Stuffing

So the Thanksgiving weekend was relaxing and much needed. We went over to Rob's mom's house and there were people galore, drank some stiff Squirts & Tequila that his mom kept making me, and ate some GOOD food! I rented The Iron Ladies, parts 1 &2. I am always going on and on about this movie so I rented the first one so Rob could see it and I wanted to see the second one. Hilarious! If you have never seen this movie, get it. It's from Thaliand and it's based on the true story of a volleyball team made up mostly of gay men. After seeing it again I must say I've developed a crush on the token straight guy on the team played by the hunky Jesdaporn Pholdee. But my favorite character is Jung (played by Chaicharn Numpulsawasdi). You can't get any flamier.

Friday I ran around doing errands. Got some free moving boxes off of craigslist.org, went to Target, mailed off a bunch of crap I sold on ebay, etc. I also started packing. Packed all my CDs (I have over 1,500) and all our VHS tapes. Of course Saturday night was the Ely Guerra concert. It was my 6th time seeing her live and every time I see her she just blows me away. We ran into Emilio and some of his friends and they let us skip them in line. Thank you! Below is my favorite picture I took (I took over 100). I'm on a no-flash kick lately, I like the saturated colors a lot. Hope you like...

Sunday we stopped at Maxwell Street to get Huarraches, as it's become our tradition now. While we were buying churros (ok so they don't have the healthiest foods there) I saw this man w/ a small black puppy. Being the childless one I am, I ran over and asked if I could pet it. Well...he pulls the puppy out and is like I am selling it. OMG my heart almost broke. It was the cutest thing, black and white. Turns out it was a maltese (the kind I am hoping to get) and it was a girl! So he let's me hold it, I turned to mush. He was like She's $400, the last one of the litter. I so wanted to run to the ATM then and there, but realistically we can't do it til after we move in. I kept telling Rob over and over that I had held a baby. I call dogs babies. Don't ask me why. Rob thinks it's cute.

Also forgot to mention we watched El Segundo Aire, a Mexican comedy. I enjoyed it alot. It's a light hearted comedy and highly enjoyable. So with that said, is Jesus Ochoa the new María Rojo? Remember how she was literally in EVERY Mexican movie made during the 1980s and early 1990s. Jesus is basically in every Mexican film since Amores Perros.

So you by now know that we got the apartment in Logan Square. I am so excited. We sign our lease today. I want to give a big thank you to Janet for helping us find it. Above are some pics I took of the place initially. You can see the kitchen, bathroom, living room and dining room (that's Janet standing there). I am so excited about moving, not having to live in trashy Bridgeport anymore. Rent was cheap, but so were the people. To celebrate Rob and I are gonna have a last hurrah at Pancho Pistola's (the only good thing in Bridgeport). As my friend Cutie used to say about dining there...I can feel the succulant carne asada on my lips.... That's all for now. Take care everyone!

We got it!

We got the apartment in Logan Square! I am so excited! Ahhh!! Best part of all? We don't have to live in Bridgeport anymore! I'll write more tomorrow as I'm too excited to do so right now. We sign the lease tomorrow :)

Gobble gobble!

Happy turkey day everyone! Don't eat too much. Also must note today is my cousin Briana's birthday. Happy bday!

Call me, Slacker!

Sorry I've been lagging on my posts. Life has been hectic these past several days. Rob was sick on the weekend, some idiot in Pilsen hit my car and tore off part of the plastic above the tire, etc. We did not get to go to Milwaukee for my friend Juan's 70s bday bash. Money is tight w/ us saving to move. Besides I spent the whole weekend looking at places, I think I saw 6 in total. We went back last night to one particular apartment so Rob could see it and so we could fill out an application for it. Thanks to Janet for showing it to us via her real estate agency :) PRAY we get this one!!!! I really really really really like it. The location is perfect, size, etc. Being the realistic person I am, I've made an appointment to see another place tonight as well.

So what else has been going on? Not much. Finally got a hold of my landlord to let her know we are not renewing our lease. She was cool, she even asked me what kind of dog we wanted...seeing if we'd stay. Lol. She guarenteed me a good recommendation. I would hope so, I've been a tenant for over 4 years! I have my Chango Macho votive candle that my coworked gave me lit. Everyone pray, chant, or whatever it is you do.

So can we talk 'bout how pissed I am that the new Almodóvar movie has only opened in New York thus far? Rob is ready to have a stroke over it. Hopefully it will make it's way to Chicago soon. I'm ready to buy the European DVD off ebay (gotta love region-free DVD players, get one they are super cheap on eby).

