Blurb!!!!!!!! A Review
xD Yup, my photobook came!!!! *super insanely happy*
A few tips to people who are new to blurb, tho.
1) If you originally designed it as a hardcover with a dust jacket, do not be disappointed when you decide to order the photo-wrap instead and find that the author’s blurb thingy on the flaps of the dust jacket are… not there. Because there is no dust jacket. Duhhh. Hn, I didn’t think of that… ah well. Anyway…
2) Do not be mislead by the preview. There is a barcode on the bottom right of the back cover that does now show in the preview, so don’t put anything there that you would prefer not be covered up. Heh… I did. So now, three lines of my poem are… not there. Hem, moving on…
3) Dark photos are definitely a no-no. The resolution goes weird. It ends up looking like paintings of paper dolls. Or something. Ah, and that includes photos on sunny days that were taken in the shadow of a tree or something. Using flash at night is iffy. Some nighttime shots w/flash turned out beautifully. As in, plain gorgeous. Seriously. Very very clear, etc. Others just didn’t. Weird. I guess I really can’t give an opinion on that point. You’ll just have to decide if you want to risk it or not. But definitely the brightest shots came out clearest.
4) There are two blank pages, one after the front cover and one before the back cover, that aren’t included in the preview on the Booksmart software, so just a note, you don’t have to worry about putting in those filler pages (unless you want more?) yourself.
So, yeah, I’m incredibly pleased with how it turned out. 7″ x 7″, I’d say about an inch or so deep, 1412 pics in 320 pages. I did count how many photos turned out less-than-satisfactory. 79. Eh, not a big deal if you do the math. What, 5.6ish? % bleh. But for the price and the other 1333 pics that turned out just fine (or even better than I had hoped), it’s totally worth the time I put in. Oh, one last tip, though –
5) If you’re making a photobook of your high school years, and you happen to be from a homeschooling family that does a lot of traveling and takes a LOT of pictures, I really would not advise attempting to fit it all into 320 pages of a 7×7 book, unless they’re headshots and you can fit 16 to a page and still see everything you want to see. On the other hand, if you’ve got shots at the Grand Canyon, say, and you want people to see the majesty of it all, and thus you really have no choice but to let one photo take up a whole page… yeah. 320 pages goes pretty quick. :D
~~~~~ UPDATE 091608 ~~~~~
*super sad face*
We had my grad party on Saturday. Wahhh my book is falling apart. Heh. It might also be because so many people looked at it/signed it. But I can’t help feeling that the binding is rather weak… I mean, c’mon, books that we’ve had for years and years, that all of us kids have grown up with, haven’t fallen apart yet. Bleh.
Well, I’m not saying I’ll never do it again… It could be due to the thickness or the dimensions or something. Who knows. The book that I saw at the Almarios was thinner and of a different size, and the binding on that one seemed perfectly fine.
But for the record… :( Here’s what I discovered was left of my dear little book, after everyone had left the party:
:( my favorite page came out!!
Senior Pics
HEM, last night, I unloaded exactly 1,580 pictures from Tito Leo’s memory cards. Mhm.
Fortunately, after having run through them once very quickly, I was able to eliminate (that is, move to other folders) all pics that were taken either a) at the General Assembly yesterday, b) at the ToB session on Saturday, or c) at Gabe’s concert on Friday night. Which left me with 1,224 pictures.
Oooooooooooooh.
So, now, I am slowly going through the remaining 1,224 pictures.
There are currently 371 sitting in the recycle bin.
ANYWAY. I’m taking a little break to share my three favs so far. Yay! :D So click away. Funnnn. lol.
Whoooooops. I have my eyes closed in that last one. Darn xD Oh well. Maybe I have yet to discover one where I kept my eyes open. Lolz.
Isn’t Tito Leo totally insanely amazingly awesomeeee? :)
~~~~~EDIT~~~~~
No, wait!!! I found a better kick!!! lol.
7/22/08
And once again, we present you with the unoriginal title, yay!
The point is –
Talk about crazy conversations while on our way to Kids First today.
Migi was explaining how he brought photon men (???) in to battle with the Romans in Age of Empires. (Actually, I think they were Egyptians. But I think he generalizes all ‘his’ men as “Romans.” Ok.) I was like, “But Migs. Then that doesn’t count as history. (Playing Age of Empires counts as History. Normally.)” “Fine. Then I’ll only bring them in when it’s a desperate situation.” “But, Migs, that still doesn’t count as history. Bringing in photon men… *struggles to explain* alters…” “– the course of history?”
We all burst out laughing. Yes, indeed it does. But that wasn’t the point!!! The point is, they can’t bring in people who don’t even yet exist by our times and use them to conquer Assyrians! etc. They’re not learning anything by doing that. Nvm.
We keep driving. A car passes on our left. Was it two? three? pairs of feet sticking out of the windows. Yep. One pair had socks on. So then we start fantasizing about what we should do to them. Mother suggested…
Mum: What are those tube thingies?
me: Uhm… spit balls?
Mum: No, no! Poison darts!!
me: … Mom… *shocked* so violent… So that’s where the kids get it from…
Mum: No, I get it from my kids.
me: That’s even worse!!!!
rotfl.
We came to a stoplight, and Mother could have been closer to the car in front of her but she was staying well away from the car with the feet sticking out, which was next to the car in front of us…
Mum: … so that we don’t smell their stinky feet.
me: Mum. The stink’s gonna permeate the windows?
Mum: Yes. Their indecency will permeate the windows.
And then later. We’re driving home and we pass…
Mum: Oh look! Red people!
…. yes’m they are. People in red uniforms.
Mum: Red and white!
Yes’m, in red and white. xD Mommy funny.
Now let me see… well, we were at Kids First and Mother asked me why it seemed to her sometimes that she and I are closer now that we’re here in OH, but that we were closer as a family in PA, despite the fact that we have CFC here and stuff. It’s quite true. And I explained how I saw it. She suggested that I write about my thoughts. So here they are.
It’s quite simple really. TSKS brings everyone down to the same level, regardless of age. True, CFC is a family ministry, and the parents are supposed to be involved in the kids’ activities, but that doesn’t change the fact that the way CFC works is different from TSKS. Obviously, we are all at different stages in our Faith journey. The talks for CFC, SFC, YFC, and KFC, then, are tailored to their audience. We are still separated by an age barrier, a natural one, but a barrier nonetheless. True that the parents are ideally very up-to-date on what their kids are learning, but they’re not technically a part of it, in the sense that TSKS allowed our parents to be. Of course we’re taught as we grow older that we should be open to the many lessons that we can be taught by those younger than us, and that the leaders are there to serve and learn from their members, that just because we are leaders doesn’t mean we know it all, but that doesn’t mean that KFC talks are given to the CFC.
The difference, then, is that the things we are taught in the CFC(/SFC/YFC/KFC) are things that, yes, we are taught to apply in all aspects of our lives, but exactly how we are to apply them is, generally, very ambiguous. Whereas in TSKS, the application is very clearly defined, and the definition is not based on age.
No matter what your age is, you have to start at level one, at white belt. And so, even though the classes are separated by age, younger students can still be higher ranking members. What TSKS did for us is that it brought Paco and Dad down to the same level. Then Migi entered, and then I did, bringing me down to a level lower than Migi. TSKS taught me how much I could learn from my siblings. It taught me to look up to the boys and respect them, despite the 5- and 7.5-year age difference. Not that I don’t respect them now, or that I did not respect them before, but I learned to respect them more because of their higher level of discipline, of skill, of commitment, etc. It was sort of like having our positions reversed. True, I wasn’t the best student during those years in PA. But in general, I was expected to have the higher level in those things. I’m higher up in grades, after all. And so in karate, it was like all that was reversed, and I learned to appreciate more what I could learn from them. I’m sure Daddy experienced something like this when Migi or Paco would end up remembering more of a form than he did, and would have to show him. And they also learned from Daddy, the importance of fundamentals, which Daddy had learned early on because he had started down that path ages back, and so starting with Paco brought him back to the beginning, but much of it was re-learning, perfecting.
I think a lot of it also had to do with friends. Here, our friends are very distinctly separate. I think I can consider myself a lot closer to, say, Tito Leo, than a lot of the other teens, and certainly better than my siblings. But, say, Tito AJ, is more Daddy and Mommy’s friend rather than Paco or Migi’s, see? Whereas at TSKS, our friends were all the same. We had different close ones, but to give an example, Daddy could be talking to Bob, say, and Migi could be waiting, but not thinking, “Oh when is my Dad going to be done talking to his friend.” Rather, when Daddy was done talking to Bob, Migi could expect Bob to address him as familiarly as he had addressed Dad. Not a “Oh is this your son” type thing, but a “Hi Migi!” like coming from a friend. And at the same time, just because someone was older, considered closer in maturity level to, say, Dad, as opposed to Paco, didn’t necessarily mean that Dad knew them better. Paco had friends among the adults that maybe Dad didn’t see as often. Dad taught/helped out with some classes that Paco wasn’t in.
Age wasn’t really a factor at TSKS. It had the same requirements for everyone, based on rank, not on age. And while there were other reasons, I’m sure, that was probably one of the biggest reasons that it brought my family, especially me and Dad and Pacs and Migs, very close.
I am closer to my Mom now, it’s true. My PA years, especially the 5th/6th grade times, communication was often quite forced. Eh, it’s not as bad as it sounds, but I guess what I mean is, I never really went to Mum purely to hang out, to chill, to talk. Nowadays, it’s so bad :D that she sometimes has to remind me (and herself) that she needs to stop talking to me for a bit and give attention to the little ones. When I’m bored these days, the first place I go is usually to wherever Mum is just to chat. So that’s a major difference.
Perhaps what bothers me, then, is that I wish that we could all have the best of both worlds. We are, as a family, certainly not what we were in PA. And at the same time, Mum and I are much better off for having moved, I think.
We hope that Italy will give us some of it all.
The Call
I was talking to Mum after Prince Caspian, and I told her that I really loved that song because I could relate to it. She asked me to explain how, because she didn’t understand just by listening to it. Anyway, I thought I’d blog about it… because it was a good reflection for me, as well.
Thoughts on Boy Meets Girl
I finished reading Boy Meets Girl a few weeks ago, and Mum and I were talking about a certain section of it yesterday.
Joshua Harris [very wisely, on the whole] says that we shouldn’t go out into the world with a pre-conceived list of what we want our future spouse to be. He says that if we do this, we’ll be missing out on a lot than if we didn’t immediately eliminate people just because they don’t meet one or two of the expectations on our list.
