live well. laugh often. LOVE much.

hey ya'll. i thought i'd give everyone some news... NENENG WENT INTO LABOR THIS MORNING! her water broke around 6am, and i talked to toto around 7:30am and he said neneng and ronald went by there and the contractions hadn't started. i talked to ronald just now and she's having slight contractions and she is slightly dilated. looks like this baby is going to teeter on being born in 2003 or 2004. i didn't get in on the baby pool.... but if anyone guessed new years.... it looks like you're gonna win!

let's all keep baby and momma in good thoughts and do one more cheer for neneng.... PUSH 'EM OUT! SHOVE 'EM OUT! WAAAAAAAAAY OUT!!!

i really should be packing right now. really. i'm doing the last load of laundry (jeans) before i can start packing, but i can actually do other stuff while i'm waiting for that to dry. there's really no other excuse but that i'm a procrastinator and i don't feel like it. i can't believe it's already the 23rd. time really does seem to be going so much faster now that i'm older. like it's just whizzing past. it could be because i'm back in "deadline" mode (my app deadlines), so whenever i'm feeling that, i never seem to have time on my side. anyway, i'm just rambling to prolong the inevitable packing.....

so, andy and i exchanged xmas gifts with kyle tonight. we're all leaving (probably not together) for arizona after andy and kyle get off work and we're opening gifts with my mom, toto, neneng, and ronald tomorrow morning. so we had to do it tonight. ooooh... kyle gave me the bomb gift. a gift certificate for a spa treatment!!!! AWWWWW.... see, kevin is such a nice guy. Beauty Kliniek. i'm so excited about it. i've pretty much decided i will probably use it after i finish ALL my grad school applications. after opening that gift, i'm just itching to open more now! i'm gonna have to wait until tomorrow morning. then again tomorrow night at andy's dad's house. then christmas morning at andy's mom's house. and at least my secret santa gift will be waiting for me when i get back. yippee! christmas is here!

oh, i gave my two week notice at my work yesterday. i start my new job at UCSD the week after new years. it will be a great experience for me and i'm FINALLY going to be paid for doing something in the psych field. that's exciting as well. oh, and he did confirm that i will have to get a phlebotomy certificate. if you don't know what that is, it means i will be trained to draw blood. i've never been a big fan of needles (hated them, actually), but after i got that last tattoo (that lasted a big 3 hours) it seemed kind of silly to be afraid of needles. i handle my flu shots like a champ. i'm sure i can do this. as long as i get good training it will be cool to go "i can draw your blood if you'd like." i can't perform CPR, but i'll be able to do that. oh, and i get my own office (with a window, thank you very much), my own work number, and a laptop. i feel like george jefferson. "movin' on up.... " if you didn't get the reference.

i have to pack now. this is silly. we have to get up early to pick up our rental car so i can't put it off any longer. 42 minutes and it will officially be christmas eve.

this week has been really crazy. and now i'm sick. i really want to get in bed and watch the extended version of "fellowship of the ring" and i will probably do that as soon as i'm done typing. i'm SOOO glad i don't have anything to do today. i was pretty dehydrated all week from not drinking as much water as i usually do, and compounded with getting the minimal amount of sleep, it's no surprise i'm sick. let's see... i got a job offer this week. and it's a job i want! i'm really excited about it. lucky me. then me, andy, crissy, and matt watched that movie that i won tickets for. good movie, lucky winning. we got to watch "return of the king" with the other LOTR freaks at midnight. more good. when we went to the theatre to meet crissy and matt, right after andy parked, i opened my door and found money on the ground. more lucky. the day we went to get our new nextels and get my mom and toto nextels, we all ate dinner at OGGI'S (formerly stuft pizza) and i submitted andy's business card in the fish bowl and someone called andy yesterday saying he won lunch for him and 10 people. andy's lucky. then, one day this week andy was driving me to work and something flew out of those trucks that carry rocks, dirt, and the like and pegged my windshield. that's the bad. but who cares, i am submitting paperwork to the dmv so i can find the owner of that truck and they can reimburse me. the good.

