Wednesday, January 31

there was no need to shampoo this morning...

so my shampoo is the kind that "adds bounce" to your curls... whether it works or not, i've never really known.
however, today at our school's pep assembly, i found that sack races add a lot of bounce to your hair. i will further explain.
they called a guy and girl down from each class to compete in the sack race, and of course, my name was called for the senior class. have you guys ever done a sacke race down the length of a basketball court before??? it is really really exhausting!!!! not only was it weird bouncing down a court in a potato sack, but i just knew that my hair was bouncing all over the place... probably looked really funny.
anyway, me and my partner won the first race, and then in the final, which they made us do right away (and i was still trying to catch my breath) we lost. i almost slipped in the second race, but luckily i caught myself. however, didn't quite catch myself when i tagged my partner because i fell on my knee (which is nastily bruised and hurts when i walk). however, i must say it was one of the funnest things i've ever done in our school's pep assembly (it ranks above eating a plate full of fruit as fast as i can (which was freshman year) and it ranks below monster badminton (which was last year)).
ah, fun memories of hopping in a sack :)

Tuesday, January 30

sore hands and $5

so i lost $5 in a bet that it wouldn't rain while we were at school because i so firmly believed that it doesn't rain during the day anymore.
and my hands are sore from squeezing a lot of tennis balls :)

anyway, here's the exciting news that you all have been eagerly waiting for:
mark your calendars, my friends, because on friday february 23rd, between the hours of 3:30 and 7 pm, i will be dancing around in a cow suit at the new chick-fil-a :) please do come and visit :)

that's all for now... if you haven't read the post below, i encourage that you do :)

Monday, January 29

"bud momby, i'm dot sick!"

what i think the little girl was trying to say was, "but mommy, i'm not sick," however only a nasal-ly jumble of words found their way out of this little girl's mouth.
i was at a store a few days ago (we'll just call this store "darget") when i witnessed this little event occur in the aisle with all the cheezits. i didn't know exactly what this girl wanted, but her mom had clearly said "no" due to the fact that her daughter was obviously sick (which the daughter did not believe to be valid).
"blease momby?" i kind of chuckled to myself and thought, 'dude, you are so obviously sick, give it up, your mom knows what she's talking about.' the girl put on a pouty face (as snot started to run, further supporting her mother's case), but then surprisingly, moments later she was happily wiping her nose on her sleeve and seemingly over it.
i moved along and took a stroll through "darget," and as usual, the thoughts began to flow.
i bet you God deals with this all the time. so often we ask God for things that we clearly shouldn't have or something that we think we should have. maybe we don't necesarily ask with a nasal-ly voice like the little girl, but we ask as if we really know what's best for us. what we don't realize sometimes is that God hears our "nasal" voice and sees our situation in a completely different way... in a way that He knows exactly what's best for us. you could say that God sees the panoramic view in comparison to the small particle of life we see under the narrow view of a microscope (sorry for going science on ya). i bet God chuckles sometimes when we believe that we can convince God that our way is better or that we know what's right.

"He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back." -Isaiah 50:4-5

i think this is something we have to learn and practice. listening isn't always my strength, and often i think that i hold the solution in my mind. however, God always has the solution, and sometimes it might agree with me, and sometimes it won't. either way, it is my job to listen, be obedient, and not be rebelious.
so you guys, if you find yourself fighting God's words and instructions, give it up. in fact, wipe your nose on your sleeve and grab hold of God's hand. i think it is safe to say that God knows what He's talking about.

:)

Sunday, January 28

+45 -6

so my calculus teacher just posted our exam grades and our class grades online.
i'm not going to lie, but the numbers i saw were fairly ugly... actually, VERY ugly. consequently, my GPA wasn't so pretty either. can you tell that i'm slightly obsessive with grades?
anyway, i think i have finally come up with a new mentality with all this... and surprise surprise, i have found a way to weave tennis in to my solution.
no, i am not going to practice calculating derivatives and acceleration by calculating the slope of each forehand i hit at any given point in time... that would make me a freak :) i've taken more of an analogy approach.
i see myself in calculus as being down 1-5 in a set, and love-40 on my serve in relation to how far behind i am in understanding and knowing how to complete problems (correctly). before this year, being down 1-5 meant the set was over. however, due to one of my most memorable matches from this past tennis season where i indeed was down 1-5, i have learned from experience that the match is not over at that point. long story short (cause i think i've posted this story before) i took it to a tie breaker (and faced multiple set points while getting to that point) and eventually took the set.
so, now back to calculus. i'm down 1-5, but you know what? i am going to make the most killer comeback ever! so, if y'all here me complaining about how hard calculus is, remind me of the score, and remind me that i made the decision to comeback (because belive me, i'm not going to want to remember that i made this decision :)
by the way, those numbers in the title?
the first is the percentage of correct points on my exam, and the second is the percentage my grade dropped.
there's a first for everything :/

i have a calculus essay to write, so i best be on my way.

ciao

girl power!

well, the men's australian open final was early this morning, and federer finished with the usual results... straight sets. he is actually the first guy in a long time to go through an entire major tournament (one of the slams) without dropping a single set. this guy is not human.
anyway, here's another cool first that happened in this final...
today was the first time ever that a woman was the chair umpire for a men's final in any grand slam!!!! i don't know why it took so long to get a girl in the chair for a men's final, but hey, it's kind of cool to have witnessed the first. they made a pretty big deal about it in the ceremony and congratulated her on being the first. pretty neat.
so now the australian open is over, as are my days of watching tennis everyday... i believe the french open is next, and that is my favorite tournament to watch, so i can't wait.
ta-ta for now!

