AACCCK.. I think I'm loosing some hair... :( it can be either 1) I'm stressed or 2) that new shampoo and conditioner.... I'm praying that its 2. Anyways, lets focus on the happy.

The wedding on Saturday was soooo beautiful. :) Tita Cecil was there and so she wrote a song for Rowena and Alan at 7:30... and then performed it for them an hour later. *SOOO PRETTY* I swear, shes so talented.. I was pratically begging her to move back to LA so that I can have lessons again, but all she said was... "Come to Seattle". Anyways, Alan sang 2 songs to Rowena with Tita Cecil on the piano and pratically everyone was crying cause it was so romantic. Acually, Alan's side of the family was all talented, so there was a LOT of great singing. The reception was during the night and was outdoors at this Chateau in Arcadia (there are Chateau's in Arcadia??) where there were a lot of candles and flowers.. Everytime Carlene and I go to a wedding, we go into this Wedding Planning mode where we take mental notes of what we would want for our own weddings... The actual thought of the sacrament of Marriage is scary cause the whole pressure of finding that person who will love and accept you... and making sure that you have that Secret of Staying in Love, (which all them SL girls know thanks to Mrs. Heifingler) and getting all them grownup insurances (homeowners, life, car, health, etc) and joint checking accounts... but the Weddding day where you know that everything is just right and will be the happiest day of your life cause you found Mr. Right, you're surrounded by friends and family who wish you their best, you feel and look a princess, and the flowers are absolutely perfect is something that every girl dreams and wishes for. :) Yes, I'm getting mushy, but thats what happens when you go to Weddings... you go and you realize.. "Crap... I'd don't have that special someone yet.. and I want this to be me someday..." it doesn't get easy if you're with family and they start asking you... "Sooo anak... when will it be your turn" or even... "I have a nephew I'd like to set you up with.*.. and there you are, a deer in headlights, not knowing wether to say... "Um, hahahah, its ok." or "OHMYHOSH... what's his number and is he an AQUARIOUS!??!" Then you start making plans and collecting numbers of video guys and florists cause when the time comes.. You know. Ok. I'm a freak. But wouldn't it be nice to get a big band to perform at a reception?? I think so. :)

Saturday night Jean called me insane for my desire to call up Miss Cleo and ask about the whereabouts of my future husband... but hey!! if she knows then wouldn't life be much easier and not as stressful to KNOW that there IS someone out there for sure.. instead of just wondering?? Yeah. I thought so too.

On Sunday, had a lunch with the Concepcion Clan down at the Brazilian "House of Glutton" BBQ for Carlene's birthday. Poor Jen and Jr had to work :( so we missed out on seeing JR try to outeat Tita Lagring and breathing hard at the end of the meal like it usually happens when we do have these family "gluttonous meals." BUT I did get to see my new niece Alicia who is the most adorable baby and who is probably going to be SOOO LOVED by the whole family. Bombie said he'll plan the cousin trip to Vegas which I think may be guilt tripped on to me being second oldest of the cousin... and since you know.. he's all working and being a dad and husband and all... :) Its ok... at least we can do something together...its been a while since our last cousin trip to San Diego. Let me finish my FTC stuff and then we can go! :) OH.. back to the lunch. Well
if you haven't gone to a brazilian BBQ before.. its pretty insane. You sit and then the waiters with giants swords of meat come to you and offer their goodies. And the interesting thing is that they basically have every kind of meat... roast, short rib, long rib, chicken, turkey, veal, sheep, etc. Well poor Angel's bunny Brownie just died too... (same with Beth's hampster... and Fred... whats going on.... dying pets and sad owners!) so when the waiter with his sword of rabbit came by, Angel was giving everyone at the table the evil eye, beating Tito Nanding mercilessly for teasing her, and completely appaled when Tita Lagring took a bite out of her sample of rabbit. I think everyone was impressed by the amounts of meat.. and when a waiter would come by with a swords.. Tita Lagring's response would be.. "LEAVE THE KNIFE!" or "CUT ME A BIG PIECE!" :) I love my family...

