| Ultimate Survey (377 questions long) | |
| time started: | 3:42PM |
| full name: | Diana M. C. |
| nickname(s): | Diani, Bebe, Di |
| birthday: | March 8, 1978 |
| where were you born: | Hato Rey, Puerto Rico |
| zodiac sign: | Pisces |
| height: | 5'4" |
| weight: | approx. 150 lbs |
| hair color: | brown |
| eye color: | brown |
| shoe size: | US 8 |
| ring size: | middle finger = 7 |
| skin type (freckles, tan, albino, etc.): | pale, yellowish tones |
| blood type: | O+ |
| grade: | College Graduate (BA) |
| GPA: | 3.52 |
| siblings: | 2 younger (1 brother, 1 sister) |
| tattoos: | 3 (neck, upper back, lower back) |
| piercings: | 7 (including 2 plugs) |
| hobbies: | writing (blogging), reading, watching movies, taking photographs of everything I find interesting, surfing the internet, spending time with my loved ones |
| favorite | |
| color: | purple, black, red |
| food: | prosciutto or serrano ham |
| candy: | dark chocolate |
| type of cheese: | Swiss |
| pizza topping: | pepperonni |
| salad dressing: | caesar |
| sandwich: | almost anything with bacon, hold the mustard and the pickles |
| cereal: | Honey Bunches of Oats (Post) |
| fruit: | granny apples (green, sour) |
| vegetable: | broccoli |
| berry: | maraschino cherries |
| cake: | chocolate |
| book: | Del Amor y Otros Demonios (Gabriel García Marquez) |
| movie: | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind |
| magazine: | Wired |
| newspaper: | I get my news on BBC.com, theguardian.co.uk or endi.com |
| tv show: | ALIAS |
| website: | http://www.preurbano.com/ (I spend too much time there) |
| radio station: | WRTU (wrtu.org for streaming) |
| font: | Century Gothic |
| cartoon character: | Woodstock (from Charles Schulz's Peanuts) |
| artist (painter): | Salvador Dali |
| actor: | Gary Oldman |
| actress: | Jodie Foster |
| cd: | Vespertine - Bjork |
| song: | "Triumph of a Heart" - Bjork |
| music group: | Bjork (duh!) |
| music type: | electronica/experimental |
| day of the week: | Friday |
| month: | March |
| season: | winter |
| holiday: | Halloween |
| shampoo: | Physique Straight Formula (discontinued) |
| conditioner: | Aussie |
| number: | 13 |
| phrase: | "¡Qué mal!" |
| store: | Marshalls |
| weather: | sunny/windy/dry |
| restaurant: | Ferrari Gourmet or Bistro Pizza |
| channel: | Comedy Central |
| teacher: | Mariyo (a teacher I had for some years when I was a little kid. She was awesome!) |
| weekend activity: | Vegging out by day, partying by night, getting to bed ridiculously late |
| hangout: | Wherever my loved ones are |
| house color: | yellow |
| sport to watch: | diving |
| sport to play: | swimming (which I do in the most mediocre manner) |
| animal: | dog |
| flower: | sunflower |
| guy's name: | Alejandro |
| girl's name: | Adriana |
| board game: | Risk / Life / Scrabble |
| party game: | Drinking Domino |
| story from childhood: | I always like to tell how I behaved with the household puppies |
| body part: | hands |
| have you ever | |
| been on a train: | yes |
| been on a plane: | yes |
| been in a car accident: | yes (minor accident) |
| caused a car accident: | yes (minor accident) |
| run into a wall: | yes |
| burned a potato chip: | no |
| almost burned the house down: | I DID burn the house down |
| smoked: | yes |
| been drunk: | yes |
| been high: | yes |
| broken the law: | yes |
| burned a cd (if yes, the one above is yes): | yes |
| kissed someone of the opposite sex: | yes |
| kissed someone of the same sex: | yes |
| frenched an animal: | no |
| made out: | yes |
| had cyber sex: | yes |
| gotten engaged: | yes (and broken the engagement too) |
| had an online relationship: | yes (very short-lived) |
| been rejected by a crush: | yes |
| loved: | yes |
| made yourself cry to get out of trouble: | yes |
| cried in public: | yes |
| cried over a movie: | yes |
| fallen asleep in a movie theater: | no |
| given someone a bath: | yes |
| been to a boarding school: | no |
| been home-schooled: | no |
| lost a valuable item: | yes |
| bungee jumped: | no |
| skied: | no |
| met the president: | no |
| met a celebrity: | yes (Ricky Martin, pre-famous phase) |
| gotten a cavity: | yes |
| shopped at abercrombie & fitch: | no |
| made a prank call: | yes |
| skipped school: | yes |
| faked sick to get out of school: | yes |
| purchased something that you knew didn't fit: | no |
| climbed a tree: | yes |
| fallen from a tree: | no |
| broken a bone: | no |
| sprained anything: | no |
| passed out: | no |
| made yourself pass out: | yes |
| been to disney world: | yes |
| been to a theme park (not disney): | yes |
| said i love you and meant it (not to a relative): | yes |
| made a model volcano (working model): | no |
| made a clover leaf with your tounge: | no (but my sister can) |
| past | |
| what did you do yesterday: | Work (and have a dreary day) |
| memory you miss the most: | Having my father neraby |
| memory you want to forget: | There's nothing I want to forget. All memories serve a purpose. |
| something you regretted after it was done: | ... I can't tell (there is only one thing) |
| the last | |
| song you heard: | "The Power of Orange Knickers" - Tori Amos |
| cd you bought: | it's been a long time since I spent money on an album |
| thing you said: | I was talking to my mom (can't remember, I guess it was "Bye") |
| time you cried: | last thursday |
| movie seen in a theater: | A History of Violence |
| thing you ate: | an oatmeal cookie |
| person who called: | Mom |
| nail polish shade worn: | pink (i think) |
| time you showered: | last night |
| person who complimented you: | Ezequiel |
| at this moment | |
| what are you listening to: | silence |
| what are you wearing: | brown, stretchy bell-bottom pants ; burgundy, long-sleeved shirt |
| what are you thinking: | I want out! 45 mins to go! |
| what are you scared of most: | loneliness |
| how many people are on your buddy list: | 30 something |
| future | |
| occupation: | hopefully I'll be able to do freelance photography or jewelry design |
| marriage site: | Not getting married |
| honeymoon: | Not getting married |
| place to live: | Spain (wishful thinking?) |
| kids: | NO! Dogs dogs dogs! |
| car: | I hope I can someday ditch the car and start using massive transportation |
| what are you doing tomorrow: | Work again |
| do you think george bush will be reelected: | Hopefully never again (if that happens, the US will deserve a thousand Katrinas more) |
| will there be a wwIII: | yes, but not the way WWII was carried out |
| will politics ever be truthful: | not while capitalism is the system of power |
| will humanity snuff itself out: | most surely, we already started |
| can the gov. be changed: | yes |
| friends | |
| best friend: | Ezequiel |
| funniest: | there are a few still fighting over this title |
| silliest: | Adolfo |
| loudest: | Mika |
| quietest: | Viviana |
| craziest: | Alysha |
| calmest: | Pepe |
| skinniest: | Marie |
| best secret keeper: | Ezequiel |
| worst secret keeper: | Alvin |
| the one you have but don't want: | this is one very un-PC question |
| smartest: | Kiwi |
| preppiest: | Felo |
| peppiest: | Alysha |
| most hyper: | Alysha |
| hottest: | Maricarmen |
| weirdest: | Popu |
| biggest pervert: | Leo |
| most annyoing: | un-PC |
| shyest: | Viviana |
| most religious: | I think I have no religious friends |
| do you believe in | |
| heaven: | no |
| hell: | no |
| angels: | no |
| devil: | no |
| god: | no |
| buddha: | no |
| aliens: | yes |
| ghosts: | yes |
| spirit (soul): | yes |
| soulmates: | no |
| reincarnation: | yes |
| love at first sight: | no |
| karma: | yes |
| love in general: | yes |
| luck: | yes |
| yourself: | yes |
| crush | |
| who and when was your first crush: | my first BIG crush was Jorge Esteban. I was 10. |
| any now: | yes, a few |
| a celebrity crush: | Jennifer Connelly (for years now) |
| who do you want to be with right now: | I am with who I want to be with |
| whos number do you want: | Not telling |
| who do you want to kiss: | A few people |
| what is something you dont understand about the opposite sex: | I think I have an acceptable grasp on the male psyche. |
| if you could go on a date with anybody, who would it be: | Ezequiel will always be the perfect date |
| on scale of one to ten, how romantic are you: | I don't know, it depends |
| first thing noticed about the opposite sex: | the eyes |
| what do you look for personality-wise: | wit, intelligence, a good sense of humor |
| biggest turn on: | like-minded people with strength enough to defend their standpoints |
| biggest turn off: | stupidity, sheep mindsets |
| something thay weat that turns you on: | a beautiful smile |
| something they wear that turns you off: | clean-cut, hyper-trendy clothes |
| the most romantic thing you want to happen to you: | Already did, can't get any better |
| the most romantic thing that has happened to you: | A half-drunken kiss ina friend's darkened room |
| what do you wear on a coffee date: | jeans, shirt, whatever |
| is it right to flirt if you're taken: | yes |
| is cyber cheating: | depends |
| are eyes the passegeway to the soul: | only if you're perceptive enough |
| who would you like to take to the prom: | prom passed 10 years ago, very underwhelming production |
| do you want to hug somebody right now: | yes |
| do you know what an aphrodisiac is: | yes |
| describe | |
| mellow: | Sigur Ros in my headphones under a tree on a windy day |
