whew, these weekends are catching up to me. this last one was just so jammed pack with stuff....but i'm not complaining! i loved it all...just a bit pooped going into this potentially really long, hard week at work.

summary:
friday - went to see the tempest (shakespeare play) where one of my high school girls had a big role. i thought it was really well done and being that i've never heard of the tempest before...i learned a little something too. plus, i got to hang out with cassie!

sat - woke up at the break of dawn (4:30 AM!!!) to meet some CBCers so we could carpool down to a wedding in portland. it was sooo early and we got there with plenty of time to spare. the wedding was nice...funny how with each wedding i go to i think about my own wedding more and more. now i've got the date, the flowers and parts of the ceremony planned out in my head...still waiting on the groom tho =o) had to leave the wedding early to make it back for a pre-rally that night...the rally was small, but it was good to see some of the students again. we (some students and some leaders) ended up hanging out at cassie's place afterwards. it was a fun and relaxful night...played some games and got to see some people get really into charades!

sunday - woke up early...AGAIN! this time to sing for first service, but at least it gave me my first chance to check out the new youth worship service. it was good to see that the students really seemed to enjoy the service more and seemed to be paying attention for once. going to the first service also gave me a rare opportunity to go out for some dim sum.....mmmm...so good. but all things must come to an end and it was back to work for me...at least for most of the afternoon....but let's not think about it. then i was off to a going away party for melinda. saw a lot of old friends...had some laughs...some tears...some good memories. *sigh* so many people keep moving away....(hi-d left too on sat)....so sad...but i know that their moving on to new and exciting things and i know that this time of change will be a good opportunity to make some new friends...new beginnings...

yay! just had a great weekend...my terms great, that is....meaning lots of "friend" times. man, i even almost forgot i had to work on saturday. so, despite the horrible news i found out on friday about having to work on saturday...the weekend started out with a going away party for hi-d. it was a fun time...lots of people...good food...good company. on saturday...headed into work for 7 hours and even though i had to miss out on the going to the bite of seattle with my friend...the day passed quickly. that night i got to have dinner with one of my high school friends and she came with me to the coffeehouse my church was putting on. it was a fun and mellow event...got to see friends i hadn't seen in awhile and got to hang out in a new setting with my hs friend. she enjoyed it too...that's cool. then sunday was the best day...went to church...good message...got my car fixed up a bit by abe (what an awesome friend)...hung out with cassie and abe for a quick lunch....then headed with cassie to josh and val's wedding. the place was sooooo sweet! the bestest view in washington, a super nice place, ceremony and reception. it was fun to see friends and other church member's there too! the night even ended with some dancing...i guess i kinda do like dancing at weddings...provided of course that there are people willing to dance. after awhile of people standing around we finally all got onto the dance floor! it was fun and pretty cool to see some friends dance for the first time. ha ha...good times! but all weekends come to their end..and it's back to work again. hope next weekend is another blast...got another full weekend ahead of me!

just read this on another blog....super funny! man, ok...i gotta get to bed...way too late for me.
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We've all been there but don't like to admit it.

We've all kicked back in our cubicles and suddenly felt something brewing down below.

As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the WORK POOP is inevitable. For those who hate pooping at work, following is the Survival Guide for taking a dump at work.

CROP DUSTING
When farting, you walk really fast around the office so the smell is not in your area and everyone else gets a whiff but doesn't know where it came from. Be careful when you do this. Do not stop until the full fart has been expelled. Walk an extra 30 feet to make sure the smell has left your pants.

FLY BY
The act of scouting out a bathroom before pooping. Walk in and check for other poopers. If there are others in the bathroom, leave and come back again. Be careful not to become a FREQUENT FLYER. People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly going into the bathroom.

ESCAPEE
A fart that slips out while taking a leak at the urinal or forcing a poop in a stall. This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of embarrassment. If you release an escapee, do not acknowledge it. Pretend it did not happen. If you are standing next to the farter in the urinal, pretend you did not hear it. No one likes an escapee. It is uncomfortable for all involved. Making a joke or laughing makes both parties feel uneasy.

