Currently Listening Back at One By Brian McKnight see related

So today is officially Day 6 of my South Beach Diet.. and i'm finally getting into it.. and liking it.. the first week i must say was HELLA hard.. man.. no carbs.. no sugar.. no coffee.. no ALCOHOL!!! OMG!!!  haha.. it was like i was being tortured.. But.. i am coming around to it..this is my diet now..basically..

breakfast...

       V8 (at first i HATED it .. but now its well not so bad..yay!)

       1 Scrambled egg

       1 cup decaffinated coffee

lunch...

      veggie burger (no bun) w/cheese or grilled chicken breast or salad with balsamic vinegar

      string cheese

       big glass of light soy milk (Mmmm..!!)

dinner...

      grilled salmon or sirloin steak or ground sirloin hamburger or tuna salad

      steamed broccoli or steamed spinach or salad

      another big glass o' soy.. mmm..

dessert..

      sugar-free fudge pop.. mmm.. haha.. only 70 calories..

Hey.. don't knock my diet until you've heard the results so far.. well.. since i put on like 6 lbs.. on my 2 month vacation.. from sweden and mammoth and lots o' beer in the bay.. haha.. i've lost that and lost 3 additional lbs.. so yea.. its working! this week i'm combining the diet with exercise.. and hoping to eventually lose 10-12 more lbs.. by the end of my diet.. but the hardest is not having my pasta or rice.. wahhhh.. or coffee or beer.. uhhh.. blah.. but yea i feel a lot more in control of my diet.. its a good thing..

So now that i'm pretty much sure that i'm going to be moving up to sf in november.. i got accepted to cca today! yay..! I have to tell my boss the bad news.. uhh.. he's going to be so upset.. he has no idea that i'm only staying for another month.. oh wells.. i'm excited! haha.. since i'm leaving soon.. i've been picking up all these shifts at work.. i worked a double today.. and then one on wednesday and another on sunday! YIKES.. what's my prob!? But strangely i'm enjoying it.. i am getting all into socializing with customers.. and having fun.. maybe its because i know i'm leaving soon.. i'm seriously going to miss all my islands family.. they're all really weird in their own way but i love them so much.. i realized that i think i've been there about 2 years.. wow.. i hope i keep in touch with em.. we all grew really close together this past summer.. it was awesome.. like since i've been drinking lots of soy milk now.. i bring it in water bottles.. and they all tease me and say i'm drinking breast milk.. haha.. or as they say "milk from the tit".. haha.. i'm like EWWW NO WAY!! haha..

Yea.. but this past weekend i spent a lot of time just reflecting on my life and everything.. it was a good time for me.. rye was busy with his friends.. and since i've stopped drinking alcohol on my diet.. i haven't been going out with my work friends as much.. so i had a lot of time to myself to just think.. it was really restoring.. I think i found some much needed clarity and peace.. i finally feel like i'm in control of my life and doing what i want to do.. its amazing..

I'm sooo excited too.. my cousin, David and his wife Yumi just had a baby.. and he is sooo cute.. his name is Kyle Tsuyoshi Yamazaki.. and i can't wait to meet him.. they sent me the pics today... i'm so excited because i get to finally be a real auntie!! yay! isn't he cute!!

Awww.. he is soooo adorable!

Anyway.. yea.. i'm just happy with everything that is going on these days.. the other day.. when it semi-rained.. i got all excited because i was making a dish with celery.. and the combination of the celery smell and the rainy weather made me think of the weather change and think of the holidays approaching.. one of my FAVVV times of the year.. it makes me feel soo warm and fuzzy to think of it.. yay.. kay i'm weird.. its only sept.. but yea.. i love the changing seasons.. as limited as they may be in so cal.. haha..

