On Higher Education....

I guess what I have gleaned from this whole experience is this: you can do almost anything in the real world as long as you've tried to experience everything, whether it be the arts or science, because it all helps you in the real world. Look at my Dad. He's done pretty much every profession I can think of. Even if he hasn't, I still like to pretend he has because there is an obscene amount of knowledge in that man's brain. He can do almost anything because he has either done before in a previous career/job or he's a great bullshitter in making you think he has done it before in a previous career/job. Either way, he has used past experiences to help him now while still learning and acquiring more knowledge.

Look at U.S. higher education. When you first start your four years at a University, you're forced to take general education classes. Most people bitch and wonder why, but I looked at it as: what could these classes tell me about myself? Will these classes tell me what I like? It does, because without having taking these classes I would not have discovered my love for languages.

One of the beauties of having an American education is that you can study whatever you want, whenever you want. I realized near the end of my four years that I didn't really like Biology but I want to continue with my education up through a PhD. That's ok, I can do it in whatever I want. I knew people getting their masters in Theatre Performance after having gotten their bachelors in political science. That's right. There's nothing that can stop you in the U.S. of A. except your imagination....and maybe you pocket book. Yes, I'm afraid that the only downside of an all-American education. The ridiculous cost of going to school, and it's rising still! Yes, in Europe or even in South America the cost is either free or very minimal; however, what you decide to study is all you get. You decide after a few years that you don't want to be an architect? Tough shit, bitch, you either suck it up or start over.

I personally plan on getting my master in Business Administration concentrating on International Business. Maybe I'll get my PhD in something involving languages, I don't know but it doesn't matter because I can.

On Supernatural...

Back during the summer before my senior year at IU, my roommate (who shall be here forever called Dju-Dju) got me into a little tv show called Supernatural. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, here’s the presmise: The story revolves around the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean, who hunt supernatural beings straight out of urban legends, campfire stories, horror movies and whatever else that go “bump in the night.” Now while this show is on its fifth season, the reason for this post coming up now is simply because of soon to be recent events. My little cousin, Becka, told me of her interest in the show and we plan on marathoning it this weekend. I own all of the available season (1-4) and I will let her borrow all of them (I’ve already marathoned them 2.5 times….I need a bit of a break). But this made me think about the show as a whole and why I love it oh so much. From the witty banter

Sam: Hey, Dean. What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I’m sorry.
Dean: (holds up hand to stop Sam) No chick flick moments.
Sam: Alright…jerk.
Dean: Bitch.
-Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot

to the classic rock sountrack (Exmples: Blue Oyster Cult, Journey, AC/DC, Foreigner)

Sam: Dude, you gotta update your cassette tape collection.
Dean: Why?
Sam: Well, for one, they’re cassette tapes. And two, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica?! It’s the greatest hits of mullet rock.
Dean: House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music; shotgun shuts his cake hole.
Sam: You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old. It’s Sam, okay?
Dean: Sorry, can’t hear you. The music’s too loud.
-Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot

This show has it all. The creator, Eric Kripke, had the whole premise planned out from beginning to end with the great in between therefore this show has never let me down. The shows centers around the relationship between the two brothers. Their relationship is not perfect, it’s like any other siblings. But Sam and Dean had been through such extreme circumstances in the last five seasons where at times they are bonded while other times they at odds. The two actors Jared Padalecki (Sam) and Jensen Ackles (Dean) are absolutely amazing. Did I mention that they were hot?




Also, each season has been awesome at “one-upping” itself. And by that it simply means that each season keeps getting better and better. How is that possible you ask. Well, let’s go through each season (SPOILER ALERT!)






