day 1

it's 10:10 pm on the first day of 2010. happy new year. this friday i am sitting on my couch, watching law and order SVU and trying to digest the other half of my yummy late lunch shared with friends.

i would say it would almost be perfect if hubby is sitting next to me giving me a foot massage as i blog away, or maybe just quietly watching from the other side of the couch, but oh well. as rookies in the marriage game, we both have a lot to learn. and tomorrow, we get to spend our first weekend of the new year.

blogging-wise, my 2009 was not as productive. this is not for lack of subjects and events to blog about. au contraire. 2009 was brimming with good stuff, and exciting events.

the most exciting and fulfilling of which was finding a church was set the stage for spiritual growth, meeting friends who feel like family, and the place where i exchanged vows with my love.

before my fingers go on strike from the mush of that last sentence, i'm going to log off and give my full attention to my tv.

see you tomorrow.

33

I turned 33 today. and like birthdays past, I spent a few minutes thinking of my mother. at how things were with her life when she was my age. it always amazes me how simlilar and different we are. at 33, she has three kids aged 16, 15, and 11. She was a single mom earning a living for 3 kids.

as for me, i am thousands of miles away from my mom and brothers. this is my 8th birthday away from them, and although it gets easy, there is till a part of me that wishes i can spend my day with them.

enough of the drama, for this is a day of thanksgiving to God. I am so blessed to be here, year 33, alive, fighting the fight and living with more love for everyone. this birthday is more special because I am in the middle (or 3/4, rather) of my master's degree program, I am engaged to my mahal, and most of all, I am saved.


I went out to lunch with my tutees today. They are an important part of my life. They teach me as much as I teach them. Indeed, the Lord has blessed me with them, because I get to experience the joy of being like a parent to them. I am so proud of them.

jane's ass kicking update

background music : play your part by girl talk

i went out with cleo and we trekked up and down my camp area for an hour. man, whatta workout.

i just finished ironing on t-shirt designs for my comic book writing class. we're such dorks.

tomorrow is lesson two of belly dancing.

let's see what time i wake up tomorrow and find out if i can get up and jog for at least halk an hour...

iggy, may the force be with you.

p.s.

OMG, how can i forget?! i think i might've found the perfect graduate program for moi... excited!!!!

jane should kick my ass already

because the past week i've been caught in a rut. i have not been to curves at all, and i only started walking again yesterday.
and i've been waking up late -- 5:30-6:00 in the mornings.


and i've been drinking too much coconut and vanilla flavored iced coffee (no sugar, just milk) from dunkin donuts
and i've been eating their turkey, bacon and cheddar flatbread sandwich for breakfast for the past two work weeks.


and i've been watching too much jon and kate plus 8 on TLC.

and i just got engrossed in a new chick lit book. meg cabot is hilarious.



and i've been eating mangoes 3x a day.

and i love girltalk's new album.

but don't worry, jane packed us a bag of our workout clothes plus MP3 player so i can run and walk up and down

the hills here in camp later in the afternoon.

the hill here in camp is a great workout. not to mention the many steps in camp. stairmaster my eye.

now if only i can get over my fear of meeting lost wild animals in the area.. i should be good.


and if i can get my ass up early in morning to jog in the boardwalk this weekend, i should be good.

and if i can get to drink my soy milk 2x a day and drink carrot juice and my green icky juice instead of anything from dunkin donuts i'll be good.


crap, i gave up smoking and now i'm an iced coffee addict.


i'll get back to you tomorrow morning and see how it goes.

farewell friday

i just woke up from a buzz courtesy of 2 coronas and the crazy company of some of my fun loving, never boring co workers.
yesterday was one of the most bittersweet days i've had in the middle school. everyone was infected with holiday cheer. it should have been 100% happiness because friday was last day of the year and payday friday, but i was sad because this is officially my last day at the middle school, my home for the past four years.

i look back on things and i realize that i have no regrets about what happened. i had envisioned myself at this time of the year somewhere in canada, crying my eyes out, shivering in the cold, nursing a wounded heart. yet here i am, still in jersey. eyes clear, heart intact -- thanks to the men, women and children of this school who have taught this teacher so much.

i told my friend that at this point i have surrendered myself to the will of God. shocking right? but it's true. i used to pray for the things i want, the things i wish would happen. the past few months, i have learned to let go. i may not understand why things happen, but i know with faith, things will all work out.



i look at the girl who signed her resignation letter in june. the girl who wanted to forget everything, the girl who wanted to run away. she is still here, but there is a smile on her face and a song in her heart. many people got her back, and this is more than enough reason to embrace life.


now i understand why i was not able to get a full time job in september even though i sent in applications almost on a weekly basis. now i know why i got the job at my old school as a long term substitute providing in class support for the inclusion kids. now i know why i was not able to teach regular ed english and i had to hang out in karen's rooma nd get to know the wonderful students in her class. all of these things were in preparation for my next adventure, for my next show. with the help, guidance, wisdom and concern of karen, kay, brian, cynthia,and betsy i was able to see the special ed kids in my old school through different eyes. they are indeed special. not because of their special needs as students, but they are special because they try as hard, if not harder to succeed in school despite their needs. i have grown to love karen's kids. they make me laugh and they make me feel young. i have learned the power of patience and kindness because of these kids, and they had no idea that they were teaching me.

they threw me a party yesterday. they gifted me with a framed photograph of themselves. i already know where i will put that photograph in my new classroom in january. here are some pictures i took.

i said goodbye to my crazy 7th graders. i was hugged left and right, and i hugged back. one kid asked me to take a day off once in a while so i can spend the day in the middle school. another kid almost cried because he thought i was not going to leave the middle school. i have made a good friend with such awesome women-- a very talented and big hearted music teacher, and a gorgeous and caring research writing teacher. i will miss my family in the middle school, but i am comforted by the fact that i know i am always welcome to visit once in a while.

for now i look forward to establishing new relationships with my new students -- freshmen and sophomores, mostly potty mouthed six footers who i know are not the easiest bunch to teach. my only hope is that i can do right by them.

gandalf said something like this "the battle for middle earth has finally ended, the age of men has finally begun"

amen.

a yaya weekend

music: these are days by the 10,000 maniacs

so bespren chocnut flew up here from texas to visit the big apple, myself and moonshine. we had a "slumber" party on friday night. i ended being the first to sleep after only two drinks.

the next day we took a ferry to the city to take a look at a few display windows on 5th ave. there were so many people, it's like divisoria all over again.
yesterday, r and i went to central plark to look for balto and take some pics. had lunch at saigon grill and union square and a bit of shopping at filene's basement and forever21.

click here for more pictures.

'til tuesday

our school finally had its much anticipated latino heritage presentation today. it was such a treat to see my students perform on stage.

i also got to see Lynn, my librarian friend. she's hosting a Harry Potter book club at my school's library. i promised i'll go next week and join the fun with fellow potterheads.

i posted new pictures here. take a look, dali!

still waiting for word from the board of ed about my employment. keep your fingers crossed.

thanksgiving is two days away. i have a lot to thank for this year.

i have a dinner invite from a highschool classmate who will be hosting the dinner for another batchmate who will be in town next week. chocnut will be visiting next week as well. yipee!

reclaiming the weekend

music: ebtg's i didn't know i was looking for love

still sleepless, but trying to catch up on 40 winks is easier said than done. it seems the 24 hours on my clock's face is not enough to find some sleep, but i'll get what i can.


c and i went to mitsuwa on sunday and c went nuts. it was so much fun watching c take in mitsuwa with such innocent awe and intrigue. by the time we left, durga was a happy girl because she had her fill of her favorite soft serve green tea ice cream. c loaded up on the weirdest japanese snacks and candies he could find, a couple cans of japanese beer and two mini bottles of sake -- crazy milk and cloudy sake.


i had intended to cook but i was too pooped to create a proper chicken adobo so c will have to wait. durga's adobo is not something to be hurried. so instead we had prok barbeque and veggies from the barbeque pit. oh and i had 3/4 bottle of red horse. man, that really whooped me. i almost fell asleep during dinner. note to self : do not drink red horse in the company of not so close friends. c thought it was amusing that i was fighting sleep because of this strong filipino beer. even he said it was strong, ha! i want to compare red horse to his beer. or maybe his crazy friend would be a better judge.


last night i got on j's treadmill for 20 minutes. a great workout. today i will up my time to at least 40. it's a good feeling to sweat again while the tem is freezing
outside.


