Long time no post

I've been BUSY!!!

I subbed 4 days last week and had 3 finals at school. I subbed at my mom's school each of those 4 days. It was fun stuff, especially PE. I love subbing for PE because it is such an easy task. It was a bit warm out, but I got to work on my tan. I got nice and tan. My legs could use some more sun, but I was pretty white before. I made $500 last week. Not bad. Most of the days I wasn't planning to sub until I got calls from the office manager at my mom's school begging me to come in because there was a shortage of subs each day.

My finals went well. My grades should look like this:
Spanish 101: A- (though I'm sure it'll be a "B" because the teacher's grading is shady)
Women's Studies: A-
Media and Politics: B+
I got at least a "B" on the latter 2 finals. The "B+" in Media is ok. I am not going to complain.
The B's unfortunately bring down my GPA. I am wanting to get at least a 3.5 overall GPA before I graduate. It is a 3.41 right now I believe. I'm not sure if a 3.5 is possible, but one can hope and try.

I sat through a 3 hour graduation for my 2nd cousin on Sunday at CSUSB. Isn't it a shame that my second cousins are my age? HAHA. The president does not know when to shut his mouth. He rattled on and on. The first hour of the graduation was nothing short of an advertisement for the campus. That's not what a graduation is about. It is about celebrating the students and their accomplishments. Then as each kid crossed the stage he took at least 10 seconds to stop and talk to them. It did help to get photos of my cousin as she went across the stage, but 3 hours for a graduation for 300 kids? Everyone was so restless and most left after their kids name was called.

Yesterday my cousin who graduated, her boyfriend, and my cousin Chayna went to Disneyland. It was so crowded. I renewed my annual pass however. I just bought the basic one with 165 blockout dates for $129. It was cheaper to buy an annual pass though where I can come back at least once more and it is paid for. It is now $91 for a 1 day park hopper pass at Disneyland. Parking was $15. Going once more will pay for my pass.

The day was quite fun though despite the crowds and only getting on 4 rides. We got to talk, catch up on family gossip, and stuff like that. My cousin Chayna kept saying over and over how I look anorexic. NO!!!! I DON'T. She says I look like I lost 40 pounds since she last saw me. She obviously doesn't know what 40 extra pounds looks like. Let me set the record straight- I used to weigh about 160 at most. I had a 34'' waist. I started going to the gym and toning up. In the past year I've gone from a 34'' waist to a 30'' waist. I now weigh 145 pounds. I was not fat before.

So what do I have planned in the near future? Buy an iPhone. I love my Macbook Pro, my Apple Router, my Airtunes that broadcasts music wirelessly through the house. I love the Apple logo. I'm becoming an Apple brand whore. I have already sat money aside to buy the phone and will probably be there on the day the phone goes on sale waiting in line to get mine. Yes. Sad. I know. How do I justify buying one? I am worth it. I rarely spend money on myself, but this one time I'm treating myself and going all out.

Buy a car. I have quite a large sum of money sat aside for a car. With gas at $4.60 a gallon I'm looking for something small and fuel efficient. The small part doesn't go over well with my mom, but she won't be driving the car. I'm looking at a Honda Civic or Mazda 3. I LOVE the Mazda 3 and it is much more comfortable than the Civic, but the new redesigned 2009 model does not go on sale until November unfortunately. A local Nissan dealer is clearing out 2008 Altima Hybrids that retail for $25,000 for $20,000. That is very tempting as it is a bigger and more fuel efficient car. Fuel efficiency in the era of $5.00 gasoline is important to me. I would have to take out up to $5,000 on the loan for that, whereas I should be able to pay the Civic off almost completely. The Altima is actually more fuel efficient than the Civic. Decisions. Choices.

My trip to Mississippi

Downtown New Orleans

House in 9th Ward and church with the soggy carpet in 9th ward

Picture of me flying over Mississippi

Bottomless and topless dancer sign on Bourbon Street

Never got around to telling about my trip to Mississippi to see my best friend, so here it goes.

