post cards from nowhere in particular

It's been a long time... / Inbox

2010-04-12T14:48:00.010-05:00

So, it's been a long time since my last post, but after months of debating whether or not to just close this blog out, I've decided to try to start it up again and perhaps start writing elsewhere as well should the writing bug really hit me.

The last time I wrote more or less coincides with when things REALLY started to get busy at my job and through a strange turn of events I was turned into Sales Manager, which sucked all creativity out of me for a year. I have now recovered from the stressful demands of that endeavor and am finally getting a hold on other things in my virtual life (read: my life on-line).

Today I finally reached the bottom of my g-mail inbox and it has been a nostalgic and emotional cleansing of sorts.

Why bother organizing my inbox? Well, it's something I started doing with my work e-mail, because without organizing it there was no other way to prioritize what needed to get done and besides, I am a neat organization freak and it just looks awesome now with 0 e-mails and creative folders (i.e. Sister, LOST, Paulpache). Also, when I was sales manager I was receiving well over 100 real e-mails per day and it became an impossible task to keep it ALL under control and now being able to manage my personal e-mail gives me some sense of vindication to say: "See? I can do it all!"

Fortunately, my g-mail is not as full of crap as my yahoo account, as I've been gradually unsubscribing and redirecting newsletters to yahoo over the past couple of months, so getting the bulk CinePlanet, TripAdvisor, Kayak, and LimaYoga e-mails out of my inbox was pretty straightforward.

However, as I've lived far away from family and friends, ended a long-term relationship, made awesome new friends, and started a great new relationship throughout my history on g-mail, this was quite the emotional roller-coaster as I've redirected most of my personal correspondence to g-mail. BTW, g-mail IS my preferred personal e-mail account for correspondence, should you be one of those people who still sends e-mails to my yahoo account.

Like I said earlier, this has been a cleansing of sorts and I recommend going through old correspondence to anyone who is carrying around emotional baggage that they are ready to put down. Some e-mails/chats were hard to look back on, but it is a relief to delete those knowing that I never have to read those words again. And the best part has been looking back on supportive family and friends, watching budding new friendships, and revisiting old pictures/videos of halloween costumes, parties and cute animals :)

I want to thank everyone who's been there for me over the past few years including people who I have been out of touch with (hopefully I've sent this link to most of you). I invite you to leave comments and come back to the blog to see what I'm up to (hopefully I'll be doing something more exciting than organizing my inbox!). For those of you who don't know, I moved from Lima to San Francisco last month and am enjoying some down time while I look for work.

Also, I think I want a new name for the blog...any ideas???

P.S. Kelly, I love that this screen has you saying "stupid huevones." You are a major inspiration for me restarting this blog and let me know if you want me to put a different pic. :P

4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days

2008-08-24T19:05:00.002-05:00

Last week I saw the Romanian film 4 months, 3 weeks, & 2 days playing at Alcazar. This is probably the most important motion picture I have seen all year, and believe me that I have been well on my way to earning the Cineplanet gold card for a while now. (Meaning I go to the movies 2-3 times a week).

4m, 3w, & 2d was absolutely perfect as a film, and the story was riveting though admittedly not something that I felt so comfortable watching.

Every scene was full of visual and audible information bursting with symbols and color and compassion. I think that movies taking place near the end of communism (Good Bye Lenin, for example) have such intriguing material to work with that such scene development is possible. The sets put forth a lot of details about the era that give the viewer the gritty sense of what it was like for these young students living in Romania.

The film is delicately layered with images/scenes of intercourse and motherhood that really get at the center of the film's subject matter. To me the most important and impressive scene was one that I was about to discard as lengthy and boring before I realized what was going on. When Otilia goes to Adi's house for dinner and the camera focuses on Adi and Otilia as they don't say a word though Adi's parents and uncles tell family stories and compare today's (1987) audacious youth with their own. When I stopped trying to read the fast moving subtitles and just saw the beautiful faces of Otilia and Adi. The scene segues into an argument that Otilia and Adi have over what they would do if Otilia were to end up in Gabita's situation. It's a scary though accurate example of male ignorance of birth control and the actual choices that women have to make and the ones that they have no control over. This is why this scene to me is the most important one of the film: this open discussion of what if: the need for more information from one's partner. It is one of the least shocking scenes of the film, though I think it leaves the viewer with the most to take away. Discussions about birth control need to be existent and open. Women need to be shown the respect by men and other women and society to make the decision that is best for them -- and it is a woman's decision--whether it be abstinence, using a contraceptive, having an abortion at a suitable juncture, or having a baby. If a woman is as daft as Gabita when it comes to making this decision, I pray for more Otilias, responsible partners, and widespread and comprehensive sexual education in this world.

