The hidden face of the moon

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T11:32:00.000-08:00

Life in the dating world had be start this year with a person that left a deep mark in me. We were together until my love just wasn't enough to fill the emptiness that he felt. It was hard to understand that giving all of me wasn't enough for him. However, now that I see things from the outside, I know how fraked that relationship was. How our communication was non-existent, especially when it came to matters of the heart. We had fun and we talked about trivial things all the time. Yet, there was never a talk about our feelings; we never made plans for the future; there was always the thought behind my back that it was going to end. It still took a lot of will power on my part to leave. He didn't fight back and that was probably what truly ended it for me. Realizing that he didn't love me at all was what allowed me to start moving on.

I didn't expect anything to happen but, against all odds, I met someone. In a short time he has showed me how important it is to communicate, to open up, to not hide my feelings. It took me a while to be able to really let him in. He was persistent in tearing down the wall I had raised in front of me because he could see inside through a tiny window I left there. He knew it was worth it, he knew I was worth it. No, it is not perfect, it is a lot of work but, working together makes any burden disappear. Little by little my heart is mending.

For the first time in my life I know how reciprocated love feels like. There is nothing else like it.

B, I want to thank you for being patient with me, for not let me go, for making me realize that I am worthy of being loved, for giving me the chance of helping you in the process too, for making me happy. I'm not afraid to say "te amo" anymore. Gracias mi amor and I hope this year brings us closer together and happier than ever. I love you.

Birthday

2011-11-27T18:43:00.001-08:00

A big deal? Yes, my birthday is always a big deal. It is a reminder of different times. It is when I remember how my Dad was so happy that he filled my Mom's hospital room with flowers, that he published a note in the newspaper thanking the medical staff that help me and my Mom that night. He also congratulated the other women that gave birth that night, they all had boys by the way. It is a time when I remember how I would go say Feliz Cumpleaños Tata! and he would answer back "a ti tambien niña" (to you too little girl) (even when I was over 20).
Those times are gone and this year I can't even celebrate with my family. I can't get my Mom to make me my favorite meal or a yummy cheesecake. I'm a little homesick and sad to not have them or my best friends with me. This year it doesn't feel like a big deal, it feels like any other day going to the lab, being a little sick on top of that. And it sucks! Oh well, I guess I can't expect anyone to be as excited about it as me. Is time to realize I'm not turning 5. Reality...checked!

Enchiladas de Mole

2011-10-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Talking about food the other day with my friends Jenn, Genie and Claire I thought I should post my recipe for enchiladas de mole here so everyone can see it and hopefully make it. I must confess first that I cheat when making mole and use flask one...just like 99% of Mexicans who make mole :-P. Making mole from scratch is absolute insanity as it's made with over 17 ingredients that range from several types of peppers, tortillas, different kinds of nut and, of course, chocolate. Lets start with the cheating recipe:

First I boil chicken breasts in water with some cilantro, onion and chicken bouillon. Note, you only use part of the cilantro but don't let the rest go to waste, you can divide it up, put it in ziploc bags and freeze it, it will be perfect for another time you are doing chicken soup or more mole ;-). Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked take the breasts and shred them. Filter out the onion and the cilantro but keep the broth! You might want to wait for a while to shred the chicken if you are doing it by hand, it's hot!

You need 2 very key ingredients, first of all the Mole paste; I use Mole Doña Maria. It usually comes in a glass with an aluminum lid. The second one is Chocolate Abuelita (Ibarra is also good), not only the best chocolate for hot cocoa but absolutely necessary for a good mole. On a frying pan pour about a cup and a half of the chicken broth at medium heat. Add 1/2 tablet of chocolate Abuelita (I have never done it with cocoa and I don't think it will work because this particular chocolate adds thickness to the sauce on top of the awesome flavor). Add 2-3 spoons of the mole paste, the amount depends on how thick you want your sauce, for enchiladas is preferable that the sauce is thick so it stays on the tortillas better. Keep moving the broth with the ingredients on it until the past and the chocolate dissolve making the sauce. I usually cook with no salt or very little and in this case none as the past has enough for me but you might want to try if it's good for you.

Once the sauce has a good consistency leave it boiling at the lowest heat you can. In another frying pan add vegetable oil (olive oil would ruin the flavor) and heat it up to high heat. Take a corn tortilla (I do not approve of substitutions here) and "pass" it through the hot oil. Here it depends on how much you want to fry the tortilla, I like them just a tad crispy but don't let them become tostadas or you won't be able to roll them. Once the tortilla is slightly fried on both sides pass it through the mole sauce. I don't flip over the tortilla because that tends to make them rip. Instead I do one side and take a little bit of the sauce and put it on the inside part of the tortilla. Add some shredded chicken (don't forget to warm it up if it's already cold) to one end of the tortilla and roll it up. Add some cheese, in Mexico I would use queso fresco (a crumbly cheese) but here I use mozzarella, you can also add raw onions and sour cream (not a fan of the latter so I skip it). Repeat the process for however many enchiladas you want and listo!

You can accompany the enchiladas with Mexican rice. Mole sauce is very versatile, if you don't want enchiladas you can just pour it on top of cooked chicken or use it as a bbq kind of thing for shredded beef. On top of rice and add some lime juice to it is fabulous! Some people don't bother with using chicken broth to make mole and use just water but I think that's too much cheating :-P. I find both mole and chocolate abuelita on every supermarket here but that might be because I'm so close to Mexico anyway. Check the biggest supermarket near you for a hispanic-food section and you will probably find both ingredients there. If you absolutely don't find them then there's Amazon, yep they have them, I checked ;-). I hope some or all of you make the recipe and let me know how it went and, of course, how it tasted!

One last thing, now that you bought a package of chocolate Abuelita make some hot cocoa! 1 liter of milk, a couple of sticks of cinnamon, one tablet of chocolate Abuelita and sugar to taste. I guarantee it will be one of the best hot cocoas you have ever had ;-). Provecho!

Butterfly trail #16

2011-10-03T09:49:00.001-07:00

I guess that some of you guessed that this hike would be with someone special. Well, you were right. I had been seeing Colomriqueño (he is half Colombian-half Puerto Rican) for a couple of weeks and it was time to take him up to the mountain.

I pretty much decided for the both of us to take on Butterfly trail #16. I had read about it and wanted to try it. The page I use to log my hikes had amazing reviews for the trail and they did say that it was a hard climb in one direction. So, given the wimp climber I am, I thought that if we did it in the opposite direction it wouldn't be so bad, flawless logic right? wrong! Look at the picture on the left, that's the profile of the trail. It climbs down for about a mile and a half and then there's 2.7 miles up. The vertical change in those 2.7 miles is over 2 miles so you can guess how steep that was. Because of the climb people in HikeAZ recommended to shuttle 2 cars to do this trail. Meaning, leaving one car at the end of the trail (mine) and taking the other one to the trailhead (Colomriqueño's).

We started hiking at 10:30am. The first half was pretty awesome. So green, luscious and there were wildflowers and wildberries everywhere. I actually don't know if you can eat those and I didn't want to risk it. We came to a little spring, called Novio spring (btw novio means boyfriend in Spanish :-P). It didn't have much water but it had a good cliff to have lunch. I lost a bagel to the mountain for moving too fast, it fell of the cliff, I hope the fungi-eater beetles enjoy it. After our lunch we kept going and started climbing up and up and up. My heart started racing, I got out of breath and had to stop several times. It was pretty embarrassing given that it was the first time I hiked with Colomriqueño, I should have suggested an easy hike so he wouldn't see me like that. He was a trooper though, always checking on me and being patient when I had to stop and sit down because I was about to pass out. After half an hour we came to a sign marking where the trail divides to other trails, I took out my map to check where we were and I was not sure! Colomriqueño captured the precise moment when I was thinking we were lost. We looked at the map and figure out the way...up.

Colomriqueño is in much better shape than I am so he had no problem with the climb or the distance. My legs started giving up about a mile and a half from the end, it was painful and I was going very very slow. Around that time Colomriqueño asked me if I had the keys to my car in my backpack. I froze and realized that my brilliant idea of the 2 cars had just come crashing down on me. No, I didn't have the keys with me, I left them in his car, over 3 miles up the mountain. I had to sit down for a minute battling the urge to cry, I felt so stupid. Colomriqueño got a little bit upset (rightfully so) but calmed me down and said we would hitchhike a ride up the mountain to get his car and that we had to keep moving because there were clouds moving in and neither of us had rain gear (also thunderstorms up the mountain are very dangerous). He was right, I just had to shake it off and keep going. I knew from my research on the trail that we had to come to the summit of Mt Bigelow so when we got to a sign pointing towards it I thought that was the logic way to go. At that point a light rain had started falling so we had to hurry. After 200ft or so Colomriqueño realized that we had taken a wrong turn so we went back to the sign and figure out he was right. We found the right trail and went down to the road, right in front of a Ranger's Visitors Center. Colomriqueño ran down when he saw a couple of vans were about to leave the Visitors Center, it was our chance to get a ride. I tried following him fast and fell flat on my ass, jajajajajaja. I'm ok, it didn't hurt, I was going down on a steep slope so I wasn't too far from the ground anyway.

Colomriqueño talked to the people in the van and explained our dilemma. The driver was very nice and agreed to take us. It turned out she was transporting mentally-ill people so we had to ride on the back of the van. She apologized a lot for it but we really didn't care, all we wanted was to get the car not having to walk 3 miles up the mountain, after a hard hike, while it was raining. We finally made it up there and got the car. He dropped me off at my car and we drove down the mountain in between patches of really heavy rain. We were very lucky not to get caught in those while we were hiking.

So, even after I got us to hike a really hard trail, lost us a couple of times, forgot the keys to the shuttle car and got us to ride in the back of a van full of crazies Colomriqueño said he had not had such a good hike in a long time. Isn't he awesome? Oh yeah, he is cute too...

Sunset trail

2011-09-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend a friend from New Mexico came to visit and we decided to go up to Mt. Lemmon for a hike. As promised I applied the Doodologist's tattoo so I would feel like Claire was also there with us.

Hiking with my friends was quite a different experience. They have a very different approach to it. I'm all about planning the trails I'll do, looking at maps and a compass, knowing the elevation change I can expect and the conditions of the trail. They just park somewhere, find a trail and follow it. I had 72Oz of water, 2 cheese sticks, a pear, some bread and a couple of sausages. They had 32Oz of water, combined, and nothing else. Of course I shared my food and we didn't do a super-hard or long trail so it wasn't so bad. Still, despite the fact that both of my friends have hiked before and one actually considers herself a hiker, they were not prepared. They both got a little dehydrated, for obvious reasons, at the end.

The good part about it was having someone to talk to all the way, to have the chance to be plain silly and to have lots of pictures with me in them.

You can guess from the title that the trail we did is called Sunset trail. Very different from the other 2 I have done on Mt. Lemmon. Very rocky, not much tree coverage due to an old fire. The same spectacular views, peace and serenity though. We also found a couple of cute creatures:

Can you see the tiny little Horny Toad? ------------------------->

The lizard posed for us and didn't run away until we took a few pictures of it ;-). We ended up drenched in sweat, tired but with a happy heart.

After the hike we went to a social event that my department has every time the football team plays in house. We first have a scientific discussion (yes, on Saturdays) and then we hang out, eat hotdogs and play with bean bags.

It was actually fun but I'm not willing to give away many of my Saturdays for it :-P. After the tailgating we went for dinner and I completely forgot to take pictures. It really sucks because after dinner I saw my sister who had an impromptu getaway in Tucson. I only hanged out with her for 1 hour or so but it was good, it makes me feel a little less home-sick ;-).

I'm already planning my next hike and it probably won't be a lonely one again but, I don't want to give that away just yet ;-).

Solo hike

2011-09-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

One of the things I used to do with Germanman and that I enjoyed a lot was hiking. Now that he is gone I was not going to stop. So, I looked up the trail maps for Mount Lemmon, it's a mountain about 1h from Tucson where we can go to get away from the heat. I had only been there once before so I'm not familiar with the trails. I wanted to have planned what I was going to do so I could let people know about it and not end up like the guy in 127-hours, falling somewhere with no-one that knew where I was and when I was supposed to come back.

