Upsaid journal entries and comments by user: kgrp

(File created on: September 14 2005)

Upsaid.com

happy bday mom! it was my mom's bday yesterday but i didn't get to see her, so i'm posting this pic from my bday =) my parents were so cool - we all played arcade games, hit up the batting cages (which they paid for in coins - so hilarious to see 'em count out $5+ in change!), and then mini-golfed. today, for my mom's bday, she wants to go bowling! it'll be so much fun out here with my parents at the lanes... can u imagine that? my mom said she just stands there and throws the ball - absolutely no approach. hmmm, maybe i have a chance of winning! =) maybe afterwards they'll let me treat them out - i wonder if they'll like maria's. how could they not? everyone loves maria's. sounds good. maria's it is! Entry posted by kgrp on February 23 2005 at 12:36 am

i'm done with one class! and one more to go. well, i finished all my requirements for EDUC 320b and i'm SOOOO happy about that. i've been lagging all quarter long (who, me, procratinate? never!) and i have tons of assignments due in EDUC 320 and in the intern class, for PACT. when class got cancelled today due to "teacher sickness" (what, was she sick of us complaining about her? sorry... i guess that's a full story right there), grant made me sit in the computer lab and finish all my technology requirements. i really needed that because there was no way i was going to get that done on my own. now that it's 4 hours later i think i'll head home to eat and relax. or maybe start on my PACT stuff. HA! yah, right, there's no way i'll get any of those 1500 word reports done tonight. but hey, one step at a time, right? Entry posted by kgrp on February 22 2005 at 8:14 pm

snowing just a sample of what the view was like from our car inching along at 15 mph. yah, most of the cars were leaving, hardly anyone was going up to the mountains. which means the mountains belonged to us! boy, was it nice =) Entry posted by kgrp on February 22 2005 at 12:00 am

i can't stay away from the jumps! man, my butt is sore!!! i landed on it so many times today, trying to land the jumps right side up. i'm not so talented at that as i'd like to be. and yet, i still can't stay away from it! arghh... although i did catch some air a few times and manage to land on my feet =) vil and i made it up to bear mtn/snow summit and we really enjoyed trying out the jumps. it was very sweet - i found out that it was his bday so i thought maybe i'd pay for his ticket but instead he paid for mine! thanks, vil! that was awesome of you. it was snowing like crazy when we started driving up the hill but we continued to drive oh-so-slowly with our 4-wheel drive (think 20 mph), so we ended up getting there late and just boarding for half a day. it was sooo nice. i guess the falling snow scared lotsa people away and it was like we had the whole place to ourselves. the powder was fresh and new and man, it was just fun. plus, i'm happy i finally got to use my board! i'll be sooo sore tomorrow but it's definitely worth it! Entry posted by kgrp on February 21 2005 at 11:41 pm

if you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it... ... i betcha you would have done the same! man oh man chicago was GOOD! jay and i went to the pantages on thursday and we both LOVED it! i didn't think it could live up to the movie but it was pretty awesome to see everyone dancing there up on stage. i think the choreography made the show - in fact, listening to the cd is a little bit disappointing because you don't get the awesome visuals. chicago is becoming one of my favorite musicals. rent is the top running right now, chicago was a GREAT show and i love it for that, and les mis is the classic that i always defer to, but i don't know if i can watch it too many times because, well, it's miserable. hahah... so anyways, yah, this was definitely a fun night. patti labelle was pretty awesome as mama morton too. *sigh* and the puppet song was done really well. plus the staging was creative and innovative. yah... and the band was awesome. hmm, i just have so much good stuff to say about this show! too bad it was running in LA for only 2 weeks... Entry posted by kgrp on February 20 2005 at 6:13 pm

el vestido have i already said that i'm going to be a bridesmaid for brandy? i'm so excited - i'm gonna get to see her for the first time since i left ecuador. yeah... i know, that was so long ago. and you're right, i haven't even met her fiance yet. but hey, who needs any of that when you're yuntas? i was able to try on a dress at david's bridal here in riverside, but all the dresses are being ordered back in texas. thankfully i don't need any alterations! now that i've got the dress ordered, all i need to do now is buy my tickets over there. whee! only 3 more months till i get to see her Entry posted by kgrp on February 18 2005 at 1:04 am 4 comments: I dunno nothing about no girl clothing, but you look dope wearing that dress... make sure u take lotsa pictures of yourself so u can post here in your blog cool? =P Comment posted by Anonymous Comment Leaver Perso (ip: 68.171.155.182) on 02 / 19 / 2005 at 2:52 AM it's a black dress... and it's actually separates, so i could wear the halter top without having to get all gussied up in the skirt too. it'll be nice to be able to re-use my $160 purchase, huh? Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 69.233.91.115) on 02 / 19 / 2005 at 1:16 AM Seriously, that is a nice bridesmaid dress. Nice photo too. :) Nothing better than being tasteful (i.e. no garish colors or materials that cling in uncomfortable ways...). BTW, what color is it? Glad you get to see Brandy! Comment posted by kat (ip: 68.161.150.213) on 02 / 19 / 2005 at 12:20 AM kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com that's one of the most tasteful bridesmaid dresses I've ever seen! woot! Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 02 / 18 / 2005 at 5:54 AM

gameWORKS! limo rides and free passes to game works... what more could my students want? last week on wednesday, those students who sold a lot of items during the fall fundraiser were treated to a dance at the school followed by limo rides and glitz and glamour, all the way to ontario gameworks. some of the students picked me to be in the limo with them, so i got to chaperone them! i thought i'd be fun running around with a free card, but y'know what? IT'S NOTHING LIKE ARCADE INFINITI! there was absolutely nothing interesting for me to play. i think mostly i was miffed because we were blocked from all games i woulda played - skeeball, basketball, etc. were all off limits because then we'd have won unlimited tickets, and walked off with tons of prizes. the table hockey game sucked because there was no air coming off the table, and i think i ended up playing DDR once. that was it. i think the only game that ramirez & lucero played was jurassic park, cause it was a gun game. but hey, i got to chaperone and i'm glad the kids got to play... now if they can only import a pop'n'fresh and a ga-ha-ha!!! it'd be on!!! Entry posted by kgrp on February 17 2005 at 2:55 am One comment: eh? are *those* your students?? Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.49) on 02 / 17 / 2005 at 8:32 pm ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com

trinity candle Entry posted by kgrp on February 16 2005 at 7:25 am

plans for next year? I just got this letter from daryl: I was talking with my director about our international program here. As you know, we're trying to teach more subjects in English in our high school curriculum. The thing is, we need teachers. I mentioned that one of my friends teaches math and was a missionary in Ecuador. He is very excited about the idea of you coming over to teach math at this school. Consider this an offical offer to come here, even for only one year if you like. I don't know what to say... part of me wants to think about it and weigh it against everything else (and it seems like such a daunting task) but I also know that if this truly is a missionary job, there's only one question: Is this what God wants me to do? Is He calling me? Although I've always said I want to be a missionary the thought of being one in Japan (where most of my friends have gone and been so successful) scares me. I don't know how exactly to explain it, but maybe I'm just scared of following in their footsteps, having to live up to them. But once again, that doesn't matter. It only matters if that's where God is calling me. I have to do a lot of soul searching... prayers, please? Entry posted by kgrp on February 15 2005 at 7:36 pm 3 comments: Hi Kimi, We'd love to have you here in Japan (yes, I speak for the nation) if God is sending you here. However, if He's not, I know that it's because He has something better for you at home and better for Daryl's school. I'm asking God to make it clear to you which way to step and to bombard you with confirmations like roadsigns whacking you over the head. (^_^) In His rest & praying for you, Ramone Comment posted by ramone (ip: 219.122.201.168) on 02 / 15 / 2005 at 10:00 PM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com Ill pray for you, God bless Comment posted by Anyonymous Note Leaver Person (ip: 68.171.155.182) on 02 / 15 / 2005 at 8:30 PM I'll pray for you Kimi! Listen to your heart and Jesus will open the doors for you to go where He needs you. I know you've been really longing to go back to the mission field - I mean, the INTERNATIONAL mission field... :) What an adventure!!! Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 02 / 16 / 2005 at 11:36 AM laura's E-mail: laura@camacho.tv laura's website: http://www.camacho.tv

jury duty rocks! yah, so today, i have jury duty. it sucked standing in line with the tons of prospective jurors, and everything like that. especially since at the security door they turned me away the first time because i had my camera in my purse (it is ALWAYS there, i didn't even think about it before i went to the courthouse) however, after an hour of waiting, we finally were shown a video and then told to look at the list to see which panel we've been selected to serve on. my name was on panel B, so i settled in for the wait. "Panel B, please report back to the courtroom now." i stood up and started walking towards the door, wondering why they asked to report back. but before i got to the door, there was another announcement: "Panel B, please listen to this message carefully. After further deliberation (what, after that measly 15 seconds?!) we have decided to recess until 1:15. You may leave the courtroom premises, but you are required to report back to the jury selection room by 1:15 pm." SWEET! so i came home and basically i have a free day... or at least a free morning. i mean, i wasted some time in line but at least i can wait in the comforts of my own house with my beloved computer and my beloved internet, watching my shows that have been recorded on our DVR, and taking a nap, and eating. this is definitely the way jury duty should be served... forget the waiting room - we should just be "on call" at home! i like! Entry posted by kgrp on February 15 2005 at 11:47 am

VD a couple years back, all of us single folk ended up spending VD together (that's Valentine's Day for all of you non-cynicals =p). although shelia and i had made reservations at Claim Jumpers around 5, and were told that there was a 3+ hour wait, when the group of us arrived around 8:30 we still had almost 2 more hours to wait because all the couples were taking their sweet old time... soooo... the 7 of us crammed into a small booth at the bar and played "curses" till late at night. have you ever taken a board game that makes you act crazy into a public place, and played it amongst trying-to-be-romantic couples? it's quite fun, actually. see, the premise to "curses" is that you draw these action cards that make you do something, like say the alphabet backwards. and then when you successfully complete your task, you can draw a curse card and give it to someone else. these curse cards say things like, "you must talk like elmer fudd for the rest of the evening" or "you think there are flies swarming around you. you must bat them away every time you talk" and the like. one of my favorites was the one that makes you twitch/spasm every time the person to your right was reading a card. apparently kathy's curse that made her pinch her nose every time she talked, while my curse card made me keep my arms straight all night long. it hurt!!! plus, there was this one time when my nose was itching and everyone just laughed at me trying desperately to wipe my nose on something! no help, just laughter. they suck! jay ended up professing his love to alan sometime that night before he told him he ran over his cat (and offered to make it up by buying him garlic - what??) alan had to keep his hands in fists, which made us laugh each time he tried to pick up a new card. yah, once again, no helping. we suck =) i don't remember who got the 'swatting flies' card but he also had to keep his hands together at all times. we made him continue to swat at flies (with BOTH hands stuck together, mind you) even when he spoke to our waitress... our poor waitress. we sat there for quite a while making a ruckus while eating a meager 3-4 desserts that all of us shared. hahha... what cheapskates, huh? but, i have to say that the memories from that VD are one of my favorites by far. it's too bad we couldn't all get together this year, but i'll let you know how tonight goes =) Entry posted by kgrp on February 14 2005 at 7:40 pm 2 comments: i'm too lazy to do a full post so i'll just say that alan and christina and i watched "whale rider" here at my house... just lazed around and chatted and stuff. nice, low key, nothin' much. although i did find out that they both like the strawberry mush filling inside chocolates, while alan doesn't like the chocolate that holds it (what's wrong with him?!) and i wonder how either of them could like that pink goop. yuck! Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 69.108.91.23) on 02 / 15 / 2005 at 4:38 PM There is some odd poetic irony in abbreviating Valentine's Day as "VD", but what connection that irony might suggest is a little too beyond me... (^_^) Comment posted by ramone (ip: 219.122.201.187) on 02 / 15 / 2005 at 1:48 AM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com

what's a blog? journal: i hung out with vil & with ava (spelling?) & arvin after the valentines day thing. i told vil how one of my hobbies was taking pictures and how another hobby was maintaining this blog, and i had to explain what a blog was to him. after telling him it was a web journal, he asked me, "so you're going to write about this, right?" and so i was obliged to pull my camera out, take a photo and promise him i'd post it. =) so here it is! Entry posted by kgrp on February 14 2005 at 7:24 am One comment: Ava is my homie, she braided my hair before, and she was my instructor at driving school! you da shiz! peace! Comment posted by Anonymous Note leaver Person (ip: 68.171.155.182) on 02 / 14 / 2005 at 7:59 am

