One down, Two to go

Can you beleive it? First semester down, 2 to go! Feels like I'm in college all over again..wait...I am in college all over again. Exams are finally over and I'm back in PR ready for some R&R with close friends and family.

It's hard to fathom the fact that I've only been here for about 36 hrs...I've already done so much stuff on my "when I go home, I wanna do..." list. But hey, who am I kidding? The Diaz family would not be the Diaz family if we did not have an action packed agenda most of the time. So far I can check off: cuba libre con DonQ, churrasco, arroz&hab, asopao de pollo, lechon, arroz con gadules,pinchos de pollo, chinchorro, las curvas de Rincon, pegarle un bellon a alguien (thanks for taking it for the team dad, its been hilarious!), jangueo en la terraza de casa...yes all this in a 36 hr. time frame. Lot's of other stuff happened in between. Wish I could remember it all, but it just happened to fast!

Lets see...like when I got sucked into driving, and everyone in the car kept telling me to be careful as I backed out of the driveway, to go faster, to go slower, where to turn, where to park, where to stop to get beer, who to cut off recklessly, etc. Oh yeah...and the fact that they know it annoys the crap out of me, but they keep doing it, just to get a few laughs along the way. It's the little things like this that make being around my family so entertaining...Trust me, there hasn't been a dull moment yet...Gotta love 'em!

Papi inspeccionando el arroz con gandules del kiosko Kilometro 5

Well this is just the start of an exciting three weeks ahead. Very much looking forward to seeing some of you around.

Peace out,
LD

Rockefeller Center, watch out!!

Note: This entry contains video, to view the contents log on to ldatuga.blogspot.com

In an attempt to maintain a frugal lifestyle spurred by recession times, I said to myself: "This year I'm not going to decorate my apartment for Christmas, I want to stay within budget, and I will be gone for break before I know it...blablabla." Well, let me tell you, that for sure did not happen! It's so hard not to get caught up in all this Christmasy stuff, especially when one has to go to Target. It started out as an outing in quest for the basic necessities such as: toilet paper, Tide, fabric softener, you know, house stuff.

After I got what I came for, I said "why don't I swing by the Christmas section, just to look...can't hurt." Less than 5 minutes later my cart was filled with a 2 ft. fake spruce tree, garlands, lights, you name it. The moment I feared would one day come, "El Krihmah Espiri" finally hit me and this is what came out of it:

Note: Please have your speakers turned on for the video below:

El Encendido de la Navidad en Apt. 11

There's the 2 ft. spruce! And that crazy/tacky stuff all over the TV, it's left over garland decor.

I had a great time decorating!! Felt like Martha Stewart with a little bit of Bosque Magico in the mix. I'm guessing it was a good thing I had fun with my holiday decor because for the next two weeks It's going to be study central up in here.

Feliz Navidad!

Signing out, A very Christmasy LD

Sangivin

It's that time of year again my friends, a time to be grateful for all the good times, good people, good things, fun places and amazing technological advances that make our lives so awesome each and every day. Furthermore, its also time to be thankful for the not so good things that have challenged us at one point or another this year. But those are the good ones! From those we learn to keep moving on to bigger, better things.

Unfortunately, this year I won't be home to spend this beloved day with some of you, but in the spirit of the holiday's I thought I would share the top 20 things I am thankful for in 2009:

1) Never thought I would say this: La Caja China - makes looking forward to Thanksgiving Day so much fun! I mean the excitement my dad get's from knowing he's going to get to roast an insane amount of meat in there, and then watching how not-excited my mom gets when she finds the mess he left in the kitchen...it's just priceless. I can picture it now: "Mira el rebulu que dejo tu papa en la cocina....Laura!!! deja la computadora esa y apaga la pelicula que has visto 20 veces, ven a ayudarme!!" I am very grateful to be here in Athens, but I will definitely miss being home on Thursday.

Here are a few pics so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about:

Pop's celebrating his triumph after an entire day of burning charcoal and roasting birds

2) My family's sense of humor

3) Massachusetts, Florida, and all those other states that matter...for making Obama Prez!!!

4) The creators of "Modern Family"

5) Still being able to shoot in the 30's for nine holes, even though I don't hit the little white ball around nearly as much as I used to.

6) Advil (for when I finish playing those nine holes)

7) Being able to see Tiger and Phil standing side by side on a Sunday afternoon. One with Fedex Cup in hand and $10 million in his pocket, the other with the Tour Championship trophy, a chunk of change, and a great smile on his face.

8) Friends who send thank-you notes...not via e-mail, the handwritten kind

9) 100 calorie pack chocolate covered pretzels

10) Walgreens

11) Wine (for when the goin gets tough)

12) Funny students who text or stop in the middle of a busy intersection to let me know they "aced" the Spanish test we studied for the night before. Yes, the test where the tutor couldn't figure out the difference between preterite and imperfect.

13) Gchat conversations with my BFF

14) Professors who emphasize on racial integration in sports...over free agency, the draft system, collective bargaining and Monday night football.

15) Being able to text and share photos with my mom via mobile technology...Will 2010 be the year she gets e-mail???

16) MSNBC photojournalists who put their lives at risk to give me a sneak peak of the rest of the world

17) The PR OPEN (the day after it finished, I decided to quit my job)

18) New friends who have taken me under their wing and are in the process of teaching me all the rich history and traditions behind Georgia football

19) People who give back as much, if not more, than they put in

20) My peeps who have taken the time to read and comment on my blog...Grazie Amici!

