Some old cologne

Once again, I post. After a couple of nothing days, in which I did little more than sleep, eat, watch TV and read, I got out of bed and did some exercise, and more!

My day started shortly before noon. My mother prepared her world-famous plantains and liver.The liver was a bit on the salty side, but it was good. Afterward, I watched a couple of good movies. The first one was It Could Happen to You, one that I’ve only seen twice (counting this time) and one that didn’t take long to grow on me. The other one was Lethal Weapon 4. I have to admit, it’s the only one in the Lethal Weapon series that I’ve seen in its entirety, and I’ve seen it quite a few times. I hope they don’t make another sequel, though (not that there’s any possibility). I like how this one ended, all happy and stuff, and I like the credits sequence with all those production photos from all four films.

Anyway, I got out of bed while I was watching the latter film. After all, everyone else –including the baby– was out, and there would be no distractions (my nephew requires attention). It was my second attempt at working out in weeks, but it was a successful one, finally! After my workout ended, I felt doing something else. If I stopped and went back to bed, there would be little chance of getting anything done. So, I looked at the fancy mahogany plastic storage drawers. The top two, particularly, which are mine (the other three are my brothers’).

I looked at the sides of the drawers and saw that they were quite dusty. I’m allergic to dust, and the drawers are right next to my bed. I decided to clean them up. I took out the top drawer and put it on my bed. After doing a bit of cleaning on the drawer cabinet, I looked at the drawer, thinking that I should see what I can or cannot throw away.

In this one, I have stored many things over the years. On the back of the drawer are two stacks of CDs. These contain games, old schoolwork and past college work (I generally have all of one college term’s work in one CD). The day was getting old, so I didn’t bother to check what was in each CD. Just cleaned the dust from their generic 700MB-80min covers.  I put the stacks aside and looked at what else was in there.

I found some old IDs from a couple of social clubs, some old cologne samples and a near-empty bottle of after-shave that a cousin of mine had left behind, and that was later said to be a present (near-empty, really?). I hadn’t bothered using any of those. The smell makes me sneeze, but their time to shine might still come. I put all that aside and continued to look at the drawer.

Two cups sat near the stacks of CDs. The bigger of the two, colored in dark green, was given to me by a high school teacher. He gave one to each person in the class, each of them with a name label. I’m not sure what everyone else in class did with the cup. On the same day the dark green ones were given, one of the students broke his. I guess most of them are broken by now. The other cup was much smaller and colorful. It was given to me by my mother, but I can’t remember when. The two cups were nicely laid on the bed, away from the edges. I continued to look.

There were several envelopes. Some empty, some with something in it. One of them had money, a twenty dollar bill. The others were either birthday cards or invitations to various events, including the invitation to my sister’s wedding, but the envelope remains sealed (I had to go, anyway). One of the envelopes had a reflection written by a friend of mine at the end of high school. He handed out the envelopes to all of classroom 4C. I put all the envelopes together near the cologne samples and looked at what else was there.

Several papers scattered all inside the drawer. Some nicely folded, some crumpled, some being eaten away by humidity. There were some blank pieces of paper which, in the past, I might have considered putting to some use instead of letting them go to waste. I threw these, seeing as I quickly forgot about them as I stored them. There were some drawings done by some friends of mine from high school. I thought they were nicely drawn, so I kept them all this time. I also found a few other papers from high school that I must have deemed valuable: a list of students from my class (4C), with phone numbers and addresses, and another list, with just the phones. There was a schedule list for the opening ceremony rehearsals for the 2003 Pan American games. We were the red part of the human flag, in case anyone saw it. I still keep the outfit.

There were also to two small folded stacks of paper. One of them, clearly the oldest, was printed in 2000 or 2001. It was full of cheats for some computer games we all played. The other stack of paper had some exercises and workouts I had printed back in high school. I threw away the first stack, seeing as I no longer played those games. The other stack could come useful, if I ever get more chances to work out.

Many other things were stored in the drawer. Some rubber bands, a few spare buttons, a baby-themed money box (which I use to put the money bills) given to me by a family friend and former neighbor, a key, a facial cleaning kit that never worked, a watch, a small wooden cross given to me in high school (I refuse to throw it out, despite its religious meaning), some pins and a lot of dust, among other things. As soon as everything was out and I had thrown away whatever needed to be thrown away, I cleaned up empty drawer and put everything back. I moved on to the next one.

