Alright - so the last entry wasn't the final one for the year. Here's another. Not too exciting, but I'm rather bored.

Wow - the moon was pretty bright last night. I almost went outside and started howling, until I noticed it wasn't a completely full moon. :-P It's actually still pretty bright right now and it's almost 6am.

So, I'm suffering a bit from insomnia. This past week I was sleep-deprived. I had a final on Wednesday, and seeing as how I never read or studied for anything this entire semester, I had to attempt to cram. Most of my attempts at studying failed. I get so distracted by things like the internet, it's not even funny. I think I need therapy for my internet addiction. :-P

Anyway, Tuesday night I pulled an all-nighter. I slept for maybe one hour, then tried to study for my final, which was scheduled for 4pm, Wednesday afternoon. I went into the exam feeling worried and unprepared, but what could I do at taht point? The exam question seemed a bit hard to me. I hope I didn't fail miserably.

Then I left the test at 6pm. When I got back to my place, I stayed up, even though I was going on only an hour of sleep. I don't know exactly what I was doing... Oh, I talked on the phone, watched TV, did laundry, and went on the 'net. I didn't finally get into bed until around 8 in the morning (Thursday). But - I didn't get much sleep. One of my friends, and I was expecting his call, called maybe a half hour to 45 minutes after I went to sleep. Then we hung out, so... Here I am going on less than 2 hours of sleep. We watched a movie at his place, but I never did see the whole movie. I dozed off. Don't know for how long - maybe a couple hours total.

Next, once I was back at my place, I was trying to figure out how to get to my parents' house and find someone to pick me up once I got into the area of my parents' house. I was at the train station and since it was late, less trains were running. So, I had to wait an hour for the damn train. I hate waiting. Especially when I'm alone. No one to pass the time with... And I was struggling to stay awake. Just strugglin'.

Finally, I was on the train. I sat in a seat by the window and put my 2 bags in the seat next to me. I eventually fell asleep because my body just couldn't take it. Later (I don't know how much later - coulda been 10 to 20 minutes later, not sure), one of the train conductors (or whatever he was) who goes through the cars to punch tickets came through. He woke me up somehow to get my ticket. Well, I was a bit disoriented and rather annoyed. I thought he was just a passenger who wanted to sit in the seat next to me. And remember - I had my bags in the seat, and I looked around a bit and saw some other empty seats. I was thinking: WTF? Of all the empty seats, why does he wanna sit next to me?? And I almost started to move my bags. Then I realized who this guy was. LoL... So, I pulled out my ticket and when he came back to me, I apologized. He said, "It's alright. Happens everyday." Haha...

So, by the time I actually was inside my parents' house, it was late. But I didn't go to bed. Guess what I did? Yep - internet. hehe... And I was on until about 2 or 3 in the morning. I was chattin' a little bit with my girl Nadine. But then I just had to tell her I couldn't take it any more. That my eyelids were gettin' heavy. So... After my few
days with no sleep, I finally settled into my bed. (Now, this is Friday, early morning).

I wake up, finally, after my long-needed sleep. I look at my watch and - say what?? It's 4:30pm. Can you believe? Ha. But even if I wasn't so sleep deprived, I could still sleep that long. Haha...

And now, here I am, still awake and it's Saturday morning. I wonder when will sleep finally overcome me. And I don't know what to do with myself in the meantime. Hmm...

I was gonna try to watch a DVD a few hours ago on my comp. But, I guess since I'm connected to the 'net, it wasn't running smoothly, although I have watched a DVD on here before, while connected to the internet. But, I didn't want to disconnect, so, guess I'm not gonna watch the movie for a while. It was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". I've never seen it before.

Right now, I'm also listening to Al-Jazeera broadcasts in the background. Tryna get myself accustomed to listening to the Arabic. It's cool since I can understand quite a bit of words. But I still need much practice.

I won an auction on e-Bay. It was quick, too. The auction ended this past Sunday and I already have the item. What was it? A Rolling Stone magazine with Shakira featured on the cover. If you know me, you know how much I sweat this chick. I was gonna get a back-issue from the Rolling Stone website, but - shit's expensive! They charge $10 an issue and that's way too much. Who knows how much, if any, shipping and handling is. So, I got my issue for $1.74 plus $3.75 s/h. That's not bad since cover price is like $4.95, I believe.

My sister will be home later today. She'll be here for Christmas. Haven't spent Christmas with her in a few years 'cause she's always been overseas. Too bad I won't see her much since I'll be going out of town soon. I may visit her Spring Break. Unless I decide to leave the country again. :)

I wanna write a poem, but the muses aren't inspiring me right now. So, perhaps I'll look at my magazines with Shakira in them. Or maybe I'll attempt to read a book I bought last night: "Cien Años de Soledad" by Gabriel García Márquez. I got that book 'cause it's Shakira's favorite. LoL.

Alright, then. I'm out...

Okay, so it's nearly 7 in the morning and I'm still awake. Not only did I not sleep last night, I didn't sleep the night before! Save for an hour nap or so. Hmm... maybe I should go to the library. I always manage to sleep in there. :-P But, yeah, right! I ain't goin' in there! Not until next year. I finally, finally finished this damn semester. I probably failed. But I'm finished for now. :-T

I'm looking forward to vegetatin' a little bit. Wait - I always do that. Well, this time I'm allowed to do it. And I need to get to the stores. Christmas is comin', the goose is getting fat... And I still haven't bought presents my family yet.

And I'm lookin' forward to New Years! This will be my 3rd New Years where I'ma actually out the house. From ages 1 throught 20, I would ring in the New Year doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Then I finally got out the house with one of my friends to chill at someone else's house. It wasn't all that, but it was better than being at home, laying on the floor, listening to music. And last New Years, I was in México! That was cool. Got to spend it with my best Mexican friend and her family and partake in a few traditions, as well as for Day of the Three Kings.

Now, this New Years... I will be at an undisclosed locale. Dancing to hip-hop and who knows what else. Getting pissy drunk 'cause it's open bar. Stayin' out 'til the early mornin'. I plan to wild out. :-D I hope I have fun...

So, this may be my last post of two thousand two. Wow. Time's a-flying! Where does it all go?

So I still haven't learned. Still procrastinatin' like nobody's business. And the semester is almost over. I am so ready to just drop out - if I don't flunk out first!

Well, looks like November has gone, and now December is sort of zipping away. Well, let's see what things happened last month... I went to a Karaoke bar for the first time. I'd done Karaoke at friends' houses, but I'd never actually gone to a restaurant where they have that kinda stuff. Yay, me - I'm on my way to stardom. Nah... I was a bit nervous in the beginning. You know, performing in front of people, my voice was a bit shaky. But then I eventually relaxed some and broke it down for them. Lemme stop. Haha. But I did sing. And everybody else was eatin' sushi (it was a sushi bar). Gross. When I got there, there was this white chick singin' Japanese. Like, whoa. J/k.

Then the week following the Karaoke, it was Jeannie's birthday and guess what - sushi again. Sheesh. This was not at that sushi/Karaoke bar, but at one of her favorite restaurants. I always say that I don't like Japanese food and what not. But I'll try certain things (none of that seafood stuff, though). And in the end, I'm usually not satisfied. I don't know what it is. I think it's genetic 'cause my mom and sis don't like Japanese food either. Anyhow...

Afterwards, all of us went back to her house and... guess what? We did some Karaoke. Eric brought over his equipment. Jeannie - one of these days I'll play DDR with you, but you have to get really drunk so that you won't even remember you played it with me. And won! LoL

So, following my disappointment with Japanese... food stuffs. I was happy that the next day, Jeannie and JP and I got some Vietnamese food *drool* before they dropped me back off at my place. I need to be treated more often to Viet cuisine.

Now we fast forward to Thanksgiving. It was good. My dad's cousin always invites us up to her place in Philly. I was upset, though, that I didn't eat that day, then, after just one plate, I was full! I wanted to stuff my self! We ought to hold Thanksgiving more often, just so that I can eat. Hehe...

I am sleepy. I haven't slept. Like, in a while. If I stay up for another... seven and a half hours, I will have gone 2 days without sleeping. School is gonna be the death of me. This is what happened... I woke up Thursday morning with the intention of going to class. All I had was a little oral test with my conversation teacher, then the class with my grammar teacher. So, I got up - it was around 8:30 or something - and I went to the potty room. Then I saw the snow out the window! Seeing those flurries, I was like, hell, nah. And I took my butt right back to bed. :-P

So, I woke up around 11am. Not because I wanted to, 'cause I could have slept the rest of the day. But I had a presentation to work on for Friday. I also had my Arabic proficiency exam to take. So, I tried to work on the presenation. That went by slowly and I didn't finish when Friday morning came. I even drank coffee a couple times Thursday 'cause I knew I would be pulling an all-nighter.

I had to leave for the written part of my Arabic exam, which was scheduled for 9am. So, I left the house Friday at a little after 8:30 and shoot - I didn't realize the impact of the snow. I mean, I'd been holed in the entire day before. So, I had to walk to school and I wasn't wearing the right shoes for that snow and ice shiet. That was kind of annoying. But fast forward - the written exam. It was a lot harder than I had expected. It was 3 and a half hours long. And all of us who had taken the exam used up every minute that was given to us. I'm not sure how I did.

