Mischievous

"Mischievous" is one of my all time favorite words, so I love the following quotation just because it's related to it.

No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.

- Montaigne

Dances to the Beat of His Own Drum

When I saw this video, it totally brought back college memories. In this video, he looks a little more normal. When we saw him twice, each time he had one of those SAR masks on and looked totally cracked out. Thanks to my friend Eliot for finding this video.

Meet Yoda

Meet Yoda the cat with FOUR ears

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:01 PM on 19th August 2008

If Batman had a cat, it would probably look something like this.

The household pet, named Yoda, was born with an extra set of ears.

Valerie and Ted Rock took him in two years ago after visiting a bar near their home in Chicago, where he was being passed round by curious drinkers.

He was one of a large litter and the owners were looking for a home for him. more>>

2012

In case you didn't know, the 2012 Olympics are going to be in London. The picture above is a vintage poster from the '48 Olympics in London. My hubster and I are planning on saving as much cash as possible in the upcoming years and skimping on our mini vacations to Palm Springs and Las Vegas, so we can have an awesome European excursion. I'm attempting to convince my hubster that we must go to London for the games. I've always wanted to go to the Olympics even if it's just to see table tennis or something random like that. Neither of us have been to London before either. Can you imagine how crazy the energy will be? I also can't imagine how much everything will cost. We might just have to stay at a hostel. It's a nice dream, but there's a million things that can come up between now and then. We'll just have to see. o_0

Dress for Success

We're moving into the dual role of teacher and student, also known as being a student teacher, this week. During orientation, they kept emphasizing what to wear. Honestly, it frustrates me. It's not that I don't have business casual/professional clothes to wear. I do. Last year, I was at a school where everyone had to adhere to business casual dress code. I think that's the right attitude to have. Everyone should have to do it. In most cases, it's only going to be the student teachers who will have to dress up.

I don't want to stand out more than I already do. I don't want to look like I'm trying so hard to impress everyone. If I want to impress people, I want to impress them with my skills not my wardrobe. I also think that this emphasis on clothing says that we're going to judge you by what you wear first and foremost. What about people who are on a really tight budget and can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe? Is this pressure fair?

After doing some thinking, I can see the concern about attire because the majority of students in general (not necessarily those in the program) at my school would dress inappropriately. Mini skirts and low cut tops are the uniform at my school. Despite that reasoning, I would still like it if the teachers we were working with would have to dress up too. It make everything a bit more equitable.

Just Another Sunday

Today, I got to spend the day with hubster doing absolutely whatever we wanted to do. We did some scooter riding, super deluxe eating, window shopping, and art museum roaming. It was a beautiful day to be out and about. I miss these days more than I ever imagined that I would. It's definitely one thing that I have learned from grad school: cherish these days because they are simply wonderful.

p.s.

Sorry, no pictures. Too busy just enjoying the day. Here's a throwback picture though to make this post more than just text.

Getty Garden 2006

Good Friends are Few and Far Between

I finally got a hold of my friend Alex today and had a nice long chat. We're both impossible to get a hold of, so we frequently play phone tag. I must say it's always nice to talk to all my friends who I don't get to see that often anymore. It's nice to know that they're doing well. It was also nice to talk to someone who has such a positive attitude. It's always nice to have some positivity thrown my way, especially since I'm definitely the-glass-is-half-empty-kind-of person. He helped me see that I have ton of positive things going on in my life; I'm not old even though I'm dreading turning 24 this year because 24 is just one year off from 25; and turning 30 isn't something to be afraid of. For all of that awesome wisdom and teaching me about Croatia, thanks Alex. I can't wait to hear how you're going to celebrate your 30th birthday! :)

That's Alex, Mr. Too Cool for School, on the right.

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

The following is the story of my life right now.

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly, because you tread on my dreams."

-William Butler Yeats



Update:

Hubster: Wow, that guy looks miserable.
Me: Well, yea. He's a poet.
Hubster: Oh. (suddenly feeling like he understands) Okay.

