Happy New Year!

I decided I would go back and see what my New Year's Resolutions were last year to see if I followed through on any of them.

1. Workout (which I do now anyway, but I want it to be more of a routine)
2. Loose 15 lbs. (even though I don't feel fat in any way, I want to loose those last 15).
3. Take the stairs the majority of the times (I live on the fourth floor, which in NYC is really the fifth floor because the lobby doesn't count. This will definitely help me with resolution #2).
4. Meditate more (I need my quiet time).
5. Be more giving.
6. Pursue my calling.
7. Expand my knowledge of crochet.
8. Learn how to knit better.
9. Read more books.
10. Gossip less (I try not to talk about people, but sometimes I find myself doing so)
11.Be grateful.

Let's see how I did. Well, my exercise routine came to a screeching halt when I messed up my knees and hip (btw, I hurt my left knee at work again). I definitely have not lost any weight. Actually, I've gained about five pounds (of course I weighed myself after having my mom's Xmas dinner). I haven't been taking the stairs at home at all, but since I take the subway all the time, I do take the stairs then. I have not increased my meditation time. I do, however, take a few minutes at night before going to sleep and thank all of those higher beings that help me throughout my day to day activities. I have been very giving, but you could always do more. My crochet and knitting have improved, but lately I haven't been able to dedicate much time to it. Although last night, while I was icing my knee, I did do some knitting. I've been reading plenty of books. I'm not sure I've increased my reading, but I've bought plenty of books this past year. Reading is a form of meditation for me. So, I try to get my hands on as many books as I can. I have made an effort to not gossip as much, but I still find it difficult. I don't mean gossiping like "Oh do you know what this person did?" I mean commenting about other's situations if the conversation comes up. I have to work on that one. Last but not least, I have been incredibly grateful. Like I mentioned before, I give thanks about everything.

So, what do I expect from myself for the new year?

1. Enjoy more of life with Dan.
2. Be more grateful.
3. Meditate more.
4. Set aside time for my hobbies.
5. Go away with Dan more often.

I shortened my resolutions because life should be simple. As long as I'm enjoying life, everything else should fall into place. I hope you all have a great new year. Have fun tonight!

Xmas Eve!

Christmas Eve it is! I can't believe how fast time is flying. My mom and I were talking about this the other day. Either we're extremely busy or time is going by faster. This has been compounded by the fact that today is my first day off this week and I'm not done with gifts! My apartment is a mess, which I should start cleaning now. My poor pooch needs a bath that has to happen to day. He's looking pretty yucky. Since Dan began working on Saturdays, we haven't been able to take him to the groomers. There's just not enough time!

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only that is pressed for time. With all the cleaning and shopping I need to do, I plan to take it easy. I've become stressed to the point that I'm having nightmares. Two nights ago I was screaming for help at the top of my lungs in a dream I was having. Last night, I dreamt that the televisions in my apartment turned on by themselves and I became really scared (if anyone knows me well, they know I don't get scared over spooky stuff). A chill pill is in order.

Well, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope everyone gets what they've been wishing for!

I'm Pooped!

We are very near that time of year where holiday stress is way up. I am not exactly stressed about Christmas, but I'm tired. So as a result, I've kind of lost the Christmas spirit. You can't blame me, the next day I have off from work is Christmas Eve. I'll actually have two days off together and all I could think about is staying home and relaxing. I'm not in the mood of celebrating. I won't even have time to prepare for it. On the 23rd., I'll probably pull another ten or eleven hours, which leaves me exhausted for Christmas Eve celebrations.

It's already happening. On Sundays, I try to go out and only last about two or three hours. Yesterday, we went out to get some gifts and food shop. While we were food shopping, I got cranky and wanted to get home. The night ended well because I got to watch one of my gifts. Dan and I never wait for Christmas to give each other gifts. He got me "The Lost Boys" on DVD (I have it on VHS), which is one of my favorite movies of all time. We sat down, ate popcorn, and watched it. After the movie was done, I went straight to sleep.

I don't know how Dan is doing it because he's been working six-day work weeks for seven weeks now. He holds it together better than I do. I've only been doing it for almost three weeks and I'm falling apart. I suck! I give him lots of credit for working so hard. We deserve a vacation and we won't be taking one anytime soon. We'll have to do a little weekend getaway soon (of course we'll have to stop working weekends).

I'm Getting my Butt Kicked!

I am sooooo tired! The minute I get home from work, I eat and fall asleep on the couch. I just did it now. It was about 6:30 and I fell asleep on the couch and woke up about twenty minutes ago (9:40). The same thing happened to me last night. I knocked out for a few hours and woke up. This is going to be a tough week for me. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I won't have the luxury to nap. Those are going to be long days for me. I might go into the office tomorrow super early and leave early. I was able to escape today because of a seminar I had to go to. I don't let's see.

By the way, I am really liking this job. Granted, I haven't been on the phone with anyone, but the challenge of the job excites me. For the past two days, I've been dreaming (literally) about different scenarios. I told one of the guys at work about it and he laughed at me saying that it's sinking in. I would love to take the plunge and quit bartending, but Christmas is less than two weeks away (not to mention Dan's birthday on 1/03). I can't walk away from cash right now. I'm hoping that by the middle of January, I'm done. That's my goal.

I'm going to be licensed in about 37 states. Most importantly, though, I'll be licensed in NY, NJ, CT, and FL. The last one being very important. I travel to Florida very often so getting loans down there shouldn't be a problem. So my dear Floridian readers, you know who to go to if you need a mortgage. Distance is not a problem. I feel this is the best move I've ever done career wise. I've never been excited about a job and I've never liked one, but this one gets me fired up.

Well, got to go. I have dishes and sleeping to do!

Well, I've Been a Bit Busy

Let me start off by saying that work has completely overtaken any free time I basically have. I'm not saying this because I'm swinging both jobs. The hours I'm spending at my bartending job have increased and not because I've been picking up any shifts. The place is mobbed from when we open up until we close. On Friday, I spent ten and a half hours there and yesterday was twelve. I'm not complaining because I am making really good cash. I'm just tired.

Today was our first day off (Dan is also pulling six-day work weeks). We did a little shopping. I'm upgrading my wardrobe for the new job. I have to say that I've gotten plenty of clothes for little money. With all the coupons and sales stores are having, I can't complain! I've gotten four sweaters, three pairs of pants, and two blouses for about $170 (and I actually spent less because I had a $75 gift card from my birthday). Can you believe that?

By the way, I think I've gained some weight. I went up a size, but my old clothes still fit me. Nowadays, designers are cutting clothes so differently that I end up trying a bunch of different sizes. Every store is different. Low rise pants fit me horrible because they don't take into account my big ass. I'm not being mean about myself. I've got back. I'm not ashamed of it, either. Those low rise pants are not meant for Latinas like me. I've got curves and lots of them. And you know what? I love my body.

I realized this today in the fitting room. I don't have the best looking legs. I could definitely flatten my belly. My arms say bye-bye every time I wave, but whatever. I'm happy with the way I look. For a long time, I hated how curvy my body is. Nothing fits right, but that's not my fault. They make clothes for women that are suppose to look like boys. Very few designers make clothes with us in mind. Those that do are Daisy Fuentes and J Lo. There is a brand called Apple Bottoms, which I've only seen ads for. I'm not aware of any other brands that help me out.

There you have it! I do need to work out again. My knees and hip have stopped hurting. It's time I hit the pavement. I just need some free time. Since I'll be making my own hours at this new job, I'll make sure I schedule workout time. I love how my body feels when I workout. No matter how much I workout, I'll still be curvy. Even if I shrink in size, I'll still have a hard time buying pants. Whatever, whatever, whatever...

Updated Xia

It's 1:30 am, and I'm not even remotely sleepy (big problem since I have to work tomorrow morning). I'm hoping a little blogpost will help me relax enough to want to close my eyes.

So, here are a few things of interest to me:

1. I love waxing!! Back in the summer, SG and I decided to go half on a wax warmer, wax and strips (we live next door to each other, which makes it easy to borrow). I've always gone to get my eyebrows wax and actually been doing it myself for quite some time (microwaveable wax). Ever since I got my own warmer, I've been adventurous from waxing my bikini, to my arm pits, to my legs!! I just finished my legs (I only did the bottom; my thighs aren't a problem). It took me two hours, but I'm not use to doing it yet. My legs have always been a problem for me because I could shave in the morning and not have smooth legs at night (that's the European side of me I could give thanks to). Bye-Bye rough legs! Hello smoothies!

2. I got a second job! I put this as #2, not because waxing is more important, but because I'm still a little shocked about it (hence the no sleep part). While I waxed my hairy legs away, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'm not sure if I'm excited about it (and believe me not in a bad way). It hasn't hit me. The new thing to add to my resume is Mortgage Specialist. I have a friend of mine that does this and is so great at it that they want to make him a branch manager. In order to do so, he needs to develop his own team. We actually hadn't spoken in awhile, but he asked one of my friends to contact me to see if I would be interested.

