Katrina.

Most of you are probably aware of the Hurricane Katrina in the South of the US. It was rather saddening to hear that our last home in the States, Biloxi, MS, was hit badly, with more than 100 dead. We barely recognised anything, and the things that we did recognised...we were in a slight state of shock. We lived there, two years ago.

"...if anyone lived in Biloxi and wanted to come back, they would hardly recognise it."

"...lives have changed forever."

See Gulfport. You'll see a round building, which would be the Coliseum, and near it, a part of one of the casinos. I didn't know that they had a Hard Rock Cafe being built and to hear it got destroyed before it opened; man. I'm sort of glad that the casinos are washed out; the Treasure Bay Casino's famous "ship" is totaled, but still there. They also mentioned the little shrimp boat which was turned into a souvenir shop that was relocated by Hurricane Camille and I'm glad to know that it remains in the same spot. The Holiday Inn Express building that we stayed in once was spared from the casino that literally landed on the Holiday Inn reception/dining building next to it.

Lord, have mercy.

Yummies.

Amidst the study work and whatnot: Japanese/Okinawan snacks.

My favourite Okinawan drink, Shiikuwasha. I think the fruit is (or related to) what Filipinos call a calamansi. It's probably a cross between a lemon and a lime; for me, that's a very good thing since I like both. Thus, it tastes like lemonade. High in vitamin C, that.

Next come the veggie chips. Yes. Vegetable chips. Made from potatoes (of course), tomatoes, carrots, squash, some other starchy substance and greens. Who said mixed veggies and chips can't mix? Maybe some Americans :P

Ah...if you guessed the last item was chocolate, you aren't wrong there. At only ¥103 (just under 1 US$), you can get one of these babies at a local Family Mart (gas station shoppette). I love the gold wrapping; need to try the bitter chocolate bars next time though. *waggles eyebrows*

A healthy lot, no?

*echoes*

Well, the usual people who visit this blog are now gone, for a good year at least due to attending TAC, but nevertheless, I'll update for my sake.

Started a new job last week; clerical duties and whatnot, but my boss is good ("family friend" should tell you some things though). The week's been rather busy for me and I've had to let go of CAP for a long while so that I can concentrate on studies and saving up.

I work for a company that deals with paying people's bills, in particular those personel who work on base; in other words, Americans' bills of those who tend to live off base. Dealing with so many names, it's intersting with what you come across. For instance, one of my co-workers called a customer and asked for a "Brittney." She asked if that was his wife. No, that's his name. There might be some sort of explanation to that, just as there are men named after the French "Michele," but this one with "Brittney" is a first to me. Go figure.

Well, with the lack of readers, I've lost much of what to say. Any more thoughts that come round, I'll see about putting it up here, but right now the pc is getting laggy on me and it's a pain to catch up with my typing.

Isolation.

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/300W/fs7.deviantart.com/i/2005/225/7/f/Isolation_by_MatthewSaville.jpg

Take a look at this artist's photography. I like his description.

Thoughts.

I've been talking to my parents for some time now and constantly thinking about my future. A heck of a lot of thought has definitely been put into all that. TAC has been the number one list on my colleges for a long time now, but there have been some things that've caused me to reconsider, not out of interest but more out of necessity, so to speak.

Dad's been showing me the family budget, and frankly, it's not pretty. I admit to the fact that my family hasn't always been too well off, and we're only barely comfortable where we are right now through God's good grace. For a poor girl like me to manage TAC, it would take a whole lot of sacrifice. Hardwork and sacrfice; they'll always be there, but I can't help that my family will still be affected by any choice I'll make. I can't put my family through another financial difficulty, no matter how much I'd love TAC's education for my own good. I'm sure God will provide for me in other ways, as far as growing both spiritually and intellectually with prayer, and I'm still quite glad that I've gotten to know the TACers that I know now. You guys are lovely people. But I feel that it's probably not God's will for me to attend TAC; if it would, I wouldn't have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind thinking about how it would be difficult for me to handle the financial stress, academics, dealing with my family living overseas, and then some other family concerns that I can't mention here, but are of some degree of seriousness. Like I said, sacrfices must be made, but in this case, I should for the sake of my family's welfare in the near future, especially with two more siblings behind me.

