second biggest pet peeve ever

Rich, pretentious people drive me crazy, not as much as ignorant people do.... but almost as much. I don't get why some people need to flash what they have or talk about how they bought a $1500 ball gown, or how your daddy's friend is jetting you somewhere, or how you new Rolex is awesome, or about your beamer.

Congratu-fucking-lations that your dad has a lot of money. I really don't care, and no one else does either.

Where is social grace these days? Sheesh.

Bulletproof

Been there done that messed around,
I'm having fun don't put me down
I'll never let you
sweep me off my feet.

I won't let you in again,
The messages I've tried to send,
My information's just not going in.

Burning bridges shore to shore,
I'll break away from something more
I'm not to not to love
until it's cheap.

Been there done that messed around
I'm having fun don't put me down,
I'll never let you
sweep me off my feet.

This time baby I'll be bulletproof,
This time baby I'll be bulletproof.

I won't let you turn around
And tell me now I'm much too proud
To walk away from something
when it's dead.

Do do do your dirty words
Come out to play when you are heard
There's certain things
that should be left unsaid.

Tick tick tick tick on the watch
And life's too short for me to stop
Oh baby, your time is running out.

I won't let you turn around
And tell me now I'm much too proud
All you do
is fill me up with doubt.

This time baby I'll be bulletproof.

-La Roux


Watch the video too.

twenty-something woes

Part of being twenty-something is figuring out what you like and don't like about life, relationships and people. For instance, how many guys is it OK to date? I'm not quite sure on that number yet, but until I get in trouble, I'm rolling with it.

I think I have a pretty good idea about these twenty-something issues the majority of the time, and one of the things I don't want is to get involved with some jerk who doesn't know what he wants with me, because things are too 'complicated' or 'difficult'.

Does life ever really need to be that complicated? Not in my book. Life is so much better spending it with people who make you feel fab.

So, if you're not making me feel fab, then I simply don't have time to schedule you into my life :)

biggest.pet.peeve.EVER.

Have people completely forgotten their manners? Since I've bought my new place, I've been shocked at the number of people who will outright ask me how I'm financing my new place.

I don't know how you were raised, but I was raised with class and manners. For those of you who lack these social graces, let me help you out: never ask anyone about money. EVER.

I know I'm young, but really, do you need to ask me 'if mommy and daddy bought it for me' or 'how can you do that at 24?'? Listen people, Mark Zuckerberg started facebook at 20, and now he's a billionaire. Some young people are smart and have it figured out. Get over it.

I understand that you might have not done the same thing when you were 24; but just because you didn't, doesn't mean that you need to ask me what's in my bank account. I would just never ask anyone about that, and I'm not sure why other people feel at liberty to do so. It's awkward and rude.

And another year passes...

Today is the ninth year anniversary since my dad passed away. It seems like it couldn't have been that long, but I guess it has. It's weird since this is the first time I've been back in the states for his anniversary in 3 years..... You'd think that I'd spend it with my family, but my sister is in London and my mom decided to go to San Diego with Paul - so much for spending time with family over Thanksgiving.

We used to spend the holiday in NYC, and for a few years, Thanksgiving didn't seem so hard; but this year was different and it hurt worse than it had in recent years.

I mean, I get it, everyone wants to move on.... It just sucked to be the only one here and for my mom not to even think about me in the situation.

Anyway, dad, I miss you every day, and I wish you were here. xo

Quote of the day

"Where we have strong emotions, we're liable to fool ourselves."

Carl Sagan

Tidy up

Hilarious Ikea commercial that I came across...

You're too ugly to commit crime

Ohhhh British people crack me up... I just came across an article about David Holyoak of Manchester, who was warned yesterday that he was 'too ugly' to commit crimes.

The bank raider now known as Shrek, supposedly left himself as an easy target for the coppers to find him. Apparently the man started a three and a half year sentence yesterday for robbery.

One official said "This man needs to look in the mirror and realise that crime is not for him."

You could spot this man a mile away, and if he were in my group of robbers, he would be a liability to my team. Better luck next time bud.

Faking cancer for breast implants

This has to be one of the most disgusting stories I've read in recent days, but apparently a woman in Texas faked having cancer so she could get breast implants. Trista Joy Lathern, a 24 year old, watched her friends raise $10k at a benefit for her, which - this is the best part - these boobs were supposedly going to save her 7 month marriage. Really Trista? I mean... REALLY?

In order to keep her story viable, she even shaved her head to look like a cancer patient.

Since her real deal has been uncovered, her husband has filed for divorce, and she's been charged with deception and theft.

Please shoot me if I ever think that my boobs will have that much power over a man.

Quote of the day

"Speech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it often substitutes for both."

