Been very busy! I have a job, but am looking for something better with a 4 and a half year old living with me. I think its safe to say I'm on a hiatus from blogging.

Pictures can sometimes be a cruel reality.

Woowee! I'm recovering after a road trip to Montreal. Grand Prix weekend. That place is INSANE! Even watched the World Cup with people who enjoy it.

I've been tagged by Thushara

Life's 10 Simple Pleasures

1. Being with my niece

2. Driving down a road surrounded by nature with good music (and no traffic)

3. Sunsets and star-gazing

4. Handwritten cards/letters

5. Lounging around different parts of a room with my friends and just talking/gossiping/laughing

6. A receiving a smile

7. A nice, hot shower

8. Being able to act like a kid to the people who still view you as one

9. Sitting on a porch (in Vermont or at the ice cream place in town) with good people watching the world go by

10. Friends and Family, old and new, who want nothing from you except you

You can tag yo'self.

I just drove through 7 states in 3 days and back again. It was so worth it.

The goal of this weekend was to make it to Leeezik's wedding in Indianapolis, Indiana on 11th June. Goal acheived.

I picked up Kari in Nyack, NY, and from there we drove through New Jersey and Pennsylvania, all really beautiful parts. Actually my favorite parts were the cheap gas prices, lack of traffic, and the Delaware Water Gap. Then we entered Ohio, which was interesting.

I've never been to a place where religion is worn on their sleeve. I've been to North Dakota and I know the majority of people there are Christian but you do not see a lot of displays of Christian pride. We drove through Youngstown and then entered the midsection of Ohio (typing this may make it seem like it was a quick jaunt, but at this point we are at the 6 hour mark). I saw a billboard which said "If you died today, do you know where you would spend Eternity? Hell is real." I also saw a sign on a building which called for a "Prayer for the Victory of Bush." Clearly I'm not able to live in these areas of the country.

It was nice to see farmland and beautiful areas. Ohio is a lot bigger than it looks. We then crossed the Ohio River to enter into Kentucky! We entered a town called Florence and were greeted by:



Fantastic!! Kari and I stayed with one of my friends in Northern Kentucky. (This trip took 12 hours) She makes soaps and candles. She is married with 2 kids and it was so great to see her. I learned all about her business and saw her make the soap, so I know its really all natural! My friend and I talked and talked. I also heard stories about drive through liqour stores as well. Its all very surreal.

Sunday we drove to Indianapolis. Here we saw more farmland as well as billboards relating to Christianity. I guess for a Christian this is a very welcoming sight, but when you are not, it is a little surprising. I felt even more in the minority than I already am, and a little defensive. I suppose I understand this area a little more now. In my area you don't see billboards like that, so it was all very new.

The wedding. Oh the wedding was beautiful, even in the rain. It was short and small. Thankfully Leezik and Ryzik are fun and friendly as are their friends and family. My favorite part was the ceremony meeting new people. Ryzik's grandparents have been married for 69 years! 69! I also met a nice young man who was a super soaker model in college. He was cute but unfortunately for me, his boyfriend was also at the wedding. It was great to meet all the people I've heard so much about in Leezik's stories though. It was sad to say bye since she's going to the west coast and who knows when I will see her after.

Now I am home after way too much driving for one weekend, throughly exhausted. I went out to lunch with a friend who happened to be home from San Francisco visiting family. I am currently unwinding by watching the World Cup. I love soccer/football, and I love hot men. The World Cup is heaven.

In the whirlwind I am calling my life, I have moved back home.

Leaving my apartment was hard. Its a cute place. I had 2 years of many memories there, both good and bad. Even though I have lived away from my parents since I was 17, that apartment was the first place other than my parents I called home.

The dramatic part is unpacking. I have no place to keep things in a house that has everything. At least my parents are out of the country and do not have to see how their dining room has turned into a temporary storage area.

I got a new ipod as a graduation present.

I don't know how to use it.

I will never understand why walkman's went out of style.

Tomorrow I will be here....



as part of the 2006 Graduating class receiving my Masters degree.

