Month: September 2008

  • wow, all this talk of Great Depression v2.o is really crazy...but i guess all signs have been pointing to this.

    not sure what is going to help us out of this hole. either way, us taxpayers will be footing the bill and we really won't have a say in what happens.  its all about the gov and the private bankers.  whatever will be will be...

    im soo glad for many things tho. glad that my mom has been done with her mortgages for years now and that everything are in CDs/banks and insurable.   glad she is healthy and practicing awesome life habits that will keep her healthy for years to come.  glad i am back in school and can put the real world off for a lil bit.  wouldnt want to be looking for work in these times.  glad i am going for a recession-proof career. glad that ive been living frugally since incurring that $20K debt cuz of my ex then paying it off in two years time.  glad to be living without money and material items being the focus of my world.  Money is necessary but I have my health, love, family and education thats going to make my future even more fulfilling.  I am very happy overall and rarely do get upset over little things.  who needs additional stressors in the world anyway?  we all do what we can...

    its definitely not the time to be splurging or to be incurring more debt than necessary.  anyting material can be put off in the interim...it all just seems so superficial.

    hopefully when i peer out from academia 2-3 yrs later...the economy will be a lot better off than how it is now.
    _____________________________________

    *random* u know, as popular as facebook is with everyone, i kinda do miss xanga., even tho i really don't post nearly as much as i used to.

  • take a look at me now...late 2002 vs. 2008 and beyond...

    Its known that many ppl are afraid of change. Moreover, afraid of change in ppl that they know.

    Why? I am not sure. I mean, wouldn't ppl normally be happy that their acquaintances/friends are making moves?

    But its kinda funny because I notice more of the opposite...it leads to people talking about you, it leads to ppl making all these weird assumptions about you, but its whatever cuz i figure if they have the time to gossip about others and/or talk about their past, then they themselves are really boring and bored and it soo sucks to be stuck in life....cuz they got no interesting present NOR future to talk about...haha

    Ive pretty much cut out BS talk on aim, i just get booored of it and the people who initiate such conversations. I'm just rolling my eyes in front of the computer thinking how boring they are.

    Id rather talk about life, love, school, career and our futures in this great world.

    im so glad that i dont have any boring friends. its shows that ive doing something right and meeting the right people   
    ___________________

    and its funny (altho not wrongly) that people still perceive me as being really into the party scene. Because people who really know me, know i quit that route about a year and a half ago.  There is so much more which defines me. And what's even funnier about all of this, is that those exact people were into the party scene for way longer in their lives than i have - 7 yrs, 10 yrs...even MORE than 10 yrs depending on how young they started. . I was in the party scene for 5 1/2 years since age 28.  FIVE and a HALF YEARS!!  That is NOTHING, in a life.  Not by a long shot.  I have experienced quite a bit, being totally straight and sober up to age 28...and now I found myself an amused observer on the sidelines.  I was very intrigued by Sociology during my first college career...and my curiosity is retained today.  I have seen MANY people who have matured or changed drastically; I have also seen people who have been stuck in a routine and for some reason are clueless on how to get out of a funk; I have also seen people who have not changed and choose to still remain in the past/retain past attitudes about things.  It's fine but I just wonder, don't things get boring year after year of the same? and don't you have goals for yourself that need to be started on, like NOW? If u just sit on ur ass, year by year starts looking all the same. But i guess thats fine for those that like that...

    I can honestly say that I have been adventurous enough to take on different paths, personalities and living in different areas during this short life I have lived thus far...even with regressing in the past 5 years to fully emerge the person that i am right now. and I have yet so much more to go!  I do not regret ANY minute of it but I can fully acknowledge that thsi miniscule (party personality) part of me has totally come full circle and now I am onto bigger, better things.

    __________________________________________________

    I

    ...am an optimistic adult.
    ...am ins school for my 2nd bachelors...in health/med/nursing.
    ...am young at heart like no other.

    ...am a photography enthusiast.
    ...love to travel.
    ...am a lover.

    ...am finally with the love of my life and plan to be with him forever.

    ...am a lover of art history and art in general.
    ...am always looknig for new experiences. people. things to influence me. to change my current perception.
    ...strongly BELIEVE that you need to be educated throughout your entire life. never stop learning.
    ...am always an advocate of change in all of those who I feel should be confident/have potential
       enough.
    ...am not afraid to tell it like it is -- i mean, just because no one wants to speak of it, does that mean that it
       doesn't exist. this is reality, wake up in it.
    ...soo admire those people with passions and goals and who are striving to achieve them.

    ...have actually had many people come up to me to tell me i have been such an inspiration to
       them. and this i hold     so close to my heart as it means so much to me to hear. so flattered.

    ...have always had friends within mixed crowds (ethnically AND interest/hobbywise) so im constantly
       surrounded by new ideas and different opinions.
    ...am not into being a 'yes' person or a crowd pleaser or being friends with the whole world.
    ...am not into groups or conformity. my brain cringes at any action/talk suggesting *groupthink*.
    ...am on a mission to prove all stereotypes wrong and I am fine with being one of the ambassadors. it only  
       takes ONE person to inform others :)
    ...normally can meet/talk with people with people a few times and figure out whether they are going to be a
       great friend or just an acquaintance to me.  Usually I am right.
    ...do not see the point in being with people who do not inspire me in some way or who I view as  
       superficial/gangsta/useless/fronting/phony/stereotypical for one reason or another.  I see it way too much
       around me.

