latinegro

Wrong

Today I was reading Serena’s Blog, Divine Wryte Creations, today and I did not know that it is National Poetry Month. So I have dug into the vault and pulled out a poem. Let me just say that I have written a total of 5 poems in my life (currently, working on 6). I only write them when the mood hits me. Clearly they do not hit that often. I wrote this poem 2 years ago…

Wrong
That is always how I get things
Wrong
I always win arguments
Wrong
Ok fine, I win some of them
Wrong
Well, at least I do my job right
Wrong
Damn, I do somethings right…
Wrong
Well damn this is how it is
When all I want to do is just live
My life the right way, there is always
Someone there to tell a man that he is
WRONG
DEAD WRONG
My mother thinks I am
Wrong
Shit, my wife thinks I am
Wrong
My Boss thinks I am
Wrong
So how do I make it right?
Do I need to just shut the fuck up?
Do I pretend my opinions don’t matter?
Because we all know if I tell
Them that I feel my voice means nothing
They will all get together and tell me
That I am
Wrong
So tell me what is a man to do?
I have friends who have given up
Their nuts to the women they are with
Their balls lay in a pouch that sits on
The bedroom mantle that has a sign that
Says “FOR RENT”
So when they need then on a rainy day
Or perhaps when an intruder comes into
The house, the balls can be inserted back
In and maybe for the split second he can become
Wrong (again)
You see it is not very hard to look back
And see how wrong I have been
I was born wrong
I was born with the wrong skin
I was born with the wrong sin
I grew up with the wrong hair
Lived in the wrong city, the wrong neighborhood
Spoke the wrong language
Ate the wrong foods
Rooted for the wrong team
Chose the wrong parent
Chose the wrong president
So why do I fight?
Maybe, for that one chance to be right?
WRONG.
I fight because no one else will fight for me
Because no woman will understand
How hard it is for a man
Of color to live in world dominated
By people telling him he is
Wrong
All the time because he cannot be right
All the time because he cannot be white
All the time because he cannot fight
The fact he will always be viewed
As insecure, when in reality he never
Had the choice to be secure when he is always
WRONG.

Blogging

I Have to be Better

Well, I think that is just simply put. I have to be better. I think that since I have started this blog I have met some pretty incredible people. I just need to be better in reading other people’s blogs. I feel like I have kind of disappeared in the aspect.

I am not going to make any excuses and say that my job is working me. Sure, I work a lot, but I find time to write, so I need to find time to read. When you blog, you being to realize that creating a blog is more that just the thoughts you put on the screen. It is more of a collective experience in which people share their lives.

We all choose to write so that everyone can read. Comments are always welcome and are at times very needed to continue the share experience. For me, I haven’t really been doing my part in this and I need to do better.

birthday, my life, work

Light at The End of The Tunnel

The school year is almost over. This is always interesting time because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but to get to that light I have to go through a shit load of work. This weekend is called Greek Unity Fest (even though there is unification of anything). Which is includes a concert, step show, and dance party. Which is all good for the students. For me, this is the last student event I have to deal with until August.

But then there is graduation. Which is just a series of long days before the summer starts. Commencement is always a bittersweet time. I get to say good boy to students that I have know for 4 years. Some which I have grown close to. While I am happy they are graduating, there is the feeling of loss at some point because I am not sure when I will see the again. I do consider one person in particular to be a little brother I never had.

Once class ends and the summer begins there is always this feeling like…ok what do I do now? While I do have plans in some parts of the summer. I have no idea what I am doing for my birthday. I have had some ideas, which will require me taking some vacation time. But, right now it is all thoughts. Nothing concrete.

I am turning 35 this year and I feel like I can do more with my life. Work takes up a lot of my time and I find that I do not have as much time for myself as I should. I am trying my best to save money for things I want to do. The thought of getting a second job has entered my mind frequently. The problem for me is that I value my time way to much to be working 2 jobs.

Regardless…I am focused to get past these last few weeks so I can start enjoying my summer….

T-Pain

All week I have been kind of dreading this show. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I know that T-Pain is famous for the choruses he sings. Being on the production side, I saw all the things that he and his crew were asking for. So, it made me think that I was dealing with a bunch of primadonnas.

Well, I want to apologize. His show was far better than I expected it to be. T-Pain is a straight performer. He rolled out on staged in a green pimped out golf cart with Hydraulics. It was nuts! He had dancers and had stage lighting that rivaled Kanye’s show.

I will say that his people turned out to be very classy. As I write this they are still breaking down the stage. They are on tour and will be heading to DC shortly. A very professional bunch of people that know how to run show from the sounds and lights to VIP access. I did enjoy myself and reminds me of why I got into this business.

dog, Dolphy day, Lemoyne College, T-Pain

A Few Points…

I have a long weekend ahead of me, which makes me wonder if I will even get to blog tomorrow. I am working the T-Pain concert tomorrow night. While I am more fortunate than my other co-workers, who have to report in at like 8am because we have an Admissions event in the morning (and not to mention T-Pain’s bus at 9 am), I will show up at noon to take care of my normal duties then transition to the entrance manager for the show.

One would think that I am excited for this concert but I am not. I know that T-Pain has many songs (most of which are with other people) and even though I am interested in seeing how he is going to pull a solo concert. I will leave my opinion to after the show.

********

I keep hearing that Dolphy day was supposed to be today. I am so very sad that it not turn out to be the case. Wednesday night I thought I was in Baghdad with all the explosions of Fireworks that were happening on this block. I saw a cop car and thought maybe these kids would stop, but, not at all. A routine traffic stop….at 3am. The cop ignored what was going on around him.

Since I had heard that today was supposed to be Dolpy Day, I made sure that I prepared myself. I put the dog and his bed in the basement. Took some NyQuil, because I am sick, and past the hell out. I did hear Fireworks when I was in the shower, but I did not hear a thing last night. So I know I knocked out hard.

The bad part about all this was that I knocked our so hard that I felt it took me all day just to wake the fuck up. Not even the coffee I had this morning.

********

The Vet called today. Rocky’s blood work is normal. I knew it would be. I know my dog. The quack wants to see him sometime next week. She still wants that urine sample because dogs that have diabetes can get urinary track infections. Of course is not like they give you a cup. This woman is like “use a jar”. WTF? So I have to follow my dog around in hopes he lifts his legs then I got to bottle that shit

I haven’t called the other Vet yet. I may wait to see what this Quack has to say about my dog. I am damn sure going to ask her about pain meds for him.

Blue Ray, HDTV, iPhone, movies, Ripping

Movie Rips…

I love Movies. I think that movies are one of the best forms of entertainment that we have. What I like better are movies that last forever. I usually buy the films on DVD that I would love to see more than once.

The one thing that I have trouble with is the changing formats. I remember having a lot VHS tapes when I was in High School and in College. I didn’t like this format too much because the tapes can get warped and the picture quality is not that great. So when DVDs came out I had to re buy many of the movies I already had.

Now I have a pretty nice collection of DVDs. These are movies that I love to watch. I make sure that the windscreen version and at times, the director’s cut. Lately, I have not even cared about the extra stuff, because I don’t watch it. I just want the movie.

The issue now is HDTV and Blue Ray. Which means to me that DVDs are becoming the things of the past. I know that Blue Ray plays DVDs and that is cool but I am not trying to recreate my collection. I know people who stopped buying DVDs all together…and they do not have a Blue Ray! But, of course when they get one…then it is on.

Recently I have invested in a DVD ripping software that allows me to view movies on my iPhone. See…this I love. I can watch whatever I want anytime and anywhere. The reason why I bought the software is because I am not trying to buy movies off of iTunes. I already have a deep collection, so ripping movies I already own seems to be the way to go for me.

I have been holding out on getting an HDTV and Blue Ray. I am sure it is only a matter of time.

Animal Hospital, dog, Lemoyne College

My Dog is Sick

So, Rocky is sick. As mentioned in a post weeks ago, he has diabetes. He does struggle with it. He also has cataracts, which is an condition that is onset from the diabetes. Rocky has an inflamed eye. It is infected and due to the cataracts, he has a whole in his eye. If this sounds painful, well it is. He is in pain and we have been working with this asshole of a vet to get him antibiotics.

The Vet that we took him too was just a royal bitch. She did just about everything to make it seem that we do not know how to treat our dog. She ran some tests. Then gets on Josie for not bringing him in every month. Apparently, when a dog has diabetes, you are supposed to have him come in for a check up every month….a fact that was never shared with us. Not to mention that each visit is like damn near a hundred bucks.

Of course she questions how we get the Insulin. Well, Josie tells this brainiac that Novlin N is a over the counter insulin that any Pharmacy has. Then she is like,”Well you need a prescription for the syringes.” Again she had to be corrected. You can by needles in bulk, dumb ass. Then she tried to find out if he has any accidents. Which, he does, but not often. This bitch wants us to get a urine sample. Are you kidding? What does that have to do with his eyes? He pisses a river with no pain…there is no infection there.

So she tells us that Rocky is in pain, which just breaks my heart. Do you think she gives up anything to ease his pain? Not at all. So after $280, we are stuck with a small bottle of drops for his eyes. She recommends we go talk him to Cornell for treatment.

Whatever Doc! There is an Animal Hospital on the other side of LeMoyne (where they kept me up again last night….I swear I hate them little fuckers). There is a Vet there that comes highly recommended. I am taking Rocky there next week.

Blogging, Dr. Mario, nintendo wii

Wii Ware: Dr. Mario!

