Please spell my name right!

I hate it when people spell my name wrong. It happens all the time! and I think I need to give it a break because it happens. Recently, I noticed that I spelled other people's name wrong, and I feel bad now. I am sure noone would want their names to be spelled wrong.
I sent a message to a friend whose name is Kristine. I just noticed that I wrote Christine instead. Another mistake, I wrote Cassandra instead of Casandra when I emailed this lady who works for an organization where I applied for a job. The thing is that when we send these messages, the name of the person is usually on the email but we fail to write it in the correct way. I guess we just need to pay more attention.

A cute story about name calling. My cousin's little boy calls me with 2 different names. He often calls me TatieDoudou (Auntie Doudou) but then when I don't pay attention, he asks his parents to call me in Malagasy. We asked him what's my name in Malagasy and he said Domoina.

My 7th Noel away!

Many say that Christmas is all about family -- spending quality time with your loved ones. I find Christmas is the hardest time of the year for me as I am far away from my family. I wish I could just get on the bus and go home. This year, I am blessed to have my cousin Hanitra with her husband and their little boy with me. They are visiting from France.

Hanitra is my cousin but we are very close and we actually consider ourselves sisters since growing up. She never had one neither I.

But I love this time of the year. Again, I had the time to reflect upon the real meaning of Christmas. I hope that everyone can feel the Savior's love during the season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be grateful for. The list goes on and on but I came up with at least 10 of the ones I can never ignore:

1. The Gospel that keeps me in the right track and gives me hope
2. My family who loves me and supports me even with my poor decisions sometimes
3. My friends who makes me laugh and keeps me company
4. Knowledge. I don't know much, but I know enough which builds in my confidence
5. Health. I have the strength to work and to do the things that I enjoy
6. Ability to love others
7. Food on the table
8. All the good things that do good to the world
9. Safety. I feel safe and secure
10. Life in general. It's worth it!

I really love Elder Uchtdorf's talk during the General Relief Society Conference titled "Happiness, Your heritage". I quote: As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.
I AM GRATEFUL!

H.B.D TO ME!

I hate birthdays! well I don't mean it like that. It's just I feel like time is running out and I haven't really accomplished all the things I want to in life. Also, I am not used to celebrating birthday. I'd say it's a family thing, no gift, just a nice meal and lots of kisses. It's funny though that since I have been away from home, my family now gets excited about birthdays. They call from the other side of the world and they also send gifts like 2 months later :-)
My roommate Sam told me the other day that it's supposed to be the celebration of your birth not your age so I had a fun celebration of my day of birth this year.
It started on Saturday night when I was invited to a surprise birthday party of another friend of mine. I was a little late when I walked into the party and guess what? it turned out to be a surprise party for me. The other friend was also invited and was told that it was a surprise party for me. We were both stoked about it. We had so much fun! there were cakes and tons of goodies. I loved it!
Then on Monday, I set up to go to dinner with the girls (my roommates Lyndsi and Sam and 2 other good friends) since they were going to be out of town on my real birthday. We went to TRIO, an Italian restaurant. It was yami! Sorry about the special Lynz :-)
Then we were driving home and suddenly, the girls blindfolded me with a brand new tie. They said they had a suprise for me. We drove for a while and then walked through a parking lot crowded of people (I could hear the noises). Then we walked into a door and I sensed a familiar smell. I shout "we are in a movie theater"; doh! I smelled popcorn! Lyndsi tried to plug my nose but it was too late.
We got in the theater and I wasn't sure which movie we were about to see. James bond or ....?
After like a 15 mn of previews, the movie started and I heard some familiar lines. The voice said something like, "I'd never thought how I would die". You know it, the girls took me to see TWILIGHT. I missed the first night it came out because the tickets were sold out. Although it wasn't really like I expected from the book, it was still good. I loved it! I want to see it again. Yes, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!

So that was the HOLY WAR!

