This Girl Sucks...

...her name is Katrina.

As the death toll reaches the hundreds, you have to wonder about life. Who knows what these people were doing when they died, but it couldn't be all that much different from whatever their routine was.

Here's the deal... make the most of life, whatever you do. Our time could come at any moment.

Back to Katrina, please pray for the survivors and their families. A lot of people have been devastated by this hurricane.

In other news, work was good today. Thursday I start at Red Lobster. I'd talk more about my day, but Katrina has filled the majority of my thoughts.

Oh, all that I know,
There's nothing here to run from,
'Cause everybody here's got somebody to lean on.

Peace,
Cy

Haha... YES!

I don't know what's up with the exciting title...

actually... I DO!

1. I started my job at Anchor Blue today as a sales associate.
2. I start my job at Red Lobster tomorrow as a host.
3. I got a pretty huge phone call yesterday from someone from HOBY... I can't share what about... just yet.

So yeah... everything is pretty cool right now. My first job(s)... It's been fun.

Right now I'm watching Stella staring, written, and produced by Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. It's so random, it's great.

Well that's it. Not much new.

At the edge of the rest of your life
At the end of a one way road
I was losing everything
And tonight may never shine
If you never open your eyes
I keep this heart right next to mine

YEEAH!
Cy


Tomorrow: Fun Stuff.

Categories: Work, HOBY

It's late...

It's late... actually 2:02AM. Wow. So in 5 hours, I leave for San Diego. We youth leaders have a retreat in San Diego. Should be loads of fun. That's what's going on this weekend.

Updates from yesterday. I got the job at Anchor Blue. It's part time... So I have like 15 hours next week. That's fun. Still yet to hear from Red Lobster.

Khorg is now a level 14 Rogue. Good fun.

That's it. Sleep now for me.

To Sleep, Perchance to dream,
Cy


Sunday: WEEK IN WRAP UP!

Zippa Dee Doo Da

Yeah, so I haven't posted in a while. A lot of you may be worrying. I assure you. There is nothing to worry about... except that I have an odd rare disease where my teeth can liquify at any moment draining itself down my throat where it can tear up my internal organs... Yes, the doctor says I have maybe 10 hours to live. That was yesterday. So I guess I'm OK!

Anyway, you may be wondering about my last post. I talked with that person as well as some other people at my church who know me very well and we got things resolved... so that's the end of that. Hopefully... but there's always our nature! Two thumbs up for our nature!!! (blech.)

Ok, so these last three days have been exciting to say the least... I MAY BE GETTING A JOB!!! But shhh... don't say anything because we don't want to jinx it.

Tuesday, I woke up and decided, "I need to do something with my life (with the 8 weeks I have left in the United States)." So I decided to go job hunting. And where's the first place most teenage kids go to find jobs? THE MALL.

So I make my rounds 'round the mall. I applied at four places (though I inquired almost everywhere): American Eagle, Texas Cattle Company (a restaurant... heh), Red Robin, and Anchor Blue... Then I went outside of the mall and applied at all the restaurants... Johnny Carino's, El Torito, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster.

I was called in for two interviews for Wednesday... Anchor Blue and Red Lobster at 1:30pm and 3pm respectively. I felt like I nailed both interviews. So the lady at Anchor Blue said she'd call me on Friday and the lady at Anchor Blue set me up with another appointment with their Head Manager (who oddly enough, does not manage heads.) for 3pm again the next day (today).

So I felt pretty good. I called up Heather, Justin's girlfriend who is currently at Cal State Long Beach, and told her the news. She has worked for Red Lobster for the past year (and a half?) now... Also, her sister and her sister's best friend works there. She said getting a second interview was a good sign. She also said that she would call and put in a good word. Score.

So here I am, at home. It's 4:04 now and I'm writing this blog to let you know what's been up. I'm hoping I get these jobs. They both said they'd call tomorrow... *fingers crossed*

The job at Anchor Blue is part time, while they will probably have me working full time at Red Lobster. Maybe I can work both.

Alrighty, I'm off to play some World of Warcraft (WoW)... I'm a nerd. I know. I just hit level 45 with Baurius, my Night Elf Priest last night on the Silver Hand Realm... Also, I started an alt (alternate) on the new PvP server Detheroc... His name is Khorg. He is a lvl 9 Rogue Orc... and he rocks. I also joined a guild with him - Apocalypse. Last time I checked the guild had 150 members... and this realm just opened on Tuesday... so that's impressive. Alright, enough of that.

I'm having friends over tonight for a movie and games. I'll be making my world famous Chili Queso. So that should be fun. Alrighty then. Enjoy yourselves.

P-A-R-T-Y?
Because I gotta,
Cy


Tomorrow: Did Cy get the jobs? Will Khorg level up? Will Cy's friends come to his movie night? Tune in next time for the not so exciting adventures of "What's in Cy's Head"!

Categories: Friends, Work, Games

"The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot"

...another song by Brand New

Yeah, so today was emotional.

I have issues that I need to work through...

Sometimes people disappoint you... or sometimes you'll disappoint people.

I had a looonnngg talk with someone close to me. I yelled, cried, and thought.

I might be wrong here.

This person hurt me, but it was in the past. Why do I keep bringing it up?

I need to be forgiving, but it's hard.

We've talked about it before, and I always say I'm over it.

but I'm not.

I know what I need to do...

Am I ready? Am I mature enough?

I don't know.

I hope things don't become too awkward... (sigh)

We'll see what happens tomorrow...


I'm glad that you can forgive,
I'm only hoping as time goes,
You can forget

Cy

PS: I found this funny. It's like a guide on how to forgive and forget... "Forgive and Forget"


Tomorrow: Back to the norm. lol... sorry for the depressing entry.

Categories: Thoughts

The Week In Wrap-Up!

Woo Hoo! So today, I got together with some great friends Mike, Hunter, Fred, and Leila. We guys played Risk - Star Wars: Clone Wars Edition. It was very different, very new, and very cool. Leila made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. They were muy scrumptious. We played for a couple hours.

Anyway, here it is, the WIWU, or Week In Wrap-Up.

Since last Sunday, I have...
1) hung out in Vegas
2) had lunch with a HOBY
3) visited Disneyland
4) gained two levels in World of Warcraft
5) gone to Hollywood, again.
6) visited HOBY's corporate office in Beverly Hills
7) called up a lot of old friends I haven't talked to in a long time
8) spent 5 hours in traffic
9) come in second in a poker tournament
10) had Coldstones Ice Cream
11) gotten new flip flops from American Eagle.

