my 2 ¢ents (maybe less. =P)

One Church

2011-07-16T15:25:00.004-04:00

Once in a while, a Protestant friend and I have e-mail discussions discussing our faiths. A little more than a year ago, I was speaking to her about my quest for the true faith and how I found it in Orthodoxy. In response to her claim that it was with Peter & Paul that Christianity broke off into branches, I sent her an e-mail that I cobbled together with the assistance of our Orthodox Study Bible. Basically, I disagreed with her argument and attempted to demonstrate to her the basis of Eastern Orthodoxy. Here's a snippet of her message to me:

You said you wanted to find the true/correct faith. You have in Christ Jesus. As far as the Apostolic churches. In the book of Acts, even in Paul's day they had drama cuz i think Peter the other disciple was ministering. Then some people said, "Oh we follow after Paul and the other group said we follow Peter." And the disciples are basically like: why are you saying who follows who when we all follow Christ? I think this was the start of branding the different branches of Christianity.

My response:

The Orthodox Church makes a lot of references to the Church fathers (which include some women), to our teachers of the past who contributed immensely in developing, elaborating, and disseminating the faith. Why do we place so much emphasis on Patristics, the study of early Christian writers? Because that is what the Scriptures tell us to do: “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you” (Deuteronomy 32:7).

When there was a disagreement, even among the Apostles, this is also what they did:

“Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question… And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them”(Acts 15:2, 4).

The Orthodox Church is a church of Tradition. Notice the word “Tradition” is capitalized. That is because the Church makes the distinction between “traditions” simple local customs and simple rituals and the “Tradition” that stems from both the Scriptures as well as the practice of the early Christians. “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Jesus Christ taught the faith to the Apostles, who taught it to their disciples, and so on throughout the generations. Just as previous generations passed the Bible on to us, so have they given us the Holy Tradition. Further, in Galatians 1:6-9:

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

This passage emphasizes the command to follow Tradition and warns against following those who would distort the Word of God. It is also said in spreading the Good Word, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). These verses reinforce the idea of Tradition and faith, of the need to transmit it from one to another – not independently and by one’s self.

The Bible mentions a dispute between Peter and Paul. However, the disagreement did not rise to the level of a “schism” – there was no split at his point in the Church. Peter and Paul were of the same faith and were members of the same Orthodox Church. Their differences as highlighted in the Bible simply prove that human beings are imperfect and none can claim infallibility. And when we have disagreements, it is permitted to address one another to resolve these differences. Paul simply chastised Peter: “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed” (Galatians 2:11).

And there continues to exist today one true Church. Amen!

Homecoming 2010

2010-11-24T17:17:00.003-05:00

Since it has been a while since I blogged, I thought I should give the highlight of the year: our entrance into the Holy Orthodox Church. On September 19, Mak and the girls were baptized, and the four of us were chrismated. It was a long time coming, the culmination of my couple years of attending Orthodox services, knowing this was the true church and no longer feeling connected to my Roman Catholic roots. Mak had had his "conversion experience" at last year's Nativity service and we (the whole family) became catechumens at the end of January this year. It feels lovely to have a church family. Growing up Catholic attending masses on a military installation, I never had that and I truly missed out. Now, this is not say one cannot have a church family and be Catholic, however, I was not so fortunate. But that is the past. Fortunately, now, we have all been blessed. As members of an Antiochian Orthodox parish, we are finding the missing pieces in our life.

Sothea's Art is Taking Shape!

2010-11-24T17:03:00.008-05:00

Wow - it sure has been a while since I blogged! Life has been busy! After many years of not being gainfully employed, I finally managed to snag a job in February 2009. I am hoping to make it to my two-year anniversary, when I shall become a permanent employee! In the meantime, I want to share a picture created by 3-year-old Sothea. Sothea attends a day care that has a pre-K curriculum. They had an assignment to draw a self-portrait. Check out Sothea's skills! Her work is becoming more recognizable! She has a face, ears, hair, hands. At the bottom is Mommy, Grandma, and Daddy. She even put a sun and grass! I'm so proud of her. :-)

Write or Die?

2008-12-31T09:39:00.003-05:00

I think it was last week that Thevy asked me where something was. She said, "Mom, where's my riding toy?" Or so I thought. I had responded that I didn't know and what riding toy? Later, she gave a description of this alleged toy. And that's when I learned that she had been asking for her "writing toy".

I already knew it, but it made me ponder it again, what a tricky language English can be, especially for those learning it as a second language. I encountered linguistic ambiguity with Thevy again the other day. Well, sort of, but not really. I had told her to say something to Daddy with the phrase "serial killer". (Don't ask. :)) Since it's not like she knows what one is, but I thought later, what if she thought she was being told to say "cereal killer"? lol

A Sunny Day It Wasn't!

2008-11-28T19:34:00.002-05:00

Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away...

That's the opening to the popular and long-lived children's television program "Sesame Street". This is a show I grew up on in the early 80's, one I attribute my love for language to. I believe "Sesame Street" is the reason I fell in love with the Spanish language, so when I heard Maria from "Sesame Street" would be in town, I was eager to see her!

I debated making the trek to see her because it was an awful weekend. I had gotten home from work and I was sleep-deprived. Working the graveyard shift meant that I'd probably already been up for about 24 hours. Working only weekends, I slept normally during the week, and had to switch gears two nights a week. On top of that, it was raining something awful! I think there were flash floods throughout the state that weekend.

Anyway, I made the decision to go out in that terrible weather with two toddlers. I found a parking space a couple of blocks from the book tents for a book fair and bravely made it to see one of my favorite television characters. It's funny, you'd think I'd be taking the girls to see someone from "Sesame Street". But, nope. It was all for me! :) I got an autograph for myself. Then I decided to purchase one of Maria's, whose real name is Sonia Manzano, children's books and have that signed for the girls.

So, although the day was not sunny, it was really nice to meet Ms. Manzano and the book we got, No Dogs Allowed!
, is a really nice addition to the kids' library. :) (In the picture above, you can see that Thevy's sleeve is wet, evidence of that rainy day. I even stepped into a huge puddle before entering that tent!)

Sothea Speaks

2008-11-28T19:28:00.003-05:00

Sothea is getting to be such a big girl. She's one-and-a-half years old and her vocabulary is growing. She's a little advanced for her age since she has a big sister from whom to learn.

She says a lot of one-word phrases, but also many that are two-words and she knows a few three-syllable words. Sothea says, and the pronunciation may not be perfect, but I understand her: dog, Rocco, Thevy, sister, daddy, go away, stop, stop it, bless you, thank you, welcome (as in 'you're welcome'), banana, juice, bowl, eat, rice, cheese, pooted (lol), hi, bye, morning (as in 'good morning'), night-night, read, write, color, open, brush, teeth, eye, ear, nose, mouth, hurt, sorry...

Those are just some of the words I can think of. She also tries to sing. You can hear say "dumb dog" and "feed you" (from the movie "Annie"). She also says "I know, I know" when she tries to sing the "Psych" theme song (one of my favorite shows). She even goes "doot-doot-doot" imitating me when I just make sounds for the parts where I don't know the lyrics. hehe.

She's so cute and I can't believe how much she's growing!

Thevy the Artist

2008-09-26T11:20:00.008-04:00

The other day, Thevy drew a picture on her chalk board. I was in the kitchen and she called down from upstairs that she drew a picture of me and she was excited. When I later went into the playroom and noticed her work of art, I was impressed. It was quite excellent, if I do say so. I intended to take a picture of it, but my camera never has charged batteries in it and Thevy soon after erased the picture.

But today, she drew a picture in her coloring book. A picture of she and I. This time I scanned it. It may a little hard to see until your eyes can focus on it. She used colored pencil and the images from the next two pages bleed through. You get a better view if you click on the image. There's floating/random happy face sort of in the middle and right below that is Thevy. And to the right is me. Pretty good for a 3-year-old, isn't it? :)

Update
Thevy has made changes to her drawing. At first, the changes were nice. She added her sister to the picture. But as you can see, she went crazy with the additions! She put hair on her. Hair on me, I guess. But you know what else she did? While she was drawing, I heard her narrating her actions. She gave me a belly and boobies. Yup. She said the boobies are what the baby was on. haha. I asked her what the little circle was next to my boob. She said it was an eye. lmao. Oh, yeah - and she said that she and I were wearing dresses. (Don't forget to click on the image to enlarge it).

Thevy Can Read... Sike!

2008-09-26T11:16:00.003-04:00

Thevy tricked me. This was probably a month ago now when she had me believe that she could read. I mean, she's already known her alphabet and phonics for quite some time, so it wasn't a stretch to think she could read.

I took her alphabet refrigerator magnets and formed a simple word: DOG. She recognized it and I was excited and happy. So I formed the next word, which she proceeded to read: CAT. I was like, this is great! Let me change the first letter to a B and she said 'bat'. We were on a roll!

I then changed the B to an H. Piece of cake, right? Thevy then blurts out, "Hippopotamus." D'oh! Guess she was only associating initial word sounds with words and not actually reading.

McCain + Palin = Propaganda

2008-09-14T22:42:00.002-04:00

This is my own personal rant that I felt compelled to write after the RNC acceptance speeches. I wrote it about 6 days ago and just now finally proofread this essay of mine. I don't know why I didn't, but I'm finally posting it here on the suggestion of a friend. I hope you will agree with most, if not all, of what I have to say:

This whole presidential race is extremely frightening. At election, we will have to choose the lesser of two evils (forget the other candidates; unfortunately, they do not have a chance at winning and will take away from the votes that could potentially go to the least scary pres!)

And truth be told, I probably would have voted for McCain 8 years ago, as a single-issue voter! I'm a little bit older and a tiny bit wiser, and I think voting on such a basis is careless. One must look at the whole-person concept.

I generally do not follow politics, as it makes me sad and/or angry. I especially get upset because it is clear that it brings out the worse in people, not to mention, it reveals the ugliness in Americans. This ugliness is hate, racism, bigotry, and just plain ignorance!

I watched the RNC and listened to the ex-NYC mayor, Giuliani, and Alaska's governor, Palin, talk and I will hand it to them, they delivered good speeches. But that was the extent of it. They made a few points, but gave a lot of jabs above and below the belt at Senator Obama. And to use George Stephanopoulos' adjective, they were "derisive".

When speaking on the Republic presidential campaign, one thing is certain: it is replete with bellicose rhetoric. Next time you listen to McCain or Palin talk or review their acceptance speeches, listen to how much they refer to "fighting". And they are not talking about fighting in the sense of campaigning and winning the race. It is mostly talk of using military might! I am not simply someone who is anti-war. Not at all. But I am against war when it is unjust, unilateral, and preemptive.

A lot of what McCain and Palin address is purely propaganda. They play on the misguided and misplaced sentiments of some Americans. Think about the mindset of some Americans in just the post-9/11 era. It readily rolls off their tongues that our troops are out there fighting for our freedom and democracy. And you might say, what is wrong about that? They are, are they not? I would have to say, no. Tell me, how many of you Americans feared that Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden (two men who were, by the way, not connected, as our administration attempted to have us believe!) were about to take away our liberties! On the contrary and ironically, just by virtue of the fact that our government has warmongers in high places, have we been placed in any dangers of losing or having our freedoms diminished. Think the Patriot Act, for example.

But back to the matter at hand: propaganda. The nominees would have us sympathize with them by speaking of wars and fighting for this country. They would have us believe that if you feel any differently, then you are not patriotic. These are the very same people who would advise you leave America if you dare exercise the First Amendment and criticize those in power.

How can you say you will say an extra prayer for the sons and daughters going into harms way when you have supported them being placed in harms way AND without a legitimate reason to begin with? Also, talking about her son and nephew and whomever else, being in the military alone means very little. If you are like me, you know people in the military who serve because it is simply their job. Not because they agree with what they are told to do. My point is, being in the military does not make you a better American any more than not serving does not make you any less of one!

I think some (and of course, everyone's story is different and this is not meant to generalize) people of color know what I am talking about. Heck, even white people know! You join because of lack of other options. I seriously doubt my father chose to enlist in the US Army because at the top of his heart and mind, as a black man growing up in a racist America where blacks could not use the same bathrooms, water fountains, or ride at the front of the bus as whites, he felt a great need to serve the country that disserved him. And I can say that my sister, a member of the US Air Force, mainly joined to take advantage of the GI Bill. That is, our family did not have the money for her to go to college. In giving these examples, I am not speaking on the level of patriotism of my father and sister, nor on what they believe it to mean to serve in the Armed Forces. I also have other family members who have served (such as my grandfather and great-uncle), but I do not know their stories. I simply mean to demonstrate that there are a variety of possibilities and basically, McCain and Palin need to chill with the propaganda!

And I would like to know how Palin feels about blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other ethnic minorities (Eskimos not included!). In Alaska, are there even any significant number of black or "other" people there? And I am not talking about members of the military stationed there; they do not count! Mrs. Palin sets out to connect with small-town America. Are people in small towns struggling overall? Let me qualify, are small 'white' towns in need of more representation? What does Mrs. Palin intend to do for people of color that need assistance? I do not believe that Palin is trying to reach out to the small-town Americans who live in third-world conditions, like the majority black citizens of Pembroke, Illinois. This township in the midwest has no zip code and as a result, scarcely receives tax dollars. Most do not have proper plumbing (running water, a sewage system). They do not enjoy the basic services we enjoy: a bank, drug store, police department, and emergency services. So sad, but, only in America, the richest nation in the world, can we have populations living in such conditions. Palin was not talking about such small towns. She is only referring to self-sufficient ones with reasonable resources.

And how dare she say, "They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America" when talking about small towns like hers. This was another hit at the Obama party. Like when Cindy McCain, in reference to Michelle Obama stating that she was finally proud to be an American, said that she had always been proud to be an American. It was taken out of context. I am sure if I had been born a privileged white woman, I could state the same! But hey - Mrs. Obama is NOT running for president. Sarah Palin, however, IS running for VP and has ties to the Alaskan Independence Party. It is HER allegiance to our country that should be in question!

Palin said her parents taught her that, essentially, a woman can do anything a man can do. Does she feel the same about, say, a black woman? I hate to talk about race so much, but it is reality! I am not convinced that a white woman whose world is predominantly white is going to be able to better serve ALL Americans and I would hate to see how she would deal with leaders of other countries being the extremist that she is!

And let us temporarily address her unmarried pregnant teenager. If this were Obama's or Biden's daughter, the conservatives would be all over them, condemning them for immorality. But as the case stands that it is one of their own in this circumstance, they are overlooking the issue, even trying to make it "okay" or normal. Hypocrites! Also, and this is not to pass judgment, but if Palin can not even control her own daughter, how is this previously unknown Alaska governor going to try and "govern" our nation? One can make the argument that children will do what they want, but if you cannot take a child from birth and form them into the person you want, can you shape the minds of and postively change the lives of millions of Americans who are so unlike you? Questionable!

Also in her speech, Palin mentioned Harry Truman. She stated that good people come from small towns and that she grew up with such people. I would like to point out that Truman, after being briefed by many American diplomats whose posts were in the Middle East and telling him not to support the Zionist cause, chose not to heed them. And do you know what his reasoning was in helping to establish the Jewish state of Israel? Here is a quote: "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I have to answer to hundreds of thousands who are anxious for the success of Zionism: I do not have hundreds of thousands of Arabs among my constituents." So it is not about doing the right thing, but it is about catering to special interests, which, by the way, Obama's campaign has denounced and has not accepted their money to fund their campaign.

I mentioned diplomats. What are diplomats? They are skilled in the art of diplomacy, right? And diplomacy is a good thing, is it not? Well, according to McCain and Palin, it is not! According to Merriam-Webster, diplomacy is: 1) the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations; 2) skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility : tact. But check this out, the McCain/Palin ticket is claiming that Obama is being naive for wanting to be diplomatic, such as with Iran. I am glad Obama wants to engage in civil relations and not be an international tyrant!! Palin said that Obama "wants to meet [terrorist states] without preconditions". Meeting and discussing is not the same thing as signing a treaty or doing their every bidding! It is about information-gathering at the least!

Palin also said about Obama: "Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights?" I despise people like her. If there are any terrorists who are planning doom and destruction to America, it is because of people like her who want to encroach upon the sovereignty of other nations, invading their lands, engaging in neo-colonialism, imposing Western values and ideas on Eastern societies! I do not know about you, but I predicted 9/11. I was living in Maryland traveling to northern Virginia for a summer internship with the State Department. I rode the commuter train and subway and hated every moment of it. In my head, I thought how because of America's foreign policy, she (America) was putting her citizens at risk of a terrorist attack and that is why I sometimes did not enjoy riding the metro - an otherwise relaxing trip. And sure enough, after coming out of my Arabic class at Georgetown on September 11, 2001, I saw the destruction of the Twin Towers on the news.

People like McCain and Palin cannot protect Americans from terrorism. They only will serve to incite more violence. That is the way of warmongers, extremists, and dictators.

[This paragraph is less objective, but part of my stream of consciousness.] And why is she a self-described hockey mom? Her eldest son is in the military and headed over to Iraq. Clearly, he is no longer playing hockey. Do her daughters play hockey? Either way, she is simply trying to receive the votes of America's so-called "soccer moms". It is her claim to "street" credibility, along with her stints as mayor and governor. I think she got those positions because she is a milf! If she were not so attractive, the Alaskans surely would have gone with someone else - if there were someone else running!

She and Giuliani were making fun of Obama's former title of "community organizer." First of all, grassroots organizations are highly respectable and relevant to political participation! Secondly, the population of Chicago is FOUR TIMES that of the ENTIRE state of Alaska. Granted, I do not know exactly how many people Obama served, but I would not be surprised if it were more than Palin. And do you know what Palin's "hockey mom" label signifies? That she is a good organizer!

Palin said, "When I ran for City Council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too." So what?! What does that prove? Again, these people she knew do not represent most Americans and the fact that she may have known them intimately only means that she dealt with such a small number of folks! Is that her 'street cred 'again? Please! Just because Obama did not possess an executive government title does not make his work any less significant. What nerve she and Giuliani have to demean him in that manner. Palin said that a community organizer has no "actual responsibilities". They may not be mandated by local, state, or the federal government, but they are responsibilities indeed and are in fact more noble, in my humble opinion. Working for the community is a civic responsibility and it shows you care about society.

And for Palin and Giuliani to downplay such a role and then to have McCain advocate it: "If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our armed forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself." - a little contradictory, is it not? Also, telling someone they need to stand up and do something instead of bitching and moaning; well, some of the people who are complaining are the ones who need to be fed or taught to read. And run for public office? We do not all have campaign money borrowed from our millionaire spouses! (That is how McCain got into the Arizona senate.)

McCain also said: "Fight for what's right for our country...Fight for the ideals and character of a free people...Fight for our children's future...Fight for justice and opportunity for all...Stand up to defend our country from its enemies." I think all his war talk and views on foreign policy are detrimental for all he hopes that we are fighting for. Has he fought for what is right? In his mind, yes, but in truth? Is the future of our children more secure? Justice and opportunity? Does he have evidence of where he has done this? Defend our country from its enemies? Uhh... can we try and not make the enemies in the first place to have to defend ourselves from them? I mean, good night!

Palin also mentions that Obama "talks about how bitterly [working people] cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening." If you are going to talk about someone and what they said, quote them correctly. Obama said, "they cling to guns or religion or antipathy". There is a difference between "and" and "or" and we all know how such small word changes can twist the meanings of things. Take Israel not following UN Resolution 242 to the hilt. The Resolution calls for Israel to withdrawl from territory they occupied in 1967. But they, Israel, cite that a particular clause does not mention that they must withdrawal from "all" the territories they occupied. And so they only withdrew from areas of their choosing. Watch out in politics - there is always a semantics game!

Palin said when she ran for governor that she stood up to all these people - special interests, "big oil", and the good-ol'-boys' club. Ha. If she was against any special interests, they were the ones that were not her particular interests. The oil companies? You mean the ones that sponsor her husband's snow-machine racing events? And the good-ol-boys' network, she is surely a part of at least one - the Christian Fundamentalists definitely have clout!

I commend Palin if she did voluntarily work to reduce government waste. But McCain has gone a step far in tooting her horn for her. Palin talked about getting rid of the governor's luxury jet and putting it on eBay. McCain is telling this story that she sold the jet on eBay and for a profit. Truth is, it never sold on eBay. An aircraft broker sold it the following year - and for a few hundred thousand, not only under the original purchase price, but under what Palin tried to sell it for. So, McCain likes to tell big fish stories. Imagine how much of his war stories are fabricated and exaggerated!!

Both McCain and Palin mention Russia and how it wants to control an oil pipeline. McCain showed his support by saying "we are all Georgians". First, the whole escalation of violence between Georgia and Russia, what McCain failed to mention, was that Georgia started it! They killed some Russian citizens in South Ossetia, I believe, and Russia came in and upped the ante, basically. Next, how can McCain talk about Russia as some big, bad nation invading its smaller neighbor for control of oil? Excuse me, but does this not sound like American foreign policy? What exactly were we doing in Iraq? It surely was not going after al-Qaeda as our leaders claimed in the beginning and later admitted was not the case, after the fact.

Palin also claimed that Obama's tax plan included raising taxes and how this would burden the American people. She needs to be more specific and talk about how he delineates the income of Americans and mentions higher taxes for those who make over $150,000. So, most Americans make considerably less than that and would be taxed less. So even if he does want to raise some taxes, it is because we cannot just cut all taxes around the board. But the working citizens of America DO need a tax break, and that is why other people and entities will have to literally pay for it. And those others CAN afford it, while regular people can not!

But Palin is not the presidential nominee (although she could very well become president should McCain win and something happen to him). She did talk about the real candidate we have to vote for or not. And she along with the rest of right-wing media is playing John McCain to be some great American hero - which he surely is not!

Let us start with his military career and his character in general. Obama graduated at the top of an Ivy League school: Harvard Law. McCain, on the other hand, who supposedly comes from a successful military family, graduated at the BOTTOM of his class at the Naval Academy (894 out of 899). Yeah, that sounds like a good sailor that I want to be protecting me in war time!

Next, in his earlier days as a young sailor, back in Civil War times (just kidding), he was known for carousing. He liked to go out, get drunk, and chase tail. So far, nothing admirable about that. He dated a stripper while he was in flight school. Hmm, I still see no leadership qualities in that. As far as I am concerned, he sounds like a philanderer. Recall that he met his current wife while still married to his ex. Sure, the relationship may have not been good for quite some time with his ex (who was a model) when he got friendly with Cindy, but honor means a lot to me and I want an honorable leader! (Republicans, remember the inquisition you placed on Bill Clinton for his infidelity. Be consistent!)

And as I questioned before, how much of McCain's war stories can we believe? How much of the facts does he inflate to appeal to those Americans with their "God Bless America" and "Death to All Others" pins? (Or is he old and senile and not quite remember how the original story went? :-P) John McCain is blood-thirsty. He and his supporters talk a whole lot about "fighting" for this country literally and not so much figuratively. Why all this talk about fighting? As the great Homer Simpson said, "Being President is easy; just point the army and shoot!" But I am being facetious. When do we get to goals of peace and stability? At least Obama talks about change. He may not be able to bring about all the change he seeks and certainly not overnight, but at least he is not talking about bullying other nations and killing whomever stands in our way.

Just because McCain was a POW, that does not make him a hero in my eyes. What it means is, obviously, you were not that good at what you do. Otherwise, why did you get caught? Okay, that is mean, but there is some truth in that. (Think about those who have Purple Hearts for being mere bystanders or from their own incompetence? John Kerry happens to be an example of a "self-inflicted" Purple Heart.) Also, you fought in Vietnam. And? You sure as heck were not fighting for me. That war did not create a better America. It only caused a lot of casualities and pain, not to mention, America lost that war! McCain, how do you feel about the massacre in those Vietnamese villages wherein Americans killed a large number of civilians, mostly women and children? Was that a war to fight for me? Oh, how brave! And how about the number of Amerasian children left in the wake of the war, with no fathers and ostracized by their communities, many growing up as orphans? Was that done in my name? Gee, thanks!

I really wish the north Vietnamese would have done away with McCain. Harsh, you say? Well, as a minority in America and as a person of Vietnamese descent, I cannot appreciate any racially derogatory remarks as McCain's "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live." How would you feel if he used the N-word to describe black people? And of course, that would surely offend me being of African-American descent as well! It is totally unacceptable and I think speaks highly of his character and his position as a white man in this country. I also do not see a man who faced captors and resented them to the point where he publicly used a racial slur (and not that long ago!) as being a good/effective diplomat.

And someone, please tell me what McCain's military credentials are? He would have been an officer simply because he went to the Naval Academy. But that ain't sh**! I could be an officer in the military if I decided to join. I think maybe I would feel differently had he enlisted and worked his way up to the rank of officer (although I know it is possible to be a good officer even if you did not enlist). Other than that, what in the world did he lead? Palin wants to knock the community organizer thing for not being an executive position, but what kind of a leader is McCain? As I said before, he got caught. Before he was captured, was he giving orders or taking them? And what kind of leading was he doing in the "Hanoi Hilton"? What? By example? The media is attempting to make him out to be some grand hero because he opted to stay instead of being released when he had the opportunity. He should be president because he endured several years of torture. What the hell? How does that qualify anyone to be president? And truth be told, he may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which we will not know for certain due to the privacy act. So, do you want a leader who could possibly be suffering from mental issues? I do not!

