Singing, screwing, and tipping.

What a way to start the weekend. I did go out and karaokied a bit, as always it was fun. I don't eat meat on Fridays during lent so I didn't eat, I did have some coffee and chips with salsa. I got home and was a little hungry so as always mi chica came to the rescue and made me an egg and cheese torta. Ummm it was good and tasty and it so hit the spot.

So, I am walking during lunch, you know my daily two-mile walk and I am just car gazing when all of a sudden a truck passed by and it had one of those company magnetic signs and it read in big bold letters, "Keep Screwing" and right under it were a pair of animated screws. He, he if you guessed it was from a screw company you are right. Betcha people read it twice, I know I did.

OK, here's the scenario. You are walking down the street and there's a fool with ear buds in his ears walking towards you, he is singing out of the top of his lungs and sounds pretty crappy, then just as he passes you by we waves at you and nods his head in a sign of salutation... I really want to know what goes through those peoples minds, but then again I really don't care because I probably won't stop.

Five creams, five sugars, in it please. Isn't it cool, now you can order your coffee already made and ready to drink. If you ever want some of the best fresh coffee around skip Starbucks and head on to Micky D's theirs is by far a better coffee. Feel free to forward this message to them and quote me, then maybe, just maybe they'll give me free coffee for a month or something.

Did you know that lot of Mobile gas stations don't even charge for coffee. I went once and got me a coffee and they just waved me off. I thought for sure that was a one time deal but I went back on another occasion and guess what, yep, they waved me off without charging again. I am not saying all Mobile gas stations do this but I been to two of them in my neighborhood and I got the same treatment. Can't go wrong with free.

OK, so my father in law fixed my car and when he finished he told me I had to go a place where they could top off the oil in the differential. So I went to one of those quick lube places near us and asked them to do this. Fifteen minutes later my they called me and said my car was ready, they printed a bill on the computer and as I was pulling my debit card, the guy said, don't worry we won't charge you. I was pleasanlty surpirsed and thanked them warmly.

So, now I wonder was I supposed to tip all those people for the service. I just thought anything free helps my budget and I am thankful for it, the downside is that I hardly ever carry cash anymore so I really couldn't tip them.

Stimulating the economy

Yey, it's Friday and I will be going to my favorite karaoke hangout tonight. I figure a couple of drinks and some food will inject some revenue into Manny's. These days every dollar counts. Should be lots of fun, the Phoenix/Avondale weather can't be better and the music that is going on in my head is dying to come out. So... with that in mind and with not much happening in our lives I live you with another song I did some time ago.





Why did I sing this song? I really DON'T KNOW WHY. -- LOL

OK, so Norah Jones I'm not, but hey I really like this Spanish version so I had to do it. Tomorrow a couple I met at Manny's is hosting a karaoke party at their house. Should be another good time and coming up on Sunday it's my son and his lovely wife's House Warming Party.

I hope you too have a great weekend planned.

.

I Will Survive

For the second time in a short amount of time we are going to have pizza for lunch sponsored by the two regional sales managers as a way to thank us for all we do for the sales team. Work is extremely slow and yet we are all still surviving there so it's nice to have a free lunch once in a while. These days saving a dollars means a lot to most of us. "God may squeeze you, but he won't choke you".

I don't know if I have mentioned this before but I work for a company that sells electronic equipment to every school in the country. Yeap, we are the "Best Buy" for the education sector along with Government and even churches. Did you ever hear that when they hire a new employee at See's Candies they encourage that newbie to eat as much chocolate as his/her little heart desire. The idea is that very soon that employee will want nothing to do with chocolate anymore.

Well, that sort of is me. We sell the latest in electronic equipment and yet the three TVs that I own are about 10 years old. It takes me forever to jump on the band wagon of new technology. I know the new TVs are very clear, heck they are actually clearer than real life but I'll tell you what when I am home watching my old 62" rear projection TV, since I have nothing to compare it with I still think it's the greatest and I will very much miss it once it breaks.

So adapt and overcome is my motto, I am always broke so I adapted and daily overcome it. No need for me to have the latest rage in plasma TVs, or a $300.00 iPod, or a brand new computer. I am a recycler of sorts, I bought my TV from a friend for a mere $500.00 dollars, my iPod shuffle was a gift from work as was my very old lap top computer, but guess what? Old as they are they work just fine.

