flash backward

i just realized i had some photos still at draft mode -- the ones that i transferred over from my shutterfly. those were the days when all i had was my 3.2 megapixel casio exislim which i adore so much since i can just stick it in my purse and go. but quality-wise you really can't compare it to an 8 megapixel SLR. i'm thinking about getting a small one though -- a canon elph like isang's and alice's. but i have no budget for it...maybe i'll get it with mark's rewards points heeheehee!

power scare

it's raining, it's pouring. we were happily watching blades of glory when the lights flicker, we hear a weird sound, then no power. power came up again mark and i leapt to our feets. mark says: "put your shoes on babe" -- my first instinct was to check on vaughn. lights flicker again, weird muffled exploding noise, power goes out and goes back up again. i grab our flashlights from the cabinets, a match, my tea light candles and told mark to kill our power. so we sit in darkness as i write this [thank God my laptop is fully charged lol] and now i hear sirens wailing, getting closer. we were ready to call 911 but i think somebody beat us to it...not sure what's going on but i think the heavy rain is causing some short circuits in the power supply.

oh, lights are back up again. hopefully the fire fighters fixed whatever is causing this weirdness. i swore to myself i'm buying an emergency kit for situations like this. STRESS!

The Christmas Curse

we ended up at urgent care again since vaughn had a really high fever and was not relieved by tylenol. usually when he has a fever and we give him tylenol, it would just go away. he was also shaking violently which freaked me out so we rushed to urgent care and sure enough, the doctor says he got an ear infection. we got prescribed antibiotics which he needs to take for 10 days! geez. i hate it when vaughn gets sick. mark always says, he would rather be sick than have vaughn get sick. it puts so much stress on us. i'm sure all the mothers out there can relate. but i guess this comes with the parenting territory so we just need to suck it up and know that all these too shall come to pass. it's weird but last christmas, vaughn and i were sick too. it must be the weather, i don't know. i hope next year it will not be like this again because it really puts a damper on our holidays =( santa claus needs to lift the christmas curse...

can't sleep

still sick. i'm sick of being sick. i promised myself i'm going to exercise more and be on the internet less often. surely surfing the net for a good 2-3 hours a day must be unhealthy. but voyeurism is so addictive. my friend angela "persuaded" me to join facebook. so now i am alive on the internet again....lol. i don't update it as often. i only go when people write on my wall or tag me in pictures. and that's the gospel truth. i am very happy going along my merry way on multiply -- and i can post more pictures here. so fear not my loyal friends! i am not migrating to another site yet again. lol. and my sisters are here. i love that i can see pictures of my nephews and nieces even if i don't see them everyday. it's great. ok. it's 4am. and i've decided i'm going to force myself to work tomorrow. there's so much stuff i need to do. sigh. sometimes i hate being a grown up.

boohoo i'm sick =( and how to save gas [random, i know]

oh i wrote this earlier and didn't post. dumbass. hahahaha.

this is so lame, it started monday night. i wasn't feeling well but went to work tuesday morning anyway. when i got there, i had a horrible headache and i felt like the room was spinning and i wanted to barf. kept making trips to the bathroom and took a headache pill but nothing was working. i ended up going home. i still feel awful, just weak overall. i don't get sick as often but when i do it really hits me hard. work has a christmas party this friday which i think i'll skip. you know how when your body gives you signals that it's working too hard? yes i'm heeding that warning. i can't afford to get sick since next week vaughn's daycare is closed and i have to watch him until christmas. sigh! anyway, here's something i got from tiff, i don't normally do forwards or posts forwards but i think here in cali where gas is so expensive, every little bit helps =)

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS (Good information)

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in

California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. But my

line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are

some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon..

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose , CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the

pipeline.

One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular

and premium grades.

We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000

gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the

ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations

have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

>> >>>> >

>> >>>> A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

>> >>>> >

>> >>>> When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

>> >>>> One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and

>> >>>> the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service

>> >>>> stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature

>> >>>> compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

>> >>>> >

>> >>>> Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the

>> >>>> storage

>> >>>> tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the

>> >>>> gasoline

>> >>>> is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might

>> >>>> pick

>> >>>> up

>> >>>> some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

>> >>>> >

>> >>>> Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

>> >>>> >

>> >>>> DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!