Ah, c'est la vie.

So, yeah, for those of you who've been encouraging me to attend TAC, of course I'd attend if my life would allow, but as it is: God's will be done. I'll be sure to keep in touch with you all though. Continue to give me insight on TAC and what you all come up with as you study there; I'd still love to hear/read what goes on and what you discuss.

As for what I'm thinking about right now, I''ve considered that I'll have to do with the University of Maryland campus on base here. I'll do with the most accessible college I can get, and whatever courses they've got to offer, which would most likely be Computer Studies. My family has two more years here before we're subject to move again, but in the meantime, there are accelerated courses that are offered here so those I can take advantage of while I continue to reside with the family.

Speaking of moving, we have no idea where we'll end up next. 3/5th of the family wants to move to Hawaii. Reasons being: it's centrally located in the Pacific for hops to several locations of interest, it is a State, Dad's got Hickam AFB, family is nearby, it's a rather nice place -- though expensive, but most places are nowadays anyway -- to live in for a long time, and since it's in the Pacific and we're Pacific Islanders, we'll get along fine without this feeling of being much out of place like we've felt elsewhere before. Prayer is in order for all this though, so that's a given and will be done.

But anyway, we'll see what else God's got in store for us on the road ahead.

[edit: my decision is not resolute. I hate it when it gets that way, but in this case, it indicates hope.]

Dunno where Pete got this.

Chivalry is not extinct.

See?

Not to say that I never thought it didn't.

Billiards, cont.

o_O I need a hair cut.

Satisfying the billiard deprivation

Eh, whatever. It was a friend's last day, so we treated him out to some billiards. Bri took half of the pics (hence, the blurriness in those of which I'm in :P).

Buddies, them kids.
"Let me show you how it's done, eh"
Bri acting professional and ever giggling at the same time.
"See? Skill, chyeah."
T: Mk, 2 ball, corner.
*five minutes later*
R: Any day now
C: Yeah, this is exciting.

Let me show you around *beckons*

When you look at these (and if you're photographically sensitive), you'll notice the lack of quality because of the camera, which is why I want a new cammy :P But oh well, here you go:

An Okinawa nightscene at Mihama Park, also known as "American Village," and as you can gather, it's American-oriented, hence the shop signs in English. One of the only things you can deduct that this is Okinawa is that the cars are on the left side.

Dragon Palace. One of the many local stops for decent fun. Arcade, shops, and a whole lot of candy at only 10 Yen a piece. Oh, and the little photobooths are just cool to make keepsake sticky pics.

Sisha greetings with the Mihama ferris wheel on the roof in the background

Yummies...and mocha fraps righ' dere.

Rems inebriated on a couple of mocha fraps *grin* and not looking very lovely with wind-blown hair, but oh well.

[note: Author notes the noticable darkness and high contrast of pics and will adjust them accordingly when (her) time permits]

[PPS: or maybe never until she doesn't feel lazy about it]

Wish list, revisited

Remember that bit about a trip to NZ? Well, I mentioned to Mom the Catholic summer school, Hearts Aflame, held in New Zealand, and she seemed pretty accepting. By that, I mean, she didn't immediately shoot down my ideas of possibly attending HA06, all the way in NZ, by myself. After listening to the 05 Lectures and Workshops, I kept wishing they could have something like that on-island here. They must have something similar in the States, but I haven't heard of any yet. So as far as having parental blessing, I suppose I'm okay on that; not going to confirm any of such thoughts right now since several months is enough time for peoples' minds to make a 180 and leave me down in the dumps. This will take some money though. Mom mentioned me being sponsored, which I might look into tomorrow after talking to RP1 Credo who is the Navy Chaplain's Asisstant at our parish on Lester. He might have some ideas on how I can obtain sponsorship from my church. Anyway, working on getting a job right now (have been for 2 months already), but I'm still keeping in mind my college funds. I'm sure I can still save up a good sum by next May though. I just need to look into plane tickets around this time so I can find a good deal by December (event is being held 30 Dec to 8 Jan).

