and a little child shall lead them...

merry (belated) christmas, everyone!

jesus' birthday was a good one! we headed over to my aunt's house in millbrae and had dinner as usual, followed by an early opening of the gifts. we usually try and wait until midnight, but for the past couple years since the twins have been born we've either just let them open their gifts first in front of everyone and then wait until midnight for everyone else, or just open them all early. thankfully, my lola was home from the hospital and was able to be amongst her family during this holiday. she's actually staying at my aunt's house for now and so her big hospital bed takes up half the living room! we totally had no space during the gift opening...it was craaazy! we also usually go around and allow each person to open ONE gift in front of everyone and show it off, but this year it was a free for all which made things waaaay chaotic. next year i'm voting for more organization and scheduling!!!

oh, then afterwards all the cousins played the Harry Potter, Scene It! game which was pretty fun. sidenote: i just found out that the director of the first two harry potter movies has a daughter that goes to my old high school!!! craaaazy, huh?! no wonder they were premiering the 4th movie for SI alums and students before the release date. and, after playing the game i realized that i'm not as much of a harry potter movie buff as i thought i was! they ask you all these specific questions like the names of spells and creatures...but it was really fun.

christmas day my family and i went to mass and then watched memoirs of a geisha. we arrived a little late (well, before the movie started but "late" if you wanted to get a good seat) so we had to sit way in the front, and by the end of the movie my neck was permantly holding my head up to face the sky. =/ i then realized that i am getting old. later that night we hung out with the cousins and went to see the decorated houses around our area, but it was raining so we had to stay in the car.

new year's should be interesting...my family and i are going to watch a football game new year's eve and then spend the countdown at my aunt's. a part of me wishes i could go out and get all craaazy (but, not too crazy, of course!) like most young adults my age, but i know my parents want me to stay home. i know this because they told me i can't go out. the joy's of living at home... =/. i've already been invited to two parties that are probably going to be really fun, but oh well. now that my lola is home it's probably better for all of us to spend the special holiday's with her.

by the way, thanks to everyone who has been praying for her and my fam. the prayers definitely worked, and my lola is definitely on the road to recovery!

the boys just could not stop eating!!!

lola, my mom, bailey, and mama

janette (bro's gf), chris, daddy, papa, nathalie, mommy, and me

the cousins (minus quite a few...)

evan opened ONE present and liked it so much he forgot about the rest, haha!

presents...

presents...

and more presents...

i wonder if my lola liked this present?!

raindrops keep falling on my head...

today was my first official day of vacation and i must say that there was a tremendous lack of excitement, save for one moment of the day i will talk about later. i woke up around 10am and dropped the sis off at work, got home and started to read a new book i picked up at b&n: Light on Snow, by Anita Shreve. it's been pretty decent so far...i'm enjoying it. i am so desperately wanting to read the last and final harry potter book, but it looks like we're gonna have to wait a while for that one. you know, not many people know this about me, but if i wasn't gonna be a teacher (or an actress/dancer...=D) i think i'd be a writer. maybe someday...


after reading, i played a little su doku (yes, francia, su doku. surprisingly, it's fun!), cleaned up my room a bit, saw my spiritual director, and pretty much did nothing else the entire day. i love days off!!!

a catechetical moment...

i used to think that it was waaaay embarassing when your umbrella turned inside out on a wet & rainy day. think about it: raindrops are falling down really hard and fast because the wind is blowing every which way and all of a sudden the umbrella you're holding tightly is suddenly flipped upwards and out of control. you desperately fumble to get it flipped back down, all the while struggling with the wind and the rain that is now falling on your head. when you do finally get it situated it's too late because you're already wet and there's really no point for the umbrella anymore. embarassing, i tell you.

then today i was driving home on 19th and i saw a little girl walking alongside her mom. she was holding an umbrella, and right as i glanced over in her direction her tiny purple umbrella was flipped up by the wind. did the little girl feel any embarassment or frustration at all? instead of trying to fix it the girl simply pointed at the umbrella and started laughing, staring in wonder and excitement at her gravity-defying umbrella, no longer able to serve its true purpose.

she taught me a lesson. no wonder He asks us to become child-like...

