zulayr

while i wait for school..

2008-07-10T13:47:00Z

Man, it only takes half a summer vacation for me to realize how much i miss school and how busy it keeps me. The hustle and bustle of work-to-school is actually..fun? weird thought, but it's true.

So while I wait for the fall semester to start, i'm just trying to keep busy.. maybe start a new book? I just finished Flipped and it was the CUTEST. Wasn't really that into it at first, but i forced myself to sit down and get through it (since I had bought it about two months before and had yet to get past the second chapter) and it ended up being the sweetest story. Teenagers with the wit and humor of fully grown adults. Recommend it!

As for new reading, I'm open to reading pretty much anything, as long as it keeps me clinging to the plot. Any suggestions?

Hope everyone is doing awesome!

yup. it's officially summertime.

2008-06-10T19:08:00Z

Today just reminded me why I barely ever wear jeans around this time.

This is what i HATE about living in So.Fla. I mean, the sun is awesome and the water at this time is starting to rise above freezing temps, but its the humidity and the rain that just kills everything. I honestly don't know how tourists can take it; it's always a good 10 degrees hotter with humidity, and it doesn't help that Florida is an already scorching hot state.And when it rains, forget it- the humidity + the heat + THE RAIN= stay in your house and sit under an air vent.

I walked outside today to have lunch- I might have been outside like what, 15 minutes?- and the amounts of vapor surrounding me were enough for me to sweat a good third of the liquid in my body, making me have to walk back into my office looking a terrible hot mess. /sigh

And just because i think i brought this upon myself, i just looked outside and it looks like it's gonna pour. Thank you, Mother Nature.

bitter memories and painful accomplishments

2008-06-02T00:35:00Z

So I accompanied my sister to a viewing for her friend's grandmother. Turns out the viewing was in the same room that my friend Jesus had his in. Hm, wasn't so good. Tried to keep my composure but of course, failed miserably.

But on a lighter note, I completed level two of the Air Climber!!! Which leads me to wonder why i'm even reporting every level I finish; I guess it's because it hurts so much while i'm dong it that i can't help but brag -_-

Alright, promise i'll be back with something more interesting than my exercise 'feats. It's been a long night- longer than i anticipated- so i think a dvd and some cafe con leche sounds awesome right now.

I CONQUERED PHASE ONE OF THE AIR CLIMBER!

2008-05-29T21:55:00Z

YES!! 3 MORE LEVELS TO GO!

/faints

HI JONNY! >:o

2008-05-20T18:38:00Z

I recently got back from a trip with some friends to Orlando..AWESOME! Man, we had SO much fun. i really needed a trip like that. Just to get away for one weekend and have some fun. We went to Islands of Adventure on Saturday-video coming soon!- and dinner on Sat. night was HILARIOUS. We went to Hooters and basically ordered the entire menu, all while talking about the crazy things one person did in their sleep, or who got queasy on what ride (which, btw, i strongly suggest to anyone who doesnt wanna throw up not to ride Dueling Dragons after downing chicken tenders and 1/3 of a pizza.hmm). We also went to Aquatica, this new water park with some super fast slides and the laziest lazy river ever, and now i'm sitting in my office, redder than the red flats i'm wearing and itching because my skin is tragically peeling. :(

But anywho, we rode this one slide called the Dolphin Plunge, where you went down this tube slide (PITCH BLACK, let me tell you; i thought i was gonna have a panic attack!) that led you through a pool filled with Commerson dolphins (the website showed like, a billion of them in there but the pool only had 2 -_-) and then to a little pool where you exit the slide. We were all excited to go on it and laughing and cheering, but when I saw that light turn green and I slid down, the party was OVER. The only sound I heard was the water rushing with me, and when it got to taking a glimpse at the dolphins, I was too busy trying not to drown from the water riding up my nose. I swear, the people watching from outside the pool only saw a flailing vibrant body in a bright pink bathing suit, trying to shoo water away. When we all got out of that slide and we just looked at each other with a serious face, like saying "..man. that was uncomfortable". So after that scare, we headed out to the wave pool and hit the lazy river, which had a grotto full of colorful fish. Idk, we got on like 50 slides, and they all ended in me having a permanent wedgie, but it was fun. :p

Now I'm back in Hialeah (with pigment!) and awaiting my next trip to Orlando this Friday (again). I'm going canoeing to some spring with a some friends and one of their families, so there'll be more sun bathing. Horray for my extremely white skin!

a whole summer to do anything i want. yaaaaay.

