Monday, January 30, 2006

Birthday Wishes for all especially for my daughter.

Well bloggers,

It has been a birthday weekend. We began with Mrs. Santiago on Friday. She celebrated at Lalo's in University Village. It was nice. We had a whole bunch of family and friends come out. Well...mostly her friends. My friends decided to ditch me. Argggg!! It is okay. We still had a good time. The princess was having a blast. One of her best friends brought her a birthday crown sporting the good old #30. She danced the night away and had no worries. Took lots of pictures. Although I have to complain about the Lalos service. They really sucked. We had made reservations in advance. Yet they still managed to be short staffed and the waiters took an eternity getting the drinks to us and taking our order was even worse. I got stuck taking the money from all the individuals attending the party and had to deal with people only wanting to pay for the food and drinks. Some people actually skipped out of the bill. The punks at Lalo's did not want to do seperate tabs for those who had no cash. I can continue on for ages, but I digress.

Today is my daughter's birthday. Hooray, hooray!! She has been roaming this Earth for 7 years. It is crazy to think that she has been around that long. I am amazed at how big she is too. We sang her happy birthday this morning and she will be heading over to Chuck E Cheese's for a little party with some of her friends. I took the day off to commemorate her special day. So...I am reporting to you live from my living room. Every year I do this. I like to make it a special day. She is a wonderful little girl. I have a funny story. She lost a tooth yesterday. So we had to scramble for $5 for her tooth that is delivered in exchange for the tooth from the Tooth Fairy. Well...I only had a $10 bill. We went into her room and tried to get change from her piggy bank. Do you believe this little girl had the ziplock bag clutched in her hand. She was not going to let go of her tooth. We had to tell her to leave it alone or the Tooth Fairy won't come and give her the money if she keeps holding the bag. It was too funny. She was holding on to the bag in her sleep like her life depended on it. She is something else. I gotta go. Need to make some preparations. Happy Birthday to my daughter and also Mariposa. I hope all your wishes come true.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Research and Why You Should or Shouldnt Buy an Ipod



Another little project as a result of a comment by DCN/Joel.


Thank you for joining this edition of consumer report. I am your reporter Santiago. Today, we will look at the new wave of audio listening devices. First we will look at the most popular of these devices. It is an Ipod manufactured by Apple Computers. These little devices have been made popular with jazzy commercial and slogans like:





Ok. Let’s cut the bullshit. Let us try to make this a more realistic approach. Any listening device can be purchase and have the same effect. As Dr. V has put it, it is a new “cool” thing. If you have one in your ear, then young people think you are cool. These listening devices are really just mp3 players.

Here is a quick list to indicate if you really need one (not to be confused with really want one):

First of all Do you own a computer? This will be a big determining factor in whether you should buy one or not. You need a computer to have these mp3 players or can you use the one at work. Jajajajaja! You have to upload/burn/rip the cd to your computer and then transfer it to your Ipod/ PDA/ Ilo/ mobiBlu cube/Dell DJ/well the list is endless. So…instead of it costing only $100-299 or more depending what you are going to buy, it can go up to $1000 for the computer and the damn mp3 player. So…think about it.

Do you find yourself in long trips without any reasonable audio capabilities (i.e. walkman, cd player, etc..)? Well…do you want to really lug around the big ass walkman or the huge ass cd player that never fits into your coat pocket and then make you feel super awkward and then you start gangster leaning because of the weight. Well…this applies to those taking public transportation. If you are like me, who got a car that only has cassette and no damn CD player, then you have to get those CD players that are adaptable to the cassette deck. Ooops, it is not supposed to be about me. Moving on.

Do you usually buy CD’s or do usually download them from the internet? I have a little bit of mixed feeling about this one. The music I listen to is usually kind of hard to find. You may have to buy the CD at a specialty shop like on 26th St or the Tower Record store that is huge. I listen to rock, but like independent rock. If you like to listen mainstream then you should be cool buy stuff online it is cheaper and attainable.

I know there is more to this topic, but I can not do it justice with just a few words here and there.

The Many Faces of Santiago

A little something about me that I am working on. This was a result of a conversation with my favorite person in the world me. No...I am just kidding. I am not that vain. I was having this conversation with Sonrisa. Here is what come of it.

