"unfinished business."

after days of patiently (yet anxiously?) waiting...i got my new phone in the mail. it's the same version but i feel like i've been given a second chance with it. i didn't take care of the old phone as well as i should have and now i get to go on like my phone never broke. of course...there's the fact that it's going to take me a long time to put all my numbers in but whatever.

i taught my last class of the con2 season tonight. edward wasn't there. not everyone made it. we never had a closing prayer and our last activity was cut short. but you know what? i feel like that's how it should be...there's room for more to come in the future in regards to having a moment or so to grow into the faith. i've said it before and i'll say it again...i love my class like no other and they've seriously made me a better person as i hope i've done the same for them.

reaching the halfway mark of the first section of the school year...i've realized how fast time has passed. three weeks ago...i had no school, i worked almost all the time, and i had time to adventure during the week. now...i can't go on too many adventures anymore, school has taken over my life, and i hardly ever work anymore. times have changed but it's been worth it. i'm more productive than ever before, i 've made new friends, and i have a reenergized sense of responsibility, passion, and determination. with three more weeks to go until i finish nursing fundamentals...i realize the journey is far from over and there's so much business left to handle.

and i'll leave it at that...looking back and remembering all this is just half the battle.
going forward and making more things to remember happen is the other half.

good night and much love!

"life happens over coffee."

first and foremost...coffee isn't my favorite beverage and this entry isn't entirely about coffee-related things. tonight...starbucks stores around the world were closed from about 5:30 to 9 just so we all can learn how to make better expressos and be better baristas. i'll be honest...i would have rather done something else in those three or so hours. what made it special and worthwhile was seeing almost everyone (raul, joshie, and marissa were the only ones missing) there. i was glad to see andy was doing well, stephanie is 5 months pregnant (and i was 5 months in the dark about it), and that liz danced at the staples center (i had not seen her in ages!). our family was the closest it's been to being altogether at once. we had a whole lot of laughs as we handled business and did what howard schultz told us to do. i don't get paid enough...i don't have that many hours...but i still love my job because of the people i get to work with. viva la butterfield and pine starbucks!

i've spent the past two days studying at the starbucks in san bernardino...which has become my study area while i'm at school. tammi, mendy, suzette, devangi, tim, micha, and i studied like no other in hopes that we pass our huge exam tomorrow morning. not only has studying together benefitted our minds...but it has helped us get a little closer. and like the saying goes...a little goes a long way.

like i mentioned before...i went to heat last weekend with tiffany, dennis, and tash. i didn't quite know what to expect but i sure got a lot out of the experience. i got to see a good mos def performance (he was damn annoying at rock the bells), 311 played love song, i got to see circa survive and clipse, and i was able to dance as moby was the dj. like i said...i got a lot out of the event and i'm glad to have been a witness to the eccentricity and eclecticness of it all.

i had dinner with tiff and fred last night. i loved every moment of it because i never get to eat out on weekdays anymore since i study a lot now. for once...i was able to cool things down and have great conversations and food with them. i don't care if i only spent an hour or so with them and it was a denny's...to be with the people you love is always a cherished experience.

that's all for now. like i told fred and hendrix tonight...good luck with your lives. ciao!

"saturdays were meant for spontaneous contemplation."

this morning...i woke up from the best sleep i've had since nursing school started.
no alarm clock. no one telling me to get out of bed. no random noises
disturbing my slumber. i slept for about 8 hours...which is 4-5 more hours
than what i usually get. i felt great...woke up refreshed and better than ever.
it's the little, simple, and underrated pleasures in life like this that get me by.

the charger socket on my phone broke a couple of days ago.
that means that i can no longer charge my phone
or get any data out of it...phone numbers, pictures, etc.
because of this...i'm using my dad's old razr which
already has a busted battery...only 1 hour of talk time! woo-hoo!
until i get my new phone in a couple of days...i have to remain grateful that i still have a cellphone to use and bear the complications that i have for a little while.

tonight is heat at ucr and i'm actually not that excited.
even more odd...i want to study instead?!
okay...i'd much rather go watch mos def and friends perform
but i'm just so in the zone with studying that i don't want to lose
my focus or "study swagger" as my friends and i put it.

it took me two weeks to get shoes to go with my scrubs
but i finally did it. they're puma romas. it's funny...i never
planned on getting those shoes and i ended up buying them on the spot.
seriously...after two weeks of browsing through stores and malls...
i buy a pair of shoes that i saw all the time but never wanted...
and they just so happen to be the shoes i'll be rockin at school.

i watched jumper with fred, dennis, and matt...bad choice.
it was somewhat entertaining but an overall disappointment.
weak screenplay. not enough action.
the movie made hayden christenssen just look lazy.
i do want to watch be kind, rewind and definitely, maybe...
and i hope they won't be disappointments as well.

thanks for hearing (reading) me out...live well and stay safe! peace!

"let it beat."

music is instrumental in my life...and i mean that both ways.
my head is filled with an eternal melody
as i associate all things with music.
my faith. my family. my friends. my passions. my everything.

this isn't my top ten lists of favorite songs or even the only songs i consider my favorite...
rather this is a list of songs that come to mind that have truly insprired the man i am today.

maybe you'll find some of your own favorites here...maybe you won't.

either way...this is what's on point:

1) lauryn hill - tell him

2) spice girls - never give up the good times

3) daft punk - digital love

4) madonna - get into the groove

5) montell jordan - this is how we do it

6) maxwell - this woman's work

7) the beach boys - God only knows

8) gwen stefani - the real thing (remix)

9) one voice - always on my mind

10) bush - glycerine

and if i could add just one more for the sake of it...

11) josh groban - you are loved

these songs have marked the best times of my life
and helped provide life support during the worst times.

here's what i've learned and
what you can learn from these songs:

the best party you'll ever know is the life you live.
live your life well.
never surrender what matters to you...
whatever matters the most or the least.
just go with what life provides you
and don't be afraid to freestyle.
live out your faith and hold on to
all the hope you possess...
for only then can you love like no other
and love the way we're all supposed to.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
do it until it encompasses everything
you are and everything around you.
things will get more difficult
but never impossible.
don't give up...
if not for yourself then for the ones
who love you.
remember to bring it back
to the people that mean something to you
and stay loyal and honorable.
be perpetually real and constantly thankful.

and if i could add just one more for the sake of it...

never forget...always remember...YOU ARE LOVED!