Hello? Hello? Is there anybody there?

2004-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

Your anime hair color is green.

What is your anime hair color?
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i'm not too happy - i really wanted pink or purple hair, but the description is pretty acturate i think : )

2003-11-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

This Weeks Friday 5 Topic
I work in the music business. Glamorous as this may sound, we are actually just two women in a home office in South Austin. Hipness, youth and cool factor are a common topic of conversation between me and my boss, i'm 35 and she's 39. We often remenisce about our cool groovy old days when we actually went out to see the kind of bands we work with and go to the clubs we talk to everyday and it dawns on us that we are sooo way out of the cool scenes we envision ourselves part of still.
soooo, the topic is - what 5 ages would you like to be and why., either to re-live or that you imgine would be ideal in the future. Hey, if you are so inclined and have a moment to spare, what about throwing in 5 ages you would NEVER want to be again, and why

1. 15 - when i had my first real love. I was so comfortable and happy with myself. High School was fun.

2. 17 - London was mine. I was a school girl by day and on the weekends i went to clubs, knew everyone, had a rock star boyfriend and was gorgeous.

3.. 5 - Kindergarten was soooo fun for me. I loved getting dressed, i love the little school work. I loved my school.

4. 20 months - i don't remember being this age but it must have been blissfull. Gabe is 20 months and his life is so perfect. He points and grunts and gets what he wants, he is adored by everyone, his parents AND grandparents and a host of friends dote on him, and when he wants comfort he gets to snuggle up to mommy and nurse and feel safer than anything in the world.

5. 40 - maybe i'll have that magazine article women are at their peak in their 40s syndrome. I could use some peak.

2003-11-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm, i've never read this book, of course i must now.
It is true though

In my not so humble opinion, you, of course, belong
in the Picture of Dorian Gray, and do not try
to deny it. You belong in the fashionable
circles of Victorian London where exotic
tastes, a double life, decadence, wit and a
hypocritical belief in moral betterment make
you a home. You belong where the witty
apothegms of Lords, the silly moralities of
matrons, the blinding high of opium, and the
beauty of visual arts mingle to form one
convoluted world.

Which Classic Novel do You Belong In?
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2003-11-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

I actually LOVED this movie to pieces and wished i was in it anyway - i'm kind of scared to be proved right though...

Bring It On!

What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
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2003-10-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

i realized that this 5 topic was not from will!!! Thanks for emailing it to me will, sorry Dave who did this topic

2003-10-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

From Will!

I've been reading a lot about Neurology lately, and the rhytmns behind our thought
processes. As if by fate, I came across this article yesterday that sums up one of the
most insidious kinds of mental loops we all fall into. They're known as earworms.

"Earworm" is the term coined by University of Cincinnati marketing professor James
Kellaris for the usually unwelcome songs that get stuck in people's heads. Since beginning
his research in 2000, Kellaris has heard from people all over the world requesting help,
sharing anecdotes and offering solutions.

"I quickly learned that virtually everybody experiences earworms at one time or another,"
he said. "I think because it's experienced privately and not often a topic of
conversation, maybe people really long for some social comparison. They want to know if
other people experience what they experience."

So, what are the top 5 "earworms" you've faced in your life?

here's mine

1. Elmo's World theme - i wonder if i'll still have this in my head when my kids are in high school, Gabriel at only 1 1/2 hums this in perfect pitch, it's cute but i find myslef doing it even when he's not around

2. Who needs the quickie mart - from the Simpsons CD - there's something haunting about Apu mournfuling and soulfully singing "I dooooooo" at the end.

3. whatever classical piece Tony is obsessed with playing at the time, he plays them over and over

4. You're an Ocean by my own husband - i find myself putting different words to it all the time depending on what the kids are doing

5. Dreidl Dreidl Dreidle i made it out of clay, this is probably my #1 - i think i sing it for EVERY thing we do or think or see, it makes me SICK!

i had to make sure not to read everyone elses before doing this, i started to and then realized that whatever song they wrote about got in my head!!!

2003-10-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my daughter Claudia. I fell like i have truly done at least something right in parenting. On Sunday we attended the Downs Syndrome Association of Central Texas Buddy Walk. Apart from the fact that it was a fun event for kids, we did have a personal reason for going. Sofia, a classmate of Claudia's in Kindergarten, has Downs Syndrome. Sofia's dad is one of the lead members of this organization and sent a flier home in everyone's back packs. Fox news came to the classroom and interviewed him and some of the kids in the class about how they play with Sofia. It's a great program that she can be in a regular classroom. Well Claude and i saw the news clip and talked about going to the event. I realized it was time to tell her more about Sofia, to give it a name. THe kids never talk about her being different, it's kind of understood that she can't understand some things or needs help with others, that she has a special teacher with her all day. But i had avoided "naming" it just in case it made it more obvious. Claude was really interested in the name and since then has talke more about Sofia in a real caring and loving way. At the buddy walk they hugged and hugged when they saw each other and walked around with arms around each other. During the walk they held hands. It was a beautiful sight and i was proud. She knows Sofia is different but more importantly she knows inherently that she's not. They are friends.

2003-10-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

Gina muses:

I don't have children myself, but I love to hear the knee-slappers that my godson, his siblings, and my nieces come out with. Or, for that matter, the "logic" espoused by the adults around them when speaking to them.
To whit, what are the most amusing things you've ever heard in a household with children?

ohhh, ican't remember them all!!
i'll try

1. When Gabe was like 6 hours old, Claudia getting in our bed to meet him and trying to pick him up saying "I wanna make him stand up!" it was more horrifying at the time, hilarious now.

