2007 survey

Where did you begin 2007?
Chicago

What was your status by Valentine's Day?
In a relationship

Were you in school (anytime this year)?
I took photography and supply chain management in hte fall

Did you have to go to the hospital?
I work at a hospital... but no, I didn't go for myself

Did you have any encounters with the police?
Yes. Ryan got pulled over on the way to Denver because we were going 8 miles over the speed limit. We were 15 minutes away from our destination and we had been driving all day. I asked to let us go with a warning but he gave us the ticket anyway. I also got a ticket for speeding driving Ryan's car. I wrote a blog about it i think.

Where did you go on vacation?
I went to Florida a couple of times, Chicago too many times, to Denver, Madison, Ames, and Puerto Rico.

What did you purchase that was over $500?
nothing, i think.

Did you know anybody who got married?
Yes. Elise!

Did you know anybody who passed away?
I went to one funeral, but no one directly related to me.

Did you move anywhere?
No

What sporting events did you attend?
Cardinals games, a college football game in Madison

What concerts/shows did you go to?
Carnaval, The Lion King

Where do you live now?
Dogtown

Describe your birthday:
I was in Florida. We went to a brazilian buffet and had the best dessert of my life.

What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2007?
Show some of my pictures in a gallery

What has been your favorite moment(s)?

Ava's birth, ryan's confirmation, traveling with my friends to PR

Any new additions to your family?

yes, a cat. his name is coqui molina.

What was your best month?
All of them were pretty good!

What music will you remember 2007 by?
Umbrella, ella, ella, eh eh

Made new friends?
A few


Favorite Night out?

when we were in madison. lots of pictures documented the evening.

Any regrets?
i dont believe in regrets.

What do you want to change in 2008?
I want to work out more (and like it), I also want to learn to cook healthier food. Start the MBA.

Overall, how would you rate this year?
10.

What would you change about 2007?
Nothing!

What did you like most about 2007?
the year i finally was able to breath financially

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
CID, a car.

Have any life changes in 2007?
i decided to get an MBA

Change your hairstyle?
I cut it short but it was to major.

Have any car accidents?
i knocked down a trash can. i like to bump into stationary objects.

Buy a new car?
no

Get a new job?
no

How old did you turn this year?
23

Do you have a New Year's resolution?
get into and MBA

Do anything embarrassing?
never!

Buy anything new from eBay?
an ipod


What was your favorite purchase?
probably new clothes

Get married or divorced?
being i love

Get arrested?
No

Be honest - did you watch American Idol?
No, I am really not into American Idol

Did you get sick this year?
no.

Start a new hobby?
somos

Been snowboarding?
Never

Are you happy to see 2007 go?
i cant say im happy to see it go but im looking forward to the new year.

Drank Starbucks in 2007?
Yes.

Been naughty or nice?
both!

What are you wishing for in 2008?
getting into a good mba program.

Breves

I slept terribly last night and of course, woke up in the worst mood I could possibly. I ended up getting out of bed at least an hour and a half earlier than I usually do and got ready to came to work. Today also happens to bring the ugliest morning I've ever witnessed. Visibility is probably less than half a mile. So, perhaps maybe it will help my mood to recount some of the most memorable accounts of the past month and a half.

Graduation
Yes, I graduated RAD Self Defense. I was hoping to get my video of simulation, in which I was "attacked" during 3 different scenarios: at an ATM machine where I was retrieving $1,000, as I was putting my shopping bags in my trunk, and while walking down frat row. I was impressed with my acquired abilities.

Back To School
As always, every end brings with it a beginning, and with my RAD Graduation came a new goal. After conversations with my Supply Chain Management Professor I've decided to say goodbye to my Masters of Engineering Management and hello to MBA. Why? It is a more recognized degree and it will give me more flexibility in terms of potential jobs for the future. I'm considering going back to school full-time somewhere other than St. Louis. Perhaps somewhere a lot warmer.

Every morning is an exercise of motivation
This is the time of the year when I start questioning my real motivations to be here. After spending one wonderful week with my friends and family in the Island of Enchantment where everything is green and warm I come back to a dark place where trees don't have leaves and every day gets colder. Seriously, my feet never get warm and with the Reynold's getting worse every winter, I will probably loose a limb before I turn 25.