My car still gets lots of attention, of course it's a Mustang but I do keep it looking pretty nice. It's a 93 and it's starting to show its age. I have been asked time and time again why don't I trade it in, but really why would I? My car is HOT, it's PAID IN FULL, and my yearly tags are about $25.00. No thank you, I'll keep my old Mustang which by the way will soon be at Knott's Berry Farm's Fabulous Fords Forever Car Show. Try that with your newer cars. lol

I guess the moral of all these is that if we wise up a little, we can live comfortably in the poor house. But then again there are those that have a need for the new stuff and the never ending outstanding credit card balances, what do we call it? Oh yeah, the American dream.

Gotta, go pizza is here and it's calling my name. Ummmmm pizza!


.

Pieces and Bits

Not nice, I spent an hour and a half on the freeway this morning while going to work. There were accidents all over it. So after all was said and done I was only 45 minutes late to work. Did I say only?

Well, it seems that my new template is being well received by all of you out there. I discovered that some computers will make the side bar drop all the way down and will start displaying it after the last post. I had seen blogs like this before, I believe that happens due to the kind of browser in the computer. In most computers it looks fine and it's actually pretty awesome. Again, thank you Nikki.

Another thing I won't do here is post small pictures much, they do not align the way I want them to so I'll stick to medium and large size only. I may use small ones only a the beginning of a paragraph and only one at a time.

So, no American Idol today. Fear not, it will be back tomorrow. Tonight we watch what the President has to say. We are living in very scary times and we need a doze of good news and good actions. It seems things are moving along and we continue to survive the carnage of this economic crisis. Man I tell you, everybody is out to collect the dollars you may owe them. I guess businesses out there feel it's better tho have some money than no money. I don't know how many of you out there are praying people or believe in prayer but realize that we have to start all pitching in somehow help each other and accept that we may be needing some divine intervention too, so praying won't do any harm and may not be such a bad idea after all.




Have you picked your favorites yet?


It seems most of my shows have either ended or are on a long hiatus. That just suits me fine as it will give me more time to start singing on line again. I am setting up my system and I am even working on a live broadcast. So, stay tuned for more updates on this. Oh and did I mention karaoke is back at Manny's. I hear it won't stop until the weather gets too hot. So for now, we sing.


Diego and I on a jamming session.


.

Nikki... Pimp My Blog!

This is my lovely and talented daughter Nikki. Once a year, in this case a little longer than that, she gives my blog a total new look. Last night she called me to tell me she had already finish with the new template and that she was ready to make it live. This is usually a high stress time for her because of all the gadgets and buttons that I have on my sidebar, she always stresses because she thinks she'll forget something.

So, she asked me to open my browser and to take a look. I am sure she was crossing her fingers hoping I would like it. She is the designer, so I give her carte blanche as long as she incorporates a Mustang and a Harley. So this time she said she wanted keep it simple and she eliminated the bike. I think I can live with it because I think the new design is super cool.


This is what most of you should see.


This is how some of you may see it. Depending on your computers resolution settings. This happens to be the way my lap top sees it.

So, I would like to hear some feed back from all my friends out there and let me know what you think? I for one am 100% satisfied and will enjoy the new look for quite a while, or at least until I can get that lovely daughter of mine to mess with it again.


.

R+L Racing

This paint scheme is just in five races throughout the year.

I know it's been done before and I have blogged about it before but hey what can I say, it's a recurring good time. R+L is a trucking company that I use at work and they are co-sponsors of the NASCAR #17 Ford Fusion racing car driven by Matt Kenseth. Twice a year they bring it to a nearby company and we get invited to go see it while enjoying a catered lunch. Yep, a NASCAR racing car and food all in one outing, if you ask me it's a win win situation.

Add to the excitement that Matt won last Sunday in Daytona. Daytona is the one race everyone remembers, granted he was driving the DEWALT Ford, but we all know R+L sponsorship is still there.





