Regards, Geegal!

"You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend..."

Back in VA

Pina coladas, steel drums, the sensual Caribbean sun, and nothing for miles but aqua marine sea the temperature of bath water. That's what my parents are leaving me for tomorrow. I will be left in the cold October rain of rural Virginia to work on my thesis proposal which has been nipping at my ass for weeks and must get done. But, all is not bad. Thankfully I will have my three furry companions, Fred, Ginger and Leo, to keep me company. Plus, I am as giddy as a 5 year old school girl about this great person who has come into my life!!!

I will also be able to see this beautiful baby, Aleena, and her mom, my good friend Zehra, this week for a lunch date. This photo was taken when I had just returned from Australia and met Aleena for the first time. She had been born while I was abroad... This baby loves to eat! Me too.

Screwy

Who? Me. I swear I am a clone of Bridget Jones. There is this fantastic person who I really like... a lot. As a result of an extreme lack of self-esteem on my part I made a stupid assumption and blogged it. No harm was meant but, nevertheless, I probably caused some.

I'm SO sorry! Please forgive me for my faults, of which there are many! XOXOXO

38th Parallels

On Friday night I went into the City to see my good friend Terry's show, 38th Parallels, in the East Village. It was a 100 minute multimedia performance of Terry's experiences growing up as a Korean American in Mormon Utah, his various trips to Korea, and his family history. The show touched on everything from racism to his penchant for communist ideology and his activist activity in both the US and Korea.

When I knew Terry, he was a 22 year old Vassar senior who didn't start writing his bachelor's thesis until 2 weeks before it was due. He locked himself in his room of our rented off-campus house for days and didn't emerge until, one day, he staggered downstairs, collapsed in front of my roommate Ursula and threw up on the floor. She immediately rushed him to the hospital. He had simply paddled himself up shit's creek with this thesis and had contracted fever (so to speak).

I am happy to say that this time around Terry was much more successful. 38th Parallels was his thesis performance for his master's program at NYU and he was excellent. Of course, Terry likes to hound me for my "unapologetic bourgeois ways" and, therefore, I find his political sensibilities completely ridiculous and his activism testosterone-fueled 'shizazz'. But, despite those reasons and the fact that I am white and he wants to "kill whitey," we have been great friends for 8 years now and still going strong.

What can I say? I love that communist bastard!

Wicked

Last night my aunt, uncles, cousin Carolyn and I went to Broadway to see Wicked, a retelling of the Wizard of Oz from the witches' point of view. It was, without a doubt, fantastic. If you live in New York or plan to visit you must go see this musical. I cried, that's how good it was.

Movie recommendation for the week: Wag the Dog. It is probably one of the smartest scripts ever written for the big screen.

Per my friend Rudy's top ten list of hottest women: Angelina Jolie. Even straight women would have sex with her.

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

This is a perfect example of a terrible movie that I totally love. Ok, feminism aside, it is complete chick material: simple love story between two attractive youngsters who explore themselves (and each other) through dance. The costumes are beautiful, the location is romantic and the dancing is hot, hot, hot. So is the music. Lead actress Romola Garai is a gorgeous Cate Blanchett look-alike and Diego Luna is one sexy bastard despite his skinny frame and weak upper lip.

Please do not rent this movie if you expect good dialogue, non-stereotypical Latin American representations, great acting, or a "deep story". Havana Nights is none of these things. But, if you want sexy dancing, romance, and cool music, go to blockbuster right now. If you love chick flicks please also rent The Notebook. I cry every time!

Chimaera

Fascinating! It is possible for one person to have two distinct sets of DNA. It is called Chimaerism (after a Greek myth) and it is caused when two fertilized eggs bond in the womb to form one. Usually a chimaera (person with two sets of genetic information) will exhibit physical abnormalities (like hermaphrodism or dual skin pigmentation). However, there are people out there who do not exhibit any abnormality and yet are chimaeras.

I saw a program on this a couple of nights ago on TLC. One woman in Boston needed a kidney transplant and was told after they tested her sons (potential donors), that they could not possibly be her biological children. Their DNA simply did not match hers in any way. It turns out that an individual can have one dominating genetic signature found in their blood, hair, skin, etc. and yet pass a completely different signature on to their children. This finding has dramatic implications regarding forensic science and the assumed infallibility of scientific "proof" in our legal system.