RoostERS - still on my mind

So when I chatted with my sister online... I found out that there were TWO roosters and the auyee's actually convinced ladon to kill the both of them because the other rooster would be lonely... (this is just such wierd logic, but in a strange way, it makes sense... and somehow morbidly comical.) I asked her if she enjoyed the dinner that eve... she told me she - she JUST can't eat chicken for a while...

I don't know... I just can't let this one go... It's hilarious and just so unexpected... Every time I talk to my sister, I can't help but bring it up ... it just comes and goes... "So Ladon, did you eat both of the roosters? Or did you save some for the future?" "um, who killed the roosters, do you miss them...." We could be talking about anything and I just randomly throw out a rooster question in between. I find it so facinating and funny at the same time... I guess it may not come out right on the blog, but if you could only hear it directly from her... you would see why it's so funny... She has no idea why I feel this way though... but every time I talk to her, she just adds a little more to the story and it's just this thing now... I will keep it up till I stop recieving new details...

but maybe I won't burden the blog with it anymore... just had to get it out of my system...

rooster for dinner

My sister (who lives in China) was given a rooster for Naw Ruz as a present. This on top of all the other animals she now owns... The boys wanted a puppy, so they got one. They have a bird... (i think it's a parakeet), a rabbit... and a mouse... Anyway, she kept telling me how the rooster would start singing at the crack of dawn and it was sooo annoying... I would just laugh at the whole thing... Then, just last night she told me that they decided to eat the rooster... I thought she was joking, but the Auyee's (translated to "aunties" in english, they are like housekeepers in china) took the bird and cooked it for dinner... and THEY ATE THE ROOSTER!!!

I am still in shock.

funny blog/schiavo

Hilarious!

from a joke blogspot i read -- fafblog.blogspot.com


A Culture of Lifutainment!

Giblets has been transfixed - transfixed, I say! - by the grippingly ghoulish saga of Terry Schiavo. Giblets has watched her on the web, on CNN, on Fox, on C-SPAN and C-SPAN 2, and Giblets wants more! The coppery taste of compassionate conservatism is in the water, and Giblets is hungry for more! "If only it could last forever!" you say. Oh, but it can - and Giblets decrees that it SHALL!

Senators, from this day forth none of you will be allowed into Congress without dragging along AT LEAST one (1) vegetative American with a partially liquified brain. Remember, the more you bring with you, the more compassionate you are! You can use them however you want - wave them around, pose them in interesting shapes, demonstrate their need for private Social Security accounts - but you must use them AT ALL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE DAY. If you go without referencing them for thirty seconds, you must either stop to bounce them or pass them to another player on your team.

News media: from now on all your stories must be about Terry Schiavo or Terry Schiavo-related activities. If you are reporting on the war in Iraq, don't tell us if we're "winning" or "losing," tell us what would Terry Schiavo think of the war in Iraq? Can Terry Schiavo follow a balloon in Iraq? Even Saddam Hussein wouldn't unplug Terry Schiavo's feeding tube! Repeat for torture, climate change, UN rape scandals! Interrupt the stream of Schiavomation only for quick cuts of Hannity beating Colmes with an ape femur! Giblets wants to see Terry Schiavo on Larry King, on Leno, on Wheel of Fortune! Spin it, Vanna! Buy that girl an "E"!

Oh, sure, there are plenty of sensate human beings dying in horrible ways around the globe right now, but who cares about them? Iraq? Too foreign! Darfur? Too brown! Medicaid cuts? Too poor-y! Remember, one death is a tragedy, a million are a statistic, but one stretched out to an interminable length makes for endless hours of thrilling tragitainment!

earthquake tremble

Today, I woke up hearing the news of the earthquake in Indonesia... Immediately, I thought of Bahie Rassekh.. and began to worry... I have to say, you never realize how much you love someone - untill you think you are going to lose them. Wait, don't get me wrong... I have always LOVED BAHIE TO DEATH... she is pure sunshine and just an inspiration to anyone she comes across. Even with that, the idea of losing her to the abha kingdom was so hard to accept... I was not ready for that... NO WAY! For about an hour, I almost lost it... Nadia (my niece) and I sat down and prayed... It's all we could do... I called friends and family and about an hour later, found out that she was OK...


