PREZI.

I have a secret.
I'm able to get perfect scores on speeches and presentations in any class because I use this tool: PREZI.
An advanced communications class, composition courses, multiple Spanish projects - I've made perfect scores. I may have been mediocre when it came to the meat of the class, but I aced those projects, dammit!!
Today I rocked yet another Spanish presentation. My profesora even mentioned to the class, "Oye, here a comes Ben-ha-mean witha hiz fancee program!" And that's what I like to hear.
So, for the few of you who read this blog - I'm letting you in on my secret.
There's a bit of a learning curve, as this ain't PowerPoint, but it's worth it! I can see myself using this program well into my adult-life/career.

The following link hosts my Spanish Prezis. Choose one, click 'more' and select 'full screen' and click the arrow to move the presentation!

http://prezi.com/lm1awgp5oens/spanish-ii-presentation/

Bella es mi perra, una pincher miniatura, y tiene tres años (Bella is my dog, a miniature pincher, and she's three years old). Bella nació en una granja en rural Iowa con seis hermanos y hermanas. Bella era la más pequeña de la camada y eso es por lo que me gustaba (Bella was born on a farm in rural Iowa with six brothers and sisters. Bella was the smallest of the litter and that is why I liked her). En el 2007, yo adopté a Bella y vivió en Iowa City en la Universidad de Iowa conmigo. Ella dormía muchas mientras yo estaba en la clase - a Bella le gustaba dormir debajo de la ropa de la cama (In 2007, I adopted Bella and she lived with me in Iowa City at the University of Iowa. She slept a lot while I took classes - Bella likes to sleep under the bedsheets). Cuándo Bella celebró su cumpleaños número dos, corrió cinco kilómetros conmigo en menos de veinte minutos - su primera carrera! La gustaba correr conmigo, y le encantaba una pelota de tenis (When Bella celebrated her second birthday, she ran a five kilometer with me in under twenty minutes - her first race! She likes to run with me and play w/ a tennis ball).
No hacía buen tiempo en Iowa, por lo tanto, a Bella no le gustaba nadar porque el aqua era más fría (The weather isn't warm in Iowa, therefore, Bella doesn't like to swim because the water is cold). En el 2009, Bella y yo nos mudamos a Austin, Texas a un apartamento peqeño. En la ciudad, Bella se hizo un "perro guardian" y tenía muchos amigos nuevos (In 2009, Bella and I moved to Austin, Texas to a small apartment. In the city, Bella became a "guard dog" and had many new friends). Bella visitaba Barton Springs y el Greenbelt y finalmente ella jugaba en el agua! También, iba a Town Lake para correr conmigo. Ella corría conmigo siempre - corríamos una mila en menos de seis minutos (Bella visited Barton Springs and the Greenbelt and finaly she played in the water! Also, she went to Town Lake to run with me. She runs with me always - we run a mile in less than six minutes)!
A Bella le gustaba Austin, pero visitaba a mi familia en Iowa para los días feriados (Bella likes Austin, but visits my family in Iowa for the holidays).

I still have another presentation yet this semester, so I'll be sure to share that one too!

Antebellum.

I'm in a history course right now and I recently wrote an analytical paper on a very boring non-fiction book titled, "The Colonies in Transition," by Wesley Craven. I chose this book because of the author ... however, it turns out that this Wesley Craven was born a lot earlier than the one most-known for his talents in horror storytelling and movie making.
But this book went into detail about how the colonies aided France in it's war against Britain and this war's effects upon the colonies. The end result was antebellum, which means that everything returns to how it was before the war.
My last entry was to give you the gist of my life since previous posts. I told you about working on myself while mild chaos surrounded me. I've got a grip on 15 hours worth of classes, I'm doing really well working 36 hours a week and have managed to become closer w/ family members I haven't spent much time with before... but unfortunately I spoke too soon in my previous post about my boyfriend, now my ex.
Without getting too into the details, I understand why we had to go our separate ways. Reeling back and trying to bounce back from job-loss, piling bills and challenging classes (Spanish), I totally lost myself.
Now, I really hate when people self-diagnose themselves (it reminds me of this awful roommate I had who did it to get attention), so I don't want to disclose much more, but one thing was said:
"You don't even want to kiss me anymore."
But that doesn't mean I want to kiss someone else...
He was one of the first people I had an honest connection with. He was my best friend. And I'm not ready for this to be over, but it is.
So, I'm taking some time to "do me," visit family, make new friends and return to how I was before my eight-month relationship - in essence, I'm going antebellum.

