Algid

There is more than road to get where you want to... 

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
                                                                                             - Dylan Thomas
...

It's pretty hard to keep a blog when you have no internet in your place...

     I always try to find time to write. I like keeping my memories unaltered and young. That's one of the main reasons I have this blog and a diary. I even make notes on my phone about thoughts I have throughout the day. But then again writing takes time and should not be forced. I admit, after more than a month I am a bit rusty with the whole writing thing. I shall review this post several times before I publish it to make sure everything is written correctly. I apologize in advance for the errors. 

What I enjoy the most about being human is
having the capacity to change, learn, grow

     Winter break in Puerto Rico is usually over a month long, so it gives us time to enjoy moments with family and friends, rest and travel. As I've said so many times, I simply adore travelling. My winter destination: Seattle, WA. Although I've been several times to Washington State, I always find something new and entertaining to do. This time around I went ice-skating, to the zoo, hiking, watched movies on IMAX, to the art museum, visited a graduate school campus, and just walked around the city. Do I even have to say I slept my other days out? It was some nice vacation with spectacular free home-cooked meals. It was a nice break from the day-to-day hectic life that I have back home during my semesters.

Survival mode

     The whole idea was to get to Seattle on Christmas day. I had arranged flights, made deals with people and everything so that I could get there at midnight. The day of my departure I noticed I'd left some important things back at my apartment (hiking boots, toothbrush, other stuff), so I left for the airport early. A few minutes out of the house I noticed I had left my apartment keys at my car, and just as I was about to turn back, I get a strange call. It was the airline. My flight had been delayed, which meant I would miss my layover in Miami and wouldn't make it to Seattle until late the next day. I was about to loose my cool real badly. I asked about earlier flights and, to my good luck, they had one that left in less than 2 hours. I had to be on that flight. There was a small problem though. I was 45 minutes away from the airport and still had to stop at my place. I had to decide: get to Seattle on time and buy whatever I required there, or not get to Seattle when planned and save up that money. Then again money comes and goes, good memories last a lifetime. I am glad I decided as I did. It was wholly worth it. 

It's hard to get up on ice

     It was not my first time seeing snow, but it was my first time having a one-on-one moment with it. I did not have gloves nor boots made for it. Somehow I expected the snow to be less cold than it actually was. My hands were freezing, but it didn't stop me from making snowballs while feeling the cold pain all the way to my bones. The trail to the Big Four Ice Caves was not easy for my Keds, my body or the people around me who couldn't help but to fall every 5 seconds. That constant falling made the 1.1 mile hike to where the caves were situated feel eternal. Once I got to the ice caves I didn't want to go back. Part of it because it was incredibly beautiful,  the other part because of how long the way was with a person constantly falling besides you. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching him struggle to keep up. It was one of the most adorable and funny thing I've ever seen happen to him. But the sun was setting and we were in a soon-to-be-dark forest walking. What if a bear came out of nowhere?!

Art speaks to me on many levels

     I have a love-hate relationship with zoos as with many other things on life. Who doesn't love to see "wild" animals up-close? But at the same time, who knows what happens behind the curtains? So many stories of animal cruelty in zoos have been out. I find it really hard to have a firm stand against it. Anyways, during my stay in Seattle I visited the Woodland Park Zoo because of elephant reasons. It was incredibly cold and rainy that day. Still, I get to see two beautiful elephants. Sad thing is I didn't take pictures of them. I really hope they are well fed and taken care of. Apart from the elephants, they had zebras, kangaroos, bears, penguins, hippos, ostriches, orangutang, owls and other animals I can't remember right now. The zoo in general is beautiful. The animals where pretty active considering it was cold and cloudy. I would advice you to go during summer though. A plus of going this summer will be the new attraction: TIGERS! 

I have a thing for large land mammals

     With Valentine's Day approaching, I decided to do something I've never done before. See, I am a firm believer that Valentine's is just a pathetic pretext for capitalism to have it's way by making us buy things we don't need for people who don't deserve it. Love and friendship are not things that you feed chocolate and cards once a year, but something you should care for every day. Still, I took it as a really lame excuse to  spoil my significant other. Although technically it will arrive before the actual day, in my mind it will still count as that first time I gave someone special a Valentine's gift. I'm so cheesy sometimes...

Frostbite: it's real

     Remember the whole "I will start meditating daily" thing? That ended up not work. I do try to live in the moment every day, but not in the form of meditation. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that I am not as organised in life as I should be. Eventually I am sure to get there. Meanwhile, I will let my mind fly moments before I fall asleep.

I am a person of habits, so... quick points!!

