Wicked Awesome

As Christmas/birthday gift to each other, Heather and I went and saw Wicked and San Francisco. The show was incredible. If you get the chance to see Wicked, do it. It's worth every penny. The music, the sets, the costumes, the dancing- all unbelievable.

Afterwards, we had dinner at Cheesecake Factory in Union Square. We saw outside until it started to rain. They were unable to get us a table inside right away, so we just opened our umbrellas and continued eating our bread until they found a table inside. So much fun!

Practice Makes Perfect

Today I took a piano lesson for the first time in over 10 years! Talk about nerve-racking and humbling! I'm very rusty, but very excited about getting some technique back and learning more theory.

My teacher gave me a practice book. I've actually never had one of these before! I always just used a regular notebook. Very fun!

Advent Conspiracy

My church is taking part in the Advent Conspiracy- a movement that encourages people to focus on the real meaning of Christmas and decrease the amount of consumerism usually occurs. The Advent Conspiracy asks people to "spend less, give more." Our church is encouraging its members to reduce the amount we spend on Christmas gifts and donate the money we saved to an organization that drills wells for towns in Africa without running water. It really is staggering when you find out that a relatively small amount of money could provide so many people with a huge quality-of-life increase.

This is something of which I need constant reminding. I must admit I like the mall more than I should... This video was shown at church last week and it really drives the point home...

Apartment Pics!

I haven't posted in awhile because I've been too busy! In the past 60 days I have moved, traveled to North Carolina, DC, Florida (and back), gotten bitten by a spider and spent 10 days on antibiotics that made me feel AWFUL (plus the spider bite itself was pretty gross), moved 3,000 junior high fiction books (all by myself), and spent 3 weekends in Salinas.

So, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of my new apartment. No pics of my bedroom yet, as it's still mostly undecorated and boring. Will post more pics after my next trip to Ikea!

Praying

I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer lately. A lot of things are happening in my life that need to be covered in prayer.
I’m also thinking more about it because we’re encouraged to pray atwork (such a blessing!). I’m re-reading a book called Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Phillip Yancey. And finally, my small group is about to start a study on prayer.

I think prayer is a touchy subject sometimes. When our small group was debating which topic to study next, everyone was really passionate about studying prayer or not studying prayer. Some people find it difficult to pray out loud, so studying to do so might be uncomfortable. Others have a hard time asking for and receiving prayer.

When I think about asking for prayer, an instance from about 3 years ago often comes to mind. I asked some girl friends to pray that God would give me wisdom concerning a promising relationship still in its beginning stages. One girl told me she didn’t feel comfortable “praying about guys.” I was too taken aback to ask her to explain further, but I got the impression she thought my request was silly (She, of course, was already married. I resisted the temptation to tell her I felt uncomfortable praying for her marriage with her). Luckily, none of the other girls present (fellow singletons!) were uncomfortable, and they prayed for me. However, since that incident I've been reluctant to ask people to "pray about guys" with me.

Sometimes I wonder if my requests are too trivial even for God, or if I ask for too many things instead of spending time giving thanks and praising God during prayer. Obviously, my “Please let the Miami Dolphins squash the New York Jets” prayers probably aren’t at the top of God’s list (if they even make His list at all). But I have a hard time believing that my prayers for wisdom concerning any relationship are too frivolous, especially when Ephesians 6:18 says to "pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." I also take comfort in knowing that God accepts our inadequacy in prayer, and allows the Holy Spirit to help us pray (Rom 8:26), even if it's about "silly" relationships.

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on this as our small group studies continue...

Counting down...

The next 30 days or so are going to be nuts. Between now and June 11th, I must do the following:

• work my regular job (no big deal)
• host 2 day-long textbook buyback events at work (a big deal)
  
• pack up my apartment & move to a new apartment (a big deal)
  
• pack for a 2-week trip the East Coast (no big deal), for which I leave less than 48 hours after moving (a big deal)
  

I've already started packing up my apartment

If any of you feel so inclined to pray for me, please pray for my health during this time. I've been dealing with some health issues that have made me prone to bad fatigue and a weak immune system. I've been getting sick about every four weeks for the past few months, and it's about that time again...

