Reality continues to ruin my life

DC

2012-02-05T20:13:00.001-08:00

Went to DC last week to see my sis. Ruhe flew on an airplane for the first time! She was a champ. Luckily the planes were totally empty so I didn't have to worry about slipping a nip next to a complete stranger during takeoff and landing (I was told to breastfeed her then to avoid massive baby crying from all the ear popping).

Still traveling alone with an infant is no joke. Took forever to get through security.

Da Pain Da Pain

2012-01-25T15:42:00.001-08:00

I just got done playing a game of soccer. I haven't played in a year. Oh yeah and I had a baby in between. My body hurts....haha still doesn't compare to childbirth though : )

We are off to DC tomorrow. Ruhe will be going on her first plane ride. It sucks I won't be able to use my white noise app during take off.

All's well in motherhood. We're almost able to roll from our tummy to our back and she's putting weight on her legs like a champ. She's so advanced : )

School Cometh

2012-01-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

Blaaaah. School starts up next week. Luckily I only have two classes this final semester. But I'm still looking for someone to watch Ruhe during one of them. Here's to hoping it s a huge lecture based class that won't notice the oohs and ahhs of an 11-week old. I can't believe she's already 11 weeks! She's currently in the gnawing on her hands phase. Oh yeah, and the one where she wants to be carried around ALL THE TIME...

Terrible Blogger and Mommy

2011-12-27T09:56:00.000-08:00

Only cause I barely put anything on here especially given the fact I've got a babe to dish about.

Anyway, this Christmas we spent with Rick's sister's fam, aka Team Marriott, in Nueva York. It was a ton of a fun. I got a Kindle!! And a giant box of Godiva chocolates. Not the most helpful with regards to Operation "Lose 25 pounds before Spring Break" (I still need a better and less literal code name for that..) but nonetheless.

Ruhe got a lot of cute little toys she can't play with yet. Soon. I can't believe how different she already is 7 weeks out. Crazy. Anyway, cause the people keep asking, here a a few iphone pics.

Prospero año everyone.

It's a Girl

2011-11-21T01:18:00.001-08:00

okay so I've already posted this news to FB, twitter, the world, etc. but figured I might as well do the blog too. It's 4:15am and I'm awake. I should go to bed, but I know little Ruhe will be waking up soon to feast so I'm just waiting. Tonight was rough. We introduced the bottle yesterday cause I'm going back to school soon. It was a bit early--she's only two weeks and supposedly if you want to keep up with the breastfeeding you're supposed to wait 3-4 weeks to avoid "nipple confusion." I'm sure that's happening but whatevs. So today we give her another bottle and she downs it like crack. 3oz in like 15 minutes (which is a lot). And on top of that she still kept crying. Can I just say how hard it is to take care of someone who CAN'T ARTICULATE WHAT THE F**K IT IS THEY WANT!!! It's basically a guessing game where you go down a list and check off what it isn't. Wet or poopy diaper? No. Okay, is she hungry? Well is she sucking her hand, smacking her lips, etc? I don't know. Well she just ate 3oz of milk so that can't be it. Is she cold? How the hell do I know? I'm not cold. Okay, is she hot? She's kind of sweaty but that's cause she's been crying for like 2o minutes. Should we give her gripe water? Sure. Damn, she's still crying. Is she gassy? Try that bicycle thingy with her legs. Oh and maybe try burping? Holy crap she just crapped herself!! Okay. Change her diaper. Damn it!! She's still crying. OMG!!! She's throwing up all over me!! It's like everything she just ate!! What a waste of breastmilk. That sh*t is like liquid gold. Why did she eat so much if she was just going to throw up? Well, at least she stopped crying. Crap, she's smacking her lips. Well of course she's is. She just threw up all the contents of her stomach so I guess she's hungry again. Wow, it's 4am already?

Birth story to come later. Ruhe has started crying again.

(Despite my rant I am seriously super happy and in love with the little munchkin. I just wish I had one of those magic collars that the bad guy in Up had made for his doggies except I want one for my baby...)

Official Eviction Notice

2011-10-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

This is an official eviction notice for the kid residing in my belly. S/he has been taking up residence for 38 weeks now. Time to get out!!!!!!!Technically s/he doesn't have to officially leave till Nov. 13 but that's only 14 days away so I figure why not just pack up early and getback your deposit sooner rather than later??

Plus as you can tell by the wicked curvature, my back can't take any more of this.....

Meet the Press

2011-10-16T08:30:00.001-07:00

Just got done watching Herman Cain on Meet the Press. Not gonna lie, he's looking more and more polished every day. I definitely take back my earlier comment on him (I was kind of going off his crazy comments on Muslims he made earlier in the campaign) but am still in the wait and see category on him.

Still, he's taken the lead in some of the polls. Haha, but does anyone really believe America is gonna be cool with two black dudes running for President?! One advantage of that happening would be race would finally NOT be an issue in the 2012 election.

Most likely we'll see the biggest turnout in history for a 3rd party candidate : )

j/k j/k

5 weeks 5 days to go

2011-10-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

assuming this kid is punctual. here's to hoping s/he actually likes to get to the party a wee bit early....

9 weeks to go!

2011-09-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

And we have so much crap to do still. The nice thing is when I tell people I'm 31 weeks pregnant they don't believe me. I'm not sure what else they thought this giant bulge in my belly was (maybe a tumor?) but there ya go. So I have dreams that baby is a boy but everyone says i'm carrying like a girl. I guess we'll see in 9 (although i'm hoping for 7-8) weeks. In the meantime, school school school. Oh yeah and job searches. I'm a little worried that despite the law, I will in fact be discriminated against in the job hiring process because of the bulge. I suppose in the end, I wouldn't want to work for a company who didn't want to hire a woman who was pregnant (although once i start working i will be almost a year post-partum) anyway but i can't help but worry....

Last Year of School

2011-09-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Only been 3 days and I'm already wanting it to be over. Busy busy schedule this semester. I've frontloaded as many courses as possible in the hopes of only having to take 3 courses in the spring so I can have more time with le baby, who by the way is due to arrive in less than 10 weeks! I'm in the home stretch, literally. My belly gets bigger and bigger every day, which is not hard to imagine when you think about the fact I'm supposed to gain like 1-1.5 pounds PER WEEK from here till the end. I was hoping by the end of this pregnancy not to weigh more than Rick but given he's a scrawny 155lbs, I'll be overtaking him by mid-october, if not sooner....

Utah Trip

2011-08-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Rick and I just got back from Utah. Good times. We also celebrated our 2-yr anniversary. It was my turn run things so I planned this elaborate scavenger hunt throughout SLC that took us to all of Rick's favorite childhood / high school haunts.It was probably more fun for me watching him try to solve my clues. The funny things is all the ones I thought would be super easy took him forever and the ones I thought would be uber hard he solved in like 3 minutes. For example, I thought this would take him forever and he did it (by hand, no Google mind you) in like 30 seconds. I heart my big nerd.

Clue 3:

01001101.01000001.01010011.01001111. 01001110.01001001.01000011.

01010100.01000101.01001101.01010000.01001100.01000101.

Leave your guess in the comments. We ended the night at a fancy smancy restaurant. We thought the waitress was trying to be nice by charging us for only one meal but it turned out to be a 2 for 1 promo. Score!!! If you're in Park City, hit up Chimayo for a really yummy meal! We both agree we look like crap in this picture but we were so exhausted from all the adventuring. We were going on 13 hours of fun. Plus the baby started kicking me like crazy just as the waitress was taking the pic.

The other cool thing about the trip was I started doing my genealogy at the family search center. I was able to go back to my great-great-greats on my dad's side. Found some census records, death certificates, etc. I even found out part of my dad's dad's people are actually Cuban! (sorry article is in spanish) Ana Silvia (at the bottom of the article) is my great grandma and my namesake. I can't wait to see if I can actually go all the way back to Spain / wherever my maternal grandma's people originated. I even have some nifty pics of my ancestors. Will post later.

New Doctor

2011-08-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

So Rick and I have a new obgyn. I don't even want to get into how horrible the obgyn practice at HUHS is here (missed really crucial Downs detection tests, terrible emergency hotline, really poor bedside manners, etc.). I should have figured that a health system that caters mostly students is unlikely to have a halfway decent obgyn practice. How many students get preggers a year?

Anyway, our new practice seems awesome. On our first visit we noticed the huuuuge difference in patient care. Our NP is super smart and was so informative. We got more info from that one visit than we did in the 5 months we wasted at HUHS. We meet the doc in two weeks after our trip to Utah. I'm excited cause it turns out, he used to be a professional ballet dancer AND a circus performer (not a clown thank goodness) before veering off and doing the whole catching babies business. Crazy right?

