Turkey Day!!!

It was really, really awesome. Here’s my story:

I booked a spur-of-the-moment ticket to Ohio on Tuesday (2 days before Turkey Day), and was on the phone with my sister, Sarah, when I did it. I was like, “Wooo hooo!!!” And then I realized that I booked my flight not to Cleveland, but to Akron/Canton (which is an hour out from Cleveland). Not bad, and it worked, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

On Thursday, my brother-in-law picked me up and we drove to my parents’ house. Part of the ride, we were cavorting and came up with a brilliant plan. It was executed thusly:

A street before my parents', at a stoplight, I got out of the passenger seat and ran into the backseat (I now call it an Ohioan fire drill). We got to my parents’ house, and I hid in the backseat while my bro-in-law went inside to join the rest of the family. Whilst in the backseat, I phoned my parents. My dad answered, and I didn’t think he’d fall for my plan, but I had to be cool, so we talked for a minute. “I really wish you could be here,” he said. I did all I could to keep from blurting out my secret. The phone was passed around, and I finally got my mom on the line. Our phone conversation is about as follows:


Me (Mb): “Hey, Momita! Happy Turkey Day!”
Momita (M): “Hi, precious! Happy Thanksgiving!! Oh, everyone’s here, I wish you could be too.”
Mb: “Awww, me too, Momma. Oh, that reminds me, did you get my package?”
M: “What package?”
Mb: “Oh, you didn’t get it? They guaranteed it and sent a confirmation and everything!!”
M: “No, I haven’t seen it.”
Mb: “Bummer! Would you please do me a favor and look outside? It’d really mean a lot.”
M: “Ok… I’ll give the phone to Sarah while I check.”
Mb: “Ok.”
Sarah (S): “Hola, Issima.”
Mb: “Hola, Issita. I’m here, executing Operation Black Hawk. Don’t tell. I’ll be there in a minute.”
S: “Ok, see you soon.”

In the meantime, I was running from the car to the house. I got there just as Momita opened the door. I opened my arms and yelled, “Surprise!!!” For a second, I don’t think she really comprehended what went on. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs, “OH, MY GOD!!!!” And she cried and jumped on me. Then my dad came over to see what the commotion was. As soon as he saw me, he yelled, too, and we all cried. Yay! It was totally worth the $400 it cost to get there. :)

So it was a really good visit. I saw friends, ex-boyfriends, and lots o’ family!! I finally got some quality time in with my nieces, which was great. I was very sad to leave yesterday. Surprisingly so. I even cried a bit, since it was so good to see everyone! However, once I was on the plane, I was looking forward to warmer weather and my kitty, so it was cool.

Actually, if I get around to it in the next few minutes, I'll post some photos... Stay tuned! :)

God bless Vicodin!!!

So I'm in love. With Vicodin. But not in a bad way!!!

Here's my story:

I went to bed last night at a fairly reasonable hour (before midnight, anyway!). I've been sick for the past week, and the past three days have been awful.

Anyway, last night, I had SEVERE pain and pressure in my left cheekbone, jaw, and forehead. I was congested, and every time I coughed, it caused excruciating pain in my throat and chest. Owee!!

After an hour and a half of this misery, I did something I don't do as much as I once did: I prayed. I prayed to God/the Universe/my grandparents/whomever was listening. I wanted the pain to end!! I have no idea how people deal with migranes; I don't know if I'd be able to do it. Ouch!

I was kind of upset when my pain wasn't automatically alleviated, so I sat in bed and sulked for a while. Then, I finally stumbled to my computer to go to webmd.com, where I read enough to realize that I have a sinus infection. A rather nasty one, too!

"Well, self," I reasoned, "this thing ain't gonna cure itself. Off to the hospital!"

I drove my sorry ass to the local E.R., which is just a few miles from my house. At this point, it was about 1:30am. Within a mere hour (remarkably fast for the E.R.!), I walked out, diagnosis and prescriptions in hand. A nice doctor (who may not be so nice when I get the bills in a few weeks) confirmed my self-diagnosis of sinus infection. He sent me home with 3 prescriptions: one for an antibiotic, one to get rid of mucus, and ... yes, Vicodin.

Possibly the only other time I've come in contact with oxycodone is when I had my wisdom teeth out 5 years ago. However, this wonderful drug has let me get through a full day of work in virtually no pain!!

So I was thinking about it today: perhaps my prayers really *were* answered, somehow, somewhere. If the pain had just subsided last night, it would almost certainly be back today, and I'd be right back to where I started. However, the pain was so remarkably unbearable last night that I took actions to get it taken care of in the longer term. Score. So maybe I'm looking for something that isn't necessarily there, but maybe... it is.