I am not really into football but since I started to attend the U, I claim to be a Y fan to bug the ute fans. I have to admit though that I was torn that BYU lost on Saturday. I wore my BYU shirt and jacket for the rest of the evening.
These pictures make one sad and the other laugh. See for yourself!

So saaaaaaaaaad !!!!!!!!!!

So trruuuuuuuuuuue, but funny!

If you don't know what's the Holy War is, go HERE to wikipedia.

P.S. I stole those pics from a friend on facebook :-)

Still looking!

I was doing a friend a small favor. In return, he emailed me a thank you letter and wrote at the end “and good luck with finding a husband … I mean a job.” I wrote him back and I said “you’re such a DORK.”

With what’s been happening in my life lately, my friend’s statement made me laugh. Well, I have been looking for jobs since graduation and so far, nothing. I would take any job due to my desperate situation and I have interviewed with a few. They seem to like me and say that they would like to offer me the job. Then they don’t call me for days. When I called to follow up, they said the position has been filled.

The other subject, I can’t say that I have been looking for a husband or husbands lately. It’s not like that. But of course I’d like to go on dates and stuff. Well, a recent situation is more like my job search. The boy seemed to like me. Actually he asked me out 3 times in a row. He cancelled the last time (the day before) and that was it. And let’s say he disappeared. I don’t want to follow up. I hope he doesn’t get to read this. I don’t think he knows I blog. Well, je m’en fous quand même.

So I thank my friend for wishing me luck with my quest for those 2 things. Ha,ha,ha!

I saw the NKOTB on Sat night!

They became popular when I was probably in elementary school. Then when I was in high school, I remember I had a crush on Joey, who didn't anyway? He was still adorable 2 nights ago.
I went to their concert on Saturday night here in Salt Lake City. It was a blast! This is a video of a song from the concert that I still recall the words from a longtime ago. TONIGHT!



OBSERVATIONS:
I swear 99% of the audience were female.
The NKOTB are grown men now, they aren't kids anymore like I remember from some 20 years ago.
TREATS:
Natasha Bedingfield did the opening. I love her too!
My friend and I got good seats on the floor just a few feet from the stage. Then they even came closer when they moved to the middle of the floor to sing a few songs. I couldn't believe it!
ONE REGRET:
I wish I took a camera with me. What was I thinking?

Ticket Sleepover!

Guess what I did on Friday night? This ... I was camping out overnight with my friend Rae who is a Utah fan to get tickets to go to the BYU/Utah game in 2 weeks.

It was fun! We slept in a big tent, with warm sleeping bags (thanks Lyndsi, I used yours since it was too cold), and we ordered pizzas. The pizza delivery guy was shocked when we told him there is no address, just come to the east corner of the Stadium.

The tickets office was opened at 8AM the next day. I was in line for about 2 hours before I got to the door. BTW, our tent was #160. Yep, there were 159 tents in front of us, there might have been another 100 or so behind us.

This is me with my free ticket as a Utah student. I am going to the game and I will for sure cheer for BYU. I still don't know how I am going to show up with a BYU shirt and a Utah ticket at the gate. I can't wait to see my friends' reaction with this. He,he,he!

OBAMA

The new president of AMERICA!

I have mentioned before that I am not a big fun of discussing politics. However, I want to say something about the new President-elect of the United States of America -- Barack Obama.

To view the full speech on BBC World, click HERE.

I have listened to Barack Obama's speeches throughout this 08 election campaign. This man impressed me! I think he is a beautiful man inside and out. He has a good heart! I am confident that he is going to bring change to this country. I think he is a good representative of the United Sates of America.

This is a historic moment not only to the American people, but also to the rest of the world. The entire world was waiting for this moment to come. Two words: PEACE and HOPE, summarize his victory.

I know some of my friends would have liked McCain to be elected. I hope we are still friends :-)

The night of Oct 31st!

