An Honorary Spanish Diva, I am

What a year this was for me. I’m sure to those reading this blog that phrase has come to be synonymous with this honorary Spanish diva. But that’s how incredible it seems. And moreso that I am standing here alive and smiling. That’s the nature of life I suppose. You get that big box of surprises (no Forrest Gump allusion intended).

In a nutshell, my greatest hits of this year were..

-Having “Rosa Salvaje” reairred at the beginning of January on “Telefutura”. I had not seen this telenovela in years and was so touched to see it again. It kind of brought back weird memories as I didn’t have the most ideal upbringing but it was great seeing this telenovela that I had enjoyed at the age of 5 now as an adult and fully comprehend the dram

-Our break-in at our now former apartment in May. It was very traumatizing for me and I had issues well into the fall with leaving the apartment. It wasn’t moreso for my safety but moreso because of our baby shih tzu. He is so adorable, impressionable and friendly and will probably go with anyone. And dog theft is pretty common in Chicago so that really kept me up for many nights.

-DVD-R’ing 2 different telenovelas (“Rosa Salvaje” and “Camila”) in their entirety totaling 58 DVD’s. You have no idea how long it takes to encode, make menus and arrange each individual DVD. I am so ready to not do that again, but the first one was for me and the last one was for the missus as it stars his Bibi Gaytan.

-Getting to meet George from Nebraska. Such a cool dude that started reading my blog or vice versa. Either way, it was a pleasure getting to know him and moreso meeting in person this year! Gurfren you are way too much for Nebraska, how can u live there? We had a lot of fun going to El Kallejon.

-Having to cut off a very close friend. Earlier this year she had a very traumatic breakup with her ex, I was there for her, answering middle of the night phone calls at my home phone, disturbing my bf’s sleep when he had to go to work the next morning…and on one day when I wasn’t available to be there for her she decided I was no longer her friend, was deleted from her Myspace and all of a sudden became this terrible person with absolutely no regard to previous incidents. So I decided she needed something more than a good friend and I was not willing to be anything more than that. I have my own issues and friends should be there when they are available and willing to be there for you. You shouldn’t hold people accountable for having their own lives to deal with and get irritated because they’re not there at a moment’s notice. It is unfortunate when you think you know someone and despite all the drama that life deals them, they still decide to be dramatic towards you. This is probably the closest I have come to even acknowledging this situation as my stance is to “let things go” which I have. It’s better to leave things be really and even though I’m not going to be dramatic about it, I’m sure she will be and we’re bound to run into one another. I wish her the best.

But even when the ride is bumpy in life, let’s remember that the grittiness of the ride is not what’s important but moving forward is what’s important. As long as you’re moving and getting somewhere.

So I’d like to thank every single person who reads, has read or just stopping by this blog because you Google’d something and directed you here. I enjoy the feedback and enjoy the second opinions on issues I know the answers to deep down inside. May you all have a gr8 year and peace in your hearts. God loves you.

Howdy guys. Happy winter solstice!


This week has been such a long week for me at work. And it still won't stop for me, I have to work Christmas eve morning for a measly 4.5 hours. Jesus, why bother? But I guess working where I work you have to be open in case of emergencies. But what a long week, it seems like people only have emergencies on the weekends or the very last minute the clinic is open :) Oh well.


That being said, i've been still trying to finish up my minimal Christmas shopping to people. I'm not going to be buried in Christmas shoppers so I kept my things a a minimal. I bought just little things, knick knacks, a CD to those close to me just to let them know I acknowledge them. As for me receiving Xmas gifts, I never count on them and I never expect them but if I receive one, whether an Xmas card or money, I am totally appreciative.

Also, this weekend I saw the new CGI movie "Alvin & The Chipmunks"



Not sure why I caved in. Maybe because they were an important figure of my childhood. So many of the 80's songs I know are because of the Chipmunks. But the movie was surprisingly cute and not overtly sugary and "Disney". It was entertaining. It's interesting how the Chipmunks make a comeback every 20 years. In the 60's..the 80's and now the 00's. The only interesting thing about this movie is their realistic size in the movie, as in the cartoon they were the size of human children! So they decided to make it somewhat closer to plausibility even though they're talking chipmunks. I think the cutest moment had to have been the Alvin singing in the shower clip. That made me giggle.


So in a little while I will be posting my favourite moments of 2007 and my musical picks for this year. Thanks for reading and may you be at peace at the moment of reading this.


SPANISH WORD FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Today's word is "TIERNO"
And it means "cute (literal def=tender)"

"Tiene una carita tan tierna!" = "He has such a cute little face!"

What a roller coaster it was in 2007 for me...


I will do a proper post on this soon while debating my "greatest hits" of this year. But I would like to take a minute and publicly thank the one thing that really kept me going this year: GOD.