When you see the cars up close they are not the most exciting thing to see. There is nothing fancy about them, the engine just sits there looking rather small in the engine compartment, the interior is a cage and only one sit rests there waiting for it's driver. Perhaps the best part is the paint job. But make no mistake the most exciting thing happens when the fire the engine up and the engine roars like a wild animal. Those things are loud and when the car runs you realize how much power is in those engines.

Watching NASCAR on TV is fun but to really appreciate how fast the cars go you must see them in person. My niece once asked me what is so fun about watching a car go round and round in a circle, well all I know is that it just is.


Here's me congratulating Matt for his Daytona 500 win.

Fuego en la Sangre Finale

"Fuego en la Sangre" is the telenovela we have been watching for the past year or so. It's been a great novela to watch with lots of cheese moments but overall it has been entertaining enough for me to sit from 8:00 to 9:00 pm every night.

Well they say all good things must come to an end and so this telenovela's last episode will be this coming Friday. Now, I've been known to organize a party or two just for such an occasion and so I will do my best to recruit some volunteers to cook a wonderful meal so we can gather at my mom's on Friday and enjoy the last episode.

I don't know about you but to me this is as good an excuse to have a family gathering. Even if just a few of us show up it will be great.

CMC Pancake Breakfast

My Pony ready for the show.

On Saturday night I told both my daughters that the Copperstate Mustang Club annual Pancake Breakfast would be on Sunday and asked them if they would like to go. We had missed the last two years and they both immediately agreed to come. Of course Junior enlisted himself too and so the plan was to wake up early to get ready since we had to be at the park before 10:00 a.m.


I couldn't believe there were only three Fox Bosy Mustangs in attendance, but I did love the attention my car received.


Let me mention that Junior works at Danny's Car wash and last Friday I left my car home and I kindly asked him if he would take it with him so I could get a free car wash. He agreed and two hours later he called me at work to let me know that he was going to give my car the royal treatment and was going to have it detailed inside and out.

When I came home that afternoon I could not believe my eyes, my car's color is called Electric White because it is a vibrant white but for the past few years it had been more of a yellowish white with lots of grease smears all over. So driving in and seeing a totally white car parked in my driveway with a clean interior and engine I couldn't be more happily surprised.

So, the annual Pancake Breakfast was just the venue or show to proudly display it again. So at 9:00 a.m. I we took off only stopping in Phoenix to pick up my daughter Nikki and "Ducky" and we were on our way. It was a cold morning so for the first time I did not lower the top (I must be getting old because on previous years top was always down even if freezing). We got to the park early but it was almost already full. One thing my daughters were wondering was if we would know anybody since we have been away for so long.


New to our clug is the CMC Racing Division. They are coming up with events and holding them at Speedworld. I have not attended one yet but I hear they are very exciting.

Upon entering the park I started to hear "Here comes Jose" and or "Jose is here", wow you would think people forget but not this community of Mustang enthusiasts. Granted, there were many new faces, people I haven't met yet, people I haven't seen, but all the familiar faces were there too. The welcome couldn't have been any warmer, even the president of the club said "I would like to welcome Jose back, I know I saw his car drive in" then he asked "Jose, where are you?". Of course I was flattered by the attention and made some noise of my own. When I told mi chica of this she said, "Noise, not you". lol


As you can see it was a full parking lot. I was amazed at the amount of brand new Mustangs. When I joined ten years ago it was mostly classic Mustangs. Wow, how times change.

The weather warmed up a bit and the meeting went by, then it was time for the 50/50 raffle. I had bought two tickets and Nikki bought one only. Well, they say it only takes one ticket and Nikki proved that, she was the lucky winner of a $75.00 pot. "Daddy, thank you again for inviting me to the Pancake Breakfast" she told me again.

To go with my clean car, my fog lights that I ordered also came in and will be installed soon. Yeap, I think my car is on it's way to looking good again. We are all looking forward to Knott's Berry Farm and Fabulous Fords Forever car show. This year we will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Fox Body Mustangs. Should be a blast, we are ordering our tickets this week event though the show is the third week of April.







Well, I brought the car show to you and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

St. Valentine's Day

Mi chica and I


So, mi chica and I decided to celebrate St. Valentine's Day at home instead of going out to a fancy restaurant, that is if you want to call Jack in the Box fancy. lol

Last Wednesday I asked her what we were going to do for Valentine's and she said it was to late for reservations so I being the quick thinker that I am said, "Why don't we call our kids and ask them if they want to join us for a Carne Asada at the house". Next thing I know is the kids are telling me see ya on Saturday. Turns out they were down with the news. Are you kiddin' they will never say no to Carne Asada.

It was a simple but fun family gathering. My three kids, or should I say six kids, since my in laws treat us with love and respect that we love them like our kids, and the icing on the cake our seven grand kids were all at the house with us. And OK I will be the first one to accept that carne asada may not be the most romantic meal but boy is it good and tasty.


Ummmm que rico! Are you feeling hungry yet?

The following are some of the images captured during the day.

Mexican rice, nopalitos salad, cabbage salad, refried beans, and onions with soy sause were the perfect side dishes to complement the meat. We were planning on having some home made cookies but discovered that in the end we did not have room for any more food.

Maybe not them most romantic way to spend the day but to me nothing could have been better than having all of our family with us in such and important day. After all they too could have turned us down in favor a fancy restaurant.


This is my youngerst grandson. He is one that always stays away from me and even cries if I pick him up, but today he showed me some love by letting me hug him and kiss him.

Once In a Blue Moon

I am not known for making the right decisions all the time but I would venture to say that sometimes I do. Once in a blue moon I'll do something right. Finding mi chica and later marrying her has got to be one of those things that were so right. In the eve of St. Valentine's Day this just hits me as one of those things that when you think about it makes you go ummm! And then it hits you, BAM! How lucky I was to find her. So, since I haven't posted a song in a while here is one and I will take this opportunity to dedicate it to mi chica but at the same time I hope you all like it.

Rate this performance at The Sims On Stage

The Dance

As a grandfather I feed on the stories my daughters and son tell me about their kids as they remind me of days gone by when I was in the same situation. Whether it's my daughter Nikki showing us Ducky's... Oops! Pardone moi Loyiel Eduardo Jr's Christmas performance, or going to see Brianna and Tallyanna perform at their schools recital, those are the moments that grandpa and grandma will always cherish.

Kids do the darnest things, some are shy and some are not. Some are afraid to let go and some will just go. I remember a long time ago when my son grabbed my leg and wouldn't let go on his first day of kindergarten, as a matter of fact this is a story that has already been told in this blog at least a couple of times so I won't bore you with it again. Listening to my favorite country music radio station I hear a song by Darius Rucker that totally reminded me of that day.

The song is called "It won't be like this for long". And the second verse goes something like this:

Four years later bout four thirty
She's crawling in there bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says what can I do
She says now don't you worry
This will only last a week or two

Here he is singing about a she, but it could have easily be my he. If you are curious about how the complete song goes then CLICK HERE!

So while on the subject of music and sons and daughters and grand kids and the things they do, let me tell you about what went on yesterday. With St. Valentine's Day just around the corner my grandson Diego invited his mom to a mother/son dance at school. Boy was this kiddo excited about it. He got all dressed up, he got his hair done in his now trademark Mohawk, he allowed me to spray some of my perfume all over him, and little dude was ready to go and boogie.

Now I don't remember my daughter or son for that matter doing the prom thing so to me this was pretty close to that. So... I got my trusty camera and captured a few images that I will now share with you here.

To read the mom's point of view of this CLICK HERE!

A Great Day

Despite the fact that it was freezing in the morning and I couldn't see out of my window for the first five minutes of my drive to work the day is shaping up to be a very nice day.







I am surprised that we are not getting sick, I think not turning on the heater at night helps. Just five days ago we were having summer like days, it's funny how the temperature dropped again so radically. The rain fell freely two nights ago and it's predicted to rain over the weekend. But I know that's nothing and I do count my blessings. I could be living in the East Coast... NOT!

You now the saying "The West is Best" well, I agree. So today in this wonderful sunny but slightly cold afternoon I am taking mi chica to the doctor. She is still trying to find out why she is getting the dizzy spells and why her blood pressure sky rocketed twice in the past month.

I'll keep you guys posted but in the meantime I wish you all a great day too. As the song says, "It's a good day to be alive".

Writers Block

Hello friend, you the one that comes and read my ramblings even though they are not the most interesting lines you'll ever read. You the one that bothers to read and then comment because you know that commenting is like food for our thoughts. You the one that live at the other side of the world and yet decided to keep coming back over and over again. You the one draws my thoughts, you the one that have inspired me. You the one that have related you whole life story to me, you the one that fight for what you believe and are not afraid to speak your mind. You the one that comes daily and lurks around without leaving a trace yet I know you were here.

You the one that have showed me so many wonderful images, you the one that is related to me. You the one that entertains me, and you the one that came and went. So many friends met and many more yet to be meet. To all my Internet acquaintances, those that I didn't know before and wouldn't have ever met without the help of this machine.

You the real, and you the false, you the one that came and went. There's so many things to learn, people to meet, phrases to say, posts to write, and blogs to share. Write about anything, anything that comes to mind, write of what you want to share, and write of what you want to say. You can be creative, you can make no sense, you can write with style or with nothing to say. Write for the fun, write for the love, write for the reason you started your blog.

Can't think of anything, that I want to say, my life is too boring, it's senseless to share. Having writers block? What the heck is that? As long as there are letters, something will come up. If you think it's hard, I say you are wrong, it's just in the keyboard and fingers galore, hit those keys and read the words and before you know it you'll say... What in the heck am I writing? Yep I rally have nothing to say so I'll ramble no more, see you tomorrow and go friend go on.

America's Best Dance Crew

In my opinion this is this group is the top contender to take the top honor.

I have been following Randy Jackson's America's Best Dancing Crew Season 3 just like I did the two previous seasons and let me tell you I have nothing but admiration and awe for these kids nowadays. When it comes to dancing, they have taken the moves to a whole different level that rival any professional dancer or gymnast.

This year we have familiar faces in the show and its all good. For the first time there is a good chance a female crew can take the top honors but the crews are fierce and don't want to hand anything away. The intensity in their performance, the level of dancing tricks, the coordination, the choreography, the show has a great recipe for total entertainment.

The beauty of this show is that it is so different from "So You Think You Can Dance" which as you all know I love watching. If you have not given it a chance then I suggest you watch it at least once. These kids dance nothing like the way we used to dance.


They were the underdog group that week after week consitently proves to be the most coordinated group in this competion. Although their style is totally different from what we are used to in this show so far I have a feeling they will go a little farther before being booted out. They are just that good.

Tidbits

Hello again, it's a beautiful day here in Phoenix, the sun is shinning the weather is perfect, we have clear skies and my karaoke night has been reinstated. How awesome is that? To you my friends from the east coast I'm sorry, I know you are still getting tons of snow while we are having some summer like short wearing weather. It's ironic because two weeks ago it was a little cold (for Phoenix standards)that being the reason why they cancelled karaoke for two weeks. That was two weeks too many if you ask me.

Work continues to be slow but then again what else is new. The big boss enjoys a Safari in Africa while here we pray that things pick up soon. Although he doesn't want to lay anybody off I know the thought is in his mind. Knowing him lay offs will be the very last resort, in the meantime he continues to keep us at work while demanding for all to look for new ways to get more business. It is a team effort consisting of being aggressive in sales and providing the best customer service to our customers to beat the competition.



Last Saturday mi chica and I took my sister and her husband out to dinner in celebration of their 31st wedding anniversary. We chose Romano's Macaroni Grill as I had been there once and the food was really good. We had reservations so when we got there our wait was only about 5 minutes. They had never been there and I had never been there at night, man talk about dimming the lights. If you never been there, the tables have a fabric table cloth but they put a long sheet of white paper on top of it, then they have a couple of crayons and your server starts writing on it. Starting with her name and then writing how many glasses of vino were served. Me being the artist that I am started drawing hearts with my chica's and my name in it, romantic isn't it?




We all enjoyed it very much and since I am pretty much shameless I kept taking shots with my camera. We finished the night off by stopping at my house and having coffee before saying good night.

(Sis, I know I already said this but Happy 31st Wedding Anniversary to you and Alfred. We love you guys!)

Question

A question was presented to us in my other site and it was as follows:

Ok guys and gals...here's your question of the week. It's in three parts.

Part 1. What would your dream job be?

