I'm baaaccckkk!!! My plane touched down at Newark airport at 8:45 this morning. Pretty uneventful trip back home, ooo, but all of the security that we had to go through in Manilla was ridiculous. Had to go through a metal detector, get my bags x-rayed, get frisked, then through another metal detector and bag scan, had to empty out all of my carry-on's, take off my shoes, and then get frisked again. It was a tad ridiculous, and it made us late for our plane. Fortunately the plane was delayed, so we didn't miss it. I also slept for a full six hours on the plane from Manilla to LA, which is just unheard of for me, so I'm happy about that too.

Coming home is really bittersweet though. I missed my mom and dad a lot, but I wish I could have stayed longer than three weeks. Especially considering that I only get to go to the Philippines every few years or so. Getting to see all of my family was really great. Not to mention seeing my grandparents, who are all in Cebu. Oooo, and my three little cousins, who are the cutest. Ah, I miss them already. One of my cousins took a bunch of picutres with her digital camera, so I'll try and post them up somewhere once she sends them to me.

So what else did I do in the Philippines... My trip to Shangri-La was great. My cousins and I even got to go snorkling for free! We went and fed fish around the coral reefs... it was so cool. You would just hold the bread out infront of you and then all the fish would swarm all around you and just take food from your hand. It was a little scary at first, but the fish were just so beautiful. We also went to another resort called Maribago Blue Cove, which was just a day-trip, but still realyl nice. My younger cousins were also able to come to Maribago since it was the weekend, so it was super fun.

I really wish it was cheaper to fly to the Philippines... because if it was I would go back every single year, but alas, the tickets are ridiculously expensive. Being far away from family really stinks... you miss so much of eachother's lives. Seeing everyone every 3 to 4 years definitely does not cut it. It's still better than every 10 years though. I guess I'll just keep on working on trying to everyone to come visit us over here in the States. :)

"Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life."
~Burton Hills

Greetings from the Republic of the Philippine Islands! It's 11AM over here in Cebu, and I'm alive and kickin'! :) My trip to the Philippines is going really well so far. I've been doing a lot of shopping, and a whollleee lot of family time. I'm staying wiht my aunt an uncle who have three girls, 7, 10, and 14. Haha, the littles ones are so cute, but they certainly are a handful sometimes. Not to mention all of my other little cousins. So what else have I been doing here that's noteworthy...  The first night I arrived we had a party in honor of my lolo and lola's (ie: grandpa and grandma) 65th aniversary. It seems that everytime I come home I meet more relatives that I never knew I had. There was this guy that performed in drag... he was so hilarious! I don't think my little cousins appreciated it though, :) haha, but that's okay. Let's see... I went ballroom dancing two nights at this place called Inner Circle, so much fun. It made me realize how much I miss ballroom. I wich I had my ballroom shoes though, the stupid shoes I wore the second night bruised my achilles on my right foot and it's been hurting for a few days. Um, I went to my aunt's beach house in Oslob, it's another town in Southern Cebu. It was really nice.. the weather wasn't too hot, and the water was perfect. Ah, that's the thing about the Philippines, not only is it hot, but it's sooooooo humid. I really think humid heat is the worst type of heat. Other than that, I've just been relaxing and going out. I went karaoking last night, saw a movie the night before that, and have just been catching up with all of my cousins... Later today I'm leaving for a resort called Shangri La, and I'm staying there until wednesday. I'm so excited! It's such a nice place... anyway, that's it for now, I've been on this computer for too long. Ta ta for now!

So it's my last night at home... at least for a little while. Tomorrow at 2pm my flight leaves for the Philippines. Man, I really can't wait to go back home, I haven't been back in such a long time. I really miss my family. Anyway, if it seems like I've dropped off the face of the earth, at least now you'll know why. I'll be back July 30th, so until then, ya'll be good, and don't have too much fun without me. :)

Ooooo. So excited. I just found out that Sahara, an adventure book by Clive Cussler (one of my favorite authors), is being turned into a movie! How fun is that?! And another good tidbit, Dirk Pitt (the protagonist) is being played by Matthew McConaughey, a very talented and cute actor if I say so myself. But truely, I'm pushing this movie because Clive Cussler is a really talented author. He really knows what he's talking about with all of the technology that he writes about in his books, and the plots are well paced and interesting. I've always thought that his books are the type that you just can't put down once you've picked it up. For more info on the movie and book check out:

theZreview.co.uk
CusslerMen
Sahara
Yahoo Movies

To start off with a little background, I quit my job at Claire's because they wouldn't give me the 2nd and the 3rd of July off. For a while I was wondering if it was really worth it to quit for these two days... It definitely worth it. Instead of working for those two days, I got to see two awsome Dave Matthews Band concerts at SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center). My Gosh. The concerts were soooo good. I had seen a Dave and Friends concert back in December, but now I'm convinced that nothing can beat Dave Matthews and his band. The energy was great, the sets we're amazing, and the crowd and the band were so into it. Hahaha, all of the drunk people just added to my amusement. :) It was sort funny though, as soon as Dave started played Crash on the second night, all of the couples in SPAC hugged eachother, etc. It was cute. Oh, and I have to say that there was a plethora of good looking people at the concerts. Go figure.

Besides the two concerts, we spent saturday-day at Lake George. I had never been there before, but I definitely want to go back. It is such a pretty town, and the lake is gorgeous. After having brunch at a cafe-type-place on the water, we rented a boat for an hour and cruised around the lake. :D I forgot how much fun boats are. And the water was the perfect temperature! Everyone else said it was a little cold, but it was nothign compared to the freezing water that I swam in at Belmar a few weeks ago. After boating we played a round of mini-golf at the Pirates Cove (where I was the winner, thankyouverymuch), and got to see Van-the-rolling-pirate tumble town the hill at the 17th hole. Hahaha, good times all around, and definitely a weekend to remember.

For your viewing pleasure, here are the set lists for those two nights...

Friday, July 1st Don’t Burn The Pig The Stone Don’t Drink the Water (into...) New Song #4 Help Myself Recently Song That Jane Likes New Song #3 Intro Rhyme & Reason Hmm ? [New] Grey Street New Song #1 What Would You Say Cry Freedom New Song #2 When The World Ends Ants Marching ---((ENCORE))--- Best of Whats Around Tripping Billies

Saturday, July 3rd Everyday So Much To Say (into...) Too Much New Song #1 Granny Warehouse One Sweet World New Song #4 Drive In Drive Out Bartender New Song #3 Where Are You Going Jimi Thing New Song #2 Crash Rapunzel ---((ENCORE))--- Bass Intro (into...) Crush Stay

Looks like it could be fun. I'm not going to be here, but as for the rest of you...

Looking for extras
for independent feature-length film

FILM NAME: GLOW ROPES

DATE: JULY 21ST 2004

TIME: 9 AM-12PM
12:45PM-6:30PM

WHERE: ACADEMY OF THE HOLY ANGELS,
DEMEREST, NJ

Men and Women Ages 35-65
Children Ages 14–30


SCENE: Shooting Wedding Reception Party Scene.

Proper attired A MUST, Some Tuxedos available for men

Pay: N/A, will feed

All interested must contact Rob or Giselle @ 201.227.0874.

Extras showing up without prior notification will not be admitted due to insurance and saftey matters.

Thank you.

Glow Ropes Producers

gotten off of craigslist.com