To address again the "green" issue, that is, Obama's inexperience, come on - the President does not act alone. And he or she cannot be expected to be an expert on every single issue there is. That is why they have advisers and Congress! So, the lack of certain official titles should not by itself disqualify him. Let us be real and reasonable!

Also, did you know, that this man that Palin and McCain himself claim to have been fighting for you (which he was not doing much fighting while imprisoned in a small cell) tried to take his own life? He claims he is glad he stayed instead of leaving when he had the chance, but he sure was not thinking that when he attempted suicide by using his shirt as a noose and the guards ran in and stopped him. He only fought for his life because he was unable to succeed in ending his own. Is he still a hero in your eyes?

So let us not fall into the great myth of this so-called military leader whose only weapon is to pretend he is a hero who will fight for you. And Palin, just because she gave a good speech, does that make her qualified to be Vice President and later down the road, President? Words and actions do not always go hand in hand... In Palin's closing remarks she stated, "For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds." Are you inspired, America? I am not convinced.

And while I do not believe Obama to be the consummate ideal candidate and I do not agree on all of his stances, which are probably in large part politically motivated, I feel that he will be the lesser of two evils. And as a biracial man, I am certain he is better suited to deal with all segments of society and respectably with foreign leaders and dignitaries. I do not want a man who is already a member of the American oligarchy in power. Let us close the chapter of the old regime. Long live the revolution!

Thevy is Too Funny

2008-07-30T12:26:00.002-04:00

In the realm of "kids say the darnedest things", Thevy is prolific. She says things that I only wish I had the camera trained on her for or makes me stop in my tracks wondering where she got that from.

Once she said, "I need music for my butt". Then she proceeded to stick out/show me her butt, point to it, and said, "See? This is my butt!"

Or the time when she was crying and Daddy asked her why she was crying. The response? "I'm crying because I'm not a stupid, ugly beast!" (She learned that from "Shrek").

She has also put her pinky to the corner of her mouth in the style of Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame. hehe.

Right now, I can't remember everything, but I'll try to add them as I recall them.

Sothea's Too Skinny

2008-07-30T12:16:00.002-04:00

At Sothea's 12-month check-up, she had apparently lost weight from her 9-month check-up. Because of that, the doctor wanted her to come back in 6 weeks. I brought her back and she had gained weight, which was good, but the doctor wants to see her put on some more pounds. She has another weight check next week. The doctor simply wants to make sure it's not anything medical cuz if that were the case, they'd have to run a series of tests, which won't be fun.

I'm almost sure it's not anything medical. It's simply that Sothea's not getting enough to eat. Some of it's my fault. I wasn't exactly pruned and preened for domestication! Another part of it is that Sothea is quite particular. Either she doesn't want a certain food, or she wants to feed herself. I try to feed her, first, to eliminate the mess, and second, because she's not yet skilled in the art of self-feeding. So, more often than not, the feed gets on her, rather than in her mouth, as you can see by the picture. Most times, I end up letting her feed herself since she won't let me do it, and I give her a lot of finger foods that really don't constitute a well-balanced diet, but hey - I'd rather her eat something instead of nothing.

I also give her multivitamin drops and whole milk to help with some of her nutritional needs. The pediatrician said if anything, juice should only be given after she's eater her meals since it doesn't really give her much of anything else nutrition-wise. And Pediasure should only be given if I can't get her to eat enough. So, Pediasure it is.

Book Butterfly

2008-07-16T10:46:00.011-04:00

That's what I am, as opposed to a "book worm". I wish I could say I was an avid reader, but no. If a book worm is one who reads voraciously or extensively, given the traits of a worm, then I'd have to say I'm a butterfly. My perspective of the creature is that she flits and floats from one flower to the next. Never staying long in one place, sometimes going back to a previously visited plant... That's how I am with books. I start one. I may start another. And I may even start another before having finished any of the others. A few weeks ago, I was in the middle of three books all started and different times: The Orthodox Church: New Edition
(Timothy Ware), A Textbook of Israeli Hebrew, and Song of Solomon
by Toni Morrison. Three different genres and styles of books.

I'm glad to say I did finally finish "Song of Solomon". As all the critics say of Morrison's novels, it was beautifully written. Lyrical. I don't know how else to describe the book. I've read a couple other of her books and I suppose they center on the human experience, and more specifically, the black experience. It's about about a range of emotions: love, hate, pride, anger, sorrow, etc. all withing the context of being black in America. Morrison uses poetic diction contrasted with local dialects. She speaks of realities and mixes them with the fantastical. When I get the chance, I'd like to pick up another one of her books. And I'll probably do it while in the midst of reading one or two other books!

"The Orthodox Church" is simply about the history of one of the oldest religions in the world. Coming from a Catholic background, I think it only makes sense that I study a sister faith. In fact, I am considering conversion and this has prompted my desire to learn more about the religion from which Catholicism split nearly a millennium ago. The book was recommended to me by the priest of a local Orthodox church, so I'm slowly trying to educate myself.

And finally, the Hebrew language book. I studied Hebrew as an undergrad and even audited some courses in grad school. I haven't really been using it and I'm trying to get my proficiency back up. I picked up the textbook a while back and only now am getting to it. I'm happy to find that I remember quite a bit and only need refreshing of other things. The book is divided in brief sections of only a few pages, so, completing a single section makes for a sense of accomplishment instead of pealing through lengthy chapters that never seem to end. I think after I finish the textbook, I'll try to keep up my Hebrew by reading articles online and Hebrew Reader I have on my bookshelf. I was surprised to find in the textbook that written Hebrew has a cursive form. I mean, I learned to read print form and write script form at the start of my language studies. But I simply learned to write each Hebrew letter individually; I never knew they could be connected. What a revelation! I also think it's very ugly, though. And rather illegible for me, as I am not used to seeing it. It definitely does not compete with Arabic script.

Anyway, and to close with the original topic, I start multiple things without finishing one at a time. I've got a lot going on at many fronts. And soon after finishing up the Morrison novel, what did I do? I started another book: The Middle East and North Africa by Drysdale and Blake. I guess it's a political geography kind of book. Again, another topic/genre. Sheesh. Focus, Sheena, focus!

Th-th-th-therapy Th-th-th-thwarted!

2008-06-28T19:39:00.002-04:00

Remember how I was boasting of having corrected some of Thevy's pronunciation errors? Like getting her to realize that she was making an F sound for TH words? Well, looks like I need to stop posing as a Speech Language Pathologist cuz my efforts backfired!

Yesterday, Thevy, upon exiting the bathroom declared, "I'm thinished." :-|

D'oh! :)

Sothea's So Cute!

2008-06-23T22:43:00.006-04:00

Sothea is a toddler. She turned one a month ago and I don't have enough posts on her. She's got quite a personality. Initially, I thought she would be quiet and observant, unlike her big sister. I thought that maybe she'd be introverted. That still may be the case, but I'm thinking she's got quite a bit of spunk! She will express her displeasures and she will make known when she's pleased. She's starting to fight her sister back, who's not always so nice and is sometimes jealous. Sothea now smacks her sister and screams!

But I think in general, she still will be the quiet one. She probably won't be as talkative and friendly as Thevy. She's not as easygoing with strangers and is more apt to cry when someone other than her immediate family gets too close or wants to hold her. But she's still great. I find her so adorable and I can't wait until she starts talking!

Thevy the Talker

2008-06-23T22:18:00.003-04:00

Thevy is quite talkative. And articulate, if I do say so myself. And as most young children, she makes mistakes in her speech (pronunciation, grammar). But I'm so proud of her when I hear her talk. She often amazes me with how well she speaks and the things she says to express herself, or simply to talk for talking's sake!

Anyway, back to kids making mistakes, I remember she used to pronounce her L's as W's and I worked to get her to say them correctly. It took a while, but she finally got the hang of it and she now knows the difference. I think her R's are still mostly wrong, as she says them as W's... But I made a new advance in her speech. It's still not perfected, but she can sometimes correct herself: her "TH's". Normally, Thevy tells me she's "firsty". I gave some examples and tried to teach her to make the correct sound and was able to do it with the phrase, "THink about it".

She still generally says "firsty", but when I bring attention to it, she is able to fix the error, sometimes by having to repeat the "Think about it" exercise: "THHHink about, thirsty." Man, I should be a speech therapist or something. :)

Thevy Ballerina

2008-06-09T19:44:00.004-04:00

Thevy started dance classes today. I finally found an activity close to home for her to get in to. A few months ago, I had actually put her in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, even though the school's Website states that the minimum age at 4 and she was still 2. I did it 'cause as far as I was concerned, she expressed an interest in martial arts and I felt she was capable.

Well, we learned she was able to do it - physically. It's just mentally, they figured she was too young. It's her attention span. She has none! I'm not sure if it's 'cause she was tired and that's when she acts up the most or what. But either way. I think the dance school is the better option for now -- at least economically. The BJJ class was cheaper on a per class basis, but monthly, it's more than double!

So, we'll see how it goes. She was one of five little girls today. And by far, the best dressed. :) I actually mean that. I was told the uniform was light pink tights, any color leotard, a skirt, and ballet shoes. I had no idea what color combo to go with. You typically see black, pink, and white as the options. I ended up with all pink since I had difficulty finding extra-extra small items. I ended up visiting 3 different Wal-Marts, 4 Payless Shoe Sources, and 1 Target. Why so many stores for just 4 separate items? Geesh!

Anyway, so Thevy was surprisingly the best pupil. She was pretty much attentive and followed directions. I couldn't believe it. She had a nap and something to eat beforehand, so that must've played a huge part. I'm thinking later down the line, when money is right, possibly getting her into gymnastics or martial arts. I don't know if it'll be in addition to or in lieu of. It'll depend on what's feasible and what she likes to do.

Also, something that I'm sure many people don't consider, I was worried about us being accepted. When you're a minority, the prospect of going somewhere that is all white is a little bit daunting. You never know if you're gonna experience racism. Mind you, I'm comfortable in pretty all settings, but I don't know if others are or will be. And so, we entered the school and I felt a little weird, like, were we accepted being "different"? And during the class, I was wondering if Thevy was being treated differently or being neglected. She was doing what she was supposed to be doing and the teacher seemed to be paying more attention to the other rambunctious little girls. But I also considered it to be my paranoia.

Thevy was even calling out, "Hey, look at me!" because the teacher seemed to be paying attention to the others. "I can do it!" I was a little upset and it made me question whether this was the right place for her to be. I don't want my daughter to be treated unfairly and so, I will monitor the classes and try to keep my suspicions in check. Luckily, there is no commitments or contracts. You simply pay per month.

Anyway, hopefully, I'll have pictures to post next time.

Sothea Stands

2008-03-26T15:06:00.008-04:00

I haven't blogged in a few months. Some significant things occurred that have kept me from blogging. I'll see if I can get back into the groove of things.

Sothea is 10-months-old and is (pardon the pun) making 'steps' to walk. She's been crawling since around 7-months and soon after was pulling herself to a stand. In recent weeks, she's been letting go of support and standing on her own. I'm ready for her to walk already!

She already sings. I swear she's musically inclined. She seems to sing/hum when we sing something. She also waves hello and claps her hands. She can even count. :) When my mom counts, Sothea touches the fingers of one hand to the other as if counting out.

And she is also teething! No wonder it hurt when I was nursing her and started gumming it, I screamed! You see, Thevy didn't get teeth until she was 12 months. I even didn't suspect Sothea was teething after she bit me. I just thought she was just a little too happy and satiated.

I only discovered Sothea's incoming incisors when I was applying some Nystatin to the insides of her cheeks (we've got a case of thrush goin' on).

"'Happy Holidays, Sweetie', Mommy!"

2008-01-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

That's what Thevy said to me one day when I came home from work. Yep, that's the miracle of television, teaching my daughter how to speak. :) It's been a few months since I've blogged. A lot has happened, but I'm not sure I'll speak on everything. I do want to include pictures at some point, but I've yet to upload them.

Back to the topic of Thevy's speech: her communication skills are really improving. She expresses herself quite well for a two and a half-year-old. She's even starting to correct her pronunciation. You know how some kids pronounce L's as W's? Thevy did the whole "yellow" as "yewwow". But I knew she knew how to reproduce the L sound properly. She could since the beginning Elmo's theme song, which starts off: "La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Elmo's world!" So I used to say things to Thevy, like, "Say, 'La, la, la - lion.'" And she'd go, "La, la, la - wion." And I just could not win, except for once or twice! Then recently, I heard her say "Hello" and I was so delighted. lol. It's a tad exaggerated, but I'm so proud of her.

And Sothea - she's 7-months-old. And crawling! She's appears to be a bit ahead of Thevy in terms of motor skills. I love that she can crawl, but that also means more trouble for her to get into. More danger if you're not careful! And I must admit, she's fallen a few times due to her new-found agility!

Anyhow, it's a new year and I hope it will bring new things. Good ones, at that, because I've had a crappy last FEW years.

He Bit Her!

2007-10-12T17:39:00.000-04:00

The other day, Thevy was bitten by a baby human. Can you believe it? I was hurt myself when I saw the mark left on her face. It was a friend's son who injured her face. We're not exactly sure why it happened. All I know is when I saw her cheek, below her eye, I could still see the grooves where the teeth dragged across her skin and it was still pinched up a bit in a circle. I had to try not to cry myself.

As there were no openings available at her pediatrician that day, I took her to an after-hours type of place and the doctor prescribed antibiotics as a precautionary measure, as human bites are the worse kind with the mouth harboring different bacteria. The doctor also had us follow-up with the pediatrician, which is where I took Thevy the next day.

The doctor was alarmed at first when she saw the bite, but later confessed that it didn't look so bad upon closer inspection. She also said that unless I had any concerns, there was only a slim chance that things would be bad with the bite. That is, the wound would probably heal with no scar. Only if it got worse - becoming red or pus-filled - would I need to bring her back. And if I was concerned of the transmission of anything, like hepatitis C or HIV, then I could bring her back in six weeks because even if she did contract such diseases, there would be no way to tell so early on.

But man. This is not the excitement I needed! Meanwhile, I have to administer the amoxicillin every 12 hours and apply antibiotic ointment on the skin.

Poor thing got bitten by a 1-year-old baby human!

Evenflo Product Recalls

2007-10-04T13:01:00.001-04:00

In the past week, I just found out that I own two products that have recalls on them. Both are car seats and both are of the Evenflo brand. The first car seat we bought was an infant car seat for Thevy, which is now being used by Sothea. I just recently discovered by chance that this particular model, Embrace, had a recall from last March. I only found out because I went to the Evenflo website to see about maybe viewing the product manual online because I don't remember the height/weight limit for the seat. So, I would never have known about it otherwise. When I first registered the product, it was two years and two addresses ago, so if someone sent me a notice, I didn't receive it. Anyway, the recall stated something about the handle of the car seat, when used as an infant carrier, releasing unexpectedly and there have been babies who have fallen forward out of the seat. Yikes! So, I've ordered some replacement kit.

Now, today, I just received a product recall notice from Target.com, where I purchased the second car seat. It's a convertible car seat; the Triumph model. Evenflo is doing a voluntary recall because they say the fabric that covers the seat can be pulled back, revealing Styrofoam, which a child can pick at and potentially choke on. Thevy has done this already in the past, but luckily, she hasn't choked on any pieces of the 'foam. Now I have to order another upgrade kit.

Thevy's Imagination

2007-09-29T20:33:00.001-04:00

Thevy has got such an imagination already. She pretends to catch butterflies and to go fishing. She builds towers and plays dress up. I love to see how her mind is already taking her so many places.

She sometimes asks me for things, but she only expects me to "play along". She's asked me for tape, a watering can, and various shapes. When fishing, she sometimes gives me the fish. I once responded, "Wow! That's a big fish!" She corrects me and says, "Nooo, it's a little fish."

A couple of her imaginings involved her little sister. One day I went into the kitchen to do something, leaving Thevy and her sister alone in the next room. I left Sothea in her Exersaucer and I heard Thevy talking to her. I thought her heard Thevy say the word "crayon", so I rushed to make sure Thevy wasn't shoving crayons in her sister's face. But when I saw them, I found an amusing sight.

Princess Sothea
Thevy wasn't saying "crayon". What she actually was saying was "crown" and that's actually what I heard! But the reason I had interpreted it wrong was since my the girls had been spending a little bit more time with my mother, whose English is quite busted, and who pronounces the word "crayon" more like "crown", that's why I thought what I thought. :-P

Anyhoo, Thevy was saying "crown" and when I came out to the living room, she told her sister that here was her crown and that she was a princess. Hence the crumpled, used tissue on top of her head. lol... And then the next day or so, Thevy had pulled a dirty-tissue-on-Sothea's head move again. This time she told her sister that she was a cupcake. LoL. Get it? Like the icing on top of a cupcake? Thevy has provided some comic relief for me in these days when I don't have much to laugh at...

Age, Race, Gender, and Little Kids

2007-09-29T20:21:00.001-04:00

It's very interesting to see that Thevy is quite perceptive. She may not fully understand a lot of concepts yet, but she gets the general idea. This is apparent in her references to complete strangers. For example, when she sees older women, she calls them "grandma". Once, when "The Simpsons" was on and Homer's dad appeared on the screen, Thevy cried, "No more grandpa!", meaning she didn't want to watch it.

She mentioned "uncle" when we were at the supermarket and a man passed by and he wasn't "old". She has referred to my friends as "Aunt Gina". So, I see that can make out differences between men and women and older and younger adults. She refers to children as "kids" or she calls out, "Hey, boy" or "Hi, girl!".

And the amusing part: during the same trip to the supermarket, a man in the meat department was putting the chicken out and Thevy called him "Mr. Rogers" and he was a white man. My neighbor, a middle-aged white male, was leaving his house and Thevy also called him "Mr. Rogers." lol.

So far, she knows nothing about race and I don't intend to bring up the subject, but I find it curious as to what they see with their own little eyes...

Update: Thevy watched a neighbor of ours wearing a baseball cap and taking his groceries out of his car and called out, "Hi, mail man!" Funny stuff.

Geographic Tongue

2007-09-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

Have you ever heard of such a thing? I hadn't until a few months ago at Thevy's dentist appointment. Basically, there are patches on the tongue that form geographic shapes. You know how our tongue is covered in bumps, yeah? Well, most of those are taste buds, but the ones that aren't are the ones involved in creating these patterns on the tongue. There are parts of the tongue that are smooth and 'bumpless' surround by areas where the bumps, or papillae, are flared up or overcrowded or something. These patches come and go and are apparently harmless. When we first noticed them in Thevy, we wonder if she hadn't eaten some hot food and burned her tongue.

Big Stye

2007-09-08T17:14:00.000-04:00

Thevy's got a bump on her eyelid. My mother first noticed it last Monday, saying how Thevy's eye looked a little swollen. I sort of brushed it off because I didn't see it until it was pointed out.

By Wednesday, the bump had grown and I didn't know if I should be concerned or not. Should I just keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse or goes away? Or should I take her to the pediatrician?

In the end, I called up the Ask-a-Nurse hotline and the pediatrician's office. I left a message at the hotline for a callback and I also left a non-urgent message in the voice box of the pediatrician, who was out of the office that day. The nurse who called me back said there's no way to tell without seeing it and asked different questions like, could it be a mosquito bite or did it irritate Thevy? Was there any pus or spots on the eye? She said to watch it and put a warm cloth on it.

Got a call from the pediatrician's office the next day (Thursday) and was told the same thing - no way to know without seeing the eye. So I made an for the following day. Since I had a meeting with someone, Daddy took Thevy to her appointment. It was determined she had a stye and that it's just one of those things that can happen where a gland gets clogged and to put a warm cloth on it and hope it gets better. If it starts to get worse, like redder or more irritated within a week, bring her back. If it doesn't get worse, but is still there after a month, bring her back.

I hope it goes away soon. Poor thing, with her swollen lid. It really isn't bothering her, but it rather bothers me to see it.

American Accent

2007-08-30T23:16:00.000-04:00

I never used to think I had an accent. But I know I do. At least sometimes. I used to always think I had a "standard" accent. But apparently, I speak a brand or two of dialects. I think I became aware of having some language quirks back in college when my dear friend, Ayanna, pointed out a personal mispronunciation of mine. Her ears perked up when I said the word "saw" (as in the past-tense verb of "to see). Now, how do you say that word? I had been saying "sall". Yup. The 'w' transformed into an 'l'. For example, "I sall it." Not sure why I do/did it. I also would say "drawling" for "drawing". After Ayanna pointed out my speech flaw (no, I don't say "flall" in this case :)), I've been self-conscious of it. I make sure to say it properly. And I've never researched this language phenomenon, but I know I am not alone in it. Once a year or two ago when chatting with my nephew who grew up in the middle of the country (and not on the East Coast like me), he would type sort of phonetically (but not so accurately and more so annoyingly!) and he actually demonstrated the same phenomenon. I can recall the precise word, but it was a sound ending in "-aw" that was depicted as "-all".

And then while in the Middle East with another American student, I realized that I didn't enunciate the first 'r' in the word "February". Since then, I think I now alternate between "Feb-ru-ary" and "Feb-u-ary".

There was also a time when a couple of college students from Chicago came by the house attempting to sell magazine subscriptions. They told me I had a DC accent. Another time, while I was a State Dept. intern, my friend, also an intern, from Connecticut, but studying in NYC, she told me I had a Southern accent. I was taken aback and I think sort of offended! How dare she! I am from Maryland and of the belief that we are not a southern state! (I know, it's debatable, but I'd rather not be considered Confederate. :-P)

I've come to realize that often times, accents are in the ears of the listener. I had a guy from Washington state, I think, and he - I don't think he was white but he "acted" white and he said I sounded "black" to him. Then on the other hand, when I used to make frequent visits to Philly to hang out with my cousin, one of her acquaintances, a black guy, told me I talked "proper". WHATEVER. F*** you! hehe... J/k. But I do suppose I get a little offended if I'm ever labeled as talking white. *shrugs*

And finally, the only other example of my speech that I can think of at this time, which makes almost no sense to me, is my name. Now, I figure of all people in the world, I know how to pronounce my name and I say it correctly. But maybe not! When speaking on the phone or telling someone my first name, the idiots relay back to me "Shana/Shayna" or spell back, "s-h-a-n-a/s-h-a-n-n-a?" Friggin' morons. :-P

And here's a fun quiz I took. See? I tolja I didn't have an accent! ;)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The Inland North
Boston
North Central
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

and

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

20% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

My Daughter's a Genius

2007-08-20T15:02:00.000-04:00

Hehe. I'm supposed to say things like that because everyday Thevy amazes me with her depth of knowledge. She may just be "average" compared to most kids her age, but I don't know that. To me, she's so smart! The picture to the left is of her LeapFrog magnets on the 'fridge. Once, she had arranged them so the letters made a nearly perfect horizontal line. On another occasion, they were completely vertical. Now in this picture, not only is she arranging them horizontally and vertically, but by color! I don't know what this says about her cognitive ability, but I'm impressed! :)

And the things she says and does... Wow! She stood in her potty and began to sing the "Alphabet Song". She then took a bow and said, "Fank you, fank you!" She twirls around and says she's a ballerina. Sometimes she's a cowboy or a pirate. Lately, she's been in the circus, too. She questions me on phonics or colors or some topic and when I answer correctly, she tells me, "Very good!" or "That's right, Mama!" She'll even tell me when she thinks I'm wrong.

Thevy talks about how cute her sister is and how they're best friends. She tells me when the baby is awake or is crying or is hungry. She sings to her sister, "Lullaby and good night..." or "Rock-a-bye baby...". She sings for her own pleasure and she's even started to sing "Maybe" from the musical "Annie". She sings the do-re-mi scale, then attempts to sing it in reverse.

She imitates the things we do around the house from using the remote control, turning on/off lights, cleaning up messes, and different expressions. She's picking up computer skills little by little and I'm pretty sure she's more computer literate than my mother! I've heard her utter, "Oh, my! Oh, my gosh!" She's fallen down and I ask with concern if she's alright. She replies, "I'm okay, Mommy". She picked up a nursing pad one day (for those who don't know, it's a breast pad for lactating mothers so they don't leak out all over the place!) and handed it to me declaring, "Here, Mommy; these are for your boobies."

Last night, she was drinking my cup of water. I wanted it back and asked her if I could have some water. Her words: "Sure, you can." WTF? hehe. I'm amazed by her sometimes. And to top of all her brilliance, she's even potty-training herself! lol. What I mean is, I'm not that consistent. I don't follow all the tips for teaching the child to use the potty all the time. Last week is when it seemed to have started, her potty-training, that is. She would go to her potty without me telling her to and regularly, too. She has gone 24-hour periods with one or even no accidents.