• The court viewing for the whole alimony thing will finally come to an end in a few days. I won't lie, I couldn't be more nervous.
• Any ideas for spring break?
• I need to officially submit my change of major.
• Got pretty nice grades last semester. I guess all the stress and wanting to crawl under my desk was totally worth it.
• I miss China. More so now that I can have a conversation about food with people.
• I want some Pho or Thai. I don't know if restaurants of the sort even exist in Puerto Rico.
• I did some research. There are a handful of Thai restaurants in Puerto Rico. The best one is far away from San Juan. I will make plans to go and will let you know how good it was.
• If the basic class of Chinese was hard, the second part is just... I just took a test and the translation part was something else.
• I want to go to back China so badly. It's such an interesting country and culture. 
• Been sick twice this semester and it hasn't even been a month of it.
• I use my Facebook as a memory timeline to write my post.
• That Seattle SeaHawks SuperBowl lost was heartbreaking. My jersey... it hurts.
• My car is a constant disappointment. I fix one thing, it breaks down elsewhere. I honestly don't know what else to do with it.
• I ate a snail (I am so sorry Gary!) and I liked it. The consistency felt like shrimps and mushrooms put together. It was a whole new experience. 
• I got some really cool StarWars leggings for Christmas (among other things).

Somehow I expected this to be a longer post...

(:

I consider myself a really lucky person.

Not because I have a perfect life,

but because I have amazing people in it.

Mislay

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

I identify myself with that picture so much. For me it portrays a deep yearning that may be interpreted wrongly as a creepy need for someone. Creepy love, my kind of love. I can't help it. 

...

Staying over at my mom's place, so no diary entrees or old stories. 

     Feels like so long ago the last time I sat down and wrote. Maybe it's because I've been stuck in my own head thinking about (darks) butterflies and rainbows. I've binge watched many tv series and dramas, read a bit here and there and spent time with friends and family. Above all I've slept. So much. 12+ hours a day. Laziness, I love it. That is, after classes ended. Before that studying was all there was for me. It's difficult to put a whole month worth of "stories" into words without leaving important details behind. I always say the same, I know. Some things never change...

     Winter is upon us! Not really. Benefits of living on a tropical island is that you don't have the need for any cold clothing. It's also something I dislike. I love winter clothes. 

     Time passes so fast. Just one year ago I was running around buying winter clothes and doing my luggage to embark on the biggest adventure of my life (yet): my first trip to China. I still remember the nervousness that had to be hidden, reassuring my family that everything was going to be alright while I myself doubted my survival. A new country, unknown food, language, transportation and culture in general. I am just happy that we did it. Learned so much, grew so much. Can I go back?

     Three more days for Christmas! I am not big on Holidays. To be honest, I pretty much hate all Holidays except Halloween. But Christmas means I get to see my boyfriend and spend time with him. Long distance relationships are not as fun as people make them seem, but (let me be cheesy here) when you find the right person, it's totally worth it. 

Swift dots! (I didn't want to say quick points. Let me be.)

• Got 3 A's and 1 B this semester. Still missing one grade. The most important one. Fingers crossed for another A!
• There's something about two girls dancing together that attracts guys like bees to honey. It's stupid and pretty weird. Stop it. Honestly.
• My younger brother doesn't want me in his room just because I didn't take him to the skatepark. He is so spoiled... (and it's totally my fault)
• That Legend of Korra finale. It was just epic. (SPOILER ALERT!!) For the first time in history we see a same-sex couple in a children's tv series. Don't try to fool yourself by arguing otherwise, Korrasami is an actual thing.
• So far I've gotten 2 amazing gifts from my friends and roommates A & K. K got me a red lightsaber (“Only at the end do you realize the power of the Dark Side”). A on the other hand got me a Chinese clay tea set. They are awesome. I know.
• I am an official Puerto Rico Comic Con Staff!! Although I know the chances are real slim, I am hoping to meet Jason Momoa at any point. Fingers crossed.
• I need to get on a plane soon. Please. Send some money my way with a letter signed by you saying that it was a donation for travelling purpose that way I can take it to court and show my dad that I don't waste money on travelling. I know it's not wasted money, but he doesn't thing the same. Patience and Wisdom.
• Went to the Social Security Administration to get stuff. I felt like such an adult. Didn't like it. 
• I started at the gym this month. May the gods bless the humans that assist to that place. They are flawless. Just the perfect motivation. 

     I'd like to think that so far I have been to two Christmas parties. Truth is the two parties I've been to had nothing to do with the Holidays. One was the "End of Semester" house party where we played Super Smash Bros, Cards Against Humanity, "Jenga" and __ pong (keeping it family friendly). M and I killed it in the pong. Good times. The second was a kind of charity event for a baby that has to undergo a heart surgery and needed help. It was a really good activity and venue. Had an amazing time. I can't say it has been a bad winter break. Sure, ups and downs, but it's been good.

