Hey guys! I have exciting news:  I just got accepted to an internship for the Disney College Program!!!!! yayayayayayayayay! YAY!!!!

The Disney College Program is a 7-month PAID internship to work for the Disneyland or DisneyWorld Resort while also taking classes at the DISNEY UNIVERSITY and living with other college kids from across the country.  I chose the Disneyland Resort in California instead of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for a couple of reasons:

a.)  Disneyland (california) is home disney for me and i have a lot of good memories here with my friends especially when i used to live in cali. 

b.)  It's only a 3 hour drive from vegas (compared to a 5 hour flight to florida) so that i can just drive home for a visit if i ever get homesick.

c.)  I have a couple of friends in SoCal especially in L.A who i can bug if i ever need anything.

d.) It poured rain on the 3 days that i went to DisneyWorld (florida), there's no way in hell i'm working in that condition.

So... a paid internship for Disneyland... sounds great, right? Honestly, i'm still not even sure if i want to do this.  I know a lot of people who would kill to get this opportunity.  Working for Disney has been one of my "Life List" (aka things to do before i die) along with my childhood dreams of being Princess Aimee of the Disneyland Kingdom.  You laugh, but it's true. 

So what's the problem? Well, first of, the opportunity presented itself a few years too late.  I'm in this awkward phase of life i like to call "Young Adulthood." (okay, so i'm 23 but i still feel like i'm 12 sometimes.)  Basically, I'm still young and I could do anything i please because i don't have any major responsibilities like kids (do cats count?), yet as an adult i have other kinds of commitments.  My work for example... i'm already doing management even before i get my degree... if i leave, will i get my job back when i come home? Matt... how do i live without him?? We're pretty much attached to the hip!! WHO'S GONNA COOK FOR ME is my major concern when he's not around.  My cats!! oh goodness i don't trust matt to give them daily hugs and kisses when i'm gone.    And school... freakin' school... i can't push my graduation any farther than it already is.

Ah decisions decisions. I told myself i'd let fate decide whether i shoud do this or not...if i get accepted that means i should go... but if i don't get accepted that means it wasn't meant to be... especially because chances were very slim since they only pick 125 college students out of the 30 universities they recruited from across the U.S.  (for disneyland that is.  It's easier to get in the DisneyWorld one.)

I'd like to hear what you guys think because i have two weeks to make up my mind about this. Awesome internship experience at Disney or dropping everything good that i already have at home?? But then again, I'm only young once!

I think these are great words of wisdom to live by:

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

I need to know how to make scramble! But everytime i google it i come up with "How to make scrambled eggs."  Who doesn't know how to make scrambled eggs?! I want me some real SCRAMBLE!!!!

"Blah, blah, blah," she says. You hear her but you don't.

Pretty girl, pretty girl. When will you ever learn?

You can say whatever you want to say,

Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.

But at the end of the day, i sleep better than you.

So go ahead and take all 7 of your anti-depressants,

'Cause the things you say are catching up to you.

Rockabye baby, go to sleep and wipe those tears.

Don't you worry, the next day is all brand new.

Put on your make-up,

Put on a brave face,

Put on your fancy clothes,

It took you three hours, and I still look better than you.

Uh-oh, here comes lunch time.

McDonald's for me, and a celery for you...

Sorry sweetie, but i'm still skinnier than you.

Party time, party time.

Gather your friends, and drink that bottle of wine.

All the BOYS come easy, but when the sun rises out they go.

They will never amount to my MAN,

You can't compare, can't you see?

So talk about me, all night you talk about me.

But all i will do is sit here and smile,

'Cause i'll be sleeping good tonight.

                             -Aimee D.

                   

Ok, so I made me some kwek kwek.

It's been a couple years since i moved here from the philippines and there are just certain filipino foods that I absolutely miss and crave.... especially street foods.  Believe it or not, I actually have plenty of sources for my filipino food cravings here in Vegas.  There's that Jollibee/Chowking/Filipino Grocery Store near my school.  There's a Goldilocks near my work. There's Filipino restaurants everywhere.  And best of all, there's that little Filipino store near my house where i buy my daily dose of Pancit Cantons, taho, and baluts!!! yay!

But there's just certain food that i can't find anywhere.  For example, shawarma... I can go to the middle eastern restaurants and get their "shawarma," but it doesn't quite taste like the shawarma my Kuya used to always buy me.  And then, Matt keeps arguing with me that by the way i describe shawarma, it probably taste like Taco Bell's Gordita Supreme! not true!