JAILBREAK
When forcing a poop, several farts slip out at a machine gun pace. This is usually a side effect of diarrhea or a hangover. If this should happen, do not panic. Remain in the stall until everyone has left the bathroom to spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.

COURTESY FLUSH
The act of flushing the toilet the instant the poop hits the water. This reduces the amount of air time the poop has to stink up the bathroom. This can help you avoid being caught doing the WALK OF SHAME.

WALK OF SHAME
Walking from the stall, to the sink, to the door after you have just stunk up the bathroom. This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone walks in and busts you. As with farts, it is best to pretend that the smell does not exist. Can be avoided with the use of the COURTESY FLUSH.

OUT OF THE CLOSET POOPER
A colleague who poops at work and is damn proud of it. You will often see an Out Of The Closet Pooper enter the bathroom with a newspaper or magazine under their arm. Always look around the office for the Out Of The Closet Pooper before entering the bathroom.

THE POOPING FRIENDS NETWORK (P.F.N)
A group of co-workers who band together to ensure emergency pooping goes off without incident. This group can help you to monitor the whereabouts of Out Of The Closet Poopers, and identify SAFE HAVENS.

SAFE HAVENS
A seldom used bathroom somewhere in the building where you can least expect visitors. Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex. This will reduce the odds of a pooper of your sex entering the bathroom.

TURD BURGLAR
Someone who does not realize that you are in the stall and tries to force the door open. This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments that can occur when taking a poop at work. If this occurs, remain in the stall until the Turd Burglar leaves. This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.

CAMO-COUGHA
Phony cough that alerts all new entrants into the bathroom that you are in a stall. This can be used to cover-up a WATERMELON, or to alert potential Turd Burglars. Very effective when used in conjunction with an ASTAIRE.

ASTAIRE
A subtle toe-tap that is used to alert potential Turd Burglars that you are occupying a stall. This will remove all doubt that the stall is occupied. If you hear an Astaire, leave the bathroom immediately so the pooper can poop in peace.

WATERMELON
A poop that creates a loud splash when hitting the toilet water. This is also an embarrassing incident. If you feel a Watermelon coming on, create a diversion. See CAMO-COUGH.

HAVANAOMELET
A case of diarrhea that creates a series of loud splashes in the toilet water. Often accompanied by an Escapee. Try using a Camo-Cough with an Astaire.

UNCLE TED
A bathroom user who seems to linger around forever. Could spend extended lengths of time in front of the mirror or sitting on the pot.. An Uncle Ted makes it difficult to relax while on the crapper, as you should always wait to poop when the bathroom is empty. This benefits you as well as the other bathroom attendees.

boooo! still at work at 1am!!! and i'm still fighting this lame cold...bah! plus i gotta still get in at a reasonable time tomorrow to prep for the demo i'm giving. sheesh, i just know that i better be able to leave early tomorrow so that i can make it to the dinner with jo and her fam.

on a better note, i got an encouraging bible reference today...i just wish i had the passion and diligence to be more in the Word.

isaiah 48:17
this is what the Lord says -- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am
the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in
the way you should go.

man, i miss nights like tonight. jo is back in town visiting with her fam...we went to the m's game (which i still can't believe they lost) with the whole gang...and then some. then a few of us hung out at the house...catching up with jo and other classmate happenings...and then a long game of apples to apples. some fun times and memories we've had here at the house. *sigh* makes me really remember and appreciate how there are just some special friends that are really the "glue" of the group. when they leave things just never seem quite the same. but it's great how they can bring people together again.

