On December 4 of 2009, my older sister gave birth to a baby girl. It was sooner than expected, as she was projected to have the baby around December 13. The baby's name is Barbara May Leyba. A couple of days before, my sister went to the hospital to get a check up on the pregnancy to see if everything was fine. The doctors recommended for her to stay there because she had high blood pressure and they wanted to monitor her health status. Soon thereafter, my mother and other sister also went to the hospital to give her company and support. She would end up being there until she gave birth. This was a better option than being rushed to the hospital at an unexpected time and with no one to help you. Her husband works in San Francisco and commutes by using BART.
On Friday afternoon, I got a call from my mom telling me to go to the hospital as the time was near for my sister to give birth. So I told my dad, got ready, and we were on our way to Kaiser. We arrived around 6:00pm and met my other sister at the waiting room. Not too long after, my mom returned to the waiting room with tears in her eyes. Obviously she was worried about the pregnancy and my sister's high blood pressure affecting the baby. I had the opportunity to go to the patient room where my sister was being treated. I told her that everything was going to be fine and that I would pray for her.
Apparently, the procedure was being delayed because the operation rooms were still full due to other emergencies. In addition, the medication to reduce pain was not helping my sister at all. The doctors concluded that she could not have a normal birth and had to have a C-section. As much as my sister did not want to do that, it was her only choice. After four hours of patiently waiting, the good news came that the procedure was complete and the baby was born. The newborn was beautiful in so many ways and I could not stop smiling as I was happy for my sister.
Vocabulary Words
Lief (adv.) - soon, gladly
Nimrod (n.) - idiot, jerk
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving Weekend
I have to say that I enjoyed this year's Thanksgiving holiday. On Thursday, I spent most of the day playing Halo 3 on Xbox Live. I seldom have time to play video games during the school semesters, so I really took advantage of every minute that I had. Later on in the day, I helped my parents set up the tables and clean the house. My family hosted the Thanksgiving dinner, as two families from my mom's side joined us. Before we ate, we all had to share with the group what we were thankful for this year. The dinner was absolutely delicious; I won't go into specifics because I will get hungry.
On Friday, we met again at our house to eat what was left over from the day before. We had so much food that we had enough for everyone to eat. To keep my younger cousins busy, I played Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the Wii system. That game never get old and I can play it for hours. I was easy on my cousins and gave them chances to win; I didn't want to be the only one winning.
On Saturday, my sister was going to have her baby shower at my house. She will be due sometime around December 13 and will be having a girl. She decided to name her Barbara, after her husband's mother, who passed away last year. By 2:00pm I had to leave the house, so I decided to play football with some friends. We played at Hillview Park, which is just across the street from my house.
Finally, on Sunday I slept in for most of the morning. Later on, I started getting ready to go to church. Overall, I had a great time at church. The pastor gave a sermon on the theme of thanksgiving.
Vocabulary Words
Disputatious (adj.) - inclined to dispute
Mollycoddle (v.) - to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence or attention
On Friday, we met again at our house to eat what was left over from the day before. We had so much food that we had enough for everyone to eat. To keep my younger cousins busy, I played Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the Wii system. That game never get old and I can play it for hours. I was easy on my cousins and gave them chances to win; I didn't want to be the only one winning.
On Saturday, my sister was going to have her baby shower at my house. She will be due sometime around December 13 and will be having a girl. She decided to name her Barbara, after her husband's mother, who passed away last year. By 2:00pm I had to leave the house, so I decided to play football with some friends. We played at Hillview Park, which is just across the street from my house.
Finally, on Sunday I slept in for most of the morning. Later on, I started getting ready to go to church. Overall, I had a great time at church. The pastor gave a sermon on the theme of thanksgiving.
Vocabulary Words
Disputatious (adj.) - inclined to dispute
Mollycoddle (v.) - to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence or attention
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Bad way to start the day...
With all the stress and emotions I am going through with school and my family, the last thing I need is another thing to worry about. Well, what happened to me today did not help at all. I was on my way driving to school this morning as I usually do. The places I usually park at are along 11th Street and San Fernando or 11th Street and St. John, since they are free to park on. I was lucky to find a spot near the intersection of 11th and San Fernando, but the space was a little tight. After three attempts, I decided to find another spot. The traffic on 11th Street at 8:00am is really crazy, so I had to be careful when I was getting out of the space. After checking and realizing that the road was clear, I pulled out of the space. Then the unthinkable happened: a truck that I didn't see hit the front side of my car and completely detached the bumper.
I was shocked, angry, worried, and nervous. To make things worse, the driver that hit me did not bother to stop and kept driving. Therefore, I was unable to get a description of the driver or the license plate number. I parked on another space that was not in the way of traffic and called the police to file a report. Once the police officer arrived, I told him everything that happened and gave him my driver's license, insurance, and registration. Next, I called my insurance to let them know what happened and they told me that they would call me in 24 hours to give me the details on the repairs.
Because of this unfortunate incident, I was not able to attend my first class. It was a KIN class, but I wanted to go so bad because I was not going to this class on Tuesdays for the passed several weeks. I still managed to go attend my last two classes, but I was not in the mood to go. I am just asking God to give me the patience, peace, and strength to move on and focus on the things that are at hand. Things like the three papers I have to write within four weeks, my presentation for this class, and final exams.
Vocabulary Words
Invective (n.) - an abusive expression or speech
Voluble (adj.) - easily rolling or turning : rotating
I was shocked, angry, worried, and nervous. To make things worse, the driver that hit me did not bother to stop and kept driving. Therefore, I was unable to get a description of the driver or the license plate number. I parked on another space that was not in the way of traffic and called the police to file a report. Once the police officer arrived, I told him everything that happened and gave him my driver's license, insurance, and registration. Next, I called my insurance to let them know what happened and they told me that they would call me in 24 hours to give me the details on the repairs.
Because of this unfortunate incident, I was not able to attend my first class. It was a KIN class, but I wanted to go so bad because I was not going to this class on Tuesdays for the passed several weeks. I still managed to go attend my last two classes, but I was not in the mood to go. I am just asking God to give me the patience, peace, and strength to move on and focus on the things that are at hand. Things like the three papers I have to write within four weeks, my presentation for this class, and final exams.
Vocabulary Words
Invective (n.) - an abusive expression or speech
Voluble (adj.) - easily rolling or turning : rotating
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
2012
December 21 of 2012 is a date that is known worldwide among many religions, cultures, and philosophers. I have not seen the movie 2012 yet, but I am interested in seeing what special effects will be used to depict the "so called" end of the world. Personally, I believe that no one can predict the end of the world or the future in general. However, I do believe that the world will eventually end, as I am of Christian belief. After the recent catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, and earthquakes, it is hard to ignore that the end is near. There have been numerous movies that are about the end of the world, but this movie seems to draw more attention. The date originates from the Aztec calendar, which has predicted eclipses thousands of years before they occurred. The Mayans believed that the date symbolized the end of the cycle, or in other words, the end of the world. I just hope that if it happens during my lifetime, that I am close to my family.
Vocabulary Words
Impetuous (adj.) - marked by impulsive vehemence or passion
Swarthy (adj.) - of a dark color, complexion, or cast
Vocabulary Words
Impetuous (adj.) - marked by impulsive vehemence or passion
Swarthy (adj.) - of a dark color, complexion, or cast
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Scars
After this past Saturday, it had been one year since I had surgery on my left leg. As I was thinking about this when I was at home, I looked at the scar on my left leg and memories of pain came back to my mind. I should might as well tell the story of how I ended up in the hospital.
It was sometime in October of last year when I was playing a game of soccer with my cousins and friends. We play competitively for the most part, so it would get rough at times. Then there was a scramble for the ball. It was there when I felt a hit on my left leg. At first I did not feel any pain because the pace of the game kept my mind distracted. I don't remember who hit me because it all happened so fast.
A couple of days later, I noticed that I would feel pain when I put pressure on the area where I got hit. Without pressure, my leg was fine and I was able to walk without any pain. A week after that game, I decided to go for a run around the park to test out my leg and see if there was anything seriously wrong. At the end of the run, I felt fine and thought to myself that there was no injury. It was the morning after when I realized I was completely wrong.
The second I put my weight on my left leg, I felt instant pain. I could not walk at all and had to limp on my right leg. I didnt know that an infection was developing on my leg, so I just took dome tylenol for the pain. Soon thereafter I began to have fever and lost my apetite. To make things worse, my stomach was feeling horrible and I started to vomit. I decided to visit my doctor the day after.
