According To Suzy

In Search Of: Tile Top Coffee Table

2012-01-04T06:17:00.006-05:00

I found the coffee table I want. It's a tile top chrome coffee table.

Well, I thought I'd found it. The first time I saw this design was around 3 months ago. It was on some random site listed as "sold". These types of tables are from around the 1960's and 1970's. They're from Europe, mainly Danish, French or Italian. I've seen various other similar tables and know the wooden shelf isn't original. That was definitely added on later by a previous owner. Even so, it's a nice table and I didn't think I would find another, but a couple of days before the new year, I did. I was all happy and was emailing the owners about it. Then on New Year's Eve, I get an email saying, "Thought we should let you know straight away - the Coffee Table has been sold! Sorry about that".

Excuse me?! Here I am thinking I'm closing the deal waiting for them to get back to me about the final costs, and they sold it to someone else. WTF?! I mean, I'd really like things to start going my way for once. This company posted the availability of the table in November. So it was sitting in their store for a month before I saw it. And then as I'm almost about to buy it someone walks in from the street and buys it.

Sooooo close, yet so far. Story of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will continue to keep an eye out for this specific design, but the chances of actually finding it I know aren't in my favor (what else is new!). So I put this out there in cyberspace. If anyone comes across this table, or you are actually an owner getting rid of it, don't be shy and leave me a message.

The search continues.

Summer 2011

2011-06-02T13:14:00.004-04:00

Summer is here.

I have no big plans for the summer. No trips around the world, no boating excursions and no extreme adventures. I'm keeping it simple (not that I have the money to do anything grand anyway, but that's besides the point). My summer plans include:

1. Sleep as much as I can

2. Video games

3. Movies/Friends

4. Exercise

5. Read

So far I think I've been keeping true to my summer goals. It's pretty easy when it rains every day making you want to stay in.

I finally finished The Force Unleashed 2. I had gotten stuck on a hanger bay fight a couple of months ago and completely abandoned the game, till now. Now that that's done, I'm focusing on Super Mario Bros. I've had this game forever now and I'm only on world 3. Pathetic I know, but I will finish it. After Mario, I have Ghostbusters which I never played and Damnation.

As far as my reading goal, that one has been lacking. I started reading "Nine Kinds of Naked" and even though I was really interested in it, I fell asleep allowing me to accomplish more of my 1st goal :) Movies? Those are coming up. Exercising? I just went for a run this morning :)

We'll see what I really end up doing with my summer vacation.

A Bee

2011-05-09T20:45:00.005-04:00

A friend gave me a small stuffed animal in college, a bee. I’m not sure when I decided this bee carried luck, but I started placing it on my desk while I studied. I figured that since the word “bee” started with a “B”, it would help me get at least a “B” on my tests. Of course the next logical step was to have the bee present during my exams. It worked and that bee went to every college exam and final I had for 3 years.

At first I kept it in my coat pocket. I didn’t want to seem like a weirdo, but part of the bee’s luck was that it had to be ON the desk. When I realized that, it went from my pocket to the desk and stayed there. Yes I received strange looks, but I didn’t care. In all that time, only one professor picked it up and asked me, “For good luck?” I said yes and he smiled in amusement. I still have the bee and it still lives on my desk.

Spring Break

2011-04-17T13:55:00.004-04:00

Yes it's that time of year again. I'm on vacation. I haven't had the desire to do much besides sleep.

I woke up today, put on my running clothes and promptly went back to bed. I do want to go running, but sleeping is more comfy. I have had this nagging cough for the past week as well. The problem is that it gets worse at night which forces me to take medicine and that makes me drowsy in the mornings so I don't go running. This cough needs to go away already.

Until then, I will sleep which is fine by me :)

I Miss My Gamu

2011-04-10T19:48:00.006-04:00

It's been almost a month since my dog Gamu(za) died. How do I feel? At times I'm still quite sad about it. It creeps up and overwhelms me.

I've had pets almost my entire life, so of course I've gone through similar situations. This one feels different though. Gamu was a dog who found her way to me by chance. She was an older dog to begin with and her previous home was about to get rid of her. She slept inbetween greasy mechanic car parts and they just couldn't take care of her anymore. When Gamu arrived at my house, my mother didn't want to keep her. She might claim otherwise now, but at the time she wanted Gamu returned to sender. I walked to my room, Gamu followed me and that was that.

She was a bit scary looking when she first arrived. They had pretty much shaved her fur off because it was all knotted. She looked like a rat. But her dog hair grew back, long and beautiful. The one thing everyone always noticed about her was her tongue....it stuck out because she was missing all, but 2 teeth. She also had a bad ear infection, pseudomona all over her back, was blind, arthritic and pooped blood (which we would find out 3 years later was caused by foreign objects in her intestine). To say this dog had gone through a lot is an understatement. But she was taken care of , loved and had a good life with me for 4 years.

What saddens me is the way she died, my out-of-characer reaction and my inability to have done anything about it. I don't like thinking about it and try my best to bury it. But like I said, it creeps up on me. I understand that my reaction was not typical because of insomnia and I shouldn't beat myself up about having thought and said things. Even so, my irrational side carries guilt over it. I'm human and have guilt. And Gamu didn't deserve the end she had.

I miss you Gamu and I'm sorry. RIP

Going retro?

2011-02-21T12:28:00.001-05:00

Why is Captain Crunch going back to old logos?

I hate it when...

2011-01-27T16:49:00.003-05:00

I hate it when I forget my ChapStick! Today I completely forgot to pocket my ChapStick. I couldn't stop thinking that I'd forgotten something I use everyday. And thinking that made me think of how dry my lips were getting making me annoyed I'd forgotten my ChapStick.

Yes, I am an addict.

Logan

2011-01-24T19:01:00.004-05:00

Meet my new dog. She's my mini dachshund who thinks she's the biggest dog in the house :)

Logan

Belly Troubles

2011-01-23T18:35:00.006-05:00

One of my dogs was sick recently so I took her to the vet. This is what they found:

I was shocked. This is a dog that is quite old, has no teeth, is blind and death. How in the world did she manage this? And what is the hell are they?

At first I thought they were those plastic pins that hold the paper and cardboard in place in men's shirts and maybe she swallowed them sometime during xmas. But around 2 weeks later, she had another vet visit and the pins haven't moved. So after thinking about her history, these pins could actually have been there ever since I've had her. See, she's a rescue and in her previous house, she used to live and sleep around mechanic equipment and stuff. It's very possible she swallowed them there and they've just intergrated into her intestine after all these years. She doesn't seem to be in any pain from them and she goes to the bathroom just fine.

So weird!

Neglect

2011-01-23T11:19:00.003-05:00

Yes, I have been neglectful. It's been almost a year since I wrote anything on this blog.

Happy 2011 everyone!

So how has the year been so far? The first 23 days of the year have been good. We had another earthquake the other day. I didn't feel anything...I was outside on my way to lunch when it happened. I can say that I felt the one back in Decemeber before Christmas. THAT was interesting! I was sitting at my desk when I heard a low rumble. Then my chair started to shake. My thought was, "Why is my chair shaking? Is there a truck passing by?" Of course that would make no sense because I live in a gated community. Almost instantly everything shook violently. It was like the house was bitch slapped and everything rattled. I stood up and walked to my doorway, but just as fast as it came, it was over.

