Happy Holidays

With Christmas quickly approaching, I wanted to take this time to reflect on what I've observed lately.

I recently received a Christmas photo card from someone I've known for about 20 years. In fact, one of her maternal aunts married one of my paternal uncles, so we have cousins in common. Back when I was in high school, we used to work together and we became really close. The last time I saw her was this summer when our aunt had a 60th birthday party. This friend works in town, so the other day I stopped by the store she works at and bought myself lunch before I headed to school. We only chatted for a bit, but she insinuated that her phone number was still the same and that I needed to keep in touch. I gave her a taste of her own medicine and told her that I had been waiting for her to return my call months ago! Anyway, in the brief conversation we had, she told me that she finally met a man seven months ago who is treating her well; however, he is much older than her.

So when I received her card recently, I noticed it had not only her and her two sons, but it also had her new boyfriend and three young children in the photos, which could potentially be his grandchildren. Anyway, I'm really happy she has finally found someone.

What makes me sad is that what I thought would turn out to be a great year for me didn't happen. The two major bad points were that I lost my job and that I got rejected by a crush--again. The good points were that I continued to progress in college and passed with decent grades, I had a few more stories published, my health has been good and I reunited with three childhood friends. The last two weeks haven't been so great. I don't think I've shed a tear since probably Tuesday. I think what I really need right now is for my heart to heal and for me to stop being so emotional.

A friend just asked me if I was ready for Christmas. I told her no. Then I told her that if she was referring to having Christmas spirit, then the answer was still no. I'm really happy that my family and I will be spending Christmas together, with the exception of my nephew, who can't make it home.

My definition of Christmas is that it's all about being together and sharing good memories with your loved ones. I intend that this will be a joyous Christmas and that whatever I'm feeling I'll be able to shake off before 2010 ends.

Unrequited Love

Yet again, cupid has missed his aim! Today I took another risk and finally told my crush I liked him. I mean, I had to know because I've been getting mixed signals within the last two months. To make a very short story even shorter, I got rejected--again. Oh well. Life goes on and I am moving on/forward again.

I will take comfort in the fact that when I finally decide to write a book, I will definitely have enough anecdotes to devote a chapter or two to this subject.

Happy 100th Post!

Happy 100th post to me! Ha, ha! I haven't been around lately because I've been occupied with school and other activities. I just wanted to give my three "fans" a progress report of what has been happening lately.

School is winding down--finally! I have one month left until I start my Christmas vacation. YAY!! I'm going to take advantage of the time off because I have a lot of extra stuff I need to do at home. I also plan on making the most of my time off, which means I intend to do some fun things like meet up with some friends who I haven't been able to visit with because of school.

Today, I had lunch with my crush. To try and make a long story short, I texted him about two or three weeks ago about possibly going out for a drink, coffee or lunch. He replied that he was "totally up for it." So we were supposed to discuss our plans the following day while in class. Well, neither of us took the initiative to discuss it then, so a week went by without us talking about it. Finally one day after class, he was about to leave and he asked to talk with me outside. I told him I'd walk out with him since I had an appointment to get to anyway. So I briefly asked him about something class-related and then I asked if he still wanted to go out to lunch, and he replied 'yes.'

So D-day came and I arrived to class about 30 minutes early and he arrived 15 minutes later. I was talking with a close classmate of mine and was reading the new issue of our college's newspaper when this classmate started cracking jokes--like she always does. I was already starting to feel awkward because only she knew what was happening today. There were two other people in the classroom, but I'm 100% sure they weren't paying attention. Then I got up and asked my crush if he was ready to go and he said 'yes.' I asked where he wanted to go and he couldn't quite decide since he wasn't familiar with the area, so I took him to this sandwich shop near school, which I used to frequent when I worked nearby.

We sat outside and ate our lunch. I told him that I was interested in finding out more about his background with his English degree and if it helped him with the copy editing he does in class. By the way, he's the Copy Editor of the college's newspaper and has no other choice but to read everyone's stories. He answered my questions and talked about his experiences with our school and his other classes. He then asked me a few questions about myself such as what I planned on doing after I completed my classes at the college. I told him that I still had aspirations of moving to Southern California. I mentioned that a friend of mine, who lives down there, recommended I move down there to finish up my Bachelor's degree, saying that I could stay with her. He then mentioned that he would eventually like to move back to Southern California, which is where he graduated from college. During the course of our conversation, we talked about our families and what each of us like to do for fun. Prior to having gone out to lunch with him, I noticed a few things about him in class that made me realize that he could be the male version of me! Then after our lunch date, I realized more that we are very similar! One coincidence is that his birthday is the day after mine. :)

So by this time it was already 1:30 pm and class was starting in about 30 minutes. As we headed back, he asked me if I wanted to go get some coffee. I told him that I thought we should head to class first and then we could go get coffee after class. I asked if he was okay with this and he said he was fine with it. We went to class as scheduled. Shortly thereafter, he asked if I wanted to help him with distribution (the new issue of the paper had just come out today) and I said yes. However, we ended up bringing our closest classmate with us, who was a source of entertainment, just like she always is in class! We ended up at Starbucks where I opted for ordering hot chocolate, which he bought me. As we sat down, we let our classmate do most of the talking, which I didn't mind (and I hope he didn't either). After being there for probably an hour, we finally left and arrived back at school. Just before my crush left, he thanked me for lunch and I thanked him for the hot chocolate. In retrospect, I think it turned out to be a good day.