After feeling incredibly guily after lunch, came home and attempted cleaning. :) OK, got some of it down, but my room still looks pretty bad. Then it getting on to the job of FTC paperwork and working on my paper and presentation for class on Thurs. I think thats when I nearly panicked. But I got a good amount done.. :) YAY and I still have hair! (even bigger YAY!)

Did some shopping with Beth yesterday after class where we ramppaged IKEA as well as other stores that had some sort of housewares. :) Once again started imagining how I would decorate future homes if I were incredibly rich. :) Well actually right now it's more how I would decorate future home in January once moving in. Then it was back to Beth's and Salamanca's new abode where I got to meet their new roomie Lorraine, and download fob love songs for Mike on his computer. :) We gawked at Britneys new video and witnessed the new fox reality horror of WHO WANTS TO BE A PRINCESS." Came home and helped mom lug a refridgerator to her car while the sprinklers were on. YAY!

you are just a dream that I once knew...
1) I'm grateful that the whole tamily was able to come together and spend time with each other. We celebrated birthdays for alicia and carlene. :) Plus mom came along too, so it was really terriffic to really have the family together.. its been a while...
2) I'm grateful for a good time yesterday shopping and talking with Beth. :) Also thanks to her and Mike for allowing me to be your "6th" roomie since Luc is the "4th" and Joe is apparently the "5th." But since I've been slightly going crazy and I needed the break especially after Sunday night's hair fallout freak and panic attack. Thanks to Carrie also for talking me down and reminding me to breathe. :)
3) I'm grateful that things are looking good. :) *happy thoughts.. happy thoughts...*

Today I got to tackle a lil bit of a goal of mine... :) I went to go visit one of the subway stations down in LA... It was all actually pretty spontanteous cause my sister and I got to our dentist about 45 min earlier than our appointment, so they kicked us out so they can go eat. Since my dentist is near the sunset/vermont station, Carlene and I decided to go down and check out the station.. its really pretty! :) We would have gone on board on of the trains, but we didn't want to miss out appointment, so we went back and had lunch. One day though.. I want to go visit all the stations and check out the art. All the stations are all designed by different archtects and have different themes to it... :) I told Beth, and she said she'd go with me.. but my sister and mom laughed at this and said that we weren't "tough" enough and would probably be "oooohing and ahhhhhhhing" and being overly excited about everything (like we always are) and that we would become targets for "danger" or something of the sort. SOoooOO, if there are any big burly guys who would want to come and be makeshift bodyguards and look at some art.. then YAY! :) Tell me!

Dentist was good... well kinda sad cause I now have to go to the Oral Surgeon for sure cause my wisdom teeth are coming out and Dr. Valde said..."they have to go." OOOo.. can't wait. :) Actually it was pretty funny cause Carlene broke her 20 years of perfect teeth and was told that she had to come back and get her first cavity removed. *gasp* Yeah, she was pretty crushed. But I love my dentist.. I've been going to her since I was a baby and she knows my teeth. :) It just sucks cause she's all the way out in LA and before when we used to go, it would be a family thing with my mom, dad, grandma, sister and myself getting checkups all in one day... and it would take SOOOOOOOOO long. But it was pretty cool today cause it was just Carlene and me and we were out of there in an hour! YAY!

Was watching the telethon earlier today... I had chills throughout the whole thing. Amazing...

well, i just finished watching Bush's address on tv just now... :) GO BUSH! I love Bush.. he's so cool. I was telling my mom that I loved him and that I just wanna run up to him and give him a great big teddy bear hug... and my mom said.. "hug the tv." OK... it isnt ALL that funny... but it was at the time. :P Anyhoo... I think people at the Mint should start making a coin with Bush's head on it... how about a 15 cent "dinkle"? That would rock...

I saw the funniest thing the other night... OK.. so there was this guy on TV giving a testimony for some product on an informercial. As he speaks, the caption underneath his face says:

TONY
"He loves his Thunderstick"

???? EWWWW.... maybe its just me, but doesnt that seem a little bit pervy? Well, the Thunderstick is one of those handheld blender/mixer thingies... which was probably given the worst name ever for a product. I think I've read too many Harlequin Romance novels and seeing homie on TV gush about how he likes how his thunderstick makes applesauce and crushes nuts ... it was hilarious. Couldn't they have named the product something like "Rocketmixer" or "OoooKickAssBlender?" I'd buy it.