:)

Saturday, January 27

Welcome to Chick-fil-a, how may I serve you?

Here's me in my new chick-fil-a uniform, ready to serve you, the customer, in any way i can :)


My uniform comes with shoes, pants, shirt, belt, and yes, my very own name tag (not the cheap kind where they just use a label maker and stick it on, it's metal and my name is actually on the tag, not a label.).


the clothes are all the brand "team chick-fil-a style." look at the tags that came on my clothes:



fun stuff!!!
thank you, have a nice day!
(i'm practicing :)

bee fris

best way to celebrate the end of the first semester???
go to manhattan beach, have lunch, stop by the vintage store, head to the sand, throw a frisbee around, run in circles, get really tired, go down to the water, find a stray boogie board, chase the tide, run in circles, get really tired, get desert, go home...
did i mention get really tired? :)
so if you haven't guessed by now, that's what we did today.
unfortunately, i forgot my camera, so i don't have pictures right now, but others had their camera and the pictures will be along shortly... i must say they were rather funny pictures.

so after i got home from a rocking birthday party (another little pal of mine just turned one!) i went on the australian open website to check and see when the serena vs sharapova final was going to be on...
"serena triumphs 6-1 6-2 over sharapova"
oops
i guess the match wasn't as late as i thought it was. i'm not too bummed, as many of you know my feelings toward this final.

want a rather nice chuckle? this article is genius, and unfortunately, what it mocks is true. enjoy this article about the sad but true rumor that schools ar banning dodgeball.

Not to alarm you, but America is going softer than left-out butter. Exhibit 9,137: Schools have started banning dodgeball.
I kid you not. Dodgeball has been outlawed by some school districts in New York, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Many more are thinking about it, like Cecil County, Md., where the school board wants to ban any game with "human targets." Personally, I wish all these people would go suck their Birkenstocks.
Human targets? What's tag? What's a snowball fight? What's a close play at second? Neil Williams, a physical education professor at Eastern Connecticut State, says dodgeball has to go because it "encourages the best to pick on the weak." Noooo! You mean there's weak in the world? There's strong? Of course there is, and dodgeball is one of the first opportunities in life to figure out which one you are and how you're going to deal with it.
We had a bully, Big Joe, in our seventh grade. Must have weighed 225 pounds, used to take your underwear while you were in the shower and parade around the locker room twirling it on his finger. We also had a kid named Melvin, who was so thin we could've faxed him from class to class. I'll never forget the dodgeball game in which Big Joe had a ball in each hand and one sandwiched between his knees, firing at our side like a human tennis-ball machine, when, all of a sudden, he got plunked right in his 7-Eleven-sized butt. Joe whirled around to see who'd done it and saw that it was none other than Melvin, all 83 pounds of him, most of it smile.
Some of these New Age whiners say dodgeball is inappropriate in these times of horrifying school shootings. Are you kidding? Dodgeball is one of the few times in life when you get to let out your aggressions, no questions asked. We don't need less dodgeball in schools, we need more!
I know what all these NPR-listening, Starbucks-guzzling parents want. They want their Ambers and their Alexanders to grow up in a cozy womb of noncompetition, where everybody shares tofu and Little Red Riding Hood and the big, bad wolf set up a commune. Then their kids will stumble out into the bright light of the real world and find out that, yes, there's weak and there's strong and teams and sides and winning and losing. You'll recognize those kids. They'll be the ones filling up chalupas. Very noncompetitive.
But Williams and his fellow wusses aren't stopping at dodgeball. In their Physical Education Hall of Shame they've also included duck-duck-goose and musical chairs. Seriously. So, if we give them dodgeball, you can look for these games to be banned next:
Tag. Referring to any child as it is demeaning and hurtful. Instead of the child hollering, "You're it!" we recommend, "You're special!"
Red Rover. Inappropriate labeling of children as animals. Also, the use of the word red evokes Communist undertones.
Sardines. Unfairly leaves one child alone at the end as the loser -- a term psychologists have deemed unacceptable.
Hide-and-seek. No child need hide or be sought. The modern child runs free in search of himself.
Baseball. Involves wrong-headed notions of stealing, errors and gruesome hit-and-run. Players should always be safe, never out.
Hopscotch. Sounds vaguely alcoholic, not to mention demeaning to our friends of Scottish ancestry.
Marbles. Winning others' marbles is overly capitalistic.
Marco Polo. Mocks the blind.
Capture the flag. Mimics war.
Kick the can. Unfair to the can.
If we let these PC twinkies have their way, we'll be left with:
Duck-duck-duck. Teacher spends the entire hour patting each child softly on the head.
Upsy down. The entire class takes turns fluffing the gym teacher's pillow before her nap.
Swedish baseball. Players are allowed free passage to first, second or third, where they receive a relaxing two-minute massage from opposing players.
Smear the mirror. Students take turns using whipped cream to smear parts of their reflection they don't like, e.g., the fat they have accrued from never doing a damn thing in gym class.

