my new year's project

well i think my sister has an awesome idea. for one year she is taking at least one picture every day. so i am doing the same this year and this project for me starts Jan 1, 2007 and ends Jan. 1, 2008. so if you see me going around being a crazy lady and taking pictures now you know. I will try and post them up on my blog for you all to see. :) i hope you all have a happy new year and may your year be full of love, happiness and growth. love you all.~Manda Panda

A Year in review

Well it is now the end of the year and it is time to reflect on what happened during 2006 to my life.
This year I have had a lot of experiences both good and bad. here are some highlights.
*my roommate decided to move out and then i got another roommate Chelsey for 4 days and she moved out -so i had my room to my self the rest of the school year.

*The formation of the ACME string Quartet-this is the quartet i play in. ACME stands for the first initial of everyone first name in the quartet (Amanda, Chue, Mallory, Erin).
*I got to ride my bike two miles to O'Dea elementary school twice a week to mentor a 1st grader who was so cute and I did study hall and tutor for the 2 4th grade classes. -the study hall was more like lunch detention and I had no mentor teacher to help me with the students. it was me and 18 at the most 4th graders. that was a big challenge because i had no clue how to control them at first but i managed to get through the semester.

*Passed the playing portion of my upper division qualifying exam but failed the Oral questions section-other than that i passes all 8 of my finals in the month of May

*I work all summer in the hot sun for the city of Northglenn for the second summer in the horticulture department. I sure lost a lot of weight and I learned a lot of useful skills on how to landscape, (mulching, weeding, planting, watering and how to drive really really big trucks through a drive through at a fast food place.) I loved working with my co-workers -they made the time fly fast on them 100 degree weather days when we had to put mulch every place it seemed in the City of Northglenn. I must say that city workers are not lazy people. if you ever see a city worker sitting down it is not because they are lazy but because they are tired from doing hard labor. The streets guys are the funniest, sick humored guys around town...they are very hard working guys..i truly appreciate them for what they do.
*my mom and I took tap dancing lessons-we had fun learning something new-we learned Broadway tap, Hoofing and clog dancing.
*my sister had back surgery and now has this awesome pirate scar on her back.
*I turned 21 and went gambling instead of drinking-and i am very proud of that.-my grandpa turned 76 and we went on the Farris wheel at the Adams County Fair -it is our tradition to ride it and look over the city--such a wonderful memory.
*I started my senior year of college in Aug.- the first senior year
*Co-president of O-team
*After 2 and 1/2 months of studying I barley passed the rest of my Upper Division Qualifying Exam
*I found more of my best friends one happens to be my roommate Jeanette who is truly a fantastic person.
*I got a creepy guy that was harassing me so i called the police on him and now he leaves me alone.
*I attended my very first home coming game at CSU in my 4 years-at the Bonn-fire there was a streaker that ran through the marching band.

*I attended watermelon day with my family in Rocky ford--that was a scary rainy ride home but it was good watermelon...the best in the world-"Rocky Ford has the best Mellon's"
*I got to do some teaching at CLP jr. high in la Porte Colorado.- i taught an 8th/9th grade choir class. that was scary because i don't know a whole lot about singing but it was all good at the end. they were all very fun and i enjoyed teaching at that age level.
*I went to my first authentic Mexican super market in Commerce City- it is a cool place. It is a chain store from Mexico. they have all kinds of good food.
*I went to my first ever drag show at CSU--that sure what an eye opener for me. It is sad when guys legs looks better in a dress than yours.
*Jeanette came home with me for a few days-we made tamales, went to the Botanical Gardens, took Jeanette to her first Catholic mass and watched Happy Feet. It was such a fun time.
*I passed all my classes but one-i have to re-take my Humans and other Animals class because of several bad grades on my tests. i have been bummed about that.
*over break i have got to celebrate Christmas with my family. dig out from 2 really big snow storms with in a week of each other. the first snow storm left 33 inches of snow for my dad and i to dig out. the second one was only about 6 inches at the most. watch too many movies -i would have to say the best ones are Eragon, Night at the Museum, She's the Man and of course Pirates of the Caribbean Dead man's chest. i also finished my new little cousin's baby blanket.
*i am proud of my self for finishing my first journal ever in my life as well as keeping track on my weight loss goals.
*greatest accomplishment is losing 20 pounds since this summer- i have gotten to the point where i can run 2 miles with out walking and i can run a mile in 12 min and 40 sec. these are all things i could not do at the beginning of the year.
*i think the best thing i have heard this year was my god son and his older brothers laughter.
*the best sight would have to be people happy

many things can happen in a person's year. may god protect you and bless you with a wonderful new year. thank you to all the people in my life who has influenced , helped and shared your life with me. i appreciate all you have done for me. Happy New Year.

the holiday spirit

Hello Hello to all the readers of this blog. Quick update on me. I am now enjoying break for the past 3 days. I have been shopping, to my cousins graduation from CU Denver, sort of getting some sleep, Visiting family and the best part wrapping presents.

Man what a hard job. Last night I spent 4 hours wrapping my mom's Christmas presents. I even got to put ribbon and a name tag on my presents. lol. Kudos to the gift wrapping people at the department stores. I don't know who they can do that job for 8hrs 5 days a week or so. but i guess like any job you either really enjoy it or you suck it up. I think it is kind of fun --you get to be creative on how you decorate your gifts and figure out how you best can wrap them very odd shaped gifts and get to laugh at the result. i was up to my yan yan as my grandma says in wrapping paper and ribbons. it was fun.