Anyways, yesterday, I got classes mixed up and found myself trying out a YOGA for the fist time. "How hard can it be" I thought... well its FREAKING hard. :) Actually, I'm sure with a lot of practice it would be easier... maybe. Well, it was fun and definitely interesting. The instructor didnt have a game plan of what she was going to instruct us... but warned us.." I go with what the spirits tell me... and I feel like working on toes." Toes, I thought, shouldnt be too bad and I guess I should stay. BUT 30 minutes later, I was up against a wall and attempting to bust out a handstand!!! :) I was so stressed during the class, but when it was all over, I felt relaxed... maybe because I was out of that "let's contort our bodies into this freakish position... noooo... don't bend the leg... strech.. strech... move your foot and feel the your back elooooongate... now hold it!! BREATH!!" atmosphere. I think I might go back... :)

:)
1) I'm grateful that I live in such an awesome country with this kick ass president. Yeah, sometimes he may seem like hes this fool and spouts out dorky remarks such as "smoke them out of their caves" or "dead or alive" but his speech just now was great and it got to the heart of the matter.
2) I grateful that theres so many people that want to help out... :) I can probably see Tony Blair and Bush having matching BEST BUDDIES key chains now.. :) But its good to know that we aren't along in this...
3) I'm grateful for my first meeting at MtSac. :) YAY!! I have a home club now and everyone is really friendly!

Times are a changin...
I've been hearing that a lot. People say that things will never be the same again... and they're 100% correct. I dunno... I feel as if these past few days... even weeks and I guess you can even say these past 2 months... I've been changing and seeing what really does matter to me. My mom and sister have made me opened my eyes to how things really are and how I have way more potential than I once thought. My family and friends have made me realized the true definition of unconditional love and unconditional friendships. I'm learning and seeing tangible results from hard work on a business and personal perspective... I'm....

Gosh.. I'm being pathetic and overdramatic huh. :) Jean says YES I AM... but really, does Jean's opinion really matter? ;) That was like a mini episode of Dawson's Creek over there.. just need to have the "do do do do" in the back round playing and I can complete this "coming of age" monologue. But I guess I'm on this emotional high thingie where I'm starting to speak in this weird hokey tongue... its like I'm mature or something. *shudder*

I was at the VW service shop again waiting to get the oil changed and I was watching SEX WARS...and it reminded me of how we played BATTLE OF THE SEXES all 2 Decembers ago at Tina's and Marissas' with Todd and JP *I miss you guys...* I believe the guys still owe us dinner.. I think. :) The funny thing when you're watching SEX WARS is that you get angry at your gender if they don't get an answer right... or if they didn't buzz in and at least guess... (which I seriously think the girl's buzzers are broken). OH speaking of gender, in my class today, we were watching this video on racial and gender biases... and it probably had the WORST ACTORS IN THE WORLD IN IT... one of which I think was Kato Kalien. I could be wrong.. Anyways, the message was out and I totally felt and agreed with the meanings of the video... but the acting was sooooo Oscar unworthy. EEEK!! Am I making a bias against bad actors? UGh.

*and i'd like to thank the academy.. *
1) I'm grateful for who I am.. yes I'm gonna need major tuning now and then... but I'm good enough.. smart enough. and gosh darnit.. people like me. Or so I think they do.. at least I have those people in my life who I know will slap me silly if I f*ck up. YAY!
2) I'm grateful for Oprah and Dr Phil days... oh my gosh.. he's a genius!
3) Has anyone seen "CROSSING OVER WITH JOHN EDWARDS?" Oh my gosh.. its so freaky but its soo real. I'm so grateful that he actually shares his gift with a lot of people and helps them ease their minds about their loveones who have gone. That show is like me and my mom's new lil passion... if we're home at the same time and its 5... we'll sit there and watch in amazement. Its so incredible. JOHN EDWARDS ROCKS!! I think he's ranking high up there on the cool-o-meter... right next to MISS CLEO. This is what it says in his bio: John was an ordinary kid growing up on Long Island. He played ball with his friends, ate pizza on Friday nights, had out-of-body experiences, visions of dead relatives he had never known, and predicted phone calls and surprise visits. Isn't that soo weird!!

