Monday, December 31, 2001

wifey on the news

on a news report about ppl going to tahoe for new years...

reporter : "how do you plan to spend your new years?"
stephanie: "with lots of alcohol..."

geez steph, i didn't realize you loved alcohol so much... hahahaha... why is it you never drink with the family, huh? anywho, Happy New Years everybody and be sure to live it up stephanie style "with lots of alcohol" or not... peace on earth and good will toward men...

Happy New Year's Eve

originally the plan for new years was going up to irvine to celebrate with hai, but apparently her roommates had a different plan in mind. instead of staying in irvine they've decided to head down in my direction to party in the gaslamp quarter in downtown san diego. guess it works out for the best considering that sonnier told me tonight he didn't think he would be able to make it up with me. in addition to all my cousins were giving me a hard time for apparently trying to ditch them again at another family function. like mayrin allows says "everything happens for a reason"... the fates must be telling me that this new years i should spend it with family.

just finished watching Harry Potter and now i'm really interested in reading the books... if the movie is similar to book, as i've heard from the critics, i can see why the books are so popular amongst kids. hopefully i'll get to finish it before school starts up again. unlike my dear friend angeline to who managed to get hooked on the series right in the middle of finals week. =P hahaha...

Sunday, December 30, 2001

last night i went clubbing at E Street Alley with my good friends Hazel, Sonnier, Hai, and Wendy... it's been the first time i've been clubbing since turning 21 in october. the atmoshpere and club in general was better than i was expecting considering the clubs i've been to in san diego were all pretty ghetto and booty... so it was ncie to be in a club was as actually a club versus to some of the holes-in-the-walls i've been to. one thing i noticed immediately while dancing is that it sucks being a guy in a club without anyone to dance with... further emphasizes the fact that i really don't have the balls to go up to girls and just ask them to dance. case in point, my friend hazel and wendy seemed to be attracting these fobby guys throughout the night. there was one in particular that seemed to not get the hint they weren't interested in dancing with him. at first he was standing off to the side just scanning the floor to see if there were any single girls dancing and then spotting hazel and wendy dancing together he decided to make his move. which is one thing i really don't get... do girls really like it when a stranger comes up behind them and starts freaking them? because apparently a lot of guys assume so. so yeah, this fobby girl in a red silk shirt decides to start dancing behind wendy. my friend hazel starts laughing out loud and pulls wendy away from this guy and they try dancing a little farther away from the guy. this obviously means my friend hazel wanted to dance with him so he decided to start freaking her as well... being the polite girl she is hazel decided to make a run for the bathroom... anywho, if i were that guy i think that would be my clue to leave them alone... however, that guy just would not leave them alone throughout the night... about every 30 minutes he would find our group and try to dance with one of the single girls... i have to give that guy some credit for being persistant... but yeah, definitely the clubbing scene isn't for me unless i have someone to dance with... just made me realize i have this insane fear of rejection...hmmmm... maybe i should look into an arranged marriage =)

Saturday, December 29, 2001

just finished rendering my trip to disneyland from the summer... the editting to film ratio is crazy... i worked for about 4 hours to to produce less than 10 minutes of footage... it was worth it though, now that it's digital it will never fade in quality... *yawn*... should i go clubbing tonight still or what? i'm in need of a power nap...
where's school?

sitting at my desk i've come to realize i really want school to be here already... granted having this break is great, but without a job or anything else constructive to do for the time being i'm stuck being a bum at home. i have finally gotten around to being the filipino spielburg with my video camera and i have a couple of projects i'm working... so much for shooting my mah jong movie over winter break... argh... anywho, calling all screenwriters, actors, and actresses! i'm currently looking for people to help me put together a short, around 10 min, film about mah jong... i'm looking for it to be pretty funny so if any of you have ideas pls feel free to submit them... i was thinking of maybe doing a spoof on the E! True Hollywood Stories and do one on my mah jong crew, the Triple K... still need script ideas though... hopefully i can get this project done before i graduate...
morning everybody! actually it's noon time and i'm finally up... who's in the mood for dim sum? mmmmmmm... well, heading back home home to finish up some errands and get the rest of my clothes...
well, i finally finished a couple of things i've been meaning to do over break... i finally finished editting my CTY videos from the summer... i just installed the new windows xp and so now it's a lot easier to work with the editting software... the computer doesn't crash every 15 minutes like it used to. watching the video brought back such wonderful memories of the summer... i was motivated enough to fill out the returner application for this summer although it's unlikely i'll have to time to come back. it's really about time i leave the never never land of CTY. really hard to explain what goes on during the summer... something you just have to experience because it honestly goes beyond just being a camp counselor...

