October 2005
10.30.05, Sunday:
[07:15pm] Happy Birthday Derrick! Happy Birthday Femi! ^_^
Karen and Phil's Wedding yesterday.
Oy, interesting...especially with everything starting off late and being disorganized and last-minute...but well...they're married now. I hope the wedding wasn't an omen for the marriage...! O_o
It was still fun though, even if I DID stand on the wrong side up on the front as maid of honor, and couldn't find the flowers they were to present for their parents (apparently, they didn't tell anyone it was supposed to go in that little backroom.), and had a little flower girl that was ready to bounce off the walls at any second, hee hee. =) The food was still good, and Lau's - we always fun to hang around with eh? =) The best man (and his fiancee!) were also awesome people, and I had a good time getting to know them and chill with them during the day. =)
I got a new toy (it's red. Woo hoo!), so I got to take pictures with it during the dinner! ^_^ I didn't get any shots at the ceremony since I was in it, heh heh, so I'm hoping my relatives will send them along sometime soon. ^_^ Here are some that I got:
(1) After make-up and hair are done in the morning. (2) My handsome Shelton, hee hee... (3) Fobbiness abound!
(4) My Auntie Amy! She arranged all the flowers and bouquets - even the last minute ones. She's pretty awesome with stuff like that. ^_^ (5) The littlest niece in the Lau clan - Noelani! ^_^ I missed pics of Maile, as she was socializing all over the place, hee hee hee...but I did give her my bouquet at the end of the day! (6) My mom and the bride, in her qipao. ^_^
(7) Groom and bride (with cheongsam on) (8) It's KaWai!!! I didn't realize she was Wallace's daughter...ha ha...and I've known Wallace since like, forever...! (9) Anthony and Andrew, with a bit too much brotherly love, eh? =)
(10) My Uncle Sudan!!! I still need to go over and play pool with him again sometime. He's pretty good, by the way. ^_^ (11) Malena and I - she's the best man's fiancée, and I liked her! (12) Family Picture! ^_^
Went to Takako's Bridal Shower today. Three weeks to go for her! ^_^
10.25.05, Tuesday:
[10:12pm] A good day at school, and an even better AFTER school. Why?
(1) Cuz it's the 25th. ^_^ And not just any ol' two-five, but one that marks 1 year-ness. ^_^ (2 & 3) Too warm for tulips now, but these ones were just ask pretty. At least there weren't any alstroemerias to give me hives. ^_^
(4) Avocado Egg Rolls. Gloriously delicious. =) (5) When I take the picture, I'm too short. (6) I guess it's better that Shelton takes it, ha ha ha...^_^
10.24.05, Monday:
[08:35pm] We sang our Chinese song yesterday. My dad said it was good. =) Yay! =) Governing Board meeting yesterday lasted till 6. Oy. There were some things about the meeting that really got to me, but I think for political reasons, I should just hold back and think upon it more before saying anything. =P
Ah, from xanga:
Tagged from Ilovenascarandboba
Twenty facts about me.
1. I love singing in the shower, second only
to singing in the car when I’m alone. The music’s blastin’ and I’m beltin’ it
out. ^_^ My favorites tend to be from musicals – Phantom of the Opera, Wicked,
Mamma Mia…all that good stuff where you gotta sing from the diaphragm, hee hee…I
think only Shelton has heard me sing this way out loud, when we were coming back
from Vegas once, muah ha. =)
2. Continuing with singing, I like imitating those
Chinese opera singers, hee hee…I can do the nasally parts pretty
well, actually. Though I’d never do this in public. Often. =)
3. When I was little, my brother would influence me more than I would influence
him in what to play. Collecting baseball cards, playing
marbles and pogs, didn’t stem from my love of playing on the swings
and jungle gym bars. =Þ
4. Speaking of swings…one time, Dorothy and I were swinging…about a year ago
maybe??? And both of us got really dizzy!!!
