Summer School Stress

I generally don't get stressed when it comes to school, but summer school is currently kicking my butt. I knew that my life was going to be crazy for the seven weeks of summer school. Cramming a full semester's worth of class, papers, projects, reading, and presentations into seven weeks was a hefty decision to make, but I made it. My summer session is literally more than half over, but I've only completed about 30-40% of the work left to do. Coupled with stress over finances due to my lack of work, I'm feeling a little bit like I'm barely holding my head out of rushing river water.

That being said, I've found that writing about my stress and making to-do lists helps me to conquer my stress. So this entry mostly serves a purpose for me, but you're welcome to read it and maybe leave a note of encouragement.

Schoolwork I still need to accomplish . . .

EDCG 523: Group Process and Leadership
7/13/10--Read Chapter 9
7/15/10--Read Chapters 10 + 11
7/20/10--Co-lead group
7/22/10--Turn in Structured Group Plan Paper (~13 pages); Present to class my Group Plan
7/29/10--Turn in Journal Summary Paper (~4-5 pages) + Turn in Take-Home Final

EDCG 527: Educational and Career Planning
7/13/10--Read Chapter 16 + 17
7/15/10--Read Chapter 18
7/20/10--Visit College of the Canyons Career Center to observe and interview a career counselor at work; Read Chapters 10 + 11
7/22/10--Read Chapters 13 + 14; Presentation in class about Chapter 14 (~10 minutes); Turn in Career Office Visit Report Paper (~3-5 pages); Turn in Career Notebook Final Project
7/27/10--In-class Final Exam

EDCG 583: Professional Development in Practice
7/14/10--In-class Presentation on Association of College Unions International Communities of Practice (~15 minute presentation)
7/28/10--Turn in paper regarding my thoughts and impressions about Association of College Unions International's Professional Development National Conferences (page requirement not specified)

It is definitely a little overwhelming to look at all this work I still need to do and I'm doing my best to utilize my weekends and other free time to get head-starts on as much as possible. I've finished my preparations for my presentation this Wednesday--I just have to do the actual presentation. Today I'm trying to begin my paper on the Structured Group Plan. I think I'm going to create a plan for a Multi-Cultural Student Support Group using Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo as my theoretical student population. I get a lot of reading done while working--either in the mornings when Chelsea is still asleep, or in the afternoons when she is napping. I hope to continue that trend for the next couple of weeks. Next weekend, I will have to finish my Group Plan paper, put together my Career Notebook, Create my Chapter 14 presentation, and at least begin working on my paper about ACUI's National Conferences. I think I'm going to be a shut-in for that entire weekend, plus most of the weekend after that. Please send good vibes my way . . .

~LOVE~

School's Out (and In) For Summer

There were four very special graduates in my life this Spring. A quick photo round-up:

Alma graduated from USC with her Master's in Social Work

My husband, Fernando, graduated with his Bachelor's in Management from CSUN

My "little" brother-in-law, Bryan, graduated from Bowman High School

Elena, my dad's god-daughter, graduated from 8th grade at Our Lady of the Valley Parish School

There were additional celebrations for each graduate--a BBQ for Alma, a fiesta for Fernando, a dinner with family at Marie Callander's for Bryan, and a huge dinner for Elena at Maggiano's. After all those parties, I'm ready to get my life somewhat back to normal. My summer classes start next week on June 15th. I'm preparing myself for chaos as I'm stuffing 7 units into 7 weeks. That's more than a "full-time" semester's worth of classes into half a semester's time.

Starting next week, this will be my schedule for the next seven weeks:

• Monday: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-4:10pm
• Tuesday: Educational & Career Planning 4:00pm-6:50pm; Group Process & Leadership 7:00pm-9:50pm
• Wednesday: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-4:10pm
• Thursday: Educational & Career Planning 4:00pm-6:50pm; Group Process & Leadership 7:00pm-9:50pm
• Friday: Nanny Chelsea 6:15am-1:15pm

I'm also taking another 1-unit class, but the schedule is still TBA. Summer classes will be over on August 5th. Then I'll have another month off from classes before Fall semester starts on September 2nd. I'm kinda amazed at how quickly my Master's program is going. By May 2011, I'll be a graduate myself!

~LOVE~

My Cousin

Vincent Paul Rodriguez -- July 13, 1985 -- April 8, 2010

As some of you may already know, my family suffered a huge loss recently. My cousin, Vincent, lost his battle with leukemia exactly a month ago on April 8, 2010. He had been diagnosed last summer, received a cord-blood transplant that seemed to have defeated the cancer, but he remained in the hospital for over four months after receiving the transplant because he was so immunol-compromised that he kept catching infections. He was having trouble eating because he was constantly getting nauseous, and this further weakened him. We went to visit him on Easter Sunday, and he wasn't doing too well, but we just thought he was having a bad day.

