World Cup 2006 - ITA vs. AUS

I called in sick today due to bad allergies that turned into a rampant cold, but it gave me the opportunity to watch the World Cup game this morning between Italy and Australia - What a game! I do not pretend to understand all of the game details of soccer, half the time I am distracted by all the good-looking international players with their muscular soccer legs and asses - as the cameras scanned the Italian soccer team on the bench, I was temporarily mesmerized - but this particular game was captivating all the way down to the 95th second (don't know what that really means) when Totti # 10 from the Italian team kicked in that cataclysmic penalty shot that ultimately won the game for Italy - that look in Totti's eyes before he kicked it in was one of pure fire concentration and determination as he was picturing the ball hitting the inside net. When the ball went in sailing passed the Australian goalie, I could hear Giuliano and his Italian friends whooop for joy in front of their TVs in Costa Rica. Next, we will see if Italy is up against Switzerland or the Ukraine in the next round. Italia!

The "Best" Feeling

What an uplifter to be recognized for your accomplishments, for your life choices and for your words. Thank you, I needed that so much.

Spare the Air Day

Bart rides were free all day today! Such a joy to save $6 on my regular roundtrip commute to work - yay! After work, I decided to take the Bart to Target and the mall, which I have been putting off since it's $2.45 just to go south one stop to my destination from work. But since today was free, I went for it. Everyone and their mother was on the Bart today, whole families were running errands together, going to the store shopping and loading up as Bart prices can add up depending on how far you are going and how often. It was great! They are allowing two more "Spare the Air" free transportation days this summer - I look forward to it as it is a joy to watch people enjoy their freedom to ride!

A New Friend on a Botched Commute

Yesterday on the Bart to work, our train came to a screeching halt just outside of the Daly City Bart station and the power turned off. I was listening to my iPod like I normally do reading my book so it did not phase me at first. Then the train operator came over the PA system announcing that there was a metal obstruction on the track and the operator could not stop in time to avoid it. 15 minutes go by, I think about the last shuttle that picks up for its last round in half an hour...hopefully this will all be cleared up. I call my mom, catch up, make sure my dad got his Father's Day card, blah blah blah, chat chat chat, 20 minutes go by. Ok, I must call work now.

This was one of the trains heading to SFO airport so people who had to catch flights were starting to panic as they were about to miss their flights. People started getting up and heading towards the front of the train. The girl sitting behind me looked just as puzzled as me. We followed everyone else and evacuated the train as well climbing down make-shift stairs down to the tracks across them and out to the Daly City Bart platform not too far off, thank goodness. Emergency procedures are posted in every car and I remember over the many times riding the Bart reading it while I was bored rolling along, but you never think you are going to actually use these emergency facts and instructions. Well, here we go! The girl behind me and I started chatting sharing in this experience feeling like we were in some really bad "B" movie - ha! Well, it could be "Speed" - where was Keanu to save the day? Ha!

We sat on the platform with everyone else wondering what the hell we were going to do now and so we got to talking. She's 22 and I'm...well, older. She wanted to know what I did, where did I go to school, how did I get to my place in life right now so I told her like it was a story, open-book, unfolding. She was amazed at my story starting from college to grad school to moving up to the Bay Area from Hacienda Heights to getting my first real job to getting my first apartment by myself. To getting another job where I could get on-the-job training, traveled, got another job where I was working from home and am now contracting about to make a big move with my life, a life with my love that is unbelievable, so storybook.

Amy said that, "You Rock!! In case you didn't know or nobody told you - YOU ROCK!!!" :) Thank you!!! Smiles. I guess it is pretty amazing, I can hardly believe it all myself, but I made it all happen, I took the steps necessary, hoped for the best, fell flat on my face at times, but got back up stronger when I was ready for something else. Well, it is definitely not over, and there is a whole lot in front me. I'm SO excited - watch me FLY!!!~*

P.S. By the way, I did make it to work, an hour and a half late via taxi from yet another Bart station. What a morning start! ;)

A World of Knowledge

I finally finished reading " The DaVinci Code" the other week (it took me so long because I could only read it during my train commute to and from work), so now my life can move on - ha! Presently, I am juggling three books - one to help me learn Spanish, one about being a bridesmaid/maid of honor and another one about being a smart landlord. Between these books, work and my near-future plans, my brain is full, swimming with thoughts, and I cannot concentrate on any one thing or conversation for very long. Juggling books like this is the perfect solution for an ADD self-diagnosed young woman like myself. So much to know, so much to learn in a definitive amount of time, but reading these books are making certain questions in my life clearer, more manageable, more foreseeably envisioned so that my direction and goals can eventually be met. Thank goodness for the availability of knowledge right at the corner Borders or Barnes & Noble.

