The Other Side of "Closer"

Thanks to PandoraFM (one of the hybrids Ezequiel mentioned in Frecuencias Alterna's blog), I found "the softer side of Closer".

While Nine Inch Nails has created an anthem for gritty, dirty, animal-like sexuality, The Tiny offers through lyrics and video the raw reality of what human relationships go like.

Now I'm thinking maybe, I was stoned
I felt my feet lift off the ground
And my heart was screamin'
at my bones. I need you closer.
As he's in the middle of the street
then I pretend he's mine to keep.
Cars are running fast on both sides
of his head
as his eyes ain't closin'
closer closin'
I met him when the sun was down
The bar was closed
we both have had no sleep
My face beneath the street lamp
it reveals what it is lonely people see
closer closer
closer closer
And you're close enough to lose
close to the point to where you know that your mind
it cannot chose
close enough to lose
close enough to lose your heart
Now I'm thinking maybe
I was stoned I felt my feet lift off the ground
and my heart was screaming at my bones
I need you closer
closer closer
You met me whent he sun was down and the bar was closed
we both have had no sleep
my face beneath the street lamp
it reveals what it is lonely people see
closer closer
closer closer
than you're close enough to lose
close to the point where you know that your mind
it cannot choose
close enough to lose
close enough to lose
your heart

It's not easy to keep love as lively as when it begins. It's not easy to keep the heart of a relationship beating through hardships and emotional winters, while also keeping your own heart uplifted. Sometimes we draw apart, sometimes the space sneaks in between both hearts. As the honeymoon's over and the mold and soot of time start setting in, most of the times the butterflies in our stomachs die, queasiness ensues. We all want to believe love is forever, that our commitment will be effortless, that we're meant for each other without question and that life will make it so. Effortless love and commitment don't exist, though. The realization of this, and that you are two separate human lives struggling to stay together through thick and thin without losing your individuality ... that realization tastes of glum tears.

Now it's up to you then ... do you push on, for the sake of your love? Do you bail out for the sake of your self?

Or do you find a middle ground?

... Sometimes, we don't even get to the point of the realization, we don't get the chance to ask ourselves these questions, we don't get a chance to answer. Sometimes the space that sneaks in between your hearts does all the talking, you just get to walk away before it gets into your heart too.

So, I count myself fortunate to be able to ask and ponder. Those of us that do are the lucky ones.

Men I Love - Part 1: Eddie Izzard

Just because I like to share the things I like and love, plus today I felt in the mood to get a dose of Izzard:


Hit the 3:00 minute mark to hear the funniest, best - and most resounding - line ever!

And I'm glad to say I finally got this part of his Dressed to Kill stand-up show:



As I was discussing with my brother the other day, he is definitely inspired by the Pythons, which pretty much explains why I love him so much ...

A Maria Von Trapp Moment

There's some things money can't buy
... such as:

Knowing how to comb your hair in your favorite updo.

"Pretty days" in which you look thinner/cuter/of clearer skin in all mirrors available.

Noticing how you have been able to answer calls from your loved ones without feeling miserable because your job has made you hate the phone.

Realizing you have few loved ones, but the ones you love, love you right back.

Puppy breath.

The weight of your sleeping dog on your lap, shoulder or stomach.

Getting good news over the phone on a day that was turning to shit.

An unexpected tunnel of wind on an otherwise sweltering hot day.

Looking to the blue sky and, not only remembering those good ol' days when you were a carefree kid, but also getting that carefree feeling back, if only for a few minutes.

A sudden kiss that turns out just right and sends you reeling.

Library-like silence in a crowded bookstore.

Fresh ground coffee after weeks of tasting only the machine-dispensed type.

Butterflies in your stomach on a Friday night. Even if you're going nowhere, the feeling is exhilarating.

Watching the crowded highway at night from the balcony in your very-far-away house... even better if you're waiting to be picked up to head that way too.

Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings.

... for everything else, there's credit cards, debit cards, cheques, credit lines, loans, and obviously actual money.

Mid-weekend Burp

I'm not feeling very hot right now (the allergies attack whenever they see I haven't been as dilligent as usual in taking my daily Ioratadine), I've had a pretty long day and another such one awaits me tomorrow.