My Rating = Catastrophic // Terrible // Lousy // OK // Good // Tight // Bangin'

I gave my week a Bangin' rating because this week even though a little hectic to start off, was pretty kickback towards the weekend. Lots of great hanging out with friends and some cool treats and stuff. So yeah, this week was bangin'!

Now here they are... pictures from the week!!!

Disneyland's "Remember... Dreams Come True"


Me kicking my nephew's butt on Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters


My cousin and I at Neighborhoodies - Las Vegas


The Fountains at Bellagio


My cousins and me trying to be thuggin' at New York, New York Hotel & Casino.



So thar it is, mateys. The WIWU!

It's true. Look how they shine for you.
Look how they shine...
Cy


Tomorrow: I run some errands... My dog Ewok.

Categories: WIWU, Pictures, Games, Random

Categories!

Thanks to FreshBlog and del.icio.us, I am now able to cateogrize my posts. If you look to the sidebar to the right, there should be a list of categories for easier finding of certain posts that deal with specific subjects... such as friends, family, HOBY, random stuff, tv, etc...

So check that out! If you are anything computer literate, you can try to do this yourself for your own blog. You can find a tutorial here courtesy of FreshBlog.

Categories: Nerdy

"Sweet and Heat"

...I watched this show on the Food Network called Bobby's Vegas Gamble. It basically followed super chef Bobby Flay around vegas as he planned, prepared, and opened his new Mesa Grill Restaurant at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was absolutely amazed at all the work that goes into opening a restaurant. On top of that, Bobby Flay already has two successful restaurants in New York City, New York, so if opening a new restaurant is difficult for him, it must be so much harder for someone opening up their first restaurant. Of course, nothing comes easy.

If you don't know this about me yet, I would love to own a business someday. It's the American Dream, being self-sufficient, having something of your own, a business, a legacy, to be successful. (Read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. It's a beautiful story about a man, his family, and his quest for the "American Dream".) Anyway, the thought of entrepreneurship has always interested me. To own and invest myself in a business that could eventually grow into something huge excites me. Watching this show made me want to be a chef, or something. haha. Also, if you don't know this, I plan on studying business in college. Specifically what, I don't know yet. Thinking about this leads me to thinking about the future.

With the end of High School comes thoughts of life. Where am I heading? What is my life at present? What do I want for my life? What are my goals/ambitions/dreams? What do I want to accomplish? What impact do I want to leave on the world? Questions like these constantly make up the majority of my thoughts. (Amusingly enough, I do a lot of my thinking in the shower... I'm not really a singer in the shower... I'm a thinker. Heh.)

Heading to the Philippines, it would seem that my life is going in the right direction. I feel that I am going to learn so much while I'm there. I had dinner with my mom tonight at Marie Callender's. We talked and whatnot and one of our conversations was about my grandmother (mom's mom). My grandma was married when she was a teenager and had her first child at the age of 18. This is normal in the Philippines. After her son was born, her husband was murdered. Her husband was a police officer and on a trip to take some inmates on a community cleaning effort, he fell asleep and was murdered by the prisoners. My grandma eventually re-married and my mom was born years later. These are the stories I'm looking forward to hearing. I feel that there are so many things that make up my character through my lineage that I'm anxious to learn of.

That's just one facet of how I hope to progress in my life. I'm looking forward to college, the friends I make there, the life lessons I learn, and the education I need to pursue a worthwhile career. I'm looking forward to landing my first professional job. I'm looking forward to meeting the woman God has planned out for me and learning more about her. I'm looking forward to marrying this woman and starting a family. I'm looking forward to purchasing my first house and gaining equity on it. I'm looking forward to raising awesome children who are motivated to be spectacular. I'm looking forward to seeing them go to college. I'm looking forward to having grandchildren. I'm looking forward to having great grandchildren. I'm looking forward to retiring with my wife. And I'm looking forward to sitting quietly on a porch reminiscing on my life and what I have done in the world...

The future is an interesting thing. I may have 60 to 70 more years on this earth, or if God so chooses, I may have less. Who knows? Plans are plans, I suppose... I once heard a quote that went like this: "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Who knows what's planned out for the road ahead. I sure don't. One thing I do know, I'm hecka excited to see what comes.

So I titled this blog "Sweet and Heat"... Bobby Flay used it to describe one of his signature dishes at his restaurant, and I'm using it to describe this journey called life. I know not everything is going to be flowers and smiles. Yeah, I may have plans, but they might never come to fruition... Life will be sweet no matter what heat comes along. I guess I just have to remember that things happen for the best. Though we don't see what's ahead (SCARY)... trust is key... in what? For me, it would be God... it would be love... family... friends... truth... What do you trust in? What do you need to put your trust in? Yeah... so those are just some thoughts.

Life is a garden, Dig it.
Cy


Tomorrow: The Week-In-Wrap-Up (WIWU), I Rate My Week, and PICTURES!!! (silent applause)

Categories: Random, Thoughts, TV, Philippines

"Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't"

...If you're wondering about the title, it's a song from one of my favorite bands, Brand New.

So here is the update on my life for tonight:

Today I drove my cousin Michelle, her husband Larry, and their son to LAX (Los Angeles Airport). They flew back home to Baltimore, Maryland today.

Being from Lancaster, we have to use the freeways to get anywhere. For us, getting to LAX consists of using three freeways: the 14 Freeway, Interstate 5, and Interstate 405. If you have no clue about what I'm talking about, you can see a pretty neat map of the Los Angeles Freeway system here.

We left the house about 1pm today to leave room for traffic and any problems that might happen at the airport. We got to LAX at 3:40. That's right, It was basically a two and a half hour drive. It was terrible. LAX is only about 75 miles from my house, so it really should only take around an hour and a half. The traffic was insane.

I drop them off, say our goodbyes, hug each other and I'm back on the road. Same exact thing the way back. I left around 4:30pm and got home at 7pm. I drove right through rush hour. Another two and a half hours. Basically, I have drove around for five hours in stop and go traffic. Terrible.

The upside to all this was that on the way back, to stay awake, I called people on my cell. I talked to a couple people from HOBY that I haven't talked to in awhile... JT, Jack, Katie, Ara, some others... left a couple messages too. So that was nice. It made the two and a half hours go by faster.

