Having been a negligent blogger for three months puts me in trouble. How am I supposed to tell a quarter of a year of my life in detail when whole books could be (and have been) made about only a few days of events?
My somewhat satisfactory answer: visual expression. Images. JPEGs.
Picture 1: Green car at CALUSAC
I post this picture for several reasons:
1) I LOVE the car's color
2) It was taken in CALUSAC's parking lot, where I took mandarin and japanese language classes for approx. 2 months.
3) It was taken exactly one day after Andrea and I exchanged our first like & love phrases on the phone, my first real affectionate relationship.June 12th, 2007
Picture 2: Panama Bracelet
This was Andrea's gift to me, which I still wear with pride. I was amazed when she told me I could shower with it. I have never taken it off since.
This was also the day of a strong tremor, and when Andrea's parents began to strongly suspect an affectionate relationship between Andrea and me.June 13th, 2007
Picture 3: Hand cast & nail removal
I've already posted this one, but I like it so much that I posted it again. I had broken my hand about a month before doing a forward flip at my gymnastics class. This picture shows my uncovered left wrist and one of the two surgical nails driven into my skin, sinew, and bones. It was taken just before the doctor yanked both nails out of me with his bare hands. Pretty, isn't it?
June 21st, 2007
Picture 4: Andrea & I
One of the only three pictures we have together. Andrea invited me to a series of christian concerts at her church, where we talked for hours on end and shared our deepest thoughts and feelings. One of the happiest days I remember.
June 27th, 2007
Picture 5: Pacaya horse ride
My cousin Lorena and her recently-acquired Illinois husband Mike visited Guatemala on the last week of June and decided to take a Saturday trip to the continuously erupting Pacaya volcano. As a volcano regular, Elisa was put in charge of organizing and guiding the whole night trip to see the red-hot rivers of lava above. People present: my mom, my uncle, my aunt, my little cousin Anita, my married cousin Lorena, her husband Mike, Elisa and I.
Picture shows Anita riding one of the four rented horses before setting off.
June 30th, 2007
Picture 6: Fidel & Lola
I was not even AROUND when this picture was taken, but it's the closest I can manage to fill the gap. This picture represents the preamble to my LA impromptu trip (I decided to take the trip in less than three days).
It is a picture of both of Tatiana's and Sofia's male bulldogs (I got to meet them afterwards, they're nice). Tatiana made my LA impromptu trip possible by lending me her unused Hollywood apartment for almost a week. Dear Tatiana, thank you so very much.somewhen before June 29th, 2007 @ 10:41PM
Picture 7: Fateful Hollywood Studio
A casually-met MSN friend, a little online interaction, and several beautiful timely fortunes of Fate allowed me and my mom to take an impromptu trip to LA and Seattle. I stayed at this borrowed apartment for 5 whole nights, where I shared some of the most fantastic experiences of my life. Twice.
Everything is possible.
July 14th, 2007
Picture 8: Inside RHF with SLT @LA
SLT and I's frequent trips inside RHF ended with her taking this dark, large-teethed picture of me wearing her sunglasses just minutes before I walked away from her, at a BK parking lot. As you can see, happiness flowed affluently within me at the time. Many goodbye kisses and caresses followed this picture.
July 14th, 2007
Picture 9: Naturally Seattle
The main official reason my mom and I took our USA impromptu trip was to visit this picture's leftmost participant - Genevieve, my mom's half-sister's ex-husband's mother - in Seattle, WA. I had not seen her since I was one (year old). Having just become 91, Genevieve is a funny, loving frenchwoman living peacefully in the most peaceful, green, nature-loving, water-related, heart-warming, and beautiful city I have EVER known.
I want to live there.
July 19th, 2007
Picture 10: Mummy man
Back in Guatemala, almost one month after returning from my LA impromptu trip, I substituted my cousin Joel as an english teacher at CCI (Colegio Cientifico Integrado), a school conveniently placed on the same side of the city as my house.
I got paid Q700 for supervising students during the whole exam week, during whose Friday the school's teachers took a fun training course. Its outdoor activity was to make teams, wrap one of the team members with toilet paper as shown (not me), place three wooden sticks under him, and race through the basketball court carrying the mummy on the sticks. Fun activity - thanks to the Santillana guys who gave us the course.