Tis the season to give. I think all year should be the season to give. Yes even on them really bad days when all you want to do is smack that person who is irritating you, you should really take a step back and listen to that person. Every day we take advantage of little gifts that others give us. these gifts that i am talking about are things like Hugs, kisses, a simple recognition, material items, an open ear to listen to you and your ideas, opening the door for you, ect.. I know that I do take advantage of the gifts people give me sometimes. But I really try hard to give back to them in any way that i can.
Think about how many lives you touch. It could be good or bad. Either way you are apart of a great network of people's life's. now it is your choice to decide what you want to do with that network of people. I choose to share and give what i can to all the people i know the best way i know how. It is so hard to tell people how much you appreciate them especially if you really like them and you are shy. But it is something that should be shared with everyone. To all my friends and family I just want to tell you all that i think you are all wonderful and amazing people in your different ways. I wish for all of you to know how much i treasure our time together and how much I love you. You all have a wonderful time with your family and friends this holiday season. You are all in my prayers. ~Manda Panda

P.S. Keep a look out for some of that snow. maybe it will be a white Christmas for us this season. ;)

My friends

Now that I am in college i get to meet all kind of people. I have made wonderful friends here who are each unique and wonderful in their own ways. I love getting to chat and hang out with my friends and laugh. we do a lot of laughing which lifts my spirits every day.

My Roommate this year has truly become my best friend. We are so much a like it is some times scary but fun at the same time. My previous roommates and I have never really clicked as fast as Jeanette and I have. I am actually sad to leave for break because i won't get to see her for an entire month.

well this last week Jeanette took me to the marching band banquet. I had never been to the marching band banquet here at CSU because no one had ever invited me before and i am not in marching band. I had a blast at the event...they had really good food and we had fun dancing, getting all dolled up, and walking in the cold with our dresses on. brrr.... we took a bunch of pictures that i wanted to shair with you.

If you have not met my roommate she is the blond hair girl in my pictures and the other girl is our friend Angelia.

Since Finals week is approaching like tomorrow, last night Jeanette and I decided that we would open our Christmas presents. This was so much fun. I got her some stuff from Body Works and a Cheesy Christmas movie "a Muppet's Christmas carol" and she got me the funniest present next to the big pickle jar filled with my favorite pickles and a pickle grabber that my sister got me. She gave me a pirate kit as displayed by me in the pictures and really cool sun glasses.

This present was just so fun that i am still excited by it. We got lots of laughs in as well as funny memories. In the group picture it is Jeanette, me Monica in the top row. then Natalie and some random guy who was just visiting someone on the floor and wanted to be in the picture. their reactions when they saw me was so funny.

They did not know what to think. it was priceless. I love college just because you can be random and funny like this. I hope that this will never change and i can have fun in my life and not care what people think.

"Make them Laugh Make them Laugh Make them Laugh!"-Donald O'Connor (singing in the rain)

My life un-plugged

Sorry for not writing in a while. Happy December my friends.

I love this time of the year. many good things happen...from the endless Christmas tunes that play on the radio, family spending time with each other telling stories about their experiences, all the way to gazing out side watching big fluffy snow flakes gracefully fall to the ground while sipping on a cup of your favorite hot tea. Such beauty, joy and giving happens at this time of the year.

there is so much in this world to be thankful for. I think people lose sight what wonderful things they have in front of them. They take them for granted and over looked due to the blinders that get put on their eyes from the every day stress. I am not writing this to lecture you about what is good in this life that is something you have to figure out on your own. I have been realizing how lucky i have been all my life to be loved and cared for all my life.

Some days i find my self holding back myself telling my self i am not good enough, smart enough and will never be. I think that is why i am shy around people. My sister asked me why i am so loud and funny around my family and not when i am around other people i do not know. i think i have an answer to that question now. this might sound dumb but it is because i am afraid of people judging me. I hate when people judge others or making assumption about them without getting to know the person just by looks, what they said to you when you first met them or by how they act. Now do not get me wrong. i have Judged others in my life but I really try hard to get to know people and accept them for who they are. I would never want to change them in any way and i only hope that they would not want to change who i am as a person because I love who I am. Even if a person has made a mistake i will forgive them and i hope that they find the right path for the future.

Life is a confusing place, but we all must find a way to Live it to the fullest. By being closed minded and not being accepting or understanding of people or different things in this world, we are missing out. Just remember to never love too little. let the people around you that you love them. the word Love has so many meanings. all meaning which are wonderful in every way. I think that Barbra De Angelis put it beautifully

"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver."

So go make that difference in someones life. be happy and love others as you would want to be loved and you will go far in life.

So to all my fiends and family I love you all and wish you a safe and happy day.

Tamalies

well this weekend was a busy one. My roommate spent the weekend with my family and me. I am sure it was quite a culture shock but i think she had fun. the highlights of the weekend were: we made tamales, watched movies including a very cute movie called Happy Feet, went to the Botanical gardens and took my roommate to her first Catholic mass. :) Yuppers. can't get a grasp of the Hispanic culture without making tamales and going to church. just messing. ;)

My family tradition

Almost every year my family on my mom's side gets together the weekend before Thanksgiving to make Tamales for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is quite a big task. It usually takes two days to make the tamales. The first day is the prep day. my grandma, dad, and uncles are busy cutting up the pork and making the chili that is used to stuff the tamales with.