Thursday, January 25

not a good day for those seeking success

I studied I studied I studied.

she passed out the exam, I tried, and I cried.

I failed I failed I failed.

Andy roddick hit and hit and hit.

Roger federer hit and hit and hit (way) better.

Andy Roddick failed failed failed (very fast).

I'm sure he cried too.

death by calculus

if you are reading this between the hours of 8am and 10pm, i ask that you pray for me as i will be fighting my way through my ap calculus exam.
if you are reading this after 10am, i would ask that you pray for me as i will be dead, having suffered death by calculus.

farewell my friends

Wednesday, January 24

no thank you, i'm walking on purpose

i woke up and saw that it was a be-a-utiful day outside... just gorgeous. so, i decided that i would walk to school when i had to take my exam today. i had to take my environmental science exam at 1pm today, so i figured i could also be environmentally cool and walk instead of drive. i also used the time it took to walk to last minute cram.
besides one car that drove by and screamed out the window at me, making my heart stop, the walk was rather peaceful and enjoyable. oh, and i found out that some people are pretty cool. when i turned to go on to dumont on the middle school side, a friend drove by and offered me a ride... i kindly said no thank you and said that i actually wanted to walk. "why?" i replied that it was a beautiful day for a walk, and said i would see her in a bit. about two minutes later, i was at about the middle school, and a car filled with girls stopped, and one, i believe it was lisa o, stuck her head out the window: "cristina, do you want a ride??" with a chuckle, i said no thank you and explained that i was walking on purpose... and when asked why, i again explained the prime weather for a walk. "ok... i love your hair!" i laughed and thanked her, and before they even took off, another car, a blue mustang, stopped, and i knew who drove this car. next thing i know, christian cardena was sticking his head out the window and yelling "cristina, do you want a ride??!!" at this point, i was 50 yards from the high school, and as i laughed, "no thank you, i'm walking on purpose." he asked if i was sure, and i assured him that i was fine, but thanks for the offer.
so i arrived 5 minutes before the test, and i was just laughing and thinking how cool these people were... haha, they totally just offered me rides! i also laughed at how unusual wanting to walk was for them... they knew i have a license, so why was i walking...
hilarious stuff :)
cool people, fun times.

i will end the story of my day there... the rest wasn't as fun as my walk.

gator _^^^^ '<

forgot to put this pic up


Tuesday, January 23

"um, excuse me, would you mind not doing that?"

i pulled out my earphones, "huh?"

"could you stop snapping please?"

I was running on the treadmill and had been snapping along to my song, and the guy next to me, who happened to be one of the few without those white wires dangling (go to gym post for explanation), so he could hear my snapping loud and clear.

i smiled and quickly stopped, and then i thought, well, you know you're having a good day when you find yourself snapping while you're running on the treadmill. and you know what? it has been a rather pleasant day.

"how do you know you've had a good day?"

that was actually one of the questions that was asked during my first interview, and it was a fun one to think about. my original answer went a little like this: i know i've had a good day when i am about to go to sleep, and when i reflect on the happenings of the day, i smile. a good day, for me, is one where i got stuff done and i know it wasn't wasted. i know it's been a good day if 1) i'm tired from a full day of fun stuff or 2) i am rested from a day of catching up

today, for example, was a mix of both... although i did a bunch of stuff, a lot of it allowed me to catch up mentally. for those of you with a short attention span, hang in there because there will be some pictures soon, i promise... and then more words after that :)

after my two exams today (piece o choco cake), i went out to lunch and golden spoon with some pals of mine. good stuff, fun times. I got home, and the weather was just beautiful, and i wanted to do something outside. both of my rackets are being strung, so i couldn't go play tennis. well, i had gotten a letter from calvin the other day saying, again welcome to calvin, but this time, they enclosed a "calvin college" decal for my car. i read the instructions:

"clean area before applying." i went outside and looked at my car, and i quickly came to the conclusion that i was going to need to clean more than just the decal area. so i pulled out the hose, grabbed a bucket and decided to wash my car!

washing my car is something i LOVE to do... here's why...

for me, taking an hour or two to hang out and wash my car is kind of theraputic... hear me out... i put on my headphones (lately it's been Brandon Heath on my playlist, who i HIGHLY recommend... go get his album, you'll love it, good acoustic :) anyway, i put on my headphones, and as i'm scrubbing the car down and cleaning it up, i get time to sort through some thoughts, think on life, on God, on anything i want. so i may sing out loud a little, and the neighbors may not appreciate that, but it's fun. i busted out the camera and took some sweet pictures, and i just had a fantastic time washing my car... totally put me in a good mood... and i will get to what i thought about today in a sec, but i promised some pics...



good pics?? i like the zenny soap... it's fun :) i recommend clicking on the tire one so you can see the cool water drops :)

okay, so i got on thinking on something, and that continued on as i finished up cleaning the inside of the car and took off for the gym to go for a run. same thing goes for when i run: head phones on, zone out, start thinking. then that's when i started to snap to the beat of Heath and then mr.anti-snap asked me to stop... okay, so you're caught up.