I decided to do a trial called Mint Spring, it had good reviews and was annotated as fairly easy. The thing was, I couldn't find the stupid headtrail so I did change the trail I was doing at the last minute but I knew the place was absolutely packed and I could get help if I needed it. I started a trail called Marshal Gulch, it's 1.2 miles long and follows a spring. It was very easy and I enjoyed a bunch of different wild flowers and a few pretty birds. It took me less than an hour to complete the trail, it ends in a saddle where 4 more trails start.

I knew about one of the trails, called Wilderness of Rocks because the German had considered doing it at some point. I knew it had really cool rock formations (ergo the name) but I saw on the map that it was very long (4 miles). I decided to go on it and if go back when I got tired. That angry guy on the right is the first rock formation on the trail. About 5 minutes into the trail I got to a huge flat rock and I couldn't see where the trail continued so I waited there for a couple of minutes until someone else came. It was a couple with their 11-12y old son, the kid knew the trail very well and pointed me in the right direction. Immediately after that the trail got very steep and rocky. I'm not a good climber so I knew that whatever distance I was going down I would have climb up on my way back. Because the trail is so rocky it was also very hard to follow it and after 20 minutes or so I decided that it was not a good idea for me to continue in it. I went back to the flat rock and had lunch there, with an amazing view of the canyon and the mountains. Lunch consisted of a bagel, 2 cheese sticks, 1 salami stick, a banana and a lot of water.

After my lunch I went back to the Marshall Gulch saddle and decided to go back taking the Aspen trail, it forms a loop with the Marshall Gulch trail so it would take me back to my car. The Aspen trail was considerably more difficult than Marshall Gulch, probably the reason why I didn't see anybody on the trail after I started it. The last people I saw, in the saddle, was a couple with their 1y old daughter riding on her Daddy's back. When I was 1h into the trail I thought I was close to the end so pulled out the map just to be sure, it was until then that I realized that the trail was actually 2.5 miles long, not the 1.5 miles I thought it was. There was nothing to do but keep going. I then realized just how quiet that place was and a sudden rush of loneliness came over me. I couldn't stop thinking about that couple with their baby. No, I haven't given up, I still want that. I want to hike with my husband while he carries our baby in his back. The feeling was very powerful and I had to stop for a minute and calm myself down, I was not going to cry in the middle of the woods...and I didn't. I kept on going. I had to focus on where I was stepping and how to get around fallen trees. There was a lot of overgrowth on the trail and at some point I started thinking I had lost the trail and was following a false trail because it was not maintained at all and I had not seen anyone in a long time. I panicked for a couple of minutes and decided that if by 3:00pm (it was around 1pm) I had not seen anyone of made it trough the end I would have to turn around and go back on Marshall Gulch trail.

Fortunately that wasn't necessary, at 1:45pm I saw the most beautiful thing my eyes saw today. No, it wasn't someone else. No, it wasn't my car. It was the restrooms by the parking lot, jajajajaja.

Someone told me that if you want to hike you have to do it on your own. Curiously though I didn't see anybody else hiking on their own. I saw a lot of couples, couples with kids and a 2 groups of elderly people hiking all together. One of the elderly women asked me if I was with 3 girls that were hiking in front of me. I said: "no, I'm all on my own". She said: "huh, well, have a good day". She was surprised by my answer. So, no, I don't think many people hike on their own. But, I will continue to do it...after I buy a compass.

No more fairytales

2011-08-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

I'm done believing in soulmates or in that concept of the almighty love. The one that makes us want to spend every waken moment with that other person. The one that thinks everything is perfect. The one that thinks you are perfect in every way. The one that blinds us.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe in love. I just don't believe I will ever find someone that loves me the way I described it above. Maybe that's ok though. I want someone that sees my faults and helps me improve on them. I want someone that despite being attracted to someone else doesn't act on it, because he would know that in doing so he could lose one of the best things that ever happened to him. Because he would know that in doing so he would hurt me and break me beyond repair. I want a friend who can talk to me about everything, from how boring his day was to what the future might hold if aliens come to Earth.

I want someone that holds my hand when we are walking on a slippery shore. I want someone that hugs me when I say I had a bad day. I want someone that hugs me for no reason. I want someone that kisses me because I said something funny. I want someone that kisses me just because. I want someone that wants to start a family with me but that would consider our relationship as a couple above the children, because children leave and then we would only have each other. I want someone that values me as a companion, a friend and a lover.

I guess I don't deserve any of that.

Noisy neighbors!

2011-07-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

I'm currently staying at my complication's for a month or so. I sublet my apartment to help an incoming grad student (and to spend more time with the German, of course). The thing is, the back wall of his bedroom faces the backyard of a house. The house happens to be rented by a bunch of college students. You can see where I'm going right?

Well, they don't usually have loud music but, they built a half-pipe thingy and they skateboard on their yard every night. With the accompanying cheering and yelling. This usually goes on till 3-4 am...every fraking night!

Germanman talked to the landlord and in theory, he talked to the boys and they did keep their activities down for a few days but they have been at it again for the past 3-4 days. The German whistles and yells at them every night and we do use earplugs but it's still not enough. Do you guys think we should call the police? even though they don't have loud music?

Stranded on a deserted island

2011-06-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

We have seen this question in a lot of forums: what would you do (or take) if you were stranded on a deserted island? Well, now I can say I really was.

It all started with Germanman wanting to visit Isla del Tiburon, the biggest island of Mexico. Located in the Sea of Cortez and just a few hours from my hometown. The island is part of the Seri country, a native tribe within my state. So, you need permission from them to have access to it. One of my friends contacted me with a Seri guy and we started making the arrangements. Two friends of us agreed to go too and we left Tucson on May 28th at the crack of dawn on our adventure.

The first mishap happened 2 hours into our trip. I thought that the turn towards the coast of the state was in the town of Magdalena but it actually was in Santa Ana. Mexico is not well known for its highway signs. A brief stop in Santa Ana to have some scolding hot coffee and ask for directions and we were on our way again. The next stop was Caborca to get cash and groceries for the island. I had never been to Caborca so, of course, we got lost but nothing that couldn't been solved by asking for directions again. We wanted to have lunch by the sea so we decided to wait to eat until we reached Puerto Libertad. After a couple more hours, we finally reached Puerto Libertad, only to find out it's a very small town with no restaurant in sight. We pulled out a couple of bagels from our stock and eat them at the beach. The final part of the trip was kinda tricky because we had to find a secondary road that would lead us to the Seri town of Desemboque. After we had been driving for 30min or so, I remember that fact and asked Germanman if he had seen any sign for said town. I started to look at the map and had the feeling that the turn was coming very very soon or else, we had passed it. We took the decision to keep driving for another half an hour and if the sign didn't come to turn around.

Exactly half an hour later we reached the entrance to a ranch and it had people there! so I asked them if they new the other road. A very old man told me we had passed it long ago, he said to go back and pass all the hills we had seen on the road and then we would find the sign. It turned out that the famous sign was only visible going North and we had been driving South. Anywho, we found it and 18 miles later we reached Desemboque. I asked around for the Seri guy I had contacted and he was there waiting for us. After a few minutes of buying the Seri's sculptures (made of ironwood) and other crafts we were on our way to the panga (small boat used to fish or for transport). Traveling on the panga to the island is one of the most scary experiences I've ever had, the sea was not calmed and we didn't have lifesavers, top that off with me not being a good swimmer and Germanman making jokes about the lack of safety. He realized I was terrified and started asking if I was OK every 3 minutes until I told him to stop because he was making me more nervous. My hands were completely white because of how hard I was grabbing the edge of my seat and I'm pretty sure I had a few brushes on my, ahem, lower back.

On our way to the main island we went around another, very small, island call "Isla de Patos or Duck Island". It is a protected island because of its great sea-bird population, the island actually looks white because of all he bird poo on it :-P. That island is also home to a sea-lion colony. Germanman said it is the biggest he has seen. There were over 200 sea-lions on and around the island. After an hour and a half of a bumpy ride worse than any roller-coaster I have been on we finally reached Isla del Tiburon. The Seris first wanted to drop us off at a small bay that had a sandy beach on one side and a rocky one on the other side, we had requested that because Germanman wanted to scuba dive and snorkel and sandy bottoms are not good for that. The bay was perfect, however, the Seris noticed there was a fishnet very nearby. Fishnets are a big danger for scuba divers, it is very risky to dive near one so Germanman asked the Seris to drop us off at another location that didn't have fihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifshnets around. Another 10 minutes on the boat and we got to another bay with no sand whatsoever but we took it.

By the time we got to "our" bay it was getting dark very fast so we had to set up camp quickly. The 20y old girl that was with us didn't want to sleep close to the water because there were some rather annoying isopods that could crawl on her at night. So, she set up her tent on higher ground. My friend K set her tent up near all the camping gear and Germanman and I set up our stuff nearby but in an enclosed little bay that was very sheltered. Now, you dirty-minded people, no, it wasn't because we wanted privacy, it was actually the best spot to have our tent :-P.

At night we enjoyed that rare show that is the night sky when no human light is around. It was a-fraking-mazing. We also had a private show courtesy of the ocean, bioluminescence. We started seeing green spots on the water every now and then and given that we were a group of nerds we immediately knew what it was. I had never seen it before and it was awesome! We went to bed early as we had had a long day and my butt was sore. With the new day we could actually appreciate the beautiful scenery we had around us. We went on a hike along a canyon (possibly a river bed) that was behind us. I was expecting to see some big-horn sheep, they are endemic of the island, but, we only saw a dead and eaten one.

This picture clearly shows how deserted is the island. We were very careful when walking because it was hot and the rattle snaked could be out. Fortunately (or unfortunately, according to Germanman) we didn't see one. We hiked one of those picks and walked along the ridge and back down to the beach. I must say, the terrain is nasty, everything is out to get you. I stepped on so many chollas, got scratches from the ocotillos and fell flat on my ass sliding down the hill on pointy, sharp rocks. Sounds fun, huh? It was!

In the afternoon I went snorkeling for the first time ever. I was very scared and asked Germanman to use a floaty thingy that he could grab from one side and I grabbed from the other. Despite the fact that I was very scared I enjoyed the experience. Life underwater is so beautiful. We saw about 12 different species of fish, some mantarays (small ones, not the ones you see featured in scuba-diving videos), starfishes, crabs, etc. It was great! The water was too cold though so we didn't stay long.

That afternoon the weather changed and the wind started blowing up really hard. The sea started getting rough and the waves were 6-7 foot high. We couldn't hear the waves crashing anymore, it was a constant roar. It was a little bit scary, mostly because it meant that the Seris would probably not be able to get us off the island the next day. It was hard to fall asleep that night, I was nervous and the sea was really loud. We finally went to sleep and we were woken up at 3am by the Greek, she had a panic attack. She was very worried that her family in Greece would be worried about her if she didn't come back to the US the next day. After we calmed her down and she went back to sleep, Germanman and I couldn't fall back asleep. We were talking and discussing our options. We knew there was a chance we wouldn't get off the island in a few days if the wind didn't calm down. We had enough food for 2 maybe 3 days and water for a little longer than that, we were very careful with our water. So, in that sense we were not too worried. Also, the Seris had told us that in the case they couldn't get us off the island in a couple of days by sea, then they would come by land, from the other side of the island. Our last course of action was a Spot, a little gadget that can send an SOS signal, via satellite. We had used it a couple of times already to send OK messages, it has a GPS so we would know exactly were we where (our bay and while hiking) when we came back.

The sun was coming out and Germanaman noticed that the tide had gone very low, more than any other day. That meant the tide was going to come up a lot higher than it had been before too. What that meant was, we needed to move our camp to higher ground. We started doing so and discovered that we had had some visitors at night, our garbage was all over the place and whatever food we left uncovered was gone! Fortunately we had been careful the night before and had put most of the food in a hard box with rocks on top. We didn't know what animal had done the damage but we didn't worry, our main concern right then was to move all our stuff as quickly as possible. After we moved all the scuba gear, the food and the water we decided to move out tent without taking it down. We were putting the tent down in its new location when I felt like something had whipped me straight in the face. The pain was incredible and I tasted the familiar irony taste of blood inside my mouth. It turned out that one of the sticks of the tent came off and hit me on my lower lip. I immediately started crying and, of course, Germanman didn't know what to do. He just kept asking if I was OK, I wasn't damn it, it hurt! We were out of ice so there was not much we could do to reduce the inflammation.

After that incident I was emotionally drained and just wanted to sleep. I think I slept for 3 hours or something cra-ha-zy like that. I woke up feeling light-headed and headachy, not good signs when you have been under the sun for so long. The Greek had the same symptoms and we were worried that the 2 of us could have the beginning of heat-stroke. Two people vomiting would pretty much guarantee that we would run out of water quickly. We took some anti-emetic medication and I took something for my headache. I was very positive that my case was just that I had slept too much. I started feeling better early in the afternoon, specially after we played in the waves for a while to cool us down.

We walked (climbed) along the beach for a while and found some cool tide-ponds with tiny little crabs and fishes in them. We also found some interesting rock formations with quartz embedded in them. Our biggest discovery though, were some whale bones. We found a few ribs, vertebrae and teeth. Of course we collected them (not the ribs) to ask the Seris if we could take them with us. When we were walking back to our bay we saw a boat in the distance. Germanman immediately went to get his signaling mirror. It was the Seris. They came close to the beach but the sea was still very rough and they couldn't come closer. They signaled with their arms that they were going to wait for a while for the sea to calm down to approach the bay and get us. In the mean time we lifted the camp, except for the 20y old's tent, she refused to get her tent down arguing that the sea was not going to calm down enough for the panga to get to the shore. I was annoyed by her behavior but didn't say anything. It turned out she was right, after an hour and with the night fast approaching it was clear that the sea was not going to let us leave that day. The Seri signaled again that they were going to return the next day. We had to set up the tent again, no injuries this time.

The sea did calm down overnight so we were sure the Seris would get us that day. In the mean time Germanman and I went snorkeling again, it wasn't as good as the first time because the visibility was very bad. I still saw a few interesting fishes and a rare starfish. The Seris came mid-morning and had no problem getting to shore that time. We got more treats on our way back to the Seri town. A school of dolphins was swimming very close to us (unfortunately I had put my camera away). We went back to Isla de Patos and the young sea-lions were all excited and curious about us. The big bulls were not happy at all and were trying to shoo us out of there. We also saw some other birds that we (or at least I) thought they were ducks, but they were actually Cormorants.

We finally got to the Seri town again. We bought more crafts and the Seri women gave us some necklaces made with fish scales, as presents, for good luck. No other major incident happened on our way back and we finally made it back to Tucson around midnight. Despite all the problems and the scary part of being stranded on the island, and the bug bites, and the sunburn, it was one of the best weekends of my life.

Do you know the difference between Gonorrhea and Syphilis?

2011-05-16T20:40:00.001-07:00

I was talking this morning with Germanman, we were discussing Lyme disease and he said: "it's from a spirochete, just like Gonorrhea" I was completely shocked. He is a 39y old man, who happens to be a science writer and yet, he doesn't know the difference between gonorrhea and syphilis. I don't expect everyone to know that they are caused by 2 very different types of bacteria but, EVERYONE should at least know they are 2 different types of diseases! Lets clear the air:

- Gonorrhea. Caused by the diplococci Neisseria gonorrhoeae (usually found in pairs, looks like 2 kidney beans together). In guys it causes infection of the urethra. It is very painful to pee and there is a profuse secretion of a purulent discharge (white-yellowish). In women it infects the vagina, they can also have purulent discharge and it's itchy. Sometimes it can be completely asymptomatic.

- Syphilis. Caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum (looks like a piece of phone cord (remember phone cords?)). In both men and women it presents like an abscess (a nasty pimple) that can grow and it also secretes pus, sometimes it can look darker on the edges and it is very very painful. If left untreated syphilis can be a chronic infection. The spirochetes actually reach the brain and can cause early dementia (after 30y of being infected).

These STDs are not 100% prevented by the use of condoms, if there is any genital contact, not just penetration, they can be transmitted. The best policy is always ask a new sexual partner to be tested BEFORE you engage in sexual activities. Also, if anyone in the couple notices any of the symptoms I described above you BOTH should go to the doctor right away.

DNA match

2011-05-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

After I saw today that "DNA matching confirmed that Osama Bin Laden was killed" my immediate response was: what are they using as reference?

Let me elaborate. To match someone's DNA you need to have a reference sample in file and then match a new sample to the old one. You can't ID someone based solely on one sample, you need a comparison.

So, someone in the US government needed to have a DNA sample from Osama from years ago. Here is the kicker, nowadays you can obtain DNA from almost any biological sample but, that was not the case 10+ years ago, the technology was not as developed as it is now. They needed to take a pretty big sample, blood in a test tube for example. But, why would the government have a sample like that from Osama given that before 9/11 no one cared that he was a crazy bastard. If the sample was acquired after 9/11 it would make no sense given that "no one knew where he was".

Granted they could use his son's DNA to compare (his son's DNA would be 50% similar to Osama's DNA) but with that they could only guarantee that the dead person was the father of the son, not that it was Osama bin Laden. I don't want to be a party pooper but I would not believe in a DNA test unless they told me how they got their reference. Just saying.

Arizona fraked up law

2011-04-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

It all started with SB1070. Actually, let me step back a little, it all started with JB getting to the governor's office after JN got taken away by Obama. First thing JB did was support and sign SB1070. There was no going back after that, the right wing had taken hold of AZ.

This week, 3 laws were passed or are about to:
1) parents can decide not to send their kids to school if they thing the topic can be "harmful" for them, i.e. no right-winger child will hear about sex or evolution until s/he is old enough to find out for him/herself (or until s/he talks to his/her friends and hear all about it, in a 10y old-distorted way).

2) people are allowed to carry guns in schools; do I really have to say why this is bad? oh wait, they might make an amendment to this one: people will be allowed to carry guns in schools but not inside buildings... phew! It would be so bad to get shot inside a classroom, I like it better on the sidewalk, thanks!

3) people are allowed to carry guns inside buildings...wait just a frakking second, wouldn't this one contradict the previous one? am I the only one that sees that?
A few years ago AZ banned carrying guns inside bars and any other establishment that serves alcohol (good good thing). So, this new law will make the previous one null and we will go back to the good 'ol days were any drunk guy could shoot you if you refuse his advances. Nice!

One of my friends just said that the only good thing left in AZ is the scenery. I would like to think that he is wrong. A know a lot of very good people here, I just wish that the people in office were a little less conservative and a lot smarter to foresee the implications of the laws they are passing, probably without reading them. On second thought, the people of AZ are the ones that elected the people in office so, I'm going to have to agree with my friend, I just love the scenery.

2010

2010-12-30T17:31:00.000-08:00

What a year! I lost my Tata, I became a PhD candidate (reason why I haven't blogged since September) and I met Germanman. I have been so busy studying and hanging out with Germanman that I haven't had time for anything else. It's now that I have a few days off of work that I remembered I have this thing called a blog.

The first semester of the year was really sad for me. My tata was very sick and passes away in May. As you know he was my dad and it was really hard to lose him. I had planned to do my qualifying exam at the end of the semester but my emotional state didn't let me.

At the beginning of the summer I met Germanman and we have been seeing each other in a non-serious relationship since then. I have been to few really cool places with him, I went back to my nature-loving self, to the point that if I don't go for a long walk outside every weekend I get jittery. He was very supportive when I was studying for my exam and would be super-stressed, he never let me doubt that I would pass the exam and was just there when I needed a break.

I did my exam in early December and I fill like a ton has been lifted off my shoulders. Passing the exam means that my committee is confident that I know enough to deserve a PhD. It feels great to know that now everyone knows I'm not wasting my time here.

I don't want to say that I have New Year's resolutions because every time I do that I don't follow them. All I want for next year is love.

Happy New Year to all my 5 readers!

Health Insurance Rant

2010-09-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

I know that a lot of people are in a worse situation than me but, this is my blog and I rant about minutiae if I want to! :-P

The thing is, my student health insurance sucks. It is mandatory for me, as an International student, to have the University health insurance. They take about 2,000 off of my stipend to pay for it. The insurance doesn't have dental or vision coverage. Also, there's limited prescription coverage. What that means is; birth-control pills are not covered. Where is the logic in that? College girls should be able to get birth-control pills for a copay or very cheap. The pills that I got prescribed are 90 dollars per package so, pretty much 100 dollars a month once we add taxes. I really don't think it is affordable for a college student or a grad student, like me, to pay that. I would have to cancel my dental insurance and my internet to afford that!

I'm trying to be a conscious, careful woman that rationalizes the possibilities of a pregnancy at this time and decides to avoid it. But, damn, right now I'm sure I'm not the only one pondering if I would be able to afford the pills for a long time. Yes, I know condoms are cheaper but, they are a little less reliable. Germanman and I decided to use both methods to be very safe.

There is something else I don't understand. There are brand-name pills in Mexico, that are almost the same formulation as the ones I'm taking now, that cost 85% less money! In Mexico, even without insurance, birth control is affordable! That makes me facepalm myself even more when I see how many of my cousins have gotten pregnant out of wedlock. The solution for me might as well be to buy those pills in Mexico but, I have to talk to my doctor first.

Rant is over, I shouldn't complain that I have to buy birth-control pills, that means I have a guy! jajajajajaja

Mexico's Independence Day

2010-09-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today/tomorrow (exactly at midnight) Mexico celebrates 200 years of Independence. I know a lot of people are saying that we shouldn't celebrate because the country is in a state of war. To those people I yell at: VIVA MEXICO CABRONES!

The fact that some regions of the country have a lot of violence doesn't diminish one bit our Mexican pride or, at least, mine. Yes, I am proud of being Mexican. I'm proud of the Mexican culture, we have archeological ruins that do not ask anything to the most renown Egyptian pyramids. We have natural parks unique in the world. We still have a lot of natives that have preserved their ancestral language.

I raised in the middle of a big family that keeps staying close despite internal feuds, generational gaps and distance. I grew up surrounded by love. After losing my Dad I had 5-6 father figures in my uncles and Tata. I was raised listening to Mayan fables like the rabbit on the moon and romance stories like the legend of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. The story of the foundation of the Aztec empire and its capital, Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), is so ingrained in us that is part of our flag. Our National symbols, the flag, the seal and our National Anthem are respected above anything else. I was the flag carrier during 6th grade and it was one of the biggest honors I have received thanks to my brain.

Our flag colors symbolize hope (green), unity (white) and the blood of those who died for our country (red). Mexico's history is not 200 years old. Our ancestors walked our land long before that. Today we celebrate that history and the bravery of those who died to free us from Spain, France and the US. We should not prevent ourselves from celebrating because of our opinion of the current government. We should re-take our country and combat all those people that are giving it a bad name. We should remember that "el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz" Benito Juarez; "respecting others' rights makes peace" Benito Juarez, one of our best Presidents. If there is someone that can change a country, that's us Mexicans! Take inspiration in those who fought to free our country and make your voice be heard! No more Mexican blood being shed because of drugs! No more women killed in Cd. Juarez! Justice for our 49 angels from Hermosillo!

I leave you with my chest full of pride and a video that shows the beauty of Sonora, my home state. VIVA MEXICO HOY Y SIEMPRE!

The idiot

2010-08-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

I have talked about the idiot on BC and twitter and what-not but, I don't think I have written a proper post about him here. I think is time to leave it in the past and writing about it will help me.

I moved to Tucson in 2005 to be the idiot's technician, he is friend of my Bachelor's mentor and she recommended me for the job. At the beginning everything was fine, he was courteous and friendly. Then he started commenting on my outfits, "you look good in a skirt", or "my girls look like Charlie's Angels" (my hair was reddish at the time and my friend Maria's is black and we had a blond helper). Then came the time-in-the-lab talk, he wanted me to be in there at least 12-hours a day because I was single and without a family or a boyfriend I had nothing better to do.

Because of his comments and the large amount of time I had to be in the lab I changed my fashion style and started wearing jeans, t-shirts and snickers every day. He started complaining about it, he told me that I should go to the mall and buy clothes at Banana Republic or J-Crew (like he payed me so I could afford that). Then he started telling me I was too fat and that I should at least wear make-up to look a little pretty.

From work things everyday he would yell at me if an experiment didn't work or because it took too long to do it. He would tell us that "even housewives" could do this experiment or that and that even them could do them in less than 5 minutes. He would complain that his wife was fat (she was pregnant). On payday he would take the guys in the lab to a strip-club, they would come back smelling like alcohol and cheap cologne, it was really gross.

I had to meet in private with him every Monday. I would get sick to my stomach every Monday. Aside from making me feel completely useless in the lab, he would start with his comments about my clothes or tell me things like "if you had a car you could be in the lab at 2 am no problem but, because you take the bus you have to leave by 9 pm instead" or "are you afraid of the dark that you leave at 9 pm"? He told me I needed to tell my family I couldn't send money to them so I would be able to afford clothes "not bought at Walmart" or a car. He would tell me he needed to treat the American girls differently than the international ones because they could complain and we couldn't.

He had parties at this house were he would make us play strip-bottle with him. He would call 2 professors in the department "hot güeritas" (hot blonds). He dance very inappropriately with one of them, in front of her boyfriend. He used Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie's images to describe bacterial hairs during a class for Med-students (they all complained). He didn't get along with any of the professors in the department, they all knew he was a jerk.

Every lab meeting was a bitching session. He would complain that we didn't work hard enough, long enough, good enough. No picture of bacteria was perfect enough to be published, unless he took it. He told Maria and me that he took us out of a hole in Mexico and brought us to an awesome job at a 1st-world country. Things got really really bad when Maria went to England for 3 months. She was the lab manager and I had to do her job and mine while she was gone. It was horrible, everything I needed to order had to be authorized by the idiot. He yelled at me for ordering colorful tubes instead of just plain ones (the prize was the same for both). It was Valentine's day and I cried for most of it.

At that point I was already talking to my now-boss about switching to her lab. But, she was still at another University so, I had to wait 4 long months before I could quit the idiot's lab. The final stab he gave came a couple of weeks before I quit. "We" (meaning he) had sent a paper for publication, the final draft had my name as the 3rd author and I really had done 1/3 of the work in the paper. Well, the paper got published and my name was not in the authors but in the acknowledgments for technical assistance.

In one of our weekly meetings he had told me that if I wanted to leave the door was open wide. So, when I told him I was leaving I said that. He was shocked! I then went and talked to the head of the department about the paper, he didn't do anything about it. After I left the lab another 7 people left too. He was up for tenure that year and he didn't get it so he had to leave the University and I'm very thankful for that. Just seeing him around after I switched labs was awkward. I won't even talk about all his other ethical violations because I don't want to involve other people.

I still hate lab meetings and get sick to my stomach every time I don't have a good result to present, even though my boss is not at all like him and she understands that not every experiment works. I can help that my stomach gets knotted if my boss calls me to her office. I get upset every time he publishes a paper because the last 3 had data I produced and my name wasn't even in the acknowledgments.

I can thank him for 2 things though, the opportunity to come here, he was right about that one. Also, all the amazing friends I met in his lab, the situation was bad for all of us and that brought us really close together.

Who is this girl?

2010-08-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

I always have been proud of how well I know myself. I know exactly what bothers me and how annoying I can be. I know that sometimes I'm too much of a smartass or very blunt. Lately I have noticed changes, important ones.

It all started with a certain guy that was attracted to me. It was only an online thing but for a fraction of a second I thought it could be real. What that experience left me was a lot of confidence, the confidence that I am a beautiful woman and I can attract a handsome guy. With that in mind and, to try to get away from that online twisted relationship, I joined a couple of online-dating-sites.

I have done it before and didn't have much luck but, oh well, I didn't lose anything by trying, right? So, there I was, a month ago, in cupid.com browsing trough the local single guys. I saw a profile that I liked. The guy has a very cute smile, he is outdoorsy, he hikes and scuba dives. I decided to send him a wink. Two days after that he replied with an actual email, not just a wink. I was not a paying member of the site so I couldn't read it. I thought about it for a second and decided it was worth the shot to pay just to read that email. Best 5 dollars I have spent in my life!

He was very sweet and seem interested. We emailed back and forth a few times and he asked me out. We met and spent 5 hours together on our 1st date. It was awesome! We have been going out since then. He has inspired me to get more outdoors, to go to the gym again (at least 4 times a week), to eat better, etc.

This new me feels pretty, sexy, it's not afraid to have an idiotic smile on her face and doesn't get pissed off if her friends ditch her for lunch. Yes, I'm still scared that this relationship will end before it can take off, that I will say or do something he won't like. However, new me is telling old me to let go of the past, to go with the flow and enjoy one day at a time.

I like the new me!

Sonoran hot-dogs!

2010-07-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

I had promised to take pictures of real Sonoran hot-dogs for the longest time. I finally did it!

Here we have the variety of franks you can select for your hot-dog, they are all wrapped with bacon but they vary on being pork, turkey, regular size, super-size and filled with cheese, american or Chihuahua. I chose to get a Chihuahua-filled frank, super-size, it is like 1.5 hot-dogs.

After you pick your frank it gets put in a warm bun, then the guy added beans (whole pinto beans), grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo (I didn't get chorizo in mine but you could) and it looked like this:
Then it was time for toppings! Note, this place doesn't have a lot of toppings but they have what I like so, here, take your pick;
That's grilled yellow (chilaca) peppers and 1000 islands dressing,

Relish and blended jalapenos,
Sliced jalapenos and onions mixed with chipotle,

A few hot sauces, mustard, ketchup and cheese sauce (melted american cheese with milk),

Pickles and mushrooms,

White cheese and whole jalapenos, yeah, yeah, we like jalapenos!

Of course it wouldn't be a Mexican dish without avocado, blended in this case, oh yeah and more onions.

This is the end product, I added mushrooms, avocado, cheese sauce, grilled yellow peppers and mustard.

For size comparison, that was a 355mL Mexican Coca-cola

And a transverse view so you can all continue drooling!

Needless to say, I enjoyed my dinner that night. Oh yeah, there were fries also but I didn't take pictures of that =P. If you ever go to Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico you can eat this wonderful creations at El Gordo Hot-dogs, Olivares and Blvd. Navarrete ;-).

Late (no harm to thirds)

2010-06-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted a Ricardo Arjona song in here. He is my second favorite singer/composer. I have been his fan since 1993 when he released his 1st album in Mexico. He is from Guatemala but made his career in Mexico.

This song talks about a forbidden love. That love that comes too late, when you have already settled for someone that wasn't your soul-mate. I saw a movie called "Timer" yesterday and made me think of this song and how cool it would be to have a piece of technology tell us who is our soul-mate. No more heart-breaks, no more divorces. Of course, with my luck I would probably get a blank timer. Anywho, here is the song and the translation.

Right about now, you marsh into my life
with your perfect body and your killer eyes
late, as always, fortune comes to us.

You were with him, I was with her,
pretending to be happy, because we were desperate,
because we didn't wait for our dream,
because we were afraid of being alone.

But, we were late,
I saw you, you saw me,
we recognized instantly but late,
damn the time that I found what I dreamed of.

Late, all that dreaming of you, missing you,
without having you, all that inventing you.
All that looking for you on the streets,
like a madman, without finding you.

One becomes a fool and in desperation
confuses love with company
and that idiotic fear
of seeing oneself old and without a partner,
makes you chose with your head
what should be chosen with your heart.

I don't have anything against them,
my rage is against time
for putting you next to me, late!

I wish I could run and not look at your shadow
I wish to think this was a dream or a nightmare,
that you never appeared, that you have never existed.

I wish I could kiss you,
coincide with you,
approach to you a little
and tie you in a hug,
look into your eyes
and tell you, welcome.

But, we were late,
I saw you, you saw me,
we recognized instantly but late,
maybe in another life, maybe in another death.

I yearn to feel you,
I yearn to touch you,
to approach you and hit you with a kiss,
to runaway forever, without harm to thirds.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that I had written about my granddad but not about my father. What better day to share with you another amazing man in my life than today, father's day.

My Dad was born on October 14th, 1937 in Hermosillo, Sonora. His name was Francisco Alejandro Hernández Torres. He was the oldest of 4 siblings. I don't know much about his childhood or adolescence, other than the fact that his father left my grandma for another woman. My Dad never talked to me about his father, he never spoke to him again and I don't think he had contact with his half-siblings.

Daddy was a very intelligent man. He studied journalism, the way they studied journalism then, by doing it. He started covering the police report for a local newspaper. One of the things he remembered the most about that time is covering a plane crash in Hermosillo. It was a small plane, probably 6 people or so. He loved to eat grilled meat but he couldn't stand grilling it himself because the smell reminded him of the burning flesh of the people that died in the crash. He persevered in the newspaper step by step. He had a political-comic column for a long time. It was in that column that he created an urban legend for my hometown.

There was a ballroom in Hermosillo that burned down for whatever reason. My Dad wrote in his column that people had seen the Devil at that place and it was he who burned it. Apparently a young maiden was at a dance without permission from her mom so, she met this very handsome guy and was dancing with him until she notice a strange smell. She then looked at his feet and saw that he had a chicken foot and a sheep foot. She started yelling, the guy took his clothes off and everyone saw that he was the Devil, who told the girl that he was there to take her and proceeded to burn the place and take the girl.
The structure of the burned building is still there and the legend keeps passing from mouth-to-mouth. I learned about it a lot before I knew it was my Dad who had started it as a joke.

Dad met my mom when she was working as a teller in a bank, she was only 14 years old. He met the family on my mom's quinceañera (15th birthday party) and since then he had permission from my grandpa to court her. They got married in 1964, my mom was 19, he was 27. My oldest brother, Hector David, was born the next year, followed by Mario Alejandro, Sergio Luis, Obdulia Edith, Gabriel Eduardo and after 5.5 years of the birth of Gabriel, me; Diana Raquel. All the names of my siblings were chosen by my Dad and all of them (except for my sister) were the names of friends of my Dad. For the longest time I thought I had been a mistake, because of the big gap between my brother and me. However, I learned from my mom that I was mistaken. My Dad would have been happy if they had had only girls. So, after having 3 boys, then 1 girl, then another boy, he wanted to keep trying for another girl and there I was.
My Dad filled my mom's room at the hospital with flowers and stuffed animals. He serenated her with mariachis the night I was born and published a note in the newspaper to thank the doctors and nurses that tended to her and me. He also got presents for all the other babies born that night (I was the only girl born that night, by the way :-P). Without a wisp of shame I can tell you that I was Daddy's pride and joy. I was also very spoiled, I knew even at a young age that I could get whatever I wanted if I asked Dad for it. He used to read to me and bought me a big collection of kids' books. He was so proud when I started reading before I was 5 years old. He thought me how to play cards and domino around that age. He loved board games but would never let us gamble (my grandma had a gambling problem and he hated it). Whenever I won in cards, domino or monopoly he would tell me: you have won a box of Carlos V chocolates...empty! (while softly poking my nose with his finger). He loved that I liked to watch TV in English, he learned the language by himself, reading books.

Dad, as any good journalist, loved to take pictures and would not go anywhere without his cammera. Except for that time when he took my brothers fishing and they saw UFOs at the beach, jajajaa. I have tons of pictures of me as a baby and a little girl, taken by my Dad. Unfortunately, not many of those are with him. By the time I was born, Dad was the vice-director of a state-wide newspaper and was nationally known. He had been politically persecuted for not shutting his mouth when censorship was bad in Mexico. He interviewed the Apollo 11 astronauts and was the 1st one to ask if they were going to study the effects of 0 gravity in the body, while in space. His note was published in the New York Times (I need to go to New York to find that note).

Dad loved hunting, snorkeling and fishing. He loved the beach and he had a funny encounter with a shark once. You know those cartoons when a guy is swimming, he sees a shark and swims to shore so fast that he's still kicking while he is already on the sand? That's exactly how I remember my Dad that day, ajajajaja. Dad would wake up and out of the blue yell: Yuya (my mom), pack the kids' things, we are going to the beach! He also did that when he wanted to come to Tucson, he wouldn't tell her ahead of time. We never came with them to the US though, they, ahem, escaped from us by coming here now and then. He also loved beer and cigarettes. I have a couple of scars on my left hand that are cigarette burns. Both of them I got them because I loved to jump on the bed on top of my Dad while he was smoking in bed, not having time to react when I jumped on top of him, he burned me. I can tell you that my Dad's addiction to nicotine rendered his 6 children with an absolute hate for cigarettes.

My sister was already a teenager when I was a little girl and she had started dating. My Dad would send me to the living room to tell the boy that is was time to leave. I didn't get to hear this from my Dad but he told it to my sister; baby, you have to kiss a lot of toads to find your prince. I didn't get to learn how to drink or drive from Dad. He passed away when I was 7 years old. However, since then, all my academic achievements I have obtained them with the thought that they would made my Dad proud. I know that he would be ecstatic if he knew me now. Cum laude Bachelor's, a Master's degree, on my way to PhD, completely fluent in English, living in the US (he wouldn't be happy about this though). Maybe I would be very different if he had lived, I'm sure I would be a spoiled brat :-P. I don't know, I want to think that I would be the same and that he would love me exactly like this.