When I got home my mom was having a PartyLite party at her house. If you don't know what that is, it's like those tupperware parties that you went to as a kid... except for candles. Needless to say, when I got home, I was hit in the face with a mesh of aromas. It was nice, just a little surprising. I was dead tired from the drive so I went upstairs to my room (which is once again mine, because no more relatives are over...) and crashed for two and a half hours. (It's funny because it seems that everything I do is coming in segments of two and a half hours.)

I woke up around 9:40pm and had plans to hang out with some of my best friends Justin (you can read his blog at www.husteensworld.blogspot.com), Mallory, and Emily. Emily is an awesome girl, super smart, and funny. She also goes to USC. This fall she'll be a sophomore. Pretty neat. Anyway, she leaves tomorrow to go back to school, so we decided to hang out tonight.

The four of us met up at Emily's house and talked a little bit. I can always have incredible conversations with these kids. They rock. Mallory bought some flip flops for me at her work at American Eagle Outfitters. I don't know if she wants me to reveal that, but they are maybe the most comfortable things I've ever worn on my feet.

By now it's about 10:40pm, so we decide to run over to ColdStone's. If you don't have a ColdStone's nearby, I'm very sorry. It's the best. You pick an ice cream flavor and what they call "mix-ins" (butterfingers, oreos, brownies, gummy bears, nuts, etc.) and they mash it all together on this frozen granite stone. It's very cool. I got my usual, a medium ("love it" size) half coffee-half chocolate with oreos, brownies, and hot fudge mixed in. It's probably my favorite, ever. haha. We take our ice cream outside and eat it up. A couple minutes later a few drunk (I assume) girls run in to the store wearing costumes and work-out gear. One is dressed as a cheetah and has whiskers painted on her face. They were being obnoxious. It was fun to watch. They were a little too loud so we went back to my car where we finished eating our ice cream, talking more about relationships, memories, old friends... stuff like that. We're talking a little bit and this old big man with a huge beard walks up to his van which is parked right in front of us. As he opens the door, a huge "bloody-murder type" scream was let loose. It was from one of the drunk girls, but it sounded like it came from inside his van. He then closed the door. We joked around that maybe he had kidnapped some woman and was stopping to get ColdStone's. lol. On the back of his van he had painted on "LOST? Follow Me"... as he drove by, one of the drunk girls ran after his van. Good laughs. lol.

We head back to Emily's house where we talk even more. It's great because these are some of my friends that I can really carry on a long conversation just about anything. We went from funny memories and stories to talking about our parents and the problems we have sometimes to discipline to when we have children to movies we've seen to relationships (again)... just good discussion. That's what I missed most last year during school. Mallory and Emily both graduated from the class of 2004. Justin and I graduated this past June. ('05!)

So here I am, back at home, typing up this blog. It's 1am in the morning now. It was long winded, I know. I said I was going to put pictures up. I lied. I decided that every Sunday when I do my "Week In Wrap-Up" (WIWU or WeeeWooo), I will also post pictures from that week. I also said that I would talk about The 40 Year Old Virgin staring Steve Carell (Anchorman), but I slept in today and missed going out with Emily and her boyfriend to see it this morning. Maybe I'll watch it this weekend.

Oh yeah, before I left, my mom told me that her brother (my uncle who was here with his family this past week) told her that my cousins read this blog and read what I wrote about how my youngest cousin (4-years old) was annoying the heck out of me. I told her, all I said was true and there's no use hiding the truth or holding back. I feel how I feel. I don't not like my family, it's just that that little boy needs to be spanked. lol. Just my opinion. I certainly hope he grows out of it and that he doesn't stay like this for the duration of his childhood (or adulthood for that matter).

Yeah, so thanks for reading all this I know it's a lot. Tomorrow shouldn't be a lot, I'll probably discuss something deep and share a little bit of what's on my heart. :) Hope everyone's weekend goes well. Don't go to crazy! Remember, you drink and drive, you lose.

PS: Listen to Damien Rice.

Ask me what it's like
to have myself so figured out.
I wish I knew.

So long, sweet summer,
Cy


Tomorrow: Randomness, maybe some thoughts...

Categories: Random, Friends, Family, Music

So Much Stuff, So Little Time...

Alrighty, I'm not in such a great mood right now... but more on that later. Here is the abridged version of the Disneyland trip...

1. Left Vegas at 5am.
2. Arrived at Lancaster at 8:30am.
3. Ate brunch
4. Left for Disneyland
5. Arrived at Disneyland at 12pm
6. For most of the day did rides/attractions that were more appealing to my younger cousins rather than to someone my age (e.g. Autopia, Alice in Wonderland, It's a Small Annoying World, and the parade, etc)
7. Saw "Remember... Dreams Come True" - the most amazing fireworks show you will ever see. It's themed to the music of past and present Disneyland attractions. Very cool.
8. Saw "Fantasmic" again. Great show, still.
9. Rode the new Space Mountain. It had been closed for the last two years for a total makeover. The inside was gutted out and the entire ride was rebuilt with added special effects and a new soundtrack. The re-entry effect alone is worth waiting in line for 40 minutes.
10. Left Disneyland at like 12:10am
11. Got home at 2am.

That was all Tuesday.

Here's what happened Wednesday...

Absolutely Nothing. And it was amazing. I've had something going on every single day since last Thursday and it was finally nice to have a break. My uncle and aunt and their three kids left on Wednesday back for New York, so that's 5 less people in the house, which is also nice. It was fun hanging out with them, but going everywhere and driving around a lot was starting to become taxing. And my youngest cousin who's 4, was driving me crazy. I have never seen a kid more spoiled in my entire life. Ugh, I'd go off on a rant, but I'm not going to.

Wednesday, what else then... at night I had an awesome conversation with my friend Jason about Life, Death, Souls, Memories, and Shopping for Girls. lol. He's an awesome buddy. Oh and mostly during the day, I played more World of Warcraft. If you don't know what that is, it's probably for the best. It's an online massive multi-player role playing game where you create a ficticious character and battle enemies and creatures to gain experience points to level up. As you level up you get special skills/weapons/armor and what not. Not that most of you care about this, but I'm letting you know it's a part of my life. And I play it consistently. My name is Baurius, a level 44 Night Elf Priest in the Silver Hand Realm. (lol, nerdy I know).

Ok so here comes Thursday!... This is what I did today. Or rather, yesterday now, since it's past midnight...

