Lofty

This post was created somewhere around March.

(Still no internet at my place)

                         Sing, whenever there is wine,
               For life is as ephemeral

              As dew in the morning,

                               With the days to come numbered.

                Mind must be generous,

                             But seldom is it free from sorrow

That dissolves

            Only in a cup of wine. 

                                                            - The Martial Emperor of Wei 

...

It's been a pretty positive couple of weeks. 

     After a whole semester without working, I finally found a part-time job. I went from librarian to bartender. It came as a surprise to me when I got the message. I had joked around with M about covering her shift at the bar for her, but never thought that joke would actually get me somewhere. At the beginning I was completely skeptical about it, but now I love it. It's a nice once or twice in a week work with pretty good pay. I get to have fun, meet people and get them drunk. Now I understand why so many college students around the world bartend. 

     Spring Break is here! The island is full of "foreign" students (from the mainland) ready to have all kinds of fun and looking for locals to show them around. It's my favourite time of the year. One makes so many friends and shares experiences, making their stay and company one to remember for times to come. Also, they pay good tips. 

Art by: Jonathan Ortiz

     I turned 24 on February 20th. Time flies by. Each time one of my birthdays comes by I can't help but to go back to when I was 18 and I asked myself "How will I look like when I get to 21? Or 25? Where will I be?". Now I am one year away from 25 and I can't help but to ask myself the same thing about my 30's. Sometimes I wish I could stop time. But then again, I've learned enjoy the present and leave the past behind. Take what I need about it, apply it and just be happy. 

Let us read some quick points...

• Back to Seattle on March 27th! Airplanes make me happy. Food makes me happier though...
• New York, Las Vegas and Vancouver this summer? Make it a YES!
• My baby brother turns 16 on the 25th. He will finally get his driver's permit and I'll be there next to him to celebrate. So excited!
• I miss China... 
• That last point sounds a lot like something I wrote on my last post.
• Starting to plan a graduation trip. Backpacking through Europe next summer and maybe go back to China.
• I can't believe it's already been almost a year since Vancouver 2014. I miss those days.
• Alimony problem got solved and everything is good now.
• Mid-terms are here! I guess that stress makes me want to write.
• I am actually writing in class. The classmate in front of my is watching a soccer game.
• The more money I make, the more money I spend.

:)

Cogitate

I am guessing there will be two posts this week. This was an old post I wrote the week of November 17th. Now that I think about it, it's been quite long since last time I wrote. Forgive me. I'll talk more about it on the next post. 

...

New post Monday is finally here! Even though I started writing this on time, I am 100% sure that it won't be officially published until Tuesday or Wednesday. Let me apologise in advance. We have no internet in the apartment.

I got invited out by a friend on Friday 14th. Because of school, it had been some time since last I went out. I was all in for it, but half hour before I backed out. The thing is people can't give me the chance to say no. If I can, I will always go for no because it's just shorter than yes. I feel like an old person (and I am just 23!) from time to time. The whole let's go party all night long thing has lost it's appeal to me. Just give me a bottle of wine, close friends or a good movie and I am happy. No need to go out spend time with "kids" that YOLO their life. That's another thing. Since drinking age in PR is 18 and they don't ask for ID all the time, clubs are full of teenagers wanting to be adults. 

Done hating on things. 

Being a unemployed university student is not easy at all. Even with parents providing help here and there, one ends up living on such a tight budget that getting a beer means not having dinner one night. It also means having to live with roommates. Living with a roommate is no easy thing, much less having to live with three. Different people, upbringing, lifestyles, majors and different things in general. You are just bound to have friction in the apartment. Because I am more of a loner, I tend to ignore my roommates, which leads them to think that I have something against them making them uncomfortable. I get not everyone understands how introverts act. All this misunderstanding led to some awkwardness in the apartment. Luckily, I know my roommates real well. I decided to go get a litre of bubbly sangría, sit down and talk with them. It was my peace treaty and I am glad I did. The evenings of weirdness are done and we are back to a peaceful state.