For some people, its just another day they have to take part in.

For me it embodies a goal I always thought was out of my reach, and my first step into a world I want to be in.

I already miss my grad school days.

I know. Its been ages.

Not much else has happened since the ankle injury. I went to Phoenix for 5 days, and that was great. The Grand Canyon was amazing and I went with a real fun tour group.

Now spring is here!! Finally! Although its raining today.

I finish my academic career in 2 weeks, which are the most stressful weeks I've ever had. I had my last class of my academic career on Thursday. Its so surreal, especially if you're someone who spends a lot of time in school.

My brain is like congealed oatmeal.

Its sad, no update in 2 months and not much to say. What can I say, I've been holed up.

But today I'm playing Whirlyball. Lets hope for zero injuries.

So the ankle is still in recovery. I'm relaxing here listening to Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie which is an interesting name. Its a day I shouldn't be lazy but I am. I've made a myspace profile. I like it and I have 3 friends so woohoo. The article I need to read is currently being crushed by my leg and that can't be a good thing. I've been spending a lot of time thinking because its just what I do. The last time I talked to Robert was on Wayne's birthday and we were talking about how life seems to move faster once you're older. Maybe because we're more aware of our surroundings. I littered yesterday purposely, oops. heh heh. Now its time to get back to work.

I have time to blog because I'm immobilized.

I was taking a shower 2 nights ago, and I was doing my loofahing thing, and I was teetering a bit. So I put my hand on the ceramic soapdish (the ones that are built into the tiling), it came loose. I felt great pain and the water in the tub turned red. I instinctively grabbed a towel and screamed for my roomie. Im very lucky that someone was home and that my roomie is a nurse. Anyway, I went to the ER, and now have 9 stitches in my right leg above the bony prominence (lateral malleolus for all medics out there) above my ankle. I cant bear any weight on it otherwise the stitches will come out so I'm on crutches. I'm living off painkillers and water. It could have been a whole lot worse though!!

We actually went to Urgent care first and the initial resident poked and prodded, caused great pain and then said, "My shift ends in 10 minutes so the other doctor will decide what to do." Thanks mofo. You added to my pain, and you were too scared to make a decision. Then the 2nd resident came in (at 9pm), poked around, caused great pain, and gave this big story about how I may need a plastic surgeon because the wound may require an internal suture. So off Roomie drove me to the hospital ER. Where the EMT and Physicians assistant said I did NOT need plastics! She sutured me up. Local anasthetic burns.

My friends have been great. Everyone is visiting and making meals for me. If this is how they are when I have stitches, I think they would donate organs for me if I needed them. I am lucky.

I have to go, another friend just got here with breakfast. :)

As the old adage goes: Time waits for no one.

Its simple, its true, it makes sense, it sounds stupid if you think about it, but true nonetheless. Its what this blog post is about.

Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day. I did not win anything at the casino.

*At night, I went to dinner with 6 people I used to go to high school with. We all graduated in 1994, and are currently 29 years old. One girl who came, was someone who moved to Atlanta and who none of us had seen in 11 years. I got back in touch with her through classmates.com. It was a great spectrum of how time affects some people.
1 friend is now a married mother of 2 beautiful girls, a part-time tutor, and drives a minivan.
1 friend is a married physical therapist with no children.
1 friend is engaged to be married this summer and a teacher.
1 friend is getting her nurse practitioner degree in Arizona and is living with her boyfriend.
1 friend is single and working as a benefits administrator in Atlanta.
1 friend is single and working as a supervisor in a group home and looking for a career change.

And I am finishing up my Masters this spring, single, and looking for a job.

Conversation was great. We were so relaxed and got along so well. I was thinking about how serious we were in high school. We were talking and joking about race pretty freely. (My friend from ATL was one of 5 black kids in our school, and I was one of 3 Indians)

**My niece is now 4 going on 16. She's too smart for her own good. I think I understand why people look love to look at their children like little babies. Sometimes its hard to keep up with how fast they are growing.

