New New Moon Trailer!!!!

Ay Jacob!!

Happy Ending

This is by far, one of my favorite songs of all time and Mika is one of my favorite artists. For starters, he is a great songwriter, amazing musician and a talented singer. I love his music, especially this song. The lyrics are very touching and we can all relate to his story, the music is different and his singing is fabulous. Here is the music video so you can watch it for your entertainment and so you can also listen to the full song. I must add, it's a little different than the original track of his album (more pop). This is only the link to it on youtube, since the embed option was disabled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl4WN-aOWDY


Then, today I stumble upon this amazing short movie. This is from a student's senior thesis film made at Ringling College of Art and Design. She decided to use Mika's song Happy Ending for her final film. I loved it and wanted to share it.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13

Anchored from lindsey olivares on Vimeo.

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending.
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending.
This is the way that we love,
Like it's forever.
Then live the rest of our life,
But not together.

Wake up in the morning, stumble on my life
Can't get no love without sacrifice
If anything should happen, I guess I wish you well
A little bit of heaven, but a little bit of hell

This is the hardest story that I've ever told
No hope, or love, or glory
Happy endings gone forever more
I feel as if I'm wasted
And I'm wastin' every day

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending.
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending.
This is the way that we love,
Like it's forever.
Then live the rest of our life,
But not together.

2 o'clock in the morning, something's on my mind
Can't get no rest; keep walkin' around
If I pretend that nothin' ever went wrong, I can get to my sleep
I can think that we just carried on

This is the hardest story that I've ever told
No hope, or love, or glory
Happy endings gone forever more
I feel as if I'm wasted
And I'm wastin' every day

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending.
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending.
This is the way that we love,
Like it's forever.
Then live the rest of our life,
But not together.

A Little bit of love, little bit of love
Little bit of love, little bit of love

I feel as if I'm wasted
And I waste everyday

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending.
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending.
This is the way that we love,
Like it's forever.
To live the rest of our life,
But not together.

El español es mi idioma

He decidido comenzar a escribir muchos de mis "blog posts" en español. Bueno, realmente habrá mucho "spanglish", ya que hay veces que no puedo explicar o expresar algo correctamente en español. Comienzo por explicar mis razones, y la mas primordial es porque es mi idioma nativo, mi lengua de preferencia. La hablo en mi casa, con la gente que amo, y hasta a mis dos tesoros de perritos. Pero la motivación vino por algo muy particular. Sucede que me he encontrado en varias ocasiones "second-guessing myself" (aquí ya estoy con mi spanglish) cuando escribo en español. Me explico. Empiezo a escribir palabras comunes, verbos conjugados y no recuerdo si era con C o Z, B o V y asi por el estilo. Bastante alarmante para mí. Esto ultimamente me esta pasando con mucha más frecuencia y me ha empezado a frustrar. Y viniendo de una estudiante que era excelente en gramática ya que siempre fuí muy estudiosa del español como clase. Además siempre he sido partidiaria de una persona que pueda escribir correctamente y hablar con propiedad. Y pensándolo bien, llegué a la conclusión que la raíz de mi nuevo problema es la falta de escritura. Yo me comunico en inglés la mayor parte del tiempo ya que vivo en Estados Unidos. Una vez llego a mi casa o llamo a mi familia, no tengo ningún problema cambiando al español. Inlcuso, no soy como muchos puertorriqueños que se mudan para acá unos años y llegan a PR con acento medio americano. Y más aun, puedo hablar bastante cafre de vez en cuando y de cuando en vez. Yo hablo como buena puertorriqueña... pero muchas veces hay palabras que me vienen primero a la mente en inglés y así salen por mi boca. Con la rapidez que usualmente prefiero hablar, no me da tiempo de ponerle un filtro de idiomas a mi boca. Y simplemente, muchas veces solo es la facilidad de expresar algun término es inglés (como ya pudieron ver más arriba). Y que puedo decir de los acentos! Tantos años sin tener que escribirlos y ahora es un pesar hacerlo. Lo más que me abochorna es lo mucho que me tripeo a la gente en Facebook, que escriben unos HORORES que no tienen precio, y yo ahora que escribo y tengo que parar y pensar y confundirme porque no recuerdo lo que aprendí una vez!! Bueno, en fin, he decidado comenzar a practicar mi español escrito para no perder lo aprendido. Y si ven errores u horrores, no dejen de informarme.