more than plans... ok, so i looked up Jeremiah 29:11 to see if that's what i wanna talk about, and then i continued reading the rest of the chapter. i'd forgotten it was so good! especially the next 2 verses. but especially the second: "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13, NKJV I will seek Him, AND I will find Him. that's an awesome promise, one that i know my friends and i have been waiting on. maybe we still need to learn how to search with all our heart, but the promise is still there - we will find Him. this story has a good ending. =) i'm inspired! Entry posted by kgrp on February 13 2005 at 11:24 pm

even in a bar so lately i've been talking with people about their relationship with God often. more than what is usual. or maybe i should say, what is "usual" has become more, because i'm seeing this certain trend. i'm not quite sure how it's working in, if it's me and i'm bringing up the topic, or if people just feel like they can talk to me about God, but somehow, it's happening. last week, it was at in-n-out; yesterday, in a karaoke bar; and even when i got home i called a friend and we ended up discussing in length God's relationship with us. i know how that one started - i was the one who brought up what we talked about in Sabbath School that day. this is quite a new experience for me, to discuss God with people around me in all settings. i used to talk about God, yes, but in the "appropriate" locales, and not usually with people i'd just met. i'd save stuff like that for in-church discussions, or talking with family. but now, when a co-worker asks me how a weekend went, i'll say "great, i really enjoyed my church service this weekend" or when someone asks me what 's on my mind, they might get an earful of "i've been wondering about this thing i read about God." it's not like i'm trying to witness, or anything like that. it's just coming out in my language, and i don't cover it up. God is definitely on my mind more, and if asked what i'm thinking, i'll share it. this has led to some interesting situations - where i was just riding home in a car with a friend and she blurted out "i'm not sure if i believe in God" out of the blue and then we discussed it.... i don't know if i agree with her statement because of her actions, but it's nice that she turned to me. another friend has told me he wants to get back into going to church so i call him every Sabbath morning when i wake up to help him wake up and make it to the service. so far, he hasn't woken up yet, but he's not tired of me trying to wake him up! and so he still wants a wake up service just in case one day he makes it back to church. another friend told me, "i always wanted to do a testimonial, but i'm not religious anymore." that conversation was sparked on by him reading my blog about doing sermons. so anyways, while it's new, it's also very comfortable. yet, i still notice it, because it's that new. sometimes i worry that they'll think that i think i'm better than them, because they usually come to me with problems. but i think that i'm just willing to be vocal about my walk, no matter how/where it's going at the time, and that i love hearing about other people's walk, and encouraging them on it. hopefully i can maintain this facet of my life where God is a common topic of discussion. i rather like it =) Entry posted by kgrp on February 13 2005 at 11:20 am 2 comments: (^_^) **smile!!** Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.106) on 02 / 13 / 2005 at 8:31 PM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com This is the very moving one! I was very touched by what you wrote. I'm glad that you are able to share with your friends and coworkers. I worry too about what my friends might think, but it's for God, right? So keep on sharing!! Comment posted by K-dude (ip: 66.215.8.166) on 04 / 03 / 2005 at 9:53 PM K-dude's E-mail: kwaiet@juno.com

argh... i just took a link off the sidebar and i'm hating it. it's like i'm ripping out part of myself... so maybe it needed to go. or i could've just ignored the fact that it was there. yah, right. i dunno, but it hurts. i don't wanna refresh the page becuause i don't wanna see it leave. how ridiculous is that! so here goes... Entry posted by kgrp on February 13 2005 at 5:45 am One comment: *sigh* I know what you mean, Kimi. But really, it's cathartic pain. It's kind of the same idea as burning the shoebox of letters and mementos. If it's dead, then cut if off. Otherwise it will spread death to your otherwise healthy parts... Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 02 / 13 / 2005 at 10:05 am laura's E-mail: laura@camacho.tv laura's website: http://www.camacho.tv

we are living in a material world and alan's a material girl! i mean... well, les, you asked to see something that's changed - here's a photo of alan doing karaoke. haha... that's right, he sang madonna's "material girl" at our church's valentines day banquet! it was great... but i won't upload the .mpg =) sorry... so how'd he get up there? well... as part of the fundraiser you can bid to have the person of your choice sing, and so someone paid $10 to make alan sing. he had the option of buying himself out for $15, or, he was bound to sing. with no money to buy himself out, he ended up having to sing. but he did choose the song on his own (or at least with my help) he wasn't forced to sing that song! i think he did awesome... it was entertaining! and during one of the interludes, he said "i don't know why someone would pay $10 to hear me do this!" haha... always a ham... Entry posted by kgrp on February 13 2005 at 1:55 am 2 comments: LOL! Wow, ditto. I'd like to hear Alan's side of the story, too, hehe. Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.106) on 02 / 13 / 2005 at 8:28 PM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com lol! That's awesome! Thanks for the pic and the story. I would certainly pay $10 to hear Alan sing "Material" girl. Comment posted by les (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 02 / 13 / 2005 at 7:52 PM les's website: http://www.camacho.tv

where the gin is cold, and the pi-ano's hot CHICAGO is coming to town! yup, the musical... at the pantages. whee! isn't it exciting? as soon as i saw the commercial on tv i called up jay immediately and he was just as jazzed about it as i was, so we got tickets for next thursday - front row mezzanine, which i thought was better than trying to get an orchestra seat and sitting row P 311-312 on the side, which was all that ticketmaster was offering us. i know, through ticketmaster, i coulda paid for the more expensive seats, sat on the side, plus had to pay $17 handling fees for 2 tickets. instead, my dad went to the pantages and bought the better seats at a lower fee, no handling charge, and we're front row mezzanine! thanks dad, that's awesome - you saved us more'n 60 bucks! so now we have tickets, and on this thursday, we're going to CHICAGO! i'm excited. and i know you're jealous =) Entry posted by kgrp on February 12 2005 at 9:58 am 4 comments: and yet you saw the Sound of Music??!??! after you denied me being able to sing along? SUCK! oh well... but i'm glad you saw it. IT WAS ABOUT TIME!!!! Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 69.108.91.23) on 02 / 13 / 2005 at 11:05 PM lol, you remember me saying that? Well, that was for Sound of Music. And you know? I was right! Everyone sang along! ::grrr:: But it was okay this time 'cause most were seeing it for the first time. During the beginning, I was thinking, "if another teacher comes in here, I'll be so in trouble." Oh, and I'll be coming home next month. There are a couple of things I need to take care here before I have a definite date. So, see you soon! =) Comment posted by Daryl (ip: 210.166.36.154) on 02 / 13 / 2005 at 2:57 AM Daryl's website: http://datchan.blogspot.com wow, daryl, you saw this? i've never known you to watch musicals. i've always known you to say, "that movie? i wanna watch it but i DON'T wanna hear ANYONE sing along!" i'm so proud... and happy. now i can sing it around you. when are you coming home again? Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 69.108.91.23) on 02 / 13 / 2005 at 12:34 AM I... saw that movie... with my class... on our last day together!! and basketball is becoming part of my regular routine, so I would have to change my answer. I'm playing more regularly with the team. And finally, speaking of uninstalling games, guess what? I actually sold my PS2 because of that same reason. I was just spending too much time in front of my TV... But... I used the money to get a PSP... At least I don't have to be at home in front of the TV to play aheheh... I plan to use it when I get home to show people more of my pictures! Comment posted by Daryl (ip: 210.166.36.154) on 02 / 12 / 2005 at 10:05 PM Daryl's E-mail: daryl.villalobos@gmail.com Daryl's website: http://datchan.blogspot.com

tables at the getty again. *sigh* i'm running outta pictures for this blog - i haven't been using my camera lately... what's happening to me!!!! Entry posted by kgrp on February 12 2005 at 9:16 am One comment: hey Kimi, I'll put in a photo request. Take a picture of something that has changed in SoCal since we left. Comment posted by les (ip: 216.229.7.17) on 02 / 12 / 2005 at 12:50 pm les's website: http://www.camacho.tv

tuesdays with morrie HA! it's only been four days since i've promised to read more, and i finished the book! that's right, i'm done reading "Tuesdays with Morrie", i was only 1 chapter away last night but i finished it right now. Morrie sounds like a great guy and i'd wanna end up old and wise just like he is. y'know, just to be one of those people who knows what's important about this life, and to treasure all the important things, instead of chasing fame or fortune or other fruitless stuff. yah, old and wise. i think that's why i don't mind getting older. instead of some friends of mine who hate the age they're at, i revel in my age, plus, i think it'll be cool to be an eccentric old woman, old and wise, and not caring what people think about me in my old age. i'm looking forward to living a full life! =) yah... that'll be fun to look back on! Entry posted by kgrp on February 11 2005 at 6:51 pm One comment: fastest ive done in beginner was 7 seconds i forgot average and expert, im sure expert was atleast 250 Comment posted by Anonymous Note leaver Person (ip: 68.171.155.182) on 02 / 11 / 2005 at 8:28 pm

addiction okay, so this is a screen capture, not a photo. but how else was i gonna show off my high scores? arggh... i've spent so much time playing this game recently, i don't even like free cell anymore. *GASP* it's a horror, i know, but it's true. i actually uninstalled the games on my laptop as soon as i got it, and i'm thinking i'm gonna uninstall the games on my desktop soon as well... i'm telling you, i will! sometime soon, at least. yup, these games have GOT TO GO! i'm tired of staring at my monitor... Entry posted by kgrp on February 11 2005 at 6:33 pm 2 comments: no, but let's say they do - i wanna see your photoshop skills =) Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 69.108.91.23) on 02 / 15 / 2005 at 12:33 AM I can beat those scores kimi! Do edited screenshots count? :) Comment posted by Mark Schatzschneider (ip: 63.238.1.229) on 02 / 14 / 2005 at 5:29 PM Mark Schatzschneider's E-mail: mschatzy@gmail.com

things i've learned the hard way my mom gave me some cayenne powder pills to take to help fight this sickness. it's s'posed to help... but i learned a few things about it: if you're taking the cayenne pill, DO NOT take it on an empty stomach. ouch... using an electric blanket can mask the pain that the cayenne pill and empty stomach result in. this might make you think you need to turn the blanket off. if this happens, TURN THE BLANKET OFF! *** lying there waiting for the heat to subside is not an effective way of dealing with burning cayenne powder in an empty stomach. which is why you should always follow the advice in #1. haven't you been listening?!?! if it gets to this stage, soy milk has been proven effective to dull the pain - either by filling your stomach or by being a base object. or both. luckily i was able to find some in the fridge. whew! ***this maneuver will not turn off the heat in your stomach. Entry posted by kgrp on February 10 2005 at 7:41 am

asian safari stephangeloki was on the phone with his mom and she wanted to see our new place, so we ran around the apartment taking pictures in each room which we then emailed to her while he was still on the phone with her... what are they doing in this room? i don't really know, but they're posing for a great shot. yah, this room was our fun room - it had no chairs, only a cloth lining the wall and a whole bunch of props for photo shoots, which really helped out for this picture! and yet, even though we had two couches in the other living room, this was where we hung out the most. i loved that apartment! if only it weren't for our darn manager and her freaky man-child scaring all our guests away... =) hehhe... "i was young once, you know!" NO YOU WEREN'T!!!! she's SCARY! Entry posted by kgrp on February 10 2005 at 2:40 am One comment: Freaky freaky man-child husband thing. Too bad for us that they were so strange. And yelled at our guests. And watched us with a constant vigil. And harrassed our guests. And accussed us of all kinds of unholy intentions... Wow, they really sucked. Comment posted by kat (ip: 151.204.142.167) on 02 / 10 / 2005 at 9:33 am kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com

yunta! hable con brandy hoy, y me recuerdo los tiempos buenos del ecuador. ella fue mi "junta", porque fuimos a todos lados como eramos vacas con una yunta. hoy, hablamos de nuestros amigos, de la comida, de las cosas que han pasado desde cinco anos atras... de danny, de mami & papi, y tambien luz. de humitas, arroz con menestra, y empanadas fritas con aji! ahh... empanadas fritas... que sabroso! bueno, porque yo me recuerdo mucho y pensamos nosotras dos que nos debemos mas tiempo juntas. i wish i could see her more often, i haven't seen her since we left ecuador! i was also able to talk with kathy for a long time today. how nice to be able to catch up with both kathy and brandy in the same day! hablamos de la gente con que hablamos, lo que paso ayer y mas. como que yo fui solo "una chica con quien pasaba tiempo" y no mas. grrr! y hablamos de que queremos regresar al ecuador y get to catch up with all of our friends en espanol sin traducir por otros amigos. =) si. eso es lo que quiero yo. i love my friends, and brandy and kat have both been there for so much in my life. how blessed am i to be able to have the both of them in my life... and that whether they're here in CA, in TX, or NY, we have cell phones that let us talk and bridge the distance. Entry posted by kgrp on February 09 2005 at 12:56 am One comment: ^__^ Aaaaaw You're so nice! It's been a fun adventure being friends with you Kimi Chinita! Comment posted by kat (ip: 151.204.142.167) on 02 / 10 / 2005 at 9:35 am kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com

