In the past ten years, I have probably watched at least 5,000 movies. Literally. I had every cable channel imaginable (till this summer), was an avid moviegoer (at least once a week till last summer) and lived with Netflix geeks for many years as well. So I wanted to do this as a challenge to myself and besides everyone and their mom is making lists of all kinds of stuff from the first decade of the 2000s so here's my contribution.

Top Ten Favorite Movies of the 2000s

Before Sunset

500 Days of Summer

Definitely, Maybe

The Departed

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

A Lot Like Love

Love, Actually

Kill Bill vol. 1 and 2

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Into the Wild

This list is based on a combination of my gut reaction after walking out of the theater after each movie, the likelihood of me buying the DVD or watching these movies numerous times as well as the effects* of each movie on my actual life. Yes, I know there are other measures that could have been used but hey, I saw almost every movie on every list out there so far but I don't really care what all the critics say.

*varied from just a plain old good time to making me dress up as a character from the movie to analyzing my life and love choices to giving someone a second chance when he clearly didn't deserve one. 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Makeroom

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

First off, the people at our table for the wedding consisted of me and Nancy for about an hour and a half till the librarian and her husband showed. The nurse and her husband never came and neither did the Alicia Jimenez family. As you can see, there were zero single guys at our table. The one person that both Nancy and I looked at twice had a girlfriend. So we left after dinner and 30 minutes of dancing to go to another party.

Let me preface this by saying that it was Nancy's friend Sal's 30th birthday party that same night and I wasn't looking forward to going to that either. It's always a little weird to show up at a party where you've only met the birthday celebrant once and that was at Wolverine's midnight showing. Since then, this Sal has invited me to field level Dodger seats (I said hell no to that one), movies, etc all through Nancy. I was fully expecting some Nancy like matchmaking to happen. And of course, she tried by making me dance with him and having me sit next to him and such. He was super nice, a good dancer and fairly attractive, but no spark.

Yes, I'm judgemental, but it's there or it's not, that's all. Imagine my surprise (and Nancy's!) when I started paying less attention to Sal and his attention turned to her. We were just hanging out when this guy comes over and he seems oddly familiar. Turns out he's Sal's high school friend named Tony. It was really dark in the backyard so it was hard to tell what he really looked like, but he was tall, had glasses, clean cut and dressed preppy. What freaked me out was his voice and mannerisms were kinda like Dave's. Except that he was Mexican (but really a huero) and liked sports. Which sounds like a good fit for me right?

He was really interesting and we spent a lot of the night talking and  getting to know each other until his semi drunk friend came over and started talking about the Chargers and how he'd been a fan since 1995 and didn't like bandwagoners blah blah blah. At one point, Tony asked me for my contact info for his friend who was an ex-teacher. While all of this was going on, I was being a bad sister and not realizing that Sal was groping Nancy and she was ready to go. Eventually we got out to my car but both Sal and Tony walked out there with us.

Now this should be the point where I say Nancy and I arranged a double date with them for this weekend or some other corny shit like that. But no, we decided on an improved signaling system to keep boys away from us more efficiently instead. Sal was too much like her brother and Tony was too much like Dave.Sal also thinks I'm too cool for Tony and that he'd find someone better for me.

And this is why Nancy and Emma are the single girls even though everyone thinks we're cute, fun, charming girls who deserve boyfriends but apparently are way too picky for our own good.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Revision: I wrote the bottom part of this post about 20 minutes before the other teacher, aka the only other person on my team, called me to tell me she was quitting. I don't know what this means for me. The job that she and I do is enough work for a team of six people, but we don't have the resources for that so instead we work nonstop trying to meet our deadlines and make it happen. I know I can handle this job. It's just that it's become even more of a challenge now.