I Don't Like Being a Grown Up

I don't like being a grown up. My hubster has to go on business trips and leaves me all by my lonesome for a few days, leaving me completely disappointed. Unfortunately, I still look forward to seeing my hubster every day when I come home, which is the source of my current state of disappointment.

Wee Bam Bam

Pictured: The orphan deer adopted by a pack of bloodthirsty fox hounds

By Lizzie Smith
Last updated at 11:22 AM on 10th August 2008

The heaving mass of fox hounds would intimidate even the biggest stag.

But tiny orphan deer Bam Bam isn't scared.

Like his namesake Bambi the 10-week-old is a friendly creature and trots along with huntsman Adrian Thompson, 42, and his pack of 60 hounds.

The pack immediately accepted the lost fallow deer when they found him shivering by the Thompsons' front gate just an hour after he had been born.

Rather than being overwhelmed by the attention of such a large pack of dogs, from the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray hunt, the confused little fawn thought he'd found his family. more>>

Don't Stop Believing - Journey

My Hubster's G-Ma

I finally got around to watching the opening of the Olympics in Beijing. I know I'm practically ten years too late. But better late than never, right? I loved the concentric Tai Chi circles to make the world. It reminded me of my all time favorite picture that my bil (brother-in-law) took of their g-ma. Yes, they really refer to her as g-ma. Sounds gangsta. She is gangsta. lol. Here it is. Enjoy.

After Tonight - Justin Nozuka

I Live In...

This is poem I made during my writing class. We're supposed to be learning how to make poetry more accessible to students. One way to make it more accessible is to allow students to copy a format of a poem. It's a form of imitation writing (not plagiarism). The original poem is in a book called I Live in Music.

I Live in the Eyes of Those Who Love Me

I live in the eyes of those who love me.
Is this where you live?
I live here in their eyes.
I live on gazing lane.
My friend lives on watchful boulevard.
Do you live in someone else's eyes?
Their eyes can read me like I'm an open book.
Their gazes reassure me when I'm lost.
I've got love that envelops me like fog.
I wander around in their eyes because I know I'm safe.
I live in their eyes
Dream of them.
Never want to live without them.

I live in his eyes.

By the River

I used some of my free time on Friday to go to the bookstore. Yay! I hadn't read anything for fun for such a long time. I originally went in search of Blindness by Jose Saramago. I saw the preview for the movie adaptation and wanted to read the book before I watched the movie. Of course, I picked that book up. While I was wandering around, I found the Paulo Coelho feature section. For some reason, I instantly gravitated toward By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. In a way, it felt like it picked me. I know that sounds odd, but there's no other way to describe it. I ended up buying both books.

I finished By the River this morning and loved it! It's been hard for me to find another Coelho book that I could love after reading The Alchemist. That book is amazing and is a tough act to follow. I've read The Pilgrimage and parts of The Warrior of the Light. Unfortunately, I wasn't as swept away by those books as I had been with The Alchemist. I thoroughly enjoyed By the River because it had a lot of the themes from Alchemist in it. However, it didn't have as many quotations worthy of being underlined. Even though it may not have this element, it is still a beautiful love story. Sometimes, it gets a bit awkward, especially when Pilar speaks. But who isn't awkward when they're falling in love? The subtitle for this story is "A Novel of Forgiveness." I'm still trying to work out how it is a novel of forgiveness. Overall, I definitely recommend reading this book.

Hot Fuzz

We just watched Hot Fuzz. It was okay. The ending was definitely laugh out loud funny but the rest of it was just okay. I thought it was a little slow and didn't really pick up momentum until the end. My favorite character was Danny. The opening bit reminded me of the opening of Amelie. If you like British humor and buddy cop movies, this one is worth watching.

It's a Boy!