my student loves me =) i have the sweetest student! the day after i told my 7th grade class about my grandma, my student showed up to finals with a gift bag in her backpack. during her finals she kept on motioning me over to her desk, and then whispering to me that she had something for me in her backpack, if only i'd dig through it and get it out. i didn't wanna search her bag, so she sighed this huge sigh and then pulled the gift out. it was so cute of her! there's this crystal ball type thing with the image floating in the middle, and then a base that the ball sits on lights up, and changes color. in the picture, the current lights were blue and red, and you can see how it lit up the design. later on, i found out that she went out and bought this on her own - she wanted to get something for me and so she asked her parents to take her shopping so that she could use her own allowance money to get this gift - about $15 she had spent on me to let me know she cared. or maybe she was just trying to bribe me 'cause it was finals! hahah... no, she really is a sweetie, and students like her make teaching so much easier! thank you so much, e.e. Entry posted by kgrp on February 09 2005 at 12:42 am

silly district! ugghh, i'm still sick, and i wasn't supposed to be teaching today, but in a district meeting for all math teachers. i had my sub lined up and everything! i arrived at that meeting today and they told me i didn't have a sub and i'd have to come in and teach. TEACH! in my casual clothes. with my voice gone. ughh... "but i have a sub lined up!" yah, but they took my sub away and gave it to another teacher because that teacher didn't get a sub to be able to attend the conference, so now i have to teach while my sub is covering for someone else. ugh again! Entry posted by kgrp on February 08 2005 at 12:01 pm

the getty the getty has these cool circular wrought iron structures that serve as planters for beautiful blooming bougainvilleas. props to kar (hi kar!) for recognizing the getty from obscure photos, such as the one i took of myself standing on the roof overlooking the city. she saw the city background and asked me: "was this taken at the getty?" even though there was no part of the actual museum showing in the photo except for the rail i was standing next to. she's pretty good... Entry posted by kgrp on February 08 2005 at 7:32 am

i should read more... *sigh* i'm so embarrassed - i keep on borrowing books from the local library and then renewing them, re-renewing them, and renewing them yet one more time until i'm finally forced to return them, and guess what - that's right, i'm -still- not done with the books! sometimes i haven't even started! *blush* so, i'm making a commitment to myself (and to the internet - because y'all are so cool, but more importantly for a reason i'll share with you later) to FINISH both books that i have out right now. they're both good reads and have been on my 'to finish reading' list for a while now (that's right, i've checked them out before and haven't finished them =/ whooops...) so THIS is the time they're gonna get read. the first book, Tuesdays with Morrie is the one that i started reading this week, and i'm gonna try to read a part every day. dude, even grace (from will & grace) has read the book! what am i saying! in my post about trying to read more i'm talking 'bout how a tv character has read this book. and grace of all people. i should be shot. the other book is the one i've picked up repeatedly and have even recommended to people, so i figure it's about time to finish it myself. i whizzed through the first section of C.S. Lewis' mere Christianity and thought it was wonderful, but then i got bogged down as soon as i hit the second section. i don't know why, because this time picking it up, the second section was just as easy to read. i'm enjoying it. so i better finish this book this time around. ok, so back to the part about making a commitment to the internet. this is where YOU come in. that's right, you. i know you're reading. you're making my numbers jump up. i'm just asking you to be a witness right now... and if i don't post my review of at least book when i'm finished (ETC (estimated time of completion) - 2/28/05 (giving myself 3 weeks)) then y'all had better get on my case and start posting questions asking me for this review. that's right. hold me accountable. *sigh* i suppose i should go start finishing the book now. and get off the internet. ok, off i go! wish me luck! Entry posted by kgrp on February 07 2005 at 9:42 pm

matching for some reason us three roommates (though the third in the picture was not yet a roommate) ended up wearing matching outfits... accidentally. seriously, we didn't plan it, but no one believed us. so, we traipsed around the park and took pictures of ourselves in our matching outfits and had a lot of fun. Entry posted by kgrp on February 07 2005 at 11:33 am

jellyfish i feel like blah today... coughing, phlegm, runny nose, lost my voice, so i'm just suffering here in silence =( i feel poopy!!!! let's pray i get better soon. Entry posted by kgrp on February 05 2005 at 12:02 am 3 comments: awww. feel better! Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.73.49) on 02 / 07 / 2005 at 10:09 AM honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com It sounds like you've got a jellyfish stuck somewhere in your sinuses. (^_^) (I pray you'll feel better soon!) Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.159) on 02 / 05 / 2005 at 2:29 AM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com ill pray for you before i sleep. Pray for me too! Comment posted by Mark (ip: 68.171.155.182) on 02 / 05 / 2005 at 1:11 AM

gen4 Saturday, after my grandma's funeral, my cousins and i went for our traditional celebrate-at-bob's-big-boy's dinner. can you imagine 54 of my cousins at one restaurant? those poor waiters... well, we had so much fun that night and the next day (the day when i won the poker tournament) that we're doing it again this weekend. since most of my relatives will be in town for PEP, we thought we'd get together for dinner in the evening, hitting up gym night to ball it up some, and then texas hold 'em at coffee depot! lookin' forward to it... doubtful we'll get 54 of us together this weekend, but it'll still be fun hanging with my family =) Entry posted by kgrp on February 04 2005 at 2:36 pm

sermonizing, pt 2 now i've gone and done it! well, after the conversation about doing sermons, i ended up telling my kuya garry about what me and alan had talked about. mostly, i wanted to tell him that alan and i were willing to lead Bible study groups before gym night, and also that alan writes about religious stuff and that he wanted to study apologetics at biola, and if he was asked to give a sermon then he thinks that would be a great opportunity. (sorry, alan, if i'm spilling all your secrets - but hey, i didn't tell ALL your secrets =P heehee... don't hurt me pleeeeeease!) basically, i was trying to get my kuya to invite alan to speak at the grove. well... i had to explain the whole conversation we had to him, and as a result, he ended up inviting me to do the sermon! auugghh... i know, it's something i want to do, but yet... it's sorta scary because i know i haven't done this in a while, and so now the thought of being up there in front of everyone just terrifies me! but of course, i did not turn him down, i was just trying to get him to postpone it. so now, i'm on the schedule for the march sermons. yikes! i'm not quite sure yet what i have to say, and so i'm gonna have to start praying about a message/topic that i can talk about that will be near and dear to me. i welcome suggestions, but mostly, just prayers. oh, and comments of support. yes, COMMENTS WOULD BE NICE. (don't mind me, i'm just letting you know how i feel... =P) what will i talk about? *shiver* i'm excited/nervous/anxious and i think mostly i'm worried that i won't be used by God the same way as before, cuz maybe i've drifted too far or something. that's silly, but at least it's honest. i hope i can share something meaningful with these people... Entry posted by kgrp on February 03 2005 at 12:00 pm 5 comments: Hey kimi! you know i would like to help you out with your problem, but you know what my problem is as well! heheh, yeah thanx kimi.... hehehe. maybe once you figure out the solution to your problem, you can help me out with my problem as well. =) you know what im talking about hehehe. god bless Comment posted by Mark (ip: 68.171.155.182) on 02 / 03 / 2005 at 11:46 PM Hi Kimi! God is cool indeed. Just soak in His heart and His love all the way, and whatever He wants to say through you will come out. Even if you get up there and stutter, or if you get up there and inexplicably just cry (as He's done through you many times before, even on the pulpit). It might be embarrassing, but the sight of Jesus' embarrassment was the only thing that could pierce our hardened hearts and open us up to His love. And, He might do what He did before, or He might do something different. It might look like a bomb or it might not. Whatever the case, God is doing something *better* than what He did before, even if it looks like a dud. Whatever He does will be better than what you and I could wish for. I leave you to soak in His love... soak in His love for you, and soak in *the Father's love for His Son*, and ask to receive His love for the congregation in front of you. And know that there is nothing that He wants to give you more than these things! (^_^) No matter what He has you "do" for Him (preaching, teaching, sewing, etc.), He is calling you into intimate fellowship with Him Himself. And as you join Him there in that secret place together, you're blessed in Jesus with every spiritual blessing, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge! (1st Corinthians 1:somewhere) Blessings in Him, Ramone Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.105) on 02 / 03 / 2005 at 8:57 PM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com you will do well. you'll be nervous but nervous is fine. once it is done you will be so pleased that you did it. good luck! Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.71.60) on 02 / 03 / 2005 at 6:56 PM honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com ahh... the inside of a whale... it reeks of anxiousness! i know, i know... i've thought about how my two posts are seemingly contradictory. and i know how silly it sounds, but you know how daunting a task it may seem when the thought of standing up there freaks you out - no matter how much you want to do it. i still want to do it. what i said in the first part still remains true. just now... it's actually gonna happen within the next 2 months, and that makes me a li'l bit nervous! *sigh* but thank you very much for the words of encouragement. i would very much like to fill my grandparents shoes, it would totally be an honor. Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 163.150.15.187) on 02 / 03 / 2005 at 5:13 PM lol! This is funny. So in pt. 1 you post about how YOU want to give a sermon. Then in pt. 2 you tell how you scheme to get ALAN to do a sermon. But JESUS wants YOU to PREACH. I dub thee Jonahita! Let me know how the inside of a whale smells :) Well. Its like this. Your Grandparents have passed on. You inherited their spirit. Yes THAT spirit. You. You've been told this before. Everything they had, Jesus gives it to you. And more. No jokes. No agenda. Just what I've been asked to pass onto you. In short, you'll do fine Kimi. Proud of you. Preach it sista! Comment posted by leslie (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 02 / 03 / 2005 at 3:59 PM leslie's website: http://www.camacho.tv

trees in L.A. this one dates wayyyy back, if kat will remember a late night trip to LA to pick up my car. only 4 of us showed up to tuesday night dinner and so we all jumped in her car to help me pick up my stranded vehicle. when we got there, we thought it'd be a waste to turn around and head home right away so we ended up touring around downtown and did a spontaneous photoshoot/tour of the city that was all ours for that night. it seemed we kept on getting kicked out of places because they were closed, but somehow we managed to get security to take our photos before we left =) hahah... sometimes all it takes is the guts to ask the favor! these trees were right outside the bridge from the bonaventure, where all the excitement began. heehee... right after the first security guy told us the bridge part was not safe to take pictures on =) hmm... my camera sure gets me into situations, huh? Entry posted by kgrp on February 03 2005 at 7:24 am One comment: Oh yeah, good times. When did we get back? 4 am? Wow, talk about being impulsive! Woot! Comment posted by kat (ip: 68.160.253.253) on 02 / 08 / 2005 at 7:08 am kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com

another sunset picture i haven't uploaded photos in a while so this is the only picture i have left that i haven't posted - yet another sunset picture. or maybe this is a sunrise photo? i don't know... Entry posted by kgrp on February 02 2005 at 1:38 pm

sermonizing I've been thinking about this lately, and then it came up in a conversation today, but I've been wondering about doing a sermon again. I have no idea what I'd talk about or why, but I guess I'm just remembering how it felt to be up there and talking and wondering why I'm not doing that anymore. I think I'd really like to be more involved in the services I attend. Let me recap - I went as a missionary to Ecuador back in 98-99 and when I came back, everyone wanted to hear about it. So I began doing small talks in several churches, and I even spoke for the afternoon service both at my home church and also for a Spanish church - and yes, I did my talk in Spanish. (on a side note, I really enjoyed that one because I was able to make them laugh and also touch them while speaking Spanish... that definitely was a highlight for me). But I remember doing the actual sermon for church only once - at JAYA at Central Filipino Church. Man, I was nervous, but what I remember is the afterwards - I thought I had a simple sermon, really, but it brought a tear to peoples' eyes, and I just remember being awed that the Holy Spirit used me to touch these people. It is an AMAZING feeling to be used by God for His work. I felt like I was in a daze afterwards because I saw how people were touched and I knew it wasn't me, but that I was a vessel for them to be truly blessed by the Spirit. Oh man, I wish I could explain the feeling for you, but I can't. You just have to try it sometime! Coming back to the present, I guess I've been wondering where I'm at with God, and if He'd ever call me to speak like that again. I don't have any message in particular that I have to share, but I'm feeling like it'd sure be nice to share again. On a side note, I did the Children's Story at GFC this past weekend, and my mom did the sermon. Man, I was NERVOUS!!! Maybe it's just that going home thing, but my heart was thumpin' pretty hard and I was just talking to the kids... Funny how the thought of going up on stage always does that to me, yet I still want to do it. And you'd think being a PR major would help me deal with those butterflies =) Entry posted by kgrp on February 01 2005 at 11:29 pm 2 comments: You know, i have a similar feeling about speaking and stuff. But I still don't want to do it. Annette at church asked me to speak though, so I'm doing a short testimonial for Advent Hope's valentine's vespers. :S Yeek! Pray for me! Comment posted by kat (ip: 68.160.253.253) on 02 / 08 / 2005 at 7:07 AM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com WOW!! I didn't know you spoke at Jaya. I musta been gone that day. Darn it! It's great to hear about young people that are willing to share what God has done for them, lead them and it's just great. Comment posted by K-dude (ip: 66.215.8.166) on 04 / 03 / 2005 at 9:46 PM K-dude's E-mail: kwaiet@juno.com