Then after that was over, I had roughly an hour to try to work on my stupid presentation. And the class for that presentation was having it's make-up session (because we needed an extra class) at 2 in the afternoon. So, didn't really have a whole lotta time to fix up what I had. And then, after I did horribly on my presentation, I had the oral part of my proficiency exam.The ironic thing is that I always thought, yeah, maybe I won't pass the orals, but I've got a good chance on the written. But after all that, I felt the written was a little too much for me, while the oral wasn't bad.

The oral was conducted by my Arabic grammar teacher and this other guy who teaches Arabic elsewhere. It was cool. I need more practice with speaking. My Arabic teacher said he thinks I would make a good linguist 'cause I'm good with languages. He was kinda braggin' about me to the other guy. :-D And the other guy had asked me how long I'd been studying Arabic. I told him not long 'cause I'd only started just last year. Anyway... I wonder if I'll pass either portion of the test. We won't find out until late Monday.

Well, I've got loads of crap left to do for this semester. Hope I get them done. When's the last day you can withdraw from a class (or two. or three)? :-P I'm already prepared for failure. =T

Anyway, I need to get off this here comp. My ass is fallin' asleep at the keyboard...

Matai ani almad? What? You don't know what that says? You better learn you some transliterated Hebrew if you don't know! :-P Nah, it says, when will I learn? I've gotten zero work done these days. And I went out Friday and Saturday night. Though good for my sanity, it's not necessarily good for my grades. Oh, well - too late!

So, Friday night I went to an Arabic party. Was with Nadine and Basem. Hadn't seen Basem since we graduated together. Then saw some other peeps from school there. It was cool. Got my dance on. Also saw another dude I went to undergrad with there, coincidentally. He saw me and was like, "What are you doing at an Arabic party?" I go, "I'm Arab." He says, "You are?" Haha... Then I told him, no. But I could pass... :)

Then... tonight or last night or whatever...Hung out with my Asian peeps. Vietnam in the hiz-ouse! Got our groove on... Now my feet hurt from my damn boots and my knees feel all banged up from the dancing - you know, 'cause of the impact... Guess it's the same concept as for runners who run on pavement as opposed to dirt or grass... Anyway, it was cool. Mad people was at the club. Nice diverse crowd. For example, one of the guys who tried to talk to me was Viet/Chinese. Another guy I danced with was Polish/Filipino. And the last guy I talked to was Lebanese. It was a fun time, although I wanted to hear my pop and rock en español I need to get out more and I need to be with my raza more often.

I'm listenin' to Son By Four's "A Puro Dolor". I've been wanting to hear the song 'cause I been watchin' the telenovela "Mis Tres Hermanas". It's from, like, 2 years ago, but it comes on the Spanish channel I get and they play parts of that song in the show. Santiago and Lisa are really good-looking people. I think I need to go Venezuela just so I can see the people, so beautiful.

Anyway, it's the wrong time for me to still be awake. I hope I can fall asleep soon so I don't waste the entire day. Ugh - I hate when that happens. Bye.

Anti-War Demonstration

Today was a day of protest around the world. I marched today along with thousands of my fellow Americans - we, Americans, who are the true patriots. The weather was decent and it was another peaceful demonstration. I heard Susan Sarandon as well as some other individuals speak. Then when I finally got to a position where I could see the people on the stage, I saw other celebrities like Jesse Jackson, Congresswoman McKinney, and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark. The lawn was packed. And muddy, too. The group I was with started to join the other protestors to prepare to march just as Al Sharpton started to speak. But then we left when it was his turn was coincidental. :)

All of the messages were good. From those at the podium to all the signs people were holding. I just wish the warmongers of this country knew what all these people know. That is, the TRUTH. Some of the messages:
1) All we are still saying is give peace a chance
2) Regime change begins at home
3) Not in my name
4) Israel out of our Congress
5) No blood for oil
6) Drop Bush, not bombs
7) Iraq: Weapon of Mass Distraction
8) Act like it's a globe - not an empire
9) (with the pictures of some politicians like Bush) the Asses of Evil
10) (and one something like this) Make _____, not war
a) cookies
b) art
c) love
d) SENSE!
11) Money for jobs, not war
12) Killing one person is murder; killing 1000's of people is foreign policy
13) It's about economics, stupid

I hope the masses will get through to our oligarchy. I hope that some people saw the program on C-SPAN2. It was a debate on the subject of war with Iraq, which took place at Georgetown University. I only heard some of the things one of the speakers, a professor from UCSF, said of how ridiculous an impending war with Iraq would be. You shoulda seen it. I wonder if there's a transcript somewhere...

We need a reform of our whole damn electoral process. It's so bullshit. Speaking of B.S., this was another message on signs and shirts: BUSHIT.

Okay, time for some h.w...

'Bout damn time they caught the sniper! Or DID they?? :-P Who the hell cares. I just don't wanna hear about it no more...

So, anyway - on to more important things. I went to the movies tonight. I don't get out much, nor do I frequent the theatres. But it's always good to get out. Went to see "Brown Sugar" with Nadine. I liked it. You know - a love story. Go see it and support Black films. If we're gonna waste our money on things we don't need, why not give back to the community?!

The weekend is just about here. And I should spend much of it studying. But I probably won't. Last weekend I spent my time... Saturday afternoon I was at the mall with JP and Jeannie. Saw a couple peeps from undergrad there. Didn't buy anything 'cause nothing caught my eye. I want shoes and pants, though... Then, later that evening, Tara and I went to TGI Friday's. We were there until around 2AM. Then Sunday, I caught a few hours of TV on satellite. Got to see Christina Aguilera on some show called something like "Stripped in NY". Interesting that this new album will reveal the real Christina. I'll probably go get it. Then I got to see my girl Shakira on "Making the Video: 'Objection'" or whatever the heck the show's called. Then on like MTV2, I finally got to see her 'unplugged'. And she did that show way before she crossed over. I was happy. Too bad I ain't have a video tape handy so I could record it...

Man, it's already midnight. I'm shuttin' down the blog. Then I'll talk to one of my internet buddies for a minute before I call it a night or do some homework. Peace!

Half-way through the semester... Why can't it be over already?! :-P I had two midterms last week and I don't think I did all that great on them. Why do I always wait until the day before or the day that something is due before I start it?

I'm annoyed with this sniper stuff. The media is just puttin' everything out there so that whoever's responsible for all this crap is just laughing from his little den at the incompetence (I'm being hard) of the people who are supposed to be maintaining law and order. And I think the BBC's coverage of the whole ordeal is better. Brief and to the point. I don't need to hear all day long that no one knows what's going on!

Bush is an idiot, talkin' about needing a regime change in Iraq. We need a damn regime change in the U.S. Then this fool got the nerve to say that Iraq has been ignoring the UN and the free world for the past 11 years. WTF??? So, what do you call the illegal State of Israel? They've been ignoring UN Resolutions as well as the opinion of the international community right from the get-go. Those fuckerz...

But I was perusing the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and one of the articles said the public opinion was shifting in favor of the Palestinians in the US and abroad, including in Israel, as more people are realizing the atrocities that are/have been committed. That's a little encouraging!

Fall is definitely here. It's brisk out. Walking home, I noted the beautiful red-orange color of the leaves gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Oh, shit- look how I'm talking! I got a bit of a romantic in me that wants to come out. Hehe...

Do you know I've found myself gazing upon the squirrels wondering what it would be like to be one of them? The way they prance around and move with such agility (ignoring their moments of ineptitude when confronted with moving objects heading in their direction!), seemingly so carefree. If only I weren't trapped in the walls of higher learning, maybe I wouldn't imagine myself as a squirrel. LoL. I was reminded of Julio Cortázar's "Axolotl" - but my thoughts were definitely not that deep or serious! And now that winter will soon approach, I probably won't get that far into such a thought process! But I never really cared too much for Cortázar. He was a little too existential or something for me. Or maybe it was the sophistication of the literature combined with the fact that I had to read him in Spanish...

Mom dukes is heading to the Motherland in a few days. Oh, how I wish I were in another country! Soon enough...

It's crunch time! I've procrastinated since the start of the semester. Now here I am, two weeks away from mid-terms and I'll soon be panicking! I need to lock my self up for the next couple of weeks until I learn everything there is to know about the political economy of the Middle East and the beginnings of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Sheesh. This is gonna suck.

I had intended to get some reading done over the weekend. But of course that didn't happen, as I went to New York with a classmate. Her bro goes to law school up there, so, she wanted to check out his place and hang out with some friends she had up there. It was an alright trip. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better. Like for example, why did we have two movie nights? Okay, Friday night, we went out to eat at this French restaurant then we ended up back at the brother's apartment where we watched "John Q". The movie was okay. I don't care to watch it again, but I thought it was a great subject to bring to the screen. I can feel the whole insurance issue. Tell me why I have to pay for mines with some damn loans! Not to mention, the care ain't all that! I need to move my ass to a socialist country. =P

Anyway, if it wasn't bad enough to go all the way up to NYC to rent a movie, we went to the movies the following night. Well, first, we went to the Village and did some shopping. I saw one of the members of the group O-Town. The light-skinned, baby-face kid. He was outside some store and it appeared that he was being interviewed, seeing how someone had a tape-recorder all up in his grill. Anyway... I bought a skirt and a shirt. I wonder when I'll actually wear 'em...

