This Is Your Library

   A few months back I had the idea  to direct message Lalo Alcaraz on Twitter about the possibility of getting him to appear at the library I worked for. I passed him the number of the person he would need to speak to about getting put on the performers list. I heard they paid well and thought it'd be equally beneficial to both Lalo and the library.
    I sat back and waited to hear from Lalo. He DMd me back saying that he'd set up a date to be apart of an event that would be held at Central Library. He offered to get me a couple tickets to the show. I thought that was both cool and funny considering I work for the library and could probably get them myself.
   So Sept. 22nd was coming up and I was getting really excited. I know I need to plan more outings with my family and I had high hopes for this event. After emailing back and forth with the library foundation I was told I would be "comped" one ticket. 1 ticket!?!? I had to hope Lalo had put my name on his VIP list. He had.
  The night arrived and we got to the library early. I was hoping to check out a couple of exhibits that were currently going on. "A Nation Emerges" is a very nice collection of photographs from the time of the Mexican Revolution.
    It was a great feeling walking through Central Library and greeting people I know. So they were all security guards? So what? I met the V.P. of the Library Foundation. She was so nice and I thought it was cool that she remembered who I was when I called her the following week. I think my wife and kids thought I was pretty important that night so that felt nice too. Or maybe it was the green VIP bracelet my wife and I got to wear for being on Lalo Alcaraz' list. I don't know but either wLaloay, I'm happy if they're happy.
  
@laloalcaraz was the first guest on the show and just by the way the host,Justin Veach, opens the show, I know we were in for a fun night. My wife and kids are laughing and suddenly I don't feel so bad about being out late on a school night. Lalo goes through a slide show of his work. One of the pieces he shows is "Migra Mouse". I always liked this one. The Mexican Restaurant, "Ciros" in Boyle Heights has had it taped next to their cash register for years so I'd see it a lot before I even knew who Lalo was. Now we see Lalo at one of his events and my kids say, "Hey look dad, your friend, Lalo." That's pretty cool and funny. I've been joking around with Lalo for about a year now on Twitter so they hear his name a lot.
   
@charlesphoenixs was another guest that was on the show. Everybody loved him. He was very funny and has a great personality. I think his segment was my wife's favorite part of the show. Maybe even her favorite part of the week. My kids liked him so much that Brianna just had to ask him a question after the show and they both took a picture with him.
    After the show everybody headed to the lounge to greet the "talent". We all chose a favorite Lalo Alcaraz poster and as soon as I buy frames, I'll hang them in my TV room/ Anthony's Cave. We got home close to midnight and the kids dozed off on the way there but we had a GREAT night. We all look forward to more.

P.S. I told you I called the Library Foundation's VP the next week. I suggested to her someone of whom I'm a big fan of on stage as well as off. You'll want to stay tuned for that post.

Group picture of all the guests.

Ooh Child

     My mom used to dedicate a song to each of us kids either when we were born or when we were growing up. I was about 5 years old when I first remember her singing "our" song to me. It was Al Jarreau's "We're In This Love Together". If you know the song, you know how the next line goes. "We've got the kind that lasts forever." Man, I used to feel like I was on top of the world when it'd come on over the radio in her beige Volkswagen Type 3 and she'd sing those words to me. She'd look me in the eyes and start to sing and as I type this now, 27 years later, I smile, I shake my head and then fight the sadness that eventually comes over me.
     A lot has happened in the 27 years since and its WAY too much for one post. A lot has happened in the 5 years that her and I haven't seen or spoken to each other.
     All this brings me to the whole reason for this post.    
     I got in my car the other night and I turned it on with perfect timing. I usually have the worst timing in the world, so this was weird. Was it a sign?
    "Ooh Child" by The Five Stairsteps came over the airwaves and I was lucky enough to catch the very cool drum beat at the songs' opening. Now let me just say, just like Al Jarreau's song is important to me, this one is just as important. You see, I dedicated this song and would sing it to my mom when I was a kid and she was feeling down. We went through many hard times when I was growing up and she was always depressed so I thought this song was a good way to cheer her up because at the time, I might have been around 10 and there was little else I could do. Hearing this song brings back a lot of memories both good and bad and as I write this blog post, I'm a 32 year old man. I'm married to a very beautiful and very giving woman and we have two smart and amazingly talented kids.  We have a new house and a new car in the driveway. I have so much to be thankful for (maybe more than I deserve) and a lot to worry about. (if you want to see it that way)  
     The sense of achievement I feel thinking about things my wife and I have accomplished is bittersweet. It's been 5 years since I've seen or spoken to my mom and it saddens me not to be able to share this happiness with her but I know she knows how far I've come and I hope she puts her pride aside and can be proud of the man I've become.  Now, I'm not the perfect husband, father or perfect person for that matter but I continue to try.
     "Ooh child things are gonna get easier. Ooh child things'll get brighter." 
     These two lines really made me stop and think. Is it ironic? Did things really get easier but at the cost of not having her in my life and also are things easier for her without me or is this song still making the same promise it's always made?
I guess I'll continue to wait and see.  

