It’s been a while since I’ve been a lazy blogger and done an Instagram photo dump and called it a post.

What a surprise. Even though I arranged my taco condiments in Mexican flag colors, the Mexico versus US World Cup qualifying match still ended in a draw. I thought that would do the trick. Nope.

This rainbow is located on the grounds of the Sony studios across from the church I attend weekly. I’ve never noticed it because I always entered on the east side. I found it fitting that I saw it last Wednesday, a day after I had a tough day and shortly before going to confession.

Sean played ZogSports in New York. The league didn’t exist in LA until this season. Here he is explaining the rules to his new teammates.

I haven’t had any cravings in the traditional sense, but I do indulge in stuff more often. Normally, I’d let the paletero go by, but this time I had to flag him down for paleta de limón. It was the perfect refresher after a walk in the park.

I went on a walk to the farmer’s market and came back with cookies. I think I’m doing it wrong.

I need to host a game night.

Sometimes during lunch I like leaving campus to take a walk in the adjacent neighborhood. Other times I just go to parts of campus I never visit like “the hill” where the dorms are located. I passed the new-ish John Wooden statue on the way.

Día de los Muertos at Self Help Graphics

I’m a little too lazy to make my own altar for my loved ones who have passed, instead I keep up a year round altar with photos of and unlit candles. Even though I’m not one for altar making, I do enjoy the imagery and the events surrounding November 1st and 2nd. It’s nice to see the community come out and artists put in lots of hard work to honor the dead.

If I did make an altar, it’d probably look something like this since Grandma was a seamstress and Grandpa was a devotee to la Virgen de Guadalupe. I think next year I’ll make an altar in honor of my tío Johnny who passed away today. I’ll make sure it has a guitar, picks, running shoes and a Beatles record/CD or two.

Election Day

Sean and I voted early, but not often. The lines at my polling place were pretty long even at 7 am.

I know it would be easier to just do absentee ballots, but I usually wait until the last minute to read up on the various propositions. Plus, going to the polls means I get a sticker.

I watched election results at a party hosted by some friends. One is a political science professors and describes election day as her Super Bowl. The food was excellent as were the themed desserts.

The guests went in on these cupcakes after MSNBC called the election for Obama.

Science time at ABRCMS in San Jose

I spent Wednesday through Sunday morning with a bunch of really smart students and my boss. We took 20 students in research programs to present their research at ABRCMS. All of our students did a great job in their poster or oral presentations; most won prizes. I got the chance to learn a little more about the problems in the STEM pipeline from a different point of view.

We stayed at the Fairmont. I liked the view from the hotel room as well as the toiletries in the bathroom.

There were interesting sartorial choices and interpretations of professional attire.

The last keynote address on Saturday was given by Michael Eric Dyson. I don’t get the hype around the guy and didn’t have high expectations. I’ve heard him described as a blowhard and more interested in hearing himself talk. The conference attendees, mainly minority college students ate it up. Perhaps if I was still 20-22 I’d be excited to hear a speaker at a professional conference quote Mos Def’s “Ms. Fat Booty” and suggest that someone should study the science behind the line “ass so fat that I could see it from the front.” I’m no longer in the target age demographic and was more annoyed that Dyson’s only mention of women or gender dynamics in science were limited to having a nice butt. It’s even more of an oversight if you consider that a majority of minority students are women, even in biomedical sciences. Still, he did have a gem or two and I can’t argue with this point:

What you getting all that knowledge for if you can’t help the people who look like you when you get where you’re going?! – Dyson #abrcms

— cindylu (@cindylu) November 10, 2012

When I was done conferencing on Friday, I hung out with Vanessa. It was great to catch up over margaritas — all should be served with Tajín on the rim! — and margherita pizza. I saw her at the wedding, but that was barely enough time to really talk.

After three and a half days of conferencing, I was ready to go home on
Sunday.

LACMA fieldtrip with Sean and Lori

It was a beautiful autumn day in LA and I had great views from my window seat. I love trying to spot the local landmarks like the Getty, UCLA, Dodger Stadium and even my own apartment/neighborhood.