To some extent, I do agree. I think it holds true for just basic friendship in the first place — if you go out into the world of pre-conceived ideas of what your friends should look like, should have accomplished by a certain point in their life, should believe in, should be, you’ll miss out on a heck of a lot of great friendships. I know I would have. If I’d tried to limit myself to just Catholic friends, or to handsome and dashing Prince Charming-looking guys, or to, I dunno, just Asian girls? or to just homeschoolers… what would I have been missing out on!!! I mean, c’mon. Seriously, my best friend? He has 10 piercings and a bunch of tattoos now and I don’t generally approve of that stuff, but what the heck? If I’d let myself get turned off by what he looked like at my first class (‘course, that was when there were only 4 piercings and no tattoos… but still), I would have missed out on a wealth of kindness, sincerity, encouragement, just plain hard tough brotherly love… so much, so much. And now? 4 years later, he’s still one of my absolute best friends ever, and I can’t imagine what life would be like without having ever met him. He’s had a hand in shaping who I am now. All of my friends have.
But then there is the other side of it. Yes, pre-conceived ideas are not always wise… but then it depends on what those ideas are.
Here is what I believe — I believe that one has to have standards. Now, what kind of standards? Well, not things like omigosh he has to be this much taller and that much smarter and he has to be Pinoy and… blah blah blah blah blah. BUT. He has to be Pro-Life, a committed Catholic, etc. I think the question here is, Are they my non-negotiables? or are they God’s?
If I base my standards on what I honestly believe are God’s non-negs, then I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I don’t think I’m closing myself to anything by God-centered standards.
I would love for my future spouse to have read and appreciated books like Sense and Sensibility, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Boy Meets Girl, Arms of Love, so on, so forth. It would be nice if they played some instrument very well. I would love for them to have an appreciation for martial arts. It would be cool if they didn’t mind my usually-leaning-towards-emo poetry. Basically, I’d like for them to like all the things I like, enjoy all the things that I enjoy, show some sort of mannish appreciation for all the things I squeal over… hahaha. And obviously I’d like him to be Pinoy so that my kids will speak tagalog, duhhhh… xD
But those aren’t God’s non-negs, and if I chose my friends by how many of them appreciate martial arts as much as I do? Whew. That’s a pretty darn short list compared to the one I am blessed to be able to write up with confidence and head “My True Friends.” I know it won’t work either when I’m 23-ish and possibly dealing with would-be court-ers.
I see it all now.
“May I have permission to court you?”
“Well, let’s see. What do you think of karate?”
“… Uhh…”
“Ok, how about Sense and Sensibility?”
“I… saw the movie…”
“Oh bleh. Which one?”
“…”
“Did you ever read Arms of Love?”
“… Never heard of it…”
“Ah. Of course. Never mind. Gee, I dunno, I really don’t think we could ever work out.”
:) But wow, wouldn’t that be a fun conversation, just for the heck of watching their face? Lalala… I’m evil… rotfl.
My Fifth Week Where I’ve Failed To Blog SIGNIFICANT Events
I FIRMLY RESOLVE to finish this post today, even if it means giving up chatting tonight. It’s always like this; I open up all my tabs — gmail, multiply, facebook, wordpress, AIM, and YM — and then I go to my wordpress drafts and end up chatting with someone. Before you know it, my hour is up, and I HAVEN’T WRITTEN ANYTHING. BLEH!
I am baking Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies at present, but I only have on baking sheet on hand, because mom is using the other one, so while I am waiting for my first sheet to come out, I will blog.
Except that the timer just beeped, so I just took them out, and they are NOT at all what I was expecting… but I’ll get to that when I’m actually bake-blogging, again.
It’s advent! That time of year!! when we bake lots and lots and LOTS of cookies!!! and as I am officially no longer a b5 blogger, all my blogging will be on HERE!! For ME!!! xD (What an example of Advent/Christmas spirit, eh?)
So far, I’ve made Traditional Rolled Sugar Cookies (although, I’ve yet to decorate them), Stained Glass, Raspberry Lemon Bars, my Totally Amazing Chocolate Chocolate Cookies (now egg-less, as well as dairy-less!!!), SS’s Walnut Cups, of course, and even more of course, of course, Rum Balls.
This year will be forever remembered as the year that I found the PERFECT Rum Ball recipe. I’m sure any avid baker has heard of the typical crushed-chocolate/vanilla-wafer recipe, but these, I tell you, are unbeatable. You make brownies first, heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth brownies, and then you take those brownies and break them up into little pieces and just soak them in rum. (Or at least, that’s what it tastes like. 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp rum to a recipe that ends up making around 45 balls, you do the math [necessary for my friends who are asking if they will get drunk {*cough* youknowwhoyouare *cough*} from eating my rum balls].) If I send you cookies this year, please do not insult me by avoiding the rum balls, most especially if you are a very close friend of mine. I absolutely insist on your critiquing them, and see if you aren’t as blown away by them as I am, I dare you. :D
Now, where to begin? (Oho, you thought that was the beginning? No, indeed, that was just an overview of what’s been going on so far today.) I’ve been so bad about blogging recently (as the title should have told you) that I’ll have to go backwards.
Yesterday, 12/16, Gaudete Sunday (Gaudete, Gaudete! Christus est natus ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete!), we had the CFC Christmas Party. (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14782&l=f4fcf&id=502520962, http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14789&l=8f7f9&id=502520962) We arrived at Grailville at around noon, and found the Dalisays, the San Miguels, and the Suchoskis setting up. Jon had his laptop, and Mariel was trying out a game that Jon had made. It was pretty cool. Not that Mariel’s failing was a laughing matter, but it was just kind of amusing that she kept on failing the game, and then Jon took over and won, of course.
Eventually, more people started arriving, things started getting louder, rowdier, etc. xD Paolo told me he hadn’t brought the drums, to which I replied that I’d forgotten to tell him and Kuya Vin that Matt was leaving early, and therefore couldn’t play for worship, anyway. He said something in tagalog under his breath. I never found out what it was, even after repeated hits…
We had lunch at 1 (half an hour late! Paolo should’ve been in charge of the schedule… bwaha [<== 'hem, YFC Sisters' inside joke, look out]), and that was supposed to be followed by games, but Matt had a Choir Concert that started at 3, so because he had to leave early, he, Gabe, Paolo, and Jon gave their performance which was supposed to be for the variety show, which was scheduled to take place after games, but I think I’ve already explained why it had to happen right then, and while this sentence is proving to be a very long one, why don’t I go ahead and warn you that there are going to be a lot of “supposed-to-have-happened”ss thingies in this part of my post which is about the CFC Christmas Party. *takes a breath*
Sometime before their performance, Tito Don and Julianna arrived from Julianna’s game, and the Nadermans had arrived sometime before them. Samuel was asleep, and I was at once allowed to take charge of him :D so I took him over to the quietest corner and ate next to him, while chatting with Jordan and Candisse. Eventually, he woke up, and I got to hold him for a good, oh, half hour? or so. He’s so sweet! But come, back to the boys’ performance. I would like very much to tell what it was, but… Well… suffice to say, Aunt Bethany got asthma from laughing so hard, and I haven’t been given permission to upload a video (16 seconds) of it, because it was so ‘embarrassing,’ apparently… supposedly even more embarrassing than what they did at Discovery Camp. (Well… I guess it was… but… )`: I really want to upload that video!!!! *waiting/praying/hoping for permission…*)
After their performance, Matt had to leave. While he was still getting his stuff together, the Music Min. had a meeting downstairs, while the parents had their games. We got through practicing Prince of Peace, but then Mariel, Paolo, and Gabe had to leave because they were helping out with the parents’ games, and so that left me and Candisse to practice the rest of the program with Kuya Vin. When we’d finished, we went upstairs, and what did I see? My Dad and the other dads practicing the Macarena. *cough* That seriously. freaked. me. out.
Well, after the initial shock given by the scene, I decided to make the most of it and went hunting around for the camera, which I eventually found, and took full advantage of (as you see, if you’ve clicked on those links :D). It turns out, the game was that they had to pick the name of a song and the dance they had to put it to out of an envelope or something like that. Men vs. Women. The men, for their first performance, did the Macarena to Silent Night, followed by the thriller(?!??) to Santa Clause is Coming to Town. The women performed the robot dance to I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause, and something Paolo taught them to Jingle Bells. Gabe coached the guys, Paolo coached the girls. When asked which was the real villain, I firmly replied, “You,” to Paolo. If you’re on FB and you watch the video of the women’s second performance, you’ll hear me say, “Paolo. WHAT Did You Do?!?!” That is, in fact, the title of the video. (They won, btw, so I’m not really complaining…)
Sometime in the middle of the game, Matt said goodbye, and we wished him luck. I saw something that made me smile… Matt kissed Julianna goodbye before he left. It always makes me smile when siblings are that close. :) After the adults’ games, the little ones put on their play. Yeni was Mary, Jordan was Joseph, Aya (or was it Jojo? …) was an angel, Christine was… a reindeer? I think? and I feel like I’m missing someone… Anyway, the whole thing was Tito Herman’s idea, and the kids were sooo cute. It was slightly dragging, though… See, the audience was supposed to look out for 4 words, and when they heard one of those words, they’d sing the first few lines of a Christmas carol. So, when they heard “baby,” they were to sing What Child is This; when they heard “manger,” Away In A Manger; “angel,” Hark, the Herald Angels Sing; “Bethlehem,” O Little Town of Bethlehem. Well… let’s just say those 4 words came up pretty often… I think the “The End” was kind of abrupt. At any rate, the tone in which it was said brought a laugh. (Oh, Jordan being introduced as Joseph before the play also brought a laugh. I just grinned. He made a face at me. Haha.)
Afterwards, Tito Leo told me it was our turn, and he asked me to say something about our presentation that would tie it in with Advent/Christmas. Mum told me later that she liked what I’d said, so I’ll try to put it here. I can’t remember exactly how I worded it, but I think it was something like, “Through this presentation, we’d like to share with you a part of our life before we came here.. and still continues to be a part of our life now… and for me, I really think that it played a big part in shaping us… not just as individuals, but as a family.. I really think that it made us a tighter, closer family,” and I guess I said something to wrap that up… Oh! I think I said something like, “So I hope you find our presentation interesting.” (I couldn’t think of any other adjective? lol. What was I supposed to say?) We performed Chil Sung Il Ro Hyung. I think we did well. The floor was a little slippery, but it was hardly noticeable in the video.
Worship followed. Kuya Vin led worship, with him, Gabe, Tito Bart, and I on guitar, and Paolo on piano (for half the worship). We sang Prepare the Way, Prince of Peace (replacing I Give My All as my new favorite 2-part worship song), Shout to the Lord, Trading My Sorrows, and one more… I can’t remember the titled!! The one that goes, “Lord, I give you my heart, I give you my soul…” Oh, I think it was This Is My Desire? Maybe. Anyway, that was the third song, and Tito Don was standing next to Paolo, and when he saw the sheet, he asked if we were singing Shout to the Lord and Paolo said it was next, so Tito Don asked if he could play that one. He ended up playing Shout to the Lord and Trading My Sorrows. It was a really powerful worship. *nods* I could hear Paolo singing harmony next to me. He does that a lot. :D
After worship, we exchanged gifts. We didn’t open them like we did last year.. Heavens, there were SOOOOOOOOOOOO many kids!!! Over 40. WHAT a party!!! We had the KFC exchange gifts first, followed by the YFC, and finally, the SFC. Ate Candice and Kuya Vin handed out gifts to the YFC from Tita Edna (bless her! I miss her so much!), and I handed out the gift bags (with my amazing cookies, the kids’ awesome hot chocolate mix, and heavenly sampalok, the recipe of which Mom obtained from our wonderful Tita Emily). Tito Leo had us sing one last song, Joy to the World, “… after which we will joyfully clean up…” which Tito Don played the piano for, and I sang. As we were cleaning, Tito Don continued playing, accompanied by Kuya Vin, and Mum and Tita Tez’m sang. It was in tagalog, I think it was a Filipino Christmas carol. I think that was my second favorite song that we sang at the party, because even though I didn’t know it, it gave me such a happy feeling to see [and hear] the Pinoys that were cleaning up joining in. Tito Mavi left singing heartily.
So ended a wonderful party. If you haven’t clicked on those links, here’s a pic that I hope will sum up all the rest sufficiently –
Isn’t that a lovely sight. :D Don’t forget, there’s people downstairs, and people closer to where I was standing.
So! That was yesterday’s story. The day before , 12/15 was Mommy & Daddy’s 18th wedding anniversary, and Daddy’s birthday. *wild applause from the kids* Mummy’s white roses are in a vase on the table. :D
That morning, Daddy measured us kids and opened one of his birthday presents before he and Mum left for their date. I cleaned and packed cookies for the next day’s party, fried ham for us kids’ lunch, and attempted to blog, but obviously, that came to nothing, lol. We spent the last hours before bedtime perfecting Chil Sung Il Ro Hyung for the next day.
12/13 and 14, the St. Max choir sang at Niederman’s farm. The first night, we did splendidly on everything except for the Hallelujah Chorus, but they told us the tracks were nearly drowning us out. The second night, they had mikes set up, and we nailed the Hallelujah Chorus PERFECTLY, but we screwed up Do You Hear What I Hear!!! Blehhh. Oh well. It was a lot of fun. Kind of tiring, but fun. (I still need to upload pics, btw.) Well, the whole family came the first night, and then Michelle and Terhi came the second night, but I didn’t see them!!! I must have missed them on my way out, and I was in the car on my way towards SHS when Michelle called and asked if I’d left already. I felt HORRIBLE. :( I’d tried calling her before I left the building, but apparently she didn’t have a signal inside…
So I went to Battle of the Bands at SHS after the concert on Friday. Kuya Mico and Tito Leo were at the table, so I gave them hugs, and then I turned to the woman to give her my entrance fee. She turned to Tito Leo and asked, “Is she with you?” and he replied that I was, and she said I could go in free. Tito Leo must’ve seen something in my face, because he laughed and explained to the woman that I never let him pay for me, and got indignant when he did (ex: I insisted on paying for my drink and the Kuya Demo at the Underground, because he’d sneakily payed for my entrance fee. :P!!!! lol), and still laughing, he told me I couldn’t complain because he hadn’t payed for me this time. The woman smiled and said she was letting me in because she liked them (the De Velas).
Tito Leo escorted me inside, and led me to where Kuya Vin and Tita Doris were sitting in front of where Tito Leo had the camera set up. I sat between them. Awkward Chocolate was just finishing up their last song when I sat down. Before intermission had begun, Paolo had come over to say hi, and Tita Doris moved down one seat so that he might sit between us. Intermission proved long enough for Paolo and Kuya Vin and I to discuss certain details concerning the worship for the Christmas Party, during which Kuya Vin had asked Paolo to bring the electric drums for Matt, and as I’ve already said, I totally forgot to mention to them that he was leaving early. (I guess I was so hyped.) I took some pics (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14672&l=a6e3a&id=502520962) while waiting for intermission to end. When Kuya was introduced, Kuya Vin was laughing, because I was muttering under my breath about how they were pronouncing it wrong, etc. We were lucky enough to have the original Kuya behind us. :D God Bless Kuya Mico. He was actually able to stand for some of the performance! :D :D That was a lovely thing to see.
Kuya was AWESOME!!!!!! Honestly, awesome to the point of I-Don’t-Know-How-Code-4- Won-First, seriously. Yes, yes, I know I missed their performance, but I heard them play in the summer, although everyone says they’ve improved since, but still… Kuya Vin said they weren’t good… Hahaha… No, we are NOT biased… I honestly didn’t think Kuya was all that great when I heard their stuff last year, but they’ve come a long way and I really do love their music now. Well, they’ve got next year… (and Code 4 was all seniors, and from what I heard, it was leaning towards being a sympathy vote, so maybe Kuya will get it next year? They’ll all be seniors, then… :P) Kuya performed Lullaby first, which I did record, and I sang along with the last two lines, and Paolo asked, “You’ve memorized it???” Well, of course I have!!! I love that song!! My top 3 favorite songs by Kuya — Angel, Gravity, and Lullaby.
At the end of Kuya’s performance, the audience was chanting “KUYA, KUYA” and so Paolo started yelling “ATE, ATE” and I joined him, but then he stopped, and I stopped right in the middle of an “ATE” and smacked him for deserting me, so he said it softly and said, “There.” He got elbowed. *shrug* I got nudged. Tita Doris asked what we’d been yelling and she laughed when Paolo told her.
So, yes, Kuya’s performance was totally amazing. Kuya Vin left during the intermission that followed, and Gill Green played next. Uhm… *shakes head* their music makes one’s chest hurt… so we — Tita Doris, Kuya Mico, Paolo, and I — went out. I had about 7 minutes left before Mum and Dad were to pick me up, anyway, so I spent those 7 minutes hanging with the De Velas and Paolo. Tita Doris had pointed out Mariel and Esther inside, but they hadn’t come over. (I’m not entirely sure they were in a position to get out, especially Mariel. I think she was smack dab in the middle of a full row.) When the family arrived, everyone came in (except for Dad; the car was on) and we stood around chatting for another few minutes. Yena was beating on Paolo. Migi was hug-attacking him. I didn’t realize he was still there, actually; I guess he was standing hidden by his friends, but Migi found him, apparently…
Whew. Well! That post took a lot out of my news… I shall blog again tomorrow!! :D
Right.
So, plainly, my goal is to finish Pre-Calc and Chem before March next year, so that I will feel that I have earned the trip to PA, and I shall have class at least twice a week so that I will honestly feel that I have earned the rank. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I thought it all out, and there. I came to the conclusion that I need to feel that I have earned the right to go to PA, not just the right to do what it is I go there to do.
At any rate, that rant really got a lot off my chest… *sigh* God always knows what I need. That night, after my post, I was given numerous reasons to laugh by my family (Migi and Yena stating the obvious again… rotfl). Then, last night, we had a Tang Soo chat room… the first we’ve had in over a year!! I was joined by Kenzo, Todd (E), Amanda, Sarah, Dana… oh, and I got to talk to Panos for a bit, and also Paolo and Paige. And I was talking to everyone separately, anyway. Paolo’s right, I’m the queen of multi-tasking!!!! Anyway, Ken’s off crutches… until the next surgery. Oh, well, here’s bits and pieces of the group chat…
Kenny (07:58:45 pm): so todd i here u work at coopers?
Aisa (07:58:52 pm): since when???!
Amanda (07:58:57 pm): Coopers?!
Todd (07:59:04 pm): what the heck is coopers
Todd (07:59:06 pm): lol
Aisa (07:59:11 pm): i think you’ve got the wrong todd, ken
Kenny (07:59:14 pm): i eard ur a bartender there
Amanda (07:59:19 pm): (Who’s [s/n])?
Aisa (07:59:23 pm): kenny byers, amanda
Kenny (07:59:25 pm): yulp im thinking todd lucke
Amanda (07:59:36 pm): I’m confused…
Aisa (07:59:38 pm): last time i saw him on was like… i dunno last week
Todd (07:59:41 pm): me too
Aisa (07:59:54 pm): confused about wha?
Amanda (07:59:57 pm): wait wait wait..july is Kenny?
Aisa (08:00:01 pm): yes.
Amanda (08:00:06 pm): OH
Amanda (08:00:07 pm): HAHA
Amanda (08:00:11 pm): I didn’t know that
Todd (08:00:16 pm): ok now im good
Sarah (08:00:25 pm): has joined the room.
Aisa (08:00:38 pm): yo sarah
Sarah (08:00:52 pm): hey
Amanda (08:00:55 pm): Hi Sarah!
Aisa (08:01:01 pm): wheee this is fun
Todd (08:01:04 pm): lol
Amanda (08:01:06 pm): lol yeah
Amanda (08:01:14 pm): Should be doing homework..but oh well haha
Sarah (08:01:14 pm): wuts up
Todd (08:01:28 pm): lol
Sarah (08:01:42 pm): why is todd erb here..he quit u dont deserve to be here
Sarah (08:01:43 pm): lol
Sarah (08:02:14 pm): who is [s/n]?
Amanda (08:02:17 pm): Kenny
Todd (08:02:19 pm): lol
Sarah (08:02:22 pm): oo
Kenny (08:02:22 pm): hi
Todd (08:02:25 pm): no1 knos u
Sarah (08:02:32 pm): knows who?
Todd (08:02:39 pm): kenny well his s/n
Aisa (08:03:10 pm): cuz yous were all used to [s/n] last time we had a chat room like this
Kenny (08:03:15 pm): lol
Sarah (08:03:22 pm): oo
Sarah (08:03:48 pm): why did u quit?
Amanda (08:03:50 pm): He’s too cool for us
Todd (08:04:02 pm): me quit?
Sarah (08:04:31 pm): yea
Aisa (08:04:44 pm): yeah explain to everyone why we don’t have to put up wit u anymore xD
Todd (08:04:55 pm): lol ur funny
Sarah (08:05:01 pm): well tell us?
Sarah (08:05:54 pm): HELLO!!!
Sarah (08:26:26 pm): so how old r u now?
Todd (08:26:44 pm): 13 gonna be 14 in a month and 2 days
Sarah (08:27:21 pm): wow…u r young
Sarah (08:27:22 pm): lol
Todd (08:27:27 pm): lol
Sarah (08:27:34 pm): i am already 17
Todd (08:27:39 pm): but im like 6 feet tall
Todd (08:27:42 pm): lol
Sarah (08:27:56 pm): lol..i am like 5 ft
Sarah (08:27:59 pm): haha
Aisa (08:28:32 pm): lol
Sarah (08:28:39 pm): i am so small
Aisa (08:29:02 pm): no, you’re not, sarah…. kenny is. xD
Sarah (08:29:14 pm): lol..he is taller then me
Todd (08:29:26 pm): lol
Sarah (08:30:05 pm): and u should def come bac..or u should ahve came to our black belt test
Aisa (08:30:37 pm): lol i keep telling him he needs to come back before we all go to college
Todd (08:32:37 pm): ill see u next test ok
Aisa (08:32:43 pm): pssh.
