Its that joyous time of the year again, playoff time people, and I am very excited to say that my Colts are playing for a chance to make it to the Superbowl once again. Lets hope that they don't squander their chances early in this 2nd half of the season.
Its important to look at the whole picture before one starts making predictions (Colts vs Eagles is my pick) out and making a complete butt of themselves.
The AFC has a bunch of teams that can scare the living poop out of anyone going against them, you have the once again incredible New England Patriots who have only lost 2 games this whole season and may I point out that one of them was a shellacking by the Cleveland Browns, yes the sames Browns who finished 5-11. The Pittsburgh Steelers are as always the defensive minded juggernaut who they always are and have shown to be for many years. After an awful off-season plagued by media scrutiny because of their QB's stupid decisions (who we hope are now behind him) finished the regular season with an outstanding 12-4 record.
The Indianapolis Colts once again finish the regular season with a playoff appearance. The Manning era has been good to the Colts making them one of the most consistent offencive teams in the league. This year was not as decorated or as rich as past years, mainly, due to the slimming down of the roster which was riddled with injuries. Payton had to make something out of nothing almost all season long, passing to no names, and, in Manning fashion making all them look like rock stars. We will see if they can pull yet another upset as they did in similar fashion in the 2006 Superbowl run.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets round off the AFC teams who are trying to fight for top honors, and all of them are playing with a chip on their shoulders. The Jets as usual running their mouth claiming to be the best team in the NFL have something to prove. The Ravens like always bring it with their D, and the offense just hangs on just a bit longer to win close ones, in my opinion they look old and a bit worn, but hey this is the NFL and anything could happen. And at the bottom of the pile you have the Chiefs who with a loosing record last season have somehow rebounded to an impressive 10-6 record that mirrors the Colts record. This team can truly be the Cinderella story of the playoffs but they face the Ravens in the first Wild Card round and I don't think that their offense can truly hang with the Ravens seasoned D.
In all I'm going with the Colts to take the Jets, the Ravens to beat the Chiefs thus giving us the Colts vs the Steelers and the Ravens vs the Patriots. From there I have the Colts getting their revenge on the Steelers once and for all, and the Patriots running over the Ravens, to give us the AFC Championship classic Colts vs Patriots. Once again these two Elite teams will be going at it for a chance to represent the AFC in the Superbowl.
12.10.2010
JJR
This isn't goodbye, this isn't so long
its an "Ill see you later," an "ill hold you again"
the love of a father, the pain of a son
the loss of a friend, the grieving within
not able to speak, I'm at a loss for words
its been some time now, just barley feeling the loss
I got tatted for you, on my right arm I'm wearing a cross
I miss you so much, its hard to imagine
that you wont see me grow, my kids you wont hold
my wife you won't know, ill grow old without my old man to hold and to love
Remember when I was your little boy?
your everything, your pride and joy?
how often you held me, how often I cried
how often you left me, how often you lied
All is forgiven, all is behind
all is well now, I have peace of mind
The Lord took it from me, both the pain and the joy
The Pain being the past, the Joy being you Dad
I pray that my last gift to you was accepted
taken and put to work.
Ill see you again, Ill hold you once more
But not yet, not yet.
its an "Ill see you later," an "ill hold you again"
the love of a father, the pain of a son
the loss of a friend, the grieving within
not able to speak, I'm at a loss for words
its been some time now, just barley feeling the loss
I got tatted for you, on my right arm I'm wearing a cross
I miss you so much, its hard to imagine
that you wont see me grow, my kids you wont hold
my wife you won't know, ill grow old without my old man to hold and to love
Remember when I was your little boy?
your everything, your pride and joy?
how often you held me, how often I cried
how often you left me, how often you lied
All is forgiven, all is behind
all is well now, I have peace of mind
The Lord took it from me, both the pain and the joy
The Pain being the past, the Joy being you Dad
I pray that my last gift to you was accepted
taken and put to work.
Ill see you again, Ill hold you once more
But not yet, not yet.
11.23.2010
Stranded and Grounded
From up here everything looks so small, its almost as if you can hold everything in eye sight in the palm of your hand. Its amazing how minuscule one can feel when you see everything around you, the majesty of this world is amazing and a bit much to take in at times. But at this moment I was just at ease because after waiting in a plain for 3 hours for it to take off I was grateful to be on my way home from what seemed like a nightmare situation.
You see after being 5 minutes "late" for check in, we missed our flight home from our vacation in Orlando. We were instead put on a flight that was grounded for 3 whole hours due to thunderstorms, and while we waited we were tortured with the acting chops of Mr. Demi Moore himself. At times I was waiting for the crew members of his show "Punk'd" to show up with cameras as I reacted with amazement, shocked by the outlandish antics of Ashton's amazingly "creative" brain. But after the end credits of Valentines Day rolled I realized that Ashton wasn't going to Punk me today, maybe next time.
My sister and her husband were going to pick us up from the airport now and at last I was able to relax a bit. I just liad my head back and rested my eyes for a bit, but my mind was racing, I couldn't stop thinking that something else was going to happen, but honestly what else can happen after something like this right?
As we landed in Atlanta, we learned that our next flight was boarding and we had to make our way from where were all the way across the airport, in length terms we had to run about half a mile dragging our bags, before realizing that the flight was going to leave us if we didn't speed things up. We stopped right in time to catch the subway that took us to the other side of the terminal. In there I was looking at the time realizing we only had a few minutes left. The tram came to a stop and we busted out of there, running as fast I could hauling all the bags and my wife running ahead of me with the tickets in hand trying to secure our spot in the plane.
Right in the nick of time we made our way to our gate with about 2 people in front of us. Again I was able to take a breath, and thank God for helping us so far, but to my surprise our struggles weren't over just yet. I got a call from my sister, with a bit of hesitation I answered the phone. She told me that they weren't going to be able to pick us up because her husband had to work in only a few hours (he worked the graveyard shift) so we, once again were up a creek without a paddle.
No longer caught off guard by bad news we were trying to wrap our head around this new problem that was in front of us. My wife called her sister to see if she could pick us up but her voice mail is all we got. I had no one else to call, every one of my siblings was dead asleep and not in a position to assist. As we finally landed in Salt Lake City, it was about 12:30 am now, we thought about taking a taxi back home. We made our way to the exit and asked a cab driver what the cost of a taxi would be from there to Pleasant Grove. The answer hit us hard, picture a deer caught in the headlights kind of look. "An estimate?" he asked "about 80 or 90 give or take" "Dollars?!" I answered with fright in my voice, and yes he meant dollars, pesos, dinero, cheese, cash flow, chedda, mula, bills, how ever you want to call it he meant just that.
Once again defeated and baffled by our current dilemma, we asked ourselves what more can we do. I suggested renting a card but that would put us back money wise. Jenny called her sister one more time and this time she struck gold, she answered the phone, but to our disappointment she said she couldn't because she was with her boyfriend. With our options slimming down by the second I was getting very angry, I definitely wasn't thinking straight but as always my wife was the one with the brains. She took my phone and looked down the contact list and began to dial numbers. A few calls later she look up at me giving me the thumbs up signal. At last someone was coming through for us, but who?
The time was now 1:30 am and I was sitting down waiting and recapping the day's events. It was a bit soothing to think that after all that we had been through so far we were only 40 minutes away from home, no matter how dark and crappy it seemed it always got better. It was now 2 am and I got a call from our Knight in Shinning Armor. "Whats up Foo!" he said as I answered the phone and its s all I needed to hear to know who it was. My big loving father figure Andres, as loyal as any best friend could ever be, there he was with his wife. When no one was able or willing to pick us up we had to relay on a friend who was harder to get hold of than the president, but somehow he was here ready to take us home.
Finally we were going home, after hours of uncertainty and frustration we were for sure going to make it to our warm and cozy bed. Talking to Andres about his lack of pick-up-the-phone-skills, he told us that he always leaves his phone on vibrate so that people wont bug him in the middle of the night, but for some reason this night he felt impressed to leave the ringer on, and by his bed. So when Jenny called him he picked up, which is not normal for him, and specially not that late at night. About 35 minutes later we were home, thanks to my gentle giant.
You see after being 5 minutes "late" for check in, we missed our flight home from our vacation in Orlando. We were instead put on a flight that was grounded for 3 whole hours due to thunderstorms, and while we waited we were tortured with the acting chops of Mr. Demi Moore himself. At times I was waiting for the crew members of his show "Punk'd" to show up with cameras as I reacted with amazement, shocked by the outlandish antics of Ashton's amazingly "creative" brain. But after the end credits of Valentines Day rolled I realized that Ashton wasn't going to Punk me today, maybe next time.
My sister and her husband were going to pick us up from the airport now and at last I was able to relax a bit. I just liad my head back and rested my eyes for a bit, but my mind was racing, I couldn't stop thinking that something else was going to happen, but honestly what else can happen after something like this right?
As we landed in Atlanta, we learned that our next flight was boarding and we had to make our way from where were all the way across the airport, in length terms we had to run about half a mile dragging our bags, before realizing that the flight was going to leave us if we didn't speed things up. We stopped right in time to catch the subway that took us to the other side of the terminal. In there I was looking at the time realizing we only had a few minutes left. The tram came to a stop and we busted out of there, running as fast I could hauling all the bags and my wife running ahead of me with the tickets in hand trying to secure our spot in the plane.
Right in the nick of time we made our way to our gate with about 2 people in front of us. Again I was able to take a breath, and thank God for helping us so far, but to my surprise our struggles weren't over just yet. I got a call from my sister, with a bit of hesitation I answered the phone. She told me that they weren't going to be able to pick us up because her husband had to work in only a few hours (he worked the graveyard shift) so we, once again were up a creek without a paddle.
No longer caught off guard by bad news we were trying to wrap our head around this new problem that was in front of us. My wife called her sister to see if she could pick us up but her voice mail is all we got. I had no one else to call, every one of my siblings was dead asleep and not in a position to assist. As we finally landed in Salt Lake City, it was about 12:30 am now, we thought about taking a taxi back home. We made our way to the exit and asked a cab driver what the cost of a taxi would be from there to Pleasant Grove. The answer hit us hard, picture a deer caught in the headlights kind of look. "An estimate?" he asked "about 80 or 90 give or take" "Dollars?!" I answered with fright in my voice, and yes he meant dollars, pesos, dinero, cheese, cash flow, chedda, mula, bills, how ever you want to call it he meant just that.
Once again defeated and baffled by our current dilemma, we asked ourselves what more can we do. I suggested renting a card but that would put us back money wise. Jenny called her sister one more time and this time she struck gold, she answered the phone, but to our disappointment she said she couldn't because she was with her boyfriend. With our options slimming down by the second I was getting very angry, I definitely wasn't thinking straight but as always my wife was the one with the brains. She took my phone and looked down the contact list and began to dial numbers. A few calls later she look up at me giving me the thumbs up signal. At last someone was coming through for us, but who?
The time was now 1:30 am and I was sitting down waiting and recapping the day's events. It was a bit soothing to think that after all that we had been through so far we were only 40 minutes away from home, no matter how dark and crappy it seemed it always got better. It was now 2 am and I got a call from our Knight in Shinning Armor. "Whats up Foo!" he said as I answered the phone and its s all I needed to hear to know who it was. My big loving father figure Andres, as loyal as any best friend could ever be, there he was with his wife. When no one was able or willing to pick us up we had to relay on a friend who was harder to get hold of than the president, but somehow he was here ready to take us home.
Finally we were going home, after hours of uncertainty and frustration we were for sure going to make it to our warm and cozy bed. Talking to Andres about his lack of pick-up-the-phone-skills, he told us that he always leaves his phone on vibrate so that people wont bug him in the middle of the night, but for some reason this night he felt impressed to leave the ringer on, and by his bed. So when Jenny called him he picked up, which is not normal for him, and specially not that late at night. About 35 minutes later we were home, thanks to my gentle giant.
11.16.2010
45 minutes before take off
There we were, enjoying a nice Cuban sandwich in Orlando Florida. Getting ready to go back home to Utah, back to the cold and crappy weather. It had been a great week, full of fun and joy with each other, and now it was on to the real world, no more Disney world, no more sandy beaches, no more sunny drenched days sweating just by doing nothing, oh no we were going back to our reality which was Pleasant Grove Utah and not Kissimmee Florida.