2008-05-12T01:28:00Z

When is it my turn to have the fun?! And I'm not talking about the "stay up all night and party my ass off" kind of fun; I'm talking more along the lines of the "feel like i'm actually doing something worthwhile with my life" kind of fun. But the good news is that I have a whole summer to figure this awkward feeling out. Hopefully it goes away because if this is any sign of what's to come, then i'm in for a hell of a 2 months. Hm.

leave it to ME to go through something like this, at a time like this.

2008-04-29T13:54:00Z

Just thought I would share yesterday's events with you all, since it's the morning after and i STILL don't believe it happened.

So I spent the better half of yesterday studying for my math final- I went over every possible question that could be on the test, and I even decided i would go to class a half hour early just so i could go over my review with my professor. I get to school and when i'm about 6 steps away from class, I realize that I didn't have my calculator, which to me is a tragedy because i'm nothing without it; like really, I use a calculator for simple arithmetic just so i don't stumble and make a mistake using mental math- i'm attached to the freaking thing. So I start to panic and decide to run (yes,run) to the bookstore to try and buy a calculator- then i look at the time and apparently, stress makes time go SO much faster because i only had 17 minutes to get to the bookstore (which of course, is on the other side of campus), buy the calculator, run BACK to my classroom and try to review with my professor. With that long task at hand, i haul it to the bookstore and start nervously powerwalking around the aisles to find a calculator, and when I finally find one it turns out that I would have to pay $150 for it because they only had the fancy ones that looked like they can probably calculate the latitude of South Africa. I ask one of the girls there if they had a simple calculator that doesn't cost so much- you know, one where I can just add and subtract and divide and all that easy stuff. Of course, the girl tells me that they ran out and she offered to order some for me, and although i think it was nice of her to try, it wasn't gonna help my situation at all.

I ditch the bookstore and start heading back to class and start calling anyone who might be at school at that time, but as fate would have it no one answers, so i call my best friend to attleast try and calm myself down. Luckily she tells me that she can drive to school and bring me hers, but the only problem was that my exam was in less than ten minutes. She tells, me, "don't worry! i'll make it there by then and you'll be fine!" So a part of me starts to chill, and as Im pacing in front of my class, it starts to dawn on me that I was the only person waiting outside, and the door was locked and the lights were off. It's usually not like my professor to be late because she always gets to class early on test days to review. i start thinking to myself, if this test is in the math lab then FOR SURE i'm going to be late cause that's all the way on the other side of school, which, in turn, made me freak all over again, so i called my best friend again to tell her to meet me somewhere else. In the midst of my panic, she asks me, "wait..your test IS today, right?" and i say "of course it is! it's in my notes!"you see? my test IS on...wednesday...oh."

So yes, my test was not yesterday. It's tomorrow. I ran around school for nothing and i looked like a mess; a sweaty, humid-haired calculatorless mess.I was so drained that i don't think I could've brewed up anger if i tried, so me and my best friend just laughed it off. I guess leaving my calculator at home was a sign, but the power of finals-stress believes in no signs. And now i have a ton of people from work asking me how my test went, and all i say is that it was postponed. -_-

my "entertaining" life

2008-04-08T13:34:00Z

After weeks of obseving my own social patterns, I've concluded that I am a very "uneventful" teenager.

"Uneventful", because I refuse to use the word "boring".