That's all for now. One more hour, then I bust outta work for Turkey Day weekend!! :)

Oh, shenanigans...

So I'm pretty sick at the moment. Yesterday was particularly rough, so much so that I called off work. Yucky!!

Anyway, my roommate's been pretty cool as of late. On Sunday, we bought puzzles to assemble & eventually hang on the wall. Here's the current state of puzzle #1:



Perty, huh? It's *only* 1,000 pieces. Leave it to James to start with the hardest one!!

Second, James took it upon himself to get our fireplace goin'! He bought some (fake) logs, and we then had our first fire ever:





Score!! Then, last night, James took it upon himself to get me tulips (lovely!) and make a killer dinner, since he's leaving today for Thanksgiving break. (Lucky bastard.) It was awesome, even though I couldn't really taste anything and didn't have much of an appetite. Observe:



So, all in all, good roommate stuff in these parts.

Next topic: a recent positive experience I've had. We'll call it "mini church." So Sunday, there was this Mitzvah ("good deed") day throughout the area where I live. It was a day where all kinds of groups (religious, service, etc.) come together and volunteer for various projects. I helped wash windows at a senior living community, which was a lot of fun (even with a nasty cough and no voice!).

The whole day was started at a community Catholic church. While I can't say I'm a big fan of organized religion, there is something from it I miss dearly: a sense of community. Well, Sunday's "mini church" was just the ticket! At the kick off for Mitzvah Day, we all registered, ate food, and gathered in the church's pews for some singing and a quick blessing by both a rabbi and a priest. It was then off to do our volunteer work!

I couldn't help but think: this is how religious services should be!! Gather together to eat food, sing some songs, have a quick blessing, and then go out into the community to serve others. It was wonderful. If services were like that, I'd go all the time! What better way to celebrate and love than to go out and share your service with others! I left the church, refreshed, invigorated, and inspired. Perhaps I shall have my own religion. I may call it Awesometology.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Wanted to share some good news with y'all! :)

Something new

So this is part 2 of my two-post day (see the previous entry for reference)...

Something unusual happened last night. I got home at 3:20am (not completely unusual, being recently out of college and all) after a night of dancing (again, not really out of the ordinary). What WAS different, though, was that I was the designated driver last night. Thus, I remained completely sober at a dance club.

...

For those of you who have not had the dubious honor of going dancing without drinking, it is an interesting experience.

First, let me backtrack. For the past few days, I've been pretty physically sick. At present, I have virtually no speaking voice. (This is almost unbearable for someone like me, who thrives on conversation!!) Anyway, a bunch of my teacher-friends from last year decided to have a girls'-only "slumber party." (This means, for my naive readers, a sex-toy party for girls.) Though I was sick, I had been looking forward to this get-together all week. After work, I sucked it up and drove 45 minutes back to the land that nearly took my soul (the town where I taught last year).

The party itself was a hoot! There were 8 of us gals (all but 2 of whom I worked with last year) and a (female) vendor. They had products for all sorts of things I'd never even thought of (e.g., a talc-based spray for use after bedroom antics to get rid of that dreaded "wet spot" on the sheets...). I even took a packet of information on being a vendor myself, for extra income and some girls'-only fun! I also had no idea how crazy some of these ladies were until I saw them in their element at our little gathering.

Anyway, after we had all placed our orders (everyone bought something!) and the vendor took off, it was decided that we were to go out dancing. The older teachers left, leaving the original "newbies" and a sister behind. At that point, I had only consumed a few drinks in a span of 4 hours, and had been guzzling water for the past hour. I was, hands-down, the soberest one there. To be sure, I waited another hour before we left, drinking water and munching the whole time.

At 11:15pm ("Oy, I'm getting too old for this," I'd thought), 4 of us piled into my little car and drove 45 minutes into the closest "big" city. I wasn't particularly keen on going, but I wanted to make sure that no one was driving drunk, so I agreed to be the DD for the night.

Lucky me.

Once inside the club, the 4 of us shuffled over to the dance floor. I was astonished by how difficult it felt for me to dance! I *love* dancing, alcohol or not, yet I felt pretty uptight and self-conscious at the club. All around the perimeter of the dance floor were collared-shirt-clad, crew-cut guys with drinks in hand, openly oggling the undulating female bodies. I couldn't help but think of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big, Bad Wolf. The dance floor itself was full of semi-conscious girls (and a few guys), moving ceaselessly.

