Internet Dead Zone

This is commentary on how the summer seems to have put a lot of blogs, including ours, to a stand-still. I hope all our readers (...and writers) come back after summer's over!

Missing

I've been taking up blogging duties recently while my sisters have decided they're taking a summer break apparently. I decided to take revenge.

And ohhhh, it was a sweet.

Oh Yeah, I'm an Artist...

Hello, all my lovely fans! aka Hello, world!!!!

Kidding, kidding.

So this summer I have two internships. I think I already mentioned this. And I've been doing a whole lot of work. Well, I've been slacking and haven't posted any of my work up lately. Sorry, guys.

Below is a promo I did for a band. It's for a show tomorrow actually. I illustrated it and everything.

It's to be used on the web. It was not printed.

Enjoy!

Mac Mini Mania

I am a PC.
(Scratch that.)
I was a PC.

Back in the day, I was strictly PC. What was this new apple thing people were always talkin' about? I liked my comfortable Dell and all its familiar things like toolbars and start buttons.

But as a student graphic designer, I began to go to the school computer labs a lot and was forced to work with Macs. I was a little frustrated. Where's the start button?! What's Garage Band?! What the hells is up with this dashboard crap?! But as I got to sophomore year, I got used to it. I got used to the speed. Used to the amazing applications that come with it for free. Used to the built in antivirus that actually works.

I was getting tired of my stupid Dell laptop. But Macs are so expensivo!!(I meant to put that "o" there because I like to pretend I know other languages) My boss told me if I wanted to get a Mac so badly, I should just get a Mac Mini on Craiglist for like $300.

It was like the word of God.

So I got one! I went to this creepy doctor's house and bought his Mac Mini for $340! It has a dual processor, 2 gb of ram, and already has a built in DVD burner! What a deal! I mean it's not the most impressive piece of machinery, but for $340 that's great. It was worth the possibility of bloody doctor murder!

My boss has tons of Mac Minis, because they're fairly cheap (half the price of a Mac laptop) and they can do whatever you want. He uses one to watch movies on, one to control the music in his office, one as a server, and one just to design on.

As you can see in the picture above, you really can use it for anything!

I was playing with mine all day today. There's all these awesome widgets you can download for free online. You can have a widget that's just a monster dancing. That's it. C'mon! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!

PS. That picture's a joke. Just in case any weirdos out there thought it was real. Hehe.

A Bloody Anniversary

Me and my Petey Bear celebrated our anniversary this past weekend. It was great. He made me this terrible chicken curry dish and we traded gifts. We ended up vegging the whole weekend and rented a few movies.

First, I chose this random movie that was just released on DVD. It's called The Road and stars Viggo Mortenson. I scanned the synopsis and it was an apocalypse movie. Me and Peter love those kinds of movies so we grabbed it and put it on. Oh dear. It was pretty good. But it included terrible things like suicide, death, rape, cannibalism.... very depressing. Hm, not a great anniversary movie...

Next, I put The Box on. I always wanted to see the movie since I've seen the trailer. It was so mysterious! Well...that was the weirdest friggin' movie I've seen since Space Odyssey 2001! I still have no words to describe it. But again, it had things like suicide and death! Bah! Can we not escape it?!

After that, Peter wanted to watch Law Abiding Citizen because his friends kept telling him how good it was. Sigh.. Once again, it was good, but there was so much death and rape!! Why oh why!

All our movie choices were so terrible it was laughable!

On the bright side, at least it's a weekend we'll never forget. Literally, those movies were haunting...

No One Sippin' on Lemonade Here!

Mothers, Mothers, Mothers. What to say about ours? All I can do is shake my head. If you want a visual, she's teeny, has boy short hair, and has a Chinese accent.

Tara has recently informed me that the couple times she's asked my mom whether she likes my boyfriend or not, she's said the same thing:

"Aw, Peter. He does everything for her. Everything! She needs to learn how to do things for herself!"

I'm just putting the pieces together now and realizing that with my mom, first impressions are key when it comes to boyfriends. She gets an idea about them from the beginning and she sticks with it. Luckily with Huz, she always just said,"He is a good boy." Tina wasn't so lucky. She said, "He knows how to talk."

I realize now that I blew it in the beginning. I really wanted her to like him so I always told her things he did for us or the house, saying things like:

"Mommy! Look Peter mopped the floors after the bbq!"
"Guess what! Peter washed the car!"
"Peter already took out the garbage."
Peter, Peter, Peter

I forgot to mention that while he was washing the car, I was making him lunch. Or while he was mopping the floors, I was picking trash off the floor and wiping down tables.

I wasn't sippin' on lemonade, Mom!

Sigh... [Shake my head]

Lost Without LOST

I was truly lost without LOST.  That show was awesome beyond words.  The ending was perfection...no one better say otherwise or I WILL throw a beet at them!  Anyway, just retiring this LOST tribute banner.  Aren't we cute all disheveled?  We should totally get lost on a island!

Note: I'm Not Racist

Recently, I've made the terrible choice of watching Prince of Persia in theater. Why? Well, we went to the theater to watch Karate Kid (My boyfriend dragged me, I swear), but it was sold out. We debated over Get Him to the Greek and A Team, yet somehow we ended up buying tickets for this movie...

But I'm not writing this post as a review. I am simply commenting on how movies like this like to take a Caucasian actor, slap a stubble on his face and beads in his hair and call him Persian. Has all the Persian actors in the world been sucked into a black hole? If they have, I haven't heard anything about it.

The actors even have English accents in the film. I mean I'm sure Persians learned English from England, although I doubt in that time period.

This all reminded me of a movie I saw a while ago. Anyone remember 10,000 BC?

All the characters supposedly in a tribe in 10,000 BC were completely mixed in ethnicity. It was like a United Nations poster. Know how they made them all seem like they were the same? They all had dreadlocks.

I mean I know they can't all go as far as Mel Gibson had when he did Apocalypto or Passion of the Christ, but C'MON HOLLYWOOD! You could do better than that!



Although I'd like to note that Prince of Persia has pretty good graphic designers on their pay role.

Nervous Parenting

Let it be known that I'm notoriously spontaneous and the fact that my boyfriend can also have these tendencies does not help matters at all.

