October 22, 2005

75 photos

75 photos

October 21, 2005

59 photos

59 photos

October 17, 2005

I woke up at 6am today. I thought I heard someone knock on my door, but it was early I decided to ignore it. Of course, then I couldn't go back to sleep so I got up anyway and no one else in the house was awake. So, I went to check to see if the chicken was still in her safe nest. With everything going on with them I was glad to see that she chose to sleep in her hidden nest last night. She wasn't there so I looked around at all the regular places around my house and I didn't see her. As I'm looking out to the patio I see this black dog (puppy) run across my yard and head to the neighbors house. I knew he was after a chicken.

I opened the door and I heard a chicken cackle and go crazy (there are 2 chickens, 5 chicks and 4 roosters). I ran over to the wall, but there was nothing. The dog had disappeared and there was no chicken or chicks. So, I went to get the paper out front. That's when I saw the dog again and he had a chicken hanging from his mouth. He was behind my neighbors car so I didn't see where he went as I was going over there. It was like a disappearing act. I'm standing there infront of my neighbors house wondering where the f*ck the dog went and out of this garden appears the chicken! She looked dead when she was in his mouth, but I guess she was playing dead which saved her. She got away and the dog bolted out of the garden to try to get her. I scared him in another direction, so the chicken had a chance to run and hide.

She hid inbetween these small bushes we have surrounding the garbage cans and she didn't move. I stayed there until the dog ran away and then woke up my mother. We took the chicken and brought her into our garage. She's in bad shape right now. Pretty much the dog plucked her feathers from her back. She doesn't have any big gashes, but she looks...It's almost enough to want to make you go vegetarian.

And to make matters worse, this is the mom chicken. So where are her chicks? My guess is that since they were next to my neighbors wall, when the dog attacked the chicken tried to defend her chicks who jumped over the wall into the neighbors enclosed yard. So, my mother and I proceeded to gather up the chicks. Hard thing to do. There was one who didn't jump over and we ended up chasing him into our house and we put him in a box. The others, well, I happen to see my neighbor as he was leaving for work and I asked him for permission to go into his yard. He was like "Sure, just go around the side".

These other 4 chicks were easier. They seemed relieved to see us. We put this big box down and I threw some rice at them. They ate and followed it into the box. One of them got out before I could totally close the box so I had to chase him around the yard for a bit, but we got them all. Now they are all in my garage and hopefully the chicken will get better.

I even stopped one of the roaming security guards and asked him about the dogs. He said that they come from the other neighborhood. I think it's too much of a coincidence that they just so happen to appear 2 days after my neighbors formal complaint about the chickens. Whatever.

This is too much drama for one morning, but I'm glad I didn't stay in bed.

October 16, 2005

If you haven't heard, there's a new Unicef campaign. This time instead of using real images of people and children, they decided to go with the next best thing...Smurfs.

I saw a bit of this video and it was strange to say the least. The video starts off with the Smurfs being all smurf like...dancing, singing and having a good ol' time. Then out of no where their village gets bombed and they start running for their lives. The houses are on fire, there are dead smurfs left and right and there's one baby smurf crying surrounded by all the dead one's. Uhm, ok.

You can go to the Unicef website and read about the campaign and the purpose behind the video here: http://www.unicef.org/media/media_28772.html
The campaign is supposed to focus and bring awareness of the effects war has on children.

Seems like people are so desensitized to REAL pictures of people and children suffering that to grab more attention and empathy, they had to go ahead and kill The Smurfs. Lovely.

If you haven't seen the clip go here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,14542435
or do your own search.

October 15, 2005

Yes, I live in a hoity-toity neighborhood where everyone thinks they're better than everyone else. And at times I can't stand it. We've lived here for the last 7 years I believe and I'm continuously amazed at the people here. About two hours ago (1pm), I was standing outside and I saw one of the security guards drive by and stop to look inbetween my house and my neighbors. What was he looking for? The roosters and chickens. To recap, this past summer we found that we had some unexpected pets living in my backyard and around my neighborhood. You can read about it on the July 27, 2005 entry: http://suzy.dabu.com/1/1540_Unexpected_Pets Since that entry we have all gotten used to having them around.

Anyway, so I figured that there was something wrong so I stood there infront of my house...especially since we don't have a fence around our house/yard and anyone can just walk on through. At the same time my father was just getting home and he stayed around to see what was happening. Well, apparently the guy across the street complained about the rooster/chicken situation. His complaint was that he was annoyed at the roosters singing, that it would wake him up and that the chicken had messed up the molch around his walkway. WHAT???!!!!

So the neighborhood administrator gave the security guards permission to "round up" the birds. What does this mean? Well, the one's we talked to had placed some corn with rum so that the roosters and chickens would get drunk and pass out making it easier for them to be caught. WHAT???!!!!! I have no doubts that if these feathered friends get caught by The Man, they're going to be killed. They did the same thing to some stray dogs. G-d forbid stray dogs "invade" this neighborhood! Can't have that!

We at our house and our other neighbors don't mind the roosters or the chickens. Apparently the dude's wife doesn't mind them either...it's just him. Yes it's true the roosters sing lots, but that's what they do! It's not annoying at all. Yes it's true, the chicken messes around in the molch with her chicks looking for food. (Btw, she just had 7 new chicks). But that shouldn't be complained about. She did the samething to our molch and you know what? I just took a broom and sweeped it back into place. It's not that hard! So because of one assh*le out of an entire neighborhood, the roosters and chickens are in danger.

This is ridiculous. Nevermind the fact that the back of his house faces another neighborhood where there are plenty of roosters and chickens. And that years before these showed up here, you could always and still do hear the roosters sing across the way. Hello! We live in a semi-mountainous area!
There isn't much I can do for them. I don't want to see them hurt, but it's not like I have cages to keep them in. My parents told the guards that if they do get caught that they should give us a call because we know people who could take them in. Honestly, I don't think they'll call.

Looks like it could be the end of the line for the chickens and roosters. All because of one hoity-toity jack*ss...who coincidently had one of the most annoying dogs ever. He had a hound who spent the entire day and night barking and howling. No one ever complained about his dog...it was a hound, that's what they do. Jack*ss.

October 13, 2005

Today I spent the afternoon at the mall with my sister. There weren't too many people there which is actually the way I like it. I can't stand when it's packed. Anyway, so when we finished with Macy's we headed to the escalator to go downstairs to The Gap. Not too far ahead of us there was this woman. She was professionally dressed - Black pant suit and heels. She stops infront of the escalator and holds and lets go of the moving railing. Of course we're almost right behind her, so we see her stop and look down at the steps etc.

At first I thought she was afraid of it. Since we were like 2 seconds behind her, she let us pass and she continued to do what she was doing before. That's when I realized that we had actually interrupted her and she was counting how many steps went by before she finally got on the escalator. She was a good 5 or 6 steps behind us, but as soon as she got on she took a step down REALLY hard. Her shoe made this loud noise when it hit the metal, "BANG". And then another step, "BANG".

When we got off the escalator my sister asked me ,"Was that woman afraid of the escalator? What was that?" I told her that I thought that too until I saw her counting.

O.C.D.?

October 12, 2005

Oh Sh*t! There's only 1 week left until the highly anticipated FL weekend!!! And then we have the always highly anticipated Dabu Halloween Party on the 29th! Oh Sh*t!!!

I just started realizing there are all these things that I wanted and am supposed to do before I leave. A month ago I thought "Oh I have time, my trip isn't till Oct. 20th". Of course I haven't done any of them so I'm feeling a little stress about it because now it's a week away. Whatever...who cares! Florida is going to be awesome! Halloween is going to be awesome! Will we survive? Well, if we can survive a drinking marathon weekend with Kai this past summer, I think we're up for the challenge and will be victorious. :)

I keep getting asked what I'm going to dress up as for the Halloween party. People suggested I should dress up as a slutty french maid, a super hero, a grape vine, a patient with a Don Q iv and so on. Uhm...no. I had a great idea a month ago, but that's been dumped because of time constraints. I have a back up which I'm still working on. Hopefully that one will come through and people will laugh. If you couldn't tell, I'm not saying what I'm potentially dressing up as. :) You'll just have to wait and see.

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

October 5, 2005

Latest music I've been listening to:

1. Fabriclive.03 by DJ Hype - Awesome drum & bass cd. DJ Hype is the man.

2. Ruby Blue by Roisin Murphy - Stumbled onto this one and I like it. It's a mixture of different sounds...dance, pop, disco, funk. At times it reminds me of something Bjork would do and at other times it sounds like something out of a roller rink. It's interesting.

3. Wildflower by Sheryl Crow - This is her latest album and it's consistent all the way through. I'm a fan of her music. It's not complicated, not trying too hard to be different and there's always catchy songs.

4. Somebody's Miracle by Liz Phair - Newest Liz Phair album. It's like a continuation of her previous album. Well, she doesn't seem angry or jaded anymore :) There's definitely some sugary pop in there, but I think it gets better as the songs progress.

5. Witching Hour by Ladytron - Their latest album. It's interesting and enjoyable. Something different to listen to. How to describe it? Hm....it's like catchy electro-folklore-mystical story pop if that makes any sense.

October 2, 2005

Last night (Oct. 1 '05) I went out to Señor Frogs to hang out with people and see a U2 cover band called 2U. I was with my brother Antonio, his girlfriend Andrea and other folks I didn't know. It was cool. I'm not a U2 fan so I don't know their songs apart from a chorus here and there, but it was still cool. It was weird how much the dude looked like Bono...freaky. I kept thinking about Dede...she's the only one I know who really likes U2. You can check them out at: http://www.notu2.com/

After the band, there was the usual Señor Frogs shows where they take people from the crowd and play all these games...kind of makes you feel like you're on a cruise ship or something. Then there was lots of music and lots of people dancing. At one point I was just standing there and this guy with dreads does a turn way to fast and way to close to me. So I ended up with dreads all up in my face. Gross...and he didn't even apologize.

