Shaken Not Stirred

Monday, October 31, 2005

Trick or Treat, a Fancy Form of Begging

Halloween was celebrated in my town tonight. My sister-in-law brought my nephew and niece over to our neighborhood to trick or treat. She said she loved this place and because there was so many kids said the scene reminded her of the one from E.T. (are we suppose to italicize movies, books or other such things? You would think that I would know by now).
After handing out what seemed like my 100th laffy taffy, Nerds, Sweet Tarts and Runts, I just realized that for the most part it's kinda like begging. A child goes from door to door, holding out their hands asking for candy. I'm not saying that it wasn't fun when I did it. Of course in my day, my costume came in a box, was made of solid plastic--I drew in oxygen from a small hole punched into the mouh. This mask was held to my face by a thin rubber band which always snapped before the 6th house and the suit was made of an inflammable trash bag. Today children have magnificent costumes made of cloth and authentic cinematic make-up.
I have tons of candy left over, so if anybody wants some just pop on by. With or without a costume.

A Final Goodbye

Last week, my uncle passed away. He had done a lot of things with his life, from being a Korean War veteran to raising a beautiful family.
The funeral itself was beautiful, lots of flowers, lots of visitors and a mini-family reunion.
Our family is huge--we had people coming from California, West Virginia, Texas, Canada and Ohio.
These get togethers is much like Peyton Place. We've got the bad seeds, the goody-good seeds and the ones that talk about them both.
My three year old nephew saw my uncle's spirit. He came out of Uncle Joe's bedroom and said, "Uncle Joe gave me a hug and a kiss". We hadn't told him yet of Uncle Joe's passing. He then went on to say, "His arm is fixed now". Which startled my cousin Brandy. You see when Brandy had found Uncle Joe lying in his bed, she pulled on his arm in an attempt to wake him and heard it crack. She didn't tell anyone about this and forgot about it. It wasn't until our nephew said it, that she remembered the event.
Anyway, my uncle rests in peace now and will forever be remembered.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Survey Says.....

Although I don't like those scary forwards which predict your moment of death, or even the ones promising true love knocking at your door, I do like those surveys which reveal a little something about yourself. Here's one that a buddy of mine from myspace.com had posted. I had fun answering it and hopefully you can learn about the things that make me tick....

1.Ever been given a ring?
Yeah, my grandmother gave me a gold pinkey ring a long time ago.

2. Longest relationship?
one year

3. Last gift you received:
A periwinkle blue tie that I'll never wear again. It was for being best man at my cousin's wedding.

4. How many times have you dropped your cell?
I'm careful with that thing. Don't want to have to buy another one.

5. Last sport played.
Tennis

6. Things you spend a lot of money on:
personal hygiene stuff and clothes

7. Three things you ate last:1) Herr's Hot Cheese Curls 2) Funyuns 3) McDonald's Fruit and Walnut Salad--the good of which was completely erradicated by eating the above foods. But don't you think that McDonald's and the word "healthy" are in and of itself an irony?

8. First thing you notice about the opposite sex:
Their eyes and their smile

9. One favorite song:
Cool by Gwen Stefani

10. Where do you live?:Charleston, West Virginia

11. High school you attended?: Charleston Catholic High School

12. Cell phone service provider: Is this free advertisement?

13. Favorite mall store:
Those candy shops where you can fill a bag with jelly beans and swedish fish and pay like $50 bucks for the plastic bag of stuff you'll eat before you get to your car.

14. Longest Job held:
Georgetown Leather Design--held from college grad until I decided to go to medical school.

15. Do you own a pair of dice?Everyone does.

16. Do you prank call people?Not anymore. But I do love Crank Yankers.

17. Last wedding attended:
My cousins. I was best man, but didn't know until I got there.

18. First friend you'd call if you won the lottery: My family would already know, so I think it would have to be Saritha.

19. Last time you attended church: Last week

20. Favorite fast food restaurant:
Long John Silvers

21. Biggest lie you have heard:
Angela Jolie and Brad Pitt aren't a couple

22. Where do you work:
At my desk, studying for the Step 1 of the medical boards

23. Where's your favorite place to eat with friends:
I want to say McDonalds, cause I want it to be as magical as those 80's commercials where people went there after their prom or after the birth of their little siblings or on their first dates or during their proposals

.24. Can you cook?
I think so. You may not agree.

25. What kind of car do you drive?
Land Rover.

26. Best kisser?
Is this for a high school senior superlative ballot?

27. Last time you cried?
When At&T use to have those long distance commercials, or was it during an episode of "Little House on the Prarie" one of the ones where Half-Pint did something wrong, tried to conceal it and then her Daddy bailed her out.