I do not want to sound corny but God is out there and whatever it has planned for you will happen. If you truly see yourself somewhere deep down it is because you are meant to be there by the power of God and all you have to do is remember that it is out there. I have had one of the most challenging years in many different ways, with my personal life, my family, my occupation, my psyche. Everything was put to the test this year and I would like to thank God for never allowing me to go completely insane.


Thank you God for your love even when it makes me bleed. It is my honour to carry on your divine plan and know the future is the only direction worth going towards.

Why does God make me fall for has-beens??


I mean in the Spanish language it's such a headache because their CD's released at the time that flopped are so hard to find. Lately, I have been jamming to a 90's never-been artist from Mexico named MARIANNE. I first knew her because she was featured on the "Mexico Voz y Sentimiento" compilation that was very popular in 1990 that featured pop stars singing Mexican standards. It wasn't until earlier this year that I found someone on Amazon selling her album for relatively cheap that I figured I would get it as I knew who she was and was curious to hear what she had to offer. Never did I expect I would like it so much.




Yes, the title track "Donde Late Mi Corazon" is indeed a Spanish cover of Celine Dion's "Where Does My Heart beat Now?". This woman has one of the most awesome voices I have heard on any pop star. It's versatile enough to appeal to young kids and balladeers. Yet she never really had a hit! It's incredible! She's somewhere along the lines of Amy Grant and Sheena Easton. So apparently she is now singing at some bar in Mexico City and periodically does musicals like Mexico's version of "Rent". Actually, she provided the singing voice of Nala in the Latin American dubbing of "The Lion King".

That I am aware of, she has recorded at least 3 albums and the only song people seem to know her for is a song called "Enciendo Una Vela", that apparently was used by Televisa for World conscious promos on their network as the song speaks on lighting a candle for world peace.

Click here to listen to "Enciendo una Vela"

So just this week. I noticed someone on Mercadolibre.com.mx was selling an album of hers from 1997 so I had to jump on it. I ended up spending 43 dollars for shipping, the CD and the 10.00 fee for using Western Union. That's another thing, why the fuck won't Mexicans open PayPal accounts??? It would make my life much easier.


Anyway, just had to share. Toodles!

I must give a shoutout to my fellow blogger who wrote on this issue a while back but is one I am compelled to discuss today, as it is one that we ALL have dealt with.


I am a person who has been working for almost a decade now and have had a total of 11 full time jobs in the last 7 years. I have worked in quite a variety of places in different fields with different kinds of people. Although things are different and all have their way of working, one thing is constant and that is THE WORKPLACE BITCH.


There is always that one person who "knows it all", who "is the only one that works around here" or "keeps this place going". The self-described model employees who spend their days brown nosing and watching others. These people are so bitter in their own lives that they get their kicks in the workplace. The same ones who probably in school had all the answers and no friends to prove it. I have never been one of these people but I see them all the time.


And what do I do? I DON'T TAKE IT. I try my best to not cause drama but when these people watch me, I educatedly put em on check. Most of the time the people who pertain to this group are people WITH NO POWER. So I kindly remind them "You're such an efficient employee, I wonder why you're here down below with the rest of us? You should be management, but you're not. So please, I know my job as that is what I am being paid for. toodles!".

I avoid these people and most of the time don't ever take their shit. And most importantly I have learned not to take things personally as I can identify these folks immediately and know what to say and how to. I don't fall into their traps as when you do they think they can boss you around or even worse come by you even more!

SPANISH WORD FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Today's word is "FASTIDIAR"
And it means "to annoy"

"Ese tipo me fastidia"="That guy annoys me"

I am never drinking again....(post #344 that i've said this)..



This past weekend I did something I hardly ever do anymore, go on consecutive nights of drinking. Whilst I am proud of myself on my ability to "handle my shit", I still get hangovers. That is to say I don't get drunk, I do. But I'm always aware, I never hurt anyone or myself and never do things out of the ordinary (at least for me).


Friday we went to Nacotheque, which my boo already wrote about. It was fun except the place was small and there were so many people!! It was insane! But I had fun. The DJ dude didn't play anyone of my obscure flop has beens except for Click and Xuxa but I still had fun. At one point I found myself dancing with some girl, the drama!! :P

On Saturday night we went to a house warming party and again, lots of fun. The host had a special party favour which I thought was ana wesome treat: She had a caricaturist draw us! I had never had one before! Me and the missus posed and it came out awesome! As soon as I have it scanned I shall share.


So safe to say after 2 nights of getting drunk up the wazoo (I had a total of 11 gimlets and god knows whatever else in total) my poor liver must be green. And my cigarrette binges too although I must admit I didn't smoke as much as I usually do when I'm ebriated. Although I say I will never drink again, fast forward to this exact comment on New Year's Day :P

Tootles!