i can't get enough of kenneth cole's signature fragrance.


sigh.

the best stress buster ....

is kissing the cutest pumpkin in the world.

yeah, i've been mum for a while. not for lack of anything to blog because believe you me virginia, a lot has happened. but i can't put a finger to it. what parts of my last two weeks can i blog about without compromising people's identities? hence the long absence.

anyway, i figured i can at least write about the mundane stuff and the gp stuff. so here goes.

i've been helping out my co-teachers in school as an in class support for a few inclusion classes as i've mentioned in earlier posts. i assist in two math classes, 3 science classes, 2 research paper writing classes and a sixth grade language arts class. my schedule is pretty much like it used to be -- averaging five classes most days.
i've been making progress in math. i was so thrilled to learn and actually understand the slope and math similarities. i wish i had this understanding in math when i was in high school. it would've made a whole lot of difference.

the research paper writing classes are the most rewarding for me because these classes make me feel very needed indeed. i have several students with learning disabilities and it is really quite a struggle for them to read, much more write a research paper. i have a lot of respect for their teacher. it is very very difficult not to lose one's head with a class like that.

i've befriended a 7th grader who just transferred from saudi arabia. i can only imagine how miserable it must feel to be transplanted from one's home to a totally new place where one does not understand the language. a smile from this kid was all i needed to decide that he will be my next gratis ESL project. i feel good to be able to help him in what little way i can.

this whole inclusion in class support thing has also opened my eyes towards the special ed kids. i've always thought i can never teach special ed kids because i lack the patience to deal with them. i think i'm getting better with relating to them. ah, must be my sense of humor that wins them over. these days i hang out with k and her kids. they are a crazy group, and they drive her nuts sometimes, but she loves them dearly. i'm beginning to fall in love with them too, because deep inside they are kids after all, they just learn differently.

i made a new friend. he just blows my mind to say the least, but it's been good so far. i enjoy the company and meaningful conversations. it's also a good feeling to have someone i can spend hours in the bookstore and ikea with as well as walks in the park.

here are the top pics and moments of the past 2 weeks....

sunday service at the times square church -- gospel choir extraordinaire

a walk in central park

beef goulash with dumpling



jonah's cute halloween costume

a water/lightshow in ceasar's in AC


a gigantic chupa chups from AC's biggest candy store


breathtaking fall foliage in dunkerhook park

and

sticky rice with green tea ice cream.



we're having a long weekend due to the NJEA's teacher's convention in AC. i'm going out with moonshine and pumpkin this morning, and meeting up with candy hopefully this afternoon.

i can't wait for chocnut's visit in the big apple. durga, chocnut and and moonshine will have a sleepover, a tour of the city's display windows, and lotsa lotsa talking.
screeeeee!!!!

2nd best thing

it was my last day at the liquor store today. i was kinda sad to go, to leave the beautiful and kind people i worked with the past 3 weeks. but i am also happy to get back to my turf-- the school. i'm excited to surprise my 8th graders on monday.

i had dinner with my gay bf #2 , greg. we were supposed to have dinner at cafe lalo, but decided to pig out at saigon grill. over grilled pork chops, grilled cubed beef, stir fried tofu and veggies and iced thai tea, we caught up on each other's lives. the last time i saw greg was in august when we had a date at the MOMA.

after dinner we had planned to have coffee and dessert at cafe lalo. to our disappointment, the restaurant was closed for renovations. so we picked up a chocolate pastry at zabars, coffee from starbucks and hung out on the benches outside the closed cafe, periodically informing disappointed diners that the cafe is closed.

greg is such a great friend. he is handsome, funny and very kind. pero bastos din. too bad he's gay. i actually felt good walking next to him because he is well dressed, smells good, and six feet tall. i would have the illusion that i am walking with a boyfriend. alas, he has more kembot than i do.( he walks in a more feminine way than i do) oh well. hahaha.

we're planning a sleep over at his place on marathon weekend so we can jog at central park. o di ba, dalwang bakla nagja-jogging? tee-hee.

it's over and out for me tonight. need to catch some beauty sleep for tomorrow's date. wink wink.

noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

how do you like them apples?

music : peaches by the presidents of the united states of america

today's snapshot




me and charly right before filling our baskets with them apples




i had a date to go apple picking with the fantastic four (moonshine,matt, kim and joey) plus the two super babies, jonah and hollie.


