very sad.

I am living with an American family as well as with two other international students; one from China and the other from Taiwan. My Taiwanese housemate, all of a sudden, told us that he would go back to Taiwan for a month the day before yesterday. The reason why he went back in the middle of a semester was because he heard his dad is really sick. He actually heard this news a few months ago but his dad got better, so we thought he got perfectly fine and didn’t have to worry about him. And my friend thought the same. But he got worse news a few days ago that he has like three months left to live, the doctor said, so he booked a ticket to fly right away to Taiwan. I think this kind of news is the worst news people can ever get. I just felt so bad and this feeling will last for a while.

I imagined what would happen if I might get similar news from my parents or something. I would never be able to stand it. I wouldn’t know what I should do, but just be panicked for sure if I was in the same situation. I am the one who never cries when watching sad movies, but when this kind of event happens, I can’t be calm or handle my emotion. Well, who can?.. but he seemed really calm though, which surprised me a bit. I guess he just wanted not to show how he felt about it.

My family and I kept praying very sincerely for him and his family, and even now I am praying in my mind, writing this blog. I ask you all who read this blog to pray for him and his family, please. Hope everything goes better than what the doctors think.

After all, tomorrow is another day, Brianna

Playing Catch Up

This week just flew by, leaving me behind to play catch up. I find that happens whenever I have a 3-day weekend.

Let’s see so much has happened I don’t know where to start!

On Monday an old friend found me on Facebook. John and I worked together at Pier 1 Imports for almost two years. The amount of fun we had at that place should be illegal. So over the week we’ve been playing catch up. He’s in the Army now and stationed in Italy. He was shocked/happy to hear I’m married. We talked about how back then we were early-20-something punks. But now we’re all grown up and long for the days of a carefree lifestyle. John told me all about Rome and the little adventures he’s had while there. Talking with him made me miss the days with my friends at Pier 1. We were a wild bunch! Those were the best days ever.

Tuesday the best friend surprised me with a visit and snatched me away from my math homework. Can’t say I mind in the least… We also played catch up and ate super fattening Mexican food while enjoying mojitos. Turns out both of us are super lightweights, aka cheap dates, and before long we were a pair of laughing baboons.

Wednesday was another fun filled night with friends. Our dear friend is leaving for Afghanistan on Sunday so a farewell party was in order. There were drinks, good food and laughter by the bonfire. Then some genius decided to throw a broken lighter into the fire pit - let’s just say we’re all lucky to still have our eyes.

Yesterday was uneventful. I finished most of my homework and spent time with my dog, Summer.

Today, well so far it’s great! I’m exhausted from the week. But there’s still much to be done before I can rest these bones.

Tomorrow is an action packed day with the hubby. Also I’m going to Out of the Park Pizza in Anaheim to write a review for the Hornet. Adding to that, I’m also writing an article featuring the cosmetology department. That should be fun…

As Forrest Gump would say, “well that’s all I have to say about that.” I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Stay Classy FC,
Janet

Funny Stuff!

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

House for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' Pencil, however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.' A student asked, "What gender is computer?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer should be a masculine of a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

(THIS GETS BETTER)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but ha;f the time they ARE the problem' and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won!!!!

I thought this was so so so funny! I was going through an old folder and I came across this and thought that I would share it with everyone else. Hope you liked it.

Until my fingers meet the keys, Amber

Poem

I was going through different things on the Internet and I came across this poem that I really like. I think I've read it 20 times already and every time it means something different to me.

The poem is called 'The Ways I like You' copyright by Craig Nicholson.

The Ways I Like You
I like the way I feel when I
Am in your company.
I like your joyful quiet smile
That lets me talk more easily.

I like your understanding look
The kindness in your eyes
Your sense of happiness and care,
That calms my butterflies.

I trust you recognize the Good,
Of which you're really made.
And give thanks through the blessings,
Which flow through you each day.

