Sunday, September 06, 2009

15/99

11. Watch Pineapple Express
Eh. Was alright. I wouldn't own it.

20. Follow through on ways to recycle(3/10)
I've been finding multiple ways to be more environmental. One huge step is doing this at my own work. Kids are HUGE wasters so I've been taking a few steps to decrease their carbon imprint.
-Do you realize how much paper kids use up? And most of it they don't care about! I made them a recycling bin which they put pieces of paper that they don't want in there! It's even encouraged the other teacher in the classroom to recycle! Piles of paper are saved from the trash now! :)
-I also contribute at school. When I drink a cup of milk, I waste at least 2 cups/day. Now I have one cup I use for all liquids. Currently, it's a foam cup that the cafeteria uses. Maybe I'll replace it with an actual cup.
-At my school, we use plastic cups to avoid spreading germs between kids. But because of this, we throw away at least 400 cups, and that's just in MY own classroom. One of the times that we use cups is after we come outside to drink some water. I have NOW made it a ritual to give kids their cups that I've labeled (to have them practice being able to recognize their name) and then they return the cup to me and we'll reuse those cups! :)

42. Hang out with an acquaintance(1/5)
I hung out with a dude I know from dancing at Midnight Rodeo(two stepping, swing, that sort of dancing). We complained about our issues without the worries and annoyances of people we know finding out, since we don't have out with the same circle of friends. Fun!

Sunday, August 23, 2009


I'm working on learning to drive a motorcycle. My friend, Aaron, has a 500cc cycle which I practiced driving in 1st gear. Anyway, scooters are def different when it comes to where your feet can go... aka I burned my leg on the exhaust pipe. It looks pretty nasty :(

And I tried to do #86 this weekend(snorkel San Marcos river) but the goggles broke! Maybe later on... or I'll snorkel someplace else... I just wanted to snorkel period!

#39
Today I went on a coffee date with an old friend. It was extremely awkward cuz I didn't intended to complete this goal with an ex-boyfriend, but until the complications he was a dear friend of mine so it was nice to reconnect. I don't know what to really think of it... I prefer to hear, "I told you so" versus have regrets and think "what if..." However, I DO know for sure that my fav coffee drink is blended coffee aka frappaccinos(cuz they're not as sweet as the other drinks, in my opinion).

Saturday, August 15, 2009

I was at a boat party today and I saw a plastic cup floating in the water. I went to retrieve it when it was too far away and I fell in. My glasses are now in the bottom of the lake. :( Luckily Kai let me use his old pair! But still... I miss my glasses... I really wish they didn't fall off...

#36
I used to keep in touch with people, however, I stopped when I noticed it tended to be very one sided. I would call and say hi, but the other person usually wouldn't. So I just stopped keeping tabs on people altogether unless they kept tabs on me. But as time has gone by, I've realized it's just more mature to say hi, and not expect anything back. So I called up an old friend and we talked for about 45 minutes, updating each other on our lives and how things have changed. It was nice and refreshing and definitely inspiration to call a variety of people. I'll definitely follow through with it tomorrow on my 2 hour drive to visit a friend.

#55
When it comes to guys I'm interested in, I've always taken the traditional route of letting the guy show interest first and approach me. I find things that make you uncomfortable have been some of the best experiences I've gone through.
I was at a boat party today and one of the guys who worked for the boat company was really cute! So I worked up the courage and approached him first, making conversation. I'd come back every once in a while to chill with him and by the end of the boat party, he asked to exchange phone numbers. :) Girls can put themselves out there first as well. GO ME!

Sunday, August 02, 2009

#17
I've bought a drying rack that sits in my room. Even though I'm the only one that uses it, my one or two loads of laundry of month are, for sure, reducing the cost of our electric bill which, for me, is a big deal! I wanna do my part, little by little, to be environmental! :)

#22, #62
I was at the house, watching tv and was absolutely bored. I started to get cabin fever(where you're at home for too long and you just feel horribly bored). So I decided to gather some things up and follow through with some errands! Recycle plastic bags, donate clothes, and sell books. Two of the things I needed to do were in the same area as my friend so I picked them up and we did our errands! I made $4 for my books and got more kid books for my class! I even cleared out a shelf to put all my kid books. Very happy with the growing collection!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

#3
My friend invited a group of us to watch the movie, "Up", last week. I just got back from it. I don't think the whole thing was AMAZING... some parts were kinda not tied together well but LOTS OF CRYING! So freakin' sweet!!!

