In a dramatic change of events...

My, how things can change in such a short time. On tuesday i was offered two part time jobs....one as a P.E. instructor at an elementary school, the other as a housing manager at a local single people transitional family. I applied for both...the prospect of having some extra income was really appealing...i guess i've been broke to long. So, for the manager i was going to over see 20 units for a total of four apartment complexes...i would get a free one bedroom apartment...a whole apartment. This looked good financially but not to good academically...but the money really called me out. Finally, i decided to go with peace of mind and not go with the manager position...so i only applied to the P.E. one.

On a lighter note, school is going ok...i still haven't bought all my books yet, but for some of my classes i could buy them one at a time according to when i need them. My statistics professor is going to lend me one of his books which will save me about $100. The only book I really need is the social research book, the good thing is that their is one in the library...and if you are a graduate student you can check it out all semester long, i just need to find a friend to hook it up. Probably nana, that's the only one i could think of...who else is in a program???...
more latter...

Stress...

No much can get to me...but money always stresses me out. Not because use a lot of it...because i make so little. And don't need that much...i just want enough to do the things i want to do in life...well except buying a house. (The prospects of buying a house really sucks right now...and i don't think i want to "owe myself out of existence"). Right now just getting started on school is a problem...i worked all summer on these crummy jobs that don't pay much and now i'm looking at bearly making it for the first month...its always the first month. As soon as you pay tuition ($1700), rent ($450 + deposit $200), and books ($200), and of course you set you self with a pretty good job you'll be fine. But their is always something that come up...the work i was at hold the check for one month...that means i'm not getting my money until Sept 30 (Approx, $1,300)...which is 15 days after the final date to pay for tuition.

So what my briliant partner advised me to do is to write a check on Sept 15 and hope my the time they clear it up and maybe threaten me it will be the Sept. 30...and then i will be able to pay them in full...in other words buy my time (apparently she has had some expereince in loop holes). I don't like the idea just because two weeks is such a long time, if it was one week then i think it might work...but what i'm hoping for is that the campus collector (who by the way are brutal, i've had some hard negociation with them..i guess they deal with these things all the time and they try to scare the student) will not want to drop my classes and cut me some slack...i've got circomstance on my side. It the best option i've got.

The other money is coming from my new job i should be getting about $400 on sept. 7 and the same on the 23rd...if i can get past september i should be good. I arranged it with my landlord to pay him on the 7th...but what he doesn't know is that i won't have the deposit...again circomstance..i'll be in the room already...he can't take me out then. I've given the deposit in payment with him before...but he's a grauch (SP??)...so you have to work him...in a good way of course.

So that is my thing right now...classes are nice i just went to my first class and it seems like is going to be a good one...you can always tell from the beginning if the class is going to cool. I have four classes tomorrow it's my longest day...i'm looking foward to them.

Monday and tuesday miguel ( a good friend of mine) and i went Mt. biking by the los gatos reseviour...that was one of the coolest things i have done ever...especially the coming down. We went really high...i didn't think you could go that high on the bike...he has these special mt. bikes. The next day he took me to this easier course at this park in sanjo...much better...not so high but still very difficult. I'm thinking i might get into mountain biking...he says he might be selling one of the his bikes, so we'll see what happens. He was telling me that the snow resorts are doing mt. bikes lifts when their is no snow...so you can ride up and come down the mountain on the bike...down hill biking is really cool too. I'm not expereinced and don't have the equipment but i think i want to try it. I think it that fine line of being safe and the potential of getting hurts that bring up the adrenaline...it like the "flight" part of the "fight or flight" expereince but in a some what controled environment.

I just talked to my advisor and i don't have to take one of the classes that i thought i need to take...so i'm only taking 15 units....which is good, cuz i was going to go crazy with 18 units.

My compadres and my god-daughter is in sanjo...i'm happy i'm going my good friend here. Also, my god-daughter...she it growning to fast...she is learning english. She is 3 years old and she english like my mom...it sound really cute. She is really tring though. I'm staying with them until sunday, which is when my room is going to be ready they are changing the carpet....things are looking good...well...almost...if they don't drop my classes on the 16 then i should be fine.

If they give me an altumative i'm going to have to do a massive phone-a-thon...lets hope it doesn't get to that point.

From the ivory tower of San Pepe State University in the jungle of silicon valley...signing off...Amado Guererro (pen name of a pinoy poet)

Four Religious Truths

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's chosen people.

2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian World.

4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

this is my last semester...really, i swear!!

