Checklist Double-Check ~ Monday

Woke up at 7, took a shower, and went to Mass.

• Hopefully go to daily Mass.

Came home again, had breakfast (taralli and gouda and water, YUM), and finished up my paperwork for Chef Burdsall and Mrs. Wilburn.

• Which means I should probably finish up that paperwork…

The whole family came to school with me! and hung out in the cafeteria while I took care of things.

• Go to school just to have a chat with Chef Burdsall, turn in some papers, and drop something off in Mrs. Wilburn’s box.

We had lunch there =) and I conveniently bumped into Zach, John, and Alex. Showed my family the Honors Room (Yena’s comment was, “It’s small.” Yeah… we know…). We went to the scout shop next, and then to Jo-Ann’s instead of Michael’s.

• Go to Michael’s with Mother and get buttons.

Quick stop by the bank before going home.

• Stop by the bank to take care of some stuff.

Came home and finally took care of some sewing that I’d been needing to do for a while now…

• Sew Daddy’s pants, meaning…

and listened to music while sewing.

• Go through Unc’s recommended song list.

Got Roxanne’s number! but didn’t call her, so that was half of that one.

• Get Roxanne’s number and call Roxanne.

Did some laundry and checked facebook… and oh! I’m currently blogging =)

• Blog some more?

Edited bits of my Disney application… Finished a six-page letter to Michelle! That was an accomplishment.

• Write to Michelle.

Oh, and did I mention I already watched Part II of Emma last night?

• WATCH EMMA PART II (in half an hour)

Ate dinner and left for Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivandi.

• Go to Lex Orandi…

I think the talk was entitled, “Say Amen to What You Are,” or something along those lines. It was on the Eucharist being a verb as well as a noun… “Be what you see; receive what you are.” Reflected on hunger; what I hunger for as an individual, what the Church hungers for as a whole, what the world hungers for in general. Also talked about processions… touched on our procession to receive Communion as being part of the eternal procession to the Lord’s table. It put me in mind of Michael’s vision… of the hands… in A Philadelphia Catholic in King James’ Court. Mass always being said somewhere in the world, the members of the Body of Christ always moving forward, together, to receive His Flesh and Blood… like the question in our Apologetics book, Do you know of any king besides Jesus that has reigned 2000 years? A procession that has continued unbroken for 2000 years. Being Catholic is so insanely cool =)

Came home again and ate some more dinner, then made the sponge for the bread, so that’s, like… 1/4 of the process…

• Bake bread.

And I am overly addicted to Star Mile, btw. I’ve been listening to it on loop for God knows how long now. Hahaha. Well, came upstairs, chatted for a minute with Kim and Nate and Navid. Checked facebook and blackboard (UGHH! NO GRADES UP YET! except for Professional Practices) and gmail and twitter.. and now it’s time for bed =) More crossing off tomorrow! YAYYYYYY ^_^

No sleeping in this week!

Yes, it’s my week off between Late Fall term and Winter term (so confusing, isn’t it?), but I’ve got a full sched, and can’t afford to sleep in later than 7…

I’m bound to forget SOMETHING if I don’t write it all down, so I shall attempt to write my schedule down here for reference as needed — and also just to update my blog, which needs updating.

• Call Dev.
• Call Asher.
• Call Ninang Joy.
• Call Ate Mary.
• Call Ted.
• Get Roxanne’s number and call Roxanne.
• Call Sarah.
• Chat with Kate.
• Experiment with shooting the lowest ISO possible, even in low light.
• Tuesday’s potluck! which means I need to…
• Bake bread.
• Bake cookies.
• Make [Chef Valento's] Caesar dressing.
• Help with the pasta, sorbet, etc.
• Help the family cleaaaannnn the house.
• Sew Daddy’s pants, meaning…
• Go to Michael’s with Mother and get buttons.
• Read Among the Hidden.
• Write to Michelle.
• Stop by the bank to take care of some stuff.
• Go to school just to have a chat with Chef Burdsall, turn in some papers, and drop something off in Mrs. Wilburn’s box.
• Which means I should probably finish up that paperwork…
• WINTER JAM!
• Babysit kids while Mother’s out with the mommies for their ladies’ luncheon.
• WATCH EMMA PART II (in half an hour)
• Go through Unc’s recommended song list.
• Catch up on pics.
• Blog some more?
• Clean my room.
• Go to Lex Orandi…
• Hopefully go to daily Mass.
• Go to confession.
• Chill chill at the Holy Spirit Center!!! I hope.
• Take lots of pictures.
• Play lots of guitar.
• Practice piano.
• Write to Asher.
• Write to Ms. Barb.
• Give lots of hugs to my family.
• Play with Nino lots and lots.
• Finish and post The Logic Behind Love; Part V.
• Work on Et Veritas Liberabit Vos.

