birthday WEEKEND.

this weekend was wonderful. i always envisioned having an extravagant birthday bash for my quarter-century birthday -- you know, surrounded by all my friends at the club or on a yacht for a cruise around the bay (ahem). that's the kind of stuff you hear everyone doing for their 25th. my entrance into the "mid-twenties," however, wasn't as crazy as i had thought it would be.

as the clock struck midnight i was sitting in the car, driving around sf with david and my friends trying to look for parking. we partied at a place called dragon bar and danced to some hip-hop and 80's beats. we were the only ones in the club that sang along to "poison"...i thought everyone knew that song?! the next day, my real birthday, was filled with errands. david drove me around the entire day as i ordered my cake, attended my students' volleyball game, took care of some stuff at school, got my eyebrows done, and picked up food for my party. we then drove 2 hours to sacramento to meet up with my family to celebrate. my mom and aunts and uncles really worked hard at cooking all the food and preparing. it really was the best way to spend my birthday -- surrounded by everyone i love. what more could a girl ask for?

i thought that if i wasn't going to party it up at the club i might as well party hard with the fam. turning 25 was my excuse for getting drunk in front of my family, and no one really opposed. heck, some of my uncles even joined in! grey goose and silver patron...mmmmmmm.

gathered around the table of plenty


first shot of the night. i even made david take one!


i think we're on #3 at this point


david, what are you doing? (this is david after one shot of tequila...)


the real dee is coming out now (this is dee after 3 shots of tequila...)


this is definitely going to be in the slideshow guys


family bonding is fun


thanks to everyone who celebrated with me and for all the texts, calls, and emails i received. sometimes you can't help feel as though you're forgotten once you leave, and it's nice to know that people still care about little old me. :) i am truly grateful. i even got 2 calls from gian! one to say thanks for the cards, and another to say "sorry i didn't tell you happy birthday when i first called you but i forgot and just checked my planner and had to buy another phone card to call you." that guy cracks me up.

thanks, God, for a great birthday and another year of life.

small acts of great LOVE.

during college, i never thought i'd ever be as busy as i was during my LOG days. countless sleepless nights preparing for concerts, rallies, meetings, and retreats...staying up late to study for midterms and finals (the only two times during the quarter when i studied)...or spending a few hours of spontenaity with the girls. my life was busy then. but nothing could have prepared me for the busyness of being a teacher.

i wake up in the morning and begin mentally preparing for the day. then i go to school and attempt to inspire and educate the masses. inbetween my teaching i busy myself with tasks that would usually be done by other staff at the school, but since we don't have enough people on staff, everyone has to pick up slack. after school i can be found a.) facilitating the school paper meeting, b.) helping with student council, c.) directing the children's choir, d.) working on the yearbook, or e.) tutoring, all the while entertaining parents' concerns about their children. i'm the last to leave school at around 5 or 5:30pm. when i get home i eat, talk to David and my family, and begin grading the 130 pieces of paper/worksheets/essays and various student work i have every night (65 students x 2 pieces of work per student). i go to bed thinking about how my students are doing in class and what i am going to teach the next day. despite all of this, i am loving what i do.

we are learning about Saints this week, and i told my kids that Saints were ordinary people who did things with extraordinary love. i have to remind myself to be like the Saints...

one day last week i talked to my students about a friend of mine who needed prayers. i asked my kids if they could do me a favor and help me help him. so, my 18 sixth graders made cards with inspring notes inside of them for my friend. some drew pictures of jets and planes, others drew men dressed in camoflauge with big thick glasses, and some even cut out different color designs to make them look pretty. after the kids turned them in, i commented on how beautiful they were, not yet knowing the beauty that rested within. i read the cards that brought tears to my eyes, and thanked God for sending me students that continually teach me about what love is. here are some of my favorites...

*note: names are ommited for fear of one of my kids searching for our names and finding me!


Dear Mr. A,

I hope you are doing well in boot camp. I admire those who sacrifice their lives to serve their country. I appreciate what you are working for and I will keep you and the rest of your troops in my prayers. Salamat pos a ginagawan ‘yo. Lahat ng ginagawa n’yo ay nata tulong samin. God bless you. =) P.S. Sorry for sp. errors in my tagalog!



Dear Mr. A,

I hope you are doing well at your boot camp. I admire your courage and determination to do such a hard job. I will pray for your safety and wish you luck.

I am in Miss H’s class and my name is J. Miss H explained a little about you and she encouraged us to write letters to you. Thank you for reading this letter. I hope you succeed at your training. Take Care.



Dear Mr. A,

I hope you’re not feeling too bad there. I know it’s really heard at boot camp but if you want to join the Air Force you have to deal with it. Once you’re done you can join and I’ve heard it’s a fun job. People say you get a good feeling knowling you’re one of the people who’s protecting American citizens from terrorists.

I hope you enjoy your career in the Air Force. Try your best always and everywhere. Make sure as many pilots come back as possible.



Dear Mr. Anaclento,

I wish you good luck at bootcamp. Miss H, my homeroom teacher, told me about it. I would like to know when you have to sleep and when you have to wake up. And I would also like to know what kind of things you do at bootcamp.

Everyone here at school is praying for you. The person who misses you the most is probably Miss H.

triple red hot seven.

though i hesitate to say it (because i know as soon as i utter the words, things will change!) things have finally started to calm down around here. for the past month and a half i have been pretty much disconnected from the outside world -- with the outside world being anything other than teaching. my life has consisted of grading, lesson plans, teaching, administration drama, and the building up of a school that is in desparate need of change. inspite of all this i love what i am doing and i continue to strive for better things, not for myself, but for those whom i serve. more to come on that subject later...

what i really wanted to blog about was this weekend. my familly, david, and i took a mini-vacation to viva las vegas! my dad got elected president of his filipino association and was inducted into office this weekend -- they held the festivities in vegas because there are a good number of members that reside there. so, we all took a plane ride over and had lots of fun with big sticks and margaritas, wheel of fortune, and of course, shopping. the timing was perfect since derrick was there with his family, too. we didn't party it up too much, but i was satisfied with the much needed relaxation and fun. it was simply rejuvinating to be around family without having to worry about my students (though i did bring along 3 large manila folders for grading...haha!). yay for family!

one of my good friend's gave me some awesome advice after i vented to her about how stressed out i was with being a first-year teacher. she said that it is a major stress reliever if you simply take the time to see your friends at least 6 times a month. i've employed this piece of advice lately and i must say it has worked wonders. i am finding it easier to get through the week, and i think i have less pimples because of it, too!

speaking of friends, i will regretfully admit that i have been such a bad friend since i embarked on this new journey in my life. i have not made the time to be a better friend to those whom i truly miss, and i am sorry for taking you all for granted. thank you for all the texts, comments and voicemail messages. thank you for the prayers. i miss you all, i am praying for you all, and i am definitely trying to keep in touch more. thanks for understanding.

and to two very special foo's in my life:

to my one-to-one big stick drinking buddy...thanks for the nice conversation during the car ride. it felt really good catching up with you. i really am praying for you...for the wisdom to follow the path you were made to follow. it'll happen...getting the job, seeing the world, and finding the one. (in that order.) hope to see you up here soon!

and, no, david...i didn't forget about you. thank you for never failing to be my number one support. i have survived this first month and a half because of you...