East Coast Reflections

My east coast trip was definitely off the hook!  I was inspired and enlightened during my trip to consider east cost living for grad school or post grad school.  I was able to tour around a tri-state area.  I can say i went shopping in a tri-state area! I checked out Philly, Jersey, and New York!  The weather was perfect too!  We just missed their heat wave!  I’m glad they got the memo!  haha So here was my itinerary for the week

SUNDAY

-Jackie and I flew into Philly airport at midnight

-Michal picked us up and we headed to Jersey to spend the night

-Went to Mass at Church of His Holy Name

-Headed to Downtown Philly and ate Philly Cheesesteaks, went shopping on South and Walnut Street ( I LOVE H&M)

MONDAY

-Shopping in Jersey~ NO TAX ON CLOTHES!!

-Spent the day in Jersey Shore, Swam in the Atlantic Ocean & chilled on the boardwalk

-Headed to ATLANTIC CITY! fun times!

-Ate at the Late night Italian place in Jersey…. YUMMY

TUESDAY

-Headed to Upstate NY, went shopping at Woodbury Outlets

-Met up with my cousins from New City and spent the night with them

WEDNESDAY

-Met up with Michal and Jackie and headed to NYC

-Saw Rockefeller Center

-Bought 35% off Broadway tickets to RENT at the MARRIOTT MARQUEE in TIMES SQUARE

 -Chilled in Times Square, got free underwear cause it was National Underwear day, took pictures with THE NAKED COWBOY

-Saw the WUDDAFXUP GUY!

-Watched RENT

-Chilled on 5^th Avenue

-Went souvenir shopping

-Spent the night in Yorktown in Jackie’s Aunt’s house overlooking a beautiful lake!

THURSDAY

-Met up at Reggie’s house in Long Island

-He took us to check out NYU, go shop in SoHo/NoHo, and walk around Granich Village

-Took the subway & taxi to get to Serendipity during a NY rainstorm! We were drenched!  It was awesome!

-Had dinner at Serendipity…Frozen hot chocolate was yummy! Too much hype though.

-Spent the night and had drunken fun at Reggie’s place

FRIDAY

-Had a mini Jam session with Reggie..it was so awesome to hear him live!

-Headed back to Yorktown and chilled

-Drove to Hoboken to take pictures of the NY skyline and Statue of Liberty

-Walked around Stephen University’s Greek row and ate NY Pizza

SATURDAY

-Michal’s parents took up to Philly China Town and had DimSum for lunch

-Checked out Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Love Park, Philly Museum of Art (ROCKY STEPS!)

-Visited LaSalle University

-Went shopping at Franklin Mills Outlet

-Ate dinner at this Thai/Malaysian place in Princeton

-Had Rita’s Mango Gelati’s for dessert!

SUNDAY

-Went to Mass

-Ate Lunch at Michal’s place (Nick’s Roast Beef sandwiches & Uncle’s Mango Bomb)

-Headed to Philly Airport and said good-bye to the east coast L

Delicious food! BREATHTAKING SITES!  Wonderful people J Craaaazy SHOPPING! WHAT AN AWESOME TRIP!  I LOVED IT!  EASTCOAST FOR NEW YEAR’S HERE I COME!

During my trip I realized a couple things.  I DON’T WANT TO SETTLE FOR SECOND BEST.  I WANT THE REAL THING.  No Hesitation….No Regrets….JUST LIVE!

genuine happiness

Im happy.really happy.  I wish things didnt have to be complicated, but for know Im not going to worry too much and just enjoy the ride.  Who would have thought someone could open my heart to something I have never experienced before with out intentions of selfishness, malice, and deceit, but rather with sincerity, care, and respect?  I dont know how long this will last.  I dont know where this experience will take me.  But I have utmost faith in what God has planned for me.  Im not so afraid anymore.  I have reason to believe the being genuine and actually staying true to my self can reap great blessings. J 

My Mom and I had a very long heart to heart.  It went til 4am! Despite all the BS thats going on right now, she is so strong and so resilient.  She still has so much love in her heart.  She deserves to be happy.  My mom is my hero.  I cant wait to start working on our future professional as well as mother-daughter plans.  Respect and trust is definitely something not to be toyed with.  Once lost, it is hard to get back.  A part of me is let down again.  I dont want to feel this way anymore.  Its been too long.  So many tears of aggravation, disappointment, and utter sadness have flooded my eyes.  Enough is enough.  Im tired of it.  My heart is tired of it.          

Highlights of the Week

Monday 6/15- Visited Rye in UCLA with Arleen & E-jay.

Wednesday 6/14- Quality Time with Vivian.  Thanks for the dinner!

