Kate you would be so proud!

Well, I decided to try to change my blog around. You would think that I was some kind of computer expert cuz i had to figure out all these codes (color codes, background) to make my blog become animated. But I owe most of the credit to my sister, kate. I clicked on a link she sent me through myspace. Myspace is great and all, but i like blogspot so much better. So if anyone has any ideas on what I should try to put on my blog (videos and suck) just let me know and quite possibly how to do it =)

Christmas is coming near!

Today, we will buy a Christmas tree and the works. We are starting to have a lot of people over, friends and such, and it's kinda embarassing that it looks like we are not in the Christmas spirit. Over the next few days, we have no school. But at the same time we have a SUPER TYPHOON. How convenient for the school that the typhoon is hitting when we already have no school. Only in the Philippines, can they decide two days prior that we will be having 5 days of no school. Which, I am all for the whole "no school" thing but the problem is that they had to cancel my duty...again. So now I have to stay in school an extra week during the Christmas holiday, and have my duty on Dec. 23 the day after my birthday >.<. Too bad that is the day after my birthday. What can I do, though? My duty is like work, I just dont get paid. Joaquin asked me why we have to do this "duty" thing. And I told him that here in the Philippines, we are free labor. So they need us to find out information about our community. And since there are so many of "us" (nurses) they might as well take advantage. But eversince we started this sem, I am really beginning to feel like a real nurse. But don't tell my mother that.
Yesterday, at the school, there was a bomb threat. Probably some kid making a prank. But the thing is, why would they make a prank on a day that everyone has off? When my old highschool had bomb threats (I think we had a record of 32 one year) it was never on a weekend! Ah, the Philippines. Full of wonder. I think this place is growing on me lol

Another Day...

So far, school has been...well not as stressful as last semester. I have Sundays and Mondays off so its kinda like having a weekend. Soon winter break will arrive, then we only will have Jan, Feb and half of March to go. Time seems to go by so fast here. I think maybe it's because I actually like it...
Well, this semester we start our duties. Mine is on Saturdays, and Joaquin's is on Wednesday. Kinda makes us fee special. I have to wear my nursing shirt, gray pants, black shoes, black socks, NO MAKEUP, my hair in a bun with only black hair things, and...a HAIRNET! What am I? A Nurse? or the next school cafeteria lady?
There is absolutely no romancing this photo.
I might as well taken a picture of my stupid hairnet hair. Oh well. We have to carry around a black bag like we are doctors cuz it has all sorts of stuff in it...surgical gloves, syringes, gauze, bandage scissors, etc...and all we do with it is keep our paperwork in them >.<
So after duty, we decided to go to a little party downstairs. We needed to unwind a bit. We ate Kabbobs and had a great time with our Persian friends. They really mean a lot to us, and helped us in many ways. We are so lucky to have friends like that...and they can cook! Ok, I was going to put some more pics up but for some reason its not working...so you have to deal with this stupid one of me =P

The K is back!

We just arrived from the States and we had an awesome vacation. At times it was a bit stressful because we have been running around all over the place. Ok, Im an idiot, I cant figure out how to change my profile photo, so it will have to do.
Today is Monday, and tomorrow is my first day of school. Of course the school is giving us a hardtime. They keep trying not to accept more of my classes, even though I spoke with the dean several time. But I am happy with my current classes so I guess I will deal with my "problems" later.
My friend Kristine here is so nice. She actually made me a pair of earings while I was gone. She switched her schedule so that we would have the same healthcare. I need her as my translater anyway. Im glad i brought her a lot of "pasalubong".
Here is a great pic of all of us at Catfish Dewey's! Joaquin and Jesse had a catfish eating contest...I know, its weird.


Mmmmmmm....yummy...catfish =P


While we were on vacation, we went camping...something that I havent done in a long time. We had a great time
even though this pic doesn't exactly spell out "fun".


aw, how cute, hencho en mexico finally gets the girl lol



I love you all and miss you!

The Update You All Have Been Waiting For

Yes, finally, I am writing in the blog again. We just finished taking our midterms. Now all we have left are our finals =/ We are preparing to go home Oct. 16. I am still working out the details, but I believe we are leaving LA on Oct. 19 or 20th (we gotta help Joaquin's grandma prepare for her flight to Canada and I think she leaves Oct. 19) for Utah. Then on Oct 22nd I will fly to Florida. Joaquin will meet up later, and we will leave for LA most likely on Nov. 1. We have to leave the country by Nov. 1 and it looks like our flight will be Nov. 1 but at 11:50pm. Then back here again to our stressful student living.
We are currently looking for another apartment, and I think we found one. It is a little smaller than our current one, but it is way closer to the school and we should be able to get DSL =D Then we can put pictures up again and the works. Im so excited lol
On a serious note, I've had a crazy cough for over two weeks now. I saw the student doctor, and she told me my throat is just irritated. Joaquin is afraid because of the last incident. I am not afraid because I dont have a fever or anything.
We have a lot of friends now who have been very helpful. We are even becoming popular amongst the Foreign Students (not including the Phil Ams). School is a bit tough, but we found out that its among all Foreign students. Why is it that amongst the Foreign students we have the same habits (freaking out about rediculously long lines, stupid group projects, us ALWAYS doing all the work in group projects...) I thought it was just a problem because I am American and I freak out about time and order, but it seems its amongst ALL the foreign students. So I find it funny that it seems that EVERY country practices the same habits except here =/ Its kinda a running joke amongst us, and now I cant help but laugh. I cant picture any of my friends in the States really surviving here without truely FREAKING out. But I am used to it, and I rather enjoy it here, especially in Baguio. Even my Filipino friends think that things are pretty weird, but they just dont know what to do about it. Everyone just accepts things how they are and dont ask why.
It is hard to imagine that I am not going to be in these classes after next month (unless something terribly goes wrong). No one passed the "Devil's" exam. Only here have I seen anyone give exams on things that they never taught. I am hoping that everything will be curved and I am just stressing out for nothing. But I know that next Sem, I definately gotta do something about my schedule because this one really sucks lol