Despite the craziness of the next few weeks, I'm really excited for the trip that comes after it!

Scared Green

Today I threw out everything in my makeup drawer and medicine cabinet, except for two things. I switched to green cleaning products about a year ago, but today I finally made the leap to cosmetics. I've been very conscious of evaluating the credibility of the websites and books I've been reading, trying to determine if they're legit or just based on paranoid tree-huggers.

There is some controversy, but it appears that many ingredients in lotions, creams, fragrances, hair products and other cosmetics have been linked to some pretty scary health conditions. Many of the ingredients are banned in other countries and controlled substances in cleaning products- so why would I slather them on my body? It was really hard to throw stuff away, since some things were new, and some things I've been using since I was 12. It's also pretty scary to try to find alternatives, as many natural cosmetics are more expensive. The worst offenders in my medicine cabinet for the hair products- a particularly painful discovery for me since I've spent the last several years trying in vain to straighten my God-given perm.

Anyways, if you're interested in learning more, check out this website: Skin Deep.

Also, here are some of the books/websites that have informed my thinking.

• The AutoImmune Epidemic
• Gorgeously Green
• Green This!
• Serve God, Save the Planet
  
• WebMD: Cosmetics Safety
  

Historic Day

I was really looking forward to seeing my students' reactions to the inauguration today. We broadcast it on a giant screen in the library. On normal days the time between 7:15am-9:15am is swamped, noisy, busy- organized chaos. When President Obama was sworn in, it was nearly silent. The most interesting part of the day occurred when the late bell rang during the middle of the President's speech. I had about 120 kids in the room and around 40 risked a tardy to stay and watch the rest of the speech. All of them were boys. Not one girl. I was really surprised (and saddened) by that. However, the boys that stayed warmed my heart because they were so engrossed and interested in the whole day. I did not vote for Obama, but I really enjoyed the reactions of my students and the historical significance of today. I wish I had thought to bring my camera.

New Year

My Resolutions for 2009

• Watch less TV. I canceled my DirecTV account today, so that makes this resolution REAL easy since now I only get 5 channels (not counting the Korean language channels).

• Pay down the car loan. I have a loan from a family member at an extremely low rate, but I hate owing my relative money. I don't have a set amount yet, but I want to pay off a lot more than I did in 2008.

• Get plugged in at church. I've been attending my new church for about 3 months and have been having trouble plugging in. However, I'll be attending my first small group meeting this Sunday, and have signed up to be a greeter twice a month. This should help.

• Create a second source of income. The tricky part is doing this without getting a second job. I've got a couple ideas I'm working on. More on this in the coming months...
  

Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve at church

Tippy looking for presents on Christmas morning

Library Conference!

Wild and crazy times at the California School Library Association annual conference this past weekend. (I'm being sarcastic here). It's actually a great conference, and I enjoyed my second time attending. It's a prime opportunity for networking, brainstorming, and inspiration, but I was super sick and avoided talking to anyone lest I erupt in a coughing fit in their face. Also, Sudafed does not particularly help with brainstorming, inspiration, or staying awake.

One of the conference attendees posted a pic from a session I attended. You can see me in the second row. I remember when the girl took the picture and how I was thinking that I really needed to blow my nose.



I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving, since both my brother and I will be home at the same time. I'm also looking forward to a home-cooked meal!

What a Week

 It's been a crazy week.  I spent 4 days in Atlanta for my older brother's wedding.  It was one of best times I've ever had with that side of the family, and I'm so happy for my brother and new sister-in-law.  They live in a beautiful house, have made some wonderful friends, and are very good for each other. 

Here's a pic of the whole family.  

My brother, Paul, and his new wife, Yelina, leaving after the ceremony.