I think we’re getting too old, ha ha…^_^
5. My favorite popsicle is the Pineapple Cherry Big
Stic. Which I’m eating right now. (Joke on it is: How do you avoid
ticks on your pets? Don’t let them wear a watch! Sigh. My silly favorite one is:
What did the sea say to the sand??? Nothing! It waves! *eye roll* ^_^)
6. I’ve never broken a bone! Woo hoo! ^_^
7. When I got the chicken pox, Jason, my
doctor told me I had
leprosy! That’s pretty scary, when you’re little and reading all these Bible
stories about it…O_o
8. My first car was my uncle’s 1986 Toyota Van.
It was great, even though I ran it into a pole the first night I took it out. =P
But, it had these blue curtains with little white designs on it that my uncle
(aunt?) made for it, and that was why it was more special than all the other
1986 Toyota Vans. After we sold it, my dad said that the new owner took it down
to Mexico and had the dent fixed for really cheap. =)
9. My first real pet was Emily, and I had
her for about 13 years. Those of you that got to hang out with her knew just how
intelligent she was, and those of you that got to know her personality knew just
how awesome of a parakeet she was. She was the bestestestestestest. =) Right
now, she’s buried under a cactus plant in the side front yard…
10. I never went to a single high school dance!
The only school dance I ever went to was my 8th grade end-of-the-year-luau
dance. =) It’s okay, no regrets actually, ha ha… I DO like to dance though, muah
ha. It’s fun to be silly. ^_^
11. I like the 99 cents store too Gilbert.
=)
12. I've tried to ban
Wal-Mart. But it wasn’t so successful. Maybe I should try again.
13. I had considered minoring in Humanities. But what would I do with it??? And,
I was too consumed by the glory of Bio
stuff, ha ha...so bio it is! *zot zot* (UCI Bio list includes
Shelton, Melody,
Kim! Kimblee
too, I think - right Viola? And
TheoBear's there, so *zot* anyways! ^_^)
14. I got a dress this weekend, and used the fact that I looked like a kid to
bargain with the lady and get it for way cheaper, hee hee...well, I didn't USE
it per se...she just ASSUMED, I think, and called me "cute" ("ke ai")
when she sold it to me. =)
15. Language is fun - I can speak mandarin
(learning more every day!), cantonese, english, and spanish. Japanese is the
next language I plan to learn. I like speaking in an English accent, and do it
sometimes in my classroom when I talk about the metric system. Speaking in an
Indian accent is fun too, and so is laughing like a french(wo)man. Oh, and it's
especially fun to speak in a fobby asian accent, or even int he style of the
Little Ninjai. Pretending
to speak Korean and Japanese also makes me laugh. Maybe I'm just horribly
racist. =)
16. Ha ha! In linking to The Little Ninjai above, I saw a link to a reality show
that I might actually watch! A
martial arts reality show!
I wonder how real it is.
17. I like all those violent, old style kung fu shows. In fact, I learned a lot
of Cantonese phrases when I was little from them, like:
"Maan sheung maan sheung maan maan shueng!" - Basically, the Chinese way
of saying "Long live the King!"
"Wong sheung zi yeuk" - Often said by the king's messenger when he
unrolls a scroll, reading the King's commands.
"Geen sae but gow!" - one of my favorites...literally translated as "see
death and not save!", often used as a rhetorical question by heroes who often
save the day. =)
"How wui yow kay" - "We will meet again"; saying goodbye, but with hopes
of meeting again.
And from Jackie Chan's Project A..."Gou tiew nui hou lang ah, yow yao bou yao
louh a tien ah!" (ha ha...I won't translate THAT one, as it's not a good
phrase, per se...my bro and I used to go around the house saying it, ha ha...)
18. As any typical Chinese mom would do, my mom used to hit us when we were bad,
with the rice paddle, spatula, shoe, feather duster...really, whatever was
handy. One time, she went to hit us and my bro and I ran upstairs,
laughing all the way. =) I don't remember if
she got us later though, ha ha...
19. I still don't like olives, though I've acclimated a little to eggplant, and
gotten used to the nori for sushi. In fact, sometimes I get a craving for it.