I hate the euphemism....

2011-08-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

..."revenue generation." Can we just call it what it is? Tax increases.

Our baby's future prospects

2011-07-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

This sucker is either going to be....
a kick-ass soccer player or.....

a face-busting boxer.

I think I'm getting bruises on the inside of my belly from the "pow" this kid is packing. Guys, can I just say how weird it is to have a creature moving around in your belly? I keep thinking of Sigourney Weaver's character Ripley in Alien 3 when she discovers the queen alien embryo growing in her body.....or maybe Bella Swan, when her half-human half-vampire baby started moving in her belly. Yeah, I went there (the twi-tard in me couldn't help it). Oh. You haven't read them? Did I ruin the book for you? My b.

Happy Birthday to Mah Sister!

2011-06-15T09:27:00.001-07:00

Soooo.....

2011-06-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

...what did y'all think of the republican primary debate. ha, did any of you actually watch it? can't blame you if you didn't. it's always a bunch of people never directly answering the question they've been asked. it just feels like a lot of sucking up to me. I mean, is that really what the American populace wants to hear? I find that hard to believe.

it feels too early to be having a primary debate already but whatevs. My quick thoughts on the contenders:

Bachmann came off surprisingly cogent and stood her ground with some of the veterans up there. Although I got a little annoyed hearing about the 23 foster kids. I mean, good for her, but come on, one time a debate is enough. She won't win but nice to have some variety in the field.

Speaking of variety, Herman Cain, geez, what a waste of a black republican (harsh I know) but No Muslims in your administration? Even if that's what you really feel you just don't say that man. Can someone tell me what the difference is between "not feeling comfortable to hire a Muslim" and "not wanting to hire a Muslim?" He tried to save it with the whole "well I meant the bad Muslims (i.e., evil jihadists trying out a new tactic to take down America by spending countless years faking it as a Republican conservative only to single-handedly destroy the Constitution once hired into the new President's cabinet...mwuahahahahahaaaa.) but i say FAIL.

Pawlenty and Santorum, yaaawn. Santorum had this wide-eyed "deer caught in headlights" look that was a bit annoying. And they both battled back and forth about who had the most blue-collar background. Bor-ring.

Newt. Clearly one of the smarter, more political-savvy people up there BUT I just can't seem to get over the whole "married 3 times after cheating on the first two wives, one of who was dealing with a tumor (turned out to be benign) in the brain at the time and oh, also happened to be his high school geometry teacher, and the other who also happened to be his mistress during the whole Lewinsky scandal (with you-know-who blowing the impeachment battle horn)..."

Romney. The front-runner. I'm slightly warmer to him than I was last year, partially cause he's in my ward and so I've gotten to see that he is a genuinely nice guy. Still, I just can't reconcile Massachusetts Gov. Romney with Republican presidential contender Romney. Too many changes (abortion, health care, same-sex marriage)........ I definitely think it's okay for people to question their political beliefs and refine them from time to time. Maybe you thought one thing and had an epiphany or experience that caused you to re-think certain issues. It's just that usually these changes occur over the years and kind of like, one issue at a time and usually there's some sort of gradual transition... I'm trying to decide if he was faking it for the Massachusettsians (is that what they're called?) and this is the real Romney (I mean he was dealing with Democrat super majorities in the Mass legislature anyway) or if he's really pretty center and just leaning super to court the hardliners in the party a la McCain. Ugh, why do we have to court the hardliners? Isn't the party changing to become less hard-core religious right and more libertarian anyway?

And then there's Ron Paul. Man calls it like it is. No sugar coating. No bull-shitting. No sucking up. Going back to the gold standard is not quite the right idea and I doubt we'll ever really get rid of the Federal Reserve but most everything else he says I can totally get behind. Sadly, the media will probably paint him as a looney like they did last year but hot damn. Ron Paul!

Reason # 632 to hate Boston

2011-06-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

it's june 13th and today's high is like 61 degrees and grey. been like this for a few days now and supposed to continue on to the weekend. WTF?

i have to wear a sweater to walk outside and i'm still uncomfortably cold. so lame.

Hunger Games

2011-06-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Just finished book one. Good stuff. Now, I'm pouring through IMDB giving my silent approval/disapproval of choice of actors for the characters.

Okay

2011-06-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

So I broke my promise. My b. But I did post a bunch of pics to facebook. Not of my belly, but there's some hawaii and nashville photos and rick's gradumation from haaaaaah-vaaaahd.

Still, as promised. Here are weeks 13-15 (can't find 16), otherwise known as month 4. I realize I wear the same beige shirt every week. I need to spice up my wardrobe a bit.... But you can totally see a pooch no?! Part of that was bloating but I can say being in week 18, I def. have a baby bump.

I promise

2011-06-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight I will post pics and update of my life and belly. Today was the first day I had to bust out that thingy that goes around your waist to hide the fact you can no longer button your pants! I'm sure there's a shorter name for it.

Watch out World

2011-05-11T06:56:00.001-07:00

I won free flying lessons in a charity auction! It's on like Donkey Kong!

Free Date Night

2011-05-04T07:24:00.001-07:00

funny thing is Rick didn't get excited till he saw we each get a free popcorn and drink.

Dear Ana H Cruz,

As a preferred customer, be among the first to see Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides with this special offer – courtesy of your Bank of America® Visa Signature® card. Seating is extremely limited, please reserve yours now.

Enjoy up to two complimentary tickets to an advance screening of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, plus one complimentary medium/regular popcorn and soda or bottled water per person.

Today...

2011-04-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

...was not a good day. Word on the street is as you leave the first trimester, many of those nasty pregnancy symptoms start to go away but mine seem to be getting worse. Today I was introduced to the pounding headache. I hear it's all worth it in the end but that is not very comforting when the end is so friggin far off.

In other news, I have an internship for the summer. Yaay. I'll be working for a cool start-up here in Boston. Can't tell you what they do yet cause its all hush hush but I'm looking forward to a summer in Boston. They also say it's what makes the long bitter winter worth it but I don't buy how 3 months of summer make up for 8 months of absolute misery and darkness. We shall see.

Also, I'm gonna try to start a garden in my backyard but I have no idea where to begin. Thoughts?

New Tenant

2011-04-25T03:47:00.001-07:00

Here is a pic of the cute little parasite that decided to take up residence in my belly almost 12 weeks ago.... The little bugger has the audacity to wave at the camera!

I'm still alive

2011-03-22T19:50:00.001-07:00

...just underwater a bit with life. Details to come later.
I really wish it were Friiiiiiday already though. Fun Fun Fun Fun.

Happy V-Day

2011-02-14T18:11:00.001-08:00

I suppose it had to be said.

Although Rick and I are currently spending ours reading cases for school. The romance is killing me!!!

The age old question...

2011-02-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

What do I want to do with my life?

You?

Yaay I got my computer fixed

2011-01-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

That's pretty much it. School starts up next week. Dreading it. Well more like, really enjoying my time at home with nothing to do.

Anyway, 15 inches of snow tonight. Boston suuuuuuucks.

Vote for April and Xtian

2011-01-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

http://hernashville.com/her/her-perfect-day-contest-vote-video-you-think-should-win-her-perfect-day-contest

It's really simple. My BFF is getting hitched and has the chance to win a $20K dream wedding. You just have to click on the link and vote once a day. You don't even have to watch the videos (although there's is uber cute). Seriously, think how awesome you'd feel if they won-- if you got to help make someone's dream wedding come true. Doooooooo iiiiiiiiiiit.
Much love.

From Beirut to Boston

2011-01-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

So it's my last night in Beirut. I've done a terrible job of posting. Sorry. Not my fault. My computer got some virus and deleted my harddrive so I've had to use a loaner here and its so ridiculously slow and half the time it randomly starts typing in Arabic. Quite annoying. Anyway. It's been a blast. I'll do a better update when I get back with pics and everything.

Hopefully I get to leave tommorrow. Fingers crossed that Hezbollah stays put, the indictment results stay unreavealed, and all reamins calm in the crazy world of Lebanese politics just long enough for my plane to make it safely to my connecting city of Paris.

Speaking of tense times in Lebanon, Rick wrote the sweetest thing (well I think so anyway):
So, I think we need to have a child. If for nothing else than to propagate your gene pool before you go off to some country like Lebanon during a civil war...

