Michele Carandang

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

As far as the dogs' last names go, I'm definitely arranging it with the local vet so both dogs carry my middle name as their last names: K9 Zeus Mistica (black, American Cocker Spaniel) and K9 Othello Mistica (black, Lab). The last thing I ever want is for Artemis and Atlas, in their driving-teen years, to take the dog(s) to the Scripps Ranch Veterinary Hospital and get blindsided by a tech calling them "Zeus Carandang" or "Othello Carandang." That kind of unintended misname would feel cold and disconnected. So, yeah -- got that mapped out as well.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

I had a moment where I thought about dropping my dad's family name and going by just my first and middle name, to match the kids' future last names. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized: nothing has to be perfectly symmetrical. I'll keep my full name as-is. And the kids will carry my middle name; my mom's family name; as their last name. It feels right, grounded, true and simple.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

Weirdest thing. Gemini AI advised me that the name Sebastian is a better name than Atlas for the conductor route. Thought about it for a bit, and Gemini is wrong. The name ATLAS MISTICA sounds so much better than SEBASTIAN MISTICA as an Olympian and Orchestra Conductor. Gemini cited both Artemis and Atlas would likely be nicknamed: The A-Team. I couldn’t care less.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

🙌🏼

[Emma 🇺🇸 @Emmaiid11]

🚨BREAKING: Powerful moment as Navy Under Secretary Hung Cao—who fled communist Vietnam as a child—delivers a direct message on immigration to the Vietnamese American community in Orange County, CA!

"Don't come to this country and ask for the American DREAM if you’re not willing to obey the American LAWS and embrace the American CULTURE!"

Cao, a retired Navy captain confirmed as Under Secretary of the Navy in 2025 under President Trump, spoke from personal experience: His family arrived with nothing after escaping communism in 1975. They asked for nothing, built a life through hard work, and he went on to serve 25 years in the Navy, run for U.S. Senate in Virginia in 2024 (as a Trump-endorsed candidate), and now hold a key Pentagon role.

He also highlighted his own story in the remarks: "We came to this country with NOTHING. We asked nothing from this country... together, we will make America great again!"

Comment "🙌🏾" if you agree!

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

🖤 love the black sheep!

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

Love this — too cute

[十筆斎 @jissunboshi96]

シリアルに牛乳を注ぐアザラシを描きました。

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

2/ Also... with the plan: Othello, the black Lab, and Zeus, the black Cocker Spaniel. I just realized something hilarious; Othello's name becomes a built-in family cheer. If the kids watch football and the game goes into overtime, we can yell:

OT-HELLO! OVERTIME, HELLO!

I think the kids would love stuff like that. Instant family tradition. lol.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

1/ Been thinking... In the summer 2027 I've decided to adopt two dogs at 1 y/o, a black Cocker Spaniel named ZEUS and a black Lab named OTHELLO. Here's the idea: when the two kiddos join the family in Q1-Q2 2028 at age 5, they'll walk into a home where Othello + Zeus have already been waiting for them. I want their transition to feel grounded and safe.

During that first year together; Kindergarten age, we'll all sleep in one family bed so they never feel abandoned in a new space. Before 1st grade, I'll install a bunk bed in the master bedroom and move to a small sofa in the same room for that 1-year, giving them closeness w/ a good layer of independence.

By the summer before 5th grade, when they're 10, Artemis will get her own bedroom w/ Zeus keeping her company, and Atlas will have Othello in his bunk-bed room. A slow, but steady arc to confidence and belonging. That's it for now.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

Nice

[リト@葉っぱ切り絵 @lito_leafart]

｢今日の予定は、あしたの予定になりました｣

#寝るのも仕事🐨

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

Two parallel legends in the making.

K-5 at Morning Creek
6-12 at St. Joseph Academy

To carry the tuition load, will step into Forensic Accounting and finally taking a stab at the CPA exam.

ARTEMIS: Team USA Archery 2040 → Columbia-Juilliard Exchange → Columbia's Women's Archery → Team USA 2044 → Principal Harpist at a world-class orchestra.

ATLAS: Team USA 2040 → Yale → Yale Archery → Team USA 2044 → Curtis for Conducting → Conductor w/ a top-tier orchestra.

