Weekly Be-Gratitudes!

A little joke for all you Catholics out there. So clever...

But seriously. The lovely blog Love, Life, Lace that I frequent in fits of procrastination from thesis writing has a Weekly Gratitude post and dang it if that isn't a good idea. And, it just so happens that this week has been a rather wonderful one, so what better time to begin?!?!

Thankful for...

• Taking afternoon siestas on the hammock  
• major scholarships 
• Rum + Soda Water + Lime
• finding some forgotten pics of my adorbs nephew on my camera (see below)
• my sister for having the kids and letting me be the crazy aunt
• the carrot cupcakes BDang just started getting...YUM. overpriced yet worth it.
• homemade bread/pizza and other delicious carbohydrates
• watching cats take naps. they always seem to fall asleep in the strangest positions.
• the meditative joy I get in peeling a hard boiled egg (it really is the small things, no?)

• having an amazing academic advisor who:
• despite being so busy with her own projects, still finds time to encourage me when I need it
• ...congratulates me when I deserve it
• ...lets me emotional breakdowns in her office when I've had it
• ...and who is a cool and inspiring lady! 

His eyes do the talking for him: "Help!"

he definitely has his mother's eyes!

babies laughing are funny, no?!

"The earth was warm under me, and warm as I crumbled it through my fingers...I kept as still as I could. Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy."

-Willa Cather, from My Antonia

Bender.

Halloween was last week, but let me tell you, it feels like yesterday. Or a couple of hours ago...or a million years ago...I'm not sure which. I am sure that between then and now, i dressed up as a lion, lost my phone in a town 2 hours away(so don't try and call me), obtained a huge ass umbrella from a janitor as a birthday gift, and drank about 3 liters of rum (most of it from inside a coconut). Do I have pictures? Yes, yes I do. In good time, friends. I have a little "recovering" to do before i will have the coherence to operate anything that involves hand eye coordination/thinking.


I suppose a little "recap" would be in order.

Halloween: i get PAID. this ends my 12 days crisis of having no money. halle-freaking-lujah!!! What do I do? I go out to buy a costume, naturally. I take a carro publico, and the driver is somewhere between 85-100 years old. He is severely lacking depth perception, which means he comes to a sudden HALT 6 feet before stoplights, and then does the old stop-go-stop-go all the way to the line. Add this with the fact the car has old man smell, and it's rush hour traffic, and times it by 2000, and you = the worst hour of my live. Christ, and on HALLOWEEN! I'm supposed to be drinking in an hour! How can I do that when I already want to vomit all over the place??

Well, I pull through, needless to say, and several drinks later it is 11:30AM and I feel like garbage all over again.


OK HERE THEY ARE:

me and the posse.














Friday happened to be my birthday -- "the big 2-5, a quarter century of little significant accomplishment", in the words of Will Leitch (blacktable.com)
Was I depressed about it? Not really. A little worried, I would say. Worried in the "christonabikeiam25withnorealcareertospeakofmuchlessloveoranythingofthatothershityouaresupposedtohavebynow" way. But I will not panic, no sir, because life is okay. I'll take some more of it.

I had my first surprise birthday party ever, hosted by my students!! and i will say it was a moment where i regained a sliver of hope in humanity, because shit, these kids have known me for only 3 months and they are planning me a party. Out of the kindness of their puertorican hearts (and a desire of an A in the class). *sigh* Touching, really. I'll show you some pictures as soon as they surface on facebook...

After class, I bounced. Leilani had the getaway vehicle, I had the wine and flask, and we were going on a roadtrip. Where to? Shopping, duh. I hadn't been able to spend money for 12 days!!! The time had come.

On the way there, I discovered I am not a huge fan of lambrusco. Actually, I kind of hate it. It's a little bit "disgusting". Thankfully, I had also brought some rum along. I mean, why not, right? Right. It's 4:30pm and i've already lost my phone.

I guess I would have to say the best shopping find (which regretably neither of us bought) was a Big Papi T-shirt that said, "Your pitcher make Papi laugh"! I am not kidding you!!! it actually said "make", as in, incorrect grammar. As in, i think they are trying to make ethnocentric joke by means of foreign talk, or perhaps a racist one (Big Papi is Dominican). Maybe the guy has actually said that before and they are quoting him, i don't know. But i wish i would have bought it. It was only $10.