BFF!

this picture was taken during one of my friend's bday's last month. we just got done doing our "best friends forever" cheer, and the guys thought it was so hilarious/dumb that they wanted a pic of us doing it. we're losers.

that was the night i dragged my heels through half an inch of bathroom flooded water just so my friend could go pee. the things you'll do for your friends...

ahh...the holiday's are surely upon us! :)


so, tomorrow is my last day of work until school resumes in january and i can honestly say that i'm going to miss work! i've been enjoying my days working at school amongst the kiddos, though some days are better than others. i can't wait till i become a real teacher! i used to think that i would just stay within the primary grades, but after being with 5th grade for these past few months i've found that i enjoy teaching older kids as well. they're waaaay more independent and you can do lots more with older kids like group projects and stuff. plus, some of the conversations i've had with these 10 year olds are quite interesting! tomorrow i'm also going to attend the faculty christmas luncheon...that should be exciting.

i'm also really grateful that i'm working in a catholic school. just last week they put on a christmas concert and it was so wonderful! they sang songs and had students act as the holy family and everything. i wonder if these kids realize how beautiful they looked.


my blogs are boring. sometimes i don't realize how boring my life is until i sit down to write my blogs.


david left for socal this afternoon...please pray for his safe trip down! it's been storming up here but at least it let up a little today.

off to brave the malls...

may God have mercy on his soul...

O CHRISTmas TREE...

the before shots...

my sister, the tree lover. and my brother doing the zoolander pose.

doesn't he look like a lumberjack?

"excuse me, do you work here?"

o the joy's of CHRISTmas!

my brother, sister, and I went shopping for a tree today...we actually did it! we always make plans to buy one early and then don't end up getting one 'till the week of, but this year we were on top of things!!! so, first me and my sister went into target to get some new ornaments -- we decided on a gold, silver, & white theme this year! while me and my sister were at target my bro was outside in the parking lot looking for trees. he told us afterwards that some lady walked up to him and asked him if he worked there. i don't blame the lady for thinking that...my brother was wearing a mustard colored sweater to match his mustard colored Timberland BOOTS, jean shorts, and a black beanie. not to mention he's like, hella big. he really looked like all the workers there...haha! so we didn't like any of the trees outside target so we went to one other tree place not far from where we were. after arguing about whether or not we should get an 8 ft. tree as opposed to a 6 ft. tree (when our ceiling barely reaches 6 ft...) we came across one that we all liked, miraculously! this was our conversation on the way home:

me: so, what are we gonna name our tree?
chris: um, i dunno...gabriella.
me: seriously?
chris: hm, i dunno...don't think i'll be talking to the tree anytime soon.
me: turn off the radio so we could hear if the tree falls off.
chris: if the tree started to fall, i don't think there would be much we could do to stop it.
me: wouldn't it suck if the tree fell off?
chris: naw, it would suck if the tree feel off and someone ran over it.
nathalie: what if the tree fell off and like, hit someone's windshield...that would suck.
me: dude, it would suck if the tree feel off and hit someone's windshield and it cracked.
nathalie: didn't i just say that?
chris: yes, you did.

laughter all around.

me: no, it would hella suck if the tree fell off, hit someone's windshield and killed them. do you think we'd be charged for murder?
nathalie: no, it would just be a natural disaster.
me: as opposed to an accident?

oh man...it may not seem funny to anyone else but i'm hella laughing right now! ah...good times. you never know what kind of conversation will spring up when buying a Christmas tree!

and now...