The next day all the ladies, my Grandma, aunts, cousin, sister and me, get together to assemble the tamales. We do invite others to join who are not in the family so that they can join in on the fun.

This year we had Karen and Stephanie (who are my sisters friend and have become my family's friend as well) as well as my roommate Jeanette help us.

Now if you are wondering where are the guys in my family. Well the majority of them are not around due to work or other plans. but my Dad, Gandpo and one of my uncles help us carry the pressure cooker and watch it while it cooks. :)

It is such a fun time because i get to take part in a cultural tradition that was started by my Grandma. We take much pride in our tamales. It has almost become our main course at Thanksgiving. You know we have tamales with a side of turkey. They are good. We have the assemble of a tamale down to an art form. We each have a job depending on your experience with an exception of the people who are helping out. You see I am the youngest of the bunch making the tamales so my jobs started off at the lowest level and has progressed to higher levels. I started off washing the ojas, and the dishes. As i have gotten older i have learned how to spread the masa on the ojas, mix the masa with my hands, cut aluminum foil, baby sit the little kids and this year i learned how to stuff the tamales with the Chili. *grin*

but some of the other jobs are wrapping the finished tamales in foil so that they don't explode every where in the pressure cooker and making chili. but the chili making is the top job and that is up to my grandma. without a good chili then we don't have good tamales.

well that is a gimps of one of my family traditions.

My day with Jeanette

Well i usually go home for the weekend but this weekend i am busy with school stuff. well i decited to take the day off and spend time with my roommate Jeanette. WE had a fun and random day. i just loved it.


this is Jeanette at one of our fun random moments that the student center but that story comes later.






It started off with going to get breakfast at the egg and I. such a good place. i got to eat my wonderful blueberry pancakes and an egg, my fave. and Jeanette got some raspberry or cranberry pancakes. well we ate and then decited to go next door to Jo-Anne's fabric store just to look. we spent a good 1/2 just wondering around that store feeling fabric and looking at all the little nick nacks. it was fun.






then we got back to our room and i decited to teach her how to knit. She cought on very quick and i am very proud of her. She is not addicted to knitting. opps... well as we knitted we watched ELF, 10 Things i hate about you and Batman and Robin. All really good movies. wel then decited to go experiance the CSU fall drag show.













I did not know what to expect. It was my first time at a drag show. well we got to the student center where the show was at, and we were walking down the halls to get to the location. We knew when we arived at that location when we saw a few drag queens wondering in the halls as well as a guy running around in his black underware and a Bra. well we were trying to get in and the guy that was running around in his underware decited to hide behind Jeanette and I while a group of people walked by. this was an Awkward turtle moment for Jeanette and me. well as the show started i was impressed at how good the guys looked in dresses. better than me in some cases.





this was kind of strange. and yes thoes are guys... well the show was both men and women dressed in drag and they were lip singing to music and dancing around. below are some clips that i took with my camera. it was just quite an experiance... wow is all i have to say...






If you ask me if i will do that again next year... maybe is the reply that you will get from me. well have a nice day and enjoy the videos...







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6usDafi2oI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU8KhorraVc





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NPxJGHXRUY

Awkward Turtle moment

Don't you just love Awkward turtle moments. these are the moments when you are just put into awkward moments and they are just kind of random.

well i think they are funny because i get to whip out my awkward turtle hand gesture.
here is my story...
If you did not know I live in a residence hall that does not have a dining center that is open for dinner. so i have to walk my self, or do some extreme skipping (see joy's blog), over to the nearest dining center. Also there is this guy named Andre that lives in the floor beneath me that was working in the lobby one early morning and decided to talk to me while i was working so that he can stay awake. So now every time he sees me he has this need to say hello to me. this has been going on for maybe a month. but he just says hello and that is about it.

well last night as i was leaving the dining center holding and eating my Delicious vanilla ice creme cone, Andre was walking in to the dining center and saw me. He told me hello and was tyring to hug me. he realized what he was doing and then patted me on my arm instead. it was just an awkward turtle moment for me. I don't really even know the guy and there he was trying to hug me. well i told him hello and walked out the door doing my turtle hand gesture. The kicker of the night was i had a back to back awkward turtle moment.

as i chucked my way back to my room I pass Green hall which is the police station area. well i noticed two police officers standing by a patrol car. well one guy was standing behind the other and smoothly checking to see if no one was around. well he did not see me. He let a big fart rip right there. now i know i am not in elementary school any more, but it was so hard not to bust up laughing. after he let one rip, he looked around even more. well this time he realized that i was around that area and he was just watching me walk by at a good distance from him. i was really trying hard to contain my self, but i let a few giggles out here and there. i heard him mutter sorry as i walked by. but i am sure that it was an awkward turtle moment for him.

well that is my story-Manda Panda

jummpin willikers

YA about the title. i was just being strange.

nothing much is happening in my life right now. i have been busy with trying to get all my homework done, working, running and playing my cello. I have spent a lot of time practicing and playing. it has been crazy. I have a concert next week that i do not feel ready for. I am getting one of my pieces down but the other is very difficult.

i am boring. same thing every day it seems.

The above pic is of Total body sculpt with Gillade. it can be found on fit TV. this is the exercise program that i use when i don't go running. It sure kicks my butt in the morning.

I sure like exercising. i especially like to run and get into my zone were nothing can break my peace. I have been working hard since this summer to lose weight. I have been very successful and I have been happy with the transformation of my body. So far i have lost 19 lbs. that is a lot. I am almost rid of my sophomore 20. :) now to rid my self of my freshman 15 then i will have reached my goal. But little at a time and I will make it. It is so easy to gain the weight and so hard to get it off and keep it off.

well if something exciting happens or funny i will post again on my blog-Manda Panda

Happy November

Happy 1st of November. :) it is the morning after Halloween, i am at work and it is really really really cold. i am cheating. i brought down my blanket to keep me warm and comfort me while i hear strange sounds out in the lobby.

Yesterday was a very fun day. i got to spend the morning at a jr. high school. the kids were so hyper at the beginning of class and then they turned on the teacher and started to fight and express their frustration out on their teacher. but then i got to come back to my dorm and dress up for Halloween. I got to be the crazy cat lady but then it got changed to just a cat lady because i was having trouble being frumpy enough. but i thought it worked out for the better. i saw quite a few people dress up for Halloween mostly at night time. i guess that is when all the weirdos come out to play. ;)

My roommate and i went to the Organ concert last night and got turned away because the 1st show was so packed you would have thought it was against fire code to have that many people in the music building. we went to the 2nd showing and we were not disappointed. but during that time that we were waiting i got to try on Jeanette's (my roommate) purple wig that she bought. the combination between my beautiful red lipstick that Jeanette bought me, the purple wig, a red boa, and really tall high hills, i transformed into Kitty La Mea. it was so funny. but i returned to being a cat lady.

i look like a drag queen. lol

Jeanette is so funny

At the concert i noticed that a lady that was sitting behind me had on a shirt that has cats all over it, jeans, and bright pink faded lipstick on. she also had a fuzz-like head band on her head. i saw her showing off the cat shirt and decided to show her mine and told her that i was the cat lady. i also showed her my white kitty and she got all excited to see it. she then told me that she was the local cat groomer here at Fo.Co. this made my day because she truly was a cat lady and i was dressed like her. i really wanted to take a picture of this but i did not want to be rude because it seems like she dresses like that all the time and i was kind of making fun of people who dress like that. but i have to say that i hit the nail on the head with my costume last night.

the Organ concert was good. i started to get a head ache after awhile but all the vital organ pieces were played to make a wonderful Halloween concert. ride of the Valkyries and star wars melodies were the high light of the concert i thought.

carving pumpkins

Yea what a fun time of the year. i love carving pumpkins. it is such a fun thing to do to show off your skills.

this year i brought on my pumpkin carving skills. i carved a cat in my pumpkin and it looks so cool. but i think the best part of carving pumpkins is to gut them out. it is squishy and gooey and fun. i love the smell of them too. i had so much fun. my pumpkin is the perfect addition to my Halloween costume. i am going to be the CRAZY CAT LADY. i already kind of fit that description. i have 2 cats that i am obsessed about and i love all cats and other animals.

I gave my kitties a bath today. they were not too happy about that but they needed one really bad. i also got to spend time with my mom dad and sister. it is always nice to be with family. well it is getting late and i should get to bed. for all you who read this. happy pumpkin carving. ~Manda panda

Journal

I love my Journal. I just finished one a few weeks ago and i started a new one. it is like writing your life story from your own perspective. the best part is, you can write about anything you want with out others seeing it unlike a blog. A journal is a place were i can express what i feel at that exact moment and i can not get that moment back. It is fun to read back at what i have written. to see my ups and downs. I recommend that people write in a journal. it is a fun way to get to know your self.

Well i have not written in my blog in a while. nothing is really new with me. I am excited for my concert this week. it is my steel band concert. i am sorry to all my friends who i keep hounding to go to my concert. i just think that it is a cool thing and want to share it with you. I am currently at work watching Ghostbusters. it is a good movie.

umm... i have been studying hard this week for a test in one of my classes. that is where i have been hiding all week. I got to warm-up a 8/9th grade choir yesterday. that was so much fun and the class was very good and responsive to all the things that i did.

Last week i got pinkeye but i am better now hopefully. i got my flu shot this last weekend and i got a clean bill of oral health from my dentist. so that is cool cool. not really. i ran out of things to write about so i think i will end my blog with this. Be bold and be happy.-Manda Panda

the New target

this weekend was so fun and random. on sat i got to go to the new Super Target that is down the street from my house. it is so big. my mom and I spent about an hour in that store and we only got 1/2 way through the store. I was amazed at how different that store is compaired to the one that is about 22 blocks away. the older super target has everything bilingual and the new target did not. i have never been in a target that was not bilingual. it was strange. the new target was so quite and empty and had a lot of suv's parked in the parking lot. ya so i love target but it was just a strange place.

other fun things i did this weekend was spend time with my family. i got to go to the pumpkin patch with my parents, my Nina, My cousin's Isaiah, and Jake my godson. they are so so so cute. i just love them to death. Isaiah broke his finger so he was all wrapped up. He was very picky on what kind of pumpkin he wanted. a nice big orange one, only the majority of the ones we looked at were green. they were green because they had too much moisture this season. but we found him a nice orange one. after the pumpkin patch we stoped at a dairy farm festival. it was so random. you had the farm animals, tractors, and bad country western band. oh you can not forget the farmers trying to sell us city folks bird feed. that was so random but the kids seemed to be enjoying them selves.

well.. that was my weekend.

Home Comming fun!!

"Fight on you Stalwart ram team on to the goal
tear the rebels line asunder, as down them field we thunder
Knights of the green and gold, fight with all your might
fight on you stalwart ram team FIGHT!, FIGHT!, FIGHT!
GO RAMS!"

well i did not write this week. so before i write about home coming i will give some highlights of my week.

