What a day what a day-ay

I'm going to make this short and sweet, because I have to get up at 3 am and and I have to go bed now. Today was a long crazy day with it's up and downs. I woke up with a mission. I needed to find a temporary replacement for 2 machines at my job that were out of commission at the same time. so right after getting up I started calling around and looking online for a place to buy one. It was a stressful morning.

Lotteria!! [Reader's Choice]

On my Ghettoblaster Facebook page I posted that I was attempting to write 30 blogs in 30 days as a 30 Day Challenge. I was recently challenged to do something I've never done before for 30 days. Since November is National Novel Writing Month, I figured I needed some practice if I was going to write everyday in November to finish my novel. I also challenged my readers to suggest topics for me to write about since I have about 16 more days to go. Christian answered the call and suggested I write about 'Winning the Lottery'  My first thought was, how can I write about something I've never experienced. Then I started to think about what people normally do when they buy a ticket, "If I win, the first thing I'd do is...." Then I though about the things I wouldn't (or at least try not to) do with my money. What about writing about 'winning the lottery in a different context' I also mentally traveled to my childhood trips home where the lottery isn't as you know it. So after a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast this is what I came up with.

Jose and Ilan

Today I had the good fortune of spending a few hours with someone that was truly blessed and brought back to life. I went to high school with this guy. Soon afterward he went off to the Army and I didn't hear again from him until a few years ago through Facebook. I discovered early on that hewas an organ recipient. Last year he was helping sell Donate Life shirts of which I bought and proudly wear. I've always felt that organ donation was important. After today I truly understand the gift that recipients receive. He has asked me in the past about how to go about writing his story. Today I gave him some pointers, but I'm hoping that after reading this he takes on the task and really considers telling his story.

Hopeless Not Romantic

Making the best of a bad situation is the story of my life. Have you looked at me. I'm dark, with a lazy eye and perpetually fat. I'm detrimentally shy. Clumsy and a bit of a nerd. It's lucky I ever got laid, let alone married. All jokes aside I didn't get much to work with. Confidence was never my strong suit. I could do anything, but make me talk to a pretty girl, nothing doing.

The Pit (BBQ Poetry)

The fire burns

The coals white hot

Throw another log on

Watch the smoke rise

Feel the heat on my face and belly

The temperature rises

Throw the chops on

Hear the sizzle

Flip, brush and wait

Don't leave it too long

Or it will burn

Take them off

Is it ready?

Down eat that

It's still raw

I told you

Sleep!!

As humans we have a predisposition towards sleepiness. All it takes is a big comfy couch. Why is it that when you start getting into a movie, you get the sleepiest? Head nodding. Eye lids heavy. Whole segments of the story line missing from your cognition of the movie's chronology. Sleepiness can creep up on you when you least expect it. I once fell asleep while driving home. When I came to, I was in the grassy median hurling towards an overpass. Other times like when you have to get up extra early sleepiness is nowhere to be found.

Run Run Run

There have been new developments in my social circle as of late. The biggest event is the nearing wedding of one of my oldest friends. This same friend was once my running partner/trainer. A few years ago I stopped running. When I started running again a few months ago something didn't feel right. I was comfortable getting back into the sport, but my main motivator was missing. After moving out of the neighborhood, a few years back, I was elated to discover a couple of days ago that he had returned to his rightful place 5 minutes away.

Macanudos, Scotch and the Glow of the Lincoln Memorial.

I'm so sleepy right now. I need to go to bed, because I'm going for a morning jog with my homeboy MF. The last time I saw him was at 3:00 am. Spooky snuck into town yesterday. As usual he managed to round up the crew for evening out. Before that we had lunch and had a heart to heart. He says to me, 'you gotta come out tonight' Before I knew it I was switching my schedule for today from 5 am to 11 am. We all met up at a cigar bar downtown.

Fly [afternoon poetry]

Give me wings so I can fly
Soar into the sky
Why? 

Because the ground is too low
I wanna flow
Not bound
By the ground

In the sky I'll be free
Able to see
Everything below

Like a bird I rise and dive
I'll feel alive
Nothing but me and the wind

The sun ever so close
I'll feel no remorse
Because the earth won't miss me

So, give me wings
and set me free
So I can sing
and just be me

Words to Live By

Time goes by with abandon. I'm 33, I was just 18, then I'll be 45. A blink of an eye and another year. Time is luxury. Don't waste it. Don't spend it on someone or something that will not bring dividends. Stop waiting for the right time to do anything. Just do it. If you keep waiting, your time will run out and you would have never done what ever it is you wanted to do. Don't take breaks. Rest is fine.

Help Me, Please?

I always tend to fail at random tasks. The reason why is I think I can handle it. No matter how big or small it is. The first thing people always ask is, 'why didn't you ask for help?' Help? What's that? There are only two people on earth that I can ask for for help and know that I will get it, and that is my mom and my dad. My father always manages to fix any problem. He has so many connections that by the end of the day everything is set. My mom never says no when I need a couple of bucks or I'm having a health crisis, she used to be a nurse, so I trust her quirky home remedies.

My Life: A Retrospective Part II

In part I started by giving insight on my siblings. I hope you could gather that it's a tough subject for me, and with 6 to go I think will take a detour and go back them further down the line. I want to go back a bit. Back to before I was a problem. Something you may not know is I was born in Latin America during a Communist revolution. I went as far as being named after Augusto Cesar Sandino. The mythical working man's icon who the Communists in Nicaragua chose to represent their Sandinista movement, even though he had been dead for 40 years. Even though my name paid homage to the poster boy of the revolution, my parents were far from sympathizers.

My Life: A Retrospective Part I

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. The older I get the richer my history becomes. I'm an average guy but when you hear about all my adventures you may not see me in the same light. In the story of my life there is a good guy and a bad guy and I play both. Depending on who you ask, you'll get a different perspective of the kind of person I am. I've been at the bottom, and have seen the top but have never been  able to convince the masses that I belong there.

Neighborhood Dealer

Where I live there is only one place you can go to get your Nacatamale fix. My house. A Nacatamale is a tamale native to Nicaragua. It's nothing like the Mexican or Salvadorean tamale. They are an average of 2 to 3 pounds and stuffed with rice, potatoes, pork, tomatoes, and raisins. Traditionally we eat them for breakfast on the weekends. My mother knows that you can't get a decent Nacatamale this side of Miami. So what does she do? She sets up shop. She found this lady that makes them from scratch in her kitchen every week. That's her supplier. Don't you dare ask her who it is, or try to cut her out, because you will get cut off. She'll never give up her connect. 

My Dad Is So Cool

Yesterday I accompanied my father to a doctors appointment. I noticed what he wore, and thought, 'he's so cool' and it inspired me to write this.

Culture Shock

To make my Mom's day special, I decided to take my family to church then stay for the Spanish mass with my mother. My family has been attending mass at this particular church for at least 20 years. The current building is the "new" church, which was built about 10 years ago. The "old" church is a multipurpose room for the school attached to the church. Back in the day I knew everyone that went to that church. Some were friends, others were just there all the time. Today I saw no familiar faces.

My Body Project: Week 1 - 9

Today marks the 9th week of my "Body Project" When I started working out and dieting my plan was not to lose weight, but get healthy. I didn't do what everyone does and stop eating and go gun ho at the gym. What usually happens when people try to make drastic changes they get discouraged quickly. They feel hungry all the time and they give up on the gym after a sore muscle or an injury.