it's playoff season, kids

spurs are in it. about to start game 4 (up 2-1) in denver. i love my spurs.

tony parker is so hott. i hate that i still think this, but there's no denying it. i love tp.

and charles barkley on tnt. this is also a big reason for me loving basketball on tv. he cracks me up. i wish steve kerr was here with him. oh steve.

oh yeah, that timmy guy. he's got game. HA. timmy. please squash melo yellow and yank on one of iverson's tight tight braids. thanks.

wouldn't it be so cute if iverson and carmelo came out with matching braids for game five? all the spurs are shaved or cropped close. i wonder if popovich makes them do that...

ok, watching the game now.

sanantonio

been in south texas since friday afternoon.

 

i've already done mini graffiti tours in san antonio and austin, spoken to two teenage boys about their sweet rides, been poked prodded and hugged by at least 20 little old ladies (lol's) and danced the boot scootin' boogie with about 20 of my cousins.

 

time well spent with my ma, pa, bro and grams. i love them and this place. i really am ready to come back. forrealz.

 

this afternoon, after some pizza and mexican coke, my dad dropped me off at my mom's elementary. they kids were making little fiesta floats out of shoeboxes. i loved doing that when i was in school. then we went out to play in the toasty sun. after a water break and snack one of the kids asked if they could listen to john mayer (he asked in spanish) and all the other kids cheered. yes, these little kiddies love the j.may. i love that.

happy

happy cos i'll be in texas in two days with my family. it'll be warm there too. and i won't have to do work for a week.

it's fiesta week and there's tons of stuff going on. a luncheon, a wedding, and a baby shower. parades and festivals. hiking trips, movie dates and graffiti explorations.

i lived in san antonio for 16 years. then on and off for the last 8. (even though i've been working in boston the last two i still consider myself only here part-time.) every trip home is great and especially now, i haven't been home since x-mas- almost 4 months- it's like a big re-connection for me.
i need to charge up my 'hometown' batteries. climb a giant hill with daddy and just cuddle with mommy. pinch baby david. get full of shrimp fajitas and whataburgers and cherry limeades. it will all be good for the soul, ya know. it'll help me get over the grey slump of current life and get more pumped for spring in boston.

i'm so happy. feel like singing a pat green song.

(i feel happy like this only when i stop watching the news and don't troll the internet for the latest updates. still. the latest news today has me sad about the families of the dead, sympathetic to all the vtech kids, worried about all the outcasts at american college, and horrified by the number of people killed in iraq.)

manic monday

this morning i woke up to more rain showers, as was expected.

drove to work and spent the day obsessively reading news reports on the tragedy at virginia tech. i have this weird addiction to newsfeeds, particularly when something horrible happens.

this really was horrible. the first report with one dead and 7 shot, from the morning, was sad enough. being out of college for only 2 years, this setting and location is so close to what i know. the reality of it makes it scarier.

today is ending with 33 people dead including the gunman. the biggest mass shooting in us history. completely tragic.

when reading the same news report for the third or fourth time today, it hit me though- 33 people died, not a small number at all. but compared to the number dying everysingleday in iraq and elsewhere in the world its only a small sample. those people in the middle east were also just going about there business - schools, cafes, parliament- when they get killed by bombs and guns and suicide attacks. nyt reports that 34 people died in baghdad on sunday. thats one city and one day alone. these things happen everyday.

i think the repetitiveness and frequency of foreign casualties has caused me to not notice as much. i see the headlines everyday, but they never stick out. it's nothing "out of the ordinary", per se. i grew up with outkast singing 'bombs over baghdad' and for much of my life its just song lyrics and stories from far away. then things like this happen. peoples faces that could be pulled from any street in america and classic college campus scenes i recognize being shown with armed men racing across and injured people being carried away somehow help me to grasp the horrors overseas much clearer. 33 american college students and faculty, people just like me, died today. but also those 34 people that died in iraq on sunday were also like me, because they were human. every death is horrible and tragic. it's ridiculous that it takes events like today to remind me of the relative tragedy near and far every day. reminds me that i am just an ignorant kid living in the american bubble even though i try not to be. i'll just have to have to work harder. can't keep waiting on the world to change.

freaky sunday

spent all day in the house cos it's rainy and cold out. horrid boston. oh well. texas in 5 days. woohoo.

i am now fully caught up on 'black donnelly's', which they were showing on nbc, but now may or may not be cancelled. i hope not. i really like it.

turned on the tele and found 'day after tomorrow' playing on fx. i remember watching this movie the day before heading to nyc senior year. and at that time the ground was coated in snow and i freaked out anna by telling her, what if that happens when we're in nyc!?!?! what if we get stuck in the public library?!?!

now its a rainy rainy day just like the start of the movie, before the blizzard hits the east coast. movies like this are scarier when your surroundings are similar to those in the a 'scary' movie. it's so farfetched and so feasible at the same time. freaky.

favorite parts of the movie:
americans fleeing into mexico
the librarians freaking out about book burning
librarians arguing about which books to burn
every scene with jake gyllenhaal

tried to make me go to rehab

i said no no no.

i heard amy winehouse's rehab song on the radio twice today. once on the drive in to work and once on the way home. both times on fnx. both times it was the first song i heard when switching from cd to radio. and both times i had just been listening to amy winehouse's cd back to black which i am in love with.

i'm glad she's getting played cos i love it and now when i hum/sing the song to myself people will not think i'm an alcoholic or crazy. at least not totally. no more than amy winehouse

whatever.

i might go to her concert on my own next month. i think it'd be good for me to be able to attend a concert on my own. we'll see.

chocolate bubble yum?

from mcsweeney's reviews of new food, http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/newfood/#BubbleYumHersheysGenuineChocolateFlavor:

Bubble Yum:
Hershey's Genuine Chocolate Flavor

Submitted by Angela Colford

I didn't expect chocolate-flavored bubblegum to taste good. I knew better than that. I wasn't surprised by the sensation of eating a never-ending Tootsie Roll. I was only slightly alarmed by the odd shininess that the gum acquired after a few minutes of chewing. I was even prepared for the cocoa-powder-meets-inner-tube texture. The only thing about this chewing experience that seemed extraordinary to me was that, though the flavor's brand was purported to be Hershey's, the chocolate flavor waxing my tongue was oddly Nestlé-esque. Also, it cost 95 cents for a five-piece pack, which is just too expensive for something so fucking gross.

i love chocolate. but of course, one must expect this to be disGUSting. so reading this at 5pm on a friday afternoon is funny.

it's super grey and rainy out

i do wish i really did have a secret boyfriend. that would be fun.

(probably only my roomates will think that is funny.)

(i'm lame.)

btw, listening to chester french and brendan benson and loving these dudes. i like finding things on my computer that i dl ages ago...

haha... um.

these are definitely not all true for me, maybe i'm too young... still, i 'get' the jokes so they're funny none-the-less.

You Know You're From San Antonio When...

• You lost your virginity at mission drive-in
• You know exactly how to get to the "Ghost Tracks" from anywhere in town.
• You think "pro-choice" means flour or corn tortillas.
• You've never been to the Alamo.
• You think a health drink is a Margarita without salt.
• You think being able to read the Taco Cabana menu makes you bilingual.
• You used to live in a neighborhood you wouldn't even drive through now.
• There has been a road crew on your street since before the Alamodome was built.
• You remember when Crossroads Mall used to be called Wonderland.
• You've been to Midget Mansion.
• You know all about the "Dancing Diablo" and the "Donkey Lady" bridge.
• You know that Wheatley and Brackenridge is the same school.
• You remember the Captain Gus show.
• Your subwoofer has twice the value of your car.
• You have three rodeo outfits but never have been on a horse
• You're an expert with the brake pedal, but you have no idea what a blinker is.
• Your idea of culture is wearing a Hard Rock T-shirt.
• You think the last supper was at Mi Tierra restaurant.
• You do your grocery shopping at a flea market.
• You think local politicians are crooks, but you still do not vote.
• You have a "Selena Lives" bumper sticker on your car.
• You care if San Antonio is in the "national spotlight".
• A formal occasion is getting a glass with your longneck.
• You believe Tacos, barbecue, tequilla, and beer are the four basic food groups.
• You rented Pulp Fiction to escape the everyday violence of the city.
• You think wearing bows in your hair will get you a husband.
• Your White mother learned how to make Tamales & Menudo from your neighbors.
• You know the "real" definition of FIESTA is "stay home if at all possible".
• You have ordered Mexican food at a Chinese restaurant.
• You had breakfast tacos at Taco Cabana on Christmas morning.
• You remember the Joske's Christmas display.
• You remember when JC Penney's had a restaurant.
• You remember hamburgers from Whopper Burger.
• You're elementary field trip was to the Butter Crust Bakery.
• You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from San Antonio.

happy

easter.

went to church. missed the fam. played wii. took a nap. cut the cheese. HAHAHA!

went to catherine's. played boccie. prayed silently. pigged out. played more boccie. ate three kinds of pie. felt fat. played with cute puppies.

had a good time.

happy rising to one and all.

eastertide

tomorrow's easter. pretty much the most important holiday for christians. the resurrection is core to our faith and tomorrow's celebration of jesus rising from the dead his ascension into heaven makes our holy trinity complete.

(does it seem weird that i wander from talking about snow and concerts on previous posts into a sudden religious rant? trust me. this one's more important to who i am.)

tomorrow i plan on going to an early mass and then in the evening going over to a friend's house for easter dinner. at this easter there may be 2 or 3 or even 4 christians. then some jews, agnostics and atheists thrown in to the mix. kind of different from what i'm used to.

it's weird this year. it's the first time i haven't been able to go home for easter. and the first time i really feel 'out in the world' so to speak. at home in san antonio, a big percentage of people are christian. same for tams. and bc, obviously, a catholic school. even last year i had one catholic roommate. i've always sort of been surrounded by people with beliefs similar to my own.

now i live in a house where i'm the only christian. and it's not like i'm a catholic fanatic. i'm not even a very good, by-the-book type catholic. but i do have beliefs and faith and an allegiance to the catholic church. yet now i'm the odd man out it seems, at work and at home and with friends. kind of a different place for me. it's awkward having people make derogatory comments about things i believe in, my faith. and i know they aren't saying these things as personal attacks on me and they might not even see them as derogatory. they really just don't understand, don't believe, or don't agree with things i have strong faith in.

and it's uncomfortable cos i don't like to just listen to these things without arguing back, defending and explaining my position and faith. also i don't really believe 'defending' my faith should ever be neccessary. i think people believe or they don't, i shouldn't have to convince them to agree with something i find so definite and true, just hope that they find it on their own. and besides, i feel like most times they don't want to hear the other side and it can really turn a social situation awkward by talking about my belief in the resurrection and why easter is so important and so real and how the communion at church really is the body of christ, without sounding like a lunatic or a cannibal. so instead now i just keep quiet, roll my eyes, or leave the room. i don't want to 'convert' all these people to my side of things. and i don't want to live in a world where everyone believes the exact same thing. i appreciate the diversity of life and the people around me.

just sometimes, i like being in a place where i don't feel defensive about my faith. i know it's good to question things so as to learn more and grow. but sometimes i like to sit and be enveloped in common faith. at bc and home it was great because if i didn't feel like being questioned or pushed, there are always people who are more knowledgeable and more faithful right next to me, able to help out and 'show the way.' i feel like in my immediate life situation, locally more than emotionally, i am the person with the strongest faith. and it's a heavy burden. i guess that's what they're always talking about in the bible tho. bearing that mark of faith is a challenge and it/i will only come out stronger.

/end rant

so yes. tomorrow church and food and friends but no family which sucks.

BUT.

in two weeks i will be home in dear south texas. it's spring and fiesta in san antonio. i really hope the bluebonnets will still be out. i'm so excited to spend time with my parents and baby brother. i want to go to oysterbake, a parade or two, and niosa. i want to eat bean and cheese tacos and shrimp fajitas and all the paletas i can find. i plan on hiking and shopping and walking and just sitting with people i love in the sun or in the a/c. a late spring break to spend some time with the fam. SO excited, i can't wait. 13 more days. :)

why i need to move, reason #89734

it is april 4 and it is snowing in boston.

it's 80 at home in south texas.

just sayin'. there are differences. and who would actually pick to have soggy, slushy snow in april? after 6 years, its ENOUGH!

i thought of a new way to judge when it is finally decent weather - i won't have to wear sweatpants and a hoodie to bed anymore. yeah, that'd be great...

yizzooo

have a wii controller and a tennis racket. now i can play wii and real tennis. how exciting. if only i had the energy/sun. sometime soon.

ncaa championship tonight. i didn't even complete a pool and none of the teams i like are even in it. i pick florida. just cos. we'll seek.

working downtown has pluses and minuses. today the plus was yummy food and the minus was ouchy feet. we'll see what tomorrow brings...

the queens just a pawn with a bunch of fancy moves... yay! gym class heroes in may!! so excited.

easter on sunday. sad i won't be with the fam. sucks. hope we have a good one here...

south by sad west

ugh. i'm so sad i missed sxsw (as usual). it just seems like everything i read/listen to is a big flag saying, I WAS IN AUSTIN LAST WEEK-WHERE WERE U? poop. i am obsessed of late w/ paolo nutini, amy winehouse, mxpx, gym class heroes... and all of them were where. oh yeah. austin. poop.

bloggers and radiostations and my mean roomate all keep reminding me of what i missed. dang it.

big resolution for march 2008: I WILL BE AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND IT WILL BE AWESOME. ellen's coming too.

watch me hate every band there. wouldn't that just be my luck?!?
no
that's impossible. there's so many. i have to love a few. or all of them.

ugh.
anyways.
the spoon concert at mfa is sold out. dangit. and i even had rishabh willing to go with. how depressing. i need to find another show for us to go to. and i'm missing fountains of wayne where ellen and i would sing along to sink to the bottom and then i would glower with arms folded during stacy's mom. that song is whack. like ur mom. HAHAHA. i've been at work too long.

jenny, don't be hasty. no, don't treat me like a baby. i love this kid. jenny you are crazy. first i'm perfect now i'm lazy.

also i'm obsessed with 'mind the buzzcocks'. it was on the allfg top10 or something so i checked it out and now i'm addicted and watch like two eps everynight. not every episode is awesome, but on the whole they are v. entertaining and have made me laugh out loud more than once. and for some reason, addicting. i usually hate quiz shows and vh1style dumbness. but this is great.

by the way

i uploaded all my pictures from my trip.

you can find the abridged version in facebook.

a few more in flickr, where i've added ge0-tags and such: http://flickr.com/photos/florajasmine

and a full set is up on my picasa albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/florarj/UKSpringBreak2007

i spend too much time on the internet. yes.

also, music i found over there due to store soundtracks, museum lists and magazine reviews: klaxons, little man tate, and paolo nutini. recently discovered they're playing paolo on us mtv cos i just saw him the other morning before work. i downloaded all those guys and b/c i couldnt find my new teenyboppermusic, gym class heroes, anywhere i went out and bought a cd at the store! after a first listen, i decided, me gusta.

argh

annoyed.

i thought i finished up with this crap in college. ugh.

things i did/saw/ate while in UK

i walked around a TON and hit a million tube stations. tried to cover as much as possible in the week i had. did a lot i think.

check out my list:

edinburgh castle
palace of holyroodhouse
royal mile
sausage and mash at monster mash
calton hill w/ national monument and view of arthur's seat
princes st
george st
national portrait gallery
royal museum of scotland- leonardo, donatello, raphael (real life tmnt)
miniature livestock, highland cattle (on the internet)
scottish parliament
victoria & albert museum
kylie minogue exhibit
tate modern
jacket potato w/ chicken salad and cheese
walk across the millenium bridge
walk along the banks of the thames
boys in tight pants and keds
wicked in the west end
soho
portobello road
buckingham palace
changing of the guard parade
hyde park
green park
st.patty's day parade
westminster
big ben
st. paul's
v. cool punks with creative mohawks
dinner at epicurean lounge
house of parliament
london city hall
girls with flat, pointy 80s boots
walk across the tower bridge
tower of london
london bridge
guy that looked like hannibal
globe theatre
egyptian room at harrods
lunch at lazy daisy cafe
portobello market
cupcake from hummingbird bakery
shopping everywhere
oxford st
bond st
topshop
marks & spencer
harvey nichols
movie in leicester sq
cricket on tv at the bar ALL the time
picadilly
covent garden
kensal green
all of terminal 3 at heathrow

woohoo

i've got my wheels back. get excited. it looks like a brand new car except for the right side where i scratched up the door. yeah. the didn't fix that, understandably. otherwise. purty and shiny.

time to sell.

blip blip blip boom

so, my uk trip was totally awesome up until about 1130a this morning.

edinburgh was fun with anna/ wandering on my own. i saw all the highlights from the castle to the palace and everything in between. i took pics of ppl and graffiti (there wasn't much) and a pub called 'white horse'. aww.

then at and i made our way on the train down to london. it was a sleepy but pretty trip. our days in london were sunny and relatively warm. it was great. we saw buckingham palace, trafalgar square, westminster abbey, and big ben. more than a few times we had to 'step in to the map' just like joey did on their friends trip to london. we also got to catch 'wicked' in the west end though tix to history boys were way out of my vacay price range. the wicked witch had an amazing voice and the cute boy from coyote ugly was in it. so yeah, anna and i had a good time and have tons of pictures with our big heads and tiny landmarks in the background. i'll put them up when i get back to the states.

anna left me on saturday night but it wasn't as lonely as i'd expected it to be. after wandering around leicester sq, catching a movie (good german- eh) and watching the drunks in covent garden i went back to the good old london bridge tube station. i made friends with my new hostel roomates and we got drinks at the hostel bar which is constantly smoky and filled with cricket fans. so yeah, a good time. on sunday i went to mass in st. paul's and then caught a bit of the st. patty's parade along hyde park. i did more touristy wandering and then eventually made it back to the hostel to crash. after a chat w/ the roomates we all passed out into afternoon naps. one of my roomates said she always took them (v. cool obvs, like me) and called them 'granny naps'. thought that was funny. back to the bar again and had a sunday roast that was pretty ick (bar food, what did i expect) but still a good time and lots of magners.

i got up this morning with big plans to stow my luggage, hit london and tower bridges and then make my way back to the hostel to pick up luggage and run to the airport. only after walking past london bridge and across the tower bridge i got lost looking for a tube station. i shouldve gotten on at tower bridge station but i didnt. anyways, finally made it back to the hostel and then no one could find the key to where my luggage was locked up. great. that took up more time. i got my luggage down the tube escalators and ran to catch a waiting train on the platform. only this train ended up having some sort of 'medical emergency'- i think someone was having a heart attack, and the ambulance took more than 15 min to get there. by this time i had 2.5 hrs before my plane left so i went up the escalators to take a different train/route to the airport. of course 10 million other ppl had the same idea so that platform was crammed with people and i didn't get on til a second train came through. eventually i got on the right train headed to the airport but by that point i knew it was a lost cause, there was no way i could make it as there was less than 2 hrs before my plane left. i got to the virgin queue about 45 min before my plane actually took off which was at least 15 min too late. poop.

no other boston flights avail so i had to choose between flying to nyc and figuring something out there or waiting a day and taking the tues morning flight out. i went for tuesday. tres annoying but less annoying then trying to find a way out of nyc it seems.

when i left heathrow to return to the city it was snowing. i had to find an internet cafe to book a room so i did that and then wandered around oxford street for a while. then when i was ready to get a tube out to my hostel the entire station was blocked up for some reason. and it was snowing/raining. so i wandered around more shops, drank tea and read a book, and then made it out to the edge of london to this new hostel. its cheaper/older than the other one we stayed in. this one reminds me of the old wing of tams dorms. funny.

i was going to try and upload pictures now but my camera wont connect so instead i've done this long long post. i'm pooped and probably heading to bed soon. flight is tomorrow at 3p but i'll definitely leave SUPER early this time. no more close calls, unfortunate events, etc. i AM flying back to boston tomorrow. cos london's been great, up until today, but now it's just really really gross and cold and i want to sleep in my own bed. yes.

from the 'burgh

... edinburgh.

got in yesterday. after a overnight flight from boston to heathrow. then customs and a treck through heathrow. then a flight to edinburgh's airport. then a busride to at's place. a very long trip, but not the worst.

now i'm here. safely w/ all my baggage. good.

anna picked me up and we rode a double decker bus w/ plaid seats to her place in the city. after lunch at a little coffeeshop nearby we went up a little bluff to see some landmarks, climb walls, and almost get blown off the hill by the wind. scotland sure is windy! then we came to her place and i passed out to nap while she did a little school work.

last night we met anna's boy for dinner. then some of her friends for coffee a little later. one of her friends is from the same town as a one of my friends from tams. funny. everyone's been nice. :) anna knows cool kids. (obvs, she does like me, right.) walking around edinburgh is totally useful. the stuff is all pretty near and though street names change frequently its easy to tell direction by landmarks and such.

last night i passed out dead asleep (i was pooped) but this morning i was able to wander along the royal mile w/o getting lost or mugged and saw lots of cool/old/new things. and took pictures. anna worked on her paper. grad school, pshh. having to write papers again might be a bit annoying...

now anna's in class and i'm going to take another nap. just a short one! maybe wander around a bit... we'll see.