#29, #32, #39
Craig's list is awesome. You can sell anything, buy anything, all sorts of services are on there. I just didn't realize how awesome it is.
I put a stereo on there, a free of whoever wants it. 30 minutes later, I looked at my porch and IT WAS GONE! AWESOME!!! I'm hopin' my other listings(even tho they're not free)!

#59
I love my parents. I'd have to say they produced some pretty awesome kids due to their raisings, personalities, and quirks. But with all that I have alike with them, one of the things about them that I refuse to inherit is their unorganized nature. Now mind you this is only because they are always busy with their working, hobbies, and social lives, making them too tired to do much with the house except for keeping it sanitary. I just wanna do my part while I live here.
I've been working on organizing the Allen household like making shoe racks, cleaning book shelves, cleaning out everything expired from the bathrooms, and getting rid of clothes. Most of my work has gone unnoticed but I myself notice the little changes which are awesome.
Anyway, so I spent the weekend in the kitchen pantry, clearing out everything that was expired. Our outdoor trashcan is full; I almost had to wait til next week to finish there was so much stuff! I found stuff that expired in 1997... Pretty bad.
Through this experience, I've reestablished that I prefer the minimal lifestyle. I don't want to live in a huge house where I can accumulate things over time.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

GOALS: (July 25, 2009-July 25. 2010)

ENTERTAINMENT: 7
1. Read Felidae
2. Watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s
3. Watch Up
4. Finish Claymore Series
5. Finish Darker than Black series
6. Beat Halo
7. Watch The Science of Sleep
8. Watch Finding Neverland
9. Beat FF7
10. Watch Superbad
11. Watch Pineapple Express

FOOD: 2
12. Cook chicken rice
13. Cook new dishes (2/5)
14. Try something you’re afraid of a restaurant
15. Pop popcorn from scratch

ENVIRONMENTAL: 3
16. Buy menstrual cups
17. Buy a drying rack for clothes
18. Pick up two random pieces of trash (5/10)
19. Recycle tapes
20. Follow through on ways to be environmental(5/10)
21. Host a project trash cleanup
22. Donate clothes to Goodwill

EDUCATION: 2
23. Visit an art museum
24. Buy a news magazine and read it entirely
25. Study Spanish(2/12)
26. Read chapters of History text(5/5)
27. Translate Ah My Goddess book
28. Read up on 1 religion

NEED TO: 4
29. Put animal puppet on Craig’s list
30. Organize iTunes list with yr song made
31. Mail out Taiwan giftts
32. Get rid of stereo in car
33. Get Chinese clothes altered
34. Find a place to volunteer at
35. Put fish tanks on Craig’s list

RELATIONSHIPS: 6
36. Call an old friend that you’ve lost touch with
37. Do something nice for a complete stranger(5/10)
38. Go on an non one-sided date (lol)
39. Hang out with an old friend
40. Make new friends (5/5)
41. Have a party
42. Hang out with an acquaintance

HEALTH: 1
43. Participate in a 5k run
44. Join some sort of class
45. Find a jogging partner
46. Do a triathon
47. Do the splits
48. Still be 120 pounds or less
49. Take out chicken from your diet

CHALLENGING MYSELF: 4
50. Get at least 70 things of this list done
51. Learn to drive a manual car
52. Hem something
53. Go downtown NOT wearing hoops
54. Write a letter with left hand
55. Approach a guy you’re interested in first
56. Write about the accomplished goals in cousin blog

PROJECT ALLEN: 6
57. Recycle 3 boxes of magazines (4/3)
58. Add rock bottles to all the toilets
59. Clean out pantry
60. Clean room, again
61. Get thumbtacks off walls
62. Donate towels
63. Donate bed sheets

