Generation Lost

Twin Cities

2009-10-07T21:12:00.002-06:00

My new home, the Twin Cities. It's ridiculous, because I never thought I would be living here. I have visited this place a couple of times, and while it was fun each and every time, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would call it home. So, for now, I have moved my life, my cats, and a few of my possessions (but all my kitchen stuff) up here from good old Chicago. When people ask me what I think so far, I say "well, it's no Chicago, but for 8 months, I had Chicago but had no job, and now, I have a job." It's nice that for a change I will be able to see my savings stay still or maybe even *GASP* start increasing again! MAYBE!

All that being said, I actually like the Twin Cities. I love my new apartment that I am renting. And God help me, I actually wish I didn't own a condo in Chicago, so I would feel even LESS attached. Though quite honestly, the attachment feeling is less with the physical possessions (the walls of the condo, which are really nice, after I painted them), and more with the people. I miss the people greatly. The people I saw day in and day out. Sometimes, I only saw them once in a while, but the fact that now I need to drive/fly 400 miles to be able to see them does cause me some distress. I love MY PEOPLE! But then again, all that love wasn't going to pay the mortgage, and I didn't know how long it would have been before I got another opportunity offered to me, let alone one that is actually what I had been looking for (albeit not in Minnesota).

Slowly, I will get into the groove of things, I will make friends, and I will be able to truly enjoy all aspects of my life here. No, that's not at all a replacement of anyone I left behind in Chicago, especially family (which is irreplaceable), but it's a way of coping and managing, and making the best of life. That's what I plan on doing, make the best of the life I am offered.

The end is near

2009-09-09T13:13:00.003-06:00

It seems like my time as an unemployed slob have ended. It's been a little over 8 months since I've last worked, and it looks like I will be returning to the working force just shy of 9 months of unemployment. Moral of the story: I could've not had a baby in the time I was unemployed, which is a really good thing, because I'm not sure someone would hire me if I were about to have a baby.

In all seriousness though, I am very grateful that I finally will have a job again. I am even more grateful that I was in a position where I could make the best of my unemployment time. Very few people can get laid off and still be able to hold on to all their possessions, and be able to travel all over the world.

Now, here's the thing, the job is not in Chicago, in fact, the job is somewhere that is going to require me to move. Apparently, commuting 400 miles is out of the question. At first, I thought how typical it is that I would, after all this time, get a job in another state that would require me to move, and not somewhere that I would consider exciting. But then I thought, heck, someone is giving me a job, in a place that is relatively not that far away, where I actually know some people, and the job is exactly what I was looking for, so what the hell is wrong with me? Now, it has finally sunk in, and I am starting to get more and more excited about the move, starting a new adventure in a new place, and starting a new job. Minnesota, here I come!

Did you miss me?

2009-08-14T10:14:00.003-06:00

I thought I'd make an appearance here to ensure that you all are aware that I am still alive and kicking. I am also still (kind of) unemployed. Do not worry though, I have utilized this time off wisely. I have, for example, had more time to volunteer and more time to develop professionally on my own. While I haven't yet gotten enough business to replace the permanent job I used to have, I have learned a lot.

Other than work, I have done a lot... no no, A LOT of traveling. I went to Europe for 5 weeks where I visited friends and family. I went to Paris (France), Zurich (Switzerlan), and several cities in Spain. I have been to Paris and Zurich before, so that was just a matter of catching up with people there. Although, I did meet up at the end of my trip with some buddies from college that I haven't seen in over 6 or 7 years. In Spain, I went to new places like Valencia, where a friend that I met through my friend the Spaniard hosted me and showed me a REALLY good time. I also was able to go for a week to Southern Spain to visit the land that once was ruled by my people, and I hit Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla.

I also went to Hawaii for about week with a couple of friends, and we had a great time. It was my first time there, and I really enjoyed it beyond expectations. Although it is a beautiful place, it certainly would have not been as much fun without the great company with whom I went. Thanks ladies, you know who you are :)

Since becoming unemployed, I was able to do a couple of long weekend trips to San Diego and Houston to visit friends. I also drove to St. Louis to visit my best friend and her new born baby boy.

While my traveling has been one of the great highlights this year, and I am by no means done, the best thing about my unemployment has been the fact that I could enjoy my life, and be there with my friends and family when they got together or when they needed me to be there for them or with them. For example, one of my cousins got married a couple of weeks ago on a Friday. I would've never been able to make it to the wedding had I been working the way I worked before, staying in the office way later than anyone should on a Friday, every Friday. I was also able to hang out with all the family that came from out of town for the wedding. They came from other countries and were staying for two weeks. Normally, everyone just gets back to work and can only entertain them in the evenings after work or on weekends. Well, since I am not working and I liked the people involved enough to want to hang out with them, I was able to entertain them, or at least try to show them around Chicago. Spending all that time with people I love has shown me exactly why I shouldn't ever be upset about what happened. These are memories and events in my life that I can't make happen later, once a day passes, that's it, you can press rewind or redo. So would you rather spend the day working from morning to night without being able to spend even part of your day with the people you love? And if you think the people you love are those at work, then you're only fooling yourself and trying to make yourself feel better. You can like your coworkers, but if you don't have friends and family that you'd rather be with instead of coworkers, then your life needs overhaul!

En España

2009-03-20T06:56:00.004-06:00

My dear readers (all 3 or 4 of you), another miracle has occurred and I survived the night train from Paris to Barcelona. It's not so much that it was dangerous to me as I was to it and myself. Let me provide you with a few words of wisdom: if you ever have two options of traveling on the same train, one costing more than the other, but not sounding that much better, go for the more expensive one. Trust me. I won't get into details, but I opted for saving 20 euros and got a reclining chair in a train cart instead of a bed in a small train room of 6 beds. Again, sparing you the gory details, it was a HUGE mistake. Also, if you have a child under the age of 4 or 5, or whatever age you can tell your child to shut up and they actually do, and you actually think about traveling with them overnight, in a train, when you clearly have other options that cost about the same, let me make this an easy decision for you: DON'T!

So as you can see, and with very few details, I am surprised I didn't hurt myself or someone else on the train ride. Needless to say, I think that was quite possibly the last time I will choose to travel on the night train.

But, I made it to Barcelona, and then took a train to Valencia, where I am staying with a friend. He's been very generous in letting me stay with him and showing me a good time. I, of course, appreciate that he is being a great host and letting me crash with him while here, but what I appreciate even more is that he told me to come in the middle of this past week instead of the beginning. You see, there was a festival going on in Valencia this past week, falles, and things get, oh just a little crazy, and it's a nonstop party all over the city with fireworks and firecrackers, which I discovered are also nonstop. So he advised that I come in the middle of the week to catch the last two days of the festival then enjoy Valencia in its normal state. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I listened to him. The first two days here were a lot of fun, and I met a lot of lovely people, but the noise, the firecrackers going off everywhere, unexpectedly, and the possible hearing loss I have suffered, are just a few reasons I am looking forward to a normal Valencia. But I am very glad I was also able to catch some of the festival and the burning of the monuments or falles. And maybe some day in the future I will come back for the whole week of partying and noise. But I am not sure what the would have done to my system had I done it the first time around.

But if I somehow forget to get back to Paris and to Chicago, and somehow unexpectedly get stuck here and never leave, don't be surprised. The Spanish are people after my own heart, and after all, I do need to work on Spanish, because I did not know how bad my Spanish (and how good my French is) until I came to Spain. I can't imagine that this will be my last time in Spain, so I might as well start working on the language.

Love at first wine

2009-03-14T17:47:00.004-06:00

The first time I came to Paris, it was love at first sight. But after a few times of coming here, the sight becomes ordinary, and it's just love. Then there was wine. For some reason, the other times I came, the wine didn't feel extraordinary. I didn't drink as much, and it was just a glass here and a glass there. For whatever reason, this time, wine has become the object of my affection. It is quite possible that my wine palette has become more sophisticated since the last time I was in France, because I have started drinking more wine. Either way, I am loving that I drink wine everywhere and with everything.

Of course, I am trying to not do the vacation diet (or lack thereof), where I'd eat and drink more than usual and double my needed caloric intake. So drinking more wine has meant eating less. This was great the first 4 days. Today, it finally caught up with me, and my diet of cheese and wine since I've set foot in Paris has finally decided to give me a warning. So, I ended up feeling really crappy after lunch today, and had to throw up to feel better. It's not that I am drinking so much wine, I am getting drunk, it's just that there is more wine going into my system than usual, which is once or twice a week. When we were at dinner and my uncle said "wine?" I decided that maybe I will take a little break from wine for a day or so. After all, in three days I am heading to Spain, and there's a festival going on, where a lot of drinking takes place. I need to be ready for that, so I will take it easy with the wine until then. But don't fret, I am not giving up the wine yet. It is too good here to do that.

Other than the wine issues, this has been a great stay. I have met up with an old friend whom I haven't seen in 16 years, and through her I met new people. Everyone so far has decided that I need to move here. So I am letting them work on finding me a European man. I prefer France, Spain, or Italy, but I can be open to others too. Though, they'd have to convince me a little harder. Of course with enough wine, I can be much more easily persuaded!

In Paris

2009-03-11T04:20:00.002-06:00

I made it to Paris in one piece. It's amazing considering how strong some of the turbulence we encountered was. Though there were only a few patches along the way. The flight was on time and ready to go, and then the vehicle that pushes the plane away from the gate wasn't functioning because it had a flat tire, so they had to go get another one. So they got one that was working, but the gate that is attached to the plane door was not working and they couldn't retract it off the plane. It was the most ridiculous chain of events. But eventually, a little over an hour later, we were able to pull away. And in true senseless fashion, people clapped. I do not clap for things that should've worked right to begin with. Sorry!

Another miracle is the fact that I managed to get all the packing done, even though less than 24 hours before my flight time I had still yet to start washing clothes that I wanted to pack, and didn't start packing till around midnight. But, I got everything taken care of, and I got to the airport on time. There were plenty of open seats on my flight, so I thought I'd upgrade. Yet again, I was unsuccessful in trying to upgrade my seat, even though at least half of the first class section was empty. I have yet to figure out the magic involved in upgrading. I don't get the thinking behind making it so hard, no matter what kind of ticket I have, if I'm offering you money to fill a seat that's empty anyway. What kind of business minds run the airline industry? No wonder they're all bankrupting. It's really easy math, and regardless of how much alcohol or food you give me if I sit in first class, I'm pretty sure that even charging me as little as $100 would put you ahead. Oh well, their loss.

The flight was empty enough that many people had their own 2 or 3 seats. People were able to sleep their entire length in the mid section of the seats. But per my usual traveling self, I couldn't sleep. It would've been perfect, as I was supposed to get to Paris at 7:30 am, so I would've slept through the night. But no, I couldn't, so now I'm tired, but I have to fight the urge to sleep so I can be completely refreshed tomorrow and ready to go do my thing. Probably just wander the streets of Paris, as I have already seen most of the things that need to be seen here. But there's always room for more, and I can always do what I love doing most in this city: people-watch!

Somehow, I forgot to grab my little French dictionary and my little Paris booklet. Granted, I know my way around, but I like to see what things out there I haven't tapped yet. I guess I'll just have to buy a new one, and a new pocket dictionary. Not cool!

Anyway, I made it in one piece, and that's just fantastic for now. The weather today is nice and sunny, and I hope it stays this way for at least the next week that I'm here before I take off for Spain. I wish I could promise that I will update the blog often while I'm here, but I'm afraid of making promises I cannot keep, so let's play it by ear, shall we?

An explanation of sorts

2009-03-04T23:10:00.002-06:00

I guess I owe everyone here an explanation for my last post. First and foremost, I have not committed suicide over the crap that has happened to me. Here's a little summary: in two days, it will be 2 months since I had a job. That's right my lovelies, I have lost my job, and this economy can totally kiss my ass. Though trust me, I have handled this the best anyone can handle becoming unemployed. I have been catching up on sleep, catching up with friends, and doing a lot of traveling.

Of course, in between I have been looking for a job, just enough to be constantly reminded that no one thinks I am good enough to hire for anything. Looking for a job in this economy makes the day go by really fast, and it totally sucks. I have not gotten too bored though, because I have mastered the art of passing time by running errands and visiting friends.

I have also been traveling a lot more, and trying to visit friends whom I haven't seen in a long time, and even driving instead of flying to save money. Luckily gas is cheap these days, so it works out really well. Next week, I leave for Europe, and will be there for a month. It's my way of giving the economy the finger. I will of course continue to look for a job while there to make sure that I never forget the fact that I am unemployed and so I do not fool myself into thinking that I am actually on a relaxing trip.

Also, here's a shout out to everyone who said to me: "is this really a good time to be traveling?" You're just jealous, and you should keep your unsolicited advice to yourself! I am sick of people trying to bring me down. I am feeling as good as one can in this unfortunate unexpected unemployment time, so try not to rain on my already tired parade.

Life is good. I am not wasting too much time watching daytime television, and I am channeling my anger really positively. Most people now love me more, as I am making more time for them, and I actually have time to be a good friend. So here's a shoutout to my previous employer: thanks for giving me my freedom, and opening my eyes to that fact that there's a lot more to life than working in the office till midnight!

Only way from here is up

2009-01-11T00:29:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone's new year is off to a good start. Mine wasn't. I am not ready yet to share with all of you, but after enjoying a great holiday season, the first week of the new year brought me some bad things. But having realized a lot of things about how I want to lead my life at the end of last year, I took these bad things and completely turned them around into something positive. I am now looking forward to the rest of the year, and feel a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I am not really big into New Year's Resolutions, and instead of setting myself up for disappointment, this year I decided it is better to just start doing what I want to do. I have been trying to eat better, sleep better, and work out on regular basis. It is hard to see results after just a short period of time, so the tough part is keeping up what I'm doing and waiting for results to start showing up. But if I had to put what I'm doing into words, I'd say that I am trying to set my priorities straight for a change. I'm trying to keep on reminding myself that my health and well-being are the most important things, without which no other part of my life will be healthy. Having wasted so many days staying late at work, it is not too late to spin that around and start doing things right. My new approach is to practice what I believe, and that is: "work to live, not live to work."

I really hope all of you out there keep on reminding yourselves that everyday. Remind yourself not to become a slave to the money and your jobs. Take pride in your work, but don't over do it, because when you work late day in and day out, you are missing a lot of your life. I have seen people who have missed their children growing up, thinking that they're providing for their families a comfortable happy life, but is it really happy with one parent constantly absent? Just keep that in mind. I don't have a family yet, but my well-being is my "child" that I will not ignore.

Happy New Year!

Happy (almost) New Year!

2008-12-28T00:18:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I stop and think to myself: "how is it already almost 2009?" Do you remember back in the 80s and even the 90s when you thought that you'd never get to the 2000s? And now? Almost an entire decade of the 2000s has passed. I still remember the day I left my red bicycle, which naturally was a hand me down from my brother, down beneath the building that was raised on pillars. I ran upstairs, to the first floor (a European, not US, first floor) where we lived, bolted into the condo to grab a drink and ran back downstairs to continue playing. The game consisted of riding around, under the building, between the pillars, trying to fool the others as to where I would next appear. I stopped, froze, I could not believe it. It had only been 5 minutes, at most. No red bicycle. It was gone. Someone came and took my red bicycle. I was so shocked that I didn't even cry. Now what?

Here we are, over 20 years later, and it's almost 2009. Things have come and gone, and a few memories faded, but somehow, the red bicycle memory has not. I also remember thinking that the year 2000 was so far away, and how old I will be by the time it came around. I would be turning 22 later that year. I was sure that by 2000 I'd be done with college, I'd probably be getting ready to get married, and by 25, I would have all the children I wanted to have. In a way, that was comical, but in a way, here I am, 8 years later, and all I have done is finish my schooling, as far as I know. Though with me, like my parents say, you never really know whether I'm really done. In a sick masochistic way, I love being a student. No marriage and no kids, and none of that really bothers me. But for some reason, 2009 is making me think of all these things.

I was at a dinner with friends not too long ago, and one of my friends said "my God, I am almost 29, and I have accomplished nothing!" I asked her what it is that one should accomplish by the time they turn 29 or even 30. People often say that, but what do they mean? She shrugged and said "make a lot of money?" Which begs the question: is the amount of money you possess a good measure of accomplishment? I happen to think not. I happen to think that a better measure is HOW you're making the money you make. I drifted in my own thoughts: am I happy in the way I am making my living? What is my contribution to humanity? I am 30, and I have left no distinct mark in this world. I am not even on my way to contribute anything of value. Thomas Edison was 32 when he successfully manufactured a light bulb that lasted over 13 hours.

I have never just stopped and thought how the years have passed by, and I cannot decide why is it that I am thinking about it this year. It's possible that the looming end of the first decade of the 21st century has something to do with that. And it seems like nothing special has marked the first decade of the 2000s. We all know the 80s and the strange fashion statements made then, then the 90s and Generation X, but what exactly are the 2000s? Besides the ugly war, what have we to show for the 2000s? Maybe it's not a problem from which I alone suffer, but it's just that humanity as a whole has come to a sudden stop, hit a wall, and just stopped moving. How do we restart the engines and begin moving again? I see too many people occupied by insignificant things. Too many people without any passion. Way too many people who are not bothered by living a routine that revolves about doing the bare minimum to go through life unnoticed. People intentionally trying to lead a very inconspicuous existence. I do not want to be any of these people. These aren't the people who become celebrated historical figures or who leave a mark on many lives.

Though after Wednesday, it'll just be 2009, and we will go on with our ordinary lives, and another year will commence, and before we know it, I'll be back here trying to figure out the meaning of life, and talking complete and utter nonsense.

They ate the carrot cake!

2008-12-03T16:39:00.004-06:00

So Thanksgiving came and went, and I never had a chance to tell everyone what I'm thankful for this year. Not that I have done it any other years, but this year I am especially more cognizant of the fact that had the Pilgrims not massacred the Native Americans, we probably would not be here celebrating such events with overwhelming amounts of food that could feed an entire town in a 3rd world country. It wouldn't feed an entire town in the US, because we're all a bunch of whiny picky eaters. Do you think anyone in Africa ever says "oh no, ew, I don't like turkey breast, it's too dry for me!"? Or "don't make apple and pumpkin pies, we prefer carrot cake, and if the one you make from scratch isn't perfect, make sure you leave it at home and buy one at the store." You know, because celebrating massacres is very particular!

Don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving. It's a time for family to get together. In our case though it's family and friends. We have a couple of friends who are from other countries, and far away from their families, so we have them over. In the end, the whole thing becomes an international affair. That evening, at my parents' house, at least 5 countries were represented, not including the US. The food reflected it too. We had a great mix of traditional Thanksgiving food in addition to other internationally-inspired selections.

We also had 6 kids there, ranging in age from 3 months to 11 years. The 3 month old was an angel and pretty much slept the whole time. The 11 year old was way too cool to be associated with those younger than her. And the rest of them, the other four, were like wound up toys that someone had just let go in the living room, running around, screaming, stealing each other's toys - mind you, these toys being my mother's coasters - and all in all giving me many reasons to not only hope that I am sterile, but to actually want to reach into my body and rip out my uterus and ovaries to make sure that I would never carry in my body something that could end up one day like them. Some of you may say that children are cute, and yes, I agree, they are cute, WHEN THEY'RE SLEEPING!

A piece of history

2008-11-10T13:09:00.002-06:00

At one point or another, I'm sure we have all thought of a historic event, and thought to ourselves "what did it feel like to have been there?" Most of you who know me, know my obsession about history. Often, when I'm exceptionally touched by the retelling of an event in history, I put the book down, and think about what it would have been like to be around when such a historical moment struck.

Well, I'm sure that we now all know what it feels like to live a significant moment in history. Good history that is. As I am sure, we all consider September 11, 2001 a significant event in history. In fact, I still remember specifically when and where I was when I found out, and how I stood these watching the television when the cameras captured the second plane hit the second tower, and when the the towers collapsed, and New York City's skyline was forever altered. But like many other Americans, and others all over the world, I not so much got over that, but I have moved on and accepted that this is the way the world is, it's full of hate and bigotry. While I try very hard to not let those two be part of my life, at least not from my side, I have accepted that the good in people is not always enough.

Then, there was November 4, 2008. I was at a friend's house watching the results of the election. I had planned on going down to Grant Park where the rally was taking place. I wanted to be there with the rest of the Obama supporters when he made what was going to be surely his acceptance speech. But alas, I was sick, and couldn't make, so instead I went to my friend's "election night party." I was worried that like last time, there would be too many close races and we would go to sleep not knowing who our president will be, only to wake up to disappointing news (for 50% of us anyway). But this time, around 10 pm or so, it was pretty clear that Obama was going to be our next president. I thought at the time, "how anti-climactic. Now what?" So I left my friend's house, and I was driving back home when the official announcement was made that Barack Hussein Obama II is going to be our president. Suddenly, when it became official, it hit me: I am living history. I got choked up, and I nearly cried. I don't know why, but it really touched me that the majority of the voters in our country, not only were sick enough of Bush and refused to have someone who will carry on his regimes, but that they were capable of accepting, wanting, and embracing an African-American as their president. This is a new level of good that I didn't think our nation was capable of achieving.

I truly think Obama is very capable of being everything we want him to be, and that those of us who went out there and helped in his quest believe him to be. At the same time, I realize that there will be many things that he does that I will oppose and greatly disagree with. Mr. Obama has a long tough road ahead of him, as the Bush administration is leaving him a great mess to clean up. Even tougher, he will have those who opposed him who will be waiting for him to make any mistake so they can say "we told you so!" To that I say "it's OUR time! You took away from us 8 years, not it's our turn."

When it comes down to it, a lot of policies won't drastically change, but there will be change. There will be proof that decency and acceptance have prevailed. All you have to do is look at the speeches of the two candidates after the results came out. While I greatly respect Senator McCain, and I thought his speech was extraordinarily well-delivered and well-mannered, I saw that most of the faces that looked up at him while he was speaking were white faces, that showed no signs of hardship. A couple of thousand miles away, Mr. Obama delivered his speech to a rather diverse group of supporters, all races and age groups we represented, people with all educational and economical backgrounds. No offense Mr. McCain, but THIS group represents the Real America.

In the end, I am just really happy to see that we can finally stand up with our heads high with the rest of the world and say: "look, we're Americans, and we're not all hateful!"

Now I know how it feels to witness history. Where were you when what we hope is going to be a bright part of our country's history took place?

Getting Political

2008-10-31T06:43:00.002-06:00

Well, since everyone else is doing it, I think it's time that this blog endorses a candidate. After all, are newspapers more important than this abandoned corner of the Internet space? Hell no!

This blog endorses Barack Obama.

I took advantage of early voting, and went and voted for Obama two weeks ago.

I have been very passionate about this election, more so than usual. I am relatively liberal. OK, I am REALLY liberal, but trust me, that does not ensure that my vote will always go to the Democratic nominee. I like to consider myself open-minded and well-informed, and therefore will consider all nominees.

For example, in 2000, I voted for Nader. I really liked Al Gore, but I hated Lieberman, and let's all admit it, he did turn out to be a snake. Had McCain been the Republican nominee in 2000, I would've voted for him. Had McCain chosen a different running mate this year, I would've not been quite as passionate about this election this year, and I might've not been so sure about who I wanted to vote for. Had he chosen someone brilliant as his running mate, like Colin Powell, I would've possibly voted for that instead of Obama/Biden, because I know they're not radical Republicans and they have a lot of experience, especially Colin Powell. But choosing Palin as his running mate is not only shocking and ridiculous, but it's insulting to the American people, except those idiots who really believe that she is a good choice. She has no political experience, and if (GOD FORBID) they are elected, she is going to do so much more damage to the US reputation in the World and cause much more corruption in 1 year than George W Bush and his administration did in 8 years. If McCain were to die a day after being sworn in, which is possible, it is very scary to think that Palin would take over.

Therefore, I am passionately against that ticket, and would like to do anything to ensure that doesn't happen. Well, all I can do is vote for Obama and help the Obama campaign.

Let's hope for the best of our country and ensure that someone like Palin is not at the helm!

