Today Was a Stinker

Boy, was today one of those ultimate stinker days. :( To not go into this long post about everything that went wrong, I'm going to try to summarize it.

First, mom lost her wallet -- with her I.D., her bank account number, my bank account number, her health insurance card, money, pictures of the family (dad and I, from when I was younger), etc. I say it was stolen because she put it down, looked away, and then it couldn't be found. No one reported it as "found" either. Either way, she feels horrible about it... and a little worried about me.

I got a call from Ralph's today (yes, the supermarket) that the taquitos we'd bought earlier this week were being recalled. Apparently, there is a dangerous of getting salmonella from them and it was overlooked until now. I had eaten five of these tacos (my go-to meal when I don't have time to prepare a meal from scratch) for lunch and I immediately began praying that I'd be fine. After those stomach issues I'd had two summers ago, I was fearing a repeat of it. I'm still hoping I avoid any type of problem with what I ate. *shudders*

Apart from that, I found out that my older brother (the one closest to me in age) might be moving to Texas next month if he doesn't find employment soon. *sigh* I think this is what I am having the biggest issue with because I'm very close to my brother and he's the only one in our family that keeps in touch with us. We see him once every two weeks, he's teaching me how to drive (finally! p.s. I want this car, lol), and he's just there for us when we most need him. As far as I'm concerned, he's my only brother because all my other siblings seem to have fallen off the edge of the earth, never to heard from again. I am going to ask St. Cajetan that he finds a job soon... because I selfishly want my brother to stay near us.

If this is one of those trials we all go through, I hope we, as a family, can get through it all right. I hope that my mom finds her wallet, or at least has no problem replacing everything. I hope my brother finds a job. And I hope my patience remains intact during these times. I'll just remind myself to stay optimistic.

Alright, I'm emotionally wiped so I'm going to go rest for a while. I hope everyone has had a better day than I have. :)

'Til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless!

The Show, err... Posting, Must Go On

I am utterly swamped with homework (but it's my doing for giving myself a heavy course load) so I can't sit down and make a good post tonight... but, as I said in the beginning of Lent, I will try to post something (anything) every day of Lent. As the title says, the posting must and will go on.

Anyone have any good types on time management for a heavy course load? My usual plans don't work with the amount of work I have this semester.

Anyway, this was just an update. I hope I don't have to write many of these during the remainder of Lent. Fingers crossed. :) It's back to homeworkland for me.

'Til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Modesty and "Old Fashioned" Ways Coming Back?

I had a little too much fun playing "dress up" with this doll. (The picture you are seeing is the final outfit I did).

As many of you know (heck, just look at the layout of this blog and you will know, lol) that I am a big fan of old-fashioned things -- the girlier the better. I actually gave up Jane Austen novels (but not DVDs, mini-series) for Lent along with Twitter. A couple of weeks prior to Lent, we had an PBS Emma viewing Twitter party with various women via tweet grid. I was amazed to see how many teenagers to 20-somethings were participating. Granted, Jane Austen is quite popular amongst young women (and the new version of Emma was the best, in my opinion), but it's not just her novels or anything associated with her. I've begun to noticed that more and more young women are beginning to favor modesty and the "old fashioned" ways that existed prior to the second half of the 20th century.

I've seen courtship being favored over dating. Fashions (still being over-sexualized in the secular media) have been slowly returning to the "Audrey Hepburn" era, with the Victorian and Regency eras giving a lot of inspiration to young women. Books such as the one I reviewed (How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World) are being written and read. Blogs (a number of which you can find on my blog list) are being published by like minded women. Even the way women carry themselves is starting to remind me of what we often read about in J. Austen novels.

True, women are still dressing "sexy" and whatnot, but I've seen less and less of that as of late... and not just because it's winter. I'm from L.A., we don't have 'winter' lol. Seriously, though, I am pleased to see that my generation (and the next generation) is reverting to the "old" ways, in which women acted like ladies. Am I the only one that is noticing this trend?

Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part, but I honestly do see it and I hope that this "trend" continues to gain more momentum. I would love to see it make a comeback.

Alright, that is my short thought of the day for today. The mountains of History and Humanities homework awaits. :)

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D

(Fictional) Catholics in Films, T.V. Shows

Is it just me or are more and more Catholics being portrayed as unfaithful, egotistical, hedonistic, and/or just plain evil? I've always been aware that the secular media (as well as other Christian denominations) just LOVE to put down Catholics every chance they get. You rarely see them being morally responsible and devout. Lately, though, it seems I'm more hypersensitive when it comes to this issue.

Now, let me just say that I LOVE Glee. LOVE it so much I have to put the word in caps. I'm a musical geek and it's entertaining so it captures my attention. I just have a little issue with one thing: the only Catholic character, Quinn Fabray, is a total meanie who got knocked up out of wedlock. She does what she does because she wants to and, although she has her moments of redemption, she's more often than not the kind of girl you tried to avoid in high school. The theme of the good Christian girl who eventually realizes that sex is good and that isn't not that big of a deal (*rolls eyes*) is played out. We're seeing it more often than ever, but the Catholic characters always come out looking worse than the other Christian religions (one notable exception is the film Saved!).

