| Ferrets are magical and clever creatures. More clever than the people who posted this undocumented one for adoption.
| comments: Leave a comment   |
| I’m writing this from the library at RHCC. In front of me are my computer, my book, my notebook, my purse, my sunlasses, my phone, my hair clip... Across the table from me is my brother Bill with his Art History book and to my right is my brother Albert with his laptop. He’s not being very productive, but he says he doesn’t have homework!
I’m taking two classes this semester. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I take a class about The Contemporary Mexican American Female. I’m very much enjoying this class, and it’s getting me energized about education in general in addition to the topics that we’re covering in class. We have three books, each of which we’re going to read about a third of. The first book is Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature. I’m very much enjoying this book, and I want to make an attempt at reading the rest of it during the summer. =)
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I take a class on Small Business Management. I imagine that later on into the semester it’ll be more information that I don’t know, but at this point I’m not particularly enthralled with this class. We shall see. The book is big and expensive, and so far quite readable but not very informative. There is a website with a summary, a PowerPoint presentation, and a quiz for each chapter. These are a condensed version of the book. If Charles and I didn’t have ambitions toward business management, I probably could have done without the book entirely and learned from the PowerPoints and still done very well in the class. Oh well, I’m still hopeful that this class will look up later in the semester.
I’ll try to do at least weekly updates on school, but as you know I’m not very good about blogging regularly!
Topic for future discussion: Mexican American role models. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I neglect this blog a lot, I realize that. It seems that I never sit down in front of the computer for a long enough time to gather some thoughts. Today is a fluke because I'm forcing myself to do it. Maybe I need to do that more often!
Things that have happened since I was last here:
- Started new semester at school. Two classes, a business class and a Chicano Studies class.
- Started using the family tree site Geni.com, which I really like.
- Got a new swim suit and will start swimming this week.
- Tried on all of my clothes and donated about half of everything.
- Started a new medication. Best results yet toward figuring out my stomach issue. I have an appointment on Friday to get some results from blood work.
- Visited Lexie at the cemetery on her birthday, but missed Angel's birthday party due to being very sick from new meds.
- Had a productive genealogy interview with Mom.
- Bought a broomvac and microwave oven, thanks to Charles's parents and grandparents as well as my parents for contributing to the appliance fund!
- Bought a year of Flickr Pro membership, making http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarolite/sets/ my new permanent picture home.
- Started using DailyLit.com to read books sent via email. Clever service got me actually reading again. Downside is that I stay up too late at night reading books in bed on my phone.
Oh, and our friend Mike has un-disappeared. Go him!
I'll try to get on here more often, I'll feel like I have something to talk about more now that I'm back in school! I ordered books for today's class from Amazon.com today, and I'll put in another order tomorrow for tomorrow's class. I get free 2-day shipping from them, so I thought it best to try to get everything ASAP rather than wait and order together. Hopefully the other class isn't 3 books like today's was!
And of course, for more up-to-the-minute updates from me, go to my Twitter, which can be followed via txt, website, or RSS here: http://www.twitter.com/Sarolite | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Charles suggested that I blog this.
I had a dream last night in which I got into the car in a parking lot in a "bad neighborhood." I saw our GPS device still mounted on the windshield, and I made a mental note to remember not to leave it visible when the car is un-attended.
I tried to start the car, and it wouldn't start. I unplugged the GPS from the lighter and tried again. This time it turned on, but something was dim. I figured I'd get going and the battery would recharge itself on the way home. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and its battery was also dead. Without thinking, I plugged it in to the phone charger.
I drove out of the parking lot and went about a block when the car died. I couldn't call anyone of course, but I remember thinking about calling for roadside assistance versus getting someone to jump start the car,
Next thing I knew, there was some lady there to fix the car. She went to each corner of the car and picked it up a little. Apparently, all but the rear left tire were flat. (That's the tire that was recently flat in real life.) She then proceeded to open up the trunk, fiddle with some levers or something, and pull... Then the two front tires folded in to the center and came back toward her like they were on a track. I was impressed, but not all together shocked. Apparently, this was a normal thing in my dream world! So then she simply took the tires off the track and replaced them, then pushed the track back and the tires went back into place. (I didn't know where she got the new ones from, I didn't see her vehicle.)
Then she did some more fiddling in the trunk and pulled out something else from the front on a track. It appeared to be two side tanks of water near to where the tires would be, connected to a long and skinny central tank by clear plastic tubing. She explained something to me about how this device worked, where both tanks draw from the reserve. It looked like water, but I don't know what it was for sure or what it did!
That's all I remember... Then, after I told Charles my dream, he told me that the car has been "died" twice in the past two days. O.O He's taking it to the mechanic now! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Looking back on what I said at the end of 2006:
- I predicted we'd finish paying my parents and pay off the car early. Those didn't happen, unfortunately.
- I predicted that Charles and I would both go to school part time. Instead, I went full time!
- I predicted that Charles would go full time at Disney, which he did.
- I predicted we would build the media server, which we did.