Ok, you really start to question your social life when your PARENTS are getting ready to go out on a Saturday night, and your mom walks into your room, borrows your makeup and asks, "why aren't you going out tonight? get out of bed and have fun!" while applying glittery plum eye shadow to her eyes. Meanwhile, I'm laying in bed, drowned in 3 pillows and two blankets watching True Life and wondering the same thing she is.

Tragic. Freaking tragic.

Mind you, this is my 2nd saturday staying home and doing nothing but growing roots in my bed. And I've HAD chances to go out; honestly, I can go out and not have to worry about a curfew or where I go or what time I get back (given that I dont abuse my privelege). I can go anywhere, at any time, yet i choose to sit in my room and rearrange my school supplies.

You know you don't go out much when you meet some friends up at someone's house and one of them goes, "omg! she got out of her cave!"

I do NOT live in a cave, I'm just tired. I mean, I work and I go to school and I have many responsibilities that i need to keep track of. I don't sit around and twirl my hair at home all day watching The Hills.

But then again, I think to myself: if my parents do it, then I should be able to..i mean, im only 19. And I'm in college! I'm supposed to be living the college life! I need to stop being to "uneventful" and go out and do stuff! So i'm working on going out more and not worrying so much over how many hours I sleep (or don't sleep). I'm young, and I need to live my life and see different places and just do different things. Going to Starbucks on a Thursday night won't kill me, and I'm sure hanging out at a friend's house every Tuesday from time to time won't hurt much. Man, I just need to stop being so blah and just have fun. Oh well, we'll see how far I'll get with that. Attleast i have my Orlando trip (!!!) to look forward to in the summer. Ahhhh, I can't wait! :)

i've been trying to post this for three days and it didn't let me until now -__-

2008-03-20T15:22:00Z

Oh man! I I've neglected my blogs for a while. Everytime I sit down and tell myself that I'm going to write something, my thoughts get caught up in something totally different and I space out. But now that I've knocked my mind back into orbit, I can finally recap some of the things going on in my life right now.

I have finally achieved, after years of hopeless inability, to get a decent grade in math.I don't think I've gotten a B in math since like..what, 3rd grade? Major milestone. I've really buckled down this semester and concentrated more on my work, and the positive feedback i'm recieving from my professors shows that my dedication is paying off. After thinking about what i want to do with myself career wise, i've decided to stick to my original plan and go into editing and publishing. It'll be a long and strenuous road-no doubt about that- but like everything else in life worth pursuing, it takes time and patience.

Jumping onto other subjects, I really wanted to share this with others, just because I think it's disgusting and I don't understand it. I went to this club on saturday (FYI: for any of you who visit Miami in the near future and decide to check out the clubs-given that you are of age- be careful which one you decide to go to; the ones by the beaches are great, but I strongly suggest staying away from the 18 and overs. ew.) to hear some music and hang out. It was just a really uncomfortable atmosphere, seeing all those chicks grinding all up on other guys- kind of like the story in RED about grinding (can't remember the girl's name right now, sorry! I'm horrible with names -__-) -these girls were literally BENT OVER, holding on to a table and rubbing their..um, parts, all over these guys. And the disgusting part is that they did it right in front of where I was sitting, so I was subjected to the closeness of their booty popping, or w.e you wanna call it. I think to myself, doesn't it ever cross their mind that they look like total whores? And one of the girls had like, 5 guys lined up to dance with her, but for all the wrong reasons. It was my first time in a while going to an 18 and over club, and now I see why I never liked it. Not that I think I'm way too old for that or anything, I just think the clubs with more of an age restriction have a bit of a better crowd. Needless to say, however, the guys I went with had no problem watching this chick and her reggae rubbing. ew.

The club story was basically my weekend in a nutshell; since it was scorching saturday and sunday and it sucked the energy out of me and left me to veg around the house. It was a record 90 degrees on saturday, which means I have to start hitting the beaches. :) I really get back into blogging and communicating with all of you, so hopefully I can keep this up and make some time write to you all. Happy St.Patty's day to all! :D

career crisis?

