I'm shvitzen! Hose me down!

Friday Night at Denny's

2010-05-22T02:46:00.000-07:00

I had a really great day today. I started at the YMCA and met some of the Brazilians who are going to be spending the summer in Houston working in summer camps and YMCA's around Houston for the next few months.

I met one who is going to be staying just down the road actually. She seemed like a really nice girl. Perhaps she'll call when she's desperate for some social interaction outside of the YMCA. I hope so. brazilians are fun to party with.

After that, I had a coffee date with a friend of mine whom I've not really talked to in years. John and I always have such great conversation. It's strange to me that we're not closer friends and that we've just completely lost touch over the past few years. Oh well. Maybe this is a chance to start over. He's organizing a trip to Africa to go on a Safari trip for 11 days. It sounds like a huge and amazing adventure, but I am not good at planning an entire year in advance... Not to mention that it isn't going to be anything at all cheap. But man... I've got the adventure itch and it sounds like an amazing experience. Who knows. I have to see how the next two months turn out.

After that, I went to Grotto with my totally awesome neighbors. Me and all the girls. We had some good food, but terrible service. I mean, it was really bad, but the company was great. My neighbors are pretty awesome. It's a pity that we all don't spend more time together hanging out. I think that'll change soon enough. We all have fun together.

After that, Shannon, her sister Victoria, Stacy and I all met at Denny's and somehow managed to play Apples to Apples for about four hours straight. It was pretty awesome, though. And it is Shannon's birthday! It was a blast. We laughed non-stop. We were crying from the laughter... Good times.

Anyway, it's nearly 5:00 AM. Definitely time to go to bed! Good night!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:In Bed

Where have I been?

2010-05-19T15:12:00.001-07:00

Amanda made a comment to me about my abandoned blog. Gosh, i keep doing this. I post about once a year and get all excited about my blog and think I'm going to be updating and sharing my amazing experiences with the world (ha, yeah right), but I usually just end up getting distracted with life and stop.

Well, I broke down and got an iPad and it has a nifty little blogging app that I like, so it seems like I may give this a shot once more.

As for an update on my eternal struggle for weight loss, well, I'm down to 145 now. So it continues to go down. Just really slowly. I'm pretty much an average build kind of guy now. I don't really consider my
self fat anymore. Still not thin, but definitely not fat. It's kind of weird to say that and really believe that it's true. So much of my life I was way overweight. It's part of my identity. It's almost as if I don't know how to not be fat, strange, I know. But it sure is fun buying clothes now. I fit into smalls and can even by L and XL t-shirts from the little boys' section and pay a fraction of the price that I would normally pay for the same thing out of the section with adult sizes.
Here are some recent photos from a party I went to two weekends ago. Ignore my totally shaggy hair, I desperately need a haircut.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:At home in Pearland

Houston Pride Band Concert!

2008-11-08T10:57:00.001-08:00

Hello friends!

The Houston Pride Band is having a concert this Friday, the 14^th. We’ll be playing some fun stuff. I think you guys will enjoy it. Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased online. This concert will be benefitting the Lesbian Health Initiative. Tell everyone about it! If you’re in Houston, come out and support us.

And you get to see me in a tuxedo! J Click the link below to get to the Houston Pride Band’s website and see the details.

Hope to see you all there.

Munchkin and Arkham Horror.

2008-10-20T16:02:00.001-07:00

Gosh, I'm becoming more of a geek as time goes by.

I'm now the happy owner of my own copy of Arkham Horror. I've played a few times and basically have memorized the rule book. So if anyone ones to play sometime, I'd happily host a game. I also bought the other day a card game called Munchkin. Much simpler and faster than Arkham Horror... and definitely cuter. And, it only lasts a little while as opposed to several hours like Arkham Horror. Anyone want to play with me?

OKCupid's Dating Persona Test

2008-10-17T11:55:00.001-07:00

Here are my results. Is this really me though? I guess maybe as far as mentality is concerned. Although I don't think I'm too much of a playboy. Oh well, it's just an Internet test. :)

The Playboy

Random Gentle Sex Master (RGSM)

Clean. Smooth. Successful. You're The Playboy.

You're spontaneous, and your energy is highly contagious. Guys therefore find you fun to be around, and girls find you compelling. You have lots of sex, and you manage it all without seeming cheap or being hurtful. Well done. You probably know karate, too.

It's obvious to us, and probably everyone else, that you're after physical rather than emotional relationships, but you're straight up with potential partners. And if a guy you want isn't into something casual, it's no big deal. You move on. BEFORE sleeping with him. Usually. At least you try to. Such control is rare.

If you're feeling unfulfilled, maybe you should raise your standards. New conquests will only be satisfying if there's a possibility of rejection.

Your exact male opposite:

The Mixed Messenger

Deliberate Brutal Love Dreamer

Always avoid: The Playboy (RGSM)

Consider: The Bachelor (DGSM), The Poolboy (RGSD)

Link: The Online Dating Persona Test | OkCupid - personals | Dating
My profile name: : CharlyDude

Can't forget...

2008-10-08T18:53:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while... well, way more often than I'd like to admit, I hear a song or see something or smell a cologne that reminds me of him and I just miss him so much. Obviously, I can't help but wonder what things would be like if they had gone differently. Would I still be living in Catalonia with him now? Would we be happy?

I still feel like I love him. I don't feel really crazy in love with him anymore. I don't get butterflies anymore when I look at his photos. But when I hear his voice or I see him smile because of something silly I said to him on webcam those butterflies come back sometimes. It's been more than a year since he broke up with me. Longer than we were a "couple". I just feel so connected to him sometimes.

Fortunately (although rather inconveniently), I think I've fallen in love again with another boy from the Internet. There goes Charles again with that Internet and those long distance crazy things. This one lives in Alaska, is a talented clarinetist, funny, charming, smart, beautiful and more than a foot taller than I. Hah! Well, most people are like more than a foot taller than I am, but that's unimportant. This guy is really special. A pity that he's so far away. He wants to visit me during spring break. I'm nervous that I'll fall pathetically in love with him, like I did last time and then the distance will make me crazy. Oh well. I'm sure it'll all be worth it.

Happy Ending

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending

Wake up in the morning, stumble on my life
Can't get no love without sacrifice
If anything should happen, I guess I wish you well
A little bit of heaven, but a little bit of hell

This is the hardest story that I've ever told
No hope, or love, or glory
Happy endings gone forever more
I feel as if I'm wasted
And I'm wastin' every day

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending
This is the way that we love,
Like it's forever
Then live the rest of our life,
But not together

2 o'clock in the morning, something's on my mind
Can't get no rest; keep walkin' around
If I pretend that nothin' ever went wrong, I can get to my sleep
I can think that we just carried on

A Little bit of love, little bit of love
Little bit of love, little bit of love[repeat]

Another Hair Cut!

2008-10-07T14:59:00.001-07:00

So I changed my hair style, yet again. I've worn various types of mohawks for the past year and although I love mohawks, I've decided to grow my hair out a little more... in the meantime, I have a cute little transition hair cut... short on the sides, long on top... and new highlights to keep me feeling sexy. ;)

Dying blog

2008-09-30T11:32:00.001-07:00

Gosh, guys. I always feel like I have so much I want to share with everyone, but I never feel like actually sitting down and writing.

What has happened since my last post? Gosh, lots of stuff...

I went to Barcelona for two weeks in April for a big conference for the Catalan communities outside of Catalonia. They consider me Catalan now. Hah! I am, well, almost.

This summer, I went to Minneapolis for a week for another conference having to do with TPRS, which is a language teaching method that I simply adore. I think I'm going to become an amazing teacher now that I've discovered this method. I've had such great results with my students so far.

I got to meet Blaine Ray as well, who wrote the books on TPRS and all that stuff. Here's a picture of us!