while i was christmas shopping i ran into one of my good friends from high school... turns out he's transferring over to a school in kansas to play football... perhaps the funniest part about running into him was seeing where he works. where do you think you'd find a guy with a scholarship to play football work? at sport chalet, GNC, or maybe 24 hour fitness? he actually works in sephora... yeah that's right... the perfume, colonge, and make-up store... nevertheless, he is still the tall and dorky guy i remember from high school... best of luck to you Andrew!

anywho, trying to live it up for the rest of vacation... needless to say this coming year is really going to test me... the cable guy finally cut the cable while i was out... i already miss not having the extended cable, but considering i'll hardly be home to watch it next quarter i could really care less about it... besides i can always go over to either of my family's homes to watch some tv if i desired... *yawn* i shouldn't have taken that nap...i'm finally getting sleepy at 3 in the morning... need to work on this sleep cycle thing... going clubbing tomorrow which should be lots of fun! woo hoo! =)

Thursday, December 27, 2001

back at home

back in the apartment to finally sleep in my own bed. when i moved out of the house my little brother moved into my room thus leaving me with no bed when i come home to spend the night...but it's all good... it's nice to fall asleep in front of the tv... a leisurely activity i don't get to do during the quarter all too often...christmas night i stayed up late in front of the the big screen tv and just watched tv till the early morning hours... even got to watch some episodes of i love lucy which i haven't watched since the summer... tonight i'll be sleeping my own bed... decided to come back to the apartment to finish some stuff with the computer and get a little bit of mcat stuff outta the way... unfortunately, i left my mcat books and tooth brush at home... =/ had to brush my teeth with my finger and ended up just playing around in the apartment... despite the relaxing atmosphere of being by myself in the apartment, it's soooooo lonely without anyone to talk to... come home now roomies! i miss you!!!! luckily for me though i'll always have phil and mayrin around to keep me company. in fact, when i was about to call it a night, phil called and stopped by the apartment on his way back from his family trip to las vegas...

while i was thinking about how shitty this coming quarter is going to be i decided to start documenting my madness as a pre-med student... i've started a new blog totally devoted to my academic struggles, accomplishments and the craziness which will consume my life... check out my 5 year plan..

anywho, tomorrow going off to julian to play in the snow, eat apple pies, and just relax with friends... =)

Tuesday, December 25, 2001

Merry Christmas

christmas is upon us now and after weeks of anticipation it's finally arrived! my family traditionally celebrates on christmas eve with a big family party and midnight mass and afterwards opening the gifts! this year was a little different in lots of respects. probably the most notable it that we don't have a christmas tree... when we first moved to the united states my mom and dad invested in a fake plastic tree. being young and naive i thought our tree was awesome; it was tall, majestic, and beautiful. i remember getting very excited and giddy when my dad would take the box down from the attic and we'd all hep decorate the tree. we'd take out all my mom's favorite ornaments like the bushels of fake apples and the ornate glass balls with glitter and the old clay ornaments me and my little brother made in elementary school. but as the years went on though the tree seemed to be growing smaller and not as pleasing as a real tree. by 9th grade i told my parents that our old ratty christmas tree needed to be donated to the smithsonian because it was so old and antiquated. well two years ago my dad donated our old very fake looking christmas tree to his fraternity where it enjoys it's new life as the lodge's christmas tree. so why not just buy a new christmas tree? well, the main reason we no longer have a christmas tree is because we honestly don't have anymore room for it... my house is literally filled with people and furniture which really no more room for anything new... yeah, it's sad not having a christmas tree to put all the presents under, but nevertheless christmas is always great with family!