We had a party at my house on Halloween night. It was so much fun! My roommates and I organized it. We made finger cookies, deviled eggs, bloody juice and we decorate the house a little bit. There were a lot of people that showed up. We ended up watching The Six Sense after midnight. It was scary!
I just love pagant holidays. Since I now live in place that celebrates it every year, I try to make the best out of it. I also included a couple of pictures of me from past halloweens. Little crazy but fun hein!

Magic juice made of boiling blood :-)

Finger cookies Guess who we were? hint: color of our shirts and the letter A, if you were at the party, you should have heard us sing too
Another costume I wore in the past. Guess who I was, I carry fruits on my head.
This costume has been my favorite. I had to take a picture with Jack Sparrows, what would be the chance. He and I can work together, I don't see that happening though. Pirates and Cruella???? Nahhhhh

VOTE' 08 -- Poor Ms. Palin ...

When I first came to this country to go to college, I learned in my orientation class that Americans don't like to talk about politics and their salaries. So I have never asked an american how much he/she makes in a year or who he/she is going to vote on November 4. I still haven't figured out whether it is true or it is just a stereotype. But if it's true, I want to know why?
I won't talk about the financial side at this time although it is also a hot topic. However, I feel affected especially I want to work for a non-profit and usually I don't get the job because of lack of funds. I may not know how to explain the relationship between the two but all I know is that it affects me.
How about politics? all I can say is that it is also hot because the U.S. is going to vote for their next President in less than a few days! One thing I want to point out is that the media here is very blunt. I have watched some of the SNL episodes on Sarah Palin lately and whewwwwwww, they are rude to her. Watch below! Tina Fey is doing a great job in playing Palin but man, I can't believe the irony part of it. Poor lady!



I am not into politics anyway, I feel that everyone wants to sell themselves so they lie and make up things to win. But that's pretty much the definition of politics anyway.

Very naked! ... well without the skin

BODY WORLDS 3 -- The Story of the Heart is in Salt Lake City until January 2009.

I went to see this exhibit with my 2 other friends yesterday. Both of them are in the medical field, one is a nurse, and the other is a doctor. I thought I wouldn't like it that much but I did. I found the show very fascinating! The display of the muscles, the arteries, the veins, the bones, and everything else in a body were astounding. It amazes me how we are built/created as humans; it's structured perfectly in every way. Seeing the great beauty of the human body even underneath the skin made me think of the intelligence that started it in the very beginning. There is no way it formed out of nothing.

This is one of my favorite quotes: "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." by Ralph Waldo Emerson

More here.

MADAGASCAR ... the country not the movie

One of my friends is back after being inactive for like 8 months in this blogging business. He writes his post in Malagasy. I don't know but there is something in his writing, I get drawn into it all the time and I can relate to anything he writes. Well, his recent post tells about his long voyage to Key West Florida where he also got to visit the Marco Island. There is a street called MADAGASCAR CT in this little town. (Click on the name of the street if you want to see the picture on RADO's BLAOGY and it's the very last picture if you scroll down). I believe it's the only one in the country of the United States of America.

Speaking of Madagascar, the movie Madagascar 2 is going to be released on November 7. I wasn't a big fan of the first one since I still don't understand why it's called Madagascar. Maybe it's just cool to be called Madagascar.

I'll probably watch this new one but I don't expect to enjoy it and buy the dvd later. Anyway, I remember when the 1st movie came out, some people concluded that there is no humans living in Madagascar. One of my co-workers brought his niece and nephews to work one time and introduced me to the kids with a lot of excitements that I am from Madagascar. The little girl came back to my desk and kept asking me what I am. It didn't occur to me until later that she asked me who I was in the movie. Then she called me Gloria when they left. I know who Gloria is, the only female in that movie.

Not ready for winter ...

