goodbye, government

i am very glad to say that i am finished with my class, US GOVT 2301. i am pretty sure i passed, since i only had to write essays and the instructor always gave me complete credit for all of them. i did not have to take any exams, which was good, but i would have liked the challenge. i am taking a break from school for my sanity's sake. six essays a week about things that you are just first hearing about is very difficult. i learned a lot, but it was hard trying to balance everything.

today was also my sixth graders' graduation. this was my first time attending a japanese graduation ceremony, and because i do not understand too much of what they are saying, (about 40%) i stopped taking pictures after the ceremony began because the school official said something about it. it sucks not understanding, and though i can speak, it sucks not to be able to speak to your students.

. . . . . .

oh and i'm joining the dance ministry in my church. this is one step to finding out more about myself and my relationship with God and how i can please Him. it just feels like singing in the church does not minister to Him anymore because of the "boundaries" set before me. . .

i can't sing the way i want to anymore.

no more ketchup and mustard.

but everyone else could, how cool is that?!

study study study

whew. i had a very busy weekend. well, a busy week actually. we just moved in to an apartment, and we're loving it. however, most of our things are still in boxes, most of them my husband's clothes and my office things. i have my "own" room now, which is my little office. i have a desk, and a computer desk, and my little tv and ps2, and I actually started playing the games he bought for me more than a month ago. all that time i spent in front of the tv playing video games i could have spent doing research and writing my papers. but sometimes, you just want to relax. i had too much things that i had to do and did, and i just wanted to reward myself for it. we still have a lot to do, and more things to unpack, and clothes to fold, but at least i had fun. and i actually finished two out of three essays in a couple of hours, and i am now working on my last. i'm getting better at this. i know because i usually spend a day trying to finish one. well, i have to go now, i really want to finish this last one so i can do something else tomorrow.

COLLEGE: US Government

i am currently taking a break from writing the last of my three essays for this week. this is my third week in class. i like what i am reading, i am learning a lot about the US government, but it's the essays that push me to the edge. in total, including the one i am in the process of finishing, i have written fourteen essays in three weeks. yes. fourteen essays in three weeks. six essays during the first week of class, five last week, and three this week. and last week's essays have not been graded yet. my instructor said he did not receive them. i had to make sure i sent them the second time. i sent them three times, from three different e-mail addresses. i am kind of worried about whether or not he has received the other three again. i hope he does. those are three e-mails, and more than ten hours worth of studying and sitting in front of the computer trying to put thoughts together on abortion, the US and TEXAS constitutions, and other issues that their government is facing.

their government

yes, their government. i am not under this government... or maybe i am. but it's really good to understand things, and see some similarities from the Philippine government.

on going home

i really want to go home, but for now i have a lot of things in my plate, and going home does not have a place on it yet. i have school, work, family, and we're also moving in a couple of days. we're moving closer to both my and my husband's jobs, my family, the church, and our friends. i am really excited, as i know this is an ideal place for us to live for now. sure, i am going to miss laughing too loud and all that, but it's an experience worth trying. we're going to be living with CLOSE NEIGHBORS! apartment life, here we come!

God sends us rainbows

I was driving home one day and saw a beautiful rainbow. I just had to stop and take a picture of it (wushu nag-stop nga ba?!). It was really beautiful. I actually saw a couple on that day. It reminds me of one text message that one of my friends back home sent me when we were having a tough time. I can only remember that last part though, it says "God sends us rainbows after the rain."

When trials come our way, it's God's way of testing our faith and helping us grow. After He let rain pour down earth for days during the time of Noah, he sent a rainbow. And now after we go through, he will send us a rainbow as well, in a form of blessings, or the level of maturity we gain from the experience.

fasting fasting... and a radio show

i totally (well, not really. it was just at the back of my head) forgot about the radio show today until yesterday. well, Carlos and I met with Yoko and Kenthany a couple of hours before the show to talk about what we were going to say. the show was pretty fun, and i sang a song, and they interviewed me about my life and how God changed it. i was able to share to many people about what amazing things God has done in my life.

i had to dig deep into my past for this show. Kenthany asked me questions before the show about how my life was back then, and what really made me come to Jesus. it made me think. really think. How did I really became a Christian? i knew it was because of the bible, but which part of the bible rang the bell and made the home run? i had to DIG and i remembered this one scripture. I believe it was the first one that i underlined in the bible, if not Romans 8:28. it was the last scripture in the book of Matthew where Jesus said "and lo, I am with you, until the end of age."

it gave me so much comfort to know that Jesus will never leave me.

the thing is, i forgot how i fell in love with my first love, Jesus. i just found a church and desired to serve His people, and i forgot about Him. i forgot about our relationship, about how and when it all started. i forgot the promise, the commitment i made, and just went on about my new life. a life that is supposedly for Him, but only half-heartedly lived for Him.

i can't be more honest than now. i have NOT been living a lie, i just have not been living the way i'm supposed to. i'm supposed to bask in that comfort of knowing who He is, and who He really is to me. He's my first love. I just left Him there and thought i was giving Him all when i really am not.