Later on we went to this restaurant called Tao, an Asian bistro. Now, when my friend first told me about this place before we went up to NY, she sent me this link. I looked it up and what not and was kind of appalled. Why do people like to exploit Asian culture so much? I don't care if this is some Asian-owned establishment. My impression was kind of negative. I was like, what the hell is up with this? The restaurant had a Chinese-sounding name, this huge Buddha statue was the kind I associate with Thailand, I saw the word "wasabi" and was like, okay, Japanese stuff... Then the article I looked at also mentioned something about Korean and Vietnamese food or something like that. What the hell? I hate places like that. I'm more into authentic places. Where they specialize in one, or maybe two, cuisines. If that wasn't enough, when we got to the joint, I ain't see a damn Asian face at first. I saw these white chicks wearing the Chinese-style dresses and that annoyed me. But I eventually did see some Asians that worked there. Like maybe 2. Or three.

Anyway, what I had to eat wasn't all that. The place is overrated. Whatever. Afterwards we started walking, but with no clear destination. Then I saw some really bright lights and was like, what's that? Is that a "dirty" place we're not supposed to go to? Like strip joints and stuff? Hehe... That's what I was thinkin'. But then my friend's bro was like, nah, that's Times Square. So I asked if we could head down that way and we did. Lotsa people, lotsa light. Pretty cool. We ended up seeing "Road to Perdition" at a theater around there. I liked the movie, but again, why the hell did we go all the way up to NYC to go to the damn movies? So, anyway, the movie was good. The best line went something like: "Your just a baby boy who doesn't know his thumb from his dick." Hahaha... I thought that was funny.

Anyhoo, that's my trip in a nutshell. Don't feel like elaborating any more on it. 'Cept, if I go back, I need to go with certain kindsa peeps and hit up the more 'urban ureas'. Nah mean? And damn, there weren't enough cuties around. Where da hot boys at? =) Oh, and the place where we were staying - it was overrun with J... um... with juice. Yeah, that's it. Juice. heheh...

Okay, so I'm gonna go defrost some meat so I can try out a recipe. And I need to find some grub I can eat before I go to bed. And I need to do some damn Arabic homework. Ugh. When will this semester be over?? Wish me luck. I need it!

Last Friday I went to a party. It was a school function, actually. An annual shindig for the student, faculty, staff and friends of the Center I'm a part of at school. It was alright. But why wasn't anyone chaperoning me?! I'm sayin', wine is a "sophisticated" drink that you sip on, right? Well? Why wasn't anyone stopping me as I drank my cups like Kool-Aid? LoL. Basically, my ass was drunk that night. I didn't realize how much that alcohol had affected me while I was queen of the dancefloor (hehe). Only when I left the floor to go to the bathroom did I actual notice that I couldn't walk straight. =) And my memory of that night is in parts. I felt like time didn't go by quick that night, but, it turned out that I spent quite a bit of time in the different places we went to after the party. I can't really explain. I just know that when I was getting out the taxi, I saw the gutter and turned behind me to Nadine saying, "Be careful" and what not 'cause there's a bit of a decline in the road. I step over the gutter onto the curb and - kerplop! I fall. Ironic.

Anyway, I had a bit of a hangover in the morning. My hangovers don't consist of headaches, but of stomach aches. I just ended up sleeping that morning. And I didn't get any homework done that weekend. In fact, I haven't been getting any work done, period. I need to stop that. I am not trying to prolong my studies. Oh - I am accepting donations for all those who want to contribute to my college fund. How else am I gonna pay back over 60 grand in student loans? Besides the obvious answer of marrying rich? (Yeah, right. I would never marry for money! But it doesn't sound like a bad idea right now... lol).

Okay, I don't feel like writing anymore. Plus, I don't have much to say. Or at least nothing I feel like revealing at the moment. ;) So, peace out, homie G's!

What is up with "Fat Free" Jell-O pudding?? I mean, the fact that I'm eating chocolate pudding, do you think I care if it's got fat in it or not? Heh. Actually, I just don't think it tastes good if it don't got fat in it! That's like a general rule - if it tastes good, it's probably not good for you! :)

So, here I am in front of the computer. You know what that means- I should be doing my homework! But, old habits die hard. I'll never be a good student. Ever. How I made it this far is one of the world's mysteries. I better shut up. Don't wanna jinx myself! :-P

So, last week on the 11th, I guess they were having all these memorial ceremonies all around the country. When my classmates and I were on our way from our convo class to grammar and 4 fighter jets, or whatever the hell they were, flew overhead. I'll be damned if me and Nadine didn't get all scared. We heard this loud noise and I sorta ducked and almost covered my ears. That was kinda crazy. Then one of our classmates was teasing us saying, "It's okay. You never hear the one that actually hits you." We both gave him a punch in the arm. hehe

And something's wrong with me. Well, that's nothing new. But also last week, I sneezed, letting out a little "choo" sound. Then, for some inexplicable reason I exclaimed, "hap-py birthday." And if you woulda heard me you woulda looked at me really strange. No, but stranger than you look at me now. lol

I caught another documentary on World Link TV the other night. It was called "Good Kurds, Bad Kurds". The Kurds are found in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and I guess Russia. The "good Kurds" - according to the US regime, are the ones persecuted by Saddam, and the "bad" ones are the ones in Turkey. It's all related to the BS that our government propogates. You know, all part of the hypocrisy which is our so-called democracy (see Malcolm X). Basically, it's bad for Saddam to kill his Kurdish population, but it's okay for Turkey to do it - and with US weapons - because Turkey is one of the only democracies in the Middle East. And the injustice continues.

Anyway... I'm out!

Today was a long azz day for me. It's my busy day at school. Why, oh, why did I pile all my classes (or the bulk of 'em) in one day? And not only that- why am I taking what I'm taking? Sheesh. I'll be glad when it's all over.

Anyway, so I come home, flip on the TV. And what's this I see? All this September 11th crap. Sorry- not interested. So, I turned to Telefutura. There, they were showing a Venezuelan game show called "Aprieta y Gana". That's what I'm talking about. Although I didn't actually watch it. And then Mexican soccer came on. And I'm no sports fan, but it was better than listening to Bush.

But I went into the kitchen to fix me some eatins'. Wanted to use up some o' my food before it went bad. (Won't even tell you what those ingredients were! lol) I made some soup. Wasn't very good, but still edible. But man- what a difference a little cilantro and green onions can make! I made some fake pho. Okay, so it was nothing like pho. I didn't even have half the stuff you need for it. But whatever.

I went to a museum with JP and Jeannie this weekend. It was modern art and sculptures. It was alright. This one exhibit they had was freaky! Some sculptures on loan from the Australian museum had these life-like figures. Creepy stuff... And it was a beautiful day. We've been having some pretty great weather these days. Then soon it'll be autumn and all the leaves will fall. It'll be cold and windy. And sometimes rainy. But that means winter is coming and I can get my tail the hell out of this country! Yay! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Heh...

So, anyway... after the museum, I showed JP how to get to this one Vietnamese spot. We ate at this one restaurant then went next door to get some bubble tea. Well, I didn't have any. I was pretty full from the restaurant. I was thinking as we were arriving at this Vietnamese plaza, "it would be funny if I saw Tammy here." And sure enough, while we were at the bubble tea place, a girl enters the store and we're all staring and squinting at each other. She goes, "Sheena?" I go, "Tammy?" hehe.. Then it was a hug and a buncha giggles and what not...

I also went out with some grad students Friday night. We went to the harbor and it was nice. Still the pleasant weather, lots of people. I saw some people from my undergrad. I got the attention of one and started talking to him. Funny how I'll talk to people I never talked to before just because I encounter them in a new and separate setting.

Speaking of talking to people you never talked to before... Today, after one of my classes, one of my classmates approaches me. When I first saw him the first day, I thought he looked familiar, but I simply could not place his face. I later resolved that he was in one of my classes from one of the two previous semesters. Turns out, he went to my alma mater and that's where I had a class with him! He had recognized me. Funny, we both give credit to the one professor we both had for getting us into our grad school programs.

I was hatin' on one of my friends last week. I was talkin' to Nadine last week, reminding her that Enrique Iglesias would be in town. Do you know this girl told me how this one guy (that one of our classmates tried to hook her up with) called her up and was like, I've got an extra ticket to the Enrique concert if you wanna go... WHAT?!?! Why didn't he call me up? And what the hell is a guy doin' goin' to an Enrique concert? Geez... Anyway, I'm over it. I got my own Spaniard anyhow... Syke.

Okay... what should I do? I'm gonna try to be more productive with my school work. I don't wanna go through the panic phases right before my mid-terms or whatever. Wow. This is gonna be, like, the first time I actually have mid-terms. I had mostly papers last school year.

I think I'll work on some Arabic right now while I watch TV or listen to some music. Until next time...

Good job, America! You voted and chose Kelly Clarkson as your American idol. Woo-hoo! That's what I'm talkin' about. :) Yeah, I casted about 15 votes for homegirl. That girl got a little bit o' soul in her. :) Even Mary J. Blige, Melissa Joan Hart and Lois from "Malcolm in the Middle" were rootin' for her!

So... I'm back in school and sure as hell don't wanna be here. :( Here's wishin' the school year zooms by! I'm takin' 4 classes for credit and auditing one. Three classes are in my concentration and are a total of 9-credits, which is a full-load for grad school. The other course is 6-credits of Arabic which I need in order to pass a proficiency exam so I can hopefully graduate. Then the class I'm auditing is Hebrew. So far, there are only 2 other students in that class. Hope it stays that way 'cause I think we're all pretty much on the same level, though we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. I would just hate for someone else to join who's obviously got no aptitude for language-learning. Plus my classmates actually make an effort to pronounce the language right. I hate American accents in foreign languages! (But one of my classmates is Mexican, but anyway...)