The one good thing is this week is short work-wise. Only one more day of hell to go. Thursday is turkey day and we are gonna spend it at Rob's mom's house. I am looking forward to it actually. My family, love 'em to death, is rather sullen when it comes to holidays like this. But the best thing is that Ely Guerra is Saturday!!! I can't wait. Esperanza you better look out for me!

BTW, I'm adding a new link to my regular blogs I read. It is by Iván from Spain, and his blog is entitled Vida y milagros de un trash-tocado. I happened to stumble upon it while looking for other Alaska fans. Un saludo especial para Iván y para todos mis amigos que hablan español.

I have a lot of work to get done so I will try and write more later. I have to leave by 5pm so I better get a move on it. Ciao

FYI...no Zoé

We had planned on going to see Zoé tonight w/ Lucybell...but tickets are $35! We are on a tight budget, so we are gonna have to pass. Sucks cause I really wanted to see Zoé. Hopefully they'll come back. Besides we just spent $$ on tickets for Ely Guerra. We really have to watch our $$ as we are saving up for a security deposit.

BTW that other apt. was too much. Uff! My lovely friend and annointed life-partner Janet is gonna show us some places via her Real Estate agency! Woo hoo! I'm excited.

So instead of going to see Zoé tonight we are gonna hang out w/ my Milwaukee sister and I believe our adopted Milwaukee Sister, Jorge. Later everyone. P.S. Someone remind me to tape America's Next Top Model tonight!!

Hangovers suck!

We had a blast this weekend. On Saturday my cousins Mari & Chuy and friends Sylvia & Jackie came to stay with us. We went to Café Ibérico, drank TONS of sangría; went to Salud (this new Tequila lounge in Wicker Park, it's the old Holiday FYI); then ended up at Lola's to watch the drag show. OMG we got tore up!! It was much needed. Don't ask me how many Long Islands I had at Lola's. Let's just say the next day I was paying for it. Actually Monday I was still paying for it. Lol. Anyhoo here are some pics from the outing :)

The rest of the weekend we were lazy. We stopped at Maxwell to have Huarraches (great for hangovers) and really only stayed for an hour. We ran into Yesenia and her hubby. At night we made molé. It came out good :)

The apartment search continues. We had found this place in Logan Square that we both loved but the guy ended up renting it to his girlfriend's coworker. He was nice enough to give me a lead though, so in the meantime I am looking into that as well as some other ads I have been seeing.

Guess what Friday is everyone? Pedro Almodóvar's La mala educación (The Bad Education) FINALLY opens up in the US. We are beyond ecstatic to go see it. Almodóvar is our favorite. I can't wait to see this! Rob HATES Gael García Bernal but I for one can not wait to see him in this role. He looks HOT as a woman! I'm hoping this lives up to the rest of his work. Though I tend to prefer his 80s and early 90s work, I still can say he is the greatest director alive.

Ahhhhhhhh1

I HATE waiting! Sorry, I just needed to vent. I am waiting to hear back on a place we saw. Everyone but the person I need to hear from is calling me. Lol.

Ze cover

The search begins.

So last night we went to see what I am sure will be the first of many apartments. It was nice cause it was the whole first floor but the bedrooms were TINY!!! The landlord was a little out there if you know what I mean. Let the search continue.

In the meantime I am hawking more crap on ebay. Figure I can sell some stuff and add to our security deposit fund. So here is the link. Happy bidding!

Just out of curiosity...what were your favorite childhood toys? Someone posted a topic about this on SayHey! the other day. Being the future fag of america that I was as a child, I have to admit that these were two of my favorite toys (yes my mother let me play with dolls):

Shakes

Sadly we had to take Shakespeare back to Milwaukee on Sunday to his mommy :( I loved dogsitting for him. It was so much fun. I can't wait til Rob and I can FINALLY get a dog of our own. Here are some pics from Shakespeare's visit to Chicago:

Saturday we went to the Double Door so we could get our tickets to Ely Guerra followed by Indian food. In the evening we went out for Janet's bday to Moonshine in Wicker Park. It was fun, but I think this is the first time we didn't continue to party after. Everyone is old now! Lol. We all went home by 10:30pm. Rob and I did however go home and make margaritas and enjoy our last night w/ Shakes.

Sunday we had to take Shakes back, so after dropping him off we went to my mom's house for dinner. She made beef stroganoff (yummy!!!). We came back that same night.

