Good Ol' BBQ

Texans eat barbecue. That's what we do and that's what we did today. One of the things the bf does best is bbq! The bbq aroma is yummy and the sizzle is delightful to the ears. I remembered watching a documentary on why Texans love bbq. It was so silly because it was totally biased. There were a ton of hicks prancing around with greased mouths saying, "it's the culture!" Well, of course it's the culture, but do you have to ride on one of those mini-tractor things while saying it? It kind of enforces the stereotype. Not that i mind any because it's true. Not all stereotypes are bad (or at least i don't think so). Actually, i read about this in one of my classes - positive stereotyping. I'm glad Asians are known as "the smart one," would you rather be the smelly one or the stupid one? It's just a little inhibiting. When we start stepping out of the boundaries society puts us in, it's like "whoa there, what are you doing crazy, insane girl?" That was a weird tangent i went on. Anyways, after the whole bbq thing, we watched a movie!
It's called once and stars the magnificent, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Have you not heard of these people? Of course not, they aren't actors but musicians! That and they live on the other side of the world. This darling movie was sent in Ireland. The concept is simple. A guy (Hansard) is brokenhearted after he caught his girl cheating on him with a friend of hers. He moves back in with his dad and makes a living singing on the streets. The girl is an estranged Czech wife living in an apt. with her daughter and mother. Her husband still lives in the Czech Republic. They meet and have an interesting relationship. They are attracted to each other, but don't have sex because they have significant others. Their friendship blooms during the course of a week. In that week, they record songs that the guy created post breakup. in the end, they go there separate ways: him patching things up with the girlfriend and the girl's husband relocated to be nearer to the family. It's an overall pleasant movie. The best part of it is that it's a musical! I love love musicals! The songs were so touching and soothing that it makes your heart hurt when it's a sad song and soar when its a happy one. According to wiki, the two main actors of the movie are dating in real life! That is just so darling. They are also a duo group called The Swell Season. I'm going to have to check this out. I'm telling you, the soundtrack was superb! I have to get my hands on a copy very soon, as well as The Swell Season. The song, Falling Slowly, won an '08 Oscar for best original song.

After the movie, we went kite flying! It was such a beautiful day and the park was practically calling our names! The kite pictured to the right isn't my kite, but it sure is pretty to look at. We also played on the little playground thing that was there. I took loads of pictures and i can't wait to put them up. I have a battle wound! When i went down the slide, my elbows got burned! I feel it hurting now. I remembered when i was little, i played hard-core during P.E. I think this was in 2nd grade (my last year in public school) and we were playing kickball. I was running towards home base and slid (i know, me...sliding! I don't think you'd see me do that again, ever.) to make it in. It was a stupid decision because i didn't see the patch of stickers surrounding home base. I slid right through that thing and tore up my leg. I didn't even know it was bleeding until i looked down and saw it was scratched up and ugly. I was wearing my favorite outfit (matching shirt and pants that my mom made for me) and realized that the pants had a humongous gash from the knee down to my ankle with blood all over it. I ended up limping back inside and was rehearsing the lines, "can i go to the nurse," over and over in my head (because i didn't know english that well). Apparently when the teacher saw, he looked at my stupidly and said, "next time don't ask, just go." When i arrived at the nurse, she looked at it and decided it was best to sanitize it. What's that mean? Alcohol!!!!! I remember the pain now. As she pressed the cotton ball to my leg, i was shivering in pain. I was totally crying my eyes out because it hurt so bad. When my mom saw, she was like, "are you crazy! you're a girl, act like one!" I've been girly ever since. I don't know how i've become so girly, it might be the fact that my mom imposed the color pink on me throughout my childhood, but that's a different story.