In my Arabic class, we've got certain ones in there who just don't got it. Or it takes 'em a while. I get frustrated in there. During summer Arabic I asked my teacher, "Do you ever just wanna choke your students?" LoL. He was like, nah, I'm not a violent person. I go, "I'm not either. I just have violent thoughts." Haha... But I tell ya, in reference to my particular class, being of a Semitic peoples does not make you predisposed to learning a Semitic language. (And I'm not talking about the only Arab in the class, if you know what I mean) But you ain't heard it from me! =X

So, anyway, I'm takin' all these classes. One on the Arab-Israeli conflict with a visiting professor from Israel, another on the Political Economy of the Middle East (it's a required course), and another on Syrian/Lebanese politics. And I don't wanna be in any of 'em! If I could just study languages, I'd be content. After I get my degree - if I get my degree - I shall never, ever return to school again. Buh-leee dat! What sucks for me this semester, besides taking these courses I don't think I'll excel out, my dumb tail thought it'd be a good idea to schedule everything on the same day. I figured, that'll give me more "free" days to do whatever. So, Arabic is every freakin' morning, as usual, Hebrew is Mondays and Fridays, the Arab-Israeli course is Monday/Wednesday, and every thing else is Wednesday! So, yeah- that was today. I was in class all damn day long. From 9:15am 'til 8:30 tonight. And since it was the grande finale of "American Idol" this evening, which started at 8, you know I set my VCR. hehe

So... Saturday I went to see this documentary produced/directed/written... by 2 Georgetown grads. It was called "The Pocket" and it was a documentary on Go-go music. It was a'ight. But there were a lotta caucazoids in attendance. Ain't nuttin' wrong with that, but all my classmates that went had never heard of Go-go music before. And I'm sure that most of the other white people hadn't either. There were some black folk up in there who knew what was up. LoL. Then afterwards, a few bands played: Uncalled 4 and Little Benny and the Go-go AllStars. But in between this punk-rock band played. They were all right, but pretty much out of place there, ya know! Basically, they're from DC and say they love go-go, so, that was their connection to it all...

But after all that, I was in the mood to hit up a go-go. I gotta find someone to roll wit', though. I am not tryna go with someone who doesn't already know what it's about. And plus, even though they might dig it, I might be embarrassed with the way they dance. Haha!

Anyway, I should do my Arabic homework. And I should also feed my belly. I'm sleep- and food-deprived at the moment. Only about 112 days to go 'til I get the hellz outta here! =P

So I watched "Lord of the Rings" with my mother tonight. It was okay, I guess. Didn't like the ending. I was like, I don't get it? What just happened? I'm not sure if I missed something 'cause I was a little tired watching that 3-hour flick. It was "The Mummy Returns" meets "Harry Potter" meets "The Tomb Raider". Okay, so maybe not. But once you see one special effect, you've seen 'em all. The aforementioned movies did come to mind while I was watching LOTR. But, I guess the storyline was different. :-P

The night before I watched this documentary on World Link TV again (that channel has some good stuff sometimes). It was called "Fire and Water" about this Iraqi (I forget his name) who earned his degree at the University of Ottawa (where he met his Canadian wife) in something like Chemistry or Chemical Engineering or something along those lines. The eventually went to live in Iraq, but the guy publicly spoke out against Saddam and his horrible human rights record. He ended up in prison for 11 years during the 80s. He didn't get to watch his, then, 3 kids grow up. And this man being Shiite Muslim is not exactly a favorite to the Sunni government. Anyway, the family including a little daughter that was born after dude got out of jail (where he was tortured but not killed because his specialized knowledge was useful to the Iraqi regime) are now living in Southern Iran. They regularly change place of residence and use aliases amongst their neighbors since they're still in danger from the Iraqi police. They currently help refugees out by supplying food and medicine.

I'm soooo bored! If I don't experience a great change in my life soon (being within the next year), I'm gonna go insane or into a deep depression! Okay, maybe not so drastic... But who knows? :-P

You know the Top Ten lists David Letterman does? Once he did the one that follows. They're not all funny, but some of 'em gave me a little chuckle. See? Toldja doesn't take a lot to make me happy. :)

Top Ten Signs You're Dumb


10. You stopped watching wrestling because it's too complicated

9. The hot beverage warning on Starbucks cups mentions you by name

8. On census form you count yourself plus the guy in the mirror

7. You augment your income by photocopying quarters

6. As a special treat you take yourself to Jiffy Lube and you don't own a car

5. Fear of injury keeps you from using a comb

4. Just spent two hours trying to improve the reception on your microwave

3. According to you, this week Amercian King Fidel Castro got on a spaceship, went to the planet of Cuba and met with dictator Jimmy Connors

2. You're a Tampa Bay Devil Rays season-ticket holder

1. You choke on a pretzel

Yay! I got A's for both summer sessions of Arabic! Not like it was surprising or anything (hehe), but I'm gonna take pride in these grades now 'cause I don't expect to see many A's this upcoming semester in any of my non-language courses. Even though I already pre-registered way back when, I still haven't figured out my fall schedule. This sucks. I already know I have to take Arabic and this other course that's required for my major. But that leaves me two other courses I must take and I'm tryna figure do I wanna do both of those in my concentration or one in my elective or what. And then I wanna squeeze Hebrew in there, which I would be auditing. Ugh, I'm dreading this all. One of the classes I'm taking has these certain pre-reqs which I didn't actually fulfill. Hope I don't fail!

Enough of that... I saw this Brazilian film on World Link TV the other day called "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands." Kinda weird. It was a fantasy flick made in 1977 in Portuguese (English subtitles). Something about it reminded me of the movie "Como Agua Para Chocolate". Anyway, the main actress who played Flor is still on TV today. She's on the PBS program called "American Family."

I also watched on the same channel a Tunisian film called "The Silences of the Palace." My Arabic professor had mentioned it in class this summer and said it was good. It was okay. Maybe I just didn't understand the significance of certain things. But I like "Dona Flor" better.

Then, last night (yeah, I'm doing a TV marathon, lol), I watched this kinda documentary called "Naji al-Ali: An Artist with Vision". Naji was a Palestinian cartoonist born in Palestine in the late 30s. His family ended up in a refugee camp in Lebanon with the formation of the racist state of Israel. He was assassinated in London and they still don't know who did it. Scotland Yard didn't figure it out, but speculation points fingers at the Mossad or the PLO. But his cartoons were good. He had a way of portraying social and political situations and sentiments in the Arab world. His works are characterized by this one figure named Hanthala which he places in all of his drawings. Hanthala is a boy and you only see his backside. While everyone may ask, why does he have his back to us? In actuality, he's facing Palestine or he's just turning his back to those have turned their backs on the Palestinians. He's a really great symbol. You should read up on this cartoonist and his works. Just, like, do a Google search for "Naji al-Ali" (there are variations on the spelling of his name).

Man - only 6 more days 'til school starts and I haven't gotten my act together. Damnit. Is it almost winter break yet? 'Cause when it is, I'm gettin' the hell outta here! Just 126 more days ('til I skip town)... :Þ

It's been a loooong time. I been lazy. Sue me! Hehe. Speakin' of suing... Why didn't anybody tell me about this: Millions for Reparations? And there's a rally goin' on today! White America - you owe my black azz! Where's my 40 acres and a mule? Shieeett... Ha. But for real, this is one of the reasons you won't catch me wavin' an American flag. If we had no reason to wave it during slavery and segregation and what have you, why we gonna suddenly start doing so 'cause of Sept. 11? Sheesh.

Anyway, there are some whites present at this rally, as I've read in some article from the AP by Janelle Carter: Ken McDouall of Durham, N.C., one of a handful of whites at the rally, said the reparations issue "cuts to the core of the history of injustice of America.'' Does it ever! I just may purchase a t-shirt if I like how it looks.

So... I'm done with summer school. Been out for a week already and so bored! I can't believe half my vacation is already over with, yet in my ennui, the days are dragging on... I'm so not looking forward to starting the fall semester. But at the same time, I can't wait for it to be down and over with it. I have this fear that my final year of grad school will go by so slowly. Then I have this fear that I'll fail. :-P Well, at least I passed my "Intensive 2nd-Level Modern Standard Arabic" this summer.

Went out Thursday night with Justin and a few others. Ended up seeing 5 kats I know from undergrad- all Kappas, I think. The night was only "alright". Wasn't all that, but at least I got out the freakin' house! I think I'm going to go insane if my life doesn't change soon. You'll all be visiting me at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. That's where my mom said I needed to go. Do ya'll know what it is? It's a nut house. LoL. This is kind of interesting: I just did a little homework on it and it was started in 1855 and used to be called "the Government Hospital for the Insane." Then during the Civil War, "wounded soldiers treated here were reluctant to admit that they were in an insane asylum, and said they were at St. Elizabeths, the colonial name of the land where the Hospital is located." (Got that from some NIH site.)

I finally saw "Lady & the Tramp" the other day. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. But there were some cute parts. And parts that made my eyes water. I also saw "The Mothman Prophecy" or whatever it's called. Wasn't impressed with that either. I wanna go see Martin Lawrence's "Run Tell Dat." :)

I had had a check-up earlier this week. My blood pressure is good, despite the fact that I eat salt as if it was itself a food. Heh. And my weight- I'll be damned. Granted I was wearin' my Air Force Ones (hightops), my weight was 10lbs more than what I expected! Guess eating all of that good Vietnamese food beforehand wasn't such a good idea. Who am I kidding- of course it was!

