On This Semester

This is my final blog post for this class. It was fun for the most part-- this semester not so much. I had to deal with a lot of personal problems along with taking 6 classes, an internship and working 3 jobs. Stressed is an understatement. Now we're 2 weeks away from this semester ending and it could not come faster. Although next semester is my last semester and I'm scared of graduating college, I'm excited to start a new chapter in my life.

I'm so excited to see my family and forget about all the hardships I had to face this semester. I'm looking forward to taking my first break of the whole year. I hope everyone else has a good rest of the semester, a manageable amount of stress for finals and enjoys the holiday season!

On Cinderella

Apparently Disney princess live action movies are a thing now, and now Cinderella is following suit.

The new trailer was just released, and it looks pretty good. I'll probably be watching most for Cate Blanchett more than anything.

On concerts

On Wednesday night I saw Blonde Redhead play at the Bowery Ballroom in New York. I was grateful to be able to see one of my favorite bands in such a legendary venue. The whole experience was a great one. The tickets were for general admission and pretty much first come, first serve. Despite being at the venue at 7:50 or so, we managed to get the best view of the concert. The concert itself was magical.

The band's performance was on point and the musicians were as friendly as ever. They played some of my favorites like "23", "Dr. Strangeluv" and "Here Sometimes" as well as music from their new album. It was a magical night. At the end of the night, I managed to get the setlist from the show and to meet the band members. I also got a band shirt and vynil of my favorite cd.

Below is one of my favorite tracks from their new album

On Finals

This finals week is going to be the end of me. I'm taking 6 classes and I have final projects for 4 classes and exams for 2. I'm really nervous because I know I've procrastinated a lot the last few weeks, but I'm trying my best to get it together and do all my work. I really hate the feeling of stress during finals week, so I'm trying my best to avoid it. We'll see how it goes.

Also, I've relaxed so much this week that I think it's okay for me to gear up and ace those finals. Only 2 more weeks until I go home too, so I need to get it together!

On Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a weird holiday for me. I don't have family here so when I see everyone going home I feel so weird and inadequate. At the same time, I feel like I shouldn't really feel that way because it's not a real holiday for me in my country.

This time of year makes me wish I was home more than anything. After spending almost three years abroad you would think these feelings of homesickness would go away, but I think they just keep getting worse.

On PR

How should a brand respond to a crisis? Not like this. A week or so ago, Victoria's Secret was under fire for their "The Perfect 'Body'" campaign, and instead changing their tagline to "A Body for Every Body".

It seems like they're not done with their crisis PR. In an attempt to soften the criticism, Victoria's Secret put a video on their Instagram today where a model laments that she doesn't have the same bone structure as another model. It's a very odd video.

So tone deaf. But whatever, they tried I guess.

On Dogs

I'm a dog person. Sorry to the cat people out there, but I need the expressive love that only dogs can give. I'm not the only one in my family who loves dogs, either. We have 4 dogs at home. My mom figured that if her children were grown up, she needed something else to take care of. When I go home, I can hear their barks throughout the whole house. They play and run around like crazy and I love them so much.

On Wednesday I was Skyping with mom and my dogs were there. Although I love all of them, one of them is my dog. Her name is Canelita (Cinnamon in Spanish). I called her name and she immediately looked at the camera and started sniffing. It's like she knew it was me. I haven't been home in a year, and it made me wonder, does she really remember me?

According to a recent study done in Hungary found that dogs' abilities to remember are more human-like than suspected.

On Minions

The trailer for the upcoming Minions movie is here. It's a prequel/spin-off of the Despicable Me movies. The trailer is obviously very cute and funny, and I love the minions just like everyone else. I just hope they don't overkill it. If they don't have a stellar storyline/plot that justifies creating a prequel, they could end up ruining it for me. Either way, I'll definitely be watching the movie.

What do you think of the trailer?

On Halloween

Halloween is one of those weird holidays for me. I never celebrated it back home, but it's a huge deal in the U.S. Honestly, I don't really understand why but I guess there's some fun in pretending you're someone else for one day.

I've never been trick or treating, so some friends are taking me out to have my first experience tomorrow. Seems kind of random to me to just knock on people's doors, but hey, if there's candy involved I'm in.

What are you dressing up on Halloween?

On Sexual Harassment

The aftermath of that viral sexual harassment video. Way to prove a point: http://mashable.com/2014/10/29/street-harassment-psa/

On Weird Beliefs

We all like to think that we're the normal ones and everyone else is crazy. I argue that's not the case. I think all of us believe in something that other people would label as insane.