Weird. I still am not a big fan of raw sushi. And, I still don't like mustard,
nor bittermelon. ^_^ I'm not too picky about food - I love food! But I know
what's good and what's not-as-good, because I have this mole under my chin. And
my mom says it's a "food mole", meaning
having that mole in that auspicious location means that I know how to eat, and
what's REALLY good food. =)
20. For some reason, I've never heard of the
Cheeseburger Bill. But I did today on the radio. About time people start
taking responsibility for what they choose to eat. Oy. That linked well to Ed
Ng's sermon yesterday, about how many flaws can exist in the secular courts. I
mean, the bill is good, yes, but the fact that it had to be made so people think
sensibly is ridiculous enough. Our nation is a funny thing. Actually, it's not
that funny. We take way too many things for granted,
like free public education (=teachers taken for granted, not as respected,
whereas in other countries where people realize that education is a privilege,
they respect their teachers!), the availability of computers and technology,
cars and transportation, in many places...cheap potato chips, 99 cent burgers,
and other unnecessary "nutrients" (as much as I love the availability of 99
cents Chicken McNuggets on Tuesdays...!)...and yet, there are nations where
people are starving, uneducated, don't have technology around the corner and
transportation other than their brown, cracked feet. (I didn't use "brown" to
indicate any skin color - just dirty feet, heh heh...). In fact, I'm sure there
are pockets in the US that are like this, but for the most parts, we Americans
just dang take things for granted, and without realizing it most of the time.
EXTRA FACT: It's one of my super-duper-fantastic friend's birthday today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIANG!!! ^_^
Anyways...I tag...all of you! Ha ha! ^_^ J/k. Whoever wants to go for it, have
fun! (And if you do, let me know with a comment, so I can read it too! Yay! Hee
hee...^_^)
10.22.05, Saturday:
[03:28pm]
Since Monday, we've found that D.C. Fundraising is not tooootally taken away, so long as the fundraisers are not led by teachers, not on campus, or, if parents head the whole thing, we're set to go. So, we're currently going to write an emergency announcement letter, ask for help, figure out what things people need to do...it's a lot of thinking and reorganization.
<english accent> This morning, me mum and me went to seek out a dress for upcoming wedding affairs. Perhaps 'twas her constant complaints that I wear the same one(s) at each event that drove me to find a new dress. Thus, to appease her, as well as I, we went forth to Rowland Heights, found a considerably beautiful piece of artwork that I fell in love with, bartered with the not-so-very-charming saleslady (and had a jolly good time doing it!), and brought a dress home with me. ^_^ It's completely enchanting. =) Oh, and but of course - I win! =) </english accent>
After work on Thursday
Went to find Anna to play
Picked up our turtle and snail
Painted with such detail
We dallied to the gym
Worked up a sweat, and did not swim
Practiced Japanese
Thought I lost the book - Jeez Louise!
But it was just Anna
Pretending the book was in Oksana!
Flying spiders and non-flying ants
Curse you, Derrick, for your chants
She tricked me, Tien Fu,
To get back at you! (ha ha! ^_^)
After some crazy driving
We went for some dining
And some Bible Study
With my study buddy
Olive Garden style
Eating our pasta with a smile! =)
After work on Friday, I went home, ate, and went to Fellowship at RCAC. =) 'Twas fun to hang out with Vanessa, Josh, Thomas, and Theo (who now has lives in Isengard at UCI! *zot!* At least he can avoid all the biking...=)
After I got the dress today, my mom and I went grocery shopping at 99. I love grocery shopping. =)
10.17.05, Monday:
[06:52pm] Today? Today was a day of ultimate rejection. Sigh. I guess the gray skies matched well.
I mean, I was quite happy with the whole thundering and lightning that was going on - I do like the rain and cooler weather. In fact, we washed cars for DC Club on Saturday, and earned nearly $600!!! With only 30 kids! They were so awesome and great - I mean, I was less tired that I ever was at a car wash, ha ha...which means either (1) I've improved in car washes, (2) it was easier with 3 teachers there instead of just me, and (3) 30 kids = easier to manage than 60 kids...or a combination of all three factors. ^_^ They did do a great job washing cars though, and overall, it was nothing short of superb. =)
But anyways, yes, rejection. So everything did start out great - the kids were good in class, and Snack AAttack after school was fantastic - we made $100, despite our worries about the rain. But then, after school...rejection after rejection...
Our principal, bless his heart, pulled Jackson and I into his office to tell us in the best way possible that the standing Superintendent said no to all our fundraising efforts. In fact, we are not allowed to fundraise at all for the rest of the year - we could sell out the stuff we already bought for snack attack, but no more after that. No car washes. This Friday's movie (Lemony Snickets) is out. No dance pictures. No more snack attacks. No more friends pictures. No more In-n-Out. No more Applebee's night. No fundraiser booklets. No ornaments. No nothing.
