The Power of Music

I believe there are few things in the world that can communicate with all people despite the language barrier and music is one of those things. For example, I've seen a couple operas that were in Italian and even though I had no clue what they were saying, I could feel the emotion through the music. I've also been listening to more Spanish music - no, not the mariachi band kind, but the Spanish guitar kind. Almost instantly, I feel a bit more sultry and spontaneous. If you want to know what I mean, watch Vicky Christina Barcelona. Or, say you're having a bad day and it seems like the world is against you. Hearing one of your favorite songs has the power to change your mood almost instantly.


Anyways, music also has the power to stir up memories that were long forgotten. At work, I usually have my ipod running all day or stream Pandora Radio. Since my ipod hasn't been updated in FOREVER, I've been streaming Pandora and listening to R&B music. Usually, a song will come up that I haven't heard in a while and I write it down so I remember to download it onto my ipod but today, it was like they were plugged into my brain and played songs that I TOTALLY forgot about and ABSOLUTELY loved: 

"Heaven" by John Legend: I love this song because it reminds me of at time when I had found someone that I really liked and he had NO CLUE that I was into him. It was a fun time filled with lots of sexual tension ;)

"I Get Lonely" by Janet Jackson: I love this song because it reminds me of how much I wanted to have sex in 7th grade. LOL! Don't worry, I didn't have sex that young, but it definitely jump started the open attitude and curiosity I have toward sex/sexuality now. Plus the music video was a bit voyeuristic, which is always fun. 

"So Gone" by Monica: I love this song because it reminds me of a time when I finally realized I shouldn't put up with any bullshit from a man because I am fully capable of handling Life on my own.

Hmmm...music that reminds me of sex and independence. I like it.

I'm sure there will be more songs that remind me of random things I haven't thought about in a while, but I wanted to write about these ones because they came one right after the other and it absolutely changed my mood from disappointed to giddy in a second. Pandora.com check it out - it might be the mood shift that you're looking for.

La Dulce Vita

God does work in mysterious ways. I like to think of myself as a realist, but in all honesty I'm probably more of a pessimist than a realist- at least when it comes to my life. I try to be everyone's cheerleader except my own. There are some days where I think I'm never going to get it together and there is no light at the end of this tunnel. When the going gets tough, I say a little prayer and have faith that Someone is listening. 

Just when I start to think no one heard my prayers, something or someone comes along to brighten my day and it makes such a big difference in my outlook. I literally feel like the weight of the world was lifted off of me, even for just a moment.

Last night was one of those moments. I finally had the night off at Macy's and was looking forward to going straight home from my first job and cleaning up the house a bit when my cousin told me about a family get-together that was kinda happening last minute. I knew I owed my cousin cupcakes, so I figure now was a better time than any to pay up. When I got to her house there was a feast ready and waiting for all of us: chicken adobo, pancit, AND Auntie Precy's now-famous lumpia - some of my favorites! More cousins and friends started to drop in and before we realized it we were drunk/pretty buzzed, playing video games, eating, and enjoying each other's company. 

It has been a long time since I felt that light and care-free. It may have been also due to the 4 cups of Weed Tea that I drank, but still...right now I'm feeling that Life is pretty sweet.

Boo'ed Up?

This is a little late, but something that I've been meaning to share with all of you. I like to think I'm still young and hip and in-the-know with the latest lingo (enough to carry on a conversation with someone 5-10 years younger than me). However, before the holidays, it finally happened. I was having a conversation with a coworker of mine who is about 5 years younger than me and I had NO clue what we were talking about. The following conversation happened while en route to picking up a van: 

Coworker: I'm SO excited for the holidays!

Me: Oh, really? Me too. Do you have any special plans? 
Coworker: Not really. A lot of family stuff... 
She goes on for a couple minutes about her crazy Uncle who doesn't let her eat with her elbows on the table. 
Me: Well, that sounds like fun, even though your uncle seems kinda lame. We laugh. 
Coworker: Well, it's also the first time I haven't been really booed up for the holidays. So, I'm looking forward to some ME time. 
At this point I start to wonder what she's talking about, "Booed up? How do you spell that? Was she scared and now she's not?" I play it off. Just nod, smile and watch the road. 
Me: That's good. Everyone deserves some down time to themselves, especially if they've been crazy busy. It takes a toll on you physically and mentally. 
Coworker: Yeah, my friends are all worried about me. They think I'm going to be all depressed or something, but I am really looking forward to spending time with my family and pampering myself- you know, the usual girly stuff. 
Depressed? Maybe booed up means she was depressed and then not depressed. I just nod and give an, "uh-huh" or "yeah!" here and there. She goes on for another couple minutes about her experience living by herself and I think, "maybe she was depressed about living by herself and is booed up." 

Coworker: So what about you? You're boo'ed up, right?

