viernes, 20 de marzo de 2015

3rd set of aligners

Well,
This past too weeks weren't that bad.

I can see some results now, and today I got my doctor's check in appointment to see how am I and to receive my new aligners for the next 3 weeks.

I'll let you know.
In the mean time:






jueves, 5 de marzo de 2015

2nd Aligners - 1 month

Hi everyone!
Well about a month ago I received my first aligners from Invisalign, excruciating pain, pressure in my teeth and not being able to properly bite food.

This time was way different, a little pressure, more used to the fact that I had to take them out to eat and then brush my teeth and seeing nice changes. Of course, nothing too obvious because I've only been doing this for a month, but small changes at a time will created major differences.

Here are some pics of my 2nd aligners!
For those that are starting with the aligners my advice is: hold on, first week is the worst.





lunes, 23 de febrero de 2015

87th Oscars!! My predictions vs. the actual winners 10/23

As I said I'm NOT a movie expert.
The Oscars last night was kind of boring (I much prefer Ellen as a host) but this year in cinema was one of the best. Great performances, great scripts, great directors, anyway there wer no losers because all of them were suberb.

Best Picture: 
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"  
"Boyhood"   
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"Selma"
"The Theory of Everything"
"Whiplash"
Best Director: 
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"
Best Actor: 
Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher" 
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"
Best Supporting Actress: 
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"
Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"
Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”
Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"
Jason Hall, “American Sniper”
Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"
Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"
Best Original Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, "Foxcatcher" 
Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Best Foreign Language Film: 
"Leviathan"
"Ida"
"Tangerines"
“Timbuktu”
"Wild Tales"
Best Documentary Feature
"CITIZENFOUR"
“Finding Vivian Maier”
"Last Days in Vietnam"
“The Salt in the Earth”
"Virunga”
Best Animated Feature
"Big Hero 6"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
“Song of the Sea”
"The Tale of The Princess Kaguya"
Film Editing
"American Sniper"
"Boyhood"
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
"The Imitation Game"
"Whiplash"
Best Song
"Everything is Awesome" from "The LEGO Movie" (written by Shawn Patterson)
"Glory" from "Selma" (written by Common and John Legend)
"Grateful" from "Beyond the Lights" (written by Diane Warren)
"I’m Not Gonna Miss You" from "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" (written by Glen Campbell)
"Lost Stars" from "Begin Again" (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" 
Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"
Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything"
Gary Yershon, “Mr. Turner”
Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar"
Best Cinematography: HANDS DOWN
Roger Deakins, "Unbroken"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman" 
Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"
Robert Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”
Best Costume Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“Inherent Vice”
"Into the Woods"
"Maleficent" 
"Mr. Turner"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
"Foxcatcher"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
Best Production Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”
"Into the Woods"
"Mr. Turner"
Best Sound Editing
"American Sniper"
“Birdman”
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
"Interstellar"
"Unbroken"
Best Sound Mixing
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
“Interstellar”
"Unbroken"
“Whiplash”
Best Visual Effects: I mean "I am Groot"
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Interstellar"
"X-Men: Days of Future Past"
Best Short Film, Live Action: 
"Aya"
“Boogaloo and Graham”
“Butter Lamp”
“Parvaneh”
"The Phone Call"
Best Short Film, Animated
"The Bigger Picture"
"The Dam Keeper"
"Feast"
"Me and My Moulton"
“A Single Life”
Best Documentary, Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
"Joanna"
"Our Curse"
“The Reaper”
"White Earth"

miércoles, 18 de febrero de 2015

1st Trays - Invisalign

Hello!

I never had anything "wrong" with my teeth, maybe it was because my grandma use to take my teeth with her hand when they were loose. She made my smile and pretty much my whole family's smile.
Never had any cavity (thank you very much) but I still saw some defects from moving teeth that made me self-conscious in pictures and I didn't like it at all.
So I went to see my Dr. here in Houston (Dr. Gustavo Salas) and he recommended me the Invisalign treatment, less invasive as the braces, invisible, less painful or not at all, so I decided to go for it.

I got my first aligners by the 6th of February 2015, and at first it was really unconfortable, bothering my tongue on the bottom side and feeling the pressure on my teeth from aligners was something new for me.

