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That Makes Me Worry

Christina Rodriguez — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:08:17 +0100

Sometimes I worry about this country that I live in.

Yesterday I was asked what I identify with, you know, those phrases that make you, you. Well, I said, I’m Latina, first and foremost. Why? Because I’ve been judged as such and I’m a girl that can’t escape from the fact that I come from some exotic type of background, whether people think I’m South American or Asian. I embrace the fact that I speak another language and when people think I was born iRead More...

Speak English. This is America.

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:56:57 +0100

Speak English. This is America.

I have so much beef with this statement, it’s not even funny. First of all, I can speak any language I want BECAUSE I am in this country. Secondly, within the Americas there are thousands of different languages. THOUSANDS. And English does not dominate, although people think it does. Isn’t that something?

Anyway, teaching me Spanish was probably the best thing my father could have done. I say my father for a specific reasonRead More...

Locuras y Aventuras: Penises, New Heights, and Rafting

La Gemita — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:05:18 +0100

This past weekend was definitely one of the best I've experienced in Korea thus far. My sister and I traveled up to Seoul to meet with one of the Discover Korea meetup groups. The event was rafting and bungee jumping. We were a group of 18 that took a small bus to Inje, which is about three hours northeast of Seoul. We met some great people on this trip whom we plan to meet up with in the near future. On this trip, I met a Dominicana from NYC. Her experiences in Korea have been very simiRead More...

The North Coast Music Festival

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:52:26 +0100

I'm excited for this music festival. I really am.

This is the first time that North Coast Music Festival takes place in Chicago and they're bringing in some pretty awesome acts like Moby, the Chemical Brothers, De La Soul , Hey Champ and Lupe Fiasco.

This is really totally geared toward the electronic music fan. It's going to be held in Union Park over the Labor Day weekend and I'm totally stoked to be going.

I'm not going to lie, when I heard of this feRead More...

Validation

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:34:50 +0100

If you have a few minutes, either on your lunch break or at home, take a look at this video which is about 15 minutes long and tell me what you think.

Does it make you feel better? Did this talk to you at all? Leave a comment. :)

Check-in? What's that?

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:59:07 +0100

Oh Foursquare, how you have consumed some people’s lives! Do you find yourself checking into certain spots just so you can be mayor? Using the bathroom in the coffee shop down the street and just buying a bottle of water? Please, that can hardly be considered a check-in!

Or how about making up places like, “the 3rd table from the right near the Bean in Millennium Park”? Well, have you ever looked up the most popular check-ins in your area? Ever find anything super stRead More...

Porque eres Mexicana Amiga: My Experience in China

La Gemita — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:10:38 +0100

Last week I had my first vacation in almost 6 months. With previous employers, I was able to get a vacation within my first 3 months of working or request a couple of days off to go on a long weekend vacation with my girlfriends. Well, in Korea, I only get a one week vacation in the summer and one week vacation in the winter. I get a few holidays off here and there, but oh how I would appreciate a two week vacation. Nonetheless, I took full advantage of this one week off and headed for BeijinRead More...

The Security Blanket in Ear Bud Form

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:53:53 +0100

How am I going to make it through this work day without pulling my hair out? My bosses are getting on my nerves, they're asking so much of me and there aren't enough hours in the work day to get this done! And THEN they expect me to take time from my family and work at home?! That's ridiculous!

*Begin your ideal them music (the Superman theme is good) as you reach into your bag and pull out your ear buds and plug them into the computer at which you are working.*

ItRead More...

ORIGAMI BOULDER

Lou Lozada — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:46:57 +0100

This isn’t about literature, per se, or any literary work in particular, though it begins at Barnes & Noble, last Sunday morning.

I was at the bookstore, within walking distance from my apartment, when a book in the discount section caught my eye - Sunlight Print Photography Kit, by Kate Marlowe. It seemed like a fun book to buy for my kids, to give them an opportunity to try something different in a medium they’ve taken up the last couple of years.

Piel Morena

La Gemita — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:00:15 +0100

I've never been considered morenita since I was a little girl. The last time I was truly morenita was when I was 5 years old. Since then, I've always tried getting that dark sultry tan each summer...that is once I got to high school not since the time I turned six. Each summer and on vacations con las chicas I have not been successful in achieving that tan I've always wanted. Mis amigas siempre se ponen morenas. I got tanned, but in comparison to them I was not morena. Pero aqui en Korea, I aRead More...

Robyn Brings the Beat

Christina Rodriguez — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:00:00 +0100

She had a retro look: Sunglasses too big for her face, a gray dress with the back mid-section cut out, lacey leggings, Billy Idol hair cut. It was like she had taken a ride in the DeLorean, you know that car… (if I have to explain it, you don’t get it.)

Robyn, Swedish pop-singer, has transformed her music since the days of uneven haircutsRead More...

Sucia y Quemada (Dirty and Burned)

La Gemita — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:49:34 +0100

This past weekend I got down and dirty, literally. I part-took in Korea's infamous festival known as Mudfest. It's hosted in Boryeong, where the mud is known for its rich minerals. The festival takes place right on the beach where it's convenient to wash off and go for a swim.
The weekend started at 9:30 p.m. on Friday as the girls gathered to hang out. We met at one of our friend's boyfriend's place (so nice of him to let us have a girls night at his place). He lives in one of the builRead More...

Another Hot One at Pitchfork but with Better Bands

Christina Rodriguez — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 01:42:29 +0100

It was so hot out in Union Park that one of the crew members had to tell people to take care of each other. "This is your festival," he said. "We're here for you. If you see someone going down help them out. Prices of water bottles went down to one dollar, and we'll be giving out free water here."

The fact that they had to tell people to help each other out, bothered me a little bit. So what, do you expect people to just walk over each other because they don't want to get tRead More...

The Things I Learned at LAMC

LAMC con Café — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:01:56 +0100

By Christina E. Rodriguez

So, during the heat wave in New York City, we were sitting in the Roosevelt Hotel going through our own torturous time figuring things out on computers, getting a hold of artists and musicians who we had to chase down the long hallway because, although we're press, we weren't in the press room.

I decided to write down the things I learned while at the conference, things to carry on with us to next year's experience and then some.

Aventuras de junio

La Gemita — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:20:30 +0100

Since I have missed two weeks of blogging, naturally, I have lots to share. First, before I forget to mention it, there is a movie a friend of mine is promoting. It's a preteen movie, so for those of you with kids, it would be a fun film to watch. It'd be great to check out too if you want light entertainment and just want to laugh and destress. The movie is called "Standing Ovation". I'll post a link to the movie trailer at the end. I'm interested in hearing what people think about this filmRead More...

Tips for Successful [Job] Hunting

Vanessa Keating — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:04:48 +0100

I have officially started the very fun experience of searching for a job! woooo hooo! (just kidding). A change in plans and a move to Miami has prompted this adventure earlier than anticipated. The World Cup has derailed some of my productivity, but for the most part, job hunting is a full time job. I am fortunate enough to have met some pretty incredible, talented, wise, and extremely helpful people in my career thus far, and they in turn have further connected me to other helpfuRead More...

Daddy's Girl

Darhiana Mateo — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Life has been [happily] chaotic lately, and you may have noticed I've been a bit MIA in the blogosphere. But I couldn't let this week go by without saying a few words about the world's greatest papi: Mine.

I can’t deny that I’m a daddy’s girl, which has been an interesting turn of events given the early days our relationship. You see, when I was born in a little barrio called San Juan de la Maguana in the D.R back in 1984, my dad was living in Juneau, Alaska, where the lack of sunlighRead More...

Los Angeles, Califas.

Christina Rodriguez — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:22:50 +0100

This is a recap of the first day in LA. I ate a lot. Day two was a little more eventful with my first meetings outside of hanging out with friends and today, Saturday, I'll be traveling north to Bakersfield, which is two hours north of LA. Not to worry. You will see the outcome of all of my hard work. For now, take a look at my Thursday. It was interesting. -----

So I got into Los Angeles area at 11 am Pacific time. I had a pit stop in Phoenix. Trust me, if I would have seen that I haRead More...

This Week's Hottest Gossip--June 17

La Crisis — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:56:58 +0100

Perez Hilton—Facing Jail Time for Twitter Photo

We are all used to Perez Hilton’s blogging antics—posting up skirt photos of celebrities is a fairly common day for him (i.e., Lindsay Lohan & Paris Hilton—does that girl ever wear underwear?). But it seems as though Perez hasn’t been watching his Law & Order episodes and could end federally charged for his most recent celebrity under thRead More...

Fighting Devils

La Gemita — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:36:58 +0100

Last Friday I went to the bank and when I walked in I saw all the bank tellers with devil horn headbands on. I thought to myself, am I missing something here? Is it some kind of holiday similar to Halloween that I do not know of? It was distracting and honestly I wanted to laugh. Everyone looked serious and was working away, yet they have on devil horn headbands. It was such a funny scene. I came to find out the Korean mascot for the soccer team is a devil. Korea had their soccer match againsRead More...