hodge-podge thoughts:

there's a new man in my life... he's married, has a kindergartener who attends my school, and likes country music but whatever. i'll accept what i can get. =) why do i call him my new man? well,
-he feeds me (by bringing me the leftovers from the hot lunch program on campus)
-he brings me flowers (technically, his daughter picked them for me but it was from his garden)
-he protects me (from angry parents - and there were a few after the most recent progress reports!)
-he's always teaching me stuff (like what crickets like to eat and the life cycle of a mealworm)

see..what else could a girl want?
most importantly, he's the one preventing the lizards in my classroom from being killed. of course, the fact that at one point, he had 100s of lizards in his bedroom would turn me off. but all in all, this coworker & honorary science assistant has been such a blessing. and while some of the friendships i had at my old job can never and will never be replaced, it's been great making new friends at this school and feeling validated in this and so many other ways that this is exactly where God wants me right now.


some other recent 1sts (con'd from Oct 9th entry):
#1) going to Astrocamp! all those years of living in Houston near NASA, i always wanted to attend a space camp and now, as a 27-yr-old, i finally got to go! partly b/c of and also besides having to chaperone 43 noisy 6th graders, i had a ball...esp. w/ the ropes courses.
that's me on sky coaster...50 ft drop and swing. i was screaming so loudly! lots of teasing from students afterwards.

climbing up that ladder was scary! but the zipline down was fun.

#2) really being myself around my students - w/ my 7th graders, i always had to be "Ms. Yu"-the-teacher/adult - and while i can do that well, it's much more fun to be me.

#3) making an 8-yr-old cry twice in one week. i didn't mean to! but he wasn't doing his work and when i talked to him sternly... oh boy, when those tears started dripping out of those big brown eyes, i just crumpled!

#4) surfing! or rather, i took a surf lesson...i don't think what i ended up doing most of the time is really considered surfing. =) but it was still cool!
the pretty bride-to-be is on the left (this was part of her bachelorette party)

that's me - almost up!

look look! i'm up! of course, this is more a "remember that ONE time when i got up?" story rather than a recurring event

this is what i ended up doing most of the time...boogey boarding. =) and apparently, you could hear me down the length of the beach as i laughed and laughed while getting knocked around. i loved it. anyone wanna take another lesson w/ me sometime soon?

things i didn't used to like but appreciate more as i get older:
-learning athletic-y activities
-my height
-my wavy hair
-vegetables
-showering
-my alone time

things that made me sad this week:
-the lingering pain of whiplash from the accident a few weeks back
-the sudden sensation of missing my orphans dearly (the ones i met this summer. i need to pray more often for them)

some things that made me smile a lot last week:
-the thought of a good friend getting married soon to the man she loves.
-lying outside beneath the stars on a clear, crisp night in the mountains. it reminded me of frosh year in the foothills w/ my dormmates. oooh, i got to see 2 shooting stars!
-listening to 43 6th graders chant and cheer for each other's bottle rockets.
-returning back to school after the 3-day field trip. can you imagine the feeling of walking thru the doors and having a handful of 2nd graders climb on top of you asking you to never leave again? they missed me!
-realizing just how big the universe is...and that God's in control of all of it.
this is a photo from a deep field hubble lens. each of those specks is an entire GALAXY. isn't that mind blowing? good job, God! you're amazing. =)

another tiring but *wonderful* weekend...

struggling through all my practice sessions years ago in high school, i never knew that my violin skills (or non-skills at this point) would get me included in some very special weddings...but boy, do i feel lucky to have been a part of 2 so far.

any experience (professional development workshops, church worship services, etc) is more significant when i get to see/participate in the "behind-the-scenes" details, but to do so in good friends' matrimonial ceremonies is so much more meaningful.

me w/ the lovely bride & groom

and i'm still pondering how they did it, but some how, the couple made me feel so loved at *their* wedding. i walked out of the festivities feeling not just happiness at their union - but that i got to know them as a couple better and that they truly valued me as a friend. was it all the toasts or the detail that went into the wedding? i'm still not sure, but i do know that they let all of their passion, personality, and even quirkiness shine through every aspect - and the sum total was that i left feeling more appreciated and i loved them, God, & the idea of marriage more too. it was a celebration not only for them but for all of us. strange? but isn't that the most ideal feeling for a guest at a wedding? it was beautiful.

and w/ the wedding came a bunch of friends from out of town! i love that added bonus!

class of '99 + me.

i've got another wedding coming up in less than 2 weeks, and i'm super excited to be a bridesmaid. what a priviledge! =)

miss me? =)

i've been back in LA now for little over a month... that time has flown by w/ all sorts of busy-ness with hardly any time to breathe. but after the initial days of post-missions-blues, it's been a very good month back.

some 1sts:
- teaching science to elementary school kids - they're sooo cute!
- working 10-12 hours every day to prep for all my classes
- having kids express sadness when you tell them that they'll be having a sub (my old 7th graders cheered whenever they found out that i'd be gone)
- meeting a celebrity (a parent of one of my students)
- not being able to sleep in on weekends - am i getting OLD???
- being worried for my dad's health...he recently had surgery for the 1st time
- going on a blind date
- buying a ticket to Korea for thanksgiving break (it'll be my first visit since i was 3-yrs-old!)
- doing yoga w/ the vcd i bought in the philippines
- going to a Korean bathhouse w/ my mom when she visited - i *loved* it. =)

some non-1sts:
- having animals in my classroom - but don't worry, i'm pretty sure i won't kill them this time b/c one of my coworkers comes by everyday to take care of them. lucky lizards!
- going to the Hollywood Bowl to enjoy a wonderful evening of good food, company, and music.
- finding out that weight gained is not easily lost!!
- eating crab at Redondo Beach (where i was told i ate like a N. Korean... but i generally eat really fast and it just gets even speedier after an hour's wait!)
- being rear-ended. YES, AGAIN!! can you believe it??

the non-1st i'm most ashamed of is that i'm still a procrastinator. since i haven't had a hard deadline to meet, i STILL haven't fully processed thru everything from the summer. i apologize to my supporters!

anyways, happy columbus day (even tho it's not the most p.c. holiday - i had a wonderful day off!)