Definition of "Huckleberry Finn"

This is dedicated to those who have heard me use the expression Huckleberry Finn and for the enlightening of those who have not yet heard me say this...you were lucky if you didn't hear me say it, but unfortunately less knowledgeable because of it, hence the blog.

Huckleberry Finn, with differing emphasis, can be used in so many ways its ridiculous I'm the only one that uses it so far...such a versatile phrase! Ah, oh well. Maybe this blog will help.

Huckleberry Finn:

1. "Huckleberry Finn!" - translates to - "I don't know what to do about this, but oh well." (happy-go-lucky sound to the end of it) (usually preceded by "oh")

2. "Hu-ckle-be-rry Finn!" (each part said slowly and with emphasis) - translates to - "Whoa, this can't be good!" or "Whatever are we going to do?" or simply "Whoa!"

3. "Huckleberry Finn!" - when said strongly enough, translates to - "Oh my gosh, this is bad. We're all gonna die!!!!" or with less emphasis, it conveys mere shock. It is often followed by: "I can''t believe you!"

4. "Huckleberry Finn" - "What's up doc?" (no exclamation point)

5. "Huckleberry Finn" - spoken quickly, is - pretty much like #1, even though it has no exclamation point.

6. "Huckle...berry Finn" - the non-italicized part spoken quickly, is - probably me rushing to finish the phrase because I got a weird look.

7. "Hu-ckle-be-rry Finn" - with a cowboy, country accent, is - "Life is good," and sometimes, "I wish I lived on a farm and painted fences with Tom Sawyer."

There are many more ways than this to use it, however, since it is not widely spread and I can't remember all the different ways I've used it, there are only 7 for now (if you remember another one, let me know). This should suffice, though, because it covers a lot of emotions that cannot easily be translated into words. Also, this is so much shorter than the ridiculously long "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which Miss Poppins claims can be used whenever you don't know what to say. I've tried and it doesn't work so well. Halfway through the word, the emotion is either gone or the person you were talking with is. Huckleberry Finn! I know!

Scared of turning into a pumpkin?

Then you probably have apocolocynposis.

That's right folks. Apocolocynposis. It was at the bottom of my little brother's class agenda. It was one of the random facts at the bottom of one of the pages. I didn't realize 'random' was taken that seriously. Well, with great doubt I looked it up online and sure enough found a reference to this rather interesting word and its even more interesting definition. The word was not found in the 2 dictionary references I looked it up on but rather it was found on the site of Michigan's channel 13. Hmmm...if you don't believe me, see for yourself: http://www.wzzm13.com/triviadefault.asp?cmd=view&articleid=367

Now that we all know how to describe, quite accurately mind you, the innate fear of this particular fall fruit...I can carry on with other, less important news.

I am now back home in the desert land as most of you know (and if not, the renamed blog should have given it away) and the first thing I thought when I got off the plane was whether or not I'd survive the remainder of the summer back home. After my brother and dad called me a 'wimp' for feeling exasperated with the 100-some degree heat, I slowly regained my strength and tolerance for the um...slight change in temperature. Thankfully, it did not take me too long to adjust and I did survive (apparently), despite my first thoughts upon my arrival. Yes, thankfully the desert stock that I am made of runs strong in me (let's hope it stays strong!). Remember this Theresa when you get off the plane. Never fear, I'll be waiting with lots of Gatorade. ;)

Well, being back has had its ups and downs. It has been great seeing family and friends here...I was back just in time to see a dear friend of mine before she left to study out of town. Vania, you will be missed! I've also had time enough to get things ready for school and...well, the chaos of my room has yet to undergo some severe sorting and clearing up but alas, if I organize my days well enough, I will have the time for this. Since it's been used as dumping grounds while I was away, it should take about a month's worth of work...hehe. Just kidding, but it will be a lot!

