Four little words changed my life yesterday...the words were "Will you marry me?" I think I started crying and hyperventilating at the same time. A week ago I wrote a entry about moving to the next stage aka buying a house. I knew realistically that we would buy a place and then get engaged and then married. The BF's time line was next year so he caught me totally by surprise by proposing to me. I honestly blanked on what happened, what he said, and anything else. All I remember is the ring box opening, BF getting down on one knee, and asking me to marry him. Oh, that and me repeating "Are you serious?" 100 plus times.

So the set up....

I had been sick all week and took Thursday off at work. Friday was my birthday and we were going to Disneyland. You get in free on your birthday and this was going to be my birthday present. BF had said that with Disneyland, High Tea, and BBQ and us trying to save our money there wasn't going to be any present this year. It made sense but I thought I would get a little present at Disneyland.

So, since I thought Disneyland was my present I was going to take advantage of every minute and get there at 8am when it opened. With the BF's errands and wrong turns we didn't get there until 10. So I was annoyed. We got to ride one ride and then he wanted to take pictures by the castle. "It'll be your birthday present. We'll get a frame and it'll be nice." I always want to take pictures but not today. I wanted to ride Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Pirates....not take pictures. He DRAGGED me to the castle and found a Disney photographer to take our pictures. As he was dragging me to take pictures I told him, "It's my birthday. I don't understand why you don't let me do me what I want." Yeah, I was cranky.

We walked over and got pictures and as we were posing he asked, "Do you love me?" I said, "No." He only asks if I love him when he knows I'm angry. If I say no, I'm still mad. If I say yes, I forgive him.

He asked me again if I loved him and I still said no. Then he got down on one knee and said, "Will you marry me?" After a hundred, "Are you serious?" I said yes! So we have a series of pictures of us in front of the castle of him proposing and my reaction. Pictures will be posted later.

He had the perfect timing since the following day was the birthday BBQ. All of our friends were coming over and we could now celebrate the birthday and engagement. Now we're going house hunting. The BF now Fiancee wants to be in a house by the end of the year and then we'll begin wedding plans then.

I'm going to end with my favorite song, "Happy Happy Joy Joy..."

Sooooooooo it's Spring Break for us and no, I'm not on some beach in Mexico but in my house trying a new crock pot recipe. If your curious, it's beef and dumplings and I'm concerned. My eyes and nose says it's gonna be yummy. However, this is my first time trying this recipe and honestly, I think I may have to have a back up plan for dinner. So now that I'm on break I now have time to blog and there has been one big topic that keeps floating to the top of my brain, cue dramatic music.... THE NEXT STAGE.

I've been on Xanga for 5 plus years now and I've documented some of the fun and dramatic times in my life. To getting my first job, meeting the BF, going back to school, and crazy events with my friends but as I approach the big 2-8 I feel like it's time to move onto the next big stage in my life. Now, what is that stage? Well, I've been living in the same place for 7 years now and I'm tired of everything here. I LOVE LOVE the cheap rent, living with my BF and my roomie but I'm tired of looking at these walls. I'm tired of the college mismatched furniture, I'm tired of the popcorn ceiling and popcorn colored counter in the kitchen. Yes, I said popcorn colored counter top. To those who need help visualizing, it's white tile with specks of butter yellow all over. The first time I saw it I thought it was a dirty counter and tried for 30 minutes to clean it. Sadly, the yellow never came off. I feel like I'm living a post college life with college accessories.

The next step is obviously marriage and buying a place but that takes a lot of $$$. I mean lots of $$$ especially living in So Cal. The BF and I are in our super saving mode; that means we're on a budget. I used to think that the word budget was a swear word, some days I still do. But it's keeping us on that goal of saving enough for a down payment and wedding and additionally for Mike, a ring too. Of course, now that I'm actually making some money and off for the summer I feel like I can take a much needed vacation. Sadly this is not the case since we're saving money. I'm starting to resent that sentence, "We're saving money." Sometimes the saving money part seems so abstract. Can't we spend a little to take a mini weekend vacation? How about a trip to Vegas? Or San Diego? No, no, and no. Sigh. Thank god the BF is a MUCH better saver then  I am. Accountants are awesome!

