I, Nicole, have had two school choir concerts. They were called Holiday Sing and A Bonita Christmas to You. The songs we sang were I Hear Bells, The First Noel, Merry Christmas, and we also danced to Island Christmas. I am having a lot of fun in Choir.
I am reading twilight which are one of the books I really wanted for Christmas, which I got from Daddy(Uncle Boy) and Eika. And RACHEL got me the second book of the Twilight series, New Moon.
Melissa has always been asking me for my writings to be mailed to her, but I am taking really long because I am writing a story called, This Day. Yes, weird but I have no other name for it yet. It's supposed to be about a tween girl who is going through the troubles of Middle School. How a mean girl doesn't treat her right, liking a boy, and the need of friends, but is to shy to talk to meet new people except for her two best friends, that have been with her since she was 2. Because their mom's met at a yogurt place and became the best of friends. The main characters' names are Jane(main girl), Julie, and Mikey. So hopefully I finish the story very soon to read to you all. School is going great.
My favorite classes is Science or Math. Science soon to be health, is actually fun because my teacher, Mrs. Cardenas, because she makes it f for me by making funny jokes and when she teaches she makes it physical for us, to explain it more.
Math is fun, with Mrs. Caldwell, because how she makes sure that her students understand every part of Math that she teaches is easy to do, for our homework. Also, she always talk about the wacky things her two little boys do at home that makes them sound weird, but funny.
Well, that's it for now from me. I LOVE YOU ALL!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Uncle G and family hosted this year's Villanueva Christmas Party. With our beloved Lakers crushing the Celtics, 92-83, the party started out just right. Food was delicious, and the Secret Santa Gift Exchange was memorable as well.
Although Ian wasn't able to come down for the party, we were able to chat with him by video on iChat. The wonders of technology!
Although Ian wasn't able to come down for the party, we were able to chat with him by video on iChat. The wonders of technology!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Reminder
Since there are only four contributors (technically 3), you can send anything you want to have posted here on the blog to me, Ed, or Auntie BiBi and we'll be more than happy to post it for you.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
It's time for an update.
Hi family,
For some time now I have been in pain over what appears to be a soon-to-be obsolete use of this blog. I haven't posted anything on this blog for quite some time now and as of today (Sunday December 14 2008 2:20pm) I plan to utilize this blog space more often than before (translation: never). This blog was created for a wonderful reason, which was to keep an up-to-date profile of everyone in our beautiful, loving family. (By up-to-date I mean an update on how everyone is doing on a monthly basis AT LEAST, not an every 3-4 month basis--gack!). Of course, I speak for myself as well when I imply that we haven't been making efficient use of this blog.
I'll start with an update of myself:
I know all of you are interested in how I am doing in school and things of that nature, so I'll devote most of this post to just that.
I just finished my Fall 2008 academic quarter at UC Santa Cruz (with flying colors) and I am now home for the holidays! (I will be home for three weeks and leaving on the date: January 4th). I can safely say that my quarter wasn't easy at all. It consisted of three brain-destroying classes, Residential Adviser responsibilities, and a job as Events Crew member.
