This year My friends and I are doing a Secret Santa (SS). It is the first time for all of us to do a Secret Santa together. The limit for the SS is $20 to $50 but some of the people in SS were being cheap in the sense they did not want to spend so much money on SS for another person’s gift. I am the mediator for the SS because no one else would take charge of the SS and gather everyone wishlist and then send it out to everyone. 

I ask everyone to give me a list of what they impetrate (ask for) as a gift from their secret Santa. So far six out of seven members have given me their list of items they wish for Christmas, but the last person is lagging to give me their list of items because they do not know what they want for Christmas. Everyone is getting frustrated at her because she is taking too long to send a list to me, the mediator of the Secret Santa, so I can not send out the wishlist of everyone to the group. I do this to keep it fair and to keep a secret of who everyone has. Even though everyone has been asking who everyone has for Secret Santa which ruins the whole point of Secret Santa. 

Originally there was 10 people that was suppose to be in the Secret Santa but when we did drawings for names two of the people was not there and so others drew the names for them. Then those two members got mad because they did not get to draw names themselves so they wanted to withdraw from the Secret Santa. Then another member could not afford to spend 20 dollars on a gift because they did not have enough money. This made everyone muddle (in a confused state) and everyone got mad at me because I was suppose to put everything in order.

When we plan to gather to exchange gifts it will be at a restaurant so then we can have lunch and exchange gifts with each other. My friend Wilson and I are planning to pay for everyones lunch that day as a Christmas gift to everyone. Even though i am going to pay for everyones lunch that day I am planning to still buy everyone a gift but those gifts would be less than 20 dollars each. I hope none of those people read my blog and know that I am giving them a gift. 

Impetrate - Ask for

Muddle - Confused state. 

My whole falls into one of the Asian stereotype that you hear many people talk about. Every time my family gets together for a family gathering such as a holiday like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years or even for birthday my family would gather together Pretty much every excuse my family gets they would get together and start gambling together. Almost every member of my family gambles and all of them know how to gamble even if they do not play. 

When my family gets together we celebrate all the good things but we are Vietnamese and we gather for death anniversary as well where we gather together on the day a person of the family passed away in honor of their memory. Even during these death anniversary my family gathers to play cards. All my cousins, aunts and uncles, and my nieces and nephews know how to gamble. Even though it is a bad thing to teach little kids how to gamble and technically its not very legal to do, but it is not actually illegal gambling because it is between family and it is more like giving each other money then gambling to win money. 

There is a feel of plenteous ( the condition of being full or complete) every time my family gets together. We become more of a family every time we get together as it is more family interaction with one another. I quite sure not many other families are like us and would gather almost every other weekend to come together and spend time as a family. 

My family has over 20 members that would attend to each of the gatherings and when we do get together it brings us all together. That is why gambling is only a tittle( a very small part or amount) of our family as the real reason we get together is so we bond with each other.

I like my family gathering though because i get to make some extra money when we get together to play poker, or mahjong or any other game that my family would come up with.

Plenteous- The condition of being full or complete

Tittle- A very small part or amount

The store Wendy’s Fabric and Lace was my mother’s shop for the last 18 years. It was a shop that I grew up going to ever since i was only two years old, and now the shop has been closed due to a fire that has burned most of the contents inside. On Wednesday October 27th 2010 a fire was sparked inside the store and there was a two-alarm fire inside according to the fire report that was given and that was stated on the news. The fire broke out around 3 A.M. and was contained a little past 4 A.M. but most if not all of the merchandise inside the store was ruined and damaged in some way.

I remember this store since I was still a little kid when i would literally come to the store every weekend from when the store opened till i was 15. When I was younger I was only there to play around and act fatuous (to act foolish or silly) with my younger sister while my mother and her worker would tend to the store. Then as i grew older and began to learn basic numbers and the functions of the store, I came to the store to help customers and watch the store by myself when my mom was not there. The store holds a great deal of memories of my childhood because unlike most children who got to enjoy their weekend and go play with their friends I had to go to the store to assist my parent in watching over it. 