Joaquin Kline for President!

Yup, you guessed it, Joaquin became president of something else...Foreign Students. And he begged them not to nominate him, but it was unanimous. Well, he is very intelligent and political and I would have voted for him as well. I said to him, if you are president does that make me "First Lady of the Foreign Students"? I don't know if I like that idea lol. Then people will be watching me and what i wear...like the Prettier Imelda Marcos lol
Joaquin's friend is coming by tomorrow and I know that Joaquin is so excited. So on to some strange news...Tuesday is my first "bed bathing " return demo. That's right, we have to demonstrate on how to bathe a patient...and our patients are not maniquins =( I have to bathe my partner and its not Joaquin lol We are allowed to wear shorts but thats about it. So, my classmate (good thing we are friends now) is gonna "clean" my... areas.
Damn, I dont know why this is happening to me, but I am in an internet cafe, and I already moved my seat once because the person sitting next to me smelt really heavily of cigarettes. SO I move to an isolated corner, and of all the chairs, someone else sits next to my exposed side, and he smells like cigarettes! Good thing I am not eating anywhere near here or I wouldnt be hungry anymore. Actually, this current person is not as bad as the last so its more tolerable.
guess what, Im sick again lol Its from the freakin mold in my house. We have someone cleaning it twice a week. ANd we are getting a dehumidifyer. Yet, I am sick again. Same problems...painful throat, uncontrollable coughing spasms at night, slight fever, headaches...blah blah blah. WOrse part is that we all know what happens when I miss school =( So I gotta put up with it. At least my allergies are not acting up.
We are probably going to move. WE keep getting weird problems. We received our electric bill and found out that its triple the amount that it normally is! We spoke with our landlord and we all think that maybe someone is tapping into our wire...again lol It just doesnt make any sense because last month we had 3 people living in one house, which one was home most of the time. Now its only two of us and we are ALWAYS at school. So we are not sure what's going on.
Mid terms are about 2 weeks away so I am gradually studying. My Philippine History teacher is still psychotic and I have no idea what she is talking about. She compares the constitution to a seashore...
I just know that next semester I am not taking any class earlier than 1030 and I am not going to have any breaks in between so that it goes by fast...faster. I cant believe its almost September. I am so excited to go home!

Time for the blog

Well, what can I say today? I have a few exams to take today, and unfortunately they are in classes that it doesnt really matter what my grade is. My physics teacher said to me "why are you going to be a nurse, if you are so good in physics?" I just shrugged my shoulders...dont tell anyone I am good in physics. I dont want my secret out. Physics is one of those classes that I dont even need to do that well in. So, i decided to concentrate on my major classes and not study so hard for physics (unfortunately, im not even studying for physics and I have an A =( so I guess it doesnt really matter). My Philippine History teacher is still psychotic, making it mandatory to watch stupid movies on OUR own time...or skip our other classes to watch it. That was basically what she said. Fortunately the time that she had scheduled, I already had the time off.
We are having people over this weekend so that should be fun. Speaking of those people, one of them says he has a "guy" to get us broadband.. So Joaquin has a "guy" who has a "guy" who can get us broadband. So far with my experience with a "guy" it seems that its all in the imagination... But we will see. But Monday we have the day off because it is "Ninoy Aquino Assaniation Day". Sounds weird, but at least I get a day off =)
Joaquin and I havent been doing much lately. Just playing video games and surfing the web. Its a student life, which we dont have much of hehe. So I have been thinking a lot about going home, Christmas, etc...things that will come much sooner than we all think. Especially since the weeks have gone by so fast. Well, I dont have much more to say, so I am going to start posting my Christmas/Bday wish list =)
1. IPod Nano
2. Scrap book stuff
3. Clothes
4. Hair assessories (very big here)
5. Sweat shirts
6. Will post later if I can think of anything else...oh a hair straightener =)

Please, if anyone has a blog and wants to put their holiday wish list on it, let me know so I can see =) Remember I am coming home for about 3 weeks in October and that is it, so if you want your pasalobong let me know now. Or I am just gonna get you whatever...again

PS. The mold is still bad, and its evolving =(

Living in Baguio and loving it

Just so that everyone knows, my last post was totally not ranting on about how I dont like the Philippines. On the contrary, I actually really like where I live right now. I think that before I was so miserable because the weather was so damn hot and you just sweat a lot. I was also in a school that was very small and they weren't exactly up to date on things. Here at least things make sense, and I would recommend Baguio City as a great retirement for anyone who doesnt like it too hot or too cold.
And Kate, for the record, I read your blog (and believe you might notice I also comment) everytime you post it. It gets emailed to me =) But if you decide to start using blogger, it's better for you because it is free.