SELF: 1
64. Move out of the house, again (lol)
65. Get motorcycle lessons
66. Take a Monday off
67. Buy a motorcycle
68. Jump off a cliff into the water
69. Get a professional massage

FINANCIAL: 2
70. Pay off my whole loan
71. Get a 3rd job
72. Do free adventures(0/5)
73. Finish off “free stuff” calendar
74. Follow through on ways to save money(1/5)

ADVENTURE: 3
75. Visit the zoo
76. Go to an anime convention ;p
77. Go camping
78. Jet ski
79. Ride on a horse carriage
80. Do a doughnut
81. Go to a salsa club
82. Canoe
83. Paintball
84. Visit Paris, Texas
85. Go skiing
86. Snorkel San Marcos river
87. Go to Sea World
88. Go skinny dipping in broad daylight
89. See the stars at the MacDonald Observatory
90. Participate in a study
91. Skydive

JUST BECAUSE: 2
92. Draw a picture and have it framed
93. Get a nude photo of self
94. Donate plasma
95. Girls photo shoot (1/3)
96. Buy a tin mixer
97. Try out that letter money saver thing on someone
98. Buy a gold top
99. Pick up the violin

Saturday, January 17, 2009

My Coolest Work Day

There have been rumors going around about this so I'll write the official story here!

I was in my kindergarten class, coloring aligators, when a lady from the office came into my class, "Leah, you need to leave the classroom right now."
"Ummm... what? I'm still in class, I still have two blocks left(two 30 min class periods)"
"Leah, a government official is here, you need to get out of this classroom right now."
I was confused but I left and was escorted upstairs to where the other foriegn teachers were. I asked the foreign teachers “Why aren't we allowed in our classes?" Apparently, it's illegal for foreigners to teach kindergarten. WHAT!?!? HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?!?!??!

So back to the story, we were told to pretend we were working so each of us took a classroom. I took any book I could find and "prepared" for my non-kindergarten classes. Then the head foreign teacher gathers all the foreign teachers and tells us, "The principal just called and told me we need to get on the roof right now to hide."
At that moment, all the teachers start running classroom to classroom, trying to find access to the roof. They keep yelling, "WE NEED TO GET ON THE ROOF! WE GOTTA GET ON THE ROOF!" We're running back and forth, trying to get on the roof. Finally, we find the door to the roof but it's locked! We called the office to ask to send someone to send us the key to the door to let us get on the roof. One of the teachers is yelling "WE NEED THE KEYS TO THE ROOF!" but no one in the office speaks English so they had no idea what we were saying. The teachers gave the phone to me, however, I didn't know the words "key" or "roof" in Chinese so I wasn't much help.
We decided to go back to pretending to do work. If the official came upstairs, it'd look really suspicious if we were running around yelling, "WE NEED TO GET ON THE ROOF!"

The principal came upstairs and gathered us around. She told us that the official wants to interview us. She repeated to us, "YOU DO NOT TEACH KINDERGARTEN! You only work 14 hours. YOU DO NOT TEACH KINDERGARTEN!" She basically gave us our new lies to tell in the interview.

All of us go downstairs for our individual interviews. As people are being interviewed, the principal glares at me and says to me, "I'm the most worried about you...LEAH! DO NOT BE HONEST! YOU DO NOT TEACH KINDERGARTEN!" How odd that being honest is a bad trait in a person!

It was ridiculous... in my interview, the official had my time sheet with everyone elses.
"How many hours do you teach?" she asks me.
"Oh, I only work from 4pm-6pm so about 14-15 hours a week," I replied.
As I say this, she looks at my funny with my time sheet. "If you work starting at 4pm, why do you come every morning from 9am?"
Seriously, how stupid does the school think the government official is? Anyway, I just had to lie and make up an excuse but it was just really the most bizarre work day I've ever had.

I work an illegal job, so illegal that teachers have jumped fences and made plans on how to escape being caught at the school! And seriously, how come I had no idea until it happened? I could have been deported and taken to court if I were caught!

But it really was the coolest work day ever!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I lost some money from my paycheck, including two months worth of attendance bonuses but it's okay. I don't mind because Taylor came to Taiwan and it was really awesome! I couldn't of been happier! It was one of the best weeks EVER! I've always wanted to take a trip to another country with a significant other and I got it! I got the adventure without sitting on a plane for 20 hours!

