Happy New Year!

Well, 2007 is almost history and another new year is upon us. Time sure flies! I have but only a few wishes for 2008:


1) I pray that my parents have the best of health. They're the greatest people I know (ok, so I'm a little biased!) and I don't know how I would survive without them. :)


2) For my sister to have faith during this tough time that she 's going through. Things will eventually get better for her.


3) For my brother to have continued success in what he enjoys doing and I hope that he finds that someone special.


4) For my two nieces and nephew to be happy despite what they and their mother have gone through this year. I pray that my oldest niece will enjoy her new surroundings and job, and that her b/f stays true to her and takes care of her. For my nephew, I also hope he enjoys his new surroundings and that he will stay focused while away at school. As for middle niece, I hope that she enjoys her time off away from school and that she knows that she can always go back to it when she is good and ready.


5) For the rest of my growing and extended family, I hope that everyone is in good health and that their lives are filled with love and happiness.


6) For my old & new friends, I hope that they're happy. I may have lost contact with a few "old" friends [though not by choice], but all I really wish for them is the best.


7) As for me, I still have the same wishes as I did before: that I have great health and continued success in school. And if God is listening, I pray that 2008 will be a great year for me in that I will finally meet that special someone!

Christmas is just around the corner!

I just couldn't wait to say this, but school is over! I took my last two finals today and boy, what a relief it is off my back! :) I am FREE from the worrying and the STRESS that I was under for the last 3-4 months. Now I can relax and enjoy the next three weeks of vacation. I intend to do the following:

1) Catch up on some house work (including getting rid of all those papers I accumulated from doing research) since I've alienated it for a while.

2) Exercise/go running because I haven't had much time for it.

3) Meet up with some friends.

4) Go bargain shopping right after the Xmas holiday.

5) Finish reading this book I bought--from two years ago.

6) To go back to "Mr. Cutie's" p.o.b. and introduce myself to him--that's if he's ever there! ;)

So I started my Xmas shopping today. I didn't get a chance to do it earlier because I was inundated with school stuff. I bought something for my father, sister and 2 nieces, but now I need to find something for my mother, brother, and nephew. I swore to my mother that there wasn't going to be a Christmas this year because 1) I didn't have the $$ and 2) I wasn't in the holiday spirit. So much for breaking promises! :(

Finally, this week I'm supposed to be submitting the draft of the profile I wrote to the publication that didn't hire me. I'm hoping the subject of my profile gives his ok on the quotes I sent him tonight. And I'm praying that the publication will want to publish my first story! :) Ah...the life of a freelance writer. :)

Every cloud has a silver lining

I received an e-mail last week from the Editor of the publication where I had recently applied to. It turns out that she gave the job to another candidate. :( I wasn't really disappointed that I didn't get the job. I know I need to improve my writing skills and I plan to do so. You know, there's always a silver lining to be found somewhere! Here is what the Editor's wrote me:


"It's not because we don't adore you! And I am still interested in having you write the WFC piece. Thanks so much for your time and patience. Perhaps we can do an internship at some point in the future? I have one lined up for the spring already, but maybe during summer or fall."

Well, I didn't hesitate to respond and told her that I'd be interested in interning in the summer. She responded by saying she was glad. I'm looking at this as another opportunity or stepping stone to what could possibly lead to a future career, either with this publication or with another one in my area.

Ok, so I finally went to "Mr. Cutie's" place of business (p.o.b.) about two weeks ago w/ my friend Angelica. As we walked into the place, I looked at the waitress behind the counter and asked, "Is your mother's name Joy?" She responded, "Yes. Do you see a resemblance?" Kathleen, our waitress, is the spitting image of her mother. It turns out that her parents and my parents were neighbors back in the mid/late 70s. At that time, their son was just a few months old. I remember when my mother took me to visit the neighbors and all I saw was this little baby in his crib. Unfortunately, Kathleen's parents moved shortly thereafter into another neighborhood, just around the corner. She and her older sister weren't born yet when her parents lived next door. However, I do remember seeing her in town with her parents many years ago.

During the course of our conversation, I explained to Angelica how I knew Kathleen. Before we finished lunch, Kathleen came out and talked to us. I found out that she graduated with my oldest niece & when I told her my niece's name, she replied that she did notice a resemblance between my niece and I. That was funny to hear her say that because no one has ever told me that. People have always said that my other niece/Godchild looks more like me!

Anyway, after talking to the waitress--who actually made a few mistakes w/ my friend's lunch & with our bill (we gave her a good tip anyway. She said that she promised next time the service would be better. Oh, there will definitely be a next time. I can guarantee that!), I eventually fessed up to my friend as to why I wanted to eat lunch where we did. My very good reasons were: 1) I had never been there before, and 2) I was hoping to run into the owner..."Mr. Cutie"! Unfortunately, he wasn't there that day. :( There may be another opportunity to hang out at his p.o.b. in the future! On occasion, they have live music there. Apparently another alum of our high school--who happens to be a classmate of Angelica's--plays there every now and then. Hmmm...the next time he's performing sounds like the perfect time to go in again and maybe this time I'll run into "Mr. Cutie"! :) Hey, and if Kathleen is still working there, maybe I can ask for the 411 on her boss!

Well, I need to get back to finishing up my homework. Thank God there's only two more weeks of school left! YEAH! Can't wait for winter break, even though it's going to be a short one. :(