Don't make me eat, please!

I remembered today a story from my childhood.  I didn't like to eat much, so my parents decided I would stay on the table until I had eaten everything on my plate. That resulted in a third of my first childhood years spent in the dining table, while other children played outside.  I even remembered falling asleep on the table several times, as I wasn't allowed to leave it, and being woken up abruptly by one of my parents to force food into my mouth (through my tears, may I add). They apparently thought I had to eat to stay alive. I know, right? Go figure.

As I reflected on that story, I think my parents did a good job, as nowadays you would probably have to beat me to stop me from eating.  As usual, I blame my parents from everything that is wrong with my life :P

A microphone was all that stood in the way of the best day of my life

If you've known me for more than a couple of minutes, you know that I love U2, and that I have the biggest crush on Bono. I'd do a lot of things to go to their concerts, really don't care how much tickets are worth, and have engaged in a lifelong journey to get all of their CDs. I saw them in their Vertigo tour in 2005, and I am actually driving to Denver in June to see them again in their postponed 360 degrees tour.

So imagine my excitement when I found out an impersonator band of the best band of all times was playing here in Vegas, at Fremont Street, and free!! I logged in to their website, saw a couple of videos, and noticed that Bono's impersonator looked, dressed, and sang a lot like the real thing. So I grabbed the first victim I could, and went to their concert last Thursday night (which was also St. Patrick's day, and so crowded it was difficult to walk). I was right below the stage, singing all the lyrics, screaming and jumping for 2 straight hours.

Again, imagine my deepest satisfaction when "Bono" came down the stage, stood in front of me, and put the microphone between his face and mine, as he was singing...I don't know, I wasn't paying attention to the song, but to his close presence.  He kept flirting with me for the rest of the concert, and I thought I was in heaven.  Even though I had to wake up early the next day, I couldn't sleep, as I had just had the best day of my life, and couldn't scream it out to the world. But at least I'm blogging about it :)

If the real Bono ever reads this, please, honey, make my day, and finish what your impersonator didn't last Thursday.

Au revoir, Canela!

I learned last week that our family dog, Canela, had passed away last month (judging by the speed with which these type of news get to me, you'd think we'd gone back to pre-email days).  Canela was a mix of Dalmatian and callejero (street dog), so she was kinda cute.  Aside from a pet tarantula, Emma, that I had to free into the wild a couple of days after I got her (my family refused to have her in the house, and/or to feed her while I was away in my frequent business trips), I have never had a pet, and neither have my brothers.  My family has never been into house animals.  In fact, Canela was not our pet, she was my grandma's, who lives in an apartment behind my mom's house. 

So Canela would not receive the usual pet treatment with us.  I'm ashamed to admit that we were a little mean to her, but nothing cruel, really (I mean, we're still human).  However, Canela was kept in total isolation from other animal life. And so it was that my brothers and I taught her to smile, in exchange for petting her a bit.  Now, have you ever seen a dog show you his/her teeth? Not exactly an enticing sight, but Canela had been programmed to think that "smiling" was a good thing. So whenever we had visitors, they would completely freak out by the statement that she wouldn't bite.

I even have a picture of her "smiling".  I'll look it up and post it.  I'll miss that freak dog.

Post-it, or, how obsessed do you think I am?

Sometime in the middle of my Institute class this week, someone opened the door, quickly placed a post-it in its corner, and left. Nobody caught a glance of who it was.

Intrigued, I walked to the door, and realized the post-it was from one of my students, who had to leave a couple of minutes before "the incident". Some of my other students curiously asked who it was from, and as I told them, they rapidly insinuated that this guy must like me, leaving notes and all that. They kept bugging me until I turned red (if you know my skin color, you know turning red is not an easy feat), and kept at it for a while.

It all takes me back to middle school. I wouldn't be surprised if next time they saw me, they start chanting Karla and So-and-So sitting on a tree... Seriously? Us LDS YSA need to get on with the program sometimes.