My mother asked "¿Qué fue eso?"
Really mother? :)
So I said, "Un temblor..." and laughed.

Anyway, I can't promise I'll write more often this year. Between work and life (and tv shows of course, ehem, Bravo), blogging has fallen down the priority list. We'll see.

Saturday Solution

2010-02-13T17:05:00.003-05:00

I've had a Rubix Cube forever. Like many other people, I never did know how to solve it. I could do a single side just fine. Then one day I did two sides. And by a sheer stoke of luck I solved three sides and left it at that. Of course I knew there was no way you could solve each side on its own to solve the whole cube.

Today I decided that I was going to learn how it's done. And I did. It took a while and I still need practice, but I can now say that I have solved a Rubix Cube.

2010

2010-01-01T08:28:00.002-05:00

Feliz Año Nuevo!
Happy New Year!

Events and Halloween

2009-11-01T09:22:00.007-05:00

A lot has happened in a short time on the island:

We had an island wide protest against the more than 17,000 govt. layoffs. Of course most of the world didn't hear about this because of the rivetting and important coverage of "Balloon Boy".

Then, there was the explosion at a gas refinery causing a huge smoke cloud over the SJ metro area.

And of course there's always Halloween :)

Facebook Run Around

2009-10-14T18:38:00.005-04:00

I just experienced my first facebook run around!

I wanted to upload a picture from my phone. A while back, I used to do this via MMS using the address mobile@facebook.com just like everyone else used to. Recently I got a more sophisticated phone and noticed that it kept asking me to upload pictures with a personalized email they provided. These uploads go directly from your mobile email to facebook. So, I decided to give it a try last week. It worked.

However, today I tried uploading a picture using the personalized email. All I got was an Delivery Status Failure email from facebook. Okay. I tried again thinking maybe I did something wrong, but received another failed email notification. I tried a different email account with the same failed result. I even tried sending it via MMS and not even that has posted my picture on my profile.

So what do I do? I contact Facebook. I navigate their extensive Help Center and reach the Mobile section. I input all my info and click away waiting for help. I receive an email from "The Facebook Team" with all these wonderful suggestions on how to fix the problem before actually contacting them. Thing is these suggestions don't apply to my issue. I try them anyway. Nothing.

At the end of "The Facebook Team" email, it says, "If your question is not in the list above, please reply to this email with any details that will help us to resolve your issue." Ok. So I hit reply and explain my issue. Literally, 2 seconds later I receive a delivery status failure notification from "The Facebook Team". WHAT?! This is ridiculous. I go back to facebook to see if there is some other way to contact them. No, it's not possible. If you write your issue in one of their pre-made boxes, you'll just get an automated email from them.

There literally is no way to get actual problem solving help/answers through facebook. Isn't that interesting?

Traffic

2009-10-08T13:22:00.001-04:00

Traffic here sucks. My work is about 20 or 25 min away. I leave the house at 7am or at the latest 7:10am. As everyone knows, the police here cause more traffic when they "direct" traffic. That was the case this morning. I was stuck at a light for 15 min! It's ridiculous! I was also stuck at the light right before my work.

I ususally arrive at work around 7:35 or 7:40am. Today, thanks to the cops, I made it to work at 8am. I hate the police sometimes.

Tri-Colored Treat

2009-09-28T13:08:00.001-04:00

It's the middle of the work day and I've just eaten lunch. While I was standing there watching the kids, I got a big bag of the best tri-colored treat there is: Candy Corn!

I love candy corn. I had prohibited my sister from buying this delicious treat until October. Well, my brother beat her to it. Oh goodness.

Heavy Clouds

2009-09-21T18:14:00.000-04:00

Looks like rain...

Late Night Stroll

2009-09-21T17:33:00.004-04:00

I see the strangest things.

The other night I was on my way to pick my dog up from the vet. I reached the light and waited for it to change. I looked over to the other side of the avenue and saw this older lady on one of those electric scooter chairs. Nothing wrong there. BUT, she was taking a stroll on the street! She had a huge bag of dog food with her while she drove her chair on the street.

People are weird.

Kids And Their Teeth

2009-09-16T16:48:00.002-04:00

I hate it when the kids show me they have a loose tooth! Ok, "hate" might be too strong a word. I don't hate it, I just don't like it. It completely grosses me out. I don't know when this started to bother me. I'm certainly not a squimish person, but loose teeth. No.

Today a kid comes up to me and says "Missy, I have a loose tooth, look!" He proceeds to show me a dangling molar. They're obsessed with showing me their falling teeth! I just closed my eyes and said something like "ok...that's nice, thank you".

I can't deal. Maybe it has to do with my hatred of the falling teeth dream. Everyone's had that dream before so you know what I'm talking about. Well, I don't know if everyone FEELS it as much as I do, but my dreams are very vivid and with that comes loads of feelings. So anytime I have a loss of teeth dream, I feel every moment they fall out and the pain. At times it's so intense my teeth will hurt and be sensitive the next day...and no I don't grind my teeth.

So I guess I have a bad association. I can't help it. I get completely grossed out when a kid shows me their loose tooth.

My Life Is...

2009-09-01T18:15:00.001-04:00

My life is....what is my life? crazy maybe? unusual.

I got home from work. Picked up the recycling bins because they were blocking a parking space. As I'm taking them to the back, I guess I scared the chickens a bit too much. The little chick somehow flew over the cement fence and landed in my neighbor's yard. Awesome!

So I trespass (there was no one home) and try to get the chick. Picture me, running around my neighbor's backyard with a fishing net trying to catch a c.h.i.c.k.e.n to my mother's voice saying "No lo pises!" I finally grabbed him and look at the pool. There was a bird in the pool. I first thought it was swimming, but I got closer and saw that it was a baby Changa drowning. Grabbed that bird and got out of my neighbor's house.

In my backyard I let the chick go because mother hen was going to attack me. And the baby changa didn't want to let go! I think it drank too much chlorine because other baby changas that I've tried to help just run-bounce-fly away....this one had a good hold around my fingers. I put it on a fallen branch, went inside, started to change into exercise clothes and I managed to put my pants on, backwards.

Backwards! Not inside out...backwards.

DC Summer 2009

2009-08-02T17:35:00.006-04:00

I went to DC at the beginning of July. I was there for about 2 weeks, had a great time and miss my friends terribly. It's hard coming back home and heading back to work.

Punch Out Update

2009-06-20T15:40:00.003-04:00

Today I decided that I was going to finish Punch Out, and I did. I finally beat Mr. Sandman, saw the credits and everything, but then was taken back to the World Circuit menu only to be taken back to the Minor Circuit and have to do it all over again.