Sarah (08:32:48 pm): fine..but u promise?
Aisa (08:32:50 pm): i have no faith in your promises
Todd (08:33:31 pm): yes i do
Aisa (08:33:37 pm): w/e.
Todd (08:33:41 pm): but u gotta let me kno when it is
Aisa (08:33:56 pm): what do you think i’ve been trying to do
Todd (08:34:01 pm): i say i will but u never tell me so its always ur fault
Aisa (08:34:25 pm): yeah well u don’t have an email add you can’t blame me for trusting your sister to tell u
Todd (08:35:01 pm): yes yes my email is [email add]
Todd (08:35:03 pm): so there
Todd (08:35:05 pm): ha
Aisa (08:35:07 pm): ABOUT TIME!
yayy
Karate tonight. 60 pushups, 100 leg-raises, 120 crunches… and then 50 front kicks, 10 jump front kicks, 10 jump side kicks, 70 round kicks, and 20 spinning hook kicks on each leg. I’ve lost my splits. I promise myself I will get them back before Battle.
*DEAD*
I am quite proud of that title. I have not been able to merit such a feeling for a long time. It began when Mum woke me up to help in the garden. In all honesty, I was in a very bad mood and was not pleased. xD
SO. I went outside. Bwaha! It was very good for me. I emptied seven 28 something L bags of soil into the designated plot, which required some lifting/dragging for most of them. I played a foolish little game, but I think everyone needs a little foolishness sometimes, and I really feel that it gave me strength. Anyone who knows me fairly well will confirm (or ought to.. haha) that I care very little for other people’s opinions in general. The only people I make any effort to please are those I think very highly of — my parents and some of my closer friends — most of the time, I could care less. The reason I am explaining this is because to anyone who does not know me, my game will seem like a very… oh, self-centered, self-conscious, whatever game. Trust me, it is not one typical of my personality. (Oy, any of my friends reading this, I better get some support. LOL!) Anyway, the game was, as I was attempting to lift/drag those very heavy bags of soil (the soil inside was moist — I’m pretty sure that had a lot to do with it), I tortured myself by thinking, “Oh My Heavens. What would [insert name of tough/strong person that is a good friend, usually a guy, ex: Sean, Ken, Andy, Aaron] think/say if they saw how much trouble I was having with these?!” And then I’d screw up my face and try harder. Yes, it is a very silly game. Sean can do 100 round kicks on each leg with 20 lbs weights on each ankle and a 40 lb vest. If I tried to kick with all that on… well, for one thing, could I even stand straight?? Bwahaha. But by heaven, I really think it worked. *sigh* Then again, I don’t suppose it was right to think of my friends that way, because I know they would never do that to me, especially Sean…
Well, anyway, as I emptied each bag, I continued the game. This part was more of a remedy to my bad mood rather than to my physical weakness. Each bag that I emptied was *for* someone that I miss in PA. No, it actually makes sense, for reasons I cannot really explain, but will make sense to some people who read this, I think. I thought to myself, “I am doing this because I want to see [name] in March.” Let’s see… I did… a bag *for* Sarah, Danielle, Kristy, Aaron, Andy, Kenny, and Sean. Well, that worked, too, and by the time Mum came ’round to see how I was doing, I do believe I was considerably politer. (She just walked by and asked me how I was doing. I’m not in a bad mood anymore. xD I love my mom.)
When I’d finished smoothing out the bed as best I could with the shovel (because I simply could not find that confounded hoe), I went inside, drank 2 glasses of water as Mum told me, and went upstairs to get dressed. I have not put on my black uniform since testing, and I put on my belt for the first time. Well, the second time. Daddy put it on me when it came on Saturday. You know, the ceremonial putting-on-thingy-watchamacallit. Lol. But that was over my regular clothes. This was the first time I’d put it on over my uniform, and the first time I put it on myself. Wow. It really hit me, how much thicker and heavier it was than color belts. Hah! I had a hard time tightening it; it was so stiff!!!
I chose a CD, got the boombox, and went downstairs to work the bag for the first time in God knows how many weeks. Total of… 30 windmills (yeah, yeah, I know. “So What??” But when you haven’t done them in a while, it does pull a little…), a bridge (I CRACKED MY BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS!!!!), and other stretches… and then 50 pushups, 80 leg-raises, and 300 kicks. 25 low-section front kicks, 50 mid-section front kicks, 25 high section front kicks, and 50 mid-section round kicks on each leg. Yes, I know it was nothing compared to Paula’s workouts, but I am still very proud of myself for my first proper in-uniform workout since testing.
SO! There. I was feeling dead and I’m still feeling slightly winded, but there. Now. I’M GOING TO TAKE A SHOWER!!!! Er, after Daddy. xD
BBT 9/23/07
Where to begin? I want to write down everything — everything — so that I may read it in years to come and remember as vividly as if it were yesterday. So much, so much… I don’t know how to get it all down without making a muddle of things… This post will most likely prove to be very confusing to those who are unfamiliar with how my mind works; it will be a collection of the usual observances one blogs and conversations written out as best I can remember. I am sorely tempted to jump around and write what comes to mind first… but that would be beginning too near the end… So let me try to keep my head on straight and not get too emo…
Friday, 9/21/07
We left the house at about 10 AM. I’d made a list of everything I needed, but that didn’t keep me from going over the list every five minutes. Believe it or not, I actually didn’t forget anything this time!!! I’ve always forgotten something before…
The trip was uneventful. I slept most of the time, and listened to music. We had sinangag for lunch.
As soon as we got to Unc’s house and had unloaded everything, Unc and jammed. :D That was awesome. He taught me a new song… kind of. :P I have to work on it. And we listened to music and he showed me the power tabs for stuff and some YouTube videos and stuff. We had nilaga, salmon and mushrooms, and asado for dinner. Absolutely delicious.
Saturday, 9/22/07
After breakfast, Mum and Dad and I went shopping. :D I found my Christmas dress!!! Yay!!! and two jackets (formal) and a denim dress with the most gorgeous flowing skirt. I’ve got to do something about the denim dress, though, because the top part of the bodice is this sort of net-like material with appliqués, but they look rather worn, so I’m going to replace them all… the netting, probably with a white sheer or something of the sort, and then we’ll see… Anyway, I had a good time.
When we got home, the kids showed us pictures of a turtle that they’d found while we were gone. It was huge! Hmm… I kind of forget what we had for lunch, haha. Leftovers, yeah, but there was something else, and I can’t remember what it was, now… That is not typical of me! Food is normally the highlight… sheesh. I’ll probably remember later. Anyway…
After lunch, I started sewing my flag patches on to my uniform sleeves. Unc sat by me and jammed. Everyone else took a nap, after which, we went to the 4:00 Mass. Before we left, though, Dad checked his cell phone and found a missed call from Paolo, at 10 AM. So I called and it turns out that he was at the CLP thingy or whatever, and so I got to talk to him and Gabe and Mariel and Kim for a bit…
We got home from Mass, I finished sewing my patches, and we made the most awesome dinner. :D Unc made the filling, and I rolled the lumpia. There was also more nilaga. That was the most AWESOME lumpia I’ve had in FOREVER. Yum Yum Yum.
After dinner, I went over my terminology, and then we watched the Matrix (just the first one). Ughhh that movie can get so sick. Haha. But it was motivating in its own way.
Ahhh I didn’t sleep well that night. Not nightmares, I just could sleep. I kept waking up and wondering what time it was and how many more hours I had before they would wake me…
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7970&l=0ce50&id=502520962
We left the house at 9. We prayed the rosary, and then I slept. When I woke up again, we were already in Dickson City, just past McDonald’s before the hill up to Jo Ann’s. What a sight. That place never changes. Do you know… up until March last year, I observed that I still got butterflies in my stomach on my way to the school. And not just to testing, I used to get that way for classes as well, for no apparent reason.. it was weird… but this time, it just didn’t happen. I wonder what that meant, haha.
We got to Wegmans. (Pics 1 thru 4.) Man, the view still hits me, it’s so majestic. There is still something so refreshing about mountains and trees.
When we walked in, I looked around and didn’t immediately spot anyone… Everyone went to get food, but I lingered and looked around again… and noticed someone looking at me. I tried to get a good look at the guy without being obvious, but he was most definitely staring at me… and with a jolt, I realized it was Lyndon. I ran and jumped and he stood up and caught me and we were just laughing so hard, I couldn’t say anything beyond, “Omigosh, I missed you!!!” I honestly don’t remember anything else I said… oh, except to ask if Sean was coming. Turns out he couldn’t; he had work…
After a few minutes, I moved off to get food, and right when I turn away from Lyndon, who should appear ’round the register, but Sarah, Danielle, and Katie!!!! Squeals galore. Hahahaha. In a few seconds we were all hugging and laughing and probably getting plenty of attention, we were so loud, but then we walked off towards the sushi bar (Lyndon and his girlfriend were behind us by this time) and Dad was there and shaking hands and hugging everyone, and Mum arrived and said she’d barely recognized Lyndon, it was so funny. I had a hard time choosing sushi…
Sarah: Aisa, how can you eat that?
me: What, it’s sushi… you’ll still like me, though, right?
Sarah: Gee, I dunno, I mean…. Hahahaha jk.
Eventually, I chose a dragon roll and tea, the latter of which I shared with Yena, who ended up drinking about 75% of it. I must’ve been too busy talking to notice, really… When we were all sitting down, we called Aaron and asked if he’d meet us there, and he said he’d get there as soon as he could.
Lyndon had to go to work, so he and his gf said goodbye, and it was just us four girls left… so we went outside for a photo shoot. (Pics 5 thru 15.) Hilarious. First, we tried some profile pics, and some candid group shots, with some still life somewhere in there. Bwaha, then we decided to do a karate pic. So I asked who wanted to go on the table… Katie was all for it. :D *cough* It didn’t quite work, though… So I asked who wanted to go to the school and take pics on the steps. This was about an hour and a half before testing. We called Aaron again to let him know that we’d be at the school, instead.
Oh, somewhere in the middle of it all, when we were deciding how to pose, Katie showed me some of Sip Soo. Ah, and when we were getting food…
Sarah: Are you scared?
me: Yes.
Sarah: I’m scared.
me: I’m so not in shape.
Katie: You look like you are.
me: Seriously, though, I’m not, I’m worried about how I’m gonna hold out…
When we got to the school, Aaron had opened it up, and Brian, Master Frank, and the guy who was recording the test were there, also. We brought our stuff inside, and hugged and said hi and all. It was HOT. Katie went and changed, and Master Frank started teaching her the sword form he’d made up for her. I watched some of it — it was SO COOL!!!!!!