Downs...well obviously the weather (yet I remember what I missed about the sky back in Seattle...the sunrises/sunsets...here, they are amazingly picturesque), also the family that I left and my friends, no foosball table here, and no kayak-able lakes or, well, no weather conducive to kayaking. How ever am I going to fulfill my mission of becoming a bum on a kayak? Well, there's always the upcoming winter (?) here to train in the art of kayaking.

My Italian class seems like it is going to be lots of fun. And thankfully, it seems quite similar to Spanish, so it shouldn't be too difficult, right? This is an online course in the truest sense: we will be sending audio clips to our instructor so she can grade our pronunciation and our final will require a web cam, which we'll need before the final if we want to drop by on our instructor's virtual office hours. This should be quite interesting.

It was the first day of classes and I had not yet heard from my instructor...no email, no phone call, no nothing. I was beginning to fear it was cancelled. I checked at school and it didn't seem like it was. Finally, halfway through Monday, I get an email from her. Hurray! Then I read it. It started something like this:

"Ciao Studenti!! Benvenuti al corso d'italiano 101 online!..."

Thankfully, of course, this all sounded familiar (Spanish or not). But I was beginning to hesitate that everything would be in Italian. My brother just laughed and said that the email probably read something like "welcome to the 3rd month of classes, I hope you are all ready for our midterm tomorrow". Hehe. Thankfully the rest of the email was not in Italian and it was the correct course and the beginning of the course.

Finance is, well, Finance. What can one say? Thankfully, my teacher is enthusiastic about the class and about getting this stuff through to us. I'm not sure how he'll do this, but at least he wants to try. Nice fellow. Naaa...it won't be half so bad and he's nice and clear about the course's difficulty. I just hope the students take him seriously.

Okay, I can't promise to blog often even though I seem less busy than before. You know I'm a miserable blogger. But I will do my best to keep you updated on...well, whatever I find interesting enough in the desert land to keep you updated.

P.S. Due to the warm (100 degree) welcome I continue to receive (quite reluctantly) and received just today as well, I melted several times. Thankfully each time was not beyond repair (no need to point out that there are not any pics with me in this blog...so please wait a while Theresa and I will upload more when it is safe, er, I mean, when I get the pics downloaded).

A refreshing alternative to the typical song about love

Love, comes along
It’s not some fleeting feeling
For love to be strong,
It’s washed in pain and healing

Love is a choice,
It’s an action,
It has feeling
Love is the one thing,
In this life
That still has meaning.
Love tracks you down,
It could hurt you,
It could nail you to a cross.
Love asks you:
“How much,
Have you suffered,
And are you bleeding?”

Pain, pain will come
We’re all guaranteed it.
But those who choose to love,
Then through their pain,
They heal with it.

Love ain’t some game,
That when it suits you,
You can take it as you please.
Love never claimed,
That it won’t hurt,
Or bring you to your knees.
Love’s a choice
And an action.
It has feeling.
Love is the one thing.
In this life,
That gives it meaning

Love is a Choice - Words & Music by Deiren Masterson

The final adventures in the land of rain and coffee...at least for this summer!

Gee thanks for the curve ball Tres...you messed up my game! ;) I like your cop-out line...everyone seemed to be telling me the same thing...thus the game of ping pong. :P

So the game of ping-pong ended, I put myself in both sides of the court, obviously, numerous times...enough to know all the pros and cons on each side, quite well. Yay for pro/con lists eh...uh huh...they never really seem to work. Yet being the Post-It Notes Pro that I am, it couldn't be helped as some of you closet Post-It Notes Pros well know.

The verdict was/is....I am going home to finish my last semester of college and earn that much coveted Bachelor's degree. Graduation will be a for-sure this way (as some of you know the dilemmas I faced trying to get classes to work out here in Seattle) ...so ASU here I come!

I will be very happy to see everyone in Phoenix again though I will miss my family and friends here in Seattle. :(

Okay...so quick recap with pics of the things I've done lately...

About 2 weeks ago I went to the highly discussed company picnic. It was talked about more often by my cousins than by my coworkers interestingly enough. :P

Well, the picnic was a giant one with tons of inflatable slides of all shapes and sizes (from pirates to race cars to roller coasters) as well as pony rides and live music and rock climbing. Ironically enough, they also had an 'arcade' section with foosball, ping pong, and DDR. And yes, I played several games of foosball with my cousin Karen, her friend Jenny, and other employees who we didn't know until then but were united by the same passion for foosball.

What was quite fun was that at one point, as Karen, Jenny, and I were walking about trying to see what to do next, we noticed a group of serious-looking grown adults staring at what seemed to be daises on too much Miracle-Grow...tall, I mean more than two people tall, daisies.

Since the daisies were facing them, we figured if we went around to look at the front of these daisies, we'd know what was going on and these adults wouldn't look so ridiculous anymore. Well we do, and all we see are letters and arrows on these daisies. Yeah...interesting.

Turns out these were one of many puzzles scattered throughout the picnic. Lol...

Oh...another thing I found quite amuzing yet useful was a the Kid Wash that was readily available at the picnic. Yeah no kidding...kids just go through this wash process that was amazingly close to real car washes, big spinning brushes and all, and they seemed to come out quite clean. Well, that is, until they'd step onto the dirt and get dirty again. :P I think we could use one of those at home. :D Right lovies? ;)

Ooo...okay, have you ever tried soccer control car racing? I actually scored a goal...after running about aimlessly for the first half of the game. (No, that's not us in the picture)

And last but not least, there was so much food and so many kinds (though I've been told that there were more kinds in the past!) that we spent probably about half of our total time there eating. :D Yes, I was quite happy. I had pot-stickers, corn dogs, popcorn, tortellini, gyros, and popsicles and brownies for dessert. So basically our day went like this:

11am - picnic opens, we all head to the food and eat brunch

12pm - wander about, play foosball, etc.

1pm - found another concession stand, eat more food

2pm - explore, play foosball, fail at DDR, etc.

3pm - remembered some food we didn't already try and head back to the food stands

4pm - explored some more...etc. You get the picture.

Alrighty, also I recently did an amazing hike in the Olympic Mountains. Yay for mountains and yay for weather that is conducive to being outdoorsy! Ever since I got here, I immediately connected with the inner outdoorswoman in me. :D

So last Saturday, a few of us took a hike up Mt. Townsend. Lovely drive, lovely ferry ride, not so lovely steepness in the hike. For those of you who know my uncle's driveway...it was pretty much that for about 5 miles. It took us a total of 3 hours to get to the top. Everyone who had arrived before (and after) us, passed us by...it was quite pitiful. We were so out of shape though few of us cared to admit it. One thing that's true: the hike was quite rewarding...it was beautiful going up (despite the shortness of breath) and it was beautiful at the summit where there mountains all around as far as the eye can see. Also, we could see the ocean far off and a little bit of Canada so it seems. Quite amazing.

Thankfully the hike down took us half the time...you can imagine we basically slid the whole way down. ;) And afterwards, once we got back to Seattle, we had the most delicious shakes and hamburgers at Red Robin. Glory on a bun, so we called it. Lovely food...and lovely way to end a good hard day's hike.

The following morning...

well, I forgot how often I have to go up and down the stairs at home. I think I looked like a weirdo most of the day yesterday and even a little today. Even when I'd get up after sitting around a while, I had to do it slowly. Sadness, the outdoorswoman in me is not so in shape for such outdoorsiness.

Ah, but today I took a stroll around the hilly neighborhood to keep it up. So yay for that! I actually went around a few times mind you.

Alrighty, I must get some shut eye now because Tio is going to beat me downstairs for breakfast for the umpteenth time and I will not be able to defend my pride if I cannot make it before him (or at least on time). ;) Hey, I'd been on time all these months, except for the last couple of weeks, I'd been getting just a few minutes late downstairs...and Tio would tell me we should just move the time a little...so we did and so I kept arriving just a little later than that. I've already told him, that if he just moves the time till later, I will just accomodate and arrive a little later than that. I was doing fine earlier...so I will do it again. So help me. ;)

Buenas noches if you're reading this late, buenos dias if it's morning! I will hopefully see you all soon!!!

