Just put down the book yesterday, and I’m already obsessed with the awesomeness.  It’s history, sports, fashion, and case study.  And as the World Cup is happening now, it’s very appropriate that I just finished.

I’ve noticed that of the 32 World Cup teams, 13 are sponsored by Adidas, 9 by Nike, 6 by Puma, 1 by Umbro, and 2 didn’t have very visible insignias (at least not ones I recognized off-hand).  Adidas still has a lot of cache and got most of the European teams along with some of the strongest Latin and African teams.  But it’s evident that Nike is making huge headway with the US team, Brazil, and a few other heavy hitters.  Puma, other than the Italian team, seems to be hitting smaller third-world countries.

I never thought to look at the brand of football uniforms.  It tells a lot about the sportswear market and maybe a bit about where each company is placing its bets?

We’ll have to check back depending on team standings.  I’d love to see another upset like the Italy-France match of four years ago.  Puma’s team won against the French Adidas team.

That is all.

Now before you stop reading and completely write me off as some spoiled “rich bitch” (yes, I’ve been called that, and yes, quite frankly, I am), just spare me a moment.

I am spoiled.  I’m blessed to be spoiled.  I’m an only-child and honestly, don’t know any different.

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But I’ve learned.  It’s hard to trust someone when you’re the center of the world… at least that’s my parents’ perspective.

A really close friend of mine blabbed on me.  I got rotten drunk and cried over the poor children around the world and how undeserving I am to be exactly where I am. It seems to silly.  But every single one of us who has a warm place to stay and food in our bellies are absolutely lucky and absolutely blessed… by god or otherwise.

… And I’m beyond that.  I don’t have to share any of myself or life with anyone.

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So why am I writing this?  To rub it in your face?

Actually, no.  Because I’ve learned (several years past college and past due) how to share.  How to be kind and be patient.  It’s really, heart-achingly hard for me. To trust someone not to hurt me.  Or to share something that supposed to be mine and no expect anything in return.

An obviously, almost stupid concept.  Yet, it’s so hard for so many of us to grasp.

I’m not quite there yet.  I still hold dear some objects in my life (like my car) that I would trust just 2 people to drive (that doesn’t even include my mother… sorry mom).  But I am learning.

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Point?  I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished in the last three years.  You can’t necessarily see it on my resume or my Facebook.  But I’m holistically different. I’m willing to share a bit of myself and open up to my friends and to trust them.  To learn patience.

Perception has made a huge difference in my life.  I’m… dare I say… at the moment… remarkably happy.

The link you posted is right: humans aren’t carnivores.  We’re omnivores, and therefore exhibit characteristics that aren’t well defined by a basic comparison btwn “eating meat” and “not eating meat.”  I think it’s fair to say we’re not only evolved to eat meat.

Judgment is good, when it helps you make decisions, but it can also be used as a weapon of the elite and intellectual as a way to look down on the ignorant.  I think it really depends on the context.

Let’s get on the same page in terms of the criteria.  We haven’t actually established the level of veganism that should be appropriate.  Let’s talk about environmental impact, does this mean no bread b/c it has whey?  No beer or alcohol b/c it has yeast?  How far are we going here?  What artificial fertilizers and pesticides in plants?  What are the impact of those?  Are we defining veganism as no animal life of any kind and only organic, local, and seasonal crops?  What about eating corn?  If we’re talking about happiness, ethics, and impact on the earth, how do eating meat, eating rare/exotic meat, vegetarianism, and veganism all compare?

Note: This dress looked somewhat different in the movie: more strapless and slightly shorter and puffier in the skirt.

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Yay!

If you want one (only $19.95), go here.

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Maybe I just want that cat.  She/he/it’s really adorable.

1. I was really frustrated at work today, but then I started drinking lots of Diet Coke (like 6 cans) and all of a sudden I felt better.  I think it was a caffeine.  But now I can’t sleep…
2. When my neighbors upstairs get it on, their muffled sounds remind me of whales communicating under water.
3. I’ve been watching Conan Obrien on Hulu every night before I go to sleep.  It makes me sad that the show is over, and I’m starting to ration it because I’m on the very last two shows.  I think it’ll be a few years before “America comes around,” so until then we’ll have to stick with Jay, Sarah Palin, and crazy conservative media personalities that make red states seem like a total joke with bipolar disease.  Please don’t think I’m trying to compare Jay Leno to republicans.  They’re just in the same sentence b/c I think Jay’s humour and show appeal more to 1) an older demographic and 2) probably a more conservative demographic.  On another note, I noticed where NBC cut off Conan’s spending wasting NBC’s money.  The scene’s taken off Hulu and NBC.com, although it aired during the original TV show.  I guess I’ll just have to YouTube the darn thing.
4. I started my first day of class in calligraphy today.  I’m so excited about all the cool pens that I get to buy, and I finally have a use for my Moleskin with graphing paper, if I can find it.  (I have way too many Moleskins just laying around.)  Jean’s taking the class with me, and we’re going shopping this weekend.  I can’t wait to show people what I got.  It’s just the first class, but I’m so excited that I already want to sign up for the Copperplate class that comes after this.  I heard it’s going to be at another location that’s closer to work.  As of now, it takes me about 1/2 hour to get there from work with traffic, which means that it’s adding 15 min to my commute… In case you didn’t already know, this will mean that I drive 1.5 hours to work in the morning + .5 hours to class + 1.25 hours back home.  That’s 3.25 hours of driving on Tuesdays, instead of 2.5.  I don’t care though.  It’s so worth it.
5. Four’s not a good number in Chinese.  I should probably say something else.  Oh yes, I lifted weights today.  I’m hoping my chest won’t hurt in the morning.  I’m trying to do more pectoral exercises, so that my boobs won’t sag when I get older (*ding* I’m older).  Also, the scale says that I’ve lost 3-4 lbs since Sunday, which is weird and I don’t quite believe it.  We’ll see how much I weigh tomorrow.