At the conference, I was also able to meet and spend good quality time with my online friend Ignacio from San Sebastian in Spain. It was so fun to actually spend time with him in person for once and learn together at the conference. Here we are on some bridge near the Mississippi river. ;)

My business is growing, little by little. I love getting to teach and watching my dream slowly become reality. And of course, I can't forget to mention that if you guys get me referrals, I'll give you commissions/classes/my soul.

I think I might be going back to Barcelona for one month in December and January. Who wants to go? :)

People. Ugh.

2008-03-23T00:39:00.001-07:00

It seems sometimes that the smarter you are, the more talented you are, or the more beautiful you are, the more people are just waiting and hoping to find a reason to demonize you.

I lost a friend today. He told me that since I’ve lost weight, I’ve become some horrible, arrogant person with no class. It all started a few nights ago when I went out with him and some of his friends.

He has a store and he took some of his employees to JR’s. I asked, “Oh, so you go out with your employees?” Him and all of his employees were so offended by my question because of their stupid mind-talk telling them that obviously my question was a negative one meaning that I couldn’t believe that he spends time with the help. What I meant was, good on him for taking the time to get to know his employees and spending time with them and making the work environment a nice one. Why are people so cynical?

OK. I think I’m finished with my rant.

Needs Contact Information!

2008-02-16T18:30:00.001-08:00

Hey guys. I kind of got pick-pocketed on Thursday night... They took my phone and my wallet and consequently, I've lost a lot of phone numbers. So with that in mind, I need a favor from you guys. Would all of you please, please, please send me an e-mail (it's on my business card in the last entry if you don't know it) with your full name, phone number and your address and birthday too, while you're at it, so I can have everyone's agenda again.

Thanks!

Business Cards!

2008-02-08T11:27:00.001-08:00

I got my new cards in the mail! They're so cute.

What do you think? Anyone want to design a really cool card for me for my next batch? It needs to be profession, but light-hearted too so as to not scare people away and have them think that I'm some scary big corporation... but still professional looking enough to help me land corporate contracts. If I like it, I'd probably buy the design from you.

Language Courses

2008-02-07T21:30:00.001-08:00

So I'm really starting to seriously consider quitting my job and teaching full-time. I just need more clients and a little more stability. But in any case, I'm advertising like crazy. Anyone want language classes? I do individual, pairs and small group classes in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Catalan and English.

My rates look like this:

$50/hour (individual)
$30/hour/student (pairs)
$25/hour/student (3-6 students)

My rates are, of course, negotiable if you want several hours a week or make me an interesting deal. I sell time in blocks and the more time bought at once, the cheaper the rates. For individual classes, for example, this is what I normally do:

Block of 5 hours: $50/hour x 5 = $250
Block of 10 hours: $45/hour x 10 = $450
Block of 15 hours: $40/hour x 15 = $600
Block of 20 hours: $35/hour x 20 = $700

I'm even beginning to offer a new service online that I find kind of interesting. Conversational English courses online through VOIP software such as Skype. My target clientele are students with some English knowledge but who lack the opportunities to practice their spoken English and listening comprehension with native speakers. It gives them a chance to really apply what they learn in class and improve their fluency.

One of the really cool things is that they can pay me online with debit or credit through Paypal!

For that service, my rates look like this:

Block of 5 hours: $35/hour x 5 = $175
Block of 10 hours: $30/hour x 10 = $300

This one is negotiable too, of course.

If you know anyone interested in lessons, refer them to me and I'll pay you a finder's fee (that means 10% of the first contract!) So if you find me a student who commits to 20 hours at $35 an hour, you get 10% of that $700! So, that's a nice $70 for having done nothing except making a phone call.

Keep me in mind, guys.

First posting for 2008

2008-01-21T16:32:00.001-08:00

Well guys, another update finally. It's been overdue for a while.

Well, what's new? In my quest to find people to practice my Catalan with now that I've left Catalonia, I discovered an organization called AICS (the American Institute for Catalan Studies). It's like a cultural center for Catalan things here in Houston (or a casal català as they call such things in Catalonia). Anyway, they had one of their semi-annual cultural events in December, which I attended. Wow, how exciting. I met a lot of Catalans and had a great time. I met the board of directors of the organization as well and they adored me, being that I'm a Texan with no real connection to Catalonia other than my crazy love story and linguistic interest but I speak Catalan pretty fluently and am interested in their culture... so I left them with a really great impression.

Then they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

The president of the organization asked if I would lead the youth portion of AICS and help organize stuff for the youth in Houston's Catalan community. Awesome stuff. And now they want to send me to a conference for casals catalans all over the world as their youth representative in April for five days in Catalonia! Awesome stuff some more!

Well, the fun doesn't end there! In December, a reporter from Catalonia doing a documentary on Catalan products sold outside of Catalonia found me on the internet. She was sending a camera crew to do interviews with some guy who sells Catalan nugats here in Houston and while they were at it, they wanted to interview some Catalans living in Houston and also people interested in Catalan culture. Well, this woman searched on Google for "catalan" and "houston" and up popped my blog. She read my story and watched my videos about my story with Rubèn and she said that it was such an interesting story that she asked me if they camera crew could film me and do several interviews with me in various parts of Houston. And on top of that, she offered to pay me money to just hang out with them and interpret.

Well, they came, and it was an awesome week. We had so much fun and I feel like I made three new friends who live in Barcelona. You know, I've learned three very important and practical languages (French, Spanish and Portuguese) and nothing too interesting every came of it. And now, I just recently learned this little bit European language and suddenly all this cool stuff is happening because of it. Who could have imagined that speaking Catalan would bring so many fun opportunities to my life. Maybe I should learn another small language!

So what else?

Well, there is my weight loss. In 2007, over all, I have last around 50 pounds. When I got back from Catalonia, I had lost about 55 total, then I gained like 15 back in September and October... and since then I've been working to lose it all again. Well, I lost about 10 of those pounds and I'm almost back to where I was. 2008, I plan to lose thirty more pounds maybe. We'll see what happens.

Here's a visual aid to help things out. I started it over. At first I only wanted to lose 50 pounds... well, now I've gotten there so I've upped my goal. I think I should weigh around 120 with my height... actually, I just want to lose my fat. So whatever weight I end up with after I lose the fat is good for me. In any case, I made a ticker to show what's going on. :)

And... well, here are two new photos just for fun. :)

This is me playing with some blue contacts. I think it made me look kind of evil. Hahaha!

This is me when I went out to the Red Door with that camera crew and some other people we met. Miquel (Miki) is the one right behind me with his hand on my shoulder and then there is Enric next to him, this one with his tongue sticking out and the crazy face. The girl and the guy with the cigarette are some people we met through interviews and stuff. Anyway, Enric and Miki are awesome. I miss them!

Samhain!

2007-10-10T22:31:00.001-07:00

Holy crap, I'm going to the Samhain festival organized by CMA. I'm so excited!

A year and a half ago, I went to a Beltaine festival put on by a small group and I had such a wonderful time. This time, however, will be with hundreds and hundreds of people. I'm so excited. I'll be going with my friend Brett who convinced me to go with him (and kind of helped me a little bit with the fees).

Who else is going? Let me know so I can plan to find you. Maybe even camp out near you. :)

Back to Life, Back to Reality

2007-09-02T11:07:00.001-07:00

Wow, so I'm finally back in Houston. I really wanted to update sooner, but when I returned to El Vendrell from Lisbon, we didn't have internet at home so I was kind of disconnected for the last month.

Well, so what happened the last month of my trip? Not a whole lot. I ended up going to the hospital twice because I had some extremely high fever. It turns out that I had an upper respiratory infection. I also travelled around a bit with Rubèn. He took me to the Pyrenees into the Vall d'Aran where they speak a really neat language called Aranese which is somewhere in the dialect continuum between Catalan and Occitan. We also went on a few other small trips to other places and saw lots of pretty things.