Blogger vs. Blogger - @Chicano_Soul  vs. @La_Cabronisa

      When I was first asked to participate in Blogger vs. Blogger an Angel appeared to me. (please bear w/ me) The Angel said, *strums on a  harp* "Art, you know the purpose of your blog is to Reflect and Release. "You can't seriously think about competing with @La_Cabronisa to see whose blog is "better". *poof* *queue devil* "HA!! Of course you can!! When was the last time you shied away from friendly competition!?" Well, what can I say? He's very convincing. I'm still typing so I guess we can add 1 to the Devil's win column.
       So here I am. I'm going to try to tell you a little bit about myself and I'll be covering 10 different fun topics. Please pay no attention to how many of them include food. That was a total accident. I swear. I was set up. Well no, not really. I do hope you enjoy reading this post but if you don't, just remember: The devil made me do it. :) Thank you for your time.

   


1. It might not be healthy but it sure is good!: I just had to post a picture of  some chicken tamales I usually grab on the way to work. I'm getting a transfer at work soon and I can honestly say the person I'll miss the most is the local Tamalera. Maybe I can get her a transfer too.
P.S. Luna Bars if you're reading this, "Tamales de pollo con chile verde" <--new flavor? Call me. ;)

2. Mi Familia: I chose to share a picture that was taken of my family at my wive's cousin's Quinceañera. My son, Anthony, was dancing so much he could barely keep his bow tie on. My wife, Anna, and daughter, Brianna, are as beautiful as ever. Both my kids came out in the Quinceanera. Luckily for everybody there they weren't paired up as partners. They love each other very much but they still are brother & sister.

3. My refrigerator's running: I wish my kids drank as much milk as I did when I was a kid. (Look in my fridge and a lot of times you'd think *It was lactose intolerant) If they drank as much as I used to, *I could complain that we needed a buy a cow or threaten them with powdered milk. To this day I still have no idea how my Grandma knew it was me holding the fridge's door handle? Everytime!! Weird. Was it wired to an alarm that led to her room? As soon as I cracked it open, "Who's there!?!?" Maybe I drank so much milk as a kid because we were always out and you always want what you can't have.*shrugs* These days "Almond Breeze" is a MUST in my fridge.

4. "Popo can't catch me!": I was planning on posting a picture of the silliest  set of wheels I could find.That was until my wife and I traded in our '07 Sentra this past weekend for *RIP Rod Roddy *... "A NEW CAR!!!" We live 60 miles from our jobs and kid's school so we needed a car with a fresh start (read: blank odometer). I called my dad that evening and could hear the pride in his voice. My family and I have been blessed. I'm thinking of changing my name to William De Vaughn because I'll always Be Thankful For What I've Got.

5. Qué Lindo!: My wife says I'm full of myself so I let her choose the picture I would submit. She declined so this is what I chose. My baby picture!! You can't go wrong with a baby pic, right? Please stop laughing. I can hear you. Interestingly enough, when my parents bought this picture package at Sears, they had no choice but to order the 8 x 10s. My ears wouldn't fit in their wallets. :( Also,  I had more hair on my head in that pic than in the next.

6. Pose for the camera: It took me a while to think of a silly pose. I was in the bathroom (where,I might add I do all my best thinking) when all of a sudden it hit me! No, not how to build the Flux Capacitor, but where the silliest poses come from. The bathroom!! I don't have a MySpace or 4 baby daddies but I do have a camera phone and a bathroom so I'm set.
P.S. I like to give an honorable mention to the pose every Chicana was doing in the 90's where she leaned to one side with both hands placed on one knee. That pose came in a close second.

7. My Guilty Pleasure: My guilty pleasure is definitely my cell phone. I'm on it too damn much. I started "playing" on Twitter and it just got out of hand. It was always, "Just one more tweet". I really need to put it down and pay attention to what's going on around me. My son is almost as tall as I am now. Having said that, if you're on Twitter, follow me @Chicano_Soul.What??  I'm just kidding. Don't follow me. I'm boring.
:)
Just for the record. There are no penguins on my screensaver. Thank you. :)

8. Qué siga la fiesta!: If there's one thing I CAN NOT do without at a family party, it's got to be FLAN. Yes you read that right. Believe me I love listening/dancing to great music and I look forward to catching up with family but man oh man, just point me to the flan. Normally you'd look for the flan at the dessert table but not with my wife's family. Her grandma and her grandma's sisters must arrive with the Flan in their purses because after it's all gone they suddenly have space in those purses to hide the table's center pieces they steal on the way out. :)

9. Where is Art?: As embarrassing as it is I'm going to keep it real (and brief). I asked my wife, "Where's the first place you and the kids look for me when you can't find me around the house?" Well, she gave me one of those long "Are you serious!?" stares and said, "In the bathroom.Where else?". So I guess the rule of thumb in my house is, "If you hear the fan, the bathroom's where I am"

10.It's mine and I'll keep it if I want it: Man this topic was tough. I couldn't think of any one thing that was in the house that my whole family hated but I loved. The only thing I could think of was the scarf in this picture. It's a scarf from my alma mater, Roosevelt High School. My wife and I tease each other about the schools we went to. She went to an uppity rich school in Burbank,CA. and well I didn't. Never the less, I still have and will always have Rough Rider Pride. :)
P.S. Yes she did make fun of the poor snowman for wearing the scarf. I forgot to give him a mouth. Poor guy couldn't defend himself. :(




Well, there you have it. That's my submission for Blogger vs. Blogger. If you're still here, I want to thank you for reading it. I hope it made you laugh and cry and laugh some more. 


PLEASE check out  my competition, @La_Cabronisa's blog here--> La Cabrona. (you know just to be fair)(but you don't have to. ) :)  

The Official Blogger vs Blogger Challenge on LATISM is a unique and creative way of promoting blogger content through the Latinos In Social Media network, in partnership with Juan Of Words. Challenge participants are assigned a customized list of competing categories based on their individual blogs and online personalities, and their resulting posts are promoted via LATISM's social media networks. If you'd like to be featured in a future edition of The Official Blogger vs Blogger Challenge on LATISM, email juanofwords@gmail.com



LATISM                 Juan Of Words

Memories In HD

I saw us on TV last night.
Well, at least it looked like us.
You think I'm crazy, right?

That's funny but it's okay.
I know they say hindsight is 20/20. 

Can you explain how my memories were re-running in 720p?

(As if I needed them in HD)

I didn't need to press the remote's info button.
I know the original air date is 1980's.

I remember this episode so well.
I mean I should right?
I've seen it so many times.

This is the one where the police had to be involved..
You were drinking again.
The camera man panned over to me.
I saw myself sitting there, so young and afraid.

I remember at the time wishing those nights were just bad dreams.
Instead you made them memories.
Not much of a difference really.
I can wake up from 'em anytime I want.

I can't help but shake my head & say, "Poor kid" when I do think about it.
Or, really, is it poor *you? 

I remember the self loathing in your eyes.
And now your pain comes through in high def.
All these years later.
You still carry that hurt with you.
I also shake my head at that.
I pray for you.
That you'll find a way to let it all go.
I say the same prayer for myself.
I just want to be at peace.

A Little Help From My Friends

You know when this week began, I had my eyes one thing, the weekend. As I usually do, I look forward to Sunday the most. That's usually the one day my family and I get to take on the day at our own pace. We can wake up late, go out for breakfast, maybe buy some groceries for the coming week and just simultaneously catch up from the last week and prepare for the next. 

    I had a job interview coming up on Thursday and I had mixed feelings about it. I had been down this road before but I was determined to think positive about it. That was a lot easier when I thought about all the great ideas I had for helping not only the library, but the community I was hoping to work for. As soon as the interviewer said he was looking for someone with "ideas and initiative", I saw the green light bulb go off and I'm sure he saw the smile it put on my face. I told him first about my ideas to bring new "peformers" to the LAPL. Passing Lalo Alcaraz the phone number to Library Services turned into something really cool. 

     AztlanReads was another idea I told him about. @aztlanreads is an idea I can't take credit for but am glad to be a part of. @xicano007 had the thought to create an online database/community of Chican@ Fiction and Non-Fiction. A place where people and meet and discuss books they've read and at the same time learn about new titles. @ginaruiz really helped starting up the wordpress account. 