Catch up. **10/26/10 update**

Wow - I cannot believe that it's been almost a year since I've posted on this blog. This thing's only got 93 views in total ... that might be twenty more since the last time I checked back in 2009. To those "anxiously awaiting" another post, sorry I've kept you on the edge of your seat for so long. LOL - hopefully you can hear me saying that aloud drenched w/ sarcasm.
This blog was supposed to help me keep track of the memories, events, drunken nights, etc that slip my mind ever so easily... so thinking back to December 23, 2009 is tough!

In one paragraph, I will now update you on the year-to-date:

I moved into my own apartment in the ghetto and I love it. I officially entered into a relationship w/ a guy named Cody and am still with him. Bella's still here - that bitch. I was making good money at Palm Beach Tan, but was fired. Now I'm barely making ends meet w/ two jobs - one at a Media Assistant at Red McCombs Media (online advertising) and I also sell a line of salsas and spices by a company called Tommy's! at Whole Foods and Spec's here in Austin. And yes, I'm still a full-time student.

Great! Now that everyone is caught up, I thought I'd share some quick information I'd like to retain in the future - gotta replenish my own memory from time to time, as is the reason I began this blog...

So, I've made many conscious efforts to drink faaar less than I usually do. I'm not sure what exactly happens when I .... okay, okay - yeah, I sure do know what happens when I drink in excess. All emotions that I automatically suppress throughout the days/weeks/months bubble to the surface w/o any blocks - thus causing me quite a bit of drama and alienating a friend here or there.

Now, I actually like the fact that I 'forget' about things, because, I mean, c'mon ... why would one hold onto such hard feelings, it's a lot of work and it becomes so trivial after awhile - BUT, having said that - I do wish to remember something that is a staple reason to drink less:
Lady Gaga Summer 2010. I had done quite a bit of saving (AKA, not spending) the few short weeks before my boyfriend and our friend were to attend Lady Gaga's concert in Dallas at the American Airlines Center.
I have an aunt w/ some Hilton hotel hookups, plus another aunt that actually lives in the area. Now, as a bit of backstory, I personally hate concerts - thus, did not spend the $180 or early rising required to log on and purchase tickets before a 'sold out' status, but I sure did want to partake in a fun trip out of Austin for a whole weekend.
I spend money easily. I don't care about money. I spend money for the collective achievement of a memorable time - gas, drinks, mixers, hotel room - whatever! "We're making memories! We're going to have the best time this weekend (internal mantra)!"
Well, I had dinner w/ my aunt while the boyfriend and friend enjoyed the concert - and upon most memorable events - it turns out the friend had some drama going on and it totally got her down, and she was prepared to sulk the remainder of the weekend.
Automatically brought me and the beef (boyfriend) down.
And let me tell you - mixed drink after mixed drink, shot after shot ... nothing really helped the situation. The trip was a flop. Bumm-city, ya'll. Fuck.
So, naturally, tensions rose and miscommunications occurred. Beef left me at a club to go back to the hotel and that had me following him in a separate taxi, attempting to meet him at the hotel. No. Such. Luck.
Homeboy felt guilty and hopped out of his cab early, searching for me.
Well, by this time, I was already back to the hotel and didn't want to sit around watching hotel TV, so I took my boyfriend's keys to listen to the radio and possibly fall asleep in his car in the parking lot - I'll admit, not the wisest choice, but I was drunk.
I was all sorts of uncomfy in that Honda and went back to the hotel room ... Beef was already back and fuming. He thought I had just been joyriding in his beloved Mom-car and all kinds of Hell broke out.
I'll be the first to admit - sure wish I was clear-headed enough to just drop all accusations till the next day, but Drunky McGee (beef) and his bestie ended up packing their bags and leaving me in Dallas at 3 AM.
Now, I honestly don't panic. But my aunt that lives in the area had already flown North for business.
I take a taxi to the airport, rent the shittiest Jeep Compass Hertz has to offer and drive all the way back to Austin, hungover as balls. And ladies and gents, driving one-way when you're under 25 is not cheap at all ... let's just say I could have flown from DFW to Austin cheaper, but I didn't want to waste the booze I still had leftover! Hello - priorities!? But in all honesty, had a camera been rolling that weekend, it would have had more views than the reunion show of New Jersey Housewives and it's embarrassing. So, I'm being proactive so that I can have fun responsibly.