**I have begun my last semester at school. We have made vows to be more social this semester since its the only one left! So far so good. But to think in 4 more months we're all going to be in different directions is exciting and sad at the same time. Its nice having friends in a 5 block radius!

I have a lot of work to do this semester with my thesis, classes, reading and TA-ing. I barely have time to email! So I havent abandoned this blog entirely, but I'll have to neglect it every so often.

Hope you are doing well!

For the love of God, I'm 29 today.

Right now I'm "vacationing" at my parents house, wearing sweats I received as a Christmas present when I was 15 with my high school tennis sweatshirt, with my brand new haircut. I look around the family room filled with pictures of me and my family and so many memories and think how so much and so little has changed at the same time.

I'm heading to the casino later. I hope my financial status can change in one pull of the slot machine lever.

Treat yourself to something today. My thoughts will be with you as I celebrate the first day of the last year of the second decade of my life.

This morning I had the unfortunate displeasure of wearing freshly washed jeans. I kept wondering if my butt got bigger from all the turkey I ate or was it the freshly washedness of the jeans.

I hate when jeans are part of laundry day. The aftermath is cringeworthy.

I stole this from Wayne.

(X) smoked a cigarette
( ) crashed a friend's car
(X) Got drunk with a good friend (Don't you read this blog?)
( ) stolen a car
(X) been in love
(X) been dumped
( ) shoplifted
(X) been fired (but I was rehired the next week)
(X) been in a fist fight
( ) snuck out of your parent's house (Sneaking in was the tricky part)

( ) been arrested
( ) gone on a blind date
(X) skipped school
(X) seen someone die
(X) been to Canada
( ) been to Mexico
(X) been on a plane
( ) purposely set a part of yourself on fire
(X) eaten Sushi
(X) been skiing.. snowboarding (my favorite athletes...too bad I cant be considered one of them. wasn't very good.)
(X) been moshing at a concert
(X) taken painkillers (Wisdom teeth removal)
(X) love someone or miss someone right now
(X) lain on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
(X) made a snow angel
(X) flown a kite
(X) built a sand castle
(X) gone puddle jumping
(X) played dress up
(X) jumped into a pile of leaves (the other kids and I got in trouble because the neighbor had just raked them...oops)
(X) gone sledding

(X) cheated while playing a game
(X) been lonely
(X) fallen asleep at work/school
( ) used a fake id (went to school in India where it is legal to drink at any age)
(X) watched the sun set
(X) felt an earthquake/tremor
( ) touched a snake (ew Wayne you did that?! You are so Fear Factor!)
(X) slept beneath the stars
(X) been tickled
(X) been robbed (I caught the bitch)
(X) been misunderstood

(X) pet a reindeer/goat
(X) won a contest
(X) run a red light (pretty much every time I drive)
( ) been suspended from school
( ) been in a car crash (fender bender)
(X) had braces
(X) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night (more like an hour. more than once)
(x) had deja vu
(x) danced in the moonlight
(X) liked the way you look
( ) witnessed a crime

(X) questioned your heart
(X) been obsessed with post-it notes
(X) squished barefoot through the mud
(X) been lost
(X) been to the opposite side of the country
(X) swum in the ocean
(X) felt like dying
(X) cried yourself to sleep
( ) played cops and robbers
( ) recently colored with crayons
(X) sung karaoke

( ) paid for a meal with only coins
(X) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) made prank phone calls (I'm so bad at it!)
( ) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) danced in the rain
( ) written a letter to Santa Claus (I never believed in him)
( ) been kissed under a mistletoe (I'd like that though!)
(X) watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(X) blown bubbles
( ) made a bonfire on the beach

( ) crashed a party
(X) gone roller-skating
(X) had a wish come true (I saw Bono didn't I?)
(X) worn pearls (I'm not a pearly person)
( ) jumped off a bridge
( ) ate dog/cat food
( ) told a complete stranger you loved them
(X) kissed a mirror
(X) sung in the shower
(X) had a dream that you married someone
( ) glued your hand to something