28. Most hated food:
Anything that smells like feet
.
29. Thing you like most about yourself:
The ability to socialize

30. Thing you hate most about yourself:
That I'm a social butterfly.

31. Have a secret you can't tell?
Yes. It's like hidden in code in my Hello Kitty diary.

32. Longest work shift worked?
36 hours every third day during my clinical rotations

33. Favorite Movie?Dead Poets Society

34. Can you sing?Nope

35. Last concert attended:
Harry Connick--my cousin dragged me to it. It was pretty good though. I enjoyed it.

36. Favorite Restaurant:
Unos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

37. Last movie rented:
Don't really rent.

38. Favorite Alcoholic drink:
Martini--only because it was the first drink I ever ordered on our senior class trip to New York.

39. Thing you never leave home without:my wallet

40. Immediate vacation spot: A castle in my mind.

41. Reason you did this survey? I am a sucker for these things.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The Luck of the Irish

Since giving out my email to old friends and acquaintances, ones that I've lost touch with but because of the miracle of the internet have come into contact with again, I've realized that many of them don't really use my space age address to keep in touch, but to send me silly forwards. I don't mind the occasional joke, that is really funny. I don't mind some of the cute--although taken out of Chicken Soup for the Soul, heart wrenching story. What I do mind is the forwards that say, "if you don't send this within five minutes, someone will meet an unprecendented unfortuante undoing". Or the forwards that say "your doorbell will ding or the phone will ring with the message from the love of your lifetime".

I also like the forwards that say, "this is really true, even if you aren't superstitious". I've gotten forwards that say, if you send this to 10 people, you will get a surpise in the form of a "pop-up". None of which has worked. I've sent out those "really true" forwards, wishing to hit the powerball! I'm still in sitting in front of my computer eating Funyuns and not caviar.

There was this one freaky forward a "friend" of mine sent. I'm must be on her forward list, I don't even know how she got my email address. We met during clinical rotations in medical school, briefly, didn't even talk much back then. I don't think I even know her last name, much less what she looks like anymore. Anyhow, she is one of the persons that forwards all these wish granting, Grim-reaper dodging, magical emails. The forward was of some decrepit decaying ghost that warned the ghost would come my way unless I forwarded her. Much like the movie, "The Ring", you weren't suppose to just view it, but make sure other people viewed it too. Whatever, you hit delete and pray that this person takes you off their buddy list.

Do people have nothing better to do now?
What happened to old fashioned letters of just plain hello, how you doing, and drop me a line sometime?

Oh by the way, my phone rang just a few minutes ago (granted it was half an hour after the last forward had promised it would be) and it wasn't my true love calling. It was a tele-marketer. I also deleted them!!!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

The Kindness of A Stranger

Recently we've gotten upgrades on our satellite television channels. I had no idea that just a few channels would cause such technical problems. I had no idea that even a thick leaved tree can block and cause interruption in service.

The poor cable guy had to point the satellite dish toward the sky in such a way as to optimize the signal coming from those dark starry skies. To boot, it was raining. I think he spent a total of about six hours here, configuring the channels, on the phone with the company getting codes and then outside pointing the pointer towards the flying satellite above. This was very frustrating for him.

This guy spent a total of about two days in our home. During this stint he learned a lot about our family and loved hearing these stories. From each different family member he got an earful. On his final night, we even watched the Auburn vs LSU game together, both of us rooting for Auburn. What was even funnier was that he told me that one of the girls I was talking to on the phone had a cute voice. He could hear her cause I was wearing my blue-tooth head gear during the game. He said he couldn't hear what we were saying, but could hear the tone and the sing-song quality of her voice.

Isn't it funny how a total stranger, and one that I'll probably never see again can have an effect on you?

Monday, October 24, 2005

Let the Children's Laughter Remind Us....

During Sunday service, a family with two small boys came to sit beside me. The two small boys made noise coming into the pew and for several minutes while settling down. I tried to give a disapproving look, thank God no one saw it. I then thought I could show my disproval by moving to another pew, but I didn't.

What made me stop was remembering a verse I had heard a long time ago. The verse was something about Jesus saying 'Let the children come to me,' or 'come to Me as children'. It was something to that effect. After all, these kids didn't know that they were suppose to be quiet or that they were disturbing those around them. They were expressing themselves, something I think very unique and very extra-ordinary. After all, if we strip them of expression, then we strip them of opinion. They are after all children, and unaware that their loving laughter, was wrong.

