refulgent.org

Love Rise Up, Hope Rise Up

tina — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:24:07 +0000

After a discussion about coincidences, free will and pre-destination (amongst other things) over some extremely tasty sushi, the three of us saw an incredibly pretty rainbow as we were leaving The Blue Fish last night.

This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.

Most amazing.

And Spread The Feel Of Gladness Around

tina — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:50:54 +0000

You know you’re growing up, really growing up, when your friends begin working full-time jobs, begin moving out, and most importantly, begin planning their lives with their future spouse. Now, I only fulfill one of these things, but my bestest friend on the other hand is a different story: she’ll be three for three in the next year.

A very huge congratulations to both her and her significant other on their (now official) engagement, which I spent much of today with friends and family celebrating. (There’s nothing quite like being part of a dam hoi.)

I’ll refrain from getting too sappy/cheesy, and keep it at this: to the happy couple, I wish you two the best and tons and tons of happiness and joy and merriment.

Congratulations and many cheers, friends!

Let Me Root, Root, Root For The Home Team

tina — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:41:07 +0000

How I spent my Thursday evening:

The view from the eleventh row, behind first base.
(Hooray crappy camera phone quality!)

I don’t particularly enjoy watching baseball on TV but going to games has always been a much different (read: much much better) experience. Last night’s game against the Angels was pretty fun to be at, especially when the Rangers began to rally back from a six-point deficit. After managing to tie it in the seventh it was pretty unfortunate when we watched them lose four innings later; a shame, really, after watching the best defensive play of the game by Brandon Boggs and Max Ramirez.

Personally, I think Davis’ hit should have counted for a home run instead of a double. I certainly would have been home a whole lot sooner, for one thing.

Overall, not a bad effort for a team that most people write off in the MLB. They may not be winning another pennant this year or next year (or even the next), but it was pretty cool to see them play like a team that believed they could.

Quit Making Noise And Lend An Ear To The Silent Voice

tina — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 07:29:42 +0000

It’s been a good month. I received some very happy news on the career-side of things not too long ago; it actually kind of renders some of my time capsule answers a bit moot, but that’s unimportant. The overall effect (read: fun benefits!) I cannot complain about. Broadcast accounting, here I come, whee!

It’s been a good week. VBS this year, like any year, seems to start off slow at the beginning of the week, but (not) soon enough, it’s the end and finally the last day of VBS. It’s always fun, and I always love doing it, but this year, I’ve found myself pretty tired at the end of most days. I’d like to think of it being the result of a hot, sort of stuffy room with a crazy hot projector and laptop running and interacting with over sixty kids in a three hour time span, but really, it’s probably just me getting older. Though, I’m sure spending almost seven hours there four out of five nights don’t exactly help.

It’s been a very very good day. Awesome friends, awesome food and a very very awesome penguin cake make for a very memorable night, even if in the end, we did have to wait over two hours to be seated at the restaurant. (My fault, totally my fault.) I can only hope twenty-five will be as wonderful.

To conclude, summer pop culture fun in the form of a YES/NO list (because I love them and love using bullets, whatever).

Seeing Eisley (again) at the House of Blues: “Grungy, edgy”, amazing YES.
Seeing your bestest friend graduate from college: Hundred YES’S.
Random mailings from UTD including one particular publication titled Beyond Innovation: Entrepreneurship at UT Dallas but excluding one particular still-awaited letter: NO.
The Myriad’s With Arrows, With Poise: YES.
Scarlett Johansson’s Anywhere I Lay My Head: NONONO.
Iron Man: YES.
Prince Caspian: NO/YES (More NO than YES).
LOST’s season finale: YES/NO (Lots of YES’s, very few NO’s).
American Gladiator’s Crush: YES.
Mint Mocha Frappuccinos from Starbucks: Very Tasty YES.
Green and blue toenails: Green/white and pink/white polka dotted YES
Penguin Cake: Double layered YES

I tried to be chill, but Dear Friends, you’re all so hot that I melted.
That is all. ;D

Orange Is Young, Full Of Daring

tina — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:23:29 +0000

Things that may/may not necessitate elaboration:

I sleep too much some days
I don’t sleep enough other days
I’ve been watching more playoff hockey than playoff basketball this post season
My right knee has been sore for the past two weeks
I saw a package of chicken and abalone flavored ramen on top of the microwave at work last Friday
I have been debating the pros and cons of possibly taking up knitting
I really like using Google Calendar

Playing And Singing About The Dream I Tasted

tina — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:18:25 +0000

I heard about Dr. Randy Pausch sometime last fall, from Digg of all places. At the time, I hadn’t paid too much attention to the story (a 47-year-old Carnegie Mellon professor dying from pancreatic cancer gives an inspirational message in a lecture at the university); since then, however, his lecture, which addresses how to really achieve your childhood dreams, has picked up considerable steam especially in the media in the last few weeks. I finally had a chance to watch it tonight, and I’m apt to agree with all that’s been said about it.