I've recently just come back from a vacation at the beach. I saw hermit crabs and suddenly had a romantic idea of owning two little ones with that bf of mine. I was on the fence about it. When I asked my boyfriend if he wanted to get a couple with me he said, "Yeah, sure. Sounds good." That did it. All doubts went out the window and my eyes were starry with romance. We got them as soon as possible.

Lord all mighty.

Don't doubt that I love Theodore and Pigby, but holy bajesus, they are not "easy and affordable to care for" as oh so many people claim. I feel as though the general public is under the impression, as I was, that all hermit crabs need are some food and water. My eyes weren't twinkling for long! As soon as I google searched those bad boys, I knew I was in for it.

Here's an image of a proper tank:

This doesn't even list a hygrometer I had to get also to measure humidity! We've already spend over $200 on these suckers.

So here's the truth. They need a humidity of at least 70 or they can't breathe properly and they can slowly DIE. They need the temperature to be 80 or they'll DIE. They need salt water to bathe in or they'll DIE(I don't know if they'll actually die because of that, but I wanted to keep the pattern going.).

For the past week, I have been a nervous wreck. I eat, sleep, and breathe worry! (Literally. I just had it for breakfast earlier.) I've been struggling to keep the humidity levels over 70. Just this morning it was 60 then it dropped to 30! I've been laying in bed fretting because my poor babies can't even BREATHE! I haven't even had time let them crawl on my shirt or throw a ball around with them or embarrass them in front of their friends! I've been researching and researching, doing everything the websites advise to no avail! I've had dreams! Dreams no normal 20-year-old should have! Not only about how they can't breathe, but also that I don't have any shells. Websites say you should have at least 3 extra shells for hermit crab so they can change to their pleasing. If a crab wants to change, but can't find any suitable shells (let alone any shells at all!) they can get stressed out.

But I won't end this ranting post on a sad note. In the past few minutes, while writing this post actually, I figured out how to keep the humidity levels up. I simply covered the top with a piece of scrap cardboard. I feel intellectually (and physically) beaten by a piece cardboard.

I can't make fun of Tina and her worried husband anymore. I've now been begrudgingly shoved into their category (several years too early I might add) of being a nervous parent.

PS. Look at the time. It's 8:43 am. I've been know to sleep til noon. Sigh...

The 3 Witches

Several years ago, I picked up the first book of Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island Trilogy at a book warehouse sale.  The trilogy is about three witches whose ancestors created the island as their sanctuary.  However, through tradegy, these witches lost their way and each other.  The first book titled Dance upon the Air focused on the witch who had never been on the island but found herself drawn to it.  She was completely unaware of what she was and had never met the other two.  When she finally arrived on the island, the other two witches sensed it and knew instantly.  It was a feeling.  I imagined it like a shock wave...or like an electromagnetic pulse.  The pulse began when and where the witch stepped foot onto the island and then traveled outward until it touched the other two witches.

(This is just a tiny peek into my crazy head.  Scary, idn't?)

Ever since I read that book, I have always remembered that imaginary.  I already forget most of the storyline.  But I will never forget the fantastic vision of that moment when the third witch arrived on the island.  These witches...these sisters in arms finally felt complete.  Each was one part of a whole.

I think of my bond with my sisters in the same way.  They make me whole.  No matter where we are, we have that connection.  But it is only complete when we are together.

All three of us had our time away from home...away from each other.  Tina and I went away to separate colleges.  Tina moved out of state for a couple years in early 2000.  I almost went to law school in DC but decided against it.  The main reason was because I didn't want to miss any part of my sisters' lives.  I didn't want to miss Carmen and Rachel growing up.  I needed them.

Now Laura is in college, away from home. Whenever Laura comes home from college, I joke to her that I can sense when she enters the state's border.  I get that same imaginary.  The pulse.  I even have a sound effect for it.  Hehe.

And who knows where Laura will be after college. I imagine her as the witch in Dance upon the Air.  When Laura finally comes home, Tina and I will instantly feel her presence.  We will just know it.  Because she completes us.  She completes me.

*tear*

My F-List

I am a very faithful and loyal wife.  But I would totally cheat on Huz with Bradley Cooper.  But it's okay.  You see...he's on my list.  Ya know, the list of five celebrities you're allowed to sleep with.  It's from an episode of Friends where Ross, with Rachel's blessing, came up with his own list, which he even laminated.

 

Well, this weekend, Huz said I could have a list too.  It all started, while watching the movie Valentine's Day, I declared to Tina that I would totally DO Bradley Cooper.  Haha. But hey, I am a good wife. I had to get permission from Huz first.  To be fair, I let him have a list too.  =)

 

 

As this is very very important, I've been thinking super hard.  Who should I put on my list??  I mean, there are tons of celebrities that I love like Simon Pegg, James McAvoy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, just to name a few.  But they wouldn't be on my list.  Only major hottie mchotties would do.  Finally after days of soul searching, I have my list!  I'm not laminating it.  But I think putting it on the Internet makes it official.

 

Here is it:

 

Bradley Cooper - *Drool* You ever notice his sexy voice?  Well, I did.

Ryan Gosling - Only really liked him in The Notebook.  But I don't care.  Sigh...  

 

Alex O'Loughlin - From the shortlived Moonlight.  He is a hot aussie. I love it when he's all broody.

Jason Dohring - Logan from Veronica Mars.  A real bad boy with layers.  I wanna be the woman to change him!

Zooey Deschanel - Huz said I'm allowed to have girls on my list.  Tehe.  I have a huge girl crush on her.  I'm gay for Zooey Deschanel!

 

P.S. Do you have a list?  Who's on it?

P.P.S. I kid!!  I would not sleep around.  It's not like it could ever happen anyway.  Tehe.

Internshiperizing!

Yes, I like to add "izing" or "izer" to everything I do. It makes it sound so much cooler.

So this summer I got two internships! I'm learning a lot and learning fast. So far I've worked two weeks, and I've gotten a promo card printed! It's for a bar/restaurant that books bands to play for their upstairs. This is a promo card listing the bands playing for the month!


I got the prints. This is a 4.25x6" card and was also resized for a 11x17" poster. My boss gave me a couple and I'm so excited I want to hang it on a wall!

Laura Lies!

Laura is a liar!  She has broken our unspoken vow and left our sisterhood shattered.  Shattered, I say!!  The betrayal, the heartache.  Laura, how could you?  How could you?!?  LAURA LIES!