It also made me think of a time when I was a child. I remember my family had sat behind one of my grade school teachers, Mrs. Zain (a math teacher that I tried my best to please while in school--she could be quite mean at times. So pleasing her meant staying away from her cold and often biting comments). Anyway, I didn't think my brother, sister and I did anything wrong during the mass. I don't remember my parents shooting us that "hush up" look. The following week was a parent-teacher conference at school. When my mother came out, she told me she was really embarassed because many of the teachers said I was "talkative" and that Mrs. Zain had brought up the time that she sat in front of me during mass. She said and I quote "I couldn't hear God because Angel was talking so loudly".

To this day, I do feel I'm talkative, opinionated. I have written for my university paper (WVU Daily Athenaeum). I have been asked to be an emcee at other school events, asked to write testimonials, graduated from WVU school of journalism, gotten a B.S. in biology from WVU and went to medical school at Gullas College of Medicine (in a different country). All this because no one stiffled my enthusiam or laughter.

So I let the boys laugh, whisper and chatter to themselves.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Roger and Eggheads

Late one night, my cousin Orange (family nickname--it's not on her birth certificate) and I decided that we were going to watch Lords of Dogtown. The movie is about the "founders" of skateboarding. Anyway, it was about 2 a.m., neither one of us could sleep. I had just finished watching Dead Poets Society, and she was still working on her youth retreat program. She suggested Lords of Dogtown, because her teenage daughter Tina and our nephew Chuck Tanseco highly recommened it.

After fiddling with the DVD player, we skipped the previews and started the movie. It opened with a few kids sneaking out of their parents homes with surfboards. The music was intense and the sounds of their skateboard wheels hitting the pavement was really loud--the were carrying their surfboards, while skating down to the water. The surf scene was also intense, with the music blaring and the sounds of the waves crashing against either surf bodies or the water.
When they finished surfing they started talking to each other. The bizzare thing was, their lips were moving but no sound emitted. We could hear the music, the waves and even an occasional siren in the background. There was no conversation that could be heard.

Orange and I immediately speculated that one of the surfers was deaf, or the narrator was deaf and this was being told from his point of view. I started getting into the movie, trying to understand sans conversation what was going on. I began to get into it, saying this was a great director's artistic and creative way of telling the story. I began to read into what I thought the author was trying to do also. I told my cousin that maybe symbolically we couldn't hear the main characters speak because they were "The Lords of Dogtown", that they were above us all and in their own world. We weren't allowed to be in their world.And I also began to understand what was going on. There were these friends who would skateboard, win competitions, but then were torn apart by fortune and fame.

It wasn't until 30 minutes before the show was ending that I realize the stereo system wasn't on. I was thinking, I am sure it doesn't have to be one since we can hear the music and the background people talk. I hit the speaker buttons and ta-da, CONVESATIONAL SOUND was emitted. I could suddenly hear the people on screen speak.

I'm going to end here. I don't think there is much more to say except that, I won't be applying for any movie critic positions in the near future. And I won't attempt to operate any stereo/television equipment without a chaperone.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

A Distorted View of Reality

Awhile back, one of my friends and a fellow blogger started to record their dreams. This made me also go out and buy a blank book--which accordingly has a cover painted with the words "dreams" on it--and record my own dreams. I did this for about three months and then stopped. I recently started recording my dreams because I would wake up remembering the strange "dream-like" quality of them. Some of them have really been strange.

For instance, in one I was in a garage eating Tidy Cat Chips which resembled Doritoes, but after a second glance into the bag were actually blue and had a funky taste to them. I have no idea what that meant. My friend Saritha later told me that it's a brand they use for cat-litter. So what is the interpretation of eating kitty toilet paper? Another dream I had was a view of Central Park from high above, so high, I could see the montstrous sized turtles swimming in it's lakes. These were huge, massive turtles, which would dive gracefully into the crystal blue waters of Central Park.

I once read that dreams were our minds interpretation of a day's events or our subliminal way to deal with something unconfortable to us. So in that case, could my interpretation be--for the Tidy Cat Chips be that I don't like studying and that jumping thru these hoops are crap? And then for the Central Park thing, could it be that I want to do a residency in New York so badly that I see it as both beautiful and am awestruck by the thought of living in the city. The other Central Park interpretation is cause I read Mondeep's blog lately (http://www.mrslug.com/mondeep/blog/) and she wrote about her husband Josh winning an iPod. And that is huge and beautiful news since Mondeep has been wanting one of her own for a long time (and very envious of Josh's iPod).

Are dreams our inner looking glass? Does someone know anything about dreams?