We just added a new member to our family. His name is Scooty (aka Salt Pepper Fish 150, SPF 150, Peppy). Here he is:

He's a 150cc Lance Vintage scooter. Isn't he adorable? I swear my hubster and I must have been Italian in some past life. We must go on an extended Italian getaway someday. Back to Scooty, we intend to scoot around town with him once we move. We can't wait to ride him more often.

Midget Hanging From My Shoulder (Not My Necklace)

Apparently, I've been carrying around a small midget in my bag. Yesterday, I put my book bag on top of my passenger chair in my car. As I was driving, my car suddenly made a beeping sound. I was looking on my instrumental panel to see what secret code message it was trying to tell me. My car ended up wanting to tell me that my passenger didn't have their seatbelt on. At first, I didn't get it. There was no one in my car with me. OMG! It's my bag. No wonder why my shoulder's been feeling all tore up. I've been toting a midget around. To be good to myself, I went out and got a backpack today.

Why the title? It's an allusion to this Ludacris video:

08.08.08

Looking forward to 09.09.09

Smarties, Anyone?

from flickr

I really don't think I say this enough: I'm ridiculously fortunate to have the parents that I have. Don't get me wrong, we do have our moments. However, they love me more than I could ever imagined being loved by parents. Today, I got a package filled to the top with Smarties. It was hilarious, just the thing that I needed to make me genuinely laugh. Why Smarties? Smarties for the smarty of course! I've been feeling a wee bit inadequate in grad school lately, so my parents were sending me bits of encouragement. Aren't they brilliant? I love it. I just don't know what I'm going to do with all those Smarties. I guess they'll be my afternoon pick me ups.

P. Elbow on Creating a Writing Voice

The following is a quotation from an article about freewriting that I read about. I really thought it was powerful and meaningful.

"Maybe you don't like your voice; maybe people have made fun of it. But it's the only voice you've got. It's your only source of power. You better get back into it, no matter what you think of it. If you keep writing in it, it may change into something you like better. But if you abandon it, you'll likely never have a voice and never be heard."

Batman is the Man for Me

After much hinting and enough pity accumulation, my hubster agreed that we should go and watch the Dark Knight. I loved it! Even my hubster liked it and asked on the way out, "Who wrote this? It was good writing for a comic book movie." Of all the comic book based movies (Spiderman, Superman, Hell Boy, Fantastic Four, etc), Batman is my all time favorite. My mom asked if I thought it deserved all the attention and money that it's been raking in. My answer? Most definitely. I don't want to give anything away because it would take away from the movie. I really enjoyed Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine's performances. Yes, Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is darker and more interesting than Jack Nicholson's.

Favorite line:

Lieutenant Gordon: "Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now...and so we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector...a dark knight."

Viva La Fiesta!

Since Thursday evening, Fiesta has been the talk of the town. It goes from Thursday-Sunday. There are all sorts of parades and activities centered around this fiesta theme. I finally got to have a little Fiesta time after my Saturday class ended. We started with some lunch of delicious Pork Adobado tacos. My hubster failed to tell me that I might find chunks of squishy slimy fat mixed in with my delicious pork, so I would actually eat it. I ended up stumbling across a huge bit of glistening fat when I got to my third taco. All I can say is thank god I ate that taco last because it went downhill after that first fat-laden bite. Afterwards, we headed down to the courthouse gardens to check out the festivities there. We ended up exploring the courthouse because the only entertainment were the dancers that we already saw at the other park.

Delicious savory tacos.

The front of the courthouse.
We went up to the top of that clock tower later on.

Dramatic fountain outside of the courthouse.
It doesn't compare to European fountains.

Interior arch. Church-like, right?

View of cultural dancers below.

It's those Spanish terracotta tiles that SB is known for.

It was shady.
I'm really not that dark.

A courtroom open to the public.
It has murals about the Spanish conquistadors
who "converted the enlightened Indians" of the area.

The legal library where we learned we can't be lawyers.

Where the Bees at?