National Geographic lust continues...

Continuing my adventures into the HG shop, these bangles also cater to my obsession with brights and patterns. Aren't they gorgeous? Made in Kashmir, they're 5 for $28.00, which I think is a pretty okay price.

Interested? Go here to purchase.

(Oh, and this is definitely going to my Christmas wishlist...)

And the Christmas wishlist begins!

So I caught a glimpse of the National Geographic catalog at the boy's house and I fell in love with this bag. I can't help it. Suede (and not the Project Runway kind) seems to be one of my weak points. Along with green and any animal that is exorbitantly cute. Another sartorial weakness of mine is anything that is boldly colored or patterned. And I think this bag fills up plenty of requisites.

Isn't it gorgeous?

$85.00 at the National Geographic store! (Click.)

Serenity now?

I am going to calm down, attempt to get some rest, and hopefully I'll feel better later. I hate the fact that I'm quoting Seinfeld (I've barely seen the show, and from what I've seen, it has no appeal to me). There's a "but even more so" clause to this, but I don't want to discuss it here.

In the meantime, I'm digging this Gap top. Yes, I am distracting myself with pretty things. But I am scared that, indeed, this top may be too country. A little bit too Becky Mae? (Not that I'm purchasing it. At $48, it may be too steep for me...)

(Yes, I'm cheap. Well, no, I'm not cheap. I just like inexpensive purchases most of the time.)

Triumphant return!

Apparently the PRTC read my last post full of fury and decided to get their asses her. Pronto.

And they called this morning at around 8:30 and decided to fix my internet! Good job. If I had cookies, I'd give you some, PRTC. Now don't let this happen again.

It turns out that some loons that were supposed to have been fixing the internet actually changed the codes for almost an entire neighborhood. The attendant told us that this was the fourth house he was fixing an internet/phone problem for.

(Notice how internet comes first? I don't care much for phones. They ring at inconvenient times. Like when you're in the bathroom.)

So our problem was caused by the very company. Way to go PRTC!

Now if you excuse me, I will go get ready to go to school.

PRTC I despise you.

Regular blogging has been interrupted due to the dickness that is the Puerto Rico Telephone Company. More to come on that later, I guess.

When I'm not leeching internet in the plaza, listening to NIN.

Grar.

Oh, and I just miss my holy grail bag on eBay. Due to lack of internet.

PRTC, you bitch.

Later.

Building an outfit.

(Warning: Lots of pictures.)

I had the intention of chronicling my work wardrobe this semester. Unfortunately, as you can see, I have failed miserably at that. However, I decided to do a post today since I was wearing a particularly loud piece of wardrobe. By Puerto Rican standards anyway, it seems.

So here we go. A step-by-step outfit creation post. Of course, outfits don't always flow this easily. Sometimes it takes 17 shirts, 12 pants, 5 shoes, and one change of undergarments later.

Oops, you didn't need to know that last part?

Anyway, here they are. The pants. Or as mom thinks, the crazy pants. Because they are so loud I can be seen from another planet. Neat!





Next step: adding a top. I decided to add a simple white top because, honestly, the focus of this outfits are the cosmic pants.







Almost done! Now, to cover myself up because I am the example of public decency, I put on a vest with some pins on it. And I cannot resist saying that the pins are half "do it yourself" because they were earrings and I just popped off the earring part and stuck a pin on it. Wee!


To finish it up, add some nice accessories and shoes, and, bam! You've got a work appropriate outfit! (Well, it all depends on where you work...)








Finished outfit:


So yes. Hope you have enjoyed this graphics-heavy post. If you are male, my apologies. Please do not kill yourself due to fashion overload.

Before I forget, the Mayagüez Salvation Army is having a half-off sale. Guess who went bonkers? Uh-huh. I mean, it's already cheap. And now it's cheaper?!

Count me in.

I'll tell you all about that jaunt later. Right now, I'm tired and it feels as if my eyeballs will ooze out. Have a good night everyone!

Boots: the obsession continues.

Now, most people (either of the parental or male persuasion) think that I have enough shoes. But, when it comes to boots, there can never be enough. Right now, there's no other way of saying it: I'm totally slobbering over these. My God, not only do they cater to my obsession with boots, but with high boots. And they're flat! And leather! And, from what I've read, they are actually slim in the calf!

