Random Thoughts

• Classes start on Monday. I'm actually ready and willing to go back to school. I never thought I'd say that.
• I celebrated the birthday of my 3 cousins on Monday. No, they're not triplets. Three separate cousins born on the same day. Mario and Jose were born two hours apart, one in El Salvador one in Virginia, on the same day. Two years later Leticia was born. Now they're 19 and 17. It was a BIG celebration.
  
• I finally got my car back today. It cost me more than I'm willing to admit to but it feels SO good to have it back. I love driving.
  
• Community college (NOVA) started on Monday. Most of my friends are going there and everyday they see more people we know. I feel like I'm missing out on grade 13 or something. I only semi-know 3 people going to my school, and I probably won't ever see them, we all have different majors.
• My friend Jai who introduced me to my boyfriend met Leticia today. He thinks she's cute. She thinks he's cute. Jai is the most shameless womanizer I know. If I thought Leticia couldn't take care of herself, I'd be worried. She's smart though, maybe they'll have a little fun. She deserves it.
  
• I'm going out with Brahim tomorrow. I haven't seen him since August 8th due to an endless series of events. Mostly in my personal life. I'm excited to see him, I've missed him more than I'm willing to admit.
  
• Ash from England arrived today. I went to the airport with Sam and waited for almost two hours and in that time, her excitement rubbed off on me. We're standing, waiting, excited, laughing it up. Ash walks through the gate and 1.2 seconds after he spotted us I literally had to jump, twist, and land on the ceiling to avoid 1. being run over by the luggage trolley hurtling towards me after he let go of it to grab Sam and 2. being knocked over by Ash himself. I should have kept in mind that the only reason he traveled 4,000 miles was to see Sam. I don't like to use my "Crouching Tiger" skills in public.
• My friend Brian has a crush on his co-worker named Jesse. If something goes down between them, he will be the third close friend of mine to find a boyfriend named Jesse. Hopefully this Jesse won't be a cunt like the other two.

Woman of the World

On August 29th, I will become Mendy: College Student. I'm not exactly looking forward to it. I'm going to George Mason University, a convenient 20 minute drive from my home sweet home. I decided against dorm-life and foreign locations, like southern Virginia. I don't really feel the need to live the full college experience. At least not this year.

Like many college Freshmen, I have absolutely no idea what I want to major in. I'm interested in many things, but nothing that I could actually make a career out of without natural talent. Like photography, I love photography, I've studied the basics in high school, but its a freelance career. I need a little more security in my young life.

Whatever I do end up choosing to major in, I want it to be something I can put to use around the world. That is the only thing that I am positive about the future, I want to travel. I'm not sure when or where I'll receive my degree, or in what subject. I don't know if I'll ever get married or have children. I don't know what my career is going to be. I don't know where I'll live in the future. The only thing I know is that I want to be a woman of the world.

I am fascinated by different cultures. The language, religions, customs, clothing, music. It's all beautiful to me. I love that the human race is so varied in the ways that we function. And besides the actual people, their are so many beautiful places in the world. Natural and man-made.

So far, London is the only place I've ever traveled to. I went with Sam. That's us at the Tower Bridge. London is a great city, full of history. I was surprised by the British culture. I always believed that we shared a similar culture, I was wrong. We are so different from them, our English language is even different. But I love it. I should be going back with Sam this winter.

I'm also planning to go to Ireland next spring break. I'm not sure if I'll be able to, but Ireland is definitely on my destination list. Other places would be Italy, Greece, Egypt, Morocco, Paris, Amsterdam, Thailand, Australia, and India.

Definitely India. It might sound weird, but I feel a spiritual connection to India. I don't even know anything about the land or the people but every little thing I do learn is fascinating. Whenever something about India is on TV, I'll watch it, even if I don't understand a word they're saying. The music is intoxicating.

For now, I'm stuck in the USA, and I'm okay with that. I still have some growing to do. But as soon as I'm secure enough financially and professionally, I don't plan on sticking around. I'll be on plane to somewhere. Or exploring. Taking pictures the whole time.

Puppies

I went to Old Town last night with Lisa, and when I got back home and walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, I nearly tripped on a dog cage. We don't have a dog. Dogs aren't even allowed in our neighborhood.

I investigated and found out we were dog-sitting for my cousin Sergio and his family. Sergio is going to start Virginia Tech this fall, and the whole family had to go and make sure he was comfortable.

Macy is a Jack Russell Terrier, I think. He looks like Wishbone, except with less spots and a bit bigger. He's a sweetheart, we've already become couch-potato buddies. It's funny that I'd end up with a dog for a few days when lately a lot of my friends have been saying I should get a pet, to relieve stress. I've never had a pet, besides a hamster that died a few years ago. Her name was Olivia. She wasn't very friendly.

It seems nice, to have a little creature who's always around, not a care in the world, no capacity for judgment or argument. Sounds like a baby. Anyway, dogs are nice, but I think I might prefer cats. They seem to have more personality. If I were to ever get a cat or dog I'd name it Puppy or Kitty. Just because that's always what I call them, regardless of age or size or prior naming.

I Heart Photography

I might lack inspiration from everyday life, but a photo is definitely always worth a thousand words.

This is Sara Isabella. We just celebrated her first birthday. Isabella is the first child of my cousin Sara and her husband Carlos.

Isabella and her mother were named in honor of my grandmother, who passed away very unexpectedly in May 2004. It was a very difficult time for my close-knit family. For my young cousins and I, it was the first time we had experienced death.