Whew...

This experience just made me realize to really make the best of every moment you have with your friends and loved ones... You never know when it's their or our time... We are so insignificant in the scheme of things... In one day, a natural disaster can demolish all that we know and have...

my grandma "remembers" - i won't forget

The other day (naw-ruz day actually), my mother callled me from Spain to wish me a happy new year (Naw-Ruz). She and my father are still in Spain and visiting with my relatives there, including my grandmother. My grandma is really aging fast these days and lately, I have been trying to visit as much as possible, because I want to really take advantage of the time I have left with her. She is not all there - but I will take whatever I can get, because I dont' think I really took the time to know her in the past. A turning point in our relationship was a few years back, I was given the opportunity to take her to memphis (while she was still living in the states) and try to work out some greencard/citizenship issues. Anyway, it was a trip that I would never forget. I just found her to be sooooo interesting, and I had never been in such a position with her - one on one (for two days) - before. I really got to know a lot about her on that trip. And probably for her, she was seeing ME for the first time... I am not saying she never noticed before, but there are just so many grandkids and I don't think I ever stood out to her or whatever... don't get me wrong, I know that she loved me in her own way, it's just we never had any special bond or anything. Anyway, she got on the phone after my mother and began to tell me how much she loved me and missed me etc... then she said, "ROYA, I KNOW YOUR BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP... I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW, I KNOW ITS COMEING AND ON THE DAY OF YOUR BIRTHDAY, JUST KNOW THAT I AM THINKING OF YOU... REMEMBER THAT I REMEMBER JUST IN CASE YOU FORGET." ha ha haha ha ha ha it was so cute and soooooo funny the way she said that.... I have been thinking about that statement for two days now!! I just had to write that down....

last day of fast

it's the last day of fasting for me!!! and naw ruz is right around the corner! hope everyone is blessed with a good new year....

much love to everyone and happy naw ruz!

back home

well,

i wasn't able to post about the rest of my trip during the trip. it was hard to get online... but all i have to say is Paris is BEAUTIFUL... I want to go back...
And most of all, I miss my family in Spain. We really had a good time there... lot's of laughs and good eating!

Now I am back... already working and fasting.... I think I am still processing where I just came from. I have always avoided Europe, thinking I wasn't interested in the western countries as far as travel... but man, I was wrong. Europe has a lot to offer and it's just beautiful... I will definitely go back...

When I got to work, I had people lined up to hug me... I was so suprised that they missed me so much. Or maybe it was the belgium chocolates that attracted them my way.... hmmmm... got to think about that. It really felt nice though. One of my coworkers scolded me and said I can never go away for that long again!

To make it up to her, we are having coffee tonight and sharing all the juice that went on while I was gone.

brussels mussels

i can't wait to eat dinner!!! my friend has the fattest apartment in the middle of brussels... right in the embassy area and next to the e.u. parliment building... it's beautiful here!!! i have only been here for a few hours and already loving it!!! anyway, back to dinner... apparently they love mussels here and it's very common to have them - even with french fries or something... gao xia is cooking up a storm - with a mixture of mussels and chinese dishes to go along with it... i just can't wait to eat... this place is fantastic... and my friend is AWSOME!!!

by the way, it's still cold all over europe, but i am beggining to get used to it... we are going to france tommorow... will let you all know how that goes... it will be my first REAL time in paris... apparently, i was there when i was 3 or 4 years old... but i can't remember that... it doesn't count...

snow captivity

well,

spain has been fun but we have been inside most of the time... because it´s too cold to do anything.... with all the time on our hands... i decided to teach my parents how to play POKER!!! typical huh!!! ha ha ha... they LOVE IT!! and are more addicted than I!!! that´s all we do now... we just play and play and play... i must say, my mom is a PRO!!! but i feel bad that i have left one addiction in atlanta, only to start it up again in madrid!!!!

oh well, that´s life... can´t run away from your tests!!! (at least there is no money involved..) It´s all in good fun!

I hope the weather gets a little warmer so we can go outside to the cafes and just enjoy the country a little more....