| melancholy: | the top of a slide in a park next to the woods |
| the perfect date: | An outing in which your brain is exhilarated, not befuddled |
| the perfect mate: | one who is your equal and knows and respects that |
| how m&m's are made: | Little birds take a dump and then an elf pukes over the oval turds |
| why manhole covers are round: | because the pipes under the holes are round too |
| one or the other | |
| coke/pepsi: | coke (only 'cuz water wasn't an option) |
| sprite/7-up: | Sprite (Zero) |
| boxers/briefs: | boxer-briefs (yummy! >-) ) |
| gold/silver: | silver |
| vanilla/chocolate: | chocolate |
| flowers/candy: | candy |
| book/magazine: | if they're good, it's readable |
| tv/radio: | if it's good, any will do |
| glass half empty/half full: | half a glass |
| democrat/republican: | socialist/communist |
| colored pencils/markers: | colored pencils (GOOD quality) |
| coffee/tea: | both! |
| sun/moon: | moon |
| day/night: | sunset >> night |
| hot/cold: | cold |
| dog/cat: | dog |
| button/zipper: | button |
| cotton/feather pillow: | cotton |
| blue/purple: | purple |
| plumber/trashman: | trashman |
| jeans/shorts: | jeans |
| long distance relationship/none: | none |
| mechanical/regular pencil: | mechanical |
| matt/ben: | ben |
| that 70's show/simpsons: | simpsons |
| kelso/eric: | Kelso |
| donna/jackie: | Donna |
| bart/lisa: | Bart |
| romeo/juliet: | both were total idiots |
| romantic comedy/thriller: | thriller |
| nsync/bsb: | NONE |
| peanut butter/jelly: | peanut butter |
| waffles/pancakes: | pancakes |
| letter/email: | |
| florida/california: | Don't know (only visited FL) |
| pizza/burgers: | pizza |
| hat/visor: | hat |
| football/rugby: | same to me |
| iceskating/blading: | ice skating |
| movie at home/in theater: | in theatre |
| first thing you think of when you hear | |
| yellow: | sun |
| red lipstick: | creamy |
| socks: | wool |
| cowtipping: | college |
| moulin rouge: | Nicole Kidman |
| greenland: | the shape of Greenland |
| iceland: | Bjork |
| harry potter: | cute! ^_^ |
| red: | puzzle piece |
| blackberry: | drink |
| rose: | stinky flower |
| rooster: | breakfast |
| taxes: | death |
| bill clinton: | good times at USA |
| whipped cream: | sex |
| george w. bush: | AGHHHH! |
| lollipops: | Colombia |
| dreams: | clouds |
| love: | that warm fuzzy feeling |
| guys: | fun |
| south park: | cartman |
| boy bands: | "oh jeez!" |
| pengiuns: | Linux |
| girls: | pink skirts |
| thong: | ass |
| death: | taxes |
| spoons: | badger |
| junk mail: | |
| dairy: | cow milk |
| panties: | skid mark |
| your father: | i miss him |
| pizza: | melted cheese |
| britney spears: | green costume |
| vitamin: | little clear pills |
| are you | |
| happy: | yes |
| sad: | some days |
| religious: | no |
| bitchy: | only when I'm PMS-ing |
| crazy: | a bit |
| messy: | some may say that |
| mad: | We're all mad in here |
| slacker: | some days |
| nerd: | yeah |
| bookworm: | definitely |
| jock: | nope |
| preppy: | I dont think so |
| selfish: | unfortunately |
| giving: | when I want to |
| obsessive: | depends on the subject |
| violent: | I can be |
| calm: | most of the time |
| peaceful: | that's my goal |
| mellow: | yeah, right now, I am |
| eccentric: | you could say that |
| caring: | to most people surrounding me |
| untrustworthy: | no, I can keep a secret (and I try to keep my promises) |
| loyal: | yes |
| patriotic: | no |
| perverted: | >-) |
| colorful: | yes! |
| artistic: | yes |
| miscellanoues | |
| what color is your jacket: | green |
| do you shave: | yes |
| where: | legs, armpits, bikini zone |
| what color is your razor: | aqua |
| what size is your bed: | queen |
| what color crayon would you be: | forest green |
| what are the last four digits of you phone number: | 2224 |
| feelings on abortion: | very mixed, i think women have the right to choose, but I wouldn't do it because I believe there is a second life involved |
| how lond does it take you to shower: | 10 - 30 minutes |
| what does your screenname mean: | my name + goddes (in hindu, i think) |
| thoughts on blonde pop stars in general: | they're blonde and the can't sing/act/write worth shit (but that applies to most pop stars anyways) |
| who so you trust the most: | Ezequel |
| is cussing a necessity in life: | yes |
| how about coffee: | YES |
| is the world screwed: | yes and it's humanity's fault |
| what something you cant live without: | air, water, food, love |
| what time did you fall asleep: | usually at about 12 or 1AM |
| know what 69 means: | YES |
| how about 143: | no :-S |
| can you live without a microwave: | yes |
| what do think about death: | it's a natural process |
| where and when do you want to be married: | no |
| do you want to drop out of school: | i never did, and i want to go back |
| why is the sky blue: | it's light refracting through the oxygen in the ozone layer |
| what is a good trait about yourself: | i'm open-minded |
| what do you always think about: | what's coming up next? what's worth looking forward to? |
| what is wrong with your school: | nothing was except for infrastructure issues |
| what is right with your school: | i think some education issues should be re-evaluated in the whole system |
| how do you react to change: | i try to adapt, but it takes some time for me |
| do you talk to yourself: | sometimes |
| what is your opinion on love: | it's a chemical reaction, or maybe a bond formed by time and habit, but it still feels beautiful and terrible at the same time |
| can you afford to lose weight: | OH YES PLEASE! |
| what color would you dye your hair: | ANY color! even BLUE, I'd love to try! |
| best thing anyones told you: | That my smile lights up everything around me |
| what is your reaction to someone telling you you're hot: | i blush and refuse to accept it, i don't think i'm hot |
| does being psycho appeal to you: | no |
| if you wrote a book, what would it be about: | my life |
| what would you change your name to: | Adriana |
| longest crush lasted how long: | Where does the crush end and the love begin? |
| tme finished: | 4:50PM |
| Take this survey | Find more surveys You've been totally Bzoink*d | |
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Another long-ass survey
Saturday, October 08, 2005
... well... maybe you've noticed the lack of posts here in lieu of a certain amount of attention transferred to another place. Maybe not (I still don't know how many people read my blog, still I like to explain myself to most when it comes to a change in blogging behavior).
First I discovered: http://www.43things.com. It's a page in which you develop your profile according to the things you want to do with your life. Then the page indexes your goals and you can see other people who want to do the same things as you (plus make comments on them or "Cheer" their goals, etc etc etc). I find the concept wonderful, although the place hasn't been much of a time-waster (except for the initial posts). The site also includes an easy link to http://www.43places.com/ (here you can profile the places you've been and the places you want to go).
You may see my profile at http://www.43things.com/person/dianadhevi. :-D
Then came a big hit, a site I swore to never sign into. My Space. A site into which I'd say a whole fuckload of dipshits are registering with a myriad of objectives in mind: finding a number of booty calls (or finding the one [bootycall], specially delusional young women with Hello Kitty/flowery/butterfly/color stars backgrounds and a menagerie of pop stars in their Music section). Another **commendable** objective is stating their popularity status (this should be more obvious once you know where these idiots are coming from... Pulsorock.com is a community filled with such idiots). And so on and so forth... then there are the people registering to plug their bands/products/films/writings. These, to me, are much less irritating than the first types. As a matter of fact, I find it makes the place interesting and lively, bustling with more neurons in one single band page (if it's a good one) than the whole of personal "popularity/matchmaking/friend-seeking" profiles can muster together.
I just got hooked into the compartmentalized feel to the profile, and the app that runs the blog reminds me of ujournal.org, back in the days before some biggo company absorbed the site and sent the original users packing. I might be camping there more than I'm camping here, so here I am, extending the invitatioin to YOU (yeah, you, whoever you are, I really doubt you're more than ... 4 ... in total .... if you're more, kudos to my blog for getting more audience than me) to drop into my profile (and perhaps registering in? Just keep away from gothy-lolita/cutesy backgrounds, please ... they are annoying as HELL!)
http://myspace.com/dianadhevi
Thank you!
First I discovered: http://www.43things.com. It's a page in which you develop your profile according to the things you want to do with your life. Then the page indexes your goals and you can see other people who want to do the same things as you (plus make comments on them or "Cheer" their goals, etc etc etc). I find the concept wonderful, although the place hasn't been much of a time-waster (except for the initial posts). The site also includes an easy link to http://www.43places.com/ (here you can profile the places you've been and the places you want to go).