It's kind of funny timing too cause apparently I had a little lost in translation mishap...I told the maid I wanted to have 4 kids (like in life) and somehow everyone in the office now thinks i'm pregnant with quadruplets.

Got my Bags!!

2011-01-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

I actually got them Thursday. What a relief. I'm almost out of cash though since I've had to use so much of it going back and forth from the airport. (Air France you owe me big time!) I had to haggle my way with the taxi driver to take me from the airport. I went from $45 down to $21. And then I thought he might kidnap me and try to rob me cause he was so mad at how I haggled him out of $24, so in the back of the car I started hiding my passport and wallet down my pants and shirt. As it turns out, he dropped me off at my place and as he took my bag out of the trunk he turned to me and said I was a true Arab! Apparently when you haggle, they pretend to be mad at you but in secret they respect you more. Still, I'm watching my back.

Anyway, despite having to wear the same clothing for 40+ hours, Thursday was a lot of fun. We were going to go to Saida / Sidon (which by the way is referenced throughout the Bible). We instead went to Beit ed-Dine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_ed-Dine

It was a lot of fun. We went to two places. The first was a palace built in the 1700s or something like that. It was this weird mix of Arab and Italian architecture. Very pretty. The second was a castle built in 1945. The inspiration story is neat. Apparently this very poor boy was caught daydreaming in class and was whipped by his teacher for daydreaming about living in a castle and told him it would never be possible for a poor person such as him. Also, a few years later he asked the love of his life to marry him and she said no because he was not rich enough and she wanted to live in a "castle." As a result of these two incidences, he slowly started building his own castle, stone by stone, to prove them both wrong. He's still alive today (almost 81 years old) and now makes a fortune off of charging people entry to the castle. It's full of crazy wax museums and diaromas depicting traditional Lebanese life and also crazy weapons. The entrance to the castle is this tiny door of about 4 feet tall. He made it that way so that if the teacher or the woman who spurned him every visited, they would have to bow down to him in order to enter!

I forgot to bring my camera attachment so I can't my pics till I get back which means I probably won't but use your imagination. This weekend I was going to try to go to Syria but I didn't get my visa in time. I was contemplating trying to get across the border the old fashioned way (i.e., bribe) but decided some of you would not approve and given my luck so far on this trip, I didn't want to risk not being able to cross back into Lebanon! : )

The people we're working for are incredibly nice. We're helping this microfinance institution who provides small loans ($500-$5000) to small businesses in Iraq. Unfortunately, they are limited by how much marketing / advertising they can do given the security situation in Iraq and so we're here to help them build the capabilities to be able to execute on a marketing strategy given the situation. It's really interesting stuff. Kinda crazy though given its Iraq.

Yesterday we went out and hit the pubs. The Lebanese don't have any indoor smoking laws so after dinner my clothes and hair reeked of cigarettes. It only got worse in the pubs. I found some air freshener in my room so I've been spraying myself all over. This could get annoying seeing as how I tried to limit the clothes I brought which means I only have so much I can throw in the dirty clothes bags. Oh well.

Today we're off to the Jeita Grotto. Supposedly they are in the running for being voted one of the seven natural wonders of the world. We shall see.....

Bagless in Beirut

2011-01-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

Ugh, this trip is seriously killing me. First, on the way to the airport for round 2 of flying my bus breaks down. Then two more delayed flights to NYC and Paris and now I've been in Beirut for almost 24 hours with no sign of my luggage.

Trying to keep a positive attitude. I'm in Beirut. Must have fun.

From Boston to....er Boston?

2011-01-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Lame lame lame. The French are sooooo lame. So as you can guess I'm still in Boston. Why you ask? Paint damage on the aircraft. Seriously, paint damage? Who the hell cares? The birds? Then they realized there was hatch that needed to have a tiny piece of silicone cut but there wasn't a ladder high enough to reach it. They ended up calling the fire department to try and use one of their ladders but the engineers didn't "feel safe climbing such an un-sturdy piece of equipment." I mean, if the American fireman use it while hot flames are shooting out all around them I don't see why a French airplane engineer couldn't use to cut some piece of rubber.

So yeah, I sat on the tarmac for 4 hours while the engineers went back and forth between calling Paris and trying to figure out if it was safe to fly or not. In the end, they decided no.
They did offer us a hotel voucher but I just went home. My next flight leaves today at 6:15pm. Boston to New York to Paris to Beirut....hopefully. Round 2.

From Boston to Beirut

2011-01-02T16:46:00.001-08:00

I am off tomorrow for the lovely little city of Beirut. Rick left today for Turkey. I'm excited. Although I went to go register my plans with the state department and came across this advisory:

The Department of State continues to urge U.S. citizens to avoid all travel to Lebanon due to current safety and security concerns.

It's somewhat worrisome but meh, I'm over it already. I'll be sure to post slightly frequent updates and posts. Silvia out.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time!

2010-12-25T09:47:00.001-08:00

First off, Rick hates this song. Like really hates it. Naturally I keep humming it. It's kind of catchy.

Anyway, Christmas post. Last night we got fancy and made chateaubriand. It actually came out really well. I'm basically Emeril Lagasse.

This morning we did presents. I got a new NintendoDS game (professor layton's latest one), an angry birds plush toy (the yellow one) and the newest Michael Jackson CD. Holler.

Later we're going to do round 2 of the chateaubriand and FINALLY go to see Harry Potter 7. I'm embarrassed to admit I have yet to see it.

Merry Christmas folks!

Tis the Season!

2010-12-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

We put up our Christmas decorations!!! Homemade ornaments (special thanks to the Sorensen clan for helping us out with those) and all.
It's a real tree (can you believe Rick wanted to get a fake one?!?!) so everytime I walk in the door I get hit with a lovely smell of pine. The guy at home depot said he was a "sucker for pretty girls" and gave me a 50% discount on the tree! Not sure if he saw the wedding ring or not but I can't turn down a 50% discount. I told Rick later and he said "good job" so there ya go.

Yes that's our giant teddy bear in the corner.

Parents and Their Gadgets

2010-12-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

So my dad just entered the world of texting. Here is his most recent text to my brother:

"Hey bubba. My new number is four zero four six five eight four two one three"

Cuh-lassic.

(p.s., that's not really his number just in case you crazies start getting ideas)

Communication is Key Part 2

2010-12-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

So there's this cool program at Harvard where you can go work for some company abroad during January and they'll pay for your airfare and lodging in the process. I figured it would be fun for Rick and I to go so I got him to apply. The thing is you're supposed to rank which countries / jobs are most interesting and which ones aren't. Fortunately we both got accepted. Unfortunately, we totally forgot to coordinate on the rankings. So Rick is off to Turkey to do a strategy project for the Ministry of Finance for 3 weeks this January and I'm off to Lebanon to help a microfinance company that works in Iraq with marketing efforts. Oops.

Update

2010-12-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

Let's see, I lost 2 pounds over thanksgiving weekend cause of a stomach flu. The whole house got it. But I'm looking on the bright side. 2 pounds!

In other news, Rick grew a beard for Halloween, then decided to keep it for Mocktober and Movember and is FINALLY shaving. In the process, he decide to go 19th century plantation owner. It's pretty gnarly. And unfortunately, he has yet to continue shaving. I'm kind of scared he might actually go to school tomorrow like this.....

Deebo

2010-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

So someone stole my mom's car. Don't worry this story has a happy ending.

My mom left the keys running in the car. In her defense she was at her daycare center, it was the middle of the day, tons of parents all around picking up their little kiddies, and she was going in for a hot minute to grab something from inside the building. In not her defense, her daycare is located in friggin Dekalb County GA (not the place where you really want to be leaving your keys in the car). Anyway, just as she's getting ready to open the front door, her car takes off, with her still holding the handle and some street rat behind the wheel. Luckily she had the good sense to let go before he ran her over. Unluckily for our would-be robber, the car had NO gas. So he got about 3 miles down the road before he decided it wasn't worth it. So all those years we've been making fun of my mom for literally driving the car on gas fumes and that's what saved the big purple minivan.....

Of course the idiot kid did run off with her wallet and cell phone. Once again, unlucky for him, he not only answered it when the cops called but he also made three phone calls to his father on the phone so um, yeah, homeboy is getting busted. Then again, the Dekalb Cty police department is probably the most inefficient police force out there.

Love it

2010-11-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

the 70s look like so much fun. Kinda want the fashion to come back. Afros for everyone!!!