I met with him today and to my surprise my new coworkers were welcoming me to the office (nothing like a little pressure). I spoke with the branch manager and he seemed very friendly. One of my other friends started about two months ago and really likes it. He is in the same dilemma that I'm in because he hasn't left his other job. The company pays for your training and licensing, which means you need to come in on your own time and learn the tricks of the trade. He was very excited about the job and sees the potential. The friend who asked me to come is doing very well.

I took the job. It seems like something that I wouldn't mind doing. Once I get the hang of things and close on loans, I'll be able to quit my bartending job. If I can't find a decent job in my field, I need to branch out. I don't like sales, but I do it everyday. It's the same concept as a restaurant. People come to you. It's a win-win situation. Let's hope I like it and make plenty of money!

There you have it! Two new things going on with me. The latter being the most important. This is a big change for me. Wish me luck!

Coolest Thing I've Ever Seen

I come out of my building with Louie and on a window sill is a black squirrel (I've never seen black squirrels before until I moved to NY; they're so pretty). Louie is doing his thing and I'm watching the squirrel. It jumps on to a tree branch and then jumps back onto the window sill. From there it does something I've never seen before. It jumps onto the fire escape ladder and does a 360 on the rung!! It then quickly runs up the ladder.

Can you believe that? A 360? What a little gymnast! I wish I had a video camera for this. Man, it would have been great to catch that on film.

Still Full

Wow! My Thanksgiving was the yummiest so far. The ham that Lucy made and my turkey were phenomenal (I'm not going to be modest about my cooking; it was damn good). Lucy's mother-in-law made all the side dishes and they were also to die for. We had dessert fit for kings. We had tons of dessert including chocolate fondue. After we were all done stuffing our faces, we sat around practically passing out.

It was great!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now we have to gear up for Christmas!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope you all eat lots of food and enjoy your time with your families!!!!

So What Have I Been Up To?

A little bit of everything, but mostly work. I slowed down this week. I only worked my regular shifts. For the past month and a half, I've worked a total of eight extra shifts. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it is an extra week's worth of work. I want to pick up a few more shifts and then take a break before I start school (well I have to get accepted first). Dan is now working with me on Saturday nights for some extra cash. It's like old times again! This extra cash is being utilized for savings, which makes us very happy.

I actually have Thanksgiving Day off, which I only found out about it a few days ago (very rude from my employer's part). Now that I have that information handy, I'm responsible for the turkey. This year we're going over Dan's aunt's house. I'm making a pit stop at my parents' place for a bit. It's going to be a long day. I have to be at his aunt's house by the latest 8:30 to put the bird in the oven. I can't be out too late because I work the next day.

Other than that, I haven't been up to much else. My hip is still bothering me, which takes exercise out of the equation (of course). I haven't been doing any hiking either (which I'm pissed about) because Sundays have become hectic for us. I haven't used my new trekking poles that Dan got for me! We did go apple picking two weeks ago, which was loads of fun. We went out yesterday, but didn't do much. So as you could see, the past few weeks have been pretty mundane. I need to change that.

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries

Of course when I happen to mention how I've been working out for a month, I get injured. I started off with my knee hurting when I walked down the stairs, which I found out was chrondomalacia (at least that's what I found in the internet). I stopped jogging and began icing my knee. Well, that seemed to work, but now it's an old injury I had. Several years ago, I overextended my left hip, which resulted in pinching a nerve. This was very painful for me. I had a hard time walking and had to limp. As a result, I spent six months without working out.

I'm feeling that pain again. I worked out today (nothing out of this world). There was no running involved. I went on the treadmill (walked), elliptical (lasted about 10 minutes), and the stationary bike (another 10 minutes). I'm not ready for working out. I stretched out a bit to see if my back will align itself. I don't want this to ruin my hiking (like it did last time).

That's my update. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do any of the activities I've wanted. I'm sad.

Some More Hiking

If you haven't hiked and want to try it, the first thing you need to make sure you have is a map of the area. We've never bothered doing that in the past and found out yesterday how important it is to have one. We went to Harrimon State Park to hike where we use to go hiking about four years ago. We really weren't familiar with the area even though we had hiked it before.

I realized that we were hiking two trails combined. What we didn't know was that one of the trails was the Appalachian Trail. We found out because we ran into some friendly hikers that told us where we were and showed us that map they had. We ended up getting off the Appalachian Trail and following the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail that should have taken us back to where our car was.

Unfortunately, the map was outdated. We came across a paved road, which I immediately recognized as Seven Lakes Drive. I knew if we made a right on the road we would eventually get to Lake Tiorati, but on the map it showed that by following the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail we would end up at the lake. So, we crossed the road and got back to the trail. About thirty to forty minutes into this part of the trail, we see the lake. At this point, we're not sure if to get off the trail and go to the lake or stay on course. Since we were confident about the map, we decided to stay on course.

It seemed that the trail was bending towards the lake, but suddenly it began going away from it. We ran into some racers and they told us to go back to the road or go off the trail to the lake. If we decide to go back to the road, we have another forty minutes and that does not include the time to walk back to the lake. If we decide to go off the trail towards the lake, we have no idea on which side of the lake we'll end up at. We opted for the lake because it seemed the quickest way to get back.

Going off trail was definitely a challenge. The ground was very mushy, which made us have to hop from rock to rock. Luckily, we had found some good branches that we used as walking sticks. That helped us out tremendously. My knee was really bothering me (yup, have to lay off jogging for a bit) and the branch relieved some of the stress. After probably fifteen minutes, we see a road and realized that we're on the right side of the lake. We finally get to the road and walk over to the lake for the view. We were so tired at this point that we decided to walk back to the car. We did stop at the visitor's center and bought a map. We told the guy about our ordeal and he informed us that they had changed part of the trail. So, the maps were outdated. Dan grabbed a pen and made the changes on the map.

After we left the park, we decided to drive to the mall. I needed some cargo pants, which of course I found none that would fit me correctly. They need to make pants that fit girls with curves. Anyway, we stopped in Barnes and Nobles and I decided to spend some of my birthday money on hiking books. With the map and the books we got, we will be better prepared for our next hiking trip.

Now for right knee, I had to take a bath last night and do some major stretching. I'm going to lay off jogging this week to see how it feels. I have to say that the bath worked really well. Depending on how I feel, I will go to the gym on Wednesday and workout on the elliptical machine. I think I may have to postpone the eight mile hike for Sunday (unless I get trekking poles this week). I'm not letting this minor injury set me back. I will work through this. I have already lost two and a half inches around my waist. I don't want to ruin my progress.

Why so Quiet?

I've been caught up in a "new" activity that I've been devoting a tremendous amount of time to. It has even gotten in the way of my crocheting/knitting time. If I could only get rid of work and the amount of time I spend online (I need to cut that down; it's getting in the way), then I would have all the time in the world to do both activities. The reason I'm choosing today to tell you about it is because it's been exactly a month since I started.

I was really sad and angry on September 11th. I tend to do several things when I feel this way. I either stay in bed, eat, or work out. Usually when anger is involved, I try to get rid of it as fast as possible. I don't like that feeling to linger around. The best way to release the anger is by working out. I started exercising again!!

This time around, I wanted to remain quiet about it. I'm always telling you how I'm going to workout and never do it. I'm tired of letting you down and most importantly, myself. I decided that I would start working out and once it's become a routine (which usually takes about 4 to 5 weeks), I would let you in on it. So, it's been 5 weeks and I'm feeling great! I've already lost 2 inches around my waist and don't get winded when I'm running up the stairs.

Not only have I started working out, but I've also started jogging. This is a huge step for me because I've never been able to jog. I've always been very active, but jogging just kicks my butt. I'm jogging/walking instead of hitting the gym. There's this beautiful parkway by where I live that is lined with green. People bring their kids and dogs here. Many people also jog around the area. It leads to the Botanical Gardens and if you make a left, you end up in the Bronx River Parkway Reservation. I've been taking my time enjoying the greenery. I'm loving jogging. Although, I think I might have overdone it on Monday, I've been feeling great. I'm taking it slowly so that I don't mess up my knees.

There are several reasons why I started jogging. First off, I think I might have gain a few pounds. My clothes are fitting tighter. I definitely need to take care of that. Secondly, jogging is something I've always been bad at. I need to condition my body to running. It is a great exercise to get into and it makes your legs look great. Thirdly, I'm tired of going to the gym. I love being outdoors. It inspires me to stay out longer. To be honest, exercising outside is very spiritual for me. I feel that everything around me is rooting me on. It's a great feeling. Last, but not least, I want to become fit for hiking. What better way to do it than to task my body by jogging? Hiking requires that your entire body be fit. Jogging takes care of that, especially the legs. I want my legs to be able to handle going up and down the mountains without burning. The last time I went hiking, my legs burned so much when I was going down the cliff that I want to make sure the burn lessens.

I'm going on a long hike in 11 days that I want to be prepared for. This hike will be about 8 miles long and take about 5 hours. There's a very steep ascent in the trail that I want to be prepared for. Jogging should prepare me for it. I'm sure I'll do fine, but I don't want to be the one that has to stop and turn around because my body can't take it anymore. I have six more jogs until the day of the hike. With the hours I have at work, I'm only able to jog 4 days a week. I might have to wake up early this Friday and Saturday and jog before my doubles at work. Six jogs might not be enough, but then again, I don't want to over do it.

Now that my secret is out, I want to keep you updated on my workouts. I think it will be a great inspiration for those that are contemplating on working out or are already working out but need moral support. Exercising is very important to me. Your body was meant to be worked out. It is extremely beneficial for all of us to workout. Obesity is a major problem in the United States and we need to do something about it. One thing is for sure, we need to move our asses!

Hiking!!

Hiking is the word of the day! Dan and I went to the Palisades Interstate Park and did the "Peanut Leap Cascade" hike. This guided tour was a first for us and definitely won't be a last. It was great! We had such a wonderful time. The weather could not have cooperated with us anymore than it did. It was sunny all through our hike. Once we finished, the day became cloudy.

This hike we took was a first in a few years. With how much I love hiking, I can't believe I let it go this long. Anyway, not only was it the first in a long time, but it was the hardest hike we've ever done. We've usually gone to Lake Tiorati Beach, which is located in Harriman State Park (right next to Bear Mountain). For the Hispanic/Latino readers, this place is better known as el parque de los siete lagos. Translation: the park of the seven lakes. There's plenty of hiking in this park, but the hikes that we've taken have been relatively easy. I've never had to worry about falling off the cliff or anything in that nature.

Not this hike!! In the description of the hike in the calendar of events, it states that there are several steep sections. When I read that, I took it pretty serious. Well, they weren't wrong about the steepness. Not only was it steep, but the sections that were steep were also right at the edge of the cliff. Let me clear things up. We hiked on the cliffs of the Hudson River. The purpose of the hike was to descend the cliff to the shoreline, which I believe is about 550 feet. So pretty much the entire time, we at the edge of the cliff. One wrong step and bye-bye.



By the time we reached the third steep section, my legs were burning so much that I worried about my legs giving in. Luckily it didn't because there were several elderly people (some in there 80s) hiking and I would have been incredibly embarrassed. When we reached the shoreline we hung out for a little bit and listened to our guide tell us the history of where we were. It was so much fun!





On our way back through the trail, we did have to go up the last steep section because we didn't have much of a choice. Now, I always prefer to go up the mountain. It's easier than going down. Let me tell you something, my heart was pounding. My legs were sore to begin with and now I had to climb. I was huffing and puffing. At one point I turned around to looked at Dan and his face was bright red. The group was pretty much quiet, except for the breathing. What a workout!

Once we got to leveled ground, we followed a different trail back to the top. We eneded up on the old 9W (that's a road that leads you through the Hudson River Valley) and walked the rest of the mile to the end of our hike. I recommend to anyone that is interested in hiking to try this out. The guided tours are great and you learn plenty of the local history. The only drawback of the tour is that you kind of have to keep up with group. So if you're interested in taking pictures, you should either do it alone or return on your own time. Missing what our guide was saying wasn't an option for us. He was great.



Check out the hiking shoes I got for my birthday:

Birthday Celebration

On Saturday, I got together with friends and coworkers to celebrate my birthday. We had a great time hanging out and enjoying some cocktails. I have to give it up to Dan's coworkers. Most of them showed up to help me celebrate! Thank you so much guys! Here is the damaging evidence:











As you could see, we had a blast. We stayed out late, which is a first for me in awhile. I'm not use to that anymore. I can't hang like I use to. I actually managed not to get anywhere near drunk or buzzed for that matter. I know, it's difficult to understand, but I didn't want to be hungover the next day. The last time I went out, I was so hungover that it ruined the next day for me. This time around I sipped on some wine (did one shot that Dan got me) and relaxed the rest of the evening. It went exactly how I wanted it to. The next morning--no hangover. I had a great time. Thanks to all those that showed up!

Since You're Wondering...

The GRE went alright. For one thing it wasn't as bad as I had envisioned, but it was still pretty difficult. I did horrible in the math section. I didn't have time to complete it. Math has always been an arduous subject for me. Oh well, it's over with. Now, I have to finish applying to school. Hopefully, once January rolls around, I'll be enrolled in school.

I can't wait for that to happen. I'm a huge nerd and love being in school. I guess I feel that way because I am accomplishing something. When I'm out of school, I don't feel as if much is going on. If I had the money, I'd be getting degrees for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Once I'm back in school, I plan to go fast and furious, which means I'll be taking a lot of courses at once. I want to get my Master's degree as quickly as possible. Having a Master's is my ticket out of my current profession. Isn't it sad that nowadays having a Bachelor's is like having a high school diploma? I remember when I was a kid having a Bachelor's was a huge deal. Forget about having a Master's! You were some smart cookie. Now, I know people who have Master's and are still waiting tables because they make more money this way than if they were working in their profession. Hopefully, that won't be the case with me.

Little Hiking but....

Man did we have a great time! We didn't hike, but we actually did some mountaineering. It was such a gorgeous day yesterday. The day was crisp and cool, but warm enough that a jacket wasn't always needed. I love being in nature. We went to Bear Mountain State Park, which is a place I hold dear to my heart. My parents would always take my sister and I there when we were kids. We always had so much fun. The park, as you could imagine, is breathtaking and enormous. There is so much to do there.

We ended up on Perkins Drive, which is a long winding road that leads you to a tower. Once you're up by the tower, you see a whole range of mountains. The view is spectacular. I absolutely loved it. All the worries in the world just vanish from your mind when you see how perfect this world really is.



If I could live near a mountain, I would be extremely happy. My ultimate dream would be to buy a home in an area like that. The fresh, crisp mountain air calms me in such a way that is hard for me to explain. I would be able to hike in my own backyard! Someday, it will happen. Until it does, I'll keep going back and take tons of pictures.



Here's me being silly:

Guess What Today Is?

MY BIRTHDAY!! My profile shows the updated age. So, you all could look because I'm not admitting how old I am. After I take my four hour GRE, I'm meeting Dan for some cocktails. Today, I won't be making the drinks, they'll be making it for me. I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this, but I celebrate my birthday for about a week. Sometimes, the celebrations last longer. It depends on the birthday and my mood.

This time around, I started celebrating last night. I got a little pizza party and a yummy Cold Stone Creamery Coffehouse Crunch ice cream cake with my favorite next door neighbors. Tomorrow, I'm suppose to go hiking with Dan (it all depends if he could take off). Saturday, is the real celebration. I'm going out for drinks with my friends. Sunday will be a recovery day. I'm not sure how I'll be when I wake up. Hopefully, I won't be so hungover that I'm out for the day. Anyway, got to go!

Vitamins

When the directions on the vitamin bottle say take with food, make sure you eat before you take the vitamin. Wow! I took my vitamin and immediately began eating my breakfast. I would say about ten minutes later, I was overlwhelmed by nausea. The nausea was so strong that I got up and ran to the bathroom. I had barely made it in when I started vomiting. I didn't even have time to lift up the seat. Thankfully, the cover was already open, which is a good thing because I wouldn't have been able to open it. Needless to say, I had a lot of cleaning up to do. This sucks!

Now, should I take my vitamin again? I'm not sure. Technically, I have nothing in my stomach, not even coffee. I think I'll steer clear from it today. I don't want to get sick again. Yuck.

September

I love September. It's my favorite month of the year. I become completely engrossed in the cooler temperatures that comes along with this wonderful month. I love the scent of autumn in the air, which has such a calming effect on me. This is the time of year that I tend to start working out, planning for the holidays, waiting for my birthday (I love my birthday), and become very savings conscious. I don't know what it is, but that is what September does for me.

September also makes me very sad. I hate it. I hate that now I also have to remember what happened five years ago. September was such a beautiful month for me, but on this day I curse how gorgeous this month could be with the bright blue skies and cooler crisp air. It is so perfect outside today like it was on that dreadful day and it makes me so sad. I can't wait for this day to end.

Desertrae

I was going to do it earlier, but I was busy writing my entrance essay for one of the schools I'm applying to. Desertrae blossomed! Here you are anonymous!



Isn't her flower beautiful? When her other buds blossom, I'll make sure to post more pictures.

Sunday was Great!

