Do play with food, please

I just discovered my new favourite website thanks to Jocelyn who posted it on Facebook. I always have had a fascination with creativity and food. This page makes my dreams come true. Take a look at some samples. Or go to this website cutestfood.com

lost in LOST

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SPOILER ALERT!!
SPOILER ALERT!!
SPOILER ALERT!!
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What a catch-phrase to hear from people who used to watch LOST the first couple seasons but then stopped because they just couldn't understand the show. But for someone who has been watching LOST since episode 1 of season 1, I can still say that phrase after watching the (unfortunetly) show finale. After 6 years, I feel a little disappointed about the ending of the show, and felt like I have lost 6 years of my life watching the show (no pun intended). LOST is known for not giving answers and keeping the mystery of the island. This is my summary of the 6 seaons:

Season 1: we crashed on an island
Season 2: we're still on the island, we also discovered a hatch
Season 3: we're still on the island, there are other people on the island
Season 4: we left the island, wait, now we have to go back
Season 5: time travelling wtf?!
Season 6: we all died

It's been a very long journey, from plane crash, polar bears, pressing numbers over and over again, mysterious places on the island, an evil black smoke, people dieing, people who appeared out of nowhere, magic potions, weird statues, time travelling, food that came out of nowhere, the Dharma logo appearing everywhere, lots of explosions, frozen turning wheel, a mysterious hatch, a light source inside a cave, electromagnetism, dieing, and crazy people. Sounds like a messed up longass dream from a person on crack, doesn't it? It has always been about binaries in life: life vs. death, choice vs. free will, good vs. bad, science vs. faith.

For me, the show left me with more questions than answers. I had the hopes that this season they would answer all the questions from past seasons. Even thought the major questions were answered, like why were they on the island? who was Jacob? what makes the island so special? etc. This bugged me because promos promised time for answers, when really, I wasn't very satisfied with the answers, nor the ending. The ending for me was rather emotional than rational. I was obviously looking for the rational part. That was why I hated the ending because there were not enough action nor mystery solving. Like, why is Ben not in the church? why Jack didn't recite the spell before giving the water to Hurley to drink? did Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Miles die? Why was Christian Sheppard in the church? Why is Penny there? Did MIB really die, even though he wasn't pushed to the ocean off the island? What if the mother and Jacob were wrong? Why couldn't MIB leave the island? Couple of my other questions can be found here.

However, on the other side, I liked the emotional part of the ending, seeing all the couples and everybody reunited once again. It is kinda nice what Christian said, that no one dies alone, we all need them as much as they need us. It was cute the image when Jack is dieing and the dog Vincent (how the hell he lived for so long?) laid down next to Jack so he doesn't die alone. I think it was beautifully composed for an ending (maybe after they explained everything I needed). The background son, the slow-motion, seeing everybody from first season which brings memories, all the couple resunited, the light in the end....And the last scene where Jack sees the airplane up in the sky (because he promised them to get them out of the island), and then he closes his eyes (as opposed to the first scene where he opens his eyes), seems to be a fitting closure for the show. End what it started. Very touching, it made me cry a little.

So I guess the finale could go both ways for people. Seems like believers (like the catch phrase "I wish you could believe me") were happy with the ending; whereas science peeople are still looking for answers to the questions. But I guess part of the show is to leave mysteries open to public and have them make their own meaning of it. Since life after all, doesn't provide all the answers about the mystery of life; we just need to realize how important people around us are.

thisisthelongesttitleinmyblogever

Few fun facts, bought to you by your friend: Wikipedia

The longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Means: inhalation of silica particles from a volcano.

Longest most commonly used word: Antidisestablishmentarianism

The longest officially recognized place name in an English-speaking country:
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
(a hill in New Zealand)

The longest name place in Canada:
Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde
located in Ontario

The longest place name in the United States:
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
(a lake in Massachussetts)

The longest word in Spanish language:
superextraordinarísimamente OR
electroencefalografistas

The longest word in German language:
Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft (ship name) OR
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.