But so far, I can only say she's potty-trained while at home. I have no idea how things would play if we were out and about. I'm sure she's not completely ready for the outings without training pants. Either way, she's still a genius! :)

Thevy's Animal Impressions

2007-06-23T00:54:00.000-04:00

For months, Thevy has been capable of doing animal impressions. You simply ask her, "What does a ___ say?" And she'll imitate the sound. And with a certain accuracy. I mean, "ruff-ruff" and not "bow-wow", "mau" and not" me-ow". And she didn't just do the typical dog and cat. She also did dolphin and donkey.

Well, not only does Thevy do sound effects. She has started acting out the animal. One day she was on the floor, squatting with her hands to the floor. Then she said, "I'm a frog! Ribbit, ribbit!" She also does a cat. She meows and licks the back of her hand or arm, or she licks you! One day she was on her hands and knees talkin' about, "I'm a a jaguar. Rowwrrr!" (That was supposed to be a roar-sound, lol.) The other day she put her hands near her waist, bending her knees and saying, "I'ma duck walk" and started walking. Tonight, she did the same pose but said, "I'm a chicken" and clucked like a chicken, too! She's so silly...

And now I can add turtle. She was just crawling on the floor saying she was a turtle. hehe

"Quiero amarrarte a mis sesenta de cintura..."

2007-06-21T17:18:00.000-04:00

Twenty pounds down, 25 more to go! That's until I get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I gotta be able to get into my Shakira t-shirt, as I only had a chance to wear it once. (The title of this post is a line from a Shakira song). I got the shirt when I went to a concert last August. Besides being overpriced, the shirt was also quite small. I would have preferred one size up, but it was all they had in the style I chose. So, even when I was at my regular weight, it was kinda on the tight side, so I know for sure I can't fit it now. Especially not while lactating! :-X

So, yeah, I went to see Shakira in concert last summer and never had the chance to blog about it cuz I had issues with Blogger. Anyhoo, I ended up going with my friend Stef and her sister. I had purchased the tickets months earlier and had no plans on with whom I'd go or what. I'm glad I found them cuz it was so last minute and I had paid for the tickets!

The seats were pretty decent - on the floor and not too-too far from the stage. I enjoyed myself and was glad I got to see my girl live. What wasn't cool was the guy next to me, who was recording all these video footage on his cell phone, smelled really bad. Like, "sour". You can imagine how someone's body odor can ruin a mood!

Another low-point of the concert was the opening act: Wyclef and his fat-azz sister. Now, I don't know if it was his actually sister, but he introduced her as such. She was fat and didn't fit the theme/style of the concert. Shakira is more pop/rock. This big girl was a bit more soul and her outfit was - ugh! A tight bodysuit that did not flatter figure! And I think it had a hole/opening on the front that would only have been "sexy" on a more slender figure. Hey - it's true.

And then stupid-azz Wyclef got mad cuz the crowd ain't get hype with him and his sis. I mean, come on! They weren't there to see him!! We wanted Shakira and that's who we were waiting on! And why couldn't they haven't gotten Alejandro Sanz to open? He collaborated with Shakira on her last album, too!!

So Wyclef got mad when people weren't standing or acting very interested in the opening act. He even had the nerve to get on a guy in the front row, even calling him a fat ass and telling him he needed to stand up. Again - wtf? We weren't there to see him! We'll stand up when Shakira comes on!! Anyway, as you can see, he pissed me off. Plus, I'm not really a fan of his, especially after I heard he impregnated a chick he did a duet with - a chick that was not his wife cuz that fool was supposedly already married. Man like that should be castrated!!

But aside from assholes who are opening acts, I did enjoy myself at the concert, getting to sing to Shakira's music while seeing her live. It was the first time I had actually gotten a chance to really go out in a long time. And it was the first time I was away from Thevy for so long. You shoulda seen me, I was a bit of a wreck internally with the thought of having to leave T. I asked my mom to watch her that night. I was so anxious right up until I actually dropped her off. And after that, I was all right. No perdí la cordura. =)

Thevy Adores Sothea

2007-06-15T22:38:00.001-04:00

Why do people keep asking if Thevy is jealous of her little sister? A suppose a new baby can throw some things off at first, but... cause jealousy? No way! Thevy is by no means upset by having a "wittle sistah". In fact, if possible, I think she loves Sothea waaay too much! lol. Well, what I mean is that her constant displays of affection get on my nerves! She is constantly kissing or touching her baby sister, to the point where I have to tell her to quit! When I put the baby down to sleep, I don't need Thevy doing anything that stirs her! Sothea can be quite needy and I don't get many chances to put her down, so if I put her down and she actually sleeps, it's a huge relief! And I get angry with Thevy for waking her. I'm telling you, this girl (Thevy) does not listen. She is forever hovering over Sothea when she gets the chance, caressing her cheek and what have you. You may think that's cute, but it drives me crazy!

Thevy continues to amaze me with her vocab, saying things I didn't know she knew. Like when I scribbled a note down on a piece of paper, she took the paper and said "It's perfect." She's also said "It's wonderful." And she says, "I wuv you" to Sothea. She's also turned to me and said, "You're my best friend." haha. She cracks me up. =)

My Night in the ER

2007-06-13T11:22:00.000-04:00

I spent an evening in the emergency room last week. I'm someone who doesn't like hospitals and tries not to complain if something's bothering me. I'm also someone who waits until the last minute to seek medical attention sometimes. So, Wednesday night, I finally went to the hospital. I had been complaining of headache and the chills since Monday. What prompted me to go the emergency room was when Mak said I seemed warm and then I finally took my temperature: 102.9. I searched for my hospital discharge papers (after giving birth) for any special instructions. There was one that said to call your physician if you have a fever over 100.4. I might have had a fever the previous couple days but never knew it due to my chills. When you have the chills, you obviously don't think that you must be hot when you feel so cold. I just wanted to wrap a blanket around me. I didn't even have an appetite that Wednesday. In the evening, I ended up putting on a long-sleeve shirt.

I spent from around 10:30pm to 5:30 the next morning in the hospital. I was sent home basically with the instruction of "Take Tylenol" as needed. Strangely, your subconscious wants something more to be wrong for all the hassle of going to get checked out. I had the whole gamut of tests done: blood work - vials and vials, urinalysis, chest X-ray, and sonogram of my uterus. It didn't appear to be an post-partum issue. And in the end, my diagnosis just said "febrile illness" and "viral" something or the other... I was to follow up with my doctor and still don't know what was wrong with me. I was simply sick and that's all that can be said. I did have chills on Thursday and my temperature to spike back up past 102. But I'm better now and haven't had any recurring symptoms.

I hate hospitals and hope I never have to go back!

Birth & Beyond

2007-05-29T09:13:00.000-04:00

Wow, I can't believe I have two little girls. I'm sure many who know me can't believe it either! And for those who don't know me - it doesn't help that I look hella young and I'm sure many believe I'm a teenage parent despite the fact that I am approaching my thirties! Dang - I can't believe I'll be 30 in a couple of years!

Anyhow, Thevy is quite affectionate with her sister. She's always talking about "wittle sistah" and sometimes she refers to her as just "Thea" (remember, that would be pronounced "TEE-ah"). It's quite cute the way she gives her baby sister eskimo kisses, kisses her on the cheek, caresses her head, rubs her cheek against her sister's head... She touched Sothea's hair and said "hair soft". I love the way she's talking more and more each day, surprising me with the things she knows.

Thevy uses the word "beautiful." I imagine she got it from me when I comment on her drawings I tell her they're beautiful. So, one day she touched her head and said "Thevy hair". Then she touched my head and said something like "Mommy's hair" or "Mommy hair." Then she said "beautiful." I thought that was sweet, but then again, it also mean she's already a skilled liar because my hair is a mess! lol

Another day she was looking out the window talking about the birds. And she said they were beautiful, too. :)

She also understands that the word "baby" has something to do with size. I guess from looking at animal pictures, I talk about the babies and the mommies and she has started to associate the words with size. One day while eating clementines, there was one particular wedge that was quite smaller than the rest. Thevy declared, "Baby clementine." I thought that was adorable.

Another thing Thevy has said that surprised me was when she picked up something rope-like. I believe it was a cable (for connecting a VCR to a TV type of thing) and she said she wanted to jump or jump rope. Then another time she picked up an AC adapter and said the same thing, except this time she said she wanted to "skip rope". Obviously, she's only two and doesn't know how to do it and I've been pregnant, I surely wouldn't have shown her. Had to have been the boob tube that's been teaching her all this vocab.

It sure is gonna be fun once Sothea learns to talk and to have these miniature me's conversing. But I'm rushing ahead. Sothea is only a week old. I'm still worrying how quickly I can shed the pregnancy weight! I gained 65 pounds with Thevy and it took me more or less a year to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Then with Sothea, I gained somewhere around 45 pounds. The other day when I weighed myself, looks like I only lost 10 pounds of that. Only 35 more to go. I think - or at least I hope - I'll lose this weight much more quickly, simply because I hope to be a little more active, plus I'll have one extra child to chase after. :)

Introducing...

2007-05-25T19:18:00.000-04:00

SOTHEA!!

Sothea (so-TEE-ah) was born May 21 at 2:46am. She weighed 8 pounds, 8.6 ounces and measured 21 inches long.

She arrived 2 days after the due date and I wasn't sure what to expect for this second pregnancy, as my first one was not "typical". That is, my water broke and I had no contractions. They had to induce my labor and then when I began to feel the contractions and as they intensified, I finally asked for an epidural. I felt like a wuss cuz I wanted to go hardcore. :-P

Well, this time around, my contractions came first. And nobody believed I was in labor - not my OB and not the nurse - since I wasn't behaving like most other women do at that stage of labor. I wasn't acting as if I was in pain or screaming or what have you. But that's also not my nature - I am not a screamer. I suffer in silence. =)

Anyhoo, I actually managed to go sans anesthesia. There were points when it was unbearable, but in the end I made it! Oh, and this time, they had to break my water for me. I sat in the bed leaking for about 40 minutes until we started pushing. Then little Sothea came out 15 minutes later. Luckily, big sister Thevy fell asleep before all the excitement. :)

So, Sothea does look like Thevy as a baby, but at the same time, there are some major differences. I wonder how much alike/different they'll look as they get older. Either way, I think they'll get along great. Thevy's already a good big sister. I can't wait to see how they grow!

Mmm: Bánh Mì

2007-05-08T15:20:00.000-04:00

Mak brought me some bánh mì today. Bánh mì are Vietnamese sandwiches, basically. I for some reason got a craving for them yesterday. Vietnamese food has been very satiating for me lately. Get full real quick.

Speaking of food... No more Filipino soy sauce! Mak and I are not loyal to any one brand of soy sauce. We usually buy some Taiwanese brand. It's a tall bottle with a yellow label and says "soy sauce" in English, Chinese, French and Vietnamese. Anyway, one day Mak had wanted some Adobo; the Filipino version. So we ended up buying a Filipino brand that we saw in Safeway since we also had no soy sauce at home at the time. Well, since we purchased at a big chain, we paid a lot more than if we had gone to an Oriental grocer. And then on top of that, Mak never even ended up cooking the darn dish!

And then, for reasons unbeknownst to man, Mak bought another bottle of a different Filipino brand of soy sauce when we hadn't even finished up the first bottle. All I know is that these soy sauces only seem good to add to the rice you're eating, but doesn't seem to do so well as an actual ingredient in a recipe. It's too salty or something. (Yes, I know soy sauce is inherently salty, but it's even more so in these Pinoy brands, I think!).

So, never again will we buy Filipino soy sauce. Gonna probably stick with the tried and true Taiwanese kind or this other Vietnamese soy sauce. In an Asian household, you've always gotta have a bottle of soy sauce on hand, about a liter's worth. And rice. Always gotta have rice. We purchase 50-pound bags. 25 lb. minimum. I've also realized there are a few other condiments that we don't always have available in our pantry or fridge, but they always seem to be necessary for some authentic flavors: cilantro, Thai/Taiwan basil, ginger, garlic, limes... I hope Thevy will get to grow up eating mostly Southeast Asian dishes. So far it's a mixture of Asian and American... I didn't grow up with a lot of different ethnic dishes and feel a bit deprived. :-P

And about Thevy and foods... This girl is so cute. Well, let me start with a little "pre-story". We were looking at a Max & Ruby book (Max and Ruby are these brother-sister rabbit characters. We discovered them on a cartoon, but I think they may have been storybook characters first.) . So there's this book we were reading called Max's First Word. In the story Max is a little bunny who only knows how to say the word "bang". His big sister tries to get him to say other words as she shows him different objects. Max's response is always, "Bang!" In the end, Ruby gives him an apple and tells him to say "Yum yum!" That's when Max finally says, "Delicious!" Thevy and I both laughed at this. I don't know if she got it, but I was a bit amused.

Anyway, the other day Thevy was eating this peach dessert and I was trying to talk to her, asking her if she liked her food. I asked her, "Is the food good? Are the peaches yummy?", or something along those lines. Thevy responded, "Delicious!" And I've heard her use that word a couple more times when eating. She's so funny...

Thevy Turns Two

2007-05-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

Today is mini-me's birthday. It's been 24 months since my first overnight hospital stay. Wow, where does the time go?

The picture above was taken a couple days ago. I don't know what she's doing in the pic. She might be trying to come for the camera.

She's learning to talk better each day. I notice now that she makes an effort to form sentences and declare things. The words she used to pronounce all wrong, after I say them correctly, she repeats the word more correctly.

And she still saying funny things that I have to assume she learned from the TV because 24/7 with me, I know I didn't teach her. For example, she often crosses her arms and says, "No fair!" She's even got an appropriate facial expression to accompany the phrase. Sometimes she stomps her feet talkin' about "Hup/hut 2-3-4". And then there's her spouting out some numbers and saying "Blast off!"

I've gotta stop using certain words around her. I don't use profanity around her. A whole lot. But sometimes I say "stupid" and "crap" and she has imitated me. Oops!

But she's so bright, reciting her alphabet and pointing out letters whenever/wherever she sees them. I'm so proud of her! But she's gotta stop introducing herself to every stranger. She puts her hand on her chest and proclaims to random people, "I'm Thevy!" But it's cute. :)

The picture to the right, Thevy is enjoying a Canary melon. It was our first time buying it; we'd never even heard of it or seen it before. It caught my eye, being bright yellow and placed with the other melons, but looking sort-of like a squash. Well, it's not bad. Tastes just like a cantaloupe to me. So, I guess if I want fresh fruit, depending on whichever is cheapest, I'll get a Canary melon or a cantaloupe.

Little Linguist (Pt. 2)

2007-04-06T17:58:00.000-04:00

A few posts earlier I touted Thevy's language abilities. There are more examples I didn't include that I want to mention.

I find it quite humorous the way she references my parents. "Grandma" and "Grandpa" sound more like "Gooma" and "Poobah". lol. How cute is that?

She also has a grasp of the possessive. She'll pick up an article, like my shoe, and go "Mommy shoe." Or she'll pick up her father's pants and say "Daddy pants." The one possessive I don't like her using is exclaiming "Mine!" I'm not sure who she learned it from. If I ever use that word, it's just a declaration and nothing more. If Dad uses it, he's intentionally being annoying about it. But I'm also wondering if she maybe got it from other kids, even though she's not around them that often. I would hate for her to pick up bad habits (I don't want her to be rude, ya know?) from other children. And that's one reason why I wouldn't want her in day care! But anyway...

She has a basic grasp of pronouns, but her comprehension still needs improvement. Often times when she's struggling to do something I ask, "Do you want me to help you?" So sometimes when she wants help she says, "Help you?", but she means "Help me." Same thing happens when she wants me to hold her, she says, "Hold you?"

I also love the way she calls us by name when speaking to us. "Yes, Mom." "No, Dad." And she doesn't just call us "Mom" and "Dad." She uses interchangeably Mom, Mama, and Mommy, and Dad, Papa, and Daddy. Isn't that great? I think the way she understands synonyms or other languages is proof of the capacity of the young mind.

I've heard it said that children are sponges, that they absorb all sorts of information. And it's true! I am always amazed when Thevy names something that I don't recall ever had teaching her or something she learned from television. Once I began showing her my Wild Life Treasury cards (any one remember those?) for the first time. As I got to a certain picture, she instantly calls out "alligator" and I was like, what? How do you know that? I think she may have learned it from another one of her books of animals. But still, I was impressed. :)

Lately she's been making a creation with her MegaBlocks. It's got these "spires". (I think that's what they're called; had to Google it. These sort of pointy roofs of a castle). Anyway, she'll put it together in such a way and approach me, talkin' about "Happy Birthday". Basically, the "spires" do resemble candles. And Thevy will pretend to blow them out. I was just tickled by the breadth of her imagination already. I think she learned the birthday motif from TV.

Anyway, with her ability at this stage, I hope it will lead to a very precocious child. I'm hoping she'll read early. And once she learns to read, I hope to eliminate the use of the television as a babysitter. :)

Petroleum?! Poo on Plastic!

2007-03-28T11:13:00.000-04:00

I'm always disgusted with the amount of plastic bags we always seem to accumulate after a trip to the grocery store. And every time I store them away I think, We need to bring these with us the next time we go shopping so we can reuse them! But then, old age kicks in and I never remember to do so until we're already away from home or at the store.

Some of the bags we do use for garbage, but proportionately, it's not enough to use even half the bags! Last time we went shopping, I did remember to bring the bags with us and was happy. But when we got home, I was still left unfulfilled since we still had other unused bags.

Anyway, this advanced nation we live in is yet again so far behind everyone else. Here's a story from CNN.com:

San Francisco to ban plastic grocery bags

POSTED: 10:40 a.m. EDT, March 28, 2007

Story Highlights

• Rule applies to shopping bags made from petroleum products
• Proponent says ban would save 450,000 gallons of oil a year
• Board of Supervisors votes yes, mayor likely to sign law

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to become the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags from large supermarkets to help promote recycling.

Under the legislation, beginning in six months large supermarkets and drugstores will not be allowed to offer plastic bags made from petroleum products.

"Many [foreign] cities and nations have already implemented very similar legislation," said Ross Mirkarimi, the city legislator who championed the new law. "It's astounding that San Francisco would be the first U.S. city to follow suit." (Watch why it's no longer politically correct to 'think plastics' )

"I am hopeful that other U.S. cities will also adopt similar legislation," he said. "Why wait for the federal government to enact legislation that gets to the core of this problem when local governments can just step up to the plate?"

The city's Department of the Environment said San Francisco uses 181 million plastic grocery bags annually. Plans dating back a decade to encourage recycling of the bags have largely failed, with shoppers returning just one percent of bags, said department spokesman Mark Westland.

Mirkarimi said the ban would save 450,000 gallons of oil a year and remove the need to send 1,400 tons of debris now sent annually to landfills. The new rules would, however, allow recyclable plastic bags, which are not widely used today.

A spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who must approve or veto the legislation, called it sensible. "Chances are good that he is going to sign it," said Nathan Ballard.

Sedated Society

2007-03-27T11:40:00.000-04:00

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive. - Thomas Jefferson

I hate that we live in a nation where everybody seems to be sleeping. What I mean is that people in this country are so unaware of the important things going in this world and in our own country. We hardly care to see what's beyond our own personal lives, regardless of how much of an impact social, economic, and political events affect us. We're so ignorant - either because we simply don't want to know or because no one breaks things down for us and we don't go searching for answers.

It's not a good way to live. That's why those in power - politicians and corporations, among others - are able to get over on us and we'll claim they pulled a fast one. But we let them. For those not in the know, I suppose this post may sound a little cryptic, but I don't care to go too much into detail, since I'm also still learning the ins and outs of society myself.

I just know it is completely ridiculous the way one day, I'm flipping through the channels and many of the cable news networks were discussing the subject of Anna Nicole Smith. Simply because she is/was some sort of a celebrity and her death and the unusual circumstances surrounding it sell, her story is being plastered everywhere. I bet a significant number of Americans can relate what happened. They know much more about the life of some short-lived model, but they probably couldn't discuss in the most minute detail the real current events - like the stock market, welfare, or the any situation in the Middle East or Afghanistan.

Why is ignorance bliss? Why are Americans content to be so numb to what's real and important? A lot of people can rattle off all the celebrity gossip, celebrities they will probably never meet and celebrities that, in my opinion, don't even really matter because they don't truly contribute to society as a whole the way the might contribute to one sole individual. People know about the daily lives of a celeb, but couldn't tell you where the majority of their or their parents' tax dollars are going. What is the state of health care or Social Security? Now, those are important issues, but most of us don't know about them, although they are extremely important to our lives.

When we look at the children of today, they're imitating all these poor role models - the celebrities, their parents, friends, etc... But what will they grow up to be? Why aren't we making sure we develop the best future leaders of this country? All of this lack of knowledge contributes to the cycles of poverty, violence, stupidity... That is why many families/people stay in their current conditions. They don't grow beyond and they either just tolerate the many injustices of life in a capitalist, power-hungry nation, or they complain, but do nothing to better their situations.

And parents are not teaching their children about life. Again, it's part of the ignorance cycle.
I'm a part of that cycle, but I'm trying to break out of it. I come from a family where my parents aren't the most educated people, nor did they teach me about the real world. I think they failed to provide me with even some of the basic tools to make it in this world/life, so I am left to learn on my own, through experience or friends or acquaintances. It's hard that way and I don't know why any parent would want life to be hard for their children. It doesn't necessarily create stronger-minded, harder worker citizens. I think it can actually even crush souls!

But anyway, I think many parents - mine included - think that making sure their kids have the basics (food, clothing, shelter) is enough. They forget to help us develop our minds. They don't realize the seemingly small things they say or do can make a great impression on who we are, even in the recesses of our subconsciousness. The smallest action or event can shape what we become and how we handle life and all she brings us. In addition, some parents must think that sending their children to public school is sufficient to educate us. This is clearly not the case. School teaches us the fundamentals of many things, but it can 100% prepare us for the reality of things. That's where our parents are supposed to come in, but that's also where many parents fail.

How many of you can try to think back through all your years of primary and secondary schooling. What did you learn? How much of your learning do you remember and how much of it is applicable to your life today? Did it enrich your mind to such a great extent that that was all the education you needed? And to speak somewhat negatively about public education, I am not at all attempting to assault our teachers because I'm sure most do a great job. What I am trying to say is that the schools do their part, but the parents need to fill in the gaps. Don't let society raise your children. It's not fair to us or posterity when the fruit of our loins spoils and goes rotten.

It's time to wake up. If history is an indication of what's to happen, the empire will fall, and where can you expect to find yourself?

Little Linguist

2007-03-26T15:46:00.000-04:00

Since the last time I spoke of Thevy's speech, she's advanced quite a bit. She's still a couple months shy of turning two and I bet she speaks better than many, if not most, her age. I'm loving it that we're able to communicate better more and more. Her sentences are very simplistic and she doesn't always pronounce things perfectly, but she's getting there!

If you ask her to say a phrase, it may come out a bit in gibberish at times. But if you ask her to say each word one at a time, it's almost crystal clear. She still says things that only I (or her father) understand. Like "banana". For the longest time she's called it "ahmi". I have NO idea why. That was sort of a multi-purpose word at first, I guess. I think it referred to "apple" and "Elmo" once upon a time. Now she's finally started saying "mana", which sounds a lot closer to "banana" than "ahmi". lol

She sings a lot of songs and even makes up her own words. Like "Where is Thumbkin?" becomes "Where is Mommy?" or "Where is Daddy?". And she replies with "Here I is" or "Here it is" (can't tell which she's saying). hehe. I sometimes hear her asking the questions I ask her and then answering them herself. For example, whiling looking at a book, she asked where a certain animal was, then proceeded to point to it and answer, "Right there!"

And I was sort of surprised while I was driving in the car and she began singing along with one of my CDs. Now, I don't often have the car, nor do I listen to music all that much. So, if anything, I think Thevy may have heard that CD maybe once or twice prior. So, Carly Simon's "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" came on and I was singing it. All of a sudden, during the chorus, Thevy joins in! I was amazed because I had no clue she knew it! So cute. :)

Thevy can also recite her ABC's/sing the "Alphabet Song". She counts from 1 to 10 and says random numbers from 11 to 20. And Thevy's not as multilingual as I'd like her to be, but she's still got time! If I count in Spanish, she will say some of the numbers with me. I can ask her a lot of body parts in Spanish and she can point them out. Sometimes, Thevy will attempt to say the Arabic alphabet. Every now and again I will say them to her. Although I am not teaching her the language, I want her to be accustomed to the sounds of the language. Finally, out of the blue, Thevy will count to five in Cambodian (though she skips number 4!).

I'm hoping that Thevy will grow up a polyglot. =)

Question About Kisses from Canines

2007-03-23T12:35:00.000-04:00

To start off, we all know I'm not PC, so, if you don't like blanket statements, don't read. :-P

Well, it's not that serious and this shouldn't cause any wars, but I wanna know if anyone can explain a stereotype to me: why do white people french kiss their dogs?? I know a lotta black people will feel me on this one. I'm a dog lover and have had a dog since I was one-year-old. But I do not tolerate a dog licking me on the face. That is just disgusting! I remember there was a humorous statement on the what appears to now be defunct spoof website iloveblackpeople.com.