We traveled around many different cities in Taiwan: Gaoxiong, Hualian, Tainan, Taipei, Taoyuan, Xinpo, and Zhongli.

I wanted to take him to Hualian because they have this huge aquarium at Hualian Ocean Park. He's really into fish and aquariums so it was perfect. It was really neat to see fish swimming from all directions, from above, to the left, to the right. Too bad I didn't get to kiss a dolphin.

While we were at Hualian, we got to visit Taroko Gorge as well which is an extremely gorgeous natural phenomenon.

Taylor got to meet some of the family, who I have come to believe likes Taylor better than me! He's very outgoing so it's understandable! :) I'm very thankful for all of their hospitality and for helping me guide Taylor around Taiwan!

Monday, November 03, 2008

I find it very unfair but the school had put a lot of prejudgment on me, based on my age. A quick summary: I'm young and therefore I, of course, have no idea what I'm doing. No, I've never dealt with children before EVER, not that my whole resume shows a lifetime of experience with being around children! Fortunately, I've definitely proved both the school and the parents wrong. All I needed was time to pass to prove my ability. Just because I recently graduated college, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing.
Anyway, these pictures are of Ms. Leah in action. However, I usually don't dress as formally.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Freetime

[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey? My views are different from most people's so it's nothing I haven't dealt with.

[02] Would you do meth if it was legal? No. I'm not into drugs personally. I find it ridiculous, I don't think they'd do anything for me. I don't need nor want them. If I really wanna be in a simliar state as drugs, I just needa be really really tired. I basically act like a drunk/high/overdosed person.

[03] Abortion: for or against it? I am for abortion, as in it being legal for women to have an abortion if they so choose. It's gonna happen no matter what, might as well have it safe and controlled versus an increase profit for clothes hangers. It's their own body and therefore their own choice. If you choose to have an abortion, if you choose not to, whatever: It's your choice. But on a diff view, I really don't think an unwanted child should be born. Adoption centers are overcrowded, there isn't enough of a demand in adopting children for mothers to be able to put their unwanted children up for adoption with a hopeful future for those children. It just seems really sad to bring a child into the world who is unwanted. I also think there are too many people in the world so adding more, esp unwanted ones, seems ridiculous.

[04] Do you think the world would fail with a female president? I think it depends on the person themself, not on their gender... so no.

[05] Do you believe in the death penalty? I'm against the death penalty. If we're going morally, it just seems barbaric to me to KILL someone, even if they killed others. For a system that's supposed to be above emotions, it'd seem to make more sense to be a good example as in not kill others and instead just prevent certain liberties. If we're going logically, the death penalty was supposed to deter murder. It doesn't deter nor encourage murder. It also costs more to kill someone versus to keep them alive in prison for life. Doesn't seem like a system that works too well to keep it going to me.

[06] Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already? It's not a huge priority but I agree with the legalization of the MJ. Cigarettes are more harmful and are more addicting than marijuana. I think the only thing legalization will do is create more ppl that are stinky(smoke smell) but nothing too bad for me.

[07] Are you for or against premarital sex? I think being able to look into each other's eyes is just as important as conversation. I think sex is also an important part of a relationship. I don't think sex should be excluded for after marriage. Most couples get married sooner because of the lack sex and therefore most of the time fail because they didn't get to learn about each other as much as they should have.

[08] Do you believe in God? No.

[09] Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized? I can not choose who I fall in love with. If I fall in love with an asshole, I'm allowed to marry an asshole. If I can marry an asshole who happens to be male, why not equal treatment if they happen to be female? For me, marriage shows a commitment between two people who will love and support each other the rest of their lives. I don't think straight people are the ONLY ppl that can love and support someone the rest of their lives.

[10] Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA? I'm not upset that they're Hispanic. I'm upset with the whole illegal part, but I also agree that it should be easier to be able to come legally into the country.

