one month later

so the highschool gig did not come through... oh well.. who has heard of a possible employee looking after the possible employer?? i mean, afterall, who--in their right mind--wants a real, serious, grown-up job? arggggggggggggg... well, if i want to get another piercing in my face, well, now's the time, i guess..

Spain was more than i expected, but as expected, it all went oh so fast... the highlights: Benicassim of course (minus the camping); seeing Mari's eye watering during the Pixies' concert; the homey italian dinners cooked by Ale, Mari's roommate; museums gallore, sharing a ciggie with Elisa; mexican dinner with Em and Anna; el Prado, Anita and her apartment in Madrid; and seeing Oscar at the airport.

of course San Jose is not Barcelona... it was great to spend some time there... i felt too serious in Barce, and i feel too couch potato here... i'm back in school and the two classes i'm taking are great and i'm super excited about them... i also went back to work at the sportsbook and i guess i'll be there for a while... the only plan i have, and well, i set my mind about it since before the trip, is that i seriously have to save money... now i have one more big incentive, but that's going to be a secret for now... but anyhow, saving money should be the smartest thing i should do now...

so that's life one month after departing for the old continent..

oh!!! and i have a new cellphone!!! a super cool motorola with itunes, hehe.. it rocks!! gracias ñoño..

barcelona and benicassim.... so far so good

ok, so here´s the deal in a nutshell...

my flight from caracas to milan was delayed for an hour, which caused me to lose my flight from milan to barcelona, and to top things off, my bagagge was lost and got it back 3 days later...

but finally i got my bag at 11pm... just hours before i left for benicassim...

now benicassim...............wow as in WOWWWWWWWWWWWW

friday i saw PIXIES and THE STROKES.... pixies, can you imagine????????? my friend mariella was flipping out cuz she´s like her fan number 1...

saturday i saw MORRISEY and FRANZ FERDINAD and JAY JAY JOHANSON..........amazing music...

now, sunday.... i was alone, cuz my friends didnt but the ticket for this day... i went early cuz i wanted to see SHE WANTS REVENGE... they rocked!!!! i even think that the singer even saw me and pointed at me... well, dreams dont cost a thing....

then i waited some hours before the next comcert.... i made my moves and i was able to get to the second barrier (there was a problem during the pixies concert so they had to separate the public into 2 barriers)......... so the thing is that i saw DEPECHE MODE and PLACEBO almost first in line....

DEPECHE was amazin, they rocked the house big time... it even was martin gore´s birthday and everybody sang happy bday to him...

then PLACEBO............ my god.... they opened with "infrared" and i almost cried.... i had goose bumps..... brian molko and stefal olsdal were amazing.... i´m sooooooooo happy you cant imagine...

i took some pictures and videos during pixies, but since i was alone and didnt know where i was going to be during placebo, i didnt take my camera (i know, i know, i´m such an idiot)... but you can go to youtube and search for fib heineken 2006 and see some videos...

on thursday some of my friends are coming to barce so i´ll try to post later...

love y´all, take care.

..cuz i'm leaving on a jet plane..

so that's it my friends, tomorrow i'll be crossing the atlantic and on thursday i'll be in Barcelona.

to say that i'm super exited is overrated...........

i'll miss my ñoño... (there are 2 songs that are stuck in my head: "secret smile" by semisonic, and lisa loeb's version of "leaving on a jet plane")

i'll try to keep you guys posted :-)

aluka goes to hollywood

nah... i'm just kidding...

ok, so here's the deal... i haven't written in more than a month... so there's a lot to tell you guys...

officially, i finish the semester next monday when i present my final paper for my Literary Theory II class... and after i finish tabulating all the freakin' evaluations... so that's it, no more TAing for me, i-am-done... D-O-N-E!!!

i'll pursue something different... maybe teaching... college, highschool... who knows??

for my seminar on the novel i presented a project called "El comic como novela: una lectura bajtiniana de Watchmen de Alan Moore" ("The Comic as Novel: a Bajtinian Reading of Alan Moore's Watchmen"), which was great, i mean, now i know i can use Bajtin to prove that comics are indeed novels--in the traditional sense. And that had been my topic for my thesis... or at least what i wanted to do... but in reality, and this really sucks, it's a poor choice... because there's no one in the university, at least in Modern Languages, who could guide me (a.k.a. thesis advisor) and that my friends is trouble... so i was talking with this professor who has office in the same place as me, and she was advicing me to maybe choose a different topic, so i pulled out my plan B which was Patricia Duncker's Hallucinating Foucault. It is uber cool and interesting and it deals with obsession and, well, Foucault.. so, i'll see... i'll try to re-read it and see what i can do..

and then there's Barcelona... oh yeah, it's B day minus 10 days..

hope all is well with y'all..................

how i think my bday is going to go..

"Someone call the ambulance
There's going to be an accident
I'm coming up on infra red
There is no running that can hide you
Cos I can see in the dark
I'm coming up on infra red
Forget your running I will find you"

--Infrared, Placebo

oh margot!! i'm 26!!

half-unemployed

at least i was able to save the money for the plane ticket to Spain... because that's the big chunk of money for the trip... oh, i'm going ahead with the story... oh well, the thing is that i finished all i could do for now at Lehmann bookstore, and they'll call me whenever they need anything, so practically, i lost one of my jobs. I still have the sportsbook gig, but that's crap and i've found myself being a jerk with customers (the ones who really, really deserve it)... i get tired and as soon as i step into the office, i want to get out. this is the start of my fourth year at the sportsbook and i think that's enough... i hope i can change jobs when i return to CR on august.

and i have a new plan now... as soon as i return and in whatever job i will have, i'll start saving... not for a trip this time, but for either a) the bookstore, or b) an apartment.

i said before that i never plan ahead, or at least in the long run.. but i hope i'll make it this time.. i mean, this will take me at least a couple of years (the same that took me to save for the Spain trip).

so all i need is a decent job.. i even sent my resume to my old higschool, just in case they need someone in the future. and maybe the english conversation courses will call me to teach after august at the university. i wont be a TA anymore.. i need a real job please..

Spain!!

ok, so there you have it... i'm going to Spain... from San Jose to Caracas, Caracas to Milan, and from Milan to Barcelona...

i'm terribly happy... i'm actually procrastinatingly happy (i just made up the word, which for me means daydreaming about the trip instead of studying)...

anyhow... i'll leave CR on july 17th and arrive to Barcelona on the 18th. Mariella is picking me up and on the 20th we will be at the Benicassim Festival.

I'll get to see some of my favorite bands (Placebo, Pixies, Franz Ferdinand, Depeche Mode) that i don't quite believe that i'll be there... this is so surreal... i'll get to see Brian Molko... omg..

after that, i'll go back to barcelona and hopefully, i'll see my friends from WAC: Anita, Anna and Elisa.

and of course i'll be with my Lela (en la matita, jaja).

then i'll head to Madrid so i can check up on the museums (i'm really looking forward this!)

then, on august 3rd i'll head back to Costa Rica.... looking forward to be back with my ñoño..

that's it for now... i should study, you know... but have so many other things in my mind right now (like, i just had an offer to work for the university for a conversation course--remember, i have 2 jobs already--, or that i'm reading Watchment so i can figure out if it's good enough for my thesis material, and of course, the never ending Bhaktin reading i've been dealing for the past 3 weeks..)

esmirandamiamor!

los vere el domingo, felicidad total!!

"el destino me ha dado
corazones desequilibrados
tu palabra me nivela
y detiene mi caer"

--Don

yo amo mi ciudad

porque a mi tambien me encanta San Jose, desde el Parque España con su fuente del conquistador, los churros de crema pastelera de manolos, mora books en el omni, aprender a esquivar gente caminando por la avenida central, la panaderia samuelito ahi por la parada de Tibas (y cuando hay plata, pasar por Giacomin por unas galletas de herradura o un masapan), la ruta que agarro siempre para ir a la Lehmann, o la que agarro para devolverme, Marito Mortadela y su dulce sabiduria (como cuando me pregunto que si tenia mama y al responderle que si, me dijo que la quisiera mucho), la avenida de adoquines sueltos, el edificio de correos y el camino al apartado postal 52-1000 san jose.. yo entiendo lo que luis chaves quiere decir.

a continuacion, el comentario de luis chaves publicado en la seccion Ancora de la Nacion del domingo 12 de marzo del 2006.

Lugar Común: San José

Luis Chaves
chaves.luis@gmail.com

El josefino y sus primos cercanos del Gran Área Metropolitana piden a gritos una capital donde se vean reflejados, una que les devuelva un poco de identidad, de autoestima...

Se dice que San José fue una de las primeras ciudades con electrificación en el mundo. Habría que investigar. Cierto o no, este es un dato anodino si se enfrenta al siguiente hecho: San José es la capital que más temprano apaga las luces. Una capital con horario de zona rural. Recientemente, sin embargo, diversas actividades culturales (Papaya Fest, Transitarte, Naderías) trasladaron y concentraron la atención y la energía de miles de personas al centro de Chepe. Por unos días, la antigua Villanueva dejó de ser una ciudad de paso.

Y la gente volvió a San José y ocupó sus aceras, reconoció sus sonidos, comió churros o boca de salchichón, tomó fotos mal centradas frente a monumentos ecuestres, pegó chicles debajo de los poyos del Parque España, tocó la nalga de la gorda de Monumental, tomó birras sin hielo, caminó incluso nueve cuadras sin montarse al carro o al taxi. Y la gente vio que todo esto era bueno. Solo bueno. Entonces la gente descansó.

Parece que el josefino y sus primos cercanos del Gran Área Metropolitana piden a gritos una capital donde se vean reflejados, una que les devuelva un poco de identidad, de autoestima. Aunque también puede ser que no se trate más que de un espejismo y que la aspiración del tico promedio de la urbe siga siendo un condominio cerrado cerca del mall. Pero por si acaso, aquí van once razones por las cuales San José centro debería convertirse en una capital habitada.

1. Porque -empecemos por lo obvio- aunque su apariencia, sus ruidos, sus olores, sus complejos y sus costumbres son las de una capital de provincia, San José es la ciudad capital del país.

2. Porque es una de pocas capitales en el planeta que se puede cruzar a lo largo y a lo ancho en menos de un día.

3. Porque el rumor tántrico de los bolsinistas en la esquina de Monumental es la verdadera música folclórica de Costa Rica.

4. Porque el arreglado especial de Chelles reduce los triglicéridos.

5. Porque el mural sobre plywood del bar Morazán es una genialidad y el salón de karaoke de La Vasconia es la puerta de entrada a una realidad paralela.

6. Porque en la esquina este de la Casa Amarilla está Ñ, la galería-bazar administrada por exintegrantes de la Selección Nacional Mixta de Nado Sincronizado. Una exquisitez.

7. Porque todos los buses llegan a San José. Trate en cambio de trasladarse, digamos, de Curri a Tibás. 8. Porque graffiti tipo "Chichi te amo demaciado" (cortesía de Sugar) o "Colacho fuma piedra" devuelven la felicidad hasta al misántropo más acabado.

9. Porque la única manera de combatir la paranoia colectiva alimentada y explotada por nuestro periodismo fascista es recuperando los espacios públicos capitalinos, sobre todo los nocturnos.

10. Porque si en todo caso uno llega a ser víctima de asalto, sabe que fue un compa con necesidades inmediatas y no a manos de un dueño de bar del Estado Separatista de Escazú que cobra dos mil colones por cerveza.

11. Y porque es preferible la muerte por asfixia antes que ir a tomar unas Pilsen a Cartago.

acceptance

tomorrow i'll start a new semester at school. one more and two to go, in theory, so to finish the academic credits and start on my dissertation. with this thought on mind, i go to sleep thinking on how much i like to create things and on how much i need to create. perhaps taking the first step towards my thesis is dreaming, dreaming that in a couple of years i will have created the proof to the world and my academic peers and professors of what i am, and of what i'm capable. but it's a long, hard way.. or at least that's how i see things sometimes at the very beginning, at the verge of creation.. when i'm sitting in front of my computer, fingers aching to type, to pour down my mind... and i give thanks, because there were so many roads that took me to where i am, many people who guided me and pushed me towards here.. i wouldn't be nobody without support, inspiration and advice. my love to y'all.

mañana 14 y adelante. gracias amore.

personal devotionary

drinking in LA -- bran van 3000 (glee 1997)







www.branvan3000.com

tributo y respuesta

por esto es que me gusta tanto ver hgtv... quiero una casa.. pa' vos y pa' mi.. pa' los dos..

