I will try to avoid rants on this blog, only because I often try to avoid rants altogether (I usually wind up with a migraine when I rant, which is NOT fun). And because Mo and I do not always agree when it comes to politics. However, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled today that Measure 37 is legal, and I understand why they did... I really, really do. It's just that I now have to pray that somehow we amend this thing or vote it away or something. This state's land-use measures have been praised and studied by other states and countries. Having come from a place that is overdeveloped (I'm referring to both Puerto Rico and California now), I hope and pray that the voters of this state will find a happy medium, a way to preserve the land-use policies that benefit most of us, and compensate the *few* people who are actually hurt by them. NOT the developers who would overbuild the place and pave everything over with ridiculous strip malls, business parks and cookie-cutter crapola McMansions.
That's it. I feel a twinge of pain at the side of my head. I better go while the going's good.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
I'm homesick
Or in and out of a weird funk. The whole point of starting a blog was to get back into writing and, so far I haven't. I used to be able to sit and just write. A poem. An essay. An article. I could make shit up, or pour out my guts through my fingers and it was usually really good. Now... ehhh. After Dr. Jekyll was born, I felt like my creative voice took off, the way my favorite cat Sambuca did a few days after El Niño was born: ran out the door one night and looked back at me in disgust, one last time before the darkness swallowed her up. I mourn them both.
###
Today, Mo and I tackled a bunch of boxes that we'd stored in our teen's room when we moved. They'd been out of sight, out of mind for two months now and it was time to get it done. Lemme just say that it sucks balls to move from a three-bedroom house in the country, with a garage, to a two-bedroom apartment (with an upstairs neighbor who vacuums at all hours, WTF?). We have too much stuff, which is ridiculous considering how pared-down our existence has been for years. So today, a couple years' worth of Food & Wine magazines got tossed, which made me feel like someone was ripping my flesh off, and two boxes worth of stuff got packed for Goodwill. We have a lot of pet stuff we need to take & donate to the people at the pound. And we're still not even close to being done. I still have to list the giganto-stroller travel system on Craig's List, as well as the crib mattress that got used -- for naps -- maybe ten times. I still have to find a place to put all these books and kitchen stuff and wedding stuff (like my gown, WHAT am I supposed to do with my gown???) that I don't want to have to part with... It doesn't help that El Niño likes to take everything he can reach off whatever shelf it's on. Makes for a hectic day around here, daily. And, if you want a taste of HELL, talk to your teenage son about keeping his room clean. You may as well ask him to pull his own teeth, with pliers.
One of the things I found in those boxes was the VHS tape of The Jungle Book, the animated Disney classic that is one of my favorites of all time. I used to listen to the soundtrack on Sunday mornings as a little girl with my jazz-loving dad. We'd listen to Peter and The Wolf, narrated in Spanish, the sountrack for Jungle Book and/or Fantasia (my dad's favorite Disney movie), and then some Benny Goodman.
It was El Niño's turn to watch The Jungle Book today, for the first time. He enjoyed most of it. He likes Finding Nemo too. And I missed my dad, I missed what it would've been like to still have him alive. Eighteen years later, and I still miss him so much. He would've loved his grandsons and noted the irony that he never had sons but his daughters were blessed with plenty of them. He would've drawn things for my boys, I'm sure. And taught Dr. Jekyll about world history and politics. My dad, the cartoonist, would've loved the movies coming out of Pixar studios.
Thinking about my dad makes me think of Puerto Rico, makes me long for the beach and the food and the music. It reminds me of the guilt I feel for having abandoned the land of my birth, contributing to the "brain drain" because I couldn't stand the politics, the corruption, the crime, the poverty of intellect and discourse... he worked his whole life to make a difference there, and none of his daughters live on the island, none of us keep fighting in his name. Home is Oregon now, except when I remember the sound and smell of the surf and I crave the song of the coquí. Someday I'll take Mo there, I'll take El Niño snorkeling and we'll all look for hermit crab together. In a few years, we have to.
###
Today, Mo and I tackled a bunch of boxes that we'd stored in our teen's room when we moved. They'd been out of sight, out of mind for two months now and it was time to get it done. Lemme just say that it sucks balls to move from a three-bedroom house in the country, with a garage, to a two-bedroom apartment (with an upstairs neighbor who vacuums at all hours, WTF?). We have too much stuff, which is ridiculous considering how pared-down our existence has been for years. So today, a couple years' worth of Food & Wine magazines got tossed, which made me feel like someone was ripping my flesh off, and two boxes worth of stuff got packed for Goodwill. We have a lot of pet stuff we need to take & donate to the people at the pound. And we're still not even close to being done. I still have to list the giganto-stroller travel system on Craig's List, as well as the crib mattress that got used -- for naps -- maybe ten times. I still have to find a place to put all these books and kitchen stuff and wedding stuff (like my gown, WHAT am I supposed to do with my gown???) that I don't want to have to part with... It doesn't help that El Niño likes to take everything he can reach off whatever shelf it's on. Makes for a hectic day around here, daily. And, if you want a taste of HELL, talk to your teenage son about keeping his room clean. You may as well ask him to pull his own teeth, with pliers.
One of the things I found in those boxes was the VHS tape of The Jungle Book, the animated Disney classic that is one of my favorites of all time. I used to listen to the soundtrack on Sunday mornings as a little girl with my jazz-loving dad. We'd listen to Peter and The Wolf, narrated in Spanish, the sountrack for Jungle Book and/or Fantasia (my dad's favorite Disney movie), and then some Benny Goodman.
It was El Niño's turn to watch The Jungle Book today, for the first time. He enjoyed most of it. He likes Finding Nemo too. And I missed my dad, I missed what it would've been like to still have him alive. Eighteen years later, and I still miss him so much. He would've loved his grandsons and noted the irony that he never had sons but his daughters were blessed with plenty of them. He would've drawn things for my boys, I'm sure. And taught Dr. Jekyll about world history and politics. My dad, the cartoonist, would've loved the movies coming out of Pixar studios.
Thinking about my dad makes me think of Puerto Rico, makes me long for the beach and the food and the music. It reminds me of the guilt I feel for having abandoned the land of my birth, contributing to the "brain drain" because I couldn't stand the politics, the corruption, the crime, the poverty of intellect and discourse... he worked his whole life to make a difference there, and none of his daughters live on the island, none of us keep fighting in his name. Home is Oregon now, except when I remember the sound and smell of the surf and I crave the song of the coquí. Someday I'll take Mo there, I'll take El Niño snorkeling and we'll all look for hermit crab together. In a few years, we have to.
Monday, February 13, 2006
damn... I lost it!
so, I had this beautiful thing written up, I literally choked up reading it out loud to Mo. And then El Niño woke up, and life got a little crazy... and I lost the post! So, until I get inspired again, here are some pics taken last night. It figures that the only time he'd leave sunglasses on would be indoors, at night. This is my child.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
family fun
Mo & I are kissing goodbye and our 14-year-old son starts making hurling noises. It's hard to kiss properly when we're both laughing...
me: "Stop! You're just jealous cuz you don't have anyone you can kiss..."
Dr Jekyll : " Yeah, and who's fault is that? Yours, cuz I can't go anywhere or do anything!"
me: "No. The girls just aren't impressed with your flavor-saver." (referring to the 1 inch of hair-growth above his lip)
Mo: "His flavor-saver? Do you mean his teeth?"
#####
Dr Jekyll (lying on the floor with a look of abject misery on his face): "I'm bored"
me: "if you say that one more time, I'm gonna give you something to clean! In fact, from now on, every time you say that I'm gonna give you something to clean."
pause
Dr Jekyll: "I'm un-occuppied!"
me: "Stop! You're just jealous cuz you don't have anyone you can kiss..."
Dr Jekyll : " Yeah, and who's fault is that? Yours, cuz I can't go anywhere or do anything!"
me: "No. The girls just aren't impressed with your flavor-saver." (referring to the 1 inch of hair-growth above his lip)
Mo: "His flavor-saver? Do you mean his teeth?"
#####
Dr Jekyll (lying on the floor with a look of abject misery on his face): "I'm bored"
me: "if you say that one more time, I'm gonna give you something to clean! In fact, from now on, every time you say that I'm gonna give you something to clean."
pause
Dr Jekyll: "I'm un-occuppied!"
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
no clue...
"ahhh-pí-ya-WAH? ahhh-pí-ya-WAHWAH! ah-Pí ah-Pí ah-Pí-ya-WAAAAAHHHHHH"
That's it, El Niño's most recent proclamation to the masses, erm... the immediate family. All day long, this is what he tells us, with the most earnest look on his face. SO earnest, really I can't even tell you what those little grey eyes do to my heart when he looks at me that way.
I cannot for the life of me figure out what it means. It may have something to do with a certain cd that appears to affect his brain like crack.
The other cute thing he's started doing is, when you ask him if he wants to do something and he doesn't, he'll turn his face partly & look shyly and say "no!" very softly, almost like he doesn't want to say it. But he's very sure of himself, trust me on this.
Oh, and he says "ee-yaya" for giraffe. I'm loving that too.
That's it, El Niño's most recent proclamation to the masses, erm... the immediate family. All day long, this is what he tells us, with the most earnest look on his face. SO earnest, really I can't even tell you what those little grey eyes do to my heart when he looks at me that way.
I cannot for the life of me figure out what it means. It may have something to do with a certain cd that appears to affect his brain like crack.
The other cute thing he's started doing is, when you ask him if he wants to do something and he doesn't, he'll turn his face partly & look shyly and say "no!" very softly, almost like he doesn't want to say it. But he's very sure of himself, trust me on this.
Oh, and he says "ee-yaya" for giraffe. I'm loving that too.
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