I spent the whole week in sunny California. While I was still there, I got a text message from my roommate Lyndsi on Wednesday saying: "you wouldn't want to come home because it's supposed to snow on Saturday." We got back on Saturday and this morning when I woke up, this is what looked like outside our house. It's beautiful but I am not ready for winter yet. It's only October ...
I thought they only come after thanksgiving. I wish I were back in California or with my friend Jenny & her husband in Phoenix, or in Madagascar. LOL. Brrrrrrrrrr !!!!!! I am freezing.

Autumn bliss

My favorite color is brown -- the color of fall.
Pretty leaves: Green, orange, yellow and brown.

AWKWARD

This incident happened yesterday in one of the malls in the Salt Lake Valley! My friend and I were trying on some shoes that were on sale.

the tall boys: where are you girls from?
the girls: mmmmm. Madagascar !!!
I noticed these "boys" were accompanied by their women who apparently were trying on some shoes too
Few minutes later ... on the other side of the shoe section. The tall boys approached without their women.
the tall boys: what are your names?
the girls kind of hesitated: I am ... and she is ...
(I was going to make up names but I decided not to since they won't remember mine anyway :)
the tall boys: (as usual ) who ????
the girls: I am ... and she is ...
the tall boys: are you LDS?
the girls: yes, we are! (my eyes got bigger by the way, who wouldn't know what LDS mean anyway if you live in Utah?)
the girls added: WE WENT TO BYU :)
the tall boys: ahhh! can we have your phone numbers so that we can call you and we can party sometime?
the girls: sorry! we don't just give away our numbers to random people
Then I noticed the most obvious object on his finger. Yep! A ring.
the girls (in my mind): how dare you married man? (my eyes got bigger and bigger ...)
the tall boys: we won't bother you then ... (walked away)

I don't know what they were thinking but that was AWKWARD ... ODD
My roommate actually got stalked by some guy in a grocery store and he proposed to her. Since then, she has to go with a friend when she goes to this place. She once bougth a fake ring to protect herself. Not a bad idea !!!!

I am BORED ...

guess what I am doing???????

facebooking ...

blogging ...

surfing ... on the internet

at least the TV is not on ...

BAD, BAD, BAD ... I am super, super BORED !!!!

I have applied for 3 new jobs today. I better get out of the house and do something more productive. Maybe the library .... hmmmmmh or go for a drive.

I went for a drive.

:D

I have been tagged ...

8 TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH
Lost
Law and Order (SVU)
Heroes
sometimes the Office
Dancing with the Stars
the NEWS
that show when they build houses for unfortunate people. I want to be an unfortunate sometimes :) I am! I don't even have a house.
and if I am at home around 4 pm, I'd watch OPRAH

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
Olive Garden
TRIO
Chinese ones (this counts as 2)
Thai ones (this counts as 2)
Costa Vida
Bombay House

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
I drove home for Park City as I stayed up there the night before
I applied for a cool job on the United Nations Foundations website
I was downloading pictures I received from home and edited them on PICASA
I went to an evening class I wasn't supposed to go to but I was so bored so I begged the teacher to let me attend
I cooked the rest of the rice from Madagascar my Mom sent me and ate it for dinner

8 THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO
my work permit to arrive in the mail
the Madagascar Mission Reunion
General Conference
speak to the fam ... on the phone
next paycheck :( won't happen for a while

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST
get a new bed, a comfy one :)
get rid of all my junk (clothes I don't wear anymore, school books and papers ...)
work for a good organization that does something good for this world
spend Christmas with at least ONE family member this year
learn how to ski or snowboard if I end up staying in Utah this winter
go to Thailand next year for a vacation
get married someday :-)

8 PEOPLE I AM TAGGING
Lyndsi
Kristy
Heidi
Annie
Tanya

posing for pictures!

You know here in the US, when it comes to fun poses for pictures, it would be: all smile, pose like you are on a roller coaster, make silly faces, make serious faces, or cheeeeeeeeeese :) Well, I received some pictures of my family vacation from home. They seem like they had a blast. There is a pattern of pictures I want to post in here. They made the children take turn to pose for pictures while wearing the same sunglasses. I think it's funny and cute!

