Somewhere in Boom-Kack, NY...

Since I love the show, here's a little something for my fellow MTB4 fans...



The singing may not be as boom-kackalicious as her dancing, but the video is ridiculous nonetheless. You betta work!


If you don't think this is fierce, Laurie Ann says "Tell him to shut up!"

Joyride

Trying to get to and from San Diego in such a hurry right after work lately almost made me forget how much I love driving at night so much more. Besides the obvious clearer roadways and avoidance of rush hour stress, night driving to and from San Diego and Irvine just puts me in this certain vibe. The silence on the road allows me for that hour and fifteen minutes to think more clearly about things, along with some KyXy 96.5 in the background - I really can't get myself to listen to anything else during this time. It's also the only time I will belt to the top of my lungs because no one can hear me, and the fact that I can pretty much sing the chorus of every song that comes on - REO Speedwagon, James Ingram, Toto - all the soft rock staples, try me.


On the most recent trip down to SD, I already had that mindset that summer is pretty much over. Although I don't go back to school until the end of the month, everyone else is back to the books. I don't even have anything going on after the Vegas trip this weekend (whoo!) except work, so Sin City seals the deal for me. I'll probably have a more thorough end of summer review in the future but I just wanted to touch on some views of mine that have been steadfast since the beginning of the summer.

Like I mentioned in Lessons Learned, I adopted a more realistic and "It is what it is" perspective towards life at the summer's start. And well, it's the end of the summer and not much has changed. I worked almost everyday since the end of finals and while I wish I could be wallowing in cash right now, this time my parents put more responsibility on me and I had shit to pay for, along with setting goals to save up money for certain things - Raf's Birthday, Vegas trip, etc. Gas, groceries, partial rent, car payments, books for school, and all the everyday essentials add up quicker than you think. Also, my laptop crashed a couple weeks ago, and although that was a bummer, I was super excited to finally get a new laptop - until I realized I would be paying for all of it. A very different story from last summer, when I spent my money about 20 minutes after clocking out every other day. Thank God I'm not working retail anymore.

My new perspective on things also affected the way I handled relationships. For me, it was very easy before to be naive about wants and needs - a very "all you need is love" kinda thing. But I realized it's a lot easier on paper than it is in practice. Sure I didn't want to admit that things like money and job quality and million other issues mattered to me in the end, but when these things come at you and force you to make decisions you needn't had to do before, it can be a very big wake up call. I've come to the conclusion that maybe a relationship really can't survive on love alone, and that mindset was something hard for me to let go. Maybe money and job quality aren't the best examples, but can a real, satisfying, loving relationship survive without faith? Support from your family and friends? Tolerance of each other's differences? I guess in the end even almighty love couldn't escape my theory about everything needing to be in balance.

This summer was full of reality checks, and I think it was what I needed. But summer isn't totally over yet, and what I reallllly need is a real vacation. Vegas post when I return!!

Here's Your Chance People

It kinda sucks to blog at work during my lunch break since my laptop decided to die on me finally after 3 years - which means I don't really have time to post a thoughtful or detailed entry on my latest revelations about life. Really you guys are missing out. Haha but for the mean time here's a quick one on something I thought was pretty interesting.

MTV's True Life is casting for the next season, so check it out and see if you fall under any of these categories (some are straight up LOL-worthy):

I'M COMPETITIVE WITH MY FRIENDS
I'M ROBOTRIPPING/SIPPING LEAN
I'M ADDICTED TO MEDS
I'M IN A LOVE TRIANGLE
I CAN'T SLEEP
I HAVE POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
I'M NUYORICAN
I'M ELOPING
I DON'T LIKE MY BREASTS
I'M GOING BALD
I'M A FAN BOY
I'M HAVING TWINS
I'M A SURROGATE
I LIVE IN DUBAI
I'M STUCK AT HOME
I'M LOOKING FOR MY SIBLING
I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF
I'M STARTING A DANGEROUS JOB

I seriously thought back in high school if MTV was cool to do "I'm an Urban Cheerleader" then they definitely should've done "I'm in Colorguard" or "I'm Going to Band Camp". Give us a chance!

Puppy Love

Usually during my lunch break at work I don't have much to do except check my e-mail/myspace for 5 minutes, then for the other 40 minutes read mindless yet entertaining stories on ONTD. One of the entries I remember from last week was about Miley Cyrus (I speak of her on this blog way too much) and confessions about her first "real love(?)".

On how they got together: "We became boyfriend and girlfriend the day we met...He was on a quest to meet me, and he was like, 'I think you're beautiful and I really like you.' And I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I like you so much.'"

On the ups and downs: "Nick and I loved each other...We still do, but we were in love with each other. For two years he was basically my 24/7. But it was really hard to keep it from people. We were arguing a lot, and it really wasn't fun."

On the heartbreak: "At first I bawled for a month straight. I was so sad. I just went into this weird funk. And I dyed my hair black. When we were dating, Nick wanted me to get highlights – and so I did that, and I got myself looking great. And then, on the day we broke up, I was like, I want to make my hair black now – I don't want to look pretty; I want to look hard-core. I was rebelling against everything Nick wanted me to be. And then I was like, I've got to be by myself for now, and just figure out who I really am."