( ) got your tongue stuck to a flag pole
( ) kissed a fish
(X) sat on a roof top
(x) screamed at the top of your lungs
(X) done a one-handed cartwheel
(X) talked on the phone for more than 6 hours (My parents didn't appreciate that phone bill)
(X) stayed up all night
( ) didn't take a shower for a week
(X) pick and ate an apple right off the tree
(X) climbed a tree
( ) had a tree house
(X) are scared to watch scary movies alone

(X) believe in ghosts
( ) have more then 30 pairs of shoes
(X) worn a really ugly outfit to school just to see what others say
( ) gone streaking
( ) gone doorbell ditching
( ) played chicken
(X) jumped into a pool/hot tub/lake with all your clothes on
(X) been told you're hot by a complete stranger
(X) broken a bone (my pinky finger...twice!)
(X) been easily amused
(X) caught a fish then ate it

(X) caught a butterfly
(X) laughed so hard you cried
(X) cried so hard you laughed (I actually do this very often when I cry)
( ) cheated on a test (peering yes. I was young then. Not all out cheating)
( ) have a Britney Spears CD
(X) forgotten someone's name
( ) French braided someone's hair (I dont know why I can't do this)
( ) gone skinny dipping in a pool
( ) been threatened to be kicked out of your house
( ) been kicked out your house
(X) have had a fantasy over someone you love as a good friend
( ) sun tanned naked
( ) ran naked in the rain

Short Post. No Time. Going Crazy.

A List of what has been going on:

1. School

2. School

3. School

4. School

5. Best friend accidentally ran over my foot with her SUV. Foot survived. Took it as a sign that a higher power is trying to squeeze the life out of me mentally and physically

6. Went to the big football game against our rival. Lost. It sucks to be on the losing side.

7. Going to see U2 at Madison Square Garden tonight!!! I've seen them once before, but not at a venue like this. I'm so excited. Wahoo!

8. Looking forward to a very happy thanksgiving. And I am thankful for all of you. Have a wonderful day!

I went to a happy hour at the grad school the other day, and I ended up talking with someone who made me think.

This girl was from the Divinity School, and she said, "If you have to struggle to acheive something then it wasn't yours to acheive. You know when you are on the right path because it should come easy. Your talent should be God-sent."

I did not agree with her. As someone who struggles in school, I did not want to. I thought about the many people I know who really struggle to find their path and once they find it, they know they achieve their destiny. I always thought the struggle is a test for you to find how strong your determination is to acheive your goal or find a new one.

What do you think?

I just got a chain email forwarded to me. Nothing to do with luck, life or death, but psychology.

You do a series of simple math problems like 53+22, 12+15...there are about 5-7 of them. At the end is the exclamation, "Now think of a tool and a color!"

98% of people think of a red hammer.

I thought of a blue wrench.

This stupid email never defined us 2% minority, although I have a feeling it explains many of my academic difficulties.

"Won't you be? Please won't you be? Won't you be...my neighbor?"

"Hi neighbor!"

CLS Boy is my neighbor. Well he's not really my neighbor, but he lives 2 suburbian blocks away from me. It is a little strange to drive by his street and see his car there.

I have seen him out of my own free will. We went out to lunch one day, and it was weird. We talked, I set some boundaries, and then he asked me to go to the Pumpkin Festival with him. I became irate, and I couldn't control it. I went off on him saying that the purpose of me going out to lunch with him was not to try again.

I've seen him off and on, so he can pick up some of his stuff and things of that nature. But the strangest part is, the whole time we were dating, he lived about 3.5 hours away from me and the moment we break up, he lives a 3.5 minute walk from me and I've seen him more times in a week than I would in a month.

Its messing with my head.

Especially since I'm talking to someone new.

Just talking.

I'm obsessed with the show MADE on MTV. I love the aspect of the little people winning. Part of it was because mentally I think I was like those people back in the day, although physically I was strong. Now its the other way around.