How I became a mormon

When I came home on Sunday night close to midnight, I turned my computer on to check something before I went to bed. When I went to my facebook account, I noticed that I had a friend request. I clicked to find out who it was. It was a familiar name, a name that I will never forget. It belongs to someone whom I owe so much. He is one of the missionaries who taught my family about the Church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). I haven't seen him since he left Madagascar almost 10 years ago.
The next day, I got another friend request. It was from the other companion. I have only met him once since I came to Utah. It was when I first got here over 5 years ago. He moved around out of the country and I lost touch but we are back in touch now. Thanks to facebook :)
I have always wanted to write down how I became a member of the Mormon church.
My family and I started investigating the Mormon Church over 10 years ago. It was around September 1997. 2 foreign missionaries came to our house because my brothers had given them our address on the road few weeks before. My brothers never thought that these guys would really come to visit us. We didn't expect their visit and to be honest, we weren't interested in what they had to say. However, we let them in as part of our culture. We gave them something to drink and listened to their message. We told them afterwards that there is no need for them to come back as we already have a religion and we didn't want to waste their time. They left a blue book called the Book of Mormon.
I took the book with me and read the introduction just out of curiosity. I was in my second year of College at the University and I studied history. I started to read the book and for some reasons I couldn't explain, I was drawn into it. One thing that will always stay as an anchor for my personal tesimony is that "I have never been so close to the Savior until I read this book", I felt that there is something special with this book. I started to have questions and want to know more about the book and the religion it claims. My brother and I found the way to get in touch with the 2 foreign missionaries again. We didn't have to do anything, our 'vazaha' friends came back a month later after their first visit.
My brother and I then committed to learn and explore. I did a lot of studies about the Mormon religion. I read books, looked up stuff on the internet. I found some stuff but they weren't from reliable sources. I didn't find anything disturbing. The most amazing part was that I realized that I had a better source. The missionaries asked us since the beginning to pray and ask God if what they were telling us is true. I prayed so hard to find a confirmation that this religion I was about to follow is from God. I was raised in a religious family and were taught to trust God. I had a good start as far as spiritual life. This helped me to follow through.
I learned a lot about the purpose of life and the meaning of our existence through what the missionaries taught us. I found a good path for my personal life and I found something that I didn't know I was missing before. I have grown since. I did serve a mission to share what I know to be true to find happiness in this life and in the life to come. I went to Durban, South Africa for 18 months. It was the most honorable thing I've ever accomplished. I am glad that I was part of it. I helped a lot of people to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So if it weren't for those two missionaries, I wouldn't be here today writing this great story. Thanks Judd and Chad.

You Raise me Up

Since I don't really have any productive activities to do, I have been spending my time on the computer for the last few days. Either I am on facebook or I watch videos on youtube. I need to do something about this.
Anyway I found a video of one of my friends while he and his wife were on a road trip home. People find creative ways to make the trip more fun in a car and to make the trip a little faster. I have been on many road trips and we usually tell stories, like what's your worst dating experience our your most embarassing moments. But this is hilarious, the crazy part is to film it and then post it on youtube.



I couldn't stop laughing while watching this, how could they hold it so serious to finish the song without laughing.

Qui suis-je?

that means 'who am I' in English?
When I was younger, probably since junior high or even before then, I used to have a type of journal. It's not really a journal since I only write in it once and then my friends take turn to fill it on. So, it's a notebook where I write things about myself. I put in a nice picture of myself, of stars and celebrities I like (I cut their pics from magazines we have back home; kind of the ones they have it here: People, US, and so on ...), I also include some information on my hobbies, things I like and dislike. I guess it's like a scrapbook nowadays except it's not as fancy. We usually call it "cahier de souvenir" or book of remembrance if you will. I pass my notebook around and have my cool friends write in it also. They are supposed to add their picture and write something nice about me and something memorable about them.
I have had quite of few of these but I am not in possession of any of them anymore. They maybe at home or my mom has burned them to start a fire when she cooks meal using chaircoals (it's like dutch oven but the charcoals are only cooking the meal from underneath.)