I really don't know what's going to happen next. Within the last month or so, I've gotten several vibes from him that he could be interested. He's complimented me a few times and has made a few comments or gestures that make me believe that he might like me. It's funny, but I don't seem to get those "butterflies" when I'm around him; however, I do get more quiet when I'm in his presence. I'd like to know for certain if he has mutual feelings for me. Before school ends, which is in a weeks, I need to be upfront and tell him I'm interested in getting to know him better. As I've said many times before, I'm leaving everything in God's hands because only he knows what he has planned for me. Also, everything happens for a reason and if I'm meant to be in a relationship my crush, then I'll be content. But if it's not meant to be, I'll accept it and will move on.

My Heart Skips a Beat...

Late last month, I went out to lunch with my family to celebrate my brother's birthday. When I finished eating, I opened up my fortune cookie, which said: "The one you love is closer than you think." I don't know if there's any truth to this, but it got me thinking of someone who has been on my mind lately. :)

Allow me to introduce you to Mr. University College Graduate (or Mr. UCG, for short)...a nice, smart, humorous, young guy, who I think I'm starting to find myself attracted to. By the way, did I mention that he's young? Oh, and before you start calling me a 'cougar', I do know that he's legal--over 25 and under 30! The only problem I have with this is that he's around the same age as my two nieces! Ugh!

By the way, isn't Jennifer Aniston dating a much younger guy? ;) We'll see what happens.

Road Rage

Some time ago, I found myself in the middle of other people's wrath of road rage. :(

I was on my way to meet a friend for lunch and as I was leaving my town, there was blocked traffic to the right of me, so as soon as I was able to go around it, I was sitting at a four-way stoplight. I noticed there was a young guy right behind me, driving a rather large truck. He then moved to the other side of me and onto the left lane. I had my window rolled slightly down and heard him say, "Doesn't anyone know how to drive in this town anymore?!" He was clearly in a hurry.

As I made my way into the neighboring city, I had to make a quick stop at the mall. I found myself at a three-way stop, which I thought might have turned into a four-way stop. Although I had the right-of-way to turn right, out of courtesy, I decided to let the car opposite me make a left turn while I waited. As this occurred, there was a car to the left of me, whose driver had to make a complete stop. As the driver notices me stopping to let the other car go, I hear the young woman yell, "What are you waiting for, f***** winter?!"

I know sometimes my patience can wear thin in certain situations, but I thought it was rude of those two, young people to have acted the way they did! It's really sad to see this type of anger in other people. We live in a crazy world and I've learned that when things like this happen, you just need to brush it off and forget about it.

Happy Anniversary!

I just want to wish my parents a very Happy Anniversary! They celebrate 51 years of marital bliss today. One day, I intend to find my significant other (aka Mr. Right) and hope that we can spend our years making a lifetime of memories together! :)

My Summer Break is Over!

All good things must come to end and that's the case for my summer break. :( This was the main reason why I've been MIA for a few months. I needed some ME time and I definitely got a lot of it!

During my break, which started in late May, I found myself reuniting with three childhood friends. I've known "S" & "C" since the fourth grade and I've known "I" forever (our parents have been very good friends for many years)! We literally haven't seen each other (with the exception of I & S) since high school graduation. We all agreed to get together for dinner one evening and well, the rest is history (or in this case, HERstory)! It's like our friendship resumed where we left off many years ago. During this time, C mentioned that she wanted to try Zumba, so I went along with her and gave it a try. It's a good workout and I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, I injured my lower back, which was likely a result of the strenuous exercise plus stress, which lately is a never-ending saga with me. Anyway, about a week later and after having consulted with a chiropractor, my back felt much better. I returned to doing Zumba two weeks later, but shortly thereafter my membership expired. I'd love to go back and do it on a regular basis, but right now it's just not possible. In the meantime, C and I have taken up hiking and will continue to go when we can.

In addition to getting back to an exercise routine this summer, I've been trying to finish a few cleaning projects, which I hadn't been able to do since I've been in school. I still have a few more things to go through and will get back to it during a well deserved break!

Earlier this month, my family--minus my oldest niece--got together and celebrated my sister's 50th birthday by taking her out to lunch. My nephew (my sister's son), who was on leave from the Air Force, was even able to make it. We drove to a neighboring city and enjoyed a delicious lunch outside on what turned out to be a gorgeous day!