Fuck You (No, not you)

This is a song from Lily Allen's new album, which I loved before watching this and now love even more. I am a fan of hers, and this song was like an anthem to me cuz I like to have this attitude, but I guess it is too for a lot of people that have been repressed and discriminated against. More power to them! And I hope the fight for equality will give them the rights they deserve.

5K Mud Run

http://www.ocmudrun.com/

For those of you who don't know yet, last week I signed up for a mud run in July 18. A few of you might not know what this is, so I'll explain. It's basically, run for 5K with obstacles, in the mud. And yes, I had to pay to do this. You might ask, why in the world is she paying to do this?. Well, it sounds fun and dirty (hahaha) and I think I will enjoy it. Other than it being fun, the other reason I registered was to get in shape. Having to do this as part of a team, will only make me try my hardest to not disappoint the rest of the "Lab Rats" team (yes, lab rats). I knew that this will only make me exercise and push myself to get in shape and start being more active. This is coming from someone that was very active all throughout her high school/college years. What happened? Well I became lazy, and old, and busy and I let myself go and as a consequence I'm not in shape anymore. I also know I am not fat, but I have gained weight since those fabulous athletic years when I played every single sport possible. I just want to get in shape, have fun and be able to go up the stairs without being out of breath. I also want to have a more decent body to wear my swim suit this summer. I will post pictures of the event, since hubs will be there documenting all of it.

New Moon!!!!!

MTV Movie Awards | Twilight: New Moon

The Big Gay Chip on My Shoulder

by Rob Thomas for The Huffington Post (May 27, 2009)

I am a straight man, with a big gay chip on my shoulder.

A while back on my Twitter page (yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds), I mentioned that, if I believed in the devil, Pat Robertson might be him.

Being a fairly liberal-leaning guy with either liberal friends or Republican and Christian friends who don't believe that being one has anything to do with the other, I was surprised at how many people took offense to what I had to say.

These people weren't friends of Mr. Robertson but friends, apparently, of God. They had "spoken" with him and he had assured them that he was no friend of the gays. He also told them that he loved America more than any other country and was a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars.

The small controversy or "Twitter-versy" (patent on phrase pending) all started when I had made the mistake of asking why two people of the same sex shouldn't be able to make the same life-long commitment and (more importantly) under the same god, as straight people. Why can't my gay friends be as happily married as my wife and I? It seemed simple to me, but let me start off by telling you a series of things that I believe to be true:

I am a person who believes that people are born gay. I don't think you have any control over what moves you or to whom you're attracted. That's why it's called an attraction and not a choice.

I believe that America is a great nation of even greater people. I also believe that anyone who says that this is a "Christian nation" has RHS, or revisionist history syndrome, and doesn't realize that most of our founding fathers were either atheist or at least could see, even in the 1700s, that all through Europe at the time, religion was the cause of so much persecution that they needed to put into their brand new constitution a SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE so that the ideals of a group of people could never be forced onto the whole. (I also find it funny when people point out to me that it says "one nation under god" in our pledge of allegiance, not realizing that this was an addition made in 1954 during the communism scare of the McCarthy era. It's not surprising, however, knowing that these same people would punch me in the mouth if I called Jesus a Jew.)

I believe the fact that an atheist, who doesn't believe in God at all, is allowed to enter into the holy land of marriage while a gay Christian is not, shows that this law is arbitrary. Are we to believe that anyone who doesn't live their life according to the King James Bible isn't protected by the same laws that protect those who do? Using the same argument that I've seen on the 700 Club, that would mean that Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim weddings are also null and void.

I believe that to deny this right to the gay population is to say to them, "this god is not your god and he doesn't love you." There isn't one person who is against gay marriage that can give me a reason why it shouldn't be legal without bringing God or their religion into it. Still, I'm amazed at the audacity of a small, misdirected group of the ultra-conservative Christian right wing, to spend millions of dollars, in a recession, on advertisements to stop two men or women who love each other from being able to be married, but when you present any opposition to them, they accuse you of attacking their religion. Isn't it funny that the people who are the quickest to take someone's basic rights to happiness are always the loudest to scream when someone attacks their right to do so?

But this isn't a paper about religion. How could it be? Since we clearly have a separation of church and state, how could a conversation about laws have anything to do with religion at all? I'm writing about basic civil rights. We've been here before, fighting for the rights of African Americans or women to vote, or the rights of Jewish Americans to worship as they see fit. And, just as whites fought for African Americans or Christians for Jewish Americans, straight people must stand up and be a voice for gay people.