Falling
And of course, the frigid weather brings with it ice. Lots of ice. I had the most dramatic fall the other day. I went running up a set of stairs and slipped only to roll down them again. I took me a few seconds to inventory my body parts and confirm that I was in fact still complete and still alive.

Curiosity killed the cat
Yet, after watching the reaction videos to 2 girls 1 cup I thought it would be really cool to watch it. After all, how bad could it possibly be. If you know what I do for a living (it involves mice and pigeons and centrifuges and fixatives) you know that I'm used to a lot. Yet this 2 girls 1 cup video is the video I should have never watched. And for posterity, Jose and Ryan recorded my reaction and posted it on facebook. To top it all with a nice cherry, I stepped on poop right after watching the video and didn't notice until I took off my shoes in my bedroom after walking around my living room and kitchen. Nasty.

How about pepper spray
When they are not talking about war in Iraq or school shootings, Miss Puerto Rico Universe makes the headlines because someone allegedly put pepper spray or some over yellowish substance on her belongings that caused some type of allergic reaction for her during the pageant competition in PR. From Ellen to the Today Show she was everywhere in day time and primetime TV. That there was no trace of pepper spray in the makeup or clothes, that she wants to get a lie detection test... I have to say, all this is pretty embarrassing. For all that Puerto Rico has to offer, I wish it made National and International news for something more than beauty pageant drama and animal cruelty.

Photo Show
To end with a happy note, here are the pictures of my pictures at the photo exhibit. It was a great time and a fun experience. I'm still not so sure what makes a good photograph, but I'm glad I took this class.

The boy and the elephant at the St. Louis Zoo

The boy and the pumpkin at Eckert's

Ava and the book

3191... a year in mornings

Being able to accurately capture the emotion of a moment in a picture has always been a struggle for me. I have been blessed with opportunities to visit places, see things, and meet wonderful people that I want to remember. I snap a picture but then when I go back home and look at it, it fails to represent what the moment meant to me. In an effort to learn how to capture emotions in photography, I enrolled in a photojournalism class this semester.

Thanks to Alejandra I found out about 3191, a visual blog that has quickly become one of my biggest inspirations and learning resources. A class project has given me the opportunity to get to know the women behind the photographs: Stephanie Barnes and Maria Vettesse. Stephanie and Mav met through the online arts community. 3191 is the distance between them. Steph lives in Portland, OR and Mav lives in Portland, ME. The name of the cities they are from is not the only coincidence between these two women. A quick look through their blog and you will find that every picture has some connection. The image below, taken on Dec. 7, 2006 unbeknown to each other, is described by the artists as the "random happening " that sparkled their project.

Left: Mav ~ Right: Step

Each morning from Monday to Friday, Steph and Mav take a picture without discussing the concepts. Then they post the results next to each other. I invite you to browse their blog. The similarities will amaze you. Each day there's something that connects each picture: the angle of the portrait, the composition, the colors, the lines, shapes, subjects... but it does not end there.

I contacted the artists by e-mail separately with the same set of questions. Check out their responses for more striking coincidences. Enjoy.

ME: Do you have any formal training in the art and science of photography? How long you have been working with photography?

MAV: I have a degree in fine art with a concentration on graphic design. in school i took one year of photography but it was all b/w and mostly i shoot in color these days. i miss the dark room to be sure! so i think i have been working in photography for about 8 years. i have done most of my professional work in graphic design and photo styling.
STEP: I have no formal training in photography. I've been taking pictures most of my adult life, but began becoming more serious about it 2-3 years ago when I got a digital SLR.

ME: What first inspired your interest in photography? What continues to inspire you?
MAV: i love an image that has been stopped in time. film in general has always inspired me and since i can't see myself making films this may perhaps be the closest thing. as for being inspired ... i am very inspired by the handmade, by baking in the kitchen, by the simple and the modest. i am inspired by everyday living and the things that most people do not notice. i am also inspired by the other artists i have
met online like stephanie barnes.
STEPH: Being able to capture the little bits of my daily life, the prosaic, everyday things, really...finding the beauty in those things. I am inspired by my family, nature, quiet, empty spaces, the everyday things I mentioned, and, of course, by other photographers like Mav.