Vacation

2008-08-10T18:25:00.003-05:00

Foreword: I know I have not written in this blog this year like I had planned, but I suffer from a stressful schedule and a severe lack of inspiration.

After working at my newest job for 9 months, I finally have a real vacation. I traveled for a week to Arequipa (1st time) and Puno (2nd time). Now I don't know what to do with myself. I can tell that I have been working a lot because even as I write this I start to type the common phrases that I write about 50 times a day at work (ex. 1st choice), rather than what I actually want to type (1st time).

In short I loved Arequipa. The city is beautiful and the people from Carlos's adolescent past were very heartwarming. Special thanks to Luis Miguel for his vocabulary lesson and sharing his sangre (home-brew pisco) with us and to Linda for the best lunch turned pisco afternoon and evening I have had in a while. It was cool to see Juanita, the frozen Andean girl found in the mountains close to Arequipa as well as the Molino de Sabandia, which reminded me how enjoyable it is to escape into the country. El Convento de Santa Catalina was more than I expected and the view and queso helado at Yanahuara were quite refreshing. I would go back for an extended trip to visit the Colca Canyon, the Cotahuasi Canyon, and Misti as well as Corire, home the the great people I met. For restaurants, El Turko II was excellent (the first ostrich meat I ever tried), El Colibri was adequate and Tradicion Arequipena was representative of Arequipa cuisine. Nothing was as tasty as the fried chicken at 9 pm on Sunday, the final course of our lunch at Linda's house, though we still need to go back for the adobo.

This time around I got a deeper impression of Puno and Lake Titicaca, though I still didn't get to do everything that I wanted due to logistics. Kathy and I made it to Taquile Island and Copacabana on the Bolivian side, though I really feel like I missed out on visiting the Sun Island via catamaran. I give the Bolivians credit for making immigration the easiest and least sketchy border experience thus far -- I'm only missing Colombia and Brazil now. The food at Incabar was delicious as well as the food as Casa Andina Private Collection's restaurant, though Incabar was much more generous for a lower price. Colon Inn was comfortable and their restaurant was good as well. In terms of heat it was fine. One must keep in mind that it is very cold at night in the altiplano and you need to bundle up. Do not forget sunblock during the day, however.

I came back to Lima in time to see Wanted with my sister and Susana. I found it to be very entertaining visually, though it did not take my mind very far. That night there ended up being a party on my terrace and we have almost cleaned up entirely from that. For now as I mentioned I don't know what to do with myself. I am happy to be back in Lima with Carlos and Mapache, though the weather is absolutely depressing which doesn't leave me with much of an urge to go out and do anything.

We'll just have to see what tomorrow brings...

Buenos Aires Review

2008-05-30T19:16:00.005-05:00

For a long weekend myself and three other PFLers jet set to Buenos Aires for the best that this city has to offer. This is my report:

Many people refer to Buenos Aires as the most European city in South America. I think the cobblestone streets, corner cafés, and fashion coifs make it easy to see why people might think this, but I like to believe that each place is unique and beautiful in its own way.

The main attractions of Buenos Aires are shopping, tango, fútbol, and restaurants (pasta, meat, alfajores and wine not to be missed). My enthusiastic travel companions and myself partook in all of these delights to some extent.

Day 1

On our first day we took up Marcos’s offer of a free city tour. Our transfer came promptly upon our arrival to the apartment that we had rented (BA Home Rental). He took us to the Marriott Hotel where we unfortunately had to wait 40 minutes for our tour bus to arrive. I am not a big fan of bus tours---I prefer to be on the street and walk around, which I appreciated at La Boca and Caminito. La Boca was our tribute to Argentine soccer, where we saw La Bombonera home of Boca Juniors Athletic Club. Perhaps I will return to this stadium one day to watch a game with my boo. At Caminito even the old people were fashionable and the tango dancers were all the attraction despite the holes in their fishnets. (That might be an oxymoron)

We wrapped up Day 1 with a well earned fancy dinner at Cabernet, in Palermo Viejo. Fried brie cheese, risotto with mushrooms, and Los Alamos Malbec for me.

On our way out of Palermo we spotted a bar with Guinness. Guinnesssssssss. Not very Argentine, but we had some pints. (Sullivan’s Bar).