I woke up at about 11am, showered, ate breafast, then drove my other cousin, her husband, and their son to Universal Studios in Hollywood. If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll know that this is now the 6th time, I have been to Hollywood within the last month. It's absolutely insane. So I dropped them off, and then drove over to Beverly Hills where I visited HOBY's official corporate office on Wilshire Bl. Very nice office, cool people. I did get lost getting there though. I went the wrong way on Wilshire which took me away from Beverly Hills and towards Downtown Los Angeles which is confusing as heck! All these one way streets and stuff, very disorienting. But, I made some phone calls and found the right way. You can always count on HOBY people. haha.

So, I was supposed to meet up with Mal again (the HOBY girl I had lunch with in Vegas) and another HOBY person, Melvin at the office, but unfortunately, Mal got in too late from Vegas and so she couldn't make it... so I waited around the office for a little while, until I found out at 5pm that they weren't coming. It was a major bummer. Oh well.

I walked around Beverly Hills for awhile til about 7pm, then I drove home and got home about 8:30pm. From home, I went straight to my friend Chris's house. (Chris is one of my old friends from Jr. High that I got to hang out with for the first time in 4 years last thursday... there was a Blog about that too ;p)... I went with my friend Justin (who now, also has a blog) to play some Texas Hold-Em poker. There were eight of us. It was a $5 buy-in tournament style game. Winner Take All (Dangit.)... so we play for a while, people get knocked out... my friend Justin and I take some big pots... 2 hours pass and there's three of us. Me, Justin, and Chris's Dad...

OK... Now... here's something about Chris's Dad. I don't know if he knows how to play. I dont think he does. He probably knows how to play poker... but just doesn't really know... if you know what I'm saying. I mean as far as betting and bluffing... that whole strategy type thing. So on EVERY SINGLE HAND this guy bets the minimum. EVERY TIME! And when we raise him to attempt to bluff him out of the hand, he calls it! EVERY TIME! So you see, it's impossible to bluff him and it's impossible to tell what he's got. Not to mention luck was in his favor because he was getting all the cards he needed. Gah, it was just not a good situation.

So Justin gets knocked out and Chris's Dad and I are about even. We play three more hands. He gets everything. I go all in on pocket twos because I'm tired and just want to finish it. LOL. So I lost, he gets all the money. oh well. Yeah so that's why I'm not in all that great a mood. I should've won. lol. Good times though.

/rant.

Alright, so that's basically all that happened the last couple days. Hope you liked it. haha.

Pictures tomorrow. I promise, big bro.

You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.
-Kenny Rogers

Peace and stuff,
Cy


Tomorrow: Pictures, The 40-Year Old Virgin, and the future.

Categories: Games, HOBY, Friends, Random, Poker

That's So Raven!

This post is dedicated to the TV show "That's So Raven" on the Disney Channel. My little nephew was watching it this morning and I thought it was the funniest thing ever. So hat's off to Raven Baxter the star of "That's so Raven!"... she makes me chuckle. Turns out, she's turning 20 in December. Never would've guessed.

Alrighty, so here it is the BLOG OF THE DAY!...

Ok, so I've got some stuff to catch up on and cover...

MONDAY: VEGAS DAY 2

Ok, so the second day in Vegas was pretty tight. I woke up around 11am or so and got to meet up with one of my friends through HOBY. Her name is Mal, and she's great. Actually, tomorrow, she's coming with her mom to California. They're going to pick up another HOBY person (Melvin) and go tour around HOBY's corporate office in L.A. I might go join them cause I'll be in the area. Then tomorrow night, if we can swing it, I'll be having dinner with them and Kevin Ditty, another great guy from HOBY who actually works for Disney (going back to that... lol).

Ok, so Mal and I went to lunch in the New York, New York hotel at this place called Gonzalez y Gonzalez They had some pretty good Tex-Mex type food. So Mal and I got caught up on old times, then she went to work, and I went back to family.

We walked around the strip a little while, went to the Desert Passage Shops at the Aladdin Casino & Resort. The only thing I liked there was this shop called Neighborhoodies. If you look a couple posts back, I took a picture from their store in Hollywood ("Tom Cruise stole my religion"). I bought a custom shirt there. (it's pretty funny, I think)... Good times had by all.

Then we went to the new Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. CRAZY PLACE. It's ginormous. It's all stuff I'd seen before, though... all except for the spiral escalator they have now. That was a trip to ride. You can see a picture of it on the left.

So we walk back to the hotel and granted, we're hecka tired. So we crash early and sleep. 4:30AM rolls by and its Tuesday!

TUESDAY: DISNEYLAND!

EDIT: I had actually finished writing all of this disneyland section, but my browser decided to crash on me. Currently, I don't have the energy to retype it all right now, so I will attempt to do it tomorrow...

Geez, i'm just getting more behind everyday!

Til tomorrow, unless more computer junk happens...
Cy


Tomorrow: DONT EVEN ASK. lol

Categories: Random, Travel, TV, HOBY

Baby, I'm Back.

Yeah, so I'm back from Vegas. It was pretty fun. Got to meet with one of my friends from HOBY who lives in Vegas, so that was cool. Anyway, I don't really have time to write a complete blog right now. I didn't get a chance to write one last night because I didn't have access to the internet.

Tonight, I will fill yall in on what happened yesterday and today. I'm about to eat some brunch, then head off to Disneyland.

Oh about the "Baby, I'm Back"... I don't know if you've seen that new commercial for Target, but it's basically a parody off of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot... The chorus of "Baby Got Back" is replaced by "Baby, I'm Back", referring to going back to school. Oddly enough, the parody actually sounds like Sir Mix-a-Lot himself.

This means two things:
1.) Major props go to whoever did it if it wasn't the actual Sir Mix-a-Lot
2.) If it was actually Sir Mix-a-Lot, then what the heck were you thinking? Way to mess up a classic song.

Alrighty, I gotta eat now, so peace out. There will be an update tonight, plus some pics from both Vegas and Disneyland.

Baby Got Back...Packs... at Target
We like backpacks and we cannot lie
with a cell phone pocket on the side
those old backpacks were a fashion risk
but can a cool backpack exist?
Check this
tricked out with the flyest look
and I'm holding way more than books

Baby I'm Back

I'm back at school and its been a little while
I learn, but I learn in style
look at these T-shirts and denim too
but please dont step on the shoes
Do you like jeans? yeah!
jeans? yeah!
in school you gotta be seen? oh yeah!
I'm trying to come back with the hottest look
without tappin mom's pocket book
Baby I'm Back

lol. You can watch the video for yourself here.