Saturday, December 22, 2001

morning sunshines! actually it's already 5pm but i just woke up from a very great nap... i usually dream the most vivid during naps and this session was no exception...

i was living in an apartment in la mesa with a couple of strangers when we can to the realization that someone was out to kill us... our room (mine and david's) in the la mesa apart was different yet familiar... you know what i mean... but the one thing that stood out from it was the fact the my swords were hanging just they are in my room... anywho, the reason we when someone was out to kill us was because someone had actually moved my swords in an attempt to steal on of them... like in the game Perfect Dark i waiting in the room for the killer to strike. i had one sword in each hand and stood with the perfect kata stance.... a man walks in and i pound him with my sword until it cracks over his head... then i realize it was someone else, not the killer... perhaps this means i shouldn't run to conclusions so easily...

dream number two takes place in a restaurant with a bunch of friends... the most striking part of this dream was that my friend Sonnier was wearing a cowboy hat, a white shoulder length wig, and had only one purple contact in his eye he looked exactly like a member of the korean group H.O.T. which is a group i know sonnier doesn't like very much... the cowboy hat part is probably due to the fact the last time i was talking to him he was telling me how his hip-hop dance group wants everyone to dress up cowboy and that cowboy hats are hella expensive... anywho, enough dream analysis off to finish christmas shopping i think i have the perfect gift in mind for my roomie...

right now i'm just taking a lunch break before i go out for another shopping excursion... one more person left on my list =) i went out to all the little stores in clairemont in hopes of finding the perfect gift but to no avail... i'm actually pretty proud of the fact that i didn't buy anything for myself while christmas shopping... i was so tempted to get a new camera and mini disc player... luckily all the clerks were busy because if someone was there to help me i'm sure that i'd be enjoying my brand new sony minidisc player...

day two on my own and the apt is so lonely knowing that no one will be coming home tonight... but i still don't want to go back home... i'd rather postpone the drama with my family as soon as possible... although ever since i've moved out my parents have gotten a lot more bearable... anywho, cooking for myself has reaffirmed my belief that eating is definitely a social activity... cooking for one is also not as fun as cooking for my friends and roomies... you'd think with me being on vacation i'd have plenty of time to get everything i want done... where does all the time go? granted sleeping in till 2pm doesn't help my situation out... haven't been able to study for the mcats like i wanted to or visit the gym everyday like i said... guess i'm stuck with my belly... =P with everybody gone i've decided to move the tv into my room which means now the only rooms i walk into are the kitchen and boy's room... it's elevated my plane of laziness.. i can now play on the computer, eat, and watch tv all in the same room now! woo hoo... i'm trying to enjoy this as much as possible considering the next quarter is going to be tough... even more tough than i had originally antcipated.. for once in my life i'm seriously scared shitless about school this coming quarter... i don't want to hear about anyone's "crappy" schedule because i doubt they can compare to school 7 days a week... well, off to enjoy my vacation to the fullest... Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Friday, December 21, 2001

Lucky Christmas

when i come home to visit i can expect that somethings have changed or that my family has added something or bought something new, but this week i was totally surprised to find a brand new addition to the family... no, i don't have a brand new little brother or sister... but a brand new pet... well, not pet technically... actually i dunno how you'd describe it but we now have a resident bunny living on our lawn. my family named the bunny Lucky because the little guy was lucky enough to live after a very brutal attack. although we don't really know what happened, we're assuming a dog attacked him, the right side of Lucky's head is totally scarred and in fact was biten straight to the skull. he's actually missing a big chunk of muscle starting from his eye down close to his nose. at first i thought it was so sad to look at the little guy with half his face nearly destroyed... in fact, when i little brother went to pet him for the first time he jumped back because from his left side he looks totally normal... he's like the phantom of the opera with his face horribly misfigured that when revealed scares you at first, but afterwards you look past it... he seems quite content hopping on our lawn and munching on my mom's miniture roses. there's something inherently beautiful in this little black bunny... from one side you'd never be able to tell that he was attacked and from another you can see his scarred body and yet he lives his life to the fullest enjoying everything that life has to offer him... a lesson we should all take note of.

