kites, cheese fries, and contamination

i'm at the gear-up office, because i've decided waco high would be cramping my style today. today i want to fly a gearup kite. it's windy outside, and there's a big field with no electric lines across from the building. i can't believe there aren't twenty people flying kites right now.

last night i didn't want to go to a coffee place to study. i had been at a starbucks earlier and had to change because i couldn't get the coffee smell off of me. i didn't want to go to the commons because i used to study there all the time. it depresses me. i went to the library, but it was way too quiet. i couldn't handle it. so, my friend courtney agreed to go to denny's with me. i don't know why i wanted to go to denny's. i just did.

it's actually not that bad. they don't allow smoking anymore; our waiter was friendly; i had cheese fries and a cherry bling drink; i studied hinduism terms and read on liberation theology; they played good music; and there were not too many people there. i won't be frequenting the joint, but it wasn't a bad experience.

this morning i went to a food safety class. the man's tone of voice was sad and put a lot of people to sleep. but i was amused by his outfit and his attempt to solicit responses from the crowd. there was this one older woman in the back who had taken the class before and knew all the answers. she annoyed him. he would say, "here's something you won't know. i'm going to teach you something new. how long do you think it takes before symptoms from a food borne disease appear?" the lady shouts from the back and the smile fades from the man's face. well, that's a good answer...

after a while he started directing his questions to her - "since you're the only one answering, anyway." aww. defeat.

my favorite part was when he asked for help with a demonstration. no one even raised their hand or spoke a word. we all just turned our heads to the back and watched her get up and walk to the front. it was understood. anyway, for the demonstration she had to wash her hands that had been contaminated by some chemical the man had. she washed her hands for a good minute. i think she washed them twice. she made sure there was nothing left on those babies, much to the dismay of the teacher.

daniel v. rocks!

i just finished working at the greatest physics circus on earth! if that's not enough to inspire me to post a blog, i'm dead inside. i did get the shirt. i will gladly give it away to anyone who absolutely loves it, but not until after monday. i have to work the show again on monday.

who knew physics could be so much fun?

i think i did alright on the midterm. i felt comfortable with my answers. tomorrow is b&n day. and tonight? i think we all know what happens tonight...

hide away, soon you'll finely wonder, wonder to me

my mood seems to be directly tied to the weather. this means that lately, most days, i would rather be in bed. all day long.

this morning as i had my cup of coffee at the tues. morning spot, a little boy wanted his mom to see the train, but she kept thinking he meant the rain. she couldn't see the train, but i could and i wanted to tell her. instead i kept reading.

i was pricked three times today. 1 - to see if i could donate blood (i couldn't) 2 - hepatitis a vaccination in my left arm 3 - hepatitis b vaccination in my right arm (4 if you count the stinging realization that someone may have better things to do than be my friend)

i have a test tomorrow. i don't want to study. it's almost 8 pm, and i have no idea what i would write about for possible essays. i've read all the material, listened and participated in class, and reviewed most of my notes. it's just a matter of getting my thoughts together. have i mentioned that i don't want to do it? if i didn't care about my grade, or doing my best, or not disappointing myself and my professor, i'd go to bed. i'm at the library, studying.

i'm thinking about giving up tv for lent. grey's anatomy? it's making me hesitate. that probably means i should do it.

i finished the oil chalk drawing i started last night. i really like it and want to frame it, but i keep thinking it may be a little lame and very vain to do that. maybe i'll give it away.

someone's cell phone just went off, playing la vie boheme. i was reminded of my friends ashley and meredith who were listening to it when i walked in on them studying today. then they dedicated different songs to me; the title of this post is from one of the songs they played.

motivation for friday?

make it work, people.

my name is cupid valentino, the modern day cupid, and i just have one thing to say

i didn't even think about it being valentine's day today until someone said something last night. after years of having nothing out of the ordinary to do on feb. 14th, i've gotten used to it being no big deal.

if you need some ideas on what to listen to today, i recommend the following albums - mostly because i can handle they way they talk about love.

andre's cd, the love below, even has a song called "happy valentine's day." i played it as soon as i woke up this morning. i know there's some things that may be considered vulgar on this cd, but with lyrics like "everybody needs someone to rub their shoulders and scratch their dandruff and everybody needs to quit actin hard and shit before you get your ass whooped and everybody needs somebody to love before its too late its too late..."

i mean, come on. this stuff's hilarious. if you don't want to take everything so serious today, listen to this.

i started listening to this album in the car today. i really like sheila nicholls. it's r&b-isque but kinda of ani difranco. something about her music makes me feel alright about listening to love songs on valentine's day.

"as the spice girls prostitute girl power in the background on tiny speakers, you smile in desperation..."

you're going to wonder now if i'm depressed since i'm recommending an elliot smith album, but alameda off his either/or album is one of my favorite songs. i will definitely listen to it before this day is done.

"if you're alone it must be you that wants to be apart"

and just in case you do need to yell, there's always shakira. if you don't understand spanish, trust me, she's mostly angry and bitter in these songs. this album came out before all her english ones, so i feel like its true to the shakira i like. plus, it's a live album.