After a much anticipated time i have finally tied up all my loose end and i'm going to finish my two majors and minor....Social Science, Sociology, and Philosophy. it only took me a couple of years more...a decade of my life...well more like six years...not including my backpacking trip through south america and my save my relationship semester break. Of course like always i don't regread anything..." what ever happened, happened and couldn't have happened any other way"...i like to think of my self as half realist and half romantic....so when it comes to school ever since high school i haven't been the sharpest tool in the shed ( i know it all relative, but when you hang out with over achiever then it's pretty obvious your on the slow lane) but don't let my laid back personally confuse you...i am a fighter and anything that i put my mind to i have done...i believe in my self...i have out done any of my expectations and im looking for new goals...its a beautiful time in my life. As far as being romantic, the more i think about it the more i see my self as a professor at a university...i might not have the raw talent but i have the will and passion for it. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, being to modest to admite to my selft that i can do it...but i don't see any way around it...i couldn't do any other job...vocation.

I'm just hoping it not going to take me 20 years to do it...some people might think. I'll just have to make believers out of them...actions speaks louder than words. I'm going straight through my master...tow years max and...well....with my Ph.D well lets shoot for three...sounds doable. Now i just got to figure out what i'm going to focus on...that's just a minor detail....

Cirque du Soleil...come one, come all...

About a couple of years ago i went to one of these show...it was worth the price. They are coming back to sanjo jan-feb. If anyone wants to go...i would like to go again, holla back. Last time we got about 6 people who wanted to go. cheap seat, which are not that bad are $45 regular, $40 student and $31 children (2-12). You can go to there website and check out there schedual...also reservation are also available, pay on line and get you tickets, thats what i did last time. peace

Music

Music is something i wish i would have picked up sooner...but my philosophy is that it is never too late. One of the greatest poets didn't start writing his beautiful lirics until he was 40 (RUMI). I guess what i'm saying is that i have been practicing guitar lately and i have been feeling a lot more confortable with the positions and strumming, i rock out with the five cords i know some times. I'm just glad that it is starting to sound like music...i'm getting past the inicial stage of suckyness...i think i have my head about water. It's not going to be down hill from now, but it is going to be more musical. I was one of my best friends play in his bad yesterday...it was really inpriational. To think that we started about the same time...the difference between us being committement. I feel really inspired by him and my increasing ability. I can't do a song yet, though i'm really close. I'm praciticing green eyes by coldplay, though i have modified it to brown eyes for my honey....it one of our songs...the other being a ben harper jam...that one is next.

The reason i'm cool is because i have all this free time because i don't go to work until 4pm. On one side i wish i could make more money by having more hours (and i have tried) but on the other side i 'm enjoying my last days of summer, which has turn out to be a very eventful. We have gone kayaking, hiking, to a couple of theme parks, taken a dance class, and spend some time with my honey. THe only thing not going to be accomplished this summer which i wanted to do is sky diving, due to money....but it will get done...it always money with me.

My brother hugo went to the hospital recently due to an infection...he got cut and didn't take care of it correctly. Everybody thought it was due to some kind of alcoholic thing since he has been drinking heavily for many years now. He is staying with my other brother for the time being. I haven't been able to see him, but i will within the next couple of days...i'll keep you guys informed. That all for now peace.

Philosophy for life

I am working on my graduate application and essay...and i can't figure out what i want to focus on...i can't pinpoint it. I know i want to work more with theories and concepts, something i didn't get enough in sociology or social science...i guess thats what happens when you go to a state school. I have been reading quite a bit of Cornell West latelty...i like his style, except for the religious thing. Apperently he is a pastor and a self ploclaim American Pragmatist (or what he calls Prophetic Pragmatist) which is basically trying to reconcile science (or scientific rationale) with religion....especially after the enlightment period. He has many other stuff but this is one of his big ones...and for me i'm trying to get away from religion on a personal level. I can't deny or confirm, so i won't bother with such trivial things...i'm not against it because i know what it means to community (agency and cultural citizenship) but i'm not for it becuase their is many supresive elements that are counter intuative (cuz your reliant on an outside source)...enough of that...

So i'm trying to figure things out and i feel a little self counsoius about it...any now it is a different field i am applying too, but still. I'm interested in social justice and social thought so if anyone has any leads in this area within philosophy it would be greatly appreciated. This does not affect my interest in philosophy, thought i still don't know if and when i decided on a Ph.D. that philosophy is going to be my area...though we do need more chican@s in this area.