Update on Everything!!!

Okay so yeah....September 23, was my friend's birthday. Cindy Tanaka. Yeah, we have been friends for a very long time. Met ya in freshman year at SEMHS, and even had you for choir and stuff. Been through a lot together. You are a really cool and great friend to know. Hope you had fun on your Birthday...after i kidnapped you and told you bout it first..but yeah special day indeed...lol..yeah man KAROKE!! but anyways...Happy 19th! You always have a special place in my heart...homies friends for life...we are a part of the Shively Six Guys Colombia 2 Girls...nothing will change that...

September 24, was Evelyn's birthday. Hurray for Evelyn!! She is finally LEGAL!! About time young un! Shoot man, this gurl..i met when i was Freshman? And she was a lil 8th grader at GAY DANA MIDDLE in Arcadia. We have been cool homies for the longest of times, and althogh we lose contact sometimes we still manage to spend time together. I know I clown on ya alot, but its outta love! Haha...and like yeah..i think it is fair..i drive to you to clown on ya and then you drive to me so i could clown on ya..LOL it works out..but yeah. You a really close homie that I am glad I got to know. Its weird though, I spent more time with you these past few months, than I did the whole time I knew ya..LOL..gay indeed, but hey, better late than never. Good times @ Olive Garden, and party was chill, til ya know..but yeha..glad you had fun i geuss...SLURPEE RUNS ARE A MUST!!!

September 25, the one, the only Pix/Pipi's b day. My Pipi...Kathy Hao...dang this is one cool chick from Ramona. I remember talking to this chick for the first time. It didnt matter that we didnt know eachother and we never met, yet we still talked til 7AM...until I fell sleep on her..LOL...she has been one of the best friends a guy could ever have. We don't always talk all the time, but we still find time for eachother and catch up on everything. Wish I could spend more time with ya, but ya know..you be all popular and stuff, and like I got stuff to do as well...but yeah, the times I do spend with her are great! Sorry couldn't make it to your party. Needed me to drive...but yeah...hoep i didn't miss much...well I know i did..cuz you called me kinda buzzed..haha...but yeah..next time. Always so caring and thoughtful, and taht is why she so rocks! Happy 19th Kathy! Remember Kah and Pix Day..November 24..which i think now will be changed to KahKah and Pipi Day! LOL How lovely..haha..well see ya then..talk to you soon!
I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS (well actually GURLS lol...but you know what i mean...) HAPPY BIRTHDAY Y'ALL!!

Okay, barnes and nobles was all right...just like being at home without the internet..and STARBUCKS!!! *Droolz* After B&N went out with Cindy...for her b day...friday. I finished the paper I had to do, but I didn't finish reading the book, so let's see how I get graded on that...i stayed up all night to do that dang paper...and then i went to school. I went home got no sleep, and then at night went to party at the UCI Foam Party. It was really cool and fun. Until I almost got buried and drowned in the foam. I was udner the foam machine and like people kept pushing me under it when I wanted to get out. Well foam kept on coming and I wanted out, i tried to get some air, but the foam was in the way, and when I breathed, I inhaled foam. Not the best source of oxygen. This happened 5 times, and I was able to get out, but i was gagging. I didn't yak, but i felt like it, and also I still couldnt breathe after I was free..for like a minute, i was strugging for air. It was fun none the less...was going to stop by Kathy's party in Riverside after, but was too tired, and she called and said it was over...

Saturday came, and it was Evelyn's party. I invited Julie Lam...friend I met like last year. Was really cool to see her again. Ate at the Olive Garden, and that was really cool. Met a few people. And then it was time for her party...it was all right.. a drinking party at Lincoln Plaza Hotel in Monterey Park. It was a pretty small room for a ton of people and as JV called it, "Cock Fest 2003" LOL...well anyways we left at 11, jsut before the drama, cuz I had to take Julie back to my hosue to pick up her car so she could go home before 12. After I did that, me and JV went to my friend's hosue up in Montclair. What was suppose to be a party, just ended up being a kick back with his neighbors. Mini Cock Fest...and so JV found another party in Walnut. We were leaving, but then the police busted it, so yeah 3 parties, all busts...was just a waste of my gas! LOL, but hey, it was an adventure...