I know, its been a while

I've been trying to find a cafe that had good internet. I finally found one, so I should be able to keep up on my blog. To bring everyone up to speed...I lost the damn pageant, Joaquin had to speak in front of the entire Nursing student body for no apparent reason at all, and I filed a formal complaint on two of my teachers. Oh yeah, we have rediculous amount of mold growing all over our house and its driving us nuts.
The pageant is forgotten, so Im not gonna talk about that. Im just glad that is over with. So on to Joaquin's public speaking. Joaquin had made some friends in some high places in the school. I dont know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. They nominated him to speak for our Nursing Day...without him even knowing there was a nomination. They dont tell him what to say, so there is nothing prepared. We show up, on our day off none the less (Sunday), and he introduced Nursing Day. All went well, there were games and competitions. To our dismay, he ended up hardly speaking at all. So it was a complete waste of our time because we live a bit far from the school and Sunday is our only day off during the week. I went home and he stayed to help his friend make a slide show for the presentation. The Nursing Day event lasted from 9AM-11PM and for most of the part it was MANDATORY to go. I just signed my name and I am sure I will be fine.
On to the formal complaint. I got sick again last week. I couldnt swallow, I had fever, and all my lymph nodes in my neck were swollen (which reminds me I have a quiz on that today). So I happen to miss three days of school, meaning I missed 2 consecutive classes in a row for my MWF class. Now, the school policy is that if you miss 3 consecutive classes in a row, the teacher has the "option" to drop you. And I agree with that, especially if you are unexcused. So I show up to my General Zoology lab, and my teacher tells me that I need to go to the guidance office to get readmited back into the school. It was the craziest thing that I have ever heard of. Now this particular teacher always gives me a hard time. I dont know why, but every semester I find one of these. I tell him "Sir, I only missed 2 days, not 3". He tells me that it doesnt matter and I need to see a guidance counselor. Well, I find out that I have a 90 in that class so why is he giving me a hard time? And it wasn't like I was skipping, I really was sick and I even had an excuse slip from the school clinic that I could not go to school.
So I go to the guidance office, mind you he is making me miss my current class as it is, and I fill out a million paperwork because people love paperwork here. Finally I get to see the guidance counselor, and she signs the paper. Before I leave, I say to her "you know what, I am seriously going to file a complaint on this teacher." She says "so you are going to fill out a formal complaint?" So I tell her everything. I tell her about why I was there. That he always gives me a hard time, talking to me in a demeaning manner and such. Blah blah blah. And I explain to her that I am actually top of my classes, so why am I being harassed? I can understand if I am skipping school all the time and I am failing but I was not. She tells me that she will definately talk to him because it seems that he is not following school policy and that I should not be in the guidance office in the first place. I also had a complaint about my other teacher, but that is even a longer story.
Now this only happened at 930 in the morning Monday. I am not even done explainig how weird my day was. So I go to my Philippine History class at 130 after lunch and telling Joaquin what happened to me. All of a sudden a woman walks in, and I have a male teacher. I guess, there was a schedule conflict with my current teacher and he was in a "case" whatever that means. So, she was now our new teacher for the next semester. Ok, that's not too weird because this is the Philippines and unexpected things happen all the time. But then she gives us an assignment, that we have to act out a play for 20min about Philippine history, and its due next meeting! And of course I am automatically picked as leader which I wasnt that upset over because I just wrote the script and I am making the rest of the group members act it out.
Lastly, on to the mold growing all over the house. Its from the crazy moisture thats in the air. We have something like 94% humidity all the time because of rainy season. So the mold is growing. Anything that is real leather, has mold (now I know what is real and what is not). Thank God, I left my pink suede purse at home in the states or it would totally be ruined. I am having enough trouble as it is with that purse. Anything that is made of wood has mold...my dresser, our desks, the vanity, and the freaking wall. Just last Sunday, I bleached anything that had mold on it (and I inhaled a good amount of it too) and wiped everything down. And now, I see that it's growing back! I am not sure what to do. I blame it on our "lack of a maid" situation. Not sure if everyone heard the story about the last one, but lets just say it didnt work out. SO we went to the sari-sari store next door and started advertising for a maid to come twice a week. I think we might have found someone, but we are not sure. It's just that I dont have time to keep up with the damn mold, and I think that is why i got sick last week. It's so disgusting, and we dont want to move because we really like our cozy apartment.
Ok, I hope this brought everyone up to date. Until another day.

I don't know what the hell is going on...