I figured Mr. Sandman wasn't the last fighter and there had to be some way of unlocking other characters, so this made sense.
So I start fighting Glass Joe again, but guuudddammmnnnit! It's ridiculous that I can't pass such an easy fighter and dumb fighter. The more I tried, the more frustrated I got. When I'd get close to beating him, I'd get confused and lose. After about an hour of this, yelling and jumping around in my room like an idiot, I just turned it off. I couldn't take it anymore.

I'll try some other day.

The Bluest Eye

2009-06-10T18:45:00.008-04:00

I finished reading Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye". This is the book in the middle of the controversy I mentioned in my previous blog.

So, what did I think of it? Is it worth all the commotion?

First of all, I think the back synopsis is misleading. This is what it says, "Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for normalcy, for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in.Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison’s virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterized her writing."

When I read this I expected the story to revolve around Pecola and does, but it doesn't. Of course she has her storyline, but I wouldn't pin point her as the main character. There's more talk about Claudia and Frieda than of Pecola. The story jumps from the girls, to the backstory of their parents, back to the girls, more backstory of other people and continues on like this. Pecola disappears form the story for a while and reappears at the end. The way it's set up, I wouldn't consider any of them main characters.

It's a story about all of them. If you're focusing on the obsession of beauty or trying to be normal or better, which in this case perfection is white, blonde and blue-eyed, the Pecola is right on it. She thinks herself as ugly and wishes to be more like the white kids. Frieda and Claudia seem see how "white" is considered better and rebel against it (more Claudia than Frieda). Claudia talks about how she can't stand the white baby dolls she's given and ends up destroying them. She sort of makes the doll connection with real white kids and feel anger and rage towards them. It's not just the kids, there's discrimination among themselves too. In one of those tangents the story goes on, a new character is introduced and she's all about not letting her son play with the black kids. She tries to make her son as non-black as possible because she sees herself and her family as better than the rest. Pecola's mother, Pauline Breedlove, hates her family life and only feels better, strong and accepted when she's at work (she's a housekeeper for some rich, white family).

So, why were people trying to eliminate this book?

There are parts that are sexually descriptive. That's the whole issue. Overall, there's nothing wrong with the book. Just like with anything, if you just read the explicit excerpts then you're going to take it out of context. I don't think there's anything in this book that should be hidden from an 11th grader. Also, I think that if a student has a valid issue with the book, they should be allowed to supplement their work with something else. The sad truth is that by 11th grade, these kids have read, heard, seen it all.

In my opinion, I do like the fact there was a discussion going on. It kept people debating and choosing sides. Having read the book, I don't have strong feelings towards it either way. For me, I thought the book was slightly forgetful. However, that might just be because I was expecting a highly controversial story. If this is the book they choose to read, then I think it should be allowed.

Summer Sessions

2009-06-04T14:36:00.004-04:00

I'm officially on summer vacation. This has to be one of the greatest things about working in the education field....2 months off!

Before the end of the semester, there was some controversy over an 11th grade assigned reading. The gist of the debate was if the book was/is appropriate reading material for teenagers. I loved the fact that people got all up in arms, were having discussions and choosing sides. It was great.

The book is The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I have a vague understanding of what the book is about. I haven't read it, but I did buy a copy and will be reading it as soon as I'm done with Broken by Daniel Clay (which btw, has no chapters...never seen that before). Some people thought the book was too vulgar and explicit or too adult if you will, for teens. Since I haven't read it, I'm refraining from giving my opinion about its validity as a high school reading. In the end, the school did approve the book. I'll get back to you on whether or not I liked it and my opinion.

Besides that, so far my summer sessions have been filled with video games! As you know, I LOVE Punch Out. I did pass Soda Popinski and have made it all the way to Mr. Sandman. Yeah...I'm stuck, again! I undestand how to beat him. I just haven't been able to, yet :D I also bought a new game called Gravity. LOVE IT! It's all about puzzles and figuring out where to place squares and rectagles to roll the ball/car to the goal. I know, sounds pretty kiddie, but it's great. I've gotten stuck at level 15 and 35 (there's 100).

Ahhhhhhhh summer....gotta love it!

Punch Out

2009-05-25T11:28:00.003-04:00

The game Punch Out is my newest Wii-ddiction. Of course I have fond memories of the old NES game and this one is definitely an improvement. It makes me laugh and I have a good time playing it. For a few days I was stuck on Soda Popinski and cursing at the tv. I know, I know...it's only a game. And I'm sure my co-workers are tired of hearing about it :) I did finally pass the soda chugger, but not after he completely messed up my won-loss average! Hate him!

Now I have new challege. Bald Bull. Yeah...I foung against him in the practice rounds and there's no way I'm passed this guy right now. He's sooooo much harder than what I remember!

Mistakenly Texted

2009-04-15T21:13:00.006-04:00

I received a funny text message today that I'd like to share:

Como te sientes hoy reina?
perdona que te mande text message, pero tenemos
que adaptarnos a la tecnologia y asi no te interrumpo.

Uhm...ok. No, I don't know who sent it. I do know it's someone from NYC because of the area code. That's as far as my curiosity took me. No reply from me! I just laughed because it sounds like someone is involved in some extra curricular activities and they just sent the text to the wrong number.

Update 10pm:
I just checked my phone and I have a missed call. Guess from who? Yup, same text message NYC person. Since they didn't leave a message, I'll assume they heard my voicemail and realized they have the wrong number.

Tales From The Trail

2009-04-13T12:41:00.006-04:00

It's no secret I go running. Sometimes I enjoy it, sometimes I hate it. Whenever I can, I go to El Paseo Lineal de Bayamon. It's a nice path for walkers, runners and a separate one for cyclists. On the site it says it's a total of 6 miles. I think it's less than that, but I can't run the whole thing anyway. I did reach a goal and continuously ran from one end to the other. Now I have to work on running the whole way back. I have to stop and walk a few times on the way back.

Anyway, this is not why I blog today. I blog to share yet another random story. It takes place while I was running this morning in Bayamon. One other thing that you should know about this place is that it isn't uncommon for people to randomly greet you or to make some comment to you. Usually, it's old folks that do this. So there I was running, sweating, looking at the cyclists as they go by. By the time it takes me to run one way, I've seen the same cyclists maybe three or four times, depends on how fast they're going. I'm concentrating on jogging more than running because I don't want to burn out. I see a cyclist and as he passes by he says "Buenos dias". I've never had a cyclists greet me before (unless they're your friend). They acknowledge you're there, but never talk. So I wasn't expecting it and therefore said nothing back.

Later on I see the same cyclist. By now I've reached the point in my run where I'm battling with the snot running down my nose. Attractive I know. So I'm sniffling and at the same time the cyclist says "Buenos dias". I BARELY heard him over my sniffle and I didn't say anything back. Of course now I'm thinking the guy is weird and continue on my run.

On my way back I'm tired and thinking about stopping at the water fountain. The first two I see don't work. I know there's another one ahead at the rest stop and I'm hoping that one works. I didn't need to stop, I run with a water bottle so I had water...I just wanted COLD water. I see the rest stop, the fountain and then the cyclist leaning on the benches. My thought process: "oh crap...I should run past...but I want cold water...the fountain probably doesn't work....I should run past...I'll quickly check if it works which it won't so I won't have to really stop...I should run past". I walk up to the fountain expecting it not to work, but it does. I drink some water, fill up my bottle and the cyclist starts talking to me.

