SANDBANK ON THE COAST OF WHITSUNDAY ISLAND, Queensland, Australia (S 20°17' E 148°59').

check this out:


Flock of scarlet ibis, near Pedernales, Amacuro delta, Venezuela (9°57’ N, 62°21’ W).

this photo's from a series called "earth from above" by yann arthus-bertrand. check out his website-some of the shots are absolutely gorgeous.

oi.
i've been so exhausted lately. i've been going to work later, but also staying later. case in point: i'm still at work and it's nearly 7 pm. also, i've been getting a lot of projects lately-mostly because people end up delegating what they don't want to do to me. although i like the extra sense of responsibility at the same time, it's tiring having to do other people's grunt work.

i'm looking forward to the weekend.. since i'm actually going to hang out with anny and les. it's funny that since we've all started working we hardly hang out together. dood, i remember when we used to movie hop and stay up until 2 am. eep.. i guess times change.

anyhoo.. i'm still looking forward to paris. charles (coworker) is helping me figure out places to go. i told him already that i'm all for good eating (desserts in particular =D) and he told me that he'd direct me to THE BEST pastry place, THE BEST ice cream place, and THE BEST chocolate place. ahhh.. it already sounds like it'll be a wonderful vacation.

i went to work late today.
and i almost forgot how GOOD it feels to be at home in the morning. heh.. too much work does that to you, i guess. i'm adjusting to my new schedule at redwood city. the commute definitely makes it a change. also it's different seeing what happens on a day to day basis. it helps since before i'd hafta get reoriented and put back up to speed every time i came in.

i can kinda see myself making a career out of this.. but at the same time, i'm still wavering. i know that getting a full-time job isn't an "end all" but i'm still very iffy about what i really want. nursing.. non-profits.. the public sector? i have no idea.

i need to figure it out eventually. sooner versus later. after all, i can't be an intern forever.

eep.

hehe.
omigosh, too cute!

two months to go..
.. and i'm already starting to think of paris. we booked it in december, and since then we haven't really given the trip a second thought-probably since all of us have been busy. but january's nearly over and we've got just over two months 'til paris.

omigoodness.. that's just too awesome-i honestly need the vacation.

but really, there's a ton of stuff which i'd love to see and do and the trickiest part is trying to make everything fit into a one week intinerary.

ai.. can't hardly wait.

fun!

i'm a sucker for cuteness.

so...
i didn't send out the application for oakland. i'm always so indecisive, so maybe it's just me afraid of being pinned down in a career again.

i was talking to stacy today and over dinner she told me to start sending out resumes and applications again. maybe i should-i definitely feel that i'm ready for a change. taking up more hours at redwood city is a step in the right direction, but.. i still feel like i'm missing something?

i guess the best thing for me to do is just start looking forward, keep my options open, and start sending out resumes. after all, it can't hurt...

heh, nowhere to go but up, right?

matthew's in san diego.
guess why? he's checking out the ucsd campus. deja vu, anyone? just five years ago, i was doing the exact same thing. five years.. funny how it passes just like that-amazing, really.

seeing him go through this, i know how he feels-just dying to get out and feeling stuck. deciding against san diego and making that random decision to go to hayward. it makes me wonder, things could've been very different. maybe i would've learned to surf with tiffany like we had agreed. who knows?

hum.

i'd be lying if i said there were no regrets, but overall i'm happy with where i am. now if i just knew where to go, i'd be all set.

i guess i'll just hafta wait another five years and find out. =)

aiya.
i just woke up from a six hour nap. so sleepy.. i guess it's because i've been busy lately. it feels like all of a sudden everyone wants to visit, everyone wants to have dinner, everyone wants to see a movie. honestly i love it, since i don't usually see so many people, but at the same time it's tiring and i haven't had a chance to work on things that i've been meaning to. example? first of all.. my room. my room always seems to be the first thing to go when i'm busy. it's painful to look at.

also i've been meaning to apply for this job for the city of oakland. it's kinda what i do already at redwood city-except a lot more pay and full time. i have more hours at redwood city (yay!) but i still would like a permenant position with benefits and i need to keep my options open.

i'm only working at the bank fridays and saturdays now. a good thing, but i'll miss my coworkers. sometimes a job is only as good as the people you work with and i'll really miss these people...

hum.. lots of things going on, it's been a busy new year. i'll tell you if i get an interview for the job. i'm working on the application right now. i would be so stoked if got it, but i guess i'll just hafta wait and see on this one.

david moved out on wednesday.
it's kinda weird with him not being at home anymore. i'm used to all the noise, and it's been quiet. it'll be even stranger once matthew leaves for college.. then it'll be just me and my parents.

...

oy. which means i probably should start looking to make more money so i can pay for an apartment. don't get me wrong, i love my parents.. but just me and them? eek.. i dunno about that.

today's been a long, long day...
it started at 5:30 this morning-i pulled myself outta bed and got myself to court to pay a traffic fine. got there at 6:30 and i was the first in line. probably a good thing, since the line was really long by the time they started actually letting people in. so basically i waited in line for two hours to be $370 poorer and now hafta go to traffic school.. but at least i finished two chapters of the lord of the rings while i was waiting to get let in.

oh! if things go as i want them to, i think i can get a rear bumper cover.. right color, right model, right year.. for $90. i've already put it on reserve-it's in a salvage yard in hayward. the tough part is just finding a good time to go in and look at it before i actually purchase it since they're only open during normal business hours. but tracy already said that she or her brother can probably put it on for me.. so it's only a matter of getting the right part. i even had one of my bank customers look at it, and he said that a bumper cover would prolly do it.

hoping.. hoping...

omigoodness.
i just can't believe people sometimes! i was driving back from redwood city-stop and go traffic on 880, right? anyway.. this.. GRRR.. GUY rear ends my car and drives off! so here i am, stuck with a $1000 deductible and a big crack in my rear bumper.

okay.. now i know that what comes around goes around so it's gonna come back to him in one form or another. BUT.. why does it hafta be my car??? right now i'm just wishing that people out there could just be accountable for their actions.. just take responsibility and don't dodge it.

...

anyway.. at least i have a noticable marker on my car so i won't lose it in the parking lot from now on.

check this out:
it's the view outside my window while i'm in redwood city.

got it!
during the division meeting this afternoon, i got the more hours! susan gave pat and me the ok so prospects look good. on the other hand, the city budget's kinda iffy right now so i don't know if they can make me full-time. i'm hoping, because after all those medical bills that i've been paying, i really would love to have benefits. also.. higher pay wouldn't hurt.. but that's another story.

oh.. and guess what i did today? i left the lights on my car on.. AGAIN. thankfully this time i didn't see anyone i worked with for the little time that i was stranded.. agh.. it'd be too embarrassing.. especially with this being the THIRD time around. i found a random stranger to jump start with yet again.. you know one nice thing about redwood city is that it's full of nice people who'll let me jump start with their cars... hey! but i AM learning. i didn't lock myself out of the car this time. thank god.

today was the last day for the semester for aiwa too. i'm gonna continue doing it into the next year too. i like working with the women-it's hard.. but it's good for me, because i'm just so shy by nature and this sorta thing pulls me out of my shell.

guess what?
i asked! and pat seems receptive. so.. i guess from here on out, we'll see what happens. but i'm hoping for the best.

keep your fingers crossed for me.