This week was such a wonderful weekend. I got to go to 2 concerts, both had my roommate in them. the best concert was the Jazz band concert. they had brought in a German Big band that was amazing. I was also impressed at the skills of some of my friends. it is fun to see them be into what they are playing. I took 2 test this last week. i know i did alright on one and the other i will soon find out. some good news..no trouble with any creepy guys this week. :) always good news. I got to teach a mini-lesion at a Jr. High as well. it was such a blast to be in front of the classroom passing along knowledge. it truly is a nice feeling.

Home coming:

Yea for CSU home coming weekend. I have had a blast this weekend spending time with my college chums here at school. Lets see..On Friday I went to the Bond-fire and the lighting of the A. (for those of you who do not know what the A is, it is a big white A that is painted on a hill that is over the sunny lubick(?sp) football field, that stands for the "Aggies". back in the day before the Rams CSU was known as the Aggie's and the mascot was a bull dog.) Any ways...I got to see Jeanett play in marching band and see the female streaker that ran in through the band and out by were my roommate was standing. it was so funny. and they lit the A and had a kind of lame fireworks show but you know it is fire works. fireworks are so awesome especially when you get to shair it with your friends or family.

me and my friend Kenny


Me and my friend Meghan


my friends Mike and Becki

the marching band

cam the ram the 20th

cam the ram the 21st

the parade was a blast. i got to see my old pal Meghan and her family. that was fun. i also got to sit with my Friends up here. here are some pics of the parade. I guess Cam the ram the 20th was retired and we now have cam the ram the 21st. he has cool horns. i also got to see my friends/roommate march in the parade. that was cool. I also got a lot of free stuff. a mini foam finger, a cool pen and a can cooler thing a ma bob.

my roommate Jeanette sporting my foam finger

The game was so exciting. From the band, my friends that i went with, the cool smoke ring from the cannon and the sweet win over Nevada 28-7. it was a good game. :) also the fact that CU lost again to make their season 0-6 was even better. (just kidding Joy ;) ) I like to tease my sister. it is fun.

well i hope that you all had a nice weekend and that you have a nice day.

~Manda Panda

weekend adventure at WALMART

WOW! I must say that i had an interesting experience at Walmart in Thornton Town center (the old Biggs to those of us that remembers that) this weekend. I had gone on Sunday to Walmart, or Walmark as my grandparents say, with my mom, sister and grandparents. My Grandpa decided to say at the McDonald's that is in the store and people watch while the rest of us shopped.
well, first thing off we lose my grandma in the store for a good 20min. this just reminded me of the times she would take me and my cousins to K-mart or walmart and just leave us in the toy section on accident but that is a different story. back to my story i finally found my grandma sitting with my grandpa at McDonald's while i was getting my mom and sister a drink. at McDonald's i paid for the drinks, but did not receive the cups. as i was trying to ask the lady for my cups another lady behind me started to rant and rave about how they messed up her order. my grandma saw what was going on and asked another cashier about the cups and i received them. this was the first incident of the rudeness i saw at Walmart.

As i tried to find my mom and sister, i noticed that the store was really busy and had a lot of stressed out people. I have always said that the very close isle that are very tall and packed full of products and all the people at Walmart makes me feel claustrophobic. I finally found my sister and mom and we continued to shop. while we were shopping i almost got ran over by shopping carts about 10 times. people were irritated if you stopped to look at something and would talk to you very rudely. You just see patents yelling at their kids and kid fighting back. screaming and crying kids. it was a nightmare.
I felt like ditching my stuff that i was going to buy when i had to stand in that ever long line while people were yelling at their kids and the checkout people and kids throwing tantrums. oh man i left with such a head ache. i know my sister felt the same way. she said that she would not ever shop their again just because at how rude people were. I hate Walmart as well.

that is the end of my Walmart story.
~Manda Panda

What a crazy week

This week was the strangest week ever. I had an inappropriate phone call this week at 4:30am and I felt very threatened by it, so i called the police and filed a report. so he is not bothering me any more or another girl that is living on the same floor as i do.

other than that i had a wonderful week. I got a lot of practice in on my cello which resulted in an excellent cello lesson. so that made me happy. I mostly stayed low key this week, so i did not do very much.

I am at work right now. I love how there is no one up at 4am except me. so what i do to fill my time is exercises. I just got done working out and now i am watching a movie.

today's movie: Sky High

What a great movie. It makes me want to be a super hero. :) it would be cool.

well i got some homework and note taking to do before i go practice with my quartet later this morning.

have a great day

~Manda Panda

what a week

my current mood: content but sleepy

umm... some one has created a starwars musical. If you get a chance listen to "hans your man" so funny and random. I love it.

http://www.chuckwagner.com/starwars.html

well this morning's movie is : STARWARS: Episode III

Yup starwars fan. this is Manda's movie pic today. what a great movie. It ties the gap between old and new. The music for all the starwars movies are so awesome. It would be so cool playing in an orchestra doing blockbuster movie music. oh man that would be the coolest thing ever.