Shine On, Shine On

Everyday a little old man I see every morning when I walk to work busily shines and buffs a set of these brass fixtures that jut out of our San Francisco buildings. The side of it says "sprinklers" or something to that effect, I don't know what they are exactly and how they are connected to the insides of the building. But I always notice them around town, I can't help it because they are so shiny. They do not just stay that way because of some magical coating; there is someone shining it everyday making it gleam and sparkle, making this tiny piece of San Francisco shine. I smile everytime I see one so carefully cleaned because someone took the time to care in making this one part of the City beautiful, it is their contribution, it is their piece of pride in the here and now. Keep shining.

TransAmerica - Travelin' Thru by Dolly Parton

By the time Friday night rolls around after a long work week, I am just all too happy to stay home for the evening to watch some TV or rent a movie. Well, I watched some TV this evening and rented "TransAmerica", and was pleasantly surprised - so refreshingly funny, just what I needed. Go rent it when you have the chance.

There is a great song by Dolly Parton "Travelin' Thru" on the soundtrack, and I think it has become my personal anthem:

Well I can't tell you where I'm going, I'm not sure of where I've been
But I know I must keep travelin' till my road comes to an end
I'm out here on my journey, trying to make the most of it
I'm a puzzle, I must figure out where all my pieces fit
Like a poor wayfaring stranger that they speak about in song
I'm just a weary pilgrim trying to find what feels like home
Where that is no one can tell me, am I doomed to ever roam
I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' on

Questions I have many, answers but a few
But we're here to learn, the spirit burns, to know the greater truth
We've all been crucified and they nailed Jesus to the tree
And when I'm born again, you're gonna see a change in me

God made me for a reason and nothing is in vain
Redemption comes in many shapes with many kinds of pain
Oh sweet Jesus if you're listening, keep me ever close to you
As I'm stumblin', tumblin', wonderin', as I'm travelin' thru

I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru
I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru

Oh sometimes the road is rugged, and it's hard to travel on
But holdin' to each other, we don't have to walk alone
When everything is broken, we can mend it if we try
We can make a world of difference, if we want to we can fly

Goodbye little children, goodnight you handsome men
Farewell to all you ladies and to all who knew me when
And I hope I'll see you down the road, you meant more than I knew
As I was travelin', travelin', travelin', travelin', travelin' thru

I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin'
Drifting like a floating boat and roaming like the wind
Oh give me some direction lord, let me lean on you
As I'm travelin', travelin', travelin', thru

I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru
I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru

Like the poor wayfaring stranger that they speak about in song
I'm just a weary pilgrim trying to find my own way home
Oh sweet Jesus if you're out there, keep me ever close to you
As I'm travelin', travelin', travelin', as I'm travelin' thru

The Sweetest Thing

My friend told me that her husband wants to name their first daughter Maile, my name. And he wanted to ask me permission if that would be OK. Hee hee. It is not like I own my name, but I thought that was the sweetest compliment, that he thought my name was beautiful, so beautiful that he would love to name his daughter Maile - ahhh, I blushed profusely, smiled so big that he wanted to ask me that. Well, turns out she's pregnant, and it's a boy - we joked that his name will be Maile-o!~*

Shoe Craze at Nordstrom's

I wear a shoe size of 5-1/2 so stores usually only carry one pair of each style in my size as it is tinier than most. So, every Spring and Fall during the Nordstrom's half-yearly sale, I get there early to stock up on shoes until the next sale. I got up at 6AM this morning to get there at 7AM. They had coffee and doughnuts for us as we headed up to the elevator to a plethora of lovely shoes for sale - we were like little girls in a candy store!

Now I am one of those that once I find a shoe (or top or pants for that matter) that is ultra comfortable and fits perfectly, then I buy as many colors as they have available, especially if it's at a good price. I bought 7 pairs (yes 7!) of shoes this morning in half an hour flat and made my commissioned sales guy's morning! 4 pairs were brown, red, white and black in a summer flat, comfortable sandal and 3 pairs were brown, tan and black in a really comfortable walking shoe. Yay, the shoe gods would be proud!!