I am informed today, at 7:30 AM that the pageant will be held TOMORROW, not on Saturday. I am not too sure what to do. And even if it were on Saturday, my practical exam for Healthcare will be on Saturday morning. I am not too sure what to make of all this. And, if I end up winning the pageant, there will be another one to go to on Monday...Ugh. It's quite crazy. I never thought I would see the day I would have to enter pageants past the age of 15. And the other contestants do not even know of this change. I contacted one coordinator, they said its on Sat, but the other one says tomorrow. So, all I can do is go home, get my things, and pray to God I don't look like a fool tomorrow or saturday. This school needs to concentrate more on acedemics and less on extra curricular activities.

Might still be hope for wow

We finally got some sort of internet on our computer at home. So now we really have no excuse not to email anyone. Its a dial up connection, and it seems alright. I tried downloading the new patch for wow, and it seems it might take literally 100hours. So, I am going to go to an internet cafe and sneak my downloads through them. I can just save it onto me USB thumbdrive. Hopefully it works. I am so close and yet so far.
Jasmine (my dog) is doing better according to my family back home. She is going to loose all her toes in that leg, but it doesnt seem to dampen her spirits. I still love her the same.
I am really hoping that our skype will work fine. If not, we should be able to use chat.
Its been raining nonstop for days. Luckily my pageant was postponed until God knows when. Oh, if I havent mentioned this before, I was nominated to be in the Ms Nursing pageant. Like I am not stressed out enough.
Anyway, it was not just rain, it was a typhoon/monsoon. Really windy. I thought it was a hurricane. I didnt realize what was going on until I arrived at school and noticed no one was there. We had a few landslides in town, but Joaquin and I are fine. Still going out and stuff. Its kinda weird when we go to the mall, and its raining inside. We had to use our umbrellas inside the mall on our way to the movies.
Another chapter in our life was closed because during the weekend we had to let our helper go home for good. It wasn't working out to well. The whole language barrier got us and the simple fact that we found out that she is 14 not 18 =(
We saw Pirates of the Carribean over the weekend and I really liked the movie. Im not sure what is next. I am kinda glad that we are so busy with school because there really isnt much to do around here.

I MISS WOW

I am beginning to be majorly stressed out because of school. I have one day off a week. It's absolutely insane. You would think that it's illegal. Well, its not here. And to think even my bowling is becoming stressful. Basically, we have given up on trying to get a faster internet. I might go to the mall today to at least get dial up. Not much use for WoW or skype. I am thinking about writing a letter to the Senator =) Surprisingly, all of my teachers are extremely political and out spoken. I never really hear anyone here give an opinion until I came here.
They tried to get me to run for Governor (President) of the Nursing School for my year, but I am so stressed out I dont think I can handle it. I did manage to join Green Peace =) I am the auditor for my Healthcare class (Gee, I wonder why...) The only thing that I managed to do was go to the hairdresser, and that's only because I have one at my school.
I have been crying for a couple of days because of terrible news about my dog. It hasn't been a pleasant couple of weeks. SO far, the only good thing is that I am making a few friends.
I was thinking about asking one of the internet cafe's here if I could put my game on one of their computers, but all the comps here are only 256k in RAM =( I need at least 1G. I dont know what to do =(

The Beginning of Real Nursing

I finally met my real instructers for my healthcare lab. They seem to be no nonsense type of people, but yet they still try and make the students feel comfortable. They asked us what the real reason why the students are taking up nursing. Most of the responses were that their parents or grandparents had chosen it for them. It sounded a little sad, because in nursing you need the heart to be able to help people. I guess they will come to learn to love the profession. I did meet a new friend today. Her name is Gladys, and she was very friendly. Always talking to me, which is more than most people that I have met here. Most likely, we will have the next 2 years together, and hopefully I can be comfortable enough with her as my...bath partner (only other nursing students will know that I mean that in the most unsexual way). I don't need to go into any details. I will have to see how things go, because for all I know I might make friends with someone else. Quite possibly find a best friend somewhere. I hope so. Friends can be so hard to come by. Unfortunately, she is not in my lecture class, so maybe I might have to find someone else. By the stroke of luck, Gladys ended up in the same group as I am so that's a good sign. As I said yesterday, I keep making friends and end up getting a new seat assignment. I do like this school a lot better than my last one. They are more mature here, and for the first time people are silent when the teacher is talking. I am really not looking forward to "recitations" ( last time I did a recitation was in the 5th grade) but I guess I should be fine. I am not as good as memorizing things as the good Filipinos here. I barely memorized the Apostle's Creed. Good thing that most of the time, its displayed on the wall for me to recite.
Well, I was told yesterday that they line to our house for Viacom is too long, but not all hope is lost. I told them that I am willing to pay for them to put the line in. Maybe that's what stopping the internet companies here from coming down. I do know that we used to have cable (we plugged in the tv and it worked, but then it was shut off) so it should not be a problem. I feel bad because Michele (our live in helper) has really not much to do. I found her yesterday very upset. I dont know if she was upset because she fell asleep and did not here us knocking on the door, or if its her family. I just know that I can only do so much. I just feel so bad for her. She is so far away from her family, and I know how she feels. But at least I have Joaquin when I left. She has no one, and we can barely communicate with her. I did purchase another English-Tagalog dictionary to try to help me, but I really need to find a tutor. I might post on Baguio online again.