Our last day in paradise was nice, we got ready and packed. Checked out of our temporary home called the Ramada Inn, and on our way we were, ready to spend our last few hours here before boarding time came. We wanted to eat out one last time and enjoy this day as much as possible, so we drove around near the Airport's proximity to make sure we would be back just in time for our flight. We tussled around as to where to eat, and after a few failed attempts at eating in the fancy likes of TGI Fridays we settled for a Cuban restaurant called Mi Tierra.
Jenny chowed down that Cuban sandwich in matter of minutes with a bit of my help, and off we were to the airport. Our rental car a 2010 Nissan Cube was filled to the top when we got it and as it stated in the guidelines we needed to return it with the same amount of gas as when we first got it. On our way to the airport I noticed the the needle that read the amount of gas was slowly dipping bellow the F, so I drove to the nearest gas station. I topped it off and off we went again.
I was a bit worried that we wouldn't make our flight but we still had plenty of time, or so I thought. We pulled up to the car garage of the Orlando International Airport and parked, grabbed our bags and bid farewell to our trusty white Cube. There we were hauling our bags through the huge masses of people piling all over getting ready to leave, some with tears and hugs others with "Ill see you later" goodbyes. Finally we got to our flight check in line, and just in time, with maybe a minute or two to spare.
I was a bit worried that we wouldn't make our flight but we still had plenty of time, or so I thought. We pulled up to the car garage of the Orlando International Airport and parked, grabbed our bags and bid farewell to our trusty white Cube. There we were hauling our bags through the huge masses of people piling all over getting ready to leave, some with tears and hugs others with "Ill see you later" goodbyes. Finally we got to our flight check in line, and just in time, with maybe a minute or two to spare.
It was our turn to check in, and I handed the guy behind the counter our itinerary and I loaded the bags on the scale. The guy looks up at us a and says "So are you guys running late?" to what I said "No were not, why do you say that?" "Well" he said with a tone one would only have right before bad news were about to be given, "there is no way you are going to make this flight."
"Excuse me?!" I said with a tone of disbelief "how is that possible? our flight is not leaving for another 30 minutes" to what he said "Well sir you are right but we still need to get these bags checked in and with the time frame that you have left us there is no way we can get you there in time, I'm sorry."
"Excuse me?!" I said with a tone of disbelief "how is that possible? our flight is not leaving for another 30 minutes" to what he said "Well sir you are right but we still need to get these bags checked in and with the time frame that you have left us there is no way we can get you there in time, I'm sorry."
I could not believe my ears, it was like the beginning of a bad family comedy movie, you know the kind that has the main characters stranded in an airport thousands of miles from their destination or home and they have to drive cross country and go through hell to get back. A few days later, and after several near death experiences that one would probably never encounter in their whole lifetime (like fighting a dear, or falling off a cliff in your car and only having the tiers and doors fall off like in "Are we there yet?") and more in love than before they left because along the way they fight and hate one another, only to fall madly and deeply in love all over again because of all the "I almost lost you moments" they finally make it home with nothing but the clothes on their back with a bloody lip and torn and dirty shirts-kind of movie? well this was beginning to feel like the start of one of those movies, we were in for a long, long day.
"its 45 minutes before take off sir. We ask all of our passengers to check in no later than 40 minutes before take off. Its posted all over the airport." "Does it look like we have been vacationing in the airport to you?" I barked back at him with the tone of frustration lingering in my voice. "We need to get in that plane, I don't care what we or you need to do, we need to get back home for work." There was a bit of desperation now and I was not happy and if I wasn't happy, my wife was furious. The guy behind the counter was typing like crazy, going back and forward, talking to people trying to get something worked out but it just wasn't working out. Finally he got his manager after several verbal threats made by my wife, but his manager had no better news for us than what the other guy had already told us. We weren't making that flight, and it was more obvious now that the time came for the flight to take off.
There we were stranded in Orlando, needing to get back home. The manager did however work things out as to placing us in another flight, one that would leave in about an hour, but it would have to stop in Atlanta and then from there we would board another flight to Salt Lake. In all we would be getting home at about 11 pm that night when we should have been home around 6 pm. It was about 1 pm and after all the drama and frustration I finally got my wife to calm down. Sitting now waiting for the flight to board. We boarded the plane at about 2:30 pm and it was all over, we were heading home, well it seems that we were fooled once again.
Siting in our seats, giving thanks that the nightmare was finally over, we held hands and tried to make the best of what was given. It was raining now, the summers in Orlando are wet and humid, giving way to the tropical storms or Hurricane seasons of the summer. "This is your captain speaking, welcome aboard, I have a bit of bad news" Oh no you don't, you just can't. "Seems like we are being grounded until further notice, lighting storms are keeping us here for a few folks, as soon as we have more information we will update you, thanks again for choosing us." I wasn't happy, this just kept getting worse, and to top it all off our ride wasn't going to be able to pick us up. My sister in law had committed to pick us up but now with the delay she wasn't going to be able to do it, so I called my sister and had her do it for us. "Ill call you as soon as we land in Atlanta" I said to her.
Over and over we got the same lame news from our captain, we were to remain grounded until the weather cleared. To ease all of the angry passengers they gave drinks and peanuts away, as well as some infligh entertainment to delight our pupils they made us watch "Valentines Day" a romantic comedy that was mediocre at best, with a huge bill of stars. It was now about 5:30 pm, we had been sitting in the same spot for 3 hours, and finally it came, the news we were all praying for "we are clear for take off."
To Be Continued.....
11.02.2010
Dream Big
Dreams:The succession of images, sounds or emotions that the mind experiences during sleep.
When you hear the words "Dream Big" what comes to mind? My guess is that for most people this sparks thoughts of lots of money, a huge house and expensive toys. And why not? its totally normal to think of a lavish lifestyle. I would also dare to guess that most of us will never see that kind of life. Does that make us less than those who can live that way? No it does not. One can also make the argument that money doesn't determine happiness, or does it?
For many years I have been thinking about my future, and the older I get the harder it gets to come to terms that I might never have the McMansion, or the sports car of my dreams. But does this make me a lesser person? or does it diminish my accomplishments so far in life? again the answer is a big fat No.
My happiness is not determined by how much my bank account has, or how big my TV is, or how many shoes I have, but by what I have been able to accomplish so far in my life. Lately I can feel myself growing as a man, as a husband and future father. The choices I am making now are literally affecting the future of our unborn children.
You see in high school I was for the lack of a better word an Underachiever. Not because I was dumb or had some sort of learning disorder, but because I didn't care about my education. How could I? an illegal immigrant teenager, who as I put it best "will one day own the airways, and MTV's convented VMA award," care so much for an education. That just wasn't my cup of tea per say. High school was more of a popularity contest for me and my pals. When in class I was more worried about who I would bump in to in the hallway and what the girls would think of my outfit that day, I was more focused on things that did not matter one bit, but try to tell a teenager who's hormones are in full rage that School wasn't a place to hook up but a place to learn and get prepared for whats ahead of you.
Late in to my senior year I was falling behind and little by little the thought of graduating was slowly fading away, and not just for me but for many others in school. I guess I should have payed more attention in class, but it was too late now. I was passing the majority of my classes with low C's and high D's, and somehow (by the grace of God is my best guess) I was able to pass all my classes. I walked with my classmates, I was able to get a diploma, I was able to show my family that I wasn't a compete failure, and most of all I was able to show myself that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. Given that I didn't pass with honors but I passed none the less.
So now here we are, 9 years later and I am finally in good shape to start college, a long time, I know. But late is better than never right? I think I have found a career that makes me tick, something that actually gets me excited, not just something to do for the rest of my life, but something that I am mediocre at. If you haven't been following my blog then you probably have no Idea what makes me tickle inside, well that is a passion for writing. I honestly and truly think that I can have a career in journalism.
Is this my version of "Dream Big?" maybe, I just can't come to terms or grasp the fact that I can actually be good enough at something that I can get payed for and make a caereer from it, this sort of stuff dosen't happen to me and others like me, we usually end up working for a factory and or a call center (and not that those are bad jobs, any job is a good job, but its not something that you are trully sold on or happy doing, its something that gets you and your family through. This is not what I want, I want the oportunity to do something I love untill I retire. I am dreaming big, for once I can see my future as I want it, a family man with a great wife and amazing kids, doing what he loves, not just for himself but for them.
5.03.2010
My Battle for the J's II: Blood, Tears and Dreams
After tasting defeat it took me a few hours to regain my composure, I was determined to get those shoes at any cost, even if that meant fighting for them.Saturday morning came and I was fast on my feet, driving on the I-15 with only one thought in mind, to be the first to own a pair of those beautiful shoes. I got to the mall at 6:00 am only to realize that I wasn't the only one there, I was one of many to be there ready to fight it out, ready to die for what I wanted and desired, my Retro 11's. I wasn't about to go down without a fight. Oh no, not this man. Not today baby!
"LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!" is all I heard in my head, I ran towards the crowded hallways of mad men fighting for a spot in line, only 12 pair and I was going to go home with a pair, oh yes I was! by golly I was ready to die. I caught one trying to body slam someone so I took him out with a chair I got from the food court, as this happened I felt the sting of a fist connecting to the back of my head, I dropped flat on my face, glass braking all around me, body's dropping like flies all around, blood stains all over the shiny Mall floor, I started to give up but something inside of me kept pushing me to get up. "Get up you fool, you are almost there, only 3 more hours and you will have them, GET UP!" I felt renewed so I pushed my self to get up and as I was beginning to get back on my feet I took one on the Kisser, left hook, right hook, uppercut to the gut and I was flat out. So much for fighting for what I wanted, well maybe next time.
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" I woke up screaming, sweating and on the verge of tears. Oh my gosh it was only a dream! I looked at my phone and it was 5:50 am, I still had time to do this. I was fast on my feet, driving on the I-15 with only one thought in mind, to be the first to own a pair of those beautiful shoes, but this time no fighting. I drove up to the mall around 6:20 am and I walked in expecting an angry mob of people waiting, fighting each other for a spot but I was wrong, only 7 other people where there waiting. Some sleeping on the floor waiting for the doors to open. I quickly made friends with one of the guys there and we talked about life and Jordan shoes.
Soon enough the store opened its doors, only letting 2 people in at a time. I was next and I was able to get in and get my hands on those lovely white shoes. I never knew people went through so much to get shoes but I think its well worth the battle. It was a new experience that I would put myself through again. Talking to the first guy in line I realized how deep and committed these people are, he worked at this Foot Locker and the night before was his turn to stay late and close. After his shift was over he did what any Jordan hungry person would do. He stayed the night in the mall. He hid himself from the security guards inside the T-Mobile kiosk, waiting for that clock to display 6:00 am, and once it did he jumped up and lined up.
The things people do for shoes, crazy people. I would never do that.... OK I would, sue me!
My Battle for the J's
"One of our representatives will be with you in a moment" Those are the dreaded words I was trying to avoid all night but somehow I found myself in that predicament and I could do nothing to change it.Let me take you back, way back. The year was 1996, Tupac was still the King of Rap but his murder was close at hand. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Steelers to win their 5Th Superbowl, and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals. This is the year I feel in love.... the memory of that shoe is still crisp in my mind, its shiny patent leather mid and toe box was just breath taking. The Air Jordan 11's where the thing of legends, not even the Barkley's came close to these baby's. Everyone I knew was sporting these shoes as soon as they became available, everyone except me. I remember walking around school and thinking "Man I wish we had the money to get them" but the truth was that those shoes where way out of our price budget, so Hand-Me-Downs would have to do, that or Payless shoes or better yet salvation army.
OK flash forward to present time, as I stated before, the Jordan 11's became the stuff of legend and are now one of the most sought after shoes out there, but like Disney classics they are only released every now and then, and after they sell out they are locked away for a long time. Its like seeing a Unicorn, trying to find these shoes in stores.
Thursday of last week I was browsing through my facebook account and I noticed something that made me stop abruptly what I was doing. In Bold letters their post read "Who's going to cop their 11 Retro's this Saturday May 1st?" I almost pooped myself when I saw that pots along with a picture of the shoe I have wanted since I was 13 years old. I had recently told my wife that if they ever re-released that shoe, I would go in debt for them and I wasn't kidding.
On Friday they would be released online and through Eastbay, right at 12:00 am EST so 10:00 pm my time, not a minute early. The actual shoe would be available at only 2 stores in Utah, the Foot Locker at the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley and at the Fashion Place Mall in Murray, and each store only had 12 pairs each, one of each size, from 8 to 13. Lovely! Here was the chance to fulfill one of my childhood dreams and yet it felt so far of a chance to achieve that it made me sad. I decided that I was going to call Eastbay and order my shoe that way, because I was not about to go fight for a spot at a mall waiting for hours before they opened the doors..... right?
April 30Th 2010, 9:55 pm: I was on the phone waiting to talk to a customer service rep for Eastbay, credit card on hand ready to go, I had my game face on and there was nothing going to stop me form getting this shoe, NOTHING!!
April 30Th 2010, 10:00 pm: I was still on hold listening to that annoying recorded message "One of our representatives will be with you in a moment" and my hands where sweating with anticipation.
April 30Th 2010, 10:10 pm: I was still on hold, the phone was hot now from being held so tight to my ear, just waiting for that Darn rep to answer the call, but nothing.
April 30Th 2010, 10:13 pm: "Thank you for calling Eastbay this is (I don't remember her name so lets call her Tiff) Tiff how can I help you?" with excitement I said "I need to place an order please!" I was just thrilled that I was about the get the most import shoe I would ever own, "OK, can I please get the product number of the item sir" to what I said with a confident tone "Why sure" after I gave her the number she said the following "I'm sorry, sir but that item is completely sold out" WHAT?!!! you can't do this to me, you just can't!!!! Why?!!! with a deflated tone I responded "Are you serious?" to what she said "Yes sir I am." I just ended the call, I couldn't take the disappointment, and the pain it caused me to hear those words.
What to do? should I go to the mall at 6 am to see if I can get a pair? No! that's dumb, I don't do that kind of thing, but this was different, this was for the Retro 11's. I should do this! right?.....
To Be Continued......
4.14.2010
Taco Wars: The Evil HIM
My wife had been craving Mexican food, and around the corner of the Provo Mall there is a new place called Taco Riendo (laughing Taco... yeah I don't get it either), we had been there once before and fell in love with the food there. Big portions, real good taste and the customer service was good, no complaints. But all that was about to change in a big way. We get there and order, my wife got the same plate she had last time, The Carne Asada Platter which comes with rice, beans, tortillas, guacamole and some sour cream and lettuce to make tacos with. I had the Asada Quesadilla and 2 tacos, the total damage was at about 18 dollars. Not bad for all the food we were about to take down right?
After a few we get our food and my wife just stares at her plate in disappointment and anger. She gets up and goes to talk to the cashier about it and she is told "Ill let HIM know." She comes back and sits down a bit irritated, to this point I haven't really noticed what the big deal is, until she pointed it out. The piece of Asada (Asada is a type of meat, for all my White Folks) is supposed to be big, and fresh, instead she got 3 pieces of old crusty looking meat. About a hand full of Beans with cheese on them and the same size portion of rice, and a mountain of Lettuce and Guacamole. My girl wasn't having it, not one bit so she needed me to take care of it. With hunger still there and a bit of a head ache I get up to talk to the cashier.
She looks at me and says "I will let HIM know," Him who?, who is this HIM she keeps mentioning? I ask for a manager, to what she said "I am the manager but don't worry the owner is here, Ill let HIM know (ahhh so that's who HIM is) and Ill come back." I was pleased with that expecting the owner to come back to talk to us and make us happy right? right?........
The young lady comes back to our table and informs us that the Owner (HIM) told her to tell us that these are the portions they are giving out now, the reason we had such big portions last time was because the old cook was giving out bigger portions, so In other words we got lucky last time. At this point I wasn't having it, I was angry so asked the young lady to have HIM come back and talk to us. About a minute passed and here HIM comes....... I was ready for a duel.
The following is a reenactment of what took place that fateful night at Taco Riendo (this whole conversation was in Spanish):
HIM: How can I help you? ME: My wife and I came here before and had the same platter and it was way bigger last time and the meat was fresh, this one isn't. HIM: Well the reason is because our old cook was giving out way too big of portions and she is no longer here, now I'm in the back making sure all is well portioned. ME: Well we just payed 10 dollars for this plate and I honestly do not think that this amount and quality of meat is worth that much money, she has more lettuce than anything man! HIM: Well if you go somewhere else they are charging you about 13 dollars for that same plate, plus I pay about 3 dollars and 90 cents per lbs for the meat, that's not good for me to do, to just give away huge portions of food. ME: Well I didn't go elsewhere, I came here and I need you to do something about this plate.
HIM: What would you like me to do?
ME: I need a new plate for my wife, more meat and rice and beans, less toppings.
HIM: Well if you want a new plate your going to have to pay for it. (Time out.... can you believe the nerve on this fool?! OK Continue)
ME: I'm not paying for another plate man, and I'm also not going to have my wife eat this crap, I need another plate of food for her.
HIM: And what am I supposed to do with this food?
ME: I don't care!
HIM: I can't do that, you need to pay for another plate then. ME: I'm not doing that! either that or I need my money back! (He looked at me with a long frustrated pause, he inhaled)
HIM: OK, give them their money back
He stormed to the back to continue riping people off with small portions of dry old meat. We didn't even touch our food, I was shaking from anger. We walk up to the cashier and got our cash back. Before I left I noticed everyone there was looking at us, I told the cashier "This is horrible customer service, we are not coming back. Tell HIM I said that." Taco Bell was where we ended up eating that night, and as my brother said: "A Cheaper and Better Meal" He was right.
12.31.2009
The Lobster Tale II: The Search for Food
Hello fellow followers, (Maggie) the last time you were here you learned a
bout the dreaded horse back riding at the Sandy Utah Ski resort that shall not be named ----------->
Well these are the events that follow, and now without further ado I give you The Lobster Tale II: The Search for Food
There it was shinning in red and blue making contrast against the dark sky. My eyes were droopy but as soon as we started walking in, our moods became more cheery, as if the whole day had been a success. Jenny had her lobster and shrimp and I had stake and lobster, the mood in there was so mellow and lay back, the music making a great contrast with the dimmed lights. The tranquil feel that overcame us was great. "I'm so sorry this day turned out to be so crappy baby, I didn't see it this way at all" I said to my wife as my eyes watered up in defeat. I hated the feeling that she didn't enjoy her time as I wished she would, it was overpowering me and she was able to tell. She grabbed my hands and looked me deep in the eyes "Baby don't you ever be sorry, this was a great birthday. The fact that you went through all that to make me happy is all that truly matters to me. You know me, I don't need big and loud to be happy. I am just as happy with small and sweet. But I thank you for all of this, I love you." her eyes were watering as well. There we sat listening to the music that was playing in the restaurant, eating and enjoying what was left of this Great Birthday.
bout the dreaded horse back riding at the Sandy Utah Ski resort that shall not be named ----------->Well these are the events that follow, and now without further ado I give you The Lobster Tale II: The Search for Food
"I can't believe they did that!, the nerve of that lady!" my wife was spiting out with a bit of anger, I promise I think I saw fumes coming out of her ears. Well I was very upset myself but I had to stay calm so that she would calm down as well, we swore never to do that again, and if you are reading this DON'T EVER GO HORSE BACK RIDING AT THE SKI RESORT THAT SHALL GO UNNAMED (snowbird) EVER!
We tried to get that lady in trouble but it turns out that she was the owner of the Horse Trail thing which is not part of the resort, she rented a spot there so we had no manager to complain to. Well on to the second part of the day. I wanted to get my wife some shoes that she had been asking for and so the new quest began, we had to find a bank to withdrawal more money for the shoes and food. So when we Finlay found the bank I got out to make the transaction from the ATM inside. I was so stressed out about the early events that I took the money from the ATM without realizing that I had taken it out from Checking and not Savings which is where we had the money. So this means that I left our account at about $20.00, freaking out after I realized what I had done I ran outside and told my wife what I had just did, she calmly told me "Don't worry baby, just call them and have them transfer the money over the phone from savings in to checking." This i did.
We were on our way to forget about horses and Ski Resorts, looking for shoes was our new quest. This had to be less stress right? well we get to the Gateway in Salt Lake City and we searched all the shoe stores there and found ZERO shoes that were of my wife's liking. So on to the nearest mall it was. We drove back down to Murray to go to the fashion place (This is a mall there) and for once we were having fun, we were trying to make the best of what had gone down that day and we were trying to forget the bad and get on with the good. We found the shoes she wanted, and on top of that she bought me my Madden 2010 as it is our tradition every year. Life was sweet again right? right?
For dinner Jenny wanted Red Lobster because she had never tasted Lobster, so our new quest was to find a Red Lobster near where we were. So on to find the food, I map quested the nearest Red Lobster on my iPhone and it looked like there was one in Sandy which wasn't that far from where we were, so we drove down to Sandy. When we get there to our surprise we could not find this place for the life of us. We called and no answer, we drove around for a good 30 minutes looking for this blasted place and nothing. We asked around and nothing, turns out that Red Lobster had closed down about a month or two before, on top of that we actually missed a Red Lobster that was right across the street from The Fashion Place Mall where we got the Shoes!
Jenny and I were so drained from the events we just decided to eat at Mcgrath's fish house that was right there, but as soon as we walked in Jenny changed her mind. So we hoped in our car and headed back home. I was determined to get my wife some Red Lobster if that meant I had to drive for hours, by golly I was going to have some sort of success today!
On our way home Jenny was so down that she just said "Babe lets just go home, its late" and that totally put me in a crappier mood than the one I was on already. So I said "Fine then!" Defeated and tiered I drove, quiet and dark was the mood that hung over us. Jenny looking out the window, I'm sure allot was going through her mind but for me this day, a day I had been planning for months was slowly slipping away as a failure, a complete disaster. How do you go from A to Z so fast? how did this day turn out to be so crappy? It was supposed to be one of the best Birthdays for my Jenny ever, but somehow it turned out to be one of the worst, of that I was sure.
I was about to turn my blinkers to take our exit and Jenny came back to life, she said "You know what, lets go to Red Lobster in Orem. This is OUR DAY and it is going to go OUR WAY." giving me a smile that was half forced and half real. "You sure about that?" I said back to her, "We can just go home" "No I want to eat lobster" and so I dove us to Red Lobster.
There it was shinning in red and blue making contrast against the dark sky. My eyes were droopy but as soon as we started walking in, our moods became more cheery, as if the whole day had been a success. Jenny had her lobster and shrimp and I had stake and lobster, the mood in there was so mellow and lay back, the music making a great contrast with the dimmed lights. The tranquil feel that overcame us was great. "I'm so sorry this day turned out to be so crappy baby, I didn't see it this way at all" I said to my wife as my eyes watered up in defeat. I hated the feeling that she didn't enjoy her time as I wished she would, it was overpowering me and she was able to tell. She grabbed my hands and looked me deep in the eyes "Baby don't you ever be sorry, this was a great birthday. The fact that you went through all that to make me happy is all that truly matters to me. You know me, I don't need big and loud to be happy. I am just as happy with small and sweet. But I thank you for all of this, I love you." her eyes were watering as well. There we sat listening to the music that was playing in the restaurant, eating and enjoying what was left of this Great Birthday. The moral of the story is this: In order to make those you love happy, you don't always have to go all out, you don't have to go above and beyond to bring a smile to their faces. Simple and sweet will do just fine. 
THE END
12.30.2009
The Lobster Tale
How can you make the best from what so far has seemed like one of the worst Birthdays ever? Well this is The Lobster Tale, a story of Epic proportions!
Let me take you back before the day took a turn for the worst. It was a sunny Saturday, September 5Th if I'm not mistaken. This wasn't an ordinary Saturday though, oh no this was the Saturday after my wife's birthday and as always I was going to try and make it as special as possible, even if that meant death!
Horses are beautiful creatures meant for us Humans to use for travel, in the old days that was the only means of transportation and so it went. Now thanks to technology and modern advancements we have cars, bikes and motorcycles so the use of horses is not as popular as it once was, thank goodness. I am one of those people who would rather walk 500 miles than ride a horse, the reason behind this is too long to recount and may one day make for a good story so I will leave it as that. The only kind of horse I like is Horse Power in a car, and the only Pony I will ride is a Ford Mustang, and the only kind of Horse I cheer for is The Indianapolis Colts! and the only Horse that..... you get the point. "The horse pretty from far" the wise man once said. But my wife is one of those "I will ride a horse without a saddle" kind of gal, so you see my predicament here? Well me being the greatest husband ever, I decided to take my wife Horse back Riding for her birthday, and as always instead of making things nice and small I want this to be a Horse Back riding experience she will never forget. I was just about to get my wish.