So many of my friends are getting married, buying places, and my sister is even having a baby! My little brother who's always acted 18 but in reality is turning 27 this month actually moved out of my parent's house. He rented an apartment and is living on his own and even paying his own bills. I'm soooooo proud of him because I thought I never would see the day that my little brother would actually be responsible, especially when it comes to money. All of these changes just pushes me even more to change something in my life. It's hard sitting back and waiting when everyone else is running by you. I know that everyone has their own pace but why is my pace and starting time so different then everyone else? I mean, come on, even my cousin is getting married! What does it take to get moving people? I know, I know, lots of $$$ saved in the bank. God knows that I'm trying. Did I mention that I'm obsessive about things? I'm also a dweller which never brings you anything good. I obsess and dwell about saving money all the time. It's annoying, especially to me and I've got to stop. Stop obsessing Sekura!

Next week, yours truly will turn 28. A huge milestone because, well, I ALMOST have everything I want. Professionally, I'm working my dream job and personally I've got the best BF and friends in the world. Of course there's always room for improvement but there's nothing horribly wrong in my life. I should be happy and I am 90% of the time when I'm not obsessing. I'm hoping that by my 29 birthday I'll be living in a place that I own. I guess that'll be my birthday wish when I blow out my cake. Or my usual wish of winning the lotto.

What am I going to do? Well, since it's a stalemate on clubbing, 3 for clubbing and 3 not clubbing (Damn you Jay, you could have tipped us over for clubbing if you were here!) and my friend Cobra said that we're too old for clubbing. His words were, "The only acceptable clubbing would be in Vegas." I've decided to do something a little different. I plan to do something in the morning with just the girls (spa/high tea, etc.) something really girly and then later in the afternoon the boyfriends can come over to my house for a BBQ and lots of alcohol. That way we save a little money on the dinner and we can drink as much as we want. It's always great to get together for birthdays but I never really get a chance to talk to everyone. I HATE long tables because you don't get a chance to talk to everyone, it's loud and the it's a long ass wait for dinner. Hopefully, this birthday kick back can be relaxing and fun.

Next time you'll see me I'll be a year older! Weird that I still feel like a kid. I am writing on lapto with Hello Kitty stickers on it. That could be it!

After many weeks of mourning Ninja and thinking about it, the BF and I decided to get a new hamster. We were very careful in choosing the right hamster for us.  With no further ado, here's Legolas aka Lego. We named him after watching him climb ridiculous heights, crazy jumping feats, pointy ears that go up and down when he's excited, and seems really intent on breaking out of his cage, pen, ball, whatever he's in. He's like me, plays the Wii, eats, and then sleeps. 

 

I know it's silly but my hamster died yesterday and I am soooo depressed. A lot of people are like, it's just a hamster, no big deal. But he was more then that, he was my little buddy to watch tv with, made me laugh after a long day of work, and loved me best. It was the first real pet that I picked out and bought for myself and I'm sad he's gone. My little buddy.

Love,
Sekura81

 

I know that people use Twitter to let others know their up to the minute locations and actions. As I was driving to work I realized that if I had a Twitter account it would be really BORING.

Here's an example:
6:00 Alarm goes off, still sleeping
6:30 Wake up and get ready for work
7:10 Unlock classroom
7:10 - 9:45 Teach kids
9:45 - 10:00 Bathroom break and snack
10:00 - 12:00 Teach more kids
12:00 - 12:30 Sucky lunch
12:30 - 2:45 Teach some more
2:45 - 4:00 Clean and set up classroom for next day
4:00 - 4:15 Home and Snack
4:15 - 5:15 NAP!
5:00 - 6:00 Make and eat dinner
6:00 - Bedtime ANIMAL CROSSING!!!

I've been an addicted to playing this game since I got it for Christmas.


It's so sad. The BF said that he's an Animal Crossing widow since he's been alone since I've got it.

In 2008 I had 10 friends I know get engaged or get married. That's a lot of people! Year before, ZERO; 2008 like a million people! In the span of two weeks I've been asked by friends, family, BOSSES, co-workers, and the BF's family when are we getting married. Here is my response.

When this little guy is full, then we'll have enough to get married. Sheesh people, stop asking. It makes my stomach hurt and my eye twitch. Nuff' said.
  

I have had a horrible time posting this year and so I'll a mini grateful recap of each month of 2008, bullet style.

January - So thankful for going snowboarding and not breaking, hurting, dislocating anything. I love the snow

February - The BF and my 5th Valentines together. Went to the best French place in Newport. So romantic! Also celebrated M's and J's 27th birthdays!! They are still HOT! Enjoyed a week off from school and went snowboarding!

March -  more snowboarding!

April - My Bro's 26th birthday and my 27th birthday. We went clubbing and ate an awesome fusion brunch at Breaking Dawn. It was soooooo much fun. I found out that though my joints pop I can still pop and lock!

May - My Mom's birthday! One more month until school's out!

