April Recap...

I haven't had the chance to write as much as I would like to these past few weeks because of everything that has been going on in my life.

I could blame it on all sorts of things: School, Work, Homework, Laziness, the list goes on and on. But I won't.

So today I wanted to make a recap of all the things that I have happened this month.

To start off, me and my family went to Disneyland for my sister's 10th birthday party. We basically rode all the rides as usual and stayed to watch the fireworks show.

She had so much fun and I was just happy that I was able to celebrate it with her.

Secondly, my Ate Christine got married yesterday with her longtime boyfriend Jeff at Holy Family Church. My whole family attended and it was an overly emotional day seeing her exchanging her wedding vows with her husband.

It just made me realize how fast everything is going and our innate lack of sense of time that we all have.

Anyways, we had a great time seeing them so happily married and the party kicked off in full gear once we arrived at the Hilton hotel at Glendale for the reception.

Welcoming Ate Christine and Jeff (in their Lakers uniform, Ate Christine (4) Jeff (18) wore the numbers 4 &18 to symbolize the date of their marriage 4/18/09.) as they came into the reception was a sea of periwinkle napkins being twirled into the air. It was a sight to behold to say the least.

The evening started with dinner which was then followed by a performance by me and my cousin singing "I Will Be Here." Luckily we did OK despite the lack of time to rehearse.

Soon after, video montages were played showing the "Childhood Years" of both Ate Christine and Jeff followed by a random "Karate Kid" Spoof by our very own bride and groom.

Overall the night was filled with fun, excitement, sadness and joy seeing them together happily married and in love.

The evening concluded with dancing and the cousins and I went to sleep in the hotel where we watched the Pistons and Cavs replay of Game 1 of the playoffs and then Little Mermaid (random I know, I mean c'mon Little Mermaid? lol)

Anyways that is it for now. I will try my best to write more as the days go on.

No more excuses...

=)

A Day at the Park...

=)

13 Reasons...

I am proud to be called Filipino because...

1). No matter how bad things get, we always seem to find something positive or something to smile about to keep ourselves going.

2). We work hard for our families and value education and success in everything that we do.

3). We are always willing to go that extra mile despite enduring hardships, just to help someone out.

4). Only in Manila can we go through 2-3 extreme emotions within a span of a minute.

5). Whenever we have visitors over, we go an extra mile to make their stay worth it. Nothing compares to Filipino hospitality.

6). We value relationships over material things any day.

7). Music is an important part of our culture.

8). We have a deep respect for our elders by uniquely addressing them with 'po' and 'opo.'

9). October pa... pasko na! ( It's only October and Christmas is already here!)

10). We make the most of a situation. One piece of chicken is accompanied with four cups of rice!

11). We have a rich culture that will never die. Plus our FOOD IS AMAZING!

12). We have the perfect combination of street smarts, intellect, compassion, and adaptability.

13). We are patient and forgiving. Because despite the chaos in this world... we still believe in GOD...

=)

Escape...

Sometimes all you want in life is something simple.

A few minutes of peace and quiet would be enough to make me happy right about now.

But sometimes even the simplest of things such as peace and quiet seem impossible.

Rescue me.

Cause I am ready to escape...

Surprise...

Happy Birthday Little Sis...

HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY little sister!

Sometimes I Think, Sometimes I Don't...

Sometimes I think, sometimes I don't.

It's a fact of life and we all face it one way or another.

But in this desperate moment you must also choose your direction.

Will you fight to stay on the path while others tell you who you are? Or will you label yourself?

Will you be honored by your choice? Or will you embrace your new path?

Each morning you choose to move forward or to simply give up.

It's up to us to choose what path we will take.

The question is, what will you do when you finally face it head on?

Meet Matt Jason...

There are only a few people in this world that are lucky enough to be blessed with a younger brother, but even fewer people that can honestly say that they can look up to their younger brother as opposed to always looking down on them.

My brother is no exception to that few.

Being the quirky, eccentric, random, and really funny little brother that he is, he can be a little bit annoying once in a while. (OK more than that just a little.)

But he backs it up with great intelligence, humor, grace, and perseverance in everything that he sets his mind to.

Couple those characteristics with his winning attitude and a headstrong mindset and there you have the makings of my little brother.

He is everything you hate and love in a little brother, but I wouldn't trade that for the world.

He continues to inspire me to keep trying to be the best big brother that I can be, and I am more than proud seeing him become the person that he is.

That is what makes him who he is.

And I couldn't be any happier knowing that he is my little brother.

Meet Matt Jason...

Happy Purple and Gold Day...

Happy St. Patrick's Day everybody! Well almost everybody.

As a kid, I've always made it a priority to wear "green" every year on St. Patrick's Day. But this year, I'm starting to have second thoughts.

As any Lakers fan, I am still bummed out from what happened to us at the 2008 Finals.

Losing in the Finals is one thing, but losing to our most hated rival is another.

As a result, the color "green" has come to symbolize much more than just a color to me, and if you are a die-hard Lakers fan as myself, then you all know why.

So this year instead of saying "Happy St. Patrick's Day", I'll be saying "Happy Purple and Gold Day a.k.a. (F#*K BOSTON CELTICS DAY!)" in support of my Los Angeles Lakers and their quest for another ring here in L.A!

And if I get a few pinches here and there, well then I guess I can live with that...

=)

p.s. Oh by the way, I went to the store to buy some Blue Books for my test and the cost equaled $4.97. So I paid with a $5.00 bill and of course I was expecting 3 cents back. I was surprised when the girl cashier gave me $2.03 cents back!!! SO I ENDED UP GETTING 2 EXTRA BUCKS! Haha, just wanted to share that with everyone. I still can't believe that happened! I swear that never happens LOL!