2008-01-30T16:49:00Z

So I've been thinking- am i really making the right choice by choosing the career i want to pursue? I mean, I've always wanted to be an editor/writer; i remember being in the fifth grade and doing a project on how I see myself in 20 years, and I spoke about being in the writing/editing business. It's the only thing I feel like I actually have potential doing (i know it sounds like a case of lack of self confidence, but it's the only thing i see myself doing, and actually liking). I've spoken to my mom about it and she believes that as long as i'm doing what makes me happy, then it's worth it. Then again, she also believes that it's more of a dream than a steady career, in some aspects. I sometimes think the same, but when you want something so badly and you truly believe that it's the right path to take, then why not follow your sense of direction?

Idk, it's something I've been putting a lot of thought into. When we're kids, our peers always reassure us that we have plenty of time to think about what we want to be when we "grow up". My time, however, is a bit more limited, and my growth has hit overdrive these past few years, so I think it's time for me to really take a moment and weigh my options.

lending a hand

2008-01-16T22:28:00Z

There's this website I found today called FreeRice.com. It's a vocabulary game where you have to guess the meaning of each word correctly-for every one you get right, the site donates 20 grains of rice through the United Nations to prevent world hunger. I found it browsing though the internet today, and i Snoped it and it was real. Now i'm practically addicted to it because I'm helping out for a good cause and learning some new vocab at the same time.

So between finding this site, eating lots of cake and finding out that i don't have class on Saturday (!), this has been an AMAZING birthday. :)

Short entry, but I wanted to share this new site with you all. So check it out sometime!

Hope everyone's taking it easy :)

i can finally sit down and do this. yes!

2008-01-08T14:37:00Z

Man, i haven't been able to blog in a while. This year has started off so busy, but part of me likes it this way. It's not a bad kind of busy; it's a "i have so many great things going on that I can't sit down for one second" kind of busy. I've given myself a lot more leisure time and just loosened up a bit more- A TOTAL help- and just let things happen as they go. Thanks to that, I now spend my weekends totally engulfed in having fun and spending it in such good company that I forget that it's back to work on Monday. I've been keeping up with writing in my journal- something i've never been able to do- and it's proven to be a big help to me because i've got some pretty good stuff in there! (i'll post some of my more public stuff soon. it was just an effect of writing on impulse and I was a bit surprised at the outcome). I have a strong feeling that this will be a great year, and i'm keeping my fingers crossed for it. :p

I've been thinking about Amy G's question on girls and the internet. I think it comes down to the fact that girls are naturally more emotional than guys; we have a deeper connection with those emotions and are able to express them in creative ways, such as blogging (the world's cyber journal), art, etc. Now i'm not saying that there aren't any guys out there who posess these characteristics; I know a few guys who are really able to show off their creative minds through poetry, music and such- but speaking in a more general manner, girls tend to have an edge on the males. It's quite the interesting topic because now that I think about it, girls have a lot to work with on the internet. We have online communities such as Myspace, which is honestly a chance for any girl to show off their "unique" side via bulletins and profile edits and decor. We have a website called Flip- an online scrapbook community where people (namely girls) can create their own flipbooks; there's contests and different challenges and an endless amount of ideas where one could create flips on school, love, friends or anything else you want. The more of these sites that are made, the more girls get to expand their creative abilities. Growing up, guys are taught to "be a man" and not show as much emotion because it's the "manly" thing to do. Though when you really think about it, emotion and self expression are a HUGE part of growing up, as well as succeeding in the adult world. It's about being able to communicate and think outside the box, and I believe that because girls are able to do that via internet, it gives them that extra edge.