It's not anyone's fault, really. DC is not a district-sponsored trip, and it seems we are the ONLY ones that have started fundraising for this trip in this district, so it was new for everyone, from principals on up to the superintendent. But they decided to pull the carpet out from under us now, and all our efforts are pretty much knocked out. And the kids were doing so good!!! And we were creating this mini community out there with the school (after school movies, dance pictures, all those things...) that the kids were all getting excited about! And our students were all motivated to simply do their absolute best and work for their trip to DC! And 15 kids were supposed to get the $250 stipend, while the rest of us get T-Shirts and disposable cameras for the trip, a beach trip at the end of the year, and some type of pizza party for all their hard work! AND we were the best club on campus, ha ha...with the best ideas, not under our budget like ASB or other groups, and cool. I know I'm being biased, but no other club came up with the ideas we've had, and earned $1000 in one month with only about 30 some kids. That's a complete fact.
So anyways, I have to write letters and notices to parents and to those that have already donated money for individual students in the club...and all fundraising is now cancelled. What meaning is there to be in the DC Club any longer now? We could talk about the monuments in DC...but that wouldn't last from now till April. Actually, that'd be almost too boring...=Þ Dude, we made it cool...not geeky, like the recycling club (sorry, but that club gets complete geek-stereotype into it...though Jackson and I would make it totally cool. Lepale too!). We're not allowed to even meet, technically, on campus, and talk about any money issues for the trip. Anyways, ideas would be good. =)
So there goes that.
Then I went to pick up promised bags of film canisters for the pop rocket lab we're starting I put in the order a week ago. Turns out WalMart gave it all away to someone else and forgot about me. And Sam's Club only had a few. I could understand the few. But the whole giving the whole order away to someone else??? Sigh. That means no pop rockets. I started some students on it today, because that was the plan...and I had enough, though not fully enough for everyone else...I was expecting at least 50 more today, if not more. I guess we'll swap over to Newton Scooters a lot faster than I thought we would. So I looked for a lipstick, since mine's pretty much out. Guess what? Yeah, you've guessed it...couldn't find it too...actually, I did find one...but all of them were all used to an oblivion by some kid, I'm sure. Even a rejection from lipstick.
No more WalMart for me. I must be strong, ha ha...Though, to stop the continual suckiness of today, I bought a purse there for $10. =Þ And a neat shirt for Mercedes...but with my luck today, I betcha it just won't fit...and I left my receipt there (I used those automated registers, and was trying to get the stuff in the bag, heh heh).
At least there were good things of today, right? The rain. Xiao Lung Bao's in the morning (all those frozen chinese bao things that we steam to eat is always good...ha ha...). Overall good classes. And the weekend was great: Car Wash, grading and lesson planning was done early enough, Shelton, moderating on Sunday, South Coast Plaza (I got a bunch of nice socks for 99 cents each! And my mom finally found her shoes, hee hee...), and Inuyasha. =)
10.14.05, Friday:
[09:01pm] I watched Napoleon Dynamite after school, at the Patriots Theater (we run Friday after-school movies for D.C. Club, heh heh). It was utterly one of the most boring-est movies I've ever seen...! I think I only liked two parts the best - when Napoleon says "Pedro offers his protection" (and that offer is followed up by his familia!) and Napoleon's dance. The rest...sigh...
(1) Current: I'm tired. (2) Takako and Ros, from Six Flags a long time ago. ^_^ (3) One of my most favorite pictures of Elaine! (4) I also mentioned Nina in this post! (5) Heh heh...back in da days...being big goofballs. =) (6) And Anna's in this blog too! ^_^
Car wash tomorrow, with book sales, snack sales, and school supply sales on the side. There's about a million things in my classroom that we have to lug out early tomorrow morning. I may not be able to make it to Elaine's after the car wash for Chinese Fellowship. =( And I wanted to step inside the Yeung's place, cuz I've never been!
It's been a long time since I last blogged! Many things have happened, mostly busy work/church stuff. Highlights include:
10.04.05, Tuesday:
[06:58pm] There needs to be three of me, each working as efficiently as the usual Gail can...I so cannot do this all...! Aghhhh!!!!! *Roar*. Heh heh. Sigh.