That’s it for now! Night!  I hope I can finally fall asleep.

The title’s a paraphrase of Emily Blunt’s character in The Devil Wears Prada and her terribly unhealthy starvation diet.  I’m sure she’s a trim 110 lbs at the most, and yet she’s lean and ridiculously tall.

I on the other hand, am 5’5.5″ and well… let’s not talk about how much I weigh.  Let’s just say I can practically lose 1/2 an Emily Blunt, and my stomach wouldn’t even bloat from hunger.  But I’ve been exercising.

Okay, I’ve been exercising for 3 days.  Not too great.  But it’s a start.  An hour a day.  I’m planning to exercise 6 days a week until I’m so effing thin that my thighs are no longer the size of a model’s waist.

Maybe it’s my lack of patience, but I feel like 3 hours of exercise and 1200 calories burned should lead to more than just 3/5 of a pound of fat.  (I remember something about 2000 calories = 1 lb of fat.)

I guess I’ve found my own answer.  If I want to lose weight, say… 1 lb every 2 days, I need to exercise to burn 500 calories and then eat 500 calories less daily.  That’s not easy, given that my company caters.

That means that if I want to lose 50lbs, it’ll take 100 days (100 days of no cheating).  So that’s… about 3 months.  And that’s some intense exercising.  I’d also have to make up for not exercising the 7th day, when I’m taking a calligraphy class- w00t!  I love cool pens and nice papers and stationery and stamps and… okay, not going to get side-tracked.

I will attempt to update every week or so… meaning I should love 3-4 lbs every time I write.

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In addition to my 1 hour of aerobic exercise, I’ll also need to do some weights, especially on my upper body.  I user to dance ballet, so I have pretty strong legs, but my arms are pretty flimsy.  Sadly, I’m top heavy, so I look kinda lopsided right now.  “I’m working on it.” Promise.

So here’s the plan:

• Exercise 7 hours a week.  No excuses.  6 hours of aerobic exercise and four 15 min segments of weighs.
• Eating more fruit (at least 1 serving a day) and veggies.  Bread/corn bread, etc. only 3 times a week.  More wheat.  Lean meat only.  No more stir fried Asian food- at least not from restaurants.  Eat less.  Eat better.  Eat nuts.
• Drink more water.  No sodas, unless they’re diet.  No random juices (god it’s more sugar than anything… and don’t be fooled; they’re not simple sugars).

Steady wins the race.

See you in a week!

I went to see Avatar yesterday and posted the following message on Facebook: Avatar: if it weren’t for the visual effects and Uhura from Star Trek, I probably would have walked out.

Okay, that’s not exactly true.  This is what I did like about the movie:

1. The evolution of creatures in the movie:  Maybe horses don’t really need 6 legs, and the weird connecting fibrous tissue thing makes it seem that animals are evolved to be domesticated, which is bullshit.  But I’m sure a lot of people put a lot of thought into the evolution of an entire planet’s species.  From the huge winged birds (so glad that they look like bats and don’t have feathers b/c I’m not sure something of that size would be able to take off if it had huge bones and tons of feathers) to the plants that spring to life when it’s out of danger to capture the maximum amount of sunlight, Pandora (whose box is under the earth this time) does have a sophisticated ecosystem.
2. The Na’vi (OMG are they incredibly hot): They’re larger than humans and are therefore able to fight off the large creatures on the planet.  Long limbs allow for maneuvering among trees and branches.  Cat like eyes allow for seeing in the dark and light.  Cat ears to hear.  They even have wide nose bridges. They’re like really sexy some cat, mostly human aliens.  Maybe the blue acts as a type of sun screen.  It’s all pretty interesting.
3. Of course, the 3D features were just right.  It enhanced the movie without being the movie, although that’s probably a reason that I hated the movie so much.  If the 3D features were more in my face, I wouldn’t have noticed all the plot holes and cliche movie roles.