I had a dream last night. I was on vacation with some one. The some one is not visible. She has a familiar feel to her. She may be a lover or a friend. We are visiting someone in some warm island. Yet we seem to be taking the train. Well the so called airport looks like a train station. We try to purchase our tickets to get on the train and it is the friend we are visiting. This woman friend of mine is beautiful. I am almost in love with her. She reminds me of a model/actress. I really can’t remember which one. Well…she expresses that it may be cheaper to have an ID that says I am a student. I can get a discount of some sort. I pull out a huge wallet. I ruffle thru the contents and come across many different types of identifications. They all have different faces of me. I find this extremely odd and see a picture of me as a baby. It seems I have kept all my identification that I have gotten all my life. It was strange to say the least. Finally, I find my student identification and pass it to the ticket agent. She reviews it and tells me the numbers do not match. I feel like I am trying to pull a fast one on her. She winks at me and tells me it will be okay. I smile and get my tickets and have a seat. As I sit, then the scene changes. I am driving or walking towards a location that has a lot of traffic. I’m not sure if it is pedestrian traffic or automobile traffic. I see my father and mother along with my aunt and uncle. They are picking me up. The weird part about it is that the scene is half airport and half Mercado in Mexico. This is the part where I wake up.

So…where do I go from here? I had a really interesting conversation about the many faces of Santiago with Sonrisa. Maybe this is what brought on this dream. While thinking about this topic I came up with the idea of presenting it as a Personal Ad in honor of Must Love Dogs (yet another John Cusack movie). I know…give it a rest. Do I know who I am? I have a vague idea of who I am. It is time I try to put this in writing. Let me give this a try.
I am a male that can be described as el sufrido, attention seeker, a stalker (well…I could be), a comedian, lovable, prone to falling in love easily with woman, appreciate different things, eccentric, stubborn, and very critical of people, things and others. I like to take walks in the park. I make myself café con leche at work everyday. I also like routine. I love passion. I like to write poetry. I analyze everything. I am also very sensitive. Maybe I can be referred to as a metro sexual. Although sometimes I do not care what I look like.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Yesterday was the worst day of the year.

I was informed late in the day that yesterday was the worst day of the year. I guess it was the worst because most people have already broken their resolutions and bills were due. I did not feel like it was the worst day of the year. Trust me I have already had worst in this year. I may have not lost a limb, but I was close to losing my life. I know. I am being a little dramatic.

Here is a list of why yesterday was not the worst day of the year for me:
  1. I got a chance to speak to Sonrisa (it does not happen very often).
  2. I left work and it was not pitch black night (well it was a deep dark blue, but the sun had not set completely).
  3. I got to eat Pizza.
  4. I did not fight with my kids about homework.
  5. My car is still working.

Here is a list of why it could have been the worst day:

  1. I spent about 1-2 hrs updating my mini ipod.
  2. I spent another 1-2 hrs trying to get my wife's pda to read mp3 and audio files.
  3. I had to run to walgreens about 12:35 for medicine for my daughter (although this is technically the next day).

Monday, January 23, 2006

Amidst Parties, Newly Elected Presidents, and Blown Up Miners

I have stopped listening to the News. It is not because I do not have time. It is not because I do not want to be informed. The reason for not watching the News is because it depresses me. In the last couple of days, I have overheard various news formats. I have heard the news from my bedroom while trying to read The Chronicles of Narnia. I have overheard over the radio while surfing the net. I have overheard them on the television while attending a birthday party.

Here are a few headlines of the News stories.

"E Hollywood or something reporter has groped actress Scarlett Johansson's boob"
"New President of Latino country is indigenous"
"Education cuts are affecting schools in X location"
"2 More miners dead as a result of explosion in West Virginia"

Some of these lines may not be accurate. Again, I was in a completly different room while listening to these headlines. Some of these headlines do make me want to get back into circulation. I feel a little isolated by not watching television. Well...I have lost my steam. I do not know what my point was. I guess that is what you get when you should actually be working and get interupted.

Friday, January 20, 2006

ever dance with the devil by the pale moon light

i almost died this morning. i was driving down kostner. this trucker moved over to the right lane. i move over to the left to go around him. well...the damn trucker decides to come back to the left lane and nearly forces me into a bridge median. i gunned my little cars engine and thank God the little Paseo responded. i barely missed the damn median and there was oncoming traffic. the funny thing is i did not get scared or anything. it was just a near hair splitting seconds death experience. i guess.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

must be the grey days

Love has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks. Goals are another item on my list of things that I think about. Both these things have nothing in common. The freshest one on my mind is goals. I am approaching my 30th birthday. I have had many conversations with other soon-to-be-30 people and some of them are freaking out because they have not reached their goals. Some of them are pretty close to reaching their goals and others have already met them. I start to freak out because I have no goals. "Is being able to breathe every day" a good enough goal. I do not know if I should get some goals and get them fast because the 30th is fast approaching. I mean I have other goals like owning a house but I don't see that as a realistic goal before turning 30. Besides I am not a materialistic person. Another goal I have is making sure my kids are fed and that they have a decent life. The outcome for that one will not be in for a long while.

