The Family Biz & Why I Can't Take Over

Ok- The family Biz....we run a circus.
My father is the lion tamer slash flying trapeze artist.
My mother sticks her head into lions' mouths and jumps through fire hoops.
And my siblings do various tricks such as walk tight ropes and wrestle with tigers while wearing skirts made of uncooked steaks.
We really are a talented bunch.

April fools, bitches!!! Ok so I'm a little early. (Just by a few hours.)
No, so really, my mother has owned a hair salon ever since I was 5.
I was always there as a child, so I know how to remove curlers, style hair, wash hair, all the basic things...but I never did get a knack for hair cutting or any other detailed bodily hair removal.

So today, my mom had some clients come to the house to get their eyebrows done. It was a mom and her 2 teen-aged daughters, one of which is going to have her cotillion on Saturday.
My mom suddenly tells me that she feels sick and insists that I go downstairs to finish the eyebrow waxing task. Hmmm....I can barely do my own properly.
"Mom," I say "I don't really think that's a good idea. I don't know how to do it." I was scared bc I don't really have a steady hand and the poor girl would probably end up with no right eyebrow. My mother simply responded: "Yes you do." The tone in her voice suggested that I suck it up and just do it since I've seen her do it several thousand times. I decided to do just that...I was gonna pull a Nike on their asses.

So I walk downstairs...the whole way thinking..."I sure hope they can't tell that I don't know what the hell I'm doing." Luckily, they were outrageously nice, & while yes, the mother did keep a sharp eye on my unsteady hands, she did not make me any more nervous than I was making myself. I was there to save my mom's ass; although, secretly, I was wishing that she would come down & save mine bc I think I f-d up the girl's eyebrow. (my mom had already waxed one.) Sure enough, my mother the soldier came downstairs & saved the day. Two asses saved in one night. The eyebrows looked nice from far away! That's all that matters.

Family is great like that. You can always count on someone to come and save your ass.
I cooked some dinner for my parents, and it was damn good by the way. Stir-fry chicken with a citrus dressing and a side of broccoli. They liked it.

I wrote my sister an e-mail @ work the other day & I was pissed to find that they now have e-mail filters. She did not receive my e-mail right away because I used the word "shit" in there. The sentence looked odd because it read: "I cleaned out my closet and there's a lot of (insert the evil swear here) that I needlessly keep." I added the little phrase there, but seriously, they went in and edited my friggin email. Well bitches, this was a free country last time I checked. This is the country that my people swam across the Rio Grande to be in (although the bottom half of this country was rightfully theirs to begin with, but that's another blog entry,) this is the country that fish-eyed fools from all over the world flee to bc we supposedly have to right to do whatever the fuck we want, including typing the word "shit" to our sisters in e-mails.
Guess not. When you sit and think about it, shit is being taken away from us little by little. Shit like...oh I don't know...the right to use the word shit, or flash a boob during the superbowl half-time (lol...jk, but really, it's just a boob. It's not unlikely that 10 year-olds are having sex or shooting each other these days, quit fretting about a stupid boob.) If I had a kid & my kid saw the boob, I'd be like "look man, it's a part of the female anatomy. God made us like that and it's nothing to be ashamed or afraid of, it's only a breast. Men have them too, only they're flat. "
Bam. Any questions, answer them honestly. Who better to learn from than your own parents?

Ok...so much talk about fake circuses, filtered e-mails, and boobs has me worn out.
Buona Notte, bitches...and Happy April.
Hugs and prayers to my buddy Anna and her family and to the family of Terri Shiavo.

QOTD
"My butt bone hurts." -Julian-

It Sure As Hell Is SPRING!!!

Yessir, it sure as hell is spring. White people are rightfully wearing shorts and flip-flops, hoochies are wearing tiny clothes, and the bums seem happier.

Another sign of spring: random pregnancies and random romances.
Apparently, my breadstick friend is seeing a girl that works w/ us...it's an unlikely match, but more power to 'em!

My fantastic, amazing, hilaaaaarious friend Angelica is PREGNANT with Pointy's baby!
Check this: Pointy (who's name is Christophe) is straight up French, accent and all.
I have made the generalization (as faithful readers know I like to do) that French people often have pointy facial features, hence the nickname Pointy for Christophe. Angelica (or, Scangelina as I like to call her) looks like Dora the Explorer!
That baby will be half Pointy/half Dora. A french beaner, ladies and gentlemen...tell me that ain't something. I'm retardedly excited and I can't wait to spoil the crap out of little french-fry burrito.

I heard a random guy on the train criticize the actual train itself. He said it was raggety & that it costs 4 mill to produce just TWO train cars/cabins!!!! Do you think that's true? He was talking to another random guy on the other side of the train which is why I clearly heard what they were saying. But people can be funny/informative when they're not being annoying.

Julian & I were discussing how rare it was that we saw each other as much as we did last weekend. Our relationship is fairly new- I guess I never really did announce it here. That's bc it did actually just happen. Here's a little background info: he did not come out of nowhere.
We have been friends for about a year. We used to work with each other, so we know a lot of the same people. I guess we're still adjusting to being a couple. It's totally different from being friends- and you don't see that until you're in it. We've been dating for about a month now, just taking it day by day.