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." - Burton Hillis

i can't wait...

the warmth of winter

i thought i had time before going to bed to give quick update on the life of dee, but if i did update i think i may just type forever! i know, i really need to start updating more because i always have so much to say at the end of the day, but sometimes there just isn't enough time!

needless to say, my mini-vacay to socal was just what i needed at this time in my life. talk about a spiritual rejuvination!!! some day i will gather up enough courage to speak on what i felt throughout that first night i was there...and throughout the rest of the weekend, really...but it is not yet that day. but, what i will say is that i'm upset that i left my NEW coffee tumbler thingee there!!! i was soooo super excited to use it, too! grrr...that's what i get for not putting it in my suitcase right away. oh well, i suppose i will just have to make another trip down to pick it up! ;)

in the teaching sector, things have been going quite well. school has been killing me but it's almost over, praise GOD! i have never been so against group projects before, but after having a few bad experiences i HATE group projects! i had some really bad luck with the grouping situation, but at least we got graded individually. oh well, what can you do. i think that God's trying to teach me how to work with difficult people...you would think that leading liwanag would have taught me that! HAHAHAH....JUST KIDDING!!! but not really...

i've been getting along pretty well with the teacher i work with, too. before it was awkward between us for some reason and she was a bit stand-offish, but we're actually getting to know each other better nowadays and she's actually making me more a part of the class! i'm starting to get a handle on the 5th grade curriculum, but boy do i have some funny stories about that! one time i didn't know the answer to this one word problem, and i just KNEW one of the kids was going to ask me for help, so i courageously called the teacher over and made a joke out of needing her to tutor ME. she took one look at it, paused for a moment, and then called out "boys and girls let's cross out #35...you don't have to do that one. if you want to do it, it'll be extra credit." yes, i did graduate college.

on the downside of the teaching sector, i had to report another teacher i was working with at another school. what's worse is that i don't think anything is going to be done about it...

...and people wonder why some kids hate school.

in the family sector, things are as good as can be expected. lola is in the hospital again because she's not eating. it's taking a toll on my family, but i know we're all trying to hang in there, especially my mom. it's so stressful, but this is the cross...

we're getting a tree tomorrow, which will be very interesting. after we put it up there'll be barely enough room walk around...but, by golly, we'll have tree! i was complaining about the cold weather earlier this month, but the more i'm in it the more i'm thankful for it because it really feels like christmas is coming. and, i don't know how factual this would be but i would like to think that it was cold when Jesus was born. i mean, in a stable with no heat, in the dead of night...it wasn't the warmest of situations. but i would bet anything that the beauty that was born on that cold night was enough to warm heaven and earth...

last night we spent a few hours at the hospital with my lola. she was supposed to be discharged a couple days ago but had a major set back...they found a large tumor in her stomach & her kidney was not functioning. she didn't have any urine output for 2 days and her stomach was very bloated. it was hard being at the hospital because my lola was in so much pain...she couldn't stay still for too long and kept wanting to move around. they didn't put her on morphine, even though i really wished they had, so she simply had to endure the pain. yet, she kept fighting, and continues to fight until today. my lola underwent dialysis (sp?) today to help her kidneys, and as far as i've heard she's doing much better. thank you to all who have prayed, and continue to pray, for my grandma. my family is going through some difficult times right now, but i know it's making us stronger and closer. it's a waiting game at this point...they're trying to take care of one ailment at a time. today they're working on the kidney, tomorrow or a few days from now they'll decide whether or not they want to remove the tumor. the operation was not advised by the doctor b/c she's at high risk...so we're not sure if we're going to put her through that. last night they were talking about signing do not resuscitate papers in case she goes into distress.

scary...

...no one really ever achieves "closure." thoughts will always enter in and out of your mind, and things will happen where you will be reminded and you'll feel it all over again. the real test is what you do with those thoughts and feelings. you simply have to ENDURE them, and realize that we cannot change what has already happened. focus on the here and now, and live.

what a DAY today was!


"well, i don't know if he likes her, but at least he's not annoyed of her!"