To top it off, they're riding boots.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, I'm obsessed with horse riding. I've always wanted to do it, but I never had the chance. Nor did my parents encourage it: mom thought I was going to fall off the horse and injure myself and my father considered it unhealthy for my scoliosis. Wee.

Anyway, if they weren't so expensive, I would get them in a split second. Oh well. Maybe I can save up for Christmas and order these? Meanwhile, guess I'll just put the website on my favorites and check it repeatedly. And drool. Drool!

If anyone is interested, here's the link: click me (you know you want to!)!

You need more Cho!

Have I done this before? Have I spoken about the comedienne wonder that is Margaret Cho? No? Then I will, I must! Enlighten you to the path of funny.

Well, I think she's funny anyway.

I like Margaret Cho because not only is she progressive (gender & minority rights, among other things), she is transgressive (honestly, she goes where other people don't go). And she is damn funny.

So here you go, a YouTube video from one of her stand-up comedy tours. The first one is from Assassin. The second one is from Revolution.

Warning! Not for people who lack an open-mind!

200th post!

I thought this post was going to be monumental, all-encompassing, a celebration of my 200 posts here and my two years or so at my blogspot address.

Yet, no.

This is for you, Vivi. To show you we are stuck under some sort of gigantic and everlasting rain-producing cloud. (Or series of clouds.)




And guess what? It rained the day after that! And the one after. And it's raining today as well. WOO!

I spoke to Keyla yesterday and she told me that we're supposed to have even more rain this week. Sweet merciful weather lords...

Anyway, happy 200th post!

(Though perhaps I should be disappointed in myself? I mean, over two years and only 200 posts? I've got to step it up, people....Step it up!)

Chupacabras and pirates and more.

Warning, picture heavy post...

So here are other highlights of the birthday loot. First, the flapper hat. Remember that I'd been kvelling over the blue hat from Forever 21. So Damian got it for me. Here it is, just hanging out with an empty candy bag that Damian gave me too. Well, he gave it to me with candy. I devoured the contents. Note how it is the small candy, not the big one. Somebody trying to tell me something? (What is that? You're just trying to stop me from getting adult onset diabetes? Oh.)


Here it is, on my head. The hair is decidedly non-flapper, but I still think I can make it work with dark red lipstick, no?


Keyla gave me this insanely awesome pirate nutcracker. In the name of Pete & Pete, it's great. Here it is, accompanied by a duckie bean bag that Damian also gave me.


And to round up the lot, here is something that I featured in my Chupacabras round-up! Chupacabras pins! Damian picked these up for me too.


These weren't all the presents, but I just wanted to show you the most particularly peculiar and curious. I loved all my presents and want to thank everyone for them!

A very happy birthday to me.

A very belated birthday post...

So my birthday began as so many other days have begun on the island lately: with skies that have nothing to envy of London. Still, I had harassed a number of friends (sadly, I forgot to invite some people, I apologize!) last minute so we could meet at a beloved haunt, Tapatío. I'd like to think that it was the promise of friends together that lured people there, but it very well could've been the the good food and yummy margaritas. I'll delude myself into thinking that you people love me!

Anyway.

We got there and not fifteen minutes later it started raining. Damn. I could've sworn Snoopy was going to get out of the car, slap me twice across the face, and then say, "happy damn birthday, bitch" for making her go out in that rain. Fortunately, my face remains intact. Margaritas were had, too much food was consumed, and we spoke too much of a certain professor's scrotal area.

Oh shit, overshare? Moving on...

Thanks to all of you guys who were able to make it! I had a great time. I'm already plotting how to make monthly get-togethers or such. Because, sadly, we've all become thesis-writing losers that have no life. (Well, most of us.)

After gorging myself on delicious Mexican food for lunch, dinner was to be Chinese. DUMPLINGS, PEOPLE. DUMPLINGS! Ever since my good friend Gloria introduced me to them, it's some sort of inescapable vice. So of course, I made sure we went to a Chinese restaurant that had some. So that's where my parents, Damian, and I went. And once again, I ate too much. But I left some space, for at home, I had this waiting for me:


A cake. With a sheep on it. Awesome. For those of you who don't know, I have some sort of obsession with sheep. I think they're too cute. So I requested a cake with sheep on it. And parents delivered. Sweet. Also, Damian would very much like it if I showed you the following picture:


Why was I smiling so much? Because I'd just received these bad boys.