A few days later, as I was preparing to head to school for a huge presentation, I received a tearful phone call from my aunt, telling me to please come to the hospital to come say goodbye to my cousin. Over the course of those last few days, his condition has worsened and his bodily systems were shutting down. I dropped everything, in tears, and made the necessary phone calls to Fernando to come home and to my teacher to apologize for not coming in that day to give my presentation. She was very understanding and let me go. Within just a few hours of coming to the hospital, seeing my cousin, and saying goodbye to him, he was gone. He was surrounded by his family when he passed--my aunt, my mom, his two brothers--Angel and Oscar, his sister-in-law Erika, me, and Fernando. It was incredibly painful to face the loss, and my heart broke for my aunt and his brothers. He was the cousin I was the closest to, and I hate the fact that his being gone means the "baby" of the family is gone.

Vincent was an amazing person--he faced much adversity in his life, including the premature death of his father. But he was always diligent about his education and he was less than a year away from graduating from UC Santa Cruz with his bachelor's degree in Astrophysics. As a person, he was friendly, even-tempered, and well-liked. He loved video games, computers, and animals. He was very close to his family. He had such a peaceful, calming presence and he really was a bright spot in my life. I loved him and I really miss him.

I'm doing okay in recovering from this loss, but I do think of him everyday, Sometimes it's good memories that make me smile, or something might trigger some sadness. I don't think I'll ever go a day without thinking about him anymore. I'm lucky, though, because my family is incredibly tight-knit, so we can rely on each other for support. I'm also lucky that my schoolwork has given me something else to focus on to keep my mind preoccupied. As part of my own healing, I wrote him a poem that I also read out loud at his funeral mass on April 20th. I'm posting it here so everyone will know how important he was to me and how highly I regarded him.

Fire and Fight
By Jessica Vasquez

-- For Vincent

Yours was the nature of light

Gentle, glowing
Constant
Your shy smile

Illuminated, radiating
A beacon
Your focused knowledge

Warm, enveloping
Peaceful
Your easygoing way

Yours was the nature of a warrior

You battled the bad guys
For us—
Your brothers

You did it without question
Knew the ins and outs
Of good and evil

Continuous, unyielding
Beginning and ending
As a soldier

The constellation Orion
Is both light and warrior—
Fire and fight

Every night those stars rise bright
That is their nature
That is your nature

Orion is ever poised to let fly his arrow
That is his nature
That is your nature

After writing this poem, I hope to get a tattoo in memory of him. I want the tattoo to depict a telescope pointing up to the sky with the constellation Orion in the distance. Underneath that, I want a banner with his name or maybe a line from the poem. As soon as I have some money saved up, I'm going to make the tattoo happen.

~LOVE~

Goings on . . .

It's been almost two months since I last updated. Sorry! My life has been super busy. As you saw in my previous post--I'm working and going to school 5 days a week, and my weekends are taken up with homework (reading), chores, and the occasional night out. The good news is, I'm halfway through my semester and only two weeks away from my week-long Spring Break. I've also been sick 4 times since Christmas, which is ridiculous. I was knocked out for two days strait this week with a nasty cold, but I'm finally feeling better.

Here are some pictures/recaps from our recent goings on:

Since I last updated, a few fun evenings have elapsed. In late January, Fernando and I drove down to the OC to attend Juan and Irais' housewarming party, and then spent the night at Fernando's sister's house. The next morning, we all went to brunch at the Cheesecake Factory with the gift card Fernando's other sister, Naomi, gave to us for Christmas. That was a fun trip.

This is the only picture I have from the housewarming. Fernando and I with our 'compadres', Gus and Alma. We call ourselves, Los Vasquez.

We attended an 80's themed birthday party for our new friend, Jen's, 25th birthday. Her boyfriend, Barry, is Fernando's boss/mentor at Pacific Sales. It was a fun night and everybody really went all out on their 80s costumes (including us).

Jen and Barry, our hosts for the night

Fernando and I dressed in our 80's costumes

My 26th birthday came and went. I had class on my actual birthday, but spent the rest of the weekend celebrating with family and friends. My parents took me out to dinner that Friday at the Lazy Dog Cafe, then I had a ton of friends meet me for drinks at The Lazy Dog Cafe afterwards. Tanya was in town from NYC that weekend, so my birthday was extra special. I was so happy to have so many friends come celebrate with me. I was running around like a madwoman all night socializing with everyone. Even though I had several drinks, I don't think I ever even got a buzz because I was running around so much! The next night, just Fernando and I went out for a fancy dinner at Craft (Tom Collichio's restaurant). The food was amazing and the service was even better. We ate veal sweetbreads for the first time and I think I can say that I'm a fan. I also managed to talk Fernando into trying a bite of diver sea scallop--and if you know Fernando, you know that is a feat since he HATES seafood. He actually liked the bite he ate and said it tasted "like bacon."

