Miranda!

OH MY GOD

A dream come true...

Me with the lead singers of Miranda!

So here is the story with this amazing day. First for months I have been hearing about this concert but no one was able to buy tickets, you were only able to win tickets on the radio. Well, I was totally bummed because I was just not able to win that way, so I looked stuff up on the internet and called people and no answer, so yesterday I went down to the club and I was like ok, I want tickets, how do I get to see Miranda!? And the guy sitting there, a big, bald Russian man, was like "You come tomorrow." And I was like really? And he's like "Yes. You come. I remember you. Come early." So I am like sweet, I am totally in!

SO today we go by the club around 6:30 and we put our names in for dinner at a place and go back to check if we need tickets or to be on a list and the Russian is there and he goes "Yes, I remember you. You can come in, is OK, but please. Not doe shoes." And I am like uh, seriously? And he's like "Yes. And come early, we close the doors when is full." So we go to my car where I happen to have a pair of Mary Janes which I throw on and we rush through dinner and go back to the club. The guy says "Ok, you sit here, please." So we sit outside and wait. Finally he goes to the door and motions us, all secret-style, and we hurry in.

We are in there with no one else. The band is doing sound check, which is of course awesome and we literally have a private show of both El Profe and Don, so my night is already complete, then they stop and I am like "Whew. Ok. Here's my chance to meet them." So Levi follows me with the camera and I walk up to the area where they are standing and not knowing what to do I kind of wave, and they kind of wave back. Ok but this isn't a cool like hey-how-ya-doin' wave, this was the elbow-locked-at-hip-hand-waving-back-and-forth-in-big-Hi-Mom-Look-At-Me-style wave. I am SUCH a dork. I also wore my Quilmes shirt, so they were like Hey! Quilmes! And I was like yeah I lived there last year! And they're like OK! And I was like "Can I get a photo with you?" And they said sure, then we took the picture and I was like thanks! Then that's it. I totally dorked out and that was that. SO lame! HAhaha.

So now Levi, Brett and I are like cool, we can relax while they change, have a beer before it gets crowded, chat til they come out in a few minutes...3 hours later they finally come back. SO Argentine!!! They came out in these gold and pink and orange and blue and silver lamee outfits and danced their little hearts out-for 6 songs. Then it was thanks buh-bye! Unbelievable. So fun but oh my god so much waiting! Still, can you believe that photo? SOOOOO cool!!! AAAhhh!!!

To see a video and hear their probably mot famous song, Don, go to http://www.wopvideos.com/videos/2098.htm

I promise you it's gonna be good!

Nerd Camp

My cousin Kim is working at a summer school for gifted students. She is teaching art history, but there are also a lot of other types of classes offered. The following is a list she has compiled of "nerd moments."

Here are the highlights:

#2: 3 kids walking across campus. This was the conversation:
A: "So wait, is it ge-NOME-ics or is it ge-NOM-ics?" (genomics=a more advanced study of genetics)
B: "Dude, it's ge-NOME-ics."
C: "Yeah, it's ge-NOME-ics."
A: "Oh, I thought it was ge-NOM-ics."
C: "No, it's definitely ge-KNOME-ics. Like, if you have like, vowel after a hard consonant and a soft g, it's like, long."
A: "Oh yeah, I guess that's right. But it sounds like, so much cooler if it was ge-NOM-ics."

#11: An Instructor walking across campus with his class, shouting:
Instructor: "When I say HYPO, you say THALAMUS! HYPO--"
"THALAMUS!""HYPO-""THALAMUS!"
"When I say ALPHA, you say HELIX! ALPHA--"
"HELIX!"
"ALPHA--"
HELIX!"

#14: Two instructors eating at the cafeteria:
A: "Whoa--is that the newest TI-89? Can I check that out?"

#12: One of my students from last session was in the camp talent show. Her talent was reciting Pi to the 100th number after the decimal point.

#18: A Genetics student in my friend's class last session:
"If I finish this problem set in the next 10 minutes, can I sequence more DNA?"

