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.