I will add some quick points while I remember more stories:

• I took a test with 85 choose the best answer. At the end of it I had the worst headache ever. But I got an A- on it. Yay..?!
• I feel betrayed. K went to watch Mockingjay without me. That breaks years of tradition. You don't do that to your best friend.
• Made sesame chicken. It was good, not great. Next time I will get it right and invite you over.
• Got some new black jeans. Shopping brings happiness (damn you capitalism!).
• I've been a ball of anger wrapped in rage. It's the stress. 
• I may get my car back this week. Can't wait to have my girl back with me.
• I had a moment with a guy on a bicycle the other day. What do I mean by a moment? He was riding, I was walking, we looked at each other, then looked away just to look back at each other and smile. Good stuff.
• Not having to work gives me time to study and have a good sleep. 
• Can't wait for classes to be done so I can start going out for a run again.
• Gave a oral report. Sucked at it. I don't expect more than a C.
• I've been eating so much oatmeal. Happiness.
• Yes. Nothing makes me happier than food. Even my boyfriend knows that.

What's up with the whole hook-up culture that there is in the island (Puerto Rico). I get it when you are 18 through 21. Maybe even 22 just because of Taylor Swift. But after that it just gets boring and old... unless you are travelling around the world, which probably you are not. I am a huge advocate for the whole owning your body and what you do with it, unless you hurt other people. See, we approach the hook-ups in a wrong way. I know most times you can't be bold and go for it, but you shouldn't make someone like you just so you can have fun and then disappear. If you have the courage to get it on with someone, you should have the same courage to break it off in a healthy way (not through text). 

Arid

My diary

August 7, 2007

     ...

     That night I had a great time. I danced with him and everything. He started joking around saying that I was his girlfriend and Mara was his lover. I stayed until 4:30am with him and we exchanged phone numbers without raising suspicion on each other. We talked on the phone the rest of the night, until 6:30am.

     The beautiful thing about this is that, without even noticing, we weren't even looking for it, we both fell in love in just 3 days. But not everything is perfect, there are a few problems:

• He studies in Philadelphia
• He leaves late August, early September.
• The biggest of them all: HE IS 22 YEARS OLD!!!!

     He is so nice and what I like the most is that he has the same religious views as me. He was in a band and everything. But, we will see what happens. Apparently he is a good guy. I hope he is the one for me...

...

ANOUNCEMENT: Until the semester is  over, the post will be updated biweekly. 

Sorry guys, finals are almost here and I need the time.

     I just had to write that diary entry. I laughed so much when I read just now. Why? Because I have NO IDEA who I am talking about. Thank heavens we were deeply in love right?! Got a headache trying to remember. So naive (it's not like that has changed much over the years). This our love story  continues for 3 entries more, so I shall write my next posts with them. See if that refreshes my memory. 

     I had to back at calendar to know how far back I had to remember. Luckily I remember things easily... sure. 

     October 31st, 12:40am I received a important call. While I was on the phone, my call was intercepted by your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man! We had a nice conversation about Halloween costumes. He was excited to go out into the world and be called Spider-Man and receive free candy from everyone. Apparently Spider-Man is no different than all of us.

     Remember I said we would probably have a Halloween party at my place? It did happened. Drinks, candy, music, awesome people and Cards Against Humanity. It was epic. That card game can make any 6 person party something fun that goes on the whole night. There's no better way to get to know a group of people than playing Cards Against Humanity. You should try it out on your whatever party. Promise you won't regret it. At the end of that night, Dracula (me) killed it. I was on fire!

Let's do some quick points while I remember anything worth going deeper into!