     On Friday, @atwaternc thanked me for my "excellent community love and dedictaion." That really stuck with me. The interviewer told me that my involvement with the community really put me at the top of his list. *fingers crossed*

     Saturday. Saturday came around and the kids had a couple places to be. Karate was first and I was still so excited about @aztlanreads getting off the ground. The follower number was rising and ideas were flowing. @Sarachicad said she was interested in interviewing @xicano007 about Aztlanreads for @TheNewsTaco. That was cool. the kids also had a field trip with their music camp they asked me to chaperone. We were going to the Grammy Museum to check out a "Sound Check" with Amos Lee. I hadn't heard much of his music but I really liked every song he sang. My kids did too so I bought the CD when we left. I appreciated him taking time out of his day to help kids. He made it a point to let them know he was available for as long as was necessary which I thought was cool too. 
      I was lucky to get introduced to @mrmikedelarocha. I told him, "I think I've seen your name on Twitter" (which was true)and it wasn't until I read up on him on his site, http://www.mikedelarocha.com/wordpress/ did I realize how stupid I must've sounded. He said he would like to help spread the word about @aztlanreads and would also be interested in working with the Library. Man, that was just so awesome. if you're reading this, Thank you, Mike. 
      Sunday finally arrived. I went out for my run like I usually do on Sundays and came back ready to paint. The family and I went out to breakfast first, headed over to Lowes, Anna and I agreed on a color and then came home and got to work. That'll be a post all it's own. 
    
   Special "thank yous" to @xicano007, @ginaruiz, @atwaternc, @laloalcaraz, @sarachicad,and @mrmikedelapena. You've all taught me not to look past *any days as each one gives us a chance to help others. Thank you. 

      

Just The Two Of Us

I enjoyed last weekend's run so much I just HAD to do it again but this time I increased the mileage a bit and asked my son to join me.
I mapped out the route and made sure his bike had air in the tires and we headed out at 6am. Me on my two feet and he on his two wheels. He of course had the job of carrying a small back pack with Gatorades, Band-aids, and my cell phone.
The total (according to Nike+) distance of our journey was 7 miles. 3.5 miles away from home when we made a u-turn and came back.
He did surprisingly well especially considering how much time he usually spends riding the couch playing video games. He and I also did great working together. He didn't ride too far ahead of or behind me. The first half was all uphill and at times you could almost read the "tired" written all over his face but he didn't complain even after every "Just after that hill, Tony".
We took small breaks to enjoy the fresh air, sights and NO sounds. I told him about the times my dad would take me on 13 mile bike rides to the beach. I had fun then and was hoping he was having fun now. Occasionally, cars would pass by but not too often and that's because if you're on that road, you're either heading into or out of the Angeles National Forest.
The main reason for including him on this outing is I worry a lot about the relationship I have with him. We seem to bump heads way too often. I take responsibility for that. I think that has a lot to do with the low amount of patience I inherited from my mom. I need to change that.
I made it a point to spend some good quality time with my son and I'm so glad he agreed. We had a great time with each other and can't wait to do it again. Just the two of us.

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Moment Of Clarity

I went out for a run during the week and although I felt comfortable after the first mile I did allow myself to walk too much after that. At the end of the run I began to suspect my Nike+ was cheating me of hard earned mileage. Now let me cut myself off there. I realize the most important reason for exercising is NOT virtual trophies & ribbons but a healthier life (blah blah) but at the same time I'd like to get what I earned.
I decided to bring along my (GPS enabled) Garmin Forerunner 305 just to double check Nike's calculations.
Nike and Garmin were neck and neck for the first 1.5 miles. The 305 is worn like a wristwatch so it's easy to check mileage/pace/total time. By the time I compared them again at the 3 mile mark, I noticed Nike's mileage had begun to slip.
It was just as I thought. Even though over time the lost mileage and pace will add up (Arrggghh!!!) (JK) I can't say I'm too bummed out about it. (really)
I instantly snapped back to the real reason why I was out there. I began to concentrate on my surroundings AND the fact that even though I didn't feel fast, I felt great. I went out nearly 2.25 miles away from home and in that distance passed over a bridge at the aqueduct, threw a peace sign to the older guy already fishing there, and did the sign of the cross for the dead jackrabbit laying in the middle of the road. I turned back at that point and began planning to make that my sunday run.
I included a picture of the 0.5% mileage difference between the two devices and a picture of some of the road I covered. I can't wait to get back out there. I enjoyed being out there. I was happy to have this so close to home and the moment (hour) of clarity this all provided. It's so hard to get that running on busy city streets.

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