The Google is Smart....Too Smart

2010-11-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

I was typing an email that started with the word "attached" and clicked "send", forgetting to attach my file when The Google alerted me to the fact it noticed I was about to send an email that had "attached" in the beginning but didn't attach anything and it wanted to check with me to make sure I didn't make a mistake.....While this was actually pretty helpful I worry....

It's starting to think on its own. Beware, Judgement Day Cometh.....

Election Results....

2010-11-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Thoughts?

I got into a little debate with some Dems at the b-school (which by the way it was refreshing to have a political conversation...i've been immersed in business talk these past few months...even if it was with people who really didn't know what they were talking about...and not because they were Democrats but because they were uninformed Democrats) and it was interesting to hear them try to spin last night as a victory for their side. I'm not saying it was necessarily a victory for the Republicans either. Yes, taking back the House by such margins (not that high since 1948) was sweet but maybe cause I voted in California and was really rooting against Reid, it doesn't seem like quite as big a victory for me.

And now el presidente is showing a bit of humility. its hard not to be skeptical (as any person would be with a president who sat on the other side) and wonder how long will this last?

Time Warp!!

2010-10-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Holy crap! I just started to watch my recording of this week's Glee!

Rocky Horror! Hells yeah!!!!!!!!

(several minutes later cause I realized I never posted.....)
Damn, Mercedes just killed Sweet Transvestite!

Indian Summer

2010-10-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

It was 70 degrees today! It's almost November and I rocked the flip-flops today in Boston. Its great and all but a part of me is worried the weather's just trying to butter me up before it unleashes the fury of old man winter on us all. Although, my super duper awesome coolest sister in the world bought me a down coat that comes down to my ankles. It actually looks good too. You know how down coats are all puffy and make people look like they're walking around in garbage bags? But this one is all fitted and looks like a really refined garbage bag. : ) And its so waaaaaarm. I'm ready for it to get cold. Ready for old man winter to bring it. Except, I'm really liking this 70 degree biznatch.

Only one more midterm to go.....

Baseball is so lame

2010-10-21T18:53:00.001-07:00

Rick has been watching it for the past several weeks and I've been forced to watch all my shows online.

I'm only partially bitter cause he's a Giants fan and they beat the Braves in the divisional. It was a house divided indeed.

So for now I'm a Giants fan. Mostly an anti-Yankees.

Anyway, the annoying thing is that I never get a break from the sports. As soon as this stupid sport ends, there's the NFL playoffs, then college basketball starts up and doesn't end till March. Once March madness is over the stupid baseball season starts up again and in between that you've got all the various golf and tennis tournaments. Oh and don't let me forget college football! What I don't get is how you don't mind wasting an entire Saturday watching schools you or no one in your family even went to play football!

I think I'd complain a little less if he would have agreed to paying the extra $14/month for the soccer sports package. At least that way I'd get to indulge in a sport that's actually fun to watch.

Plus, is it me or are baseball players really fat for professional athletes?

Oh Happy Day!

2010-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

Here's to one more successful trip around the sun.

27.

I don't feel it.

or look it right? : )

Underwater

2010-10-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm in a huge lake and barely staying afloat. So much crap to do. You know its bad when I forget that my OWN birthday is this week. I just remembered. How crazy is that?

Maybe its also cause 27 is kind of blah. Ugh, ok time to go study for my TOM midterm.

Communication is Key!

2010-10-05T14:37:00.001-07:00

Okay so the fight. This past weekend, Rick and I each went on our respective "section retreats." Its basically where a bunch of 25+ somethings have an excuse to relive their glory college days (i.e., get wasted). Anyway, I was off to Maine and Rick was off to Vermont and we were both leaving on Friday. Me at 6am, he at 12pm. Here was our convo on Thursday evening.

Me: Hey what time do you leave again for Vermont?
Rick: 12pm
Me: Who are you driving up with?
Rick: Oh I'm taking like 3 other people from my section.
Me: Oh that's nice. I'm taking someone too---wait, what do you mean taking?!
Rick: What do you mean by taking??
Me: How are you getting there?
Rick: I'm driving our car, duh.
Me: Um, no I'm driving our (formerly "my" before we got married) car.
Me: Shit.......
Rick: Well, looks like you're not going on your retreat huh?
Me: Excuse me? (flipped a lid at this point)

Anyway, then there was a lot of back and forth about who was to blame and who legitimately had claim to the car. I finally said it was both our faults for just assuming we each got the car without checking with the other person and suggested we rent a car. Rick then hung up on me. I repeat, HE...HUNG...UP....ON...ME!! That's pretty much when I flipped a second lid and then we both started threatening to steal the car and hide it from the other person. Mad drama people. I was in the main class building of HBS screaming profanities into the phone. Finally once again. I said we would rent a car. He then said something about taking the cost of the rental car out of my birthday (which is coming up in 14 days (Oct 19)) present. Considering 1) i never got a present last year (I got a picture of something he said he'd buy but never did) and 2) you don't threaten me with my birthday, i popped a third lid (i've never flipped 3 lids in a row so he was entering into new territory). and dropped my second round of f' bombs.

anyway, luckily i kept my wits about me and forced him to see it was OUR (collective) fault and that the only solution was to rent a car (since neither one of us couldn't NOT go owing to the fact we would have then screwed over people who were dependent on us for rides). we are 80 bucks in the hole for the stupid rental. but don't worry, i'm still getting my b-day present....bet on it. (not to mention, i feel like having a joint account really makes those threats kind of moot, am i right? i mean, especially since i'm the only one who knows the password to the online account and actually checks it...i'm just saying, it's not a good threat)

It's 10pm...

2010-10-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

...and I'm lamenting the fact I wasn't in bed an hour ago. How lame am I?

Anyway, not much going on still. You know, school and stuff. Rick and I got into a mother of a fight the other day. I'm only mentioning it cause its kind of funny. No time to write about it now. (Promise to update tomorrow) but I dropped some f*bombs on him. Yeah, that's how pissed I got!

Oh Hello World!

2010-09-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Yes yes I've been absent. Seriously, this place has me super busy. And I really don't understand why cause I feel like I had more work across the river at the Kennedy School. Hm I'll bet it's the 7:30am learning team meetings!!! (And given I live in Belmont now, I have to get up at 6am).

Anyway, things are good. We're sloooooowly moving in. Finally got cable and interweb. Huzzah. Of course my productivity has shot down as a result. Meh.

So, yeah, Boston still sucks but how I love the fall!

School and Moving and Stuff

2010-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so its been a while. Sorry, we don't have internet (or cable) yet. It won't get here till the 25th of Sept. Its been brutal. Not so much cause Rick and I have to deal with entertaining each other but I never realized how impossible it is to really get work done, like life crap, on a tiny cell phone. No matter how smart the damn thing is.
Anyway, quick recap: We made it out to Taxachussetts safely. Found a place in Belmont. Its really quite lovely. There's even a backyard for a garden. Although, I'll have to get everything planted before the ground frosts. Its kind of hard to garden when you're not in CA. You have to think about things like frost and snow. Blegh. Its already starting to get cold too.

Rick started school. He's complaining a little bit less than last year. I started this past Tuesday. Well it was fake school days. Think practice runs for the real thing, which begins tomorrow. Its pretty intense. Too serious in my opinion but whatevs. Hopefully people will calm down a bit.

I'm now trying to motivate myself to get back into the workout regime. Kind of hard when you have to get up at 6am just to get to school. (Like I said, a little too intense). Oh well.

We're off to NYC this weekend to pick up more stuff to move-in. We're still living out of boxes and suitcases. Kinda stressing me out. All in all though, I've got a pretty good feeling about this year!

Reasons Why Wives Have the Right to Nag

2010-08-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, so most of you probably already know this but as the time of our departure draws near, I get more and more irked and so in my final desperate attempt to just get over it, I'm telling it to the interweb.

So about 3.5 months ago when Rick and I were trying to finish finals and move out of our crap apartment, we also had to figure out how we were getting to LA. We decided to forgo another cross-country road-trip (cause we would have had to go there and back again...(tolkien reference)) and instead chose to drive down the east coast visiting family, leave the coche in hot-lanta with my mom, and fly to LA. The plan being we'd fly back into ATL and have a nice leisurely drive up the east coast arriving in New York, where we'd take a day or two to drive into Boston, see some apartments, sign a lease, all in time to start school on the 7th of September. It was a fool proof plan.

I distinctly remember asking Rick 5 times if August 28th was the right day to fly back. Would it give us enough time to do all that we needed to do without being rushed or hurried or totally screwed in that we'd be in Boston without a place to live for several days, etc. etc? He said yes over and over again and told me to stop nagging him about the tickets. So I bought them.

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I nerdishly wanted to input all my free days from class into my calendar and decided it would be a good idea to see where Rick's and my free days coincided so we could go do all those mini-trips that east coasters rave about to maine, cape cod, etc.

And mother-f'er what do I see? Rick's stupid school starts on August 31st! So now instead of the comfortable tour up the east coast, we have to drive like bats out of hell from Atlanta (remember we get there the night of the 28th) at the butt crack of dawn on Sunday the 29th in order to get to Boston by the 30th so that we can apartment search and move in so he can start class on the friggin 31st!

And this my friends is one of the many many reasons why wives have a right to nag their husbands.

Best Nap Ever

2010-08-23T15:14:00.001-07:00

My little Maya fell asleep in the pool in one of those floaty things and I transferred her to my lap.

Conflicted

2010-08-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ugh, so I just spent the last hour reading up on all these terrible serial killers in the US. don't ask me why. you know the rabbit holes wikipedia leads you down sometimes right?

anyway i'm conflicted cause i've always been a pretty staunch opponent of the death penalty. for both practical and philosophical reasons i suppose. practical in that a lot of the studies show its way more costly to maintain people on death row (given the extensive appeals process, etc.). but even if it were cheaper, i've always been sort of a "its wrong to take life even if that person doesn't deserve it" kind of person. the whole notion of "eye for an eye" being somewhat barbaric in my opinion. although, to be honest i have no problem with toughening up the system to make sure the really evil people suffer while they are in prison...cause our system (the one for murderers and rapists) is not a system of deterrence or rehabilitation. its a means of punishment and keeping these people from further harming society.

anyway, my point is that, i am starting to think that some people deserve to die. like, when i read how Ted Bundy weeped the day before his execution and how he got the chair, I felt, like good inside. Like, ah yes, justice. People like that i think i'm concluding, deserve to die, and we as a society shouldn't be further burdened by their actions by having to pay for them for the rest of their lives, even if it is behind a wall (especially when we as a society are paying more money to take care of inmates than we are to educate our children). the big fear of course is there are times when we've been wrong and sent innocent people to the gallows which is just bad bad bad. thus the whole "which is worse a false positive or false negative" debate continues on.

i'm not saying i've officially changed my position. but i'm definitely teetering. especially in those situations that involved multiple people, children, just evil cold-blooded malice and the evidence screams guilty...

okay, i need to go read something uplifting and inspiring...

Dear Mr. President...

2010-08-17T09:10:00.001-07:00

okay i get it. you're the president of the friggin United States. there is a certain level of security and certain precautions that need to be taken when you travel that may inconvenience a few thousand people. i totally understand that. i'm even fine with the fact that this inconveniencing was so you could go to your fancy schmancy high-rolling rubbing elbows with LA's elite fundraiser. it happens..... but seriously, rush hour? those were the best times for you to travel? at 5pm yesterday and 8:30am this morning? you ARE the president of the united states are you not? i would think that a man of your power could easily tell your people to get you to LAX at say 5am instead of 9am. I mean, given you're one east coast time anyway, this wouldn't seem like a huge problem to me.

you wonder why people say you aren't connected to the average man. it never crossed your mind, that maybe, just maybe, the entire working force of Los Angeles would be traveling home from 4-5pm yesterday or to work this morning between 8-9am?
I'm not mad it took nearly 40 minutes to get to work instead of the usual 15minutes, not including the time i spent walking from Santa Monica to Wilshire cause the bus couldn't take me any further. I'm not even that mad that I couldn't cross Wilshire on foot for two hours yesterday just to go to the gym.

i'm mad, because in my opinion, all of that could have been avoided if you'd have just thought about the rest of us and said to your boys, "hey let's travel at a time that won't screw over the good working people of LA. sure its an inconvenience for me, but i'm one person (even if i am the president), they are at least several thousand." or how about, "hey, let's take the helicopter. i'm sure Babs has a landing pad nearby." you feel me man?

i hope you at least apologize for the inconvenience.

One Year

2010-08-16T11:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my one-year anniversary. Crazy! I have pictures but they are on Rick's camera and he forgot the USB cord that goes with it to upload onto a computer soooo you'll just have to wait till we get back to Boston. It was really fun. He took me to Paradise Cove beach which is where we had our second kiss but our first kiss after a date so yeah. We actually agreed that the memory of the food was definitely better than the reality. It was not that good but still didn't detract from the good times.
He also did a pretty good job of presents. I got yellow roses, a box of Godiva (hells yeah), and a really awesome funky leather bag from anthropologie. it was kind of a gift to him too since i'm always asking him to carry my phone and wallet. Cristina, you would approve.

anyway, i got him a Always Sunny in Philadelphia t-shirt that has the lyrics to Dayman on the front (if you haven't seen that episode you're missing out on life). and in keeping with tradition two paper-themed gifts, one a scrapbook of all our misadventures over the past three+ years. except, i realized we have like 2 pictures of us since our wedding. i also made a little coupon book with stuff i have to do for him. there's the usual dinner, massage, etc. but i kind of regret putting in things like "having to admit he's right in an argument" or "a whole night with free access to the remote." ah the things we do for love right?

Yesh so then i got curious and started wondering what the other years are in terms of themed-gifts. some of them suck. I definitely don't want furniture for my 17th wedding anniversary...

You Get What You Pay For

2010-08-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

So this toy r us express opened up in westwood and I decided to hop in and grab a bag of silly bandz yesterday. My nieces and nephews are all into them back on the east coast and I agree, they are kind of fun. They have all sorts of shapes and styles and you can trade them around and are apparently causing a hoop-la in schools (think slap bracelets a la 1991).

The name brand bandz were 24 for $5.00 (kind of steep for rubber bands really) so I decided to go cheap and buy the knock-off "Expressions" which came in a pack of 12 for $2. Basically saved 5cents per band and who wants 24 dinosaur-shaped bands anyway right? (Actually I still do and will probably go back).

Anyway, point is, you get what you pay for. These things are supposed to be space-themed but save for one I can't tell what the hell they are! Seriously, they are so ghetto.

I took some pics as an example. The last one is a genuine silly bandz band, and its pretty obvious what that is right?

Oh well, at least these crappy ones glow in the dark....

I think this is a star....its missing a kink though.

This one also looks like a more mess-ed up star. But if you turn your head to the left he kind of looks like a pudgy man.

Um yeah so this one looks like yoda. except the one portrayed by mel brooks, that or an orc. I think its supposed to be Saturn though according to "Expressions"....

And this one is a real deal silly bandz band. Can you guess??

Now I have to trick some unsuspecting kid into trading me genuine bands for these ghetto knock-offs...

Random Post

2010-08-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

Wow. I had no idea Malcom Gladwell, famed author of "Outliers" and "The Tipping Point," is black.

Not that it matters at all. But you know, it was kind of a Hootie and the Blowfish moment....

(Don't pretend you weren't also surprised to discover that Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker was black)

Why do I watch Shark Week?

2010-08-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

seriously, all i do is feed my fear...

seriously shouldn't have done it right before my trip to pensacola this weekend.

Go Dawgs!!!

2010-08-03T14:15:00.001-07:00

So I know I didn't go here, but as a native Georgian, I hold a soft spot in my heart for the Dawgs. (Sorry Joey, I cheer for Ga. Tech when they play any other team (except Stanford of course)).
Anyway, not sure if this is really something to be proud of by whatevs.

And that line, Thursday is the new Friday," so old. We used that as our senior pub night t-shirts back in '05.

We're No. 1! UGA tops party schools ranking

ATLANTA — The University of Georgia won a national title this year — top party school.

The Princeton Review announced Monday that Georgia is the No. 1 party school on its now infamous annual ranking. The school of about 30,000 students has been on the list 10 times since the ranking was created in 1992, but this is the first time the university has taken the top spot.

For the campus — surrounded by nearly 100 bars in tiny downtown Athens — parties are just part of life from August to May each year. Many students gear up for the weekend on Thursdays and sometimes don't rest until Monday morning.

"That's what people look forward to starting Thursday — Thursday night is the new Friday night," said junior Andrew Chappell, 20. "The party atmosphere is such a big part of Georgia."

Taking up my life right now

2010-07-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

That would be Lost. Rick and I discovered its available on demand through netflix (i.e. you don't have to wait 2 days for a new disc, you can just watch it from your computadora)

Can't...stop....watching....

p.s. ian somerholder (a.k.a. Damon Salvatore) is hotttttt....

Should Black Folks Give the Tea Party a Second Look?

2010-07-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

Read the article. It's interesting.

I for one don't think the movement is grounded in racism. Are there racists in it? Of course. That doesn't make the whole movement racist.

Basically Ready for Top Chef

2010-07-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

...hm, maaaaybe. Rick and I fried up some catfish tonight. First time ever (at least doing it on my own) and it was delish....I didn't even need cocktail sauce to eat it, which is normally the only way I eat fish.

That's all I have. Summer's been good.

News no one but Jason will care about

2010-07-06T14:54:00.001-07:00

Just like to point out that Leeds will be playing in the Championship League after being promoted from League One. Holler. My team is on the up and up. If they play well this season they could soon find their way back into the Premier League. Huzzah.

Movie Tonight

2010-07-06T10:14:00.001-07:00

I'm going to see Waiting for Superman tonight. The trailer just made me cry.....

p.s. don't you love how conservatives have been touting the importance of charter schools for years and the libs are finally starting to catch on....granted, the makers of this film also did that silly al gore movie Inconvenient Truth (which turned out to be widely misleading and exaggerated and...wrong) but hopefully there's no spin on this one. Our education system sucks and its everyone's fault. I hope that little boys name is called. I'm going to cry so hard if it isn't.

Funny Soccer Comments for Ghana v Uruguay

2010-07-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

via Rick (my hubster)....

"I thought this was very funny. From ESPN online chat people covering the game after Diego Forlan tied up the game with a beautiful free kick:"

ESPN Stats and Info: Updated Stat: All four of Diego Forlan's World Cup goals have come against African sides

Chris Jones: Stats Translation: Forlan hates Africa.

Leander Schaerlaeckens: Jesse Jackson Translation: Forlan is a racist.

Hell Yeah Singapore!!

2010-06-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

don't take shit from these punk foreigners who think they can roll in and do stupid stuff and get away with it.

SINGAPORE : Swiss national Oliver Fricker has been sentenced to five months jail and three strokes of the cane. The 32-year-old IT consultant pleaded guilty to trespassing into the SMRT Changi Depot and spray-painting two train carriages.... Fricker committed the offences between May 16 and 17 with an alleged accomplice, identified as Dane Alexander Lloyd, a Briton who has since left Singapore. The court was told Lloyd allegedly masterminded the plan, and had corresponded with a spray paint supplier before his arrival in Singapore on May 15. The next day, the pair looked for a dimly-lit area of fence surrounding the depot and cut a hole in it. They then painted the two carriages nearest to the fence...Fricker's lawyer Derek Kang said his client had made a one-off mistake, while under the influence of alcohol. He added the graffiti had not incited hatred, and left no lasting damage. But the prosecution said Fricker's sentence should act as a general deterrent for the public. Fricker's lawyer said his client had shown genuine remorse by cooperating fully with police. In his judgement, District Judge See Kee Oon had called the act "calculated criminal conduct", and said Fricker must now face the consequences.

p.s. these cane strokes are not simple little spankings. according to my sources, they hire a trained pugilist who hits the person so hard the pugilist has to take a break himself after each stroke. and apparently the first lick splits the skin...

Need Some Motivation

2010-06-23T16:49:00.001-07:00

So I'm really wanting to eat healthier but its soooooo hard. I'm thinking no sweets except on Friday / Saturday. Is this doable? Is this a good idea. Am I just going to gorge myself on those two days basically making the whole thing pointless.

Its just that I eat something sweet after EVERY meal.

Where does the time go?

2010-06-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know I said I'd update a few weeks ago. My bad. I had grand plans to add in pictures and descriptions of the past month of adventures but just can't seem to get around it. I blame the World Cup. Speaking of which, how great was that game today. Did anyone else shed tears? That's the kind of stuff dreams are made of, that's all I'm saying.

Anyway, since I'm not doing pics (some of which are pretty hilarious including the before and after shots of a disastrous haircut I have Rick...I accidentally shaved off a side-burn) I'm not going to go too much into detail but I'll try to catch you up on my life thus far. Basically, Rick and I had a hellish move out of our dump apartment. Just the two of us, racing the clock. It took 8 hours to pack our crap into a U-haul to take to a friend's for storage. We only had the U-haul for two more hours and sure enough, Rick breaks the key to the garage off in the lock! Curse you fates. Luckily our friend showed up, got it all sorted out, and made us feel like total chumps by moving all our crap (save the big stuff) into his basement single-handedly in 45 minutes while we were returning the U-haul. Mad Moving Skillz Mike Sorensen is what we should all call him henceforth.

Okay so then we finally leave for NY to visit Rick's sister at 9am knowing we'd just have to come right back to stupid Boston to pick up the rest of Rick's crap that didn't make it into Mike's cause Rick decided to wait till the last minute to pack. Please note the serious annoyance in my writing. So yeah, drove back to stupid Cambridge (4 hours) the next day. Packed (4 hours). Then drove back to NYC (another 4 hours). I hate moving.

Got to NYC. Saw the Yankees game against the Cardinals(?) 6 rows behind 1st base. Seriously, I can totally get into baseball if I get to sit in seats like that every game. It was the one where A-Rod pretty much beamed the pitcher straight in the head and he had to go to the hospital. Pretty intense. Pitchers should wear helmets.

Alex tricked me into walking from Harlem to Queens on Memorial Day. Punk. Headed off to DC a few days later. Spent some time at the mall (I totes flipped off the White House on the way). Also roamed the streets of G-town. Took a look exploring the school. Rick had never seen it. Had a cupcake at some hip new cupcake place. Susie Cakes in Brentwood still is my number 1.

Picked up a friend. Took her to VA beach. Caught up with old super close family friends. Good times. Ugh, then we drove to Atlanta starting at 4pm. Brutal. Got to Conyers around 2am. Basically hung out my mom's, gave Rick a haircut(!), had a meal with Joey, then flew to LA.

As soon as we got to LA, all the bitterness Rick had been holding onto from living for 9 months in Boston completely melted away. He's seriously like a whole new man here, wanting to go out and DO stuff. Crazy. Anyway, we stayed with some friends and found a place to live the next day. I started work last week. This morning the USA advanced to the knockout stage. I listened to R. Kelly's Same Girl 5 minutes ago. Now I'm listening to Biz Markie's Just a Friend. And now we're pretty much caught up with the present.

There.

An Update

2010-06-17T14:29:00.001-07:00

...to be written later tonight.

Bienvenido a Miami

2010-05-26T07:38:00.001-07:00

So I basically posted all my pics from Miami to facebook and I'm sure most of my loyal blog readers also play on the facebook so sorry for the redundancy.

Anyway, me and my two BFFs decided to hit up Miami for a few days a la Sex and the City minus the sex, the shoes, the glitz, the glamour, and all the name brand crap. In fact, it was nothing like Sex and the City at all. Although we did pop into the Kardazzzzians store Dash for a hot minute. It was pretty much as I expected, pretty generic looking hipster LA clothing way over priced.

My favorite part of the trip was the swamp safari. We got to see water buffalos, bison, a crazy ostrich, wild hogs, nilgai s, and GATORS. They were just big enough for the trip to have a tiny element of non-threatening danger but small enough to where folks weren't fighting about who sat on the sides of the boat. We were on one of those fun airboats you always see those crazy swamp people riding. The whole time we were on it the theme song for CSI Miami kept playing in my head.

We did some mild clubbing, ate some great Cuban food, saw some rich guy's humble abode, caught up with family and friends, hit the beach. Basically all good times.

Minus the part where I got a sunburn (I'm peeling right now?!?!) but I suppose I can't complain considering April and Kristin actually turned red like lobsters. Seriously though, what's the point of having all this melanin if I too have to reapply sunblock after swimming?

Blegh

2010-05-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

I had a scary ass dream about zombies last night. The kind of zombies where one bite leaves you infected and only gives you 10-15 hours before you become a zombie too. I don't get why the only goal in life of a zombie is to turn everyone else into a zombie. Then what? What motivation do they have in life after the whole world is like them?

Anyway, it was, as the kids in my spanish class would say, "verry escary"

MIA

2010-05-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

sorry. was in finals the past two weeks. my last one for the year is in one hour. last minute cramming session but if i don't know it by now what's the point right?

off to miami in two days. muy excited.

as a study break, i leave you with the best simpsons intro EVER!!!!

Life

2010-04-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today I was called a bigot and it made me cry.

I'm in LA Trick

2010-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

So it looks like I'm off to LA for the summer. (My peeps back west, prepare yourselves). The jury is still out on Rick, but its a 90% chance he'll be there too.

I'm still not sure what I'm doing exactly. I got accepted into the Education Pioneers program. They basically place you in an organization in the field of education that best matches your skill set. Given I've done nothing but consulting since graduating, I'm likely to end up doing consulting work for a charter school or NGO or something like that, which should be fun.

Ugh as long as I don't end up at the LA Unified School District right? I've probably just jinxed myself now.

Anyway, can't wait to hit up all my favorite West LA restaurants (California Chicken Cafe, Taninos, Corner Bakery, Shaherazad, Thai Emporium, Lucille's BBQ, and so much more). Sadly, I'll still be on a grad student's budget so it'll mostly be ramen noodles and whatever's on sale at Ralph's. Oh man, can't wait to use the good old Ralph's card again.

That, and surfing!! Given its education, I'm expecting a true 9-5. Plenty of time to hit the waves.

All that stands in the way of me and my summer is.....China!!! (See previous post for clarification).

China: The Next Global Power?

2010-04-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

So we're engaged in this intense two-week exercise where we're analyzing a number of issues in US-China relations. As part of the exercise, we have to read a crap load of stuff, listen to a bunch of lectures from American and Chinese academics, ambassadors, etc., and prepare memos and presentations for the Secretary of State. (The best group actually gets to brief Hillary Clinton at some point in the future....that's the rumor anyway.)

Ok so throughout all these lecture and readings the overarching theme is China is totally kicking ass and will most likely be a global economic power (perhaps even surpassing US GDP) in the next 10-20 years but none of these people seem to agree on whether China will be a global superpower (militarily, politically, etc.) resulting in a bi-polar world a la the 50s and 60s. Some people say, China is trying and will be, others say China doesn't want to be and isn't trying, even more others say China is trying but won't be successful.

I'm just curious what y'all think. Do you get the feeling China is trying / will contend with the US for global power? Do you care? Anyone out there feeling threatened or worried about China's economic and potential political rise? Anyone have problems with the fact we are diligently engaging the country and trading with them despite its human rights abuses?

Thoughts?

No Joke Broke

2010-04-16T10:02:00.001-07:00

Ugh so I got my financial aid letter from HBS today. Anybody need a part-time baby-sitter / contract consultant / whatever else you'll pay me to do that's legal in the united states?!

Life's Awkward Moments

2010-04-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

So, today I had to take a trip to the lady doctor. Except she was a he!

It's bad enough having to discuss personal down-there related issues with a complete stranger, its even worse when its a dude. I think so anyway. I bet it would be even weirder if it were a hot dude. Just cause, you know? Nobody wants a Brad Pitt-type hombre inspecting them down there under that harsh lighting. Its a totally embarrassing process in my opinion. way worse than the "turn your head and cough bit" the boys have to face.

It didn't help that I exclaimed, "but you're a dude...." when he first walked in.

Seriously people

2010-04-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Why are they rooting for Tiger? He should not be treated as a wounded underdog trying to make a comeback. The dude cheated on his wife with like 13 women throughout the entirety of their marriage and yet people are rooting for him?!? I want him to get crushed, double and triple bogeys every hole.

Yaaaaay!!!!

2010-04-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Rick said we can get a puppy next year when we get back from the summer!!!

My New Project

2010-04-07T12:41:00.001-07:00

Sounds crazy, but I'm going to try and develop a mobile application for the android. i'll let you know how it goes......

Dammit!

2010-03-28T18:37:00.001-07:00

I just spent three precious hours catching up on my google reader instead of catching up on my homework. Curse you interweb!

And now all I want to do is watch reruns of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Pictures from Spring Break 2010

2010-03-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

Basically I just took a ton of pics of my uber cute niece and nephew.

Pictures from Cuba

2010-03-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

So I never posted any good pics from Cuba so here are a few that capture the trip.
This was our plane to Cuba. As you can see from mom and Alex's expression, we're all thinking "What the Fuhhhhh....."

Adventurin' in GA

2010-03-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

So my sister had a baby and had to come to America and have a mini-operation done for the lil guy. Seeing as how it coincided with my spring break, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to surprise my mom with a visit. So Rick and I hopped in a car and drove 18-something hours (its a brutal drive guys) to Conyers GA. My mom was totally flabbergasted when we showed up at the house unannounced. Then when my sister arrived around 1am the following day, I took baby Alex and ran to my mom screaming "Ahhh, someone left a baby on the doorstep!! What do we do?" She just started flailing her arms in the air shouting "What? What? What?" Then she noticed my sister was hiding in a corner in the room and SURPRISE NUMERO DOS! Even though my mom is almost 62 years old, we still think its a good idea to test out the old heart every now and then, just to make sure its really kickin'.

Its been such a fun trip especially since I spent it playing with my niece who's pretty much the most adorable two-year old on the planet. True Story. Baby Alex is boring, but its not his fault, he's only 1 month. We saw the GA aquarium again. Its wasn't as cool cause they got rid of the sea otters to make room for the dolphins in 2010.

And I also got to see my pops and some super close friends and I saw my Aunt Cynthia and my godmother, both whom I haven't seen in over a decade. Crazy right?

Anyway, Rick and I are now in DC with his fam. Well actually I took Rick to the train station at 5am this mornin cause he had a last minute interview in NYC. So I'm in DC trying not to think about all the malarkey taking place in the capital (read a constitution House Democrats)

Also, if you talk to me in the next few days, sorry my southern accent tends to come out stronger when I'm home. I'll be talkin like a semi-regular person once I get back up to Boston.

Cursed...

2010-03-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

Rick and I drove down to Georgia to surprise my mom for Spring Break (my sister flew in from Cuba to also surprise her with the new baby) and have been leaving a path of destruction on our travels ever since. First, the day after we left Cambridge, the city got pounded with rain and flooded the Charles River. Roads are closed, bridges undone, mayhem and destruction at every turn.
Then the day after we left New York, the rain and wind continued to wreak havoc on the Northeast and uprooted four giant oak trees at Rick's sisters place trapping the family inside. They are going on day two without power. No cable, no internet, no hope...

Ok, well, just two spots so far and perhaps a tiny bit of embellishment on my part but if something happens to Conyers when we depart on Thursday, pray we don't visit you next......

More on the absolute cuteness of my new nephew and how I tricked my mom into thinking someone left a baby on our doorstep later.

Oh Boston!

2010-03-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Bostonians,

Don't get me wrong. I was very happy that on my way to the gym today the sun was out doing its thing and I didn't have to wear two pairs of sweatpants, mittens, scarfs, costco brand uggs, etc. It was lovely. But seriously to all you people out today wearing flip-flops, shorts, skirts, tank-tops(!!), 50 degrees is still cold. I want it to be warm more than you know, but let's be real guys and not lower our standards on what qualifies as tank-top wearing weather.

Beware Religuous Themed Post

2010-03-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

We had this former Congressman come into class on Monday and talk about the welfare reform act of 1996. FYI he works for the Heritage Foundation, so you can imagine where his ideology lies.

I was so surprised by how immature some of my classmates acted. It was probably the first time at the Kennedy School that they ever had to sit through and listen to someone, who had command of the floor, saying things which they fundamentally disagreed with and basically flipped out. The whole time in my head I kept thinking "NOW YOU KNOW WHAT WE (i.e., the conservative minority) HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY DAY IN EVERY CLASS AT THIS G-FORSAKEN SCHOOL!!!"

The other crazy thing is that what he was saying wasn't really all that terrible even if you are a lefty. He was basically saying the point of welfare should be to help those who are capable of achieving some sort of self-sufficiency, or as I like to say, wean the people of the teat of the government. I mean, even if you disagree how that should occur, how can you hate on someone if that is their underlying motivation?
Seriously folks, there are those conservatives out there who want to reduce welfare subsidies NOT because they hate the poor or want to cut costs but because they really want people to have their own freedom and independence and not need to rely on the crutch of the government indefinitely. They want to allow people the freedom to mold and shape their own world.

Oh yeah so the religious themed part of the post. I think this explains the motivation.

“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”
--Ezra Taft Benson

I'm still around

2010-02-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

Just chillin. Flooded with homework and projects and life.

New things: my sis had a baby. Was hoping it would be a girl (cause then she would have been named after me, little Ana Carmen--Ana is my first name) but alas, it was a boy...Alejandro (apparently its the name to give little brothers in my family). Little Alejo is a cutie though.

Other than that, just applying for internships, getting interviews, and getting rejected. Its hard to find an internship in these tough economic times. Actually let me correct that, it's hard to find a PAID internship in these tough economic times.