Oh! Just before I left, two Wednesdays ago we went to Sitges (basically the gayest city in all of Europe) which is only about 20 minutes from where I lived. We wanted to go out to the bars and party. Well, we were walking around and came upon a club that was having a foam party. I'd never been to one, so I was really excited. We went in, checked in our clothes (most people were wearing only undies) and danced in foam up to our waists. It was so fun! Hehehe. Just lots of really hot, foamed up, attractive men in wet underwear dancing.

In the last week, when we started paying more attention to one another, we really reconnected. It's too complicated. I'm happy to far from him now, even though I feel like I left my heart there with him. I love him and I just can't let that go. There is even another WONDERFUL guy named Fábio who loves me and simply adores me and the sex we have is exponentially better than the sex I had with Rubèn... but I just can't open my heart to him. It's such bad timing. I need more time to heal.

Well, I don't really feel like writing much right now. I'll say more later. I just really wanted to update. And just for fun, the grand total of weight that I've lost since January is 54 pounds. Here is a photo of me as a fatty and some photos from this week so you can see the difference. :)

Fat Charles:

Chubby, New Charles:

Heartbreak and Portugal

2007-07-05T01:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I know you guys have been waiting for it. Here it is. Any questions? Ask, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I'm here!

2007-05-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

I am here! Oh my god, I am finally here.

I have been waiting for almost a year. It seemed like it would never come... and then I met Rubèn and the wait became more intense. But finally, on Friday, I arrived here in Catalonia.

At the moment, I'm sitting in the study of my home this summer. I'm in a town called El Vendrell in the region called Tarragona. I'm very close to Barcelona... 25 minutes by car, an hour by train... something like that. I haven't learned to use the public transportation yet. I've been so busy just settling in, trying to get over jet lag and just spending time with Rubèn. We have so much kissing to catch up on.

I don't know where to start!

Well, my flight was frustrating. My original itinerary was Houston-Miami-Barcelona. Well, my 10:30 flight to Miami was cancelled so they rerouted me Houston-Frankfurt-Barcelona. But I had to wait until 3:30 to flight to Frankfurt... it was so annoying having to wake up so early for nothing and then wait there all day so anxious and kind of freaking out. Oh well, it wasn't that bad. On the flight, I was sitting next to some Portuguese guy who had several glasses of wine with me on the flight and we both got kind of drunk and stupid. It's good times laughing with strangers and drinking. Anyway, when I arrived in Frankfurt, I was freaking out about my flight because my ticket had a certain gate written on it, but the gate had changed and I didn't know and everyone was speaking German and... well, finally I figured it out, just five minutes before departure!

I finally arrived in Barcelona at about 12:15pm, Catalonia time or 5:15am in Houston. I was exhausted... however, I was greeted at the airport by Rubèn and Prema. Prema is one of my favorite people on Earth. He is so special. We met while I was living in Brazil. He's a native of Belo Horizonte who, by coincidence, is now living in Barcelona. Life is perfect sometimes. Anyhow, I am so happy to see him.

And Rubèn... oh, Rubèn... we saw eachother and I think we didn't know what to do. I couldn't stop smiling or say anything, I was so nervous... until he greeted me with his usual "Hola, bonic" (Hello handsome). He put his arms around me and I melted. He gave me a little kiss on the neck while he hugged me. In that moment, he conquered me. I'm so in love with him.

I feel like it's not the first time we're meeting. It seems like we've already been dating for a while. Well, I mean, in a way, we have been (virtually, at least). We've been "together" for about five months and really it feels that way... except now we can make out all we want. He's such a beautiful person. He's so patient with me and treats me like a prince. He makes me laugh, he's smart, goofy, sweet... everything. Not to mention that he's handsome, tanned, has very blue eyes, and has a body like pornstar. No, really. He does. His body looks like art. It's even more beautiful in person than in photos. And he, this perfect man, thinks I'm perfect. It's amazing.

Anyway, so we spent that day (Friday) in Barcelona. We walked all over. It's such a beautiful city. It was so fun spending the day with Prema and Rubèn. We laughed so much. It was kind of strange, though, since Rubèn speaks to me exclusively in Catalan, I speak to Prema almost totally in Portuguese and sometimes English, while Prema and Rubèn speak to eachother in Spanish. We managed to communicate and still have a lot of laughs, though.

Saturday, I slept all day. Rubèn didn't wake me up early to help me adjust to my new time zone like I had asked. He said he couldn't because I look like such a little angel when I sleep. Too much mush. Hehehe. I got up around noon, we drove around to see some things around here. The beaches here in El Vendrell, then the beaches in Tarragona (the city), which were marvelous. Tarragona is also such a pretty city. I loved it. We had orxata which is similar to the horchata that we have back home, but I think it's not made with rice like the Mexicans back home make it. In any case, it was delicious. More sightseeing and such... then it was late and we went back home. Rubèn made us a truita espanyola (Spanish omelette) and we had a nice quiet dinner together. Oh, by the way, they have lots of Morrocan fast food places that make super good Arab food... mmm. I love me some Arab cuisine. Just thought I'd share that.

Sunday, Rubèn let me sleep until noon again. Then we got up to go and have lunch with his two best friends. Ramón and Joan. They are a cute gay couple in their forties who have been together for 18 years. They were really sweet and fun. Ramón is a great cook. He made us all this delicous seafood. We drank lots of cava (it's like champagne, but made in Catalonia) and shots of some sort of delicious liquor made with herbs. It was super smooth, well I think so. They couldn't believe that I thought it was smooth. I guess us Americans are just hardcore like that. After lunch, they went to get the desert. When they came back, they had a cake with sparklers on top for me with the words Benvingut a Catalunya, Charles! (Welcome to Catalonia, Charles!) Geez. They are so sweet. After that, we walked for a few hours along the coast of a beautiful city called Salou. It was a nice day.

Today, well, today Rubèn has to work and I still haven't learned how to use the public transportation here... so I'm taking advantage of the chance to update my blogs and let you guys know that I'm doing okay. Things are wonderful so far.

By the way, send me e-mails. I love e-mails. Or comments on my blogs. I promise to respond to everyone. ;)

Until next time.

Fins aviat!

Someday I'll Fly Away!

2007-05-23T19:14:00.001-07:00

So I fly away in about 13.5 hours. I am so incredibly excited! I should totally be finishing up my packing, but I wanted to step away from my luggage for a moment.

I really doubt I'll sleep tonight.

If you are interested in seeing exactly where I am going to stay, click here and you can see a map of Spain with a little blue marker over the town where I'll be staying. You can zoom in and everything. Take a look. :)

Wrapping up!

2007-05-09T09:24:00.001-07:00

So I wanted to start making entries more often, at least once a week. But these last few weeks before my trip I've been really a bit busy with so much stuff. I have finals this week and preparation and such... my friends are wanting to spend time with me and go out and do stuff and getting in their last minute Charles-time.

I can't believe I leave in fifteen days. Holy crap! (Yesterday, I said holy crap in public and some lady responded that crap isn't holy; only the Lord is holy. Of course I had to respond that her assumption was incorrect considering that crap may or may not sometimes be full of holes. Homophones, bitches. Then she tried to recruit me into some cult.)

Anyway... AH! So what are we doing this weekend?

Technorati tags: vacation, holiness, cults

Video Blog!

2007-04-28T18:41:00.001-07:00

So, I decided to make a video blog! Tell me what you guys think!

Decidi de fazer um blog video! Digam-me o que vocês acham! Espero que gostem! :)

Technorati tags: vlog, português

Norma!

2007-04-26T20:38:00.001-07:00

So, as some of you may remember, for my birthday Rubèn bought me tickets for us to go see the opera Norma together in July. While searching around, I found a video of the famous aria from Norma. The aria is called Casta Diva and in the video it is sung by Montserrat Caballé, the best Norma ever, and perhaps the best soprano ever. Oh, and she's Catalan too, by the way! Montserrat is a typical Catalan name for girls. It's pronounced moon-suh-RAT. The letter E in that word being pronounced as a schwa, (like the U in the English word "up" or "under". And roll the R... like a lot. ;)

Anyway, enjoy the video. When I listen to it, she really takes my breath away. I hope that the soprano who sings it when I see it can compare. I'm sure I'll cry like a baby when I see it live.

