Sweet Sick-teen

I've been horridly fascinated by a television show called "My Super Sweet 16" that airs on MTV, ever since our Qualitative Research classmates presented an episode of the show as part of a presentation they did in class. The concept of the show is simple- it's a reality program which shows how rich kids prepare for and hold their "Sweet Sixteen" birthday party. Apparently, turning 16 is a big thing for Americans (like debuts are for Filipinos). This show is the perfect example of how gross conspicuous consumption can be.

The show generally starts with the celebrant describing herself, or himself, as the case may be ("I'm an heiress in training!"), and what they want their party to be like- the theme (they usually want to be queens, emperors, and the like), their entrance (carried by gorgeous men? popping out of a cake? riding a camel?), how they want all the kids to get invites to the party, the present they want to receive (a car, a house), etc. Some of the preparations are shown (talking to the party planners, auditioning people for parts in the party), then the party proper is shown. Sometimes a celebrity makes an appearance at the party. Toward the end of the show, the birthday present is usually given to the celebrant at the height of the festivities. It's almost always a car- in one case there were two cars given.

The first episode I watched featured an apparently nouveau riche girl, who acted like a brat with her mother during the party preparations. "Moooommmm.... can you please stop talking for just a minute!!!" She was also gloating about how some kids were NOT invited to her party, and how they were all begging her to give them an invite. In other episodes I watched, you can see how the parents are so anxious to make their little girls happy (in one case, a boy who held a 15th birthday party). At the end of the party, the kids or the parents talk about how much they spent on the party and how it was all worth it. As the 15-year-old boy said, "I spent $300,000 (I guess he OWNED that money) for this evening, and it was a great party!"

Watching the show is like looking at a car crash- you just can't help but look out of morbid fascination. When I think about how much these parties cost and how many people could be helped by that amount money, it's enough to sicken me. "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" did a short feature on "My Super Sweet Sixteen", and they featured that same girl who was bratty with her mom. After the segment, David Spade said, "And we wonder why they hate us." My classmates in the research class reacted vehemently to the show as well; they say it's not representative of what real Americans are like. I'm pretty sure the average American is nowhere near these rich brats featured in the show. The fact remains though that there are still a lot of people like that (parents and kids alike) around here, and they are all dying to be part of this show, aiming to upstage the previous parties aired on MTV.

Being Carded in Missouri

Columbia is a university town, and as such, establishments are particularly strict when it comes to selling alcohol to minors. When you enter a club, everyone is carded, regardless of how old you look. So, it's not particularly flattering when they ask for my ID when I go to a bar or club, since that's just standard operating procedure. A few days ago, however, being carded felt a bit different.

Fil, Biljana, Maria Ines and I went to Walmart to get some groceries. As Fil was checking out her purchases, the woman asked for all our IDs since Fil got a bottle of wine. I handed over my ID, and a look of shock came over the woman's face. "Oh my," she said with some surprise, upon seeing my year of birth. "You don't look like you're a day over 21!" I told her not to announce my age to everyone (she looked surprised enough to broadcast it to the whole checkout counter of Walmart), since even my friends don't know exactly how old I am. (Keeping my age secret is my neurosis, so sue me.) On one hand, I felt flattered that she thought I looked that young. On the other hand, it was not a pleasant feeling to have people sound as if your age is so advanced that it's unfathomable (I exaggerate, but you get the point).

School's Out!

Finals week is finally over, and after all the stress of finishing papers and other requirements at the last minute, my adrenaline level has finally gone down. So, technically, summer vacation has begun for me. Since I'm not taking any classes, I'll be spending most of my time in California to visit my older brother Jerick, his wife Liz, and my nephew Aidan. The break is around three months long, and the length of school's summer vacation is making me consider becoming a professor. Teaching starts to look so attractive when you think about how you can have long summer breaks just like you did when you were much younger.

Now I Really Feel Like a Student Again...

...and it's not because I'm still in the middle of trying to finish all my school requirements at the last minute (procrastinating's a way of life for me in school AND at work). It's because last weekend was just crazy, like weekends always were back in college. I haven't had such a hectic weekend in a while. Friday night, Fil (aka Felicity), Biljana and I went to Fieldhouse (where I got drunk on the $10 bottomless Vodka Sprite) and the J-School party at Hubbell house. Saturday night, Fil, Biljana, Maria Ines, and I went to Heidelberg for some cocktails, then proceeded to a farewell party for all the graduating international students (where I didn't know anyone but managed to have fun anyway). Then on Sunday, there was a surprise birthday party for Yuriy, (for details, read Fil's blog.) where we had so much fun. Lots of food, alcohol, and music.



The coming weekend is shaping up to be a fun one too. Ale is graduating on Friday, along with Yuriy and Gyorgi, so there'll be another party at chez Maria Ines. On Saturday, Yuying is cooking another one of her amazing Chinese dinners in honor of the end of the second semester. I'm pretty excited, except for the fact that I still have papers to do and a long shift at the Missourian to finish this week. With all the fun in the air, I just can't get back to studying mode anymore.

Changes Back Home

I've been hearing so much news lately from my friends back in the Philippines. One gave birth a couple of weeks ago, one just found out she's pregnant, another just got engaged, two just got new boyfriends, one is moving to a great new house, one just got a new job in New York so is probably moving there soon...

Congratulations to all of them, I'm very glad my friends are so blessed. Of course all these developments made me a little sad that I was not there to congratulate them in person, and be there to share their happiness. It was also a reminder that life is going on back home, even as I pretend to myself that everything there is on hold, and that when I come back everything will be exactly as it was when I left.

The Library Police

A few days ago, I started reading a novella by Stephen King entitled "The Library Policeman". According to the story, the Library Police (with a capital LP, of course) will come and get you if you don't return your books on time. This concept is supposed to strike fear into children's hearts, resulting in library policy compliance (at least as far as returning books is concerned). King's story was one of horror, so the Library Policeman was depicted as a really scary towering figure who lisped, and had the capacity to turn the delinquent book-borrower's hair white by merely revealing himself to him.

The day after I started reading this story, Felicity and I went to the library in hopes of writing and finishing our papers. We found a little alcove that allowed us to talk without disturbing others. Lunch time came around, and we were at a loss as to what to do. That's because things at tables that are left unattended for more than twenty minutes are confiscated, and the table could be occupied by anyone else. We didn't want to lose our alcove, so we came up with a brilliant idea- Fil would go out and buy burritos at Taco Bell, then smuggle them into the library (food was not allowed), where she and I would surreptitiously eat them.

Fil came back with the burritos, and I was able to finish eating mine without further mishap. However, Fil, caught up in writing her kilometric paper, put her burrito down on the table in plain view. She then saw a boy pass by our alcove who shot her a glance as if she were doing something criminal. A few minutes later, a library staff member (library policewoman?) and told Fil to throw her burrito, since eating wasn't allowed in the library. She put it away, but of course, continued to eat it in secret.

Fil and I later bitched about the snitch who told on us. Sure, eating was not allowed. But REALLY. Anyway this whole incident got me to thinking about the Library Police. There may be no 7-foot policemen to scare you into returning your books, but there sure are plenty of library SNITCHES around who patrol the premises, ready to report to the library staff every infraction that they seem to take as a personal affront. Just remember, Library Snitches, what happened to the Library Police in King's novella. (Hint: King's monsters are usually obliterated at the end.)

Places I've Visited

I found out about this cool website that makes a map of places you've visited.
The first map is of countries I've gone to, the second is of states I've visited in the US. (Looks like I have a lot more travelling to do!)



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.