The awful, awful consequences of breaking a diet

As I said last week, I finished my diet on Friday, and yesterday I was to indulge in as many sinful meals as I could. As it turns out, I wasn't that hungry to begin with.
I had a meager lunch: a small bowl of fruits, a bit of chili soup, and some roast beef. Later yesterday, I had peanut butter with crackers, since my last gastronomical adventure has made all complex carbs disappear from my pantry; hence, no bread is to be found in the vicinity.
I went to bed, and was awoken an hour and a half later by what can only be described as pangs from hell. I had cramps that confirmed my decision on not ever getting pregnant. Seriously, if labor is anything or worse than what I felt last night, how can women do that to themselves? We really don't need to reproduce, and I'm sure Earth would be grateful to see humankind disappear.
By experiences too graphic to describe, I vomited every little thing I ate yesterday, and the day before. Was this my body complaining about the sudden change, and if so, when will I be able to eat like a human again? I'm eating cereal with skimmed milk as I write. What evil am I paying for?
The silver lining: I lost a pound and a half in my ordeal last night.

Food daydreaming

My self-imposed torture, aka diet, will happily end this Friday. In the meantime, I feel like I'm going to pass out any second. To further punish myself, I have created a list of all the things I'm going to indulge with come Satuday morning. These are my daydream meals lately:
1. A baleada
2. A buffet lunch, Vegas style
3. A falafel
4. Bags and bags of chocolate
5. The largest hamburger they have at Carl's Jr, with extra bacon and cheese
6. A large pizza with extra cheese
7. A Panda Feast
8. A German Chocolate cake all to myself
9. A stack of pancakes, with all sort of toppings to choose from, next to a few scoops of ice cream.
10. To sum it up, I would eat anything that does not contain vegetables.

And...to heck with calories!

On weird behavior at church

As a note on last week's post, I want to let the world know I broke my diet on Friday night. Oh, yes, I had half a huge bucket of popcorn, and a whole box of Twilight Valentine candies, which said something like "Bite Me" and things of the sort. Eating a piece of Edward like that alone, was very well worth it. Yesterday I repented and got back on track, although I have now vowed to cut my misery short by two and a half weeks. No way I'd keep torturing myself like this, and my blood needs chocolate.

So, today, a quick tour through not very saint-like behavior at church I've noticed lately. In order of strangeness:

1. This man, in his early forties maybe, skinny as a stick with hair, was crossing his legs, and not caring that his pants were at knee-length. I guess he didn't mind the rest of the congregation noticing his legs, not that there was much to show.
2. A teenage kid, son of the aforementioned man, who kept reading "The Heir of the Wizard" during all of sacrament meeting. Not once did he lift up his eyes from what I can tell, was a wonderful book. He must have read at least through half of it during that hour and 15 minutes.
3. A few ladies in different meetings, clipping their nails like they have no other care in the world...in the middle of the silence that sacrament sometimes is.
4. And now, for the winner, a girl in her mid-thirties (single, may I add), trimming her eyebrows in Relief Society...with her hand!! I can only imagine how long those things were if she was able to grasp them like that.
5. There was also this super cute girl who was visiting another ward, and kept looking around for weird behavior at church, instead of being reverent and learning at Church. Uhhh...

On dieting

I have never had enough willpower to do a diet. So, today, on the verge of a fifth day of dieting, all I can say is: How can people willingly do this to themselves? Exercise is definitely the best way to go.

However, in spite of my previous rationale, I have decided to go on with this insane program. I have a wager on how soon I will collapse, either by fainting or by succumbing to the tempting embrace of chocolate.

I'm starting to see flying hamburgers around my head. Maybe I'd better go now.

On having no free time

I don't have time to blog tonight. I am so worried about the length of my to-do list...I don't remember when was the last time I was SO overwhelmed with stuff. The worst part is that I don't foresee an end in the near future. This will go on for at least 2 more months.

So...goodbye now!

On going crazy

I realized this week that I have less than 2 months to finish my master's thesis, and while initially I freaked out, I have procrastinated it, as I usually do when faced with a task so much larger than life. I know that I'm going to regret my slacking off in a few weeks, and I hate myself in advance. In the meantime, I and fun me are having a great time. It's like school hasn't even started yet.

I need to buy a new laptop. Does anyone have good advice on the topic? Is Dell a good brand? Inbox me (hey, I may just have made up a new verb).