"you will never know when i'm going to come...every tuesday you will be in suspense as to whether or not i will show up in the dark corners of interfaith...from now, until ETERNITY!"

brother: "take and receive...i LIKE that song. it was the best song at mass today."
me: "yeah, we sing it at days with the lord. i bet you someone in that choir is a dayzer."
brother in his _____ accent: "oh yeah?! well i'm gonna make myself a group...and i'll call it, NIGHTS with the Lord! HA!"

wow, today was the first mass ever where david, nathalie, chris, and i tried to harmonize to every single song. i have to say, gather your people, o lord & city of god have never known such arrangements!!!

i love being able to be there for friends...praise God!

praise God for changeable flight schedules!!! =)

after blowing out her candles...
me: "so, mom, what did you wish for?"
mom: "a healthy life. a long live."
me: "long live? long live what?"

me: "i'm hella just going to jump on stage!"
mang: "oh man...that'll be a catastrophe!"
me: "yes...but a beautiful one!"

"so, uh...do i need permission or something?"

"miss dianne, does everyone have to go through bapUHtism?"

my intelligent brother's reflection on today's gospel...
"i don't get how the 10 virgins lost their oil...and didn't they know that there was going to be a wedding the next day?"

my sister, staring at me while i was removing the cake from the box...
"good job getting the cake, dianne. i see that you forgot to ask them to write 'happy birthday' on it..."

at chili's, after the servers came over to sing happy birthday to my mom...
me: "wow, papa (my grandfather)...you were really clappin' it up on that one!"
papa: "well, you see, i enjoy clapping very much."

QUIET strength...

thanks to all who sent messages, cards, presents, texts, blog entries and calls my way for my birthday! i was very touched to know that even though i moved away you guys still remembered my birthday and thought enough to send warm wishes! i miss you all so very much and i can't wait till we see each other again! =)

i spent my birthday on friday with my friends...we had a nice dinner at this restaurant called circolo's and afterwards went out dancing. the club wasn't all that much fun, but it was nice just to be all together. then, on saturday i had a family party in sacramento at my uncle's house. it was nice having my family all together...we took a late night trip to walmart and i got really excited because i bought a 2006 calendar of JPII for only 5 buckaroonies!!! =) that was the highlight of our trip to walmart...that and spending 15 min. at the self checkout trying to pay for our stuff. and we thought it would be faster...

on sunday i had my 3rd cff (children's faith formation) class! things are going well with that class...i was discouraged last week due to certain circumstances but things went sooo much better this time! i had a re-affirmation before class began, and realized that if i rely on my own strength and wisdom to teach these kids i won't be successful. focusing on God as my inspiration for teaching helped me to center myself and do a much better job...thank you, Lord, for reminding me.

the rest of Sunday was tiring. my lola is in the hospital right now -- her heart wasn't working very well (to put it simply) and as a result fluid built up in her lungs and caused her to have trouble breathing. her heart rate dropped to 30 (60 would be the lowest considered “normal”) and the doctor’s said that we almost lost her, but she put up a good fight. they had to put a pace maker in and intubate her to help her breathe better. we spent the whole sunday after my class at the hospital, which wasn’t that bad because my whole family was there and david and i got to study. we’re here at the hospital right now – i felt so bad for her because she can’t talk due to the tube, and so she cries because she can’t communicate. what’s worse is that they had to restrain and sedate her because when she’s awake she tries to pull out all of her tubes and gadgets attached to her. i hardly blame her…if i had a tube stuck down my throat preventing me from talking and needles up my arm, i’d try my hardest to break free! it was so hard for me to be in there, but i kept praying and holding her hand and telling her that i was there and that she’ll be ok. sometimes i wonder why she fights so hard to stay alive. not that i want her to go or anything…not at all…but all the doctor’s are impressed with how much she fights to get better, seeing as she’s already 90 years old. when i stood there holding her hand i wondered what she was thinking about, and what was keeping her going. in any case, i’m so very thankful she made it through and at least for now, she’s ok.

