Pipo chan

Since Andy works 6 days a week, I spent a lot of my time alone. Which is good in a way because I'm a bit of a hermit (and that's putting it mildly) but it also just sucks because I really enjoy hanging out with him. Although it gives me more than ample time to watch a lot of bad TV without judgment. This week the WB ran a marathon of "Beauty and the Geek" a show that I'm sure everyone is ashamed to watch. Mostly because out of all realty TV this is pretty much the worse, its on the WB which already makes it hard to publicly pronounce your love for, and its based off the Bachelor, men and women on a show to win some money by working on a team for money, but with the hope that they'll hook up. Except the show is good. At its core its a really sweet show about people getting to know each other past stereotypes and learn from people who are vastly different from themselves. I think that's what makes it so hard to admit to like this show, its not just bad TV that is enjoyable because its soo bad that its good. Its a show that should be bad, but isn't. My point though is that I wonder if I could manage to weasel my way onto the show as one of the beauties. I've never in my life pretended to be stupid so I wonder if its even possible for me to pass as a blond bimbo. I have the sneaking suspicion that my sarcasm would slide through. Plus I'm sure everyone on that show is properly vented to ensure that no one is faking it. But wouldn't it be great if one of those beauties had actually gone to Cal-Tech and one of those geeks was the man-whore out of all the band geeks? I think then maybe we'd all really challenge some misconceptions.

So yea...here are the links that kept me amused this morning:

*The cute factor.
*Reggaeton is the next big thing. This story just makes me even more jealous of my friend in Puerto Rico.
*Moving to the suburbs isn't everyone's dream.
*A really interesting story about the weird competition between a wife and her mother in law.
*There have been 2,405 coalition deaths in the war in Iraq as of January 9, 2006, according to a CNN count. CNN does a really nice breakdown of those deaths in terms of race, age, nationality as well as providing a listing of all the dead. The very first name on the list is Cpl. Roberto Abad, 22, from Los Angeles, CA. The fact that we're the same age and have the same last name makes his death all the more sad for me. -from fark.com
*affordable mid century modern design. -from purecontemporary.blogs.com
*a list of overlooked albums from 2005. -from slate.com
*And the US has decided that a bridge doesn't constitute dry land.

one is the primest of prime numbers

I noticed something interesting at the supermarket today. I was the only person there who seems to do any actual cooking (actual cooking being defined as more than heating up frozen food). I, of course, was the youngest person at the supermarket by about 30-40 years which already makes everyone look at me weird. Although I did see a pair of catholic schoolgirls there, but I think they were only using the bank. This is not the first time that I've gone to the supermarket and been the only person pushing a cart filled with vegetables, which makes me wonder if people in Erie cook. Or if all the people in Erie who cook shop someplace else. I know its a union town and people work crazy hours, but I wonder where all the stay at home moms shop. I know they're out there because whenever I make the mistake of going into Target between 10-2pm they're out in full force with their adorable 3 kids, which always makes me feel weird for not having 3 kids myself. But that's something else entirely.

Besides getting weird looks at the supermarket for buying organic spinach today has been a really good day. Granted its 30 degrees outside and its been raining all day but its Erie, its not like I expect to see anymore 80 degree and sunny days anytime soon. So for now the weather is bringing me down, especially since I received an email from UCLA confirming me for a writing class that I'm taking there via the all powerful internet. So today it rocks.

Here are the links:

*4 Reasons to be glad Bush is still president.
*A solar backpack that charges your cell phone. From Target.
*words cannot describe.

long long time ago

Spending the last two weeks in Texas was a necessary vacation for me. As always its so nice to go back to Texas, its hard to explain to people that have never been to Texas and have these silly misconceptions about the place but it is really a wonderful state filled with good food and great people and good weather. My body needed to feel 70 degrees again, since in Erie after all that snow it was getting hard to believe in the existence of the sun and warmth. From the moment I got there though I realized I didn't belong there anymore. Houston changes at a ridiculous pace, old buildings are torn down and freeways are erected. All that traffic, all those people. It was a bit overwhelming.

The city feels different too. All those plates from Louisiana, making all the more real the fact that in a year an entire city of people have been lost. In my isolation here I've grown accustomed to white faces at the supermarket and post office, completely forgetting how adorable it is to see little brown children running around Target. I still long for home. For Texas. But being in the north these past 4 years has changed me. All that traffic now seems unnecessary, excessive. I feel less overwhelmed in my day to day life. Its kind of nice. Nicer still because its temporary. Perfect even because of who is here with me.

So that's that. Here are some links that entertained me this morning:

*The battle over what it means when women stay at home continues.
*Why its hard to share the wealth.
*Design Without Reach. An homage to Design Withing Reach. The satellite bowl is actually pretty ingenious.
*My outsourced Life. A fabulously funny article on outsourcing.
*Being Poor. A post that hits you in the gut.

And finally a really funny end of year list from the BBC. Here are my favorites:

8. Devout Orthodox Jews are three times as likely to jaywalk as other people, according to an Israeli survey reported in the New Scientist. The researchers say it's possibly because religious people have less fear of death.

11. One in 10 Europeans is allegedly conceived in an Ikea bed.

41. Tactically, the best Monopoly properties to buy are the orange ones: Vine Street, Marlborough Street and Bow Street.

69. First-born children are less creative but more stable, while last-born are more promiscuous, says US research.

94. Bill Gates does not have an iPod.

Most of these links came from kottke.org

there aint nothing for free

hello again. its been a long time. summer came and went and now its winter and I'm in a different state and in a completly different place then I was before. Its good though. Change is always good. Even if it sucks for a while.

When I went to Texas for the holiday break I found out that my mother had told everyone in Colombia that I was married. Which resulted in me screaming at my grandmother who I only speak to once a year that I wasnt married. Later on I asked her if her family didnt ask for some proof that I was married and she was like "oh no" like I was the silly one.

So yea. I'm not married. I'm happy. Its winter. And I'm back. Let the peasants rejoice.