Anyway, while they were working on that, the rest of us went outside and took pictures. That was awesome. Check ‘em out; Mum says we look like wanna-be thugs — pics 16 thru 23. Some quotes:
Pic 17:
Aaron: Let’s all be attacking each other!!
me: OK!!
Sarah: No, seriously?
me: Yeah! Go for it! *presses button and runs to take position*
Sarah: Are we supposed to be smiling?
…
Pic 20:
me: Aaron!!!
Aaron: What?!?
me: I SAW THAT!?
Sarah: What?
Brian: Did he stick his tongue out?
me: Yessssss!!!!
Aaron: I swear, I did not!!
Brian: Where is it…
me/Sarah/Brian: (varied cries of) Aaron, you ruined it!!!!!!
Pics 21 & 22:
me: wait… AARON! You didn’t kick!!!
Sarah: He didn’t?
me: Ok, fine, let’s do this again… Aaron, will you kick this time!?
Aaron: maybe…
But he did it the next one, as you can see. Haha. We went in and people started arriving… and of course, I started the whole squealing and hugging thing… can’t remember what order they arrived in, but here, check out pics 24 to 47, and… some snippets of conversation in no particular order:
Mexican Tom had arrived, and he and Sarah were sparring.
Tommy: Are you ready Sarah? Are ya?
(Sarah just keeps fighting.)
Tommy: Your name… wow… in gold letters… I don’t know if you’re ready for that!!
(Sarah’s answer; the highest kicks she can manage in jeans.)
Andy walks in.
me: ANDY!!! Do I get a hug?
Andy: Nope.
me: As usual!
Aaron: What’s up?
me: Andy won’t give me a hug. As usual.
Aaron: Aw, well, don’t be sad, I’ll give you a hug.
me: Dude, since when do you have an earring??
Andy: Since… like… last September.
me: WHAT?!
Andy: Yeah. So?
Ashley: You’re gonna want to take that out.
Andy: Why?
me: Cuz it’s gonna rip.
Andy: No, it won’t.
me: Fine. It’ll rip, though.
(He eventually took it out.)
me: Does anyone know how Shaun Taylor’s doing?
Kristy: Oh, he’s tall. (She indicates his height.)
me: Really??
Kristy: Yeah… I’m pretty sure he’s only a couple inches shorter than me.
me: What happened to Master Todd?
Andy: What? Who?
me: Master Todd?
Andy: Oh, you mean Lucke? (Says something about thinking I meant Erb.) I dunno. I never see him anymore.
Ashley: He’s in college…
Andy: Well, yeah, but so is Kristy.
me: And Danielle.
Amanda: Todd Erb got tall.
me: Oh, yeah, he told me he was like 6′ 2″ when I last talked to him, but I didn’t believe him…
Amanda: No, it’s true! I saw him at a football game! He was like… *indicates nearly a foot taller than herself*
me: Dude, are you serious??
Andy: Yeah, he is.
Aaron: (Something something that I didn’t catch…) … and he’s like “He’s fine. He’s not coming back.” (Said in an aggressive, angry sort of tone.)
me: Wait, what? Who is this?
Aaron: His dad! I saw him the one day and he’s just like, “He’s fine! He’s not coming back!” I mean, he just starts shouting at me for no reason…
(Laughter all around.)
Andy: I haven’t talked to you in forever. You’re never online.
me: That’s cuz you’re blocked. Duh.
Andy: What?! Why am I blocked?!?!
me: Cuz you always block ME, that’s why!
Andy: Well, you’re not blocked now!
me: Well, that’s news to me!
(Ashley says something about Andy blocking her, too.)
me: Oh, yeah, would you believe, the night I said happy birthday to him, he blocked me.
Andy: What? That wasn’t my birthday!
me: Yes it was!!!
Andy: No… oh, no, wait, you save conversations… right… Yeah, well, when’s my birthday??
me: December twenty-si–
Andy: STALKER!
me: Duh.
Andy: When’s my birthday?
Ashley: December twen –
Andy: STALKER!!! Now unblock me.
me: Why? You always block me, anyway!
Andy: Well maybe sometimes I actually want to talk to you!
me: Psshh. Whatever.
Andy: Unblock me!
me: We’ll see.
(Something about Ashley being crazy about Andy and proposing. Kristy laughs and says she’s going to tell Andy. She goes over to tell him. Ashley is somewhere behind me squealing in protest. Kristy goes to tell Andy. Andy mimes retching and comes over.)
me: Hmm… I could see it happening.
(I run and hide behind Kristy. Andy is looking murderous.)
me: Oy! How come she gets a hug, but I don’t?
Andy: Because. What are you talking about, I’ve hugged you bef –
me: No, you haven’t!
Andy: Yes, I have!
me: Oh? When?
Andy: I dunno… sometime!
me: Kenny’s coming, right?
Amanda: Yeah, where’s Kenny? He said he was going to be here!
me: He promised!!
Amanda: Yeah, he told me every day at school that he was coming!!
me: Then where is he?? The test is going to start.
Ashley: We should call him or something…
Amanda: Yeah! But… I don’t have his phone number!
me: I have his number.
Amanda: And I have my cell! What is it?
me: ***-****
(Ken picks up.)
Amanda: Where are you!?!
me: You’re supposed to be HERE!!
(Apparently, Ken asked who it was.)
Amanda: It’s Amanda and Aisa!
Ashley: And Ashley!!
(Amanda tells him to get over to the school. I take the phone.)
me: Ken? Hello? You said you were going to be here.
Kenny: Yeah, sorry, I forgot.
me: You promised. Where are you?
Kenny: I’m frying fish. What time does the test start?
me: Well, supposedly 2:30, but we’re running late.
Kenny: Ok, I can do that. I’ll come as soon as I’m done frying fish, ok?
me: Promise?
Kenny: Yeah, I’ll be right there.
me: Ok. See you.
Kenny: See ya.
(I give the phone back into Amanda. And then… I go into a blitz and slam into Andy. :D)
Andy: Oh fine, c’mere, you want a bear hug, too?
me: NO!!!! Andy! OWWW!
Andy: There. Now how do you feel?
me: Thank you.
(Andy makes some dismissive gesture.)
(I hear something about Red Robin.)
me: Oh, right… you guys going after testing?
Andy: Yeah. You coming?
me: I dunno…
Andy: Why not?
me: Well… we have a two hour drive after testing back to my Uncle’s house… I dunno… Convince my dad.
Migi: Hail, Princess Andy!!
(Andy comes at me and kicks.)
Andy: You did it! I swear, you started it!!
me: What?? What??!
Migi: Hail, Princess Andy!!
Andy: YOU DID IT! You started it, I swear!
me: No! I swear I did not!! I didn’t do anything!!
me: Sir! Tang Soo!
Justin: Hey, how are you??
me: I’m alright, sir.
Justin: You ready?
me: Ehm… I don’t know, sir.
Justin: I’m sure you’ll do great, honey.
Sarah and I practiced our one-steps, and then she and Danielle and I ran through our staff forms. Oh, Kwan Jang Nim arrived, and I didn’t see him come in, but someone pointed him out to me, saying hi to the rest of my family, and I ran to hug him, dropping my staff somewhere along the way… It was funny; he picked me up, and then when he’d put me down again and asked how I was and all, he called to Bob, and was like, “Bob! See? This is how you’re supposed to say ‘Hi’ to me!” and we all just laughed. :D
Eventually, we all lined up and warmed up. 100 jumpingjacks, 100 crunches, the usual kicks and punches, and then 50 pushups for black belt candidates, and 35 for evaluators. (Pics 51 to 55.) Ahhh… that’s where I had to slow down a bit, yeah. Leonard had the hardest time of it, and we all cheered him on and counted with him, and when he was done, several people got up from their places to hug him or pat him on the back. What a family.
We all sat down after warmup, and Katie, Doc, and Tommy went first (was there one more person? I think that was it…), because Katie had to leave early. She had come from college, see, and since it’s her freshman year, she’s not allowed to have a car on campus, yet, so her parents had had to go get her, and she is two hours away and all, so she didn’t want them to get back home so late from dropping her off. :D Katie’s a good and thoughtful person, and I love her parents.
I can’t remember if they went through their techniques, or if they just went straight to forms. Anyway, I remember they performed Nai Han Chi Cho and Ee Dan, and Sip Soo. They also went through their black belt one-steps… I think 11 through 20 or something like that… I forget what else they had to perform. :P Must’ve had something to do with the butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t notice when Katie left, so I can’t tell you when she did… I felt a little bad that I didn’t get to say goodbye to her, but at least we’re constantly in touch over email and FB, so it’s ok, I guess.
When Katie and Doc and Tommy were done, BB candidates were called up. We went through hand and foot combinations… to list some:
Ha Dan Magki, Tuel Oh Choong Dan Kong Kyuck, Sang Dan Magki
Ahneso Pakero Magki, Tuel Oh Ahneso Pakero Magki, Sang Soo Ahneso Pakero Magki
Wheng Jing Kong Kyuck, Hu Gul Ahneso Pakero Magki, Sang Soo Ha Dan Magki
Choong Dan Soo Do Magki, Tuel Oh Choong Dan Kong Kyuck
Sang Soo Ahneso Pakero Magki, Tuel Oh Choong Dan Kong Kyuck
Ha Dan Soo Do Magki, Tuel Oh Choong Dan Soo Do Kong Kyuck
Ha Dan Soo Do Magki, Tuel Oh Kwan Soo Kong Kyuck, Choong Dan Soo Do Kong Kyuck
Danielle’s asthma was really bothering her somewhere in the middle of hand combinations, so she needed a breather, bless her. We had another quick breather before forms, and then we went through all Kee Cho, Pyung Ahn, and Bassai forms, and then Nai Han Chi Cho Dan. (Pics 56 to 58.) We were not asked to do Chil Sung or Sae Kee forms. (Pity, really. Sarah and I were both looking forward to doing our Chil Sung forms.) Then we got out our staffs, and we did the first two staff forms.
Several times, we were reprimanded for lack of spirit, and were given 50 jumpingjacks for not paying attention sometime in the middle of our up and down the floor combinations. Bah, I was making it through alright, but that took my breath away.
We sat down, and Danielle had to have her other inhaler… We were all eternally grateful for water. First evaluators were called up.
Andy: I thought they said first evaluators?
me: Yeah, they did.
Andy: Then what’s Justin doing up there?
me: It’s his first evaluation as a 2nd Dan.
Andy: Ohhh… I thought they meant, like, first, first evaluations.
me: No, they mean a first evaluation after any test, second evaluation after any test, so on.
Andy: Ah, ok. How do you feel?
me: Tired.
Sarah: I sucked.
me: You did not!
Sarah: Yeah, I did. Look. *looks down at her hands* My hands are shaking.
Andy: Sarah. Look. *looks down at his own hand, which is also shaking* It’s normal. You’re fine.
(I looked down at my hand. It wasn’t shaking. I’m the abnormal one. I didn’t feel like pointing that out.)