Day 2

On our second day we got down to business. There are a lot of boutique stores in Bs As and we were determined to see as many as possible. It is likely that we stepped into 55% of all boutiques in Buenos Aires. On this day we went to Avenida Santa Fe, starting at Av. 9 de Julio and heading west. Reaching Burger King, we hailed a taxi to Alto Palermo. Today’s conquests: Zara, Albanese, Scombro, Cuesta Blanca, Zool, Freddo (ice cream), Caro Cuore, and more.

Dinner at La Huella, across from our apartment on the corner of Pueyrredon and Gutierrez. That waiter was adorable. I could have put a bow on him and given him away as a present. My lomo con champignons was delish.

In the evening we visited former PFLers Mark and Shelby. We went out with Mark and his Texan roommate to Milion Bar. Their conversation was … interesting.

We then took on the Bonairense night life at the coolest (according to some people) boliche, Crobar. I was impressed by the size of the club, and I did see a transvestite outside as promised. The club was rather infested with intoxicated young Argentines who had spent more time working on their hair than on their game. We stepped outside at daylight and went back to our little nest in Recoleta.

Day 3

More shopping. Galerias Pacifico and La Florida. Today’s special shopping mention goes to Susana’s beautiful red flats from Perugia and Anyela’s very practical and finely designed laptop bag (also from Perugia).
For dinner we met with former PFLer Rory and his small crew of metropolitan diners. We tried Bangalore in Palermo for Indian food and flavorful beers.

Day 4

San Telmo! We got there rather late in the day, though I really enjoyed it. Pedestrian streets, feria artesenal, street performers galore, more quaint boutique shops and good empanadas at El Desnivel (though notably not good service to go with them). It was here I found the obscure liqueur Hesperidina, which I had been sent to Argentina to find. I have yet to try it. I will let you know if it is worth it.

We left San Telmo tired but too soon if you ask me. We regrouped at the apartment in preparation for the Tango Show, which we were not sure if we were going to do or not. Confirming our reservation with the theater itself, we got dolled up. We looked hot that night. See picture. I really liked Esquina Carlos Gardel—admittedly touristy but the performers were excellent and there was a seemingly limitless supply of wine. Some us would be interested in the long haired Tango dancer’s number if anyone gets their hands on it.

Day 5

It’s now or never for shopping (and art). We split up to make our shopping strategy’s more effective to be sure that we got every last shoe or article of clothing necessary before coming back to Peru. I also visited MALBA for my cultural fix. I wasn’t blown away by the featured exhibits, but I did like the octopus on synthetic blanket and the large pulp print displayed on the wall of the first floor. O Imposivel, a sculpture by a Brazilian artist was also really cool.
We all managed to find space in our luggage for our new treasures and headed for the airport in a very full taxi. Our GOL flight was slightly delayed as could be predicted so we kept ourselves more or less entertained at Ezeisa until finally saying goodbye to Argentina.

Kathy and Abby’s Great American Adventure

2008-05-01T16:26:00.008-05:00

Sometimes I feel like I never have a moment to myself to even reflect on what I have been doing lately, let alone write about it and post it in my blog. I did promise this post about a month ago after I returned from the US.

I had a great time while I was home—I saw some of my really good friends from elementary school, high school, and college—pretty good turnout considering the different places that we encountered each other.

Honestly the trip was too short and I didn’t go with the energy to do everything that I wanted to do—but it was totally worth it. It made me realize again how much I really miss my sister and the adventures we used to have and that is why this will be a tribute to our Great (Mini-) American Adventure in March 2008.

In the original plan I was going to rent a car and go and pick my sis up at the airport—though I forgot (couldn’t find) my driver’s license when I arrived at the airport and I ended up sleeping in at the time she arrived. I promise I really will go to the airport to meet her the next time. When she got to my mom’s house we both just slept in anyway.

I think we had one of my mom’s creations for lunch that day before my mom’s FJ took us to Leominster to go shopping with my sister-in-law. Shopping! I heart TJ Maxx and Target—I took a healthy dose of consumerism that day and updated a couple of phases of my wardrobe. We ended up at the Olive Garden for dinner with my brothers and mom’s FJ. The Olive Garden is something that I tried for the first time in 2006 when my mom and I went to Hershey, PA. It definitely qualifies as one of those restaurants to be featured in a great American adventure – don’t fill up on the breadsticks.

That night we hit my hometown with my siblings—Paisano’s, Singapore… again places like the Olive Garden that I didn’t ever dream of looking forward to. I give credit to the cougars at Singapore and a juicy scorpion bowl.

