The following is an account of my first real life conversation in Spanish with a native speaker, which happened back in March. (I wrote it down at the time but so much was going on in my life that I didn't get around to posting it until now.) It is not meant to be literature. I am merely jotting down what happened, and I decided to share it here since I thought it was amusing.

Some background information: I learned Spanish in school from 7th grade until 12th grade. After I finished my undergraduate degree I started taking Spanish classes at a community college for review, since I had forgotten nearly everything I previously learned. It's been the fourth quarter now, and this time I'm determined to continue learning after the class is over.

Also, I am Asian. Up til now I have kept my ethnicity a secret because many years ago someone I was subscribed to had written racist remarks about Asians. However, now my mentality is: if you have a problem with me being Asian, then quietly leave my site and don't come back.

*      *      *

On Tuesday my mom wanted me to stop by at a store on the way home to buy a bunch of bananas for relatives who were coming over on Thursday. I originally didn't want to because after shopping I would have to wait half an hour for the next bus to go home. However, since I had finished most of my assignments I felt I had time to spare, so I decided to do this errand for her.

As I sat down at the bus stop with my bananas, a Mexican guy, who was standing nearby, started talking with me. He said, "It's cold," with a smile, so I said, "yeah," and smiled shyly (because that's how I act when strangers make small talk with me). He said, "yes" then "sí" so I also said "sí" and nodded. The next thing he asked was "¿Hablas español?" (Do you speak Spanish?) "Un poco," (a little) I replied, thinking let's see how well I can carry on a conversation in Spanish with a native speaker in a real life setting. From here on, all the conversation, unless otherwise specified, was in Spanish. More Here...

Prom is an American thing, or so it seems. My parents grew up in another country and they never had prom, so they didn't think it was important.  Furthermore, they were under the impression that school dances were what lead to teenage sex because one of the sex ed videos they previewed showed that scenario. As a result, I never went to any of the dances and formals in high school. The only school dance I attended was my junior high graduation.

I didn't really care that I "missed out" on all those dances. What would I do there anyway? Listen to my friends ramble about guys I didn't know? (My high school was so academically oriented that a teacher remarked that people were discussing physics and calculus at the welcome back dance.) I hate loud environments and I like to be able to see clearly with adequate lighting.

When I said I wasn't going to prom, my friends responded, "But it's prom! You only get to do it once in your life." Perhaps their parents thought it was important, even though they came from the same cultural background as my parents. Or they were more lenient with their kids and better at assimilating than mine.

My only reason for attending prom or a formal was to dress up and get a makeover. There was no way that I'd find a date. (I was shy--still am--and guys didn't seem interested in me during high school.) My friends would say, "You can hang out with us!" but knowing them, that only works on a one-on-one basis. As soon as anyone else comes along, they ditch me. I still knew two girls who went to senior prom without a date.

If I were allowed to attend, most likely I would have had to do my hair and makeup myself. (I thought it was wasteful of my friend to pay some old lady $20 to stick on plastic nails, only to remove and redo them because there were bubbles in the glue, when she could have done it herself.) Most likely my dress would have come from Ross (or any other discount store), because my parents think it's ridiculous to spend so much money on a gown that I wouldn't even wear regularly. At the time I bitterly asked a friend if she's ever seen a modest gown; one that's not strappy, strapless, or backless, since my parents did not permit me to wear anything that showed so much skin.

Before the seniors left for their prom (my junior year), a friend went to campus to take pictures of people in their outfits, and I decided to tag along. Few people looked good in my opinion. It reminded me of little girls playing dress up with their mommy's lipstick. I saw a lot of girls with excessive makeup in garish colors and tons of exposed blubber. In all likelihood, my perception was influenced by jealousy at the time.

I might want to attend adult prom someday, but only for the sake of wearing a gown and getting decked up. I still don't like loud, dimly lit places, and even less when it's with a bunch of strangers and alcohol, so I don't think I would actually enjoy myself there, and wouldn't actually go. I do think spending so much on a designer dress for prom is excessive, but hey, that's what some people do. I'll admit that seeing that article made me a bit resentful about my own lack of prom experience, but life beyond high school was more fulfilling for me, so it's not like it left a big dent. I personally think prom is no big deal and not even necessary, so I don't understand all the fuss about it. Anyone want to explain to me what's so magical about that one night?

---
This was originally posted on 6/2 last year.  I decided to repost it while I'm recovering from not being in the mood to write. Full recovery will be soon.    

I just took this nerd test. In case you're wondering, this is my result.

(I really think I am only somewhat nerdy, since I'm surrounded by computer geeks most of the time.)

Anyway, there was a series of questions asking if you could only choose one, meaning you could never have the other again, which would you pick. The choices for one item were Internet or sex.

I interpreted sex to mean specifically intercourse. Given how I have never had an enjoyable sexual experience, intercourse or not, I really don't care much for sex. So I easily picked Internet. After all, I spend a lot of time online, primarily reading about anything that interests me. (I hope my revelation doesn't disappoint a bunch of guys.... Blame my first guy, he disappointed me! lol.)

It doesn't look like I'll be passing on my genes at this rate.

Which would you pick? How easy or difficult is it for you to decide?

What is it about Xanga drama that sucks people in? Or should the question actually be: what is it about the personalities of the individuals that makes them get involved?

As you can probably tell, I personally try to stay away from drama. If I read an opinionated post about another Xangan, or see people bickering in the comments about other Xangans, I immediately click the back button on my browser. Basically, I'm indifferent. 

I'm sure that drama brings plenty of traffic to a site. In this day and age, for many people in my generation, the distinction between fame and infamy is lost.

I know it's inevitable; as long as there are people, there will be drama. I guess my brain is wired in a way so that I would prefer to stay far away from drama, and I believe I'm not the only one. Still, I can't help but wonder why some people seem to thrive on it. For the attention?

I tell myself: some people aren't worthy of being hated; rather, they deserve to be ignored.