"si te vas, si te vas, y me cambias por esa bruja, pedazo de cuero no vuelvas nunca más que no estaré aquí. toda escoba nueva siempre barre bien. luego vas a ver desgastadas las cerdas cuando las arrugas le corten la piel y la celulitis invada sus piernas. volverás desde tu infierno con el rabo entre los cuernos implorando una vez más. pero para ese entonces yo estaré un millón de noches lejos de esta enorme ciudad lejos de ti."

translation? "if you go, if you go, and change me, for that witch, piece of trash, don't comeback anymore, since i won't be here. all new brooms always sweep well, later you're going to see the bristles be gone, when her wrinkles fold her skin, and her cellulite covers her legs you'll comeback from your hell, with a tail between you horns, imploring one more time, but for that, then, i'll be here a million nights, far from this enormous city, far from you"

this morning i had my cup of coffe at olive branch were i always go on tues. morning. the girl who works said she wasn't feeling well. last night she went to a valentine's day costume party dressed as cupid. since she wasn't wearing a whole lot and going outside in the cold, she got sick. if cupid really is running around today, he's not very smart. the things people will do in the name of love. ah. valentine's. are you starting to get the idea of how i feel today? i will have a smile on my face all day long.

monday mornin' wasn't all i hoped it would be

if i could bottle up all the milk i spilled at work yesterday (i'm not being figurative), you could all have yourselves a couple of full bowls of cereal. i made too many mistakes to even write about.

when i got home i was so tired i couldn't fall asleep. instead, i sat on the couch and watched part of girl, interrupted until my eyes didn't want to watch anymore. did you know there's a wilco song in that movie?

a new week. i'm already off to an awkward beginning. i woke up late (i know, shouldn't have watched the movie) and got to the library at ten after eight. my article was due at eight. it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but i also realized that i left my debit card in my shirt pocket. my work shirt. the one that gets put in the bin for the cleaners to pick up. i'm calling to see if there's anything that can be done about that. i may be making calls to the bank...

the song that won't get out of my head today

i think we've all had moments when life seems insignificant and relationships, shallow. i'm trying really hard not to be a niebuhr follower, but there are some things he writes that i can't deny. mainly, that there's something lacking in everything we see. like the painful realization that what we need is just out of reach. so every song i hear now is being filtered through what i've been reading, and this morning when i heard this song, i couldn't stop listening to it. it has this hopeful sadness to it...

the dangling conversation by simon & garfunkel

it’s a still life water color, of a now late afternoon, as the sun shines through the curtained lace and shadows wash the room. and we sit and drink our coffee couched in our indifference. like shells upon the shore you can hear the ocean roar in the dangling conversation and the superficial sighs, the borders of our lives.

and you read your emily dickinson, and i my robert frost, and we note our place with bookmarkers that measure what we’ve lost. like a poem poorly written we are verses out of rhythm, couplets out of rhyme, in syncopated time and the dangling conversation and the superficial sighs are the borders of our lives.

yes we speak of things that matter, with words that must be said, “can analysis be worthwhile?” “is the theater really dead?” and how the room is softly faded and i only kiss your shadow, i cannot feel your hand, you’re a stranger now unto me lost in the dangling conversation and the superficial sighs in the borders of our lives.

thrift store finds

the other day i ran into a friend at a store. he was looking for a pearl-snap shirt but had been having no luck. i suggested he visit some of our local thrift stores, and he looked at me very confused. would thrift stores have cool pearl-snap shirts? now, i am a girl who has shopped for years at second-hand stores. in high school, my dad would give me money for clothes with the demand that i buy at least one thing new. so, i was extremely surprised that a person would be unaware of the wonders of thrift-store shopping. i ranted off a list of places he could visit and sent him on his way.

yesterday, when my graceful friend courtney told me that a new post was long overdue, i decided i would share some of my most favorite possessions from these thrift stores that i have accumulated over the years.




1. a very cool velour adidas sweatshirt. the funny thing about this shirt is that when i am complimented on it, the person who gives the compliment ends up becoming a good friend. in my mind, everytime i wear this shirt i have the possibility of making another good friend.








2. boy's pokemon long-sleeved t-shirt. i wore this last night, actually. nothing says "i'm refusing to grow up" like this shirt.














3. navy winter coat. i'm always happy when i get to wear this and sad that it's rarely cold in texas. this morning it was 31 degrees. i wore my coat to my tues. morning coffee place. now it's in the backseat of my car because it's too warm to have on.










4. vintage dress. i've wore this like 4-5 times. a couple of times on saturday morning errands, once at a theme party that i threw, and once over jeans when my sister adriana picked out my outfit. i really like it. if i was gutsier, i'd wear it more often.










5. i found this semi-cowgirl shirt at a thrift store in austin. it was actually a little pricier than what i'm used to, but i was immediately drawn to it. it's been modified a bit - it used to have lace all the way up to the neck with frill at the top, but i cut it off because it made me feel way too little-house-on-the-prairie-ish.






6. a little cream comb with roses on it that i love to wear in my hair. when i found it, i decided i would try to find one at every thrift store and start collecting them. that hasn't worked out. so far it's the only comb i have.




there you have it. you should all visit thrift stores. great things await you.