happy birthday, alan! happy birthday alan! not to be confused with kallan =) i'm glad you're still here in town with me, thanks for keeping me company at church and also for leading out in Sabbath school. it sure is fun playin bball with you at gym night and i really enjoy your writing. yah... so... here's to you! Entry posted by kgrp on February 01 2005 at 8:25 am 2 comments: hee hee... yes, apparently (according to my students) kallan is my child, and you are my baby daddy =) they never believe me, they just like to make stories up about me =) Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 163.150.15.187) on 02 / 01 / 2005 at 11:54 AM Thanks Kiwi! And my don't we make a handsome family... Comment posted by The Glassman (ip: 68.234.189.245) on 02 / 01 / 2005 at 10:55 AM The Glassman's E-mail: alan@camacho.tv

wedding bouquet about 2 years and a month ago i took a whole bunch of pics on the side of the read photographer for ken & yasuyo's wedding. c'mon, throw me in a situation where you have a whole bunch'a people all gussied up and a photo opportunity and you can't expect me to pass it up! this is one of my favorite shots from that day, maybe second only to the photo i have of the bride and her two bridesmaids stuffing their faces in the pastor's room right before the ceremony =) hee hee... but i won't post that one =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 31 2005 at 12:45 am 4 comments: You know, maybe you *should* post that other pic. It's...frighteningly true to form. :S hehehe Comment posted by kat (ip: 162.84.235.218) on 01 / 31 / 2005 at 9:05 PM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com thanks, laura! i'm glad you enjoy the pictures - i wasn't sure my camera would make it through the wedding, it was so temperamental at the time. i'm so glad you like the photos =} Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 163.150.15.187) on 01 / 31 / 2005 at 1:56 PM You know, maybe you *should* post that other pic. It's...frighteningly true to form. :S hehehe Comment posted by kat (ip: 162.84.235.218) on 01 / 31 / 2005 at 12:40 PM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com Whee, that's a neat concept, Kimi. You've got a good eye - some of the pictures you took of our wedding are my favorites! :) Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 31 / 2005 at 11:23 AM laura's website: http://www.camacho.tv

happy birthday, auntie letty! for auntie letty's birthday all my guy cousins danced "ocho ocho" for her... my family is pretty wild, and just a tad inappropriate... =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 30 2005 at 2:59 pm 3 comments: hahahahahaha! incest bootycall! gotta love it! Comment posted by Jaylene Esposo (ip: 68.169.254.50) on 02 / 03 / 2005 at 10:09 PM Jaylene Esposo's E-mail: jayliljay@aol.com tad inapproriate? it's borderline criminal Comment posted by glenn (ip: 216.249.85.202) on 02 / 03 / 2005 at 4:10 PM hahaha... this one looks so nasty and great at the same time.... it's my signature otso otso Comment posted by carlo (ip: 204.69.4.81) on 01 / 31 / 2005 at 2:03 PM carlo's E-mail: kumakalabukab69@yahoo.com carlo's website: http://fatbaztard.multiply.com

my tribute to Grandma Chayong here's the tribute I gave at the grandchildren's service on Thursday... Her children (and grandchildren and great-grandchildren) rise up and call her blessed.... Proverbs 31:28 ---------------------------------------- Two years ago I stood up here to tell you about the grandpa I knew. Many of you knew and loved him as a pastor, and many of you knew him longer than I did, but I had something special – that relationship that exists between a grandchild and grandparent. While it may have seemed redundant to hear each of my cousins say how he played with us as children, those are the memories that we have and cherish of him. I may repeat what my cousins have already said, but that is only because these are the cherished memories that we share of our beloved grandma. Tonight, I’m here to tell you about the grandmother that my brother John and I grew up with. she lived a full life already by the time we were born – she was already 66 years old when my brother was born. I am sure that there are many memories of her as she helped out with the church or was part of the Dorcas society, but those aren’t the stories we remember of her. Instead, we remember spending many summers in my grandmothers house playing with her assortment of legos while she cooked in the kitchen. If she had any other job or responsibilities at this time, we were oblivious to them. We were only aware that she’d have food on the table and for that we were grateful -- well, at least most of the time. My brother and I were both born and raised here in America, and unfortunately, we did not share the love of ampalaya with my grandma. She would cook this “bitter melon” and tell me and my brother to eat our gulay, and she would remind us that if we did not finish our meal, she wouldn’t waste it and we would have to finish it for the next meal. All three of us were pretty stubborn and my brother and I continued to not eat the ampalaya, and she would continue to serve it to us everyday. Sometimes we’d have it 4 days in a row! Back when that would happen I would sit there and wonder why she didn’t like me so much – I mean, what kind of person would shove bitter food down my throat? But I know that she wanted us to get all our vitamins and that she was looking out for our best interests. I personally have fond memories of watching my grandma sew – I would diligently watch her, wanting to learn how to sew, and she would save her scrap material and show me how to sew small shirts for her dolls. I wish I was able to learn more from her, like how to make Filipino style dresses. But my friends see how much she has influenced me – they’ve watched me make quilts for my grandparents, and I even sewed the pants I am wearing right now. I thought I would wear them as a tribute to grandma. I remember the first time I had a speaking part in church. It was something small and short, like reading the scripture verse for the day. While I was up at this podium, I glanced down at the front pew where both my grandparents always sat. I paused while reading the scriptures because I saw my grandma crying there in the front row. She was always crying! I mean, most people cry when they are sad, but my grandma – even when she was happy, the tears flowed down her cheek. Whenever she had any strong feelings, she was there with her emotions flowing down her cheeks. This trait of my grandmother – her crying – is something that both my brother and I have inherited. It is something that I have found embarrassing on occasion, but yet it is still a trait that I have come to cherish. I love that side of me, that I can experience life to the fullest and embrace my emotions. I know that even when people look at me weird because I’m crying in the strangest of places I can hold my head up high and cherish the fact that this is something that my precious grandmother passed on to me. And when the times get hard, I can remember her as my strength, someone who had the courage to face her emotions and let them show. After my parents would pick me and my brother up from my grandma’s house, we would head home to Baldwin Park. Every day, my grandma would call about 30 minutes after we got home, and I remember hearing my mom say, “yes, ma… yes, ma… okay, ma” and then hang up. I found out that my grandma was calling to ask if we got home safely, she would ask if we had family worship already, and then she would tell us it was late and we should get ready for bed. These phone calls were always before 8 pm. While I laughed at the thought of receiving these phone calls when I grew up, my mom would remind me that my grandmother loved and cared for us and was looking out for us. You could tell she cared because she made us wear jackets in hot weather – just because she was cold and she didn’t want us to be cold either. But more than taking care of our physical needs, we remember that she looked out for us in our spiritual life. While my brother and I were trying to think of what to say about Grandma Chayong, he said that to her, nothing was as important as having a relationship with God. Whenever we visited her, she would ask us if we’d pray. She wanted me to pray with her when I came to the house, and then 10 minutes later, she would look at me again, as if I just got there, and she would ask me to pray with her again. And she always asked about our spiritual well being. Grandma would ask, “are you ready? You must read the Bible, and pray. Pray with me now.” I know without a doubt that my Grandma is ready for God’s second coming, and I look forward to that day knowing that I’ll be able to see my grandma (and my grandpa) again, when I will be able to let my grandma know that I appreciated all her prayers on my behalf, and that her relationship with God will always be an example to me. Entry posted by kgrp on January 29 2005 at 1:00 am One comment: Hey I really like the pic of the jeely fish hope you had fun useing your snow board! =) Comment posted by Daisy (ip: 63.200.253.146) on 03 / 09 / 2005 at 5:25 pm Daisy's E-mail: trouble_babyd2591

it's sundown... so a happy Sabbath to you all! Entry posted by kgrp on January 28 2005 at 5:41 pm

purple bees? i thought these were the coollest looking flowers - they look like they're flying somewhere... cute, huh? Entry posted by kgrp on January 27 2005 at 10:56 pm

os-GARRRRRR! oscar was mid-scratch, as you can tell by the way his cheek is billowing in the wind =) right after i took this picture, he stopped scratching long enough to stare at me like, "WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?!!?!", and then he went back to scratching himself with his back turned on me... what a cutie! Entry posted by kgrp on January 26 2005 at 8:27 am One comment: That is one of THE CUTEST PICS of Ozgarrrr that i've ever seen. :) I'm archiving all of my pics right now. I probably should have just taken them from your external hard drive but hey, what else would i do when i'm bored if i weren't archiving years or photographs? Comment posted by kat (ip: 162.84.235.25) on 01 / 26 / 2005 at 11:14 pm kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com

daffodils on big bear (can you tell i'm looking forward to spring?) Entry posted by kgrp on January 24 2005 at 11:27 pm

snow nope, no snow at home, but up in the mountains it sho' is pretty like this. i took this picture at PSR a few years back... Entry posted by kgrp on January 23 2005 at 10:59 pm

from my students i came in to work today anyways, but i broke down in front of my 4th period class when they asked me why i didn't show up for tutoring yesterday (i left school as soon as my mom called me and was able to visit grandma). my students gave me this note at the end of class. sometimes they can be very sweet. =) ================================================ II: Ms. Puen, We are very sorry to hear about your grandmother. We know this time is hard for you and we appreciate that you take this time to help us review for our test. We know how you feel and we just want to say to hang in there and be strang. Thanx for being a dedicated teacher. Sincerely, AW & JVi Entry posted by kgrp on January 21 2005 at 4:18 pm

grandma chayong Grandma Chayong, October 22, 1911 - January 20, 2005 married to Grandpa Pastor May 17, 1931 (this is their wedding photo) yup, if you do the math, you'll see she was 93 and that they were married for 72 years. amazing, huh? Entry posted by kgrp on January 21 2005 at 12:03 pm 2 comments: I wrote up a memory of her here: http://camacho.tv/index.php/weblog/comments/grandma_chayong_1911_2005/ Comment posted by les (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 21 / 2005 at 1:44 PM les's website: http://www.camacho.tv She will be missed. I have many great memories of her. She was the cutest grandma ever. She had the best smile and her prayers moved mountains. Comment posted by les (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 21 / 2005 at 12:55 PM les's website: http://www.camacho.tv

rock star daniel's a little boy i met at my parents' church - he's gonna grow up to be a rock star! start 'em off young enough & they can do anything =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 20 2005 at 1:39 am

bloomington sky it had been raining constantly for what seemed like weeks but the storm watch over san bernardino ended last tuesday, and the weatherman was actually right! driving away from my school on tuesday afternoon i was reveling in the almost clear skies and i had to try to capture it - although i couldn't get a good shot. all the good angles were from the middle of roads and everytime i found somewhere to stop there was always something blocking my view, so i just had to take this photo from the stop light i was at. bloomington, for all of it's empty lots, just has a dearth of photo opportunities. imagine that... Entry posted by kgrp on January 19 2005 at 12:52 am

is good teacher and esprayn very good =) i had my students write a few paragraphs on how to solve a problem, so i could see them explain the steps they take. on one of my English learners, his essay was easy enough to read until the last paragraph, which says: "I'm lern somach. Mrs Puen esprain very good. Is good teacher and esprayn very good the linear equation. I'm learn to speach English My Puen is goot teacher to sprain the todo." i'm very flattered and i have my work cut out for me. Entry posted by kgrp on January 18 2005 at 2:06 pm 3 comments: I was thinking, "he learns 'stomach?'" Isn't this a math class and not a bio class? I love the way that "linear equation" is almost the only phrase that is spelled and used correctly. This kid rocks! Comment posted by kat (ip: 162.84.248.236) on 01 / 20 / 2005 at 11:20 PM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com "Ow, Ow! I sprain my todo!" Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 19 / 2005 at 5:44 AM laura's E-mail: laura@camacho.tv laura's website: http://www.camacho.tv and I was thinking it was health class and that he had a stomach ache and you gave him aspirin. But the best part was "My Puen." cute Comment posted by Daryl (ip: 210.166.36.154) on 01 / 18 / 2005 at 8:10 PM Daryl's website: http://datchan.blogspot.com

grandma and grandpa i don't know the exact date of this picture but it's from a long long time ago. today it's been 2 years since i said goodbye to my grandpa... and i can't visit him because i'm no longer in glendale, so i'm paying tribute to him here. Entry posted by kgrp on January 18 2005 at 12:35 am 3 comments: I bet they were like *the* couple. Great pictures! Comment posted by Daryl (ip: 210.166.36.154) on 01 / 18 / 2005 at 8:07 PM Daryl's website: http://datchan.blogspot.com What a beautiful picture of your grandparents! Kimi, you look so much like your grandmother! (^_^) Comment posted by Ramone (ip: 219.122.201.166) on 01 / 18 / 2005 at 6:57 PM Ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com Ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com *blush* wow, thanks =) i hardly ever hear that i look like my grandma, except for when we bust out the old pictures. it's nice to know i'm related to 'em somehow =) Comment posted by kimi (ip: 69.108.70.223) on 01 / 20 / 2005 at 7:34 AM

yes, one more time! aren't they cute? *sigh* i love 'em... i miss my grandpa, and my grandma... well, she is stable, but still where she's been at. by that, i mean, she's not getting worse, but neither has she improved. she pretty much just sleeps all day and that's about it, and every once in a while she opens her eyes but she doesn't focus on anything, so i don't quite know what's going on over there. on the good side, i was able to visit her (i slept over there on tuesday night and wednesday night) and i'm glad i got to spend the time with her and with my family, so that's all good. i'm sure everyone will visit today, with it being Sabbath and all. yay, Sabbath! Entry posted by kgrp on January 15 2005 at 1:10 am