here's what i've been thinking about today, and this one is for my friends... it's a bit sappy, so bear with me :)

i have just been having a blast lately with all my friends... as i was washing my car, i started thinking about each of my friends, and i thought to myself, wow, i am so blessed to be surrounded by all these people. i have so much support, so much fun, and so many blessings coming from these people... (not that i don't get that from my family, don't worry fam, i didn't forget you guys... i'm just talking about my friends right now :)

so, after thinking about this stuff all day, i just wanted to tell you, my dear dear friends, how much y'all mean to me :) i think today was the first day i realized there is something that could be sad about going off to college... i won't have all of you with me all the time.

so, expect to hear it personally from me sometime this week, but for right now i'll just do a shout out: i love you guys! haha, i'm getting all mushy and sappy :) it's kind of fun

then after thinking all this, to put a big grin back on my face, i put on my very first decal on my car, and it is only fitting that it is indeed the calvin college decal :)

(insert clever title here)

i'm losing the creativity for my title posts... i'll try to think of some more soon.

anyway, i have just settled down with a nice cup o cocoa (which i now know is not part coffee) and was about to turn on 24, but then when the tv turned on, i saw the face of no, not keifer sutherland about to save the day, i saw ANDY roddick in a little bio thing for the match that is tonight. it's mardy fish vs andy roddick (both americans) and they are actually best friends... grew up together, went to high school together, room mates in high school at the tennis academy, ping pong pals... HUGE match!!
it takes presedence over 24... bauer can wait... andy needs my rooting :)

ok, so now to the big news... i bet yall are itching to know.
so i got dressed and left for the chick-fil-a interview, and when i arrived at the site (where there was lots of construction) and saw what they meant by "make-shift" office. it was one of those metal storage bins, except it had a door. so i walked in, and there was an interview in process, but the guy (adam) told me to go ahead and sit down. so i got to hear the rest of this gal's interview and hear all the questions he asked (which was good, because i had no idea what interviews were composed of). so i sat there, and when adam asked her a question, i sat there and silently answered the questions to myself... some interesting questions.
after she was done and she left, adam had me come over and sit in the chair to begin the interview. i couldn't find a comfortable professional way to sit, so i kept on shifting back and forth, and then the questions began.
now this adam guy, he's a character. i don't know if this is a typical interview, but is the interviewer supposed to talk a lot... about himself??? i mean, every answer i said was followed by a story from adam about how he could relate or did something like that... i have never known a guy to be able to change the topic to himself so much before... well, i know one, but anyway.
that interview lasted about 45 minutes, and i tossed in a few charming jokes, and was even brutally honest when asked of my favorite food. i told him the truth... apple sauce with cheerios (taste before you judge!). this was one of my answers i predetermined when i heard him ask the other girl. he laughed at me when he asked me about college plans... he got a kick out of how i could not stop grinning from ear to ear each time i opened my mouth to say calvin or double-major or michigan :) he was more surprised when at the end i had an interesting question for him... "uh, so could you tell me about the cow suit?" he was surprised to hear that i was really wanting to do it, and he even wrote it down on the interview paper that i was "cow willing,". i dunno, i don't see much more fun than getting in a cow suit and dancing around in public!!! get your cameras out :)
anyway, after this interview, he asked if i could stay for a second interview with the owner, and of course i had no where to be so i agreed. this was outside in another seating area, and the owner was interviewing another gal (different from the first) and as i sat and waited, i heard him tell the girl "well, thank you, we'll be giving you a call soon." i thought forward to that and thought, ick, i am not going to like this whole waiting for a call thing.
so i sat down with this guy (fernando i think) and this interview only lasted about 10 minutes. at the end, he put down his pen and said, "well, thank you very much, i'd lke to congratulate you and welcome you to chick-fil-a, you're hired." :O i wanted to scream out zip-a-dee-doo-da, but instead i smiled, said thank you, and shook his hand. he told me to go inside and fill out some paper work (where they also asked for my shoe size) and make it official.
so, I am an official team member of chick-fil-a!!!
yay!
thanks for hanging in with the long story

eat more chicken :)

Monday, January 22

by the way

i had a home-made cup o chocolate a little while ago... and i think there was coffee in it

oddly, i'm not tired

tomorrow's a 'big day!

well, exam week will begin tomorrow (with what i recently looked up to be my english exam tomorrow) but that's not the big part of the day...

i have an interview with chick-fil-a :) oh, and i am going to have lunch at a different chick-fil-a tomorrow so that i will be able to say that i have eaten where i might work :)

so i have been trying to figure out what to wear, since ya know first impressions are big (even though i feel that i made a rather good one at school). what should i wear???

my first thought was to wear something with cow print, you know, to go a long with the cow they use in all their advertisements... but i din't want them to think that i hunted cow... do people hunt cow??