My family dinner

Fernando and I at the bar

Tanya and Emily joined me

My big sis made a surprise visit!

My girlfriends from "The Group"

Alma and Yvonne bought me this monster of a drink. I made them share with me.

After The Lazy Dog closed, we headed over to TGI Fridays to meet with the SFPS Crew. Here's me and Danny (he was my coworker and Winter Formal date in 11th grade)

Mark and me (he was my Senior Prom date). We go way back.

Fernando and I after we got home from Craft. I love my hubby!

Two weekends ago, Fernando, Gabe, and I took a random trip to San Luis Obispo just for fun. We stayed in a cheap hotel room not far from downtown (only $78 a night). We got into town around dinnertime on Saturday night, so we ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant in SLO, Poncho's. Afterwards, we went back to our hotel room to get dressed for a night out. Our first stop was at The Frog & Peach for some beers and live music. A really cute rock-a-billy band called Motel Drive was playing and we really liked their music. Then we moved across the street to Downtown Brew to meet Mona and Sonya and a couple other friends who were in town. Gabe had never been to downtown SLO before, and he really enjoyed the bars we took him to. The next morning, we stopped in Pismo Beach to visit mine and Fernando's "happy place"--Mo's BBQ. We walked on the pier a little bit. That was the weekend of the earthquake in Chile and the "tsunami" had done some interesting things to the shoreline at Pismo. Finally, we stopped off in Guadalupe to visit with Mona for a couple hours before heading home. Overall, a very fun 24 hour jaunt.

Fernando and Gabe--happy at the Frog & Peach

Me, Mona, and Sonya at Downtown Brew

Hubby and me at DTB

G-Money and me at DTB

Mo's AMAZING garlic fries. Drool-worthy.

Mo's BBQ sampler. Most of this came home with us.

Pismo Pier--look how far the water had receded

Fernando and I, of course

Okay, so I think that just about catches you up. Life is busy, but humming along. Fernando ordered his cap and gown for graduation this week. Getting pumped for that. I even went out and bought dresses already for Alma and Fernando's respective graduations. We filed our taxes early this year and already got our refund. We went ahead and bought two leather armchairs for our living room and they should be delivered on April 7th. I'm excited for those to arrive. We've also settled on some bookshelves for our living room's back wall. Once we install the shelves and get the chairs, our living room won't be so bare. We'll finally have someplace to put all our books and picture frames (still in boxes since we moved in LAST December). I'll definitely post pictures once everything is moved in.

~LOVE~

2009 Holiday Season

Holiday decorations in our house

We don't have a mantle, so we hung our stockings here

We went to see George Lopez on December 18th

Us inside the Nokia Theater

Ian and Shelley arrived on December 20th, here is Shelley and her brother, Tim, who lives in Burbank

My cousin, Michael, hosted the Barbas for dinner. Here is my aunt Esther, my uncle, Jesse, and my little cousin Brianna

My little cousin, Jacob and my brother, Ian

My dad and my cousin, Michael

Setting up Bara Family Rockband

Beatles Rockband

The Christmas tree on Christmas Eve

My dad and my kitty by the tree

My extended family on Christmas night (missing Vincent--he'll be with us next year!)

My family

Martini Monday on December 28th with Christine and Amanda

Fernando at LAX before we departed to Vegas for NYE 2009

An hour later, we landed in Vegas

Us in front of Aria, our home for the night

Fireworks at midnight

Fernando taking in the show

My champagne

Me right after the fireworks

Fernando in the Sportsbook the next day. We lost our bet on Oregon, but had fun!

~LOVE~

Spring Semester at CLU (and Beyond!)

Starting on Thursday, this will be my schedule until May 14th.

MONDAY: Tutor Elizabeth 4-5pm in Newhall; Organization & Administration in College Student Personnel 7-9:50pm at main CLU campus in Thousand Oaks.

TUESDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-3:45pm in Castaic; Tutor Elizabeth 4-5pm in Newhall.

WEDNESDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-3:45pm in Castaic; Tutor Elizabeth 7-9pm in Stevenson Ranch.

THURSDAY: Microskills in Counseling 4-6:50pm at CLU Graduate Center in Woodland Hills; Lifespan Human Development 7-9:50pm at CLU Graduate Center in Woodland Hills

FRIDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:15am-1:30pm in Castaic.