As of right now I am sitting in a hospital room with my three month old nephew. As is turns out he has RSV. It is a lung infection that is really fatal for infants. He has been in the hospital for two days now and I am taking tonight so my mom could go home and get some rest. She was here all night yesterday and all day today. She really needed a break big time.

Back to this poem, when reading it I cannot help but think about my poor little nephew and every breath that he is taking. I keep looking at his chest to make sure that he is still breathing and that I continue to give blessings everyday. I am afraid to fall asleep because I would not be able to hear him breathe. It looks like I will be pulling an all-nighter again. But as long as my peanut/nephew is ok it is totally worth it.

Until my fingers meet the keys, Amber

Fun trick

I have gotten a fun picture that I would like to share with you guys. It’s called the trick in the coffee beans. Basically it is to find the man in the coffee beans.

Well, this is kind of bizarre. After you find the guy, it's so obvious. 
Once you find him, it's embarrassing, and you might think, 
'Why didn't I see him immediately?'

Okay, are you ready to find him? Here we go. scroll down!

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally.

If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly, and you need to eat more protein. And if you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of these types of exercises to make that part of the brain stronger!!! 


And, yes, the man is right there!!

Wait, Have you really not found him yet, but you are pretending that you know where he is? Hope not. Let me show you the answer, so you can make sure where the guy is!

He is kind of in the middle left at the bottom.

I thought that writing constantly about my life could be boring for you guys, so I just wanted to share something fun with you. Hope you enjoyed it, and also hope you didn't get mad at this trick because your brain didn't seem to be better than others.

Enjoy the holiday tomorrow!

After all, tomorrow is another day, Brianna

This week has been sooo much fun! There are a lot of things I kind of need to stop doing but it is so much fun that it is hard to stop or even slow down for just a little while.

Do you ever catch yourself feeling like you are going to fall when you are laying down? I know it sounds weird but I think the feeling is weirder. Everyday I go to sleep and I get that feeling and I know that I had a great day. My body starts to relax and I know somehow that everything is going to be ok, and that I cannot wait to see what the next day will entail. We all have issues and family troubles but this week has made it a lot clearer to me that with the help and love of your friends you can get through it.

There were many times throughout the week where I was irritated, upset, and even angry with someone or something happening and it was then that my friends came forward and helped me through it. I do not know how they know or what makes them care about me so much but it means the world to me. Because of my friends I had the best time ever.

I do not like to celebrate Valentine's Day and neither does one of my friends, so he and I decided to have breakfast for a Happy Monday instead. It was nicer and no pressure or wasted money on a Hallmark Holiday. It was just two people having a good time enjoying each others company like any other day. It made my week begin with a great start.

Tuesday my bestie took me to dinner and we had a blast and met a bunch of great people that are now going to be really good friends. Wednesday I went to West Hollywood and went to a gay club for the first time and I must say, definitely not the last. It is so nice not having disgusting guys rub up on you and try to holler when you are just there with your girls trying to have fun. Thursday, I had softball games which I will discuss later and yesterday I saw 'Big Momma,' such a good movie. Very funny! Cannot wait to see what the rest of the weekend has in store for me....

Until my fingers meet the keys, Amber

No school

Wow I woke up before 7am today! This is weird. Well, good weird! Because its rarely happened since I came to America. Feeling great today! When I woke up, I planned what I was going to do today. I decided to go to the school library, do my history study, read a history book and come back home by 5pm. Yes, as some of you were already noticing, I totally forgot that there wouldn’t be school from today to Monday. Are there some people that forgot the same thing like I did? Haha. When you feel like you want to study or do something special, it always rains or something else always happens, so it disturbs my plan! Always!! I really wanted to do my work at the library TODAY and there you go, no school! Very funny. Have you had the same thought? Are these happening to me only? Oh no.

So today, I will probably go to any library with my roommate or keep my laptop in my closet and study. My laptop is the worst thing for me. It always tempts me to use it, telling me that I need to check out the notifications from Facebook, watch a movie, talk to friends or call my sister on Skype. No way. Hopefully I can get everything done today.

What are you planning to do this weekend and holiday? Any special plans? Hopefully the rain that will be coming this whole weekend won’t disturb your plans!

After all, tomorrow is another day, Brianna

The Journey

This week as well as the last seems to have a running theme of internal struggle.

It all started last Sunday when my sister-in-law asked if my husband and I were planning on children soon. She suggested we start in a year or so when she will be trying for her third."It will be so nice if the cousins could be close in age," she says. I agree 100 percent it would be great but I explained to her that I still need to finish school and get a better paying job before I can start planning for children. Then my husband chimes in and says, oh yes a year and a half sounds perfect. And I thought in the back of mind how wonderful it would be to start a family next year.

Which got me thinking about where my life is headed, and all that mumbo jumbo. I started to envy friends who finished school, regret some of the decisions I've made and criticizing myself for being where I am today. Oh yeah, I was headed down a very dark road my friends.

THEN...

A few days later I failed my math exam...and by failed I mean bombed it. Huge blow to the ego and confidence level. I'm not sure what happened but I got questions wrong that I can normally do blind folded. Personally I'm blaming it on all the baby talk. I'm just sayin'.

Anyway, moving forward. I then kept the failing trend up this week by not starting my math homework until the day before it's due. Not exactly a smart move when taking an online course. But my brilliant mind said don't start it, math stinks, just wait until you're up for it. And you know what, I'm never listening to that voice again. Nothing but trouble.

So naturally I'm feeling like a complete failure because of my behavior. I do this to myself every single semester. But last night I had stroke of genius. Well ok not exactly, but it felt like one. I realized all the people I compare myself to academically follow a different set of prints than I do. Actually the difference is they have a set a prints to follow. Make sense? Ok lemme explain...

Everyone I respectfully admire comes from a highly achieving family. All of which have left behind a trail of bread crumbs (foot prints), for their children to follow. They have set examples and helped prep them for achieving. I on the other hand and like so many others, am foraging my way through the dense academic forest. Learning valuable lessons along the way but there are times when I wish I had a set of prints to follow. Just to make it a tiny bit easier.

I'm not blaming my lack of time management on anyone. I know in the end it's always up to me. But I continue to get down on myself. At times I think there's something wrong with my I.Q. and that's why I have a difficult time sailing through the semesters. And in those moments I remind myself of my favorite quote by Dr. Wayne Dyer.

"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice."

SO...

with that said. My "stroke of genius" was realizing I'm paving my own path. And with doing so there will always be set backs and stumbles. It's easier to walk the road which has been traveled. But I'd like to think in the end I'll have gained a little more moxy for all my efforts.

Who knows maybe I'm paving the path for children... But that is another song to sing.

Stay Classy FC,
Janet

Busy weeks....

This week has been so busy for me, but so many different and great opportunities have happened for me. I have been practicing a lot this week for both water polo and swimming, and I have been trying really hard to focus on myself lately. I have been talking to a lot of coaches and players to get some outside perspectives and it has really been working lately. I practiced at APU on Wednesday and Thursday and it was a lot of fun! I talked to the coach after practice on Thursday morning and he asked me, "do you always have to rip it up when you are out there?" I though it was such a great ego buster. It helped me so much this past week. I know that I have talent and I know that I am good at water polo but sometimes it is great to hear it because usually I only hear the negatives and forget that there are even positives out there when it comes to how I play. Not only did the coach from APU tell me that on Thursday, but my coach at FC told me how great of a job I was doing on Wednesday night. It meant a lot more coming from Gabriel my Fullerton coach because I respect and cherish his opinion. Last semester during my water polo season Gabriel yelled at me the most out of everyone. It is very rare that I got a compliment from him but on Wednesday when he did tell me how great I was doing lately, it really made me want to work harder and set new goals. I cannot wait to get started and I got started working on it a lot earlier today. I have been up since 5am and I think it is about time to hit the hay and call it a night.
Until my fingers meet the keys, Amber

Valentine's Day

Yesterday I woke up later than usual and kicked back all day watching all the dramas and fun shows on TV. But since today is Sunday, I woke up way early for church and  my first thought was, “Wow, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow!”