the next couple of days will be fun hanging out with jo and her fam...good times. =o)

sheesh! summer's here and every part of me just wants to relax and do nothing. i hardly even go online anymore which is the reason i haven't posted anything to my blog in awhile. the weather has been super nice, but i think the thing that makes me want to just relax and do nothing is because i'm still working long hours. plus, i just had a bunch of vacation so i shouldn't really be complaining, but STILL...it sucks that i can't enjoy the summer weather cause of work. but at least the work load is starting to lighten...for now.

i'm always looking forward to the weekends...just getting to relax and do whatever i want. even basic and prime time are taking a break this month so it'll be nice to have some down time to myself or catching up with friends i haven't seen in awhile...or friends that will be leaving seattle soon. so sad. so many great friends are leaving...i try to just be happy for them, but when i really think about it i get pretty sad. but life is all about change and at least i know that these friends will always be great friends...despite the distance. i mean, you know... there are just a special type of friend that you know no matter how far away or how little you keep in touch, when you do see each other again, it'll still be good times....just with a little older and a little wiser friends =o)

man, what a great day! this 3-day weekend is really turning out to be the relaxful yet energizing vacation i've been needing. i've started to become that "jaded, bitter working person" that i so do not want to ever be, but this weekend is really doing wonders for me. it started off with a nice sleepover with my prime time girls. really it was just one group, but it was really fun....they're all really sweet girls and just fun to hang with. a little quiet at times, but really sweet. and it was also cool that my roomies and cassie all hung out with us for periods of time.

then the next day, i finally had a free saturday...it was weird, but very nice and very needed. for the first time in a long time i didn't have prime time or basic to prepare for or go to...i could spend the day just cleaning up, doing laundry and chilling at home. it was nice! funny how you take ordinary and somewhat lazy saturdays for granted, it makes you really appreciate uneventful days like that. and to end the nice day by myself...i got to pick up a friend from the airport and hang out with her and another friend that's been gone. and to top it off...we played apples to apples...such a fun game!

that brings me to today which has got to be one of the better days in the past few months or so. went to church and got to see a whole bunch of people i haven't seen in awhile and met some new friends too. the day was filled with a ton of great times...it started with a really great time of worshipping God, i got to hear an awesome semi-engagement story, heard a great wedding story, shared a lot of laughs, went to a mariner's game with more old firends, and hung out and bonded with some newer friends. all in all it was just a really awesome day....and i totally wanna just praise and thank God for building this awesome community of brothers and sisters and allowing me to be a part of all of it. wow!

all i gotta say is....JOEY & PACEY!!!

ha ha, what an ending to a show that i surprisingly have been hooked to and loved over the past 6 years...crazy! i'm so happy about the ending (sorry to all who are joey and dawson fans). but, really, everyone knows that childhood pals and sweethearts are just that....childhood memories. and to think that they can be both the past and the future is just crazy. alright, alright....i guess why i'm really set on the joey and pacey deal is because i secretly hope that someday i'll find a guy like pacey...someone who will love me despite the flaws and will want only for me to be happy. *sigh*

ok, enuff of this girley talk and teeny-bopper stuff....i gotta get to sleep....this new project at microsoft is kicking my butt. i hope things start falling into place and start getting good...or else this will be a long 7 months!

well...i've been enjoying my so-called "break"...it kinda feels like winter break or something for me because i'm in-between projects right now....so, i have regular hours...little to no responsibilities...it's great! but i've only got one more week of it before i start my new project at microsoft. and i have a feeling it's going to be another intense project. but oh well, hopefully it'll at least be a fun project...then the hours won't seem so long.

as for tonight...we had that basic coffeehouse. it was a really cool event cause it was almost totally organized by our student leaders. it was nice to not have to do much for it and to just watch. we had a pretty good turn out and pretty good program too. it was a great activity to have during easter weekend...really made me reflect on how much i have to be thankful for...and how awesome it is to be able to celebrate and remember what Jesus did for us.

i've also been very grateful this past week for the friendships God has blessed me with...i've had more of a chance to get to know some of the people i serve with, and i also got to know some of the people in my cg group better, and it was fun getting to talk and bake with my roomies. God has definitely been with me thru the many seasons of my life, and He is always providing me with new friends or just the right friends at the right time. thank you, Jesus!

