People Watching

Full Disclosure: I used to be ghetto fabulous.... I grew up in East L.A. and my family still lives there. I used to LOOOOVE hip hop, gangsta rap, R&B (still do sorta) and I used to drink Alize (dont' do that anymore). However I had always been a good student and always worked hard and continue to do so. My parents are old school traditional and I guess I inherited some conservative values. Some people think I'm snobby and a prude. I just think I grew up and left my wild child days behind me. I also have strong opinions on what is and is not appropriate for kids. I'm not a parent but sometimes I can't help but be judgemental in regards to what some parents allow their children to do/say/wear... etc.

Yesterday at Dodger Stadium I saw a woman with 3 boys... the oldest one was maybe 12 or 13 at the most... They were each wearing T-shirts that I would think are tacky even on an adult but on children, it is just wrong! One said "want my chorizo?" with the weinerschnitzel W logo. Let me translate, chorizo is like mexican sausage so in essence this is a sexual pun saying to anybody reading the shirt want my sausage?? on a child!! UGH!
The next kid had the burger king logo like two hamburger buns and instead of burger king, said "borracho king" borarcho is spanish for drunk... again on a child~!
The last and youngest boy was wearing a shirt with the heinekin type design and said drunkagain.
Granted, these are all clever and perhaps funny shirts to some and if an adult was wearing them I would think they are tacky, but not inappropriate. That a parent decides to purchase these and allows their children to wear out in public, just makes me wonder what else they are allowed to do and will be allowed to do as they grow older. Its a shame.

Wee Bit of Me Wednesday

{one} what is your dream job?
Lately I've been feeling like my dream job is to be a librarian. I've considered Library School (you need a master's degree to be a librarian btw) since I graduated college, but didn't want to take on more student loan debt. Ideally I'd love to be a librarian at a college or a private company. I still work a little at the public library and dealing with people in LA is sometimes fun but often draining.

Another, less viable dream job would be to work in foreign relations. My B.A. degree is in Political Science with an International emphasis and History with a Middle Eastern focus. I applied to the CIA, the State Dept maybe even the FBI I also took two semesters of Arabic and did pretty well. Now that I'm older I dunno if I'd have the guts for this career.

{two} how many best friends do you have?
OK don't feel sorry for me but right about now I'd have to say none. I'm feeling pretty disconnected from most if not all of my friends and even some family. I'm not bitter about it though, I've always been pretty independent and I like to have lots of calm quiet alone time. Its an adjustment as people get older and schedules get more and more busy with work & family commitments.

{three} what’s the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?
Well it was spread throughout a whole week but in 2007 I went with my parents to Arizona, Texas, New Mexico & Colorado I guess (among other things we went to that place where 5 state borders meet)

{four} if you had to do one single thing every day for the next year, what would it be?
Tell my BF I love him, I don't think I do it enough.

{five} what’s one story your family always tells about you?
My mom tells a story about a birthday party they threw for me when I was a kid (I dunno maybe like age 4 or 5) during which I was hiding waiting for everybody to leave and I complained about other kids playing with my stuff... yes I have anti-social tendencies sometimes.

{six} how did your parents pick your name?
I don't know, I have heard it was my Dad's choice though.

{seven} what’s the one thing that scares you more than anything?
woah, this question is hard. I have anxiety issues, soooo many things worry/scare me. I dunno if this necessarily scares me more than anything... but at this point in my life I do worry alot about having a baby... More specifically, not being able to get pregnant when I decide I'm ready (I'm almost 30 and I know that's not exactly old but it worries me)

{eight} are you a good cook?
Absolutely not, but I'm not a bad cook either, I just don't cook much. Or hardly at all. That needs to change

{nine} where do you see yourself in 20 years?
OMG all these questions are soo hard! If I had my way, I'd be happily married, with 2.5 kids (lol well 2 or 3, the oldest a boy) a dog (or several) a job I enjoy, frequent vacations and would be aging gracefully.

{ten} what’s your best childhood memory?
I have very few childhood memories, but some of my greatest moments were when I was finally allowed to have a dog and participating in the spelling bee.

Chicago, what you got?

Blog peeps... Anybody from Chicago? Has anybody visited Chicago and can fill me in on what fun stuff there is to do?

BF and I are considering visiting on Labor Day weekend... We want to go somewhere neither of us has been and go to a baseball game. That is our main purpose for the trip. But what will we fill the rest of our time with? I'd appreciate any reccomendations.

I come here for knowledge, not to frolick!

Friends,
Let me tell you, the central library in downtown LA is a very interesting place to work. This is not your typical library and the characters that come through there are... hmmm eccentric, odd, well, you'll get the idea as I fill you in on my adventures at the circulation desk.

We have alot of regulars. Sometimes people feel the need to chat with us clerks. This Saturday one such regular comes up to the desk and starts sharing with us how another male patron was trying to lure him into the bathroom and he says to us "I come here for knowledge, not to frolick... I do that at home". WOW I thought, that's a great quote. And off he goes, with his books, to get knowledge.

But honestly, people do these things at the library. It's a great place but its a public place so you can encounter some wierdos.

Last week as I was exiting after closing, a guy (I'd say twenty-something) wearing shorts like something Suzanne Somers would wear on a thighmaster commercial and a tank top was walking in. So I said its closed, and he says "DAMN, I wanted some fucking Panda!" (There is a Panda Express in the Library) He turns around to exit and adds "And I got kicked out of the wedding too, whatever, I'll go to Famima."

This last one, I couldn't help but just laugh and laugh after I'd heard it. I was helping a family with their books. The parents and 2 boys (looked like twins) maybe 4-ish were at my desk while a woman was with her kids were a few stations over, well her baby was screaming bloody murder!! I kid you not, he was crying like he was being tortured. So one of the boys at my station is quite annoyed by this and says "UGh what's that?" His mom says: "its a baby crying" to which he replies "I hate that baby!" As I'm typing this, I realize it doesn't seem all that funny anymore. I guess its just one of those you had to be there things, but it was hilarious to me at the time.

Stay tuned for more Adventures at Central Library... and remember no frolicking allowed.