Is Valentine’s Day a fun day for you guys? Maybe for some and maybe not really for others. As I have mentioned before, this day has not been an interesting day for me for many years. Very sad. But the point is that I was surprised about one thing here in America. I found out that Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day in a different way than in my country. People here give each other chocolate for Valentine’s Day. However, Girls, in Korea, give guys chocolate on Valentine’s Day, and guys give girls candies on March 14th called White Day.

I honestly don’t know where these “days” come from, but it’s fun to have such days. Good to share sweets with people we care about, and also good for the candy sellers. Sweets give us joy, right? Well, at least to me :)

I didn't used to celebrate Valentine’s Day because I thought these were all sales gimmicks. I still believe so, but I no longer dislike this tradition because of one event that happened to me on Valentine’s Day several years ago.

When I was in high school, I was walking on the street after school on my way home. On the way, I went into a bakery near my house with friends and saw one girl buying a tiny piece of chocolate. I didn’t care about her until I was paying for my bread, but then I heard something from her. She was wrapping up the chocolate on the chair. When I finished paying I went to her and asked her whom she’d be giving it to. I don’t know why I did that. She said it was for her little brother for Valentine’s Day, so my friend asked why she bought one little tiny piece instead of a bigger one. We don’t know why we asked such questions at that time. She said that her brother was dying, and she wanted to get a big piece for him since chocolate was his favorite, but she didn’t have enough money to buy a bigger one than the one she had bought. My friend and I felt very sorry and regretful about asking such questions. She and I went back into the bakery, got a big piece of chocolate and some bread, and gave them to her. She almost cried, and she kept thanking us.

I still don’t know why I went to her and asked such questions, but I am so glad I did it and that a piece of chocolate made somebody happy. Valentine’s Day is still not my favorite day to celebrate, but always reminds me of this time.

Hope you all have a happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

After all, tomorrow is another day, Brianna

No Debbie Downer Here

I’m sitting at home waiting for the coffee to finish - it’s going to be a late night. I have lots of math to work on, a thesis to write for my research paper. Not to mention taking the dog for a walk and watching a movie with the husband (I promised), dye my hair and get to bed at a decent hour to wake up for work.

I’m a bit stressed. Well not stressed but rushed, yeah that’s the word rushed. But life and goals were all put into prospective tonight when in my Newspaper Production class we had a guest speaker from the OC Register. She was awesome! Completely full of energy, life, strength and determination. She reminded me why I’m here, it was a total wake up call. I really needed that because I was starting to fade there for a moment. The tank was running low with no gas station in sight.

Now that I’m back and I’m fully charged nothing will stand in my way. Ok at least for tonight. It’s amazing to me how one person can come in and change your attitude completely. It’s nice to know I can count on that even in a world when things aren't so certain.

So thanks OC Register lady, you’re fantastic! Btw she graduated from FC so she knows what it’s like to be in my seat – literally.

On the even brighter side, I saw my best friend yesterday. And I thought I would have cried uncontrollably, but the second I saw her face it was like rewinding to the day she left just minus the super sad goodbye. To me she never moved and it was all just a dream!

So far this week is starting out wonderfully! I wanted to write a Debbie-Downer blog and tell you all how much it sucks out here and I just want one more hour of sleep in the mornings. Instead it looks like it’s another- hey guys it blows right now but here’s what makes life worth living blog.