Sarah: My forms sucked. I was going too fast.
me: We all do that, girl. I know I was.
Andy: It’s just your nerves. We all look better in class.
Sarah: Yeah, but my forms sucked.
me: Mine, too. My legs were shaking.
Andy: What are you talking about; you’re one of the best ones out there.
Sarah: Oh, thanks.
Andy: Well, I meant you, too. You alright?
me: Yeah. Just tired, that’s all. Oh, I love this form! (They were doing Nai Han Chi Ee Dan.) Andy, do you know that… oh, wait, yeah, you do… (I’d just remembered watching him and Kelly perform that back in March.)
Andy: Yeah, of course I do. I won with that form. At the tournament you didn’t come to.
me: Oh, what, and you think I don’t regret that?? I’m sorry.
*shrug* I guess I was feeling a bit hurt. It’s not like I didn’t want to go or something, honestly…
(Justin was up alone, doing a form.)
me: He’s like Master Rommel, geez.
Andy: Who’s Rommel?
me: You don’t remember Rommel? Master Rommel?? Dude! He was like… How could you forget Rommel??
Andy: Who’s Rommel?!
me: Master Rommel was, like, the only one who could take on Master Todd! I mean, until Justin came… and besides Sa Bom Nim, of course.
Andy: What are you talking about? I can take Todd!
me: Pssh.
Andy: What? I’ve scored on him… once.
me: Yeah. Once. *grin*
Anyway, I’d finished my first bottle of water (it was actually Paco’s, I think), so I went into the dressing room to get another one. Must’ve finished three bottles of water during that whole test.
BB candidates were called up and we partnered up for one-steps; I went with Sarah, and we went through all of them without any major memory loss. :D I think we were the second pair to finish… Anyway, Sarah’s hands were shaking again, so I told her to look in the mirror and see who was standing in the lobby, and maybe that would calm her down. It was Ken. And then I kept her calm by asking her who he was talking to, which, even though I was facing him, I couldn’t see because I didn’t have my glasses on. I figured it was Tommy and Brian and Jonathan, and Sarah confirmed that…
I can’t remember if the evaluators were called up to do one-steps, or if we went straight to our water break. I can’t remember when second evaluators were called up… they would have to have been, I’m sure… bleh. Anyway, water break, I went straight to the lobby to talk to Kenny and Lyndon. (Link to the next album — http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8043&l=bf0dc&id=502520962. See pics 2 to 6.)
me: Yayyy you’re here!!
Kenny: Yeah, because you called me.
me: How could you forget??
Kenny: I was frying fish! Here, smell my hand. *holds out fist* (It really did smell like fish, btw. LOL.)
Amanda: Yeah, but you told me every day at school that you were coming!
LOL. Something something something, blah blah blah, I forget. :D I’m sure we talked about a lot in those few minutes, trying to cram everything we’d wanted to say in a long time and all… Eventually, we were all called back…
me: Ok, talk to ya later.
Kenny: Here, wait, gimme a hug.
me: Thanks for coming.
Kenny: Yeah, you bet. You could say I came just to watch you.
BB candidates were called up for sparring, so I went and got my braces and my mouthguard. Leonard and Mike went first, sparring Aaron and… oh, I think the other one was Andy, if I’m not mistaken… Gah, I’ll have to check the DVD when I get it. Anyway… It was just one-on-one at first. Danielle and Sarah and I went next, and I was partnered up with Kelly. In all honesty, I was much relieved. Kelly spars hard, but she controls it well, and I knew she’d be hitting me hard, but not like if I was sparring, say, Cara. (I think Sarah got Cara, but Sarah can handle her; she’s used to her.) Ahah, I’ll be perfectly honest — Sa Bom Nim and Master Frank forgot that they’d promised me that I’d spar Andy, and I didn’t bother reminding them. *cough* Now that it’s all over, I think it would have been ok to spar Andy when it was one-on-one, but not once we got to two-on-one… oh well, there’s always next time. (I promise myself, I will ask to spar him at my first evaluation, since that won’t be nearly as bad as BB testing.)
When I was sparring Kelly, I suddenly remembered what I’d heard Master Todd saying to Todd Erb… years ago, when he was telling Todd about sparring during BB testing, and how “… I know it’ll feel like 3 years have gone by, but you’ve just got to keep going…” and I finally understood. When Sa Bom Nim calls out the last 30 seconds, they feel like forever. Kelly got my right eye, so that watered up a bit, and Kwan Jang Nim had a talk with me… and then I had to keep going, and I got Kelly’s mouth (I cut my right pointer finger on her teeth)… When Sa Bom Nim called stop, I actually did not hear him. All I knew was that everyone had stopped moving, and we bowed, and then Kelly hugged me tight. I cannot express my relief in that moment. Now that I think about it, knowing that I would get Kelly’s hug at the end made it easier. I mean, I knew she would, because we’re like that, and somehow, that in itself was fuel… Oh, I heard Mum yell “There’s no spoon, Ais!!” somewhere in the middle of it… oh, no, wait… was that when it was two-on-one? Well, she did at some point, anyway. That made me smile inside.
When we girls were done sparring, we sat down. The guys were called up for two-on-one sparring. Kelly came and put her arm around me and talked to me about what I had to do when I was called up, about keeping the easier person between myself and the harder person. Yeni brought me water, and boy was I glad to get it.
Two-on-one, and I was up against Kelly and J. Whew! You won’t believe how insanely thankful I was that I got J! I mean, that kid spars hard, but I knew at least that I wouldn’t have a hard time deciding which one to keep away from!!! I think I did ok keeping J between me and Kelly. Kwan Jang Nim was still on my case about keeping my eyes on my opponents (that’s what the talk from earlier was about), but that was made slightly easier by keeping my eyes down on J, and just watching where Kelly’s feet were taking her. In terms of endurance, that match was considerably easier because it was mostly getting away. In terms of actually fighting back, by the time it was all over, I felt like I couldn’t lift my legs. I remember wanting so bad to kick and just feeling like I couldn’t. That was probably one of the weirdest feelings I’ve ever had, come to think of it.
I know I’ve been hearing for years and years the line “Line ‘em up!!!” and I’ve yelled it countless times, myself, at BB tests — I’ve only ever missed one BB test since September of ’01 — but that moment made it Real. I suppose when you read this, you’ll figure this is to be expected, but you don’t know the weight of it unless you’ve been through it yourself — in that moment, I had a new view, a new respect for every single one of those people that had a name on their belt. It was so profoundly different from anything I’d ever felt for any of them before. I know I’ve been inclined to be intimidated by the black belts I’ve known. I know that I’ve never felt any disrespect for any black belt that I’ve ever talked to, or had the honor of shaking hands with. I’ve honestly always been in awe of them, especially since I started watching their tests. But this was new. I have known the name of every single black belt that has passed through that school since ’01. This was what they had all gone through. This was what Dad and Paco and Migi had gone through. And it made me want to be like them. I guess for me, I’d reached that sort of point where you either make up your mind to go one way or another. Either you choose to quit or you want to keep going. I guess that was when I really decided to keep going.
I sat back down, next to Leonard, and Dawn was there, and congratulated us both. I was not feeling very proud of myself, actually. I was so so so thankful that it was all over, but that it really was all over had not quite registered yet, I think. I pulled my knees up and put my elbows on my knees and put my head into the darkness and just closed my eyes and breathed. I still had my mouthguard in. Then I feel a sharp tap on my shoulder, and I look up, and it’s Andy, sitting right in front of me. He holds his arms out. Funny — I really felt like I just wanted to be alone. But when I pulled out my mouthguard and said I was fine, he just looked at me and made this sort of gesture, like.. like emphasizing… oh, you know, he sort of… hmm, half ‘re-threw’ his arms out? Haha, how else does one say it.. Guess he could see that I needed it. I brought my knees down and sorta just fell forward onto his shoulder. I hadn’t realized before then that I was shaking, until he whispered “Don’t cry,” and then I really knew how close I was to crying. I didn’t cry, though, I just hung on… like I was hanging on for dear life or something, honestly. I remember saying stuff… No idea what that was, though. Something along the lines of being scared and not being able to breathe because of the mouthguard or something. What I do remember clearly is Andy saying stuff like, “Aisa, it’s over. You’re done. You did it. You made it. It’s ok,” and just patting and rubbing my back and stuff. I don’t know how long I stayed there. Either my eyes were closed, or they were open, but I wasn’t really seeing anything. (You know how you stare at something, but it doesn’t really register that it’s there?) The evaluators were almost done sparring by the time I felt safe to look up again and smile.
Andy: You ok?
me: Yeah. Thanks.
He stood up and patted me firmly on the head, and then we got called to line up for breaking a few minutes later. Lineup was Sarah, Danielle, me, Leonard, and Mike. How many times have I watched it done? A jump front kick to a board, a dive roll, and a hammer fist to a cinder block. Sarah broke her board on the second try, and her cinder on the first. Danielle made both on the first. Hah, my turn. Board on the first try… but I didn’t break the block. Bleh. I tried again. And then all of a sudden, they go, “Oh, no, wait, Aisa, that’s a concrete block. Here,” and they switch to a cinder block!!! Well, by that time, figures I was already starting to feel down… So I tried twice with my other hand. Nope. I try one more time with my right hand, and then Sa Bom Nim asks if I want a break, and I say yeah.
I walk away from everyone in the direction of the lobby. I guess I was aiming to stand by the wall where no one was, but I passed the mirror on my way, and Aaron and Andy were waiting for me, and I walked straight into their arms. You know what, I wasn’t sad. I was angry. I was frustrated. Not at anyone but myself. How that decided to come out in a long and looks-like-she’s-close-to-tears face, I don’t want to know. All I know is, they figured I was about to start crying. Yeah, alright, my eyes were watering up, but I was more frustrated with myself than anything else. Dad came over, and Aaron and Andy let go of me, and Daddy hugged me and told me to go from my dive roll. Again, I know I said stuff, but I have no idea what I was saying. I do think I was speaking in tagalog, though, because Dad was the only one talking, and everyone else standing around me were keeping quiet and just patting me on the shoulder. Dad told me that my power had to come from the dive roll, that I had to use the momentum to drive straight to the ground. He asked me if I wanted to do an axe kick and I told him, no, that I absolutely had to do it with my hand, that there was no way I was going to do it with my foot. (I do remember saying that part.) After a bit, Daddy went back to the judges table, and Andy took over until it was my turn again. He told me I’d broken it, that if it had been a cinder block, it would’ve broken easy, that it wasn’t my fault it was concrete block, and that by all rights, I had broken it. Again and again, he told me I’d done it. I actually didn’t see Mike or Leonard break (can’t wait to see it on DVD); I had my eyes on the floor until Andy gave me a squeeze and said, “Look! Leonard’s trying to break the concrete block!” I looked up and watched Leonard’s hand slam down on it. “See? Leonard can’t break it either! And you hit that first!” Not that it was funny or anything, because I honestly felt sorry for Leonard — I knew how hard it was — but I gave a weak sort of laugh, and Andy grinned. Eventually, Leonard broke it. I was up.
I went from the dive roll. Nothin’. I absolutely refused to do it with my foot. So Sa Bom Nim went to the back to get a holder so I could do it with my elbow. And then Kwan Jang Nim comes and says, “You want me to break this for you?” and I replied, “That would help, sir.” and laughed. But he actually did! And then Sa Bom Nim comes out and asks what happened, and Kwan Jang Nim tells him I did it, and we’re all laughing and I’m saying Kwan Jang Nim did it. Finally, Sa Bom Nim gets two boards and lays them without spacers on the holder. I went through them like butter. Oh, not to brag or anything, but what I mean is, I can go through boards like butter; it gives me a heck of a lot of respect for people who can go through multiple cinder blocks ‘like butter,’ which is a term we use often at Tang Soo; people like Master Todd (4 cinder blocks), Kristy (2), Katie (2), Amy (2), etc., go through everything ‘like butter’ and they just freak me out, honestly… And of course, every person who tested for black belt before Steve came along. See, before Steve came, everyone was required to break a cinder block, regardless of age, but when Steve came, that rule changed, and Juniors and Tigers only had to break double boards without spacers. Which I’ve always had problems with, because that meant people like Todd Erb and Christopher Dolinski made it through BB testing without having a go at a cinder block, which I know and everyone knows they could’ve handled easy, but just because they were still in the Juniors’ class… bleh. I can understand the rule for the Tigers, but half the Juniors, or at least, the guys, are perfectly capable of breaking cinder blocks. Not to put down the girls, I mean, but I’ll make more of an exception for them up until they’re maybe 14… Ok, sorry, no more side-tracking, haha…
So, yeah, I broke my double boards easy. *shrug*
We lined up again. I could not believe that it was all over. Kwan Jang Nim called Kenny over to sit at the judges table for the end; I don’t know if maybe he had not seen him standing in the lobby before then. Some of the judges stood up and spoke to us, and then we received our certificates. (Did I mention that our belts did not arrive in time??? Andy had said earlier that his belt hadn’t arrived in time, either.) When I went up, I shook hands with half the judges, and hugged the other half (dunno how it happened that I only hugged half?) and ran ’round and high-fived Sarah. What we have been through together… my gosh. Sarah and I have known each other since we were orange belts. The first time we talked was May 21st, 2005, when we competed against each other at the CSE tourney. She was in Black Belt Club by that time; I didn’t join until I was a green belt, but we’d hang out while waiting for her’s and Dad’s class to start. I remember us talking about getting our black belts. Wow. We had done it. You can’t imagine how I felt when we reached out to high-five each other. No long flowery sentences of congratulations, not even a hug (at that time), just a high-five. But MAN! I just.. I don’t know how to explain what it was like.
So. We Were Black Belts!!!! IOW, we’re white belts all over again. :D Hah! But my post is not finished! I must tell you what happened after; nearly 75% of the pictures are of before and after testing, after all!
I was a black belt. So you know what the first thing I did was, that I’ve never done before? I’d always run up to Sa Bom Nim as soon as we were dismissed, and asked him to yell for a picture. This time, I did it myself. “PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!” BWAHAHAHA That was SO much fun to yell!!!! I loved it.
So we had a group picture, pics 7 and 8. Pics 9 and 10 are of us four black belts — Dad, Paco, Migi, and myself — with Sa Bom Nim and Kwan Jang Nim, our totally awesome instructors. I remember the day Kwan Jang Nim asked me when I was going to start karate, and I told him, most impertinently, that “I am a gymnast.” Haha!
I’d walked over to Mum and Yeni and hugged them and all. As I was walking away, Andy comes over and gives me a hug. While he’s still hugging me from the front, Kristy comes and hugs me from behind. I laughed so hard; they had me squashed between them, and the three of us pulled each other along a few steps…
Pics 11 thru 13: I was trying to find people for a picture. Andy comes up behind me and Danielle and puts his arms around both of us.
Kwan Jang Nim: Aren’t you feeling lucky?!
Andy: Yessir!
(We all laughed. We did a lot of laughing that day. I feel it necessary to record it all.)
Pic 14 is of Kwan Jang Nim and I.
Pic 15: Yena came and hugged Kwan Jang Nim. :D
Kwan Jang Nim: Oh, look! Hi, honey… Remember how she never used to come near me?
Pic 16, left to right — Migi, Kenny, Andy, Ashley, me, Sarah, Paco, and Amanda. I absolutely love that picture.
Pics 17 thru 26 is while I’m desperately attempting to get everyone together for a group photo because Mum is waiting. Hahaha. Pic 22, Andy’s starting to sneak up on me, pic 23, he picked me up as you can see. And scared the heck out of me in the process, and pic 24, I can’t speak for laughing so hard. If I wasn’t laughing so hard, I would’ve kicked him…
Pics 27 thru 32 are where I’ve finally gotten everyone to pay attention to Mum standing with the camera. It was hilarious when Aaron came and lay down, what a laugh. And then he picked up Migi and that was even more hilarious.
Pics 33 to 38, Lyndon came over and said he had to go, so we had a quick picture with Paco and J, and then you see me commenting on how tall Des got…
Pics 39 to 50 are of Migi and Paco (and Yena?) vs. Mexican Tom and Brian. HAHAHAHA. I found Brian outside, afterwards, sitting on the bench and not doing anything.
me: Hey, is something wrong?
Brian: It’s too loud in there.
me: Awh.
Brian: Your brothers wore me out!!
Pic 51. Take note that there are two embraces taking place. One is a loving sisterly “WE MADE IT!!!!” embrace… and the other is a trying-to-destroy-each-other hug. Rotflwtime. I believe Andy asked Migi for a hug, and Migi got close enough for one, but punched him in the stomach instead, and Andy must’ve caught him or something…
Pic 52.
me: You know, he looks so much like Tommy.
Sarah: What? Who?
me: Him… he looks like Tommy Renjilian.
(I talked to someone else for a bit. I guess Jonathan came over, then. So when Sarah spoke to me again, I was only half-paying attention…)
Sarah: Aisa, this is my brother.
me: Hi… Nuh uh!!! Your bro’s 35!!
Jonathan: What, I’m Sarah’s bro…
(I just laughed.)
Pic 53.
Andy: Aisa, your mom is taking random pictures…
me: Oh, yay!
And then you see that pic 54 is a random pic by Mommy. Hahahaha.
Pic 55. Red Robin again.
Andy: So are you coming?
me: I told you. Convince my Dad.
The rest of that album — more random pics by Mommy. She told me later that she was just taking random pics and hoping that some would turn out well. Hey, I do that, too. :D
Here’s the next and final album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8045&l=0564a&id=502520962
Pic 1 is of Brian, followed by Migi, followed by Des.
Pic 2 is of Kelly and Paco.
Pic 3 and 4 are of my certificate. :D I still have to frame it.
5 and 6 are more random pics.
While I was inside, I asked Daddy if we could go to Red Robin. Andy asked again if I was coming. I said yeah. But then I asked Daddy again while Andy was listening, and he said “Maybe,” and Andy starts going, “You lied to me!!!” and runs after me… with his bag and everything… lol. I ran outside to ask Mum if it was ok with her. She talked to Dad and they said sure. I went back inside and found Andy on the phone.
Andy: Aisa!
me: Huh?
Andy: You coming??
me: Yeah, I think so.
Andy: Ok, ’cause you’re Kenny’s date.
me: WHAT?!
Andy: (Into the phone –) Yeah, I told her. Listen, why don’t you tell her yourself?? *hands me the phone*
me: Kenny, what on earth is going on?
Kenny: Are you coming to Red Robin?
me: I dunno. Maybe?
Kenny: Well you better be — I’m going! And listen, you’re my date, ok?
me: OY! NO WAY!
(But he’d hung up on me.)
Andy: (As I was giving him back the phone –) What did he say?
me: He hung up on me!
Pic 7: So I walked outside, right, and there they were…
me: Oh snap! Don’t move! I gotta take a picture of this…
Andy: Wait, wait. *puts on sunglasses* Ok.
Migi and Paco started up the Hail Princess Andy thingy again, and Andy pointed to me and goes, “Oy! There’s my prince!” and everyone laughed — everyone being Jonathan, Tommy, Kristy, Aaron, and Gabi — and I just enjoyed myself, “What?! Oh. Well, yeah, I could do that.” Bwee hee I had the camera on one arm, and Tom was provoking me, so I was attempting to kick and hold on to the camera at the same time, and I chased him some way and yelled, “IF I WEREN’T CARRYING THIS CAMERA, I WOULD SO BEAT YOU UP!!!!!!” *cough* Not that I actually could, however, because Jonathan would side with him, and then I’d be dead… Oh! We had to jump-start the van!! with Kristy’s car. Once it was running, we went to Red Robin. I walked in and said I was with people, and they said I could walk around. So I walked around the whole place, but didn’t see Kenny anywhere. When I got back to the front, the hostess asked if I’d found who I was looking for, and I said no. So Mum and Dad asked for a table for 6, and I said I needed to reserve a party for 20. Then the hostess was like, “Oh! Right, the party of 20…” and I was like, “Oh, yeah, did Kenny already reserve, then?” and she said someone did, but they didn’t leave a name, so we got the description down to a young man in a black shirt, and then I asked if he’d left, and she said that Kenny might have gone somewhere, so I went outside to wait, and my family went and sat down inside.
I sat there for three minutes. Then who should drive up, but Kenny! with Andy in the front seat, I recognized the blue shirt before I recognized the face. It was hilarious — guess what was playing? That horn intro fanfare whatever thingy. I stood up and walked toward them and go, “Dude, I’ve been here 9 minutes!” and Kenny goes, “Yeah, but I got here before you! And then I had to go back for Andy!” :D
The rest of the pics are at Red Robin. Pic 8 is of Aaron, Kristy, Gabi, Brian, and Andy. Pic 9 is of Jonathan on the other bench, all alone… why was he over there…
Kenny and I were standing were standing next to the desk.
me: Oy.
Kenny: Wha?
me: I’m not your freakin’ date.
Kenny: Hahaha, ok, it was a joke.
me: Yeah, it better have been.
Kenny: Look, here in PA, we have TVs in the floor. Watch, watch, imagine if I fell through. *jumps on the screen*
Pic 10:
Andy: Shoot, I don’t have any change. Does anyone have quarters?
(Everyone goes something along the lines of “No, sorry.”)
Kristy: There’s a change machine right there…
(Laughter.)
Andy gets change and starts playing… oh, whatever, the claw thingy. Kenny’s helping him. )
me: I’ve never won at this game.
Kenny: Wha? I have.
Andy: When?