But who am I? I don't really know either. I haven't really paid attention to the many details that could describe myself but here are a few that most of my friends, people I have lived with, and family members may already know:

1. I am allergic to 3 things in life: pennicillin, shellfish, and peanut oil or anything with peanuts. I have tried to taste a little of these and sometimes I get in trouble, other times I am fine. I don't understand how it really works.
2. I like to smell things. Have you ever noticed that you tend to smell it more often when it's smelly. It bugs me to do it so I 'd do anything to avoid or get rid of the smell. I smell my clothes after I wash them and put them back in the washer if they have unwanted smell.
3. I can be so naive sometimes. I ask the most obvious questions ever; like 'why are you sweating' or 'is that a sweat or did you just wash your face' to guys when it's 100 degree outside? These are just a few ...
4. I have always complained about how my legs look like. It's not that they are not good looking, I just don't like them; I wish I had different ones :)
5. I am a sleepless person; I just can't sleep. I learned the other day that I am a light sleeper. Even a dropped needle can wake me up. I don't mind though! I can get up at anytime if it's necessary. I can't wait for it to be morning. I guess I am both a morning and a night person. I'd like to sleep better though, I'd take any advice.
6. I am usually nice to people. I have this philosophy that somehow it will come back to me if I am nice to others. It's not always the case though, there are some mean people in this world. Unfortunately, I have met them :(

All I know is that I am a human being, created by God for a purpose. It's so empowering to know that I am one of God's children. With that purpose, I think everyone is unique in one way or another and has potentials to do good in this world.

7 years ago

I am sure all of us remember where we were or what we were doing 7 years ago on this very day. I was at home playing video game with my brothers when my Mom run downstairs to tell us to switch the TV back to a channel. It was around 4 PM in my home country and the national TV abruptely showed a breaking news coming from the United States of America. All I can remember was that it was a horrible scene and whatever was happening is going to affect a lot of people. I think that event had awakened the whole world -- many of us! My heart and appreciation go to those who lost a loved one that day. I hope that it has changed us for the better.

I am just a foreigner who has lived in the U.S. for the past 5 and half years. I believe I possess the same rights every American has; I feel I am recognized and respected in this country. Maybe a little deprived of employment and traveling privileges, but I am content. I am grateful for that!

The spirit of ALOHA

I spent a one week vacation in Hawaii with my roommate. It was so much fun! It's been a while since I touched the ocean, felt the humidity, actually noticed a rainbow, and saw the most beautiful sunset ever. I love HAWAII!




Besides, the people were so unbelievably nice. This trip made me have an Island fever. It felt like it was a call to come home. We will see! People ask me all the time if I plan to stay here in the U.S. or go back home. Wherever I am going to end up which I actually don't know yet, my heart will always stay with my origins.

Life is good and I am grateful!

Last Christmas, I bought a notebook/journal from my ward auction party. I like hand made stuff so I paid $ 35.00 for it. Also it was for a good cause to help out unfortunate families around the areas to have food for the holiday.
I wasn't sure about what to use my little notebook for as I already have another journal where I record some of my thoughts. So I decided I would record my everyday blessings in it; the ones that often go unnoticed or taken for granted. As I go back to read it sometimes, I realize that I am more blessed than I usually think. Yes, I count my many blessings!
Here are 10 (few of the many I have written down for the last month):

1. I officially received my Masters Degree. I did it!


2. I am going to Hawaii for a one week vacation.


3. I became a new aunt (born on Aug 19). My niece's name is Dialy Fanaperana


4. My family! they are always there for me despite the fact that they are thousands of miles away.


5. I have two wonderful roommates. Believe me, we never fight!


6. One of my friends got hit by a truck, but survived.
   
7. I am healthy: I have the strength and energy to do the things that I like.


8. I have a reliable car which makes it so easy to get around.


9. The ability to believe in God and his son Jesus Christ.


10. I have a place to stay and food to eat.

My life is pretty darn good! La vie est belle for me.

phone reliance ...