 

No, seriously, she does.  I am not just making up drama.  Really!  I found out that my dear little sister...

 

...Brace for it...

 

Tells me what I want to hear...or at least what she thinks I want to hear.  I was shocked!  SHOCKED!

 

How did I find out something so despicable??  So grotescue.  I spit on it! 

 

On my way to Tina's house one time, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things.  I bought already-made cornbread to eat.  Laura tried some and said it was really good.  I was like really...I thought it was kinda dry.  And she said no, it's really good.  Then I think I mentioned I bought it from the grocery store.  Then she asked you didn't make this?  And I responded no, and she said oh, then never mind...it's not good.

 

WHAT???  She does this ALL THE TIME!  I know, shocking, right??

 

Another time, we were out shopping.  We were looking at various things at the store.  For some reason, I pulled out my sunglasses and asked Laura if she likes them.  She took one look at me and said Eww.  I was like Why?  What's wrong with my sunglasses?  And she was like oh, those are yours...I mean they are nice.  HA!  Nice try!

 

Then it got me thinking of the other lies she undoubtedly told me.

 

What about that dress with the crazy print that Laura said she loved on me?  Lie! 

 

How about my butternut squash soup that she said was delish?  Lie!

 

What about the strappy sandals that Laura claimed wasn't "too much"?  LIES LIES LIES!

 

So here I am to spread the truth about Laura's lies.  The truth shall set you free!

In One Ear and Out the Other

OMG, Huz just doesn't listen!  He drives me crazy!!

But to tell you the truth, he probably says the same thing about me.  I noticed recently that we are terrible at listening to each other.  I get really perturbed by this.  Okay, I guess sometimes I am kinda cryptic, but he should figure it out, right??  I mean, I give tons of clues.  Tehe.

Like today, I told him I had to pick my prescription up from the pharmacy and asked him to go with me. He asked which one?  I told him it was the CVS on my way home from work. I think I even told him what route it was on.  We also drive by that CVS all the time.  Then when we were in the car and heading there, he asked it's the one near your work, right? What??? Was he listening at all?? My work is more than 20 minutes away.  Why would I make him drive all the way there?  The CVS I was talking about is only 3 minutes away.  What the heck! 

Although when I thought about it later...I realized he was willing to drive 20 minutes to take me to the pharmacy.  And didn't really complain.  Awww...

But he still drives me nuts!!

This isn't the first time.  A couple weeks ago, I emailed Huz at work and asked him to stop at the supermarket for a few things.  I told him I was going to make dinner.  Here is the relevant part of the list, word for word:

- Sweet Italian sausage
- 2 green peppers or red if on sale
- 1 onion
- Italian bread loaf

Obviously, I was going to make Italian sausages and peppers.

Anyway, later that day, he called me from the supermarket and asked me if I wanted green peppers.  I said yes, I want two but get red peppers if they are on sale.  He said that they weren't on sale.  So I said okay, don't get them.  He said okay, I won't get them.

He came home...without any green peppers!  He said you only said to get them if they were on sale!  I said no, only get red if they were on sale.  Argh!  We go back and forth like that for a few minutes.  Then I exclaimed, "What the heck did you think I was going to make for dinner???"  He actually responded "I don't know!"  He is exasperating!  I made him go back to the store and get green peppers.

So I realize this turned into a post blaming Huz.  So here is another story where we were both equally at fault...or at least that's what I say. 

A few weeks ago, I planned on stopping at DSW after work and told Huz to meet me in that shopping center.  It is on his way home, so I thought we could go to dinner in that area.  I got to DSW earlier than him and was looking around.  Then I get a call from him.  He asked me if it was the DSW near Target.  I said yeah.  Then he asked on routes blah and blah?  I said yeah yeah.

He called me again and said he was at the Target and asked me where the DSW was.  I told him the DSW was on the other side.  After a few minutes of me trying to give him directions, we realized he was in a totally different shopping center.  I was like why don't you know where DSW is??  Haha.  I realize that's a stupid question...only we women would know where shoe stores are located.  But still!  He drives by there every friggin' day.  I asked him to meet me there because of that.  Why would he drive completely out of his way???  I don't get it.  Then of course, he started pointing the finger at me.  He said I asked you if it was on route blah and blah, and you said yes.  Well, I wasn't listening, okay??  The DSW was on some route, and I thought that's what he said.

Okay, so we are both guilty of not listening.  But I think it's more his fault than mine.  He didn't get all the clues I left for him.  And and and he's a stupid head!

The Blind Playdate

My 4-year-old daughter, Rachel, recently had her first playdate. I have been holding off since my oldest didn't have hers until she was 6 years old and in kindergarten. It just didn't seem fair parading Carmen's playdates in front of Rachel and not allowing her to have any. Well, I called one of her preschool friend's mom and set up a playdate. What was supposed to be a 3-minute conversation became a 19-minute one. I said we should meet at a playground. All of a sudden we're talking about going to some indoor play yard. I ask for directions to her playground and it takes her awhile to figure it out. After finally giving me the directions, she mentions playgrounds that might be closer to me, but she doesn't know the locations. I feel like screaming, "Come on, woman, can we just stick to one thing here?" She just seemed to keep getting sidetracked. The 19-minute conversation left me regretting setting the playdate, but it was done, and I think it's for my Rachel.
The day of the playdate arrives and we're meeting them at 10:30am. My daughter is so excited and asking every 15 minutes whether we're going yet. I tell her, "They're probably just waking up," and "They need time to eat breakfast." Appalled she says, "They didn't eat breakfast yet!!!" This is only because we've been up since 6:45am. Right after Rachel's playdate, I was planning to go out with my sisters. I wanted to dress up a little since I never get to. It was almost 10 o'clock. I was deciding what to wear still. Should I wear two different outfits for the day? I didn't feel like changing again and I didn't know if I'll have time anyway. I didn't want to wear make up for the playdate either, but for the sake of time I got all "dressed up" for my playdate. When I asked my daughter if it was too much, you should've seen the look on her face when she gave me a definite yes. She also said I looked too make-uppy. Her words, not mine. As I was driving, I knew I was probably too dressed up for a morning playdate and maybe felt a little self-conscious about it. Jokingly I put on sunglasses, and in the rearview mirror asked Rachel if it was better, she said yes and told me to keep it on. 4 years old and already embarrassed by her mother.

