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Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

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Arizona Law

2010-04-25T10:41:00.004-05:00

Haven't posted in a while, probably won't be back to posting regularly until I'm done with school. Anyway, here's a video that I think expresses just how crazy this Arizona law is.

I really don't think me complaining about it will do much, but I can support Stephen making fun of it.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - No Problemo

www.colbertnation.com

Fox News

Bones 100th episode

2010-04-09T09:46:00.006-05:00

So... last night wad the 100th episode of Bones. I had heard that it was gonna be a look at the first case Booth and Bones worked together before the pilot, but I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was what I consider the best episode of the show so far. This a re-cap with comments pretty much, so of course... there are spoilers.

It all started with the books Sweets is wrote about Booth and Bones in which he came to the conclusion that they were in love and that's why they worked so well. But he had a major factual error that of Bones of course had to point out. They had a case before what he believes was their first case working together and this of course means a flashback.

The case was interesting, but as it happens a lot of the times with Bones, the character interaction was much more interesting. We got to see Zach again and remember how clueless he and Bones used to be about anything not science related, how Angela started working with them, how Hodgings and Zach's experiments started out... and how Booth and Bones have been hot for each other since they first met. She asked him if he was seeing anyone, he said he'd ask her out if he could, she said it was a shame he couldn't. He had to fire her and got drunk to do so and they kissed under the rain. Sweets' reactions and expression at this whole story were priceless and I think they represented the viewer amazingly well.
So they kissed, but Bones decided not to go home with him because they were drunk. They solve the case but they fight, she slaps him and storms away saying she'll never work with him again. Sweets says they missed their moment and have been punishing each other for it.

Then comes the best part of the episode. Booth's face when Bones tells Sweets "We're not in love with each other," said it all without words, pretty much, he's in love with her. Sweets says that one of them has to be the one to give in and that it has to be Booth because he's the gambler. Seeing that scene and that silence... you almost believed for a second that he was gonna do it but he just suggests food.

Before I could get frustrated, though... they're outside and this happens:
(I had a description but I think it's better to see it).

You know she's just scared and would rather have him as a partner always there than risk him not loving her in the future. You know he knows this and despite being more than hurt that she rejected him, he'll stick with her because he loves her. It's the same, but it's different at the same time. She's made a lot of progress over the season, becoming less cold, more human but she's never been as close to anyone as she is to Booth and that is a scary thought for her. I think this shows she's getting closer though. When you see the tears in her eyes and almost breaking down as she feared he was gonna say they couldn't work together, you can tell.

Some people hated this but I loved it. It felt sincere, it felt natural, it made sense and it wasn't forced. You can see the thinking behind it even if you wanna tell her to get over it already. It didn't feel like they're just stalling to get people to watch or to get more episodes in, it felt like it's not meant to be yet, but it will be.

This was brilliantly written, and the actors did an amazing job at portraying it. David did an amazing job directing and the whole thing just made me want to watch all the old episodes again, as well as be even more excited about the ones to come. This is why this is my favorite show. I'm gonna go watch the pilot now :)

Edited to add:

I watched the pilot and another few episodes again, and I'm loving this episode even more now. This fits with who Booth and Bones are. He's brave and would do anything for her, she's analytical and won't make a decision unless she has all the facts. I've also remembered moments on the series that fit with this episode, such as that Christmas kiss, it's awesome.
I think it was very brave to have this scene and have all that had gone unspoken for such a long time to come up to the surface, risking the chemistry and a huge part of the show, and I think they did it brilliantly. They gave us what we wanted and didn't do anything that would damage what they have like we were afraid of.

You start out with one thing...

2010-04-07T21:15:00.005-05:00

I got some cute photos of Robbie today and I thought I'd share.

This made my morning today. They're getting so big and I miss them so much, that I always love seeing photos of them, specially with Robbie looking so awesome in that bike and wearing the Queen shirt that I bought him, (I was singing Somebody to Love today in my car like an insane person, lol).

The last few days have been weird because I've been doubting myself a lot and just being really harsh and negative towards myself so it's really good to have something that actually cheers me up. I'm aware how much that sounds like I'm just calling for attention or wanting someone to say all these things to make me feel better, but I swear I'm not.
It's just been a difficult week for me and I need to accept those emotions and try to deal with them because otherwise it'll get worse in the long run. I'm trying to be better at dealing with myself when I get like that and not call attention to it, like staying away from twitter, just because I feel like I'm annoying people around me when I talk about feeling that way. My defense mechanism is to be silly and not take myself to seriously because it's the easiest way to stop obsessing. It's just easier for me to concentrate on random things and to try and get over myself than actually admitting how bad I feel about myself sometimes.

It's getting better, though. The small things cheer me up, it just takes a lot longer to get out of this mood than to get into it. And I'm sorry.... this started out as a kiddie post and it ended up in a rant, I guess I'm feeling a lot more than I thought, lol. This helped a little bit too.

To be or not to be... green?

2010-04-02T08:35:00.003-05:00

This post is slightly preachy, so be warned!

So yesterday I hadn't slept too well and I decided not to go to my first class and it was a good decision but I was also glad for another reason.
The last few classes that particular professor has been discussing environmental laws here in the States and this of course led to the talk about global warming. He was trying to explain that there have been crazes like this every few years, (for example, the hole in the ozone layer) and that there are more things affecting the climate than we think. He went on to talk about solar spots and how they affect us, and to explain how if the poles melt the water level will go down instead of up, (because water expands when it's frozen) and how we just think that we've never had this type of heat before because we're not used to it since we have air conditioning, (apparently when there wasn't you'd grow used to it during the summer).

I'll admit that I was sitting there mostly shaking my head at most of what he said but I guess I have to respect different opinions. It doesn't mean it didn't bug me when he said, "Well, think about the size of the sun compared to the Earth and wonder if the emissions from your car really have more effect in our climate."

I mean, really? Okay, so you don't believe in global warming, but is that really a reason to not care at all? It just sounded like he was saying that we can go back to being wasteful because it's not us changing the climate. I couldn't disagree more.