SEASON 1:

Sam: No. No, whatever you wanna say, you can say it in front of her.
Dean: Okay…um…Dad hasn’t been home in a few days.
Sam: So he’s working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He’ll stumble back in sooner or later.
Dean: Dad’s on a hunting trip, and he hasn’t been home in a few days.
Sam: …Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside.
-Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot

So begins the quest. Sam and Dean were raised by their dad (John) to hunt supernatural beings after a demon killed their mother 22 years before. Sam decided that he had had enough of that lifestyle so he left for college and tried to create some semblance of a normal life. However, when the demon returns to kill his girlfriend, Jess, and their father missing, Sam and Dean join forces to pick up where their dad left off. This season is a great beginning to this show because not only is it a monster of the week, but each monster has its own folklore. This season really takes its time in really developing this world. You learn about wendigos, women in white, angry spirits and grim reapers. The writers take care that while this is a fleshed out world with a lot of background information and a very complex overall plot (that spans all 5 seasons), the viewer is given enough information to know what’s going and always be on the edge of their seat while not overloading them at the same time. The first season really only concentrates on the world. But you get hints that there’s something special about Sam: he has moments where he can see the future. (dum dum dum!!)

Without their father, both brothers are going into this world rather blindly. Before, their father always had the knowledge and told them what to do and how to kill whatever beast they were “hunting.” They acquire their dad’s journal which is chock-full of information but is still incomplete. Whenever they’re on a job, you see the difference in Sam and Dean on how they go about getting information. Dean has an endless supply of fake IDs from CDC to FBI and each alias he and Sam use are references to bands or movies (the ones that get it, like myself, always squee). Examples of some aliases: Agent Ford and Agent Hamill from Season 1 Episode 3. Ford and Hamill (for those of you who don’t know) are from Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill; two stars from Star Wars Han Solo and Luke Skywalker respectively. Also in Season 1, Episode 4 Dean refers to himself as Dr. James Hetfield from St. Francis Memorial. The real James Hetfield is the lead singer of Metallica (squee!). Sam on the other hand uses the skills he learned from college to get info: the library and book smarts.

Sam: Dean did you pay any attention in history class?
Dean: Yeah! Shot heard ’round the world, how bills become laws…
Sam: That’s not school; that’s Schoolhouse Rock!
-Season 2, Episode 9: Croatoan
The two brothers work great off of each other. Did I mention that they were hot? And of course how does this season end? Sam, Dean and John get hit by a truck…..WTF!!!!!!!

SEASON 2:

Sam: Hey Dad, you know, the demon, he said he had plans for me and the children like me. Do you have any idea what he meant by that?
John: No, I don’t.
[Sam leaves the room]
Dean: [to John] Well, you sure know something.
- Season 2, Episode 2: In My Time of Dying

Now the show has begun to “up the stakes.” The Winchesters all wake up from their various states of unconciousness except Dean is not technically awake: he’s in the state between life and death! Then John sacrifices his life and the colt (that can kill demons) to the very demon that killed his wife 22 years before so that Dean could live. Now the Winchester brothers have lost both their parents to the same demon and have to continue down the path they were headed. Now they have more reason to get this demon. However, before John’s death, John made Dean promise that he would look after Sam. It turns out that Sam’s psychic abilities from season 1 stem from something sinister for a sinister purpose.

This is a great season because you’re already a veteran to this world so there is not as much emphasis on the “monster of the week.” Instead, the story focuses on the overall plot of the series which is about Sam and other children like him. They come across other children who were about the same age as Sam with similar abilities. The overall question in this season: does having powers given by a demon automatically make one evil? It’s a question that comes up time and again between Sam and Dean. Sam wanting so much to believe that he still has a choice in his destiny despite what this demon has in store for him. While Dean is unsure, he has seen most of the “special” children like Sam become evil. He, too, wants to believe that Sam will be different but is finding it harder and harder to believe. As an audience member, even I was unsure what the future would mean to Sam.

How does this season end? Sam gets whisked away by the demon for an ultimate showdown with the other special children. Sam gets killed, Dean makes a deal with a demon to bring back Sam and together they go and finally kill the demon but setting lose half the demons from hell. phew! That a lot!

SEASON 3:

Bobby: So, we’re eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?
Dean: Well, sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain’t sweatin’ the cholesterol
-Season 3, Episode 1: The Magnificent Seven

Dean’s deal with the demon: he gets one more year to live, then his soul goes to hell in payment for bringing Sam back to life. This season focuses more on Dean. I love Dean simply because on the outside he is all sass but on the inside he is terrified with the prospect of going to hell. Sam in this season is desperate. He knew what his father did to save Dean and now what Dean did to save him. He spends the season trying to find anyway he could to save his brother. Sam and Dean meet a new face: Ruby, a demon who escaped from hell. Who is she? What is her purpose? Why is she so bent on helping these two when the Winchesters are set on killing every demon in sight? Again, the audience is not only a veteran to the world, the the Winchesters have “leveled up” like in Dungeons and Dragons and they have acquired more skills. More specifically, skills that pertain to the trapping and exorcising of demons. It’s fun to have seen these later seasons and then go back to season 1 (actually Season 1, Episode 4: Phantom Traveler) where they have their first encounter with a demon and how clumsily they fumble through exorcising it. Their only hope is to find the head honcho “White-eyed demon” Lilith who holds the deal to Dean’s soul and kill her. How does this season end? Ruby is possessed by Lillith and Lilith unleashes the hell hounds on Dean who drag his bloody soul into hell.

SEASON 4:

Dean: Look, pal, I’m not buying what you’re selling. Who are you really?
Castiel: I told you.
Dean: Right. And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?
Castiel: Good things do happen, Dean.
Dean: Not in my experience.
Castiel: What’s the matter? You don’t think you deserve to be saved.
Dean: Why’d you do it?
Castiel: Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you.

-Season 4, Episode 1: Lazarus Rising

Finally! After three years of wondering when the other side was going to come up, we finally get our answer. The show has now thrown Angels into the mix, and they’re no nicer than demons. The audience is introduced to Castiel, an angel that dragged Dean from hell for a purpose. What was that purpose? To stop Sam. While Dean was down in hell, Sam was busy. Ruby returned and coached Sam into using his powers. Now Sam can exorcise demons with his mind!

“That telekinesis, Kyle!”

-Wonderboy – Tenacious D

What’s more, Lilith is still on the lose and is breaking the 66 seals. There are hundreds if not thousands of seals to choose from and Lilith only has to break 66 in order to unleash Lucifer from his prison and begin the apocalypse.

Dean is tormented by his memories of hell. What was four months for us that he was dead was 40 years to him in hell. thirty of those years were spent being tortured and then the last ten he got off the rack and began torturing…and he loved it. Turns out that the act of getting off of the rack and torturing was the first seal. Dean was not brought back from hell for redemption, it was to clean up the mess he started. And Sam is bent on killing Lilith before he breaks the final seal…the truth is: killing Lilith is the final seal. The Angels do nothing to stop Sam from killing Lillith therefore it is the Winchester brothers that both started the apocalypse.

This season has some great episodes. Episode 18 of this season, The Monster at the End of This Book was brilliant. One because it gave a nice shout out to those of you out there who read Wincest (Winchester + incest = amazing for most Supernatural fans excluding me) and because after all of the Indiana references they also finally gave a shout out to Bloomington! (The body Lilith was posessing was a dental hygenist from Bloomington, Indiana). The Episode after that, Jump the Shark, was also brilliant because it introduced a third Winchester brother…who was technically already dead to begin with.

I love this season because this is the first time you see the Winchester brothers divided. Divided mostly on their opinions of Ruby. Dean still finds it odd that Ruby wants to help them. While Sam tries to defend his decision that Ruby wants to help him and that he is still using his powers for good. In a way, he is. He is only using his powers to kill demons and/or expel them back to hell. He doesn’t hurt anybody, but it’s still a means to an end: an end to Lilith.

I was not a fan of this season’s Ruby. They have a different actress come in (there is a good explanation as to why) but she was as strong and badass as Season 3’s Ruby. However, at the last moment when Lucifer was being freed and you saw Ruby’s true colors, she finally redeemed herself in my eyes. I also got as much satisfaction when Sam killed her. It was a brilliant season and by far my favorite…..until…..