Working at the store on weekends thought me many things  such as how to work a store, basic numbers for all the prices of items, to act in a genteel manner (a refined manner), even how to look after the store on my own. Even though it was a family store it was still considered my first job and so it thought me many things about what a job would be like except at the store I was able to take breaks whenever i wanted to and get to watch television but it still thought me the fundamentals of having a job and looking after a store. 

I will sorely miss the store as it as a part of my life and even though the store is gone now, the store will always be in my memory as it have shaped me into who i am today. Perhaps one day the store will be reopened, but if it does it will not be anytime soon because of all the damages and the lingering smell of smoke will still be in the area. I hope that the store does open back up so then a part of my life is not gone, even if it is not the same as it was back then, the name Wendy’s Fabric and Lace still has my sisters name in it and will remind me about her and how it was the first business my family started. 

fatuous (to act foolish, silly, or pointless)

genteel (a refined,polite, respectable manner)

Halloween the holiday where someone in a mask and costume can go up to a house, ring the doorbell, and get some free candy. The holiday is still around today where little kids go running around in costumes and knock on doors to ask for some candy. I believe that the holiday has died down and is not as great as it was in my younger days. Now parents are more cautious that their children might get kidnapped or be given poisoned candy. The number of children that are actually trick or treating anymore are becoming less and less every year. the spirit of Halloween is beginning to die out, even people in their homes do not feel like giving out candy and participant in such a holiday, the numbers of houses that would still give out candy are also becoming less each years. Thinking that their kids have already grown up and that their trick or treating days are over so theres no point for them to participate either and so they don’t give out any candy.

I remember back when i was younger when i would go trick or treating. There would be so many kids running from door to door to get some candy. The streets would be littered with children in costumes running around in groups to collect candy. I would go with my cousins or with my friends running to houses to collect candy. I remember I even went to go collect some candy when I was in high school at the age of 16 which is quite old for someone to go trick or treating to get free candy. Now that I have gotten older I stopped trick or treating and instead stay home and watch scary movies because I am to old to go trick or treating. No one would give me candy unless i brought a little kid with me then perhaps I would get some candy. That is only a maybe to getting free candy but if I truly wanted candy that would of been the way to do it. 

I miss when I was younger when i could actually go get candy myself and be able to fill up pillow cases with candy. Now i can’t even get a handful of candy because I’m too old and too big to be given any candy. I could just steal candy from my little nieces and nephews because I can not get the candy myself. I could only wish Halloween was like how it was back in my youth. Kids everywhere and everyone giving out candy not just a number of kids and house that are willing to get into the spirit of Halloween.

My mind is filled with blank ideas as I’m sitting here thinking about what to write for this blog. Maybe I am putting too much thought into this. A while back when I was reading The Notebook, I came across a quote written by Nicholas Spark that still lingers on my mind. He once  quoted,”You can’t live your life for other people. You have to do what is right for you, even if it hurts the people that you love.” The message that I obtained from this quote is that one should always put themselves before others. The choices come with consequences that you will have to face alone. The decisions you make for others affect you, not them. The way to go about life is not to worry about being inconsiderate of others’ feelings, but to do the right thing. (I know) I can’t speak for the world, but there are a few people that I know who would do everything they can to make the people around them happy. They would apologize for someone else’s mistake and take the fault into their own hands because they rather be the one that’s grieving inside than having to see their love ones suffer. Also, their touch of optimism helps make others scenarios better. They would rather be the one that is being taken advantage of than seeing someone they care about being used by others. Most people may label them as either gullible or stupid, possibly even both. In my opinion, these people are not gullible nor are they stupid; they are genuine and sincere. They are not living their lives for others, but the way they live their lives implicates that they are trying to gratify those around them. How do I know this, well I am one of those people I find myself helping others more often then I would be helping myself. Some may say that what I’m doing is useless and there’s no point in me doing all these things, but to myself I feel a sense of satisfaction for my actions. Most people would not note my actions for what I have done for them, but as long as I know it is still a win for me. A good majority of my friends even say that I am being too nice and should tone it down and that I should go out of my way to do so many things for others. This is who I am though and I am not about to change myself just because some people told me to. I am living my life to the fullest by doing what I want to because helping people that in itself makes my life fill with meaning and makes me happy so I will continue on doing what I am doing not for the sake of others but for the sake of myself.