Happy travels

2008-10-22T23:02:00.004-06:00

I did some math not too long ago, and I figured that from December 1, 2007 through December 1, 2008 I will have spent around $2,500 on air fare, including one heavily discounted trip, and a cheap air fare on Southwest. That is a lot of traveling. No wonder the ongoing joke these days is "so, how do you make time for work in between trips?" Or "professional traveler." You see, until 2 years ago I was known as the "professional student." But that's what it's all about, I was a student for a long time, and now, it's time to make it up! So what's the opposite of student? A TRAVELER!

The last couple of trips though, my patience with airlines, airports, and air travelers was seriously tested. The first of the trips was a short one, just a little short hop to another city in the Midwest. Not too bad, no delays, no annoying seat neighbors, and a flight that is less than an hour long. PERFECT. On the way back, a free Bloody Mary made everything just fine and dandy. My friend and I were flirting with this very cute guy next to us. We thought it was too good to be true, and then when he commented about how cute one of Hillary's suits was, I took a big gulp of my Bloody Mary and mouthed "GAY" to my friend.

Next came a trip two weeks later, and luckily, a storm was looming around the city that I was flying into. What that really meant was a delay that is longer than the flight itself, then boarding the plane and sitting on the runway for another hour with no air circulation. That's right around when I start cursing at no one in particular and scaring the people around me. We finally take off, and I could not wait for the flight attendant to come around with the drinks, so I can get my Bloody Mary, except I drank the mix, then chased it with the vodka. Just when I thought we were arriving, the captain gets on the PA system and says the weather is so bad, we have to hold in a circling pattern and circle about 3 or 4 times. So I started counting the number of time we circled and when we got to 6 I started to physically shake, but I had to contain myself, because no one wants to see a Middle Eastern go ape shit in a plane. Instead, I started watching the lightening that was originating from a cloud not too far away from the plane, or as us scientist call it the LARGE METAL object near a large amount of highly charged particles. This is how I was going to die.

But I made it, just long enough to make it to the next trip. I was supposed to be on a direct flight to the West Coast, and the weather was perfect, but as we all know by now, it is just too good to be true. Apparently, the flight was overbooked and I got placed on a flight to a different city, and then a small connecting flight to my destination. I was about to rip the airline representative another one, when she offered me a $300 voucher, so I snagged it and walked away. On my first flight, I sat next to a 13 year old and an old man. The 13 year old thought we should become friends and she should tell me about her life. I just knew it right then and there that there is indeed a God and he hates me. This was my punishment for never going to church or praying. So I decided to make things better and I asked the flight attendant politely if she had tonic water. When she said "yes" I asked her for one and TWO vodkas. Fuck it, time to drink up bitches. The 13 year old was horrified and the old man totally judged me, and I could not care less. I downed those bitches like they were my last meal. I had a good buzz going, but the chatter box next to me completely killed my buzz with her non stop talk about things that are only interesting to 13 year olds. God was really hating me.

That flight landed safely, and we boarded the smaller connecting flight, which was the smallest plane I have ever been on. It was one of those 3 seats per row planes, more like the short bus of planes. As soon as it took of, I knew that this was how I was going to die. A bird was going to fly by and sneeze on it sending it down. All the fat people on board were only going to make that end come sooner. All the fat ass food chompers were going to be the end of me. But somehow, by some magical intervention, I made it, in one piece. As soon as I landed I just knew that once I got back home, it would be a while before I travel again. That is not for another month!

Witty friends

2008-09-19T12:40:00.002-06:00

Most days I do OK in the wit department, other days, I am just wit-less. Today is one of those days, so instead, I'm going to depend on others' wit to amuse my readers.

I received an invitation to a friend's 30th birthday party, and I love it so much that I'm going to share it with the rest of you. I might've been on the fence about going, but the wit of the invitation makes me want to go for sure. How can you say NO to this:

So my friend and I are turning 30 soon, and we got to thinking, the pressure is on...the 30's are really the "put up or shut up" decade. Shakespeare was in his thirties when he wrote Hamlet, Genghis Khan was unifying Mongolia, the guys from Google were making it easier to plagiarize term papers, and Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France. If we were mortgages, standard 30-year fixed, we'd be paid off by now (or at least buried in a bad CDO or exotic derivative). But if our greatest accomplishment and life's culmination is hosting a party in the back of a bar, then so be it. Come celebrate our joint 30th-ganza at [name of bar withheld]--$20 costs you your dignity but buys you a festive wristband, drinks from 9 til midnight, and anecdotes to last until Monday. Please bring friends, as my friend and I are self-conscious about appearing unpopular in front of the bar manager. Hope to see you there!

A tid bit of politics

2008-09-16T15:46:00.002-06:00

I tried to stay as long as I could away from politics, because if I were to say anything political at this point I would say that McCain and Palin is a great combo of stupid, ignorant, and foolish, and that I would comfortably opine that anyone who dares vote for them is an ignorant ass.

But I won't say that.

Instead, I'll just say that this blog is an Obama/Biden supporter. Not because they're so great, but they're a much better choice for our country than McCain and Palin. I do think though that they bring a lot more to the table and were they to win, our country would actually have a chance at redeeming itself, especially internationally. People may also start thinking that maybe we're not all idiots. That won't be the case if McCain and Palin win.

Like a broken record

2008-09-12T10:23:00.002-06:00

It seems like I have fallen into the habit of posting, then disappearing. This time though, it's almost been two months. And holy crap, is that a long time or what?

A lot has happened since I last posted. Some stuff worth nothing, some not so much, and some just flat out is not something I'd care to share with the whole world.

Most notably, my friends "Spain and China" had their baby boy the day after Labor Day. We went to the hospital on Labor Day when mama was going through labor. We were there for 5 hours, but the baby had other plans. He was going to camp out for another day in mommy's belly. Wouldn't you? It was a fun 5 hours that ended in a dumb nurse yelling at us to leave. Really? What happened to being an angel? Not that nurse. So, I went back the next day and got to hang out with the baby. He's precious. I just want to hold him and run away, in a very non-kidnapping kind of way. I haven't seen him since the day he was born. That needs to change.

I had my last post-op appointment with my neurosurgeon. It was very uneventful in terms of what transpired during the actual appointment. He told me that I can now do anything I want to, except move heavy furniture. Well, DAMN, there goes my back up career plan. I guess I'll stick with my current job then. The fun part of the appointment was the waiting portion. Instead of getting there, getting in, and getting out, I got to sit around for TWO HOURS waiting for my appointment. That always makes me wonder WHY am I getting an appointment to begin with? I do have to say, it was almost worth being there for two hours to watch all the nut jobs who were in the waiting room. They were so crazy that I had to check a couple of times to make sure that I was not in the wrong wing of the hospital.

The runner up for crazy patient in the waiting room was an old man, who had the whole old man thing going on: the perfectly white hair, the wrinkles in all the right places on his face, the cane, and the slightly curved legs (probably from the adult diaper). But he was very together, and not at all frail. He was on the phone talking probably to his baby-mama, and sounded very VERY together. That's really nice to see, a strong older man, who's not falling apart. Then the most magical thing happened, he got up to ask the receptionist about his appointment, which I am sure, like the rest of us was delayed by more than a few minutes. As soon as he got up to go talk to her, his legs curved a little more, his back arched a little bit more, his arms started shaking, and the cherry on top of the "I am suddenly a frail old man" cake was his voice. He transformed his voice to this quivery old man voice who is in so much pain, and told the girl how he could not stand it anymore and needed to see the doctor. I was watching in amazement, and he noticed that I noticed his little performance. The receptionist went in, and a nurse came out to take grandpa in before he died. Then, get this, as he is walking away with the nurse, he glances over, smiles like the deceitful cripple he is, and winks at me. Oh, HELL NO! I wanted to get up and tackle him, but figured that I would have lost that battle.

That however wasn't the winner of the craziest thing in that waiting room. On the other side, there was this teenage girl. Sitting between two people that I assume are her parents, or maybe pimps. She had her legs crossed under her on the chair, her arms crossed, and she was rocking back and forth, like a mental patient. Her "dad" said something to her, and she started yelling at him about how the dose is totally wrong, and how she's going to die if he makes her take that dose, and how she's going to have a hard time cutting her wrists to get attention... OK, maybe not that last part. But she was showing them the insides of her forearms, so I assume she was showing them the scars from the last few times she cut herself. Her "parents" were trying to calm her down, but the emo teen wasn't having any of it. She started shouting about how her life sucks and how they don't understand. Right, we've all been there, you know, that stage where you are so deep and have this vision of what life is all about, but FUCK, the rest of the world just does not understand, and the having to follow rules is worse than being in prison. And PARENTS JUST SUCK! I just wanted to slap her. I went through that phase, but NOT IN PUBLIC! I wanted to get up and drag the bitch by her hair and slap her a few times around. Just watching that made me want to take out my car key and give myself a hysterectomy right then and there to make sure I never have kids who may some day behave in public like that. I could not believe how calm the parents stayed, which is exactly why I thought they were her pimps. If I would've pulled anything half as bad as that with my parents, I would not be here right now to write all of this.

Otherwise, life is good, and summer is coming to an end, which means I will soon curl into the fetal position and start crying about the beautiful summer days that have come and gone all too fast.

Turning 30 means nothing

2008-07-21T17:33:00.004-06:00

I bet you know a lot of people who are scared of their birthdays and who are especially scared of "milestone" birthdays, like 30. A few days ago I myself turned 30. Oooh, aaah. But if you really know me, you know that I am more like 13 than 30. Age is a number, albeit a BIG one at this point. I was the one who told everyone how old I am, followed by how little I have accomplished so far in life. But hey, I've managed to stay alive, which is just so fantastic at this point. Being the clumsy person I am, and having been so close to death or really bad bodily injury due to said clumsiness, I am SHOCKED that I have made it this far with little to no serious ailments. **KNOCK ON WOOD** In fact, it is more appropriate for people to say to me CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING IT TO 30, than to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My brother, who is (chronologically) 4 years older than me, only remembered one thing about my birth: going to a petting zoo on the day I was born. It was obviously a monumental occasion in his life. He possibly felt that my birth interrupted his plans of being the spoiled only child that he was, so he managed to make my life a living hell until I was 15, then spent the next 15 years convincing himself and others that he was a great older brother. This is the same guy who used to tell kids in the neighborhood that he'll beat them up if they as much as touch me, because ... wait for it, wait for it... he was the only one allowed to beat me up! But then again, I'd want to spend my younger years beating up a younger sibling if all I got on the day of their birth was a short visit to the petting zoo.

Regardless, I had a great time celebrating the big 3-0. It was all fine and dandy, until a friend said to me: Happy Birthday, welcome to the fourth decade of your life. What a shitty way to say something nice. It's hard enough accepting the fact that I am 30, now why don't you go put it in terms that make it sound even older. Fourth decade, that's like 40. I am quite the math genius, yet I had to do the math a couple of times to comprehend that one. DAMN, I am starting my 4th decade. Now I felt old.

But hey, at least I have people who love me, right? Well, sure, we'll go with that. Or at least people who like free alcohol so much that they would put up with me and tolerate me to show up to my birthday party. Yes, I pay my friends. In all seriousness though, it was a good time, until the skies opened and a monsoon hit the city, and I was practically kicked out of the bar into the pouring rain. That's when I realized that "my friends" just took off and left. No one cared that the birthday girl was practically drenched. Having no one to lean my drunken head on, I took off my shoes and started running barefoot in the streets, and ended up sharing a cab with a complete stranger. He was nice, he thought I was 22. But damn, it's not a party till you're running through downtown Chicago barefoot and finding someone drunk enough to estimate you to be 8 years younger.

Although, I am pretty sure the highlight of the night was when one of my friends was talking to a guy earlier in the evening and telling him how she knows and that I am very nice and friendly. But as soon as those words came out of her mouth, I said to one of my friends in an almost screaming voice: "next time I see that bitch I'm going to kick her bitchy ass!" The guy turned to my friend and asked: "are you sure you're talking about the right person?"

Ah, to be young and foolish again.

Mean mean me

2008-07-14T16:20:00.002-06:00

I know this will come as a shock to many of you, especially those who know me personally, but I have a constant feeling of guilt. People may not know it, but sometimes they say something that may not invoke a reaction right away, but deep inside they plant a seed of guilt that will grow into a little flesh eating organism that will eat me from the inside out, until I somehow find a way to get over it. In an attempt to not deal with such guilt-like feeling, I usually let things slip and go. But it's funny how when you do that so many times, it actually goes unnoticed, and then when the roles are reversed, people make a big stink about things. No specific names mentioned, and not specific events will be discussed here, yet.

But I usually don't know how to deal with rude people in certain situations, and I awkwardly succumb to whatever they're doing, and just get upset about it later on my own. Maybe the kitten gets drop-kicked when I get home to relief some of the anger. OK, OK, the kitten does not get harmed. But as an example, let's say I'm waiting in line at the post office, and someone just walks up and cuts in front of me and goes to the clerk. I will get upset and huff and puff and grunt at the person to show them that I am not satisfied with what they just did. That person may or may not notice, but they're already giving their stupid mail to the clerk, so what do they care how fast and loud I can get air out of my nose and mouth? They don't care!

Well, earlier today I went in to see my doctor, and I was standing at the reception desk to talk to the receptionist to get me in for my appointment. Two other people were standing behind me waiting their turn as well. As I started talking, this old lady with a cane, and hair that has not been washed since 1985, and a typical attitude of entitlement to whatever service is being offered, walks right up to the reception desk and starts talking to the receptionist. I stop, turn to her and say "excuse me, I am speaking with the receptionist because it's my turn. There's a queue here, and I think everyone would appreciate it if you waited your turn." She looks at me and says: "but I have a medical problem." I say to her: "this is a doctor's office, no one is here to get a lollipop." She looks at me with her eyes about to pop out, and she walks to the back of the line. One of the two ladies behind me mouths to me "THANK YOU!"

You see, many times, I would've been guilted into letting the "old person" do whatever, but I have had enough. This attitude that some people have where they feel entitled to services ahead of others is so ridiculous and annoying. I figured if this lady was there for a check up, she can wait, and if she were in really bad pain, she'd go to the ER. My patience had run out, and I acted upon it. I don't care how old you are, or what color you are, or what religion you are, you stand in line wherever the line ends when you get to it. It's one of my pet peeves, cutting in line in front of people, and today, it happened to me and I was in the right mood to tell this lady off, and it was the right thing to do. Maybe some would call it mean, but you know, the two people standing behind me in line didn't think so, and if you were in line too, you would've not either!

Random thoughts and reflections

2008-07-10T18:51:00.002-06:00

Random Thought #1

I got on the bus the other day and was on my home, completely engrossed by the fact that it was 9 pm and I was just going home. No big deal, life goes on. Then someone gets on the bus, asks the bus driver a question. The driver stops the bus and turns to the rest of us and says:
"Does anyone know if this bus route has a stop on Chicago Ave?"

EXCUSE ME! For some wild reason, I was under the (obviously erroneous) impression that bus drivers knew where they were going. Obviously in Chicago, where the average level of education for a CTA employee is fifth grade, at best, that is not the case. I was scared, very very scared, that I was not going to get home that night. Mainly because the bus driver did not seem to know where she was driving the bus.

I know, male chauvinists are saying now: "UGH, woman drivers!" I think it had less to do with her gender, and more to do with the fact that she probably couldn't read the screen that hangs above her head that not only tells her the exact route she's driving, but it actually has an audio output that says the names of the stops.

Random Thought #2

I just tried to underline the headings, and it seems that Blogger has some beef with underlining, and you no longer can underline words to emphasize. You can bold or italicize, but not UNDERLINE. I obviously made it all CAPS because I can't UNDERLINE! If you know me, you know that UNDERLINING is my favorite emphasis tool. My day is officially ruined!

Random Thought #3

For someone who spends a LOOOOOOOOOOOT of time on the Internet, I am not very good with techy-talk. I don't understand half of it, and the other half that I understand, I think is too dorky for me to even admit that I know it. I have never EVER used the term "lol" in an on-line conversation. Why? Because I think HAHA is better and more realistic. OK, so on occasion I have used BRB or ... wait, that's the only one I have really ever used. Yes, I am a snob, and I am completely above that geeky talk.

Anyway, I noticed a few people using the word "kitteh" when talking about a kitten. The first few times it happened, I just assumed it was a typing mistake, but then I realized that the letter H can't be easily mistyped with the letter N. Yes, they are close on the keyboard, but that usually happens when letter are right next to each other, like N and M, or G and H, but not diagonal like H and N. The next thought was that maybe "kitteh" meant something, but my foreign brain did not know the meaning. Maybe if I would've moved to the US when I was in third grade, I would know the proper use of the word "kitteh."

So I decided to ask the Internet what that meant. The first clue that a word is not really a word is when within the first 2 or 3 search results is a link to Urban Dictionary. Turns out it's a geeky computer word for a kitten. I don't get it, it's the same number of letters, and probably requires more effort to type the wrong letter at the end of the word. According to Urban Dictionary it's an
"Online usage of the word 'kitty' or 'cat'. Found most often in the context of lolspeak, or in the anthropomorphism of cats in pictures and other media." (emphasis added).

But Urban Dictionary gives an even better definition of it as:
"a word normally used to replace the word 'kitty' on perhaps 'kitten.' normally used in online talk or idiots who spend to much time on the computer and need to loose 200 pounds."

I like that definition despite misspelling the word LOSE. But that fits my personality better, to give it a definition using the meanest attitude possible.

Love is...

2008-06-22T00:38:00.003-06:00

One of my friends once said to me that I have a really wonderful life going for me, but that it would be perfect and complete if I had a guy whose shoulder I can rest my head on. She said that wouldn't it be nice to have someone to love, and who would love me.

She's a fool!

Anyone who thinks love can only come to you from someone you're romantically associated with is a fool. Not to say that the things we get from relationships are not necessary, but not every relationship brings into your life the completion we all seek when we add pieces of the puzzle into our lives. I, personally, have no interest in trying to force the wrong piece of the puzzle into my life. I have no desire to do that because I have so much love in my life that I don't feel like I need to try too hard to find more love. Yes, sure, it would be nice to have that one guy that I feel is my "better half" or "soul mate" or whatever kids are calling it these days. Who doesn't? But I definitely have the love all around me.

Yesterday, I was hanging out with a group of friends that I call my "little dysfunctional family" of friends. This group has in it two couples, but I never feel like the fifth wheel. This group is made up of individuals who, alone, are each far from perfect, but who somehow together make my life feel complete. Every time we get together we argue, we annoy each other, we yell, we scream, we make fun of each other, we probably say hurtful things, and we definitely disagree on many MANY things. But I have never come back home after hanging out with them and not smiled and counted my blessings for having them in my life. I look at them and see a lot of love, a lot of unconditional, dysfunctional, raw, and crazy love.

THAT is exactly why I don't feel deprived of love in my life. Why I don't have this need to get with someone whose shoulder I can lean on. I already have a lot of shoulders I can lean on. If anything, I need to be extra careful who I bring into my life, because whoever it is, he will have to naturally fit into this group of people. One man's love, no matter how deep, can't and won't replace what I already have going on for me, but will have to become part of it, without judging or forcing anything. If he's the right guy, he'll fit right in. But until I find him (or he finds me), I promise you all, I don't feel like my life is lacking any love at all.

Borrowed materials

2008-06-17T08:41:00.002-06:00

Well, I can't say I haven't had the time or energy to blog, but let's just pretend that that's what it is. I feel like I owe my dedicated readers something to hang on to while I find my inspiration, so I'm going to borrow someone's really eye-opening blog post to inform the masses yet again of how corrupt our government is. And you all know me, I don't like talking about politics at all. HA, I can almost say that with a straight face. ALMOST!

Here's a post by my favorite west coast doctor, DocErn, about all the crimes against humanity and against the American people by this administration.

This administration will go down in history as one of the worst in American history. And American people are hesitant to accuse them of grave crimes, maybe because we're here and we are not experiencing first-hand the effects of their doings that are taking place overseas. Or maybe because it happened over a span of almost 8 years. But I'm sure if you add up all the deaths that resulted from the actions of this government, they will add up to comparable numbers to those of some of the most vicious criminals against humanity. Not to mention the way the American dream has been slowly crushed into foreclosures and bankruptcies over the past few years. But who else is to blame other than the people who chose, not only once, but twice to elect this president?

Sending out "THANK YOU" to a few people

2008-06-05T15:59:00.004-06:00

I just can't let go of the fact that there are a few people in my life who I considered good friends who still have not picked up the phone or even sent an email inquiring about how my surgery went. And I know they know that I had a surgery. But instead of bitching about those people, I'm going to send shout outs to the wonderful ones who actually lived up to being labeled "friends" - not that I'm into labels, but we'll let it go this time:

- A friend who's a nurse, living in another city, who was the first one to decipher for me the results of my MRI and answered my many questions. She could've done it without actually going above and beyond to really put my mind to ease about the decisions I had to make. She at least seemed to really genuinely care and was a great resource.

- Another friend who's a nurse practitioner who actually works in the hospital where I ended up having the surgery. She also went above and beyond, and was actually the one who came to take me to the ER when things got ugly, and made sure that I had the best care possible.

- A few of my friends who actually came and visited me at the hospital before and after the surgery.

- The people who took care of my cats and condo.

- The friends from work who sent me flowers to the hospital.

- The friends who sent me cards.

- The friend who wants to send me a care package.

- The friend who drove over 40 miles round trip to bring me a sushi lunch when I came home and hang out with me.

- The friends who visited me after I came back home and brought all sorts of delicious treats and just great company.

- The numerous friends who sent genuine notes and emails with true concern and inquiring about what happened. Not just a half-assed: I hope you feel better. Though that counts for a little something too.

I hope I didn't forget anyone. I mean, of course my family, who were technically "required" to be there and care. But then again, I know many people with families that don't give a damn. So thanks mom, dad, and bro.

It's been a while, and a lot has happened

2008-05-29T11:49:00.002-06:00

Well, I would be totally and utterly shocked if anyone still checks this blog. But I have made a vow to resume blogging, as things have been happening. It is really easy for blogging to slip lower and lower on the priority list though, as I do not make a living off my blog, and I do have a lot of responsibilities that may be slightly more important than blogging. But I do realize that there are very few people who... well, used to read my blog, who have no other way of knowing what's going on in my life.

A lot has happened since I blogged about something substantive, but I guess I should just jump to what happened two days ago and go a little backwards. But I will be killing Hamlet in the first act if I do that. Oh well, I can live with that. And I hope I didn't just ruin it for someone who has never read Hamlet, that yes indeed, he does die at the end of the book. Then again, if you didn't already know this, I don't want to be your friend anyway!

Two days ago I had a back surgery. It sounds HUGE. BACK SURGERY. People's first reaction is a grimacing facial expression. Everyone imagines a butcher-looking surgeon cutting the back from top to bottom and exposing the entire spine. Not that I would not love for people to think that's what happened and get some extra sympathy, but what had happened is a lot less glamorous. It was about an inch and a half of incision, through which the surgeon went into my lower back and cut out a herniated disc. I guess this is major, as the shit headed intern who came in to have sign the consent sheets answered my question as to what the risks were by saying: "well, as with any surgery, death, or in this case, paralysis." I guess I did deserve this answer, as I should have no expected a rosy answer from a doctor, especially with all the medical malpractice lawsuits going on all the time.

Needless to say, neither happened, and I made it out alive and not paralyzed. This is a surgery I was scheduled to have in two weeks, but a few days prior to the surgery, I was in excruciating pain, and I went to the ER, where they captured another MRI of my lower back and saw that the herniated disc had gotten a lot worse since my last MRI, less than two weeks before that. I did have a lovely stay at the hospital for a few days before the surgery, whereby I was constantly on good pain medication that kept my pain under control.

I do have to say, it is a relief to have this surgery out of the way, as it cuts less into my summer. Theoretically, I will be fully recovered in 4-6 weeks. Meaning, after that time frame, I should be able to resume normal life of walking and driving and working out. Of course, I will continue to be very careful with lifting heavy stuff and picking up things properly, i.e., bending from the knees and not the hips or waist. I will limit the twisting motion, which means, I will have to give up on my dream of becoming a good golfer or softball player for at least this summer. My first priority is to make sure I never have a surgery ever again, as I do not think I will want to hear a heartless doctor tell me that death is a possible outcome. I like nice rosy lies.

My actual surgeon was one of the most wonderful people I met, and I could've not asked for a nicer person to cut me up and fix me. He is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. It probably also helps that he is one of the best at what he does. Thanks Dr. C.