whoo hoo! i'm finally done with my project! it feels like i just finished finals or something...yippee! also, i just did my lesson at BASIC tonight...and though it was spectacular, i think it went aight. my lesson was on "the cross"...the topic was suppsed to be Jesus' death and resurrection...i mean of all the topics to give me, it had to be this one...one that has so much to talk about, been done a billion times before, but yet have so much meaning and significance. i think the whole idea of it really scared me and put me at a total lack of confidence in myself. but God pulled me through it...and i do believe a couple of people were actually praying for me too, which always helps.

i was given the idea of using the cross as the center theme of my lesson and it worked great. oh yeah, and i gotta give mention to the book that helped me a ton too...it's called "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Philip Yancey. That too was funny how I came across it. i mean i've had this book ever since i got baptized, but never got around to reading it. and then today, for some reason i was looking thru my bookshelf and saw it. and it was perfect...it was a really good read, plus it gave me a lot of to share about. it was also God orchastrated how just this week i was shown the picture of the cross at ground zero and i was sent a devotional that all seemed to tie in together.

now that i think of it....it's just amazing!

yeah, it's been awhile hasn't it? i've been real busy for the past couple of weeks...yes, with work mostly, but there's been a whole slew of people visiting. it all started with me missing my friends and roomies, so i decide to throw an Oscar's party. but, silly me...being the novice Oscar watcher, i told everyone to come at 6:30p instead of 5:30p when it really began. who knew they actually started announcing awards at 5:30p...i really thought the first hour or so would be filled with red carpet entrances...oh well. i even made up a pretty ballot too for our oscar's pool...but that didn't work out since almost half of the awards had been anounced by the time everyone got there. i guess there's always next year!

oh well, it was good fun anyways...and i got see a bunch of friends...a whole mix of them...some from college, some from hawaii, some from church...it was great. also, visiting that same weekend was jamie...the ol' gang got together for dinner on tues night with her fam...good thai restaurant in fremont...yum! it was good to see J and i even saw mel for the first time in months!

then last weekend, my high school friend..actually long time friend since i've known her since 5th grade came and visited. she now lives in penn and we hardly get to see her since she doesn't go back to hawaii much. anyways, the the 4 of us high school girls hung out the whole weekend. it was a really special weekend....it's been awhile since i've hung out with them like that...even though two of them live in washington we don't hang out that mcuh. we did the whole tourist thing, pike's, downtown, dinner and lots of food...and we even hung out in tacoma! yeah, there really are things to see in tacoma! i was surprised...never really hung out there much or had a desire to, but since one of my friends goes to school down there we headed down on sunday. we made it to the point defiance zoo just before closing which ended up being really awesome since that's when they feed all the animals so we got to see a lot of them in action! the puffins, beluga whales and sea otters where my favorites! i could watch them for hours! we also took a tour of the outdoor exhibits of the dale chihuly collection (famous artist, does awesome glass sculptures) at the tacoma art museum. definitely gotta go back to see that!

now, i'm just wrapping up this project i'm on...one more day and i'm done...free at last! had dinner with my aunty who was in town this week for work. we ate at buca di beppo...ate WAY too much! it was good...but my stomach sure wasn't happy with me! ugh! took it too far and just couldn't enjoy it...bleh!

ok, gotta start work on my lesson and bible study for this saturday...yup..procrastinating like the champion i am!

