so, has anyone else on the revolution church tear down team gotten attacked by the big, black, music stand case? that thing is evil. after all the stands dropped on my foot (yeah, i was wearing flip flops), i bent down to pick 'em up, and the top started falling and i hear keith say "watch your head!!" too little, too late! lol. it not only fell on my head, that POS (excuse my acronyms) left me a couple scratches and bruises. lol. here's what's left over... enjoy!
for months i've been praying, asking the Lord to bless me with patience. and, if you read my post about recognizing opportunities, then you know my view and standpoint on what i think God does when you ask Him for certain things.
so, when i started to pray more about patience, this is what God did. it's pretty funny...
• at vbs, He gave me the group with the rowdiest boys
• my advanced class turned into the laziest bunch (NOT okay with me)
• He blessed me with the busiest schedule ever.
• i work under two people who have no idea what design is all about
-- which makes it difficult when you're trying to get direction for a project.
• i have 3 little cousins living with me now
-- one of whom can be the most psychotic kid ever (i'm not over exaggerating)
• one of my students disrespected me like no other student has before.
now... to those that don't know Christ - you're probably thinking... "uhh... you prayed for patience and He gave you all of THAT?!?" here's my answer to that...
IT'S ALL ABOUT RECOGNIZING THE OPPORTUNITIES! i asked for patience, and God blessed me with all of those difficult situations so i can exercise it. the only way you can obtain something is by exercising it.
let me elaborate... when you're training for a marathon, you don't just sit on your couch watching tv, eating a big mac and a large coke and say "well i prayed about it, God will give it to me", right? no! most people (in their right minds) will get their butts off the couch, hit the gym, go for a run, and just train their hearts out so that they could be well-equipped for the marathon, right? right! same thing when it comes to things like praying for patience... in order to get it, you have to be put in a situation where you have to exercise it so you can work on BEING patient. make sense?
God is good. Scratch that. God is AMAZING.
what do you do when you absolutely hate your job? am i supposed to just suck it up and keep grindin' it out, or do i just quit and find a new one? right now, i'm trying to go the safe route. i'm looking for a job while i'm working at this one - but that's kinda shady, ain't it? ehh, i guess people do it all the time.
i'm thankful. God blessed me with a job - it's not a job that i particularly enjoy, but it's a job nonetheless. i know there's 589461676486786 people who would switch places with me in a second. yeah, i know - i know that by even posting this blog i risk the chance of looking like an ungrateful person. but it really isn't the case. i have a job, a job i absolutely love - my teaching job. but, as you know... teachers (yes, even martial arts ones because i work through the city) don't get paid very well. and well, with all these bills - i find myself drowning in debt. even at this job, i get paid alright, but i still feel like i'm drowning. just not as bad.
any ideas? job openings? suggestions? please help. please pray.
ok, so i copied. "don't judge me", as pastor christopher likes to always say. i was checkin out bobby's blog and he had this quiz up on it, so i took it and pretty much bombed! lol. so, i'm gonna put bobby and everyone else who reads my blog, to the test!
take the quiz and see how well you know me. if you score high, good job and thanks for taking the time to get to know me. if you scored low, boooooo you - we need to chill out more so you CAN know me better! ;)
so, click here and have at it! i'm curious to see how much you THINK you know me!
unfortunately, hittin' the gym isn't my prime choice of workout. i'd rather walk or do something outdoors. treadmill, machines, etc are suuuuuper boring to me. yes, yes, even if there's a tv posted in front of me. so, after months of trying to get our schedules to match up, me and my friend caroline got off our butts and got active. my friend frannie met up with us too. lastnight, we walked about 2 miles and then went to liberty park to run a few laps. yes, i said run.
i'm on a mission. #1 to lose weight, #2 to prepare my body for india (keeping it healthy and stuff), and #3 preparing for a job that i'm trying to go for. keep me in prayer and if you wanna work out, call me up! i need all the encouragement and support i can get! ;)
up until only a few days ago, my days consisted of...
• waking up between the hours of 8am & 9am
• hopping on the computer to check emails, log onto iChat, while simultaneously turning on the tv
• and sitting there, sometimes doing nothing or maybe, if i was lucky, i'd have a flyer to design or a sign-up sheet to create for team intense.
• take a nap around 2pm to wake up around 4:30pm so i could hop in the shower & get ready.
• around 5:45pm, i head over to the buena park rec to teach my 2 classes (3 on friday).
that's pretty much it. now, don't get it twisted. 2 classes (3 on friday) may sound like a breeze, but i guarantee you, afterwards, i'm burned out like i just worked 8 hours! hahahaha.
NOW...
• wake up at 6:00am, hop in the shower, get ready.
• be outta the house by 6:45-6:50 to make it to work by 7:30am
• work until 4:30pm
• drive straight to the rec to teach my 2 (3 on friday... lol) classes
• get home by 9:30pm
• sleep by 11 (at least i try to)
then after i do that, i wake up the next morning and do everything all over again every day of the week, except thursday. lol cuh-razy!
now, the old me would've called it quits after the first day... but, not this time. i've learned that i gotta do "my part" so God can do His. word? and, without a doubt, it works! i see myself becoming more and more financially stable day by day (and this is something i've been praying for since i got swindled by those 2 korean dudes).