TMI!! TMI!!! well, i was reading laura's post and was thinking... hmm, that's on the verge of too much information. and then i remembered how i also wanted to share something I discovered not too long ago. so, here goes: apparently, when you eat 3 bags of hot cheetos, it goes through you just like corn! i mean, i'm sure my insides are all stained red already, but c'mon! who knew it'd do that to me?! Entry posted by kgrp on January 14 2005 at 8:32 am 4 comments: What can I say? My inquiring mind wanted to know. And now I do... and I wish I didn't. Comment posted by The Glassman (ip: 69.108.72.11) on 01 / 18 / 2005 at 8:59 AM The Glassman's E-mail: alan@camacho.tv The Glassman's website: http://www.glassmanproduction.blogspot.com aaackkk! you had to ask that question, glassman. YES, IT IS STILL THE SAME DISTURBING CRIMSON COLOR. yeesh... Comment posted by kgrp (ip: 69.108.77.255) on 01 / 15 / 2005 at 9:46 AM Akirete monomo iemasen. (I'm so shocked/amazed that I cannot say anything) (^_^) Comment posted by Ramone (ip: 219.122.201.198) on 01 / 15 / 2005 at 1:16 AM Ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com Ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com Who's TIM? And why did you spell his name wrong? Is he the guy who told you about the Cheetos? Is three bags the critical mass at which Cheetos begin exhibiting corn-like properties while passing through your tranverses colon? Hey, if it stains your insides red does it come back out the same disturbing crimson color it was when it went in? NASTIEST. FLOATY. EVER. Comment posted by The Glassman (ip: 68.234.189.245) on 01 / 15 / 2005 at 1:10 AM The Glassman's E-mail: alan@camacho.tv

you knew it was coming! yes, he finally got to kiss her. i love the expression on her face! almost like it's tickling her and she can't stop from almost laughing. it's great! i know our whole family is watching this happen and we're hootin' & hollerin' our support =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 14 2005 at 12:02 am

i'm looking for baggage that goes with mine! oh yah, rent, baby! i FINALLY downloaded iTunes & starting ripping my cds. rent is now stuck in my head, probably because i've been playing "la vie boheme" on repeat, at least 5 times so far, and it's still going! =) anyways, the reason i'm doing all of this is to have some songs to listen to in my car. since chubby (my li'l new scion xa 5speed) plays mp3 cds (and thus displays the song titles & info like that), i'm gonna rip all my cds and make me some driving mixes... hey, why don't you make me a cd of all your favorites, so i can listen to it while i'm driving! you know you wanna!! please please please? plus, then you'll have something to listen to when you ride in my car. see? added incentive! yah... so send me some songs! email me to find out where to send it. uh huh. i'm serious. i know you got that collection going on. c'mon, if you're reading my blog, can't i listen to your music? pretty pretty please? Entry posted by kgrp on January 13 2005 at 11:55 pm 2 comments: Kimi, you couldn't have chosen a car that fits you better. I swear the scion was made for you! And Chubby is the greatest name EVER! Oh, and I miss Wednesday nights. :( Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 14 / 2005 at 6:07 AM laura's E-mail: laura@camacho.tv laura's website: http://www.camacho.tv I actually have several MP3 cds that I dont use anymore since I got my ipod. I'll try to remember to bring a few next time I go up there. Comment posted by Jimbo (ip: 172.163.81.176) on 01 / 14 / 2005 at 12:31 AM

wait for it... hee hee... here they are again, my grandpa going in for another kiss! i don't know why she always resisted, but it's pretty funny =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 13 2005 at 8:29 am

kissing korner while growing up, my church would host all these social events, and they almost always had a kissing korner, although i think this picture was taken on a valentines day. all the older couples would take their turns standing in this corner, a glorified mistletoe corner, and they'd take turns taking pictures of the couples kissing. we were always entertained watching my grandparents stand in that corner - my grandpa was the pastor of the church and the whole church would watch as my grandma got embarrassed and batted my grandpa away, but he'd get his way and get to kiss her! Entry posted by kgrp on January 12 2005 at 9:55 am

gma chayong i have to confess, i didn't take this picture. but i did scan it in! this photo of my grandparents (mom's side) was taken in 1987, on May 16. there's no cake, so i don't know what event this was, but my grandpa was feeding my grandma, and another family member took a photo of the food in the face. food, pictures of people eating... *sigh* can you tell they're my relatives? =) but, this photo is more than just fun archive stuff... i'm posting a picture of my grandma cause i'm asking for prayer, both for her and for my family. see, my grandma just had a stroke. my mom couldn't get in touch with me until tonight, but my grandma had a stroke yesterday and she isn't responding right now. she's lived a full life, and she's 93 years old, and i know that she won't have to put up with this world much longer... but i guess i'm still sad to think that that time might be now. and i know it will be much harder for my family, because we'll miss her so much. so, i guess the prayer request we have is not so much to keep her around, but a prayer of thanks for all that God's done in her life, and for a peaceful time right now, even if that means saying goodbye... who knows, it might not be that time. but it also might be. i especially want this to be easy on my grandma, and not painful. and for my family, i'm just asking for the comfort of the Holy Spirit as we deal with this hard time. thank you... and thank you so much for talking to me, listening to me, letting me cry on the phone, and especially for praying for me/with me. you know who you are. maraming salamat. i'm glad God has blessed me with friends like you. Entry posted by kgrp on January 11 2005 at 1:30 am 2 comments: Kimi, I have no words, but I want to let you know I'm touched by your love & prayer for your grandma & your family. My spirit is moved and as I look to our Dad, I'm trapped speechless --but moved in spirit-- between the His love and the love of His family. Bless you & all of your--His--family. Comment posted by Ramone (ip: 218.42.225.119) on 01 / 12 / 2005 at 6:04 AM Ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com Ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com Jesus, thank you for her life, her work, and the love she shows others. Jesus, if this is her time, take her gently and with Love. I remember her words at Grandpa's funeral, as her family was taking her up the asile she simply kept repeating "Faithful, we must remain faithful." Jesus, I have never met any two people as full of Jesus as Grandpa and Grandma. They remained faithful and I know you will be gentle with her and reunite them with each other and with you when you return for all of us. Jesus, bless Kimi. May you give her a double portion of her Grandpa and Grandma's spirit. amen. Comment posted by Leslie (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 11 / 2005 at 5:51 AM Leslie's website: http://www.camacho.tv

mountain view the view from bear mountain =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 10 2005 at 7:48 pm

beef pizzle fo shizzle! tender young cut-up rite meat with giblets for sale, or, for more adventurous folk, try the special on the beef pizzle! aahhh... the wonders of asian markets (that's right, we hit up asia-town again last week, pool & puzzle fighter & the boat - what happiness!) Entry posted by kgrp on January 09 2005 at 10:35 pm

connor baby he's so cute! Entry posted by kgrp on January 08 2005 at 2:09 am One comment: cutie! Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.95.24) on 01 / 09 / 2005 at 11:06 am honestyrain's E-mail: honestyrain2001@yahoo.com honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com

another los angeles skyline this time it's taken during sunset, from the roof of an apartment off vermont/los feliz area, so downtown is behind us, but i think it's still a great shot of l.a. happy Sabbath! Entry posted by kgrp on January 07 2005 at 7:28 pm One comment: i am always impressed by good sunset pictures. i hve never succeeded at acptureing one. this is a very hice photo. Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.95.24) on 01 / 09 / 2005 at 11:05 am honestyrain's E-mail: honestyrain2001@yahoo.com honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com

awesome new site-of-the-week! i don't really planning on finding a new site each week but STiKMAN comics deserves to be mentioned here. i found him through illustration friday and i really like his stuff, so go and check it out! 'specially all you comics-lovin' peoples =) you'll enjoy it, you will! Entry posted by kgrp on January 07 2005 at 10:02 am

santa claus trey is pretty cute, walkin' round like he's santa claus or somethin... it's the last of the holiday pics for me =( Entry posted by kgrp on January 06 2005 at 11:44 am

"what was THAT!!!" at 4:11 this morning i was rudely awaken by a 3.6 earthquake, and then two hours later a 3.3 earthquake struck, to be followed up 10 minutes later by a more stronger 4.4 earthquake. actually, even more than those three earthquakes, there were a total of 9 quakes in the area, the other 6 earthquakes measuring: 2.5, 2.5, 2.8, 1.3, 1.6, & 2.2. we also had a 3.1 quake two days ago! oh what fun! (please note the dripping sarcasm in my voice!) apparently these earthquakes are centered around fontana/bloomington. that's right, they hit my school! i'm just glad that they happened at night in the comforts of my own bed, instead of in my classroom with 35 students i'm responsible for. i canNOT imagine what it'd be like to tell these students to drop & cover under their tiny desks, while my desk is clearly on the other side of the room. yikes! i better get prepared for any emergency! yeesh! Entry posted by kgrp on January 06 2005 at 8:15 am

on a pink bed wandering through ikea looking for my friends i found one of them looking contemplative on a pink bed - very cute, i thought, considering the wealth of beds he had to choose from! notice the bulbous lamps in the background. =) they're so cute they make me happy! Entry posted by kgrp on January 05 2005 at 8:28 am

movie marathon we've spent lotsa time over the holidays watching movies, and i totally forgot to rate them as i went, so i'm just gonna do 'em real quick: the santa clause - i tivo'd this and got to watch it for free! probably the only Christmas movie i watched these holidays. it's a cute family movie, but not as good as everyone else said it was. maybe i just really wanted to watch a Christmas story, my favorite Christmas movie of all time. you'll shoot yer eyes out, kid! ocean's 12 - this was a pretty good movie - it wasn't better than ocean's 11, but then again, did you really think it could top it? it was still a good movie on it's own, though, although lotsa people i know were disappointed because they expected more. i thought it was well done, though, and i liked it =) confessions of a teenage drama queen - ok, i'm sorta embarrassed that i watched this, but it was a free rental!! *sigh* ok, i know, i picked it cuz i'm a lindsay lohan fan, and we watched it while cooking, so it's not like i devoted tons of time to it! ok, can you tell this movie wasn't that good? it was basically like mean girls but not as good. saved - pretty funny, and kirstin found it rather insightful that our group of friends didn't laugh at some of the parts that the theater found hilarious. shows what subculture we grew up in, huh? meet the fockers - MUCH better than meet the parents, although the parents still made me uncomfortable, it was much more tolerable. and i laughed. but still... painful. i dunno how to rate this one, but i know tons of people liked it =) infernal affairs - asian film with the guy from hero (broken sword) in it. i missed the beginning of the movie but still found this pretty compelling, but hey, i like foreign films. L A story - with steve martin. i first saw this a few months ago, and then it was on sale in walmart and i had to buy it. it just shows the stereotypical LA person and it's pretty funny, like when steve martin got in his car to drive to his best friends house - 4 houses away! because c'mon, who in LA walks? that's right... this movie shows it like it is. honestly, i've heard people say that this is what they thought of LA people before they actually came here - which i find hilarious in itself. c'mon, ask me 'bout it, i'll lend it to you! =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 04 2005 at 12:02 pm

amo a mis padres and here are my parents contemplating the glow of the 9 candles, all of us basking in the post-dining ambiance. i think my mom was trying to figure out why the wicks curled like they did =) love ya mom! & dad! =) Entry posted by kgrp on January 04 2005 at 2:30 am