I've heard it said before, many times, that if two men or two women are allowed to join into a civil union together, why can't they be happy with that and why is it so important that they call it marriage? In essence, what's in a name?

A civil union has to do with death. It's essentially a document that gives you lower taxes and the right to let your faux spouse collect your insurance when you pass away. A marriage is about life. It's about a commitment. And this argument is about allowing people to have the right to make that commitment, even if it doesn't make sense to you. Anything else falls under the category of "separate but equal" and we know how that works out.

The support of legalizing gay marriage is in no way meant to change the ideals of the section of Christians who believe that homosexuality is a sin. But we should refuse to let other people's ideals shape the way we live our lives. Each of us has a short ride on this earth and as long as we stay in our lane, and don't affect someone else's ride, we should be allowed to drive as we see fit.

Just watch people!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

One rule for married girls

This is a a blog entry from a one of the blogs I follow. This girl is hilarious and I think what she says is the absolute truth. I decided to post this entry on my blog, cause I could never say this better than her. Hopefully I won't get in trouble for posting it ;)
Read on:
http://www.whatsablog.com/whatsablog.com/home/Entries/2009/4/29_liar%2C_liar%2C_panties_on_fire.html

"my neighbor mel, a newlywed, stopped by my house this morning. she was telling me about a recent fight she had with her hubby. mel is out of work, and has been for a few months. she has been looking for a job with no luck. she had an interview this week which didn’t turn out so well. after about five minutes mel realized the job was not for her for a few important reasons. once she realized this, she became disinterested, and blew the interview.

when recounting this to her new hubby, he got mad, insisting that any job would be better than nothing.

that is when i had to break it down for her, the same way mother did for me:

LYING TO YOUR HUBBY IS PART OF MARRIAGE

and we do it in their best interest. it’s actually more like fibbing. and we do it to avoid fights, make them feel better, and mostly to keep ourselves out of trouble.

mel knew that telling hubby about the botched interview would upset him, but she told him anyways. oh, the mistakes of the rookies.

at this point, my phone rings, and i answer it. “hi hubs, how are you?...me? i’m cleaning the house...kind of have my hands full of soap at the moment, can i call you back later?”

a total lie. i hadn’t even gotten dressed yet, or brushed my teeth, let alone started on the house work. but if i said to hubs “mel stopped by, and we are bitching about men”...wouldn’t have sounded as good to him.

same when hubs asks “how much did those jeans cost?” ummm...$50. “and the pedicure?” ummmm...$10. he doesn’t need to know this stuff, and i avoid getting into trouble.

or when he gets out of the surf, he’ll ask “did you see me get that barrel”...oh....yes....of course...it was.....amazing! well done, i’m so proud of you (maybe i would have seen him get the wave of the day if i didn’t have my nose buried deeply into ‘breaking dawn’).

hopefully mel left feeling inspired. inspired to start a life based on fabrications, half truths, and gaping omissions. welcome to married life!

what do you lie to your partner about?"

Fortune Cookies

"You will soon be crossing the desert sands for a fun vacation"

That is what my fortune cookie read on Tuesday.
According to Wikipedia (I must admit, I frequently go there for references for and enlightenment in many random subjects), a fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy.
Pretty funny, since I am planning to go to Dubai this summer. I hope it works out- I mean, it will because the cookie said so :)

I think Gaga is the shit!

She is so fucking fierce. I'm truly fascinated by her talent.

FYI

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/26542/americas-unhealthiest-restaurants

Harvey Milk

Today I watched a very inspiring movie, Milk. I am very saddened by this story, but most of all inspired. This movie is about the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. He was an amazing man, smart politician and activist. This is about his fight for equality, freedom, rights. It was devastating to see that hatred and ignorance took his life. Most of you, who read my blog, know my view, opinion on this matter and know where I stand. To all of you who do not understand the battle for equality, please watch this amazing movie. Below, I have the acceptance speech of Dustin Lance Black, the screen writer of the movie Harvey Milk and of Sean Penn, who played Harvey Milk in this amazing movie. Both truly inspiring.

Kittens, inspired by kittens

This was the highlight of my day!!
My personal fave: Braaaaiiiinstorm!!!

Where should I live?

I took this quiz on Facebook, because I was curious about the answer. I've always wonder what would be my perfect city, somewhere I could perfectly fit and enjoy my life. And I cannot agree more with the answer. The description really says exactly what I look for. I haven't been there yet, but I know in this lifetime I will go visit. I'm sharing this with you, so you can get to know a little more about me. I would to live in a place like this, make my life there. My dream is to live somewhere in Europe, for the same reasons described below. There's nothing wring with dreaming ;)

Italy

"You belong in Italy. You love sunny destinations, but a nice beach isn't the only thing you need. In Italy you can find culture everywhere and the food is delicious. You have the big vibrant cities, but also lovely little towns where the people are warm and hospitable. This country has everything you need, great weather, passionate people, beautiful surroundings and big vibrant cities filled with culture."

Christian the Lion

This is one of the best stories I've heard. This is proof that animals feel and can love.

I am boycotting Quizno's for life!

The tittle pretty much sums it up...
So my dear friend, Santos - who I have to say is quite the bargainer- found this coupon online where you could get any regular sub for free at Quizno's. Of course we planned our strategy. There is one Quizno's in the student center here at UCI. So, we agreed on meeting in front of the student center, brought sides - she brought chips and I brought some veggie leftovers from the day before- and she was getting water and I brought a small bottle of juice. With this plan, we didn't need to spend a cent there, have an awesome free lunch, talk for a little bit and walk back to lab. While we are standing in the big line at Quizno's we read a small sign in front of the cashier that read: "Sorry, we do not accept any coupons". At that point our little hearts just shattered, our master plan was ruined and we were pissed. We've been wanting do this and take advantage of the system in these shitty economy times!! We only had like 45 minutes to eat before going to lab, so with much sadness we dropped our idea of free lunch and stayed in line to buy a stupid sandwich. We automatically assumed that maybe cuz this was a Quizno's that was part of the student center, maybe not everything applied there. So fine we ate there.

Unfortunately, it doesn't end here... Next day comes, and we are even more determined to get the free sandwich that we felt entitled to. We decided to go to another Quizno's at the Bluffs - a small food center in Newport Beach. Since we were being all cheap, we decided to walk there (maybe a 15 min walk?). While we are leaving we decided to better call and make sure they were accepting the infamous coupon. Because if I would've walked there and couldn't get my free sandwich, there would've been the first Newport Beach masacre!
So, we get the number, call, and some one picks up the phone. I was able to only say: "Hi, do you guys accept..." Bitch interrupts me without even being done with the question, and says: "Sorry ma'am we don't" and hung up. Big WTF!!! So at this point I am so obsessed with getting my free sandwich that I called the other Quizno's around (for this one we would've had to drive), and of course: "no, we don't". So we ended up not getting our free sub, and in one of the attempts we even had to pay for one. Never going there again. Why even advertise this stupid coupon if no restaurant will accept it? Was that a shitty corporate strategy to get us to go there? Ughhh! Thank God that night, Santos (always reliable) found a coupon for 2 free tacos at Jack in the Box. We went, got 2 tacos, got some fries and had an awesome junk food date. Jack was our savior for the week, and we know we can always count on him.

New Haircut!

I decided to keep the dark color, although this one is a lot darker... and is back to short-short. Maybe for the summer I will go back to the dirty blonde.

I support gay marriage...

...So for those of you who don't know, I am married. And for those of you who may question my orientation, I am straight. Yes, I support gay marriage and I don't believe in discrimination. I don't think us or any religion can impose our/their believes in they way they love. Being married is a right and not a privilege. This past summer I had the opportunity to go to a rally against proposition 8. This proposition takes away the civil right from gay men and women to marry in California. Unfortunately, the California voters passed this proposition and many gay marriages are now up in the air. The campaign for yes on this proposition was sponsored by many religious groups, specially the mormons. Their ads were intentionally made to scare ignorants and religious people with how straight marriages needed protection from gay marriages, and the way to pretct them was voting yes. WTF with all that bullshit about needing protection for straight marriages?? Please, the only thing we need protection from is divorce! How can divorce be legal and gay marriage not? I still ask myself this question everytime I hear something related with banning gay marriages in California. And I have to say, coming from a very strict/religious background were even wearing earrings is bad (trust me I am not that way anymore), I understand the point of view of so many. Also, as a scientist I understand the concept of what is supposed to be "natural". But this doesn't affect any of us, only the gay community and they should have the same rights all citizens, and tax payers have. Some one you know, someone you care about, maybe someone in your family is gay... hell maybe your kid could be gay... Don't you wish for them to have the same civil rights that all of us have? Don't you want them to be happy? Please watch the video below, it really touched me and hopefully it will touch you.