Today, a friend of mines asked, “if today was your last day on earth, who would you spend it with?” This made me think hmmm, is it my last day on earth only or is it the last day for the earth period. So I asked and their response was “both” so I said i would like to spend my last day before the Earth was destroyed would have to be my mother because its also her last day on Earth and if I would like to spend my final moments with the women that brought me into life. Started my life with her and let it end with her as well. Then when I gave her this answer she said, “okay what about for your final moment alive, and your the only one that is going to die.” I began to lag on the question for over 20 minutes because I did not know what my answer would be. Who would be the last person i would want to spend my final moments with. My answer though was i wished to be alone, I want my very last day to be by myself without anyone there because I do not like people being sad over me and being unable to do anything about it, I don’t like people being sad at all. I will one day place in my will that no one is to cry for me anyone and only think of the good things that has happened over the years instead of thinking of all bad stuff and crying over it. I want my life to be filled with happiness when people think back to me, no tears should come when people think about my life, only smiles on each persons face.

My last day alive I want to lie down on a bed, blast some music, and just think of all the great times I’ve gone through. I would like to pass on to the next life with a smile on my face thinking of nothing but happy thought. This will also have no one to see me die and i don’t see any sad faces before i leave this world. I know this may be a selfish request as to many people would like me to spend my final moments with them so they can see me for the last time. I don’t mind spending the few days before my last day before passing away with my friends and family but the very last day I want it to myself. I’m going to spend it just messing around maybe write last notes to my friends and let them have a last message from me. I think that would be pretty cool so that everyone has something to remember me by, only if i forget someone that would be terrible for that person cause they would think I’m not thinking about them.  

I believe the form of texting is the dominant form of communication for the general public of today. Almost everyone will use texting compared to calling another person today, if they have texting, many people would rather text each other than call them because of the convenience of texting. I text to my friends more often then I call them to talk on the phone because i find that there is no need to call a person to ask a question when I could just send them a text and that person could reply to me when they are free or they could reply to me and get back to doing what they are doing. If I called them it might interrupt them in whatever they are doing. Even right now as i am writing this blog i am texting my friends about what they are doing, or continue having a converstation with another person. 

Texting allows us to talk with multiple people at the same time while holding different conversation with each different person. The best thing you can do with a call to a person is you can conference call with them and make it a three way talk between you and two other people, and only then you can only have one conversation with them while all your other friends are waiting for the text your suppose to be sending them. 

I believe that texting is also very useful in situations where you can not verbally talk so you use your fingers to do the talking for you. this way even if you can not talk you can still communicate with everyone. This is a bad example but at work you could text your spouse or family member about important things and would not have to get in trouble for calling them for passing along the same information you would have in text. 

The only problem with texting is not everyone has it, so you can not text everyone you want to freely but just like calling someone where you need minutes you also need a number of text messages to send to people. I believe everyone should have texting because it is so convenient even if it cost you a bit extra to have that function. 

The topic Power Rangers is a old tv show that I use to watch while i was younger. I do not know why I was so memorized by that show. Everyday when i came home from school i would throw my bag and books on the ground and turn on the television on and there would be Power Rangers being aired. The five rangers fighting the bad guys to save the world another day. It would also seem like the world is in consent danger everyday and needed saving by the Power Rangers. They added two additional rangers to the original five of red,yellow,pink,black, and blue. They added the white ranger and the green ranger to the mix of rangers. 