I go crazy when I don't have my phone with me. First, I don't remember any phone numbers I have in it except my home phone overseas. If something ever happens to me, I don't know who to call.

After a typical evening I came home and turned my computer on. One of my friends told me that something had happened to my other friend. I went to look at her facebook profile picture and here she is with a huge bruise on her left eye and cheek.
I then went to her blog to learn what happened. She got hit by a truck while riding her scooter on Saturday! She survived the shock physically although her face looks pretty bad. CHeck her blog here if you want to see. The worse thing is that she didn't have her cellphone with her. Therefore, she had noone to call except one person ... the one who is most likely to answer.
Two important things I learned from this:
Memorize some phone numbers -- don't trust that you are always going to have your phone with you.
Moms rock! the only phone number my friend remembered was her mom's. She was home! Believe me, moms are always there.

Also, I thought of how many times we screen phone numbers when we receive a call. What if that person needed help like my friend. Things to think about!
I wish I were there for my friend! I want to give her a big hug right now. Hang in there Tanya!

... I am still here

…the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream … Jacob 7:26

Time is really flying and I am still here …

The other day, my friend Sandra and I went to a BBQ party. It was organized by a girl who served a mission with Sandra in South Africa few years back. We walked to the park where the BBQ was. We couldn’t find it as we walked around this big park. We finally started to walk back to the car to head home and then I saw a South African flag hanging on a tree trunk on the other side of the park. We have walked by this group of people earlier but we didn’t realize this was our group. That’s because they were with kids and they looked older. “Doh!” My friend Sandra said. We both laughed. These friends who once were with us have moved on with their lives. They have gotten married, had kids, and built a career. Mission was like years ago. I guess they have walked faster than us. Yes, we are …, I am still here.

Good thing I am still on the journey. I can say that the direction I am headed is more important than my speed. I have come a long way and I am still here … But I also want to say, “it seems so right to be still here.” It feels good!

TXT MSG joke ... Ooops!

I asked myself today when will I finally grow up. So childish, so immature, so naive, maybe so innocent sometimes.

I found an unattended cellphone on the table, I picked it up and started playing with it. I then wrote something like: "hi baby! what's up? this is ... btw" and chose a random contact and pushed SEND. Luckily, it was so hard to figure out how to use the sophisticated phone and I decided to send the text to only one person.

Few hours later, I receive a voice msg from the friend whose phone I had my hands on, he basically said that I've caused some harm. He didn't sound very excited at all. I guess the message got sent to someone who is not supposed to receive it. Then there is the ring in my ears, the voice message over and over. YOU'VE CAUSED SOME HARM ...

I FELT SO BAD! Why did I do that? What was I thinking?

FIX it! But how?

I sent a text msg to this innocent person who is not supposed to receive my foolish message. This is what I wrote, "Hi, this is really strange but I want to apologize about the text msg you received from ...'s phone yesterday. It wasn't him who wrote it. It was a foolish joke from my part. I am very sorry!"

I hiked Mt Timp ...

The peak of Mt Timpanogos

I went on a hike with a few friends on Friday early morning (1:30 AM) to hike this famous mountain. Many people usually start their hike that early to arrive at the top to watch sunrise. It was hard for me but I did. I almost gave up when we got close to the top but my friends who are experienced hikers convinced me to keep going up and I did. I was worried about the height thing but it wasn't bad. I was so tired though, especially I didn't really get enough sleep the past few days. It could have been easier if I was well prepared. I can't express how bad the pain in my feet was when we hiked down. The hike was about 7 and 1/2 miles one-way (normally 4 hours). I thought I was going to have a very sore body the next day but to my surprise, not really. Just some tight muscles.

