butterfly knives, lockpicks, and coming home

I'm chatting with my bro right now...and we've talked about said things.

I can't wait until he comes home in December----still praying that he'll be able to....but it would be awesome if he did :)

I just found out that I owe my school $336 because they last minutedly raised the tuition, even though I had already paid last week. :/ Sucks though because I found out about it late so the due date to pay that extra fee was due yesterday.......blargh!

I have two meetings and an optional one...one will include either coffee OR a smoothie with the buy one get one free deal that Hamba Huga started up again :)

OKAY, I need to go to sleep!

french vanilla pudding

tasted rather like semi-cold vanilla bean ice cream.

i forgot I got that pudding from fresh & easy the other day...until my dad reminded of it. It was pretty yummy...

anywho...

I had to pay the bills that mom would usually pay, but since she's in the P.I, she gave me the duty. :O.

I didn't do much today, but i DID give a thought to doing my laundry. notice, I didn't say that Iactually did it........ :). Alas, tomorrow I shall!

Oneth Hundreth?

Dag yo. This is my hundreth bloggin schmoggin. That's one hundred posts of nonsense that I type. With one hundred posts, I can buy TWO HUNDRED apple pies from Mcdonalds....

Today was the last Gathering at mi casa and it was pretty awesome in a blessed kind of manner :). It was pretty difficult rounding everyone to leave my house right quick for Margarette's bowlthday...and hopefully some people didn't get upset TOO much...but as we bowled the night away at the Trevi, I realized how awesomely fun the sport was! (sport? yes.) Too bad my arm dwindled as the games progressed...but I'm happy that I got a decent score. It was also cool to bowl in the same lanes with people who I've seen around but never really talked to and tonight I got to hang out with them :D. That was like 4 hours of bowling! Yummy!

In approximately 5 1/2 hours I have an ortho appointment...and then practice for Revo. What color shall I pick this time? Eh. It doesn't really matter...as long as it's not light colors.

Anywhat....I'm going to be missing summer when I go back to school...lots of fun hilarious moments and great times...I'm blessed to have the friends that I have.

Anywhy.

I should probably get some sleep since I slept at 3ish last night... :/.

"God doesn't love us for what we do, but He loves us because of who He is." -quoted from E.J's message.


also, enjoy:

stupid ants

...they're all up in my bidness.

shoot. it took me nearly three hours of searching and comparing for cheap textbooks for my classes...I think I have finally found some good ones. I'm so dumb because I sold a book back last semester that I actually need for this upcoming one...luckily I found a cheaper price on it.

and thus, my day began in a manner like so:

-slept at 2am. woke up at 6am.
-drove my Dad to Kaiser Rside for an appointment, drive was not that long.
-sat in the awkward waiting room from 720ish-1145ish. we were back on the road at noon.
-ate at the denny's in wildomar by the freeway [it's pretty cool]
-slept a tremendously amount of z's
-woke up and went to guitar lesson [learned a lot!]
-taco belled it.
-finally gave a key back to its owner.
-practiced for revo
- a cup of water at buffalo wild wings

wow. Last night I was at the other denny's with the dees of cees. awesome time like always!
buuuuut.......
I lost my flends folever book. :(

Now I'm the Choliest of Melons. Also, new word:

vying.

Flends Folever!

written & illustrated by: niki.

I created a book out of 1 piece of white paper at Denny's tonight with the title mentioned above.
It's thought-provoking, genuine, emotional, captivating, suspenseful, climactic, and life changing. All crammed together into five pages of heart-string-tugging roller coasters of emotions about two best flends and their adventures.
----------------------------------------
Hello, my name is nikigator and I have a rotundous facial structure. I've been called a ninja turtle by Celnester and confirmed by Kuya. :( Some foods go to the thighs, others in gluteous maximus, whereas for myself, it goes to my cheeks, as if I'm storing up acorns for the winter. ALAS NAY! That will change for the gooder for mineself. Good thing I'll be jogging for sure during the semester...
----------------------------------------
Maybe I shouldn't have had a cup of ccino at Denny's...I have to drive in a couple hours and I'm woefully awake still! So. I used my laser a lot today. Oh yeah, my classes are as followed:
----------------------------------------
[] Beginning Jogging (yes I know what you're thinking: "What? Beginning? For why?" *shrug*)
[] Mass Communication in Modern Society (whuuut? that's not even part of my major! Though it is a GE..)
[] Visual Communications (like said statement above, this is also GE, but not for my major)
[] Health & Nutrition (I had 2 cups of ccino, one cheesecake, mozerella sticks. shoot.)
[] Art History 201B (where I left off in my last class up to Modern art. not too fond of it.)
[] Problem Solving & Reasoning (Psychology class about...stuff.)
++ Hours of work that my boss will squeeze in during my week. huzzah minus the excitement!
----------------------------------------

Speaking of work: We discussed artists' and writers' block. Mine resulted from working at graphic services, a place where it would seem like I'd have motivation to create things creatively (false.) I think it has sucked my creativity into work orders for the school and outside clients. If it brings home the bucks, then I guess I could suck it up and do it. I have sporadic creative moments...so it's alright.