Friday, October 14, 2005

The Map To Neverland

Last night on Will and Grace one of the characters, Jack McFarland got a babysitter (played by Demi Moore). While watching the show, I had thought, wow I want to get a babysitter again (and not in some sick grown man's fantasy, pornographic, with the babysitter in ponytails and daisy dukes). Jack had regressed to a simpler time. A time when things weren't complicated. It's tough to be grown-up and to have to make serious decisions.
I think that is what was so appealing about Peter Pan. He took children to a place where they could roam wild and free and there were no adults to listen to. But I think the irony of Neverland is that because there were no adults, these children had to make their own sort of grown-up decisions. So there is a catch to moving to Neverland.
It's also like that book, "Where the Wild Things Are". Max got to go where no one could tell him what to do. However, he became the adult, if you will, of these Wild Things, and had to control them.
The end point being. There is no escaping responsibility and no escaping adulthood. We should just live with it. Or else hire a babysitter to make the decisions for us. Hehe! I still think the Demi Moore as a babysitter thing is really cool.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Angels Among Us

I've always had a fascination with angels. From my earliest memory, I've formed this picture in my head that they wore long flowing white gowns, had golden hair and played some sort of instrument. The thing that separated them the most was their wings!! These beings had wings whiched helped carry them from one place to another, wherever they were needed.

As I've grown older and as Hollywood created more modern versions, this image has changed. It has now taken a more human form, sans the wings, halo and flowy white gown. The angel looks like anyone else, except for the fact that their goal is to primarily help other people thru their struggles. The angel has become the Red Cross Cross, various other charities, friends and family.

There is a song by Alabama that I love!!! It's called Angels Among Us. You should listen to it sometime. It reminds you that we are indeed lucky when we've got someone willing to stick their necks out for us. I've certainly had my share of angels. And I someday hope to be an angel for someone else.

God Bless!

Friday, October 07, 2005

Lives For Sale

I just saw a commercial for a movie starring Mira Sorvino called "Human Trafficking". I had heard that this kinda of thing happened, but really just thought it was an urban legend. It was something that parents told their children so that they wouldn't run away to the big city or go to these sleezy photo shoots and such.
Must be something that is pretty rampant for them to make a movie out of it. I think it is sick--what kinda whacko would buy a "person" for their satisfaction or for their disposal? Don't they know that karma ensures that things come back in "three-fold"? What are some people thinking?
Yuck and scary at the same time!

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Double Rinse

I noticed yesterday while showering that you kinda need to double rinse everything. Like one shampoo isn't really going to clean everything up. This was after working up a healthy sweat on the treadmill--a really healthy sweat, like it was pouring out of every pore non-stop. Anyway, I shampooed my hair once and then rinsed. But I could still feel that I wasn't completely clean, so I shampooed again. This time it felt clean.
I also did this with the soap. I cleaned once to get the dirt and sweat off and then I cleaned a second time for the full clean effect.
I normally usually clean twice. But yesterday is when I really noticed that I went through this routine. I am not sure when I started this ritual, I just noticed it yesterday, maybe because I felt extra dirty.
I remember one time my buddy telling me that his ex-girlfriend use to be able to shower in less than five minutes. That's pretty quick. I would think that it would take that long to wash her hair (her hair was long). Did she really get clean all that clean? Kinda grosses me out now that I think about it.
Anyway, I was just wondering if I go to hygiene extremes--but I really do feel the first soap and rinse just washes the grime off. The second soap and rinse is where the cleanliness comes in.
Happy Birthday to Dr. Fritzie Saavedra who will celebrate her birthday on the 8th.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Radio Talk

I was listening to Delilah the other night on the radio. Now don't get me wrong, I like listening to her show and I like the music she chooses to play for her listeners, but I also think it's kinda funny that when her guests speaks, she sometimes turns the story back to her. Like for instance when someone calls in about a Best Friend, she says things like "do you and your best friend do these things...my best friend and I use to...." or when someone calls in about their children she also adds "my little.....". You gotta love her anyway. Just an observation. She's still great.

Anyway, the reason I laugh evertime I hear the show is because it reminds me of one of my friends. We've always threatened each other that we are going to call in and do some sort of dedication for each other, the "thru the years" type of cheesy dedication. A friendship borne from stress and continued because of alike characteristics. It's funny how friendships form and how they stay together because of an unconditional acceptance of the other's faults, dreams, ideals and goals. When I was younger friendships were due to like activities, someone who had the same toys or played the same sports. As I grew older friendships started because of some sort of similar activity, but stayed glued together because of a growing fondness for that person.

So here's to my friends...I haven't yet called Delilah to ask for a song, but if I did, it would be "The Reason" by Hoobastank. I like it because one of the reason's I've changed is because of my friends and one of the reasons that I keep going is because of them.

This was probably one of the most, if not the most cheesiest entries I've done in awhile.