The Weekend

I went to a birthday party last night @ one my favorite salsa clubs. Funny, I as well as the other guests, arrived before the guest of honor and his girlfriend. This is never a good sign. He showed up about 20 minutes after I did, carrying his own birthday cake; I never did see his girl arrive but I spotted her a few minutes later. The party guests were split among the club so it was not a cohesive party. The cake was cut very late in the evening and there weren't many takers. People don't get it, cake is not the favorite choice at salsa clubs. Cookies, brownies, cupcakes that is easier to manage. They didn't play the birthday song until 1:15 a.m.; Li'l Pony and I were already at our cars as we dashed back for our dance.

Today, I went to an open house that my realtors were hosting. I haven't seen them, the dynamic trio in almost 5 years. It was certainly a nice moment as they each greeted me. Admittedly, I've changed, new hairstyle and appearance, but I guess my smile hasn't. I thought I would stump them by not putting on my "Hi, my name is..." Christmas badge. I didn't have to, they knew me as I recognized, they haven't changed much either.

During the reign of terror 2004, I learned a lot about the real estate business. Times were definitely different then from now. For every one home, there at least 10 buyers with cash burning in their pockets. Heck, I asked my former spouse not to get into the market so I had one less buyer to compete with. Searching, I looked at least 100 homes in 4 months, and made offers on at least a dozen; heartbroken when out maneuvered by $5k. However, in spite of the hustle/bustle of that time, I made real connections with these ladies. Sipping mimosas, I gave them the list of "demands" that I want for my final home, to be purchased within the next 6 to 8 years. "No problem!" each said, willing to make it happen for me. Sheila said it was a joy to work with me and that I was "special"; I feel the same about the dynamic trio.

28 years and counting....

Last weekend after surviving food coma, I had a wonderful lunch with my friend from high school. We meet at least once a year to catch up with the previous year's events. I drive to LBC to her house and we go over to the end of Pine Street and have lunch. We dined at Gladstone's one of my favorites, overlooking the Queen Mary. Our server was really cool too, sharing interesting tidbits from San Diego. I know it's random, but if you know me, people tell me things about themselves all the time.

After settling into our booth, ordering cocktails and brunch, we settled in for a long afternoon of conversation and laughter. Who knew that when we met 28 years ago among all the other freshmen meeting at Pius X that we would remain friends. We shared a lot experiences then, creating our own clique the "Palos Verdes group" not wanted to fit in with the others on campus, running the government our last 2 years as well as our yearbook. Our catch phrase..."Deadlines are for now, Tiara is forever!" We still laugh about it. Sharing dessert, we talked about our hopes and dreams for our future and what the world will be like for us.

We went to college, she UC Davis and me Chapman College, visiting each other every Christmas. I got married and had a child, she went on her path of becoming a teacher and an administrator. There were some lost years of not visiting, but we traded Christmas and birthday cards in the interim.

Losing my way during most of those years and now coming back strong & confident, it's comforting to have someone validate they knew you when. As I reminisced with her and shared my journey, she said to me with those blue eyes and Dentine smile, "P, you may have lost your way, but you never really lost..you! I know who you are!" I realized that now matter how many masks you wear during the course of you life, there are a few people who know the real...YOU!! You cant' hide from them.

The time went quickly, walking around the board walk, going back to her house, reviewing pictures from her Paris trip. She gave me a few books to read for the next year. I'll see her in a few weeks for dinner and when she meets Missy.

Giving her a big hug, then driving into the fog, I smiled just thinking about our next 28 years together.

The Return of the Sandwich Guy

I received a text message from..the Sandwich Guy. It was a simple message, "Was thinking of you today. Hope all is well with you". I looked at the message for a moment and thought, "Whoa, after 6 months of no contact from me, he still kept my number". At first, I was a little miffed that he would contact me after so many months. But then I thought, it's nice to know that there is someone out there that is thinking about you. I dismissed the "creepy" factor and just enjoyed that moment.

Thanks, Sandwich Guy for thinking of me.

The Time for Change Begins....

Obama is President Elect. Hillary is to be sworn is as Secretary of State. And now Caroline Kennedy is interested in the Senate seat for New York. A change is coming fast and fierce. What will happen next?

33 years

OJ was convicted today. There is something strangely funny about this whole thing. 1994 most of the country were glued to their televisions watching that infamous chase and then the trial of all trials! The world was split did he actually commit the crimes, the jury didn't think so. And then there was the civil trial where those jurors had the task to find him guilt; they weren't fooled by him. From there he was stripped of his worldly possessions, namely that house and try to live a quiet life. No more Hertz rental cars ads or "Naked Gun" movies.

Ah but he wrote the book, which I saw a copy of not long ago. I didn't bother reading any of it; I already think he did it. Hey this guy has a great sense of humor.