*sigh* back to school yah, it's back to school time. i've been sitting here wondering when i'm gonna leave, but i thought i'd write first, to commemorate this momentous event. true to form, i'm sick, as usual, during vacation. having been home all week i don't know what to do 'bout this sickness, now that i have to stand up in front of a class ALL DAY! i just feel blah, and it's all in my throat. mostly, though, i guess i'm feeling sad because i don't have the support i did when i started teaching - i'm so used to calling max every day as soon as school was over, we'd recap my day, go over the highlights and the lowlights, share everything! when i was feeling excited he'd get excited with me, and when i was feeling low he'd remind me of the good i was doing in the classroom. and he was wonderful at it! looking forward to these coming weeks is pretty hard because i know he won't be there to go through the ups and downs with me. and i know this is the long stretch in front of me, no thanksgiving break and then Christmas to look forward to - this is the next 6 months of my life! i'm excited/nervous/anxious/apprehensive/scared all rolled into one. so, i know the thing i gotta do (and the thing i probably shoulda done) is rely on God to carry me through this time, He's the only support i have now but lucky for me He's a great support! i'm excited to know that God and i can only grow closer now that i'm relying on Him everyday to get me through each day. and i can't wait to see what He has in store for me. sometimes i have to make myself happy but that's ok, i can be in charge of my feelings, right? pray for me, please... Entry posted by kgrp on January 03 2005 at 7:39 am 2 comments: Lord, as one teacher praying for another, I ask that You be Kimi's strength and be the inexplicable joy & love inside of her for her students... be the little bright lights that carry her through the day thankful for what You've given her. I don't know how You do it in my life, and I feel the same way about returning to work. But You are You and You are awesome in Your ways and in how You get us through ... and how You will carry us through to the end. You seeing us through to the end is the most sure thing in the universe. Thank You for doing this for us, and thank You for being the Spirit within Kimi every day that is stronger than any junk and little stuff that comes her way. In Your name Jesus, amen. Comment posted by Ramone (ip: 219.122.201.170) on 01 / 04 / 2005 at 6:27 AM Ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com Ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com one hundred and how many! you are a superstar dealing with that many kids. and sick besides. i couldn't do it. i admire anyone with that kind of patience. as a parent, i thank you for what you do. hope you got your nap or at least a quiet lay down. Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.95.24) on 01 / 03 / 2005 at 4:51 PM honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com

the lights in the house in contrast to the lights that make great skyline outside we ate dinner by candlelight in my parents house - some good corn chowder to bring in the Sabbath correctly (according to our puen family tradition), with some sotanghon noodles for long life, apparently a filipino tradition for the new year. these candles were on the menorah my parents got for this year's hannukah celebration. i especially enjoyed the way that the wicks didn't burn off but kept on curling. cute, huh? Entry posted by kgrp on January 03 2005 at 12:21 am

los angeles skyline this is the beautifu l.a. skyline, as seen from the roof of my house. or, my parents' house, if i were to be specific. of course, if i were being specific, i would say that this is the picture i took from the roof of the apartments of which my parents rent one apartment on the third floor. but, i'm not being specific! so there! anyways, back to the picture - this is what los angeles looked like about 4 hours before 2005. enjoy! Entry posted by kgrp on January 02 2005 at 3:24 pm One comment: Wow, Kimi, that is a beautiful picture! I can't tell you how DELIGHTED I am, though, not to be living near that. tee hee. :) Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 02 / 2005 at 8:14 pm laura's website: http://www.camacho.tv

happy new year's eve! 2004 - a pretty good year, i suppose, but i have even higher hopes for 2005. hmmm... 2002 was the year of change, 2003 was a year for searching, 2004 was for growing, and 2005 will be about discovery. i have high hopes for finding what i've been looking for, and i'm looking forward to it! if you're looking for a list of my new year's resolutions, you've come to the wrong place. i'm constantly trying to become a better person, so i don't make resolutions just because it's the last day in december (oh! happy birthday merv!). but i'd love to hear what you've got planned - or your memories of this past year. i'll start off with my list: as for me, i really enjoyed this summer - with all my friends back in town for this summer, it was great to be reunited all together again. especially at redlands bowl =) going to canada was really great! especially the african lion safari! =) i started teaching this year - memorable, if not always fun tuesday nights came to an end... 2 years of ministry & fellowship i turned 25! and so much more... *sigh* yes, there's so much more, but i've been accused of writing too much, so i'll just leave it there. any other great memories from this year email me and i'd love remembering it through your stories. God bless! Entry posted by kgrp on December 31 2004 at 10:30 pm 2 comments: It seems that our lives are almost too full to recap like this. I'll try to think things through and then we'll talk! :D Comment posted by kat (ip: 4.33.99.128) on 01 / 05 / 2005 at 4:06 PM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com You don't write enough! :) I'm working on reviewing 04 and I'm also really looking forward to 05. Thanks for posting the picture of Kristin and Kat. Lots of happy memories with those two. Comment posted by Les (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 01 / 01 / 2005 at 7:22 AM Les's website: http://camacho.tv

2 li'l girls hee hee... these two girls make me laugh! so cute! Entry posted by kgrp on December 29 2004 at 2:20 am 2 comments: Somehow...this is all too natural. "...i foh yeas ol." Comment posted by kat (ip: 4.33.99.128) on 01 / 05 / 2005 at 4:02 PM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com Ha ha! Son bien payasas! Sigue diviertiendote! Te cuidas y me gusto el sitio. Irvs. Comment posted by Irving Chopin (ip: 172.196.79.209) on 12 / 30 / 2004 at 12:01 AM Irving Chopin's E-mail: irvingmetro@aol.com Irving Chopin's website: http://www.east-losangeles.com

case management we figured out that mo had replaced me, rita had replaced merv, brad came, left, replaced himself, and left again, then came back and replaced connie. janet is the new ginny. we are the heart of case mgmt, and though all of us haven't worked there at the same time, we all have that common connection. it's pretty neat that we can hang out all together like this. oh, and thanks for the juice. =) Entry posted by kgrp on December 28 2004 at 5:43 am 3 comments: Hi Ms.Puen nice pics I liked the one with the LA lights. BYE Comment posted by Daisy (ip: 163.150.15.187) on 01 / 06 / 2005 at 10:52 AM Daisy's E-mail: trouble_babyd2591@yahoo.com can i be the new elisabeth? i always thought it would be nice to be called elisabeth. Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.95.24) on 12 / 28 / 2004 at 8:32 PM honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com Awesome pic! Love to see the CM familia together again. It brings a tear to my eye. Thanks for posting it Kimi. Great memories, huh? Without CM where would we be? love ya, Rita Comment posted by Rita (ip: 63.238.1.229) on 12 / 29 / 2004 at 8:52 AM Rita's E-mail: rlabuni@ahs.llumc.edu

glowing orbs of joy i was immediately drawn to these lamps and stood staring at them, wanting to touch 'em. *sigh* they're soo... bulbous. =) i don't know why i wanted to touch them so much but they were just calling out my name. so, i commemorated the event with this photo. enjoy! Entry posted by kgrp on December 27 2004 at 6:37 pm

merry Christmas! Jesus was born today 2000 years ago and we celebrate His birth every year, starting with the candlelight service on Christmas Eve. I went to Glendale Filipino SDA Church this year and I thought it was nice how the choir director started with the only lit candle, and then she passed it on to the choir members, and while they were singing they went out to the congregation and the whole church lit up quite beautifully... Merry Christmas everyone! Entry posted by kgrp on December 25 2004 at 2:09 pm

Simbang Gabi the filipino tradition of Simbang Gabi (translation: night mass) continues here in the inland empire. apparently there are 9 nights of Simbang Gabi, but at rita's church they were in charge of the 8th night 2 days ago. rita did the 1st reading earlier in the service and rod took this picture of her walking out, followed by the priest. don't they look so happy? it was a great celebration... i apparently messed up during the communion part of the service because auntie pulled me up into the line with her, as she said, to receive a blessing from the priest. but i was so new to the event that i didn't know what to do - they said to follow the other people... and then they said to cross my arms and say "bless me, father." *sigh* so i got up to the priest, and i crossed my arms, and he blessed me on the forehead. after my blessing, i then held out my hands to receive the bread (JUST like i saw everyone else doing, like i was told to!) and the priest looked at me all confused-like, and then he just handed my a wafer. i started walking away wondering how/when i'm supposed to eat this and rita's mom pulls me back towards her and took the bread away from me. now i'm thoroughly confused! i have no idea what i did wrong and no idea what i'm supposed to do now, since she just took my bread away from me. so i'm standing there looking all lost and auntie tells the priest, "she doesn't know what to do, she's new here" and they continue on. i proceed on to the wine line and auntie just urged me to sit down instead. whooops! apparently you are supposed to ask for a blessing, or ask for a wafer (which they give you with a blessing) so the reason the priest looked so confused is cause i did both. heehee... oh well, i'm learning! also to continue the filipino tradition was the great potluch afterwards - i had kanin, gulay, pancit, sotanghon, puto, suman, leche flan, and cheesecake =) mmm... i was stuffed! Entry posted by kgrp on December 24 2004 at 1:04 pm

mt rubidoux kids last Sabbath i visited mt. rubidoux SDA church, and they have an awesome service! it ran until 2 pm and was packed, without any potluck! now that has gotta be good, don'tcha think? the kids were really cute, too, they sang the special music and you should hear 'em sing, it was really touching. but even better than that. yes, even better than that, the children's story was adorable, given by a young brother and sister pair. it was so cute, and i haven't even gotten to the best part yet! after children's story, they close with prayer. and they let the kids lead out in this part. and yes, this is the best part. the kids scrambled over each other rushing to get to the mic but only the first five got a chance to close the children's story with prayer. and by their prayers you know that these kids are totally in touch with God. the second one sighed this huge sigh, said "God..." *sigh* "oh God, you are the ONLY one who can save us!" that little five year old has a better relationship with God than many adults i know. VERY inspiring! Entry posted by kgrp on December 22 2004 at 1:03 am One comment: I'm a regular at Mt. Rubidoux SDA. You describe the up-lifting, "awesome," "gotta be good," services oh so well! And the kids...how they pray...truly the best part. Thanks for your entry and the beautiful picture...for spreading the word about Mt Rubidoux SDA. Comment posted by (ip: 151.112.6.138) on 09 / 07 / 2005 at 1:40 pm

Great Playlist Meme Leslie's Great Playlist Meme inspired me to see what songs Windows Media Player would choose if I shuffled all my tracks, so I dragged all my files over (but WMP doesn't recognize folders so I had to open each individual folder and drag all the tracks in - there's gotta be a better way!!!). I guess you're supposed to list the first 10 songs that play, but I didn't know some of the songs that came up (#2, #4, & #10), so I threw in 3 more for a more accurate sample of what I listen to. anyhow, here's my list: drumroll please! On My Own - sung by Lea Salonga (Les Miserables soundtrack) Play the Game - Queen (Greatest Hits 1) Oh, What a Beautiful Morning - written by Rogers and Hammerstein (Oklahoma Soundtrack) I Need You Back - Lea Salonga Never Had a Friend Like Me - (Aladdin Soundtrack) Love Will Keep Us Alive - Eagles (Hell Freezes Over) I just can't wait to be king - (Lion King soundtrack) Smooth Jazz Christmas Overture - Dave Koz & Friends (A Smooth Jazz Christmas) Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis (Great Balls of Fire Soundtrack) I just whisper your name - Harry Connick Jr. Tonada Venezolana - Alirio Diaz Minsan - Eraserheads (pinoy music) Connie Comes to Town - Adventures in Odyssey (Welcome to Odyssey -Disc 1) pa-retty interesting mix, eh? Entry posted by kgrp on December 21 2004 at 11:23 am

a wooden man & his apples what can i say? it's too weird to describe, so i'll just let you know that we made this in my bedroom. =D Entry posted by kgrp on December 21 2004 at 1:36 am 2 comments: lol. yes. weird. dead lift: http://www.power-matrix.com/deadlift.html good exercise. my legs look like that guys. no they don't. that would be absurd. Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.93.125) on 12 / 21 / 2004 at 9:43 AM honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com Wow. Honeystrain. She comments on Human Writes, who I discovered from his comments on Dooce. Isn't the world of blogs interesting?! That apple dude is so cool! Comment posted by laura (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 12 / 21 / 2004 at 4:57 PM laura's E-mail: laura@camacho.tv laura's website: http://www.camacho.tv

i'm on 'holiday' Christmas vacation officially started last friday, and rita, ching, and i kicked it off by hanging out in my room late into the night. it was the end of a stressful week for all of us, and i had napped for several hours right after work, but ching & rita both had headaches, so we just ate maria's and hung out in my room with the lights off. i love those girls, they're my sisters! =) Entry posted by kgrp on December 20 2004 at 2:01 am