on a brighter note, today’s Halloween parade at the school i work at was quite interesting! we had a bunch of napoleon dynamite’s, oopma loompa’s, and LotR characters! a group in my class were the people from the show, survivor…how creative was that?! they were able to get some material with the survivor logo on it and made tube tops and bandana’s, carried tiki torches, dirtied themselves up with makeup, and even had burnt pieces of papers that served as their votes for who they wanted to kick off. we also had a solar system (my personal favorite! the little boy was dressed all in yellow for the sun and had a hoola hoop around him with all the planet’s around him!) and an osama. yup, that’s right…osama with a bullet wound in his neck. i could’ve sworn he was going to get suspended, but no one seemed to care. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

in the twilight zone...

ugh. today was not a good day. well, i take that back. it was a fairly good day...a great day, actually, save this morning's catechesis lesson with my 1st graders. i don't feel like going into much detail, but let's just say i'm a bit discouraged. i know i'm not a pro teacher, and i know it's not going to be easy, especially in the beginning, but it's hard starting off i guess. i repeat, ugh.

on a brighter note, david & i went to stanford mall today (near palo alto) and did a bit 'o' shoppin! shoes, gloss, and a couple tops for me, and a couple tops for david...and one of them is mint green! (ok that looks like highlighter green but the mint green doesn't show up on this background...) can you imagine it? i bet you can! =) stanford mall is sooooo like an outdoor version of southcoast plaza. our first comments as we pulled up were "whoa! are we in irvine?!" so, at the beginning of our mall visit we were excited for the change of city scenery and were thrilled to be somewhere that reminded us of our other home.

...it only took us about 20 min. to want to get back to the city. we're so not used to the uppity anymore.

p.s. if you didn't notice, click on david to find a surprise!!!

laaazy days...

i'm beginning to feel the pangs of attending a school that's on a semester system. i'm tired. =/ so is david...we were talking about how we are not used to having such long periods of class. right now i think we'd be at 10th week and about ready for finals if we were at uci...but we're only in month #2 and have about 2 more to go!!! * sigh *

with that said, i'm still enjoying what i do to a certain extent...it's just that i'm tired and me being tired makes me lazy. i'm learning a lot in all of my classes, and not to sound corny or anything, but the more i learn the more respect i have for people in this profession. it's A LOT of work to be a teacher!!! well, a good teacher, at least. i suppose you could get by with not doing any work for your students, but what good would that do? and with all the observations i have to do it's neat seeing different teachers in action, and different groups of kids, as well.

last week the teacher of the class i TA for had to leave for a few days and i got to teach the kiddos a couple lessons!!! oh my gosh it was soooo intimidating because it was 5th grade and i wasn't too familiar with the curriculum. BUT, thank goodness things went smoothly and i think the students learned a little bit from me!

and, last sunday was my first time teacher the 1st graders religious ed. it was so much fun!!! i think next time, though, i need to think of more creative ways to get kids involved and interested in what we are learning. but it's nice because i only have 12 kids...we're a small, but intimate group!


i feel old talking about this stuff....


on a more exciting note, THE GIRLS CAME TO VISIT!!! =) we had fun hanging out...but sad to say we didn't get to catch up that much because they were here just for 2 days. =( they came up friday night, and we ate at cheese factory in union square. then, on saturday we went shopping in gilroy, and had a night out on the town at luna lounge in the city. they left on sunday, but not before i took them to the filipino bbq restaurant i take all my guests: manila sunset! =) so, if y'all ever visit me, be prepared to eat there!!! it's really good!!!


speaking of really good...

i'm in this big room at the university center on campus where students can just come in and "study" (kinda similar to those rooms at the bottom of the student center at uci) and there's this group of girls sitting right near me talking soooooo LOUD!!! they seem like hiphop heads cuz they keep talking about hiphop "culture" and playing music OUTLOUD from their laptops........and they're SINGING!!! OUTLOUD!!! haha...i guess it's cool, but it's like, a study area! we're supposed to be studying!!! not discussing the hiphop artists of the 90's for everyone and their momma's to hear!!! i'm sitting here and i'm thinking to myself, man if the irvine peeps were here (you know who you are!!!) we would be having a hayday. AND we would probably try to compete with them by singing Light the Fire In My Heart Again or Building Community full out with actions and all! HAHA!!! you know we would!!! =D ah...i wish...