The boots look black, but they're actually dark brown, like in the picture. I haven't worn them yet, I don't want them to get ruined with the rain. So I'm saving them for a colder, decidedly not so wet occasion.

I've got some other pretty awesome stuff on my birthday (CHUPACABRA! PIRATES!), but I'll save those for tomorrow. I'm beat. I have to work on my students' grades and my thesis. Am facing a conundrum regarding deletion of a possible subtopic. Suck.

Again, thanks to everyone who came to my last-minute birthday lunch and to all the well-wishers.

'Till next time!

Softies.

If I ever get pregnant, I need to get one of these:
I think this is one of those nesting behaviors people talk about. I would probably end up making plushies for the baby. Big penguin and owl plushies. And a baby chick dressed as a pirate.

Anyway.

If you are going through a nesting phase yourself, here's the link:

Click.

Poetic Cobi.

In an attempt to distract you from the quiet, I bring you a picture of Damian's dog, Cobi. This birthday weekend was a very full one, but a very fulfilling one as well, but more details on that later. Thanks everyone!

Now back to that pile of undergrad papers...

Obama is the new trend?

I adore this shirt. Go Obama/Biden '08!

(Shirt by Nannette Lepore, $65.00, available at http://store.barackobama.com/)

Fail.

Was attacked by the muse. It demanded I write about anime, manga, and transgender instead of writing for my thesis. Which is about the paranormal as a means of female empowerment.

Well, fuck.

I'll keep writing anyway.

El Volky Guevara.

Saw this at the beach a couple of weeks ago and couldn't help take pictures of a particular collection of Volkswagen vans. As you can see, this one has Che Guevara on it. The one with racing stripes has a Puerto Rican flag that has a Volkswagen sign on it instead of a star. Talk about love.

iEl Horror!

El Chupacabra!

I got this shirt a while ago and I think it was the start of the Chupacabra madness. I saw it at a store reputed for its inexpensive finds and I couldn't help myself. I got one for Damian, one for my cousin's husband Rob, and one, of course, for me. I wear it to go get bread or do quick errands: I don't wear it to go out on a date and such.

But isn't it fun? :)

Tempting fate?

How about outright pissing it off.

Last night, after a very full and pleasant day, I got the most insane pain in my stomach. It felt as if a crazed person was trying to jackhammer their way through my stomach. I honestly thought I'd have to be taken to the hospital.

I waited it out and managed to drive home in the morning, but just as I was getting home, I noticed a little problem...


Can you tell what the problem is?



No?


As you can see, we had a "bit" of flooding. Props to the wonderful news media and so-called weather reporters that gave no warning of this shit. I was driving home, in pain, thinking: well, it's either drive to the hospital or stop by my house to see if mom wants to go with me, when I see that a certain part of the road has no cars running through it. Then I brake and since it's raining, my car starts sliding down the road. Wee.

So after half an hour trying to figure out how to get home, calling the cops (to notify them/harass them about the road being flooded and hence, no one could drive through), calling Damian, and calling mom, I take a sketchy back road and make it home. To continue clutching my stomach in pain.

The pain is better now, but I still have it. I have no idea what triggered it. Pocket of gas? Constipation? Indigestion? Dehydration? Gastritis? All five combined? I don't know. I just know that it sucks.

I'm going to get some rest now...

What's happening?

So since I last made a...text-heavy? post, several things have happened. Most notably, to my viscera.

I had already commented about my gastritis. To follow up on that topic, I had an abdominal sonogram done and an endoscopy. Both entailed fasting for long periods of time and the last one had to be done at a hospital. Fun. I hate hospitals.

Anyway.

The tests revealed that I have mild chronic gastritis. Luckily, it's non-erosive, so I don't have to be on a strict diet and pills all the time. Still, I have to watch what I eat and I have to be on medication for one more week. And avoid stress. We'll see how well that last one goes.

