Mail Call !

Who doesn't enjoy a little postal love? Happy Mundane does.

Apparently, Pai Mei does, too!

The contents will be revealed shortly :)

Score !

Woohoo!

My results from the EXADEP test I took last month are in. I scored the following in these sections:

• Verbal Aptitude ...................................................... 62
  
• Mathematics + Analytical Reasoning ......................... 80
  
• Written Expression ................................................. 66
  
• English .................................................................. 80

... which translates to a total score of 709 (on a scale of 200 to 800)!

You, too?

I always go for the yummy, kitty ear kronsche myself!

(via Cute Overload)

Sound familiar?

I've been rewatching previous episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In episode 206, "The Blind Bandit," I knew the voice of Toph's father, Lao Bei Fong, sounded familiar.


He's Kratos (from Tales of Symphonia)!

I mean, he's Cam Clark[e].

I guess I'm still Texan ...

(As seen here)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South   That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Inland North
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The West
North Central
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Halloween, revisited

I think I'm going to dress up as Vincent van Gogh for Halloween this year:

Either that, or a chipmunk:

November was a good month.

Because deep down, I'm a nerdy, future librarian :

Wisening up

Two weeks ago, my lower right molar started bothering me. The dentist who saw me said it was my wisdom tooth pressing up against my molar that was causing the pain.

I might not have a fancy tooth diagram like my devious Belgian friend, yhancik, but I do have this X-ray:


I was referred to her colleague who handles wisdom teeth extractions, but he quickly dismissed my case because my tooth is impacted and he fears damaging my jaw's main nerve. He, in turn, referred me to a maxillofacial (oral) surgeon down the hall who will see me early next week.

I've already had 4 molars removed from when I wore braces. I remember the banana-tasting gel applied to my gums to numb them, and the eight shots I got with a needle suitable for injecting horses (!). Then there's the loud, cracking sound of the dentist pulling my teeth out with pliers!

This, however, sounds scarier and I am a little worried ... :\

Retail therapy

After my uneventful visit to the dentist's office, I found myself with no plans for the afternoon. What's a girl to do on Pay-Day Friday? Go shopping, of course!

First stop: Borders. I went in, looking for a gift for Doris, but I wasn't feeling too inspired. However, browsing the "Local Interest" (i.e. Puerto Rico) section, I discovered this book:


The cover features a detail of Félix Bonilla Norat's painting, Ritual. However, the wrong year is credited!

Bonilla Norat could not have painted this in 1995 - he died in 1992! [tsk tsk] For the record, Ritual was painted in 1961.

Going Postal ... yet again

I had no idea who was the mastermind behind the design of this The Postal Service t-shirt ...

... until I saw this recent post at happy mundane about Jim Houser. Scrolling down this interview, I came across this image:

Although the shirt does not credit Houser, there's no mistaking it's his design!

Katy the Caterpillar

... and there's a sequel !!!

Going Postal ... for Halloween !?

Browsing eBay for some vintage postal paraphernalia, I came across this and this: children's mail carrier costumes.

Just in time for Halloween.

Draco y el Teatro del Absurdo

I went to the first of two scheduled concerts last night at the Choliseo (Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot) with my best friend, Talí, his girlfriend, and his brother, Jehú. I thought we had really good seats, sitting in the first row (Row A) of section 102L. From where we were sitting (or standing!), we could see the left side and center-stage. There were what looked to be 160 skulls placed in 160 cubbyholes as the backdrop! The left "wall" was decorated with various pictures (of Che, Einstein, and Draco himself), tapestries, masks, and the flag of Lares; several table lamps were placed across the stage. Although scheduled for 8:30pm, it wasn't until 9:30pm that the lights were dimmed and the musicians stepped out on stage. Everyone was wearing black. Even the backup singers were decked out in black monk's robes and Halloween-y face paint!

The video displays presented a countdown, which led to the evening's first song, "Bosque de los números." I don't remember all of the songs performed (or in which order): "Todo es vino," "Desnudo," "Luchar por ella," "Hasta la victoria siempre," "Mad Love," "Más y más," "Llanto subterráneo," "Madre tierra," "Vagabundo," "Penélope," "Brujería," "Vértigo," "Cruzando Puertas," and "Mama." He played a couple of covers: "Roadhouse Blues" from The Doors, "Rock and Roll" by Led Zeppelin, and even Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca" ... because everything is possible en el teatro del absurdo -- Um, is it still a "cover" when it's your song / lyrics sung by another artist? :)

Here are two clips of the covers:

During the intermission, Draco stayed on stage with guitarist Rusty Anderson and attempted a couple of songs acoustically. (I say attempt because he couldn't remember the lyrics to "Cruzando puertas" !!!) I was able to record "Blanca mujer," albeit very poorly:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

(from xkcd)

(from Threadless)

Photo Genic

This plush camera reminds me of a retired Threadless t-shirt:

(Plusharoid from Urban Outfitters: Blog)

Going Postal

I thought I was rebellious for placing US Flag stamps upside-down on an envelope or Presidents sideways (because they're lying in their graves).

But then I found this:

Hooray for mail art!

Yes, I am.

John Balossi ( 1931 - 2007 )

Maybe after I finish researching Félix Bonilla Norat, I'll move on to John Balossi.

I've purchased the following Balossi prints:

The Green Horse

The Red Horse [ image pending ]

After the hiatus ...

There are so many things I wish to conquer, online and in real life.

I did end up committing myself to a mortgage payment for 30 years and have been living here for 8 months now. I'm transforming this house into a home slowly (a little too slowly, I'm afraid). All the interior decorating is going on in my head, and not with my hands! I need to get back to the three-dimensional world and out of my skewed mind so I can make my home shine with Addis-ness! It's been almost 2 months since I last painted anything. I really should get a move on things so I can put all my compulsive purchases to good use in their final domestic destination.

Mi casa es mi casa.

I can't pinpoint the exact date I decided I wanted to buy a house. All I know is that it was a feeling that I grew in to. Very recently, I was feeling very comfortable with the idea. In September, I started browsing the real estate section of the paper on Saturdays. I would visit the classifieds online, aiming for properties less than $200K. I then aimed for properties around the $100K mark. After talking with different bank officials about mortgage loans and where I stand financially, I decided it was OK to aim a little higher. After many weeks of checking the papers, online listings, and driving around town looking for "For Sale" signs, I came across this ad for this house:


I made an appointment with the real estate agent at Diamond Professional Services to see the house. (At this point, I had already seen some other properties I was not happy with.) This house is great for me! And, being on the corner, it has a decent - and nice! - yard!