¡Puentástico!

So last Tuesday I went to work which went farily well, Carlos, like most 10 year old boys, is way to energetic and not so focused onthe studies but oh well. So then I went and waited for Michelle for about 30 plus minutes because I didn´t want to go home. So I got in a serious session of people watching with the main event being the young couple next to me acting like complete, twitterpated nutzos. Then Michelle got there and we met Jenna for three consecutive scoops of free Ben and Jerry's ice cream! It was so delicious and even better because it was free. Then we also met there Samar and Kristen, and afterwards, we went and got a tapa, except Kristen and Brad met us there. Then home and some stuff and bed.

Wednesday I got to work and internetted, had class with Fernando, and then class with Rafa, Jose Antonio, and Javier. Then my next class was cancelled because of an exam, so I got my check, cashed it, and deposited it. Then I had a salad for lunch and started translating. Nacho had sent me a translation the week before, for his work, saying I could get to it whenever I could. So that for me obviously meant after my birthday week and the puente. But he called me Wednesday morning saying he needed it by saturday, along with the other 3 he just sent me. So I wanted to get it all done, before the holiday. That was going to be impossible. I worked from 3 to 4:30, went to work with Pablo, which was really frustrating because he was being a complete turd and didn't want to do anything. Then I came home and worked from 6:30 till around 9 or so when Victor got there, and I was still on the first translation! By now I was in a really bad mood, because I knew this was going to be hanging over my head for the wonderful 4 day weekend I had planned. But Victor and I went and picked up schwarmas for us and Nacho and Alicia, and ate dinner and watched the soccer game with them. Then Victor dropped me off with my friends and we went and got a tapa and walked around a bit. Then I went home and went to bed.

Thursday I woke up and went running. Then I went to Victor's house and we ended up watching LOST. I gave him the first season for his birthday and he was watching it from the beginning. I never liked Lost, because it was always too confusing, and couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with it. Well my mistake was watching the first episode, which turned into 7 straight, and another television addiction of mine. So, we were watching Lost, took a break, I showered, Victor went running, then we may have watched another one and took a walk to get a tapa at Las Titas. Then we came home and made lunch. Pepa and Emilio were eating at their house in their pueblo, Los Ogíjares, so we made lunch and ate it while watching Lost. Then few more episodes, Victor fell asleep, and by now, Pepa, Emilio and Abuela were back, so things were getting a little crowded there. So I took the computer and went upstairs to translate and did so from about 6 or 7 till 11. Victor went to go visit a friend, ended up running into several more and got tapas with them. Then he came back, destressed me, because I was again super frustrated at how slowly it was all going, and how I feel like I do everything mediocre, but nothing well. Then we took a walk and went to his freind's Pepe's house and hung out there for a while. Then we came home ate something and I stayed up translating till about 2. I was now halfway through the third one. Then I went to bed.

Friday morning I woke up at 8 and started translating again. I also made 18 triple berry muffins. Then I showered and got ready and Victor and I headed out to an American brunch at Michelle's house. It was fun and delicious, but took forever to get there on the bus because the traffic was horrible. So we got there and I was wearing a cute new outfit, and we had, scrambled eggs, hash browns, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, french toast, banana bread, strawberries and whipped cream, my muffins, oj and mimosas. It was really yummy and fun and long. We were there from 1 till 5! Michelle almost killed me uncorking a champagne bottle. Then Victor, Kristen and I took a bus back into the city center and Victor bought some new shoes he has been wanting. Then back to Victor's house. So for the 2 days Victor had been there, he had barely been in his house or with his mom, who like all moms was getting upset making us feel guilty. She also wanted help with her homework, for computer class. And by help, she meant us to do it for her. She had to practice typing a letter, and didn't want to because it would take too long, and wanted us to do it for her. I told her no, and so did Victor, and she got really mad, saying she would do it for us. So I felt bad but I had to translate, so Victor asked her if I could take the computer and she said yes. I went upstairs to work and Victor went running. Then he got back and I was in a really bad mood again, because I had forgotten my camera at Michelle's and everyone had plans with other people, and I was working on a Friday night, of a holiday weekend and I was on the verge of a breakdown. So Victor came back, and said he was going to hang out with some of his friends. He was there for a while, and then left to eat dinner and I tried to keep working but lost it. Then he came back, because he had actually heard me crying from his house (embarassing) and tried to console me. He ended up not going out afterall, but reading while I finished the translations. I finished around 12 or 1, and then we ate some dinner, watched a Lost and I went to bed.

