Geez... the month is pretty much already over. Where did it (the time) all go?

Friday Tara, Justin and a couple others met Taneka, her boyfriend, and a friend in the city to hang out for Taneka's b-day this weekend. We ended up in a small club for the night. It was so-so. Not a bad place, but not so spectacular either that I'd care to go there again...

Then Saturday night Tara and a co-worker of hers headed again to the city for another promotional event - Russel Simmons & his bro, Reverend Run were at a nightclub following a meet&greet they did. We saw them, but did not meet them. And we pretty much didn't care for the place and so we left early - around 12 or something.

We headed to IHOP for some grub afterwards where I saw a cute Bulgarian waiter. I need to go back there or straight to Bulgaria! ;) But our food wasn't that great. It was cold. At least mines was. That didn't make me too happy. But our waiter was nice enough. Or maybe he was smiling cuz he thought it was funny that we were eating food that someone probably spit in. :-/ Ever wonder what really goes into the preparation of your food?

And last night, Tara and I met Belinda at this Mexican bar/restaurant for some karaoke. It was also Belinda's b-day this weekend as well. So Belinda and I finally got to do our Spanish karaoke. It was cool there. We plan to go back, maybe make it a regular thing. The guy who was hosting the karaoke, a Nuyorican, was wondering how or why it was that Belinda and I were so into the Spanish songs since neither of us were Hispanic. Heh...

When I first spoke to this guy, I said something in Spanish and then he said something to which I responded in English and then he got confused. Cuz I told him I didn't speak Spanish and then he was like, I thought I just heard you say something... And then I said something that made him ask if I was Puerto Rican. I told him no and to guess. He was like, you look Native American or First Nation (whatever the heck that is) or Filipino. And I was like, nope and he did end up saying Vietnamese so he got cool points for that. :)

Anyways, last night after I got home, I rewound my video because I made sure to set the timer to record "Alias" while I was out. And, boy, was it in interesting show. I think my sister will be getting me the first season DVD for Christmas. Yay!

Rest In Peace, Professor Edward Said (influential Palestinian intellectual)

Anybody watch the Miss America Pageant the other night? I didn't even know it was comin' on 'til I saw some internet news headline about it. So, I quickly turned it on so I could see the representative of our state. Remember - it's someone we went to high school with. She looked good - her hair looks better. She seems to be the same person as she always was. But I did not like her walk. Like she had a stick up in her butt. And she won the casual-wear round. What the hell kind of outfit was that? I thought it was ugly. But hey - I'm not hatin'. Just simply statin' the truth. Anyways, homegirl was a finalist. That's really good! The commentators seemed to be rootin' for her. Cool stuff.

Man, the army recruiter is comin to get me in about 4 hours. I'm gonna be takin' an Arabic test, so I'm here tryna go through my old notes and refresh my vocab and everything. I don't think I'm gonna cram a lot between now and then. But hopefully, I'll retain some things. And I hope the test won't be as hard as I'm dreading it's gonna be. I wanna make a good impression, but fear that I won't. Inshallah it will all go well...

My dog pooted... and he peed on my hand!!

I was in the kitchen yesterday and my doggy was sittin' on the floor watching me. Then I hear a little "rip." You know, the sound a zipper being zipped might make. Or when you stick your tongue out at someone and blow - that little "pbbblt/pbbft". LoL.

And then there was last night... Belinda and I had gone to the mall and then she bought me "Scrabble" and so we were playing it. We were playing in peace in my room when this little furry baby barges into my room! I caught him and was trying to hold him back, but he kept insisting that he had to enter further into the room and pounce on Belinda or something. Well, while I'm trying to subdue him to keep him from ruining our board of tiles on the floor, I feel a warm liquid on my hand. WTF?!