"Te iba invitar a sentarte un rato", he says.
"Como?", I said as if I didn't hear him the first time.
"No que te iba a invitar a descansar un rato", he says.
"Tengo que seguir, no puedo parar", I say as I fill my water bottle.
"Cuanto tiempo llevas corriendo?", he asks.
"En el dia de hoy? Como unos 40 min", I say.
"Es que te veo corriendo ahi con tanto deseo...", he says in a low voice to which I say nothing.
"Tienes que tener cuidado con el calor y hace mucho sol", he says.
(yeah, it couldn't have been a cloudier day today in Bayamon)
"Yo corro por las tardes, el sol no me molesta", I reply.
"Bueno, pero correr con cuidado porque el sol lastima...", he says.
"Agua, tomar mucha agua", I say as I show him my bottle and finally see my opportunity to end the conversation.
"Bueno, que tengas un buen dia", I say and start running away from the Oakley wearing cyclist.
"Igual a ti, que tengas un buen dia", he says as I'm running away.

Uhm, I'm a bit confused. After this minute long conversation, all I could try to figure out was what in the world did he see that made him hit on me. Let me describe my physical state while running. Sweat, hair in disarray, snot nose happenings and the obvious face flush from the heat and exersion. More specifically (just so you can picture how attractive I looked) my tank top was soken through with sweat in circular patterns. I looked like I was lactating. My pants were soken through with sweat also. I looked like I had pissed myself. So which one was it he liked more? The sweaty lactating shirt look or the sweaty pissed pants look? Maybe it was a combination of both. I didn't really want to find out.

Was the cyclist good looking? I think you can tell from my fountain-thought process what I thought. To each their own, really, but I'm just not into 40 something year old men. When I'm 40 I'll be into 40 year old men :)

Two other things that happened almost at the end of my run was that I saw, no...I caught another cyclist checking me out. This one was younger and cuter. Now why didn't he try to chat me up?! hahaha! He was one of those serious cyclists though. They never talk or stop and pass by the runners more than four times. Then at the end this elderly man said to me, "Por ahi voy! Lento, pero por ahi voy". This just made me laugh.

As you can see, Hay un poco de todo en Bayamon.

My Day As A Forced Couch Potato

2009-04-12T08:24:00.005-04:00

So I'm on Spring Break vacation. Woohoo!
If only I hadn't wasted an entire day confined to the couch, I'd be happier. This was not by choice. I had probably the worst stiff neck I've ever had and it just hurt to move.

My day was supposed to be filled with exercise. I know, some of you are rolling your eyes, but that's what I wanted to do and had been doing the days before. I was going to go lift weights, watch movies and have a run later on. Instead, I spent more than 12hrs on the couch, half sitting up and half lying down because that was the only position I could tolerate.

I have no idea what I did. I guess I must have slept in the weirdest position ever. But! I didn't wake up once all night. I slept so well and was completely refreshed when I woke up. I got up, walked around, felt a little pain (but nothing like what it turned into) and took the dog out. I was fine...or so I thought. After taking the dog out, I went back to bed and THAT'S when the pain really hit me.

I couldn't move my neck in any direction. The pain went from the top of my neck, down the right side to the bottom of my shoulder blade. It hurt soooo much. Getting out of bed was a challenge. An even bigger challenge was brushing my teeth! So much pain. I was walking around the house looking like a robot who couldn't lift it's head. My head was fixed in a downward "the floor is my friend" position all day. And that too became uncomfortable, not to mention annoying.

I took some Tylenol and at first refused to give into the "stiff neck - I can't do anything today" pity party. I tried to use my computer, but I couldn't lift my head or extend my arms without shooting pain. So, my online access was limited. I had to sweep the kitchen/family room area. Why? Because my brother's chocolate Labrador, Hershey, has been staying here and she sheds like there's no tomorrow. (How is this dog not bald yet?!) So I start sweeping and I KNOW I shouldn't be doing this. I FEEL I shouldn't be doing this, but I do it anyway. I had to laugh all through the pain to stop me from crying. After that was done, I resigned myself to the couch. It wasn't even noon and I knew I'd spend all day there.

So I gathered my "husband" pillow, my Sudoku book and a book called "Love And Other Impossible Pursuits" by Ayelet Waldman. I propped myself up and back with many cushions to take the pressure of my neck and I stayed there...all day. My sister suggested I take a Celebrex which I refused. Aside from Tylenol, I don't like taking random medication. I'm not a pill popper.

Life on the couch went as follows: turn tv on, turn tv off; do some sudoku; read book; turn tv on, turn tv off; painfully move to answer the phone; take a nap; turn tv on, turn tv off; eat lunch and dinner looking at the floor.....You get the picture. I did try to use my computer a few times, but I was more comfortable on the couch...even though "comfortable" is not a word I'd use to describe my experience yeterday. Sometime in the afternoon I said "F*ck it" and took the pill. I didn't expect it to take the pain away, but atleast make it a degree more bareable. No difference whatsoever.

I ended up just reading my book all afternoon and night. I did of course have to take Hershey out a couple of times. This worried me. She's sort of a spaz and is prone to pulling. I was worried she'd pull me, I'd end up on the grass in pain and she'd happily continue pooping. So I decided to take her the backyard instead of an actual walk. Hershey, thank goodness, was calm.

And I was back on the couch reading! By the time my sister got home I was almost done with the book. It definitely was more interesting than anything on tv. By then it was time to go to bed. I'd had enough of the pain and just wanted to be slumberous. So my 12hr couch residency was over and I went to bed. Of course I slept, but in the only position I could...flat on my back. I woke up today with an extremely slighter version of yesterday's pain. I can move my head in all directions now, but it still hurts when going extremely sideways. And of couse my neck in completely sore from looking down for more than 12hrs.

Atleast I can rejoin the living today! Yay!

Burger King 10K

2009-03-23T12:42:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I went to the BK10K with my brother and sister in law. I am in no real shape to attempt to run a 10K, so we walked it. There were so many people there! About a month ago, I had to go to this staff development day for work. At one of the intersections there were these people giving away free shirts. I was given one and laughed. It's one of those shirts that say I heart _______. Well, the blank was filled in by a picture of a Whopper. It was a BK promo shirt. This was the shirt I wore to the race and honestly, I didn't see anyone else there with this shirt. I'm sooooo unique! The funny thing is that I don't eat red meat. I gave it up about 4 years ago :)

Anyway, I'm always observing people and there were definitely some characters there. Let me start at the beginning. We arrived at a good early time, found our spot and I took a seat on the curb. When I look up there's this woman's ass in front of me. She's talking to her friend and moving side to side as if to warm up. Fine...however, this woman was wearing the tightest exercise pants she could find. Whatever, wear what you want but atleast wear the appropriate underwear for the activity. She clearly didn't want underwear lines, so I'm guessing she had a g-strig on if that. This all happened in a matter of seconds. All I knew is that I had some heavier woman's giggly ass in front of me and I stood up as fast as I could. I don't care what kind of fashion statement you want to make with your workout clothes. But if you're going to be running, the buttocks needs support just like the girls on top. Wear full coverage underwear :)

During the race, when people were already returning we saw a few blog worthy individuals. First we saw a man looked like he stepped off a Tom Hanks movie...Cast Away or Forest Gump. The man had long-wild hair with a full on beard to compliment it. It was all bouncy (he must have been dying of heat). If that wasn't enough, the dude was running in flip flops! FLIP FLOPS!!! Wow.