- I predicted a trip to Minnesota, but instead my friend from Minnesota made a trip to California.
- I predicted that I'd look for a cooking class, which I did try. Too expensive, though!
In 2007:
- January
- We relented and got cable.
- I enrolled in school.
- I started seeing a new doctor.
- February
- We switched from buying juice to drinking water from our new water cooler!
- School started.
- Charles and I watched a presentation of Opera at the Movie Theater.
- March
- We started going to Disneyland regularly!
- I took my sisters to Disneyland.
- April
- May
- I took my old high school friends to Disneyland. =)
- I took Andy and his friend Matt to Disneyland when they came through Los Angeles as part of their graduation road trip through California.
- June
- I took my parents to Disneyland when they came home from Mexico.
- Charles and I went to a preview day of the Nemo ride at Disneyland before it opened.
- July
- August
- I signed up for fall classes.
- September
- We started researching RVs.
- Fall classes at school started.
- Charles's bike was stolen from our garage. =(
- October
- Charles and I went to Yosemite to celebrate our anniversary.
- I spoke to USC and UCR representatives about transfer requirements.
- I went to the California RV show.
- November
- Charles and I saw a production of "Annie" at LAVC.
- I saw Star Trek Menagerie at the theater with Julio, Billy, Albert, and Kat.
- December
- We had to fix Charles's car, it had an alternator issue.
- Charles and I saw the Valley Symphony's production of "Alice in Wonderland" at LAVC.
- We moved stuff to our new apartment every weekend.
- I registered for Spring classes at my new school, Rio Hondo.
Goals/predictions for 2008:
- We will pay off all of our credit card debt.
- I will be in school part time in the spring, then full time in the fall.
- We will be researching cars, and possibly purchase a second new car to replace the Explorer.
- We continue to work on a 20% down payment for the RV that we want, which we may or may not be able to do by the end of 2008. 2009 sounds more likely.
- I will hopefully finish more of my cross stitching projects. I currently have one in progress and one ready to go.
Happy new year, everyone! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| We thought we were going to mail these, but the envelopes for mailing them in ended up under some boxes in our move and weren't found until after the mailing deadline! So, if you're interested in a summary of our latest adventures, go here!
A happy and safe Christmas to everyone! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I didn't blog at all during the whole month of November! Isn't that horrible?
So, here's what you've missed (if you haven't been reading my Twitter, anyway):
I spoke with USC and UCR representatives about transfer requirements. Next on my list of people to talk to is UCLA.
I gave blood. Harmless process. =)
I went to my sister-in-law's baptism, which was lovely. =)
Went to a few free concerts at school, and to Annie with Charles. All awesome shows! Charles and I have tickets to see Alice in Wonderland (a children's opera that my piano professor wrote) on Saturday night.
I watched Star Trek Menagerie with my "brothers." Great nerd night. Then we checked out the new school together. My brother Rufus and I went to an orientation at the new school.
Had Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws, not our customary two Thanksgivings due to my parents being out of the country. My sister Irma came to my in-laws' house with us (as did a friend of Charles), which was great. The next morning I went to Radio Shack to partake in some Black Friday shopping. When I came home from Black Friday shopping, I got word that my uncle had been in the hospital (in Mexico) since Monday, November 19th. He's still in the hospital now, but they're anticipating that he'll recover at this point. We also got word that my mom's half brother passed away in early November.
Charles's car had an electrical issue. I'm glad we got it to start eventually, because I haven't figured out how you get a tow truck into the garage or push the car up the ramp! Our customary mechanic took care of it for us.
We got the keys to our new apartment on the 1st, and have already started to move stuff in. I sent cards with our new address to a dozen or so people, those were out in today's mail. I also have what is hopefully a final draft of our Christmas letter ready, just need to buy more ink for the printer or run the pdf to Kinko's for many copies of color pictures. About 60 people on our mailing list, and I'm not counting people in Mexico, simply because I haven't begun to think about translating yet! Christmas letters should be in the mail next week at a guess. =) No pdf upload until they're in the mail, that would be cheating!
School update:
Speech Class: I got 75/75 on persuasive speech. Term paper due a week from yesterday, visual aid speech a week from tomorrow, and then the final. Also, this class factors in attendance and participation grades that I can't quantify (but should be good).
Health Class: Average of three exams is a B. Professor says in the end it'll be an A, however. He's got some logic for that. I can't explain all the subtle nuances of it, but I assume it's attendance/participation/etc. Nothing else here is graded until the final.
Piano Class: I got my first B(+) in the class today. I'm sure I'm getting an A in the class, however. There's a quiz on Tuesday the 11th, and then another "quiz" for our final on Tuesday the 18th
Chicano Studies Class: Have to finish workbooks by the day of the final. I'd call them 75% done or so. Everything else so far is A's.
I can't believe the semester is almost done. December seemed so far away when we started!
I'll try to post more, promise. (Perhaps my wifi working again will help. </SubtleHint>) Until then, Twitter is my friend, because it listens to me when I'm away from the internet! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Well, only one actually calls itself a midterm... but anyhow...