(this is an orchestra rehearsal of starwars)

Oh man just to hear that never forgettable opening theme song is so amazing. I can also hear the influences that the composer Orff has on John Williams for the Starwars music. if you listen or play Carmina Burana and then some of the music of starwars you know what i am talking about. last semester we played Carmina burana and all i could think of when i heard it was that sounds like starwars music.

well this week has been a crazy one. I have been with out a computer for 3 days now. I am using the one at work. It is such a pain in the butt. i have had 2 computer people look at it and they do not know what is wrong. I might have to re-load windows on it. what a pain. *sigh*

the orchestra concert on Wed. was very good. all i have heard is positive comments about it. that is a very good thing. 2 things that was bad was the stupid ticket situation and my roommate lost her car keys. she did not find them.

Thursday:

not a good day for the most part.

I got talked to rudely by the grad TA in my ed 350 class. Here is what the situation is. I get a ride from another music ed student and she is not very happy to give me rides because it is out of the way. i have no other transportation to get to CLP JR. high by 7:30am. i would bike or ride the bus if they had a bus that goes to La Porte or if it was not so far away.

In this class we get to go into the Jr. high schools here in Pouder valley school districts to do service learning. the teachers place us at either CLP or Lincoln. we observe and do some student service learning for 2 hrs and then meet up with the class at the schools to talk about what we observed and what not. well I have to meet up with the graduate TA during the group meeting. I have 4 other music kids in that class and to accommodate us the main teacher for that class told us that we can rotate from the 2 Jr. high schools and 1 high school. this plan is not well thought out. Yesterday the girl that gives me rides told me that she is going to go to the high school so i said well i can go to Lincoln so that i can just ride the bus that runs right in front of the school. this is the plan. I went to see if that was OK with the TA and she was just very rude to me. I explained that my ride was going to the high school and that i wanted to go to Lincoln so that i can have a ride to the schools because i did not have a car. and then she cut me off before i could tell her that i was going to see if the other music kids at Lincoln can exchange with me that day. she shot me down quick fast and in a hurry. basically she said "NO. you can not go to Lincoln because you do not have a car and i need you here for our class meeting. so you will just have to be here all semester." I asked her what was the point of the rotation that the main teacher set up? and she said she did not know. walked away because i was really mad at her by the rudeness she showed me. she later said that she was going to talk to the main teacher about it but for now that i needed to stay and the girl that i get rides from cannot go to the high school because she did not want to overwhelm the music director there. this does not make sence because the music director there is happy to have us at his school and this is a planned thing.

people's actions are stupid sometimes.

I was just bummed that my computer is not working as well yesterday. I had 2 people who are good with computers look at it yesterday and they had no clue what was up with my computer. *shrug* cello class was not fun either because my cello teacher was picking on me a bit because i am not as good of a sight reader as the other 2 people in the class that day. I have actually improved on that greatly and i think that my small ensemble skills are improved as well. but my cello lesson was good and my quartet rehearsal was good as well. I am excited for the ACME string quartet. (that is the quartet I am in now) we play so well together. I think that we have a shot at playing at the chamber group show case concert this year. that would be really cool.

Bad behaviors: well this week i noticed that i have 2 bad behaviors that i have observed in guys that i do not care for.

1. when guys hock Luggies (especially when they are walking behind you) just that sound is so gross

2. I witnessed a guy yesterday while i was eating, talking to 2 girls. while he was talking to these girls he stuck his hand down the front of his pants. now if i was those girls i would be appalled and would steer clear of that dude. EWWWWWW!!!

funny guy behavior:

My roommate was telling me about this guy who also plays french horn who asked her if she wanted to play orchestra excerpts this weekend with him. now that is an odd way to ask a girl out, well it seems like he is asking her out. she accepted his invitation just to see. if he did not mean it that way then she gets to play orchestra excerpts which is good experience for her. :)

today:

I am excited because i get to go home again. I love going home and spending time with my family. it brings me back from my stressful college life and lets me be at peace with my self. I feel a since of normalcy that i miss here at school. I also miss my kitties. so that is good that i get to see them.

well i am at work now. dealing with the gross smell of empty microwave popcorn bag left by the person that worked before me. then i am going to get ready, eat breakfast and try to fix my computer. then i have quartet at 10. i will not forget to go this week. ;) and then i have class at 1pm a study meeting at 2 and class at 3 then off to home i go. :) then i come back on Sunday. i think i am going to go to church in the morning so that i can get back mid afternoon so i can do some homework.

well i am going to end my blog here

~Manda Panda

morning

hello friends who read my blog~

well not much has happened since my last blog yesterday. I did not remember to write that i ran 2 miles yesterday. that was so great. this morning at work i watched the Incredible. i love that movie. it is so cool. I also did and finished my homework and i think i am going to get ahead in my homework so that i will not have to worry about it this weekend and i can have fun. I am still undecided if i should go home this weekend or not. i guess i have to see what is going on at home. oh stink. i have to miss steel band tonight all due to my concert. :( sad day.

I love www.accuradio.com they have the best music. it is very fun to listen to early in the morning. check it out if you have time.

today's goals:
1. enjoy life
2. do well in school
3. practice well on my cello
4. play well at my concert tonight
5. get some rest

early

6:31am-you know i think that i am making getting up early an art form. man, even on my day off from work i have to get up early. Today i get to go to a middle school that is across town. I have to be their at 7:00am. it is crazy and i am mondo tired from last night. i had orchestra dress rehearsal till 10:00pm. by the time i got ready for bed and stretched out and talked with my friends on messenger, it was 11:30. i got to stop going to bed so late.