With that said, stay safe and enjoy the four F's...Food, Family, Friends and Fiesta!! If you reside within the Continental United States, then I guess we could change the last "F" to football.

Happy turkey day!

LD

To broil or not to broil...

Well my people, Betty Crocker-Diaz over here almost burned her kitchen down last night after a SUCCESSFUL attempt at broiling salmon. I was in a good mood yesterday, had some free time for a change so I thought "hey, why don't I cook something different." Went to Kroger, got a nice salmon filet and proceeded to figure out how I was going to cook the dead piece of fish.

I was talking to a good friend on the phone and she goes "you should broil it, I do it that way and it comes out nice and flaky". So I'm thinking "oka good idea", she cooks good, might as well follow her directions. The broiling option didn't work so well for me though. Ten minutes into the process my oven burst into flames. I'm talking about real flames, the kind that could've burnt my whole apartment down if not for my super girl scout background (troops 195, 402 and 149 respectively). I want to give a shout out to the organization that contributed to my firefighting skills...Here are some photos:

Laura Diaz in a GS uniform Circa 1993. Esa es Rosita la que me esta abrazando, por mas que lo niegue, ella tambien fue GS por muuuucho tiempo.

Hay senal??? Yes, that tall person on the right is me. dang I was (still am) tall for my age!

Go ahead, get a good laugh out of it. It's oka, even I laugh at this one.

Laura y Rosita, Circa 1993

Back to my original topic...I took the thinner half of the filet out because it was already cooked. I was waiting for the other part to cook when all of a sudden the fire started. Don't ask me how, but I stuck my heavy duty Kitchen Aid tongs in the fire pit of an oven, got the pan out and started wacking it with a towel. Before I knew it, it was over, no more fire! But then the aftermath came. The fire alarm went crazy and my apartment could've been confused for a the smoking room at the airport with the smoke cloud hanging out all over the place. Not to mention the stench! Gosh the place reaked of smoked..good thing for the febreeze/candle combo.

Fire alarm wouldn't shut up, so annoying!! I had to ventilate it with a folder to get it to stop. All this went on and nobody came to see what was happening. At least now I know I can't count on my neighbors! I'm sure I would have had some spectator action if this had happened in PR. Oh how I miss my fellow "noveleros". Here's a pic of the scene after the fire. It doesn't really justify the magnitude of the flames but it's better than nothing.

There are a few pieces of salmon around there. Those didn't survive. They got wacked by the towel.

I think that I found the cause of the fire...this burnt piece of aluminum foil was found crumbled at the bottom of the oven...crazy!!

In the end, everything worked out. I got to eat my dead fish with some veggies on the side. I was so nervous I ate the thing in like 2 minutes, didn't get to enjoy the flavor or anything. No heavy cooking in today's agenda. Maybe a sandwich...I need /miss Costco's microwaveable everything!

Signing out,

Betty Crocker-Diaz

Just the Two of Us: Part Deux

Directions: Esto es una continuación de Just the Two of Us…Part I. Le recomiendo que lean el blog anterior para que estén al día con el recuento.

Salimos del beauty luego de 3 horas y 15 minutos. Vi un steak & shake, vire en U. Tuve que parar a comprarme un jr. milkshake para aliviar el stress de operación si plancha/no plancha.

Mmm tasty…Después de hacer el desarreglo semanal me fui a J. Crew a ver si conseguía “corporate world” clothes. Hay varias presentaciones en agenda durante las próximas semanas y había que aliviar la escasez del couture apropiado. Entre y me fui derechita hacia el clearance rack. Mission accomplished once again, now I was off to “In the Heights”. Como no tenía planes para el viernes social (like I ever do), me decidí tirar aunque fuera sola. No podía dejar pasar la oportunidad.

FYI: Cuando estoy de camino recibo 2 llamadas y un txt de par de amigos de mi clase para ver si quería janguiar. Uhhggg, llevo meses esperando entrar en el “circle of trust” de esta gente y el día que me invitan no estoy. La Ley de Murphy.

Salí de los outlets, me monte otra vez en la guagua y arranque para ATL. A todo esto, mi pobre fondillo no había visto la luz del día. Entre el beauty y las vueltas llevaba como 6 horas sentada. Cuando llegue a downtown tuve tomar la decisión del parking. 1. estacionarme en el mismo del Fox Theater y pagar $20 o 2. pagar $5 y caminar 1 milla. Me fui con la opción maseta ($5) and let me tell you it was a bit scary walking down those streets. Llegue al teatro, me compre una copita de vino pa’ rápido y me senté (AGAIN) a esperar que comenzara.

No permitian camaras asi que me escondi en una esquina para tomarme esta foto con mi copita de vino de $7.50 (it was soo worth it).

Los que estábamos en la sección “nosebleed” tuvimos suerte que el teatro no estaba full. Tan pronto apagaron las luces un grupo selecto, sin mencionar nacionalidad, (yours truly included) cayo en los asientos de $100.

En fin, el musical estuvo buenísimo, "a must see”. Tiene de todo, happy/sad...me reí en cantidad y tengo nuevas ideas para el beauty de “Mecedes y Portia Latrina”.

De regreso al carro, cogí un taxi, no iba a caminar sola por ahi ni loca. Y si te estas preguntando, SI me salió más barato con todo y taxi.

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty fun day after all. Hanging out by myself wasn't that bad. I mean, I would've rather had any of you present...but hey, such is life in the usa.