The downfall of 98*
I used to love 98*... and deep inside.. I still do. It seems like only yesterday I was standing in line for the Howie Mandel show waiting to see them.. and screaming a bloodcurdling scream every 5 seconds during their appearance... But I think I've lost all respect for them once I saw the HERBAL ESSENCE commerical with them in it. I don't know if you've seen it... but basically a girl walks into a record store and she looks at a 98* cd.. and the salesman says "I URGE YOU TO BUY IT." The girl then says "URGE?" and it goes into this pathetic fantasy scene where Nick, Jeff, Drew, and Justin come out from their poster and start to lather up this chick's hair while singing "I GOT THE URGE TO HERBAL." It truly is a gay commerical... Boys.. get a new manager.

Hmmm... anything new, exciting or worthy of blogging? I went to my second HIP HOP dance class today.. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.. I swear I'm not a fly girl or the next Britney Spears backround dancer... buts its gosh darn fun to pretend. So i'm hobbling around and struggling to catch up.. and suprise suprise.. I get it! Sure, i feel and probably look like a dork, but its so cool!

*dancing queen... feel the beat of the tambourine*
1) I'm grateful I found my watch... or that my mom found it and put near the sink for me to discover... I went crazy last month when i was searching all corners of my room for it. So now my sister won't be pissed that I lost it since shes gave it to me.. and it means no long terrible lecture from her and my mom on how I should be more responsible for my possessions. *I AM! Just a bit scatterbrained...* :)
2) I'm grateful for conditioners with detanglers. :) It makes combing hair after taking it ouf of the towel turban much easier... no more loosing hair from icky tangles and knots!!
3) I'm grateful for filipino slow jams!! I love them... there are some really pretty ones in english... so sappy... and they have terriffic melodies.

It was a good weekend, even though the week itself was depressing. Friday night, drove over to Torrance to kick it with Jean before she left for SD... oh and Beth and Ryan too. :) Dinner and then indecisiveness led us to the Cheesecake factory where we suprised Carrie and Manny. We all gof some boba and then it was off to the bowling ally for sucky shooting arcade games, breadsticks, and Nsync sticker vending machines. (dont roll your eyes at me!) Brought Jean back home where she gave us a lot FTC ideas... Beth and I were in awe. Shes a fellow creative genius!! (Did you know that the word genius derives from Latin and refers to the goddess Juno, the Roman queen of heaven? The Romans believed that every person carried within himself or herself a small verson of this goddess.. who would inspire greatness. Yreah.. pretty interesting huh. I've been reading a lot.)

Sunday, went to watch THE LION KING over at the Pantages Theater in LA with my mom and sister. It was AWESOME!! Oh my gosh.. it was visually stunning with all the puppets and colors. I had goosebumbs throughout the whole production. The plot was the same as the movie *duh* and the dialogue was pretty accurate to it also. But oh my gosh... the costumes and puppets... just beautiful. During the opening, you could hear the audience gasp out loud while each animal came out... I was on the verge of tears. (I was actually bawling though when Mufasa died.... that was sooo sad.. but yet cool how they portrayed the whole stampede... I swear... the set was just amazing!) Since the cast was all animals, my sister and I were wondering about their first day of rehearsal.. they probably were walking around gracefully with arched backs thinkg "I am a gazelle... I AM a gazelle..." That would make sense huh. But gosh... it was sooo beautiful. Also during the curtain call, the cast stayed on stage and the actor that played Mufasa said that it was their job as entertainers to take our minds off of was was going on in the country.. but it would be that we really can't forget. So then the whole theater took a moment of silence and broke into God Bless America. It was really really nice.