Hey, I think I'm developing an old soul. Three out of the four CDs I purchased in the past few weeks are before my time. I got one of Astrud Gilberto, a pioneer in bossa nova. (Brazil just celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Girl from Ipanema"). The music's real chill. Quite tranquil. I also got a collection of Love Songs sang by Etta James. Wow- what a voice. And I also got some music of Carly Simon. Besides that, I've been looking into singers of the mid-twentieth century, give or take a few years. Guess I'm kinda late in discovering real jazz and blues and stuff. Speaking of this genre, I just found out that Norah Jones is the daughter of a famous musician: Ravi Shankar! Who'da thunk it?

Once again... got a phone call at midnight the other night when I was planning on going to bed. :-T

I finally got my postcard yesterday! (From my special internet friend.) Yeah, I'm cysed. It doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy. If only more people knew that! Anyway...

I watched "The Mummy Returns" Thursday night. I'd never even seen the first one. But I liked it. I thought certain computer graphics were not good enough, like when they wanted to create the effect of multitudes... But then, some of those mummies were pretty freakin' scary to me! And the guy who played Imhotep- eww! When he was kissin' that chick? Did you see his bottom lip? Ga-rohz. =P

And when the Israeli guy (the magii with the longish hair and goatee) said some things in Arabic, I was like- I understand what he said! Then there was the part where the two chicks were fightin' with the sais. I was like, oh, son! That shyt is tight! Gotta learn to do that. Hehe. And I think I kinda appreciated the film a little more since I've been to Egypt and have seen some of the things depicted in the movie. Anyhoos...

I don't know what to do with myself right now. Should I do homework? Nahh... I think I'll just lollygag. That's what I do best!

Yep. It's true. Like I said before- no one ever calls me. 'Cept when I go to bed early. My dumb azz (hope she doesn't read this, lol) cousin called me Sunday night at 11:38pm when I have class every damn morning at 8:30am. Why would you call someone late when they gotta wake up early? Sheesh. And I had gone to bed at 9 that night because I had only gotten like 4 hours of sleep. And of course, I had trouble gettin' back to sleep. That night I would wake up periodically and that sucked.

Anyways, I'm tryna go to bed early and wake up early. It's not workin' for me yet. But I just started, so, gotta still try to get my body used to it. We'll see how long it lasts. Probably not long. I'm a night owl, it seems.

I watched "The Shawshenk Redemption" for the first time. It was alright, I guess... Best part- in the closing credits, some poor guy will forever be known as "Fat Ass". LoL...

So I got an A for the first session of my summer Arabic. Not surprising, though. =) If only I could get those kinda grades in my other subjects!

Well, I'm super hungry. Time to stuff my face!

Went to a party tonight. My friend, whom I haven't seen in years, invited me. It was pretty cool. I didn't mingle so much, but I met a couple cool guys. And it's always good to get out the house. I'm always confined to the four walls of my room.

So, I'm spending a lot less time on the net. I still go online every freakin' day to check e-mails and what not, even though I usually don't get any... :P But I'm weaning my self off the internet now. Haha. Actually, it's 'cause of my special internet friend. Hehe. It's like, after I talk to him online, then I'm set for the day. I just sign off after he goes offline. And that's my fix. :)

It's kinda crazy... Even though I don't know this guy in person, I really like what I think I know about him. Just based on our conversations on the phone or online, I feel like he's so great! It makes me realize how much of an idiot I was back in my "younger" days in terms of the guys I used to crush on. They totally weren't worth my time! But, "you live, you learn", right?

Why is this guy I don't actually know all that? 'Cause he seems to have a moral code that he lives by that's more compatible with the way I think. Come to think of it, I don't think the guys I've liked in the past would have passed the test... Anyways, dude and I are totally conservative in our way of thinking. But we both share the same fear, which he expressed to me the other day: he's afraid that upon meeting face to face, we'll discover that we don't have as much in common... And as I told him a few phone conversations ago: I think we both like each other alright, but would we "really" like each other in person?

Then it was funny that a song I once thought was a little silly is now kinda cute: "Atrapados en la red" by Tam Tam Go (some Spanish group). Check it out. =)

After this one last thing, I don't think I'll write about this anymore... But one more thing we were both thinking was: "It's too good to be true." Or in his words, "no puede ser tan perfecto" (we communicate in Spanish). What do you think?

I FINALLY saw "Lilo & Stitch. Jeannie, JP, and I saw it Friday night. It was quite short! Like an hour and twenty minutes or something like that. It was alright, I guess. I did cry at some parts because I'm such a crybaby. =P But it's not one of my favorite Disney films. Doesn't look like I'll be going out to buy the soundtrack...

So, my 5-day weekend is almost over. So quick. I've been listening to some music and reading this book called While You Were Gone. I just found it on my bookshelf the other day after I thought I would read a book from AP English. I started reading Kafka's The Metamorphosis, but got bored with it after a while. Then I thought maybe I'd go for The Stranger or Jane Eyre. That's when I saw this piece of modern fiction. A friend of mine had given it to me when I was in Jerusalem. I had attempted to start reading the book back then (in 2000). A page was bookmarked with one of those little cards with a religious icon on the front and a calendar on the back. The calendar was in Arabic. I had gotten it from a stranger on the train when I was in Egypt. He gave it to me, I guess, after noting the picture of Jesus on my necklace. We couldn't really understand each other due to the language barrier, but being Christian was our connection. He probably was Coptic...

Did you know that Egypt, though it's like 99% Muslim, has the largest number of Christians in the Arab world? And Lebanon has the largest number of Christians in terms of proportion of the population...

Anyway, right now I'm impatiently awaiting an international phone call. My, uh... "special friend" should be calling in 4 hours. That's too long. I'll probably try and finish that novel in the meantime. And my dad wants me to brush the dog 'cause he got a bath today. But this mutt of mine sheds ad infinitum. Why bother? =P

I just got done watching a James Bond film - "The World is Not Enough" with Pierce Brosnan. Can you believe the last line of that film: "I thought Christmas only comes once a year." How dirty was that? LoL! But one quote from the movie I did like was "There's no point in living if you can't feel alive." I'll end with that...

So I just got in the house a little while ago. Went clubbin' with Justin and Damian. Can you believe it? I ain't been clubbin' in a minute. But I had an alright time. I actually was tryna avoid crowded places for the 4th (you know, the holiday on which we celebrate freedom from the Indians. That's what it is, right? :P). But, I went out 'cause I know I won't get too many chances to do so, especially since I'm occupied with school.

Right now I'm enjoying a 5-day weekend. Nice, huh? Actually, the first summer session ended and the second one starts Tuesday. I still got homework to do, but, uh, it'll probably get down Monday night. You know how I do. :)

Back to the club... I did see one person there I knew, and I was kinda lookin' to see her. It was my old roommate from senior year of college. The music they played... They took it back for us. For those who were down with the Black culture in the early 90s and the 80s, you woulda been jammin' to such favorites as "Take Me Home," "Poison," "La Di Da Di," "The Humpty Dance," and some others. Damn, I'm old! The DJ tried to say the songs were for the 25 and up heads. Yeah, right. It was for me, too. Hehe...

Hey Damian & Justin - very funny how you guys stepped back while I was tryna hide behind ya'll to keep that dirty old man from leering at me! Thanks a lot! :-P

So, I talked to my Spanish internet buddy earlier. If I've told you anything about him, you know what I'm talkin' about. ;) I love talking to this guy. You know, he once told me that my accent was similiar to those in southern Spain. What a compliment! Okay, before I drool over myself (lol), lemme get the heck outta here. Maybe I'll go to sleep or something. Lataz...

I went and saw "Y Tu Mamá También" Friday night. Wow. I heard it was pretty strong, but I didn't know it'd be like that. All I can say is, if you're gonna go see it, don't see it with your mom. =P 'Cause I know if I did, I'd get a whoopin'! LoL. Anyway...

Afterwards, I hung out in the city. Stayed out 'til after three, I believe. Saw some peeps from school while out. Two of the people I saw, an Arab-American and an Israeli-American were out. They're both atheists and they're very disrespectful to all believers- be they Christian, Muslim or Jewish. Some people just do not know how to act. They're cool otherwise, but once you start messin' with someone's religion, you're way out of line. I guess they just need their asses beat. =) It's funny, the Israeli guy is like so anti-Israeli. That's the one good thing about him. Haha.

And tonight... we celebrated JP's birthday at a Japanese restaurant. We all know how I don't care for Japanese food. But what I ordered was okay. It ain't Vietnamese, but hey- nobody's perfect. =) Then we went to Jillian's. I hadn't been there in ages. Saw some familiar faces. We had some fun. I think I got muscles now from playing HyperBowl. Hehe.

And of course I refused any drinks tonight. No more alcohol for me. Not for a while, at least. =P

Alright. Remind me to not drink since I'm not a drinker - especially on a school night!! Oh, my goodness - I felt horrid throughout the morning! I went with Justin and Tony to a bar lounge and saw some peeps from undergrad there. I rarely drink, so, I guess that's why I suffered/am suffering a hangover. All I had was a Midori Sour (thanks, Jeannie =)), two Cuba Libres, and a Henny on the rocks. Oh, yeah- and Dre got me some mystery drink that he wouldn't tell me what it was. LoL. But I think it had Malibu in it. Then Varian and Dre took me home. Got in around 1:30am. Not too-too late. But just a few hours later, I had a rude awakening...

I vomited a bit before class. Blech. Not a whole lot or anything, but still. Then I had to sit through class with this nauseous feeling. :( But, that's what I get, I guess. =P

But I think I'll go walk with Matt to a local food joint. Peace out

Uh-oh. I think I unknowingly flirted with my teacher today! Well, I didn't think so, but maybe I did? Ha. Anyway...

I've had approximately 14 hours of sleep in the past three nights. What is up with that? I'm the type of person who says she needs at least the average 8 a night. This is not cool. So, I've been drinking a cup of coffee before school. And that's the whole reason I bought the coffee - just in case I had to resort to caffeine as a drug. I was actually thinkin' of stocking up on some alcohol as a sedative for my sleepless nights. LoL. Hey- you gotta do whatcha gotta do! My friend thinks I should go to the doctor's to check out my sleep condition. I dunno if I wanna do all that. But I may go in for a psychiatric evaluation. Pu-wahaha!

Hmm... It's still fairly early. I hope to fall asleep before midnight. See ya!

My weekend wasn't too eventful. But more so than usual. I hung out with some old friends from elementary/middle school and ended up seeing some others from high school and college. One of the guys I saw from high school was someone I never spoke to then. He's cute. =)

Then, Saturday night, I got to see a friend whom I hadn't seen since last year. Belinda and I went into the city to chill a bit. Nobody can resist two Blasian chicks. :Þ I'm jealous of her. She's on her way to Spain right now. Why can't I go to Spain, too?

Speaking of Spain... One of my Spanish internet buddies called me. I love his accent. He doesn't talk like those Spaniards from Madrid or Barcelona, but more like a caribeño. Yum! ;)

After speaking to him for a half hour, I finally watched "Run Lola Run". I liked it. Artsy stuff. I like. Then I watched "Amores Perros" for the second time. I liked it the first time I saw it. I still liked it, but the suspense was all gone since I knew the storyline already.

Anyway... It's 3AM and I'm still awake. Damn weekends. I spent too much of it oversleeping or whatever. Now I'm gonna hafta drink coffee before I head to class and I'm not a coffee-drinker. Oh, well... That's life.

Aww... U.S.A. didn't win the match today. I was hopin' they would. It woulda made history. But anyway...

I finally saw "Tomb Raider" yesterday. It was okay. Not bad. Not good. Just regular. I should go play that game on my ancient PlayStation. I'm not hip on the PlayStation 2, but I heard it was tight. Do they have "Urban Chaos" for PS2?

Did anybody watch Leno last night with Tom Cruise and Natalie Merchant? That 91 year-old Maria was a trip! She had me crackin' up during that whole fruitcake bit. She was showin' Tom and Jay how to make fruitcake and they were puttin' all the ingredients together. She told 'em to dip the nuts in the molasses, and of course Jay started makin' jokes. Maria goes, "and when I say 'nuts', I mean the pecans and almonds." And then they were pouring the mix into bundt pans (you know, the ones with the hole in the center). She told them to stay away from the hole, but of course, they were pouring the stuff in sloppily. Maria goes to Jay something like, "Can't you pass a hole without sticking something in it?" LoL!

Okay. I'm done. I'm bored and stuck in the house. :(

Hot day, isn't it?

Maaann... Did you see who moved on to the next round of "American Idol"? Okay, so Tamyra should have gone on, but they gypped Adriel and Chris!

I'm tryna go some places this summer. I mean, just out. So, if you're not too busy, come take me somewhere! I feel stranded sometimes! Even if it's just to sit in a cafe. My stupid classmates are too worried about school sometimes that they don't wanna relax. =P Shoot, if you kiss the teacher's butt like I do, you won't hafta stress so much! J/k. But I do try to get on his good side. ;)

Hey - I learned a new word: "kissing cousin." I'd always heard the word, never knew what it meant. Wasn't that the name of some Elvis movie? Anyway, this is what it means, according to Merriam-Webster: 1) a person and especially a relative whom one knows well enough to kiss more or less formally upon meeting
2) one that is closely related in kind to something else. Did ya'll already know that?

Okay, time to go. Later!

Rain, rain, go away... I hate rain. At least I'm inside. But it's posta rain tomorrow. Hopefully not while I'm walking to and from school.

Did anybody watch "American Idol" tonight? The first and last singers sang well- the ones from ATL. But I didn't really care for the chick for some reason, even though Simon thinks she's a star. =P But #3: Adriel Herrera. He's cute, so he should win. Oh, and he sings nice, too. :)

Hey- The Powerpuff Girls Movie comes out next month. I don't really watch the show, plus I don't have cable at my apartment... But my girl in Mexico got me liking them. South of the border they're called Las Chicas Superpoderosas. Cute, hunh? =)

Norah Jones will be in town soon. I was thinking of going to check her out. Jeannie or Justin? Ya'll still tryna go?


Well, I think I should go to sleep while studying Arabic. I hate going to bed late when I gotta wake up early. Bye-bye.

Today was a nice day. Too bad I was inside for most of it. Had to visit my friend who just had surgery. Poor baby. She's stuck in the house for a while. That blows.

I had to take public transportation to see her 'cause she's staying at one of our classmates' house (whoa- did I put the apostrophe in the proper place? Somehow that doesn't seem right). Anyways, I hate using public transport for various reasons. But one is 'cause even before Sept. 11, I was paranoid about stuff. While I had to do the whole train, metro, etc. thing to get to my internship last summer, such thoughts crossed my mind. I used to think, due to America's screwy foreign policy, she's putting her citizens at risk for a terrorist attack. D'oh!

But whatever... Hey, Justin- I know you're reading this. ;) Thanks for calling me up today. You know I appreciate the random phone calls. Let's me know you care. Aww! Hehe.

Okay, why am I still awake when I got only about four hours of sleep? I better go. I still got some studying to do as well...

I feel like time's passing by so fast, yet so slow... Does that make sense? Sure it does. No need to explain. =)

I wanna go to sleep now. But I bet if I went to my bed, I'd just be laying there, unable to sleep. But if I sleep now, I'll hafta wake up early to do some more homework. And if I do my homework now, I still won't get to bed early enough. This sucks. When will I ever learn to do my homework ahead of time? Probably never.

What's with Bush giving the CIA the go ahead to pursue more covert operations? Hey, guess what? It's not so covert now, is it? =P But sheesh... the government's already so busy delaying chances for peace in the Middle East, what with they're undying support of our 51st state, which really isn't helping their war on terrorism. Now they wanna overthrow a man they should've gotten rid of ages ago? Too much on the plate. I just hope they don't screw things up more than they already have.

Whatever they end up doing, I hope we don't have to worry too much about BLOWBACK, which we probably will.

OoOoooh! I haven't gotten Happy Meals in ages, but they've got LiLo & Stitch toys right now! I wanna see that movie! Somebody, please take me to see that film when it comes out. And please get me some Happy Meals. =)

Okay, back to my Arabic... Buh-bye!

Wow... what a wasted day. I slept for most of it, then did nothing productive after I woke up. Well, I worked on my webpage for a bit. But I could have spent time at my parents' house, had I known our trip to the amusement park would have postponed 'til next week, then I would have gone home with my sister last night. Sheesh.

I called up my kindergarten teacher tonight. I've kept in touch with her throughout the years. Isn't that funny? Who else still talks to their first educator? We may go out for lunch some time this summer. I also spoke to one of my high school Spanish teachers a few weeks ago. Ms. Nurin. She also likes to hear about how I'm doing. I credit her with being my best Spanish teacher. I learned so much from her. You know, you don't realize sometimes what kind of positive affect people have on you until way after the fact.

So, I slept a long time today. You know why I think I sleep so much when I can? It's 'cause I feel like I have nothing to live for. Sounds pretty pathetic, right? Sure, I've got my responsibilites and what have you; like school and such. But other than that, I don't feel as though I have anything to look forward to. Okay, I'll stop talking about this because I'm sure it doesn't sound right. =P

Well, I'm long overdue for a meal. I need to give my body some nourishment before I die or something. Bye!

Dang... my girl ended up spending Thursday in the hospital. Home girl had to get her appendix removed. That sucks. Habibti, I wish you a speedy recovery!

Well, I went out with my sister and her friend tonight. That's the first time I've gone out with my sister. We went to a club downtown and it was alright. But my sister was right. When she came home, she was like, there are no cute guys around here. There really aren't. Or they're all hiding or something. One of the bartenders was cute. But kinda short. But whatever...

So, how do you reject a guy while being nice and having them get the point. I swear that being nice causes the guy to keep trying. But I know that if I were to be completely truthful, dude would get offended and then I'd end up being called all kinds of bitches. What losers, right? I mean, I'm nice enough to talk to them, even when I don't want to. But what if I just said, I don't want to talk to you? They would get mad. So, I entertain them with answers. But then when it comes to, "Can I call you?" or "If I give you my number, will you call me?" Geez... My answer is usually, "Probably not." So, is that answer so vague? Why can't these non-attractive (physically and/or personality-wise) guys take the hint? =P

Well, I'm tired, so, I'll be heading to bed soon. Good night, e'rybody!

The rain today... This morning it was drizzling when I stepped out my door, but I decided not to run back in for my umbrella. I figured, the rain would be on and off and that I'd run home when it had passed. But unfortunately, it was raining hard enough outside when I was ready to leave school, so I waited. I chit-chatted and went on the net. Then finally, when I had decided to head home, I was "prevented" from leaving.

