Summer Reading Slump

The other day it hit me. I had reached a summer reading slump. When the new year had started, I had bought myself one of those reading journals where you get to write about the current book being read, the author, the main characters, and offer a brief summary and/or thoughts and/or opinions about the whole shabang. I've been wanting one of these kinds of journals for some time now and thought, what a nifty tool to stick into my personal library collection of books I've acquired through the years. I imagined people coming to the house and being wowed by my library...and of course soon thereafter being the closet booklover that they are, start pulling books out left and right to find one that fit them just right. They'd ask questions, "Hey, is this a good one?" or "Did this one make you cry?" or something to that affect and I'd gladly share my opinion. But then I also imagine that if/when these people would be in my house that I would be such a gracious hostess that I would be a tad too preoccupied tending to my guests and curious book folk would be left to their own devices. Enter the book journal. Here, I also imagine that I have re-read every single book (not accomplished YET!) and that I have written brief synopsis (plural: synopsi?) of each. All anyone would have to do is rummage through the pages of my book journal, find my lil' summary, and see if the book they chose is for them. But I digress...

So this book journal of mine...I looked through it a couple of days ago and actually pretty impressed with myself. Since the new year, I have read book after book quite routinely....up until the last month. Understandably so, I could say it was due to the Disneyland trip and whatnot, but still, according to the recorded dates, it has been approximately a month since I've read my last book.

I headed out to Barnes the other day...I mean, really, who can't NOT spend an entire day there?! And since I am totally on a budget, I allowed myself two books. Get this, because I will be teaching in the fall (thank God!), I thought it was appropos to sign up for one of those teacher discount cards. While one of the items I bought was school related (okay, I bought THREE items, instead of two...), and technically, I'm supposed to receive the discount on ONLY the classroom item, the cashier gave me a discount for ALL the books. Score!

Back to this reading slump I started with...I think I can pretty much squash that now. Why? Because in three and half days, I basically killed off two books. Deliciously. And guess what? I'm hungry for more! I know, I know, what a freaking nerd! Someone once asked me if I ever got behind in high school when we had to go through those summer reading lists...and surprisingly, yes, I was always behind! The theory being that since I was REQUIRED to read those books, it just prolonged the activity to do so; whereas, here and now, I am wanting to read these books of my own choice at my own volition...it's a whole different ballgame.

Which brings me to another fact of the matter that I have been trying to get back to the classics...as in the ones that I HAD to read for school. Again, being that I HAD to read them for class, I didn't quite enjoy them and appreciate them as I should have. Now, being older and wiser (somewhat), I'd like to think my appreciation for the classics would be so much more powerful and deep.

In any case, here are the two latest books being added to my collection: a review to follow later.

Lazy Hazy Days

Ahhhh....the official first day of summer. As of late, I have had no motivation whatsoever to blog. Perhaps it's the weather...when it gets so hot, one can't help but feel lethargic- no energy to move, to think, to eat, or even talk. If I could, I'd sit at the beach all day long without conversing to anyone. Just give me a good book and/or a blank notebook and I'm good to go. When the sun is just beating mercilessly on you, you can't help but be tamad. Lazy. Got a bloggable moment? Eh...it's too hot. Then of course when you're good and ready to sit at the laptop and type away, all of those bloggable moments seem like old news. Oh well....and so it goes.

Speaking of hot weather...

The temp down in Southern California last week was ohmygosh H-O-T. I accompanied my sister and her family on a trip to the happiest place on earth...that's right, people, I went to DISNEYLAND!!! Y'know, when you haven't gone in so many years, you can't help but feel like a little kid again. Now let me say this, I've always been a fan of anything Disney, but seriously, being there and being surrounded by everything Disney, you can't help but have this big ass grin on your face! Plus, seeing how happy my niece and nephew were made it all worth it, too. The only downside, if I may, is that we stayed there for four days...FOUR. We had a four-day hopper pass to both Disney and California theme parks. The first two days were totally awesome....the third, oooh, cutting it close.....come the fourth day, dude....I've had enough. Don't get me wrong, there were so many things to do and see there, but really, here comes the weather thing again, it was so freaking hot that by day three, I was ready to come back to da Bay for some fog! Plus, with the heat being so intense, we did the whole inside-outside-inside-outside thing....we'd watch a show for the A/C, stand in line for a ride, watch a show, go back outside. Get my drift? Day three heat hit with a vengeance and I was left with a pounding headache all day long. Boo. Hiss. A plus of our trip was that our hotel, the Paradise Pier Hotel, was located minutes from Downtown Disney. A hop, skip, and a jump, if you will. We didn't have to worry about parking and traffic...just the looooonnnnnng walks back after walking all day. Lol!