my first school dance i was chaperone, bouncer, and on "freak patrol". yes, you heard me right - my duty was to pull apart the freakin' students. uh huh. i know you're jealous of me standing there among the throngs of dancing students, eyes darting in and out of the crowd, takin care that everything stays pg. just so i don't go off into a rant, i'll just list some of my thoughts while i was there. 1. some of those students are GREAT dancers! 2. why do girls like to freak girls? i only saw two male-female dancing couples, and they were pretty tame, but the girls? man, they were grinding! 3. i wanna dance! but no... i was being the bouncer 4. what's up with the songs they play? isn't there dance music that's 12-14 year old appropriate? i did NOT enjoy pulling apart girls 'dancing' to the milkshake song. hmm.... 5. it's funny how more than half the kids don't even dance, but they just stand there. for a cover charge of $3. =) okay, well, i'll just chalk this up to an interesting experience i don't wanna have everyday. *sigh* Entry posted by kgrp on December 17 2004 at 7:19 am One comment: omg. i have a 12 year old niece and it makes me ill to think of her acting liek that. ugh. it's a mad mad world. lol. Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.93.125) on 12 / 18 / 2004 at 6:01 am honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com

pop'n music! yeah! oh, YEEEAAAHH!! asian games in languages i don't understand. oh, but so much fun! y'know how when you go to dave 'n busters it's full of car/shooting/fighting games? well, arcade infiniti has so much more. oh so much more! infinitely more! (sorry, i couldn't resist). oh, but it has drumMania, guitarMania, pianoMania, pop'n music, a tambourine game that resembed samba de amigo, and a whole bunch of other rhythm games that rock. and salsa, and swing, and, well, you get the picture. =) there are also the puzzle games (i almost beat puzzle fighter and then got scared off by the crowd watching me - yuck!), old school classics like street fighter, and of course, typing of the dead! jay played pop'n music first, but i actually was able to hang, at least doing the beginner levels. it has 9 colored buttons which you are supposed to hit when the falling circles hit the line at the bottom of the screen - it really tests your coordination. plus, it's just plain addicting! cute cartoons dance alongside the falling circles... well, could you ask for anything more? if you can, then you'd be happy playing Ga-ha-ha or the other game which i can only describe as FUN-FUN-FUN! basically, it's full of a bunch of mini-games which you try to win by manipulating two joysticks, sometimes you have to hit them repeatedly to win the race, or complete the maze first, or catch falling hamburger parts, or kiss behind someone's back, or swim without drowning, etc. yah, i know it sounds crazy, but you should try it. especially since all the directions are in japanese and you just sorta have to pay attention to the small demo before each mini-game starts, and hope you do a better job than your opponent! i was wishin' that they made games like this that i could have at home, and jay suggested i get 'mario games' or 'wario wares' or something like that, since nintendo makes great mini-games. so now, that's on my wish list for Christmas, which will definitely be posted sometime soon. oooh, imagine if i could take the goodness of arcade infiniti everywhere i go... ahhh.... i'm SO excited! =D Entry posted by kgrp on December 16 2004 at 2:02 am 2 comments: Girl, don't get me started on a wish list. You know how crazy I just want to get since I'm in Tokyo. But I'm trying to be sooo good at just saving my money and try to hang out with everyone I can. Just until the 24th do I have to save what money I have left. And then, it's just going to go craaaazy! Hmmm, I'm thinking PSP or Nintendo DS...? Comment posted by Datchan (ip: 219.98.93.52) on 12 / 16 / 2004 at 5:31 AM Datchan's website: http://datchan.blogspot.com I know that bunny... Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.107) on 12 / 18 / 2004 at 6:43 AM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com

my Christmas wish list taboo - updated edition with new words, we've needed this for a while... 90's trivial pursuit - finally, an edition that i can play! printer to work at home, i hate running to the library or printing out my class materials all hurriedly when i get to school jacket/blazer to wear to school, i'm currently wearing the same one day after day after day. i need a new look! teaching clothes - same as above warm-ups to wear to gym night - oh yeah! a duffel bag for my gym stuff (to hold basketball/shoes/sweatshirt/gatorade) basketball/volleyball pump, my last one got stolen with my old car special writing pens/markers (sharpie has 5 new colors!) i'm such a sucker for nice writing utensils... those asian fine tip ink pens, oh! how nice they write. food - you can never go wrong with food! let's go snowboarding! i have a new board and i wanna make a trip up the mountain. who's in? Entry posted by kgrp on December 15 2004 at 11:10 am

God brings people into my life i realized last night that i haven't posted a devotional thought in a while. so today, i wanna share how AWESOME God is for taking care of me and sending people into my life. i know i've needed friends in town and also i've been looking for good girl friends to spend time with. first mention should go to rita. she's been an awesome friend, roommate, and a wonderful support. like i said in the last post, rita and i hung out with my work, and we've been doing stuff everyday - at the very least we call each other for dinner. =) it's nice cause then i never have to sit home alone and eat (we all know how disastrous that is for me... i'm a social eater and i tend to not eat if left to my own devices). so rita has been a blessing to me. ching has also been around more often and we've had great times together - it's always been hard because both of us don't like driving out to see each other but i saw her 2 days in a row (yesterday and the day before) and that was fun! we go a long way back and we have so much to share with each other, we provide great support for each other. it's wonderful... we especially had fun last friday night, i called her after i got home from the Christmas party and we just talked on the phone, but sometime during the middle of the conversation she sat down at her keyboard and started playing Christmas hymns and i heard it so i sat down at my piano and duet'ed with her on my piano. y'know that's friendship when you play/sing to each other over the phone! christina walters called me out of the blue this sunday and stopped by the house and we got to catch up for the last 6 months - and we made plans for this thursday night to hang out together. she's my teacher friend! she used to live next door to me in the dorm, and i'll never forget how she used to wake me up in the morning by jumping on my bed and then reading her devotional to me. =) yup, that's some good stuff! another girl i've wanted to hang out with for a while is jill - kirstin's friend who went to the philippines the same year i was supposed to go. all these friends we have in common, but we only met once. i'm so happy that she friendster'ed me and wanted to visit the japanese church, and it was great seeing her there. we've discovered that we have lotsa things in common and she's gonna come with me to the next gym night. i should actually call her today and see if she wants to hang out this week, too. =) that'll be fun. mostly, though, i'm just happy that God's sending people my way, people who are good supports to me, friends who will pray with me, girls to hang out with... it might seem like a small or coincidental thing but it's a wonderful blessing to have these girls around. and i know it's cuz God is taking care of me. He definitely is Good to me. Entry posted by kgrp on December 15 2004 at 8:59 am 3 comments: I think that's totally awesome. I know how long you've wanted this. Keep some tabs on them in case I come back from Japan still single ;) hahahahha... oh, not funny =P Speaking of which, where's Felcar??? hahahah! Comment posted by Datchan (ip: 218.221.59.161) on 12 / 15 / 2004 at 4:51 PM Datchan's website: http://datchan.blogspot.com God's awesome! (^_^) On a side note, say hi to Christina for me! I think I lost her email address... can you give her mine? Thanks! Comment posted by ramone (ip: 219.122.201.130) on 12 / 15 / 2004 at 10:45 PM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com =) daryl, you make me laugh. felcar's here in town somewhere, but i don't see him much. you're right, though, still single! heehee... i'll tell him to get in touch with you. ramone, when i see cjwawa today i'll also pass along your email... and let her know you said hi =) Comment posted by kimi (ip: 69.108.70.16) on 12 / 16 / 2004 at 7:01 AM

after dinner... we just had our Christmas party this last friday at the old spahetti factory. i wasn't sure i was going but it ended up being a lotta fun - our peoples can take wacky pictures too =). i sat next to "heineken" (krivanek) and rita was my guest of honor, and everyone LOVED her! puffer (not pictured) sat on the other side of krivanek and our fearless leader tried to get me 'n rita to go to the concert with puffer and padilla after dinner. i'm telling you, that principal o' mine is always trying to pair off the teachers! when i got to school on monday puffer asked me if rita was a model and said she looked 'hollywood', like she didn't belong with our group. hey, what about me?!! hahha... no, it's great that everyone liked her, and that we could just hang out there too. tom & nicole (neville & neville in the photo) sat on the other side of rita and we were laughing up a storm on our side of the table. i impressed everyone by being the garbage disposal at our end of the table - i ate my sald, rita's salad, finished off the garlic cheese bread, all my ravioli, finished rita's food, and ate my ice cream, rita's ice cream, and krivanek's ice cream. mmm.... i'm stuffed just thinking about it! tom: she just never stops eating, does she?!!! no, i never do. BRING IT ON! Entry posted by kgrp on December 15 2004 at 12:23 am

do you eat pho? hahah... that caption reminds me of bridget! but here's a picture of rafa getting in touch with his asian side, right outside the closed asian arcade. i still can't get over that! so that's why on wednesday jayson and i are going to arcade infiniti! oooh... drumMania here i come!!! Entry posted by kgrp on December 14 2004 at 12:17 am

i am SO not used to this WHOA... two of my students just busted another girl for bringing drugs to school, they knew it was in her backpack. they were too scared to go to the counselor with this information so they wrote it down in an anonymous tip and had me deliver it to the counselor. i'm so proud of them for doing that, it musta taken lotsa guts. as for the other girl, i dunno what to say. she's not my student but i know her because she likes to visit my classroom and draw me pictures, we discuss what she learns in her other classes. i know she has a difficult home life (in fact, i think she lives in a foster home) and so i do my best through our interactions to be a positive influence, but i guess some things just happen anyway. it's sad to me because i know that even at this young age they're pressured to do drugs or even just sell drugs. my ta said the same thing - she'd get beaten up if she didn't have the money and so a friend told her to sell the drugs to make the money. with my ta being so honest with me, i was able to help her find a solution without turning to drugs, but this other girl is the one who offered to give her drugs to sell. i suspected it was her but i had no names... i know that life must not be good for her and that it might get worse now that she's getting busted for it, i don't know what that means, if she'll get in even worse trouble at home, or with her supplier... it boggles my mind to think that students here would buy that - how and where do they get their money for this stuff? it's craziness! i am SO not used to being in situations like this and i don't even know what my role is - now that i know this, am i required to report it, besides how i turned it into the counselor? i have to go do that during my lunch now... *sigh* this makes me sad Entry posted by kgrp on December 13 2004 at 11:28 am 4 comments: i would be so shocked. i mean, you know it happens, but i have NO experience with drugs whatsoever and always think it's not HERE, you know? i would be so sad too but i'm glad that someone like you is there to be a positive influence. that has to make a difference. Comment posted by honestyrain (ip: 142.161.88.95) on 12 / 13 / 2004 at 11:36 AM honestyrain's website: http://honestyrain.blogspot.com just as an update - the vp called the student into his office and she confessed everything without them having to check her bags. she's suspended for 5 days, which means at the very least till next year, but they're gonna have an expulsion hearing in 10 days. my ta (the one who got beat up in the fight last week) didn't show to class today but apparently went with her foster mom (same mom as the other girl) to the office and is transferring to another school within the district to avoid fights here. i'm sad to see them go but i'm glad i have their email addresses and i'll get to check in with them and keep in touch. =/ it's all i can do... Comment posted by kimi (ip: 163.150.15.187) on 12 / 13 / 2004 at 4:35 PM that made me really sad too Comment posted by Datchan (ip: 218.221.59.161) on 12 / 14 / 2004 at 5:19 PM Datchan's website: http://datchan.blogspot.com **hug** Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.162) on 12 / 14 / 2004 at 5:35 PM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com

follow the light jeremiah (aka jim, jerry, jimbo, & jimbomiah) is mesmerized by the brilliance of light Entry posted by kgrp on December 13 2004 at 1:52 am

umbrella just some photo fun in riverside at the university village. hung out there with rafa and jim on thursday to see a friend (paul) do the opening act for alien ant farm - but aaf was late in showing up so we just roamed the village taking photos... we tried going to the asian arcade out there but they're closed down! how sad - i was so looking forward to playing 'typing of the dead'. =) yup, it's my favorite game. anyways, this picture's of the umbrella out on the porch. enjoy! Entry posted by kgrp on December 12 2004 at 12:46 pm