For those of you who don't know what my field of study is, I am majoring in Linguistics and taking a minor is Astronomy and Astrophysics. I have developed a strong passion for Linguistics since I've been at UC Santa Cruz and I hope to continue having this passion for life. Linguistics, as some of you may (might?) not know, is the scientific study of language. Now this definition is extremely superficial but it was the only way of describing what Linguistics is in 5 words or less. (It's just like describing what a Chef does, "A chef cooks food for people. Duh!", is what someone who knows very little about culinary arts would carelessly say if asked what is the job description of a chef was). Linguistics is similar in that way. It would be very, very difficult for me to tell you that Linguistics is "the scientific study of Language" and have you take that statement as sufficient enough of a description. But that is just something Linguists (or aspiring Linguists) have to deal with if they do not want to talk forever on the subject. The bottom line here is, don't ask me what exactly linguistics is or what linguists do if you are just expecting 10 words or less. Ask me questions such as "Why can't native Chinese speakers 'roll' their [r]'s as in pronouncing words like 'writer' or the spanish word for dog: 'perro'?" or "Why should we use the singular 'they' instead of 'he or she'?" I'll be more than happy to discuss things like this with you. For those of you who want to know more about the field (You'll be my best friend if you do!), here is my, rather long, description of it:
At the heart of linguistics is the search for the unconscious knowledge that humans have about language(s), an understanding of the structure of language, and knowledge about how languages differ from each other. What exactly do I mean by this? When you were born, you were not able to communicate with the adults around you using their language. But by the time you were five or six, you were able to produce sentences, understand jokes, make rhymes, and so on. In short, you became a fluent native speaker. All of this happened before you entered first grade! (If you studied a foreign language in high school, you know that learning a language later in life did not go nearly as smoothly or as quickly.) During those first few years of your life, you accumulated a wide range of knowledge about language. Speakers of all languages know a lot about their languages, usually without knowing that they know it. For example, as a speaker of American English, you possess knowledge about word order: You understand that "Sarah admires the teacher" is grammatical, while "Admires Sarah teacher the" is not, and also that "The teacher admires Sarah" means something entirely different. You know that when you ask a yes-no question, you may reverse the order of words at the beginning of the sentence and that your voice goes up at the end of the sentence (for example, in Are you going?). However, if you speak French, you might add "est-ce que" at the beginning; if you speak Japanese, you probably add "ka" at the end; in Tagalog, you probably add a "ba" at the end; and if you know American Sign Language, you raise your eyebrows during the question. In addition, you understand that asking a wh-question (who, what, where, etc.) calls for a somewhat different strategy (compare the rising intonation in the question above to the falling intonation in Where are you going?). You also possess knowledge about the sounds of your language, e.g. which consonants can go together in a word. You know that "slint" could be an English word, while "sbint" or "srint" could not be. Linguists investigate how linguistic knowledge of this kind is acquired, how it interacts with other mental processes, how it varies from person to person and region to region (even within one language), and how computer programs can model this knowledge. They study how the structure of language (such as sounds or phrases) can be represented, and how different components of language interact with each other (such as intonation and meaning). Linguists work with consultants who speak different languages, search corpora, and run carefully designed experiments to answer these questions about language. (Yes, linguistics is a science!) By now you can see that linguists may benefit by knowing multiple languages, but you can see that this is not the full extent of what a linguist does.
As for those of you who are curious as to what type of opportunities are available for me as a student in Linguistics, here are a just a few:
-Work in the computer industry
-Teach at the University level
-Work in Education
-Teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in the United States or abroad
-Work as a translator or interpreter
-Work on language documentation or do fieldwork
-Teach a foreign language
-Work in the publishing industry, as a technical writer, or a journalist
-Work for a testing agency
-Work with dictionaries (lexicography)
-Become a consultant on language in professions such as law or medicine
-Work for a product-naming company
-Work for the government
-Become an actor or train actors.
If it is possible, I plan to attend graduate school immediately after graduation and pursue my PhD in Linguistics. If not possible, then I will still plan to receive a PhD in Linguistics eventually.
In addition to my major, I also have a strong interest in a discipline of natural science. Like my interest in Linguistics, I have developed a strong interest in Astrophysics since I arrived at UCSC. This is my Minor. I chose to minor in Physics and Astronomy mainly because I want to strengthen my background in science and mathematics. (Also because I am a nerd!). Being an Astrophysics minor at a University that currently holds the number 1 rank in the nation in Astronomy and Astrophysical research is a blessing. It's exciting to take classes in Astronomy here with professors who are well known around the world in their field of study. Ask me anything about Astronomy, Math, or Physics and I'll talk non-stop with you.
Alright, there is my update on my "studies". As for my job as a Residential Adviser, let's just say that the free housing and meal-plan is awesome! I am an RA for the "substance-free floor!"...It's been that way so far.
And finally, for those of you who don't know my email or phone # and would like to have in their address book for various reasons, here it is:
Cell Phone: (626) 833-6953
Email: bfigueroa5834@gmail.com
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Hope to see everyone soon!
For some time now I have been in pain over what appears to be a soon-to-be obsolete use of this blog. I haven't posted anything on this blog for quite some time now and as of today (Sunday December 14 2008 2:20pm) I plan to utilize this blog space more often than before (translation: never). This blog was created for a wonderful reason, which was to keep an up-to-date profile of everyone in our beautiful, loving family. (By up-to-date I mean an update on how everyone is doing on a monthly basis AT LEAST, not an every 3-4 month basis--gack!). Of course, I speak for myself as well when I imply that we haven't been making efficient use of this blog.
