postgraduationhaze

I haven't been following the immigration debate in the US as much as I should but skimming the stories today I have one question: if the House bill would make illegal immigrants felons, that would presumably place them in jail, where our tax dollars would be essentially taking care of them...so its more beneficial for the US economy, aside from how much these illegal workers do for it to begin with, to arrest them and place them in jail where not only will they not be working and paying taxes but will be eating up more tax dollars?

Stupid. Also, limiting when a doctor can care for someone be/c of their immigration status is absurd and ineffective if the goal is to curb illegal immigration. We already bus the uninsured to County hospitals where the care is usually sub par...so what, if immigrants think that they can't get medical care (which is pretty much impossible anyway without insurance), then they won't immigrate to the US? I'm sorry where is the logic and really the punishment, as many MDs don't care for patients who are in need be/c of the health insurance stranglehold as it is?

I might not be completely clear on the facts of these proposals but if its really as accurate as I have written, our law makers have again shocked me with their inability to craft reasonable, realistic, and practical legislation. I guess to be honest I don't see this as a "crisis" compared to the 100s of other problems we are dealing with, that to me qualify for that "crisis" title a bit more. At times I think that lawmakers and citizens think that if we "just get this immigration issue under control" that its just a sleigh ride into better days for all of us, no matter how unrelated.

Posted by * at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Day Two:

Eduardo and I slept until about eleven o'clock, UK time. It was amazing how good that night of sleep felt. We met his friend Mattias over by the London Bridge (although at this point I am not 100% certain that was the bridge we were at since later on it was argued that it was/wasn't the London Bridge...)? Anyway. We got pictures. This actually was the second day of the dinosaur photos...I brought two toy dinosaurs with me, small enough to fit in my hand. Pesos is the latest addition -one of my birthday gifts from Eduardo. He's green and eery feeling - sorta fleshy. I love him though. Then there's Little Foot (I just named him that, he was just the "other dino" up until this point). Little Foot is a small plush who was given to me the day of the LSAT by Jliz - he has one little foot which is shorter than all the others, so when you stand him up, he appears to be walking. I love it. I brought them overseas with me and took photos of them alone by London landmarks...and that day, it was London bridge (maybe...?). The weather was amazing that day - as it was the day we arrived - sunny and breezy and not as cold as Chicago...I had thought London would be all fog and rain and what not but most of the days were quite pleasant - so we walked around, and I took some photos of the traditional London phone booths. After we took the underground to Spitalfield Market - which was really nice - a little less vintage than I had thought but other than that, it was a blast. So many vendors and I was surprised at how the quality of the goods was higher than, say, most flea markets here in the States (well at least that i have been to anyway). Yet by then it was getting late (since again, we slept until 11) and clouded over, so we stopped at Oxford Street and then over to Leicester Square where we proceeded to then have the dirtiest meal I have ever paid for in...China Town. I haven't been to any China Towns in the US but all I have to say is "Bird Flu." I swear, if people wonder where it's hiding, its in the China Towns across the world. Poultry just HUNG by their necks, like half dead, in these like "restaurants." Yuck. I suffered through a plate of noodles which were made with, no doubt, something meat related, on behalf of Eduardo's friend Jan who I didn't wish to offend with my otherwise normal, blatant, "no f-ing way am I eating here" demeanor. He was playing host and I didn't want to be rude...plus he was like enjoying it, an emotion neither Eduardo or I shared. So you can imagine our surprise when we left China Town and went back to the Chelsea area and found...a grocery store!! No joke. I bought microwavable rice with spring onions and chocolate topped cupcakes - Eduardo was enamored by the Jaffa cake, cookie shaped orange flavored cakes, also covered in chocolate. He loved them. I think I even remember him walking up at 2am and hearing the rustling of the Jaffa cake wrappers, and then found the package half eaten on his bedside table the next morning. ...Santa?

I suppose that, really, none of the days in which I was in London involved that much, but it was really great to just hang around London without agenda - it made me feel more like a resident and less of a tourist; no rush, no itinerary.

Posted by * at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

I can't believe i haven't blogged about this sooner but no time like the present...okay, as we all should know, I enjoy watching TV, shamelessly. When the likes of Ira Glass professes his enjoyment of shows like, oh I don't know, The OC and America's Next Top Model, I think that we can all breathe a sigh of relief that our secret TV lives can now go public...I used to think watching TV wasn't at all good seeing as it involves nothing other than watching something that really bears no accolades or praise in the high art way that film, literature, and music do, but to hell with it. Anyway, my latest fascination is none other than the TV/Reality show on MTV called....8th and Ocean. Seriously do not stop reading be/c this show is freaking amazing and hysterical - i suppose I watch it be/c I am hooked and addicted the way I am to the OC but this show is so freaking funny, really be/c it takes itself so seriously and thats always humerous when the subject matter is of like 8 m models trying to "make it" in South Beach - South BEACH!...lol.

Britt, this model from like Kansas shows up. She's a brunette and I personally don't really get the model vibe from her - and really, anyone who reads anything about fashion and the models that work it know that its that sorta cupie doll, wide eyed, sorta weird pretty that models are sporting nowadays and Britt is like...well, not any of that (maybe wide eyed. She has large eyes). The kicker is that she is like wayyyyy Christian and brought this other model, Sabrina, to this "Models for Christ" thing at this church. I am not shitting you. This really happened. And she gave this like testimonial about why, esps as a model, your relationship with Jesus is so important...and she actually said that Jesus is her husband. The best part was that Sabrina, her "friend" (total Mean Girls atmosphs in this flat), like started to laugh, honestly be/c I think she thought she was kidding but when she realized that like, tears were falling from Britts eyes (be/c who wouldn't cry at a "Models for Christ" meeting?), she had to stifle it and that is always funny to watch. She looked like she was going to choke.

Sabrina is the twin of Kelly and they're both like, well, pretty but total commerical. I do not see haute couture modeling coming from like any of these models but these two could be the freaking DoubleMint twins. Currently Sabrina is dealing with a case of acne that has propelled so much drama its unreal, i.e. the agency she works for (also quite a piece of work which I will get to later) told her she can't go on any more casting be/c she is not representing herself nor the agency well at all with those zits! BUT Sabrina WENT ANYWAY. Honestly the way the bookers at the agency reacted AND how uber emotional Sabrina got (and like how disgusted her twin Kelly got at Sabrina for getting upset and just "not getting" that Sabrina is the "ugly twin" and Kelly is the "pretty twin" - even though they are straight up identical - had me rolling on the floor). Must be the emo music and the up close shots of the models pondering this Acne crisis....its just like this show has these never ending issues with things that NO ONE EVER CARES ABOUT, collectively or individually. I am so hooked its embararssing.

Then there's the guy models - part of an episode had to deal with this one model, his name is something stupid like "vinci" (proncounced like "vince but with a y, not like Da Vinci), who is really "popular" with clients, but not respectful or more importantly, not punctual or reliable at all...MTV is genius with it - they show one booker like screaming be/c she can "NEVER GET AHOLD OF VINCEEEE." and then immediately cut to - what else? Vinceee in a hot tub with a bunch of bikini clad girls, drinking beer out of plastic cups - be/c what ELSE does a male model do when not modeling besides hot tubbing with the honeys? Seriously. This guy has such a low IQ that you can't even estimate it - you say its rock bottom but then he does something and you say to yourself "nope, lower that I thought."

Then there's the agency madam - honestly, she's like a botoxed, mystic tanned, anorexic Cruella Deville. Listening to her wax on and on about the models is amazing be/c you can tell she doesn't really care that much but has to pretend to be/c shes on TV and she doesn't pretend that well, like, its so OBVIOUS that she doesn't care its funny. Sighs. The best is when she makes the models cry - not be/c she's making them cry but be/c you see how really freaking mean she is be/c she makes people cry all day and doesn't care. Plus her name is like on the side of the building that they always show like she's freaking Anna Wintour or something.

I love this show be/c it makes me feel secure in how I view these type of models (models like Kate Moss and Daria Werbowy are different, they are I think maybe be/c they're foreign. Anyway.) and that they are just bottom feeders in the fashion world. I like knowing that these people really are as shallow and incredibly unintelligent be/c they have commercial good looks and probably never had to try hard. Where did they find these people?!!!!! Honestly. They must make them in a lab and shuttle them out every new season a new reality show idea comes to surface be/c this is even more dumb than Laguna Beach and THAT SHOW...? But I watch it so that makes me one of the senseless millions that perpetuate these shows...but hopefully you see that I watch it more for comic value than, say, good dramatic TV.

Posted by * at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

Day One:

Eduardo and I arrived in the UK after what can only be described as a fitful night of sort of sleep - I literally woke up with my legs over my head, slammed up against the side of the window, half lying on him and I am sure drooling. Pretty picture isn't it?

I didn't realize it then, but as we dutifully walked off the plane, we stood in what would end up being the first of many airport related queues. I am not sure how many of you have seen the movie "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" (I highly recommend it) but there is a line which sums up the British mentality to waiting in lines "I'm British...I know how to queue." Indeed they do, patiently and well mannered as they are in every aspect it seems. I was not so patient and embodied an inpatient American probably a bit more than I would have liked but we had to wait for shuttle buses to take us to the terminal to go through customs, exchange our pitiful US dollars for the mighty UK sterling pound, and then get our luggage only to board another bus to take us to the Underground stop second closest to the Heathrow Terminal 4 stop which was out of service...and it was like 10:00 am UK time, but it felt like 4:00 AM Chicago time, running on little to no sleep. But I kept reminding myself that I was in England and as much as I wanted to, it didn't really kick in until after I got off the underground at the South Kensington stop. Airports are airports despite the ever changing accents (which I grew fast accustomed to while on the British Airways flight).

Mattias, Eduardo's friend from Mexico City, met us at the stop looking oh so Euro. Prada tennis shoes. Gucci sunglasses, belt, the whole deal. Sorta slicked, product laden hair and like tapered, a la tight jeans? I can't remember. Maybe even a plaid scarf, who knows. We got to his apartment and after a long shower (excellent water pressure and temperature) and a change of clothes, I felt better and more "Euro ready." We met up with another one of Eduardo's friends from Mexico City, Jan, at Notting Hill and went down the Portobello Street Market and I really loved it - all of it. So communal and jovial and...safe. It was great. We bummed around the rest of the day, went to Harrods, which really is an amazing place. They sell everything - including pets, produce, and home appliances, and amazing pastries...it required me to eat Croissant (one of like 1000 I ate while overseas) and buy these marshmallow kabobs off the Harrods Marshmallow "cart" and I swear, nothing ever tasted as amazing.

...Although I did tend to fall asleep whenever I was sitting down (and drooled I think), that whole exhaustion phase made me re-think how I ever pulled all-nighters back in college - the most memorable being after an April fools Leader deadline, where I then proceeded to drive down to ISU to see Erick and then go to a Zwan/QOTSA concert and then I think eat pizza...the tail end is a tad fuzzy. I suppose as I have gotten older (three years makes all the difference...and crossing the Atlantic) my sleepless strength has waned. Law school presents a challenge.

I don't remember much else from that first day other than that I was really happy to get away from the States and away from the office (even though I heard via gossip that some co-workers protested my vacations asking why I "needed one" because you know, I don't have kids or don't work hard or whatever)....but now that I am back after a week of refreshing Euro lifestyle, I don't feel as upset by that comment...but who knows how long that will last.

Posted by * at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

i adore this actress.

Posted by * at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

The "Magna Carta: 1, Cherie and Eduardo: 0 " Entry
Date: 27 March 2006
Climate: British.
Eating: Pretzel rods with peanut butter
Drinking: water
Feeling: tired.
Listening to: Everytime We Say Goodbye; Ella Fitzgerald Best Of Series
Watching: Big Love.
Reading: Chicago Tribune

Alas, I have returned to the States, equipped with marshmallow kabobs from Harrods (clearly for myself as I apparently have the palette of a five year old, at 2 pounds, 25 pence/each), about a dozen crunchie bars (six for me, six for Julie, price varied per vendor), one tin of loose leaf tea from Harrods for Lindsay J. (About 10 pounds, but the tin makes it worth it), Harrods coffee and chocolates for my parents (totalling about 15 pounds), and a bag of flying saucer candy for my brother (25 pence at Portobello Market), an amazing jacket I found after an hour of digging around at TopShop (55 pounds, the priciest item bought for myself by far), and finally, a gorgeous shirt dress I found at Zara's in Birmingham (35 pounds, total steal). I should mention that the British pound completely kicks the US dollar's ass - for every dollar, you get 50 pounds. Sucked and I felt poor but able to, clearly, eat well for the duration of my trip...always the first goal really.

I am understandably completely swamped at work and will write longer more detailed and hopefully more humerous entry later tonight...which will be posted soon, as well as a some pictures.

ps_ the entry title refers to the not one but two institutions Eduardo and I searched to find the elusive Magna Carta...it however is not being displayed until the 19th of April at the British Library. Drats, although, a reason to go back, one reason among many.

pps_ V for Vendetta was freaking amazing - although edited from the book, good in its own right, minus the wavering British accent that Natalie Portman showcased.

Posted by * at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments