I'll wear my suit and tie

i have moved

Mon, 25 May 2009 15:26:49 GMT

join me here: politicals

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:49:20 GMT

Hi! I'm Vanessa, fourteen years old as of a week ago, from the Central Valley, California.
This is my Saturday, November 29th which I spent in San Miguel, El Salvador, visiting my father and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Carnaval.

I keep my hair pulled back when I sleep, so it's not a disaster when I wake up. Still, I feel the need to cover my face.

Shower, brush teeth, insert contact lenses...etc

After much searching in my suitcase, I put on my running shoes and went jogging for an hour.

When I got back, my parents and brother were ready and we left for Suchitoto, El Salvador. We walked through the town a little bit. I liked how horses were just another way of getting around.

This sculpture was made after the war. On one side is a part of a bomb, the other a stack of tortillas. It represents how much weight war puts on your everyday life and culture, and how it affected the people of Suchitoto.

You'd better throw away your trash!

We stopped at the city's very beautiful cathedral as well.

Next, we stopped at a school a few miles away from the town. Back at home, we collected old soccer clothing to donate to this school and came up with five large suitcases full of them; approximately 150 complete uniforms.

We took a tour and met the goats.

Their soccer field could use some work...

Another view from the school.

Having a snack while chatting with some of my dad's friends at the school.

Us with two of the kids who will be receiving our monetary and clothing donations. They were very grateful.

It's nearly 1:00 the time we get back to San Miguel.

We stopped at the MetroCentro for some lunch afterwards.

They had these delicious drinks called ensalada de fruta, or fruit salad. It was mixed fruit with water and sugar, and was amazingly good.

It looked like something died on my plate...I promise it was just Chinese food. After a week in Central America I really did get tired of rice and beans, I'm not going to lie.

I found it a little amusing how in El Salvador, a Subway sandwich is $4 for 30cm, instead of the $5 for 1 foot that it is here in the USA.

The time once we were through with lunch.

From MetroCentro we went to my dad's property, where we got a wonderful view of one of El Salvador's many volcanoes. We met some of his workers (he runs a sand business--fascinating, I know) and distributed soccer uniforms to them for their children.

After saying goodbye, my mom, dad, brother and I walked around my dad's land a little bit. We visited this statue of the virgin Mary. There is actually a rather interesting story behind it. About one hundred years ago, this statue fell off a train nearby the village that once existed on the land my dad now owns. They thought it was a miracle from God, and apparently conditions got better for them after they found it. And so they made it an alter and it has been there every since, supposedly bringing luck to the land.

A friend of my dad gave us a horse show.

By 3:00, we are in a taxi driving to the beach.

My dad owns a few lots here, near Cuco beach. This is a view from above on a cliff a few miles away.

Unfortunately, the road got too rough for our little taxi to continue driving on, so we got out and walked the rest of the way.

We walked through the countryside...

Some desert-like areas...

And some rocky terrains...

Before finally reaching our destination.

The warm water was very enjoyable.

There were a lot of these guys around. A little too close for comfort, too.

Eventually, it was time to leave.

(EDIT: I'm realizing I changed my clothes a lot throughout the day...)

An hour or so later, we got to my dad's house.

A view of the street.

Watched the news for a while...

...until it got dark, at which point we left for downtown to watch the parade.

The parade didn't start until 8:00 pm, an hour later then scheduled. So we sat around and ate nachos and drank Sprite and waited.

But it was definitely worth the wait!

Each neighborhood had their own float, featuring the neighborhood queen. They were very beautiful.

Another float.

I was still hungry, so I got more nachos. They look pretty gross but I swear they tasted delicious.

I think it's a little ridiculous you have to pay to use the bathroom. Oh, well.

We first went to the FMLN area of Carnaval where Mauricio Funes, the FMLN presidential candidate for El Salvador gave a speech. We were at the very front which was great at first, until some people started pushing and the police had to come break everything up. But while my brother was trying to drag me out of the mass safely, I struggled to keep my camera hand above the heads of people to get a good picture. Unfortunately, this is probably the best one I got.

After escaping that scene, we moved to the back where we got a good view of the crowd. The turnout alone was so powerful. They were all chanting the same thing: "Un pueblo unido nuca sera vencido" which translates to "The people united will never be defeated."

We walked around Carnaval for a few more hours, however after the rally my camera ran out of batteries. At about 3:30 am we returned to my dad's house where after several minutes of flipping through channels, I decided on Los piratas del caribe, hahah.

At about 6:00 am, a taxi came to pick up me, my mom and my brother to take us to the airport to go back to the U.S. I only got about an hour of sleep that ~~night~~ morning in the car, but it was worth it. Hope you enjoyed my day!

This is my first adiml. New friends always welcome!

101 things in 1001 days

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 05:21:51 GMT

I forgot to post this a few days ago...who knows if I will actually succeed but it's worth the try. Some task ideas I got from others on my flist + the internet, others simply my head.

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Start Date: September 3, 2008
End Date: June 1, 2011
events completed will be striked through with a date.