However, during the abdominal sonogram, they found that I have mild hydrophrenosis. What is this fancy schmancy word, you ask? Well, I have a "slightly" enlarged kidney due to an obstruction. So now I have to go to more doctors and get more tests done to see just how enlarged/obstructed the kidney is.

And I also have to go to the dermatologist, not for vanity reasons, but because I have a wart/growth that has changed in a worrisome way.

To say that I'm distressed at these revelations pretty much covers it. I'm tired of going to doctors and of the damn Puerto Rican medical insurance system. Being sick is a luxury on this damn island. At the same time, I'm trying not to think about it. I'm reading stuff for my thesis, throwing myself into the class I'm teaching. I don't want to think about these things, about what could happen if they get worse. I guess I sound very negative here, but I try not to think about it, really. I try to be positive and such, but there are times when I wonder what else is going to happen. I mean, I hope I'm not tempting fate here, but I guess I'm stressing out.

So yes, this is what's up.

Oh, and I'll be 25 next Saturday. I had honestly forgotten that if not for someone asking me if my birthday was next week. I said no, that it was two weeks later. And then I realized I had forgotten my own birthday.

*facepalm*

Things you find at the flea market.

So when you go fleamarketing, you find cute stuff. And sometimes you find things that are so kitschy that it either makes you scratch your head or want to take it home.




I should've bought this Dracula head...the eyes actually light up! The things people come up with.

I keep wanting to do a post about my fleamarket finds (jewelry! belts! a hat!), but I keep forgetting and when I do remember, I'm just too tired. Like now. I finished a rubric for the students a little while ago and I still have to come up with a quiz...they haven't been doing their reading, so it's time to give them a little reinforcement. Meh.

And, oh hey! I totally forgot my birthday is next week. I thought it was two weeks away. Clearly, my internal clock is fucked up. That, and I have no time to think about anything besides thesis and school. So exciting.

El Chupacabra!

Pretty much everyone knows I have some sort of obsession with the paranormal. Why? Who knows! Maybe it's all the weird things that happened to me as a child, including the five year residence at the house in front of the cemetery. Point is, I've always been fascinated by things that seem otherworldly. I mean, hey, I'm writing my thesis on la Llorona!

One of these supernatural beings is el Chupacabra. Like it or not, he's a part of the Puerto Rican culture. Well, I'm assuming it's a he...it could be a she. Let's call it an it. But it is a part of the local folklore, be it as a comedy relief or as a serious paranormal entity.

If you dig the Chupacabras, I've found a couple of articles on Etsy that may tickle your fancy. Click on the pictures to go to the links. ;) I'm totally digging the Chupacabra badge/pin set. I need it in my life.

Cryptid lovers, enjoy!





All articles are from Etsy.com.

I genuinely need these in my life.

Click.

Do not be scared. It's not porn or some ridiculously expensive bag. It's something that will come in handy when you're trying to find a parking spot and some large male organ-head takes up two spots.

After your Doritos?

Yes, more Llorona stuff...an attempt to distract you from the quiet.

By the way, the translation of what the boy says is, "Oh, don't be such a crybaby/whiner."

Plaid! (Though they call it broken stripe...)

Another thing I desire...Richard Chai coat for Go! International at Target.


I love the purple plaid pattern...it just seems so dramatic. And I love dramatic.
On sale for $31.49, I think that's a pretty sweet deal. I'm debating whether to get it myself or ask the birthday fairies. Decisions!

Ready for battle.

These shoes are so great, it's ridiculous. They're from Ann Demeulemeester's fall collection. Only thing is that they are 900 pounds! I don't even want to convert that to US dollars...

Let's hope some cheap knock-offs pop up, no?

However, if you have a spare 900 British pounds, here you go:

Ann Demeulemeester @ Browns.

Mrs. Gatsby.

I have a thing for hats, something I can rarely wear because a) it's never really cold here and b) I can never find hats for my huge head. Really. Most hats are just too tight around my head. Meh.

But I do have a thing for hats, I do! If possible, I'd love to live somewhere that would grant me the weather that would allow me to wear such head gear. In particular, I'd like to wear lots of hats harking back to the styles of the 1920s. I love the 20s.

