I Finally Took Action

I'm a person who is informed and aware of issues both at a local and global level, and several times I've told myself I should be more involved, sadly I haven't done it at all, but this past Saturday I finally took a small step. On Saturday November 17th I participated in a walk, an event aimed at ending homelessness in Los Angeles County. I learned about the walk through an article from my favorite LA Times writer, Steve Lopez, this is when I decided to take action. I received a total of $250 in donations, a great amount for only having 3 days to collect. When I was walking I thought about all the families and individuals that will be benefiting from this great cause, and how nearly 4000 joined this wonderful event. I plan to make this even an annual, for myself and my family. I still excited about what I did, and even got a chance to meet the mayor of our city Antonio Villaraigosa, before the walk. A debt of gratitude to all of those who donated, without you, this would not have been possible.

Here is more info on Home Walk LA and more pictures below.

NFL = National Football Lazyness

An update before I begin; Mom's is doing much better; turned out to be depression and stress, but the Doc said she will be fine and its turned out to be this way, gracias a Dios.

Today was a day of nothing but football, yup; I don't think I've had to use the C.W today, which is awesome, football all day! As much as I've wanted this to happen every Sunday, it just hasn't happened, and it might be a good thing. I watched a total of 3 games today, 2 from the AM and one from the PM, and we still have one more to go (Saints v Seattle), but I'm not really in to it; decided to update this thing. I started writing and then forgot my train of thought! Writers block? Hardly ‘cuz I got it back. I’ve been listening to Incubus’ “Make Yourself” album, and I’ve probably heard this album a million times, but this time around the lyrics have a lot more meaning. I think this is the reason why I really like the band, their musical sound is awesome, but the lyrics have such deep meaning that drew me to them slightly, now as a 30 year old they mean more. I’m sure it’s easy for you to understand, but if you don’t I can give you another example, remember your palate during your teens, how it was all about beer and soda, and then as you grew older different food and taste became tasty and beautiful, like poetry? Well if this last one doesn’t help because your palate hasn’t matured, well te chingas! Now getting back to the album; the lyrics can elevate your brains thinking far away, and the melodic sounds of the guitar and base, especially the base, they caress your stimulate your eardrums in a special way that it creates an out of body experience. I’m sure that what I am describing is nothing new just to me, but to feel it again is really amazing. Talking about music has now made me think about how music has played a huge role in my life, since my upbringing, my sisters blasting the radio as they cleaned, made me dance, etc. This is how my brain works, music = memories, and for that I am so grateful because I have lived through some great times, even fucked up times, all of them are triggered with music. My Life is a Soundtrack, I seriously think so, every single person I encounter in my life whether good or bad, you’ve created a new crease in my brain and I shall forever remember you, even hate or love you just a bit.

I’m glad I finally got that out of my brain because I have been trying to write about this for over two weeks now, it was bugging me. I’m unsure about what to write next… well how about TTV=Trough The Viewfinder; I’ve had my Kodak Duaflex for some time now and I’ve yet to get out and shoot with it, but I’ve been thinking about doing it every day during the week since I got it, but when the weekend comes ni madres! Oh well maybe next weekend, man is this my favorite line, I feel like I don’t have time on my hands when the weekends come around, but a day like today I rotted in front of the TV for a weekend of football and not picture taking, te digo, pero que le vamos a hacer?

Look below for a TTV style picture, and click here to see more TTV pictures.

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originally uploaded by yearofthewhitedog.

I know you all missed me, especially with all the comments you’ve left on my blog asking me to come back and write soon; I thank you all!

Hope to make this at least a two times a week thing, since the daily goal I put on myself I have not been able to keep.

Ciacito Baby!

I'm Tired & Stressed

I've been feeling like shit ever since I heard my mother wasn't feeling well; this was Friday. I have done all kinds of things to not think about shit that is happening in my life. I've had so much to drink this past weekend, more alcohol combined since my birthday, but I've skipped the drugs just in case you were worried about me. I've done the drinking, but it only works for a few hours, then its back to reality, so I can seriously see how people become alcoholics and stay drunk for days (Leaving Las Vegas movie comes to mind), because when you are drunk all the time, you never have time to think of the problems. I've skipped posting for a few days now, I don't even know what was the last date I posted. I don't have the energy today to make it a long one. Do know however that the way I feel is really fucked up, I think its not good for my health, but I'm sure I'll get over it; I have to.

Madre mía... quiero que tu salud mejore. Me duele mucho saber que no te encuentras bien de salud, siempre te recuerdo como una mujer fuerte y llena de energía. Una persona que siempre tiene fe en Dios, y una Madre que pone a sus hijos y familia por delante, y una madre llena de amor que sacrifico todo por nosotros. Te mando un abrazo y un beso, te extraño mucho, que te mejores.

Date - Beer & Pictures

I think it's sta-pose-2-be "Beer&Nuts" but I'm posting pictures while drinking. I'm Drinking and Photoshop'ing, not against the law in most states, only a hand full.

I can begin by talking about my date today; I had a wonderful time. I took DJ out, the 10 year old girl that is my daughter; boy has she grown up! We had some fun conversations over lunch. I purposely made it a point to talk about only the subjects she brought up. She asked me about music, about taking road trips, I even told her about the not-so-distant-future, where she would be in another state going to school and she would end up taking road trips with her dorm roommate on her convertible; her eyes lit! I'm trying to paint a picture for her, a world where she learns about the world by travel, and so far she's receptive, only the future years will tell. She asked about road trips because she is going to Arizona next weekend, and she thought it would be long, but I told her it would be almost the same as driving to San Francisco. I reminded her of the fun time when we went up north and enjoyed the city. Her character (that she draws from her Father) came out at Philippe's, she saw a man cleaning the tables, and she said - "he looks happy working here" - and I started laughing. The other moment came when we were walking the parking lot of the grocery store; a man came back to the store and asked about his receipt, the girl said he put it in the bag, he said no, and well he made a stink about "needing IT!". When we were walking back to the car she said - "guess that man really needed that receipt huh?!" - and we both started to chuckle. I just think about how her character has always been the same, the moody and funny girl, who at any moment decides to pull antics, and she makes the family laugh.

Desiree I love you!

Butter Grilled PB&H

I'm eating a PB&H I made just a few moments ago. I was still hungry after a lovely dinner that Hvnly made. We had Garlic Ginger Shrimp over white rice, it was really good and just the right portions, this is why my fat panson ass is hungry right now; just cant eat what’s good for me. I’m listening not to a playlist but my 5 star rated songs; which are a ton, but I actually never rated them, the computer did based on my likings I guess. The world of compuresss I tell you, but they cant get an election right; pinches!

I have a lot to cover, tons of stuff starting with last week, but we’ll have to FF to Friday, just to avoid your brain from swelling and actually learning a few things you will never have to remember, but can bring up with me in conversation. As I write I am listening to Obsession by Animotion, this was a good jam!

Turns out I ended up with tickets for the Dodgers game courtesy of my brother Andres. He actually gave me eight tickets with two parking passes; four and one for each Dodger game and Galaxy game. I called my “spiritual brother” John; it sounds like we go knocking on doors don’t it? I invited him and his wife Daniela, to come with us to the ball game. She bought me my first margarita, that is +++ point’s right there and I bought them “dinner”, some hot dogs - lol - I still owe them dinner. A good time and a Dodger win, but lets not get started on feeling blue.

Saturday we hung out with kids and adults at two for one birthday party. My friend Pips celebrated BenJ’s and Aaron L’s birthday on this day; they had a moment for food, piñata, cake, and then swimming at dusk, which the kids and some adults liked. It was really kewl hanging out with my old friends and their off spring, most of the time I only see my friends and catch a glimpse of the bambinos just before we play poker.

Sunday, I had to get some stuff done and it went undone, I instead went on the computer, worked on a few pictures to post. I took a shower and then decided I should visit one of my favorite places on the weekend, Downtown LA. I like going here because it’s lonely and it gives me great photo ops. I was going to go on my own, Hvnly was at the in-laws; can I call them that or go with suegros since that word in Spanish doesn’t refer to the state of our union. She came home and said have a good time, she knew this was going to be a day where I ended up going on my own and taking a breather. I was in my car with the AC on waiting to leave when I decided that she should come with me. I knew it would end up being a good time and that we would have fun together, and that is exactly what happened. The only incident that away from the good times, was the food issue at CPK. The food took more than half an hour (a sandwich and ravioli) to come out. We bitched a bit and pointed out that two other parties and one other that ordered the food to go, got their food before we had to point it out. We never bitch about something when it is not called for, in fact, I can’t think of the last time we actually did this, but voicing the concern got us a free meal, all we ended up paying was for drinks and appetizer. One of the managers made sure we got the food just a few minutes after, and the waitress apologized for the inconvenience; this last part turned the situation around. Empathize, Acknowledge, and Resolve, and they did.

I had a great weekend, doing something out of the ordinary and breaking the monotony which is not bad, but always a pleasure when change is around.

BTW I just read about Time Travel, imagine when this will actually happen. Check out the news here.

No picture today, but click the link above and check them out on my Flickr site.

Night In - Happy Bday

I happen to be home tonight, but don't be surprised because I'm always home. At my "tender" age of 30 I find myself at home almost every day, so if the law is reading this and you are looking for me, you know where to find me. This past Friday was a one of those rare exceptions;I hung out with friends from work and we celebrated Monica's 31st bday (HAPPY BDAY MONi!). After work I went next door to the gas station and bought a six pack of Bud Light, its taste was horrible! Now I know why I stopped drinking American light beers, they are the worst! I had two of the six beers, and I only bought a six pack because I wasn't planning on being there a long time; it was supposed to be a lets share a drink/laugh/smoke and then go home. It turned out to be exactly that, but on my way home my friend George sent me a text asking me if I wanted to grab a beer. He knew I was going to be in Inglewood and told me he would let me know if he was up for something later that night. I had a great time hanging with a few of my coworkers, and it was a pleasure to be invited to Monica's bday; Happy Bday Monica! Hope you had a great bday weekend.

I drove to Downey to meet George and to take a look at his new apartment, he just moved there a few weeks ago. I got a chance to see his furniture, he has some really kewl mid-century furniture pieces, even an Eames chair, but not its not "THE EAMES" chair. He has the wire and fiberglass type, but it looked really nice with the rest of his pieces. I've always been a fan of modern design, but since he has a background in furniture making, he exposed me to different styles and even dropped a few names that helped me understand it even more. We ended up at Kelly's Pub on Firestone, this place has been there for such a long time, even before it was a hip place. I don't think I frequent it because there are so many people that went to South Gate High, that I hate running into the old school mates; don't ask why I just do. We shared a few brews, exchanged stories, and he even shared a very shocking secret with me. I of course told him about the latest gossip, who's involved with who, and the money opportunity we've had the last couple of days of work; not the best news you can share with someone after they are struggling a bit to get by and make ends meat, but it came up in conversation, I'm not one to talk about work and money often. We ended the night down the street at In N Out, a food bite I needed to have since I was really hungry and the alcohol level was just a tad high. We saw so many High School kids at that place, it was really hectic. I remember telling him that I don't remember there being that many good looking girls at school, or even that many showing skin, and he agreed. We saw a girl so drunk her sister had no idea what to do, they had to be home in just minutes and her sister could barely stand. It's fun thinking of old HS days, but what's weird is that I don't remember ever getting that shit faced, I guess I couldn't since I DJ'd and was the heart of the party. George and I said peace out after I dropped him off, and I ended up going to 7-11 not to far from his apartment, I got some coffee. I was making my way towards the freeway when I had the sudden urge to drop liquids, it was horrible, I guess all that beer I drank plus the other drinks I had at work finally said it was time to get released. I'm sure you are wondering why on earth I'm mentioning this, but it was because I almost pissed in my pants. Every possible place I found to water had really bright lights making it hard to be discreet about pissing without being noticed. I finally found a parking lot, opened the door, and sighed of relief.

That's my Friday night outing. Tonight was a different story; I stayed home, loaded some pictures, ate Farmer Boys (now my stomach hurts) and started watching Fur, the movie with Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. I'll probably get to finish watching it sometime this upcoming week; Inshallah.


Here are two recent pictures.

Que Escribir?

Do you have a clue?

The other day I told myself that I should start adding notes on my phone for topics and brief discussions, so I can later view them and remember what I wanted to talk about. I haven't done it but I realize that if I do do this, my phone will run out of memory. I have as it is (lemme check on phone - 30 seconds later) 35 notes. These are notes from random stuff like books, artists, topics, facts, authors, music, just a bunch of shit that I have told myself I need to look for online. I realize that I stuff my brain with useless stuff, but if you ever want to carry a conversation with me, chances are I can say "yeah I've heard about it!" or I might even have an opinion about it; thats good right?! Maybe, remember my looks will go away one day, but my brain will always stay with me, that's right, think about it.

I read online how Louis Vuitton will have the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev , in various adds for the product line. I saw the picture and I thought it was a really nice image. Gorbachev is in a car, a Vuitton bag,and the Berlin Wall in the background. It's a nice image but no one is credited with taking the picture; I'd say just put my name on it, and presto! Image after the jump.



Bueno, this was gratifying to share a few words con el poco publico que tengo, pero lo hago principalmente porque me hace pensar y escribir; es algo terapéutico (si sabemos que estoy loco). I'm going to bed now, buenas noches a las lechuzas que leen en la noche, y buenos dias a los que lo lean en la mañana.

Xoyozo accordingly!


PS
I listened to a few tracks from the 80's and 90's, all Rock en Español. Unas rolas bien chidas, que si quieren una quemada dejenme un comment o mandenme un text, a los que tengan el privilegio de tener el numbero de la Baticueva.

A New Show and Explanation

I caught a new show this weekend that I really liked. I love the fact that the show is available on-demand, which means I save space on my DVR. MAD MEN is the show I'm talking about, set in the 1950's and follows a group of men working for an ad agency. The show is really true to the era; smoking is rampant all throughout the show, like in one of the scenes where the girl visits a gynecologists and he starts to smoke during their check up. Women are treated like an accessory and inferior, even the wives, I guess its true to the decade. If you are looking for a show that has bang, then I'd tell you to skip it, I appreciate the show for the content and the great writing; I have other shows I would recommend if you want a piece of reality, a quick laugh, and sexy nude chicks. I later learned the show was from the executive producer and writer of "The Sopranos" Matthew Weiner, he's got street cred with that instantly, right?

On to another topic.

Saturday morning was busy like all Sat mornings, picked up DJ from her moms house and I took her to baton practice. Domi was going to sleep over and hang out all day Saturday after baton practive, but we only hung with her for two hours. I had asked her dad if she could stay on this day, but like always I failed to write it down so I could remember, plus Hvnly broke the news to me that we were going to attend an engagement dinner for her childhood friend. I wasn't thrilled with the idea and I can explain why, you might not want to hear it but I think its a good explanation. I don't like meeting people whom I will share small talk with and will probably never see again in my entire life; OK so maybe I'll have some sort of running with them in the future, but one that doesn't warrant an exchange of words even when you are trying to be courteous and polite. This reason alone is why I hate going to these events, people asking me what I do? how do I know this person or that one?; maybe after I make a new friend with whom I answered two questions to, I'll tell him about my blog. Next time I will tell them about it when its time to depart and say our farewells, perhaps I shall throw this line at them - "since you seemed so interested in me the first 3 minutes when we first met and exchanged words, you should visit my blog so you can learn more about me!" - I'm thinking of getting cards printed, what do you think? This is the only reason why I dislike going to these types of events, whether its party, wedding, or any kind of reception; I'm comfortable with the people I know, even the ones who I know but have rarely talked to, put me in that situation and I will gladly accept/attend, because I'll recognize the faces and will probably just have to wave a hello and good bye to all present. I think that clears it up, so we'll move on to Saturday's evening event. When I was there I thought it was going to be just as I described above, but it turned out to be the complete opposite, no one cared who I was after the first formal introductions and quick hello's, so now I'm happy. A band started playing Sones Veracruzanos and this immediately began to flow happiness through my veins. It was great to listen to so many popular songs, they really played well. While I sat there and listened to music, I thought about the time when I danced to one of these songs, wearing my white Guayabera with a red bandana wrapped around and tied at the front of my neck. I also thought about my Folklorico dance instructor who I had a crush on; amazing what music does to my memories. I bought a CD from the band for $10. Music turned it around for me this day, I sure wish it does it again when I am required and invited to attend another festivity that will require that I go through the torture I described above, lol.

Sunday came along and we knew we had to get some fun stuff taken care of. The addition is at the stage where we needed to select the color for the room and bathroom. I think we went with some fun colors, and I can't wait 'till its finished so we can furnish it; you know MODERN will be all over this space, just wish I had the money to get the items I really like.

Here are a few items I'd like to have.

Quick Post

I'm going to bed early today, not much to write except that its been hot like a muthafucka! We've been getting humid weather lately, not bad but Dios mio! I just realized I used a mala palabra and the word God in the two sentences above; oh oh!

I need to stop drinking fluids, especially those that don't have any nutritional value; i.e. beer, diet coke, beer, and oh yea... beer & diet coke. I think I have a huge bladder, I can drink 'till sun sets and rises again, this of course from drinking all day, and its rare if its water.

In the meantime here's a portrait of Dorian Gray.

Drinking A Heineken - Ketchunup

Drinking a Heineken as I catch up with my blog, it's 11:16 PM. Just before I started blogging I was catching up with my online friends, replying, and commenting. I posted a few pictures to Flickr; I posted a picture of the dinner I prepared on Monday... wow this is really getting lame, maybe I should shut down. I'm starting to sound like teenage lovers, whatchu do today baby? I went to the mall, bought a skirt, then I got home and called you. Oh OK... and you? I worked, got home, watched TV, checked my email, and then I answered your phone call; OH OK! Lame-oh!

Cheesus Christo!

OK... I gotta change it up, what can I tell you? Have you heard about the thrash we are getting rid of in space; can you believe this shit?! They are pushing "veeeeeeeeery slooooooooow" a chunk of metal the size of a fridge, they are sending it towards earth. They say its a very light push, one that will take years for the scrap to reach earth, and when it does, it will eventually disintegrate once it reaches the earth's atmosphere. We are not happy with polluting the earth, now we are getting started with space, but I think it's OK no one will notice, and its soooooooo huge, like umm yea, I know. Bastards!

My weekend was very busy.

Saturday I took my car to the dealer so we can diagnose the problem I've had with it since Tuesday. On Friday I realized that I had removed a small rosary my Mom gave me, for a Calaca that DJ brought me from Mexico. I swear to you I thought immediately that's what I got for my blasphemous actions. The problem was nothing major, not enough to report so I'll skip the details, but thank god it was minor. After I dropped off the car, we had breakfast at the small join, which I don't remember the name, but I promise to give you guys a plug ness tinne. The girls went to the beack, but I had to miss the fun since I was waiting on The Lizzie to get fixed and I had to a drive to Anaheim to purchase the new bath fixtures; its really kewl, I'll post pictures once we get that projected completed, bien moderno.

Sunday, DJ and I cooked red pancakes, yes red! We woke up at 8 AM to cook, it was way early for me, but a great opportunity for some Fat/Daugher qualitime. Here's the reason why we ended with red pancakes. I tend to flavor the batter with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract if available. Well on this day I thought what I took out of the spice rack was vanilla, but it turned out to be food coloring, and you guessed right, it was RED. I asked DJ if she wanted to make red pancakes and of course she said yes. She mixed the batter, that was why we were both up, to cook breakfast and spend that moment together having fun and being silly willy. Later this day, Hvnly and I took a drive to personalize my brothers "first" computer, he's got 20+ years on me and he's just joining the computer herd. It had the Windows Vista, I found it slow to respond, and this was a brand new computer! That OS sucks up the memory and slows your comp down, plus if you don't have a cool vid card, I heard this would also give you shit. I got a chance to drive by the newly converted Kwiki Mart, big lines; we didn't get off. My bro lives in Burbank, that was the one we drove through (other on Venice in WLA). The Sunday with my bro and his wife culminated with a trip to In N Out, and man was it good, but I didn't order the animal fries, it was a "healthy" meal for me (Don't laugh, I typed that with a straight face).



On our way home we spotted a shop that had 5 Orange Colored 1969 Chargers; yup the General Lee. It was really kewl to see so many in one lot, so I had to get off and take pictures. As I searched for a picture of a Charger, I found this picture, and by the looks of it, it appears the shop has the stunt cars from the movie. The dents on the front fender and chipped paint on the picture from the link, were almost identical to one of the cars on the lot.

Dodgers Game & Surprise

I'll get the Dodgers out of the way, it will be easier to get over it; we lost 13-9.

My day at work was uneventful, just the norm. Tomorrow we close the sales month and it looks like it will be a good one, I'll be able to treat myself to a nice dinner. Tonights drive to downtown was hell; the usual stop and go traffic, but I think driving stick is the worst thing anyone like myself can do, especially with a 75 mile round trip drive. This is the reason why I've hated driving in traffic the last couple of days, stop and go / clutch and gear, and since I ride the clutch, my back starts to ache. I drove into downtown since we were going to see the Dodgers game, and we (Rich, Nicole, Hvnly, and myself) met at Won Kok. Won Kok serves some delicious stuff, from chicken to shrimp, their dishes can never go wrong. After dinner we took the drive to Dodgers stadium, we carpooled so we could save $15 since that's how much they are charging now per vehicle; pinches culeros!

My surprise came in the mail today; I've been waiting for a package to arrive that was being shipped from PA. It is an item I won on eBay for $23 w/shipping, and its a Kodak Duaflex IV camera. It's a really nice camera and I'm hoping to take some neat looking shots with it, I'll use both my digital camera and the viewfinder of the camera to concoct a shot that looks old and as if the film has grain on it, thus transferring to the print. They call these types of pictures "TTV's" (Through The Viewfinder) You can view some of the pictures I'm talking about HERE!

Here are the shots from the package; it was like Christmas.

Wednesday

My wireless keyboard is flashing red, its saying change the battery, no seas cabron! You want to keep typing right?! lol - I'll get to it this weekend or the next.

Wednesday, it came and its gone in 29 minutes, not much happenin'. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrows Dodgers game; a giveaway night, a bobble head. I'll be meeting Hvnly and Rich at one of the best Mandarin restaurants in Downtown LA, WON KOK!

I gotta go to bed, so I'll just leave you with my latest picture post.



See you mañana!

Funny Moments - Happy Birthday

Dez told me today that we had to start changing our roles, I had to be her now. I was like huh?! She said that all her life she's been doing what I want to do, following me here and there, hahaha, so it was time that I follow her and she makes the decisions. I had to tell her that her mother makes her do those things as well as Hvnly, lol. She said that she goes to Target, grocery shopping, to get their nails done, etc. etc. I had to explain to her that all I do is chill at home, drink a beer, get on the computer, and peep the Dodgers game, and that I rarely drag her to do these things; poor girl, imagine what she goes through, hahaha. To be fair, if you gave her a Target gift card or a Visa gift card every time she went, I would not be hearing this story, lol. I just realized how we are programming kids at such a young age to be a consumer, WOW! She went off on a rant about how I need to be a girl, get my nails done, let my nails grow so I can get them frenched, and on and on, all throughout this time we were laughing, it was like mini-me. That was really funny, I'm hoping she becomes like me; quick rants left and right, lol.

OK so today my former TA, current Flickr/Twitter buddy is celebrating a birthday; that would be none other than Erin; so a big shout out to her on this beautiful day. I'm sure EBedoun is happy that Erin's" mom gave birth to her 27 years ago; are you Er!ck?!!!!! These dudes are hella funny, they let everybody on Twitter know that they got some "balcony booty", had a few drinks and have agreed to have a 3some with Topanga from "Boy Meets World", lol. Good times and vibes to you both.

Well that was my day today not that eventful, but if I can rant about one thing today I'll do it, why pass an opportunity. I drove my brother's car into work today (thank you so much for letting me borrow it big bro; small bro in "stature", but I still love you) 'cuz mine was acting up and I've yet to determine what the problem is. I hated my morning drive and equally hate driving stick, because I was not able to get the damn car out of 3rd gear; it was stop and go traffic except for a 4 mile stretch on my way to work. On my way home it was the same deal, I hate So-Cal traffic on paper, but when it comes to driving in it, I'm not that frustrated when I happen to be in a big mess; its really weird.

Well that is it for this Tuesday July 17th of 2007, I'm hoping each and every one of you got laid, listened to some music, and read. If you were successful in doing at least two of the three mentioned, you get an honorable mention on my next post, so please add a comment to let me know you are out there people! If you scored a hat trick (all 3), drop me a comment and we can hang for a day; I'll include a meal, a portrait session, and a copy of my favorite Zune playlist. As for me you might wonder? I only listened to music during the drive; I didn't listen to music during my recent blog post.

PS
Peace in the Middle East (I really hope we reach this one).

PSS
Don't forget to brush and floss!

Slow Monday

It really was a slow day, it took forever to get to 5:00 PM; damn you Kronos! I think I should refrain from offending the Gods since today my car finally gave me the first, what I think might be, a major problem. I think my gas pump or my fuel injection might need to be replaced, which will kill my budget for this month; POR QUE CHINGADO?! Is it because I started writing in my blog again and I bitched a bit frequent? I hope not because I plan on writing something every day as long as I have two hands. Well not much else to say but that. I had enchiladas which were yummy and gave me heartburn again, but Hvnly this doesn't mean they weren't good OK! I think the other reason why my car is acting up is because I flipped off the week in my previous post; check below.

Here is the most recent picture I worked on and posted. Building photographed November 12th, 2006.



Listening to Maddonna: "Singles 1987-2005". Some good stuff on this list; hit me up if you want a copy.

Sunday Kind of Love

Before I even knew who Etta James was, every now and then I would hear a song called "Sunday Kind of Love". I would imagine myself sitting in an old 1950's vehicle overlooking Mulholland Dr; its a very romantic, wanting/needy song. I think this particular image might have come to mind because of the movie "License to Drive" where Heather Graham is dancing on top of a Cadillac while Sinatra is on the radio. Etta has an awesome voice, and I appreciate her pouring her heart and soul into every song. On this Sunday my other love was arriving from Mexico city, DJ! She had been down south for a week, I really missed my lil' girl, but now she's back :-)

That's it for this Sunday. I've been wanting to take more photographs with my Holga lens but it's not been possible; I've had things to do and its constrained my available time, I hope I can do it soon.

In the meantime I leave you with a picture, one that sums up how I feel about the upcoming weekend.

Anniversary

Explanation for the picture above:
I was going to start typing my new entry when I got really hungry, it was 10 minutes 'till 1:00 AM, I jumped in The Lizzie and floored the pedal; she got me there in time before In N Out closed.


Today was my sixth year in the boyfriend/girlfriend league, but I'm engaged now, which means that my retirement will be imminent. It's been a great six years, we've learned so much from one another and have learned to coexist, I think in the end everything will fan out and it will be a great time. If there is one thing I can suggest to anyone reading my blog, is that you learn that "LOVE" will not be enough for a relationship; I'll let you figure that one out, but if you don't it will be hard to survive anything long term. We took it slow today for our anniversary, not the usual stuff from other years. I slept part of the early morn while Hvnly finished typing a paper due today for her final. Today was like most days, nothing extravagant but it was a nice evening we spent together. Durante la tarde we had some Thai food and then watched the new Harry Potter flick. I really liked the movie just like all the previous ones; I definitely recommend you go see it if you can. The movie made me interested in "possibly" reading the the final book of the series; possibly.

A quote about what I was talking about earlier.

“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new…, all the time, made new…”
Amy E. Dean

As I wrote this post I listened to my newly created playlist, I called it "One More", but its only a temporary name; its smooth and upbeat.

One More - from Zune playlist
1. I Wish It Would Rain Down - Phil Collins
2. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! - ABBA <-- beat Maddonna used for her Hung Up song.
3. I Want To Break Free - Queen
4. Malibu - Hole
5. It's My Life - Talk Talk - made popular a while back by No Doubt.
6. Paninaro - Pet Shop Boys
7. Automatic - Kinky <-- really digging this song right now.
8. Message in a Bottle - The Police
9. Runaway - India
10. Ankle Injuries - Fujiya & Miyagi
11. Who You Are - Cary Brothers <-- a Zune freebie song, its kewl.

The Phone

Today will be a quick post.

Today I hung out with my buddy Danny, and this guy had some stuff to get out of his chest. We've postponed meeting for a few weeks now, my unexpected Dodgers games, and his visits to a clients home. Today we finally met, talked about the past, the future, and where our lives seem to be going. It was great to see him, and I hope to learn from our conversation today. We hung out at his office after we had some Panda Express, and the whole time I was thinking about the technology with the phone. His phone probably rang 20 times, agents, escrow, sellers, buyers, madness with his phone. On the other hand, my twitter friends and I were texting to each other about my blog actually, and other nonsense that goes on, but where I'm getting at is that he asked me "are you going to put that thing away?" I thought it was the funniest thing that he asked, because he said that I all I was doing was punching keys on the phone, hahaha. I thought it was funny because he was serious about it, and I guess I was annoying him, but then I thought you just received 20 calls in a span of two hours what the fuck?! He told me he didn't like the phones that came with all the extras, lol, but that's because he's not savvy with electronics or computers. Well that is all my friends, but I can't help wander if I am now a person who is addicted to being "connected;" am I a person who can't unplug? Do I like getting email notifications at odd hours of the night, do I like getting text's from my twitter buds, or has the phone become an extension of who I am?!




I leave you with a verse that I think is appropriate, one that came to mind as I wrote the last sentences above. This is from one of my favorite bands, PHOENIX and the song is called Everything Is Everything

The things I do possess
Sometimes they own me too
What they gonna do to me?
It's hopeless, hopeless...

Miss You DJ

My little angel is out of the country right now and I miss her dearly! She's been calling me every day, just running up my bill with international calls, lol, but its great to hear her tell me what she's done for the day. She tells me about her walks, or her visits to a city or museum, just things that I've done already in my life when I lived in Mexico, and she's doing them now as a "Pocha" who's a tourist with her Mom. This has gotten me very excited, just to know that DJ has now experienced and visited the state and city her Dad has; the little dot that will go on a map and the memories created is incredible. I miss you silly monkey and I can't wait to see you on Sunday so you can tell me all about your travels.

Ya Merito!

Today was the Mexico v Argentina match up for Copa America; the final score was 3-0, disappointing, and (if I can switch to Spanish for a moment) los mismo de siempre. Tenemos una grande racha durante la calificatoria para la segunda ronda, hacemos buen papel, jugamos bonito, y no recibimos mas que un gol, y al final perdemos con Argentina de nuevo; lo mismo de siempre - "ya merito se pudo" Now back to English mode, I was just venting about our loss and the usual result of my dear soccer team, well what can one do?!

I've liked the idea that I was able to switch up the look of my blog, that I was able to personalize it a bit, and that I was able to add links to my Flickr site. I think this is the reason why I find myself posting today anew for the second consecutive day. I sure hope I keep it up, the public has exalted their chants without ceasing, that I must continue to post just to keep them happy.

What To Title It?

Tune in Tokyo! Tune in Tokyo!

OK so again I've broken my promise of writing something for my blog, blah blah blah. It's not that I don't have time for it, just don't have the time at work, lol; the last thing I want to do is post from home, it takes away the fun. OK so now I've broken another promise, since I'm updating from home, bleh! I wonder if there are any readers? even imaginary ones, just come out and spook my brain for once, lol. I actually had a reader who came around and visited my site, that person and I don't speak to each other that often anymore, its more work related than shooting the shitt; I wonder if that's good or bad? She's a cool chick, so shout out to you wherever you may be on this cool Monday night in July. I think I will just talk about the weekend; I had a "very very very very" - reminds me of Chainsaw (Summer School ) in the scene where he is reading his essay to the class and used VERY so many times to complete the 500 words needed for the essay, any who I forgot my point. Oh yes the weekend! I woke up both day at around 10 am; on Saturday I took a drive to Anaheim to purchase some items for our new bathroom for the extra room being built, its really kewl and modern. I had lunch at "Pick Up Sticks", a salad which I'll never order again. I came home and relaxed before heading to DWNY to drive RosaPastel and DJ to the airport. They were headed to Guadalajara and then to a place near Ocotlan to spend the day before spending the week in Guanajuato, Mexico City, and back to Guadalajara for their last days of their vacation. DJ sounds so excited being down there, I think its time for us to spend some summer days down with Abuelita the next few years. Sunday was the day I set aside to view my querido equipoe Mexicano, they were playing Paraguay in a win or go home match for the Copa America Cup. In the end it wa a goleada, Mexico beat them 6-0, a ver como nos va contra Argentina; this would be the relived match from the World Cup, where Mexico played better during the first 90 minutes but lost with a great gol by Maxi Rodriguez, but I'll forget that day and move on, since this is the Hugo Sanchez era and we are running in full stride. That was my Sunday, full of lazy ness and great food. We had a great dinner and I have a few pictures to show my huge (not!) following.

Catching Up / Over Due

I’ve gone through tons of changes the last couple of months, so many since I last blogged that I don’t know where to start. Some of them have been exciting, others just stressful, but nothing to the point where I had issues beyond my control. I can start by informing all of the 2 readers I have, (if that many lol), that I sold my home, rented a different house for a few months, and now I am living in the last house I purchased. This all happened in a span of seven months, from September 2006 to March 2007. The home we live in now went through an upgrade; we remodeled the kitchen and upstairs bathroom. The entire project was close to one month, but it seemed forever since my parents were in town visiting, we only had one bathroom and all of six of us had to share it, it was like living in the 80’s again when all my siblings were in the same household. One other exciting change has been my engagement, now this has been difficult to grasp but I’m slowly progressing. I’m not used to planning for the future; I’ve sort of lived for the moment, so planning for a wedding has been not stressful, but… I don’t think I can find the word for it. I wasn’t ready to immediately jump into the planning, it was like OK I got back from my trip (my other exciting event), but even though it wasn’t until a month later, it seemed rather quick; let me explain. It took me nearly six years to get engaged, but now I found myself engaged and planning for a wedding. Now everything I mentioned is not negative, but just shows you the type of individual that I am; guess now I must adapt and start to look at the future not as an individual but rather a couple. I’m excited about the wedding to say the least, but wish it were here today so that I can enjoy that moment and go back to tranquility and live as Mr. and Mrs.



The other fun and exciting change has been my travel to the country of Italia, a beautiful and enchanting place full of history and art, one can’t take it all in, in one sitting. I traveled with Hvnly, the one that became my fiancée during this trip. We were two Americans traveling the cities of Rome, Florence, and Venice. We took the trip without any guides, just like we normally do, and we had a great time. I wrote a few pages in my book, I’ll probably transcribe them here soon. I really recommend anyone who loves to travel to visit this country, you won’t regret it. The moment I shall forever cherish will be the day I asked Hvnly to marry me; she was not expecting it and she was so cute, she giggled, cried, giggled some more, and cried some more, but she said YES!



I think it’s time for me to say good night, I find myself posting/writing this at 1:40 AM, but I know I will probably get shut eye around 2 AM, when I need to get up at 5:15 AM. I love you all and remember to love me back!

The Max