Today was productive. I -
1) Bought the yearly marbete for my car (yeah, May's the painful month) @ approximately 9:30AM

2) Had breakfast @ the nearest McDonald's @ 10AM

3) Picked my sister up. That took the longest. Getting the kid to dress up to go out is like pushing an elephant up a staircase (which should be as difficult as pushing a cow down the same staircase, I guess)

4) Loaded my car's trunk with plastic bags full of old clothes and plush toys to be given away to the Salvation Army.

5) Drove to the Salvation Army I thought to be open, only to find it was closed. We took advantage of a discarded leather couch that was sitting in front to leave the two humongous plush animals that were dusting up (more!) my car inside. It was a bit sad, seeing the Sad Sam and big teddy bear sitting there, waiting for some lucky chance to be picked up, perhaps be taken to be loved anew all over again.

6) Went back to my house to pick up Luna's medical record, then went back to my Mom's to pick Luna up.

7) Took Luna to the Humane Society clinic for her yearly rabies shot and reinforcements. While I was there, I made the same mistake I always do: I went to the back room, where the animals that are up for adoption live. And I fell in love, like I always do, with every single one of them (of course with ones a bit more than with others). It's always a bit heartbreaking (since I can't have a dog of my own just yet), and always a bit encouraging (the world isn't running out of adorable dogs just yet).

8) Returned Luna to Mom's and headed back out to Caguas (not before watching an episode of Shear Genius, which was pretty entertaining, in the way of "reality TV talent shows").

9) Went to a place I know to wash my car (inside and out, it was in dire need!!! Plopped down $24 for the full treatment. Not sorry at all. At last I can see the color of my dashboard.

10) Met up with a friend of my sister's to help her out with the purchase of a set of makeup brushes. Turns out there was a really good set on sale @ Costco (and her cosmetology teacher recommended they get that one before next class). I have a Costco membership, so I gladly put in the name so she could get the benefit of the price. Got treated to Costco pizza afterwards (not bad at all!) and what was apparently an undercooked churro.

11) ... and then everyone headed off each way: my sister with her friend, me back to home, alone.

... feeling a bit lonely, a bit sad, a bit nervous. Hoping for a better week. Hoping for some much-needed changes soon.

Little Notes #2: Rabbit Schmabbit + Finally they have a living room!

iGasm -
As soon as I sat down at my desk this morning and turned on my computer, Eze sent in this little article on the best gadget ever invented. Here's part of the pitch:

Load up your iPod with killa choons and take your appreciation of music to a whole new level. This genius little device hooks up to your iPod, MP3 player, laptop or CD player and vibrates in sync with the beat. Go at it hard and fast with a pounding drum and bass track or chill with the ambient classic.

I mean, HELL isn't that a nice thing to have? It's the perfect merge between two of my biggest passions: sex and music. If only I had the $50 to spare! :-\



For Rent - 3 Bedroom/1 Bathroom Apartment - Finally, after 4 years of struggle, my Dad has found a decent place to live. Four years ago, he took the decision to move out to the continental US, thinking that his business would fare better with the gringos. First he shacked in with his sister-in-law and her small family in San Antonio, TX (it was an uncomfortable affair for both ends, or so I'm told), then he moved out to Fort Myers, Flawriduh, and that's when his wife decided to join him. To the chagrin of the whole brood of children, they had to be content with squeezing their sore asses into a small, cramped studio that paid what they were paying here for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house. Now, after 2 or so years battling loneliness, dry heat, freak electricity storms and general unemployment, they moved to Orlando. And even though things started faring out the same or worse than before, he has finally been approved for the rent of a comfortable apartment in which the place you shit, eat and sleep is not the same. :-D

Yay for Daddy!!!


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Bonus: the very cool, very silly Rick just sent me this:


(click to view full size)

Thank youuuu! ^_^ LOL!

The Voices in My Head

Has it ever happened to you that when you're about to fall asleep, a throng of voices wakes you back up? There's not much in your mind, you're in that place in which you're not conscious, but you can still hear things from the outside, even if not comprehend them. Then, in a creeping crescendo, a voice shouts or shrills into your brain so hard, that you come back into consciousness with a scare. That's what I call "the voices in my head". I don't know if it's my imagination, or if its a phenomena based on scientific fact. But I know it's scary, specially when it's more than one voice. Or when the voice is a tortured scream, like the one I heard last night.

