Why I make a bad Hispanic

So I went to this new lounge bar/club in Aventura (the "city" that I currently live in)last night, and I was having a pretty good time. The place is nice, with a cool bar and lots of seating where you can lounge stylishly. When I first walked in they were playing regular club music and which I generally like but then all of a sudden they started playing Spanish reggae-ish music (forgot what that's called, all I know is that it sucks). So, being that I'm in S. Florida of course a lot of the people there are Latin and once the crappy Spanish music started playing they all started dancing. It began with that, continued with other Spanish songs that you wouldn't know unless you're Latin and you like that crap, i.e. nothing very mainstream. Anyway, all this got me thinking about how I am the complete opposite of what anyone thinks of when they think of a Latin (Hispanic, whatever you want to call it) girl. In a way I am almost like the Anti-Hispanic and for the following reasons:

• I don't speak Spanish: or believe that just because you live in Miami you should be lazy and just go around speaking it when you're perfectly capable of speaking English.
  
• I hate dancing: For some reason people think that all Latins love to dance. People freak when they find out that I really don't. I think most of them do but for some reason, that's not my thing. It just never has been.
  
• I don't like Latin music: I really don't care for any Spanish music at all. Enough said about that.
  
• I went to college and have a college degree: I know a lot of Hispanics these days do go to college but the percentage is still quite low. I've met several people who are Hispanic in Miami and most of them have not attended college.
  
• I don't believe in extended families: Hispanics are weird about their living conditions. They have a tendency to live with their entire extended families and think this is normal. Who on earth would want to live with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc? Not me! I believe in growing up and living your own life.
  
• I have a social life outside of my family: This ties back to the extended family thing. A lot of Hispanics who live with their relatives also hang out with them 24-7. Their cousins, siblings or whatever are the main people they hang out with and they rarely have real friends outside of the family. Weird but not me...
  
• I am not Catholic: Yes, I've been to church before and technically I was raised Catholic but religion does not play a strong role in my life and if it did I would not call myself Catholic. If I did I would make a very bad one. ;)

There are other reasons why I make a bad Hispanic but these are all I could come up with right now. Perhaps I'm just weird in general. I don't know but I also don't care. ;)

Welcome Perry!

I've been meaning to write in this blog for the past 2 weeks but haven't gotten around to it because things have been very busy and chaotic. The highlight has been the new addition to the family, our new dog, Perry. He's a black and white Shih-Tzu and looks a lot like Prince. I found him on Petfinder.com and fell in love with him when I saw his picture. I knew I had to have him. He was located in Orlando where had been rescued by a non-profit organization. I submitted an application and fortunately we were able to adopt him even though we lived outside of the area. It was a long drive up there but definitely worth it.

Perry is super cute and the complete opposite of Prince. He's thin (he needs to gain some weight), super energetic and very outgoing. He's adjusting well to his new home.

Prince is adjusting well too. It took him a couple of days before he seemed comfortable with everything. Initially he was acting jealous and would occasionally growl at Perry, but he seems to be getting better about it. Our hope is that they'll become best friends because that was a big reason for getting Perry.

Anyway, I'm still getting used to walking two dogs and just having two dogs in general (you should've seen me at Petco trying to handle both of them. Pretty embarrasing). It's more tiring than I thought but I'll get used to it. It's nice having two Shih-Tzus greet you when you come home from work.

Top Ten Questions I'm Sick of Answering

So the other day, while out to lunch with David, I decided I was going to come up with a list of the top 10 questions that I am sick of answering. These are questions that I am asked a lot, mostly by complete strangers. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind answering people's questions but some of them are particularly annoying and/or offensive. I think I should just print out a pamphlet with these so whenever I encounter any of them I can just hand them to the inquirer.

Anyway, here they are. Enjoy!


1. Why don't you speak Spanish? Aren't you Hispanic? Are you ashamed?
I've gotten this question asked a lot, especially since I moved to Miami. It's number one on my list because I don't think that I should have to justify whether or not I speak Spanish or be looked upon as some kind of freak of nature because I don't. Not every single Hispanic speaks Spanish (Have they not ever watched the movie Selena? She didn't always speak Spanish) and frankly I think it's rude to just assume that I should. It seems to me that Hispanics are the only minorities that are expected to speak Spanish just because of their ethnic background. I never see anyone give an Italian (for example) a hard time because they don't speak Italian. If you're born and raised in the US, is it really that unthinkable to only speak English? Isn't it still the official language? My question to people in Miami who live here and only speak Spanish is why don't you speak English? (I could go on and on about this one but I'll end it here)

2. What are you?

Many, many times, I'll come across a complete stranger who will look at me with a baffled look on their face and ask me, "what are you?" What they mean is that they are confused as to what my ethnic background is so they'll ask me "what I am." How ridiculous and insulting is that? Like it matters and like I should have to answer that. What I want to say to them is "freak, I don't even know you and what's it to you?" Who cares "what I am" and how is that relevant to anything? I don't mind answering that question if it's someone I just met that I have some kind of relationship with but if you're a complete stranger, don't ask me that question or if you do rephrase it so that it sounds more intellectual.

3. Why don't you smile more?

People have been asking me that question for years! I remember this one time when I was in H.S., I was walking to school and a complete stranger said "you should smile more" as he passed me by. Wtf? I never understood that. What am supposed to do? Walk around with a huge grin on my face for no reason? Who does that?

4. Why don't you work for a newspaper? (upon finding out that I have a BA in Journalism)

So I majored in Journalism and never worked in that field. A lot of people get degrees in certain majors and then end up doing something completely different. Besides, things don't always work out perfectly and one is always entitled to change one's mind about things, including careers.

5. Why don't you want to have/like kids?

Most people (especially women) think I am the biggest weirdo because I don't care much for kids and don't ever want to have any of my own. I just don't need that to feel complete. I'm more of an animal person. Besides, I think I'm being more responsible by realizing that this is not a road I ever want to take rather than just giving in to the norm and then turning out to be a bad parent (not that I think I'd make a bad parent, being one would just make me miserable). Too many people become parents for all the wrong reasons and I refuse to be one of them.

6. Why aren't you married/when are you getting married?

First of all, who cares? Second of all, getting married has never been a priority for me (I'm not even sure how I feel about the whole idea). I don't need to be anyone's wife to feel fulfilled. David and I have been together for many years and getting hitched is not going to make things any better. We'd still be the same people so why rush into anything? If we go ahead and do so it'll be whenever we feel is right.

7. Why are you still renting? Why haven't you bought a house?

Buying a home is a huge decision/commitment. I feel you should be 100% sure you want to live somewhere before you make such a huge investment. Besides, it's easier said than done. Buying property is something I definitely want to do but I'll do it when I feel it's right.

8. Why do you always wear black?

It's my favorite color, ok? I've worn mostly black since my metalhead days in H.S. and I just like it. I guess it's the goth in me. ;)


9. Why don't you cook more?

I don't enjoy the process. I love eating but do not enjoy actually making meals. Too time consuming, tedious, domestic, i.e. unlike me.

10. Why did you go to school in Arizona?

Why not? It's a pretty cool state (just not literally although they have more seasons than we do here in FL). It was just a place I wanted to check out.

No sense of time...

One of the things I dislike about living here is the consistent heat. It's always hot and humid (ok well maybe not always but 98% of the time). Like right now, for example, it's 80 degrees outside but feels hotter than it actually is because it's so damn humid! As a result you have no sense of season and if you do what I do for a living you also lack a sense of time. Now, if you know me, you already know what I do for a living so I won't get into that, but basically my job requires me to work random hours every week. I don't have a set schedule and my hours are very sporadic (I may go in at 5am one day, 2pm another day, etc) so I have difficulty knowing what day of the week it is, which combined with living in Florida with it's lack of seasons, has resulted in a very confused me. ;)

Sometimes I wonder what the hell possessed me to think that I could possibly be ok with living in a hot climate. I've always loved Fall and Winter, and wearing coats, boots and anything that has to do with cold weather. Plus I don't even like Summer/Spring clothes. The colors are always bright and cheery (very unlike me). Do you know how difficult it is to find a summery wardrobe when your favorite colors are black and grey?

Anyway, in conclusion, it's hot and I wish it were 50 degrees outside. ;)

P.S. I've added a countdown to moving day counter on the bottom of my blog. It's set to the date when my lease here ends give or take a day. (I've been too lazy to actually pull up the actual lease and double check but I'm almost positive it's right) As of today I have 162 days left. It sounds like an eternity but it'll probably go by faster than expected.

Weird timing

Life is weird. Several months ago I was on here bitching about how I hadn't met any cool people in FL. After a while I had met a couple of new people (primarily through work and still not as many as I would've liked) but it didn't matter as much because I was busy with work and most recently had made the decision that I'd be moving away, so it didn't really matter to me anymore. My focus shifted to just getting ready to head out. Anyway, the other night, per one of my Yelp buddies' suggestion, I decided to attend something called an "Art walk" in Miami's Design District. The walk happens every second Saturday of each month but what differentiated this one from all the rest was that this particular Saturday would be a gathering of some of South Florida's Yelpers. (If you don't know what Yelp is, click on the link to find out) Anyway, the event pretty much consisted of walking from art gallery to art gallery while acquiring free alcoholic drinks (trick-or-treating for adults as I referred to it). It was a great time but one of the best parts was meeting new and interesting people, proving that there are indeed some cool people in Miami. ;) I knew there were, I just hadn't met any and had kind of given up. It's just funny how things happen when you least expect it.

Within the past couple of days I've also been getting e-mails from old friends I haven't heard from in a while. Weird, but very cool. ;)

Anyway, here's a pic from our outing on Saturday night!

Still longing for you...

Out of boredom and a strong desire for Diet Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper, I came across this commercial.

R.I.P. Diet Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper. I'll never forget you!

On Vaca...

So yesterday was the official start to my vacation. I'm taking 9 consecutive days off from work just to do some things around the house and to have time to myself. One of the most annoying things about telling people that you're taking vacation time is them asking you "where are you going?" as if going somewhere is mandatory. I can't tell you how many people have asked me that question within the past week or so and then reacted surprised or disappointed upon finding out that, no, I am not going away anywhere. Is it really that unheard of to just take time to get some things taken care of or even to just get away from work? I will be spending my week posting items on ebay (lord knows I have a million things to sell), running errands and just spending time with Prince. Little things like that take a lot of time and when you work crazy hours like I do, they don't always get done. Ebay alone takes a lot of time (taking pics, posting listings, responding to people's questions, going to the post office) but I guess people don't think about those things. Anyway, I wouldn't mind just taking the week off doing absolutely nothing but lounging at home but that's not going to happen. Lots to do if I want to move to NYC!