Currently Listening Breakaway By Kelly Clarkson see related

HEY all.. its been a really long time since i've written on my xanga.. but I've missed it dearly.. haha.. A lot has changed since i've written.. but yea.. i wanted to introduce y'all to my new fam.. (a.k.a. pictures below) haha.. I had a great summer.. I got a chance to travel a lot.. I went to Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden, Copenhagen, Denmark, Helsinki, Finland, Mammoth and to the Bay Area for about a total of 2 months... It was a great time to get away and clear my thoughts and think about life... at my ripe age of 23.. haha..

Over the course of my traveling time.. I really gave myself the opportunity to explore any and all possibilities for the road ahead.. something that I think EVERYONE should do at some point in their lives.. and it opened my eyes.. it scared me at first but also made me realize that you have to definately live your life the way YOU want it to be.. life is too short.. and well you have to do what you want or else it will end before you know it...

On this note.. I have decided to move to the big city of San FRANcisco.. haha. YAY!! Don't worry.. its not something that i've decided on my usual spur of the moment decision-making ventures.. i've put real thought into it.. i mean REAL thought like 24-7-365.. haha.. its been on my mind a LOT! And.. after weighing out all options.. its the place i definately want to be right now...

I guess things have been kind of up in the air until quite recently... when I decided to apply to culinary school.. YES.. CULINARY SCHOOL!!! Crazy?? maybe.. but yea.. I recently had an interview with them today.. and they were very impressed by my enthusiasm and creativity.. wow.. suprising huh.. haha.. yea.. so if things go well.. I will be attending the California Culinary Academy: Le Cordon Blue Program in Baking and Pastry Arts!!!! I CANT WAIT!! I'm scheduled to be starting December 12th  in SF.. and it looks soo.. fun.. think big white hats and chocolate everywhere!? My admissions counselor, Leng told me that our first big project is to design our own wedding cakes?! WOW.. i'm hoping mine is not a disaster.. hahaha.. maybe now i can join dana.. in becoming an in demand person for weddings.. seeing to it that she sings and does wedding photography.. she's a hot commodity.. maybe we can start our own business.. haha..anyways.. yea.. so my life has been changing dramatically..

My next big task is to find a place to live in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood... i guess i could learn to love the hippies.. haha.. i already have a lovely roommate, leilani.. haha... and hopefully we will find a place soon... My admissions counselor also told me that the school has lots of connections so they will find me a part-time job at like the Ritz-Carlton or Neiman Marcus.. somewhere cool.. so I was like SWEEET!!! Since she wants me to start in December.. I feel as though finally I have got the ball rolling.. things are moving forward and before I know it.. i will drop my status as a los angelean.. haha..

Today, I was watching Oprah.. and yea.. i know but i love that show.. and Kelly Clarkson was on.. she gave me some wisdom on my South Beach Diet struggle.. she was like "well I'm really grounded in my faith.. so sometimes i'll be on a diet... and some times i'll be eating ding dongs.. haha" that made me feel a lot better.. She also sang her song, "Breakaway" which totally captures how I'm feeling right now..

"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky
I'll make a wish
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget all the ones that I loved
I'll take a risk
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway..."

Yea.. that's how i'm definately feeling right now.. ready to take a really big risk.. but not willing to give up easily.. hopefully things will all work out for the better..and I will feel free and alive and like I am pursuing my goals.. I think that its the start of something new and exciting.. anyway.. here is my new bay area family.. yay!

Carlos, Me and Ryan

\

Ryan C. and muah..

Me and Meliss..

Gordon..Sonya..Ryan.. Henry.. and Me

Keak..Ryan..Claudine..and Me

Me and Leilani.. my future roomie!

Yay.. i'm so happy..life is good!

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." -Helen Keller

This is my new quote/inspirational thought that I am trying to rely for this week.. life has just been really hard on me lately, and I am realizing that this is an important phase of my development. I want sooo.... badly to become successful already, like so many of my friends, but I also know that if someone were to just hand me success wrapped up in a pretty little box, it wouldn't mean the same thing as it would if I really struggled and labored and strived over it. I realize that I am going through that now.. crawling.. on my hands and knees, trying to learn how to walk.. every step closer to standing up, is another open door..