I'll start with an update of myself:
I know all of you are interested in how I am doing in school and things of that nature, so I'll devote most of this post to just that.
I just finished my Fall 2008 academic quarter at UC Santa Cruz (with flying colors) and I am now home for the holidays! (I will be home for three weeks and leaving on the date: January 4th). I can safely say that my quarter wasn't easy at all. It consisted of three brain-destroying classes, Residential Adviser responsibilities, and a job as Events Crew member.
For those of you who don't know what my field of study is, I am majoring in Linguistics and taking a minor is Astronomy and Astrophysics. I have developed a strong passion for Linguistics since I've been at UC Santa Cruz and I hope to continue having this passion for life. Linguistics, as some of you may (might?) not know, is the scientific study of language. Now this definition is extremely superficial but it was the only way of describing what Linguistics is in 5 words or less. (It's just like describing what a Chef does, "A chef cooks food for people. Duh!", is what someone who knows very little about culinary arts would carelessly say if asked what is the job description of a chef was). Linguistics is similar in that way. It would be very, very difficult for me to tell you that Linguistics is "the scientific study of Language" and have you take that statement as sufficient enough of a description. But that is just something Linguists (or aspiring Linguists) have to deal with if they do not want to talk forever on the subject. The bottom line here is, don't ask me what exactly linguistics is or what linguists do if you are just expecting 10 words or less. Ask me questions such as "Why can't native Chinese speakers 'roll' their [r]'s as in pronouncing words like 'writer' or the spanish word for dog: 'perro'?" or "Why should we use the singular 'they' instead of 'he or she'?" I'll be more than happy to discuss things like this with you. For those of you who want to know more about the field (You'll be my best friend if you do!), here is my, rather long, description of it:
At the heart of linguistics is the search for the unconscious knowledge that humans have about language(s), an understanding of the structure of language, and knowledge about how languages differ from each other. What exactly do I mean by this? When you were born, you were not able to communicate with the adults around you using their language. But by the time you were five or six, you were able to produce sentences, understand jokes, make rhymes, and so on. In short, you became a fluent native speaker. All of this happened before you entered first grade! (If you studied a foreign language in high school, you know that learning a language later in life did not go nearly as smoothly or as quickly.) During those first few years of your life, you accumulated a wide range of knowledge about language. Speakers of all languages know a lot about their languages, usually without knowing that they know it. For example, as a speaker of American English, you possess knowledge about word order: You understand that "Sarah admires the teacher" is grammatical, while "Admires Sarah teacher the" is not, and also that "The teacher admires Sarah" means something entirely different. You know that when you ask a yes-no question, you may reverse the order of words at the beginning of the sentence and that your voice goes up at the end of the sentence (for example, in Are you going?). However, if you speak French, you might add "est-ce que" at the beginning; if you speak Japanese, you probably add "ka" at the end; in Tagalog, you probably add a "ba" at the end; and if you know American Sign Language, you raise your eyebrows during the question. In addition, you understand that asking a wh-question (who, what, where, etc.) calls for a somewhat different strategy (compare the rising intonation in the question above to the falling intonation in Where are you going?). You also possess knowledge about the sounds of your language, e.g. which consonants can go together in a word. You know that "slint" could be an English word, while "sbint" or "srint" could not be. Linguists investigate how linguistic knowledge of this kind is acquired, how it interacts with other mental processes, how it varies from person to person and region to region (even within one language), and how computer programs can model this knowledge. They study how the structure of language (such as sounds or phrases) can be represented, and how different components of language interact with each other (such as intonation and meaning). Linguists work with consultants who speak different languages, search corpora, and run carefully designed experiments to answer these questions about language. (Yes, linguistics is a science!) By now you can see that linguists may benefit by knowing multiple languages, but you can see that this is not the full extent of what a linguist does.
As for those of you who are curious as to what type of opportunities are available for me as a student in Linguistics, here are a just a few:
-Work in the computer industry
-Teach at the University level
-Work in Education
-Teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in the United States or abroad
-Work as a translator or interpreter
-Work on language documentation or do fieldwork
-Teach a foreign language
-Work in the publishing industry, as a technical writer, or a journalist
-Work for a testing agency
-Work with dictionaries (lexicography)
-Become a consultant on language in professions such as law or medicine
-Work for a product-naming company
-Work for the government
-Become an actor or train actors.
