foot clinic

a few minutes before midnight last night, we hurried to master wong's foot clinic in san gabriel valley. it took us about 20 minutes to get there from the hollywood roosevelt hotel where we picked up another friend. it is a not a clinic per se but a foot massage place. i was expecting the kind you normally get when you get a pedicure. but i was pleasantly surprised that for $15 you get a 1 hour full body reflexology massage. totally relaxing!

they asked us where we are from in their broken english. the three of us were the only customers. we actually just caught them as they were about to close. Philippines. Vietnam. Japan. International women of Mount Holyoke :).

we went to a dessert place afterwards and enjoyed a red beans with herb gelatin slush.
we didn't get home until half past 3 in the morning. i'm supposed to be studying for my clinical skills exam scheduled for next monday. don't worry, i'll study all day today :).

save the date

01.02.2010

teacher's class

i attended the teacher's class today. my friends were excited for me to meet the single male teachers. never mind that i am leaving tomorrow haha. these are the "cream of the crop", as they put it. the future ministers, the future leaders of the church. why do i feel that i am being pulled in a totally different direction?
the 'ideal guy' in my head never seemed to have found me. someone did find me. i don't know what it means.. i do want somebody to hold me.

the end of the suitcase saga

with a few more days left here in san francisco, my suitcase has finally arrived!
i guess, it didn't want to miss the trip to LA :).

today, i got to visit the outpatient imaging center at china basin. it's very close to the baseball park downtown. i took the opportunity to walk along the bay. the view was simply gorgeous. there were lots of people walking, enjoying the fine mid-70s sunny day.

satisfied customer

i finally got the call from motel 6 today. they have shipped my suitcase! because of the delay, they are only charging me $15. so i have volunteered to be a motel 6 endorser :). it's really hard to find a better price. they are everywhere. and of course, the staff is very nice.

for sure, on my drive back to indy, motel 6 can expect my business :).

off to church now...

ramadan

i was just speaking with a friend who is currently observing ramadan. she mentioned that this period reminds her among other things that she doesn't need much at all. i wonder how is it that the excesses in our lives are not as glaring as it should be..
why is it that it's easier to perceive what is not there?

meet for coffee?

who else is a non-coffee drinker?
i wonder what's the proportion of coffee drinkers vs. non-drinkers..

northern cali

i think that i may have found my place :). it's really nice to be around so many active brethren. last night, i had dinner with 2 sisters who are also CWS teachers here in daly city. i'm tagging along with one of them today. she will be preaching in the san pablo congregation. every week, the teachers here are assigned in various congregations. that will be so fun. i would love to be able to teach in different places.

so hopefully, in a few months time, i will get a spot here in northern cali. even just for a year. that will be so awesome!

first earthquake

i just felt my first california earthquake..
4.1 magnitude, no biggie :).

in the big city

i have forgotten what it is like to commute in a big city. i have been "midwestified". :) but i went in today with an open mind. i had to drive to the BART station. take the BART into San Francisco and then take the MUNI to the UCSF campus. total time was approximately 1.5 hours this morning! tomorrow, it should be half the time since I already know the system.

so far, so good. i feel that i am learning a lot. everyone seems nice.
i was kinda expecting that everyone will be intense. but there seems to be quite a nurturing environment. just exactly what i need!

first day in cali

after 4 days of driving, i finally arrived in cali last night!

the lovely santamaria family greeted me warmly. jigo, the youngest of the family, gave up his room for me.

since my travel commenced one day earlier as originally planned, i was able to attend the district's track and field meet earlier today. i took jerika (ate bel's daughter) and lyn-lyn (ate lou's youngest daughter) with me in livermore.

we walked around and i was pleasantly surprised to see a number of familiar faces. i immediately saw ka gaudy and family. gleng competed in the 100 m dash and long jump. gleng even won second place in the long jump event for her age group. there were only 2 contestants :). gemma invited me to the district Kadiwa gathering on the 20th. there will be a special worship service and luncheon for all single brethren in the district. maybe i should start praying to meet somebody haha.

i also saw brethren i originally knew from the boston and philadelphia congregations. i was very excited to finally see bro. bob and sis. sandy after so many years. bro. bob was our minister in boston ('94-'95). he is now the district minister here in northern california. i chatted with his wife for a little bit. i told her of my plans to go to jerusalem after graduation. they were previously assigned in israel and took care of the locales of jerusalem, haifa and tel aviv. she told me that when they first got there, they lived in joppa. remember that jonah went here to find a ship for tarshish instead of nineveh. wouldn't it be great to get to visit biblical lands? i am definitely planning on a taking a dip in the jordan river. she also mentioned that it used to be that the worship service in jerusalem took place in a cave-like structure. it sounded so very first century. but since the jerusalem congregation has grown they had to move to the more touristy area of the city. right now, they worship in a hall above a mcdonald's. it would have been nice to worship in a cave :).

and of course, i also saw PB. he made plans to have dinner with ate mayette and becky on thursday. i met ate mayette in '94 but has not seen her since then. i'm not sure how late i need to stay at the hospital that day but i will also try to meet with them.

so tomorrow, i will start my rotation in ucsf. it should be fun!