Spotted: Rocky the Raccoon

If you will recall, it was about a year ago that I found raccoons in my attic. I was mortified because those little things are known to cause all kinds of electrical and structural damage. Anyhoo... my dad and M worked very hard to close up all the vents so that the raccoons would not use my attic as their honeymoon suite.

However, I recently spotted Rocky (as M has named him) trying to get into one of the eave vents. Obviously, it didn’t work and only his body was able to cram into that tight space. He is clearly embarrassed and allowed me to snap this quick picture before he fell right out of there.

Kennedy and Me

I must admit I was really ready for this birthday to be over with. You see, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. More than ten years later, I was born on that same date. Over the years it has been a bummer to wake up on my birthday with newspaper headlines that read, “Today America Mourns.”

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Kennedy’s death and lots of people (by that I mean the media) in DFW can’t stop talking about it. Our local news discussed all the tourist traffic in Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum which were suddenly hot spots. Also, one news station interviewed the police officer who was handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald at the time of his shooting. Suddenly, it seemed as if JFK’s ghost was all over town.

The whole idea of someone being killed that way is creepy and to have video of it played over and over on your birthday is no fun. I do understand how Dallas and its people were changed after November 22, 1963. It happened here so here is where they will talk about it a lot. But JFK’s ghost was creeping me the hell out.

It was a good thing that I made plans to stay out of Dallas during the weekend of my birthday. And just so you know, people in other cities don't make a fuss over the 45th anniversary of JFK’s death. Maybe they just have a different way of reflecting on it or perhaps they aren't particularly interested. Either way, it was a nice to celebrate without a Jack Ruby-tini on the cocktail menu.

1, 2, 3 ..... FRIDA!

In our own lives, there are things that stay deep within us. Problems, sorrows and painful events that we are afraid to talk about because they are too agonizing. We don’t even think about them because they hurt too much. But Frida Kahlo took the painful things in her life and painted them; exposing her most vulnerable and most tender spots. She allows all of us to go deep within her soul to feel those sorrows and understand what her life was like. It has been a dream of mine to attend a Frida Kahlo exhibit because I have always been fascinated by the brutal and beautiful honesty of her paintings.

Frida Kahlo’s exhibit in San Francisco was so popular that you had to buy a ticket for a specific time. In order to control the heavy foot traffic going in and out of the museum, you could only enter the exhibit at the time stamped on your ticket. We had a 1:00 p.m. start time and at 12:45 a short line was already forming inside the museum. My heart was pounding and I could hardly wait to get in. Around the corner I could see two of her paintings and that made me even more anxious.

The guy taking the tickets saw me and looked at the time on my ticket. He said, “It’s only 12:50, you know.” I smiled and explained that I was excited and just couldn’t wait. He took my ticket, and as he ripped the side off he said, “Three, two, one, FRIDA!” He opened the gate and I flew through.

As you slowly drift from painting to painting, you feel as if you are reading someone’s journal. You are going through the life of an outspoken woman who endured unthinkable pain, suffered tremendous losses, had outstanding gains, beat many odds and was usually circled in controversy. You see the deepest, darkest places of her life and no matter how tragic or beautiful, you can’t look away.

I walked up to “Henry Ford Hospital” in which Frida painted the excruciating pain of one of her many miscarriages. Previously, I could only glance at prints of the painting because it was so filled with heartache I could hardly stand it. But as I stood in front of the real thing, I gazed at it for what seemed like days. I ached for Frida and for the people I know who have gone through that. I had a glimpse of what it means to endure that kind of sorrow and I wept. I found many others in the room were weeping, too.

I saw my favorite painting “The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego and Señor Xólotl” and was amazed by the emotion seeping out of it. Frida’s devotion and undying love for Diego Rivera is obvious in this painting as in many other paintings. But in this one, I also see balance and a mutual need for each other. I see a natural and spiritual connection between them. To me, this painting is a touching love story.

Many times I am asked why I like Frida’s paintings. Some people have told me that her work is “too bloody” and “makes no sense.” I admit that Frida’s paintings are intense but that is what sets them apart. Her work doesn’t just speak; it screams. It weeps. Her paintings are alive and they give you a humbling, honest look into a woman’s life whose deep-rooted issues were not always pretty. Sometimes life is brutal and difficult to look at. Sometimes it is as vibrant and fresh as her painting, “Viva La Vida - The Watermelons.” Either way, her paintings are the real Frida and an invitation to see life through different eyes.

San. Fran. Thank you, ma'am.

In early September, my friend D and I had a very quick trip to San Francisco. We landed on a Friday and were gone by Sunday. Our main reason for going was to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I will need a whole different post to cover Frida so for now, let’s talk about San Pancho.

Our stay was less than 48 hours long but we crammed a lot in there. The museum, Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, sourdough bread and more Painted Ladies than I could count. (Ahem, these Painted Ladies - get your mind out of the gutter.)

The thing I like about San Francisco is the public transportation. I’m a big fan of trains, buses, mass transit, etc… and San Fran has done it right. It was super easy to get around and super cheap. Oh, and it is super crowded so I hope you don’t mind odd smells or the occasional inappropriate graze.

The thing that surprised me about San Francisco was the weird hours they keep. It was around 8:00 p.m. California time on a Friday night and we wanted to grab a quick bite near our hotel in the shopping district. We were exhausted and didn’t feel like making a big deal out of dinner. After walking around several blocks, we found that all the restaurants had closed around 7. We actually had to eat at an ice skating rink concession stand that night. Gross!

