Category: Personal

In Barcelona

2/8/2017

I have arrived in Barcelona. I apologize for my inconsistent posting. First things first. Everything is a lot smaller in Europe. You have to go to sooooo many stores in order to get everything you need. Currently, unsure about where to buy coat hangers, but Barcelona has an IKEA. I've had to use my broken Spanish to ask for a pregnancy tests, which was an experience (the translation essentially was "where is... pregnancy").

Skateboarding, along with bicycling (la bicicleta!) is very popular. It's also extremely hilly here. Think San Francisco.

I am NOT taking a Spanish course here, so I'm continuing my online coursework and continuing to hit my head against the wall trying to communicate. Barcelona is also in the Catalan region of Spain and has it's own distinct (but similar) language to Spanish. Saw the non-roommate today. He was late (two hours), we got lost (walked over five miles), and he mentioned that he drinks to "take the edge off" which he does not consider a "drinking problem".

I also watched The Wheel of Fortune (en Espanol) and can confidently say (in Spanish) La Ruletta De La Suerte! A rough translation says that it means "The Wheel of the Luck". Nothing is outrageously expensive here, although I'm having trouble finding a coffee pot. They have a lot of coffee presses and some coffee makers, but nothing like the ones we have at home. I'm thinking tea might be the way to go.

I currently have three 8:00 AM's, but no class Friday. AND, I desperately am in need of the family Netflix password. I can't watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills at the moment and I'm not handling it very well.

There are boutique stores everywhere and there is consistent fashionability everywhere we go. We (Americans) are certainly unattractive. The words of the mother in The Cinderella Story keep playing through my mind, "your not very pretty and your not very bright". Clothes are relatively cheap, so that's a plus. If I need to buy something a coat, pants, etc. I can certainly find something in a college student price range. I've already found a lace men's shirt for a 100 euros I need.

High Tea With My Mother

1/18/2017

I took my mother out with me for the day to the only place in our fine city where high tea is served. I decided since I will be having high tea in England, I needed some practice, a trial run through, so I don't make an ass out of myself.

I took my mother with me. We both got dressed up. I wore a collared shirt and some nice slacks and I believe with some squinting I came across as someone who knew what they were doing. The waiter had braces & the restaurant was beautiful

We were seated across from an older woman and her grand daughter and one woman was wearing white. After Labor Day!!! We were scandalized and tried to not be off put. The tea was good, the courses immaculate.

I may have missed putting the entire scone in my mouth, but there are worse things that can happen. I also missed the chicken salad croissant, but what can one do. If the waiter noticed he didn't say anything and that's all that matters. High tea is an experience. I loved it, I would do it again. Who KNEW it was filling?

Happy (?!) New Year's Eve!

1/4/2017

It's finally 2017, and while I don't have much hope that it will be better then 2016, but that didn't stop me from celebrating the closing of this year in style. I looked like a disco slut and somehow convinced myself that I looked good in the club's bathroom.

Going out dancing isn't really my thing. It's not something I do, but I considered what other reckless similarly minded people would be doing, and I thought clubbing was perfect. I hate that word unless it's being used ironically, but I went clubbing. Some exciting things happened. A drag queen told me she liked my pants and someone asked if they could touch me?

We danced. We sang. I stayed on my milk and cookies diet. I kissed someone at midnight, popped some balloons and found a dollar bill inside it.

The clubbing experience ended about 12:30 at night and ended with the five of us getting fro-yo, congratulating ourselves on how avante-garde we were. It was a night to remember even if it didn't involve an after-after party.

Emotionally Devastated

12/28/2016

Debbie Reynolds (center) with her daughter Carrie Fisher (right) and her granddaughter Billie Lourd (left)

2016 has been a trying year. In my personal life, 2016 has been relatively uneventful, you might go as far as to say it's been a personal triumph. The public sphere has not been so yielding. 2016 has relentlessly attacked and denegrated everything important and wonderful that has come to life. So many things have been taken from us and the unfilled void is harsh.

We lost our space mom this week and I've been emotionally devastated. It's not fair. No one lives forever, but some people should. I loved Carrie Fisher as an actress and a writer, but also as an advocate for women and mental health. She was truly amazing and I want to stop crying, but I'm heartbroken. Films and television have allowed us to have surrogate parents and Carrie Fisher was a surrogate mother for me. She was always there when I needed her.