Like this one!

I love this hat and I actually selected it in blue. This is a wonder because I basically abhor blue. Besides denim, there are only five, five!, pieces of blue in my wardrobe. It's just not my color. Perhaps it is the associations with a certain political party or because mom loves blue and wears it to death, but I am averse to it. But this hat is just screaming for me to adopt it and give it a new home.

The only thing that scares me is that it may be too costumey? Oh well...with some wide leg pants, a simple shirt, and a cardigan, it would look fab, no?

Will he put la Llorona in a headlock?

If you don't think this is awesome, I don't know what the hell is wrong with you!



Come on! A luchador (wrestler) in a Llorona movie...excellent. I've yet to see it though.

Life without flavor.

Well, limited flavor sounds better. At least for a week. Or two. :/

I can't eat so many things it's not funny. Right now, my diet is limited to rice, beans, lettuce, and corn. And today, I'm having some cornmeal. We tried doing an almost vegan tuna burrito (as in, lettuce, corn, avocado, and tuna) and it didn't go down that well. I can't even have cereal because I don't drink fat free milk, so my stomach was reacting in a highly unfavorable manner to the fat in my milk. Wee-hoo!

I managed an appointment with the gastroenterologist for this Friday, but I know that this restricted diet is probably going to be extended. I'm trying to look at this in a positive light though. I tell myself that it's a detox! I'm not doing candy so I'll lose weight! My skin will clear up!

But, when those stomach pains hit, there's no optimism. I've also been feeling feverish and getting headaches from the pain, so that's no fun. But I'll console myself by looking at pretty things online I guess. And you can tell I have, from all the fashion posts I've been putting up lately!

Got Milk?

In my thesis research, I've come upon all sorts of things relating to La Llorona. And this one has to be one of the funniest and weirdest.



I think it's interesting how la Llorona has been revised and what direction those interpretations have taken. It went from a ghost to a unifying icon. And, in this case, to a Got Milk? commercial.

Any of you have heard of la Llorona? Thoughts on this interpretation? Or just general sharing of anecdotes? :)

More shoe porn.

These two lovelies are from Bakers...ay ay ay. I'll be damned if the first shoe isn't hot.

Anyway, prices are 89.95 for the Orion and 79.95 for the Mamie respectively. The Orion's available in black too. The black has a definite dominatrix vibe going on...I like both colors though!

Size 11, people! Size 11! ;)

Holy Infuriated Stomach, Nocturnal Flying Echolocator Man!

Well. Stress and a crappy diet (Ice cream! Every day! For a week! GO LACTOSE INTOLERANT ME!) have finally gotten to me again. I either have gastritis or gastroenteritis (or an ulcer) all which are equally not awesome. Let me put it this way. The pain I feel after I eat something, even drinking water, is so bad that I want to reach down my throat, rip out my stomach, and fling it to a wall. And then run over it with a Hummer. Just to offend more, since I'm using a crappy American car.

I've gotten this before (rushed to the hospital once and then again: spent my entire undergrad graduation week barely eating due to pain). I have no clue why I got it again. Maybe it's eating out more? Stress? Appletinis? (Wait, no. I will not give up my Appletinis.) Must be the ice cream...anyway, I'm supposed to be eating like a rabbit this week, pretty much. No fatty foods, nothing acidic, or oily. No lactose either. So basically, I'll be chewing lettuce for a week. Sweet.

(Save me, Blind Echolocating Nocturnal Flying Mammal Man! Save me!)

And, before you comment "GET LACTAID," I've tried. Everywhere I go, people say, "Oh, we don't have those." Like today. Woo.

So anyway, I have to get a doctor's appointment as fast as possible because, hey! I took two hardcore Zantacs! And two hours later, I was about to hurl my puny stomach contents out!

I considered not going to teach tomorrow, but I only get two days off? And I have to get a substitute so...I'll just suck it up. And if I puke, I puke. Giving them freshmen memories, yep, that's me.

Wow, I'm rambling. Must be reading all these students' papers that has me boggled. AND THE MEDS, WOO.

Anyway.

For some reason, listening to the Music & Lyrics soundtrack is cheering me up. And since I want to scar you all (but not too extensively), here you go.