Since there's just way too many sharable moments, let me just give ya'll some of highlights (and a few lowlights) of the trip...in no particular order.

1. The "It's Not Fair!" incident
2. Meeting the Disney characters ("Hey! Yesterday's Pocohontas is today's Jasmine!")
3. Riding the "Matterhorn," "Space Mountain," and "Indiana Jones" while the kiddies took a nap!
4. Getting whiplash on Autopia...twice
5. Alladin (the first time around)
6. Buzz Lightyear
7. Monsters Inc. incident ("Young lady in the third row...nice glasses...")
8. "Are we there yet???"
9. Nico's trauma on Pinocchio
10. "Rodeo Nico"
11. Fast Pass Karma
12. The Chris-Sandwich

The California theme park was very cool, too, and you simply can't miss the mini-replica of the Golden Gate Bridge. We didn't get to ride the big roller coaster ride or the Tower of Terror, and although we didn't spend as much time here than we did in Disneyland, there are a few attractions that I would recommend:

1. Soarin' (feels like you're really flying!)
2. Alladin Musical Spectacular
3. Talkin' with Crush (interactive)

Of course, the evenings wouldn't be complete without the huge fireworks show. Turns out that the Electrical Parade has been moved to the California theme park, but we didn't get a chance to hang out long enough to see it, but the fireworks in Disneyland over the castle was most awesome! Again, the whole feeling like a little kid thing...fireworks has the same exact effect. You can't help but do the "ooohhhh and ahhhhh" thing! Add the background music to the exploding sky and even the flash of Tinkerbell making her way across the sky was enough to end the night perfectly.

Overall, it was a really great trip with the family- we all got to do and see what we wanted, and heck, between my Ate and myself, we've got about 1,000 pictures to show for it! The kids especially had fun and just watching their faces light up at every little thing was too cute. It really is for them, isn't it? After spending four days in Disneyland, I can honestly say that I do NOT have to come back for a good five years or so. I came. I saw. I rode. I'm good. I'm done.

Interestingly, the other day Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll wrote the following:

There's a show at the Oakland Museum about the creation and refinement of Disneyland. It's a love letter to kindly Walt Disney, king of product placement and cross promotion, never mentioning his union-busting activities or other right-wing projects, and certainly skipping over the odd pervasiveness of shaking rodent butts in his cartoons, but it's still interesting if you can discount the hagiography.

Interesting to me, anyway. I was growing up in Southern California when Disneyland was being built, and I followed its progress avidly. I examined the schematics; I tried to envision the rides. (Particularly Tomorrowland, because I was a reader of science fiction and tomorrow was my destination. Tomorrow is all of our destinations; it just took wise little Asimoviacs like me to realize it.) I went within a month of its opening.

It was an overwhelming, if not entirely pleasant, experience. I loved Autopia, which was a sort of fourth-generation-refined bumper car experience. You drove little cars on little highways -- and my, is the portmanteau word "autopia" interesting, combining as it does "automobile" and "utopia" to describe an attraction in Orange County. Kids, can you say "irony"?

I can be scornful now; at the time, I just wanted to ride it as many times as possible. Interestingly, Disneyland was also the site of a monorail, a technology heartily endorsed by train nut Disney. It was the future of transportation! Someday our great cities will be linked by these swift, silent capsules, unless the residents of San Jose vote down the transportation bonds.

Tomorrowland later was the site of a 360-degree surround-view Michael Jackson video -- I assume that's gone now. Michael Jackson; happy little children -- not a great combo.

I liked Tom Sawyer's Island, too, and I disdained the Carousel in Fantasyland, and I was scared witless by the Abe Lincoln robot that held forth at a theater on Main Street. It was supposed to provide patriotic uplift, the improving message at the end of the fun seeking, but it didn't really look that human, and the thought occurred to me that it could be very easily programmed to slice the throats of little children. (Maybe that idea came from reading too much science fiction.) I stayed away from Honest Abe after the first time; he was just too weird.

Later on, when they were built, I liked Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. I had no interest in the Matterhorn or Space Mountain; recreational fear has never been one of my pleasures. But more than either of those rides, I liked the Monsanto ride. It's gone now, since it didn't really fit with anything.

The lobby of the ride was dominated by a giant replica of a hypodermic needle. You rode in a cart and got "shrunk" into a microscopic particle (remember "Fantastic Voyage"? -- like that) and were injected into the bloodstream of a human being and, look, there are red blood cells skimming past and oh, here comes the heart, nooo ... In other words: sort of like trying to understand the drug problem from the point of view of heroin.