My Daemon!

2007-04-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

I'm standard!

2007-04-23T13:30:00.001-07:00

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Western. Like Midland, Western is another accent that people consider neutral. So, you might not actually be from the Western half of the country, but you definitely sound like it.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

Houston International Festival 2007

2007-04-23T11:46:00.001-07:00

So the Houston International Festival started. It's going on this past weekend and next weekend. For those of you who didn't go, you missed out on some awesome concerts.

I work on the Hospitality team which, as you may know, offers hospitality to the artists and musicians flying in from everywhere. We pick them up from the airports, we transport them to the hotels, festival, wherever. It's a pretty cool gig. Anyhow, this weekend I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite singers and the members of her band: Angélique Kidjo. I've been a fan for about two years. Her music is awesome. I spent some time with her and she is such a cool person. Her personality is very fun and energetic. She seemed to me so powerful and childish at the same time. Really interesting.

After their performance last night, the band members wanted to go to have dinner, so we took them all to Mai's for some yummy Vietnamese food. I finally had the chance to get to know them a little better. I sat next to Rubens who is a really cute Brazilian guy from São Paulo... the guitarist for the group. He was super nice and fun. He even gave me his card and contact information so that we could stay in contact. His brother is an opera singer in Barcelona and he's going to try to introduce us while I'm there this summer. Yay for networking!

Anyway, there should be some good shows and concerts next weekend. If anyone is going, you should contact me!

Oh, and just for fun, here's a cute photo of my niece Kaiya playing with my second cousin Jayden.

Technorati tags: Houston International Festival, Angélique Kidjo

Update on Rubèn

2007-04-05T22:55:00.001-07:00

So only six or so more weeks until we get to be together! We're so excited. It's amazing... even though we talk every day, often we get on our webcams, microphones and headphones to talk, and during the occasional silences we just stare at eachother and giggle. Just like the first time. We're like little school girls.

Being the total lovesick puppy I am, I totally miss him during the day. To help solution the problem a little, I put him as the background on my phone. I just can't help myself!

Technorati tags: online dating, internet love, boyfriend, foreigners, El Vendrell, Catalunya

Catalans in Houston

2007-04-05T22:36:00.001-07:00

Several months ago, when I first began to study Catalan, I decided to make a group on Google Groups for Catalan speakers and Catalan enthusiasts to find eachother. Well, months passed without a single response until finally, a girl named Sara here in Houston contacted me! Well, she doesn't speak Catalan, but she understands a good bit and she's been to Catalonia several times and has lots of Catalan friends (none of which live in Houston still). In any case, it was a start! And so she suggested that we meet and have our first official meeting for the "Catalan in Houston" group. The very same week that she joined the online group, I had met a super cute and adorable Catalan guy named Albert at a French meetup group that I attend on Wednesdays called the French Connection. So I invited him too! And now we're three!

So tonight, we had our first meeting at The Gingerman in the Rice Village. It's a little pub type place. Sara put out her Catalan flag on the table and we had some fun discussion and conversation. Albert showed up and brought his friend, an Argentine, who also is interested in Catalonian culture but doesn't speak the language yet. But that's okay. The four of us seemed to have a good time. I really enjoyed hanging out with them.

So I'm the founder of a new little minority culture group in Houston. It's pretty neat. God, I'm such a nerd, but I love it.

Technorati tags: catalan, catalonia, language, meetups, català, catalunya, llengua, trobades

Hair Removal!

2007-03-29T07:48:00.001-07:00

So, some of you who know me REALLY well know that I have some assymetrical body hair on my right shoulder that I think is super ugly. Well, I have finally started taking the steps to permanently remove it. I went to a hair removal place a week ago on Thursday and got my folicles zapped. I'm so excited. After a few more treatments, I won't have to shave anymore!

It's always been a source of insecurity for me, so I'm so happy to finally start getting it removed. My second session is in a few weeks, and hopefully I'll get another one in before I go to Catalonia... then when I come back, I'll resume treatments -- unless it's not too expensive to continue in Spain, in which case I may get some treatments there... but you can't be in the sun between treatments, so I'm thinking that it might be a big no since I'll be living a five or ten minute walk from the beach all summer.

So anyway, super exciting for me. I may be a teddy bear, but I don't have to be totally fuzzy wuzzy!

Dieting

2007-03-26T19:21:00.001-07:00

So I've been on a diet recently. Well, Charles is always on a diet, right? Even more controversial is that Charles is on the Atkin's diet. Holy crap! Isn't that the diet that raises your cholesterol and gives you a heart attack? Isn't that the one that's so unhealthy and everyone thinks is a bad idea?

God, I'm so tired of having to defend myself. The Atkin's diet is completely healthy. All you do is cut out processed sugars and processed carbs. Can anyone really explain to me how that is unhealthy? I mean, people's health has steadily gotten worse since the discovery of sugar and since people started eating all this carb-rich processed junk like chips and such. It seems like a good thing to me to be eating only meat (mostly lean), vegetables, cheeses, some fats (like butter and mayonnaise), a fruit here and there, some berries. Really, what is so bad about that?

To top it off, this is the first time in my life I feel like I'm in control of my weight. I've lost a good twenty pounds since I've begun and it's still falling off. I feel more energetic, I don't feel hungry all the time anymore, I feel more confident about myself. How could someone have the nerve to tell me that I'm being foolish and that this is bad for me?

I know that they are just concerned about my health, but they shouldn't make ignorant assumptions that what I'm doing is unhealthy. I feel better than I have in a long time. I think my body is capable of surviving several months or so without pasta and cake.

Mean people

2007-03-25T03:26:00.000-07:00

There is nothing wrong with me.
I am not stupid for what I believe.
Just because people don't agree with how I achieve my happiness, it doesn't mean that I'm wrong.
I don't have to cry because I feel alone.

Driving.

2007-02-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

So I saw this while driving around north of Houston. I couldn't resist and I had to take a photo so that I could share it with you guys.

Happy Birthday in love!

2007-01-17T19:47:00.001-08:00

Well, yesterday was my birthday. I'm 23 now. Sheesh. I'm like almost 25. I'm almost dead in gay terms.

Anyway, I had a nice birthday. My mommy bought me two pretty shirts and she made me a delicious caramel cake. Thanks to everyone who remember and who sent me e-mails or posted happy birthday in their journals for me. :)

I have to say, though, one person really surprised me.

Remember when I mentioned that I think I have an internet boyfriend? His name is Rubèn, by the way. He's a handsome, charming, Catalan guy who lives in a little city called El Vendrell between Barcelona and Tarragona (25 minutes to get to either one from where he lives). He owns and runs a business consulting firm, he's an economics professor in the evenings (because he loves to teach), he sings tenor in a choir in Tarragona, is the treasurer of big GLBT organization in Catalonia that does lots of outreach stuff, is 33 years old, has a perfect body (seriously, it's perfect), isn't religious, is funny, smart, sweet, a little bit serious, a little bit irresponsible, passionate, and is crazy about me. He's seems perfect to me by what my idea of the ideal man is.

Well, we continue getting to know one another and we talk via voice-chat or telephone every day and still, it seems that we can't get enough of one another. And even when we reveal more and more of ourselves to one another, we actually seem to become more and more fond of eachother instead of scaring one another away like it usually happens. He tells me already that he loves me and he believes that the search is over... that this is it. I think I'm buying it. I think I feel the same way.