I may not be able to blog tomorrow, so just ahead of time: Happy Birthday Lorie! Happy Birthday Rosalyn! I love you both! Hee hee...^_^
10.02.05, Sunday:
[10:47pm] (1) 88 (Ra) approaches 87 (Mo), hee hee...notice that 87 already is in the defensive mode, hiding in his shell. Why he's afraid of the little guy, I don't know, though 88 can be a little aggressive - he was trying to bite the back of 87's shell the first day! However, lately, 87 will watch for when 88 is sleeping or not pay attention, and either follow him or walk up to him and sometimes try to nip him. Oy. Hopefully, they'll learn to socialize better soon...??? (2) 88 peeps into 87's shell (no biting at all. Just looking. Hee hee.) (3) For some strange reason, both of them fell asleep together one day. A rare occurrence, it seems, but maybe they're growing used to each other??? ^_^
Saturday = Church Picnic Day!
99 Cents Store for all kinds of random goodies.
Played The Letter Game with Nina and ET, hee hee...
Played Frisbee with Derrick...found out I can't throw a frisbee too well...um...it beelined and hit Lauren...ouch...so sorry about that...!!!
Lauren was there (as stated earlier)! Yay! Josh was too! Josh had the 1978 penny for the Scavenger Hunt! Woot woot! ^_^
Went on two adventures with Gavin, ha ha...
Led two group games - the Scavenger Hunt and the Wright Family. Muah ha. Hopefully, most everyone took off with something. =)
Ballroom Dancing! Yay! I wanna waltz! It looks so fancy. And swing is always fun. ^_^
Couldn't play much of ultimate frisbee because of residual headache...but it looked like fun...I wanted to run in so many times!!! Muah ha...must play next time...! ^_^ I couldn't play soccer either. But I watched with Gavin, and we both thought it looked like we were watching TV, because they were all playing so good. =)
Calvin stayed over for addictive Stratego games and dinner. ^_^
Shelton brought me some Mighty Mango. Mmm. This is just one reason why he gets bonus points every time I see him! ^_^
Missed Amy and Tila's party, though I sent a gift for Tila. Happy Birthday Tila! ^_^ Amy, you can wait till later, hee hee...*wink*
Sunday = Went with Karen to New Life and Temple City for her wedding stuff.
Took off early; saw many friends at New Life, including Ka Wai (She was leading worship! Woo hoo! ^_^), Janice, Daniel, Nathan, Sarah, Frank, and Dorothy. Of course, I hung out a bit with my Auntie and Uncle #4 (both ushers for the day), and my Auntie and Uncle #2 (both who sang in the choir. Wow. They're good. ^_^).
My dress needs to be shortened a bit, but other that that, it fits fine. I was contemplating a qi pao, muah ha, for the dinner reception, but I don't want to outshine Karen. ^_^ But it'd be cool, cuz we get those cool chinese red ribbons that say "bridesmaid" to wear then, ha ha ha...^_^ We ate at Audrey's shop. Audrey is AWESOME. I recommend her to everyone, hee hee hee...^_^ Plus, she gave me a bunch of free scrap paper - and it's really cool scrap paper!!! ^_^ After staying at Audrey's shop for a long time, Karen took us to pick up her wedding portrait (wow, it looks really nice!). Anyways, after a long day, we got home around 5:30pm (we left around 8:30am, mind you...).
I found out that I missed some pretty cool stuff at church - Derrick plays awesome on the flute, so I hear (Shelton swooned. Sigh. Hee hee.). And there's talk of China (and Japan?) next year...omigoodness, I'm so happy...!!! Ha ha...Ballroom dancing in November, as it turns out, will be for Gilbert, Derrick, Simon, Shelton and I. Yay! Any more is welcomed. =) And practicing the Chinese song that I've been listening to all night long, and am still listening to. I was going to sleep after practicing once, but I ended up practicing till like...well...now...but I will sleep after this. =)
I just realized that too many things are booked for next Sunday. Two bridal showers. One Sunday school class decorating session. And one Governing Board Annual Planning Meeting. Unfortunately, I can't make either shower, and I might have to push back the decorating session, as they're all supposed to go on the same time as the GB meeting, which happens to be a long one this time...but it's okay...we usually get Frappuccinos for these meetings. ^_^