Let's pretend for a moment that there's no scientific proof of the water levels rising, or that the four stations are no longer limited as they used to be, or that after the clean air laws the air has become considerably easier to breathe and there's practically no smog (unless you live in California)... is that really an excuse to not care at all?

I'm not saying everyone should go 100% green. I'd be a hypocrite because I'm not that way, myself and sadly, a lot of environmentally friendly products are expensive. But it seems to me that there's little things we can all do. I don't think it's really that hard to put your plastic bottle on the recycling bin instead of the trash, or try to buy notebooks or papers that are made from recycled materials. It's definitely not that hard to pick an eco-friendly light bulb at the store or buy re-usable sponges instead of paper towels. Or maybe get a water filter and buy a reusable bottle instead of buying bottled water every time we go out.

Not everyone has to do everything... I, for instance, can't get into carpooling because I don't like depending on someone else to get to school and back home. But I do have a power strip where all my chargers are and I turn it off every time I leave the house. There's really no good service for recycling in my neighborhood, but there is at school. And some have benefits too... like Music for Relief, if I wanna give a cool gift to someone I can buy a shirt at their store and now that the proceeds are helping.

I just think it's irresponsible to be wasteful just because we can.

Catching up

2010-03-19T10:34:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. I was off for spring break last week and I didn't wanna do anything that required effort, lol. I know a lot of people use their holidays to go out and whatnot... but I spent all my days at school or work and when I have time off I just wanna relax and worry about nothing.

This week has been alright, felt even more tiring than usual since I was coming back from break, but it was okay. I did well in two of the tests I took before the break and not too well on another, but I was kinda expecting it with that class because honestly, that professor doesn't teach at all.

My jaw is finally feeling better now that I have the guard to put in my mouth when I sleep. It feels pretty weird, but I think it's working. I'm not in pain all the time like I used to be, which is amazing for me. Sometimes if I do a weird movement or if I'm eating anything to hard to chew on, it'll hurt a little but not nearly as bad as before I started the treatment.

I got my tax return and I spent it very well! I bought a cam for Andy and a new cam from myself. It's the one that's a few posts down and I quite like it. I'm still getting used to it and I'm looking forward to take some cool photos with it whenever I get a chance. I bought tickets to see Jeff Dunham this July which has me very excited! I love this guy and I can't wait to see him live!

I also put some money into my savings so I can have a good amount of money when I go to Venezuela this year. My dad already has the tickets so all I need to do is get my papers in order... I have to go get a new passport at the consulate soon, and those savings might go to that first, I guess we'll have to see.
I'm also planning to pay the interests from my school loan as soon as I can. Thankfully, I still got some left after all of that so maybe I'll buy myself something cool this weekend.

I changed my layout because I really liked the design. It's not 3 columns like I usually like lately, but I quite like it.

Jon on Chatroulette (a must see!)

2010-03-05T14:30:00.001-06:00

I have tears in my eyes from laughing at this:

Tech-Talch - Chatroulette

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Health Care Reform

Current car playlist

2010-02-25T16:49:00.003-06:00

These are the songs I currently have on the CD I play when I drive. A little too much Lady Gaga for someone I know, lol.

Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
Serious - Scars on Broadway
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Volver a Creer - Entrenos
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga
Glory - Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
26 lettaz in da alphabet - Mmm... Cookies
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
Across the Line - Linkin Park
Silverflame - Dizzy Mizz Lizzy
So Happy I Could Die - Lady Gaga
Babylon - Scars on Broadway
Somebody to Love - Queen
Me Enamora - Juanes
Get It - Styles of Beyond
Re-Education (Through Labor) - Rise Against
There They Go - Fort Minor
Lockjaw - Mike Shinoda
World Long Gone - Scars on Broadway

Krwling at the Olympics

2010-02-23T17:04:00.002-06:00

So last night my mom screams at me from downstairs to put on the Olympics because these ice skaters are dancing to Linkin Park for their free dance. It was pretty cool but I couldn't find a video from their performance last night, so here's a video from the exact same routine at another competition:

I want!

2010-02-19T09:42:00.004-06:00

I don't know if it happens to you, but there's always a cool gadget out there that I wanna buy. When I buy one, I automatically want a new one, lol.
So for a few months it had been that I wanted to upgrade my phone and all, and now I've got my blackberry and I could not love it more. It's seriously amazing, I get all my emails there, I can get on the internet, I can tweet, I can get on MSN... it's perfect to feed my addiction to being online.

Now that I have a new awesome phone, I want a new camera, lol. Well, to be fair, it didn't start out like that. See, I wanted to get Andy a new camera because the one she has is totally fucked. I mean, it takes pictures fine and all but sometimes it's a pain to download the photos and all and sometimes the battery doesn't charge, etc.

So I started looking for a good camera for her, just to know what was out there and all, not to buy it right away. And then I thought... well, maybe I can give her my camera and get one for myself. You know, my camera is very cool and it's be good for her and all, it has video takes great pics... so I started looking for cameras more for myself than for Andy and I found one I really like. Then my dad tells me that he'd like to keep my camera because it'd be really good for his astronomy pics and all, so I was back to buying Andy her camera... until I actually started seeing the prices. Turns out that the prices of the camera I like for myself and the one I like for Andy are low enough that I think I can buy both when I get my tax return back and that way my dad, Andy and me all get new cameras! lol.

I know it might sound a little crazy but I seriously like the camera I saw for myself, my dad really likes my camera and I really want Andy to have a new cam because I miss my kiddies a lot and pics are a necessity, lol.

This is the cam I want:

It's very pretty, has double the MP my current one has and it's red! I mean... it's a Nikon which is an awesome brand, lol. No, seriously... it's a great price for the brand that it is and I can still afford the camera to give to Andy, so this is the gadget I want right now!

Temporomandibular joint disorder

2010-02-17T19:51:00.002-06:00

So I had been in enough pain over the last few weeks that I finally agreed to go to the dentist to get my jaw checked. My mom and dad have been trying to get me to go ever since I came back from my summer holiday in Venezuela when the pain first started.