2. When my stepdaughter Scarlett was about 2 ish and i taught her the "proper" term for her netherregions, we visited a friend with a new baby and Scarlett kept saying to the baby "Hi Vagina, hi vagina, hi vagina"

3. When Claudia used to say "OH DAN" with full expression instead of "Damn" which is bad enough!

4. When my cousin Lily was about 3 or 4 and she said to me "know what people say when they get mad?" i of course said "what" and she said "shit". I was pretty young at the time and could not get the thought out of my head of her kind of wild parents cussing.

5. Same cousin, she visited us in New York from Austin, she was also pretty young, maybe 5, we went to eat at a chinese restaurant. When she saw all the many plates of different and odd foods she said really loudly "Own't Frahhhs" translated as "I wan't fries" in her tiny texan accent.

2003-10-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

NANETTE'S FRIDAY 5
Heinlein's Number of the Beast theorizes that all realities, even ours, come from someone else's imagination. And therefore, if you could learn to travel across dimensions it would be possible to find the worlds where every story occurred. The more fully realized story (and the better the story-teller) the more fully realized the world.
What five fictional worlds would you like to visit once William perfects his inter-dimensional mini-van?

1. Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory - who wouldn't want to go there?
2. Any setting of an Enid Blyton book - best friends, castles with secret passages, ginger beer, English summertime and an excellent mystery.
3. The Land of OZ but only if i were as brave as Dorothy in the face of a whitch, maybe OZ after D melted the witch.
4. The Mexico in Like Water For Chocolate - where the emotions and feelings and mood you had when you cooked transferred to your diners. And i love Mexico
5. I just rememberred another Enid Blyton scenario - her boarding schools! I wanted so much to be at bording school just like in those books.

I've noticed that apart from #4, these are all from my childhood - it makes me thing i am not indulging in enough fantasy and creativity.
wait, i'm gonna add a bonus one
*** My own alternate universe where i am a singer in broadway musicals like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar and i'm totally famous and adored by all!

2003-10-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU WILL! i now have links and comments - my blog looks like a real one now, i'm so happy. I can't type much though, ihave the most excrutiating pain in my left wrist, i'm left handed. I've had some pain on and off for a couple of years and i recently self diagnosed (thanks webMD) myself with a ganlion cyst. Supposedly harmless unless it hurts or restricts movement. I cannot even bend my wrist today and it hurts like hell. I really don't want surgery, darn it

2003-09-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Blog, frog, fog, log, sog, soggy, groggy, boggy, baggy, haggy (me right now), naggy (hey, that's me too!), craggy, saggy (no comment), sag, rag, bag, ughhh!
i'm so bored waiting for new Law and Order to come on!!! surely i could be doing something more constructive.....

2003-09-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

On a sad note, i feel like i have to write this somewhere....
yesterday, Friday 26th of September, my dear Uncle Ruben Labastida Alvarez died suddenly in Mexico city where he lived. He was my Dad's youngest brother, my dad was the oldest of the 5. He leaves behind a devoted and beautiful wife, a son, Ruben jr and two daughters, Anabel and Gabriella. I'm so sad for them, they doted on their papa. Anabel is married with 2 little kids, Gaby and Ruben jr still live at home - that's usual for unmarried adult children in Mex. My father flew there last night, i've never ever seen my dad cry, it is breaking my heart. My mom left today, she was out of town all day yesterday and my dad had to leave before she got home. I wish i could go, my heart longs for family hugs and togetherness with the family i hardly see. It was apparantly a huge heart attack but somewhat unexpexted.
It seems in Mexico customs around death are different, they have already had the Catholic mass and cremation today and tomorrow is a ceremony of placing the urn in whatever place it goes. It seems strange to me that it's all over already.
This year, i have said this every year but never go through with it, this year i will make a Day of the Dead altar and will put my uncle on it, maybe Johnny Cash too. Will - do you want to make one or add to mine?
I've got some great kids Day of the Dead books if anyone wants to borrow them....

2003-09-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

wow i feel so poplular! so welcome... what a warm fuzzy feeling it is to feel welcome even in the strange non face to face interaction of the internet.
No i just need some lessons on how to do links, and a comments thingy, somehow it seems sort of empty without interaction
man, it's hard to curb those exclamation points!

2003-09-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, even though i'm not "officially" on the email loop i might as well jump in with today's Friday 5

5 things that are such a big part of my life, I can't believe someone else introduced me to them.

1. Scrapbooking and Creative Memories, not only is this such a huge part of my life i actually am amazed that i love it so much. I had never heard of it, and when i was introduced i was dragged reluctantly and now it is totally part of me, nerdy though it may be.

2. Bob Dylan - my mom introduced me to him as a very young child, and then Tony my husband re-enforced his importance and prescence in my life.

3. The Beatles - i was never a beatles fan, Rolling Stones all the way for me, but yet again Tony, i can't imagine now raising kids without the Beatles in the house all the time

4. Soy Milk - i dunno, maybe I introduced myself to soy milk one day at Whole Foods...

5. Conan O'Brian - he's so freaking funny i can't beleive i never loved him before Tony Tony Tony, what did i do before Tony...

gee, none of these things are very meaningful and deep, i feel so shallow, i felt like saying Blogging which was of course introduced to me by Merideth...but then it's only been important for like 30 minutes

2003-09-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Ohhh, no what have i gotten myself into....

i am somewhat reluctantly joining my nutty group of blogger friends, i am clueless to anything webbish besides searching and shopping, i am humbled by the witty-ness and clever-ness of my friends and i'm dubious about revealing my innermost deepest thoughts.....well not really that part, and i'm freaked out by the commitment!! what if i hate it? is it like a job where i'll feel too guilty to quit? Ohhh well, i'm in it now so here goes.
Oh, and i promise to try and curb my overuse of exclamation points as i write!!!!!!!! i swear, i really do promise!!!!!!!!!!!!