Holding way more than books,
Cy


Tonight: Vegas Day 2, Disneyland, Pictures.

Categories: TV

What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

So here I am. I'm writing this blog on my dad's 17-inch Apple PowerBook G4 Laptop. It's pretty much off the chain. So I'm sitting here in the hotel room at New York, New York Hotel/Casino in Vegas. Today we went to Hoover Dam. Man, that place is an architectural wonder. It's pretty insane. It was mad hot today too. Had to be over 100 degrees. It was burning up. So we left kinda early for Vegas. And here we are now.

There's not really all that much to do for the 18-20 year old crowd, so I'm kinda stuck. I've been spending most of my time on the internet while the parentals go out and gamble it up. Been walking around too, but it started raining, so that hasn't been very fun. Anyway, tomorrow should be better. Do some shoppin or somethin. Anyway, I don't have all that much to say. Expect more tomorrow.

Oh here it is... The Week In Recap

Since last Sunday I have...

1. started to feel better (+10points)
2. caught up with some family/cousins (+10)
3. eaten some good filipino home cookin (+10)
4. had to survive my little cousin (-10... I'm sorry, the kid's annoying.)
5. been to Hollywood twice (+5, I'm getting tired of the place)
6. had Ice Cream Cake! (+20, It's the shiznit)
7. gotten together with some old friends from Junior High (+20, I miss these kids)
8. come to Las Vegas (+5, it isn't all that cool yet)

So... total points = 50!

My Rating = Catastrophic // Terrible // Lousy // OK // Good // Tight // Bangin'

I gave my week a Tight rating because a lot of awesome stuff has happened and hardly any downers. so good deal.

Oh yeah tomorrow, I may get to meet up with one of my HOBY friends, Mallory for lunch... so that could be AWESOME. Yeah.

Ask how, Ask now, Ask Sherwin Williams,
Cy.


Tomorrow: Vegas Day 2, Greed, and Random Insanity.

Categories: Travel, WIWU

Off to Sin City...

Yeah so today was cool. Woke up at about 10:30AM... took a shower and ran some errands for mother. Then we PARTIED! But not all that hardcore, because it was for my nephew who is turning 7 on the 22nd this month. His name is Rigil and he's the ISH. We had ice cream cake, some bbq, and some good ol' fashioned filipino food. And that stuff is off the chain. Any party with ice cream cake -Finding Nemo themed ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins no less... has gotta be bangin.

So that was about all I did today. Hung out with some friends later on. That was cool. Anyway tomorrow, my family and I are driving off to Las Vegas, NV, or as it's affectionately called, "Sin City". It should be oodles of fun. The only part that looks like its gonna suck is the four hour drive.

So if any of you are in Vegas, hit me up. I might not have access to the internet, so this might be the last blog i put up until tuesday.

We'll be staying at the luxurious New York, New York Hotel and Casino Sunday night and Monday night. I'm going with my parents, my cousins, and my aunt and uncle... should be great.

There's not exactly a lot of things for those under 21 to do in Vegas. There are a lot of rides, but I've pretty much done them all. My cousins and I might go catch a show of Blue Man Group at the Luxor Resort and Casino. That could be fun. I've already seen them before, but because they're a band, they add new stuff every year or so. It might be different.

Anyway, I'm madd tired. I have to wake up hecka early tomorrow, and I might have to drive part of the way. So i'm calling it a night. Good night all you crazy kids.

"Look homie I don't dance all i do is this.
It's the same 2-step wit a lil' twist."

Stay true,
Cy


Tomorrow: Wedding Crashers, I swear. The song, "I swear", and what I did in Las Vegas on the first day. (If I have access to the internet...)

Categories: Family, Random

Alright... Getting Caught Up

Hello world,

Alright two days to get caught up on... It's all fresh out the box. Stop, look, and watch. Ready yet? Get set. It's all that...

Yeah, so I have some relatives that I haven't seen in thirteen years. My mom's brother, his wife and their three kids. They're cool. It's interesting trying to catch up on thirteen years. They live in a town called Middletown, NY.

So yesterday (Thursday), we picked them up from LAX and drove straight to Hollywood, CA to spend the day at Universal Studios, Hollywood. It had been a couple years since I had last been to USH, so it was fun. We did all the rides and most of the shows. Pretty crowded though. The best part of Universal Studios for me is the backlot tour. I like it. Even though its pretty much the same spiel and tour every time, sometimes you can get some peeks at soundstages being used or even see some actors roaming the backlot. So Universal Studios was cool, but my relatives were already tired from the flight so we left early at 5pm.

We get back home and eat dinner. Around 9PM or so, I get an instant message from Justin about how one of my friends from junior high was driving into town from Palm Springs, CA. So we all decide to go to In-N-Out Burger to catch up on old times. We go there and three other people that I haven't seen since junior high were there as well. We end up talking until 1AM, when the place closes and we move the party over to Denny's where we talk for 2 more hours. Good times.

I was a little worried because I knew that I had to wake up in about 4 hours and drive to Anaheim, CA to spend a whole day at Disneyland. Thankfully, some plans didn't fall into place and we ended up postponing the trip. So instead, we decided to go shop around at Valencia Town Center in Valencia, CA.

After that we go to Hollywood. Again. In the last three weeks, I have been to Hollywood five times. That's way too much. I'm officially tired of the place. We go shopping around at the Hollywood and Highland Center and have dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Good stuff.

After that, we go back to LAX to pick up even more relatives. My cousin Michelle, her husband, and their son. So right now, there are a lot of people at my house. It's overwhelming. Tomorrow we're having a birthday party for my nephew, which should be good.

Yeah, so it was a lot. Nothing really interesting, unless you like knowing every detail in my life, or you're just a stalker, or you're both. Anyway, enjoy some of the pictures I took...

A witty shirt at a place called Neighborhoodies.



Grauman's Chinese Theater



Original Chinese "Heaven Dog" in front of the theater



A happy looking manequin



Hollywood and Highland Center

Well folks, that's it for today. Take care of yourselves this weekend.

That's hot.
Cy


Tomorrow: maybe more pictures, my nephew's birthday party, wedding crashers.

Whoops...

Yeah, so if you've been keeping up with this blog (I don't know if anyone has), you will have noticed that I did not post a blog last night. This is because yesterday was a freakin busy day. Some of my relatives flew in from NY and we went to Universal Studios right after. After that we came home and had dinner.