My dad got me the appointment for today and he was supposed to take me and my mom, but then he got caught up on something and I ended up driving but my mom and I got lost and we barely made it on time. So I went in and the dental assistant asked me all the typical questions about when the pain started, when it hurts the most, does it hurt when I do this or that, etc. She asked me to open and close my mouth a couple of times and that hurt a little, she said she could feel my jaw popping and clicking which didn't sound good to me at all!

So she called the doctor and he asked me a bunch of other questions and then he started to examine me. He made me open my mouth (ouch), and saw inside first and all, and then he had me open and made pressure with his fingers so I'd open wider (quadruple ouch) and then he had me open and close my mouth a bunch of times (ouch again) so he could feel my jaw popping as well, and finally pressed with his fingers on every single area that I had told him hurt, (FUCKITY OUCH, WTF?!)

He figured out I have Temporomandibular joint disorder. You can go there to see what it's about but it's pretty much a problem with the joint in my jaw. All the muscles around it are super sore and sensitive and that's why it hurts so bad. I have almost every single symptom listen in there, man, it sucks!

So they took an impression of my teeth (the top teeth are awful! You seriously feel like you're gonna throw up and the whole sensation is absolutely horrible), and they're gonna give me a mouth guard to wear at night to see if that helps. He said he wants to do this before he decides to give me muscle relaxants, and even that doesn't work, he knows another doctor who he can send me to if I don't improve at all.

It was good to know what I had, but the rest of the day sucked ass. I cried my eyes out as I left just because the pain in my jaw was so bad after that exam. My jaw and my head throbbed the entire day and not even pain killers helped all that much. I seriously felt miserable the entire day and I just wanted to come home and cuddle under the covers but I had a quiz (in which I don't think I did all that well to be honest, just because my mind was somewhere else). Also, I seriously regret not having skipped my second class because I was miserable and it was a serious waste of time.

It still hurts right now, had to eat something soft for dinner but I took a pain killer a bit ago, and I'm hoping that will help me and that I feel better tomorrow. I need at least one good day this week. Please?

Ice

2010-02-15T21:02:00.003-06:00

I don't even know if I have much to write. I just feel like blowing off some steam somehow.

Today was my first meeting with one of my groups for my group projects. To begin, I don't know one person on the team, I know it's how it works in the real world but it's not a pleasant thing to work with people you don't know.

To follow that up, they came up with an idea I don't really like but they insisted it was good and didn't really listen to what I said and I didn't feel like arguing because god, it was 4 and it was snowing and I just wanted to get home to be honest. And went I put forward another idea, they rejected it right away and it felt like my opinion didn't matter so I didn't participate much for the rest of the meeting. I have a feeling that I'm just gonna do what they ask of me in that group to get the project done and that's it. It's all documentation anyway and as long as I go to the meetings and do what they need, it should be fine.

So, I was walking to my car, freezing my butt off because it had snowed and the breeze was terrible and of course, I slipped on the ice and fell because I was already feeling down so something needed to be added to that, lol. So I didn't think it was that bad at the time, because my foot when forward and my other knee hit the ground and I had a lamp post to hold on to... but right now it's pretty swollen and it hurts quite a bit despite the pain killers. I hope it'll be better tomorrow, I seriously don't want a painful bruise on that knee that tends to hurt anyway.

So yeah, I don't know what that was but it felt like an odd day after noon. I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. I have a lot of work to do the next few days with a paper and the part of the project that was assigned to me so there will be a lot of writing for me. Thank god my job is flexible enough to allow me time to do stuff like that, otherwise I don't know what I would do.

I just reviewed my mom's homework (that always makes me smirk, lol), wrote a message to someone that's been putting up with my clinginess for a few days and I'm gonna head to bed. Hopefully, the weirdness ends tonight at some point, lol.

Carnaval! (with kiddie pics!!!)

2010-02-12T19:36:00.004-06:00

I'm go glad it's Friday. I had a snow day on Monday and even so the week felt extremely long. I feel super tired today.

Thankfully I'm sleeping better so I don't feel tired all the time and just at the end of the day. I managed to sleep better by going to bed crazy early and allowing myself time to relax until I fall asleep. Before I was getting to bed just in time to get the minimum amount of sleep I needed and it took me forever to fall asleep so I woke up feeling like I hadn't rested enough.

I do feel tired at the end of the day and my muscles hurt a little from all the walking but I think that's normal. I think my classes are more demanding this semester and I have more projects and things to work on. I think also the cold weather affects my mood a lot and I just don't have the same energy... it's so ugh, when I have to get up isn't even out. But maybe that's just me being soooo sick of winter and wanting the cold to go away and spring to get here already. I'm going out shopping with my mom tomorrow so hopefully that will help me relax a bit.

Anyway, enough rambling. Here are some pics of Robbie and Isa. In Venezuela every year we celebrate carnaval. Here's the definition from wikipedia:

festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, masque and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life.

In Venezuela the kids dress up and usually have a party at school or go out with their parents (although with the current situation people usually don't really go out). People also play lots of pranks with water balloons, I got soaked at least twice while I attended high school and got into a few awesome battles with my friends at the tennis club. It's a very cool holiday and we get two days off school and work!
Anyway, the point of all that boring explanation was to show you Isa and Robbie dressed as a princess and a prince!

Winter Photos

2010-02-04T15:15:00.002-06:00

I posted some of these on Twitpic already but I'm seriously bored so I thought I'd post them here. These are the ones I like the most from all the photos I took between Friday and Saturday when we got our snow/ice storm.

This is a tree outside my mom's window and here it was starting to melt because it was completely frozen. I love the combination of the ice covering it with the water drops forming. It was a great light for photos.

These are some trees behind a house across the street. I know you can't see it perfectly, but they were completely covered in ice and that's why the light looks so pretty over them.

This is a bush that's next to our entrance. It was completely frozen and it fact it had melted a little already in this photo. I think it looks beautiful.

And this is our lamp post. This photo was early Friday afternoon so it actually got more ice and snow than this but it not look nearly as pretty as this.

Australian Open Champion 2010!