In the morning, Saturday May 3rd, it was El Día de la Cruz. I´m not sure why, but the typical celebration was that you decorated and set up pretty crosses all around the city. They are really elaborate with a ton of stuff and decorations all around. People also wear the typical flamenco gypsy costumes, which is the long polka dotted dress for women and the black round hat for men. So people walk around in their outfits, look at the crosses and dance Sevillanas, the typical dance. What they used to do was set up bars next to the crosses so people could have a drink while hanging out and dancing. In Granada, over the years, that turned into a complete drunk fest where the costumes and the crosses got consumed by the drinking. If you remember from my blog when I was here last time, it was insane and enormus. Well the two years after I was here in 2005, it got so out of hand that the mayor prohibited drinking all together. So this year it was very different. It was interesting to see the two sides of the holiday though. So in the morning, I woke up and went running. Then I was going to go to Michelle's to get my camera when Victor came over to tell me that Nacho and Alicia had brought the kids over dressed up in their mini gitano costumes. Now I was really angry, because the one time I didn't have my camera, I was missing the opportunity to take the cutest pictures in the world. Nacho took some, so I´ll have to get them from him, but I was still furious and in a bad mood from my breakdown the night before. So I hung out downstairs for a while, and then went upstairs to finish getting ready. Then I got all pretty and went to see if Victor wanted to go with me to get my camera, and then walk around, but he had gone swimming, so I went by myself. Today the bus took even longer to get there because the traffic was horrible, but I finally arrived and talked with Michelle a bit. Then I headed back and got off the bus a little earlier to walk home and see all the festivites in the street. I took a few pictures and came home and ate. Pepa had made a delicious lunch and afterwards I wanted to go out and walk around some more. Victor didn't want to so I went alone and met up with Michelle and Jenna. Kristen me up with us and we went and walked around looking at crosses. We were in Realeajo a bit, and met up with Brad, Samar and a bunch of Samar's friends. Then we all continued wandering and went up to the Albaycín. I saw a ton of students there. So we hung out there and found a place that was having a little bbq and bar and then walked down. Jenna, Michelle, Jenna's friend Emilio and I went to Jenna's house and ate dinner at a cafe near there. Then we went to Ray's house where he was having a beer pong and flip cup party. It was fun, but drinking games aren't as fun if you play with water. Then around 2 or so I left to go meet up with Victor. He was up in Plaza Nueva with some friends. We weren't there for very long, but it was fun and then we walked home and I went to bed.

Sunday I woke up and went to church. I got there late because I woke up late, and I left early because they were having comunion so it was really short. Then I came home and baked a cake and took a shower. Then Victor and I went to Los Ogíjares where the paella was being served that day. We ate with Abuela and Nacho and Alicia and family. Then after a bit, we came home and I had to take my soaking load of laundry to Pepa's because the mahince broke in the middle of it. Then we went to Nacho's houes and played with the Wii and I took a nap. I woke up as Nachete hit me in the head (on accident) with the controller and we left to pick up Pepa and Abuela and a computer from Los Ogíjares. Then home and I frosted my cake and got ready for Brad's birthday party that night. Then Victor and I went there. I brought a cake, and olives, Fanta and mixed nuts from my birthday party. It was a Mexican themed party and we had taco meat, Brad's famous and homemade chilli and tortillas and chips with all the fixings. It was delicious! Victor couldn't stay very long because he had to go back to Malaga and work. So the party was pretty fun, I wasn't really in the right mood and finally around 2 we all went to go to Mae West. But the bouncers there are famous for being jerks, and when they saw a huge group of drunk forgieners, they didn't let any of us in. Then I knew that the night wasn't going to get any better so I went home with Kristen and went to bed.

Monday I slept in, woke up and cleaned the house. None of my roommates where there which kinda of suprised me, but it was nice as for the first time I could play music while I cleaned. So I cleaned, made and ate lunch, Kraft mac and cheese, and watched a bit of tv and took a shower. Then I took a nap because I was tired and woke up and went to work. It went pretty well, no more ridiculous accients and then I came home, organized some things and went to the academy. Then the post office and stopped by the 7th floor. I wanted to use the computer but then my mom called me and I talked to her and my dad for an hour. It turned out being so long because Victor Perez officially cancelled class with me, bringing my private class load from 10 hours to 3 a week. Also with only four weeks left of paid employment, and no further plans, I was starting to panic. Then I used the computer a bit, helped Pepa, and then took it upstaris because I had to wait for someone. At Christmas, I brought back some dentist thing for Mada and Jose and their friend was finally coming to pick it up, after 4 months. Then since I have been so busy with my birthday and the puente I spent the rest of the evening chatting online to De and emailing, myspacing and facebooking. Also my roommates were there with Raquel and Mari and talking so loudly there was nothing else I could do. I had a sandwich for dinner, talked to Victor for a bit, and went to bed.

Today I woke up on my own and went running. Then I went to guitar which went well, but I suck because I never practice and came home and have been using the internet and blogging since then. So thats the puente and that's that.

Semanita

Monday I woke up and showered and went to have my last session of laser hair removal. Then I came home and stopped by Pepa's for a bit of internet. Then I came upstairs, made a saladfor lunch. I had been feeling stuffed all day and didn't eat dinner the night before so a salad was just what I needed. I also had made homemade crutons from some leftover bread, which turned out great! Then I washed my dishes and took a nap. Then I woke up and went to work with the babies. It was an especially interesting class. The lesson was going to be about a birthday story and since I had just had a birthday, I brought in candles and a lighter as visual aides. Everything was going as planned until the one kid who always acts up, jumps up to blow out the candles I was holding in front of my face and spits all over me. Then I spilt hot wax on my hand. Then later a kids asked if he could go to the bathroom, I of course said yes, and bent down to tie the bad kid's shoes. As I was doing so, at the exact moment I looked up, he sneezed and sprayed all over my face. Then another kid completely took off his shoes and socks. Then I realized that bathroom kid had never came back, so I went to look for him and found him sitting on the pot, soaked to the socks in pee, with a huge puddle at his feet. I left the kids alone and went to find someone to help the pee kid, since I don't get paid to clean up pee, nor did I have any resources to help him. The teacher said she would be right up, which in Spanish means, I'll do something else till I get off work and then leave, leaving pee kid sitting on the pot, still soaked. So, then grandma came to pick up no shoe boy and almost left without realizing he wasn't wearing shoes or socks, then she got upset because he had a cold and was going to get worse if he was barefoot. I told her he did that by himself, after I told him not to and I was trying to deal with the other kids running around the room peeing on things. Then the last dad came to pick up the last 2 kids and I asked him to please remind someone to come help this kid. He did, but they didn't respond so I went down and asked again. Once again a different lady said she'd be right there. Then she came up and told me to leave. Then she went downstaris with me, still leaving pee kid upstairs, alone, soaked in pee. I just left and went to the academy to get more materials. Then I came home and practiced guitar and then went downstairs to get the computer. Then after a bit I brought it up here and internetted while watching tv with Zore. Then Rosa and Raquel and Mari came over to watch the finale of Fama, which pretty much ruined my night. When they watch tv, they talk constantly, which is somehting I don't do at all. I take tv very seriously. But anyway, I ate soup with crutons for dinner, since my stomach was still upset and I was still feel enh and watched Fama from 10:15 till 2 AM. I am so glad its over and that I can have my life back. It reminds me of that saying that sin will take you father than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay. And Fama isn't even a sin! So then I obviously went to bed.

Today I woke up and went to guitar. Then I came home, ran into Alicia and her mom and Nachete and went running. Then I started internetting and have been doing so ever since. I haven't showered, but I did eat lunch, another salad with crutons. Now I am going to go to work, and then meet Michelle for free Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone day, which hopefully will go well. I am pretty excited because tomorrow is my favorite day of work and the last for the week as Thursday and Friday are a holiday. That's why this blog is just about a little week, because vacation starts tomorrow night!

More Birthday Fun

So I was born on Earth Day, as well as Easter, and Victor was born on Book Day in Spain. There has been a big book fair all week because of that. I called Victor Tuesday night at midnight for his birthday and then went to bed.

Wednesday morning I woke up and went to work. Fernando ended up cancelling class on me so I used the internet and printed off some birthday invitations. Also everyone kept coming over to tell me Happy Birthday, and the teachers in the English Department gave me a present with three perfumes. They don't actually smell very good, but it was really sweet of them. Then I had an hour of class with teachers and then an hour with kids. Then I went home and ate lunch and watched Fama. As of Monday I had stoppped taking the dizzy medicine and I felt pretty well. But since I had taken almost all last week off from running it was really difficult to get back in the swing of things. So I reluctantly went running and practiced guitar and then went to have dinner with Nacho and Alicia. On the way I talked to Victor again for his birthday. I had again eaten a salad for lunch because I usually have a yummy dinner with Nacho and Alicia. Our dinner was yummy, but light, so I was still hungry. It was ham and cheese and bread. We ate dinner and chatted but didn't actually have class. Then I came home, did some things for school and the party and went to bed.

Thursday I went to work, talked with Michelle about last minute party details and life, as she had a cancelled class when I had a break. Work was fine, the normal except for my last hour of class got cancelled so I got to leave and hour early. I did some shopping on the way home, made lunch, watched Fama, and went to guitar. Guitar went well and when I got home I helped Pepa with the internet a bit. She has started to learn how to work a computer. The first time I helped her I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. She didn't even know how to move the mouse or turn it on and off. That got old really fast. Now, each time I go over there there are a lot of questions and me trying to explain why and how her email gets to her box, and not mine, etc etc etc... So all in all, I didn't get what I wanted to get done because I was helping her and went to see Antonio, my guitar teacher's chorus practice. He has been inviting me all year and I have never gone, so I thought I would finally do it, even though I had a lot of other things to do. So I went to that and then came home, ate dinner and went to bed.

Friday morning I woke up and went to work. I spent the first hour translating and talking with the French aide who was distracting me. Then I tried to use the internet but it was broken. So I just waited for class to start and kept translating a bit. Then class, all normal and I went home, stopping by a few stores on the way. I ate a quick lunch and drank a coke because I was tired and knew I had a long day ahead of me. I watched a little bit of Fama and then went to have class with Pablo. Right at the end of Fama I had him turn on the tv and pretended to talk about it in English, unfortunately, his mom came in shortly thereafter and caught us, so I felt stupid. But I stayed a little extra, and his mom didn't seem to care so then I went home and started shopping. As usual I had left everything for the last minute for the party, some because of circumstances and others because of tiredness, but I had a lot to do. I went to at least 4 or 5 stores, buying coke, sprite, orange fanta, mixed nuts, olives, plates, cups, bowls, candles, etc etc etc. So then I stopped by Pepa's to ask her to make ice and she made the mojo picón, a spicy dip. I was really hungry and she had made potato salad for dinner, and while I was there Raul came home. I thought we were going to eat dinner then, but we didn't so I went to my house. There I snacked and then thought of going down to use the computer to download pictures, and maybe then we would have dinner. So I waited a bit, and got drugged into helping Pepa more and finally we ate dinner. I know I'm bad. Then I came back upstairs and baked a cake, baked cookies, washed dishes, moved furniture, cleaned and moved it back. I was supposed to talk to Jose that night about the final details for the suprise but he was no where to be found. I finally went to bed around 1, exhausted. I didn't go running Thursday or Friday.

Saturday morning I woke up early and went running. Then I spent the morning, cleaning, helping Pepa, who was making the empanada and tortilla, and watching the kids and taking the trash and this and that and showering and hair and trying to get in touch with Jose. Victor was a little late that day and I finally talked to Jose around 2 o'clock and we concocted a half-baked plan for the suprise. Then Victor got there and we all ate lunch. Then he came over to my house and I gave him his birthday presents, a sweatshirt and season 1 of LOST. He really liked it and then fell asleep. He had been in Valencia all week and in a meeting all morning. So the plan was going perfectly. All I had to do was keep Victor in at home, his or mine untill 7:30 or 8, Jose would come and get him and then I could get ready and Michelle and Jenna could come over to help set up. Well for some unknown reason, when Victor woke up, for the first time this year, he felt like leaving the house! I don't know why, and as much as I tried to stall, or dissuade him I couldn't. So we went for a walk, and I was freaking out wondering how Jose was going to contact him, since Victor had left his cell phone at home. Then I saw Michelle and Jenna, all dressed up, loaded with supplies for the party. I was hoping Victor woudln't see them, but of course we did. We chatted for a bit and they said they were going to get a tapa. It is impossible for me to lie. Then I convinced Victor that he should get a haircut in the Corte Inglés, and as we were about to go in, Jose called me. He talked to Victor and told him to call him as soon as he got out of the haircut. So while he was doing that, I called Michelle and Jose, and gave them the scoop. Thankfully, it wasn't too difficult to get Victor to go back home to see what Jose wanted, I also said I wanted to change shoes if we were going to continue walking. Then at Jose's, he invited us to hang out and I politely declined, saying they needed guy time, and that I could call Michelle and Jenna who were close by getting a tapa. Instead I went down and started moving furniture and setting stuff up. Then Michelle and Jenna got there and started helping. I was going to jump in the shower but then Pepa and the 2 kids came over to see the decorations, which hadn't been set up yet. They were there for a while, and I finally told them that I had to get in the shower, as it was already 8:30 and that's when I told people to start coming over. So I started getting ready and a bit later the first guests came. I was having the girls help me with my outfit and finished getting dressed and did my make up. Slowly the people started coming, the last ones came around 9:30 and we had a pretty good group. All of my friends were there and a lot of Victor's friends. Not all of them could come, but a lot of important ones did, and it was a great group. Then at a quarter to 10 I gave Jose a toque and he told Victor that I sent him a message that they should go down to my house. Everyone was quiet and in the living room with the lights off, I answered the door and Victor said, "Why are you dressed like that?" I said I was going to go out with Michelle and Jenna, he said ok and Jose started to go towards the living room. He went in, then I did, and then I turned on the lights and Victor came around the corner, peeked in and went in and eveyone yelled, "SUPRISE!!!" or actually "SORPRESA!!" His mouth fell open and his eyes got big and round and he didn't say anything. After a while he said something like, "Forget all you guys!" and turned and walked away, he was so shocked and almost crying (almost for Victor, who never cries, so not that close for normal people). Then he came and said hello to everyone and he loved it. It was the perfect suprise and we had a ton of food and people and balloons and it was great. It was a perfect suprise party, I unfortunately forgot to get a picture or video of the suprise, but oh well. We were there for a while untill the group windeled down to a few of Victor's friends, and Michelle, Jenna, Brand and Samar. We didn't really know where or what we wanted to do afterwards and Victor's freinds went to hang out in their homemade music studio, but we didn't and couldn't decide. Untill we decided that we would go there too. It was a small group and kept getting smaller throughout the night. We were just there, hanging out and listening to and playing music. All of Victor's friends there either play the guitar, the cajón, or sing flamenco. It was cool, one of those experiences that not all study abroad kids are privy to. We were there till about 4 and came home, ate leftovers and went to bed.

Sunday morning, Victor came over to help me clean which we did till a little after 2 when lunch was ready. Then even though I wasn't hungry since it felt like I had just eaten, I ate a huge plate of paella, which was a delicious mistake. Then in typical Spanish style, we watched tv and I fell asleep for over an hour. My dad called and I had a 1 minute conversation with him between dreams. Then Jenna called and her, Brad and Samar were going to come over after their hippy coffee time. Victor went for a run and I kept cleaning up a bit, waiting for them to get there. They finally did and we chatted and munched on leftovers, which for me was another mistake. Then Victor came over and we all hung out for a while. Everyone loves my appartment and its views and Jenna wants to live here next year. Then after everyone left, Victor and I went to Nacho and Alicia's for a bit and played with their new Wii Fit. We were there till after 10 and then Victor took me home and went back to Malaga. I tallked with my mom, dad and sister, watched the second to last Fama and finished cleaning. Then around 1 I went to bed. It had been a perfect weekend and a great birthday week.

¡Virgen Santísima! ¡Que Los Pillara!

So I started off my birthday with a call from Victor. Then I went to bed. In the morning, I set my alarm and woke up early to open my presents. I had a package from my parents, a card from my grandparents, a package from Deanna and a card from my friends Melissa. I opened it all in about 5 minutes. They were all really nice, but honestly I was a little dissapointed. I was so excited it was my birthday, and it was all over in 5 minutes. I had only asked for money, and that's what I got, but not even the actual bills. Just photocopies. Especially since Victor's gift was the sunglasses I picked out, and Pepa's was the shoes I picked out. So after 5 minutes of opening, the birthday suprise and excitement had ended. So I reluctantly went running, ate my favorite breakfast of sobaos (spongey cakes) and chocolate milk that I had bought for myself. Then I went to guitar without changing or showering, which went ok and came home. I went downstairs to use the internet and figure out how many kilos or grams was 2lbs of meat. There I talked with Pepa, and Patricia called to wish me a happy birthday. I also talked with Victor's grandma, abuela. When I told her how old I was, she said, "Holy, Holy Virgen! If I could be that young!" More or less a translation of this blog. It was so funny. I had a good conversating with her. She is 83 and really old. She was telling me about when Victor was a little kid and all the other crazy things that old people talk about. Then I went to the grocery store and bought all the food to make beef stew for my roommates. Then I started to cook, I made the salad, cut up all the vegetables, and then started with the meat. Only then I realized that the meat took an hour to simmer, and that I should have made everything backwards. I had told everyone to be ready for lunch at 2, and I started the meat at 1:30. So then my roommates had gone shopping for my present that morning, then came home and got it ready. Then Adri's girlfreind came over and gave me a pretty silver necklace. Then I decided to start boiling the veggies in a different pot to save some time. While we were waiting for the stew, I opened my presents from my roommies. They really suprised me with three candles, a pink one for Rosa, a brown one for Adri, and a green one for Zore. Also a mug with a bull on it for Taurus, and a nice white blouse and the best was a really nice brown watch. I was really shocked and suprised and it was so sweet of them all. Then in the mail, a package from my Uncle Mark and my Uncle Phil and family, so I opened that with my roommates too. Then I put in the dumplings and took a quick shower. Then finally the lunch was ready and we ate. Everyone pretty much liked it. Violeta didn't eat very much, but Rosa cleaned her plate. I thought it was delicious and I was so proud of my self. Then I watched Fama and washed the dishes between phone calls from my grandparents, mom and dad. Then I went to work for 2 hours with Carlos and Marta and during the last hour, Katie called me. Then I ran a few errands and talked with Deanna and Katie again. Then I went and waited for my friends to go to dinner at Chile Grande, a Mexican place I have been wanting to try for 2 years. While I was waiting I sent text messages for the party and a strange Moroccan lady came and talked to me and offered me some of the ice cream she was eating. Finally my friends got there and rescued me and we went to dinner. We were waiting for everyone for a bit and looking at the menu. We got nachos and I got a chimichanga and then chocolate cake. Michelle and Jenna gave me a present with a crown, a screaming monkey, a brownie, a big balloon and Samar gave me some candy. My dad had sent me 6 individual cups of peanut butter which I decided to give out as party favors. Everyone absolutely LOVED them. They were so excited to have a little bit of the states and everyone started planning how and when they were going to eat it, Michelle's plan included licking it on the way home. During dinner my sister called as did Nacho. My sis's gift didn't get there and she apologized. I also got a call from Alicia earlier in the day. Then I went home. When I got home, I saw another package on my bed and it was from my sister! She gave me a book and a cd and it was the perfect end to a birthday that got better as it went on. Then at midnight Icalled Victor to wish him as happy birthday as it was his birthday! Then I went to bed.

Malaga and Monday

So Saturday as previously mentioned I woke up and used the internet, hacked into Victor's computer to plan for Victor's suprise party I was throwing next week, showered and did stuff until Victor came home just before 2. We went to eat lunch at a seafood place and got our favorite fried baby squids, a sole filet and friend octopus. Usually when you get octopus, it's cut up in pieces, or it's just the legs, but they gave us a whole, entire octopus! It was awesome! It came on a plate with scissors to cut it up! The whole lunch was so good, especially because I was starving! Then after lunch we went to Mercadona to get supplies for the weekend, and then to the mall. We went straight to H&M and spent the next 2 hours there. Well I did, Víctor spent the first 20 minutes there, and then walked around the whole mall, and then some more time in H&M, all before I was done. I totally scored. I bought a purple t-shirt, a green one, a black halter top, and a white halter top, a teal strapless top, a teal dress with white polka dots, and 6 socks all for 77€! I was very happy and pleased because I was going to use the teal top as my birthday outfit and I really liked everything, and for all the stuff I got, that was a great price!! Then we went back home and rested, watched tv and talked before going out again. We went to a different mall, called Plaza Mayor and saw Fuera De Carta, a funny Spanish film about a resturant owner. The shopping center was cool, it was set up like an old Spanish ranch with resturants and plastic animals all around. Then we went home. At home we watched a documentary about the shooting at Columbine and then the first half of Bowling for Columbine. Then bed.

Sunday, since we had stayed up so late, we slept in till almost noon. Then we got ready and packed and went to lunch at an Italian place. I wanted to get some red meat since, I almost never cook that for myself, and I saw this dish called beef cappriccio with parmesean cheese and rucula. It sounded delicious and the waiter recommended it to me. Turns out, it was an appetizer, it was really big and came with bread and a garlic pesto olive oil to put it all together, but it wasn't a cooked dish, it was a type of dried meat, with the cheese and a few green weeds on top. It was good, but I felt stupid eating a whole appetizer as my lunch. Oh well, then after lunch we met up with my friend Ghizlaine, who was Deanna's roommate when we were studying here. We got tea at a tetería, which is like a café that serves tea. In Granada they are in he Albaycín and cool little nooks that take you back in time, but in Malaga, they are more or less normal and borring but serve tea. Then I had to catch the bus back, finished the book I had started on the way there and walked home in the rain. It had been bad weather all weekend and even worse in Granada. I ran into Jose right as we were both getting home and he came over to help me plan the party. Then I un packed and went to bed.

Monday morning I woke up and brought a bunch of stuff down to Pepa's and she volunteered to make a ton of food for the party. Then I went running in the rain a bit and showered and cleaned the house. Then I went shopping and bought a necklace I wanted for that weekend, and shoes that I wanted, that Pepa had given me money for for my birthday. Then I came home, ate and went to work. Then after work, Victor had canceled class on me so I practiced guitar and went to dinner at my friend Jenny's house. I had eaten salad for lunch because she's always talking about how much she likes to cook, so I was excited to have someone else cook for me. Turns out her idea for dinner was a large salad. I was starving. Then I came home and ate a snack and watched tv. At midnight, Victor called me because it was officially my birthday!

Don't Call It Fake, Dangit*!

Here is the promised blog entry written by my friend, Brett Warren Huff, about WWE. Enjoy.