You may see my profile at http://www.43things.com/person/dianadhevi. :-D
Then came a big hit, a site I swore to never sign into. My Space. A site into which I'd say a whole fuckload of dipshits are registering with a myriad of objectives in mind: finding a number of booty calls (or finding the one [bootycall], specially delusional young women with Hello Kitty/flowery/butterfly/color stars backgrounds and a menagerie of pop stars in their Music section). Another **commendable** objective is stating their popularity status (this should be more obvious once you know where these idiots are coming from... Pulsorock.com is a community filled with such idiots). And so on and so forth... then there are the people registering to plug their bands/products/films/writings. These, to me, are much less irritating than the first types. As a matter of fact, I find it makes the place interesting and lively, bustling with more neurons in one single band page (if it's a good one) than the whole of personal "popularity/matchmaking/friend-seeking" profiles can muster together.
I just got hooked into the compartmentalized feel to the profile, and the app that runs the blog reminds me of ujournal.org, back in the days before some biggo company absorbed the site and sent the original users packing. I might be camping there more than I'm camping here, so here I am, extending the invitatioin to YOU (yeah, you, whoever you are, I really doubt you're more than ... 4 ... in total .... if you're more, kudos to my blog for getting more audience than me) to drop into my profile (and perhaps registering in? Just keep away from gothy-lolita/cutesy backgrounds, please ... they are annoying as HELL!)
http://myspace.com/dianadhevi
Thank you!
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
... ditz mode ... sorry ...
| Your Nail Polish Color is Black |
 How you're unique: There's nothing about you that isn't unique Why your style rocks: You are a total indie chick... and you can pull it off What this color says about you: "I'm a trendsetter and don't care what anyone else is doing!" |
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Mi rant personal
Sobre desastres naturales y aquellos relacionados a lo metereológico...
A seguir la cronología:
1) Eze fue a New York hace años ya. Algunos meses después sucedió el ataque terrorista al WTC (9/11)
2) Eze viajó a España no hace mucho ... al año más o menos sucedió el ataque terrorista en la estación de tren (4/11)
3) Eze viajó a New Orleans justo antes de ir a España (de hecho, New Orleans fue la escala donde se mantuvo por par de días por cuestiones de trabajo, antes de salir a Madrid) ... New Orleans se jodió ...
4) Eze está en Missouri ...
I fear for that very boring place ...
Estaré enamorada del Anticristo será, q anda dejando un trail de destrucción en cada sitio q toca?
A seguir la cronología:
1) Eze fue a New York hace años ya. Algunos meses después sucedió el ataque terrorista al WTC (9/11)
2) Eze viajó a España no hace mucho ... al año más o menos sucedió el ataque terrorista en la estación de tren (4/11)
3) Eze viajó a New Orleans justo antes de ir a España (de hecho, New Orleans fue la escala donde se mantuvo por par de días por cuestiones de trabajo, antes de salir a Madrid) ... New Orleans se jodió ...
4) Eze está en Missouri ...
I fear for that very boring place ...
Estaré enamorada del Anticristo será, q anda dejando un trail de destrucción en cada sitio q toca?
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Friday, September 02, 2005
I will never be able to visit...
New Orleans
In the aftermath, a few days after the actual event, I realize ... how close it hit to home... how this should humble the "world's greates economic power" (the U.S.)... how it doesn't...
"It's devastating. It's got to be doubly devastating on the ground."
(Scott McClellan quotes the president as saying after the low-altitude tour in Air Force One of stricken areas of the southern Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.)
No SHIT, man! Dubya, you must be a GENIUS!
There's this article, very interesting considering the date it was written on (and very scary, considering the third shoe to drop hasn't dropped yet):
(Link)
New Orleans faces doomsday scenario
Houston Chronicle ^ | December 1, 2001 | ERIC BERGER
Posted on 12/01/2001 8:17:03 AM PST by Dog Gone
KEEPING ITS HEAD ABOVE WATER
New Orleans faces doomsday scenario
New Orleans is sinking.
And its main buffer from a hurricane, the protective Mississippi River delta, is quickly eroding away, leaving the historic city perilously close to disaster.
So vulnerable, in fact, that earlier this year the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most castastrophic disasters facing this country.
The other two? A massive earthquake in San Francisco, and, almost prophetically, a terrorist attack on New York City.
The New Orleans hurricane scenario may be the deadliest of all.
In the face of an approaching storm, scientists say, the city's less-than-adequate evacuation routes would strand 250,000 people or more, and probably kill one of 10 left behind as the city drowned under 20 feet of water. Thousands of refugees could land in Houston.
Economically, the toll would be shattering.
Southern Louisiana produces one-third of the country's seafood, one-fifth of its oil and one-quarter of its natural gas. The city's tourism, lifeblood of the French Quarter, would cease to exist. The Big Easy might never recover.
And, given New Orleans' precarious perch, some academics wonder if it should be rebuilt at all.
It's been 36 years since Hurricane Betsy buried New Orleans 8 feet deep. Since then a deteriorating ecosystem and increased development have left the city in an ever more precarious position. Yet the problem went unaddressed for decades by a laissez-faire government, experts said.
"To some extent, I think we've been lulled to sleep," said Marc Levitan, director of Louisiana State University's hurricane center.
Hurricane season ended Friday, and for the second straight year no hurricanes hit the United States. But the season nonetheless continued a long-term trend of more active seasons, forecasters said. Tropical Storm Allison became this country's most destructive tropical storm ever.
Yet despite the damage Allison wrought upon Houston, dropping more than 3 feet of water in some areas, a few days later much of the city returned to normal as bloated bayous drained into the Gulf of Mexico.
The same storm dumped a mere 5 inches on New Orleans, nearly overwhelming the city's pump system. If an Allison-type storm were to strike New Orleans, or a Category 3 storm or greater with at least 111 mph winds, the results would be cataclysmic, New Orleans planners said.
"Any significant water that comes into this city is a dangerous threat," Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency management director, told Scientific American for an October article.
"Even though I have to plan for it, I don't even want to think about the loss of life a huge hurricane would cause."
New Orleans is essentially a bowl ringed by levees that protect the city from the Mississippi River to its south and Lake Pontchartrain to the north. The bottom of the bowl is 14 feet below sea level, and efforts to keep it dry are only digging a deeper hole.
During routine rainfalls the city's dozens of pumps push water uphill into the lake. This, in turn, draws water from the ground, further drying the ground and sinking it deeper, a problem known as subsidence.
This problem also faces Houston as water wells have sucked the ground dry. Houston's solution is a plan to convert to surface drinking water. For New Orleans, eliminating pumping during a rainfall is not an option, so the city continues to sink.
A big storm, scientists said, would likely block four of five evacuation routes long before it hit. Those left behind would have no power or transportation, and little food or medicine, and no prospects for a return to normal any time soon.
"The bowl would be full," Levitan said. "There's simply no place for the water to drain."
Estimates for pumping the city dry after a huge storm vary from six to 16 weeks. Hundreds of thousands would be homeless, their residences destroyed.
The only solution, scientists, politicians and other Louisiana officials agree, is to take large-scale steps to minimize the risks, such as rebuilding the protective delta.
Every two miles of marsh between New Orleans and the Gulf reduces a storm surge -- which in some cases is 20 feet or higher -- by half a foot.
In 1990, the Breaux Act, named for its author, Sen. John Breaux, D-La., created a task force of several federal agencies to address the severe wetlands loss in coastal Louisiana. The act has brought about $40 million a year for wetland restoration projects, but it hasn't been enough.
"It's kind of been like trying to give aspirin to a cancer patient," said Len Bahr, director of Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster's coastal activities office.
The state loses about 25 square miles of land a year, the equivalent of about one football field every 15 minutes. The fishing industry, without marshes, swamps and fertile wetlands, could lose a projected $37 billion by the year 2050.
University of New Orleans researchers studied the impact of Breaux Act projects on the vanishing wetlands and estimated that only 2 percent of the loss has been averted. Clearly, Bahr said, there is a need for something much bigger. There is some evidence this finally may be happening.
A consortium of local, state and federal agencies is studying a $2 billion to $3 billion plan to divert sediment from the Mississippi River back into the delta. Because the river is leveed all the way to the Gulf, where sediment is dumped into deep water, nothing is left to replenish the receding delta.
Other possible projects include restoration of barrier reefs and perhaps a large gate to prevent Lake Pontchartrain from overflowing and drowning the city.
All are multibillion-dollar projects. A plan to restore the Florida Everglades attracted $4 billion in federal funding, but the state had to match it dollar for dollar. In Louisiana, so far, there's only been a willingness to match 15 or 25 cents.
"Our state still looks for a 100 percent federal bailout, but that's just not going to happen," said University of New Orleans geologist Shea Penland, a delta expert.
"We have an image and credibility problem. We have to convince our country that they need to take us seriously, that they can trust us to do a science-based restoration program."
San Francisco, beware! :-(
In the aftermath, a few days after the actual event, I realize ... how close it hit to home... how this should humble the "world's greates economic power" (the U.S.)... how it doesn't...
"It's devastating. It's got to be doubly devastating on the ground."
(Scott McClellan quotes the president as saying after the low-altitude tour in Air Force One of stricken areas of the southern Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.)