Thursday, December 20, 2001

new year's cheers and jeers

the apartment is lonesome and quiet tonight... i'm the only one left in the apartment this winter break. david is back at home home doing double time at A&F and Banana Republic, Jas is also home in LA, and steph who is still in San Diego is back home home with her moms. the coming of 2002 will definitely bring about some changes, some good and some not so good...

so as i looked into steph and jas's room and i saw all of steph's walls bare and boxes packed it made me realize the short time we both shared together. it made me realize what a great friend i'll be losing to new zealand. so many good times and yet so many more to experience with steph it's hard to believe that she'll be moving out this weekend. i dunno i really can't express into words properly how much i'm gonig to miss you roomie... really don't know what more to say but i really wish i could've spent more time with you! if we could relive the summer again i would... roomie dinners, working out, and long chats...*sigh*... you definitely will be missed...

Tuesday, December 18, 2001

gotta love the simpons

"marge, kids everything is going to fine... go up stairs and pack your bags. we'll start a new life under the sea~"
*under the sea parody*
"homer! that's your solution to everything, to move under the sea. it's not going to happen..."
"not with that attitude..."

Monday, December 17, 2001

untitled

i did manage to fall asleep at a decent hour tonight, around 12 midnight... at about 3:45 am was when i woke up though... my body is still trying to get used to sleeping early and sleeping throughout the whole night... i kinda feel like an infant being up after only about 4 hours of sleep... to my surprise as i woke up i found that i roomie steph had left me my christmas presents! woo hoo... my friends know me so well it's almost cliche.. she got me a mini zen rock garden and bonsai kit. thanks roomie! =D the presents are also partly the reason i couldn't fall back asleep. i went to go get a drink of water when i found them on my desk and as i was laying there in bed i just couldn't stop thinking about how i wanted to get started on the bonsai tree. hahahaha..yeah yeah, i'm a dork... anywho, turns out it'll take about a week of waiting before the seeds will even be ready for me to put into the plant. didn't realize how much time it took to raise a bonsai tree.. especially since this particular tree is advertised as being a mini-tree, you'd think it would be ready to go... hopefully the tree will provide me with some much needed stress relief this coming school year... . i also have a gift from hai which i was instructed not to open but i'm really tempted to see what she got me... after shaking it i think it's a bottle of cologne, but i'm not sure which one... i really just want to take a peek and look... i'm really horrible at this waiting for christmas thing... that's the danger in giving me my gift and telling me not to open it until christmas... i have yet to develope the patience to wait... hence the reason my credit card bill is so high... i need that instant gratification or at least if i can't open it know what it is i'm getting... *yawn* okie getting tried again... i'll try to get back to sleep...

Saturday, December 15, 2001

hello
the doctor speaks

just something about reading other pople's blogs gives me the inspiration to blog myself. well, this blog is in regards to the ongoing debate started amongst phil, stef... and now david ... basically steph and david are arguing against the use of medicine to treat their illnesses. although i'm not a doctor (yet) i still feel i have the obligation to provide my view on this...

none of your over-the-counter flu, cold, cough medications are supposed to provide you with 100% relief or even cure you for that matter... they are simply there to lessen the severity of your illness for the time the medicine is in your system. this merely gives your body a chance to fight the off the infection. biologically, steph and david may have good immune systems and i'll let the two slide without taking medicine for their cold or flu because honestly the only thing they can really do is treat the individual symptoms like coughing, aches, or fever and sweat it out... however i really can't advocate the this "no medicine for me view"... i defy either of them to try and fight a strep throat or bronchitis infection without the aid of medicine...we're also at our peak physical state which means we will get sick less often and recover faster because our immune system is more able to fight off infections... but by not finishing off your antibiotics you're providing that window of antiobiotic resistance to the bacteria that made you sick in the first place. the problem i have with that is although you may not have gotten sick from that bacteria, but you can pass on those antibiotic resistant bugs to someone else making making them sick with a strain of bacteria resistant to medicine...making it harder to treat. especially sucks if you pass on that infection to a little baby whose immune system isn't at full speed and presribed antibiotics don't work... not only does medicine help you from getting sick but it helps stop the spread of disease to others. as for the sickness being mental david i'll give you some credit for it because it has been documented, but there is a biological basis on which every illness occurs... each and every sickness can be pinpointed to a physical cause of some sort... if you can give yourself a runny nose by thinking about it then you'll make me a believer... until then, if any of your are sick go take your medicine you'll get better a lot faster! okie enough of this because i'm getting all fired up...

in relation to modern medicine i've decided to persue becoming an EMT (emergency medical technician) for the summer which means i'll be going to school every saturday starting in january... looks like my social calendar has been totally wiped clean... but honestly, i'm really excited about doing this... it's the same feeling i get whenever i watch ER. it's the excitement and rush of dealing with emergencies that really gets me. plus, it'll look awesome on my med school applications! =) can't wait! check back in february when i'm bitching about all the hard work... you'll have permission to slap me upside the head then...