I wonder as he heard the verdict today did he think he would get away with it again. One's luck typically runs out evidently. I truly believe that he was trying to get his stuff back that he thought was stolen in the first place. But what he doesn't realize that he lost a civil suit and he's not allow to have any stuff.

There is speculation that there may be another trial. Can't our tax money go to something else? '

Admit dude, your luck has finally run out. Like the Barretta theme song says, "don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Don't do it". Ah, sing it Sammy.

Made It Thru

Well, I didn't know what this weekend was going to be like, whether I was going to be happy, sad, remorseful or bitter. Thankfully, I'm none of those things. I can't believe a year has past since the "breakup". To commemorate the occasion, I read a journal entry of that awful day. I can see the pain and heartache in the writing, me not wanting to let go of a perfectly strange relationship. But I can say, it's been a year and at least, I'm no longer wishing to be back with him.

It was a long journey, but after this past September I realized there were circumstances bigger than me or the relationship that it just wasn't going to work. I haven't seen him since May 8th in which I may say he didn't look so good. But after hearing that he spends most of his late evenings in several local bars, I now know, it's more than just the "trivia" things that got him down.

As for me, I spent the weekend with family and friends. Missy and I were one of the many who gave cash to the movie, "Twilight". Who knew vampires can look so good. The makers definitely left 'tweens thirsting for the sequel. I can imagine they will make all 4 books into movies. As long as the vampires look good, I'll fork over some of my salsa money to watch it. Ahh...to be 13 again, not!

Yesterday, Missy and I went to our young friend's 10th birthday party in the foothills. It was nice to see my extended family who live so far away in the IE. We got to catch up, which is always good and of course talk salsa! The food was great..thanks, Mom! And thanks to Mystery for the invite.

Yep, it's been a year and I'll discuss what it the "up side" has been like. But let's just relish in the moment that I got past one of the most painful periods of my life. Thanks Lost Boy, you didn't break me. And to all of those who held my hand during the darkest of days, you know who you are, THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!

I'm Back!!

Well it seems I took a very long break from writing, but I wasn't really inspired to say anything. The summer was full of surprises so I concentrated on the events, not really documenting anything in particular.

The past weekend was filled with mayhew as 4 counties were set ablaze. I've lived in the OC for more than 20 years and I don't think I have been faced with perilous times as I have in the last 1 1/2 years. When I purchased this home over 4 years ago, I never thought about fires but not as I get older I think about do I want to stay in this remotely beautiful area of Orange County. It's calm most of the year, except for when a Santa Ana begins to blow and I hear my neighbor's ficus trees scrape against my bedroom window. Oops, I forgot to take down the wind chime! As I hear sirens race up the streets, I brace myself and hope not hear that awful sound waking me in the dead of night....it's time to move, now!!!

Thank you to the the higher power for keeping me, my family and my friends safe from harm's way. I'm sure I'll be calling on you again, soon!

Am I in Kansas?

A difficult weekend this one was; I wonder did it have anything to do with the dramatic weather conditions. The week before, Monday, was raining, by the weekend, it was 98 degrees and now it's cloudy and tornadoes. I don't live in Kansas, do I?

I danced in my favorite place, saw my favorite security guards, paid a small cover charge...life was good. But the people that night were weird, let me say, more weird than ususal. Strange behavior, indeed. I was told once again, that someone, a male was afraid of me (if I had $1k bucks for everytime, I heard that one). I was left on the dance floor but a bald mutha ucker, who somehow thought it was funny. The older creepy guy sat in the corner, eyes fixated on me until he went home. Did I mentioned there was a full moon in the same week too?

Maybe it's time to hang up the ol' dancing shoes for awhile at least until these folks get a grip on life again. What am I thinking? Give it up because of one strange night?

I shall think of Mystery's words of wisdom when things are not always going my way. F 'em!

The weekend wasn't a total loss. I broke bread with good friends, shared tales, some funny, some not so much. And I even baked with Missy, the shock of shocks while watching a show about "beach weddings". Yeah, I'm still disillusioned about life, relationships and marriage, but for brief moments, I saw a glimmer of hope for the future.

Don't Make Me Do It..But It's Good For You!

Well, some of my friends have been encouraging me to embark the world of internet dating. I've been kicking and screaming the whole time, without any "real" objections. Sure I meet tons of people everyday, but I haven't really dated since "him".

A few weeks ago, I received a "cryptic" text message from a dating website. I called my partner in crime, paralysed by fear, not knowing how to take this sign. Without hesitation, she created an email account, separate from my own, a screen name along with a picture formed, and voile, my new identity was born. (Sidenote: how many identities can 1 person have in cyberworld?) For sure, the website is a bit cheesy, asking for $16.33 per month for their service. I had my reservations, but almost immediately, my photo commanded various looks from some "interesting" people. But what I don't like about this site is to send a "cupid alert" or an email is ok, but the request for money is prominent. And from what I can tell, the "gentleman" have not shelled any money out of their pockets either. A cat and mouse game indeed.