One of the funniest things about this whole experience is realizing how some people I know are not at all what I would consider a good friend, even though they paint themselves to be so. Not that I need words of sympathy or fake friendship, but a few people completely ignored the fact that I was in excruciating pain and about to have a major surgery. They ended up reluctantly throwing a couple of words that may be interpreted as encouragement, but I know now that these are not people I would ever depend on or ask for help, because they're the types of people who would not want to be inconvenienced or bothered to help a friend. They are so self-absorbed and all into their little boring lives that they think are so important, but they in fact little specs of nothingness and actually big losers who have no real direction in life. I am glad these people are ones I once considered friends. They're only my friends when they need something or when happy things are happening in their lives.

On the other hand, I can't complain too much, as I do have a lot of people in my life who are actually wonderful sincere and loving people. So I will not let the few black sheep take over and let me be bothered and forget all the other good people. Thanks good people who sent me good thoughts and well wishes. And please, don't anyone try to think that they're the bad friends, as these people I speak of are so awful that they would never think they're bad friends. And all the rest of you, thank you!

Now, please, let me go back to my recovery from my old lady body ailments. As my physical therapist told me when I first had my back bother me and discovered that it was a herniated disc: "this really mainly happens to middle aged men." Oh great, thanks for telling me that, since I am neither! But maybe deep inside, I am a 40-something year-old man. You just will never know!

Thought I'd let you know

2008-04-20T00:46:00.002-06:00

I haven't been around here much lately. Mainly because nothing exciting is going on in my life. I just work work work, and NOT work out or clean. I am a little sick of bullshit, so I am trying to cut it out of my life. I am becoming less and less capable of putting up with people's bullshit. I have become really intolerant of people who are pretentious. I don't know, maybe it's not good leading a blunt existence, but I'd rather not put up facades and bottle up my true feelings. I make less of an effort with people that I don't think are worthy of my time. The things is, I am totally OK doing that, and that's the change.

I saw recently "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." It was OK, kind of funny, but the kind of funny that doesn't really stick with you, and you definitely can't quote it. I am a total guy when it comes to that, I LOVE quoting movies. It's a guy thing. No, no, it's a DUDE thing, and I love doing it. There are very few movies I quote, and very few quotes from them. I know a guy who can carry on a whole conversation with movie quotes. It's tiring, and lame. I try to be neither. Anyway, "Sarah Marshall" had a little more frontal nudity than I would've liked to see. I think the guy is just so proud of his penis that he wanted to show it off. I just happen to not like seeing it on a big screen, or a small one, for that matter.

I was in Mexico, again, last weekend. This time, Cabo. It was lovely, the weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. I went zip-lining and parasailing, and other than that, I napped on a lounge chair by the pool and the ocean. Exactly the kind of thing I was looking for at the end of this awful Chicago winter. In a couple of weeks I have another trip planned, this one mostly for work though. After that I will be off planes for a while. I am just getting SO tired of the whole thing: go to airport, get on plane, hate people sitting around me, get off plane, do something, and get back to airport, etc. UGH! There may or may not be a trip to Europe again in the fall. We'll see. All I know is that I will be here for New Year's because one of my favorite people promised that she will be here with her beau, and they're even staying with me, and she better not be even thinking about changing her mind. I even have two kitties ready to cuddle with them. You know who you are :)

Overall, life has been moving constantly at a boring level. I have reached boredom equilibrium. The pH of my life is a perfect 7. It is levitating at a comfortable too-boring-to-blog-about place. But I thought I'd get on here and tell you all that I am still alive. Not that anyone asked!

Favorite new blog...

2008-03-22T23:03:00.002-06:00

I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed reading this blog. While on the surface, and maybe a little below the surface, it comes off as racist and generalizing, I still can enjoy it. In short, the blog is a running list of stuff that white people like, or really, a list of thing that white people like hearing themselves tell other people they do.

Please keep in mind, when the site refers to white people, it's really referring to white yuppie kids from the United States. What's great is that it is so true. In fact, I know so many people who fit every single category, myself included. But at least two or three of my friends actually fit every single category. Sad, but true!

Some posts may not seems very informative or good enough, in which case, please go ahead and read the comments people leave for the post. Never mind the few who are commenting merely to get a rise out of others, the rest are either funny or intelligent and informative, whether you agree with them or not.

Friday after work

2008-03-14T20:35:00.005-06:00

At happy hour, after work, with some friends, guy says:

"I was walking down the street and HOLY SHIT, I saw two hot lesbians kissing. That's so unusual, I couldn't stop staring, it was like seeing a zebra cross the street in the middle of Chicago!"

Ah, I love happy hour conversations!

Services

2008-02-28T22:24:00.002-06:00

I look around me, and I realize that almost everyone I know is working in the services sector. Some are starting businesses on the side of their service-based jobs to start these businesses that provide, you guessed it, other services. But doesn't someone have to make something and put it into the stream of commerce? After all, once everyone become a restauranteur, a graphic designer, a photographer, a lawyer, a doctor, what is going to happen?

Of course this is something all those companies that are outsourcing all of our industries to China and India are not thinking about. What we're doing is taking our knowledge and giving it to these other countries to make everything we use. But what's happening is that we're discouraging those who used to be trained in these industries from training further or at all, and pretty soon, this knowledge is going to be all abroad. So what will stop the countries we're outsourcing the knowledge to from eventually keeping the knowledge all to themselves and cutting us off? Then what? We'll be stuck with all these artists and advisers, and no raw materials and empty factories that have stopped manufacturing a long time ago.

Someone should have told the greedy companies in business school that they should think twice before going for the solution that magically cuts the cost of production by two or three. But hey, we have a lot of lawyers that can go after the Chinese and Indians poisoning are products, because you know, they need to save a buck or two as well. Not to mention the amount of intellectual property that is being infringed on daily basis.

I think we're good to enjoy what is left of the lovely life we have here, because our children and their children won't, and when you say the American dream, they'll have no idea what you're talking about. If you're lucky, they'll be too dumb to care, which is likely, because you won't be able to afford their college education anyway. Not that they'll need one, since we'll have lawyers, doctors, artists, photographers, and consultants spilling out of our rhetorical ears and asses.

Oh well, shit!

Not feeling particularly creative

2008-02-27T22:35:00.003-06:00

Sorry I have to expose you to this blatant display of my laziness, but I should get some credit for posting. So here you have it, the thing in bold are things I've done, and ones that are italicized are ones I'd like to do.

You're lucky I'm feeling exceptionally fun and I'm providing commentary for some of these. Also, feel free to copy the list and let me know that you did it on your blog. Feel free not to tell me either. Just please, don't do it and post it in my comments section, as that will be deleted as soon as I see it. I'm selfish like that!

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink -- you crazy? I'll buy a round for my friends, that's it!
02. Swam with wild dolphins -- I'm assuming wild dolphins don't enjoy human flesh!
03. Climbed a mountain -- dude, I grew up in the mountains!
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive -- I'm not a boy!
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula -- NO THANK YOU!
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it -- looking back, I should have not!
09. Hugged a tree -- I'm a tree hugger in all senses of the word!
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped -- I will be that one statistic where the rope snaps!
12. Visited Paris -- One day, I will live there!
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables -- lentils are vegetables, right?
19. Touched an iceberg -- as long as I'm not on the way down with a ship!
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper -- never again, until I have my own kids.
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne -- It wasn't pretty!
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill -- don't tell my work :)
31. Asked out a stranger -- I don't know why, but I want to do this.
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip -- I'd do it again :)
38. Taken an ice cold bath -- not by choice, sometimes hot water runs out!
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run -- in what sense? if we're just taken baseball, then never, otherwise...
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days -- have you met me?
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors -- I lived there.
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice -- Not even sure what this means!
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving -- I'm still on the fence on this one!
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke -- And I really should have not!
72. Lounged around in bed all day -- I call that most Saturdays in the winter!
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater -- I went once, but they didn't play a movie, counts?
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it -- I call that Tuesday!
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better -- Sure, I'd drop a window for a hot door! :)
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman -- ummm, I guess this was geared towards men and lesbians, neither of which I am.
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight -- Not sure what that even is!
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party -- It's called COLLEGE!
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced -- I'd love to see someone who marks this as something they'd like to do!
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River -- Don't even know where that is.
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything -- Sadly, I always remember everything!
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live -- WHO?
116. Bought a house -- A condo counts, right?
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship -- Twice, and I'm DONE!
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy -- Hungry Hungry Hippo :)
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over -- Paris, it'll happen!
134. ...more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray -- Did you see what happened to the croc hunter? NO thank you!
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon -- doesn't half way down count?
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing -- and drooled on my neighbor. I was lovely!
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours -- it's called major flu!
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground -- That's REALLY specific!
169. Been a sperm or egg donor -- Who really wants THIS?
170. Eaten sushi -- like EVERY OTHER DAY!
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime -- One would be enough!
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach -- Why in God's name would anyone want to pet that? WHY?
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them -- You know those things that they put ketchup in?
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office -- I used to want this, but I grew up and learned the truth about politics!
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196. Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal -- who uses LJ anymore? EVER?
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

I don't know how to be sad

2008-02-25T23:28:00.006-06:00

SEE UPDATE BELOW!

Obviously I am not very creative when it comes to making up post titles. So, live with it.

Now moving on to the topic. I, like everyone else, can go through quite the emotional roller coaster. In fact, within 10 minutes I can go through a whole spectrum of emotions. The only problem is, I don't show emotions well. More specifically, I don't show sad emotions very well. I deal with sad events better than most people I know, but I do it on my own terms, and on my own. I do not seek comfort from others, and I wouldn't know what to if someone tried to offer me what they think is comforting. I don't work that way. I wasn't programmed that way. Since I was a kids, I never wanted to cry in front of people, so I ended up crying to sleep in the solitary of my own room. I bet my mom thought all those stains were drool.

As I get older, I understand with more clarity where this comes from: my father. I respect him for it, and I'm glad I am this way. The problem is we're often misunderstood to be heartless and lacking in the emotions department. And that cannot be further from the truth. But at least speaking for myself, I like being the strong one who can keep it together. Whether people like it or not, that is not my problem.

Recently though, I have had some stuff happen in the family. Just like my father, I don't go around telling people about them, and I certainly don't want people's sympathy. I especially don't want the generic over-the-counter sympathy wishes. I don't know why people think that empty rosy words would bring comfort to anyone. By the same token, when things happen to people, I don't know what to say, and in fact, I don't want to say anything. I comfort people in a completely different way, making them laugh. Because when I'm down, the last thing I want people to do is pretend they're sad about things they're not associated with. I want people to make me laugh. SO, next time someone else tells you something about me that makes you want to hug me and cause me great discomfort in trying to escape your arms, just save time and make a joke. I have no problems laughing, it comes easily to me. In fact, I have many a times laughed when it was inappropriate, and I am totally OK with that.

But you have to remember, not only will I not cry in your arms, please don't come crying to me, unless you're prepared to be greeted with a very uncomfortable "there there" or me making a joke. Cry all you want, but I am not Dr. Phil, and I can't give you unsolicited life advice. I'll probably say to you what my dad always says about situations like this: "life goes on, and yours will have to go on too." I would add to that a sprinkle of "appreciate the good times and keep in mind the fun times of any bad experience." But most likely I'll just tell an inappropriate joke! Can you handle that? I hope you can, because "sad" is a very foreign state for me...

UPDATE:
I think I was either misunderstood or I really suck at communicating with my readers. I am not sad about anything, nor are horrible things happening in my life. I was just merely writing that I don't do sad! And when shit happens, I don't seek consolation from anyone. Being down makes me feel uncomfortable, whether it's me or someone else. And I deal with it by making jokes. There are things that I cannot control, and while most people will be really upset by them, I just learn to live with them and accept them. I am not a very emotional person, and I think that sometimes comes across as being cold-hearted. I know I said "recently," but really, with a big family like mine, there's always something nuts going on. I promise, I don't need a hug and I don't share. This is exactly what I'm talking about, if I don't share, then don't worry about it. If Bob comes up to you and says that such and such happened to KULA, don't come and say something to me when I never said anything about it to you. If I have something to say, I will say it when I want to. But regardless, I was trying to make a general statement about how I do things.

Here's a related story that may put this whole thing into perspective. Someone I know told me that his mother has a terminal illness, and that he is really bummed by that, and understandably so. She is young, and should have many many more years to see her son get married, have kids, etc. The truth of the matter however is that she has a terminal disease. He expressed his sadness and how low he was feeling and how he couldn't continue with his life as if nothing was wrong.

At this point, most people, either fake or actually honestly embrace the person, make a sad face, and say "SORRY TO HEAR THAT." Or maybe reach out and give the person a hug, or console him or her with, what I consider, empty words that don't do anyone a favor. I, on the other hand, reacted this way and said: "I am sorry that this is happening to your family, and it is understandable that you would be sad, but I don't think getting down on yourself is going to do anyone involved a favor. I think you should continue your life like you did before. Your mother, while may be sick, is still alive, and I think it would give her more strength if you didn't treat her like she's sick. There have been studies that show that a healthy loving family can prolong a person's life, if anything, it can make the rest of their lives however long or short a happy time. What you need to do now is to be there for your mother, and love her like you always did, and don't ever make her feel like she has a terminal disease. I think that what she needs right now." Of course I got barked at and told that I wouldn't understand because I'm not losing my mother. But you know what? If I had to go through that situation again, I would do it exactly the same. I can't sit here and mope with you, when there are a lot of people who can do that.

I think I am being a good friend when I say what I think makes more sense. And I have known people with terminal diseases. Do you think that they don't know what's happening to them? You think you're suffering more than them? NO! I personally think anyone who cries and mopes around and reacts in a morbid manner like that is actually selfish. But that's my opinion, and then again, I can't do that whole sad thing. I provide support by providing what I consider a realistic perspective. I would never mention death around anyone going through that, because I don't need to. It's hovering around anyway. So what point that out by holding and crying and saying empty words? But different people act differently.

As for now and for me, I am as happy as a clam! Which begs the question, exactly how happy are clams?

Barcelona - Part last

2008-02-14T22:23:00.003-06:00

I don't know what else I can say. It was really fun winding down those last two days I was in Barcelona and relaxing so that when I got back home I wouldn't be too tired to get back to work. Because you know, the worst thing about coming back from vacation is the jet lag. It's not the fact that the calories now have to count, and the purchases require more justification, and that whole job thing and waking up in the morning to an alarm. Well, it is.

So after my travel mate left, I decided that I was so sad that I needed to do something therapeutic to relief my sadness and distress. And I think by now you all know what that means: SHOES SHOES SHOES, and spending more money on things I don't really need. By money I mean a little rectangular piece of plastic that I should not be allowed to take with me while traveling. Towards the end I was praying that it would stop working, but God wasn't about to listen to someone who hasn't been to church in lord knows how long.

I don't think I have anymore to say about Barcelona. The rest of the trip involved some more shopping, good food, sightseeing, and eating fantastic food, pastries and good coffee.

Then there was the obligatory gift-shopping. I hate trying to buy "thoughtful" gifts. The problem is whoever I was buying gifts for, I had bought "thoughtful" gifts for before. But I guess there is such a thing as having too many ties, especially when my dad goes somewhere where he needs to wear a tie, maybe 10 times a year. I about lost my head trying to come up with good ideas for gifts and just wanted to bring everyone a Target gift card.

To cap off the rest of the trip, I just need to refer you to the post before last (the first post of 2008), which involves the best part of the trip: flying Delta Airlines.

As you can see, this was a perfect example of a post I wrote because I promised I would. Not good, not funny, and does not improve the quickly declining level of online writing. I'm sorry that I have to be so lame and waste your time reading this, but I'm just trying to keep my promise.

Next time, I promise, there will be better material. Hmm, maybe I should stop making promises. But we'll see.

UPDATE: I just realized that I never wrote about flying the Delta Airlines experience. I guess that will require its own post!

Barcelona, Part Dos!

2008-02-01T20:22:00.000-06:00

Holy hell! The first of my 2008 New Year's resolutions was to make sure that I post all about my trip within the month of January. Well, what fun are resolutions if you don't break them?

So last I wrote, I had gotten back to Barcelona to meet up with my travel mate. It was really easy finding her waiting for me in the hostel. Now, I can go on and on about hostels but I won't, because I just may sound hostile. While this was a nicer one, I have to admit that I think that this was the last time I stayed at one. After all, while I was a student, it was a nice cheap way to travel, but you know what? I have worked too hard to get where I am, and I think I deserve to stay at a hotel. And as much as I love my friend, sharing a twin bed with another person is just unrealistic and physically painful. But I won't go on and on about hostels.

Other than the lodging, which was bearable, walking around Barcelona was an absolutely wonderful experience. I can't even try to describe the history of it, as it has one of the richest and most interesting histories. The people are interesting. They have that hint of French attitude in them. I am not saying it's good or bad, just that it's there, a certain attitude. And as much as the Spanish don't want to be told they resemble the French in any way, shape or form, they really do. But at the same time they're very different. For example, they start their day a little later than usual, take a 2 hour lunch from 2-4 and dinner is around 9 pm. Then it's party time. Those are really rules after my own heart.

But let's get back to me being a tourist. I made sure that I hit every site that the guide books told me to visit. I am not usually that kind of tourist, but I am more like that when other people are involved. I try to make fewer decisions and stray off the tourist path less, because I don't want to suggest something that someone will complain about or remind me years later about that one time I took them down a side street not recommended in any guide book only to be chased by an albino midget. You know, it's just not the kind of thing I can live with for the rest of my life.

There were a few spots that we hit Asian-tourist style. You know, walk up to the place, maybe walk around it, take a picture of it, maybe take a picture with it, and check it off our list. Hey, sometimes you just have to do that when there's a lot to see and not enough time. Don't judge me!

There were along the way a few strange things. Like the guy with the creepy smile staring at us at the coffee shop. For about half an hour he just sat there and stared and smiled. It was very "I'm going to follow you and stab you" kind of smile. Then there was the fish cooked whole with its eyes still in there staring at my friend as she ate it. I usually like my food sans eyes. But I guess that's just me being picky. Though I can't complain about the food. YUM! It's that simple, the food was delicious. The wine was great. While I'm not a fan of the rose, it's actually pretty good there, and not sweet like roses you get here.

New Year's was a fun night. We had dinner at a very nice restaurant, didn't eat the twelve grapes at midnight, and we didn't kiss anyone. But then we went to the bars that were full of people who had just had too much to drink. So we caught up. Then we got caught up with this group of weird guys who just wanted to make out. And you know, I actually did say at one point "No means No!" And I wasn't joking. I don't mind a little kiss, but this guy actually licked my ear. I'm not sure why there are guys out there that still think that licking a girl's ear or face is sexy or would turn HER on. I also can't see what it would do to a guy? I mean, if there are any guys reading this, please do tell me, does it turn YOU on to lick someone's face or ear? Sounds very unhealthy to me.

So, one smooth move of "we're going to the bathroom, we'll be back" and off we went. And that was our New Year's Eve.

We hiked in a mountain, and walked through empty dark gardens, the found a hidden Greek amphitheater on a very rainy night. It would have been so romantic and lovely had we each been with a special man. But it was still lovely.

Then there was shopping. Did I already talk about shopping? You could not avoid it in Barcelona. There were stores everywhere. There was really good coffee, and really good pastry, and just the best flan I have ever had.

So that's it for you, sightseeing, food, bad kissing, and flan. It was butt loads of fun.

Next, will be my trip back home. It was so eventful that it deserves its own blog post, and I promise, this time it won't take a whole month. I PROMISE!

First blog post of 2008

2008-01-05T14:58:00.000-06:00

After a very long absence, by my standards anyway, I have decided to resume blogging. This post is special for many reasons. First and foremost, it's the first post of 2008. This is going to be a special year, I have already decided. Why you may ask! One obvious reason is that I will be turning 30 later this year. While most people cry about turning 30, I am embracing it and loving it and looking forward to it. I sense great things happening in my life from this point on. I don't know, I just feel it. The second reason this post is special is because it is coming to you all the way from Barcelona, Spain. I have decided that my (two) readers are so special that they deserve to read a post I am writing while in a fabulous mood, something that everyone knows isn't frequent of me. If I were to put off writing this, I will be either on my way to or already back at home, which means the good mood will be certainly gone, because it will mean going back to work after a two week get away, starting before Christmas.

Some of you may wonder why would I be blogging while in Spain. Well, tonight (it's already night here) is my last night here, and while I would love to go out and spend more time wandering the streets of this beautiful city, I have to pack, which I am ignoring right now. I also need to stay up all night, because if the last ten days are indicative, waking up early isn't exactly something I have been able to do. Also, if I spend any more time wandering around, I will have to officially declare bankruptcy as I have spent way too much money in the last ten days while in Spain. Actually, I have spent most of the money in the past two days, while alone, since my travel mate had to leave two days before me. Somehow her presence made me shop less. Thanks to her departure, I am now the proud owner of way too many shoes that cost way too much. The shoes mostly came from two shops whose owners actually now recognize me. It didn't help that I also bought shoes for my parents and my brother. Hey, I can't help it, Spain is known for good leather. Of course, I am not sure how to justify the few funky pieces of clothes, and accessories that I bought in addition to the shoes. Whatever, I only live once, as far as I know, and I would like to go through this wonderful life wearing lovely shoes. I guess my mom now can rest assured that I have inherited at least one gene from her, and while my sense of fashion is nothing like my mother's, my love for shoes certainly came from her, and not from my father who owns three pairs.

Now, let's go back to the beginning of the trip. I was very good and finished all my work ahead of time, and my packing was done with just enough time to get a good night sleep before my morning flight. I was supposed to get up around 5:30 am and go pick up my travel mate, then drive to my parents' house to have my dad drive us to the airport so that my car would be car-sat at my parents'. Well, if that sounded too perfect, it's probably because it was. It is so unusual for everything to go smoothly, but what was lying ahead was completely not something I could have prepared for. Shortly after midnight, my phone rang, and I woke up confused and saw that it was my travel mate. She had bad news, her passport had expired, and she had not noticed until 9 hours before our flight. And if you have ever dealt with government agencies that renew passports, you would know exactly how bad that is. Needless to say, I was in shock, and I didn't know what to do, except change my mind set to the solo traveler persona. Not a problem, since I have traveled alone many times, the last of which was back in March for three weeks around Europe. But I was a little bummed that I would spend New Year's alone. Even worse, I felt bad for my friend who was very excited about the trip. But how extremely out of it does someone have to be to not check their passport's expiration date, especially when the tickets were purchased two months in advance. I don't get it, but that's because I travel internationally at least once a year, which is probably why the expiration date of my passport is engraved in my brain.

So off I went to the airport, fighting the urge to cancel my trip as well, and getting prepared for 10 days of solo traveling. However, during my layover in (disgusting) JFK, my friend called and informed me that due to some miraculous intervention she was able to renew her passport that day and she would be on her way a mere 24 hours later. My jaw literally dropped. A government agency getting their work done the same day? The same agency that insists that you need at least 6 weeks to renew your passport? I don't know if I loved them for renewing her passport in one day or hated them for not always getting the same thing done in such a short time.

Off to Barcelona I went, and as soon as I got there I had to make a decision. We had initially planned to take a train to a small town where one of our friends, the Spaniard, would be for two days before heading back to the US. So I had to decide whether to go as planned and let her get in a day later and spend a day alone in Barcelona before I get back, or stay in Barcelona for a day alone until she gets in and skip on the small town visit. Well, I went the selfish route and decided to take the train to Alicante a few hours south of Barcelona along the Mediterranean from where the Spaniard picked me up to go back to his town. As soon as I got there, any feelings of guilt about going alone went out the window with the wind and into the sea. What a beautiful town this was and even better than the town are the people I met while I was there. What a group of lovely wonderful friendly people they are. And I know the Spaniard will give me a hard time about this, but I have to say that of all the European people I have met so far, the Spanish are my favorite. While I love and have no complaints about any of the others, the Spanish resemble my family the most. They're loud, they love eating and drinking and talking and laughing, all at once. If you have been to my house for dinner, you'd know what I'm talking about. I felt very much at home, even though I understood very little of the language. But everything, down to the two kisses on the cheek, was almost exactly the same, which is why I was at ease from the beginning, something most of my US comrades would need time to adjust to. Trust me, I've seen people's reactions when they come to my parents' house and my parents do the cheek-kissing thing. Some have even told stories about it afterwards, and some froze in horror. But that's another story for another time.

The Spaniard, as I fondly call my friend for purposes of anonymity, was a wonderful host, and his family was very generous and even friendlier. He was even a better tour guide, and showed me around the town where he grew up and some of the people he grew up with. It is just amazing how meeting a few people can shed a new light on someone and can make you maybe understand them just a little bit more. Needless to say, I was very happy I decided to go and visit my friend in his home town.

After two days, both the Spaniard and I left his town and back to Alicante, he to fly back to the US and I to take the train back to Barcelona, where my friend, the expired-passport-owner was waiting for me. A whole different part of the trip was about to commence, and deserves its own post. So stay tuned for the memoirs of the second part of the three-part journey.

Until then, Happy New Year and may your 2008 be off to a wonderful start as mine has been so far!

Damn you Eliina

2007-11-24T16:25:00.000-06:00

Seems like Eliina is angry at me for some reason. The woman tagged me, and now I have to write 10 random things about me. I might as well copy and paste the "rules." You know I don't go by no damn rules, but I guess 10 random things is as close to no rules as one can get.

The rules: Once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog post with ten random facts, habits, or goals about yourself. At the end, choose ten people to tag, listing their names and why you chose them; don't forget to leave a comment on their page letting them know "tag you're it". You cannot tag the original person who tagged you.

10. I can watch the food network for 10 hours non-stop, and I have. Today.

9. I started school when I was a little over 4 years old, and was done around 28.5, with only one semester of no school. That's right, I was in school for over 24 years. It was all well worth it. But I sure as hell am glad it's over! By the same token, nothing you say to me about how hard your life is studying and preparing for school projects and exams will generate a shred of sympathy. I went through it and survived it. Shut up and get your ass back to studying and stop whining!

8. My parents are the coolest parents anyone could ask for. They were parents until I finished high school, then they became friends. And unlike other "cool" parents, they don't swear, aren't alcoholics, and have never done drugs. Ask anyone who's been to my house just how cool they are! Sometimes I think some of my friends like my parents more than they like me!

7. At one point or another I've played one of 6 musical instruments and 8 sports, at different levels. This isn't quite interesting, if one of them wasn't the accordion! No, I didn't have an accompanying monkey, though that would've been a lot more fun!

6. I'm a huge perfume snob. I only use the good stuff, and I don't expect any less from those around me. If you buy a perfume that smells more like a toilet cake, then just save even more money and hang a toilet cake around your neck. Yep, I'm THAT snobby about it! Get over it!

5. I am passionate about everything. When I love something I LOVE it, and when I hate it, I LOATHE it! An example of each would be mangoes and George Bush, respectively!

4. I can eat sushi for every meal, every day, but I don't, because I would probably die a month later from mercury poisoning. I'm already stressed out about not being able to eat sushi when/if I ever get pregnant.

3. I'm an awful bowler and pool table player, but I will be the most excited one when someone suggests we go for either. Then I will be sad when I do badly. But a strike here and an amazing pool shot there will give me enough confidence to be excited the next time either game is suggested.

2. I grew up in the suburbs and lived there through high school, but now, I do not know anyone who hates the suburbs more than I do. I will seriously consider not marrying someone if they ever say that we would have to move to the suburbs. The idea of having to drive every time I want to do something is equivalent to the idea of having to move to Saudi Arabia where women can't drive, vote, or go anywhere without a related man by their side!

1. I try, I really do try, to stay away from talking about politics, how stupid conservative people are, and how dumb religions are, but I can't, though I often end up physically biting my lip and walking away. There's nothing more annoying that trying to have an intellectual conversation with someone who has a very limited view of the world.

Oh, and one more thing, I am not fun with chain emails, because I don't like forwarding them, so I won't be tagging anyone. If you feel like doing this, let me know in the comments and I'll go read it.

Shorty ain't worth it

2007-11-13T22:21:00.000-06:00

People who like me, LOVE ME. I don't know what it is, they just do. It may be because I would actually do anything for my friends. Though some don't deserve it, because they're not really my friends. But sooner or later, the truth comes out, and they either stay my friends or move on to something less stressful, like having no friends at all. You see, people who don't like me, they just SUCK!

All joking aside though, I have this theory that life is best enjoyed if you start out assuming everyone is nice and friendship-worthy. Granted, that's not true. Not at all. But I think things are better if you don't start off with the attitude that people are not worthy of your friendship until they prove you wrong. The problem with that is that people may not like it when people are putting them through tests and are not being friendly. Of course the way I do things is conducive to resulting in me being highly disappointed when people's true colors comes out. It's not always a matter of someone being a bad person, just maybe someone that is not compatible with me and my personality. I am however more inclined to determine that the person is a low life when they have problems with everyone around them.

Recently, a person I know had a complete explosion and her true colors came out. Mind you, her true colors were never hidden, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt, because that's how I roll. We also had many friends in common, so I wanted to be a grown up about it and be civil to make sure that others don't feel uncomfortable around us. I do have to stress out the "HAD" because after her complete freak out, I think there's only person that would qualify as a common friend. That got me thinking, is everyone worth being given the benefit of the doubt? The answer right now comes easily to me: NO.

Some battles are just not worth fighting. Some people are just not worth befriending. They have somehow gotten so low that they can't drag themselves out long enough to say one nice thing to anyone around them. And when/if you try to reach to them, all they're going to do is try to pull you down. They can't even comprehend the concept of keeping their mouth shut when they have nothing good to say. Yes, I expect my friends to slap some sense into me if I am consistently doing the wrong thing. But you cannot give unsolicited advice on everything, whether you know about it or not. And there is a way to convey your advice so it does not sound rude. But then again, why would I expect better from a person who farts and belches in public, and when asked nicely not to do that because "I live around here" her response would be "but you don't know these people, so who cares?" Well excuse me, if unlike you, I was not raised in a sty.

Well, don't let the door hit you on the way out! That's the nice thing about giving people the chance to hold on to the friendship you entrust with them, once they throw it back at you, there are no regrets about letting them go as far away as life can take them. That's how I am, I will do anything for a friend, but once they betray me, that is it. In this case though, this person didn't even deserve the many chances she was given. Live and learn and don't make friends with bitter people!

The Happy Post that will make you VOMIT!

2007-11-01T21:20:00.001-06:00

As I promised in my last post and the comments that followed, I am dedicating this post mostly to Kim and anyone out there who thinks I am a cynical person. I just want to let you know that you better not like this or expect it ever again from me. The fact that I lead a dull life is the reason why I discuss "depressing" topics in my posts and/or express a "dark" view of certain topics. So brace yourselves for the equivalent of the excitement experienced while riding the train that goes 2 miles per hour in an amusement park full of roller coasters.

Another preemptive thought, please do not take anything said here as a way to brag about anything or to sound condescending to anyone out there. If any of this sound condescending, it's probably because you have an inferiority complex. Not my fault. (See, I couldn't go completely without saying one mean thing in this post!) But I digress...

I lead a very boring life, have always lead a boring life, and will likely forever lead a boring life. The exciting things in my life have not to this point involved any drama or overly sad events. I have been lucky enough to have a wonderful supportive family. My parents love each other now as much as they did 30 years ago, or 35 years ago when they first met. We were never rich, but we weren't poor, and regardless of how much or little money my father made and brought home, my parents never made me feel like there was a shortage of anything. I think this is mainly because they were boring parents, my father kissed my mom before he left for work, and as soon as he walked into the door from work, they showed me love and hugged me and kissed me and taught me many life lessons. My extended family is equally boring in that their worst habit is caring too much about me and butting into my business by always asking me how my life is going and giving me unsolicited advice. I have over 100 first and second cousins from both sides of the family, and every single one of them knows my name and loves me unconditionally. I KNOW, HORRIBLE!

As for education, I have been blessed with the ability to sit my ass down and stay out of trouble long enough to do my homework and do well in school. I have endured a long career as a student, and never gave up to the temptation of just finishing and working until I got to a point where I was satisfied. If I were to line up all the papers and exams I wrote, I can probably cover this whole damn state. The only times I got in trouble in school was for talking too much. I KNOW, SHOCKING!

I have never been dirt poor or filthy rich. But I was blessed with my father's genetic gift of being financially responsible. There were times in college, and without my parents' knowledge, when I had probably $5 in my name and nothing else for weeks at a time. I was living in the dorms at the time, and was able to go on for all that time without looking or feeling or acting poor. I never complained. I chose not to work at times to make sure that I did my best in school, because that's what my primary job was. I never spent more money than I had, and even though I had a credit card, I learned long ago from my father to not put on it more than I actually had to my name, because GOD FORBID I pay a penny in finance charges. Yes, credit card companies hate us. But the important thing is I never dragged anyone down with me when I had no money, and I never made anyone feel guilty about having more money than me in college and being able to order pizza while I had to eat the dorm food. There's a pride in my blood to never let anyone think they're better than me because they have more.

My first job was at McDonald's. I was not too good for any job. I worked in a warehouse of a factory in the heat of the summer, choosing it over an office job, because it was the one I got on my own and not the one that my parents helped me get. Pride is a bitch! I worked really hard and endured a lot more than I let on to get where I am today. And I do resent anyone who thinks that anything that I have now had ever been given to me on a silver platter. But no matter what I do and what I have, that's all immaterial. My pride and joy and happiness are all the result of a wonderful healthy life and being raised by two of the most loving and wonderful parents without whom nothing would ever matter. And when I think ahead and try to look forward to a happy life, I don't think of success, power, and money, the only thing that I can ever hope for is finding a partner who will be with me the other half of a happy marriage and a good journey. If I have learned anything from my parents, I have seen firsthand that lack of money and status do not make a marriage miserable. Love alone is enough. There's a way to have little and make your children feel like they have the world and a lot more than the kids whose parents bought them everything to which they point. Not a day goes by that I thank my parents for all the lessons they have taught me, and the fact that they were able to do all of that without ever sitting me down and saying: say please, say thank you, don't be a slut, work hard, don't let money control who you are, don't make the wrong choices, etc. Somehow all these lessons were passed through without too much preaching and lecturing. The trust and the love between me and my parents is something that no words can describe, and something that cannot be quantified. Best of all, it's something that no one can ever take away from me. It's something that will be with me forever, and something that I know a lot of people are not blessed with. And yes, I think that makes me a happier person and a more complete human being and maybe even better, because I am able to go through life talking about stupid things, because I don't have to deal with the problems a lot of people deal with on daily basis and can never get away from.

Now, go clean your vomit, and wait for the next "cynical" post, because I have to create excitement in my overly happy dull perfect little life. And you bet your ass I won't feel guilty about any of it, because it's the result of hard work, either my parents' or mine. No one is unlucky. You can only achieve as hard as you work towards a goal. And remember, success is not always measured in dollars. In fact, the best success in life is never measured in dollars!

Marriage

2007-10-24T19:47:00.000-06:00

Conclusion: marriage is not for everybody!

I thought I'd give you the conclusion I have come to realize before you read the whole thing thinking that it will be a rosy story about what marriage should be like and love and all those loads of crap.

Come to think of it, when I was a teenager, I thought that I would be married by the time I turned 25. I thought I wanted to have all the children I wanted to have by the time I turned 30. And I used to think that living happily ever after involved another person, and that it could not be achieved without this magical being who was going to be my husband until the end of time. There would be love everyday, and only love. We would never fight, we would never disagree, and we would have the best three children anyone could have wished for.

Obviously, I lived in a world of illusions. As I got older, I started realizing what a load of crap that was. I have not really changed much, besides getting more educated and learning that I am happy being on my own for now. The problem is that I started knowing other married people at a more realistic level than ever before. Until I went to college, the only real couple I knew was my parents. They don't have a perfect lovey dovey marriage by any measure, but they are genuinely happy together and belong together. After all, this year, they celebrated their 34th anniversary. That doesn't happen by just pretending or putting up with a horrible partner. The problem is now I know other couples. People who not only shouldn't be married to the people they're married to, they shouldn't be married to anyone at all. Insecure shallow people, who are constantly trying to compensate for their insecurities by putting every move of their spouse under the microscope. I know way too many couples like that. And nothing can turn you off marriage like a boring couple, except maybe a couple that is the worst mismatch since Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie were together. People who are obviously married because they thought that it's better to be married to the wrong person than to not be married at all.

I am not sure why everyone thinks marriage is the answer to everything. Not everyone is meant to be married. At this day and age, if you want to have kids, you don't need a spouse, if you need money, you have your own job, if you want insurance, well, get a job. This isn't 1930 where each person has a specific role, men earn the bread and women stay at home and become housewives. Both can do each other's roles, and I am really suspicious when girls freak out that a guy isn't proposing. I don't need a guy to propose to me for me to figure out if he's serious about being with me or not. If you're smart enough, you can tell. If someone says "if he doesn't propose by such date, I will leave" I lose respect for them. Why do you need a guy to propose? You can just talk to him and figure out if you're serious. Maybe it's easier for me, because I never think that I need to secure myself financially by marrying someone. I am realizing that this is not the case for a lot of women, still in this day an age. Quite sad and pathetic. Being proposed to and getting married are not equivalent to finding true love.

At the same time, I am at the age, where I can sit back and laugh, yes laugh at all the idiots that got married right out of college. Scary as it is, I am at the age, where those people are starting to get divorced. It's satisfying enough for me to sit here and say "I TOLD YOU SO!" I was also the biggest opponent of people marrying right out of college, because no one really knows what the other person is truly like in carrying on their everyday life, even if they dated all throughout college. Most people don't even know what they themselves are like or they want from life. Not to give credit to the older people who sometimes get married because they think they're too old to find someone, so they marry the first person they go out with for longer than a certain amount of time.

This brings me to something one of my friends just recently told me. She informed me earlier this week that a guy we both know proposed to a girl last Friday. When I told her that I did not realize that he had a girlfriend, she told me that he'd been going out with her for two weeks. You have got to be kidding me! I've had a carton of milk in my fridge for longer than that. I have had a longer relationship with my milk carton than this guy has had with this girl that he wants to marry. The milk carton and I are going on week three or four. I will be extremely offended if my milk carton doesn't propose to me by the end of this week. If it doesn't, I'm going to dump it (down the drain). It just seems that our relationship has gone sour recently. And to avoid problems, I am not going to wait till the relationship is completely spoiled. Bye bye milk carton. It's not me, IT'S YOU!

Land of dreams

2007-10-19T21:04:00.000-06:00

As far back as I remember, I had avoided eating too close to bed time. Mainly, I have nightmares when I go to sleep on a full stomach. As I got older, the types of dreams that qualified for nightmares changed drastically. And instead of scary they became simply FUCKED UP! I cannot even begin to describe to you the multitude of dreams that I had lived through over the years. I think I had the most interesting ones during college, and lucky for her, my best friend heard them the next morning, since she was also my roommate. It made for an interesting breakfast whenever I would greet her by saying: "you would not believe the dream I had last night!"

Well, last night was no different. OK, it was a little different. I had chili for dinner and went to sleep not too long after that. So not only did I have an "interesting" dream, I had gas as well. Lucky for the cats. But the dream is what blew my mind. I saw in my dream a guy I knew in college, and might have had a crush on for a week. The funny thing is that the last time I saw this guy was over 6 years ago, and I had absolutely no reason to be reminded of him. I also have no idea where he went after college, since we weren't close friends or had many friends in common. But in my dream, he told me that he was thinking about moving from California to the Midwest, and later in the dream he said that he first wasn't sure but that he wanted to stay in the Midwest because he had fallen in love. With me. And I was happy. I woke up happy.

When I got up, I tried to search for him online to see if I could find his email to send him an email to say hello. I had no intention to say any more or any less. I just felt that there was a reason I suddenly thought of him, and wanted to check on him. Of course I didn't find an email for him, but I did find that he does actually live in California. I don't about you, but it's not every day that I can accurately dream where people are living. Holy crap, I completely forgot about contacting him and sat there thinking: WHERE THE HELL IS THIS COMING FROM?

Though, I guess from now on, if I ever forget where someone lives, I could just try dreaming of them and figure out their current residence. It's like dreaming the white pages. Sweet!

She's aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive

2007-10-12T18:17:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are wondering, I am back to reassure you that I have not been hit by a bus that paralyzed me from the waist up and made me incapable of blogging. Though work was in a way paralyzing, that is until about two weeks ago. My paralysis magically was gone and I was able to get back to real life. Of course, by real life I mean doing such exotic things as eating regularly and sleeping at night, and working hours that are not two digits, a day. The last four weeks before things calmed down, I was working over 12 hours everyday, including weekends. I wanted to cry, but I was so tired that I couldn't. But that's OK, because now, when I leave at a decent hour, I don't feel guilty. When I make plans for the weekend, none of which involve the word "WORK," I don't end up constantly thinking about work and how I should be doing that instead of whatever else I was doing. Worst of all, I had moved into my new home, and had not had time to buy furniture except, thankfully, my mattress. So the first thing I did was order furniture, and now I have a real home, with a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen with everything unpacked. Things are falling into place slowly, but surely.

Since last time I was here, I have planned quite a few trips. In December I will be going to Mexico for a friend's destination wedding, I will be going to Europe for 10 days starting after Christmas, and will be going again to Mexico on a girls' 5-day weekend getaway. My parents will go for a few weeks to Europe in the summer, so I think I may join them for a week, when they're in France. I don't know about you, but this sounds like a wonderful lineup. And those are only my international travels. There will be a trip to DC later this month, Phoenix in May, then one or two trips to the east coast in the Spring, and I'd rather not abandon the west coast, so I may swing by the northwest at some point. As for the south, it does not interest me a bit. Been there, and couldn't get out of there fast enough. No offense to the very few people from the south that I like (you know who you are!).

The kitten and cat are getting along well. The kitten has a wonderful sleep schedule that involves running all over me during the night, frequently biting any fingers or toes that I may let out from under the covers. Then when he decides to sleep, apparently the most comfortable part of a queen size mattress is my face. And of all the way to be awakened in the middle of the night, having a kitten on your face isn't the most pleasant. He's so cute when he's sleeping, but when he's not, he gets swatted around a lot, by me and the other cat. I don't know, we both must be very territorial bitches. There are some other adjustments that I have made since the kitten has joined us. Now, instead of having one shadow, I have two shadows. Two cats following me everywhere all the time, and I mean it. When I get out of the shower, there they are, with the kitten ready to lick my feet. Because two bowls of water are just not enough for him, and who wouldn't want to get their water from feet? When I go to the bathroom, they both come in and watch, and every once in a while, watching me encourages one of them to jump in the litter box to do some synchronized shitting.

On a complete side note, my college football team is doing so well thus far. **knock on wood, spit on the devil, salt behind my left shoulder**
My NFL team was doing pathetically bad, but just beat the rival team last weekend, the team that was undefeated. And there is no joy greater than that, when the team is otherwise losing.

My baseball team quickly exited the playoffs. So I'm not even going to go there. Meh, what's another year not winning the world series, when it's been 99 years.

Well, that's all I have for now. Not very exciting. Just coming up for some air and to keep my faithful readers around for another round of sleep-inducing news and updates! Stay tuned.

Daily Life Quotes

2007-09-21T23:34:00.000-06:00

In keeping the spirit of this blog lately, and gather a few random things to make up a miserable post, I will share with you a few quotes from my daily life since the last time I posted. This is really a pathetic excuse for a blog post, but you know, if you're still coming here and checking this out, then you deserve this kind of reading material. I'm just reminding you that you should be somewhere else doing something more useful. Say, at work, till 2 am, for 5 days in a row? No, no, not that is where I have been. OR HAVE I? The pathetic thing is that I am enjoying all of this, in a very masochistic "let me bend over and give it to me from behind" kind of way.

On with my boring daily life...

"Mom, I got a kitten!"
"WHAT? I want grandchildren. GRAND... CHILDREN... NOT kittens!"
"Sorry, all you get is kittens."

"I didn't want to let the kitten out with the cat alone all day without my supervision. I just didn't want to go home to find a decapitated kitten. After a long day at work, I'd be too tired to clean that up!"

American guy says to Chinese interpreter: "excuse me sir, I don't understand you, but I don't think you interpreted that correctly, did you?"

"Sir, he is not allowed to see the document, please ask him to leave."
"No, no, if he can't look at the document, let's take it down. OK, now, let's talk about what's IN the document!"
Thinking to myself, did this asshole go to law school in the Canary Islands? (No offense Canary Islanders!) Or does he think we went to law school in a back yard in Belize. (Sorry Belizians).

Sitting in a deposition, I just have this urge to say: "objection. Grounds: opposing counsel is an asshole. Excuse me Ms. Reporter, can you strike that from the record?"

Guy at Subway: "would you like your sub toasted?"
Me: "No."
A minute later...
Me: "I'm sorry, is that my sub in the toaster oven, BEING TOASTED?"

My co-worker says: "give me some document to give to him. I don't care what it is. I just want to get him out of my hair!"
My co-worker is bald. I could hardly hold back my laughter and the obvious joke.

Bitch at work: "are those designer jeans that only lawyers can afford?"
Me: "yes, they're Old Navy Couture!"

All about me Friday

2007-09-07T16:42:00.000-06:00

Fuck, Fridays suck, especially when you work most of the weekend.

But since this Friday is exceptionally sucking, I thought I would bring some sunshine to anyone who's pathetic enough to be reading my blog on a Friday evening and share two things I consider to be ME. Meaning that as long as I can remember, this is the way I have been:

1- I am a perfume snob. I think I've said this before, but I really have a problem with people who wear cheap perfume, or a lot of perfume, or just the wrong perfume for the wrong occasion. I am very selective about what perfumes I buy and wear. It's the ONLY thing that I buy regardless of its price. If I like it, I will buy it. It is the only thing that I exclusively buy designer. Also, most of the perfumes I prefer are by French designers, and I usually can tell a difference between the ones made in France and the one made in the US. So, whenever I'm in France, I always make sure I at least hit the Chanel and the Dior store. I'm usually the only one who looks like a commoner there, not wearing designer clothes. But no one complains when I end up buying two or three perfumes.
My theory on perfume is, less is more, and more is BAD, and wearing no perfume at all is better than wearing cheap perfume. You will never see me using regular off the shelf cheap perfume. If I ever run out, and I never do, I go for the clean out of the shower smell and body spray.
My all time favorite is Dior's J'Adore. I have used it for at least the past 10 years, and it usually comes from Paris, but when I really have to, I buy it here. See? I told you I was a perfume snob!

2- I don't do funerals. While it's normal not to like funerals, unless someone distant just died and left you $10 million, I am especially super uncomfortable at funerals. Well, I can't say I am uncomfortable at them, because that would imply that I go and get uncomfortable. I'm just uncomfortable at the thought. In my 29 years of living, I have been to only one funeral, and my mom made me go. I think this mainly stems from me not knowing what to do when people cry. I don't cry in public or in front of people, so it's really odd for me to see people crying, and sometimes, wailing. Then again, I grieve in a completely different way. Also, when I die, I don't want anyone there. I want to make sure that I'm taken away, alone, and the people who would have been at my funeral are at a party dancing to lame 80s music. I'll make sure in advance that everything is paid for, and it'll all be on me.
If I ever get stricken with a terminal disease, right when it gets close to that time (hopefully not any time soon), I will take care of my assets, pre-pay for said party (see above paragraph), and keep just enough money to go to somewhere in the countryside in France, to spend my last days there, probably with my favorite bottle of perfume that I will buy in Paris (see #1 above) when I land, before I go to the countryside.
Seriously though, I hope people don't get offended that I don't go to their loved ones' funerals. I send HUGE flowers arrangements, but I just can't be there. We all have our weird things. Let me have mine!

UGH!

2007-09-07T10:38:00.001-06:00

My blog is bothering me again. It needs a major overhaul, and I just do not have the time. I am extremely busy at work (obviously not busy enough to stop thinking about how much this blog is bothering me!) Needless to say, when I have a moment to take a breath, the blog will be third or forth on my list. There's unpacking the boxes that surround me in my place, after moving two weeks ago. Then there's catching up with some pictures I've taken, oh, SIX months ago! I'm sure something else is there that is more important than updating the blog and that should go into spot #3. So at #4, I think the blog is a priority.

There were times when I thought about closing the joint. But I always feel very selfish depriving the world of this wonderful whining and bitching and over-the-top opining about everything and anything. Mostly, I don't want to take away from you, my two readers, the joy of reading all the offensive crap that your eyes look over when you come here, somehow expecting something worthwhile.

Well, if you're looking for a rosy happy read, go somewhere else. This ain't the place. This somuvabitch is my little pit of darkness where I come to spew my poisonous thoughts.

Now, go home, stand in front of a mirror and say the following out loud:

EYE YAM SOFA KING WEE TODD DID

Hope your day just got better!

More Sex and the City quotes

2007-09-06T21:34:00.000-06:00

Well, this time it's one I actually agree with: "sometimes relationships look prettier from the outside."

I do agree. But I do have to add that sometimes, they look ugly from the outside as well!

Don't ever get fooled by anyone's relationship. Everyone has problems. And there are way too many cheaters out there, way more than we would like to believe.

Well, for once, I agree with Carrie! Go figure!

Why is it only Thursday?

2007-09-06T09:36:00.000-06:00

I am really REALLY looking forward to this weekend. I will be out of town for a friend's wedding. One of my best girl friends, B, from college is getting married. We met through her sister, C, who was a year ahead of me. I was a sophomore in college and B was a senior in high school. Little did I know that on that day in Spring of 1999 I was meeting a high schooler who was going to become one of my best friends, and more importantly, one of my best drinking buddies in college. Here are a few reasons why she is awesome:

- She was there for me whenever I needed a beer after a long day of classes. OK, sometimes she was there before me.
- She always listened when I needed someone to talk to about whatever it was that was distressing me. Even when it was stupid, and most of the time, it was.
- She was there when I wanted to go and shoot hoops at midnight. Then she went with me to Steak 'n Shake to make up for any calories we lost playing basketball.
- She stayed up with me all night watching soccer games she didn't even care for when the World Cup was in Japan that one summer. She didn't even mind when I poked her to wake her up so she can see a replay of a play she didn't care for.
- She let me give her a hair cut (though now she'd be the first one to tell you not to let me near you with a scissors).
- She was there when that one boy made me cry, and she took me to her dorm room so I would stay there for the night, just so I wouldn't cry alone. She even stayed up to hand me tissues.
- She was the best football/basketball/baseball game goer buddy. The many MANY seasons tickets we bought together were our beer money sacrifice.
- She played catch with me, even during finals.
- She went to lame parties with me when I didn't want to go alone. She even played along when I made up party names for us. Though sometimes she forgot and would suddenly start saying my real name and not get it when I give her a "damn you woman!" look.
- Despite our vast religious and political differences, we accepted each other and neither of us ever tried to change the other.
- The inside jokes, are endless, and I can't divulge them, otherwise, they'd be outside jokes. But they're funny, you just have to trust me on this one.

As a super bonus, I will meet up with my best friend, MP, and her husband to go to the wedding together. These two, B and MP, are the best part of my college life, and I would do anything for them. This weekend is all about the two people that made college the fun time it was. To this day, I can't imagine where I would be without them. Despite living far apart, and having very different schedules that may not allow us to always keep in touch, we still manage to know what's going on in the other's life. When good or bad things happen, they're usually the first to hear about it, and vice versa.

This weekend could have not come at a better time. I need to be around the people who understand me and know me most, and no matter what happens, they would never dismiss me or have to reconsider how I fit into their life plans, because I'm part of it. I need to get away, and there is no better place to go to than to be around these two. People usually consider themselves lucky if they have one friend they can absolutely trust and around whom they can be completely themselves. I must've done something right along the way, because I have two of those! I need this to remind me that what really matters is the good things in life, instead of letting the bad things bring me down.

I also can use a day away from work. It's going to be nice not being around a computer for a day. Woohoo!

Funny

2007-09-04T21:10:00.000-06:00

I was just watching Sex and the City. I know, very healthy for a single girl living in the city to be watching a show encouraging promiscuity. ANYWAY... this is the episode where Carrie saw that Aidan had bought an ugly ring and she freaked out because the ring was ugly and how could she marry a guy who would not know what ring she would like.

AND... it's funny, because I know someone who exactly did that. The guy actually took her to the country side in California for her birthday, for the whole weekend. He proposed to her with the wrong ring. She said no, and broke up with him right then and there. Later she said that the ring was so ugly that she didn't think that someone who loved her would get the ring wrong. I can't even make this up if I wanted to!

A guy picking up the wrong ring? Yeah, that's unheard of!

The sad part is that someone who knows me would actually say that to me. Because someone who actually knows me would know that I'm the kind of person who would be happy with a paper wedding band.

2007-09-03T18:04:00.000-06:00

If you cry and no one is around, does it matter?

NO, because apparently when people don't see you cry, you are perceived as the evil one.

I am actually looking forward to getting back to work.

After years of thinking that being honest is a good thing, I'm starting to reconsider that as a false advertisement. Putting on an act will get you a lot further in life. I should remember that one for when I'm teaching my children life lessons!

Cabbies say it like it is

2007-08-23T08:12:00.000-06:00

On my way to work today, I had the best cab driver ever. It was a woman. She was African. No no, not like that dumb expression "African American." She was actually African, from Africa, and not a 10 generation whatever.

:: TANGENT ::
African American is the dumbest way to describe black people. It's offensive to real African Americans, people who actually immigrate here from Africa. And it's offensive to black people, those who have actually been here for as many generations as most white people. They're Americans too. No one goes around calling white people: Swedish Americans, German Americans, Irish Americans, etc. Not to mention the fact that not all black people originally came to the US from Africa. I refuse to use that dumb term.
:: END TANGENT ::

So on the way to work, my cab driver and I go by this corner where there's equipment being used for filming the Batman movie. Most of the filming takes place at night, but they have people guarding the equipment during the day. As we drove by, we noticed that the guy guarding the equipment was actually sleeping. He happened to be black, but I didn't really notice that until my cab driver mentioned it. She laughed wholeheartedly, then said with the cutest African accent:

"Can you believe that guy? You just can't sleep on the job. He'll probably sleep more, get caught, and get fired. Then Jesse Jackson will get on TV and say he got fired because he's black. He won't get fired because he's black, he'll get fired because he's a lazy ass! But Jesse Jackson and other rich black politicians will make a big deal about it to get more time on TV. Then when they guy says 'oh yeah, I was sleeping,' they'll all say 'OK, he deserved to be fired.' But the won't do that on TV, they'll just whisper it and never talk about it again."

You see. This is what I love, well, love and hate. Only a black person can say this. Because if I say this, Jesse Jackson will get on TV and call me a racist and ask that I be fired. But it's just nice and refreshing that some people see it as it is, and call a spade, A SPADE!

I think all lazy people who sleep on the job should get fired or at least warned. But we all work in places where we have black and white people, and probably people of other races working. And we all know how much more cautious the employers are when certain people of certain races don't do their job. And it's so demoralizing and bad for the work environment. But this is the America we live in. The concept of equality is lost on many people. Often those who are asking to be treated equally, are actually asking for special treatment. There are certain occasions when that's not true, and there's still a lot of racism around, but affirmative action or whatever the hell it's called these days, is obviously not going to make people less racist, it's just going to make them resent each other more. But it gives me a little bit of hope when I see that there are people of all types and races and colors who truly recognize how fucked up the system is!

When there's a wit drought around here...

2007-08-20T17:20:00.000-06:00

I have plenty of weird ass emails that I get from random weirdos that I can post to entertain the masses...

Today, I checked one of my 5 trillion email accounts, and there was this one from a nice gentleman named Hicham, apparently from Morocco. I have always loved Morocco and wanted to visit it, though after this email, I am not quite sure it is for me and I for it. I don't know how this guy found my email, and not quite sure on what he's basing his very bold message, but instead of deleting it, I decided to entertain my few readers with someone else's material, since I am not in the mood to come up with anything.

Here it goes, from Humanity Hicham in Morocco - this shit is better than my dreams! Please note I made absolutely no edits, not even in the spacing, I copied as it looked in my inbox and pasted it here. Enjoy:

"dear future wife,
iam a moroccan citizen,my name is hicham,i have 35 years old,i find u email and i decide to send u this message for making a stronge
relationship cause iam single and very interested to be u man and more
also
u
are very welcome here in morocco,i invite u,i wait u answer soon,take
care,my hot kisses and thank u.
iam waiting for u news,i will love u deeply."

"future wife": Quite presumptive! I do indeed like a man who take charge! This may be a bit much though.
"i have 35 years old": What? 35 years old dog? Cat? bird? Gold fish? That would be quite the feat!
"a stronge relationship": Maybe that's what my life lacks, STRENGE!
"very interested to be u man and more": I am very afraid of what "more" could be. After being "me man" what is left?
"i invite u": OK, I certainly can't marry someone who will not, at least once, in his email address me as YOU, but always as U. FUCKER!
"i wait u answer soon": i wait u turn to frog sooner!
"my hot kisses": OK, if nothing else was, this certainly is creepy. Anyone who knows me, certainly knows I prefer cold kisses, especially the ones with the almonds in the center.
"thank u": Well, at least he's polite and is thanking me for the hot kisses.
"i will love u": Well, since you've already married me and all, I sure hope you'll take time to love me. Because you know, if I'm going to move to Morocco for my future husband, I'd rather move for someone who will love me, as opposed to someone to ends their email with "I will NOT love u."
"deeply": Deeply? Interesting choice of words for someone who can't spell YOU.

Two random things

2007-08-16T07:05:00.000-06:00

- I was sending out some post cards today. I ran out of post card stamps, so it was either running out to get more stamps, which we all know I'm too lazy to do, because I can't even remember the last time I bought stamps in person. I order them online and have them sent to me. Yep, I'm THAT lazy. My other option was to put 13 two cent stamps on the post card, or 45 for international destinations, which means, there would be no room for my precious message!

I contemplated taping a quarter and a penny to the post cards. What do you think the post office would do if I were to do that? It's 26 cents! Fuck it, those last two people can wait till I get my stamps delivered in the mail to me. I'm too lazy damn it!

- I had a dream last night that my alarm clock broke, probably the same way I broke a couple of alarm clocks in high school when in a moment of anger at the idea of waking up I slammed them against the wall! But I digress.... Back to the dream... So I replaced the alarm clock with another one that looked the same exact way, except this one, much to my chagrin, does not stop buzzing. That annoying buzz, you know which one. It kept on going. I tried to snooze it, turn it off, taking out the battery and it would not stop. I started crying. Then I started reading the user manual which oddly enough was written on a lace pink skirt, inside and out, and there were porn ads on the inside of the skirt, and it still didn't tell me how to turn off the alarm clock.

Finally, I got so angry that I wanted to cry and slam my head against the wall, when I suddenly woke up and my alarm was buzzing, and from the time on it, it had been doing so for at least 20 minutes. But luckily in reality my alarm got turned off. And I didn't have to slam any part of my body against any solid objects!

- If you think you can explain dreams, please try that one. And let me know!

Look somewhere else

2007-08-11T10:21:00.000-06:00

I'm officially sick and tired of people who blame all their problems on anything but the right thing: themselves!

This is mostly true when it comes to physical appearance. Obviously the media doesn't help at all plastering extremely photoshopped pictures of celebrities all over the newsstands, Internet, and TVs. The celebrities themselves are victims (albeit, really rich ones) who live under the pressure of always being a size zero. I, of course, speak of the female celebrities, but it also applies to some of the male ones too. Once they start looking like a normal person, they are called fat and caught in unflattering snapshots with captions like: "breakup leads to comfort food" or something equally ridiculous.

Not that an average person needs all that pressure on top of what human nature imposes already: blaming all your problems on anything but the real thing!

I notice this especially in women, who constantly fail to be in long term relationships, or relationships altogether. They blame it on something physical: too fat, big nose, big ears, crooked teeth, etc. And this is exactly what plastic surgeons want: people who think they can fix their problems by pulling skin here, raising an eyebrow there, or shaving off a nose bone here and there. These women need "plastic" surgery on their inside, on the invisible, on the real problem: the issues they have!

Look around you. There are plenty of people in relationships in spite of such alleged physical shortcomings. The problem is not your physical appearance, the problem is you. You have to change something inside to change the way your life is going. It's that simple, and it doesn't require anesthesia, and it's free.

I'll give you an example. I know these two sisters. One is tall and on the large side with rolls and everything. Her sister on the other hand is petite and slender, and beautiful. You look at them, and you can't believe they're really sisters. The bigger one looks almost like a lumberjack compared to the petite one. At one point, the petite one had a slightly large nose, she paid a lot of money to get it fixed, and she now looks perfect - just simply beautiful. But here's the thing, she did that thinking that was going to fix her relationship problems, only to still be always single. Her sister on the other hand, is in a very happy relationship, and has always been in wonderful relationships with amazing guys, who are nice, good-looking, and hard-working. You see, guys may need the good looks for the first impression, but once they talk to you and find nothing to interest them, they'll walk away, regardless of what you look like. So save yourself some money, and go work on your attitude!

You see, the problem is, the beautiful sister from the story above, still deep inside realized that it's her attitude that keeps the guys away, but it cost her thousands of dollars, when she could've just done what I'm saying and saved herself some money, if she would've thought a little harder.

It's really easy for us to blame our problems on other people or other things, but in reality, we are just afraid to take a hold of our lives and help ourselves to fix our own problems. Imagine how much bigger the disappointment is if you go as far as paying someone to change your physical appearance, only to discover that the source of your problems is not that extra bag of fat that you just got sucked out of your thighs. Which by the way, you should lose, the right way, by working out, and in a way, working out is taking a hold of your life and helping yourself!

That's all the wisdom I have today!

The West is clueless

2007-08-04T22:56:00.002-06:00

There are so many ignorant people in this world. The worst are those who think they are smart and convince themselves they are aware of everything going on in the world. My biggest problem are those who truly believe that the US is out there helping other countries become better. The foolish suburban white breads, who have never really experience involuntary hunger, as opposed to voluntary hunger to fit into some cookie cutter image set by brainless failures plastered all over television and magazines. These people claim to know what countries far far away need. They let the rich white boys in Washington convince them that what people living in poor countries need democracy. Mainly because these people actually believe they have complete democracy, which it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that it's not so by looking just a little harder at the details around them. But everything is so much more beautiful with a little bit of a blur. Ask any alcoholic, and they'd tell you that they're always sleeping with beautiful people. But I digress...

The point is, we really have to look hard and realize that people in Iraq, and people in India, and people in China, and people in a lot of other countries that we don't even mention because they have no oil and no resources that we can suck dry, those people don't need democracy, they don't need freedoms, they don't need theories that don't work, or even those that work. They need food, it's that simple. And maybe even the ability to dream about having any sort of a future! Apparently that's too hard to fathom by people who never worry about whether they will have food the next time they feel hungry and actually decide to eat!

Funny

2007-08-03T00:06:00.000-06:00

It's funny how the most humorous people are the saddest.

It's funny how the most arrogant people are the most insecure.

It's funny how the people who boast their independence are the clingiest.

It's funny how the most judgmental people are the most scared of being judged.

It's funny how the people who always surround themselves with "friends" are the loneliest.

It's funny how when I say funny, I really mean sad!

And CUTTTTT!

2007-07-29T23:06:00.000-06:00

Tying in with my last post, sometimes I wake up and I think I am the main character in a movie. The only difference is that I don't get to do retakes. Once I fuck up a scene, that's it, I'm stuck with it as the first and final scene. The other big problem is that none of the scenes that I don't like could ever end up on the editing floor. They all make it into the show.

Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good scenes. But there's another problem with that. I am not the director of my own show, I don't know who is, but whoever it is, he/she is not letting me pause in those fabulous scenes. More importantly sometimes I want to re-take those scenes to re-do them the same exact way. There is one scene that up to this point in my life is by far the best, and I do relive it over and over it in my head. Sadly, it's a total cliché: boy and girl, holding hands, walking around Paris on a perfect summer night, then holding each other with the nicely lit Eiffel Tower in the background. I don't know what I did to be able to get that into my movie, but as much as I thought before that it's such a typical sickening AWWWWW moment, I have to admit, it was wonderful. For some reason I am thinking more and more about it lately, mainly because in about a week or so, it will be exactly two years since that happened.

****SIGH****

Well, the crew needs a break. Back in 15!

Just FABULOUS!

2007-07-23T22:47:00.000-06:00

I don't really have a routine anymore, but work is so brain numbing that by the time I get home, I am so tired that all I can do is sit and stare at the television. Somehow I end up watching a rerun of Sex and the City. I always laugh when they say something naughty and a little gross and too sexual. It reminds me of how much my dad hates the show. If the show comes on while I'm visiting my parents, my dad says: "this is disgusting, I hate this show, especially Samantha." Which I think is amusing, because even though he hates it, he obviously has paid enough attention to know the characters' names. Funny, ain't it?

Well, aside from my dad's clear attentiveness to things he hates, I was thinking last night after watching the episode where the girls go to LA and have everything bad to say about it, especially compared to NYC. Not that I disagree, because I hate LA, but I really can't imagine myself in NYC. And I wondered how come they didn't make a show about real people living in Chicago. It's more real. People here are more real than either coasts I think. People live here, because they want to live here and enjoy their lives. I don't think people come to live here expecting the craziness of NYC or the fake glamour of LA. People come here, they have fun, and stay here and raise families. But then I thought, why would people want to watch that. I'm sure most people our age, or single women of all ages have nice ordinary lives, even in NYC and LA, albeit less than Chicago, I bet, but nevertheless, they're still there. But really, who wants to watch that? The closest thing to that is Friends. While it's one of my all time favorite shows, it's also far from realistic.

But at the end of the day, do we want to sit down and watch our lives? Would we want to watch people who go to work and come back and sit in torn t-shirts on our couches watching TV while perfectly made-up? That's no fun! We want to watch people who are always glamorously dressed and go out to glamorous places, and buy $500 pair of Manolo Blahnik's. We want people who seem to be always having casual sex, because in reality we only come across those people infrequently, and we never really befriend them, or we call them skanky hoes behind their backs, instead of discussing with them the anatomy of the latest guy they or we screwed.

While it's fun watching chain smoking newspaper column writer who somehow can afford a posh pad in Manhatten and new outfits with Italian designer names (yes, that can happen in real life), I think at the end of the day, none of us can handle a life that would make for an interesting story line worthy of following by millions of viewers. If I had the choice, I would still choose my boring life with Old Navy flip flops and long work hours, though I could use less hours at work and more drinking wine with my cute neighbor! Hey, I'm just sayin' :)

Silly brothers

2007-07-12T22:03:00.001-06:00

Conversation between me and my brother while sipping tea on a sidewalk cafe

"Sis, you're too tense, you really need help."

"I'm just tired and stressed because of work."

"You know what you need?"

"Good sex!"

He gets a shocked look on his face and pretends like he's about to reach over and smack me across the face... this is the same guy that not only tells me he has sex, he has at times told me way more than I wanted to know...

"NOOOO... you need the Relaxi Taxi!"

He has obviously just seen that one Friends episode. Hello? No one has seen that show as much as I have, I know when someone uses a "Friends" quote.

"Yeah, I need a good nice massage."

"Sure..."

"I need a nice loooong relaxing massage from a guy masseuse."

By this point my brother has completely given up on me thinking his "borrowed" joke is funny, and is obviously not at all interested in whether I am stressed or not.

Seriously, I need... umm... a massage... from my cute neighbor. WHO, by the way, just called me randomly today to chat on the phone, because he's traveling and he thought of me. How cute is that? I know, CUTE! We made plans for next week when he gets back in town.

You what?

2007-07-11T19:23:00.000-06:00

Imagine the face you would have made if 10 years ago I would've said to you any one of the following:

"I blog a lot. And these people are my blog friends."
"I twitter and pownce."
"I flickr."
"I have no idea what that is, I'll google it."
"If you have a question, just text me."

it's Official

2007-07-10T13:39:00.000-06:00

Here's my official FUCK YOU to the Catholic Church and the Pope. I'm Catholic from my mom's side of the family, but will have nothing to do with that church, proving time and again that it's defective and erroneous. I'm not religious, but respect most religions and their teachings. Not the Catholic Church. Today the Pope apparently issues a release saying that other Christian sects are not real churches. It's funny that he cites the Orthodox Church as one of those. I'm Orthodox from my dad's side of the family. If you want to look at the details, and the history, well, not so much the history, but the story I like to call the Bible, the churches in the Middle East are actually the real ones. Jesus didn't come, allegedly anyway, from Europe, he was born, raised, and died in the Middle East. The languages spoken in those regions like Syriac and Assyrian are very close to Aramaic, the language allegedly spoken by Jesus. Not Latin. Not German.

So Mr. Pope: FUCK YOU! Who died and made you king? Yes, that's what you are. A king, in a fancy dress and a fancy hat. Everything that is anti-Christian. What happened to simplicity? Jesus didn't die for you. I don't remember reading that Jesus said he was dying for the Catholic Church, which interestingly was established long after Jesus' time. In fact, the people who later became Catholics, are descendants of the people who persecuted Christians and wanted to kill Jesus. In a world already filled with hatred and wars, you would think this would be the last thing on a true Christian's mind: sectarianism and hatred - two very un-Christian ideas.

What would Jesus do? Not what the Pope is doing.

But the Catholic people who blindly believe the bullshit fed to them through these fancy-dressing assholes deserve to be under their guidance, or lack thereof. I for one, have long ago discovered that I am too smart and good of a person to remain associated with such a pretentious and corrupt organization. A true Christian doesn't judge or think he's better - something most Catholics who blindly follow everything the Catholic Church tells them, do on daily basis: judge and hate!

I am against any organized religion that builds its foundations on excluding and hating others and thinking of themselves as better for being part of that religion. Catholicism happens to be in the family, and the Pope happens to be the asshole on the news today. But if you're religion says any such bullshit as well, I am against it just as much. See? I'm an equal opportunity critic!

Oh yeah

2007-07-08T23:04:00.000-06:00

I went to see Sicko today. It's great. Michael Moore is brilliant. I don't care what you think about him, but then again, if you hate him, you probably voted for Bush and support the Iraq war, which mean I don't care what you think, and you're hopeless. Hey, this is my blog, I can judge whomever I please!

If you think this is the greatest country in the world, you will watch that movie and sink in your seat from shame. My friend Jess wants to change the world and wants to fix this. I'm not as hopeful about the people who run this country, so I want out (see post below).

But if you get touched by people's stories of deaths that could've been prevented, and run the risk of crying in the theatre, like me, then take a couple of tissues with you. Sometimes, they were tears of anger and not just sadness. Anger that people can let people die, people they pretend to care about and protect, when all they really care about is their own well-being, and everyone else is sub-secondary. Every time Bush or Cheney came on screen, I wanted to stand up and say "fuck you for fucking us!" But that really goes for all politicians. No matter what party or what affiliation, they can all be easily bought. Sad, but true. Anyone who is capable of staying in Washington DC and surviving the life of a politician, has been bought off for someone's benefit.

It's a depressing movie, not because there are some sad stories there, but because the truth is raw and hurtful, and it can happen to any of us or our loved ones. It's not just on the screen. It's on every street corner. It's in the bus and train with us. It's because things can be changed, but there are forces that are actually working hard to stop the problems from being fixed. Yes, this is the land of opportunity, people alway tell you that. What no one tells you is that not everyone gets an opportunity. It's not a depressing movie, it's an eye opener. The problem is that when we open our eyes, we see things that somehow we missed. And they're not pretty, really not pretty.

Go see the movie!

Long term plan

2007-07-08T22:08:00.000-06:00

OK, soon I'm going to go back to my French classes. I think eventually I will have to move across the pond, that is, the Atlantic pond. Fuck the American Dream, it's not for me. Just pay off the debts, sell the house, and buy a one way ticket! That's MY American Dream.

Why? You may ask. I don't have enough time or energy to type the list of things wrong with life here. There are just as many great things probably, but the bad things are things I cannot live with long term, and if I ever want to raise a family and have kids. Screw it!

Lies

2007-07-08T22:01:00.000-06:00

I have a great ability to find out when people lie to me, and usually it really gets me and bothers me. It's worse when it's a friend. But this time, I figured that it is my fault, so I should be less critical. Eventually, things will be back to 100% OK. But I really hate when people try to "protect" me from the truth. Nevertheless, I'll let it go, I won't let it bother me, I'll move on, and I'll take it as a compliment of caring about me. It's better that way, it's a better way to go through life. But I do have one thing to say: Enjoy! :)

It's been a while

2007-07-08T01:31:00.000-06:00

If you know anything about me, you know that I am not the biggest fan of mainstream movies. That is not to say that I do not go to the cinema to watch mainstream movies. But I go with very low expectation. For some reason, I also feel less comfortable going to mainstream movies alone. I have no problem going to the indies and foreign ones alone. Odd, no?

When there's a lot of talk about a movie that I haven't seen, I get curious, and NetFlix it to see for myself. Problem is, you usually need time to sit down and dedicate yourself to watching a movie on your couch. Yes, I do enjoy my time on the couch, but the last thing I want to do after a long looooong week of work is sitting down and concentrating on following a story line, and god forbid, one of these complicated multiple story lined movies. The quality of movies is so bad these days is so bad that there are obvious attempts at beefing movies up, and that really REALLY irritates me.

I am sick and tired of boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, insert misunderstanding, cause separation, build story around fixing said inserted misunderstanding, and ta-da, boy and girl get back together and live happily ever after. [INSERT GAGGING NOISE]

Add little variations here and there, and you have 45% of the mainstream movies.

If you do the math, there's a whole 55% left, how could that not be good enough to satisfy my need for a good movie? Well, let's hit the other 45% of mainstream movies that need to be flushed down the toilet: violence and/or scary crap. Jason, Freddy, Mike, Hannibal, guy with gun, girl with thin long heel or ice pick. YAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN!

There's maybe, and that's a HUGE MAYBE, 10% of the mainstream movies that are worth the time you spent sitting down to watch them. That doesn't necessary mean that they're spectacular, but hey, if a movie doesn't make me feel like I just lost precious time exposing myself to the stupidity from which a lot of talentless people made tons of money I can never dream of even seeing, then it qualifies for that 10%. Every once in a while, a movie actually stirs the emotion in me. Yep, that is one emotion. Ice queen at your service.

Well, to make a long story short, and we all know that's a lost cause, I actually watched a mainstream movie today, after many many months of it sitting in my DVD player, thanks to NetFlix. It was The Departed, and it was worth every second of sitting on that couch.

MOVIE SPOILER ALERT - DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE MOVIE

Now here's what I don't get: in what world is the only person that survives in a movie Marky Mark? No matter how much he acts, which is really restricted to the angry Bostonian, possibly the easiest way to make a ton of money playing yourself, he is still to me Donnie's little brother. Not only that, but how dare anyone kill off Leo? Yes, he is my guilty pleasure. Most people's guilty pleasure is chocolate or ice cream. If I had a choice, I'd lick Leo DiCaprio. He's my guilty pleasure. He's single, allegedly, so I convince myself that I still have a chance. He also cares about the environment, as if I needed more reason to love him. But with someone like Gisele on his dating record, my chances are in the negative, if mathematically they could go below zero. Either way, he brings out the drooling ogling obsessive chick in me...

Oh yeah, back to the movie. Umm... it was good. See it. And if you've seen it, do you think that the baby is Leo's?

Yes, there was a lot of shooting and killing in this movie, but the thing that really gets me is how realistic it all seems. Anything involving corruption in public service is realistic, and a movie about that is on my not-so-bad movie list. The movie was definitely worth all the hype and awards. And Leo, oh my Leo... let me have a moment.... yeah, Leo was great in it, so was Matt Damon. The rest could've not been good with the good story line, but I could've lived without seeing Alec Baldwin grab his junk. In fact, boys, all of you out there, I can really live without seeing any of you grabbing yours. It's there, it's not going anywhere. Crotch check is not necessary.

Just a few thoughts!

Heard after the volleyball game

2007-07-05T16:13:00.000-06:00

"Oh, there goes that 'woman,' the one with the really manly voice."

"Yeah, she has undescended testicles."

"Oh, they're descended alright!"

Band-Aid and Fireworks

2007-07-05T10:18:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you have a band-aid on, and you know that to make things better you have to rip it off. If you leave it on, it may feel OK for now, but eventually the wound underneath may rot and you may end up having to amputate a limb, so you decide that, YES, it is better to take it off. You may think about taking it off slowly to cause less pain, but in reality that only prolongs the pain. So you decide to rip it off, and you know that there's a chance that there will be more pain and damage if you rip it off, but then again, there's a chance that ripping it off will cause extreme momentary pain, but in the long run the wound will heal faster and things will be back to wonderful. And even if ripping it off causes more permanent damage, and a scar will remain there as a sad reminder, but at least you'll still have your limb, albeit scarred forever!

Wow, that was way too much of a philosophical crap! I'll just add that I think fireworks are overrated, and adults who go to see fireworks when they don't have children, are in need of much help. As a child I used to be amused by fireworks for no more than 5 minutes, because at the end, they're all really the same. But seriously, to be an adult and voluntarily go to overcrowded areas to look at fireworks is just wrong. While all the nuts, especially those from the suburbs (fucking suburbanites!), were squeezed together and OOHing and AAHing over some ridiculous display of glorified fire crackers, I was sitting comfortably in a backyard with a few close friends, enjoying good food, and a wonderful conversation, while everyone was within a comfortable non-intruding distance from the others. We even had our own sparklers.

Weekend craziness

2007-06-28T21:56:00.001-06:00

Last weekend four nutcases came to visit me. It was a weekend full of craziness, farts, burps, drunkenness, inappropriateness, shopping, eating, and lots of sightseeing. It's the kind of weekend that you can only handle once a year. OK, it's that kind of weekend that I can only handle once a year. It was a ton of fun, but I wish I could go and eat so much less.

These same girls visited me last year, but this year we did way more sightseeing around Chicago. We went to the Sears Tower, the Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier where we rode the Ferris Wheel, a river architecture tour of Chicago, and we watched and cheered along with all the proud gay people who came out for the Gay Pride Parade.

While I had a good time, I think I would've enjoyed the weekend a lot more if my work wasn't in the back of my mind. It was a constant adventure riding public transportation and dealing with the crowds, especially with an angry New Yorker. And I am sure I was not fun company whenever someone mentioned shopping. I hate shopping, I think it's like masturbation, you should do it only when you really have to, and alone. But that's just me. I'm not fun to shop with, and I'd be the first one to tell you that. It's no secret. Not that anyone cared what I thought.

By far, my favorite thing from the whole weekend was when I woke up at 8 am on Sunday morning, very VERY hung over, and went and played soccer. I biked there. And I am very sure I could have been arrested for BUI (biking under the influence). But even the cops were still sleeping!

The cat was in complete shock with four people around and went through some serious withdrawal afterwards. Mainly, she missed Deja. She was more or less indifferent about the others, but I think she smelled something on Deja and cuddled with her. That cat sure knows how to find the dirty ones.

Perhaps though, the best moment came when we stumbled drunk to the Wiener Circle to get some hot dogs and get yelled at by a fat angry hot dog lady, and then Megna getting nearly bitch slapped by a drunk guy who looked like Ernie with his almost unibrow. That guy would have had five angry bitches riding on his back and scratching his eyes out if he would've tried to again lay a hand on Megan. Luckily, he was really drunk, and I let the shove he gave her get away, but then again, he's lucky Megan was drunk too. He was a thief, he stole Megan line - i.e., PUT SOME CHEESE ON THAT BITCH! Oh yeah, we ate the most disgusting cheese fries. Any night that ends at the Wiener Circle is a very drunken night. Yep, that was the night before soccer. OUCH!

And last, but certainly not least, I finally had the chance to have tomato juice with beer that I have many a times heard about from Megan. It always sounded disgusting, but I had about 5 of those over the weekend, which is nothing compared to Megan's 20 or so. That girl can hold her beer. I think I have a new favorite way of drinking beer, it really makes it a lot better.

I was a little sad after the girls left, not so much because I missed them, but because I missed not having to go to work. Now, back to reality, which sucks, because there's no big colorful gay pride parade going through reality!

Weekend update

2007-06-18T22:49:00.000-06:00

The weekend was OK. I had a ton to do and just not enough hours. In addition to work, and cleaning, and the usual soccer, I had my second piano lesson. It was great. Apparently I'm too hard on myself and I am doing way better than most adults on their second class. Of course, I have had many years of music experience. But according to the piano teacher, playing the piano is a whole other story. So yay!

I went out to dinner with the family on Sunday for Father's Day. And while I have allegedly done so in the past, this year I really did find the perfect card for my dad. It said: "I know that all these years I was a little difficult, hard-headed at times, and had that know-it-all attitude, but there was a good reason for all that: HEREDITY!" Boy oh boy, that card sure got it all right and dad got a great laugh from it.

My dad and I had always had that special bond, and I think maybe it made my mom just a little jealous. My brother and she were making fun of us while we were waiting to be seated for dinner. Some things just never change! No matter what though, we've always been a happy family, and I really appreciate that. There are also a lot of people around me that don't get along with their parents that they don't even call them, and that just blows my mind, and makes me appreciate mine just a little bit more.

All in all it was a good weekend, but if I had less work to do, it would have been even better.

Teeth nazi

2007-06-08T21:45:00.000-06:00

That would be my dentist, who I absolutely adore. No matter how many times I see him, he always speaks to me in Arabic, and I always answer in English. He speaks English well, but then again, I speak Arabic well.

As usual, I frantically start flossing my teeth two days before my annual visit. Coincidentally, I found out that I am supposed to have a check up every six months. Seriously? Why hasn't anyone told me this in the past TWENTY EIGHT years? And they said it like it's a well-known fact! Like I"m the last person in the northern hemisphere to know that. Well, next time put it in a memo and mail it to me.

Naturally, my dentist is smart enough to figure out that I don't regularly floss. Luckily, he asks me that with five tools in my mouth.

"How often do you floss..."
"ooolllllleeeeeeetttttttiiiiiiiiiiiccccccceeeeee" - that's all I could manage with a guilty look to indicate that I don't do it regularly.
"You know, if you floss regularly, your gums wouldn't bleed this much!"
"But I don't floss because my gums bleed whenever I do..."
"Because you don't floss..."

Obviously, this argument wasn't going anywhere. So I reluctantly gave up and let him do his work.

Even when I was a kid, I never complained about going to the dentist. I was in love with the family dentist. He was entertaining, and I am pretty sure he never cleaned his equipment. I'm also pretty sure some of his tools were rusted, but hey, somehow everything worked out just a-OK. Other than the fact that one of my teeth fell out, was replaced with a permanent one, then the permanent one fell out and was replaced with another permanent one.

Never mind that I never freaked out about going to the dentist, I still hate the sound those damn tools make. Humans can build a HUGE rocket and launch it into space, but can't make dentist tools that don't make the most disgusting noise imaginable? It has the same effect on me as 10 cats clawing a blackboard.

So, everything went well. When the dentist was done, he looked at me and said, "well, your front teeth are really good!" Oh geez, that takes care of what? 10 teeth? What about the other 22? Comments like that make me think that by the time I'm 40 I will wake up every morning and brush my one surviving tooth before going to work. Hopefully my dental insurance doesn't have any rules against being 40 and getting fitted for dentures.

I am convinced that there is no one out there with perfect teeth. I brush twice a day, and have done so as long as I can remember, but I still have a ton of cavities. It's genetic, we have bad teeth. But they're straight and nice, and I never needed braces. So I guess I'll take that over buck "teef" without cavities. I think it's the lesser of two evils. I have never been a toothy person or one of those people who resemble a horse when they smile or laugh. Of course, if fillings were still metalic, I would have enuogh in my mouth to replace a plane's broken wing. I'm just sayin'!

All in all, I got "yelled" at, yet again, by the dentist. But I did learn a new thing: I'm supposed to go twice a year. And next time, I will start flossing regularly at least a month before my appointment instead of two days! We'll see how that works.

More thoughts about life

2007-06-03T14:28:00.000-06:00

I lead my life a certain way, and while I don't think that others should lead their lives the way I do mine, I do have opinions about the way people do certain things. If you don't have opinions about other people and their doings, I truly believe there is something wrong with you. Minding your own business means not telling people what they don't ask you to hear. But when people ask, give it to them. Otherwise, feel free to form your own opinion. Well, here are a few of mine about friendships and marriage.

I personally think it's better to have fewer good friends, than a lot of acquaintances. I hate being taken for granted by my friends. I hate when someone makes me feel like they're tossing me aside while they work on their other friendships. I take friendship seriously and want my friends to do the same. It's not a "friend of the week" thing. It shouldn't be, because then it's not friendship, it's just people trying to mark the wall and comparing numbers of people they know. That don't impress me much!

Now let me turn to marriage. I take marriage very seriously, and that's why I'm not married. That's right. I am not married because I think marriage is a serious thing. I don't think it's something that I do to have a big nice party. I don't think it's something that will make me better than anyone else. I think marriage is a very serious commitment and I will not get married until I find the person that deserves to have me give up a few things to be his wife, and hopefully he'd feel the same way about me. I don't need a husband to have kids, I don't need one to give me shelter, or buy me stuff, or be my date when I go to events. I want a friend and a companion and someone I can always count on, in good and bad. That being said, I also want to stay my own person when I'm married and not let the marriage or the husband define who I am. I want to be part of a duo, but maintain some independence.

SOME independence. I can't stand people who are on both ends of the spectrum. There are ones who cannot do anything without their husbands, and I don't want to be around those people. It's OK to be apart for a little bit. That being said, there's also something to be said about people who lead completely independent lives. WHY? Why did you get married? I don't think it's a good quality to ALWAYS make different plans. You're married, show me how that's different from when you were single. Going out and always getting drunk apart, and often crashing drunk at someone else's home, apart, is not something I admire or seek in a marriage. And I can't help it that I don't have respect for those who do!

In other news, my hot ref friend was not there today. I asked the other ref about him, and he told me that he was out of town for work. STUPID WORK!

The Excitement Continues

2007-05-31T21:47:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I called a piano teacher and set up a time to start taking lessons. She asked me if I had any musical experience and I told her that I have at one point or another played the recorder, accordion, flute, and clarinet (this one for a really short time, self-taught). She wondered why I want to learn the piano. I had no answer, I just want to learn how to play the piano, because no matter how many other instruments I know how to play, I think every person who plays music isn't truly a musician until they learn how to play the piano.

Either way, I am excited. Today I looked online shopping around for a piano. I think I'll start with a digital piano, for many reasons. First of all, it's easier to transport and move around. Second of all, it can easily be connected to headphones, and therefore, no one would enjoy my beginner's practice sessions other than me, which is something of huge concern when you live in an apartment in the city. Third of all, they're probably cheaper than regular pianos.

All in all, it should be a good time. I need to play music to relax and forget about the stresses caused by work and people. I think I also opted for piano with a digital piano, because it's easier for me to do it at home, like I said, without bothering anyone. I'd love to play the flute, because that's the instrument I'm most comfortable playing, since I've played it the longest, but it's hard to play and try to keep it down. You just don't get the full effect of the power of its sound without being able to fully give it all you have with deep controlled breaths.

Let's hope all the musical background enables me to not be a complete dummy with piano. I'll report with the progress after a few lessons.

Anyone else enjoys the little things I enjoy?

2007-05-30T22:57:00.000-06:00

- Don't lie, you laughed hard and had that "MWAHAHAHA" feeling when you saw Miss U.S.A. fall on her ass at the Miss Universe Pageant. I wasn't watching, but I thouroughly enjoyed watching the clip over and over again. In case you don't know, I have strong feelings against these things, because I do believe that they objectify women. Not to mention that Trump is in charge, and he is another one of the devil incarnates!

- Scalia's daughter pled guilty for DUI. Seriously, life is good. I cannot stand Scalia, or his opinions. If you know anything about Scalia, you'd know exactly why it would give me great joy to see headlines about his daughter being guilty of DUI. Just pure joy!

- I know if any of you are like me, you would love to see Camron Diaz and Jessica Biel actually red-carpet wrestling. And over whom? Justin Timberlake? Are you kidding me? I still remember when he had the beginning of a white man's afro, and no facial hair whatsoever. Well, he still does. I remember when his moves resembled those of a 15 year old pom pommer. Fight over him? Puhleeze!

- The beaches are open. Beach volleyball is on starting this week. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I had so much time this weekend, that I learned so many lessons

2007-05-28T20:20:00.000-06:00

- Promise people you'll water their plants when the forecast shows RAIN. Then say, hey, I stopped by and watered the plants. Hopefully, they don't know it rained.

- I should appreciate my cat more. She doesn't hiss. She doesn't bite. She doesn't even use her claws against anyone. When I give her a treat, she eats it, instead of hissing at me.

- Babysitting is the best birth control.

- Teach some people how to flirt.

- I miss J and B. They were awesome going out mates. The best, hands down. No one cramping no one's style. No one getting in moods and ruining the night. No one driving anyone away. No one choosing boys over girlfriends. And more importantly they weren't sluts and didn't even act like it. I really miss that.

- I miss playing music. I miss French classes. I miss running.

- Back to soccer next weekend. Thankfully!

Going backwards

2007-05-25T21:56:00.001-06:00

Supposedly, the older you get, the more conservative you get. When I was in high school, I probably resembled what would be called a Republican, though I never disapproved of Clinton. If presidents could run for more than two terms, I would've elected Clinton over and over again, no matter how many blow jobs he got from White House interns. I think the rest of America would've too. At least his IQ was more than one digit. I was also always pro choice. But in some ways I was more conservative. Now, I am moving left faster than a dog missing his left leg.

My biological clock is ticking backwards. I probably had more maternal instinct than all the mommas and mommas' mommas, in high school. Now, I see a baby and run the other way. I carry babies like they're about to explode.

I used to think I wanted to be married by the time I was 22. Thankfully, I wasn't. Now, I'm not even sure marriage is for me. Even if the right person shows up, why would we need marriage to justify our existence?

I'm just glad my mother doesn't read my blog. I think she knows all these things, but I think seing it all in writing would cause her serious mental anguish!

How I am NOT impressed

2007-05-21T18:20:00.000-06:00

If you were trying to get me to date you, one of the things that you can say to turn me off, other than wishing death to my loved ones is by writing, when asked about your favorite book:

#1 The Bible: It's written by God. It tells the truth. It doesn't hold back. Everything that's important that we need to know is in this book.

I have nothing against God, or the Bible, or people who choose to foolishly believe that the Bible was actually written by God or even Jesus.

But "written by God?" No, actually, it's written by a bunch of different people. That's evident in the fact that many events and stories are repeated, because they're the recollections of the different people. If I'm going to stick with what we have in there without me getting nasty about religion.

It tells the truth? HARDLY! I have read the Bible, and it's a book of symbolisms, at best. I will also leave this one at that, because otherwise I will end up ridiculing too many things that many may take to heart.

It tells you everything that you ever need to know? Really? Where does it tell you how to find ores, turn them into solid metals, and build everything from little transistors to jet engines and a huge jet that takes off carrying 500 people? Or how to open up an atom and do all the crazy things with the neutrons, proton, and positrons? Didn't think so!

Okie dokie then!

Another fun-filled busy weekend

2007-05-13T20:29:00.000-06:00

My weekend started on Friday. Unlike myself, I decided to go out on Friday night, mainly because a friend is a teacher and they were having a benefit for the school where she teaches at a bar nearby. Don't worry, the kids weren't invited. But now I know how teachers dealt with the craziness of teaching: the got together and got drunk! So, I did too. Sadly, I was drunk and back at home before midnight. That's what happens when you start drinking at 7 pm.

Saturday, I had breakfast/lunch with a friend, then went shopping for a mother's day gift. My mom is SO hard to shop for. She has everything she needs, and she's not the kind of person for whom you can buy useless little cute things. So I ended up buying her some books, because she used to be very well-read, and even now she still reads, but mostly books in Arabic. I thought that she really needs to read some good books in English, so I bought her a couple of books about politics, one of them about Hillary Clinton, and the other about Lenin. Then I picked up a gift card for her.

Well, good thing I did that yesterday, because we ended up celebrating mother's day on Saturday evening. I took my parents to a nice Italian restaurant. They really liked it. Very unusual, because they usually are very picky about the places where they eat.

***HOT REF ALERT! HOT REF ALERT!***

Today, Sunday, I had to play in two soccer games, but ended up playing in three. You see, I played a long soccer game in the morning, about 2 hours. My afternoon game was at 4:30. When we got done, the teams that were playing after us needed more girls to be able to play and not forfeit their game, so I stayed, but I really only stayed because of the cute ref. Oh, I've talked about him previously.

Well, today, me and the cute ref were flirting WAY TOO MUCH. I found out his name is Robert, and when he told me that, I said: "you don't look like a Robert."
He said: "oh yeah, what did you think my name is?"
I couldn't come up with anything and just said: "I don't know, something else."
He said: "well, let me know when you come up with it."
I said: "too late. It would've been better if it just came out, then I would seem witty. Now, it's a lost cause."
In reality, I had a name for him: "A F-ING HOT REF THAT I WANT TO DO RIGHT ON THE SOCCER FIELD." But I didn't know how he would take that!

I guess Robert will do. We laughed together a lot. He laughed at some stupid jokes I made. He said: "it's not fair, you make me laugh, you say really funny witty things."
He said: "I'm a happy person, I like happy people. You seem like a happy person."
He also said: "I really like nice people. You seem pretty nice."

When I was leaving, he said: "see you next week."
I said: "actually see you in two weeks or actually three weeks."
He said: "you won't be here next week? Why not?"

He is really cute. So cute, I just want to lick him. I don't know why. I'm not too crazy about the name Robert. I may have to rename him. I should tell him that next time. Someone help me come up with a good name for him. He has straight dark brown hair, and nice brown eyes, and a beautiful smile. He's fit, about 6' or 6'1". Let that guide you in helping me name him. He's definiltey the cat's meow. MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOW!

I have friends too, so there

2007-05-12T14:16:00.000-06:00

I was on the bus yesterday on my way to meet up, coincidentally, with my friends. Well, on the bus was this sassy red head with her perfectly brushed hair, and fancy clothes from some overpriced store, talking on her cell phone. Then she started talking about some girl. Here some of the things she said:

"Yeah, poor thing. She doesn't have that many friends."
"I'm her only friend around here."
"Oh no, I have A LOT of friends. She doesn't."
"So she went and bought the same exact dress I have and it doesn't look as good on her as it does on me."
"I don't like hanging out with her, but I feel sorry for her."
"She's a total loser."
"Well, I'm going to meet with my friends, because I have like a lot. Not just one."
"She thinks she's cute. It's really sad."

Who would not want to be friends with this girl? I can't believe someone in their 20s is that pathetic.

Hottest Syrian on the block

2007-05-10T20:58:00.000-06:00

I had to miss half a day of work today to go pick up my license. My law license that is. Yes, now I can officially give people legal advice. But, before you start all asking me questions about anything, I won't be able to advise you because work would probably not like it that much. Don't ask me to help your aunt's friend's sister-in-law from getting deported. Don't ask me how to get your mom's co-worker's cousin as much as she can in her divorce. Not my specialties.

I told my parents not to come to the ceremony. It's a two-hour event, during which we had to listen to speakers tell us what a great job we had done going through law school and passing the bar exam. They spoke about what a wonderful profession this is. I did feel proud, but then, I really wanted someone to tell some lawyer jokes.

We had to stand up and take an oath. The Illinois Supreme Court Justice who led the oath said: "repeat after me: I 'STATE YOUR NAME' do solemnly swear..."
I said: "I 'STATE YOU...' ... D'OH... 'KULA'... ummm... do solemnly swear..."

Not a good start to a bright career, eh?

I had to wear a suit. It's not pretty around me when I'm wearing a suit. I hate my life when I'm wearing a suit.