moonshine, matt and jonah





kim joey and hollie

seven years here in the states and every autumn i've wanted to go apple picking. but no. there's always something else to do, or i've nobody to go with. and so, bruce,amy, zen, click and i cruised through one hour of jersey highway driving to the town of harding where wightman's farm is located.






a beautiful day


i got there half an hour earlier than our appointment. i took the opportunity to sit and read a book by h.p. lovecraft that i picked up at border's yesterday. he's really good. scary as poe so far.

anyway, the fantastic four and the two babies came and we headed off to pick them apples. i think there were about 4 varieties ready for picking. so pick 'em we did.



kimmy, moi and charly



armed with poles and baskets, we picked off apples to our hearts' delight. moonshine and kimmy got two baskets each. they are both going to do a lot of baking and cooking. as for me, i ended up with 9 lbs. worth of freaking apples. something tells me i'm gonna get real sick of them this week. boy oh boy. hey, an apple a day, right? with me, i think i'll have to eat three. whoopie doo. my sweat and pee will probably smell of apples, just wait.

apples, apples everywhere


i passed up on the opportunity to go on the hayride. this boondock girl grew up with farmfolks. we may not have hayrides, we have one even better and environment friendly, it's called the carabao cart,




and my playmates and i used to ride it to go to the ricefields in the summer. i went to the farm's market and got me a bottle of local sweet red wine, a loaf of banana bread, a small tin of banana butter, a small tin of apple butter and a quart of apple cider vinegar.

the early to midmorning started out pretty chilly, but by noon, the sun was at its full fury. guess who got another shade of tan? i've had enough of the sun for today. i sauntered out of harding by 2:30. i headed back home and made it here by 4.

jersey drivers are an impatient lot. i passed by a tollbooth by the garden state parkway and fuckwit behind me was upset that i was fumbling for coins. i didn't pass by that blasted toolbooth on my way to the farm okay? so instead of dropping $.70 on the basket, i probably tossed about $1.50 worth of change, dammit.


so i'm back here in the apartment, and i am on katulong (maid) mode. and something tells me i'd better start eating one of my 48 thousand apples.

noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

first day at work

background music : stand by R.E.M.


i made it through my first day. hip freakin' hooray. today is day 2. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo. yesterday i left my apartment at 7:45. i didn't make it home until about 8:15pm. man, i sure wish this is not my daily schedule. here were yesterday's highlights

1. j and really intent on making me her exercise biatch. we power walked down and up the cliffs in record time yesterday. we worked out from 8:30 am 'til 10 am. dang! why do i have to suffer?! i can lose weight on my own.

2. halmoni (j's housekeeper and cook) insists that i do not love her as much because i refuse to eat her special korean rice.


3. i love that i can wear jeans to work.

4. i love that i can wear my pumas to work.

5. need to remember to wear longish tops because i've been bending a lot to refill the bottom shelves.

6. brush up on my spanish. most of my coworkers in the floor are dominicans. nice bunch of peeps.


7. no matter where i go, some people can really peg me as asian. i took a leisurely stroll on the block of my new hood, minding my own business and a bunch fuckwits decide to be funny and said 5 of my hated words "me love you long time."
argh!!! and i thought i looked inconspicuous. i thought, hey you know, i'm the right shade of brown, right hair color, more or less the same build (okay maybe not). ah whatever. i decided to just let it go. i was too stunned to react. something tells me i better befriend the stock boys so i can have muscle in this neighborhood.


8. i wear a maroon apron while working.the only apron i like to wear is mine. it's black and it says kitchen bitch on it. oh well, it could be worse . i could be wearing a fugly hat. ewww.

9. my manager said i'm smart. (really? then why did i quit my job?!) only 6 hours into the job, she quizzed me all day long about where i can find the different liquor in the store. today, she said, we're going to learn about wine.

10. i get 20% off as an employee.

11. standing most of the 6 hours is not fun.

12. always bring a bottle of scented hand sanitizer. money is dirty.

