES: Im still kinda in amazement of how errthang came into play last nite. Yeah, I know wha you're probably thinking. Make all the side comments and jokes you want, but it was juss that d0pe. I went to the studio on sun. nite around 9pm, thinking that I can juss confirm errthang for tues. Turns out he wasn't there and so immediate reaction was...'oh why?!' THen I begin thinking, 'maybe it's not in God's will anymore.' ha. Stopped by sPc on the way home, to pray at the blessed sacrament, juss in thanksgiving for the weekend and for my lambs. I got home myspaced him, left him a message, lifting to God juss errthang. Began to thinking, 'well wha happens if he doesn't see it or doesn't reply back.' So then mon. morning checked my myspace, before going to skool and work and saw he replied back wOoo!!! Then tuesday, I was juss excited all day, yet I was nervous thinking well, I dont want to get jinxed. Asking God to let errthang juss work out, and that make sure he get's here safely, juss clear the schedule and the path. Low and behold at around 8pm, I get the phone call wooO success! Praise GOd! After weeks of praying, God allowed it to happen!

SHOPPING: I'm so behind on christmas shopping this year, I cant believe christmas is only 2 weeks away. I have yet to even begin my christmas shopping, let alone put together a list of who I'm getting gifts for. Im so anal when it comes to christmas shopping cuz I have to put a list together before buying anything. Then on top of all that, I have to find my list from last year and kinda go off of that of who I got gifts for last year and wha I got them. Yeah, its difficult complex shopping stragety. Im still trying to get use to this whole once a month pay check thing. In all my working years, (not like its a lot)this is the first job where I only get paid once a week. I think it's going to take a while to transition and get use to. It'll work out though...

WORK: There's this little boy at work, who's hmm very into his femine side. I think its cuz his cousin is a girl, so he gets that female influence a lot. So on tuesday, he had this 'princess fruit snacks' we go back in the classroom and the box is empty. I was going to take it and throw it in the trash from him. Whoa big mistake, he was getting upset that I was going throw away the box. Instead he holds on to the box w/all his strength and says he's going to take it home. Im not gonna sit here and battle w/the kid, so I let it ago. However, I think if I really took the next step further(which I wouldnt of) and thrown it away, he would've cried and took it out of the trash. Then we get this new girl, yesterday and her colors are starting to show...she has this little bit of attitude in her. Hmm not going to flow real well...work is interesting, errday it's something new. First graders...you gotta love them.

SOMETHING NEW: I signed up for xanga, I didnt want to but sometimes there are some real interesting xanga entries and well I cant comment cuz I dont ahve one. So I signed up for it, to leave comments on other peoples. The only thing I have on there is the address to my blog. I was looking at it, and its similar, but I juss perfer blog better. Juss cuz how could I leave and abandon my blog?! We've only been together for the past 3 years and have established and shared so much.

FORM OF ART: Its real interesting to watch people dance. God was right on the money, when He created the gift of dancing. I think dancing is a form of self expression, expressed who you are, your personality type all that kinda of stuff. So You Think You Can Dance, was a great show that displayed that type of art. I dont know if I'm making sense, but oh well. Ryan said last nite that I think they;d have rehearse for something like 6 hours I wanna say? They treated you hardcore, as if you were a professional dancer. Really cutting you w/no kinda slack at all. I went to cypress tonite, and whoa there's this move called the '90' it's pretty sick! If only my body was able to move in those kind of directions.
he is THE john: You must've been the coolest confirmation teacher in the OC hahaha

Holla Back!

rangeles: you might as well have to kissed him too ...
Agh stupid
burr: i'm glad you finally got ryan to your class. now your life has been fulfilled and you can die now.
I know mon. nite when I was going through all the drama, I told God, if youre gonna take me at least wait till after tues. nite to do it. aha
rangeles: yeah but that kid that you neglected probably committed suicide (not the suicide skit)
geez..thas great you'd think of something like that
burr: agh remember when i aim'd u and then you got mad at me because your dog died? sheeesh, like i knew friend!!!
agh...sorry friend! but thanks for lunches this week yay!
burr: i love nini! thanks for being a good uncle friend!
I love nini too! I cant wait to pick her up again
burr: it's because you're a sucky teacher. otherwise, they'd get the suicide skit already friend!
Agh no I'm a real good teacher, besides its not like I see you helping out w/it.
Fred: going to CTC after prayer mtg, those were the days
i know, where did the time all go?
kitkat: hi jason! happy belated Thanksgiving!
thanks kat you too! hope you and the babeh are doing well!
rangeles: especially the "some people come into your lives for a specific reason" topic
rangeles: good convo friend ....
yeah i know, we should ahve more reality type of convos
burr: agh stupid spa. at least we did laps on the pool. agh 200mm haha!
lets do that again, thas a real good excercise!
noreen: i absolutely LOOOOOVVVVEEEE that picture of your lolo & lola!!!!
me too, its one of my favorites!
noreen: HAPPY THANKSGIVING, JASON!
thanks you toooo!!!
burr: u need to be more patient. you're so impatient and you take it out on the kids, in the only way that you know how to do..
agh i dont take it out on my kids!
Libido Police: can we see some clips of girls dancing?
wha?!
burr: it's ok if you and ryan are gay boys, but don't influence the kiddies now c'mon!! hahahahaa
dumb
kitkat: oops..that's the wrong smiley face.
kitkat: hi jason! awww...i'm super excited for the holidays too! Great pics btw! Wish I could have gone to BC! )
I know I was looking for you, wondering where you were!
toni: jasonfiiish! how are u?? happy almost thanksgiving my friend! ciao!
okay, i gotta email yo usome updates so many things yay!
arch: "So as I'm lecturing I see one of the kids in front slowly start to put his down. Next thing I know I see his closing!"..what?!? check ur stuff b4 posting jason, thanks.
hahaha sorry i get sleepy when I blog

dont forget to go to mass today!