• We got a new cat in the apartment! He is adorable. Named him Sherlock, since we already have a dog named Watson. Pretty sure Watson is a Hufflepuff and Sherlock is a Ravenclaw. 
• I am hungry.
• So. Much. Schoolwork. Help...!
• Interstellar came out! I've heard such good reviews about it. Can't wait to watch it whenever that may be.
• I've been in a terrible mood lately. Been acting like that old lady that lives with 50 cats at the end of the street and screams at everyone for no apparent reason. Yes, that's me right now.
• Volunteer work? Nope. They never called or called when I was unavailable (I gave them my schedule).
• Dressed as Clark Kent for my classes on Halloween.
• French toasts...
• I should finish school soon. I am the oldest one in almost every class.
• I left my wallet in a classroom one day. Thank zeus a professor found it and took it to the department. For a moment there I thought I had lost what little IDs I had left.
• I exchanged pants with K. His pants fitted perfectly. No one would notice the difference.
• People, don't have fun without the hat! There are lots of terrible STDS out there. Play it safe. It's for your own good.
• I am pretty sure I failed today's test.

     Quick points turned into eternal points. I went through my text messages while I made those. It was easier than trying to remember all that happened.

     It rained so much last week that the temperature went down to 72ºF. I know you may think that's not much but, when you are used to live on a tropical island called Hell (Puerto Rico), 72ºF feels like snow will fall at any moment. I had a long sleeve and a cardigan on most of the day and I would still feel cold. Also, my hair could not deal with all the humidity (it was at 100%). At least I got to wear my rain-boots all over campus and jump in puddles. Fun times.

     I think that's about it for now. I hope I didn't forget anything worth telling. Wait... let me check on Facebook... Yes! I knew I missed something. So I've decided to make a lifestyle change. After some research and thought, I've decided to practice Secular Buddhism. I am obviously new to it, so I can't go too deep into it. To put it into simple words it's just Buddhism for, but not limited to, agnostics and atheists. It takes the religious beliefs out of Buddhism. If you, like me, are looking for something less "to believe but not see" in your life, maybe this will be good for you. I have yet to see how it works for me.

Done.

One last thing, congrats to all the veterans out there (in advance)!





(:

Malaise

Old Facebook post

October 12, 2009

     Nobody can go to the past to make a new beginning, but you can create a better present to live a more rewarding tomorrow.

...

Currently at my mom's house. That's why there is no diary post today.  Sorry guys!

     So here I am sitting down on my mom's dinner table with personal papers all around me. Being the offspring of divorced parents is not easy, specially when they hate each other. So here I am stuck between a mother who has given her all to keep us alive and healthy and my father. One asking to about every single penny I've spent in the last 3 years just because he wants to lower my alimony, another fighting for my right as a daughter who is still a student. It's kind of frustrating to be asked to hand in evidence and you having none. I've never had a full time job, much less have my economic life organised at all. How could you expect that much from a twenty-something university student?

     I am trying to recall something fun about last week, but I just can't. This whole legal mess is taking too much of my time, the one that already university takes away. So apart from what I've already written, I will keep this short. Let's jump to quick points:

• My friend Timmy got me those awesome drawings signed by my favourite web comic creator Yale Stewart. You can read them here. If you are into superheroes, you will love these.
• Miley! Miley Cyrus gave a concert in Puerto Rico. Yes, I know, not something to be proud of. But for some reason she is my guilty pleasure. I wasn't going in the first place, but then the ticket prices went down, so K,G and I decided to go. It was WAY better than we expected. We had so much fun.
• Class class class.
• Friday is almost here!!! :D

That's as much as I can remember. So I hope you all have a nice week. I don't think next week's post will be due on Monday. Probably on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

THANK YOU FOR READING! 

(:

Tussle

I think I should do another diary post. 

... I should have marked the diary dates I already wrote about.

Been loosing some readers...

My diary
July 10, 2010

      As you would expect (if you do the math), I just "finished" my first university year (the quotation marks because due to the strike it actually finished the 28th of June) in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Yes! One of my dreams have become reality, even if there is still a long way to go. I am lodging with 2 of my best friends from high school, K & J. Our apartment is ... near the University Avenue (there are lots of bars) and it has 3 rooms. It the best freshman year! I discovered and learned so many things. Mi cognisance has been opened on so many ways that I can't even believe it. I met so many new people. Got drunk for the first time. Learned about infidelity, but I also learned about trust and love. I learned that sometimes is better to keep quiet and listen carefully, that sometimes we need to strive to be happy and keep that happiness at hand. It has been some really marvellous, good and not-so-good experiences that fills my heart with happiness just thinking about it.