Love,

Rosy

I stay, I go, I stay, I go, I stay, I go...

So as you can tell from the analogy of the ping pong game going on inside my head, my mind has been in quite a frenzy...trying to find the rational solution to my dilemma. In reality, it's just one of those things that simply takes you on a different turn though it could you lead you right back to where you were before. Like those books who's endings you can choose, except in this case, it's more like a beginning.

Well, I could tell you what side of the court the ball is on today, but then again, it could change tomorrow. So I should spare your joining in the ping pong match...it must be awkward for those who inevitably hear each day what side the ball is on. I mean who doesn't think it's awkward to watch someone play ping pong by themselves!

So in the evening after we all had dinner, a yummy Polish dinner mind you, my cousins decided that I should take a spin at the wheel they have to decide my fate (it's kinda like the eight ball). This was after it was suggested that I pluck a poor daisy until I get to the last petal...however, I decided against it because first of all, I like daisies and second of all, if I go through one, I will probably not stop there and before Washington knows it, all its daisies will be gone. So I spun this wheel with not a bit of seriousness and seriously this is how it went:

Q. Should I stay? A. Yes
Q. Should I go? A. No
Q. Should I do all my classes and work, doing it all here? A. Go for it! (Yes, I almost positive there was an exclamation point)
Q. Will I survive all that? A. Thumbs up (this answer I am not satisfied with...I could die with my thumbs somehow pointing up...this answer was too vague as you can see)

Then I think the wheel got a little tipsy, not that it got any wine...but then the question was whether I'd come back (given that I leave of course), and it answered 'happy hour' (no exclamation points oddly enough).

So we went ahead and obeyed at this point and had a happy hour. Well, only the adults had the wine, but we all played cards, actually Garbage, and had a very happy several hours (much to poor tia's dismay...she had spoken against movie-watching because it'd get too late, but Garbage turned out to be quite a long game we had to cut it short).

Well, we've been joking that nothing will be certain until I get on the plane...but at this rate, it seems even then I could always get off...hehe!!! Poor tios are getting a taste of serious, deep thinker Rosy. Hehe...well they've survived thus far, I think they will make it just fine!

Shout out to all my friends and the lovies and the mamas and the papas and little baby all whom I miss very much and hope to see very, very soon!!! Let me just finishing plucking this daisy...

Just kidding!

Love,

Rosy

God Meant it for Good

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result.” (Genesis 50:20 NIV) Joseph’s life was anything but peaceful. It was complicated by youthful folly, broken dreams, and the mean-spirited actions of others. He was sold into slavery by jealous brothers. He was thrown into prison on false charges. Yet he remained a man remarkable for his lack of bitterness or regret, always seeing God as the “Great Engineer” behind even the worst of circumstances. In a final confrontation with his brothers, he graciously noted, “You meant it for bad; God meant it for good.”

“God meant it for good” probably means you can accept the past – No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle – or too big to be worked for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Just ask Joseph! Better yet, ask his fearful and famished brothers, who were forced to rely on him for survival.

“God meant it for good” probably also means you can embrace the present – There’s no need to play the “what if” game. The past is gone, and no energy you expend will ever change it. The future is in God's omnipotent hands, so you’re free to focus on the present. Your job is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, trusting him to forgive the past and transform the future. “Wherever you are, be all there” – not living in the past and not fantasizing about the future. God wants you in the present because that’s where his grace will flow.

“God meant it for good” may also mean you can look expectantly toward the future – Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, unafraid of making mistakes and unconcerned that you may stumble into some terrible circumstance that takes you out of God's control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is working out some divine plan through you.

No matter how bad things get, God is still able to bring good out of it. Today, thank God that nothing – no disaster, no delay – is bigger that his ability to turn it into something good and godly. Also thank God and let go – Thank God that he is sovereign over your past, your present, and your future.

Is it not time to give God the circumstances, disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins from your past? Don’t you think it is time to give God your current situation, your disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins of today? All you need to do is praise God that he can work anything in your future for godly good, that you can walk in confidence that there is nothing anyone can do to you, or anything you can do that will be beyond the reach of God’s grace and redemption. Walking by faith means you see God’s hand even in the most difficult of circumstances. You trust his ability and his willingness to transform the bad into godly good. God is not limited by people’s motives. In other words, it doesn’t matter why someone hurt you, God still can transform a deliberate, mean-spirited situation into something for his good.

- my good friend George Gonzalez wrote this reflection...

A Walk in the Clouds

Wow...it seems like forever since I last blogged! Please forgive me yet again. And I will stop excusing myself because at this point it should be obvious that I am not going to be very consistent for the remaining month.

Wow...a month left to go! Yay and yet boo. Yay because I get to see all my friends and family again yet boo because I leave all the friends I made here and all the loveliness of this city.

Wow...will I leave, will I stay? I spoke with dad earlier on the phone and I believe I was quite accurate in telling him that I felt my mind felt like it was in a state of ping pong. One day the ball's on one side of the table, the next it's on the other side. Huckleberry Finn. Sometimes it seems decisions are impossible to make but then again it always seems exciting to make them whatever they may end up being. They bring new possibilities, new adventures, new triumphs, new struggles...sometimes even old battles but nonetheless they bring something.

God is good all the time so I am not afraid of the serious decision-making that will be made in the course of this month. I trust all will go well and whatever decisions I prayerfully make, He'll make the best of them. I will of course keep you updated...

Anyhoo, family visited and now is gone. I miss you guys a lot!!! My family here though is so great in making me always feel cared for. Yay for family!!!

While my family was in, the highlight, I believe, of our trips was the one to the Olympic Mountains (besides our trip to Rainer previous to that).

Before I start the telling of the actual destination...we had a few interesting moments on the way TO our destination including, but not limited to:

- losing mum and Tia (who were driving the other car with the kids) at the very beginning of the trip and then later as we approached the ferry (yes we got to take a ferry!!!)

- tio and dad blaming the whole incident on Tia and mum and their poor navigation skills (ironically though, they had made it successfully to the line for the ferry before we did)...since we followed some poorly and scarcely placed signs to the ferry line we ended up going quite a ways AWAY from the ferry line while Tia and mum safely in line. But of course, it was the women's fault that we were separated in the first place, so they had to come back and meet us. (Secretly I believe that the guys didn't know how to get to the ferry line so they needed to follow Tia and mum...hehe)

- at this point, we'd been in the car far longer than we would've liked to be and knew that only more delay was in store for us, so I decided to start documenting the experience with my camera phone. My subjects were reluctant at first, but then agreed to take part in the documenting as they had nothing better to do.

- Fernando at this point intelligently decided to have his nifty mp3 player drown out the depressing sounds and silences of being lost and doomed to more hours in the car...

- finally....we get to the ferry line, after meeting up with the gals who had to get out of their line to come back and meet us...and the line is long...quite long...

- so we play a game of cards, I take more pics, we turn on the radio, then we check to see if we have anything worth listening to in the car since Celine Dion and Mariah Carey were the only ones singing on the radio...

and the one thing the dads found in the car that made us produce amusing reactions (amusing in their eyes mind you, and yes, we were all THAT bored) was a Veggie Tales cd...and I almost would've been okay with that had I not heard these songs numerous times before and had the adults not turned up the volume plenty and this is all beside the fact that two grown men had preferred this over the radio (well frankly I don't know what would've been better)!!! So here are pics of our expressions at the squeaky, funky sounds of Veggie Tales.