Happy Father's Day Daddy! It's about time you send me that prince because I do keep kissing toads, you know!

Mi Tata (my Grandpa)

2010-05-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

Mi Tata was born on November 28th, 1915 in a town called Bacanora, Sonora, Mexico. It was the middle of the Mexican Revolution. Pancho Villa was about to enter the town which meant that the town was going to be robbed. Unfortunately for my Tata, my Great-Grandma (Trancito) died during child-birth. Fortunately for the town, Pancho Villa spared the town of his visit in respect of their mourning. My Tata's name was Nicolas Galindo Arvayo. First last name is Spanish, the 2nd is Irish and he had the red-hair to prove it.

He worked in his father ranch the first years of his life but he did learn to write and read so he became the town's teacher for several years. When he was a teenager Mexico's government was against religion and a lot of churches were burned to the ground. Tata entered his church and saved a statue of St Ignacio de Loyola, the patron of his home-town. The statue is still in his house. During that time he and my Nana (Grandma) started dating, they were cousins in the 2nd degree. Tata and Nana married on January 23rd, 1943.

Before my mom (their eldest child) was born, Nana & Tata moved to the capital. My Nana's parents had a liquor store there and Tata went to work in it. Then, my mom was born, quickly followed by 13 siblings. Tata also had 3 more children with another woman, we met them a couple of years ago. Only one of my aunts has passed away and it was one of the biggest sorrows of my Tata. Aunt Isabel died of Lupus when she was 24 years old.

Tata enjoyed watching Box, every Saturday, when my Dad was alive, they would get together and watch it. He wasn't so much into it after my Dad passed away, the only time I remember seeing Tata cry. He did continue to watch Baseball, he was a passionate fan of the Naranjeros, Hermosillo's professional baseball team. He loved to drink beer, do crossword puzzles and write poetry. The liquor store eventually became a convenience store where Tata would pass his days up until a few days before he passed away.

I was born on November 28th, 1977. From that moment on Tata and I shared our birthdays and a very special bond. I loved to dance with Tata when I was very little. Don't ask me why I took that weird position, never been much of a dancer. Tata loved to dance and to listen to music. His favorite song "Valentin de la Sierra" spoke of a man that fought for freedom of religion during the prohibition years.

Me sharing birthdays with Tata also explains why I had a can of beer for a piñata on my 3rd birthday.

As far as I know, I am the only grandchild to have ever received a Birthday present from Tata. It was a bag of M&M's but it meant the world to me. Tata always loved children and he had a nickname for every child born into the family and for our neighbors as well. My nickname was Teresa Tusa, for a lady in Bacanora who used a lot of necklaces and bracelets, just as I did when I was little. He was always the grumpy old guy at the store, yelling at children passing by but we all loved him very much.

Tata took my Dad's place at my Quinceañera and I always dreamed he would do it again for my wedding. He was the one to approve or disprove my cousin's and my boyfriends. He didn't approve of my College boyfriend. He didn't tell me anything until we broke-up though. After I moved to the US almost every time I went home he would ask: "So, did you get yourself a gringo yet?".

This was our family in 1993, during the celebration of Nana & Tata 50th anniversary.

We have probably doubled since then. 16 children, over 50 grandchildren and over 20 great-grandchildren is the legacy of Don Nicolas Galindo Arvayo. He passed away on May 3rd, 2010 at the age of 94. He missed his "vieja" (Nana) too much.

This year will be the first one that I do not share my birthday with you. Sometimes I resented that but now I know I'll miss it, just as I'll miss you.

I haven't found a gringo yet Tata, I'll keep looking.

On SB1070

2010-04-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

I have said some things on twitter and facebook about this but, I want you to know exactly how I feel about it.

Yes, it is wrong that people enter any country illegally. Yes, Mexico needs to have better employment so none of my co-nationals would want to move here. Yes, Arizona is a sovereign state and can apply whatever law they come-up with. Yes, a lot of Americans could do jobs that illegals do (could, not would). The issue to be discussed right now is not illegal immigration per se. It is the fact that now looking like you might be illegal gives the police reasons to detain you.

One thing is that you get caught in the middle of a robbery, that is looking illegal for me. Having some skin/hair color or having almond eyes is not looking illegal! How about illegal Canadians or Europeans? don't tell me there aren't any! They will not get stopped however, because they don't look illegal. Arizonans need not to kid themselves, this State is sustained on the commerce with Sonora and Sinaloa. Without us coming to shop here no mall would survive as they are now, with this economy. With the new law I can foresee my fellow Sonorans being stopped if they are driving on a part of the city not close to the malls, just to get their papers checked. That is harassment.

One of my friends was saying that the police will have to be very sure that a person is illegal before detaining them or else they would risk getting sued. I have no confidence in the police here. Not after they didn't show-up after 4 car break-ins in the same neighborhood but they did show up at 6 am to ask a friend of mine to remove his street light because it violated the light code in Tucson (Tucson has a policy on street lighting due to the University space observatories, so the city is very dark). I personally, have encounter numerous times agents from Immigration that are very racists, it is rare that the would say something to me because I don't have brown skin but, they would interrogate anyone that is brown exhaustively before giving them permission to travel to Phoenix, for example. For those of you who don't know, a tourist visa is really not enough to travel within the US, you need yet another paper (I-94) to allow you to travel pass 150 miles from the border. In Arizona, Tucson is the limit, you can come here without that permit without any problem but you can't go to Phoenix without it. Before SB1070 only the Border Patrol was allowed to stop a car traveling to Phoenix to ask for said permit, now, any kind of police will be able to do it.

Illegal immigration needs to be stopped at the border. A lot of Arizonans say that the Federal Government hasn't done anything to do precisely that. They forget how tall and long is the double fence at the border. Also, how many border patrol or national security officers do they want along the border? the only way illegals will stop crossing through the desert is if there is an officer every couple of feet all along the border.

How about making it easier for people to migrate legally? How about giving temporal residency to those who can prove they have a secure job and are paying taxes? (we legal aliens in the country pay more taxes than an American citizen doing the same job, by the way) then, after a time, say 5 years, that you prove to have worked all the time and are current on your taxes give them a green card. Right now, it can take up to 20 years for someone from another country, working legally in the US to be able to even apply for the green card. You have to go to the whole ABC's of visas and pretty much until you have no other option but get a green card or leave the country, they allow you to apply for it. It is also extremely expensive to do so. How is it fair that someone (and I do know someone just like that) that has lived and worked in the US for 12 years to not get a green card because his jobs are not well payed so he can't afford to pay for the green card application? Denying him of a green card now and sending him back to his country is up-rooting him, his life is here!

I really don't think SB1070 will do anything to control or get rid of illegals. There are 2 things that will come out of this: 1) a lot of citizens or legal residents will get harassed and will sue the State; 2) This is a good thing, the issue of illegal immigration is back on the table for the Federal Government to take action. I really hope the latter is for the benefit of the millions of legal and illegal immigrants in this country.

NASA region 4

2010-04-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

I woke up today with the news that the Mexican Congress approved the creation of the Mexican Space Agency (AEXA, for its initials in Spanish). I couldn't resist give my opinion on the matter. It sounds awesome in theory, doesn't it? Well, no, my actual first thought was: what the frak?

I must explain why that was my reaction. Mexico gives less than 1% of its annual income to the Science Council (CONACyT). Can you guess where is the money to fund the AEXA is coming from? Right, from that less than 1% as well. Meaning? CONACyT will get even less money to fund all other areas of science. As it is, right now, getting a grant funded through CONACyT is almost impossible, you have to submit 3-4 times and the most you can get is $100,000 dollars for a 3 year project. Compare that to $1 million dollars for an RO-1 funded through the National Institutes of Health, in the US. Add to that that any reagent or piece of equipment you buy from Mexico is at least twice the price as in the US.

Now, exactly how much of the starting fund of the AEXA will go to hire scientist? close to nothing! First they will need to hire a director (very likely a politician with only a Bachelor's degree), a speaker, an administrator, etc. All those people will come, no doubt about it, from the governing party and they will be brothers, sisters, neighbors, etc. of someone in a higher post at said party.

I have no idea if Mexico actually has people actually prepared to work in an agency like that. I know we have good engineers and physicists but, from that to quantic physicists and astronauts is a big leap. I just keep wondering; how long will it take for the AEXA to produce anything worthwhile? How much money will Mexico put in to produce something with the hope of some revenue? What will be the effect of the money that will be put into the AEXA on the CONACyT funding new scientists?

These are things that someone like me, who still had the hope to go back to Mexico to do science, has to consider.

I was going to provide a link to the English version of the AEXA site but, I'm actually embarrassed, they seem to have used Google translate to put that up.

February 14th

2010-02-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

This song is not only appropriate for this day for its name but, for the feelings that it expresses which are my own. The singer is Alberto Plaza, a Chilean with a lot of talent to compose and sing romantic, heart-breaking, as well as, up-lifting songs. The name of the song, translated to English, is February 14th.

February 14th, the moon on the garden
today lovers share kisses
I keep my own, you are not here
I miss you, I'm not the same as before.

Instead of living on Paradise
memories is all I have
who knows if the enchantment is still alive
who knows if you are also thinking about me.

In love, with your kisses
in love with you to the bone
desperate because you are far away
like the sea waves, like the sea waves
you come and then leave.

February 14th, is raining loneliness
the stars look at me with sorrow
I keep dreaming that you will come back
seating on one of their laps.

In love, with your kisses
in love with you to the bone
desperate because you are far away
like the sea waves, like the sea waves
you come and then leave.

February 14th, you St. Valentine
help me and tell her that I love her
find a way to bring her back
don't you see that, for her love, I'm dying.

In love, with your kisses
in love with you to the bone
desperate because you are far away
like the sea waves, like the sea waves
you come and then...
like the sea waves you come and then...
you leave.

2% chances guy is back!

2010-01-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

Some you will remember that guy that I talked about a few months ago. I met him at an online dating site, we flirted with each other (heavily) on FB and by phone. He asked me out a couple of times and then never called to set the date up. Well, he contacted me again last night. I got an email in every email account I own, telling me that he added me as a contact on some page. I thought, maybe it was just one of those things that you add everyone even if you no longer talk to them. However, he even added an email that I never gave him! So, I gave up to my curiosity and asked him why was he contacting me again? His answer: why not?

I was furious. I have been done with him since November but, apparently he didn't get the hint. So, I proceeded to send him a lengthy email explaining why I'm not interested anymore. I told him I suspected he has a GF and didn't understand why he wanted to give me hope when there was none. I finished by telling him not to contact me anymore. Can you guess what happened next?

He replied saying: "Wow that was quite the email. I do have a girl friend. But I do not see why we cannot be friends?
Regards, 2% chances guy"

Frak! What a tremendous cheater-SOB! Yes, cheater, even though we never met in person, if he had had the same talks he had with me with another girl, while dating me, I would consider that cheating! I had asked him numerous times if he had a GF and he always said no. I guess he needed to hear harsh words to come forward. There is no way I will continue to talk to him. I just needed to share. As I said before, I'm no side dish!

I don't like France

2010-01-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Today I got into an interesting conversation with some friends on a chat. They were being very cultural and I'm not, so I was mainly watching. Until they mentioned something about going to Paris and I made the mistake of stating that I don't like France. This lead to a whole lot of: are you serious? how can you not like a whole country? some of your friends are French!. Etcetera, you get the idea.

Let me continue by saying that I know France is beautiful, especially the country side. I would love to visit the museums at Paris given that my favorite painter is Claude Monet. I could kill someone to go visit his garden. Now, why don't I like France?

I think is over-rated. The food? yes, it's ok, too complicated for my taste. Yes, I have eaten it and cooked it too. Give me tacos over beef bourguinon any time. Wine? I don't like red wine, only white, I'm OK with a Napa-Valley sparkling wine any day. The movies? I have liked 2 of them: Amelie and My life in pink. Music? hate it! I don't like the sound of French spoken, even less sung.

I would rather go to other 100 places than go to France, so sue me. I don't get offended if someone tells me they don't want to visit Mexico. That's ok. Even more, if someone tells me they do want to visit Mexico, I recommend them other cities, not my own, there is nothing to see there. I just think that there are a lot of other places with more to see than France. If I ever go to Europe and don't go to France I won't be heart-broken. If however, I never get to see Barcelona or London or Florence I will die with a big whole in my heart.

Road rage

2009-12-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I drove from Tucson to my hometown, Hermosillo. My city is located about 350 miles south of Tucson. During this time of the year a lot of Mexicans living in the US drive back to Mexico and the Tucson-Hermosillo highway, being part of the Panamerican highway that goes from Canada to Argentina, is highly transited. A lot of those people drive 2 pick-up trucks; chained together and piled-up with stuff as to prevent the drivers from looking back on their rear-view mirrors. Driving surrounded with those many cars, semi-trailers and regular traffic, encounter at least 4 police/military check-points and quite a few asking for money or selling stuff in the middle of the little towns on the way, can bring the worse of you out.

If you think that I’m all proper and not able to curse please stop reading now, as I would like you to preserve that nice imagine of me. Now, if you would like to now how I react under pressure continue reading. These are some random thoughts that popped on my mind during my drive back home. Some of them were voiced aloud; a few accompanied by a particular hand movement that included flipping a certain finger up.

- Frakk
- Why are you moron braking? There is nothing in front of you!
- No, no, don’t try to get in front of me, there is no enough spaceeee (honk)
- Frakk youuu, I have to brake because you don’t know how to get out of the highway without making everyone else stop!
- Why the heck do you have a checkpoint if you are not checking anyone???
- Frakk
- Great, idiot going at 35 mph when everyone else is going 75 mph. Frakk I can’t pass the idiot because I have about 20 cars in-line to my left.
- But, I stiiiill haven’t fouuund what I’m looking fooor
- Half-hour wait at the toll-box, frakking great!
- No, I do not want to donate to the red cross, I just want to keep moving!!!
- Hermosillo 100 miles, fantastic, now I just have to keep going straight (there are about 4 curves in the last 100 miles of the way and nothing to see but dried grass and mesquites around, can be quite dangerous if you are tired because is soooo boring).
- Last toll box, another half-hour wait, awesome!

I repeated all those thoughts a couple of times until I finally made it home and after unclenching my jaw and my fists I started to relax a little and enjoy having vacations. More from yesterday’s events later.

Another birthday

2009-12-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

I wrote this 3 years ago and I think it is time to re-visit it:

----------------------------
It is time to postpone the fantasy of the family for a couple more years. When I was a young girl I used to think that I would meet the love of my life at 18 and then get married at 20. Then, as a teenager I changed my mind and decided that I would meet him at 20 to get married at 24. I turned 20 and that year left me with a big heart-brake so, I changed the time again, 25 to 28 was the goal. Obviously, that didn't happen and the date got move once more, hook up with someone (anyone!) at 28 and get married at 30. I can't keep moving the fantasy anymore, I give myself to 32 maximum and if nothing happens I will claim the children that my friend Readman owes me.
----------------------------

So, here I am, 32 years old, single and no prospect in sight. I guess I need to talk to my friend about those children. He promised me his first born after I gave him a book he really wanted. Then he promised me a second child after I have him the first season of Bones, jajajajajajaja. Now, the arrangement was that he was going to get married and then give me the children not that I would have them with him. There's a problem though, he is single also!

I was talking to my brothers the other day about this. I long to be a mother, I really do. I know that my sister thinks it is selfish for a single woman to have or adopt a kid. I also know that is better for kids to have 2 parents. But, what about all those kids in foster care that never get adopted? wouldn't they rather have a mom than nothing at all? I will have a big decision to make once I finish my PhD and get a real job. I have to graduate soon! My biological clock is ticking!

Birthday 2009 in Tucson

2009-12-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

If I thought that my birthday celebration was over this year, I was wrong! Last Friday my friends in Tucson took me out for dinner at "My big Fat Greek Restaurant". I haven't had that many people celebrating me since I was in high school! We were 16 people at the table ;-). We had good Greek food, awesome company and Mila (my friends Verena and Toby 3-week old baby girl). I haven't had time to meet Mila so they brought her to dinner as my birthday present. You can check my happy face as I'm holding her, in the pictures below.

My friends gave me a very blown-out, black and white, picture of myself that will take an entire wall in my apartment if I put it up. They also gave me a gift card for Amazon from were I ordered: Harry Potter 6 (blue-ray-dvd combo), the 2nd season of The Big Bang Theory, a CD (Noel Schjaris, Argentinian singer) and 2 books from the Ender's series (Orson Scott Card). I can hardly wait for everything to get here! woohoo!

You can also check in the pictures my "happy-birthday-face" as the waiters/waitresses sung the Greek version of happy birthday while giving me a flaming plate of baklava. I hate people singing happy birthday to me, I didn't know they did that at the restaurant! All my friends know this so they enjoooooy themselves seeing me suffering through it! jajajajajaja.

After the celebration I had a busy weekend doing Christmas shopping and being in the lab very early and late at night (that's what 12-hour experiments do to you!). I'm getting kind of sick again, at it sucks, lots of sinus pressure!

A very eventful birthday

2009-12-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

The very long weekend started last Thursday when Jack (my car) broke-down 45 minutes from Tucson. The electric system started failing, the alarm went off and I panicked! I pulled over and opened the hood, of course I didn't know what to look for so that was useless, jajajaja. Just as I was deciding whom to call Jack started again. I decided to keep going and see if I would make it home. I did! I went straight to my brothers shop, two of my bros are mechanics. I left Jack with them after explaining what had happened.

I spent the afternoon with my Godson, Diego, the super-cute baby in the pictures. The next day I had my birthday dinner, you can see my friends on the picture. We had good food, good wine, a lot of laughs and an awesome time. I got great presents and lots of hugs and balloons, jajajajaja.

Saturday was Grandpa's party, we share our birthday. Grandpa turned 94 this year so the family threw him a big party. I got to see family members I had not seen in a while, including some from my Dad's side that were invited to the party, you can see them in the picture were I'm in between a couple. After that picture was taken my uncle Mario said we were "the little piggies" jajajajajaja.

I got Jack back on Saturday, so, on Sunday I packed all my things and was ready to head back to Tucson. However, when I got in the car I couldn't fin my iPod and was very upset, I took all my stuff out again to look for it, nada! Anyhoo, I got some CDs for my b'day so I played them. Just as I was pulling out to the highway Jack started his crazy electronic dance again! It stopped working and I started crying! I thought that they were 2 bad signs that day and maybe I shouldn't drive like that, I was very upset. So, I went back home and called my brother. They finally figured that Jack's alarm wasn't working and it was acting as if I was stealing the car! So, they installed a new alarm on Monday and I came back to Tucson on Tuesday, after finding my iPod hidden in the glove compartment.

Aside the problems with my car I had a good birthday celebration and will have another one in Tucson this Friday ;-) Thanks to all for the good wishes :-D

2% chances are 100% real

2009-11-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

He said he was 98% sure he wasn't busy on Wednesday. He said he would call on Monday or Tuesday to set up our meeting on Wednesday. He texted on Monday but didn't say anything about the date. Total silence on Tuesday. I was really pissed off and disappointed, this was the second time he did the exact same thing. So, sorry guys, I didn't follow your advices because I really thought the ball was in his court. As TJ said, at that point I felt that the whole thing was forced (by me, mainly).

I felt pretty stupid for getting my hopes up. I really liked the guy, even though he had almost stood me up once already. So, on Tuesday night my facebook status read: "I'm glad this day is over" (I had a bad day in the lab) and he commented on it around 1 am: "me too". I saw the comment early in the morning and saw his status from Tuesday: "having friends over, bbq and punk music, awesome". When I saw that all the excuses I had made up as possibilities for him not to call me flew out of the window. So, I deleted him from my friends in all the social sites we used to be in contact with each other.

Of course my heart would still jump at the sound of my phone but, no, he never called. I was a little down because of this yesterday but, today I'm much better. Hell, is his loss! I want a man I can rely on, in real life, not online. I have the feeling that he wanted to have me there as an option in case he didn't find something better. I'm no side-dish, I'm a whole entree and half a dessert! So, screw him, I'm better off by myself.

Experimenting in a different lab

2009-11-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my friend's birthday. Inspired by the movie Julie & Julia we decided to make Beef Bourguignon for her. I was in charge of the cooking and my friends of the chopping ;-). Here is how the very long process goes:

Grocery shoping:

Chop the onions, bacon, carrots and mushrooms:

Simmer bacon in water for 10 min:

Fry the bacon in olive oil and remove from the heat leaving the fat in the pot, brown the beef (previously dried with paper towels, it won't brown if it's damp), a few pieces at a time:

I had 6 pounds of meat so, the browning took about 1.5 hours to finish!

Caramelize the onions in the bacon fat, then add the carrots and brown them a little.
That's me with my new apron browning the carrots and onions:

Add the beef and bacon back to the pot, add salt, pepper, beef stock, thyme, tomato paste, garlic, a bay leaf and lots of wine, bake at 250-300F for 3 hours:

On a skillet brown onion head in butter and olive oil, add some beef stock and a bouquet of herbs:

Brown the mushrooms in butter and oil:

In the 3 hours of baking, relax and watch a movie:

After 3 hours in the oven we added the mushrooms and onions and let it go for a little while longer, this is how it looked like when we added the final components:

TA-DAAA! Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon and baked potatoes as a side dish:

Being the first time I make something this complicated let me tell you, it was a great success! Everyone had seconds or thirds and the plates looked like someone had rinsed them immediately after finishing the food. Of course, after 6 hours of cooking I was exhausted but, it was worth it! We all enjoyed an awesome meal and had fun!

Flirting

2009-11-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

Don't you love that phase on a possible relationship when you flirt with each other a lot? So, there this guy that I met at an online-dating site over a year ago. We lost touch for a while then he contacted me again and we have been friends on Facebook since then. We have each other cell phone numbers but we only texted (until tonight). We comment on each other's status and flirt like crazy on FB. Yet, we have never managed to get together in person.

I have asked him out twice and he was busy both times. He has asked me out twice and I was busy or out of town both times. Bad luck or a sign that we are not meant for each other? Today we were again flirting and he said something about me using being a girl as an excuse for something, my response was: "I could tell you that I can prove (being a girl) it but why bother? :-P". It was all my intention to let him know that I thought he is really not interested in dating me so, I implied that he wouldn't be interested in finding out if I'm really a girl. Of course I got the response I wanted and he asked me how I would prove I'm a girl. By the time he posted that I was already gone from work so I didn't answer.

I don't know how long it was after that, less than 10 minutes. I got a text. The conversation went like this:

Him: how would you prove you are a girl?
Me: how would you prove you are a guy?
Him: what do you want you see or feel?
Me: my thoughts exactly
Him: what do you have to offer?
Me: nothing you would be interested in (I thought that by teasing him like that I would get him to react and ask me out again or something)
Him: what would you say that?
Me: we have been online buddies for over a year and yet we haven't met for real. There is a reason for that

Two seconds later my phone rang!!! "Hey, it's Him"

Long story short, we talked for about 10 minutes (first time we talked) and there is a 98% chance that I will meet him for lunch on Wednesday!

I'm kind of worried that if we meet the text-online spark will die. Maybe it will increase? What if he doesn't like me? What if I don't like him? Anyone wants to take bets on the possibility that I will actually meet him this time?

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

Haven't you head that Halloween is the holiday for the nerds? This is way:

Cereal killer

Religious theme

iPod commercial

The pumpkins

The pervs

The communist party

Paths and roads

2009-10-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, right at the entrance of that path that sometime ago joined our roads together. The road was made of dirt but it wasn't hard to travel trough. I wanted to cross to your side and stay there forever. You looked to my side only from time to time. I had the hope that the road would get pavement, it would be strong and we would maintain it together. At that time we laughed a lot, we talked for ours about everything and nothing, you were on your side and I was on mine, but I was happy.

You didn't want to cross to my side of the road, you found a way to let me know and you made your road turn away from mine. You followed your path and found another road. You were exactly like I was, looking at that road and wanting to cross over and stay there. She had already found her permanent place and didn't let you cross.

Eventually, I found a bridge to another path, I risked everything and crossed to the other side. The owner of the other path didn't want me to continue parallel to him forever so, he made me return to my path and blew up the bridge so I would never go back. The little pavement I had got broken and it took a long time to get it repaired, you can still see the scar of a big pot-hole but, it is ok to travel trough.

I have been on my path for so long, I see others in the distance but there are no bridges to cross and reach them. That is why in days like this, cloudy, cold and melancholic I go back to the entrance of the road that leads to your path. Only I know where it is now, the desert cover it with bushes and sahuaros but, it is still there and I come and seat for a while and dream of how it would be being on your side. I know it wouldn't be perfect, there would be detours and bumps but I think I would be happy again. If only I could make you look to my side again. I could build a giant announcement that would guide you to my path, I know it would be useless though, you have no desire to sort the dunes to get to me.

I don't know where your path took you this days, I don't know if you found an indestructible bridge to another road, I would like to think that it happened. I will never forget were that little road is and maybe I will never stop hoping that it will re-open but, knowing that you are happy would make me a little happier as well.

Mexican with gastritis

2009-10-28T16:49:00.001-07:00

I have been blocked on my writing for a while now. The reason? I was diagnosed with dyspepsia (aka gastritis) a month ago. Meaning? I'm constantly in pain and nauseated. I never thought it would happen this bad. I've had episodes before but never lasting more than a day or two. This time is different. I can't drink caffeine at all and I can't eat a lot of things, which let me to realize how hard it is being Mexican while having gastritis.

I have never realized how many of our dishes contain some kind of chile in them. Also, the incredible amounts of lime juice I consume. That realization conducted me to another one: it is frakking impossible to eat any Mexican food while sick to your stomach. Both for the spiciness and for the dullness that overcomes the food once you take out the chile and the lime!

Quesadillas without salsa? Boooring

Rice without tomato sauce? where is the flavor?

White rice without lime? yikes!

Machaca without Anaheim peppers? that, my friends, is considered a sin in Sonora.

Tacos without chiles and lime? that is just wrong!

I have to get better before Christmas break! The thought of having Menudo without chiltepines or not having any beef-tamales gives me goose bumps!

Note: I should have said Sonoran instead of Mexican, the food in the rest of the country is different and the dishes I mentioned here are Sonoran ;-)

Looking down

2009-10-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to a U2 concert in Phoenix. After 4:30 hours in the car for a trip that should have taken 2:30 hours (traffic was insane), we made it just in time for U2 to start. We totally missed the "black eye peas" which I was absolutely fine with. I didn't buy the tickets so I had no idea where we were going to seat. The tickets were the second least expensive price so I thought we were going to be somewhere in the middle. No luck, we were almost all the way to the top of the stadium (the Arizona Cardinals stadium, that is). How different it is to go to a concert being in the first rows compared to the ceiling of the place?

First rows:

Everyone is a big fan.
Everyone sings along all the songs.
Everyone stands.
Everyone dances.
Everyone screams.
Everyone follows the clapping or arm movements asked by the singer.
No-one feels silly when holding their cell-phones up in the air as if they were the lighters used in the 80's.
You can see what kind and color of sun-glasses is Bono wearing.
Screaming when the singer comes close to you actually makes sense.
You get a neck pain because you are looking up all the time.

Ceiling:

Not everyone is a fan so everyone is shy to sing-out-loud.
You are surrounded by the sweet smell of pot.
You see Bono's sun-glasses, on the screen.
You can see the whole scenario but that tower on your left sometimes doesn't let you see the singer.
You get a back-ache because you are bending down to try to be closer to the stage (jajaja).
You start clapping or waving your arms around when the singer asks you to but, because no-one else is doing it you stop at the second clap/wave.
The real fans that couldn't afford tickets in front of the stage annoy the hell out of you because; they scream, they don't seat down and they try to sing-out-loud butchering the lyrics of the songs in the process (you only notice this because they are the only ones singing so you can hear them).
If the singer point towards the ceiling you are tempted to think that he is looking at you so you scream, then comes the rational thought: if you can't see his face he, most certainly, can't see yours.
You watch more of the concert on the 360 screen than actually looking at the ants jumping around the stage that you know are the band.

In all, the concert was OK. The sound was horrendous and I couldn't understand most of what Bono was singing. I wish I would have been by the stage, yet, I'm not that big of a fan so I wouldn't pay that much money, jajajaja.

Him

2009-09-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

I must confess that it felt weird at the beginning. To see and feel that new presence in my apartment. I have been by myself for so long that now is hard to share my space. Seeing him, there, looking at me with those beautiful green eyes. He got closer slowly, it seemed like it was weird for him too. He is not used to spending the night at a stranger's house, neither. Little by little we started trusting in each other, we had dinner, watched some TV, we "played" for a while until it was time to go to bed. We were both nervous. Deciding what side we were going to sleep on was easy, after all it's my house and I always sleep on one side of my bed so, he had to move over.

We cuddled together for a while and I found where he likes to be touched, we stayed like that until we fell asleep. Right at midnight I heard him calling me, he touched my face and sneaked under my sheets wanting to "play" again. I said no, I was really tired and he gave up. He tried again at dawn, calling me to wake me up, caressing my legs. At that point, I had no option but to wake up and please him. You now may assume that I'm so tired that I just want to die. I have another night like this to look forward to because he is staying in my apartment again tonight.

Pepe, my friend's cat, can be adorable but he is also quite demanding, jajajajajajajaaja

Big experiment

2009-09-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Every time the timer goes off to remind me to change the wash of my Western blot brings me a step closer to a big failure or a big success of an almost 2 year-long experiment. My stomach is getting tighter and tighter, I just want to know! I want to scream! My hope fluctuates from very positive that it will work to an almost certainty it won't. I'm on the verge of tears because if it doesn't work I have no more backup plans and I really don't want to accept defeat. Sciency and all you could now see me praying for this to work, I need a good result to feel worth something again.

My user name

2009-08-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

I found this cool video of the song were I took my user name from. I have no idea how my BC friends think or pronounce it and I wanted to share this with you so you'll know how it is pronounced. Deray is what people from the Canary Islands call the moon. The song is about the forbidden love between the moon and the Sun.

My favorite phrases from the song:

The voice of sadness is Deray

Lethal love that sings instead of crying

The hidden side of the moon is Deray (note: the dark side of the moon doesn't sound as tragic or romantic)

Misleading people

2009-08-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

In the past days I came across a post about the new Influenza vaccine that was totally misleading and scaring people. I know the blogger means no harm, on the contrary, but he is talking about something that he doesn't understand. I really don't like bloggers that just copy/paste information from other sources and try to make sense out of them when they have no idea about the subject. I'm a scientist and I do not claim to know about everything science-related. I thought about writing a science blog but, my lack of knowledge in certain areas made me reject the idea. I'm a bacteriologist but I have studied viruses, parasites and fungi as well. Still, if I started talking about cancer or diabetes I would certainly make some mistake because my knowledge is not as extensive in that area. That is why I don't do it.

My training does allow me to critically review papers form serious journals and understand what they are talking about. When I access pages like the CDC or read reports from MMWR I know where to look, I don't read what is written for the lay person, I read the information for scientists. A lot of people that talk about the "dangers" of the flu vaccine claim to have gotten their information from the WHO page. I can't find what they said even after more than hour of browsing to the WHO webpage. One thing is getting information from a newspaper or any other media source that claim to cite the WHO and another is to say that because you read those pages then you also got your information from the original source. It's like a broken phone line, the information gets more and more polluted with passage and it's not like a virus that gets attenuated, on the contrary. Doing your own interpretation of subjects you know nothing about only causes misinterpretation and that only takes to misleading people. If you blog, stick to your area of expertise and avoid to touch subjects you are not even familiar with, or get a guest blogger that does know about the subject to write a post for you.

A day without my iPOD

2009-08-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I forget my iPOD at home..

- I can't pretend that I don't hear the phone that the lab manager never answers

- I can hear how many times the lab manager stirs her coffee

- I can hear the people from 2 rows of cubicles down talking, including a bptart that talks like a child

- I heard a weird phone conversation from a professor that doesn't close his office door

- I heard the lab technician asking a post-doc if he trusted his lab work o_0

- I discovered that some people have very annoying ring-tones in their cell phones

- I had fun listening to the technician having problems calculating a concentration

- I heard that Bolt broke the 100m track record!

- I heard that the technician hates mal-walrt because "it's the devil". That made me think that he might care for something or someone (I doubt it)

- I heard the technician counting his vacations hours, like he doesn't just take days when he wants to

(can you tell by now that I don't like the technician?)

- I heard about an hour of French because the post-doc was talking to his wife via the internet

- The technician and the french laughed out loud for about 20 minutes remembering how the french f*(up a chocolate mousse because he forgot the sugar

Is the end of the day and I just want to kill myself. Big note to self: do not forget your iPOD again...EVER!

Shakira

2009-08-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

After the oh-so-expected new video of Shakira, this is what we got...

I hope I will not offend anyone but, that is horrendous! I really think that Shakira lost a lot of artistic value in her last 2-3 CD's. Ever since she made the leap to the Anglo market her songs have gotten way more commercial and soulless (even in Spanish). Where are the songs with romantic lyrics? where are the stories in the songs? where are the songs from her beginning, were she sung about good causes? Apparently all that got flushed down the drain at the same time as the black of her hair. I can't even tell that she can sing anymore. It sounds like she is rapping, with horrible diction (I actually had to watch a video with subtitles to understand the lyrics) and her voice sounds so bad compared to any of the songs in her early Spanish CD's. So sorry Shakira, you can sure dance but your music is gotten from bad to worse.

My name is Asher Lev

2009-07-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Book by Chaim Potok. 1972.

Yeah, yeah I'm really behind in my literature and I'm doing reviews of books from the 70's. What can I say? Readman found it in his parent's library and lent it to me. Plus, I don't buy a lot of new releases.

Asher Lev is a Hassidus Jew being raised in Brooklyn. Asher could draw amazing pictures even before he could read or write. Any "goy" (Christian) family would love to have a kid like that, a prodigy. However, Asher's family is deeply religious and his Dad thinks that his gift comes from an evil place. The book narrates the first 20 years Asher's life, his problems with his Dad, his discovery of what art is, his training as a professional painter, his deep troubles when he finds himself between his religion and his passion, his suffering when his Mom gets caught between him and his Dad. In all, it is a really good book about how we never meet our parents expectations and; the problems that said expectations can cause in our development and our happiness.

I give this book 8/10.

Visas

2009-07-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Two days ago I found out that Canada is now asking for all Mexican citizens, that wish to visit it, to apply for a visa. Previously we only needed to show our passport (valid) and we got a stamp. I do not disagree with Canada's new policy. However, apparently the announcement came with only a 2-day warning and, on top of that, the application can only be processed in Mexico City and the applicant has to be present because it includes a medical examination. So, this new policy affected hundreds of people that had their summer vacations already booked.

The reasoning behind this decision is that a lot of Mexicans are asking for political asylum in Canada. I can see that people from states with political conflicts or drug-war (that is most of the country, unfortunately), could ask for asylum. But, as usual, a lot of people try to abuse the system. The Canadian government supports people that ask for asylum, so unscrupulous people ask for it under false pretenses and enjoy a payed vacation while their case is being looked into. That situation has cost a lot of money that comes from people's taxes. Also, a lot of people go to Canada to study english and work there illegally, sometimes for a long period of time. Asking for a visa to enter the country will be part of the solution to all of this. But, a short notice and the complication of having to travel to Mexico City will seriously affect anyone that wants to travel to the maple tree country.

While the Croatian government reacted badly to this new rule, with its ambassador calling on the Canadian government and asking to immediately revoke their decision, the Mexican government decided to ask for visas to all Canadian diplomats. Big deal! How is that going to help? We should ask for visas from all Canadians as well. Even if they are for free. Most countries are now securing their borders. When is Mexico going to do the same?

Mexico is a paradise for foreigners that want to disappear from their countries. I'm all for giving people asylum when there is a real threat for them to return to their countries. There is a big Cuban population in Mexico, for example. But, a lot of the foreigners that stay in the country are criminals that get away and live happily in Mexico because no-one does a background check on them. How many children have been kidnapped by a parent and ended up living with them in Mexico? How many ETA members have been (with high difficulties) tracked down to Mexico? I think it is time for my country to have more control over the people that visit it and not just make them file a form that is not even captured into a computer.

The virgin blue

2009-07-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Readman and I are a little obsessed with good books (he also reads bad ones, I don't have the patience). Frequently we interchange books (yes, we trust each other that much), then, of course, we interchange opinions. A lot of times we agree on our views, except for suspense/horror books that Readman adores and I don't care for, that much. The opposite is true for my romantic novels, I don't think he would read them, even if there is nothing else to read.

In my last visit to Hermosillo (my and Readman's hometown), we interchanged books, as usual. Amongst the books that Readman lent me was "The virgin blue" by Tracy Chevalier. It is one of those books that make me envy those people that have the wonderful ability to get brilliant ideas and that know how to get them across in an engaging and captivating way. "The virgin blue" was published in 1997 but, it wasn't until the author's second book ("the girl with the pearl earring") was published that it got noticed. 12 years later it fell on my hands, and I devoured its 350 pages in 4 going-to-bed-really-late nights.

The book narrates how the family bond can survive centuries, overcome space barriers and even defeat death. It is a story of a woman that researching the life of her ancestors discover an ancient bond between her family, the color red and a particular shade of blue. In the process, she also finds her true identity, her real home and her real love. The story is told from the points of view of; Ella, the woman in the present; and, Isabelle, the root of Ella's genealogical tree. The book takes you from the happiness and anxiety that is a new beginning, trough marital trouble, flirting and enchantment, the suspense of family secrets, some spirituality and a touch of horror, to; the love for ones profession, the adventure of the unknown, the value of friendship and the wonders of true love.

I give this book a 9/10. It could have a longer epilogue. I won't say why to avoid spoiling it.

Te amaré

2009-07-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

My favorite song in the whole world, it is in Spanish but I wrote a (bad) translation.

Miguel Bosé: Te amaré

Con la paz de las montañas te amaré
con locura y equilibrio te amaré,
con la rabia de mis años, como me enseñaste a ser
con un grito en carne viva te amaré.

En secreto y en silencio te amaré
arriesgando en lo prohibido te amaré
en lo falso y en lo cierto, con el corazón abierto
por ser algo no perfecto te amaré.

Te amaré, te amaré
como no está permitido
te amaré, te amaré
como nunca se ha sabido...
porque así lo he decidido te amaré.

Por ponerte algún ejemplo te diré
que aunque tengas manos frías te amaré
con tu mala ortografía y tu no saber perder
con defectos y manías te amaré.

Te amaré, te amaré
porque fuiste algo importante
te amaré, te amaré
cuando ya no estés presente...
seguirá siendo costumbre y te amaré.

Al caer de cada noche esperaré
a que seas luna llena y te amaré
y aunque queden pocos restos en señal de lo que fue
seguirás cerca y muy dentro, te amaré.

Te amaré, te amaré
a golpe de recuerdo
te amaré, te amaré
hasta el último momento...
a pesar de todo siempre te amaré.
-------

Translation:

With the peace of the mountains
I will love you
with craziness and balance
I will love you
with the rage of my years, how you thought me to be
with a scream in bare flesh
I will love you

In secret and in silence
I will love you
in the edge of the forbidden
I will love you
in lies and truth, with my heart open
because you are something imperfect,
I will love you

I will love you, I will love you
because is not allowed,
I will love you, I will love you
like no-one has ever done it,
because I decided so, I will love you

As an example, I will tell you,
that even if you have cold hands, I will love you
with your bad orthography and your "I-never-lose"
with your defects and manias, I will love you

I will love you, I will love you
because you were important,
I will love you, I will love you
even after you are gone,
it will still be a habit, I will love you

Every nightfall I will wait,
until you are a full moon and
I will love you.
Even if there is very little left,
as a sign of what it was,
you will be still close and deep inside
I will love you

I will love you, I will love you
as a punch of a memory,
I will love you, I will love you
until the very last moment,
despite everything, I will love you

10 years in solitude

2009-07-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

I realized this week that tomorrow is the 10th anniversary since I've been alone. 10 years a go I had you and you had me. You left me and I just realized, it still hurts. I've been in denial a long time. It feels good to let it out. It still hurts.

We met in high school but we didn't pay attention to each other then. You were the clown of the band, I was the nerd. We met again a few years later, you were still funny and more interesting. I found out a few days earlier than the love of my life had his own love of his life and I was a little heart-broken. You healed my heart with your smile and your persistence. I was a bitch to you those few weeks you were after me. Yet, you kept coming back. I decided to give you a chance and before I knew it I had fell for you. It was the first time I loved and was loved back. It was bitter-sweet. We had our problems, your mom hated me, I didn't like her that much. I hated that you wouldn't defended me from her horrendous comments. But, we loved each other, or that is what I thought.

After almost a year, I knew things were not going great and, silly me, thought that if we got closer everything would be all right again. I went on vacation and didn't see you for a couple of weeks. When I saw you again you broke up with me. You told me all the clichés I never thought I would hear, it was not me, it was you, you needed time, etc. I believed when you said you just needed time. I didn't know you already had someone else.

I found out you were cheating on me 7 months after we broke up. At our professor's funeral. I had to keep everything I felt inside. I couldn't ask you about it, I couldn't slap you, even though I so wanted to. It was too late. So, I have kept those feelings inside me for 10 long and lonely years. I haven't had another relationship since then. I can't trust on anyone anymore. I have lied to myself saying that I miss having someone, that I don't miss you, I do, I miss YOU.

I know you got married and have children. You forgot me. I never forgot you. I hope you are and will always be happy. It's been a long time now and I still don't know if I can forgive you. I've almost lost hope that I will ever find someone else and I know it is because of you. I so wish you could read this, you owe me 10 years of my life.

Clubbing 10+ years later

2009-06-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

I have never been much of a clubbing girl. My time for going out every other weekend was when I turned 18 (legal age to get into a club and drink, in Mexico). My girlfriends and I would go to the clubs, hoping they would let us in, and then just dance, sing and drink. It was fun.

I just went to a club after a long time. It is not fun anymore, or at least, the specific club we went to, wasn't. The drinks were good. The music was horrible. Apparently they had a special DJ that night. He played only house music which, I don't like that much, it doesn't make me want to dance. We went to ask him to play some MJ, hoping that he would agree because of MJ's recent death. The assistant of the DJ (talk about a great job) told us that he didn't take requests. The dance floor was practically empty and he wouldn't change the music. Isn't that suppose to be the DJ's job? To make everyone dance?

Anyway, that was a no-go. So, some of my friends did dance a little. The rest of us were just drinking and people-watching. That was fun, checking outfits of people coming in and betting if they were going to let them in or not, based on the clothes. The problem was that all bets were off because some people on horrible outfits were friends with the bouncer. So, that too ended up not being fun anymore.

When we first got in we noticed a couple of women that had that look of easiness, to say it in a decent way. All trough the night we noticed them talking to several guys and we were very curious to find out if they really were what we thought they were. Almost at the end of the night one of them was talking to a guy that was behind us, so we got to listen to their conversation. What we thought was true, they were talking prices! This place is the second most popular and nice club in town so we were not expecting that. The expected part was that it was full of young people, a lot of daddy-boys and girls and the opposite spectrum too, a lot of 40+ people. There were the usual hammered guys hitting on my married friends, including the pregnant one, jajajaja. One gay guy checking out my very cute and very married friend. And a stupid jerk that threw his still-lit cigarette out without looking, it ended up on my dress and I burned my finger a little to get it off. Fortunately the dress was not damaged, I would've been severely pissed off if that had happen.

I found amusing that I can go for 4-5 days in a row going to bed at 2-3 am when I'm in Hermosillo, then drive back to Tucson (6+ hours drive), no problem. But, yesterday I was very tired after going to bed at 3 am and waking up at 10. Another thing, how is it that people meet other people in this places? I mean, potential dates. It is impossible to talk. Anyway, call me boring but I don't think that I'll be clubbing again any time soon.

First love

2009-06-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

There's a time for everything, you said last night in my dream. Even while I was asleep I thought; no, there never was a time for us. Seeing you last week affected me more than I realized until now. I knew there was a chance that you would be there, that didn't help. I haven't seen you in 8+ years. It was still a shock.

Seeing you reminded me of the time when I loved you. Even though we were never together, the hope that it might have happen, made me happy. I don't love you anymore, how could I? I fell in love with the man you were becoming but I don't really know the man you became. I know you are happy now, that is bitter-sweet for me, I'm happy for you but, I find myself longing for what I don't have. I feel empty.

It is not just the loneliness, it is the fact that I haven't care for anyone in a long time. The need to love someone is even stronger than the need to feel loved. I never thought that would happen to me, given that I fall in love easily. Or, at least, I used to fall in love easily. Maybe that's not me anymore, my walls got higher and thicker after my inside got shattered 9 years ago. That wasn't your fault but, at some level, I blame you. If you had felt what I felt the story would have been very different. I can't get all the "ifs" to go away and that hurts.

You know you live (or at least have driven) in Tucson when...

2009-06-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

1. You know at least 3 people who have been in car accidents
2. You are the 3rd car waiting for the green light and you don't get to cross the intersection
3. If you are not the first car waiting for the green arrow on Oracle and River you will get your picture taken by the traffic camera
4. You go 25 mph in 40 mph zones (thanks to the one in front of you, of course)
5. You come to a full stop because the car in front of you is trying to make a right turn
6. You don't know if your car is well balanced because every street in Tucson is depressed at a certain angle
7. You know at least one person that has had a tire blown in a pot-hole
8. You have been honked at by a Mexican (hmmm ok, Sonoran)
9. You know at least 3 people who have gotten their cars broken into (I know 4, including me)
10. You don't understand why people brake right after they pass a traffic light

25 sad songs in English

2009-06-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

My favorite sad songs in english.

25. Sorry seams to be the hardest word. Elton John
24. Nothing compares to you. Sinead O’Connor
23. With or without you. U2
22. Hello. Lionel Richie
21. I want to know what love is. Foreigner
20. November rain. Guns ‘n roses
19. Streets of Philadelphia. Bruce Springsteen
18. Always. Bon Jovi
17. I’ll be loving you forever. New kids on the block
16. I need you. New kids on the block
15. It must have been love. Roxette
14. Dust in the wind. Kansas
13. All by myself. Celine Dion
12. The reason. Hoobanstank
11. How am I suppose to live without you. Michael Bolton
10. Anyone. Roxette
9. Please forgive me. Bryan Adams
8. You are still the one. Shania Twain
7. More than words. Extreme
6. Don’t speak. No doubt
5. Because of you. Kelly Clarkson
4. One more time. Laura Pausini (Richard Marx)
3. Goodbye. Air supply
2. Total eclipse of the heart. Air supply
1. Making love out of nothing at all. Air supply

25 random things about me

2009-06-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

1. I cry with almost every movie I watch.

2. I have read all the Harry Potter books, at least twice. I have seen all the Harry Potter movies up to date, at least 3 times each.

3. I am a nerd and I'm not afraid to say it.

4. I like Science Fiction books but, I really enjoy cheesy Romance novels.

5. I am a spoiler aunt/Godmother.

6. I use to play the flute in the marching band in high school and college.

7. I get really cranky when I'm hungry.

8. I hate putting dishes and clean clothes back in place.

9. I use to hate getting my picture taken and when I did I wouldn't smile. Now my smile is the most prominent thing in all my pictures. I thank Daniel Justiniani for that ;-).

10. I will wear a pair of White Converse Shoes if I ever get married.

11. I get grossed out by people that bite their nails, specially men.

12. I cried the 2 times I have seen my favorite singer, Miguel Bose, in concert.

13. I love to travel but I have only been in 2 countries, Mexico and USA.

14. I have never seen more than 2 inches of snow.

15. I bought my first car when I was 30 years old.

16. I love Claude Monet's paintings.

17. Green is my favorite color.

18. I can't have video games near me because one I star playing it is really hard to stop. My record is around 12 hours. I only play when I am in Hermosillo, just for the sake of my Godson (yeah right!), jajajajajaa.

19. When I am almost over with a meal I count how many pieces of beef, chicken, etc, whatever I am eating and divide my bread, tortilla, cracker, etc, accordingly. Sometimes I do it viceversa.

20. I usually coordinate the color of my clothes with my purse, shoes and most of the times, underwear.

21. I had to take the GRE test twice to enter Grad-school, I still don't know how I got a good score the second time.

22. I have a huge family, 4 brothers, one sister, 4 nephews, one niece, around 40 first cousins who have I don't know how many kids, jajaja.

23. I make really good pancakes and an ever better guacamole.

24. I love to live by myself but I need to have the TV or the radio on at all times, just to have some noise.

25. I have to read something not-work-related before I go to bed every night.