[11] A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it? I say it's the twelve year old girl's choice. I would personally think she shouldn't because what kinda fucked up situation is that forcing a newborn into? How immature to do such a thing. But it all depends on the situation.

[12] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen? I agree it should be lowered but I understand it comes at a cost. If we start lowering the age, it WILL cause problems but in the long run it should be fine. I find it odd that a person can die for their country before they can drink legally.

[13] Should the war in Iraq be called off? Too late for that now, we can't just pack up and leave. That's just irresponsible. If you run into a house, should you just leave? No, take care of the mess you caused.

[14] Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree? This is a topic I don't know much about so my opinion doesn't matter too much on it. However I understand how there are people with illnesses that make their suffer severly. I would, yet again, say it's a matter of choice... but I still find it an iffy topic.

[15] Do you believe in spanking your children? No. I do not need physical attacks to keep my class behaved. My parents didn't need to use physical force to keep my brother and I in behaved. I find other methods affective, why would I need to result to spanking? Other methods take more work, agreed, but I think it's more affective in the long run.

[16] Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars? Eh, whatever, it's just a piece of cloth. Looking at the flag is not what represents America to me. It's my experiences and my views that I see as a representation of America. I understand others would be offended but it's all about intention.

[17] Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama? I'm not into either really. But I AM scared of Palin... so I'd have to go with the Obama party.

[18] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers? I think incest shouldn't be illegal, I think prostitution is not a sin, I think it's wrong to kill bugs just because they're bugs, I'm used to having views that do not fit most people's views so I don't really care.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Attack in Taiwan


I use my weekends to chores such as do laundry and clean/organize my room. I was cleaning my room just now and ugh.. I found this HUGE spider corpse. I took pics to show it to others later(such as on here) assuming it to be dead. Then it hit me, maybe what I found(because all I found was the head and legs) was it's leftover exoskeleton... therefore, maybe it's STILL alive except BIGGER! T.T I looked it up and spiders DO grow that way, as in leave their former skins when they grow too big for it. Therefore, THAT SPIDER ISN'T DEAD! IT'S STILL ALIVE WALKING AROUND SOMEWHERE! POSSIBLY IN MY ROOM! It's so hairy and creepy! I refuse to clean anymore for the night! I refuse to find it on accident while moving things around. *shivers* CREEPY!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

A five minute walk away and you can see gorgeous lotus gardens. This weekend, I decided to take a walk to the lotus gardens and finally take pictues of it. The previous times I was at those gardens, I didn't bring a camera. BUT GAH! I HAVE FAILED! It's out of season and the gardens are DEAD!!! It was still a lot of fun though. I ended up just walking around for a couple hours, making new discoveries.
The next day, I decided to venture thru the typhoon. It seemed okay at first because it wasn't raining but as soon as I went out it poured. It's the painful type, since it's so windy. I decided I'd just head back inside. Oh well, I tried my best and looked my best. I must thank Mia for the cute gold shoes that made this ensemble possible.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008


I met Hemi officially for the first time on Saturday! Apparently he got a new haircut. It's the exact haircut I wanna do for my kitty. Hemi was pretty pimp. Not only was he sexy with his new haircut, he helped me rediscover that I'm allergic to cats. He helped unclog my nose of all the snot. Now I can breathe!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

skype away

Typhoon

Today I woke up from my door rattling and rain banging against my windows. I've been watching a typhoon outside my window. The view outside is a white mask from the rain over the scenery of trees being blown to my left. The wind is a 55knots, definitely a nice substitute for AC.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

My job is making me really hate living in Taiwan... I don't think I could deal with working at that place for a year.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

When I came back home from vacation, I found there was a GNAsTy problem! I found out when I arrived home around midnight (aka it's dark in the apartment) and I went toward the sink and got attacked by tape. There is sticky tape to catch em, which I prefer vs them flying at me and itching me. Very unBuddhist but tearing down trees (home to plenty of wildlife) to build a temple over it isn't any better(worse in my opinion).

In other news, here are some pics from my vacation!

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Leah's itinerary:

June 9-12: Singapore
June 13-14: Johor Bahru
June 15-18: Malacca
June 19: Johor Bahru
June 20-21: Singapore
June 22: USA