A Message for YOU:

krystle: hey there! yeah, things are going well up here, thankfully! david says hello, too!

jfish: it was good seeing you at the wedding, too! God is definitely laying down plans for me up here...he never wastes time!!!

meechy: i miss you, girl! dang, i don't even think i was able to see you before i left since you were in DC. but, hopefully i get to see you real soon. hope you're doing well! say hello to the rest of your crew for me!

charles: wow, charlie, you are a definitely a rhymer! ur smart! ;)

reg: oh reg, how i miss thy pointed foot & hand! :)

joyce: oh how i miss YOU so!!! hope you are doing well...still singing, i bet! we need to GIG soon!!! i know, i know, i'll send you my schedule. and the money for mel. haha!

ang: my dear, you are so missed. thanks for the messages and texts...you always remind me that i have such great friends down there. how's work? school? being a servant? life? ah, my friend, we must at once reconnect and discuss the fruits of the bountiful haaaaaarvest! :) +AMDG for life!

gian: hey, man. glad to see you're still one of the few who's blog i can always trust to be updated. hey, since you do update all the time, can you like, post all the happ's of the socal world i miss so much? come on...it'll be like a daily newsletter or something. DO IT!!!

noreen: i miiiiissss yoooou!!! you're pic's from the 5-0 are B-E-A-uuuutiful! gosh, you guys must have had an awesome time...YAY! thanks for your text last week...i wouldn't have missed your wedding for the world!!! the few hours i spent there were PRICELESS. :)

irish joe: hey, dude...get with the program!!! i've had this blog for like 5 months or something. haha, jk...but yeah, it's been a while, joe! i hope to see you soon. david and i are just fine! thanks for praying for us always!

fred: hey, freddy! when are you gonna come to frisco and visit? ;) hope you're doing well!

francia: seriously, right?! the time has gotten away from us, as it usually does...especially from me and you! haha...oh how i miss thy loose-ness. HAHA...ew that sounds gross. joke lang! how are you, anyway? flirted with any boooys lately? haha....jk. you know i love you and i'm just playin'. :)

kirsten: how's your hair? you know, every time i see someone with a mohawk or colored hair, i think of you. really! how's 2nd year treating you? call me up, friend! let's chat!

pia: thanks for the reminder, ATE!!! yes, singing with dan is way cool...he's so not how i pictured him to be, though! but, i learn a lot from him...not so much on the musical side, but on the inspirational side. loooove how your house looks!

'shank & LOG: i pray for you guys every day...hope you're doing well.


thanks, everyone, for all of your thoughts, prayers, and messages. it's nice to hear from you guys and i'm grateful you all are doing well! sorry if i forgot anyone! but know that i pray for you all (seriously, i really do!) every day, and hope that you all are in healthy spirits and along God's path!

where has the time gone?

all things are possible...

today i had lunch with my old high school english teacher. (i know...kinda wierd, huh?!) he's a jesuit priest now (he wasn't ordained yet when he was my teacher) and teaching at usf in the english department. anyways, i saw him on campus and we got to talking and met up for lunch today...it was really good hearing what he was doing nowadays and stuff. he's an intimidating man -- very intelligent and can come off very snooty...like one of those rich filipino men that seem to think they know everything. well, anyways, once you get over being intimidated he's actually a great person to conversate with. so, we got to talking and.............somehow we got on the topic of faith sharing communities and how there's such a need for them, especially for young adults, and.........HE OFFERED TO HELP ME START UP A COMMUNITY HERE!!!!!!!!