The longest word in Greek Language:
λοπαδο­τεμαχο­σελαχο­γαλεο­κρανιο­λειψανο­δριμ­υπο­τριμματο­σιλφιο­καραβο­μελιτο­κατακεχυ­μενο­κιχλ­επι­κοσσυφο­φαττο­περιστερ­αλεκτρυον­οπτο­κεφαλλιο­κιγκλο­πελειο­λαγῳο­σιραιο­βαφη­τραγανο­πτερύγων.

Volcano that erupted in Iceland: Eyjafjallajokul (prize will be given for the first person that can pronounce this right)

These are all useless fact. But it's cool looking that up.

Portfolio? What portfolio?

Just in case you don't know, my future plan is to get into an advertising agency in Toronto, and to be specific I want to be an arts director / creative director.

A problem I have encountered, which also applies to some people I know, is that in the hiring process they require a portfolio. Now, what the heck is a portfolio? What does it look like? What do I put in there? I dont' know if I did well research on Internet, but I have rarely came across any creative director portfolio. Yes, there are plenty of websites of them showing off their work, but how does a physical portfolio looks like? Adveritisng people have been telling me that a portfolio is almost a requirement, yet they don't tell me what it's supposed to look like. How am I supposed to start building one if I don't have anything to compare it with?

Another problem, beside NOT knowing what a portfolio looks like, is what kind of material I can put in. You see, at York they don't teach you how to build a portfolio, nor they give you an assignment to design an advertisement. All I do at York is read about communication theories and write extensive essays about them. But how am I supposed to gain experience?

Thank goodness that becoming a VP Communications for McLaughlin last year, it was probably one of the wisest decisions I have made to start my future. If it wasn't because I was VP Communications, I would have no experience building websites, or designing flyers/posters to put around campus. I wouldn't know where else to grab that opportunity.

A lot of these kind of jobs require past experience doing similar stuff, but how am I going to get experience if nobody hires me to do that kind of job?! How am I supposed to learn how to operate Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash, Java, etc? I have to do it all by myself. I taught myself how to use photoshop, and now I'm teaching myself how to use InDesign. I also had to take an elective course that taught me about the basics of HTML and CSS. Another good decision. Ugh, Communications at York isn't as useful as I thought it was gonna be. I should have applied to a college in the first place, maybe I would have gained more experience.

One of my friends applied to the Creative Advertising program at Humber, and they required a portfolio. Of course she didn't have a portfolio because nothing she did at York required her to make any kind of that work.

How do advertising people expect me to have super amazing 10 pieces of work (the just 'ok' ones don't count) before I start the job and right after graduation? This is frustrating >:G

Closest thing I have found on Internet

Time goes by

Time goes by
Where did the time fly by?
Why does time go by so quickly as you grow older?
As our brain gain more memory as we grow, do newer memories make old memories seem like they happened a long time ago?
Does our brain age?
Time has the "toilet roll effect", the closer it gets to an end, the quicker it goes.
Enjoy every minute of life.

From a baby to a lady

Today is mothers' day in Canada. Even though Mother's Day is not until August in Costa Rica, i was not safe from thinking about my mother.

You see, both my dad and my mom struggled a lot, practically since I was born, in order to save enough money for me and my sister to have a good education. Today, both my sister and I are receiving good Canadian education at University of Toronto and York, very well known universities. My mom taught me how to speak, write, walk, cook, clean, and how to face the world. She is always protecting me against everything bad out there in the world. "Don't go out at night", "don't do drugs", "don't have sex and then get pregnant", "don't eat food that contains lots of fat", "don't go to parties, guys might drug you", "don't buy what you don't need", "don't spend money in garbage", don't do this, don't do that..... When I was in my teenage, I never listened to her. I took everything she said as quaaaaackquackquackquack. But today, sometimes I think for myself, I should have listened to my mom. Not that any of those bad things have happened to me, just most of the times, moms are always right. They know what they are saying. They have mother intuition after all.

Growing up with a mom like mine wasn't easy. She is very conservative and strict. Most of the times she doesn't understand what makes me happy and what i want. And when I voice myself over her, she would hit me with a feather duster, umbrella, chop stick, chancleta, ruler....you name it. She always chose my safety over my happiness, so, for example, she wouldn't let me go to a concert, or have guys friends. She was very restrictive, always telling me "don't...". For her, I should go to school, come home do my homework, sleep, repeat. I have no time for socializing, which I considered to be so important. Everything else was a waste of time and money. Therefore, I had from zero to almost none social life. But all she did was to protect me from anything bad that could happen to me.

Yesterday I was talking to Jacob's mom. She was asking me about how I learned to cook. I told her that I learned from my mom, who always makes Chinese food at home. When I was younger I didn't appreciated her cooking or her willing to teach me how to cook. I always said to her, "I don't care. When I am older I will hire a maid to cook for me". Couple years later, when I started University, and living away from home, and eating fast food practically every single day, I never missed mom's home-cooking so much. Ever. And I wished I had learned more how to cook from my mom. Just before I came to university, I rushed my mom to teach me how to cook, so I learned a couple dishes.

It is true when parents say "Trust me, it's for your own good. When you grow older you will understand". Because I never appreciated things they did for me when I was younger, I realize, as I grow old, how everything they say to me is true. Everything my mom warned me about. Everything my mom said. All the (plus extra) protection she gave me. All she did, because she was my mom. She said, "there is no one in the world who is going to love you as much as your parents".

Also, as I grow older, I start to hear about other people's mothers. I am still jealous of friends who have mothers who are their best friends, because me and my mom don't communicate as well. I don't feel like I can tell her anything because she is just going to bash at me of what I did wrong, what I shouldn't have done, what I should have done, etc. No news for me. I even felt jealous of mothers who go to their children's graduation. Their moms taking them everywhere. Their moms having meetings with other moms, because my mother was, I guess, an outcast and anti-social, she never got well with non-chinese moms. I was also telling Jacob how I used to get all embarassed because my mom came out of the house with an umbrella when the school bus drops me and my sister off in front of the house. Others would make fun of me, but in reality, they wished their moms did that because they are busy doing something else. Yes, there are awesome moms out there, like Jocelyn's mom who is Jocelyn's best friend, she is very funny, helpful, trusting, etc. However, there are also bad moms. Bad moms who abandon their children. Bad moms who don't care what their kids do. Bad moms who forget their children's birthday. Bad moms who are always too busy at work to care for their kids. Bad moms who beat the hell out their kids for nothing. Bad moms who do drugs and get drunk. So many bad moms out there, that when i compare my mom to those, my mom makes the perfect mother.

Today, I still can't tell my mom everything I tell to my friends. Her and I still have a lot of differences. Yet, sometimes I tell her stuff I usually don't tell her. Like having fights with a friend, and that I have a boyfriend. My sister is still weirded out why I tell stuff like that to my mom. I guess it will take her a little bit more of time to understand. Ever since I came to canada I feel like I have become more mature, more understanding about my parents' intentions.

I don't thank my mom enough for what she gave me. In my life, there were two people who were always there to make sure I had enough food, enough money, warm enough, safe enough, healthy enough. Those two people I call them Mami and Papi. They did an amazing job raising this baby into a lady today. They don't get this a lot, but Thank you Mami and Papi. I love you.


Mom, dad, me, my younger sister Sonia

Animals do have a soul

Lately I have been overwhelmed by the videos I have seen of animals helping other animals. This shows that animals are not only objects that just stand there and eat food. They do have the capabilities of helping people or other animals. They have feelings. They have morals. Human and animals aren't much different after all. Here are some of the videos.

In this video, a dog is hit by a bus in a highway in Chile, and another dog spots him on the highway and drag him out little by little.


In this other video, a squirrel is killed on the road, and his other squirrel friend prevents him from being eaten by the birds. You can see him chaing them off with his tail, and laying his body on top of the dead squirrel to protect him.


In this other one,

A chimpanzee mother, Vuavua, chases away flies circling the body of her dead infant, Veve, at Bossou, Guinea. She uses her hands and a twig tool (a fly-whisk). Veve died two days previously, of a respiratory disease. Vuavua continued to carry her dead infants body for a total of 19 days after death, during which period the corpse mummified.

Caring for others is the instinct in every human and animal.