A broken branch I'd be, if you weren't grown to me

Christmas is less than a week away, and i still haven't mustered up any holiday spirit... last minute shopping and the extremely long drive are filling me with dread rather than tidings of good cheer. regardless, i am ready to be at home. my favorite thing about this time of year is cooking with mi madre. although i'm slowly building up my own private arsenal, her kitchen is (by far) better equipped for massive amounts of baking (the highlight being her fabulous new convection oven... *le sigh*).
my apartment is clean for the first time since the comps crunch began. even though the remainder of my list got put on hold for the day, it feels remarkably calming for all the clutter to be temporarily in order.

I guess they'll read everything about you.
Though the press might shoot me down I'm still true.
I sell my book for free. That's what you do to me.

Oh, you are my family tree.
Be good to me
Take care of me.
-Ben Kweller

i want my mtv

this website might lead to my academic downfall...
MTV Music
every video ever (or at least every one that i can think of and care to see again)

edit: have i told you lately how much i heart christopher walken? i've never been happier- easy access to a high quality copy of weapon of choice- i'm gonna learn the whole routine.

si se puede

after a week spent crying tears of loss, it felt good to cry for hope and joy last night. for the first time in my somewhat brief career as a voter, my voice was heard and my state, with our five little electoral votes, added to the victory. i hope i can keep my cynicism on the back burner for awhile- it feels good to believe.

in this life like weeds

apologies for my extended absence. suffering from a horrific case of writer's block- i can't make myself write my comps and i've been avoiding writing in my journal. here's to breaking two months of silence, in hopes that the words start flowing in other arenas of my life...
the weather decided to turn cool without much warning, reminding me that in winter my apartment morphs into a human refrigerator. no amount of hot tea or sweatshirt-layering makes the chill go away, but i refuse to turn on the heater when the outside temp is in the mid-to-high-50's. i miss the days of central air/heating, when i had a little box that magically kept my home at a comfortable 78 degrees. thermostat- where are you now, when i need you the most?
my mom is a bad ass. she and several of her closest friends jumped out of an airplane last weekend to celebrate their birthdays.
here she is looking remarkably calm pre-jump:

From Blogger Pictures

here she is on her way down...

From Blogger Pictures

i believe that i've mentioned this before, but i was reminded last night. when i go, i want it to be fast and painless for my family. i don't want anyone to have to cleanup after me. i don't want to linger and become someone other than myself.

All this talkin' all the time and the air fills up, up, up
Until there's nothin' left to breathe
And you think you feel most everything
And we know that our hearts are just made out of strings
To be pulled, strings to be pulled
-Modest Mouse

keep them all checking their watches

returned from viejo mexico tuesday night. i put up pictures (more than anyone really wants to see) on picasa:
Sayulita 2008
i'm still processing the trip- rather than forgetting about real life, i spent a week in deep contemplation. i wish i had the ocean close to me always- calms me down and clears my head... mother nature's answer for anti-anxiety meds.

When you're riding the rails with those wide open eyes,
Well, there's one old south paw you will always fight.
And alone on a worn-out throne
is the reigning queen of the questions
Why we blind-footed toddlers ever started out.

So don't get into it with me
When I goose-step
Across the kitchen floor
You know I still adore
All your mother's old-fashioned ways
I'm so impressed that you hear
My inventions, and that it matters more
Than what you saw with your eyes...
the shins

girls gone wilde

thanks to A for passing along this little gem...

'Llectuals

whiter shade of pale

The on-again, off-again trip is becoming more of a reality. Seeing as i would like to spend my days on the beach sunburn-free, i decided to investigate fake n' bake establishments. i'm a bit apprehensive- i've never indoor tanned before, and after a quick google search, i may have lost my appetite for destruction. the second link that comes up for tanning in my zip code is a taxidermy place...