I can’t listen to the radio… I just can’t. I know there are some decent enough stations in the area, but commercial radio drives me insane. If it’s not the ad invasion, it’s the stupid talk show people who get frankly annoying. And then they take every single good song and overplay it until you just want to grab the singer by the hair and throw them into the nothingness. That song “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles? Yeah that one… that I liked so much… I want to destroy the piano in the intro and scream banshee.

And yes, I know there are CD’s and MP3’s and XM radio. But I just wanted to vent. I’ve had enough of Rocket and Theresa in the morning.

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When I moved to North America almost 10 years ago, I knew things were going to be A LOT different than in Colombia. The Canadian lifestyle clashed against my habits and beliefs more than once, but the country is laid-back enough for me not to freak out. Yes, people over there are obsessed with work, and they talk about it in social situations, and money is a big thing, and Canada is a consumerist society. Yes, people don’t work to live, they live to work… etc. And then I had the idea that it was exactly the same in the United States. I was, oh, so very wrong.

The first thing that made me think about it, was when I watched a Michael Moore’s documentary (I don’t remember if it’s Bowling for Columbine or Fahrenheit 911) and he stated that Americans are paranoid. And while I don’t want to offend anyone, I do believe Americans do have a very peculiar personality. People here are always rushing (and I live in KC… Imagine I was in NY… I would go insane!), people never have time for anything, people use every single minute of the day doing something. It’s almost like they are on defense mode all the time. Kids go to school, and then spend the afternoon at every class you can think of. Their parents work 60 hours a week to keep up with the fast-paced society… not to mention consumption.

You must be thinking “This isn’t new, you silly woman.” and you are right, it isn’t new. But it finally hit me now that I joined the American work force. I belong to a minority that comes from a culture where people still take the time to stop and smell the roses. That lunch you have with co-workers? Make it 5 minutes longer, so you can enjoy a cafecito. Saturdays are made to be with friends and family and not stuck in an office catching up with the things you couldn’t do during the 50 hours you did during the week. You know what I mean, right?

So yes, I’ve been in the North side of the American continent, but I had never lived in the U.S.A., and now I’m starting to understand why this country is the way it is. I understand why Americans are the way they are. The sad thing is that when I try to reach a conclusion, I can only think of two words that can be the cause of the depressive malaise that affects people in this country so often: Overworked and undersexed.

That being said, I do my best to stay afloat. That is one of the reasons why I like being a latina. Even with the busy work schedule and being pooped at the end of the day, my husband I still feel like dancing and loving. Because we like to stop and smell the roses.

I think this video will always make me cry. Daughtry’s awesome.

I got a “newish” car on April 13th (my Toyota Corolla was due for retirement), and only 3 days later I had to bring it back to Carmax because the engine light went on. When John went to pick it up, he noticed something was wrong and left it there. The Carmax people took it to the Ford dealer to have it inspected by “certified” mechanics (whatevs!), and I only got it back yesterday.

So today I went to work in the morning and the car was working fine, but when I went out for lunch, it started acting up again. I took it to Carmax, told them what was going on, and they told me they were going to give me a loaner. I waited for about 10 minutes, and then one of the guys came to tell me my loaner car was ready. He said “It’s a Nissan Altima, a cousin of the Infinity.” and I was thinking “Dude, he can be Mercedes’ brother, I don’t give a rat’s ass, just get my car fixed.” — I’ll make sure I open my mouth and complain my husband’s awesome style next time… LOL

I brought the Altima home, and 20 miles later I realized I was on over-drive… Ha ha ha! Oh well, now I can really say that Nissan drives quite nicely. But it isn’t my car. I really hope they do something about it, or well… I’ll get my money back.

There is an episode of “Friends” where Rachel tries to mingle with her new boss and assistant at all costs. They both smoke, so Rachel puts up with the fact that she doesn’t, and gets into the habit just so she won’t feel left out. They are talking about work during smoke-breaks, and she doesn’t want to miss a thing. I thought about this episode recently.

Most of my work team-mates are smokers, and they go religiously out at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to get their nicotine fix in the back of the building. The non-smokers? We go potty, get coffee, check personal e-mails, etc. But yesterday I had to work, and my co-workers went out for a break and told me to go with them so I wouldn’t stay alone.

Do you know how difficult it is for an ex-smoker to be offered a cigarette and say no? VERY! At least it is for me. Sometimes, when I’m in a bar with people smoking around me, I think I’m going to go crazy. I can say cigarette smoke bothers me most of the time, but there are times when I really want one. Of course I just say NO to myself and forget about it. But it was hard yesterday, and I could’ve just accepted one, but who would I be cheating on but myself, right?