Lately, my nightmares have taken on an unexpected turn, and I'm guessing it has much to do with my recently acquired taste for Japanese terror flicks. A monster suit will leave me in stitches, but the simple image of a man transfixed in terror and trying to scream will make me shit my pants. Specially if his irises are not showing ... :-(

I was afraid that I'd be having nightmares last night. Thankfully, I didn't. Last time I had a real nightmare (not just a scary dream), Eze had to wake me up, to wrench me from whatever force I was feeling that was keeping me from screaming myself into consciousness. He told me I was mumbling. I felt like I was trying to scream, but something black and liquid was keeping me pinned down and silent (yeah ¬_¬ pretty much like Spiderman 3's venom suit). And this is not the first time he has had to wake me up. It's pretty disturbing to have to wake up a loved one because he or she is crying in his sleep (plus it sounds scary, damn! it happens to my mom, too). It's scarier still to feel that you do not have the power to wake yourself up from a nightmare.

To Do List 5/23/2007

1) Calm down
2) Forget I dreamt such terrible dreams. Put away the image of Puerto Rican mountains and cities burning and waving in a nuclear shock wave.
3) Get my car to the service station for inspection.
4) Go home, wash at least one basketful of clothes.
5) Calm down.
6) Get a bath, get ready to go out.
7) Go to Walmart, send $100 to Dad. (He finally found a decent apartment!)
8) Calm down.
9) Look for black beads.
10) Go home
11) Calm down.
12) Work on the bracelets I still owe. Sorry, Tatts! Sorry, Chichi! :-( I'm a bad sister.
13) Obsess over my unbleached moustache, obsess over my un-pedicured feet. Put it off for someday soon.
14) Calm down.
15) Wait for Eze (if it isn't 10:30 or 11:00pm already)
16) Be sorry 'cuz it was yet another wasted afternoon.

... or was it?

Little Notes #1: On families, Cyberspace and Erotic Lyrics

* Last night we visited a new friend's home. We were kindly invited there to watch the Season Finale of Heroes. Our friend's family was the kindest ever: we got well fed, and they tended to us as if we were kings. Talk about warmth and welcome in a family! It's not so much that they had droves of platters filled with finger food, chocolate-covered strawberries and fritters. That was very nice, indeed (as was the excellent piña colada! Thanks, Rebecca!) It has much more to do with the attention, the immediate welcome, not as a guest, but as family. The warmth that enveloped me as soon as I went through the door could only be topped by the warmth I feel around my family and very close friends. It was glaringly obvious right then and there that this family is filled with love to give: as they shower each other with love and acceptance, the warmth around them grows, and we, the moths of affection, adore hovering around such a family's glowing hearth.

** A few things that have been happening in my personal life have made me reconsider my "cyberspace presence". Not so much that I want to run away and hide, but there are parts of me and my personal life that I want to keep out of people's radars. I realized today (by way of a small, insignificant detail) that there are people out there that will react passionately or violently to things I say or things I do, by which I mean no harm. In this particular situation, it was someone I don't even know, but there will be times in which it will be people I DO know ... and sometimes it will be people that don't like me, or people I don't like. Do I want to expose one of my hobbies (internet surfing) to the possibility of scrutiny and pollution by people who would otherwise never care?

I'm a decidedly private person (after a few years in which I kept myself and all nasty details of my life in the open). I don't want to be in the radar of just anyone who wants to be. (This blog is not part of what I'm reconsidering, though. I'm pretty sure of the things I write here and how they might look to the anonymous public who comes in to read it.) So you might see some changes soon in the things that compose my cybernetic presence...


*** Musical Erotica ... Because these last few days, these two songs have been looping through my mind, perhaps little more than they should. Maybe my sensual side is calling for a renascent era ... or maybe I'm turning into a full fledged wiccan hippie and I don't know it yet ...