Keep it real my people. Miss you!! Until next time.

LD

Just the Two of Us...Part I

Directions: If you are reading this in your email, go to the link: http://ldatuga.blogspot.com/, watch the video clip and then begin reading.

Sobrevivimos (mi cabello y yo) el momento más esperado de la semana: Dominican Hair Salon by Massiel. Ustedes saben muy bien lo mucho que sufro por el bienestar de mi pelo cuando salgo de PR. Esta vaina no es fácil! Pero gracias a los químicos mágicos y a la experiencia de Fifa (la jefa de Dominican Hair Salon), el manejo de mi cabello va a ser un poco más cómodo.

Sin embargo, el proceso fue (y siempre ha sido) arduo. Llegue al lugar después del medio día y estuve hasta las 3 pm!! Las chicas del clan me observaron un ratito pero no tardaron mucho en acercarse para iniciar conversación.


Fifa: Me toca el brazo y pregunta “You espeak espaneesh?”
Laura: “uhum” (a todo esto yo estaba leyendo de lo mas tranquilita)
Fifa: “Y tu ere’ hispana?”
Laura: “uhum”
Fifa: “Claro, yo sabía, si con esa carita.”
Laura: Smiles. But what she’s really thinking is, “WTF? lady, leave me alone”


Ahí termino nuestra conversación y Levi comenzó con el texturizado. El ambiente estaba de lo más relax y por supuesto tenían a la Dra. Nancy y su famoso show “Quien Tiene la Razón” a todo volumen. De momento Levi sale y dice “Si no e’ novela lo que ponen en la tele, e’ bochinche!” y ahí rompieron a discutir el caso de la Dra. Nancy. Par de horas después, llego la hora del blower y a Levi (my favorite) le llego una clienta, por lo tanto, me pasaron a la silla de Fifa.

Fifa: “Como te gusta que te quede?”

Laura: “Straight. Chino. Lacio. Sin volumen”

Fifa: jajaja oka

Laura: “Blower primero y después plancha.”

Fifa: (Con un tonito medio bitchy) “Oh pero la plancha no se puede pasar después del relaxer.”
Laura: (Casi me da un ataque) “Porque no?? El proceso es standard para este tratamiento, claro que se puede pasar la plancha.”
Fifa: “Es que la plancha maltrata mucho lo cabello. Este es tu color natural?”
Laura: Si
Fifa: "No está feo, pero se ve maltratado. Eso es por la plancha."
Laura: gives her a fake “surprised” look. (pero en realidad estoy pensando: WTF doña!! No chaves mas, yo se que tengo el pelo pajoso, déjame tranquila y pásame la plancha esa que tienes ahí!!!)


En resumidas cuentas, me tomo un rato convencerla y salí con la oreja izquierda achicharrada (creo que fue de maldad) pero la misión fue cumplida. Pelo planchado, texturizado, lacio, chino at last!!! A la verdad que fue una experiencia única. Me resolvieron, pero no se si vuelva, como extraño a Rolando Montes!

Do what you Love...Love what you do

This is what I love...the power behind sports! Y el que me diga lo contrario (fueron muchos), se puede ir pa' tu sabes donde..."porque mejor no te vas hacer un MBA?"..."que es eso de sports management, con eso no vas a conseguir trabajo"..."porque te vas para alla, eso no lo dan aqui?" (my personal favorite).

Anyways, that's beside my point. Take a look at this video clip and you'll know what i'm talking about, it's about 7 minutes, but well worth it. Enjoy!

http://www.poweroftheinvisiblesun.com/video.html

Peace out,

LD

Entonces...ahora que?

ATHENS, GA - Bueno mi gente, que hay en agenda para esta semana? Las paginas Endi.com y facebook (mis fuentes informativas) estan aburridas! Entre orita y me encuentro con esta noticia en primera plana: "Chatea con Ednita". Aparentemente ahora puedo chatear con Ednita a travez de endi.com. Woohoo Tremendo....veryyy interesting...not really!

Quiero ver a Fortu modelando su linea nueva de camisas manga larga Lacoste. Las que le regalo Luce por su gran labor en su primera emergencia nacional. Imaginense cuando le toque un huracan! Se tardara horas en llegar a la conferencia de prensa buscando un jacket como el que se ponia Rosello, pero con la silhueta del cocodrilo. Se acuerdan de Rosello en los huracanes?

No les quiero dañar el dia hablando de Rosello, volviendo al tema. Puerto Rico...necesito noticia de la buena!! Ya apagaron el fuego y la gente de facebook dejo de publicar "mobile uploads" de la nube cada 5 minutos. Ahora quiero ver videos del tapon que se forma en el expreso, gracias a los noveleros que se pasan mirando y tomando fotos de los tanques quemados. Y si quieren pongan 2 o 3 de las fotos de los tanques tambien. Que mas da? Ya lo peor paso.

Calle 13 no insulto a nadie este fin de semana...Santini where are you? Y por supuesto sin olvidar, el paro nacional, en que paró?

Me alcahuetiaron con "noticia de la buena" por 3 semanas y ahora me ponen a chatear con Ednita. Pero nada, que les puedo decir, esta mejor que la misma noticia del h1n1 "over and over and over". Ese es el caso aca en abc news, nbc news, fox, cnn, la prangana news, etc.

Don't get me wrong. El TODAY Show me fascina, es mas, mi dia no es el mismo si no escucho a mis TV friends Kathy Lee and Hoda y el informe del tiempo de mi BFF Al Roker. Me hace falta Susan y su pronostico de lluvia 24/7 por irse a la segura, seguido por Walter Mercado con el horoscopo.