I mean sure, the female lead was strong, but she was still dependent on Mr. Marine.  They weren’t two independent roles.  Business-wise, they would absolutely send in 10-fold the number of troops and claim the minerals on the planet.  It’s money we’re talking about here.  When has nature and living at peace with the environment ever triumphed over having more things?

Yes, I realize that there is no planet of blue humanoids (that we are aware of), but aside from that, the storyline is wholly un-believable.

Will stop ranting now.

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In other news, I’m actually watching Star Wars.  Just finished Episode IV and am now moving on to episode V.  From the fragments that I’ve seen before, I believe there are ice monsters and cutting open a four-legged creature to sleep in it entrails involved.

Note:  I’ve already seen Episodes I-III… and well, I feel like Darth Vader is deeply misunderstood.  I’m not making excuses for his actions.  He chose the dark side, and that was made pretty clear.  But he’s not born evil.  I mean the films really reveal that no one is (although I don’t think that’s the first message they send through… definition of bad acting, anyone?).  Evil is both within the human right and conditional/environmental.  Darth Vader would have never become who he was had it not been for the politicking of the Senators.  Ironically similar to the situation today… err minus the Darth Vader part.

I can’t stop seeing Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, whenever I see Obi-Wan or DV.  I guess that’s why they say watching Episodes I-III spoils the original.

Okay, can’t talk (write) now.  Must watch Episode V.  Tata!!

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P.S. Reminder to self: eating delicious Chinese take-out completely reverses any good done by exercising.

For example… for those on a budget…

Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year.

1. Prep.  On Saturday, get the following things:
   • 3-5 Candles| $5 | Skip out on Yankee.  Grab the ones from the dollar store.  You don’t need them to burn forever.
   • Bubble bath solution/scented oil | $5 | Even if you get the good kind, grab a small bottle.  Seriously, how often do you bathe/shower?
   • Roses | $10 | You’re just using the petals.  Don’t give a crap if they look kinda sad.
   • Sticky notes | free | If you don’t have them cut piece of paper.  Extra points for pink paper.  Extra points for cutting them into hearts. Write notes of them that say “This way.”
   • Food | $10-20 | Stick to simple breakfast items unless you’re a good cook.  Eggs, sausage, bacon, bread, pancakes, ice cream, OJ. Don’t forget butter, oil, syrup, her fave condiments.
   • Box of chocolates | $10 | Take out all the chocolates & put them on a plate.  Write notes about each thing you like/love about her and put them in the box.
2. Sunday 30 min before she gets up | Fill the tub with hot water.  Drop couple drops of scented oil/bubble bath ($5) in the water.  (I said COUPLE of drops. Not the whole darn thing.) Quickly clean the bathroom. Clear the surfaces and wipe them down with Lysol.  Close the toilet lid.  Scrub the bathtub.  Grab some candles (3-5 will do = cost $5 if you don’t already have them at home).  Pull petals off roses EXCEPT ONE and put them in the water after the tub is full. Light the candles last. Driving you to the hospital… not romantic.  Be organized but fast.  If she has to pee, tell her to hold it.
3. Sunday 5 min before she gets up | Hopefully, she hasn’t already gotten up.  If she has, skip this part.  If not, place the sticky notes in a trail leading to the bathroom.  Leave the last one on her face.  Give her a kiss.  Sweetly say, “It’s time for your surprise. Follow the trail.”  Go to the bathroom.  Stick the last sticky note “Kiss me good morning” on yourself.
4. Bath time! | Tell her happy Valentine’s Day.  How much you appreciate her.  Want this day to be special.  Feel free to insert your own 3 sentences. Tell her to take a bath.  This is her time. Kiss her and lock her in the bathroom.
5. Breakfast | While she’s bathing, go to the kitchen.  Make breakfast.  Also take out the plate of chocolate.  Make a dessert by scooping out ice cream into bowls and using the chocolates as garnish.  Put back in freezer.  Clear the dining room table (just shove the contents into a cabinet). Place remaining rose on her side of the table and set the table. When she comes out refreshed, you know… eat.
6. Chocolates | Give her the box of chocolates and watch her read each message.  Take dessert out of the freezer, and make some quip about how she still get her chocolates.
7. Sex | <insert elevator music> ….
8. Go do something you both like to do | Snuggle up for movies.  Go for a stroll.  If you on the coasts where cities are close to each other, visit a quaint little town, i.e. Half Moon Bay or Old Town Springs (TX).  Go to the zoo.  Go skiing or at least hot tubing.  This can be as expensive or not as you want.  (If you’re like me and wake up at noon, it’ll already by 6pm by the time you’re done with steps 1-7.  So this is a prime time to grab from Taco Bell, watch some Fox Sunday night cartoons, and repeat 7. teeheee)

Total cost: $40-50