So back to my point, i made me some pink kwek kwek.  It's pink because i couldn't find orange dye.  So i had to use red...which turned pink. lol.  I dipped it in spicy vinegar.  And, i'm really disappointed because it doesn't quite taste like how i remember it.  Best of all, it gave Matt diarrhea.... that's what he gets for putting shawarma in the same level as Taco Bell.  It's the curse of the filipino street foods:  Where nothing taste as good as I remember it and where it gives the White man all sorts of stomach problems.  Anyway, I need to go back to the Philippines and buy me some authentic Filipino street foods.  The End.
              







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update!!! Update!!! (July 25, 2008)


 
Why, yes, thank you.  I did eat everything i wanted to eat when i went home to the Philippines last month.  Including...kwek kwek of course!! it was so delicious, i can't even explain it. 
  

Grandma

There's a special place in my heart
That only Grandma can fill
 And I think of her quite often
When it is quite and still

She was kind yet firm, serious yet playful
And by no means a saint
But in my eyes as a child
She certainly did fascinate

I thought she hung the moon and the stars
 Her old sayings never grew stale
 The old family stories held such intrigue
 Even the silly tall tales

 I wish I knew her full story
For I am sure that in her day
She was quite a hell raiser "Les bon temps" she would say

 Many things remind me of her
 And will always make me smile
 The list could go on and on
For perhaps a mile....

Like muskadine jelly, cous cous,
And the scent of a magnolia blossom
Her favorite things tug at my heart
Whenever I run across them

Her life has spawned a ripple
Of descendants that will never end
And I'll proudly pass on her legacy
Till in heaven we meet again

Dawn Thibodeaux

Ooooh ooooh oooooh! Did you guys ever watch Two of a Kind?? I remember when I was 14 or 15, me and Liezl would come home from school and watch it all the time.  It's actually pretty funny for a little kid's show... or should i say, it's actually pretty funny for an Olsen Twin show. It was too bad the show got cancelled early and only lasted a season, but i found this on YouTube. Here's an episode:

  I love how two weeks before my hawaii trip, and Discovery Channel does Shark Week 2007. It's basically a week long special about sharks and the craziest shark attacks ever. They also keep talking about how sharks don't intend to harm humans. Right. I shouldn't be watching these shark episodes but i can't help it.  There won't be much surfing this year thats for sure.  I've been having nightmares all week long. 

    Here's one of the shark attack stories:

    I've been in the spa industry for some years now and getting free facials are definitely a luxury that I enjoy.  Honestly, though, If I wasn't getting them for free I wouldn't be able to afford them not especially on a regular basis.  So the other day, I decided to do my own facial based on what I learned from getting them so often.  I thought I'd share this with you ladies because it's fun and we need to learn how to take care of our skin.  Doing this once a month will give us that nice healthy glow.  And for the men, this'll teach you the tricks on how to pamper your wife/girlfriend/crush and trust me, they'll love you for it!  Just a little warning though, I have normal to dry skin and since I’m not a professional, I would be very careful for those people who have delicate/sensitive or acne-prone skin.           

    Step1:  Getting the Homemade Steamer Ready
Heat ½ a quart of distilled water on medium-low heat.  We’ll be using this as a steamer for step5 so don’t forget about this unless you want your house to burn down.                        

    Step2:  Wash Face
Wash your face with a gentle face wash.  I use Neutragena Oil-Free Wash.  The Aestheticians recommend using products from the same skin care line when doing facials because they react to each other better, but I just use my own stuff.               

    Step3:  Exfoliate
GENTLY massage your skin with a facial scrub avoiding the sensitive eye area.  This’ll loosen the dead surface skin cells and prepare your skin for the next treatments to come.  I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub.  If you don't have one, you can make a homemade version: Click here for the recipe

    Step4:  Tone
Soak a cotton ball with Face Toner and wipe on face and neck.  Toner is a necessary part of your skin care routine because it restores the natural pH balance of your skin and wipes out that excess dirt and oil.  I use Olay refreshing toner/astringent.  I prefer my toner separate from my astringent, but I grabbed the wrong bottle! Lol.  It still works great though.                                               

    Step5:  Steam
Put two chamomile tea bags on a large bowl (optional).  Pour heated water in bowl. Put towel under the bowl and another over your head.  Lean over the bowl and the towel will create a tent that will keep the steam on your face.  I try not to use boiling water because the steam gets too hot for me, but some people like it.  If it does get too hot for you, let steam escape by lifting up towel.  Steam your face for 5 minutes.  This will open up your pores.  After this, get another steamer ready (repeat step1) because we’ll be steaming again on step8 .  Try to hurry though because you want your pores to stay open.         