Although we have never been with one another physically in person, we've bonded on a really deep level. We have each seen lots of photos of one another and he knows what I look like... he knows I'm chubby and teddy-bear like and he loves me just the way I am. I know he's... well, actually he's perfect physically, so my physical attraction to him isn't an issue. And it seems to me that he likes guys like me, so I'm not worried about things suddenly changing when we meet. He has started calling me his xicot (boyfriend) and his parella (it literally means pair, but in this context it means something more like the person you share your life with or "partner"). I guess I should do the same. I mean, I feel like I have a boyfriend -- just part of me feels like I shouldn't feel like he's my boyfriend since we've never met face-to-face... but seriously, it feels so real all the same.

Anyway, on my birthday, he woke me up when he sent me the following text-message on my phone:

Feliç aniversàri! Espero que tinguis un dia fantàstic. Mil petons per al noi que em té el cor robat. T'estimo.

Translation: Happy birthday! I hope that you have a fantastic day. A thousand kisses for the boy who has stolen my heart. I love you.

"How sweet. I love him!" I thought... and I got up to check my e-mail like I do compulsively every morning. There I found the following e-mail:

M'hagués agradat molt ser avui amb tu i poder-te'l donar personalment, però com això no és possible et faig arribar un arxiu adjunt per a que almenys puguis veure el meu petit regal d'aniversari per a tu. He pogut trobar una llotja on crec que la visió serà bona. Desitjo que t'agradi.

Si vols més informació pots trobar-la a la pàgina del Liceu,
http://www.liceubarcelona.com

Tingues un molt feliç dia d'aniversari.

T'estimo,

Rubèn

And for those of you who can't quite understand Catalan yet, it means more or less:

I would have really liked to be with you today and be able to give it to you personally, but since that's impossible, I sent you an attached file so that you can at least see my little birthday gift for you. I was able to find seating where I think the view will be good. I hope you like it.

If you want more information, you can find it at the conservatory's webpage.
http://www.liceubarcelona.com

Have a very happy birthday.

I love you,

Rubèn

Holy crap?? What is he talking about? I clicked to open the attachment. It was a scanned image of tickets. My goodness, that crazy fool bought me tickets for us to go see the opera "Norma" by Bellini together at the Gran Teatre de Barcelona in July. And the tickets cost him almost 200 euros! Which is like... $250, I think. He's not a rich man and doesn't have money to just throw around... especially not for someone he doesn't know. He just wants to make me happy. God damn. I think he really does love me.

He's so perfect for me. I believe that we're in love. I can't wait until I get to Catalonia in May.

Virtual boyfriend!

2007-01-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

Holy crap. I think I have an Internet boyfriend.

I think I like him a whole lot more than I should for a guy whom I've never met.

I hate when this happens.

Three dates?

2006-12-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

After three dates... and what? A month and a half between the second and third dates... Alejandro finally kissed me. We kissed so much. He's so precious. I hope I get to keep him for a little while.

Maybe he'll be my midnight New Year's kiss...

Alcohol problem?

2006-12-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I went to a bar with Cyril and Amanda. We went to my favorite bartender there and as soon as he sees me, he turns around and grabs something behind him. Turns out, he had a Christmas card for me. When your bartender writes you a Christmas card, does that mean you have a drinking problem? ;)

Anyway, it was super sweet and it made me blush. ;)

Barcelona!

2006-12-23T01:09:00.000-08:00

On some days, I feel like I am the luckiest boy.

I have been looking for places to stay in Catalonia with friends on the Internet and stuff like that so that I wouldn't have to pay rent. Well, since I decided that I wanted to stay there for three months, it's been kind of difficult to find enough places to stay because obviously I don't want to wear out my welcome. Two weeks here, three weeks there, two weeks there... hmm... I still need two and a half more months worth of rooms!

Well, I found out that my friend Eugeni and his girlfriend Gemma have an extra room in their apartment and coincidentally are looking for a roommate for the summer. Well, not bad. They pay 600 euros a month and want to split it three ways with a roommate. 200 euros a month is really cheap for a room around there, and since I would be paying, I wouldn't have to worry about outstaying my welcome.

But well, they don't live in Barcelona. They live in a city just outside of Barcelona called Sabadell. Kind of like Pearland is to Houston. It would take me about almost an hour to arrive in downtown Barcelona from their apartment including the walk to the train station and the wait and then the actual ride, it seems. Well, okay... I'm already used to commuting for about 30 or 35 minutes every day to get to wherever I need to go in Houston. No biggie. It seems like that was going to be the plan, then.

Well, today, I was telling my friend Ivan about it. Ivan is my friend from Barcelona who has lived here in Houston for several years.

"When are you going?" he asked.

"In the middle of May until the middle of August," I reply.

"Well, I'm moving back to Barcelona in February. Why don't you just stay in my apartment all summer? I have three empty rooms. You don't have to pay rent, but you can help me pay for food if you want. My apartment there is right in the heart of Barcelona in the highest part of the city."

"Sold!"

Holy shit. This is better than I imagined it could be. And that's 600 euros I'll be saving... which is like... $750. $750 I can spend on partying and travelling around Catalonia.

It's all working out perfectly. Gosh. Let's hope everything continues this way. :)

At peace?

2006-12-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

I dreamt about Cláudio last night. In the dream, I was visiting old friends in Brazil and one day while wandering about the city, I ran into Cláudio. I saw him and we made eye contact. I tried to turn the other way because a flood of old feelings that I had been trying to forget began to pour down upon me. But he approached me and found me anyway. He looked at me with those same beautiful eyes that I will never forget and I told him that I miss him. He put his arms around me and he kissed me. I returned the embrace and the kiss. I can't say no to his lips. The whole world around us -- all the cars, all the people walking by -- disappeared and I believed that everything was going to turn out all right. I didn't have to worry anymore.

Then I woke up and cried a little until I fell asleep again.

Thanksgiving update!

2006-11-23T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. I suppose it's time for me make an update. It's been a while. Several weeks have gone by without a word from me.. even some of my friends are sending me e-mails wondering if I'm still alive. :P

Well, I'm alive and doing very well, thank you.

What all has happened since my last updates? Well, nothing too interesting. Just the typical boy drama. I'm horny as all hell and still no boyfriend or special friend to help me out with that. Dry spells suck hardcore. Oh well.

My job is going well. I have paid off all my credit card debt as of yesterday. What a good feeling. Now all money I make can go towards the trip I am planning to Catalonia. I'm hoping to spend the summer there. I have a friend named Eugeni who lives in a city 20 minutes from Barcelona called Sabadell. He told me that I can just stay with him and his girlfriend, so that's exciting. No paying for hotels is always exciting. I also have a friend, Vicent, who lives in Ibiza who wants me to stay with him and his family. So... I know I have two places in Catalonia where I can stay for sure. There are a couple of other cute boys I've met too in other cities like Barcelona and Sitges who have made me offers, but I'm not sure if they just want the company or expect sex... not sure if the latter would be such a bad thing anyway. ;)

Dana, my former French student, is living in an apartment all alone in Paris, so I'm probably going to go visit her for a week or so... I can't wait to go party in Paris. And my friend Gérald who lives near Lyon wants me to go and spend time with him... I can't wait. I miss him so much. So I'm sure that France is going to be one of my destinations while I'm in Europe.

Then, of course, there is Fabiano... one of my former lovers from my days in Brazil. As it turns out, he's moving to Lisbon (that's in Portugal, just in case you didn't know. Hehehe) in January... and he's really pressuring me to go visit him. And of course, I've been dying to go to Portugal... so... I guess that's on my list too. ;)

And lastly... two more things. My baby snake Richard has finally passed away. I suppose from old age. I took good care of him... so it was either that or who knows... whatever. I was kind of sad... but I got over it.

A week later, since I was feeling so down about so many things, I decided I need something to show my love to... so I adopted a baby girl. Her name is Daphne Ethel-Camille DuRapau. I made a video of her eating for you guys to see. She's so beautiful. Truly, I am in love. If you meet her, you will fall in love with her too.