Rick and I are mostly likely splitting up for the summer. None of our potential internship locales overlap.

Okay off to do some econometrics.

So F'ing Tired

2010-02-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

Going to bed now.

p.s. dear old man winter, please let the expected snow storm come sooner rather than later (say in 5 hours) so all my classes get canceled at least and i can sleep in. would much apprish. have fun unleashing hell on the northeast.

Stress

2010-02-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

My stress levels are on the up and up and I don't know why. Sure this semester is slightly harder than last semester. I've got more classes, more difficult classes and yes, its that dreaded time to start applying for internships. Ugh the feeling of putting yourself out there, grovelling for a meagerly paid temporary job....the feelings of rejection when you don't even make it to the interview round (hasn't happened yet, but my first notice of a callback is Friday)...

The annoying thing about school is that you never really have a worry-free free moment. Even when I've finished all of my homework due for the next day I'm still thinking in the back of my mind, "oh you could get started on next week's reading, maybe you want to start outlining that memo due in a few days, don't forget there's a problem set you could always be working on..." so i can't ever really fully enjoy the tiny breaks cause i know that's all they are, temporary breaks. The only peaceful time you really have is when you're in REM, and even then your dreams can still threaten to stress you the hell out.

Anyway, just felt like venting. I actually really am enjoying my classes a lot this semester. Getting my learning on like crazy. The amount of knowledge I feel like I've gained in the world of health care economic policy, econometrics, and the role of public policy in market failures is cuh-raaazy.

Say Whhhhaaaaa.....??

2010-01-27T18:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in one of my classes we discussed Obama and healthcare reform and whether it was wise for him, given a whole host of considerations (e.g., super popular pres with seemingly a public mandate, expectation of change, economic crisis breeding potential opportunity for said "change", historical failure of health care reform over the decades, anticipated vicious opposition, etc., etc.), to have pushed so strongly for this huge reform bill in his first few months in office considering all the other crap he could have tried to champion (economic recovery, job growth, cap and trade, blah, blah, blah).

Naturally all the hippies came out of the woodwork, which at HKS is pretty much everyone, and said it was wise blah blah blah. One dude of course starts up on this rant about how health care is a human right that should be provided by the government and in his opinion the lack of universal coverage was akin to slavery in terms of moral abomination.....

All the black people in the room (whether they supported Obamacare or not) exchanged furtive glances and had pretty much this look on their face as if to say "say whaaaaaa....?":

Judging a Book By Its Cover

2010-01-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

So I've been trying to decide between two courses this semester, one entitled "Game Theory and Strategic Decisions" and the other "Introduction to Negotiation Analysis." Both were offered at decent times, had the same course loads, had appealing class descriptions, etc., etc., which made it so hard to pick one. I could only pick one (curse you HKS and your no more than 6 units per semester rule) and did what any reasonable person would do...I went with the one that sounded like it would be the most fun, Game Theory of course, cause it's got the word "game" in it.

And I was totally right for doing so. We're basically going to be playing games all semester! Granted these are strategic games, so not like Risk or Settlers of Catan, but games nonetheless. Plus, you know you've picked a good class when the teacher plays a clip from the Princess Bride on the first day.

Wait, its 2010?

2010-01-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

Okasy its been a while-ish. I feel so burnt out and school hasn't even started yet. I've been putting together my calendar for the next few months and there's not enough white space on my google calendar. sigh. oh well.

and now i've begun the dreaded "looking for a summer internship" process. you wouldn't believe how many unpaid internships there are out there. sadly, my main criteria is that it has to be paid. another sigh. oh well.

the holidays were good. i still need to post pics from cuba but i can't find the USB for my camera. here are my fave london pics (via my droid). i was stuck in the city for a day (i say stuck cause i didn't want to be there and it was 9 degrees outside....won't even go into how i spent 27 hours in heathrow) and because of the cold tried to spend as much time inside all the free museums. my fave was the natural history museum. go dinosaurs!

right now i'm just enjoying 1) the few days i have left before a hellish spring semester 2) scott brown's win in massachussetts 3) my mango ice cream bar from trader joes. 4) 94.5 the hip-hop radio station in boston

i call this one "yaaaaaawn....i feel a draft...."

Japanese performance mask. Its a chick!!! (well a demon chick, but a chick nonetheless)

the ferris wheel outside the NHM. they had to pour warm water over all the little kiddos frozen to the seats.

From Trafalgar at night

You know it's cold when..... (yes frozen fountain)

The Terminal

2010-01-09T03:55:00.000-08:00

Ugh London in thw inter. I'm checking out of my hotel. Off to go walk around London for a bit. Then the airport where I will try to find a comfortable becn to sleep on for 12 hours till my flight takes off at 2:40pm Sunday. It is now 12pm Saturday.

Wish me luck.

Cuba

2010-01-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Twas fun indeed. I'll have to post pics of the dinky prop plane we took from Ft. Lauderdale to the base. Seriously, Ghhhheeetttooooo.

We got to see the detention center, from afar of course. The whole thing is located on the other side of the tiny isthmus, completely separate from the main base, surrounded by tons of barbed wire and snipers in towers.

We almost got a chance to check out the northeast gate, which is where, if anyone were to legally enter, they do. But apparently there's only one Cuban national today who still crosses back and forth into Cuba and the base, an ancient relic left over from the days of the cold war.

Other than that, its kind of a typical naval base. Except with iguanas regularly crossing your path. There's putt-putt and batting cages and a 24hr gym with racquetball and basketball courts and tennis courts and volleyball courts and well-manicured soccer and football fields. Tons of scuba diving and snorkeling and fishing and seriously, there is way more stuff to do here than you would imagine.

Once I get back from London, I'll post pics. We caught some cool sunsets at the lighthouse and got to snap shots of some old dingys people actually used to escape the regime.

Right now Rick and I are holed up in New York visiting some of his fam. I'm off to London tomorrow for class. I really don't want to go. Blah, oh well. P.S. It's nasty cold in the northeast. Makes me wonder the pilgrims ever bothered settling this area.

my back hurts

2009-12-22T05:09:00.001-08:00

day 1ish. we are here in ft. lauderdale trying to sleep on a bench almost big enough for the two of us feeling miserable. i awoke like a hundred times between 1 am when we landed and now (8am). i awoke the last time to hear this couple in baggage claim (the benches in ticketing were not big enough) fighting cause apparently they are back home and neither one can find the car keys. their luggage is strung out all over the airport, they're frantically searching through everything, blaming one another and arguing back and forth.
it totally reminded me of an event that happened this past sunday. rick and i had to do our laundry before heading off to cuba. he grabbed the whites, i got the colors and just as i heard the thud from our heavy door slamming rick asks, um do you have the keys? Nooooooooooo.....
It was 6pm. None of us had our phone. It was freezing and we were both wearing shorts and tshirts (our apt was warm and we were quickly running upstairs to dump our clothes in) and it was a freak snow day where everything was closed. Not to mention Rick had a final at 8am the next morning. Well as rick started to panic and scream about how much he hated boston (cause clearly the city of boston is to blame for why we are both careless) my skills from working in the housing office at stanford one summer started to kick in. i figured there had to be an emergency oncall lockout guy. but how to get the number? how to call w/o a phone? then i remembered seeing a magnet on our fridge w. a bunch of numbers. i figured maybe everyone in the building had the same magnet.
so we looked up the apt for someone in our ward who we knew lived in the building and showed up at their door. two totally inappropriately dressed exiles with laundry baskets. but my plan was successful minus the 50 dollar lockout charge. rick was so pissed he wasted another 1 hour writing a nasty email to the school about how he never plans to donate money given they have been nickel and diming us since we got here....
then we remembered 10 minutes later that we left our laundry baskets at the other apartment.
as a couple we are a bit of a disaster sometimes.....

Off to Guantanamo

2009-12-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

Well Rick and I are packed. We've got our clearance papers. And we're off to walk 15 minutes in the freezing snow (as opposed to melting snow) to the metro which will take us to the airport where we will arrive in sunny Ft. Lauderdale at 7am and have to sit around for 6 hours till we hop on our military chartered jet to the lovely Git-mo resort.

If you don't hear from us in a week call the state department....

Merry Christmas everybody.

Its a Snow Day!

2009-12-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

No schooool--er I mean church. It's so crazy outside that God canceled church today. That blanket of snow in the distance on the first pic is the Charles River FROZEN OVER!!! Sadly not frozen enough to go ice skating, but it's not like I'd want to venture outside anyway.