I just came back from seeing My Fair Lady, and i guess i see why it's a classic. it's probably where the whole pretty woman type of theme came about, but i have to say that it was a bit too long. (don't read on if you don't want to ruin the story line) i think it would've been fine to end it after the ball, but instead it went on for another 30-40 minutes about who-knows-what! either that or it's just cause it lacked the chemistry between professor higgins and eliza...i began to shift uncomfortably in my chair (5th Ave seats just aren't very comfortable) thinking...man, how much longer can this go on! and the ending...well, it just didn't cut it with me...but oh well...now i understand the whole "the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain" thing. never really understood where that phrase came from.

boy, this week was long...i ended up having to work until 9pm on friday...yes, FRIDAY NITE! that really sucked, but i guess it was worth it so that i didn't have to go into work today. today i finally had a chance to relax...i slept in until 10:30a, made myself a big breakfast of waffles w/strawberries and whip cream, eggs, sausage and coffee....mmmm, my favorite! then, i went to church for prime time, and it turned out that only one of my girls showed up. which was totally ok since i had planned to just have a lite meeting. so instead of staying at church, we went to seward park and had a nice stroll around it. the first bit of exercise i've had in a loooong time. it felt good and it was good just talkin' and chillin' with one of the high school girls. then youth council meeting, basic and finally home again.

you might think that this doesn't sound like a very relaxing day, and granted it wasn't totally relaxing, but working as much as i have the past few weeks...today was definitely a nice break from it all...even if it was busy. this reminds me of a truth my friend, cassie, shared with me tonight at basic. she said that she was talking to another friend about working a lot, and she mentioned that at least she wasn't wroking as much as me or some of the other leaders, and her friend wisely reminded her that just cause she's not working as much in comparison, doesn't mean that it's not that much. just b/c cassie has friends like me and others who tend to work longer hours, that doesn't mean that it's the norm..it just means that her "norm" is getting screwed up. i don't know if that made much sense....let me put it this way....i've been working such late hours that when i got to leave early on thrusday...i left work at 7pm and i thought that was early, but that AIN'T early...it just seems like it is relative to what i've been working...but leaving at 7pm is not and should not ever be the norm that i compare things to.

ahhh...i'm just rambling and not making much sense....i should go to bed....

and the hours keep racking up! i've worked 50 hours in the past 4 days...CRAZY! but it hasn't actually been that bad (maybe i'm getting used to it)...i think it's because i'm at least doing stuff that i like versus doing lame labor intensive stuff.

on another note, i did get to go see a musical tonight in issaquah. i won these tickets thru my company's united way campaign, and they were AWESOME seats! and the show was really great too! the musical was called The Ark. going into it, i wasn't expecting much even though all of the reviews were good...i mean, come on, the story is about Noah's ark....how much can you do on a ship with a handful of people and a ton of animals?! but much to my surprise, it was a super hilarious show filled with lots of great songs and actors...and it even incorporated some simple themes of faith and prayer. i would definitely recommend seeing it, especially if you like musicals!

side note: not only was the show great, but the tickets i won were for opening night AND we had tickets in the 5th row AND they were right smack in the center AND not only that, we had seats right next to the writer of the musical!! very cool =o)

coming up next, my fair lady this sunday night....again, i have low expectations despite what i hear about it...there's just something about it that doesn't seem very interesting...but we'll see....low expectations normally mean pleasent surprises! we should all set our expectations low...j/k!

oh yeah, i've just had a really busy and long weekend...cassie and i took some of the jr high and high school girls to the Girl of Grace conference. i was very impressed by the organization and quality of the conference, it was well thought thru in terms of topics, the flow, the timing and everything. i also thought the speakers and topics were well presented...the women of point of grace were the main speakers and they each shared about topics that they dealt with growing up: boys, family, friends and their spiritual life. although the topics were not different from any other youth message, the passion these ladies shared with and their personal testimonies added a lot to these normal topics.