Thursday, December 13, 2001

Urban Renewal

ever since we moved into the apartment we've been telling david that his turtles need a better home than their tiny little plastic aquarium. i donated my old 10 gallon one for the cause of better living... well, although in a much bigger house his turtles basically swam all day and lacked any good resting places to stay dry. david last week tried to make their living situation a little more fun by giving them a turtle playground... it's not like turtles are very picky about where they live or play, but i highly doubt playing in trash and old plastics bowls was doing much for their happiness. it took nearly 3 hours and approxiately 300 pennies to completely upgrade what was once basically the turtle ghetto... today marked their very first day in their newly reburbished living environment. i went out to the beach today to collect huge rocks and also stopped by the pet store to pick up a couple of companions for the turtles. now the turtles are living it up with a rock slide and their very own dry rock patio. i also made a little cave for the little minnows i bought for the tank. although i can't speak turtle it does look like they really like their new home. the moment i put them in they began swimming around exploring their new place and the big one even did a belly flop off the rock slide! the next addition will probably be some plants for the fish since i have a feeling the turtles may not want to have their news friends around for awhile. serious though, i really can't wait for david to see the transformation.. i really hope he likes it =)

turtle paradise rocked by 7 deaths

Coroner's Report: Dr. Reggie T Saldivar
What began as the unsuspecting death of 3 minnows has blown up into an epidemic which has lead to the death of the entire minnow population of turtle paradise. The first 3 minnows were found dead at the bottom of the tank at approximately 3pm. Reports indicated the cause of death of these three to be most likely due to stress and malnutrition. They were buried at sea afterwards. 3 hours later a report came back of 4 more deaths. 2 of which were found floating near the rock patio and the other 2 which died together were found in Lover's Cave. Autopsies revealed no struggle or blunt trauma. Further investigations point to chemical shock as the source of death in all 4 cases. After their bodies were removed the water was treated with dechlorinate. According to my estimates the area should can be reinhabitated in as little 2 hours.

god bless their little souls.

Tuesday, December 11, 2001

the most wonderful time of the year...

today marks the official start of winter break for us UCSD heads... the family went to send off mommy on her family cruise to Mexico... the kids and i played in LA till late and just arrived now... although there's a party going on at armando's i'm just in the mood to sit around and relax... time to fill out applications for winter work and send out my CTY returner app. david's gone back home and it's a weird feeling to not see him typing away at the computer as i step into the room...it's nice and lonely at the same time...it's time to take a hot shower and catch up on some zee's.

Saturday, December 08, 2001

take a bow

finals week has finally come to a smooth and happily uneventful conclusion.... time now to think about what lies ahead for me this year...

in terms of med school prep, this winter break means i'll have the extra time to devote to studying for the mcats and to get some volunteer experience.... that is if the hospital will just call me back... it's already been 3 weeks since i submitted my application and they still haven't called me back... looks like i'm going to look else where...

in terms of money this will also be the perfext time to get some funds back into my bank account and to start paying off those pesky credit card bills... seriously need to control my spending... definitely my new year's resolution will be to stop spending money i don't have...

in terms of myself i'll finally get to attend the Nike Culture Shock dance classes that i've been wanting to go to since october... i will also be trying, emphasis on trying, to hit the gym everyday in order to get rid my soft little gut...

along with this vacation it means the end is near for the La Cima apartment... not that we're breaking apart, just that we'll soon be losing a roomie by the end of the month and daivd will be gone till january... steph will be heading off to spend time at home after this month before heading on a grand adventure to study abroad in new zealand. words can't describe how much i'll miss her... and perhaps it's a little too early to be saying my goodbyes considering it won't be for another 2 months... in regards to missing roomies david will be heading back home to work at A&F for the rest of winter break... although this means i'll have the room all to myself it also means i won't be to see him everyday, joke around, or even be anonoyed by his snoring which are all things i'll miss... guess that means i'll be filling in the void with busy work, playing with the kids, and studying which in all should take up a lot of time as is... anywho, it's time to break open the korbel, play some mah jong, and enjoy my break...