in a nutshell, that was my week. the good, the bad, and the unusually lucky. too bad i'm completely broke. oh well. at least me and andy are done christmas shopping! we went and finished this morning and that was such a nightmare. thank god it's done. we have to pick up a few things from mission valley mall that we ordered, but at least it's all paid for. yay for us! yay for us! {{{{as i'm doing the cabbage patch}}}}. oh, and right now as i'm typing, kyle is cleaning the kitchen, dining room, and living room. it's GOOD all over the place.

i just finished my first application 8 minutes ago. i was being pretty cool, calm, and collected about it up until it started to get closer to 11 pm. then i started to have a freak out because the website was loading so slow (probably because of the other hundreds of procrastinators such as myself who were trying to apply last minute) so i couldn't preview my application. our adobe on our computer is handicapped so i couldn't see it and finally i said "screw it" and just submitted it anyway. that's a big $60 spent on something that I couldn't even see (i could review it, just not in .pdf format), but whatever. what other choice did i have? but at least it's over. now i can relax. my next one is due in 2 and a half weeks. less to worry about, but i shouldn't wait till the last minute because the next one is due 4 days after that one. geez, this whole thing is a big fatty pain in the ARSE. but i have to remember "it's worth it... it's worth it... it's worth it." someday, i can possibly look back at this nightmare and chuckle. yes, i was done with 40 minutes to spare. now that's professional procrastination if i ever did see it.

this week should be fun. tomorrow is lord of the rings at 12:01am on wednesday morning. we're probably going to get in line around 8pm. i asked the girl when we picked up our tickets today what time she suggested we get in line and she said a couple hours earlier and i told her that i was just curious because we actually watched the midnight showing for the 2nd movie, so i pretty much knew what time we had to be there. lol. at least this year, andy will be able to go with me cause last time i waited here for toto (cause i didn't want to be the loser going there alone) and he was late. but me and andy can hang out there until toto and kyle get there. BTW, we have an extra ticket. does anyone want it?

anyway, on wednesday we're gonna go to the sneak preview of mona lisa smile. and on thursday i'm meeting some girlfriends for happy hour. oooh, to plan ahead like this just makes it feel like this week will go by fast. i hope so! i'm gonna go relax now because that applying thing was tough on the noggin. peace out fellow hobbits. :)

so, my first grad school app is due this monday. and i sent off the hard copy material today in the mail and the rest of the stuff i can do online. i have 2 of the 3 recommenders already submitted their letters of recommendation, but the very last one... well, i went to ucsd this morning for a lab meeting and someone told me that the person who is doing my last letter of recommendation is sick with SHINGLES. what's the deal with that? i feel bad, too, because apparently he's in a lot of pain, but i seriously need that letter of recommendation so i can turn in my application. man, this is nuts. i sent him an email to let him know i heard he was sick and even though i wanted to turn in my application on sunday, i told him i would wait until the last, most absolute final moment to turn it in if that helped him.

i picked up my tickets for mona lisa smile today. how fun. i'm still going to have to try to figure out how we're going to watch that movie and also see lord of the rings. we're going to have to stand in line for lord of the rings, but mona lisa smile starts at 7pm and it looks like it is going to be 2 hours. who's gonna stand in line for us?? hmmm... decisions decisions. well, i gotta get to work. i have some stuff to do and if i clear out the stuff that i have to do for work, maybe i can work on my application.

oh, i keep forgetting.... HEY CHAKEE... andy's friend, mike, was asking about you when we were done paintballing and we were driving home. you hot mama, looks like you got a fan that day, too (it wasn't just andy and that little prepubescent boy). LOL :)