THEN the whole firing thing... let me say, working at a tanning salon sounds so pathetic, but wow - did I love that job! And I made pretty good money too (I'll keep this story shorter than the previous).
I was approaching one year at - rhymes w/ "Salm Leech Ran" - and loving it. I looked good (better) all the time, made lifelong friends, interacted and networked w/ some really powerful Austinites and made money by barely doing a thing... I was even contemplating management. The only negative aspect of said tanning salon, was this dictating, serial-killer-handwriting, midget of a woman who we'll call ... Bernice.
Total fun-hater who managed another two stores twenty minutes North, and obviously pissed she's thirty and still working for hourly wage. Long-story short, she loved crushing people. She checked cameras constantly and issued writeups based upon blurred, inaccurate recordings - she's a power triping ugly girl, that's all you need to know.
Being that she works at a completely different salon, she didn't really know the atmosphere at my store and everyone at my store was pretty chill, had a great sense of humor and we had fun.
In our Austin network of "Salm Leech Rans," employees can communicate to one another through profile comments or email. The most fun way was through profile comments, duh.
So I honestly left a comment on another girl's profile from said manager's store about the recent tirade that "Bernice" recently had.
ALMOST TWO MONTHS had gone by and "Bernice" comes to my store - had she not taken off her WalMart sunglasses, I wouldn't have known who I was peering at over the counter... Bernice's pupil's were huge! And she tells me she needs to talk to me in private - "Fuck, she knows I didn't mop that past three nights of closing... how will I talk myself outta this one?!" I thought.
"Is there something you need to share w/ me?" she asked, looking up at me.
"... ... uhhh ... no?" I state.
Bernice squints (her WalMart shades must not offer UV protection), "Really? Nothing about comments on customer or employee accounts?!?!"
-- Seriously, she has no eye iris! It's all pupil --
"Oh my gosh, 'Bernice!' I wrote something about you two months ago, but it was just about how you're a hardass!" I'm LOL-ing. "I'm sorry, I'll totally take a write up for that, it's just my sense of humor! It won't happen again."
Deni-- I mean, Bernice says, "Oh, I know it won't - because we're terminating you!"

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
I'm the best associate at that store. I cover shifts from here to the Island of Lesbos off the Italian peninsula! Are you joking?! C'mon.

Nope, that bitch is a midget on a mission, better known as MOAM.
I bite my tongue so hard I tasted blood.
I sped home (just two blocks away) and immediately do two things: Virally send my resumé to multiple contacts I've met AND apply for unemployment. It was so disheartening.
Long story short - I have two jobs now and they collectively don't bring in the same money as my tanning position. And the tanning salon appealed my request for compensation, so I'm in a small battle through the courts of the Texas Workforce Commission at the moment. I'll be sure to keep you posted!!
++UPDATE++
"Salm Leech Ran" never followed through on their appeal, thus I was told by the Texas Workforce Commission that the company would be asked to compensate me, but that the company can appeal this decision, again!

**Sorry this blog hasn't been as creative as previous posts, I'm just getting you all caught up.**

Hmm, what else?
I've really warmed up to two new genres of music - country and dubstep.
I'm not going downtown anymore - this helps me save money and drink less!
Speaking of drinking, my tastes have really grown up - I love the grape!!
I love red wines, especially from the Argentinian/Chilean regions much more than whites (Pinot actually makes me gag).
I've come to the realization that I like school - I plan to travel abroad next fall to Spain to perfect my Spanish.

My ailing grandpa and my amazing grandma have returned to Mission, TX for the winter! Can't wait to see them.

That's all for now - I've got much more to talk about, and each post should be pinpointed on one/two subjects, I promise!

Home

Landed.
Not enough snow for my taste.
More, more, more.

Why do I always pshyc myself out?
Never listen to weather forecasters - they're liars.
I think becoming a meteorologist was the fall-back plan for them when their daytime-soap-opera-acting gig didn't go through.
They enjoy the drama and craze of telling people to prepare for the worst ... but it never happens.
Grr.
The eight inches Eastern Iowa was supposed to receive between today and Christmas has turned into two inches ... maybe.

But, I'm here. At home. With the family.
And, it's like I never left.

After being picked up from the airport, I drove to Iowa City to see one of my best friends, Jessie Behnken. We made fun of people at the mall, went to Target and lunched at Chili's.
I drove up to Manchester, saw all the sibs and we decided to head to the grocery store.
I must be too silly for the conservative population of Manchester because I caused scene after scene in that dinky store.

