profound

earlier this morning I had a feeling I had something profound to share on here... but when I explored that feeling, I realized I couldn't think straight. yup, I'm in "finals" mode as well as fighting a cold (thanks, Andrew! >_<) and getting ready to head down to the Call (watch it on iworshiphere.com ) tonight. I can't really think straight. meh, maybe next week

birthday bash

thanks to all of you that made my birthday party amazing (especially to Mary for planning it and Hailey for the cake)! I was so exhausted from a week of studying for finals and work and stuff... but it was great!

dinner was yummy. I'm glad we had dinner there and that so many people made it out. Chinese food with friends equals FUN. :-D I was really blessed by so many people making it out. especially since it was so late on a Sat. night due to my work schedule. I still think it's funny that they brought out the cake to prepare for me at the adjacent table. don't be frustrated with them, Hailey. it just made the experience all that much better. what a random/funny memory.

karaoke was great. I think I've created a few new karaoke addicts. bwahaha so many first timers! we're so going again some time soon. especially because a few people that really wanted to make it out couldn't make it. sorry, Melissa and Andrew!

well, I want to write more but I should be studying and I have a headache and I'm sleepy... so I'm going to study a few min's before getting back to work. *yawn*

professional in office e-mail writer?

I think I should hire myself out for writing in office e-mails... a friend of mine showed me an e-mail that was sent to the staff in her office and not only was it grammatically incorrect but it was BORING! I told her so as I was slightly shocked and laughing at the absurdity of it all. so then she asked me how I would write the same message to send to the staff. after a moment of contemplation, while dealing with a schizophrenic photocopy machine, this was the result:

"Attention all staff members. Please be on the look out for a rampant tape dispenser napper that has managed to get away with all three (3?!) of the tape dispensers in the mail room. It is believed that the tape dispenser napper deposited them at a location somewhere on the premesis. The tape dispensers get easily frightened when they are lonely and also have a tendency to want to tape things (including people!) when they have not been used often enough. It's to benefit everyone's personal safety that they are returned to the mail room as soon as possible. Remember, without them we can not function and without us things are in danger of randomly being taped. They NEED to be returned to us before anything goes wrong! But use caution when approaching them as we don't know how frightened they are at the time being. Thanks for all your help!"

I also realized that I had way too much fun writing that message. so, if you're ever in dire need of a "fun" in office e-mail, please feel free to contact me. I love when I get to send e-mails to the office staff here as I get people giggling throughout the day. a little bit of sunshine in the office is always fun.

there is one other way you can earn the love (and corresponding hatred) of your office workers. get a song stuck in their head. at the top of my list of songs to get stuck in there head are Jesus is a Friend of Mine and this song about fast food. they're at the top of the list because they're songs I can't get out of my head once I've listened to them. I've discovered that the only way to get the songs OUT of your head is to get it IN other people's heads. I attempted that in the office the other day with Jesus is a Friend of Mine. it was quite a success. it made me giggle.

well, it's actually my lunch break (and has been for 15 min's.) and I'm debating whether I'm going to leave the office or not... so I'm going to head out. just remember to hire me when you're in need of a fun in office e-mail message. all I need are the details of the info needing to be sent out and I can make it quite fun. to see the results of an e-mail I actually did send out to my office, look through my old blog posts to find the one about the white mail bins. I got more responses to that e-mail than I ever do to the typical in office e-mail. :-D

missing monsoon season

I've completely missed monsoon season in China this year... this year can't come to an end without me experiencing a monsoon... I miss it. :-/ this is the last month of monsoon in China and I'm still here in America. what the heck...

I might have more pix of China monsoon season here (which would be first hand accounts rather than me searching for pix on google... althought I DO remember when that thing happened with the plane. the Yantai airport was flooded. and I know that part of town in the pic that is showing rain... and the lightning, well that's normal monsoon lightning in Yantai that I MISS LIKE CRAZY) http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=10553482&albumId=2282542

Picture Game

Just go to google images and type in the words and see what pictures pop up! But be careful, some can be a little racy!

First Name: Sarah

Middle Name: Elisabeth

Last Name: Nardi

Age: 29

Place I'd like to visit someday: Italy

Favorite Vacation Spot: Yantai

Past Celebrity Crush: Jeremy Miller

College Major: Language Learning in a Multicultural Society

Place I grew up: Hacienda Heights, CA

First Job: Rowland Bowl

Favorite Dessert: strawberries with whipped cream

Favorite Food: FOOOOOOOOOOOD

Favorite Color: orange

Somewhere you've been today: Ambassador Auditorium

remembering

I can't believe I'm turning 30 in less than a month... it doesn't seem real. somehow I feel like the 4 yrs in China were the years I grew personally/spiritually the most yet I didn't grow physically (well, other than gaining weight... but you would too during the winters I lived there! good food and freezing cold weather leads to weight gain). now it's been 4 yrs since I've been back from China. seriously, 4 years?! the first year felt that long... yet the following 3 seem to have flown by... including the fall from 7 ft resulting in 2 spinal compression fractures, the car accident with 2 big rigs... and what else? I don't remember... I've managed to not injure myself seriously since the car accident. that's pretty amazing! haha sorry, I'm just writing in flow of thought. I haven't felt motivated to write a blog in a while and now I want to write a blog but can't seem to think up a theme. so you get my thoughts. :-D lucky you! :-P

lately I've been nearly as busy as I was before when I was teaching and working at church and had no car... but I'm having so much FUN being busy! I have time to hang out with everyone and also study and do my work and whatever else. I just wish my weekends were more free... maybe one day they will be. anyhow, having a car and only one job has opened up so much time. although, I still need a new car. Speed Racer is becoming a grumpy car. he makes funny noises and has a bad case of the shakes. I think he's just old. haha why am I talking like he's a human being or something? I'm so goofy some times.