isn't that stupendous?! now, i told him i was gonna pray about it and see if it's possible...talk to some people here and there...but i sat there in awe, because the Holy Spirit was sooooo working through us! i mean, i've been thinking about starting another LOG up here for a while but i didn't know if it was possible or if it was in God's will. and so, when i would pray about it i would alway come away with the thought that if God really wanted to happen, he would find a way...and i think He did with this one!!! now, of course nothing is set in stone and right now we're just exploring possibilities. see, this priest that's gonna help me is a bit of a conservative, so i have nooo idea how he will feel about bringing a bit of contemporary music into the scene. in the end, it may not turn out to be another "Liwanag," but then again the fruits of the Spirit are all beautiful no matter what, right? he wants to start out with no more than 5 people, so that we can build a strong foundation and go from there. I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!!! i called david right away and he's super excited as well, and is eager to start it up with us!!! we will see what happens...

in the meantime, i humbly ask for all of YOUR prayers for this new beginning. i don't know what is going to become of these ideas and thoughts that we're having, but i know that if it's God's will then what's gonna come out of it has to be AWESOME! so, please pray for us as we begin to walk by faith and see where God leads us...





p.s. thanks, gian, for giving me a shout-out on your blog. i saw my name, so i read. been a while! haha...jk. i actually DO read your blogs even if there is no mention of dianne. and, i should probably be typing this as a comment on YOUR blog and not mine...hmm....



p.p.s. i miss you, liwanag.

...just SOME of the cousins & family at lola's 90th bday celebration. this was after all the guests had gone and we were cleaning up.

Catechesis: instruction by word of mouth

thanks to all who left sweeeeet messages on my blog. I MISS YOU ALL so very much! sorry for the lack of update, but there is never a dull moment on this side of the state!!!

my newest news: i'm got a position volunteering as a catechist for 1st graders!!! =) i'm sooooo super excited about this one, because 1.) i get to have some teaching experience, 2.) i'm teaching my most favorite subject: RELIGION, and 3.) i get to teach the little ones! i really couldn't be more blessed to have this opportunity. oh how i wish there was a sonshine bookstore/catholic traditions here so that i can stock up on material and goodies! they do have this one store but it's more for church stuff...incense, priest vestments, etc. but yes, i'm so excited to start...nervous, but excited!

other than that, everything else is pretty much the same. school keeps me busy most days, but i'm finding it bearable thus far. i'm also one week into the spiritual exercises, which have been very grace-filled and special moments with just me and God. this one time i prayed in the carmelite monastery across the street from si church, and the sisters were doing those latin chants...i don't know what they are formally called, but anyway, it was beautiful! a bit creepy for the first minute or so, but once you really listen to them, it's really an awesome experience.

serving in the choir has been a neat experience, as well. it's different, though. i like singing with dan...and, believe it or not, he's not a perfectionist as some would think! well, i guess i just really thought he'd be more strict and really precise with notes/timing/etc...but i find him to be soooo relaxed. he focuses more on the spiritual side of the music...always closing his eyes or gesturing with his hands so that we can FEEL and PRAY what we are singing. the piano player is way cool, too...she's real jazzy and spices our music up a lot. of course, i still like my ex-piano player at interfaith better!!! ;) yeah mel! go julliard!!! =D

oh and GUESS WHAT?!?! yesterday, david was dropping me off at loyola house to see my spiritual director and we saw....TATYANA ALI!!! yesiree!!! it was truly her...and she looks indian. she looked at us, too...haha! and that's when we recognized her. i suppose she's continuing her education there...but cool, huh?!