13. i sure can write a lot of stories just meeting the crazy people who walk in and out of the store.



today, i'm going to try to do my laundry before i head off to exercise with j. so much for being an idiot. now i know i really love teaching. give me them snotty, potty mouthed and gramatically challenged children anytime. please.

sundae sunday

this weekend was a weekend of ice cream overload. maggie moo's. rita's. costco frozen yogurt and another rita's sundae. damn, i've never eaten so much ice cream in my life!

i think i'll clean out my freezer when i get home. if i see another pint of ice cream i'll just about throw up.

just came back from janice and edrick's home for dinner. we had kare-kare and ampalaya (bitter melon) and you know, my enemy called rice. well, i do look forward to my exercise routine to burn off all the food i ate this mini holiday.

football was fun. there's something cute about watching those boys in tights beat the crap out of each other. harhar. my boys won over the red skins. hmm, maybe i can get to watch a live game back in jersey.

tomorrow, i head back to jersey and go back to reality. it sucks that i gave up tv three weeks ago. tomorrow is heroes' season premier. i won't get to see my crush mohinder suresh. sigh.

i got my fill of the full moon, the stars and crickets tonight. jersey girl's going to head back home to the lull of trains and lamplights. i'll be back here in bowie. hopefully sooner rather than later. lubs has been giving a mighty fine sales pitch. library of congress, fairfax county and a neighborhood comics shop? we'll see.

for now, it's back to jersey for me and bruce.

score!!!

background music : fiance by fossil
i hung out lubs and tita norma yesterday. got up, got dressed and had planned to go to dc for the greek festival, but was too lazy to go to the metro and go gallivanting around dc by myself. i had wanted to go to a comic store there, but i figured i can always run into midtown comics in nyc to get my nerd fix.

we picked up tita norma from ed's house. then we headed to one of their dollar stores in bowie. what joy!!! i found shoe boxes and other stuff. man, the dollar stores in jersey are so shitty, i'd feel bad to spend my money there. but the dollar store that we went to was very well stocked. i also got some milkduds and whoopers to sugar me up on the drive back tomorrow.

but wait, there's more. joffin the dork spotted a sign while walking around the bowie strip mall --- was that what she thought it was? alliance comics. a comics store?! eyeluvit!!!! score!!!!




the geekette was obviously excited at the find and i literally ran to the shop.
it's a decent shop, actually. i would have walked out with loads of shit, but i am on a budget, so i had to pick and choose. i almost bought books 5 and 6 of the walking dead, but i saw books 0 and 1 of transmetropolitan, and the maxx. screeeee!!!
i was also about get a wonderwoman action figure, until i saw an emily the strange t-shirt. but they7 didn't have my size. i walked out with 3 books, and two smurf toys. i'm going to complete the smurf cast and buy one everytime i visit here. tee-hee-hee. i love it here. bowie/md/dc is looking really really good to me.


afterwards, we went back home, popped bridgett jones on the dvd and laughed our asses off. we headed out again for a taste of one of maryland's goodies, this refreshing ice cream/ italian ice combo at rita's




happy happy joy joy.


late last night, ron lubs and i hung out with vince and nikki. ate pizza and ice cold san miguel beer,





and watched --- howard the duck. man that movie was soo bad, it was good. lubs slept through it all.

i'm heading to church with lubs' family. this afternoon i will watch my first football game with the bowie crew. nikki told me i'll have to wear a red skins jersey. traitor jersey girl. oh well, i look forward to the chicken wings....


we eat. we drink. for tomorrow, i'm driving back home. boo-hoo-hoo. brat.

The Big Kahuna's Luau

prologue : yeah, this is jane. i kicked joffin's butt because she's been a wreck these couple of days, pms i tell you. but with this chick, p stands for pre-pro-and post. ladidadida.enough of that ****





so yesterday moonshine and matt held Jonah's first birthday party at the Fudali's lovely home. Adoring family and friends shared this joyous event with the Wellses. Here are some happy pics of the celebrant and the wonderful people who were there...


the proud parents and the cute big kahuna



moonshine's cousins alyssa and christine



joey and kim, matt's close friends since high school



this is kim again with her baby Hollie Jean and another friend Suzie



me and alyssa, goofin off because we both annoy moonshine with the lipgloss song, and come on, our lipgloss is really poppin' no?



here's me with Jonah when i managed to catch him as he was running around his party like the big kahuna that he is. by the way, this picture is also known as Lilo and Stitch (thanks, moonshine!)


the cake that undid a lot of diets


here's joey giving us awesome live music, (that's my epi btw, and dang epi never sounded that good when i play him, sigh)



and this is me and moonshine.


i had a great time at the party. it made my day happy indeed. thanks for all the food moonshine!


wicked party moments :

partygoer A to me : wow, nice tan, where'd you get it?
me : from my mom

partygoer x : oh look at you, you look like you came from some tropical island!
me : technically i did


hey moonshine, it's all good. you know i get a kick out of this. don't worry i'll be Jonah's personal hula girl anytime. glad to know my tan served its purpose adding authentic color to your luau. LOL.