Today is a new day

I am surrounded at the moment with people all playing Warcraft 3. I am extremely jealous. I tried the game, and I like it, but it is nothing compared to WoW. I might join their game but kinda afraid to. These people seem too serious =) Today was a little different. I tried something new to turn my situation around. I decided that in every class that I go to, I am going to introduce myself to someone new. Usually, I have been picking the person next to me, but that is proving to be a failing situation because now my instructors are becoming inclined to move the class around =( Right when I find someone interested in me, I have to move. Its ok, because I will just say hi to them again at next class.
I dont know why this ALWAYS happens to me, but I have been made leader of my zoology lab. Well, now that I think about it, it cant be that bad. This is my first step to be a vet and this way I have more control of what my grade is. As we speak, I am researching compound microscopes. So far, my first teacher spoke only in English (happens to be physics, and I dont know how they can teach physics in tagalog). My zoology lab was taught in tagalog, but I spoke with the teacher and he seems fine with talking in English. Actually, he was quite apologetic for not speaking it in the first place. I am hoping that I may use a locker here because all my classes so far require me to bring my book, and I dont think the little bag I purchased can handle it all. I dont think Joaquin will be too happy with me purchasing yet another bag. Viacom should be surveying the house right now, cross your fingers =)

New School Jitters

Maybe I am interpreting this wrong, but I think the last day of our exams is Oct. 2. I am not sure though. Check out the website and tell me what you think www.ubagio.edu/facilities/facilityview/aspx
Well, so far, my first day is not looking so promising. We were late for school because the jeep was 15 min late. But it wasn't too bad for me, because the teacher wasn't there by the time I got there. I did my usual, and told my teacher when he arrived that I did not understand tagolog. He gave me a hard time about it, and announced to the class that if we do not know the language, we need to know or we can't do our duty. I don't know why he put me on the spot like that. And we found out the hard way that I am the only person in the class (supposedly I am going to be with the same students for the next 3 years) who does not speak the language. The class is supposed to be broken up into 3 groups because it is too large. I am sure people are praying that they dont get me in their class. I dont really care, actually, if I get discriminated against. I know I am not the only person in this entire school that only knows English (Joaquin excluded). It is scaring me a little because the teacher said that I better learn, especially Illocano because I won't be able to communicate with the patients. What are the chances I can do my duty in the States?
They gave me a break for a couple of hours so they can figure out what our new schedule is like. I can cross my fingers and hope they have my class start at 930 instead of 730. But with my luck, it will be at 730-830, then I will have nothing to do for 2 hours =(
My next class is at 1030 (physics lab) and hopefully it will go better. Maybe I shouldn't tell the teacher that I don't understand a word that they are saying. Then they won't look at me like such an idiot. You see, they don't mind Joaquin not understanding. He looks the part. But they look at me like Im supposed to know better. Maybe I should know better, but I have been living in an English speaking country for 22 years. You would think they would cut me some slack. And everyone was scared to speak to me, all cowering when I came close. I understand that they are shy, but why do they have to make me feel like a leper. Granted, I walked in dripping sweat, but that should give no reason for them to think I was some 50ft woman. This is a more mature class aswell. No one was younger than 17.
I never used to hate the first day of school until I moved here. I couldn't sleep all night because I had the new school excitement. But I didnt expect the unwelcome stares from the people here. At least in my last school, people were curious as to what I was all about. Here, people looked at me like I had an arm growing out of my head. And now, I am scared to death to do my duties here because no one is going to have ANY idea what the hell I am talking about.
The water keeps coming in and out. When i go home, I have to call a plumber. Maybe they can fix it. But it sucks not knowing when the next time you can take a shower. Whenever I see water, I am going to take a shower regardless if I took one earlier.
Hopefully, this Viacom thing goes well. It comes with free cable (meaning, im not allowed to have any other cable). So, we went to the cable company that we had a contract with, and told them the surveyers said we were too far (for once it worked to our advantage), which is what they told us. I had called Viacom, the engineer department, and they told me they already had a line down where we live. As I said in my last blog, all I can do is pray that nothing else will go wrong.

Frustrated again

Our water ran out twice in the past 4 days...Ugh. So yesterday, I flipped out. I also fell down the stairs. I thought that the only thing I hurt was my pride, but I think my thumb is sprained. Guess I should invest in an ace bandage. Ok, so my high speed internet thingy fell through. They are claiming yet again that our area is too far and we are unable to get it. Fortunately, I called a place today called Viacom and they said that they service my area for broadband. I know that I have cable so it should be able to work. All I know is that I cant stop praying. Then, as we went upstairs, we noticed that the water was filling again. One of our pipes was broken so that is why we were running out of water fast. I thought it was the maid using up too much water washing our clothes (hence me falling down the stairs). I was so frustrated this morning that I wanted to cry, but things are looking up...I think. I can't get my hopes up, we all know what happens when we do that. Ok, I cant type much more, my thumb is killing me. Oh, by the way, for those who are interested, I think it would be a good idea if we got an owner =-)

PS, since we got the maid, the scorpions seem to have vanished =)

Hopefully WoW is not history!