Thanks again, God. You're awesome!
since 2001, teaching taekwondo. i've had jobs here and there since then, but the only constant thing through all the years has been teaching. well - i decided that i needed to grow up (plus, i had to freakin pay all these bills)... so, i got a job. a real full time job, benefits, the whole 9 yards... am i excited? absolutely not. lol.
so yeah, it's a graphic design gig in huntington beach with a company called House Hunt. seems like a cool place to work - but, i'm not lookin forward to loooooong days that i have ahead of me. not only will i have to work 8-5, but right after work, i have to drive straight to the rec center to teach my classes til 9. yeah... looooong days. but, God's got my back, so i know i'll be aight!
keep me in prayer... imma need it!
i know, i know, i'm a terrible log keeper-upper. i already got a "talk" from bobby... lol. i'm sorry to everyone.
aight, so i'm gonna really have to step it up. i thought i was doing pretty good on my "tri to lose" challenge, but apparently not. i gained 3 lbs. *sigh* it's all good though... as the summer approaches, i'll have a little bit more time to focus on this challenge. not only that, but, now that i gained, i'm even MORE determiined to lose. i'm pretty good at dishin' out the discipline to my students, but it's hard to maintain it for my own life!
anyways, i'll be better at logging in my progress... i know, i know, all talk - no action. so, i'll stop talking now, and SHOW you instead! hahaahaha. gotta go!
off subject before i go... check out my team's website! parts are under construction, but this is the reason why i've been so busy lately! ;) The Official Website of Team Intense Martial Arts... Check it out, and leave me a comment to tell me what you think!!! Thanks!
aight, so tomorrow marks the first day of the "TRI to Lose Challenge". i'm pretty stoked. i've started last week eating healthy, getting my body used to it, so it's not quite a shock come tomorrow! haha. i've gotten a few pledges/donations already. i got donations from my sisters, leslie and melanie, and also my friend lourdes. i also got a pretty fat (no pun intended!) pledge from my godfather, val catalasan, and his company, jobstead. guess for how much? a super generous $5.00 per pound! is that awesome or what?
so yeah, the challenge begins tomorrow yo! do your part in helping these kids over in uganda and donate or pledge!! do so by shooting me an email! if you wanna read up on the "TRI to Lose Challenge", click here, and Bobby Marchessault will tell you all about it!
check back tomorrow for my first video post. word!
a few weeks ago, i was having the worst day ever... okay, so the old me would've just continued on being negative and finding every reason to hate the rest of the day. but, since i've gotten my relationship back with the Lord, my whole attitude has changed about everything... so, it's about noon and i tell my friend caroline "my day started off crappy, but... it's only half way through the day, it's gonna get better!" so, i'm watching tv, going on with the rest of my day before i have to get ready to go and teach and i've got the tv on, my computer in front of me, and i'm just browsin the web and stuff when i hear on the tv on the yourLA tv show, "email yourlatv@gmail.com right now and win tickets to the ellen degeneres "show on a plane" show. be the first one to email and win!" so, i'm sitting there, with my inbox already open and think... "ehhh, what the heck... it's worth a shot" and shoot an email over. a few minutes pass and i get an email saying "congrats! you won! i need to verify that you're over 18, so please give me your phone number and i'll give you a call to verify." pretty awesome, eh?
long story short... i'm going to NYC! i was supposed to go with my friend caroline, but because of financial difficulties, she decided to sacrifice her ticket so my sister could go instead! (note to caroline: thanks again, friend!) anyways, it should be fun!!! i'll let you guys know when the show airs so you could try to spot me on tv!! woo hoo!
aight, so my buddy bobby marchessault from CLC up in santa cruz posed a challenge for pretty much everyone who reads his blog. and i'm takin' him up on his challenge! what's the challenge, i'm sure you all are thinkin... here, check out this video bobby made to find out details of my new mission for the next three months!
i scored this gig back in october. it wasn't supposed to be for designing, but i've been suckered into doing just that. my boss is extremely cool, which puts me in a weird position. i have this thing about "being too nice" sometimes - which obviously puts me in a bad financial situation. i'm designing pretty much everything here... from product labels, to images for their website, to letterhead, to a new logo for this new business venture of hers. all that, on top of all the other stuff she has me do, for extremely low pay.
don't get me wrong... i'm very thankful for even having a job, period. there's a ton of people out there who would kill to just have a job. i just feel very unappreciated, taken advantage of, and underpaid - that's all.
so yeah, i'm looking for either a new, better paying gig, or just some freelance work that can help my finances stay afloat. i'm in the process of making an online portfolio, so stay posted for that.
in the meantime, if you hear of anyone looking to score a designer, please refer me!!! i'll be your friend forever! ;) k, thanks, bye.