The Sun made its presence to the North East (at least NY/NJ area). Although Dan and I got a late start to our day (we were out late the night before), we made the most of this gorgeous day. For starters, I need to show you what I was looking at through my window.



Very different view from the other day? As you all know, I love autumn. Yesterday was a perfect autumn day. We headed out to Jersey, got some gas (this time we spent $36 instead of $45), and went to the Palisades Interstate Park. This park brings memories to me from when my sister and I were little kids. My parents would take us to "el parque abajo del George Washington Bridge." The park was known to us as the park under the GWB.

I guess I was too little to realize how big this park actually is. It goes all the way into New York. Not only is it huge, but it has 30 miles worth of hiking trails! I'm such a dork. I grew up around the area and never knew any of this. What a loser! Now that we've know all of this information, we're going to frequent this place very often.

Since I asked Dan for hiking boots/sneakers for my birthday, I'll be set to hike all the trails in the area. In fact, we made a date to return Oct. 1st because there is a guided hiking tour. You don't understand, I love hiking! I haven't done it in such a long time. We did walk a trail that was about a mile long that stretched along the river. We had such a great time. I regret not bringing the camera along. There would have been a lot of nice pictures.

I was checking out their calendar of events and there are hiking tours pretty much every weekend. There's even a Halloween tour! If you're interested, check this place out. There's plenty to do.

Things of Interest this Morning

I woke up, yet again, to a crummy day. The clouds are so thick and plenty that you see them rapidly moving across the sky. It seems that today we're suppose to get the worst of this weather with remnants of Ernesto. We're expecting torrential downpours. I expect many people are changing their plans for this holiday weekend.

Here's a snapshot of the sky:



Do you see those dark mean clouds? Ughhhh.

On a better note, Desertrae is about to blossom! Unfortunately, there hasn't been any sunlight for her, but it doesn't seem to stop her!



Doesn't she look wonderful?

For All the Bad Tips in the World....

This one makes up for it. Kienow, a bartender at Applebees got a $10,000 tip! Good for her! For all you cheapos out there that don't tip well (15%-20%), take a look at this article. Hopefully, it will teach you a lesson on genorosity. For those that tip well, read this article anyway. You know you're always appreciated. Thanks to you, we pay our bills.

I Know I Asked for Autumn, but

Man, does it have to keep on raining? I don't mind it when it rains. Crappy weather is always a good reason to stay home and snuggle in bed. The problem is how often do you get to stay home when it doesn't stop raining? Not that often! The gray skies are getting to me. I'm not sure if it's a combination of being tired, working way too many hours, and the rain, but I cannot stop sleeping. Last night, I went to bed at 9:45 and woke up at 9:30. Since I have brown velvet curtains in my bedroom, it's dark in there no matter what. I could sleep in for hours.

The only break in the rain forcasted is tomorrow. I took a peak at the 10-day forcast and it will continue raining all into next week. What a drag! Let it be nice and cool with some sun!!! I'm going to need to start making some sweaters for myself if this keeps up. What truly sucks about this weather is that it's cool outside, but inside my apartment is warm. It's so muggy inside that at night we need to put on the ac or we'll sweat to death. To top it all off, there's no breeze coming in. Yuck!

Take a look at what I've been seeing for the last few days out of my window:



I took this picture yesterday morning. Not much has changed since then. See the gloomy sky? Doesn't it make you want to sleep?

I'm Happy Today!

You wanna know why? Because I have off today!! I did a six day work week, which is not a big deal unless five of those shifts are doubles. By Friday, I didn't know what to do with myself. I was so tired. No matter how much coffee or Emergen-C I drank, I couldn't keep up. Even though I probably didn't make any money yesterday, I was so happy that no one was coming in. I vegetated and drank cappucinos all day long.

To show how happy I am, I have pictures of all of my plants. My plants are very special to me. Let me give you a back story. When I was a little girl, I would always get my mom a plant for Mother's Day. The school use to bring tons of plants in and we would get to choose one or two for our moms. I was always very excited about it. Unfortunately, the plant didn't last long. I tried taking care of it, but my thumbs were brown. Years after, Dan got me a beautiful orchid plant for Valentine's Day. It died. I was so sad.

My thumbs turned green when we moved to Florida. Some of you might say that it is easy to grow plants in Florida because of the climate, but what you don't realize is that it's sometimes extremely hot. That type of hot can easily burn the plants. Through my mother-in-law, I learned when was the appropriate time to water them, how much, where to trim, and etc. I had so much fun taking care of the plants that I've now transferred my knowledge to NY.

I have a few plants that I love very much! I watch over them constantly and I even named them. I'll start off with my lucky bamboo plant. He was given to me by my husband's aunt as a house warming gift. His name is Mr. Bamboo.



The next picture is of Luna. She is a grafted moon cactus. I think her colors are wonderful.



The next plant was given to me by one of my coworkers, Judith. She and I would always end up talking about plants. One day she told me about a spider plant she wanted to give me. She was waiting for it not to be cold outside so that it wouldn't go into shock. Once it was nice out, she brought it over and I named her Spiderella.
She has grown tremendously since I got her.



The next plant is of a desert rose. My mother-in-law had a beautiful one when I lived in Florida. I loved that plant so much. It is just gorgeous. This past Mother's Day, the hubby and I decided to stop by Lowes to buy some plants for his two aunts. To my amazement, they had a few desert roses. One of the workers told me that they had gotten the shipment the day before and they were selling like crazy. I bought three. I named her Desertrae.



The last two plants are very special to me. It's some type of sedum and this plant came with me from Florida. Unfortunately, she lost all of her petals from the car ride back to NY. I kept wondering if she would ever grow, which she did. One day while grabbing the pot, I dropped it. I didn't break the pot, but her huge petals fell off. I started crying. How could I do this? I'm so clumsy at times that it infuriates me.

A light bulb flashed in my head and I decided to plant the petals. I read online that it could be done. I figured there was nothing to loose. Guess what? It worked! Not only is this plant growing, but the original sprouted petals everywhere. Now I have two of them. The original is called Rosalita and the other one is called Petalina.

This is Rosalita:



This is Petalina:



I'm heading out to the mall today, which I was thinking of getting a new plant. I want my apartment to be green!! Besides, it's nice to take care of plants. I find it therapeutic.

PS: Here's a better picture of Petalina that I took:

Bye, Bye Church Lady!

After taking a literal interpretation of the bible, the Rev. Timothy LaBouf let go Mary Lambert from her position as a Sunday school teacher that she's held for fifty-four years. The interpretation is that a woman could perform any job outside of the church. She is not allowed to teach men and must remain silent.

Right! I can't believe ridiculous stuff like this still happens in 2006! The woman taught there for fifty-four years! Give me a break. I really hope something good comes out of this.

Here's the AP article: Church Lady

Castro and Adidas??

Even though I still think he's dead (my own conspiracy theory--everyone has one), there's a pic of him after his surgery. Here's a link to the article that you must click on: Castro

Mr. Castro is sporting an Adidas running suit! I'm glad he thinks capitalism is bad and rejects it at its fullest. Someone who hates capitalism so much and has veered his country away from it for the past 47 years sure doesn't mind sporting a company who thrives on capitalism. What a joke!

One Step Closer

I officially signed up for my Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Not only did I sign up, but the earliest date available was my birthday. Happy Birthday to me. I'm giving myself a four hour exam. I've done worse on my birthday. At least, this one is for my future. I also have the application packet for graduate school on my desktop. Little by little, I'm getting closer to entering grad school! Now, I just have to get accepted....

I'm Glad I don't Drive Anymore

It's been three weeks since I've filled up my gas tank and boy was I glad about it. I have a four cylinder car and spent $45 (I used regular)! That's just insane. Imagine I was still filling up my tank every week plus the tolls? I'm glad I'm working in Manhattan. The good thing is that I won't be filling up the tank for another few weeks. I have nowhere to go for the next month. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to afford having a car. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way.

Hot is an Understatement

Wow. That's all I could say about this heat wave. I know I lived in Miami for two years, but damn I can't take it. The thought of having to take the subway today is very daunting. I am trying to do my part in avoiding a blackout. I actually have the windows opened right now (it's already 84 degrees and it's 9:15am!). I'm keeping the ac at 76 degrees. Con Ed wants it at 78, but man, it's too damn hot.

Even poor Louie is feeling the effects of the heat wave. He's been laying on his pillow, which is strategically placed in front of the ac. Yesterday, he did not move from there until Dan and I were having dinner (my little fatso).



Yesterday evening, the water pressure in the building dropped. The super explained to us that normally the water pressure from outside is at 60 (whatever that means). What was coming into our building was only 25. He was pumping it at 75 to compensate. The people that live on the sixth floor didn't have any water. The pressure came back, but the same will probably happen today. Ughhh.

Cuba Libre?

