Maria's Rants

A memory of my father

2009-11-15T03:40:04Z

My father always had a thing for home remedies. One that I still use to this day is his remedy for colds. I remember, as a kid, whenever I or either of my two younger sisters got coughy, my father would run to the corner store of of our New York City apartment building, bringing back a lemon, a hunk of ginger, and if we were out, a jar of Goya honey. He would then head to the kitchen to lovingly prepare his concoction (which is about the only stove-use I've ever witnessed of him; he was a griller). Not much to it: small pot of water, crushed ginger, lemon juice, juiced lemon halves, all brought to a boil. Honey to taste. That comforting warmth that would flood my chest, sour but sweet. And it always does the trick. A pleasant memory and a practical remedy. :)

"What would you do with an extra three hours today?"

2009-05-28T01:30:50Z

There's a funny question... honestly, considering how much I do in the day as it is with baby, comic (yes, I'm still drawing, if anyone cares), house, school/work (when they come), if I got an extra three hours today, I'd probably just turn in early...

Actually have 7 hours of sleep in one night? Hell, yeah!

The kind of friend I'm having the damnedest time trying to find...

2009-05-25T01:04:32Z

Ah, the perfect friend. There's something I'll never find... I doubt I'll ever find anyone close... not that I think I'd be able to bring myself up to speaking to them. (Damned shyness... I need to be reprogrammed...)

Anyway, if I had to pick a few traits that would make a really good friend, they would include being:

Sociable
I love to listen, but I'm also kind of hard to get to talk. A friend would not only have a passion for sharing their opinions, but also engage me as well, make me feel comfortable in sharing my own opinion.

Knowledgeable
Though I do enjoy listening to people talk, I do get bored after a while, and pop topics don't really satisfy me. I love to learn, too, and I always tend to attach myself to those I know my brain can soak info from.

Open-Minded
I'm odd. I'm also insecure about my social image. My closest friends are those who are open to pretty much anything, including accepting the person I am.

If only Rochester were closer to NYC...

2009-05-16T01:25:59Z

I grew up in the Bronx. I'm living in Rochester now. I really miss the ability to hop on a train when I was bored and heading downtown. Hell, just walking around was entertaining... Really can't do that here...

A haiku about Watchmen

2009-04-11T02:06:01Z

Great writing and cast

Could not overshadow a

Big, floppy, blue cock.

Anyone care for an update?

2008-04-14T07:24:19Z

Random contact from someone I think I only had communication with through LJ made me want to give an update...

so... lessee...

was working at JCPenney's for a bit, went to MCC, took out enough loan money to get a car and be able to apply to ADT. Got that job; I'm working overnights as an Emergency Dispatch Operator now... Still going to MCC in the mornings... pretty frazzled, though I doubt I would be as much if it wasn't for the human life I'm incubating... Pete and I are having a little girl, due the first week of August around Pete's own birthday, which has him kind of fearful and depressed... "I don't want to lose my birthday!" Hell, I shared my birthday with my two younger sisters, and we were born years apart. It's not that big of a deal, and actually is kind of cute, the idea of him sharing a B-Day with the little one... We've finally decided on a name, I think: ZoLynn. Pete spelled it that way, with the capital 'L' in the middle, and I love it. Now we just need a middle name... and a whole lot of baby stuff... and homes for the cats. I don't want to risk Zoey having bad cat allergies like I did when I was a baby, and Pete's starting up a photo studio business, so he wants to prevent cat fur getting into his equipment like it has in everything else we own (I've long since given up trying to clean all the fur off our clothing)...

well... I think that's it... if anyone uses them and/or cares, I do have MySpace and Facebook accounts, though you'd have better luck getting me on Facebook nowadays... hope everyone is doing well! :)

"Last updated 60 weeks ago..."

2007-11-22T15:56:32Z

Damn, has it been that long? Am I still on anyone's friends lists?...

Hope you all are having a good Thanksgiving...

Where have I been, you ask?...

2006-09-27T01:03:53Z

Seriously, does anyone out there care where I've been, or what I've been up to?
Anyway, I haven't been here because I sold my soul to Rupert Murdock...
I've been haunting MySpace. I guess more because everyone that I have more contact with (i.e. Family and people who haven't abandoned me) are NOT on livejournal. At this point, I'm convinced that my friends page here is where these friendships go to die...

Josh, what happened to that game we were supposed to start? Becky & Brian, where did my wedding invitation go? Same to you, Jen. Robin & Kim? Well, the last time I attempted contact was when I asked for a pic of your then 'new' license plate. Still waiting...

I know I'm being bitter, and I apologize, but being fired from Frontier after apparently wasting 3 years of my life with them has had me thinking alot about people, trust, and how pointless it is to even exist. Aside from Pete, I have absolutely no one out here, and pretty much everyone here has helped to accentuate that painful fact. Thank you...

If you care, you know where to find me. As for the rest of you, you may never hear from me again. I'd say have a nice life, but I feel too shit-on by practically the rest of the world for me to give a fuck about anyone who doesn't about me...

Goodbye anyway...

I am my name...

2006-07-20T07:52:11Z

I am a 26 year old woman. I have a decent job, and a loving husband and family (of kittens)...

Yesterday, I learned how to ride a bike...

Walking home after babysitting for Liz and Suresh, Pete, Adam, and me just randomly hopped into the parking lot at School Without Walls and before I knew it, they had me stumbling around on Adam's bike, coaxing and coaching me along. Too my surprise and brief horror, I had ultimatley gone halfway around the block without stumbling.

I'm still trying to get over the idea that I actually managed to not fall off a bicycle today. I feel so accomplished! And I have Pete's persistence to thank. His words: "Four years I've been fighting with you to let me teach you to ride, and it only took you 20 minutes! What's with the fear?"

So yeah, on an impulse I decided to shelve fear and try, even though it was still drippng on my head the whole time. For a good bit, the slightest wobble made me freak. I still find it hard to think that I had succeeded in that. And my butt still hurts from the seat...

Pete is now hunting around online for a bike for me. He's so happy that he now has someone to go on bike rides with. In the mean time he wants me to start biking to work. I asked him to give me the opportunity to overcome this shock in my reality. Something I figured impossible came to pass. I want to start slowly and avoid slamming into again, or even breaking through that sanity barrier. It was a rush, but I need some time to cope with this... and maybe a bike with a more comfortable seat...

I'm a True New Yorker!

2006-07-15T19:59:57Z

i am from New York.

I curse a lot.

I say mad instead of wicked.

I like the YANKEES.

I know what REAL pizza tastes like, and I know that a bagel is much more than a roll with a hole in the middle.

They're sprinkles...not jimmies.

I play BEER PONG not beirut.

I judge people by what exit they get off the highway.

It's not called the shore, it's the BEACH.

It's not Manhattan, it's THE CITY.

Two words...MOTHER FUCKER.

I know that 55 mph really means 85.

When someone cuts me off, they get the horn AND the finger.

re-post this if you're from New York!

mbarrus @ 2006-07-07T06:33:00

2006-07-07T10:34:47Z

I died in the Dungeon of Petbar

I was killed in an enormous arena by Lizzymommy the arch-demon, whilst carrying...

the Axe of Jacob Day, the Amulet of Cesarano, the Armour of Wiredbunny, the Armour of Keeblerx, the Wand of Hauntings, the Shield of Overlord Mordax, the Amulet of Movies, a Figurine of D4rkph3on1x and 71 gold pieces.

Score: 85

Explore the Dungeon of Petbar and try to beat this score,
or enter your username to generate and explore your own dungeon...

mbarrus @ 2006-05-26T02:59:00

2006-05-26T07:25:25Z

Having gone to a midnight matinee, we were among the first people to find out how much X-Men 3 sucks. Bad.

From the mouth of Pete:
"Jackie Chan was right. Bret Radner is the luckiest man in hollywood. He did find the winning lotto ticket... which he promptly shredded, raped, ate and shit out for fertilizer...
"My childhood... He has no appreciation for the source material.
"The first atrocity he committed: As soon as he was named director, he conviced the studio to let Allan Cumming out of his contract. Nightcrawler was a great character of the series. The opening fight scene of X2 was the best scene since the Wachowskis learned to speed up action by slowing down.
"Anyway, back to the film. The opening scene, in the Danger Room, was just a hand-job. It felt it was only there to have something to put in the trailer.
"And they made Colossus American.
"And they showed bitter enemies were once friends, but they never addressed how the friendship came to an end.
"And Jean Grey, aside from being a total rip-off of Willow circa Season 5? Apparently she's just supposed to be an A-Bomb in the eyes of Xavier and Magneto. Ah, poor Xavier...
"And why was it set up for a sequel? It was supposed to be the last movie of a trilogy!
"And they pulled characters of other worlds in the Marvel universe, seemingly because they had an X in common, and threw them into the Dark Brotherhood.
"This was NOT a comic book movie. It was a popcorn movie. They gave the highest paid actor the center stage, and did a big disservice to the X-Men world.
"It doesn't get it's own symbolism right. If your gonna make some one a martyr for the cause, then you may want people to follow that martyr and not give up everything they fought for, then return like there were no problems to begin with.
In short, I know you're gonna want to see this movie anyway. It'll earn it's budget back from the blind masses. And don't get me wrong, for a diversion, this is a decent movie, but for any of the hardcore fans, don't say I didn't warn you."

mbarrus @ 2006-05-25T14:26:00

2006-05-25T18:27:30Z

What a Bitch...

2006-04-26T23:27:55Z

Being given the choice of either jail or community service, Lost's Michelle Rodriguez would rather face the jail time than help people.
Yesterday Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a drunk driving charge that she got back in December, according to an AP article on Canada.com. The judge had given her an option on how to serve her sentence, and she picked paying $500 and serving five days in jail over performing 240 hours of community service.
What the hell? Does she realize how bad her "personal choice" makes her look? Did someone not tell her that celebrity community service is just going around and giving speeches to less fortunate communities about misbehaving? Hell, when Billy Baldwin was doing community service on his drug possession charges back in '98, he was "Principal for the Day" at my high school in NYC.
I don't know, but I've just lost a lot of respect for her

mbarrus @ 2006-04-01T13:45:00

2006-04-01T18:47:57Z

I hear birds chirping outside by my window.

Spring is here.

I am happy.

I think I might get torn apart for this one...

2006-02-15T20:52:15Z

I'm not usually one to rant about anything unless it stirs me deeply. This is one of those anythings...

And, before anyone thinks of it, I would have the same opinion no matter who it was that was involved. I'm not just ranting because Edwin Rivera is my cousin...

You see, back on January 28, he and a few of friends were involved in some ugliness. I'd post a link, but it's not to hard to find. Event happened in NYC, and I pulled up links to the news story from everywhere, even one at a Winnepeg newspaper's website.

Long story short: Drunken man enters a White Castle in the Bronx, provokes to the point that Edwin and company beat the man up. Riled up, the man steps outside, brandishes a gun, and an officer that was on the scene, who thought this man was one of the suspects, shot the gun-wielder after refusing to drop the weapon. About two weeks later the man dies...

The kicker: The drunken, ill-temered, gun-toting man? An off-duty police officer.

So, yeah. The news is everywhere, and the 'gang' (I hate how the media dubbed them that) is facing serious charges.

Now my reason for ranting? The NYPD is demanding blood from my cousin & co., and I'm afraid that the courts are going to give it to them. One of the news stories I read said that the charges may be upgraded because of the officer's death. I wanted to scream.

The only thing the 'gang' is guilty of is beating up the drunk officer. The shooting and eventual death should be held over the head of the cop that shot this guy, not my cousin and his friends. Hell, the guy must have said a lot to get my cousin to wail on him in the first place. The 'drunken hero' asked for everything that happened. He got drunk, provoked the wrong people, lost his temper, threatened with a gun, failed to drop the gun after an officer told him to drop it... And these kids are going to unjustly pay for his death?

My truly sincerest condolences to the dead officer's family, but it's not my cousin's fault that the guy didn't know when to quit. Like I said, he and his friends are only guilty of beating the officer. That's it. Not that my disillusionmnet with the government and law-enforcement can be brought any lower, but I would be upset these kids were to face anything harsher than they deserve...

Back off, fanboys!...

2006-02-10T05:31:19Z

Did anyone catch Harrison Ford's recent look?

...'dunno... I can't help but get that creepy pedophile school teacher vibe from him now...

They'd have a lot of questions... if they cared...

2006-01-22T06:29:10Z

Today is the national "Answer Your Cat's Question" day!...

I did have something funny to follow that up with, but in my drunkeness I forgot what I was going to poke fun at. All I got is an image of me sitting in a circle with the cat's and explaining why procreation has come to a halt for them, or why the 'chicken' in the chinese food smelled so familiar...

Whisky and Cokes are fun!... :)

Anal

2006-01-14T09:37:12Z

Watching Thursday night's 'The Daily Show', they gave a report on Rob Courdry's resolution: 'Stop obsessing about 3-ways.' The psycologist interviewed suggested being open to other sexual practices. Courdry quickly asks: "You mean like anal?" Yes.
Pete starts to nervously laugh.
"Heh," he says to me. "I'd hate to have to explain to you when I got home. 'Hey, baby. I love you, and you know I would never forcibly make you do anything that you don't want to do. So don't take this the wrong way, but you have to bend over and take it. I'm sorry, but I have a medical excuse."

It's been a while...

2005-11-04T12:34:38Z

First thing's first:
He prodded for months. Begged, almost. And last night I finally caved in...

Yes... I got my tongue pierced...

Now on to more unimportant stuff:

I'm still working at Operator Services for Frontier. Pete, however, has moved on to the Customer Service department. He's earning more, and will be earning much more once he starts earning commissions. The one downfall to this new position (in my eyes. He's got a million of them.) is the travel time. The office is located in an area where the bus takes a while to get there, and not that many do travel out there. So once he's out of training, working his way around the buses is going to be tricky. I'm sure he'll get used to it. It's either that or buy a car, and since I'm the only one with a drivers licence, I'm the one who's got to work around his schedule. I live, though.

Vote and Critter turned 2 years old this week. Ran and Dom turned 1 the first week of October. Everyone is happy and healthy, and Vote has yet to lose the pregnancy weight. She doesn't seem to mind.

...I can't think of anything else to write...

Well, hello to everyone. I'm still alive, and I hope you all are doing well...

mbarrus @ 2005-08-08T11:43:00

2005-08-08T15:45:30Z

You scored as Suicide. Your death will be suicide. What more can I say? Fact: Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If you want to know how you will commit suicide, take a look at your second highest percentage on the bar graphs.

</td>

Suicide

73%

Posion

60%

Bomb

53%

Suffocated

53%

Natural Causes

47%

Disease

47%

Disappear

40%

Gunshot

33%

Eaten

33%

Stabbed

27%

Accident

27%

Drowning

20%

Cut Throat

13%

How Will You Die??
created with QuizFarm.com

So no one thinks I was ignoring them

2005-08-03T04:45:51Z

My computer died again... Happening to often lately...
Just got it today. Noticed missed messages, so I thought I should let people know what was going on...

I understand...

2005-07-21T17:41:44Z

I'm just the token naive ethnic chick that everyone either doesn't like or feels sorry about. I get it.

And people wonder why I don't seek out sociality...

Hurry, it ends today!

2005-07-16T20:31:58Z

Maxtor 160GB 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive for only $60 at Staples.com! Plus, you may be able to get free shipping too. I did.

Go on. Buy a few. Sell them on eBay, or whatever.

Thank you, Attack of the Show for the tip!

Her sleep-deprived rant returns...

2005-06-29T11:33:15Z

Heat's driving me nuts. Woke up after only maybe two hours sleep, sweating up a storm. Went to the fridge to get something to drink before going to bed, but I had apparently forgot to refill the water bottles before I went to bed... So while I wait for them to freeze...

Pete and I went to see Drivers Wanted last night. It's an independent film made here in Rochester, NY back in '97-'98 about the plight of the delivery men of Bob's Pizza, among others. Think "COPS" for food delivery guys. Pretty amusing stuff.

If you go to see the movie this week, you will get the chance to meet with the writer of the film, T. Lee Beideck. Pete chatted up a storm with him to the point where I almost felt sorry for the guy. Aside from selling some merchandise (hats, tees, music cds... I bought a $5 poster that was autographed... "I like the fine chicks..."), he was also there speaking with people about auditions for his next film, entitled "Sophomore". He said he could totally see Pete as a senior bully... Me and my pessimistic demon believe we'll never hear from the guy again, but it's awsome to think that there is a possibility...

...okay, Vote and Dom are trying to get my attention, desperatly clawing at my poor thighs... I'll bet they need more water... so do I...