    Step6: Extraction
Now here’s the step that you should skip if you have sensitive or acne-prone skin:   Apply a pore strip over your nose.  I use Biore Pore Strips. Apply a thin and even amount of peel-off masque on your face.  I use Freeman Peel-Off Masque.  This is a goo that goes on as a transparent mask over your face and hardens.  Leave on pore strip and masque for 5-10 minutes or until they dry into a “stiff film”.  Now, gently peel off strip and masque and check out your gross black heads stuck to the strip and masque.  Your skin will feel really smooth too.  I love this doing this but it seriously hurts when I peel off the masque sometimes which is why I wouldn’t recommend it to some people.  If you don’t have the pore strip and masque, here’s a Homemade Pore Strip Recipe
   
    Step7: Apply Face Toner and Astringent
Since your skin will feel a little tender from the peel, wipe face with face toner again to calm and refreshen the skin.  Also wipe face with astringent to heal the pores from the extraction.     
   
    Step8:  Steam...Again
Repeat the steaming process in Step5.  This should be the last steaming that we’ll do for the day I promise! =D     

    Step9:  Clay Masque
This stuff hydrates and nourishes your skin.  Apply a thick amount on your face avoiding the eye area.  It’s supposed to look like frosting on your face! Lol.  Leave this on for 10 or 15 minutes.  I use the stuff that comes in a one-use packet.  I don’t even know what it’s called.   But here are Homemade Clay Masque Recipes for different Skin Types.  Make sure you pick the right one for your skin. So, anyway, wash it off with warm water then cold water to close off your pores. 
   
*You can also put two cold cucumber pieces on your eyes while you’re waiting for your mask. It de-puffs baggy eyes! =D     

    Step10:  Apply Skin Toner….Again.
My aesthetician uses this stuff on me every other step.  Must be important right? Always apply it after washing the face and before moisturizing.     
   
    Step11:  Moisturize
Last but not least, moisturize!  Put eye cream under your eye. It decreases the dark bags.  Put lip cream around your lips.  I do this because I always get dry around the lips especially during winter time.  Then, put facial cream all around your face. Take this opportunity to massage your face:  mid-forehead, across brows, temple, across cheek bone, nose ridge, the ridge between your eyes and brows, jawline, and around lips!!  All my moisturizers are Germaine de Cappucini from Spain, this fancy schmancy stuff that I got from work.   


        So there you go! You got the steps to give yourself (or someone else) a facial!  It’s really fun and it really does do wonders for your skin if u do this once a month.  I swear to you, two days after I did my facial some guy from work said my skin was really clear… and I didn’t even tell him about my facial!  But anyway, after you do your facial, do not put makeup on your face for 24 hours.  Just let your skin breath for a day.  Same thing if you’re wanting to do this for a special event, make sure you do the facial the night before and not the day of.  You can do the facial with friends… I did mine with Liezl, she loved it too!  Last but not least, after the facial, you can jump in the bathtub with bubble bath or aromatherapy oils and have a real spa experience!

        I absolutely love watching the Simple Life.  I think it's one of the most entertaining reality tv shows ever.  So i hate to say this, but....  I'm glad they put her ass back in jail.
       
        Obviously, if you break the law you should be punished for it.  So i don't understand why in the world the sheriff would let her go after 2 days of her sentence.  2 days??  Do u think if she was a poor, male, minority they would even consider letting this person go?? Of course not.  One's social status, race, gender, etc. should not be reasons for them to receive any kind of special treatment. And "mental instability" is not a good reason either.  Of course she's goin crazy in there, i know i would!  I'm just glad the judge saw this was all wrong and put her back in.  Hell, even Martha Stewart toughed it out in jail!  But then again,  if this was Paul Walker we're talking about,  i would've feel veeery differently.  

        Point aside, she's pretty lucky she didn't kill anyone while she was driving drunk.  Cuz if she did, they'd be filming seasons and seasons of the Simple Life in jail.  I know i'll be buying those DVDs for sure!
Meanwhile, you can watch her music video =P  : 

    Hey all you animal lovers!  This is pretty simple...the Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals.
    It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on the purple box "fund food for animals" for free.  This doesn't cost you a thing.  Their corporate sponsors/advertisers  use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals  in exchange for advertising. 
     So instead of spending all your free time looking at retarded people's myspace pics, go to this website and help feed the animals! =D Pass it along to people you know too.
                http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com

These are my two kittens Chewy (in the blue collar) and Pugsley (in the black).  I  adopted them from the shelter when they were 6 months old.  They were so skinny when i first got them. I fed them and fed them and now they're fat! i love them! (except for when they poked holes on my poker table.)

                                    -aimee