Almost! We can't get excited yet, but that possibility is more attainable than ever. I hadn't heard the news until this morning. My jaw dropped! Personally, I think Fidel Castro has been dead for awhile. It's just another conspiracy theory of mine. We'll see how history unfolds. Right before I jumped into the shower, I thought about renewing my passport and traveling to Cuba in the near future. Going to Cuba has always been a desire of mine, but I never thought of it as a possibility. My father has never returned since he left in 1971. If he hasn't gone and won't go until Castro is gone, then I can't either.

This thought that came to me today was liberating! I'll be able to see my family, where my father grew up, where my grandparents were buried, and everything else I missed out on. I'm sure things will be chaotic once he dies. Raul Castro won't be in control for long. He's not popular with the people that support the revolution. It's only a matter of time.

Six Years and Counting!

Happy Anniversary, Babe!! These six years have been great. I can't believe we've been married this long already. It really just seems like yesterday. Hope you feel the same!! I love you. Now for some celebrating...

Yuck!

Working out just does not seem to be in my future. I ended up with either food poisoning or the food just didn't sit well on Wednesday night to the point that I couldn't get out of bed yesterday. I felt so sick that walking Louie was a hassle. Maybe, I should forget about working out until I truly feel like doing it.

Ok, who's ready for autumn? I am! I am not sure how I dealt with Miami for two years, but I can't take much more of this summer. I actually don't like the summer unless I am living directly on the beach. In that case, summer could last all year round. I love meditating in the water. I could spend all day in it. Being that the only time I went to the beach this summer I had stitches, this summer is not so fun. Another thing about living in Miami is that I've become a beach snob. I can't take how cold the water is up here. It's not fun.

Anyway, my favorite season of the year is autumn. If it could stay like this all year round, I would be in heaven. I love the leaves changing colors. I love that you could throw on a sweater and feel warm. I love the cool air you breathe in. Autumn, please come soon. I am melting away!

Well, I got to go. Now that I actually have energy, I must do some cleaning. How fun!

Ok, Maybe I Really Don't Want to Workout!

Between my toes still being ever so slightly numb and the window guys surprising me yesterday (all new windows are being installed in my building), I haven't worked out! I can't go to the gym today either because I'm watching the window guys install the windows over next door. Maybe, mentally, I'm not ready to workout again.

Then again, with all the walking I've been doing since I started my new job, it's not such a bad deal. With walking, I mean in the job and walking to and from the subway station. Also, over the weekend, our elevator broke. I live on the fourth floor, which is really the fifth floor (the lobby doesn't count as a floor). I've been trekking it up and down the stairs (sometimes with Louie in my arms) several times a day. Actually, now that I think about it, the stop I get off on in Manhattan has three flights of stairs. There you go that's my workout!

To top it off, since the new windows were being installed, the amount of soot that blanketed my apartment was utterly disgusting. It was so bad that Louie's paws were dark grey. My dog is white (with some beige)! After I came home from work, I had to give him a bath, which that in itself is a workout. I just couldn't tolerate looking at his dirty paws. I also had to lather him up four times. The rest of him was also covered in soot, which made the water black. Poor baby! I wonder if he felt gross. You know, I'm kind of tired. I'm taking a nap!

BTW

There will be no working out today. My feet are still way too swollen for me to work out. Even now the bottom of my feet hurt, especially when I walk. My toes continue to be slightly numb. I will have to take it easy.

Weddings are Fun!

My hectic week ended with the most beautiful wedding I've ever attended. I'm very happy for the couple. They are just wonderful people and they deserve all the happiness that comes to them. The bride looked absolutely gorgeous and the groom very handsome. I loved how the bridesmaids were dressed. They were all in black. The dressed that the bride picked flattered each one of the bridesmaids. That's important! Sometimes brides don't think about that.

The wedding was so much fun. I can't believe how much dancing I did! I was in three inch heels and never took them off!! I danced so much that if I hadn't been completely and utterly exhausted (and beginning my hangover), I would have showered when I got home. Instead, I took off my dress and passed out. My feet suffered the most (I wonder why). My toes are numb. Not all of them, but some are. I'm starting to get some feeling back, but it's not a very pleasant experience.

Saturday morning wasn't fun getting up at eight in the morning. Boy, was I hungover! I never got drunk last night, but I did continuously drink throughout. Right after the ceremony, a group of us went to Houlihans for drinks to kill sometime since the reception wasn't for another hour and a half. It all started there! Not to mention the drinking we did during the cocktail hour and throughout the entire reception.

I did, however, suck it up and went to work. By noon, I was fine. I made sure I drank lots of fluids and the headache went away. I am beat up. I don't remember the last time I danced so much. Usually, I'm somewhat shy about dancing. It will take me awhile to get out on the dance floor. Not at this wedding! The minute the music started, I was out there dancing. I think it had a lot to do with my friends. The group of us that were there are really good friends. Give us a couple of drinks and we were all dancing queens! Of course, the men sat out most of the songs. It was just the girls dancing away.

What a fun night! This makes me want to do something really big for when Dan and I renew our vows. Hopefully, we'll be able to pull it off.

Some Catching Up

As of today, I am done with my training. Yay, this means I start making money! Saturday is my first real shift. The people I've met so far are nice. Some are very eccentric, but that goes with the territory. It seems that I'll have a good time working there.

On other news, my finger is doing well. I tried taking pictures of it, but they were not coming out. The finger is still slightly swollen. I do have a lump on the side where the skin was flapped open. I'm hoping in time that will smooth out. The bottom part of my finger does have hard scarring. I think that'll stay the same. I have a similar scar on my pinky from falling when the buckle of my rollerblade snapped off. This happened a year and a half ago. I still have the scar. It's scarring from the inside, which is visible by looking rather white and feeling hard.

Now that I'm going to have somewhat of a normal life, I do seriously want to work out. I know, I keep on saying that and don't follow through. I want to get into it before my life gets hectic, again. I want to be fit by the time I go back to school. So, I have six months to do so. I don't want to go crazy, but I do want to lose twenty pounds. I think that's a very reasonable goal to accomplish in the six month time frame. I would have to lose about 1.5 lbs. a week. That's not impossible.

I want to attempt to go to the gym tomorrow. I don't know if tomorrow is a good day to start because I have a wedding to go to at 4. It may be just a tad too hectic. Nonetheless, I would like to start no later than Sunday. My goal is to go 4 to 5 times a week and burn 700 calories a work out. The 700 calorie goal might be a lot at first, but I don't have a problem reaching it. That will take me a little over an hour to reach.

Ok, now I'm going to sleep. Talk to you soon.

Vacation is Over!

Back to work!!! Actually, I'm starting a new job. Although I hate starting new jobs, I'm ok with this one. Starting today, I'm officially a New Yorker! I will be commuting to Manhattan for this job, which is great. The train I have to take is directly under my building. My stop in Manhattan is only three blocks away. So even when the temperature drops, I won't freeze my ass so much. I have a feeling this job will be loads of fun.

As to my finger, I will definitely challenge it tonight. It's still swollen, but not as much as it was the day I got the stitches out. It is healing very nicely. My scarring will be minimal. To make sure of that, I bought cocoa butter, which helps with stretch marks and wrinkles. It should alleviate the scarring some more. We'll see what happens.

Wish me luck!

No More Stitches!

Thanks to Dr. J, my stitches are all gone! Dr. J came over my next door neighbor's place (you know the best friend that called Dan for me when I stabbed myself). She heard about my finger, took a lok at it, and told me that I should have the stitches removed. After we were done eating, she grabbed a pair of scissors and tweezers (sterilized them, of course) and began taking them out. The stitches on the top of my finger didn't hurt, which makes sense since I have no feeling there. The ones on the bottom part of my finger hurt a bit. I had one stitch that was imbedded. That one did hurt. Dr. J explained that when stitches stay in too long, they become part of your skin. Since they've beome part of your body, removing them is painful.

The scars are looking fine, but my finger is still swollen. I feel as if the swelling increased a little. I am icing it right now, which is making it difficult to type. I could only bend my finger slightly. Dr. J recommended that once it is completely healed, to make sure I massage the area for some therapy. My finger has been stiff for the past week and a half so it's natural that I can't really move it around.

I'm glad I got these removed today. I have a few more days to recover before I begin my new job. Hopefully by then, I'll have more range of motion. We'll see!! Dr. J, thank you so much!!!!!

Superman Returns and Then Some

Dan, his coworkers, Cody and Andrew, and myself went to watch Superman Returns at the Regal Cinemas by Union Square in the East Village. I found the movie to be very enjoyable even though it did have a few holes (that is about as much as I am willing to reveal about the movie). Either way, I found it to be fun and I couldn't stop staring at Brandon Routh (definite eye candy).

The night kept on getting better. After the movie was over, we were standing on the corner of 13th street discussing the movie. At first, I notice the guys acting a bit strange as if they just saw the most gorgeous woman in their lives. Standing right behind me was Gabriel Byrne. I probably would not have realized who he was unless someone pointed him out, but nonetheless it was cool.

