There are things that I rarely say because most people probably don't care, but even if they did, it might be a little selfish to talk too much about myself. If you are reading this you either got here by accident or you really want to know more about me.
Most people know I LOVE chocolate. In fact, I eat it every day. Most of the chocolate I take is a chocolate multi-vitamin and multi-nutrient shake from Omnilife. It is the only thing I can take in the morning when I am not hungry. As this shake does not taste like commercial chocolate milk, I add dark cocoa and sweeten it with Splenda. The best chocolates that I've tried are butterfingers, Hershey's drops with almonds, Hershey's cookies & cream, Ritter Sport with hazelnut (milk and white), and M&M Crispy.
As I am a scientist, I constantly make experiments. The picture above shows chocolate-chip cookies sweetened with fructose. The latest experiment was preparing hot chocolate using assorted chocolate varieties as shown on the picture above. As most of the fat went to the top I was able to remove it, put the leaner mix on the fridge and have cold chocolate milk to drink. The one before this was chocolate syrup made by mixing dark cocoa and honey. Some extra water was needed in order to reduce its viscosity. It tasted good but I still need to measure the right amount of ingredients in order to make it a recipe. No scientific method rigor here as this is just for fun.
Before I started making experiments with food, I tried mixing substances at home, hoping to achieve something like they did on the movies and cartoons (like mixing a blue and red liquid and getting a yellow mixture as a result). All of the curiosity behind this made me study chemistry, but I would probably be a food industry engineer if I had to get a 2nd degree (or maybe even weather science).
I'm a VERY picky eater. I don't like chicken, eggs, beans, or any other creature that either swims or flies. I can only eat "meat" as ground beef, burgers, and maybe a turkey suasage or pepperoni. All these foods as well as pork, venison, dogs, cats or any other walking animal make me want to throw up. It is a feeling that I can't explain as no one has ever felt it for me. If we talk about fruits and veggies, I eat green lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, avocados, corn, potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, cucumber, nopal, onions, chives, garlic, olives, beet, apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, melon, watermelon, as well as DRIED cherries, DIRED blueberries, and DRIED cranberries. Except for papaya and coconut I can generally eat other fruits and veggies that I dislike without feeling nauseous.
I'm even picky with candy, which I love. My favorite candy flavors are generally sour cherry, sour green apple, sour grape, and sour watermelon. I used the word "generally" as natural and artificial flavors have different varieties, and I dislike some of them. For instance, I love watermelon flavor in Pour Patch candy, but hate the Jolly Rancher watermelon flavor.
As you can tell, I have a sweet tooth. My favorite dessert is ice cream. H-E-B or Blue Bell homemade vanilla and several chocolate combinations have been among my favorites. Melon as well as cookies & cream cream flavors that are only sold in Mexico are also good.
If you know me, you should know that cooking and baking are two of my hobbies. I often share my sweet experiments, but usually keep the salty ones to myself as that is what I eat for lunch (on weekends or on vacations) or dinner.
As I've talked too much about food you might think that this is my favorite topic but IT IS NOT, it just happens to affect me every day. When there is no love, I need a reason to get out of bed every morning, something besides those kids who are anxious to be in my class and willing to learn. I am looking forward to a trip to Europe in about fifteen months, unless a girl makes me want to change to a better plan. After Europe, it'll be somewhere else (or maybe somewhere else in Europe), and yes, I'll keep traveling as long as time and money allow me to.
I am a chemist as I have a bachelors degree in chemistry. I have not (and will not) get a masters or PhD in science. Why? Because through my thesis project I discovered that repeating experiments and being held accountable for things that may not come out as expected is not my hobby (not if your whole life depends on it). I have been amazed by the outside world and what lies above us since I was a kid and I have always been looking for answers. Becuase of this I was considered GT (a different type, perhaps, as I was never considered a GT becuase of my grades). In fact, I struggled with math at times (especially in high school and college). As science is the most interesting subject at school, I feel I need to motivate those kids to be the future scientists that we need, or at least have them say just like The Weather Channel says: "It's amazing out there."
What I never imagined was that I would one day teach math (after taking college math, middle school math is a piece of cake). Even though I would prefer science, I still like it (especially when students learn). I do wish I had more time for myself, though.
I am not a morning person, but at the same time I love to sleep and take naps whenever possible.
I am a religious person (far from perfect), however, I would never say that I am a role model. I was born and raised Catholic, and I will continue to be. I've seen what has made me believe firmly in my faith until I either die or lose my mind (don't ask), so I will never change religion. I believe in religious freedom, as long as people don't transgress the rights of others. If no one else came up with this first, this is my favorite self-quote:
"Science, math, and religion ARE NOT democratic; what most people think it's right is not necessarily correct, what most people do is not necessarily the right thing to do."
Because I started learning English in kindergarten, I've learned enough English to teach classes in this language. I've been told that I have a little accent, others say I don't have an accent. Perhaps because of this I was able to get a teaching job in Texas, a job I couldn't find in Monterrey, Mexico due to my lack of experience. I am grateful to those that gave me the opportunity to work here. At the same time I can say I took no one else's job as teachers are desperately needed in Odessa, Texas. Teaching has been quite an adventure, I will never stop learning.
I feel like I've got a split soul. Part of me wants to stay here in Texas, but another part of me feels like going back home and visiting friends and family. The adopted-Texan part of my soul wants to move to a bigger city that will have non-stop flights to Monterrey (this will not be anytime soon, as I feel I need to pay back to the community for several years before I do).
I love traveling and going to places that I've never been to (and going back to nice places that I've been to). I love photography even though I'm not a professional.
Now that I think about it, most of my hobbies and likes are connected: traveling, nature, weather, space, cooking, baking, and reactions are all related to science, and I love taking pictures of all those. All the pictures in this entry (and most of the pictures in my blog) were taken by me.
Why am I typing this in English? First of all, I need special characters to type in Spanish (which my American keyboard does not have). We are also being asked to have all of our students write in all subject areas, so I might as well "practice."
These are the things I might not tell you but I've talked too much about myself. I might have more things to say if you ask (I do not guarantee an answer, though). Do I know you? If so, I would like to know more about you, when can we meet?