then i thought about wearing something a little more like this: do you think that'll give the wrong impression??? (yes, that is me... and don't get any ideas... it was a costume party, ok)
what about just some nice pants and a button down shirt... do i own those??? well, i checked on the left side of my closet, and appaerantly i do have some pants, but no button down shirt. i say the left side because you know how in your closet when you hang things up after you do laundry you put them all on one side (for me the right side). well, after a certain period of time and x loads of laundry, you find that you only wear certain clothes and keep putting the clothes you wear on the right side...and the clothes that you pretty much never wear get slowly filtered out and pushed to the left side... come on, you know what i am talking about. anyway, i looked on the left side and found a some stuff i haven't seen for a while... much of it doesn't even fit... anyway, i am thinking of going with some nice pants and a nice sweater or jacket...
speaking of sweater... Khol's is having a HUGE sale on christmas sweaters... i got one for $10, and i cannot wait to wear it next year :)
okay, i best be off and get some sleep.
enjoy your monday, my friends

Saturday, January 20

pictures and one pic movie :)


what do you get when you have a group of girls who are sick of studying and have a lot of sugar in them from snacking all day long and have a digital camera with a "strobe" feature that takes rapid-fire pictures???
you get these pics and this fun little pic movie :)
enjoy
and i forgot to mention that this is all in manhattan beach... si si, good stuff :)












pics from us "studying"... story to come later :)



yes, we did actually study, but we needed a food/fun break. here are the pics, and that little kid... we have no idea who that kid is, but he was pretty cool.
and don't be shocked by the dress... i actually wanted to try it on :)


Friday, January 19

hit song "oh licorice"

oh licorice, i don't like you
red or black, i'll give it back!

Ohhhh licorice, i won't take a bite, i'll put up a fight!
ohhhhh licorice, even a little piece will murder meeeeeee

written/sung(horribly)/played by: cristina stavro
laughed at by: jenny woo

oh the fun of improv guitar songs...
stay tuned for...

"calcium, no, calci-YUM!"

i lied AND gave in to peer pressure

here are my reasons:
1. they were looking kind of sad with no one going and checking it out
2. even though i quickly dismissed the first few suggestions, after about 17 other ones, i couldn't hold up under the pressure
3. i was desperate
4. i need affirmation

so what exactly does this all pertain to?
well, everybody has been hearing me and my unsuccesful bouts in the career world, and they've heard of my surrender. today, chick-fil-a was on camus at lunch looking for people to work at their new resturaunt that's opening up where the old krispy kreme was. so, at first a few of my friends were like, hey, there ya go, apply there (whether they were serious or not, i am not sure...) but then ALL my friends started to persuade me to apply... ALL of them plus more. so i gave in, and i went to apply (along with another friend of mine). i filled out the application and handed it to the guy, who introduced himself and the rest of the people standing there (about 4 others) and asked me to come in monday after school for an interview (my first official job interview... and i think i will get past the "i'm available after school" part of it).
it was funny because the manager introduced me to the store owner and said "this will be the guy who will be deciding whether you work here or not," i almost thought about saying something clever and delightful like "oh, so you're the one i should be bribing," but i decided against it.
so, later in the day, i was kind of regretting it because i had this feeling that it's a grind was going to open up and finally call me, but then i drove by after school and found that they've made almost NO progress. then i was like, ok, i guess this is good. plus it's just after school job for a few hours, so it can't be too bad :)
we'll see

i'm off

more later

Wednesday, January 17

the white flag is up

you won't hear me say this very often, but i think i have finally given up.
as i waited for a half hour at the starbucks in the pavillions, sitting and waiting for mark the manager who does the hiring, and while my head was pounding and my fever rising, i told myself that this better be it.
but of course, no. finally he makes his way to me, and the first question was the one that seems to end all my chances of getting a job: "what times are you available?"
contrary to what the lady who encouraged me to apply told me, they are in absolutely no need of workers at that time... they only need workers during the hours i am at school.
so the "interview" lasted 5 minutes, and i walked out to my car.
so, the white flag is up, i am surrendering.
unless this "it's a grind" finally completes its construction and they possibly give me a call, i don't think i am going to waste time getting a job anymore... i mean, i haven't even gotten any calls... the only way i got this "interview" today was by practically hunting this guy down.
okay, my 30 min awake period is over, my body is about to fall asleep.

ta ta

Tuesday, January 16

when nervous, go british?

that was the title i forgot...i know, not really genious, but i'll explain.
when i was talking to the manager, i was a bit nervous, and for some reason i kind of had a british accent...
for example... first thing i said was that i was following up on an application i filled out, and "application" came out more "opplication" and "up" was more of and "op" and so on.
so instead of stuttering, i was british-ing. weird.

my title was genious

i had the most genious idea for the title of this post after i was leaving pavillions, on the way to my car. but of course, due to the amount of other "stuff" filling my head, i forgot it.
so i went to pavs, and talked to the manager, but the guy that does the hiring still wasn't there! so instead i talked to the manager steve for a bit, and he told me he was super glad i came and introduced myself in person and told me that there were about 60 other highschoolers applying for that time slot, and then again he told me he was glad i came in person. he told me to come back tomorrow and talk to mark (the hiring guy) and then keep coming in after that.
did you know that smiling surpresses the gag reflexes? it does, and so it is a good thing that smiling is good for job stuff.
well, i am going to sleep again... my head is killing me.

