May 7, 2008
My sister and my mom got their nails done last week… She forgot to tell me the story of how that went until last night.
Apparently, as they were driving to the nail place, a funny conversation ensued:
Sister: I’m excited to get my nails done, aren’t you?
Mom: Yeah, I haven’t had a pedicure in so long.
Sister: Do you know what color you want to use?
Mom: Yeah, I’m going to get the same color that I always used to get when I was younger.
Sister: What’s it called?
Mom: Pussy red.
And, yeah, she’s not kidding. At first, we kept asking if it really was Pussy Red… maybe it was Pushy Red? Poosy Red1? I looked it up and, um, yeah… I guess someone got past the censorship board in the Philippines. One of the most popular nail polish brands in the Philippines is Caronia and one of Caronia’s colors is Pussy Red. And while it’s probably not a very mature thing to laugh about something so stupid, I couldn’t help myself. 
1 It would still be strange if it was named that.
May 5, 2008
I was once told by a guy who liked me that I was “exotic.”
The word made (and still makes) me feel uncomfortable because:
a) It makes me feel like an endangered species
b) It makes me feel like a Neanderthal
c) It reminds me of “Exotic Dancer”
Okay, I guess exotic isn’t necessarily a bad word. As Macbook’s Dictionary application states, it simply means “originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country; attractive or striking because colorful or out of the ordinary; of a kind not used for ordinary purposes or not ordinarily encountered.”
But, of course, a word has 2 meanings: it’s dictionary definition and it’s connotations.
Don’t get me wrong… The word doesn’t just make me think of things that make me feel uncomfortable. It makes me think of good things as well like:
a) Coconuts — everything from the scent, the oil (which my mom calls “the most organic hair product”), the juice, the husks (which Filipinos use to polish wooden floors), etc.
b) Drumbeats.
c) Yellow Bell flowers
and more! Basically, I guess I am kind of exotic because the more positive things that it brings to mind are related to the Philippines — which is where I’m from.
BUT, let me go back to the point (after reading Amanda’s comment, I realized that I didn’t really finish the point of my post)… Being called “exotic” makes me feel like I’m being thought of as some kind of unsophisiticated, uncivilized woman. I mean, I guess it depends on the person saying it and the connotations the word has for them. But just like the word “Oriental”, I try to just brush it off. Most of the time, people don’t mean it in a derogatory way.
Well… what about you? What does the word “exotic” bring to mind?
April 29, 2008
My bladder is about to burst like a Dutch dike at high tide.
Okay… I actually didn’t come up with that. I got it from Catch Me If You Can (the book) by Frank Abagnale, Jr. with Stan Redding.
But it’s true. I didn’t go to school today cuz I felt terribly nauseous when I woke up this morning (others would call it senioritis but I actually did feel sick this morning) but I’m now doing perfectly fine… and because I don’t want my Dad to think that I was just “playing sick” just so I could miss a day of school, I am currently hiding from him. I’m in my closet and I’m unable to go to the bathroom because I don’t want to be seen.
It doesn’t help that I just had 3 pieces of sushi for breakfast, a glass of water and a cup of coffee (the first cup I’ve had in more than a week) all brought to me by my accomplice — my sister.
Someone bring me a potty!
April 27, 2008
You’ve probably heard of Marlon Brando… you know, that mafia dude from The Godfather? Don Vito.
Well, once upon a time, the guy who played Don Vito was young. And boy, was he handsome! So handsome that even though he’s only 2 years younger than my late grandmother, I am in love1 with him!
It’s heartbreaking that he’s dead. I mean, just a few months ago, I was telling a friend about how badly I wanted to be 30 years older just so I could have stood a chance with Clark Gable… then, I found out on Wikipedia that he died 30 years before I was born. It took me awhile to get over that…
And now, yet again, here’s a new issue. I first realized that Marlon was gorgeous in his younger years last semester when we watched On The Waterfront in my Hollywood and History class. It was one of his more well-known roles and while many praised him in that movie for his acting skills, many of the girls in my class praised him for his acting AND his timeless good looks. I used to not like the name Marlon because it reminded me of this guy in kindergarten. His name was Marlon and he was missing three of his front teeth and when I accidentally peed my pants, I had to borrow his extra shorts. Haha. But now, I think Marlon is a beautiful name. 
Just a few weeks ago, I came across one of his screen tests on youtube. That’s when I realized that I was in love with him.
With those beautiful jaws and luscious lips, man oh man… I need not elaborate as to what I would do if I was in front of him at that time.
1 If you as much as CONSIDER on taking that seriously and then later on suggest that I shouldn’t fall in love with celebrities, tsk, tsk… Think what you will.
April 22, 2008
It has been 4 days since I last had a SIP of coffee. I’m proud of myself. Through the rain, snow, hail, cloudiness and sunshine, I was able to resist the temptation. Oh, and yes, the weather has been acting like The Day After Tomorrow brought to life. One minute, it would be snowing, then it would stop. An hour later, it would hail. 30 seconds later it would stop. After an hour, it would hail for 30 seconds again, then it would stop. Then it would snow again. Then hail. Then rain. Then it would be cloudy. Then it would hail enough until it looks like it had been snowed. Two hours later, the sun melts the hail. Then, one more hour later, it’s hot enough that I have to take my coat off.
What. The. Fudge.
Also, I keep seeing images of Jesus over and over again in my head. Okay, I’m not claiming to be seeing some supernatural stuff… But last night, I had to stare at Michelangelo’s Pieta and watch the little Pieta scene in The Passion of the Christ over and over and over and over and over again. Until 4 in the morning. I was working on an art juxtaposition essay so yeah, you can’t blame me for seeing that scene over and over again in my head.
Oh and man, my abs are so sore. I’ve been doing Pilates everyday for the past few days and I think it’s working (or at least it BETTER be) because I can actually tell where they are based on the soreness.
April 17, 2008
After school yesterday, my friend Holly and I hung out at her house and had dinner there before we went back to school to watch one of the movies that were being shown by Creating a World of Difference (a diversity club). Before we went back to the school, we decided to drop by the grocery store to grab some “dessert” — from the bulk candy section of the store. I grabbed my favorites — chocolate covered gummy bears. We also grabbed another kind of gummies1. They were labeled as “jet fighter gummies” (or maybe jet fight gummies? I can’t remember). I thought they were all just jet fighers so I grabbed a bunch of those too and then we headed back to the school.
As we were watching the Laramie Project, I was starting to get really upset.2 I tried to comfort myself with my candy. I grabbed something from the jet fighter bag. I first grabbed a blue and green jet. Then, I reached in the bag again. I got a soldier-looking gummy in a fighting stance. Okay… I ate it anyway. Then, I grabbed another piece. I almost cried when I looked at the third piece that I got. It looked like one of those green little toy soldiers — except the soldier I grabbed looked wounded and his entire leg was twisted so terribly he looked like he was badly injured. And no, it didn’t look like it got deformed in the cooking process. The details on that thing were clear and there was no mistaking them — it was a wounded soldier!
Who makes those candies anyway? And what have little kids who have seen those said? Is this some kind of war propaganda in the form of candy? Or is it some kind of sick joke? Needless to say, when I give candy to kids in the future, I will be staying away from those jet fighter gummies. You should too! Can you say BOYCOTT? lol. Seriously though, I will buy more of those soon and look for “wounded” soldiers. If I find any, I will complain to the store. They shouldn’t be selling those… Maybe I’m overreacting but maybe I just want to apply what I learned from “Why Don’t We Complain?” but I think selling gummy wounded soldiers is wrong, don’t you?
1I love gummy candy… and I miss making footnotes
2 I’ll post more about it later… In a separate post.
April 16, 2008
Alane, one of my best friends from my freshman year in Florida, had a favorite joke we always referred to as “Gwapes.” It’s not exactly hilarious but it will at least make you smile.
This is her joke (as she would tell it… other people use a boy instead of a penguin but I think it’s funnier if it’s a penguin)…
A penguin walks into a store and asks the cashier, “Do you have any gwapes?”
The cashier replies, “No, we don’t have any gwapes.”
The next day, the penguin returns to the store and asks the cashier again, “Do you have any gwapes?”
“No,” the cashier says, “we don’t have any gwapes.”
The following day, the penguin returns. Again, he sees the cashiers and asks, “Do you have any gwapes?”
“NO!” the cashier snaps, “And if you ever ask me that again, I’ll staple your feet to the floor!”
The penguin leaves.
A couple of days later he is back with a new question. “Do you have any staples?” he asks.
“No,” answers the cashier. “we’re completely out of staples.”
“Okay then,” replies the boy. “Do you have any gwapes?”
When my cousin saw my cellphone background, she asked me, “Why did you pick it?” I said, “Umm… it happens to reflect my… likes.” Likes?! I don’t like coffee. Are you kidding me? See, I LOVE coffee. My own eyes roll when I say that. Umm… a Seattleite addicted to coffee. How unheard of! But, how could I not be addicted to it?