Well, we finally arrived, and no, I did not wear the sunglasses. To sum it up, Rachel had a great time and the mom wasn't so bad. Conversation was steady, even though it died down a little after the first hour. She seemed friendly enough. Will we do this again? Maybe, but not for at least another month. Afterward, I was thinking first playdates are almost like blind dates for moms. You've never met this person and questions undoubtedly will cross your mind. Will conversation be awkward? What will we talk about? What should I wear? Will I even like this person? Will it be a torturous 2 hours? It really wasn't so bad, and I found a great playground because of it. Did I mention the huge sand box? Totally worth it.

Baby Gaga

I had to share this video.  A 12-year-old boy does it better than Lady Gaga!  And he is a cutie pie.  Watch the girls in the background.  They can't believe what they are hearing.  Greyson is amazing!

Bad Music

When people ask me what kind of music I like, I always respond, "bad music."  You know what I'm talking about...top 40s, Britney Spears, ooncha-ooncha-ooncha.  Although I call it "bad," I'm not ashamed.  I love that stuff.  I wanna sing along to words that barely make sense and shake my booty to that beat.  Haha.

A couple weeks ago, I thought the airwaves were sorely lacking in some good tunes.  One R&B song blended into the next.  Every other song was Lady Gaga.  And I draw the line at Miley Cyrus.  No thank you.

But then suddenly, there was some new tuneage on the radio. Yes!  Finally.  These are some of my favorites at the moment.

"If We Ever Meet Again" - Timbaland feat. Katy Perry

Timbaland - New Music - More Music Videos

"Nothing on You" - B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars

B.o.B - Sucker Free - MTV Shows

 "Your Love Is My Drug" - Ke$ha

Ke$ha - New Music - More Music Videos

This is a just a sampling of the bad music I love!  I don't care.  It's so bad it's good!  You know you love it too!

P.S. I started this post a week or so ago.  I didn't even have time to finish it.  Ugh. I've been crazy busy at work.  Working days and nights and weekends.  It should die down soon, and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

My Mother's Day

I have to say my Mother's Day was uneventful, but that's exactly how I wanted it. I told my girls that the only thing I wanted for Mother's Day was for them to play nicely together. In other words, "Leave mommy alone." I actually spent the day watching movies on TV. First I found "Bridget Jones' Diary: The Edge of Reason," then I watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," and finally "The Craft." All great movies by the way. This might sound extremely boring to many of you. But do you know the last time I've enjoyed a movie marathon? I can't even remember. My girls were wonderful through all of this. They played kitchen, My Little Ponies, and Potato Head, and hardly fought. Admittedly, I can't be entirely lazy, so I did clean out my drawers and put away my winter clothes. But all this was done in front of the television. So all in all, my Mother's Day was pretty awesome and totally uneventful, just the way I like it. To all the mothers out there, I hope you were blessed with peace and quiet on Mother's Day.

May the Fourth Be With You, Followers!

Laura's Blood on a Page

In my last creative writing post, Tara decided to become Hitler again and comment on me and Tina's post titles and their lack of creativity. Well I say OppositeOfHail Hitler!

I wrote this poem for one of my last assignments for my creative writing class. I just took my final, so my homework posts are over with! Sorrow. This poem is very personal to me. It's actually a poem I wrote in high school, and I completely rewrote it. Enjoy!

"A Note from Mommy to Rachel" by Carmen

Every morning my daughters MUST say goodbye to me before I leave for work. They get very anxious sometimes and rush downstairs afraid that I might've left already. Sometimes they don't catch me and I have to leave a note saying goodbye to them. I especially have to remember the note for my 4-year-old Rachel, who cries when she wakes up and I'm not there. The note makes her feel better and she stops crying.

So this morning they both caught me before I left. As I am preparing to leave, Rachel asks me to write her a note anyway. She sometimes likes to take them to school with her. I told her I had to leave and told her Carmen will write her a note and this seem to placate her. Carmen, who's so lovely, agreed and I rushed out the door.

I came home after work and found this lovely note written by Carmen to Rachel. It was so adorable, so I had to share it.

Dear Rachel,

Mommy will be back. Mommy loves you so so so much. I do too. Me and Mommy hope you have a great day at school. We hope you bring back some cool stuf. I wished I could do those stuf. Blo blo blo. And now I am done.

Love Carmen and Mommy

PS. Well Mommy didnt really help she was the one to tell me to write this to you. Now I am done.

The note was written word for word without any editing. I hope you enjoyed it.

Employees Must Wash Hands

There's a non-handwasher at work.  I run into her once in a while.  She'd be in a stall when I come into the bathroom.  And before I know it, she bolts out of there.  Without. Washing. Her. Hands.  At first, I thought I was mistaken.  Did I miss the running water?  Did she really leave without washing her hands?  After a few more chance encounters, I had no doubt in my mind.

My two co-workers and I were determined to find out the identity of the non-handwasher. Short of jumping out and going "AHA!" I didn't know how. She was a slippery one. The second I get into the stall, she runs out of there.

Finally, I got the perfect opportunity to catch her. I went to the bathroom and saw that another stall was occupied. As usual, she flushed and was on her way out. To her surprise, someone walks in at that moment. They exchange quick pleasantries, and the woman goes into the bathroom letting the non-handwasher escape. This was my opportunity. I had to ask her who she had just run into. I needed to know.  Luckily, I recognized my co-worker's shoes. When she came out of the stall, I excitedly asked her and got my answer! As you probably guessed, I was very proud of myself.  =)

Now we know the identity of the non-handwasher.  She is a temp at my office, probably in her early 20s.  She doesn't work in my department, but she sits on my side of the building on the same floor.  Now I know not to go near her or anything she touches.

This morning, she was in there again.  I knew it because she always uses the handicap stall, and no one else does.  But this time another person was in there too. She tried to make her escape, but the other person walked out of the stall at the exact same time.  Guess what happened!?!?

The non-handwasher was forced to wash her hands!!

In the afternoon, I had another encounter with her again. This time, I didn't hear any running water when she left. I mean, she obviously knows better. It's also obvious that she is embarrassed by her habit...considering she washed her hands when someone was in there.