When I was younger someone told me that the Power Rangers was racist and of course being the little kid I was I did not believe them and their smack talking of one of my favorite shows at the time. Then after they explained to me the structure of how the power rangers was set up in according to their color I was able to understand that person’s view on how Power Rangers could be racist. He explained to me that the Red Ranger, the leader, was always a Caucasian male, the white male to take the lead and command the rest of his team to save the world. The Pink Ranger was a blond Caucasian female that was all preppy in her acting and was like the girlfriend of the Red Ranger. The Yellow Ranger was an Asian female. The Black Ranger was an African American male and the Blue Ranger was the smart type Caucasian male. This ran on for the first couple season of Power Rangers even when they changed actors and had a new type of Power Rangers this was always their format of assigning the races to their color ranger suits.

Then I believe the producers of the show caught wind of this and how many people were starting to call the show racist, and they tried to change it up a bit and placed a African American male as the Red Ranger and a Caucasian male as the Yellow Ranger. They tried to mix it up a bit so that parents and children did not see any racial or sexist images on their show, but by this time the show Power Ranger has pass its prime and was no longer any interest to me. I don’t know if it was the aspect of the show being racist that pulled into watching the show and then once that was gone I also lost any interest in the show or just that i have grown too old to watch Power Rangers and anymore and it had become one of the things of my past.

I just transfered to San Jose State University this semester from Evergreen Valley College. I transfered from a community college to a state university and the change from a community college to a state college is quite different. Everything is so different like the campus itself is already different. Evergreen’s campus is so much smaller than San Jose State. I could have walked the whole campus of Evergreen in less than 15 minutes, I know because I have walked around the campus a number of times. At San Jose State it takes me about 10 mins just to walk to my next class and i haven’t even explored the whole campus yet even now that it has been over a few weeks. I will explore the campus soon though as the semester goes on, but right now I am just slowly exploring all the buildings and shops around where my classes are first. So far though i have explored to find some of the stores downtown which are mainly restaurants. I only found places to eat so far, but hey thats all i need right now just to find places to go eat.
I also checked out the Dr. Martin Luther King Library Jr. that is connected to the campus. Its one of the biggest if not the biggest library I have been too. It is as big as a mall and except for stores it has books. I am someone who loves to read for fun so going to the Dr. Martin Luther King Library Jr. library is pretty great where I can find almost any book i want and it is also a very nice place to just relax at and study.
The school work at San Jose State is more difficult than the work i have done at Evergreen. I can say that I am slowly falling behind on my school work but I will catch up real soon to all my school work. Even though all the school work, tests, homework, and everything i really like going to San Jose State even though its harder. I feel that i am actually learning in my classes with no offense to the community colleges but in San Jose State University I am learning new things while in Evergreen I already knew most of the material but now i get to learn new things

I guess the day has finally come that I, Thomas Ly, have finally made a blog. I have never thought before that I would start a blog. I have always thought that making a blog would be a waste of my time because to me a blog is only a diary written online for all to see. Nowadays I see blogging as a way to transmit your thoughts online so that other like-minded individual can have deep conversations to express their thoughts and ideas. This is the first time I have ever written a blog because my class has required me to set up a blog, it has become more of a forced opportunity for me. Forced because it was required for me to set up a blog and to write in it, but at the same time an opportunity for me to express my thoughts and get feedback from people. A blog is a place to express one’s opinions but at many times people is bias about what they write. There was a blogging phase where everyone would blog their life onto the internet expecting people to comment on it. There were many different websites just for point of blogging such as Xanga, Live journel, Blogster, and the most current one that I know is Tumblr. Then other website such as Myspace or Facebook starting popping after the start of blogging started becoming popular. Blogging started the social network that many people use today. Everyone is connected in some way now because of the start of blogging, but because of this there are many stalkers online. The social network online is an open ground for stalkers to follow people. Stalkers could follow a single person and find their information and look at their pictures, even sometimes find where the person lives. When a stalker finds a person blog they can find many of the everyday activities that the person does.  With the many goods of a blog there has to come with some of the bad. The bad are the stalkers and people finding out your inner most thoughts that are posted online and they become criticized. The good on the other hand is that many people will be able to relate with you or even give advice on what you’re going through. When you’re writing a blog or even setting up a social network you just have to go with the good or the bad that may happen just have to hope that it would be mostly the good.