I had a dream a few weeks after Isabella was born. My grandmother was sitting in a rocking chair with Isabella in her nursery, peacefully rocking her in the dark. I like to think of the dream as a message from my grandmother, acknowledging the birth of her third great-grandchild, the first little girl.

"She's having a bad day."

My cousins Denise (15) and Vicky (13) are spending a few days with us while their parents canoodle in Virginia Beach celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary. They let me use their old mini van as a borrowed form of transportation. Family rules.

So, we're leaving for the mall around 1pm today and notice a swarm of police cars a block down the street. We're curious, but not enough to delay our shopping adventure.

We went, we shopped, we conquered.

When we got back home at 4pm, most of the street had been taped up with that "PLEASE DO NOT CROSS THIS LINE" police tape. Policemen are stationed for several blocks all around. We even saw some SWAT-looking people. Now we're interested.

I called my friend Brian, who lives near the now chaotic scene. He told me that he'd been evacuated along with all his neighbors but they weren't exactly sure why. They were safe at the recreation center across from our neighborhood. Brian said he did notice that the policemen were surrounding the home of a lesbian he's friends with. It was his guess that her girlfriend had lost her mind. And she had a gun.

It was all the information I could get. A few more hours went by, we ate dinner, I took my little sister and cousins to get ice cream. Around 8pm and I found a very attractive policeman to question about the situation:

"There's a young lady, and apparently she's having a bad day. She's locked herself in her home and she has weapons. She's not cooperating with the officers, who knows how long we'll be here."

Having a bad day??

I just stuck my head out the window. They're still out there. It's almost midnight.

Broke Down Car

My car broke down this morning. It made me want to step out of the car and into oncoming traffic. Obviously, I didn't. Now I'm going to have to spend several hundred dollars to have it repaired. I should have walked into the traffic.

At least it didn't happen last night, when I was driving around lost in DC. In 4-inch heels. Because Lisa wanted to go to a nightclub. We finally found the nightclub, only to discover a mile-long line to get in. We waited about 30 minutes before we decided it wasn't worth a $20 entrance fee and the footache.

If my car had broken down last night, then I definitely would have walked into oncoming traffic. And taken Lisa with me.

I love driving. I love my car. I hate that my car broke down. And that it's going to cost a pretty penny to repair. And that I have a blister the size of an egg on my foot.

The Art of Blogging

I guess this would be a good time to announce that I am a fraud. I am not a true blogger. A true blogger would be my best friend Sam. She's actually the inspiration for this "blog". Sam is dedicated. She reads countless blogs, several of which she has introduced to me. My favorite is Dooce. Dooce is a genius. Sam's also a genius. She's recently started her own blog, where she can display her excellent writing skills and proficiency in what I call 'the art of blogging'.

The art of blogging is a technique used by true blog writers. It's a writing style that is unique to blogging. True bloggers have the ability to take readers on a journey into their lives and minds. They are easy to understand and relate to. They are dedicated and inspired by everyday life. And they entertain their readers.

I haven't even begun to master the art of blogging. I would call this an interactive online journal. I'm not really attempting to entertain anyone besides myself. And I think I lack the dedication and inspiration. I do hope that I will be able to take readers on a journey through my life and mind. There's not always a lot going on in my life, but there's never a lack of activity in my mind. I've written journals for over five years, so I write the way I think and feel, which might sometimes be difficult to understand.

Once more I welcome readers. If I'm entertaining to anyone so far, I'm very happy about that. If not, maybe you should try Sam's blog.

Welcome

This is my fifth attempt at a first entry.

Attempts #2-4 were all in the span of 7 hours earlier today/yesterday. Seven hours full of interruptions that left me frustrated and uninspired. I took a break, and now I'm refreshed and ready to write, thanks to a fag and an episode of "Sex and the City".

"Sex and the City" is a great show, I don't care what anyone else thinks. If I were ever to meet the writers of that show, I'd bow down and praise them. I'll admit, it's a "chick" show. I'm not a "chick" kind of girl. Sure, it's fun to be a girl, I love shoes, but I'm not a fan of getting together with a bunch of girls and talking about our periods, boyfriends, fashion, and hot celebrities. I just believe that the writers of "SATC" were genius to take everything about love and sex and apply it to four friends who go through many situations and many many different men. It's easy to relate to. Friends, sex and love. It's great.

Love.

I believe love is a fragile mind-blowing life-altering force that I have yet to experience. Not that I'm complaining, I'm only 18 years-old. I feel that I am ready for a first love, but I won't force it, especially not with my current boyfriend.

His name is Brahim, he's from Morocco, also 18 years-old. I met him through our mutual friend Jai on my birthday, June 10th. I spent that night, and the nights after senior prom and graduation with him, Jai, and my close friend Lisa. Those are some memorable nights, and spending them with Brahim was definitely wonderful.

It's been almost two months now, and he's become a complete mystery to me. I wouldn't say that I'm an extremely outgoing or friendly person, but people really amaze me. I love to studying and analyzing personalities and behavior. Brahim isn't like anyone I've ever met. Every time I think I'm starting to understand a little bit of who he is, he'll do or say something that will totally confuse me. The worse part is that I know he does it on purpose. He's smart. It's frustrating.

In some ways, Brahim reminds me of Jim Morrison, who I adore with all my heart and soul. He was an insane contradiction of personality. I don't adore Brahim, no, but I'm fascinated by him. I didn't even know Jim Morrison but he and his music has changed me. Who knows what kind of affect Brahim will have on me in the end?