I had a post written for today that was light and frothy, a standard I try to maintain on this forum, but when Debbie Reynolds similarly passed away, I couldn't post it. I grew up watching her movies, her films, and she occupied a spot in my heart that can't be replaced.

We should have never lost our space mom and it's not right that we had to lose both legends in the same year. 2016 has taken so much from us. I lost part of myself today. I know it will eventually be alright, but I can't help it. I'm devastated. I am completely torn apart. We lost people we should have never lost, people who just by existing were a bright a spot in this world, and I'm not sure how we're going to cope in 2017 without them. They will forever be in my, and I hope many others hearts.

Fleeing The Country

12/22/2016

Soon I will have memorized how to say “I'm a refugee from the United States” in Spanish. It is official. I am going to Spain for the semester. I am studying abroad. A dream, I've had since senior year of high school. I'll be in beautiful Barcelona for 5 months give or take.

The visa came in. It was a large packet stapled together with a note that said “your visa is attached”. Now I'm not sure, which one is my visa, but that won't stop me from bringing the entire packet for my connecting flight to Chicago to Paris to Barcelona (all in 17 hours). It made my awful visit to Houston. Worth it

I'll be leaving in February. I'm not sure how or if this will effect my posting schedule, put I will keep the blog updated in some shape until my return at the end of June

I HAte Texas!

12/15/2016

A recent trip I took to Houston could be described as “click bait”. If something bad happened, it did. There was not much that didn't occur. There were emotional breakdowns (crying, phone calls to mothers) lost (stolen?) credit cards, spicy coffee, and good water pressure.

My reason for a trip to Houston during the school year was in order to obtain my student visa. I will be fleeing the country and spending 5 months in sunny Barcelona (assuming the visa actually pulls through). The Spanish consulate assists that you apply in person, hence the visit to Houston, Texas. It is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Texas and they do have a revolving restaurant, so who am I to question that assertion.

Me and my partner took a Greyhound bus in an effort to shave $200 from our trip cost. It was one of the worst decisions of my life. There was the crystal meth head passenger who not only had burn marks on his face but also placed an order for the “crystal” on his cellular device. At one point he was convinced we stole his seat. It was a joy that culminated in us missing our connecting bus in Dallas.

It's 4:30 in the morning and we make the decision to go to the McDonald's across the street instead of waiting in the bus terminal for 3 hours. A smart plan. A wise plan. There were four teenagers hanging out in line for no reason?? They don't serve french fries at 4:00 in the morning? A big W.T.F. The hot chocolate machine was broken. The black coffee tasted burnt??? It was the twilight zone. We made this gif????

This should have been the low point of the trip. We arrive in Houston, three hours late. The way we had everything planned out, everything was in walking distance. Needless to say a ½ mile in the pouring rain is a a ½ mile too long. This adventure involved wheeling luggage over rushing streams, drinking spicy coffee from a freakishly quiet coffee house, and seeing the Menil collection who's beauty was tained by the oppressive snobbery (a trademark of the metropolitan Houston area).

There were high points. Take our boutique lodging, Hotel Derek. We had a cow print wall across the street, solid water pressure from the shower head, a comfortable bed, and a photo shoot aesthetic.

We had dinner at a pricey (but worthwile) Tapas bar. The actual visa was an EXPERIENCE. It was a continuation of our protracted day. The three hour process involved a 1.1 mile walk to Walgreens, tears, and complications, but we emerged victorious.

Houston, Texas is a city I never want to return to. Flight layovers will be avoided The only thing that city ever did right was house the birthplace of Beyonce. And, yes they have a Neiman Marcus, but it takes more then that to truly make a city great.

Black Friday Shopping

12/7/2016

Black Friday is a holiday event I usually avoid. And, despite one of my classmate's assertions, it does not have it's origins in “slavery”. Black Friday has always been that busy, jam packed sensation, that's never seemed worth the effort. Until, I became a cash strapped college student.

I took the twins out the day after Thanksgiving. A day that consisted of Chex Mix and Gilmore Girls rerurns. I had a clutch to buy for my mother. I paid for most of it in spare change and in the words of the salesclerk “this would be annoying, if we didn't need it.” Shop local everyone. They appreciate your change.

For myself I bought a pair of hexagonal white sunglasses that I mistakenly refer to as my octagonal sunglasses, because I failed geometry. I took the twins with me for moral support and to take aesthetic pictures and (quite brilliantly) on my part, for them to point out things they liked.

“I love this!” and “isn't this great?” were all comments that signaled “THIS IS WHAT I'M GETTING YOU FOR CHRISTMAS.” You don't need to be creative when purchasing gifts, just take your friends and family out and have them point out what they like. It takes a lot of the guess work out of it. And, if you do it on Black Friday you might get 40% off.

Blown Away

11/30/2016

I recently got to see Carrie Underwood, live and in flesh, coming out of the stage on a jukebox, screaming at the top of her lungs, “HE WAS A COWBOY CASANOVA LEANING UP AGAINST THE RECORD MACHINEEEEEEE”

It was one of the best moments of my life. I was beside my mother. Carrie Underwood is her favorite artist and I would be lying if I can't get down to any one of her songs. Album only track “Quitter” from Play On is my personal favorite.

A picture of me (right) and the mother (left) with the prominent placement of a stranger (middle) all in the midst of pulsating strobe lights.

We did a concert the right way. I had on my red velvet. My mother her fringe cowboy boots, my father refuses to acknowledge as actual “boots”. We got Italian. Spent too much money. We got their early, got gorged on the cost of drinks. $8.50 for Pepsi and I don't even get free refills? God is going to get these capitalists in hell, I promise.

My mother was underwhelmed by the Swonn Brothers and was more impressed by Easton Corbin. I couldn't tell the flannel white boys apart.

Would I recommend seeing Carrie Underwood? You get live vocals. She walks around the stage. There are props. Sure, she's not whirling around in a harness like P!nk, but this was some Shania Twain quality production and that's something you just can't get everyday for the low, low price of $71, plus shipping and handling fees.

Politics As Usual

11/23/2016

November 8th was a surprise to global markets and to some extent the American public who consistently dismissed the platform that our 45th president stands for. I cast my ballot and I have no regret saying that I voted for Hilary Clinton, the woman who should have been the first to break that impenetrable glass ceiling the United States has constructed.

The one regret I do have is how I made an effort, consciously or unconsciously, to make my blog apolitical. I never made my position on these issues clear, although they could probably be discerned by the overwhelming coverage of the pop culture entities who supported HRC to the bitter end. I just want to make it clear that this will change. Never again will I be afraid to say or discuss these “controversial” issues that are relegated to coverage on CNN. When, our future president tries to enact human rights violations, tries to overturn progress, I will be making my voice heard.

Votes for Trump were one of two things: blissfully ignorant of his true intentions or a knowing disregard for the safety of minority groups. The later is inexcusable and I will never forgive you this over sight. A vote for Trump was a vote for hatred. A vote for intolerance. A vote for discrimination. A vote for racism. A vote for misogyny. A vote for white supremacy. Your vote made it clear. You found a man with no political experience, more worthy then a woman who has spent her life in politics. You told Hilary Clinton, and every girl in this country, no matter how hard you try, no matter how prepared you are, an unqualified white man will always be a better then you. How dare you.

We will have four years of a Trump presidency and the United States will for better or worse have to weather this. The only thing that gives me solace is that Hilary won the popular vote. Hatred is not what this country as a whole is striving for, but it is still a platform that with no polish was able to win the hearts of the electoral college.

God bless America.

Musings On A Serpentine Belt

11/16/2016

I bought a serpentine belt. People said to me, “do you even know what that is?” The answer is no, but I know I needed one. Apparently there were hairline cracks in mine and from what I can tell a serpentine belt is not a fashion accessory.

I spent last Sunday as everyone who has a free Sunday does- with my father. He took me to Auto Zone and by he, I mean me. I drove him and it was a wonderful bonding moment of constant criticism, “you took that turn to wide” , “you hit the brake too hard” , “your not going fast enough”. Like okay, I hear you, but did you die?

Needless to say I did get my serpentine belt and I did not die. I even got to watch my father put it on. I stood there and handed him the wrench. Despite the number of times I've “helped” my father fix the cars the only thing I really know how to do is switch the tires. Which, I like to call, one thing more then nothing.