8D

Good night.

Chasing booties!

I have an obsession with boots and I cannot lie. I have about five pairs and I can't wait to wear them come the "cold" weather (which we all know is just...what, 60 degrees? Still, cold enough for me). After readingSeptember's Lucky magazine, I have even more boot fever. Here are some faves...






All of the above boots can be found at Victoria's Secret. (The website, of course.) If you want them, act now! They're having a 20% off special until September 18. And if you feel generous, I'm a size 11. ;)

Random facts continued...

1. I am equal parts a quitter and stubborn-ass. There's pretty much no middle ground. Either I want to give up or I'm going to follow this to the end just to prove that I am going to do this.

2. I cannot recall my parents ever saying that I was pretty. They put much more emphasis on the value of the mind and the personality of a person. Only now that I'm much older does my mom say, "You're pretty." (And I'm not saying that I am pretty, I just can't look at myself that way generally. It's only occasionally that I say to myself, "oh, you look good!")

3. When I finally got my driver's permit, I developed this peculiar phobia of cars. They terrified me; I just saw them as huge dangerous weapons. It took me a year or so to get over it.

4. I do not drink coffee, or tea, or soda. I rarely ever have juice either, only when I'm sick or when I'm staying over at someone's place. My drink of choice is water.

5. As a child, I had a brief stint in ballet. Close to a year? Not my thing. Preferred much more violent pursuits, like chasing and roughing up boys. Call it tough love? (Note: I do not beat Damian. Don't go around calling the police, ok?)

6. I actually have memories of my first Christmas. People say it's impossible, but I do. I remember my mom putting me under a very seventies-style artificial silver tree and surrounded by presents. I thought I had imagined it until I saw a picture that confirmed what I had experienced.

7. I have this fashion peeve with exposed platforms. I cannot wear a shoe with an exposed platform.

Coveting, part I give up counting.

Seriously, these boots? I'm about to make out with them. But at $398, I feel like I'm being wallet raped.

Still.

Would you just look at them? Lord God, they're luscious.

Link.

"It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling."

This post is entirely due to the awesome Mighty Girl, long may she blog.

As I was finishing my course outline (hah, revised it four times already and it's been less than a month of class), I decided to mosey on over to MightyGirl.com and see if there were any new posts. There were and the one that motivated this post is "Eight books that changed things for me." While I'm sure many (most of us) have more than eight books. Or maybe you even have less. But there has to be at least one book that made you change. And for me, one of those defining literary moments was Kurt Vonnegut's story "Harrison Bergeron."

If I am not mistaken, I was in second grade when I read this short story for the first time. I was a nerd and I possessed the habit of reading all my fall semester books during the summer, before classes started. And that's when I met Harrison.

Not only did I romanticize Harrison (I thought, this is what a boy needs to be!), but I was shocked when I realized that...even though it is not as obvious as the handicaps imposed upon the talented in Vonnegut's story, society did and does oppress you. It wants you to be like everybody else. It glorifies mediocrity and it will not tolerate that you, yes you! will attempt to be something more. For a second grader, that was a hardcore slap in the face delivered by reality, specially when the reader finds out what society, in the guise of the Handicapper General, does to Bergeron.

So here it goes. To you, Bergeron. To you, Vonnegut.

And you, dear reader, I'd like you to take a gander at Mr. Bergeron himself. You may think that the story reads simplistic nowadays, but I tell you. It changed my world. And I love it just as much as I did then.

Click here for "Harrison Bergeron."

Random facts.

1. I generally dislike eating fruit, but I really like fruit products. The only fruit I thoroughly enjoy eating are strawberries. (But hey, when you're hungry, you eat anything.)

2. I lived in front of a cemetery until I was almost six years old.

3. I like the smell of the paper in new books and magazines.

4. I love bargain hunting. Seriously. It's ridiculous.

5. I get too sad, to the point of tears, when I see homeless people and animals.

6. As you can tell, I have insomnia. Wee.

Off to bed with me...I hope.

Bleh.

Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking. About life, the universe, and everything. And it's just sad. I wish I didn't have to live here anymore, didn't have to write this stupid thesis. Didn't have to witness people be hypocrites. But I'm really not going to get into it as I have a privacy policy.