It's no secret that I've really wanted to visit NZ, and to attend such a Catholic event that I've only been reading and hearing about would be more than icing on the cake. I pray, if it be God's will, that I'll be able to attend since HA has limited registration for this coming year. It'd be a very nice thing to do after pining for a vacation for so long and it would be a lovely way to wrap up the school year; call it a "senior trip," if you will. A good one it'd be, I'll say.

It's 3:33 pm. Would be better if it were March 3.

'nother 'un

McGeek..

"Geeks.are.hot."

I did not say that though :P

I came across a new comic to keep an eye on whilst visiting the Lemming.

http://www.countyoursheep.com/d/20041118.html

Supposed to save this for November though.

Rather cute.

*pounds it mercilessly*

Bloggy-san accumulated 1000 hits today. Interesting. Okay, not really, but hey, it did hit the 4-digit zone. It's like turning another year old, "So what? It's cool somehow."

I suppose this is all due to me continually looking at my blog thinking about what other stuff I could write about (not to mention the people who are nice enough to peek in here on a relatively frequent basis). Sounds pathetic sometimes when I bring up my blog and just leave it on the monitor while I'm doing school. It's like I'm waiting for life to get just a bit more interesting so I can post. Yeesh.

Anyway, I just noticed how I tend to leave earphones in my ears even when there's no music playing. How weird can one get? Weirder than that, apparently. But I won't say it here; it'll just scare you all and I don't want that do I?

I'll save it for a better time.

Latin blues here. I've been struggling along trying to learn such a language on my own and then being busy doesn't help with the needed continual concentration. *shrug* The lack of available, fellow Latin students is also a sad thing. However, there is no sense of surrender to the weight of difficulities here; rather determined to get this stuff down in preparation for TAC.

Okinawa

Whale shark. Sharkie boy. He's big, not big enough to scare the Japanese after Godzilla-dude.

Ehsss-capeh, Dory! Save yourself!

Curtis going off to join the Buddists...

Dolphin show at 2pm.

Nothing tastes better than your own sibling...I guess >_> Not that I've tried but, I'm not a shark, so...

Wish list

Camera. I'd like a nice, quality digitial camera. Film is not being neglected by my use of the old 35mm Canon AE-1 Program, but a good digicam would be lovely to take pics on the go as well as upload them easily to the pc. I wish the shop would somehow donate their aging Nikon D1X's...

Guitar. Cut-away, acoustic, hook-up, and um...a more "feminine" neck. There's a lot of pain I have to go through with "average Joe" guitars simply because their neck is too thick for my hand. Then there's the high action due to the height of the bridge, but that's correctable. Anyway, a new guitar would be great; it'd get me jamming again. I can never play well in public due to easily sore hands and unfit guitars.

Personal Computer. I won't be savouring this luxury of having the laptop to myself forever, I reckon. Sooner or later, I'll have to surrender it back to the proper authorities, unless the said authorities are gracious, generous, and downright lovely enough to give me this thing and get themselves a better, newer, more reliable one later.

Mobile. This isn't actually very high on my list of priority since the longetivity of my need for it isn't credible enough for me to purchase one. However, one that works internationally would be one of utmost coolness.

Trip to NZ, fully paid, and maybe even just a one-way ticket. :P I need a vacation and I want to live there.

What is lovely

When you can easily hold a good conversation with a friend, and equally hold good silences with them.

When you don't have to worry about yourself around them; they know you don't look like a dork...all the time.

They tell you a bunch of their imperfections, to which you can almost say "same here" for all the things they mention.

When you can trust them with your life, a secret, your joys, sorrows, fears, and imperfections, and this trust is not a mere fancy, but a fact.

When you have a problem with the world, and you're confused with yourself, yet you feel like a pain, but they realise how much you're going through and won't let you drown in self-pity nor ignore your needs.

When they bring out the best in you that you seemed to have trouble bringing out yourself.

When you get all sappy and they know you're just a meanie with a big heart :P But they know that and more.

Ode to the Pode

Callouses, O callouses

Pray tell, why must ye form?

Underneath my toesies

Looking all dull and forlorn?

It's not so fun to poke at you

Or peel off the skin

But when ye is a hardened one

I'll gladly fit you in

With all the other imperfections

Big and bad and cruel

That ever makes me self-conscious

Of having my feet viewed.