Although it clocks in just under eighty minutes, I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t yet; Carnegie Mellon has a website set up here with links that provide the video on YouTube, (free!) audio and video versions from iTunes and even a transcript of his lecture.

It’s funny, moving and all the while, filled with extremely good advice on not only how to achieve your dreams (”Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things”) but more importantly, how to live your life.

And if the ending doesn’t move you, even in the slightest, well, you’re just an unfeeling jerk.

You Were Running Through Fields Of Hitch-Hikers

tina — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:22:07 +0000

The concept of a time capsule is kind of ridiculously cool to me - which may speak volumes of how much of a dork I can be - and I’ve always wanted to do one, except the idea of burying an object of high sentimental value always stopped me. That and having moved three different times in the past twenty years. I can’t imagine how I would explain that I needed to dig this hole in someone’s backyard so I could find that box I buried there as a kid.

I’ve also wanted to write a letter to my future self, like what a lot of elementary school teachers have their students do with the promise to mail each of them their respective letters in a number of years into the future. The appeal went downhill, however, when I realized I wouldn’t have anyone to mail me my letter, and the thought of asking someone to do it for me seemed awkward(ly embarrassing) at best.

What I have decided to do, however, is create a small written snapshot of my life as of today, Wednesday, April 09, 2008, and look back in a year or so and compare (and most likely remark upon my own idiocy).

So onward we (I) go!

01. Where I (hope to) see myself a year from now:

School: Almost halfway through with the IAEP; finding some way to set myself apart from a lot of other people in the program; spending a reasonable amount of time studying in the library; possibly participating in the IIA UTD Student Chapter in some kind of official capacity.
Career: Working full-time; attending Dallas IIA meetings.
Overall: Crying about school and work and having no life.
Super Clichéd Answer: Happy.

02. Where I actually will be:

School: Studying studying studying; crying to myself about how much studying I have to do; spending an absolutely ridiculous amount of time in the library; attending UTD IIA Student Chapter meetings.
Career: Possibly still at my currently-held job, possibly an internship, possibly a full-time job - all dependent on how things shake down with a class I hope to take in the fall; attending Dallas IIA meetings.
Overall: Stressed and whiny and definitely crying about school and work and having no life.

03. At this moment, the thing(s) that I worry about most, in the immediate sense (a year or less):

Paying for the expenses of grad school; how the economy will affect both my currently-held job and my particular place of employment; whether or not the Mavericks make the playoffs - and not get ousted in the first round by what looks to be a match-up with San Antonio; how bad my allergies will be this season; figuring out how to reset my jacked up sleep cycle.

04. At this moment, the thing(s) that I worry about most, in an overall sense:

How the economy will impact the career field I hope to go into; how long the recession will last; finding a job post-graduation; how much longer Dallas will go before one of their sports teams finally wins a championship.

05. At this moment, the thing(s) that I am most happy about, in the immediate sense (three months or less):

The Mavericks winning three out of their past four games; getting my external hard drive to work properly; the upcoming Eisley and Death Cab for Cutie concerts.

06. At this moment, the thing(s) that I am most happy about, in an overall sense:

Food I’ve cooked and baked turning out tasty and well; having things to do and not being idle in my free time; my sabbatical from school almost ending (kind of happy about that); the possibility of some summer trips out of town.

07. The life goal I am currently working on is:

#10-12, as kind of seen here.

For fun, my predicted future answers, a year from now when I re-read these questions and write out new answers, are as follows:

School: Almost through with the IAEP and school; still attempting to spend only a reasonable amount of time living in the library; being involved with the IIA UTD Student Chapter.
Career: Studying for my licensing and certification; working full-time.
Overall: Still crying about school and work.
School: Same.
Career: Studying; looking for a post-graduation job if I’m not already holding one.
Overall: Same.
Mostly the same.
Unsure.
Unsure, though most likely school-related.
Again, school-related, probably something along the lines of being almost done with school.
Unsure, though probably the same.

Dear future me:

Given these predicted answers above, I hope you have somehow found ways in this past year to strongly prove your then-current, now-past self wrong about how boring you were, and you really do have something of a life, kind of.

Love,
Christina

It’s Like A Book Elegantly Bound

tina — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:44:33 +0000

Tina: oh, and what fancy new title do you have to go with your fancy new job
T: i have to list my referrals on my application, apparently
Kris P: use
KP: Principal Engineer 2
T: haha okay will do
KP: or “Master of the Universe”
KP: whichever seems more appropriate
KP: for grad school, probably the former
KP: if applying to be a villain, superhero, sidekick, or henchman
KP: use the latter
KP: afk, g2g p00p

Somehow, I’m thinking asking for a letter of recommendation from this particular previous boss as part of my application to grad school may have been a mistake, maybe.

Stealing Hearts Of Marsh King’s Daughters

tina — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:45:15 +0000

I like food. That’s probably a bit of an understatement, but I like food and I certainly like cooking/baking and I most definitely like eating (a lot). With so much time on my hands, at least until August or so, I decided a while ago that I should combine all three of these interests into one super activity, and what better way than to undertake The Cookie Project - where I would bake the favorite cookies of many of my friends.

