Anti-Valentines Day...

I wasn't gonna blog about this because I think most people feel the same way about Valentines Day but WTF I'm gonna do it! I F@#$%&G HATE VALENTINES DAY! Yea I said it... It's not that I don't believe you have to show your significant other that you care/Love them, its the fact that there is ONE day to do it! The way I see it if you really love/care for that person you should show them always not that one day! When  I was a young romantic ( I was a charming one too..) I made it a point to always show that person that I loved them not only through my daily actions but I declared my Love for them outright all the time. I remember always reminding them how lucky I was to have that person and that I loved them unconditionally and I meant it... I would watch them sleep, fall in love with the way they danced carelessly, they were the first thing on my mind when I woke up and the last thing on my mind  when I went to sleep. I was proud to walk in the room with them and and other people knew it and could tell I was in love with her...This was not a Honeymoon or first year, this was how I felt always.

   When you love someone you fall into a routine and its easy to get complacent with the "I love you" as the last thing you say on the phone, or the quick kiss goodbye/goodnight, don't get me wrong the effort is there but it seems to take a backseat to life once the "Honeymoon" stage is over with. I'm no expert on this, who is??

   If you really love that person it should be celebrated everyday, you don't gotta be all squishy and mushy. Remind that person why you love them and what they mean to you. Men are horrible at this unless they are in crisis or trouble, but they will do it if they see you making the effort and see it in your eyes. I don't pretend to have all the answers I wish I did but I just see Valentines as a quick "Oh yeah,I Love You" reminder day. I just think that's its lazy or an excuse or Hallmark and Hershey's guilt you into doing it! It's total bullshit that a card, candy and flowers show love! Bye-Bye Hallmark,Hershey's and Flower Shop, find another zombie...

Does it get Colder Than Hell In Hell??

  When did I become such a wuss about the cold??? C'mon I grew up in mostly cold environments, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Virginia. These were all places with four seasons. I liked when it snowed I waited for it and welcomed it. It would be colder than day old penguin shit and it didn't bother me! In fact I used to laugh at people who cried about the cold. I remember living in Great Falls Montana when I was about 9-10 years old. It would snow so much there and we would still have to go to school, my Mom would force open the screen door and me and my sister were wrapped up like those Russian nesting dolls, layer after layer of clothing, it added another 30lbs to us and we would trunge our way to school in 4 feet of new snow. God forbid we miss one day of school!! Colorado was like that too, ass cold! My testicles would become ovaries they shrink up so far into me!

  Taos NM was snowy and cold but not that bad at least not for me, I expected it. At 35 degrees people were still having cookouts and walking around in shorts, flannel shirts and sandals. It was a given living there, besides that it was beautiful with the snow on the mountains and on the broken cars in the driveway...

 I think it started when I moved to El Paso in 1991. I kinda got used to the heat living in Las Cruces NM for 7 years so when I moved to EP no big change 2 degrees hotter! My job was primarily outside. I was a TV news photographer so I was always prepared for the weather. I wore shorts 1/3 of the year and loved it. But about five years ago I noticed I got cold easier, WTF!! Really... If you know me you'd say no way he's a big guy (Im working on that BTW...) I got that Native American physic how could I be cold ??? I caught myself always wearing a hoodie in and outdoors, I would sleep with a blanket in the summer, Hell I even wore PJ's-Star Wars ones of course!! Maybe its age, I remember my grandparents would have the heat on so high in the kitchen you would start sweating the moment you walked in. The heat would hit you like you opened an oven door. They were always cold! I hate that I'm like that now, I'm trying to acclimate myself to it all over again, Losing weight has helped too, my circulation has improved alot.I'm trying to wear smaller lighter jackets and not bake everyone in the house.I'll make do here in sunny EP or where ever the Lord puts me ( Albuquerque, I hope..) but  I wanna retire in Belize !!

Stranded at Home

I love a unexpected day off as much as anyone, Well the day-off Gods smiled down on me or laughed and gave me three! Last week El Paso was hit by some freezing ass weather, I mean it was colder than a Mother-in-laws love! Well they cancelled school and my work in a effort to save on power and water, so I was home with the kiddos! I wasn't prepared for this, I had a little food in the house and it was so cold I didn't wanna battle the "Walmarters" so i had to make do. Then to top it off I disconnected my Internet service the day before so I had no Internet, this did not sit well with my kids... My daughters are addicted to pinche Club Penguin, it's like heroin to them! All they do is play that damn game, day in and out it's like their Facebook! They must have asked me 3 million times in the past 5 days "When are we getting the Internet back" I finally started telling them "Never!!!" Then the tears started... Well I put out that fire by taking them to the library on Saturday and they got their fix but still complained it wasn't enough time!

   Then meals were the drama... I forget what it was like to be a kid sometimes even though I act like one half the time! They are always hungry! Always!!! When i was young I made do as a latchkey kid with cheese and crackers and cherry Kool-aid! I was too busy playing and scheming to take over the world... Well my monsters were stuck inside and I guess the cold made them hungry so they proceeded to place their orders. Well I was cooking like an Italian Grandmother! I made Soup, Chili, Stew, Pizza you name it I made it. I let them deal with the snack end and all was good, I did have to brave Walmart though which was full of panicky shoppers acting like the Apocalypse was coming. All the Twinkies were gone...

All and all it was a good time, I got to spend some time with my kids where they had no distractions outside of the TV. I taught my daughters how to play Blackjack and then they proceeded to kick my ass in it. I watched a good documentary with my son called "Waking Sleeping Beauty" about recent Disney animation. We watched movies and hung out, I cleaned my "Hoarders" computer desk, there was so much crap on it I would have won everything on "Lets Make a Deal" !

   The Internet comes back on Wednesday so everything will be back to normal, Ignore Dad, Complain to Dad, Order Dad around.. Oh well at least they know I'm in the room!

My Phone is not a Toy...

"My phone is not a Toy!!" that's what I tell my kids when they get a hold of my phone. In reality it is a Toy, My Toy! I  just got a new Android based phone, it might as well be Crack because "I can't put down the pipe!" It does everything, its so cool... I bet it'll wipe my ass if I find the app for it! I didn't think it was gonna be this cool when I bought it and after 5 hours with it I was walking down the aisle with it.

In reality I hate cell phones! I hate the fact that it's become a necessity! I'm a be there, live in person kinda guy! Being a parent has teathered me to the phone, but I've accepted it and now and live with it.

I love when people buy a new phone it's like when a little girl gets a new Barbie. Man, we buy a screen cover for it and a little case and check on it all the time, we even have a special place we charge it and give it special ringtones and wallpaper. If we could we'd buy it a Dream House and a cool Corvette!

Then a year later we are dropping it, lousing it, bitching about it and it's all scratched up and scuffed and we call it "Stupid Phone!" I bet it's little phone feelings get all hurt, It's like the new Barbie that you had and now is discarded under the bed or thrown in the backseat of the car!

Then the inevitable approaches, The Contact Expiring...

  We start spying other peoples phones and find ourselves cruising by the phone carriers store or looking on the Internet. All the time our own phone unsuspectingly thinking everythings alright...Then that day comes. "It's not you, it's me" we inadvertivly tell the phone as we shove it in the junk drawer or worse yet hock it on craigslist or eBay! The cycle starts again...

Do as I say, not as I do

   I try to be honest with my kids especially my son now that he's approaching those teens. I like all parents wonder where do i draw the line on what to tell him about my past. I wasn't a criminal by any means but it was a different time with different rules. I went out by myself allot or rolled with the wrong kids sometimes, But don't all boys? We were so damn impressionable by the rebel kids or tough guys, I was. I soaked it all in! Everyone of their nuisances and angst ridden traits!

  Eventually you get to the point where you become one of them or I my case I hung out with them because they thought I was kinda cool in a nerdy kinda way. I was smart and knowledgeable on crap they didn't have time for or could care less about. I also knew allot about music that helped allot. I think I finally moved to coolsville by myself when i was about 20. I still did a lot of stupid crap but I looked cool doing it or so I thought.

  I was coming home tonite from the store with my son and almost hit a garbage can out in the street, he thought it was funny, so I proceeded to tell him how we used to bash mailboxes with a baseball bat leaning outta the truck at 3:08 in the morning. I always preface every story with "don't ever do this", just cause I did it doesn't make it right or cool. I tell him allot of these lately cause he's trying to find himself and I want to steer him on the right path learning from my mistakes.  I'm trying to steer him to the path of nerddom and it's working he's kinda nerdy and cool at the same time.  He's left handed so he's a little different than most kids, real artistic and creative.

  Pretty soon I'm gonna have the BIG serious talk about drugs, I always say something about the dangers of them and makes sure and point out that alcohol is the most dangerous drug. I'm gonna tell him the truth too on how I partook in drugs (pot) and quit when I got bored. He knows now that I did but not the extent and stories. I'm not gonna glamorize it in anyway, I'll probably tell him what my Dad told me "If you wanna try anything,  tell me and we'll do it here at home the first time, that way I feel better about you trying them and you'll be safe", Wow, that really detered me from drugs for a long time, Honest! I thought " Why should I try it if my Dad said he'll buy it and we can do it at home?" It kinda took the fun outta it!

My Movie friend "Donald"

   Tonite I went with my daughters to Ballet Folklorico practice because I wanted to find out more about their upcoming trip to San Antonio. While I was waiting for the meeting to start I had a great time with one of the dancers brothers, we'll call him "Donald". Donald has Downs Syndrome, he is 17-18 years old and was so much fun, He had a notebook and was writing down the names of movies that he liked to the best of his ability. All the movies he liked were Disney and kids films, right up my alley so I was able to guess the titles from his best try at spelling them. He really surprised me when he spelled out the name of a movie that I could not recognize but what clued me in finally was the O in the title was drawn out with 4 small holes inside of it. I said wow that looks like a button, well it was it was Coraline! His speech was very subdued and convoluted but he said "Coraline"  with the biggest smile after I said it!

   He went on writing out titles and I went on guessing what they were, He wrote the Hulk and flexed his arms and grunted, I picked up on that one right away! What was the biggest help was that he wrote out the movie title the way they appeared on the box so it helped  me pick up on what they were. I did my best to guess what he was trying to convey so I could see him smile and laugh. I love spending time with these kids because their heart is so pure and simple like a child or God's. I always pictured angels like Downs children. 

   I'm glad I was taught at an early age about people like this, I was told to never pity them and just treat them with the same respect as you would treat anyone else. I hope I see Donald again, he made me forget about my pity problems and see inside his heart and the joy and happiness of the simple things we forget about.

A Fear of Menudo...

   Living in El Paso has always been like living in limbo. You live on the border of 3 states and 2 countries with basically 2 cultures your either Mexican or "Mexican't" ! I myself have always called myself Hispanic or New Mexican. That's how I grew up, even though I pretty much grew up a Coconut ( brown on the outside, white on the inside) my upbringing was always New Mexican, Northern NM if you wanna be specific. There was a short time in the 1970's that I was a "Chicano" that was the cool thing to call yourself then though, it was always kinda tough or rebellious, I always felt like I should of had a switchblade or been a member of the Brown Berets calling myself a Chicano!

  So moving to Las Cruces/El Paso was a culture shock for me, I could write about this endlessly and will in other entries but right now were gonna talk "Menudo"... I was brought up eating Posole which was a hominy with pork stew some times made with chile (I make mine w/o and add it later). I had heard about menudo but never eaten it, it looked gross! Most of all though it contained "TRIPE"!  I quiver when I say it!!! When i was  a kid I spent allot of time at my grandparents house in Taos New Mexico. My grandpa always had 5-6 cattle that kept him busy and outta my grandma hair, which she liked. Well once or twice year he would slaughter one for the meat. It was so cool we would walk it down to the slaughter house down the cammanito(dirt road) and he would do the deed and then we'd go pick up tubs of cut, unwrapped meat and wrap each steak or cut of meat like Christmas presents!

  This is where the horror begins... One of the weird scary things that we would bring back was the stomach! My job was to cut open the stomach and wash all the digested or un-digested grass/alfalfa outta the stomach. So here I was about 8 or 9 years old forced to wash out the grass outta the stomach which looked like some sorta Sci-Fi monsters skin inside, all diamond shaped honey combed and stunk like all hell. All I would think about was the poor cow and felt like the stomach was gonna come to life and swallow my hands up at any moment! I would cry sometimes and gag then was told to "Go wrap meat with your Grandma!!" That kinda scarred me to this day... I tried to eat it and just could not, it was rubbery and greasy and always took me back to that laundry room work sink where the horror began!

   Which brings me to this past weekend. My daughters had a Menudo sale for their Folklorico group and I went for support, I didn't plan on eating any but my daughter asked " Aren't you gonna have some Dad, all the other parents are?" Then the guy who made it asked too! So I "Cowboyed Up" and got a bowl ( second time in my life I had it...)  and carefully separated the tripe from the hominy and doctored it all up with oregano, lime and onions and swallowed a few spoonfuls for offspring approval and claimed I was full from breakfast, which I was, Thank you Oatmeal!!! Then walked away like a gunfighter with the greasy menudo behind me... cue "The Good,Bad and the Ugly" music here...