Cuquina

Yesterday I spent 20 minutes of my life cleaning dog shit from the bottom of my shoe. Thank you, Cuquina, for giving me such a wonderful Christmas present. We all give gifts within our own capacities and it's always nice to know when someone is thinking of you.

(My camera makes it look like Cuquina is a ghost dog. See how her tail is disappearing?)

Cuquina is a stylin' pooch. As you can see she wears sweaters to keep her warm in the winter. I'd say she is better dressed than some people. All of her sweaters look like something that you could buy for yourself or your small child from Zara. For those of you that do not know, Zara is a Spanish brand clothing store. Perhaps Cuquina could be their muse for an entirely new canine line. I think the line would be quite popular here in Spain where people are so dog-crazy. Marlene told me that she spent 50 euros on one of Cuquina's outfits. "Wow," I thought. I know the sweater is quite unique with it's embroidered image of Snoopy and Woodstock, but I don't know if I'd spend 50 euros on it. Then again, Marlene doesn't have children, so she has to spoil someone I suppose.

I have a ton of things going on this break. Lots of traveling and my friend Grace is visiting me. Thus, I am aiming to finish all my homework (which consists of writing two 8 page essays and reading 2 novels) before I leave for Paris. Naturally, I am hard at work on those things right now, as I'm updating my blog. I think I can finish them though. I'm not so worried about reading the novels, as I can attack those on the planes, but I MUST write those essays. I think I'm going to bring my laptop with me to Paris, so maybe I'll update this blog when I'm there too.

Okay, it's time to read the final act in Lorca's La Casa de Bernarda Alba. I probably will come back to my computer and make another blog update, as I can only focus so much at a time. Blogging is always a fun excuse to stop whatever you're doing, pausing your life so that you can take a step back and write about it. Whether you're admiring the outdoor Christmas markets all over Barcelona or the beautiful lights that adorn the city, or whether you're scorning the dog shit that has found a home on the bottom of your Birkenstock clogs, it's all worth noting. It's all part of understanding. And sometimes, you just need to stop to understand.