I am tempted to ditch the research I have to do for next week and go outside and play. It is straight up 71 degrees in Chicago today and I am in Damen Hall in the psychology lab. I should be outside by the lake (my campus sits on the lake) eating a sandwich, wearing a knee-length flowy skirt and a cute cardigan, and discussing the dialogues of Plato or making fun of passers-by with Lilly or Liz or Anna. They're good at making fun of people with me, which is one reason why I love them so much!!

The lake looks blue and sparkly ("like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket") from up here on the 6th floor & it doesn't have that dirty green hue it usually has in the winter. That green is depressing.

Well, I'm stuck @ school until 9:30 bc I have a night class tonight. No fun. You know what is fun?!!?

QOTD!!!!!

"It was a group interview full of foreigners and retards."
-Juan commenting on an interview he had at Mt. Sinai

"Ah...nothing safer than a set of boobs." -Juan-

"Nen, I came up with a pick-up line for you! 'Hi, I'm Dora & I'd like to explore you.'"
-Lilly (She thinks I can pass for Dora.)

RACING THE SUN HOME

Friday night:
Damien's band, BARKORD played at North Beach & was absolutely fantastic, and I'm not just saying that because I love Damien so much, really, they're damn good. I got in a few dances with Kate, Jacob, Lilly, Eric, and Julian. I had never seen Julian dance, and I am pleased with the outcome. We were all starving by the time Barkord was done playing and we went to Denny's where Eric made random friends with the peeps one table over. We ended up at Edens till close, just like we had done Thursday night. (except Julian and I were not doing so well that night, so it kinda sucked.)

Saturday night:
My new manager Diana is saintly for having let me get out of work at a decent hour and I came home to change for a party that Julian's friend was having. I was not expecting anything spectacular given that it was a kegger, but boy was I bummed to find that it was worse than I expected. My only consolation was that I had Kate, Michelle, Eric, (Lilly later,) and my boyfriend there. We took it upon ourselves to change the music and Kate danced her heart away to TuPac! We decided to take off right after Lilly somehow Forrest Gumped her way through 2 tolls without ANY money and got there; we went to Edens till close...again. We saw many OG people there and it was actually a very enjoyable night. Of course, our fat asses had to stop at Denny's for food again because that's what normal people do at 4 a.m. right? We stayed till about 5 and apparently I fell asleep while waiting for the food- Julian's shoulder is beefy and makes for a spectacular make-shift pillow. His behavior has been fantastic lately, affectionate, attentive, and caring, just what I wanted; although the party sucked, I had a good time.

Easter was o.k. except for the part where I had to work. Of course I crashed soon after I got home and did not wake up for night 4 of dancing and drinking (although I did not really drink this weekend) at Bamboo Room. I slept until 11 this morning and I loved EVERY moment.

Lessons learned over the weekend:
1. It's ok to lose sleep because you partied too hard over your long weekend as long as you had a kick-ass time.
(make sure it's worth 3 hours of sleep bc u work at 10:30 the next morning.)
2. It's good to resolve problems with someone you care about.
3. It's good to surround yourself with people that like to dance.
4. It's good to get home unnoticed.
5. It's good to race the sun home and win.
6. Mix your separate groups of pals bc they'll prob like each other.
7. appetizer samplers at denny's suck at 4 a.m. but the buffalo chicken strips never do you wrong.
8. you will fall asleep on a shoulder at almost 5 am if someone is playing with your hair- no matter where you are.
9. When your parents ask what time you got in, simply reply "early." Technically, you're not lying.
10. Fun like that is sure to cure any frown, if at least for a little while (love ya, Sillian.)

QOTD
"So I'm covered in pancake grease and I have a finger condom...what's wrong with that?" -Eric (aka RICKY THE BARTENDER!) @ Denny's

"I will chase a cow down and bite him on the ass."
-Eric responding to a comment I made on how much he eats. If I cared for accuracy, I'd say he'd bite her on the ass, but I'm just the messenger, folks.

Me: Oh man, did you hear that Dave? It was sooo funny!
Tall Dave: Yeah, but you laugh at anything, though. You're just a big 'ol laugh whore.
**boy has me pegged, I am easily amused & laugh at alot of things, given that they are delivered properly.**

SINGING & DANCING TO THE SONGS ON THE RADIO- IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO GO.

It just miiiiiight be possible that this week takes the prize for "week with the most bullshit!"
It was ridden with so much bull that the only way to remedy feeling like crap was to sing and dance to upbeat songs and not give a rat's pink ass who observes you. I'd like to take this moment to thank Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, and Beyonce for music that induces stress relief via upbeat tempos. Their music definitely made Thursday night waaaaay better for Lilly and I.

The journey began when Lilly & I were filled up to the brim with the antics of certain young men. We went to Hamilton's, the official Loyola student bar where we were appropriately forewarned (right outside the door) by a random guy: "there's some sorry ass guys in there waiting for you!" Little did the random street prophet know that we were going to Hamilton's to dance and forget about sorry ass guys for the evening.

We danced our faces off and then sat there watching Caucasian people dance and deduced that certain males should not be let on the floor (especially if they are dancing alone) and that most Caucasian females are lesbians on the dance floor (Ladies, you don't need to be all up on each other to get noticed, unless you're aiming to attract horn-dog pervs.) Who knows, could just be the Loyola crowd; Nevertheless, it made for a damn good laugh. I'm not a racist, I have White friends. LOL....I love when people say that. Honestly speaking though, I do love me some white people, there are white people in my family, so if you take offense at my writing, don't freekin read it.

We took off to Casey Moran's in Wrigleyville when they started to play Cotton Eye Joe at Hamilton's. We met up with my very drunk friend, Lizzle-cake who assured me that I was her favorite Mexican, and Lilly that she was her favorite Assyrian.

Later that night, I inevitably had to deal with the aforementioned problem causing boy. He was in some sorry condition over me being so upset at him. I felt no sympathy and it showed. And what did I learn? No need to cry over someone, no matter how much you care about them- laugh instead, and right after that, hang out with your favorite people and dance!

Dance, dance, dance and sing and laugh at other people bc they're probably laughing at you and you must even the balances.

Tonight, we are going out again hoping to top the fantastic events of last night.

QOTD
"Hey look, it's Barry Manilow! Are you a fanilow?" -Lilly after catching a glimpse of Mr. Manilow at a restaurant we were at

"I don't do anything else...but I'm a makeout whore! Yeah, I own it!! Word!" -Ms. Boozie McScheller at Casey Moran's

"Jen, he's a child..all of them are. Ya gotta plant your heel and keep it firm- like- 'don't touch the t.v. bitch' (smack) 'bitch, don't touch the socket!' (smack)" -Jessie on disciplining the boyfriend

ME: Yeah I had a lot of fun last night, but I lost an earring :(
SANDY: You should've lost your damn boyfriend, that's what you should've lost!

Karma's A Bitch & Liz & I Are ALWAYS MAD!!

"I don't know what to say about it, when all your ears are turned away. But now's the time to look & look again at what you see. Is that the way it ought to stay?" Led Zeppelin "That's the Way"

Living & learning can be a swift kick in the ass sometimes, man. Something I always used to do to my ex-boyfriend (who was also my closest friend in the universe) has come back to bite me on the posterior.

Whenever he'd bring something up to me that I had done that hurt him, I'd always respond with "you're overreacting, it was nothing, and you're looking into it waaaay more than you should be." I know he reads the blog sometimes, and I won't say his name or anything, but this is my public apology.
It was done to me, and for someone to not even attempt to consider your feelings and that maybe their careless behavior did hurt you is fully disheartening. I'm sorry a million times, and thank you for having the patience and love to deal with that.

Funny how the varying experiences you have with different people shape, or reshape (in this instance) your character and your social skills.
Dating is a gamble these days with very few people that will actually merit your 100% all.

Sometimes it takes that walking away- not to figure out what you want in another person- but to figure out what someone else would want in you. In other words, sometimes a little self-modification is called for. You can't please everyone, but there's someone out there for everyone, & I think sometimes life just likes to train you to be ready for them, no matter how long it takes.

Someone on the planet is ready to love someone else just the way they should be.
Selfishness and inconsiderateness can definitely block the shit out of this training/development...and it's so sad when people miss that train. You can't win em all...some things and some people are just what they are and one should always believe them the first time around.

Love should never be as complicated as people make it these days. Love should always make you feel like you're at home.
When I'm home, I can be a mess, my hair not combed, my room a disaster, my pajamas not matching, drool on my face, whatever- but I know I will never be judjed and I know I will consistently be loved by the people in my home.
Love is not always a walk through the park, but if it is anything, it is consistent, and it thrives on truth and respect.
THE END.

QOTD
"Stupid cheap ass Easter!" -Lilly's boyfriend David commenting on the miniscule size of an easter snickers bar.

"I have turqouise pants, word to your mother." Lizzle

Many Skanks, Many Minis

The arrival of springtime in Chicago is always pretty damn illusive. Actually, I don't really think we get a spring. There is no in-between with the seasons here. It's either cold or it's hot.
And personally, I'm ready for the hot.
You can tell the hot is nearing when the skanks start wearing fewer clothes. This weekend at work, my coworkers and I were commenting on the number of miniskirts that entered the restaurant. Many skanks, many minis.

Tonight I'm gonna go watch Julian bowl (the nerd is on a league.) I am never really able to go watch him since my social life is non-existant during the school year, but some classes are cancelled this week, so I get to go. He seems pretty excited about it. I always miss out on the "during the week" fun that my pals have because I'm doing schoolwork and I always have to hear about it on the weekend. Not tonight, folks. I'm rebelling and I am going out on a Monday, watch out world!

Anyway, I am waiting for Carmen's to open up because I have this relentless taste for a pepperoni/pineapple pizza that I will soothe momentarily. I like being alone sometimes because I seem to think more intensely, and I like that. These days, the things I think about are hard to stomach, so I usually think about them minimally; but sometimes, you have to think things through for them to make any sense at all.

My sister and her kids slept over last night and my sister told me that she has yet another tumor that will most likely be removed via chemotherapy in the summer. My friend Anna told me that her little nephew has relapsed in his struggle against cancer. My niece Haley will have to have open heart surgery this summer. Readers, please keep these three VERY special people and the people that love them in your prayers.
More later. Happy spring! (wherever it is.)

Happy Birthday Fabiola

Ok, I've been remiss here on the blog, but its been a hell of a weekend.
The weekend pretty much started on Thursday, St. Patty's Day.
I worked that night, and it was sloooow as hell because let's face it, people would rather be drinking green beer than eating poser, artificial italian food at the OG.

After work, my coworker Brad and I had breakfast at Omega in Downer's Grove. Horrible food. Nonetheless, Brad helped me finish up the ham. We were joined by tall Dave (the breadstick in the hunger force...I'll tell you about the Hunger Force momentarily), Megbo, and her little friend.

With the exception of Brad, who thought doing laundry at BubbleLand would be more fun than being with us, we all wound up at Susy's house to celebrate her happy birthday. Thus began my fun. (If I were speaking, you would detect the sarcasm in that last statement.)

When I got there, Julian had already guzzled about 12 beers because he was in a drinking contest with Susy's sister. He never really drinks to the point of inebriation, so you can imagine what I had to deal with. He plopped down on Susy's bed and refused to get off of it. I pretty much had to pull him off and cary him to the car. lol, well not really carry him, but you can pretty much picture the scenario.

Friday, I woke my ass up at 6am after dealing with getting a very unusually drunk Julian home at around 3 am, and I went to class. HA! Not very fun or easy! I kicked myself in the face (I'm talented like that) for picking up a morning shift at work....groggily I dragged myself to work. Much to my surprise, it was a pretty decent day! During our break, coworkers Jessie, Allison, Trish, and I went to Houlihans for lunch and to get hammered before we had to be back at work! But the fun did not end there; our restaurant is located RIGHT next to North Beach bar and dance club....BWAHAHAHA! More drinks!! Couple of shots later, it's back to work...I was the cocktailer that night and boy was work damn fun!! I should drink before my shifts more often.

That night, Fivos, Roxie, Julian, and I went to James Joyce and to Edens where I played darts for the first time. We kicked butt, and Fivos and Roxie cried.

OK- THE HUNGER FORCE- Starring:
Meghan Keating (aka Hans) as The Salad.
Jen Mendez as The Soup.
Dave R.<---forgot his last name (aka Wolffie) as The Breadstick

Yes, this is what working at the Olive Garden has reduced our imaginations to. We have nightmares about soups, salads, and breadsticks, and NO, we do not enjoy serving them, nor do we think your order is "easy" as you seem to think. You are not doing us any favors by ordering things that are as refillable as the soup, salad, and breadsticks.
I hate you if you've ever ordered soup, salad,breadsticks, and WATER from me. Ya cheap jerks, get some real food next time.

Well that's about it from me....the quote of the day is not glamorous, but it will do.

QOTD
"awwww you want me to call a waaaahmbulance?!" -Jessie to someone that was needlessly bitching about something.

Numb Ass

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. I totally had Lucky Charms for breakfast in the name of my Irish friends, namely: Megbo, Lizzle-cake, and tall Dave (or Wolffie as he likes to be called.)
I just had a memory of my sister Sandy.
On a kinda long flight last year, she randomly turned to me and my brother and declared: "My ass is numb."
I couldn't contain myself when I said: "NUMB ASS!" (sounding quite a bit like dumb ass, but not really.) That's one of my favorite Sandy stories. I have stories about all of my siblings. All 7 of them.
Lilly calls my family MENDEZISTAN. I like the implication that we have our own little country.

Dude, I love me some bake sales, and it's rare that I walk past one without purchasing something.
But honestly, lately EVERYONE wants to have a bake sale.
So, I am forbidding ALL clubs and organizations at Loyola from having any more bake sales. They have to get minds of their own.
The only exception will be the nursing students who can bake like no other. Keep up the good work future nurses. Speaking of which, I saw a male nurse action figure the other day. For no apparent reason, (other than its "hilariom," I wanted to buy it so bad.

I had an incident yesterday. Ever been talking crap about someone and not realized that they just might be within earshot?!
Yeah my dumb ass was saying something about this once chick from one of my classes. Luckily, it wasn't toooo bad, I just called her a creep. But still, even though I don't really care for her, I would not want to blatantly hurt her feelings. And you know that feeling you get when you think that person might have heard you or may find out that you were talking smack? Man I hate that feeling, it sucks! That's why Lilly tells me to look around before I talk crap. She is certain that one of these days I will get beat up because I have a penchant for stating my opinions without making sure that I'm not offending anyone (anyone that can hear me anyway.)

Sure, it sucks to offend people. But is it me, or is everyone like suuuuuper sensitive these days? Everything hurts everyone's feelings, man. If it comes to the point where I do have to censor myself, I will take comfort in the fact that the blog will be a safe haven for talking crap.

How do you people feel about Slim Jims or beef jerky in general?
I love it. I don't care what people say. Julian says it disgusts him and I think he's a mutant for that.
I sure do hope the rest of the people I love like Slim Jims.
My sister Jessi does, and that's why we're sisters. Mmmmm slim jims.

