Good morning, everyone ! Portland is bugging again so we won’t be able to publish for the time being. Everything should be okay in the next 24-48 hours. Just be patient and keep blogging anyway. Hey, did you guys hear about Mayon Volcano? It’s been errupting sporadically for the past two months and after a two week lull, I heard it errupted again ! I’m so glad that my family is far from that area. If you guys still have family in the Philippines who happen to live close to the volcano, I hope they are well. You might try to get in touch with them just to make sure everything is okay.
We went to see Atlantis the other day. It’s pretty good. Brian has been looking forward to watching it since the first previews were shown. I liked it but it’s not one of my favorite cartoons. I liked Shrek better. I also liked Iron Giant better. Atlantis didn’t move me as much as the other two animated films did. Speaking of animation, the one that we are really , really looking forward to is Final Fantasy . I really don’t care how much of a story it’s got.. I’d watch it even for just the animation !! The previews look amazing ! Mom is coming over after work today. She’s bringing Logan. I am really looking forward to this afternoon because we will play, play and play. Tonight, Brian and I will attend the weekly Swing Club gathering at WSU. Brian has really come a long way. He knows lots of different turns now. He even knows a lifting move ! Dancing is so much fun !!
I was watching the Filipino news program TV Patrol, and I saw the Mayon Volcano erupting. Dang, that’s one huge mf! I’m fortunate not have any family members living near that area. I just got word that my father’s brother died from a stroke. He was the only one who did not come to America. I felt sad for him because I think they did not give him a chance most likely because he’s blind. I think if he were here, he would have had a lot more opportunities because the government can help provide all sorts of aid for blind people. Then again, I should not judge. I really don’t know what his life was like back in P.I. My poor sister. She has been suffereing from sinus pressure. The doctors don’t know why her sinuses won’t drain properly. She’s going to undergo a cat scan Saturday. I hope it’s not anything serious. She’s suffering from so much pain she basically stopped taking pain relievers because they don’t work. Nothing exciting is going on today—I’m just going shoe shopping to match my dress. My mother reserved for all four of us to attend my godbrother’s wedding Saturday. (Of course, my sister can’t go—she has the cat scan.) I wish I did not have to go. But it would be rude not to go since my mom already RSVPed. I just don’t know the groom and his family that well. I would feel like I was crashing a formal event. I went to the Waves of the Word: Movements of Poetry (a benefit for APIA Youth Poetry) Wednesday night. That was da bomb! If you ever get the chance to see the Chicago spokenword group I Was Born With Two Tongues or NYC’s spokenword/music crew FEEDBACK, check them out ! I think they do tours and benefits. California, esp. the Bay Area, has its gems: 8th Wonder. All three groups are a must see.
Thanks for joining, Pia ! There aren’t any members yet so I’m really glad that to see you here and to know that you’re in this with me.. I’m trying to transition from Yahoo! Clubs to here because hardly anyone ever visits the old club anyway. By the way, we rented Dude, Where’s My Car? yesterday and it’s really retarded. It’s a collage of all the stupid movies ever made. Think Dumb and Dumber meets Half Baked (two movies which I have never ever seen and refuse to see ~~ I really cannot believe that I let Brian talk me into watching this one) with a little bit of Men in Black and Galaxy Quest thrown in.
Hi, I’m here. Actually, I heard that Yahoo Clubs will merge with Yahoo Groups. Groups is real cool, as you know! Clubs is a bit limited, though. Here’s what’s new with us: Jessica (our Ching-aged daughter) is 8 months pregnant - still living at home, lost her job, boyfriend she’s not too serious about. We’re hoping the baby’s going to settle her down a little - she was REALLY drifting. Andy (our 17-year-old son) has left home, and apparently dropped out of school, to live at his girlf’s parents’ house. He’s gotten a good job (for a 17-year-old) at a performance auto shop, plans to get his GED and hit community college. They already have a baby together - that made things at home real rocky. Kim & I are having a hard time with all this - we’re going to counseling to try to get it straightened out. So far we’re hanging in there, though. Job’s going well in that they like me & give me raises, but what a PITA! Had to cancel all my vacations for the next 4 months. Grumble. Church gig’s pretty good too. Can’t get a sub, though - so I’m TRAPPED! Help me! Help me! Daf (tried some HTML - guess we’ll find out if I did it right)
Welcome, Jay / Daf ! I’m glad that you made it ! So what do you think so far? Like it? We have our own drama (or tragedy, depending on how you want to look at it) going on in my parents’ household. The past two weeks have been a blur, really.. We had our house-warming- slash -birthday party for Brian, which was a lot of fun. Shortly after that, my mom’s purse is stolen at work. Her and dad close their bank account and create a new one, get replacement ID cards (driver’s license, etc.), cancel credit cards, inform Sprint (her cellphone was in the purse).. Thankfully, her keys and her prescription eyeglasses weren’t in the purse (her eyeglasses cost her $400 ~~ mine didn’t even come close). I’m not even going into the fact that it was a Dooney & Bourke purse.. That’s the smallest thing that she was worried about. She was more concerned about the contents. Everything has been taken cared of, I believe.. The only thing left to replace is her green card. I don’t know how much it costs to replace it, but I heard it’s not cheap. It’s not like replacing a driver’s license. [ Speaking of which, Brian and I had our driver’s licenses replaced a little bit ago. So now, we have new ones that have our new address on them ! ] Going back to the drama.. This is the same week that Matt and Jen broke up, so Jen (and Logan) moved back in. She was in the process of getting my old bedroom reorganized as her bedroom is now the office. That was fine with me and mom and dad welcomed her home with open arms and everything. Within the span of a week (if it was even that), she gets herself kicked out of the house ! She had not even unpacked, yet ! Yes, my sister is seriously messed up. You think she would’ve grown up now that she’s a mom and almost 21 ~~ but, NOOO ! Among her list of offenses: (1) sleeping while she’s supposed to be watching Logan, (2) partying ~~ even when the baby is sleeping over at mom and dad’s house, (3) not coming home from partying, (4) not being around when it’s her turn to babysit her own son, (5) not caring about the welfare of her own son, period.. The list goes on and on and on. On nights when she parties, she doesn’t even bother to call and check on her baby. Mom said that Matt prefers that Logan is with him at all times, doesn’t like it when he’s away from the baby and when the baby sleeps over at my parents’ house, Matt always calls at night to check on how he’s doing. Matt has more “maternal” instincts than my sister ! Can you believe it? The last straw was when Jen brought home this guy, Justin, who she had only known for a couple of days. She had asked before they went out if he could spend the night and mom explicitly said no.. For one thing, we barely knew this person. She barely knew this person. The had not even been dating a week and they’re already sleeping together. You don’t flaunt such blatant irresponsibility in the face of my mom. She is a very patient, understanding and giving person, but there’s a line that one should never ever cross. The following morning mom wakes up and notices that Justin’s car is still outside. Of course, she begins to wonder. She knocks on my sister’s bedroom door (she’s in my old bedroom). My sister, in her infinite wisdom, steps out in her underwear. My mom tells her that he needs to leave.. If not, both of them have to go. Guess what my sister does. She goes back to sleep. It’s like talking to a wall, I’m telling you ! This goes on for a little while. I guess mom tries again, but gets the same response. Ignored, my mom resorts to calling dad who then advises her to call the cops. They don’t take her seriously at first (probably thinking that she’s bluffing ~~ if there’s one thing I know, it’s that my parents do not know how to bluff ~~ you better believe it because it’s real and it’s happening), but when they hear my mom give the policeman descriptions over the telephone, they finally decide that it’s time to skiddadle. The policeman came for a brief period. Jen and Justin were already gone at that point. Mom talked to him for a little bit, wanting some sort of reassurance that she had a legal right to do what she did. He agreed with her and assured her that she wasn’t responsible for my sister any longer. Brian and I arrive shortly after. Dad had called me early in the morning and asked me and Brian to come because he was worried about mom and what Jen might do. The whole family thinks very little of her at this point. So anyway, that’s how my sister got kicked out of the house.
POP! Fizzzz…Glug,Glug…Ahhhh!!! Cant Sleep so I figured I have a soda pop. Geesh its so Hot in the Naked City… Oh Look a naked man walking the street. =) Ill try to get some shut eyes. Are you sure Clerks wasnt in a video store? I gotta rent that thing again.
hey congratulations grandpa Jay. Glee, whats tv patrol? So sorry to hear about your uncle. My Grandmoter died last year and she was partially blind due to Glaucoma(blood pressure in the eye).She moved back to the Philippines two years ago after my grandfather died. She was much happier in PI since all her friends were there. She got to go out and exercise, shop and go to the beauty parlor. I think your uncle would get better care here in the US but as far as happiness, nothing beats being with people you know. Its two weeks before my sisters wedding and my brother in law still hasnt ordered the tuxedo’s auurgh.. I just received word that my sister’s former roomate Frances has a part in Aida the Disney musical in Broadway. Woohoo!!! If you guys want good seats for this play its good that you know someone that is part of it because they can get you good seating. Full price seating but great seats!!!. Okay enough plugging, I gotta get my own tickets too. Dot wants to see it with me and her cousin Kathy. I saw in the news that another volcano is erupting in Italy. Wow, is this a sign of worse things to come?
Wow, Ching. I’m amazed that anyone watches soap operas - seems like everyone I know has ‘em going on in their own lives. Or maybe they watch ‘em for advice. How’s your writing going, Ching? I always liked your stuff!
Since you are a fellow journal writer, I thought you might appreciate this. Welcome to the digital age! Happy blogging!