I should put a sign up for her that says "Employees must wash hands." And tack it to the inside of the handicap stall.

So Opinionated

I spent a lovely day with Tina and her girls.  I haven't seen my nieces in weeks and gave them hugs that lasted a little longer than they preferred.  Tehe. It's always fun to hang out with them. They are both so weird and silly and of course say the darnedest things. 

Rachel, the 4-year-old, was particularly a hoot today

Because it was so nice out, we wanted to do stuff outdoors.  So we had a picnic at a park.  Then we went to a local shopping center.  After we left Old Navy, Rachel said, "I don't like outdoor malls."  Haha.  I didn't know a 4-year-old would have an opinion about that.

Recently, I've been obsessed with that show Life on the Discovery Channel.  I told Carmen all about it, so she had watched a few episodes.  She really wanted to watch it today.  Then Rachel said, "I don't like Life...I like Suite Life."  Then she added "Hello, Zack and Cody!"  She is, of course, referring to a TV show on the Disney Channel.

Insane Woman at BART

You get a poem, not a post,
Explaining why I've been a ghost
Fading in and fading out.
I'll tell you what that's all about.

It's a long story, I fear.
I've been everywhere but here.
Traveling from coast to coast,
I really had no time to post.

In San Fran, I practiced law,
deposed a man about what he saw.
Then, I engaged in odds and ends
And had a visit with some friends.

I rode the rails on BART's train,
and met a woman who was insane.
I did tons of shopping in Union Square,
And took some photos while I was there.

I came back to loads of work,
which caused me to be a jerk.
With my computer, I shut myself in.
After days, I became pale and thin.

I missed the warm light of day
and wanted to go out and play.
Alas, I was forever stuck indoors,
and it felt worse than doing chores.

Rejoice! I finally got a break.
I didn't know how long it'd take.
So we drove to visit Cuz in DC
And went to the usual spots to sightsee.

The trip helped improve my mood.

Cuz took us to eat Peruvian food.
We stood in line for some fro-yo.
Before we knew it, we had to go

The end filled me with much dread
Because I knew more work was ahead.
Just thinking about it makes me wince.
But it's no excuse for my absence.

So that was where I have been.
No excuse for Laura or my twin.
As Laura says, I've been a busy bee.
But back to blogging for the Sisters 3.

You Make Me Blush

We got two...yes, TWO "Life Is Good" Awards.  Our awesome readers, Ashley from Miss Mayhem and Malou from Toasters and Kangaroos, granted us these honors.  They are both sweethearts.  =)  According to the rules, I have to answer some questions.  What is this?  An interrogation?

Ashley asked:

1. How old are you? I plead the fifth.  Haha.  I'm 31 (Cry!)
2. Do you have any tattoos, if so, how many and where? I have one tattoo on the left side of my lower back.  It is my last name in Chinese.
3. Jensen Ackles or Jared Padalecki? Who are these people??  See answer to No. 1.  Haha.
4. Spiders or snakes?  None of the above please.
5. Sneakers or heels?  Heels...although they kill my feet!
6. How long have you been blogging?  Oh, gosh, it's been one year and three months!  I still don't know what the heck I'm doing.
7. If you were stranded on an island, and could bring three things, what would you bring?  Can I bring people?  I would bring Tina, Laura and Huz.  =)  Although Tina and Laura would hate me for getting them stranded on an island.
8. "Live well", "laugh often", or "love much"?  Laugh often. 
9. Survivor or Supernatural? (the shows)  Sorry, don't watch either.  I tried watching Supernatural when it first came out.  But it was too scary for me.
10. Ghosts or aliens? Do you think either are real?  Do you think I'm a weirdo if I say both?  Because yeah, I totally believe in ghosts and think there has to be aliens out there.

Malou asked:
1. If you could go back in time, where would you go?  England in the 19th Century.  Life seemed so grand then.  It's the damn romance novels I read.
2. What's in your pockets right now?  Nothing.  I never keep anything in my pockets because it'll look bulky and ruin my whole look.  =p
3. Who is your favorite person in the whole entire world?  Are you trying to get me killed?  Certain people will be very unhappy if I don't say them.  And you know who they are.  I share this blog with them.  Hint, hint. 
4. If you could be any age for a week, what age would you choose?  I'd be 17.  That's when I met Huz.  And we were both young, carefree and in love.
5. What's your favorite magazine?  Any girly magazine.  But I always go straight for Cosmo.
6. Are you superstitious?  No, not really. I leave my umbrella open in my house when it's wet.  I walked under a ladder without realizing it the other day.  But I do knock on wood.
7. Favorite color and why?  My answer is boring.  Gray.  It matches everything.  =)
8. Favorite time of year?  Summer is the best!  The beach, swimming, ice cream, flip flops...awesome!
9. What's one adjective you could use to describe you?  Weird.
10. What fruit do you most resemble?  Cherries.

Vulcan Sisters

I am retiring the Vulcan Sisters heading.  I want to do another one, but I can't think of what.  Any ideas??  I'll think of something...

Be Proud to be a Nerd!

So I'm finishing up a Southeast Asian Art History course this semester and we primarily learn about art in India. My teacher commented on something today that I thought was funny.

She said that when they translated Spiderman, the comic book, for India, they had to change the story line, because the Indian people weren't understanding why a boy that's so smart and studious could be an outcast. They changed Peter into a boy that came from the country and moved to the city.

I thought it was funny how society in schools today think people who slack off are so cool. I was actually thinking about this recently, because I know some people who dropped out of high school and are basically occupational potheads. And I've spoken to one of my friends recently and he was telling me careers he wants to pursue. This is not the first case of this that I've witnesses. It seems a lot of teenagers nowadays have this idea they can slack off now but in the future when they're good and ready to actually try in life, they can be successful at whatever they want to be.

Teenagers nowadays (and I can say that without including myself because I'm 20!) seem to have this general idea that things will just happen for them without work. And I'm really not saying this just because I think it, I see it.

There's this general lack of motivation in America that's kinda depressing.

So What Is It?

My photography assignment for this week was to take abstract pictures.  What the heck is abstract photography?  My first thought was objects really close up.  Right?  Isn't that what you picture too? My teacher described it as images in which you can't really tell what it is. Sounded easy enough.