At 9:50 or so, my friend Justin sends me an instant message over AIM and tells me that some of my old friends from junior high were in town. So we go to In N Out and shoot the crap til 1AM... then we move the party over to Denny's where we stay until 3AM... so good times. I'll write more about that later today, because right now I'm leaving for Hollywood. Again. Doing some shopping today, I guess.

So, double the blogs today. Yay.

It's a celebration.

Enjoy yourselves,
Cy


Tonight: Universal Studios Recap, Mini JR High Reunion Recap, Hollywood Recap, Random Thoughts.

A New Day. A New Blog.

Eh, yeah so today was alright, I guess. Got a lot of work done in the house. Doing the chores and whatnot. Right now as I'm writing this blog, I'm talking to some of my friends from HOBY which is always great.

So the burning question everyone wants to find the answer to is this:

"Why do birds suddenly appear everytime you are near?"

I can tell you the answer.

It's because... just like me, they long to be... close to you. Haha, just kidding. Have you guys seen that commercial for Sony Ericsson in the movies? It's always on and it's kinda funny, but more annoying than anything. It's those three scientists working on a phone or something and they sing the song and they all have different accents. I dunno.

What's up with commercials before movies now? I just want to go, sit down in the theater, chomp down on some popcorn, relax, and watch a movie and not have 4-6 advertisements pounded into my brain. I don't get it. Oh and the commercial I HATE the most is the one for Fanta. "Wanna Fanta? Doncha Wanta Fanta Fanta?"... Not really. And definitely not after hearing that stupid song over and over. It's like the music that would be playing in your head when you're nauseous and on the verge of vomiting.

Yeah so commercials before movies are annoying. But back to the the topic of love. Love is an interesting emotion. It can be confusing too. You can find love in a a lot of different places in many forms. Love is great. I love to love. Yeah, so give a little bit. Give a little bit of your love to me. haha.

Anyway, I'm mad tired. I have to wake up early tomorrow to pick my uncle, aunt, and cousins from the airport. Then we're off to Universal Studios Hollywood. Should be fun times. Yeah, so peace out folks. Give me some feedback or something. lol.

Love y'all.
Cy


Tomorrow: Trip report from Universal Studios, maybe some pictures. And I rant about bad drivers.

Truth, Lies, and Pizza Crust

Just a random title really. Well maybe. I've been thinking about what we say to people. And maybe not just what we say but how we act. A lot of people are liars. I am, I admit. There's times where I'll lie to cover my own butt. Honestly though, I'm a lot better at being truthful now, than when I was say a couple years ago. I guess it comes with age and maturity.

But seriously, why do we lie? Is it some dire need to impress? Or to avoid confrontation or punishment? Lies are not who we are. Lies are making something to be what its not. We can lie about different things. We can lie about what we did last weekend. We can lie about our age. We can lie about our beliefs. Why, though? Why lie? I really don't get it, yet its something that I do.

Maybe lies are something to make us feel like someone or something we want to be. Maybe lies are ways of living an easier life. I don't know.

But Truth. Now truth is something special. In a world and a life full of lies, getting truth from someone is rare. There's something awesome about truth though. It's unexplainable. You just get a good feeling from knowing truth. Even if the truth is bad, or if it hurts, or heartbreaking, there's still something good about knowing the truth.

I've been finding this out lately just about myself and others... distinguishing between truths and lies. In my own life, I'm being cautious about what I say, making sure the truth gets out and that a lie doesn't slip out. It's difficult sometimes, but it's really the right thing. Eh.

So Pizza Crust. My favorite is pan. Yum. Good stuff. Stuffed crust is good too. Don't know why I put this in the title. That was random.

Tonight I got to hang out with some of my old friends from high school who graduated a year before I did. Mallory, Emily, Nadia, Amy, and Matt... you guys rock. We went to McDonalds cause it's nugget tuesday (6 piece chicken nuggets for $1). Back in the old days we used to go every week, but since watching Super Size Me, I've drastically cut down how often I eat at McDonalds. In fact tonight was only the second time I've eaten at McDonalds this whole year. Pretty proud about that to say the least. Also I believe today marks the day where I haven't had soda for 13 months. That's been great too.

Well, I'm out of time. Hopefully something interesting will happen that I can write about. I've got family flying in from NY on Thursday... We'll be hitting up Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland, Las Vegas, the beach... etc... So I'll write about that I guess. Anyway, play it safe out there.

HOLLER!
Cy


Tomorrow: I uncover the secret to why birds suddenly appear everytime you are near.

"Mondays, I hate Mondays!"

...Not really, its a little ditty that my friend Justin made up or something while we were still in school.

So here it is, the Monday report. I know all you two people who read my blog have been waiting for it! haha...

Ok first things first, a big shout out to my buddy Jason Franciosa all the way over in Massachusetts. He made my night tonight. You crazy kid.

Alrighty, what happened today...

Not much.

Cleaned up my room a little...

Coughed up a storm...

Had band rehearsal...

Watched Miss Teen USA...

Talked with some HOBY peeps...


Eh, pretty uneventful. But about Miss Teen USA. I talked to one of my friends in Ohio, Cory Dippold and he told me that the girl who won, Allie Laforce from Ohio, went through HOBY this past year at the Ohio West seminar. Pretty cool news I say. So, Congrats Allie. All the best of luck to ya. Hopefully she can come to WLC next year to talk on a panel or something.

Anyway, I said I was going to talk about the metro systems of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. There are huge differences... I need a little bit more time to pull some stuff together, so maybe I'll write on it tomorrow...

So college is coming up pretty soon for me. And aside from going to the Philippines, which is extremely exciting, I'm excited to be going to Azusa Pacific University when I get back. I like the idea of living away from home. Free from the rule of parents. lol. I love my parents, don't get me wrong, I'm just ready for a change in scenery. I think that college will be a good time of growth for me. I'm ready to meet new people, learn different things, ya know... just kinda grow as a person. I'll be majoring in both Business and Music so I'm looking forward to learning more in those areas seeing what I'll be doing with my life later on. But yeah, college is exciting. I'm glad I'm done with high school, cause waking up at 6am and doing 7 classes in a row wasn't working for me. haha. Well yeah, that's what I think about college.