However, this led me to take on the industry leader of dating websites a few days later. Once again, my partner in crime sat beside me, as my hands froze in fear trying to think of clever things to say about myself without sounding desperate or needy. It wasn't easy, not because I'm either of those things, I'm not a great proponent of selling one's self. I came up with something, but I'm not sure if it reads I want a "partner for life". Over 3 weeks, however, I have been review over 130 times, which I don't know if that's impressive or not. But what I have noticed is within the previews of said profile, no one has initiated to "wink" or "send an email". It just like real life, the guy doesn't want to make the first move for fear of....rejection. So as of today, I've sent 2 winks and an email, receiving at least one response. That's encouraging. My next step, since I have nothing to lose, throw caution to the wind and wink at as many fellas that I deemed worthy, based on picture and profile. I'm not sure if that's the "professional" way to do it, but like life, it's not going to be handed to you.

Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted!

Why U Should Stay Home on a Friday Night

So Mystery told me a story about his friend's Friday night. Boots had an invitation to dance with some mutual friends. They met at a local restaurant, primarily to leave cars and commute to their destination. One of the friends in common didn't show up, no phone call, nada! So that left Boots with acquaintance A and the new folks, Boy A and Girl A. Girl A states she has to eat before heading north, some kind of eating disorder. If she doesn't eat, she'll pass out. Umm, ok! Well she did eat and passed out anyway. In comes the handsome paramedics to the rescue; tells girl A she should be sent to the hospital. In a panic, she refuses. Can we say "no insurance", perhaps? So with all of this dialogue, the PD shows up, trying to figure out what was going on. Of course, cops asks questions, right? Their target was Boy A. Did he look or act suspicious? Did he have on the wrong clothes or perhaps looked a little shady? No one really knows, but the next thing anyone knew, he was spread eagled across the car with shiny new silver bracelets. WTF?!

Unfortunately, the group never made it to the final destination. The hospital was the gathering place and Girl A was going to be ok.

A Week in Review

Who knew that I would attend not 1, not 2 but 3 concerts all in one week? Along with the typical things that I do, it was a great week.

Let's see in one week, I:
*Danced last Friday night at my favorite place
*Visited my friend's 2 week baby girl on Saturday. She's adorable and reminds me how sweet and cute they are, but I don't want another one.
*Danced again in South County feeding birthday cake to a beautiful guy. Nice!
*Attended Sunday's salsa workshop ith world renowned, Francisco Vasquez and then lunch in the LBC on 2nd street at a fabulous Middle Eastern restaurant with same beautiful guy.
*Cinco de Mayo dancing the light fantastic near the airport with Francisco Vasquez and my friends.
*Attended an amazing concert, the Pink Martini...loved it!!
*Drove to Montebello to see El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico performance. Amazing even though I ran into the "Lost Boy". We're going to be ok, I think. We need time.
*Saw the last concert on Saturday, Angel Lebron and his band.

And I worked a full time job on top of it all.

Wow.....I'm tired!

Hiatus

I know; I took a small break from blogging. But I'll return shortly. Don't give up on me, yet!

...March is Almost Over!

Where did the month go? Count down to St. Patrick's Day and it's gone. Celebrated the week like the proverbial "rock star". An amazing party at one of my favorite salsa club in the OC. Special thanks to my PARTNER IN CRIME for putting an amazing night together; and also to RZ for making it all happen. There were special "guest stars" from LA and the IE, which is a trek for a Tuesday night party. U guys rock!! Two more parties prevailed at Tapa's and Granada's where more surprises were in store and the week just kept rolling.

The actual day, well, I went to work, boo! But at 6 p.m. heading to Jimmy Bone's sang Irish tunes (Sunday, Bloody Sunday of course!) with my other PICs and Hec-toe too. Relished in my first experience with PCH Dogs, Wiernerschnitzel who? Ended the evening with more cocktails in the one of the finest oasis in the OC.

But less not forget, my new buddy, Nikole who celebrated having the same "luck of the Irish" birthday! She relayed that her parents did not name her after the saint, but instead came up with the unique spelling of her name due to a stop at KFC before the birth. Thanks to the drive up person who took her father's order, named Nikole! Alrighty then.

Off to San Francisco......

...Half a Day to St. Patty's Day

The clock is ticking before my birthday. I'll start the day meeting my favorite man, Santa and end the day at Jimmy Bones in Orange with friends. C u there!

.....Some Tips

One of my salseras send these tips to me.

Five tips for a woman....

1. It is important that a man helps you around the house and has a job.
2. It is important that a man makes you laugh.
3. It is important to find a man you can count on and doesn't lie to you.
4. It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.
5. It is important that these four men don't know each other.