.....
Andrea & Antonio...............................................Antonio kept feeding me drinks

September 29, 2005

I saw the movie A Very Long Engagement a couple of days ago. Very good movie. It's a french film with Audrey Tautou who was in Amelie and is now filming The Da Vinci Code. The movie is about a woman who is searching for the love of her life -her fiance- after WW 1 and has never given up hope that he's alive. It's like a huge puzzle that she's trying to solve with clues at every corner.

I thought the movie was great. If you're into foreign cinema then you have to check this one out.

For me the only thing is that since it's in french, I have to read the subtitles so sometimes I spent more time reading instead of watching. But, I would have it no other way. I rather see a foreign film in its' original language rather than change it to english or spanish, even if that means I have to read subtitles.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344510/

September 25, 2005

These are some of the movies I've recently seen:

1. The Upside Of Anger - It's about the family dynamics/relationships after their father disappears/leaves. Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood etc. are in the movie. It wasn't what I expected, and I mean that in a good way. Good movie.

2. The Ring Two - Naomi Watts...Disappointed in this movie. I really liked The Ring and was looking forward to watching this one. There was only one cool part and that was at the end. You always have to be cautious with sequels and this is just another example of the follow-up not living up to the first movie. Too bad....could've been better.

3. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Funny movie. I laughed through most of it and I love the sighing doors :) Who's in it? Mos Def, Sam Rockwell and some other folks. It's about this one human that hitch's a ride with an alien friend off of earth right before it gets destroyed and all the funny mayhem that ensues.

4. 40 Year Old Virgin - This is also a funny movie. It was a little longer than expected, but I laughed all through it. I think the title describes the movie quite well :)

5. Speak - Kristen Stewart, Elizabeth Perkins, D.B. Sweeney etc. This is a showtime independent movie. It's about a girl entering high school who used to be normal and after summer troubles turned basically into an introverted mute (with a huge secret ) and outcast of the school after her friends turn their backs on her. Good drama movie.

September 20, 2005

11 photos

11 photos

September 19, 2005

12:40am, Monday Sept. 19th '05 and I definitely need sleep.

The weekend was great and quite tiring. Friday night I went to Brava as you can see from the pictures in the previous post to celebrate a friend's bday. That turned into quite a late night and everything after 3am is extremely fuzzy. I'm guessing I finally passed out some time around 6 or 7am because Chris said I called him at that hour. I need to stop doing that.

Saturday I woke up at 12pm still intoxicated of course and couldn't go back to sleep. I hate when that happens. Thankfully I didn't suffer any sort of hang over :) I got ready and while I waited for my bro to pick me up, I TRIED to take a nap. That didn't work because it seemed that the whole island decided to call my house just as I closed my eyes. Later on my brother, his girlfriend and I went to this restaurant/bar called Tequila to celebrate my cousin's bday. It was cool and we stayed there till like 12:30am. We stayed in Guayama that night. I don't know why, but I just couldn't fall asleep! I spent 4 hours staring at the ceiling and I guess just out of sheer exhaustion fell asleep...but only for 2 hours. Woke up at 9am to the loud voice of my father and couldn't go back to sleep. :)

Sunday was just a chill day at the golf course. No, I didn't play. I chose to stay inside most of the day watching movies and football. After only getting a combined 6 hours of sleep in 2 days, I was too tired to do anything else really. Now it's getting close to 1am and I'm still awake.

I'm going to bed.

September 17, 2005

34 photos

34 photos

September 12, 2005

I WON AN IPOD!!!

That's right. I won a 20GB Color-Photo iPod. Here's the story:

Sometime last month I was watching local tv which I hardly ever do. I think it was on MTV PR. So the commercials come on and I see this one for a contest sponsored by Medalla (local beer). First place prize was an all paid trip to go see the VMA's in Miami. If you didn't win the trip you were automatically entered for the second place prize which were the iPods. They gave away 30 of them. Honestly, I could care less about the VMA's. Every year they just get crappier and crappier. I only entered the contest because of the iPod and I always tend to think contests like these are rigged anyway so I wasn't expecting much. And I never win A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Last friday (Sept. 9th '05) I received a call:

Dude: "Yes, may I speak to Suzette B..."
Me: "This is she."
Dude: "Hello Suzette. This is Carlos from 'so-and-so' marketting. I'm calling you
today because you recently entered a Medalla contest, correct?"
Me: "Yes, that's right."
Dude: "Can you tell me which one it was?"
Me: "It was the VMA's one..."
Dude: "Right, well I'm calling to tell you that you didn't win the trip."
Me: (Hardy har har! I politely laughed at his lame joke since the VMA's had already
passed) "Haha...right, I kind of figured that one out..."
Dude: " 'Cause you saw them at home right?"
Me: "Yeah I did..."
Dude: "Well, really I'm calling to let you know that you DID win an iPod."
Me: "COOL! Where do I pick it up?"

And that's that. I picked it up today and they also gave me a carrying case that has the Medalla Light logo stitched on it. The funniest thing about the carrying case though is that it also has a sumo stitched on the front :) Alas, the iPod is going to be used by my sister. I already have an iPod, but it was definitely fun to win a free one! Free is the best kind!!!