Jesus. I'm sorry. I just realized it. just now.


i'm fasting tomorrow, with the rest of the church. and so my internet usage is limited. :p

THE BREAD MAKER

today has been an overwhelming day for me. i was in church forever, and i wasn't really in my A+ behavior. after church, i met with Aki-sensei, one of my co-teachers, and my mom and ate Beng. we went to the BX but the lady said i can only sign three people in. SUCKS! so Aki and I went, and then i went to the commissary with my mom and beng afterwards. i had fun with beng's children (i'm trying not to call them or anyone else's children "kids," because apparently we started using that term because children act like kids... you know, baby goats. no child deserves to be called a kid... i believe.), although they are very "makulit," but surprisingly, i made them stay by our cart and just behave. they were very talkative, but they turn out to be very nice, loving children. we bought pizza, and then we all headed home. i was glad to have spent time with them, although i never really got to have a real "mom time" today. :-/ after i dropped Aki off, i decided to pick up the bread maker i have been meaning to pick up for about a week now. the lady was so happy to see me, and she was very nice. and so now i have a very neat bread maker. my husband was like "what is that?!" when i walked in the house with it. and when i said it was a bread maker he asked what i was going to make with it.

BREAD! DUH! lol but really, he said it because i don't really, you know, bake too well. oh well. so yeah. that was my very interesting, very overwhelming, but with a happy ending day.

fruits galore

I went to Lawson's today to pay my credit card and as I was driving out of the parking lot, two young men stopped me and asked if i wanted to buy four apples for 5 bucks. so i bought four apples and a huge "japanese pear" (the one talking to me spoke really good English) (gosh should have taken pictures!!!) from them and i drove off. and then i thought about dropping by the farmer's market close by. there i bought some "mikan" (japanese oranges, like ponkan, but smaller and sweeter) and some "pechay" for my babies, thinking they might want it since they liked rabbit food and rabbits like greens (. . .). i was so excited to feed them, but to my dismay, they didn't like it. :( they just smelled the stuff, and walked away. WHAT THE HECK right?! I spend a hundred yen on two things of those. we don't eat those here!!!

the smaller one "mame" has learned to climb on my shoulder and my head. She tried to climb up my arm one time while they were in the tatami room (but in their cage), and I would have loved to let her out but she still won't let me carry her. the fat one, however, "ba." still is having some trust issues. although she has tried to climb on my back a couple of times, but because she is... you know..."ba" (short for taba=fat), well. . . yeah. just like me trying to climb the monkey bars when i was a kid. i can't wait until they both let me hold them. jokers.

EPISODE ONE

first things first.

MY BLOG TITLE: HAROHAWAYUU is how my students say "hello, how are you?" i'm not trying to make fun of them, i'm actually used to how they say it that I don't even try to correct it (what a bad teacher!... hey, they get their point across pretty well).

MY BLOG HTML: TITSERTITSERAN... like "bahay-bahayan" or "tinda-tindahan," i consider my job "titser-tisteran" (pretend-play teacher) because it always feels like i'm playing when i am in the classroom.

MYSELF: after five hundred and seventy-seven blogs, i have now decided to stick to only one (and I have deleted the others). I am now married (to those of you who don't know yet), and on my way to getting my degree (FINALLY!).

So.

One thing i discovered about myself is that I want to start a business, but I am sometimes too afraid, too busy, too lazy to just start one. I came close to doing it one time though, I started taking care of a little boy in my house with hopes that I can start my own daycare in about two days after taking the child in. But it didn't go as planned, and I had to let him go because I wanted to work somewhere else.

Now this is my next jump into the business world.

Ta da!!! Scrapbook/Card/Invitation BUSINESS!!! HAHA. I HAVE been thinking about this for a while now. I thought, "why not give it a try?"

Let's see what happens! :)