Buy Me All of These Things for my Birthday

1.) The ampersand t-shirt. (see above)
2.) The exhile of comic sans. Yes, I really hate it.
3.) A telegram. Did you know that currently, telegrams are no longer in use. Instead of sending me a birthday card, I'd be truly impressed with a telegram.
4.) A globe lamp. I'm not really sure where you can find them, but I love them and ever since the movie "While You Were Sleeping", I've always wanted one.
5.) A name necklace! My name necklace, that is. Obviously I would want it to read either "Boji" or "Joanna".

6.) Boca Jr. jersey/apparrell- preferably Requelime; but, I would love just about any CABJ paraphanalia that I received. Please note: this in no way includes River Plate. I hate them.
7.) Graffitti. Well, not really- I want to see the LA wall mural, it's the longest in the world!
8.) "Escape to Witch Mountain". I'm not really sure why, but I feel like watching this movie the day before my birthday would really help set the mood.

There's Not Enough Time for Your Liver; Sorry.

Here's the thing... I like shots and vaccinations just as much as the next person; however, I lack the maturity and time management skills necessary to safeguard myself from a.) myself, and b.) disease, more specifically: HEPATITIS B. So I'm going to Ghana. It's been confirmed- I leave in less than 48 hours. I first fly into Germany and will be hanging out with my dearly missed Emily Anderson, and technically, I won't actually step foot in Africa until May 8th, but even still, "THERE JUST ISN'T TIME," says the burly haired clinician who wouldn't administer all of my HepB vaccination. "You should have come in sooner." Honestly who says that... "hi, there just isn't time for your liver. Better luck next time?"
I don't understand what this means. All I really know is that after about 600$ and 6 painful injections, I am still not 100% clear on hepatitis. Now, please refer to the map above. For those of you who are unclear, Ghana is on the central west coast of Africa. Note the darkly shaded green "high risk" shading in the region. I am not exactly sure how one goes about contracting the HPVB, as I have heard so many people affectionately refer to it as, but my mother has just about scared me into an early grave about it. I think, by her descriptions, that by breathing, eating, or even sleeping over there, I am at "high risk"... This is frightening. I can't really hold my breath for longer than a minute or so and while I can probably go longer than that without food or rest, it is unlikely that I can survive 5 weeks without at least one of the two. Pray for me. I love you all, but the question is: will you still love me when my eyes turn yellow?

We Were Really Cool.

Out of respect and admiration for my dearest cousin Jenna Toronto Rammell, I have decided to treat my fan base of approximately three readers, to a brand new post!  Actually, today is a very special day as it is the birthday of my brother, Adam Toronto.  I would like to just bore everyone for a moment with a favorite memory from my childhood with Adam. 

Precocious, indigenous, and utterly abstract,  Adam and I used to collect a farrago of trash assortments.  No really- migrating from one room to another, we would crawl to each trash can in our house and hoard away several different treasures from each basket.  Then, without really knowing why, we would tuck our newly gathered waste into our shirts, handling them the way a hen handles her baby chicks, and begin our sojourn to Jesse's room.  On our hands and knees, careful to not let any of our waste spill out, we would ritualistically chant, "Litter bugs, litter bugs, litter bugs...".  Like insects on all fours, we would somehow fester our way into his room.  A look of anger would fill his eyes just as quickly as surges of excitement and sheer trepidation would wield through our veins.  Knowing that we were about to get our lives handed to us never stopped us from throwing our troves of filthy oddities at him while simultaneously crooning our anthem, "Litter bugs, litter bugs...".  Instead of standing up and running away like any other self-respecting criminal would do, we refused to surrender our insect like characteristics, and would try to escape the fury of Jesse (approximately 16 times my size and 8 times Adam's) by squirming away as quickly as our elbows could drag us.  It did not take long for Jesse to catch up with us but, for fear of sounding too morose, I will let the reader contrive their own ending from here.  Keep in mind, Adam and I usually practiced this ordinance at least twice a week. 
I love you Adam.  I wish it was still okay for people to throw trash at other people- maybe for us it still is. Next time we are in New York City together, we should give it a go. New Yorkers wouldn't notice a difference anyway.  Happy Birthday. 
P.s. I realize this is a decade or two overdue, but sorry Jesse?

Things I Never Knew

Until my life turns into something terribly thrilling, I will do what I do best- list off dull useless facts.

1.)In warm weather, 6th president of the United States John Quincy Adams customarily went skinny-dipping in the Potomac River before dawn.

2.)A human will die of sleep deprivation before they die of starvation. We can survive about 5 full days with absolutely no rest before we die; whereas, our bodies will take several weeks to starve to death.

3.)There are 7 NEW wonders of the world: "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Colosseum in Rome, India's Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Jordan's ancient city of Petra, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico.
I have only been to 3 out of these 7: The Colosseum, the Great Wall, and the ancient city of Petra. I am just dying to go to Machu Picchu, and Chichén Itzá. I want to Travel to just about every corner of this earth before I die.

I found these pictures of Shalyce and Nick- It made me smile to think about them when they first met. Nick was outstanding, he hung out with us, became friends with all of us, and was genuinely involved in all of our lives. These pics were taken last summer at the X-Men 3 opening night, where he waited in line with us for hours before the doors opened. I love Shalyce and Nick. Love them.

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Today is my dear cousin Jenna's Birthday. Jenna is very special to me. Growing up it seemed that our families were always traveling, so we hardly got to see each other. One year though, I remember celebrating her birthday with her in Egypt, or maybe it was Jordan? I do not quite remember; but, I do remember she had a cookie monster cake. I love you and miss you Jenna!

This day is also very special indeed because it is also the day that the Continental Congress adopted our flag. Since 1777, June 14th has been celebrated as "Flag Day". Here are some things I found online, if you feel like being patriotic, which I think you always should. (distinctgifts.com, dollbox.com)

Jenna also shares a birthday with Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the controversial novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Another birthday of note, though not nearly as important as Jenna's or Harriet's, is that of Donald Trump's. But who really cares?

Goodbye Lenin.

Right now, these are a few of favorite things:
in my ears: Jenny Lewis!

Her album she made with the watson twins is fantastic.

Ingrid Michaelson- Grey's Anatomy, season finale, dramatic music. Thank you Ingrid.

"Girls and Boys" is her new album. love it.

moving on to movies: Goodbye Lenin! So good, a must see for anyone who likes Berlin. Keep in mind, it's completely in German. Don't become too attached to the leading actor because he will soon be my future boyfriend.

Writing: This journal. It just looks exciting. I mean really.

mateoilasco.com. go to this site if you like journals. you won't regret it.

Reading: Edgar Allen Poe, "Annabel Lee". Just a favorite of mine.

"But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee."

Word of the day: Fulminate

Fathers Day!! is coming up as Leah has mentioned in her blog. I wanted to make my dad a delicious father's day breakfast. French toast kabobs?

I decided that my bed is in serious need of a makeover, and I reeeeeally love these bedspreads. Usually at work, I stalk every interior design website I can possibly think of. I find some outstanding stuff. These are my favorite sites, (other than engadget of course.) decor8.blogspot.com, dominomag.com, desiretoinspire.blogspot.com, ikea.com, and stumbleupon.com.

Also, please note that today June 12th, is the same day that Anne Frank received her diary. To be continued.