One thing I'm worried about though... is having some self control while I'm gone. It's no secret that college kids are known for partying, sexing (lol, i like that word), drinking, etc... Now, I'm not experienced in those things at all, which I'm grateful for that I got through High School without having to worry bout all that, but college might be tough. APU is a Christian college, but still, if you're lookin for it, you'll find it. At least that's what I'm told. So we'll see what happens. The thing I'm most worried about is partying and drinking... that's what's most enticing to me.

Eh, I'm just talking off the top of my head now, and I'm tired so we'll leave it at that. Hope both of you enjoyed reading this. lol.

Peace Out,
Cy


Tomorrow: Truth, Lies, and Pizza Crust.

The Weekend Wrap-Up [8.7.05]

Alrighty folks. Hope everyone's doing great.

Church today...
I'm a church-going person, love God, do my best to follow the Bible... If you didn't know that about me. Anyway, our minister Bob Harpole has been out of town the last two weeks helping out some churches over in the Baltic and Nordic countries. The Baltics consist of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania and the Nordics consist of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland.

So because Bob's been out of town, We've been getting some guest speakers in the two weeks. Today, Marty Fuqua, a lead evangelist of a church out in Pasadena came up to deliver the sermon. Marty's a great guy. I've heard him speak before so I was excited to hear what he had to say.

Marty's sermon was titled "How Do You View Your Life?" Good title, great points. There are two ways people look at life: in optimism or pessimism. The glass is either half empty or half full. So the gist of what Marty said was that many of us look at our spiritual lives with a pessimistic view. Many of us are shortsighted in seeing that God can work out anything and everything.

He also related his topic to faith. Using the story of Joshua and the Israelites venturing into the promised land, Marty spoke about how Joshua was brave and had faith in God that the land could be conquered. The other spies that were sent out disagreed. They said they "looked like grashoppers" in their own eyes and that the people of the land viewed them the same way. Now how they knew that the people viewed them that way is a mystery. Most of the time we're focused on ourselves and what people think of us, which is funny because people aren't really thinking about you in that way. They're too busy thinking about what other people think of them. lol.

So anyway, the basic point of it is that life is much better lived when viewed from an optimistic or faithful standpoint. Two people can have similar lives, one could look at it his life and say he has it made, while the other can look at his life and only see how much it sucks.

So as you go through this week, try to see things from a lighter point of view. See the good in everything. All things happen for a reason. Whatever doesn't kill you, helps you. Learn a lesson in every situation.

The Week in Recap
Since last Sunday I have...

1. Gotten Sick (-10 points. It's a lot because I am still sick.)
2. Finished Re-Doing/Painting My Room (+20 points. It's been the same the last 3 years. Change is good)
3. Talked with many HOBY people that I miss (+20 points. Keep that up...)
4. Gotten in a big argument with someone close to me (-10 points. I hate conflict.)
5. Gone to Hollywood with my family to hang (+20 points. Cheesecake Factory. Mmm)
6. Stayed in the house too much (-15 points. I need to get out)

Total Points = 25
My Rating = Catastrophic // Terrible // Lousy // OK // Good // Tight // Bangin'

I gave my week a "Good" rating because nothing incredible really happened and this sickness is really getting me down. But two trips to Hollywood is definitely a plus.

Pictures?
Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have anything new... :(


Cheers,
Cy


Tomorrow: The Los Angeles Metro System vs. The Washington, D.C. Metro System; College Anticipations; and a new kind of food I like.

HOBY WLC 2005 - A Glimpse Into the Past

Greetings from Sunny California!

As I write this, I feel miserable. Physically. This week I've been sick with some kind of coughing/phlegm junk. It's quite annoying. I'm tired. My head hurts and my throat aint feeling all that great either.

But aside from all that, I'm great! Really, I am! Today I went to a HOBY Reunion for California Central. We didn't get all that great of a turnout. In fact, it was pretty lousy. There were five of us. And out of the five, no one was an "ambassador" from this past year. It was alright though. We made the most of it and headed off to T.G.I. Friday's for an unofficial non-HOBY lunch. It's funny because I think I can do with not having to go to Friday's again for a while. I went three times while I was at WLC and again today. That's four times in 3 weeks. I think we can consider T.G.I. Friday's the official HOBY Restaurant. After lunch we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, a little bummed that not a lot of people came out. Oh well, the CLEWs are looking good, though.

After that, I headed over to Hollywood where I met up with my mom, my aunt, and my cousin where we shopped for a little, then had dinner at this awesome restaurant, Morel's French Steakhouse. Great stuff. So now I'm back home, and writing this blog...


Alrighty. WLC 2005. What is it? Well you can find out in full detail at HOBY's Official Website. It's pretty much a leadership seminar that takes place in a notable U.S. city for one week in July. This year it returned to our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.. We stayed at George Washington University. The seminar was outstanding and I know a lot of people, staff and students, got a lot out of it. (If you dont know anything at all about HOBY, you can find out more on their official website.)

So now, it's been exactly a week since I returned home to California from WLC. I have had a lot of thinking to do this week, as I don't have a job and I've been bumming around, so here are my thoughts, thanks, and memories...

+thoughts.
HOBY has really inspired me to bring positive change to lives of people, whether it be on a large scale like a vaccination drive or something small, like tutoring or mentoring a junior high student. Going to WLC on staff has taught me many things that I didn't expect to learn. I went into it with the mindset of solely giving back to the ambassadors what I received when I went through the program. And though, we did just that, I got so much more than just that. I learned some important life lessons that will stick with me forever... Lessons regarding patience, love, responsibility, courage, time management, etc... just some great skills. HOBY has really helped me to grow as an individual. If I had to pick one thing that HOBY really accomplishes is that it shows young people and less younger people that there are others in the world who have the same ideals and enthusiasm to make a difference and a positive impact on society. We're not alone in the universe and seeing others who have the same goals really brings a sense of unity within people. It's hard to describe, but HOBY just gives you those good vibes... lol.