001) Achieve a 4.0 GPA at least one year between now and the time i'm a senior.
002) Watch fireworks from my roof.
003) Visit another country.
004) ~~Find a sport + join a team.~~ 9/08.
005) Get at least 10 more license plates for my collection. (0/10)
006) ~~Reconnect with someone I haven't talked to in a long time.~~ 10/08.
007) Take the Spanish A.P. test (and pass).
008) Write a full-length novel.
009) See This Providence live!
010) Visit New York City.
011) Learn how to drive (get a learner's permit).
012) Learn basic guitar.
013) Dye my hair.
014) Have an in-depth conversation with a stranger.
015) Volunteer in my own time.
016) Visit my brother in college.
017) Make a family tree.
018) Sew my own dress + wear it in public.
019) Buy everyone's Christmas presents with my own money.
020) Buy lemonade from a little kid on the corner of the street.
021) Join at least two school clubs. (1/2) 8/08;
022) Send thank-you cards after my birthday/Christmas.
023) Go to a school dance.
024) Save up for + buy a Nikon D40.
025) Help out a new kid at school.
026) Go kayaking.
027) Feed someone's expired parking meter.
028) Apply to the All State honor band.
029) Pass Geometry.
030) Go a week without signing onto Facebook or Myspace, even when my computer is available.
031) Read all of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
032) Start taking vitamins daily.
033) Learn sign language.
034) Have a New Years Eve party (of any sort).
035) See a movie in theaters with my mother.
036) Knit + finish a scarf, no matter how it turns out.
037) Get to know someone I dislike and learn that they are actually pretty cool.
038) Paint a room.
039) Finish writing a song (music + lyrics).
040) Watch every episode of an entire TV series.
041) ~~Run a mile without being forced to.~~ 9/08.
051) Bring flowers to someone sick.
052) Take the ACT until I get scores I'm happy with.
053) Fill up four averaged-sized paper journals a year. (0/12)
054) Participate in the DHS pep band.
055) Go to religious education classes more often + get confirmed.
056) Go on an out of state road trip.
057) Go to three different observatories/planetariums and learn more about astronomy/space/stars. (0/3)
058) Learn a foreign language enough to be able to survive in a country that speaks it.
059) Plant a tree.
060) Celebrate Christmas / Easter with both my mom and my dad. (0/6)
061) Be in a play (stage crew/techies count).
062) Volunteer at five car washes / bake sales / other fundraisers for band, or other school organizations. (0/5)
063) Actually buy something from Cut Loose Salon instead of just talking to the man who works there.
064) Spend a whole day shopping with someone and not buy a single thing.
065) Audition for DHS bands each year possible. (0/?)
066) Participate in NaNoWriMo every November. (0/3)
067) Take a ceramics class at school / in the summer.
068) See at least three movies at the Varsity theater. (0/3)
069) Get a job (of any sort).
070) Grow out my hair until shoulder-length.
071) Do something kind for someone without getting credit for it.
072) Win the game Risk.
073) Visit 7 art galleries. (0/7)
074) Go to the snow at least three times. (0/3)
075) Read five books from genres I don't normally read. (0/5)
076) Send in at least 2 Post Secrets. (0/2)
077) Go to a zoo.
078) Take pictures in a real photobooth.
079) Purchase 15 new CD's from bands I don't know very well. (0/15)
080) Go to 10 local restaurants I've never been to before. (0/10)
081) Speak up about something you want.
082) Sleep out under the stars.
083) Participate in A Day In My Life at least once.
084) ~~Vote (for anything at all)!~~ 8/08.
085) Dress up for Halloween and go trick-or-treating.
086) ~~Renew my passport.~~ 10/08.
087) Cook dinner for my mother / brother 10 times (0/10)
088) Smile at everyone I walk by in a day, 10 days (0/10)
089) Help a stranger.
090) Go to a fortune teller.
091) Go to the fair/carnival.
092) ~~Finish my wall collage.~~ 10/08.
093) ~~Be the first one to say "hello."~~ 8/08.
094) Acquire three more pairs of converse.
095) Send my grandma Christmas cards. (0/2)
096) Make someone's day.
097) Win a stuffed animal / prize at a carnival game booth.
098) Go an entire semester without completely reorganizing my binders/etc.
099) Write 10 LJ entries without using the word "anyways" even once. (0/10)
100) Figure out what I want out of life.
101) Give away $5 to charity for each goal I do not accomplish.

EDIT: sorry I forgot to put this in a cut earlier :|

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:51:59 GMT

it's quite nice outside today. it's not too hot, or too cold. perfect shorts-and-a-tanktop weather. the sky is really pretty too. there are a lot of clouds: not just the thin, wispy types, but the big, fluffy marshmallow/cotton ball types. we hardly get those here. it makes me want to go out with my camera and suck it all in. or go out with my canvas and capture it with a paintbrush. or maybe just go outside and absorb it, and feel it, experience it for once. yes, i think that's what i'll do.