The second character I saw was more subdued, but still went to some lengths to stand out in the sea of people. He wore his statement on his chest...literally. This man was clearly a quite hairy individual. Definitely someone who could rival any other in a sweater vest competition. So, he took this chest hair and molded it into a symbol. The dude shaved, waxed, naired...whatever...his hair into the shape of a heart. From the top of his pecks down to his belly button he created a hair heart. Uhm....ok then!

It was definitely an interesting afternoon.

Strike 1

2009-03-18T20:32:00.002-04:00

2 days ago I got a new PC. It'd been a while since I actually used a PC for more than 10min at a time...I mainly use my macbook these days.

So I got the new PC with Vista of course because that's the only thing that is available now. Just like any other PC, the operating system takes you through an initial set up of the computer. It made me set up an account and what not, but 5 min later when it restarted to the Log In screen, it said my password was incorrect. WHAT?!?! After many tries with the caps lock on, without the caps lock, with capital letters and all small letters, nothing worked.

Strike 1 for damn PC's! How could it be that a new, new, new computer could lock me out right after having setting it up? Whatever. My next move was to look up the info on the net. I came across some people who had similar problems. My options were: make a reset password disc. This sounded simple enough, but the only way to make this thing was through Windows. Since I never even made it into Windows, this was out of the question. Another option was using a bootable password recovery disc. I found a supposedly good one called Ophcrack. It was simple enough to use and it found the account, but not the password.
So that didn't work. On to the next program! The 2nd one I tried was Offine NT Password & Registry Editor. Since I couldn't GET my supposedly forgotten password, I hoped this program would ERASE it! And it did! It erased it and I was back in business. Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!!

Still, this isn't the best introduction to Vista. I was very annoyed and angry with thoughts of taking a bat to the PC. That was a feeling I hadn't had in a while.

Strike 1!!!!!

Music Rant

2009-02-28T09:44:00.003-05:00

"Hello. My name is Suzy and I'm a Plushgun addict."

Yes. I love Plushgun and listen to them everyday. My morning drive to work is strictly Plushgun time. In the afternoon's I've been rotating The Ting Tings and The Heavy.

But right now I'm all about Plushgun music. I can't recall where I first heard them. I know it was on one of my music searches, but where? I don't know. All I know for SURE is that I certainly didn't hear them on the Puerto Rican radio. I hate the radio stations here. Ok, hate is a strong word. A better one would probably be, dislike. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of Reggaeton. I can't stand it and that's pretty much what every station plays. It's infiltrated and taken over the airwaves, fashion and culture. Even the so-called "American" music station had to add it to their rotation because they were losing listeners. Sure there are rock stations, but any time I tune in, they're flooded with advertisements or some older rock. So I typically don't even bother with the radio. Hmmm, maybe "hate" was the correct word.

I'd be a happy camper if more of what I liked was readily available to the island masses. Of course, I can't see some hardcore Reggaetonero jamming out to Plushgun :) But at least the option would be there. And don't get me started on the concert movement here!!! I can sum it up in one word: Horrible.

Check out Plushgun and get your daily fix: www.myspace.com/plushgun

Pregnant Bellies

2009-02-15T13:56:00.005-05:00

Today's blog topic is about pregnant bellies.

Recently I've been surrounded by, know of or keep hearing about friends and people who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. It's definitely the topic of conversation at work...everyday. That's fine though. I understand that I'm pretty much past the stage where everyone around me was getting married and have now entered the baby stage. But what I've noticed is how freely people feel about putting their hands on pregnant women's bellies.

People don't ask if it's ok to put their hands on the bellies. They just do it. Why is this acceptable? Just because there's a baby? If you think about it, it's still that person's body and should be respected. People don't go around putting their hands on other people's stomachs in everyday life. That would be weird! So just because a woman is pregnant it gives people a free pass on stomach patting. I understand why it happens, but I think it's disrespectful how people assume it's ok.

And it's not like the mother-to-be is going to say anything about it. Maybe they should. I find it hard to believe that a pregnant woman will ALWAYS be ok with people putting their hands on her. What if it was someone they didn't like? Should they have to grin and bare it just so they're not seen as bad people? I think people should ask first and be understanding if they say no. It's their body, their moment...not yours.

Movie List

2009-01-07T16:33:00.003-05:00

Vacation is over. Here's the list of movies I watched in 2 and a half weeks of vacation.

1. Changeling
2. Seven Pounds
3. Twilight
4. The Edge Of Love
5. Eagle Eye
6. Appaloosa
7. Humbodlt County
8. Frost/Nixon
9. Milk
10. Wendy & Lucy
11. Saw V
12. Revolutionary Road
13. Slumdog Millionaire
14. The Wrestler
15. Bottle Shock
16. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
17. Jumper

The best movie of 2008 was Milk, hands down. At first I thought it was Frost/Nixon, but then I saw Milk. They're both very powerful movies, but Milk drew me in and kept me there all though out the movie. My least favorite movie of this list has to be Appaloosa. It's so f*cking BORING! The most depressing movie of the list has to be Revolutionary Road. It's probably so depressing because it's about living an unfulfilled life trapped in the status quo...real to life type movie.

Lykke Li and Plushgun

2009-01-01T12:59:00.006-05:00

Since christmas vacation started I've spent it watching a ton of movies. I'll list them on a later post because vacation isn't over and so there are more movies to be watched.

I did take a couple of days break from movies and switched over to music. I usually do a better job of keeping up with my music, but time and energy were focused elsewhere these past couple of months. So, in my music search (that led to Dirty Habits), I found these two gems: Lykke Li and Plushgun. I don't know what to make of Lykke Li yet. All I know is that her videos are wacked out which I love. Her video for "I'm Good, I'm Gone" is freaky and feels like it's something out of my dreams. Those who know me and read my dream journal know what I'm talking about. Plushgun is a delight. I love their sound and felt really bad for the car Brittany Snow destroys in the video....poor car!

Lykke Li - I'm Good I'm Gone

Plushgun - Just Impolite

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T12:48:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year cyberworld!
How was your new years celebrations?

Mine was soooooo packed, where do I start!

I fell asleep around 9pm tired from staying up till 5am the night before. This was more of a nap though because Elvis woke me up an hour later (my mother was blasting his christmas music). Thanks to that nap I made it to midnight and welcomed in 2009 with the rest of my family. We were watching some crappy local countdown show and my sister told me it wasn't even live. Apparently they'd taped the show in the afternoon. I felt cheated...NOT!

So I went back to bed a bit after midnight only to be woken up by east coast texters an hour later :) You guys suffer from daylight savings, so while you were just starting, we were done. I can't remember if I texted back...I remember trying, but after the 3rd new years text, I didn't wake up again. I was completely useless, tired and slept all through the night. It was great.

Last Minute Details

2008-12-31T17:55:00.008-05:00

2008 is coming to a close. Do you have any resolutions for 2009?

I resolve to not make resolutions :)

I actually wouldn't mind going to bed right now. Last night I stayed up till 5:30am finishing up an overdue project. Nothing to do with work or anything like that. See, for a few years now, we (we being my college friends) have made a mix cd for halloween or some other event. I've made the last 3 cd's. It's pretty time consuming. Because of that I hadn't had time to do it 2 months ago, but I REALLY wanted to do it before the year was out. So, I took a couple of days off from my movie obsession and dedicated myself to getting it done.

I finished it all last night, or this morning actually. Here's the track list:
1. Common - Universal Mind Control
2. Busta Rhymes Ft. Lil' Wayne, The Game & NAS - Don't Touch Me
3. John Legend Ft. Andre 3000 - Green Light
4. Estelle Ft. Kanye West - American Boy
5. Ludacris Ft. Cris Brown & Sean Garrett - What Them Girls Like
6. Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches
7. Hyper Crush - The Arcade
8. Pink - So What
9. Electrovamp - I Don't Like The Vibe In The VIP
10. LMFAO -Lil' Hipster Girl
11. Lady Gaga Ft. Colby O'Donis - Just Dance
12. Lauren Mason - Haterade
13. Black Milk - Give The Drummer Sum
14. Marco Polo Ft. Masta Ace - Nostalgia
15. Snoop Dogg Ft. Lil' Kim - Sensual Seduction
16. Jazmine Sullivan Ft. T.I. & Missy Elliott - Need U Bad
17. Mr. Evil & Sean Paul - Back It Up
18. Common - Sex 4 Suga
19. LMFAO - I'm In Miami Bitch
20. Freezepop - Thought Balloon

I'm happy it's done and now I'm tired.

Windshield Goes Green

2008-12-27T19:55:00.005-05:00

Today I went to one of the many malls in search for new computer speakers. On my way to the mall, it was raining. It's been raining everyday for about 2 weeks now, so today was no different.
The drive was nothing out of the ordinary until...

...a piece of a tree branch fell and smacked my windshield! Thank goodness it wasn't the whole branch, it was just about 12 inches long, soft and full of greenage. This all happened really fast so it's safe to say it scared the F*CK out of me. **SMACK** Of course since it was raining, I had the wipers on and the branch got stuck on the left one. Great! It wasn't enough to just scare me, it also had to block my view.

There really wasn't a place I could stop and remove it. Plus, the rain had picked up and I realized I'd also left my unbrella at home. So I waited for a red light and tried to remove it without getting out of the car. That didn't work. I used the wiper as little as possible and wouldn't you know it, the branch fell off when I reached the mall.

Just another random act to add to my list.

Excuse me, do you work here?

2008-11-29T06:26:00.004-05:00

It started when I was a teenager and now that I'm in my thirties, it still happens: I always get confused for a store's sales clerk instead of just another client.

A few days ago I went to Borders to buy the remaining books of the Twilight saga. TANGENT: I finished New Moon and am starting Eclipse. There seemed to be a lot of spanish paperback versions on the table, so it took me a while to actually find the english versions. I even went upstairs to check out the display they have in the children's book section. Yeah I could read them in spanish, but it wouldn't be the same. I don't know how long I was there. I guess long enough for some random stranger to believe I worked there.

"¿Tu trabajas aqui?", said the randon lady as she point at me and at the store. I smiled, said no, she walked away and I thought, "Are you serious?"

I only thought that because of the way I was dressed. Anyone who's ever been to a Borders knows the employees wear a black shirt that says Borders. I was wearing a blue t-shirt that says "Textually Active", jeans and flip flops. How did I resemble a Borders worker that day??

The confusion doesn't end in Borders. I get it a lot at clothing stores (Old Navy, Gap etc), supermarkets, but mostly...at Kmart. Yet another place with distinctive employee attire. Kmart employees don lovely red vests with store logo nametags. While it is true I know my way around the store having to go there so often, I have yet to receive an unofficial red Kmart vest for loyal patronage.

So I wonder why I confuse folks. People see me and must think, "That girl works here." What is it about me? Am I THAT approachable or am I THAT common looking? Is it because I walk with my head up and make eye contact instead of looking down and pretending the sidewalk is my friend? Maybe it has nothing to do with me. Do people just not pay attention to their surroundings?

Me?....Reading?

2008-11-25T07:34:00.006-05:00

I don't consider myself a reader...of books. I do try. I've bought books, start reading them and even if they hold my interest, I'll just put them aside indefinitely. I think it all goes back to being forced to read crappy SRA's in elementary school and the never ending summer readings. I was the type of kid who instead of just reading the book and getting it over with, I would figure out the least amount of chapters I'd have to read per day. That way I didn't spend all day reading and was out and about enjoying the summer. Of course that doesn't make much sense either because a simple book would take me all vacation :) Whatever.

This past month I've read more books than I have in other years. A grand total of 2! I finally finished Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. This book I started, I don't know, more than a year ago. It was just so blah at the beginning so I left it aside. When I finally got halfway, that's when it started to get good. I made myself finish it so I could start reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Twilight I had to read. I'd heard and seen how obsessed people were with the book and knew the movie was coming out soon. So I wanted to read it before watching the movie. I finished it in like 3 days. And have joined the obsession thank you very much.

I'm now more than halfway done with New Moon (the 2nd book of the Twilight saga) and have just bought Eclipse (3rd book in the saga). You might ask why I just didn't buy all of them together. Well, that was my plan, but you wouldn't believe how hard it was finding an english paperback copy of Eclipse. I don't want the hardcover books. I'm ok with paperback, but for some reason Borders only had the spanish version in paperback. They finally got some english versions and now Breaking Dawn (4th book in the saga) is the only one I'm missing. I was going to buy it today too, but deja vu! Paperback is only available in spanish. So I'll wait.

Oh and yes, I did see the movie already :)

Update Of Sorts

2008-11-25T07:22:00.002-05:00

I always tell myself that I'll blog more frequently and it doesn't happen. I haven't written in a while because I've just been too tired to sit and write. We'll see if I get better at this.

Update then.

I stayed up till 3 something in the morning watching the US election. It was exciting to see it all unfold and right after Obama gave his speech I was out cold. I was soooooo sleepy, I just passed out.

Work had been kicking our asses, but now we're on a Thanksgiving break.

My PC is all sorts of f*cked up...so I bought a MacBook (of course now I'm poor). I've joined the other side. That's not to say that I won't try to fix my PC. I'm maybe 80% certain it's fixable, so I have a full day of tinkering around with it to see what happens. I'm not stressed about it because like a good PC owner, I had already backed up all my important docs, pics and general files. That's why I haven't even touched it in about a week. It's just sitting there in a state of limbo waiting to be reformatted.