9:00pm the Jr. High school was cool. I enjoyed observing the students and getting to sing with them in choir. it was fun. I was bummed that the girl that is giving me rides to the school is not very happy with this whole experience. i am glad that she is honest with me. i feel bad for asking her to give me rides to the Jr. high. she does not seem too happy to come and pick me up. i would ride my bike if it was closer and in ft. Collins. i would even ride the bus, but no buses go up to la port. *sigh*
orchestra sounded good and ready for the concert tomorrow. i hope that it goes well. i must stay awake through bolero. i keep on dozing off and losing my place. opps...
my computer is not working. i can not log on to the Internet. the tech people have not called me back. so annoying. you are probably wondering how i am typing on my blog. well i am on the computer at my job. it is actually the next day and i am at work.;)~Manda panda

Yea~weekend time

Happy Day! :) it is almost the weekend. I am looking forward to going home and seeing my family and my cats. Also to get a good home made meal is awesome. I think other than studying, visiting my family, doing the oh so important laundry, i am going to finish my quilt i am making. I am excited. i have only one more row to make and then i am done making my first quilt my my self. :)



This morning I am at work. it is currently 4:36am and Harry Potter was just chosen to be apart of the Tri-Wizard tournament. ya i am watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire right now. I love this movie. out of all the harry potter books my fave are books 4-6. that is when things start cooking in the Harry Potter plot. Anyways, I am not really doing much right now.

School update:
I have my first Humans and other Animals test on Monday. i am nervous about it because it is the first time i have taken a biology class since 9th grade in high school and it is a lot of information to remember. I also have a Dress Rehearsal for orchestra on Monday which i think is going to be a doosy. Our Beethoven piece is sounding a lot better from what we started with. I can now play the really hard cello part in the 3rd movement some what decent sounding. the orchestra is going to need to work a little more for it to sound amazing though. I think this concert on wed. is going to be a mix-bag. i do not think that the pieces fit together. my conductor like to have themes to our concerts, but this time it is just all over the place. Oh well it is good music never the less.

personal update:
Nothing has changed really. i am not so lonely anymore. my friends have helped me to come out of my blue mood. still single...

random note:wow! i have see about 9 people walking around here in the lobby. at 4:50am that is a rare sight. I wonder what is going on. usually i see about 0-2 people between 4 and 6. i think that is strange.

I really want to go back to sleep. i was having such a good night rest. *yawn* this week i have been so sleep deprived that i have felt like a zombie and have been finding it hard to stay awake in class. even in orchestra while playing, i get the urge to go to sleep. It makes if difficult to learn. you know how people say that you need about 8-10hrs of sleep a night. well my norm is about 4-6 hrs a night. and my days are so pack with activities it is no wonder that i am falling asleep all the time.
(yea Harry completed the first task)
well i should start to find pictures on the net for my project that is due today at 12:00. but no worries i am almost done. ;)

soreness

yup just how i suspected, orchestra killed my arms. they felt like noodles after, so i decided to go for a run after orchestra. ya well i ran 2 miles. while i was running i was zoning out and entered my own little world. it was a rush that i get when i run long distance. even if your body is telling you that you hurt, you just keep running because you want to stay in that place of calmness and knowing that every thing is going to be all right. i think it is gods way to comfort me through my hard times of being lonely. you never know when he will touch you.

this early morning, i feel more at peace with my self and sleepy. I am going to take a nap after i take a shower, once i get off of work. i can do this because i have nothing until 11am. well it is now 5am. i think i am going to do some hw so that i won't have to bother with it later.~Manda Panda

lonely

It is amazing how lonely a person can get. I am so use to having lots of people and animals around when i am at home. then i come back up here to school and i feel like i am cut off and left out of the loop from my family. ya i call here and there and talk on messenger, but it is not quite the same. I have a very awesome roommate up here but she is extremely busy, as most music people are, and i find that i am here in my room alone more often than not. I do hang out with my friends but i feel like I am back in high school all over again. Alone, putting up a smile so that people won't suspect that i am not happy being by my self. i need to get out of this self pity mode. it does not suite me very much.
it is funny the majority of my friends that are my close friends are guys except for a few girls.
right now i really want a hug. i hate being alone. *sigh*

well my day is going good other than being lonely. I had to go to CLP Junior high. it is a cute school. very small compared to my middle school. I have orchestra in a while. we are just playing Beethoven's 8th today. Oh joy. i am not sure if my arm will last. i am in a serous need of a massage on my shoulder. it is so tight and it is making my arm and hand hurt. it is from playing a lot and sleeping on it wrong. well i have to go get my cello. i will write in the morning. ~Manda Panda

What a good weekend!

Yea!! Go Rams! CSU won yesterday 14-10 against CU in the Rocky mountain show down. so awesome!
this weekend other than that has been kind of a blah weekend other than the football game. i just have been doing hw, practicing and hanging out with my friends. I do not have much to report. i watched the Bronco game but they were sucking so my roommate and i put of a movie that had bad acting and excellent dancing.