July 31

Leave Ontario at 8a.m. and have a nice flight to Oklahoma. I talked to the guy next to me who was from my area. Had a 2 hour stopover there, so I enjoyed Sonic (which we don't have in Cali). Then I got on the plane and flew down to Houston. The Houston airport was HUGE. I had to walk about 1/2 mile, go up 3 escalators, and take a tram to change terminals to get to my flight. As I walk into the other terminal I hear that my flight to Mississippi was delayed 30 minutes. 30 minutes turned into 45, 45 turned into 2 hours. We were delayed 2 1/2 hours because the plane was coming from Dallas and was grounded in Dallas due to the weather. Made it to Mississippi at 11p.m. instead of 9p.m. 

August 1 

Went to the Jackson Zoo with my friend and his girlfriend's family. Small in comparison to any zoos I've been to. I also think there were more plastic animals than real animals.

August 2

Went to New Orleans with my friend and his mom. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive. It was fun to get to talk and catch up in the car. New Orleans was so amazing. A mile away from downtown or so it looked so unkempt. Grass needed mowing, buildings in need of repair from Katrina still. Got to see (AND EXPERIENCE) Bourbon Street. Lots of porn shops, lingerie shops, shops offering lap dances, bars, entertainment, it was interesting. I'm keeping quiet about all that went on. HAHA. 

Also got to see the 9th ward. My goodness. It was amazing. We walked in a church that had been destroyed from the flood waters and 2 years later the carpet was STILL wet. STILL. I could see where the levee was and everything else. Some houses were swept off their foundations, others were badly damaged by the water. It was amazing to see that people live in such impoverished conditions- it is just something I don't see everyday. People were living in the houses that were damaged by the floods and still had the markings that the houses had been searched after Katrina.

August 3

Went flying with my friend, his dad, and sister. It was mucho fun. I like flying in the smaller planes as opposed to the large planes because you're closer to the ground and can see soooooo much. It was fun that we could all talk to each other through our headphones. I felt like a copilot. Heh.

August 4

Went kayaking down the Okatoma River in Mississippi. It was a manmade river and was only 2-3 feet deep in some places. My kayak overturned a couple times trying to avoid people who took a canoe and were scared of going down the waterfalls, so they'd stand in the driver and step down the waterfall area. (They were small 3-4 feet waterfalls).

August 5

Went fishing, didn't have much luck. The fish were biting, but not catching. I tried. My friend only caught 1 fish. His dad didn't catch any either. We talked, played lots of Phase 10, and ate that evening.

August 6

Left Jackson Ms. at 6:40a.m., went to the other Houston airport, caught my flight to Oklahoma. Met a longtime friend and neighbor in the Oklahoma airport... what are the chances of that?! Also got to meet up with my cousin Amber, which was fun. I think this was the first time we saw  each other in 2 years or so. So we got to talk and catch up on all the family drama, my sister, random memories, and other fun family stuff. I enjoyed it. Then the fun ended and I had to come back to California and the hot icky dry heat. 

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!!

It is supposed to be 110 here in Riverside today. YUCK!!! It is kind of overcast right now and is 101 at 1:25p.m. It still has the potential to make 110. 

We're going to barbecue steaks and go see fireworks tonight. 

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In other news I'm taking an icky class at UCR. I'm taking Political Anthropology. It is just busy work so it should be ok. I am a week ahead in reading, so its all good. I just hate that the class is sooo boring and it is 3 hours on Tuesday and Thursday. I will be a trekker and make it through it though.

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I'm also excited to go to Mississippi at the end of July to see my best friend. I have about a 6 hour layover in Oklahoma coming back, so that should be cool. I'll find something to do. I am excited that I'm going to get to go to New Orleans, the gulf coast, and a whole bunch of other places. YAY!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!!

It is supposed to be 110 here in Riverside today. YUCK!!! It is kind of overcast right now and is 101 at 1:25p.m. It still has the potential to make 110. 

We're going to barbecue steaks and go see fireworks tonight. 

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In other news I'm taking an icky class at UCR. I'm taking Political Anthropology. It is just busy work so it should be ok. I am a week ahead in reading, so its all good. I just hate that the class is sooo boring and it is 3 hours on Tuesday and Thursday. I will be a trekker and make it through it though.

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I'm also excited to go to Mississippi at the end of July to see my best friend. I have about a 6 hour layover in Oklahoma coming back, so that should be cool. I'll find something to do. I am excited that I'm going to get to go to New Orleans, the gulf coast, and a whole bunch of other places. YAY!

9:34

That is the magic time. As of 9:34 this morning, I have been on summer break!!! 3 FULL MONTHS OF FREEDOM!!!