The highlight of my day is a frantic cab ride to Navy Pier where the event took place. I was freaking out because I thought I was late, so I was sweating even more than usual when wearing a suit in warm weather. I took off my jacket in the cab, then opened the window, then fanned my face with the newspaper.
Cab driver asked me if I wanted him to turn on the AC. I said sure if that's not a problem.
He said something like: "well, I'm not hot, but it must be warm for you because you're hot."
That line was completely lost on frazzled me. I said: "yeah, running around in the suit made me really hot."
He said: "no, I was trying to tell you that I think you're hot."
Me: "umm, OK, umm, thanks!"
Then we chatted about lawyers and college and life. He asked me if I was a Latina, something I had been asked many MANY times.
I said no, that my family was from Syria.
He said something about his Syrian ex-girlfriend who was Christian and since he was Muslim things couldn't work out.
I said that it was unfortunate but understandable, because my family would be the same way.
We arrived at Navy Pier. I took out a $20 bill to pay him for the ride.
He would not take the money.
He said it was a pleasure and a great start to his day to have had the honor to give me a ride, wished me luck, and said goodbye.

I don't mind saving a $20 cab ride. But it really was a nice start to my day to have a complete stranger say such wonderful things and not even do it for any purpose. It's not like he tried to get my number or ask me out or hit on me. He was just genuinely a nice person and really just did it out of the utter and complete belief that I made his day better. What better flattery is there than to be considered a good start to someone's day?

Again, ignorance is bliss

2007-05-08T23:56:00.000-06:00

As I was filling a glass with ice and cold water from the dridge door this past weekend at a family gathering, a cousin that I happily only see once a year came up to me and offered me her advice:

"You know, if you drink iced water you get fat."
"But I like my water cold."
"It'll make you fat. Just drink warm water to lose weight."
"So when I drink cold water, I gain calories?"
"Yes, that's well-known."
"Water has no calories, hot, lukewarm, or cold."
"Nope, cold water makes you fat."

At this point I decided that the problem with this person is beyond my abilities to fix, so I just nodded and walked away.

Now, maybe there's some sort of a connection between having a good appetite and drink cold water of which I am not aware. But to flatly insist that cold water is fattening is a whole other story.

Another highlight from the family get together is the topic of my church attendance.

"Geez, I haven't seen you at church in a long time. How long has it been?"
"Easter..."
"That's not too bad!"
"... of 2004!"
"Shame on you! Why don't you go to church?"
"Scheduling conflicts."
"With what?"
"Soccer."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. The minute I start losing as much calories sitting in a church as I do on the soccer field, I'll come to Church instead of going to soccer."
"You're hopeless!"
"I think that conclusion was arrived at a looooong time ago."

These people really need to give up! REALLY!

Next year

2007-05-06T11:12:00.000-06:00

In light of my post yesterday, I made the decision that from now on I will have a celebration April 17 every year. It's Syria's independence day. I will host a party and make Syrian food, and have different types of alcohol. I'll have falafel, hummus, and lots of pita bread.

That's all!

Cinco de What?

2007-05-05T09:44:00.000-06:00

Mayo? As in the condiment?

OK, seriously, why are we celebrating other countries' holidays? Are we that desperate to justify the fact that we just love to eat and drink? I say, let's call a spade, a spade and be honest here. We just like to eat and drink, and we shouldn't be using others' holidays to justify that. Since when has Cinco de Mayo become a holiday that we have cards for? Some Mexican bitch got offended that I didn't know what today was. I mean, I can comfortably say that I don't care about Cinco de Mayo all that much as it pertains to the Mexican culture. Like any good American, I just want to drink my margarita and eat my guacamole. Did she really think I was here to celebrate some random Mexican holiday, which is not even their independence day, which is actually September 16. I mean, Cinco de Mayo is not even a federal holiday in Mexico. I couldn't care less. Don't get offended, it's not like I said "send all Mexicans back to Mexico."

Speaking of which, they had ANOTHER parade or whatever the hell it was last week. Fine, I seriously want there to be alien control. Those who are illegal, I want them to be able to not fear for being deported. I think they should be taxed, heavily. Hey, that's what being an American is all about. And honestly, I want the asshole businesses that basically hire them and pay them nothing and treat them like crap to be taxed even more heavily. But you see, I have covered this subject before, the government doesn't want to do that. You don't think they can control the illegal alien flow into this country? You don't think they have the ability to deport every single one of them? They do. But they won't. Because this economy needs them. Otherwise, you'll have a lot of the low paying jobs that no one wants to work. There's a cut off in how bad a job is that an American person is willing to do. After that cut off they're better off depending on the welfare system, which is not available to illegal immigrants living in the country, who end up taking the job that no American citizen has to ever take. Are there no solutions for that? Yes there are, but the government chooses not to fix them. If you think otherwise, you're fooling yourself. There are records of every single thing we say on the phone to our friends, and our little steps can be followed step-by-step from the time we get up in the morning and until we fall asleep. You think these same people can't follow someone who comes in to the country and stays for years and years. Yeah, OK!

The truth of the matter is, a reform for the illegal immigration problem has to be accompanied with a lot of other changes, and our government just doesn't have the time or money. Those are needed more in other countries where we're wasting American lives and destroying other nations. Why waste the time and money fixing things in the country, when most people are just cotent enough not to bitch and do something about it.

Meanwhile, let's drink and eat and celebrate holidays whose history we know nothing about. Just ask the next ten people you run into, and more than half of them will think that Cinco de Mayo is an American holiday. This could be a fun project and I can imagine the ignorant reponses you get from people, much like what Jay Leno gets when he does that Jay-walking segment.

Ah screw it. Go put on a sombrero, drink a margarita, and eat guacamole and refried beans until your poop resembles one of those!

Coming up for some air

2007-05-03T22:34:00.000-06:00

This week was beyond NUTS! In the past week:

- I played 4 soccer games. You know what that means, a lot of muscle cramps.
- I worked too many hours and got lectured about working too much and trying not to burn out. You see, I don't like that, because I think I know when I am stressed out, and lecturing never worked on me, not even when I was 5. But at least I could give my mom attitude about it. Grrr.
- I realized that I still like my job, and in fact, I am loving it. I'm hoping things stay this way for a while.
- Finally, the condo. GRRR. Those people pulled me up and down and all around. My agent seemed to be practically working for them and not me. I stuck my ground and asked for my earnest money and indicated that I will be looking at listings next week to find another place. Within 10 minutes I got a call that they accepted my last offer. See? Was that too hard? I guess they thought: girl, buying her first home, alone. She must be naiive, let's try to fuck her over. Right! Don't get me wrong, the place is so worth it. So, next week we have inspection and attorney review period, then if everything goes smoothly, we'll close sometime in June, preferably closer to the end. Then I plan to move sometime in August. But there was a LO-OT of craziness with these people this week and about 30 calls and 5 faxes. I was tired and ready to just say "fuck it all, I'll keep on renting!"

I really hate not having time to blog, but after work, all I want to do is watch TV. I have some addictions that I can't control, like catching the Real World Denver. I love that show. Always have and always will. I think it makes me feel a little better about myself. But I think these people keep on getting sluttier and sluttier. Whatever, I love trashy TV. You watch people sing and dance, and I watch people get drunk and ass.

Lovely weekend

2007-04-29T20:50:00.000-06:00

This was another wonderful weekend.

The weather was perfect. While that was nice for me to wander around and enjoy it, it meant a whole lot of people driving into the city from the suburbs. I don't have anything against the suburbs and its people. OK, I HATE THEM. But why do they feel the need to drive into the city? You made the choice to move to the suburbs, so leave the city to its inhabitants. But, OK, fine, you want to come to the city and hang out on the beaches and shop and take pictures of city buildings, because you are bored with your boring ass houses and yards and 2 and a half kids. That's fine, come here and hang out, but why must you drive in and create all that traffic EVERYWHERE. There's a great public transportation system with trains and buses and you can drive halfway and take public transportation the rest of the way so everyone isn't sitting in traffic for an hour and getting nowhere.

Good weather meant a perfect time playing soccer. And the really hot ref that I have seen a few times in previous soccer seasons was there. Playing defense means playing closer to the refs, and he remembered me. I can't wait to go to my soccer game next week. MEOW!

A new hair do for the new season. I love it. I got it highlighted, and it turned out lighter than I had in mind, but I love it. Very summery and bright and lovely. I'm telling you, I'm rocking the bob. I never thought I'd have a bob cut again, but I am really loving it.

I got a little photography gig. Sure, it's for my cousin's baby shower. Sure, it's free. But hey, it's practice and more pictures to put up.

I haven't been much of a fan of the NBA for a while. College basketball is so much better! But I still follow the Bulls' performance from time to time. This year, they made it to the playoffs, and today they beat the Miami Heat and made it to the second round of the playoffs. I mean, they swept the Heat. I love seeing Shaq lose. LOVE IT!

Finally, to the most exciting part of the weekend. I took my parents to one of the condos I saw on Wednesday, and I put in an offer. Now, I just have to wait for the owners to come back with a counter offer. I really hope this place works out. It's a ton of space, and a great location, and a block away from my favorite sushi place. Can't go wrong with that!

Random ongoing thoughts of the day

2007-04-26T13:29:00.000-06:00

UPDATE: Here's a link to a video of the dancing. None of the ones I found have the faces clear. It's really a shame, because without seeing the facial expression a huge part of the humor in this is lost. But you can still get the point. Enjoy!

- If you want to feel better about yourself and your dancing abilities and just about life in general, make sure you watch the news clip from either today or yesterday showing Dubya dancing with some African people. The facial expressions are priceless, the dancing is beyond hilarious, and the only thing that comes to mind when I watched the clip is the last time I went to the zoo and saw a chimp entertain a bunch of onlookers. Please, go see the clip. I'll post it here if I find it on YouTube or CNN. I laugh just thinking about it.

- The theme song to Growing Pains is stuck in my head. Throughout the day I have been singing it over and over AND OVER. "As long as we've got each other..." AHHHHHHHHHHH!

- This girl I know, maybe from work, maybe not from work, she keeps on asking the girls sitting next to her how to spell stuff. "How do you spell 'atmosphere'?" "How do you spell 'gentle'?" Are you freaking kidding me? Not only is it sad that someone in their mid 20s, supposedly educated at least through high school level cannot spell these words, but the fact that she is even asking is sad. OK, if you're sitting in front of a computer that is connected to the Internet, do yourself and all of us a favor and LOOK IT UP! Sheesh!

- Last night, while looking at one condo, the real estate agent showing it said that I can freely look around because the current owners weren't at home, but to mind the dog if I were afraid of dogs, which I'm not anymore. I patted the dog, and he was so cute and friendly. I jokingly asked the real estate agent if the dog came with the condo. She gave me this bewildered look and sincerely and in all seriousness told me that in fact "no, the dog will go with the current owners." Holy Jesus, how do some people walk around without constantly falling down or running into walls?

- Went out, got drunk, left a few drunken comments and IMs, and it was grrrrrrrrrreat! I am still drunk. Damn it. Someone I know, I was with, we get along well, too bad he's married. That's way taboo. Not a skank. Not a homewrecker. Another guy was flirting with me at the bar, passed me his number, later his girlfriend showed up and started kissing him. He looked at me and right when he looked, I tore up the paper that he gave me with him number. I ain't no homewrecker ass wipe! Puhleeze! I may be drunk, but my morals stay intact. Beat it!

- Hang over food of choice: cold thai and chinese. Bleh!

- Will add more as the day goes by...

- Won't add more. This is the end! Later biatches! Beer is bad. Remember that! Never go out with me, I'll buy at least one round of jager bombs. Damn bitch. Me, that is :)

Head-ACHE!

2007-04-19T21:38:00.000-06:00

I have looked at so many condo listings in the past 5 days that my head is about to explode. I have so many requirements, so many pet-peeves, so many NO-NOs, so many picky needs that I am not only going to drive my realtor nuts, but I'm going to drive any and everyone who's involved in this thing NUTS. Finally, I came up with a list of 6 places I want to look at.

I'm hoping to fall in love with the first place I see, and I put in an offer, and it gets accepted, and everything goes smoothly and I just buy that place without having to look anywhere else. I know how I am. The more places I look at, the more I will question everything and anything. I have such a fear of committment that it does not only apply to relationships, but it is so strong that it goes beyond that to real estate. I am so scared of finding a place and loving it and taking it and BEING STUCK WITH IT. Just like a lousy boyfriend. But you can't break up with a condo, can you? At least not for two years if you don't want to pay penalty tax. Can you imagine having tax penalties to breaking up with people? Maybe then people would put in more thought into who they go out with and not date total and complete losers!

So, condo, yeah, let's see where I am in a week. That is if my head doesn't explode!

I have no words

2007-04-17T21:07:00.000-06:00

The events that took place yesterday are just a sore reminder that there is no safe place in this country. The crazies are everywhere. There was a time when I would safely said that college students in engineering buildings are far safer than many others, because everyone in those types of buildings is just too busy. That's not a joke. I mean, aren't we taught that to make sure that we lead better safer lives we should go to college? There goes that advice.

What kind of person goes in and just shoots a classroom full of students? A psycho path. And we all have 20/20 vision in hindsight, but life doesn't work that way. After every incident like this, and it's just sad that there have been so many now, everyone looks at the person that did it and says: "OH YEAH, we should've known. He was actually a crazy one!" Well, NO SHIT! Of course they're crazy, and of course you don't see it before it happens, because if you even have suspicions, what are you going to do? They can't even keep criminals who commit crimes and stay alive in prisons, they think they can do something with a crazy person who may go in and shoot a room full of students?

I am just sick of these types of occurrences. And I am sick to my stomach. And I just don't want to talk or read or hear about it anymore. My heart does go out to those who lost a loved one though. This should not happen to anyone. Not here, not anywhere.

Maybe it's because of all the beans

2007-04-16T21:00:00.000-06:00

I was looking at Dubya talking today, and it finally dawned on me whom he reminds of when he's talking and trying to look like he's thinking deeply. Remember when Joey on Friends said that he used the "fart method" to look like he's in deep thought. When he would talk, he'd stop and make a face like he's smelling a fart, and that would make him look like he's in deep though and he's smart. That's exactly what Dubya looks like when he talks, thinking he would fool us into thinking that he is actually smarter than he really is. Well, he needs to thinks of a smellier fart! A LOT SMELLIER!

What I really want right now!

2007-04-15T23:27:00.000-06:00

- Corn pops - the cute neighbor promised he would get me some. He forgot. Bastard!

- A functioning unclogged nostril. Just one would suffice. My lips are too dry, and I hate breathing through my mouth. Playing soccer tomorrow night is going to suck.

- The ability to tap dance. Hey, it's my wish list, I can put this here if I so want.

- A smooth condo search that won't waste too much of my time. But my realtor already indicated that with all my "requirements" things will be crazy. I've already expanded my price range to stay in a nicer area instead of moving the search to a less desired area a little farther away from my work. Screw it, if I'm spending the money, I'll spend a little more and stay where I'm happiest!

- Actually, falling asleep would be really awesome right now too! But corn pops would be grand too!

And that's where I'm from

2007-04-14T14:15:00.000-06:00

Today the U.S. Olympics Committee announced that Chicago, my town, is the US applicant city for the 2016 Olympics. It beat out Los Angeles for this decision, and that's what makes me even happier.

While I had my doubts when it was first in the running, being torn between wanting the city to profit from hosting such an event, and really fearing the amount of craziness that will be going on, while we, the people who live and work here try to carry on with our daily lives (If I'm still living 9 years from now, well, and living here, which I'm pretty sure I will unless I move to Paris or Geneva). Being a host city would bring Chicago a lot of well-deserved visibility, and a lot of economic benefits. Of course that would also mean many MANY people around the town, and in the way when I'm trying to get to work/home.

Of course, now, Chicago has to compete with other cities from other countries for the honor. But the campaign that the city had put up was great and got the job done here. That's why I am OK with the Daley dynasty. They get the work done!

But I actually got a little teary when the announcement was made. Hometown pride!

Solving a mathematical problem

2007-04-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

For the past few years I have been getting sick at what I thought were randomly spaced out times of the year. In a way, that's true, because Easter is not on a set date, and it moves around somewhere between February and April. Finally, it dawned on me, I always get sick after holidays. What the hell?

Sure enough, right now I am dealing with an annoying headache that is usually associated with symptons of the flu. How the hell could this have happened? We can add that to many other times when I had the flu for a couple of weeks following Easter, Christmas, or a Fourth of July family picnic. And of course, my favorite is the time when I got the stomach flu after Christmas in 2002, and I was puking my guts out non-stop for 3 days. I even threw up when I had nothing in my stomach, which I believe is called dry heaving. Well, you can imagine the beautiful noises that accompanied that. At the time, I had just returned from college after finishing grad school and was living with my parents still. My mom treated me like I was dying. She didn't realize that the stomach flu was not a deadly disease. She now remembers that time and says how horrible I looked, sitting on the couch, not being able to lift my head, and resembling a chewed up rag more than anything else.

Point of the story is, I examined the patterns and finally figured out that it is the children that do all this to me. The problem is that kids are constantly carrying many viruses, and sometimes they don't show the symptoms, so when you see them at family gatherings, and hold them around, hugging them and kissing them and taking pictures with them, while they get snotty and spitty, you are really just giving the viruses a chance to exchange a little host for a big host with an immune system ready to fall apart at an instant's notice. Those evil little kids, they fool you with the cuteness and then BAM they take you down when you least expect it! Thanks little P and little S, I don't know how much candy I can put in your hands next time I see you just to show my appreciation for whichever of you gave me the nice virus that is chewing up my head right now!

The best thing about being a lawyer

2007-04-10T21:41:00.000-06:00

Is not being a law student anymore!

The thing is, I am way too new to yet feel sorry for people who are in law school now, i.e., a lot of my friends. If I had to go through it, so do they. Actually, I love when people say: "it's not fair!" Do they forget that while they were skipping around, before they started, that I was already suffering.

The best thing, I go to work, and I put in 12 hours, and I get back home and I still have time to make dinner, eat, watch TV, and have wine with my cute neighbor. HUH? What? Yeah, he just invited me over to have a glass of wine. Why not? Nothing impresses a guy like looking at a girl start slurring after half a glass of wine! Not to mention cracking herself up with un-funny jokes. I must've done something right, because he said he wants to hang out tomorrow too if I am not too tired after work. Count. Me. In.

This is what happened

2007-04-07T18:58:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure I would be telling this story if things had turned out any other way. Here is what happened...

Yesterday, I was at work, really busy, and having a lot to do. I emailed a friend about our dinner plans, she emailed me back saying that we were still on, and where and when we were meeting. Then she added a note to her email that said: "THE BAR EXAM RESULTS ARE OUT!"

My heart started beating. I had lost the sheet with my number on it, and I could not remember the number, even though I had written it down a million times during the exam. Then I started looking at the numbers, and it came back to me, the many times I wrote it down, all of a sudden I had this clear picture of the number. IT WAS NOT THERE!

I did not pass the bar exam. I was SHOCKED, to say the least. Yet I was calm. A young associate walked by my office and walked in to joke around about something, and as soon as he saw my face he asked me what was the matter. I told him that I had not passed the bar exam. He was shocked, and tried really hard to console me. But he did say a few times: "dude, that sucks!"

I told another friend at work that I did not pass, and he knew that I had lost my sheet. He asked me how sure I was that I knew the number, and I told him 95% sure. He kept on telling me that there is no way that I would not have passed. I studied hard and did not do anything but study for two months, and there was just no way. I agreed, and I told him that this was the worst day of my life, yet I was not crying for some reason.

Then came the worst part, telling my mentor who would relay the message to the rest of the firm. And I almost broke down when talking to him. He told me not to say anything until I'm 100% sure that I did not pass. And he told me that it was not the end of the world. But I said that I was not happy that I would have to go through that experience again in July. My summer would suck, my birthday would suck, my life as we know it would suck, more so than before.

I went back to my office and felt really nauseous. I made a few phone calls telling very few people. I decided not to tell my parents, because I did not want to ruin their Easter. I swallowed my pride, hung my head down, and went home and from around 10 pm on Friday, until 7 pm on Saturday, when I was not sleeping, I was bawling by myself in my apartment. I was bawling in the shower. I was bawling in bed and on the couch. I had worked so hard, and I felt so unrewarded. It was the most horrible feeling ever. I have never failed at anything. I used to be able to ace classes without studying, and now, to work so hard, to spend so many nights and days studying and depriving myself of the goodness of everything out there, just so I would fail? It was the most horrible thing I have ever experienced. I have never cried so much in my life. But I had to go on, I had to keep on smiling and keep on being happy, because I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I have to swallow the tears and keep a happy face, and pretend that I am OK with taking the BAR exam again in July. I started convincing myself that it is OK that of my group of friends from law school, I was the only one who didn't pass. But sadly, I wasn't the dumbest one. Now that hurt like a bitch.

So about an hour ago, I started randomly crying again, and I decided to start cleaning to forget about it. I started with my desk that is still covered with all my Bar review books, and it saddened me that I had to put them aside until I had to start studying from them again. I could not yet get rid of them. It hurt. Then I noticed a little pink sheet. It wasn't ANY pink sheet, it was THE pink sheet. It was the sheet that had my number on it. I grabbed it, and as I unfolded it, my heart was pounding at 1000 beats a minute, and it took what seemed like the longest 10 seconds to spot the number. I did a double take, I rubbed my eyes, I took my glasses off, I put them back on... the number I had remembered was wrong. I had the wrong number. OH GOD, what to do. I ran to my computer, and went to the website where the results were posted, my heart was now beating at 2000 beats a minute, and I scrolled down, and I stopped breathing altogether, and there it was... there was the number, surrounded by many other numbers, but I didn't care about the rest, I just wanted to see it, MY NUMBER, it was there. I passed the bar exam...

If I had balls, this would hurt

2007-04-06T22:04:00.000-06:00

Well, I knew things were too good to be true last night. I went to sleep smiling, and I had this uneasy feeling that something wasn't right. I am not used to things being that nice. It felt unnatural to be content and not have any worries. But I decided that heck, life was finally on my side for at least a day. That was just right, it was all I got, ONE DAY! Because today, life turned around and gave me a big kick in the crotch!

Well, at least I'll still have my cute neighbor to console me. As of now, I have a freak of a headache, and I have no appetite, which could be a good thing, I guess. BLEH!

Not too bad for a Thursday

2007-04-05T23:28:00.000-06:00

Long long day at work, and I am sure this won't be the longest of my career. Being the new kid on the block means that whenever someone has a little thing that needs to be done on a project, and they'd rather not do it, they will bring it to me. I don't mind at all, because this is how you show them that you're competent and hopefully I'm already doing that. Granted, I already worked there before finishing school, so they already know. But it's nice, because now, I can definitely tell they're approaching me with a little bit more respect, and like I'm a peer more than a subordinate. Although, being in my position, I am in no position to say no. So, I'm swamped with work, and it's only my fourth day. That's the nice thing about having already worked there, I am swamped, but I am not overwhelmed.

So, today was a 12-hr day and I brought some work home, which is not getting done. I didn't realize that there was a new episode of The Office on today. But my next door neighbor, the cute liberal guy, told me that he thought I wasn't home yet, so he DVRed the show for me. After I ate a quick dinner, I went over and watched the show, and then hung out with the cute neighbor, exchanged a few good stories, and came back home. Now, I'm ready to go to bed, and I have not touched my work. I think maybe I'll go over some of it in bed, before I sleep tonight.

But let's just say, life is good. I can't tell you how much of a relief it is being done with school after 24 years of continuously being a student. And to think, there will be no more first days of school for me. I think 48 first days of class are plenty for anyone to say NO MORE! I'm ready to enjoy the good life of putting in a lot of hours into work, but getting paid, instead of paying for it. And you know, it ain't too shabby when the I get to hang out with a cute neighbor after a long day of work. I can get used to this!

I like when you all make my decisions for me

2007-04-02T20:50:00.000-06:00

OK, I returned to work today, and I drove to work because I had to go to a thing after work that I didn't feel like taking public transportation to, and I would've spent just as much on cabs as I would've on parking. I discovered a parking lot which is a little bit of a longer walk than closer parking lots, but if I get in by 8 am, it's only $10 a day. So I thought to myself, what if I drive to work everyday instead of taking public transportation.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a hypocrite. At least I'm not that much of a hypocrite, always bitching about people not taking public transportation and driving instead cauing pollution and traffic. OK, I am a hypocrite, but they just started this construction project on the public transportation system that's supposed to double commute time.