Thursday, December 06, 2001

almost done

well, i just finished my genetics final... the the one i devoted all of saturday and wednesday for only to find myself struggling to breathe... it's quite sad considering the test was open notes. not granted i'm probably blowing everything out of proportion, but still when i left that i final i had that feeling of "well, at least yer done..." and not the "yeah, i so kicked that final's ass...". seriously, this quarter as much as i tried to buckle down i don't really know how much it helped... honestly, what more do i have to sacrifice to get those damn straight As??!? next quarter just lock me in a box and shuttle me between classes... =P

Tuesday, December 04, 2001

study break

what's worse than finals week? being sick during finals week... *cough* in fact, my roomie steph was right..."you study so hard you make yourself sick"... what at first started off as a stratchy throat has gotten into aches and pains all over. now i'm left trying to find off this nasty infection while at the same time learning about what caused it for my bacteriology final. perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this whole situation is that fact that i've been studying for such long stretches of time these past couple of days, 8-10 hours at a time, that these 2 hours of review seem like 1st grade handwriting practice.

done

i've finished studying for both my tuesday finals... i doubt i can put any more information into my brain nor do i wish to. time to get some much needed and deserved right... my poor body is begging for a break... GOOD SKILL to everyone this week.

Monday, December 03, 2001

final's week thinking

why is it during finals week, the week i should be studying my hardest, i can be found doing everything else other than studying? and on top of that my mind is racing at 100 mph thinking about academics and the rest of my life? perhaps it's just this time of the quarter... it requires the most energy and so everything else in my life gets sucked into the vortex... on top of studying i've managed to rearrange my desk, do my laundry, cook, clean, and visit my family at home... this morning while i was driving home from the library i was amazed at the fact i was able to cram 10 weeks of academic school work into less than 24 tiny little hours. think about it, in theory we could go through an entire quarter within a week and graduate from college in less time it takes those people enrolled at Devry to get their degree in Dental Assistant, Electrical, Plumbing, High School Diploma, etc, etc, etc... i have a feeling this quarter will be litmus test of my study habits... i'll admit there were times where i ditched class and played, but there were also times where i did some hardcore studying... depending on my grades this quarter, it'll show me if this balancing act i've perfected is effective...

recently i've noticed my life paralleling that of APSA high school conference skits... i find myself studying to the point where i get sick for the sole purpose of not only making the grades for med school but demonstrating to my parents that the money their spending isn't going to waste. the other day when i got home to check for any mail that had arrived i found that my princeton review class had sent me all the necessary paperwork for my upcoming class which included the important tuition bill. let's just say an overwhelming feeling of guilt and indebtness came over me when my parents calmly took the bill and placed it on the fridge to remind them they needed to write the check first thing in the morning... at that point it really dawned on me that my parents are really investing a lot into the future Dr. Saldivar... really makes me grateful to God for all his blessing in giving a family that can provide for me anything and everything i could every want, for blessing me with friends who can get me to relax during one of the most stressful times of the year, and for blessing me with this incredible opprotunity to become what i've aspired to be... despite the stress of this week i'm quite content with my life and everyone who's a part of it...

Sunday, December 02, 2001

Sunday Morning

it's 1:30 am at CLICS... it's finally settled down to a low shuffle of chatter and there are finally some open desks... i came to the library eariler today only to find there was literally no place to sit... i came back at 11 to find only this one computer desk free... i've been reviewing genetics the entire day and still i feel if i took the final now i'd fail, even with the open notes policy... despite the fact this test will be open notes i think it will be by the far the toughest of my finals... i think the added pressure comes from knowing that i'll be going into this final with an A and that i stand to lose that A if i don't kick some ass on this one... *sigh*... not too worried about my other classes... after tonight i won't be able to study for genetics until tuesday so i'm trying to cram as much into my brain as possible... okie back to the books... not outta here till 3 am...