...

Let’s start on Tuesday. Sometimes I like to think my life is full of this random moments that happen on a daily basis and make things interesting. I remember writing “I need to get out of my room more” and I am pretty sure my room read this and took it into his own to get me out of there. So my alarm sounds, I snooze it. It sounds again, more snooze. Some days I try to sleep the maximum. I wake up with just 40mins to get ready and head to class. I have to do an oral presentation for my first class, can’t be late. Having no time to waste, I head to the shower. I hate getting dressed in the bathroom, so I just take my towel with me. Done with shower, head to my room, turn the doorknob… it doesn’t open. Try again, nope. I do not have the key to the room, am late for class and everything is inside. I call my mom and ask her if I should break the door down (I have no idea how I intended to do that). She says to just get a hammer and break the doorknob. No hammer in my place. I look around for something strong enough to break it. Found a frying pan. I start hitting it with the pan. It breaks down. I am free to ender my room. I feel like a powerful person.

            So that was how my week started. Turns out my day was long from over. I had to run to class. Got there just in time. Got an A on my oral presentation (Achievement unlocked!). I had an interview, which ended up in me getting angry with the company and withdrawing my application. Because of a interview that led nowhere I even missed classes. But after that it was smooth sailing. Had someone stare at me in traffic while I ate (I was hungry; traffic was terrible; you can’t judge me; the struggle is real.). I would like to see it as funny and not creepy. Just a normal day.

          ... and then my hair is half salmon color, half black. This last weekend I decided I would dye my hair. I already knew I wanted to do it, but didn't actually make a move to get it. From wanting to dye my whole hair, I ended up just doing half of it. I want to make it look like a fashion statement, rather than a crazy metal girl who wants a rainbow in her head (nothing wrong with this). White is the desired color but, since my hair was originally dyed black, it will take more than 2 hair bleaches to get there. This means my hair will go under a lot of stress and it will take time. So I had to settle with salmon semi-permanent hair color so it wouldn't look as bad (I am not a blonde kind of girl). One of my professor saw me and asked "Did you ran out of dye halfway or is it a fashion statement?"

Time for quick points!

1. Let the countdown begin: 11 days to go.
2. Free salsa concert in campus last Thursday. I had an amazing time studying and then falling asleep. Good days...
3. Paid drinks karaoke Friday! Somehow I ended up drinking with Law School students (not my favourite bunch) and singing Bon Jovi classics on karaoke.
4. I am loving Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor.
5. Got some ice cream delivered to me today! (I am sorry. I love ice cream too much.)

Some thoughts:

          I am quite impressed with how much importance romantic relationships have on today’s society. Something that’s supposed to be between couples somehow ends up being a public spectacle. From where and how did you meet to how long have you been together, people want the “scoop” on the whole story behind your relationship. My discomfort began when, because of a small misunderstanding with a classmate, I decided to change my relationship status on Facebook. I’ve been in a relationship for a few months now and both my boyfriend and I felt like there was no need to tell the whole Internet we were together. The thing is I worry with the fact that I’ve been congratulated and asked for confirmation so many times. Relationships are normal and necessary part of that social interaction that happens throughout our lives. We all fall for someone and get our hearts broken at least once in our lifetime, so why congratulate someone on something that happens on a day-to-day basis to the vast majority of humanity probably since the first homo sapiens walked the Earth? It’s not like I am getting married (which we are taught it’s forever and I don't actually plan on doing) or anything. I just decided to share my life and make someone happy for an unknown amount of time. I am doing this because both he and I as consenting adults decided we wanted this. We are not looking for anyone’s approval or anything of the sort. Leave the congratulations for people who encounter a big life event like graduation, a baby or winning the lottery.





(: