• alicia keys - you don't know my name
• common - the light
• jimmy eat world - crush
• amy winehouse - he can only hold her
• des'ree - kissing you
• the roots & common - act too (love of my life)
• the roots - water
• talib kweli - gun music
• janet jackson - love will never do (without you)
• madonna - like a prayer
• mya - fallen
• no doubt - new
• dido - white flag
• jimmy eat world - 23
• maxwell - whenever wherever whatever
• anything aaliyah. the girl could do no wrong.
• john legend - slow dance
• new edition - one more day

• a program that shows you the last post (maybe 2) a person published before getting filtered out of someone else's news feed.
• a "stop suggesting that i add this person as a friend; i do know him and he's an asshole" option

• kare kare
• "sinigang"
• beefsteak
• spaghetti
• cassava

• passport
• vitamin A stella
• vitamin A eden
• summer dresses
• work clothes
• vans
• sunglasses
• cosmetic bag
• luggage
• summer totes
• cute watch
• eye cream
• picture frames
• magazine holders
• thing for my bags
• shampoo + conditioner

• 2/24/09 a guy in my harlem renaissance class mentioned how perfectly and naturally the english language and hip hop fit together; hip hop could not have originated in any other language. when it does appear in other languages, it doesn't feel right. non-english hip hop is always missing something. professor noted that the quality of hip hop also has a lot to do with the circumstances that produced it (of course), which other cultures could never duplicate in real life or translated language. after class, i thought about it and realized that it's no coincidence that i love linguistics as much as i love hip hop. my love for one intensifies my love for the other. the scope and capabilities of language are just incredible. -- at moments like these, you truly gotta love college.
• 5/4/09 i definitely want an MA in linguis...

• graduate cum laude
• get a good full-time job. that offers insurance.
• get my bills under control
• take a beach vacation
• go back to california
• take a city vacation.
• write something meaningful
• get on a regular workout (run. religiously.)
• get a passport - the world is calling my name.

• go sailing
• swim in the mediterranean sea
• swim on the west end of the iberian peninsula... portugal!
• swim off the california coast (never been to the beach in cali--what the...)
• see the bulls run in pamplona, spain! (from a balcony where i know i won't get attacked)
• snowboard in switzerland
• attend an olympic event (cool sports only, please no rhythmic gymnastics)
• hold the following: 1. my child(ren) 2. grandchild(ren) 3. great-grandchild(ren) - even if it's not til i'm 100.
• to explore india - historically & physically. i must be photographed with the taj mahal.

• One Hundred Years of Solitude
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• The Hummingbird's Daughter
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Daughter of Fortune
• Paula
• Interpreter of Maladies
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

• that no person is ever truly validated by another person's opinion of them; "be true to yourself" is such a cliche, but also so important to know, understand, and live by.
• do not waste your time in a relationship with a man who doesn't understand or support your dreams.
• do not waste your time in any kind of relationship where the other person doesn't respect you.
• don't be careless, a whore, or - the worst - a careless whore. respect yourself and your body. lusting after cute boys is fun, and you can make out with as many boys as you want. however, sleeping with a boy you barely know - though it always seems harmless in the heat of the moment - is a BAD IDEA. if he has an std, he is certainly not going to admit it until you've contracted it from him. if you get pregn...

things we'd say to customers if it was our last day with the company. (i work swimwear retail.)

• ("will this be see-thru when it's wet?") well, that depends. how dark are your areolae? (co-worker chimes in - in the background - "areolae-hee-hoo!")
• okay, well come back when you're serious.
• thank you for wasting my time and yours.
• jesus christ, how much deodorant are you wearing!?
• what's "cute"?
• well, obviously you have no taste.
• it's not the suit that makes you look broad. it's the benchpressing.
• (to buff customer, before she even opens her mouth to ask a question) i'm sorry, we don't sell scoop bottoms.
• oh, "short torso." (shoots knowing glance at co-worker) ("short torso," aka "too f...

• (pulling up at speedy's) "..."
• "the best thing i had at speedy's was the soda."
• "i'm coming back at 4 in the morning and throwing a brick through the window."
• "it's like a hidden treasure. there's probably a $100 bill in there. and an engagement ring. with curly, greasy hair all over it."
• "did you just get hit on by all 3 of those guys?"
• "i'm so mad right now. i could pick up that car and throw it."
• "i kind of look like a whore."
• "you only live once..."
• "put your shoes back on, motherf*cker! (turns & yells into 7-eleven) yo, paul is in his underwear!"
• (yelling apologetically to lady stopped in her jeep while paul crosses the street in his underwear) "i'm not gay! i'm not g...

• vitamin a stella
• vitamin a eden
• vitamin a that girl
• ondademar equilibrium
• vix gem (brazilian)
• vix odette
• betsey johnson at the hop
• betsey johnson chez rose
• betsey johnson fever

• not with that body, not with those shoes.
• genelle g*rdiola, you're the belle of the ball.
• i'm sorry if i'm one of a kind and he can't have me.
• it's like people who hold on to their skinny jeans, hoping they'll fit them again one day.
• i am always bigger than my relationship.
• all my testes who independent... (throw your scrotum at me)
• sh, don't tell andrew.
• mangel***.
• this motherfucker is interrupting my beauty rest!
• she didn't go to prom because she couldn't find a dress with sleeves.
• ew, r******'s girlfriend. go iron your skirt.

• fluency in multiple languages (of different language families) - at least 5.
• tri-lingual children. i also hope they're well-rounded, imaginative, and down-to-earth.
• the fantasy "spanish-style, lager-filled, furnished-up fortress" constructed in nas songs that lives on in my dreams.
• if not the big red-roof spanish-style house, a big fancy brick one will do. light brick.
• oceanfront property that endures any and all inclement weather.
• a library/office in my house. this is not negotiable.
• babies (plural) that look like paul.
• badass princess cut engagement ring.
• ok, ok. i secretly lust over the tiffany novo cushion cut engagement ring (2+ carats). the ring of my wildest, wildest dreams - it's TOO beautiful. but at this poin...

• dad
• go
• stop
• hi
• touchdown (wtf)
• bird
• plane (pla)
• Josh
• boo
• car
• please (pla with lots of spit at the pl)
• toes

--because their first singles were (to me, personally) so annoying

• sara bareilles
• adele
• joss stone (love, love, love her 2007 & beyond)
• corinne bailey rae
• norah jones

• our spontaneous wednesday afternoon road trip to richmond to fulfill a *personal* invite to chill with the J A B B A W O C K E E Z. i mean, f*ck! this one thing alone was enough to make 2009 the best. i woke up that morning expecting to spend the whole day studying. but before going to bed that night, i had somehow driven (with my girls in tow) a couple hundred miles, attended an nkotb concert, offered to take phi nguyen on a date, and sat around a hotel lobby at 1 am eating pizza with the sexiest male hip hop dancers on earth. god i love my life.
• FINALLY graduated with my BA in english / linguistics
• after graduating, i finally got to go on vacation! hadn't had a week off work since 2006. crazy.
• going back to cali, cali, cali... ;) my heart has taken permanent residence in nor...

• (literally) losing money - carelessly putting cash in my back pocket and expecting it to stay there, completely losing gift cards within moments of receiving them, etc - i hate this!
• cursing in front of whoever
• credit card abuse

• catie berkenfield, linguistics, odu
• bridget anderson, linguistics, odu
• tim seibles, english (harlem renaissance), odu
• imtiaz habib, english (shakespeare), odu
• david pagano, english (american lit), odu

• marquez - one hundred years of solitude
• marquez - love in the time of cholera
• allende - paula
• allende - daughter of fortune
• allende - house of spirits
• calvino - invisible cities
• djebar - thousand & one nights
• wilde - picture of dorian gray
• the time traveler's wife.
• melville - moby dick

• sarah mclachlan - possession
• anything ace of base. (*bows head in shame*)
• flo rida - low
• ying yang twins - wait
• saliva - rest in pieces
• ne-yo - sexy love
• jon secada - just another day
• chris brown - kiss kiss
• lloyd - you
• the entire wilson phillips cd. i know every word. haha.
• shakira - objection/tango
• 50 cent & lil kim - magic stick
• christina aguilera - infatuation (i'm usually not ashamed to like christina aguilera, but this is an exception for some reason...)
• mandy moore - crush
• chingy - one call away
• jessica simpson - with you (even though i...