Palm Reading at Starbucks

The first time my sister and aunt met my best friend was at a weekend getaway to my grandparent's beach cabin. Ever since then, the four of us have been as thick as thieves. Fortunately, today we were able to hang out (without the rest of the family around) at Starbucks and spend some... quality time together. 

Among the many topics of discussion arose a new palm-reading application my sister downloaded. I thought I'd share a portion of my results for your enjoyment:

1) Your hand indicates that you like to laugh.
2) Saturn (middle finger) shows that you focus on real world items; usually in an overall manner.
3) Your Mount of Pluto shows that you are highly adept at giving advice to others.
4) Your finger leaning indicates that you make sure to take enough time to seriously think through your decisions.
5) Your thumb shape indicates that you can be very emotional.
6) Your relationship lines suggest that you will have a strong and happy relationship with your partner.
7) Your finger spacing indicates that you will gain authority and rank through your own goals and dreams.
8) Your line of fate shows that you will be successful in whatever you pursue, because you are a very determined person.
9) Your mount of Luna shows that you are slightly egocentric.
10) Your mount of lower Mars shows that you have the ability to over come a large amount of pain.
11) Your Jupiter (index finger) indicates that you are flexible and multi-talented, and who tends to go along with the crowd.
12) Your mount of Venus shows that you have lots of energy and warmth.
13) The second phalange on your thumb indicates that you love pleasurable things like food and drinks. 

Twas the Day After Christmas...

'Twas the day after Christmas and throughout the upstairs, not a person slept in, despite the previous day's affairs.

The wrapping paper, still strewn across the living room floor, made a mess that lead right to the front door. 

The Fragoso's were preparing for a full day ahead while Echo, their dog, was nestled sleepily in his bed. 

With Toya in her scarf and I in my hat, we got in the car for a nice, lengthy chat -
when out on the street we noted no traffic, we looked at each other as if telepathic.

Away to Seattle we drove like a flash, parked in the parking lot, and thanked God we didn't crash.

The sun arose steadily beneath the Northwest fog, which gave luster to everything just like a short jog. 

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature mermaid with two tiny fish tails. 

With big wooden doors, so warm and homey,
I knew in a moment it must be the one, the only.

More rapid than eagles my sister and I came, entered, and shouted, and call'd out by name:

"Now latte! Now mocha! Now macchiato and drip! On frappe! On hot tea! On dry cappuccino!"

"Order one of each! Order one not on the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

A wink from a barista's eye and a twist of his head soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And fill'd all the coffee cups; then turn'd with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, above the counter he rose.

He sprung to his feet, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:
But I heard him exclaim, ere he vanished out of sight —
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. 

The End. 

Christmas Reflections

This past month has been a whirlwind of struggles and tasks accomplished - mainly to do with school and academics. The first week was finishing up projects for three of my classes and preparing for my one and only final the week after. The second week was mostly spend stressing over finals, stressing over a regional club meeting for M.E.Ch.A., saying goodbye to friends as they left for the holidays, and feeling homesick. The meeting went as well as could be expected during a college break. 

Once home, I was able to reconnect with friends and spend plenty of time with my family. We furtively shopped and wrapped around each other as Christmas drew nearer and even got to play in the snow! One evening, my godmother took me to see It's A Wonderful Life performed by the local theater. Eventually my sister arrived and my brother and I embarked on what ended up being a 2.5 hour adventure around SeaTac in the late evening. 

Christmas was well spent with my family, including my grandparents, great-aunts, aunts, parents, and siblings. The food was delicious! I'm a sucker for ambrosia. 

Now that Christmas Day is here, the Christmas season may begin. Merry Christmas!

The Aftermath of an Awesome Weekend.

This weekend was fantastic. There was so much I had planned to do and not only did I accomplish most of it, I had a fun time doing so!

First up on my list was my first ever 5K - The Mustache Dash! It was in support of prostate cancer research and survivors. I just thought it would be a fun run to start with - a sort of trial before the big thing in June. With this in mind, I figured I would aim for a time between 35 and 40 minutes. The course was much hillier than I anticipated, but I took the hills slow in order to spare my knees the pain and after a while I got in the zone. I brought my iPod along to keep me motivated, but honestly I could have done it without the music. The people around me were enough to keep me going! I found myself keeping track of certain people and pacing myself with them.

Anyway, I finished with a time of 36:33 - not bad for my first 5K, I think. Feeling that last burst of energy and sprinting the remainder of the course was exhilarating and something I will never forget!



Next on the docket was Ajax in Iraq. I believe I have already blogged about the play itself, so I will not go into further detail. I just want to comment on the fact that although I was only ushering this time instead of simply being a part of the audience, I felt like I was back home. It seemed that people were genuinely happy to see me and I, them. I even met some of the freshmen interested in theatre!

Immediately after closing was strike. Strike consists of deconstructing the set, rearranging the theatre, packing up the seating, putting away most of the lights, and cleaning. It can be a long process depending on how much help there is. I specifically came to closing night to help with strike, knowing that the reward of eating at Shari's was worthy of a late night. Sure enough, we arrived at Shari's around midnight and left about two hours later completely satiated and exhausted. Good times were had by all.

I crashed (literally - I was exhausted after such a long day!) on the couch at my friend Rhianna's apartment for the night. Several hours later, I awoke to a complete arrangement of breakfast items prepared by Rhianna before she left for rehearsal. The darling! I am not ashamed to say I started bawling. The thoughtfulness, generosity, and overall kindness I had experienced (especially from Rhianna) in the last twelve hours was overwhelming.



It may be needless to say, but I will say it anyway - friendship is a powerful thing.

Now I am left to my studies, but with the anticipation of seeing my family next week, I am willing to do whatever it takes to succeed this week.