I'm a rota de mierda, apparently

For those who haven't yet seen it, I highly recommend getting your paws on a recent special edition of The Clinic (and for those who live in Chile and don't know what The Clinic is A) you need to get out from under the rock you apparently live under and B) take a look here ) dedicated to Chilean cuicos.

FYI, Cuico = snob in Chilean español.

The Clinic is a highly political and muy left-leaning paper that is famous for it's hilarious and highly offensive headlines usually poking fun at political figures - mainly right-leaning ones. Pinochet has been ridiculed more than you can ever imagine and then some.

But back to the point: Chilean cuicos. This brilliant piece of work lays out what it means to be high class in Chile. This paper includes various interviews with Chilean cuicos reflecting on their snottiness, interviews of chefs at famously snooty restaurants, a blurb by a psychiatrist who explains the cuico psyche and, finally, a quiz to measure just how cuico (or roto) you are.

As you can probably guess by the title of this post, I didn't do so hot on the quiz. Based on my score, The Clinic says that I am a roto de mierda with at least 6 generations of middle class ahead of me.

JAJAJAJAJAJA

What is a roto? Well the literal translation would be "broken" but in Chile it refers to someone low class but who is also very rude- rough around the edges - but a very negative conotation. For those interested in learning more about rotos you can read Joaquin Edwards Bello's famous book "El Roto"....

Of course the Clinic tells me that no true cuico would ever refer to anyone as a roto. They might call them humilde (humble) but NEVER roto...even though they're definitely thinking it on the inside.

Apparently it's roto to use the word roto in Chile.

Who knew?

Oh She-lay-in cuicos, how silly you all are.

But it's not just the cuicos- Chile - or at least Santiago - is a class-obsessed place(I'm not sayin' that the USA isn't, I'm just saying that bc Chile is smaller and more homogenous there seems to be, in my opinion, more of a set idea of exactly what a high class person is/should be...whereas in the US there are more varied opinions...like, for example, in the US you have quite a few "new money" people who belong to the upper echelons of society. That is less the case here...but I'll get back to that later).

People talk about class constantly- this guy is "ordinario" (ordinary or dirty) - or this thing is so "rasca" (ghetto) ...

in fact the very first convo I ever had with my now hubby was at a party at the Prince of Wales Country Club (of all cuico places) where we chatted about this very issue.

R won my heart ranting and raving about what he perceived as the pathetic obsession with class amongst his countrymen (and women)...

as so many "cuico" kids like to do, that night R was dressed to impress...meaning that he looked somewhere between a pauper a hippie and a crazy person topped off with a long and probably not-so-recently-washed mullet (unfortunately this was the preferred look for the typical male Chilean college student at the type - i don't get it)

R pointed to the sea of other party-goers and, in between sips of what was surely not his first piscola, tried to explain to me that most of them (not his friends in attendence of course) were all a bunch of homogeneous big fish in the small Chilean cuico pond, another brick in the wall, blah blah blah

He went on and on about this Chilean (hey, these were his words, not mine) need to feel superior...better

(um, have you seen the # of country clubs in Santiago? It's gotta be some sort of a record...mind you, we were having this discussion at an evil country club and got married at an evil Chilean country club...but, hey, i still felt what he was sayin')

It's all about class in Chile. X person belongs in X place. EVERYONE who lives in La Florida is middle class and sorta rasca...EVERYONE in Vitacura is a cuico....EVERYONE in Puente Alto is ghetto and poor. There are these BIG BRIGHT lines dividing neighborhoods...seriously it's like this more in Santiago (in my opinion) than any other place I've lived in for long enough to get a feel for the people and place (New Brunswick, NJ, NYC, St. Louis MO, Caen, France)

People are DEAD SET in their stereo types about class here. Actually, when I first brought R to meet my middle class (lived in Nunoa) host family the first thing my Chilean mom asked was where he went to college (la catolica), what he studied (industrial and electrical engineering) and where he lived (providencia) ...the FIRST thing she said after that was "you don't want to date this guy, he's just a 'nino lindo' cuico" (nino lindo or in the case of a young woman nina linda is a name for Chilean spoiled brats...essentially kids who have it all) She went on to tell me how he's part of a social sphere of overly privileged fancy pants Chilean right wing Pinochetistas....

mind you he's not...but i wasn't about to point that out to my old Chilean mom in the middle of her exasperated statements and puffs of her cigarette while wheezing from her asthma.

I mean, I'm not going to kid myself or you and say that R's background is some tragic impoverished story...bc it's not...but nino lindo he ain't.

nor was he ever.

yet in chile if you live in a certain place...if go to a good school - especially la catolica - and more specifically if you study or studied industrial/civil engineering, medicine or law - you are, in the eyes of MANY, a spoiled cuico brat...and probably a pinochet sympathizer.

Maybe it's all just my perception but it sure feels like there's a LOT of this black and white thinking about class floating around Chilean societ....Of course not ALL chileans think like this...it's just a general sense that i get.

There just seem to be certain truths about Chilean class.

As The Clinic noted one thing that seems to hold true among the CHilean upper class is the belief that anything that has garlic is ABHORRENT....this spice is horrific to the finer sensitivities of the Chilean elite.

Garlic kills vampires and cuicos, the article said...

jajjajajajaj

But seriously, if you want to do a social experiement try mentioning garlic ....see what people say...

and I can bet you that if you ever have the (dis?)pleasure of going to a truly cuico meal, you are loathe to bring up the issue of garlic (ajo) ...

The mean word will illicit moans and groans from the cuico dinner-goers ..."QUE ASCO" (how disgusting) "NO SUPORTO EL AJO" (i do not tolerate garlic) etc etc... you can discuss how much you love garlic bread and watch the cuicos writhe in digust.

in fact, now that i think about it, i wonder if this has anything to do with the saying "como el ajo" (like garlic) i.e. shitty i.e.

"esa pelicula es como el ajo"

=

"that movie is horrible"

Speaking of words and class, let me just list a few words for low class that come to mind in Chilean Spanish:

pulento

rasca

ordinario

picante

chulo

cuma

flaite

peliento

charcha

...

and the list goes ON and ON

....

and ON ...

Class is totally ingrained in how Chileans talk...(though i realize this is an issue in other cultures as well...hello pymalian)

But god FORBID you EVER pronounce the "sh" sound... President Bashilay (as in the president with the French last name Bachilet...i wrote a post about this earlier which you can see here)...let ALONE pronounce Chile as "she-lay" - then you're super duper ordinario.

I'd also suggest saying these things at a cuico meal...someone's eardrums might just burst

Anyways all has this has led me to the conclusion that the new name for my blog really ought to be "an ordinaria/ghetto/low class ajo eating roto de mierda (piece of shit) gringa's thoughts about ex-pat living in Santiago"

I think that has a nice ring to it

And with that, buenas noches and I'll leave you with a picture of some "pelo lais" i.e. straight haired i.e. cuica Chilean girls for your viewing pleasure...

Please share class stories!!!...i think they're muy interesante/pathetic/sad/hilarious all rolled up into one...obviously some more sad and other way funnier (um, garlic? REALLY?)

US news is so depressing recently

What is wrong in the US today?

Well, a lot of things apparently.

I mean it's getting to the point where I brace myself before opening up nytimes.com. The shooting in Fort Hood yesterday, for example.

What a horrible thing: a member of the U.S. military going into a U.S. base on U.S. soil and killing/wounding multiple U.S. military personel and 2 civilians.

To be honest, the first thing that came to my mind was to wonder how truly horrible/terrifying/awful must the wars that the US is engaged in must be to cause a U.S. citizen (who is also a trained M.D. psychiatrist who COUNSELED U.S. military members with post traumatic stress disorder) who apparently just found out he was going to be deployedto basically lose his mind.

I mean, he lost his mind right?

I mean, how else does one walk into a base with a bunch of people just minding their own business and start shooting?

Or maybe he was crazy to begin with. It's possible and I'm sure that's how Republicans will spin it. Oops, did i just say that?

To be honest, i HOPE he was crazy to begin with and that it wasn't something that came about slowly as a result of the harassment he received for being a muslim in the military and the fact that he heard the horrible stories of soldiers who had been to iraq and had basically lost it (um post traumatic stress disorder) as a result.

This situation is lamentable on so many levels. One obvious level is that it's just another symbol to the world that the US is full of crazy mass murderers. I used to defend my country on this point but i mean what with how easy it is for every tom dick and sally to become a gun wielding cowboy i'm starting to wonder if we aren't just a country full of trigger happy vigilantes.

The fact that the shooter was muslim was of course also additionally really unneeded bad press for the US muslim community.

Not to mention this little shooting is also (yet another) blaring sign that the wars we've been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are largely failures and that war is horrible in general and should be avoided at all costs. (and Mr. Obama could you please actually DO something about it? you said you would, so stop yapping and ACT)

Though please do let me know if you have other feelings on this issue. Any war sympathizers out there?

Anyways just to make my morning news read worse i stumbled across nicolas kristoff's op/ed piece about how f-ed up our health care system is - and it is.

In this article he mentions a woman with cancer whose private health insurer stopped covering her right when she needed chemo.

Of course i was immediately reminded of my dear friend Jason who passed away in September of last year after a lengthy and agonizing fight with various types of horrifying cancer, mainly brain cancer (his struggle was recently written up in the Wall St Journal) ...

I was reminded of how much his family struggled to pay for his treatment.

And please note: J was from what most would consider an upper middle class family from a wealthy suburb in St Louis....he had highly educated professional parents who had what I am sure was among the best of available private healthcare insurance policies...

Anyways reading this article put an even more depressing cloud over my news morning.

Don't you just hate that?

Why aren't there every any headlines that read the following: AIDS cured! Same sex marriage legal! Universal healtcare achieved! War in Iraq OVER!

Seriously.

If you would like to read more about Jason and his struggle with cancer- and with health care insurance - I urge you to take a look at his blog.

Ugh anyways anymore thinking about J and I'm going to start crying at my desk.

I just hope that our country gets its act together. How we treat each other. How we treat our sick. How we treat the poor (see: who fights our wars for us?)

Ok back to work. Sorry for the depressing post.

back by popular demand (ok fine that's an exaggeration...but i'm back nonetheless)

ok ok, i get it. some of you - well mainly just my friends - like that i blog bc it allows you to cyber stalk me.

I mean, don't get me wrong, i probably cyber stalk you too so don't feel left out.

after deleting my blog i felt a sense of relief - no more worrying that some weirdo would send me yet another email - no more feeling like my blog writing was a really bad representation of how i actually write when i try (it is) ....

then, however, it occurred to me that some of my friends and family way far away missed reading my little rants (and raves) about life in She-Lay.

And I also realized that I missed writing them...not that i think i have anything particularly important to say (and if i did a blog probably wouldn't be the way i'd go about voicing those thoughts) but it's actually quite soothing to just sit down for a few minutes every now and again and simply write.

it doesn't have to be important...there doens't have to be a point.

i am a lady who stresses out about - well- everything...and those who know me can attest to this. i tend to be hyper critical of myself - particularly work-related stuff. so part of getting rid of this blog was that there was a little voice in my head asking me A) why they hell i was "wasting" time that could be better spent reading, running, calling a family member or friend, riding a bike, walking around, gardening, baking, shopping, manicuring on something as senseless as blogging

B) how could i possibly live with myself for writing such a poorly written thing with so many grammatical errors and then showing it to the public C) who did i think i was for trying to give my opinion about crap online as if i was some sort of expert or source of info for anything.

needless to say, i was over-thinking things. you see, sometimes i have a hard time doing things that i perceive as "pointless" - don't ask me how or why i come to those conclusions but one day i came up with the conclusion that my blog was pointless and therefore not an efficient use of my time.

if this strikes you as weird please rest- assured you woudln't be the 1st to think i'm a complete freak in how i "rationalize" craziness in my head.

i'm famous with my hubby's friends for asking, after a day of forcing myself to learn how to ski, if they could please explain to me what the POINT of skiing was so that I could reach that goal.

expecting responses such as "flawless posture", "deep knee bending", "speed" or "grace"

instead i was met with uproarious laughter for being the crazy gringa trying to find a point in something that was A) personal and B) supposed to just be FUN!

So i've come to a similar conclusion about blogging: i'm really sorry if this blog is not funny, offensive, boring...and am even sorrier if you find it to be insightful or well written...because that's just a damn shame...but, to get to the freakin conclusion already, it's my blog. i will do with it as i please. including put punctua!ation, where? it/ doesn.'t (belong) and I will mrs. pell things as often as i pleeze and i will not worry about runonsentences nor aboutwhether there is, at the end of it all, any bloody point or purpose to what i'm saying.

this blog will be my stream of consciuosness blabbing for all (or none) of you to read (see: cyber stalk) whenever you like. and for me to update, or completely neglect, for as long as i please.

and with that i will say hola de nuevo and buenas noches bc i'm tired as all hell...

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize - post to come

I am reading about this award now and am MUY curious to hear any first reactions from those out there in the blog universe.

Here is my first reaction: I have to say that I'm really happy that the Nobel committee values all of the stuff that Obama has talked about doing: fixing the situation in Afghanistan, creating universal healthcare, doing something about detainees in Guantanamo, getting troops out of Iraq etc. I value all of those things too...wonderful ideas, in my opinion. I also really appreciate Obama's efforts thus far - even if he hasn't done anything yet, he has certainly brought up many very pressing issues and created a sort of conversation/dialogue about them.

My other reaction: let's face it, Feb 1 was the Nobel prize nomination deadline...i.e. Obama had been in office a couple of weeks.

Now here we are, a bunch of months later, and I guess I've gotta be honest and say that I'm still waiting for Obama to actually feel like effective leader of change....

Of course I realize it's hard to make big changes but the reality is that I sorta feel like he's made too few changes.

Perhaps it's that he's too ambitious (though I hate to say something like that bc ambition is almost always a good thing) or maybe the economic downturn has taken up all of his time. Yes, it's true, that big old economic crisis which is still smacking the shit out of the US economy definitely has and will continue to take away from Obama's ability to deal with other stuff on his presddential agenda.

But here's what makes me annoyed about this nomination: i'm pretty sure there are some people out there actually on the ground in developing countries or in the US or wherever that are busting their butts and have been busting their butts for multiple multiple years with little to no pay and zero fame and I just have to say this nomination strikes me as very political. Like really, wasn't there anyone else they could have picked for such an immense honor who has a bit more to show for it? What HUGE change has Obama brought about yet as President? I'm really thinking hard here and can't come up with one. Hopefully some of you can enlighten me. Not to say he's done nothing but compared to all the human rights workers out there kicking serious ass and making serious change. Hell one of my best friends Petunia was living and working on the ground in Sudan for the last 2 years. I'm sure she coudl find a few people she'd worked with or met that were worthy of a bit of fame for all of their hard work. Does Obama really need more PR? Really???

Again, I think Obama has some wonderful ideas and yes he worked for years on the ground in Chicago (though that's not why he won the prize) but like really isn't there anyone else? also, i'm fearful that all of this applause and rewarding of obama so early into his 4 years could back fire on him if he doesn't live up to these near deified level that so many are holding him up to ...i have felt this way since his campaign...obama supporters were so crazy in love with the idea of him it was like they were high on obama or something...not to downplay his incredible role in history as the first black president but i guess i'm just wondering when all of this pomp and circumstance is going to materialize into something.

Disclaimer: obviously i realize that this was a VERY biased note...so just FYI, i was a hillary supporter (which i realize makes me extremely uncool in many circles...sorry about that)

Being misunderstood, and some thoughts on up-coming Chilean pres elections

it's happened to us all...and we're all familiar with how annoying it is to feel misunderstood.

for those who have known me a long time...or, really, for those who have ever had a political discussion with me or R - or anyone in our extended family units...or, for that matter, with the vast majority of our friends - it would (or perhaps I should say SHOULD) be blatantly obvious that we both lean towards the left politically, me a bit more hard core, but R 100%.

nevertheless, recently we've both had a few friends mention that they were surprised to hear that we were not conservative. neither of us could understand why or how anyone could make this mistake...

maybe it's because we both work in banks? maybe it's because i took out my nose pierce (along with my belly and triple ear pierces)? maybe it's because renzo stopped wearing his big hippie sweaters and mullet? maybe it's because we aren't vocal enough about our political views? maybe it's because i stopped wearing my favorite t-shirt from highschool that said "no sex" "safer sex" "AIDS" ???

As someone who fully supports higher taxes on the wealthy, government support of social programs, feminism, be fully anti-death penalty, 100% pro-choice, pro path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the US, etc etc etc...i actually feel sad that people would ask me if i was conservative. Or seem shocked when I note that I"m a Dem.

Is it perhaps bc i wasn't pro-Obama enough???? Sure, i liked him a helluva lot more than McCain...but yes, i wanted Hillary to win. So does that make me RIGHT?

um, not under anyone's definition of the word that i've ever spoken with.

As for R, i think the issue with him is that he has decided that in no way shape or form will he vote for Eduardo Frei, the center/left (though i believe that on many social issues he's actually quite conservative) candidate who was already president once before and who belongs to a consortium that has been running this country for over 20 years. I really think that for R what it comes down to is that he feels more respect towards and that he has more in common with Pinera...



R (and he is NOT alone in this by any means) thinks Frei represents a huge political machine and people blindly voting for a consortium over and over again without any real active thought about politics. R loves politics and is always reading up on whatever he can get his hands on. So it's not like he isn't interested and isn't informed.

He re spects the fact that Pinera is exceptionally smart. And let's face it, the dude's no slouch-Harvard MBA, top of his class, a real self-starter/entrepreneur from a middle class family. He also believes that Pinera will give a much needed breath of fresh air to Chilean politics. Get people excited again...think in a different way....even if they are mad. I think that R thinks that the Concertacion is the opiate of the masses. And i can't say that I 100% disagree with that.

Also it's important to point out that the super UDI right wing is only supporting Pinera as a strategic measure. Most of them hate him...as he is way too socially liberal for their taste.

As for Pinera's stance on Pinochet, he comes from an entire family of concertacionistas. Pinera himself voted for the "no" ....so nobody can say that Pinera himself supports the right wing crazy dictatorship agenda or that he's one of those freak shows who denies anything ever happened (those people do exist, PS, and i've met them and they're scary)

On the other hand R thinks Frei was a crappy president 1st time around. He's already been president once so shouldn't be doing again especially in light of his less than stellar presidential career which included pardoning a drug trafficer and never giving an excuse as to why. If you think Frei's some lefty awesome dude- he's not. He's only recently taken any sort of stance on the morning after pill.

As for the whole thing that Pinera is a millionaire: news flash, Frei has a crap ton of money in his own right (not, ps that i think therefore we should be like discriminating against the rich) .. Apparently Frei explain away the fact that he's got so much dough by saying that he's not actually in charge of his money at the moment...No, ladies and gentleman, Mr Frei's brother is looking over his investments while Eduardo runs for office...

How lovely.

But, um, how ridiculous is that?

I mean are we supposed to believe that Frei's not in touch with his own brother?

Frei is just downright unattractive not just physically but also his personality - or should i say lack thereof. He's old school as hell. I'm mean let's face it, even R's most die hard concertacionista family members admit that Frei isn't their top choice but "the best available option"

Peronslaly, I'm not 100% convinced about Pinera. I don't like Pinera's foul play while he was on Lan's board of directors.

But, then again, I dont like how the current government recently supported spewing tons of negative information regarding this scandal in a report published by the newly founded transparency committee a mere day before a very important debate betwne the 3 main candidates. (2 members of the transparency committee annoucnced that they would resign the day after this information was published in one of their reports bc they said it was embarrassing)...i mean, surely no one will try to argue tha the publication of that information in a widely disseminated article wasn't timed to screw upPinera at the follow day's intervew.


Back to another reason i'm not 100% convinced about Pinera: I'm not too keen on the fact that while Pinera did vote for the no, many of the people who are backing him are pinochetistas and hard core right wingers, like it or not.

I do have to say that i respect R's thinking outside the box. He has been practically berated by many of his friends and most of his family. His grandma and mom were yelling at him at the dinner table the other day.

The fact is, however, that R's story isn't uncommon. Many a poll has shown that the majority of young voters would vote for Pinera. The reality, however, is that young people have the lowest rate of actually being signed up to vote.

So does the fact thaty ou can vote for a center/right candidate one time automatically mean that you are super right wing?

I dont think so. But maybe I'm wrong.

Hopefully this post will bring up some discussion among the expat community here about the up-coming elections (December 2009) ....I'm intrested in hearing everyone's opinions.

i heart music, and this website

so today R found this excellent website where you can listen to music ...save playlists or whatever...and play it from your computer... which gets rid of the hassle of having to download tons of songs either illegally or pay for them...

given i'm not the most web-saavy (try not web saavy at all) it wouldn't surprise me if this website is old news...but for those who haven't used it...check it out... i've just pissed away nearly 3 hours listening to songs i might not usually take the time to download...like ani difranco or chicago...but that doesn't mean that i dont enjoy them...and now i can listen to this and other obscure crap nobody likes - especially my bra burning feminist stuff (such as dar williams. heard of her? yea, i didn't think so) or my ultra weird french music (jean ferrat is the best example...i LOVE his music...and it just so happens that a lot of his lyrics come from the poetry of none other than nobel prize winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda.)

anyways this website has totally made my night as i am a total, uncontrollable, need a 12 step program, music-aholic...i constantly listen to the stuff...just can't get enough...I def get anxious when i can't listen to it...i TOTALLY dont get those people who drive without it on... it's unacceptable in this gringa's book....