so, last week someone tortured me with a youtube video... torture as in I was laughing hysterically but then regretted it cuz I couldn't get the song out of my head. I've decided the only way to help me get over this problem is by getting the song stuck in as many other people's heads as possible. please humor me and watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8 somehow I keep finding myself wanting to listen to it... and watching the people singing backup... wow, hysterical! and the guitarist and bassist are totally rocking out. what were they thinking?! oh yeah... notice the 70's style clothes? yeah... this was recorded mid 80's. sad.

for about a week I had absolutely nothing to do in the office. it was so frustrating! I hate sitting around with nothing to do, ESPECIALLY at work. I'd try to make up stuff to do and end up frustrated because there seriously was nothing to do. last Thurs. I spent nearly the whole day on facebook leaving comments for people, etc. I had fun doing that, yet felt useless. yesterday I was ECSTATIC to have work to do. not only just "some work" to do but enough to keep me busy the whole day and not actually have to force myself to leave work to do today... but enough so that I actually HAD to leave stuff for me to do today cuz I didn't have time to do it yesterday. lovely! I like having maybe 3 days of busy-ness like that and one catch up day. or even a catch up half a day. at least in China when I'd get bored after teaching classes and having my lesson plans ready, I could walk around the field or sneak up to the roof to play my tennis game. OH MY GOSH! I almost forgot about that game! I have it here. :-D I want to play but need to find a place to play... and a person to play with. it's an amazing game. basically, you have a racquetball attached to a huge rubber band that you clip to something weighted. you hit the ball and it comes back. you can play by yourself or with another person. it's great exercise! when I had the chance, me and Mrs. Chu used to sneak up to the roof and play. we had so much fun, even though we sucked at it... and the kids in the school next door could totally see us playing. HAHAHA I'd put a picture of the game... except I don't know what exactly it's called and I'm having focus issues so I'm not doing too well on finding a pic of it on google.

I'm suddenly exhausted. strange... perhaps it's due to the coffee I just had? but that doesn't make sense. I've only had one latte from Starbucks in over two weeks! I'm feeling so accomplished. hahaha I stopped for two reasons. one, I'm fasting from it... cuz it's the hardest thing for me to fast right now. hahaha I think I'm semi-addicted to the pumpkin spice latte. also, I gain a freakin lot of weight from any drinks that contain milk. seriously. I thought I was losing my mind or something... last week someone explained to me that that probably means I'm lactose intolerant. HELLO?!?! I've got nearly 30 years of my life and didn't figure that one out?! *sigh* I guess it means I only gain weight from it... how sucky! haha good thing I'm not a big milk drinker. I'm just gonna have to start ordering soy milk at the 'bucks from now on. I hope that helps! ok, back to my point.... I think I had one? anyhow. I'm really tired and not sure why. I think my body is just telling me it's time to sleep. wow. way too simple and obvious, yet completely true. I'm glad I'm gonna just study and sleep tonight. I need a slow night. I've been non-stop all week. but it was fun. massage & dinner on Monday with Melissa. racquetball on Tues. with Danielle. Wed. was cell group. last night after prayer meeting we played pool. I definitely need a break.

lately my cat has been more than ever clingy. she'll sit on my lap as soon as I get home and she'll sleep right next to me, even on hot nights. that's really abnormal for her. Jeewon suggested that might mean an earthquake is coming soon cuz her cats are acting psycho too. I'm hoping not. but it's a possibility. I wasn't around my cat the last time (her only time) we had an earthquake. my parents were cat sitting. maybe I should ask them how she was acting before the quake. I know how she was acting afterwards cuz I checked up on her. poor thing probably thought the world was coming to an end. HAHAHA but it probably wasn't as scary as Chinese firecrackers are to her. those things spook her to no end. I mean, when they're many and at the same time.... like on Chinese New Year. I don't blame her, though. it gets freakin' loud. I wonder if I suffered hearing loss from it. teeheehee I just remembered that 2 years in a row by 2 different people that we accidently sent a firecracker straight through the school apartment sign. hahahahaha I almost forgot about that! wow....

this week was my cousin's son's birthday. he turned 18. I feel so old.... I remember the day he was born. he was 3 months premature. lots of health problems. wow... I can't believe 18 years have passed. I remember me and my brother spoiling the snot out of him. hahahaha he was/is our surrogate little bro.

welpers, I ran out of stuff to say for now... well, not really. but as I said earlier, I'm having focus problems. and also I'm exhausted. and I don't want to keep rambling. :-D