Election Night

2008-11-04T20:59:00.003-05:00

I typically stay away from politics. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that people get so idiotic about it that I prefer to stay in my room. The fanatical part of politics, people who follow one party just because their family does instead of using their own brain, and blind hatred of folks who don't share the same views is what I hate. I don't need to see people flicking off the tv just because someone from a different party is being interviewed.

I am watching the US election though. I am interested in knowing who will win. If you believe in the Redskin Rule, then Obama will be the clear winner. I am getting sleepy and there's a full day of work ahead of me tomorrow, but I'm staying up as much as possible. We shall see.

A Change...maybe...

2008-10-13T12:58:00.006-04:00

Life has been so up and down lately, sometimes I don't know what to make of it all. In all honesty, sometimes it makes me feel a bit insane.

Since my last blog, I'd been bombarded with unnecessary stress. I don't typically sweat the small things, but when people around me constantly compare, judge, scold or whatever, I'm forced into the middle of it and brings me down. There is always a better way of communicating your issue or point of view and no need to demoralize the other person.

I'm realizing that I've become (or am becoming) more sensitive to events which normally I would've never given a second thought. Now, I don't know if that's just a sign of getting older or a side effect of my surroundings. Not that I was a complete insensitive ass before, but it definitely was a hell of a lot easier to not give a damn...to say, "fuck it" and not skip a beat...and overall smell the bullshit a mile away and not let it get to me.

Like I said, life has been pretty up and down. I definitely have to find my middle ground faster so I'm not bogged down by crap for too long. And just put things into perspective....be mindful and thankful. Some of you friends out there know what I'm talking about and I completely appreciate the talks we've had.

Thank you, "RD", "SASSAS", "TG", "CBC", "BMcD", "JDV" and "CLD".
HOLLER!!!

Busy Weekend

2008-09-29T17:48:00.007-04:00

This past weekend was pretty damn busy which is unusual for me. My weekends have turned into subdued, stay at home and watch movies kind of deals. But this weekend was busy.

Saturday, I woke up early as always because apparently I'm physically uncapable of sleeping past 6am anymore. So I got up ate breakfast and got ready. I had the day all planned out. Since I had to run errands, I would do that in the morning leaving the afternoon free. So by 8am I was at the ticket counter of Coliseo Roberto Clemente to pick up my race package. I decided to get it the day before because Sunday would've been hectic. So I did. Then I ran errands in plaza for a couple of hours and went home...only to realize I had to return to the mall.

By the time I got back, it was time to get ready for "C's" Bridal Shower. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Everyone was in good and high spirits. The party was a great time. Food, pink champagne, one beaming bride to be surrounded by her giddy friends and even one tupee wearing lounge pianist. What more could you ask for? :D After the shower I went to a birthday party and got home around midnight. It was later than expected, but I went straight to bed to rest up for the sunday race.

Sunday, Race For The Cure. Of course I didn't sleep in because...I don't know. I can't :) I tried to nap during the day, but I just kept getting interrupted. So 4pm came around and "A" and I went off the the race. There were so many people there. I didn't see the other people I knew who were going to be there till the end of the race. It was an awesome race. I mean, running is a sport for crazy people. Why in the world would you put yourself through being in pain, out of breath and wanting to vomit all at the same time?! It's great ;) Now, I'm not sure how the timing thing works. I know there's the chip that keeps the "official" time, but I run with my own watch. I start it as soon as I cross the starting line and stop it when I cross the finish line. By my watch I ran the 5k in 30:13. "Officially" my time was 32:27.

So my weeked was pretty busy and tiring. Today I was still exhausted and just wanted to be home all day.

Crayola Is Determining Your Future

2008-09-16T20:18:00.005-04:00

This morning I came across an article that about how there's a new way to determine what career fits you best. Instead of taking the regular questions test, it's all about colors. You choose your favorite and least favorite colors. This is supposed to categorize your personality I guess and give you the best careers for you.

So I took the color test (of course, for the full results you have to pay). Here is what it said about me:

Best Occupational Category
You're a CREATOR
Key Words: Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.
CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work
best with your free-spirited nature. Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

2nd Best Occupational Category
You're a PERSUADER
Key Words: Witty, Competitive, Sociable, Talkative, Ambitious, Argumentative, and Aggressive

These enterprising types sell, persuade, and lead others. Positions of leadership, power, and status are usually their ultimate goal. Persuasive people like to take financial and interpersonal risks and to participate in competitive activities. They enjoy working with others inside organizations to accomplish goals and achieve economic success.

Well. Like all these test, I think you have to take them with a grain of salt. Parts of the results I like...others I'm not so sure it hit the mark. For all that are interested, here's the article:
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1614

Just remember, sometimes colors are just colors.

Stop, Go...Stop...TAPON!

2008-09-12T22:00:00.004-04:00

That's how traffic was this morning: Stop, go and just plain STOP.

I left the house at the same time I always do, 7am. By 7:15am I was on 177 next to Hogar Crea. That's where traffic just wasn't moving. At the time I had no idea what was going on and since my car's radio isn't working it's not like I could've turned the news on. I knew something was going on because traffic on the other side was flowing and we were the only one's not moving. So after about 10min of just sitting there I put the car in park, sat back and waited. The man next to me just turned his car off.

Little by little we started to move. As soon as we started going down, I could see in the distance that NO ONE was being allowed to go straight. Traffic was being diverted left and right. I saw 3 ambulances and numerous police cars drive up in the half hour I was stuck in traffic. When I finally got to work, I heard there had been a bad accident down the way. It wasn't till I got home in the afternoon that I finally saw on the news what had happened.

It's awful.

VMA '08 Snore Fest

2008-09-08T18:20:00.006-04:00

I'm sure lots of people saw the VMA's last night. I started watching it. I admit I wanted to see if Britney was going to crash and burn. Don't deny it...that's a big reason why lots of people were watching. Turns out she didn't even perform. Looking back the promos never say that she was going to perform, but it sure was insinuated.

Britney was all normal which was good to see, but 3 VMA's wins for Piece of Me? Ok, then. After it was clear that Britney wasn't performing, I dvr'd the show and went to bed. It's so much better being able to skip over crap. I did enjoy Pink and Christina Aguilera's performances. They both kicked ass, but Pink is looking a little like Tabitha Coffey these days though :)

As far as the hip hop men go...pull your damn pants up! I know, I know...it's the style, the fashion...however, there's no need for me or any other viewer to be seeing your ass or you underwear.

Possibly one of the best parts of the whole show was Russell Brand. To me it seemed the crowd wasn't really getting his style of comedy at first. He was hilarious and saved Paris Hilton. Who knows how long she would've stood there in silence before realizing she was looking at the wrong teleprompter!

Overall, the show was a snore fest for me. I'm glad I dvr'd it and didn't lose any sleep over it.

90210

2008-09-02T22:14:00.004-04:00

I just finished watching the new 90210. Hm.