I’m probably forgetting a million other things, but there’s something to start with…

Oh, and how about an end-of-Late-Fall-term shuffle? Here we go!

Opening credits: Kahit Ika’y Panaginip Lang ~ Agot Isidro
Waking up: Bop to the Top ~ Sharpay & Ryan
How I’m feeling today: 2 – 1 (Instrumental Version) ~ Imogen Heap
First day of school: A Whiter Shade of Pale ~ Sarah Brightman
The weekend: Shout to the Lord ~ Hillsong United
Will I get far in life: Don’t You Want Me ~ Human League
Will I get married: 100 Years ~ Five for Fighting
Will I have a happy life: Moving Out / Anthony’s Song ~ Billy Joel
How does the world see me: Mickey ~ Tony Basil
How do my friends see me: Comfortable ~ John Mayer
Falling in love: My Beautiful Woman ~ Backstreet Boys
Fight song: All Glory to God ~ Matt Maher
Breaking up: Crazy For This Girl ~ Evan & Jaron
The best thing about my friends: Little Bombs ~ Dashboard Confessional
Best friend’s theme song: Give Me Words ~ Aaron Shust
High school overview: Collapsed ~ Aly & AJ
Life: All You Want ~ Dido
Mental breakdown: The Best Is Yet To Come ~ Michael Buble
How can I make myself happy: Your Love ~ Jim Brickman
Driving: Politicians ~ Switchfoot
Flashback: I Am Understood ~ Relient K
How is my life going: Dahilan ~ Barbie Almalbis
What I should do with my life: Call My Name ~ Third Day
How can I get ahead in life: Vanilla Twilight ~ Owl City
Getting back together: Flux This (piano acoustic) ~ Static Vessels
Wedding: It Had To Be You ~ Motion City Soundtrack
Will I ever have children: Fall to Pieces ~ Avril Lavigne
Birth of child: Holiday ~ Green Day
Final battle: What Child Is This ~ Cathasaigh
Death scene: Cry ~ Mandy Moore
Funeral song: The Transfiguration ~ Sufjan Stevens
Life overview: Boston ~ Augustana
End credits: Beautiful Ending ~ Barlow Girl

The Logic Behind Love; Part IV

It’s been a while since I wrote the last post for this series… This one is long overdue. But I really can’t do any better than provide the following links:

A Catholic critique of a current notion of courtship

Reforming our thinking about courtship and sexuality

Peace =)

We mashin’ dem mashed potatoes and we got cups. Beat THAT.

Highlights of Thanksgiving Break, in no particular order.

WE GOT CUPS. That was #1.

Had everyone (well, you know, almost) over at Mama’s and RE-WATCHED both the Cotto and Hatton fights. Boy, the Hatton fight was a joke. Absolutely hilarious.

My first time Black Friday-ing! with Uncle Tops and Pacs. Unc was there for the free Rock Band, but there were already dozens of people lined up when we got there [at 2:40ish AM] and they gave out wristbands to the first people in line so that they knew who was supposed to get the Rock Band stuffffff, and… well, they were out of wristbands by the time we got up there. Hahahaha. So we went shopping and Uncie got stuff and Paco got stuff and I got stuff (oh yeah oh yeah OH YEAH my shopping-and-SAVING skillz ROCK) and we were out in, like, half an hour. And then I went back to sleep. That was awesome.

ROCK BAND!!!! Uncie brought Rock Band and I didn’t know 90ish% of the songs, but WOOOHOOOO I got 100 on… I can’t remember if it was medium or hard… 21 Guns =) And the kids!!!!!!! It was so awesome! Archie and Yena were SO CUTE singing Eye of the Tiger and 21 Guns and a bunch of other stuff. They were adorableeeee!!! Oh and Yena and Paco and Migs sang Move Along. With Unc and Ninong and I backing them up. Too much fun!

Jamming was, of course, super awesome =) Especially since Uncie got there days before us, so he was all rested and had plenty of energy.

WE WATCHED G.I. JOE (the kids pronounce it guy-jo). THAT WAS SO COOL. The fight stuffs, I mean. Didn’t think much of the love story. I’ve seen better love stories. That wasn’t one of them. It was the type of love story that just got thrown in there for kicks. Those kinds suck. But hey, I was watching it for the gore (not much of it, either, a little disappointing), not for the sense-and-sensibility or north-and-south *hearts*, so why am I complaining? Katanas are so cool.

I GOTTA FEELING! that tonight’s gonna be a good night Uncie showed me this video that just makes me want to JUMP UP AND DOWN every time I watch it. But then that songs makes me want to JUMP UP AND DOWN whenever I hear it, anyway, so…

And also some acoustic sessions with Lady Gaga. LOL when she bangs her heel down the piano playing Poker Face. Amazing voice. Haha, Poker Face will ALWAYS make me think of the SHoJ teens.

Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. Uncle mashed the potatoes. And then teased me because I got some and then mashed it some more with my fork before eating it.

Hmm… there was probably more, I forget now. Edit later… after baking class.

>.<

>.<

fire fall down

fire fall down

on us we pray

and then the phone rings

>.<

i cringe

as the ringtone collides with the electric guitar

and i realized that you were a phone call

that i should have passed over

left alone

but that i didn’t

that i picked up at the wrong time

that your ringtone pleased me

clashed with the praise that should have come from my heart

uninterrupted

>.<

i cringe

now that i see you

the call i should have ignored

and gone on with my homework

you watered down my worship

you distracted my praise

i cringe

>.<

because you are gone

for good

yet you distract me still.

>.<

it hurts.

0732 No one should be up this early on a Saturday…

Blah =) Hey, I’m happy to be here… and the term’s almost over… I think this is my… third to last Saturday? yep.

It’s so dark outside, I can see my reflection in the windows to my left… I’m on the computers at Bakery Hill and I’ve got another thirty minutes to kill before class starts.

Listening to John Mayer, since there’s no one here. Met up with Chef Ketover coming in, I guess she’s somewhere past the wall I’m facing…

So I found out that there’ll be at least one familiar face in Cooking 3… Ryan. Good, good. Cream of Mushroom was my best on Thursday. Too much pepper in the Cream of Chicken (“Too much pepper, I know…” “Why don’t you let me say that. I think it’s fine.” “Oh.” “Well… no, wait. Yeah. Just a bit, though.” “Haha.”), and my Crab and Corn Chowder wasn’t thick enough.

Vince’s birthday today Browsing through mutual friends… and then just friends… and I found Tommy Rivera. How do my Godbrothers, my Louisville Sisters, and my own cousin in St. Louis, know the brother of a guy I went to elem school with? Weird….

1119 AHHHHHHH. We have to wait for our dough to rise! so we’re on a twenty-minute breakish thingy. Woohoo.  Asked Ryan if he was going to make bread for his wife, now. He doesn’t have time, he says xD Hahaha.

It’s still reallyyyy foggy out there, so I guess I won’t be taking the highway home. Then again, we’ve still got another two and a half hours.. Guess I should get back to the classroom and suffer with everyone… we’re starving =) the fun doesn’t really compensate…

Assignment~ Mission: Refocus

Let the Absurd Lead the Way

Leslie –> blue

Jesse –> xkcd (a comic)

Meyers –> Oscar the Grouch

Bill –> Adriatic

Judy –> Regina Doman

May Belle –> daisy

Gary Fulcher –> Tang Soo Do

Janice Avery –> scotch tape

Ms. Edmunds –> Summer

Keeping a Bright Idea Bright

What does Bridge to Terabithia (book and movie) make me think of? –> Family… clean fun… honest friendship… imagination… Faith… acceptance… everything happens for a reason… every negative experience is an invitation to a positive one… true sorrow…

So what story is my project telling? –> I want my attraction to be one that promotes family having clean fun. I want there to be emphasis on father-daughter, brother-sister, and mother-son relationships.

Ideas: I want something to do with Italian cars in there. The rope swing is an essential part of the story. Something with running? How about a drawing room? Drawings from the opening scene of the movie? A drawing class? Farms… guitars… Dollar to use the bathroom; trolls under bridges –> Bridge-like entrance to attraction? “Trolls” to collect ‘fare’? RACES!!! A greenhouse? Music room for kids? Wait… a hotel??? with a pool. Or some sort of aquarium… scuba diving! How about a week without TV challenge in honor of Leslie? Lush, green atmosphere — middle of nowhere, lots of room, nature centered… Golden rooms? that face full West! so that the walls can catch fire at sunset. A Father-Daughter dance! so I need a ballroom. Maybe *that* should be the golden room and face west… maybe the drawings from the opening scenes can be on the walls of the hotel rooms… maybe there can be a wall that kids can draw on… something for mothers and sons, because Jesse had to work on his relationship with his mom. Oh, and brothers and sisters… Jesse and May Belle. Something to do with squirrels… most definitely a treehouse!!! somewhere. And how about the Janice Avery troll holding the elevator in the palm of her hand as it goes up and down like when she saved Jesse from falling? Dragonflies! a tropical greenhouse? a butterfly conservatory? how about a treehouse idea contest every year? and a writing contest? What if my hotel could host the NaNoWriMo??? jumping… moon boots? Troll Tracks! Troll Hunting Season! a ride? white house… golden rooms with white fireplaces and wooden floors and pink and white and red flowers… a church? stained glass windows and bells… museum? PT! father-daughter pictures… Well, obviously there needs to be a bridge somewhere…

You have been my King of Glory / won’t You be my Prince of Peace…

7:35 AM. I’m not used to glancing down at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen for the time anymore. I’m used to looking to the bottom left. Anyway…

Watching the sunrise here from the open computer labs for the first time in… three months. And it was a Thursday, too, if I remember correctly. Yesterday, temp went above freezing for the first time in 2010, and today’s high is supposedly in the 40s.

Last few weeks of the Late Fall term. Already registered for Winter term classes. Gosh, that’s so confusing… lol. Anyway… Cooking 3 with Chef Galvin next term, starting at 7:30 AM, I’m hyped =) and yes, I know I’m crazy, but I’m taking another colloquium. There’s supposed to be food and salsa dancing. How much better could it get? plus Alex and Kenya are in, if I’m not mistaken.

Devin and I went over a new crazy plan last night. Except, unlike most of our other crazy plans, this one is actually very, very possible. She’ll look into the Disney College Program and go a the same time as me =) Howzzat for crazy? We talked about our families both having Christmas in Florida and finding Latin Mass and me teaching her guitar and us having teatime and skyping evry night with our families and praying the rosary all together over skype… etc.

Nino’s my everyday stress-reliever =) Praise God for him.

Rabbi Ingber spoke at our school yesterday, I told Mom and Dad all about that. Loved his talk and really appreciated that I was able to ask him a theological question which he was able to answer open-mindedly (is that a word? guess it is now) and non-threateningly. He talked about his mission trips and how it’s compulsory for everyone in the group to attend the different services of every respectively represented religion. I wouldn’t do the work he does, I would be afraid of the doors it would open, but I respect and admire him for knowing himself so well that he is able to put himself in such positions without wavering. I also appreciate very much his ability to speak of other religious doctrines with the same reverence as he has for his own. Totally amazing guy. God bless him.

Woohoo, the sn’s almost up. Oh, yeah, this would be the third day in a row this year that the sun’s actually been out and we’ve seen blue skies.

The first day was Tuesday, and the sun came out as I was driving to Nate’s. We were supposed to build a snowman and go sledding, but a) it wasn’t cold enough, and thus b) the snow was powdery and no good for packing. And so we ended up talking for some four hours, at Panera over brunch, and then at his house. It won’t hit me that I won’t see Kuya Nate for over a year until summer, probably, when everyone’s home and he isn’t. That upsets me.

But on a lighter note… I’m going to Conference this year! I said yes to the invite, and I believe that He will help me get there. I’m so hyped =) I see some of my favorite Chicago people on the ‘yes’ list… Cmela… Ate Mary… Kuya Raffy… Kuya Bham… oh LOL it seems so long ago that the Bros referred to Ate Mary as “Chicago Mary.” My gosh… three and a half years ago.

I wish to goodness I could drag all the XD kids with me to Conference… they’re such an awesome, loveable bunch.

Anyway… time to get to class? Yeah. 8:05 AM. I don’t really have an explanation for my status. Well, yes, I do. Fortunately, I haven’t time to explain. Math time! and then Cooking. Cream soups today! wish me luck =)

So this is the new year / And I don’t feel any different

Oh, Death Cab. So refreshing.

Although I suppose that’s not entirely accurate. This wasn’t the easiest year, though perhaps it was the most… cleansing. I do feel considerably different this year as opposed to this time last year. Oh, and for the first time in my life, I do feel older just from one year. How does that work out?? At any rate, here are my closing ramblings to 2009.

Nino’s 1st Bday Pics

courtesy of me =)