Speaking of sporadic creativeness, here are the other "sketch" shirt designs I have so far...the white one is still in progress, but I like how the redded letters form a new sentence within the rest of the lines. The green one has the front on the left and the backside on the right...or it could go either way maybe. ALSO, the brown one is totally different from the rest & incomplete, but mayhaps it can be a new "line" of designs:

she knew the Lord with her heart

I know I shouldn't be sad or be crying, but that's just how the human instincts kick you in the heart strings and punch you in your sadness gut. I think the main reason why I'm sad is because my Mom didn't make it in time before she passed away...I know she wanted to be there while she was still alive so my mom could at least talk to her because she believed that my nanay might somehow hear her while in a coma. Another reason is because of the letter she sent recently saying she wanted to see us again. man. I wish I could be there with/for my Mom...but I'm glad she has her whole entire family to be there too...

man. it hurts, but this sadness is temporary while my Nanay is eternally living with the Lord with my Tatay too----happy.

Monday!

today was pretty hectic for my mom because she had a lot of stuff to do before we left for the airport...but when we got to the airport, she was on her way to her gate while my dad and I had to leave :(. Some airport people are mean, and one didn't even know where Manila was until my mom had to tell them it was in the Philippines. Few are nice enough to let two boxes that are a couple pounds heavier than the limit pass without the extra fee.

Anywayy..I slept to and from LAX until we hit a subway close to our house and bought lunch. Then...I accidentally fell asleep again at home.................. :(. And now I had just finished eating dinner with my dad, who cooked up some yummy burgers! We were also watching national geographic about catching mega behemoth fish....pretty interesting.....and then the next show was about death valley!! :O I like watching discovery and national geographic with my dad...it's one of those things that we've done even when I was little. We both share the love for animals haha.

and hopefully...resuming chili's tomorrow? I dunno. We'll see.

racing against it

so my mom is leaving tomorrow for the philippines for three weeks...it's very hectic when you have to pack for said time frame, do errands before the flight tomorrow, and pack two balikbayan boxes for the family on the motherland. Tomorrow my mom has to:
- get her passport from a secret location,
- return a digital camera for a different one,
- buy a laptop for my cousin's mom,
- scan hers and my dads passports for my brother in Korea,
- and accompany me to print out photos of our family here in the U.S. for our family in the P.I to see.
- she also has to teach me how to pay our bills online and check her e-mails....

the reason why she's leaving so suddenly is to win her own against time and try to beat it before it's too late. my tita Linda said she's going to wait for my mom to conduct the final decision about it...and I guess it makes sense because my mom is the only one who is a nurse and she's pretty close to my nanay too.

man. everytime I think about 90%/10%...it makes my chest heavy and my heart ache. 10% is the chance for surviving it, but even if that would happen, there would be no activity in the brain from then on.

I just pray that my mom will make it safely and be able to see her before it gets any worse.
That's why I should have done my passport business a whole lot earlier----because maybe then I could have actually gone with her too, but I can't do anything about it except pray and be hopeful.

the unexpected II

...more news from the Philippines through my Mom.

it seems as though the situation has taken a turn in the wrong direction.
The only thing we can do is what people who don't know Him might think is useless:

Pray.
It's a lot more effective than people think.

I've just searched for flights for my Mom to leave THIS week...hopefully we can find one that isn't too costly.

the unexpected

sometimes it's hard to believe how healthy someone can be and still something can go wrong in their body---but for whatever the purpose, all we can do is understand to let God do His work. we just let go and let God.

As my parents were driving back from Nevada, my mom got a call from her sister in the P.I. saying that my nanay [i know it means "mom", but we call our grandma that anyway] is currently comatose. How? No one knows the exact reason right now until they can get her in for a CAT scan [which in the Philippines is a little difficult to get....especially where our family lives]. It's crazy that just a couple days ago, my Mom received a letter from my nanay wishing we could all visit her soon because she's getting old, but even then, she's still pretty strong in health, so this sudden news was pretty surprising. we just gotta pray for my nanay and her health. I could tell while my Mom was on the phone that she was really concerned not only as a daughter, but as a nurse too, because she actually knows what the cause might be. Also, I would think that as a nurse or a doctor, you'd want to do whatever it takes to find the diagnoses on a patient to help make them better.