Then it was Easter Sunday. While my sister-in-law prepared the Easter supper, I discovered the wonders of Guitar Hero. It…is.,.AWESOME! I am almost ready to buy my own PS3 and plastic guitar so that I can master the mean licks and beat Sam at something, muahahaha!

The next day I drove Sam to work in his Chevy truck and went back to the house to chill until Kathy woke up. We took Sam’s truck for a ride—shopping, Dunkin Donuts, running errands…and then dumped it on the train tracks. I mean we parked it at the train station and took the train into Boston (damn that was more expensive than I remembered).

I made an attempt at lomo saltado for dinner for my mom and sister—it was not quite lomo saltado but it had a good flavor.

The next day it was my task to shove all my purchases and other treasures into my duffel bags so that I could come back to Peru.

I would like to go back for a longer stay sometime, though I’m not quite sure that is going to be. My sister is coming to Lima for some weeks during her summer break (yay!) and I am getting everything prepared for Kathy and Abby’s Great Peruvian Adventure.

mi querido cerro azul

2008-03-29T11:40:00.003-05:00

Después de un fin de semana completamente juerguero entre Asia y Lima y un viaje a mi país nativo para semana santa no vengo a la playa y casa linda de mi precioso en Cerro Azul desde el 13 de marzo. El día está bonito. La gente de verano ya regresaron a Lima llevando su bulla, su basura y sus sombrillas con ella. (!Adios molestosos!) Hubo un temblorcito (para variar) que me levantó, pero ya estaba medio despierta porque la melliza celeste estaba chillando como siempre. Por fin dormí echada en una cama cómoda, con mi precioso cerquita. Mi jugo y conversación me estaba esperando (que buenísima gente es Sra. Vega.) Me bañé con agua caliente y presión. Eché mis cremas recién compradas en los EEUU porque a partir de ahora me voy a cuidar todo --piel, cuerpo, alma y mente, etc. (nunca es tarde para renovarse :) ) Dejé mi laptop en Lima porque no pienso trabajar este fin de semana. Hice mi crucigrama en la computadora (casi la hice completa) y jugué el clásico Pacman. Faltan unos posts sobre el fin de semana juerguero y mi viaje a EEUU (aka Kathy & Abby's Great American Adventure - será con fotos). Por mientras voy a disfrutar de la riquísima aroma de carapulcra y mojarme los pies en el mar del ''otoño'' peruano.

hora del almuerzo

2008-03-11T14:04:00.003-05:00

He tenido ganas para postear ultimamente solo es que cuando tengo esas ganas no quiero sentarme de frente mi compu, como ya trabajo con mi compu 9+ horas al dia. Hoy decidi tomar mi hora del almuerzo (comiendo mis lentejas y arroz con pepinillo y tomate :P) y usarla para mis cosas interactivas (o sea internet) personales. Acabo de reservar un auto para alquilar en Boston cuando voy en un par de semanas (asu, ya queda poco tiempo para preparar). Revise mis correitos electronicos, mi blog, el blog de mi precioso, y los blog de los que me han comentado ultimamente. Bueno, fue un buen descanso en el world wide web...ya me toca volver a trabajar. Hasta luego, amigos virtuales.

La crema y la venda de nuevo (I'm a klutz)

2008-03-04T22:30:00.002-05:00

Anoche me enfrenté con la noticia que las cosas no iban a cambiar como pensaba (y quería) y por eso estuve algo zombie en la mañana. Igual logré hacer mucho en la oficina antes de que se fuera el Internet en la tarde. Durante uno de mis “breaks” para sacar no sé que de la cocina, me paré con el pie dormido (numb) y pisé recontra mal y me caí. Como en ese momento mi pie todavía estaba dormido no sentía nada. Me dí cuenta que ya tenía que enfocarme para no tropezarme más (i.e. snap out of it). En un rato se fue el Internet y no podía hacer nada menos comer pizza, salir a almorzar con mis colegas (si comí dos veces, pero dos veces un poco) y comer torta en honor del cumple de mi gerente. Es chévere que tenemos cosas como pizza day en el trabajo—pero sería algo básico tener una conexión inalámbrica que podría llegar a las 25 personas que tienen que conectar simultáneamente en la oficina. Mi pie empezaba a hinchar y doler más y más hasta que con el no Internet y el dolor dije que ¡basta! Como mi torta y me voy. Caminar hasta Plaza Vea y comprar mis pastillitas en ruta a mi casa casi me mató (literalmente como tenía que cruzar Marsano y Aviación en Ov. Higuereta con un pie inútil). Lo traté a mi pie una vez en mi casa con agua fría y una vendita prestada del vecino. Todavía me duele y no tengo idea como va a amanecer. Pues el punto es que soy una mujer independiente—pero hasta las mujeres liberadas e independientes necesitan un poco de cariño (TLC) de vez en cuando. Imagínate si fuera viejita—estaría sacando rayos X en alguna clínica que no podría pagar porque no tengo seguro médico (otra cosa que quiero que cambie pero no tengo tiempo para cambiar). Me atrae mucho la convivencia con alguien que quiero mucho y en que puedo depender cuando me duele el pie tanto que apenas camino. Ya sé (¿saben?) con quien quiero convivir—y por algunas buenas (y malas) razones todavía estoy esencialmente sola en Lima. Encontrar mi propio lugar es una prioridad para mí pero no sé que haría en un accidente como me ocurrió hoy si no tenía a alguien para cuidarme cuando sea necesaria o sin un gato que marcaría a una ambulancia por lo menos.