i guess i am also a little biased because it was put on by Point of Grace. why am i biased? because God used the music of Point of Grace to speak to me and call me to Him during the summer of 1997. it was during this summer that God opened my eyes and allowed me to see Him and to experience his love. i had a new roommate for the summer and through her influence, i began to take more of an interest in what Christianity was all about. i borrowed a Point of Grace cd from her, and began listening to it at work. i don't know how to explain it, but there was just something to their music that i found calming yet exciting...the lyrics and messages of their songs really spoke to me and helped reveal to me many different aspects of God that i never knew existed. so, yeah, i'm biased, but also extremely grateful for their songs which so clearly portrayed who Jesus is and who he could be to me. the conference was a great experience for me b/c i was blessed to see how they continue to serve the Lord and continue to share the simple truths about Jesus to young girls everywhere.

it's been awhile since i've added to my blog, and the reason i've been absent is because of the long hours i've been putting in on my project. i can't wait until i roll off and get some down time...yet, the apprehension of not knowing what i'll be doing next is starting to surface yet again. you'd think i'd get used to this feeling, but i don't...but i guess that's just a part of why i like my job; there's always something new on the horizon.

i'm almost there...thru the end of this VERY LONG week...it's been a tough one...i hope all this wear doesn't make me sick...i'm starting to feel a little stuffy...

started the 30 hour famine tonight and i've got a very full night ahead tomorrow...better hurry up and pack and then get some zzzz's...

soooo tired...

this week is going to be a killer one for me....i am so not looking forward to it....work is going to be extremely busy and we have the 30 hour famine on friday. i dunno if i'm gonna make it...i was all excited to have a saturday free, but i think i'll need it just to recoup from the week....man, weekends just aren't long enough...

on a happier note, i did a draft of my taxes...and i think i get a refund back this year! cha-ching$!

WHOO HOO!!! Vegas was awesome! A superbly fun weekend trip...I can't wait for the next one! me and my fam did a bunch of shopping, some gambling, lots of eating and more shopping!! it was great! my greatest purchase of the weekend was a new motherboard, processor and ram....*drool* fry's had their grand opening sale this past weekend in vegas and they had some great deals...soon i'll be flying on my new upgraded computer.....P4 2.5GHz w/ 512 DDR RAM!!! yippee!

my whole fam did pretty well in the gambling dept too...everyone kept hitting 4-of-a-kinds at every casino we visited! everyone but me that is....but it's ok cause i was doing pretty good at my favorite game...Let It Ride. something about this game that i just love, and no, it's not because i do well at it....it's just the thrill of winning big, and the safety of not messing up anyone else (like in blackjack). and the last night was the best ending to a sweet trip....i was on the let it ride table for like 3 hours going up and down. then, just before i decided to pack it up and head to bed, i finally hit one of the bigger hands...i got a full house! 11 to 1 odds, baby! so sweet...i know i had this dorky grin on after that...but i just couldn't help it. =oD and this was just after my fam tried to tell me that it was about time i headed up to the room...i'm glad i decided to stay for a couple hands more.

got back from vegas and went to see the producers with a bunch of friends. we went to dinner first at dragonfish...the food was pretty good, though i didn't think the service was all that great. it's kind of a family style place, but since we had a big party we all split up into smaller groups. then we went to the show....i've been waiting 3 months to see it! and i wasn't dissappointed at all....it was very funny...a parody on the entertainment industry...and on accountants! ha ha, i got a kick out of that one...i just kept picturing my old roomies singing the "unhappy" song!

oh well...all good things must come to an end...went back to work today...despite so many being off b/c of president's day....boo!

I Made It! Only one more day left...in a little over 14 hours i'll be on my way to las vegas....sin city! ha ha...but yeah, i'm way looking forward to this trip. i dunno if it's because i miss my family, miss the fun and lights 24hr a day, miss the adrenaline from gambling at all hours of the day, miss travelling, or what?! i think it's a whole combination of those things a long with the fact that when you're working long hours...you feel like you need a break BAD! i've worked 50+ hour weeks the past two weeks and i'm ready for some rest and relaxation! i know, it doesn't sound like much to some of you career folks, but for me...that's enuff! at least it's still semi-fun...i'm not the bitter working woman yet!

more to come when i return....do i win big?! or shop, shop, shop!?