ME: Do you rely on lighting (natural, or artificial), or do you rely on dark-room/computer manipulation?What do you think about the computer as a creative tool?
MAV: I use natural light almost entirely. with digital shooting i do some lightening in photoshop and occasionally i will make the colors richer or the saturation a bit more. with film i don't do anything. i don't like the idea of changing an image that has been taken with film... that doesn't seem right to me. with digital it seems to make sense that it can be altered ... it is, in fact, digital; it was created by a computer essentially.

STEPH: I rely on natural light. I don't even have PhotoShop, but I do occasionally balance my photos with a free graphic editing tool. I think it's just part of digital photography.

ME: Which one element/item of photography would you say is the most important to you?
MAV: the action which happens before the shot is taken ... life. i like to shoot fluidly and set nothing up at all ... i like that in my life i pull a beautiful linen out and use it and that is why it will be there in a shot. i like every day action ... that is mainly all my photography is about.
STEPH: Light.

ME: What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

MAV: food & sweets. i also really like to shoot out in the world looking up & looking down. i might not be doing anything groundbreaking but i am documenting real life all around me. real life is my favorite subject.
STEPH: Everyday things around my home.

ME: How do you decide on locations and subjects?
MAV: i don't think about it. i carry a small film camera with me at all times. for 3191 it is restricted because we shoot in the morning so i just shoot wherever i am in the morning.
STEPH: When I take my photos for 3191, it is usually just something that struck me as interesting over the course of a morning...the way the light is falling, a certain juxtaposition of objects, a mood.

ME: In general, during a session, how many pics would you say you take to find "the right one"?How do you know that a photo is really good?
MAV: for 3191 i like to take 2-4 shots and then bring them into my computer so i can see them in larger size. when i shoot digital i shoot tons of shots and i try to barely look at them on the screen as i take them. with film i shoot single images and just see what happens. i know a photograph is really good when it makes my heart skip a beat or swell. it has life. it has something that i can see and it doesn't matter if anyone else sees it. it is life.
STEPH: For 3191, I take 2-4. It's usually the first one or the last one that's the best, why is that? I'll usually pick the photo based on clarity of the image.

ME: What artists and photographers are you influenced by, and whom do you enjoy?
MAV: here is a small list right now ... Maude Arsenault, Elisabeth Dunker, Camilla Engman, Gracia Haby + Louise Jennison, Christopher Ryan, Ditte Isager, Chie Nakagawa, Lena Corwin, Ivana Helsinki, Roland Bello, Caitlin Mociun, Akira Minagawa, Ben Loiz, Karen Gelardi, Karin Eriksson.
STEPH: Oh, I'm really the most influenced by my friends on Flickr, I think.

ME: What do you enjoy the most about the 3191 visual blog?
MAV: what i love most is that it is a collaboration. i really dislike working alone on things ... i am much happier when my work is up next to someone else's or joined together to make something even better than one person could make. i love that stephanie and i share the same visual vocabulary and a love for simple, domestic ... life.
STEPH: The discipline of taking a photo every day has really helped me grow as a photographer, to notice and attempt to capture things that I would normally just pass by. I love seeing the connections between Mav's work and mine...how we play off of each other.

ME: What's coming up next for you? Exhibits? Shows? Photo shoots?
MAV: well i can't say right now what is coming up next. stephanie and i have lots of ideas and lots of things on the table for discussion. i know iwill continue to shoot photographs ... that is really the only thing i know in this moment ... as for the rest, get back to me in early 2008.
STEPH: I think Mav and I will definitely continue to work together. If there wasn't 3191 miles between us, we'd like to work as photo stylists together! We would like to exhibit some of the 3191 photos at some point...we'll see what happens!!

In the New

Today I found Jen Mac's blog In the New. Her mission: every day for a year, starting on her 29th birthday, she will do something she has never done before. I thought it was cool so to celebrate I decided to share with you something I did earlier and had never done before! Today I uploaded videos to youtube for the first time! This weekend I went to Walmart and bought my cat Coqui a toy. He loves it! I've never seen him go so crazy. After playing with it for like 5 minutes he started panting. I guess he's not in great shape. So I took some videos of him and posted them. :)

Getting Defensive, Part 2

During the spring of 2003 I volunteered with my freshman floor to participate in Relay for Life. That morning I went to the business school lounge to study for a chemistry test that was scheduled for later that week. I sat in the room, alone most of the time, while groups of student came in out out to meet for their classes. As I sat there looking down at my books, I felt a person come in. I actually smelled a person come in. My sense of smelt is my strongest sense. I remember people more for their smell than for their name, or their face for that matter. This person had very strong smell of men's cologne. But not the nice kind. The cheap bad kind. And this guy had practically taken a bath in it. I thought this was weird so I looked up. He was a black, tall male with short hair, wearing white shorts, a bright orange shirt, white socks, white sneakers, and a backpack. He sat on the table across from me. From the corner of my eye I saw he had a calculator and a cell phone. No notebooks. I thought it was weird but continued on with my studies. I hear he starts pressing buttons on his calculator. I'm wondering what he's calculating without a pen or a pencil and paper to write stuff down. But I continue on with my studying. Suddenly I hear that his breathing is getting heavier and he starts panting. I start to look up. The guy was masturbating. I quickly look back down and stare and my book. It felt like years passed while I stared at my book trying to decide a course of action. Suddenly he gets up and leave. I take my first breath in what felt like forever. I figured it was over. But no. He comes back. I took this as my signal to pack my bags and leave. As I'm leaving the building towards the student center, I frenetically called my mom who frenetically asked me to hung up and call the police. So I did. I described what happened and gave them a physical description of the guy. Continued my way to the student center and decided to hide in the girls bathroom. I called a friend to come get me. I didn't want to be alone. But my phone had no signal in the bathroom. So I walked towards the cafeteria. The guy was sitting there now. I quickly turned around, my friend was still on the phone and I hung up. Called the police to tell them the guys new location. As I left the student center a crew of police officers ran towards me into the building. I ended up back in the business school where I called my friend again to take me back to my room. Once the guy was caught I had to go back to the station and identify the subject, from every darn angle. That was weird. They had the guy handcuffed, standing by a police car. I was sitting in a van with tinted windows a few feet away. I was scared to look up and face this guy again. They assured me that with my description they were sure they had the right guy. They just needed me to look up for one second. Later that semester I got a called to testify in court. Thankfully I didn't have to do it. A written account of the incident that I gave to the police that day was enough. There was another girl on campus that had been a victim of this guy before but they were not able to get him.

I think back to this moment now, almost 5 years later. If I had not noticed his smell and felt something was weird about it, I would had never looked up to notice what this guy was wearing, what he looked like. And even after the incident, in my ignorance, I didn't call the police right away. I wasn't sure what was the right thing. I still don't know if I was followed to the student center or if it was all a coincidence. I like to think it was just a coincidence. I wish i had trusted my first impression. I thought he was weird and I stayed there. And the guy took advantage of this opportunity.

Basically that's the main focus of the RAD self-defense program. Take away that opportunity. Move away if you don't feel safe. If you feel something is weird. Trust your senses. They are probably right. Be confident. Look at people in the eye when you walk past them. You'll remember them later if you have to. Look around you. Pay attention to your surroundings.

On Saturday they thought us some 'moves'. Basic punches in case you are attacked. There's the straight punch, to the face. The palm to brake the nose or dislocate jaw. The spear to the eyes or throat. and the extended knuckles to hit the throat. These moves target some of the more sensitives areas in the body. Also, if you hit the radial nerve, that runs from your thumb to your elbow it hurts a lot. So if someone is holding you and you have one free hand, hit that area as hard as you can. And finish the punch like you are breaking the arm. Don't let the impact kill your momentum. Of course the groin area is also very sensitive and the top of your foot. So, as much as you want to target this areas on your aggressor you also want to protect them. So as much as you can, stand with your side facing the aggressor, not your stomach.... I hope that make sense.

So, thats my personalized recap of Saturday's lesson :)

Fall Lineup

What do you do when you are a doctor with 2 children, married a second time to a lawyer with two children of her own, and you start having trouble holding your family together? That's easy... pack your bags and move to South Africa, with your first wife's father. That's the basic premise for the new CW show Life is Wild. Its comical. I really wanted it to be good, but the show lost me within 30 minutes of the pilot. Here are these characters that we just met, and instead of spending some time introducing them, they throw them into the African jungle where they are almost eaten by lions about 5 times in the first episode.

So, what shows I'm into this fall? Heroes had a real good first season, so I'm sticking to it for the second. After the third episode, I still expect some more. Ryan and I have this theory that suddenly they will reveal that Lost's Dahrma initiative is the same as Heroe's company. So Sylar is really in the island now.

Tuesday's I watch Biggest Loser. My other guilty pleasures? Beauty and the Geek and America's Next Top Model. And Ugly Betty on on Thursdays.

And after every episode... ew.com makes my life complete. And that's my fall linup.

Getting Defensive.

I work at CID which has direct access to the pedestrian bridge across US Hwy 40 (I-64), south of MedSchool. To avoid parking fees, everyday I park in the residential area across the bridge and walk to my building. I've always been paranoid about walking across the bridge, specially during the winter months when the sun goes down earlier. Two consecutive incidents during the month of September make me more worried about my daily routine. So, I signed up to this RAD Women's Self-Defense class. I wasn't really sure about how much this class would help, but after my first session I feel a lot more confident. Not necessarily about my ability to defense myself if I'm attack, but in my ability to prevent an actual attack. We did a lot of theory stuff on our first day. I think I'm pretty aware of my surroundings most of the time and I have pretty good 'street smarts', but I don't necessarily know the resources available for me. So here I've included the best tips I got at my first session:

1. Program 911 on #5 on your cellphone. #5 is the only number on your keypad with a little dot on it so you can find it easily.

2. Yeah, police officers get free donuts and coffee at your local gas station. Well, by doing this gas stations and convenience stores also reduce their risk of getting robed. And if you find yourself on the road late at night and need some gas, get a repair, or have an accident stop by a Quick Trip. Most stores are also police substations, so they have a little room in the back were police officers can file reports. The chances are a policeman will be there.

3. Screaming 'NO' feels good. Try it. And if you can look someone in they eye while you are it, it feels even better. Or do it in front of a mirror. But do it from your gut. I found it very empowering. In this course I'm taking they teach us that outsiders are more likely to respond to a call of "NO" instead of "Help".

One in three women will be raped or sexually assaulted. The chance that one of us or one of our friends is at risk is pretty high. Three elements need to combine for an attack: a victim, an offender, and an opportunity. If we take away the opportunity, crime cannot happen. So inform yourself about ways to prevent an assault. I'll keep you updated with whatever I find interesting at my class.

Below are the two robbery alerts at the pedestrian bridge across highway 40 as posted by the medical school:

1.
On 09/05/2007 Protective Services was advised that a medical student was robbed at approximately 6:30 pm on 09/04/2007. The incident occurred just a few feet off the south end of the pedestrian (foot) bridge that spans U S Hwy 40 (I-64), south of the Medical School campus. The assailant grabbed the victim from behind, placing her in a choke hold. He then placed a hard object to her back and demanded money. The victim was able to give the suspect the cash from her backpack, then escape. The victim was able to see the assailant long enough to offer this description: An approximately 16- to 17-year-old, African-American male, wearing a white tanktop shirt and black or dark blue shorts. The victim was not injured. St. Louis City Police were notified of the incident.

2.
On 09/28/2007 Protective Services was advised that a School of Medicine employee was the victim of an armed robbery at approximately 8:12 PM that evening. The incident occurred just a few feet south of the pedestrian bridge that spans U S Hwy 40, south of the Medical School campus. The assailant walked up behind the victim and placed a hard object into his back. The victim identified the object as a black .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The assailant demanded money and requested the victim not turn around. The victim immediately ran from the scene, toward the campus. The assailant was described by the victim as a dark skinned African-American male, approximately 16 years of age, 5' 06" to 5' 07" in height and weighing approximately 125 pounds. He was wearing a large white T-shirt and dark jeans. The victim was not injured. St. Louis City Police were notified of the incident.

Lonely

"When I travel to the States I feel as Latina as Chita Rivera. But in Latin America, I feel more American than John Wayne. To be Puerto Rican is to be a hybrid. Our two halves are inseparable; we cannot give up either without feeling maimed."
-Rosario Ferré

I've never been able to describe my feelings as well as Rosario Ferré does in the above quote. Of course, Rosario is one of the most important contemporary Puerto Rican writers, poets, and essayists. There's no measure between her and me. Been a 'hybrid' sets you apart, you belong everywhere but nowhere... I can relate to Superman and Pacheco. I crave a hamburger and fries as much as I crave tostones & lechon (fried plantains & pork). But I feel ignorant in conversations where popular American slang is used and I often need an explanation for certain words before I can laugh after a joke is made. It takes a lot of patience from my side, and from those around me to stay on the "loop" of things. Lately the circumstances around me make me more aware of this and I feel more like an outsider. And it is hard to admit you are lonely when you have a great job with a stable income, a comfortable routine, awesome friends, a crazy cat, and the most wonderful man in the world next to you every day. But I miss my family... a lot. I feel like the distance between us has made us different. I'm not really part of their lives and they are not part of mine. I've developed new perspectives and stronger morals that each day part further away from what I stood for and believed 5 years ago, as that innocent girl from a middle class catholic school in Puerto Rico that wanted to be a doctor. I'm jealous that my friends get to share birthdays and holidays and anniversaries with their families. And even though I've been part of that sometimes, I want to have my own family... I want to have lunch dates with my dad. I want to go shopping with my mom. I want to have a drink with my brother.

I know I've chosen this life. Here. In the mainland. I know that back in Puerto Rico my personal goals wouldn't be satisfied. I am happy to here. But it is hard to be this far away. To miss out the good stuff. And the sad stuff. I miss that warmth that only your parents home can offer. I'm longing for that.

Health

I apologize that lately my blog is more about linking to other sites in the Internet that caught my attention, but I just need to point out some of the stuff out there....

Today this article is prove that nothing is impossible in our world. A man in China Man died from exhaustion after too many hours on the Internet. If this happened in America someone would be getting sued right now. I can't help but imagining people colapsing in front of computers screens around the world. Perhaps they found the way of making a computer virus escape through the computer screen?

Speaking of health issues, I also found this other article on CNN about things you must know and do when a loved one is sick. Today, everyone must be prepared to be their own health advocates and even doctors and nurses. I've had my share of crazy health issues. My personal favorite being an accidental malaria pill overdose after a doctor prescribed the wrong dosage even though I asked him twice if he was sure that taking 5 pills at once was safe. My personal advice: never go to the doctor alone and do your own research before you step in their office. As a dropped out pre-med student, I have my own theories about how the health care career must be reevaluated and restructured, but I will leave that for another blog opportunity. For now, I will recommend you read Mrs. Clinton's new health care plan proposal.

Blood Suckers in Brazil

My brother spent about 8 months this year in Brazil studying abroad. Early during his trip all his scholarship money got stolen from his bank account after using an ATM. After a lot of headaches, the bank eventually gave him back his money. Today on cnn.com they posted this article about the ATM fraud in Brazil. Hopefully no one else will go through this again.

Back to school

So, I'm starting my 3rd week of class! I'm really happy. I'm taking Supply Chain Management for my masters. It is a great class. Everything we learn is so interesting. I already had my first presentation which went great. I'm also taking an undergraduate photojournalism class. This class is just for fun and it is really exciting because at the end of the semester we will be presenting some of the work we do in an exhibit!!! Which will cross out one of my life list wishes to have a photo in a gallery! So far it's not to busy... Classes are more like a hobby I really, really enjoy. I'm sure it will start to get a little tedious when it starts to get dark and cold. But I feel a motivation I have not felt in a very long time.

Eat, Pray, Love

I've mentioned a few times in this blog my extraordinary ability to remember my dreams. And then today I read Alejandra's blog about how much she goes around life dreaming.... And I thought about this book I'm reading.. its called Eat, Pray, Love, about a woman's search for pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and balance in Indonesia over the course of one year... The reason I mention this is because while she is in India learning about yoga, meditation, religion, spirituality, etc...one of the things she talks about is the four states of human consciousness: 1. the waking state, 2. the dreaming state, 3. state of deep sleep, 4. turîya, which permeates and transcends the three states of ordinary consciousness. Only the most experienced, gifted yogi can achieve a permanent state of turiya, which is the closest you can get to be with God, while at the same time God is within you and you are God. Some of us can experience the turiya without even trying... its like experiencing a sudden happiness that you cannot explain and then it goes away without any explanation either. She says that remembering your dreams can an example of turiya... How interesting...

Now, I haven't finished to book. I just started to read about her journey in Indonesia. I highly recommend it though. Eat, Pray, Love is a memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is really, really, good. Her writing style makes you feel like she is sitting in front of you. It cracks me up. In this book you can find yourself and your friends and learn and explore where you are in life. I'm telling you when I was reading all about her Italy experiences, I was inspired to eat and cook delicious stuff. Her studies in India had me all thoughtful and evaluating every aspect of my life... We'll see where Indonesia takes me.

Spell Check

I was reading back to some of my old blog entries and I realized with horror how many spelling and grammar errors I've made... To make it up to you, I'm giving you:

the alphabet..
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

the alphabet capitalized....
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

and a bunch of punctuation marks...
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,...................;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
!!!!!!!!!!????????????:::::::::::

This way I feel redeemed because you have the tools to correct me.

Thank you!

I'm a Grad Student!

Today I got a welcome email for the Master of Engineering Management Program I applied. I am extremely happy. I won't officially be a degree student this semester though. As a WashU employee, they pay 50% of the tuition costs... but it was a nightmare to get this straight with the Beneftis department and I was not able to apply until last week, giving me no time to gather all my references. But I'm already one step in!!! I haven't registered for classes yet... I'll probably take a Supply Chain Management course on Thursdays... and perhaps an undergraduate photoraphy class om Mondays! I'll be busy, but boy I am so happy right now!

YADIER MOLINA

ORGULLO BORICUA! If you don't know who Yadier Molina is, you are definatly not my friend... kidding... Anyway, he is one of the greatest baseball players in the world. He plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. Up here, you can see Ryan, Yadier and me. Yadier is wearing the Carolina Gigantes jersey, the team for whom he plays during the off-season in Puerto Rico... We went to a game last december wearing our Cardinal's gear. We got there early for batting practice and when he saw us he came over, talked to us, gave us his autograph, and took pictures. He was awesome!!!

Below I copied an article by Bernie Miklasz from the St. Louis post-dispatch about Yadier. I was at the Aug. 22 game the article talks about. Makes me so proud to watch a fellow Puerto Rican make history. =)

Let's get defensive: Molina's unparalleled

By Bernie Miklasz

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

08/23/2007

Whether they excelled with their arms or bats or led with a bulldog attitude, the Cardinals have been served by excellent catchers through their history.

The roll call would include Walker Cooper, Tim McCarver, Joe Torre, Ted Simmons, Darrell Porter, Tony Pena, Tom Pagnozzi and Mike Matheny.

Before his career is over, Yadier Molina might prove to be the greatest of them all.

No, Yadi won't hit like Simmons or Torre, though he did have a fifth-inning solo homer and a score-tying double in the seventh Wednesday in the Cardinals' 6-4 victory over Florida at Busch Stadium.

Molina is batting .378 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 74 at-bats since July 26. Jim Edmonds won Wednesday's game with a two-run homer, but Molina's double to deliver Scott Rolen for a 4-4 tie was a pressure point that cracked Marlins starter Scott Olsen.

"That's as clutch as you can get, what he's done for a while here," manager Tony La Russa said. "Yadi is having as good at-bats as anybody."

This started last fall, with Molina's signature moment, the winning homer in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series that beat the Mets to lift the Cards into the World Series.

Molina has made genuine progress as a hitter. After batting only .216 in 2006, he's up to .282 this year. And because he's already posted a personal high for most walks in a season, Molina's on-base percentage has climbed to .356.

With Molina, offense is a bonus. In terms of defense, Molina is setting a standard that exceeds anything we've seen before in St. Louis.

And because we see it every day, we may take Molina's defense for granted. But Cardinals' opponents don't overlook him except in the voting for the Gold Glove awards.

"It's not even close," former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said, when asked if Molina is the NL's best catcher. "It's not just the way he throws people out. But he's so good, teams don't want to try and run on him. He just takes away the running game. I don't know how they could vote for anyone else."

Florida's Hanley Ramirez entered this series with 39 steals, third in the NL. He immediately tried Molina, in the first inning of Tuesday's game. Result? See you later.

The Marlins didn't try to steal a base Wednesday night. Nothing new; teams have tried to run on Molina in only 26 of his 77 games this season.

In an inexplicable and bizarre outcome, Houston catcher Brad Ausmus was awarded the Gold Glove last season, despite throwing out only 12 of 72 base-stealers, or 16 percent. Molina clipped 26 of 63 stealers, or 41.3 percent.