August 10th, 2007
Picture 11: Antigua breakfast
Just hours after my mummy activity, my mom told me to deliver my sister's civil wedding dress to Antigua. Unexpected but very enticing, I packed up my dress clothes for the next day's wedding and happily drove off. I got lost looking for her hotel (Posada de Don Luis), but I finally found it, redressed in the hotel room, told the hotel manager I was leaving, and walked to Casbah disco-bar. I payed Q30, drank a Cuba Libre, and danced alone to happy trance for about 90 minutes. Next morning I had pancakes and coffee for breakfast at the hotel with my sister and her then-fianceé.August 11th, 2007
Picture 12: Antigua weddingA late-waking bride, a slow hairdresser, and a tardy family built up to a late and quite disorganized wedding celebration. Even the priest was half an hour late. Is this normal?
After the late groom entered the church, wedding music made the bride walk down the cathedral aisle with mom & dad. Halfway they noticed the priest was missing, so they stopped walking and just stood there for at least 10 minutes, smiling awkwardly and trying to avoid attention. They weren't very successful.During those 10 minutes, August 11th, 2007
Picture 13: Pretty fountain plaza
"Capuchinas" is the common name for the ruins where the wedding party took place. Colonial style architecture surrounded the guests, which included pe_morales & mom, Alicia's friends, Don Robert de la Rose, our life-neighbor Doña Rosita's family, distant family, close family, the unknown groom-side guests, and me. Don Roberto de la Rosa showed me a very interesting underground toroid-shaped room, and I played tag, hide and seek, chibiricuarta, and swing-around with the cute children guests ALL afternoon. DEFINITELY had more fun that I did at Casbah the previous night.
August 11th, 2007
Picture 14: Family reunion
Alicia's wedding brought our family close together again. My dad and three youngest siblings flew from Chicago, my oldest brother from Austin, and we were all reunited once again at our dear house here in San Cristóbal. Though it was less than a week, being together again was very, very nice. Above all, we're still one big happy family. Kudos to the photographer, who also played the part of the center photographee.
August 15th, 2007
Picture 15: Partido Patriota
(WARNING: I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS PARTY OR DO I AGREE WITH ITS POLICIES. I just worked for it)
I began freelancing applications with the PP project, which required a multi-user application that would allow the entry of many people and their distribution between voting centers, zones, and administration personnel. What started out as a simple application became a version 2, then 2.5, stressful development 24-hour shifts, and four full days of technical support so as to cope with the hurries of the national elections.
Initially a frustrating experience for a developer, seeing the functional application in action and in service was quite rewarding. The money was nice too (though I charged cheap :S).
Picture 16: Ministry of Sound
I know, bad picture, bad lighting. But what do you expect from a K310 cellphone at a night trance concert inside a hangar? If you knew them, you would recognize Marcelo's and Fily's silhouettes on the right and left, respectively.
I had just finished a hard-working day of PP freelancing when I was reminded of this big concert. 9PM, I had no ticket, no money, and no suitable clothing for a concert. 10:30, I was smelling marihuana and swaying my body to a blithe trance rhythm in an unbuttoned, inside-out dress shirt, thanks to my friends' borrowed money and fun company.August 31st, 2007
Picture 17: Cutie Kitty Cat
Have you EVER seen such an ADORABLE little kitty???? A month old at the time, this kitty cat is either the 58th, 59th, or 60th oldest child of my cousin's cat, Mishi, sometimes referred to as the Super Cat Matriarch. It almost fit in my hand and emitted the dearest, most high-pitched, heart-melting "meow" I have EVER heard.
September 2nd, 2007
Picture 17A: Super Cat Matriarch
I couldn't just mention the highly-respected Super Cat Matriarch without posting her honorable image in my humble blog. She's pretty much responsible for at least half the cat's population in Zone 1. The veritable root of the Mishi family.
With all due respect, I've known her since she was a kitty, and I love her very much.
Here we have her looking at me with her magnificent WHAT-THE-HECK-DO-YOU-WANT face.
September 2nd, 2007
Picture 18: Mimi's Kitchen
Mimi invited me over to her house while she was out for the weekend. Sunday afternoon, I took my abacus stuff and went to her house to be alone for a few hours and practice my arithmetical exercises. While in her kitchen looking for coffee, I found this funny little sign on her wall. I doubt you don't know Spanish, so laugh if you like it too. :)
September 16th, 2007
Picture 19: Wicho's Party
He's not Wicho. He's Kenny. See Kenny smile. Smile, Kenny, smile. See Kenny smile. I don't have Wicho's picture, so he'll have to do. :P
Both Wicho and Kenny are old high school friends, and Wicho's birthday is on September the 24th. So he invited us to eat, drink, and enjoy his house party last Saturday. We ate pizza, drank alcoholic stuff (not too much for me, just the peer-pressured 2 and a half glasses of rum & soda), and caught up on old school memories. Kenny's such a funny guy.
September 22nd, 2007
Picture 19A: Wicho's Party: The Sequel
What? Another complementary picture? Well, he's not Wicho either. He's Pato. See Pato toast. Toast, Pato, toast. See Pato toast.
Also an old high school friend, Pato had never before tasted beer before, so this picture represents his adoption of a popular, though rather dangerous habit: alcohol.
(I didn't want to post this one because it's so badly-lit, but a joyful expression such as his should not be hidden).
September 22nd, 2007
Picture 20: Infected Mushroom
PSYCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent timing and enough money brought Fily, Marcelo, Bidkar, Jose, and me together for the Infected Mushroom concert on Saturday at the Village School. Man, if I could only tell the whole story!! Jose had just come back from a trip, Marcelo was just about to go on one, and Fily had just gotten a new job. It was time to party!! Hours after Wicho's party, all five of us got into the Filymobile and drove all the way to Km25, Carretera al Salvador. It was pouring, it was dark, we got lost, but we finally made it. Once inside, trance music got hold of me and rocked me around like a mad puppet. I danced ALL night from 9PM to 2AM. I danced so much - I jumped, I swayed, I flailed my arms, I punched the air, I swished my hair around, I annoyed some people around me, I pumped energy into other more tolerant ones, I found some glowsticks, I threw them around, I shouted, I screamed, I twirled, I skipped, I hopped, I found a can of Adrenaline Rush and drank it, I found a can of 7Up and drank it, I found two bottles of water and drank them. I jumped and punched so hard and high that I got a cramp in my right leg and my wrists and neck STILL hurt. I was away from my friends most of the time, mostly because I liked to keep on skipping and dancing in different places all the time.
I also found some acquaintances at the concert (Ricardo Morales, Ates Arevalo, Cebo, and Porfirio (shown in picture), high school classmates; Allan Ardon, former Ecosol partner; Mosko & DL, former college classmates).
The actual Infected Mushroom DJs played only from 0010 to 0200 hours, and though the music was slower than it should've been, I guess it was OK.
So...... I think that's it. Today, on september the 24th, I should've worked on my freelancing applications, but instead, I wrote this large blog entry. My first photoblog entry. Cool, huh?
Whew! Managed to keep up! Oh well, I guess that's it then. I hope to update it frequently enough from now on so as to fit more detail and my insights into it. As for now, BYE!
My somewhat satisfactory answer: visual expression. Images. JPEGs.
Picture 1: Green car at CALUSACI post this picture for several reasons:
1) I LOVE the car's color
2) It was taken in CALUSAC's parking lot, where I took mandarin and japanese language classes for approx. 2 months.
3) It was taken exactly one day after Andrea and I exchanged our first like & love phrases on the phone, my first real affectionate relationship.June 12th, 2007
Picture 2: Panama BraceletThis was Andrea's gift to me, which I still wear with pride. I was amazed when she told me I could shower with it. I have never taken it off since.
This was also the day of a strong tremor, and when Andrea's parents began to strongly suspect an affectionate relationship between Andrea and me.June 13th, 2007
Picture 3: Hand cast & nail removalI've already posted this one, but I like it so much that I posted it again. I had broken my hand about a month before doing a forward flip at my gymnastics class. This picture shows my uncovered left wrist and one of the two surgical nails driven into my skin, sinew, and bones. It was taken just before the doctor yanked both nails out of me with his bare hands. Pretty, isn't it?
June 21st, 2007
Picture 4: Andrea & IOne of the only three pictures we have together. Andrea invited me to a series of christian concerts at her church, where we talked for hours on end and shared our deepest thoughts and feelings. One of the happiest days I remember.
June 27th, 2007
Picture 5: Pacaya horse rideMy cousin Lorena and her recently-acquired Illinois husband Mike visited Guatemala on the last week of June and decided to take a Saturday trip to the continuously erupting Pacaya volcano. As a volcano regular, Elisa was put in charge of organizing and guiding the whole night trip to see the red-hot rivers of lava above. People present: my mom, my uncle, my aunt, my little cousin Anita, my married cousin Lorena, her husband Mike, Elisa and I.
Picture shows Anita riding one of the four rented horses before setting off.
June 30th, 2007
Picture 6: Fidel & LolaI was not even AROUND when this picture was taken, but it's the closest I can manage to fill the gap. This picture represents the preamble to my LA impromptu trip (I decided to take the trip in less than three days).
