When I Get Where I'm Going . . .

Sorry it has been awhile on the blog circuit. My last post on this blog was on Monday, February 16th, but little did I know that only a few days later, I'd be sending another angel up into Heaven. I didn't know how to come back into writing and wasn't ready to post on the world wide web what I was going through just yet. I think I'm ready now though.

My Mom was such a pillar of strength not only for me, but for those that she touched. She would have this desire to help others whenever she could and without ever asking for anything in return. Why did she do it? Simply because she could. She provided both me and my sister with such a role model on not only how to be a fair parent, but also on how to be a compassionate human.

I'm actually doing okay (as of right now). I know that the upcoming holidays will be tough, but herein lies the joy of my upbringing. For a while, I was fearing this part of the year, but I know that if I didn't allow myself to enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas, then it would be as if I never learned anything from my Mom. Here are just a few of the lessons that I learned:

• Make Memories - This is something that my Mom ALWAYS told me. Whether it be me traveling or going to a tailgate or even just going out to dinner with friends. She would always tell me to make memories because when those loved ones around you aren't there, you'll have your "go to" thoughts to rely on. Whenever she would tell me that, I always thought she meant them not being there distance wise, never did I think it would apply just as well to being there physically.

• Laugh - Life is WAY to short to be upset. Although getting angry is a natural reaction, it's up to you to really let it affect you for a long period of time or not. It's better to laugh. Laugh until it hurts. Laugh alone or with other people. I know that I have a few things that I think about that will make me laugh or smile and as of late, those have been popping up in my head more frequently. It's not healthy to subdue your emotions, so let it out.
  

• Enjoy The Company You Keep - This one was always really important to her around the Holidays. She would always use this down time to really hang out with those people you don't get to see that often. Clear your schedule if you are with someone and really focus on them. It will mean a lot more to you when you leave and say "it was so nice to see you" than it would be if you just ran into them in a mall or at the store.

• Uphold Traditions - This one is probably going to be the hardest for me to do because the traditions that we had were mostly started by my Mom. But then as I thought about it, this is her way of still being a part of what we have going on. We have this GIANT stocking that we are supposed to stuff with a gift for each person that is under $10 (yes, even Spud gets a gift). It will be hard not to get one for Mom, but I think the gift is the idea in itself and keeping up the tradition that she started. The other hard one will be to play Christmas Music. It just seems natural to do around this time, but I know that it is the one thing that she loved about the Holidays was the music. Maybe that is where I get it from. She would love to hear the CD's that I made her over the years OVER and OVER again. Although it may be tough to hear the opening instruments in Feliz Navidad, I hope that it will still bring a smile to my face that is as big as the one that she always had on hers.

Even though a HUGE part of me feels missing, I have to remember that in the end, I've had it better than a lot of people. I was able to give her my love and receive it back tenfold. The love from a Mother is unlike anything in this World. I would talk with her everyday and she would say "I love you, don't forget that," but when it's coming from someone like her, it's kind of hard TO forget. I miss her SO much, but I think now it's time for me to really embody the kind of person that she was. Someone who was loyal, compassionate, loving, happy and most of all filled with life. If I can do that during this Holiday season, then I know that she will be looking down at me and doing what she always did best . . . smile.

I promise that the blogs after this will be more observational in nature (I have some ideas and stories to share), but I think I just needed this one to get me back into the game. It always feels good to get things out in the open. If I don't talk to any of my readers, then have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving and we'll be chatting more soon.

This Chick Is Toast

"They don't have Melba Toast," said the 40-something year old lady standing in front of me at the $0.99 Store. "I've tried Albertson's, Ralph's, Pavillions. THEY don't even have it. He likes to cook up white fish, mix it up with some mayonnaise and serve on ." She waited for my response kind of like a 4th Grade Teacher waiting for a class to answer the question "What is 2 + 2?". I lean in a little bit and respond "melba toast" as I nod my head in agreement and as if I have had that dish many times at her house.

