so freakin cool.

unless you speak dutch you wont understand it, but just sit back and watch.

my hardest class.

so ive been taking meditation this semester, not only because i need one more gym class to graduate (yea i left it for the last semester...ive already gotten the 'youre a doofus' lecture) but because i thought itd be a good thing for me. this is what ive learned so far...

i cant fuckin meditate. if the instructor at all opened his eyes during the 10 minutes we are given to be still and clear our minds he would fail me seeing as i change position every 34 seconds. my brain goes a mile an minute, i cant seem to get the posture right, and due to my acute sense of smell i feel can only pay attention to the pungent scent of mold and dirty-ass feet instead of "looking inward".

moral of the story: i need to return to latin america so i can remember how to chill the fuck out.

lunar eclipse and so much more.

so last night i somehow got dragged out of the comfort of my apartment and the pending project runway reunion episode to go to an observatory in varna to watch the lunar eclipse. and thank the fuckin lord i did. here's why:

1. the lunar elipse was incredible as most celestial wonders are
2. this field in varna where the observatory is located gave a breath-taking view of the entire night sky...i was able to re-live that feeling i got when i was younger and would walk my dog around the neighborhood and just look up and appreciate how incredibly inconsequential i was to the universe...i cant explain it but it gives me comfort to understand how in astro terms i really mean nothing
3. i participated in one of the most intense conversations of my life about cosmology and theory and all that yummy stuff as an equal (not in knowledge but rather in capability to understand concept), not a silly child

the dude who runs the observatory is a middle-aged cosmologist who i dont think has ever watched a minute of television in his life and who chooses to spend his life looking up, theorizing and testing those theories just because he feels he needs to devote his life to understanding how it all started. the guy who seemed like his apprentice seemed similarly enthralled by cosmology but seemed to approach it from a less mathematical and more theoretical perspective. these two cosmologists were in a room with a bio major, an english major, a material science engineer gone business, a world traveler, a designer, and other people who i have no idea who they are or where they came from. the 12 (give or take a few) of us engaged in a discussion about everything from the cosmos to religion to physics to "life out there" to the big bang to humanism and beyond. needless to say i will remember this discussion for the rest of my life.

it made me realize how different we all choose to live our lives and how beautiful it is when we all appreciate those differences rather than blindly judging and dismissing what others have to say. its dumb to let the fear of looking like a dumbass stop you from engaging in conversations with those you perceive as unappreciative of you, because for all you know you could be missing out on a conversation that could potentially change your life.

moral of the story: yay for spontaneity, different minds, and bravo marathons.

emocionada.

Travel

Route Departure Arrival

NEW YORK (JFK) - BOGOTA (BOG) 08:00 Hs 12 mar 13:05 Hs 12 mar
BOGOTA (BOG) - CARTAGENA (CTG) 15:25 Hs 12 mar 16:55 Hs 12 mar
CARTAGENA (CTG) - BOGOTA (BOG) 19:35 Hs 20 mar 20:58 Hs 20 mar
BOGOTA (BOG) - NEW YORK (JFK) 22:55 Hs 20 mar 05:30 Hs 21 mar


fuckin right doggie.

my life is complete.

gym class heroes for slope day 08. nothing could be more perfect.

my new bible

if you take what this book says seriously and follow some of the suggestions you will completely change the way you see everything and the caliber of your ideas will increase ten fold. i haven't felt this passionate about a book since the ecology of commerce by paul hawken, and look it's one of the bibles of the sustainability movement that is gaining oh so much momentum.

read it. if you don't read it you're missing out and i feel bad for you.

putting it out there...

the greatest invention every made by man?

itunes visualizer.

resolution.

"It is easy to submit to depression when you feel isolated. I think people like to feel sorry for themselves because it can incite sympathy from others, thus creating a superficial connection. What I have learned is that it is crucial to be conscious of the true bonds we have with those people we are mutually devoted to. With that understanding comes a feeling of serenity and purpose, and then you are never really alone." (elise)

when i read this i started crying. i am a crier so this is not very surprising, but the reason i cried is because its as if she has employed herself as psychoanalyst to my inner monologue. the past few months i have been more focused on trying to fix the bonds that have been breaking rather than trying to nurture those bonds that are still intact...

this ends now. 

and elise, thank you for being incredible.

super tuesday night

im sitting on my couch preparing for the @ internship training seminar (which is going to fuckin rock) awaiting my fellow exchange team-ers to arrive watching youdecide 2008...and being completely into this primary counter. ive never paid attention so much to the politics of my own country, and tho i cant vote today (being a registered independent in ny during primary season is about as influential as being the unmellow yellow crayon in the the old school ginormous crayola crayon box) i find myself feeling a part of my country's democracy for once.

im excited to fill out my absentee ballot come november.

light bulb.

"Logic is the tool that is used to dig holes deeper and bigger, to make them altogether better holes. But if the hole is in the wrong place, then no amount of improvement is going to put it in the right place. No matter how obvious this may seem to every digger, it is still easier to go on digging in the same place than to start all over again in a new place." (from Edward de Bono's "New Think", quoted in "Conceptual Blockbusting" by James L. Adams)

now how 'bout that. this has been the problem with my current status in life and i didn't realize it until i read the above. it also touches upon a reoccurring theme in aiesec, as evidenced by the recent madison madness.

now let's dig some different holes (or continue digging in the freshly broken ground) and see what we find, shall we?

american history 101

this is the most comprehensive account of an american historical event i have ever come across.