It is a picture of both of Tatiana's and Sofia's male bulldogs (I got to meet them afterwards, they're nice). Tatiana made my LA impromptu trip possible by lending me her unused Hollywood apartment for almost a week. Dear Tatiana, thank you so very much.somewhen before June 29th, 2007 @ 10:41PM
Picture 7: Fateful Hollywood StudioA casually-met MSN friend, a little online interaction, and several beautiful timely fortunes of Fate allowed me and my mom to take an impromptu trip to LA and Seattle. I stayed at this borrowed apartment for 5 whole nights, where I shared some of the most fantastic experiences of my life. Twice.
Everything is possible.
July 14th, 2007
Picture 8: Inside RHF with SLT @LASLT and I's frequent trips inside RHF ended with her taking this dark, large-teethed picture of me wearing her sunglasses just minutes before I walked away from her, at a BK parking lot. As you can see, happiness flowed affluently within me at the time. Many goodbye kisses and caresses followed this picture.
July 14th, 2007
Picture 9: Naturally SeattleThe main official reason my mom and I took our USA impromptu trip was to visit this picture's leftmost participant - Genevieve, my mom's half-sister's ex-husband's mother - in Seattle, WA. I had not seen her since I was one (year old). Having just become 91, Genevieve is a funny, loving frenchwoman living peacefully in the most peaceful, green, nature-loving, water-related, heart-warming, and beautiful city I have EVER known.
I want to live there.
July 19th, 2007
Picture 10: Mummy manBack in Guatemala, almost one month after returning from my LA impromptu trip, I substituted my cousin Joel as an english teacher at CCI (Colegio Cientifico Integrado), a school conveniently placed on the same side of the city as my house.
I got paid Q700 for supervising students during the whole exam week, during whose Friday the school's teachers took a fun training course. Its outdoor activity was to make teams, wrap one of the team members with toilet paper as shown (not me), place three wooden sticks under him, and race through the basketball court carrying the mummy on the sticks. Fun activity - thanks to the Santillana guys who gave us the course.
August 10th, 2007
Picture 11: Antigua breakfastJust hours after my mummy activity, my mom told me to deliver my sister's civil wedding dress to Antigua. Unexpected but very enticing, I packed up my dress clothes for the next day's wedding and happily drove off. I got lost looking for her hotel (Posada de Don Luis), but I finally found it, redressed in the hotel room, told the hotel manager I was leaving, and walked to Casbah disco-bar. I payed Q30, drank a Cuba Libre, and danced alone to happy trance for about 90 minutes. Next morning I had pancakes and coffee for breakfast at the hotel with my sister and her then-fianceé.August 11th, 2007
Picture 12: Antigua weddingA late-waking bride, a slow hairdresser, and a tardy family built up to a late and quite disorganized wedding celebration. Even the priest was half an hour late. Is this normal?After the late groom entered the church, wedding music made the bride walk down the cathedral aisle with mom & dad. Halfway they noticed the priest was missing, so they stopped walking and just stood there for at least 10 minutes, smiling awkwardly and trying to avoid attention. They weren't very successful.During those 10 minutes, August 11th, 2007
Picture 13: Pretty fountain plaza"Capuchinas" is the common name for the ruins where the wedding party took place. Colonial style architecture surrounded the guests, which included pe_morales & mom, Alicia's friends, Don Robert de la Rose, our life-neighbor Doña Rosita's family, distant family, close family, the unknown groom-side guests, and me. Don Roberto de la Rosa showed me a very interesting underground toroid-shaped room, and I played tag, hide and seek, chibiricuarta, and swing-around with the cute children guests ALL afternoon. DEFINITELY had more fun that I did at Casbah the previous night.
August 11th, 2007
Picture 14: Family reunionAlicia's wedding brought our family close together again. My dad and three youngest siblings flew from Chicago, my oldest brother from Austin, and we were all reunited once again at our dear house here in San Cristóbal. Though it was less than a week, being together again was very, very nice. Above all, we're still one big happy family. Kudos to the photographer, who also played the part of the center photographee.
August 15th, 2007
Picture 15: Partido Patriota(WARNING: I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS PARTY OR DO I AGREE WITH ITS POLICIES. I just worked for it)
I began freelancing applications with the PP project, which required a multi-user application that would allow the entry of many people and their distribution between voting centers, zones, and administration personnel. What started out as a simple application became a version 2, then 2.5, stressful development 24-hour shifts, and four full days of technical support so as to cope with the hurries of the national elections.
Initially a frustrating experience for a developer, seeing the functional application in action and in service was quite rewarding. The money was nice too (though I charged cheap :S).
