Almost There

 Yes, this pair of socks is almost finished. And I also finished Valerie Plame's Book: Fair Game. It is full of "redactions".



Luckily, you can still make sense of what's going on. And the afterword, by a different author, fills up the gaps with information already available to the general public.

I feel sorry that someone who was working so hard to keep her country safe was betrayed by her own government.

Refried Book

Back in Mexico, I used to scan the section of English language books in Sanborns, searching for science fiction. While not strictly SciFi, Robin Cook's books were a neat substitute: medical thrillers. But I often felt, after reading a few pages, that I might have bought a book I already owned. Checking my shelf, I would then notice that no, I had made no mistake and this was, in fact a new book. The problem was that Robin Cook was repeating himself. So I stopped reading him.



I was browsing the new books section in my public library when this Robin Cook's book, Crisis, stirred some memories. Maybe I should give him another try, I thought. Guess what? Even after so many years, I recognized the same recipe: A few mafiosi, a good doctor, a bad doctor, and something to criticize about modern health care, in this case, concierge medicine.

The good thing is, he's still a page turner. It was over soon.

Once Upon a Quinceañera

I am still not sure why I picked this book by Julia Alvarez. I was never interested in quinceañera parties. I did not have one, and none of my close friends did. Some people I knew did, I attended as a guest, and that only made me even happier about not having had one. Back then me and my friends thought quinceañeras were a cheesy thing of the past. Who would have told me that here in the US it is such a huge deal for young latinas?



For my 15th birthday I went skiing with my family. It was an expensive trip, but considering what I just read, it was quite cheaper than the modern day quinceañera.

I wonder why is it that young girls try to integrate themselves into the American society as much as they can, but at the same time they wish to keep this expensive and primitive tradition alive. And, from what I read, it is becoming more and more expensive and complicated. Why bother with such a waste? Wouldn't it be wiser to set up a college fund for the young girl in question?