I do this twice a year every year, and actually one time, one of the Nordstrom's sales guys recognized me from the sale before - ha! He remembered me because I usually by a ton of shoes at these sales - now that's store loyalty!

My Lucky Stars

I count them and I blow them kisses! I feel very lucky to be where I am in life right now right at this very moment for how far I've come and where I am going with my life. Life is good, I have love, I have good friends and my family, I have a home in lovely downtown San Francisco and a job with some really great people I feel so lucky to come across. Sometimes you don't know why you do the things you do or why you have that nagging feeling to change to metamorphosis, but out of it comes colors, bright lights and smiles so big and wide because it was all for good, it's all good. How did I get so lucky? Thank you, thank you.

Clammering for Denim

Starting a couple weeks ago in the SF Weekly paper, I noticed an ad for a blow-out denim sale, jeans at wholesale 1/2-off prices galore with a $3 door charge unless you RSVP or bring the newspaper ad - it was serious! So I was determined to check it out! It started at 10 AM this morning, and the location is right up the street literally, completely convenient so I trotted up at 10 sharp. Hordes of women (and a few guys) were lined up for the this sale occasion already (I knew I should've gotten here earlier!). I got in line mystified by all the people wondering what was in store for us sipping Peet's coffee chatting it up making new friends.

They let us in in groups slowly steadily trickling in and then attacking the size 25 to 30-something sized racks and racks of designer jeans cut down in price from $50 to $150. We grabbed, thumbed, and attacked racks of jeans and then headed toward the one big room of a dressing room with a few strategically-placed mirrors. Jeans were flying, asses were hanging out, we all did the tight jean jump as we all hoped and pulled our jeans over our hips and "junk" - ha! I tried on size 26 jeans - ack! I could only get one out of four pairs over my hips (and junk). I ran out again to scour the racks again!

Size 27 - ok, grab, clammer, I have 7 pairs! Back in line! Some girls didn't even bother with the dressing room and were dropping trow right next to the racks not caring that there were a few male customers trying to shop too catching glimpses out of the corners of their eyes - ha! It was all quite a spectacle! I saw one girl trying on jeans under a loose-fitting short dress - she's gone to one of these before, she's experienced - ok, next time I'll do that, note to self! As I looked around at the slightly wild looks in my fellow-jean-shopping female eyes, I realized that we're all just a little bit crazy for being here. Ha! Ah, I got into the dressing room! I found a spot up against the wall so I could brace myself as I tried to shimmy my bootie into all my pairs of jeans.

Jump, jump, jump, pull, twirl in front of the mirror, no no no. Next! 4 pairs - nope, nope! Ooo, this one looks and feels good - hmmm...ok, that's one. Nope, nope, nope. Well! I found ONE pair!! Yay!! I don't even know how much it is as there is no price on the tag...k, check out the pricing chart - $50 for a BCBG pair of jeans, not bad not bad. Scurry over to the check-out line and buy. Wooo! Grab my purchase and head out the door quickly peering over to the entry line of 100s of girls still trying to get in. I wonder what they'll find inside because most everything's been picked through or are lying on the floor waiting to go back on the racks, rejects. Good luck, I hope you find the right "one" or "ones"!

Until the next sale! Wheee!!

Madonna Absolutely Rocks!!

Winnie and I went to the Madonna Confessions Tour concert last night in San Jose, and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to! We grew up with her through the years and have loved her songs throughout, and now she is one of the ultimate entertainers of our time bringing it all together in front of millions during her latest tour. Our seats were off to the right of the stage, close enough to the stage that we did not need binoculars, plus the screen was close by so that we could see all angles of the stage.

Madonna has such presence and she looks SO good - if she is not a living advocate of the benefits of yoga, then I don't know what is! She looks amazing! - better than she ever has and because of the care she takes in her body, she moves so fluidly on stage - absolutely awesome!! I hope I look half as good as she does when I reach my 40s. The choreography and her back-up dancers were so athletic with no-fear energy and strength that it looked so fun to be a part of the production, the energy was just so contagious, we all couldn't help but dance and jig with them to the beat.

With a blockbuster show like hers and with so many songs to choose from the span of her singing career, picking the song line-up proves difficult to fit into a 2-hour show, but they picked an awesome mix of songs from her early days through her newest Confessions on the Dancefloor album - I was so happy with her song selections, not one song that I wanted to hear and see was left out! The concert was an absolutely memorable, inspiring show that picked up my spirits beyond expectation - lovely, absolutely lovely. Madonna, you ROCK!!