Take another example: The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Two religious characters - one Christian, one Catholic. Both have sex in the second season. The Christian one regrets it, briefly, and decides to hold off until she's married. She eventually "realizes" that sex is good and that having it outside of marriage isn't a big deal (*rolls eyes again*). She's still portrayed as a sweet, loyal friend and daughter that wants to help others despite of her flaws. The Catholic character, though less visible, comes out looking worse. She broke up a couple (coincidentally, the "Christian" character and her "Christian" boyfriend), she starts revealing clothes, and well, the things she says and does make her look like an impudent strumpet (and, yes, I "stole" that phrase from a Shakespearean play.) She doesn't feel bad about what she's done, and continues to do what she's doing... even outdoing the most sexually promiscuous character (in some ways).

One final example: the character of Madison on the now defunct show South of Nowhere. If you ever saw this show, you know where I'm going with this. If you've never seen this show, I wouldn't recommend it in the first place. Anyway, Madison is head cheerleader, she's pretty smart, and has the "hot" boyfriend with whom she has sexual relations on a regular basis. I remember one particular scene in the first season in which she was telling a fellow cheerleader that, though sex is frowned upon in the Catholic Church, she was going to confession that weekend so that she would be in the clear. Basically, she was going to confession often for the same thing. Um... way to make a mortal sin even worse! No, strike that... way to mislead those young Catholics who don't know better.

And that brings me to my issue: while I do acknowledge that Christian characters usually come off smell like poo, Catholic characters are becoming the worse of the worse. You can argue with me on how I'm wrong and that all Christian characters are getting a bad rep, but (as I've said) I've become very aware of how we seem to get the short stick in the deal. What worries me more is that a lot of these shows are viewed by younger Catholics (a good portion coming from liberal and/or lapsed Catholic families) who don't know better. They get their information from what they see and then they think that what the characters are doing is what is "okay" in the Church... or is no big deal doing because you can always go to confession afterward. It's really dangerous.

I'm not saying boycott these shows; I'm not that extreme. Some of them have some redeeming qualities and can ultimately serve to teach us valuable lessons. I'm just saying, why do we Catholics have to be the black sheep in the media? Most importantly, why are those in the entertainment industry trying to do something about it? Why aren't those writers writing characters that are actually faithful) Not all young people are as crazy as portrayed. I know more 16 - 28 year olds that are extremely moral and faithful, and we (surprisingly) often outnumber those who are more liberal.

Anyway, this was more of a rant than anything else. I hope to write more in depth on this issue later on; I just wanted to get this off my chest. :D Homework now waits for me... ugh. lol.

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Practicing Patience in Church

I am usually a pretty patient person but when bets are off when I'm trying to (quietly) focus on something. Tonight that patience was put to the test.

After confession, we decided to stay for Mass. Since we had over half an hour before the Mass actually started, I decided to pray the Rosary. I was really focused on it until about the third Joyful Mystery when a woman wanted to sit in the pew we were in. I was in the right end (I like sitting in the edges/ends) when I heard and felt woman trying to get past me to get into the booth. She didn't even say "excuse me" until I felt her knees hitting mine. That broke my concentration and made me really not happy. I kept my eyes shut and continued to pray, though not with the same concentration as before. I was miffed. Often when I pray the Rosary something or someone has to interrupt me. It's rare when it doesn't happen. Anyway, I continuing praying until I was done. Once I finished, I turned to see where the woman had sat. I was not happy when I saw that she sat at the other end of the pew... where she could've easily gotten to her seat without disturbing me. "Well, that wasn't nice!" I thought to myself. I let it go. I wasn't in the mood, especially after confession.

The Mass starts... and with it all the liturgical abuses that go with the Novus Ordo. The parish where we attend Mass (where we started attending after that on Sour Sunday last year) is so far the best when it comes to the liturgical abuses. They aren't as many as there are at other parishes. I can usually just sit there and focus on the Mass (and try not to count the number of abuses) and be happy. I was glad that we had the hymns in Latin (thank God!). The priest slipped a couple of times but he's had a great track record thus far so I let it go. I am learning how to have patience at Mass because the more I learn about the Church, the more traditional I get... and the more than liturgical abuses annoy me. I cannot wait until I get my car so I can drive to a parish that offers Latin Masses.

Anyway, point of this post: whether you have experiences like me, where the little things annoy you... or if you're one of those people who hate children crying and making noise in Mass (I can overlook that because I am such love babies and little kids), it's good practice. If you want to learn how to control your urges to tell people to "shut up" in Masses (oh, I've had several neighbors scold at children for making noise, even the itty bitty babies), Church is really a good place to start. Even if you have pretty good patience already but want to strengthen it even more, going to the House of the Lord is great for you. Trust me, we've all had our "ugh, go away" moments in Mass... but you can always work on it or offer up if you're just really annoyed that you can straight. That's what I've been doing lately and it's helping. :D

Alright, homework awaits me... as usual. It's like the Neverending Story, isn't it? Yup.

'Til next time, thank you for reading and God Bless. :D