Vamos PR! Se que no me vas a defraudar. Publicame algo entretendido y "news worthy". No me pongas a Ednita en primera plana. Ponme al dia en cuanto a los desempleados que Fortu & Friends quieren mandar a recojer cafe en la montaña. Dame updates de CAPECO de una manera ultra dramatica aunque no hayan resuelto nada.

Ahi te la dejo. Make me proud.

LD

Impromptu fun and decompression recap

It's like they say...all good things must come to an end. Summer’s gone until next year, and it took my tan along for the ride. Flip flops and shorts are out of the question and don’t you dare wear white after Labor Day. Yep! It’s official, fall is here. Pick your favorite college football team, MLB playoff team or NFL franchise because the season is here. That’s all you will hear for the next few months and if you don’t like sports and have to live with someone who obsesses over them, it’s a long road ahead for you my friend.

Fall brought a few midterms with her, which I am glad to report are over by now and I’ve passed with flying colors. I also view Autumn as el tiempo de la hinchera! My skin decides to turn a weird yellowish/brownish color this time of year, not cool. But hey, don’t get me wrong, I love fall. Nothing like a crisp, sunny, mid to low 60 degree day in Athens, especially if that day is spent on the golf course or downtown with good company.

The weather changes, and so do ones clothes, but shopping for fall clothes has never been a problem for me.

Speaking of shopping, I had an awesome post-midterm, impromptu, decompression weekend with a visit from a good friend. We frequented ATL’s shopping districts and were very productive throughout the weekend, to say the least. But don’t worry, we left a few things out there for others to purchase. Saturday’s weather was crazzyyy though! 40 degrees brrr…We also went to this funny restaurant here in Athens, there are really no words to describe it. All I can say is they serve Latin food (which was very good…yummy), the owners come from South/Central American descent, they had really cool t-shirts that said "Spanglish Inc." and they were playing “El Amor” by Tito el Bambino. Check out the pics and the video clip below.

El party bus, quiero celebrar mi cumplea~os ahi!!

Esa pava estaba janguiando ahi en las matas, I had to do it!

This time of year also brings season premieres and my new favvvv show “Modern Family”. If you haven’t watched it, PLEASE DO! I urge you, it is hilarious! It’s one of the few sitcoms to come out recently where you will find yourself laughing out loud, even if you are watching by yourself. Which is the case for me.

Grad school is still attempting to kick my booty, but no worries…I GOT IT! Thanksgiving break is approaching, well not really, but I like to think it is. Got my plane ticket to go home for x-mas break…I will grace you with my presence on Dec. 12. Which reminds me, I miss you guys! Come visit me…I know Athens doesn’t sound as exciting as New York, Las Vegas or Orlando (for all you Disney fans out there), but it’s a pretty cool, trendy town.

Alrighty my peeps, good times were had last weekend and even better ones to come, until next time! In the meantime, plenty of shows to watch and lots to of schoolwork to procrastinate on!

LD

Y cuando, cuando, cuando es?? Ahora, Ahora, Ahora es!!

Warning: No hay acentos! No se como ponerlos en Laura's Mini.

Hoy, 15 de octubre, mis compañeros de clase se dedican a discutir la importancia entre "marginal revenue, marginal cost and revenues produced by winning games in Atlanta vs. Kansas City". Sin embargo, yo me dedico a darle refresh a endi.com para ver el " play by play" del Paro. Por ende, quiero compartir con ustedes las loqueras random que estan occuriendo en las calles de Hato Rey. Esto occurre mientras otros trabajamos, estudiamos y nos preocupamos por tomar las medidas que nos llevaran a actuar por el bien comun de nuestra sociedad.

Esta es mi favorita>>> 11:15 a.m. - Un fuerte olor a huevo se impregna en la avenida Roosevelt, luego que los manifestantes los arrojaran en la calle.
jajaja!!

Seguida por>> 10:59 a.m. - Varios manifestantes sacían el hambre y la sed con cervezas frías y pinchos de pollo.
Que seria una congrecaion sin pinchos!

10:58 a.m. - Por $1, los manifestantes tiran dos huevos contra un panel con los rostros del Gobernador y su gabinete.
En serio?? El huevo incident is sooo last week.

Esta esta buena:
10:51 a.m. - -“Siento vergüenza de que mi país tenga un gobierno fascista”, dijo Vivian Rodríguez.
10:50 a.m. - Vivian Rodríguez y su progenitora, María A. Gomez, de 82 años, viajaron desde Nueva York y se unieron al grupo del Movimiento Amplio de Mujeres, a la Central Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores y a la Coordinadora Unitaria de Trabajadores del Estado. Esos grupos acaban de arribar al punto de encuentro de las organizaciones en protesta.
Facista??? Are you kidding me?? Vivian, hellooo tu no vives aqui! Tu pichastes hace tiempo...Tu tienes trabajo por Nueva Yollll. Regresa antes de que vean piketiando en las noticias y te boten!

10: 37 a.m. - Llegan al punto final de encuentro en la Roosevelt delegaciones de populares de Juncos, Comerío, Dorado y Caguas, con mensajes como “las habichuelas de mi familia son sagradas”.
Yo me pregunto...Porque son sagradas?? Que cubitos usas?? Cuanto tiempo llevan a~ejando el sofrito?

