Winter break randoms

Some things I've learned or reaffirmed:

In Vegas
_Some girls just have no shame
_Some guys just have no shame
_Some guys just have no shame OR common sense, like knowing when to stop *ahem*
_Even if it's freezing, coat check is not worth $6.
_You can never be too full for a Fat Tuesday, even if you just downed this:

On our 6 year anniversary
_You start running out of ideas for dinner spots/gifts/other typical anniversary stuff, but you really don't mind anymore
_Sometimes staying in to watch a movie and eating mochi > obligatory money-spending activities

While grubbing on holiday food
_Any thought of moderation or portion control goes out the window longer than you realize. You think it only lasts for a couple days, then 1-2 weeks pass and it's like you never put your fork down
_You really can't go wrong with anything potatoes
_I still think cake > pie for the most part

O Holy Night

Happy holidays everyone, I don't have much to say except that I hope everyone's enjoying their break and time with family and friends. I wish it didn't take the "holiday spirit" for people - me included - to get back in touch with some old friends to catch up on the past couple months, or even years in some cases.

BnB and Me (the forever tag-alonger) at the annual dinner

Sundance/Mesa Verde Reunion. We've been through it all haha.

Vegas trip with 198 & friends. Taking advantage of our last winter break together :/

Happy holidays from my family to yours

Listening to the homily during today's mass reminded me why I'll still put my faith and trust in God despite this religious funk I've been in. I know lately I've been having inner conflicts with religion in general and understandably so, but I can still wholeheartedly acknowledge that having God in my life fills this inexplicable void that cannot be fulfilled by anything else. I may have lost faith in organized religion and the ability of people to be understanding and accepting towards others, but faith in my God has never swayed and I don't think it ever will.

All I ask is that as the end of the day draws near and you look at all the gifts you've received, if you ask yourself, "Is that all there is? Could there be more? Do I have enough?", look past all the gift wrap and fancy decor and remember what Christmas is really about: honoring the birth of Jesus Christ. Religious or not, I think we all can benefit from seeing the beauty and wisdom within his teachings.

Merry Christmas<3

Everybody's doing it

I was tagged in Facebook for 16 random things about me, thought I might as well post it here as well.

1. English is my second language, since I was born in the PI and learned Tagalog first. I was in ESL early in elementary school, and now I can barely speak Tagalog even though I understand it well.

2. I have an older sister. She was born and passed away before I was born.

3. I won the spelling bee in 3rd grade and the geography bee in the 5th.

4. Most of the time I waste on the internet is due to reading entertainment blogs. I know random things about various actors, bands, musicians, etc. OhNoTheyDidnt is my favorite.

5. Ever since high school ended, I haven't really found a hobby or extracurricular activity that I can obsess over as much as colorguard. A good number of my best high school memories are from all things colorguard-related.

6. I play a mean faux-guitar, via Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I used to take piano lessons but I'm a little rusty on that now.

7. My "thing" in elementary and middle school was swim team. I started swimming lessons at Miramar when it was still a naval base, and I was part of the PQ Swim Team for a while.

8. I knocked out one of my teeth (lateral incisor) with a guard rifle. It was spinning fast horizontally and smacked me right in my mouth. I also smacked my forehead with a flag during freshman year; after my egg-sized bruised subsided, it left a black line under my eye for 2 weeks. But I've never broken a bone.

9. For some reason I think I make a bad first impression on most people, like I'm really bitchy or something. I think it's because of my default face and that I'm a pretty quiet/private person. Something to work on I guess.

10. I was in an accident a couple summers back driving from Irvine to SD. My car spun and hit a hill on the right side of the freeway, and if I spun out 50 yards earlier, the only thing that would've separated me from the cliff side was a wire fence.

11.When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be either a Blue Angels pilot or a paleontologist.

12. I question my beliefs - on just about everything - a lot. As long as I just think about "balance", I think I'll be fine.

13. My favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption because it's about hope.

14. I have really sensitive skin. A little scratch will cause my skin to rise.

15. I have my 6-year anniversary with Raf on Friday. For that I consider myself very, very lucky.

16. I always write more than I should and can't do short and succinct, as you can see.

Looking back

I didn't even realize it, but I've been blogging on here for a little over a year now. I'm glad I've been able to stick to one place to just let it all out for this long, it's always fun to just look back - from what was going on about a year ago, or even my changes in writing style. That reminds me, I cringe every time I give in to the temptation to look back at my old Xanga. Oh, the embarrassment.

For the fourth time now, I've made it through fall quarter here at UCI. As much as studying sucks during 10th and finals weeks - or more accurately, trying to - I got this calming feeling a couple nights ago just walking through campus after one of my review sessions. Seeing everyone bonding together in their pajamas inside Starbucks, conversing about finals material and non-school related topics, the textbooks and notebooks intermingled with the empty coffee cups and snack boxes, how every student seems to be going through the same thing at this time...I don't know. For some (cheesy) reason, it made me think about how little time I have left here at UCI and how much I will miss it, from the good times to the academic rock bottoms, the sleepless nights due to late night bonding to those in which procrastination takes the credit.

I know I have a lot of planning to do for the future still, but for now I'm going to curl up in my spot at the 198 couch and soak "it" all in, whatever it may be.

Seems so long ago but nothing's changed :]

SNL: Digital Shorts FTW

Definitely the best things about SNL nowadays, now that the election is over. Haha.

You can watch it in HD here, I tried embedding it but it messed up my layout.

Deal breakers

Although I've been out of the dating scene for a while now, I'm pretty sure that everyone - myself included - has a list of deal breakers where there is simply no room for compromise for certain issues. You know, those things you find out about someone that make you go from "damn this guy/girl is pretty dope" to "oh, what the - are you serious?". For me now, it's more applicable to new guy friends as opposed to potential suitors, but anyways here are a few of mine that I would enforce if I were single (it will be obvious that some of these are less serious than others but all are important to consider):

_He already has kids.
I have nothing against guys who are trying to balance their lives with the responsibility of being a parent. I'd just rather not deal with the baggage that comes with it. And crazy baby mamas.

_Lil' Wayne is one of his top 5 favorite artists.
That's just...no. The gap in musical tastes - and who knows what else - would be of epic proportions and too great to connect the two of us. As Lance likes to say, "You can't explain bad taste to someone who has it".

_Potent B.O.
Do I need to explain this one? I like getting close and being affectionate, so please don't make me hold my breath everytime you lean in for a kiss.

_History of cheating
People make mistakes and learn from them. But I just don't need something like that always lingering in the back of my mind.

_"Bitches, sluts, hoes, etc." are part of his normal vocabulary.
I have to admit I've met guys who have done this within the first 10 minutes of meeting them. It's amazing how much respect I will lose for a guy when he starts talking about these "ugly, fat bitches" to his friends not too long after the initial "Nice to meet you Kristine".

_Doesn't like sushi
I enjoy my tempura shrimp rolls, plum wine and Japanese restaurants way too much.

_Flaunts their "intelligence" too much
This is for those people who are constantly correcting others and like to state random facts to prove how smart they are. They may also have the tendency to use complicated, long words just for the sake of it when it is totally unnecessary. Just say no to pretentious pricks.

_Does not tip
Not only is it rude, but I hate being embarrassed in public, on top of the second-hand embarassment for the guy. If you don't have money to dish out a decent tip, don't plan on dining out period.

_Annoying myspace/facebook profile pictures
Applicable if the majority of their pictures are: shirtless poses, myspace angles, altered by 2+ effects, shots of their body w/o the face, throwing up too many gang signs, etc. etc. Also known as trying too hard.