We're still chit-chatting when I spot Regis Philbin with his wife Joy. I start saying "Look, it's Regis. Look, it's Regis. LOOK! It's Regis Philbin!" At this point, Regis probably heard me, and so did the guys. Regis, I hope you mention me tomorrow on your show, since I know you heard me! I was very excited about seeing him. Yeah, I was actually star struck. This has never happened to me, but tonight was there just the right amount of stars.

Then as on cue, Cody is looking and says, "No fucking way! It's Tom Hanks!" We all turn around to see Tom Hanks and I'm guessing his family get into a Suburban. That was really cool!! We were all in awe at what was happening around us.

Then we all notice that there's a Suburban still hanging out by the theater. Now, we purposely hang out to see who else was coming out. We guessed that there was some kind of screening going on. It's not possible to see all of these celebrities hanging out in the same spot for no reason.

We waited a few more minutes and to not be disappointed, Jerry Bruckheimer came out chatting it up with his friends. We couldn't believe what was going on! After all the excitement, we decided to hit a bar. We went to Spain Restaurant & Bar, which offered complimentary tapas. Our bill was so inexpensive that we are all returning tomorrow night for some drinks and paella.

Overall, the night was awesome! Out of all the people I saw, I was most excited about Tom Hanks (not that the other ones aren't cool). It seems that Tom Hanks is a pretty nice person and definitely a great actor. I very much enjoy all of his films.

Finger Looking Good!

My stitches don't hurt anymore! I've actually been playing around with them. The swelling has gone down and the green color (from the bruising) is disappearing. It appears to be healing nicely. I don't think I'll have a dent on my finger, either. I'm slightly vain and I was worried that my finger would be disfigured. Even if it is, I'm very lucky that that's the worse thing to happen. The damage could have been worse. The top part of my finger is still numb. Honestly, that bugs me out a bit.

On a different topic, I am changing jobs. No longer will I need to commute to NJ. It's a different restaurant where I will only be bartending. The money is also incredibly better, which I'm psyched about. The downfall is that I will have to work weekends. Either way, I will be saving around $200 a month between tolls and gas. We'll only be using the car on weekends (and rarely). Our car is getting old (it almost has 100,000 miles) and I want it to last us a lot longer. That's one of the wonderful conveniences of living and working in NYC.

Once my stitches are out, I start the job. Another great thing about this new job is that I'll be working under an old friend who is the executive chef. He's a great guy and a pleasure to work with. I have another friend of mine working there. I won't be lonely when I start. The other job is becoming too much of a hassle and the mood is not great there. They just fired one of my friends (a chef) who is expecting a baby in August. That kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Time to move on.

On the school note, I'm more inclined on getting a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. I could curtail this degree to Latin American and Caribbean Studies, which is what I wanted a Master's in to begin with. I pretty much have it narrowed down to two schools. It'll either be Empire State College, which offers the degree without having to take the GRE, or the Graduate Center at CUNY. I think I'm leaning more towards the Graduate Center. It sounds more appealing and it has more resources. ESC would be completely online, which throws me off a bit. I'm the type of student that likes having interaction with professors and other students. Besides, you end up networking when you have personal contact with others in your field. As we all know, networking is the name of the game (as I demonstrated by my new job).

The only drawback is the GRE. I am terrified of taking that exam and not passing it. I tend not to do well on standardized exams. Then again, I won't know how I'll do unless I take it. Once I find out the exact days I'll be working, I'm signing up for it. The worse case scenario is that I don't do well, then I go to ESC. Regardless, I'll come out winning.

BTW: What happens when the hubby tries to throw a piece of chocolate into your shirt? Your stitches end up catching it!! Yup, that's exactly what happened tonight. He threw high and towards my left. I went into automatic and tried catching it, which I would have caught had it not hit my stitches directly! I can't even begin to tell you how painful that was. That hurt more than when I stabbed myself. I dare say that it probably hurt just as much as when I got injected with anesthesia without the burning sensation. Anyway, I had to take my pain killer (which I hadn't taken it since Thursday) to ease the throbbing. Needless to say, Dan felt horrible.

I seriously need to do some long meditation to get rid of all the bad vibe. That'll be one of my goals for tomorrow (besides consolidating my student loans).

Tag, You're It!

5 things in my refrigerator:
1. Iced Tea
2. Grapes
3. Milk
4. Old yogurt (I really need to throw that away)
5. Dove milk chocolate (I need a piece a chocolate a day)

5 things in my closet:
1. pants
2. jeans
3. blouses
4. shoes
5. stuffed animals

5 things in my purse:
1. lipstick
2. vicaden (just in case my stitches hurt)
3. bacitracin
4. gauze
5. bandaids

5 things in my car:
1. phone charger
2. napkins
3. $115 parking ticket I got today
4. cds
5. quarters

I'm Storm! Who are You?

You Are Storm

Exotic and powerful, Storm descended from a line of African priestesses. Emotions can effect your powers, but you are generally serene. Powers: controlling weather, creating winds that lift you into flight, generating lightning

Which of the X-Men Are You?

What Does Your Birthdate Mean?

Your Birthdate: September 20

You are a virtual roller coaster of emotions, and most people enjoy the ride. Your mood tends to set the tone of the room, and when you're happy, this is a good thing. When you get in a dark mood, watch out - it's very hard to get you out of it. It's sometimes hard for you to cheer up, and your gloom can be contagious. Your strength: Your warm heart Your weakness: Trouble controlling your emotions Your power color: Black Your power symbol: Musical note Your power month: February

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Finger Update

I have to say that everyone has been wonderful making sure I'm ok. I've received numerous phone calls and emails, which make me feel special. Thanks! You guys are the best!

I found a hand specialist through our insurance's website. She just happens to work at NYU Medical Center and is the top hand surgeon in the state of New York. Not bad for picking her name out of a website!! She wasn't going to see me yesterday. After I told them what had happened, they figured this was serious enough and squeezed me right in.

Once I got there, the nurse removed my dressing. My finger doesn't look so bad. It's swollen, but the stitches came out nice. I did take pics of the stitches, but I'm sure nobody wants to see that. After touching my finger, the doctor determined that I did indeed cut a nerve. Fortunately, the nerve I cut is very tiny and it's on the top part of my finger. She told me that surgery wasn't necessary. In fact, surgery would probably make things worse.

The numbness will most likely lessen with time. She doesn't gaurantee 100% recovery, but it will repair itself. That's good enough for me! She told me that if this would have happened to her that she wouldn't get operated on. I can't argue with the top hand specialist of the state.

You could say I did a number on myself! Thank goodness that everything will turn out to be fine. I was a bit worried about surgery, but I figured that things will work out on their own. My stitches are staying in until July 10th. So no work for me! I'll end up picking up some hostess shifts to somewhat compensate for my money lost. I'm not worried. Things will work themselves out.

Injuries Run in the Family

After going through a frightening time with Louie, it was my turn, today. I wanted to make a makeshift planter to pot a flower that had fallen off of one of my plants. I found a plastic container and decided to make a tiny hole at the bottom of it so that the water could drain. Tiny is an understatement!! The knife slipped into one side of my left middle finger and out the other (at that moment I only thought I cut myself).

With blood spewing everywhere, I opened the faucet and started washing my injury. I grabbed a bunch of paper towels, wrapped my finger, and applied pressure on it. My stove, sink, and counter top were full of blood. I wanted to call Dan, but was unable of letting go of my hand. If I did, I would bleed profusely. So very calmly, I rang my best friend's door (man do I love that she lives next door) and asked her if she was busy. I knew she was getting ready to leave for school and felt horrible for doing this. I didn't want to upset her on her first day of school. She quickly realized what was going on since there was blood all the way down to my elbow.

I asked her to please call Dan for me because I couldn't. We finally get Dan on the phone and I asked him to come home immediately. Sal wanted to drive me to the hospital, but for some stupid reason I refused. I felt that I had control of the situation. Luckily, her mother-in-law was over and I stayed with her until Dan got home. While talking to Debbie, I felt my blood pressure drop and began feeling queasy. I asked her for some juice, which always works. The queasiness didn't stop until I threw up. My body always reacts in that manner when something like this happens. Afterwards, I felt better.

Luckily, the only pain I felt was when I actually stabbed myself. The whole time I waited for Dan and to be taken to the er, I was fine, which wasn't so bad. Needless to say that when Dan finally made it home, he was very upset that I hadn't gone to the hospital. I don't blame him. My finger was a lot worse than what I had anticipated.