I was in San Francisco this past weekend, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to take abstract pictures.  Well, turns out.  The assignment wasn't so easy.  I was wandering downtown San Francisco and didn't know what I was doing.  I took pictures of buildings and structures.  I wasn't sure if they were abstract.  When I came home, I took some random pictures of stuff in my house.  Still didn't know if I got it right or not.

I was eager to see everyone's work at class last night. However, the teacher who gave us this assignment didn't show up, and his co-teacher wasn't entirely sure what we were supposed to do or even what qualified as abstract.  We looked at picture after picture, and he didn't think most of them could be considered abstract..

So let's play a game. My photos are below.  What are they pictures of?  And which ones do you think qualified as abstract?

Answers:
1) Loose sequins - not abstract
2) Side of a building with reflection of the building across the street - abstract
3) My new flip flops - abstract
4) Cork coasters - not abstract

Laura's Creative Writing Homework

I wrote a button poem earlier and I had it workshopped. My class said most of the energy and quirkiness was on top and there was not much to be discovered as you read it, so I edited it. They suggested I give the button character more personality. I just wanted some feedback. Thanks!

Soy Sauce Chicken and Garlic Pretzel Bites

I made soy sauce chicken and garlic pretzel bites this week.  But not together, if that was what you were thinking.  Separately they were delicious, and I have to pass along the recipes.

Crock Pot Soy Sauce Chicken

I have been trying to find a good crock pot recipe for years, and I finally found an awesome one.  I turned the crock pot on before I left for work, and it was ready when I got home.  Viola!  I stir-fried some veggies and served with white rice.  The chicken was so tender and tasty.   The meat fell right off the bone.  We made a bunch, and it lasted for a few days.  I love leftovers because that means I don't have to make or even think about making dinner for a day or two.  And that is awesome!  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
8-10 chicken thighs
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 inch ginger, sliced
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese wine or sherry wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon white or black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
salt for seasoning

Directions:
Season chicken with salt and place in slow cooker.  Mix rest of ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken.  Blend and make sure that the chicken is well coated.  Cover and place in the refrigator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours on high.

Garlic Pretzel Bites

I somehow got sucked into being the birthday person in my department.  I don't know how that happened.  They said I was perfect for the job.  Ugh.  Anyway, on Friday, it was someone's birthday.  I had the idea of doing an afternoon snack instead of a cake.  We got soft pretzels and ice cream sandwiches.  Anyway, we ended up having a bunch of soft pretzels left over.  I brought some home.  Huz told me that his co-worker made garlic pretzel bites with leftover pretzels.  So I tried it.

I chopped up the pretzels.  Then I melted a couple tablespoons of butter and mixed in minced garlic and Parmesan cheese.  I dumped the pretzels into the butter mix and coated all the pretzel bites.  I dumped them onto a George Foreman grill and grilled them for 6-7 minutes.

The garlic pretzel bites were buttery and crunchy.  You should try it!  Yum.

Do you have any recipes that I must try??  Let me know.  I love trying new things...especially if it doesn't require that much work.  Haha.

Walking the Turtle

I let my turtle roam our backyard today.  Poor guy is always stuck in his tank.  So I gave him a little bit of freedom.  He seemed happy to get out.  But when I first placed him in the grass, he just sat there unmoving.  He's not used to a big wide world.  He was probably experiencing sensory overload--the sounds, the green grass, the bright sun.  But it didn't phase him for long.  Soon he started walking.  In fact, he tried to get as far away from me as possible.  That darn Wasabi...trying to get rid of me.  I don't think so.

I took a million pictures of him while waiting for him to get his fill.  Isn't he cute??

When I brought him inside, he had grass stuck in his folds.  I was picking them out for him, and he tried to bite me!  Ungrateful turtle!  Solitary confinement for you.

I Made Laura Crap Her Pants

Sometimes Laura sends me inappropriate emails at work.  By inappropriate, I don't mean pornographic or anything.  You dirty minds you!  I mean lots of curse words.  I feel like those things get flagged.  But I don't know.  I can't be too careful though.  I do work in a law firm.  You know lawyers are all about ethics and morals.

So she sent me an email about some annoying guy in her class.  She was cussing up a storm and saying how she wanted to strangle him.  Haha.  She used the F word a few times.  She even used the N word!  The horror.  In her defense, she was only repeating what her annoying classmate was saying.  Laura is not racist.  After reading her profane email, I was going to yell at her for using such language in an email to my work.  But instead, I changed the subject of her email to say "Automated Response."

The text of my email is below:

This is an automated response from LAW FIRM, LLP. Our systems have scanned your electronic mail to tara@lawfirm.com and have automatically blocked this email and any future emails from you. Words like "n****" and "f***" cannot be accepted by our systems. We apologize for the inconvenience, you foul mouth bitch.

Her response was classic:

OMG! Lol I actually thought that was real until the end!
Aw man you tricked me :( I was like oh nooo blocked foreverrr!!! what do i dooooo!!

Haha!  That was f**king awesome!  Showed her!  See, lawyers can have fun too.  ;)

Don't Kiss Your Baby

Yes, that's right, mommies and daddies.  Don't kiss your babies.  Because if you do, things are happening that you are totally unaware of.  You are transferring gross disgusting bacteria to your babies.  This article says that kisses on the lips and sharing food can give your baby cavities.  So it's just not candies that are doing it.  Parents across the world are unwittingly passing on Streptococcus mutans, a bacteria that can pass from person to person through the transfer of saliva.  When a baby's teeth first come in, the enamel is very soft and thus susceptible to decay.  The worse news is that the bacteria can thrive for years and affect permanent teeth. 


So this pretty much sucks for parents...especially those who love their babies a little too much.  Ahem, Tina.  Parents can't even kiss your friggin' baby or share food with them.  It definitely makes me think twice about it too.  My poor future babies...no kisses for you.  Sorry.  

Na'vi Sisters

I took down the "Na'vi Sisters" header.  I don't know if you guys noticed it, but here it is.

It was really fun messing with the header.  So I did it again. You like? Aren't we cute as Vulcan?  I was cracking up while I was doing it.  The hair, the ears, and the vulcan sign.  Haha!!

I was thinking of changing the theme every once in a while until I get bored of it.  And every time I take it down, I'll post the retired header and label them "Us But Better."