It did not take long for my doctor to realize that I had develped cellulitis, a skin infection caused by bacteria. I was sent straight to the emergency room, where I stayed for the rest of the day. The doctors told me that I had to stay overnight because the infection was severe and required intensive treatment. I remained in the hospital bed for an entire week without being able to walk. It was not a good feeling at all. My family and friends visited me, which made my days better.
The doctors had to perform a surgery on my leg to remove the infection. In order to this, however, they had to cut part of my skin from my upper thigh to cover the hole that was going to be left after the removal of the infection. That was fine with me, as long as they did not use skin from any other part of my body. I was nervous, since I've never had surgery on my body before or put to sleep by anaesthesia.
The surgery was successful and I was able to go back home a couple of days later. I was still not able to walk, so I had to be on crutches for a week or so. In addition, I was still under treatment of antibiotics and pain killers such as Vykodin. The scar looked nasty at first, but with time it began to blend in with the rest of my skin. It took me a long time before I started playing sports again, but I had to overcome the fear of getting injured again. I learned to play a lot more careful and not too rough.
Vocabulary Words
Cartography (n.) - the production of maps, including construction of projections, design, compilation, drafting, and reproduction.
Echelon (n.) - a level of command, authority, or rank.
It was sometime in October of last year when I was playing a game of soccer with my cousins and friends. We play competitively for the most part, so it would get rough at times. Then there was a scramble for the ball. It was there when I felt a hit on my left leg. At first I did not feel any pain because the pace of the game kept my mind distracted. I don't remember who hit me because it all happened so fast.
A couple of days later, I noticed that I would feel pain when I put pressure on the area where I got hit. Without pressure, my leg was fine and I was able to walk without any pain. A week after that game, I decided to go for a run around the park to test out my leg and see if there was anything seriously wrong. At the end of the run, I felt fine and thought to myself that there was no injury. It was the morning after when I realized I was completely wrong.
The second I put my weight on my left leg, I felt instant pain. I could not walk at all and had to limp on my right leg. I didnt know that an infection was developing on my leg, so I just took dome tylenol for the pain. Soon thereafter I began to have fever and lost my apetite. To make things worse, my stomach was feeling horrible and I started to vomit. I decided to visit my doctor the day after.
It did not take long for my doctor to realize that I had develped cellulitis, a skin infection caused by bacteria. I was sent straight to the emergency room, where I stayed for the rest of the day. The doctors told me that I had to stay overnight because the infection was severe and required intensive treatment. I remained in the hospital bed for an entire week without being able to walk. It was not a good feeling at all. My family and friends visited me, which made my days better.
The doctors had to perform a surgery on my leg to remove the infection. In order to this, however, they had to cut part of my skin from my upper thigh to cover the hole that was going to be left after the removal of the infection. That was fine with me, as long as they did not use skin from any other part of my body. I was nervous, since I've never had surgery on my body before or put to sleep by anaesthesia.
The surgery was successful and I was able to go back home a couple of days later. I was still not able to walk, so I had to be on crutches for a week or so. In addition, I was still under treatment of antibiotics and pain killers such as Vykodin. The scar looked nasty at first, but with time it began to blend in with the rest of my skin. It took me a long time before I started playing sports again, but I had to overcome the fear of getting injured again. I learned to play a lot more careful and not too rough.
Vocabulary Words
Cartography (n.) - the production of maps, including construction of projections, design, compilation, drafting, and reproduction.
Echelon (n.) - a level of command, authority, or rank.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Fresh Start
My academic years at San Jose State have been a roller coaster ride. Let me begin with the Fall of 2005. It was my freshman year, coming straight from high school and ready to begin a new chapter of my life. I decided to choose Computer Science as my major, since I liked computers, playing video games, and technology in general. My career goal at the time was to get a job in the video game industry. I used to play video games a lot and wanted to work for a video game developing company like Electronic Arts (EA). After a successful first semester, reality set in the following year. Introduction to Programming, one of the first core courses for the major, was a complete pain in the neck and required a lot of time to learn the language of Java. Add to that Calculus 2 and Physics 50 and I was soon digging myself into a whole. It was just too much for me to handle and I began to look for resources on campus. The tutoring was still not enough and I began to fail class after class after class and so on.
Two years later, I knew I had to make a change in the direction I was going. Since I had taken plenty of math and science courses, I decided to change to a major that required the courses I had already taken. I changed my major to Materials Engineering, with the hopes of improving my academic standing. However, the same two courses continued to haunt me: Calculus 2 and Physics 50. To make things worse, I had to take Chem 1A, a course that requires every minute of your life. After talking to my major adviser, I came to the conclusion that math and physical science majors were not for me.