Trying to create a study group for my Chinese 101 class...it is pretty easy for me, jsut gotta memorize the writing and the reading, but other than that no problem. So I might as well help the other people in my class. I struggle a little, but hey, the other people need help more than I do, so I offer my help. So a study group was created. Our first meeting will be tomorrow..Hope it is a success...i think this is the first big thing I planned. Got another thing in the works...but not ready to reaveal that yet..and that is my life so far...

GOt a 95 on my first History Test, got another one thsi coming Friday. 1st essay has yet to be given back, second one first draft due on Thursday. Chinese Quiz tomorrow...on last week's quiz i got a 91. ANd foudn out Biology Test has been moved from Oct 2nd, to October 7th! Crunch Time!!!

Sorry I haven't been updating...just got a lot of work to do right now...schoool is taking up a lot of time. I gotta 5 page report due this friday on Roughing It by Mark Twain. And I still gotta read the book. I should have been done reading by last friday..so now it's crunch time for me. Gotta read this stupid book which always knocks me out...but today David is going to take me to Barnes and Nobles...maybe a cahnge in environment will help me stay awake...plus on top of all of that, I got English Reading Responses, and free writes that are just a pain in the @$$...and I gotta have an essay by next thursday...also Bio test on Oct 2 which is also next thursday, along with my essay for english...and CHinese Quiz tomorrow!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But as you can tell...I am not stressing our or anything.... *cheezy smile*

Hurray for the Weekend!!!

This week went by really really quick. It seems like it was just Monday yesterday, but the reality of it is that today is FRIDAY!!! The weekend is finally here!!! A well deserved weekend for me if I do say so myself. This week has been filled with hard work. And more work is up and coming. I am so glad that I get to have a break from school, and it all. I think I really need it. Although I still have to read and study and do homework, so I don't really know how much of my weeekend is going to be relaxing. It is all worth it though. School is really kinda fun. I am really enjoying it, but with that said about school, 11 MORE WEEKS TO GO!!! LoL

This summer has been really fun. Chill most of the time, and boring the other part, but fun nonetheless. Especially now, when school started for me and not for everyone else. One big thank you to a Miss Rosa Phung. She has always been there to show me some fun. Wake my @$$ up to go on a Carrow's Run, just being her gay stupid self, and me being my gay stupid self. Always wanting to do something, go out, no matter what time it is. The fun we had, the sneaking out, the car breaking down at your house, and the many CS nights with the gang. This is a summer worth remembering. I am going to miss your fungusy butt when you go back to Riverside. But I know I can always depend on thos e damn late night calls to wake me up and just talk. I'm always here for you. Just like I have always been. You are one of my best friends...and I am grateful to have someone like you. Even though I know you are jealous of me because I am prettier, gurlier, and cooler than you! But you rock anyways LOL...just messing...No more late nights with Rosa...*sniff sniff* Lovers you Rosa!!!

To the gang(Ant, Tan, Henry, Giggleberri, Tien, Tuoc, Jaime, Bao, Jane, etc.) Thanks for the laughs. Boxing is fun, even if you get your @$$ kicked. It's all in good fun with the homies. Also those cool CS nights, and that crazy LAN night at Anthony's...it was fun. Thanks for treating me when I am low on money, Rosa, Ant, and Candy. When I get a job, I will surely treat your butts to Todai or whatever. BBQ's, water fights, and Bowling...so much fun! Thanks for everything. You the best!

To my other group of friends that I hang out with. (Truong, JV, David, Joanne, Joi, Thao, Jessica, Chen, Hsin, Lacbain, etc) Thanks for being there...always...even through the rough shyet we been through. This summer wouldn't have been the same without you. All those fun clubbing nights, sleepovers, etc. You guys are the best. Drinking parties, driving range, and just chillen. I don't know waht I would do without you people. We been friends for a long time, homies, and then a family. Haven't really seen ya or chilled with most of you people in a while, but know I'm always there. I love ya guys...

