cross (v) oppose, speak against

drift = gist = meaning

[catch sb's drift]

[get the drift]

ransom note

It bugs me

dues (n) = member fee

French braid = French plait

slit your wrist

not the sharpest knife in the drawer / not the sharpest tool in the box = not intelligent

unconscionable (j) (of an action) so bad, immoral,... that it should make you feel ashamed

in your element: doing what you are good at and enjoy

Eggs don't agree with me.

 You will answer to me for any damage to the car.

 Sometimes my mom criticizes me without allowing me to answer back. Not having the chance to defend myself feels unfair and uncomfortable.

Sometimes what I say in my daily stories in my dairy just don't add up.

I bank on God's program. I count on Mother Mary. I reckon on the Holy Saints.

I hadn't bargained on joining GLV the previous year.

I really don't like it when the subject is brought up.

Every time I talk to my Father it all boils down to me being a nun in the end.

I keep running into him all the time. I hate it.

Full scholarships are hard to come by these days.

Sometimes I daydream I'd suddenly come into a great fortune!

I don't know what came over him to lay eyes on her.

One of the greatest things about coming home after being away is the return to familiarity. Familiar places, sights, feelings, roads, friends. It’s the “default”. I often think of home as the “constant” in my life. While everything else in my life is up in the air in a whirlwind of variables, home stays consistent and therefore helps remind me of what’s real, and what’s important.

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/687472572/homepage-set-to-default/

creep up on sb/sth = to surprise someone by walking up behind them silently

leave/make its mark on sb/sth = to affect s.o or sth so that they change in a permanent or very noticeable way

moped (n) xe gan may

demise (n,v) death 

valiant (j) very brave, especially in a difficult situation

hit an emotional chord with

strike/touch a chord (with sb) to do or say sth that people feel is familiar or true

inherent (jl) IN: a quality that is inherent in sth is a natural part of it and cannot be separated from it

wok (n) cái chảo

skank (informal) = heroine

partake (v) IN: take part in an activity

hold the fort = to be responsible for something while the person usually responsible for it is not there

retract (v) take back what you said or did

retraction (n) an official statement that something that you said previously is not true

angst (n) strong feelings of anxiety and unhappiness because you are worried about your life, your future, or what you should do in a particular situation

condescending (jl) behaving as though you're superior to other people

eat your words = to admit what you said was wrong

pensive (jl) thinking a lot about something, especially because you are worried or sad

It dawned on me that...

dawn on sb: if a fact dawns on you, you realize it for the first time

legit (j) honest and not trying to deceive people

have a lot/enough on your plate = (informal) to have a lot of problems to deal with or to worry about

at fault: if someone is at fault, they are responsible for something bad that has happened

[A special day calls for a special post.]

hanky panky (n used informally and humorously) sexual activity

for days/weeks etc on end = for many days, weeks etc without stopping

case = a set of reasons why something should happen or be done

[make your case]

[And I'd make my case to my Mom as to why she should buy me a new dress.]

eloquent (jl) able to express your ideas and opinions well, especially in a way that influences people

eloquence (n)

plug (n) a way of advertising a book, film etc by mentioning it publicly, especially on television or radio

Over the holiday, I watched "Meet the Robinsons".  I was looking forward to watching it for some time (ever since I saw the T Rex say "I have a big head, and little arms"...genius writing) It was, a really great movie.  Not gonna lie either...I almost cried at the end when everything was coming together for the main character, Lewis. (Yeah so?! I'm not gonna front) =P 
Anyway, Lewis' main motto in the movie was "Keep moving forward".  No matter what mistakes you make, or however you've failed, you must keep moving forward.  Never quit, never turn it into anger at others or yourself. Turned out it was taken from a quote from Walt Disney himself.

"Keep moving forward" Yeah, I know it was probably a movie aimed at 12 yr olds, but I'll take my lessons and advice where I can get them.  Seemed fitting what w/ it being the end of the year and stuff.
Somehow another year has gotten by me. It's amazing how time can pass by so quickly, while feeling so slow at times.
So like, I do this thing on any given day, where I think back to where I was one yr ago.  I don't know why, but I get some kind of satisfaction out of examining the difference.  Today is no different.  It's just another day, but according to our calendar, dates must now end with Zero Eight, rather than Zero Seven.  Therefore, I do reflect on where I was, one year ago, and how to keep moving forward.
What was only 12 months, feels like a long time ago.  In that time, I had some amazing highs, and some pathetic, shameful lows.  But what would a year in ones' life be w/out those ups and downs?  All I can do is acknowledge the change, pray that I learned something from the progression, and of course....be thankful for all that was given to me when I probably didn't deserve it.