Part 2. If you're currently not at your dream job, what is the reason you haven't pursued it?

Part 3. What are you doing to pursue your dream job, or do you ever plan to?

Please no, "i just want to win the lottery answers" cause we all know that that's not a job....and you can't win if you don't play. LOL.


It took me but a minute to formulate my answer. I thought it was a terrific question though.



The following is my answer to that question.

OK familia for me it's very simple a job is a means to support my family and to have money to do the necessary things that my life require. That said, I have now my dream job. Although this may not apply now due to the uncertainty of the times with the state of the economy and having the realization that no one, and I mean no one is safe these days but for the past 18 years I have been able to wake up go to work for 8 hours Monday through Friday only and when I leave work I can completely put it out of my mind and go home to live my life. To know that I am safe as long as I do my work has been a total security blanket all these years.

I strongly believe that there is no such thing as a dream job. While most of you think that doing what you are passionate about or what you like to do as a hobby would be a dream job, think again. Hobbies are fun because the state of mind is that you do it because you love to do it, you are free to do it, and you practice it. Once it becomes your job, the state of mind will be 100% different and I can almost guarantee you that wheat you once loved doing you'll soon want nothing to do with. You all know I am not lying.

Since I have my dream job, I just make sure I do it to the best of my abilities. I do love waking up and coming to this company that I love as it has been very good to me. I have paid my dues and now I am collecting the rewards, I wasn't smart enough to stay in school and go to college so my options are limited. But if I had to do it all over again I would probably do it the same. A dream job is any job that supplies the means to live comfortable and that can be at any economic level. And when you punch that card out it allows you to go home, have a life, and enjoy your family.

Oh and by the way, yesterday I bought a scratcher lottery ticket, it was a $2.00 one. And hour later I scratched it and found out that I was a winner. I have not buy a ticket in years and when I do a have a winner, how cool is that? So today during lunch I will go and redeem it. I won $5.00 so my profits are a whopping $3.00. I love it.

And I do wonder how others think on the subject.

A Morning With Diego

Heartbroken as all Cardinal fans are but let me make something real clear I am disappointed at the outcome but not disappointed with my team. I had not seen our state so fired up and so together rooting for them, as as far as sports in our state we hadn't had this high since the Diamond Backs won the world series. Know that in my book they are still #1 and just can't wait for next season.

Everybody knows that I have seven grand kids and I love them all to death, they are all the product of a love that started with mi chica and I some 28 years ago but it's also no secret that Mr. Diego Ray is very attached to grandma and grandpa and spends lots of time with them. It is not uncommon for mi chica and I to go to sleep and wake up because we are getting kicked in the ribs. Yep, mysteriously Diego will slide inside our bed and continues his sleep in between the two of us.

So this past Saturday mi chica left the van and so Diego and I went on a photo hunt outing because I was in desperate need of new images for my Arizona... But It's a Dry Heat! blog. First stop was, no we did not take pictures there but did get fed with the many finger foods they have on Saturday. lol After purchasing a few items we needed we left for Garden Lakes, an adjacent subdivision of Avondale and captured the following images.



Thanks to my daughter, Diego has grown in front of the lens of a camera and now instantly comes up with his own brand of posing. This kid is an original.


Striking another pose.


Then he captured this image of me with the lake in the background, unfortunately the sun was right behind me and I came out dark. At least the background was crystal clear.

From there it was off to another location, we drove west and soon found another interesting place I have never been before. Estrella Mountain Community College is only about 10 minutes away from our house but I had never stopped, well we parked the car and went into campus. Right away I saw some photo ops that I will be posting on my Arizona... But It's a Dry Heat! blog, but here are a couple more for your enjoyment.






We then went to a mini mart to load on much needed drinks. The weather was beautiful for the last day of January but inside the car it was a little hot and AC the AC had to be turned on. We got our drinks, hit a couple more locations but didn't find good places to take some shots, so we decided to go back home and called it a morning.

We were out for a total of three wonderful hours that we spent together, it's nice to be out with a kid that needs little to no supervision, this kid is very mature for his age and I am sure everyone that is around him learns to love him.


Thank you Diego for a great grandpa/grandson outing. Next time we need to take the "Ducky" with us.