It's she lovely? Sometime, I'll post some nice photos of her. She has beautiful honey-coloured eyes and little spikes on her eyelids that look kind of like eye lashes. Love. She's a bearded dragon, in case you are wondering. And she loves to be held, licking things, eating crickets, eating fruits and vegetables, eating mealworms, eating anything really, bobbing her head, and waving at people passing by.

So that's that. :)

Kisses,
Charles

My mother

2006-10-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

I just felt like sharing with the world a photo of me and my mom. Isn't she beautiful?

And some other random photos of me, my mom, Amanda and my niece Kaiya...

New Camera!

2006-10-15T02:09:00.000-07:00

So I bought a new camera on Thursday night. It's love; it's pure love.

Kenny suggested that he come over and paint my face with some clown make-up he had lying around and that we should take some photos. So we did. And some videos. Here's Kenny painting my face and being shy on camera:

Yeah, we're total geeks, I know. In any case, here's some of what the final product looked like:

Well, we tried our best.

So later, we headed out to the bars and had a few drinks... well, a few too many, that is. Then we tried to play pool at 611, a bit drunk. Actually, I think all the drunkenness suddenly hit me the moment I decided to try to hit the ball and break.

"Oh god, I think I'm drunk!"

A little later, Amanda joined up with us and met Kenny for the first time. That was nice to see my friends bond. I caught on video a moment of bonding between them as they discussed how R&B is good for grinding on the dance floor. "Mmmm!" I like drunken conversation.

We got to the point that we decided that we had drunk enough... and just then Amanda's charm earned us each an extra shot and an extra free cosmopolitan. We were so gone by the time we got to Southbeach shortly after. I caught Amanda and Kenny dancing a little bit and declaring how cute they are together in the drunken way that we do. Notice how after Amanda stops laughing, that her face gets so serious and she does her "blue steel" pose to dance.

Is it just me, or did Amanda sound kind of like a chicken when she shouted, "We're so cute!"

Anyway, as it usually happens, the alcohol made us lose our better judgement, but it made for a pretty video.

Boys kissing are hot. Drunkenly kissing Kenny was pretty hot.

Anyway, so Amanda decided to go home and Kenny and I walked back towards my car. Kenny got the bright idea to lay in the back of some stranger's pick-up truck parked on one of the streets in the gayborhood.

He invited me in, and of course I couldn't resist. We lay there for a while and stared up at the sky and the beautiful tree above us. Kenny decided to take some pictures of the tree... and then he started taking photos of us in the stranger's truck...

I have to say, although we were violating some unknowing stranger's truck, it was quite hot. I told you we lost our judgement.

Speaking of lost judgement, Kenny decided that the tree was so pretty that he wanted to climb it. So he did.

He ended up getting a few scratches on his arm:

But he kept on going and eventually got up higher and even took his shirt off... man, he was hot. He looked like a savage jungle man up in the tree. Yum.

Anyway, we finally made it home and passed out. We slept like babies.

Good times.

I'm over it!

2006-10-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

So Cláudio informed me in a recent e-mail of his that he is dating someone new now. Well... I'm happy for him. He's so wonderful that I'm glad he doesn't have to be lonely. But a big part of me wishes he weren't over me and that part of him were suffering because we're so far apart. I guess I'm just selfish. Oh well. At least I have several other foreign boys I can obsess over. Alexandre, Fabiano, Camillo, Gérald... the list goes on.

Speaking of which, there is a straight guy that I know who lives in Catalonia. He's a super cool guy and we met online to do a language exchange. I help him with English and he helps me with Catalan. He's been in a relationship for a while with a girl that he's quite fond of and just recently they moved in together.

I think he has a crush on me. Well, I'm pretty sure. He recently confessed to me that he thinks he is bisexual. And the way our conversations go... and we get along too well. And I know we miss one another when we don't get to talk often. Too bad he's not closer and well... gayer. I think we'd make a nice couple. Not to mention that he's handsome too. Tall, athletic, dark hair, green eyes... intelligent, fun, open-minded, sweet. What else could I want? If I thought I had a chance with him, I can see myself really being crazy for him.

Monday night drunk

2006-09-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

So Monday night, Kenny and I had planned on having dinner together. We went to Mak Chins or... well, I think that is the name of the place. It's a really cool Pan-Asian restaurant with a bar kind of ambiance. A good friend of mine for many years, Tony, happens to be the manager of the restaurant. Bad equation. The product of it all turned out to be lots of free drinks from the bar with a really messed up Kenny and Charles.

But wait, let's take a step back. For those of you who don't remember, Kenny is the only guy whom I might consider to have been a boyfriend. It only lasted about 5 and a half weeks, so I don't know if it counts. We were official, though. So I guess that makes him my ex-boyfriend. In any case, we stopped talking for about three years and just recently we have been talking again -- as friends.

Anyhow, Kenny has been stirring up some old feelings in me. As you guys know from my needy personality, I never really stop liking a guy once I really begin to like him. And Kenny never truly wronged me, he just broke up with me for reasons that I found to be very silly at the time (which I understand now) and really neither of us knew any better. So I was never able to hate him and just forget him.

Monday night, after getting totally fucked up and the restaurant closed, Tony suggested we go to EJ's since they had $1 vodka drinks. Well, I've always been afraid to go to EJ's, but I couldn't resist the $1 vodka drinks. So we went.

At some point Kenny needed me to cock-block when some scary guy was flirting with him. So we told him that I am Kenny's boyfriend... and Kenny kissed me. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Stupid emotions. Stupid being so needy.

The next day, I told Tony that Kenny had been behaving ambiguously with me and was making me have funny thoughts. Tony of course, with his big mouth, blabbed to Kenny that he needed to call me and clear things up. Shortly after talking to Tony, Kenny called explaining to me that Tony had just called him. He then proceeded to explain to me that although he loves me as a friend, it's not going to go any farther than that. He also added that he hopes he can still be flirty with me. Audacious. Oh well. We'll be friends. Great friends, I'm sure.

At least this story is over quickly and everything was brought out into the open before I even had the chance to suffer. I wish that had happened with Leo.

And enjoy the old photo of me, Tony, and Kenny. It's from several years ago when Kenny and I were boyfriends and I had long hair. And another photo of Kenny looking really drunk with Tony.

Recent Nights Out

2006-09-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

Shilpa and Leo when we went to eat at Chili's. Leo is addicted to margaritas, as you can see. :)

Me, Ingrid and Amanda at the Taqueria del Sol while Ingrid was in Houston visiting Edward (now her fiancé!).

Me, Amanda and Ingrid at some straight bar on Ingrid's last night in Houston. Later, we went to Southbeach and partied like crazy.

Me and Amanda... looking cute like usual.

Catch up and ugly ducks!

2006-09-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

So... what has happened lately? During the holiday weekend I got not just drunk, but messed up three times within four nights. Bad Charles. I went on a really bad date and made a boy cry because he wasn't really my type. How come I finally go on a date with someone who finds me really attractive and charming, but he's crazy? Stupid world.

Anyway, Leo was travelling and away for the weekend in Chicago, so I had a chance to get away from him. And when he came back, I had decided that I was going to distance myself from him as I had previously mentioned. It lasted an entire couple hours. I couldn't do it. I gave in and visited him on Tuesday.. and I have slept there the past two nights. I know -- I'm weak.

Monday, Dustin and I had a picnic at Herman park and I took some pictures of some really ugly ducks. I even found a bunch of those ugly ducks wallowing in a puddle of mud right next to a lovely pond. They actually chose the mud puddle over the pond. Ugly ducks, ugly habits.

And here is a close-up of one of the ugly ducks along with another photo of the ugly ducks sitting in a fountain thing.

New Blogs.

2006-08-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I made three new blogs. Since some people used to complain about when I'd not post in English, I kind of stopped posting in other languages... but I miss it. So I created a blog for my entries in French, one for entries in Portuguese and one for Catalan which I have just begun to study.