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/635097062/ohhh-seven-t/

My spiritual walk with God is at a stand still if not slowly going in reverse.  I WANT to make it more of my life...no, encompass all of my life. =\.  And I feel as tho my life is full of so many amazing blessings, like He's screaming for my attention, but, I ignore, or don't return the attention...because, my mind is obviously somewhere else.

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/628216691/homeslice/

in reverse = in the opposite way to normal or to the previous situation

go into reverse/put something into reverse = to start to happen or to make something happen in the opposite way

encompass (v) to include a wide range of ideas, subjects, etc.
                     to completely cover or surround something

stupendous (jl) surprisingly large or impressive, magnificent

horrendous (j) frightening, terrible, extremely unreasonable or unpleasant

[I'm in a horrendous debt.]

glimmer of hope

recap (v) ON: to repeat the main points of sth that has just been said

recap (n)

be on the edge = (informal) to be behaving in a way that makes it seem as if you are going crazy

pertain to something = relate directly to something

standstill (n) a situation in which there is no movement or activity at all

[at a standstill]

[come to a standstill/bring something to a standstill]

I saw a couple walk in to the store.  They entered side by side, preoccupied...looking around in random directions.  If they were standing a few more feet apart, you'd think they were strangers.  What struck me, was despite their lack of focus on one another, their hands, their hands gradually came together, almost as if they found each other on their own. I thought that was really cool. Like, they had their own mind...or subconsciously, the couple was thinking of one another, and despite the hustle and bustle of the rest of their body, they were still connected.

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/609602450/its-all-in-the-hands/

"10.7.06
So, last weekend, I was in San Diego to be a judge for Ascension tryouts.  It was the first time I was there since school started again.  It never hit me before…but this time when I went down and saw ppl again, walked on campus…it felt pretty dang sucky.

Yes, college is over, and yes it sucks.  But like I said, everyone has to deal with this.  Everyone has their own dilemmas and feelings toward the end of their college years, facing the real world.  This transition…really sucks for some because their change in lifestyle is depressingly dramatic.
But, for me…the transition hasn’t been so bad.  I’m still living away from home.   I've been given the opportunity to  pursue my dreams, doing something I love.  I’m living w/ two great  friends who are pursuing this dream with me.  and I have a wonderful girlfriend/companion/friend. 

So…yes, though I helllaaaaa miss college and all the fun associated w/ it, everyone hasta move on.  And if I hafta move on…what I moved on to…is pretty much the best thing I could ask for (realistically).  So I can’t really complain.  So when people ask me how post-college life is, how’s LA?  I tell them... honestly, I can’t complain, because everything I have right now, is truly a blessing. 

And truth is, I did what I could to live college to the fullest.  So I should be thankful for what I got. I had the buddies, excitement, purpose, experiences, struggles, lessons…all the things needed to make some of the most ideal college memories. There isn’t a thing I would change.  So maybe that’s why I miss college so much.  Cause it was everything I wanted (whether i knew it at the time or not).

Now, ripped away from it…I begin something new.  Though what I’m living right now, is not part of the college era…it’s part of some era.  And though it’s not the same as college…it’s not supposed to be.  It has to be different so that I can grow and move forward w/ my life.  College happened, and it was amazing.  Now, I’m starting something new…that could potentially be even more amazing. 
But for now…I’m good.  It’s ok that it’s over and that things aren’t the same.  This is how we progress in life.  Good things end, good things start.  I’m at a start right now, I know it. =)"

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/537001258/why-i-miss-college-but-know-i-shouldnt/

"... our insane tour guide had other things in mind. This is Gordon. He had legs of iron and no mercy...

So Wes and I ventured onward, not questioning where we were being led." 

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/584213266/i-got-rocked/ 

It was really neat being there... I felt ..."classy" But it was also a good reality check. We still have a long way to go. But I think we're ready.

