Saba in the City

I had a wonderful weekend (thanks to Ali) in New York... it was really what I had expected it to be... no disappointments. I think this is the only city I would willingly live in, if I had to leave Vancouver. 48 hours is hardly enough to see a city like New York but since most of our time was spent walking around, I at least got a feel of how life can be in NY city. What I loved the most were the narrow streets with red-brick houses and small stairways in Downtown Manhattan. Here are some pictures:

Downtown Manhattan's view from a ferry towards Staten Island.


Statue of Liberty's view from the same ferry! (I really didn't feel like getting any closer)


Central Park


view of a building from Park Avenue


A quiet street in Midtown Manhattan



A huge building on Broadway Avenue, right where it starts


Tall buildings in Downtown

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In a New York state of mind...

So I'm in the East coast; nowhere else but the in the location of most of my favorite TV shows: New York City. So far I've only been to Metropolitan museum but liked everything I saw on the streets, hope it stays this way!

Will post some pictures later.

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California...knows how to party...

It's been very fun so far...heading out to the East Coast today... this vacation is turning out better than I had expected!

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I'm here (or there!)

Finally, after 24 hours of sleeplessness and a few hours of waiting in different lines - including check-in, customs, immigration, and security - I've arrived in City of Angels. All you blogger and non-blogger friends nearby, I'd love to see you!

It's absolutely LOVELY here with real summer heat, a great change from Vancouver. Will write some more later (if I'm not too busy partying!)

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Are we safe?

"Later that night I got to thinking about safe s e x. Odd how only when our physical life is at risk do we follow certain guidelines to protect ourselves. But what about our emotional lives? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a little pamphlet to warn us what unsafe behavior might be high risk to ourselves or our relationships. And even if you take all the precautions and emotionally try to protect yourselves… When you crawl in bed with someone, is s e x ever safe?" - Carrie Bradshaw (from S e x and the city)

(And sorry about the deformed "S"-word, didn't want people finding this blog by Googling weird stuff; I'm getting enough of that, as is!)

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Everyone, just pretend to be normal!

What's better to do on a gloomy rainy day than to go watch LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, a hilarious movie about a dysfunctional family on the road. I was laughing so hard during the movie I couldn't believe myself, and I wasn't the only one. Definitely, definitely watch it... it's got smart humor, great acting (especially the cute little girl), and even a valuable message behind it all!! What more can you ask for?

(I hope the producers don't mind me mix and matching their advertising posters!)

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Liberation. Whether they want or not.

Tonight I watched Manderlay, the second movie from Lars von Trier's trilogy: USA- land of opportunities. It's similar- in making - to the first movie, Dogville, which I had watched a while ago. It's not as harsh though.

The movie is about the discrimination against the black people in the States. The director has a way of showing you the worst that human race is capable of; and you wonder at the end whether you'd do the same, if put in similar circumstances. I really liked the idea of just pretending that things exist (walls, doors, trees,...). The minimalistic set decoration (in both films) makes you more focused on what's going on with the characters. If you've watched Dogville and liked it, you'll most probably like this one too. You don't have to have watched Dogville though, the stories are totally independent.

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Shameless!

Looks like some people are just not good enough to enter the Land of Freedom.

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The phantom of the opera

If they tour around the area you live in, don't miss it. It was awesome...

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Scoop

So I went and watched it. Didn't think I'd like it but I did! It was a very fun movie to watch, great Woody Allen moments, lots of Scarlett Johansson, and a reasonable amount of Hugh Jackman... basically, there was something in it for everyone! Go watch it, but don't expect a masterpiece.

My favorite quote of the movie is when Allen is trying to socialize with some people in a party; he starts asking people about their persuasion (persuasion meaning religion, of course) and then goes on to say : " I was born into the Hebrew persuasion, but soon I converted to narcissism".

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In the waiting room

Have you ever noticed how annoying Doctors' waiting rooms are? I mean does it bother you too, just sitting there looking at other sick people or noisy kids, or reading decade-old magazines and crappy news papers, or worst of all, listening to the music from the playlist-for-the-sick?

I spent 15 minutes waiting to see my family doctor today and now totally believe that they deliberately try to push you to your limits, just to see if you get a nervous breakdown or a seizure or something. Who here thinks that Pink's "let's get this party started" is a good song for such a place? is "you'll be kissing my a**" what we want our kids to associate with the doctor's office? but even if I try to ignore Pink, there's one song that I absolutely can not forgive them for playing. And that's no other than THE WORST SONG EVER MADE in the history of contemporary music: Girls just wanna have fun by Cindy Lauper!

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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Well, as stupid as its name is, I was surprised by this movie... it was a very well-made movie, super funny, with good acting (except the supporting role actress who was a tad disappointing). The whole movie is basically narrated, and it's just too funny... I resisted for the longest time and finally watched it last week and definitely recommend it to everyone. You're gonna get a good laugh out of it and you're gonna enjoy the cinematography and editing... the story is not the best, but the dialogues are awesome. Just thought it was disappointing how little publicity this movie has received.

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To Nazly... for being the best!

We are the same height, have the same highlights, we borrow each other's clothes, we don't look like each other but somehow are similar. We go on the same diet, we overeat together. We go to school together, and party with the same people. We listen to the same music, and go to the same hairdresser. We travel. People think we're sisters... I think we're even closer.

You are a lot more than a roommate to me... you are my mom when I'm sick, my dad when I need protection, my sister when I need someone to confine in, my brother when I feel lonely... you've been my friend all along, you are what's left of my country for me, you're the closest thing I have to a home... Just like I hope to be all this for you.

So bear with me when I'm moody, when I need attention, when I'm sad, heartbroken, or tired. When I don't feel like talking, or when I talk too much. When I act weird or give you advice you haven't asked for. When I drag you to the movies, or want to stay home when you feel like going out. When I get cleany, or when I make a mess. When I become cold, irritating, or obnoxious.

Three years...It's not been easy, but we've grown up together. Sooner or later, we'll be going our own way, but I'm sure no one will understand what we've been through, except for us! So cheers to us, the coolest roommates on earth!

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Airports

" Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport.

General opinion makes out that we live in a world of hatred and greed. I don't see that. Seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends.

When the planes hit the Twin Towers, none of the phone calls from people on board were messages of hate or revenge, they were all messages of love.

lf you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

From Love Actually

I always cry at the airport when I go back home.. I'm fine up until the moment I see my mom and then it just happens. No reason, no control. Today I just happened to remember the fact that I love airports... no matter if I'm leaving home, or going back, if I'm there to pick up friends, or to watch them leave through the gates. I just love airports.

We're leaving in a cruel world. Sometimes - like these days - you just see it more clearly... maybe we should all go walk around the arrival gates in a nearby airport... just to feel that love still exists. It does, right?

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Talking to myself

Sometimes I wonder if he really knows how I feel... I never told him, he never asked... we're just going along with it. Emoticons are not the best way to describe how one feels, are they?

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I call it a great weekend when:

1. ... I wake up in the morning and go to a CPR class at 9:00 a.m. (note: from now to 22 July 2009, you're allowed to choke on your food, have heart attacks, get beaten by snakes, and get unconcious for any other reason in my presence. because now I'm knowledgeable enough to call 911 and ask for help; honestly, the first three hours of the class was just to tell us how important it is to call 911 and how you should do it and what to say and stuff like that. They did teach us how to do CPR and rescue breathing though, so you're still safe.)

2. ... I leave the CPR class and go with my friends to rent a motor boat and ride around in it for two hours in the Pacific ocean, watch the seals sunbathe on rocks, and get back just in time to have a delicious fish and chips at the harbor.

3. ... After a long hot summer day, I end up watching "Paradise Now" with some friends and discuss politics till 1 in the morning.

4. ... I wake up super late on Sunday and still decide to go canoeing (yet again!) and have a wonderful time.

Yeah, I just had a perfect weekend (still a few more hours to go)!

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Disturbing

The link to this website has been circulating a lot in the past few days, I can't comment on the reliability of the pictures, but even if one percent of it is truly happening, we can surely call it a disaster.

I'm also very interested to see where the States is going with arguments about Iran's involvement in the conflict. There has even been a meeting with a group of selected Iranians and the White House officials, probably to somehow justify a military action against Iran. I really have no idea where all this is going.

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Flowers or plants? that's the question!

So my office-mate is back from Germany, where he had to attend his mom's funeral. We (people in our office) wanted to do something for him; so we bought a card and each wrote a few lines in it. We also decided to buy her flowers... or was it plants?

You see, two of us (including me) thought that you didn't want to get something that went on living for a long time, because it was always going to remind the poor guy of the tragic incident, while the flowers would die away. However, there was an opposing view in our office that thought plants were better.

This morning I walked in to say hi and talk to my office-mate... and he was very difficult to see behind the leaves of four big plants on his desk. It's done now and I think just showing that we cared was good enough, but still feel weird about having to see those plants everyday... would flowers have been a better choice?

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Breaking the silence

I have mentioned on other occasions that I do not want to write about my political views here... I feel like to write about politics you have to know a lot more than I currently do... I did not want to act against my word, but sometimes enough is enough. And that's the case with my silence about Lebanon's situation.

Just looking at the pictures on news websites is painful... imagining that the same thing is very likely to happen to my homeland, for a similar pathetic excuse. I'm not saying that the lives of the two captive soldiers are not worth anything, but really, is it why Israel is attacking Lebanon and killing so many civilians? What is the ratio of the value of an Israeli soldier's life to a civilian Lebanese, 1/1000? I feel the word OVERREACT is not enough to express this situation.

Picture from BBC News

I also don't know if there is anything that I - or any other individual - can do to help. For some reason I don't think praying is the answer right now! Maybe if we can show that we care, that we see what's happening, and that we're not fooled by whatever excuses they make up to justify their actions, the silence will be broken. Or maybe it's all wishful thinking... I guess I am entitled to daydreaming after all...

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Messing around with Google!

Looks like I'm getting a lot of people coming to this weblog using Google search for "Don't get mad, get even"... and that's because of this post. I guess what people are actually looking for is this new apparently-super-lame-movie called John Tucker must die. Well, I surely think they're better off just reading my post... but well, I can't really beat Hollywood in advertising, can I?

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Once more

Feels strange... it always does at the beginnings... feels warm, just like friendships... feels mysterious, just like the future... feels painful, just like the distance in between.

Always surprising when it hits you... you remember all the familiar feelings, yet... it's not like anything you've ever experienced before.

I close my eyes and dive in, hoping for the best...

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Raise your hand if...

.. you hate the comment screening process that I added to my blog a while ago. You know, the one where you have to enter a series of stupid letters to prove you actually exist! Honestly, do they try and make it deliberately annoying or what? I just had to enter jnfkwsly or something like that to comment ON MY OWN POST! So maybe I should get rid of it?

Update: Ok, ok! I've dumped the word verification process. Sorry to have annoyed you all this time... but watch out, if you don't post at least a comment a day, I'll have to put it back!

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Unclassified

There are good movies, and there are bad movies. In between, there are movies that you can't quite make your mind up about. They have something to say, they are not super badly made and the actors are not particularly horrible; yet you can't say you liked or hated them.

I watched Head in the clouds today. an "unclassified" movie in my opinion. It left me feeling sad... well, the cloudy weather didn't exactly help either, but anyway, I felt that it had a message, but couldn't say what it was... I'm sure some people will like it but it just lacks that something that makes movies memorable. Anyway, just thought I'd say something about it!

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And they finally answered

I lost my login and password like a year ago... and it didn't matter how much I tried to get them back from their "bad, bad server", as they put it, nothing would convince their system that I needed my password. Finally, following tons and tons of emails I sent them, and after being known as the most impolite among my friends for not answering any comments, invitations, and testimonies, they gave me my account back... just 20 minutes ago. I almost cried tears of joy... guess this just shows that there's still hope for us all, that prayers will be answered one day, and we'll be reunited with those we love in a warm, loving network... called Orkut.

- Ok now, time to go reject those friend requests I guess! ;)

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And the world cup goes to...

Yeah baby! That's right... no other team but Italia!

Now all I have to say is to Zidane :" What are you?... a two-year old? "

Update: I just had to add Negar's drawing here... a very accurate picture of what happened, priceless!

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Sudoku...

...is my new addiction! It is a Japanese puzzle thingie that just won't leave you alone. You gotta have more... and more... and a little bit more... until you can't stand looking at numbers anymore.

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A movie not to watch...

I wasted two precious hours of my life last night to watch a movie that I basically hated... well, "hated" would be too strong, but still, you know what I mean.

"Where the truth lies" is a film by the well-known Canadian director, Atom Egoyan, and is not at all what I had expected after "the sweet hereafter" - the only movie I had seen from him before. The movie tells the story of an "ambitious" journalist that wants to uncover a mystery from more than a decade ago. The mystery involves a dead girl and two showbiz stars of the time. I say "ambitious" because if you're willing to sleep with whoever comes your way - regardless of them being male or female - you look pretty damned ambitious to me! Don't get me wrong, I'm all for pushing the boundaries and showing whatever that helps the plot. But throwing in random threesome scenes in a movie just for the hell of it doesn't really impress me.
As if having Hollywood actors in a Canadian director's movie wasn't disgraceful enough!

Anyway, DO NOT WATCH this movie unless you have to write a school paper about it or something in that order, and even then, try to copy stuff from other reviews. It's two hours of your life you won't get back!

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The worst football expert

...well, think I need to admit openly that I am the worst football expert you've ever met in real or virtual universe... I was 100% sure that Brazil and Germany would make it to the final game and look what happened!?... I wanna say that Portugal is going to win over France and make it to the final, but since i actually like Portugal, I'm gonna remain silent and just hope nothing goes wrong!

UPdate: And yet another disappointment!

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A graph of my sport activities during the year

Note: here, the lowest point in the graph is basically just walking to the bus stop and back and the peak is doing canoeing, biking, hiking, and running in one week! Guess I am what you call "Jav Zade" in Farsi!

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Feel like an idiot

... so I watched the Germany-Argentina game this morning and let me say that it was totally unfair for Argentina to lose because of the penalties... they were so obviously stronger than Germans, but well, nothing you can do about that!

Anyway, I walk in to the office, all excited, and say to my German officemate:"Go Germany...!"

He looks at me without responding... but I keep on talking:" I watched the game today, it was so exciting!"... still silent... "so you're not into football?!" [oh, just shut up now, please!] ... he looks at me and goes:" well, I'm preoccupied... I'm flying back to Germany tonight." I realize that I have f***ed-up big time, but have to go on:"so...what happened? is something wrong?"..."well, my mom passed away last night."

if you hear me complain about stupid little things again, just shoot me.

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Lucky roommates

INT-DINING ROOM-NIGHT [11:20 p.m.]

roommate 1: "so, let's go camping this long weekend!"

roommate 2:"yeah, that sounds great... let's check campsite availabilities!"

(9 minutes later)

roommate 2: "so Alice Lake is all booked too, let's try this Birkinhead lake..."

(1 minute later)

roommate 2 (reads from the computer screen): "this website undergoes maintenance from 11:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. Pacific time... F***"

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This weekend...

...was one of the greatest so far, since like six months ago. I went biking on Saturday; the two beaches I went to were just packed with relatively good looking people! It was like one of those TV series with hot girls and guys running around in their swim suits! Anyway, the fun part was mostly the fact that I started biking again and hopefully I'll stick to it for the rest of the summer.

Sunday, I went to Pitt Meadows for canoeing with some friends... and had an awesome time there! It was my first time canoeing and I did not suck as badly as I thought I would! So yeah, that felt good. All on all, a wonderful weekend with lots of sun and absolutely no working!

Here are some pictures:

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What song not to listen to ...

... when you're running and thinking "oh, my god! can't believe how long three minutes can feel!"

Madonna's "hung up"
"...time goes by, so slowly..."


Take it from me, it doesn't help you motivate yourself to run that extra 60 seconds.


- and on the same note, if you're doing a graduate degree, never listen to "be a clown" by Cole Porter. That's just disappointing!

"... A college education I should never propose,
A bachelor's degree won't even keep you in clo'es,
But millions you will win if you can spin on your nose.
Be a clown, be a clown, be a clown..."

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Zorro

So I'm just gonna pretend that World Cup is not happening right now... honestly, don't you think it's boring? You never get any surprises...You know! Brazil always wins and Iran... well...NEVER wins!

I know, I know... I'm bitter... but well, it's just the World Cup! guess we have a lot more to be worried about right now, with what happened with women protesting in Tehran last week. I'm not exactly the most interested person in politics you may meet, but I definitely was shocked and disgusted by what happened to them. Can't do much but hope those arrested would be released soon.

I'm reading Zorro right now, by one and only Isabel Allende and so far it's pretty good. It's her retelling of the legend of Zorro and is quite interesting. If the English translated version flows so well, I can't imagine how the Spanish version might be.

hmmm, yeah this was basically to say that I still exist... will write more later (as in SOON)... Stay tuned!

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Hopeless?

Odds of you winning Scratch and Win: 1 in 4

Odds of Iran going up to the second stage games: hmmm... practically non-existent?

All that screaming for nothing... You'd think they would at least leave it at 2-1!

Image from Legofish
Check out the store by the way.

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It's started...

The month of football madness... I woke up this morning, turned on the TV and watched like only 20 minutes of the first game... it felt great, not only because it was exciting, but because it was familiar... a feeling that all of us who lived outside of North America for a while are used to... the rush of Adrenaline whenever the attacker gets too close to score...

Well, we're in for an awesome time here... let's give it up for IRAN and hope we'll do better than most people expect!

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Some statistics

Ok, so (as of Monday, 6:19 Pacific time) 6 out of the past 100 visits to this page have been through Google. Here are the keywords:

saba daydreaming
judie foster film 2006
dress him as a girl ballet (what the...?)
the blindness by jose saramago
how to say i like someone
sebastian kruger

Hmmm, I guess I should be glad at least one person really wanted to get here!

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Daily dose of philosophy

Some say: "chase is the fun!"

Some other say: " chase is what you want, chase is what you get!"

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What to do when you're applying for immigration

Make sure you're eligible, gather all the documents, fill out the forms, and (this is very important) ACTUALLY SIGN THE FORMS, PLEASE!

This way, you can make sure you won't get all your documents back after three weeks just to add that stupid signature!

And they even gave me a Master's degree!

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Saba, I admit you

With the Chancellor on the right and the Professor with the big stick on the left!

Update: That big stick is actually the University Mace and the professor holding it is called the "macebearer"!

Update 2: I just found out that they made a stupid mistake and gave me a blue hood (Master of science) instead of a red one (Master of applied science)... I know it's a "small" detail, but hey, I only have one convocation!

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An equation

Six Feet Under = Freak Show


Lovin' it so far! (half way through the first season)

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Googoosh (or what the hell are we doing here?)

So I went to see Googoosh last night... definitely worth the time and money. Although some said it wasn't as great as her other shows, it was more than what I had expected.

I'm not gonna bore you with the details of the show... those who know her can guess how it was and those who don't will not get an idea by just reading about it! but there's one thing I really need to say... going to this show last night made me realize what a hopeless nostalgic I am! Actually, almost everybody there was super nostalgic... why are we here if we miss Iran so much? Is this going to be my future? going to concerts and shows and singing about Iran, instead of living there and experiencing it in real life? It's sad, and probably true...

And it sucks!

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Everything must end...

... but why? why did IT have to end... and like this?... What will I do without you? my dear TV show, my precious LOST! I will think of you, day and night till September, when you return.

It's painful to even look at the cast photos... they're all so terribly hot... I'm gonna miss them!

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How to say you like someone's new hairdo!

Say: "I really like your new highlights, they are even better than your previous ones!"

DO NOT SAY: " I never liked your previous highlights but didn't say anything. This one's much better!"

... that's just wrong!

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Night

I finished reading Night, by Elie Wiesel, and I am impressed, and disgusted at the same time. He's a survivor of the Jewish concentration camps during WWII, and this book is the story of his survival.

You hear and read about all that Nazi regime did and you see all these movies and documentaries, but every time it has the same effect, at least for me. How could they be so blind and inhumane? Just look at the picture below! Wiesel is the 7th person from the left, on the second row. Do these people really look like people to you? they're nothing but bone and skin, with probably no soul too. How can you survive such horrendous conditions and still have a soul?

It's not a very long story, so I suggest you take the time and read it. The story was written in Yiddish and the new edition has been translated to English by Wiesel's wife. I felt that the writing style was not particularly great, but maybe it was because of what was lost in translation.

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Everybody in the house say : "Yeah"...

I have become a believer... Miracles can happen after all! After almost two days of mourning over my lost shirts (please understand that I'm a girl after all and shopping is my way of making life bearable) and coming to terms with the fact that they are nowhere to be found, Steve emailed and said that they're in his bag, in Bermuda of all places!!!! Can you imagine my relief and happiness?... Can't wait to get them back... So thanks for all the moral support, I think it was your positive energy that somehow made the universe change its ways!

(The picture is me in Terra Nostra store in Montreal, waiting for Steve to try out some stuff!)

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And bad luck continues...

So finally this morning I started packing my stuff to leave Montreal and go back to Vancouver. The trip had already been a bit stressful and I was looking forward to its end. But Being the super lucky girl that I am, while trying to get a pair of socks out of my packed suitcase, I realized it was locked and wasn't going to get opened easily... I thought to myself this was just one incident, it couldn't mean anything... so I checked out, left my stuff at the hotel lobby and went shopping, mind you, for the second time in 4 days! In less than 15 minutes I found that one of the straps of my handbag had become loose and was almost disconnected. It was my favorite hand bag by the way! Anyway, it took me only 1 hour to find a place to buy safety pins and temporarily fix the strap. Well, things started to look up after that... jumping from one shop to another... trying out shirts and pants and skirts... delightful! But no, it just wasn't my day... I got back to the hotel, got all my stuff back and got a cab... guess what I realized after checking in my suitcase... if your answer had anything to do with me somehow losing my precious shopping bag along the way, you were right! I lost FOUR cute shirts, with their tags still on, all at once!

Now try and tell me it's all coincidence!

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Ladies and gentlemen,

...finally, after what seems to be the longest time, she came, my (and many other people's!)one and only Shabnam. Sometimes you don't miss people and things enough, because you can't remember how they were exactly... then when you see/have them again, you realize you didn't miss them nearly as much as you should have! That was the case with Shabnam; only she can turn the most ordinary stories to super fun memories that makes your eyes water from laughing hard. And only she can be so adorably forgetful and caring at the same time. It's absolutely great to have her in the same continent, let alone in the same province!

As excited as I was to see Shabnam, I had to take off to Montreal for a conference. Let me tell you something, whoever said Montreal was cold didn't know a thing... I'm sweating all over the place. The only semi-decent summer-ish shirt that I had brought got totally stinky today, so I had to go,and conveniently, buy a new shirt! That'll teach me a lesson to check the forecast before traveling! I've only seen Old Montreal so far, which BTW was awesome. I'll go around some more tomorrow and Thursday .

On a side-note, those of you who plan to travel light, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR SHAMPOOS AND BODY LOTIONS AT HOME just because you think they take up too much space and/or are too heavy. Right now, after using hotel's products, my hair is basically impossible to manage and my skin is as rough as that of an elephant! So much for me traveling light...

On another side note, it's hard to share a room with people who, at least occasionally, get on your nerve so badly that you want to just start shouting at them as loud as you can!

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A song is stuck in my head...

... and I keep singing it to myself. I don't know if you've ever listened to Fiona Apple's songs, but she's got this really strange quality in her voice and style of singing that gets into you (or me, at least!)

The song's called "paper bag" and starts like this:

I was staring at the sky, just looking for a star
To pray on, or wish on, or something like that
I was having a sweet fix of a daydream of a boy
Whose reality I knew, was a hopeless to be had...

And then goes on to:

...Hunger hurts, but starving works,
When it costs too much to love...

Anyway, should try to get it out of my head somehow; it's driving me nuts!

PS - not sure why I even posted this, it's just something that has been bugging me all day!

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And another one...

well, I just realized tonight, with the help of an observant friend, that I usually go out after 9:00 p.m. I mean it just happens that most of my plans somehow end up being late night plans! What do you think is going on? Have I indulged myself in the rotten Western culture or what?

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Another midnight post!

Ok, so since some of you have shown interest in my drunken posts, here's one for you... except that I had my last drink more than two hours ago... so this might not be as interesting!

Following our unlucky chain of events, Nazi and I decided to do a magical trick (Jadoo va Jambal, if you will)... therefore, during an extremely superstitious act, we actually burned (or heated or whatever you may call it) some "Espand"! We did it the old fashioned way... circling it around our heads and moving it around the house and everything! Even our moms would be surprised. Don't judge us though, we'd never have done it if it wasn't for Nazi's injured knee... I mean, THAT was too much! I couldn't just sit there and wait for my hand to be cut off by some unfortunate accident now, could I? So yeah, I openly announce here that I am a "proud" superstitious after all, and so is my roommate, I guess!

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Save us from our house!

Have you ever noticed how bad things happen all at once? So you know, by reading my previous post, that our toilet was clogged! Well, at exactly the same time we found out about that, our kitchen sink just happened to start leaking! While we were trying to call the manager and get someone to take a look at it - which BTW hasn't happened yet! - our kitchen lamps died on us, all of them! And last but not the least... our futon's wooden frame suddenly started to squeak. After careful inspections, I realized it was a loose screw and fixed it (or at least I think so!). Well, I think it's about time that our ceiling falls on us or something in that order!

Honestly, do you think we haven't been paying enough attention to our house? maybe it's feeling neglected and is trying to tell us something! Whatever it is dear house, we've heard it! You can stop what you're doing now...please?!

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Plumbers!

Why get a PhD when you can charge $78/hour for fixing a toilet drain?!

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Hitler was human too!

I watched Downfall (Der Untergang) last night. (spoiler notice: this post may reveal some points in the movie plot!) A movie about the final days of the Nazi regime in Germany. It was a bit disturbing, seeing how people can be blinded by ideas, which in Hitler's case turned out to be very wrong. A long movie, but far from boring. It was the first movie I had seen that showed a more human side of Adolf Hitler. It showed some of the people in his circle of friends that actually liked and admired the guy, even when he was extremely close to the end of his reign/life. Some of them turned to extreme solutions when they saw their ideal future (i.e. a Germany with National socialism) going down the drain... This one couple actually KILLED their own children, because a world without their ideals wasn't an appropriate place for kids to grow up in! How sick is that? All on all, It's definitely one of the best WWII movies I've ever watched, so give it a try if you're interested in the topic; you won't regret it.

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When less is more!

Ok, obviously I don't have anything else to do, so I'm here to write about the new Pride and Prejudice - which I have just finished watching. This is a story that has been told/made-to-movie in every imaginable way and yet, surprisingly, I didn't get bored at all while watching the new remake! I think the director did a wonderful job in this new adaptation. Of course, as some reviews have mentioned, Elizabeth Bennet is too pretty to resemble the original character created by Austen herself; oh well, it's Hollywood after all! It just doesn't make sense when people keep talking about how beautiful Jane is ...you look at Kiera Knightly and are like: "what the ...?"... anyway, that aside, I thought it was a very good remake. The actor who played Mr. Darcy was indeed very agreeable! Beautiful country landscape and good music... Oh, yeah, and you know, there are these movies in which people keep making out and making love and stuff and try to convince you of the affection between the characters... and then, there are some other movies that will carry you till the very end only to find the main characters have their first/last kiss on the final scene. This was one of those movies... another one that I can remember was proof of life, which by the way was an interesting movie... I guess sometimes less can be more enjoyable!

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Totally irrelevant

1. Everybody has their own weird sense of humor; just accept it!

2. Today, this little girl on the bus - who thought I couldn't understand Farsi - told her mom "the lady who's sitting behind us is very pretty!"...yayyyyyy! a six year old thinks I'm pretty... making progress here!

3. I've totally lost my voice for no reason, sound like a Zombie right now!

4. The End.

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Movies and books, again!

I used to be a big fan of Judie Foster a few years ago... when she came back with Flight Plan last year, I was really disappointed I couldn't find a chance to watch it in a theater. However, after watching it last night, I'm kind of glad it didn't happen. It wasn't horribly bad, but still, it could be a lot better. I honestly didn't think that the final 3-4 minutes were really necessary and fading out into the white light was just too cheesy. Other than that, it was an ok movie and I think anyone can enjoy it as a rental DVD.

And while I was flying to Toronto last week, they actually showed "Memoirs of a Geisha" during the flight... I have to say I was impressed. I absolutely loved the movie and the soundtrack. It was a very well made movie. Apparently if you've read the book before, you might not enjoy it as much. I haven't read the book so I can't comment on that really. The acting was very good and the main actress was really really cute!

I have also started reading "Freakonomics" for my book club this month and so far (midway through the second chapter) have liked it a lot. There has been a lot said about it recently and I always wondered what it could be. Apparently, it's a new way of looking at the "hidden side of everything" as the authors put it. It's not about economics, but more on how to use it to explore different aspects of day to day life. I'll let you know how it turns out to be when I'm done reading it.

It was a lovely day and I can't believe I had to stay at school for a stupid invigilation instead of joining my friends on a trip to Victoria! I spent the last five hours (of a Friday evening, by the way!) marking the final exams of an economics course! ...LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSEEEEER!

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Toronto... finally

Got back today from Toronto... looks like I've had enough time to catch a cold after all.

I was really impressed when I first arrived at Toronto... huge highways and nice buildings in downtown area... however, it only took me a day to realize not everything is desirable about this city. People actually honked in the streets for no reason, something you almost NEVER see here in Vancouver. Asphalt on the street was all cracked and uneven, there was traffic on the highway on a long weekend, most trees had no leaves yet and the whole landscape looked kind of brownish...and driving... don't even get me started on it!... Toronto reminded me of Tehran in more than just one way.

You can not go to Toronto and not visit Niagara falls, so that's what I did... definitely an amazing experience... then, of course, was U of T that I just had to visit. A mix of new and old buildings in the middle of downtown Toronto... More importantly, I got to meet some friends I hadn't seen in a couple of years.

hmmm, oh yeah... another cool experience in Toronto: after a night of wondering around the city streets, my friends and I went to "Darband" restaurant and had "KALE-PACHE"!!!!!!! DELICIOUS!

However, as lively and interesting this city is, right now I just can't choose Toronto over Vancouver... but if there was a situation where I had to move, I'd be happy to go there for sure.

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I'm shallow, I know...

...but I have to come out clean to you... I've been shamelessly watching the 6th season of America's Next Top Model... didn't want to admit it, but it looks like I'm shallower than I thought.

I'm not a total retard and know it's just a show and everything is set up and so on. but why oh why did they have to kick out Mollie Sue and Leslie? I mean they were like my two favorite girls...I don't even know why i keep watching the show. Tyra Banks is SOOOOOOOOO on my nerves and the "reality" part of the show (i.e. when the girls are in the house fighting over the phone!) is just too "fake". Anyway, I'll watch the rest of the season I guess and then will quit... I swear!

I'm going away to Toronto tomorrow for the Easter weekend. Should be fun, and hopefully not too cold. That said, have to go start packing.

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Damn you, IE!

I just realized that my profile block looks weird in Internet Explorer. Should figure out a way to fix it (I'm not that good with html after all!), or ask everyone to use Mozilla Firefox instead!

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Lolita

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."

-from Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (beginning paragraph)

I have always believed in the importance of beginnings. You can tell right away if a book is worth reading by looking at the beginning paragraph. So when I started reading Lolita, I knew it was going to be a great experience... (I don't think when a novel is this well-known you actually need to worry about the starting paragraph, but anyway...). I was deeply and truly sorry that sometimes I couldn't fully drown in reading, because I needed to go look up a word in the dictionary! This is when it truly sucks not to be super-fluent in English. Especially when you know that Nabokov, himself, wrote this in English as his second language! (I think I should be sent to jail for, even remotely, comparing myself to Nabokov in any way)


I don't need to say much about this book, just find it, read it, and see for yourself. (watch out for the content though, I'm not taking any responsibility if you happen to hate the whole idea behind the story!)

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Honey

I love dance-related movies, especially if they are about hip hop... tonight I watched Honey and totally enjoyed it. As predictable as these movies are, I cannot help but enjoy the nice choreography and well, Jessica Alba being so unbelievably cute just made it a lot more interesting. Keep it on your list of movies for times you don't feel like watching anything serious.

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On piracy...

Quote from a friend of mine:

"...you know how they say : "you don't steal a car, so don't download music"...well, if stealing cars was as easy as downloading music... f***, I'd do it!..."

(You have to excuse the f word, my friend is not the politest!)

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Soundtrack of my life

I'm sure every one of you has one melody...one song...one poem that just brings you back the warmest, most enjoyable feelings from a memorable time of your life. Well, for me it's not "A" song, it's AN ALBUM! City of Angels Soundtrack is definitely the soundtrack of my life, for I lived most of my time listening to it when I was seventeen. And you all know how it's like to be seventeen... except if you're not seventeen yet - in which case you shouldn't be reading this blog in the first place! where are your parents?

There's just so much in this soundtrack. I dare you to listen to "I grieve" by Peter Gabriel and not like it! Or "Feelin Love" by Paula Cole... There's U2, Jude, Goo Goo Dolls, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Sara McLaughlin, Alanis Morissette... you name it! It's such a great great album... I STRONGLY recommend it to all of you. Except if you only listen to N'Sync and Jessica Simpson in which case I have to say, again, where are your parents?

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The aristocrats...

...Ok, that was the filthiest, most disgusting joke anyone could ever come up with, and it was HILARIOUS the way the movie, the aristocrats, approached it! This documentary is about a classic joke - which is like a "secret handshake" between comedians - being told in so many different ways by various comedians. It took me about half an hour to actually get the joke and after that it started to get really funny. There are some pretty lame people on it, but still there are some really great ones that just shock you with the amount of foul and disgusting stuff they can come up with! DO NOT WATCH IT if you get easily upset by sexually offensive language.

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Sizdeh-Be-Dar

It is finally Sizdeh-be-dar; eid is officially over!...I went out for just a little while, tied up a knot using the grass, and enjoyed the marvelous view and the great weather.


I'm reading Life of Pi now, a novel by Yann Martel and winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize. So far, it's been more than just interesting... it's supposed to be "a story that makes you believe in God". And I have to admit, it's written in a very captive manner; you just sink in and don't want to leave it aside until it's finished. I'm NOT saying that it would definitely change your belief system, but it certainly has a very refreshing point of view towards religion and God. There's this one chapter that's just HILARIOUS; three wise men from different religions (Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity) start this super-funny argument in defense of their respective religions. I had tears in my eyes, reading what stupid reasons they were coming up with to prove their points. Anyway, you should definitely read this book, whether you are a strong believer, an extremist atheist, or still undecided! I can guarantee that you'll get at least, if nothing else, a good laugh out of it. (By the way, I haven't finished the book yet; I know the story turns more serious later...so, don't expect a comic book!)

And here's a small section from the book that I liked:

" I can well imagine an atheist's last words:"White, white! L-L-Love! My God!" - and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, "Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain," and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story."

-Yann Martel , Life of Pi

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Don't look back

So, I watched another documentary about the one and only Bob Dylan yesterday. I had watched "No Direction Home" by Scorsese last summer and had absolutely loved it. However, that was more of a biography/ career history, whereas this movie, Don't Look Back, was a visual diary of a three week tour Dylan had in England in 1965, his last tour as a solo acoustic performer.


I liked the movie ... anything related to 60's music affects me in a weird-but-enjoyable kind of way. The scene where Bob Dylan was typing song lyrics while Joan Baez was singing "Percy's Song" in the background was my favorite... they were literally making history (music-wise, at least!) and there was a camera there to capture it! It's a very good documentary I think, showing the genius Dylan without covering up his jerk-ish side!!!

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A dog flick!

I just got back from the movies (cheap Tuesday nights, what can I say?), this time watching a much more fun movie, called "Eight Below".

There were only four "human" characters in it, namely, the hot dude, the hot chick, the funny dude (same guy from the American Pie movies), and the fourth guy! (Can't really say who he was, cause he was something between the bad guy and the old wise guy)... anyway, the real stars were eight of the cutest sled dogs I had ever seen- if you could call them cute cause they were huge!!! guess you can picture the rest of it... I liked the movie because there's always something very pure about animals and especially dogs.


The only problem was that this movie theater - which is really fancy, by the way - is in a not-very-good area of downtown Vancouver. It was 12:10 by the time we got out of the theater and the nearest bus stop was like 4 blocks away and it took ages for the right bus to show up... good thing we went to watch this movie, not something like "Night watch".

Hmmmm, I need to see a GOOD non-Hollywood movie real soon...

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God is in the rain

No, I'm not suddenly giving you spiritual BS...this is just one of the lines in the movie "V for Vendetta"... and although I absolutely love Natalie Portman, I have to say I'm disappointed!

Not that the acting was bad, or the production, or the music... everything was perfect, but in a Hollywood kind of way. The movie was such a cliche, I can't even begin to describe it! And it's very unfortunate, because it actually had, if you will, a "valuable message".

The movie tells the story of this Zoro-like hero that fights for justice in a future world with a very totalitarian British government. The whole idea of Britain, or any other country for that matter, gaining that much power freaks me out and I believe the movie touches on some important issues regarding how governments use fear to rule people. It could, however, be less of a cliche I think and that's just my opinion. Another $10.95 wasted on a movie that could be watched on DVD!


It's raining in Vancouver, BTW, and aside from the cheesy line in the movie, I actually do like the rain and do think that God , perhaps, is in the rain...

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One year...

...that's how old this blog is! Somewhere in the past month, this blog turned one year old! I can't believe I survived this long... thought I'd be running out of ideas in a month. Well, let's face it, I kind of did... and that was where the movie reviews came to rescue!!!

I do like it here... it's a nice way of letting your (sometimes destructive) feelings out! I still haven't found a clear direction for this blog though... can't seem to focus on one issue for too long... well, I guess that's what daydreamers are supposed to do!

As for the movies, I just watched Ocean's twelve. I had heard some very mixed opinions about it... as it turned out, I actually liked the movie! Ok, I agree it was slow, but that was the whole point. The idea was to focus not on the "mission" but on the people this time, at least that's what I thought. Giving some tangible earthly features to our perfect heroes made them more real and easier to like. Anyway, I thought it was a smart move from the director, cause there was no way in hell anyone could ever top Ocean's eleven in a sequel.


Can't believe the term is almost over and I have no clue what I'm supposed to be doing for my PhD! I'm going be here for a LONG time...

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نفس باد صبا...

باز هم یه عید دیگه... باز هم هفت سین و لحظه سال تحویل دور از خونه... امروز داشتیم با یکی از دوستان میگفتیم که خارج از ایران جطور همه چی کوفتت می شه! یعنی لحظه سال تحویل حتما من گریه ام می گیره! اما امسال احساس کردم که یه سری ادمهایی هم اینجا هستن که من کاملا الان دوستشون دارم و اونهان که زندگی کردن اینجا رو برای من لذت بخش کردن... دیگه کم کم می تونم بگم که اینجا هم برای خودم یه اجتماع کوچیک صمیمی دارم و اینه که مهمه...

خوبی نوروز اینه که یه دور یاد همه آدمهایی که می شناسی میفتی که بهشون تلفن یاایمیل بزنی... من هم سعی خودم رو میکنم که ایمیل همگانی نزنم و حداقل یه مینیمم customization داشته باشم! امروز تقریبا به همه کسایی که باهاشون در ارتباط هستم و حتی بعضیها که خیلی وقته ازشون بی خبرم ایمیل زدم... حس خیلی خوبیه!
عید رو دوست دارم با همه حس هایی که بهم می ده . اگه اهل شعر بودم حالا یه بیت شعر می نوشتم اینجا... اما فقط میگم که نوروز مبارک.

شاهین رو چک کنید که بالاخره باز نوشته و مثل همیشه عالی.

این هم سفره هفت سین امسال توی دانشگاه:

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My midnight post

I'm sitting here, half past midnight, replying to an email from my eX about a Begonia plant... maybe it's a sign of desperation when he emails me after all this time for such a silly matter!? I don't know and honestly I don't have time to care... have to be up in less than 8 hours to meet with Tom (my supervisor) and try to run an LP using MS Access. Now, THAT, is worth worrying about, cause I have no idea how you would use Access for optimization purposes!

Anyway, just finished the first season of Grey's Anatomy... it's a shame the second season is not out yet. I think I have a thing for TV series... they make you feel closer to the characters.

Oh, and it's "4shanbe Soori"... might head out to Wreck beach and light a fire with a couple of friends... a lot closer than West Vancouver for sure!... I have kind of ignored this event since I left Iran... never have been a big fan of jump-over-the-fire idea and all the explosive thingies were just too much too handle...kind of miss it now though, would be nice to have it this year. We'll see I guess.

I'm really beginning to consider a new carrier path: becoming a DJ! I mean, it's been like the 100th time someone has asked for my songs/ DJ-ship skills(cut me some slack here! I have to invent words, my brain is half asleep already!)... today this girl who's a grad student too asked me for some songs I played at one of the "lab socials' (a pathetic excuse for grad students/ faculty to get together and drink) and I'm supposed to burn a CD for her! I mean I could at least charge people for giving them my music, don't you think? itunes is charging $0.99/song, I should be fine with 15c I think...

Ok, now I REALLY have to go to bed before I post something I'd regret tomorrow morning... so to everyone, good night and good luck... (I know it's a really cheesy line and Jon Stewart has already used it... but I like it!)

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High fever and "Hazyoonat"

I'm sick! and life sucks when you're sick... even if you spend a whole weekend doing nothing except for watching TV. I have cough and congestion and am not showing any sign of improvement.

There are however some things I still enjoy... like watching the Oscars! I really thought having Jon Stewart hosting it was a big step forward compared to recent years. Not that he could ever beat Billy Crystal! Anyway, it was a good event I thought and I ended up watching "Crash" right after... it definitely deserved to be the best picture of the year.

Hmmm, I was thinking the other day that my supervisor had already had his kids when he was my age. Not only I don't have any kids, but I'm not even married, and not only I'm not married, but I'm not even in a relationship, and not only I'm not in a relationship, I'm not even REMOTELY interested in ANYONE around me... I mean, there's something potentially very wrong with me!... OR I just have a fever!

BTW, we started a book club with some friends of mine and are reading "Lolita" as our first novel to discuss... I started it tonight and I must confess that after three years of reading only fantasy books, it was not easy to understand at first... but as I progress through the story it is getting a lot smoother... there are a lot of things to discuss in our meeting for sure!

I'm not making any sense here, but what the heck... I've been watching the first season of Grey's Anatomy and am really liking it... these interns are really good subjects for TV series, don't you think?

Enough nonesense for now, gotta go...

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