Picture 16: Ministry of SoundI know, bad picture, bad lighting. But what do you expect from a K310 cellphone at a night trance concert inside a hangar? If you knew them, you would recognize Marcelo's and Fily's silhouettes on the right and left, respectively.
I had just finished a hard-working day of PP freelancing when I was reminded of this big concert. 9PM, I had no ticket, no money, and no suitable clothing for a concert. 10:30, I was smelling marihuana and swaying my body to a blithe trance rhythm in an unbuttoned, inside-out dress shirt, thanks to my friends' borrowed money and fun company.August 31st, 2007
Picture 17: Cutie Kitty CatHave you EVER seen such an ADORABLE little kitty???? A month old at the time, this kitty cat is either the 58th, 59th, or 60th oldest child of my cousin's cat, Mishi, sometimes referred to as the Super Cat Matriarch. It almost fit in my hand and emitted the dearest, most high-pitched, heart-melting "meow" I have EVER heard.
September 2nd, 2007
Picture 17A: Super Cat MatriarchI couldn't just mention the highly-respected Super Cat Matriarch without posting her honorable image in my humble blog. She's pretty much responsible for at least half the cat's population in Zone 1. The veritable root of the Mishi family.
With all due respect, I've known her since she was a kitty, and I love her very much.
Here we have her looking at me with her magnificent WHAT-THE-HECK-DO-YOU-WANT face.
September 2nd, 2007
Picture 18: Mimi's KitchenMimi invited me over to her house while she was out for the weekend. Sunday afternoon, I took my abacus stuff and went to her house to be alone for a few hours and practice my arithmetical exercises. While in her kitchen looking for coffee, I found this funny little sign on her wall. I doubt you don't know Spanish, so laugh if you like it too. :)
September 16th, 2007
Picture 19: Wicho's PartyHe's not Wicho. He's Kenny. See Kenny smile. Smile, Kenny, smile. See Kenny smile. I don't have Wicho's picture, so he'll have to do. :P
Both Wicho and Kenny are old high school friends, and Wicho's birthday is on September the 24th. So he invited us to eat, drink, and enjoy his house party last Saturday. We ate pizza, drank alcoholic stuff (not too much for me, just the peer-pressured 2 and a half glasses of rum & soda), and caught up on old school memories. Kenny's such a funny guy.
September 22nd, 2007
Picture 19A: Wicho's Party: The SequelWhat? Another complementary picture? Well, he's not Wicho either. He's Pato. See Pato toast. Toast, Pato, toast. See Pato toast.
Also an old high school friend, Pato had never before tasted beer before, so this picture represents his adoption of a popular, though rather dangerous habit: alcohol.
(I didn't want to post this one because it's so badly-lit, but a joyful expression such as his should not be hidden).
September 22nd, 2007
Picture 20: Infected MushroomPSYCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent timing and enough money brought Fily, Marcelo, Bidkar, Jose, and me together for the Infected Mushroom concert on Saturday at the Village School. Man, if I could only tell the whole story!! Jose had just come back from a trip, Marcelo was just about to go on one, and Fily had just gotten a new job. It was time to party!! Hours after Wicho's party, all five of us got into the Filymobile and drove all the way to Km25, Carretera al Salvador. It was pouring, it was dark, we got lost, but we finally made it. Once inside, trance music got hold of me and rocked me around like a mad puppet. I danced ALL night from 9PM to 2AM. I danced so much - I jumped, I swayed, I flailed my arms, I punched the air, I swished my hair around, I annoyed some people around me, I pumped energy into other more tolerant ones, I found some glowsticks, I threw them around, I shouted, I screamed, I twirled, I skipped, I hopped, I found a can of Adrenaline Rush and drank it, I found a can of 7Up and drank it, I found two bottles of water and drank them. I jumped and punched so hard and high that I got a cramp in my right leg and my wrists and neck STILL hurt. I was away from my friends most of the time, mostly because I liked to keep on skipping and dancing in different places all the time.
I also found some acquaintances at the concert (Ricardo Morales, Ates Arevalo, Cebo, and Porfirio (shown in picture), high school classmates; Allan Ardon, former Ecosol partner; Mosko & DL, former college classmates).
The actual Infected Mushroom DJs played only from 0010 to 0200 hours, and though the music was slower than it should've been, I guess it was OK.
So...... I think that's it. Today, on september the 24th, I should've worked on my freelancing applications, but instead, I wrote this large blog entry. My first photoblog entry. Cool, huh?
Whew! Managed to keep up! Oh well, I guess that's it then. I hope to update it frequently enough from now on so as to fit more detail and my insights into it. As for now, BYE!
No comments:
Post a Comment