es mi bloganiversario...

llevo dos años con esta lista de cosas en linea que no me imagino quien lee. qu'emozion! tendre que implementar una estrategia mas completa para hacerle competencia a Perez Hilton. pero ya veremos. :D Lo que si es que me ha servido de espacio para expresarme y eso es maravilloso. gracias a los que leen, y a los que no, pende#%$*!!! :D

can you believe this thing has been up for 2 years now? it's crazy. i'm thinking of implementing a major ad strategy to compete with Perez Hilton's blog but obviously I have to double check that first and develop a more nasty-backstabbing-in-your-face-kinda-approach.

gobble, gobble

thanksgiving was good. my family came over for dinner. it was my first thanksgiving dinner ever. i cooked--well, part of it. the turkey came from Boston Market but I 'fixed' it up a bit with my own sazon. we had mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy from them too. i made a arugula, poached pears in white wine, and goat cheese salad; also a butternut squash and spinach casserole with a bechamel sauce. for dessert i made a eggnog-flavored flan and a pumpkin pie. we had lots of fun and laughed with jokes that are always there. my two cousins sully and hansel were there, my aunt and her husband, my grandma, and my mom, bro + sis. it was fun. hopefully next time i'll tackle the turkey myself. he he

Me encanto la cena de Accion de Gracias. vino mi family para cenar juntos en mi casa. aunque no hice el pavo yo, si lo compre en Boston Market. Lo arregle un poquito con un sazoncito que me invente. comimos al estilo estadounidense, nada de arros y habichuelas. :D todo un acontecimiento. lo acompañamos con puree de papa con gravy y stuffing (las migajas de pan con sazon que no se como se dice). tambien hize una ensalada de arugula con peras cocidas en vino blanco, y queso de cabra, oh, y un pastelon de auyama butternut y espinaca con salsa bechamel. para el postre un flan con sabor a ponche y un pie de calabaza. Que j-artura que nos dimos. la proxima vez tratare de hacer el pavo yo misma. a ver que sale...

mi mesita de thanksgiving. cute no?

God is great...

I cannot think me more blessed than what I am now. There's this sense of peace I have. Even if everything is not going my way and I'm at a certain crossroad in my life it is amazing to see how wonderful God is. I've had a wonderful couple of days and it is just amazing.

new roommies

so Jennifer and Kate are moving out and i have two new housemates. pretty cool looking chicks. one is chinese canadian from toronto. she works as an engineer at one of the biggest hospitals in the city. the other one is 3rd(?) generation greek-american from lynnfield, ma. she's a nurse at MGH downtown. they're both solid christian women and i'm looking forward to having a small community of believers to share with. i'm excited. after a long search; having people back out at the last minute and going through the rollercoaster of roommate searching, i've arrived. i don't care if they're serial killers. they're in. i have seen God work in wonderful ways throughout the whole process and i can truly say that i feel peace regarding these two women and that everything will be fine. not that i'm saying we won't have the regular roommie issues but at least i'm confident they're cool people. i'm going to miss jennifer and kate. they're awesome roommates. plus they were always away. he he. no, seriously, i will.

Beantown de mi corazon

So I'm back home in Boston, as my friend Eunice would say, "chilling like a villain." It's good to be back to my bed. I missed it. It's weird how certain items just become a part of you even if they happen to be annoying and squeaky and all. :0] I just posted some pictures from DC. No, the place has more than flowers and plants, but I'm a flower freak, what can I say. I have more but some of these are my favorites. I figure I should not overload my poor blog with flowers. It's bad enough as it is. Hope you like some of them. Besos!

shy orchid

botanical cafe

wild aloe

Sr. Lincoln himself... well statue

Lincoln Memorial

fuente WWII memorial

patitos

orchids in shadow of blue

hot hoja

yellow

green

ji ji

hidden capitol

spider cacti

botanical gardens

con Magdalena y Camilla... cool peoples, totally cool.

Thupten, Mag, Erin, Chris & Camilla @ Citron

you just got 'junked'.. ji ji

it's so funny when you create a whole different reality and other people believe it. freddy, you fool, i'm in no mental institution in DC due to a mental breakdown. i'm just away for a graduate certificate. sorry, i couldn't pass the opportunity to lie. i hope you believed it. it was fun.

anyway, my program is almost over and I'll be flying back home at the end of the week. this weekend was pretty fun. i went out with some people from my program on Saturday nite. during the day i did the whole sightseeing gig. national mall, smithonian museums, white house, capitol, etc. etc. it was exhausting. i walked for ever. the highlight of the day was buying a hotdog from a vendor right in front of the Lincoln memorial. it was just such a great feeling. the mundane and the sublime--the hotdog, that is. just kidding. i love those moments in life when something so simple is mixed with something that in this case represents greatness and life-changing events/people.

i'm enjoying DC and could totally see myself living here. i even found an awesome church, and honestly that is the second selling point after the international development scene. let's see what the future holds for me. this is such an exciting time for me. so many possibilities and options. for the time being, let's see what my last week here holds.

the weather has been very nice lately. not that much humidity. it's been good. the program is still good. i'm enjoying it. there are so many interesting people; so knowledgeable.

Live from DC

This is such an interesting experience. I'm taking classes at Gallaudet University, which, according to their website, "leads the world in undergraduate liberal arts education, career development, and outstanding graduate programs for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students."

It is mind-boggling to be in a place where the majority of people communicate with sign language. It is kinda weird but I guess I can say what I know what someone who is hearing impaired feels like when they're out on the street. It's like a parallel universe to a certain extent.
I'm taking the school shuttle everyday from the Metro station. Except for some music being played by the driver and a random sound coming from someoneÂ’s mouth the vehicle is silent. I canÂ’t help but stare sometimes in trying to decipher what they might be saying because I find it fascinating. Back in High School I tried to learn a bit of sign language, just junior year lunch hour for about a semester, but it really didnÂ’t work out. It was very challenging to restrict myself in that way; relying on my hands and facial expressions to convey a message.

One of the coolest things about being in this environment is that it breaks so many stereotypes for me. For some reason when I saw deaf individuals on the street talking and such I had the impression that they might be lacking something. In my mind there were all dorks who spent their Saturday nights alone and reading CC on TV. I know, I know thatÂ’s horrible. While staying at Gallaudet I have seen so many, many hip, super cool looking people. There are the sorority girl-type chicks, the punk-looking folk, the athletes, they geeky-looking ones, the freshmen, etc. It is like any regular university just a bit quieter.

ItÂ’s awesome. I love this. ItÂ’s amazing how I came here to learn about project management and along with it have had a completely different personal experience. Obviously this is not the only change but itÂ’s one I never expected. It is always great when your views about a particular group change by just learning more about it. I have a completely different sense or awareness and respect for the deaf. Man...

I'm back!... no estaba muerta, andaba de parranda.

It’s been a while but I’m back. Needless to say I can’t catch up with all the time I’ve been gone but I am just going to start with what I’m doing. So, I’m in DC for the month of June-almost for the whole month. My stay here is due to a certificate program. It’s been an interesting experience so far. My first week ends this Friday.

I’m hoping that I’ll be doing some sightseeing and connecting with some people who live in the area whom I’ve not seen in a while. If you’re in the area and want to hang out for dinner one day, just give me a buzz or email. I’d be delighted. I have to go now but will keep posting as much as I can about this wonderful new location for me and my impressions.

Besos y’all.

wow... it's been a while

i can't believe it's been so long since I last wrote anything here. it's been almost two months, no? anyway, life it's good I've been good. let's see... in february I went to Seattle for the first time. it was lots of fun. i went with my friend Bianny. he is a great travel partner--will totally use his services again if the need arises. :) Seattle is a great place we had tons of fun.
in early march i had my wisdom teeth taken out. that went surprising, almost disappointingly, well. i was expecting all this pain and drama; to have my mom pamper me and other people treat me like a princess. i got none of that, none of it. i didn't even have to take the pain killers. so i have them here for a special occasion. he he. what else... oh, i lost a friend. no, he's not dead, we just fought, but it's one of those times when you know that things will never be the same. it was because of something very silly, in my eyes, but apparently i underestimated it. it is very sad for me because i really care about him as a friend and i though we had a good, solid friendship. unfortunately, i was wrong.

