I spent a lot of time this weekend watching a Japanese anime called "Naruto". It's about these students who are beginning their ninja careers. They do really good character development but it makes the story development a bit slow. I'm on episode 52 now. The series is still going on in Japan and is at over 80 episodes. At the rate I'm going, I'll be catching up real soon.

I went clothes shopping on Friday and bought two orange shirts. I've recently been more and more attracted to orange color. I like orange because it is bold and bright. I looked up some color meaning websites because I have a tendency to attach meaning to anything and everything.

Orange is a power color. The color was named after the fruit. It is a color that has almost conflicting meanings, as it is part red and part yellow. It is one of the healing colors. It is said to increase the craving for food. It also stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. Orange means vitality with endurance. People who like orange are usually thoughtful and sincere. Lady luck's color is orange. I have been told that if a change of any kind is need in life, just burn an orange candle for 7 nights. Gemstone: carnelian

Character building is such a pain sometimes. I think God wants to work on my character of faithfulness through work. I guess as a christian I have a lifetime of character building to look forward to and there is that much work to be done in me and then some. I also saw Erik suffer because of my procrastination yesterday and I felt really bad. Poo...

There are nine people total living in my new home: Erik's mom and dad, older sister's family (sister, husband, little girl, and baby boy), us, and younger brother. I've never had this many roommates before. I like having lots of people at the house because there's always someone to interact with if I wish. "If I wish" is the best part of it since I can have my privacy in our room when I want it. Sometimes I do wish that we had more peace and quiet (a newborn and a toddler can make a lot of noise though small) but I would rather have a little noise than total silence most of the time. The television is usually on but I'm already used to this having lived with Susan. The best part of living with Erik's parents is that Ma does all the cooking and it tastes great! Then I just have to do the dishes afterwards, but other people do it too so I'm not doing it all the time. Oh, I forgot to mention another roommate, J.J. the dog. He's really low maintenance and it's fun to have him around, to walk him and give him treats.

One thing that's a bit of a challenge is getting used to everyone's schedule. It's more for my own mind's organization sake. I figure out everyone elses' schedule so that I can plan my own schedule. The person whose schedule affects me the most is Li-Li, the little girl, who always wants me to play with her. She goes to school three times a week and on those days I can rest after my work. But I enjoy spending time with her especially when she says that I'm her best friend and that she loves me always. I'm such a sucker.

This weekend was filled with social functions. Saturday morning began with Jeff and Carrie's wedding. The highlight for me was that I got to see and touch base with all the people in the Pasadena Small Group. It was great to see Jeff and Carrie so happy. I even made the slide show thanks to the infamous Yosemite trip that sparked their love interest. Jeff even sang an original rap song in honor of God's goodness in bringing him and Carrie together. There was a part in the slide show in memory of Jeff's dad who passed away when he was a teenager which choked me up a bit.

Today we celebrated Brian's one month and James' tenth birthday. Both are our nephews. Brian is Erik's sister's son and James is Erik's older brother's son. It was great hanging out with the family.

I am feeling ill today. I have a sore throat and a slight fever. I don't know if I caught if from Erik's mom or if it's just from work stress. This week I am on survival mode at work. It's my first full week back with the students and I'm also teaching an after school class in preparation for next week's state exams. I'm so thankful that tomorrow is Friday. I can't wait until my body gets used to sleeping less and waking up so early. My next day off is Memorial Day, something to look forward to.

I've developed a strange new habit since I've been married. I wake up in the middle of the night because of the need to urinate. I have never woken up in the middle of the night before I got married for such a reason. I am a heavy sleeper. I wish I could get rid of this new habit since I feel like it is taking away from the quality of my sleep. Last night I woke up sometime after 2AM and could not go back to sleep right away after the bathroom trip. No wonder I was so tired at work today. Is this what sex does to females? Because one of my married friends confided in me that the same thing happened to her when she got married.

I celebrated Mother's Day by leaving a message on the answering machine for my mom and going out to dinner with Erik's family at MPV Seafood Restaurant with his cousins' family. It was nice actually celebrating Mother's Day for a change.

April was such a great month. I got married, went on the honeymoon, and slept half of the month. After the wedding was over, I went into major sloth mode. Although I still had packing and unpacking to do. As much as I complain and stress about my job, I am thankful for the extended vacations I have twice a year. It was so nice being able to just let myself be lazy after the frenzy of all the wedding preparations. I felt like doing nothing and that's exactly what I did.

Now it's May and time to go back to work. I'm still unpacking and there's a lot that needs to be organized. Better get cracking!