When Disneyland opened, the world was so naive that injectable substances suggested nothing more than a penicillin shot. Later on, a new generation of citizens began visiting Disneyland. The Disneyland brass did not like that development -- as the brochures displayed at the museum made clear, Disneyland was a park designed by white people for white people, and employees were forbidden to wear beards, mustaches and a long list of other offensive things that might suggest deviation from the norm.

Which was ironic, because people soon discovered that getting loaded and going to Disneyland meant a day of big fun. It was an endless playground for people who said "oh wow" a lot. You could, you know, shake hands with Goofy. ("Shaking hands with Goofy" would be a pretty good code phrase for any number of proscribed experiences.) The lines were a drag, but the lines were always a drag, no matter what your synapses were doing. Go early on a weekday in winter and take your chances; that was always my advice.

At some point, it is my theory, the folks at the Disney got the idea -- they had a market. How else do you explain the Main Street Electrical Light Parade? At night, floats juiced to the gills with flashing spinning blinking lights and waving Disney characters would go by, and -- well, you know, wow. It went on forever, for longer than forever. And then there were fireworks! Yes, it was the happiest place on earth.

In any case, much thanks to Ate and BruthaMan for including me on the family outing. I had a blast! Hangin' out with you and the kiddies was awesome! Thanks for the memories...can't wait to do it again sometime. Much love to you all...

Goodbye for Now...

We all know that life is too short and for many, that the end of it comes far too suddenly and much unexpectedly. When I was younger, death was always a scary thing. To some point, it still is, but I'm trying my best to understand that it is part of life and it's a part of our journey. All the same, it's undeniably painful for those who are left behind to deal with the sadness and the grief because it's so hard to let go. It is a comfort to know that we will be reunited with our loved ones someday.

With that said, to the Susbilla and Cereca families, you're all in my prayers...until we see Tito Nato and Uncle Bob again. May they rest in peace.

Memorial Day Highlights

Okay, so I'm a tad late...a week late, to be exact...on updating my lil' excursions during this past Memorial Day. Reason being? I've been sick. Boo. Hiss. I swear, being sick sucks big time. Of course no one in their right mind ever enjoys being under the weather, but when the weather outside is warm and sunny, it just plain sucks when you can't even enjoy it. It also sucks when you don't feel well enough to even attend a FREE Madonna concert. FREE! I swear, I could kick myself repeatedly for passing a FREE concert up, but oh well, so it goes, the body was just not up to it. Aiya...did I mention that it was a FREE concert??? That sucks. Really sucks.

Moving on...

Summer Blockbuster

The DaVinci Code

Last Saturday, my sister and I went on a movie date with dear old Dad to watch the much anticipated "The DaVinci Code." If you've read the book, remember how freakishly intense the beginning was with the murder of the Louvre curator. Now imagine the movie previews are done, the lights go dim, and the opening sequence of the movie is already that! My heart was beating fast, simply because I knew what would happen, but to see it on screen was pretty cool. Although most movies adapted from books do not usually replicate scene for scene, "The DaVinci Code" did a good job of keeping to the story. But there were quite a few instances when my sis or I would ask each other, "Hey, was that in the book?" or "Did it happen like that in the book?" or "Hey! That's NOT in the book!" and even, "Hey, that SHOULD'VE been in the book!" The first time I read the book was a little bit more than a year before the movie trailer came out. The first time took my breath away. Because I didn't know some of the differences between fact and fiction, it really got me thinking. As the movie release got closer, I reread the novel again, the illustrated version this time, and knowing which actors would play whom, it made the story more alive. But seeing it all come together on-screen, well, gee, it was definitely worth the wait. I have to say, though, that Paul Bettany, who plays the albino monk in the story, was freaky. In the book, he's just plain scary, but as the movie came to a close, you can't help but feel for his character. If any of you are Paul Bettany fans, well, here's one for you....they show his ass. I'm talking full moon. Yup. In all of its glory. Blam! Lol! As for the rest of the movie, I totally loved seeing the history of France- I know I've said this before, but I would love to go to Paris one day! The outside shots of The Louvre are breathtaking! I wouldn't mind seeing the movie again...I'd probably catch some things I missed the first time around.

A quick sidenote: after the movie, I downloaded The DaVinci Code game. It's one of those where your character is in a room and you have to match three of the same symbols in order to clear a path. Kinda like Tetris, you match the same, they disappear, and you're left to match even more. Put a time limit, some police guards, some freaky music, and a Silas character into the shuffle, and you get a very obsessed MnM trying to make her way across each room. This game has 10 Chapters and within each chapter, there are 10 Levels. After the completion of each level, you receive a Crytex letter. At the end of a chapter, those letters must be rearranged to solve a riddle that will open up the cryptex- inside there will be a piece of artwork that has to be solved as well. It's all very addicting!