So I've decided to tell my family about my new job. It's inevitable and I've already lied to them for a year. Plus, I'm really starting to like my new job. Most of the time, I work on my own projects and get to make my own schedule, which is ideal. The work itself isn't super interesting, but it's new and in that sense, exciting. Plus, it's nice to know I have a regular income, as opposed to getting called in when needed (subbing) or showing up at places with no students (tutoring). I'm regaining a sense of control in my life, and for that, I'm thankful.

In other news, I have my first 2009 wedding to go to next weekend. It's one of my teacher friends and instead of sitting with the rest of our (coupled) friends, she's sitting me and Nancy with the single guys. I don't know if this is brilliant or a recipe for disaster, but whatever, we shall see how that event unfolds... 

I saw this video online and had a really strong urge to get married...to someone who would not only approve, but participate in this spectacle =D

JK Wedding Entrance Dance

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The beauty of the blog is it's a time machine that lets you peek at your past and remember the good times and of course, reminds you of the not so great times.

At this exact moment last year, I had just started talking to Dave. We were in my favorite part, the beginning, before it started getting complicated and when every communication was exciting and new.

Today was also the day that Ben had his stroke. I was driving up to Del Mar Fair with Amparo and Rich when Phil called me saying Ben was in the ICU. We went to the fair anyway, watched fireworks and then I ended up driving down south to meet up with Phil, crying and praying for Ben's life to be saved somehow.

I didn't know what was going to happen with my job. There was a slim chance it would be saved even.

Fast forward to now. I have a completely different job which could either make me rich(or at least bring me back to normal) or lead to another year of struggling to make ends meet.

Ben is perfectly fine. I hate to say this, but the stroke kind of fixed a lot of things in his life. He is finally taking care of himself, he has a relationship with his mother again and he has actually made goals to improve his life.

There is no more Dave and really no one with boyfriend or even dating potential in my life right now. Brian and I were supposed to hang out while I was in DC last week, but it didn't work out since I had such an early flight and no way to get to NY as I had planned originally. He called me to say goodbye this morning. My constant crush is now headed back to Thailand where he'll probably be for awhile since he actually has job offers there. He invited me to come and stay with him whenever I wanted, but that will have to wait for when I have a steady income, time off and a passport.

Nothing is the same. If I were to compare and contrast 2008 and 2009, they would have nothing in common. Well, except that I thankfully still have my friends and family intact. And with that kind of safety net, all I have to do is cross this tightrope to the next part of this adventure...  

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

When we were obsessed with Mike Tyson's punch out, we thought tko just meant triple knock out. But it really means that the ref just decided that the fighter can't continue the match for whatever reason and declares the other guy the winner. Sometimes it does mean that the fighter's been knocked down three times in one round.

If 2009 were a fight (and, damn, it sure has been!) then I'd be ready for my tko right about now. Just got back from DC (bus made me late for first flight, had to spend my last 50 bucks on the flight change, almost lost my wallet and boarding pass at the airport in Atlanta) to see that my car has a parking ticket, my phone screen is dead again and my dad is in the hospital. Fucking threes.

I was supposed to go to a funeral today (thu) for a friend's mother who died last week but of course I rushed down to SD instead. He was in the same hospital as my grandpa, and in the same room where my grandma died. He had been having random continuous nose bleeds this weekend and some tightness in his chest so when he finally vomited blood, my mom took him to the er. They said he had stroke level high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat so they admitted him. They put the machines on him, his bp went down and they put some thing in his nose to stop the bleeding. He lied to the doc about going to see his cardiologist (he hasn't seen a doctor since his heart attack and stint surgery 4 years ago) but his tests came out ok so he went home last night.

After everything that has gone wrong this year and last, I spent that hour drive (yes, I was going hella fast but I was also coming from john wayne airport) crying and praying and thinking about what could happen next. There have been way too many moments like this for me and I just kept hoping it would be alright. This time, thankfully, it was.

It's been almost a year since Ben's stroke. I'm thinking I should spend that particular day (tomorrow) with him, since he's had his own share of tkos but once in the geniza bubble, there is no escape.