No SHIT, man! Dubya, you must be a GENIUS!
There's this article, very interesting considering the date it was written on (and very scary, considering the third shoe to drop hasn't dropped yet):
(Link)
New Orleans faces doomsday scenario
Houston Chronicle ^ | December 1, 2001 | ERIC BERGER
Posted on 12/01/2001 8:17:03 AM PST by Dog Gone
KEEPING ITS HEAD ABOVE WATER
New Orleans faces doomsday scenario
New Orleans is sinking.
And its main buffer from a hurricane, the protective Mississippi River delta, is quickly eroding away, leaving the historic city perilously close to disaster.
So vulnerable, in fact, that earlier this year the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most castastrophic disasters facing this country.
The other two? A massive earthquake in San Francisco, and, almost prophetically, a terrorist attack on New York City.
The New Orleans hurricane scenario may be the deadliest of all.
In the face of an approaching storm, scientists say, the city's less-than-adequate evacuation routes would strand 250,000 people or more, and probably kill one of 10 left behind as the city drowned under 20 feet of water. Thousands of refugees could land in Houston.
Economically, the toll would be shattering.
Southern Louisiana produces one-third of the country's seafood, one-fifth of its oil and one-quarter of its natural gas. The city's tourism, lifeblood of the French Quarter, would cease to exist. The Big Easy might never recover.
And, given New Orleans' precarious perch, some academics wonder if it should be rebuilt at all.
It's been 36 years since Hurricane Betsy buried New Orleans 8 feet deep. Since then a deteriorating ecosystem and increased development have left the city in an ever more precarious position. Yet the problem went unaddressed for decades by a laissez-faire government, experts said.
"To some extent, I think we've been lulled to sleep," said Marc Levitan, director of Louisiana State University's hurricane center.
Hurricane season ended Friday, and for the second straight year no hurricanes hit the United States. But the season nonetheless continued a long-term trend of more active seasons, forecasters said. Tropical Storm Allison became this country's most destructive tropical storm ever.
Yet despite the damage Allison wrought upon Houston, dropping more than 3 feet of water in some areas, a few days later much of the city returned to normal as bloated bayous drained into the Gulf of Mexico.
The same storm dumped a mere 5 inches on New Orleans, nearly overwhelming the city's pump system. If an Allison-type storm were to strike New Orleans, or a Category 3 storm or greater with at least 111 mph winds, the results would be cataclysmic, New Orleans planners said.
"Any significant water that comes into this city is a dangerous threat," Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency management director, told Scientific American for an October article.
"Even though I have to plan for it, I don't even want to think about the loss of life a huge hurricane would cause."
New Orleans is essentially a bowl ringed by levees that protect the city from the Mississippi River to its south and Lake Pontchartrain to the north. The bottom of the bowl is 14 feet below sea level, and efforts to keep it dry are only digging a deeper hole.
During routine rainfalls the city's dozens of pumps push water uphill into the lake. This, in turn, draws water from the ground, further drying the ground and sinking it deeper, a problem known as subsidence.
This problem also faces Houston as water wells have sucked the ground dry. Houston's solution is a plan to convert to surface drinking water. For New Orleans, eliminating pumping during a rainfall is not an option, so the city continues to sink.
A big storm, scientists said, would likely block four of five evacuation routes long before it hit. Those left behind would have no power or transportation, and little food or medicine, and no prospects for a return to normal any time soon.
"The bowl would be full," Levitan said. "There's simply no place for the water to drain."
Estimates for pumping the city dry after a huge storm vary from six to 16 weeks. Hundreds of thousands would be homeless, their residences destroyed.
The only solution, scientists, politicians and other Louisiana officials agree, is to take large-scale steps to minimize the risks, such as rebuilding the protective delta.
Every two miles of marsh between New Orleans and the Gulf reduces a storm surge -- which in some cases is 20 feet or higher -- by half a foot.
In 1990, the Breaux Act, named for its author, Sen. John Breaux, D-La., created a task force of several federal agencies to address the severe wetlands loss in coastal Louisiana. The act has brought about $40 million a year for wetland restoration projects, but it hasn't been enough.
"It's kind of been like trying to give aspirin to a cancer patient," said Len Bahr, director of Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster's coastal activities office.
The state loses about 25 square miles of land a year, the equivalent of about one football field every 15 minutes. The fishing industry, without marshes, swamps and fertile wetlands, could lose a projected $37 billion by the year 2050.
University of New Orleans researchers studied the impact of Breaux Act projects on the vanishing wetlands and estimated that only 2 percent of the loss has been averted. Clearly, Bahr said, there is a need for something much bigger. There is some evidence this finally may be happening.
A consortium of local, state and federal agencies is studying a $2 billion to $3 billion plan to divert sediment from the Mississippi River back into the delta. Because the river is leveed all the way to the Gulf, where sediment is dumped into deep water, nothing is left to replenish the receding delta.
Other possible projects include restoration of barrier reefs and perhaps a large gate to prevent Lake Pontchartrain from overflowing and drowning the city.
All are multibillion-dollar projects. A plan to restore the Florida Everglades attracted $4 billion in federal funding, but the state had to match it dollar for dollar. In Louisiana, so far, there's only been a willingness to match 15 or 25 cents.
"Our state still looks for a 100 percent federal bailout, but that's just not going to happen," said University of New Orleans geologist Shea Penland, a delta expert.
"We have an image and credibility problem. We have to convince our country that they need to take us seriously, that they can trust us to do a science-based restoration program."
San Francisco, beware! :-(
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Spamming
Just a bit pissed off. I appreciate that people I don't know read this blog, I wouldn't have thought it possible, and maybe it's not entirely true, but the possibility doesn't bother me. However, it DOES piss me off that out of the blue people come into my blogs (this one and Anais's Travels) and use the comment section like an ad forum. I don't do this to anyone, not even to plug my own blogs, much less to plug websites or whatever else it is that people like YOU ( dominque19kalyn and someone else whose user got erased from my registry as soon as I deleted his/her comment) are trying to plug. News and ads do not interest me, or at least I do not appreciate my blog being used as a tableau for commercial/public expression. If I want to see ads or read news, I will log onto the appropriate sites. This is not one of them. Please do not use my blog to plug your shit anymore. Besides, this doesn't get many hits. Go get a popular blog and leave mine well alone.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Moving day is at hand. Prepare to move your very, very odd family.
"They put our burrow on the fourth floor!"
Viernes, segun sali, fue para hacer unas diligencias con mi hermano (creo yo) ... tiene que haber sido asi, casi no recuerdo el viernes en la noche, solo se q mi adorada media toronja esa noche no durmio, sino que se quedo dormido en las escaleras del nuevo apartamento tratando de subir el sof (que eventualmente termino botandose pq no habia forma de hacerlo caber ni por las escaleras ni por el balcon)
El sabado me levante relativamente temprano (9:30AM) para llevar a mi mama a donde la estilista pq se le antojo que el recorte del fin de semana anterior se lo habian hecho mal. (OJO: A esa hora que sali fue que desayune, como a las 10AM). Luego de estar una hora y pico alla, la lleve a Sam's a hacer compras (ya ahi eran como las 12 del mediodia). Saliendo de Sam's, zacate! una pelea con Chichi (mi hermana) y su condenao telefono-apendice. Eniweis, eso fue llegar a casa con la compra, para cambiarme, montar las cajas de la mudanza mia que ya tenia listas al baul de mi carro y arrancar para Santurce para empezar las labores de mudanza. No me acuerdo ya ni que hora era cuando sali de casa de mi madre.
El sabado fue cuestion de subir al cuarto piso puros bloques de cemento (estos son parte integral de los tablilleros de Eze y Fonso, 22 bloques en total). Aparte de eso, muchas otras cosas mas se subieron por esas escaleras, aparte de la nevera y la estufa, que la subieron los se~ores que las trajeron, pero igual, es tremendo trabajito. A fin de cuentas salimos de alli como a las 7:30 embalaos, sin ba~arnos, sudados, apestosos, hambrientos (pq nunca nos detuvimos a comer) hacia la estacion (incluida yo, pq el sabado fue mi debut como colaboradora de Frecuencias Alternas wiiii ). Eso fue caer en casa, recoger una muda de ropa para arrancar para la estacion, y alla tienen un ba~ito (SIN calentador, esa agua sale como de freezer) y alli me pude venir a ba~ar como a las 10PM y con un dolor de cabeza encojonao, que se me exacerbo con el frio excesivo, y olvidate ... sin comer tampoco desde las 10AM (por doce horas) me sentia digna de un flushazo ... Me tuve que recostar en el piso de uno de los salones sin usar, no pude cumplir con mis tareas de archivista oficial del programa esa noche y para el colmo al acostarme el dolor de cabeza se fue in crescendo... Vinimos a comer a las 2AM, despues de salir del programa. Y ya mi dolor de cabeza convertido en migra~a estaba tan fuerte, q me dio nauseas y no pude comer tampoco. Una Advil y pa'la cama a eso de las 2:30AM.
El domingo nos levantamos al mediodia, me comi las sobras mias de la noche anterior, y asi mismo le meti las manos a la cocina, para empacar todo todo todo lo que habia alli. A eso de las 4:30 o 5PM salimos al apt nuevo (ya los muchachos habian hecho par de rondas con la ayuda del papa y el hermano de Eze)... lo mismo ... no comimos de nuevo sino hasta las 7:30 ... sali del meollo como a las 10PM, muerta de cansancio, sudada ... pa mi casa, donde igual, nadie nunca se entero del trabajo horrible que pase (si, lo resiento, pq Eze tenia a su hermano y a su papa ayudandonos, Fonso tenia a su papa y a su amigo ayudandonos ... yo no tenia a nadie, mi hermano me salio con el issue de que estaba enfermo y listo, mi mama y mi hermana no me iban a ayudar... y mi papa en Florida ... ... q era el quien siempre me ayudaba con esas cosas ... ayyy, pa!
Eniweis, ya hoy los chicos entregan su apt viejo, aun faltaban par de cosas, pero creo q sacamos el grueso del trabajo alante en el fin de semana, con el unico gran detalle de que ninguno de nosotros descanso un carajo ... pero creo q valio la pena la movida ... ahora solo falta lo mio
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Get Happy
... on the tragic qualities of human nature, or how we lose childhood's brilliance little by little until all is left is a gray, dry, empty husk.
Self Note:
Remember: "Elegia" by New Order
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Stumbleine
Many things have come down since last time I wrote. I did have my one-week vacation, which was spent mostly apartment-hunting with Eze and Fonso. I had time to rest, to fool around, to stay up very very late... my last day, I went to a wake, though, something that shook the core of my small group of friends. M.'s mother died, and although I didn't know the lady, when Eze told me, it hit me like a stone to the face.
Strangely enough, even if my mother came to mind, it hurt most because of M., because I know how much this must hurt her. What else could I say at a moment like this? These are probably the kind of moments in which silence is perfection.
...
The move will start on Friday most possibly. Our new landlord's name is Edwin ("Hi! My name is Edwin! I will be your landlord today!" <-- yes, I could easily picture this rosy-cheeked person saying that) and the apartment is, for lack of better words, almost perfect:
3 spacy rooms
ample common space (living room/dining room)
a killer view (this is almost in the heart of our capital city, and you can see as far as the mountains, even on a hazy day)
very nice ventilation (a breeze runs through it, YES!)
The only deal that concerns me a bit is the Luna(dog)/Chivita(cat) interaction possibilities:
Worst case scenario: Cat & Dog will hate each other to death, or at least to the point of trying to kill each other, and Luna will have to spend weekdays, 8AM - 5PM, inside our room, destroying everything in sight out of pure boredom or desperation to get out.
Best case scenario: They will ignore each other, in which case it would be fine and dandy, I could let Luna roam the place freely during the day.
Another option would be to leave Luna at Mom's during the week, and then have a divorced-parent-like deal in which I could pick her up on Friday and return her Sunday night. But I still have heavy doubts, even about that arrangement, which would mean possible feelings of unstability and anxiety for Luna. Plus Monday was Ex-Pet Day too...
Yeah, Ex-Pet Day: Aeris's owner asked me to take care of her for a few weeks, while Copito (their other dog, one cute, little, white puff who has allegedly been a wonderful playmate for Aeris)recovers from an acute heart condition. Mom said "yes" on our following phone call (she even went as far as to say "How could I say no, if you're taking me to Dianita's on saturday?" (Dianita is our hairstylist, she lives a 30-minutes drive away, and while to me that is a reasonable distance, Mom refuses to drive beyond the San Juan-Rio Piedras borders, even Guaynabo is a bit too far and to me that is just plain lazy)... then, later on I got a call from my brother, ranting about all that was wrong about putting together Hyper-jumper Luna with Uber-crazy Aeris... then when I got home, Mom went ahead and against all my wishes that she would hold true to her word, she changed her mind. Unfortunately, I'm not the vengeful type. I'm still taking her to Dianita's. But I just wish that for once she started doing things for herself. It's not even the gas expenses, I can live with that. Last known time she drove to a place more than 20 minutes away was to go to Palmas del Mar to meet up with the prick that was her lover at the time. If she could place just half the effort to do things for herself instead of doing things to please men ... **sigh**
Well, that same night, after the whole hair-rising scene that ensued out of mom's chickenshit back-out, I received a call from an unknown number. Somebody had found Cleo (my second cat, and Aeris's second playmate, being Nina - Mom's dog - her first). Now, I started wondering why the hell were they calling me. It has been more than a year since I moved out of Martha's house, handing Vero (one of my stepsisters, the oldest) the cat, a cat that was born into the family when I was 21 and working my private life away in Cabo Rojo for Unisys. I figured Vero would take good care of Cleo, I mean, this cat is family. Well, later on, long after the fact, I realized Vero had given the cat away. It didn't exactly surprise me, since she married into a family intolerant of cats (and with a combined IQ insufficient to understand that black cats are not bad luck). I trusted her, though, to had chosen an appropriate place for her, a place she would be loved and taken care of, as I did (while under my care, Cleo was spayed, tagged and got over her fear of small dogs). Surprised may I be to find that the idiot that adopted her didn't even bother to change the tag so it would display THEIR phone number! IT MAKES ME REALLY MAD!
... since life is telling me "This is what you get for giving pets away.", I'm not leaving anyone behind from now on. Luna stays with me, no matter what. Apparently you can't trust anyone, not even family, to give importance to the things you care about, much less care themsleves.
Strangely enough, even if my mother came to mind, it hurt most because of M., because I know how much this must hurt her. What else could I say at a moment like this? These are probably the kind of moments in which silence is perfection.
...
The move will start on Friday most possibly. Our new landlord's name is Edwin ("Hi! My name is Edwin! I will be your landlord today!" <-- yes, I could easily picture this rosy-cheeked person saying that) and the apartment is, for lack of better words, almost perfect:
3 spacy rooms
ample common space (living room/dining room)
a killer view (this is almost in the heart of our capital city, and you can see as far as the mountains, even on a hazy day)
very nice ventilation (a breeze runs through it, YES!)
The only deal that concerns me a bit is the Luna(dog)/Chivita(cat) interaction possibilities:
Worst case scenario: Cat & Dog will hate each other to death, or at least to the point of trying to kill each other, and Luna will have to spend weekdays, 8AM - 5PM, inside our room, destroying everything in sight out of pure boredom or desperation to get out.
Best case scenario: They will ignore each other, in which case it would be fine and dandy, I could let Luna roam the place freely during the day.
Another option would be to leave Luna at Mom's during the week, and then have a divorced-parent-like deal in which I could pick her up on Friday and return her Sunday night. But I still have heavy doubts, even about that arrangement, which would mean possible feelings of unstability and anxiety for Luna. Plus Monday was Ex-Pet Day too...
Yeah, Ex-Pet Day: Aeris's owner asked me to take care of her for a few weeks, while Copito (their other dog, one cute, little, white puff who has allegedly been a wonderful playmate for Aeris)recovers from an acute heart condition. Mom said "yes" on our following phone call (she even went as far as to say "How could I say no, if you're taking me to Dianita's on saturday?" (Dianita is our hairstylist, she lives a 30-minutes drive away, and while to me that is a reasonable distance, Mom refuses to drive beyond the San Juan-Rio Piedras borders, even Guaynabo is a bit too far and to me that is just plain lazy)... then, later on I got a call from my brother, ranting about all that was wrong about putting together Hyper-jumper Luna with Uber-crazy Aeris... then when I got home, Mom went ahead and against all my wishes that she would hold true to her word, she changed her mind. Unfortunately, I'm not the vengeful type. I'm still taking her to Dianita's. But I just wish that for once she started doing things for herself. It's not even the gas expenses, I can live with that. Last known time she drove to a place more than 20 minutes away was to go to Palmas del Mar to meet up with the prick that was her lover at the time. If she could place just half the effort to do things for herself instead of doing things to please men ... **sigh**
Well, that same night, after the whole hair-rising scene that ensued out of mom's chickenshit back-out, I received a call from an unknown number. Somebody had found Cleo (my second cat, and Aeris's second playmate, being Nina - Mom's dog - her first). Now, I started wondering why the hell were they calling me. It has been more than a year since I moved out of Martha's house, handing Vero (one of my stepsisters, the oldest) the cat, a cat that was born into the family when I was 21 and working my private life away in Cabo Rojo for Unisys. I figured Vero would take good care of Cleo, I mean, this cat is family. Well, later on, long after the fact, I realized Vero had given the cat away. It didn't exactly surprise me, since she married into a family intolerant of cats (and with a combined IQ insufficient to understand that black cats are not bad luck). I trusted her, though, to had chosen an appropriate place for her, a place she would be loved and taken care of, as I did (while under my care, Cleo was spayed, tagged and got over her fear of small dogs). Surprised may I be to find that the idiot that adopted her didn't even bother to change the tag so it would display THEIR phone number! IT MAKES ME REALLY MAD!
... since life is telling me "This is what you get for giving pets away.", I'm not leaving anyone behind from now on. Luna stays with me, no matter what. Apparently you can't trust anyone, not even family, to give importance to the things you care about, much less care themsleves.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Going down the drain
Well, since I arrived (7/12) things haven't been exactly the same for me. During my 6-day trip to see my dad I realized how attached I've become to Eze, not in the sense of "oh-I-can't-live-without-you", but ... let's say it can be summed up in the following instance:
While I was there, most of the places I went to were malls. That's what Florida appears to be - a huge strip-mall without air conditioner. One of the malls I went to was in Naples. In there we visited stores in a whimsical manner: jewelry shops, pet turtle stands with ample tanks in the center, gag stores in which we whiled away the time and worries (and the money too)... we visited a bookstore, too. Not a huge bookstore, mind you, but organized and pretty enough to vaguely remind me of Border's in Escorial Plaza (one of our main hang-out places). I don't remember what we were looking at, but I suddenly got this thought in my mind "Well, this is nice! Nice place! And tonight I get to see Eze, which makes it even bet-" ... that's when I realized: I might not need Eze around all the time, but I do like to have him close by in my life... I have come to associate him with feeling comfortable and contented with my life in general.
Nonetheless, I had a good time in Florida. There are pictures still trapped inside the mem card in my camera, but the batteries I brought along with me pulled the plug in one of the worst moments, and what's worse: I never was able to take a picture of myself with my father. But there are pictures of my father and his wife and lots of other things ... which I might share later on... as soon as I get over my rage with the batteries and decide to put them into the camera again ... or as soon as I decide to replace them with new ones.
I got here, as I said, 7/12 ... to start working right away the next day. I was so lost. Our division (IT) had moved area again. It turned out for the best, though: I got a bigger desk, with an overhead bin and drawers to boot! It looks much more organized (and it is much more organized). So at work everything is cool, plus apparently everyone decided to go on vacation next week, so those of us left have to take the week off 'cuz they're shutting down anyway. Next week is off! Weeeeee ^_^
As a matter of fact, "next week is off" is a good one for me. Eze and I have our anniversary coming up (tomorrow!) and having the whole week off, both of us, is the best unplanned program ever. But our economic situation won't let us get as "away" as we would have liked, plus now the whole dispatch of gas has been paralized by the truck-drivers' union. (Yesh, shitty island, I know) I guess next week I will get to know the public transport system a whole lot better.
My sister bought the new installment on the Harry Potter book series:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I started reading on Sunday or Monday, I think. I'm not even half way through the book and already some halfwit at this totally unrelated site placed the biggest spoiler right on the front page. DO NOT ENTER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW! At least I was REALLY put off by this. I might as well erase the link from my bookmarks and never peek into the site again. Other than that, the book is coming along pretty nicely (I know Eze would not agree, but then again, he hasn't read through a single HP book and seems to think that it's an either/or situation when it comes to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings).
On Tuesday I sat Chichi down to watch Spirited Away. This would be the third time I've watched this movie, and I've noticed my reactions are as varied as my PMS moods.
This scene in particular, when they're riding the train across the "lake", gave me such a sensation of loneliness ... the same sensation I felt when I took the planes to and from Florida. Same lonely sensation, specially coming back. An empty gut feeling, like the mood in a hospital hall when you have some family member sick and dying... lonely, empty, silent ...
And that is pretty much what my dreams have been like since I arrived. I don't know where the fear of being left behind came from, but it has been exacerbated since I returned, to the point of dreaming that Eze had moved to the US (an improbability, far more impossible than getting some sense into Tom Cruise in these past few weeks)...
Well ... so this has been it for now. Pictures soon, depending on my mood and state of affairs with my batteries ...
BTW: put up a new blog, quite limited in theme, but hey! it's my space, and I think an open space for the subject of "pets" was long overdue anyways. I placed my first adoptee as first post, but I don't know why it won't play on the main window, like Mika's does! HELP?
While I was there, most of the places I went to were malls. That's what Florida appears to be - a huge strip-mall without air conditioner. One of the malls I went to was in Naples. In there we visited stores in a whimsical manner: jewelry shops, pet turtle stands with ample tanks in the center, gag stores in which we whiled away the time and worries (and the money too)... we visited a bookstore, too. Not a huge bookstore, mind you, but organized and pretty enough to vaguely remind me of Border's in Escorial Plaza (one of our main hang-out places). I don't remember what we were looking at, but I suddenly got this thought in my mind "Well, this is nice! Nice place! And tonight I get to see Eze, which makes it even bet-" ... that's when I realized: I might not need Eze around all the time, but I do like to have him close by in my life... I have come to associate him with feeling comfortable and contented with my life in general.
Nonetheless, I had a good time in Florida. There are pictures still trapped inside the mem card in my camera, but the batteries I brought along with me pulled the plug in one of the worst moments, and what's worse: I never was able to take a picture of myself with my father. But there are pictures of my father and his wife and lots of other things ... which I might share later on... as soon as I get over my rage with the batteries and decide to put them into the camera again ... or as soon as I decide to replace them with new ones.
I got here, as I said, 7/12 ... to start working right away the next day. I was so lost. Our division (IT) had moved area again. It turned out for the best, though: I got a bigger desk, with an overhead bin and drawers to boot! It looks much more organized (and it is much more organized). So at work everything is cool, plus apparently everyone decided to go on vacation next week, so those of us left have to take the week off 'cuz they're shutting down anyway. Next week is off! Weeeeee ^_^
As a matter of fact, "next week is off" is a good one for me. Eze and I have our anniversary coming up (tomorrow!) and having the whole week off, both of us, is the best unplanned program ever. But our economic situation won't let us get as "away" as we would have liked, plus now the whole dispatch of gas has been paralized by the truck-drivers' union. (Yesh, shitty island, I know) I guess next week I will get to know the public transport system a whole lot better.
My sister bought the new installment on the Harry Potter book series:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I started reading on Sunday or Monday, I think. I'm not even half way through the book and already some halfwit at this totally unrelated site placed the biggest spoiler right on the front page. DO NOT ENTER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW! At least I was REALLY put off by this. I might as well erase the link from my bookmarks and never peek into the site again. Other than that, the book is coming along pretty nicely (I know Eze would not agree, but then again, he hasn't read through a single HP book and seems to think that it's an either/or situation when it comes to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings).
On Tuesday I sat Chichi down to watch Spirited Away. This would be the third time I've watched this movie, and I've noticed my reactions are as varied as my PMS moods.
This scene in particular, when they're riding the train across the "lake", gave me such a sensation of loneliness ... the same sensation I felt when I took the planes to and from Florida. Same lonely sensation, specially coming back. An empty gut feeling, like the mood in a hospital hall when you have some family member sick and dying... lonely, empty, silent ...
And that is pretty much what my dreams have been like since I arrived. I don't know where the fear of being left behind came from, but it has been exacerbated since I returned, to the point of dreaming that Eze had moved to the US (an improbability, far more impossible than getting some sense into Tom Cruise in these past few weeks)...
Well ... so this has been it for now. Pictures soon, depending on my mood and state of affairs with my batteries ...
BTW: put up a new blog, quite limited in theme, but hey! it's my space, and I think an open space for the subject of "pets" was long overdue anyways. I placed my first adoptee as first post, but I don't know why it won't play on the main window, like Mika's does! HELP?
Thursday, July 07, 2005
From the Plane.. tha plane!
yes, from the plane... I may post this later on, but at least here, now, as I write this, i'm on board. And it's more meek, lame, mild, blah than I remember. These seats are as uncomfortable as having your dentist ask you to please remove your clothes from the waist down. This is savage: we get crammed in a barely adequate space for six people side by side, and there are eight of us here. Four on the aisle and two and two by the windows. Thankfully I got a window seat... well, does it really matter? I'm getting bored anyway, it's not like the view has anything to offer: blue blue blue blue... oh, and white and blue again. (although i just looked out the window, and there IS a zen-like appeal to the whole electric blue view .... with white little rain-sheep speckled all over... clouds are cleaner on this side).
The anxiety over meeting Dad has subsided a bit (only a bit) to be replaced by my immediate attention to the fact that my back and my neck hurt - was it the backpack? or these cruelly uncomfortable seats?
Oh, and one other little detail: I didn't know garbage traveled with us. They play VH1 on airplanes, particularly "reality" TV shows like Ashlee "Hoppity-Hop-while-the-tape-deck-plays" Simpson's. That and these people don't offer in-flight food (anymore?). At least not for free. Then again, who in their right mind woud pay $5 for airplane food? I would, only if I were flying by ACES (Colombian airline, I think it might be deceased). In any other case, they can stick their funny-tasting sandwiches up their ass. I'll have some water with 2 drops of coffee (that which gringos call coffee per se) and that granola bar you're shoving down our throats, I'm sure it tastes better than the shit you're selling, and it's for free. (Either all that makes sense, or I'm just subconsciously bitter about not getting breakfast).
But hey, this is just a few hours, after that, from what I gather, I'm getting pampered for a few days, and best of all: I get to see Dad! ^_^ (oh and another tiny plus on the side- I got a carton of Benson Menthol Light cigarettes for just $20 :-D … AND I saved a bunch of money with Geico!)
The anxiety over meeting Dad has subsided a bit (only a bit) to be replaced by my immediate attention to the fact that my back and my neck hurt - was it the backpack? or these cruelly uncomfortable seats?
Oh, and one other little detail: I didn't know garbage traveled with us. They play VH1 on airplanes, particularly "reality" TV shows like Ashlee "Hoppity-Hop-while-the-tape-deck-plays" Simpson's. That and these people don't offer in-flight food (anymore?). At least not for free. Then again, who in their right mind woud pay $5 for airplane food? I would, only if I were flying by ACES (Colombian airline, I think it might be deceased). In any other case, they can stick their funny-tasting sandwiches up their ass. I'll have some water with 2 drops of coffee (that which gringos call coffee per se) and that granola bar you're shoving down our throats, I'm sure it tastes better than the shit you're selling, and it's for free. (Either all that makes sense, or I'm just subconsciously bitter about not getting breakfast).
But hey, this is just a few hours, after that, from what I gather, I'm getting pampered for a few days, and best of all: I get to see Dad! ^_^ (oh and another tiny plus on the side- I got a carton of Benson Menthol Light cigarettes for just $20 :-D … AND I saved a bunch of money with Geico!)
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Lamaze for the Un-Pregnant.
Ok, tengo que sentarme y respirar hondo. La ansiedad va in crescendo. Me doy cuenta q lo que faltan son dos dias na mas, de hecho, un solo dia laboral de por medio, el resto es, como diria mi padre, ca~i~a'e mono. Pero me voy dando cuenta de que el prospecto de montarme en un avion, aunque no menos atractivo, tambien me aterra ... es una de esas sensaciones entre placer y panico (que cosas no? las dos p)
No es porque me de miedo que se caiga el avion, explote o en general pase una desgracia que me deje sin extremidades o en ultimo caso, sin vida. Esas cosas bien podrian pasar, pero ahi yo no puedo hacer nada. En todo caso montamos balsa y nos tiramos a la Habana y hacemos Lost 2: Latino Edition cha cha cha! con maracas y todo.
Lo que me provoca ansiedad es el prospecto del viaje mismo, y no se si es miedo o simple ansiedad de que llegue ya ese dia. En todo caso, bien podria ser ansiedad por ver a mi padre, pero tambien es esas cosquillitas que se me salen cada vez q voy a viajar (no es muy a menudo, desafortunadamente). Todo ese proceso de esperar en una sala con mas ventanas que las recomendables (no creo q aquellos q sufren de un autentico miedo a volar deban ver como el vuelo con hora de llegada a 30 minutos del despegue del suyo se estrella contra las vallas de la pista y explota, dejando huesos y craneos esparcidos como si hubiese explotado una pi~ata), hacer la filita toda civilizada para montarse en el avion, ver el pasillito con todo y complejo de acordeon (lo que suena es el lamento de los que le tienen fobia a volar, no es un acordeon de verdad, mi gente), sentarse en esa butaquita que a duras penas acomoda el trasero bien alimentado de una ... todo eso ... y mirar por la ventana pa fuera y obsesionarse de modo enfermizo por dos horas con los motores o las helices ... si, es una delicia. De hecho, creo que para combatir la obsesividad voy a llevar mi laptop y par de peliculas que me interesa ver. A ver si en el mejor de los casos se le acaba la bateria justo antes de aterrizar ... el peor de los casos ni lo menciono. Una cosa es llamar al diablo, otra cosa es verlo venirse en tu cara.
Sexaaaaay!
A toda esa expectativa de experiencia, le sumamos la ansiedad por ver a mi padre, que no lo veo hace mas de un a~o... una se imagina (o trata de imaginarse) la cara de el cuando me vea... pero mas comico va a ser ver la temblequera q voy a tener, probablemente si me colocan dentro de un modulo de estudio de movimientos, puedo servir de modelo para el proximo vibrador que lancen al mercado. Nada mas de imaginarme la escena, me estremezco de la felicidad... y la ansiedad.
Deberia viajar mas a menudo, a lo mejor estas pelotudeces no me ocurririan tan violentamente. Bueno, ahi Eze esta considerando unos precios para pasaje a Espa~a en Navidad. De ser ese el caso, la ansiedad va a ser doble: 1) Viaje mas largo, 2) Visita a un lugar nunca antes visto. Me anima mucho el prospecto y soy capaz de dejar mis ahorros ahi, es una experiencia unica (aunq esperaria que fuera un poco mas comun, pero para eso hace falta lo que los cristianos le llaman un "milagrito", y yo le llamo "situacion providencial" ... si, todo suena a que la virgen maria - en minusculas, pq mas comun el nombre no podia ser - de todos modos va a meter la cuchara, me guste o no)
Es diminuta pero esta ahi, la cuchara...
De todos modos, desde alla posiblemente postee algo en este blog, o a lo mejor no, hay que ver que ritmo de vida han adoptado mi padre y mi madrastra. Se que tienen cable modem (o al menos broadband: same shit, different provider) pero segun me cuenta Martha, papi llega a la casa es a conectarse al internet y empezar a bajar musica y etc etc por ahi pa'bajo ... sounds familiar?
It always does ...
No es porque me de miedo que se caiga el avion, explote o en general pase una desgracia que me deje sin extremidades o en ultimo caso, sin vida. Esas cosas bien podrian pasar, pero ahi yo no puedo hacer nada. En todo caso montamos balsa y nos tiramos a la Habana y hacemos Lost 2: Latino Edition cha cha cha! con maracas y todo.
Lo que me provoca ansiedad es el prospecto del viaje mismo, y no se si es miedo o simple ansiedad de que llegue ya ese dia. En todo caso, bien podria ser ansiedad por ver a mi padre, pero tambien es esas cosquillitas que se me salen cada vez q voy a viajar (no es muy a menudo, desafortunadamente). Todo ese proceso de esperar en una sala con mas ventanas que las recomendables (no creo q aquellos q sufren de un autentico miedo a volar deban ver como el vuelo con hora de llegada a 30 minutos del despegue del suyo se estrella contra las vallas de la pista y explota, dejando huesos y craneos esparcidos como si hubiese explotado una pi~ata), hacer la filita toda civilizada para montarse en el avion, ver el pasillito con todo y complejo de acordeon (lo que suena es el lamento de los que le tienen fobia a volar, no es un acordeon de verdad, mi gente), sentarse en esa butaquita que a duras penas acomoda el trasero bien alimentado de una ... todo eso ... y mirar por la ventana pa fuera y obsesionarse de modo enfermizo por dos horas con los motores o las helices ... si, es una delicia. De hecho, creo que para combatir la obsesividad voy a llevar mi laptop y par de peliculas que me interesa ver. A ver si en el mejor de los casos se le acaba la bateria justo antes de aterrizar ... el peor de los casos ni lo menciono. Una cosa es llamar al diablo, otra cosa es verlo venirse en tu cara.
Sexaaaaay!
A toda esa expectativa de experiencia, le sumamos la ansiedad por ver a mi padre, que no lo veo hace mas de un a~o... una se imagina (o trata de imaginarse) la cara de el cuando me vea... pero mas comico va a ser ver la temblequera q voy a tener, probablemente si me colocan dentro de un modulo de estudio de movimientos, puedo servir de modelo para el proximo vibrador que lancen al mercado. Nada mas de imaginarme la escena, me estremezco de la felicidad... y la ansiedad.
Deberia viajar mas a menudo, a lo mejor estas pelotudeces no me ocurririan tan violentamente. Bueno, ahi Eze esta considerando unos precios para pasaje a Espa~a en Navidad. De ser ese el caso, la ansiedad va a ser doble: 1) Viaje mas largo, 2) Visita a un lugar nunca antes visto. Me anima mucho el prospecto y soy capaz de dejar mis ahorros ahi, es una experiencia unica (aunq esperaria que fuera un poco mas comun, pero para eso hace falta lo que los cristianos le llaman un "milagrito", y yo le llamo "situacion providencial" ... si, todo suena a que la virgen maria - en minusculas, pq mas comun el nombre no podia ser - de todos modos va a meter la cuchara, me guste o no)
Es diminuta pero esta ahi, la cuchara...
De todos modos, desde alla posiblemente postee algo en este blog, o a lo mejor no, hay que ver que ritmo de vida han adoptado mi padre y mi madrastra. Se que tienen cable modem (o al menos broadband: same shit, different provider) pero segun me cuenta Martha, papi llega a la casa es a conectarse al internet y empezar a bajar musica y etc etc por ahi pa'bajo ... sounds familiar?
It always does ...
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Getting Closer
... No se si es la ansiedad o que, pero ultimamente he estado teniendo sue~os muy vividos. Me acuerdo de tres, de los cuales dos tienen que ver con mi familia de parte de papi (a quien muy pronto estare visitando, claro, sin conocimiento de el).
El primero que tuve fue bastante obvio: la ansiedad con el viaje por avion en si. So~e que estaba dando el viaje, pero en vez de estar dentro del avion, estaba sentada en una sillita puesta afuera, sobre el ala ... sin cinturon de seguridad ni nada ... de mas esta decir que el sue~o entero estuve haciendome un ocho tratando de mantenerme sobre la silla. Un susto.
El segundo sue~o tuvo de escenario una casa bastante similar a la ultima casa en la cual papi vivio aqui en PR. Estabamos todos reunidos (todos siendo yo, mis hermanos, mis hermanastros, mi madrastra y mi papa) ... no recuerdo pormenores del sue~o... ya no, q jodienda! A mi se me suele olvidar con facilidad esos detalles.
El de anoche fue mas vivido aun (o al menos esta bien fresquecito en mi mente, aparte de q fue bastante largo... se me pego la sabana y todo). Soñe con tres hombres. Ninguno es mi pareja actual. Pero con todos estaba involucrada (lo cual me parece una puteria de mi parte, pero total: no tengo control sobre lo que sue~o).
Uno de ellos era jovencito, probablemente no mayor de 22 o 23 a~os de edad, palido, bien delgado, de ojos azul electrico(unos ojos muy bonitos, por cierto, y eso que no soy devota de los ojos claros) y pelo rizado, negro. Ese era mi "admirador" fiel, perrito faldero, lo q quieran llamarle. Lindo como el sol, pero con una personalidad sosa por mas decir. Sin embargo en el sue~o me vi en un momento enjorqueta con el... a varios niveles, para ser honesta. Besandolo y abrazandolo con unas ganas incandescentes ... :-S ... y lo peor: considerandolo como pareja en mi mente, aun cuando sabia que dejaba mucho que desear en cuanto a fuerza de personalidad.
El segundo era feo como el rayetes, feo a nivel de este cabron:
... pero menos amarillento. Lo problematico del asunto es que no importa que tan feo y desagradable era, desataba en mi un deseo sexual irreprimible.
El tercero ... H.. No se qué hace H. en mis sue~os, pero bueno, es su problema, no el mio. Lo curioso es que a el era a quien le confesaba toda la verdad ... pq supuestamente era con el con quien yo estaba a nivel formal. Bueno ... un despingue ...
La noche fabulosa q tuve tiene que haberme jamaqueado el cerebro, de seguro. Eso o los Butter Toffee Peanuts dan pesadillas o sue~os extra~os.
El primero que tuve fue bastante obvio: la ansiedad con el viaje por avion en si. So~e que estaba dando el viaje, pero en vez de estar dentro del avion, estaba sentada en una sillita puesta afuera, sobre el ala ... sin cinturon de seguridad ni nada ... de mas esta decir que el sue~o entero estuve haciendome un ocho tratando de mantenerme sobre la silla. Un susto.
El segundo sue~o tuvo de escenario una casa bastante similar a la ultima casa en la cual papi vivio aqui en PR. Estabamos todos reunidos (todos siendo yo, mis hermanos, mis hermanastros, mi madrastra y mi papa) ... no recuerdo pormenores del sue~o... ya no, q jodienda! A mi se me suele olvidar con facilidad esos detalles.
El de anoche fue mas vivido aun (o al menos esta bien fresquecito en mi mente, aparte de q fue bastante largo... se me pego la sabana y todo). Soñe con tres hombres. Ninguno es mi pareja actual. Pero con todos estaba involucrada (lo cual me parece una puteria de mi parte, pero total: no tengo control sobre lo que sue~o).
Uno de ellos era jovencito, probablemente no mayor de 22 o 23 a~os de edad, palido, bien delgado, de ojos azul electrico(unos ojos muy bonitos, por cierto, y eso que no soy devota de los ojos claros) y pelo rizado, negro. Ese era mi "admirador" fiel, perrito faldero, lo q quieran llamarle. Lindo como el sol, pero con una personalidad sosa por mas decir. Sin embargo en el sue~o me vi en un momento enjorqueta con el... a varios niveles, para ser honesta. Besandolo y abrazandolo con unas ganas incandescentes ... :-S ... y lo peor: considerandolo como pareja en mi mente, aun cuando sabia que dejaba mucho que desear en cuanto a fuerza de personalidad.
El segundo era feo como el rayetes, feo a nivel de este cabron:
... pero menos amarillento. Lo problematico del asunto es que no importa que tan feo y desagradable era, desataba en mi un deseo sexual irreprimible.
El tercero ... H.. No se qué hace H. en mis sue~os, pero bueno, es su problema, no el mio. Lo curioso es que a el era a quien le confesaba toda la verdad ... pq supuestamente era con el con quien yo estaba a nivel formal. Bueno ... un despingue ...
La noche fabulosa q tuve tiene que haberme jamaqueado el cerebro, de seguro. Eso o los Butter Toffee Peanuts dan pesadillas o sue~os extra~os.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Last night I had the weirdest experience yet. I stayed over at Eze's apartment. All normal in the course of things. We had dinner, some beers, we had Pepe over for a visit, a nice time, some fun, it was good. I went to sleep, and Eze followed shortly after (although I barely noticed when he came in, I think I was sound asleep).
Later on, I wake up. Eze was talking in his sleep, almost shouting. Obviously, a nightmare, so I woke him up. I asked him what his dream was, he told me he dreamt of being lost in a forest, which strikes me as funny 'cuz he had woken me up from a dream in which I was walking through a forest with him (not so lost, though). I tell him this and say "Next time look for me, you weren't that lost after all" as if it were the most natural thing (at 2 or 3 AM anything makes sense). Then I went back to sleep. However, it surprises me a bit that I still remember this. I usually forget about dreams and things that happen to me when I'm half asleep. They're usually a blur under my consciousness.
Well, not this time. Seems like Eze and I actually shared a walk through the forest.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Feeling it more acutely. This is going to be a problem. I am fairly regular in my hormonal cycles, which means I might be having this same sensation a month from now ... which means I will be feeling like this just as I return to PR from that long expected vacation at my Dad's. I'm gonna be a mushy pile of shit.
Eze called me this morning: some motherfucking IDIOT smashed his window... apparently with no particular interest, since the only thing removed from the car was a jack hidden under the seat.
My mother has been in a bitchy mood (apparently) since yesterday. When confronted about said mood today she became prim-Miss-Rosie and suddenly ... oh! what have I been talking about? She? a bitch? NEVER! Oh dear, how dare I accuse her of that?! I am the bitch usually and will always be ... shuar!
Anyways, yesterday I had the most funny phone-run-in with my Dad. He was apparently at a loss trying to download some music and he thought it was supposed to be delivered at his e-mail acocunt. But the only thing in his inbox was a message filled with what he described as "binary code" (which I suppose is in truth just a bunch of random letters, numbers and characters). After a desperate call to Eze and some read-over at the site, I realize he needs (well, not so much needs, but that would ease the process) a client to download the mp3s. So I tell him, I download a copy of the exe file over here to guide him along, etc etc ... funny thing is he tells me he had downloaded the program. I tell him to try it again, to uninstall the old one and install the newest version. As soon as he opens his exe file he realizes: he had downloaded de exe file but hadn't run it ever ... he thought that was the way programs work ...
enditoooooo! ^_^ That's my Dad! (the same guy who wrote "Backap" instead of "back up")
Love ya, Dad!
Monday, June 13, 2005
(feeling blue, out of sorts, vulnerable, depressed ... looking for an answer deep inside what I know to be true)
LA ERA ESTA PARIENDO UN CORAZON
Le he preguntado
a mi sombra
a ver como ando
para reirme
mientras el llanto
con voz de templo
rompe en la sala
regando el tiempo.
Mi sombra dice
que reirse
es ver los llantos
como mi llanto
y me he callado
desesperado
y escucho entonces
la tierra llora.
La era esta pariendo
un corazon
no puede mas
se muere de dolor
y hay que acudir corriendo
pues se cae el porvenir.
En cualquier selva del mundo
en cualquier calle.
Debo dejar la casa
y el sillon
la madre vive hasta que muere el sol
y hay que quemar el cielo
si es preciso por vivir
Por cualquier hombre del mundo
por cualquier casa.
LA ERA ESTA PARIENDO UN CORAZON
Le he preguntado
a mi sombra
a ver como ando
para reirme
mientras el llanto
con voz de templo
rompe en la sala
regando el tiempo.
Mi sombra dice
que reirse
es ver los llantos
como mi llanto
y me he callado
desesperado
y escucho entonces
la tierra llora.
La era esta pariendo
un corazon
no puede mas
se muere de dolor
y hay que acudir corriendo
pues se cae el porvenir.
En cualquier selva del mundo
en cualquier calle.
Debo dejar la casa
y el sillon
la madre vive hasta que muere el sol
y hay que quemar el cielo
si es preciso por vivir
Por cualquier hombre del mundo
por cualquier casa.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Well, haven't posted in a bit and a few changes have gone underway, but all good.
1) I cut my hair, and my stars were good with me this time. My brother liked it, which says a LOT, since he's very nitpicky and extremely honest when it comes to my general appearance. My boyfriend loved it (well, that's what he said, plus his face spoke by itself, so I don't doubt it). And most importantly: I liked it. A lot. It changes my overall look considerably, which I love. So this is a keeper for the moment being. Will post pics later on ('cuz I haven't taken any)
2) Mari broke my ears' hymen! Tee hee ^_^ I got gauge 8 tapers through my earlobes now. They are sore, but getting better ... s l o w l y... Thanx, Mari!
3) This week I started doing my exercise routine with Eze (I had been doing it alone or with my mother). He has given me new drive: he pushes me to jog (or run, I don't know, I am so slow that my sprints could be mistaken for brisk jogs), and yesterday he introduced me to the running track in the UPR, Río Piedras campus. Beautiful, big, spacy, I LOVE it! :D
Tonight we're going to the premiere gala of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Nice one!
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