    ...do admit i am SLOW to action when facing the prospect of change. but I trust myself to follow through, i always have. 
       I have done this three times now during my life     :)

    ...really do feel that something is missing IF i haven't improved upon my life in a new, qualifiable
       way within the previous year.      that sends me into deep contemplations and re-evaluating myself.
    ...can actualy go into depression if I feel like I feel like I am
    stuck.  I have no problems admitting my
       shortcomings to myself...isnt
    it better to be honest and then try to solve the problem?

       then again, if im actively reaching a longterm goal, then i am totally proud of myself while on the journey :)

    I
    ...am complex.
    ...am an absorber of knowledge, adventure and ideas.
    ...am undefinable.
    ...am an enigma.

    altho at the moment, i am a truly boring (hermit-like) person myself cuz all i do is study right now. but i do revel in it and i wish everyone well!   i will reemerge yet someday going forward after all of this, a more fleshed out different/better person, ready for the next reinvention/adventure in life, the next chapter in this awesome story.

    Until then...

    Phoebe Rising,
    September 2008

  • update as of 09.13.2008

    Hmm how has things been going so far?  Not bad not bad...

    The focal priority in my life right now...SCHOOL...starting out ok so far. I definitely see I need to try to get/maintain at least a 3.7.  Seems like thats the minimum GPA to please most schools.  i am motivated tho so thats the BEST thing...gonna be CRACKING the books all day today...as for baby, Radiology is kicking butt but so far hes been able to stay afloat nicely. o/ SO PROUD! eheh looks like NO LIFE for us till at least winter break in mid-December...Met up with our friend Cris whose goal is to ace the MCATs...what an inspiration!  Hey if she can do it, I may be able to as well.  Imagine me, a PA...Nursing... or something along those lines. wow....but first gotta ace Anatomy and Physiology I lecture & lab -- what a bitch of a class!!!  

    I guess when I get to that point, I can decide how far I am willing to challenge myself.  That would certainly be th3 ideal...and beyond anything i could have ever imagined for myself. then i would seriously have reason to be proud of myself. till then, everything else is moot...

    As for my personal life, things have been progressing amazingly. two weeks ago we had a talk, and he actually agreed he could see us getting married after he finishes school...and then tonight, while we were at dinner and ran into his old coworkers, a few ppl remarked that we had been going out for a long time, and reminesced about the first time they saw us together. (awwws all around). Then they asked if marriage was in the plans for us. And before i could even answer, he actually nods and said "After I'm done with school." wow first time he didnt evade the question / i didnt interject with the typical "we-still-have-so-much-to-do-in-our-lives-before-that" type of answer. this of course then proceeded to elicit double-awww responses. heehee.

    damn...this *IS* the year of serious change.

    all of this couldn't have turned out any better if I had imagined it all myself.  

    I feel very lucky indeed.  I have never taken any of this for granted, nor will I ever.

  • OMFG...

    fuck this shit *shakes head* as IF i needed to hear any more NEGATIVE things about that country. GOD! those poor BABIES!!!!  what the f***** -- f*ckin backwards m**f**** (mutters)

    Tainted Chinese baby formula may be on sale in U.S., FDA says
    Last Updated: Thursday, September 11, 2008 | 3:10 PM ET Comments9Recommend16
    CBC News

    Chinese baby formula contaminated with melamine may be for sale in ethnic grocery stores in the U.S., officials with the Food and Drug Administration warned Thursday.

    The department urged consumers not to use infant formula from China, where several brands have been tainted with melamine (cyanuramide), a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers.

    There is no immediate word on whether the formula may be on sale in Canada.

    All U.S. brands of formula are safe, the FDA said, and no Chinese brands are approved for export to the U.S.

    But it's possible that ethnic grocers may be selling formula from China, particularly in cities with large populations of Chinese immigrants.

    There are no reports of illnesses in the U.S.

    Death of Chinese baby under investigation

    Earlier on Thursday, Chinese health officials announced traces of contamination have been found in a brand of baby formula that may have killed one baby in China and sickened others with kidney stones.

    Traces of melamine, which can cause kidney stones, were found in Sanlu-brand milk formula, the country's Health Ministry said.

    Sanlu, a Chinese dairy company, has recalled formula made before Aug. 6. A spokesperson for Sanlu said the company is investigating whether counterfeit formula was mislabelled.

    Doctors in China's northwestern Gansu province said it is rare for babies to develop kidney stones, never mind 14 cases at once, the official Xinhua news agency and China Daily reported.

    Since then, cases have emerged at two other hospitals in Gansu, as well six other provinces in central, eastern and northern China, Xinhua said.

    One baby with kidney stones has reportedly died, but there is no clear link to the milk powder, the news agency quoted a Gansu provincial Health Department spokesman as saying.

    Health officials in Gansu were aware of the potential risks since July 16, Xinhua said. No explanation was given for the delay in disclosure.

    Kidney stones are masses of salts or minerals that crystallize in the kidney. If the stones become large enough to stop the flow of urine from the kidney, they need to be removed surgically or by other methods.

    In 2004, at least 13 babies in China's eastern Anhui province died after they drank fake formula that investigators said had no nutritional value. The deaths prompted food and health investigations and international concern.

    Last year, the former head of China's food and drug administration was executed for taking bribes to approve untested medicine.

    Also last year, Canada's food watchdog said it had intercepted a shipment of corn gluten from China that tested positive for melamine. Canadian fish farms and pet foods have also been affected by melamine contamination.

  • started school yesterday (9/8/2008)

    baby started school August 27...

    both going to school...and so far my classes aren't easy at all -- especially since they are science classes (A&P and Bio) for someone whos never been into science

    well, good luck to us.  i dont think we will be doing anything recreational for awhiles....i am grateful that i get to LEARN new things right now.

    ugh and i need a fulltime/parttime job.  not good that i heard on the news today that no companies are hiring in the last three months of the yr...