For those of you who are interested in reading my thoughts in another language or for those of you who have difficulties with English and would prefer to read about my crazy life in those languages rather than in English, feel free to bookmark my new blogs and comment on entries there and all that. :)

Here are the links to the new blogs:

My Blog in French
My Blog in Portuguese
My Blog in Catalan

Una nit sense en Leo

2006-08-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is the first day in a week and a half that I didn't go see Leo. I was getting too attached.

I opted to stay home this time instead of rushing over when he called asking for my company. Honestly, I don't know how to feel. I guess part of me is sad because I miss him (not to mention that I was really enjoying sleeping in the same bed as someone else several nights in a row), but part of me is relieved. I'm so bi-polar.

He's another guy who makes me feel deficient. I think I'm going to distance myself from him. I know he loves me, but I still just feel bad about myself around him and I shouldn't surround myself with people who make me feel like that.

New semester!

2006-08-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

So it's Monday. I've survived my first week back at school for the semester. I love my classes and professors. I'm making some cool new friends. And most noteworthy, I've seen Leo every day for eight days straight. And three nights, I spent the night with him here. We're not having sex, no kissing, nothing... we're still just behaving like friends. I'd like to see more than that happening, but I don't want to push it and scare him away. I think I'm getting attached. I'm crazy about him, but I don't think it's a feeling that we both share... but I know he adores me -- if not as more than a friend, I know that he loves me and considers me to be someone very special to him. Maybe with time things will change. We'll see.

So right now, I'm in Leo's dorm room (or "our place" as Leo and I call it). I spent the night here with him again last night after a night out with Dustin. Leo has left and taken off to class and forbidden me to leave so we can hang out afterwards. I'm glad. This reassures me that it's not just me forcing myself on him and possibly being that guy who just keeps inviting himself over.

Last night, for reasons I won't go into right now, I saw Leo get emotional. He weeped in my arms. I saw him in a very vulnerable state. It broke my heart to see him hurting so much, and yet in those moments, he was more beautiful to me than he has ever been.

In any case, here's a kind of old photo of me (on the right), Leo (directly to my left), some guy, and Amanda.

Snow White y El Tao Tao

2006-08-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Oh man, this made me giggle.

Oblivious boys!

2006-08-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

I know that I often seem like I am in love with a new boy like every week and then I complain about how frustrated he's made me...

Well, it's been a little while since that happened, so time to get back into the cycle. ;)

But I won't give too many details this time. I'll just say that boys are so oblivious. They have no idea what's going on. I'm crazy about him... I have been since I met him a year ago. I guess I'll just grow a pair and tell him how I feel. I'm just such a pansy when it comes to boys and telling them how I feel and being direct. I wish he would just see it in my eyes, understand, and kiss me...

Stop dreaming...

Fundies!

2006-08-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a fun post in a random blog.

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

Click it! I dare you!

City matches!

2006-08-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

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Your personality type is SCUEI

You are social, calm, unstructured, moderately egocentric, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.

The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Washington D.C., St. Louis, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Salt Lake City, W. Palm Beach, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Raleigh/Durham, Denver, Seattle/Tacoma, Minneapolis and these international countries/regions Slovenia, Israel, Czech Republic, Russia, Netherlands, Denmark, Argentina, Argentina, Ukraine, Romania, Norway, Croatia, Hungary, Turkey, Sweden

What Places In The World Match Your Personality?
City Reviews at CityCulture.org

The Medium

2006-08-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

So the opera "Medium" was last night. To those of you who didn't go, it was really quite good. Very modern 20th century type opera. And also the fabulous company who showed up made it even better. Patty, her daughter, Stacy, Brett, Carlos, Grady, Leo and Sergio. Some of my favourite people.

After the opera, we went to JR's and Southbeach, all except Patty, her daughter, and Grady. We danced a lot and Leo and I flirted all night... it was good. I wish Leo were interested in me. He's not into chubby guys. It really sucks. I think we'd be great together -- everything else fits perfectly. I can definitely tell that he adores me. Well, the fact that he tells me so kind of gives it away. But he's one of those few guys that I can go hang out with and we'll talk and talk and talk and never be able to say goodbye because we don't want to end the dialogue. I guess I'm kind of infatuated with him. Anywhere, here is a little blurry photo of me, Amanda and Leo. It's from a few months ago and it's not a very flattering photo for any of us... and it doesn't help that Leo always makes goofy faces for photos.

Did I mention that Leo is from Argentina? And he speaks really pretty Spanish? Yeah...

Last night I also saw Tiago Brandão (AKA Tiago Whore). I called him out on his being selfish and always using people and he got a little impatient. Oh well.

Diet status.

2006-08-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't been very good since I last posted about my weight-loss progress. I've cheated on my diet a few times and I haven't exercised as often as I planned, but nevertheless, I did manage to make at least a little progress since then. Looks like about 2.2 pounds less than the last post. Gotta keep going!

Any my new rule for myself: Alcohol only once a month... unless it's a really special occasion!

Last week, I lost three whole pounds while dieting. And then during the weekend, I cheated a little and partied all Saturday and drank way too much. Come Monday, turns out I gained two pounds back. Not worth it at all. Alcohol and deliciously unhealthy food will be there in a few months when I'm a skinny bitch.

Brokebat Mountain

2006-08-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

That's really how I feel sometimes about a certain someone. Maybe more than just one certain someone. I wish I knew how to quit him.

V For Vendetta

2006-08-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

So, I saw V For Vendetta tonight with Stacy, Olga, Steven, Rosie, and Jason... what a great movie. And so relevant to us, I think.

Perhaps even a scary forshadowing of our future...

Pretty.

2006-08-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

Where the hell is Matt?

2006-08-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

Whoa! Now this is fun. A guy named Matt has been traveling all over the world and making a video of himself dancing many of the world's most beautiful places. Take a look. Good stuff. :)

Amor e ódio.

2006-08-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Não consigo entender como é possível que eu possa amar tanto alguém e odiá-lo ao mesmo tempo.

Bom, com certeza eu não o odeio. Odeio o fato que ele me faz sentir tão fraco. Eu deveria poder controlar melhor o que eu sinto, mas não dá enquanto eu sei que ele está ainda no mundo e que talvez um dia eu possa vê-lo novamente. E bem sei que ele não se interessa mais em mim, mas não consigo esquecê-lo. Faz um ano que eu não o vejo, mas ainda penso nele e ainda espero que estejamos juntos um dia.

Pensei que eu tivesse superado, mas hoje, acho que não.

Body Worlds

2006-08-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, after having slept only three hours the night before after going out and being stood up by a date (boys suck), I went to see the Body Worlds 3 exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science with my family. Amazing. That's all I can say. Simply amazing.

I highly recommend that all of you go and see it if you can. It was very fun and educational.

After that, my father took us to eat at Mely's in Pearland. I had the "Pollo Macarena". It was delicious... it was kind of like pollo poblano but the sauce was kind of different. It totally gave me a foodgasm.

Then, I went to a Brazilian party with Adriana, then we went to another party with all her co-workers in Pearland, then lastly a final party with the ones who wanted to get kind of wild and we drank and danced and had a great time. And then the two of us passed out on a stranger's bed with a boy whose name I can't remember.

At 8:00am after having slept probably only four hours, Adriana woke me up and got me to take her home... it's really difficult to drive while you're asleep, just to let you know. ;) I went home and slept the entire day and finally woke up at 7:00pm. I suppose I caught up on all the sleep from the past two days that I had missed. I feel much better now, though. ;)

Ah... oh... Kenny just called and is inviting me to go visit him at a bar called 611 that I've never been to. I can never say no to him... who do I ever say no to anyway? Oh well, here I go to make myself presentable and then I'm off!

Have a good night, my lovelies.

So wrong.

2006-08-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Bunny!

2006-08-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Bandtastic!