     I don't think I will be writing before New Years. I will be spending some much needed quality time with my boyfriend and family. I feel so irresponsible with my blog. I am really sorry. It's not easy to keep a blog, specially when you have a lazy life and do nothing. What am I suppose to talk about when all I do is Netflix and sleep?!

(:

Ken

My diary

October 8, 2006

     ... Love goes well but badly. Badly because I can't find a way to end things up with KV. All because he tried to experiment with me, in other words, throughout a month he treated me really badly, like he didn't love me anymore. Since then I was greatly disappointed and things are not the same from my part, and now he's back to being all lovely with me. Among the things that bother me is the fact that while I treated him well, he didn't even care about calling me, and now that I don't care, he calls me every night without a miss and he leaves messages saying: "My love call me as soon as you can. I am concerned because I haven't heard about you in a long time and I worry if you are alright. Take care, be good and I love you". Hearing me kills me inside a bit because I don't want to hurt him. I want things between us to end up in a good note.

...

Today is my boyfriend's birthday, woot woot!!  ^-^

     I would love to tell you guys that I've been up to fun things, but sadly that's not the case. I have a "no studying on weekends" policy in my life that I had to break this weekend. I did have some fun on Friday (I'll tell you about it later in the post), but Saturday and Sunday was wasted on my books completely. I am kind of impressed with myself this semester. I don't know if this has been the best one to date, but at least I've been giving it some extra effort. Maybe it's because I want to finish my degree soon, maybe I have matured... nope. It's the wanting to finish. Definitive. 

     Last week... what about last week? This is why I try and write daily on the posts. If not, Monday comes again and my short term memory doesn't let me remember anytime before Friday. Maybe if I start backwards I can remember. So let's do today first. I learned how to say/write "I love you" in Mandarin! It's "我爱你" (wǒ ài nǐ). Let's break it down:

• 我 (wǒ) = me
• 爱 (ài) = to have affection (verb); love (noun)
• 你 (nǐ) = you

So there you go. The more you know!

     Because of homework, quiz and tests stuff I had to run around campus looking for internet (wifi is really bad in campus) so that I could finish all the work I've been doing for a few days now. At least one professor decided to skip class today, so that gave me some extra time. I am lucky enough to have some good friends. This person (we will name MR) that I used to like recently became really good friends with me. We've doing some nice activities together, and today MR even bought me some pizza! I had to walk all the way to Law School (damn them law school students!) to get it, but it was totally worth it. 

     Now the weekend. Sunday was library (Law School again...). I don't plan on studying law, I just needed to get some books for a research I am doing and that was the only place in campus where I could find them. I do like the silence there is in that library. Moving on to Saturday. I spent the whole day at my place doing Chinese homework. "It's Friday, Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!" No? Okay. Sorry. Since I knew I would have to study the weekend, I decided to take Friday evening free. Original plan was to take myself on a date. Dinner and movies, you know, the usual. It ended up being a date with my other half, my best friend K, and I wouldn't had it any other way. While in dinner, MR called saying "I won two tickets to Teatro Breve's "Noche de Jevas 2". I can't go, so I will give them to you and you can take K. You can thank me by coming over to my bar after the stand-up comedy is over. Drinks are on me". So you can all guess how the rest of the night went. Theatre, bar, free drink and a random visit to a club. Sounds like a long night, but I was home by 3am (I usually go until 5am). It was fun.

     See! I am starting to remember events from the days before. My mind works in mysterious ways...  Thursday was debate day. I was a panellist on a debate from my International Political Economy class. It was really fun and it was totally horrifying. Once again, I am not good talking in front of large crowds. I just made one (amazing and smart) question and I was trembling more than that thing that vibrates that's in my desk. Yes, I put my phone on vibrate when I am in my desk.

Do I have any quick points? Hmmm...

• I need to stop eating so much pizza. I've been gaining some really unwanted weight.
• I love pizza too much to stop eating it. I should just work out.
• Nope. I am too lazy to work out. 
• I don't think there is a possible solution to this that involves not getting fat, not working out and keep eating pizza whenever I want.
• K got me some ice cream... I don't remember when. But he knows me so well. 我爱他. (他 stands for "him")
• Can I get a tattoo for Christmas?
• I want to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It's been a while since last time I read a book and it hurts.
• October is here, which means Oktoberfest + Halloween. Perfection, I know.

I need a cool sounding closing line...

(: