Sometimes you work the weekend...

....and it is not cool. But I had a whole year of weekends off(in England), and now I guess I am back in the rotation. I work this weekend. So I have thursday(tomorrow) and next tuesday off. I will miss my weekend. I foresee very little sleep, since I will have to be up early for work. But caffeine to the rescue!! lol

Sometimes you are bound to get sick...

...everyone around you is sick. So you know you are next. Mari, Geli, and Sophie are all coming down with a cold. Is there any chance I won't?


We shall see!

Sometimes you see the stars...

...and it blows your mind. We were in Austin this weekend, and on the road on the way back, my mind was blown. I don't know why it takes so long for me to get under the stars again. I love it. I don't want to leave. I could literally stay out all night, just looking up.

It wasn't all stars though, this dazzling planetary sight made me stop at a rest stop:

Crescent moon, and Venus. I don't think there is anything more amazing about the sunset than venus impatiently peeking through before the sun is even done leaving.

How is this not beautiful? Venus is a dazzling sight...

Can you tell we were at a rest stop?

Orion was just rising when we stopped the second time. This time, it was to view the mind blowing Milky Way, our very own galaxy. Although in this pic, the light trails from the highway and Orion(lower left) just above it are the attractions.

The Milky Way....it is mind blowing to think how far these stars all are, and that each one of them is a "sun" just very very very far away. And then realize that this is all just one galaxy, amongst billions and billions.

And perhaps my favorite pic of the night...just wow. I love the night sky.

Sometimes you have a vegan thanksgiving dinner..

..and it goes very well. Everyone liked it, including non-vegans! Stuffed seitan roll + mashed potatoes + pasta + stuffing + gravy + dinner rolls + salad + pumpkin cheesecake + apple crumble pie + pecan pie + creamy fruit salad = awesomeness!!

Pics to come, can't process and upload right now since we have a road trip to austin early tomorrow morning

Sometimes you get called an ass...

....by a client. And it was totally uncalled for. I was not even mean to her. This client emailed us, and it looked like this:

To: Help

Subject: Payroll doesn't work!!!!!!!!!

CALL ME ASAP! 

-client

So I called back. They had an attitude to begin with "Took you long enough to call me!" she said. I asked for more information, since well, the email had none. Apparently, this user expected me to not only know what the issue was, but already have it fixed by the time I called, so my probing for information bothered her. After shadowing, it turned out to be that they had signed off on the pay period they were trying to edit. They did this(accidentally, I am sure), and you cannot edit a closed time card. So I let her know why she couldn't edit it, and she proceeded to say that I was telling her "how to do her job" and that I was being an "ass". I promise I wasn't, but apparently, being showed that she made a mistake was too much for her. She then said I was wrong, and when I showed her where her username, date and time of sign off were, she was not pleased to say the least. She accused me of saying she was a liar. She then asked me for my name, and when I told her, she didn't believe me. How can anyone's name be "Jesus", and "what kind of name is that?" she said. So I showed her how to remove the approval, and she was now able to edit her timecards.

And after all that, she had the audacity to call back, ask for a supervisor, and complain about me. She was being totally unprofessional(calling me an ass and making fun of my name do not exactly fall under acceptable workplace behavior), and then called to complain about me fixing her problem...unbelievable.

So yeah, another day at the help desk.  But at least a 4 day weekend!!! w00t!!!

Sometimes there are no words...

...to describe the awesomeness of the APOD. So here it is:





Today, I just worked, then Alex came, so we played some N64 Perfect Dark!!! And we did much better without Mari, she was holding us back in the multi-player challenges!

Sometimes you find a giant lime....

..at the grocery store! Well, not a lime at all, but that is what it looks like to me. It is a Pomelo!!! The largest citrus fruit in the world!

Lime, Orange, Pomelo!

We haven't eaten it yet, but when we do, I will update you on how it tasted.

And we also found something that was totally unexpected, and super awesome...Honeycrisp apples!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had no idea they sold them here in El Paso, but I found them at Sprouts in the west side!

They don't look like much,just normal looking apples. But they are the best apples ever! No contest, these apples have the perfect combination of crisp, sweet, tart, and sweetness. No other apple even comes close. We discovered these in Milwaukee, and all other apples suck now because of these. I will buy more as soon as I can, cuz seriously, these are awesome. I know it is hard to imagine so much excitement about an apple, but you just have to try these, they are the best apples ever, by far!

Sometimes you watch sideways...

..and it makes me want to get into wine. It just seems like there is this whole experience with all sorts of scents, colors, and tastes that I am missing out on. But then I try some wine, and I don't really like it. I see people that are so into it, that I can't help but wonder if I am just doing it wrong lol

Sometimes you eat too much...

...at a stranger's house. Bad manners, I know. But all the food was vegan! And it included tamales de rojo, verge, y rajas! As well as some buñuelo kind of things with sugar, cinnamon, cream, and berries. Some tostadas with avocado sour cream dip, I mean yeah...tons of awesome vegan food. Later, there was a party that made me realize I am getting old. And then Kevo's and Katherine's house where we just YouTube'd the night away...

Sometimes you go to a birthday party...

...for kids. And it is complicated, as a vegan. Geli made Sophie some vegan pizza and a cupcake to take. I am gonna hate birthday parties if I have to do this every time, which, of course we do...

Sometimes people confuse you ...

...for a professional soccer player. I don't see how. But I was jogging today at lunch, and a guy on a bike stopped me and asked me if I played for the Indios(I was wearing the practice jersey). I of course told him I didn't, and he said I looked just like one of the player. He turned out to be our neighbor. We're supposed to play together sometime now...

Sometimes you run...

...with Geli, again. This time Sophie went with us. So we walked to the park, and took turns watching her play and jogging. So as a result, since there was breaks, we jogged more than usual. We will pay with exercise currency tomorrow(also known as soreness)....

Sometimes you jog with Geli...

..and it is cool :) I had never really done that, outside. Started slow, but it was her first day. Soon we'll pick up the pace.

Sometimes you watch In Bruges...

...and it is great. I really like that movie. And it is different having been there already, and recognizing the landmarks and what not. And I know this is really late, but no one is reading these anyway, so I just wanted to say that this makes me realize how much congress sucks, and that I live in a bubble:

Seriously...only 9 sane people in congress?! **sigh**

Sometimes you occupy...

without a permit. I was hoping to partake in some civil disobedience. But they were only going to issue tickets, so I didn't think that would be a loud enough statement. And not till 1am. So I didn't stick around for that...

Sometimes you go to the movies...

...with just Geli, and it is awesome :) Hadn't done that in a while. After that we had some hot chocolate, and watched the rest of freakanomics.

Also, this video is just too awesome. Carl Sagan ftw!

Sometimes you eat grapefruit...

...and are surprised to enjoy it. I usually don't like it. But this one was tasty. Also, got attacked on facebok:

I didn't even know there could be that many notifications(i thought it stopped at 99). And also, saw this and sadly, it is true. Appropriate on Carl Sagan day.

Sometimes you go to UTEP...

..to watch a documentary. I expected it to be in some classroom with a projector on a white wall or something like that. And these guys have a cinema at the union!! The only thing missing was the popcorn. It was a documentary called "This is what democracy looks like". It was pretty cool, interesting for sure. Just kinda saddened me that the corps, the people at the top, always win...this was in 1999. A global movement, very similar to the occupy movement, against globalization, greed, exporting of jobs, for worker rights, against the World Trade Organization...and well, we can see how much that slowed down globalization and corporate greed...

I really hope this movement is better, more effective. Because yeah...that last one didn't work.

Sometimes you start jogging...

...even if just for a little bit. Since it doesn't look like we're gonna get a gym membership(lenses > gym), I need to start doing some regular exercise. I have been completely inactive since coming to EP(minus the occasional futbol match, which only serves to show how out of shape I am), and I need to start doing some exercise regularly. So I went for a quick jog(about 10 minutes lol), just to get started. I need to get in this habit.

I also want to say congrats to Geli for getting her masters! With distiction! w00t!

Sometimes plans go awry...

...and it stresses me out. My parents had told me this week that they would be in Juarez on Sunday. Well they decided not to go, but didn't tell me. So I totally didn't plan on going over to their place. And we move slow in the mornings, very very slow. So not planning it, and then realizing I had to go visit threw the whole day off. So I ended up just going over to their house to hang out, then to Occupy EP. I totally didn't go to Food not Bombs today...not cool.

Sometimes you protest...

..the banks. Then you go to Occupy EP. Then you head home, eat, then go to Juarez. No futbol this time, it was tragic. But there was poker, so that was cool. No line at the bridge, mega cool! Now, home.

Sometimes you play poker at Denny's...

..and it is fun. Geli, Mari, Chris, and I played there for a bit. An odd place to play, we know. People, employees, all seemed surprised. But do we care? No. We wanted fries with ketchup and tabasco and some poker. So we had both....

Sometimes you have some coffee...

...and apparently, it changes me. I do feel more energetic, and talkative. But apparently there's more to it than that. I only have coffee a couple times a week usually, and just to wake me up. So it does alter my energy level significantly. But I didn't think it was a big change in the way I am...but it is according to Geli and Mari.

Also, apparently, I am grouchy :( Although apparently coffee takes that away? So I guess that is good.

Sometimes you are overwhelmed...

...at work. It was brutal today. 3 of us in my team, 1 had the day off, the other had to leave early, so for the last half of the day or so, I was alone. Apparently, it is too much work for just one person. I seriously could not keep up. I was barely closing one or two issues, and there was already 4 more assigned to the financial queue...I totally didn't get to "finish"(as if there was such a thing). I just had time to hit the urgent issues, and "high" priority ones. It was intense...

But after work, went to Occupy EP since Geli and Mari took the bus there to go to the march. Then we caught part of the General Assembly meeting at occupy, then went to go feed the migrant workers, then home, and watched a movie.

Sometimes you want some champurrado...

...even though you always rejected it as a kid. I remember the adults would always have it, and there was always a cart selling it outside of my school in Juarez. I never wanted any. It looked gross. I don't even know what it will taste like. But I really want some now. Not all of it is vegan, so I will need to make some this "winter". I am looking forward to it.

This is because at the occupation today, the Red Fronteriza de Derechos Humanos marched to the Plaza and joined us there. And there was champurrado and pan de muerto for everyone there. I didn't have any, but I wanted some. So I will veganize this and have some soon!