"As many of you know, I am a wrestling fan. And as a wrestling fan, I get a lot of heat from people who do not understand the appeal of the squared-circle. They tell me that it is fake, it is not a real sport, and the acting and storylines are terrible. And I don't dissagree with them. But if that is all you are looking at, then you really don't see the real art of professional wrestling.
Wrestling is not about sport. The winners are decided well in advance. But there is a competition that happens in the ring that not everyone sees. Wrestlers who win matches don't win because they beat their opponent up. They win because the company has confidence in them to entertain the fans. Usually this means that they are good at creating the illusion of what we see as fighting. Pretending to get hurt almost hurts as much as actually getting hurt. I know that sounds funny, but these men inflict pain on themselves every day, but they inflict just enough to make it believable and not enough to put anyone out of commission. This takes a great deal of skill and practice, much like any real sport.
The acting is usually terrible, but what else can you expect from these guys? They are paid to get hurt and get a crowd excited. The acting has to be over the top in order to generate a response in front of a live crowd, just as stage actors act differently than those in films or on television.
I know what you're thinking: maybe I can believe the part about the wrestlers being athletes, and maybe I can understand the bad acting, but why should I find it entertaining? The answer is this: two of our societies favorite pastimes are sports and drama. Wrestling combines both of these. All it is is scripted sports, and what could be better than that? During real sports broadcasts, the broadcasters are always trying to find some drama in the game that will intrigue us. Example: Shaq and Kobe. Ooooooo, can't you feel the tension between them? Or when Ron Artest went into the stands and attacked fans. That was in the news for weeks and we just ate it up. Or how about that episode of Friends where they play football on Thanksgiving day? That's one of the best episodes they ever did. Combining sports and drama is one of the best ways to entertain people.
So don't tell me wrestling is fake. It is no more fake than the rest of the shows you'll watch on television. That's like telling someone that those people on Lost aren't really the survivors of a plane crash. And any injuries those characters suffer aren't real. But wrestlers hurt themselves everyday to entertain us. They will even cut themselves when you're not looking in order to make it realistic (Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels do it on a daily basis, I think). Tell them its not real. I'm sure you'll get a knife edge chop accross the chest. Woooooooo!"

* Edited from original version.

Vertigo

Sunday I started feeling dizzy again. Monday I still felt dizzy all day. After blogging I ate lunch with all my roommates. Rosa and Zore made a big pasta and asked if I wanted some, and Adrian ate with us too. It was kind of strange as we had just had such an awkward week last week and now everything was so normal. But I guess that's better than it being awkward because no one is talking or something. Then I showered and went to work with the babies. It went well, but I was still really dizzy. Then I went to the Academy, got materials, talked on the phone to my mom and went shopping with Michelle until I had class with Victor. It went well but he decided to only have 1 hour of class a week. Then I went to the grocery store and went home. No one was there so I practiced guitar for a bit till my roommates came home. Then I made dinner and watched a bit of tv, organized some papers for my classes and went to bed, still really dizzy.

Tuesday I woke up and thought my dizziness was gone, and then I sat up. I was by now a little freaked out and instead of running, decided to go to the doctor. She gave me a few little tests for vertigo, none of which made me dizzy, of course, and said that it was a very mild vertigo. She then gave me a prescription and said it would be gone by the end of the week. I went to the pharmacy and got it, went home and ate breakfast. Then I went to guitar, which didn't go so well because I don't practice enough, and I felt like crap. Then I came home and even though I still didn´t feel well, I made myself leave the house. I returned a book I borrowed from María's office and visited with her for a bit. Then I went shopping and bought the rest of Victor's birthday present and looked for a cute outfit for me, but I didn't find anything. Then I went home and made a lentil salad with hard boiled egg, green and red pepper, garlic and lentils. It was pretty good, but a pain to cut up all that pepper really small. Then I went to the school I no longer have class at to give the kids their English Frog nametags we had been using all year. I thought they would really appreciate my effort because they loved their nametags and always wanted to take them home before. One kid wasn't there, the other said thank you and gave it to his mom, and the little, quiet girl I mainly went for, because she almost cried the first time I took it back from her said she didn't want it and didn't talk to me. That's what you get for being a nice person. Then I walked all the way back home and watched tv and rested a bit before going to work again with Carlos and Marta. It went well and then I came home and I visited Pepa and Emilio and used the internet for a bit. Then tv and things at my house till I went to bed. I didn't go running that day either.

Wednesday I woke up, still a little dizzy, and went to work and used the internet in the morning. Fernando called up to the teacher's lounge and said he was too busy to have class, so I just kept using the internet for the first hour and during recess. Then class with Rafa and Jose Antonio, and 1 class with kids. I made plans with Michelle to go shopping that afternoon and rushed home. I ate a quick, light lunch and then went and practiced guitar for an hour. Then I was going to go running because I had to if I was going to recover all the missed days, changed, and then realized that I was nuts because I still didn't feel very well, and was still dizzy. So I changed again and went and watched TV with Adri. Then I went and met Michelle for shopping. We shopped all around and Michelle bought a ton of stuff but I didn't find anything that I liked. Or what I did like, didn't fit. Well I did buy one cute pair or shorts, but those aren't for my birthday. Then I went home and dropped stuff off and went for class with Nacho and Alicia. The kids were still awake so things were a little more hetic. We ate fajitas for dinner which were really yummy, and halfway through Nacho said he was tired and officially changed the language to Spanish. So then Alicia put the kids to bed, and Nacho fell asleep and I watched the soccer game for a while till Alicia came back out. She lent me some cute clothes to try on since I hadn't found anything. Then we woke Nacho up to take me home, which he did. I did some things at home and went to bed.

