casey is a sweet calico-colored house cat that has been placed under my care and supervision for the past four days. i check in on her every other day. she's quite the people-feline -- she loves to be rubbed and pet and follows me around as i refill her food, water, and clean her litterbox. this is my second time petsitting her, and i still don't "get" cats. sometimes she bites my hand. although it doesn't break skin, it's a bit unnerving to feel sharp teeth upon one's bare flesh. its even more alarming because it happens without any provocation or prior warning. casey seems to want my attention, but now i'm quite wary of her. my hand is half poised to recoil at any given moment. perhaps she's being playful, but it's hard to tell what she'll do next. i definitely don't understand cats.
cats are cleaner, but it's much easier developing a relationship with dogs and rabbits.
on a side note, the tongue of a cat feels so strange! similar to being licked by sandpaper. definitely worth experiencing.
28 December 2005
20 December 2005
assailed by essays...
just sent out my third review of a law school personal statement. over the years i've perused numerous resumes and scrutinized undergrad/grad school essays at the requests of friends and family.
for the life of me, i cannot fathom why people seek my counsel - it must be that damned english degree i conned out of the uc regents. or maybe it was my three years of high school journalism. or perhaps it was that silly missing cat story i submitted when I was 11 years old that won a writing contest sponsored by the chula vista library.
damn cat. :)
but seriously though, i don't mind at all.
for the life of me, i cannot fathom why people seek my counsel - it must be that damned english degree i conned out of the uc regents. or maybe it was my three years of high school journalism. or perhaps it was that silly missing cat story i submitted when I was 11 years old that won a writing contest sponsored by the chula vista library.
damn cat. :)
but seriously though, i don't mind at all.
lipstick
being a mere 25 years of age, it was probably premature of me to stop wearing lipstick. i did - for some unknown godforsaken reason (maybe i was attempting to appear au natural) - and after several years of bad pictures of my washed -out, tired-azz aging face, i decided to go back to wearing lipstick. red, deep brown, mahogany, burgundy.... i need to take better care of my face - i am definitely not getting any younger.
stories to tell
if enough time was available, i would most certainly recall the events of the past few days piece by piece in painstaking detail. their significance warrants recording, but i'm lacking the patience to embark on a thorough reflection. since my friends will be discussing the same events, i shall place my trust in them to tell the story/ies. (so yes, i'm being lazy). i'll mention this though:
i love my girlfriends! it was delightful to have all of us together again. it's been far too long since we all kicked it.
i love my girlfriends! it was delightful to have all of us together again. it's been far too long since we all kicked it.
16 December 2005
where is rick starr?
i've been working right across from lake merritt in oakland for several years now and i've spotted rick starr on the street. these sporadic sightings led me to surmise that he relocated to a senior retirement home nearby. his appearance remains the same, a trenchcoat or ill-fitting blazer and hat. gone is the trademark microphone that was the centerpiece of his fame. known for his heartfelt but horribly cacophonus renditions of my way that would make andy williams cringe, some found him annoying. some found him amusing. some found him lovable, one of the interesting characters that planted themselves around sproul plaza day after day after day. eddie the preacher, the drummers, rick starr...there was something reassuring about seeing them there, a familiar something that one can always count on, a confirmation that yes, these odd characters were part of your reality, your years at berkeley.
last month i crossed his path and i finally asked him, "rick starr?" as he walked on. he paused and came towards me. "rick starr from berkeley, right?" i asked again. he nodded, then leaned towards me and gave me a kiss on my cheek. "thank you," he said. and continued along his way.
last month i crossed his path and i finally asked him, "rick starr?" as he walked on. he paused and came towards me. "rick starr from berkeley, right?" i asked again. he nodded, then leaned towards me and gave me a kiss on my cheek. "thank you," he said. and continued along his way.
13 December 2005
movin' n groovin'
i miss dancing. one of the classes taught at my gym was a hip-hop class twice a week. (as a result, my abilities have vastly improved since the days of pcn.) our hip-hop teacher, jerriel (from the local yay area dance group the architektz) apparently suffered from the same bout of chronic absenteeism that has plagued our previous instructors. after weeks --no, months -- of teaching, he just stopped showing up. in addition to his tremendous dancing skills, he was nice overall and was always apologetic if he was late or a no-show. the gym, however, needs a full-on commitment and punctuality... i think he had a few substitutes, but his fellow dancers would probably be at the same gig. i theorize that many of these instructors are up and coming dancers that have auditions or performances in the evening and have to be "on-call." or perhaps they are just irresponsible. who knows...
the class is cancelled and i'm bummed out. no booty shakin' for this girl for now.
the class is cancelled and i'm bummed out. no booty shakin' for this girl for now.
an eye for an eye makes the world blind...
an eye for an eye makes the world blind...
i grew up believing in an "eye for an eye". i always envisioned that i would support the death penalty if i was ever personally forced into that terrible position where some person intentionally harmed a loved one. i am still uncertain which path i would take and hopefully i will never be put to the test.
but i do know which path is right.
what kind of society do we live in where we build more prisons than public universities? where people are sent to prison and come out hardened, stigmatized by society, and not rehabilitated?
in the movies it seems the heroes are seeking revenge (or is it justice?) on someone who wronged them. the hero/heroine never kills them. almost every movie has a scene where they catch their nemesis in an opportune moment, defenseless and caught unawares. but they hesitate (the hero is no longer "good" or "just" if they kill them unarmed). even when they get to the final fight scene, the villain is killed by the hero only in self defense or at some point during the fight scene, the villain either 1) falls over the ledge or into the deep hole because the villain cannot hold himself up even when the hero offers a hand; or 2) is pushed during the altercation and falls back or down on some sharp projectile, usually a shard of glass . even in our imagination and art, "goodness" must not be tainted by killing a defenseless man, even in seeking justice.
i grew up believing in an "eye for an eye". i always envisioned that i would support the death penalty if i was ever personally forced into that terrible position where some person intentionally harmed a loved one. i am still uncertain which path i would take and hopefully i will never be put to the test.
but i do know which path is right.
what kind of society do we live in where we build more prisons than public universities? where people are sent to prison and come out hardened, stigmatized by society, and not rehabilitated?
in the movies it seems the heroes are seeking revenge (or is it justice?) on someone who wronged them. the hero/heroine never kills them. almost every movie has a scene where they catch their nemesis in an opportune moment, defenseless and caught unawares. but they hesitate (the hero is no longer "good" or "just" if they kill them unarmed). even when they get to the final fight scene, the villain is killed by the hero only in self defense or at some point during the fight scene, the villain either 1) falls over the ledge or into the deep hole because the villain cannot hold himself up even when the hero offers a hand; or 2) is pushed during the altercation and falls back or down on some sharp projectile, usually a shard of glass . even in our imagination and art, "goodness" must not be tainted by killing a defenseless man, even in seeking justice.
12 December 2005
o' christmas tree, o' christmas tree...
this weekend actually marked the start of my holiday season (yes, i am a procrastinator.) :). after tagging along with chris and his mother to buy their tree, i was inspired to buy my very own tree, a two-foot tall "living" christmas tree, a mondell pine originating from pinery tree farms in the winter wonderland that is escondido. ..yes, the very same escondido of distillery (or distillery's east?)- nightclub-for-the-eighteen-&-up fame (for all the san diegans out there). so much for the romantic allure of a whimsical white christmas. its california. at any rate, i have a live tree that i can plant after all the garland and plastic wreaths are packed away. the only christmas tree i had previously is a faux miniature tree, about a foot high, decorated with homemade crafts made with a bit of love, a touch of humor and a load of cyncisim by my good friend johanna. many memories symbolized in that tree, born the winter of our freshman year at berkeley. ahh the good ol' days of silly sarcastic sardonic humor shared between the GRAMS girls. :) unfortunately i am unable to locate it. i have a ton of crap, so hopefully its in some dark long-neglected corner of my room and not forever lost.
actually chris' mother bought the tree for me (so very nice of her!) and today i purchased five sets of ornaments to hang on my tree, in addition to the three ornaments i collected over the years (two pillsbury doughboy & a 2003 hershey's chocolate bar with four sitting bears) . i borrowed some lights from the torres family. the ornaments cost twice as much as the actual tree, but they're really cute. since my tree is small, they had to be miniature too. I bought a set of the dog ornaments. true to its trademark bloated-up head, there were five little pups (among them a golden retriever, pug, scottish terrier) accented with little christmas accessories. another set was the characters from the old-school claymation tv movie rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. the remaining two were both hello kitty in various winter outfits. i am so very excited that i took the time out to decorate a little bit for the holidays. usually i don't even bother. i even helped chris and his mom decorate their tree and put lights in their front yard.