And then Belinda assists with getting the dog out cuz since I was sitting on the floor when he ran it, I was at a disadvantage. He had caught us off guard. But then... while my dog and I are outside of my room and I am washing my hands, my stupid mutt rushes back into my room, and destroying, once and for all, our Scrabble game in progress. That's okay. Belinda was winning that round. LoL.

The other night, Tara and I had gone to Friday's for a drink with one of her co-workers. Then the two of us proceeded to Damon's for dinner. It was my second time at that place and I didn't like my food the first time I went. But I am not one to write things off just because of one bad experience. But I'll write it off now - Damon's sucks. Once again, my food was not good!! I'm never going to that place again. The appetizers were actually so-so. But the entrees are booty. They should shut that place down and put something else in its place. :-P

Remembering Sabra and Shatila

(taken from an e-newsletter i receive from American Muslims for Jerusalem - and for those who don't know me who may have stumbled across my blog, no, I am not Muslim. the aim of this group is just as relevant to any other justice-seeking American out there)

"This week, the Bush Administration vetoed a Security Council resolution calling on Israel not to expel or kill President Arafat - the latest in a long line of vetoes that leave Palestinians with no protection from Israel's persecution and land theft. Over the past three decades, our government has used its veto power over forty times to shield Israel from international criticism of its illegal occupation and to block enforcement of resolutions calling on Israel to end the military occupation of Palestinian land.

"Palestinians have pleaded with the United Nations to provide on-site monitoring of the situation in the occupied territories, but the Bush Administration has vetoed even this request. As a result, Israel continues to severely violate Palestinian rights and force Palestinians into ghettos throughout the West Bank and Gaza with impunity.

"This latest veto by the Bush Administration is particularly dangerous. It can embolden Israel to kill a democratically-elected Palestinian leader, as many in Israel openly advocate.

"The veto of the UN Security Council resolution calling on Israel not to expel or kill Arafat fell on a tragic anniversary - the 21st anniversary of the massacre of the Sabra and Shatila refugees in Lebanon by an Israeli-allied militia from
September 16-18, 1982.

"While the Israeli military watched and supervised, the Israeli-allied militia slaughtered the refugees of Sabra and Shatila from 6:00 at night on 16 September 1982 until 8:00 in the morning on 18 September 1982. The victims during the 62-hour massacre included infants, children, women (including pregnant women) and the elderly, some of whom were mutilated before or after they were killed.

"The Israeli military, which was in full control of the area where the refugee camps were located, let a deadly Israeli-allied militia enter the refugee camps, decided to help the militia kill the refugees by lighting up the sky with flares so that innocent men, women and children could be found and killed, and forced refugees who were trying to escape go back to be killed.

"US journalist Thomas Friedman of the New York Times said after the massacre: "Mostly, I saw groups of young men in their twenties and thirties who had been lined up against walls, tied by their hands and feet, and then mowed down gangland-style with fusillades of machine-gun fire." While the world watched and did nothing, anywhere between hundreds to several thousand Palestinian and Lebanese refugees were massacred under direct Israeli supervision and assistance.

"Even an Israeli government inquiry found that Israel, and specifically Ariel Sharon, were responsible for the massacre. Sharon was forced to resign as Defense Minister and the Commission recommended that he never again hold senior office in Israel. He is now Prime Minister of Israel, threatening to kill or expel the democratically-elected leader of the Palestinian people."

"cuando se habla lo escrito, se pierde lo dicho"

That's from a movie I just saw on MPT tonight: The Blue Diner. I liked it. It's a nice little bilingual, independent film.

Remember how I said I took the practice ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, i.e. the SAT's of the military)? Well, I took the real test on Monday and scored a 99 again. That just says I did better than 99% of other people who took the practice test. My recruiter said this means I have the possibility of getting any job in the military allowed to women. But like I said before - I'm just looking at all my options. I don't plan to sell out to Uncle Sam any time soon. I must say that when I was at the MEP station (Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS)), I felt a little arrogant. I felt this superior feeling to the others who were about ready to sign their lives over to whatever branch of the military. I think it was cuz I thought they were mainly high school students and I'm not too fond of them. :-P It's just that as I got older, and then to see how some kids act, it annoys me. Mostly cuz I didn't act the way they did when I was their age.