I couldn't really tell who the "he" she was talking about, but I'm going to assume it was her husband. I was taken aback more from the Melba Toast reference as I haven't really thought of that stuff since my sister Val was teething. She was kind of a combination of Meredith from "The Office" and The Target Lady from SNL. She kept leaving and coming back with random items. She made three separate trips and came back with the following items: Onions (4), Salsa and a felt poster with five markers. She even made a comment about her mini-excursions claiming that if they didn't go quicker, she'll end up with another basket full of stuff. For some odd reason, I believed her.

While she was paying, she got a phone call. "I'm paying for stuff at the 99." Not the $0.99 Store, not the Store, the "99." She was kind of loud and was telling the other person that "Joe can handle getting mom dinner." After she got off the phone, she was explaining that her friend's dad had an aneurysm but was "coming back into this body. We thought he was just gonna be a shell but now he's responding." I told her that's great and thank God for small miracles. She then went into how he was responding. "He does this." She blinks once and says, "Once for yes and two for no!" I told her that is awesome and hopefully he'll continue getting better little by little. She also informed me that she had to get more socks because "he took off with my socks!" Again, wasn't sure who the "he" was but I then wondered if I would be adding the "ex" prefix to my previous guess. She finished paying, looked at me as she was grabbing her bags and said, "You have a great day and thanks for chatting!"

When I thought about it, I thought that I really didn't talk that much at all. Everyone has a story that they wanna tell. Everyone wants to be heard. I guess for those 10 minutes, I was that person for this woman. I don't know anything about her personal life or where she comes from or even her NAME. However, maybe I helped her feel a little better because someone was willing to listen to her. When I look back on it, she was very friendly and in all honesty, it made the line go quicker! Hope she gets home safely and is able to enjoy her new socks, her salsa and hope that she finds that melba toast!

Happy Hour List

I was talking with a friend the other day and we were trying to think of a list of celebrities that we felt would be great at a Happy Hour with the following conditions: it's a private room, open bar and there is no paparazzi.

The question became, who would we invite. I came up with the following immediate list:
Seth Rogan
John Mayer
Drew Barrymore
Cameron Diaz
Paul Rudd
Jason Segal
Mike Birbiglia

To spice it up and make it crazy, I'd invite the following people to join after Happy Hour:
New York (from "Flava of Love")
Wee-Man
Vince Vaughn

These people I would NOT invite:
Tatiana from this season of American Idol
Zac Efron (why is he famous?)
Paris Hilton (why is she famous?)
Perez Hilton

The criteria was that the person was judged on their on-screen persona and if we felt it was carried over into their real lives (i.e. are they really that cool or not). Also, how much we thought they could drink and the vibe that they would contribute or take away from the event.

Pura Vida - Happy New Year!

Well, I got back safely from Costa Rica and it was such a great time! I will be posting pics as soon as I can.

We hit up three towns: San Jose, La Fortuna and Tamarindo. All of them with different vibes.

San Jose - The Capitol City. Everyone said not to spend any time in this town so we decided just to get in, get our bearings and stay the night here (since we got in at about 4 pm). We stayed at the Best Western so when the shuttle dropped off the first set of people at the Best Western Irazu, we thought that we were in luck. This one had a Casino attached to it and was walking distance to Denny's (in case we had a late night hankering for Moons Over My Hammy). However, the driver said that we are about 10 minutes from OUR hotel - in downtown! Now, I knew that this hotel was in that area because the website told me so. "Within walking distance to the heart of the shopping district." What I DIDN'T know was that at night, there are special kinds of shoppers out. I'll explain the story more with the pics, but to summarize, if you go to Costa Rica, don't stay in San Jose! It's like flying into California and staying in Ontario for the night, but more run down!

La Fortuna - This town was a Spanish version of Kingsburg! The town shuts down pretty early. Good thing they have a giant volcano right next to it to keep everyone on their toes. It would be as if our Coffee Pot Water Tower were to spew at random times.

Tamarindo - The Pismo Beach of Central America. Laid back and with $2 beers, you can't go wrong! Every pic of the beach is a postcard. It was in this town that I ran into someone from UCLA! Crazy. It's also here where we met the most locals (wait until you hear the story of Rick The Human Horse)!

I wish everyone a very healthy and prosperous 2009. This is going to be a year of big change, but hopefully all in a positive way! More to come later!