..There Goes Brett

I read the paper on March 5th stating that Brett Favre was retiring from the Green Bay Packers after 17 seasons. Cheeseheads everywhere are saddening by the news, I'm included. I started watching Brett and Reggie in the early 1990; memories of me driving to Coto de Caza at 9:30 a.m. to ensure we would be on time for kickoff promptly at 10 a.m. Then Missy was born and before she knew the color green exist, she laid on Craig's sofa sleeping with her GB cheerleader's outfit. He would watch her when Brett had the ball to see if Missy would have her arms outstretched over her head. If this occurred, it was surefire sign that Brett was taking the ball to the end zone. There was the turnaround trip to SF for an afternoon of 49ers gleaming over the narrow win over GP. Oh I can't forget the dive bar in Laguna Niguel; me in my 1st trimester, laying my head down on the bar for a second during the 2nd quarter and not awakening until the middle of the third. Yep, I heard screaming the whole time; those 9er fans were not going to win that game, but I was tired!

I gave up Brett and the Packers after the divorce, giving the "Former" the covenant "Cheesehead" and the "Packer Fan, yes I am" tshirt. It was only fair. But I'll never forget those years of rooting for the team. There was a beautifully written quote about Brett. He had “intuition, toughness and resilience” and those are the qualities I most admired about him and myself.

Farewell Brett....one of my heroes!

The Trek to Arizona

I kept my promise for my New Year's resolution. My first trip in 2008 is to Phoenix, AZ. I planned the trip at the end of January, very excited to visit a college friend of mine that I hadn't seen in almost 2 years. Who knew it would be approximately 1 hr and 18 minute from the OC. You can barely get to Los Angeles in traffic in that time.

Breathtaking rock formations, crystal blue skies and luckily, cool & crisp weather. I visited Chandler today. The hotel San Marcos is beautiful, somewhere I would like to stay if the opportunity to visit occurs again. The city was scarce of people for the entire population seemed to have gathered at the annual ostrich festival. We did drive by the area for the festival, but it was too congested and I wasn't feeling the "carnival" feeling. Walking along the pathway,drinking a Java Chip latte, several ostriches made from mosaics, fur, rhinestones; limitless in creativity and materials, perched at store fronts.

An observation for reasons why people don't live in the Los Angeles area. I had mild congestion, thanks to the Santa Ana winds from earlier this week, feeling very nasally. Thanks to the desert air, I'm almost back to normal. Too bad I couldn't keep my original return flight for 3/26/8. I would be surely cured by then.

...Questions to Ponder

If you're pondering a date with a beautiful male originally from New York with a bit of an edge to him, what questions would you ask? Here were some of mine:

1. What part of New York do you hail from?
2. What brought you to the Golden State?
3. Do you think there is a distinct difference between NY & LA?
4. Do you conceal a weapon?
5. Do you have any bullet holes?

Yes, all the questions were answered cleverly. I can't believe he let me get away with the last two, but that's how we roll. He enjoyed my devilish humor and didn't take offense. We'll see each other again!

..Yippy Countdown to St. Patty's Day

Oh what will the day entail? Lots of folks will be heading to their favorite Irish pub/bar. I never knew how popular St. Patrick's Day was until I moved to Orange County. I knew it was my birthday and it didn't seem such a big deal in L A County. Lines poured out of O'Hara's and Kasey's in Orange my first year here. And as time went on, people would invited to their homes for a good cornbeef and cabbage meal, compliments to my birthday. For the record, I've not indulged in the meal, maybe this year.

As a salsera, I will be celebrating early, dancing at TJ's the week before. Who knows how many salsa clubs I'll hit between the 10th and the 17th. Anyone care to join me?

And One More Thing....

So I thought I was free from the Sandwich Guy; never underestimate a desperate person. A familiar number appearred on the cell and I didn't think anything of it, until I heard the voice. "Um yes, who am I speaking to? said the voice. I was already annoyed; you're calling me and you don't the number you dialed. It took me a second, but I knew who it was.

The next 2 minutes were brief. He played like he didn't know it was my number he dialed; using some lame excuse. Quickly, he asked how I was doing as if we were buddies catching up on the week's events. I was not amused. He says, "I get the impression from our last conversation, you don't want to talk with me any longer". Yep, that would be correct, Sandwich boy. The call ended.

But he just couldn't let it go. Two hours later, a forwarded text message about making mistakes in life and learning from them. Basically a last ditch effort for me to reconsider. "WE HAVE A CONNECTION!!!" he included. And that's why the decision was made easily. He didn't get me or the situation. I think he tried to fit me in some mode he had in his mind. We didn't even make it to coffee for goodness sakes! Have a good life, Sandwich Guy!