7:28 a.m. - "Espero que me vaya bien", dice Alejandro Álvarez, propietario del "Carrito del Sabor", un establecimiento ambulante que tiene como clientela fija a los empleados bancarios de la Milla de Oro.
Alejandro lo que quiere es vender tripletas!

11:45 a.m. -Un comerciante ambulante vende mantecado a precio especial para las personas despedidas de sus empleos en una colorida guagua a la que acuden manifestantes para aplacar el calor que impera casi al mediodía.

9:46 a.m. – Arranca, desde el Departamento de Educación, la marcha de maestros al ritmo del tema “Wanabí” del grupo Fiel a la Vega.
El paro le vino bien a Fiel a la Vega!! They're making a comeback!

9:43 a.m. – En la Roosevelt, Wilda Rodriguez calculó que miles de universidades y escuelas están sin clases, los muelles están parados, las calles están vacías, las guaguas de transportación pública están detenidas y el centro comercial Plaza Las Américas está cerrado. "Paramos el País", reclamó.

Si Wilda "paraon el pais". Pero todavia hay millones de ciudadanos que no paraon sus vidas para que el pais siguiera funcionando. Las oficinas de los medicos y las salas de emergencia siguen llenas, los fast food no se vacian, el que no pudo cojer la guagua se fue en pon y Plaza cerro pero nos fuimos para los outlets.

Dime Wilda, que vas a hacer mañana? Como vas a planificar un mejor futuro para ti y tu familia Pero mas importante como vas a contribuir hacia el bien comun? Vas para los outlets?
Esto es un anuncio pagado..jajaja

Es como dijo el gran Teddy K. en la convencion Democratica del 1980. "The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die."

Seguiremos informando,
LD

Observing Human Behavior @ SLC

This type of behavior is just boggling my mind. Why do people come to the library to SLEEP?...And don’t even get me started on the gossip social hour that goes on here, starring the “I Love Everything Apple/MAC Sorority Club”. Not to mention, those girlfriends who bring splendidly smelling food to their significant other. EAT, something I’ve wanted to do since like 5pm. Can’t wait until Christmas…clogged arteries here I come!

Getting back to the point. People falling asleep in the library...Seriously!! Not only do they fall asleep but it’s the way in which they choose to do it. It’s as if they planned it all along. They pick the most relaxing, comfortable chair positioned in the quietest area of the entire building. Then what do they do? First, they take out all of their books, computer, snacks, cell phone, I-pods, I-phones, keys, drinks, etc. etc. Second, they place all of this stuff on the side table beside their chair. Third, they usually put on a hoody to cover their heads, take their shoes off and put their feet up on the ottoman. Which I may add is pretty gross. I don’t want to sit on a chair that had some unknown persons nasty feet junk on it.

Finally, they proceed to cuddle themselves in the nice, comfy leather chair, close their eyes and BAM they’re asleep. The before falling asleep part usually varies depending on a person, some might text, others might set an alarm, others might pretend they are readying. WTF? Why are you here? Don’t come here to take up some much needed comfortable library space during midterms. Go home, take a nap then come back and be productive. For the record, I tried to take a picture of this scene but someone just sat right in front of me and blocked my vision. Arrggg. Speaking of being productive, someoneee should get to that. I did waste quite some time observing human beings and their behavioral patterns at the Student Learning Center.

Three down, one more question to go in my sport history midterm>>“It cannot be denied that the integration of baseball was the right thing and far too long in coming. Nonetheless social change of this magnitude does not come without costs. Evaluate these costs and perhaps consider integration in a broader context than sports.” Once again, I’m challenged to write about my race and how we were looked upon as being “unworthy” of competing at the highest level of sport. If the so called “worthy” of the early 20th century could see me know. Female, brown, a golfer, in college and living in the South. Someone must be rolling over in his grave.

Any thoughts that could enlighten me?? If not, its oka I think “I GOT IT !!”

With that said, I’m out like a fat kid in dodge ball.

Peace,
LD

My take: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

La ignoracia es atrevida...Never before has that saying made more sense than right now. As we heard this morning Pres. Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In my opinion, the move was a great decision and speaks very highly of how much the image of the United States has changed around the world since Obi became prez.

However, it's incredible how many people have expressed their negativity toward the subject. Thanks to the wonderful world of FB, I got to see a few status updates this morning relating to this matter. For example people wrote: "What a joke"..."Nobel peace prize for Obama..really? you gotta be kidding me"..."Why him, he's not Nelson Mandela, what has he done?"

True, he is not Nelson Mandela. He is not Mother Teresa. It's also true that he has not undertaken a 7 month-long fast to stop the war in Iraq (he looks pretty healthy to me). And true, he's only been in office for 7 months.

But we have to understand and put into perspective the real reason behind the award. Alfred Nobel, who instituted the Peace Prize, stipulated that the peace prize should go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."

It's not about what he has "done". It's about what he has the power to do. And right now, at this point in time when things in the world aren't all happy and jolly he has the power and capability and is working very hard to contribute to Peace. He's pointing the world in the right direction.

Like Obama said himself "It's a call to action". It means the world knows the great things he is capable of doing in the future and they are recognizing him for it. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who won the prize in 1984, said Obama's award shows great things are expected from him in coming years. He said: "It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope."

The previously listed FB statements really offended me, and let me just say for the record, I am not easily offended. On the other hand, when it comes to ignorant individuals who express themselves with uneducated comments toward subjects I am particularly sensitive about, I get pissed. To make matters worse, most of these statements were made by young adults. Those same young adults whose future Obama wants to improve by promoting hope & peace.

So my message to these folks is: Do your research people, come on! Before you get out there and express yourself through the written word, put your brain into action and think for a CHANGE.

Obi totally deserves the prize, he's a great role model for people like me. Those of us who have a positive outlook on the future. And most importantly, those of us who are committed to being "the change you want to see in the world."

Politics is not my thing, never has been and probably never will. However, this is one politician has caught my attention since day 1. He's inspired me to believe that there are great things ahead. Not only for me, but for society as a whole.

Today, I leave you with a song from MJ "Heal the world...make it a better place." jajaja..just kidding.

Going back to all seriousness.

I leave you with this amazing quote from Gandhi. (Those of you who have lived with me or visited my home at any point in time, know that I keep this on my fridge). It's been my mantra since I heard it from his son, who came to speak at my university several years ago.

"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors. Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny."

Until next time.

LD

Scratch U2 from the bucket list

So this week I decided to take a break from my sport econ midterm, and ventured off to the ATL to watch U2 live and in concert. Traffic leading up to the Georgia Dome was insane, but hey when you have 80,000 going to the same place at the same time, vehicular congestion is bound to be an issue. All in all, it was a very organized traffic jam. I actually missed the abrasive "cortes de pastelillo".

I finally made it inside and thankfully my peeps were waiting for me with a beer in hand. Here's a video clip of Julio (Herbie's college roomate) complaining and saying I was late.

Some crazy rock band called Muze opened but I wasn't very interested. I was more worried about trying to find an emergency exit because we were so far up in the stands I almost got a sneak peak of heaven. Can't complain though, we had a perfect view of the stage!!

"Stuck in a moment" was my favorite piece of the evening. Edge played it with an acoustic guitar. Amazing! Here's a short clip. Please excuse my magnificent vocals in the background.

They played for a solid 2hrs and 15 mintes, mostly the classics and a few from their new cd. Bono would not be Bono if he wouldn't have tried to save the world then and there while inspiring us to do the same. He's fighting a great cause and going about it in all the right ways...gotta love him! I was sad when it was all over, but so happy I got to see them, we had a blast!

It took me more than an hour to get back on the highwahy after the concert was over. But I eventually made it back to Athens, pretty late but made it. Oh yeah and like 2 mins from my apartment I get pulled over by a cop for going 45 in a 35. Thankfully, he was nice enough to let me go without a citation whheewww. I have a new found respect for men in uniform.

On another note>> 4 days, 4 essay questions, 10 pages and approximately 30 junk food snacks later my first midterm in 3 years was over. But I wont be rejoicing any time soon, we're about to get another one of those posted tomorrow. Fun fun! And this time there won't be a U2 break to ameliorate mid-semester stress. Oh well, i'll live through the sleep deprivation.

Looking on the bright side and accepting new challenges. Thats what its all about. Cause I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

LD

Coming up on Saturday: 5K...my first! Goal: not to come home in an ambulance.

Golf carts & cornhole: gameday traditions leading up to kickoff

ATHENS, GA - Another weekend down folks! I stayed local this time and Saturday festivities did not dissapoint (me). That was probably not the case f'or some die-hard, bodypainted, pom-pom smacking, obscenity screaming fans who witnessed "crazy eyes" and the rest of the UGA squad fall to #4 LSU in the final minutes of a very close game. I should probably include myself in that bunch, after all, now that I think about it, I did do all of the above. Except for the bodypaint part, could you imagine how much paint it would take to cover my delicate figure? You could paint a house with that amount.

After deciding not to do the whole bodypaint thing, I made my way to my very first tailgate, bright and early. Nothing like beer for breakfast, it felt like new years. Anyways, we hung out for a while, people watched, spotted some crazy looking people but overall chilled out with some friends of friends and had a good time.

I headed to the game and made it just in time for kickoff, gotta love the feeling of 90,000 screaming fans!

Highlighst included: not getting blisters, riding to the stadium in a golf cart (take a look at the video)>>courtesy of Lindsey's hookups and being asked if we were on the volleyball team (never fails). Oh yea and I also got offered $30 to ride this very drunk person to his final destination but I refused. He was looking pretty pail and I know what happens a few seconds after mixing alcoholic beverages and getting pail, ask my friend Rosita, she can tell you a story or two.

After the game, I walked home (man could I have used that golf cart right then) and met up with my peeps again for a final recap & wings.

That's my weekend in a nutshell, I tried to photo/video document the day as much as possible so you could get a feel of it from a fans perspective, which differs a bit from ESPN HD.

Big week coming up...Midterms galore, papers, readings, U2 concert, 5K (Yes, Lindsey we are going so get ready haha). Motto: No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy.

Hope you enjoy the pics and videos...thanks for stopping by! Oh yeah and don't forget to leave a comment or two. Happy Monday to all!

LD

Lindsey, Jennifer +1 and myself...Jessie would be proud!

We had a visitor, this is Stanford, as you can see he has a tiger in his mouth, we played the LSU Tigers that day, get it? North campus was pretty crazy

Walking toward the stadium...my feet hurt

Gametime!

Crazy eyes attempting to complete a pass...didn't happen

Walking home after the game, I was pretty tired.

15 Items or less

I usually go grocery shopping in the evenings. The reason being: I like to avoid the senior citizens who tend to crowd the isles looking for specials. They like to do things early, thats fine, more power to them.

Today, I went in the morning...big mistake! So I'm shopping like a regular customer but in a bit of a hurry. The lines were pretty long so I picked the emptiest one, but I had not noticed I was in the "15 items or less" line. As I stood in line at Kroger (Amigo de aca) with a People magazine in hand this very unpolite senior citizen comes up and yells at me in a very Souther accent>> "now mam you sure DON'T have 15 items in that cart!!". Tragame tierra! Of course everyone looked at me like I was the worst person on earth. I proceeded to apologize and move to another line. Needless to say, when I got home, I counted and I only had 17 items.

What the heck? That was so unfair, just becasue he was alive during WWII dosen't mean he can treat people that way. I am usually the person letting people with less items than me get in front. Sometimes I'm even the person helping others get the last jar of Prego from the top shelf. While other times I try to be a good citizen by bringing the shopping carts lazy people leave around the parking lot back to their rack. I have replaced plastic bags with highly efficient green bags! I would consider myself as being supermarket friendly. Gimme a break dude!

I learned my lesson, keep going in the evenings and back away from the express lane. See you next week Kroger.

LD

Lo que se quedo...

Warning to non-golfers: This one might get boring, it's one of those "you had to be there to understand", but I encourage you to Read On!

My grrrreat memory failed a bit last night and I forgot to give a shout out to Danny Colson, MVP at East Lake this past weekend. Mr. Colson, who has Tiger's back inside and outside the ropes, hooked up his "PR Mafia" big time with the photo pass and access to the players parking lot. <<<-----There's Danny in the light blue shirt, I think he was looking out for "red flags".

Little did he know that one of the members of the mafia would rise some red flags and another would be stalking that parking lot like it was his job. I won't mention any names but there was only one HE in our group. That He also managed to console Tiger after a bad shot and remind Kenny of sad times at Augusta. "It's oka buddy"...Priceless! Meanwhile, KTC's face managed to reach a level of redness which can only be attained by a Calvesbert. La pobre Karen, se abochornaba de nosotros.

Here we are stalking the parking lot and posing with the big boss. Somehow Bones (Phil Mickelson's caddie) got in this picture as well. I guess he was making room in the trunk for the the $4 million dollar check. Must be nice.

While we stood there, Tim Finchem (PGA Tour Commissioner) rolled around the corner and he also got some kind words from our He. We are assuming Tiger left through an underground tunnel because one minute his Buick was there, the other, it disappeared. Wonder what his next stop is? Maybe "World Disney World" with Elin and the kids. Who knows.

I think I've covered just about everything...gotta love reminiscing! Until next time.

Peace out,

LD

Final Round Recap

Se nos acabo el gusito, but thats oka, all good things must come to an end. The four of us made it back home safely, some faster than others, but we're all back to reality, that's for damn sure. Before I start getting into the golf, as I was dropping my peeps off at the airport this morning I saw Dwight from the Real Housewives of ATL!!! He was checking in curbside though, who does that anymore? I don't think he has Delta Medallion Platinum status. Anyways, here's us with the EL clubhouse in the background. Inside, the clubhouse was filled with Bobby Jones memorabilia, including a display of each of the trophies presented to him after he won the Grand Slam as an amateur in 1930.

The final two rounds of the Tour Championship were loads of fun, the weather gods were with us throughout the weekend and everything ran smoothly. Tournament directors moved the tee times up a few hours on Saturday to prevent from getting hit by the storm which set in as the last putt dropped. Rain, that's one thing that's a nightmare for any tournament director, why? because you can't control it. But I guess these PGA Tour people are so good at organizing events they even control the weather these days, geeeezz. There's Karen and Christine with Mark, one of the officials at the event and a good friend. He does the advance for the PR OPEN, he was glad to see us there. I would have liked to be in that picture but that's okay, someone has to take it for the team.

Every day was filled with new anecdotes, happenings and characters. "Tiger Woods, Ya'll!" was my personal favorite, with "Tiger Woods for second black president" coming in second. As you can see our weekend revolved around Tiger, but nothing compared to this guy's shirt. <<<----Check it out. You can't really see it, but on the bottom it says "Tiger Woods, Ya'll". The poor guy wanted Tiger's autograph so bad but what he almost got was a black eye from the security guard who kicked him out of the players parking lot where that picture was taken. For the record, we did not get kick out because we were authorized to be there.

By the way, on Sunday we saw the dude following Tiger's group wearing the same shirt. Pretty funny.

We did get kicked out, actually no, I rephrase, were were kindly asked to move away from the press room door where Tiger was being interviewed. This picture can give you an idea of why we were kindly asked to move away. ------------------>>>>>>>>>

The cop behind us was very serious about his job, as it should be.

Spectating was a challenge on Sunday but we were fortunate enough to get some clean looks at the leaders. Our man Kenny Perry's tires fell off early and Tiger couldn't make a putt to save his life, but he was probably singing"chiching!!$$$" all the way back to Windermere, Fl in his Buick. Three days following the guy around and I didn't get to see a fist pump. That was the only downside. Lefty shook that snowman away and took it to the house on Sunday afternoon beating the field fair and square. Karen and I made it to the awards presentation, we positioned ourselves behind the 18th green. We had a pretty good look. I don't even remember how we go there, it all happened so fast. Something else happened fast, my running, it was by far the fastest I've ever run in my life (cojimos par de chinos en la soga pero valio la pena). Seeing TW and Lefty side by side, one with the FedEx cup in hand and 10 million in his back pocket, priceless!

After everything was over, we reunited with the Beauchamps who found a few empty chairs at the entrance and served as a temporary information booth. This was a good move because I got to keep the chairs for tailgating. Or as Christine said, I should mark my territory and set them at the 18th green at Augusta National. Until then, you can find them here in Athens. That evening, after we stalked the players parking lot for a while the munchies started kicking in and we grabbed a bite at Twist in Phips Plaza. Good food, cool atmosphere. In the end, good times we had, lots of laughs and crazy sayings. We learned plenty from the good people in the volunteer department who took the time to meet and tour us around. Looking forward to another one of these impromptu trips in the near future. In the meantime, it's time to hit the books. Ciao for now.

In the words of my good friend Fito Paez: Colorin colorado, este cuento ha terminao.

LD

PS: Don't miss the photos below!

No cell phones, no cameras! Well, not for long.

Tiger is god! Tigre te amo... "vamos a comprar otra beer"... "mira ese/a se parece a"...Yes, those are the kind of phrases coming out of the mouths of the die hard, golf aficionado people I'm hanging out with this weekend at the Tour Championship. My combo corillo is here from PR and we are having a blast, watching some good golf, observing tournament ops and achieving a very high level of VIP status in a matter of minutes. This is how we roll. Oh yeah and we also had lunch with Arthur Blanks who is apparently the owner of the Atlanta Falcons (NFL team) and Home Depot, but we didn't even know who he was.

We were all very pumped to see Tiger, since it was a first for all...we were starstruck, the dude has something about him, perhaps an aura of greatness? Who knows, all I know is he's human like the rest of us because he flubbed a chip shot to make bogey on 18 and drop to 5-under, he leads by one shot over Paddy Haddy and Sean O'hair.

Thats enough golf jargon for today...When we arrived at Turner Field this morning (parking) CRB's sole came off her tennis shoe, so she had to walk with a soleless shoe for a while, until the one on the other sneaker came off a few hours later. It's a good thing she found a prime spot in the grandstands (aunque la calocha ahi estaba fuerrrte) because I don't think the soleless Nike's would have lasted much longer.

The weather was very favorable today, however that doesn't seem like the case for tomorrow. But its oka, we're prepared, we have rainsuits, ponchos, umbrellas and an evac plan. On the other hand, if it starts raining you will probably find us in the clubhouse watching it on TV.

I almost forgot, for those of you wondering, we stopped at TJ Maxx and got CRB some new sneakers with soles on them.

Well gotta go, early day tomorrow and it seems my peeps got a head start!

Signing out, this is Laura Diaz reporting live from the right side of the bed I'm sharing with my roommie at Spring Hill Suites.

LD

PS:C'mon Dawgs sack 'em Sundevils tomorrow!

La real lengua espa~ola, excuse my spanglish

"They don't know that you don't know." Best advice ever!

Mis estudiantes no saben que yo no se la diferencia entre un complemento directo y uno indirecto, o mejor dicho en las primeras sesiones yo (su Spanish guru) no sabia que caramba era un complemento. Semanas despues llego el capitulo del preterito perfecto, ahi si que me jodi. La pobre nena estaba estresica y frustrada porque tenia un examen y no le hacia sentido el material. Me llamaron para una sesion de emergencia, normalmente no le doy tutoria a la chica y fueron 75 minutos agonizantes para ambas.

Esta vaina me afecto al principio pero despues cai en cuenta y dije "Laura hellooo ella no sabe que tu no sabes y pues nada just go with the flow". Con ese mismo flow use las ultra neuronas en reserva y me saque unos ejemplos de la manga. Aparentemente le hicieron sentido, hoy me paro en el pasillo y me dijo (en una voz super emocionada) "I just wanted you to know that I got a 73% on my test". Y yo como q oh shit esta me va a reportar y va a decir q no sirvo pa na y se me va acabar el guiso, porque pues normalmente un 73 no es la mejor nota del mundo. Al contrario, parece que el "they dont know that I don't know" funciono tan bien que se apunto para las tutorias semanales conmigo. Comenzamos manana! Ahora incremento el numero a cinco los que estamos mas perdidos que un juey bisco.

Moraleja: Go with the flow, siempre.

LD

Intro

Week 6 at UGA is in the books! Wow can't believe it's been that long...time flies and as those t-shirts say, life is good. I guess it's the perfect week to being by blogging career since i've had enough time to get acquainted with Athens, which I must say I absolutely love, could not have picked a better town or school for that matter.

UGA is great! Classes are going well, I have a few projects which i'm working on but it's been hard to keep up with all these groups, especially when you can't put a name with a face. But i'm getting better at it. Something i'm also getting better at is: college football. These people are serious about their football, but it's oka...gotta be passionate about something in this life. Even better when it's passion for a sport.

As for the social aspect of the move, week 6 was good to me. I got my netbook, met some new peeps, had some random encounters with the opposite sex, saw some townies, danced to 80's music with a gringo who had rythm, walked in the rain (y no se me paro el pelo), saw some old friends and watched golf...overall, my best weekend so far. Hopefully, next weekend will up to par since KTC, PJ and CRB are all coming to the ATL for the Tour Championship and to top it off, we get to see Tiger and I got a photo pass...Ahh the joy.

Today, i'll be cliche and leave you with a quote. I don't usually do this but this one kind of explains my whole purpose of being here.

"Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite in a way little else can - it is an instrument of PEACE."

-Nelson Mandela

LD