8:38a

awake
'had to wake up earlier than usual today so that i could drop off my boyfriend at the BART.
on the way there, he and I passed by a couple of super cute dogs,
a dead skunk on the road
and a turkey walking around on this little farm.

Like, Olivia, I am attracted to the beauty of autumn leaves.
I saw a row of trees on the way back from BART that really captured my eye.
There's actually a whole bunch of them that I LOVE to look at along the short freeway that leads to
the toll gate (heading west) of the Dumbarton Bridge.
It's one of the loveliest sights, especially since there are so many different colors to look at.

Sad to say, but today is super cloudy outside...it looks more like late afternoon instead of morning.
I think this may be the last week that we experience sunshine like we have.

and the world stood still
so yesterday was quite a sad day...
my friend's mother, Tita Lita, finally passed on after suffering from cancer. She was only 51.
I never got a chance to get to know her really..
but from what I saw of her, she was one of the most caring, accommodating, compassionate people...
the great thing is, she was such an influence to my friend who has the same characteristics.
Both of them had such a close relationship.
Actually, the entire family is close.
You would smile if you saw them together.

then, I found out later on in the day that
another friend's mother was in harm's way.
she was stuck in the office right next to where the Berkeley Bomber was holding people hostage.
Luckily no one was harmed in that fiasco.
The bomber committed suicide.

When my boyfriend came home from work, we kinda just sat there in bed
reflecting and talking about everything.
He told me that he said a private prayer for tita lita at his desk,
while I sat on our couch and did the same - just minutes before she passed.
Afterwards, we ate breakfast for dinner (eggs, rice, sardinas, orange juice) and talked some more.
It's so good to be able to do that with him.

brudder!
that afternoon was a little better.
my brother came over to hang out for a bit before he went to class later that afternoon.
In spite of his really bad neck-ache and headache, he was joking around as usual.

He's been busy all week working on his Senior Project with his group...I know cause
I see him on-line all the time...that's how he and his group communicate about their project sometimes.

That boy studies like crazy, too. Puts me and my college studying to shame! ;)
But he studies cause he loves it. He's motivated by his will to learn.
Shoot, this kid even buys supplemental books to help him understand stufff!
I would've NEVER done that back in college! :)

Still, he really inspires me. :)

by my side
'also got a chance to chat with my cousin Chi for a while.
I was so glad she was on-line, cause that was about the time I heard about tita lita's passing
and i didn't want to be alone.
thanks again for the company, chi! :)

news from work
while my brother was visiting, I got a phone call from my future workplace.
It doesn't look like we will be opening until probably January 2003.
We're supposed to have some meeting in early December.
I dunno, but things are lagging big time.
i should be ok financially until then, but it's really cutting it close.

today
tonight we're going back to the care home to see my boyfriend's aunt.
she's currently under hospice care and may be passing on within the next couple of weeks.
we're meeting up with my boyfriend's cousin who flew in from Chicago tonight and we'll all go together.

during our wedndesday visit, bim showed her some of his photographs.
when he asked her which ones she liked the best, she pointed to the cross that he took a picture of at Mission San Jose.
Sadly, we both had a feeling that was the one she would point at.
She can talk, but all of her motor skills are very weak, so she can only say a few words at a time.
anyhow, bim promised to print out a larger version of the picture so she can hang it up on her wall.
we'll bring it in for her tonight.

hmmm...I'm feeling hungry.
after paying all of my bills and balancing my checkbook, Ive found that I don't have
anymore money budgeted for food this month.

just in
I just got an e-mail about the wake and funeral services for tita lita.
By the way, Tita Lita is the mother of Kathy Aguila Dimalanta.
If you know Kathy, I'm sure she would appreciate your support.