I had all five of us drive one tiny cart.
We blocked multiple aisles at one time. I bumped into another woman's cart, but said sorry for drinking and driving - she didn't find it funny.
I hit on some employees - the checkout girl wasn't into me. I guess I came on too strong ("So, do you go here?").
I was wearing skinny jeans and my New Balance 578's (kind of chunky), a look that won't be a trend around here for another five years (people still wear carpenter jeans, granted some may actually be carpenters).
My kid-sister, Anna said, "Can we get out of here? People are criticizing you."
But I took it in stride - is it bad I kind of love it.
Sure, call me a fag or frown disapprovingly - ya'll can blow me, because I'm with my favorite people in the world, and we're having fun. I'm one of the few who actually made it out of this town, so when I come back, you know I'ma shake it up!
We ended the night w/ a chicken dinner, piano duets and played Apples to Apples: Bible Edition (Virgin Mary took the round when the green card was 'hot.')

Mom gets a little decoration crazy around the holidays ... I think she holds the Guiness World Record for largest snowman collection.
The front porch has two lawn snowmen, made of tin, wishing you Happy Holidays.
Upon entry through the front door, another smoking a pipe - this one is stuffed.
Some snowmen hold candles, some are stitched on throw pillows.
Some are of fabric, some glass, some of porcelain.
They're never alone though. Each one has a partner, or is part of a group ... like a gang that'll shank you while you sleep.
There's even a wooden snowman, all country-craft style on my headboard in the guest room.
I didn't sleep well with him watching me ... I made a note in my phone to remove him before bed tonight.

I'm sure the images I've described make the interior of my childhood home sound tacky ... that's not the case. It's cute ... everything falls w/in the country-craft decor. Maybe that's only a popular decorating technique in rural Iowa. I don't know ... but in neighboring communities, there are entire stores and shops dedicated to the stuff. Places so jam-packed with wooden signs w/ warm sayings (Live|Laugh|Love, 'Home is Where the Heart is,' 'It takes a lifetime to grow old friends) and my favorite - country stars.
Mom also holds the world record for most country stars in one house.
But it must be genetic to be obsessed w/ having the air around you drenched with aroma.
Multiple candles are flickering at all times. And almost every wall outlet has a Glade plug-in.
For those that know me, I too do this.

School was canceled this morning so all of us kids, Mom and Aunt Karie went to "Hey Jude's Cafe" for breakfast ... I had french toast and scrambled eggs ... saw my ladies at Studio 117 and got a haircut. Then we watched Mean Girls in the mini-van while Mom went grocery shopping.

There isn't soft enough snow to sled just yet, so those asshole weather people better get on their mark and make it snow.

Flightplan

In roughly five hours, I will be heading North to Iowa to spend the holidays with my family. I love traveling and have no qualms with traveling solo - I actually prefer it. But the one thing I hate about traveling is airports. I try my hardest to remain calm and low-key. I've been traveling by plane for as long as I can remember - flying alone since age fourteen - and nothing has ever gone wrong.
No lost luggage. No missed flights. No absurd turbulence ... it's always been smooth sailing. But I know better. I know my time is coming. That's why I almost always never sleep the night before my flight. For instance, it's nearly 2:30 AM and I'm still awake. I have this minor paranoia about missing a flight or being unable to get through security.
But as I said before, I try my hardest to remain calm. I especially like to wear sunglasses once I've reached my gate and people-watch. I'm not big into karma, but I laugh too much at the crazies sprinting through the terminals for it not to happen to me sooner or later.
Well, this upcoming flight has me a little more worried than normal - it's currently snowing in Iowa. And all forecasts suggest it doesn't plan to stop.
My connecting flight to Cedar Rapids is in Dallas - and if I'm stuck there, Rachel and Renee, get ready because I'll be spending Xmas w/ you!

A couple winters ago, on Christmas Eve, my grandparents hosted an extended family Christmas gather and a blizzard kept everyone from leaving. Luckily my grandma is always stocked, supplied and prepared. We watched movies, made so much food and it actually ended up being a fun time reconnecting w/ family.
So long as I arrive in Iowa safely, I'll be okay w/ any other winter weather - I miss the snow and really want to go sledding and skiing!

A little about my hometown of Manchester, Iowa:
The population is 5,500 - about the same size as some of your high schools.
The tallest buildings in the community are silos - they dry corn.
There's a single-screen movie theatre - it operates on a volunteer basis.
The community is totally involved with the school, named West Delaware Schools - the mascot is the hawk and our fight song replicates the University of Iowa's.
Strangely enough, the best Chinese food I've ever had is in Manchester - Choung Garden is downtown, my sister works there. Order the Princess Chicken w/ a half-order of crab rangoons.
Allegedly, there's meth labs. IDK.
Good luck finding paved roads outside city limits. Gravel, baby.
Remember dial-up internet (this kills me)?