Speech class, I got more wrong than I thought I would! I wish they would let us look at the test sheets (not just the Scantrons back) to see what it was we thought we knew but didn't! Anyhow, I got 20/25 right, which is 80%. However, to make it out of 45 points like the syllabus said, he did the math in our favor. He said take your correct answers, multiply by two, and make that out of 45 (instead of out of 50 like it would be). So I got 40/45 points for it, bringing it up to an 88.8%. New grade: 117/125, 93.6%. I really want to keep this up in the A range, so I feel that I need to really nail the last two speeches to make up for any potential further missed points in exams. I think there's a final written exam. And there's a paper, which should be interesting.
My Health exam was a whole other story... We theorize that he purposely makes it hard because it's open book! =P Open book, open note, work with a buddy if you choose, look it up online if you're able... Yet, I still got 72% on this! I didn't even miss any classes between the last test and this test! All of the questions are compound, all of the statements (two to three per question) have to be true for the question to be true, except in certain cases where two false statements make the question as a whole true. Luckily, the professor gives a 10 point bonus for being an active class participant, which brings it up to 82%. I wonder how the people who sit in the back of the class are doing. New grade: 170/200, or 85%. This professor lets you drop the lowest test score out of the 4, which would be this 82% so far, last test was 88%.
In Piano class, we have a quiz on Tuesday, seven short pieces. Yesterday, I could only play first one right in class! I practiced for an hour or so today, and now the first four are alright, as is the 6th one. The 5th and 7th ones still confuse me greatly. Mostly because the fingers move around more than once, and not just up and down a scale! Those two won't look pretty in class tomorrow morning, but I'll have it by quiz time! I was listening ahead in the CDs, and the pieces from later on in the semester sound complicated! (Current grade: Still 11 A's and 3 A-'s.)
Going to a concert tomorrow between classes. It's convenient timing, really. Class is over at 11:05am, concert starts at 11:30am, concert ends at about 12:45pm, next class starts at 1:00pm. I believe it's the Jazz Band tomorrow.
In Chicano Studies class, well, we're not doing much... I've had a few very interesting conversation with the professor about his methods and about the community college system. I have to say, if I hadn't talked to him personally, I would have felt that he wasn't an effective instructor. Having seen his logic now, however, I respect what he's trying to do. I still don't have any letter grades for this class though, which just feels awkward! (Current grade: There's an A in my head, but not on paper.)
When I talked to the professor yesterday, I also let him know that I would most likely be attending the USC presentation rather than his class on Thursday of next week, which he seemed quite pleased to accommodate. He said one of his books (which we had to buy for this class but haven't gotten to reading yet) talks about how to choose a university, which I may find helpful. I will look into it when we get there in class, or between semesters if we don't get to it.
I emailed CSULA about my transcripts that they never sent. (Or the post office lost two separate envelopes from them to two separate addresses.) They cashed our check many months ago... January 12th! I need to find a phone number to harass them at, but in preparation for such action, I first ordered a (free) copy of the check from the bank. Should be here in a week or so. (It's been so long, it's already off the online check viewing database!) I need to order transcripts from UOP as well, the transfer center said they should be transferable. They're accredited, after all, but they seem to be a special case if you ask the internet...
Hmm, there's more I'm sure, but that's all for today! (Future topics: Business stuff, mostly.) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Well, I'm reading my past Twitters as I write this to remember what's been going on in the past 15 days! Get ready for a long post!
First, school update (in the order that the classes occur each week):
Speech:
I got 50/50 points in my informative speech about plastination (random topic). Then yesterday, we took the midterm, 25 questions worth 40 points. I don't know how he's going to do that math! I should have the results tomorrow. (Total: 77/80)
Health:
Took the second exam of four yesterday in this class as well. Results tomorrow. (Total: Still 88/100)
Piano:
I went to a string quartet concert at school. It doesn't count toward my three concerts I have to go to for my Piano class (they have to feature a piano), but I became aware of this free concert series through my class. It was very nice, it made me want to obtain music from Shostakovich, as well as tango music and Irish music. Yup, good concert. =)
I got an A- on the C,.D, and G major scales. All one grade, expected that to be three separate ones. The minus is because I stopped and started over when I pressed a key and no sound came out. I know I should have kept going, but it really threw me off! Remember, strike the keys, don't press them! I got an A on the four pieces. I did better there, I missed something I don't quite recall now (didn't play all the notes in a chord or something) but I kept going like nothing was amiss. He's trying to turn us into performers, so he respects that.
This next quiz is harder, fingers moving throughout pieces to new keys... I'll get it though, with enough practice. I start out each time I practice by warming up with all the quizzes we've done so far. Not only warms up my fingers with familiar movements, but it's a psychological trick too. I remember when those things were difficult, and that makes me confident about making these new difficult things easier! (Total: 11 A's and 3 A-'s.)