Oh well! Here they are... (both songs are from the 1973 version - the superior version!!! - of The Wicker Man)

Willow's Song
by Paul Giovanni

Heigh ho! Who is there?
No one but me, my dear.
Please come say, How do?
The things I'll give to you.
By stroke as gentle as a feather
I'll catch a rainbow from the sky
And tie the ends together.
Heigh ho! I am here
Am I not young and fair?
Please come say, How do?
The things I'll show to you.
Would you have a wond'rous sight
The midday sun at midnight?
Fair maid, white and red,
Comb you smooth and stroke your head
How a maid can milk a bull!
And every stroke a bucketful.

Maypole Song
by Paul Giovanni

In the woods there grew a tree
And a fine fine tree was he

And on that tree there was a limb
And on that limb there was a branch
And on that branch there was a nest
And in that nest there was an egg
And in that egg there was a bird
And from that bird a feather came
And of that feather was
A bed

And on that bed there was a girl
And on that girl there was a man
And from that man there was a seed
And from that seed there was a boy
And from that boy there was a man
And for that man there was a grave
From that grave there grew
A tree

I think I finally turned into a total nature-loving, tree-hugger hippie :-\

What a purse can do

Yesterday I went shopping by myself after work. My sister told me there were Rocket Dog shoes on sale at Montehiedra's Marshalls store, so I had to go and check that out (I'm a hardset fan of Rocket Dogs, they're so comfy! ^_^).

But no luck was to be had on that mission. There were Rocket Dogs alright: ugly, ill-fitting affairs (are they really Rocket Dogs?), or not in my size. So I started browsing around and headed for the purse area. A few weeks ago my messenger bag purse suffered its "demise" along with a shirt I held as a favorite (they were both drenched in earthy water that sprayed out of the A/C console of the office's trolley van. I looked like a ladybug for the rest of the day).

The bags I liked right off the bat surprised me with very steep price tags ($100+, damned be leather and it's powerful, attractive smell and feel!!!). I took my very sweet time shopping around, comparing, sweating it out. My brother called me in the middle of it all, and I realized I was shopping like my mother shops, with the only difference that I wasn't inflicting anybody else with the pain of it. I'm definitely a slow shopper. I finally decided myself on a red, crocheted bag from The Sak (It even has a metal tag that assures me that it is "The Original" ... how comforting! 8-D )

After that, I decided, halfway to the register counter, that I might as well change my wallet too. It had been years since I had last bought a new wallet. 'Kitty wallet' (a small, black wallet with Emily Strange's black cat patched on top) was running small on me, I don't know why. It's not like I applied for a thousand new credit cards all of a sudden, but it wasn't buttoning up as well as it should have. So I got an indigo-colored, leather Tignanello wallet (damned be leather!).

The whole purchase amounted up to a bit over $50. I'm still a bit weirded out at myself. My brother kept telling me it was weird seeing me with a purse. And so it is! I've been holding onto my college buying-and-wearing habits, I think out of fear of turning into a corporate, suit-wearing zombie lady. Yeah, the one that buys The Sak handbags and Tignanello wallets, I think. But I feel strangely fine about all this, because what I thought it represented is not gonna happen anyway.

Yesterday I ran into an old college aqcuaintance, and I realized that in spite of the 8 years past, I am still the same garbled mess of a person I was back then (albeit fatter ... or more pregnant-looking, thank you ¬_¬). And I like it that way, but at the same time my instincts tell me that it's time to grow up into the woman my mother and stepmother have been nudging me to be. I suspect I might turn out to be a garbled, messy version of that, but I'm fine with that too.

I'm beginning to feel a bit more comfortable in my own skin (sagginess and cellulitis included), and oddly enough the crocheted, red handbag that now hangs from my shoulder, with the indigo, leather wallet inside it are proof to myself that ... precisely ... I don't need to prove anything to anyone other than myself. And that I can give myself permission to be as "adult" as I've always feared to be (lest I start growing old, god forbid!) ... of course, in my own, particular ... idiom. (thank you, sweet Concorde! :-D)

Sea Bullies

I've been trying to keep up with Discovery Channel's/BBC's Planet Earth at a friend's house. He happens to have High Definition Cable TV (with an HD monitor), so his first invitation to enjoy these new goodies was specifically to view Planet Earth. The documentary series was filmed in high-definition format over the course of 5 years, hence producing crystal clear, sharp images never before seen through television.

This following scene in particular was the one that hit me the strongest. Scary as shit, imposing ... it demands newfound respect for the Great White...