Now my mom is thinking about taking an emergency trip back home [and taking me with her though my passport isn't in yet]...but that would be pretty difficult financially. we'll see. God sees and will provide if it's His will.

the Master [of Creation] is at work.

I was getting out of my car tonight at my driveway when I was thinking about a shirt design.
A shirt design that was kind of relatable to me in the idea of art.
So, I came up with a short thingy of words to put on a shirt.

"My life is a sketch that has yet to be finished by the hands of the One
who painted the skies and imagined the universe.
The One who dotted the stars into the canvas of space and brushed the clouds into motion.
I give my life to the One who was stained red to cover my sins and completed the masterpiece for my salvation."

I'm still working on designs to fit around this...I have one so far, but I have other fonts I'd like to experiment with...and can someone tell me if this makes sense:

"My life is a sketch of my salvation"

I dunno. Let me know what comes to mind in case I have to change it [I don't want any misunderstandings from this shirt design! :P]

If it sounds cheesy, sorry! I have my fair share of it sometimes!

Psalm139:14-I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Here is a draft sample prototype? I don't know if I'll stick with this one...but I'm still working :)

Off-Colored

and such was the day today. *shrug*

Besides reading the Worst Case Scenario book, I spent some time watching over the pre-school and kindergarten kids.....what a handful! No wonder they need more helpers! They're so cute though.

I also took some pictures with the nice camera and just now realized that I forgot my camera battery and charger in Suite N...dang it. I hope it's still there tomorrow..

And speaking of tomorrow, I'll be absent on Friday from VBS due to an unexpected happening at my workplace in which I have to attend :/. I'll be there for the carnival though!!

After VBS tonight, I just decided to go home while everyone else went to the Murri House...I dunno, I heard they were going to watch Australia...Hugh Jackman is cool, but I'm not sure about the movie........hmm.

ANYWAYYYYYY. Mayhaps I'll be getting a PSP on sunday from phil and I am in total exciting yayyy....I just hope I can get some games....

I hope there won't be off-colors tomorrow!
And now, goodness night.

Yay

I'm glad it arrived! :D

First day of VBS:
-Finally finished the Christmas lights in the Bible Study and it looks great!
-Things went smoothly!
-Finished the third part of the DVD!

:)

cheese puffs & bagels

are yummy. not together, but separate....

I also like that song "Blue Eyes" by the Cary Brothers..good song. First heard it in Garden State and again while watching Scrubs [notice both have Zach Braff in it, who hand picked the songs for the soundtrack to Garden State!]

Anywho, we watched the second part to the emergent church dvd....pretty interesting stuff :)

And thus VBS starts tomorrow!

so close

to receiving a letter from the mail. Today was FUN :)

-Beach at Del Mar with Romie, Christian, Celester, Tita Ester, Tita Leilani, Uncle Bayin, Faith and Andrew!
- Awesome fort/trench made by Romie & Christian to avoid getting our stuff wet
-Fun time at the Exchange!
-Good sleep in the car ride back (and on the beach getting my tan on haha...failed attempt.)
-Ate dinner with my parents while watching The Lost World: Jurassic Park.....yummy burgers that my dad cooked!
- The movie wasn't as good as the first one...bleh.

SO MUCH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! There was finally a free Saturday this month! Woot

Anyway...I have a feeling I'll be playing tomorrow morning......til later!

* Also. I am awaiting a movie with Arnold Governator, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Segal AND Chuck Norris. It'll only be a matter of time...........................

Sequence!

Ahh, it was a nice night hanging out :) Buffalo Wild Wings + alternate game of Sequence = fun. But I will remember from this night that I should never order 10 boneless wings...because I get full after 6 of them. Anywho...I realized that I forgot to take my leftovers out of my car.............................................................................

Chervice!

Soo, today was pretty fun. A whole lot of MIRTH. Yes, mirth, I said it.

I spent much of my day collecting books and video games beckoned by my brother in South Korea...I did a LOT of lifting with heavy plastic bins and stuff because my brother's things aren't unpacked yet. BUT OH MY GAH. I found a treasure load! I found some cool Batman comics of his that I'm gonna read, I found two music CDs that I will burn unto lap of top, AND I CARRIED UP LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF DVDS to my room! Well, not a million, but a lot. What an arsenal! It's crazy how much my brother has spent on DVDs, CDs, comics, books, and video games...mind blowing.

