GL YATSE and Remembering What's Important

What a week (a long one I might add).

Started off Monday hanging out with Jem and playing bball so hard that my hearing aids shut off. Tuesday was a LOG meeting and surprising Jem for her birthday. Wednesday was a great day at Disneyland with Jem, Huan, and her sister Jenn. My favorite part Wednesday was riding Splash Mountain for the first time in years. Man I forgot how fun that ride is. It is hands down, my favorite water ride in the world (one of the wettest too), and though you may get more wet in Perilous Plunge, Splash Mountain is barrels and barrels of fun. Later that night we watched a great firework show, followed by Fantasmic. Every time I watch Fantasmic, I feel like a kid again. There's just something about that show that does it right. Thursday, the guys (Scuba, Mike, and Law) came over and played videogames and helped me work on my Reconciliation paper. I really appreciated them coming over, and I felt that it helped me a lot. That night Scuba and I saw District 9. People have said some good things about this movie (most of which will be correct), but I absolutely was not digging the first hour of the movie. It lost me, and the cinematic choices were not appealing to me; HOWEVER, it was definitely something new and should be commended for that. The second half of the movie was great though. Friday, I went clubbing for Jem's 21st birthday. It was my first time going to a 21 and over club, and it wasn't that bad. I would have to rate the whole night a B- just because it wasn't exciting the whole night, but it had it's moments. Most notable moments were when this cute asian girl pulled me on the dance floor. It was a different style of dancing than I was used to: less freaking and more actual dancing. I thought it was pretty cool, and I made the girl smile so many times. We had a lot of fun, then ended up parting ways, never to see each other again. I do know that she and her friends were talking about me on the way out, and if that's the only mark I can leave on her life, then I'm okay with that. I don't mind being the "remember that cute white guy you danced with the other night? Yeah, he was a good dancer" ;) haha. I may be weird for thinking like that, but dancing is dancing, and it's a lot of fun, especially when you dance with someone who also knows how to dance. Highlight of the night was the walk back to the parking structure. Now I can't write everything I would normally write because too many people are starting to read my blog, but let's just say it was a long walk, and my back hurt for the rest of the night and a good part of the next day. If you ever question my love for you, look no further than THAT sacrifice =P

Saturday was great until I gave my Reconciliation talk. I totally bombed it, but luckily we had a priest visiting who helped balance out my presentation. He balanced my history of the sacrament with the experiential aspect about it, and it was really a great thing. I know why God brought him there for that one presentation, and thank them BOTH for it ;) Eucharistic Adoration was definitely the highlight of my weekend. We celebrated in a circle around the Blessed Sacrament, and I was lucky enough to preside over the Liturgy of the Hours (my favorite prayer). Paula gave an awesome testimony in which she compared all the people sitting around the Eucharist, as the Eucharist, and she couldn't have put it more beautifully. I'm sure many people have the problem of looking at the Eucharist and thinking how they're supposed to have a relationship with a piece of bread. It was definitely one of the best Eucharist talks I've heard to date, and I'm glad Paula (a true member of GL) was able to give it. The whole night represented everything RIGHT within the Church, liturgically, communally, experientially.

Sunday ended up being Mike's last GL meeting. I let him run the show, and did nothing but enjoy the whole thing. It was great to see so many familiar faces show up, and Eucharistic Adoration was truly something special. I really liked Sean's slideshow of the Retro-GL members, and it really brought back some great memories. I remember people who have played important parts in my life. I remembered the people I care about so much that I haven't seen in so long. Two people really stick out to me that I've met through GL: Quinn and Lien. I don't see either very often anymore (I'm lucky to see one or the other ever 4 months), but they are definitely two people I'm close with. I understand Lien and where she's coming from, and how it's hard to fit into GL sometimes, but she has one of the best personalities I've ever met in a person, and if she just had the confidence in it, she would never have to worry about anything social-wise ever. I definitely miss her. Quinn is another person I miss from the bottom of my heart. Some people joke around "Quinn? Who's that?" but I can honestly call her one of my best friends. I can't count the nubmer of times she has let me down, flaked on me, or hurt me, but every time I've forgiven her. I can't stay mad at her for more than a day because I know that she tries so hard in her mind not to let people down, it's just situations that prevent her from hanging most of the time. There are very few people I can share with as deep as her, and like Lien, she has one of the best personalities I've ever met in a person. If you could take away her flakiness, she would probably be one of the top 10 in my life. Someday after she moves back home, we'll get to hang and hopefully stay in touch because I know that we both impact each others' lives and there are few people (if any) like us. Sometimes I'm faced with situations and people in my everyday life that I pay too much attention to, and I forget the people that I really care about but I don't see that often. I need to remember to keep in touch, and not forget my roots.

Mike shared his last "official" St. Polycarp mass with us. I'm not gonna miss him. He was a douche' =P Just kidding! I'm not going to say "goodbye to Mike" because I'm still going to be seeing him around a lot (Paula's birthday is next weekend) and he's one of my closest friends. There are very few people I know who have grown together the way we have. He is truly my spiritual guide and brother, and he would be the first one I would come to if I was in trouble. Things are going to be different without Mike running GL, but the most touching thing happened during Adoration today that will cause me to stick around a little bit longer: Paula decided to answer the call to step up as a Youth Minister of Guiding Light. In the wake of her decision followed Lynda, Paul, and Asian Timmy. A lot of people were crying about different things when sharing during Adoration, but the only time I ever came close to shedding a tear was when Paula stepped up and made her choice. Overwhelming love is all that I could describe of that feeling. Proudness would be another way I could describe it. I was so very proud of her (of Duke, Tim, and Lynda too who I found out later would decide to follow Paula). They are the reason I do what I do, and I will continue to do it for them, and for the future, and especially for God. I definitely don't want the role Mike had, but it's going to be nice trying to pass my knowledge and talents down to future generations.

Today during mass, it was my first time being a Eucharistic Minister, and it truly was a special feeling. At first I was very awkward, not confident in what I was saying "the blood of Christ" and worried about dropping the chalice, but as time went on, I realized why I was up there. I began saying "This IS the blood of Christ," and was rewarded with the great experience of ministering the sacrament to the people. I think I found a new favorite thing to do during mass as I thought EMing ended up being pretty cool. =)

Decisions. I sure hope my friend makes the right ones that will lead her to happiness instead of pain. She should make her own decisions however and I won't impose my opinions on her (even though my communications background is ideal for this particular situation). Always consider your own well-being when making decisions. Yes, it looks very noble when you make sacrifices for others, but does it outweigh the cost of neglecting yourself. Neglecting yourself could sometimes be one of the most dangerous things you could do.