(side note: dre is missing and I miss my friend. meow if you read this, let me know you're alive. fabulous, thanks. meow.) "Do I look like a cat you you, son?!"

Technically, this is the blog for the goings-on of yesterday because I fell asleep last night like a tired ass.

QOTD
(Lilly and I had just gotten into her car, and she reached behind and pulled out a bag from the Chippendales show she attended in Vegas)
Me: What's in there?
Lilly (without missing a beat): Man-juice.

Chocolate Chip Waffles & A Bacon Burger

How could I not be happy eating a bacon burger with fries and stealing a few bites of David's chocolate chip waffles?
I'm a happy girl as long as there is food in front of my face.
Food and sleep are some of my favorite things. As well as hugs, laughing, short lines, finding a good parking spot, full moons, Lemonheads, Gummi Bears, dancing, and kissing.

Anyway, if you've read the blog b4 you know David is a dear, dear friend I have had since I was about 5. We get along like family. Love the kid to death.

There we sat at Cozy Corner for 3 hours just yakking about being dreamers and how we don't quite fit into this world because of that.
He says he wants to save the world, stressing the importance of wearing his "save the world windbreaker" while he does so.

I discovered a new Bonnie Raitt song today called "Love Me Like A Man." It's phenomenal and it's bluesy as hell and it will definitely be the next song I perform at Borders. She croons:
"I've never seen such losers.
Don't think I haven't tried...
I want a man to take me home instead of ALWAYS for a riiide!
I want a lover I won't have to work to understand.
Don't put yourself above me baby...Love me like a man."

The woman can sing. End of story. Do yourself a favor and check this song out.

Julian and I went to a restaurant called Redstone the other night. The place was chic, the staff was friendly, but I was kinda disappointed in the menu. So much so, that I ordered a salad. For those of you who know me, I don't do salads. I am a flat-out carnivore. I think animals are delicious. LOL. Sorry had to throw that in to piss off the vegetarians. (Why are vegetarians always so sensitive anyway? They take offense to EVERYTHING.) Hello, my name is Jenny and I love to make generalizations. Anyway, the salad was great, but they definitely need to make additions to their menu. Julian was not crazy about his meal, but he ate it anyway in the name of the starving children in Africa.

Why do people always pick Africa when using the "starving children in..." expression? Why don't they say Chile, or Alabama?

Anyway, I'm tired as hell and I have homework to finish. I'll hook ya'll up with your QOTDs.

QOTD
"They let a MEXICAN on AMERICAN Airlines?! What, did you pay them in burritos?!" -Liz commenting on my flight on American Airlines

"Pajamas, Nen. They're great. You know when you wake up on Saturday morning at like 10 a.m. then you go downstairs, and sit down on the couch, fart a couple of times...that's the shit, Nen." -David commenting on a perfect Saturday morning.

I think I'm a Led Zeppelin Fan Now

Dude, Led Zeppelin is pretty awesome. Anyone ever hear "That's the Way?" Good stuff man.

Now that I have taken a sort of vacation from "normal," I've come back home to things that are unchanged.
Today was such an irritating day. I almost cried in class because for the first time, I had NO clue what the hell was going on there. I usually have a decent idea, but today I was all forrest gump about it. Luckily, Candace and Darek were there to make me laugh.

I got several phone calls today. You guys seem to like to call me while I am in class. Anyway, the voice mails you guys send are fantastic.
Liz's messages almost always start with the sweet greeting: "HEY ASSHOLE!"
Kate's messages always involve her telling me that I am her invisible friend because she always gets my voicemail. Then she calls me a weasel, tells me that she hates me, then quickly takes it back and tells me she loves me. (I wuv ya too cake!)
My brother always leaves me some stupid messages that go a little something like this: "JEN, call me back. JEN, call me back. JEN,you smell. JEN, call me back."
The rest are too vile to mention.

Two of my cousins and several friends are all getting or have gotten married these days.
I'm in no hurry to get married AT ALL.
But I've concluded that when I do get married, I have to marry someone that can match me in affection (which is probably why I will never get married bc I am never fully satisfied.) This is not a random notion, there's a reason why this crossed my mind, but I won't get into that.

However, let it be known that I am an affection ADDICT.
I love to be hugged and kissed and cuddled. I love to be told that I am loved and I love to know that someone is thinking about me. And you know, a simple phone call (even if it lasts 2 minutes) can tell a person that you are thinking about them.
(Lilly and I had a conversation about this today.)
I mean, I am pretty bad about the phone myself.
But to be honest with you, I hate talking on the phone unless I know that something of significance will be talked about.
There's nothing more annoying than being on the phone with a jack ass that has nothing to say, or worse, a jack ass that has jack ass things to say.
But anyway, I digress.
Point is, I'm romantic like no one else is and I have a bone to pick with our Creator bc of that.

Man- screw it, I'm tired of being a sappy moron with the stupid rose-colored glasses. I'm gonna take those glasses off because they always disappoint me and I probably look like a dumb-ass wearing them. lol...all metaphorical about it. But if you're reading this, I'm sure you're smart enough to have caught that.

Well, without further delay, here are the QOTDs
QOTD
"You could try occasionally returning a phone call you taco chompin' mother fucker!" -Liz (love that girl.)

"That way you can get home and do the 'as soon as you get home stuff '- you know, eat, take a dump, whatever." -David O.(we were deciding on a time to get together)

Mama I'm Comin' Home

My cousin Diana is getting married today.
That girl is one of a kind and I am convinced that she is going straight to heaven, no question.
I wish Di the best and I genuinely hope that her new married life is full of love, grace, understanding, and respect.
My 16 year old sister Jess is livin it up back in Chicago right now because no one is in town except her and my dad.
Don't worry Jessi, I'll be home tmrw to ruin all of your fun.

Can anyone tell me why the hell I woke up at 7:30 a.m. today?!
Sure- time difference- blablabla. I've been here a week, my body shoulda adjusted already. Stupid non-adjusting body.

Last night I tried a shot called a chocolate cake. The bartender made one for this nasty dirty old man and had some left over. She came over and poured the rest in a shot glass for me. Vodka and Frangelico- chased by a lemon. Goooooood stuff, you guys.

I've had some complaints from some readers about there not being any good drunk stories about running naked down the beachfront. Well dumb-asses, I don't ever really drink to that point and you would NEVER catch me running naked anywhere. And whenever I do drink to that point, where I might entertain the idea of running down a beachfront as the Lord has fashioned me, I am usually with the fam, with Lilly, or with Julian, it seems. They must drive me to drink.

I have found a new respect for surfers. Granted, I still think they're crazy bastards because there will never be a day or a way that man could ever control the beast that is the ocean. But- I give surfers credit for having the sufficient "balls" (as the kids say) to tackle the ocean.

Watchin some old school Tom and Jerry- you know, before they made it so that Tom n jerry could talk. Man that pissed me off. Anyway, going back to Santa Barbara one last time today. There I will attempt to kidnap the city and bring it back home to you. I've never tried my hand at kidnapping, but I think I might be good at it.

I don't have any QOTD's for you, and for that, I suck.
No- YOU SUCK!! Maybe if you people said anything quoteable, I'd have a QOTD.

QOTD (Be happy- Juan and David R. have saved the day.)
"ENJOY SPICKLAND RANCH!" -juan (Don't worry, he can say that, he's brown.)

Dave: yeah, they hand out CT badges like they're candy.

Me: They have badges now?! I've only been gone a week!

Dave: We also have flying cars now in Chicago...because we're in the future. It's like 12:15 here.

JUST A GUY IN A MICKEY MOUSE SUIT

oHHHH hollywood.
It's swarming with some crazy mo-fo's.
Readers, I swear to you that one of the first things I saw was a guy in a broke ass mickey mouse suit. How'd I know it wasn't the real Mickey you say?
First off, he was wearing a long-sleeved Black Adidas shirt as a top. Secondly, he was walking down a lonely side street. I took a picture of him nonetheless. He waved. NOW THAT'S STAR QUALITY!

The next crazy mo-fo was comical. He was a rather large African American man, maybe in his 40's. He was donning a tall silver sequined Cat in the Hat type hat and a long tailed blue jacket. He had a microphone, people. The only line I remember from his song was "and that's tooth-decay. ya gotta brush your teeth every single day." He was NOT endorsing a dental office. He was just out there singing his songs, makin an honest buck.

I proceeded to walk down the street kinda afraid of what I might find. I was forewarned that I might see some prostitutes. That wasn't novel, though. Prostitutes roam free on Roosevelt Road back home.
Anyway- I'm walkin along, walkin along and what do I see but about 5 different bondage stores on the same block. AND WE THOUGHT STARBUCKS WAS BAD.

And now- I am back at the hotel where some cow seems to be pacing back and forth on the floor right above me.

So tired am I. Lillian, if you read this any time soon, I hope that you are having a blast in L.V. Be patient- even when "people" suck. That's just the kind of heart you have.

QOTD
JUAN: so... why are you on a computer at 10 pm instead of out doing all the drugs and drinking all the alcohol in LA?
ME: because I was up at like 6am for church today
JUAN: wait, wait...God's open on Tuesdays?!

Happy Birthday Papa Rodolfo

Last year on this day, my grandfather passed away. Ironically, it was also his birthday. He was funny that way.
So today, I just want to remind everyone that the people in our lives are gifts that we are trusted to take care of.
Take care of the people you love. Tell them all you love them- you can never do it enough.
Make memories. Live. Laugh dammit. Laughing with the people you love is sooo important. Life isn't all about the serious things.
Just wanted to take a moment to tell Papa that he is missed and insanely loved and...Happy Birthday :)

QOTD (From a song by Colin Hay)
"Your face is dances and it haunts me. Your laughter's still ringin' in my ear. And I still find pieces of your presence here- even after all these years." From "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" by Colin Hay

"IIIIII WISH YOU WERE HERE"

oK- I DO miss home. I miss my pals and I miss my room and I miss my family so very much.
But I have to tell you- I am very tempted to cheat on Chicago with California, specifically Santa Barbara.
I went to Santa Barbara yesterday and it was like walking into a dream or some corny ass Hollywood movie. I would LOVE to live there.
I also have to mention that Zuma beach is SPECTACULAR. It is clean and the city of Chicago should really come study up on how exactly one keeps a beach clean.
(Hey Erica- I took a picture on the wall where Incubus is sitting on the back of the Morning View album. That's at Zuma Beach!)
By the way- the title of this blog comes from Incubus' song "Wish You Were Here."
Again, Californians have managed to make me chuckle.
I passed by a wine store named "Squashed Grapes."
I mean really, how literal can we get, California?
Still, nothing beats the Boot Barn!
I have discovered a new nature lovin', childishly playful, beach-bound side of myself and I can't thank California enough for bringing it out in me.
Much sympathy to my peeps in Chi-town who I have just seen on the news are suffering single-digit temperatures. I will be there soon and we can shiver together. But for now, I am going to soak up the 80 degree weather.
Much looove,
Nen-Dawg

QOTD
"Ah- good job, you ate the tomatoes. You know, they'll make your testicles big." -Josh

LET'S GO TO THE BOOT BARN!!!

California is amaaaazing everyone.
I think I just might kidnap California and bring it back to Chicago.
I saw a group of about 25 bikers and their lovely ladies all clad in leather pants and vests.
I saw an Elvis impersonator right outside of my hotel.
I saw THE most amazing view of the ocean from the top of a beautiful mountain.
And I saw a boot store named THE BOOT BARN.
THE BOOT BARN!!!! lolololol!!!!!
Tell me that's not freekin hilarious and I will kick you in the face.

This is only like my second day here so there will definitely be MUCH more to report. I think Californians may have a knack for making me laugh. As you see, the owner of the BOOT BARN already has.

I don't have any very good QOTDs. But the moment I hear someone say something stupid, I will promise to remember it.

And to all of you poor suckers in Chicago- DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR SUN IS AT?!

Two Hour Flight Delays are my Favorite!!!

Ok- I made it to Los Angeles safely. The flight was nice except for the part where they made us switch planes after making us wait an hour while repairmen pretended to know how to fix some faulty part on the plane I was originally on.

Before I forget, I want to tell my cousin Frankie that I saw a road named "Las Posas Road." That's extremely funny because years ago, Frank decided to affectionately call me POSA, which is an acronym for Pimple On Society's Ass. (Thought you'd like to know that I have a road named after me, Franko.)

I want to apologize to my readers for the gloomy tone in my posts lately. I promise, now that I am out here in the real sun, I should be back to normal!! Oh my God, what if I have SAD?! Seasonal Affective Disorder. It sounds gay, I know, but it's real.

Dude, It's 8:31 in the a.m. here and I am awake! I woke up at 7:45 all alert about it. My body is still set in Chicago-time. I found the equivalent of 101.9 f.m. on my little hotel radio- I'm set for now.

My California expert friend, Josh is taking me to Zuma beach today when he gets out of work. It is March 5th and I am going to the beach ya jerks!!! I am ridiculously cool.

Here's a very funny little story before I go get my complimentary breakfast. Remember that ex-boyfriend I told you about in my last post? The one it took me forever to get over? He showed up at my door yesterday about 10 minutes before Julian came to take me to the airport. "I just saw you at the bank and I decided to stop by and say hello." lol....just like that. He may as well have said "Hey I know I haven't seen you in about 2 years, but here I am! How've ya been?!"

You boys are quite funny.

Complimentary breakfast that ends at 9:30, here I come. If anyone wants to give me anything else that's complimentary, I am definitely not opposed.

I miss everything and everyone except the cold. But I must say, this place is quite BEAUTIFUL. My patio is overlooking an amazing looking green hill, the skies are BLUE, and "Love Song" by The Cure just started playing on the radio. Things are good for this little Mexican girl right now :)

QOTD
"But the bad thing is that it means there are more POSAS out there...you're not the only one anymore. Society's ass is breaking out. It hit puberty!" -my cousin Frankie after reading about POSA.


JOSH: I've never been to San Francisco, and it's only five hours away.
ME: I hear it's got a heavy gay population.
JOSH: Yeah- lots of balls hanging out of skirts.

"So alive with wild hope..."

I think it's hilarious when you hear a song that was the "our song" in an old relationship you had. I just heard "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" (the Mark Chestnutt version)& I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit bc a few years back, hearing that song woulda had me in a crying mess over my first love. It took me a nice chunk of time to fully get over him. It would be pretty rare if anyone had that effect on me now. My heart's a lot stronger and selective now. But I think it's amusing how when someone is in a state of heartache caused by loss, it seems as if the pain won't ever fade. But it does. Sometimes it just takes a while.

What's exhaustive about life- or at least my life- is that things really do fade, even the strongest memories; it doesn't matter how hard you try to hold on. Often I find that things and people fade in fragments- and then they just slip right out of your hands...right out of your life.

Due to what I'm guessing is a very weak reason, I have not spoken to my "best friend" in about half a year. It's nothing that could not have been resolved in one long sit-down conversation. Due to an extreme lack of effort on both of our parts, what I thought was the friendship that redefined what I thought about the institution of friendship itself has now dissolved into nothing. The saddest part about it is that I do not have the will to rebuild. When it comes to relationships, I am emotionally exhausted & I am prone to just letting things fade now. It's "crazy faith" and "wild hope" that allow me to believe in a lot of people now.

Sure- there are definitely times when I miss her to death. There have been times when I've needed her wisdom, her reason, her sense of humor. There are times when I wonder what she's up to these days; is she planning a wedding with her boyfriend of 3 years? But she's not there...and neither am I. Lilly says that's extremely sad- but I think that you can only do so much before you decide to just do nothing & then just observe what happens. To my dismay, nothing happened. The way I see it, sometimes you just have to crash & burn. Not everything is worth the fight. As my sister-in-law Nicki says: "You have to pick your battles."

I think I'm cursed by the phrase "best friend." Every time I tag it onto a person, the relationship just always seems to self-destruct. So I kinda refuse to use that phrase seriously now. And I find that I have countless acquaintances, but very few actual friends. So people that I call my friends are really it for me.

I've changed a whole lot from when she and I became "best friends"& she would never know it. But sometimes, when you're weighed down by things that probably need to fade, you are only left starving for change. Who knows, maybe it wasn't supposed to fade; but I think it would've been repaired by now if it was. At least I can say that I walked away from that with only good memories locked in my heart.

There are people that I've been glad to see get the hell out of my life. I think it's important to choose wisely who you surround yourself with. As a guy I used to date (who I heard is pretty gay these days) would say: "We are here to choose, not to be chosen." And if it's up to me, I am going to surround myself with people that are as far away as possible from being temporary. The whole transient thing just won't cut it anymore.

QOTD (lyrics from a David Gray song for today.)
"Take this silver lining- keep it in your own sweet head.
Shine it when the night is burning red.
Shine it in the twilight, shine it on the cold, cold ground.
Shine it till these walls come tumbling down...
Step into the silence- take it in your own two hands.
And scatter it like diamonds all across these lands.
Blaze it in the morning- wear it like an iron skin.
Only things worth living for- innocence and magic, amen."
**"Silver Lining" written by David Gray from the album White Ladder**

So C-C-C-Cold

No post for yesterday- slackin. Sorry. Yesterday was pretty uneventful for the most part. There was only one weird occurence that Lilly says is the kind of thing that only happens to me.
(Lilly is one of my closest friends (right up there with David) and I love her to death.)

I go to Subway religiously. They even know my order by heart when I walk into the one on Cermak and Cuyler in Berwyn. I stopped in yesterday to get my usual- the chicken teriyaki (olives, a little lettuce, pickles, giardinera, and a whole crap load of sweet onion sauce.)
The guy who made my sub was quite the character.
he says:"HI! where ya comin from?!"
me: school
he says: oh where do you go?
me: loyola
he says: BORING.
Then he went on to tell me that my major was boring, and that the only thing that wasn't boring about me so far was my hat and my name (I paid with my credit card.) He said he was off in Iraq and that he really didn't need to work because the military was payin him big bucks. Then he said his name, to which I replied: "BORING." His name was Joe.
Who are these people, and where do they come from?!
Granted, the guy made me laugh, but the conversationalists always pick me to mess with.
It gets even more weird.

After subway, my mom and I drove to elk grove village to pick up my sister, sandy.
We are on the expressway when my sister Jessi calls me.
"Nen? Um....Joe told me to tell you hi."
I was quite puzzled: "Joe who?" I asked.
Then she told me that she and her pal Jill had gone to Subway after I had gone and that apparently, this Joe character went up to my sister and asked her if she had a sister named Jen because the resemblance between us was striking. (apparently, people think we look exactly alike.) Then he tells her: "yeah, she goes to loyola, and she wears that wool hat all the time."
Let's keep in mind that I had NEVER seen this guy in my life prior to this particular encounter.
My sister said she was kind of freeked out till he told her he had just met me earlier and then he told her to tell me that he said hi.

Again, what the hell?
Even still, Lilly may be right that this sort of thing happens to me more often than it does to normal people.
Just last week, I was here at school studying, not bothering ANYONE. Some crazy chic from my night class comes up to me and starts telling me her life story. I had never talked to her before.
Then she wrote her number on my study sheet and told me to call her so we could study together. Yeah....how bout no?

I guess I do encounter a bunch of weirdoes on a daily basis, but I think it evens out. I also meet a lot of amazing people that I am sooooo glad that I met. Lizzle, Anna, Candace, and Jacob are just a few.

Ok- I'm gonna go review a little more for my lab exam. Candace and I agreed to show the professor (the racist jerk) that colored people can indeed be intelligent. lol...seriously, the man has problems.

Anyway, my mom steals the spotlight with the QOTD from yesterday. She went to sams club and bought a huge bag of mini-meatballs so that I could cook them with some pasta. I unloaded the groceries and just put everything on the kitchen table. You'll see soon enough that my mom is quite the comedian.

QOTD
"Put away your balls- your litte tiny balls." -Mom

A CONVO WITH LIZZLE ALMOST ALWAYS GUARANTEES A GOOD QOTD
"Working at the gym with the men's bball team? YEAH, I think I've bloody earned my black stripe." -Liz trying to convince me that she is black.

"For the record, I did not look like an overgrown spermie when I was growin up, nen." -Liz after I told her that her slimy cold heart reminded me of a frog.