The next drawer … has my underwear and socks. I won’t go into detail here, because I might lose all my readers! I just threw out everything that needed to be thrown out and did some cleaning. I did some serious cleanup of the top part of the cabinet (I’m not cleaning up after my older brother), taking out as much dust as possible. As I cleaned, I heard someone in the house behind us performing a live rendition of Rafael Solano’s famous song, Por Amor, originally performed by Niní Cáffaro. I was the same song used for our choreography for the Pan American games, with Cáffaro, Víctor Víctor and Maridalia Hernández performing it live as we ran and danced, here and there. It’s funny that I reminisced a bit about my experience that summer, only to hear this song played shortly afterward (which caused me to reminisce some more).

Anyway, as soon as I was done with the cleaning, I put everything back. At first glance, it doesn’t really look any different, but it will help a bit with my sneezing (I hope).

Seeing as college (ugh!) starts tomorrow (ugh!), I have just one more day of freedom. Will I spend it cleaning up some more or getting some last-minute rest? I just don’t know. My side of the bookshelf looks very dusty, but there’s little I can throw away until I graduate. Too much reference material and old work mixed in with everything else. We’ll have to see …

Two nights

First post of the year, yay!

The last two nights did not completely suck, so I guess I’ll just write about them. Fully illustrated, as usual (meaning there are photos to click on).

New Year’s Eve

Ah, the old year ends, the new year starts. Happy family time, usually. As with every past year for the last three or four, I was home with my family. I’d use bigger numbers, but there have been a few interruptions in that tradition. This one time, my brother and I stayed at home, each one in front of a TV set, while the rest of the family celebrated at some social club. Not as enjoyable as it usually is, but I didn’t want to start a new year at that place again because past experiences were dull (and I didn’t want to miss the countdown … we don’t seem to have good countdowns here!).

Anyway, as I said, I was with the family. Well, most of the family. For the first time ever, my sister wasn’t with us. She was at her in-laws’ place, with her husband. There were no guests this time, so it was just four of us, each one waiting for the new year in a different way. After a great dinner (lasagna, salad and some fancy icewine), my brother slept, my father watched TV, my mother was probably getting the drinks and the glasses ready, lighting all the candles and making some calls, while I watched the New Year show thing, hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. I would’ve watched the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show but, somewhat disappointed, found out that Dick Clark wasn’t going to be the host (although it seems he was there for the countdown, I must’ve have missed it). So, instead of going back and forth between the two shows as in past years, I stuck with just one.

As I watched the interviews, musical performances and footage of other countries’ new year celebrations, I also listened to Practical Lunacy and its special New Year’s Eve show. As both this show and the one on TV are New York-based, I’d receive the new year one hour ahead of them, so I would be watching the ball drop at 1:00.

Ten minutes before midnight, I got away from the TV and radio shows and went to the living room. As I mentioned before, we don’t have good countdowns here (the clocks on the local channels that have one seem to be minutes apart from each other!). So, we just relied on the neighbors. Not our next-door neighbors, but the whole building. As soon as we heard them cheering and yelling Happy New Year!, we hugged, made our usual toast with our glasses filled to the top with cider. A few minutes before midnight, my mother burned incense and coal in an old can. After midnight, she went around (and even outside), carrying said can, spreading the smell of incense all around the place. While she did that, I grabbed the camera and took the photos you see here. I also got a call from my sister, who wanted to congratulate us.  That makes up for her absence, I guess.

When the whole thing had passed, I went back to my room to resume the watching/listening of the shows. When the ball finally dropped, it seemed to me that there wasn’t as much confetti in the air on Times Square. There were the usual kisses and hugs, the four-mile marathon and, of course, the fireworks. A few minutes later, I heard the countdown on the radio show (which ended shortly afterwards). My neck had been killing me for the last few days, so I gave up on all that I was doing and went to bed.

Bingo night

The first day of 2009, less than six days before my vacation ends. I woke up with much of the neck pain gone, had some the previous night’s lasagna for lunch and watched TV during the whole afternoon. I was glad to see that Scrooged, one of my favorite holiday films, was on. I hadn’t watched it in a long time, and I must’ve missed any airings of it in December, so watched until the end.

Before the movie ended, some people came to visit: my aunt and my uncle. They were going to spend the rest of the evening here. I wasn’t feeling very sociable, so I waited for my movie to end before greeting them. Since everyone else was in the living room with them, I was left with little choice but to join them. Turns out that they were here for bingo night. We had been planning a bingo night for a while but this, of all nights, was finally it.

Shortly after I joined the visitors, my brother’s girlfriend came along. Counting the baby, there were nine of us in the living room. Droopy,the dog, was walking around, being Droopy. He’s the only one of the four who somewhat tolerates visitors, so we let him stay outside while the other dogs are kept away.

The game started, with each game getting a RD$5 bet from each player, three cards per player. As you can probably tell from the photos, we used beans for marking the numbers. We played five or six hands, one of which I called (the numbers, that is, and while still playing) and two of which I won. It was a fun time, because we were all making jokes about which numbers we were waiting for, what numbers represented (at some point, I said a number, followed by uh … someone’s age, which got a reaction from that someone), and our lousy choice of cards for each hand that we lost. The last hand was a double-bet hand, as the first two guests were about to leave (and, as they jokingly said, they needed some cab money).

In the end, I had more than what I started with and had an unexpectedly fun time. I hope my two wins are a sign of my luck changing, rather than just a good choice of bingo cards. As the end of my college time approaches, I really need things to change for the better. Luck is a good first step for that change. I’m counting on everything else to follow.

So ends this long first post of the year. Congratulations if you read it all. Now, go away.

Year’s end

Once again, we find ourselves at the finish line. As the last few steps of 2008 are taken, we look forward to a year of hope: 2009.

Okay, let’s cut to the chase: 2008 sucked. No, really. It did. I wish I could make the clock hands turn faster so it’ll be next year already. I have no idea what it will bring, but I sure know all that it will take away, once I throw away the old, dusty, scratched calendars and hang the shiny new ones that have a year ending with the number 9.

At this moment, I’m feeling pretty much the same as exactly one year ago. Where have I gone? Nowhere. What have I done? Nothing. What am I to do? I just don’t know. I somehow wish that a version of me from the future would travel back and tell how things will go for me, or even just to warn me about what I should/shouldn’t do in the coming year(s). Of course, I would probably be too freaked out at the thought of meeting myself to even listen to the warnings.

Science fiction aside, has the world gone forward? Is it any closer to the world I’d like to live in? While there are a few indicators that some progress is being made, the backward steps are more noticeable.

What is it, really? What is it that makes it so unbelievably complicated to achieve that peaceful life we can only dream of living? Is it money? Is it religion? Is it skin color? Country of origin? Who you’re married to? Who you want to marry? What?

When did we notice that we’ve turned the world into a big mass of confusion in which the rich strive to get richer, the poor can only become poorer and, as soon as the former feel that they might catch a glimpse of the latter, they quickly turn their heads around to pretend that they’re not there? If you’ve done your homework, you know where your money comes from. You’re at the top of a pyramid, held aloft by an infinite number of worn-out hands. Take notice that those hands don’t just spring out from the ground. They belong to people. They have no choice but to hold that pyramid, unless they want to be crushed by it.

In this world, where a government can keep two people who love each other deeply and want to spend their lives together from enjoying the legal benefit(s) of marriage, just because a majority of religiously-influenced people voted against something they don’t quite understand and have been taught to be against by whatever book that rules their lives, countless love stories have been written. Stories about love, despite the multiple boundaries that make that love seem impossible, to the point where lovers consider ending their lives in hope of being together in a possible afterlife. In this world, this day and age, why is it that people speak so much of love and, with their actions, insist on pouring another layer of concrete to further reinforce those boundaries for others?

In a world where “bomb thy neighbor” seems to be the sole commandment of some, what have we to gain with all these actions that do nothing but take us farther away from peace? What’s the point of learning history if we have yet to stop learning how to screw ourselves in way that are only familiar to us because they’ve been written about before?

Really, world. The first decade of the 21st century is ending, and I fear that you might come to an end before we reach the 22nd. I’m worried because I live on you, as does my family, as do my friends. It’s no wonder people are fascinated by fantasy worlds as depicted in literature and other media. They’re much less screwed up.

In 2009, I would like you to get your stuff together. To wrap the bad things and throw them in a giant wastebasket, and to provide sun and water for the few good things we’ve got left, in the hopes that they’ll grow and spread faster than a celebrity rumor.

Anyway, I better stop writing now before it gets too depressing. I just want to wish you, reader(s), a Happy New Year. The dogs want to wish you the same, too!

Run along, now. You’ve got a year’s end to celebrate.

A long-unexpected reunion

This past Friday was the annual family reunion for my father’s side of the family. I would’ve appreciated if my mother had let me know about it earlier in the day, or the day before, rather than three or so hours before said reunion would commence.