The essay that brought back the Blogger...

The essay that brought back the Blogger...


My Great Escape to Nowhere

“We’re moving.”

Those two simple words changed my life forever.

How could my parents do this to me? How could they just decide to move without consulting my brother or me? Everything I knew was in Pomona, California. I was just getting my life together. Granted, I was only four years old at the time, so what kind of life could I have had at that young age? But where was my say in all of this relocating? And where the hell was this town called South El Monte, anyways?

Before I continue about my great move to a town that probably nobody could pinpoint on a map, let me give some background information about myself. I was born in San Antonio, Texas. I lived there for the first four years of my life. My parents decided to divorce due to irreconcilable differences. Under the custody of my mother, my brother and I departed to California, where she met my step-father. He owned a business, a motel called Travelodge, in Pomona. I only lived there for a little more than a year, but Pomona was the place where I considered home. I had my own room, cousins, friends, a pool, and free color TV with cable in every room! Life was good, and now we were going to move to this unknown town called South El Monte. In other words to a four year old child; no TV with cable, no friends, no pool, and no cousins. A brand new start.

Moving day finally arrived, and I remember watching the hotel getting smaller as we drove further away until it disappeared from my sight, lowering itself below the pavement road horizon. I rolled down my window and inhaled my last El Pollo Loco scented, smog filled breath that I would ever have the pleasure of inhaling in Pomona. The Pomona I knew, the Pomona I grew up knowing.

Driving to South El Monte, I saw many big, nice houses. I was hoping we would stop in front of one of those houses, but every house I saw that I liked or wanted, we just drove right by it. One house, two house, red house, blue house, all of them not my future house. We were not even in South El Monte yet, and I was starting to believe that this town did not exist. We were on a never-ending road trip to a place that could have been a pigment of Dr. Seuss’s imagination. However, I finally saw the town that would be my future home. The roads were rough yet smooth at the same time, the buildings were bland, the people were ordinary, and the grass looked like a yellowish green, not dead, but not alive either. Everything in this town was plain. Nothing extraordinary about it, which can also describe the town itself. Nothing extraordinary. I inhaled a deep breath of South El Monte air. The scent reminded me of Pomona, Kentucky Fried Chicken and smog. This town could not even get the correct chicken place right! I was getting homesick, only to realize that this was my home now. The most distinct thing about this town was the taste of the air. Pomona’s taste was fresh, clean, pure, whereas the air in South El Monte tasted salty, as a sign of all the hard work that was used to create this featureless town. The laborers’ sweat blending together symbolizing that this town consisted of no individuals. This town was a group effort and everyone and everything in it has become one.

The same could be said about my house, a white house with a brown garage. It looked like everyone else’s in the neighborhood. It was, simply put, cozy. Everything seemed so peaceful and synchronized. It is like one of those movies that show everyone wearing the same outfit and mowing their lawn at the same time, in exact unison. There was a group a cholos, Hispanic gangsters, hanging out a block away, but other than that the town was full of sickening goodness. I unpacked my things into my new room and decided immediately that I wanted out. This was not the town for me, and I knew that I would find a town better suited for me. This became my secret mission, my secret obsession.

I never voiced my desire to get out of this town, but I never forgot about it as well. I always figured it would just happen. My brothers always threatened to leave once they were allowed to live on their own. “I’m going to move out once I turn 18,” they would always scream at my mom. They are now 21 and 20 respectively, and still living at home, milking the free rent, utilities, and food for all it is worth. I am 19 and I desperately want out, but it seems like I am unable to escape. What is wrong with this town? Why couldn’t I get away?

Everything about South El Monte was predictable. There was nothing new, no adventure, and no life. Since Kindergarten, everyone in your grade would know you regardless if they were in your class, and the majority of them lived no more than a block or two away. Everyone knew each other, some more than others. There were not many Asian children in the town, and with my social abilities and intelligence, I became one of the more popular kids. I began to accept this little town and the people in it. To be accepted in a small town and to be well-known made me put “my mission” to leave on hold until after high school.