Cute Videos Part 1

I hope not to be doing this too often in here. I have the habit of bookmarking everything. I may not be your regular storer or "trinkets-saver": this would be the kind of person that saves everything he/she comes across, down to the last newspaper, which would be somewhere among the pile of yellowed papers from 1968 right by the fridge. I don't do that. However, I do the equivalent in cyberspace: bookmark pages I like, pages I deem relevant, pages I think I might want to keep up with, pages which at some point might prove useful, someday ... That's why I love del.icio.us so much.

I also bookmark in places I have a profile like Youtube.com or Bettycrocker.com. And some days, when I'm bored, I like coming back to those bookmarks, while away a bit of time.

Well, today is one of those "dead-day-at-work" days, so I'm gonna come forward a bit and share some of the "cute" videos in here (kind of as if the CuteOverload gods had taken over me)

#1 - Dog Tickles Baby

The amount of controversy this video has aroused is absurd. Some people (roughly a half, maybe more) think that it's dangerous to let such a big dog play with a baby. Others think dogs are lovable, tender creatures when treated well and taken care of, hence it would be very improbable for a dog in a situation like the video shows to turn on his owner's baby and attack. I agree with the latter half. With some exceptions, specially some races of dog that are typically more aggressive than the others (like the chow-chows), most big dogs are of a gentle temperament, and will take care to be gentle around smaller creatures, specially if they can "smell" they are babies. Next video proves the point.


#2 - Siberian Husky & Kitten

This is just plain fucking cute! No more explanation needed!

#3 - Kawaii

This little girl would floor everyone at talent shows like American Idol by force of charisma alone.


#4 - Bengal Kitten (23)

This video has become part of the family lore. "Twenty-three" is something I say fairly often as a response to "Really?" ... It's silly, and my boyfriend finds it annoying. But the memory of this kitten chattering away at the window always brings me a smile.

#5 - El Metro

It may not be cute 'per-se', but it's incredibly touching. That's the kind of hang-out I find romantic and wins me over. No flowers and candlelight over bubbly champagne could compensate for an adventure-ridden night in the subway system!

#6 - We Will Rock You (Water)

Imagine Queen's classic hit "We Will Rock You" performed by a 7-year-old water-balloon-kid ... cute!

#7 - Otters holding hands

This video traveled 'round the globe quite recently. The end is the part that makes it worth it. Heart melting!

Tried and True Recipe #1: Pepperoni and Bacon Pasta Salad

Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:30 min
Makes:4 main-dish servings
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1 package Betty Crocker® Suddenly Salad® ranch & bacon pasta salad mix
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups frozen broccoli flowerets, thawed and drained
1 package (3 1/4 ounces) sliced pepperoni, cut in half (1 cup)
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
1 jar (2 1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained

1. Empty Pasta mix into large pan 2/3 full of boiling water. Gently boil uncovered 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir together Seasoning mix, cold water and oil in large bowl; set aside.
3. Drain pasta; rinse with cool water. Shake to drain well. Stir pasta and remaining ingredients into seasoning mixture. Serve immediately, or refrigerate.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft) Increase boil time to 20 minutes.

This is a recipe I found through Bettycrocker.com. Tried it a couple of weeks ago, sans the broccoli (I'm not a big veggie fan). I also changed a few other ingredient details:

1) Changed the Betty Crocker® Suddenly Salad® ranch & bacon pasta salad mix for some regular ranch dressing and some mayo to thin the flavor out (ranch is a nice flavor, but it can be pretty strong if it's the only thing you're mixing with the pasta)

2) Added the bacon separately. I used bacon pieces (which can usually be found in the refrigerated cold cuts area). However, after the first trial, I am convinced that bacon bits might be an even better option.

3) I now realize I totally forgot to add the mushrooms and the oil, however I did add diced onion, which gives it a nice, crisp feel.

** On second thought: I think that from now on, I might be suppressing the pepperoni entirely, since I find it doesn't add all that much to the recipe's flavor. I also intend to use the mushrooms from now on (how could i FORGET mushrooms?!).

