I love it when I find a story in a magazine or on a great wensite that I wrote about weeks earlier, no matter how much better their version is.

Yet another reason why I do not want to be a hard-news journalist, covering breaking stories in foreign lands. Walking across Times Square to get to a cushy office at MTV Studios is dangerous enough.

I love me some Andre Agassi! Even if he is with Steffi Graf, making up the weirdest tennis couple imaginable.



I love me some Monica Seles! She is looking fitter than ever, even in the Wimbledon-required all-white outfit. Wow, look at that forearm. You have to clench when you strike the ball to keep your wrist from giving.



I love me some funny faces! The looks on these players' faces while going for a shit are hysterical. Also, Enqvist has the exact haircolor I want.

Monica Seles defeated the "Barcelona Bumblebee" Arantxa Sanchex Vicario (will she add another name now that she's getting married?) today in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. Relatively easy match. But next up is Lindsay Davenport, the defending champion. Monica has trouble with the really hard-hitters, but I think on grass, which isn't the best surface for either player, Monica has a good shot of pulling through, and if she does, she'll be an odds-on favorite to make the final, which would make me JOYOUS.



Lindsay and Monica, two of the five Americans in the quarterfinals, are good eggs. Much respect for each other.



``I practiced with her last week and I know she's hitting the ball great,'' said Davenport. ``I know she's playing at a lot higher level than ... the last few finals I've played her.''



(I think I would really love being an AP tennis writer. God, writing sports stories is stressful, but could be so much fun.)

Perspective and environment are very weird concepts, difficult for me to grasp, but incredibly interesting to ponder. For instance, Fidel Castro, who spouts ridiculous threats and bullshit promises, is actually so caught up in his false reality that he believes he is righteous and that Cuba is a real threat. His government says things like, "Those who think we are ending should know that we are beginning!" But the truth is, no more than four years after Castro dies, the government will collapse. Cuba is the typical example of what's wrong with Latin American nations. He has done very little to help his people, his "pueblo," his "isla." And the people no it.



But here's where perspective comes in. There are many who believe Castro is a God, who have made him another Che, who believe every word out of his mouth is truth. They don't question his motives, his way of carrying out plans. It's not a majority, I don't think. Getting to speak with younger Latinos who teach at Rutgers has shown me that this generation is not going to stand for incompetence much longer.

I saw "Me, Myself and irene" with Terri tonight. It was ... pleasant. I really just wanted to see Renee Zellweger in a comedy, since she was so brilliant in "Empire Record," but unfortunately, she didn't have classic lines like "Well, Sinead O'Rebellion, shock me, sock me, sock me with that devious behavior!"



At Starbucks, after the movie, this pseudo-artsy "barista" was taking everyone's orders. As I was waiting (it took forever, the Starbucks in Ridgewood is a *hub*) I hear him say to a customer in front of me, "You know, you're the first person to ask me correctly, 'May I have a drink?' instead of 'Can I?'" I almost puked in his face.

I had my first bad hair-dye experience today. My hair is at that half-brown/half-blonde stage, so I bleached it today with weird maxi-blonde or something. I had never used it but I never do strand tests or look at instructions for very long. Anyway, I put it in my hair, and it just felt gross. Then my entire scalp started to itch, a lot. I walked through the living room and Cathleen asked me why my hairline was red. I was calm, but pretty concerned. The itching was just too much, so I washed it out early. It bleached my hair, and left no real irritation, but I will not be bleaching my hair again, I don't think.



Also, I have this journal entry I wrote while sitting on the beach yesterday. It's on my laptop, though, and I'm in Allendale (to pick up my freaking cell phone charger...what a lame reason to have to schlep over here) so I'll post it whenever I get back to NB.



Be well.