"I never felt so weak and yet so strong..."im done, im out GOd bless!

Answered Prayers

"Treat your friends as do to your paintings; place them in the best light..."

SO TIRED: Yeah, I should be sleeping right now cuz I didnt get a chance to take a nap. Yet, there's juss so much to talk bout. So much to be excited bout! The best thing bout going on retreats is that you make new myspace friends wooO! COming back and looking for errone on myspace wondering where they're all at. THen getting new comments, okay so im up to 588 friends woo! haha To think I've only been on this thing for a year now. I love myspace! There has been so many good fruits that have come out of it, a total form of communication and getting in contact w/old people. Yay for myspace.com...praise God for tom's creative ideas haha too bad friendster never got this popular. Oh well, sometimes its always time to try new things, however I dont think anything oculd out beat myspace as of right now at least. Even if something was better, I know how many people would jump that bandwagon.

A YES: For the past couple of weeks, Ive been praying real hard for this special intention for my confirmation class. As the weeks and days went by, I was praying harder and harder. Even to the point where I was asking others to pray for this intention. THen aas it got sooner and sooner, I was getting more and more antsy. I told the kids tonite bout the 'guest speaker' coming in and they're all antsy and excited. I wanted to tell them who but they didnt want to know, they wanted ot be 'suprised.' At the end of class, I asked them if it was a cool suprise and they were like yeah!! Even caroline's class came by and checked it out.

THE WHO: Praise God cuz my answered prayer was ryanimay coming to confirmation class tonite. I mean how random was that of me asking, and after weeks of anticipation he came! Of course, being I dont really know the guy I was afraid of him flaking out or something coming up and he couldnt do it. Though, in the end it all worked out praise God! haha I stopped by the blessed sacrament tonite afterwards juss to thank God for answering this prayer request. He came in and he shared bout his experience on the show, how he got involved w/dancing. Pretty much his own personal testimony, the only thing that kinda sucked was he didnt dance. ha Oh well, you cant ask fo too much...Im juss glad he came. After class I had a line of girls and guys asking for his autograph and my kids asking if I could take their picture w/him and to put it on their myspace.

CRAZY STUFF: So I was listening to him share his life story bout how he got involved w/dancing and all. Very interesting story, coming from a 7th day adventist religous background where apparently dancing was forbidden. His parents never approved of dancing, and when he was younger, all his friends in skool would make fun of him and say he wouldnt amount to anything. Which pushed him to dance and discover the talents he has. On tthe show though he said that whatever they wanted they got it for them. They werent allowed to leave the house or do anything. All they had to do was to make a list and they got them wha they wanted. Clothes, food, you name it they got it. Okay time for some pics! yay!!!





Christmas came early fo me this year! =)
"I wanna buy these shoes for my mother please..."im done, im out GOd bless!

Always, Always There

"Christ's inexpressible grace gave us blessings better than those the demon's envy had taken away..."

CLARITY: Through the moments of suffering, it can be so difficult to find God in it. Yet I guess you can't look at the cross and think there was no suffering. With love comes suffering, a mom delivering her baby in a delivery room. I looked at the cross tonite then back down to the blessed sacrament and juss asked a lot of whys. Though he showed me that through the midst of suffering, there is love, I juss have to look a little deeper.It’s difficult to “trust” God when you feel like He has abandoned you. It becomes easier to trust God when we look at just how faithful He has always been to us. It gets harder to trust God when we look at our faithfulness toward Him. The truth is that we abandon God, each and every day, in little and big ways. During tragedies and through suffering, we are far wiser to become more abandoned TO God, than to abandon Him outright. Its like the sacrifice skit, the guy went through it all juss to show her what sacrifice was all about. 'For you I will bear all, live my sacrifice.'

A DAY AWAY: Actually juss hours away before something, that I've been praying for to be answered. So far, so good, I've juss been praying for commitment. I hate it when people end up flaking out. Hopefully, errthang works out and through all this suffering, another positive thing can come out. Im excited, really I am you juss dont even know. I hope my kids become excited too, I think they'll be suprised. Kinda like one of those 'whoa' feelings...howd that happen. Or they'll wont ahve any emotion at all and sit motionless. Either way, lets hope it all works out. Keep praying folks, thanks!!

ON FIRE: One of the things bout working w/youf is, the spiritual high they get after a retreat. Listening to all the different testimonies tonite made me smile. My group was all there, but one praise God! A while back ago, I was sharing w/allen banne's 'top 10 life lessons' that I took from her blog before. It ended up becoming one of my lessons last year. Anyway, he told me that like one of the top 10 life lessons said, 'you are Jesus to someone. You maybe the only gospel they'll ever read, the only encounter with God they'll ever have. Let them meet Him in you...through you...your touch, your listening ear, the kind acceptance in your eyes, the gentle words of encouragement that flow from the goodness and mercy of Christ.' We ended up juss talking bout how thas wha he tries to remember when talking to people. I love it when God inspires one of my brothers and sisters.

More to come...