...

Tae kwon do can do so much to your poor feet. It isn't hurting, but I don't like it how the skin peels off. I need it there! Stay! Hardened ye self! Protect thy feet which ye have been delegated to protect! Forget not thy duty, O pedial skin cells! Forget not!



Hm, I really like the title to this so-called poem. I might expand on it. We'll see. Don't rush me now though. My inner Mewse doesn't like to be rushed. It'll come. Randomly. Sometime. At 2 am.

btw, Dictionary.com says an ode is defined as, "A lyric poem of some length, usually of a serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanzaic structure."

Seriously, I meditate during our stretches on the fact that my feet are getting beaten. beh.

Google AdSense

I was pondering on this whenever I noticed it on the sidebar, and I was wondering if it would be a good idea or not to put this on my blog. Reading the agreement, it says that they have the right to distribute my name, logo, etc. so I'm quite sure that's a good thing. So...dunno. To put or not to put.

A man with a violin case stood on a subway platform in The Bronx. He asked a conductor, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"

The conductor replied, "Practice! Practice! Practice!"

Subway, you need a coin dispenser

A friend's s/n: "Subway sandwich: $5. Look on peoples' faces when I pay it all in nickles and dimes: priceless."

Yes, another one of those priceless thingies.

He told me it was because his parents were out and he was hungry. What's more is that he brought all his 'bling' in a Ziplock bag. :P

Well, if you don't want to make a meal but you're hungry enough...[edit]I just realised that I sounded like I was advocating the acceptance of payment in coinage only. I take it back; t'was not intentional :P[/edit]

I had an idea - though crazy I admit - to start a trend by carrying no paper bills but coins only, storing them in Ziplock bags, and wearing them around your neck with a big, shiny chain. Yes, I'm weird, but I'd never do it, yo :P

Blurp

^ It has no meaning. It doesn't even mean to belch a burp, even though it sort of sounds kind of catchy. And I'm to lazy too verify its validity on Dictionary.com so I doubt it's even listed with a definition, but I don't care. :)

I've burnt my mouth and it feels weird. Tasting Mom's beef stew, I tried a nice, chucky potato and well...islands of numbness on the roof of my mouth.

Update: I quit CAP. Yay, one less thing to worry about and less immaturity to put myself through (with cadets; senior members are nicey people, at least in this squadron). Subway has no open positions and I'm not waiting any longer since I think they probably pay about the same as the Deli in the commissary, so I'm going to just apply there. The lady was needing workers that when I'd visited her the first time, she said she'd automatically hire me. Now, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing because if she's that desperate...I dunno. She even gave me the papers I needed as if I were already hired :P Anyway, I'm taking what I can get, so heading over there tomorrow.

No more updates, my little crickets. My life isn't very exciting and I almost get annoyed when people ask me for updates :P but only if I don't know how much they'd like to hear how my day went.

Don't you hate it when

...the people in your family use body spray a heck of a lot more than you do?

It's overwhelming the olfactory organs. I mean, every, single morning, you know they're out of the shower when all of a sudden, you're still a floor away from them, and you can smell their presence. What? Is a good shower not good enough? It probably depends on their definition of a "good shower." Must they spray nearly every inch? Why must I suffer! No, I will not desist! I deserve to rant. I must smell like a guy everytime I leave the house; this is because it's mostly the men who've been polluting our domestic environment. You know the phrase "in moderation"? These guys seem to want to be exceptions to the rule.

blahblahblah. Good morning.

"Omnis mundi creatura
quasi liber et pictura
nobis est in speculum;
nostrae vitae, nostrae mortis,
nostri status, nostrae sortis
fidele signaculum."


"All the world's creatures,
as a book and a picture,
are to us as a mirror;
our life, our death,
our present condition, our passing
are faithfully signified."

(Alain de Lille, 1128-1202)

Listen to it.

Not untrue

You scored as Loner. Loner 75% Drama nerd 50% Prep/Jock/Cheerleader 38% Geek 25% Punk/Rebel 13% Goth 13% Stoner 6% Ghetto gangsta 0% What's Your High School Stereotype? created with QuizFarm.com