The thing I really dislike about San Francisco was their weather. They have a horrible climate there – on one block you are sweating bullets and on another block you are covered up with scarves and gloves. You have to be prepared for all kinds of weather in just one day and when you are traveling, that is a lot to carry around. In fact, carrying the cold weather clothes was so cumbersome that I actually lost my scarf. As I type this, someone in the Haight/Ashbury district is cozying up with my $3 Old Navy scarf.

The thing I love about San Francisco is their diversity. There are so many different cultures there and each seems to have their own neighborhood. Their diversity brings such interesting people, foods, traditions and lifestyles into one city. Way cool! They are so different but live so harmoniously. Well, except maybe this guy.

On Sunday, we got to the airport and discovered that our plane was delayed. That caused us to miss our connecting flight in L.A. After several heated conversations and much stress, they were able to get us to L.A. and then we had to fly to Albuquerque. From there we flew to Denver. From there we finally flew into Dallas. We were supposed to have landed in DFW at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday but instead we landed on Monday at 1:00 a.m. After four flights in 12 hours across 4 states, it was only fitting that they lost our luggage and it wasn’t returned to us until Tuesday. Fun!

Frida and me hanging out by Alcatraz.












The last pic of my scarf.

Lombard Street

My Beef With Latina Magazine

I got my first subscription to Latina magazine as a gift. I liked the mag and when that gift subscription ran out, I paid to renew it. About 2 months into my paid subscription, Latina magazine fired their editor and hired a new one. I certainly don't know anything about the world of magazines or journalism, but I've seen enough episodes of Ugly Betty to know that a new editor likes to make a splash.

The new editor's splash was to put Jessica Alba on the cover. Throughout the interview, the editor danced around those anti-Latino comments Jessica made and tried to spin it as if it were some misunderstanding. The whole interview felt like the editor was bullying the reader into thinking she was at fault for wrongly judging Jessica. I was ready to cancel my subscription but decided to give the magazine a fair chance.

Things were going ok until the September 2008 issue with Eva Longoria on the cover. In the interview -which felt more like an Eva infomercial- Eva described herself by saying, "I'm a 1950s housewife." I call bullshit. Eva is not a housewife - she is employed full time with no children. Eva is a DINK: double income, no kids. (And that income happens to be in the millions.) The whole interview was a sales pitch. They were spinning it to paint her as Angelina-in-the-orphanage and Eva is much more like Gold-digger-at-the-country club.

I was glad when one of my favorite blogs, Guanabee, called Eva out on that stupid comment and the many asinine things she said in that interview. As Guanabee said, many women in the 1950s were not even given the opportunity to have a career. Women of color in the 1950s had even fewer opportunities. Also, for someone in Eva's position to make comments like that is an insult to the women I know who really are housewives and mothers - which is the hardest job on the planet and they do it without millions and without outside help.

But Latina Magazine struck back in the November 2008 issue in the "Letters to the Editor" section. The mag brought up Guanabee's insightful comments but they also threw in that "Latina readers had nothing but love" for Eva and quoted a reader who wrote in about "lovely" Eva's "humility." I guess it was her humility that made her showed off her ring for a Microsoft commercial. (:30 into the clip)

I don't like being bullied into liking Jessica Alba. I don't like an interview that turns out to be a commercial for a fake product. Those are good tricks but they should save it for somebody else that is stupid enough to fall for it. And clearly, that's not me.

My Nieces

When my brother told me he was going to fight for full custody of his two daughters, I thought he was in for the fight of his life. In Texas, as in most states, it's extremely difficult for fathers to gain full custody. Plus, proving a mother is unfit is no small thing.

But after several years, several court hearings and several thousands of dollars he WON! (And it is totally true that his lawyer's name is Sharpie.) My brother now has full custody of my two nieces and my former sister-in-law doesn't even have visitation rights anymore. Which is a GREAT thing because my nieces would have been safer with Amy Winehouse than with their own mother.

Anyway... that awesome news called for a family party complete with Celebration Chicken. (Our family tradition of celebrating with a little pollo from the Azteca Meat Market.) It's so great to think that my nieces now have a real chance at a more stable, normal life and they can complete a full year of school without having to move at all.

I feel really blessed to be able to call them anytime I want, visit them, celebrate holidays with them, buy them clothes, spoil them, and all the other things aunts do. I could never even have a relationship with them before and now I get to have ALL of that and I just can't wait. My first mission for them: Halloween costumes! And to convince one of them to be Wonder Woman.

Peace, Man!

Well, the Nerd War of 2008 has ended peacefully. It required a bit of a compromise. A Geneva Geek Conference, if you will. The professor came at us with everything in his arsenal but the Dean served as Switzerland and helped us reach an agreement.

It is a long story and typing it here would give me carpal tunnel syndrome. And why would you want me to get that? I just got back from the war! But basically...the professors had to agree to change some things on the exam and grade on a curve. We had to accept that some questions on the exam were simply not going to be changed. We were also given an extension on our final assignment to make it stellar for as many points as possible.

To be perfectly honest, I already had an A in the class. But there were some people who were between an A and a B and us nerds were not going to settle for a B! This was a battle of principle, not necessarily grades. Fortunately, it ended well and there is peace once again in Geektopia.

On a side note: I made a trip to San Francisco with my girl friend D. We saw Frida Kahlo's exhibit and I took 4 plane rides in one day to get home. I'll tell you more in my next post. Until then, keep the peace!