I made an appointment for this event about 4 months in advance so as not to leave it for 
the last minute. I booked a 2 hour trail at a Snow Ski resort in Sandy Utah that will go unnamed, the appointment was for 3 p.m. and we were to be there one hour early so that we could take the tram up the mountain and take the Rhino (this is a 4 wheel mode of transportation) down the other side of the mountain to where the horses were. Well for one reason or another there I was, booking it down the 15 to make it in time. The speed limit signs just kept whooshing past me, I pushed that Nissan to its limit, taking the side winding road like a champ! not stopping for no one. That is until I got stuck behind a slow driver, I was already pushing it kind of close, it was about 1:45 and I had 15 minutes to get there. I called the lady whom I had been in touch with about this whole thing to tell her we were in our way. When I finally get there we have to park about a mile away from the entrance because the October fest was going on. So had to walk from our car to where the Bus was, and then ride it to the entrance, from the entrance we had to go up the stairs to make it to the second level. My watch now read 2:00 p.m. and I was freaking out, it would have been OK if they weren't holding the charge on my debit card just in case. We run to the office where you pay for the horse trails, and up to this point I had not thought about transferring the money from savings to checking and of course I have to do it right on the spot. When the lady told us the total my wife almost pooped her self, she did not know what this was all about until we got there and she was in shock, not because of the amazing trouble I went through to get there but because of the $230.00 charge that I was about to OK. But hey it was her birthday and I was going to spoil her.
the last minute. I booked a 2 hour trail at a Snow Ski resort in Sandy Utah that will go unnamed, the appointment was for 3 p.m. and we were to be there one hour early so that we could take the tram up the mountain and take the Rhino (this is a 4 wheel mode of transportation) down the other side of the mountain to where the horses were. Well for one reason or another there I was, booking it down the 15 to make it in time. The speed limit signs just kept whooshing past me, I pushed that Nissan to its limit, taking the side winding road like a champ! not stopping for no one. That is until I got stuck behind a slow driver, I was already pushing it kind of close, it was about 1:45 and I had 15 minutes to get there. I called the lady whom I had been in touch with about this whole thing to tell her we were in our way. When I finally get there we have to park about a mile away from the entrance because the October fest was going on. So had to walk from our car to where the Bus was, and then ride it to the entrance, from the entrance we had to go up the stairs to make it to the second level. My watch now read 2:00 p.m. and I was freaking out, it would have been OK if they weren't holding the charge on my debit card just in case. We run to the office where you pay for the horse trails, and up to this point I had not thought about transferring the money from savings to checking and of course I have to do it right on the spot. When the lady told us the total my wife almost pooped her self, she did not know what this was all about until we got there and she was in shock, not because of the amazing trouble I went through to get there but because of the $230.00 charge that I was about to OK. But hey it was her birthday and I was going to spoil her. The tram was about to leave and I was still on hold for the funds to be transferred so the lady already on edge told me, just leave your card here and pay when you get back. We run to the tram and cram in with all the people who were there to sight see and to do other numerous activities. Jenny was quiet and a bit out of it, when I asked what the problem was she said nothing looking around at the beauty the altitude of the tram had to offer. I was not buying it, not one bit. So I asked again to what she said that she was shocked at how much we were about to spend for a horse back trail. I reassured her and I just told her to make the best of it. So that we did. We rode down the mountain on the other side with the resort guide, when we get there it begins to be a bit cloudy, there was another couple with us along for the trip. We get to were the horses are and we are in awe, staring at the majesty that a horse radiates with. We go through a tutorial and get on our horses. Now it gets fun, no more stress but rather relaxing thoughts are flowing through such as "Don't you dare throw me off you Blasted beast!" or "I hate your guts and if you hurt me Ill make sure you are turned in to glue" you know calm peaceful thoughts.
We had been on the road for what seemed like an eternity and I was ready to leave, when I look at my watch it only has been 15 minutes. Then I feel a water drop on my face, then another and another and all the sudden it all comes down on us. We take cover for a few and the guides radio in to the command center, the voice on the radio brakes in saying that the forecast is stating thunder storms so they gave us 2 options, we can wait it out and continue or go back, so my wife and I choose to go back and the other couple chooses to stay. We are told by both guides that they wont charge us for the whole thing if they charge us at all. So back up the mountain we go, then boarding the tram for the ride down to the resort. We are in a way better mood now, we got to ride for a bit, I wasn't killed and my wife got that ridding bug off her back for the time being. We stroll in the office and the lady that had booked the trip was there waiting for us, we stand there to hear how much she was going to charge us and what came next was more of a shocker than the first outcome.
"I'm going to charge you for a full hour" was her statement to us, my wife and I were stunned, "An hour?" my wife shot back at her "We were only on the horses for about 15 minutes Lady, and you are charging us for an hour trip?!" oh yeah it was about to get ugly. "Well you guys took the tram up and down as well as the ride to and from the horses" was the best she could do. "Well I didn't know we were paying for a tram ride,I thought this was a Horse Back Riding trip" was what my wife said next. The lady was rude to us from the go and her statements were flat out stupid. "I had to cancel my 4 o'clock so that you guys could ride, it is clear now and the guides and the other couple are on the trail as we speak" she said "Well the guides told us that we were going to stop and left it up to us to wait it out or go back, so I think that you two have to talk and get your stories straight" my wife said back to her, I was getting mad, and up to that point I had said nothing but her rant about how she canceled on her 4 o'clock and how she should be charging us more pissed me off. "Look lady!" I said with force "I am not asking for a free ride at all, I am willing to pay and if you think that 1 hour is fair than fine, but first you don't need to talk to my wife the way you have been, your tone has been rude the whole time and not professional at all, and second we only rode for about 15 minutes and this is not fair at all but OK here is my debit card!" she took it and charged it, we started walking away and my wife yells at her "NOT PROFESSIONAL AT ALL, YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE!" I just grabbed her and walked out.
What can possibly top this story? well you haven't heard the whole thing yet....... TO BE CONTINUED.
12.29.2009
Serch for self.
It's been a few moons since I posted anything. The Colts went 14-0 untill last Sunday, Christmas is over with and I am a few presents richer, and I'm still at work at 6 am........ I'm looking for a Good topic to write about and as soon as I find it you will know about it.
8.18.2009
NuMeRO FOuR
Wow! its been a few moons hasn't it? well dear people of the world, I just have a few words to say. Brett Favre! what the hell is he doing!?I find myself a bit at odds, in one hand I am a Favre lover and in the other I think this "I'm done, no wait I'm not, no wait I am, oh OK I lied I am not done" is getting a little old. But hey the man is a genius, or is he just nuts? sometimes he has flashes of pure brilliance and then there are times that he just plain and flat out stinks. But this is also part of that amazing Favre we all have grown up with and learned to love. No matter what happens I will be there watching him like a hawk and I hope that with an actual team around him he will be able to CRUSH the Packers!
This is all.
6.26.2009
The star that fell
The many faces of Michael Jackson. His Moonwalk dance at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special. His glove covered in crystals. His aviator glasses. These are all the things that made him the Icon that he is now. As of lately its been a bumpy ride for the King of Pop but it has finally all come to a tragic and sudden end.
I was sitting at work just counting the minutes down for me to clock out and as usual I was browsing the net, when I click on the MSN homepage and a picture of a Feminine looking Michael caught my attention, the column read "Hospitalized Michael Jackson rushed to facility in Los Angeles." So out of curiosity I clicked on the link.... my heart dropped as soon as the page changed, the news broke in a blink of an eye "Pop star Michael Jackson is dead at 50" all the sudden my mind took a trip down memory lane, all the countless hours listening to Thriller as a child, Th
e amount of time I took to learn the Moonwalk, the look of frustration in my parents faces because I would not stop bugging them about getting a white suit with a matching fedora, a blue collar shirt with a white tie and the white spats to cover my shoes, and then doing the dance and falling flat on my face after trying the Anti-gravity lean. Its a sad day for many people, the news were shocking, even drowning out Farrah Fawcwett's death news. This is my generations John Lennon and Elvis Presley's death, you will for the rest of your life remember where you were and what you were doing the day Michael Jackson died. Whoever you are, like him or hate him, the man had talent, amazing dance moves, great love for his children, and who are we to judge? If he did the things they accused him of, then he will pay for it. But if he didn't then we judged a man unjustly. What ever the case may be he is gone now and maybe one day we shall know the truth about Michael's true nature with kids. In my mind he will always be that amazing singer who was a massive part of my childhood, growing up listening to his music in the 80's in Mexico City. May he be remembered as the man he once was, before all the media scrutiny he was put through tarnished his image. This is how I remember him, my favoryte face of his if you will.
1958-2009
5.27.2009
Nerdtacular III: The Wrath of the Über Nerd (Part I)
Commentator's voice: Welcome back faithful readers. In the last installment our hero, the humble, the great, the good looking, the handsome, the powerful, the magnificent, the acrobatic, the giving, the merciful, the enigma, the potato, the fish, the sock, I love lamp..... wait I'm rambling, Hem! sorry about that. Now where was I?.. oh yeah, our hero David, the Brave Mexican was in deep poo as he was captured by the Nerds who work for the Über Nerd. Will this be the last we ever see of our hero as a normal person?
Captains log: I don't know how I got to this point but it feels right, the knowledge of all the WOW (that's the acronym for World of Warcraft) levels available to Men, the lour of Dungeons and Dragons, the enigma which is the love affair that one can have with trading cards, the many lost hours one can spend online playing with people I can't even see and probably will never meet..... wait this is not where..... I'm missing something, where did my desire for a normal life go? I love physical activity, I love sports, don't I?. This is all happening so fast, I'm chained up in what looks like a basement with rusty pipes all over the sealing, the smell of mildew and stale pizza is suffocating. I feel my hands thirst for blood circulation, it's hard to move, what happened? I try to move my arm's and they are suspended above my head, It looks like I'm handcuffed. Ah! my head, it aches reminiscing of a night of heavy drinking, I feel a bit dizzy and I'm having trouble focusing my eye sight. Drip... Drip.... Drip is all I hear, the beat of a single droplet of water obeying the law of gravity on its way down to meet its doom upon hitting the ground which has collected enough drops that a puddle of water has gathered. All the sudden I hear foot steps and laughter, the Über Nerd!
Über Nerd: Hello David, its been a good battle, but all must come to an end sometime. And now it's your turn to come to an end.
David: Well well well I see that time has not been kind to you Über, or is that the lack of sun and motion?
Über Nerd: Funny, I see you haven't lost your sense of humor. I'm glad because you will loose the rest of what makes you, you.
David: What do you mean?
Über Nerd: Oh my Nerds didn't tell you? I completely re arranged your thoughts soon enough you will be one of us! hahahahah!
David: Holy Crap!
Über Nerd: Yes I know what you are thinking, "No I don't want to be a Nerd, you guys are a bunch of girls who never date and if you do then its all done online" and maybe that's true but its great!, think about it man, just think about it. You could be my right hand Nerd, the pack leader. Ah, what do you think?
David: Never! I will fight this to the end, you hear me! to the END!
Über Nerd: Then so be it!. NERDS! make sure he doesn't go anywhere, I want him ready to serve as soon as I comeback, its almost 8, my mom needs me to clean my room and Babygotback09 is waiting for our Cyber date. Wish me luck!
Nerd 1: Good luck Scott!
Nerd 2: Yeah good luck Scott
Über Nerd: Idiots I told you not to call me that! its Boss when we are around guest. Gosh!