I was also surprised by the pretense present in the club. When I think of "dancing," I think of it as moving to a rhythm with the sole purposes of having fun and getting some exercise. I do NOT equate it with fornication. However, I noticed numerous couples essentially having sex with their clothes on. Some of the moves were downright pornographic!! (I would give examples, but I'm trying to retain some sort of respectability on this blog...)

What came to mind next was, "My God, did *I* ever dance like this?!" It was a real slap in the face. The whole scene was nauseating to me, which added to my discomfort and inability to "shake it" on the dance floor.

My friends, all drunk, were having the time of their lives. I tried to keep up with their hip-thrusting and belly-dancing moves, but I felt at a loss. At one point, a guy came up behind me and started dancing with me. I screamed, startled. We danced a bit, me with no rhythm, him a swing dancer, and the dialogue was pointless.

I know this is obvious, but going out "dancing" seems to be an excuse for much less... wholesome things. It was disheartening but interesting at the same time.

However, there is a light side to this story. At the end of the night, the 4 of us gals were dancing in a circle and 2 guys joined in. We kept our circle formation, and went around showing off our "moves." That was actually an innocent, fun time! The guys were solely interested in dancing (as evidenced by their departure once a string of songs was over), and we were all laughing the whole time. Why can't dancing be like *that*??

Sigh. Anyway, the friends & I all made it home, safely and soundly. (They got home at 2:30; I at 3:15. Not fair!)

Hmm... I suppose I was just surprised by something that's seemingly obvious: the devious nature of the dance club.

C'est toute.

Yay for intellectual stimulation!

I've got some recent "input" I'd like to share with you, readers! This will have to come in two installments, though, as these deal with two separate issues. This particular installment will focus on biology and warfare.

So I'm currently at the college, awaiting someone who needs tutoring help! My nametag, under my name, reads "Chemistry, Biology, Math, English, Spanish," telling tutees in which areas I may be of assistance. Well, I'm feeling pretty confident with my abilities in the last three subjects, but I've been trying to brush up a bit on chemistry & biology. As I haven't once had a student needing help in chemistry, I've decided to read up on biology for the time being.

Each time I crack open the bio book, I'm met with fascinating details of how the world around us functions!! Today is no exception.

I've long been fascinated with infectious diseases like Ebola and the hantavirus, and this fire has been well-kindled today by the trusty bio book we keep here. Unwilling to wade through chapters of terminology, I skipped right over to the "Human Infectious Disease" chapter, and OH, was it awesome.

For fun, I'm going to throw in a photo of the Ebola virus (courtesy of the CDC) and a photo of a HILARIOUS idea: a plush version of the virus (courtesy of warehouse23.com)!! :)

The Ebola virus, magnified a gazillion times:



The cute little plush version:



Anyway, back to the case at hand: viruses. Fascinating stuff, man!! They cannot live on their own (as they have no enzymes or cellular structure capable of reproduction), but they DO contain genetic material (RNA or DNA). That's insane. Anyway, they latch on to a "host" cell, which the virus then uses to make copies of itself. When enough (sometimes hundreds) of copies are made, they are released, which usually means the host cell bursts open. (The book notes that the host cell is usually destroyed in the viral replication process.)

Wow. And the parallels between this and warfare are crazy! Granted, I obviously don't have a strong background in pathology nor warfare strategy, but it might be interesting to point out the similiarities. There is one side (the "host" cell or country) who is going about its business, thinking everything's hunky dory. Another side (the invading virus or country) comes in (with or without conscious thought) and decides to take over the host. From there, the host is essentially defenseless. In time, the "weapons" deployed by the invader are much more powerful and plentiful than those of the host, and thus victory is inevitable for our invading friends.

Ok, so maybe it's not perfect, but it is interesting. And humanity's been having wars long since it knew anything about pathogens and diseases. I'm always intrigued when there are these seemingly parallel processes between the human and the natural world.

I also can't help but wonder: at what level does consciousness cease? A few weeks back, I was having a conversation with some fellow tutors. One was so baffled by half-lives; he was convinced that there must be some kind of consciousness within atoms to let them "know" when to die off. (What he meant was, how do half of the atoms in a given molecule "know" when to go, and others stay?) Maybe it's not that way at all, but who knows? So I can't help but think that maybe viruses and cells have a sort of consciousness that makes them "know" when to invade or fight or replicate. Hmm...

I hope this post isn't too incoherent, dear readers. As always, just some random thoughts. It all does factor in, however, to my curiosity about there being any kind of "objective" reality at all. Sigh...

Rest assured, though, that the post I'm about to compose is much easier to deal with. So there.

Ah, November...