We went to Montifiore Hospital in the Bronx, which luckily is within walking distance of our apartment. We decided to drive over, which turned out to be a disaster since there was no parking. I had Dan drop me off and go back home. Once he got home, he took a cab over. I was in the er for two and a half hours. Not bad! I expected to be there a lot longer. The last time I was in the er for an allergic reaction, I stayed for six hours. Most of the time, I sat there with an oxygen tank on my lap.

Once I was inside and the doctor was checking my finger out is when I learned that I had actually stabbed myself. We also found out that the numbing I had (or still have--I can't tell right now) could be possible nerve damage. A second doctor came in and also took a look at it. They both told me that I need to see a hand specialist to have my finger checked out. I might need surgery to repair the nerve. I definitely wasn't expecting that.

The doctor proceeded to stitch me up. He injected me with anesthesia, which was extremely painful. I did squirm on the bed. After my finger became numb, he stitched me up. I got five stitches on one side and five on the other. He also injected me with a tetanus shot. I got a prescription of antibiotics and vicaden (luckily it's not that strong because I'm only feeling slightly sleepy). I was very happy with the way I was treated at this hospital. Everyone was very nice and helpful.

After we left the hospital, we grabbed a bite to eat and walked over to my doctor to see if she could refer me to a specialist and to write down what happened in my chart. By the time I got home, I was pretty drained. Dan picked up my medicine and I've been relaxing ever since. Tomorrow morning I'll call the specialist. Hopefully, he could see me right away. And hopefully, I won't need surgery!!

Dan took some pictures of me at the hospital. Here's is the picture of the bigger wound:



This one is after I got stitched up:



Well, I won't be working for awhile! I'll know more once I see the specialist. I could only hope for the best. I'll keep you updated.

Happy Anniversary!!

Folks, you've been reading my crap for the past two years. To be honest, I never thought it would last anywhere near this long. I thought that I would stop at some point like I do with many things, but it's been a lot of fun for me. It's a way of keeping in touch with my friends when I seem to be lost in my little world. I hope you've enjoyed these past two years!

Louie's Update:

He's doing great! His bites are healing properly. He has scabs, but they're all dried up. He is finally off the pain killers, but is still taking his antibiotics. He's not drowsy anymore, which has relieved me greatly. He is still not eating as much as I would like him to, but I give him enough food throughout the day like fruits and cheese. I think we'll attempt to bathe him this weekend. It seems that he could handle it.

On a Better Note...

I have pictures of my niece's and nephew's birthday party. These pictures are incredibly adorable and I would like to share them with you.

Bryan smiling for the camera:



Jacquelyn blowing out her candles:


Bryan getting ready to hit the pinata:



Bryan having fun with the pinata:



Last but not least, Jacque and Jose picking up the candy:

Louie's Update

Thankfully, Louie seems to be healing properly. I was afraid that one of the bites on him would become infected. Unfortunately for him, he's out most of the day. The painkillers and anitbiotics are making him very groggy. He sleeps most of the day without wanting to eat much. If I'm cooking or in the kitchen, he does get up to see if he gets any treats. That's his only motivator.

I got more picctures of him from the morning after the fight. These pictures are very clear and you could see how swollen he was.

This picture is so cute that I had to post it even though it doesn't show any of his bites:



You could see how bruised and swollen his neck is in this picture:



Here you could clearly see the bite marks on his back. This picture makes me cringe:



My poor baby!! I'm glad the medication he's on is taking away the pain. I'll keep you posted on his improvements. I can't wait until he's back to his old self.

My Louie!!

This deserves it's own post! Last night, we received a phone call from Dan's aunt about Louie. She was watching him for us this week. The phone call was something I never expected. Louie was attacked by a pit bull. Needless to say, Dan and I thought he was going to die. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the process of this vicious attack. Dan's cousin, whose ten years old, was the one walking him when the pit bull caught site of Louie. Christopher, trying to save Louie, tried choking the animal by grabbing his collar. When he saw that that wasn't working, he began kicking him (he's in karate).

His mom jumped in and began hitting the dog with the leash that he had ripped off Louie. My poor dog was dragged by the ear from in front of their house to across the street. He was bitten all over. Louie fought back, but to no avail. He couldn't get a bite in. It took about four or five people to get this animal off of Louie. Once they managed to do so, Louie laid on the floor in shock. Lucy scooped him up
and off to the hospital they went.

From the shock, he threw up a couple of times. Once he got to the hospital, they x-rayed him to make sure he didn't have any broken bones. They shaved the areas he was bitten, which was a lot. The vet said that most of the bites are superficial with a few deep ones. They wouldn't give him any stitches because they were bites. Once they got home, they noticed that he wasn't able to walk. He kept on falling on his face. His front right leg and his left hind leg were bitten into the muscle, which made it painful for him to lean on. So, he kept on falling on his face. Poor baby! He fell asleep in Lucy's arms because he couldn't lay on his pillow. He got bit by his penis (yup) and it was uncomfortable for him to lay down.

When we finally got to see him this afternoon, he looked better (I got to see the before pictures; not a pretty sight). He was excited to see us and seemed animated. I'm so grateful that nothing else happened. This situation could have turned horrible. The reason this pit bull got loose was because the eight year old that was hanging out with him, decided to take him out for a walk by herself without a leash. The parents didn't realize she had opened the door. Anyway, the worst is over. Louie is recovering.

He's now knocked out on antibiotics and pain killers. Poor thing is all bruised and cut up. Although the pictures don't do him justice, I'll post them anyway.

This picture is of his back area where he got the worse bites:



Pay close attention to his neck; you'll notice the bruising:




This one is of the bites by his penis:



If you look closely, you'll see the bite on his ear and neck. I couldn't get a good picture of this:




As you could see, we'll have to pay close attention to him for the next few days. I'm glad that he's doing better and that the swelling has gone down. We walked him earlier and he seemed pretty alert. He'll be in pain for a few days. Thank God he's alive!

We're Back!

We're back in the NYC! Our vacation was nice and relaxing. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures (yet!). We never needed to use our digital camera. We did, however, buy a waterproof disposable camera, but left it in Miami. We only took about ten pictures and left the camera to my sister-in-law. Once she's done with it, we'll get our pictures.

The reason we bought the waterproof camera was to use it when we went to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. There we decided to kayak, which was a first for both of us. We lasted for about an hour and boy were we tired! The sun beaming down on us didn't help either.

We, of course, went to the beach! We normally head out to Key Biscayne, which is not as hectic as South Beach. It does get packed, but I find it to be more relaxing. There we spent a few hours enjoying the water and sun. That was another perfect day, until we saw the dark, grey clouds looming over us. We packed our stuff and left quickly. It was just in time for the downpour. As quickly as it started, it stopped. We ended the day with a few drinks and some great barbeque.

Throughout the week, we went out to eat and have drinks. We hung out with Sandra (my sister-in-law) and her man, Dave, and also my cousin. We had an awesome time. Without a doubt, we enjoyed our stay in Miami. It was a nice change of pace that we both needed. Once I get my hands on the pictures, I'll make sure I post them for you.

Hello Miami!

It's been a bit since I posted, but honestly, I haven't really had anything to post about. The one thing I've been wanting to post about is my trip to Florida. Since it was a surprise, I've had to keep my fingers away from the keyboard.

Today is my mother-in-law's and niece's birthdays!! Happy Birthday ladies!! My nephew's 1st. birthday was on Saturday. Definitely, a celebrating weekend. On Saturday, my sister threw a little party for Bryan and Jacquelyn. It was so cute to see Bryan trying to hit the pinata! I can't believe how old they're getting. Time flies by.

The surprise trip to Miami was for my mother-in-law. And boy did we get her! We surprised her in the backyard. I felt so bad that she started crying! I also felt like a criminal sneaking into the house. My heart was racing so much. Dan and I were like detectives scoping out the area, sticking close to the walls. Sandra (my sister-in-law) was helping us, which made sneaking in a lot easier. She covered her mother's eyes and told her she had a little surprise for her. When she uncovered them, we were standing in front of her. She's very happy that we're here. It was nice.

As for our trip, we're staying here until Sunday. Dan wants to do something we've never done before (especially since we lived here for two years). We haven't figured out what it is, yet, but I'm sure we will. As for the two of us, I think we needed the time off more than we realized. We've been a bit stressed out and the thought of taking it easy this week is very pleasing. We've both been very calm, enjoying ourselves.

As for Miami, with all the construction going on, things look different. We don't miss it, but we didn't miss leaving NJ either when we moved down here. I think Dan and I will adapt to pretty much any living situation as long as it's beneficial to the two of us. Now I must go. It's time to go back to sleep!

People, People, People

Some people get so caught up in thinking that their way of thinking is so right, they forget that sometimes they might actually be wrong. This is especially true when you're going to say it aloud. I'm glad that I've become calm in my old age. I'm glad that shit doesn't bother me as much as it use to. I'm glad that I could laugh at stupid shit and not be offended by it.