Go Now

2008-02-29T21:30:00.003-05:00

Should I stay or should I GO NOW! My sister was right. Debating whether or not I should go home to see her and mother is a fool's arguement. I got 2/3 of the days off I requested and I can swap Good Friday for the one I didn't get. I searched again on Kayak.com and found an even lower fare (maybe the lowest yet?) through to Boston. I might even rent a car with the money I saved. So for now on my rare night home alone at my pension in San Borja--I'm going to try to organize myself a bit to make sure I make the best of my short time at home. The countdown starts: 21 days. Damn--3 weeks---I got a lot to do.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

2008-02-25T21:14:00.002-05:00

I did it. I asked for days off from work in order to go to the USA next month. It has been almost a year since I've set foot on US soil and well over a year since I last went all the way home. I want to visit my mom. I want to see my sister. I want to see my brothers (and sister in law) and friends. I want access to my US accounts. I want a bagel and vanilla chai from Dunkin Donuts (neither of which are sold at DD here in Lima). I want Chicken Picatta from Il Camino. I don't really want to go without my precious, but I don't really know where else we would go. The plane ticket looks more expensive than I would like (traveling during Easter weekend maybe...) but I would be able to coordinate with my sister's spring break. I guess I'm just talking out loud for now... I'll wait and see what the boss man says about my days off...

Blogitzing

2008-02-24T22:36:00.003-05:00

I obviously haven't been keeping up with my New Year's Resolution lately though I can say that I have been legitimately wiiiicked busy. My inspiration was renewed yesterday when I attended the Blogitzer Awards with Lukianox and my precious in a cool spot (Canta Rana) in Barranco. "?Como reconoces a un blogger?" We met in person a good number of people from this virtual world that we have entered into in the past year. Buena gente, buen ambiente--and I found a cool present for my mom from a street vendor outside (photo to come in future).

We then went back to SB Sur to chill before dinner time. We then met up with my dad (how he got here is another post) for dinner at Pardo's and our first-ever visit to Parque de la Reserva. Parque de la Reserva was awesome. I left amazed. This louvre-like one was the first pretty one. My precious kept seeing cocktails in the fountains (fountains in the shape of cocktails?). I was a sucker for the super light and musical optical show with a slideshow projected onto the fountain ( yo <3 Eva Ayllon por 100pre). My favorite was the very tall phallic fountain (super vodka drink in Carlos's eyes), which made me want to go to Iguazu. It was also this same one that we saw from the street--which made me think that there was a fire in the neighborhood that they were putting out. I want to go back--and the next time I won't forget to buy my cotton candy outside.

meme.

2008-02-05T21:19:00.000-05:00

Nombre verdadero: Abigail Rebecca Winship

Significado: Abigail: Joy to the Father, Rebecca: ?? Nombre de mi madrina Winship: Old English for Wine Shop

Festividad: ?? No estoy segura que Abigail tiene festividad

Apodos: Abby, Abikite, Amor, Sister

Me gustaría llamarme: Abby Vega, para no siempre tener que deletrear Winship

Fecha de nacimiento: 25 de noviembre, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, EEUU

Signo del zodiaco: Sagitario

Cuando era pequeño soñaba con: que podia volar

Ahora sueño con: trabajo--pesadillas en verdad

La primera pesadilla que recuerdo: mi mama me abandono en el centro comercial

Vicios: my precious, mi trabajo, mi musica

Fobias: altura, pero me gusta marearme

Frase favorita: cuando te conoci, te reconoci por tus botas

Sexto sentido?: super sentido del olfato

Hobbies: correr, musica, viajar

Pareja: Carlos Alberto

¿Cuantas veces he creído estar enamorado?: 2

¿Cuantas he estado de verdad enamorado?: 1

Lo que más me gusta de mi físico: de acuerdo con mi precioso--Todo. Soy muy vana.