While i'm driving i like to watch people in cars. Well, besides thinking about death and underwear, i try to guess if there is an old/young guy/girl in certain cars. I don't know if i'm right and i don't play that game often because i get too distracted easily. I tend to forget where i am going. Oh, my simple little head is annoying sometimes. There was this girl, a pretty pretty girl with sunglasses on driving a sleek black car with her windows down. Note: i'm not checking her out and i'm not a lesbo. She was just pretty, but then she started to blow smoke out the window and she turned into the ugliest person-in-a-car i've ever seen. I kept imaging that commercial with the cute little teens on t.v at a party. The guy was approaching this "hot" girl, but she started t smoke. The minute she did, her head turned into a stupid looking fish and the guy laughed and walked away. It's weird because i have a lot of commercial moments that make me chuckle to myself as though i am insane. When i came home, i cleaned the house. I rarely get into those modes, but when i do, it's for real. I'm glad it's clean. Unfortuantely, the parents didn't notice until i pointed it out! That does not matter because i'm proud of the cleanliness. Now, i just need to shower and i'll feel lots better.

My little sister is looking through colleges right now because she's almost a grown up. My, my, how time flies. I remember when she was a chubby, little kid. Now, she's a big skinny kid that is oddly proportioned (jk - i love her lots!). She's into digital stuff; i think youtube inspired a passion. I want to pursue graduate studies in broadcast journalism. Since i can't go out of state for my masters, little sister and i are going to go to the same school (her for her undergrad, me for my post-grad studies). My parents were amazed at the price of public school universities. SU is so costly because it is private. I have to admit, the education at SU is one of a kind. It's strong and fierce; it's not for the faint of heart. Little sister is looking at A&M-Commerce. My initial reaction was - gross! - but, i quickly recovered after a few days of convincing. You aren't going to get a lot of schools that are offering the majors that we want. We are thus, compromising and settling. It's a give and take sort of deal.

My mom asked me to paint her nails. I used to be somewhat good at it. Not today apparently. When i started to paint her nails, she said it was ugly and made me take it off. Sigh. I started to paint her toenails and she shooed me away because i was being messy. Well, that's gratitude for you. She wanted me to paint them white. Is white polish a good color for older women? Isn't it a bit, young? I don't know. When i screwed up, mom said, "white isn't my color" and made me take it off. I think white would look fine if she was patient and let me finish polishing her hand. Gosh darn. It was nice of her to ask me to help at least. She was nice about that. She finally opted for a pink/dark red polish. It looks pretty good. I didn't understand why she couldn't ask my aunt to do her nails for her. She's the pro. My mom used to be into the whole fake nails thing. Then she got out of the phase after she realized that her real nails were ruined. Now they look a lot better, fresher and younger. My mom always asks me if she looks old. What do you usually say? It's like being asked, "do i look fat?" I just replied, "youa re the beautifulest mommy i've ever seen!" It is true. I think she's a really pretty lady for her age. That says a lot because i don't see her aging. Her skin is still nice and she dresses like she's young (in a good way). She, however, only sees the wrinkles. She worries a bit too much: work, weight, clothes! Silly, mommy...trix are for kids.

Today was a fun filled day. There was lots of spending time with the bf and the kids. The bf is a master bbq-er, kite flyer, and photographer. I love looking at the pictures he takes. One thing i noticed today is that i am majorly out of shape! I tried climbing the monkey bars and i feel every time. At least i made it to the middle? It was so hard. My arms were trembling and my grip was loose after the second try! I can still feel the pain as i type up this entry! What's cute is Ollie having a prospective bf. It's a cutie poodle/cocker spaniel. Ollie is such a flirt.

Do you remember Lakshmi Tatma? She was plastered all over the news. She was the girl born with four arms and four legs. It was awhile back, like late last year. This was possible because she had an undeveloped, twin that was conjoined at the pelvis. I wrote about this while i was at News 8 Austin. Now in India, a new "miracle" child is born.
The 4 day old little girl is recognized as the reincarnated Indian God, Ganesha. She has 4 eyes and two faces, as seen in the picture. [read more here] Why are the "miracle" babies all born in India? I don't know how she's going to survive in a superficial world. I guess it's not so bad since she is hailed as a reincarnated god. I just hope she is able to live a normal childhood. In a case like this, their life span is probably endangered. Lakshmi was able to survive the separation operation, but that was because she was joined at the pelvis. The 40-hour operation on Lakshmi was successful and she's now taking her first steps. What are they going to do about this child? If we didn't label it as weird, would it be weird? I wish this little girl the best. I'll be trailing this and updating as more information is released.

Cute picture of the day.

Sushi is so yummy. All i need now is a sushi pillow.