Chicano Studies:
The group presentation went well. There were a few technical errors, small things really, like a photo that was attributed to a certain culture by the internet, but was not really representative of them. There was no grade given to it, or if there was we were not told what the grade was. Overall, the professor seemed to be very happy with it. (Total: Nothing's been graded, but I think I'll get an A)
Transfer Center:
During lunch today, I talked to the CSUN representatives who came to my school to talk transfer. The host, the Transfer Center (what a suitable name!) also had a table advertising upcoming presentations. So I went to the Transfer Center after classes to get more general information, and I talked to one of their counselors. We've decided that my first choice transfer school shall be USC and second choice UCR. I should probably apply to three schools for good measure, third choice will probably be CSUN or CSULA. I have an appointment to talk to a UCR person, and I'm on the waiting list for the USC guy (he doesn't come very often). I'm going to a presentation by said USC guy next week.
I was a little concerned that my grades from 10 years ago in the Early Entrance Program at CSULA might bring down my GPA too much (I was a C student back then), but the counselor said that they do take the time into consideration. Now my new concern, having come home and read the paperwork I was given, is that they'll consider it "courses taken before high school graduation." Technically, they were that, but I wasn't concurrently in high school too, as their definition implies. I was a full time college student. Hopefully, they don't apply this "before high school graduation" rule, or I may have to re-take a few classes just because I'll have too many "before high school graduation" credits to transfer in.
Oh, and I need to take a lot more math to get into USC than I have to take for my A.A. degree, so I need to get cracking on that!
Then, personal stuff...
Family:
I picked up the pictures from our top secret last minute trip. We went to Yosemite for our anniversary. Not a ton of pictures, but some. Check them out at my new picture home, Flickr.
Friends:
My "brother" Albert's girlfriend Kat is in her school's colorguard. I went to their first field show competition of the year with Albert, Julio (another "brother"), and Momma Lebsch (Albert and Billy's mom). It was a lot of fun, and they got 3rd place out of 5 for their color guard. Band and percussion didn't get any awards though, but that's probably because the show isn't ready yet. I can relate. Downside of the night, aside from getting very cold, was that my prescription sunglasses got lost! They fell, and we tried to follow where gravity would have taken them under the bleachers, but no luck finding them! That means they either ran away, or they were "found." Who would want to "find" prescription sunglasses and not turn them in though? I emailed the band director, and he's going to let me know if they appear, but they hadn't as of the Monday following the competition. In the next few paychecks I shall consider getting new sunglasses. Until then, I have normal glasses and non-prescription sunglasses.
My "brother" Billy's birthday is tomorrow, so I went to see him on Sunday. I took him, Albert, and Kat to the mall (by I took them, I mean I'm the only one with a car). Our other friends had work. Boring, aren't they? We had lunch, did some shopping, then we dropped by Pavilions to see a friend who works there and get a birthday cake. I told them we needed milk to eat cake with, and they introduced me to lactose-free non-alcoholic eggnog! I like it!
Things I've done:
I dropped my laptop accidentally, breaking my external wifi dongle... It made me sad, even more sad than when my internal wifi stopped working. Add those two together, and it means no wifi for me! Charles is going to buy me a new dongle, he says he wants to pick it out so we're sure it's compatible. Until then, blogging from the media server. I haven't made another attempt at blogging from my phone yet, but I will eventually.
I downloaded Google Maps for my BlackBerry. I like it, and I appreciate the effort they put into making it say "Do not use while driving" when you start it up. =)
I went to the California RV Show. I basically wandered around and stepped into everything that I could! We're ready to buy what we like, but since there were so many RVs in one place from different manufacturers, I figured it would be a great chance to make sure we aren't missing something even better! Turns out we're really not. Of course, there are different things for different people. But for our purposes, the Outlook is still the best. Other things that impressed me, but not for us: Airstream trailers are nice, and I saw a fifth wheel with three bedrooms! Three! Oh, and one class C (that I might have otherwise liked better) tried to eat me! It somehow snagged my shirt when I was stepping in!
I went to the cemetery to visit with Lexie, Grandpa Salvador, and "Grandma" Soledad. (My grandmother died when my dad was very young. Grandpa's second wife Soledad raised him and his siblings.) I've put together a list on Twitter of things to take next time to tend to their grave markers. In case anyone's ever unclear about what I want, I want to be buried at Rose Hills, someplace where you can hear the water from the Sycamore Valley. When we have some disposable income, I may talk to Charles about putting a down payment on a suitable place. I strongly feel that this is something that should be done before death. (I have very strong opinions on death and dying, for reasons discussed in an earlier post.)
Things to do:
We're going to become all official as a business. Charles and I ordered business cards today, and I've been figuring out where I have to go (and what I have to pay) to get our fictitious business name filed. After that, run the name in the paper for four consecutive weeks, then open a bank account. Still to do: act on all of the above, and research business license requirements. Meanwhile, Charles makes the product. Teamwork!