ta ta

take one, pass it on

that's been the theme of this place lately...
take a flu germ, get sick, then pass it on.
this flu is kicking my butt like major. ugh.
i'm praying for at least a one hour break from this thing because i have to go to pavillions today for my job interview thing! yikes


ciao

today was filled with bombs

i went and saw a movie entitled "children of men" with some gal pals of mine... interesting movie... not sure if i'd give it too strong of a recommendation. i will say that it was a british film, and being british, there were a lot of f-bombs being dropped all over the place. otherwise, interesting, that's what i'll say. we went to coffee afterwards and hung out just having a good time... fun stuff.
i got home to a pleasant surprise... sharaova was in the 3rd set of her first round match, and it was looking not so pretty for her... she was up 5-0 in the third, and this other gal climbed her way back to 5 all! oh, and as if i hadn't heard the f-bomb enough times in the movie, after a call made by the ump that sharaova disliked very much, she walked up to the umpire and said "you have to be * kidding me." :O i now dislike sharapova even more. you do NOT say that to the umpire. she should have gotten a warning, but no.
then 24 tonight!!!! (skip this paragraph for those who haven't seen it yet!!!!!)ahhh, so intense!!! a nuclear bomb exploded!! crazy intense stuff, so yes, that was another bomb dropped tonight.

well, i hope you all are well...
unfortunately, i think i may be catching what my dad has had for the past few days, and now would be a VERY bad time to get sick... it's the week before finals, and there is much to do :(

sleepy time for me

buenas noche

Monday, January 15



that is a picture of andy holding the trophy because he was the winner in a tournament this past weekend before the austrailian open which started today...

who did he beat in the final?

ROGER FEDERER!!!!!!

way to go andy!

he's gonna kick butt down under

Saturday, January 13




today was the BIG calvin vs hope basketball game!!! i can't even begin to tell you how big this rivalry is... it was voted the biggest rivalry in div III sports, and the 4th biggest rivalry over all by ESPN. so yes, it's huge.



so me and 4 other of my friends that'll most likely also be going to calvin went to a party thrown by some alumni where they all gather to watch the game at a resturaunt in long beach. being future calvin students, we were a little younger than everyone else, but that's okay. when we got there, we had to fill out name tags and put our names on sheet that said who we were and what year we "graduated", or in our case, will graduate. we were laughing at "2011" and just couldn't get over how funny it was to us... 2011... wierd. so i scanned my name tag for you to see.


so the game was on satelite for the second time in history (calvin's sports rarely get televised nationally.. very rarely). so that was big... as was the screen we watched it on (we were at a sports bar/grill). as the game went on, the alumni passed out some free towels, cups, and programs... we loved getting all this free cool calvin merchandise!!! we ordered our food and just had a great time watching the game and hanging out.


the game was so incredible! so much intensity, and it was SO SO SO close!!! calvin was up at halftime after a series of 3-pointers that helped them get back in to the game, however, very sadly, after a super tight and super intense second half, hope ended up on top by 3 points :(


i have to say that throughout the whole game, we were screaming and cheering so loudly! the room came alive when calvin made a big rebound or a big 3 pointer--the calvin fans outnumbered the hope fans at the resturaunt. and it looked like it was crazy at calvin, seeing all the maroon and gold in the stands jumping around and going crazy...


ahh, the fun of school pride (even though we aren't even at the school yet :)


so here's a pic of us at the place, holding up our free calvin towels!!!

Friday, January 12

What a fun otter. This little dude was in one of the sea world shows that we saw. How many kids do you think wanted a pepsi after the show?
James 4:13-15 (NIV)

Boasting About Tomorrow

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

my learned lesson of the day.

Thursday, January 11

I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU


so if you haven't noticed, i have been typing random (but safe!) things and then adding ".com" to the end to see where i can go.
now, imagine getting to this page after about 15 minutes of trying random things:


would you not freak out?
i couldn't stop laughing for like 10 minutes.
but it's funny because i have ended the search... i have completed my conquest.


Wednesday, January 10

Tuesday, January 9

slumber party... minus the party, and well, minus the slumber too

let me begin by giving you a heads up that i have haven't had any sleep since 7am monday morning... that is correct, not a single wink of sleep for me last night. no, i was not working on some project that i procrastinated on although that would be most likely. for some reason, i just couldn't sleep. i tried reading, the computer, music, none of it would put me to sleep. twas very strange... like i said in the title... a slumber party without the party or the slumber, but who ever sleeps at slumber parties?
anyway, i ended up at school at 7 am (after i went to starbucks for a green tea caffiene boost) and had praise practice, and of course that is when i began to become sleepy. the caffiene kicked in and then towards the end of 3rd period, i began to slow down. i was practically asleep during 4th period (don't worry, it's not a class i slept through, just t.a.). and then at lunch i totally perked up again, and now i feel like i could go run a few miles... which i am actually considering.
interesting.

so, news on the courtesy clerk job at pavillions (aka bagger and cart collector). i talked to the manager and he said that the guy who does the hiring is on vacation and will be back on this coming tuesday. he told me to come in and introduce my self when this guy gets back.
but til then, i must wait.
and i must say that patience is not a virtue that i would consider myself good at.