June - Schools out for summer! Finished my first year of teaching! Whoo Hoo! Start teaching summer school.

July - Summer school ends and I fly out to New York for some much needed vacation with my girlfriends. Tried to eat everything in New York, had the best pizza ever, tried 5 different ice creams, and got hit on while on the train. Sooooo much fun! Then off to Pennsylvania for more friends and frozen custard!

August - My Bro turns 32 and my Sis turns 31! I cannot believe we're so old!!! Tam gets engaged! Kat gets married!

September - Back to school! My friend T turns 28! E gets engaged!

October - Slutty Halloween in West Hollywood! E turns 28! BF and I celebrate 5 years together.

December - Winter break! Finally! BF's family (27 of them) visit. Spend entire vacation being worn out.

I think that was 2008 in a nutshell. I can't believe that it zoomed on by so quickly. Hopefully I can actually blog more but damn it's hard when xanga is blocked at work!

Being the girl that I am, I am especially close to my
parents. I am the prodigal child that would do whatever they asked and rarely,
if ever, gave them problems. Wash the dishes? Already done. Vacuum the floor?
Done. Work extra late on a Saturday night at the donut shop? Sure, no problem.
Grow up to be a doctor. Ummm, I tried and that was my ONE rebellion. Growing
up, I always made it a point to make them happy. I knew how hard they worked
because I was next to them working too. I learned to add on a cash register.
Seriously. I always went home from college whenever my parents wanted me too,
the 4 hour round trip didn’t phase me. When my Mom got sick with a kidney
infection a couple of years ago, I dropped everything to go home and take care
of her and do what she wanted, which included changing all the blinds in the
house, cleaning out the kitchen cupboards, and redoing most of the living room.
Every day there was list she wanted done and me being the prodigal, do anything
you want child, I did what she wanted. Now that I’ve gotten older I’m starting
to resent these bindings. This summer was the first summer that I’ve ever had
off to do whatever I want.

Every summer since I was 8,
summer meant that I would now spend my time at the donut shop helping out my
parents with occasional trips to the local library. I HATED summer. I didn’t
get to see my friends because I wasn’t home and it was boring. Stuck in a place
with no TV, no internet either, and no where for a kid to play. In college I always
worked during summer and went to summer school. It was more relaxed but you
couldn’t call it a summer break. Then getting a job post college and that was
the end for my chance at my ideal summer. This summer was my first FUN summer
ever, really. It’s sad that it’s taken me this long to get a fun summer but at
least I got it! However, the guilt of not spending time with my parents made me
feel well, like a bad daughter. My Dad has got a freakn’ PH.D in Guilt and
Punishment. The last conversation I had with him was, “Why don’t you come home
for the last two weeks of summer vacation? One day I will die and THEN you’ll
understand and know.” GREAT, thanks for the one way ticket to Guilt City Dad.

 I knew that I didn’t want to end my summer at
home with my parents. I knew what would be involved. Working and helping out
because that’s what they expected. That’s the pattern that’s been established
for 20+ years but it’s one I need to break. I would LOVE to spend time with
them but it’s draining too. I love my life and doing things on the weekends
that makes me happy. I like enjoying the last days of summer and lying on the
beach, going fishing, eating lunch with the BF, meeting friends for dinner, and
just being a completely selfish horrible daughter. That’s the dichotomy of what
I feel. Didn’t I pay my dues working? Can I please start my life and enjoy what
I’ve worked so hard for? I wish I could just cut myself into two people, the
dutiful should have been doctor daughter that is gentle, kind, thoughtful, devoted
to her family and have all the time in the world for them. Then there’s the
other half that wants to throw caution to the wind and go teach in Prague, that wants to learn to surf and sky dive, that
wants to ride a camel in the Sahara, that can
sew an awesome purse AND catch a 10lb bass. I just need some time being a
little bit more selfish so I can be unselfish. Does that make sense or just a bad daughter?

Why is it that you only get around to do things that you want to do when you get sick? I used to get migraines a couple of years ago and was free of them until this weekend. I still have no idea what the trigger is but when it hits, BAM! Sekura go down. I woke up with a headache on Sunday thinking it was just a slight hangover from drinking soju from the night before. Oh no, I should have recognized the signs of a migraine brewing. Tender head, pain only one side of my head, light hurting my eyes, and reading/watching anything made it worst. It would go away and come back stronger, go away and be even stronger. I finally went to bed last night at 9 with all the above symptoms with the beginning of a nauseous stomach. Having migraines hurt. Loud noises hurt. Everything above my shoulders hurt. I was only unhappy Sekura. I spent the night waking up every couple of hours to a persistent headache. Think of it as a throbbing pulse on the right side of your head where the only relief you get is pinching yourself to distract you from the pain. Seriously.