Thursday I didn't have to go to work for the first hour so I slept in late, woke up and did some things around the house. Then I went running in a light rain. I only went for 20 minutes, but its better than nothing. Then I ate some breakfast and took a shower. As soon as I turned off the water I heard the doorbell ringing. I rushed to answer it and it was the mailman with my birthday package from my mom and dad. I saved it for Tuesday. Then I finished getting ready and went to work. Work went pretty well and I was in a pretty good mood. Then Michelle and I walked down together and I went home and made lunch. I made a delicious chicken fajita salad. It was really good. Then I watched Fama with the roommies and went to guitar. It went pretty well as well. Then I came home and dropped off my guitar and went to meet Michelle for WWE RAW WRESTLRMANIA! The original plan was for me to go with Nacho and Nachete, but Nachete was sick and Nacho thought it was going to rain, which it didn't and so he said I could have his tickets. So I invited Michelle, and we tried to sell the other ticket, which was impossible. Then we went to her gym and tried to sell the ticket to all the body building fanatics there, but no one wanted to stop working out. Finally, we found this one guy, Iñaki who wanted to go, but couldn't pay, so I gave up and gave it to him. Then the 3 of us went. It was really fun, filled with lots of screaming, and ridiculousness. We ate sunflower seeds till we couldn't anymore and enjoyed the wonderfullness that is WWE wrestling. If you don't appreciate WWE, I soon hope to post a blog entry written by my childhood freind, Brett, which should clear up all of your doubts. So then after the fight I walked home which took really long as the bullfighting ring is very far away from where I live. Then I was so tired and went to bed.

Friday morning I woke up at 7 to go to work. I tried to pack a bit and get a little organized, since I knew I had a full, full day. I got ready and went to wait for the bus. Since it was earlier, there was more traffic and since it was raining pretty hard, the buses were full. I waited 10 minutes for mine only to have it pass by and not even stop because it was so full. Then I was really angry. I get a little frustrated with the buses sometimes because mine comes every 13-15 minutes but not on the hour. So I am always missing it, or waiting for it as I watch the other buses that run every 5-8 minutes pass by. So by now I was going to be late, but decided to get another bus, get off at a different stop and get the 7 where there would be less people. Thankfully my plan worked and I made it to work just barely on time and didn't get soaked, like most everybody else. Then I had an hour of class, which went really well and was really funny. For some reason I got the giggles and could not stop laughing, which got the kids started too. I was almost crying, but from laughter. The first time that's happend all year. Then I prepared for a class I was teaching all by myself for an hour and a half with Rafa's techy help. Then I corrected some papers and went to another class. It also didn't go very bad and then i finished grading papers and returned them to the kids and went to another class. They were supposed to be working on an oral exam on a book, but most were starting to read the book, so I was able to buy my ticket to Malaga, for that night. Then I had the class I was teaching all by myself where I brought in a song to listen to. Then the teachers were having another meal. This time it was habas with ham. Instead of being cooked like Pepa usually makes them, they were just the raw beans, and the cut ham. There was also lots of bread, cheese and olive oil for dipping. It was so delicious, and I ate way too much. The habas were ok, I prefer them cooked but I was in heaven with the meat, cheese, bread and oil. It was so Spanish! Then I had to leave early again and took the bus home. I had to switch buses in the middle again because the 7 comes so infrequently, but made it home, stopped by Mercadona, the grocery store to buy Adri some cheese I borrowed from him and shaving cream. Then I rushed to work with Pablo which went well as he still had the second half of his trip to France to tell me about. Then I rushed home, finished packing, visited Pepa and got some stuff to bring to Victor and then came back upstairs, repacked and Adrian took me to the bus station. I had been going all day! I read on the bus and Victor picked me up. Then we went home and dropped off my stuff and went to get a pizza. He had just gotten back from Madrid that day and by now I was pooped so we ate the pizza and calzone and went to bed.

This morning Saturday April 19th, he had a meeting and I have been using the internet. He should be home soon and I´m staving. My big plan for coming to Malaga this weekend is going to H and M, a store we don't have in Granada to look for a new birthday outfit. Other than that I don't know what we're going to do. I still am feeling dizzy, but each day is a little better. It's only when I lay down and sit up. And I haven't gone running at all this week except for Thursday. I'm a little dissapointed to break my record that I've had since Januray, (minus Spring Break) but I've been sick. Ok I guess that's it! :)