The ghosts of dogs

(click to view bigger version)

Strips like this one always pull at my heartstrings. It's a pretty well known fact that I love dogs to the point of tears, specially now that, after a lifetime of having at least one as a companion, I can't own any (for a variety of reasons). Hopefully that will change soon ...

The comic strip above is part of an ongoing series named Mutts, by Patrick McDonnell. McDonnell is part of a few organizations and funds for animals (and against animal cruelty), and it shows in his strips. The ongoing theme is the animals' relationships with their caregivers, with themselves and with each other.

To be truly honest, sometimes the punchlines fall a little bit on the flat side, but the strip seems to be made with a heartful of love. Plus I share McDonnell's motives and interests in relation to animals, so I've come to respect his work for what it really is: a call to conscience in favor of animals, specially in favor of loving the animals that already accompany us day by day.

Window Shoppin' on the Internets

These past few days my online hobby has been a different one from the usual. The blogs I read have been mostly ignored in favor of something so girly, that having fun with it is a bit embarrassing.



It all began, ironically, with one of the blogs I read daily: Beauty Dish (an extremely engrossing blog by an Avon saleslady living in some very arid place of the USA). She placed the link to ShopStyle.com on one of her entries, and I, being the curious little cat that I am, logged in ... and got carried away for a few days (and still going).

I am not a very fashion forward person, never been a trend setter (that I know of). I catch trends late, and sometimes I don't even adopt them (for example: the ruffled miniskirts that were all the rage 2 years ago? You would have never found one of those little numbers in my closet). I guess I am sort of a "conscientious dresser": I pick or discard trends (and sometimes non-trends) depending on whether they suit me well or not. And most of all, it depends on whether they suit my budget or not.

So ShopStyle.com lets me dream a bit, put 'looks' together without thinking about budget at all ... maybe even inspire me a bit in my everyday pick-of-the-closet. It has even linked me to two brands I didn't know and that I have really liked: Free People and Forever 21.

So pop in and have some fun (it's like playing with paper dolls, only you can really wear what they're showing in the pictures!!!)

Here are the looks I've created until now:








... and here are the things I have liked until now (other than what I've built into a 'look'):


:-D Pretty fun (in a very girly way!)

Snow White, Grass Bright

I got a call earlier last week from a friend that had been away for a while. The call in itself was a surprise, then the other shoe dropped: she wanted me as a stand-in for a photography class assignment (again). I had worked with her before. As a matter of fact: those brief incursions into what "being a model" would feel like were interesting at their worst, pretty fun at their best. I've always hated to be on the other side of the camera lens, the side that exposes more of my body and less of my mind. But helping her with her projects opened up my curiosity about how is it that people see me from outside myself. I like exploring the possibilities other brains find around my physiognomy.

This photo shoot was considerably simpler than the ones I had worked with her before. She picked me up a little after 9 AM last Saturday and we went to a nice park a few blocks away from my house. The place is wonderfully green and fresh, filled with trees, with a few playground areas, a basketball court, a tennis court, and a walking path all throughout. Add to that the quiet nature of our neighborhood, and the park turns into a small emerald paradise among our homes.

My friend's idea for the photo shoot was a modern-day Snow White theme, using the blue, red and yellow colors (typical Disney Snow White scheme). She brought two apples, and I was a happy camper. "Apple shoots" get me a free apple after we're done. I was supposed to lay on the ground and play dead, which was fine by me (despite the prickly grass). We were done quickly, in spite of prickly grass, the pesky sun in my eyes, and territorial mosquitoes. I realized that simpler photo shoots also make for simpler dynamics: less people means less crossed thoughts. It was a fun, sweet time, and the product of it is not half bad either (although the model, a.k.a. me, looks like a beached whale). But I instantly loved the vibrance of the colors. She still hasn't showed me all the pictures she took. She worked with a digital camera, the picture on top came from that one. But she also used Colorsplash and Holga cameras - which is film - so we still have a few results to view.

Photo by Lyraida M. Caraballo.

Turtles rock!

... and cats suck!

Or so it appears nature is pointing at that fact through these two videos:





Found through the mightily therapeutic CuteOverload blog. (If you're feeling blue on any given morning, just pop into this blog, I can guarantee an instant smile).

Other cute blogs to brighten up your days (from my del.icio.us collection):
The Daily Puppy
The Daily Kitten
I Can Has Cheezburger?