And then the even younger kids, like the ones in my neighborhood. My goodness, they are too grown! A little anecdote - I was with my dog and talking to some of the little rugrats. Two of 'em had these jelly bracelets on and I was reminiscing how we (the children of the '80s) used to wear them and stuff. But I'll be damned if there isn't a sexual implication to the once innocent plastic jewelry. Something about depending on the color, this color designates certain sexual acts to be done with the person who breaks your bracelet. Yikes! What the hell is all that about?! And the things they mention about who did it with whom and who got a big this or that. The more I interact with the youth, the more I vow to send my children, should I be so lucky to have them some day, to private school. Better yet, I wouldn't want them raised in this country. The kids these days are too precocious in ways they shouldn't be. I think many of us knew things we shouldn't have as children, but did we all act upon this extra knowledge or speak of it so openly and extensively? I don't think so. It's ridiculous. *smh*

BUSH from a forward I received

MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:

• I attacked and took over two countries.
  
• I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the Treasury.
  
• I shattered the record for biggest annual deficit in history.
  
• I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
  
• I set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock market.
  
• I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
  
• I am the first president in US history to enter office with a criminal record.
  
• In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history. After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I resided over the worst security failure in US history.
  
• I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.
  
• In my first two years in office I allowed over 2 million Americans to lose their jobs.
  
• I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.
  
• I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
  
• I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.
  
• I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president since the advent of TV.
  
• I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other president in US history.
  
• I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.
  
• I presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have.
  
• I cut health care benefits for war veterans.
  
• I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind
  
• I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.
  
• I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.
  
• Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The 'poorest' multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her).
  
• I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously go bankrupt.
  
• I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.
  
• I am the first president in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the world community.
  
• I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.
  
• I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history.
  
• I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.
  
• I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.
  
• I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.
  
• I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.
  
• I withdrew from the World Court of Law.
  
• I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
  
• I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.
  
• I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations. The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).
  
• I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.
  
• I am the first president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code to Air Force One)
  
• I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.
  
• I took the world's sympathy for the US after 911, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
  
• I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.
  
• I am the first US president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the US than by their immediate neighbor, North Korea.
  
• I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
  
• I set the all-time record for number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations bidding for government contracts.
  
• I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.
  
• In a little over two years I have created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided that the US has been since the civil war.
  
• I entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.
  
  RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
  
• I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).
  
• I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during a time of war.
  
• I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.
  
• All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my father's library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
  
• All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
  
• All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
  
• Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

Spread it far and wide, especially about one year from now when he's 're-applying for the job'...........

It's sad that John Ritter died the other day. I often watch Nick@Nite and see the old "Three's Comany" re-runs. :( And he was oh-so-young! I just saw him not long ago on one of the late night talk shows. *sigh* - the brevity of life...

I was at the zoo the other day with my sister. It sucked. Where the heck were all the animals in captivity at? There was scarcely anything to see. Booorr-iiingg...

I went to the club tonight. (Well, now it's morning.) Went with Jeannie, Jamar, and his cousin. I really didn't wanna go cuz I've not been in the mood for clubbing. We went to Dream. It turned out to be an alright night. I saw one person I knew, but dammit - I hate stuff on the DL. I was told "shhh" about seeing this particular individual. Man - I have no drama in my life, so I don't care for the drama or secrets of other people's lives. Anyways...

I danced in the little platform on the second floor. That was crazy of me. What was I thinking? :-P I had enough to drink. Didn't drink much, but enough to be feelin' it. Got my swerve on a bit... Met some peoples. Nobody I was TRULY feeling, but I gave my number out, nonetheless. One of the guys was someone who worked there and he turned out to be Boriqua. Silly him - he said he thought I was Boriqua. Cool.

Danced with this one Bolivian-American dude. Wasn't really feelin' him but gave him my number. I'm stupid. And he was gettin' kinda protective when I was talkin' to some other peeps outside the club afterwards... Not cool...

Met these other guys who rolled together - an Afghani, a Trini, and a Pakistani... I love international crowds. Wonder if I'll hear from them again.

When I went to the bathroom with Jeannie, I was talking to the ladies that worked there - one was from Brazil and the other from Honduras. I was practicing my Spanish on them. Why did the Honduran woman ask how old I was askin' if I was fourteen or fifteen. D'oh! And you gotta be, like, 21 to get in the damn club.

Last night Tara, Justin, and I ended up going to get something to eat. We were gonna go shoot some pool but it turned out that Justin didn't have his wallet on his person and then I discovered I didn't have my driver's license on me. Tara was clearly annoyed, but, ah, well - c'est la vie. So we went to this all-night diner place. There were these Arab men that worked there and I was tryna holla at our waiter. Hehe... He was Palestinian-American. Say word. :)

So, I went to see that Army recruiter just to see what's up. You know, explore some options. I don't have any plans to go into the military, but I did take the practice ASVAB test. Got a 99. Gonna take the real ones this Monday. Robert's goin' in, though. As an officer. Good for him, I guess.

Anyways, I'm tired. I need to sleep. I'm a little drunk. :-P

Isn't the weather just wonderful these days? I love the crisp, cool air in the late evening/early morning along with the clear skies allowing for a view of the constellations. This late summer weather is just lovely...

Anyways, went out tonight with Tara. It was another one of the promotions her company put on at a club in the city. (It's more like a bar/lounge.) Timbaland and Magoo were there. We didn't like Timbaland (or as Tara calls him, fatass, lol) too much. And that butthole said that me and Tara weren't black. He obviously wasn't talking about skin color cuz he's just as light as us. But I guess our features weren't African enough for him. Whatever. He sucks.

Met some cool peeps there. Copped a couple digits of two guys that worked there. Another guy who was part of this group that performed was tryna talk to me, but I wasn't really feelin' him. He wanted my number and I gave him some excuse, so he gave me his. And I gave my number to this young bwoy. (He was 20.) Anyways, it was alright, but the shit ended hella early. How you gonna stop a party at 12? So, we ended up shootin' the breeze wit' peeps outside for maybe an hour or so.

My stupid dog got into the mud yesterday. I have to give him a bath twice a week with this special shampoo for his skin condition, so, I got the mud off him that way. But then, the little butthole got all muddied up again later cuz when I came home that afternoon, my dad was drying him off and had the house running. And after all them damn baths, he still stinks! Sheesh. :-P And I hate giving him that bath with the shampoo cuz the vet's instructions are to let the solution sit for 20 minutes. I don't wanna make my dog wait that long. [If you're interested in what my baby looks like, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://depgai79.tripod.com/me/puppy.jpg. That's him after bath #1 yesterday. :-P]

Man, I gotta go see this Army recruiter later today. Thanks a lot, Robert. I had no intentions of ever gettin' involved wit' them, but Robert was telling me about some job with Arabic and I wanted to check it out. So I called the recruiter up and one job was for a native speaker and then there's another for those such as me as a linguist. We'll see wassup. Military for me is supposed to be my last resort option - like after hell freezes over. J/k. And of all the branches, I never considered Army. Anyhoo...

The other night (Wednesday evening), I got to chat with a guy from Mexico. I hadn't seen him since Spring Break 2001 and we hadn't been in touch. But I sent him an e-mail out of the blue recently and then he added me to his MSN. Ha - he wants. hehe... Well, I got another place to stay should I decide to head back south of the border for a visit.

I F'd up my sleep again. Been goin' to bed late and sleepin' all the live-long day. Ah, well...

I registered for a zero-credit course for this semester, $75. It's just so that I'll remain as a student in the system since I haven't yet graduated. Man, I cannot wait to be able to say I'm finished. I will never again go to school after that. I don't think. Unless it's just to study languages. I dunno. That's what I say, that I never wanna be a student again. Anyways...

Went to dinner with Justin this evening. We hit up Damon's. It was a'ight. We both ordered the same thing, but Justin thought it was really good. Different strokes for different folks. ;)

I made a pillow for my doggie. When I had gone to Target with Jeannie last Sunday, I purchased two cheap bath towels for about 3 bucks, which I later sewed together. Then while earlier today/yesterday when my dad was in PetSmart I ran over to Michael's to grab a couple bags of polyester filling. I took the towel and stuffed that bad boy, sealed it up and put it on the floor. My dog already likes it. :) You should see all the positions he sleeps in: hind quarters stretched back and front legs straight ahead of him, on his back, upper body on his side with his back legs up in the air, or whatever other crazy way he can think of.

Oh, shoot... I gotta find that number Robert gave me for a job. He's lookin' out for a kid. I really need to get into gear. Wish I had more connections!

Mangy Mutt!!

Guess what, guys? My dog has mange. EwWw! lol... He took his first trip to the vet today to get vaccinated and what not and I asked the vet to check out his skin. So, he's gotta be on meds for the skin mites. Luckily, they're not transferrable to humans. She (the vet) said mange is common in my dog's breed (both in APBT's & AmStaffs). She said same goes for Boxers and Boston Terriers. She also said it's a good thing we don't plan to breed him cuz the mange gets passed down to the children and that my dog probably got it from his mama.

So my dog was good with the car ride and at the the vet. Only thing was that it was a little struggle when they had to take him to the back room to be weighed and then again for some shots. He's about 30 pounds now. I wonder how big he'll get. He even got to go to PetSmart. That's cool how you get to bring your animals up in there. :)

Okay, all this talk about dog is making me hungry. Just kidding. But I didn't eat a thing today. Time to feed my belly.

It's already September... people are going back to school and I'm just vegetating. Time to get my butt into gear and handle this Master's degree!

Anyways... hung out with Jeannie yesterday. Went with her to run some errands. When I was in the mall I ran into someone from the past: Hugo. For those I went to high school with, Hugo is the father of the two children little Miss Vanessa had before we graduated. And he was with the two little rugrats who were strapped to his sides. Hehe... They were just clinging to him. They're so big now! Like 6 and 7 years-old. Can you believe? So I was talking to Hugo for a long time. He's a bit chubbier and his curly locks have intermingled with some gray strands. He's been living in NY and comes down every now and again. His brother (Bernardo) is still locked up. I gave him my number, for some reason. And he didn't waste no time in calling. Talked to him tonight for a little bit, although I didn't really want to. But whatever...

So, yesterday I was with Jeannie and then we went to her house cuz she was gonna cook something and I was hungry and we have no food at my house. Hehe. Had to get my grub on, ya know? Was there for some hours and didn't get home 'til about 1 in the morning.

Today I didn't really do anything. I slept a lot of the day away. Chilled mostly. When I went to take my dog out for a walk, met some neighborhood kids inquiring about my pup. Some kids talk a little too much. And what I mean is that they give away too much info. You know, like telling me about someone they know who fights their pits. What if I were to tell the authorities? Or that they use a faulty address so they can go to a school in a different district. Heh... It's whatever, really. The one girl was nice. She was telling me how her family had recently got a puppy - a Rottweiler. And she was saying how he don't like girls, but he likes her. That reminds me of how I was reading on some message board about dogs and someone was talking about how her pooch didn't like men - specifically, white men. hehe. This girl's brother had asked me how old I was and was like "30?" Then his sister goes, "Never ask a woman her age." LoL. Wow. "30." That's a new one. I never usually look a day over 16. :-P