SEASON 5:

Dean: What do you mean I’m the sword?
Zachariah: Your Michael’s weapon, or rather is receptical.
Dean: I’m a vessel?
Zachariah: Your THE vessel. Michael’s vessel
Dean: How.. why me?
Zachariah: Because your chosen. Its a great honor Dean.
Dean: Oh yeah.. life as an Angel condom… That’s real fun. I think I’ll pass, thanks.-Season 5, Episode 1: Sympathy for the Devil

!!!!!! Dean as Michael’s weapon? And to top it off: Sam is Lucifer’s vessel. The most recent episode (Episode 8), Changing Channels, finally explained what seems to be the whole point of this show: a showdown between two brothers. In the last rebellion against God, Michael was the one that threw Lucifer into Hell. This time, it’s supposed to be another showdown between Michael and Lucifer but through their vessels of Dean and Sam respectively. And why these two? The Archangel Gabriel explaneth: Sam and Dean are just like Lucifer and Michael.

Michael/Dean: obedient son to an absent father. Always trying to get approval

Lucifer/Sam: does not agree with this father, always argues. Begins rebellion and is cast away by their fathers (Sam to college and Lucifer to hell)

This season is fucking brilliant. Everything from the last four seasons has lead the audience to this point. Essentially this show IS the Book of Revelations. Brilliant! This is supposed to be the last season. I honestly hope it is because I don’t think Supernatural will be able to outdo itself after this.

In love this show. It has everything I love: wit, hot guys, great soundtrack, amazing story that has kept me guessing this last year and the potential to end in a blaze of glory and not crash and burn like that other show Smallville.

But where do we go from here? Guess we’ll have to tune in next week…

On Half-Siblings...

Before my parents met, my dad was married a couple times….and had children. All together, my dad has six kids (I, myself, am the sixth and only from my parents and therefore the only dark haired/dark eyed latina). There is a ten-year gap between myself and the next sister before me and an eighteen-year gap between myself and my oldest sister. All of my siblings (four sisters and one brother) have kids and they had them young. I will admit there are quite a few pros with having half-siblings that are so much older than me:

1. more presents for me on Christmas and Birthdays……except not so much on birthdays anymore since most don’t even call me anyway.

2. I have the joy of being the annoying little sister whenever possible (but it’s not all the time….which is grand because it’s a lot of work)

3. I do have some kind of companionship (especially with the sister before me).

4. I have a sister who I’ve decided to be my matron of honor

5. They already moved out as I got older so I didn’t have to share…..though I did get the hand-me-downs

6. Plenty of nieces and nephews

7. The fact that when people see us together, they’d never guess that we’re siblings (it's great to mess with people...it really confuses them)

However, the one major con I will say about having siblings so much older than me is that I am constantly at a different stage of life as the others. By the time I was in high school, all of my siblings were married (or some form of) and were having children. Let me reemphasize: I was in high school. By the time I was in college, all of my siblings were married (or some form of) and were having children. And some of their children were having children. Again let me reemphasize: some of their children were having children and I was only in college. Now that I am out of college with a degree, a job, my only children being my guinea pig and dog and no husband, I find that while I’m finally old enough to deemed an adult, my siblings are still at a different stage of life than I am.

My siblings are like e-mails that I get from my Peruvian relatives: with large powerpoint attachments. The kind of attachments that take forever to load and slows everything down to where you wait 20 minutes for a powerpoint presentation that you already got from your other aunt but you just want to be sure it’s different so you sit through it. Now I’m not calling my neices and nephews lame powerpoint attachments. But they are the attachments that burden the rest of the message. If you want the message, you have to go through the attachments. I could never have a time where I go out and have a drink with my sister (or brother) or do something that’s just the two of us (or maybe all six of us). That’s because they have children and are unable to do anything without them. I don’t blame them, they do what they want with their own lives.

But this is the major reason I try so hard to be there for my cousins and neices/nephews on my latin side. I’m closer with them because 1. I see them more often that I do my own siblings and 2. they’re more willing to follow me on my zany adventures (as long as it’s legal). I see these young kids more as siblings to me than my real ones. And while I’m not really close with my siblings, I guess this whole rant really goes towards the sister before me because she was one that really tried when we were younger and I definately appreciate it. That is why, whenever I get married, she will be my matron of honor. She doesn’t know it yet, and while I don’t have any expectations for her to do anything (bachlorette party or bridal shower because I’ll leave that to my friends), I’ll expect one hell of a speech from her.

On Marriage...

“The two important aspects to a marriage is sex and money. Lack of either causes it’s downfall” – My Dad

‘Nuff said.

On Microbiology...

So I’ve decided to go back into this blogging world after coming across a friend’s blog and I was intrigued. My friend has always been a great writer and has always been very insightful, very artistic. In fact, I was impressed at how she utilized her English degree and training to the max. I’ve realized that I don’t know if I could write a blog like hers where not only were they snapshots into her thought processes but they were also mini essays on life, love and religion. They were also poetic. I find that I’ve lacked lots of poetry as of the last four years and why is that? Because I decided to take the less artistic route and become a Biologist.

Before IU, I was everything artsy. I was a show choir nut, a violinist, a pianist, and an actress. I got out of all that when I left Pike High School because of one thing and one thing only: drama. I couldn’t stand the drama of those type of people because while I love the drama of plays, most people never wanted the drama to end so they carry it out into reality. And to what end? No one really gains anything and it’s interesting to look back and see how drama then felt like the end of the world when really there are worse things out there. Frankly. And when you get out into the real world and experience things you find that what you experienced in high school was nothing. But I digress, high school is another subject for another day.

Anyway, back to what I was talking about: once I started college I went for the degree that was farthest from what I spent the last four years doing: Biology. In my experience, science majors in general are either socially inept or lack the need engage in any more social interaction than a simple “hi” or “bye” simply because they study all of the time to get the grades to make it into med school. However, this was a drawback just as much as as a blessing. Because of their social ineptness/need for constant study I didn’t have that many friends from my major. Through my roommate, Kirsten, I managed to find friends that I’m still friends with today: from the theater department. Go figure. Of course, I have other equally awesome friends that I made through my dorm freshman year (Go Collins!).

Though while I managed to avoid some drama in my four years at IU, I did realize that I should have been aware something crucial before starting my Biology degree: I wasn’t very good at it. Biology, I mean.

Well, it’s not so much that I’m bad at Biology….I’m not good academically. I find that I’ve always been on a different wavelength from my professors for whatever reason and this hindered my ability to take tests and as a result, I perform poorly. It was never for lack of studying for Lord knows that I studied hard, but when it came down to the tests: I always over thought. This caused a serious amount of distress on my part and several phone calls to my mother at different times of the day/night in tears telling her that I hate Biology.

However, at the same time, I loved Biology. More specifically I loved zoology. I love looking at the bigger picture and that the picture is huge.

Evolution is like a story filled with intrigue and puzzles. Like reading a book that has pages missing but you’re still getting the general idea. I mean I could go on for hours on the evolution of oxygen. How exciting! Invertebrate Zoology caused me to rekindle my love affair with my major. Though my love affair ended with Fungus….imagine that. I ended up finishing my major simply because it was a challenge, and while I was technically losing, I was gonna beat it. I did. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in both Biology and Spanish and got a job as a Microbiologist in a pharmaceutical company.

Here’s the irony: I do well with macrobiology (Evolution, Zoology, the big picture) while I struggle with microbiology. So why am I a microbiologist? Besides the fact that it pays the bills and I work with fungus (more irony), it still requires skills that I already posses: the ability to look at the bigger picture when there’s a failure and my love for writing when I write investigations. At least that’s how I justify it in my mind when I come to work every morning. Though it also helps that most of my coworker are just as insane as I am which makes everyday an adventure. Also, surprisingly enough, I’m good at what I do.

I found that the world of science academia was very different than science in industry. Or better yet, science in the classroom vs. science in a lab. I can do the lab work, I can do it well. But sometimes you have to go through things you hate because you know it gets better in the end.