Anywho, after I collected those items, I took a shower and proceeded to church to measure the drum shield for VBS props only to find that everyone was leaving for free Chik-Fil-A! I rode with Christian and Faith and got me a milkshake and free nuggets! Yum.

After forth so, we practiced for Bible Study and actually did full band, which was pretty cool. After a great message, we went to the Bible College to volley some balls! It was SUPER fun :)
My legs are well spent for the night....but alas, I still haven't received anything in the mail. :(

Well, I'm going to call it a night...so, NIGHT CALLED! :P

July Ate, Two Thouand Nine

And so...

Yesterday: I stayed at home. [Which was good news to my parents :)] I watched the MJ Memorial on t.v.....pretty sad. I also failed to install two PC games on my laptop because one CD is messed up and the other one I lost the serial numbers for. :(

Today: I shall depart for the church to work on props for VBS & then go to Bible Study.

Also.

I started watching season two of Arrested Development-----Incrediously funny to the max.

Man, I've been waiting for something in the mail for a while now...hopefully it actually comes in! Gahhhhh

blank [ ] ______

sometimes it's hard to forcefully come up with a title, so this is what I got.

tonight was good (as if the other times hanging out with good friend Denny weren't :p). i would have loved to talk more, but alas, nay, time was not on our side and I think the constant noise coming from Good Charlotte was not helping either.

today was good, but i'm pretty tired...i slept at 3am-ish, woke up at 7ish, and was out with my mom from 8 to 11:20 and then I was at church from 12 to 7 somethingish. Denny's was after that until midnight.

tomorrow will be nice to catch up on with sleep...and packing some things to send to my bro. I am indeed a tired one. :)

Bereft

be⋅reft

–verb
1. a pt. and pp. of bereave.
–adjective
2. deprived: They are bereft of their senses. He is bereft of all happiness.

Okay. Someone has got to be a genius to have actually made a way to include this word into an awesome song. That was the first time I had heard of the word and it was used and placed nicely into some pretty cool lyrics. It's a simple definition but no one really uses that particular word often. Who uses the word "bereft" in a song?? If there are others, let me know. :)

SO! Today was a beautiful day!! [Not like every other day isn't, but....] I mopped suite O for an hour and I hung out with my mommy today! We went to the mall and stayed there for like 4ish hours until I had to drop her off at church for the Tagalog service, but it was great spending time---I haven't really done that in a while! *sad*. AND THEN when I went home for a couple hours, my dad calls me up and asks me if I want to eat at Asia Seafood Buffet with some other people who attended the night service......it was cool. I also saw Uncle Ren, Tita Leah, Nick, David, and Josh, so that was swell. Although it was nice eating with my parents...I thought it was just going to be us three, but we had guests, so they were preoccupied with talking to them than me....so I was just eating and being the 6th wheel. It's all good.

And then last night was 4th o' July and the Celestinos' were nice enough to invite me to watch the fireworks in Temecula! I think that was the closest I'd ever been to the actual fireworks....it was awesome and like always, they played my favorite song of the holiday!! Haha...it never fails. That night was full of a cool show, snickerdoodles, a Highway to the Danger Zone, Ambulances rescuing Ambulances rescuing Ambulances rescuing the sick...and firetrucks on fire that have to be extinguished by another firetruck. :) Hilariosity galore.

And thus tomorrow I must wake up early again to go with my mom to start my passport process that I should have started weeks ago :/. Hopefully I can get everything done while stopping by Wal-Mart before VBS'ing...we'll see.

anywho...til' some other time!!

happy independence!

new album cometh

The ten new track titles from Muse's new album sound pretty cooool. I have just finished cleaning multiple parts of the house for the Gathering tonight...hopefully it won't be too hot for everyone!

Bin-til-uh-door

I have a fan blowing in my face now and it feels nice.

At today's VBS'ing of sorts, we accomplished a lot because Imari had forwarded and spread the news, so that was pretty cool. When I went to the church early I decided to play all three albums of Coldplay because I've only really listened to the first one and by golly, their songs are amazing. All that's left to do is:

+ 2nd half of the John wall [I think it's John..]
+ 2 humongous tents for L & P
+ More little tents, bushes, stumps, camp fires, etc.
+ Deco for the foyer in N..
+ Bring my little tent + Christmas lights + paper lanterns [hopefully]
+ 2 more props for the skits

And I definitely have to get my passport....shooooot.

Anywho.

I'm waiting for something in the mail!