Lastly, I finally went back to school last week and let's just say that I'm glad that week is over with! Stress took over the best of me (yet again), but a few days ago I started noticing that things are slowly starting to fall into place. :) This semester is going to keep me quite busy, but I'm looking forward to what could happen as a result of taking the "fun" class!

Ideas...and more ideas!

Have you ever felt like your mind is racing a mile a minute with all these ideas? In the last few months and up until just recently, I've had several of those thoughts come into my mind, which I would like to write about. I have a clear picture of who I'd like to interview and what angle I'd use. However, the next step is to conduct more research and come up with various questions to ask these interviewees. And I already know the perfect publication that I plan on sending my query letter(s) to.

First up, an opportunity that literally presented itself! I plan on taking full advantage of it this week--hoping it isn't too late. Hopefully this interview will take me on to a path of where I'd like my writing to go.

Lastly, I'm considering incorporating other discussions into this blog. I think if I do this it will help to broaden my audience. I mean, you never know who's out there reading my blog!

A New Beginning

"What appears to be the end may really be a new beginning." ~Unknown

I've been a little lax lately in blogging, but once again I've had nothing to report...until now.

Exactly one week ago today was my last day at work. I was at this job for almost two years and was promoted last April; however, the promotion didn't last very long because then the entire organization was affected by budget cuts. After this happened, I wasn't too happy working there. The office wasn't drama-free and I was basically working for "peanuts" now. From that point on, I told my employer that I was going to be looking for another job. Initially when I accepted this position, I was informed that I would only be allowed to work a certain amount of hours. Well, I completed those hours last Friday & they came up before I could say, "Stick it where the sun don't shine!" (Just kidding!)

I absolutely HATE having to look for a new job! It always leads me to analyze what a potential employer might be thinking about when they read my resume. Well, so far I've been on two interviews: The first one occurred a month ago and when I called their HR Department two weeks ago, they said they were in the middle of conducting background checks. This organization plans to drag this out for a while, so I'll continue to wait patiently (*insert sarcastic remark here*).

In the meantime, I've been applying at different companies and actually got called in for an interview this past Wednesday. As I was speaking with the interviewer, she told me about the job and mentioned that she was very impressed with my cover letter. She asked me about my qualifications and I reiterated to her that I'm definitely qualified for the job. One thing I already have going for me is that I live 10 minutes away from their office, whereas some of the applicants have a commute because they live in the Bay Area. Personally, I have a good feeling about this job and I'm intending that I get it because I believe it'd be a "stepping stone" to my future. And if they decide to pass on me, then it wasn't meant to be and it'll just give me an incentive to keep looking. I just hope I can find something sooner than later.

I'm Back with a Downpour of Good News!

Yes, I'm back again from being on sabbatical from blogging! Well, it's been a slow news day these past few months, until about a week ago when I was 'drenched' with some good news!

I had left work a few minutes early last Thursday. Well, when I came into work on Friday, I started reading my e-mails when I noticed one from the director of our office. She was congratulating me on the article I wrote. I then began to wonder what she was talking about. Hmmm...well, the last article I wrote was almost two years ago and it was for class. I was told that it would get published the following semester, but it never did. I had even e-mailed my former instructor to inquire when it would be getting published. She told me that the newspaper had two new editors, so it was up to them as to which stories made it in. Evidently, mine never made it to print until last week! YAY! Needless to say, I told my "supervisor" the good news and she asked me if I'd leave a copy for the office. Well, it turns out a few days ago, she placed a copy of the newspaper, which had published my article, in the lunch room and placed a Post-It on the front page mentioning my article. What a way to embarrass me; however, I did receive several compliments from my co-workers.

Well, you can guess how surprised and excited I was about the article. But I was also not expecting to hear more good news soon after! About three weeks ago, I went to take a job exam and then the following week, I took another exam for the same organization, but for a slightly higher position. Well, this week, I found out the results for both exams and I passed! However, because there is always a high volume of people applying for these positions and taking these exams, you must pass it and have received a certain overall percentage in order to get on the waiting list. Once you pass the exam, you receive a ranking number and wait until your number is picked, and until you're contacted for an interview. Unfortunately, the list only stays active for a few months. And once the list expires, you have an opportunity to take the exam again when it's offered. Needless to say, I ranked #12 on exam one and #20 on exam two. However, soon after I passed the first exam, I received an e-mail informing me that I qualified for the bilingual vacancies and to call them for an interview, if I was interested. Well, I'm still waiting for the call back regarding the interview schedule.

After having been on a job search for the past nine months, I'm learning to have more patience and I believe it's slowly starting to pay off. I'm going to continue practicing being positive and surrounding myself with positivity so that I may reach my goals. I intend that the next path I'll be on is to become employed at one of these organizations. Disclaimer: I haven't given up on my dreams just yet. I have to put them on hold for the moment, but will try to find time to work around them and hope that they will become a part of my future. :)