Me: Um... 

A couple seconds pass. She senses I don't know what she's talking about...Oh No! 

Coworker: You know, BOO'ED up?... 
As if emphasizing the word by saying it slowly helped... 
Coworker: B-O-O-apostrohpe-D 

The light bulb goes off... 

Me: Oooooh! Boo, as in boyfriend! Yes, I'm boo'd up for the holidays. 

I smile in triumph...sorta. 

It's official- I'm starting not to know what the heck kids are talking about these days.  

Playing Catch Up

I know, it's been a while. December seems to have blown right past me and I was barely able to keep up. Unfortunately, this blog was one of the first things to fall by the wayside. However, it's a new year, which means I have a clean slate and fully intend to keep up with one blog a week (at least). Now, that I'm at work and there's not much to do (...correction, there's not much I WANT to do), it's a perfect time for us to get caught up.

Christmas 2009: Christmas Eve was spent with my mom and her family at her house in Corona. Albert and I decided to go wine tasting before the party. Good idea or bad idea? A little of both. I was drunk and terribly hungover in a matter of hours at a family party. It was great being drunk, not so much being hungover while opening presents. I felt like throwing up on everything. Christmas Day was spent with my dad's side at my Auntie Flor's house in Buena Park- watched the Laker game, then the Charger game. The Cousins' gift exchange was awesome becuase Mare gave me stuff I really wanted: The Hangover DVD and $20 to Barnes and Noble. There were a couple other gift exhchanges with Albert's family and his high school friends. Albert's family had a White Elephant exchange with some pretty interesting presents. Albert ended up with a LIVE hamster and I ended up with a foot and neck massager. As for Albert's high school friends' exchange, I think I did a fabulous job of giving a first impression of being an alcoholic - that was probably a bad idea, but no way to take it back now. Below are pics courtesy of Albert's camera:

Christmas Presents: I got some pretty cool Christmas presents this year and want to brag (LOL!). Hans painted my living room wall- something I've been meaning to do since May. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and took before & after pictures. Unfortunately, I can't find the USB cable and dock to upload the pics, so I have to show you in a separate post. Albert's family got me a KitchenAid Chef's Chopper, which is PERFECT for making Lasagna Roll-Ups because it'll chop the onions for me! Again, Mare got me just what I wanted for the gift exchange. And, although this wasn't his official Christmas present to me, Albert got me a Zebra print Snuggie. He spent all day going to several stores and finally found one at Spencer's! Even though temperatures are starting to warm up, I use that snuggie every day :) 

Albert and I didn't really give each other Christmas presents this year, we decided to save up for our trip to Thailand instead. In the off chance we don't make it to Thailand, then we're celebrating Christmas in July...but we are determined to get to there so it's great motivation for being smarter and saving our money. 

Working Two Jobs: As most of you know, I picked up a second job working part-time at Macy's to help with the bills and have some extra money to play with. The first month was pretty easy to handle, maybe because I was so excited to actually have some extra cash. December was a bit harder to get through. I was working shifts that ended at 12:30am, which meant getting to bed around 1:00am and having to wake up 4 hours later to make it to my full-time job. Working two jobs has been a real challenge and a blessing in disguise. The tough part has been getting enough rest, staying healthy, and losing my weekends. I've been sick every week in December and still have a nasty cough to deal with. Plus, it sucks having to go into work on a Saturday or Sunday while everyone else sleeps in or makes plans to meet up and go places. I just remind myself this two-job deal is temporary and I have to correct my money mismanagement somehow...so I basically made my bed and have to lay in it. On the upside, I do have extra cash and actually don't mind working in retail. I can go out now and then and spend money that I actually have instead of being overdrawn all the time. Most of my coworkers at Macy's have been really cool and welcoming and I've been doing well with my sales goals. In fact, I've been asked to stay on past the holidays. I said yes (for now) because the extra money will help save for the Thailand trip, but being healthy is also pretty important to me and that's been hard to do with last month's schedule. Since the hours have gone back to normal (no more midnight shifts!), I'll have more time to rest between jobs and more days off between shifts at Macy's. In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to choose between money and my health, but we're obviously NOT in a perfect world. 

Goals for 2010: Well, I have lots of goals for this year, but they're all related to one goal. If this one goal is completed, then that means all the other goals have been completed or are on their way to being completed. I'll keep you updated on the progress of goals every now and then, but the top priority is this:

*Be financially stable enough to stop working 2 jobs*

 
...and now we're caught up. Well, to be more accurate, you're caught up with me (for the most part). Hope your holidays were relaxing and you got what you wanted for Christmas. I am really blessed to have the boyfriend, family, and friends that I have because they've filled my life with so much love and support. Thanks to them, I have much to look forward to this year! Best wishes to everyone in the new year!