This weekend was nice. I went out on Saturday with Mrs. Santiago. It was a freak accident. The wife was off of work this weekend. The kids abandoned me and the misses. We were in a total panic. What do we do? We are single. Well...only for Saturday. We were out in Skokie and were scrambling for things to do. Did anyone see the moon? It was beautiful. I tried to get pictures, but they did not turn out the way i liked. Anyway, we started going to Chili's, but there were a thousand people waiting for a table. We decide to head over to Lalo's. It turns out that was a better idea. The food was not that great. It was mediocre at best, but they had a mariachi band playing. They came over and played two songs for us. Don't ask me which one's because I could not tell you. She asked for them. I did realize one thing. I do not like being serenaded by a mariachi band. I felt a little ackward. I'm not really sure why that is. It is a really nice to get seranated by a mariachi band, but for me it was a little uncomfortable. What do I do with myself while they are serenating us? The misses closed her eyes and kind of sang. All I could do was smile. A painful smile that hurts longer after they were gone. I love the music though. It was one of the Jose Alfredo Jimenez songs. He is a really great singer and has a ton of songs that have been remade. We had some more drinks and called it a night. I will leave the rest to the imagination. jajajajajaj!!!

a cure-esque poem

gaze upon your tears
i know i tried
keep the love alive
i have to confess
i can no longer continue the lie
wish i could say the words
muster the energy
to live it all again
at least for one more night

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mi bella luna


te siento
la fuerza de tu cuerpo
sobre mi emocion
me llamas
en esta noche
me sigues
vez todo lo que hago
trato de huir
sin resultado

*the background was one of those pictures i took of the moon on Saturday. it was beautiful.

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

McDonalds You Have been X-ed

I can not add the darn picture. So i will have to describe the picture. It will be a sign of the Arches and an x spraypainted over the picture.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

It has always been about LOVE

In a moment of clarity. I think about life. I think about building a miniature house. Some one let me out onto the city of Chicago. Pase por la Roosevelt and Damen. Turn unto Damen to go to my sister-in-laws house. We celebrate tonight. It is her husbands birthday.

I return to the miniature house as I reach the viaduct on Damen by 18th. I contemplate building the house Maxwell Street Style. CC informs me that there is a kit to be able to do it easier. I want to install working lights and all that jazz.

I pass by a park and reflect on one of my ealiest memories. It is Eckhart Park on Chicago and Noble. I used to play with a little girl names America. I was about 4-5 years of age. It was one of those nice nights out and I have been playing on the swings and the jungle gym with her. She is my best friend. I can not even begin to tell you what our conversation were like. I am sure there was a lot of running and laughing and maybe playing "it". It is getting dark. It is time to say goodbye. She then tells me that she will not be able to play with me anymore. I ask why. She tells me that she will be moving somewhere else. I get real sad and cry. Needless to say. This is one of my earliest memories of what love is. I'm sure it was an innocent love, but it was love nonetheless.

Cut to me living dangerously trying to write the memory down while still driving over to my sister-in-laws house. I am nuts for sure. After all Sonrisa said it best, "It is always about Santiago".

Monday, January 09, 2006

otra locura

quiero perderme
en tus ojos
sentir lo que es amor
acabar con mi
incertidumbre
sera o no sera
quiero verlo
como los rayos del sol
o la luna que alumbra la noche
decir con certeza
esto es amor

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Hopeless or just a Romantic

Are these two words the same? or maybe only one of these words exist? I have been on a John Cusack roll. I have watched the new Must Love Dogs, Grosse Point Blank, Serendipity, and Say Anything. I just can't seem to get enough of this guy. He is totally hilarious and the embodiment of me. I know that has got to be a bold statement.
You can not go wrong with any of his movies. Even the ill fated American Sweethearts was a good movie. You get great lines from John Cusack like "I'm a paranoid schizophrenic. I'm my own entourage!" I just don't get it. I know I will eventually get over this "I think John Cusack Rules!" thing. Maybe the fact that I was in the same room with him in the Late 80's. One thing I do have to say is that he is a good actor. He has done other movies and has done a really good job. Ok have to go back to work.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

It has been a week into the new year.

It is amazing how time flies. It has already been a week. How is your week coming along? It feels good to be back. The only problem is that this is the busiest time of the year. It means I have more time to think and less time to write.

I was writing in a little black book I try to carry. The only problem was that I was writing in it the other day and my pens kept running out. I believe I had three pens run out on me. I decided to make a stop at Walgreens and buy a nice new gel pen. I believe this is the first time I had to buy a pen in a long time. We always have some vendor or another giving us free pens. They are always nice pens, but it is like advertising to yourself to buy their product or take their drugs. Depending on the vendors that are handing out the pens.

How are we coming along on our new journeys in the new year? I'm not sure where to go or what the next move is. Last year I did not really dwell or have the time to really think of my new years resolutions. Instead I just wrote them out as I was thinking about them. I was not sure I was going to get 15 for that matter, but there they are staring right back at me. Thanks Mariposa. I have not had a chance to do the siete, but I will eventually get to it.

Ok time to go to sleepy bye bye, but before I go. I recommend you watch Must Love Dogs and The Island. These movies are really good. I think John Cusack rocks and Scarlett Johansson is beautiful.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Mi Decima Musa

se despide mi decima musa
la emocion me gana
y comienzo a llorrar
me pide que pare
pero...
¿cuando te vere?
me susurra al oido
cierra los ojos
vendre a ti en tus sueños
me sentiras en ese momento
que mas me necesitas
te digo que te quiero
nunca te olvides
nomas esperame

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Thursday, January 05, 2006

My wish list for 2006

Here is the List of things I wish to accomplish:

1. travel more.
2. fall in love with love again.
3. remember to laugh a lot.
4. lose weight
5. or lose myself (which ever comes first)
.6. buy myself more flowers (inspired by Mariposa).
7. have an adventure.
8. tackle some of my fears (not all of them just some).
9. learn to focus.
10. actually, try to write a chapter in my book (the one I have been trying to write since I learned I was intersting. jajajaja!!
11. learn to love myself and others (regardless of what they do).
12. evolve as a person into something different.
13. live differently.
14. save some money.
15. go to Cracked Chanclas Cafe.

The Clock Strikes 12

I'm supposed to be on my way to the Dr. I figured I would stop by and check my e-mail. I have been meaning to post a bunch of things. I have not had time. Work is getting stressfull. It always happens this way. I'm sure I will catch up and there will be no worries.

Water is a necessity. Yet Mexico has very poor quality water. You have to buy it to be able to drink it. Can you imagine the poor people that do not have the money to buy it? ¿que triste, no?

Tenemos un pozo cerca de la casa de mi abuela. La agua de ese pozo se puede tomar. Me acuerdo en años pasados nunca tuvimos que herbir la agua para tomar. Solo cuando estaba poniendo un te o cafe. We would mount the burro and attach the lecheras and fill them up with water from the pozo. It was a hard task. To have to attach a rope to a bucket and dunk it in the well. If you did not pull on the rope correctly, then you would only get a tiny bit of water. You had to make sure you held the rope tightly and be able to manuever the bucket into the water to fill it completely. Otherwise, you would be there an even longer time. This was our routine for about three or four days. You also had to make sure to conserve as much water as possible. The dirty dish water would be caught by a larger bucket to use to flush the toilet. It reminds me of the movie Dune.

It is time to go read some more.

Monday, January 02, 2006

It is indeed a new year.

I know it is a little late, but Happy New Years to all!!! I wish everyone an even better year than the last.

I have to say my vacation was quite an adventure. We had some good and some interesting times. I do not want to say they were bad times, because they were not. They were just interesting. For example, I would get really tired at about 9 pm and I would go to sleep around 10. Some relatives interpreted this behavior as me missing my significant other. I would say that is not it at all. I did not protest. I let them all believe what they wanted to believe. Some good lines that came out of this vacation:

"No dejes que ese niño que yo conoci se apague"

"No como crees lo deje en Chicago para que cuide alla y espante las moscas"

"Ahora ya te has graduado de City Boy a paisa!"

"No me quiero bañar aqui. Quiero banarme en el rio!!"

"What do you mean?"

There are more. I just can't think of them right now. I wanted to take so many pictures. I will relate one little story. We were coming back from the Basilica after going to see Juan Diego's Image of the Virgen the Guadalupe. This was a request that my kids proposed of what to do while in Mexico City, D.F. and going to the Pyramids. Well...on the way back we rode el Metro and I was feeling a little poetic. There was this girl riding el metro. She must have been a teenager coming home from work. She was falling asleep. She was cute and she looked so peaceful. I was thinking of taking a picture of her. Mire como son las cosas. I thought people will think I am a weirdo or a pervert or something. Anyway, I was thinking of some lines to compose a poem in my head. I was thinking it would have been nice to have the picture that inspired the poem, but I was too chicken to take the picture. Maybe if I had a picture phone. Oh well once my brain took over the picture and the poem was lost. It was a really nice poem about passion and love. I have tried to recall all the lines, but I can not recall them. I would have at least drawn something to go with the picture, but I had not pen or paper.

It feels good to be back. It feels good to be writting. To have in door plumbing. To not have to pay to use the rest room. To use water freely and not have to conserve it. To be able to take a long and warm shower. I take it that is my queue to go and take a shower. I will return to work tomorrow and everything should be back to normal. I know. It makes me a little sad too. I have to go back to the same routine. Happy New Years!!! Remember to love. Remember to take care of your family. Learn to forgive. You do not need to forget, but at least forgive.