2010-01-31T13:57:00.004-06:00

He won! Look at that smile!

So I haven't blogged much about the Australian Open except for the fashion on the women's side because I didn't wanna jinx Roger, so I've just followed his matches and rooted for him, but now I get to celebrate! He beat Andy Murray in a pretty good final today :)
He was playing at 2:30am this morning, but I went to bed because I hadn't seen his matches much this tournament and I was afraid of bringing him bad luck considering how Murray has been playing, but I woke up at 5:10 and I knew I wasn't going to sleep until I checked the results, so I got online on my blackberry, and saw that they hadn't finished playing so I got to watch him win and receive the trophy. Then I went back to sleep and woke up to watch the match with my parents. He looked great and played really well even when he was down in the third set.
Andy was definitely tense and he looked like he wasn't feeling all that great, but I think he has it in him to win a major in the future, I just hope it's not against Roger, lol.

So over the past few days Schumi has been on my newly created (and slightly lame) fan girl corner, because I'm super excited that he's back to Formula 1. I was all depressed about not liking Ferrari anymore now that they have Alonso but I have a team thanks to Schumi, who turned me into a Mercedes girl, specially now that he'll be teaming up with Ross Brawn again...

But now I'm gonna change it to Rog for winning the first Grand Slam of the year. Go Fed!

Measuring up.

2010-01-27T19:35:00.004-06:00

I feel like rambling about teachers today. I know I'm on the first few weeks of class and my opinion might change, but first impressions have a lot of weight. I know it's not very interesting but I was talking about it with a classmate earlier and I just feel like writing about it.

I have a bit of everything this semester. I have the typical PhD student who reads off the power point, but unlike teachers I've had in the past, he actually adds valuable information and doesn't just read and go along forever. He explains what he has to explain and then adds stuff and examples from real life that help a lot in explaining what he's saying. I like his style because he's presenting the information very clearly.

I have another teacher that does not use visual aids at all. I mean he stands there for an hour and twenty five minutes rambling on. Not only that, but he takes off on these long, boring explanations that make you forget the point he was trying to make in the first place. I've seriously have had trouble keeping up with anything he says because he just never reaches a conclusion, he just seems to ramble on and on and just not get to the freaking point and it's very frustrating.

One of the other teachers has started "teaching" on the third class. The first two classes were a total waste of time, with him talking about random stuff that didn't really have anything to do with the introduction he's supposed to be giving, and he goes on tangents about whatever pops into his head and doesn't really talk about what he needs to talk about. It bugs me because he just jumps over the important stuff which means I'm gonna have to learn the stuff by myself and that just makes me feel like I'm wasting my time during his class and then wasting even more time trying to understand what he should be explaining to me.

And my last teacher I think is my favorite, only female professor this semester. She also uses the power points but she uses them very well. She's had a lot of experience and gives a lot of examples and applications of the principles she's explaining. She's also very dynamic and manages to not bore me to death even though the class is at a seriously weird hour. She's funny and even though the first few chapters have been very basic, she has managed to keep it interesting and she's also very helpful on pointing out where and how you can run into this in the business world.

Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor

2010-01-25T10:22:00.003-06:00

I don't usually post things in Spanish but I've been listening to Juanes a lot lately and remembering how much I love him. I think this song is good even if you don't understand the lyrics. Also, he's super cute... even if I like him a lot better with his short hair.

Australian Open Fashion

2010-01-23T11:13:00.008-06:00

I've been tweeting about it a bit, but I decided to make a blog post about it. I don't like women's tennis at all and I think I've mentioned that before, I think it's slow and just not as interesting as the male side even if it has improved lately.

What I do love is to see what the female players are wearing and criticize it (I need something mindless to blog about to relax a little, lol.) Now, I don't talk much about fashion but I went through so many changes while I played tennis in terms of what we wore. At first it was matchy-matchy outfits like skirts with the shirt and what not. There was another time when I wore lycra shorts and oversized t-shirts, I went through a period where it was all dresses, then I changed to like male shorts with tighter shirts, then pleated skirts with oversized shirts, and now... whatever I can find, lol.

Most players will choose one outfit design and wear it through the entire tournament, at most changing the colors but even so it's hard to find good pictures of the outfits where the players aren't making weird faces when they hit, lol.

So here are some of the outfits this year.

I usually don't like what Serena is wearing because she goes way too over the top sometimes, but I actually like her dress this year. I think the cut is kinda pretty and I love the color.

One of my favorite players right now is Dinara Safina (I had a huge crush on his brother, he recently stopped playing) but she's usually on the simple side and this time is no different. It's a cute outfit but I'd wish she'd change her style a little sometimes. Those shoes are awesome, though, I wore something similar for many years.

The definite worse this is year is Maria Sharapova, who always has very fashion forward looks but she definitely missed the mark on this one. It is ugly and unflattering. My mom said she was happy she lost in first round or we would have had to see this every match:

Now here are the two I've seen that I like the most so far. This Caroline Wozniacki, a danish player that has been coming up lately. She plays really well and I think her dress is pretty and kind of original. It looks very comfortable and the cut is very flattering.

And my definite favorite is Jelena Jankovic. She's a serb player and she usually has some very cute dresses when the plays, I think she's really into fashion and looking good even when she's playing. I love the colors on this, I think the skirt is super sweet and it moves really well when she's playing.

Keith said this was B-, I give it an A

2010-01-22T17:15:00.001-06:00

Special Comment - Keith Olbermann's Name-Calling

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Strawberry Lollipop

2010-01-22T12:51:00.004-06:00

I'm eating a strawberry lollipop to see if my issues come from a lack of sugar, lol.

It's been a weird day today. Well, truth be told I've been sensitive since yesterday and I have no idea why. I don't know if it's because I'm not sleeping well or if my hormones are playing tricks on me... but it's seriously annoying.

Yesterday I felt seriously bad with some misunderstanding there was in the office with the renting of the rooms we have for meetings and how a girl that came in here treated me, even though I know she had every right to be upset. And then I got upset when I told a couple of people and they didn't agree with me.