Finally, Cuban weddings never fail to entertain.  Here is my younger brother Mike, showing the bride's 68-year-old father how to do The Worm.



Election Day was my first day back.  I must say I was very moved by the historical significance of the entire day, even though I voted for McCain.  It was also really cool to hear my students talking so passionately about the election.  I heard supporters from each side, and the whole campus was abuzz the entire day.  It made me really hopeful that the next generation will not be politically apathetic.

On a fun note, check out my brother Peter's entry for the FreeCreditReport.com video contest.  Go to the contest's YouTube page and search for PBHolbert.  Give him a thumbs up to vote for him. You can vote once a day for the next two weeks.  Every time I watch it, I literally laugh out loud.

Misc.

Why is it that sitting and doing nothing all day makes us so tired? I attended a training today in Santa Clara. It wasn't too boring, and the availability of free wi-fi made the day pass more quickly. But I was exhausted at the end!

Luckily for me, a quick post-training trip to Ikea was just the pick-me-up I needed! I restrained myself and did not buy any furniture. However, I did walk away with the new 2009 catalog. Plenty of reading material to fuel my nesting lust for the next year.

Finally, I'm very excited about the new seasons of The Office and The Big Bang Theory.

Currently reading:
Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano
and
A Sense of Belonging: From Castro's Cuba to the U.S. Senate, One Man's Pursuit of the American Dream by Senator Mel Martinez

Junior-highers

Junior highers are awesome. I've had limited experiences with them in the past few years- mostly involving horribly overcrowded summer-school classrooms filled with remedial students. The past two weeks at my new job have given me a new appreciation for 6th-8th graders. Here's why:

1. They still want to please me. I asked some bored-looking junior high boys if they wanted to help me. They literally jumped up and down from excitement when I had them stamp books. Later I reprimanded a group of 7th grade girls for yelling in the hallway. Several of them came to me a few hours later and apologized for their behavior. And, on the same day, I asked some 6th graders to take their food out of the library. They apologized profusely and immediately put their food away. I had asked the same thing of a high school girl earlier that morning and she rolled her eyes at me.

2. They're holding on to that last ounce of innocence. I've over-heard a couple conversations where students have said something that could have been taken as a double-entendre. None of them realized it. I guess their minds are not quite in the gutter yet.

3. They're a lot easier to make laugh.

4. The boys still in the gross-out phase. One of them was super excited to show me his scab the other day. I won some gross-out points for myself when I showed him my loose knuckle.

Brother Bragging

You should definitely check out MTVu.com this weekend. It features my brother's band's HILARIOUS new video: Long Drive Home. There's also a mini-feature about their tour this summer. Unfortunately, you also have to watch the mini-feature about Miss Hooters International in order to see the Say No More feature. Oh well. Here's the video. The mini-feature is below.

Here's the mini feature.

California vs. Florida

It's hard to believe that it's been almost 15 years since I moved to California from Florida.

Things I Miss About Living in Florida

• Cuban food
• Sweet tea & Sonny's BBQ
  
• Lightning storms (when I'm safe inside)
• Seeing all the Dolphins games on TV
• Having my extended family close by
• 85 degree ocean water. In December.
• No income tax!
  

Things I Do Not Miss About Living in Florida

• Mosquitoes and lovebugs
• Humidity
• Lightning storms (when I'm NOT safe inside)
• Hurricanes
• Churches where it's still frowned upon for women to wear pants
• Skylines where the garbage dump hills are the tallest hills until Georgia
• Boring coastlines

Currently reading: Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

Swim Update

Well, I'm struggling to improve my freestyle stroke, but apparently I have a perfect (albeit slow) breaststroke.  I like that one much better as it's much more peaceful (not a lot of splashing) and slower.  Also, it's harder and I feel like I'm getting a better workout.

Friday's lesson was canceled because of a problem with the water (ew). 

I'm really excited to watch the Olympics this year since my junior-year RA from Azusa Pacific, Bryan Clay, is a favorite for the decathalon.  Bryan won silver in the 2004 Olympics and I'm hoping he gets gold this year. 