now onto this weekend. on friday i went with Gonzalo to see Cesaria Evora in concert. to my surprise--and total satisfaction--the opening act was performed by none other than Seu Jorge. I was in heaven. I love his voice. anyhoo, the place was packed. according to Gonzo's estimate there must've been about 1000 to 1500. then we went back to Lawrence and had some chimis w/batidas at this street vendor. it was hilarious. there were these dominican dudes there that just made the end of the night great. on saturday, i went to see the Inside Man with Pablo and I have to say that it was not what I expected. the movie dragged a lot, and I'm usually a pretty lenient movie critic but it was kinda boring towards the end. today was a beautiful day here. i woke up late, darn daylight savings stuff, and missed church. :( then my friend Euni came over and we had lunch at out favorite japanese rice bowl place. then we came here and look at some Cuba pictures that i finally got from my trip in 2004. later, i went for a long drive. went to the Arboretum in JP. what a gorgeous place. i had never gone to the side i went today. it was beautiful. i was able to walk for a bit, clear my mind and enjoy a couple of ducks bathing in one of the ponds. birds chipping, tree leaves and flowers slowly coming out. it was very refreshing. then i drove through Roslindale, Milton, and Dedham. on my way back i stopped at trader joe's and got to brie, crackers and fruit for dinner. yum.

it was a good day. ahh... now i'm getting ready to end it and start my work week tomorrow, which also reminds me i have a french paper to write. boy, i better get going.

lots of luv!

Did you know?"

We picked up one excellent word," wrote Mark Twain in Life on the Mississippi (1883), "a word worth traveling to New Orleans to get; a nice limber, expressive, handy word—'lagniappe'. . . . It is Spanish—so they said." Twain encapsulates the history of "lagniappe" quite nicely. English speakers learned the word from French-speaking Louisianians, but they in turn had adapted it from the American Spanish word "la ñapa." Twain went on to describe how New Orleanians completed shop transactions by saying "Give me something for lagniappe," to which the shopkeeper would respond with "a bit of liquorice-root, . . . a cheap cigar or a spool of thread." It took a while for "lagniappe" to catch on throughout the country, but by the mid-20th century, New Yorkers and New Orleanians alike were familiar with this "excellent word."

Hmmm...

Made dinner for some friends at Yajaira's yesterday. It was a Middle Eastern Soiree--whatever that means, with me as the cook that is. I made tabouleh, salad, chicken with cilantro, lemon and figs, sautee 'rooms. It was good, so they said, all nine of them. And it has nothing to do with me asking them to say so. I had a good time. It had been a while since I cooked for other than myself. It feels good to feed people. Afterwards, we went to Jowa's Lounge. It was a good night with lots of old and new friends. I had an interesting conversation with Pablo towards the end of the night which kinda made me think about my life and where I'm going. I was just venting to him--poor thing, just tyring to be nice by engaging in superficial conversations--and came up with all these things and frustration. Anyway, I should probably apologize but frankly I want to pretend that I might have been a bit tipsy and blame it on that. FYI, I was the designated driver so it was not the alcohol, I am really frustrated. :(

It will pass. Let's see what the week holds for me.

Superbe!!! J’aime le cours de français. J’ai pensé que je ne pouvais pas parler/comprendre rien mais je peux. Je peux !!

I’m so happy. I went to my first French class this semester (Intermediate Francophone Cultures) and it was awesome. I love my teacher. My teacher last semester was great but this one is so much more personable. The books we’ll be reading seem quite interesting too. I can't believe I'm actually able to read books in french now. This is so surreal to me. Sweet! I’m a total geek, and I luv it.

Á bientôt!

busy beginning of the week. my pt job started a new program to give away free stuff so probably people will be calling left and right soon. i've almost lost my voice from hawk-like noises I kept making all Sunday trying to wake up my sister and then just having fun for the rest of the day. i'm paying for it though, but it's all good. it's snowing and cold but for some reason I feel happy inside--to the extend possible. God is constantly on my mind and I need to acknowledge certain things. it's tough growing up but i also appreciate the changes i see. life is full of wonder. it's a good feeling to know you know nothing. :) really.