After Sean picked me up we had lunch with Lori at Father’s Office since she was in the area. I’m not sure she loved her first Father’s Office burger since it comes with caramelized onions.

After our late lunch, we goofed around in the furniture stores. Lori mentioned having never visited the lamppost sculpture at LACMA. We immediately changed that with a quick fieldtrip to the museum.

The outdoor sculptures and patios at LACMA were busier than I’ve ever seen them (I usually go on weekday evenings). It made me wonder if freely accessible art in open(ish) spaces like Urban Light and Levitated Mass were the closest we come to public space in LA. Maybe.

Rene turned 29 and we celebrated with a small gathering. His nephew, D, was the first toddler I’ve ever seen who didn’t try to blow out another person’s candles.

The second field trip took me back to Disneyland. It was a long day, but I can’t complain about a free trip to Disneyland and California Adventure and comp time.

It’s been a hot summer. I hope all this heat stays in August. I stayed cool by wading around in the pool at my cousin’s new house. It worked, too bad my cousin doesn’t live closer.

Sean’s Jamaican pride really comes out during the Olympics.

My mom took off on a 10-day vacation/chaperoning trip to Zacatecas. She returned with candy, Santo Niño de Atocha trinkets and stories of all the security — plain-clothes and military — accompanying the entourage.

I went on a biotech field trip for work. I was less impressed with the sophisticated machinery in the labs than the beauty of the campus and the cool recreation/sports facilities available.

Sean, Anel and I had crappy seats for el Reventón Super Estrella at Staples Center. I generally don’t like arena shows, but couldn’t pass up the chance to see Café Tacuba. I’m still bummed I missed Julieta Venegas who played much earlier than I expected. At least I got to meet Anel.

More excitement: watching the Mexican men beat Brazil to earn Mexico’s first gold medal in the sport. This reminds me that I meant to write something about Ruben Navarrette’s column. Navarrette excoriated Leo Manzano for celebrating his 1500 meter silver medal by holding up both the US and Mexican flags. As you can guess, I wasn’t offended by Leo’s actions. Rather, I was touched by the gesture and his words acknowledging his roots. I could relate. I opted against a response because others wrote pretty good responses and I think the column was just trolling for pageviews. Navarrette seemed really excited by all the comments on the CNN piece and on his FB page.

Tío Joe passed away two years ago. His lost is still felt, but he’s survived by an amazing family. I know my cousins are still making him proud. Christine, the youngest of the bunch took the lead on organizing the third annual blood drive in his honor. I couldn’t give blood, but Sean donated. The last few times I’ve given blood, it’s been with my tío Joe in mind.

I found out about the Café Tacuba show at the Observatory in Anaheim a few weeks after I bought tickets for Reventón. If I would’ve known about the former, I would’ve skipped the arena show. Oh well. At least I had a better view for the second show even if I stayed way back by the bar. I can’t stand to be smushed by other fans. Plus, it was way too hot. I can’t wait for their new album. (I’ll post setlists soon. I’m lagging on this stuff.)

My sister, mom and cousins/bridesmaids did an amazing job planning and hosting my bridal shower. It was a fun evening, I just wish it was a little cooler. I tried to match the color scheme Lori picked.

I finally tried 800 Degrees in pizza in Westwood. I’m mad at myself for taking so long to go since the restaurant is so close and pizzas start at $5-6.

I met with a makeup artist to get a feel for wedding day makeup. I’m not using the same person (Evette) I used for the engagement shoot since she’s not available. Luckily, I liked the new makeup artist, Elisa. She was recommended by our planner. After I got done up, I tested out how the makeup would hold up throughout the day and dancing on a warm evening.

Sean and I took the Metro to Chinatown for the free Summer Nights event. We danced a bit to some live music (Buyepongo) before exploring the rest of the area. We ended up up at the KCRW dancefloor where DJ Anthony Valadez put on a great set.

The 10-week summer research programs come to an end this week. I coordinate the largest program, so this week was busy with events every day. One of the events was a poster session. Usually their descriptions just go over my head, but this time I tried to learn something.