So I'm still feeling pretty restless, and this is exacerbated presently by the fact that I am alone in the office. There's a lot I *could* be doing, and I'll get to it momentarily, but... I dunno. I hate when apathy strikes. This time, it's in full force. Luckily, this is a 4-day week (due to Veterans' Day) and next week is a 3-day week (because of Turkey Day).

I'm still debating where I'd be most useful: with the health department, or in my own classroom. I just don't know. For the time being, I'm happy where I am, but there's still an annoying thought in the back of my head saying I could do more to help out. Oh, vell.

Anyway, I've been taking some time to catch up on people's lives (mainly through facebook and blogs)... It seems like most people are doing reasonably well. I found a hilarious list about being in 2007 that you may enjoy:

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3 . You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyoneis home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of thescreen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic andyouturn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting yourcoffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward thismessage.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 onthislist


AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING at yourself.

Hilarious! Ok, I'm gonna think of some more good stuff to write about and then I'll write it! Ciao for now.

a pause.

so i think it's crucial to take a moment, every now and then, to reflect on things a bit. whether "things" means the day's occurrences, a former relationship, the happenings of the world... it's irrelevant. but i think it so necessary to think and analyze some aspect of life from time to time.

unfortunately, i do this dozens of times each day! i constantly think about the state of the world, love that died out, what could be in the future, and so forth. hm. in my head, that sounded a lot more unique. i suppose (and hope!) that most people are constantly analyzing the world and themselves.

in my personal finance class tonight, we had an insurance advisor come and speak. she was great, and seemed to be equipped with good moral fiber. however, during the course of her presentation, i became increasingly angry and saddened by the state of our health care system (not to mention the concept of "insurance" as it's carried out in the u.s.!). a person who NEEDS good medical care is hard-pressed to find it (affordably), yet those who don't really need it (like myself) get excellent coverage. sucky. i understand the (immoral) logic behind it, but it still sucks.

ok, to a completely different topic... love. love! love? (and for this little tirade, i'm talking about romantic, "in-love" sort of love.) lately, i haven't been so much a participant in love as an avid spectator, but i can't help notice the dramatic effects love has, even on the seemingly stoic. for example, i have a good friend who's generally got an ideal life: great job, decent living situation, excellent grasp on philosophy, morality, and so forth... but when it comes to love, my poor friend is completely lost! and this holds true for many people i've seen! whether or not they admit it, a lot of people really crave love. as stupid and mushy and cliche as it sounds, i think love IS what it's all about! (and i suppose HERE i mean any kind of love- familial, romantic, fraternal, etc.)

i mean, really. so simple, so intuitive. love. and don't even THINK about arguing with me. you know i'm right. :P

for now, i'm off to think some more, and then maybe get some sleep. i really must write more important things more frequently! good night. :)

Happy November!

Good day, readers! I hope you're doing well.

First, as a complete and total aside, I was just re-reading this entire blog. I noticed some inconsistencies (e.g., soliciting comments, then taking it back, then soliciting again!), but I also realized something else... I'd mentioned 2 entries ago that I was going to send a philosophically-inspired e-mail to friends and family, in hopes of a great response. Though I can't always trust my memory, I'm pretty certain I *did* send out that e-mail (to maybe 20 people?), and NO ONE responded. Sigh.

Anyway, I've had some pretty cool experiences lately that have been completely altering my preconceived notions of some topics. I have been hanging with a gent who was in the military for over 8 years, and I've gained some amazing paradigm shifts from our conversations. Turns out you really *can't* sterotype a group, just based on one or two common characteristics. (I must admit, I was guilty of this at times.) No matter what their political persuasion, there are intelligent (and not-so-intelligent) people all around. So there. I'm growing up.

I've been noticing a kind of restlessness lately. At first, it seemed it was just among some of my friends, but I'm seeing it in the general population, too. I think we're so bombarded with concerns (e.g., global warming/pollution, debt, war, education, health care, and so forth) that we don't know what to do! I keep talking with my coworkers about how to go about making the world better... but it's not an easy task! I've been trying to start with myself (being the best person I can be and all that), but even in my own nature, I fall short of my aspirations. Seems self-control is a huge roadblock to some people (coughMEcough). Sigh.

Hmm... I'm even restless writing this entry!! I'm trying to think of writing something I haven't posted on this before, but it's very difficult. Ah, I can fortunately find solace in reading Sophie's World (even though I'm at the college, "tutoring"- but no students need help!!)... Anyway. My apologies.

I feel I should tell a story or a clever anecdote or something. Hmmm... Nope. Sorry. Nothing. For now, me voy (I'm going). Peace.