I began to research other majors to see which ones caught my interest. Then I came in contact with the Political Science Department. I looked back in my senior year in high school and remembered that I did well in my American Goverment class and was interested in learning more. It was the Fall of 2008 when I made the decision to change my major to Political Science. The following semester, I took POLS 1 and POLS 20, along with two other GE courses that I had not taken yet. I did really well in those courses and improved my GPA to get out of academic probation. Not only did I pass those Poli Sci courses, but I enjoyed both of them as well.
This semester, I am taking POLS 2, 3, 4, and 100W so I can begin taking advanced GE courses and classes required for the major. I feel like I have been given a fresh start and a new outlook in life. I plan to take advantage of this opportunity because they do not come often. I do not know what career I plan to pursuit, but it will involve the government.
Vocabulary Words
Repudiate (v.) - to divorce or seperate formally from
Enervation (n.) - to lessen the vitality or strength of
Two years later, I knew I had to make a change in the direction I was going. Since I had taken plenty of math and science courses, I decided to change to a major that required the courses I had already taken. I changed my major to Materials Engineering, with the hopes of improving my academic standing. However, the same two courses continued to haunt me: Calculus 2 and Physics 50. To make things worse, I had to take Chem 1A, a course that requires every minute of your life. After talking to my major adviser, I came to the conclusion that math and physical science majors were not for me.
I began to research other majors to see which ones caught my interest. Then I came in contact with the Political Science Department. I looked back in my senior year in high school and remembered that I did well in my American Goverment class and was interested in learning more. It was the Fall of 2008 when I made the decision to change my major to Political Science. The following semester, I took POLS 1 and POLS 20, along with two other GE courses that I had not taken yet. I did really well in those courses and improved my GPA to get out of academic probation. Not only did I pass those Poli Sci courses, but I enjoyed both of them as well.
This semester, I am taking POLS 2, 3, 4, and 100W so I can begin taking advanced GE courses and classes required for the major. I feel like I have been given a fresh start and a new outlook in life. I plan to take advantage of this opportunity because they do not come often. I do not know what career I plan to pursuit, but it will involve the government.
Vocabulary Words
Repudiate (v.) - to divorce or seperate formally from
Enervation (n.) - to lessen the vitality or strength of
Monday, October 19, 2009
Impressions of the SJ Sharks' Season so far...
After watching today's game against the New York Rangers, I am very pleased with the way the Sharks have played. A complete team effort was given today from the Sharks, starting with goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. He has made spectacular saves that has kept the Sharks in the game for the most part this season. Most of the Sharks' defensemen are in their first year with the team, so there are question regarding team chemistry. Led by Rob Blake and Douglas Murray, the Sharks defense will need to make some adjustments to start shutting down opposing teams. On offense, the Sharks received a huge upgrade by acquiring Dany Heatley, the disgruntled left wing that left Ottawa via a trade. Since the NHL lockout in 2005, Heatley has scored 188 goals, 3rd among active players. At home, the Sharks continue to dominate their opponents with a record 2-0-1 this season. On the road, however, the Sharks have had a rough start, posting a 3-3-0 record to begin the season.
The biggest question is whether the Sharks will get past the opening rounds of the playoffs. Last year, the Sharks ended the regular season with the best record in the NHL, but got eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim ducks. This has been the story for the San Jose Sharks for the past four seasons, with each early playoff exit feeling even more bitter. The Sharks off season roster moves are sure to bring some new life to a fan base that has been left with disappointment. One can hope that this is the year the Sharks get "over the hump" and advance to the Stanley Cup. Only time will tell.
Vocabulary Words
Replete (adj.) - abundantly supplied or provided; filled
Overwrought (adj.) - extremely or excessively excited or agitated
The biggest question is whether the Sharks will get past the opening rounds of the playoffs. Last year, the Sharks ended the regular season with the best record in the NHL, but got eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim ducks. This has been the story for the San Jose Sharks for the past four seasons, with each early playoff exit feeling even more bitter. The Sharks off season roster moves are sure to bring some new life to a fan base that has been left with disappointment. One can hope that this is the year the Sharks get "over the hump" and advance to the Stanley Cup. Only time will tell.
Vocabulary Words
Replete (adj.) - abundantly supplied or provided; filled
Overwrought (adj.) - extremely or excessively excited or agitated
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