Friday night, Spicy Richard and I went to dinner and then for a movie. It was a perfect Anna's taqueria stop followed by a Starbucks visit. Then we went to the movies; the selection: Munich--it was his time to pick. I still don't know how I feel about this movie yet. Well, I know but anyway. We ended up arguing until about 2am on the whole Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was interesting.

Chow-down weekend

This is too funny. I have spent my weekend eating with friends--God Bless them. It started with Southern BBQ w/Richard on Thursday. We went to Red Bones in Davis Square. They sat us by the kitchen counter--after a 30min wait--where we could see all the action. All the cooks were Latinos, of course. According to Richard one of them was smiley friendly to me and that's why we got the free Buffalo Shrimp & Catfish appetizer. It was funny, all of the sudden he hands me this plate and I say, "We ordered this? We didn't." The guy was just like, "Here, here, take it, take it," so I did. :) Friday night, after a failed attempt to get a table at Veggie Planet, Molly, Anne and yours truly went down to Irunha in Harvard Square. We had an ok Paella and wonderful conversation as always. Saturday, it was Melissa C's birthday so I took her to this Dominican restaurant in Lawrence calle Bali. We pigged out. First we had a Presidente and a Bali picadera, which is fried meat (chicharon, longaniza, chicken, beef, etc.), plantains and salad. Our waitress was kinda flaky but very sweet. It was a nice time to catch up and talk about lots of stuff, from work, love, careers, people, everything. I love that girl. She's so genuine. She also let me taste this herbal remedy thing for stress and I think I'll be getting it. I seem to be getting stress-induced migraines lately. Arggg...

moving on, Sunday, I went to church with my brother's friend and my sister. Afterwards, we stopped at Tripoli's for some good Sicilian pizza and cannolis. It was yummmm....
Finally, Monday--a holiday with no work, Yay!--I went for sushi at Inaka with Eunice. It was a good late lunch and of course the owner of the place could not go unnoticed with his jokes. He's this funny--sometimes borderline obnoxious Korean dude who every time I go there HAS to say something about something. At one time I remember having a pimple and the went, "What happened to your nose" or something like that. It was funny, I don't remember what I replied I said something I thought was funny but came out a bit mean. He he...

After all that eating, I'll try to have a healthier week in terms of eating. Let's see how that goes.

By the way, I'm so excited about my French class. I can't wait!

It's all good

I’ve been feeling kinda crappy lately but there isn’t really anything to pinpoint. The only thing I can think of is “the future”. It’s very stressful to ponder on what the future holds for me. I know what I want, I kinda know where I’m headed but still there’s this sense of anxiety to just get there already. I dunno. Maybe I’m just feeling the aftershocks of my quarter-life crisis. Anyhoo, on a brighter note, I am planning a trip to Seattle for mid-February with Yajaira’s cousin, Bianny. I don’t know if it will work out because he can be a bit volatile in terms of sticking to plans but we’ll see what happens. If he ends up not going then I’ll go by myself. I’m taking charge! He he…

tuesday breakfast

So this morning I’m stepping out of my house and find myself with a very interesting sight. My street was deserted, which I guess it’s normal at 8am but anyway. The only thing I could notice is that on both sides of the street there were these green bushes next to the trash barrels. Mind you, today is trash day for my neighborhood. It looked like one of these futuristic movies where there has been some apocalyptic-type event and the only things left are you and the tossed Christmas trees from the recent holiday. I thought it was kinda weird. Seriously, 8 in 10 houses had a Christmas tree next to their garbage. It also reminded me of that Friends episode where Phoebe works at a tree yard and she goes crazy when the unwanted trees were going to be chipped. By that time the weird feeling had gone away and I was just laughing by myself as I walked down the street. It was definitely I interesting start to my morning. J

The whole Christmas tree tossing fest also made me think of what might be things in my life that I tree like that. For a while they’re the center of my attention—all shiny, beautiful and special—but then they just die and I toss them to the curve. I definitely have many semi-ephemeral things in my life but then don’t we all. Anyway, maybe this is a weird conversation to have before breakfast but I can’t help it. I must have ADD or something, my mind just wanders…