See, this one cute Lebanese guy (you don't usually think of an Arab as being mixed with black, unless he's from North Africa or something. But apparently, you can also find them in the Levant and the Gulf as well!) that works at the food court called me over. Last fall, he was tryna push up on my Lebanese classmate and whenever I was with her, he didn't "see" me. So, I was like f*ck him. And my friend wasn't feelin' him either. So, anyway, since he acted like he couldn't be friendly towards me, I pretty much ignored him and only would say hi if I had to get food from him. But I didn't act warm towards him or anything, because I only reciprocate that.

So anyways, then one day last semester he got the nerve to ask me why I don't talk to him or whatever. Long story short, we "made up" and agreed to not ignore each other, I guess; to be civil towards one another - which is something I would have preferred from the get-go, but whatever. Back to the main point of all this- dude called me over when I was own my way home and nigga started rappin' to me. LoL. Dude was tryna holla, but the feeling ain't mutual.

Nevertheless, I gave him my time and I shoulda been more straightforward with him. Like, I just shoulda said, no, I ain't tryna know you. 'Cause that's what he said he was tryna do, that he wants to go out with me some time or whatever. Ha. But my dumb tail doesn't know how to be blunt when I should be. I was tryna be nice (believe or not. =)) But whatevaz...

It's still fairly early. I'm bust open my Arabic book and study. Hopefully, I get to sleep before midnight.

Here I am watching "Blind Date". Just got done eating, now I'm full and don't wanna do nothin'. Actually, I never wanna do anything. =P

I attended the taping of CNN's "Crossfire". It was a'ight. It was mildly entertaining, the hosts were amusing. But overall, I think it's kind of a waste of time. Well, I shouldn't judge 'cause I've never really watched the show. But I felt that the discussions didn't really accomplish a whole lot. And the 3 audience questions they picked from the note cards people handed in were stupid! I think they only picked these guys 'cause of they're geographic diversity. Anyway...

I forgot my stupid notebook today. I was more than halfway to the university and it was much too late to turn back, unless I wanted to be late. I was upset because on our syllabus it says no late work. Period. So, I asked my professor before class if I could run back during a break to get it. He said, yeah. Then when breaktime came, he asked me what exactly it was in my notebook and I told him my homework and he said I could turn it in tomorrow. Yay! But I wonder if he'll deduct points or even give me credit. :-O

Look at the time... And I still haven't started my homework. I better get to steppin' because I hate being sleep-deprived. Oh, wait, "elimiDATE" is on. =)

Another hot day... The squirrels on campus were all sprawled out trying to keep cool. My roommate even said she found a bird lying in the road with it's feet up, mouth open, but it wasn't dead. And eventually, it did hop away. ??

I walked by the arcade today and just wanted to go in and play. I used to be an arcade rat back in the 80s. Back in the 80s... I'm old! But the games today are too advanced for me. I can't hang. Heh... I remember I use to play games like Karnov, 1942, Turbo, and Shinobi. Those were the days... =)

Did anybody watch "American Idol" tonight? Dang - Simon's so straightforward, I'd be crying if he talked to me like that. =P But some of those people - goodness, did they really think they had a chance?

I also watched "Desperado" today, with Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. I liked it okay. Some of the action scenes weren't very credible. I even said "yeah, right" aloud during one scene (where Antonio's character jumps off the building). But the movie was alright - some action with a little romance mixed in. =)

Well, I'm gonna skee-daddle. I need to organize my notebook. Peace!

It's a warm night, isn't it? I'm inside, in a basement, and it's nearly midnight and I'm hot. Hot and I'll probably be up for another couple of hours trying to sleep. I took a "nap" (by my definition :)) in the afternoon and it ended up lasting twice as long than I had intended. I didn't get much sleep the night before, so I was tired and the heat probably contributed to it.

My life is pretty boring and uneventful, but when it rains, it pours: this week I have the choice of going to Hershey Park with my sister and her friend and whoever else, or going to Kings Dominion with the people in my Master's program. It should be fun. I hope the weather is decent. Maybe I'll get to go to Hershey Park in the near future. I haven't been to that place since I was like 3 or 4. I remember going through the "oven" and the dolphins splashing water on me. And I was wearing this blue dress with some white and those strings that tie at the shoulder (remember those =)) and I probably had a non-matching red t-shirt underneath. LoL.

Well, I guess I should finish my homework and then clean some things around the apartment. I don't want to but it's my turn. =(

I finally bought some groceries. I hadn't bought any for my apartment for over a month. Good thing I have a supply of Ramen noodles in case I should ever be starving! But you get tired of that, so, had to get some "real" food. That would be other processed foods. One of the reasons I neglected to restock my food supply is due to the cost of living in a wealthy area where the sales tax is also higher than where I'm from. I've always been frugal when it comes to spending money I don't have, but I think I've become more of a penny-pincher. I hope I don't spend the rest of my life paying off student loans.

Maybe if I default on the loans and become a fugitive of justice, I, uh... Pretend you didn't hear that. I was, um, just kidding. Yeah, that's it. =)

Well, I think I'll try to get some studying in tonight in case Professor B. decides to give us some pop quiz. I also wanna be prepared for when he drills us in class. Anybody ever listen to the news of Al Jazeera? Well, that's the kind of Arabic I'm learning. Very proper.

I'm gonna go feed my belly. Later! -- ÔíäÇ (These aren't just some funky symbols. If you have your web browser set to Arabic, it spells my name :))

Did ya'll see the Lewis-Tyson fight? I'm glad Tyson lost. I dislike that muthaf*cka. But then hearing Lewis afterwards, I thought he coulda been a little more modest. But whatever.

That was the first time I'd ever watched boxing. I know zilch when it comes to sports, so, I really don't follow 'em. I saw the match at my sister's friend's house. I was surrounded by puertorriqueños. Nothing bad or good about that. I'm just saying... =P

Anyway, we got home and before I went in the house, I just stopped to look at the stars. Does anybody else enjoy stargazing? I wish I had some set-up where I could just recline and stare up at the sky and to just think.

It was a star-lit sky. I just love that. No clouds, just twinkling lights. I coulda sworn that when I was little and used to look at the stars, I would see red, green, and blue. Stars, that is. I just knew I did. I'm not sure if this is a false memory or if at the time I imagined it. Hehe.

O, starry, starry night...

Ouch. My feet hurt. I just got in the house about 30 minutes ago. Went out to eat for Nadine's b-day. Shit was mad expensive, too. They tagged on an 18% gratuity, not to mention the tax here is high, in my opinion. Why did my drink, like half a glass or one cup, cost over 5 bucks? They charged $5.23 for the Malibu and 50 cents for the pineapple juice. So, I'm sure I had less drink than i thought with the ice taking up volume. (And remember the tax and tip added on to the price.) I didn't care too much for the Creole Chicken Sandwich I ordered, but the fries were alright. But anyways...

Then after a while, we headed back to the shisha place I went to the other night. It was crowded and we chilled there for a long time. Saw some familiar faces. But now my feet hurt. My boots weren't made for walking. =P

Okay, someone please explain this to me: I've got a re-run of Leno on and Outkast are performing, right... well, why the hell have they started this funky cross-dressing? What's up with that? I done seen it all. I guess I don't really wanna know. I'm not a fan any how.

Well, I'm gonna go wash my sheets or something now. Doesn't everybody at 4:30am?

How annoying! My stupid friend decided to call me at 11:30pm last night. No one ever calls me. Especially when I'm wide awake in the evenings. But only when I'm mad tired and I finally get to sleep early, that's when people decide to call! Without fail, it seems. And not only did my friend call me, but he thought it would be funny to play on the damn phone. You know how when someone wakes you up and you're still a bit disoriented? Well, I kinda didn't know who it was and this asshole wants to play! Pisses me off 'cause I had to wake up early and he thinks it's funny to act stupid on the phone. Grrr!

Anyway... today's Nadine's birthday and she wants to go out to dinner tonight. Dammit. That means I have to stay in this city, at least until tomorrow. I wanted to go "home-home." Well, I hope the restaurant we end up going to is decent. I don't have a job, so, if I gotta spend anything, I hope it's worth it. I try not to splurge unnecessarily. Gotta save my student loans for travel expenses. =)

Gosh, I have class in an hour. Guess I should get ready because I need to leave my apartment about 20 minutes before 8:30 to get there on time. I'm not feeling very motivated right now. =T I don't feel like getting ready or anything. Well, TGIF, I guess...

I have to be in class in six hours. What am I still doing awake? Damn this insomnia! :-P

I went out to this shisha place tonight with my roommate and some other people, like from school were there. It was okay. Nice to be able to get out, 'cause I usually don't. I wonder if I'd be sleeping right now had I not gone. =T Ah, well...

So my conversation teacher from last school year brought me back a Palestinian kuffiyeh from his trip home to Lebanon. Yay! Actually, he gave me two because I couldn't decide which design I wanted. That was really cool of him. I can't wait to sport them!