Wishlist by Froogle

I remember making wishlists on a regular basis in my different blogs. I barely ever go shopping, and when I do, most of the times it has to do with something I need, not something I want. But I also "fall in love" and wish for clothes, kitchen appliances, books and shoes like any other girl, with the difference that as soon as I say or express my wish, I forget about it.

I don't usually shop around for things in my wishlists. I think it mainly has to do with the fact that I have forgotten what it is that I wanted. Yesterday, while I was fooling around with my profile, I saw there was a space for a "wishlist", managed by Froogle.

I fiddled with it a bit until I understood how it worked, and voilá! I have a wishlist!!! Completely updatable, it keeps things in one place, and I can add whichever type of product that comes into mind (not books & CDs only, like in Amazon... or even "books only" like in Half.com --- which is awesome, of course!).

So there it is (wink wink, nudge nudge! Wanna make a gift? ^_^ j/k!)

En la pata de vaca a la izquierda

Hay cierta calidad de surrealismo en el hecho de que el camino hacia mi oficina está pavimentado con partes putrefactas de animales. La nueva dirección física para llegar a mi oficina es "en la #1, en la pata de vaca, a la izquierda". Un aroma orgánico del proceso de descomposición en su plenitud es lo que le da ambiente al estacionamiento frente a este edificio. Me cuentan mis compañeros que viajan hacia más allá sobre la #1 que "más abajo hay una cabeza".

No quiero imaginarme si en lugar de estar rodeados de partes de vaca, fueran partes humanas: sería una imagen de pesadillas. Hace dos días llegué tarde a mi trabajo por lo que provocó esta situación: en la madrugada entre el martes 8 y el miércoles 9 de mayo, un camionero (probablemente medio dormido o naturalmente despistado, como yo) se fue por toda la #1 con su cargamento de desperdicios animales, y aparentemente quiso compartir de su riqueza y permitió que la portezuela de atrás se abriera, así repartiendo cabezas, patas, estómagos, orejas, tripas (y su usual contenido), etc por todo el pavimento.

Claro, sabiendo que la Ley de Murphy la tiene agarrada conmigo, estas cosas pasan en la temporada en que tengo el aire acondicionado del carro jodido (y en pleno inicio de verano, para acabar de joder!). Cuando pasé por ahi el primer día, lo q predominaba era un olor q supe reconocer aunq rara vez pasa por mi nariz: el olor a muerte, a sangre animal, a masacre. No era descomposición, eso vino luego, por la tarde, al día siguiente. El primer día era olor a recién muerto ... y a mierda, obviamente, confirmado por la tripamenta aplastada (y vaciada a punta de tráfico pasándole por encima) un poco antes de la luz al lado de mi trabajo. Ese olor se me quedó pegado en la nariz el resto de la mañana.

Ya hoy la peste no es tanta, pero la pata de vaca sigue ahi. Me pregunto si los gusanos ya la habrán agarrado, si dispondrán de la piel (y el pelaje), dejando la figura al hueso ... o si el sol estará disecando esa pieza solitaria poco a poco, para dejarla como marcador semi-permanente de la dirección física de mi trabajo.

La vaca era marrón.



UPDATE (13:05PM): Ya retiraron la pata de vaca de la carretera. :-( Ya no hay pata de vaca para que la gente llegue aqui. So many lost people...

An introduction ...

I have this knack for beginning things and not give them their fair conclusion. It happens mostly with what I write: blogs, short stories, poems, journals, diaries. This inconsistency might seem to most people like a surefire sign of a weak will, but I see it as an opportunity to reinvent and reassert myself with each beginning (such as this one).

However, I don't plan to completely ignore what I've written or created before. On the sidebar you may find links to other websites I've left my footprints on, such as MySpace, Facebook and Flickr. The ones on the sidebar are the ones I intend to keep current as long as I keep wishing to.

You may find my other (older) blogs if you follow the link to my profile. I don't expect to be updating those anytime soon, but you're welcome to look if you'd like to see some backstory to whatever happens here.

So, without further ado ...


:-)



PS: I forgot to point out that this blog will be bilingual (English & Spanish) ... and who knows, a smattering of French might seep through, since I'm learning the language.