Kenny: On the cruise.
me: Yeah, I bet the motion of the waves had something to do with that.
(Kenny actually laughed. *shrug* haha.)
Andy: (After three quarters –) That’s it, I’m not wasting any more money on that.
When Mr. Parry arrived with the rest of the gang, we all went and sat down. Our table (or, rather, our four tables that had been pushed together) was near where my family was sitting, so that they were directly across from the last table in our set. Kenny called for me to sit by him, anyway. *shrug* Ok. And then he goes, “Oh, look! It’s your family! Hi, Aisa’s family!!!” Bwaha. So we all got around to ordering… and then talking, of course… As we were ordering, Kenny caught a glimpse of our waitress’ name tag.
Kenny: Wait, what? Her name is America.
me: What??
Tom: No, it’s not…
Kenny: Yeah, it is, look…
Tom: You idiot! It’s AMANDA, not america!!!
Kenny: Oh, well… it looked like America from where I was…
BAHAHAHA. So Kenny ordered Dr. Pepper with some terminology that was unfamiliar to me, and apparently to the waitress as well, because she had ot ask him what he meant. Turns out he wanted a Dr. Pepper without ice. Good thing Amanda was a very friendly waitress, because later, when she was asking if any of us needed more drinks, Kenny asked for an ice water.
Amanda: Without ice?
Kenny: No, with ice, this time.
Amanda: Ah, ok. I was going to say… Lemon?
Kenny: No, thank you.
Amanda: Ok, an ice water with no lemon.
Kenny: Thank you. You’re amazing.
As she walked away, he muttered, “Now what’s your phone number…”
Oh! Hahahahaha. When we were deciding on drinks, everyone was joking about ordering alcohol. What a laugh. Kenny was saying he had a fake ID, and did we think he could pass for 21? It didn’t look anything like him. It was absolutely hilarious. Oh, and when Amanda did come, she started at the far end of the table, and Tom was sitting across from me, and he yelled out his drink, and Sarah smacked him and was like, “SHUSH!!! You’re supposed to wait your turn!!!” When she finally did come, he ordered a Margarita with a straight face, and she just looked at him and grinned, and was like, “Sorry, no can do.” and so Tom ended up ordering a sprite.
Jonthan: Tiny Tim. Tiny Tommy.
Tom: No! GRANDE!!
Sarah: Andy, he’s saying “Grande!!” again.
Andy: Mexican Tom.
Tom: I am not Mexican Tom!! GRANDE!!!
Pic 11:
Sarah: We didn’t get to do Chil Sung forms!
me: Yeah, I know! Why didn’t they make us do them??
Andy: ‘Cause they don’t have to make you do EVERYTHING.
me: But I LIKE Chil Sung forms!
Sarah: Yeah, me, too! That’s not fair!
(I think Andy gave up.)
Pics 12 thru 18 are of Kenny. He’s like Gabe. Honestly.
Kenny: Can I see your camera? (prononced caMEra)
me: Why?
(Something about taking pictures of himself.)
me: Um… fine. Go ahead.
Pic 19 is of our waitress, Amanda. Kenny took it and he made me promise to send it to him. *shrug* I tagged him in it on FB. LOL, don’t ask why…
Pics 20 and 21 is of Sarah and Mexican Tom.
Oh, haha; Tom said something to me, and it was sort of with this either very respectful or very condescending tone. Turns out it was respectful. Bother! I can’t remember what it was… but, anyway…
Tommy: I am trying to have more respect for you, now.
me: Uhm… ok. Cool. Now, is that because I’m now a black belt, or is it because I’m a girl?
Tommy: Both.
me: Ah, ok. Good. Thank you.
Kenny: Wait, what?
me: I was asking why Tom is attempting to treat me with more respect.
Kenny: Ohh, ok… I thought I heard you say, “Is she a girl?” and I was like…
me: Uh… huh. Right… *cough*
Pic 22 is of Tommy and Jonathan.
I cannot remember how we came to be talking about it, but somehow, it came out that Danielle and Jonathan and I are Catholic, and Tommy isn’t, he’s Protestant Christian, and he was arguing…
me: Yes, I’m Christian. I’m Catholic.
Danielle: Roman Catholic?
me: Yes.
Tom: That’s not Christian.
me: Yes it is…
Jonathan: Yes it is.
Tom: No, it’s not.
Jonathan: Yes, it is! Now stop talking about things you don’t understand!
Oh, no, we weren’t fighting. We were having a good-natured argument. I mean, when Jonathan said that, we laughed, if you need an example of how easy we were meaning it to be.
Kenny: This is the black belt table.
Brian: I’m not a black belt.
Sarah: Neither is Tommy… or Jonathan… or Gabi…
Kenny: Oh… so there’s only like three black belts… (In reality, there were seven.)
Andy: Red belts suck.
me: OY!!!!
Andy: What? You’re a black belt.
me: Yeah, but I didn’t get it, yet, so…
Andy: Well, you earned it.
(Inside, it wasn’t really that I hadn’t gotten the belt, yet — I followed Andy’s argument — but it was more like, being a red belt was fun. I was trying to stick up for Brian and Tommy and Jonathan. Heh, I failed to get my point across.)
I asked people here and there to sign my autograph book. Kenny decided he wanted to write something besides his last name, which was all he’d written the first time around, so I let him have it, and he wrote down EVERYTHING. Seriously — his cell, his home phone, his address, his birthday, both screen names, his other nicknames, and his social security number. What the heck. And then he…
me: You still have my Mom’s number??
Kenny: Wha, yeah… it’s right… oh, no, wait. I don’t have it anymore, ’cause it changed.
me: Oh, right.
Kenny: What’s your number?
me: Hmm? I don’t have a cell.
Kenny: Oh. Well, what’s your home phone?
me: ***-***-****
Kenny: Ok.
me: Wait… what?? Oy! You misspelled my name! Spell my name right!
Kenny: A-I-S-A. There. I spelled your name right.
(Andy laughs.)
Kenny: What, she told me to spell her name right…
me: I meant on your phone!!!
Eventually, I took it and put in my name. Properly. Haha. The trouble I had… couldn’t figure out where the freakin’ backspace was. :D
Ah, Kenny asked Mr. Parry if he’d been to Japan, and so we listened to them as they talked about Judo and other styles in Japan, and the things Mr. Parry had seen there. He laughed and said that he thought our school was good… until he went to Japan. Seriously, the descriptions he gave were awe-inspiring.
Danielle and I talked about cooking, because her brother has extremely severe food allergies. He’s allergic to peanuts, to the point where if he simply smells them, he could die. So she was saying how everyone in her family learned to cook, and she was telling me about stuff that she’s cooked, so I said…
me: Ok, then we are so taking over the kitchen when you guys come over.
Danielle: Hey, sure!
me: Sarah! You wanna take over the kitchen sometime when you guys come and visit?
Sarah: Hey, yeah, I can cook!
me: AWESOME!!!
Kenny: What’s going on?
me: Ohey! You should come, too, since Andy won’t!
Andy: Wait, wha??
me: Hmm? Oh, nothing.
Andy: No. I saw a finger pointed at me. I heard my name. What did you say.
me: Nothing, I just told Kenny he should come over next summer, since you won’t.
Earlier, before testing, I’d randomly asked Andy to come, and he said he had work all summer and that he was going somewhere for a month, something something, blah blah…
Pics 23 to 28 are group pics that I asked Mum to take of us… On my side of the table sat Danielle, me, Ken, Brian, Gabi, Kristy, and Aaron. On the other side sat Mrs. and Mr. Parry, Andy, Sarah, Tom, and Jonathan.
Kenny: Aisa, Aisa, we have to smile. Smile!
me: Wha?? (I was chewing. I ended up sticking my tongue out. :P)
And then the last two pictures are of everyone digging into Aaron’s bday cake.
Kenny: Excuse me, Amanda?
Amanda: Yeah?
Kenny: You see the scientist in the black shirt over there? It’s his birthday. Could you bring out the crew and do the whole thing?
I’ll never know if she actually believed him, because she asked if he was pulling her leg, and Ken said he wasn’t. Well, they ended up bringing doing the whole thing… but I honestly don’t know if she really believed him.
Tom: You know, with all the “birthday”s Aaron’s had, he should be about 50.
Kenny was re-telling the story of Aaron’s “birthday” at Texas Roadhouse back in June.
Kenny: And you know what, it was actually my birthday then.
me: What?
Sarah: What?
Kenny: Yeah, it was June 25…
me: And your birthday is June 26. Why didn’t you say it was your birthday??
Kenny: I did! But they thought I was pointing to Aaron…
me: HAHAHA. Well, that sucks.
Kenny: No, actually, I thought it was hilarious!!
Eventually, Paco came in to get me, so I said I was leaving, and Kenny gave me a hug, and then Danielle, and then I got out of the booth. I turned and half hugged Jonathan, but Andy came up and gave me another bear hug that hurt but made me laugh, and when he’d put me down again, I turned to Jonathan… I suppose to complete the hug that I felt was only half-given, but as I hugged him, he said, “Oh, cool, I get two,” but I only half heard him because I went to hug Tom, and then Sarah, and Mr. Parry, and Mrs. Parry, and Brian, and Gabi, and Kristy, and Aaron, and then one last hug from Andy, and I said goodbye to everyone and… I walked out of Red Robin, with Paco trying to put his elbow on my shoulder. :D
Goodbye to Dickson City.
Until Next Time.
BWAHAHAHAHA
I just got a message from Sean. I’m laughing my head off.
“Hey Aisa !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just thought you would get a kick out of this i know i did. So let me tell you my story im in the gym this morning working out on the punching bag unaware that i have gather quite the audience I finaly finish 100 kicks each leg. Then the I hear the wrestling coach say “see guys now thats a real work out” and one of the guys on team says ” its ok but it looks a little too easy for me” Then coach tells him to give it a try. So then this young gentalmen( Cough jerk) gets ready to kick but I stop and say wait you cant do round kicks with out determination and diligence. Then he say i already have them and then i said no you dont. determination and diligence are the nick names of my 20lb ankel weights you cant do round kicks with out them. So then he puts them on and say now am i ready and reply no not yet you need honesty to. So i took of my hodie to unsrap my 40lb vest . then he puts this on and ask no am i ready and i reply yes. He does one round kick and falls over. His team and his coach starts to laugh at him granted he deserved it but i felt bad and stuck for him ask the rest of the team if they could any better no one answered . Then i help the man up and said not so easy and he replys yeah . Then ask me if i would help him train . Who knew making people fall on their butts would make me a new friend. Well I sall talk to you later Aisa i got to run to my first class.”
Obviously, he was in a hurry. The message was sent at 7:45 AM. That tells me a lot more than you would suppose… Sean is in college, and it means a great deal to know that he would take a minute to drop me a long message like this to make me smile. :D I find it hilarious, and I’m also happy that Sean made a new friend. And overall, I am extremely happy that he is my friend. *joy*