April Fool

I am not a prankster at all.  Not because I'm a killjoy.  I always enjoy a good prank when I am not the prankster or the prankee.  I rather just sit in the side lines.  Also, I am a really bad liar.  And I can't stand the guilt that comes with pranking.  Because evitably afterwards, I'll feel incredible guilt.  Even though I know it's harmless.  I can't help thinking that we are making a fool out of someone.

My friend from work. Not so much.  She claims she's the best liar.  Apparently she had to lie to her parents a lot growing up.  Haha.  So of course today being April Fool's Day, not two minutes after walking through the door, I get an email from her contemplating pranks on several possible victims.  As you can surmise, we didn't get much work done this morning.

I came up with a brillant plan to mess with a fellow associate.  We would tell him that the secretary overheard certain partners talking about transfering someone from our department to another department within the firm.  That the other department was getting really busy and needed more help.  And it was probably going to be one of us.  This change, if it were real, would have been a big deal.  We would tell him that we think it would be announced at the end of the day.  Then at 5pm, we would reveal the big joke.  She and I planned to go to his office together and tell him what we supposedly heard.

But my co-worker jumped the gun.  She called him about another matter and then at the end of that conversation said she had something really important to tell him.  He ended up going to her office, and she went ahead with the prank without me.  The really strange part was that, after he heard the news, he became all shady.  He said he had something to tell her after the partners made the announcement. 

What could it be??  What was going on??

She pressed him to tell her if he knew something.  But he said he'd tell her later.

Is he reverse pranking us??

But we decided to keep up with the joke.  She told me that it was my turn to go talk to him.  But I didn't want to!!  I didn't think I could pull it off.  Just blatantly lie like that.  I don't have a poker face.  It was just too much pressure.  But I sucked it up and went to his office...except he wasn't there.

A minute later, my co-worker called frantic, "He just went to the partner's office and asked him if he had a minute to talk.  And then he shut the door.  I am going to get in trouble for this."

What could he be talking to the partner about??  Oh, sh*t!

This is why I don't do this sort of thing!  But I figured he couldn't be that stupid to talk to a partner about this "rumor."  Right?  Finally he emerged from the partner's office and told us he wanted to talk. 

Then he told us the craziest news.  He quit.

OMG, is he reverse pranking us??  Did he quit because he didn't want to be transferred?  Holy sh*t.  What have we done?

So he was leaving the firm. Our prankee effing quit!  And he definitely wasn't joking.  So we confessed immediately to the April Fool's joke.  He was surprised and actually took it well.  Because it turns out he had planned to quit today anyway. Today of all days!  April Fool's Day. He almost gave us a heart attack.

Our prank totally backfired.  We didn't keep the joke going for very long.  At the time, it wasn't funny at all.  It gave us a lot of anxiety.  But in hindsight, it actually was pretty f**king funny.  So I'd say it was a good April Fool's.

You make anyone a fool today?  Or did you turn into the fool?

P.S. Huz's co-worker moved their manager's desk to the bathroom, and it was complete with internet and a working phone.  He was pissed.  He even looked at surveillance tapes just to find the culprit.  Haha.  Now they knew who did it.  And the manager's going to take that guy's favorite keyboard and put it in jello.  Awesome!

P.P.S. Google claimed that it changed their name to Topeka today.  What a bunch of jokers?  I wonder how many people fell for it.  Did you?

P.P.P.S.  A couple totally parked in our firm parking lot today for some daytime nookie!!  This man and woman drove in two separate cars and then got into her backseat.  Ewwww.  On a dare, someone from my office actually went out there to break it up.  Haha.  What is wrong with people??

A Case of Mistaken Identity

For my photography assignment, I had to take pictures of my subjects in different lighting.  Because the kids were in the bath and I was quickly losing daylight, I forced Tina to be my subject.  She was so cooperative. And I didn't even have to threaten her or anything.  I presented my pictures to my class this week and was wondering if people would think that I was taking pictures of myself.  Haha.  But no one said anything.

 

At the end of class, this woman came up to me and asked me who it was in my photos.  I quickly responded, "my twin sister."  It turns out that she is Tina's neighbor and thought I was Tina the whole time.  She said she kept staring at me, wondering why I never said anything to her and then thinking that she was being rude for not saying hi to me.  She only figured out something was up because of those pictures.  It was probably a "light bulb" moment for her.  Hilarity. 

 

This isn't the first time that has happened.  It's usually acquaintances that mix us up.  Most of the time they don't even know we have a twin.  So you see how this could happen.

 

Once my classmate from law school saw Tina and her family in a restaurant.  Tina of course was totally ignoring her but did notice that some woman was staring at her.  Finally, my classmate went up to her, calling her by my name.  My classmate was so confused.  She told me later that she didn't think I had kids but was so sure that it was me.

 

Tina had a friend from high school who I knew about but never really spoke to.  Years later, I ran into her at a store, and she thought I was Tina.  I don't know what came over me, but I played along!  Hahaha!  I guess I didn't see a point to correcting her.  I'm such a weirdo.

 

I can't help being amused by these incidents.  But I've also been in situations where someone's pissed off at me because Tina totally ignored them.  But but but...that wasn't me!!

 

You know what.  I should totally take advantage of this.  If I want to avoid someone, I can just pretend I'm Tina.  I wonder if that would work...

Imma B

I love that new Black Eyed Peas song called "Imma Be."  I was singing it the other day, singing "Imma be, imma be, imma imma imma be."  Then Huz responded, "Urra be!"  What??  I thought he totally called me a bitch.  But I realized later that he was just calling me a bee...like specifically a honey bee.  Haha.  He is so misunderstood.  I totally am a B!  This is how my rap would go.  You have to imagine me rapping.  It isn't a pretty sight.  Ready?  You can sing along here.

Check it check it.  Uh.  Yeah.  (This is me getting ready to rap.  It's standard stuff.)

Imma B, imma B, imma imma imma B
Imma B, imma B, imma imma imma B
Imma B, imma B, imma imma imma B
Imma B B B B imma imma B
Imma B B B B imma imma B
Imma B B B B imma imma B

Imma B on another level
Imma B who's rockin' it out like the devil
Imma B even to Huz, my sisters and crew
Imma B you can't change so whatcha gonna do (hah)
Imma B pissin' off all them chicks
Breakin' relationships, and imma B
throwing my drinks cause
Imma B who don't take sips
I don't need any friendships
Imma B takin them pics
You better look fly and shit
Imma B, the flyest chick (so fly)
Imma B even to kings
Imma B who blogs and sings (do it do it - okayy)

Imma imma swing it this way, (imma imma) imma imma swing it that way
This is T to the Three, and imma (imma) be here to stay
21 century until infinity

Huz Reads This Blog

I don't know if that is a good thing or not.

When I first started this blog with Tina and Laura, I would demand that Huz read it.  It felt nice to have one reader.  So sue me.  Soon he called it homework.  Or was that me?  Haha.  Lately, I haven't really been pressing him to keep up with the blog  

Out of nowhere, yesterday he told me he was caught up on the blog and read this post.  After that, he said nanners any chance he got.

"What should I eat for breakfast?  Nanners?"  *snicker*

"Tara, we have to buy more nanners."  *giggle*

"Something about nanners.  NANNERS!"  *smirk*

That last one didn't even make any sense!!

Then today he announced that he was just going to say nanners randomly for no reason at all.  He is one evil sonofabitch!

He does this all the time!  He would learn about something that annoys me.  And then he would go out of his way to do just that.  Ahhh!  I could kill him if he wasn't so damn adorable.  He just loves to annoy me!  Haha!  He's all smug about it too.

Once I told Huz how I hated when I get really involved in the movie I'm watching, and someone tells me, "It's just a movie."  After that, without fail, Huz never misses an opportunity to say that!  He never forgets. You could almost call it a talent. He's just so good at being annoying.  Haha!  He really works at it, ya know.  I have to give him that.

P.S. The urban dictionary defines "nanners" as "an awesome way of saying banana."  Ha!

Anyone Can Cook!

Chef Gusteau here sits on the windowsill in my kitchen.  When I'm at home cooking, he inspires me.  He reminds me, "Anyone can cook!"

But sometimes he gives me lip!

But he still does it with a smile.  The beautiful bastard.

Avatar "Blues"

This post is the first post of my new weekly feature on what's in the news.  There's a whole world outside of this blog that I never talk about.  I am learning new things every day.  So I thought I'd share.  And give my appropriately witty or funny comments on the topic.

I fell in love with the movie Avatar and would have recommended it to anyone in a heart beat.  But now I'm not so sure because I don't want to make anybody depressed.  I read a news article recently about post-Avatar depression (and for the life of me cannot find it).  I found this older article instead.  Apparently, after watching Avatar, people became depressed that Pandora and the Na'vi aren't real and that they can't really visit Pandora.  I was drawn to James Cameron's beautiful, utopian world and was a little sad that I lived in this sucky one instead.  But the feeling quickly passed for me.  However, not everyone was so lucky.  Some people are so depressed that they are even suicidal.  There are forums out there for people experiencing post-Avatar depression.

 

(Like my picture?  It's Na'vi Tara.  Haha!)

 

Crazy as it sounds, I think I get it.  Movies nowadays are so realistic (and often go beyond the realm of reality) and can suck you into that fantasy.  I mean, don't we go to the movies to escape in a way?  That's why my favorite books are filled with fantasy and magic.  It's my escape.  In the same vein, it's understandable that some people don't know how to get back to reality.

 

I said that our world was sucky, but I don't really mean it.  I think people lose sight of what's good in this world and dwell on the bad.  But I am forever the optimist.  Sure, we don't run half-naked and barefoot in the forests, have the tree of souls, and ride on giant flying creatures.  But there's still a lot to appreciate in the world they do live.  Hopefully, those suffering from post-Avatar depression will see the light.

 

P.S. On a totally unrelated note, my hair was butchered today!  I am very unhappy with my haircut.  I usually have pretty sideswept bangs.  But the hair dresser chopped them off.  Now they are about half an inch above my eyebrows and totally uneven. Not only that, the rest of the cut isn't much better.  I look hideous and am tramatized!  I'm going to go put on hat and cry now.

Laura's Creative Writing Homework

I usually write my poems with endstop, meaning each line would end in a natural grammatical part of the sentence. I never really experimented with enjambment, so I tried to do that more in this assignment.

We had to write a prose or poem in which something changes fundamentally at least once. Not just at the level of the content but with writing strategy. Here is my poem:

I don't want to lie. This poem has no literal or abstract meaning. I just made it up out of no where. There is no wall. I feel like people always try to look for meaning in things, especially poetry, because they need it to make sense. Well, do what you will with it. I hope you enjoyed. :]

On the Move

I absolutely love photography, especially now that I am taking classes.  I've been taking pictures since I was in grade school.  I was the girl who had a camera on me at all times.  (Though not in a fanny pack although that would have rocked!)  I was there to capture every moment...whether people liked it or not.

 

Now with this photography class, I see so much more possibilities.  And it excites me.  I can do something creative and now have an outlet for my artist side.  I do have one, ya know!  People may not see it often, but I believe it's there. It's also something outside of my mundane, everyday life at my job where I sit in front of a computer and don't venture out much.

 

I especially like my photography assignments.  It's sometimes hard to find time to do it, but it forces me to make time.  There's really no excuse not to go outside and take some damn pictures. 

 

This week, I had to play around with the shutter speed to either stop or capture movement.  I wanted to change it up and shoot a different subject, not that Huz is not a cutie pie.  I really wanted to take pictures of the girls.  Pictures of kids always get ooohhs and ahhhs.  And Tina's kids are friggin' adorable.  I only had one day to do it, and by the time I got to Tina's house, I didn't have enough light to complete the assignment.  But I did get one good picture of Carmen riding her bike.  I got this great effect by panning, which requires a slow shutter speed and following Carmen with my camera while she is in motion.

 

 

To complete my assignment, I forced Huz to be my subject again.  I shot him rollerblading on a warm, sunny day.  He had to rollerblade over the same spot like 15 times.  At the end of it, he was a bit sweaty and annoyed.  But all in all, he was a great sport.  In this picture, I was able to capture his movement with a fast shutter speed.  Oh, and he is holding a hockey stick because he didn't want to look like he was just rollerskating.  (He totally was.)

 

 

You like?