After the first week it wasn't so bad, having to take them off to eat or drink anything other than water, brushing my teeth everytime I ate, wrong pronunciation, etc etc.

So to finalize this post, here are my pictures before the aligners and with the aligners.
This Friday (02/20/15) is my turn to change them for the 2nd tray so I'll try to keep this blog updated with my progress.
December 2014

First visit to the Dr.



How the got my 3D impressions



The aligners
Invisible 


miércoles, 4 de febrero de 2015

16 años de Revolución Bolivariana

Hace 16 años comenzó este martirio, y yo digo? Cuales han sido los logros de la revolución? En resumen: que ha logrado este gobierno en 16 años de positivo y productivo para convertirnos en un pais desarrollado? A donde se fue todo el potencial que Venezuela tenia (aunque quiero creer que sigue teniendo) para convertirse en una potencial mundial? Por qué solo un grupito tiene que seguir decidiendo lo que millones de venezolanos tenemos que comer, calzar, vestir, etc? Por qué el hecho de pensar tener un "futuro" como venezolano implica un pasaje sin retorno desde Maiquetía cuando Venezuela es una tierra prometida?
Hace 16 años yo tenia 11 años, y crecí prácticamente viendo como este gobierno ha destruido todo lo poco que habíamos logrado como país. Muchos adolescentes y niños no experimentaran lo que fue vivir en la Venezuela de los años 90, donde el dolar estaba a menos de 500 bs (de los viejos, 0,5 bs de los nuevos) y donde uno podía ir y conocer su país sin miedo a morir en el intento.
Que tristeza me da que esa Venezuela de los años 90 no exista más, y aunque sea un cliché pues: éramos felices y no lo sabíamos.

Ojo: todos los gobiernos nos han robado, han sido corruptos y se han aprovechado de los petrodolares para llenarse los bolsillos. No apoyo ni apoyaré nunca ese tipo de gobierno. Pero los venezolanos, a pesar de eso, teníamos comida, servicios, había la posibilidad de comprarse una casa, un carro. Ser ingeniero y trabajar en PDVSA era un sueño, un logro, una emancipación como profesional. Salir de vacaciones era posible, comprar dolares en Italcambio o cualquier otra casa de cambio era posible, hacer un road trip por Venezuela era una aventura y no un misterio de si sobrevivías ese día o no, la gente era amable los unos con los otros (a pesar de que existían copeyanos y adecos pues no nos odiábamos por eso), ay bueno y pare de contar.

Simplemente en estos 16 años nuestro pais ha visto un cambio y aunque de alguna manera no tengo ninguna moral porque simplemente ya no vivo en tierras venezolanas, pues tenemos que salir de esto, luchar, no rendirnos, lejos o cerca. Venezuela era y pienso que sigue siendo un paraíso.
A dónde se fue nuestra cultura? Nuestros valores? Aquello que nos hacía venezolanos?
Sé que muchas personas que tienen 25+ años quizás se relacionaran con este post, pero en realidad me gustaría que las personas de menos de 25 años lo leyeran y entiendan que nuestro país no nació así, lo envenenaron, lo ensuciaron, lo golpearon y lo que vemos ahorita es consecuencia de la decisión que tomaron millones de personas hace 16 años y que lamentablemente siguieron tomando por muchos años más. Este gobierno no sirve, pero y los venezolanos hoy en día servimos para sacar adelante nuestro país? Nos hemos convertido en las personas que este país necesita para recuperarse? Y si no es así, conseguiremos serlo?

Desde Houston, con amor, por Venezuela, mi cultura, mi ciudad Caracas, por el Ávila, el Salto Angel, los medanos de Coro, los páramos en Mérida, la Isla de Margarita, Los Roques, el río Orinoco y su delta, la Gran Sabana.

jueves, 15 de enero de 2015

My predictions- Oscars 2015

I'm NOT a movie expert, I'm just gonna post what in my mind are the future winners of the Oscar.
I may be right, I may be wrong, who knows. We'll see on February 22
Best Picture: Ok this one is really difficult, since I've seen most of them, is a hard choice to make
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"Selma"
"The Theory of Everything"
"Whiplash"
Best Director: also a difficult one
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"
Best Actor: this one is really difficult but I'll go with my intuition
Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher" 
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"
Best Supporting Actress: Sorry Emma, I love you
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"
Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"
Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”
Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"
Jason Hall, “American Sniper”
Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"
Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"
Best Original Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, "Foxcatcher" 
Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Best Foreign Language Film: don't know anything about this one, so sad we didn't have "El Libertador" but I'll go with
"Leviathan"
"Ida"
"Tangerines"
“Timbuktu”
"Wild Tales"
Best Documentary Feature
"CITIZENFOUR"
“Finding Vivian Maier”
"Last Days in Vietnam"
“The Salt in the Earth”
"Virunga”
Best Animated Feature
"Big Hero 6"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
“Song of the Sea”
"The Tale of The Princess Kaguya"
Film Editing
"American Sniper"
"Boyhood"
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
"The Imitation Game"
"Whiplash"
Best Song
"Everything is Awesome" from "The LEGO Movie" (written by Shawn Patterson)
"Glory" from "Selma" (written by Common and John Legend)
"Grateful" from "Beyond the Lights" (written by Diane Warren)
"I’m Not Gonna Miss You" from "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" (written by Glen Campbell)
"Lost Stars" from "Begin Again" (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" 
Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"
Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything"
Gary Yershon, “Mr. Turner”
Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar"
Best Cinematography: HANDS DOWN
Roger Deakins, "Unbroken"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman" 
Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"
Robert Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”
Best Costume Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“Inherent Vice”
"Into the Woods"
"Maleficent" 
"Mr. Turner"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
"Foxcatcher"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
Best Production Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”
"Into the Woods"
"Mr. Turner"
Best Sound Editing
"American Sniper"
“Birdman”
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
"Interstellar"
"Unbroken"
Best Sound Mixing
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
“Interstellar”
"Unbroken"
“Whiplash”
Best Visual Effects: I mean "I am Groot"
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Interstellar"
"X-Men: Days of Future Past"
Best Short Film, Live Action: no idea
"Aya"
“Boogaloo and Graham”
“Butter Lamp”
“Parvaneh”
"The Phone Call"
Best Short Film, Animated
"The Bigger Picture"
"The Dam Keeper"
"Feast"
"Me and My Moulton"
“A Single Life”
Best Documentary, Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
"Joanna"
"Our Curse"
“The Reaper”
"White Earth"

lunes, 22 de diciembre de 2014

The year 2014 is ending

Oh yes peeps!
This year is coming to an end, unlikely every other year I can actually say that I'm really glad is over!
This year brought me to tears, hard decision making, hard months for me being away from my home country, from my love ones and a lot of unthinkable challenges along the way.
I'm also away from my friends, capoeira students, mestre, boyfriend, and most important family!
Yeap!
When you're away from home (or maybe just in my case, only can talk for myself) by yourself, you can easily appreciate way more those people that share your blood, last name, even some bad habits and history together...cousin, uncles,aunts, grandma, grandfa, little nephews and nieces, all of them...I know they come with their ups and downs (sometimes more downs than ups) but man those people really care about you, love you and accept you for who you are (even if that means farting and swearing)
So this year one of my biggest realizations was how much I love my family, my friends, my Avila querida, my arepas, my metro (even with the sweaty old man that hasn't showered for a decade).
Caracas, Caracas, home of the great!

On the other side of the coin, I'm in a better place, better paycheck, better home (I can actually cook and lay on my living room without asking for permission), I'm secure that I won't be asked to leave my apartment one week before christmas (i hope)...I can eat the food I want, say today december 22nd that tomorrow I'm traveling to see my mom, to the other side of the ocean, because I could afford it and make it happen...


So it has been a pretty bitter sweet year for me, maybe for a lot of people too...having to leave our home country to look for a better life opportunity without wasting our productive years, young years...


Yeap! I want this year to end, I'm over it!


I'm hoping to see what next year has prepare for me, what other challenges and opportunities life'll bring to my way and I'm surely waiting with arms wide open.

A lot of goals to achieve, plans, resources.
So bring it on 2015!
Let's see what you got!

Xoxo

Pessego