School's Out for Summer

The Hostile One (Ariel) seems to think that I have not written in a while because I have been too busy on MySpace... That was certainly the case two weeks ago, a month ago even... However, that simply isn't the case today! Since I last wrote, there are two things that have been keeping me away from a computer. One is the World Cup matches, which I have followed almost religiously. (Go Portugal!) The second reason is that I have been too busy enjoying the outdoors since I went on Summer break a week ago today.

-Last Friday night I got together with friends from Glenfeliz School at the Griffith Park merry-go-round, which our friend Julio manages. We had a great potluck complete with carne asada, chips and salsa, a potato salad, a fruit salad, and sangria. A couple of our friends brought their kids and dogs. We had a wonderful time.

-Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I saw all but one of the World Cup matches. Not all of my favorite teams made it to the top 8 but all of the matches that I watched were action-packed. Go Portugal!

-Sunday night I went to go see Alfred Uhry's play Without Walls at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre with Serene Ford and Steve Mitchell. Last Christmas Steve and I decided to get season tickets to the Taper and we gave Serene a gift subscription as well. In the last 6 months, we got to see 4 plays and a musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. It was such a fun commitment to see all these productions together. It felt very cosmopolitan, and like such a grown-up thing to do. When I was younger, I used to love seeing live music. Loved seeing indie bands play... There were so many music festivals I tried not to miss. While I still enjoy a lot of music today, I don't have the need to see bands perform live all the time. Maybe it 's because I am older, but I much rather go see a play or a musical. Maybe it's because I'm queer too...

-Tuesday I went to LACMA to see the Gustav Klimt and David Hockney shows with my friend Susan Lewis. Both shows were great. We then had tacos at this outdoor taqueria in Koreatown.

-Tuesday and Thursday mornings I went running with Oscar and Jerry in Elysian Park. And I believe I will be joining them for runs and walks throughout the Summer.

-Wednesday, during the day, I got together with Carmela, her daughter Vero, Naomi, and Jack to go to the beach. We all packed lunches and snacks and had a fun time in Santa Monica. The water was cold, which didn't matter since we were all mostly there to hang out and sunbathe.

-Wednesday evening I went out to Happy Hour at El Conquistador with Lil' Anthony and Adria... I had three margaritas, which means I got pretty drunk since the drinks at El conquistador are pretty big and potent! It was great catching up with Adria, and talking about our latest exploits. She, of course, had a lot more to share since she got married last month!

-These last couple of days I have dedicated to working on my yard. Cleaning house. Visiting my mother and my niece and nephew... It was also Karina's birthday on the 29th... And I decided to sit down and write and mail birthday and other greeting cards to a few people. It felt good writing letters and notes on paper, using a pen. Sadly, most people don't do this anymore.

Anyway...Happy birthday Karina!!! Happy birthday to Walter also, who will be turning 33 on the 5th...

Coming up in my social calendar: Tara's birthday party, Serene's barbecue to welcome her "brothers," more beach outtings, the Lotus Festival, the final games of the World Cup....

Oops, I Did it Again...

Oops I did it again, or should I say, I've done it and am doing it again. I have not written in a while and I am about to end my 16 days of silence with another "Top 10 or 12 List." Actually, this kind of reminds me of when I was an (avid) journal-keeper. I used to write everyday, then every other day, then once a week and so on.....

TOP TEN THINGS I HAVE BEEN UP TO AND WHY I HAVE NOT BLOGGED LATELY...

1. It is almost the end of the school year where I work. I have been finding myself a little busier than normal after the bell rings these last couple of weeks. The last weeks of school are always fun for me, but also always more hectic.

2. I am totally addicted to fucking Myspace!!! Everytime I am online, I check MySpace first and then my e-mail. I have not checked my blog much, nor others'. There's been times when I am about to go online and tell myself, " I will blog first...I need to blog first...Then you can check your MySpace page," but I do not listen! I am addiucted to finding friends in it. Uploading and changing my profile pictures. And leaving comments on friends' pages. It is like Friendster (so 2003...) all over again. I am embarrassed to admit this, but it is the truth...

3. My niece and nephew are so cute. And I have been seeing a lot of them.

4. I have a lot of Geminis in my life... Happy birthday to: Senisa, Adria, Glenda, Amber, Raquel, Robin, Chus, and Mom... I've been too busy signing birthday cards.

5. I went to a super cool pool party hosted by Anna and Serene Ford in Altadena. Anna was housesitting for her boss, whose house has a pool and jacuzzi, and we had a slumber/pool party a couple of weeks ago. We drank a lot. Barbecued the whole time we were there. And got to swim and sunbathe. The timing couldn't have been more perfect! As we had record-breaking temperatures that weekend exceeding 100 degrees...

6. The Velasquez siblings got together with the Carmona siblings for the first time in years last weekend. We got together for my mother's birthday at Karina's house in Alhambra last Saturday and had much fun...

7. Did I already mention my addiction to MySpace?

8. I have been reading a lot.

9. My yard is clean finally...

10. World Cup fever, baby!!! Go Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Czech Republic, Korea, Brazil, and Portugal...