As small and boring as the town may be, I still really enjoy coming back.

I have three family Christmas' to attend, otherwise my time will be spent with the siblings and catching up w/ a few good friends - and eating all the homemade food I can pack in!!
I told everyone I didn't deserve gifts this year, so I'll be sure to share what I received - if anything! Honestly, the plane ticket was enough for me.

More to come about my holiday week up North!

That's a wrap

Today, I wrapped a short film entitled, "Brotherhood."
I portrayed the supporting role of Mason - a young, wannabe skin head in the late 70's in prejudice Texas.
This has been one of the more professional sets I've worked on - though the filming process was a little drug out due to inclement weather during weekend shoots.

I don't want to give too much away about the storyline, but the film encompasses racism and how it is very much still prevalent in today's society. And yes, there are skin heads in the movie.

A few weekends ago, I smoked my first cigarette. My character is almost always smoking ... I got some tips from other cast members, so I hope it comes across naturally, as I've never smoked cigarettes in my life.

We shot in Bar K Park in Lago Vista today, but the light faded fast as we tried to capture the last scene. Hopefully the lighting matches well-enough w/ the rest of the film and today truly was a wrap for shooting (fingers crossed)! The plan is to rent a venue where we'll have a viewing as well as a party. Anyone want to be my +1? It'd be cool if a red carpet was incorporated ... there was a great photography couple on set. I'll post more pictures once they're available (Above is the cover for the film).

I'm definitely becoming more comfortable with acting on camera - I'm still working on a web-series called, 'Rogue' where I play the lead role; Simon - a hipster kid who channels a dark god and develops certain powers (Check back for a trailer).

The master plan still remains to become a broadcast journalist - preferably on TV, but I could do radio too. I'm just not ready to give up on the dream of being an actor. Will you stick it out w/ me??

Clare

Alright, so this is a tad bit late, but Saturday, December 19 was my sister, Clare's 18th birthday.
Girlfriend did not celebrate by heading down the the corner gas station to pick up some Virginia Slims and a lottery ticket ... she got inked! She's so brave.
I already called to wish her a feliz de cumpleaños, but this entry will be completely dedicated to her.

Clare ...

You've always been the prettier of the two of us. Even that time I had to pull you out from under a table at daycare in Des Moines because you cut your hair - and to salvage your horrible cosmetology skills, Mom gave you some kind of bop haircut. You're gorgeous, and I'll always be here to tell you so.

Remember when we moved to Manchester and started adding on/renovating the house? You and I had to share that North bedroom, in that huge used-to-be-waterbed ... I always made such a big deal about having to sleep in the same bed, but you were so cute and never complained - even when I made my weird mouth noises in my sleep (I am still not admitting to it though!!). Then we had to sleep in the dining room while the bedrooms were getting carpet, and I made you listen to the 'Anamaniacs' CD all the time.

You and I loved to eat sliced cheese. When a commercial came on, we would run to the kitchen and try to skip over the tile entryway, grab a cheese slice, then run full force onto that plaid couch. And after watching some gameshow on Nickelodeon, we made states out of our cheese slices. And we played 'lava' a lot - Mom always had an annoying amount of throw pillows.

Before the basement was finished, we built some of the craziest forts ever. They had multiple bedrooms, a living room ... some real architectual oddities were built in that basement.

Oh! We hung out in the old barn so much! We would swing from that rope and chase around all sorts of kittens. Remember breaking all those florescent lights of Rick's?? We stomped on them because a cool white smoke came out ... I guess we never realized the hundreds of dollars we just wasted. Haha!

We drove around Grandma and Grandpa's farm on that huge, green lawn mower. And one time, I shifted it into drive too fast and you flipped off the back! Ahhh. You barely cried! Just went inside.

Whenever we went up to Dad's place in Minnesota, we would ride our bikes around the blocks forever - just encircling that park was our entertainment. Weird, right? Until you got rollerblades and a scooter - then we used a jump rope to pull each other behind the bike!

I was such a Nancy-boy in high school and you're this crazy, rebel-like young woman. You are so much further along in life than I ever thought about being when I was 18. It's weird that we became closer after I left for school. And even closer yet when I moved out of state.
I think about you all the time, Clare - but I'm never worried. You are so strong, confident and smart. You have a strong direction within you and I am really proud of you.
I miss you very much and truly cherish each time we're reunited.

I promise to always be here for you. And you know I'll make that 17 hour drive in 14 hours if you ever need me ASAP. This 18 years went by so quickly ... but I cannot wait for the next 18 and the 18 after and the 18 after and so on.

I love you, sister.