The outcome wasn’t what we would have liked but it was a great season none the less.
Monthly Archive for June, 2005
Great read on Ben Wallace by Scoop Jackson…Big
Ben is back, badder than ever…even if you’re not a Pistons or basketball fan. Numero 3 has become one of my favorite Pistons players of all time alongside Isiah “Zeke” Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer.
The Finals
The Pistons won game six in San Antonio, a place where they hadn’t won in a long ass time. Tomorrow is the the final game of the NBA Finals. Trash talking aside no matter if the Pistons win or lose it was a great series. Who cares if no one is watching. The Lakers and their fans suck (I hope you read this Rachel). I have to give props to Robert Horry for making a deal with the devil and giving the Spurs Game 5 in Detroit (that’s for N and L). The Pistons may have lost that game but unfortunately Horry will go to hell. As for tommorrow, I will be cheering loud all the way from the left coast for my Pistons. May the better team win o como dice mi jefa el que practica mas es el que va ganar…
Today I completed another obstacle that the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing has thrown at me…the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment or RICA. I thought the CSET was bad…well let me tell you…this exam was no walk in the park. After I finished the 4 hour exam I left and I could not feel my nalgas. Why do they do this to us? Why? Why? When I took the CSET I took all the three sections at the same time and it took me almost 5 hours to complete. I felt like my friend Rachel who claims to have forgotten her name and where she lived after taking the CSET. Let me see…what’s next? Ah, yes…landing a gig. The interview rounds are about to start up again. “YOU CAN DO IT!” Has anyone else noticed that in every Adam Sandler movie at some point Rob Schneider yells that out? That was also my favorite part of the Longest Yard.
The New York Times has a very interesting article that discusses that madness that inflicts religious zealots that oppose gay marriage and equate homosexuality that of a disease. They even go so far as to blame gay marriage with increased birth rates in European countries.
In the early 90’s, gay marriage came to the Nordic countries, where the out-of-wedlock birthrate was already high. Ten years later, out-of-wedlock birth rates have risen significantly in the middle group of nations. Not coincidentally, nearly every country in that middle group has recently either legalized some form of gay marriage or is seriously considering doing so. Only in the group with low out-of-wedlock birthrates has the gay marriage movement achieved relatively little success.
Stanley Kurtz, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution
According to Russell Shorto, the author of the article
At its essence, then, the Christian conservative thinking about gay marriage runs this way. Homosexuality is not an innate, biological condition but a disease in society…While most of society — including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Education Association, the World Health Organization and many other such groups — eventually came around to the idea that homosexuality is normal…
The funny thing is that these people try to use science to support their arguments or theories when they are the first to attack such scientific theories as evolution. You can’t have it both ways. The one argument that frustrates the crap out of me is that gay marriage isn’t acceptable because a man cannot procreate with another man. So let me see now…a marriage is only a marriage if the couple can procreate? What about traditional couples that cannot have babies for whatever reason? Should their unions be dissolved? Either way traditional marriage in this country is overrated. Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. What does that tell you?
What’s their real problem with gay marriage? (It’s the Gay part)
The Detroit Pistons have tied up the Finals at two games a piece.
Final score…The Detroit Pistons 102, the San Antonio Spurs 71.
To all you San Antonio fans out there all I have to say is I Told You So! I knew the Pistons weren’t going to fold and tonight’s game was a…hmmm, let me think…a SPANKING. The mighty Spurs…the #1 defense in the NBA giving up 100 points to the Pistons! Even Darko scored for crying out loud! For a minute there I thought lil Timmy was going to cry.
I can’t wait till Game 5. The Spurs better bring their “A” game because I don’t want to hear any excuses about their poor performance. Nobody is hurt on their team and the referees are obviously on their side. What more can they want? Que no?
Most of my family on my jefa’s side has diabetes, a condition that affects a significant segment of the Latino community. It’s well known that genetics plays a part in the development of diabetes, but also physical inactivity and obesity has a significant effect. My jefa developed gestational diabetes after the birth of one of my brothers (1981). Soon after she developed Type II diabetes and since then she has been on medication (insulin shots initially and now pills). Every day she has to go through the painful process of pricking herself on one of her fingers in order to test her blood sugar level. My abuela also has diabetes and her condition is worsening because of damage to her kidneys. My jefa already deals with issues with her eyes as a result of her condition. Luckily, other complications such as heart disease or feet complications have not taken effect.
How does the curandero come into play with diabetes? Too many paisanos fall for the lies of curanderos/brujos (witch doctors), and their promises of a magical cure for a number of ailments, if the price is right. La realidad es que nada mas estafan a la gente. For some reason the abuelo has insisted on the use of this “alternative medicine” to try to cure the abuela’s illness. This is very frustrating when they could be here in the states receiving treatment, pero no, rehúsan regresar por la terquedad de el abuelo. There is no easy solution. Una de las tías prefiere que Dios la salve y también no se cuida. For another aunt it is the norm for her blood sugar level to reach 300! (If your blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dL it’s normal. If your random blood sugar is greater than 100 mg/dL but less than 199 mg/dL, you may have prediabetes.)
As Mexicans our diets are inherently bad when you think about it. We have to deal with many temptations like carnitas, menudo, posolo, chicharrones, tortillas, tacos de lo que sea, todo rostisado o frito y hasta los frijoles hacen daño. Not to mention el refresco (soda), something that is a must whenever one is eating. On a side note educators are starting to realize the evils of soda consumption and its relation with obesity in youth. Even with the severity of this illness there is unfortunately not enough education regarding the prevention of diabetes or methods to control it.
El gran Oso sent me a “meme” which at first I had no idea what it was but anyhow here it is:
Total size of music files on my computer:
Since my comp’s hard drive is only like 13GB, most of my music is on the iPod. I have the good ol’ 30GB iPod half filled… or is it half empty?
The last CD I bought was:
Solo by Ricardo Arjona
Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta
Song playing right now:
Preso by Aleks Syntek (cover) “…mira si me has hecho no ser yo que en lugar de hacerte daño te protejo. ”
Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:
I actually have like 20 songs that mean a lot to me but these ten songs are a must:
Te Llore Un Rió by Mana
Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine
El Baile Y El Salón by Café Tacuba
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
Cuatro Milpas by Antonio Aguilar (con tambora)
La Vida no es Igual by Jaguares
Si El Norte Fuera El Sur by Ricardo Arjona
Mambo Gozon by Tito Puente
La Orilla del Mar by Pedro Infante (con mariachi)
In the Car by Barenaked Ladies
La Maestra también me mando estas preguntitas que me a puesto a soñar como si fuera niño de nuevo…o quien sabe…aun ay tiempo para hacer mucho…
If I could be a musician…(and if I was a world class musician) I would be playing lead trumpet in a mariachi, preferably the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan. If that wasn’t possible I would be played backup trumpet for Santana or Ozomatli.
If I could be an athlete…I would be a professional soccer player and I would play for las Chivas de Guadalajara. I would either play sweeper or forward.
If I could be a writer…I would love to have the imagination of Garcia Marquez and the love for life of Neruda. I would settle for being able to have the impact that Dr. Seuss has had with children with his books. I love the Lorax by the way.
If I could be a farmer… I would plant maguey en los altos de Jalisco. What a crop! You nurture the maguey for about five years, and then it becomes proccessed into the national drink of Mexico.
If I could be a doctor… I would work in a setting in which I could help patients of disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and I would also volunteer my time to help with diabetes research…It’s too bad the sciences and I didn’t get along because la jefecita wished that one of her sons would become a doctor.
Y ahora me pregunto… Maestra que musica te deleita?
On Monday I finally visited the so called “Taj Mahal of baseball,” Dodger Stadium, to check out the Tigs. We got there as soon as the gates opened so that we could also catch the Pistons and Heat in game 7. To our surprise none of the TV screens were tuned to the game. After wandering frantically around the stadium, security informed us that the TV’s located around the stadium were only for game action and that our only shot was to try to get into the Dugout Club which is only accessible to those that purchase hella’ expensive seats or those that make reservations. We made our way up the Dugout Club and the person at the door informed us that we didn’t meet any of the requirement to get in but I could tell in his eyes that he saw the paisano connection and he let us in. Thinking back I could have at least slipped him a 5. Inside, we watched the defending champions beat the Heat at home. What a game! The only bad thing was that the basketball game made us miss 3 innings of the baseball game that we were there to see in the first place. Anyhow, back to baseball. The Tigs should have won this game but their ace Jeremy Bonderman gave up a 3 run homer to Jeff “porn-star ‘stache” Kent, putting the “Blue Crew” up for good.
As far as the stadium experience is concerned I liked it a lot. Dodger Stadium seems to be more compact than other stadiums that I have been to, seemingly giving everyone a good view of the game. We sat in row T behind home plate which gave us a good view but the protective net really killed it for me. I was also really disappointed in the “famous” Dodger Dogs. The fans were cool though and even though we were in our Tigers gear no one stabbed us or threw beer on us and so that was a plus. I guess that only happens to Giants fans. I also thought it was very cool that the fans gave Kirk Gibson (formerly a member of the Tigers and Dodger and now a Tigers bench coach) a standing “O.” Gibby will forever be remembered in Dodgers history for hitting that classic homerun off of Eck in the 1988 World Series.
Well, I did it. I attended my ten year high school reunion. I had battled with going or not but in the end I listed to the novia and it was all for the best. It was so great to see so many old faces. In a way it was surreal because for that moment it seemed like we were sent back in time to when we were high schoolers. At times I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder and see if the cops had arrived to raid the party. This reunion wasn’t a house party of yesteryear and we weren’t underage drinkers but it sure seemed like the clock had been turned back. In a way this event helped me in the realization that …ya estoy ruco. It was great to see good friends like Rey, Erica and Sara who I have not seen in years. It was also fun hanging out with friends that I see too much of (just kidding) like Katy, Sandra, Favi and Rachel. If any of you out there are debating whether to attend your high school reunion I would advise you to go. My initial argument was that this reunion would be an excuse for people to talk about their life successes but in reality that was not the case. People were more interested in knowing about you and not really about your job or schooling or any of that. Really though, what beats hanging out with old friends and drinking the night away remembering lo que un dia fue.