I dont have much time. I have to go back to my stupid social orientation at school. I know love myself so much its ridiculous. Anyway, as we speak, High Speed Wireless should be coming to the house to see if we can get highspeed. Cross your fingers, and I will play WoW as soon as I can =)

Waiting for the movies

Well, the pics never came out. I am hoping that we are able to get wireless internet, so that I can add them in. We are waiting at a local internet cafe before we see a movie (this time it's the Omen) and I figured I should write in my blog. Even though I am almost positive no one is reading my blog because I never get any comments...
We got a live in maid recently, and she is a nice girl. We are sending her to school so that she may get something out of working for us. She just makes sure our clothes are done, house is clean and food is cooked. We also broke down and finally bought a TV. We got a great deal because it was from a Japanese surplus store, and all of their TVs are 110v (the philippines is 220v). Luckily, our new apartment is completely wired with 110v =)
We start school on Monday, and I am sad to say I am a little excited. We didnt expect our enrollment to go by so smoothly so we could have stayed in the states for an extra couple of weeks. So we've been mainly kicking back and relaxing.
Joaquin and I are on this major weird diet (since I cant work out anymore). We eat normal one day, then the next we eat less than 1000calories. Sounds weird but I think it's working...for Joaquin. I am doing exactly what he is doing but I look the same. I still dont eat meat, only seafood, and that has also been working for me. I feel a little healthier.
I miss my family a lot, especially my dad. I haven't really talked to him much, but I still miss him more than ever. I wish that people could come visit here. It would be nice. We always go home and run around all over the place. I would like to show people what we really do here...which is next to nothing. We live in a much more livable climate, and the people are real nice here. I get things done around here, instead of expecting to get hustled all he time.
Ok, the movie should be starting soon. We go to the movies a lot because it only costs us about a $1.50 =P If we get the wireless, I promise to edit my last blog and put pics in.

Pics...I think

Last night, we had several scares just before we went to bed. First, Joaquin found an almost dead baby scorpion on our bathroom floor. I have no idea where it came from but I know that they have quite a sting and are poisonous. In some animals, the babies are more poisonous than the adults, because they are more vulnerable to predators. I never studied the insect variety, so I am not that knowledgeable about the subject. All I know is that I don’t need a scorpion in our house. So now we have to make it a point to shake our shoes out before we slip our feet into them or we might get an unpleasant surprise. Also, we have to check inside our sheets. Its bad enough we found a wolf spider in our room the other day and that freaked me out. I am about to grab a bunch of geckos outside and place them in the house as permanent residents.
Then, as we were watching a movie on my portable DVD player (yes, we still have no TV for all you non believers), “Life without Dick” I felt something crawling on my hand. Sure enough, it was a roach. Not huge, but still scared the daylights out of me especially after we just saw the scorpion. Joaquin thoroughly killed it (and I have no remorse over it) but all night I was jumpy. I had to tuck the sheets all over my body, and I couldn’t sleep. I can tolerate most bugs, but 2 poisonous ones and one crawling on me is enough for one week. I have to literally run to the bathroom at night =(
Anyhoo, I am finally writing my blog ahead of time so here are some pics from our trip back from the states:

We went to New Mexico just before we went home. We had a great time. This is in Taos. I love this pic of Pam, she is so cute!
What’s up with the two kids and the shovels? This is not the beach!



Same place in Taos, New Mexico. It’s of the pueblos…


Doesn’t the sun’s ray make me look like an angel? If you knew me, you would know the truth.


This is my favorite picture. You think that it’s boring, just picture of Kate standing on a ledge, but little does anyone know dirt was blowing in her face…





So, I did what any good sister would do…I zoomed in lol


IF LOOKS COULD KILL…


This was the day that we went back home…on Joaquin’s Birthday (we wont mention how old ugh!)

I had way more from before we went to New Mexico, but these pics are post new camera. I still have to upload the pics from pre new camera. So, for next time, I will have more for you =)

Coping with no DSL =(

I guess this no internet thing is not all that bad (or so I keep telling myself). Yesterday we did a bit of spontaneous exploring. We hopped on a jeep, and went down our road LOL. Well, down our road is a good hour away. We went to Asin Hot Springs. Its not what you would think it would be. Well, Im sure that my family knows what its like... a pool. But Joaquin was quite surprised that it wasn't mountains, rocks, waterfalls, etc... What can we really expect? Well, it was nice and refreshing. The "hot spring" was barely luke warm because after all it was a pool. They did have these rooms that they fill up with the sulfur water, and it was so hot. It turned the room into a steam room. I liked that part, plus it was only P200 for an hour (which I could barely stand 20 min). I think I am going to the store today, and try to find one of those cool spa outfits =) We decided that we are going to try to do that at least once a month. It's worth the adventure.
So now, we have 2 weeks til school starts, and I am not sure if we are going to be able to go to Boracay. I think I might have upset my uncle by changing my dates too much. I was hoping that I could get a tan before school starts, since everyone thinks I "look so healthy" with it. I don't understand this country...First they tell you, you cant look too dark. Then I get a little sun by accident, and I look "healthy".
Oh, another thing that I wanted to mention about the "hot springs". You have to really look for the one where it costs a little more money to feel a little more comfortable. Not that the facilities are any better, but I noticed that if you swim in the pool that is P20 cheaper, everyone is wearing T-Shirts and shorts while swimming! I know that everyone is self conscience about their bodies, who isn't? But I was feeling more uncomfortable to show myself in my one piece bathing suit. I was actually contemplating going swimming in my shirt and pants. But we were still on a mission to find the actual "hot springs" ( our first stop was just a pool). So we walked about half a km down hill and found a nice resort. For P20 more, people are actually wearing bathing suits and not clothes in the water. It was also about 10% less crowded. Plus, we wouldn't have discovered the sulfur baths.
I do have to remember to write this on word, so I can try to put some pics in and come to this internet cafe and put it in my blog...Im going to lose weight just trying to go online =(
So Joaquin and I are doing our special diets. I feel like I am a little thinner... I am also going to try to look for a yoga instructor, since we are unable to go online for long periods of time. So, all of you Karen enthusiests...until next time.