Graduating from high school was one of my great accomplishments in my young life. I could not wait to get out of the high school that shared the same name as the town. I graduated with my friends, whom I grew up with, but I was still stuck at home, unable to say good riddance to this provincial town. However, even though I didn’t leave, I never looked back at that school, my past teachers, or my younger friends who were due to graduate in the upcoming year or two.

Although I spent most of my life trying to concoct a plan to flee from this basic town, I never noticed its fine qualities. Sure, the neighbors are not all gracious with each other and gossip spreads like wildfire on a hot, dry day, but living in this homely town gave me bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime.

After a year, I decided to visit South El Monte High School, just to see how everything was going. Once I stepped inside the gates of the school, I was being tackled by my friends who were still in high school. A reunion. They were screaming my name and rushing to give me hugs. It was as if I were a celebrity or the next American Idol. Old teachers greeted me, and some teachers who showed no compassion to me while I was a student were now treating me as if I used to be their favorite student. All that was missing was the red carpet and my own personal chauffer. I was so ready for my close up! It was refreshing to know that even though I left, I was still missed.

I always said that I wanted to get the hell out of this town from the moment I laid my eyes upon it. However, during a discussion I was having with a counselor, I was explaining to her that I wanted to teach high school level U.S. History. I had a plan and was describing it to her. I was going to get my Bachelor’s Degree and my teaching credentials. After I completed that, I wanted to arrange an appointment to talk with the principal of South El Monte High School, to find out if there were any teaching jobs available. Then it hit me. An epiphany. Without even realizing it, I was talking about teaching at the same school that I had received my education from, the same place that I despised and desperately wanted to leave. It turns out, I wanted to give back to my community, the same community which I took and took for so long. It was my turn to give something back.

Another example of how great this city is was when I recently visited the South El Monte Public Library to check out a book for a class. Keep in mind, I have not been to the library since I was at least 11 years old. As I walked through the door, I first recognized the librarians. They were the same bunch of lovely women who were there when I received my first library card as a young child. To my surprise, they still remember who I am. They had witnessed my transition from a mischievous kid to a well-developed college student. From the librarians to the old musky smell of the library, it is refreshing to see that some things still haven’t changed. As I reflect upon my parents’ decision now, I am glad that they chose to move us to South El Monte. This town has a lot more appeal to it than its plainness suggests. Maybe this town was not as bad as I had first perceived it to be.

South El Monte is really what you would call “home.” It has every aspect that a home consists of; a cozy environment, great company, and an extraordinary place to relax. Thinking back upon this close-knit town, it has impacted me more than I have known. It showed me qualities and values that I still carry with me until this very day. Everything that I complained about at first, are the things that I like so much about this town. They are the qualities that make this town a town. You get attached to it without even realizing it. Unlike, many other people, I didn’t have to leave in order for me to realize that I liked this average town. I realized I missed this town before I was even able to escape it. The grass that was once yellowish green is now the perfect shade that all other grass strives to be, those bland buildings have more life and color than any other buildings anywhere, and the salty tasting air has lost its saltiness. It seems to taste a lot sweeter now. I now see that this town’s air was not salty, but it was my own unwillingness to accept this welcoming town as my own that left a brackish taste in mouth.

Unretired, and it feels so good

I think I am going to unretire my Blogger...only because I wrote an essay for my Eng 101 Class and took it to the Writing Center to get help in making it better. Well one of the tutors told me that I am a very good writer. Very descriptive. She asked if I ever like wrote in a journal or anything and I told her that I used to write in a weblog. She said that I should keep writing in this. So here I am...She also said that I should consider Creative writing....so yeah...Miss this..I will also have a Livejournal for other stuff..so yeah...I'M BACK GUYS and GURLS!!!

SOmethings to think about and try...

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Wred"

Weird - must be right brain-left brain stuff!!!
Sitting at your desk right now, rotate your right leg in clockwise
circles.
At the same time draw the number six with your right hand.
Which direction is your leg going now?