Women kissing each other in Grey’s anatomy

So now that we got a couple of gay soldiers kissing each other on a prior Grey’s anatomy episode, it is now the turn of the ladies. Still, why this stereotype that heterosexual man love watching two women kiss? Is it something about being “big” enough to handle two women? Go Dr. Hahn! Go Dr. Torres.

What next? Maybe move Seattle Grace Memorial hospital to California?

 

How did she become a nurse…and other tidbits

Because of my upcoming travel plan, I went to my doctor’s office yesterday to get a couple of vaccine injections. One is for Yellow fever because it was advisable for the area where I’ll be travelling. So, I got this Yellow vaccination card. Anyway, I read the information in the card and it showed that the vaccine is valid from 21 May, 2008 to 12 May, 2008. Huh, what kind of nurse did I get? First, she forwards the date of the injection and then says that my vaccination has already expired? Thankfully, I read the card before leaving the office and had it corrected. Now, let’s see how light I can pack for this trip. I promised myself to only have carry-on luggage.

….and other tidbits

Sophie underwent the ultrasound procedure this afternoon. Everything is fine. Although she has a larger spleen, the specialist did not find anything abnormal. So, we are happy. I told my partner that Sophie has become his Fiat (although, in reality she is my Fiat since I paid for the expensive exam). Fiat? Well, you see, a long time ago I had this beautiful Italian red Fiat Spider. It was kind of rare because it had a turbocharger (1981 being the only year that you could purchase a Spider with a turbocharger in the U.S.). The ongoing joke during that time was that I spent about $500 per mile driven on that car. That car never broke but I was always trying to keep one step ahead of expensive breakdowns. The worst part was that because the turbocharger was a one time option, parts for it were hard to get. I fondly remember trying to find an exhaust manifold for that car. Well, Sophie is not a car. She is not a dog, either. She is now family.

What happened to the Fiat, you may ask. Well, I sold it to a German tourist. He shipped the car to Germany in a container. It was during one of those periods when the Dollar was weak. I still have, though, the factory manual…if anyone is interested.

Disturbing newsvideo from the Dominican Republic

The following is a video that kind of hit my gut. Basically, it is a news report of the arrest of three guys after a failed robbery at a corner store. From what I gather, these guys faced a lynch mob before the police came. What happened after this video is more disturbing. After the police took them, they were all found dead thereafter. I have fond memories of the Dominican Republic. Yes, it is a very poor country and a bit rough at the hedges, but its government seems to work. As much as I heard about the police department over there, this is the first time that I watched news about “removal” of undesirables. I do hear stories like these from poorer areas in Brazil, but not from the Dominican Republic.

Sophie’s place

I don’t know what will happen to Sophie dog during the upcoming weeks. Part of me feels sad that after only one year with us, Sophie may be undergoing a radical change in her life. I am not a religious person but I pray that whatever image is being shown on the X ray, it is only something benign. However, even if it is benign, an operation may be advised for removing her spleen. From the little research that I have done, the spleen holds lots of blood. So, if something is wrong with it already, there is a chance that it may rupture in the future. It seems that most veterinarians encourage its removal in order to avoid a future emergency. In the meantime, the construction of Sophie’s place keeps trucking along. As the following pictures show, it seems to be a solid foundation.

 

I can’t believe the statistics, all it takes is a gay kiss to get viewers?

So, out of nowhere the readership of this blog jumps sky high. The culprit of all this is the link to the YouTube video of the gay kiss in Grey’s Anatomy. I guess sex works. Maybe I should plaster my stories with the words “gay kiss,” “gay sex,” “gay orgy.” Huh, better not, I am after all, quite a prude.

Now, for other comments…Why do we want so little from them?

There is a scene in Felice Picano’s novel “Men who loved me” in which a famous fictitious Italian movie director commented about his encounter with young Americans in Italy. In the words of that character, he was puzzle as to why Americans want so little from Italians, and Italians wreck their minds to wonder why that was. This scene was set in the 1960s. However, substitute the word “Italian” with “European” and you may still get the same view today from a majority of Americans.

Ok, what is the reason that I wrote about this line in the Felice Picano novel? Well, I have been annoyed at the negative comments that my continental friend has been posting in his blog lately. It seems that he cannot stop himself from making negative remarks about Americans, whatever other subject matter that he was writing at that moment. If he thinks that I wasn’t hurt by his writings, then I don’t know what kingdom he comes from. I wish I could reply in kind, and I tried. But, you see, I have little to say about that continent of his. That is, as hard as I try, I have not much interest on what goes over there. In a sense, I have become a similar “American” as that one described in the novel.

It seems that I have changed a lot since my childhood years. I remember that during my high school years, European history was my favorite subject. After all, having spent my childhood in a country where the elite look at “going to the Madre patria” as the ultimate vacation, I also viewed that continent in awe. But times have changed. Maybe that is due to the great American cultural tsunami.

Don Quixote in American Politics

Now that the contest for the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party is, for all practical purposes, over, it amazes me that Senator Clinton still marches on. Even worse, she is playing the race card, claiming that only she can win the members of the White working class. Excuse me? Since when has this group been loyal to the Democratic Party? They are basically swing voters who straddle the right frank of the Democratic Party and the cultural frank of the Republican Party. I don’t know what Senator Clinton is thinking. Is she saying that she does not care about the core members of the Democratic Party?

By trying to divide the Democratic Party, Senator Clinton is basically saying that if she does not win, then better let the Republicans win. I have told my partner that I am quite disillusioned with the Clintons now. It seems that for all their talk, they are the same as other political insiders; they want to further their space in history even at the detriment of the country. Don Quixote, albeit delusional, was at least trying to fight a good cause. In this instance, Senator Clinton, is trying to just divide everyone.

Gay soldiers kissing on Grey’s Anatomy

As some of you know, I am not a sentimentalist when it comes to movies or TV shows with gay love themes. I have yet to watch Bareback Mountain, eh Brokeback Mountain. I don’t really care watching sentimental movies with tragic ends…and with a few exceptions, most gay love-themed movies made by “mainstream” media end up in tragedies. So, I was surprised last night when I watched one of my favorite TV shows, Grey’s Anatomy, and out of nowhere I see a passionate kiss between two soldiers. Huh, notwithstanding my opposition to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, there is something erotic about a prohibited kiss.

Online pleading (or begging)

As my friends know, I have been travelling to countries that are not as economically advanced as those countries that claim to be the pinnacle of civilization (though I am amazed at the reasons they give to disallow admission to another country just because its population is “different” (see here).  But I digress. What I want to say today is the phenomenon of online appeals for money by young guys from, supposedly, impoverished backgrounds.

 I am sure that most of us subscribe to websites that allow personal ads. Well, I usually put an ad to announce an upcoming visit. Generally, I get good results. Friendships have been formed and, rather than arriving as a stranger, I arrive knowing there is someone with whom I can chat about their culture.

 However, those ads also attract a group of people who are seeking monetary help. He usually approach you nicely, giving you warm and welcoming you to his country. Once you start an online intereaction, conversations change slowly. What is the most common used topic? That somehow he has been robbed and is now without this and that. That somehow he is without parents. That somehow he is barely surviving. While the stories may be true, I am certainly not his savior. It is not that I am cold hearted. As my friends know, I have done my share of foreign aid. But I also have my own budget to attend to. Otherwise, who is going to help me?

 On that note, to my friends who are seeking advancement in this world, I leave you with the lyrics of a Spanish song sung by the Puerto Rican singer Hector Ravoe. It is titled “El Dia de mi Suerte:”

 Pronto llegará,
El día de mi suerte
Sé que antes de mi muerte
Seguro que mi suerte cambiará

Cuando niño mi mamá se murió
Solito con el viejo me dejó
Me dijo sólo nunca quedarás
Porque el no esperaba una enfermedad.
A los diez años papá se murió
Se fue con mamá para el más allá
Y la gente decían al verme llorar
No llores nene que tu suerte cambiará
Y ¿cuándo será?

Esperando mi suerte quedé yo
Pero mi vida otro rumbo cogió
Sobreviviendo en una realidad
De la cual yo no podía ni escapar.
Para comer hay que buscarse el real
Aunque se una regla sociedad
A la cárcel te escribe mi amistad
No te apures que tu suerte cambiará
Oye verás.

Ahora me encuentro aquí en mi soledad
Pensando qué de mi vida será
No tengo sitio dónde regresar
Y tampoco a nadie quiero ocupar.
Si el destino me vuelve a traicionar
Te juro que no puedo fracasar
Estoy cansado de tanto esperar
Y estoy seguro que mi suerte cambiará
Y ¿cuándo será?

Sufrí la parte de mi vida ya
Sin un complejo de inferioridad
Por eso no me canso de esperar
Pues un día Dios a mi me ayudará.
Y el día que eso suceda escuche usted
A todo el mundo yo le ayudaré
Porque tarde o temprano usted verá
Cómo el día de mi suerte llegará
Y ya lo verá.

Muchas veces me pongo a contemplar
Que yo nunca a nadie le he hecho mal
Por qué la vida así me ha de tratar
Si lo que busco es la felicidad.
Trato de complacer la humanidad
Pero mi dicha aqui ha sido fatal
No pierdo la esperanza de luchar
Y seguro que mi suerte cambiará
Pero ¿cuándo será?

Esperando la vida he de pasar
Este martirio no podré aguantar
Y pregunto hasta cuando durará
Tal vez si lo podré sobrellevar
Si el destino me vuelve a traicionar
Te juro que no puedo fracasar
Estoy cansado de tanto esperar
Y estoy seguro que mi suerte cambiara
Pero ¿cuando será?

 

Sophie is sick

Sophie came back from the veterinarian yesterday and we may have to make some tough decisions during the upcoming weeks. She has not been feeling well for a few days, was eating grass, and diarrhea conditions. The report from the vet is that she is in the early stages of a pancreatic inflamation. It seems that we caught the inflammation on time and after a round of antibiotics, she will not have a recurring issue with her pancreas. However, the vet also noted that the x rays showed an enlarged spleen. He does not know whether it is cancerous or not. So, Sophie has to return next week for an ultrasound. If it is cancerous, then she may need surgery to remove the spleen.

My partner and I discussed how things have changed in the veterinarian field, and for that matter, the attention given to our pets. I remember that when I was growing up as a semi-farm boy, my pet dogs did not have this constant care that Sophie has today. They ate whatever meal of leftovers that my mother prepared. Nowadays, Sophie goes through different dietary supplements. We switch between commercially prepared food and our uniquely prepared food. Does that mean that Sophie is more attentive than my childhood’s farm dogs? I don’t think so. It is just that we have changed and dogs are taking advantage of it…as usual.

The ultimate American status symbol

Since my friend on the continental homeland keeps complaining about how things are done here, my partner and I decided to construct the ultimate symbol of our American way of life. No, it is not a quad garage to keep our bulging gas-guzzler fleet of carbon creating metallic symbols. No, it is not a 1,000 gallon “John Denver” storage petrol tank that may be used for future petrol crisis. It is….

Get ready…

A six foot by six feet house for our dog Sophie. The foundation is being laid right now. The parts and the thousand pages instruction booklet have arrived from the bedrock of American patriotism - North Carolina (and not one part from that Middle Kingdom country). All we need now is to hire a couple of guys (the North American version of Turks) to finish the whole project. Sophie is right now gazing over the construction site. Once the whole little château is constructed, we’ll be decorating it with a television so that she can watch endless reruns of this show.