Odio profundamente a: la injusticia

Libros que han marcado mi vida: The Poisonwood Bible (Kingsolver), La Casa de los Espiritus (Allende), Life of Pi (Patel), Le Petit Prince (St Exupery)

Admiro a: la independencia

Cosas que le diría a la persona que más odio: F**k you (que clase de pregunta es esta?)

Un coche para mí: mi precioso me puede llevar en su Audi

Pintor favorito: Degas, Erica Thomas

Tatuajes, piercings...: piercings en mis orejas

Qué le pido a la vida: vivir segura con mi precioso y no lejos de mis seres queridos

Viajaría a: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Italia, y Espana supongo

¿Creo en el destino?: si

¿Creo en Dios?: si

Cielo, infierno, o reencarnación: reencarnacion

¿Cómo me gustaría morir?: con mi amor y el mar cerca

¿Hijos?: un dia

¿Orientación sexual?: Carlosexual

Mataría a: bichitos

Alguien a quien jamás perdonaré: nadie

Comentario final: no se kien va a leer esto. comenten si lo han leido :P

Learning to surf 2008: Attempts 3 and 4

2008-01-21T21:22:00.000-05:00

I don't have a great urge to write, but I thought I'd just report about my latest surfing ventures. It seems like I'm really getting the hang of the basics--and I should be riding big waves (and staying on the board) in a couple of weeks.

Migraciones

2008-01-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

I spent yesterday morning at the Migraciones office on Avenida Espana in Brena. My visa was due to expire next Tuesday, so I went to extend it for a month because I don't plan on leaving the country this weekend. I had offered last weekend to accompany precious's mom so that she could obtain her passport. I was able to witness first hand what a pain in the ass it is for Peruvians to leave their country. First, the office in Av. Espana is the only office in Lima that processes new passports and it couldn't be in a sketchier part of town. Stepping out of the taxi a throng of people comes at you explaining how to get your passport--and like in many places in Peru you don't know who you can listen too. Step 1-make copies of your DNI (and they will charge you double the price of copies anywhere else in Peru). Then Steps 2 through 20 basically consist of waiting in a series of lines, the last of which the estimated waiting time is 2 hours. Then once Peruvians have a passport, they require a visa for a large number of countries so they have that whole bureaucratic cowpile waiting for them once they've obtained their passport.

I on the other hand only had to wait in half as many lines and the process took me a total of 30 minutes and $29, much cheaper than leaving the country.

mouse!

2008-01-14T21:26:00.001-05:00

Today I acted a little bit like it was my birthday and I treated myself to a mini optical mouse by GE and new Philips headphones. My mouse is about the size of a real mouse and I already came close to wrecking my new headphones (crisis averted) when I tried to figure out how to take them out of the case. So far I keep forgetting to use my mouse and I just use old faithful on my laptop. My precious will be happy to have the mouse albeit small so he can play Age of Empires III.

Squirrel Adventures

2008-01-13T21:28:00.000-05:00

Bad squirrel, sneaking in through the window at 5 am

Good squirrel, awaiting me when I sneak in at 8pm

the nose

2008-01-12T14:20:00.000-05:00

I'm super olfactory.

Scents I love:

Garlic
Ají
my precious
Clinique Happy heart
precious's Gilette aftershave
clean clothes
the sky before it's about to rain
Lucky's (my former cat) fur
Joey's (my first cat) paws
Big White's (my sister's cat) head when she'd been drinking from the drain
my shoulders in the sunshine
Pert Plus shampoo
steak
peanut butter cookies
Thai food (with ginger)
sourdough bread
new plastic
baby products
oregano
¡BASIL!

why the theme of smells? well, yesterday I went home from work with a killer headache and nausea. What made my head start to hurt? While helping someone train he felt the need to sit incredibly close to me and shed his musk. Ew. yargle. then that combined with not only cigarette smoke but other toasty smokes made my head ready to explode. On top of that there is a tree outside the office that is in bloom and is really fragrant, which although pleasant was probably sent me over the edge into nausea so--here is the corresponding list to the one above.

fUnKs that make me want to hurl:
men other than my precious
this perfume that my mom uses when traveling
vommit
feet
overload of cigarette smoke
Opium perfume - I forget which designer it's by
the cats outside my window
Callao
most breweries
Hamilton Street, Leominster (though I honestly haven't driven there for years)
the science wing at LHS

Learning to surf 2008: attempt 2

2008-01-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

I stood on the board! 2.5 seconds! (11 Jan 08)

I also learned that the water has to be sufficiently deep otherwise when I paddle I touch more sand than water.