Here's the math and where you need to make my decision for me:

1- Drive everyday and get to work before 8 am, therefore, barely avoid the craziest hour of traffic. Spend $10 a day on parking. Get to work and to home in less than 15 minutes, which if I'm doing the math right would be around half an hour a day on commuting;

OR

2- Take public transportation with the new crazy increase in commute time, and probably a total of at least an hour a day on commuting, if not more. Spend $4 a day on transportation, and most likely on days that go too long, which will pretty soon be something that is quite common, end up taking a cab and spending about $15 for a ride back home;

OR (which I have a feeling may be what I'll end up doing)

3- Alternate, and maybe drive the first half of the week, and do public transportation the second half, that way, I don't drive on Fridays or Thursdays, which are common *Happy Hour* days, so I can drink and not worry about leaving my car in downtown and having it towed because you're not supposed to leave your car in parking lots overnight?

What do you all think?

Classy people at their finest

2007-03-31T11:03:00.000-06:00

Am I overreacting? What do you think about the way I'm handling this?

When I was in college, MP and I were good friends with this girl, who comes from a family that is best characterized as FANATIC Catholic Republicans. Right there you're thinking: "but how can YOU be friends with THEM?" Well, I don't know, but somehow it worked out, and we were friends.

MP and I always noticed that this family has very strange behavior, at least in the way they deal with everyday life. For example, they never ever discussed money, no matter what. They would never tell you what they're paying for rent or how much they paid for a roll of toilet paper or a head of lettuce, because THEY JUST DID NOT DISCUSS MONEY. This was one of MANY odd things about them. So we'll call them the Weirdos.

In college, MP and I were friends with Oldest Weirdo. By friends I mean she selectively hung out with us and selectively invited us to events or parties. But we didn't care, we just went with the flow. Then Middle Weirdo started college and we became better friends with her. I particularly became close friends with her and we hung out all the time and she became one of my closest friends, second to MP, of course. Middle wasn't as weird as Oldest, but still had that "quality." Later, we met Youngest Weirdo, and she was actually a lot more normal.

When Oldest graduated before us from college, she left to work in a nearby big city, and we didn't see her as much anymore, but we still visited her a few times, and tried to keep in touch. Then we completely lost touch with her, and we only got her news through Middle. Oldest moved around and changed jobs, but never bothered to give us her new addresses or emails.

Today, many years later, she's getting married. I ran into her and her fiance, who is a very strange guy, at a sporting event last year and she told me that she was getting married and that I should keep the day free. So I did, and I thought that most likely I wasn't going to be invited. However, when I came back from my trip a couple of days ago, I saw an invitation to her wedding in my stack of mail. I had a problem though, on the envelope it said:

Ms. Kula Lastname + ~~Guest~~.

I swear it did. I can't even make this up if I wanted to. OK, let's say she's so desperate for space that she can only invite me alone, since I'm not in a committed relationship with anyone. Not that she would know, since she doesn't even keep in touch with me anymore. But if she really wants to invite me alone AND she made the mistake of writing the word "Guest" at first, then maybe she could've used a new envelope and just written my name. OR, she could've kept the word "Guest" and thought: "hey, if she has someone special in her life, she can bring them, if she doesn't, then she can come alone if she wants to." However, none of the options include writing out my name PLUS "Guest" then scratching out the word "Guest." That is of course if you're not a classless hick who does not know a thing about etiquette.

So, initially, I thought that I would go to the wedding alone. Then I thought that this was quite insulting, so: "hell no, I won't go to the wedding." But earlier today, I called MP to see if she was invited to the wedding, and since she's married, of course she gets to bring a guest. After talking to MP, and since we help each other make these kinds of decisions, I decided that I will respond to the invitation and where it has space for the name of the person attending I will indicate that there will be "2" people and write "Ms. Kula Lastname + Guest." Just like that, without even indicating my Guest's name, yet.

I mean, people are free to invite how many ever people they want to their weddings, but considering the number of people who don't come, what difference would ONE person make? And even if you know your friend is single, shouldn't you leave that decision as to whether she will bring someone to the wedding or not to her? When you're 28, I think there are certain things that should not take too much thought to be done the right way, like how to address invitations. But even if you do really want to invite the person alone, and you made a mistake, shouldn't you at least use a new envelope instead of what I received?

The list of questions I have about this situation is endless, but even for the Weirdo family, this was way beyond anything I thought they would ever do. I was shocked! My jaw dropped, and I could not believe that someone who puts on such an act of being a mature adult, would do something like that. Above all, I think I am handling the situation the best way possible, because this will hopefully show her that what she did was ridiculous.

I also expressed to MP the sentiment that I would not be completely surprised if she called me upon receiving my response to say: "I'm sorry, but you can't bring a guest." Of course, in that case, I will just have to say: "well, I am not coming at all then. Have a nice life!"

It just breaks my heart, that I could be treated like this by someone who is "my friend."

One summary of a trip to Europe

2007-03-30T06:41:00.000-06:00

No, this isn't a cop out, I will eventually tell a little story about each place I visited, but before I forget, here are two lists to summarize my thoughts about my trip relating to things I missed or didn't miss from the US.

Things I did not miss while in Europe:
- SUVs
- Bad drivers
- Masked discrimination
- People who are fakely nice
- Big modern buildings all over
- Materialism in every aspect of life
- Too many extremely obese people
- People like Paris Hilton making headlines
- Not feeling safe walking alone in the night time
- Public transportation that doesn't cover the entire city
- The average person having no knowledge of the world
- The average person not caring to know about the rest of the world
- The general lack of beautiful historic buildings and a rich history in general

Thing I did miss while in Europe:
- My cat
- My Internet
- Cheap diet coke
- Big cups of coffee
- Friends and family
- People respecting lines
- People being fakely nice
- Free water at restaurants
- My apartment, especially my bed
- Sushi in particular, and ethnic food restaurants in general
- Being able to use a credit card to pay for a $2 purchase without feeling guilty

Back and not too happy about it

2007-03-29T06:50:00.000-06:00

About 24 hours ago, my plane took off from Paris, and 9 hours later landed in Chicago. I was not a happy camper. It is always sad leaving Paris, because there are always sweet memories there. One of the most romantic moments in my life was in Paris about a year and a half ago, and that was where it remained. Nothing ever came out of it, but I'll always have Paris. Very cliche, but now I understand why it is so!

Now, let's get to the less romantic stuff and talk about another exciting flying experience, and by exciting I mean full of crappy surprises. The flying part itself doesn't even bother me anymore, I have done it so much, it's like "OK, whatever, another flight!" When I was a kid, I never flew anywhere, so it was a little exotic the first time it happened, but that excitement was long lost. What I never managed to get was a decent flying partner, meaning, I always end up sitting to someone that I could have the least in common with. Never someone my age, who is normal, and wants to just chat, at least every once in a while. Again yesterday, I got on the plane, and granted this one had way too few young people, there were some nevertheless, and none of them sat next to me. Finally, an old lady, that I later discovered had just turned 70, came and sat down by me, and the walk from the door of the plane to the seat got her out of breath, and I thought that I would have to watch her the rest of the flight to make sure she doesn't suddenly stop breathing. We didn't talk about half the flight, then we started chatting and didn't stop till we landed. It's really comforting to know that I have a lot of things to talk about with a 70 year old. But I do have to say, she had the spirit of a 20 year old. I mean this lady was born in 1937, imagine all the things she's been through, but she was on a plane, talking about the 10 days of fun she just had with her sisters in Paris, and how they rented a little apartment by the Eiffel Tower and toured around the city. I love it!

One of the things we had in common was our hatred for one of the flight attendants. She was this older lady maybe in her 50s or early 60s, probably close to retirement. She was the crabbiest person I had come across in the past 3 weeks. She was yelling at passengers like they were little kids, and so loud that everyone around heard her. If you weren't finished with your food or drink when she came around collecting trash, she rolled her eyes, and when she'd come back later she'd say: "NOW are you done?" I mean, I have never seen anything like this, I may actually report her to the airlines. She was SO rude to people, that I was afraid to ask her for a sugar for my coffee when she walked around. She did not smile once. I don't expect everyone in the services sector to be always charming with clients, but when you're a flight attendant, you have limits of how you can behave with passengers who aren't even being rude, and just have normal requests. It was something else. I think her name is Pam, and I am sure this will not be the first time Pam gets complaints.

Last, but certainly not least, there are two people that I'd rather not run into or see wherever I go, and usually I don't. One of them works in the city where I work and not too far away from me, so sometimes I spot him from afar and change my route slightly. The other, I have not seen in years, but last I heard he was living in California, married to a woman who will surely become one of those women who wear mommy jeans and shirts and vests with mommy floral patterns. You know those jeans with the high elastic waist and enough room in the butt area just in case she needs to ever wear them with Depends. Anyway, I hadn't even thought about this guy in years. I get to the gate to sit around before my flight, and he was right there. The funny thing is that the first thought I had was: "what is he doing in Paris?" I am sure it wasn't vacation, because I didn't see his wife with him, so I am not sure. Maybe he was connecting there from somewhere or just ended there by mistake. He's not the type who would go abroad to absorb the culture, you know, the people who think they're world travelers because they have been to Disney World.

Well, I could not believe it, one of the two people I would never want to run into was on my flight. Wait, actually now there are three people, counting that blogger low life who got on my last nerve with her stupid emails a couple of months ago. But she's also the type that would think going to a big city is an adventure, so I would definitely pass out if I ever saw her in an airport abroad.

Anyway, my biggest problem now is that I'm back here and I have to get back to reality but 10:30 tomorrow morning, at the latest. But hey, at least I didn't have luggage problems this time, so it's all good.

Why French kids are mostly not overweight

2007-03-27T13:42:00.000-06:00

This is just my guess, but here are a few reasons I think French kids, and possibly French people are generally not overweight, and this is generally true for most of Europe:

- While the food is rich, the quantity is little and reasonable, not only in restaurants, but also at home, at the dinner table - they don't have a need to have a meal that can feed a Catholic family served to one person
- They walk and bike a lot more
- There aren't nearly as many commercials for junk food, and when they're on, at least in France, they put scrolling text under the commercial that says "for good health, avoid eating junk food between meals" - ah, the magic of POSITIVE subliminal messages
- Pop and most sugary drinks are expensive - OK, I hate this a little bit, but then again, they can't make regular Coke expensive and diet Coke cheaper, or can they?
- Kids, well, at least my little French cousins, are good, and when their parents aren't at home, they don't raid the cabinet that has the cookies adn chocolate in it, but this has more to do with the parenting than the nationality
- It probably helps that fruits and vegetables actually have a real taste here, and are not completely grown in green houses with a lot of chemicals, which makes them more appealing to children - I have witnessed a child actually picking strawberries for dessert over cake - un-freaking-believable!

More deep thoughts

2007-03-26T15:45:00.000-06:00

Well, unlike most people, I love France and I love the French. At least they are predictable. Once you know how to deal with them, and know what to expect from them, you know and that's that. And heck, knowing the language helps a lot. When I say I don't know German, I really DO NOT KNOW GERMAN! To me, people can be completely making up the "German" words they're saying. In French, while I don't understand everything, there are so many familiar words and I am capable of some communication, like when I order something on the menu, I know mostly what will be on my plate, and I won't be surprised with a cow's head. Of course, that's the problem, I enjoy most German food too, but I'd love to know what's in it without asking for the English menu like a dumb tourist.

HOWEVER, despite my love for France and the French, watching French TV movies is like watching a bad porn. You know the porn you're watching is bad when you start concentrating on the plot, i.e., being distracted from the main purpose of the movie. So basically, the nakedness starts annoying you and you find yourself looking forward to the end of a sex scene so that you can get back to the plot. Well, some French TV movies make you sit there and look at the characters talk and interact, and you can mute the movie and still enjoy it the same. In fact, actually listening to the dialogues and the bad acting make you want to pull your nails out from their roots with rusted pliers to ease the pain of the badness of the movie!

Goddamn tourists

2007-03-23T12:50:00.000-06:00

I really don't have anything against tourists. OK, I lied. I have a huge problem with tourist groups. Families and a few people here and there, usually can't cause a big problem with their combined ignorance of basic walking rules. It's the big groups that really get on my last nerve. The most prominent of the peoples who can only travel in groups are Asian people.

If you have ever gone anywhere, other than Asia, and maybe even in Asia, you would know exactly how annoying Asian tourists are. They love going to places and visiting historic locations, they just generally don’t like to spend the money to actually go into anything, so they take a bazillion pictures of the outside of every building. The few that do actually pay the money to go into anything, disregard all rules regarding taking photos, and use their cameras inside, despite the fact that there are signs in every room of every palace or museum that specifically have a pictures of a camera with a line going through it. Maybe in Asian countries that means “go ahead and take as many pictures as you want, and please, do use your flash if you are so inclined.” The funniest thing I saw being done by an Asian tourist was a lady in the gift shop of a museum, who did not want to pay 10 euros to go in and see a palace from the inside, so after having taken a picture from every possible angle from the outside, she figured that she did not want to pay for souvenirs either, so she took pictures of every souvenir and book displayed in the gift shop. I was about to go Asian on her and take a picture of her, but I just don’t have it in me to do that, so I decided to just savor the memory in my head and share it in writing with the world.

However, Asian tourists have very fine competition for the most annoying tourists’ award: young Italian tourists. For some reason, everywhere I went there were HUGE groups of Italian teenagers. I think all of Italy decided to send all its teenagers in field trips to Vienna during the week I was there. I can totally see why a country would want to rid itself of its teenage population. They were loud, obnoxious, and disrespectful to other tourists and anyone who is not completely deaf, or who became deaf from having been within 10 feet from these screaming little shits.

The whole idea of orderly lines is lost on most of Europe, which is something I got used to, and the fact that no one says “excuse me” in Germany or Austria. But the Italian kids took it a step further and with their hot headedness, if you even tried to scold them with looking angry at them if they shoved in front of you in line, they mockingly say “prego,” which either meant they were saying “the pregnant American wants to go through” or “please, after you” or maybe “she looks angry, give her some Prego pasta sauce to shut her up!” When I was in line to get into one of the museums, the Italian teenage mob came storming and somehow I went suddenly from being 5 people away from the entrance to last. I must’ve huffed and puffed loudly enough that the lone respectful kid of the group (he was probably retarded) said apologetically “prego” and gestured for me to go. I was shocked, but as soon as I tried to go, some of his friends made fun of him then they started screaming something in Italian, which isn’t really all that different from the way they usually talk, and I am pretty sure they were saying something about not letting the stupid angry American get her way of expecting Italians to act civilized and they shoved in front of me, one of them mockingly saying “hallo, hallo, me go!” Luckily, I know two words in Italian, and while yelling "ICE CREAM" at someone may get some point across, I thought “fuck you” would work better. So I put half of the Italian words I know to good use with the universal hand gesture. And since I am Mediterranean, much like these little shits, I did it with my best "I can be an angry hot-headed brown-haired person too" look.

I have to say, I am not all that shocked with the Italians behavior, after all, of all the European countries, theirs is the only one where a girl feels violated just from the way their men, with greasy hair, dressed in their finest wife-beaters, look at her, whistle, and say things that would probably make truckers blush.

Deep thoughts from far far away

2007-03-22T08:32:00.000-06:00

I am just enjoying the fact that what goes around, comes around. When you act like a bitch all the time towards others, life rewards you with its own bitchiness. Well-deserved! I am actually enjoying this just a little, even from across the ocean :)

Quick list of the past couple of days

2007-03-15T15:35:00.000-06:00

- Bruges was great. I climbed 366 steps to get to the top of its Bell Tower, took a look around of the panoramic view of the town, took a few pictures and climbed back down stairs. I can't believe I paid 5 euros to do that. Next time, I'm going to ask them to pay me money to walk up there and smell the way I smelled at the end of the day!

- OK, I won't be eating mussels for a while. In the two days I was in Belgium, I think I ate my weight in mussels, and it was worth it, but it will be a while before I eat more again. And anyway, after eating mussels in Belgium, I don't think it will be even worth it to eat them anywhere else.

- Between Dutch and French, the latter sounds so much better, and it helps when I understand so much more French than Dutch. I did learn how to say "Do you speak English?" in Dutch though, but I haven't used it yet, because it's much easier to ask people that in English. Hey, Dutch speaking people understand more English than the French, and they're less snooty about it. I don't know, maybe they're people of less pride. Whatever works for me :)

- Speaking of which, I have to apologize to the Dutch people, because I do have to say: the Dutch language is not pretty... no, no, Dutch is an ugly language! Ich bleech fluech... Sounds just as bad as German, but I can actually tell the difference. For example, that made up sentence would be: "fliech bliech icht" in German. I kid, I kid!

- I made myself go to the Ann Frank museum, because "everyone who goes to Amsterdam, must go there." I couldn't make myself go in. I'm sorry, but I don't care much for that story. There are a lot of sad stories like that, and I can't favor one over the others. I know this will be a controversial statement, but I think kids who actually died from being executed by the Nazis are more worthy of my sympathy. After all, she died from an illness. I also have problems with all the Holocaust stories being about Jewish people. I have no problems with Jewish people, but there are many other millions and millions of people who being executed and they weren't Jewish, I'm sure their stories were just as sad, but who wants to hear about little Christian kids who were killed by the Nazis? That doesn't sell! Yes, it doesn't sell, as evidenced by the fact that the Ann Frank museum is the only one that won't accept my museum pass. Screw that!
I warn you before you make any statements where I come from, and remember how many Arabic children die or have died by Israeli bullets. Oh wait, you may not know, because the media doesn't shove it down your throat.

- By the way, I'm watching some TV in my hotel room in Amsterdam, and there are a ton of shows and ads in English, and they don't bleep the N-word. Holy crap! My jaw nearly dropped the first time I heard that.

- It is so nice to hear church bells everywhere. I miss that. I'm not religious, but church bells in the US don't chime as much anymore. So unfortunate and sad. Apparently they offend some people from other religions. So basically, if their religion houses don't have bells to chime, no one else's can. Boooo!

- One of the guide books was very right: "sometimes looking at some guys may be considered flirting. This is especially true with Mediterranean men." Boy is that true! It is especially true with the short, ugly, hairy ones!

- Some cab driver asked me where I was from and when I told him "Chicago" he asked me what it was like living in the danger capital of the world. Not in those exact words, but he basically asked me how I have survived this long without being shot. I tried to convince him that not all Chicago is dangerous and that maybe he shouldn't form an opinion until he had a chance to visit. He didn't seem very convinced, but maybe Chicago is very dangerous, like where I live, I can be attacked by a bunch of yuppies and the most dangerous tool they know how to use: tweezers!

Enough of blogging. I'm on vacation damn it!

I must find a way to move here...

2007-03-13T10:47:00.000-06:00

Well, first of all, I made it here in one piece.

I left the U.S. on March 11 around 5:30 PM, I got to Paris on March 12 around 7 AM. So basically I skipped a night of sleeping, because during the flight my body was still on US time, and when I arrived at Paris my internal clock was at sleeping time, i.e. around 1 AM. I wasn't going to sleep and skip my day in Paris, so I stayed up the whole day. Well, almost! I stayed in Paris with relatives, so instead of sitting around their apartment while they were at work, I went out for a walk so that I won't fall asleep. I walked around, ate, and then went to another spot that I haven't been to before: Le jardin du Luxembourg, which is close to the Sorbonne, so it was full of college students. I felt like I was again sitting on the quad like I used to back during my college days. It was really nice, and the French students weren't nearly as freaky looking as today's American college students. Though that may have to do with the fact that they're probably smart, because unlike the US, in Europe not everyone gets to go to college, you really have to do well in high school to go to college. In the US, there's a college for everyone.

Anyway, back to my time in the park. I grabbed lunch, which consisted of what was called the classic American sandwich, and in case you didn't know a classic American sandwich has in it: tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, mayo, ham, and hard-boiled egg. BLINK BLINK... how come I have never had this "classis" sandwich in the US? And you know, nothing says American like putting all of those ingredients in French bread. Wait, I mean, "freedom" bread!

After buying my lunch, I decided to eat it in the park, so I pulled up a chair and sat down and ate my lunch. It was quite fabulous, because you know, what beats eating lunch in a French university quad in the middle of Paris? Not too many things really. It was a little breezy, and the air was crispy, and the sun was shining... Oh, this chair is comfortable... *head falls and I feel myself snore* ... what just happened? OH MY GOD, MY EYES ARE CLOSED! *Must open eyes now* ... but they're so heavy, do I have to? YES, NOW! I open my eyes, and I look at my watch. Hmm, seems like I fell asleep in the park, for at least 2 hours! Well, hell, that was a great nap, it felt really good. I thought to myself: "well, I can walk some more, or I can nap a little bit more in the sun in the park. No one seems to care, and there are other people sleeping. Are French college students better than me? Hell NO!" So, I fell back asleep for another half hour, then the sun started setting, so it got a bit cooler. I got up, and walked a little bit more around the park, and back to the apartment, because there was not enough energy in me to continue with walking around and not falling asleep in less attractive places than the park.

I spent the rest of the day with the relatives, went to bed around 11 PM, and got up really early today and took a train to Brussels. As soon as I got here I went to the charming little room I booked in a hostel before flying here. And it was just as charming and cozy as I expected, in a very cultured neighborhood. TRANSLATION: little room, where I will not put my head on the pillow, in a slightly sketchy neighborhood with foreign poor-ish people in the neighborhood. Eh, it adds to the experience I guess. But I have been to cheap hotels before, and I can't remember the last time where I was in one where the whole thing smelled like an attic. Quite the charm, I tell you. Well, it's just for two nights, no big deal.

Brussels is an OK town. I did all the things a tourist in Brussels is expected to do. I went to the Grand Place, which is the square in the center of the town. Almost every European city has it. That's the place to go in every town, and if you know anything about traveling, the last place to eat is on a place right on the central square, if you're looking for something more authentic and less touristy. Also, I went and had a waffle, which is not eaten for breakfast here, it's a dessert, and you can eat it while you walk, with chocolate, or whipped cream, or whatever, not syrup though. Then for dinner I had moules et frites (mussels and fries), which is as Belgian as a meal gets, and it was delicious! I washed it all down with a glass of Belgian beer. Don't ask me what type, I don't pay attention to such ridiculous details.

I went to see visit some old big church in Brussels: St. Michael's Cathedral, and it was relly beautiful inside and I took a lot of pictures. Then as I stepped outside, I remembered that I had to take my birth control pills. As I was taking my pill, I thought to myself: "there is something hysterical about taking my birth control pill in front of the biggest Catholic church in the city!" Hey, it amused me. For some reason this reminds me of the episode of Scrubs where Turk found out that Carla was pregnant before she did (because she tossed the pregnancy test too soon), and he was preparing to tell her that she's pregnant by having people hoding balloons shaped like babies to tell her, and she told him on the phone that all she would want to do when she gets pregnant is tell the people in her life that she is expecting, so JD was going around telling the people to stop the plan and pop the baby balloons, and he was yelling: "abort the babies, abort the babies!" And one of the people was a priest. It was really funny. I guess you just had to be there.

Now, so far there's been one event that's stuck in my head more than any other: a girl was posing for a picture in the Grand Place in the middle of Brussels, and she did some pose and yelled: "YAY! This is me in Paris!" Thing is, she didn't look drunk or high, so I'm not sure why she had not only the city wrong, but she wasn't even in the right country. Crazy tourists!

The French guy I was talking to in the airport before I left was not kidding when he said that there are WAY TOO MANY Asina tourists in Europe. He also said, that maybe it's part of their culture or something, but they love bragging about having material things and showing off that they travel a lot, so whenever they go to Europe, they go to one city a day, which is in no way enough for any city in Europe no matter how small. I feel bad that in most of the cities I'm going to, I will spending 2 days. But I think I will use that to find out which of these I will re-visit. I am staying 4 days in Vienna, so that's good.

Tomorrow, I am heading to Bruges, another Belgian city, not too far away. Brussels does not need more than one day. If I had more time I'd go to the country side, which is what I will do next time I come here. As for Bruges, there's one famous person who's from there: Dr. Evil. I think it was in the second Austin Powers movie where he says to his son Scott: "here, have some chocolate, it's from Bruges, it's where daddy is from." He did reveal in the first Austin Powers movie that he is from Belgium, but I don't think he mentioned then what city. Or maybe it was in the third movie... I don't remember. Also, when he was singing "hard knock life" he says: "this is for all my homies in Bruges." I'll let you know after tomorrow if I run into anyone related to the Evil family!