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/538746692/1-year-ago/

it's a shame...

it's a shame...
that time cannot stand still...that it passes so fast...even worse that it'll go even faster as i get older, right?  it's a shame that good things have to end.  Sometimes i wonder if it's better if they never happened in the first place, that way they don't have to have an ending.  It's a shame that people so close to you at some moment or time in your life... are strangers now.  You used to kno when they woke up everyday...now you don't kno anything about them.  Then you wonder...who's next?  It's a shame that so much of what ppl feel, or think, goes unsaid, and therefore unheard.  Unheard usually by the ppl that need to hear it the most.  So often what we really thinl or want, we never say, and it never even gets the chance to happen.  It's a shame that there are really awful guys out there...like, really pathetically bad...even worse, my future gf or wife could be getting screwed over by one of them right now.  It's a shame i didn't pay this parking ticket, when i had 30 days to...and now it's doubled...  =P  stoopid stoopid

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/487655169/looking-for-the-exceptions/

Indescribable thanks, undeniable respect, and infinite praise to Wes and Ted. 

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/494501765/honored/

nostalgia :: a curse and a blessing

As much as I look forward to the future, I long for the past.  When things were simpler, and more fun.  I don’t want my childhood, even my high school years, to just be history.  I wish I could have them forever.  But I guess that’s what sucks about time; one can only go forward, little by little…but never back.

I strongly encourage everyone to keep a written journal of some sort.  It's amazing to read back.  It's worth the extra time to record ur thoughts and events.  It makes you see how dumb you were before, and how dumb you probably are right now...=P 

Source: http://wongfuphil.xanga.com/442028858/nostalgia--a-curse-and-a-blessing/ 

nefarious /nɪˈfɛːrɪəs/ (jln) wicked, criminal

get something out of your system (informal) = to do something that helps you get rid of unpleasant strong feelings

This morning, Lily Allen took to her Twitter to thank her fans and followers for sending her well wishes in the wake of her miscarriage. It's obviously been a difficult time for the singer, but thankfully, she has a lot of support in her corner.

 Source: PerezHilton.com

 

in the wake of = following s.o/sth, especially as a consequence

 

in someone's corner = on someone's side; giving someone support and encouragement 

 

vilify (v) sb/sth as sth

             sb/sth for sth/doing sth

             say/write unpleasant things about sb/sth so other people will have a low opinion of them.

             = malign, revile

vilification (n)

underhand (j) (less frequent form: underhanded) secret and dishonest

linger (v)

lingering (jl)

[They lingered over coffee and missed the last bus.]

[I spent a week at New York and could happily have lingered on.]

halt (v, n)

halting (jl) if your speech/movement are halting, you stop for a moment between words or movements, especially because you're not confident

A ray of sunshine = someone who's happy and makes a difficult situation seem better.

catch some/a few rays = sit/lie in the sun

a ray of hope/light = something that gives hope or happiness in a difficult situation

construe (v) as # misconstrue (v)

orthodontist (n) a dentist whose job is to help teeth to grow straight.

[I remember in grade 10 my friend Trà had to go see her orthodontist pretty frequently.]

permanent (n) = perm

dark (j) mysterious/secret

righty/lefty

downside

progressive (jln) supporting, welcoming new modern ideas and methods, especially in politics and education

cronyism (n) the situation in which people in power give jobs to their friends

sanguine (j) ABOUT

iniquitous (j) very unfair or wrong, wicked

iniquity (n)

turbulence (n) a situation that has a lot of sudden change, confusion, disagreement, violence

= UPHEAVAL

turbulent (j)

detrimental

self-effacing (j) modest

self-efface-ment (n)

ascertain (v) find out the true and correct info about sth

ascertainable (j)

ascertainment (n)

Ascension Day: Lễ Thăng Thiên

cardinal (j) most important, basic

zenith = peak

mismanagement (n)

indigenous = native

on the premise that = an idea/theory on which a statement/action is based

enticing (jl) appealing

entice (v) persuade

enticement (n)

double as = have another use of functions as well as the main ones.

mimic = imitate, take off

mentality = a particular attitude or way of thinking, especially one that you think is wrong or stupid

There exists...

disparity (n) a difference between two or more things, especially an unfair one

disparity IN/BETWEEN

deem (v)