Both: future global ambassadors for Win&Win, where strings meet bowstrings.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

Should ARTEMIS choose to stay on the Olympic track and pursue an undergrad in Harp Performance, her strongest Bachelor of Music routes are the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange, UCLA, Juilliard, Curtis Institute of Music, Rice University, and the University of Georgia as the safety school.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

Should ATLAS choose the orchestral conductor path, the top Bachelor of Music pipelines that feed into elite Master of Music programs in Orchestral Conducting are Curtis, Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Rice (Shepherd), Columbia, Yale, Peabody (Johns Hopkins), and the University of Georgia as the underdog.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

2/ I think I've finally built the right schooling arc so neither kiddo ever feels overshadowed. Atlas will attend Crown Point Junior Music Academy (CPJMA) from K-5; Artemis will attend Morning Creek Elementary from K-5. Atlas gets an arts-centric environment where ballet, tap, and cello are celebrated for boys. Artemis gets neighborhood roots and a community identity of her own. From Grades 6-10, both shift into Saint Joseph Academy's hybrid homeschool program; the classical spine I want shaping their minds while still giving them the flexibility for ballet, archery, swimming, and their instruments. Then for Grades 11-12, they'll be full-time students at SJA, sharing a Tesla Cybercab Robotaxi to get to campus in San Marcos and storing their crossbows and archery kits in the trunk space, so they can head straight to training afterward; whether that's in Escondido, Poway, or the Archery Team USA facility in Chula Vista. This is about giving them two independent childhoods, and every advantage for the future they're building.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

1/ I used to worry about Atlas staying in ballet past Grade 2 because public-school culture can be unforgiving. But ballet isn't "girlie" -- it's elite athletic conditioning. Artemis and Atlas need peak stability, posture, and core control when they try out for the Olympics Archery Team in 2039 at age 16, and when they compete for Team USA in 2040. So I'm committing them to ballet from ages 5 to 17, with their final bow at the Spring Gala 2040 in Balboa Park. More NFL and professional soccer players cross-train in ballet than most people realize.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

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And what a Boring Day it will be! ⚫️

[The Boring Company @boringcompany]

We are inviting exceptional engineers to an all expenses paid, behind the scenes tour of Vegas Loop on Sunday, Oct 18.

Apply by Oct 1

https://t.co/k42oF9C23L

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

4/ I am seriously considering attending St. Joseph Academy's Open House this OCT-10th to get an early perspective on what Artemis + Atlas should expect when they enter SJA in Fall 2034 for 6th grade. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense for them to run the hybrid format from Grades 6th - 11th, then transition into full-time enrollment for their senior year. I don't ever want their hybrid schedule to hold them back from senior activities, traditions, or the kind of memories that define a final year of high school. A major reason behind this structure is timing: I want both to experience the 2040 Summer Olympics at age 17; fully focused, fully present, so that by the time they graduate at 18 in June 2041, their future is wide open. Senior year should be theirs, without constraints, and without missing out on anything that makes that final chapter meaningful.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

1/ Got to be perfectly honest; I had my doubts that Morning Creek Elementary in Poway Unified would be the right fit. Part of me wanted Artemis + Atlas to grow up with the same cohort from K-12 at Saint Joseph Academy. But for two future kiddos adopted at age five, not blood-related, with their whole lives ahead of them, what they'll value most is stability; not a Catholic-focused foundation in San Marcos.

So Morning Creek is where I'm hoping to start their story. Daily morning walks to school, and the two of them running out at the end of day to find me waiting with Zeus, our black cocker spaniel, ready for the walk home. Time is the best thing I can give them in their K-5 years. That's what I want for Artemis + Atlas.

[Michele Carandang @byMicheleC]

3/ The academic load I'm building for Artemis + Atlas at SJA for their 6-12 years is intentional: Catholic Philosophy, Classical Latin Studies, and Humanities on campus. Everything STEM; the Sciences and a Singapore Math model at home to accompany their K-5 years at Morning Creek, followed by an Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) math progression for Grades 6-12; I'll teach at home. It's the classical-Catholic foundation paired with the problem-solving rigor I want shaping their minds academically.