- And then....we finally get to the ferry!!! Hurrah!!! Note the sheer joy in our faces upon our arrival.

The ferry was amazing, but I don't have pics of it...you'll have to ask Fernando or I'll have to look for the camera Tio was using. Let me just say that the ferry was so fun to ride on (especially from the outside right by the railing) that I understood for once the cheesy typical Titanic pictures with Kate's outstretched arms and Leo's sappy face. Ja man...amazing breeze!!!

Okay, eh hem, you can shake the mention of the movie off right now..sorry about that.

We went to Hurricane Ridge and climbed Hurricane Hill. It was the most amazing thing ever!!! As we drove up and up, we started seeing more clouds until we got to our destination and were surrounded by wisps of clouds passing right over our heads! They blocked some of the view at first (though we got to see a lot on our way up) and then they cleared a little here and there as we made our hike up the hill (btw, hill my foot. it was quite a hike towards the end especially!). We saw a deer a little ways off the path and started to quietly, yet frantically get as many pics as we could as she wandered around by some trees. I thought that was amazing, I'd never been that close to a deer...at least not that I recall.

We keep hiking up and get more amazing and breathtaking views as we hike on the path that was breathtakingly close at times to the side of the 'hill' (I would believe it to be a mountain, but then again I don't know the definition of either so I won't play the expert). There were wildflowers of all colors on the sides...it was great! We were so happy and taking pictures...and happy...and panting...and the path kept going...and we started wondering when the path would end because we still had to hike back...and we kept going...and still somewhat happy...and out of breath...but happy...at least content...okay then we were starting to get hungry...and out of breath...and then there was the steepest climb I've ever done...it was the type that you know that for days after the hike you'll feel your every muscle ache with every move you make (like when you work your arms out a bit too much and can't even stretch your arms out to open the microwave door to make lunch the next day). Yeah. Though in retrospect, I never ended up half as achy as I expected. Huckleberry Finn. Now, in retrospect, I'm a little annoyed because pain I thought was a good indicator that you'd done a good hard day's worth of exercise and I'm wondering if I got any health and fitness points for that hike whatsoever!

Okay, back to the story...so we hike and we're all scattered in small groups of two and tired and dad and Chumi are farther up ahead than any of us and JP and Fernando are a little ways behind them and Karen and I are slightly behind them and Tio and Sara close behind and mum and Tia...well who knows where. I knew that they had taken a break and were taking pictures but well...at this point it was everyone fend for yourself and go at whatever pace you've got left in you and see to it that you don't faint instead of everyone stick together like a family. We still loved each other...but everyone at the distance they could bear to have.

As we get to the tip top...AMAZING!!! Though we were expecting a view that went for miles in several directions, we saw not much more than clouds...but it was amazing. We were covered in cloud...it was like a dream! The air was crisp and moist and everything had such a beautiful hushed light to it. Very dreamy...and rightly so for we were walking in the clouds.

At one point we could only see a few feet ahead of us, the clouds so thickly surrounded us. Also, we wasted our time frantically taking pictures of the one deer we saw (what seemed like ages ago) earlier for just before we were thickly surrounded by clouds, we saw one lovely majestic deer, antlers and all, standing right by the path as we walked on by! And after that, we saw a doe and a younger deer come by too! The whole family was there...so beautiful and so nearby!!!

So we took a bunch more pictures though we failed miserably at many of them because of the clouded lighting conditions...hehe.

And then we hiked back down...this time the whole family together. We made it...all of us to the top and in a way I think it was especially gratifying to get to the top on one's own. There's just something about successfully reaching one's destination, struggles and all. The beauty when you get can be so much more appreciated and profound. Okay...no more poetic tangents...

I've realized that if I don't take pics with my simple little camera phone, I will never get to posting pictures on this blog...this explains the semi-decent pictures in the blog.

Well, I will have tell more experiences later...for I must get some shut-eye or I will not be able to face my computer at work tomorrow!

Love you all and miss you!!!