One of my aunts is a nun, and she has worked (and lived) at various schools, mainly those for underprivileged children. Anyway, it turns out that the reunion was to take place at the school she works at (and lives in) currently, as opposed to another aunt’s apartment where the previous two had taken place. It’s a Catholic school, naturally. I didn’t see it as that big a deal, as I was just going to be another attendee in a group of thirty-some-odd relatives.

The school seemed to be in another world. It was in a part of the city I had rarely (or never?) been to. The streets were initially very crowded, with people getting their end-of-year shopping done, or just looking for a place to hang out on a Friday night. After much turning around in the dark streets, we finally made it to the school. A dark, ominous place with no noticeable signs of life. We stopped at the front entrance, only to be redirected to a side-entrance where we would be able to park inside.

Once inside, I noticed that the place wasn’t as devoid of life as I thought. Several windows were fully lit, while the rest of the school remained dark. It’d be a great setting for a horror film, especially if a power outage followed. Fortunately, none of that happened, and the reunion took place on the ground floor, under some very dim fluorescent lights.

Now, most of the relatives I see at those yearly reunions, I only get to see then and there, meaning that each time I see them, a whole year has gone by. As usual, I was in charge of the camera, and had to go here and there taking the occasional photo. Heck, I even recorded some videos. There was a nice chapel there, with a few ornaments in it, where I was forced to take took a few pictures of relatives next to baby Jesus.

Judging by the talk and the whole prayer thing that has gone on in these reunions year after year, it seems that I’m the odd one out. The only non-religious person of the bunch (at least on my father’s side, but I’m sure the other side is very similar). It wouldn’t be a terrible loss to them but, if this were a war, I’d be on my own side against the rest of them, including my dear nun-aunt. Yikes!

The food was good. The music was so-so, and there was little dancing going on, so the whole thing ended quickly. Shortly after we had eaten, people started to leave. I wanted to go home because I hadn’t slept well the night before. I jumped at the first chance to do so, and seven of us all took off in my brother-in-law’s car. Once again, we took to the dark streets. This time, though, they were empty. Almost as if a plague had swept away all life in this dark neighborhood. The only lighting was provided by the small stores that were still open. The occasional shadow of a person would pass us by and, every so often, the headlight from the car would reveal an actual human being.

At one point, as we approached home,  I saw a shadow in the middle of the street. The headlamp was off, so I quickly told the brother-in-law to turn it on. Apparently, this man was feeling very confident, walking in the middle of the dark street late at night (accident wanting to happen). He quickly got on the sidewalk, where he should’ve been from the beginning,  as we drove by.

As soon as we got home, I jumped into bed. Not to sleep, but because I just missed it. I had been away for just a few hours, but the change of setting between home and that school –along with the neighborhood it was in– made it seem as if several days had gone by. I thought I had just avoided some great danger and I was finally home, safe and sound, in the comfort of my own bed.

So, the point I’d like to get to with this whole post is … could we please have the yearly reunion at some other place?

Please?

Pretty please?

All about Christmas Eve

That’s done and … that’s done. We had dinner a few hours ago, had a couple of guests over. I needed something to do, so I grabbed the camera and began taking pictures of everything. While I got many photos of my family and the guests (who are also family), I won’t put them here. Instead, I’ll just show everything else.

Like I had mentioned and, as you can see in that second photo, there were lots of presents. It’s a tradition here to open the presents right after dinner.

Dinner was good, and there was plenty of it (not picture above are the two hams and dessert). I stuffed my face ate a plate and a half of it, unlike the rest of the people who didn’t seem excited about the eating part of it. By the way, remind me later to yell at my sister for making me read a Christmas prayer out loud. An actual religious person would’ve been better suited!

After dinner, there was the usual delivery of dinner plates to various neighbors. One of them lives in a fourth floor … a bit of post-dinner cardio for me (on the other hand, she likes to return the favor, and her cooking is a hidden gem of this world). Both for the sake of generosity and because there were enough leftovers to feed a small country.

We also got calls from our relatives in New Jersey. I got to speak to some uncles of mine whom I hadn’t talked with in years. That was nice. Afterwards, we all sat down for the opening of the presents. It’s become a tradition here to respond to every present announcement (to x person, from x person, etc.) with a collective Aww! I got nine boxes/bags of presents from various people. As it was expected, my nephew got the most presents. Plenty of baby clothing and noisy toys that are bound to keep us annoyed (should’ve wished for earplugs!).

Now, my eyes have a life of their own and are threatening to shut down for an extended period of time. Yet another reason why it is a good thing that we open the presents after dinner.

I leave you, reader(s), with yet another happy holiday wish, and a photo of that delicious cake we had for dessert. Well, half of it.