And off he went, up the stairs to his room. Now if I can only mustard the strength to get rid of these Nerds and get myself free, there must be some sort of way I can reverse this spell. I got it! his Dungeons and Dragons play night dates, they must know how to reverse this. The Nerds are off to themselves playing Pokemon, I must brake loose, this is the time, I won't have a better chance. I start to yank on the pipe that I'm handcuffed to and I notice it's starts to budge a little bit, so I make sure the Nerds don't notice... I'm clear. I tug once more and it rattles more, I feel it coming down, the Nerds are fully aware now, they start to make their way towards me and I, in a panic yank the whole pipe down with me, as it comes down It takes one of the Nerds down splashing the other one with a stream of water. The basement starts to flood, with water up to my ankles I run up to the other Nerd before he is able to get up and I kick him right on the gut, he lets out a noise that resembles a Yelp from a Chihuahua. I pay no attention to it and
I make sure they aren't getting back up. I take the key from his pocket and undo the handcuffs.
I run up the stairs and I'm getting closer to madness, I feel weak, my limbs start to fluctuate from muscle to fat and back to muscle, my face starts to hurt as pimples begin to surface, my vision is getting blurry, I must hurry and escape this place before It consumes me whole. As I make my way to the door I see a battalion of Nerds, the
y are everywhere, this is not going to be easy. I start making my way through the ranks of Nerds, knocking 2 to 3 at a time, 1-2 1-2 combos, chin kicks, kidney punches, I'm laying them down, my rage is strong, my adrenaline is pumping and I come to the end of the line... I'm beat, I'm not myself, I feel like my knees are about to give out on me. Just as I feel like I'm home free I see the Über Henchman, He is a menacing figure ready to tango, I take one last sip of breath and we engage in battle!...
Captains log: I don't know how I got to this point but it feels right, the knowledge of all the WOW (that's the acronym for World of Warcraft) levels available to Men, the lour of Dungeons and Dragons, the enigma which is the love affair that one can have with trading cards, the many lost hours one can spend online playing with people I can't even see and probably will never meet..... wait this is not where..... I'm missing something, where did my desire for a normal life go? I love physical activity, I love sports, don't I?. This is all happening so fast, I'm chained up in what looks like a basement with rusty pipes all over the sealing, the smell of mildew and stale pizza is suffocating. I feel my hands thirst for blood circulation, it's hard to move, what happened? I try to move my arm's and they are suspended above my head, It looks like I'm handcuffed. Ah! my head, it aches reminiscing of a night of heavy drinking, I feel a bit dizzy and I'm having trouble focusing my eye sight. Drip... Drip.... Drip is all I hear, the beat of a single droplet of water obeying the law of gravity on its way down to meet its doom upon hitting the ground which has collected enough drops that a puddle of water has gathered. All the sudden I hear foot steps and laughter, the Über Nerd!
Über Nerd: Hello David, its been a good battle, but all must come to an end sometime. And now it's your turn to come to an end.
David: Well well well I see that time has not been kind to you Über, or is that the lack of sun and motion?
Über Nerd: Funny, I see you haven't lost your sense of humor. I'm glad because you will loose the rest of what makes you, you.
David: What do you mean?
Über Nerd: Oh my Nerds didn't tell you? I completely re arranged your thoughts soon enough you will be one of us! hahahahah!
David: Holy Crap!
Über Nerd: Yes I know what you are thinking, "No I don't want to be a Nerd, you guys are a bunch of girls who never date and if you do then its all done online" and maybe that's true but its great!, think about it man, just think about it. You could be my right hand Nerd, the pack leader. Ah, what do you think?
David: Never! I will fight this to the end, you hear me! to the END!
Über Nerd: Then so be it!. NERDS! make sure he doesn't go anywhere, I want him ready to serve as soon as I comeback, its almost 8, my mom needs me to clean my room and Babygotback09 is waiting for our Cyber date. Wish me luck!
Nerd 1: Good luck Scott!
Nerd 2: Yeah good luck Scott
Über Nerd: Idiots I told you not to call me that! its Boss when we are around guest. Gosh!
And off he went, up the stairs to his room. Now if I can only mustard the strength to get rid of these Nerds and get myself free, there must be some sort of way I can reverse this spell. I got it! his Dungeons and Dragons play night dates, they must know how to reverse this. The Nerds are off to themselves playing Pokemon, I must brake loose, this is the time, I won't have a better chance. I start to yank on the pipe that I'm handcuffed to and I notice it's starts to budge a little bit, so I make sure the Nerds don't notice... I'm clear. I tug once more and it rattles more, I feel it coming down, the Nerds are fully aware now, they start to make their way towards me and I, in a panic yank the whole pipe down with me, as it comes down It takes one of the Nerds down splashing the other one with a stream of water. The basement starts to flood, with water up to my ankles I run up to the other Nerd before he is able to get up and I kick him right on the gut, he lets out a noise that resembles a Yelp from a Chihuahua. I pay no attention to it and
I make sure they aren't getting back up. I take the key from his pocket and undo the handcuffs.I run up the stairs and I'm getting closer to madness, I feel weak, my limbs start to fluctuate from muscle to fat and back to muscle, my face starts to hurt as pimples begin to surface, my vision is getting blurry, I must hurry and escape this place before It consumes me whole. As I make my way to the door I see a battalion of Nerds, the
y are everywhere, this is not going to be easy. I start making my way through the ranks of Nerds, knocking 2 to 3 at a time, 1-2 1-2 combos, chin kicks, kidney punches, I'm laying them down, my rage is strong, my adrenaline is pumping and I come to the end of the line... I'm beat, I'm not myself, I feel like my knees are about to give out on me. Just as I feel like I'm home free I see the Über Henchman, He is a menacing figure ready to tango, I take one last sip of breath and we engage in battle!...To Be Continued......
5.18.2009
Nerdtacular: Part Deux
Commentators voice: Our hero is trapped, the nerds are all around him, how on earth will he escape this?!?, please keep calm, he is an expert at evading NERDS.
Captains log: The last time we talked I was surrounded by nerds, I had just taken them down and the Über Nerd was slowly approaching me, with a look of hate, terror and pain. I was getting ready to battle one last time but the movie started.
Now the movie ends and the lights come back on, An amazing movie it was (Wait, did I just say that with a Yoda accent? Oh my!) The nerd force is strong, I can feel my thoughts ramble, all my love for Sports and physical activity is slowly turning to hate and loath, this is not happening!..... must.... fight..... the force!. I notice the Über Ned's hand is pointing straight at me, he must be using some sort of Nerd power he learned at his Dungeons and Dragons game night, what ever it may be its working. I must snap out of it, but the grip is strong, I'm beginning to crave trading cards, I feel the desire of a membership to World of Warcraft, but in my mind I refer to it as WOW. NO! I'm being turned in to another one of his followers, quick man think!. I look down at the floor and I notice an Obi-Wan Kenobi bubble head doll, with all my might and strength I pick it up and throw it at him, and just as I thought, the love of Star Wars was way more strong than his desire to turn me in to a Nerd.
After his grip is gone, just like magic my thoughts begin to become normal, suddenly I remember who the Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts is again, I remember who won the NBA championship last year. Oh that was a close one, but it won't last long, I must make a move while he is in the trance of Obi-Wan. With my secret Ninja ability I jump kick him right on the chin and send him flying down the steps of the Megaplex, I run down to finish the job once and for all but out of nowhere 2 Nerds jump at me, I stand back in my Ninja stance, thinking what the next move will be...... One Two punch to the chin! one down, one to go. Com on Mr. Nerd, make my day!
I spot him, the Über Nerd! sitting with his Hench men, 3 of them to be exact. This might get bloody, but I am ready for whats ahead, I must rid this world of its Nerd population once and for all. As I start to get up I feel someones presence behind me, I turn around and just as I thought, a pack of Nerds!, I try to engage in battle but as soon as I start to gather my Fighting thoughts I get knocked out cold by one of the Nerds.
Captains log: The last time we talked I was surrounded by nerds, I had just taken them down and the Über Nerd was slowly approaching me, with a look of hate, terror and pain. I was getting ready to battle one last time but the movie started.
Now the movie ends and the lights come back on, An amazing movie it was (Wait, did I just say that with a Yoda accent? Oh my!) The nerd force is strong, I can feel my thoughts ramble, all my love for Sports and physical activity is slowly turning to hate and loath, this is not happening!..... must.... fight..... the force!. I notice the Über Ned's hand is pointing straight at me, he must be using some sort of Nerd power he learned at his Dungeons and Dragons game night, what ever it may be its working. I must snap out of it, but the grip is strong, I'm beginning to crave trading cards, I feel the desire of a membership to World of Warcraft, but in my mind I refer to it as WOW. NO! I'm being turned in to another one of his followers, quick man think!. I look down at the floor and I notice an Obi-Wan Kenobi bubble head doll, with all my might and strength I pick it up and throw it at him, and just as I thought, the love of Star Wars was way more strong than his desire to turn me in to a Nerd.
After his grip is gone, just like magic my thoughts begin to become normal, suddenly I remember who the Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts is again, I remember who won the NBA championship last year. Oh that was a close one, but it won't last long, I must make a move while he is in the trance of Obi-Wan. With my secret Ninja ability I jump kick him right on the chin and send him flying down the steps of the Megaplex, I run down to finish the job once and for all but out of nowhere 2 Nerds jump at me, I stand back in my Ninja stance, thinking what the next move will be...... One Two punch to the chin! one down, one to go. Com on Mr. Nerd, make my day!
A kick to the head knocks me down for just a few seconds, I get back up and wipe the bit of blood left on my lip, oh its on and popin now! wham! two kicks to the balls and down like a tree he goes, as I laugh and point at the nerd reminiscing of the way people would point and laugh at me back in high school I notice that the Über Nerd has vanished, I run as fast as I can trying to catch up to him, but it's too late. He has vanished, this will not happen again. I run back inside and I grab one of the Nerds I had taken down, as I hold him up in the air with one arm (they aren't that heavy) with my other arm I make a fist and threaten to pop every zit in his face with pliers if he doesn't tell me the location of the Über Nerd.
I sneak up in the shadows, I take a peek with my binoculars and
I spot him, the Über Nerd! sitting with his Hench men, 3 of them to be exact. This might get bloody, but I am ready for whats ahead, I must rid this world of its Nerd population once and for all. As I start to get up I feel someones presence behind me, I turn around and just as I thought, a pack of Nerds!, I try to engage in battle but as soon as I start to gather my Fighting thoughts I get knocked out cold by one of the Nerds.
Commentators voice: With our hero out cold, who, I say who will save this world from Nerd domination?!, will our hero come to in time? or will he be finally turned in to one of them? for the answers to this and other questions tune in next time to the adventures of David the brave Mexican.
5.12.2009
Nerdtacular: Part I
Nerdtacular, the final frontier. These are the voyages of David. His continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new nerd life and new nerd civilizations. To boldly go where no regular man has gone before.
Captains Log: Its a sunny Saturday morning in the middle of spring, the mini van's wheels are roaring through the freeway, our destination is the West Jordan Megaplex. I'm prepared for the events that will transpire in a few moments. My hands are sweating, my heart is beating so hard I can almost see it ripping it self out of my chest. My stomach is begging me for some sort of solid matter. The mini van pulls up to the nearby Carl's Jr. In there we enjoy the taste of fresh meat, tots and the thirst quenching flavor of Minute Made Lemonade. The doors slam shut, our belly's are full, once again our minds are focused on the mission at hand. We pull up to the Megaplex and as I had expected, it is full of Nerds. This is going to be tougher than I thought........
"Live long and prosper." He gives the proper Vulcan salute, the Star Trek star pin on his red shirt begins to blink with a red light, I think to myself. "Where the hell am I?" this is Nerdtacular ladies and gentleman, the place where nerds from all over the galaxy come, to enjoy each others presence, to finally meet each other, no longer are they just a name on the computer screen, they have faces and bodies. Some are big, some are small, some are tall, some are ugly and some are just flat out weird. But my mission is not to judge, but to catalog the amazing force that nerds bring to this world. Its amazing to see the outcome for this private screening of Star Trek. They are everywhere, I'm beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed, I'm ready to face off with the best of them.
We get down and dirty, full on confrontation mode. I remember one of the episodes of the Original Star Trek, captain Kirk is about to face off with an evil martian of some sort. But this is a worse threat, something Mr. Shatner never faced, NERDS! World of Warcraft Nerds, Star Trek Nerds, Comic book Nerds, all sorts and kinds. I take one down and 3 more appear, its never ending. I'm wounded, I'm fatigued ready to give up, but then I get an extra surge of strength and I pin them all down. Just as I am done with the herd of Nerds, I look up and I see the Über Nerd of them all, the one who set all this up. This is it, what I came here for, as I get in my battle stance the lights go off and the movie starts. Sorry Über Nerd, this match will have to wait!