+thanks.
There are tons and tons of people to thank. First off, my hat goes off to Albert Schweitzer for being an idealist and giving a young actor a sense of greater purpose. Then there's Hugh O'Brian, God bless the man. Just turning 80, he deserves a lot of props for bringing HOBY to life and changing countless lives through it. Now for WLC specifically, I gotta thank Big Daddy Tommy Osborne for just some outstanding leadership for the whole seminar and for helping me learn a great lesson. I gotta thank my fellow ASAs for accepting me into the group with open arms, cause pretty much all of y'all already knew each other. We formed an awesome bond that week and I feel like I can call you guys my brothers and sisters. Marcus, Chris, Pat, Matt, Helaina, Emily, and Bryanna you guys absolutely rock my socks. Next thanks goes to everyone at OPS and TA for doing a superb job of being the glue. Gotta thank my B-Section for being incredible. Lisa, you always make me smile and you help me to see things in different lights. You are truly a special person. From being my HOBY mama in '03 to being HOBY Mama for WLC next year, I know you're only gonna keep doing great and greater things. To Katie, Chris, Big Al, and Ara, thanks for the fun times, laughs, letting me have your kids at some point, and for just being great friends to me. I'm gonna have to come out and visit you guys sometime down the road. To group B-1... wow. You guys are absolutely incredible. You took Russ and I in as your own... lol. Whether it was chanting my name through Marvin or jumping in my bed to wake me up on the last day, you guys always made me laugh/smile/cry. I feel like you're my own children. (partly cause Katie and I are getting married. shhh don't tell her that. jp :p ) I miss you guys and can't wait to hear about the great things you guys are gonna do. To the rest of the Section B Ambassadors, thank you for trusting me with your awesome, "pimped-out" HOBY T-Shirts. They sure made my nights... Love ya guys. To the rest of the Daddy Staff, I have never met a group of enthusiastic, fun-loving characters like all of you. Each of you made WLC what it was and it was "tight". Keep in Touch... If I missed anybody, that person has the right to slap me and stuff cause everyone involved with WLC has affected my life in some way and for that, I'm grateful for whatever contribution you made. Keep up the HOBY Spirit!

+memories.
Dang, this BLOG is getting loooonnngg...
Ok here are some of the memories I have of WLC '03
-Folding T-Shirts and stuffing them into backpacks with TA and ASAs, while Matt "supervised" and took pictures. lol.
-Patrick Hollaran's incredible journey to Thurston Hall
-Walking back into the staff training room from lunch to see we all had hard hats with our names on them.
-Michael Kozak not being included in the program nor the yearbook.
-Staff cruise with good weather.
-The HOBY WLC Staff Choir singing the hits like "Sweet Home Alabama", "Ice, Ice, Baby", "Ain't No Mountain", "Hey Jude", and "Baby Got Back"
-Ambassador Arrival Day - Coming up with random questions for the big red ball; forming a tunnel for the ambassadors to go under on their way to Marvin; Making the ambassadors do cheers before they could get off the airport shuttles; Big Al and "I feel good, oh I feel so good, ugh"
-Taking naps whereever possible
-T-Shirt Folding Parties on the 2nd Floor until 2:30AM
-Boy Scouts stealing our laundry detergent and dryer sheets
-Wraps
-The Duwende Concert/Ambassador Orgy/Choreographed Staff Dance Showcase
-"Dont you wish your girlfriend was hot like me? HOT!" (Slaps Butt)
-Matt Reid doing dirty laundry (literally)
-Record Breaking Photo Day
-Choir Practice from Hell
-The Betts Theater lady from Hell
-The Processed Eggs from Hell
-Big Al's date from Hell (funny story)
-Gatorade!
-HOBY! JUMP ON IT! JUMP ON IT!
-The "actual" kidnapping of Mr. Schtick
-Being a Hawker at Iwo Jima ("WATER, GET YOUR WATER!")
-98 Degrees + Humidity
-STEAMROLLER
-"I'm not... comfortable with that..."
-"HOLLER"
-What's "tight" and what's "jacked up"
-Patrick H finally getting the ambassador's irish dancing dress
-The 30 Minute Dance
-Marcus passing the Baton to Big Billy
-Johnny Vegas and Alex Diaz on Friday night... (HILLARIOUS.)
-Metting some of the greatest people in the world :)

HOBY WLC 2005 was a blast. I wouldn't trade my experience there for anything. I've made some life friends and I've learned some great things. WLC = Priceless.

You can check out the pictures I took at WLC in my Webshots Gallery.

HOBY Hugs,
Cy


Coming Tomorrow: Church Recap, I Rate My Week, and maybe some... PICTURES!!! Woop dee Woop!

Wow. I'm back.

Hello world,

It's been a looooong time since I've been here. The last several months have been filled with entirely with an unhealthy addiction to Myspace.com and World of Warcraft. It's all good though, cause I'm back.

As many of you probably don't know, I will be spending my first semester of college out of the country. That's right, I'll be "studying abroad" at Ateneo De Davao University in Davao, Philippines. Needless to say, I'm really freakin excited to be going.

A lot of people have been asking me why I've chosen to go there. It's a complicated story, but the gist of it is that though I am there to study, the main purpose of my trip is to connect with my family. For the most part, all of my family still lives in the Philippines; Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Grandmas, etc. Only my immediate family and two of my uncles and their families live in the United States. So my goal is to spend as much quality time as I can with my family over there, especially with my grandmothers.

Both of my grandfathers passed away when I was very young so I never really had the opportunity to speak with them. I've only heard great things about those men. I'm hoping that I will learn a lot about my family history and lineage from my grandmothers. I plan on documenting what they say and what I find in either video form or written. I'm not totally sure yet. I think that this will be incredibly beneficial to me and to my children and their children and their children's children, etc etc... lol.

I will be gone from Mid-October to March of '06. That's about five months. I gotta be honest, my excitement is mixed with some anxiousness and some fear. I can't say that the Philippines is the safest place in the world. One of my dad's brothers was murdered when he was in his late 20's. Plus, the fact that I'm an American just brings more fears to me, womdering if maybe people will become jealous or hate me because of my situation; or maybe even something more extreme like being kidnapped... I don't know. So I'm praying through it and people who are close to me are praying for me. Don't get me wrong. These are just fears that I have... I'm still stoked to be going to the Philippines.

Another question people have been asking me is if I know/can speak Tagalog, the national language. The answer to that is No, I can't. I know, that's funny... How am I going to learn when I can't even speak the language, right? Luckily for me, the classes at the university are taught in English. Another thing I'm excited about is finally being able to learn the language while I'm there.

So anyway, I'm fired up to be going back to "The Homeland". I know a lot of you have asked me to keep you updated on how that goes when I'm there, so this is how I plan on doing that; by starting this blog back up again. When I get there, I'll let you guys in on my daily life, adjusting to the culture, family stories, and some pictures too. Sorry this was so long-winded, but I had a lot to say. :)

Until next time,
Cy


Coming Tomorrow: HOBY WLC 2005 - In Retrospect.