Thursday 6/15- Cynthias Burlesque show!  Good times with My, Nate, & Angelina.  Congrats to My for FINALLY moving into his condo!

Friday 6/16- Ryans Graduation from UCLA!  Quality time with Rye & E-jay at On the Border.  I had my first cigar with them! Fun Times chillen with Barbi too! Good times at V2O J

Saturday 6/17-Abilities Expo, Sushi, & Clubbin @ White Lotus in Hollywood w/ Barbi

Sunday 6/18- E-jays Graduation Lunch & shopping @ Tyler Mall; Church, Family Party, Balboa Park with Rey

Monday 6/19- Meeting with Kalani & E-jay; quality time with Jackie and Rey J Mr. Suave! haha! I love it

Good Times!

The past 2 weeks have been an absolute blur!!!  I have had the time of my life.  J Being out of college and just relaxing for the summer is something I definitely have been looking forward to.  I have been out and about spending time with friends I haven’t spent time with in ages. Here are some highlights so far since I graduated:

5/24  MY GRADUATION!!!  

5/25  Sarah’s Graduation Party

5/26 Cynthia’s Graduation Party @ D&B’s

5/27 Suzan/Razia/Lai’s Graduation Parties

5/28 Decco’s with Jackie, Sam, Sandee & Lai

5/29 Dinner @ Chili’s & Drunken Bowling w/Lori, Rey, and Eugene

5/30 Laser Tag @ Ultra Zone with Rudy, Jos, Alain, Jackie, Sam, Jon & Matt

5/31 PB Bar & Grill w. Jackie, Alex, Sam, Barbi, Rey, & Eugene

6/1 ASAM Improv comedy show in LA with Jackie & Brian

6/2 Shopping in Melrose w/ Jackie & Brian; Fun times with Eugene & Rey

6/3 Breakfast with the FamBam; Body Rock with Jackie & Alex; Karaoke fun with Rey

6/4 I got hired at OccMed LB Community Hospital as a KT Project CoordinatorJ

Nothing but good times and fun memories!!

It’s official, My best friend Jackie and I are going to NY Aug 5^th  to August 13^th.  I just got my flight confirmation. YAY!

An End to a Beautiful Story

5 years...5 LONG years.  Memories to fill an entire book...late night studying with friends, late night drunken moments, moments of accomplishment, moments of utter failure, new loves, broken hearts, drama, embarassing moments, greek life, roomate fun, new friends, clubbing, PAC events, meeting movie stars, road trips,  long drives from LB to SD and Back, KT dinners, KT Clinic, my 1st intership, my 1st job, my 1st.....so many to name!  *sigh*

I'm practically done with my undergraduate education at CSULB.  So many new experiences to look forward to.  New challenges to face.  New people to meet.  New lessons to learn. New EVERYTHING.

YAY CLASS OF 2006!

Pinoy Grad 11am Saturday May 20th

Official Graduation Ceremony 9am Wednesday May 24th

So I am totally having a moment right now…  Listening to “I Will Remember you”, and thinking about what my future has in store for me.  This past week has come and gone with papers…projects...Alumni/Grad Ceremony…Sheesh what a blur! 18 days til graduation!  How nuts is that?!  It’s barely sinking in that I am graduating.  First I get my grad announcements. Then a week later I get my grad stoles.  The next week I get my cap and gown. Today I got my grad pictures done.  This is such a tease….we haven’t even had finals week yet!      

Yesterday was my first of 4 grad ceremonies I was in and actually planned, the APO 1^st ever Grad/Alumni ceremony. It was a wonderful way to kick off my graduation celebrations.  I am sincerely going to miss being active in the fraternity. Yeah there were definitely times of aggravation, drama, tears, frustration, and disappointment, but I would never trade the experiences I had in APO for anything in the world.  The services, the fellowships, the “non APO events”, and the quality time with the bros out weigh all the bad stuff.  We all may see things in different lights and have differences of opinion but it’s our passion to serve that keeps us linked in the spirit of our fraternity’s virtues.  Standing up in front of my fellow graduating bros, alumni, and actives was an experience I couldn’t describe in words.  There was a point where I didn’t even know what I was saying just because I was trying to hard to bask in the final moments I have as an active.  Seeing my dream of a ceremony that brought back the brothers together in one room and just celebrate where the fraternity has been and where it is now and acknowledge all the people who have contributed to our history was amazing!  It was such a humbling experience.

I feel like my purpose in APO has been fulfilled and now it’s time to take what I learned and truly live it.  I hope that the bros take the ideas, new traditions, and practices I brought in and use it for the betterment of the fraternity.  I have always been taught that you don’t know if you are a good leader until after you step down from your position and see if your service bore fruit to new quality leaders. Here’s to LFS!