The sunrise -- I actually took from a lower peak

View from the top

Cool facts:

• It's the second highest point in the Utah's Wasatch range with an elevation of 11,749 ft (3586 m)
• Mt Timp has the only real glacier in Utah although relatively small due to drought over the years

This is an accomplishment for me. I hiked Mt Timp and got to the top. Yeah :)

... to be continued

I usually go back and read what I've posted on my blog in the past. Then I realized that I tend to post some things that I started doing or were happening but then never say anything about it afterwards. Not that I think anyone would really care how they ended, but I just want to update it for me. Some readers might! I don't know.

Anyway, here are some ending stories:

Back in June when I posted that I was following EURO 08 (the European Soccer Tournament) and I said that I supported Italy. Yep they lost and long story short, Spain ended up wining the whole thing. I was disappointed but it's okay.

My internship at the Zoo is about to end, next week is going to be my last week. I am now in the job hunt for a new change. tbc ...

My arm is not healing. I have to go see a surgeon to operate on it to remove the sac inside otherwise it will keep growing back the nurse said. I will make an appointment next week. tbc ...

Twilight series -- I finished book 3 on August 4 (later than I planned) and I haven't started with the new book: 'Breaking Dawn' yet. I will soon though, because I am dying to read it. It's just that I had to find some balance. tbc ...

About the post on being famous. Yes, I did appear in the Ensign for this month. I got a lot of calls and text msg from people. It is kind of fun to have your picture in the magazine, but it's not pleasant when everyone you meet mentions about it. If you want to have a look, here.

And lastly I did survive the Ecology class. It was intense but I learned a lot. I still have to write a huge research paper which is due next Friday. I wish I can get away with it but I can't. tbc ...

Surviving the ECOLOGY class

Watch the bee!

I am very stressed about this course I have to take this week. It's called 'field ecology' and it's Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. -4:30 p.m. We spend time outside studying plants and other species. Maybe it shouldn't be that bad, but it is really kicking my butt. Most of my classmates are all guru with the subject as they are all environmental studies major. They look at a plant and they can key it right away. I have to flip the pages over and over and figure out what they were talking about. This is the first time I have ever taken an Ecology class. I am not very familiar with the different terms they use and I don't have a great patience.

But hey, it's gonna be okay. I care about the environment and this is going to teach me more about it. In fact, here are a couple of quotes I really like:

"The major problems in the world are the result of the difference how nature works and the way people think." Gregory Bateson
"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe, the less taste we shall have for destruction." Rachel Carson

Suppose you're famous !!!

Suppose you appeared in a magazine called the Ensign that a good number of people including your friends will see. Some reactions would be:
"I saw you in the Ensign !!!"
"Hello?!?!?!? Why didn't you tell us that you were going to be in the Ensign?!?!?! That is so awesome!!!!! :-)"
"you appeared in the Ensign, please send me a copy"
"Hey, what's up with you in the Ensign? How'd you do that?"
"you're famous!!!"
Further reaction was even with someone who comes to visit you with a copy of the magazine and asked you to sign an autograph. Or you would sit somewhere outside eating lunch and some random people happened to read the magazine a feet away from you and stare and try to resolve the puzzle if that is really your picture.
Interesting !!!
I guess you can say that you are famous. But that reminds me of this quote:
"All is ephemeral -- fame and the famous as well." Marcus Aurelius

"I love to see the Temple ..."

I received a link from one of my friends the other day; a link to a slide show of all the LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) Temple all over the world. Click here to view these splendid, gorgeous, and stunning buildings. There are 126 of them today. Not only they are so beautiful from the outside, but they reveal such symbol of eternity. As a member of the LDS church, I love going to the temple. I find peace in there and I feel closer to God and to his Son Jesus Christ whenever I visit these sacred places.
The first temple I have been to -- Johannesburg South Africa (Aug 1999) The temple I frequently attend -- Salt Lake City Temple