Because, deep down, we all just want to hear about ourselves.

If you comment on this post...
1. I’ll respond with something random about you.
2. I’ll challenge you to try something.
3. I’ll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I’ll tell you something I like about you.
5. I’ll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I’ll tell you what animal,vegetable or mineral you remind me of.
7. I’ll ask you something I’ve always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on yours.

BK, how dare you?

While finally digging through the virtual pile of email I've had sitting in my Inbox since June, I came across a post from BK from June 14th, a comment on my "To Complemint or Criticize?" I recalled that I have been meaning to thank/reprimand him for commenting on my blog. So, please excuse the public nature of this private letter.

Dear BK,

THANK YOU, because I have been wondering what happened to you, how you are, and where you are. We need to catch up, I miss you!

HOW DARE YOU, because when you comment on Blogger, it doesn't give an email address, much less a phone number. So how am I supposed to get in touch- you are such a tease!

So now we are in a bind, because neither of us want to post our contact info due to the far too accessible nature of blogs.

I'll leave it at this- figure out how to get in touch with me.

Here are some selected suggestions:
a) Put a comment with some way for me to contact you in it, and I will recieve it, but not actually send it to get posted on the blog, because I can do that.
b) Ask DA, she has my email address.
c) Figure it out!

I await your timely response...

Sincerely,
C de C

3 am Post

I guess every blog needs one now and again. Most people probably start blogs at 3 am, in a bout of insomnia, when they have recieved no new emails, instant messages, Skype voicemails or Facebook wall posts since they went to sleep.

It's true, I haven't been getting to bed much before 2 am in the last 5 days, but the thing is, I actually WAS asleep, and then I woke up again. And this time I really do have to get up for work tomorrow morning, so I'm particularly annoyed.

I used to be a freakishly heavy sleeper. I once fell asleep with eight people in my dorm room, none of them trying in any way to be quiet. Any plane, train or automobile in any bizarre position was no problem for me. I could handle any friend's couch, or floor, or car! What's happening?? Am I losing my knack?

And life is pretty darn sweet lately, so it's not stress-related. I was feeling a post coming on about how grateful I am- for my job, my friends here and elsewhere, my family, my past accomplisments and my future possiblities; my ability to enjoy the present. I'm the least stressed out I've been since 6th grade, and I guess also the most well-rested...

The thing is, now that I'm up, I almost don't want to go back to sleep. It's the only time I've been awake in my house without sweating since I've returned "home."

¡Buenas noches!

Apple Addict

I got a new computer! A MacBook Pro, to be specific. Well, to give credit where credit's due, my mom and step-dad gave me a new computer, in a stint of oh-so-much generosity. And today it wouldn't start up. So I promptly spent almost the entire day working on getting it going again. The process involved a lot of waiting, during which I watched 3 or 4 Sex and the City episodes, so excuse me if this reads a little more cliche than usual.

It's amazing how dependent we have become on our computers. I felt today (and I think I'm not alone on this, or at least that's what the Apple Care lady led me to believe) that I couldn't do anything else until I got my computer back to normal. Actually it's only in Safe Mode now, I'm still working on the problem, so I haven't completely let go of all the anxiety. In thinking about this, I realized the insane extent to which this reaches.

I often check my email right after I walk in the door. My computer has my Skype, which is the closest thing I have to a real phone in my life right now. I have a journal online, I pay my bills online, I read the newspaper online, I find out about music and art and books online, I chat with friends, see their pictures, buy plane tickets, keep track of events online, on and on. Could this be... addictive behavior? (That's the moment the camera zooms in on the blue computer monitor, for all you S and the C watchers, by the way.)

I actually enjoyed the trouble-shooting process. Apple has good taste in music, and after 15 minutes of one guy telling you you are an important guest and will be attended to shortly, they switch it up and have a different lady jump in. The two different people I worked with were especially nice and helpful. But more importantly, it's a satisfying problem-solving process. You follow simple directions, read numbers aloud, press certain combinations of buttons, wait an already figured amount of minutes and then see the phrase they told you you'd see in the box they told you you'd see it in. And then there you go, problem-fixed. Follow the steps precisely and you are rewarded accordingly. No decision-making, risk-taking, or goal-setting; no over-analyzing or beating around the bush. No difficult conversations in which you must worry about timing and phrasing. No feelings hurt. No vulnerability or sticking your foot in your mouth. No personality conflict. No rejection.

It reminds me of when I was 10 or 11 and I loved filling out those Random House "You could win 1,000,000,000 dollars!" pamphlets. Follow all the directions correctly in the right order, and you never know! It's satisfying in a simple but ultimately superficial way. And I think that's why we all get so into computers, they feel clean-cut and straight-forward, in the midst of our inevitably messy lives.

P.S. It's great to be back "home", I swear! More on that later!

The 4 M´s

I can´t quite begin to summarize this insane trip, so I won´t attempt. Sorry for my neglect along the way.

In a few hours we do the Verdi Requiem with Placido Domingo conducting. It is sure to be an unforgettable experience. I am playing assistant, which means I don´t have to play much, but get to sit in the exact middle of the stage, right in front of the singers. I plan to just soak it up.

The tour has been one of a kind, I have a lot of reflecting to do about it when I get some space. Hopefully will be talking with many of you about much of it. But right now I am triple homesick- for the comfort of Minnesota, the college-style life of Madison, and my current home of Mexico. And I´m stuck in Munich (have I mentioned I´m toying with the idea of moving to German next?).

Be back soon!