I think that covers everything... be back tomorrow with exam results, I hope. =)
(P.S. I think that LiveJournal's spell checking dictionary should know the word "blogging." It doesn't, go figure...) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| By the way, I now use Twitter. It's like blogging for when I don't have time to sit at the computer and compose a blog entry. You can send it text messages from your cell phone, which I do often. (You can also IM it or use the website.) All entries are 140 characters or less, and I have 129 entries as of right now. It's for the more random thoughts I have!
Read my Twitter.
Oh, another thing, Yahoo photos closed down. I requested that my pictures be transferred to Flickr, but they're not yet there. Will let you know when I have a new home for my pictures. (I ordered a CD backup of each of my two Yahoo photos accounts, just in case this transfer doesn't work as expected.) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I attempted to send this from my new phone, but it didn't work. That's a topic for another day, however!
Okay, here's the latest!
Speech class: Lucked out and got the last date for my informative speech. Otherwise, I'd be very stressed with two big presentations due the same day! (So far: 27/30 total points.)
I need to find a speech to attend to analyze for a paper due in December. Where do you go about finding one of those?
Health class: Got an 88% on the first exam. It was harder than I expected. Not in a "I should have studied harder" kind of way, but in a "what does he mean by that question???" kind of way. I'll study more about reading the professor's mind! (So far: 88/100 total points.)
Piano class: The second quiz was four pieces. Got A, A-, A, A-. I'm going to get together with a classmate once or twice a week to help him out, which I've found helps me retain information. I process and re-phrase what I've learned from the lecture/book/practice, kind of like making an outline from a book you're reading.
I went to a concert conducted by my professor on Saturday. Charles had other plans, so I invited my "brothers" Billy and Albert (also invited Stephanie and Julio, but they decided against it) and Albert's girlfriend. It was pretty good. =) Now I just need to go to one more concert to fulfill the requirement for the class, but I plan to go to all the on-campus ones anyway. Most of them are free. =) (So far: 7 As, 2 A-s, and 2/3 concerts.)
Oh, I forgot my program from the concert in my mom's car! I'm sure he'll let me turn it in later though, or remember that he personally sold me the ticket, one of the two!
Chicano Studies class: My professor was out sick for two days, so we got behind a little bit. To make up for it, he skipped two quizzes and gave us all As on them in his book.
I'm finishing up a powerpoint presentation about the Chichimecs, Toltecs, and Aztecs to present tomorrow. I'm kind of stressed about it, to be honest. This class has only confirmed my "just lemme do it myself" attitude about group work... Out of 8 group members, only 4 of us have done our share, and being team captain I'm making up a lot of work that shouldn't have been my problem.
C'est la vie?
I honestly feel that had I been told "do this 60-to-80-slide presentation yourself instead of picking a group," it would have been done faster, better, and with less stress. Waiting on people that you have a gut feeling won't come through sucks. Your hunch about said people being confirmed is even worse. The deadline looming, and you find out at the 10th hour (not quite 11th hour!) that half of what was supposed to be contributed will not be... Guess it's supposed to prepare you for those real jobs at offices and stuff? Useless half of the team, you're fired! (So far: Nothing's been turned in until tomorrow, two fake As in the books.)
I'll blog about some more personal stuff when I don't have powerpoint slides spinning in my head... | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I got an A in all five pieces of the quiz in my piano class. Go me! All I had to do was stay in the practice room till my fingers hurt and my wrists stung, and I got it! Like magic! =)
The book we use for class has a 3-CD set with all the music from the book in it. That helps a lot, to play along with the CD. Even moreso for first learning a piece, it makes the rhythm more logical when you’re hearing it rather than just reading it!
Want to know what’s funny? The guy in the class who sits in the back not paying attention to anything and playing Mozart and Harry Potter music over his headphones didn’t bother practicing the pieces in the quiz. Dork. Getting ahead of the class and not bothering to look at the book is fine if you know how to sight read, but he doesn’t. He amused me greatly when it was his turn to do the quiz pieces!
Of course, he claims that he didn’t know there was a quiz, which I believe because he doesn’t pay attention. However, he found out when I told him and someone else 20 minutes before class, and he used those 20 minutes to play things un-related to class. I even turned up my metronome so other people could use it to practice!
Ahh, vanity, thy name is drummer in a piano class... | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I gave my first presentation in my Speech 101 class today. I got 27/30 points; the only thing I got docked for was going over the time limit. I knew that might be an issue, and I had already cut down on my content to try to get closer to the time. In the morning, I did it in under 5, but I guess I elaborated on a few more things in class than I did in my own living room. That, or my pauses for dramatic effect are longer when I have an audience.=P
I’m happy with the score though, I’d rather have time issues to improve upon than content or delivery issues!
Next stressor: Powerpoint (or in my case, Presentation) show about the Chichimec, Toltec, and Aztec Indians for my Chicano Studies class. Not everyone in my group is pulling their weight, which means someone else has to. I’m also doing all the talking in the presentation, and I have to learn really quickly how to pronounce the names of all the cities and gods of these indigenous groups! *collapses* But I’ll do it, cuz it’s gotta be done! This show has to be put together, and words learned, by two weeks from tomorrow.
I have a quiz tomorrow in my Piano class. I feel pretty good about it, but I felt pretty good about the last one too and I had some trouble with it.
My issue is that the only thing we’ve actually EVER played in front of the professor was that first mini-quiz (C and D major scales in each hand). We’ve never used the keyboards in class as anything more than desks, so when I practiced on my own for the quiz, I was making all the right sounds... However, on quiz day, he corrects us on our posture, hand position, wrist position, tempo, and so forth... So when I raised my wrists a little and turned my thumbs in more, it threw me off! Wish we played in class...
Quiz tomorrow is 5 pieces of 10 notes each (not moving our hands from the keys we start from, in other words), 4 measures each. It’s easy enough, unless the professor throws in some other thing I’m doing wrong to throw me off!
He was pointing out over and over the importance of using a metronome for practice, so I got him to okay using our metronomes for the quiz. Heading over to practice rooms now to practice for the quiz and playing to the metronome. (I downloaded a metronome program for my computer, called Gtick. But I got my physical metronome in the mail this weekend. I love new toys in the mail!)
Notice that I haven’t mentioned anything about my Health class (until right now). We have an exam there a week from today, but I’m not ready to stress on that yet, not until after tomorrow’s piano quiz! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Charles and I have been talking further about our RV that we want to purchase. We love the '08 Destination, and still think it's gorgeous and fits all our needs. However, we're going to look at smaller things too! Ultimately, the decreased gas mileage and increased driving and parking difficulty isn't necessarily worth it for what we'd get versus a smaller rig.
So, we've been talking about our criteria in advance of the RV Show being held at the Fairplex in Pomona next month.
Some thoughts:
- Queen sized bed is a high priority.
- I have a pet peeve about showers that you step out of into the main hallway. Shower needs to open into bathroom, bedroom, or wardrobe area for when we have company.
- Bedroom needs to be separated from the main cabin, preferably by a sliding door, but accordion door is acceptable.
- Bedroom access should preferably not be cut off if someone's in the bathroom, especially if the bathroom contains the shower.
- We must have a backup cam. (But we won't discount the possibility of getting it after-market.)
- We want to be able to sleep four or five for trips. We don't need another full time bed (like a cab-over in a class C), just the ability to convert couches/dinettes to beds.
- We need a place for our servers, possibly converting a bunk bed space.
- We need to look into how to properly mount computers for the vibrations of the road.
- We need enough tank space in water and holding tanks to go several days between stops with hookups. (Parking in someone's driveway or on the street rather than an RV park are not entirely out of the picture at this time.)
Will add to this later if we think of anything else! | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| I have to say, I’m starting to lose faith in society at large. Two of my best friends got robbed at knife point last night, by a masked man who barged into their hotel room and took three laptops (their two and their step-dad’s). What’s the world coming to?
Apart from being disappointed in society, angry, and perhaps a little scared, I also feel something else... I can’t sum it up in one word, but these two friends were just starting to get somewhere... They’d had their laptops for about a month, before that they didn’t have computers at all. It’s like this person knew the worst possible time to do this, and I feel... helpless. I wish there was something I could do to make things right, but I know I can’t. I’m sorry, guys. =( | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I think that there’s something about me that some people may not know. I’m a hopelessly sappy, emotional, romantic person. I cry, more than I care to admit. I’m going to tear up writing this, I can guarantee that. Don’t tell anyone! ;)
There are a couple of things that I feel deep inside that are important to me, to what makes me who I am and defines what I like to see in the people I surround myself with. I thought it was about time I shared that with you...
First of all, some events have shaped my views of the world.
The death of a classmate in the first grade
Back before people knew that children had feelings, back before grief counselors or any such things, I had a classmate in the first grade who died. She was riding a bicycle and got struck by a drunk driver. I understood death, I had had older relatives die before that, and had gone to funerals... but it was the first time that I had had someone near me die that was so young... Before that, death was something that happened to adults, and all of the sudden, at the age of six, it could have been me.
Unfortunately, that was something that I had to deal with on my own, because the school made no effort to ease that burden on us.
I remember looking into Amy’s casket and thinking “she would never have worn that.” Amy was a tomboy, and she was buried in a light blue satin dress. I wrote my first will in the first grade.
I wore a lot of black and white. I struggled with the purpose of our short time on this world at an age I wouldn’t wish upon any other child.
What I learned from Amy’s death: Any day on this world could be our last. It doesn’t matter, ultimately, who we are or what we do, we have to accept the possibility of leaving this life at any moment.
September 11th, 2001
I was at the park with my current boyfriend at the time, in Gloucestershire, England. We had been talking about my return trip, scheduled for the following Saturday, and he kept jokingly telling me that I was going to stay.
We were walking around the park, bicycles in tow, when he got a phone call... When he got off the phone, he told me that I may not be able to go home, and I thought he was just joking with me again. He said we should head back.
Then he got a text message on the way home, saying “turn on the television.”
When we got back to his house, we turned on the television to see fire, smoke, and destruction, along with a plane hitting one of the Twin Towers over and over again on a loop. Although I’ve never been to New York and don’t know anyone who was there, I cried... I think most Americans did.
On a side note, this is when I’m going to take the time to tell you not to fly British Airways. I called them a day or two before my flight, and they still didn’t know if planes would be allowed off the ground by Saturday. Although their website said they’d re-schedule people who were supposed to fly that week, they charged me $150 to change my return ticket. They didn’t tell me this on the phone, just sprung it on me at the check in counter. Do not support BA, they took advantage of poor travellers stuck outside of their countries of origin. I have never flown BA since then.
This is what I learned from 9/11: Never miss a chance to profess your feelings for people you love. The absolute worst stories I heard about 9/11 were those who lost a loved one and never got to say “I love you.” I don’t want someone I know to have “take out the trash” be the last words I say to them! Or even much worse, having a fight on your way out the door to work.
You never know what’s going to happen, you never know when you leave someone’s side if that person will ever come back to you... Be it a spouse, family member, or friend, you don’t know... That’s why it’s important to me that before driving away, before hanging up the phone, before ending an IM conversation, I will end the conversation on a good note. I try to never be shy to say “I love you,” because I don’t know if I’ll get the chance again.
The death of a co-worker
I don’t want to go into too much detail, because this isn’t my family, so it’s not my story to tell. However, I will share what I learned... I realized that I had never told her how much I admired her work, how glad I was that she did the things she did. I always made an effort after that to tell my co-workers (especially those who were subordinate to me) and friends thank you, and let them know how much I appreciate the things they do. Sure, I had already learned to say “I love you,” but even people you don’t love need affirmation too.
The death of my great-niece Alexis
My sister Martha is 15 years older than me, so I was only 7 when she had her first child Cyndi. Cyndi, in turn, was 15 when she had Alexis. I felt like I helped raise Cyndi and her sister and brother, and the baby was an extension of her... I was there when she told her dad she was pregnant, I watched her get all huge, and I watched the baby grow... Then two months later, she was gone. Lexie was born on January 13, 2005 and died of SIDS on March 13, 2005. I couldn’t work, I couldn’t enjoy life... A part of our family was gone, a part of me was gone with it...
The day before the funeral, my friend Jenny Bell, my fiance (now husband) Charles, my sister Irma, and myself spent together at Irma’s house making salads and painting little stars pink and little hearts white... It was the best thing we could be doing, spending that time together. I wish the rest of the family had decided to participate. My friend David then helped us by setting up the auditorium across the street from work for dinner while we were at the funeral, along with some of the lifeguards. I’ll forever love and appreciate Jenny, David, and my friends from work for what they did for our family during our time of need. (And Charles, of course! Now he’s part of our family, so of course I’ll always love and appreciate him, not only for this but for a lot of things!)
What I learned from this experience: Sometimes it takes a village... Charles, Jenny, and David supported Irma and me, but what they were really doing was supporting our whole family. By keeping us sane, and perhaps even strong on our good days, they enabled us to help everyone else... Thank you. I also learned that sometimes it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, but who you’re doing it with. Something as mundane as preparing salads can be so soothing and powerful with the right people...
This is long enough already, so I’ll tell you about what I like in my friends some other time. Moral of the story is: Don’t hold things inside, tell it like it is. If you appreciate or love someone, let them know.
By the way, I define love as the deepest and most sincere respect, admiration, and concern for a person that someone is capable of having. (Then of course, there’s the kind of love I have for my husband, that’s a step above that!) I have many acquaintances, but those friends whom I love, I consider family. You should know who you are. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Charles and I have decided that the next upgrade to our lifestyle is going to be full-timing in a motor home. We've been seeing a lot of motor homes on the road lately, which got this conversation started.
For less than $200,000 (plus taxes, registration, etc) we can have a gorgeous, brand new, fully-furnished, decorated home. All appliances included, including two televisions. Do you know what you can buy in Los Angeles county for $200,000? Maaaybe 2/3 of a house in the middle of the desert, or 2/5 of a house in a middle class neighborhood. (We could get a livable RV for less, but some perks that come in handy for full time use do cost money.)
I went to a dealership on Saturday and checked out pretty much every model they had on hand. This is the model that we are currently planning on pursuing:
http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/winnebago/destination/index.php
Some of the things we like about it:
- It's gorgeous and classy, inside and out. Very good first impression when you come in the door.
- The chairs are plush and comfy.
- All appliances included, such as fridge, stove, microwave, and two televisions (30 inch in the living room, 20 inch in the bedroom).
- The bathroom is self-contained, as opposed to shower on one side and toilet/sink on the other side of the aisle. With the back slide-out, umm, slid out, there's even a hallway to walk to the bedroom without going through the bathroom. Only one of two RVs I saw with this feature.
- Plenty of head room and elbow room in the shower. In fact, more usable elbow room than in our current apartment!