anyways...you know, the more and more i learn about teaching in my classes, and the more i'm around students and other teachers, i really start to feel like this is truly what i'm supposed to be doing with my life. to be honest, i was never drawn to teaching in a classroom before. i always felt like teaching was a career that most people in this world could do, and i always wanted to have a career in something that was challenging for most people...a job that not too many people would choose. i don't know why...but it probably had something to do with me wanting to go where i was needed. but, as i observe these teachers and learn about all that goes into teaching, my respect for this profession has grown immensely. and the more i think about it, the more i realize that almost anyone can get up in front of a group and talk their brains out and try to input information into students' brains...BUT it takes a special soul to really allow a child to grow -- grow in knowledge AND in spirit AND in compassion.

and i take my inspiration and instruction from the best teacher i have ever had...Jesus.

New & Improved?

ok, ok, ok...

SO, this isn't really how the blog i had in mind was supposed to look...but i thought, rather than sitting around wishing i had a cool new & improved blog to show off, i'd be better off spending time blogging about what's been going on in my life since the move.

and A LOT has been going on!!!

gosh, there's so much that i don't know where to start! since it's late, i'll just give a quick synopses:

since the move i've been trying to get back into the swing of things -- living with the 'rents, having to brave the wind and fog, get used to being a student again, and being without the irvine fam. some of these things are more bearable than the others, but all in all i am happy to report that things have been going smoothly here in dee's new life in the bay area!

i never thought i'd say this, but i'm really loving school! i knew grad school would be different than undergrad, but it's waaaaaay cooler! though the workload is heavier, it's more interesting. there are no midterms or finals or anything like that, but just a whole bunch of projects, observations, and tutoring hours we have to do. AND, instead of a professor lecturing all day long in front of the classroom, we have discussions among colleagues! what's great about it as well is that usf is really big on social justice, and so a lot of our discussions revolve around the inequities in education, so it's waaaay interesting. one of the best things about it is that i am officially allowed to obtain my Master's in Catholic Education Leadership since i'm WORKING as a 5th grade teacher's aide at a Catholic elementary school! =)

by God's grace i was also able to start the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius (19th Annotation)! to put it simply, it's like this personal retreat that we make in our everyday lives through prayer, under the guidance of a spiritual director. through this is experience we deepen our relationship with God. we had this group meeting to "kick-off" the exercises, during which we were paired up with a spiritual director, and during the whole meeting my spiritual director (whom i did not know at the time i was going to be paired up with) was DOODLING on a notepad!!! is that FATE or what?! haha...he turns out to be this retired jesuit who's the resident minister of loyola house, the place where all the usf jesuit priests live, and he's super cool. and funny, too!

another COOOOOL thing that's happened since the move is that david and i joined the choir at St. Ignatius church! they have a student mass (very much like an interfaith...except in a huuuge church) at 9pm every Sunday. BUT, that's not the coooool part. the coooool part is that our director is none other than.....

DAN SCHUTTE!!!!!

WOWOWEEE!!! for those of you who have ever opened a missalette at church, he is the composer of many catholic hymn favorites, including Here I am, Lord, City of God, Table of Plenty, and one of MY personal favorites, Servant Song. isn't that cooool?

so yeah, a lot has been going on. OH, we just celebrated my lola's 90th birthday, too!!! we had this huuuuge celebration, which turned out to be quite a success, thank goodness. man, and i thought spirit rally's in irvine were tough! try planning a birthday party (complete with entertainment) with 10 filipino aunties screaming down your back...i don't know what's worse!

gosh, there's so much more but, alas, i feel the need to retire for the night. but, before i go, i just want to let everyone know just how much i miss home. it's different walking on campus without an interfaith to go to...singing in a choir that doesn't quite yet feel right (even with all the excitement of being directed by one of the most famous catholic composers out there...)...going out to eat without having to argue about where you want to go (while in a parking lot)...and spending tuesday nights at home. not necessarily better or worse...just different. although i know things will never be the same, at least i know for sure that life continues, and God is still walking with me.