Thursday, April 17, 2008

Life is full of tough decisions.....


Internet showdown:
Shakira vs. Julieta Venegas
It's a tough call, but everyone comes down on one side of this, I'm sure.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Did you know?

That I haven't been on a plane since 2006? That is crazy talk to me. I'm used to going all over the place, as when I lived in Chicago I went to visit my friend in St. Petersburg FLA twice a year and went to see my family every two months or so. Since moving back to the mass of humanity on the East Coast, now I take a wicked bus/train combo that takes about seven hours (incidentally about the same amount of time it took to fly from Chicago to PVD and then drive home) but can be done at the drop of a hat, at any time of day, with no planning. Plus, it costs like $45 roundtrip. On weekends when I'm broke in New York, it's a great idea to get out of here, because I don't think I've ever spent a weekend here when I've spent that little. So I often do go visit my brothers and parents and dog, but do so these days without air travel.

Oh wait! Here's that dog!


Astute readers will remember that I did indeed leave the country last year, on a lovely trip to Nova Scotia with Caitlin, but we drove.

This is all to say, I need to go somewhere. Both the Federal and NY governments are telling me they're giving me some money back in taxes, and with the Thief-in-Chiefs promise to stimulate the economy, I am going to be able to afford to leave the country on a plane this year! Now I'm entertaining ideas... I'd love to go to see friends in Honduras and Guatemala, which is always a great trip (and Nicaragua is right there...); but I also owe Crystals a trip to Buenos Aires, as well as Tariki a trip to Kingston. The one problem is that I've been to all these places before... which really isn't a problem at all! I can go visit new things in all of these places. I do feel particularly pulled to Latin America right now... and it could be listening to this song on repeat, which I discovered through my girl Julieta Venegas. It's "Sin Documentos" by Los Rodriguez.


Here's Julieta's live version:


Ai ai ai Viva Mexico cabrones!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who sent on birthday wishes via email, comments, mail, and coming to my party. I really appreciate everyone's wishes and I had a great time seeing and hearing from everyone. You made me feel really loved.

In other news, the weather here in New York has gotten so nice! It's 70 degrees out right now and very sunny. It makes one's mood elevate. Today I went with my new favorite person and another coworker. It was so nice to be outside and people watch along Broadway.

Time to go for a run along the Hudson. Maybe, because it's later in the day, some of the red-tailed hawks will be out. Last time I ran up there I saw some common mergansers, which are beautiful and quite different from the more common mallard ducks. (Now that I'm writing this, I need to say my (luddite conservationist) brother Joao would not like me saying this, as I'm not an expert, so we really can't be sure.)

Monday, April 7, 2008

IKR!

IKR = I know right!?

Use liberally. Let's get this ingrained in everyone's mind. 4realtho!

Expect Nothing

This is a poem that Stella originally turned me onto in High School, and as it turns out, I think of it often.

Expect Nothing
Alice Walker

Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.

Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.

Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Sapo Verde

Oh hai. Today's mah birthday! I'm entering my mid-late twenties, and I'm thrilled. My life just gets easier as I get older. We kicked off the day with a call at the stroke of midnight with my friend Adela calling from Lima to wish me a happy birthday. Good timing Adela! We had a great chat about her travels in the Southern Cone and in Peru, and her future plans to farm in Northern California. Talking about farming made me miss my days on my friend Anne's farm, which was transitioning to organic at the time. While I don't have the greenest thumb, I learned a lot from Anne and ate very, very well. Muffin sent me to bed with a hug, and I slept rilly rilly well.

I'm looking forward to hanging out tonight with a bunch of friends and having a great time. PS- my crush called me last night...

Here's the Stevie Wonder version of Happy Birthday for you. When I worked in public housing in Chicago, whenever we had a birthday party we always sang this right after singing the "other" version. Clap it out.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Oil Companies

You may or may not be interested in my point of view on oil companies and their CEOs reaping record profits while people on the ground are paying record prices. My first reaction is: Where do these people learn to be so avaricious? My second reaction is best said by the Queen of Hearts: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Attitude Adjustments

This video is of the well-organized Zapatista movement taking over a military base in Chiapas, a state in Southern Mexico bordering on Guatemala. Lately I've been feeling down about power structures and social movements, and thinking that it just doesn't matter what the people think, that those in power and those who are entrenched by the spoils of their avarice will always have the upper hand, as they own not only the means of production but also the military and the police. I've worked with and been a part of social justice movements in the past, and it has proven to be an amazing education not only about politics and history, but also about what's important to me in my own life. For me, Freire's idea of praxis is about living your values. If you don't like multinational control over other countries, you don't buy their products. If you don't like how Wal-Mart has ruined small businesses in rural areas, you don't shop there. If you don't like Coke's politics, you don't buy Coke or Sprite or whatever the hell else they buy and bottle and sell under their labels. I try not to be too self-righteous as I find that repellent in others, but I do try to live the way that I see myself as positively impacting my world and the people around me. In my cyclical way of living and thinking, I'm beginning to get back to seeing grassroots movements as being absolutely critical nodes of resistance to corporate control over the most minute facets of our lives. Could just be the Foucault I've been reading lately, who says that power relations move upwards, and that confronting them in our personal lives is the best way to attack them in the larger structures that seem to control and limit us everyday. Check out this video of indigenous and rural people organized under the Zapatista movement taking over a military base. The only guns I see are held by the (scared shitless) soldiers that are overcome by these men, women, and children. Great scenes at 1:50, 2:40. and 3:20.

New developments

Hi there. So work has been very busy, but calming down, thankfully. I'm very excited about the sunshine and the warmer weather, and those close to me will tell any of you that my mood has improved greatly. If my father lived with me I'm sure I would hear him say "You need an attitude adjustment" more than a few times. My little brother Nemo came to town last weekend on his way from San Francisco de la Montana to the great state of Massachusetts. It was great to see him. We have this wonderful mutual friend named Kitty Kat who is such a doll and comes from a big family as well. Kitty's family is so nice and generous and kind; they always invite me to family functions, making sure that I feel like I have a family in this big mean city.

Before having dinner with them on Saturday night, we had stopped by Stella's in Inwood to have some appetizers, including a lovely aged gouda that we practically fought over. Stella and Kitty are perfect examples of how awesome it is that my three brothers and I share friends. Because we've had stable friendships for so long, and everyone has known one another for all of this time, it's such a beautiful thing that we get along and like each other's friends so much. In brother Nemo's case, some of his friends used to stay with us for what seemed months at a time, so those friends really got integrated into the family scene. I love that when Nemo comes to NY he wants to see all my friends, and I'm equally interested in seeing and enjoying time with his friends. I guess as Bjork would say, all is full of love.

In addition, on Friday I went to Serious Bidness's Sausage Fest, which was loverly. She herself has some great friends, and I had a lovely time ripping apart the rice krispy treat statuette and having tequila and sodas. Happy birthday dollface!

Date/ Crush Update

Hello dear readers! Thanks for bearing with me as I ignored you for so so long. Anyhow, a short update on how the date went: it didn't! Turns out I've crushed on a very complicated creature, who just got out of a bad relationship. I'll keep you kittens updated as things progress, but for now, we'll continue talking on Monday nights, and I'll continue to crush on him. But, when it comes down to it, I can't project my wants and desires onto someone else, because that's not fair. That would take away all his agency in the situation and make him into an object. And that's not how we do things, or want to do things, over here in hotchowlandia.