Anyway, it seriously sickens me when I see it happen, I almost gag! There's currently a commercial on TV where an Asian female is getting kissed by her dog a little too close to the mouth, but she probably "acts white"! And I have seen one of my Asian friends receive an intimate kiss from her pooch. But then again, she's married to someone of white descent and I've noticed she becomes whatever he is, so... Yeah, it totally disgusted me. When she and the dog greeted each other as she entered the house, she went for the tongue kiss and she even had her mouth open a little!! I so wanted to vomit!!

I don't even let my dog lick my hands. Especially seeing as how dogs lick their genitals and stick their noses in the grass in search of some scent and inevitably come into contact with feces - even if they are indoor pets!

And this same friend of mine... she wouldn't even stop her unruly dog from licking my daughter. I think it's rude to not exercise some restraint on the pet for the sake of others. There are some rules of etiquette that must be followed! You can stick your tongue down your dog's mouth all you want, but you shouldn't subject other people or their children to your pets' slobber.

Even after I proclaimed that I didn't like that, she did nothing. And with the dog being so rowdy... So, next time if her dog gets thrown straight across the room, she bet' not say nothin'!! :-P But yeah, it's her house and she can do whatever she wants there. That means I just don't need to go over there anymore then.

But that still doesn't explain to me why people do it? Why do they engage in passionate kisses with their pups? I'm not gonna buy the "a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's" as any kind of "reason".

Aspiring Artist

2007-03-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

In January, I had the misfortune of what can happen to walls and furniture when you leave a toddler slightly unattended! I was in the kitchen fixing something to eat, while Thevy was in the living room playing or watching TV.

Well, toddlers at this age love to climb and Thevy is no exception. There was a permanent marker that I had previously seen lying on the floor. I picked it up because I did not want Thevy to get a hold of it and placed it on the bookshelf. Well, I apparently picked the absolutely wrong place to put the marker because it still was not out of Thevy's reach!

This particular bookshelf is next to our TV stand, which Thevy can climb. It brought her to the level where she could get her hands on the marker. Well, this all occurred unbeknownst to me as I carried on in the kitchen. The kitchen is adjacent to the living room, so I wasn't far from the little one.

At one point, almost simultaneously, I smelled poop and she came into the kitchen to inform me that she had "poo-pooed". Well, as I met her at the kitchen entrance to prepare to change her, I stopped in my tracks as I witnessed the scrawls on the wall!! I went to examine the scribbles and noticed she had also managed to draw on the armrests of her little Ikea chair, the Miracle piano (remember the keyboard for Nintendo?), and maybe a few inconspicuous marks on a recently acquired (and in good condition) second-hand stroller.

How could she?! Actually, I was mad at Mak for all this. Yes, Mak. Although he wasn't even there and I'm the one who put the marker on the shelf, he's the one who brought the damn thing into the house!! There is no reason why it should have been there period. He has a habit of bringing markers and pens home from work. (I've thrown away countless pens because we have no use for all that ink! We already had a good amount of our own!).

So, yeah... Thevy created a masterpiece and though her most prominent display was on the wall, I was more upset about the chair and the keyboard. You see, the wall can always be painted. But wooden furniture? Plastic keys? I tried to find a solution to permanent marker removal on the Net. I tried a couple suggestions, but none worked for my situation.

I thought of the Magic Eraser, which a friend had once touted a few years ago as having worked on tough stains she encountered at home. I saw it in Target and decided not to get it. I just figured, nothing will get the marker out. Then my doctor, who has two small children, suggested the same thing, even for permanent marker! Well, the other night I finally got around to actually purchasing the Magic Eraser. And you know what?? It worked!! Good old Mr. Clean helped me get the marks off the chair and piano. Now, they are not completely gone, but damn near it!

Less of a Loser

2007-03-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

So, here's a little update to make up for half a year of not being able to blog: I'm a Master! That is, I got my Master's degree. FINALLY and SOOOO long overdue!

Ya see, right after undergrad, I enrolled in a two-year Master's program. Two years. That means, were I on top of my sh!t, I would have graduated in 2003. Two thousand-freaking-three. But, oh, no. I am a loser.

I completed all of my coursework in Arab Studies during that time period. I got all the credits I need in my political science courses and electives. But then I was left with two graduation requirements: the Arabic oral proficiency test and the comprehensive exam. (The comprehensive exam, or "comps", as we referred to it, is where three of your professors, at least one being from your area of concentration, ask you a series of questions pertaining to your major and the classes you had with them.)

The winter before finishing my classes, I had passed the Arabic written exam and not the oral. And the following spring, I opted not to take the comprehensive exam because I knew that I was not in the least bit prepared to do so. So I waited. I thought, maybe I'll be ready next spring!

Well, between finishing the all my courses in May 2003 and May 2004, I had moved back home and eventually (after several months of sittin' on my azz) gotten a job. And for me, being the kind of student I am (which is, not a very good one!), I was not able to get myself ready for that comprehensive exam! Besides not thoroughly knowing the material like I should have, I am not good at being put on the spot and answering questions spontaneously. I made a feeble attempt to cram over the period of a few days to take the exam. Not surprisingly, I failed. And miserably at that!

However, I can say that I passed my Arabic oral proficiency! That very semester, I took up an Arabic conversation course at the Middle East Institute, and I guess that was sufficient to get me through my test. So, that was half the battle left that I conquered...

Then there was still the matter of comps looming over my head. Oh, how much stress it caused (on top of other stresses)! I just could not get my act together for the life of me! Then I had a baby. So, even though I wasn't working 40 hours a week with a commute that also diminished my time, I had a baby to care for. Amd me being the unorganized person that I am, I have no time-management skills!

To try and make a long story short(er), this last year was seriously crunch time. 2004, I took the exam, did not pass, and was working full-time. 2005, I was still working the first four months of the year, gave birth, then became a full-time mom. 2006, still a stay-at-home parent, unemployed, and stressing about money, I had a deadline to meet.

My intention was to study throughout the year. And whenever I didn't get started, I'd say, okay, for sure "next month", or at the latest x month. Well, I got to the fall having barely cracked open a book, September became October became November.

Do you know that I began my cramming mid-/late November? With a test date of, get this: December7?! What the hell is my problem trying to put two year's worth of intense graduate work into my brain in a matter of a couple weeks? Well, I had no other choice. I had only one retake of the exam, PLUS, my time to complete all degree requirements expired that very month of December 2006. It was now or never and I had to give it a shot.

Well, praise the Lord, I somehow managed to pass! The same professors who sat on my board the first time were present again. I was afraid to make a fool of myself again, but apparently, they noticed I actually prepared better for this exam in contrast to the first and my efforts paid off. I am so thankful! Hey, maybe they passed me out of pity, but at this stage, I'll take what I can get!

So, on January 31, 2007, Georgetown University granted me my Master of Arts in Arab Studies with a concentration in Politics. Woo-hoo!

Back on the Blog!

2007-03-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

Just in time for spring...

I can't believe I'm finally back on Blogger. I've tried for the longest time to get logged on, but just couldn't and I'm not sure why. We're talking several months!! I moved and was without internet connection for about a month, but that was about it. I'm using the same exact desktop PC and I even have the same company providing my internet. I don't know what happened, but I could not for the life of me even get onto the Blogger homepage, much less sign in! But every so often I'd give it a shot and I'd have one or two "almost" successes. Well, today I've hit the jackpot.

Sucks that I couldn't sign in over the past 6 months or so. I did have things to "rant & rave" about, that I think I've long since forgotten! Ah, well. There will always be new issues and events to write about. :)

Thevy Talks

2006-07-01T19:52:00.000-04:00

It's been a couple weeks since I blogged. What's new? Thevy is 14-months-old today. She's become more adept at walking. Actually, she still stumbles like a drunkard... but she's better than she was a month ago! :)

She's also more vocal. She's always been "talkative", but she's able to utter a few recognizable words, as well as other semblances of speech. She'll take a phone to her ear - albeit backwards, lol - and start blabbering some unintelligible syllables. But clearly, she's imitating having a telephone conversation. She also points and sorta grunts to let it be known that she wants something. When we tease and chase her, calling out, "I'm gonna get you!", she runs and giggles, and sometimes it sounds as if she's repeating the same phrase.

Her vocabulary isn't as extensive as I think it could be. But apparently, it's good for someone her age. At least that's what some say. She says "Hi" and "Bye" to people. She even waves and seems to know to use them in their proper contexts. There was some study that said that babies that were able to perform certain oral and hand gestures were more advanced speakers than their counterparts who couldn't. The study cited being able to lick one's lips and to wave were signs of better language skills, as well as the ability to pretend. Thevy can do all those things. But I still feel like we're cheating her of even better language opportunities.

I wish Mak would speak to her in Cambodian, but he usually doesn't. I wish I was even more fluent in Spanish so I could be more consistent in speaking to her in that language. But she's still young enough and I hope we don't let many more windows of opportunity pass us by. I want Thevy to be a true polyglot.

Her lexicon consists of:

baby - her most overused word. Every kid is a baby to her.

dog - I don't know how to explain it, but she says it in a somewhat explosive manner. Actually, it sorta sounds like (and probably sometimes is pronounced) 'duck'. Sometimes she says 'dog-gee'. I don't want to write "doggy" cuz that seems more fluid. There's a bit of a pause in her pronunciation. And the second syllable has a slightly higher pitch. Also, sometimes it seems that 'dog' refers to some other animals. Or she pronounces a word resembling 'duck'. But I'm not sure if the finally consonant is dropped and all that remains is a glottal stop. Also, I think she may say "frog". But I'm not sure since I don't really know how she'd know this word. But she seems to accurately label the frog figures in my mom's garden "frog-gee".

mom - Funny thing is, this doesn't necessarily refer to me. It's more of Thevy's way of calling for attention. I once left her in a room and she began to call out "Mom! Mo-o-om!". I rushed back to the room, thinking how touching; she's calling out for me. Much to my dismay, on another occasion, her father left the room, closing the door behind him. She ran to the door, trying to open it and - what did say? Yep: "Mom! Mom!" Hmph. :-P She calls it out as an attention-getter, to let you know she's looking for you or something.

ow - She has heard be utter "Ow!" when feeding her in her highchair, she reaches underneath the tray and scratches my knee/leg. Her sharp claws always take me by surprise. So now, she knows all she has to do is scratch or pinch me and I'll say, "Ow." She did so while we were at the store - she kept saying "Ow. Ow. Ow..." And I'd say, "Shhh" and she'd only get louder, trying to embarass me! She was also simultaneously pinching/scratching me. lol. Also humorous, if she falls while walking, she'll exclaim, "Ow", as if it really hurt to fall. What an actress, this one!

book - She recently started being able to say this word. She sorta says "book-kee". Like "bookk" - since she places an extra emphasis on the final consonant in order to pronounce it.

em-mee/ahm-mee - Translation: Elmo. hehe

eye - This is an improvement from when she'd always refer to the "nose" as such. She'd touch your nose going "aye".

noh - Meaning "nose"

heh' - Translation: "head"

no - Unfortunately, Grandma uses this word way more than I'd prefer with Thevy. Thevy will repeat it. She'll even shake her head vigorously. But that's okay when she's telling me she doesn't want something. As long as she's not telling me know when I want her to do something. She'll also shove an object away if she really doesn't want it!

baah! - That's her way of saying/playing peek-a-boo. :)

Baba - Sometimes refers to Dad (sorta the way you say it in Cambodian), sometime it's Grandpa

Daddy

baw - That would be "ball"

wah - "water"

shoe -

And I can't remember what else, if anything, she can say. Oh, she says her own version of 'tree'. And she tries to say Boppy, saying "bobby" or something. She cries out for it when she wants to nurse because she's tired. She also says "Dora" (the Explorer). But she pronounces it her own way. Something like "Daw". She also understands words that she can't yet say, like 'television', or 'mirror'. I cannot wait until this girl is able to have full-blown conversations. It's gonna be fun!

Angel Kisses

2006-06-14T08:52:00.000-04:00

Thevy (Cambodian; var. Tevy, Devi) - Angel

Thevy is kissing a lot lately. She puckers her lips up and makes the "kissing noise". Know what I'm talkin' about? The "Mmmmmmm".

She even puts her hand to her mouth and kisses, sorta like blowing a kiss, but there's no blowing. lol

Sometimes she'll come for several kisses in a row. Sometimes she wants to kiss other people; strangers even. In fact, when we were in The Children's Place yesterday, she was ready to kiss this little boy.

She's also more of a pro at walking. I don't always like walking with her though. You don't get very far since she likes to stop and look at things you don't wanna look at. :-P Oh, and she's attracted to bubble gum/candy machines. Why, since she doesn't really know what candy is? Clearly, it's the purty colors she's attracted to. She likes to walk where you don't want her to walk. And then when you pick her up to try and get from point A to B, she has a little fit. What a brat!

No, she's not a brat. She's a diva. :)
I made this onesie for her. That is, I created the stencil and painted the lettering on the shirt. I gotta work on my technique, though...

Thevy the Toddler

2006-05-24T03:00:00.000-04:00

It's pretty much official: Thevy walks. She's still learning to get the hang of her new mobility, but she can get around. Her ability to walk greater distances is just amazing Last night, her father and I had a bit trouble locating her, she's so fast! She went a circle around the house and I couldn't find her right away. Part scary, part amusing. :)

It's funny when babies learn to walk and don't yet have the dexterity of a well-seasoned walker. Thevy wanders around with her arms to her sides and bent upwards (sort of forming a 'w', if you will). Or sometimes she comes at me with her arms straight up in the air, with objects in them. Other times, she's a little Frankenbaby, with her arms outstretched to me, wanting me to pick her up.

It makes you smile to see her extract such joy from a simple action most of us take for granted. And it makes me smile to see her patter around in small circles, going fast because if she slows down, she might fall; going in circles because she's decided to change directions or because she doesn't want to hit something. Oh, but she has! The other night she suffered a knot on her head due to a failed walking endeavor. She was walking and turned to close to the wall. Then, bonk! Her forehead hit the wall.

She cried and cried and I tried to comfort her. Once she finally stopped, I put her back on the ground and let her do her own thing. I hadn't noticed until a few minutes later that that collision had cause a bump to grow on her head! I think I gasped and grabbed her, took her down to the kitchen to get some ice. I pretty much futilely tried to ice her head. She moved too much. I even called up a friend for advice as I semi-panicked (thanks, Jeneen!).

Basically, I had to deal with the bluish-greenish spot on her head and feelings of being a bad mother. And if that wasn't bad enough, the next day when I had Thevy in the bath, since she doesn't like to be still, she kept moving from one end of the tub to the other. And of course, I let her. But because I did, she slipped at one point trying to stand up while pulling herself up. She hit her face on the side of the tub where she acquired a new bruise. This one was purplish-red at the lower corner of her eye. Great! Now as I was about to take her into public, I could look like the neglectful or abusive parent! :-P

Anyway, but the bumps and bruises are all a part of this new milestone. I'll have to deal with such things while Thevy perfects her stride. In the meantime, my little drunk (she does walk around like someone has spiked her sippy cup!) will be keeping me on my toes!

Thevy Has Teeth!

2006-05-15T17:08:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many have heard me 'lament' on the topic of Thevy's lack of "bony appendages". I often complained because, though this should never be done seriously, I was comparing my daughter to other children her age. So many of Thevy's peers had their teeth come around the age of 6-months and up, and here Thevy was still sportin' the toothless grin!

Well, much to my surprised delight, I discovered Thevy, too, was part of the teething set! I found out by accident, a couple days after she turned 1, that she had two teeth coming in. How by accident? Well, I do believe that typically, babies first get their two lower incisors (the bottom middle teeth), followed by the upper ones.

While waiting for Mak to get off from work and playing with T, she started to fuss and since I was in public, I didn't want her crying. I turned her upside down to distract her. As I held her by her legs, she began to laugh. I looked down at her to make sure she was indeed laughing and not crying. Sure enough laughter caused her to open her mouth when, lo and behold!, I detected two pearly whites! Thevy, crazy girl, has her two front teeth coming in! Still no signs of the bottom ones.

And that is why I never knew she had teeth; because I expected to first spot them on the bottom. I've already made her first dental appointment. I think pediatricians/dentists differ on when a child ought first visit a dentist. I think Thevy's own pediatrician said she need not go until around 3-years of age. But the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends when the child gets his/her first tooth.

(I tried to "photoshop" most of the nasty boogies from her nose, lol. She's been snotty the past few days due to allergies.)

Given that Thevy still nurses for comfort and to sleep, I know she has a higher risk of getting baby cavities. A child should never be put to sleep with juice or milk in the cups or bottles because the sugars in the liquid can pool in their mouth and ruin their teeth over time. So, if your kid needs a bottle or whatever to sleep, it is recommended it be filled with nothing but water. Until I successfully wean Thevy off the breast, I wanna get her to a dentist sooner than later.

Losing the Baby Fat

2006-05-11T17:30:00.000-04:00

Thevy and I have been losing weight. Thevy, who was once a 90th-percentile baby, has gone down in the ranks. During her first several months of life, she was in the 90-95th percentile for both height and weight, meaning, she was bigger than most baby girls her age. Then at her nine-month well-baby check-up, while her height remained in the ninetieth percentile, her weight was somewhere in the 80% range. Three-months later, at the age of 12 months, her height moved down to the eightieth percentile, and, get this, her weight is in the 50th percentile! Though some may still see her as a chubby baby, her weight is considered to be average for her age. In fact, she weighs the same as she did three months ago.

I had noticed that Thevy appeared to be slimming down. I thought she was getting skinnier. Then in the last month, her appetite had also decreased. I attribute part of that to her being sick, where the doctor says she could have even lost a pound from that, and I also think she hasn't been eating simply because she did not want the foods I would feed her. I also joke about her being a "baby bulemic". Yeah, you may not find that funny, but we all know I'm not PC! Anyhoo, I call her this because more than once I have caught her with her index finger in her mouth, shoving it far enough it that it causes the gag reflex. Ha! :-P

Where Thevy was once a chunky baby, right now it appears she's evening out. Her pediatrician said that many babies triple their birth weight by the age of one. Thevy hasn't yet reached that. Triple would be over 24 pounds. A couple weeks ago, she was at twenty.

As for me... I've steadily been losing weight over the past year. I never knew for sure what my usual weight was since I never really owned a scale. I always would place my weight at somewhere between 140 and 150 pounds, expecting fluctuations just because I've never had a constant way of life in terms of eating or exercising.

During pregnancy, I've heard the average amount of weight gain should be 25-35 lbs. Well, good grief, I was above average! I had my prenatal care at a practice, with several doctors to choose from. At this particular OB-GYN office, you are required to meet with all the doctors at least once, before getting to choose the one(s) you'd like to see regularly. I had one doctor tell me I was gaining too much weight during my pregnancy. And then I had another, Dr. D, who basically said everyone was different. Don't you know, Dr. D was my favorite. :-P But not just because of that; she was actually a really nice person.

So... towards the end of my pregnancy, wouldn't ya know! I broke two hundred! Basically, I gained about 60 pounds during pregnancy. Who knows how much of it was my weight gain, the baby's weight gain, or simple fluids? There was one time I visited Costco where I stepped on the scale and it read 212. Hehe. There were people who saw me pregnant that said, you don't look that big. Then there were some others who said I was huge. Bastards. lol.

After giving birth, you still look pregnant and you don't automatically go back down to your "normal" weight. I think I was still around 180 a few months after Thevy was born. I did no (still don't) exercise. But I have been breastfeeding, which supposedly contributes to weight loss, not to mention, I don't eat very well. Often times, I don't even eat! I know that's not good or healthy, but that's the way it is.

And right after giving birth, you still wear your maternity pants. A month post-partum, I did squeeze into a pair of pants I wore while pregnant, but not full-term. Every now and again I would try to put on my pre-pregnancy clothes and to my dismay, they didn't fit! I couldn't get them past my thighs! That's when I would turn to Mak and say, "I hate you!" :)

But now, I can say I can rock my pre-pregnancy jeans. I've still got flabby skin on my belly and avoid many of the tighter-fitting tops I used to wear. But for the most part, I'm back to my old wardrobe and that's just great. And as for the recent weigh-in: 150 lbs. Try that on for size! :-)

Below are a couple pregnancy pics for those who never saw me "with child". (You can click on the photos to see them larger.)

This picture was a month before my due date:

And this photo was taken a couple weeks before giving birth:

Thevy Turns One

2006-05-01T23:12:00.000-04:00

It's pretty amazing to think that Thevy has already turned one! She was born only yesterday! She was this helpless little thing we brought home from the hospital... Now she's almost walking and, in her own little way, talking!

BEFORE

AFTER

Thevy is Tech-Savvy

2006-04-25T16:53:00.000-04:00

It's clear that kids today understand technology better than previous generations simply because they're born in more advanced societies. Kids these days have their own cellular phones and iPods. I recall seeing a girl, probably around 8 or 9 years of age, at the public library typing furiously on the computer keyboard as she conducted a search. And I was amazed at how fast she was typing because I just knew she actually was typing something and not just playing around! Thevy is no exception.

This girl watches TV (a controversial practice for babies, but I don't care!). She knows that when I go to the DVD player to change the disc or turn it on, she quiets down (that is, if she's fussing at the moment), awaiting what will appear on the TV screen. She will take a remote control and point it at the screen, knowing that that's what you do with the remote. She'll walk up to the TV, reach up with her little fingers, and press buttons. She especially enjoys turning the set off and on, off and on. Repeat.

She picks up telephone handsets and places it to her ear. She knows that flip-phone mobile phones are to be opened and closed, and the buttons are to be pressed. Sometimes, she manages to call Aunt Regina. She also knows to put the cell phone to her ear as well.

Well, as I smile when Thevy imitates our actions and am proud that she is learning every day, I was simply amazed the other day to see what new "feat" she had undertaken. Thevy often witnesses me using the computer. The other day I was holding her while sitting at the computer. I allowed her to play on the computer. She began pounding on the keys, obviously at random. Smack smack smack. Then she reached for the mouse. I'm thinking, okay, here she goes. She's gonna try and pick it up and she'll end up tossing it. Nope. I was wrong. She merely touches the mouse with one hand, then returns it to the keyboard and continues "typing". She repeats the gesture: reaches for the mouse, touches and even slightly moves it around a bit, then goes back to tapping at the keys.

I couldn't believe it! Thevy was copying my computer usage of typing and using the mouse. She did this a few more times before she actually did knock the mouse off the desk. I'm so proud of her. I can't wait to buy her her own computer so she can take it apart and put it back together. hehe. =)

My Future Model

2006-04-14T13:51:00.000-04:00

I think a lot of parents entertain the idea, if for just a fleeting moment, the idea of having their kids in "the business". Well, that happens to be the case for Mak and me. We took Thevy to an open-call model search earlier this month. A lotta hopeful parents and their kids showed up. They broke the candidates up in groups. Unfortunately, we happened to get there just "late" enough that we weren't part of the first group, meaning, we had to wait.

When we first got there, Thevy was happy and smiling and social, "talking" to people, expressing herself. By the time they called the next group up, Thevy began to get a little fussy. She was getting tired! And so, by the time we arrived at the table to present her to the evaluator, Thevy was no longer smiling or talking. She just stared at the lady who told us we need to work on getting Thevy to smile on cue.

Then we proceeded to the guy with a camera so they'd have a record of each candidate. We stated her name and tried to get her to smile. Nope. She wasn't havin' it. No luck in that arena - until, of course, we walked away. Mak said that's when she started to smile. But she did clap for the camera. lol

Anyway, at this model search, we were all informed that we would not be hearing back from them UNLESS the child was deemed marketable. And so, if we were to hear from them, it would be within two-weeks' time. Guess what? I heard back from them! I got my letter in the mail today. It's no guarantee of work or anything, as "they" are "not a school; not an agency", but "a scouting service". And Thevy has been deemed a "favorable evaluation". That means I get to attend another meeting, but I gotta sans child. I just need to find someone to watch her...

They Grow So Fast!

2006-04-14T13:17:00.000-04:00

Look how involved she is in her little world. She's interested in so many things and she's unstoppable. Last weekend she went to her little friend Mason's birthday party and she was all over the place. For five hours, she played and played. She bullied a 17-month-old, stealing every balloon he had in his hands. And she harassed Mason, grabbing and pulling on him. :) That's my girl! And when they're older, they'll be chasing after her and she won't even know who they are. =P Besides, I'm sending her to an all-girls private school. In the mountains. On a secluded island. ;-)

She doesn't say any really intelligible words right now. I mean, she says sounds that sometimes sound like Mama and Dada. But she uses them to express different things. Sometimes she says a Baba kinda sound. And that could be like the word for "Dad" in Cambodian, which is more like "Pa" where the P is very close to a B sound. But it's not. :-P Yesterday at Costco I gave her this sauce and pointed to it and said "bottle". She said, "Ba!" And she repeated it. She also imitates the word "baby".

When I talk to the dog and say Rocco, she sometimes waves her fist or pointer finger at him and does a whole lotta "Ra-rarara-rara!" And I think she says "belly button". I can't replicate how she says it in word or print. But I'm pretty sure she says it. And I guess if I were to tell you what her first words were, I think they might be "teh-dai". (I probably screwed up the phonetic spelling of it big time, but I have yet to study Cambodian...) It means "clap" in Cambodian. And she's clapped while saying something similiar.

Beyond the words she says, Thevy does understand a lot. She performs many actions on command. Like if I say "beso" (which means the noun "kiss" in Spanish), she brings her mouth to minShe's just so cute. (Except when she's crying. :))

My Baby Doll

2006-04-14T12:26:00.000-04:00

Thevy is just growing up right before our eyes. It's hard to believe that soon, she'll be one-year-old! I'm still waiting for her to walk. I think she'll get there soon. I read somewhere that it runs in the family how early or late a child walks. According to what's written in my baby book, I took my first step on my first birthday.

I'm a little confused as what constitutes a first step. In a way it seems pretty self-explanatory. But then sometimes I have a tendency to over-analyze. Is a first step a first step even if the child immediately falls? Or is a first step when the child sustains his self upright for several steps? If it's the former, then Thevy has had her first step. She's even gone maybe a couple at one go. But as for full-fledged walking, I anxiously await it!

And it looks like Thevy will be going to her 12-month wellness check-up with no teeth! All the other babies seem to have a full mouth already and T doesn't even seem to be cutting a tooth in the least bit. I've heard from a couple people that the later a child's teeth take to come in, the stronger the teeth. I wonder if there's any truth in that?

I'm still nursing her, so maybe that's a good thing. =P And I have no idea when I'll wean her off the breast. She's so reliant on nursing for comfort, I think she'll be sleeping in the parental bed for a while. Ha!

I'm still giving her baby foods. Stage 3. Those are the taller jars, some of which of bits of food, rather than be totally pureed. I occasionally give her "regular" food. But that depends on how soft it is or how "natural". I don't want Thevy ingesting all the junk that we may eat. I don't come from a household where nutrition was given even a second thought. My parents to this day eat unhealthfully, regardless of any diet-induced health conditions (e.g. high cholesterol, acid reflux, high blood pressure). So, I don't want Thevy picking up on any bad habits. Basically, I've got a lot of changes to make to my diet. Supposedly, a child learns how to eat from very early on. Not how to eat. More like what to eat. So I try to make sure to give Thevy a good sampling of fruits and vegetables. I usually read ingredients before I let her sample stuff. When I went to Costco yesterday, I wanted to buy her some canned or jarred fruits. But I didn't end up getting any because the darned things had "high fructose" or some other sugar added. It's gonna take some getting used to, but I've got some work to do when it comes to the food we eat and buy. I wanna be a good example to Thevy. I don't want her to become a fat- or even worse - an unhealthy American!

Note: After writing this blog, I think I can say that Thevy truly did have her first step today. A few hours ago, she pulled herself to a stand, relinquished her hands from the stationary device she was using as a prop, then proceeded to take a few steps toward me. And THEN, I was just outside with her, letting her play in the driveway. I let go of her while she was standing and she quickly took several steps. Granted, she had sneakers on, which assists her ability to stand and I almost feel like it's "cheating". But still - she walked. :)

Racially Motivated

2006-04-11T11:55:00.000-04:00

You know how I'm very much interested in issues of race and ethnicity. Where some people may find such topics irrelevant on a day-to-day basis, I'm constantly fascinated by it. And interracial mixing seems to be such a common occurrence these days, you just can't avoid it! But it's also a very big part of history, I know. And in this country, the subject of Blacks, whites, and Indians (my bad - "Native American") mixing has created many sub-groups.

I'd heard of the "one drop" rule, where they say having just a drop of African blood makes you Black. These Black individuals have appeared on talk shows like Oprah. When it comes to race mixing, there are so many terms that have been coined: mulatto, mestizo, etc... When it came to the Blacks in this country, some funny terms have come about, such as octoroon, which is a person who is one-eight Black. I was amused when I came to the realization that my daughter, Thevy, is a quadroon. :)

Hains Point

2006-04-10T18:46:00.000-04:00

We (Mak, my mom, the baby, and I) took a brief trip to Hains Point last week. Its in East Potomac Park in DC. I'd been there a long time ago when I was younger. A famous landmark there is "The Awakening" - a statue(s) that gives the illusion of a man emerging from the ground. I think it's out of proportion (See the following image. There's also another leg, foot, and hand that's not visible in this shot.)

Although it was a bright and sunny day, it definitely was not ideal weather. It was very windy, making it quite chilly. We ended up putting a coat on Thevy, on top of her jacket, it was so cold. And then, a big ole bus full of kids came and that ruined it. Then it just became too crowded and noisey. But we got to see the cherry blossoms and take in the sights. We'll have to go back on a nicer day. And maybe with more people.

Thoughts on Immigration

2006-04-10T18:20:00.000-04:00

I don't get it. I'm also not really following the news and legislation. But it doesn't make sense to me. How is it that ILLEGAL immigrants are demanding rights? I mean, I could understand if they were maybe, I dunno, LEGALLY here. But, being that that's not the case, why are immigrants and supporters requesting special treatment?

As the daughter and wife of immigrants, I say, illegals need to go through the process just like everyone else who decided to make this country their home. And how ludicrous is it that some have the audacity to use as an argument that illegals take the jobs "we" or "nobody" wants as a legitimate reason for being allowed to stay here?

I'm not saying they all need to be deported. I'm just sayin'! If you ain't supposed to be here in the first place, why should you be entitled to rights of CITIZENS? And some are saying illegals shouldn't be treated as terrorists cuz they're not... Hey - we don't know that! I don't think that most illegals have even anything to do with terrorism. However, I know there's a link between al-Qaeda and Latin America! Anyway...

And I'm not sayin' that there aren't any mitigating circumstances that make some people's situations... "different", but I suppose all that needs to be looked at case-by-case. But, shoot - that's a lotta cases!

To say "We're not criminals"... Hmm, let's think about that. How did you get here? Was it legally? Um, then I think it's safe to say, you're a criminal. What? You pay taxes? So the f*** what? I seriously don't understand how that makes a valid point?

Then some businesses are talkin' about how they depend on the immigrants and what a negative impact it would have on 'em if they lost their illegal immigrant employers or consumers. Another moot point, if you ask me. See, drugs are illegal and measures are being taken to eradicate them (sorta). And due to illegal drug trafficking, there's a lotta money in the hands of certain individuals. Well, if we were ever to successfully rid the streets of drugs, guess what? Many companies would lose quite a bit of business! But the fact remains, drugs are illegal. Or should we legalize 'em so that the businesses can continue to get their share?

AND... I don't know much about economics, but someone once pointed out that immigrants, because they work and send money home to their countries of origins, that's money that's not going back into our economy. Like I said, I don't fully understand economics, but I hear that's not a good thing.

ELEVEN MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS?!?! That sho is a lotta people! (And a lotta money!)

Thevy's Funny

2006-04-05T00:27:00.000-04:00

I am enjoying watching Thevy learn and grow as she approaches her first birthday. She's starting to do more things that remind you that she's not just a passive observer, but an active particiapnt in this world. She's imitating things we do. It makes you laugh.

Like if you cough or sneeze, she'll bust out with a fake little *cough cough*. Certain sounds you utter, she tries to utter them to. For instance, I exclaimed "Awww" (as in, "Awww, you dropped it!" - not "Aww, how cute") and what does Thevy do? She goes "Awww!" right back!

It's very amusing that sometimes you just wanna make sounds at her just to hear her repeat it, back and forth. She mimics actions, too. She smacks her face, trying to play peek-a-boo. Sometimes she covers her one eye and her forehead. She's gotta work on the coordination. hehe. Or once, I was holding her and my hair was down. She took my hair and placed it over her forehead. That was her way of being like, well, Mommy's got it on her head, I will, too!

Or sometimes, she snatches my glasses from my face and puts it to her face or atop her head. She looks at you and smiles. If you're not quite looking at her, she'll make sure to lean so that she can see your face and she's cheesin', waiting for you to do the same. It's great.

And one of the silly things she does is to stick her tongue out. She either does it on her own or in response to some prodding from us. She'll either stick it out and up so that she's covering her top lip, or down, covering her bottom lip. And she's got a rather pointy tongue. Mak said she has a pointy tongue... like me? And I suppose this is figurative and literal... The figurative implying that I'm a bit snappy or, that I have a "sharp" tongue. [Merriam-Webster's fourth definition of sharp: SEVERE, HARSH: as a : inclined to or marked by irritability or anger (a sharp temper) b : causing intense mental or physical distress (a sharp pain) c : cutting in language or import (a sharp rebuke)] Whatever. =Þ

Someone's in the Kitchen...

2006-03-29T02:13:00.000-05:00

As little T gets older and is sleeping less and moving about more, I have to figure out more ways to keep her entertained. Especially if I want a minute to myself and have my hands free. I neglect myself the most in terms of eating. Correction - not eating. Thus, in order for me to grab a bite to eat when I'm at home by myself, that is, with no other self-sufficient individuals, I have to find all manners of distracting the baby.

Thing is, she sometimes gets bored easily. And just as soon as I think I've found a way to give myself maybe ten minutes to prepare myself a little something, Thevy's decided she's had enough and begins acting up. Or, she merely begins going where I don't want her to go, or touching what I don't want her to touch.

One of the ways I temporarily capture her attention when I'm in the kitchen is to place some objects on the floor for her to hit, bang, throw - whatever. Sometimes it buys me time. Sometimes it doesn't.

Escape Artist

2006-03-29T01:56:00.000-05:00

It's official: Thevy, for sure, can get out of her crib. We saw it coming, I suppose; the way she'd lean over the side and use her prehensile toes to gain leverage and lift herself up off the crib mattress. But we didn't think she'd actually manage to really get herself up high enough that she'd tumble right out! At least, not this soon!

See, Thevy's crib is mostly used as a playpen of sorts, as she still sleeps in the bed with us. It's where we put her when we need to free up our hands to do something else and be sure that she's out of trouble. Only in rare instances does she actually sleep in there.

So, while being detained in her crib, we often don't raise the side railing, as it's only a temporary prison and we aren't trying to make it maximum security. However, this idea must change. As she gets older and taller and much more mobile, it's time to... raise the bar! One reason I never usually have the side railing raised is because on those few occasions where I do place an already or almost sleeping baby in the crib, it's easier to lay her as closely to the mattress as possible if the railing is lowered. Otherwise, I'm much more likely to drop her in (and I have - not on purpose! =P) with it up.

Anyhoo, when Thevy's had enough of being in the crib and wants out, she begins fussing. She cries, she faces you, she places the side of her body on the side, trying to lean right on out. Her feet find their place on the slats and make their way up. I looked and her and thought, this girl is really trying to get out! I make her get back flat on the mattress so I can run for the camera and run back, in time for the shot you see above! Only seconds later, homegirl tumbles right on out! Luckily, I'm close enough to catch her before she falls, not to mention, there's an object beside the crib that, I think, would have or did help break the fall.

This girl is a handful, to say the least! She's our little escape artist. Even when she was much younger and we were still swaddling her, we called her Baby Houdini. She would never stay swaddled for long. Moments after wrapping her up in a blanket, one arm would pop out. Then the other. She's real determined, I'd say. I wonder how much this says about her budding personality. :)

The Zoo Again

2006-03-22T17:57:00.000-05:00

This weekend, we visited the zoo again. This time we went to DC's National Zoo. It was a sunny day a chilly. But it wasn't as cold as it was at the Baltimore Zoo. Again, T's too little to appreciate everything, but we still wanted to do a family outing. The zoo was better than the last time I went there somehow. We didn't see the pandas; the line was too long. At the point, we decided we had better head home since it wasn't particularly warm and Thevy seemed to have had enough. Plus, though the zoo is free, parking isn't. Wanted to leave before we entered the next time increment, meaning, it costs more. . . (Check out T and that pointer finger. She's been touching objects with her index finger or just shaking it, seemingly at people. When she sees a child, her finger starts waving and she goes, "Ey!" lol)

Another Warm Day...

2006-03-13T12:31:00.000-05:00

The Robins are here, too. I saw mosquitoes yesterday. Red ants were crawling on the ground. Looks like the seasons are officially changing. Or maybe not. The news people say to curb our spring fever. Today was a nice day to take the little one out. This would've been perfect weather for the zoo. We went the weekend before last for the opening weekend off the zoo. It was sunny out, but it was quite cold. I swear T's lips were turning blue. And it wasn't a great outing. It may have been because it was so cold, we didn't want to stay. Or if it just seemed that the zoo had nothing to offer because we weren't familiar with the layout or what. But it was rather disappointing. Who knows; maybe my expectations were just too high or because I'm not a kid anymore. But we went cuz it was free that weekend.

So, we did the Baltimore Aquarium and the Baltimore Zoo. We plan to do the National Zoo in D.C. since it's always free. And the National Aquarium in D.C. is a possible outing. I know I didn't care for the National Zoo the last time I went. Hopefully, more animals will be out and about. And healthy! Last time I went was with my sister a few years ago and there was a lame camel. So pitiful-looking.

Thevy stood the other day. On her own. I mean, there are times when I try to prop her up on her little feet and "force" her to stand, letting go, hoping she'll last several seconds. But this time, my attention was turned away from her and on the TV. She was on the floor, sorta crawling over my thigh. When I turned back to her, she had pulled her self to a stand, holding on to a wrought-iron planter. I wasn't sure how she did it, actually, without pulling the planter over. Then she let go. And for just a moment, she was balancing on her feet without any support. Mommy and Daddy got excited because soon, our little one will be walking bipedally. :)

Here, she's standing in my boots:

What a Winter

2006-03-12T20:01:00.000-05:00

What a very mild winter we've had! Can you believe we hit the 70s? The other day when I was ready to go get the mail, I thought I might take little T for a stroll around the block. After walking down the driveway wearing jeans I thought, "It's hot" and went right back inside.

Saturday, we went to the mall to get a gift before heading to a restaurant to meet Tammy and crew for Tammy's 24th bday. Thevy was a hit as usual. Her pink onesie and cute little white skirt were all the rage, lol. Oh, and can't forget the pink headband that we couldn't get to stay in her hair, mostly cuz she kept yanking it out. We met Jeannie and Nick at the mall, too, and got some grub at the food court and chatted a bit before heading out to the restaurant (which was a sushi place by the way - not a personal favorite! I mean, the restaurant is nice, but not my choice of cuisines!)

And gooood grief! Mak decided to partake in sushi for the first time. I'm talkin' the raw fare. *gag reflex* Oh, and check out what else he had, in the picture to the right. That's just not kosher, now is it? :-P I stuck to eating California and cucumber rolls. And the Popeye rolls minus the shitake (it had string beans and spinach and came with a sesame sauce). None of that exotic stuff for me. I don't even hardly eat cooked seafood, especially not fish. I don't think the next logical step would be for me to eat it raw. =P I believe the most "exotic" I've ever eaten was a *cooked* piecce of squid. I wasn't bad. Just rubbery. Heh.

And Thevy had some tofu from the miso soup and the plain tofu Michelle requested for her. I mixed the tofu with her baby food and she was lovin' it. She was also makin' a mess since I let her feed herself a bit. Sorry to whomever had to clean up after her. :) Also, Thevy was sort of the life of the party. Once again they played "Pass the Baby" with her. I don't know how many people held her, not to mention, I didn't even know who they all were! Only now that she's older am I okay with different people holding her, since she's had all of her first round of vaccinations and what not.

Note to those unfamiliar with handling babies or dealing with other people's children: keep your distance! Haha... Well, I just mean, don't take liberties with the child if it's not your own. That is, don't be kissin' on 'em and what not and touchin' all over 'em. A first-time mother and mothers of very small children can be germophobes! Plus, it's just plain rude! Imagine if somebody you weren't all that close with just came up and kissed you! If you're gonna kiss the baby, go for the cheek. Not smack dab on the mouth! We don't know what kinda herpes you got! =P And hey - maybe you might get herpes from the baby! Also, be sure to wash your hands or sanitize them before you lay your hands on someone's bundle of joy. You don't want them to have to ask you, lest you get offended! I liked how when I first brought Thevy home, my friends instantly went to the bathroom to wash their hands. Yet Mak's friends, it didn't even occur to them! What is up with that?

Nice Weather We're Having Here

2006-03-03T12:15:00.000-05:00

We continue to have crazy weather. It's rather nice for it being wintertime on the East Coast. It's still quite cool, but it's mild and sunny out. I'm not complaining. But I wonder if we'll get another good snow in before Spring officially arrives...

Funny quote of the day: I just heard William H. Macy, who has a huge film credit list to his name, say, "I'd eat that" in reference to his wife. First, I didn't even know his name before today, though I'd seen him in different movies. Second, didn't know he was married to Felicity Huffman. But back to the quote, I don't feel like explaining the context, but it was funny to hear cuz it reminds me of something a friend of mine, Jason, used to say. Sort-of an inside joke...

As is customary of my actually speech pattern, I'll probably hop from topic to topic in this blog. Like, I forgot to mention how maybe a couple months ago, I do believe I saw Tony Dorsey from NBC News 4. He was inside a news van outside Union Station. If I hadn't been inside a moving vehicle, I might have dared talk to him. hehe.

Oh, a couple weeks on Jeopardy, I was annoyed by one of the clues. It was Teen Jeopardy, and I guess the writers of the "answers" were trying to be hip and there was a category that utilized some colloquialisms. Well, this one clue was so stupid to me - it was: "Spanish: This basic word for friend--you know, your buddy, your dawg, your boo". And the answer/question was "What is 'amigo'?" That was one of the dumbest, poorly-written clues... They need some quality assurance for what they write! "Boo"??? Now, that does NOT simply mean "friend". It's not even equivalent to "dawg"! It just has a different connotation. *smh*

That Apollo Ohno kid - I "smh" @ him, too! Just because he's cute and has got that track of pubes on his chin, doesn't mean he should look a fool after winning a gold medal. Now, maybe he was caught up in a moment or whatever, but that fool did not seem to know the words to the "Star-Spangled Banner" and was tryna sing or lip-sync to it. Way to represent! :-P

How come on the news yesterday (on NBC4), they were talkin' about Bush's travels, referring to them as Southeast Asian trip? They mentioned India and Pakistan. Now, where does Southeast Asia come into play? The Indian subcontinent is SOUTH Asia! My ears perked up at the mention of SEAsia cuz I thought they were gonna say something about Vietnam or Thailand or something. Or that at least, he was headed there after India and Pakistan. I didn't hear it. Well, it's good to know we have accuracy in the news on just simple things... :-|

Thevy recently turned 10-months-old. Not long before her first birthday - need to make plans soon!

It's a Conspiracy!

2006-02-24T11:22:00.000-05:00

C-O-N, Spiracy! (An "In Living Color" reference, for those who don't know! :-P). Nah, I don't actually think it's a conspiracy. But it's some sort of social commentary of not-so-big proportions. I'm talkin' about Live's Beautiful Baby Search. ("Live" is the abbreviated name of daytime talk show "Live with Regis & Kelly". I like Regis and I like Kelly and I even used to watch the show when Kathy Lee was still on!) They had this contest... It's like the 3rd annual or something now. And parents from around the country sent in their children's pix for a chance at something like three grand and for their child to be on the cover of "Parenting" magazine. Well... They said they received hundreds of thousands of entries and on Monday, they narrowed it down to ten semi-finalists. Of those ten, I think maybe four were minorities - I saw an Asian girl, a biracial girl, some other brown-skin ethnic baby, and there was a white-looking baby with an Hispanic surname.

America was to vote for their favorites, which reduced the finalist pool to five. My guess - and I guessed correctly - was that it would be all white babies in the top 5. I tell you, nearly all of 'em were blonde-hair, blue-eyed babies. I know that that's probably more representative of the population of this country - I mean, more white people than any other race... And I figure more white people watch the show than anything, along with a few other factors, but... that's kinda depressing. Ethnic people wanna see their own faces out there! I hope I don't have to remind people, we don't live an a utopic society! Especially not in this country! Far from it.

And if that wasn't the stinger of having all caucasian finalists... Those children were not even cute in person! I know, I know - it's about how well they take pictures and what not; being photogenic. But still. Thevy is cute in person AND in pictures. She should be on all the covers! lol.

Hehe. Anyway. I'm done venting. Have a nice day!

Happy FART Heart Day!

2006-02-14T17:31:00.000-05:00

We got our first major snow this weekend. I think it was about a foot of beautiful, white snow. It began snowing Saturday evening. I was awake 'til about 6 in the morning. Our power had gone out sometime around then or soon after. It didn't come back on 'til 7:30PM. Apparently, there were a lot of power outages in the region/area.

As for Valentine's... not celebrating. :)

Fridays After Five

2006-02-12T04:02:00.000-05:00

All this month, in honor of Black History Month, the National Aquarium is having a wonderful promotional rate for Friday evenings. On these nights, admission costs $7.50. That's well below the normal cost of, get this - $21.95! We never would have gone at regular price. That's a rip-off. Not like it's an amusement park! Oh, and the usual rate for children ages 3-11 is $14.95! Too, too much...

Anyway, Thevy most likely will never remember the trip. So, we're gonna hafta go again some day when she's older. I hated when my mom told me all the places I'd supposedly been - when I was a baby! She said I went to that very aquarium at its grand opening or something, when admission was 5 bucks. :-P I do recall have gone there sometime during my school days. Elementary school, maybe?

It was okay. Woulda been nicer with fewer people to get in your way. We met this Palestinian couple in there with their young children. When I overheard the wife speaking in Arabic, I made sure to find an opportunity to talk to them. I approached in English, asking about their youngest child, a 13-month-old. Then a few minutes later, I busted out a "Where are you from?" in Arabic. Hehe. That was fun. The wife said when she heard the Arabic, she thought that perhaps I was from Egypt. The southern part, of course! heh. Anyhoo...

Afterwards, when we left the aquarium, we headed over to Barnes & Noble for a drink before heading back home. The Strawberry & Creme wasn't too bad!

I've watched two movies over the past couple days. First, I finally saw "In Her Shoes", with Cameron Diaz. I liked the movie. Even Mak did, too. And he wasn't even the least bit interested in seeing it when I told him the title and who was in it. Good stuff. In the beginning of the movie, I started to hate Cameron Diaz. Well, I suppose I should say her character. I know I didn't like her when I saw her in "My Best Friend's Wedding". And I guess that was for her character. And I can't remember when I started to like her...

Then tonight I watched "Raising Helen". I been wanting to see that one since it was in the theaters. I liked that one, too. I like Kate Hudson. I judge movies, for myself, not to push on or recommend to others, necessarily, by a certain factor. If after watching I feel that I wouldn't mind owning the movie in my personal collection, then that means I enjoyed the film. Does that make sense?

Whatever. I'm hungry. It's almost 4:30 in the morning. I'm still awake. There's snow outside... I wonder how much of tomorrow - er, today, actually - I'll sleep. I would like to head to the store if it's not too yucky out.

Meet the Coolest 9-Month-Old Around :)

2006-02-08T20:37:00.000-05:00

Since I lost my last set of photos I wanted to share, I got several more replacement shots of Thevy riding her car with her cool Dora the Explorer shades (Grandma bought those). That blur on the left side of the first pic is family pet, Rocco. Yes, I still have a dog with a baby in the house. When I was still pregnant, I asked my OB if I should be concerned about having a dog. I wasn't for safety, but for health reasons. She assured me it was not necessary to get rid of my dog or anything. She advised me to continue to "love my pet." I had no intentions of getting rid of him. And some people claimed that the dog would be neglected and would get jealous. Okay, first of all, he was already neglected. :-P Second, I was sure he wouldn't get jealous over the baby. I made sure, even before the baby was born, to acknowledge him. Like with my pet mice (now there's only 1 left of the original 3), whenever I would handle them, I would make sure to also talk to him, show him the mice, to include him. And Rocco continues to love both the mouse and the baby. Thevy would love to be able to play with the dog. But I usually don't let them touch each other. Only maybe right before I bathe her, I might let her pet him. Then I rinse off her hands before I even stick her in the bath water. And as she gets older, I'm less of a germophobe. Hence, putting her on the carpet without some sort of barrier is more likely now than it would have been a couple months ago.

And now check out Baby Girl. Look at her go! She's rather agile in her crawling ability, given that she doesn't get to crawl all that much. She also has the desire to want to stand. I think she's trying to stand on her own now. I can't wait 'til she starts walking! But the house isn't childproofed, so, that means we gotta keep an extra eye on her! And check out her hair! It's long enough to braid and I actually had her sitting still enough to do it! :)

This Sucks

2006-02-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I was all set to upload some photos from my camera and maybe post a new blog with accompanying images. But something has gone awry! I had over two hundred images on the memory card. Half had already previously been transferred to the PC. The rest? They're gone! I don't know what happened, but it seems that the card somehow got corrupted. I'm trying to see what can be done about recovering the pictures. Luckily, it was *only* a hundred photos. That's a relatively small number, considering I have over 2,000 pics loaded on the comp. :-P And I have backed most of them up on disc in case the unexpected happens with the computer. But what sucks is that there were certain shots I took specifically so I could blog about 'em. :-/ Ah, well...

It's the Year of the Dog

2006-02-03T00:24:00.000-05:00

Chúc m?ng n?m m?i (or Chuc mung nam moi, in case you can't view the diacritics properly)- "Happy New Year" to all the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean people. =)

What is up with our unseasonably warm winter? Not that I'm complaining. It's nice not to be super-duper-freezing-cold. But you just gotta wonder - when will the cold hit us? And I guess I sort of want some snow. I mean, one of the beauties of winter is snowfall. I don't understand or I can't relate to people who seek warmer climates. I think one of the things I love about being on the East Coast is the four seasons. I enjoy experiencing the changes in weather. But I guess the downside to lotsa snow is if you gotta drive in it... Anyhoo...

I've watched a few movies lately. The last two I saw were "40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Wedding Crashers". I was entertained by both. Steve Carrel (the star of "40") is a funny guy. And then there's Rachel McAdams. She co-starred in "Wedding Crashers". I first saw her in "Mean Girls" and for some reason, I liked her. I'm not sure what it is about her, but I bet she's a really nice person, contrary to the character she plays in the latter film. She also stars in "The Notebook", which I also saw. I dunno... I didn't really care for that movie. Didn't it win some award or receive some sort of recognition? I liked the juvenile movie "Mean Girls" better. =P I'd she's also in "The Family Stone", which I've yet to see.

So on the first, Thevy had her 9-month wellness check-up. She's doing well. She's 29 and a half inches, which puts her in the 90th percentile somewhere (i.e. she's tall for her age). And she weighs 20 and three-quarters pounds. Her weight seems to be tapering off a bit, as she was only in the 80th percentile. Her previous check-ups, she was up there. She's still chubby, as mom and dad were chubby babies... But maybe she's on her way to becoming leaner. I've noticed she isn't eating as much as I try to feed her.

She's still on no kinda eating/sleeping schedule. The pediatrician says it's fine that she's not on a schedule, seeing as how it's not like I'm working or anything and I'm there for her. He also said that breastfed babies are harder to get on a schedule anyway. He also thinks it's good I'm still nursing her so that Baby can receive all the benefits there is from breast milk. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding strictly up until the baby is 6-months, at least. After that, "solids"/baby food can be introduced, and then continue on with at least formula. And they also recommend that the mother continue breastfeeding up to a year if possible.

I'm aimin' for a year. The pediatrician , Dr. H., also told me that I should breastfeed for as long as I want. There's a stigma in American society with breastfeeding. Breasts are viewed as mainly sexual objects, forgetting what their primary function is. I mean, we are "mammals". Anyway, it does seem great, though, that breastfeeding seems to be coming back in style. I'm not sure when the trend began - over the past decade or so?? It's great because it's proven that mother's milk really benefits the child's development. Plus, there are nutrients found in breast milk that have yet to be reproduced in formula.

So anyway, Dr. H. was telling me to breastfeed for as long as it takes, that some even breastfeed 'til the child is 2 or 3. Now, some might think that's "gross", but he finds nothing wrong with it. My mom and mother-in-law think I should go no longer than 1 year. I don't know how long I'll nurse Thevy. For as long as she wants and for as long as I'm comfortable with it.

Now, I must add that breastfeeding, as natural as it may seem, may pose problems to baby and mom! I, personally, experienced difficulty in the beginning with it. And I am not alone in this, and other women should know that they are not alone. Often times, the problem is the baby does not know how to properly latch on to the breast (as was the case with Thevy). There are even "lactation consultants" who are board certified and their job is to assist women who need to learn how to breastfeed their babies.

It can be a very emotional and sad experience for the mother, so all who are close to her ought to be very supportive. Many women give up. They shouldn't give up; they ought to seek assistance! But, sometimes, it's just not meant to be and the mother is unable to successfully breastfeed. And this is okay, too - as long as she tried to give her child what is considered the "best milk". But they also shouldn't feel bad because that is a common feeling triggered by the inability to nurse one's child.

Okay, I know a lotta people don't wanna read about all that... But my experience was Baby wasn't latching on properly, it was painfully sore for me, Baby wasn't getting all her nourishment, I was sad... I went to the breastfeeding class in the hospital when I was still there, but apparently, I didn't learn what I needed. When Baby went to the pediatrician a few days after she was born, I was told that her birth weight was down about 10%, which is the most they let a baby get (ya see, after a baby is born, they do lose some weight, but they eventually regain back up to their birth weight in the first couple of weeks). Thevy was dehydrated and I was feeling so bad. The pediatrician asked me to show her how I nursed Baby. And when she saw my nipples were raw - yes, pretty graphic, but deal with it, ey! =P - she suggested I see a lactation consultant. She herself had even gone to this particular place when she had nursing issues with her child/ren.

So... after I unsuccessfully nursed in front of the pediatrician, she went and got a bottle of Similac and Thevy downed that bottle! I felt so bad that "I" had been starving my child! But also relieved that she was getting some nutrition. I ended up pumping milk - b/c I was just too sore to nurse her and I wanted to heal - and supplementing with some formula since I wasn't producing enough milk, until I was finally able to see the lactation consultant. They're rather expensive to see, so best to try and get all the free help you can in the hospital... But it was necessary that I go and it helped out. I learned the proper techniques and positions to hold the baby and I was on my way to successfully nursing my baby. It took a few weeks, but I eventually got the hang of it and was comfortable with it.

Nursing in public is another thing. I was uneasy/awkward, but now I'm more comfortable. If I can, I'll go into a dressing room, out of the gaze of others. But if my options are limited, I try to be as discreet as possible, and I'll whip out that bad boy in front of others. Supposedly, if you do it right, people may not know you're nursing the baby right before their eyes. It's also kinda cool - you don't have to worry about packing any bottles or anything. Or if I were to forget to bring some food or drink, at least I have a back-up plan. =)

I talked to some of the other mothers I know who recently had babies and I'm glad to know I was not the only one to experience the trials of breastfeeding. It's more common than you think. Ever heard of La Leche League? That's a pretty well-known resource for all things breastfeeding...

I think I've spoken at lenght - at least for a personal blog - on this topic. But I wanted to mention it. Ladies, if you're considering breastfeeding in the future, do not get discouraged if you have trouble doing what would seem to be something so natural, so simple. It's nobody's fault. Seek help and don't give up so quickly! And to others - partners, mothers, etc. - be supportive! A woman is vulnerable at this time - she's gone through so much. Don't make her feel bad for not succeeding in nursing her child. Don't react, "Why don't you just give the baby a bottle?" Alright?

And that's my public service announcement for the month. =P

So Annoying

2006-01-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

Here I was sitting, watching "Martha Stewart Living" (is that what it's called? I don't watch it regularly) and a stupid "special" news report interrupts my show. Dum-dum is on TV right now responding to the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian elections, along with some other stuff. That dumbass was talking about he supports the democratic process and he likes the variety of ideas among people. But then he said that Hamas cannot be a partner in peace because they have in the past called for the destruction of the State of Israel. Whatever. America cannot be an honest broker, as they have claimed, in the Mideast peace process if they are so biased towards the Zionist state. Fuckerz. And Bush (in case you didn't realize I was talking about him :-P) also said that we are "living in historic times" and was supporting the domestic eavesdropping and was saying we need to keep America safe... If you wanna keep America safe, stop bein' such an ass and shittin' over the rest of the world!! He also said that we will continue to hunt out the enemy in Afghanistan and Iraq. My goodness - did we really have anything to fear in Iraq before we sent Americans over there and started droppin' bombs on Iraqi heads? I'm annoyed... The news is so depressing to me. Wish I could just escape...

Anyway, I had talked to my physician a week regarding my lab results. It showed that my "good" cholesterol falls within normal limits. However, my "bad" cholesterol is high, thus, I need to go on a diet. So, knowing all this, that very night I had french fries and cheesesteak. :-P Man, I was hunger and I don't eat very well. I actually hardly eat anything, period. That's not good, I know. But now I have to be conscious of what I eat. I never was one to do that. My doctor said red meats, cheese, butter... that kinda stuff is bad for cholesterol. She mentioned that almonds and walnuts and oatmeal were good for you. She said eating oatmeal can reduce your cholesterol 10%. And she instructed me to eat shellfish sparingly, to eat fish (I don't eat fish!), and to eat poultry. I coulda sworn she said to eat it with skin. But then I thought I read somewhere else that it should be without.

I mentioned in my last post that Thevy doesn't crawl. Well, I spoke too soon. Not long after I published the last post, lo and behold!, I saw that little girl transport herself. lol. She can crawl. It's just the lack of opportunity, I suppose, that I never saw her and she couldn't practice. It's funny cuz sometimes it seems she just wants to walk, lifting one knee up so that she's on her hands, one knee, and a foot. I haven't taken a picture of her crawling yet. That'll be my next task.

I believe I talked about in some previous post about how so many people have had babies within the last year and how culturally diverse they were. Thevy's got many contemporaries of mixed backgrounds. There's Taiwanese/Mexican/White, Black and white, Vietnamese/Korean, Filipino/White, Black/Cambodian... One of my former co-workers just had a baby in November who's Persian/Palestinian. And I recently caught up with an old friend of mine who had a daughter about a month after me who's Filipina/White/Black/Thai. Whew. What a mouthful! :-P

Speaking of mouthfuls... Thevy's diet is gonna be getting varied soon. Though she has no teeth, she's able to feed herself and I give her small bits of food sometimes for her to eat. Yesterday I gave her a little bit of mozarella cheese and chopped-up pieces of grapes. Gerber also has these little cereal-like snacks called Veggie Puffs and Fruit Puffs. They kinda melt in your mouth if you just suck on 'em. But if you just chew them, they're crunchy. They're shaped like a five-petal flower. It's funny when I give 'em to Thevy cuz sometimes they sorta stick to her lips before she gets it totally in her mouth. The result is this:
And I'm glad she doesn't use a bottle. She either gets "boob juice" from the source or juice and/or water in a sippy cup. Have you seen kids that are able to walk still usin' a bottle? Or a pacifier? Thevy doesn't use one of those either. And she doesn't suck her thumb or anything. So, so far I'm lucky. Hopefully, she doesn't develop any of those habits somehow later on. She can also drink out of a regular cup, but with assistance, of course. And she can suck on a straw, but she's not real efficient with that.

Oh, and we had bought a potty chair for her a few weeks ago. She has gone to the bathroom in it a few times. But we're not being real consistent with it right now. Supposedly, potty training doesn't typically begin 'til after age 2, I think. But my mom claims to have potty-trained me at 3 months. It's a Vietnamese thing, I suppose. Ya see, in my mom's day, they didn't have the convenience of disposable diapers, so they had to do things differently. Whereas I leave Thevy in a wet diaper all through the night, my mom said she didn't do that with me. I'm not sure of how the process of potty-training an infant works --Bush finally got off my TV, but now Martha is already over. Just switched to Ellen. That woman is silly.--, but somehow she did it. I remember reading this one Vietnamese American guy's web page and he mentioned this very thing of potty-training a baby, when he took a trip to Vietnam. He wrote and my mom even said something about making the "sssss" sound to encourage them to go. I don't know if that even works, the sound effect, that is, cuz how can they even associate that sound with the act of peeing? Anyway, we'll see if I can't potty-train Thevy over the next several months.

Crazy Weather

2006-01-18T12:57:00.000-05:00

Last night/early morning, I went to let my dog out and when I opened the door, it didn't even seem cold out. I mean, the temperature usually drops in the evening, right? And then this morning it was all rainy. And now, though it may be a bit windy, it looks all nice and sunny out. But isn't there a winter storm on its way? Anyway, crazy weather. I'ma try and get out the house and take in some of this strange climate.

I've sorta been crocheting lately. I've always known the very basics of crochet from when I was younger, as my mom is an excellent crocheter. But I could never really make anything. So while I was pregnant, I began a project: a baby blanket. I purchased Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting and Crocheting. It really helped out with learning the sheer basics of these two wonderful arts.

Well... the blanket project never reached fruition. I was no where near done in my last month of pregnancy. I figured I could still work on it after the baby was born. But that didn't happen. I turned that bad boy into a scarf! lol. I tried making a hat for Baby, but it was too small. And I even made a mitten (yes, "a" mitten). It was too small, too, so I didn't bother making its pair. Thing is, though I've learned the crocheting techniques, I don't quite understand stuff dealing with gauge - which size needle to use with which size yarn, etc. and how that effects the size and look of your final product. I did end up making a new hat and mittens for Thevy. The hat's a bit snug, but it fits. And the mittens fit, too, but they don't stay on! :-P This photo is of the "failed" projects.

I don't have a picture of the new hat and mittens, but they turned out okay. :)

Thevy is approaching nine months of age. She still has no teeth and I am not looking forward to teething, which I heard can be pretty bad, with fevers and irritability. She's almost 22 pounds and I think she's gettin' close to being two-and-a-half-feet tall! :) I got her some clothes I bought from a lady who had lost her job and was trying to get some cash. I spent about 40 bucks for approximately 20 pieces. Not too bad. A few of the items were still brand new. The lady I got the clothes from has a two-year-old who weighs about 25 pounds. (Compare her weight with Thevy's, hehe). She was nice. A Chinese woman. Neither she nor her husband are citizens, which makes their situation difficult. Her husband is trained in mechanical engineering, but all the jobs are in government, which requires citizenship. And the woman said it takes about 5 years to become a citizen - once you apply. She's been here six years, but hasn't applied. She doesn't know yet whether they will ultimately stay or go back to China. She would like to stay here for the sake of her daughter. She finds the Chinese education system to be too rigorous (is that really a bad thing? Americans ARE kinda dumb, if you ask me! Sike. I'm just thinking of Americans like me. :-P). And she enjoys the access to different cultural venues around here. Anyway, I hope she and her husband can work everything out. The woman says that maybe after Thevy is one I can bring her over to play with her daughter.

So, yeah, Thevy is gettin' big. She doesn't crawl, but she's quite mobile. She's always reaching for and grabbing things you don't want her to have. Babies also have eagle eyes and so she sees things you don't notice. Examples: I sat her on the bed and put all these distractions in front of her (some toys). But what does she do? She reaches for a coil of hair on the bedspread, that I didn't even see cuz it blended in with the fabric. When I put her on a blanket on the floor with her toys, she moves toward the carpet and tries to pick up tiny pieces of paper or something. Again, she doesn't crawl. It's more like she creeps or slithers or whatever. I'm not sure if she doesn't crawl cuz I don't always put her on the floor to give her the opportunity to practice. But then, some babies skip the crawling step.

She has strong legs and can pull herself up to a stand. She's been doing that maybe a few weeks now. And I think she'll walk early. I, apparently, didn't take my first step until my first birthday. But babies are made differently these days. They reach milestones a lot sooner. I attribute this trend to whatever it is they put in our foods (hormones and what have you). Anyway, Thevy is startin' to get the concept of walking. Before when I used to stand her up and hold her hands, she would just stand there or bounce, or try to sit down. Now, she puts one foot in front of the other and goes. So, right now she can stand with support and cruise a bit. Cruising is when a baby gets around while standing and holding on to something. Like when in her crib (which is more of a playpen than a place to sleep!), Thevy will pull herself up and move around, side-to-side.

And she's got so much hair. She was born with about an inch of hair. She had a little bit of bangs. Now her hair goes maybe an inch under her eyes. I hate when people suggest I cut her hair, like give her bangs. Now why would I do that? I don't want her to have bangs. I want her hair to be all one length. Of course, I will eventually give her the occasional trim. But for now, I want her hair to get longer. It's long enough to put in a ponytail, but the hair doesn't all stay up. I often put a single ponytail on top of her head. My dad and sister don't like it. But screw them!! Everyone else finds it cute. :-P A few months ago my sister suggested I put a headband on Thevy. I'm like, no! That's for them bald babies that people put them on so you can tell they're girls! haha. She thought about it and was like, "True." You know those skinny pieces of cloth with an elastic band and a bow? But then my sis did send the headband that you see on Thevy in the previous entry. That one's much cooler than those headbands that look like garters. =P

Okay, this blog is long enough. I think I'll end with one finally picture(s). This is a collage of Thevy in her first month of life. I've heard that babies are ugly when they're born and just in the beginning in general. That they're wrinkly and have smooshed-up faces considering all they've been through (i.e. the trip down the birth canal). I dunno, but Thevy wasn't any of these things, in my opinion. See for yourself:

Baby's 1st Christmas

2006-01-14T07:43:00.000-05:00

I wasn't particularly looking forward to Christmas, as some would think, seeing as how it was my child's first. Well, I lost the illusion of Christmas some time ago. It stopped being fun, I don't even remember when. But also, I guess it's since funds are kinda (not kinda - they ARE) low, I/we don't really have a lot to give Thevy - materially, at least. :-/ And also, I dunno if this is being realistic or a subconscious way of fooling myself into not feeling bad about it, but the rationale is that she's too young to even truly appreciate the commercialism of the holiday anyway!, which you can see from the following photos.

Ya see, when she pulled at the paper, she proceeded to put it in her mouth! lol. We couldn't get that girl interested in opening presents. She was much more into the wrapping paper, or the boxes the gifts came in, or just anything else! I swear, it seems just about every picture we have of her that morning is her tasting everything. hehe. And she was also still sleepy. I don't really have her on any specific schedule since I'm not currently working, not to mention, I've never been much for order anyhow... :-P So, Baby's been on a stay-up-late-sleep-in-all-morning pattern right along with me. So, we went back to sleep a little after that. So, I wonder if the fact that she was sleepy affected her not really seeming all that excited about getting to tear apart the wrapping paper. She's usually all for ripping up stuff, or trying to.

Anyhoo, I guess it'll be fun to show her the pictures when she's older. This last picture is funny; looks like she's waving, but she's not. :)

Happy New Year

2006-01-05T05:40:00.000-05:00

My New Year's wasn't that great. I woulda been content to just stay home and do nothing, which is what I've done for most New Year's for most of my life. Mak, Baby, and I went to some overpriced dinner. It was sponsored by some Cambodian association at a Chinese restaurant. I do not like Chinese food. It was annoying cuz first, Mak said we didn't have to pay for the $30 tickets cuz a friend was posta get 'em for us. In the end, we had to purchase our own tix, and in the end, they didn't cost thirty, but thirty-five dollars. I hardly ate anything. And when I had Mak bring me a virgin piña colada, that shiet was nasty! Do you know it tasted like coconut and vomit to me! :-(

Mak also said all his friends would be there. I hardly met anybody. One person I did meet was hella annoying. He reminded me of this kid that used to work at the commissary that we laughed about. And this guy was drunk and definitely not someone I was pleased to meet. This fool even threw up a few times at the table. And then, he had the nerve to keep drinkin'!

Also, one of the things Mak told me was that there would be no smoking. Good, cuz I don't like cigarette smoke, and, we also had the baby with us. Then, after the disappointing dinner had already been served, the stupid drunk kid was all of a sudden smoking! Then this other idiot at the next table had a cig in his mouth and asked the drunk guy for a light. That's when I got up and told Mak I was outta there. We ended up leaving soon after. We were at this restaurant for a few hours. But I wish we hadn't gone.

The music was really loud there, too. Actually, it was only super loud when the band played. I didn't like that. I don't want Thevy to become hard-of-hearing! I dunno what it takes for that to happen, but that would be tragic. Anyway, despite the loud percussions and what not, she still managed to take a nap. (see middle picture) :-P

After we left that place, we went to Mak's friend's house. This friend was having a little house party. They were watching the game when we got there. Though I didn't really have anyone to talk to 'cept this friendly Korean chick who liked babies, I felt better there. We rang in the new year there.

So, that was that. Hope everyone who celebrated had a better time than I did!

And about this last pic... Thevy seems to like Dr. Phil. I'm not sure if it's the bald head. Like, on the Disney channel, there's this yellow blob of clay with eyes and a mouth that talks. It's name is "Clay" and it's some short segment that comes on between shows or something. Whenever he comes on, Thevy laughs/smiles. Same thing with Dr. Phil. lol. Well, in this picture, the "Dr. Phil" show is on and I can't seem to get her attention. Funny thing is, during this moment, Dr. Phil isn't even on the screen, but a guest of the show - with hair - is talking. She was engrossed. :)

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

2005-12-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year already. Can you believe it? Two thousand six is just around the corner!

As you can see, I took Thevy to get her picture taken with Santa Claus, although I have no intentions of teaching her about him since I'm not a big fan of lies, superstition, and bull crap. :-P I just thought it would be fun while she's too young to understand what an icon of materialism this mythical man has manifested into. (Aw, shucks! Check out my alliteration! :-P) I hope to teach her the true meaning, if anything.

The pictures were definitely not worth their price. A huge rip-off, that I was about to go back to the mall and demand a partial/full refund. Maybe I'll still inquire about it after the holidays. Well, it was possible to just take your own pix, and I did snap a single shot with my digital camera, albeit, from an angle. And I wish I woulda done something to try to make Thevy laugh. But anyway... if you wanna get the mall's pics, at least at this particular mall, the minimum you had to pay was something like $10.99 for a 5x7 (not to mention blasted sales tax). And then a photo CD was $5.99. I ended get the top picture as a 5x7 and the bottom one on disc. I figured, though she's not looking at the camera in the first pic, it looks sorta-kinda-but-not-really touching how she's sharing a moment with Santa. And then with the 2nd shot, I thought I could just print out my own images.

Well, as you can see from the first pic, although it is a scanned image and so, won't be as clear as an original, it is very close to the print I received from the mall. Notice the color is lacking considerably compared to the other shot - the foreground is a bit washed-out, the background is rather dark. And the 2nd photo, you may not really be able to see it, but the image quality itself kind of sucks. You'd figure, a JPEG placed on a CD should be of fairly superior quality and that I should be able to produce some pretty awesome prints, provided I have a good printer. Now, my printer is not the best, but it's decent. And when I printed this last picture, the pixels were not that great!! For the amount of money I spent, it was SO not worth it! My friend Robert e-mailed the CD image of his nephew and Santa and the image file was way bigger, at the image itself was way clearer. I've been gypped!

So, looks like I just fed the pockets of those fat-cat capitalists and allowed Santa's fat azz to eat. :-P So...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, y'all!!!

"Baby Measles"

2005-12-20T21:47:00.000-05:00

Roseola infantum or just "roseola" (roh-zee-OH-la), is a viral disease. They say it's caused by a kind of herpes virus - but not the sexually transmitted kind. Supposedly, it's common in babies between six and 24 months of age. It starts off as a high fever that last a few days and ends in a body rash. Well, apparently, Thevy's got roseola. :-/ We took her out on Thursday (to the mall), then Friday, her head felt hot. But she didn't exhibit any other symptoms. On Saturday and Sunday when I took her temperature, it was over 101 degrees. During the fever stage, she seemed to have lost her appetite, pretty much refusing to eat. She'd turn her head sharply if you put a spoon in front of her. I just had to nurse her all the freakin' time to make sure she didn't starve. Then, though she still felt hot to the touch, she didn't seem as feverish. Today, I noticed some red on her face. Later, I saw bumps on her chest, stomach, and back. And then I saw splotchy red spots on the side of her neck. But there's nothing you can do about it. You have to let viruses run their course. But there's no discomfort in the rash. You only feel slightly embarrassed taking her out in public. :-P I love showing her off, but I didn't want people to think "Ew!" when they saw her. It wasn't too bad while I was out (it seems to get worse, then subside, on and off), but I bumped into the mother of a girl I went to high school with, this silly guy I went to high school with, and then a high school Spanish teacher. The good news is, Thevy will probably never get roseola again. Supposedly, her body will have built the immunity for it now.

And just a little non sequitur... I saw this pic on an MSN.com:

Nick Koudis/PhotoDisc Red/Getty Images
and it just tripped me out a bit. I was tickled. Make anyone else laugh? Or is it just me. :-)

Imagine That...

2005-12-16T14:37:00.000-05:00

Remember that one summer back in 2000 I spent 6 weeks studying abroad in the Middle East? And subsequently, two weeks traveling here and there? And then there was my obsession with a Palestinian guy I talked non-stop about for quite some time? Well, I've come across some info about him on the 'net. Check this out! Just like when I knew him in Jerusalem, he was into acting and theater. He even took me to the theater he was a part of in Ramallah. Now he's in Hollywood doin' his thing in indy films and other small roles, like playing historical figures in Discovery channel dramatizations/reenactments.

I used to be hella pressed over that guy! Wait'll I tell Mak about this. Hehe. And I do believe Bashar (the Palestinian guy) is married to the director/writer of many of the films he's been working on. Funny where life takes you. I remember when I was with him, that is partially how I started becoming more aware and learning about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I remember crossing the checkpoints from Jerusalem into the P.A. (what's considered the Palestinian Authority, or the territory that's "belongs" to Palestine, though I think ALL of that land belongs to Palestine). The way he had to show his ID card. Being an Arab male, he just had to go through daily harrassment. Heck, many people who couldn't readily be identified as a Jew had to deal with that crap. I know I did, too, on a certain level.

I also remember Bashar talking about how if he ever left Israel to go abroad, he would have difficulty going back. Even though he's a native Jerusalemite, apparently, Israel will try to prevent some Palestinians from returning. It's all in their plan to try to get a stronger, more complete grip on the land they stole.

Anyway, I just wanted to say, "Hey! I know that guy!", if you ever see him in a movie or show or something. :-P

Narnia

2005-12-12T00:12:00.000-05:00

Mak and I went to the theater the other night to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe". I liked the movie. It was the first movie in the theater that I had seen in a looong time. I can't even recall the last film I saw.

Did anybody else see the movie? Or read the book when they were younger? I remember being exposed to C.S. Lewis' tales back in elementary school; perhaps in fourth grade. I don't know if I read all or some of the books. I need to go back and read them now so I can compare them with the movie.

Can any body recommend any good movies for me to see? New or old? But only good stuff. Every now and again we do Blockbuster and one of the films we rented was "25th Hour." I had first heard of the film from a colleague in grad school who liked it. Then I heard about it from another individual. When I saw it, I was kinda surprised to see that it was a Spike Lee production. But overall, I didn't really like it. It just wasn't a good film to me. And Ed Norton - what a sucky actor! I saw him in "Red Dragon" and maybe one other film, and I don't think the guy can act! I'm not sure if it's his voice that makes me feel that way. He has this annoying voice and I feel he should play roles where he's being bullied or something. He seems like he should be the guy who's picked on; the victim. Doesn't he just seem like an over-sized Haley Joel Osmet? Except that I like Haley Joel (though now that he's hit puberty, it's kinda weird. "Second-Hand Lions" was so-so, but I liked him much better in "Pay It Forward"!)

I also recently saw "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". While I found it entertaining enough, I just didn''t find Angelina Jolie to be that credible when it came to the action. I mean, with her firing those weapons and what not, I didn't believe that she was doing anything. Basically, if it came down to it, I don't feel like that she could handle shit. Do you know what I mean? But Jennifer Garner, on the other hand, she makes espionage look like so much fun! :-P

Anyway, I'm no Ebert. Lemme stop with the wannabe movie reviews!

Okay, so we want another dog. I want one for Rocco, Mak wants one for the baby. We're interested in getting a French Bulldog. The only problem is that they're hella expensive! Do you know that these dogs go for over one grand and up to and sometimes over two??? That is crazy ridiculous!! I think I might be willing to splurge a few hundred bucks for a pet pooch. But over a G? Yikes! That money could be better used to buy supplies and pay vet expenses for the dog! I'd consider a pound puppy, yet, there are several problems with that route. What are the chances that I would find such a breed there? Would the dog be male or female and how old would it be, which would affect its temperment? I think with Rocco, it might be better to get a female dog, and I would want one young enough who could get used to him and the baby. So many factors... So, if anybody's got any good leads on where I could get one of these dogs... Let me know! Or, if you wanna get me/us a nice Christmas present.... :-P

Ha

2005-12-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

I thought it was funny when good ol' Ken called me a "crazy loon-ball liberal" in his blog. I mean, I might be considered a leftist regarding certain views.

But it's not like I'm for lowering the drinking and driving ages! :)

Besides, Ken, remember, I'm a conservative when it comes to certain issues! I'm for traditional family values and I'm pro-life. But I am by no means a far-right Christian fundamentalist like you, you Bible-totin' pervert! :-P (I'm glad you finally admitted it! hehe)

And I'm still anti-unjust-war! You know something I found quite appalling? When one of my friends whose brother is in the Army told me about his early experience in Iraq. Do you know that this fool (the brother) would kick down doors and shoot indiscriminately because he had the mind set of a bigot? He had the mentality that "they" were all the enemy. That kinda shit pisses me off cuz I know he's not the only one to think like that. :-(

Any way, in more disappointing news, I just read that the network ABC has cancelled my favorite show. "Alias" will be completing it's fifth season in May. *tear* Life's just not fair!

Where Does the Time Go??

2005-12-01T21:45:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? Baby Girl is already 7-months-old! I took her to the pediatrician today. Originally, it was only to get her follow-up, second flu shot (apparently, not only is she in a high-risk group, but she's gotta get the shot twice). But I was a tad concerned because she had a cold and I wanted to be sure that that's all it was and that it wasn't some other more serious illness. Luckily, the doctor said it's only a cold. She got her shot and she didn't even cry! That was good, because when your baby cries in pain, you wanna cry, too.

I pointed out to the pediatrician how Thevy continues to be so happy-go-lucky. At her 6-month appointment, he had asked if she was exhibiting the typical stranger anxiety that many babies her age show. At the last appointment he said he she was the only baby who didn't cry when he held them. He agreed with the comment a friend's sister made, that she was "cuddly". Yes, that girl will go willingly to strangers. Only a couple of people have made her cry, and I think that may have been because she was tired. And when she's tired, she can get quite fussy.

So, Thevy's the pass-around baby. Last Sunday (the 20th), when I went to Ayanna's house for a mass birthday celebration, all these people I didn't know practically had a chance to hold and snuggle with her. And at Thanksgiving she was also quite a hit. People in the mall or passing by or whatever often stop and point (in a good way =P) or make some comment when they go by. It's a lovely feeling to see how your child can bring smiles to people's faces. :)

And I wish I was rich enough to allow Thevy to bring smiles to the faces of the staff of this school near my house. But gosh darnit!! I cannot afford to pay $1300 a month in tuition. :( I would really love to send her there, as they teach the kids sign language and Spanish, the child-teacher ratio is 3-to-1, and cleanliness is a priority. (They have an 18-step diaper change process, which includes washing their hands before and after the diaper change, as well as washing the child's hands, to prevent cross-contamination. They also make sure to clean the toys after one child has been gnawing/sucking on it by washing, rinsing, sanitizing, then air-drying it.) But alas, such a significant amount of money is a potential mortgage payment. :( Any donors willing to help? Thevy would LOVE a benefactor! :-P

Poor thing!
I startled her when I snapped
this photo in complete darkness.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

2005-11-28T18:49:00.000-05:00

How was everyone's Thanksgiving?? Mine was good. We made our annual trek up to Philadelphia for the day. It was me, my parents, Mak, and the baby. The pic to the left was taken on the ride up. Luckily, Thevy slept most the way up and back. Anyone know what it's like to have a crying child in a car seat while in motion and not be able to do anything about it? See, you could take them out of the seat to comfort them, but what happens in the undesirable event that you get into an accident? You just never know when something like that could happen...

Also, as a parent and a driver, you become a little more aware of how devastating a crash could be. That doesn't mean I've all of a sudden become a much safer driver and now drive like a granny, which could also cause accidents, but I have a lot more things to take into consideration when I drive. Like, I've ALWAYS hated tail-gaters. And I hate them even much more so now with a baby in the car. And I especially hate it when it's a huge semi ridin' my tail! It makes me conjure up images of some crazy invention for a vehicle: to have the ability to press a button and have spikes eject from all sides of the vehicle. :-P

I have a "Baby On Board" sign on the car - not that it'll really do anything... I have to take into consideration abrupt accelerations and decelerations that I didn't have to consider when driving myself. I just have to try to be a more conservative driver with Baby in the car.

Speaking of Baby... she recently outgrew her infant car seat. It's crazy all the things you have to learn. Infant car seats are specifically for infants up to a certain weight and height. Thevy was a couple pounds away from the limit and already too tall for her seat. Her legs were dangling over the edge so I had to invest in a convertible car seat. A convertible car seat is one that can be positioned rear-facing and forward-facing. Since she's still under a year old, she's gotta be facing the back while in the car due to the anatomy of babies. Consider inertia and a baby's neck control.

Anyway, I'm on the phone with my sister who's called me while she's stopped over at some airport en route back to her duty station and we all know I can't multi-task. Later!

Wow...

2005-11-14T02:50:00.000-05:00

This is, like, the first time in a long time that I've been able to access my blog. Usually, the sign-in page never loads no matter how many attempts. What do I owe this pleasure? Not sure, but I wonder if it has anything to do with the wireless router I now have hooked up to my cable modem. Anyhoo...

This is not gonna be a real blog because I am in the process of doing some research for a family member. I do wanna say that I located a girl from my kindergarten class a few days ago. Craziness! I remember she was the best colorer (is that a word?) and I was the best artist. Hehe. And I spoke to my kindergarten teacher the other day as well. Told her about me locating my former classmate and we chit-chatted about this and that... It's nice to be able to keep in touch with people. Speaking of which...

I hate people who fail to maintain "adequate" contact with you. For example, about a month ago I got a brand new cell - number and phone. My old phone broke, thanks to my stupid dog, and I hated my wireless carrier (screw you, Sprint!) and I switched over to something better (Yay, Verizon!). Well, once I was pretty sure I'd be keeping my new service and phone number, I sent out an e-mail to some people informing them of the matter. I made sure to mention that since my old phone was broken that many of my numbers in my cellular address book were unretrievable and for that reason to please give me their numbers again. Those "S. Hoes" didn't get back to me! Well, some did. But most didn't! Fockers. I take things personal, but is that wrong? I'll assume you don't want me to have your number, and even if I locate your numbers written elsewhere, I shall not contact you cuz you don't want me to have your number anyway. So, hmph! :-P Some people are sOoOooo RUDE!

I guess this one is a "real" blog. About my cell phone experience... I had Sprint PCS for 2-years. Yep. They got me with that 2-year contract. And my service would have ended some time this month had I not gotten pro-active. Ya see, Sprint, for me, at least, totally, totally sucked. I mean, the fact that my calls often got dropped was not cool. One friend of mine, who also had Sprint, which meant we could call each other free, would often choose to call me on my landline phone because she said whenever she called my cell it would sound like I was talking to her from a tunnel. Now, that just shouldn't be given we were talking on the same network. And then, my phone just would not hold a signal in my own house. I mean, my stupid phone would drain it's own battery cuz it was constantly searching for service while just sitting there on the kitchen table or wherever. What kinda mess is that?

So... the fact that I quit my job and became a stay-at-home mom meant: that's right - I was staying at home a lot. I'm talkin' 95% of my time is/was spent in the home. And since I was home all the time, I couldn't even use my own freakin' phone that I was wasting so much money on. One of the perks of having a cell is that you can call anywhere in this country at the same rate. I wanted to be able to use some of my "anytime minutes" for certain necessary calls. But I couldn't cuz I could never get a freakin' signal at home. And it didn't matter if I stood next to an open window or not. I would literally have to go outside to make a call. But that's not cool to have to go through all that trouble, especially when you also have to care for an infant. And to me, that's just simply not acceptable to have to spend your dough on inferior service!!

Well, I began to contact Sprint. I started by contacting them via their website, filling out an online form. There was a box to type in a number where you could be reached, so I typed in the house phone. But within the text of my comment, I provided them with my cell number so they could use it as a reference in case they wanted to access my account info or something. Well, those idiots called me back on my stupid cell phone even though I specifically told them in my message that I COULD NOT be reached on my cell phone because the stupid phone did not work inside my house, which is where I spent the majority of my time. So, the idiot who called left a message on my cell and sent me an e-mail. Oh, and let me digress for a moment...

At the risk of sounded bigoted, but I don't really care cuz I'm not particularly known for being politically correct all the time... I HATE for telephone representatives to have foreign accents. I really do! I mean, if I'm trying to get some help or service, I want easy and accurate communication. I do not like the feeling that what I have just said was not fully understood, nor do I enjoy having to say, "Hunh?" or "What?" or "Could you repeat that?" just because Mr. or Ms. Foreign Person doesn't know how to enunciate the proper English letters. If a company wants their customers to be happy and satisfied, they need to provide them with enjoyable experiences in every aspect. The same goes for those in the medical profession. I need to know what the hell my doctor is saying. You can't F with a person's health. Especially for the fact that some people are afraid to ask someone to repeat something for fear of sounding stupid or cuz they hate having someone repeat the same thing in their broken English over and over. Okay. Enough of that. Just had to get that off my chest. Back to Sprint...

There was a whole lotta back and forth correspondence, mostly through the e-mail because I didn't feel like calling and waiting in cue until someone could answer my call. One rep assured me my concern would be solved 100% to my satisfaction. It wasn't. So I continued to contact them. I had a main line and one additional phone line. My main line was scheduled to expire this month, and the second line, they told me, wasn't to expire until December '06. That was quite a shock for me. Because as far as I was concerned, my 2nd line would end right along with my main line. So I was upset to hear that.

There were times where I had to call them from my cell and stand outside. And this was when it was just starting to get crisp and cool outside. That would not have been cool for me, if I wanted to make a call using my cell phone and be able to watch my child, to have to go outside when we are approaching winter. I don't know how many people I spoke to and you can see that every rep has their varying levels of knowledge and experience. People would tell me slightly different things. Despite my rant about hating foreign telephone reps, don't get me wrong, all of the Sprint reps I dealt with were courteous to me. But courteous doesn't pay the bill. One of the things that I was told, since I wanted to lower my monthly bills if I was gonna have to be stuck in my contract(s) was that I could pay something like $5.95 a month for a vacation plan that would last 6 months and then revert to your original plan. I figured six bucks was better than paying $35/line. And then after six months, pay the $35 and then, "go on vacation" again. So, that was my temporary solution; to lower my payments if be released from my contract without paying that steep $150 cancellation fee. I figured it'd be cheaper to ride the contract out.

But then I went ahead and got me and my husband Verizon service because I really needed/wanted a cell phone and since we make most of our calls to each other, it made sense to be able to call each other for free than use up minutes, not to mention, when I did leave the house, I needed to be able to contact him (remember, my Sprint phone was broken). Well, the girl at the wireless counter told me that with the vacation plan, that's like suspending your account for six months. Which means, after 6 months, your plan goes back to having x amount of time left in the contract that it had before you went on vacation. For example, if I had about 13 months left in a contract and I decided to do the vacation plan, after six months, I thought I would have 7 months left in my contract. But no - after six months "vacation", I would still be at 13 months left. Ain't that a bitch? Had I not gone for new phones, I may never have found this out.

So I contacted stupid Sprint when I got home and the person I spoke to that time said that was true about the vacation crap. So much hassle! Then I was told a technician would be sent to my area to look into the coverage issue. I was told that if it was determined the service could not be improved, that my cancellation fee would be waived. This rep also said she was sure I would see improvement in my coverage, but that she wasn't sure when and to just wait. Crazy thing, though, when she sent me this message, I found out a few days later when I listened to the voicemail on the cell phone, a technician had left a message. His message was timestamped one day before the e-mail. He told me that technicians had already been to my area, that it was determined that the area was prone to poor signals, AND that there were no plans to improve service in the near future. This contradicted what the one lady told me in the e-mail.

Gosh. This story is too long. Lemme try to hurry up. Basically, the last call I made to Sprint, I talked to a nice woman named Melanie and she listened and looked into my record. She saw that there was no evidence that a contract had even been signed for that second line of mine and therefore, she basically helped me out by setting up the line to be cancelled. She also figured that since I only had one month left on the contract for the main line that it was no big deal to end my contract one-month early. My savior!

It was about time someone did something for me. She was thorough and I'm glad she answered my call! This took a few weeks, contacting Sprint and trying to get out of my contract, but thank goodness I was persistent! All that run-around for crappy service. My money had been going down the drain. There was little to no value for my money and I was a very unhappy camper. Those stupids would try to ask me if there was a lot of metal or if my house was made of brick, trying to give cause for the sucky service. I told them, did it really matter since even if I stood by the sliding glass door, I still couldn't hold a signal? And I was told some b.s. about the brick deflecting the signals, yada yada yada...

Now, I've been very negative about Sprint and maybe it's a little unfair since some people who subscribe have decent service. But it just was NOT the provider for me and Verizon has been better. I was so happy to discover that I could actually talk on my cell and not have the call be dropped immediately after initiating a conversation, or a greeting, for that matter.

Alright, so there you have it. My bittersweet victory. :-P

A couple blogs ago I mentioned a kid that was on "Big Brother 6" who I said went to my high school and bagged at the commissary with me... Well, if you went to my high school and have the 1995 yearbook, you can find him. And I believe his sister's also in the 1994 volume. Yeah, that f*ggot's name was spelled "Bo". And now he goes by "Beau". I remember him as being nice, though. Oh, and wouldn't you know it, I was looking through old notes from high school and I found one where I made direct reference to Bo. Anyhoo...

I'll end here cuz I was posta be doing some research. Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure. They're a few months old, but that's okay. I'll eventually bring you up-to-date. :)

Shirt says: "I'm having a bad hair day"

Just doin' some laundry! =)

Testing...

2005-10-18T19:44:00.000-04:00

Good grief! I've had the hardest time getting onto blogger.com! It's still hard for me and I've been trying for over a month to update. For some reason, none of my web browsers wanna enter even the main page of the site. I bet if I logged on elsewhere, I'd have no troubles. Hmph! It's so frustrating not being able to blog the moment I have something to say. I'm not exactly ready to blog right at this time, so... More delays to come!

This Country is SoOo F***** Up

2005-07-31T21:48:00.000-04:00

About a month ago I heard on the news another example of the injustice that exists in this country. Here's an article that talks about it. Basically, Congress voted a pay raise for themselves for the beginning of next year. You know how much of a raise? $3,100. So, do you know how much that makes their annual salaries? $165,200. They cited the raise was in order to meet the raising cost of living. Now, what in the hell kinda mess is that? Are they saying they couldn't afford to live without that pay raise? There are people in and around the District who are makin' $30,000 and under. Don't you think THEY, if anybody, should get a pay raise in order to be able to afford to live? I seriously hate how hard life can be in this "great" nation. Richest country in the world and so many, as this Spanish lady who attended my shower was saying: in this country you "trabajas para vivir" and how in Spain you "vives para trabajar". That is, here, you work in order to live; there, you live to work.

On the AFL-CIO website I learned that the Federal minimum wage, which is $5.15/hour, hasn't changed since September 1997. They've tried to pass a bill in Congress to up the low wage, but "the Bush administration and Republican leaders repeatedly have blocked congressional attempts to raise the federal minimum wage. On March 7, 2005, a bill to boost the wage to $7.25 an hour over two years was defeated in the U.S. Senate." (See Minimum Wage)

Some other stats on the website regarding the working class are:

If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968 when it was a $1.60 an hour, it would be $7.55 an hour in 2005.
Since August 2001, worker productivity in the United States grew by 4.1 percent, while worker compensation grew only 1.5 percent—meaning workers received one-third of the benefits of increased efficiency. In the previous seven business cycles, workers gained about 75 percent of those benefits.
A net 24,000 private-sector jobs have been lost since President George W. Bush took office.
Workers who have job-based health care coverage are paying more, as employers are passing on health care cost increases.

Don't ya just love this country?! Hmph.

Hey, off topic, guess what I just heard on the news? Good ole Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were once Boy Scouts. No kidding?

Reality TV

2005-07-30T16:33:00.000-04:00

You know that show "Big Brother," right? Well, I don't watch the show, but when the previews for this seasons show was on, it caught my eye. I wasn't really paying attention to the commercial when it was on. Only 'sort of.' Like, while I wasn't actively watching it, I pretty much saw how they were introducing the characters. Each person would talk and say something and their first name was at the bottom of the screen. Well, when one of the members of the house came on, when I caught a glimpse of him, I was like, "Hey! I think I know who that is!" I'm not sure if it was the way he looked, or if I did catch his name when it was said. I was like, that's this kid named "Bo." He used to work at the commissary! I waited 'til I saw the commercial again and was pretty convinced that it was who I thought it was. The name on the screen said: Beau. Now, I don't remember how his name was spelled when I knew this kid, but I can say that Beau is the gay member of the house. Quite feminine and supposedly into fashion. I thought it was crazy. I think he was a short guy when I knew him. And I believe his last name was Beasley or something. I wanna check my high school year books, but they're at my parents' house. Beau. What a riot. =P I called Robert up to see if he remembered him and he seems to vaguely recall this kid. He was like, didn't he wear, like, a necklace? I couldn't even remember. But it's just weird to see someone you once knew on some nationally syndicated show. And to see that he's a huge flamer. =X Anyway...

I have seen a couple of people I knew on TV in the past few months. On the news. Like, I saw this one chick from grad school on the local news for a story about internet phones. She had Vonage and the story was talking about how some alternative phone systems don't have 911 included. And I think she said hers did. And then another time, I believe there was some gay festivities on the news. Something taking place in Dupont. And I saw this one guy talking and was like, I know him! But where do I know him from. It showed his name - he was this Vietnamese guy. But I couldn't remember where I met him - from undergrad, College Park, or grad school. Then I figured it out: he was the president of the VSA (Vietnamese Student Association) in grad school.

Heh. It's a small world...

I've been meaning to blog...

2005-07-19T21:26:00.000-04:00

Things come to mind from time to time to write about - stuff I've meant to jot down from way before or some new things. But I just haven't been able to get around to it. Still can't manage to! But in the meantime, enjoy the new photos!

Right out the tub...

...all dry and groomed...

...and playtime!

music... cinema... politics...

2005-05-26T21:47:00.000-04:00

In my last post I mentioned Oprah and how I don't really care for her all that much. But I do plan to watch her show tomorrow. Joss Stone will be on it! I've said it before and I'll say it again: there's some really good talent coming out of the UK. I heard of Joss, I guess around the time her first single came out - "About a Boy", or something like that. I think they were profiling her on some show and I was impressed. But I never did follow up on her or anything, even though I had decided I liked her style. Then a few months ago, I was in the store - Wal-Mart or something - and spied her sophomore album on sale. So I snatched it up. Mind, Body & Soul. Loved it. You know how some albums, you need to listen to it a few times for it to grow on you or for you to decide whether or not you really like it? Well, I instantly enjoyed itthe CD and was glad of my purchase. I like all the songs; especially the hidden track. I later purchased her first album, but still contend that I like the second one much better. And I think that's the last record I bought...

So Joss' style is soul. And for this young chick (I don't know how old she is now - 17? 18?), we're not talking neo-soul or some new sound. Her style is reminiscent of the real deal old-school soul of the 70's. I mean, some of the people she's collaborated with are the OG's of this genre. You can sample some of her music on the official UK site. This girl is what's up. Not too many white girls I give props to for successfully singin' like a "sista". I mean, Teena Marie, I like her and she sings Black music. But you know what? She really don't sound authentic! She's imitatin' the style and makin' good music, but her voice would never fool me. On the other hand, Joss does a better job of "passing." She was performing at some benefit concert for the UNCF and you even see Quincy Jones bobbin' his head to her performance. But then again, don't ole Quince got a thang for white girls? =P

So me and music... I am so not into what's out now. Well, I just don't give it much of a chance. I can deal with some of the pop and alternative stuff that's out now. But contemporary Black music? What a huge disappointment! They just continue to crank out catchy beats, but the actual content has no substance! The mainstream has become garbage (well, it's been so for quite some time - from R&B to rap), and it almost seems you can only find something worth a listen in the underground. It's to the point where I think I've become an old soul. Or that maybe I've just finally become too old! You know when you were younger how some of the the "old" folks might not like the music of the youth? Like despising rock or rap and what have you... Well, now I feel I'm in that position. Heh. I've some how... regressed (can I regress to a state I was never at before?) to the old school. I'm more about becoming acquainted and gaining a greater appreciation of music from before my time. Like, I really like my Carly Simon Greatest Hits album. And I bought Carole King and like my Etta James CD... I wanna get more into the old jazz and blues era and into that white music of the 60s/70s. Any recommendations?

The last movie I saw in the movie theater was "Ong Bak: Thai Warrior". That was a good movie, in my opinion. Action-packed movie with a simple storyline. The movie was in Thai with English subtitles. I hear it came out a long time ago, but only recently (in February), hit all the cinemas in this country. And I believe this American version (with Wu Tang on the soundtrack), was edited. That is, I believe some scenes were left out because one of Mak's acquaintances had a version dubbed in Laos and I felt that there was stuff I hadn't seen when we went to the movies. And also, a friend of Mak's lent him a version dubbed in Khmer and he pointed out a scene that was left out of the American version. Anyway, like I said, the movie was good. The lead character did all of his own stunts - no Hollywood special effects. And the plot - it was poor village life in all its humilityand simplicity contrasted with the lively scene of the city (Bangkok) and its roughness and decadence. It was about honor versus personal gain. Good vs. evil.

Alright, I'm not Ebert, so that's the end of my review... What else can I ramble about before I close this blog? Just a question, why the hell was Laura Bush makin' her rounds in the Middle East to promote peace with regard to the Palestinian-Israeli issue? I mean, I don't see her as the most ideal goodwill ambassador, seeing as how she's married to one of the world's most hated men - within, as well as outside this country. And Mrs. Bush said that "they" want America to be involved in the peace process. Uh, yeah - the Arabs do so long as the Americans can be HONEST brokers, but that has not been the case! Anyhoo, I'm done. Bye!

"Alias" Season Finale in 30 Minutes

2005-05-25T20:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am still an avid watcher of "Alias"! And having a baby hasn't stopped me from making sure I catch each episode. I jokingly said, while I was still pregnant, that Baby would have to wait if my show was on. Well, that is not the case. She's the one thing that'll make me turn my head from the television set when it's not a commercial. =P

I finally purchased my own copy of "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison a few months ago. I had been meaning to read it and buy it for quite some time. I finally bought it when I did because I found a copy that wasn't defaced with that stupid "Oprah Book Club" stamp. I wanted a nice, clean copy. I'll watch "Oprah" every now and again, but I am really not a fan of hers. And I definitely didn't wanna be possibly supporting her by buying a copy of a book that she somehow was endorsing! Anyway, I been reading it a little here and there. I'll let you know how it was if and when I finish reading it. Oh, and coincidentally, some of the main characters are a family by the name of Breedlove. And in recent news a couple by that same name just gave birth to a rare set of identical quadruplets. Ah - the symbolism of names!

I'm distracted by "60 Minutes" right now, so I'm ending here.

EDIT: Okay. I'm back. I was wrong. "Alias" hasn't come on yet (it's 9 right now). It comes on at 10 cuz "Lost" is 2-hours-long. Never really watched that show; doesn't appeal to me. So, I guess I can watch "American Idol" here and there. I have not been following that show. I was only into that show during it's very first season (with Kelly Clarkson). And the two contestants left, I don't care for either. They're not spectacular, if you ask me. They represent country and rock-and-roll. I'm into both styles of music, but I don't like either one of these singers. They were singing "Love Lift Us Up", or whatever it's called. The best part was the end - when they stopped singing! Nah. The ending part was the best part, though. Overall, their rendition did not sound too good, but the final notes were more sonically pleasing. Anyway, I think I might go read something and flip through the channels now...

Mak & Thevy

2005-05-24T01:26:00.000-04:00

Father and daughter.

Damn Bureaucracy!

2005-05-23T23:48:00.000-04:00

I hate dealing with the tediousness of government agencies and other "necessities." I went to my local Social Security Administration (SSA) office today. Ugh. I had meant to go first thing in the morning, that is, to be there by the time it opened at 9 o'clock. But I overslept and when I looked at the clock, it was 8:55. So, I didn't rush it. I even considered putting it off 'til tomorrow. But I eventually got me and Thevy ready and got there around noon. I was there over an hour. There were many people there. When I got there, there were several seats open, which quickly became filled. And it was warm in there. I ended up stripping Thevy down to her onesie cuz I didn't want her to overheat.

So I went cuz I need to add her to my insurance policy and there's a limited amount of time when you can do this. For some reason, I was thinking her card would be coming in the mail any day just cuz when I requested a new SS card when I had a name change, it took only a couple weeks. But then when I reviewed the letter from the hospital for proof of birth, it said it would take 17 weeks or longer for us to receive Thevy's card. And when I called the SSA, they said I had to go in in person to get her number, which, again, I need for insurance purposes.

So, when I got to the office, the East African security guard/"front desk" attendant guy gives me an application to fill out. I was annoyed by that cuz I thought the stupid proof of birth letter from the hospital was sufficient since it said I'd be receiving her social security card in the mail regardless... And I probably wouldn't have had to fill one out had her birth record or whatever already been entered in the system. When I got to the window, it appeared that nothing had been processed. If it had, that proof of birth letter would have been enough for me to get her number and go. But no. The clerk asked for other proof of identification. She doesn't really have any!! I don't even have her birth certificate yet. The info I received from the hospital says to wait at least 4 weeks before requesting one. She's only 3 weeks! (And ain't it robbery that I have to pay 12 bucks for the damn document? That shit should be free for the first copy!)

Anyway, all I had by way of documents for Thevy were from the hospital - stuff regarding the care she received and the discharge paper. But the hospital had given her a generic first name: "Girl". Therefore, these records were inadequate cuz the SSA needed stuff with her actual given name! And I had nothing else with her name! So, I had to go down to her pediatricians' office and grab something. Even they had some of the same paperwork I had with the name "Girl". And the receptionist printed out the notes from Thevy's 2-week appointment and a statement saying what vaccine's she'd been given. But they didn't look all that "official". In fact, the notes almost looked like they were printed from someone's Outlook e-mail. I was afraid they wouldn't work when I went back to Social Security. But luckily, they did! (Even though the clerk did ask if the one sheet was from my e-mail, but I told him it was printed from the doctor's system.)

So, with all that hassle - getting Thevy fed and in her car seat and into the car (it's a bit of an inconvenience, especially since I drive a 2-door coupe :-/) ... to the SS office... trying to keep her pacified... running out to the car to change her stinky diaper... going back in to wait some more... hearing her fart/poop and thinking, "Man, I can't go run out and change her diaper. They're on number 38 and I've got 39", so I was hoping she wouldn't cry for having to sit in her soiled diaper... talking to the clerk to find I didn't have all the documents I needed... having to put Baby back in her car seat and into the car... driving to the pediatrician, walking to the building, taking the elevator up one floor, walking all the way down the hallway (carrying a car seat with my bag - it can be quite cumbersome!)... driving all the way back to Social Security... not finding the closest parking space... going back up in that stuffy room that has more people in it than when I left... then finally back to the clerk I spoke with earlier. I didn't have to grab a new number this time. I was allowed to go straight to the clerk's window as soon as those immigrants were done. (hehe).

But NOW... I gotta freakin' go back to that dreadful place tomorrow to get her number! Supposedly, Thevy's social security number will be generated overnight. What a huge pain in the butt, all this running around!

Congratulations!

2005-05-13T14:47:00.000-04:00

I have to congratulate my friend, Michelle, who also recently gave birth! And on MY birthday!! She had a little boy last weekend. All these multi-ethnic babies being born these days. If there's one good thing about globalization, that's it! :-)

How Sweet!

2005-05-12T00:14:00.000-04:00

Mak said something rather touching the other day:

He was holding Thevy and was soon to go to bed. I asked him if he was going to eat anything. He responded, "No, I'm full." I'm thinking, hunh? But you didn't even eat anything? Then he goes, "My heart's full." Aww!!

Day 7

Baby Girl is Gangsta!

Happy Birthday to Me...

2005-05-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

I'm now a quarter of a century old plus one. And little Thevy is 6-days-old today. You've got to see her; you'd fall right in love!

Anyway, I'm just takin' a break to check e-mail and thought I'd blog right quick.

Did you see the footage of the 83-year-old street vendor who was assaulted the other day in DC? OMG, I was so appalled that it brought tears to my eye. This heartless, cruel act calls for some poetic justice!

And what is up with the Bushes and their attending all these stupid Holocaust memorial events? (Yes, I called them "stupid".) I mean, shoot - if we're gonna remember an event that didn't happen on American soil, nor at the hands of Americans... we might as well pay homage to ALL the holocausts around the world: African-American, Cambodian, Palestinian, etc... Hmph.

First Name: Bob, Last Name: Weaddababy-eetsagirl

2005-05-06T18:24:00.000-04:00

My husband and I (for those who didn't know, yes, I'm married =P) welcome to our family a brand new addition: a little girl. Here are the basics -

DOB: May 1, 2005
Time: 1:37pm
Weight: 8lbs, 4oz
Length: 20in

Sheena, Jr.
a.k.a.
Thevy
(tay-VEE)

She's a real mini-me. :-) I can see myself, my sister, and my nephew when I look at her. But I think she has Mak's nose. That remains to be seen, of course. She was born with a nice head of hair. So far it's straight. I wonder if it'll get curly/wavy? Anyway, she's so cute; I have to keep her away from the grandmothers - especially my mother - for fear that she will be stolen and indoctrinated. :-/

Anyway, for those who attended the shower, I hope to send announcements out as soon as I can. (Pictures are also available via e-mail.)

Gross!

2005-04-29T07:35:00.000-04:00

Anybody hear about this piece of news: "Hungry crows may be behind exploding toads: More than 1,000 creatures have puffed up and popped"? What a gruesome sight it must be! *retch & heave* =P

What's goin' on with these bus crashes in the area? The tragic accident in Alexandria between the occupied school bus and the garbage truck? Then the school bus and the Metro bus in the District. Everyone was probably on their cell phones (even though it's against the law in DC)... :-/ I hate when people are all up on my tail when I drive. Sometimes they seem to continue to accelerate even though I'm hittin' my brakes and slowing down. Sometimes I see that they're on the phone while driving. And when people who tailgate finally realize they're following too close, I see that they must have really had to slam on the brakes cuz whatever they have hangin' from their rearview is shaking back and forth/side to side frantically. It's to the point where I think I'm driving more so through the mirror than through the windshield in front of me. It's cuz some months back, this one young driver rear-ended me and I saw it coming. I was on my way home from work and there was traffic, being rush hour and what not... I was slowing down, as were the cars in front of me, as we were approaching a red light. I looked in my rearview mirror to see that the girl behind me was not decelerating and then - CRUNCH! She hit me. Yes, "crunch". That's the sound I heard when she hit the bumper. Long story short, we pulled over, as did another vehicle who witnessed the accident, and so did a couple of firemen in one of their work SUVs. The lady who saw the accident asked me if I needed her to call the police and she also volunteered me her info in case I did decide to call the authorities. She said that the other driver was not paying attention. The firemen took a look at our vehicles. We couldn't really see any damage. My car was so dirty, I couldn't tell if there were any scratches. But it didn't appear to have any dents. The one firefighter said the sound I heard on impact was probably styrofoam that's inside the bumper. I had no idea they put that kinda stuff in bumpers. It just doesn't seem that... I dunno. Maybe I'm thinkin' there should be something a bit more "high-tech" or somethin'. :-P Anyhow, back to the accident - the girl was clearly affected by the whole thing, about to hyperventilate or something. Heh. She was so scared, talking about how she was in such trouble with her parents. Apparently, she had a brother or two with a not-so-great driving record, and so there would be issues with their insurance company. Finally, her father came to the scene and he was nice. I was upset, but I remained calm. I exchanged info with the girl, but never acted upon it. I told the girl that these sort of things happened. And since you can't really tell anything hit the car, I just left it at that. Of course, it bothered me, the whole incident. I was thinking - man, if only I had taken a different route home. Or, if only I had left work 15 minutes earlier. Stuff like that. Which reminded me of the movie Run Lola Run where the mere difference of a few seconds can affect entire outcomes in drastic ways. Check it out if you haven't already seen it. =)

5-Year-Old Arrested...

2005-04-28T16:10:00.000-04:00

I am so tired of hearing about this: 5-Year-Old Cuffed, Arrested in Florida! A Current Affair is driving me crazy with this story - morning and evening they seem to be talking about it. Not sure if they re-air or keep talking about it, but all I gots to say is, that bad-ass girl needs an azz whoopin'! :-P Did ya'll see the video? And did you see that stupid family attorney try to exaggerate the matter? He said the girl was "forcibly" arrested. That girl was "gently" handcuffed. And it was mainly 2 cops - not 3! That third one came in a little later. Some people are asking, why did it take that many cops to restrain a little girl. Hello! Think about it - if you alone were going to try to hold an unruly kid (though at the time they approached her she wasn't resisting, but they were prepared for an outburst), you know full and well you might not be able to do it single-handedly without using some elbow grease. I mean, if I were to hold a fightin' child back, I'd really have to use force cuz I only got two hands (and a foot to stick up her butt) and so you'd probably have to hold her wrists or arms firmly and then she could claim you hurt her and what not. So, I see the logic in using more than one cop to control that little miscreant. Did you see the way she was acting all up and out? Whether or not you think that calling the cops was unjustified, there still ain't no kinda excuse for that girl to be behaving that way! I can't imagine ever having done that when I was little. Why do kids no longer fear, respect, or obey authority figures with reasonable requests? I tell you - that no-good mother of that spawn of Satan ought to be arrested as well! On A Current Affair they showed the girl with her mom in NY taking a break from the hoopla of it all and wouldn't you know? The mother was showin' the girl how to walk and act all grown, hands on hips and what not. WTF? I wonder what parents be thinkin'... And the mother had the nerve to say it's the schools fault for not helping her cuz she's tried to have the child moved to another class or whatever. That's still no excuse for me for anybody to be actin' like that. That show was tryna make the little girl seem like she's really such a sweetheart. Even if she is "nice" most of the time, they don't have to move away from the fact that that child was out of control! And this child psychologist, who commended the teachers/adminstrators for dealing with that vile (hehe) child by maintaining an even tone when addressing her, he had the nerve to pull the race card, saying this wouldn't have happened to a white kid. To me, that's beside the point. It's just like how black men are most likely to get arrested and sent to jail for "minor" crimes compared with their white counter parts for the same crime - but the fact remains: you shouldn't have been committin' the crime in the first place! Just 'cause white people may get away with murder, doesn't excuse the act. Enough of this tirade. I just hope the case gets thrown out and that the school isn't held liable because a parent doesn't know how to raise her child.

Yay - I got one of my state income tax refunds in the mail today! It was a LOT more than my Federal refund and significantly more than my other state refund is supposed to be. I just don't get it... It was my first time doin' my own taxes. I used the TurboTax software for Federal and one of the states I resided in. And since I didn't wanna purchase another TurboTax program for the other state, I went to the state's website and filled out some crap there. I tell ya, it was a bit confusing! I went to bed quite late that night cuz, as you know, I'm a procrastinator, so you know I was finishing my sh!t up the night of April 14th. :-) I had started a few days earlier, but I quit cuz I started with the Federal joints, and when I came to the end to see how very little I would be gettin' back, I was HIGHLY upset cuz TurboTax calculated for me chump change! But anyway...

Got a pedicure yesterday. First time, too. I thought I'd treat myself this one time. But I don't think I'll be rushin' to get another one anytime soon. Overpriced. I thought I'd at least get a more thorough treatment. I mean, I thought they were gonna give my feet a good scrubbin', sloughin' off all the dead skin and what not! But it wasn't that intense. :-/ But I got my little piggies painted. =P

I'm hungry. That's all the update for now. =)

Baby's Heart...

2005-04-27T16:29:00.000-04:00

I had a doctor's appointment. Here is what her little heart sounds like:

She should be here any day now...

Lock your doors...

2005-04-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

Lock the doors - Martha's out! (Stewart, that is.)

I've been MIA for quite some time, I know. But I've just been quite busy. And when I wasn't, well, I was just lazy. :-P I wouldn't say this is a 'return' post, but rather an "I'm still alive" entry. I'm just checkin' back in, but I wouldn't even know where to begin with updating you all on the past year. Besides, my memory just doesn't serve me that well. So, anything I recall that has happened since last summer will be brought to you in piecemeal, if at all.

Okay, so what's the deal? Umm... I guess since I last blogged, I had moved from my parents' house to my own apartment in a rich county in another state that's out of my league. I just do not earn enough to make my home there, unfortunately. And I also hate the state. Or "commonwealth," rather. It just hasn't grown on me. Maybe if I could fit in the income bracket of the average household here, I wouldn't complain in the same way. Or maybe I would. The average household, apparently, makes about ninety thousand per year. I'm livin' paycheck to paycheck. Not cool! But hey - it's America! You live a lot better, holistically, I think, in other countries. Even third world. It just seems that the only way to live comfortably in this country requires you to earn mad loot. Not all of us are that lucky. Not all of us are interested in professions that bring you that kind of money. It's just not fair. So... once my lease is up, guess where I'm going? I'm moving back home. Ugh - I dread it! I'm doing it for financial reasons, not because I miss the 'rents. Heck, I almost would much rather struggle with money (maybe I can be eligible for public assistance at that time... >:)) than to put up with Mom and Dad.

So, by moving to another state, I decreased my commute time. It used to take me nearly an hour and a half door-to-door from my house to my job. And actually, when I moved, it still took me nearly that long! But our office was scheduled to relocated less than a couple months after I moved, and that cut my commute by about 30 minutes. That's good stuff. But it's a significant amount.

And my job. I hate it. I'm not doing anything I'm even remotely interested in and I just cannot excel. I feel stagnant. And more and more each day, I reluctlantly head to work. Business Process Reengineering. What in the hell? I don't have any interest in business. So I get thrown into this line of work with no motivation to learn it and no proper training to smoothly transition into it. So I lack the guidance I need to advance and I'm working in an area where I lack the initiative due to unfamiliarity with this field of work and my exposure to it thus far has yet to pique my interest. It's just not a happy place. People have already left. More people will leave soon because they're not happy. Don't get me wrong, it's a good company if you're the right fit in your field/specialty and you get along with the execs and all... But other than that, it suck @$$. Hmph. I got Robert a temp job there and he went beyond his temporary period - about double it. But then he had enough and put in his two weeks. Lucky him. I can't wait until I can do that. And I hope to do it sooner than later. Robert's take on the place was that it was too "cliquish - you're either in or your not."

So, that's a tiny update on at least one aspect of my life. That's enough for now. We'll see when I get back to you guys. Hope all is well. :)

In memoriam...

2005-04-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

Another great leader passes: Karol Józef Wojtyla, also known as Pope John Paul II. (1920-2005)

Yes, I've been MIA...

2004-06-24T15:51:00.000-04:00

It's been quite some time since I last blogged and a "real" blog, at that. I don't think I could even re-cap anything that's happened over the past two months. Mostly I can say that I work everyday and chill on the weekends.

On May 23, Jeannie, Tara, and I went to see a Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit. Toulouse-Lautrec did some posters for the original Moulin Rouge; lithographs. The exhibit also included some other lithographs by other artists and not all were Moulin Rouge-related.

The cicadas were still out then. They're gone now. I didn't even see them when they first came out cuz apparently, areas that have had a lot of work going on, like construction, didn't really have them. I heard them before I ever saw them and didn't know what the heck they were. It was an eerie sound. I likened it to a banshee. Hehe. I don't remember the cicada song from when I first encountered them back in '87. Yeah, I remember them then. And I also remember the shells they would leave behind on trees.

This time, the first cicada that I saw of the season was one smooshed on the sidewalk on my way to work. Actually, I think the first cicadas I saw were hardly identifiable to me, as they were a delicacy at this Laos barbeque I had attended. Blecch. No thanks. They were goin' outside pickin' them out of the bushes in their backyard. I don't care how good they are. I'll stick to my processed meat! But then again, I don't know what's in that either. But at least if they tell me it's chicken, I can pretend that it really is. :-P

The last movie I went to see was "The Day After Tomorrow". I had never seen or read previews, nor heard of the movie before I saw it. But it was good; I liked it. I guess it was sort of an action-suspense kinda film. But it had it's light moments and I enjoyed a few chuckles.

I've been spending many weekends with the boyfriend. We went to Blockbuster the last couple weekends. I wanted him to see "Run Lola Run" - a German film that explores the vast differences a few seconds can make and how a person's decisions will affect the larger outcome of certain events. I saw "Hannibal" and that was good. I never saw "Silence of the Lambs" or "Red Dragon" yet. I did read Red Dragon while I was in Jerusalem. Don't remember what exactly it was about, though...

Finally watched "Casablanca" cuz I wanna check out all the classics. It was an alright film. I liked it sorta, but then began to not like it for an underlying theme, which had to do with the Holocaust. Then it reminded me of how many of the major movie studios are owned by Jews and I started to feel like this movie was sort of propaganda, even if it really wasn't intended to be that way. (Hey - can anyone tell me why there are so many freakin' Holocaust memorials in the United States when the Holocaust didn't even happen on American soil, nor by American hands, and most of the people in the US probably don't have any relatives that suffered because of it? Why don't we have a memorial for the victims of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam since American soldiers caused that one?)

Anyway, there are some classic quotes in "Casablanca". One such one that often gets misquoted is "Play it, Sam". I hear it recited as "Play it again, Sam." And the closing line of the film, I can't remember exactly how it goes, but it's something like, "This looks like the start of a beautiful friendship." And then there was one quote I swear I heard in a song. I don't know what song, but it's the soundclip of Humphrey Bogart's character saying, "Where did you come from and what were you before? What did you do and what did you think?" And finally, "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, why'd she have to come in mine?" Hmm... I think I wanna go rent "Citizen Kane" next.

I also watched "Pi". It was a bit weird, but cool, as most independent films are to me. Speaking of independent films, there are a load of 'em I wanna see. Tomorrow night, a bunch of us plan to see Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11", as it opens nationwide. It won Best Picture at the Cannes Festival and discusses all this war business and criticizes the decisions and actions of the Bush administration. A co-worker of mine is supposed to lend me another of Mr. Moore's documentaries called "Bowling for Colombine", which discusses the problem of the gun issue in this 'great' country.

I also purchased to used movies at Blockbuster: "Big Fish" and "School of Rock." I already saw the latter when it was still in theaters and the former, I watched... But don't quite have an opinion on it. I think I need to watch it again to see if I can say whether or not I truly liked it.

Tara had moved into an apartment recently and I finally got to see her place. It's set up nicely. And we then watched "Moulin Rouge." I liked it.

Last weekend, a bunch of us: Tara, Taneka, Sherelene, and Sue, went to Cafe Tryst. All of us, except Sue, were in 7th grade classes together. Jeannie, unfortunately, couldn't find parking and went back home, but I met her in 7th grade as well. And the funny thing is that we ended up seeing another one of our classmates - from 7th grade there: Shemeka. It was such a coincidence! Anyway, we were there for drinks and convo. And that was it.

Hmm... I dunno what else I can try to recall. I think I'ma stop now and play Bejeweled with Tara. :) Bye!

AMJ, CAIR, and CNI Hold Press Conference to Condemn Israeli Massacre in Rafah

2004-05-24T17:59:00.000-04:00

AMJ, CAIR, and CNI Hold Press Conference to Condemn Israeli Massacre in Rafah
from AMJ
MAY 19, 2004

(Washington, DC) – American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ) joined the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Council for the National Interest (CNI) at a press conference this afternoon to offer reactions to Israel's week-long assault on the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip. The press event was held at CAIR's national headquarters on Capitol Hill.

AMJ communications director Raeed N. Tayeh blasted President Bush for his failure to condemn today's military assault on peaceful protesters, which resulted in the death of nearly two dozen Palestinians, many of whom were women and children, and the maiming of scores more. "When Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, are killed, the president condemns it, offers his condolences, and expresses his sympathies, but when innocent Palestinians are killed the president is silent," said Tayeh.

CAIR executive director Nihad Awad urged the Bush administration to support a UN Security Council resolution that is being drafted to condemn Israeli war crimes. "America's image in the Muslim world will never improve until we put forward foreign
policies that apply one standard of justice for all nations, not just for those that have a powerful domestic lobby," said a statement read in part by Awad.

CNI president and retired diplomat Eugene Byrd emphasized the need for Israel to leave the occupied territories, and warned of the serious consequences of our failed policies in the region.

AMJ is urging concerned Americans to contact their members of Congress to express their outrage at the lack of our government's condemnation of Israel's crimes. To view AMJ's latest Action Alert, visit www.amjerusalem.org.

It's finally starting to get hot out

2004-05-01T15:48:00.000-04:00

It's finally starting to get hot out. You know what that means. Yup - all you skanky girls are starting to wear much less! :) I dunno what it is about when the sun peeks out just a little bit, some females' clothes just fall off. :-P

I've got two more ethnicities to add to my list for when I wanna front. =) I was talkin' to this Salvordean worker that's been working in my building and in Spanish. Then he asks where I'm from. I know that when people ask, they usually are curious of my ethnic origins. But I just smile and say "from Maryland." So his first guess was actually Haitian. And when I said no to that, he guessed Panamanian.

And why do all these somewhat older men and workers wanna get with me? The Ethiopian parking attendant wants my number so we can go get some coffee or something to eat. He even wants to give me stuff and he let me know he was single. He was offering me material things, but I declined. But he gave me twenty bucks and I took that! :-X

And then there's the Salvadorean guy that makes my sandwiches at the deli. He asked for my number and I'm like, "Are you serious?" And he was. I dunno what it is about these men. Oh, and I've left out this detail - my supervisor (another foreigner) has crossed the line with me. Pretty much by saying inappropriate things. I'm talkin' sexual harassment. Apparently, he says I send signals. Something about my eyes. And that I may send signals and not even know it. I won't tell you some of the other things he's said or done. I'll just say that some people should know better. He's got a daughter almost my age. Anyway...

Tell me why my dog can now jump the fence? We have a six-foot or so "long fence". What is up with that? If he thinks he's been abandoned, that fool will hop right on over. My dad warned me the other day telling me that when I leave the house to let Rocco back in cuz he can jump the fence. I'm like, what? Nuh-unh. So I'm like, okay. Not too long before my dad told me this, when I was leaving with Tara, out front in the car, I look toward our backyard where you can see a part of the fence and saw Rocco's little head appear over the top. I'm like, oh, my gosh! But who knew he could actually scale it? Then yesterday, I put Rocco in the backyard and then go out to the front where Tara is in her car. We weren't even going anywhere at that very moment, but I heard some noise from the backyard. Eventually, my crazy mutt comes darting out of the depths. That's too bad. That may mean we're gonna start having to tie him up when we put him outside... He's a smart dog. Almost human. I swear he is...