This endeavor was also to make up for one of my New Year’s resolutions that I so gloriously failed at. Within a week.

Originally, I was going to work my way through by difficulty, beginning with the easiest ones, but Linh recently challenged me to actually start this project so her cookie of choice (”Gingerbread cookies are so good!” she casually remarked at lunch last week.) was the first one I chose to bake.

Old Fashioned Ginger Cookies

Perhaps next time, I’ll make them Squall shaped.
Next up: M&M Cookies.

There’d Be No Distance That Could Hold Us Back

tina — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:28:42 +0000

It had been a while since I had heard one - years at least - but there was no mistaking the sound of the fire alarm as it blared loudly in ones ears and the lights flashed their little strobe dance.

As it went off at work, with its light and high pitched squeal, a few of us, the ones closest to the rear exit of our suite, got up and glanced at each other from above our cube walls, shooting confused looks to one another before grabbing some of our more important personal belongings and making our way down the stairs (conveniently located just outside our rear exit, in fact). Originally grabbing my jacket and cell phone, I could see some of my female coworkers with their purses and decided that it would be better that I bring mine and my keys as well, and I followed suit down the stairs. After all, in case there really was a fire and going back to work wasn’t a possibility, the last thing I would have wanted to do was stand around outside the building waiting for someone to come pick me up - especially since I was trying to get over a rather nasty cold. (Of course, my iPod I managed to forget all about until later when I was actually standing outside.)

In the end, the fire alarm turned out to be a false one. Construction on the first floor somehow interfered with the control room which resulted in a rather loud and flashy alarm going off. Begrudgingly, the quarter of the staff that did make our way outside began to make our way back inside. Incidentally, we were the only ones that did end up outside - out of an entire eleven floor building. We piled into the elevator, joking about how we’d fit all the “slackers” in (”Like a game of Tetris!”). The doors began to close when two more people, the last of our coworkers, squeezed their way in, bringing the total in the elevator to eleven.

“3,000 pounds?” someone declared. “We should be fine.”

With no one left (and with no room left), the doors slid shut, and we pressed the button for the third floor. As we chatted to one another, complaining about why the other three-quarters of the office couldn’t manage to tell us that the alarm wasn’t real before we made it outside, the elevator suddenly lurched to a stop, effectively killing any conversation.

“Umm… did we just stop?”

“I think so.”

One of the IT guys was the one standing closest to the emergency elevator phone and the call button panel. He pressed the “Door Open” button a few times, but nothing happened.

“Okay,” he said, “We’ll just give them a quick call.”

The operator on the other line was friendly enough (despite remarking upon the stupidity of getting eleven people on an elevator). After asking what floor we were stuck on (second), she suggested that we press the “Door Open” button. We’ve tried it before, we told her, and nothing happened because we probably weren’t level with the floor, despite what number was lit. She told us she would call maintenance and get back to us.

We attempted to pass the time by playing games of Twenty Questions, I Spy, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and Random Movie Trivia. These, of course, all failed to get pass the first round, and only managed to whittle away ten minutes before someone in exasperation (and probably heat as by this point, most of us had shed the jackets we were previously wearing and rolling up our sleeves) asked that we give them another call and get a status update.

“We called the elevator service,” she chirped back to us, “and we’ll give you a call as soon as we learn anything else.”

While everyone else (cheerfully) grumbled about how long we were going to be stuck and how we were originally trying to be efficient and in the end we were just really dumb and all of us were now stuck standing up, I was not only secretly glad I was one of the first on the elevator, and therefore, had a wall to lean against, but I was also becoming aware of how close people were standing to me - a bad thing when you’re recuperating from being ill. I hoped that I would be able to hold off on having any random coughing fits or sneeze attacks or urges to blow my nose until we became unstuck. A coughing fit, I decided, would probably be the worst thing at this moment.

I totally should have called in sick this morning after all, I thought.

Idle chatter began filling the elevator again about weekends and meetings with celebrities. It seems Luke Wilson likes to frequent the Starbucks off Lovers and Inwood when he’s in town. And Michael Keaton looks elderly (read: “withered”) and not at all like Batman in person.

“Hey, does it look like there’s some light coming through?”

We all turned our heads to look at the door, when we realized that it was indeed being slowly opened, and a face of one of the maintenance workers appeared before us.

“No wonder the elevator got stuck,” he said as he pushed the doors open before helping us out one by one. “You’ve got too many people in here.”

As it turned out, we were only about a foot to a foot-and-a-half from the second floor the entire time. (I sadly felt more thrilled about lasting the entire time without coughing up anything on anyone or having some crazy bout of a runny nose then I actually was of getting out.) As we made our way back up to our suite (via the stairs this time), we could hear the laughter of those that actually stayed behind in the office as they had already heard about our escapade.

My boss was included in this as her entire staff, all three of us, managed to get ourselves stuck in the elevator.

“We just wanted some time to bond together,” we said. “What better way?”

Later, as I left work for the day, I decided taking the stairs from the third floor would be a nice change. A good form of exercise, I reasoned to myself.