We roadtrip to Rincon where i finally, FINALLY get to try this infamous coconut drink that essentially they pick from the tree, machete the the top off and fill it with rum. It was delcious, and I have never spent a birthday drinking rum from a coconut while on the beach. Very pleasant. Must try again in the future. Laybo had this fantastic idea to start telling everyone it was my birthday in an effort to obtain free stuff (because, you know, if youactually tell someone it's your birthday, you look like a jackass. but if someone else tells them, you look all shy and reserved about the whole event)! Works like a charm!!!! Got this free HUGE umbrella from a janitor at a hotel, and some free candy from a bartender (left over from Halloween...gee thanks). He did give me a free new beer when 3 seconds after i had bought one, one of Jaybo's friends failed his arm and knocked it out of my hand. (I forgot to tell you Jaybo is now here). It was actually pretty funny though, because it flew directly into the (shitty) cover band that was playing, and they thought we had thrown it at them because they suck ass. jejejejejejee. Good times, good times.

drank rum from a coconut. this seemed like a good place to dispose of them.


this would be the evidence i've been promising that boone's fucking farm costs $6.45 USD!!!!!!!!!! Sacrelig.

QUE AVENTURA!!!

AY benditoooo!!! So, Rincon is amazing. On Wed night I went out with Jason and Leilani, and it was such a damn good time. I love going out with those 2, they are a riot...! For sure I am moving to Rincon, asap. Like when i get a car, and my lease in Mayaguez runs out. I did a little "networking", and I am pretty sure I will be able to work at a bar in Rincon over Christmas break, when I can't afford to fly home. SO, that would be fantastic....! Let me start from the beginning:
we go to "the rum shack" to eat and have some drinks. They had the most delicious shrimp I have ever tasted. We became friends with the waitress. We plan to meet her at this other bar (i can't remember the name) after her shift.
Unnamed bar: It was a dive place with pool tables. I clearly remember Jason going to the jukebox, and coming back with his money still because, in his words, "there is nothing I want to spend 25cents to hear...not even something ironic." Puuulleasse. Leilani and I took care of the tunes. Then after a while, we decided to move along to a different bar by the ocean which they said was really cool.
However, once we arrive, it's closed. Luckily, there are 3 puertoricans sitting outside still, and we become friends and tell us about this other bar they are going to and so we all ride there together like old friends. I can't remember their names, but they were super cool and I think we made plans to see them again soon. And I think I it's them who i put in my phone as "rdson", you know, because that almost spells "rincon"...i don't know. then there was this old lady at the bar who we started talking to and she was cool, but then she started crying and telling us this story about her brother...who died. It was very tragic. and then she invited us over to her house for lasanga. Why lasanga??? i don't get it, but it sounds delicious. However, it was like 2:30 in the AM, so it wasn't really the right time for a lasanga party. OH, and they best part: that night. I had my first puertorican fell madly in love with me!!!! Since I'm so charming and all :) jejejeje. He wanted to give me a "tour of the bar" which was like, you know, 20x20 sq. feet, so it's not like there was much to tour. So that was slightly creepy, I can't remember what i did, but i avoided the situation like pro. It was all very strange, becuase the 3 guys from other other bar we also bartending at this bar. it's like, they closed the one bar to come work at this bar or something.
Let's face it, it's all a blur, so i'll stop boring you with trying to piece it together right now.



Jason and Leilani:

This weird surfer bar and Jason's head. I think i was trying to get a pic of the bartender, who was the epitomy of Point Break and all other surfer cliches rolled into one living human being (Jason's description):

The last bar we were at, Tevo's or something....? Where the drunk lady telling stories was.

group shot:

OKAY, i wake up at Jason and Lei's in the morning to this:

...which is why i'm moving to Rincon. And then I skipped my afternoon class and we went to the beach:

And then I went home to Mayagez, took a nap and went to class. And then that night, it was "Yellowpass", which my students have been talking about, but I don't really know what it is, but I found out it's this gigantic music festival party thing, and it's happening right outside my apartment. It was HUGE, people and cars EVERYWHEREEEE...cars were parked on the sidewalks. i wish i would have taken pictures, but i wasn't expecting to drink or stay out. HOWEVER, in the line for the bathroom, i met a girl from Boston, she is teaching surfing lessons in Aguadilla!! So then, I had to stay, because she was so fun!! AND she said she will give me surfing lessons this weekend, which i hope comes true. Umm, and now i am sitting here writing this before i teach in 2o minutes, but i know none of my students are going to be in class today because they will be too hungover from last night.