Monday...back to work :( I did however go do laundry. Ughh! I was home after midnight, so I was tired today. As for today, busy at work and I am still looking for apartments online. I found a few I would really like to see. Just waiting for the damn people to return my calls! Wish me luck!

My sentiments exactly...

Chug. Chug...

Now that I have some time to write...I must tell you all of my horrendous morning. Being the good boyfriend I am, I take Rob to work in the morning. I drop him off and park in Pilsen and take the blue line (normally I take the Orange line). Well today all is normal...until the train stops. I kidd you not, we were stuck for 1 hour and 20 minutes!!! Thank god I had the newest issue of In Style with me (and my ipod). Turns out a CTA worker broke her leg on the track and no one could move until the ambulance came. Poor thing. Sh*tty for us because we were between stops. It's not like I could get off and take a cab to the office. Needless to say I got in around 10:30ish. Now for some exciting news...

Ely Guerra is playing @ the Double Dorr Saturday, November 27!!!! Tickets go on sale this Saturday @ noon. This will be my 6th time seeing Ely!! I saw her:

• 1998 @ HOB (De Diva Voz tour) w/ Julieta & Aurora y la Academia (I shouled out for her to sing Quiero verte for the encore...she did. I melted! It was beautiful)


• 2002 @ Borders: In-store acoustic performance


• 2002 @ Empty Bottle (the day after Borders)


• 2003 @ Metro (opened for Gustavo Cerati in July 03)


• 2003 @ Hot House (last December. I took Rob as his Xmas gift. He was amazed)

BTW that isn't a real flyer for the show, I just designed it for my blog :) BTW, thanx Meiver for noting my date mix ups!

Cho, how I love thee...

Margaret Cho is not only my favorite comedian, she is also one who always speaks her mind. If you have done so, check out her blog. Here are her thoughts post-Election day:

I know that we would like to question the whole of democracy. I can't believe Bush won either, but there isn't time to despair. What is needed now is action, not hopelessness. What is important is that there has been tremendous progress in mobilizing people to create change. Remember, more voters turned out this year than in the last three decades. Although it might be said that we can't expect change overnight, there really was a very rapid shift in the way we view politics. We have become unafraid of voicing our opinions, using our power, pooling our resources, and allowing our differences to aid us instead of keeping us apart.

These new ways of looking at ourselves politically redefine what it means to be an American. It takes what used to be a very passive identity and turned us all into revolutionaries. In a short time, we activated activism, something that lay dormant in many of us and had not been awakened until now.

The Bush administration will be sorry they won this battle, for they now look forward to losing the war. Ultimately, a government cannot defeat its people, no matter how much power they assume or how corrupt they are. Even though today feels like a defeat, there is no loss. There is only opportunity. Now we have the chance to challenge everything, fight everything. The possibilities are tremendous. All the polls, all the posturing, all the opinions that we endured during months leading up to the election provide us with a valuable education on how we think and act as a country.

There are a huge number of us that are on the same side. We had no idea how many of us there were before. We constitute roughly half of the nation, probably more. If we refuse to concede to apathy, then we can roll up our sleeves and get dirty. This is merely the third act break, when it seems like our hero is down for the count, but it just isn't possible, because there is still half an hour to go before the movie ends. We have a lot more of our story left to tell. We need to wipe the blood off our lip and get up again for the last time.

My friend years ago had this joke, where he was talking about how he'd tell his girlfriend that he thought she was being a bitch, to which she'd reply - "Oh you'll KNOW when I'm being a bitch." Republicans don't even know how nasty we can be. You think people are pissed off today, just wait until the inauguration. Can you imagine all the boos and jeers during Brooks & Dunn's set? Just the radical uncoolness of their musicians compared to Democratic rock stars is fairly awesome to consider. Brooks & Dunn vs. Pearl Jam. Charlie Daniels going toe to toe with Bruce Springsteen. Leann Womack against Moby. Britney Spears facing off the entire Hip Hop Summit. If it wasn't so ridiculously sad, it would be funny. If 'these colors' don't run now, they will soon.

I think Bush is probably really scared, if he is smart enough to be. He should be, because he has an enormously difficult task in front of him. There is no way he will regain public popularity. All he can manage to do is not fuck up too badly, which will probably prove to be impossible, as he is the rare maestro of the fuck up. Look at it this way. We might have some fun. Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think. It is vital to mourn for the victims of this government but not at the expense of losing our sense of humor. Our ability to laugh coincides directly with our ability to fight. If we can make fun of it, we can transcend it. Just imagine the incredible storm of shit that Bush will have to endure. It will make Hurricane Jeanne look like a humidifier. The polarizing of the population has been a wondrous gift to debate, and we are more politicized and aware than ever before. With all this caution and attention focused on our 'elected' officials, we have a moment where we can grasp the brass ring of self-government. In the immortal words of DMX, "They don't know, who we be." but they will, and they will be sorry.