As I always say, "You can't control what other people say or do, but you could control your reaction." I do admit that there are certain circumstances that are a bit more difficult to control. We're human. I'm not perfect and neither is anyone else. So that leaves some wiggle room for errors.

Anyway, tonight was one of those post mothers' day shift where not much was going on. Everyone that was going out to eat, went out yesterday. I got sat with these two very affluent older ladies. They were out to dinner for some chatting. One of the ladies mentions that she's from Florida. Now I am going to quote how the conversation went.

Lady: "I'm not use to American cuisine." (this is after I explained the features to them)

Me: "Oh, no?"

Lady: "No, I live in South Florida."

Me: "Oh, really? Where in South Florida do you live?"

Lady: "Key Biscayne. Are you familiar with it?"

Me: "Actually, I am. I lived in Miami for two years."

Lady: "Well, you won't like it anymore."

Me: "Really, why is that?"

Lady: "Because it's full of Latin people."

Me: "Oh."

Lady: "They are everywhere. There are a bunch of restaurants, but not even the waiters know English. Everyone speaks Spanish."

Me: "Oh."

Lady: "I refuse to learn Spanish. They are in this country and they should learn English."

Me: "Hmm, Ok."

If this would have happened to me, let's say, ten years ago, I would have cursed off this lady to no end. To tell the truth, I wasn't offended. I found the situation to be quite humorous. This lady had no clue that I was "Latin." This is not the first time this has happened to me, either.

Even though I wasn't offended, I did have to somehow let this lady know that she should think before she speaks. So, I grabbed one of the bussers and let her in on what this lady told me. We both agreed that we would go up to the table together and try to clear it, which at that point I would speak Spanish. Man did that work! The lady was kissing my ass before the end of the meal. I love it!

To be honest, this table made my night. It was such a boring night that I guess I needed something to spice it up. Not only was I laughing at the situation, but I had all of my coworkers laughing right along with me. So, thank you ladies for being so ignorant! You made my night!

See You Soon!

After spending a week sight seeing and meeting the family, Hector is heading back to Miami. He's not sure if he'll move up here or stay down there. Of course you know that I'm hoping he stays up here. A week is definitely not enough time to get to know your cousin, but I'm so grateful to even have that much time. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, a bit overwhelmed by everything going on. My parents are very sad that he left. I think they quickly adopted him as their own.

Here's one last picture of us:



We were at Foxwoods Resort. He had never been to a casino before. We had a blast! In this picture you could really tell how much Hector looks like my father. It's freaky!!

First Cousin

I grew up with no extended family. My mother's family lives in Spain. I've met my grandmother, my aunts, and my mother's cousins. One of my aunts has a son, which would make him my first cousin. I've never met him. I believe he's a teenager now, but I could be wrong.

On my father's side, I have met all of his cousins that live in Florida, the aunts, which have since passed away, and my grandmother. I actually only met my grandmother for a week when I was around 11. She passed away a few years later from ovarian cancer. My father has a brother, a niece, and nephew in Cuba. He hasn't seen his brother since 1971 and has never met his niece or nephew.

That was until yesterday. My cousin, Hector, just came from Cuba three months ago and has been living in Florida at a friend's house until he decides whether he wants to stay down there or come live with my parents. He came up to meet us all. I can't begin to tell you how happy my father is. He is gleaming and so are we. Hector resembles my father when he was younger. It's just weird to meet someone else that resembles my father besides me.

It was so incredibly nice to sit down as a family at my sister's house last night. We watched a video that was sent to him by his parents that showed where my father grew up. My uncle, aunt (his wife), my other cousin (Hector's sister) and her husband took turns talking to us. Each one had a message for everyone of us. It was very touching. It was also the first time that my father sees his home since he left. My father seemed very touched. We laughed a lot and also sat there in amazement watching this video. It was a bit surreal.

Hector had a tough time yesterday meeting all of us. We aren't the only family he has up north, either. He has another uncle that lives in Union City that my father took him to meet. As much as I was nervous to meet him, I could only imagine how he feels having to meet all of us. He really seems like such a great guy. I'm glad that we finally met. It's unfair that we never had the chance to grow up together, but meeting him now is better than later.

I snapped some pictures so you could all meet him.

Here's Hector and my father:



This is of my father, Hector, nephew, Jose, and niece, Jacque:



This one is of the cousins. My sister Amy, Hector, myself, and Jacque:



As you could tell, we're very happy. I really hope that he decides to move up here. I want to be able to spend more time with him. It won't make up for all of those years lost, but it will make a difference.

The Great American Boycott

The Great American Boycott is a pro-immigrant demonstration where supporters will not work, go to school, or purchase anything on May 1st, which is today. This was set up because of recent demonstrations by illegal and legal immigrants nationwide. Illegal immigrants are being targeted because of the lax laws the United States has with border security. According to this article, there's approximately 12 million illegal immigrants living in this country.

Many want them out of the country because they claim they are breaking the law by entering illegally into this country. I say "Who cares?" The majority of these people are entering this country as a last attempt to better their lives and the lives of their families. They are mostly poverty stricken people that are looking for a better life like other immigrants have done in the past. Are they breaking US laws? Yes, but the US is allowing that to happen. There is very little border security. If there was better control of the situation, we wouldn't have 12 million illegal immigrants.

I saw a report the other day, which talked about the problem with immigrants. They don't assimilate to the American culture, they live in bunches, they take jobs that Americans should have, and they don't speak the language. Well, let's discuss all of these points because I find them very interesting.

Illegal immigrants aren't assimilating to the American culture. This is actually an argument that Cuban Americans have posed, but that's a whole other post. Every single immigrant, from Italians, Jews, Irish, Puerto Ricans, and etc. have all retained a part of their heritage. They become completely American by retaining some of their own culture and mainstreaming it into American culture. If that weren't the case, then we wouldn't be eating Italian food, having Matzo, eating pasteles, listening to different types of music, and the list goes on. Cubans wouldn't be Cuban Americans if they didn't offer un cortadito, arroz con pollo, cigars, and etc. We also wouldn't have the influx of latin beats into American music if it weren't for Latinos.

Everything that I just mentioned is what makes America, America. The reason for this is because America is a country based on immigrants. There is no mistake in that when you come to NYC and go to Little Italy and Chinatown. Does this mean that the Italians and the Chinese aren't assimilated? No, it just means that they are bringing a different aspect of being American. Diversity people, diversity.

These illegal immigrants live in bunches. Well, have you tried renting lately? The majority, if not all, of these immigrants are working low paying jobs in which they end up sending money to their families back at home. I can't blame them for doing so. Their families are living in poverty. As you see, they don't have much of a choice. If they live together, then they'll pay less rent and more money will be sent to their families. Again, I can't blame them for doing so.

So the illegal immigrants are taking jobs that Americans should have. Well, if Americans wanted them, then they would have them. Obviously the jobs that these immigrants are taking, aren't jobs that are desirable by Americans. Are they driving wages down? Yes, they are. Again, if more Americans were willing to take those jobs, then that wouldn't be happening.

The language part is my favorite. Now, I'm a big proponent on learning English. You're in this country, you should learn the language. It is in your best interest to do so. The problem is that most of these immigrants work many, many hours. If your main worry is to put food on the table, then you really don't have time to learn the language. I will use my father as an example. My father use to work from about 7 or 8 in the morning to sometimes 8 or 9 at night Monday through Friday. Then on Saturday and Sundays, he would work 12 hour shifts. He did this for many years. Do you think he had time to learn English?

I also challenge all Americans that only speak English to pick up another language. I find that many are very proud of knowing English like if that makes you better than other people. I know two languages. You don't see me boasting about it. In fact, I'm kind of embarrassed that I never fully learned French while I was in college. I know English because I was born here. I know Spanish because that's the language that was spoken in my house, but I never made much of an effort to learn another language. I had a hard time with French and decided to take Spanish in order to write better. Europeans learn more than one language. Why isn't it that important in the US to learn more than one language? The fact of the matter is that learning another language is difficult. English is also a particluraly complex language. It does not make much sense like Spanish, French, and Italian do.

There are many valid arguments on both sides of the spectrum. I happen to think that it is impossible to kick out these illegal immigrants. Grant them amnesty. Let's think about being humans and not Americans and illegals. These people are here just like everyone else that came before them to look for a better way of life. You can't blame them for that. The United States needs to have better control of the border situation. We are allowing them to come into the country. Don't turn around and call them criminals for breaking our laws. We are not doing much to stop them.

To show solidarity with the illegal immigrants and all immigrants, I will not be going into work today. All Americans should participate in this because we were all immigrants at one point. Like it always happens when a new wave of immigrants come into this country, we tend to critise them for being different or for changing the face of America. That's what makes immigrants great. They add a new flavor into this country. For a country made up of so many different cultures, we sure aren't tolerable to new people. What does that say about us?