Casa - natalia lafourcade

Voy a proteger mi casa
cuando estoy ahí siento tranquilidad
y después pondré unas flores
en la mesa

Voy a cocinar un postre
le pondré manzanas de felicidad
para que te comas una
y seas feliz
todo el día
y me digas
que no puedes vivir sin mi

Voy a proteger mi casa
cuando estoy ahí te puedo consentir
como viene en las historias que te cuento

Para que cierres los ojos
y por fin tu puedas otra vez dormir
y al otro día me digas
que bonito, muy bonita, señorita,
yo no puedo vivir sin ti

Mi casa de papel
porque es el corazón
siento fragilidad
si no estas

Uhuuuuu....

Voy a cocinar un postre
le pondré manzanas de felicidad
para que te comas una
y seas feliz
todo el día
y me digas
que no puedes vivir sin...

mi casa de papel
porque es el corazón
siento fragilidad
si no estas...
mi casa de papel

porque es de corazón
siento fragilidad
si no estas..

remember, remember, the fifth of november...

haven't seen it yet, but i just read the comic.. it blew me away..

worth the sweat

greetings from the land of the slightly slimmer... haha, oh well, this is a post just to update that after a month and a half of going to the gym, i lost 1.5 kg of fat tissue.. for me it was like, wow... uhm, nothing much to tell, i'm getting my italian passport tomorrow... but first i have to go the university to enroll, go to a bookstore to get a copy of "pride and prejudice" (i already read it in spanish) and a pair of gym gloves.

apart from that, i think i'm actually a pretty boring person.

oh! and did i mention i got a haircut?

he's a fucking doughnut!!

get a bloke dressed in women's clothes and dab him some make-up on. then add some ingenious and sarcastic humor. call him an executive transvestite. what'd you get? something you'll never forget. behold the power of eddie izzard..

tears for a japanese

ok, so i just saw this movie on cinemax (the censored version to my disappointment) and i highly recommend you guys look for it. ok, it's kind of a tear-jerker, but that's how i like my movies. the cinematography is superb. and it takes place in Australia, so Guy, you should have seen it, maybe, i hope. tell me what you think.

Japanese Story (2003) with Toni Collette and Gotaro Tsunashima, directed by Sue Brooks.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304229/

bunny!!!!

i guess bunnies can do gonzo reporting too.

http://www.frozenreality.co.uk/

when the heart aches

i was creating this soundtrack.... it was like, you know, a list of songs that have parts of songs that mean something... that you give some special meaning or you believe they hold an answer, a key to feelings...

so i was assigning like referents to the songs, like, why they meant something for me.. and the list goes like this:

ani difranco - both hands: fear of feeling when things slip by you hand
damn yankees - high enough: regret after it slipped away
jewel - you were meant for me: miss you
lauryn hill - ex-factor: the hard times of being together
lisa loeb - leaving on a jet plane: being far away
portishead - only you: knowing me
semisonic - secret smile: you are mine
texas - say what you want: i feel the same about you
yellow card - only one: dont want to screw up
blind melon - mouthfull of cavities: when you are sad
los abandoned - como la flor: after you've left me
james blunt - you're beautiful: what would happen afterwards, when i'll see you on a bus
everything but the girl - missing you: yeah, i can be psycho too

BUT... in the end i realized that all i wanted to hear was this one:

high
by james blunt

Beautiful dawn - lights up the shore for me.
There is nothing else in the world,
I'd rather wake up and see (with you).
Beautiful dawn - I'm just chasing time again.
Thought I would die a lonely man, in endless night.
But now I'm high; running wild among all the stars above.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me.

Beautiful dawn - melt with the stars again.
Do you remember the day when my journey began?
Will you remember the end (of time)?
Beautiful dawn - You're just blowing my mind again.
Thought I was born to endless night, until you shine.
High; running wild among all the stars above.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me.

Will you be my shoulder when I'm grey and older?
Promise me tomorrow starts with you,
Getting high; running wild among all the stars above.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me.

*****

don't want to cry myself to sleep tonight..

the truth about ale

nothing much to tell... been going to work and to the gym, which is actually more fulfilling than what i had thought it was going to be... saw karl for a couple of hours the day before he went back to canada...

am i really that boring? gawd..........i have to do something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


please help.

resolution

bring out the best of me.