Well they tell me of a pie up in the sky
Waiting for me when I die
But between the day you're born and when you die
They never seem to hear even your cry

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now of what's mine
And then the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all

Well the officers are trying to keep me down
Trying to drive me underground
And they think that they have got the battle won
I say forgive them Lord, they know not what they've done

And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave

Yeah, the harder they come, the harder they'll fall one and all
What I say now, what I say now, awww
What I say now, what I say one time
The harder they come the harder they'll fall one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall one and all

-Jimmy Cliff
The Harder They Come

What a sad day.

I would much rather have the doll in the above picture as our president. I am sick to my stomach at the thought that we have four more years of hell. Just goes to show what a corrupt MF George Dubya is. The last two elections I voted in, my candidates both lost now. Maybe I should move to Canada. I guess they are still waiting on Ohio, but is that really gonna do much? Today is such a sad day, and an even sadder future for our country is upon us. I've never been one to be patriotic or any of that BS, in fact I can't stand this country, but if I must live here I'd rather not have Dumb-ass running it.

In other news I went to the dentist for my cleaning (actually it's my gum specialist; she kinda looks like Amy Sedaris now that I think about it)...all was well. I still haven't heard anything about my interview last week. Shakespeare is doing wonderful. It is going to be so hard to give him back on Sunday :( I have a lot to get done today, so I shall sign off. Laters.

I voted...so should you.

Halloween was a bust!

This was the first time in years that I did absolutely nothing for halloween. If any of you know me, you know that Halloween is like, literally my favorite day of the year. For some odd reason, I just was not feeling it. The past couple of years we (my friends and I) always planned parties and went all out but this year that was not the case. I have been so busy the last couple of weeks (work, my interview, dogsitting, etc) I just did not have time to do anything. I had a great costume planned too. We just ended up staying in and chilaxing. We spent the whole day w/ Shakespeare. We took him over to Janet's to visit w/ her baby Roxy. That was interesting. Shakes isn't used to other dogs, but he was fine after awhile. Janet is too sweet and is always cooking for us. I feel like she's our mommy in that sense. Lol! We also took him to PetSmart. It was so fun. Back to 'ween...like I said we just stayed in and did nothing. Bummed around. Around 1am I decided to go to Dominick's and buy some Tequila & Margarita Mix and we drank, smoked and watched Sixteen Candles. It was nice. Since I don't have any pics to share since we didn't do anything I thought I'd share one from last year. I went as Stuart from MadTV. Here I am w/ my friend Ramón from Milwaukee at a party we threw last here at Freddy and Juan's:

Sunday we ended up going to Maxwell Street again (gosh is this becoming a pattern??). We only really wanted to go and eat Huarraches. They are so f*cking good! I don't even care if there are onions on them! Lol. Of course we ended up looking around and how did we buy more cds? I swear we are addicts. But I paid no more than $2 per cd. I found (don't laugh) 98º's last album (I have a crush on them..especaily Nick Lachey), Terrence Trent Darby's debut, Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel (I am trying to recuperate some lost childhood cd's that I sold when I went alternative in high school), Milli Vanilli (I wanted the original one cause I sent in my back when their scandal hit for a refund), a Taylor Dayne remix single, some imports and God knows what else. But my special find of the day? A Mexican blanket!!! I've been wanting one forever! You know those tacky looking furry blankets they sell w/ some ugly animal on them? Well I got an ugly blue one w/ dolphins. That thing is so warm!!! The stupid Bears game was on (I hate football it is so dumb...sports in general do absolutely nothing for me), so my show wasn't on 'til like after midnight. But Desperate Housewives was great last night! Lupe Ontivieros was great as Luis's mother. Can't wait for next week! I just wanted to share this flyer for an upcoming Santa Sabina concert. No it's not in Chicago but in Mexico, I just thought it was a cool poster. God I hope they come back. Last time I saw them was 2002 (??) at Joe's Sports Bar (don't ask!). Rita Guerrerois a goddess!

All for now, hope everyone is well. I'm adding some new links to other blogs. Check them out. First is my dear friend and fellow putz Ricky Ramón! Also check out my SayHey! buddy Salvador's journal. have a good one everyone!