Staying on the board is better than stepping on the creatures on the sea floor. Aiee!

When catching a wave--it's paddle paddle paddle, and if in Cerro Azul, paddle to the left rather than straight ahead.

I am going in the water again this afternoon to see what I can accomplish. Ironically my other wrist hurts now, but I'm note going to let that stop me.

Falling behind

2008-01-11T01:04:00.000-05:00

So last night I didn't write in my blog for the first time in 2008. I was going to write about my stuffed squirrel, but I guess that will have to wait for another time. On a whim today I decided to come to Cerro Azul tonight, so I could try surfing again tomorrow and be with my precious, who was left all alone in his house. We are having one of my favorite kind of nights--lengthy conversations about nothing, sipping rum and whisky, and chilling on the couch. It reminds me of when we used to live in an apartment in Barranco--when I had no job and it was summer and even though we had a place in Lima, we came to Cerro Azul every weekend.

Un amor precioso

2008-01-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

Como yá les dije, hay que postear un poco en español también. Aparte, hace tiempo que quiero escribir algo para mi amor. ¿Qué día más adecuado que un ocho de enero?

Hace dos años y tres meses yo conocí a mi enamorado en el risueño Cerro Azul que queda en el kilómetro 131 de la Panamericana Sur. Les juro que desde entonces no ha pasado ni un día en que él no ha sido mi pensamiento dominante. Me ha enseñado tantas cosas en mi vida—como amar y ser amada serían las lecciones más importantes. Ha compartido su mundo conmigo—creando un segundo hogar para mí y haciéndome parte de su familia. Cuando nos conocíamos me habían advertido que es un poco loco (en el coco como diría mi hermano). La verdad es que los dos somos un poco sicóticos. Lo necesito para controlar mi manía. Sólos no somos completos. Juntos somos una reacción única y eléctrica y demasiado bella. Mi amor, te amo. Muero por estar contigo para besarte y sentir tu presencia.

The Late Shift

2008-01-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

All day I have felt like coming to work was a mistake. I signed up for the late shift so I could spend the morning with my precious/on the beach. When I got to Lima I was rushed to make lunch and eat to get to work at 2. When I arrived there was another computer at my work station, I had no chair, and I couldn't find the calendar that I had left there on Friday. This was a Cineplanet calendar that my precious bought for me on my birthday and it had coupons that were really more of an enticement to spend rather than save money. I asked the maid if she'd seen it. No, no--no estaba ahi el sabado cuando limpie. Hmmm...so I ask my manager if he'd seen it. Yeah--That was yours? I threw it away. Awesome. Ok, thx. Now I see that I can't leave anything here that could be interpreted as garbage--so I guess pretty much nothing--what if they decide that my computer is a POS and they need to free up some desk space? Then I probably spent my first hour and a half battling with Word and Outlook to make my links look unclicked. And I got a call from a client who said he didn't receive the e-mails I sent him on Friday. WTF? I go to all this trouble to make sure that clients get a response from me ASAP--and then the effing server doesn't even allow me to send e-mails. Who knows if any of the other e-mails I have sent were actually received... A lot of my anxiety could be solved with a paycheck--here's hoping that my two months of hard work are actually rewarded on the 15th. Twenty more minutes and I can step out the door. Free. Away from phones. Away from crappy Outlook. Maybe I'll wake up in a better mood tomorrow. Maybe someone will actually want to buy tomorrow. Quizas quizas quizas.

Learning to surf 2008: attempt 1

2008-01-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning and put on my bikini and grabbed a surf board and got in the water. I didn't have as many chances to catch a wave as I hoped for because there were too many people--either poised to run me over or in my way if I were to catch a wave. I let a couple of perfect waves pass me by because I didn't realize that they were perfect until it was too late. I hopped on a couple of waves but they didn't have the force to take me anywhere. I started on a decent wave and then got tangled in the leash. Foamy waves pushed the board out of my hands and let me get more than one scratch from the skags on my legs and torso. I finally found a good spot, a good wave, and I paddled paddled paddled (which I'm learning is the key to grabbing a good wave) and I stand up--only to fall after about a second in really shallow water--where the hell is the tide? When I fell I slammed my wrist on the board, which definitely hurt at the moment. I thought no--I gotta keep at it--no giving up yet. So I tried another couple of waves in the kiddie section--and I realized that it was a wee bit painful to try to put my weight on my hands while I was getting up. So I decided to ride the board in because I wasn't in the mood to skivvy around the 50 other bathers with their boards and boogie boards. My wrist isn't visibly bruised or swollen, but it sure hurts like a mofo when I move my thumb.