If it is possible, I plan to attend graduate school immediately after graduation and pursue my PhD in Linguistics. If not possible, then I will still plan to receive a PhD in Linguistics eventually.
In addition to my major, I also have a strong interest in a discipline of natural science. Like my interest in Linguistics, I have developed a strong interest in Astrophysics since I arrived at UCSC. This is my Minor. I chose to minor in Physics and Astronomy mainly because I want to strengthen my background in science and mathematics. (Also because I am a nerd!). Being an Astrophysics minor at a University that currently holds the number 1 rank in the nation in Astronomy and Astrophysical research is a blessing. It's exciting to take classes in Astronomy here with professors who are well known around the world in their field of study. Ask me anything about Astronomy, Math, or Physics and I'll talk non-stop with you.
Alright, there is my update on my "studies". As for my job as a Residential Adviser, let's just say that the free housing and meal-plan is awesome! I am an RA for the "substance-free floor!"...It's been that way so far.
And finally, for those of you who don't know my email or phone # and would like to have in their address book for various reasons, here it is:
Cell Phone: (626) 833-6953
Email: bfigueroa5834@gmail.com
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Hope to see everyone soon!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Aaron's Boy Scout Fundraiser!
For more information, contact Auntie Bibi:
Aaron’s Boys Scout Troop 448 is having their Annual Fundraising Dinner on November 8, 2008. This is one of their biggest fundraising to support their camping trips, community services, rank advancements, merit badges, basic needs to run the troop and other activities. We are looking at a very busy year. Our troop is a fairly large troop and a very busy troop, so we need to raise a lot of money. We will be serving a very YUMMY “Hawaiian Dinner” for only $10 per person. ‘Just maybe a dollar more than L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and just think you’re doing it for a good cause. Your tummy will be filled with good food and your heart filled with joy (hehehe).
Aaron’s Boys Scout Troop 448 is having their Annual Fundraising Dinner on November 8, 2008. This is one of their biggest fundraising to support their camping trips, community services, rank advancements, merit badges, basic needs to run the troop and other activities. We are looking at a very busy year. Our troop is a fairly large troop and a very busy troop, so we need to raise a lot of money. We will be serving a very YUMMY “Hawaiian Dinner” for only $10 per person. ‘Just maybe a dollar more than L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and just think you’re doing it for a good cause. Your tummy will be filled with good food and your heart filled with joy (hehehe).
Saturday, September 20, 2008
My First Encounter with my Residents as an RA
The longest day came before me yesterday and it was not cool at all, until the end. The day before, I slept around 2:00am finishing all the decorations in my residence halls and finishing the welcome posters for the college. The following morning all of us (the RAs) had to wake up at 6:00am to prepare for MOVE-IN! I sat in the parking lot for about 9 hours directing traffic and greeting angry, nasty, distasteful, cranky parents. I don't want to get too much into it, just explaining it hurts. Anyways, this is when the day got better, when we were done, around 8:00pm we had to perform skits conveying different types of common scenarios that involve conflict. And YES I had a pretty big part. I had the first skit which intended to address Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Intersex issues and Homophobia. Basically I played the role of a Frat Boy and I had a roommate who is gay. Let's just say everyone had a great laugh. There were five other skits involved. The skits were done and then we had meet our residents for the first time! At around 9:30pm, the RAs conducted "first hall meetings" on their respective floors and were expected to talk about judicial, safety, and other policies. This is where I sort of played the "bad guy" RA in which I set the ground rules for the floor. As of now, I think they either hate my guts or they're scared of me. haha But I also made it fun, we played games/icebreakers and got to know each other a little bit more. So overall it was great first meeting. I went to bed at around 12:30am hopeful about the upcoming year.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IAN!
Happy 21st Birthday, Ian!
He is now old enough to legally blame alcohol for acting like this:
Nobody brings the good times like Ian!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Congratulations, Rachel!
I'm sure many of you were wondering where Rachel has been the last few weeks. Like Lamar Odom during the NBA finals this year, Rachel went missing....