let's see.... what was i doing??? oh, i know!!! i was winning movie tickets on channel 93.3!!!!!!!! YES! i'm the bomb, man. for the past couple weeks, they always do a contest when i'm driving to work, and i was trying to win two weeks ago when they were giving away christmas trees (yes, i wanted the FREE NINETY-FREE christmas tree and not have to pay for it myself), but i wasn't so lucky. but, right when i was driving to work today, they said they were having a contest to win a family 4 pack for "mona lisa smile" and i'm so dying to see that movie! it has all these girls i love... julia roberts, julia stiles, maggie gyllenhall.... anyway, i called and the first time it was busy, then i called again (and because of the rain, i couldn't fully concentrate) so when i was pressing send, it wasn't calling. finally, i pressed send and it started ringing... i was like "do you already have a winner?" and she was like "actually, you're caller NINE!!" and the rest is history. oh, how super fun. i can't wait to pick up my tickets. i just talked andy into calling in sick that day, so now.... hmmmm... i have 2 more tickets. anyone interested? that day is also the day for LOTR:return of the king. i've been trying to buy advanced tickets, but edwards hasn't started selling them online yet. at least i haven't found them. but yes!!! the first time i've won on the radio!! i've been on the radio before, requested songs, made dedication, even told the story about when we met keanu, but i've never WON! so so stoked.

well, i'm gonna take this off of crissy's blog because i like it. here goes:

Ten Things I Miss...

10) Saturday morning cartoons
9) staying up in the summer with toto and neneng watching TV
8) steak-umm sandwiches
7) the excitement (and heartache) of having a crush
6) Podges
5) Not having bills
4) My thinner days
3) my long hair
2) knowing (or thinking I knew) exactly who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do
1) my dad

Nine Things I Hate...

9) being made to feel guilty
8) finding bad things (hair, etc.) in food from restaurants
7) not having money
6) being a receptionist when asshole people call
5) not currently working in the psychology field
4) the color lime green
3) bad driving
2) the fact that I get migraines
1) the sadness of crying

Eight Things I Love...

8) our electric blanket
7) DVR
6) chocolate and almonds
5) ice cream
4) cuddling on the couch while it's raining
3) the smell of babies
2) my family (craziness and all)
1) my love

Seven Things I Remember The Most...

7) the "what is a pedestrian" song
6) getting pneumonia
5) 109991 (I was actually supposed to FORGET this)
4) what andy orders at restaurants because he never remembers
3) andy's, my mom's, my dad's, and my social security numbers
2) walking into the hospital on july 2, 1998
1) specific smells

Six Things I Want To Do Eventually...

6) travel through europe
5) go to hawaii
4) learn how to quilt
3) raise amazing children
2) have something i've written be published
1) have a career that I love and will allow me to be at home when I want

Five Songs I Can Hear Over And Over...

5) "the world has turned" weezer
4) "love you down" ready for the world
3) "i need you" leann rimes
2) "by your side" sade
1) "i will" the beatles

Four Words That Describe Me....

4) unforgiving
3) affectionate
2) moody
1) funny

Three Things I Want To Change...

3) wars
2) animal cruelty
1) negativity

Two People I Want To Disappear...

2) i'll have to come back to these two at a later date
1)

One Thing I Want...

1) To be truly happy forever

oh, i'm so tired. i don't know why, but paintballing yesterday was extremely exhausting. it wasn't hot, so that was a plus, but it did sprinkle and lightly drizzle throughout the day. a bunch of people didn't show up because of the scary rain. wusses. actually, i wasn't too jazzed about being out there (mostly because i was really tired from the day before, less because of the rain), but we all still had a good time. we ended up playing with other people, but the good side to that was that we were all on the same team all day long. actually, one of andy's friend's ended up being on the other team for a short while, but he just jumped back on our team during the next game and nobody noticed. the funny part was when i had gotten out because i had gotten shot on my leg, then, andy, chakee and a couple other people that were on our team that we didn't know were all standing on the side and i got hit. there was really nowhere to hide after you got out on that field, so we just stood out of bounds. and as i was standing there, this paintball came flying at me and hit me square in the belly. someone had to have been either aiming at me or was blind shooting because i was out in the open. lameheads. ACTUALLY, that wasn't the funny part. the funny part was "COVER. I NEED COVER.... UGH, I GOT SHOT... NOW I'M OUT.... ASSHOLES!" wow, me and chakee couldn't stop laughing for half an hour and throughout the day we would just remind each other and start laughing again. chakee, i think he kept looking at you because you kept looking at him. maybe he thought you liked him. lol. really, how could he have known it was us? remember andy's number 1 fan? ooooh, the competition i was feeling. that was funny. i should have told him i liked andy more. anyway, thanks j and chakee for coming with us. i would have been bored (and not had any fun) out of my mind had you guys not come. maybe next time we can try playing with mittens on!