I am currently watching my roommate play sonic and Knuckles on my Sega. it is so fun having my Sega. Very interesting game. i have never played that one before. i only got to play sonic 1 and 2. it is kind of making me dizzy. yesterday i was getting educated on what world of war craft. it is a computer game. it is very interesting. it has good music and graphics on it. i think if i played it that i would die like right away. but i am no good a video games. just watch me play my Sega. i am all about old school. I had to laugh at the oggars on the world of war craft game because they look like big sumo wrestlers with Kiss make-up on. you know the band Kiss~that is who i mean. ya it was quite an experience and i thank my friend for exposing it to me.

today i went to the catholic church up here in Fo. Co. it was interesting how the dynamics are at different catholic churches. at my normal church i really enjoy going to life night (which is church geared to teens). they have awesome skits and music and it is just such a fun time to pray and enjoy god's presence. the church up here is kind of blah. the music is not really enjoyable, the mass is very traditional and i can see why people are turned off by going to mass. Oh not to mention that it seems like i am one of a few young people that go to that church. I rather go to my normal church. i have to laugh at the organ player at the fo co church. she does not keep a constant tempo and it just drags the songs so much. the reason i think this is funny because little things like that drive me crazy because i get drilled all week for stuff like that during school.

well i am going to go practice and order some music for my cello. :) i get to play Haydn's cello concerto in C major. it is a really cool but difficult piece. i am looking forward to learning it. I am nervous about my concert next week. it is coming up so soon and i do not feel ready for it. but hopefully things will change this week. ~ love you all and way to go Rams!
~Manda Panda

End to the week

Happy day!
the week is finally over. i am so happy for this. i have gotten so little sleep, that i am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. I believe that fall is in the air. it is only going to be in the low 70's today. it has not rained yet but i heard that down by my house that it did rain.

I am proud to report that i am almost to my weight loss goal. I can fit into my pants that i wore at my smallest weight in my teen/early adult life. i am excited about this. i have been running and exercising all this summer to get back down to a healthy weight. It is finally paying off. :)

nothing too exciting happened this week. orchestra yesterday was fine. we are just preparing for our concert in a couple of weeks. it sure is coming up quick and we have some hard parts in our music. but with lots of practice, i am able to get them hard spots a little bit better.

Big football game this weekend. Cu vs CSU. i love to give my sister a hard time about it because we are rival schools. it is awesome. :) i love my sister. :) well i am going to find something else to do here at work. ;) ~Manda panda

my week

Well if you look at the time 4:57am you might guess that i am crazy and i am at work right now you would be correct. today i am watching Phantom of the Opera, writing e-mails to face book about how stupid the new format is. honestly it is like face book is stocking you. i do not like it and i am not alone.

news form the outside world of college:

i am sadden about the loss of Steve the crocodile hunter who was killed on Monday by a Sting Ray no less. what a bazaar way to die. It almost unreal. At least he was doing something that he was so passionate about and loved. my heart goes out to his family.

news back at school:
i have not written in awhile.
Monday:
I got to practice on the cello steel pans. that was so much fun. i am excited on the pieces that we are playing. that night on my hall floor, we had a rock painting party to make door stops. I did not paint a rock that night but i was hearing the commotion. when i went out to see what was going on, the girls got the washable pain and was painting people's faces with it. i decided to join in the fun. i had blue paint on my face, it looked like i had a mustache and beard. and then i had music notes on my face as well. it was so funny. after all the girls got their faces painted we went to all the boys floor and some of the girls floor. we opened the doors and started the slow clap thing then got faster. we walked to the middle of the hall and then shouted "Break your self". on 2 of 3 girl floors we sang happy birthday to random people. it was so funny just to see people's confused faces poking out of their rooms just to see why we have all the crazy girls running around in their hall with face paint on. only in college you can do stuff like that.

Tues.:
back in the grind of things. i had one class for 3hrs in the morning, ED 350. we did this ice breaker thing where we played rush sham (rock paper scissors) but you start off as an egg and you have to play other eggs, if you win you get to evolve to a chicken, if you win you get to be Godzilla, if you win then you get to be a SUPER STAR! then if you win you get to stand in a line and sing stop in the name of love. If you are the loser of each rock paper scissors game you have to go down a level. I never realized how bad at rock paper scissors i am. it was just so funny to see everyone walking around as an egg, chicken, Godzilla and Super Star other people.
later that day i had orchestra. we played Beethoven 8th symphony part of the 1st movement, all of the crazy hard 3rd movement and part of the 4th movement. then we played the boring Ravel Bolero. this piece sounds good but it is boring to play. my hand died from having to pizzicato/ strum on my cello for an hour. after orchestra i had to ice my hand. i guess it is the start of the musician's ouch syndrome. that is the time when everything hurts in your body because of playing an instrument. last night was fun. i got to play on my SEGA with my roommate and my other friend who was giving us video game history/facts. it was funny trying to figure out what he was trying to tell us. It was boy code.

i think that men and women have a different code for words and different things. And we spend all our lives trying to figure out what the other is saying. Girls use emotions and other code words just to see if people pick up on what they are saying. guys...well i have not quite figured this one out. i know that the speak the language of gaming which i think only few girls understand. i know i have trouble following. I am just as happy playing video games with out a care in the world for like an hour and then i can happily turn it off. i think total game i have sat down and beaten are only 2 games. Aladdin and sonic the hedgehog. that is about it.

on the lines of talking language patterns, i think the human brain is remarkable in how many languages we can learn with out knowing that we are learning them. for example, i know how to speak English, good common English and slang English, Spanish, some Latin. but if you think about it we have to switch to different speech patterns when we speak to others about different subjects. music has it's own language through different terminology, music notes, and music theory stuff. but all subjects have this type of different languages. sewing, knitting, drawing, building things, working on cars or what ever. we also change how we talk around children or people younger than you. as humans we seem to adapt to our environment to accommodate to what people know and what is easy to explain. it is just mind boggling to me. i like it.

well i should do some home work so that i can get good grades.~Manda panda