// thoughts

WoW it's been a while since I've posted here, just been busy with a lot of things - work, family, BNP. Instead of making individual posts, I'm just going to do everything in one shot...here we go!

Working Out?!
Who's working out?! Well I'm working out, yes I know it's hard to believe but I actually am. The way it happened was that I was looking around on Craigslist, then I saw this guy who was offering personal training in exchange for a website. So I emailed the guy and he was legit.

I get 8 sessions with him and I make his website for him. Not too shabby - we work out at the Hilton on 53rd and 6th. It's a fitness center and spa (yea I ended up joining it for $75/month). I'm going there about 2 or 3 times a week, depending on my schedule and I like it, since it's really close and I go there during lunch to work out I'll get into more detail about it in a later post, but yeah I'm working out!

Let's Ride!
WoW I haven't gone snowboarding in 2 and a half years! Last time I went was when I got my concusion and I think I got a bit scurred from that point. I hadn't gone this season yet either so my cousin invites me to go with him and a couple of our friends. I was reluctant but then he came to my house to pick up his board sharpener and then we ended up going out to buy some bindings and boots for me (since I gave mine to Dudoy).

It was Johnny (haven't seen this dude in forever), Dan, and Ody. We ended up going to Camelsmash (real name Camelback) since they didn't wanna drive to Hunter. The night before I was with the youth playing MAGONG and didn't get home until 4:30 and we were leaving at 6am. So I get home and I didn't wanna sleep but just layed there and knocked out for about 30 minutes. Man did I feel like crap when I was getting up - I hate that no sleep feeling.

I had a burger for breakfast (hahahA yes a burger!). We got there around 8:30 and there weren't that many people . First two runs I was all over the place and I couldn't even stand up! But after that it was smoooooth sailing and was just like riding a bike!

I took a few jumps but nothing spectacular - in the process of the whole day, I banged up my knee. I usually wear kneepads but before I we were leaving, I only found one of them (the other fell behind the dresser). So I wore it on my right knee. It was fine until I fell on and my left knee was scrapping through the ice off a jump. Needless to say my left knee was battered and bruised.

Got a good amount of runs in that day, only times I fell were on the first two runs and off one of the jumps that messed up my knee. Ahhh how I missed the snow and riding sooooo much! I love it!

K will continue this update after I get some food, I'm freakin' hungry!

+ mon

WoW this was the first youth Ultreya we had this year and the theme was Repentance and Lent. I think that was the topic?

They had given us this Ultreya a few weeks ago and Patrick gave us an outline of what he had in mind, we all liked his plan and decided to have a practice and meeting to get things going on the Ultreya preperations. There was some miscommunication and the practice ended up being cancelled. We were going to practice our presentations but we didn't have the practice anymore.

We were planning to "just sing a song" for Ultreya with our two speakers doing their thang - Wilson and Emil. While driving to and from Maryland last weekend, we decided to meet up last Sunday to practice.

The idea was to do a skit, a skit that Bay Area did for Ate Salve's birthday. It was to the music of "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I'm not going to explain it for those who haven't seen it, maybe you'll see it one day but the Bay Area one was really well done. Our was kind of messed up because we all came in late at the start of the song so we were about one minute behind, then at the end the song ended while we were still doing our skit. Oh well! As long as the message gets through.

NJ had a skit prepared too! O o O o I like the song they did it to "Here's My Heart." That song is goooood stuff . They did a great job too, hehe Mark had to play Jesus and he did a good job - looked pretty good in that white blanket too.

We ended the Ultreya with "The Reason" by Hoobastank and all the youth came up, even a nongrad, it was great though. Just seeing all the youth there singing the song together and everyone smiling at all of us - ahhh what a feeling.

There were about 50-60 people there last night, I think I know why...because the youth was the one in charge and they wanted to see us perform and do our thang! Yaa! There weren't anymore seats left people were just standing in the back.

We should do this at all the Ultreyas! Until next time. Oh yeah and Wilson played Jesus for the NY skit, his hair went really well with the role! Good job Bradder Wil and Bradder Arbs for playing Jesus and the devil, respectively.

Pics of the Ultreya at the Gallery!

+ mon

A little while ago Ate Sockie asked me if I wanted to speak at an Ultreya in Maryland. I said maybe and that we'll take some youth down there too. So right after she asked me, I started to ask people if they wanted to go with me and she started freaking out because she didn't want too many people going because of the cost and room in the van!

Well the ones who said they were gonna go were Arvin, JC, Shing, Wilson and Mark. We went except for Arvin because he had to stay behind and practice with for Chior Comp. It was fun on the way down to Maryland in the van with the other youth, even though they did sleep for most of the ride!

O o o OoO the van we rented was sexy! It had automatic sliding doors, on both sides, automatically closed and opened the trunk, and it had parking assistance. What the parking assistance is is a sensor in the back to show you how close you are coming to an object behind you! It was sweet!

We messed around, joked around on the way down to Maryland and there were a lot of great funny moments - especially between JC and Shing - HAhAhahhAhAha! We all woke up late and were running about one to two hours late and ended up getting there late for the Ultreya.

They had told us that it wouldn't be that many people there, I was expecting maybe 5 or 10 people the most. So we go down to the basement and the basement is packed! About 20-30 people were down there, 6 or 7 of them being youth.

So we had the Ultreya and it was really good to hear everyone share about Lent. Then Wilson went up to talk about the workshop that we had a few weeks ago and he did a great job. Afterwards we had food - MmmmmmmMmMm food - and talked and shared with the other youth from Maryland. It was really good seeing all them again, some grads from the November retreat and some who served that retreat, there was even a grad from two years ago. We informed the youth there of the activities and what's going on and we're going to try to make it down to Maryland at least once a month so we can chillax with our Maryland peeps!

We parted ways and Tita Natie and Tita Martiess came in the van with us back to NyC. They took the bus going there, I guess they didn't trust my driving and wanted to see if we made it down there alive first

Man I was soooo knocked out on the way back, everyone fell asleep sooooo fast in the van and I was drifting in and out of conciousness! Had to drink two cups of coffee to stay awake. Ok that's it for now about the Maryland trip - pics up in my gallery!

+ mon

I remember getting this in an email a while ago (I think it was an email?), about ten years ago I think. Brings back so many wonderful memories from when we were kids, ahhh the good ol' days - no worries, just toys and "playing."

We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak. We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut. We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's. Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Stringsteen and The Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at The A Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and what you talkin' 'bout Willis? We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Pokka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated? We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scary and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightop Velcro Reebox - and pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm necklaces and side pony tails and rats' tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool. The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids - we never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king. In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the president was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man? We forgot Vietnam and watched Tiananman's Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel. In the Eighties, we redefined the Dream, and those years defined us. We are the generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The Eighties may have made us idealistic, but it's that idealism that will push us and be passed on to our children - the first children of the twenty-first century. Never forget: We are the children of the Eighties.

+ mon

First heard this on Z100 and searched for the actual "resignation" online. Ahhh if it were only so easy:

A LETTER OF RESIGNATION

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!"

+ mon

I think I'm actually "working" now! Doing work while I'm here, or actually trying to connect to AIM takes up most of my day.

Ok I have some spare time time here and I'm going to post some new things and add some links to the side menu.

+ mon