John Andrew Holmes

Egypt

I realized I started this post a long time ago and never finished it.... so here's my trip to Cairo! My trip to Egypt was probably one of the craziest trips I have ever been on. I was meeting two of my UCSB friends, Jarrod and Tamara, and we were meeting in Rome then flying to Cairo. Jarrod had been living in Rome at the time and Tamara was in Paris, so it worked out well. Because we flew a red-eye flight, we arrived in Cairo around 3 or 4 am. We found the counter for the Marriott, and then took a dodgy cab into town. Upon arriving in our 5 star hotel, they let us check into our room early, thank goodness because we were all jet lagged.

When we finally got up and decided to wander the city, Tamara and I knew that since it was Muslim, we had to be conservatively dressed. Let me just say that all travel guides I had read before going did not stress the importance of covering EVERYTHING. Girls, if you go, go with a guy, cover up from head to toe - literally, everything. It was a major culture shock and I think all three of us were really intimidated, especially when you add the language barrier and the chaos of the traffic. However, after a quick closet change and getting lost, we made it to the Egyptian Museum, which was incredible. It was jam packed with hundreds and hundreds of treasures from the tombs. I've never seen so many ancient artifacts - really impressive.

The next day we woke up early to meet with a family friend of Jarrod's friend (that sounds really long and convoluted haha)... He acted as our personal driver and took us to Giza so we could see the pyramids. This was a really good call because once we were with an Egyptian, no one tried to rip us off. We arrived at the base camp of Giza, and of course, stopped at a perfume shop where the offered us tea and coffee. You were always offered tea wherever you went. Then got on our camels to ride to the pyramids - it was actually quite a long camel ride.

The pyramids are hands down, the most impressive thing I've seen in my life. Each stone is at least as tall as me, and pictures can't even do justice to how massive they are. We actually got the chance to go into a tomb too. We arrived at one of the spots, and there was a local Egptian guarding the door. Our driver negotiated a price, and we paid him to get into the tomb. Now this guy wasn't a national employee or anything, just an average guy... These were the sort of shady things that we started noticing. At any rate, the chance to go into a tomb and to see the heiroglyphics was absolutely incredible. We also got to see the sphinx

From Giza, we headed back to Cairo and went to the Khan el-khalili - yes, the same bazaar that was bombed two days after I left. The bazaar was an intricate weave of streets where the vendors would physically grab you to come into their store and constantly yell crude remarks at you. I can't tell you how many times I heard "spicey girls, pssst, psssst!!" It was really overbearing, and really made you feel uncomfortable.

After the bazaar, we dodged the traffic across the street to the mosque. There were literally mosques everywhere in the city and you were guaranteed to hear the singing and prayers five times a day. It really brought the "we're in a different place" element. We entered and had to take off our shoes and completely cover up. It was funny because we basically had to pay for a 'tour', which turned out to be a guy who gave us a ton of reading material about why we should convert to Muslim. Anyway, it was cool to watch the prayers and the children play.

We finished up at the mosque and went back to the hotel. At this point we were starving, so we walked down the street, dodging traffic, to a local Egyptian place. The food was incredible. There were all sorts of dips like hummus and tzaziki and falafels. I had no idea what half the food was, but loved it all!

The following day, Tamara and I were exhausted so we decided to hang out at the pool and get some sun. It was so relaxing and just what we needed to get out of the cold weather in Paris and London! Then we headed back to the bazaar so Jarrod could pick up a few things.

One of the reasons why the trip was so unsettling was because you felt like you were constantly getting ripped off, or like there was some scam.... it was like there was a fat dollar sign on me and each Egyptian would inflate their prices at least three times the normal price. And because the men are so persistent, it was like they were always grabbing you, or following you. It was a bit scary. The fact that their average police officer would walk around with huge rifles was a bit unsettling too... You felt as if there was always something shady going on. However, once you had some sort of relationship, they were the kindest most welcoming people. They would always serve you tea or coffee, no questions asked.

Overall, Cairo was one of the coolest places I've ever been, despite feeling completely out of my element the majority of the time. Seeing how people lived in such an impoverished and crumbling city was fascinating, and my interest in Muslim religion and Arabic nations continues to increase - not to mention getting the chance to see the pyramids! I would definitely go back, but would only go as long as I was with a guy and had some sort of guide to stay with us the trip.... after all, it is a third world country, and terrorists attacked the bazaar just days after we were there.

Bottom line: DO CAIRO!

The human hardware store

Has anyone heard about that man from Peru who eats metal? Yeah, so, he would eat nails, wire, and scrap metal, and eventually had to get the 1.5 pounds of it removed from his stomach, since his stomach wouldn't digest it..... weird. I wonder why.

Apparently, he is now considering doing it as a 'sport'.

Dude.... get a new sport.