Commentators Voice: What will happen to our hero? will the Über Nerd have the upper hand on him? will David come out on top? will he be overtaken by Nerds and transformed to a Nerd himself? For the answer to these questions stay tuned to the adventures of David the brave Mexican!
Captains Log: Its a sunny Saturday morning in the middle of spring, the mini van's wheels are roaring through the freeway, our destination is the West Jordan Megaplex. I'm prepared for the events that will transpire in a few moments. My hands are sweating, my heart is beating so hard I can almost see it ripping it self out of my chest. My stomach is begging me for some sort of solid matter. The mini van pulls up to the nearby Carl's Jr. In there we enjoy the taste of fresh meat, tots and the thirst quenching flavor of Minute Made Lemonade. The doors slam shut, our belly's are full, once again our minds are focused on the mission at hand. We pull up to the Megaplex and as I had expected, it is full of Nerds. This is going to be tougher than I thought........
"Live long and prosper." He gives the proper Vulcan salute, the Star Trek star pin on his red shirt begins to blink with a red light, I think to myself. "Where the hell am I?" this is Nerdtacular ladies and gentleman, the place where nerds from all over the galaxy come, to enjoy each others presence, to finally meet each other, no longer are they just a name on the computer screen, they have faces and bodies. Some are big, some are small, some are tall, some are ugly and some are just flat out weird. But my mission is not to judge, but to catalog the amazing force that nerds bring to this world. Its amazing to see the outcome for this private screening of Star Trek. They are everywhere, I'm beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed, I'm ready to face off with the best of them.
We get down and dirty, full on confrontation mode. I remember one of the episodes of the Original Star Trek, captain Kirk is about to face off with an evil martian of some sort. But this is a worse threat, something Mr. Shatner never faced, NERDS! World of Warcraft Nerds, Star Trek Nerds, Comic book Nerds, all sorts and kinds. I take one down and 3 more appear, its never ending. I'm wounded, I'm fatigued ready to give up, but then I get an extra surge of strength and I pin them all down. Just as I am done with the herd of Nerds, I look up and I see the Über Nerd of them all, the one who set all this up. This is it, what I came here for, as I get in my battle stance the lights go off and the movie starts. Sorry Über Nerd, this match will have to wait!Commentators Voice: What will happen to our hero? will the Über Nerd have the upper hand on him? will David come out on top? will he be overtaken by Nerds and transformed to a Nerd himself? For the answer to these questions stay tuned to the adventures of David the brave Mexican!
5.05.2009
Lessons learned from Nathaniel
PART I"What?!, 12 main Entrees in this menu? only 12?," these are the words my wife yells to herself looking down at the Menu at The Mayan restaurant in Sandy, UT. You see the night had started out great, happy to know that it was the start of the weekend, as always my wife and I were planning a Friday night date, we figured we'd go get some dinner and then a movie, so far everything was going great, we pulled up at the Sandy Megaplex parking lot and bought tickets for the 9:35 pm showing of The Soloist. We were both way stoked about it, the only thing now was getting some food. I wanted to go to The Cheese Cake Factory but due to the lack of time we had left that was out of the question, here is where our adventure begins. First we decide that the Cheese Cake Factory is too far, and more than likely would be super busy with tons of trendy Men and Women lining up waiting for the chance at getting a table, minimum of a 40 minute wait, no doubt about that. So on to the next step or plan B, there is only a hand full of places were we can eat here, we have Ruby River Steakhouse, Joe's Crab Shack, The Mayan and some crappy looking Italian place which I don't remember the of. So we first hit Joe's Crab Shack, it smelled so bad, and it was so dirty looking that I was not impressed at all. We walked out and headed to the Mayan, again only 12 menu entrees available here, and none are for less than 9 or 10 dollars, not impressed. So on to Ruby River, not that enticing sorry, the smell of peanuts and beer mixed with the sounds of country music just didn't sit well with us. So what are we to do? well we drove down to Carl's Jr and had ourselves a Six Dollar Guacamole Burger, it was great. As all this was going on, I was rather ornery, hungry and a bit depressed, you see I had been struck with bad luck lately, had issues at work, I wasn't happy at all, and to make matters worse we couldn't eat at the restaurant I wanted to eat at, instead I got stuck eating at Carl's. After a small scuffle with my wife about dumn things that I wanted to buy, we started talking about my future, about what my plans were, sure enough I got uncomfortable because I didn't want to hear it at that time. Through prayer and my wife's loving touch and tact, love was in the air again.
PART II
There I am sitting, watching in amazement at how much pollution there is in the streets of L.A.. Its sad to think that men and women can live this way, in the cold concrete, fighting hunger, addiction, rats, gang violence. But sadly enough this is the life that most people live on an everyday basis. Then as a ray of sunshine would give your heart ease at knowing that the storm is long gone, the amazing sound of music comes and soothes the pain that is felt by so many here, it makes it all alright, as if life is not that cruel, not so... unpredictable. The sound is coming from a homeless man playing the Cello, such an amazing talent that can't easily be taught, but yet this man plays with such a confidence, such ease, its hard no to get caught in the storm of sound caressing ones eardrum. Nathaniel Ayers, a musical prodigy who once attended the world renown Juilliard School in New York City, is now part of the millions of homeless men and women who populate Los Angeles. Its a sad way of life, but this is his life none the less. He sufferers from Schizophrenia, this is the reason why he spends his days wondering the streets of L.A., playing in front of no one at all, in front of roaring traffic, in front of so many homeless people in SKID ROW, and not playing at the Disney Concert Hall, a place he idolizes. This movie has moved me, at times I laugh, at times I feel like crying but I hold back, its gritty and real, the way they have captured the horror which is homelessness is great, at times too real to enjoy. One wonders how is it that we can live so pampered, worried about what to wear the next day, what restaurant we will eat that night or week end, what new game or worthless toy to buy, what new movie to go out and see, and yet there is so many people who are wondering if they will be able to eat at all, will they be able to sleep OK, if they will make it another day without being prey to gang violence and drugs. there is a different taste in my mouth now, try not to take what you have for granted, relax and enjoy your blessed life because no matter how much you think you are going through, there is someone that has it worse than you. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.
4.12.2009
Faith is great
What is Faith?
Faith is a belief in the truth of or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing, that is characteristically held without proof. There for faith is believing in something that you can't see, touch, taste, or maybe even hear. Faith is knowing that something or someone is there, that something good will come out of something bad, that the sun will always rise to shine after a stormy night, that the light will once again rule over the land. This is my personal story of faith, and what it took for my wife and I to get there.
As you may or may not know, I was born in Mexico City, Mexico. I came with my family to these United States by plane, legally, with a passport and a visa. They did become expired and there fore was in this country illegally, this has been my secret for over 15 years, but now thanks my God and my beloved Wife I no longer have to suffer with this problem that plagues so many of us in the United States. The first year of being married we told ourselves that we would have my papers done by the end of the year. February 9th was our big day, we were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was one of the happiest days of my life, as time went on we started saving for the process of our paper work, I say our paper work because as my wife always puts it, "We are One, so your pain is my pain, your sorrow is my sorrow, and your illegal status is my illegal status, there for this is our paper work." How great it is to have such a devoted wife. The time was finally at hand, after months of paper work, meetings with lawyers and waiting patiently by the mail box to see if my case had been approved by the government, the letter finally came that stated my time and place of meeting with a government official to determine if I would be allowed or approved Legal Residency.
The day of the meeting was October 27, 2008. At 1, I was so thankful to God, to my savior Jesus Christ that this day was finally approaching. But like everything there must be opposition before and or after all that is good. It was now Friday October 24th and my mother had hurt her leg, bad enough that she could not walk, it had swollen so bad that she couldn't place any pressure on it with out pain shooting through her like a shiver, a friend of hers recommended that she take some pills for the pain, something that my mother did, turns out that these pills were way too strong for my mothers delicate stomach so she was throwing up everything that she ate or attempted to eat, to the point that she was throwing up nothing but gastric acids from within her stomach. Green liquid, my poor mother laid in bed on Sunday as she was not able to make it to church because of her condition.
My wife and I had been prying and fasting (To fast is to go without food and drink voluntarily for a certain period of time. Fasting combined with sincere prayer can strengthen us spiritually, bring us closer to God, and help us prepare ourselves and others to receive His blessings.) for the upcoming day, that we would be blessed with a kind and understanding person, someone that had the spirit of Christ with in them. We had just come home from church when I received a call from my sister, she told me the condition in which my mother was, and she was asking for a blessing of healing(This is when 2 or more men, holders of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood place their hands above someones head who is ill or afflicted and anointed them with Olive Oil that has been blessed and consecrated and follow to give a blessing for their health or well being) from Alvaro who is my sisters husband and myself, I rushed as fast as I could and saw the condition that my mother was in and it was a bit hard to see, she was almost green, she had been laying in bed all day, her leg swollen and not able to move, with a bucket next to her bed so that when she had to she could fill it up with what was left in her stomach. We proceed with the blessing, Alvaro did the anointing and I the blessing, it was special and moving to know that when in need I could be the one to help with the powers that I hold by having the Priesthood in my life.
I was stressed out, my mother laying in bead not able to move, and I was on my way to one of the most important meetings of my life. The blessing that I had ministered on to her worked as she was able to go to the doctor's the following day, her vomiting had stopped and she was able to sustain enough to stand on her leg, it was truly a miracle from God, this I testify of. We drove out to the place were we had our interview, we were early, actually about an hour and a half early, they specifically asked in the letter to not be more that 20 minutes early, so we waited in the car, I was perspiring like never before, I had on my black and white pinstripe suit with my blue collard button up shirt and gray tie, my wife was in a beautiful black dress. We had a package to deliver to someone in California and we figured we go and do that to kill time, but we did not know the area so well and we did not know where the local post office was. I noticed a mail car parked by us so I went to see if I could find the mail man, I had no luck but I was able to find an nice lady, I do not recall her name but she was out there lighting up a cigarette, she had on a red button up sweater, a light brownish shirt and brown dress pants, she had a badge hanging from her neck, I approached her and asked her if she worked here to what she responded yes I do, I had always imagined fat white men, who were in some way racist and angry at the world working here, but there stood the total opposite.
I asked her if she knew where the local post office was and she replied with a smile "No I don't but if you find it let me know because I have some things that I need ship out my self." I said well thank you anyways, shook her hand and walked away, she yelled out "Good Luck" and I said thanks, I got in the car and told my wife what had just happened, we decided to just go to a local gas station as we both had to use the bathroom. As I drove I told my wife, "I hope that we get some one like that lady, she was everything that I thought this place wouldn't be, nice, caring and polite" my wife responded gently and lovingly "The Lord will have someone for us, who ever it is and what ever the outcome is, it is of God, come what may and love it," she always knows what to say. We were on our way back as time was getting close, we parked and gave a prayer, asking for strength, firmness, and eloquence as we spoke. We walked in and there greeted us 2 security guards armed with guns and a night stick, we placed all our belongings on a tray and walked through a metal detector, we gave them our appointment paper and they instructed us to place it in a wooden box that was near a door and to have a seat and wait for our name to be called. We did so, carrying all of our belongings back, picture folders of our weeding and honey moon and paper work all to prove to the Government that we indeed were married and were living together and that it was not just to get this paper work done.
Sitting down just trying to stay calm we noticed several people coming in to this little waiting room adorned with pictures of then President Gorge W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, the American flag and several other posters about immigration laws. I noticed the door behind us open, and to my surprise a fat, white balding man with a mustache came out and grabbed one of the papers that was in the wooden box in front of him, he yelled out a name of a lady, not us. She walked up and went in there with him. I was so nervous by now, my hands were clammy and my gut was shaking. Remembering the words of my wife "Come what may and love it" I began to say a silent prayer, as soon as I was done, I look up to see the same lady whom with I had spoken outside about an hour ago, she grabbed the next paper on the little wooden box and yelled out "Edgar Roura!" with a smile of disbelief I got up with my wife and started walking to the back with this lady, as we walked to her office, I began to remember what we were fasting for, someone kind and loving who would be full of the light of Christ. She had us sworn in by placing our left hand on the Holy Bible and with our right hand raised to the square, we swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help us God, we did and proceeded with the interview. It was simple, she asked us personal questions as to when and where we met, how long we had been married, our ages, parents names etc...