Today, I've been insanely hard on myself feeling like a complete idiot just for a few silly things that any other day I would have laughed off and ignored. I've felt stupid, clumsy, uncreative and useless and a whole lot more stuff on a very short period of time. I have no idea how to stop this mood but totally sucks. Maybe I should stay away from people for a bit because it's not really their fault that I'm taking things way too seriously at the moment.

I mean, seriously... I'm even upset about not watching the Australian Open. I mean, I love tennis, but the difference with Australia is like 15 hours and I'm obviously gonna miss some matches and it makes no sense that it'd be upset about it, specially right now in the early rounds. But I was yesterday because I couldn't even catch the re-run of Roger's match and then when it was live I barely paid any attention at all. I don't get it.

I just don't like so many negative feelings and emotions because those are really had to push away sometimes. It's so much easier to focus on the bad and the ugly that changing your attitude takes a lot of work. I think it might be the stress of getting back into the routine and trying to figure myself out that's got me on a negative mindset but I hope it passes by quickly because it's seriously draining.

Dave Gahan is love

2010-01-22T09:17:00.003-06:00

So I changed the layout of the blog, the other one was boring me a little. This looks alright but it's not convincing me too much just yet.

Class started alright, I got one teacher who's insanely boring, one that's completely insane and two that are pretty cool, so hopefully the semester will turn out to be alright. It will surely be a ton of work, though. I have group projects, tests, assignments and a whole bunch of stuff to do a lot of the time, so I'll be busy.

I haven't been sleeping well, though. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and I've also been getting some seriously bad headaches out of nowhere and I have no idea what that's all about. I hope it's not migraines like my grandmother because hers get bad enough that she can't leave the bed for a day or two.

I feel like sharing music today so you must watch this for me. I don't know why I haven't share this song before but I absolutely love it.

Family pic of the moment and Download to Donate

2010-01-19T13:04:00.004-06:00

I needed to add this one too... so adorable and awesome. Rock on!

And here's Robbie on his Queen shirt:

Also, please check this out:

MFR: How to help Haiti

2010-01-15T10:15:00.001-06:00

We have all heard about the horrible tragedy on Haiti, so to do my tiny part, I share with you this from Music For Relief's website.

A 7.0 earthquake recently struck Haiti, leaving an estimated 45-50 thousand people dead and another 3 million homeless or injured. Please help out in any or all of the following ways:

• Text RELIEF to 90999 to make a $5 donation via the MFR mobile campaign
• Donate to MFR online via paypal, HERE
• Use Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and email to spread the word

Please read the BLOG for more information...

I'm back, baby!

2010-01-15T09:55:00.005-06:00

I've been back at work since monday and I had my first two classes yesterday... it's being a little odd.

It's hard getting up so early again but my schedule is really good this semester so I really can't complain. What I can complain about is the weather. It's been freaking freezing in Memphis the past two weeks and we even got snow a couple of days even if it wasn't enough to make things all pretty for photos. Thankfully, it looks like it's warming up all around, except for my office which is like a tiny cooler, lol.

My classes look pretty interesting this semester, so even if I'm gonna be buried in work, I should at least learn a lot about my actual career. I also tried to get more organized at the beginning of the semester, because I know myself enough to know how much I'll procrastinate... but hopefully I can do that without driving myself insane with stress.

Yesterday, my family got the package I sent them and they were all super happy with the present. The clothes for the kiddies were a little big, but I prefer it that way because otherwise they grow out of it really fast. Robbie was wearing his spiderman pj's last night and Isa was wearing her Dora ones. I can't wait to see photos of Robbie wearing his Queen shirt. Of course, who knows when that will happen because the computer at home is fucked and Andy can't even upload photos to Facebook. I haven't even been able to see photos from their trip to the beach, which sucks!

Also, I'm not sure I'm a fan of Mike's longer hair. I mean I like it like this:

But I did not like this look on the photo the LPU posted yesterday.

I guess I'll always be a fan of him with a mowhawk and he just doesn't look that good with any other haircut in my humble opinion.

I'm in a good mood today but just slightly annoyed because I probably have to spend like 500 on books this semester or at least around 400 if I manage to get them used and it just annoys me to no end that textbooks are so expensive. It almost makes me not want to buy any of them and just work my way thanks to the internet and friends with books. Sucks that I'm way too much of a good student for that.

Oh, I'm also super happy because my sister got a job yesterday and it looks like it's gonna be pretty good and I'm super excited for her. I think it was the right decision for her to move to Colombia and it seems like she and Juan are very happy. I'm also excited about her wedding because it's like the first actual wedding I'll attend and Juan's mom is probably gonna make a huge deal of it and it should be so much fun! I already have a dress in mind and I'm really hoping I can get it, because after that all I'll need is to start practicing so I can survive the night on high heels because I'm a total sneaker slut.

The Daily Show: Haiti Earthquake Reactions

2010-01-15T09:36:00.002-06:00

Haiti Earthquake Reactions

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

My top 10 movies of the decade

2010-01-03T21:06:00.003-06:00

My mom just called me and asked for help making up her list of her top ten movies of the decade so here's mine. These are in no particular order. Now, I'm no movie critic and these are just movies I enjoyed immensely and they are by no means classic or anything, but they were good in my personal opinion. I've seen Transformers turn up in a bunch of worsts lists and it bugs me because it's like people don't know what to expect when they go to a movie like that.

Moulin Rouge: I adore this movie. I think it's romantic and very entertaining and I can sign most of the songs from memory at this point. It's a great romantic story, it's sweet and I can watch it a million times over.

Bourne Ultimatum: I love each and every movie of this franchise, but this one was by far the best. Amazing fight scenes, great action through the movie and a little hope at the end. It didn't hurt that it had a hot venezuelan actor called Edgar Ramirez.

Dark Knight: When superhero movies became serious and seriously awesome. I have always been a superman girl but this movie is absolutely amazing. It deserved all the hype it got and more.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Like I said, people criticize this movie a lot. I take it for what it is. A film with a bunch of explosions and in that aspect, it rocks. I love Optimus and I love Bumblebee, I love the soundtrack, I love Sam and I love this movie.