For instance, last Friday I had a meeting at work. My co-workers and I had some time off and our conversation took a weird turn when we started talking about conspiracy theories. My friend said she believes in the Illuminati and that they really do control the entertainment industry. We all started talking about things we believed in. I said I believed in aliens. And actually I do believe in them, and they scare me. Everyone started to laugh. I mean, it is pretty humorous, but how many people believe in Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster.

Anyway, this is kind of random, but really, if you think about your beliefs they're not as sane as you may think.

On Senior Year

Whoever said senior year was relaxed lied. I've never been busier in my life. I'm taking 6 classes (one is an advanced research class which is killing me), an internship and 3 jobs. All of that while trying to balance out my social life as well as trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do after graduation.

I guess this is what I get for being a triple major and graduating a semester early. What really gets me through it week after week is the thought of my family coming from Honduras and watching me graduate. I really just want to make them proud.

I'm trying to stay in America because life in Honduras is too violent and corrupt, but I know that's an uphill battle in itself. I'm trying not to think about it too much because it gives me major anxiety, but it's reality that I have to face eventually. Hopefully it all turns out alright.

On Selling Yourself

Today more than ever it's important to be marketable. Why should they hire you over someone else? You better know this if you're hoping for that entry-level job or that internship. But I always wonder, how do I do this? It feels kind of uncomfortable thinking of yourself that way. And although it's important, I feel like networking is really awkward.

How do you go about doing this?

On Looking Forward to Things

I know I shouldn't complain. We just had a break, but this break didn't feel like a break at all. I had tons of homework, and I just stayed in Plattsburgh and worked, worked, worked. I didn't go home, and I get feelings of jealousy mixed with guilt every time I hear that someone enjoyed time with their families. Well, I'm now planning my first (real) vacation of the year when I go home. It's warm yearround and I hope to actually catch a tan. These are my favorite vacationing spots in Honduras:

Roatán, Bay Islands- nothing compares to the blue waters of Roa. Everyone uses dollars in this island and everyone speaks English, which is probably why it's such a popular destination for American and European tourists.

Copán Ruinas, Copán - the Mayan ruins in Copán are some of the best preserved ruins. I love going to this place and looking at a civilization that lived so long ago and still has such an influence on our culture.

As the temperature drops, my dreams of warm weather and relaxation grow.

On Breaks

I CAN'T WAIT FOR BREAK. And I know I'm not alone in this feeling. It's crazy to think that we're approaching Columbus weekend and that midterms just happened. Where is time going? It feels like as I get older time goes by faster. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

Either way, I can't wait to catch up on my sleep and do some homework. I'll try to stir away from my usual pattern of "I'm going to do so much work during the break but then I end up doing nothing at all." This is the craziest and busiest semester I've had thus far, and I feel like I can't really slack off or relax.

Still, sleeping in and watching TV sounds really good right now.

On Cool Girls

Last week I saw Gone Girl in theaters. I didn't really have any expectations and I don't really want to ruin the movie for anyone, but upon coming back to my room, I read some quotes from the book. One especially resonates in my mind, the famous "Cool Girl" speech:

“Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl.

Men actually think this girl exists. Maybe they’re fooled because so many women are willing to pretend to be this girl. For a long time Cool Girl offended me. I used to see men – friends, coworkers, strangers – giddy over these awful pretender women, and I’d want to sit these men down and calmly say: You are not dating a woman, you are dating a woman who has watched too many movies written by socially awkward men who’d like to believe that this kind of woman exists and might kiss them. I’d want to grab the poor guy by his lapels or messenger bag and say: The bitch doesn’t really love chili dogs that much – no one loves chili dogs that much! And the Cool Girls are even more pathetic: They’re not even pretending to be the woman they want to be, they’re pretending to be the woman a man wants them to be. Oh, and if you’re not a Cool Girl, I beg you not to believe that your man doesn’t want the Cool Girl. It may be a slightly different version – maybe he’s a vegetarian, so Cool Girl loves seitan and is great with dogs; or maybe he’s a hipster artist, so Cool Girl is a tattooed, bespectacled nerd who loves comics. There are variations to the window dressing, but believe me, he wants Cool Girl, who is basically the girl who likes every fucking thing he likes and doesn’t ever complain. (How do you know you’re not Cool Girl? Because he says things like: “I like strong women.” If he says that to you, he will at some point fuck someone else. Because “I like strong women” is code for “I hate strong women.”)”  

― Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl

What do you think? Does the cool girl exist?

On Bad Movies

So apparently an Angry Birds movie is a thing. Even more surprising are the stars attached to the project. Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph and Peter Dinklage are set to voice the birds and pigs for this awful project.

I have no idea why Sony Studios would make such a terrible decision, but I guess movies haven't exactly been very good recently. I feel like the only movies that ever get made in big, mainstream studis are superhero movies, sequels or reboots of older movies. I know I can't be the only one who's tired of this.

I love going to the movies. It's one of my favorite things, but being in Plattsburgh makes it difficul to see the latest releases when certain movies have limited releases. That's money that they're not getting from me just because I really don't want to see Die Hard #34546.

On Inside Out

Pixar has just released a teaser trailer for "Inside Out". The story follows the emotions of an 11-year-old girl, Riley, who's trying to adjust to a new life in San Francisco. Change fuels a different array of emotions which causas panic in the control center where her emotions-- Fear, Sadness, Joy, Disgust and Anger live. These characters help guide Riley through a new chapter in her life.

The trailer starts with a montage of all different Pixar movies and the feelings they have evoked in us. Overall, it's very cute and heartwarming. It really makes me wish that I had a movie like this when I was growing up.

Even as an "adult", moving away from home has been really hard. I think that it's good that there will be a movie that deals with this. I love Disney and Pixar movies, so I'm sure I'll be in line at the movie theatre when this movie comes out. Here's to hoping it's a good one.

On Hoaxes

The threat of filtering nude pictures of Emma Watson turned out to be a viral campaign to close down 4chan.

Watson was threatened after giving a speech about gender equality at the United Nations. 

The threat seemed to come out after pictures of other female celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Gabrielle Union came out. 

I guess it’s a good thing it was a hoax, but do you really have to try to shut down 4chan using another human’s body as bait? I really don’t understand the craze about nude pictures. We all have intimate parts, so what’s the big deal? Also, if you see these pictures you are violating the privacy of a person. Point blank. And I don’t care what anyone says, this surge of nude pictures only target women. I wonder how Watson, a woman who has been sexualized by the media since she was very young, feels about this whole ordeal.

What do you think?

On Fall Films

I’m the kind of person who can watch the same movie over and over without getting bored, which is very annoying to others I’m sure. With the coming of fall there are several films that I watch and re-watch. Most of them are sappy (hello fall weather blues), but this is a list of movies I re-watch every fall.

1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

A story about love that transcends obstacles, it has great performances from Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey.

2) 500 Days of Summer

For the masochist in you. It’s the perfect transition film from summer to autumn. 

 

3) Lost in Translation

This movie is up there for me as one of my top 5 films of all time. Scarlett Johansson pre-action movies is always a treat for me. Bill Murray is as loveable and funny as always. This movie also triggered my dream to travel to Japan one day.

On Homesickness

 

This week was hard. Most of the time I feel fine just doing my thing and working my butt off. But this Monday was Independence Day for my country, Honduras. For one thing, we take the whole week off to celebrate Independence. Not the case here. 

Obviously no one cares here and why should they? There’s only one other person from my country here, so we were really the only two who cared about it. But it really got me thinking. I haven’t gone home in almost a year, and I really miss it. I thought that being a senior I would get over my feelings of homesickness. It makes me feel almost childish. But I miss my family, the warm weather, the food, the language. I miss everything. Don’t get me wrong, I love Plattsburgh, but there’s just something about your home that doesn’t compare to anything else in the world. 

I didn’t get to celebrate Independence at all, and it makes me sad. I was here for July 4^th, but I felt isolated from the whole experience. 

When will I get to go home? 

On New Technology

I really, honestly, do not understand the craze about technology sometimes. Of course I enjoy my smartphone just as anyone does, but I think it’s gotten to dimensions of fanaticism in recent years. Just last year I remember people in my classes talking about the newest iPhone and how it would be golden or whatever. A year later, nothing has changed. 

Today is the release of the iPhone 6, and with it will come the endless lines filled with Apple-crazed fans. It is truly Orwellian. 

The iPhone has already been released in Australia. Jack Cooksey was the first costumer to come out of an Apple store with his new iPhone in Perth. As a television crew filmed the unveiling of his phone, he opened the box and dropped it. Reportedly, the phone received two cracks and a scuff marks after the drop. 

Yes, its technology may be of the highest caliber, but at the end of the day, it still cracks. People, please realize that new technology is meant to be shiny and pretty, but it’s not designed to last.