2006-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

So last night, in one of my dreams, I was in a parking lot sitting in my car, plugging my iPod in so I could jam out as I drove away, when suddenly someone opened the back window of my car (which actually doesn't have an openable back window) and I saw before me three tall, somewhat aged, gay men. One of whom was Mr. Grice, my former band director from high school.

One of his friends saw one of those little CD flip-case things (those things that hold likes 20 or so CDs) in my car and reached in and grabbed it and looked like he was going to walk away with it. And so I snatched it back out of his hand and was like, "What are you doing, crazy?" To which he replied that he really loved my CD case which had an emblem of the Pride of Pearland Band on it and he wanted it so badly for his daughter. And then, like such an asshole, I responded, "Well, if she ever learns to play like I did, the bitch can get her own!" and I drove away, but not without hearing the other little gay man start laughing as if to encourage me. I think that one might have been Mr. Luster, the guy who taught clarinet to the middle school beginners and who happened to be an incredible clarinetist and a genius... and the first big flaming homosexual I ever met and befriended. Oh well, I can't remember. The dream is fading.

Jogging.

2006-08-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

I like jogging. It's a habit I had about two years ago and then it suddenly stopped. Just lately I am beginning to try to do it regularly again. So my sister and I have been jogging every day for about a week now. I had forgotten how accomplished it makes me feel.

I can't wait until I'm one of those skinny bitches that I hate. Those'll be good times.

And to all those skinny bitches out there, I don't really hate you. I actually kind of like some of you.

Job!

2006-08-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

So more good news! I'm basically hired for that cool project studying reading skills and techniques for teaching literacy. So I'm content. I have training next week and work starts pretty much when all the little junior high school and stuff start up.

That's exciting. I won't be as poor as before. And maybe I can start saving up money for a little trip. Can't decide. It's either a trip to France with a few days in Portugal, or a trip to Brazil. I don't know yet. There is also still the possibility of my going to Guadalajara, Mexico in December with Valentina and Amanda since Valentina has a house there! That'll be awesome!

Anyway, just because it is cute, here is a photo from a while back of me, Valentina and Amanda licking a wooden spoon covered with chocolate cake batter. Mmmm... guilty pleasures!

Evil dogs!

2006-08-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

I had an awful, long and draw-out dream last night. I dreamt that Amanda never came home from Brazil because she was attacked and killed by a big mean dog. It was horrible. I cried so much. And I went to visit her family and I couldn't bare it. In the dream, Amanda had an identical twin sister who tried to comfort me, but she reminded me too much of Amanda and it broke my heart.

It's been a long time since I've been so happy to wake up from a dream.

On a more exciting note, I have an interview for a job this afternoon that I'm very excited about. Well, my friend Brett who has been hired there basically guaranteed me the position. Although I can't believe that, I think it means I can be optimistic. Here is a snippet of the job description:

The Texas Center for Learning Disabilities is interested in hiring 20 data collectors for the fall 2006. Individuals will conduct assessments of adolescent language, literacy, cognition, and mathematics, complete assessment records, verify accuracy of assessment data, and assist in the scheduling of students for assessments.

Anyway, it seems like it should be super cool. Firstly, they are looking for part-time positions for only like 20 hours a week. Secondly, they are very flexible with hours and told me that my being a student will not be a problem at all. They'll just work around my classes. Thirdly, it's related to education and linguistics. And lastly, they will pay me hourly more than twice what I made when I worked at Foley's.

So yeah, I'm pretty excited. :)

United Statesians?

2006-08-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

We really need a word for "American" that is more specific. I mean, technically, American can refer to anyone born on the continent of America... Canadians, Mexicans, all the people from Central and South America, et caetera.

I mean, in Spanish, for example, the word "americano" refers to anyone in North or South America. The word to refer to citizens of the United States of America is "estadounidense" coming from the name of our country in Spanish -- "Los Estados Unidos". Spanish speakers, in fact, often think that we are very egocentric because we call ourselves "Americans" and we often call our country "America" as if to say that we're all that matter on the continent of America.

Of course, the truth is, that they simple don't understand that "American" and "americano" are not synonyms. In modern English, "American" only refers to the citizens of the USA. And anyone who speaks English uses the word "American" to describe us, including all the many other English speaking countries. If we need to be broader than that, we can say "North American" which includes the Canadians and Mexicans... or "South American" even. So if we think we're all that matter on this continent, I suppose that means that England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and so on all agree that we are all that matter. :P

Anyway, I'm tired of being lectured by Spanish speakers... and a few Brazilians. Especially ironic that the Brazilians try to lecture me on that. Especially since in Portuguese, they HAVE a word that refers specifically to us Americans -- "Estadunidense" -- but NO ONE uses it! They always choose to use the word "americano". Really kind of strange to me.

Amanda!

2006-08-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

I miss my Amanda.

She was my really good friend that I met through the YMCA BIP program last year. And during the training process, we became really great friends. Now she's been in Brazil for almost three months and I don't have my sidekick anymore!

But... she'll be back soon. In like two weeks. I can't wait to see her again. And Valentina too. We had such good times. ;)

So anyway, here's a photo of us drunk.

Butt pirates.

2006-08-01T01:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a cute photo of a flag that Dustin sent to me. I wanted to share.

Yes, that does say: "Surrender the Booty"

Some Facts About Charles

2006-08-01T00:04:00.000-07:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Charles!

In a pinch, the skin from a shark can be used as Charles.
Charles is the only bird that can swim but not fly.
Some hotels in Las Vegas have Charles floating in their swimming pools!
Charles can fly at an average speed of fifteen kilometres an hour.
The first domain name ever registered was Charles.com.
Never store Charles at room temperature.
Charles can smell some things up to six miles away.
There are 336 dimples on Charles.
The International Space Station weighs about 500 tons and is the same size as Charles.
The porpoise is second to Charles as the most intelligent animal on the planet.

Opera.

2006-07-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

There is going to be an event at the Artery in like two weeks. Who wants to go with me? Looks like fun. Contact me if you're interested. Here's a copy & paste of the details:

FRIDAY August 11 8:00pm no charge

Gian Carlo Menotti’s THE MEDIUM, an English opera in two acts.

Menotti’s music tells the tale of Madame Flora, a fraudulent medium who deceives bereaved clients by pretending to commune with the dead. Her sixteen-year old daughter and an orphaned gypsy assist in her ruse, until a fateful encounter brings to light questions of sanity and the supernatural.

Let me know! :)

Bonjour America!

2006-07-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you who enjoy podcasts, I found a very entertaining one just recently.

It called "Bonjour America". Here is the description from the Podcast itself:

Cyrille de Lasteyrie, aka Vinvin, is a famous French blogger. In his English speaking video show Bonjour America, Vinvin wants to have fun and entertain all American guys... and to meet Clint Eastwood!

He's quite adorable. Check it out.

Two headed snakes.

2006-07-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

So I had a dream last night about my pet snake Richard (AKA Dick). But something was different about him. He had two heads! One on each end!

I was holding him in my hand like I do and in the other hand I was going to drop something for him to eat. A baby mouse, of course, just like usual. But as I began to drop his meal, I felt that it was slimy and gross in my hand. I looked at what had fallen out of my hand and it was a leech! Richard struck at it and devoured it with one of his two heads, somehow managing to fit this very large leech into his tiny head.

I woke up around that point. Who is this leech? Why did Richard have two heads? Why was I feeding him by hand? Hehehe. All very strange.

Ideas?

Losing weight!

2006-07-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

So, as I posted already, I've miraculously lost around 11 pounds in five days.

I'm going to periodically keep you guys updated so you can cheer me on. Thanks to this cute little ticker I've found, it's all visual and pretty. :)

So as you see, my goal for now is 150 pounds. I wonder what I'll look like at that weight? Well, we'll see. I'm so short that I should probably shoot for lower than that, but I'll figure it out when I get there.

Who wants to jog with me?

First Post

2006-07-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here we go.

As I've fallen under the spell of Google and its products, I'll now be migrating my blog over here.

I hope this works out.