For those who don't know about this show thats even better than Extreme Home Makeover, each week, the show takes a high school student and transforms them into something they want to be or learn. Examples include girls who have wanted to win a beauty pageant, a football player who wanted to be a ballet dancer, girl who wanted to learn how to wakeboard, etc. The thing is, these kids are viewed as the opposite of what they want to be MADE as. So the girl who wants to win the beauty pageant is notthe standard view of pretty, the wakeboarder does not play any sports, etc. They videotape them over 5 weeks, and the finale is a competition/contest they have to be in, like the wakeboarding competition, a ballet recital, trying out for the cheerleading team.

SO I was thinking about what I would want to be MADE over as. I think it would be a snowboarder. I'm really clumsy and hate the snow and cold, but I love the way they just glide and all the jumps they do. They are really nice athletes, relaxed and fun to be around. Plus, there are a lot of good looking snowboarding men.

This seems like an easy goal, I live near a pseudo-mountain I could try, but when its cold the motivation isnt there.

This lead me to the start of the creation of the 50 things to do before I die list. So far I have learning to play the piano, climbing mt.kilamanjaro, learning how to snowboard, driving cross-country. I'll complete the rest over the weekend.

PS--Can you leave me links of your favorite websites to visit? I'm bored with all of the ones I go to and I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

In light of my newfound singledom, I am reposting an old post I wrote over a year and a half ago....(March 2004)


I am single. (This should come as no surprise to any regular reader of this blog)

It is plainly obvious that I am single. I dont hide it. I also have no significant other to speak of.

Sadly enough, there are people who believe that the lack of my discussion about any significant other in my life from my point of view, means I am hiding someone. Which makes me want to say, "Yes idiot. I have a little iddy biddy someone sitting in the far corner of my back pocket!"

Moving on. These people need an answer as to why I am single. There are 100000 other topics to discuss in life, but the one question that pops out of their mouth is...

"Why are you still single?"

You know what? I dont know. How do you respond to that?

I have figured out different ways to answer this question.

1) I am single, because I am not dating anyone. How's that for luck?

2) Me + Dipshit will eventually equal single anyway.

3) I dont like to share my bed.

4) Because I want to save all the drama for my mama.

5) Boyfriend? No thanks. I'm fabulous enough for two.

6) I know when I'm having a fat day, an ugly day, a crappy day, a bitchy day, a PMS-ridden day, a low serotonin day, or all these days rolled up into one. I dont need a second opinion.

7)If I stay single, someone may adopt me for 10 cents a day. If there are two, the cost goes up.

8)If I dated, I wouldnt be able to take the "Which astrological sign is right for you," the "Are you waiting for Mr.Right to sweep you off your feet," the "Which celebrity is your ideal mate," and lest not forget the "Are you sabotaging your love life" quizzes with the utmost honesty and sincerity.

9) Do you know how hard it is to get TWO tickets for The Lion King?

10) Because I just love hearing this question. Every fucking day.

*********************************************************

CLS Boy is officially moving 2 blocks from me on Saturday. He is going to stop by my place to pick up the rest of his things. I am real nervous about seeing him, I havent talked to him in a while either. Well, thats not true, there was some IM-ing on Monday. But it was kept short. I probably shouldn't sit near him. Should I be hospitable or is that leading him on because I definitely don't want to do that. AARRRGGGHHH. This is why I just eat. It keeps my mind and mouth occupied.

So I'm still in post-break up mode.

Instead of going into detail about that, I'm doing this Meme or whatever they are called...

I stole this from Osbasso

Directions:
Go to Google and click on the images link. Type in the following and post the first (or your favorite) picture the search engine finds.
- The name of the town where you grew up
- The name of the town where you live now
- Your name
- Your Grandmother’s name (pick one)
- Your favorite food
- Your favorite drink
- Your favorite song
- Your favorite smell

The Town Where I Grew Up



The Town Where I Live Now



My Name



My Grandmother's Name



(After seeing this I'm considering asking my Grandmother to dye her hair flaming red. It would go nice with a white sari)


My Favorite Food



My Favorite Drink



My Favorite Song



My Favorite Smells







Interesting posts coming soon...CLS Boy has found an apartment 2 blocks away from mine...stay tuned.