The Prestige: This is the definition of an intense, weird but excellent movie. It's crazy and confusing, but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The acting of everyone in the cast is absolutely unbelievable.

Futurama: Bender's Game: It was pretty lame that Fox canceled this great show, but the DVD movies were great. This one was my favorite by far since it had both the most interesting story and the most laughs.

Garden State: This is a chessy romantic story, but the way it's told is very real and very sincere. I loved this movie the first time I watched it and I freak out every time it's on tv.

The Italian Job: The cast of this movie is amazing, and I love any movie where there's a plot with lots of planning to see if the pieces fir together in the end. And come on... mini coopers kicking ass, I'm in!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl: This is my favorite of the trilogy because it was unexpected, sweet, funny and interesting. Johnny kills as Jack and I will always have a soft spot for Will.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone: I was a fan of the books way before the movies came out and seeing this movie was amazing. It does great justice to the book being very sweet and entertaining. I know some of the other ones have been too, like prisoner of azkaban and half-blood prince, but this one will always be my fave.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T12:19:00.004-06:00

I'm starting the year off with a new layout. I had liked the other one at first but I got really sick of it, really fast. This one is much more clean and simple and I'm obsessed with the combination of red and black lately, so it's perfect.

Last night was pretty good, we ate lots of food and laughed a lot. I felt a little out of place here and there just because everyone is a lot older than me and you know with jobs, and kids and all... and the only one who is closer to my age is Josh, Abe's brother and we don't know each other very well and we didn't talk much. But in the end, it was a good night and we received the year happy, I made my new year wishes and I was feeling pretty good about how I looked until this morning when I saw some of the pics my dad took, lol.

I think 2010 is gonna be a good year. Now, I don't make resolutions because I think a lot of people set themselves up for failure with the things they promise... but I do hope to change some things this year. I hope to be a little more active, specially with my tennis when the weather allows, I hope to keep getting good grades, I hope to maybe eat just a tiny bit better but still spoil myself when I feel like it... and one that will make a few of my friends very happy.... I hope to be a safer driver.

Now, here are some pics from last night.

Our Christmas tree, which I hadn't shown you:

Me:

Mom, dad and me:

The entire group:

Hallacas :)

2009-12-22T09:40:00.003-06:00

My mom and I are making hallacas today. Wikipedia says:

In Venezuelan cuisine, an hallaca (alt. spelling, "hayaca") typically involves a mixture of beef, pork, chicken, capers, raisins, and olives wrapped in maize (cornmeal dough), bound with string within plantain leaves, and boiled or steamed afterwards.

I know that sounds like a lot of crazy ingredients but they're really good. It's pretty much a somewhat soft corn dough outside and it has beef, pork, chicken and all that stuff listed up there. They tend to vary in different parts of the country and even between families, but they're delicious.
My mom and I are making them today with beef only, adding the olives and the raisins. We're making a few with chicken in a few days, I think.

Now, in Venezuela, this is a whole Christmas tradition. Usually the women of the family get together in the beginning of the december to make them to last all the way until january. It's a ton of work because you have to prepare the beef, pork or chicken, you have to clean out and pick the plantain leaves and then you have to assemble each hallaca, and keep in mind that some families make over a 100 in one day.
It is also very fun because all the family gets together and all. Eli and Abe's mom are coming today to see how we make them and all, which is cool because this is one thing I miss a lot. I'm gonna be tweeting the process and probably posting some pics from my blackberry to show you all!

Check it out here, to see what they look like.

Bones Xmas Episode

2009-12-05T20:46:00.002-06:00

I can't wait to watch this:

And I'm totally with Angela, I'd love to help too!

December is here

2009-12-04T18:52:00.005-06:00

December is a weird month. I love Christmas and all the holidays, but at the same time the end of the semester in December is much worse than May. We get everything piled up before thanksgiving and we get everything piled up after thanksgiving so the entire thing is much more tiring... it feels like we have finals twice.

So today, to relax I took the time to change Shinoda Land's layout. This is what it looks like:

It's kinda simple, but I love it. The 3 columns make things a little less crowded and easier to navigate in my opinion. And I of course love the color... not only is it Christmas like but everything around me is red now. My backpack, my phone, mp3 player, glasses, I even changed my Windows colors to red like you see on the pic, (Windows 7 rocks, btw) lol... I'm in a red type of mood lately.
So I chose the red layout and ChesterDean helped me out with the banner, which looks amazing because it's a great pic of Mike and she did a great job with it.

Now, if you have talked to me lately, you know that my LP isn't at its highest right now but I think that's pretty normal and it has happened before. I'm getting some of the excitement back with the launch of LPU9.
I'm still not sold on DBS, though. I know that a couple of people got offended by my rant and about me not being to separate Chester the person from Chester the singer, and I've gotten better at that. I understand that no one is perfect and that his personal life is none of my business, but it's hard not to let it affect your opinion of the person. Even so, I've moved past that and I don't even care anymore, it's his life... but I'm just not interested in the music. I just like Chester's music better when it's been through a bit of the Shinoda magic touch, what can I do?

Anyway, moving along. I'm hoping to buy all the Christmas presents I wanna get people next week, so that should be kinda fun. I can't wait to buy stuff for Robbie and Isa :)

Thanksgiving Break

2009-11-29T18:07:00.003-06:00

I go back to the craziness tomorrow. It's been a nice couple of days and it's gonna be really weird going back to doing something, lol. Thankfully, it's the final stretch of the semester and I only got this week and then half of the next. After that finals and then work until the 18th.
I think I'm gonna do pretty well this semester but I still have some big projects coming up so I need to do well in those to make sure I get a good grade.

Thanksgiving dinner was at Abe's as usual and the food was delicious as usual as well. I spent quite a bit holding Isaac who slept on top of me like a little angel, so that was really sweet. The only thing was that I had a lot of trouble deciding what the hell I was gonna wear. I had a couple of ideas in mind and none of them worked so I went more simple and decided on this:

I like how it ended up looking and the only problem was that it ended being a little chilly but nothing too bad.