It's the same sort of premise as the original. 2 teens move to Beverly Hills from farm country. Not original and the children composition isn't original either. The family is made up of a daughter and an adopted black son. Yeah ok, South Of Nowhere anyone?

All the girls are bitchy and back stabbing each other from the start. Another South Of Nowhere (and typical teen drama staple) storyline is how the popular girl used to be best friends with the out-cast edgy girl, but now they're sworn enemies. The guys...well, they're guys. There doesn't seem to be a dorky David Silver. All the guys are confident and boastful, even the tv crew is cool. Everything is bigger, more expensive and revamped...even the Peach Pit is all new.

The 2hr premiere seemed rushed to me. I was entertained, but the storylines went fast. It was great seeing the revival of Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh though. It's very Degrassi of them to be on the show and gives it credit. Will we be talking about this 90210 the same way we do the original? Will there be another "Donna Martin graduates!" chant everyone remembers? I guess we have to wait and see.

Knees a Bugging

2008-08-30T06:54:00.007-04:00

I just woke up and my knees hurt. *That's a great sign of getting older* Seriously though, I have a friday tradition with my sister-in-law "A". Well, we've only just started and this was our 2nd friday, but we're still calling it a tradition. After work we go walking nearby. The trail back and forth is almost 5mi and takes us about 2hrs at a moderate pace.

I've noticed that I'm more tired afterwards than when I run. My knees also hurt. They don't hurt at all when I run. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? I've always heard how running is bad for the knees and what not. It's odd. At work I'm typically walking all over the place and going up and down stairs, so it's not like I'm not used to the movements.

Maybe it's because we walk a longer distance at once than what I run.
Maybe it's because we don't stop until we're done.
Maybe I need to stretch more :)

¡TAPON!

2008-08-29T19:51:00.001-04:00

¡Que tapon carajo!

I was driving home tonight after my exercise walk and took the same route I always take. I hit traffic at Las Cumbres which struck me as odd since I've never been stuck there before. Sure there's always traffic towards Caguas, but it was almost 7pm...traffic should've been over by then. No.

It took me more than 20 min to get from Las Cumbres to the highway entrance/exit. When I finally make it onto the highway, I see that the newest movable Jersey wall is in effect. I don't know why they put that on the right side of the highway, but it's there. Essentially all they did was temporarily eliminate the emergency shoulder lane. Why?

Ever since the traffic laws have gotten stricter, I've rarely seen anyone attempt a shoulder run. If this is going to be a common thing, then I hope no one has an emergency during that section of the road...because there is no shoulder to stop at and they'll be surrounded by irate PRican drivers. I know this is a long weekend and people are most likely leaving the metro area hence more traffic, but I'm sure this latest wall shifting has something to do with the increase in traffic as well.

One Of Those Days

2008-08-26T20:04:00.001-04:00

Is it completely wrong that I'm waiting for it to be 8pm so I can go to bed? :)

The day wasn't a complete disaster. There was a bit of everything going on as usual. At the beginning of the day I had one of those kids who thinks they're better than everyone else talk back to me. And if that isn't bad enough, they did it infront of someone else who felt it necessary to point it out (as if I hadn't hear it). So that wasn't good. Then of course there was another kid who was completely grateful that I took out the time to write down and explain the info they missed since they were late to class. I got a hug and a kiss on the cheek for that one. So that was nice.

2 polar opposite reactions in the same day.

Ugh.

And My Time Was...

2008-08-25T17:50:00.000-04:00

...33:46:00

This is the fastest I've ran a 5k. I was just trying to get in under 48min which is around what I did last year at this same race. And checking out my time from last year's Race For The Cure, I took 2 minutes off that time. So I guess this is all an improvement. I don't really see myself getting any faster. I'm all about slow and steady :)

Can't Find My Sleep

2008-08-25T03:09:00.004-04:00

It's 3am and I can't sleep.

I could feel it in my body after the race that I was going to be so tired I'd get no sleep. I'm not sure I can explain it aside from saying I felt wired. Sure enough, I went to bed and couldn't fall asleep. I have to be "up" in 3hrs, so I should try to get some sort of rest. That's probably not going to happen, but I decided not to get angry about it either. There is little I can do about it. I can go back to bed and stare at the insides of my eyelids and not sleep. Or I can sit here and blog about not sleeping. I could take a pill, but it's too late to do that. I'd be nonfunctional at work if I do that.

Being at work after a night of staring at the ceiling is always a challenge. Mostly I just want to kill someone :) We'll see how that goes!

5k Completed!

2008-08-24T19:06:00.007-04:00

So I survived the 5k. Hoooooray!

I went with my brother "A", sister-in-law "A" and co-worker "J". We were all standing around anxious for the race to start. That's when all these other people who said they weren't going to do it arrived. I was surprised because the whole month was them saying they weren't going to sign up. Well, they didn't, but ran/walked the race anyway :) I ran as much as I could before walking. I made it half way and then felt like I was going to throw up. That's when I gave myself a break and walked for a bit. After that it was stop and go till the end.

This is my second time around running this race and I did so much better this time. I can't say for sure what my time was. Yes, I did have a stop watch. The problem was that after I crossed the finish line, I pressed the button and it didn't stop. So I have to wait for the official results to be posted, but it should be less than 35min.

Some people don't notice others around them since they get into the runner's zone. Me, I still observe everyone. There was one man running next to me that was growling. I guess that's how he pumped himself up, but it was weird. He was obviously covered in sweat and I guess drinking water or creating saliva because the growling turned into a semi-gurgling sound. I thought he was going to pass out...but he didn't.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon. Time for a shower!
OH! I forgot to mention something. "A", "J" and I decided to stay in the back at the beginning of the race. We didn't really want to be sandwiched in with all the real runners. Anyway. So we're standing in the back and I see this group of 3 or 4 people just pop open a few Medalla's. What?! Who chugs a beer right before a 5k?!? Only in Puerto Rico, I swear.

5k Ready?

2008-08-23T15:24:00.005-04:00

Am I ready for the 5k tomorrow?

If this was taking place a couple of months ago, then I would say, "hell yeah!" But as of right now, the answer to that question is, "fuck no!" Oh, I'm still going to go and run as much as I can, but there's no way I can run the whole thing. I've kept exercise as an important part of my life, but recently it's just gotten harder to incorporate. Since work started up again, it's rare that I don't feel exhausted in the afternoons with tons of desire to go running.

I know I have to stop making excuses and just get it done. I intend to fully start up again this coming week with a 5k introduction. What a great way to start! I'll keep bugging "C" to see if she'll join me in on the trails, but I know she won't. I'm hopeful to get her out there at least once a week. We'll see.

The race will be fiiiiine. I don't intend to kill myself and try to run the whole thing. I'll be walking along with the other tired people when I'm out of gas. I have no problem with that.

Testing...1, 2...

2008-08-23T15:00:00.000-04:00

Here's the deal: I got tired of my blogging stopping grounds and decided I needed to check out other services. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing, but for now I find myself here.

Interested in my 3 year old blog? Read me: http://suzy.dabu.com