"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Remembering...

Remembering... that's what I've been doing all day, instead of working on and practicing my talk. I feel a little nostalgic when I remember college days. Life was so different, so easy. I love remembering the friendships made, friendships that will survive a lifetime. Every year, we get together in December, and remember our college days together at a local beach near our Alma Mater. Each and everyone of them will always have a special place in my heart, no matter how far we are.

I really don't like Sarah Palin and keep finding reasons to dispise her

I love animals and think this is a bad idea

http://www.cvma.net/

This proposal could add approximately 9% to the cost of veterinary care. Many animals won’t get the necessary medical care and treatment they deserve because veterinary services will be more expensive. Pets are part of our families and a lot of families are already facing financial hardship in this weak economy. Increasing the cost of veterinary care will only lead to more animals being abandoned, or euthanized. It’s not fair for your pets to suffer because the state cannot balance its budget.

Random Things About Me

1. When I was little I had an imaginary doctor's office in my bedroom, I also had records of all my patients (dolls of course)
2. I am very close to my parents, eventhough we have arguments all the time... maybe cuz we're very much alike. I adore my gradparents
3. I use to play basketball in the high school team, people seem surprised about this. My dear youngest brother taught me how to play.
4. My dad had a heart transplant when I was 6, still a living miracle.
5. I always fear the day my parents die.
6. I LOVE to eat, and I eat like a man. I also, used to be VERY skinny.
7. I took piano lessons from 3rd to 4th grade. I quit, after a whole year of complaining... they were on Saturdays afternoon, and I couldn't play outside.
8. In kindergarten I had a major crush on a little Chinese boy that use to kick me all the time. Asians are a rare thing in PR. I still remember him clearly.
9. I love getting tanned and I think I know how to do it very well without getting burned.
10. I constantly dream about living in Europe.
11. I've taken couple years of French, I can write and read it. I'm not that great at speaking it.
12. Cheese is my favorite all time snack, with orange juice after.
13. I hold grudges and I am very resentful. I also try to get even.
14. I am extremely organized, and I like labels, containers and color-coding. I also have a mild OCD.
15. I really like shopping and trends. People always ask me for advice on what to wear, haircuts and stuff like that.
16. I am a very bad decision-maker. I also go to grad school for PhD in Biology. (hahaha)
17. I read Twilight and like how it made me feel like a teenager all over again.
18. I have a very special niece and cousin that remind me of me when I was younger. They are my two dearest. Sometimes I think they are my own children.
19. I was very popular in high school.
20. My mom's side of the family came from Italy.
21. I used to like dogs a little bit, but was very disgusted by their smell. Now I have 2 puppies and I'm always cleaning poo.
22. I am very good with kids.
23. Secretly, I want to be a housewife. (not so secretly anymore)
24. I read PerezHilton.com every day.
25. I rarely remember my dreams.

...and I'm back....

So, I am finally back! I've been back from my Christmas vacation awhile ago but I just intentionally put my blog in the back burner for all these weeks. While I had decided to have a blog and made a duty to keep it regularly up to date, all these time I just didn't want to write. But not for the lack of not having anything to write, or because I was lazy or much less because I was busy... no, I was just mentally stuck and couldn't write my thoughts or feelings. I had it in the back of my head all along, but just kept shushing that little voice over and over again. I think I was just homesick, and missing my family and the warmth of my island and maybe it was this sadness that made me feel numb and nostalgic. I had such a great time there, and the fact that I spent some quality time with my parents, specially my dad really gives me great satisfaction. I also spent a lot of time with my hubby, it was the longest I've ever been with Irvin without any interruption... 24/7 together, and we made it :).

Well, back to reality... and back to lab. I was having the most unpleasant experience in lab after coming back. I was depressed, unmotivated and very negative about everything science-related. It was like academically I had hit a wall. I don't know what happened, but all the fears and insecurities came back with the new year... maybe the fact that I was about to give my yearly "progress" seminar and a committee meeting had something to do with all this. I hope it goes well, cuz I really feel worried about the outcome of all this. I tried to have a positive attitude and thinking, but it is a really hard thing to do when you have been negative your whole life. And most, specially since my thesis project is not that promising anymore. We'll see how it goes. I will most likely write about how it went...