wham! bam! pow! wow, i witnessed a real fight. yup, in my own classroom. my gosh! IN MY OWN CLASSROOM!!! some punk kid named m.j. was suspended last week for an attitude problem, but suspensions *never* cure attitude problems. he came back defiant as ever, refusing to be in his seat, continually bullying the other kids. the problem is that he's real quiet about it, so you can never nail him on something. today was the usual, but i was ready to send him to the office. students kept on complaining that he was bothering them and i had to repeatedly tell him to sit down, he kept on leaving his desk to bother other students. so i just told m.j. that if he got out of his seat again i'd send him to the office. i guess that got him because he finally sat down, but then he couldn't find his pencil, so he accused a.g. of taking it. according to the kids, he's been "punkin'" a.g. all day cuz m.j. didn't think that a.g. could fight back. i don't know how this escalated because i was writing on the board, but when i turned around a.g. was beating m.j. up! it was... well.. crazy. i was shocked. but man, he was whaling on him -goood-. i mean, he was slinging lefts and rights, beating him up to a pulp! and i mean, GOOOD! craziness... i recovered quickly enough and started running down the aisle to break it up but the kids got there first, and i figured it wouldn't be worth it to jump over 6 students to pull 2 students apart, so i just called security. the students did a good job of separating the two boys. i'm really thankful that they took care of the situation. sounds horrid but it's about time that someone stood up to m.j. he 'punks' all the kids and finally pushed too far. according to my students a.g. sat at his desk trying not to respond when m.j. hit him (oh yah, did i say that? m.j. threw the first punch, nailed him in the left eye). a.g. sat at his desk trying to contain himself but his hands were clenched on his desk, he was shaking, and then he finally lost it and that is why a.g. was beating up on him. they both got suspended for 2 days. i haven't yet figured out how i could help m.j. stop picking on the students - if i step in, it makes it worse. if i ignore it, it makes it worse. plus then, students can get hurt. i have no frickin' clue what my role can be in this situation, but i made sure all the students know that it was inappropriate to fight, even though i could see the situation from everyone else's point of view - they'd all been picked on and they were tired of it, and when he punched him, well... *sigh* oh, the dilemma of it all. the funny thing i thought of was that m.j. never once left his desk during the fight. at least he finally stayed in his desk. i thought that was the weirdest thing. and also, for someone who picked the fight, and threw the first punch, i'm really surprised he didn't do much in self-defense. what kind of madness is this? the students have been punks all week, tons of fights, j.w. got expelled because he got suspended one too many times, the last time this wednesday for breaking a window on the bus by throwing a rock at it, little j.g. got suspended for fighting on the bus, my TA is suspended cause she got beat up outside my classroom on wednesday (some girl named layda ran up to her and scratched her up good, tore up her hair, and beat her up - i don't know why, just some girl thing). we (the administration) had an emergency meeting to discuss student safety on wednesday, and the situation has just gotten worse. it's pretty discouraging. *sigh* only one more week this year... Entry posted by kgrp on December 10 2004 at 2:22 pm One comment: wow... I'm praying for you as things wrap up. Something's definitely afoot, huh. But stay strong holding onto His agape. ^_^ There's no place like Home! Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.83) on 12 / 12 / 2004 at 7:29 pm ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com

o Christmas tree and finally our christmas tree, all lit up! it's right at home in our bay window, and it looks loverly =) our house smells wonderful, too! the fresh pine scent hits you when you walk into the house. now all we need are gifts to put under it.... =) Entry posted by kgrp on December 10 2004 at 7:07 am

confiscated love note took this note from one of my students. they really surprise me sometimes with what they do... i didn't read this to the class but i am posting it here, copied exactly how it's written on the page, line breaks, typos, 'n all =) Is love Real 2 me I dont really know They tell me and tell me but is it so. I havnet love someone like you so deep inside But if I did its not 2 hard 2 hide. If you know what love is tell me its true. because I haven’t feeled it and hear it from you. my love for men is two hard 2 define because love for me aint nothing but a crime. Entry posted by kgrp on December 09 2004 at 9:32 am One comment: Better than what I'd pass `round.. ;) Do you like me? [] yes [] no Comment posted by Vince (ip: 66.26.69.177) on 12 / 09 / 2004 at 12:32 pm

the tree came home we just got our tree! or at least, this picture shows us when we just got our tree =) we picked it up on saturday night... brought it home and our neighbor kids followed us into the house. =) they're so cute! this picture only shows 3 of 'em but really there's 7 kids living cross the street. they're always running around the streets but they're really nice kids, they always yell hi to me when i show up and then they ask me where i'm going when i leave for ucr, and they really liked our tree and they especially like taking pictures with my camera. this picture was taken by trey, taylor and sara's youngest brother - he just wouldn't stop taking pictures! the blond in the picture is carrie (she's trey, taylor, and sara's cousin). it was nice to share some Christmas time with them... but see, the tree's naked in this picture... patience... you'll see the lights soon =) Entry posted by kgrp on December 09 2004 at 1:10 am

my family our little family went Christmas tree shopping last friday after work. we've actually done a great job of hanging out together lately, much better than in the past. we also all made it to pick out the tree, despite scheduling difficulties. i love my family. they're simply the best... Entry posted by kgrp on December 08 2004 at 2:09 am

Faith is... "Faith isn't just believing God can, but believing God WILL." I'm not sure who is responsible for the quote above, but yesterday Grant shared it with me. He had heard it this week at an early morning prayer group at his church, and he was telling me that he was holding on to God's promises and having faith that God WILL take care of him. He and his wife were gonna take me out for dinner sometime to CELL-ebrate the end of the quarter (and the end of taking 25 units while being new at my job...). It sure is nice being able to talk with classmates about God. I've never really been at a public school before, so all my interactions have been on Christian campuses until now. It was nice to be able to say what I believe and find people who were willing to discuss it, even if all of us have different viewpoints. I think mostly I'm pleasantly surprised that I had the guts to bring it up, because when I was younger the thought of talking with strangers about God freaked me out. Now, I've grown up and I'm less scared. And I just do it. God WILL empower me, He WILL take care of me, and He WILL guide my life. Entry posted by kgrp on December 07 2004 at 7:26 am One comment: I know what you mean about having the guts to bring it up... more often than not here I think I *haven't* had the guts to bring it up, and when I have, have been shy and quickly changed the subject. Go figure. I still feel weird about it, but He's helping me get through it. I don't know why or where this came from, but it surprised me when I got out into the world. Recently He's been changing things inside, and I can't quite explain it. But I'm watching the effects of it on co-workers. God is good, and 'evangelizing' or sharing or whatever is not turning out as I'd expected it, but I can *see* it changing others. Maybe He had to break my old fears and my old ideas of what "witnessing" meant. Whatever the case, He's good & gets us through! Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.112) on 12 / 07 / 2004 at 8:41 pm ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com

litterasee we couldn't figure out what this poster was about. i mean, it says to CELL-ebrate literacy, but what does a CELL have to do with literacy? other than the spelling shows that the poster makers were not *completely* literate. i peeked in the window and saw nothing to do with cell phones, nothing to do with biology, but it did look like a learning center. maybe it was a learning center to teach prisoners to read? rafa: if prisoners are required to serve a sentence, shouldn't they be able to form a sentence? jim: and when you throw the book at a prisoner, he should be able to read it. hahha... Entry posted by kgrp on December 07 2004 at 12:50 am One comment: Maybe reading will help them to follow the letter of the law. Comment posted by Jimbo (ip: 172.196.169.47) on 12 / 10 / 2004 at 9:47 pm

wow... my students like me! last week i came to the realization that the students actually like me. it's sorta weird! let me backtrack. see, before, i felt like i was pulling teeth trying to get students to learn. combine that with the attitude i was receiving from other students already mentioned on this blog, and, well, you can imagine how hard going to class was for me. i had to brace myself everyday to be tough enough to handle the students. well, now that the 3 students involved in that incident are gone, life has been so much better. it's not like it's easy now - after all, i still have the huge task of inspiring these students to do their work, despite their complaints that it's boooooringggg... (imagine the whine. =( ugh! how i hate hearing that out of their mouths.) but the students stop by to say hello throughout the day, they tell me how their day has been going when they enter. especially last week, because i was gone on tuesday becuase i was sick, i was touched when the students would rush in before their next class and tell me how happy they were that i was back (and they even liked their sub, so it's not just that they were relieved to not have the sub again). they share friends stories with me between the classes and then when the bell rings i ask them to settle down, and i let them know they can continue their stories after class is over. instruction time does seem to drag sometimes and i need to work on incorporating funner activities for the students, and i'm inspired by them to make classwork better for them and less "boooorrrrringggg". imagine that, THEY are inspiring ME. just last week... the first time i realized that they don't hate me, and they're not out to get me. =) it's a good week. let's keep it that way. Entry posted by kgrp on December 06 2004 at 12:05 pm 3 comments: Hey, maybe we can try to come up with some instructional strategies and methods during the winter break for your math class. I can actually try to put my learning to work! That would be fun to brainstorm at least. Let's give it a shot! :) Comment posted by kat (ip: 151.205.124.70) on 12 / 06 / 2004 at 6:04 PM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com tanoshiiiiiiii! (^_^) Comment posted by ramone (ip: 218.42.225.48) on 12 / 06 / 2004 at 8:25 PM ramone's E-mail: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com ramone's website: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com kat, i'm all for it! sounds like fun... doing projects together, like we're back at lsu =) it'd be great to bounce ideas off someone again, too, and be all creative and junk =) i'm anticipating great ideas and wonderful creations. the pressure's on! Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 69.108.64.36) on 12 / 07 / 2004 at 7:47 PM

devotional goodies Within each one of us there is a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill. —Pascal i read that quote last week and i've been meaning to post it, but i hadn't gotten around to it. today's devotional deals with the same topic and reminded me to jot this thought down. "We can find help from many sources—friends, counselors, books—but there's nothing better than the support and strength we get from God when we pray." it's so easy for me to try and rely on other people and i need a daily reminder that God is the only one who can fulfill me. not only is that something i need to remember for my own personal growth, but i also need to not put that burden on someone else. i think in the past that was the mistake i made, to rely on someone other than God, and now i know that noone'll never live up to that expectation, no matter how hard they might wanna be there for me. i just need to remember that my strength will come from God and i need to rely on Him. it's hard sometimes especially because it's not in person, it's not someone i can see and touch. but He can do so much more for me... Entry posted by kgrp on December 06 2004 at 7:15 am 2 comments: Hey Kimi, glad to see you writing the devotionals again. May I make a quick suggestion? You are a good writer. I think it would be great if you took this seriously enough for future publishing considerations. Maybe consider taking a few extra minutes to use proper caps, grammer, etc... Nothing heavy duty. Just go through and make it professional. The only thing that separates you from Max Lucado is a lot of experience, not talent :) Just a thought... Comment posted by les (ip: 69.23.133.114) on 12 / 06 / 2004 at 12:16 PM les's E-mail: leslie@camacho.tv les's website: http://www.camacho.tv haha... are you talking about my devotionals or the whole blog in general? i NEVER type with proper usage of caps. i used to do this even back in the day, i don't know why i prefered it. but now, i think it helps me feel like the words can flow. you know how some people have to use pen & paper? well... i just type as the words come to me. ms word automatically corrects what i type but no such luck here on the blog. it's good advice though. do you seriously think this could be printed later? Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 163.150.15.187) on 12 / 06 / 2004 at 1:02 PM

$124.99 waxy monkey tree frog for sale. looks like he's worried. and waxy. hmm, definitely waxy. saw this little sucker on sale in redlands this saturday, walking around after church. thought he was ADORABLE! and yet, he has a sense of creepiness at the same time. he was eying me warily under those humongous eyebrow arches, but the only damage i did was take pictures. cutie... Entry posted by kgrp on December 06 2004 at 12:21 am

rachet n clank speak japanese! i can hear it said in my head but i'd have no idea how to spell a japanese accent. carankuh... =) anyways, i saw this poster at max's place, each of the insomniacs got to choose what swag they got and he picked this promotional piece. it's prrretty cool! notice how ratchet changed his outfit to fit in with those japanese... he scruffied up his eyebrows and made 'em darker. he's also competing with the anime's wide eyes. i wonder who his stylist was... i'd love to figure out why they changed him =) go buy the game! Entry posted by kgrp on December 05 2004 at 6:28 pm 2 comments: Seriously, Japanese people have some strange fascination with really heavy eyebrows. A lot of the anime characters are like that (more like the detective sorts, tho). It's really nutty. I can only read the last phrase at top which says "FUUUUUN!" in a more slangish way (i think...?) Comment posted by kat (ip: 151.205.124.70) on 12 / 06 / 2004 at 6:08 PM kat's E-mail: choobaihe@sbcglobal.net kat's website: http://www.kathykhoo.com that's awesome that you can read it. i like how they incorporate the wrench into the japanese text, that part of ratchet's name just like they do in the english version. nifticular. =) Comment posted by kimi =) (ip: 163.150.15.187) on 12 / 07 / 2004 at 3:12 PM

ahhh, california here's another archived photo from last year's summer trip to sequioa. we had climbed all the way to the top of a rocky ledge and watched the sunset from there, but on the way up, we took lotsa photos of the scenery. the sky was hazy because there were wildfires at the time, but you can see how far up we were, we had broken through to the clear sky and could see all the haze lying there beneath us. it still was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the awe-inspiring view over the surrounding mountains. i love california. Entry posted by kgrp on December 02 2004 at 11:57 am