I'm not sure how these wise men plan to vote this season, but Molina has done enough (again) to bring home the gold. He's nailed 18 of the 34 who have dared to try him. The caught-stealing rate of 52.9 percent is the best in the majors this season. Second in the NL is Cincinnati's David Ross, at 38 percent.

It's a huge gap between Yadier and the others. And the same is true of Molina and other Cardinals' catchers.

As good as Matheny was, he snuffed base stealers 31.7 percent off the time, compared to Molina's career rate of 48.6 percent.

And when the Cardinals don't have the big cat behind the plate to pounce on the mice, they take advantage. Opponents have succeeded in 28 of 31 steal attempts against the Cardinals this season when Molina isn't there.

Molina's career caught-stealing rate of 48.6 percent might not seem like a sensational number, but consider this: the best percentage in major-league history is 43.2 percent, by Ivan Rodriguez. Molina will be No. 1, all time, as soon as he logs enough innings to qualify.

So the next time you're at Busch with the kids, point to Molina and make sure they realize they're seeing one of the great defensive catchers in baseball history.

The end of Harry Potter

I tried to be strong and avoid this social/cultural phenomenom. But after the influence of some friends and perhaps trying to recover from one of the worst summers of my life, i started.... and i finished the first 6 books in 20 days. Then I saw the movies, eveloped my own theories... and, I admit, started to write in a fanficition site. I know. I'm a nerd.

I waited with anticipation for two years.. for the 5th movie and the last book. After an unsuccessful attempt to watch the Goblet of Fire in an Imax screen in Chicago, I was determined to watch the 5th movie on the 3D screen. I failed once again in this attempt, to much deception since the last 20 minutes of Order of the Phoenix are probably the most exciting, filled with special effects & sound I've ever seen on the big screen.

I reserved my copy of Deathly Hollows the first day I was able to do so on Amazon.com and was looking forward to wake up on Saturday July 21,2007 to UPS buzzing my apartment.... Yet my parents decided to come visit me that week and I spent the weekend in Chicago.... while my copy of the book arrived to an empty apartment... waiting to be read by its rightful owner.

Yet, on Sunday evening, when I saw the book on my desk, where Ryan had put it, I was almost afraid of opening. I've been a fan for only 2 years... less than most people our there... and here I was about to read the end of the story I had become so attached to. I took the cover out and placed it in a safe place so I wouldn't damage it while I was reading, opened the book to the last page and looked at the last word. It wasn't scar. And I started reading. And it took me 6 long days to finish. Before starting that epilogue I took a deep breath... it would be over soon... And I got all teary eyed as I closed it. "And it was well"

Its been a few weeks since that historic moment... yes, historic... because I was part of the generation that started reading without knowing the end. Yeah, probably the book will be studied in classrooms, and our kids and their kids will read them... but the anticipation of not knowing... thats only part of me, and us. We were here, it became part of our lives, and we made it history...

Legally Blonde

If you are a Legally Blonde fan this song is for you. It's the opening song for the new Broadway musical version. If you download it within a week or so, its free... Hopefully I'll get to see this show in NY during labor day weekend!

Puzzle @ Craft Alliance

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my friend Leslie had been at my home taking pictures and made sketches for a painting.... Well, don't be surprised if you walk into Craft Alliance in the Loop and you see me there! The painting is displayed will be displayed until Aug. 26. Here are some pictures...





























Check out Leslie's website.

Prision Dance

Today I entertained myself away from Harry Potter 7 spoilers by looking up on youtube videos of prisoners dancing. They are almost 1000 inmates in the philipines and from what I gathered they were trying to break world records of dancing... I personally think that more people should be sentenced to entertain the workforce making internet videos... It's a good way to give back! Can you imagine real bad people doing this kind of stuff.... Maybe this should have been the prison for Paris Hilton: Here are some of my favoirites:

Algorithm March


I will follow him


Thriller

Missing Girls

64 days ago a British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared from her hotel room while vacationing in Portugal.

Yeserday another British 3 year old girl was kidnapped in Nigeria. Margaret Hill was snatched from a car as she was driven to school.

It's so sad to see news like these. Makes me scared of the future we have. I'm babysitting Ryan's nice, Ava on Sunday... a beautiful 4 mo. old girl... And one day I hope to have my own kids.... it's hard to put all this in perspective... I can't help to wonder if I'm going to be in a situation similar to this one day and it scares me a lot. I don't think I'd be able to manage... So I pray....