when i was in highschool i'd sleep with my music on and would tap my foot in my sleep....if i was at a slumber party or at a hotel and sharing a room with my brother i'd sleep with my head phones on (i've mastered the art of earphone-mushed-in-ear-by-pillow preventio technique...I will share: before sleeping, mold your pillow into a circle. Next, carefully rest your ear -with inserted ear phones- right in the middle of the hole, not unlike the head rest things with holes in the middle where you stick your face through while getting a massage...i've always thought it would be hilarious to see what your smushed face looks like from under those things...you can tell i've put a lot of thought into this...)

believe it or not i was even a trumpet player growing up ...oh yes...and first chair trumpet at that...i did jazz band before school and pit orchestra after school - well, when i wasnt sneaking ciggies behind the art lounge with my best friend or getting in other trouble that i wont get into on this blog : ) ...my trumpet teacher mary was 1st alternate for the st louis symphony orchestra! ...a funny aside: i was so "cara de raja" in highschool (some things never change : ) !) that i actually proposed an arrangement with my band teacher - mr blackmore, best teacher ever PS - that i could skip actual band class whenever i wanted as long as i'd prepare the music for the concerts...and he actually went for it...SWEET LIFE!

but yea, me and music go together like peas in a pod. like flies to shit. like a fat kid to cake.

i can't think of any more stupid/tasteless similes but assume you all get the point : )

i had a SERIOUS obsession with the beatles as a child...so much so that when my parents told me that john lennon had been murdered i broke down sobbing... i probably had 4 beatles posters in my room...possibly more...i thought (think) that Paul McCartney is god's gift to the male species (and i also think that heather mills is a trifling biatch and i would pull her gimp leg off her and smack her with it if i got the chance...who tries to rob poor paul of all his $??? who drags paul mccartney's name through the mud? he is a knight or sir or whatever for christ's sakes ... and she is a gold digger and i hate her...but i digress)

but seriously, the best present i ever received was my aiwa stereo (well, besides my trumpet from my grammie) ...it wasn't even super fancy or anything...in fact it's quite possible that that brand is defunct......but i LOVED it...i remember thinking the speakers had the most crystal clear sound (they didn't) and woudl sit there in my room and blast wynton marsalis' version of the haydn and hummer trumpet concertos and play along with him...feeling like i was sitting in the middle of my own personal symphony (my parents were just so tolerant...i hope i have that kind of tolerance whenever i have kids...)

anyways, i'm blabbing, per usual...but just wanted ya'll to take a look at that website and go listen to some rad music and have a nice sunday night. i'm going to play fetch with my cat....yes, Baby plays fetch...BEST CAT EVER

adios amigos

walking in my shoes

i wish that i had something funny to say about what just happened. the truth, however, is that i'm really mad. R & i just came from a nice family dinner with his mother and grandmother and two cousins...we do this usually once a week and it's a great time for us to all get together and share...when we left and got back to the car i remembered that i had left my gym stuff...unfortunately, when i went to find my gym bag - and brand new tennis shoes - i realized the bag wasn't there...

and next i realized that the lap top that renzo had decided to bring to get fixed today but couldn't bc the lap top place closed early ALSO wasn't there...

Everything was stolen from our car....

i'm sort of in shock at the moment...it's not that there was anything of huge value (ok well actually the lap top was a really nice sony vaio but no sentimental value i shoudl say) ...but it's just so disconcerting to have your things stolen...it's this feeling of invasion of privacy...like you're not quite safe. i dont blame chile for this...honeslty, it could have happened anywhere...

but i do just want to say that it's a good reality check...thank goodness i didn't have our ipods in the car BUT we often DO keep them there...and sometimes we've left other valuable items in the car...word to the wise: always play it safe....

oh and this will be a lesson for me to never agian leave new tennis shoes in the car....during our 2nd week of honeymoon in PUcon i had my new shoes in the front seat and someone stole them....along with my vintage gucci wallet find from the salvation army...but that's beside the point...though is annoying...anyways today too i had a BRAND NEW pair of running shoes...i'd waited so long to buy new ones too.

so another thieving A-hole is walking around in my shoes...that makes 2 thieving a-holes in Chile...

Puta la wuea.

The worst part though is all the stuff we dont remember yet that we had saved on that computer...pictures...notes....everything...

we really need to buy an external hard drive...

anyways, be safe ladies and gents....never let down your guard...