I know this is totally off topic, but I was also thinking about this yesterday when I was talking to a visitor at work. He mentioned a story in the news about a cop being found dead in an unmarked car. He told me, "it's amazing to know how no one respects the law these days". And he has a point; this is one of three stories I've heard on cops being found dead recently. Of course, I understand that police officers know what they are getting themselves into when they choose that career path, and it's a life risking job and all; but now, more than ever before, all these stories are coming up about them dying and it just strikes me as odd. The world is becoming a scarier place by the second. You can't even go outside your own house without fearing someone driving by and shooting you. The violence rate in this country has risen tremendously, and it's really something to be concerned about. I know there is no such thing as a "violence free" atmosphere, but it's just progressing to a point where you ask yourself, if the law can't protect you, and the walls of your own home can't, then something really needs to be done. I think this topic will be one for me to consider when I vote this year (!!!), along with some other issues, but I won't get into that now.

Some of these things may sound like random ranting, but I felt like sharing them, and it felt good to voice my opinion to others for once. Goodbye for now- i'm off to my frist day of a new semester at school! :)

I sound too excited, I know. But for some odd reason I'm feeling very awake today. Hm.

I am officially ADDICTED to Project Runway.

2007-12-28T13:49:00Z

So I got to watching some episodes of that show last night, and I love it! I mean, i had watched it before, but i never really payed much attention to it. Some of the designs were awesome- makes me want to start designing my own clothes! (haha. yeah, right.) My friend had told me that one of his frat brothers was on the show, which was pretty cool. I have to say though, for anyone who watches it and knows what i'm talking about, Chris' wedding dress design..ew. (i might have the name wrong, idk.) As I was watching Heidi Klum eliminate designers with a simple "you're in" or "you're out", i started to laugh because i don't think America will ever run out of reality show ideas. As tastefully addicting as a show about potential designers fighting with pins and sewing machines to make it big in the fashion industry SOUNDS, it's still a funny concept and i couldn't help but giggle at our country's limitless television capabilities.

At the end of the show, i started to wonder what i was gonna wear to work the next day, because lord knows it's always a mission to find something that matches. But all in all, i finally found a show worthy of looking forward to every week (besides The Hills, but i was never home to watch that so i was stuck watching reruns, which isn't as exciting because by the time I watched them, everyone I knew told me what happened. )

Goodbye for now!

OMG. i just answered the phone at work with "thank you for watching (co.name)-er..i mean, calling" All this talk about the show got to me. Oh boy.

Regina Spektor did this to me. Blame her.

2007-12-21T03:04:00Z

Hmm. I was looking through my senior yearbook, and maaaaaan, i miss some things.

I miss not having to worry about making it to work on time. Or keeping up with so many responsibilities. I miss being a yearbook editor and spending hours in our class editing and dancing to spanish music on the computers. I miss eating lunch in a specific table everyday, and having verbal battles of wit with one of my favorite teachers. I miss feeling giddy before going to english class every day and singing in the stairwells with my songmates, and sometimes sneaking into the little theater's storage room and the art gallery with them, just to talk crap. Ah, the bitter effects of growing up. It's funny that Braille, by Regina Spektor, did this to me. I don't have a lot of these gushy moments, but this one hit me like a brick, so I had to share it.

But uhh...yea. So, how's everyone else?

holiday chaos!

2007-12-17T15:38:00Z

I went Christmas shopping this weekend. Oh boy.

The malls were PACKED. And I really don't enjoy having to shove my way to the register to buy ONE thing. Ugh. What I find extremely ironic and baffling is that I went to the mall to buy gifts for other people, and I somehow left the mall with stuff for ME. Hm. But I'm going again next week to finish off my gift list. I did, however, buy my neices their gifts- as much of a mission as it was to get them. I bought the younger neice the bike she wanted, and I also got her a shiny pink Hannah Montana backpack (she's OBSESSED with that chick. It's kind of annoying sometimes). As for the other neice, I got her a phone, which she's also wanted for a while now. Bro, It's funny how my neice gets a phone at her age, and I didn't get one until I was like, what..15? But yea, I really outdid myself this Christmas with them.

I still have a whole list of people to buy gifts for, and virtually NO time to shop for anything, but I'll figure something out. :p

As for school, Im 2 finals down with one more to go (computers!). It's the exam I'm dreading the most, but hopefully it'll be easier than I think. Keeping my fingers crossed.

And I'm out!