Oh yeah, on Wednesday I was supposed to go to the mall to pick up my glasses and my mom's and I also went with the ulterior motive to get a blackberry. See, I have wanted one forever but they're kinda expensive and my phone was not elegible for an upgrade, so I was resigned to not do it. But then Sprint had this offer where the phone was only 50$ and I kinda got hopeful again until we checked our plan and we couldn't do it. But then we checked my mom's phone and it was eligible for an upgrade and she told me she'd be willing to change her phone with me because she knew how much I wanted a blackberry. So we went and I got this:

And I'm completely in love with it. It has email and everything and it's perfect to feed my addictions because it has IM (yahoo, AIM, MSN) and the browser rocks so I can get to the forum. So... I love it and I love my mom for helping me get it lol.

And finally yesterday, I went to get my glasses and I absolutely looooove them. I wasn't sure when I had picked them because I had gone wanting something red but all the red-ish ones were ugly and these were sort of like the only option, which I chose because they were red on the inside... and I had forgotten what they looked like and I wasn't sure I'd like them anymore, but I love them and I think they look pretty good on me. Also, the different on my vision is huge and I'm seeing much, much better than I was which makes me very happy. They're definitely my favorite glasses I've ever chosen, even if I haven't had that many models.

I think they're awesome because the shape looks good and they look black from the outside so they go with anything... but I see them red from the inside which makes them really fun.

BR Muppets

2009-11-26T14:49:00.003-06:00

If you know me, you know how much I love Bohemian Rhapsody and I usually think it's impossible to match the awesomeness of the song, but this is pretty damn cool:

Happy thanksgiving everyone! I shall take pictures tonight at the family dinner and share them with y'all tomorrow.

Brick

2009-11-23T21:54:00.004-06:00

It was time for a change. I loved my old layout specially with the 3 columns and all, but I usually like darker colors in my blog, so... voila.
Good thing I chose one and it actually worked because I don't have time for absolutely anything lately and I would have just probably gone back to one of the blogger layouts if this one didn't look like I wanted it to. I have really no patience lately and at one point I just let things work out like they're gonna work out. I'm so drained with having something to do every day that even when I was trying to get over whatever sickness I got on friday I was worried about the things I had to do and wasn't doing.
I love how it looks, the 'brick' background looks great in my opinion and I love the splash of color in the header. I would love to work designing something like that in the future even if it's just in my spare time.

I got a new book case for my room and it actually helped the clutter quite a bit even if it's not that big, so my room is only a mess of clothes now instead of a mess of paper, books, notebooks, mail, etc, lol. I might take a pic and post it if I remember.

I'm exhausted so I'm headed to bed early. I'm excited 'cause I'm picking up my new glasses and if it all works out, maybe a new phone too. :)

Student Representative

2009-11-18T15:14:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited! I got chosen to be a student representative on a committee at school called The Teaching and Learning Technologies Advisory Committee. Pretty much I go to 3 meetings during the semester and discuss a bunch of things about technology on the teaching and learning environment and stuff like that. Doesn't that sound super geeky? And super awesome for me, lol!

I think it's a great opportunity and I'm super proud that I got invited, (thanks to a great recommendation from my amazing boss) and I'm feeling very good about myself for this. I usually think twice about singing on to anything because of how busy I am, but as soon as I saw this, I got excited about it and very interested in it. It's a gonna be a great experience, a great addition to my resume and a great chance for networking.

It's also very cool that I got a letter signed by the provost and the CIO, (Chief Information Officer who is the head of the information technology division which is the position I'll hopefully have one day somewhere, lol!)

Go me! :)

Just a little more nearsighted

2009-11-15T08:39:00.002-06:00

Hmmm, it's been awhile. School is so busy lately that I just don't have time to sit down and write and when I do, I'm too tired to think of something to write about, lol.
Thankfully, I only have about three and a half weeks left of class and then finals. Of course, these weeks are super busy, specially before thanksgiving break.

Well, yesterday I went to the optometrist, because even though according to the doctor I saw in January my myopia was the same, I was not seeing the board well at school. I almost didn't go because the insurance wasn't gonna cover my appointment because I already had one this year, but I knew I didn't need to and in fact it grew quite a bit specially on my right eye. It makes a lot of sense because I was also having trouble reading, so hopefully that will be fixed with the new glasses. It's the first time since I've had glasses that I had to order my lenses. Usually my correction is small enough and common enough that they have it in the store, but they didn't so I have to wait ten days to get them.

It was hard picking a frame but I finally settled on a black one that my mom and I liked. I love that they have red on the inside, because I really wanted them to be all red but they didn't have any like that. Now my mp3 player, glasses and the new awesome backpack I bought yesterday will all be red, lol. Now I just need a red blackberry because my phone is bright green, lol!

For Fox Sake!

2009-10-30T14:22:00.001-05:00

This illustrates the picture I posted the other day so well:

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

For Fox Sake!

And this one is a little older, but it does too:

Fox News: The New Liberals

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Weird day

2009-10-29T21:01:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was awesome. I slept well, I went to class, and everything. Then when I got to the office I talked to my dad and I was very happy to find a really good deal and ordered the new laptop I was saving up for. I was gonna wait until I had the money, but they were having a daylight savings sale and I got 15% and free shipping. Look at it, isn't it pretty?

Anyway... I saved $78 with the sale plus 20 on the shipping. And also I got a better processor that I would have gotten if I'd bought it directly at the store so in reality a laptop that would have been over $750 ended up being around $490. I'm very happy with that and I can't wait until it gets here Wednesday.

Then my access project was postponed for next week and I was super excited about that. I went out with my mom and found 2 shirts at $3 each! So it was all in all a great day.

The today... it didn't start well. I woke up with the sound of the garage door being opened as my dad left. I frowned because it seemed early... and when I looked at my phone... I had overslept for over an hour and a half. It was 7:20, I had class at 8 and they were giving back out test and attendance was mandatory! Showered quickly, didn't even have breakfast. Traffic was even worse than usual because it was raining... and of course I had to take most of my books today so I had to walk in the rain with my bag extra heavy today.

