El Corazón en Calma

2008-06-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

hey all... if there is anyone out there reading this little ole blog, i will be blogging at http://californiamy.blogspot.com for the rest of the summer! see you there.

hay mucho tráfico

2008-04-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

greetings from nutrition class.
i accidentally sat in a lefty desk. i didn't think it made much of a difference, but it feels awkward to type...

boston in springtime is nice, but i am still ready for california. one major reason for this is traffic culture. i am well aware that LA is notorious for bad traffic, but boston traffic is more irritating to me. here's why:
1) old horse roads. boston roads were paved over cow paths and horse and buggy routes. not very conducive to modern transportation. also, a lot of boston streets have the same name. confusing. i just read this article that talked about how police went to the wrong address to respond to a fatal stabbing because of same named streets. boston tries to make up for this, which leads me to point two.
2) the big dig. need i say more? it's supposedly done, but it ate a bunch of money and probably didn't make that big of a difference.
3) sports. i love the red sox, but the traffic their games cause ruins my life. i missed out on getting $75 for a focus group because of them. i fell asleep while stuck in traffic for 2 hours on storrow drive (and i had to pee the whole time). also, some genius decided to combine a major train station with a sports arena (and the change it's name a bunch of time). i LOVE when i try to catch a train at north station and i have to weave through celtics and bruins fans. the best was when wrestling fans were blocking all the entry ways.
4) congestion. everything is soclosetogether. it's crowded. and when things aren't, people freak out. where i live now (2o miles north of boston) is a big deal commute for my friends in the city. but it's about the same distance from where i'll be living in marina del rey to hollywood and people do that all the time.
5) pedestrian/driver power struggle. "will i hit them?" "will they let me go?" "screw it i'm driving/walking." and there is no sympathy. you may be a pedestrian one minute, but the second you get in a car you hate them and vice versa.

don't get me wrong, i love boston. it's just nice to think about the things i won't miss this summer. one thing i will miss is the new kids on the block reunion at kiss concert. this is a tragedy.

tonight heidi is in a play AND i have a phone interview AND i have to write a feature article AND i have to do a project for library class. so maybe you can see why i can't wait for summer...

32 days to go...

2008-04-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

i'm watching 90210, of course, and two ridiculous things just happened:
1) valerie was snooping through brenda's old things and found an autographed picture of dylan. what boyfriend seriously gives his girlfriend a framed picture of himself that says "to brenda love dylan"? i mean, sign me up for one of those, but dylan and i don't have a history... yet.
2) valerie is walking around with the top button of her jeans undone. and it was BEFORE she ate dinner! after dinner, i understand, but before dinner, you're pretty much saying the same thing as a geisha who ties her obi in the front! and everyone knows that that means...

but, back to reality.
as much as it is a bummer to take a late train home, i get a chance to see some interesting people. i saw a guy playing klondike on his iPod, which was comforting to me to know i was not the only one who chooses to waste my time in such an addictive manner. i saw a man who had some kind of intellectual/developmental delay rocking out on his discman. he was singing and dancing and was so happy. i wish i was as unselfconscious or uninhibited to enjoy life like that. also, after i got off the train and it left the station, it stopped again. they were letting a guy off who missed the stop. i thought that was really nice of them. and i shared a smiled over it with the cute, young conductor.

this next month is going to be hard. i need some serious focus on school, but all i can think about is the summer... i just need to keep looking out for the bright spots like tonight.

california, here we come

2008-04-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

so it's really happening. i'm spending the summer in california.
i bought my plane ticket yesterday and i'm leaving on may 17th.
i have an amazing sublet lined up in marina del rey, just a couple blocks from venice beach.
i'm still finalizing my ground transportation and my internships, but no matter what, i'm going!

this semester has been crazy busy. i've been working so hard that i've barely had time for fun, but i know it's going to pay off. last night i actually had some time to have fun. sure it was just hanging out at the prudential, but it was nice to just kick back and laugh with some old and new friends. and that's what i'm looking forward to most this summer. b and i were just reminiscing about how much fun we used to have just sitting around and watching bad tv. i know i have a lot more to look forward to than just that though... here are some things i want to do this summer:

1. road trip to san diego (y quizás mexico)
2. go to a show at hotel cafe
3. weekly farmer's market excursions
4. visit the getty
5. visit the griffith observatory
6. reenact my girl 2 at the la brea tar pits
7. beach, beach, beach
8. pretend to be a bluth
9. bike rides down the coast
10. get to know my neighborhood
11. hiking! runyon, topanga... so many canyons to choose from!
12. shop at fred segal (or at least window shop).
13. drink tea lattes at urth.
14. eat at a sidewalk cafe.
15. see a show at groundlings.
16. karaoke.
17. get a surf lesson.
18. eat a decent burrito.
19. go to an in store performance at amoeba
20. go to mosaic!
21. shop at it's a wrap

that's just a start...

2008-03-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

sometimes i think it would be cool to be famous.
and then i realize that someone might make a wax figure that looks exactly like you.
no thanks. creepy...

like the city in alaska? no.

2008-02-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

my sister turned thirteen yesterday. frightening.
on the bright side, her presents are awesome and shareable.
how have i never played guitar hero before? she got it for the wii and i am addicted. it's the closest thing to me becoming a rock star. i think i may have callouses already.

and the best thing is our new kitten! our precious kitty leo died about three weeks ago. he was only about a year and a half old, so it was extra sad. our old fatty abby is still kicking, but she is neither playful nor affectionate to anyone besides my mom, so a kitten was neccesary. so today we got juno. her original name was roothful, but that was just cruel. she seemed like a quirky girl who might listen to the stooges and get knocked up if she wasn't spayed, so really, what else could we name her?

motivation

2008-02-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

Is it possible to be motivated and un-motivated at the same time?
I am positive that I want to be in California this summer. I think about it all the time. I am dreaming big. I have plans. Or as close to plans as I can have. I heard recently that DC4C called their last album "Plans" because it was the punchline to a joke, "How do you make God laugh?"
I think it's the little steps that I have trouble with. I feel as though those should come easily, given my level of overall motivation. I've requested transcripts, polished my resume, tracked down a handful of internships I'm interested in, and asked for recommendations.
Ok, so maybe I've actually done a lot. What is really challenging me are the cover letters and a professional statement I have to write. In the past, they've been an afterthought. Now, I realize that they're a great chance to express myself to the company. I'm a good writer. I just owned a letter writing assignment that most of my class bombed. I think I'm having trouble with it because it means so much. It's all I can do not to write "Dear Mr. Executive, I'm bored with Boston and I miss my best friend. Please hire me so I can experience some adventure this summer and build my resume." How can I balance desperate with motivated, and bored with qualified? What can I bring to a company besides drive?
Maybe I should just write it raw and then edit after. That's not my usual working style, but maybe it will work. I'm hoping writing this all out here helps in some way.
Gah, it's just a cover letter! Maybe I'll just work at a Jamba Juice and live on someone's couch this summer. That wouldn't be horrible.

back to reality

2008-01-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

I've been able to delay reality for a while, but classes finally start up again tomorrow. I'd rather have something to do rather than just sitting around looking for ways to fill up my time. I think they're going to be interesting and I'm going to learn a lot, but most of the time I'll be day dreaming of California...
Speaking of which, I just watched the pilot for "Beverly Hills, 90210." Amazing. I know I was only four when it first came on TV, but I can see why it was such a hit. The pilot alone had everything you could want in a teen movie. But a teen movie that lasted for ten years? Incredible. I think one of my favorite parts is that Brian Austin Green (a.k.a. David Silver) actually looks like a high school freshman. He has a squeaky voice and a baby face, but I think he was actually around seventeen when it was filmed. If you have the Soap Network, I highly recommend you DVR/Tivo that action. If you don't, invest in the DVDs.

snow no!

2008-01-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

as if i needed any more reasons to be sick of massachusetts, a snowstorm is most likely trapping me in houston.
sure, the weather is nice, but i am bored out of my gourd. the city is kind of nice, but its so darned big that you have to drive forever to do anything. i'm in the suburbs, and it's all strip malls and fast food.
at my brother's, we pretty much just sit around and watch tv and try not to let their three dogs and three cats jump all over us. i was forced to watch football last night, but luckily i was able to slip away for the tail end of an antm marathon...
i did get to go on a helicopter ride piloted by my brother today. it was pretty rad, if only for twenty minutes.
it's great to see my brother and his wife, but i feel kind of lazy here.
i'm hoping that when i get home, my motivation to make it to la, will motivate me to be more active and productive in other areas of my life.

la la love

2008-01-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

i almost let myself be ruined by stereotypes.
i didn't like what i'd heard about los angeles.
entourage is entertaining to watch, but i didn't want my life to involve those kinds of people.

well, la proved me wrong. i fell in love.
there is so much more to that city than just the city.
every neighborhood is unique, and escape is easy. tired of the hollywood hustle and bustle? drive to the beach. visit a farmer's market. surround yourself with people you love.

it was so good to see old friends and make new ones. i felt really loved the whole time i was there. it was the first time in awhile that i didn't feel completely disconnected from everyone. it's nice to know that i have community waiting for me. and even family- my dad's cousin and her husband were so cool and amazing and i genuinely enjoyed hanging out with them, despite our thirty-year age gap.

the weather was supposedly "bad" when i was there, but it was 6 degrees when i left boston last week. i think i can handle a little rain...

i have some great potential internship opportunities out there as well.

now all i need is a car and a place to live.
it's going to be hard, but i'm determined to be there this summer.

on the radio

2007-12-13T22:01:00.000-08:00

in procrastinating on my finals, i came across the most adorable music video:

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

day off

2007-11-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

happy veteran's day (observed)! (i always thought those parentheses in calendars were weird when i was little).

i, of course, had to start my day taking my grandma to run errands while she passive-aggressively blames me for the fact that she can't drive. hey, i didn't give you cataracts lady.

the rest of the day was ok. i had some yummy butternut squash soup for lunch with the little sis, i got to watch beverly hills:90210 on the soap network, and now i am snuggling with my cat.

you should probably watch this video:

and i don't know who you are- because, i'm pretty sure it's mainly me reading this. in that case, amy, watch this video ALL THE TIME.

kiva

2007-10-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Last night Domino and I went to a comedy show at Harvard. It was pretty crude and sometimes funny, but we enjoyed hanging out as always. The best thing about it, however, was that it benefited this really cool organization called Kiva.
Kiva is a micro finance company that provides loans to poor people in other countries to help them start or expand their business. Since I am a college student and I have loads of loans myself, I never thought I would be able to make a significant loan to anyone else, but Kiva makes it possible.
Right now, you can only makes loans of $25. Plus, since it's a loan, you will get it back. Although, most people just keep putting what they get back into the system.
So, because of this organization, I was able to help a woman in Nicaragua with her store. This is her page here. It's cool because other people are a part of her loan too. So from Canada to England, California to Florida, Louisiana to North Reading, Massachusetts, strangers have come together to help someone they don't even know have a better life. It's so cool, you should do it!

overhearing

2007-10-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

I love the whole "Overheard" website concept. I often overhear people saying strange things, but more often, people probably overhear me saying strange things.

The best recent instance of this was probably two weeks ago when I was on the Orange Line and late to work. I needed a phone number, and my only hope to get it was guiding my grandma via phone to get on the computer to go online and get it... "Ok do you know where the internet is... Now, hit enter. It's on the keyboard Gram...V as in Victor. No, not winter VICTOR."
I had to talk really loud too. I bet my fellow commuters enjoyed that.

The other day at school I overheard a girl complaining, "My girlfriend is living with my ex-boyfriend!!" Must be complicated...

But here is a gem I saw on the Overheard Everywhere site today:

From Jane Austin's Nonsense and Insensibility
Guy: Hello, pot, this is the kettle! You're black!
Girl: I am not black. What are you talking about?
Guy: It's a metaphor. Do you know what a metaphor is?
Girl: Yes -- it's a giant flaming rock that comes out of the sky. You never make any sense.

Seattle, Washington

via Overheard Everywhere, Oct 8, 2007

January 1996

2007-10-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

I found a story that my brother dictated to his teacher on January 19, 1996. It comes with some awesome graphics, most likely made with Kid Pix, but I don't have a scanner, so you'll have to imagine.

"The dragon went and tried to blow fire on the spider man. But he was too strong. The rat helped the spider man. They found a little boy climbing a mountain. The rat went to the banana tree and got a banana to eat. He was rich."

Amazing. I am so proud. That was by Erik, by the way. The next youngest brother was junior in college in January 1996. But you never know...

pumpkin pie.

2007-09-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

There is something about the smells of fall that makes me feel absolutely compelled to write. Right now, it's pumpkin.
Today I smelled a pumpkin candle and instantly was transported to the giant pumpkin contest at the fair near my hometown. Then I walked down the dusty paths, amidst the flashing lights and sounds of the ferris wheel for hot apple cider. I pulled my sweater up to shield my neck from the brisk fall breeze, and realized I was just in the craft store.
I bought the candle and now the scent, the fair, the whole idea of autumn is with me in my bedroom. Maybe I'm being overly sentimental, but something about the impending New England fall fills me with anticipation and excitement akin to those suffering from spring fever.
I've felt this way about fall for as long as I can remember, but it's not until now that I feel old enough to wax poetic about it. And I'm not that old, but there is something extra exciting about this being the first fall I can celebrate my birthday with pumpkin beer.

Or, it could be the fact that an ex-New Kid on the Block will be performing at that fair this year...