Today had my FTC meeting... sooo much to do.. and only 10 weeks left!! ACCCKKKKK!! Afterwards, had a fun lunch/dinner/lunner.. whatever you call it over at TGIF. =) Gotta love happy hour.

do wah ditty ditty dum diiy do
1) I'm grateful for life and for everyone who makes it complete.
2) I'm grateful for a happy shopping experience with my sister...=-D
3) I'm grateful for "good times" =)

Talk about madness. After blogging on the 10th, I had a long conversation with Beth and went to bed. The next morning, it was just insane. I was mesmerized by the events on tv... I think everyone has been overwhelmed with emotions during the last few days. I know I have, I've gotten horribly depressed many times... angry cause it happened... frustrated and helpless that I couldnt physically help from here, that all i could do was give a pint of my blood and pray... guilty when I think I have to keep my mind off of all the chaos so it wouldn't drive me insane but knowing that there were so many dead, missing, mourning, basically so many who were in pain... pride for my country and all that we stand for... This whole thing seems lke it was a dream, like a bad movie. The thing is that I think we're spoiled. Our generation has never seen anything of this magnitude. We know that the Titanic and Pearl Harbor were actual events, but really they were "movies" that tried to give a taste of what happened to us youngins. We never think anything could happen to us... even at the moment, I think... I dont think anything will happen to LA cause we're so widespread and we have no main monuments. And I pray and cross my fingers that this will be the closest that something like this will ever be to me, but now I just dont know.

Pictures of the planes crashing into the building have forever branded my mind. Hearing the screams from behind the camera. The gasps and cries for God. Seeing people waving from the windows and then moments later watching the building collaspe. Bodies flying through the air. Giant holes in the ground and chunks of concrete missing from buildings. Its just too horrible. And I hear these stories of victims calling or emailing their loveones goodbye, telling them they love them... its all too much. We never thought it could happen to us and now here it is, slapping us in the face.

And how am I now? I'm still sad but I'm feeling stronger. I'm relieved that the people who I know in NY are alright but sad about those who arent. Its also good to know that we are getting closer to finding out who did this to us and I hope that justice will be served. I'm glad to know that at times like this, we will only grow stronger and band together and help one another. I just wish we didn't have to learn about our strength this way.

I had several rays of happiness though. I learned that my cousin and his wife finally had their baby. :) Alicia Domingo arrived on Sept 9, 2001. Congratulations Bombie and Michelle! :) I promise to be a terriffic tita and please never hesitate to call if you need a babysitter.

Speaking of birthdays, my sisters was yesterday. So my mom and I went over to Carlenes late (she and I both had classes that ended at 9) and had a very nice birthday dinner complete with cake. :D It felt really good to be with family...

I guess it really isnt hard to see what I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for everything and everyone in my life... even those who piss me off cause at least they make me grow in a positive manner.

God bless America. I love you all.

YAY! i got my ICON pictures back finally! :) Call me slow, but I never realized how cheap it was to get your pictures developed at Price Club. LIke 24 ex singles of 4X6 is only $2.76 when usually it would be like $5 something at another place.. so yeah I was impressed. Especially since I had like 10 rolls that I've been whording over the summer and I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for them... :) Anyhoo, getting the pictures was great... *yay happy memories!*

heheheh... weekend was lot of fun. pretty kick back and I loved it. Like JR once blogged... its the lil things that make up the best times with your friends (savellano, 2001) ...hanging out and doing stupid things... or even doing nothing but having those retarded million dollar conversations that you will never forget...

Friday night, Beth, Ryan and myself declared ourseleves as comic geniuses! :) We immersed ourseleves in an SNL atmosphere and wrote out the *how do you say... ah yes...* SKIT! =) As well as had a debate over *whoot* and *whoomp* there it is.