how about a 5 oclock bedtime tonight!!!
sounds peachy keen to me

amen bien

Monday, January 8

paper or plastic?

so i had temporarily abandoned the job hunt, but i was reminded of it today, and it had been on my mind all day. after school, jenny and i went over to pavillions to get post-lunch, and while waiting in the check out, i noticed it was taking a long time even though we were in the express check. i looked around to see hardly any workers. so i began to talk to jenny of my frustrations in the job world while we were waiting, and i could tell the check out lady was kind of listening. so after i paid, i curiously asked, "are you guys..." and before i could spit the word out the lady was nodding her head "yes" very excitedly and said that they were understaffed at this time (after school, the only time i am really available). so she told me to apply online and then call in.
so i got home, and that is exactly what i did. after i applied, i called in and left a message and the lady said that the manager would call me sometime today.
i think i may have finally found a job!
so all you pavillion shoppers, you just might see me bagging your groceries or pushing carts around in the parking lot...
lets hope the call comes and hope that i get an interview...
oh, the interview. i've never had a job interview before... i'm kinda scared...
okay, one step at a time.

:)

Sunday, January 7

a) idiot b) utterly confused c) dummy

the answer is c) dummy.
here's why:

it was about 2:oo in the afternoon, and i'd just gotten back from a birthday party for a little buddy of mine who just turned 1. fun stuff. and to follow up that fun, i had decided to get at my calculus homework. it had been waiting for me in the back of my car since school got out that afternoon more than two weeks ago. so i dragged my backpack in and sat in my chair and pulled out my worksheet. i read the first problem:
an object moves along the x-axis with initial position x(0)=2. The velocity of the object at time t>0 is given by v(t)=sin(t*pi/3). what is the acceleration of the object at time t=4?
I read it again... and again... and then a fourth time. I didn't get it, so i went to the next problem, but didn't get that one either. I needed some serious help because i couldn't understand any of the problems!
You know those books you always see at the bookstore that are yellow and always make you chuckle... you know, the "something and what-not for dummies." or the orange ones, "idiot's guide to whatever." I've heard they were good, so i decided to make a trip to the bookstore.
When i got to borders, i looked around trying to figure out where exactly these books would be. I half expected to see a big sign that said "dummy books here," but there wasn't one. instead i headed to the refrence section. I checked under "foreign language" because that's exactly what calculus is. to my surprise, it wasn't there. after much searching, i found the math help books in the science section, in the same aisle as "self help." i first looked for the dummies book, but didn't find it. i found the idiot's guide to calculus, and next to it was a book titled Calculus for the Utterly Confused. So i grabbed both and, being the sitter that i am, i sat down to compare both books and leaned back on the the self help book shelf. I started reading through both and found myself really frustrated because 1) calculus stinks 2)neither of these books were that good and 3)calculus stinks. out of the frustration that brewed, i started to hit my head on the self-help book shelf, and of course, due to my disturbing the bookshelf, a book slid off and fell on to my head and then to the floor. it was paperback, so it didn't hurt. before returning the book to its place on the shelf, i realized that it was an orange idiot's guide book. i checked to see which one it was, and no joke, it was The Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination. No joke. Dead serious. Now, God sure does have a sense of humor because if any of you know me at all, you would know that procrastination is one of my biggest strengths, i mean weaknesses. I couldn't help but look up and laugh at life's irony and actually almost considered buying the book. However, i ended up putting all three books back and went off to barnes and noble in long beach to find the Dummies book. Not only was it better than these books, but it also wasn't as harsh as "idiot," so i would feel better buying it.
I found the Calculus for Dummies rather easily at Barnes, and glanced through it to see that indeed it was a better book.
So now i am home, and have managed to procrastinate a bit more by sharing this story with you all. However, the story ends here, and I am afraid that I, the dummy, must begin reading and hopefully begin understanding the language of calculus.

Ciao for now.

down by the sea

yesterday night we made a kind of spontanious decision to go to sea world today!!! i convinced my parents and jenny to go because right now it is buy a day and get the year free! sweet deal!
it was so awesome, and i've got some good stories, pics, and videos, but i am very tired right now so i will save them for tomorrow (i went and played tennis after we got home tonight!)

i love sea world!

Friday, January 5

get thee to the getty

yo fui al museo de getty hoy.
first of all, i made the big mistake of putting all my sweatshirts and jackets in the wash at the same time about a half-hour before i left for the museum. so, i had nothing warm to wear.
my friend also forgot her jacket, and when we arrived, it was stinking cold. oh, and not to mention... i have been really looking forward to the tram ride up to the museum, but when we arrived, the lady (not the phantom) of the tollbooth said that the tram was feeling sick today and was not running. yes, she talked of the tram as if it were a 5 year old child. and like a 5 year old child, i was super bummed, as if my favorite ride at disneyland (peter pan) were closed for the day. i got over it and we were soon distracted by the immense cold and the constant wind attacking us while we waited in a super long line for the buses to shuttle us up to the museum.
side story: can you guys believe how windy it was last night??? it was incredible!. i almost stayed awake all night because i enjoyed listening to it, and we hardly get that kind of wind around here. i seriously thought my windows would shatter because the wind was so strong... crazy!
back to the getty.
i saw that they had a photography exhibit called "where we live, photographs of america" and we decided to go to that exhibit. (by the way, we went to the museum b/c we had a museum visit project to do for school). anyway, the exhibit was really cool, and i wanted to buy the book that had all the pictures in it, but as i turned the book to see the cost, i laughed and grabbed a postcard instead. anyway, it was a really cool exhibit with lots of awesome photos, and i recommend you guys go see it (seeing how admission is FREE, $8 parking fee and $8 pasta aside... pack a lunch if you go, at least i will next time).
so we survived the cold and had a good time. my first trip to the getty, ya know.