Aloha wau ia 'oe
Lilo,
i mean,

jane

happy birthday, big kahuna

jonah walter wells turns one today. cool auntie joffin could not wait to give him his present so i made a quick trip yesterday to personally deliver it (and be excused from wrapping it, hehe.)

i was trying to get a kiss from the cutie, but he was very busy playing with his learning table.




look at that face! and those eyes. yeah, i'm pretty much this kid's bitch too. when moonshine and i do our walking, he can drop his sippy cup 48 times and i'll pick it up every single time, how can you say no to these big green eyes. sucker.


there! i got one.



happy birthday jonah! i'll see you on your luau this saturday.

play time

r and o are hanging out with me in the apartment. i was supposed to tutor their mom, but something came up and i had to keep them occupied for the next few hours. r and o have grown so fast. it's really quite incredible how i started tutoring them when r was just 4 and o 3. r is taller than me now but still the affectionate teddy bear. o has grown tall, skinny and talkative. it makes me proud to be their tutor and sometimes part time mom. here are pics of our goof fest....



me and r look how tall he is now!



and this is me an o. she's really a cutie no?



these two love hanging out in my apartment. i dunno why since their house is hhhuuuugggeee. i guess they love the sense of clutter around my place. these two are begging for filipino food. should i feed them? noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

first day of school

background music: wind it up by gwen stefani


i overslept. i had intended to nap at 7pm and fold my laundry. that didn't happen. i woke up at 4am.
someone's excited to go back to school.
i haven't picked out an outfit for the first day. that might take a while. my bed would probably be a war zone in an hour or so.
i have mixed emotions about going back to my old school. i am very happy to see my colleagues again, but at the same time sad because i'm not really there for the school year.

but, i'll make sure to make the best of the next three weeks.

brace yourselves 8th graders, i won't be babysitting you.

in the nile

Noooooo!!!!! Arrrrgh!!!!! O HHHHIIIIINNNNDDDDDEEEEEE!!!!


is tomorrow really back to school?! sigh. this means i have to go back to work now. no more eraly morning chitchats on ym. no more listening to no doubt, the pretenders and heavy metal music (shhh) and dancing and hanging out at home til the late morning.

no more messing up my apartment. no more playing around with my action figures.


sigh. iron work clothes. tidy up my desk, heck my whole apartment. i think i'm gonna cry. goodbye summer. sniff. sniff.


but i've still got today.


whatta brat.


in the nile

picture perfect labor day

warning : if you are sick and tired of looking at my pictures, go read something else because this is a picture laden post, k?


background music : on a sunday afternoon by a lighter shade of brown

this year's labor day weekend has got to be the best one on my list. i attended my first real barbeque and i loved it!


l, r and i were invited over to j and e's house for sunday barbeque. l brought her specialty chicken marinated in secret herbs and spices. it was yummy. this is l and r on our way to the barbeque


l and i went on kikay mode, and jane wore a dress (gasp! what?! no jeans?!) this is us, before drinks.



and this is us after two cups of edrick's wicked sangria and a bottle of beer each.what lushes.



there were about 16 people (err, adults) in the barbeque, mostly made up of couples who are friends of e and j. they guys enjoyed a round of drunken golf




and drunken football.






ayayay! boys will be boys. it's a good thing nobody barfed on the lawn.

n and v came in a little later, but i was so glad they did. n is so the life of any party. i dunno what she's been drinking, but look at this crazy girl camera whorin'



well, if you can't beat 'em...




there were also two baby boys in the barbecue. this one is little frederick with his mom, j


and this one is little logan (great name!) with mom, g




the group also played an amusing rowdy and fun-filled game of poker



oh, of course, the food was excellent!