Strange confessions...

I love "The Office". I love "History of the World, Part 1". I love Tin-Tan's movies (*). I love fish tacos. I love greasy food. I love beer. I love "stupid" movies (like Adam Sandler's "Anger Management"). I love Sinaloa's music (specially "Banda del Recodo", without vocals please!). I love the sense of "surprise" when you are travelling and things do not work out exactly as you planned. I love being silly. I love laughing until my ribcage hurts. I love that I sneeze really loudly. I love Mexican "ficheras" movies (**). I love songs sang by "Piporro"(***). I love Mexican music in general (but specially traditional, like huapango, tambora, norteño, etc.)

Not so strangely, I love my daughters, I love my wife.

See you around.

(*) Mexican comedian, that popularized the "Pachuco" style.
(**) In the 70's and 80's most of Mexican movies showed the Mexican Night clubs and brothels; the women that worked there dancing with the clientele got a token ("ficha" in Spanish) for each song danced or drink. "Fichera" was the name that designated those women.
(***) Eulalio Gonzalez "Piporro", sang norteño songs (he was from Monterrey or Chihuahua or somewhere around) with special commentary during the song. Like saying that Porfirio Cadena (a.k.a. "The glass-eyed") was a good shot because he had better vision with the glass eye ("he saw with zoom"). Really funny stuff.

Callejón del Beso

I did not do it!!

If you see my wife and do not recognize her; it is not because of me.

She decided to dye her hair; blondish. I have to report I did not like it. But I may get used to it. And I love her anyway.

See you around.

Lies, lies and more lies

For no reason whatsoever, everybody at my job feel sick. From stomachache, headache, dizziness, etc. I just feel tired. Still.

We had visitors today. They came from Buffalo, NY. We were complaining about the weather and on of them started laughing at us. Of course, from where he is from it is COLD (not to say freaking COLD) up there. He also did not have lunch with us. Did not want to eat or drink anything we had for them. The other guy did. This is the second time that I find an American not wanting to drink water (even bottled water from US!!) in Mexico; the other guy (on my previous job) brought 5 gallons of water with him, so he could drink during the whole week he stayed in Mexico.

For lunch we brought tacos from “Asadero Yaqui”; a place similar to “Asadero Sonora”. They use SuK@rne meat and hand made tortillas. Add some carrots and red onions in vinegar, guacamole and salsa and you will have some of the best tacos in Tijuana (but it is debatable; everybody have their own opinion about tacos). I actually rate them in second place; the reason is that I love “Tacos Poblanitos” (the one in front of Morelos Park, be careful because there are maybe around 2459 Tacos Poblanitos in TJ). And the guy did not eat any of them. His loss.

Today I am expecting to hear from my brother-in-law regarding the car that they find after two years stolen. It has been a month since I started pursuing the recovery of the car, and seems like finally we will get it back. Originally they said the car was there; then they could not find it; then offered to swap for another car (without papers, very suspicious!) and finally the car was found and is in the repair shop (on their dime!) before returning it to us. They mentioned the car will be ready today; I am thinking more of Saturday or next week. In any case, the car will be ours again. I am thinking of selling it right away; let’s wait to see what happens.

The day started strange; my wife complained about me not helping her with the breakfast this morning. Funny, because the breakfast is my responsibility; it is something I enjoy doing. It brings memories of my father giving us breakfast and then taking us to the bus stop at 6:00am when I was attending Jr. High School; that some of the things I usually do not remember of my father, because I remember better that he arrived home at 8:00 pm to sit in front of the TV and he was not to be bothered; but I appreciate now the time he put on the breakfast and the ride (1 Km away from the bus stop, it saved us 10 to 15 minutes every morning!).

So, my wife complains because I did not help. Actually is the other way around; I forgot to THANK HER for her help. I want to make a point of this, because breakfast is MY deal. Thank you Bonita (when you read this).

It has been a long day; I am about to go home. I may post something else later.

See you around.

Getting back to the saddle.

Well, the weekend was full of those moments that make life so interesting. After not getting enough sleep Friday night, we were (rudely I would say) waked up by my mother-in-law at 6:00 am, when she arrived at my house to give her car a wash. After several annoying noises I finally got up and asked her politely to keep it quiet. She was embarrassed but not enough to stop completely. My wife and I started laughing after that, because we could have made such a big problem out of that, it was just not worth it.

After Vicky’s comments (and all other comments that followed!) we were expecting her to be mad at us. We knew she was upset when she commented, but for her it was a way to vent her frustration; so she was back to her normal charming self. My wife wanted to have breakfast with her, but schedules prevented that (Mediana’s rehearsal, Pinka’s medical appointment and Vicky having to go to work).

We left the house, took care of the kid’s activities and left to US for some shopping. Pinka’s birthday party is coming and Sunday was full of celebrations (Father’s Day, my sister-in-law Flor and my wife’s friend Salvaje’s birthdays) so we needed to get some things before we run out of time.

We left Mediana and Pinka in Tijuana, they did not want to go shopping (what a surprise!) and it was just Bonita and me. We talked, a lot. About Vicky, empathy, getting offended and life in general. It was really deep conversation and we had a great time.

When we came back, Vicky and Bonita went out to have lunch and talk. I stayed home, ordered some sushi for me. My brother and his family arrived and my niece Patita was in her “I like my uncle” state which is so good. We talked and waited 20 minutes for everybody else to get back. Patita and Joseantoñito love Mediana, so when they saw her their faces beamed and they ran to give her a hug. They stayed for a while at the same time we were preparing for a round of “Continental” with my in-laws. We played, had a good time; and at the end of the game, Vicky said to my wife “ok, let’s finish this and start again in a blank slate”.

So, yes. Vicky and Bonita (me too) are leaving bad feelings behind (where they should be) and looking forward to improve their relationship (and all relationships they have by extension). So it was a great way to finish Saturday.

See you around.

Living dangerously

The weekend was a blur, after I came back from the company picnic (no interesting stories there) I got home to a family celebration; there was strawberry-cream cake, my brother and his family were there, my family-in-law was also there; I fell down when I tripped on the porch (there is a step, my foot got tangled with my jacket when I was trying to step on the porch) my knees are killing me but there are no permanent scars this time.

Eat cake, drank milk, talked with the in-laws and my niece and nephew, Vicky’s friend was there, played cards with the in-laws (my wife won, but nobody paid this time) and went to sleep.
Sunday. Chilaquiles in the morning (**) because my mother-in-law thought that I would be with a hangover (I drank some beers at the company picnic, my wife was not pleased because I drove back home; she is right). Took the minivan for an oil change, went to Chulavista shopping (shoes for Mediana and Pinka, they are on the school play next month; I am already tired of hearing them rehearse); then Ensenada in the afternoon.

I like to drive, scratch that, I LOVE to drive. My hometown is 1000 miles south of Tijuana; we had driven there several times. One of those times we even went to Guadalajara and Leon (another 800 miles). Great vacation, that time.

So, this time driving to Ensenada at 4:00 p.m.; great! The road was almost empty, we were not in hurry and the sea, the sky and the overall view was soooo relaxing… I could have keep driving for another couple of hours. We got to Ensenada and stopped for fish tacos and seafood cocktail (shrimp, octopus, clams, scallops, oysters, etc.) on our way to a church. Attended mass and say hello to some old acquaintances. Return to Tijuana; now is dusk. Dust in the air makes the sky red. I have Fernando Delgadillo in the CD player; the kids are watching a movie. I feel so good. I tell my wife I love her, she does love me too!

We go to the store for today’s groceries and forgot dog’s food (we have a poodle, my parents gave it to my daughters), my wife goes to get some food from her sister. I put the kids to sleep, she comes back to me and we go to bed.

I was tired, but could not sleep; the realization that life can be this good when you do not complain of the small things is engulfing me.

My paranoia is kicking in, I should not feel satisfied; something will happen to make it disappear! I decided not to care, let others worry. I sleep.

See you later.

(*) Thanks to all people that was nice to me during the weekend; I enjoyed all of it.

(**) Chilaquiles is a Mexican dish that is made of layers of fried tortillas, then a watered sauce is added and put to simmer; when the water had evaporated you add cheese and cream. Served hot (sometimes with chicken or eggs and beans), it is spicy and supposedly a great help when you have a hangover.

A happy ending...

This was it.

A glass of Calvados to end the dinner.

I am so stuffed I can not think, least write.

See you tomorrow. Thank you to all people that made this day special for me: My wife and kids, my BFFs (Pily y M...), my family (parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, etc.) and everybody else. Special mention to Will since he will get me my money.

See you tomorrow.

Can I take that back?

One of my friends in college was suffering after a break-up; I talked to him (I don't really remember what I told him, but remember trying to cheer him up) and just immediately after that he tells me this:

"You can say the most hurtful things at the worst possible time".

I thought I was trying to help.

Then as time passed (and went to therapy for a couple of years), I noticed that I can turn on my unconscious mind (or let it take over) and allow it to take care of things.

I had done that occasionally, especially when driving; half the time I do not remember how I got from one place to another, the driver-inside took me there. But I really started tapping into that in therapy, when I would be asked to answer questions without thinking too much. And of course try to explain later why I said that.

So, this morning, after a really harsh/quick retort to my wife (I made her cry, I feel bad about myself now) I am trying to find out if what I said was really what she heard.

I do not think so, but in some way this is maybe justification on my side. If she was trying to provoke me into a fight or just pulling my leg (as a joke) I do not know. But, I felt insulted by one of her comments and I answer back.

I made her cry. Now I am suffering too.

Can I take that back?

Puzzling...

I love puzzles, riddles numbers and lateral thinking.

As a parent I have bought lots of computer games and table games that involve thinking. I also have enjoyed video games. When I was 16, I bought my first game console; an At@ri 2600. We played lots of games in that console (and had to refurbish the joysticks innumerable times). Later on, my little brother (I have 3 brothers and 2 sister, talk about big family!) bought a Seg@ Genes1s. Finally, before Mediana was born, I got me a PS. Now it has been exiled to my brother’s house.

Yesterday Pinka (she is almost 8 years old) was playing in the computer one of those games I got for them, and asked for my help to solve three puzzles (*)

The first one I got, the second one I messed up the instructions and had 50% success; the last one I messed up worse than the first one and had 25% success (we had to move 8 characters from one part of a map to another, I lost 7 in the way; really bad results).

After I embarrassed myself with those results my daughter tells me: “thank you very much daddy, I could not have done it without your help!” in a really happy voice.

Now, Pinka has been known to be extra polite. But she can be cut-throat when required (she told the nanny that she was not her nanny, she was a maid). So I know she is trying to be nice to me, but it got me thinking… The thank you in her voice was NOT for helping her. It was for the 15 minutes we spend laughing and joking and thinking about how to get it done.

After a difficult day; with a bad start, and visitors at work to spend time with, and my wife having a hell of a day… it is nice to know your daughter will let you off the hook.

See you around.

(*) Pinka is the same one that asked me one day (when she was 5): “What peculiar means?” I explained and then asked her back: “Why you want to know?” She then told me “so and so were behaving in a very peculiar way today at school”. Where does she get those words?

Looking up to the weekend (Part 2)

OK; it passed.

The visitors came and went and nothing major happened. Except KC (who work in my company but is based in the US) was here with them.

He always give me a lift; he is a salesman (a damn good one! it is a good thing he for us and not against us) and bring potential customers every so often to Tijuana. He used to work as a bartender and has a knack of entertaining customers and to keep them close to him; he has developed several personal relationships with some/many/all of his clients that it is amazing to see how they hesitate before complaining when a business deal is not going well.

So, I am feeling better (just enough). I also sent emails to my ex-workmates at the university and to my parents and received several anwers already.

Me likes this blogging thing!!!!!

See you around.