I remember trying to stare right at her eyes and with my shoulders back and chest forward answering with "Yes mam, No mam" trying to be as eloquent as possible. My hand clasping my wife's squeezing it every now and then, every time I felt scared. Not a single doubt is in my mind that the Spirit of Christ was present in that little crammed office were we were sitting. The lady went on to grant my legal residency, stating that she wished that all the cases she had were like this one, no criminal background, no problems what so ever, just get in and get out. We were rejoicing within, and before our meting was over, she asked me if had found the local post office, I told her no. So she grabbed her yellow pages and looked it up and gave us the address. We left that building, smiling, crying, laughing out loud with joy, dancing, singing, this day finally came and I was now a legal resident of The United States of America. This is my testimony of faith, if you pray, and fast and do all that is right to work for that goal, Lord willing it will come to pass. My mother is better, after we gave her the blessing she stopped vomiting, her leg is like new, my wife and I were blessed with a living angel and I can now live life without worries.
Faith is great, and as long as we exercise it all will be well.
Faith is a belief in the truth of or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing, that is characteristically held without proof. There for faith is believing in something that you can't see, touch, taste, or maybe even hear. Faith is knowing that something or someone is there, that something good will come out of something bad, that the sun will always rise to shine after a stormy night, that the light will once again rule over the land. This is my personal story of faith, and what it took for my wife and I to get there.
As you may or may not know, I was born in Mexico City, Mexico. I came with my family to these United States by plane, legally, with a passport and a visa. They did become expired and there fore was in this country illegally, this has been my secret for over 15 years, but now thanks my God and my beloved Wife I no longer have to suffer with this problem that plagues so many of us in the United States. The first year of being married we told ourselves that we would have my papers done by the end of the year. February 9th was our big day, we were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was one of the happiest days of my life, as time went on we started saving for the process of our paper work, I say our paper work because as my wife always puts it, "We are One, so your pain is my pain, your sorrow is my sorrow, and your illegal status is my illegal status, there for this is our paper work." How great it is to have such a devoted wife. The time was finally at hand, after months of paper work, meetings with lawyers and waiting patiently by the mail box to see if my case had been approved by the government, the letter finally came that stated my time and place of meeting with a government official to determine if I would be allowed or approved Legal Residency.
The day of the meeting was October 27, 2008. At 1, I was so thankful to God, to my savior Jesus Christ that this day was finally approaching. But like everything there must be opposition before and or after all that is good. It was now Friday October 24th and my mother had hurt her leg, bad enough that she could not walk, it had swollen so bad that she couldn't place any pressure on it with out pain shooting through her like a shiver, a friend of hers recommended that she take some pills for the pain, something that my mother did, turns out that these pills were way too strong for my mothers delicate stomach so she was throwing up everything that she ate or attempted to eat, to the point that she was throwing up nothing but gastric acids from within her stomach. Green liquid, my poor mother laid in bed on Sunday as she was not able to make it to church because of her condition.
My wife and I had been prying and fasting (To fast is to go without food and drink voluntarily for a certain period of time. Fasting combined with sincere prayer can strengthen us spiritually, bring us closer to God, and help us prepare ourselves and others to receive His blessings.) for the upcoming day, that we would be blessed with a kind and understanding person, someone that had the spirit of Christ with in them. We had just come home from church when I received a call from my sister, she told me the condition in which my mother was, and she was asking for a blessing of healing(This is when 2 or more men, holders of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood place their hands above someones head who is ill or afflicted and anointed them with Olive Oil that has been blessed and consecrated and follow to give a blessing for their health or well being) from Alvaro who is my sisters husband and myself, I rushed as fast as I could and saw the condition that my mother was in and it was a bit hard to see, she was almost green, she had been laying in bed all day, her leg swollen and not able to move, with a bucket next to her bed so that when she had to she could fill it up with what was left in her stomach. We proceed with the blessing, Alvaro did the anointing and I the blessing, it was special and moving to know that when in need I could be the one to help with the powers that I hold by having the Priesthood in my life.
I was stressed out, my mother laying in bead not able to move, and I was on my way to one of the most important meetings of my life. The blessing that I had ministered on to her worked as she was able to go to the doctor's the following day, her vomiting had stopped and she was able to sustain enough to stand on her leg, it was truly a miracle from God, this I testify of. We drove out to the place were we had our interview, we were early, actually about an hour and a half early, they specifically asked in the letter to not be more that 20 minutes early, so we waited in the car, I was perspiring like never before, I had on my black and white pinstripe suit with my blue collard button up shirt and gray tie, my wife was in a beautiful black dress. We had a package to deliver to someone in California and we figured we go and do that to kill time, but we did not know the area so well and we did not know where the local post office was. I noticed a mail car parked by us so I went to see if I could find the mail man, I had no luck but I was able to find an nice lady, I do not recall her name but she was out there lighting up a cigarette, she had on a red button up sweater, a light brownish shirt and brown dress pants, she had a badge hanging from her neck, I approached her and asked her if she worked here to what she responded yes I do, I had always imagined fat white men, who were in some way racist and angry at the world working here, but there stood the total opposite.
I asked her if she knew where the local post office was and she replied with a smile "No I don't but if you find it let me know because I have some things that I need ship out my self." I said well thank you anyways, shook her hand and walked away, she yelled out "Good Luck" and I said thanks, I got in the car and told my wife what had just happened, we decided to just go to a local gas station as we both had to use the bathroom. As I drove I told my wife, "I hope that we get some one like that lady, she was everything that I thought this place wouldn't be, nice, caring and polite" my wife responded gently and lovingly "The Lord will have someone for us, who ever it is and what ever the outcome is, it is of God, come what may and love it," she always knows what to say. We were on our way back as time was getting close, we parked and gave a prayer, asking for strength, firmness, and eloquence as we spoke. We walked in and there greeted us 2 security guards armed with guns and a night stick, we placed all our belongings on a tray and walked through a metal detector, we gave them our appointment paper and they instructed us to place it in a wooden box that was near a door and to have a seat and wait for our name to be called. We did so, carrying all of our belongings back, picture folders of our weeding and honey moon and paper work all to prove to the Government that we indeed were married and were living together and that it was not just to get this paper work done.
Sitting down just trying to stay calm we noticed several people coming in to this little waiting room adorned with pictures of then President Gorge W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, the American flag and several other posters about immigration laws. I noticed the door behind us open, and to my surprise a fat, white balding man with a mustache came out and grabbed one of the papers that was in the wooden box in front of him, he yelled out a name of a lady, not us. She walked up and went in there with him. I was so nervous by now, my hands were clammy and my gut was shaking. Remembering the words of my wife "Come what may and love it" I began to say a silent prayer, as soon as I was done, I look up to see the same lady whom with I had spoken outside about an hour ago, she grabbed the next paper on the little wooden box and yelled out "Edgar Roura!" with a smile of disbelief I got up with my wife and started walking to the back with this lady, as we walked to her office, I began to remember what we were fasting for, someone kind and loving who would be full of the light of Christ. She had us sworn in by placing our left hand on the Holy Bible and with our right hand raised to the square, we swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help us God, we did and proceeded with the interview. It was simple, she asked us personal questions as to when and where we met, how long we had been married, our ages, parents names etc...
I remember trying to stare right at her eyes and with my shoulders back and chest forward answering with "Yes mam, No mam" trying to be as eloquent as possible. My hand clasping my wife's squeezing it every now and then, every time I felt scared. Not a single doubt is in my mind that the Spirit of Christ was present in that little crammed office were we were sitting. The lady went on to grant my legal residency, stating that she wished that all the cases she had were like this one, no criminal background, no problems what so ever, just get in and get out. We were rejoicing within, and before our meting was over, she asked me if had found the local post office, I told her no. So she grabbed her yellow pages and looked it up and gave us the address. We left that building, smiling, crying, laughing out loud with joy, dancing, singing, this day finally came and I was now a legal resident of The United States of America. This is my testimony of faith, if you pray, and fast and do all that is right to work for that goal, Lord willing it will come to pass. My mother is better, after we gave her the blessing she stopped vomiting, her leg is like new, my wife and I were blessed with a living angel and I can now live life without worries.
Faith is great, and as long as we exercise it all will be well.
3.24.2009
3.20.2009
MORP
"Gun, gun, he's got a gun!" is all I remember hearing as my friends and I took off running as fast as we could. I kept telling myself "I'm going to get shot, I'm going to die!," how could I have been so dumb? why did I put myself in these situations? but this is not where this story starts, oh no, this starts early on that same day. Sitting in my room contemplating the the closet, thinking about what to wear. I kept looking at the selection that was in front of my eyes, and I did not know what to ware, and now you know what time it is.... CHECK LIST TIME!
- Slightly spiky hair: Check
- Blue short sleeve plaid shirt from Wally World: Check
- Baggie Dicky cargo pants: Check
- Brand new Rebook high tops: Check
- Chap Stick: Check
- Double Mint Gum (Double the pleasure, double the fun): Check
- Cologne (Michael Jordan, not a breath refresher): Check
- Mouth full of metal (Braces): Check
The night went on and we danced with a few girls we knew, loving the way the night was turning out, we had run in to some of our friends, Danny was there and he was good friends with Chris and Darrin as well as with myself, as the dance started to wrap up I remember talking to Darrin about 2pac (this was a topic that him and I could talk about hours) and his best songs, all the sudden we hear Valerie crying and it grabbed our attention so we stopped what we were doing to stare at her and Chris talking, I thought "Oh no, they broke up because I'm too much for her to not think about, poor fool but I don't blame her," but I was way off. I saw Chris's face and he was hot (angry) all the sudden I see him walking toward us, I got a little tense thinking of what I could have done or say to make her cry and him so mad, but I was stunned to hear what he had to say.
"What?!" was our reaction, I remember Danny getting so mad it was kind of scary, he was a bit unstable when it came to throwing blows. Turns out that a guy named Jerome got in to some words with Valerie and slapped her, I don't care how in your face or rude a woman is to you, you should never lay your hands on a woman. He asked us to get his back as he was going to confront Jerome outside so we said yes. There we were 4 guys ready for some words and fists to fly, it felt like the movie Reservoir Dogs when all the guys are walking down the alley way in slow motion with some sort of music joining our every step. We get to the front gate where Jerome was talking to a girl and we let Chris go and confront him, we weren't about to jump the kid, this was Chris's problem and he was going to deal with it. "Why did you slap my girl?!," Chris yelled out getting pumped up for a fight to what Jerome responded "Man I don't know what you talking about man, get your *bleep* out of here with that." Chris wasn't buying it so he brought Valerie and had her tell him right there what happened, she did and again Chris got in Jerome's face more aggressively, "Why did you hit her you *bleep*?, you never hit a woman, now I'm going to whoop your *bleep*," I think Jerome was a bit scared because he just keep saying he didn't do nothing and walked away. Its done I thought but it had just started.
About 10 minutes of being gone, we see a fleet of people and right in front was Jerome with Percy and another guy I didn't know, to our luck Danny was good friends with Percy who was the big man around, know for his gang affiliations, I thought to my self "Oh man this is going to get ugly" and boy did it. Now that he was backed up by a few of his boys Jerome grew some guts and confronted Chris about the issue saying that he did slap his girl because she deserved it, "what you going to do about it white boy?" I remember him saying out loud, now Chris was not one to be messed with but even he saw that our odds weren't so great, 4 of us and about 10 of them, by any means not a fair fight at all. Jerome kept getting more aggressive by the second and Chris was not backing down, he felt that he would be a hypocrite if he did and I don't blame him. We were there for him if things got out of hand and they were, Danny was trying his best to get Percy and his homies to back off and let Chris and Jerome handle this on their own, but when Jerome heard this he flipped saying that we came at him when he was by himself and didn't back down, "that's a lie" I said out loud, "he came to you by himself and you know it man." Things got more harsh, he started yelling and Chris by this time was fed up and took out what looked like a shank, Jerome noticed and made a big deal and Percy hit the wall, he was way mad at the fact.