- No major downside to having the slide-outs in (such as you would when driving or when parked on the street). Some other models made the bed or kitchen sink un-available when the slide-outs were in. So there won't be any dancing in the aisle, but it's otherwise the same as with everything extended.
- The bedroom has sliding doors for privacy and a queen size bed (which can be upgraded to king).
- Plenty of room for company on trips: Queen size bed in the back, queen size fold-out couch, the dinette makes a twin size bed, and three can sleep in the reclining chairs if they had to. (5 horizontal, three in recliners, total of up to 8 people!)
- Optional combo washer/dryer in the bedroom. It's right next to the closet, can't be more convenient than that!
Comments welcome of course, but we're pretty sure of ourselves here! =) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Just FYI, my multitasking stats are as follows:
- Talk and drive: PASSED
- Text and drive: FAILED
- Walk and chew gum: PASSED
- Walk and talk: PASSED
- Walk, talk, and chew gum: PASSED
- Walk, talk, and open door: FAILED
The door decided to get better acquainted with my left big toe... I had quarters for the dryer in my right hand, opened the door with my left (that was my first mistake), and was talking to someone who was on the couch... Far too complicated, my poor toe paid the price! Lots of blood, pretty bad looking for a few days, and lost a sliver of nail too...
Healing nicely now, though, those first aid skills from work come in handy from time to time. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| One of my friends disagrees, but I personally like sleep... Caffeine is not a good substitute, because eventually you have to come down... That or keep upping your dosage of caffeine, to the point where you drink three energy drinks in one sitting. Even when I worked nights I never needed more than one energy drink and a few sodas!
You know what else is good for your health? Simplifying, getting rid of stuff, having a clean house... That's what I need to work on in the near future. My sleep cycle got messed up recently for a number of reasons, so my energy level has been lower than usual. However, once this is back in check, I plan to get cracking on some work here... I also have to work on this because I start school in the beginning of September.
Fall classes are as follows:
Monday and Wednesday
11:20-12:45 Speech 101
13:00-14:25 Health 011
Tuesday and Thursday:
09:40-11:15 Music 321 (Piano)
13:00-14:25 Chicano Studies 007
All of these are general education requirements except for Piano. I already have a music class I took at CSULA, so I wouldn't need to do this, but I've always wanted to learn. My parents think I'm silly, but so be it! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I haven't written a month because I haven't been particularly inspired when I had the time and I haven't had the time when I've been inspired to write. Some topics for future discussion:
- Yahoo photos is shutting down.
- Switched servers with my husband.
- Registered for my fall classes.
Today's topic, however, is milk gelatin, of the fake variety.
I had this craving for milk jello for some reason, I haven't had any in aaaages. Thus far, every recipe I've used Lactaid in as a 1:1 milk substitute has come out well. So this morning I was going to go to the grocery store and I called my mom for the recipe. I was unable to find anything like this online for some reason, so I decided that I must tell the internet how this is made!
The original recipe my mom gave me:
Put in as much milk as the unflavored gelatin says you should, minus half a cup.
Put in sugar to taste. (She says to make it a little overly sweet, and that'll come out good when it's done.)
Put in a stick of cinnamon.
Add a dash of rum or wine if you have some around.
Heat over low to medium heat.
Stir the gelatin (as much as the packet says you should for how much milk you're using) into the cold half cup of milk, where it's supposed to dissolve easier than in the hot milk.
When the milk is "nearly" boiling, add the rest of the milk with the gelatin.
Stir until boiling, turn off heat and allow to cool.
Refrigerate overnight.
My mom sometimes had some rompope which was supposedly made by nuns in Mexico. It's made with egg yolk, vanilla, cinnamon, ground almond, milk, sugar, and alcohol, probably rum. You pour some on the jello immediately prior to eating it. If my parents haven't gone to Mexico lately, however, they don't have rompope. I don't know if this means there are no sources to get it here, or it's inferior. =P
My experimentation on this recipe:
I used 5 cups of Lactaid total, and 5 packets of gelatin. (1 packet per cup is what's recommended for juice-based gelatin, hope it holds true for milk)
About 3/4 of a cup of sugar.
I think the cinnamon sticks I used are smaller than mom's, mine came in a jar from the spice section, hers come from a bin at the produce store. =P
Added a dab of vanilla extract, and a smaller dab of almond extract. (It may be of interest to note that these were inspirations I had in the spice area of the grocery store, before I knew what rompope was made of.)
It's currently cooling, we'll see how it comes out! I have 9 servings of about 2/3 of a cup each, perfect snack or desert size in my opinion. They're in disposable plastic cups, which my mom would never do! (She has kajillions of real cups.) Main issue with this is that I couldn't put the finished product in right away because the cup would melt. =P
On a side note, I need to put a fan in my kitchen! Toiling over a boiling pot of milk reminds me of how there's no air flow in there!
Update: Flavor is good, perhaps more cinnamon next time. It's a little too solid, however. I'm thinking 3 packets for 5 cups next time. We shall see. =) | | comments: Leave a comment |
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