Stay Classy FC,
Janet

New year's day

It was the Lunar New Year holiday from the 2nd to the 4th of February in Korea and China. I don’t know if other Asian countries also celebrate this holiday or not, but this holiday is the biggest in Korea. My mom called me around 7 p.m. while I was at school, and asked me if I could go on Skype. I said I couldn’t but later realized that my whole family was waiting for me to get on to talk to me and see my face. I recalled the time I was there with family and had fun, so I called my little sister who is in Indiana, and spoke to her for about an hour. Being here alone was a great decision for me in terms of my education, but whenever this kind of situation comes, I need time to regroup.

In Korea, all of the family members gather at one house that usually belongs to the eldest. (As a Christian family, my family sings songs first, and my uncle leads a service.) We, kids, start a formal bow to elders. The elders give us word of blessings and a bit of allowance. Allowance is the best part for the kids and the worst part for elders, I think. Then, we eat lots of traditional Korean foods and chat for hours. The day before yesterday, I saw my aunt who lives in LA, and she bought me dinner in LA. She also gave me some money as allowance. I think this tradition is very worthwhile to keep!! :)

Today, I finally got to see the pictures of my cousin’s baby. It was a 3D picture that shows the baby’s eyes, nose, fingers, toes and every little detail. My cousin has been pregnant for only three months, and we don’t even know the baby’s gender yet. Well but, how could we see the baby this defined? I mean the technology is so awesome that we can see everything about the three-month-old baby now. I couldn’t believe it. When the time comes that I get pregnant, I will possibly be able to see everything my baby is doing. Very fun!

After all, tomorrow is another day, Brianna

Fridays at Fullerton

Fridays at Fullerton College are completely different from the rest of the week. Everyone just seems more dedicated to getting whatever they have to do done, no questions asked. I think Fridays and Saturdays are for those students that are hard workers and have the motivation to go to school no matter the reasons behind their decision. I am not saying that those that come to school Monday through Thursday, like myself, are not dedicated and that we do not have the motivation to study and finish our classes. However, I just feel like they work harder and concentrate harder and longer. It is kind of refreshing to see such hard workers like the students that come on Fridays.



To me it is nice to see that I am not the only one with responsibilities and trying to work hard and schedule the rest of my life around my education. I know that sometimes we forget how hard we work and that education is a lot harder than we expect it to be, but i think when we do get reminded as to how hard we work and how much it will pay off in the end. I just want to congratulate those that work hard for what they want and to keep working as hard as you can. One day we will all look back and realize how accomplished we are.

Until my fingers meet the keys, Amber

Life is good

I’ve been so busy since the spring semester started. Well, let me clarify. I don’t do anything but study, almost all day in the library. So it’s not physically busy busy, like working or chilling. I go to school, study in the library and come back home :) yeah, that’s my life so far! What an exciting life this is! … There is nothing really going on in my life. Seriously! What’s wrong with me? I get frustrated whenever I think of how my life is going. But then I always remind myself of the reason why I am here and pray to keep myself boosted up to feel better. What do you do when you feel frustrated? For me, reading Korean news or articles, or watching funny TV shows that make me laugh.

Like I said, my school life has been very tough especially this semester for some reason. But I got a phone call a couple days ago from my friend saying she missed me. I became very homesick while talking to her. And I also heard that my cousin is pregnant! Which means that I am going to be an auntie next September! My cousin was always like my sister and now she’s pregnant? She’s going to be a MOM? Oh, I get Goosebumps! It’s because she is only four years older than me, and I feel like I have to get married soon or something. So what? I don’t even have a boyfriend! What’s wrong with me AGAIN? Haha, this is another topic and I don’t want to talk about it. Anyway, my whole family got excited since the baby will be the first next generation kid! Wow, nature is amazingly unbelievable. I can imagine, I will have my own family someday as well! Marriage seems really far off for me. So is having a baby, of course!

Anyway, this news gave my boring life excitement. Plus, my host mom’s third granddaughter was born a few days ago, and it gave me joy too. I love babies! Can’t wait to meet both babies! Haha

After all, tomorrow is another day, Brianna