6:31:00 AM
I have, finally, organized & uploaded some more photos that I put aside a few weeks ago.
1. Photos of St. Denis Catholic church, Diamond Bar, CA.
2. Photos of an express trip to Las Vegas on April 21-22 with Sandra, Ronald, Gabby, Deni, and Daniel.

There are simple too many photos taken (with numerous cameras owned by miscellaneous people) from the retreat. It would take me weeks to actually organize them to the photo album. And now, I shall cuddle up inside my warm comforter... although it is going to be hot tomorrow...

4:22:00 AM
Just a quick note: I will be gone from today until Monday, so I won't be writing for a while. I am going to an annual retreat at Lake Arrowhead. Must be nice up there. And should be merry, with around 80 people participating. See you later!

6:39:00 AM
I am not sure whether it was because of the lack of humidity (i.e. very dry) in my room or whether I was plain not-very-fit and under stress, that I again caught the flu (mild cough + cold). It all started with overly-dry, irritated throat last Friday morning when I woke up. My voice has been like a broken stereo since then. To make it worse, I pushed myself to sing (...) in the choir for Sunday mass. And exposed myself to the evening wind + cold weather when window-shopping at Century City shopping center last Saturday.

But I don't regret. It was really fun, although we didn't do anything extraordinary. I am enjoying my life. And most of all, I have never been able to truly be myself (and feel great about it) more than last weekend.

Carpe diem.

6:52:00 AM
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Way better than Episode I. In fact, it was really great that I wouldn't mind watching it more than once (and I don't usually like that type of movie. I don't like Star Trek, for instance). Yes, I saw it on the very first day it came out on theatres (the 2 o'clock show, which was, surprisingly, not crowded. We didn't have to line up at all).

I watched Rushmore on Monday evening, a few hours after Alexa strongly encouraged me to. Honestly, though, I like Royal Tenenbaums more than Rushmore. Maybe because Royal Tenenbaums has some kind of a solid plot (not to mention that the tales of the siblings are very interesting) and "merrier" (a lot of characters involved in the plot), while Rushmore mostly revolves around the quirky life of Max Fischer & Mr. Blume (who, I think, are the same person divided into two bodies: one is the young version, the other is the adult version). Not everyone's cup of tea, obviously. But the soundtracks are great, I must say *nods*

7:45:00 AM
Carrie Bradshaw: "Then I had a thought, maybe I didn't break Big. Maybe the problem was he couldn't break me. Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with."

"Your girl is lovely, Hubbell."

Memories
Like the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were

Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me - Would we? Could we?

Memories
May be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So it's the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were

8:36:00 PM
Phew. I had too much fun last weekend. "Too much" with a very positive intonation. And since Thursday night, I only had 4 to 5 hours of sleep each night.
Here's the tale. A detailed one, I must add. (Because I pay too much attention to details. Can't help it.)

Friday
Had a haircut at Jose Eber located at South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. Back to my faithful hairdresser ^^ Did a little shopping afterwards. Visited Irvine (feeling reminiscent? a little bit, yes) & had the first meal of the day (i.e. dinner) there. In an effort to reach Rowland Heights from Irvine within 30 minutes (which is, if you're not familiar with the area, totally impossible, because normally it takes about 45 minutes if the road is clear -- without traffic jam), I literally flew my car past the traffic jam at freeway 5 N (which was totally crowded) & 57 N, reaching 100 mph a couple of times on the freeway, and at one time even reached 90 mph on a local road with a speed limit of 45 mph! Why risked, you ask? Because I brought an overhead projector for that evening's event and I felt bad being late. So I sped up. A little too much, I guess. After the event, we all went to Ten Ren for a round of bubble tea & hangout. As one might expect: I slept late that night.

Saturday
There was an event starting at 9 AM. Since I didn't feel like driving, Iwan picked me up (after waking me up at 8.15 ~_~). At 1 PM, Grace, Julia, and myself drove to Santa Monica, dropping by California Roll Factory Sushi, where Faye worked, to have lunch. Marco joined us there, and then the five of us hung out together for the rest of the evening. Chilling out at Faye's apartment at Santa Monica, having coffee at The Coffee Bean at San Vicente Blvd, strolling around Third Street Promenade (shopping, as always), and having dinner at Phoenix Inn, Alhambra. Since it was already 1.30 AM when we left the restaurant, I decided to stay over at Grace's & Julia's apartment, because I was dependent (I didn't bring my car). As one might expect: I and Grace were chatting (sharing, mostly) until 5.30 AM =P

Sunday
The third day of having lack of sleep. Mother's Day. Lunch. Church. Bubble tea at Tea Station. Choir practice (without music, but we still managed). Dinner at Litz, Monterey Park. Iwan drove me back home (thank you, Wan!), since I didn't bring my car. Collapsed into bed almost instantly. And had a loooong good night's sleep :3

7:12:00 AM
The Others. See it if you haven't. Great movie, great acting, great script. Nicole Kidman was marvelous there. So were the other casts.

To my surprise, though, it was the first horror movie that I was not scared of. I was surprised a few times, but not afraid to the point of holding a pillow in front of my face or peeking through my hands. Yes people, I do those whenever I'm scared =P But it was not because the movie is not scary, no. It was actually very intimidating, scary to most people, surprising, etc. However, I knew the story and how it would turn out to be (although my guess was a bit off), because I understand it completely in reality. Thus, I wasn't afraid. I am not going to say anything.

8:56:00 PM
I shall title last Saturday as "Girls' Night Out"!
It was all the fun combined: sports, playing with dog, good food, flowers, shopping, and creme brulee.

On Saturday morning, four girls (myself, Faye, Grace, and Julia) went to Pantera Park for a round of tennis [photos], joining some guys who were already there for basketball. Actually only myself and Julia played tennis (with the guys). Faye brought her dog along, Missy, a cute welsh corgy. The others just kind of chatted and hang around the side of the tennis court, playing with Missy and taking photos.

The four of us went to my house to take a shower, then after lunch, we drove for an hour to The Flower Fields, Carlsbad [photos]. After taking more than an hour to stroll around the fields (it was huuuge, and we felt like exercising our legs or hiking) and taking endless photos, we bought some fresh strawberries and headed to the Carlsbad Company Stores next by the fields for a round of shopping. Until we decided we couldn't walk without thinking of foot massage and spend more money without feeling guilty. So we called it a night and drove to San Clemente for a round of good food at Cafe 207 [photos], owned by Marco's friend. We took photos, had a great meal followed by fabulous desserts (creme brulee for me!), chatted a bit, and bid Marco adieu as we continued our journey home with Grace as the loyal driver (thank you, dear!).

Such fun. I sure hope each weekend can be that fun. But then it depends on what your definition of fun is. Do you agree? =)

6:56:00 AM
Psalm 139: 7-11

Kemanakah aku dapat pergi
Menjauhi RohMu Tuhan
Kuberlari mendaki ke langit
Namun Engkau ada disana

Aku terbang dengan sayap fajar
Diam di ujung bumi
Namun tanganMu menuntunku selalu
Bawaku mendekat padaMu

Engkau Tuhan Allah Maha Tahu
Betapa dahsyatnya kuasaMu
HadiratMu kini penuhiku
Bawaku mendekat padaMu

4:50:00 PM
Thanks to my parents, for the piano lessons, classical music, and The Sound of Music. And of course, praise & worship songs.
Thanks to my high school friends, for Broadway musicals.
Thanks to my online friends, fellow anime lovers, for the anime songs.
Thanks to my first love, for introducing me to jazz in the first place. David Benoit, Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Jim Brickman and other numerous artists.
Thanks to Kara, for sharing her eclectic taste of music. Astrud Gilberto et.al., the 80's, Annie, more Broadway musicals, etc.
Thanks to Sandra, I have added more Sarah Brightman to my collection.
Thanks to Ronald, I've been downloading a lot of Josh Groban.
Thanks to Marco, I'm loving Diane Schuur and starting to discover other jazz talents.
Thanks to Gianno, I started to collect The Rippingtons and added more Fourplay to my collection.
And thanks to all others for introducing me to a wide array of music and musicians.

Friends do give a lot of influence in my music life.

2:01:00 PM
For anybody out there wondering where Dican disappeared to: she's doing fine... or maybe not-so-fine, depending on how you look at it. She's in the middle of final exams right now. I just talked to her when she was on her way to face Chemistry exam. Let's wish her the best of luck and hope she'll write again soon.

1:39:00 PM
Last Sunday was very inspiring. I haven't done that in the longest time. Carpooled to church with a friend, hanging out with the youth community after church, taking photos like there was no tomorrow, checking the bazaar held for San Gabriel City birthday celebration, having porridge (lots of it) for dinner, joking around... I missed those things so much, I'm practically having it again next week :3

And now.. I shall wait for the photos to be developed *pokes Grace*

1:21:00 PM
Oh by the way...
Murder By Numbers I saw last weekend? Sucks big time. The title doesn't even relate to the story. Don't waste your money, I tell you.

1:01:00 PM
As of a few days ago, I'm officially addicted. To the episodes, far more than the book.

To prove my addiction: what element(s) are you?
Most likely a combination of the four, just like myself. 40% Carrie (Air), 30% Miranda (Earth), 20% Charlotte (Water), 10% Samantha (Fire).

Not convinced yet? =D

The Break-Up Rules according to Carrie Bradshaw:
1. Destroy every evidence when he looks sexy and you look happy.
2. Lie. It's easier than admitting the truth about anything related to him.
3. Until emotionally stabilized, enter no stores!
4. Never stop thinking about him even for a moment, because that's the moment he'll appear.
5. No matter who breaks your heart and how long it takes, you'll never get through it without your friends.

Oh! Have I mentioned that I really like the Mr. Big character and how well Chris Noth fits into him? *nods* Totally. I think Carrie & Mr. Big are soulmates. Sadly, they're trying to fight it. Or I probably should blame the screenwriter for writing the scripts. I just hope the next upcoming seasons won't get more soap-opera-ish than it already has. Please.