Bzzz.

2008-01-05T23:15:00.000-05:00

I spend way too much time in front of the computer. Warranted I had some pending things from work to do, and besides it was not the best beach day that Cerro Azul had to offer--overcast, low tide, and too much gente. So, while I was using my laptop earlier, I had it placed, oddly enough, on my lap while I was wearing shorts. When I stretched my arm behind me to embrace my beautiful boyfriend, he asked me if I was shaking. I said no, that's weird, though I know I felt something unusual too. So I reach out and touch him again: bzzz. and again: bzzz. It turns out that I was zapping him with I don't know what electical current that I was picking up from my computer. Bzzz. I decided that was the adequate moment to put down the laptop for awhile. I did eventually make it to the beach in the afternoon--though without a board and only for a little bit as it was getting colder at dusk.

at home in Peru

2008-01-04T22:48:00.000-05:00

I had a really long day at work today. Fortunately it was one of those productive days rather than an exasperating one. The Oreos McFlurry I treated myself to was well-earned as a completed a sale within 1 hour of first contact and I easily sent 50 e-mails and 20 voicemails to potential clients apart from that. It turns out that business is booming when it comes to travel in South America and at my office we're just trying to keep up with the demand.

Enough about work. Now I am at my boyfriend's house in Cerro Azul, the magical town where we first met. I am happy to be able to hug and kiss him freely and I am psyched to literally get my feet wet tomorrow when I go in the ocean with a board. Let's hope for a good photo op.

Eating healthy

2008-01-03T22:20:00.000-05:00

When my dad used to cook lentils it was like a punishment. At the moment they're my favorite menestra (legume?) I am hooked right now on lentils, rice and tomato/onion/cucumber salad with lime juice. It might possibly be the healthiest meal on the planet. Tonight my rice was lacking a little flavor, but despite not having enough sazon, at least it wasn't burnt or too mushy. I'll see what I can add for when I have the same thing for lunch tomorrow.

Holy Cat

2008-01-02T20:44:00.000-05:00

LOLcats lit up my day on more than one occasion last year, and they continue to do so in 2008. Today my sister sent me this link for a wiki project to translate the Bible into lolcat pidgin. It made me lol at work today. Ceiling cat luvs u.

http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

Hello and Happy New Year!

I just got back to Lima from Barranca where I rang in the new year with my boyfriend and his friends. I made the same journey just one year ago when I had just moved to Peru. I am happy to say that I am a litter tanner this year than I was last year as I sat on the beach in front of Tato Restaurant, the best place for Tacu Tacu in Peru. I expected a little more out of the night club on the beach--though I did last until daylight this year. I have now been living in Peru for a year and it looks like I have several more months at least until I pack up all my belongings and go on to my next adopted country. Speaking of belongings, that's something else I want to do this year--make my life fit into my two Nike duffel bags, apart from a bike that I hope to buy to get me around Lima. I'm not quite in the best state of concentration to write at the moment--so hopefully I'll keep up with my resolution and write tomorrow. Until then, Peace!

My New Year's Resolution

2007-12-28T22:32:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

It's been my intention for awhile to start a blog. The major hurdle was thinking up a title--though I like the one I've come up with (a collaborative effort, thank you NPR and Carlos :) What do you think? I hope I can be a little creative with it. Here's my basic idea: write as often as I can a post that would fit on your average post card and put up an interesting picture to go with it. This picture in particular is representative of a New Year's Eve tradition I discovered in Portugal (and later in Peru as well) of eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. I've just eaten more than 12 grapes off of this bunch that I picked up at Metro on my way home. They were really good: sweet and seedless. So that brings me to my point. My New Year's Resolutions for 2008 stand as such: 1. Start and maintain a blog. 2. Get certified in Spanish. 3. Get certified in Portuguese. To make these work I'll probably be posting in two or more languages, depending on my audience and to keep practicing written dicourse. I should probably tack on something for my physical health--like run on a regular basis or learn how to surf (for real this time). That's all for now. If you don't know me and you're reading this hello, it's nice to meet you and you will get to know me better as I fill in the blanks in future posts. And if you do know me I hope you enjoy what I write. About you! Haha, j/k! But not really, so do keep checking in to read what I have to say about the goings-on in my life.