Rachel has been diligently studying for her S7 certification, and as of yesterday, she has passed with flying colors!
CONGRATULATIONS, RACHEL!
Welcome back to the World!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Bye Elaine!
Elaine has returned to Cal for her second year of college. Did you know that the word "sophomore" is a Greek word which means "wise fool?" Beware of the Sophomore jinx!
Elaine and Ian should be back in town 11/08/08, when Cal takes on USC.
For many of the V-Clan, the summer is winding down and school will starting up again. So be sure to squeeze in some summer fun, and back-to-school shopping!
Elaine and Ian should be back in town 11/08/08, when Cal takes on USC.
For many of the V-Clan, the summer is winding down and school will starting up again. So be sure to squeeze in some summer fun, and back-to-school shopping!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Team Sake edges Team Shizzy
The first ever V-asketball game pitted Team Sake (Unlce Rick, Edward, and Elaine) vs Team Shizzy (Uncle Arnel, Brandon, and Aaron), and featured an array of thunderous dunks led by all-stars Edward and Brandon, who made use of the PBA regulation height (give or take 2-3 feet) basketball rims.
Team Shizzy entered the 2nd half of play with an 8-7 advantage. Despite only being one game into the season, fans witnessed the first ever V-asketball blockbuster trade. Team Sake traded the rights to Elaine for Team Shizzy's Aaron.
The newly acquired players hit the first couple scores for both teams in the second half. The game continued to go back and forth, and Team Sake came out on top.
Pictures: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2275459&l=189d2&id=3406923
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Edward, Esquire to be...
After 22 months of service for the City of Los Angeles, Ed will begin his studies at the University of La Verne College of Law this Monday.
He’s going to need a lot of bookmarks!
God Bless you in your new endeavor.
Work hard so you can PLAY HARD real soon!
Warning: the following video is PG-13 due to language.
He’s going to need a lot of bookmarks!
God Bless you in your new endeavor.
Work hard so you can PLAY HARD real soon!
Warning: the following video is PG-13 due to language.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Dylan's Birthday Party
Dylan's birthday is tomorrow (Aug 8), but the party is this Saturday at 3pm. It will be at Casa de Uncle G.
Call Auntie Rhonda or Uncle G to RSVP!
Call Auntie Rhonda or Uncle G to RSVP!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Grandma's 75th Birthday Pics
V-asketball Tournament
Yes, we have dates for our V-asketball Tournament:
Aug. 3, Aug. 17, and possibly Aug. 31
This is just a trial run since we don’t have much time to get it together. Summer is almost over. We’ll see how it works this year, so we can organize it better next summer.
For next year, games will be played one Sunday of each month from June to August, with 3 games per Sunday. Four players for each team, but only 3 players per team on the court at a time (3 on 3), fourth player is a sub for rotation. We don’t want to get too tired. Make sense? Probably not.
Any questions, please feel free to comment on this post.
We’ve heard from Edward, Rachel and Elaine. How about the others?
Suggestion: You think Grandma can REF?
In the beginning....
Well hello everyone! Here’s our first issue of the V-Connected blog!
Some of us have talked about having a way to stay in touch and keep up to date with what everybody is up to as everyone gets busier and busier.
We can post upcoming birthdays especially the big ones, graduation dates, performances, sports events, competition, new jobs, new school, etc.
All are welcome and encouraged to contribute. We have a few “natural” journalists in the family, so I expect to see some real good and clever news writing to come in. Just email your “posting” or comment on the posts. Aaron and Edward have volunteered to manage the newsletter to check on a bi-weekly basis.
I hope you share my enthusiasm for our newsletter and that you will actively participate.
Love to each and everyone,
Auntie Bibi
Some of us have talked about having a way to stay in touch and keep up to date with what everybody is up to as everyone gets busier and busier.
We can post upcoming birthdays especially the big ones, graduation dates, performances, sports events, competition, new jobs, new school, etc.
All are welcome and encouraged to contribute. We have a few “natural” journalists in the family, so I expect to see some real good and clever news writing to come in. Just email your “posting” or comment on the posts. Aaron and Edward have volunteered to manage the newsletter to check on a bi-weekly basis.
I hope you share my enthusiasm for our newsletter and that you will actively participate.
Love to each and everyone,
Auntie Bibi
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