here comes the weekend!

i just remembered...

i was just reading my friend's blog and saw a pic of the hollywood sign, and then i remembered something i forgot to tell you guys!
remember when i went to beverly hills last thursday? well, on our way there, in the far off distance in the hills, was the hollywood sign. i got a quick glance at it.
you know what? in the 17 years of me living in california, that is the first time that i have seen the hollywood sign in person (i'd seen it on tv and in pictures of course.) and even then, i could hardly see it since it was so far.
i do hope to see it a bit closer some day.
but ya, i just wanted to mention that since it was a pretty big deal for me.

Thursday, January 4

another day here and gone

well, my third and final attempt, and i finally get to watch some editing of a movie production that my uncle is a part of (he's acting in/co-producing it). anyway, this place had three editing suites, and the main one was gorgeous. i was just about drooling when i saw this editing set-up. it was a ton of fun to watch this guy edit for a few reasons. well first of all, all they were doing today was having all the actors come in to work on ADRs, which is basically voice-overs where the camera didn't pick up the audio well when they first filmed the scenes. so it was mainly audio stuff today. this may sound bad or something, but this was really exciting for me... when i watched this guy, i knew exactly all that he was doing. in fact, i would look at what he was doing, see what he was trying to do, and then cover my mouth to make sure i didn't say anything because i was there as a body, a pure observer. after 5 minutes with my hand on my mouth, he would finally do what i had in my mind to do. this happened a few times, and i dunno, it just made me feel good... i dunno.
so that was quite an experience.
after i got home (about 30 minutes ago because i hung out with my cousins and my aunt and uncle for dinner) i saw that i got a card in the mail (which is rare for me). anyway, it was my room mate from tennis in hawaii who lives in wisconsin!!! i was so stoked! we've been keeping in contact through email, but then i accidentally erased my addresses back when i changed compys, and so i couldn't email her anymore. but alas, a card came and she wrote her email address. it was so good to hear from her. keeping in touch is fun... it's hard, but it's fun.
funny thing: the card was a christmas card, and this morning i found a little christmas surprise waiting for me on the porch, so i started and ended the day with a little bit of christmas, after christmas...
psh, and people say the holiday season is over!

my new year's resolution: listen more... to everyone and everything...
you'd be surprised what you can learn when you just open up your ears...
so, if you've got a story to tell or something to say, i want to listen :)

Monday, January 1

my first night of 2007 and i am already BORED OUT OF MY MIND
tennis was the only productive thing i've done today. everybody has new years plans for tonight... which honestly, i don't quite understand... i thought all the celebrating was done on new years eve... maybe i'm just not much of a partier... psh, you party animals.
AND golden spoon is closed today!! super bummed.
at least i'm not sick anymore, that's nice.
k
it's 8:10, and i will figure out something to do...
hopefully.
arrideverci

2007

beinvenido a 2007!
so what could be better than playing four sets of tennis like i did on christmas eve???
playing FIVE sets of tennis on New years!!!
and i have to say, it was a lot of fun.
i have to interrupt to tell you what just happened: my brother just yelled up the stairs to me, "cristina, why do we have caribou meat? as in caribou, the animal from africa." i explained to my little, i mean big brother that caribou comes from alaska, not africa. he learns something new everyday.
so yes, i played tennis today. oh, and i'm loving the pig tail thing... totally works for tennis :)
not much else to say except i can't think of anything to do right now.
so, i'm going to go think now...

ciao

2006

alright, the clock is ticking, and 2006 is coming to an end.

i finally had plans for new years, but this morning when i woke up, i felt super sick. i basically slept the day away, migrating from sofa to bed, bed to sofa. i have been struggling to stay awake this late, but i think i might make it.

before i go any further, i must say that my year was longer than your guys'. seriously. i started 2006 in tokyo, japan, where they are 16 hours ahead... i began the year before you guys. however, i am ending it in california. so, my year has been 16 hours longer than all of yours. so, i think that is why i am so tired :)
so, what did i do with my extra 16 hours this year???
well, this year has been huge! SO much has happened, and so much has changed. i am so grateful to God for all He has done this year, and i am so excited to see what next year holds. a lot of growing went on this year... not necessarily physically though.... actually, i think i have finally hit 5'7", so i guess i grew that way :) i'm not going to go in to detail because i could go on and on, but i hope you get the point.
i have enjoyed all my times with friends and family this year, and i look forward to more of them this next year.
blessings to all your new year, and with 10 minutes to go until midnight, i am going to go find the tape so i can tape my eyes open.

so, happy new year from the big kid :)