well, this weekend was so tiring. it was andy's bday (he's 22, plus 5) on saturday and i got up to make him breakfast in bed. then, i went to mcrd with my mom and i thought she was going to go xmas shopping (actually she bought a couple gifts), but she bought herself a sweater and shoes and she actually bought my xmas gift. she told me i could pick it out and she would wrap it and i would get it for xmas. i got a new roxy watch because mine isn't doing so hot. it works fine and everything, but i think my perfume is eating away at the silver. you can't really see it because it's on the inside, but i figured it was time for a new watch anyway. then, i went to a get together for the lab i used to volunteer in. i got there late (i didn't realize what time it was supposed to end so i didn't hang out there very long). i got to chit-chat with the girls i wanted to, at least. then i went to india ink in little italy for a little bit. then, i picked up mara (sean's girlfriend) and we went shopping. we went to great news so i could get toto's xmas gift, then we went to wal-mart, then utc, then vons. then, we went out to tio leo's for dinner for andy's bday. it was a long MF'in day. but it was the day of my love's birth, so that's okay.

ooooh, we're supposed to buy our christmas tree tonight. i'm pretty excited because i moved all of our furniture around to make room for the tree. also, because i have about a thousand presents in plastic/paper bags in our closet waiting to be wrapped. then, i can put those under the tree. yippee! i probably am not usually in a big hurry to get the tree because i have nothing to put under it until just before christmas anyway, but we did our shopping so early this year and i'm almost done! i even did my secret santa gift. i've done everyone in my immediate family and now all i have to buy for is andy and i'm buying something for glenn that i already told him i'd get him. oh, and we need to buy andy's mom's gift, but we can't find it anywhere. lame. anyway, i have to get to work.

do you have those? like you start writing and you go "wow, my handwriting looks really good today!" well, i have those. and i also have days where i say to myself "oooh, did my handwriting get ugly while i was sleeping?" apparently, you can tell that my handwriting is fairly important to me. it probably all stems from the fact that when i was learning how to write cursive my mom rode my back like there was no tomorrow because she said i had ugly handwriting. she was pretty mean about it. then, my cousin in the philippines who is 5 months older than me would write me letters, i would have to hear about it until kingdom come that she had much nicer handwriting than me. how traumatic. but now my mom admits that i have nicer handwriting than her (my mom, not my cousin - i don't know how she feels about my handwriting now in comparison to my cousin). did her tormenting pay off? is there some credit to being mean to your children so they become better people? hmmm... this sounds like crazy talk. lol... i'm really not traumatized. but my mom did used to run after me telling me my crazy hair looked like medusa and that i needed to comb it. and i guess some people would say i'm fairly obsessed with my hair by looking at all the hair products i buy. oh, the way parents affect their children. it's fascinating. i LOVE psychology.

oooooh! my very first application is due in a week and a half. it's an online application and i registered all of my recommenders to do their letters online and one of my professors already submitted her letter!!!! how exciting!!! :) one down, two to go and the other two shouldn't take too much longer after that first one. i'm so glad that only one of my applications is due before christmas, then two are due after new years, and the rest will be middle of january. luckily, when those 3 are due, i won't be dealing with holiday craziness simultaneously. grad school definitely feels like it is within my grasp and i'm so excited. :)

andy and i watched 'love actually' last night. he didn't hate it as much as he thought he would, i guess. i think i was hoping it would be a little better. i think i heard from EVERYONE about how great it was, so maybe i was expecting a little more. it was really good, though, i just don't think i should have walked in with such high expectations. it was really so cute and so sweet. love is great.... even though sometimes it is AGONY. :) that little boy was too cute! :)