What! No DSL?!!!

That's right, there is no high speed internet where we live. We thought we were in the most perfect location, just to find no internet. Oh boy. Now what do we do? LOL Joaquin taught me how to play cribbage today ( Im sure I spelt that wrong, but dont really care }:-)
I think I did fairly well, even though I got "skunked" three times. Everytime, I was catching up more and more. Considering that we really have nothing else to do, I have a feeling I might quickly become a pro.
We are still in the process of looking for a live in maid. It is proving to be quite difficult just to get our laundry done. I called one place, and they didnt show up for their pick up. I guess I should try to call another one. I didnt realize how far we really live. It must be about 3Km away from town, and people here think we live on a whole other planet. I tell them "Asin RD" and they go nuts. What can you do?
I really want to do this hiking trip into the mountains sometime soon. It would be a 5 day trip. i dont know if I will make it, so if I dont write in my blog soon, you might want to notify the authorities.
I did find an absolutely perfect spa to take the place of my old one in manila. I paid about 1150 peso for a full body massage, facial, foot scrub, manicure and pedicure. I think I might think twice about the facial. I dont have the patience to just lay around for an hour. Plus, when I was done, I think the avocado from my avocado mask seeped too much into my pores. I was leaking avocados from my eyes almost til the next day! Joaquin said he could make a taco salad from my face! but other than that, the place was an absolute paradise. Actually, the facial was quite refreshing, and more relaxing than the one in manily. In case people are looking for spas in Baguio (I found this place out from a Blogspot site as well) It is called:

North Haven Spa
21 Avelino St Baguio
(074) 300-5022 or (0917) 506-1349

The place in Manila that I ALWAYS went to was named The Blue Moon Foot Spa. Great place, nice atmosphere, and quite inexpensive (which is always my favorite part)

ok, I will try to add pics later. Keep in mind, I can only write in my blog from an internet cafe =(

WE ARE MOVING!!!!!!!!

We are moving to the northern part of the Philippines. I mean waaaaaaay northern. Joaquin and I are positively ecstatic. We started off last week, and found a great apartment and a great school. We are so excited about moving there. I know Joaquin is because the weather is so nice, we don't even need air conditioning (actually we don't even have one in our new apartment). I am just happy I can take hot showers again =)
This view here is the view from our apartment living room window.
I even have my own garden, and that is great. I am going to try to grow organic vegetables. Not that I know how, but I guess there is no good a time as any as now. We even have a dog house in the back yard, so I am having some thoughts....
I am well over do to talk about my trip back home to the states. I think I will once we settle because there are so many pics that I want to post. So, bye for now =)

A few changes

So, I have been going to the gym everyday now since I arrived in Florida. I might even be a bit obsessed. I turned vegetarian (except fish) and I am feeling pretty good about myself. I am hoping to lose about 15 lbs before Joaquin gets here. I want to look good for him. Even though he says that he loves the way that I look as it is, I still would like to lose about 15lbs. I just dont feel healthy anymore. I think that this is the best way. I havent taken any pics yet, so that will wait =( I am going with my "sister-in-law" to a stamping club meeting on Friday. I think that might be interesting. I will see how things go.

Back to Normal

Well, I thought that I was gonna spend the next month and a half relaxing. I guessed wrong. Back to the usual hectic life of the good ole U S of A =) Strangely, I enjoy it. I enjoy working for my dad. Now he is a lot busier than we used to be. I guess all that praying finally paid off. Now I have other things to pray for. I like being so busy that I cant even eat. Then I can loose a few pounds before Joaquin shows up. I decided to become Vegetarian again. I just feel so much healthier not eating meat. I am supposed to go out tonight with my friends. I am kinda excited. I will see how things go =)