Damn, I almost forgot to post a blog today. Mets home opener and then some drama with students kept me from writing. The other thing that I am so into and have been for awhile is the Nintendo Wii.

One of the things that I love about this game is that you can download games on to this console. Like old games or games that are downloaded as a part of “wii ware”. The games that I am addicted to are the online multi player games. Now, I am not trying to do the shoot up games because I am not that good at them. I am talking about games like, Mariokart Wii, Dr. Mario, and Tetris. These games I can get down with.

I don’t play all of them in the same time period, however, Dr. Mario tends to be the most addicting out of all of them. The game played by itself is just ok. When you play against people across the world, then it turns into a whole new game featuring cursing (by me) and hollering (by me).

Well tonight I was so engrossed, I almost for got to blog today…so I am done. Now back to my game…

Catholic Church, Easter, Jesus, religion

Happy Easter…Are you ready to be Judged?

It was a good day today. I had a dinner with students that I mentor. I am the advisor for Lambda Sigma Upsilon and Josie is the advisor for Mu Sigma Upsilon. We figured we would have both groups come over to the house for Easter dinner since most of them did not go home. I certainly ate way too much and I am so tired.

Before I knock out I wanted to share something that has been on my mind all weekend. It stems from a comment made on another blog about Easter. Most of you should know that I am a fan of Brookey’s Cafe Blog. This past Friday she made a brief post saying… “for those who observe, Happy Blessed Good Friday!” Not a big deal to me, but someone made a comment that I had an issue with. Here is what she said and my response:

Juditesista said…
It is my duty as an Israelite who worships Christ with understanding to tell you and anyone who may read this, the truth about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ,celebrates the passover and not Easter (Exodus 12). The holy day also known as the sabbath is the 7th day of the week. The 7th day is Saturday, not Sunday. Check out the calendar and you will see that Sunday is the first day of the week. Sunday is an ordinary day. Read Genesis 2:1-3, Leviticus 23:1-3, Matthew 12:5-8, Ecclesiasticus 33:7-9 in the apocrypha. The apocrypha is a Greek word which means hidden books. These books were taken out of the bible by Satan. You can still find some bibles with the apocrypha in it. I pray for all my brothers and sisters that you may see the truth. Praise Christ for the opportunity to teach the truth.

Your sista in Christ
April 10, 2009 12:22 PM

Latinegro said…
Brook have a great weekend! I hope you enjoy your time off. Get some rest too! Ok…now for my 2 cents. Easter is not about what Jesus celebrated. It is about his Resurrection. I didn’t know Satan had access to the bible, however there are so many versions I would almost agree with you.I don’t really care what day the sabbath is because evil does not take a day off, so why should i?
April 10, 2009 1:10 PM

There was no response to this. I really did think about this all weekend. I am not a fan of people pushing beliefs on others. I am so not a fan of people who don’t know their shit. I may not be the most religious person in the world, but I consider myself spiritual. I am a believer that the covenant with the Lord is more personal than anything else. If you read the Old Testament, particularly Genesis and Exodus, you know that God talks about the way to worship him (or her) is to create an alter and pray. To me this means that your relationship with the Lord is on a personal level. So I do not buy into many of the teaching of the Catholic Church. We must remember that Jesus was a rebel himself.

My truth is that God Loves us all. We all will get judged in the end. You can dance all day and talk about how you are saved, but at the end of the day only God will judge you for who you really are. Do not think that you can spend 6 days out the week being a generally bad person and then go to Church on Sunday for forgiveness. If you think that God is that shallow then you have another thing coming…like Hell.

With that…I hope everyone had a Happy Easter…I know I did.

cancer, happy birthday, my dad, the bronx

Happy Birthday!

Sixty Nine years ago today a boy was born in New York City. His mother from Puerto Rico and his father from Ecuador. He grow up in the Bronx with 2 sisters. He had a a hard childhood which he had to endure a strict mother and an abusive alcoholic father. His survived the streets of the Bronx. His name was Arthur.

Because options were limited he had to join the Navy. Lucky enough it was not during a time of war. He served many years. After active duty he returned to New York with a trade. Got a job with Con Edison and the married for the second time. In 1974 he bore a son.

That man is my father. The one who taught me most of what I know now. During and after a very difficult divorce, we was able to guide me through High School and College. Always telling me that I owe him nothing because, after all he was doing his job as a father.

I felt the closest to him when I had a terrible break up with an ex girlfriend. I was the first time I really felt that him and I had a shared experience. He knew what I was going through. He empathized with me. It was the first time that I actually cried because he comforted me.

Since then, I stopped being the kid who rebelled against his parents. I wanted to be the kid that parents talk to their friends about. I think for the most part I was. I believe I was there for him when he was diagnosed with Cancer, due to the work he did for Con Edison.

He has survived that and continues to survive the brutal weather of Sunny Deltona, Florida. Happy Birthday Papi. I love you.