"You *bleeping* skin head" Jerome screamed at Chris, he was everything but that, but I could see why he would think that. Chris was White, bald and full of tattoos. Well this kept going on for about 20 minutes and then all the sudden it turned Percy against Chris, Danny was in the middle of it trying to defuse it and he was getting both to calm down, but we didn't see Jerome. When I noticed that he wasn't around is when I heard some one yelling, "Gun, gun, He's got a Gun!," we didn't wait to see if this was true or not we broke as fast as we could, we ran for our lives down the street, I kept thinking "I'm going to die, I'm going to get shot, I'm going to get shot and then I'm going to die!," then after we had ran for about 3 blocks I heard what sounded like 3 loud claps, I ran even faster. We finally made it to an apartment complex and jumped in to some bushes, we hid there for about 5 minutes waiting for things to calm down, we saw people running past us, screaming like crazy. My heart was beating out of my chest, I was so shaken that my hands could not stop shaking. Darrin was right next to me, and Danny next to him. We all separated and went our own way after about 30 minutes of waiting things out, I later found out that Chris and Valerie got away just fine, no one was hurt as far as I know, and to be honest I don't know if a single round was fired at all or if my mind was so in to the moment that something that sounded like gun shots scared me half to death. That was an interesting night, I kept a low profile after as I didn't want to get in to anything that could end my life, and thank God, I was kept away from any harm.
3.13.2009
Sleepers
Have you ever done something so bad that you think you are going to jail? Well this is what I felt one hot Summer in Lancaster. The year was about 1998 and we lived in a closed block named Foxboro ct. In a 2 story home, there lived almost my whole family, my brother Luis and his wife Ely, my sister Claudia and her husband David and their 2 kids Itzel and Alex, also my Mom, my sister Ana and her kid Danny and my self. It was a big house and we did this to save money and to be together (not a good idea). It was a great neighborhood when we first moved in in 1996, great place to raise a family.
Not long after my only friend Aaron and his family moved out I met Jamel and Trammel, my first black friends! (I hope that doesn't come off as racist) but until then I had only hung out with Latinos and Whites. We started noticing a big change in the people who started to move in to the block, bigger families, so that meant that less adults, more chances to get in to trouble. There was only one entrance to the street, it was also the only exit that lead to the main avenue, 15Th street east. Cross the street and there was another neighborhood but the entrance to that street was a bit up the road, so the houses who's backs were to the avenue had very high walls, or at least they seemed high to me as I was not able to jump them like all my friends did.
One day we had nothing to do and we had befriended a kid from the other neighborhood, we called him Beavis because he resembled the character made famous by Mike Judge on MTV. He was a bit older and also friends with a few boys in our block. On this day life changed for some of us. There we were trying to be cool with the older kids of the block and we all decided to go to Beavis's house and chill. There we were passing time with nothing to do, I don't remember who had the bright idea but it was suggested that we go in the back yard and throw stuff at cars passing by. This all seemed like a great idea at the time so all of us, Beavis, Jamel, Trammel, George, his little brother Ezekiel, and myself went to his back yard which was a big one with a tool shed, an apple tree (which was our ammo) and enough space to play football if we wanted to but I guess that throwing apples at cars and people was more appealing.
There we were ready to have fun. "Here comes a car, get ready" George yelled out, so we grabbed our apples and and cocked our arm back and began to open fire at our target, in a matter of seconds the car was splattered with apple sauce, it was thrilling to be doing something so stupid, not knowing that we could actually harm someone really bad. But we didn't care so we continued with our fun little target practice, the next victim was a guy on a motorcycle but what we didn't realize is that he had a little kid on the back, which so happened to be his son. Beavis and Trammel opened fire on the poor Innocent target and all I remember was hearing the bike swerve out of control as the attack came as a surprise. We expected the guy to yell out loud belligerently and continue but boy were we wrong.
As we peeked out to see what happened, the bike stopped. The guy made sure his kid was OK, while all this happened there was another guy walking by who witnessed the event that had just happened and went to the guy's rescue. After they made sure the kid was OK, he was just a bit shook up. They broke for the wall of the house were we were, as we saw them running towards us we booked it. I remember running to hide in the tool shed with Jamel and Trammel. The door shut behind us leaving just a crack, enough for us to hear the 2 men jumping over the wall, I was so scared, breathing so heavy I was begging to worry that the guys would hear me and bust in there and take us all down. I remember looking around the tool shed and looking at my 2 friends, tears were coming down their eyes, tears of fear and adrenaline mixed together was my best guess, I was moved by their emotion so much that I too began to tear up.
The shed began to be silent and we figured we were clear, maybe the guys looked around and didn't find anyone so they left. My mind and soul started to calm down, I was so tense I didn't realize that I was gripping a pipe so tight that my fingers began to cramp up once I started relaxing. My calm thoughts were short lived, we started walking to the the door to see if they were gone, as we got closer I could hear foot steps on the grass, so I knew they were still looking for us. Then I saw something that made me freeze, I saw one of the men walking towards the tool shed. Staring right in to his eyes I thought to my self, "I'm so busted" but to my surprise out of the corner of my eye I see Beavis making a brake for it, that was the wrong choice but because of him doing that he saved 3 of us.
As the 2 guys saw him running off, they gave chance after him. It was now or never, the 3 of us busted out of the tool shed to meet up with Gorge and his brother. I remember hiding behind the door that lead the back yard to the front yard waiting for the right time, I saw the 2 guys running after Beavis in circles as he was trying to evade them, but that came to an end because they both just tackled him to the ground. This was our cue to run for it, so we busted out the door as fast as we could. We sprinted as fast as our legs gave us the chance, I kept looking back to see the 2 guys walking back in the house with Beavis, I was so scared that they would call the cops on us, that our police sketches would be plastered all over the news, to make matters worse we had just watch Sleepers the night before, this movie was similar to what had just happened. Kids doing something dumb hurt someone and they go to jail and get abused bad. I didn't want to end up like this so I ran and ran as much as I could, I remember my legs burning, my chest aching, I was gasping for air, but I couldn't stop, not yet I had to get away. We ran for about a mile, until we realize that they weren't following us at all.
We were all tripping, wondering what to do next, how could we go back to our house? there was one entrance back and we were sure there would be cops all over looking for us, so we cut through the apartment buildings that were right next door to our block. We jumped the wall and all went to our home. There I was sweating like I had just ran for my life (which I did), I remember my sister asking me what was wrong, and I spilled my guts out, I told her everything. She look at me saying "Are you stupid? do you not remember that movie we watched last night? remember what they did to dose kids?" (see I told you it was similar) "I know, I know, you don't have to remind me, I saw the movie as well" I told her, I was so ready for this day to be over that I just went to my room and turned some music on.
Turns out that Beavis never gave any names, claiming that he was acting on his own. We never got in trouble for this stupid stunt of ours. I sure learned my lesson but not all of us did. Eventually Beavis was involved in a shooting with some guys that he befriended from our block. He is currently serving time in prison. Jamel went on to College while his brother Trammel became a drug dealer, not sure what happened to George or his brother as we distanced ourselves from them as much as we could. We all eventually moved out of the block, and as for me I'm here telling you what happened during a hot summer day 11 years ago..... Life is sweet.
Not long after my only friend Aaron and his family moved out I met Jamel and Trammel, my first black friends! (I hope that doesn't come off as racist) but until then I had only hung out with Latinos and Whites. We started noticing a big change in the people who started to move in to the block, bigger families, so that meant that less adults, more chances to get in to trouble. There was only one entrance to the street, it was also the only exit that lead to the main avenue, 15Th street east. Cross the street and there was another neighborhood but the entrance to that street was a bit up the road, so the houses who's backs were to the avenue had very high walls, or at least they seemed high to me as I was not able to jump them like all my friends did.
One day we had nothing to do and we had befriended a kid from the other neighborhood, we called him Beavis because he resembled the character made famous by Mike Judge on MTV. He was a bit older and also friends with a few boys in our block. On this day life changed for some of us. There we were trying to be cool with the older kids of the block and we all decided to go to Beavis's house and chill. There we were passing time with nothing to do, I don't remember who had the bright idea but it was suggested that we go in the back yard and throw stuff at cars passing by. This all seemed like a great idea at the time so all of us, Beavis, Jamel, Trammel, George, his little brother Ezekiel, and myself went to his back yard which was a big one with a tool shed, an apple tree (which was our ammo) and enough space to play football if we wanted to but I guess that throwing apples at cars and people was more appealing.
There we were ready to have fun. "Here comes a car, get ready" George yelled out, so we grabbed our apples and and cocked our arm back and began to open fire at our target, in a matter of seconds the car was splattered with apple sauce, it was thrilling to be doing something so stupid, not knowing that we could actually harm someone really bad. But we didn't care so we continued with our fun little target practice, the next victim was a guy on a motorcycle but what we didn't realize is that he had a little kid on the back, which so happened to be his son. Beavis and Trammel opened fire on the poor Innocent target and all I remember was hearing the bike swerve out of control as the attack came as a surprise. We expected the guy to yell out loud belligerently and continue but boy were we wrong.
As we peeked out to see what happened, the bike stopped. The guy made sure his kid was OK, while all this happened there was another guy walking by who witnessed the event that had just happened and went to the guy's rescue. After they made sure the kid was OK, he was just a bit shook up. They broke for the wall of the house were we were, as we saw them running towards us we booked it. I remember running to hide in the tool shed with Jamel and Trammel. The door shut behind us leaving just a crack, enough for us to hear the 2 men jumping over the wall, I was so scared, breathing so heavy I was begging to worry that the guys would hear me and bust in there and take us all down. I remember looking around the tool shed and looking at my 2 friends, tears were coming down their eyes, tears of fear and adrenaline mixed together was my best guess, I was moved by their emotion so much that I too began to tear up.
The shed began to be silent and we figured we were clear, maybe the guys looked around and didn't find anyone so they left. My mind and soul started to calm down, I was so tense I didn't realize that I was gripping a pipe so tight that my fingers began to cramp up once I started relaxing. My calm thoughts were short lived, we started walking to the the door to see if they were gone, as we got closer I could hear foot steps on the grass, so I knew they were still looking for us. Then I saw something that made me freeze, I saw one of the men walking towards the tool shed. Staring right in to his eyes I thought to my self, "I'm so busted" but to my surprise out of the corner of my eye I see Beavis making a brake for it, that was the wrong choice but because of him doing that he saved 3 of us.
As the 2 guys saw him running off, they gave chance after him. It was now or never, the 3 of us busted out of the tool shed to meet up with Gorge and his brother. I remember hiding behind the door that lead the back yard to the front yard waiting for the right time, I saw the 2 guys running after Beavis in circles as he was trying to evade them, but that came to an end because they both just tackled him to the ground. This was our cue to run for it, so we busted out the door as fast as we could. We sprinted as fast as our legs gave us the chance, I kept looking back to see the 2 guys walking back in the house with Beavis, I was so scared that they would call the cops on us, that our police sketches would be plastered all over the news, to make matters worse we had just watch Sleepers the night before, this movie was similar to what had just happened. Kids doing something dumb hurt someone and they go to jail and get abused bad. I didn't want to end up like this so I ran and ran as much as I could, I remember my legs burning, my chest aching, I was gasping for air, but I couldn't stop, not yet I had to get away. We ran for about a mile, until we realize that they weren't following us at all.
We were all tripping, wondering what to do next, how could we go back to our house? there was one entrance back and we were sure there would be cops all over looking for us, so we cut through the apartment buildings that were right next door to our block. We jumped the wall and all went to our home. There I was sweating like I had just ran for my life (which I did), I remember my sister asking me what was wrong, and I spilled my guts out, I told her everything. She look at me saying "Are you stupid? do you not remember that movie we watched last night? remember what they did to dose kids?" (see I told you it was similar) "I know, I know, you don't have to remind me, I saw the movie as well" I told her, I was so ready for this day to be over that I just went to my room and turned some music on.
Turns out that Beavis never gave any names, claiming that he was acting on his own. We never got in trouble for this stupid stunt of ours. I sure learned my lesson but not all of us did. Eventually Beavis was involved in a shooting with some guys that he befriended from our block. He is currently serving time in prison. Jamel went on to College while his brother Trammel became a drug dealer, not sure what happened to George or his brother as we distanced ourselves from them as much as we could. We all eventually moved out of the block, and as for me I'm here telling you what happened during a hot summer day 11 years ago..... Life is sweet.
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