BUT, here's the kicker, the downside of it, if you will. Maybe it's because I was playing it until the wee hours of the morning, maybe it was because I ignored the watery eyes of searching for three of the same, maybe it was the freaky music and the ominously scary voice of Silas saying "The secret dies here" and "My hand is swift" or "Death will be quick"...maybe it was the combination of all those that actually gave me a nightmare that I was, indeed, being chased just like in the game! Laugh all you want, people, but it was enough for me to stop playing the game! (I got to Chapter 9 though...one chapter short of being "master." Lol!) I learned my lesson though...next time I play, I'll put my laptop on mute!

MnM gives it two thumbs up!

X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Maybe it's a tad premature to say this, but "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" has got to be THE blockbuster of the summer! I won't even go into any details of it because I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but damn, this movie had it all! The battle scenes were pretty intense, yet as intense as they were, there were some comedic moments as well. Wolverine did his thang and Storm kicked some serious ass! She was so cool! Other mutants are introduced, too, and I just saw this article online about Psylocke being added to the mix. Maybe I just didn't notice her??? But according to this article, the girl who plays her is Pinay! Her name is Mei Melancon, not really well-known, had a mini-part in Rush Hour 2. For those of you who saw "X-Men 3," did you notice her? The article I saw was from 2005, so maybe it never panned out? Hmmmm....got me all curious...maybe I should watch it again! In any case, I'm not spoiling it by mentioning that some people die...the way they do was quite disturbing though...oh and hey, did ya'll know that it would be set in San Francisco??? I was not aware! So what if it was all green screen, it was neat to see da city on-screen! Lastly, here's the deal...if you are planning on seeing it, stick around for the credits...there's a lil' sumptin' sumptin' at the end...

MnM gives it two thumbs up, or two wings up, or two adamantium blades up, um, you get the point...

Golden Gate Park

Sunday morning should've found me at church service, but seeing that I was late that morning (and I HATE being late for church!), I ended up hanging out in Golden Gate Park instead. It was such a beautiful day last Sunday that I didn't even mind the solitude- gave me a chance to walk around, take pictures, do some writing, and just sit and think...all that, of course, after searching for parking for about twenty minutes and almost getting completely lost! It was cool. This pic is of the stage where there would be free performances in the park- although I've never been to one myself. It's actually closed down for repairs, but the architecture is always good for pictures. I love the columns! When taking pictures lately, I've noticed that I'm drawn to flowers and other stills that do NOT include people....benches, for example. There's something about them...maybe it's the weathered look that catches my eye or perhaps the view to which seated occupants are inclined to look at. Whatever it is, they intrigue me.





Golden Gate Park National Cemetary

Memorial Day. A day set apart so that we may remember those who bravely served our country and to remember those who serve it still. It's funny to think of holidays because honestly, it's just one day where we all get a day off of work. But how many really think about WHY we're getting that day off? To plan the next barbeque or picnic? This day was to honor the heroes who have given their life for their country, but why do it for just one day when we could do it everyday? I mean, we're all guilty of it, I'm just saying...it's just like Christmas. So many have lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas that we take for granted that we don't need one day out of the year to honor the birth of Christ. But that's just me...

Anyways, the only other time that I've been here was when my Lola's oldest brother passed away in 1992. That was the first military funeral that I attended and man, talk about solemn and intense. From the point where the servicemen folded the American flag from the coffin and presenting it to my lola to the 21-gun salute, it was nothing but tears from beginning to end. As you can see from the picture, this cemetary is located in San Bruno...if you look closely, the mountains in the background bear the words "South San Francisco." When you're driving on 280, you can't help but notice the flagpole and depending the day, if the flag is at half staff. It being Memorial Day, all of the graves were donned with U.S. flags and my auntie and I thought it would be fitting to visit our Lolo. But first, we had to figure out WHERE he was. Near the entrance of the cemetary, there is a "grave locator"- either a computer station or a book directory. I easily found him and we were off to find his grave. When we finally found him, there was this certain sadness that came over me...a sadness that it took me this long to ever visit and even moreso, the reality that I've never really visited any of our other relatives that have long passed away. But it was nice to see his grave and to say hello nonetheless.

FRESCA

Lastly, I got my first taste of Peruvian cuisine at Fresca located in West Portal. I don't consider myself a foodie like Mrs. Voodoo and Mrs. Weekender, but I am open to trying to new things. My first experience wwas pretty tasty! I didn't know what to order, but the family next to us were raving about their meals that I decided to go with what the mom ordered- pork chops with mashed yams and a side of diced apples. I can't remember the Peruvian name, but it was yum. Also, I've had sangria before, but this particular pitcher that we ordered was just right- not too strong and just sweet enough. A pitcher of sangria was $25. Overall, it was yum. Expensive, but yum.