So after getting 3 hours of sleep I woke up even worst then before and took the day off from work. I ended up eating some raman noodles and all of a sudden my head cleared and the aspirin I had been downing since yesterday and today finally worked and my head was pain free for the first time in 24 hours. Magic raman noodles allowed me to finally rest, run some errands, do laundry, send out mail, AND write this blog. God bless raman noodles.

So what has been going on since my last blog? Well, school is back in session and that means I'm back at work. You know that feeling on Sunday that you realize that it's the end of the weekend and you need to go back to work? Then Monday comes and you've got the Monday blues? Imagine that x294394839. Going back to work after being off for 2 months is the worst case of Monday blues EVER! I mean, I miss having a paycheck and just plain working. But being a bum took a lot of effort too and I don't want to go back and erase all that hard work I did to become a bum.

Being back at work does have it's perks. Since it's my 2nd year at the school, I'm no longer the new kid on the block. I know all the staff, routines, attitudes, and have very little questions about anything anymore. I finally feel comfortable and mostly part of the staff. It's hard to bond with other teachers since we only see each other during lunch but after a year working with them, it's going well. I still can hardly believe that I'm doing what I love and worked so hard for. With all the crap I went through and the jumping of hoops I still expect to jump and bark on command but hopefully that feeling will go away.

We started celebrating birthdays! The big 28 happened to a friend and she still looks good. September is the beginning of birthday celebrations, our 5 year anniversary, Thanksgiving, and then X-mas. I have a feeling it's going to get real busy soon.

On that note, the day before Thanksgiving this little Sekura will be fulfilling a life long dream and seeing New Kids on the Block in Concert! I can't wait!

Yes, I'm alive and well and back from New York! I had sooooooooooooooo much fun hanging out in New York. I am going to relive the trip in pictures for my story.

Friday, July 11: Finished teaching summer school and am off on my first big plane ride to New York with a lovely stop in Salt Lake Utah. What I discovered was that I cannot sit, sleep, move, or be comfortable on a plane. I tried really hard but my ass hurt the whole time there. Had the most horrible airport food in the world in Salt Lake. Even my airplane pillow Emily wouldn't let me rest.

Saturday, July 12: Landed in New York at 7am in the morning. We went to have dim sum and ice cream in China Town. Shopped through Little Italy. Went to Les Halles (Anthony Bourdain's restaurant) for dinner, a bar for drinks, and then a club to dance until 4am. Whew! That sounds like a lot to do on my first day and it was. But it was so much fun hanging out with the girls. We've been so busy leading our lives in different directions that is was nice to come together and spend time just hanging out.

Sunday, July 13: Woke up with bleary eyes and headed off to try one of the best pizzas in New York under the Brooklyn Bridge. There was a line before they even opened up! That's when the girls urged me to go take pictures near the bridge and try Brooklyn Bridge Ice Cream. Sooooooooooooo creamy and good. Yum! For those that are keeping track, that's ice cream #2. After some delicious pizza at Grimaldi's we went to Rockefeller Center to shop but mainly to visit the Nintendo World store. I am such a nerd but I grew up playing Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gameboy, and currently DS. I actually have one of the first issues of Nintendo Power! Of course I have to visit Nintendo World.  There, on 34th avenue was my Mecca, the Tiffany's flagship store. Trumpets blare in the background. Angels singing. I was a kid in a candy store and happily bought jewelery for my sister and myself.  After shopping on 34th we went to the Empire State building at sunset which was beautiful. After that  was Indian food at some random delicious place, fries at Pommes Frites where they give you a million dipping sauces and finally Club Havana for grilled corn smothered in parmasean, mayonnaise, paprika, and butter. DROOOOOOLLLLLLLLL.  Sounds tiring? It was sooooooo tiring. I couldn't even tell you where most of these places were, just getting on the train after train and walking up and down the stairs and for blocks and blocks.

Picture from near the Brooklyn Bridge. It's soooooooo beautiful.

Pizza that was sooooooooooo good. I would fly back to NY just for the pizza.

Rocketfeller, just like on tv. I would love to go back in the winter and skate on the ice rink.

Pictures from the Nintendo World store. It's soooooo old school.

This post took forever, and I was on vacation for two weeks! Don't know how long it will take for me to finish the New York post. But if Reyrey can finish her NY scrapbook, I can finish this blog!