I got a good grade on my test but as I was walking back to work... It was pouring and I do mean pouring rain! I got completely soaked, my jeans and boots got really wet and I was super uncomfortable and cold for the rest of the day.

Then I forgot about this thing that I had been looking forward since last week and realized my mistake too late. I'm super bummed about that because it was a great opportunity and I'm so clueless sometimes... but I guess there's not much I can do.

I have a test tomorrow and I'm feeling pretty good about it, so hopefully tomorrow will be a little better than today.

Oh and I'm totally in love with these boots:

I need some new boots for the cold because I don't really like the pair that I have right now, so I'm getting these next month. I promised myself I wasn't gonna buy more clothes but this is totally different, lmao!

Procedural Dramas

2009-10-29T20:58:00.002-05:00

I used to love CSI and watch a ton of that type of shows, so I found myself nodding a lot with this article. Especially this part:

“Bones”
If “NCIS” is the best of CBS’s procedural dramas, “Bones” is the best procedural, period. Like “NCIS,” “Bones” has found that success lies in capitalizing on the supporting cast. The audience can appreciate every character on “Bones” because they are well written and amusing, and somehow manage to make terms like “calcium hydroxylapatite” pertinent to us. By focusing on the characters and their relationships, the hour feels more personable than any that CBS brings us. Plus, there’s always the guarantee of gross-out shots of decaying bodies!
The main draw of the show, however, is the sexual tension between Brennan (Emily Deschenal) and Booth (David Boreanaz), both of whom work the longing stare and hidden smiles well enough to create the best will-they-won’t-they dynamic this side of Ross and Rachel.
Bottom line: If you watch one procedural this season, let it be “Bones.” (Just don’t watch while eating dinner. You will lose your appetite.)

Which one is it gonna be?

2009-10-27T19:03:00.001-05:00

Just for clarification, if you live in the states and you watch Fox News... this is a representation of what most replubicans are calling Obama... he can't be all of those.

Isaac Aaron :)

2009-10-20T12:47:00.002-05:00

My friends Eli and Abe, who are pretty much our family here in Memphis, had their second baby boy yesterday at noon. He's a very healthy and very cute boy and we were all very excited to meet him yesterday. Both the baby and Eli are doing great.
I went to the hospital last night to meet him and he looks just like his brother Daniel when he was born. My mom got to hold him and they told us everything about it, like Abe was pretty sure it was a boy because he'd seen something on one of the ecos.
People like my sister don't like babies when they're so tiny because they think they might hurt them and whatnot, but I love them. It's too much cuteness.
When I walked over to the little crib the first thing Abe told me was, 'Another one to babysit.' lol.

Welcome to the family Isaac!

Best PSA ever.

2009-10-14T17:47:00.001-05:00

Just because I love LP, doesn't mean I have to love DBS

2009-10-10T09:31:00.002-05:00

I'd been wanting to post about this for a while, but I just hadn't had the time.

Here's the thing. I'm not excited about DBS. I was when I first heard of it and I thought it was cool we'd get to listen to some new music from Chester and I loved Let Down... but now, I'm not even gonna buy the CD. I seriously wanted to find as much info on the band as possible and couldn't wait to hear the music and then I just stopped caring. In fact, I had talked about this with my friend Sadie and with Mickey, and I was just like, 'I don't have to love it just because Chester is involved.'

The first thing is that the songs just haven't caught my attention. The day I saw the webcast for the epicenter, I seriously got up to brush my teeth when DBS came out. I'm not excited about the songs, and even though I know Chester sounds amazing because he's a very talented singer, I just don't wanna go and hear the rest of the songs that are out there.

This could be because of how this whole thing has changed my opinion of Chester, from rolling my eyes so many times at Talinda's twitter that I had to unfollow her, to the little things that seemed so fake and manufactured simply to show off, to the small things that disappoint, like Chester laughing on the KROQ interview as he said, "I was divorcing this person that I hate and she took my house and my money..." it just makes me cringe. I seriously didn't like Sam at all, and her twitter had the opposite effect in me, making me see that she's a great person and to hear him say something like that on an interview it's just, ugh, like I said disappointing. I never assumed that Chester was perfect, but I guess I still had a different image of him in my head and the reality check has been a big one.

And then yesterday Ryan and Amir twitted about Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, and even though I can understand the surprise about him winning, but I do not understand insulting the guy and it just really bugged me and disappointed me, specially from Ryan because I really don't care that much about Amir. It's not like Obama asked for the prize, and if you think about it, he's doing a hell of a lot more than Bush to keep from bombing the world.

I know these will all seem like stupid things to some and maybe they are... and die hard DBS-fans would tell me I'm crazy... but when I was just 'meh...' about DBS in the beginning, I just don't care at all right now.

This is it...

2009-10-09T15:01:00.004-05:00

It's Friday and I'm trying very hard to stay awake, lol. I was checking out EW's list of shows people are breaking up with and I decided to make my own list.

1. Heroes. I started watching after it was somewhat advanced but I still fell in love with it. However, as it goes on the writing seems more and more forced and it gets more and more boring at the same time. Now it's in a time slot against One Tree Hill and How I Met Your Mother, so it's goodbye Heroes.

2. House: I hated when House fired his team and I didn't love any of the members of the new team... then the episodes started getting repetitive and now I just can't be bothered.

3. Dollhouse: The theme of this show is super interesting but the episodes do not capture my attention and as much as I love Eliza she's not a good enough actress to lose herself in all the different characters she's supposed to be playing.

4. Psych: I used to love this show and I still love James Roday, but you know you've fallen out of love with a show when it's recorded and you can't gather up the energy to watch it.

5. Project Runway: I loved last season and caught up with old seasons during the summer but this season is meh compared to the previous ones and the combination of boring challenges and no Mike or Nina, not to mention designers that don't seem to the par in the talent department with designers from previous years.

I couldn't stop myself.

2009-09-29T22:18:00.002-05:00

This is a must watch. I can't say how hard I laughed at this. The best part starts around 3 minutes and later, lol.

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Pittsburgh Irates