Man, Arabic class is CRUCIAL. I'm actually gonna hafta study for this mess! Like, the last two semesters, I did pretty much the bare minimum- assigned homeworks and studying the night before a test or quiz. Basically, not usually spending more than an hour or two with it. But this time around, I think I'll be dedicating a lot more time. Our professor is rather hardcore. When we get things wrong, he expects us to correct our mistakes, writing a word 3 or 5 times, also telling what the word means and what part of speech it is. I'm gonna be beast at Arabic as soon as he's done with us! He gives, like, drills every freakin' day. (Ha- we've only had three sessions so far. I act like it's been more.) But it's cool. It'll force me to learn. My aim is to get to the top of the class. Last school year, I was #2, second only to a chick who's married to a Syrian. That's an unfair advantage. She gets a private tutor at home! I need to get me one. ;) But I know it's all good 'cause except for one other student, I had no previous Arabic instruction and my grades are better than my classmates who've studied it in some capacity prior to the program. Go me!

Well, enough of the boasting. Don't wanna sound too proud. =) I'll end here.

People - I'm hungry. Feed me! Donations will gladly be accepted. :-)

Well, I've completed my 2nd day of summer school Arabic. I can't wait to see where my language skills will be come August. I am so eager to go back to the Middle East and try it out. That's the main reason why I'm studying it now- when I was over there, like in Palestine and Egypt, I wanted to speak to the people in their language. Soon I'll be able to do so. But they might look at me a little funny if I speak the Arabic I'm learning now- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). MSA is only used like on news broadcasts and in newspapers and such. If I speak it on the street, it'd be like me bustin' out in the Queen's English, sorta. lol. Anyways, once I master MSA, it'll be supposedly easy for me to pick up a dialect since I'll have the basic foundation. I can't wait! Arabs are happy when they find a non-native speaker is learning their language. It's cool stuff. Ya'll should take up Arabic, too. =)

I'm good at going off topic. So, here I go again. Today I'm wearing my blue t-shirt that says: The Great American Beer Company. I like this shirt and I'm not a beer-drinker either. I've actually had it since I was in the 3rd grade. Haha. Seriously! It's the souvenir shirt I picked out from the gift shop when my family went to Busch Gardens and visited the beer factory. When I was younger, I mostly wore the shirt over my bathing suit at the pool. Then I guess it got lost in my dresser and I rediscovered it while I was in college. I'm glad I kept it. It's a nice vintage piece. :)

So I had my first day of summer school. Figures I'd be struck with insomnia the night before. =T I did some studying and then decided to try to sleep. Was in bed for two hours and the not the least bit tired. I ended up just going on the internet right up until the morning came. Then I went to a pointless orientation at 8:30 and then we had our first class. Professor B. rocks! I'm in love with that man. lol. And Kelly and I, because we are so mature, busted out laughing (I'm exaggerating; we giggled/snickered) when he wrote "kock" instead of "knock" on the board. He was just making an example of the futility of the later "k" in such a word as is the final alif in some Arabic words. He made a point alright - I swear that was a freudian slip. ;)

Anyway, here I am again. It's 2AM and I gotta wake up early once more. But I think I'll study some before I attempt sleeping. Maybe I'll watch a movie. Oh- of the bunch of movies I watched these past few weeks, I saw "The Fast and the Furious" and "Rat Race." The only reason to watch the former is for Paul Walker. Hottie! hehe... But the latter film was much better. I was crackin' up with that film. The best parts are with the Pear family - they're the ones with Jon Lovitz and Kathy Najimy as a husband and wife with their two kids. If you've seen it: that's Hitler's harmonica! and PRAIRIE-DOGGIN'! hahaha. Anyway, a little factoid for you- Kathy Najimy, who also played in "Sister Act" does the voice of Peggy on "King of the Hill." She's also Arab-American, like Casey Kasem! Anyway, lemme look over this Arabic verb chart... Ma3a as-salaamah!

Sheesh- look at the time! It's after midnight and I have to be at orientation at 8:30am for my summer school program. And I also want to get some studying in before I walk into the classroom. The professor told us to make sure we kept up with the Arabic or else we'd forget it. He's right 'cause I was looking at a paper I had written and couldn't recognize a verb. I'm gonna go over some vocab until I fall asleep.

My sister's home. I got her from the airport 24 hours ago. We made it without fighting. Although she's 6 years older than me and we're both grown, we still get into it sometimes. I'm talkin' rolling on the ground fighting. LoL. The distance that's separated us for the most part these past several years is probably for the best. I think it's what makes us friends. Sibling rivalry's a bee-yatch.

Anyway, I should crack open my kitaab al-3arabiyyah (lit. book of Arabic). I wanna impress my professor. =)

Man, summer school starts Monday and I've already destroyed my "back-to-normal" sleeping habits! I was sleeping crazy hours, especially after I finished my semester. You know, sleeping during the day and arising only after the sun had set. :) Anyway, I was able to start sleeping not too late after midnight and waking up in the morning, instead of heading to bed at 2pm. Then a few days ago, I don't know what happened, but I messed it all up again. I tell ya, the internet is a factor. If I could only detach myself from the computer long enough to let my body rest. :-P

Anyway, I had to take my mom to the airport this morning. (She went to go visit my sis and her family somewhere in the midwest.) She made me take her at 6 in the morning and her flight didn't leave 'til, like, 9:35AM. So, I talked to her on the phone until she had to board the plane. I finally went to sleep after that 'cause I didn't sleep at all during the night.

My other sister should be touching ground a little before midnight. And I know she'll be happy to be home after having spent too many years stranded on a tropical island. She'd rather be on American soil, for some reason.

So, back to summer school - I'll be spending my entire summer in the classroom. Class every morning (Monday through Friday) at 8:30, for roughly five hours. That's the life of a graduate student who's required to be proficient in Modern Standard Arabic by the time she graduates, having started at the beginner's level. It's all good. I'ma ace that class! I hope...

On Yahoo! News there's an article from Reuters regarding the scandal in the Church. It starts off: "A Vatican-sanctioned journal has attacked the U.S. media for 'morbid' behavior in its coverage of a child sex scandal and denounced what it called anti-Catholic attitudes that portrayed priests as monsters." I believe this. I've more than once encountered certain Protestants who like to attack me for my beliefs, behaving in a very un-Christian way. And there are many Fundamentalist "Christians" who like to call the Church the "Whore of Babylon" (see: Hunting the Whore of Babylon). So, back to the Yahoo! article- the Vatican was talking about the excess coverage on the scandal. The media is focusing on the Roman Catholic Church when this is not a new story, nor does it occur in just the RCC. There are noted cases in many Protestant denominations, even with Jewish rabbis! In addition to the anti-Catholic feelings mentioned in the article, my take on this was that of a conspiracy, of sorts. The Roman Catholic Church is quite powerful in many regards. Hearing all these stories, knowing it wasn't unique to my religion or to just religion in general, I felt that all the press it was receiving was a diversion. I believe that the pro-Israel groups that have control over US mainstream media are partly responsible. These are attempts to divert attention from the atrocities Sharon's government is committing in Palestine. Did not the sex abuse scandals not make front page around the time when people all over were pointing out human rights abuses committed by the Israel Defense Force? And when the UN attempted to organize a fact-finding commission to see if a massacre had truly occurred in the Jenin refugee camp? It's all so suspicious. Whatever- the Church will prevail. And hopefully, we will one day be able to grow closer, if not fully unite, with our sister churches - the many Catholic and Orthodox religions throughout the world.

When I was thinking of editing my old webpage, this quote came to mind and I couldn't remember where it was from or what it meant. I tried to do a web search, which didn't help me very much, but I think I can conclude that it was a Shakespeare quote. So I thought maybe it was from "Hamlet," something we read back in AP English. Before I went to sleep, I decided I would try and read it. Sheesh - it's gonna take me a while to get through that mess! I even have a version with a nice guide to the work. I'll probably never even finish the play and it will return to my bookshelf to collect dust. Plus summer school starts Monday. I'll be concerned with other things. My vacation is ending. My self-study of the Italian language is gonna get put to the side as well, I'm sure. But hopefully, I'll be solidifying my knowledge and enriching my vocabulary of the Arabic language. And if I see him I'll be working with a Vietnamese professor on establishing some functionality in my mother tongue. Let's see if he can bring back any of those skills I once had when I was a toddler. In sha' allah, he can.

I watched the Harry Potter flick for the first time last night. I liked it. I think I've watched nearly a dozen movies since I've been home on break. Guess I'm just tryna catch up cuz I rarely see any films. Ever. I mean, who goes to the movies? I don't. Shit's expensive and I've got no dough. But if ya think about it, why would you wanna give your money to someone who doesn't need it. Have you noticed the crap consumers spend their money on? I guess everyone's satisfied with capitalism, but sheesh - doesn't it seem to be true that the rich get richer and the poor, well, they're still poor. I'm broke as hell, but, regardless... I like to think that when I purchase something, I do it with principles, morals, and ethics in mind. I've made a conscious decision to boycott certain products/companies because I don't think certain groups deserve my money. Hey, here's something ya'll should consider: BOYCOTT ISRAELI GOODS. Why? Because Israel has disregarded international law and is one of the worst human rights violators, to name a few. Israel receives more US aid than my peeps in Asia or Africa. In fact, Israel alone gets more money than the entire African continent. WTF? Can someone tell me why our tax dollars are so poorly spent?

So I finally jumped the bandwagon and started a blog. Let's see how long it lasts. =P Anyway, I just watched this documentary on World Link TV called "Vietnam, Long Time Coming" about some Vietnam Veterans who went to Vietnam as part of some reconciliation process, I guess. They cycled from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City along with Vietnamese vets and some sports team. Basically, I lost respect for the veterans. Actually, I never really had any for them to begin with (my father is a Vietnam Vet, by the way). I didn't even bother to finish watching it because some of the Americans were getting on my nerves. I hate imperialism...