The Best Deal in All of Manila

What is a travel day without a little adventure? My grandmother's neighbor agreed to help Joaquin and I to go to the airport this morning, of course for a fee. Everything was reasonable. Then, as we enter into the departure lane, we stop for the security inspection. Usually they just let us by, but we of course were stopped. I believe it was my luck that drew their attention. The police officer asked if we rented the car. Being an American, our defintion of renting a car would be paying for a car regardles who drives it. My response to the question was yes. I guess that was the wrong answer. Everything was spoken in Tagalog and they were speaking too fast for me to understand. So, I let Joaquin get out of the car, and I would take care of it. Ended up being, if you are a tourist, you can ONLY use a taxi. I was able to talk to the police officer to let the men keep their drivers license, but I believe at that point my boobs did most of the talking. Even though my outfit is not revealing or provacative, but i did notice the officers smile.
After all that is taken care of, we enter into the airport, go through checkin and of course have problems yet again at immigration. Having to pay a 2100 peso fine for yet another piece of paper we did not know about. Go figures.
So during our frustration, Joaquin and I stomped through the airport clearly upset, when we were stopped by a "lounge sales" agent. They had a special lounge where you can stay til you board, with a buffet, 10 min scalp massage, and 15 min internet access for basically $10. Man, it was the best deal I have ever seen in all of Manila. We had Caffe Mochas, and an accessable shower. Everything that we wanted came with the deal with unlimited drinks including alcoholic beverages. Oops, I have to board the flight =) See everyone soon!

Well, I did not count on a 7 hour stop over in Tapei. Quite crazy. We are mainly roaming around the airport figuring out what we are going to do. I think an hour passed and I only get 30 min on this comp. Its kinda empty on this side of the airport so hopefully no one will notice how long I am intending on being here. So, let me discuss something. Let's discuss seals. The white fluffy ones. The ones that are only 12 weeks old. Well, as we speak, they are being slaughtered in Canada. And for what you ask? So that some fishermen can make a few extra dollars to buy their flat screen televisions. I dont see how that can possibly be humane. I have been keeping up to date with them since I heard about the event even going to happen. I cried when I saw the futage of the slaughter. The snow was covered in a red blanket. And to make matters worse, they are killing these seals with clubs. Bashing them in the head. 12 week old seals, completely defenseless including their mothers. All the mothers can do is watch her pups get slaughtered in the snow. I dont know how anyone can possibly live with themselves afterwards. It makes you disguisted to even be a human being. That's why I think I can make a great vet. I think I can really make a difference. I like to learn all about animals, and to fix them when they are completely defenseless. It's only right that someone has to.

Getting better

I think I am getting better now. Not that anything has changed, but I am beginning to accept what is to be. People their entire lives just "live with" what was given to them. I just thought that maybe I can do better then "live with" my problems. But, I can do it. I always have and always will.

Beware of the Rant

I am beginning to think that what's important to me doesnt really matter anymore. My goals are stretching so far that I can no longer see them. I dont know what I am supposed to do anymore. I dont really care about much anymore. And so what if I am self loathing. I think that any normal human being would be if they were running around in circles. People telling you to stop being depressed over what happened a minute ago. I have to be a mindless shell. Let bad things happen and not worry about it. And I wonder about God. What is He doing? A test? or a sign? Im not sure. But you dont want to read about this. I need to be happy. I need to be strong. I need to be me. But I just dont know. I think the "me" is being bled dry. I have no one to talk to, but this blog...which I guess would be the public. We have our own problems, why should I expect anyone to care about mine? That's just it. I am not supposed to have problems. I am supposed to forget that there is no hope anymore. The corruption of this world has soiled the minds of the innocent, and I just dont care anymore.
So go ahead and tell me that I am not supposed to feel this way. That you are SICK of me feeling sorry for myself. Well how about someone feel sorry for me for a change and want to talk to ME about it. Because I am a human being whether or not people want to believe it. And sometimes I just need to talk to someone.

The stress is beginning to build...

Well, the time is drawing near and I am slowly freaking out. But the funny part is that I really have nothing to freak out about. I am basically all packed (since I have to pack light anyway) and have taken care of everything well in advanced. I have two exams scheduled tomorrow, and my last one is on Sunday (dont ask me why). We've already experienced several problems, all of which were quickly solved. We are going to the University of Baguio on Saturday, so we have to leave tomorrow right after school. Quite a tight squeeze, and I will have to wear the same jeans for 4 days lol.
We saw a movie tonight called "the Dark". I do not know why they called it the dark. They made no reference to it, and it was quite confusing. I am just glad that I paid 110 pesos ($1=51 pesos atm) for it and not the usual $8.
Not too much for me to say except...Im Going Home!

The Excitement Rises

Only 6 more days and we get to go home. I am so excited. I am not so excited to have to try to make money, but excited to go home. We are going to Baguio this weekend to try and tie up some loose ends. I hope that they dont loose our paperwork again. I dont want to think about loosing our last weekend before we go home, just so that we have to repeat what needs to be done.

Welcome to my blog...again

Don't you hate it when people switch their email or blog sites a lot =). I think that I really did not have a choice in the matter. I was paying for xanga, and I didn't mind so much. But then, I was trying to get up to date with my internet technology and realized that my site is not RSS compatible =(. I would explain what that means, but I am not all that sure myself, LOL. Well, anyway, this site is free and Joaquin uses it so maybe it is a lot better. I have also noticed that some very repitable people use this blog site. Let's see how things go.
PS. Click on the Feed link to subscribe to my blog and you can see whenever I update it! ------------------------------------------------------>