This weekend: Winchester Mystery House with Megan and Jill and the San Jose Jazz fest!

Currently reading:
Serve God, Save the Planet by J. Matthew Sleeth

Swim Lesson, Day 1

I loved swimming when I was a kid.  I just hated swim lessons.  I couldn't float very well, and this was during the years of my coke-bottle glasses, so I was blind as a bat and often swam out of my lane or in the wrong direction (not kidding).  I remember locking myself in the bathroom at home before it was time to leave for the pool, crying and begging my mom not to make me go.  I also remember hanging onto the side of the pool during lessons, pretending I was asleep so the teacher wouldn't make me swim when it was my turn.  I don't know if she really thought I was asleep, or if she just didn't want to deal with me, but sometimes it worked!

Consequently, I never was a strong swimmer.  This never really bothered me much since I rarely went in the water as I got older.  I've had issues with my back and feet since I was pretty young, and doctors always recommended swimming to help it.  But I never gave it serious thought since Salinas has gross pools and cold weather.  Then two years ago, my uncle drowned in the off the coast of Florida.

My uncle had serious health issues that contributed to his drowning (and he wasn't wearing a life jacket), but that's when I started to seriously think about becoming a stronger swimmer.  I still wasn't willing to brave the Salinas pools, but when I saw that a pool near my apartment in San Jose was offering a two-week session at a decent price, I signed up.

I was a little nervous, worried that I would utterly humiliate myself.  But my fears disappeared once the other student (it's just two of us) stated that he could never figure out how to breathe through his NOSE while swimming.  At least I know that when you take a breath, you use your MOUTH!  I actually enjoyed the class, and the instructor really gave me some great things to work on.  Apparently I've been kicking underwater my whole life, but you're supposed to have your legs at least break the surface.  Who knew?  Also, I guess my arm sort of stops mid-air when I take a breath.  Ha- I'm sure that's funny to watch.  So I'm working on keeping my arms moving continuously.

I'm already sore from one lesson, but it's a good sore!  I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.  My goal for the class is to be able to swim a decent enough freestyle that I could join a gym and go for lap swim without looking like a total klutz.  We'll see...

July update

It's been about a month since I last posted so I figured I'd post a brief update.

I've been working at my new job for about a month now. It's been nice to start during the summer school session so I can ease into things. Most of my colleagues are on summer vacation, so I've only met a few people but they are all very helpful and very welcoming. One of my (three! woo hoo!) assistants worked with me during my first week on the job. After that, she went on her summer break along with my other two assistants. I'm sure I've spent a lot of time figuring out answers to questions they could have told me, but their absence has given me the chance to ask questions of other staff and faculty and get to know them better.

I'm still checking out local churches. I spent the last two weekends in Salinas since my grandmother was visiting, so I'm looking forward to getting back to visiting churches here in San Jose. I found one I really like, but it's about a 30-minute drive. I'm not sure how involved I could get with a place that far away. Hopefully I can find another one that's a little closer.

I know I promised pics of the apartment, but I'm still trying to save a bit more money before I furnish the rest of it. I still have unpacked boxes and blank walls. I'm working on it...

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks since I'll be having visits from a few friends and my brother and the band will be in town for a show.

Oh, and I finally got the book I blogged about awhile ago: The Dumbest Generation. Couldn't make it through the first half. Too boring- just a bunch of summaries of research studies. I guess I fit the author's stereotype of people under the age of 30 with a short attention span. :)

Currently reading:
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez

Pennies or Plastic?

AT&T wants their money. Today I received a bill from them for a whopping $0.04. Yes, you read that correctly- 4 cents. Apparently, they over-credited me way back in February and they want what is rightfully theirs. They are willing to spend $0.42 in postage plus ink and paper in order to get their $0.04 from me.

I'm debating between sending them four pennies in the mail or using my credit card (and making them eat the credit card fees all companies pay). Help me decide by voting in the poll below