I'd like to clarify that I don't think a lot of people read this blog, but I am aware that some people I may not want to might be reading this blog. So that's why certain topics are strictly forbidden.

But I miss the days when I didn't have to worry about deadlines. When I didn't have to worry about people being traitors. When things were better. I miss so many things it hurts at times. But most of all, I miss innocence. I miss not being jaded. I miss actually having faith in people. I don't think I do anymore, for the most part. (I'm not saying that I've lost faith in everybody, but in a good amount of people, yes.)

Oh God, I sound so emo. *waits for Tovi to comment on the emo*

Maybe all of this is due to so many things happening at once. Those intense weeks of working on my proposal, then prepping for work. Then my uncle passing away and seeing so many people suffering. Add to that that I keep finding out that people talk behind my back about things that, honestly, are either untrue or none of their business. And now, my laptop seems completely dead. Which pisses me off because hell, all my stuff's in there and because it's another investment that needs to be made. I don't want to because I want to save money so I can move.

I don't want to alarm anyone with this post. Or trigger more gabfests. But I just want to put it out there in case you see me more tired than usual.

Hell. Yes.

IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST AMEN.

(Am not endorsing religion, am just exceedingly happy that my proposal is my finally approved. Fuck yeah.)

So now that I've had time to settle down, stop stroking the paper, and barely succeed at containing the urge to make out with it, I've got to say, as if it wasn't clear enough already, that I'm very happy with this. This is the beginning of a new chapter in my university career. Nay, graduate career. I am finally in the process of working on my thesis. No longer in the dreaded, demonic, and painful proposal stage. I am one step closer to graduating!

I'm not going to lie, I was very very lucky. A sequence of events occurred that made the chips all fall into place. I got the missing signature, the department director finally managed to speak to the other professor who's signature I needed (she had approved, but I didn't get her signature before she left on vacation: d'oh), and the registry block was removed just in time for me to register thesis once again. Awesome, positively awesome. Because, of course, you know this means...I HAVE A JOB.

Wee!

At last, no more asking for money whenever I needed cash to get gas, or go out, or simply have some emergency funds. I did have a certain amount saved since the beginning of the year for precisely this dry spell, but it has been depleted. The comfort of having a paycheck, oh, only those who earn it know the relief...

Anyway. On a sadder note, one of my uncles passed away. He was 72 years old and unfortunately had been in a car accident. He had a good life, but it's sad to see him go. Mom and I will be going to the funeral tomorrow (though I'll have to sneak out several times because I still have to pay school fees and get a new parking permit, urgh).

I'd like to thank everyone who put up with me, helped me, egged me on through this proposal period.

The Pencil Trick.

I originally intended for this post to have a video of our dearly departed Heath Ledger as the Joker performing the aforementioned pencil trick in The Dark Knight. Unfortunately, all videos of it have been removed from YouTube because of Warner Bros. Wee.

Anyway, the point was to illustrate the stress I'm in (and also to point out what I wanted to do to certain people that are making me going, no pun intended, batshit insane). Seriously. All I've been doing this past week is working on my proposal and going to teaching assistant seminar/workshops. That and dealing with the problematic professor. Nothing is ever good enough for this person and I'm at the point of saying, "You know what? My thesis is going to be about how la Llorona is really the Oscar Meyer weiner. So back the fuck up." Such are the levels of rage I'm under.

So you're wondering what in the world I'm doing making a post? Just wanted to notify you folks that I'm alive. Sure, I'm more down the side of absolutely loony, but I'm still here. I've got three more corrections to go and I'm (hopefully) done with my proposal. I need a rest before my brain explodes. My back hurts from being hunched over so much because I've been using the desktop. Tsuki, my laptop, is out of commission because yet another power supply has bitten the dust. What the shiz, Apple? Seriously, making better plugs before I go find you and beat you with them.

Ehem.

As you can see, I'm a bit hostile. I hope that everything will be solved by Monday. In the meantime, everyone take care. And stay out of grad school.

Edit: Yay! Damian found me the pencil trick video! Here it is, for your viewing pleasure. :)