I feel like everything I've been posting is slightly traumatic and a downer, but everything happens for a reason and things still manage to work out for me, so the fight continues on.

I got plenty more rounds left in me... 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Michael Jackson - Rock With You

The Michael Jackson I will remember made music for the world to enjoy. His work has always been timeless and it's a legacy that will live on forever. He is the only artist that everyone in our family liked. We dedicated a whole Christmas program to him once and have incorporated his performances, music and dance moves so often over the years, I can't really remember all of them right now. And then later, we even had a Michael Jackson themed party at our house that people still regret missing.

He wasn't part of my family, but just knowing that again, another family out there is feeling the sorrow and despair that come with losing a loved one makes my heart ache. The difference is that since he touched so many people's lives, it almost feels like the whole world is in mourning.

And yeah, he wasn't perfect in life and maybe not even his death was entirely innocent, but you know what? Who cares?

I can't think of another artist who has spent 41 years in show business and still has the respect and love that Michael Jackson had.   

Ok, 2009, you've made your point. Life is short, precious and fleeting, live it to the fullest. This rollercoaster is too much for me, I'm ready for some carousel now...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The other day, I wrote about how all of these hardships have helped me develop a thicker skin. This is true, but other days, I feel like the past events have also made me a lot more vulnerable and emotional than I used to be.

When I read Christina's post, I started to cry. I didn't really know her aunt, but I can empathize with her loss. It may take 40 days to ascend to heaven but it might take 40 years for me to really heal from all the pain I've felt recently.

There are good days and bad days. Mostly, I have days when I am happy that he's okay and in heaven, finally with my grandma and happy once again. Other days, all I can think about is how much I've lost and how everyone in my family is still suffering.

Today was just a bad one, tomorrow is another day, ready and waiting for good things to come...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Phil and I had our first real (aka minus his gf) hangout yesterday. And we went ring shopping. So I got asked if I was the lucky girl or who's this for or when are you getting married at least ten times yesterday. Mostly I said, "I'm just helping" or "I'm not marrying him!" or inserted some random "she would like that" to throw them off. Is it really weird that I'm helping my guy friend find an engagement ring?

Phil already had a ring in mind, but the one he chose cost $7,000! They're trying to spend under $10,000 for their wedding so to buy her a ring that was 70% the price of the wedding seemed crazy to me. But then again, this is Phil. He is the king of generosity and kindness. He justified it by saying he would only buy one engagement ring, so why not? I had a whole lot of reasons for why not, towards the end, he actually took them into consideration.

We went to about 8 or 9 stores and everyone pretty much tried to talk him out of getting platinum since it added an extra $2,000 to the ring price and scratched more easily. Plus it required a special order since apparently platinum can get warped or something? Here's a smaller, white gold version of the ring....

Phil ring

 When he talks about her, I like her a lot. When we're actually in the same room or even having a conversation, not so much. But what I do know is, I have never seen Phil so happy and that's what counts. Like Herman, I think Phil is a simple person who can maintain his sunny outlook no matter what. He already asked the parents for permission and her dad cried! This wedding will be a lot of dreams coming true and for that, I will gladly suffer through yet another friend wedding and possibly be a bridesmaid again. Although, I keep telling him "If you really want me to, I will, but, it's really ok if she'd rather choose her friends." We'll see what goes down after the proposal. I think he's going to do it on a boat. My hot air balloon idea was way too pricy...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The days where I wish I lived in San Diego are coming more often now. Yesterday was one cousin's 21st birthday and they all threw her a surprise party. Today is another's high school graduation. Last week, I really wanted to be there for Missy in person.

Then when I'm home and pulled in twenty different directions and end up doing all these things I don't necessarily want to do, I want to be away again. I love living up here and one of the main reasons is that I can live my own life and not have to deal with every event my millions of family members have.

But it still hurts to miss stuff like this, especially when I'm technically not working today...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend