Monday, March 31, 2008

Stars

We cooked "Dulce de Higos" this Saturday. Not only the dulce was excellent - tasted just as good as in my childhood years, but thanks to this dish I found out about Anise Stars which are this pretty looking dry seeds that you can see in these photos:




I enjoyed very much working on these shots; from the lighting, to the camera, to adding the frames, to the actual act of taking a photo of such amazing looking seeds. Besides, their smells was so nice, and though dry they were still fresh and their aroma stayed in my hands for a while after I put them aside.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Self-description 2008

This is based on the self-description I wrote in 2007. As you'll see, some of the things have changed, others have not, and I've added a couple of lines here and there.

Important to note: Interestingly, what has surprised me the most about this self-description 2008 is that for first time in my life I do not define myself as an Ecuadorian, but as an American, and this makes me quite happy since it seems I am finally leaving the past where it should be.

Ok. Here it is:


I am an American expat living in Hyderabad, India. I like taking photos, listening to This American Life podcasts, and reading BoingBoing.net

I love diversity, I embrace changes, I look forward to challenges, but I also enjoy the stillness that often comes along with monotony.

I look forward reading books that long afterward keep sparking a memory, an inner discussion, and an analysis. I greatly enjoy reading satire, dramas, and stories where the heroes and heroines have something I identify with (like Raskolnikov in “Crime and Punishment” by Feodor Dostoevsky, or Mrs. Dalloway in “Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, or with “Mafalda”, by Quino).

I am often amazed about how ephemeral, fragile, and yet resilient life is. I believe in nature, in people, and in the changes that we are all responsible for –both in our lives as in the lives of others. I believe in forgiveness, in people’s honesty, and I deeply trust in my personal inner strength that won’t let me be defeated, no matter what.

I love food rich in layers of flavors (like Indian and Japanese food), and I push myself to be daring and try new dishes even when I don’t have a clue what they are made out of.

I need bright, open spaces to live/work, and my favorite apartment would be on the top floor of some building in the downtown area of some large city (sounds easy enough, right?).

My favorite city in the world is London. My favorite place to be is in between my boyfriend’s arms, with my head resting in his chest while we watch TV. My favorite color is black. I love to eat pineapples, mandarins, zapotes, and avocados. I deeply enjoy Japanese dinners, and drinking merlot. I am lucky to have 3 best friends always there to support me, and I strive to always be un-cool.


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Want to know more?
These are my answers to the questions James Lipton invariably asks to his guests in the "Inside the Actors Studio" show.

What's your favorite word?
M: Crescendo

What is your least favorite word?
M: Axila (which means 'underarm' in Spanish)

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually or emotionally)?
M: Having the strength to chose what I want

What turns you off?
M: Fear

What is your favorite curse word?
M: Joder/Fuck <--- I actually use both of them quite often ;)

What sound or noise do you love?
M: The sound of me and my friends talking and laughing

What sound or noise do you hate?
M: People yelling with anger; babies crying.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
M: Professional Photographer

What profession would you not like to do?
M: Being a nun.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
M: Come on in! You've just made it in time for supper! :)

Choke

"It's creepy but here we are, the Pilgrims, the crackpots of our time, trying to establish our own alternate reality. To build a world out of rocks and chaos.
What it's going to be, I don't know.
Even after all that rushing around, where we've ended up is the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.
And maybe knowing isn't the point.
Where we're standing right now, in the ruins in the dark, what we build could be anything."
"Choke", by Chuck Palahniuk.