Fill in the Blank Fridays

I know, I know... I really should be doing my O-Chem lab that I ditched. In my defense, I peeked inside the room my lab was meeting in and I can assure you only 35% of the class was there and not single one of my group members was in sight.

So, Fill in the Blank Friday's is an idea I got from a good friend. She totally sold me on the whole idea and so I'm excited to test it out, thank goodness today is Friday or else I would have never remembered to do this otherwise.

Friday, January 28th 2011

I want to step out of myself and do a fill-in-the-blanks exercise for someone else.

He is a listener

He always exercises

He likes animals

He gives the best hugs

He loves cinnamon

He doesn't remember anything

He dresses well

He is excellent at video games

He can't cook

He looks athletic

Yep... thats my Brother for you in a nutshell

31 A Picture of Yourself with 15 facts

1. My favorite color is green.

2. I was born in the Philippines.

3. I struggle behind the steering wheel.

4. I like routines and consistency.

5. I never measure when I cook. NEVER...which is why my baking is questionable.

6. I rely way too much on my magic 8 ball for the answers to my questions.

7. I have two brothers. But I only know one of them. He's kinda my best friend.

8. I have 10 moles on my face.

9. William Blake is my literary idol.

10. I keep my book bag on while I take an exam. (Its a security issue).

11. My nails are always painted. Well, 95% of the time.

12. I work in a bookstore as a cashier. I like making people who come through my line smile.

13. I have a deep passion for cheeseburgers with sweet potato fries and onion rings.

14. I can't function in a messy kitchen.

15. The best way to make me laugh is through a knock-knock joke.

30 a Picture of Someone that you miss

My cousin Emma is the cutest thing ever. This was a photo taken back in 2007. She is much bigger now, and ever so beautiful!

29 A Picture that will ALWAYS make you smile

We were in an apartment photo contest with some good buddies. This was one of our attempts. I call it, "Pirates in a Shopping Cart and their Goldfish." This picture never fails to put a smile on my face.

28 (+3) Picture Challenge

Starting on February 1st I'm going to begin my 28 Picture Challenge. Since the original challenge requires 31, I'm going to do the extra 3 between now and and the first.

Heres the challenge list...

31 DAY PICTURE CHALLENGE
Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your night
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory in the past year
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss
Day 31 - A picture of yourself with 15 facts

Burgers, Schnieppers Style

I have been craving burgers for a while now. And its not just any kind of burger, I'm feelin' a Schnippers cheeseburger with a side of sweet potato fries and maple dressing. I had a good friend that shared this place with me, and its DANG good.

Paul's Place between 7th and St. MArk's Place is also the bomb! I recommend the hidalgo Burger cause its got sweet and spicy jalepenos. This place has limited seating and only accepts cash but everything from their rough-gruff-nicer-than-they-look staff, to their amazing milkshakes are to die for...Major props to my Aunt for bringing me there one fateful winter's evening.

Dreaming of Food

Lately, I have had the weirdest dreams. Most people dream about the people they like, or the classes they are in, or that they are flying or falling off a building or being chased... I'm a little different. I dream about food. Often. Very often...I just woke up from one that was particularly pleasant. it felt so real. Heres what happened : I was making a dessert for a party and it felt as is every knife stroke, every pat of butter, every taste of raspberry cream and, every stroke of the whisk was actually taking place in my kitchen. Nigella Lawson, a culinary goddess, if I may say so was there in the kitchen with me cutting through mounds of pound cake that turned, somehow, into stacks of chocolate. Anyways, I remember everything from that dream, including what I put in that trifle that Im going to make soon!

See, when it comes to food, before I get ready to make anything I'm usually just sitting down or doing homework and then this taste comes to my mind, and then I realize I'm hungry! Before I know it, I'm imagining what I want to eat and this index card just floats into my head and all the ingredients I think will make that initially desired taste kind of just appear there, and then I make it. Its beyond explainable.

Whats Been On My Mind

Its no Shakespearean Sonnet but its 14 lines of what I think every guy should know ::

Words of Advice.

behind the gaze of every stare

lies withdrawn, her hearts true care.

If what you said was what she heard

and what she heard remained unstirred

then take a moment, just assume

that what you said was long untombed.

For if the page that you do stride

should be the one where her heart reside

there is no doubt she thought it too

yes, when in love all queries brew.

When she responds as if bereft

be prepared :: here comes a theft.

What she embezzles aim to regain

:: In this truth lies her soul's campaign.

-Jalipa

New Semester, New Love

I just started my semester. To my surprise my favorite classes are the two I feared the most when I registered for them. These classes are Bio-Chem 285 (the status on this may change), and Anatomy 220 (the status on this is unchangeable, my professor is that good!).

There is so much information, and I just know I'm going to be living in the library for the next four months but I think it will be so worth it...I'm tempted to look into pre-med.

My next favorite class is probably my Volleyball coaching one since my teacher is none other than the Women's Volleyball coach! I'm pretty stoked on that and for when the class moves onto the court.

The Human body is incredible and I am so excited that I get to learn about it and, gain a greater appreciation for Heavenly Father's creations.

So...I"m putting my heart and souls into this. I have a good feeling though that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. English and Culinary school can wait.

2011 Reading List

One of my resolutions this year is to read one novel every month that steps outside of the my academic requirements. Yale offers a free two hour course online where many of these novels are discussed. While I will not be enrolling and doing the papers required by the course I will be participating in the lectures and lucky enough, many of these books match with the assigned reading.

Here they are...

January : Beyond good and Evil, Nietzsche

February: Wise Blood, O'Connor

March: Slaughter House 5, Vonnegut

April: On the Road, Kerouac

May: The Confession, Grisham

June: Crying of Lot 49, Pynchon

July: Bleak House, Dickens

August: Housekeeping, Robinson

September: The Human Stain, Roth

October: The Known World, Jones

November: Everything is Illuminated, Foer

December: The Corrections, Franzen

If you have any suggestions, I am very flexible on this list. So by all means, enlighten me.

My Favorite Poet:: William Blake

In my senior year of High School my AP English teacher Mr. Avitabile assigned our class a poetry project. This assignment encouraged an exploration of poetry as a form of human expression. I LOVED it. I also learned that I loved the poetry of the Romanticists. My favorite poem by Blake, "the Chimney Sweeper" is remarkable. I'd tell you what I think about it, but, in my opinion its best when it stands alone without critique or analysis.

Enjoy!

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.

And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.

Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.