I couldn't help but LOL as I read this from start to finish, and I really hate the fact that I'm using a Hannah Montana personal life story to segue into my topic for today, but it totally just reminded me of how freaking serious pre-teen/middle school crushes seemed to be back in the day. Like, deathly serious for some people. I might be laughing now at what Miley and the typical 14-year old has to say about being in love, but I didn't have anything more meaningful to say back then either.

One particular event I remember is from 4th or 5th grade during a game of dodgeball at recess. The boy I had a crush on at the time was playing with us, and my friends decided to take it upon themselves to make my feelings for him a little obvious. I don't exactly remember what was said, but back then I was super sensitive about boys and just having them knowing whether I liked them or not - all I remember was my face turning really hot and everyone laughing at me, including him! I'm sure it was nothing to them, but I was so mortified that I just ran to the bathroom and cried.

I was so mad at my friends that I wouldn't open the door when they were trying to talk to me from outside the stall, so they had to crawl under to finally get to me. I didn't let my tantrum die down until the bell rang and I cooled off back in my seat (giving my friends the cold shoulder of course), but that whole dodgeball debacle was pretty much forgotten within days. I ended up being good friends with that particular boy and looking back, the only thing I wish I could have changed was the way I embarrassed myself. Oh the good ol' days.

Then there was my first boyfriend, Boy #1, in middle school. I liked him pretty much throughout all of 6th grade since he was in most of my classes. When 7th grade started, I was still crushing on him, but he moved towards the middle of my "list" and I actually started liking one of his friends, Boy #2. Boy #2 and I pretty much became best friends that year, which meant we would talk everyday after school and he would tell me his girl situations then ask for my advice - story of my life until sophomore year.

Anyways, towards the end of 7th grade, I started hearing that Boy #1 actually started taking notice of me. Of course, I did the most logical thing (yeah right) and started crushing hard again on Boy #1 only because I heard he liked me, and pretty much ignored my feelings for Boy #2. The next most logical thing to do of course was for Boy #1 to ask me out to be his girlfriend the day before school ended. There were a lot of reasons why that situation only lasted a month - couldn't drive yet, didn't live close enough to walk, didn't have the same circle of friends, strict parentals - and I was devastated for the rest of the summer. The most embarrassing thing is crying over him even before we broke up when he told me he was moving away the next year. All I had at the time was my pillow to cry on and Monica's "Angel of Mine" on repeat, how pathetic.

So that was part of my love-life story before high school. Anyone else care to share?

P.S. I LOVE THE OLYMPICS! I didn't do much this weekend but this totally made up for it.

Sometimes All You Need...

is a good hard cry and a chance to spill your heart out. At least I did.

I feel better.

Our Generation at its Best

"You know what? I am actually not that much into voting. I think it’s kinda crazy that a woman is running, because I think that women deal with a lot of emotions and menopause and PMS and stuff. Like, I’m so moody all the time, I know I couldn’t be able to run a country, ‘cause I’d be crying one day and yelling at people the next day, ya know?"

—Brooke Hogan, when asked who she's voting for by a potential roommate on her series Brooke Knows Best.

Ahh, another young female verbally actuating her own oppression. Excuse me while I powder my nose, put on my apron and carry on my housework. How dare I step out of the kitchen?!

Whatever, I probably shouldn't expect messages about female empowerment and equality from someone who thinks this is what sexy looks like:

Fellas, Answer Me This

So I was talking to one of my girl friends about guys that aren't afraid to use a little dinero to catch a girl's attention. Even though my friend consistently turns down his advances and makes it fully obvious that she's not into him, the offers keep coming - and I'm talking not just talking about the occasional dinner here and there, I mean gym memberships, theme park tickets, no joke.

But let's take the most simple and common example - you're at the bar and a guy offers to buy you a drink. If accepted, does the guy automatically think that the female is interested? It's hard for me to tell, since this is a pretty common occurrence in any given bar or club anyways. Since the very first time I've been offered, not once have I accepted, usually saying something just like "No thank you" or "It's cool, I've got it covered already" - I just don't want to lead the guy on at all even just a little bit and I've always thought that taking that drink would seem like I owe him something, even if it's just a 5 minute obligatory conversation. If I do sense that situation coming up, I'll usually go out of my way to escape it somehow just to avoid the awkward exchange.

Then at other times, I just feel like "Eh fuck it, it's just a drink and nothing more...right?". Cuz I mean damn, if it's a free drink and just a way for a guy to tell you he thinks you're cute, why not? I've even worn my ring on the wrong finger (hence been asked if I'm married) but that doesn't function as much of a deterrent. I guess the dilemma here is whether or not accepting the offer when you already know there's no way this guy is getting with you is either a shady move or not a big deal at all. The point of this post for me is more for trying to understand a guy's POV for these situations rather than trying to justify scoring free drinks from random dudes, even if it will work in my favor haha. But really, I'm not trying to get Raf mad or anything, shit.

So boys - thoughts? I feel like I overthink things too much...