the other aspect of the holidays are the frequent trips to the shopping mall. problem is that both chris and i have not gotten any gifts for anyone on our lists! the sales have not been good enough, and the only fairly good deals we've found have been for items for ourselves. we went to bloomingdales and he bought a wool coat and some ties that were all on sale. the cool thing was he found some ted baker ties that were really cool looking and fairly inexpensive. normally we wouldn't even bother with ted baker (too expensive!)-i only heard of him because he's one of aubrey's favorite designers. we later ventured to macys since it was open til midnight and i found myself in the designer section for some reason (its located by women's athletics and i had been rummaging the sale racks for some workout gear). i found this cute orange crochet-like tank top by marc jacobs for about $30 - original price was $188! so i figured it was worth a splurge. i also bought some tag jeans (another splurge) that had a double waist design (i saw it somewhere else, so i guess that's the in thing. more of a fashion statement than actually serving a purpose) and an adidas windbreaker.
switching gears...chris discovered a l&l hawaiian barbecue in palo alto, down along el camino close to his house. apparently in recent years hawaiian bbq restaurants have been mysteriously popping up along the south bay and peninsula faster than a starbucks (well, not quite as fast). there is another restaurant, hukilau(sp?) in downtown pa, another one in mountain view with another one coming soon on castro st, and one in menlo park (i think its a j&js).
actually chris' mother bought the tree for me (so very nice of her!) and today i purchased five sets of ornaments to hang on my tree, in addition to the three ornaments i collected over the years (two pillsbury doughboy & a 2003 hershey's chocolate bar with four sitting bears) . i borrowed some lights from the torres family. the ornaments cost twice as much as the actual tree, but they're really cute. since my tree is small, they had to be miniature too. I bought a set of the dog ornaments. true to its trademark bloated-up head, there were five little pups (among them a golden retriever, pug, scottish terrier) accented with little christmas accessories. another set was the characters from the old-school claymation tv movie rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. the remaining two were both hello kitty in various winter outfits. i am so very excited that i took the time out to decorate a little bit for the holidays. usually i don't even bother. i even helped chris and his mom decorate their tree and put lights in their front yard.
the other aspect of the holidays are the frequent trips to the shopping mall. problem is that both chris and i have not gotten any gifts for anyone on our lists! the sales have not been good enough, and the only fairly good deals we've found have been for items for ourselves. we went to bloomingdales and he bought a wool coat and some ties that were all on sale. the cool thing was he found some ted baker ties that were really cool looking and fairly inexpensive. normally we wouldn't even bother with ted baker (too expensive!)-i only heard of him because he's one of aubrey's favorite designers. we later ventured to macys since it was open til midnight and i found myself in the designer section for some reason (its located by women's athletics and i had been rummaging the sale racks for some workout gear). i found this cute orange crochet-like tank top by marc jacobs for about $30 - original price was $188! so i figured it was worth a splurge. i also bought some tag jeans (another splurge) that had a double waist design (i saw it somewhere else, so i guess that's the in thing. more of a fashion statement than actually serving a purpose) and an adidas windbreaker.
switching gears...chris discovered a l&l hawaiian barbecue in palo alto, down along el camino close to his house. apparently in recent years hawaiian bbq restaurants have been mysteriously popping up along the south bay and peninsula faster than a starbucks (well, not quite as fast). there is another restaurant, hukilau(sp?) in downtown pa, another one in mountain view with another one coming soon on castro st, and one in menlo park (i think its a j&js).
09 December 2005
jot down
songs i'm listening to:
ultimate songs
- yellowcard - ocean avenue
- switchfoot - meant to live
- chris brown - run it
- christina milian - dip it low
- gorillaz - feel good inc
ultimate songs
- (Philip Steir Remix) — Seals & Croft 1972 hit with a new beat and some bass, not much of a remix, but still classic- summer breeze
- don henley/atari? remix - boys of summer [for spin class]
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