#22: A math student brought his iPod speakers to class. The class went outside for their break, where unfortunately, there are no power outlets for iPod speakers. But apparently not a problem to the gifted and talented set. The TA turned around and saw that the kid had unscrewed the bolts to a metal panel of one of the campus pathlights (those big lights that illuminate the campus at night) and was starting to take apart the wiring inside the lampost so he could hardwire to his iPod speakers. Which seems to truly encapsulate the gifted and talented student population as those who have excellent intelligence and absolutely no common sense.

#23: In the genetics class, they have an activity where they put together a puzzle I think of some sort of molecule or DNA sequence or something. Anyway, there are two ways to do it--one way reveals enriching facts about biology and genetics as you do it, but it takes longer to put it together. The other will yield a cohesive picture, but you won't do the learning part (I'm not exactly clear on how that works, but just go with it). Anyway, the TA was doing it with her class as a group. All of the class was interested in learning and doing the puzzle the "enrichment" way except one kid, who didn't care and kept arguing for the class to just get it done as quickly as possible. So one kid turns around to this kid and says,

"I'm so glad you're not my enzymes."

The Wedding

Here are some of the favorite pictures of the wedding I was in this past weekend. Many times I have mentioned the wedding, and this past weekend it finally happened. Aside from the ceremony being quite chilly, the words spoken were beautiful, the bride looked stunning, the groom was handsome and the reception was a blast! Levi and I made ourselves a fixture on the dance floor, the garden was in full bloom, the food was delicious-couldn't have asked for anything more! Friday we had the rehersal dinner at a mexican restaurant in Mendocino, then Saturday we got ready in the morning, the bridesmaids helping Liz get dressed and gussied up while the guests were shuttled to a grove overlooking the ocean. It was spectacular!

Jennifer (Liz's sister) reading the poem Why Marriage?
Me and Levi
The bridesmaids Me, Mary, Laura, Libby
The bride and groom
The rose ceremony
The wedding party

Weekend

It's weird but time is kind of flying by. I have already been teaching for 2 weeks, Kayla has come and gone, I am applying like crazy to jobs and I have been home for over a month! It's hard to believe. One thing that isn't hard to believe is that my money is running out like water off a duck's back. Like I've got holes in my pockets or something! It is just so expensive here, and I mean here in the US, and I mean in comparison to BA. For example, I had a pair of jeans repaired in Argentina (2 or 3 pairs, actually...) and it cost about 12 pesos. I am having a dress hemmed-that's one straight line of stitching, and it costs 10 dollars. That is nothing, of course, compared to Liz whose wedding dress alterations cost $400! When I get married I am going to tell everyone it's a different kind of party, I swear the price goes up about 700 percent as soon as the word wedding is mentioned! Anyway it is crazy here to think about what I was paying back in BA, but then again I didn't have this fantastic California sunshine. Levi and I went to the beach this weekend, it was beautiful where we were, but windy, but I can't imagine living somewhere where you couldn't escape to the coast for a few hours if you wanted to, it is just so beautiful and relaxing. We also went to the Los Altos Arts and Wine Festival, which was pretty low-key, not very many people attended, but it was fun to see mom and dad pulling beer and listen to the Gwen Stefani covers by a 40-year-old hippie lady. Does it get any better than that???

4th of July

It's Independence Day, but for those of us who are living at home, it's more like just another day, only with better costumes. The American tradition, you know, sparklers, barbecue, loud patriotic music filling the living room...all of it makes for my favorite day of the year. (My birthday is usually stretched out for at least a week, but the 4th is my favorite day.)

San Francisco

So we thought we should show Kayla around San Fran, hitting all the spots a tourist should see. Funny thing is, neither Ian nor I have a very good sense of exaaaactly where things are, so it was a lot of "Um, I think it's this way, let's just head up this massive hill to see if this might be the way." I think Kayla was wishing for someone with a little better sense of where they were going, or at least someone who owned a map! But what better way to explore than to get totally lost and find your own way to the hot spots? Well that's what we did, with our first hike over Union street (with a slight detour up Green) and into North Beach then Chinatown. Like the hat? Some of the food for sale on the street.
Mmmmm....dried shrimp anyone?
Me and Kayla
Ian and Kayla.
Ian just blends right in, doesn't he?
Kayla in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. In the summer it's really foggy up there, so you have to imagine it as orange.
We took a cable car up California street.
And walked all the way to the Palace of Fine Arts! By the end of the day we were exhausted, but we definitely walked the whole city!