Saturday, had dinner with Joe, who forgot about me.. *sniff*, and ran into Stephanie in front of the restaurant! (small world!) Afterwards, we spent the LOOOOONNNNNNGGGGEEESSSTTTTTTT time at Blockbuster because we couldn't find anything that we didn't think would meet Ryan's standards... :) Sooo, we ended up renting KARATE KID part II. *the DRUMS ROCK!* Then it was off to the 24 hour Walmart cause Joe needed to get boxers and I needed water....and then off to Beth and Salamanca's new apartment!! :) Its soo nice... really spacious and has a cool kitchen! And its right next to HNM in San Dimas! (I'm sooo happy... I can go visit and play be back home.. somewhat.) :) Watched more SNL, Luc came over and then we all ragged on every aspect of the Karate Kid. (The guys were dooling over the girl... I liked the drums... Beth was appaled by the fact that it was taking place in Japan and yet no one was speaking Japanese rather broken english... and Joe had the movie memorized, down to the guy with the creepy cancerous voice saying *YOU STOLE MY HONOR*) Oh they way home from San Dimas, I took White all the way down to Pomona.. and it was green lights all the way. I was pretty excited about that. :) I'm telling you its the simple things that make me happy.


*wowie wow wow*
1) i'm grateful for Melissa and Joe, who put up with my venting the last few days. :) Thanks soo much...
2) I'm grateful for that Ryan, Beth, and myself are DAMN CREATIVE cocky GENIUSES! I'm so happy that we got a lot of work done and had so much fun doing it... ;)
3) I'm grateful for my FTC commitee... :) So far things are looking GREAT!

Well, things are getting better. I'm not as dramatically depressed as I was over the weekend. Its just been difficult getting used to the quiet empty apartment without Fred's heaving breathing and snoring hissing through the air. Its weird having the bed to myself and not feeling him curled up against my leg. I think that maybe folks will think I'm crazy for mourning my dog and that perhaps I was one of those obsessed pet owners who overly "loved" their dog... but Fred was family for 5 terriffic years. I'll really miss him.

My weekend was blah, except for Saturday night at Maria's graduation/birthday party. Maria had to go and show off... and be the fist to graduate out of our lil barkada from lucys. And in 3 years too!! :) I love that showoff. It was like a mini reunion cause I haven't seen Maria since that night we went "clubbing" 2 spring breaks ago. I went with Tam and Lisa came later. Anh was there too (who I think last time I saw her was at graduation) as well as Maria's Glendora friends, Franz and Sheld (who just graduated too!) Tam and I were reminicing about our "good times", how we used to paly either/or and "who would be the first to (fill in the blank with various responses)" and how our predictions were SOOO off. =) Too bad Melissa is back up in Berkeley, she missed the slide show that Mrs Pascual made for Maria and that included pictures of us in all our dorky high school glory. By the end of the night, the SL gals were in the corner catching up on the newest gossip. Nothing too scandalous.

I've been going to the gym lately with my mom and its been really good getting my mind of things... Reading, writing, and sweating at the gym... my new escape.

Hmmmm.. anything else? I'm thinking....

Eeek!! Only 12 weeks until FTC! To much to dooooooo.....

My passenger side window broke again, so I had to go to the scary/rude dealership so they can fix it... but this time they weren't too scary and were actually pretty amiable. Mom said that I was to be "mean bitch woman who won't be pushed around by any man who thinks I know nothing about cars" but the dude was actually friendly and helpful... and I didn't have to be all "if you don't fix it, I'm gonna cut off your balls" =) I don't think I would have been able to do that anyways (well without lauging or saying "just kidding" or "I'm sorry, its just that I'm stressed" afterwards.) 3 hours of studing and watching the View.. the window was fixed and if it breaks again I have a year warranty on the new part! YAY!

:)
1) I'm grateful for people with originality. I think its a new pet peeve of mine of folks who try so hard to be someone else or pick up on another person's individiual traits or ideas and act like it was their own. I'm also grateful for people who know who they are... and I pray for everyone who are still in the process of finding their true selves... I know I'm one of them for sure.
2) I'm grateful for friends who care... and for my family because I know I'm pathetic and difficult to love sometimes... I'm grateful that they have patience with me and although I may not utilize it, but the fact that they'll always be there for me is really comforting.
3) I'm grateful for Trader Joes... gosh... its so much fun grocery shopping there. Did you know they had SOY ice cream?? Yeah... and I'm sorta kinda growing fond for their soy milk. Weird, but its not too bad with cereal..