I'll have quite a busy schedule for the next four months. Three classes is "a lot" in my program, but I am determined to get these classes done this semester to keep me on track to start my Practicum in Fall 2010. The good news is that my Microskills class is Pass/Fail, and the following Lifespan Human Development class is a survey class. They are both taught by the same instructor, Valerie Wallace, who was my teacher last semester for Counseling Theory and Practice. I'm familiar with her teaching style and I know how to do well in her class. All of her assignments require writing, and that is my strength. (Did I mention that I got all 'A's last semester?) My Monday class should be interesting because it is specific to my program (as opposed to offered to both Pupil Personnel Services [k-12] students and College Student Personnel students). I'm excited to take this class with Dr. Juanita Hall because she is the Senior Director of CLU's Multicultural and International Programs, and she was also recently named the Assistant to the President for Diversity at CLU. She is coming from a background of doing what I really want to do, and I'm sure she'll have plenty of good information and advice for me.

I'll have to be diligent to get my reading, studying, and homework assignments done during my "free time" on Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday afternoons, Thursday mornings, Friday afternoons, and weekends. I'll also have to commit to getting to bed early on nights before watching Chelsea. I've been pretty bad at it since I started, and I have a terrible time getting ready in the mornings and I'm usually so tired by the end of the day that I require a nap. Of course, the naps cut into my "study" time and end up making it hard for me to fall asleep that night, which just perpetuates the cycle for the next day. Not cool.

My spring semester ends on May 14th, which also happens to be the day of Alma's graduation from USC with her Master's in Social Work. I've been editing Alma's papers since she started her MSW (actually, since she was doing her Bachelor's in Social Science at Cal Poly . . .), so she has asked me to be there at her graduation. I feel very honored that she asked me to attend. She was definitely one of my biggest cheerleaders when I was applying to grad school, so I am happy to see her complete her studies.

Just a week after Alma's graduation, on May 20th, Fernando will be walking in CSUN's graduation ceremony. My parents have graciously offered to throw Fernando a graduation party that weekend. I think we'll have it at my parents' house--in their backyard--so we can enjoy the good weather at that time of year. My parents suggested getting it catered by one of those "taco guys," and Fernando has mentioned wanting to have a bounce house. I guess I'll have to look into how much that might cost and that can be my gift to him (if he really is serious about a bounce house!).

I have a month long break between the end of CLU's spring semester and start of CLU's summer session. The summer session is only 6 weeks long, and I want to take two classes. Most classes meet twice a week, so there is a possibility I might have class 4 nights a week. I'm HOPING that both classes I want to take will be offered back-to-back on the same two nights (M/W or T/Th) so I can save money on the commute and still have time to tutor and watch Chelsea. My old boss at ATM contacted me asking me if I could work one day a week during my break. She is due to have her baby in early/mid May, so I could help her out around the office since she'll be working from home for the first few weeks after having her baby. I told her yes, because the money will be helpful, and I'll have nothing else to do during that break other than watch Chelsea three days a week and tutor Elizabeth 4 hours a week. We'll see how everything pans out.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. I suppose I should at least create a photo update regarding my Christmas and New Years holiday adventures. That'll be my next post.

~LOVE~

Quite a Blast From The Past

I wrote this list when I was in high school (July, 2001). I just found it, and I felt like posting it because I think it's quite funny. I called it "My Happy List"--things that currently made me smile.

The HAPPY list:

Jesus

Nestea iced tea

Edward Norton

sleepovers

Handi-Snax

Babies' shoes

Hot house tomatoes

Discounts

Long awaited phone calls

Polo shirts

Flavored lip gloss

Chris Kattan

Avocados

The Iron Chef

Sandals

Iced coffee

Free stuff

Glittery make-up

Blu Cantrell

Online diaries

Goldfish crackers

Receiving mail

The 40s

Destiny's Child

Mail-order catalogs

Ice cream

Homer Simpson

Growing up is fun.

~LOVE~

Pictures: October, November, Decemeber 2009

So, this is going to be a VERY photo-heavy post. You have been warned!

My new tattoo

Seattle trip (October 23-25)--right after we landed at SEA-TAC

The Crew: Mona, Kenia, Adriana, Danny, and me (at Pike Place)

Before heading out to the club--we had a private table and bottle service

The next morning we had brunch in the Space Needle's revolving restuarant

Us in front of the Space Needle

Beer Sampler at The Pike Brewery

I made Fernando's Halloween costume this year

Fernando and our roomie Gabe carving pumpkins

We're an odd couple

We went to a Halloween party at Brett's house

Brett and Stevie--our hosts for the evening

Mona's 26th Birthday Party in SLO--me and Laurie before heading out

Bottle Service at Native Lounge in downtown SLO

I love my sisters!

Alma and I. How I love my comadre.

Super cute pic of me and the birthday girl

The next day was Founder's Day for my sorority. Here's a group picture.

I got a haircut a couple days before Thanksgiving

Our turkey from Thanksgiving. My hubby made it :)

This is Chelsea, the little girl I nanny for

Fernando and I went to see Zane Lamprey perform stand-up on December 10th

I told you this was going to be photo-heavy! If you made it this far--congratulations, you're all caught up~

~LOVE~