The Weekend Report
Last week was stressful. On top of my school work and jobs I had to prepare presentations for this weekend and get things my stuff finalized for the thesis focus group. Now things are over and the focus group is running as I write this... we had a good student turnout and I want to give a huge thanks to Jose and Gaby from MSU for coming to facilitate the group. THANK YOU!

(MGCA) Conference was awesome! It was a great networking opportunity as always and my presentations all went well. Thanks to Aaron Haight and Michelle Guobadia who both presented with me and the Miami University for asking me to be part of their panel discussion. Having the faculty demarkation on my name tag was just plain out cool!

Out of 1600 attendees... Santiago and I were the only Betas.

The GVSU delegation at the final banquet.

While there I also had a quick board meeting for the Western Region Greek Association. The conference we put on is getting close and we have a lot to do... I had an awesome experience at MGCA doing research for WRGA. I got to be in the AV booth and help with their final banquet. Being in the booth with the headphones and helping with all the equipment was a great learning experience. The AV at WRGA is going to rock this year!

The highlight of the weekend was getting to hangout with Novali. She was not too keen on meeting new people there and so we did not stay with the GVSU group. We had fun getting some Mexican food and she showed me some new art work she has done. I love posting her pictures by my desk at work.

Placing her order, she loves reading the menu.

She has this dress that she loves to put on... as soon as we got home she ran to grab it.

I got her PJs on... and like a good little monkey she wanted to jump on the bed.

Laying down with Papi and trying to sleep.

Friday night went out. That week was Angel's (Novali's uncle) 21st birthday and Tamara and I threw him a party. I wanted to help as a thank you for the times he watches Novali and has been a help. We went to Transit a Latin/Hip Hop club in Chicago. The place has three rooms, one with Latin music, another with new Hip Hop, R&B and Reggae and then the final room has slower and older Hip Hop music. The place has a great atmosphere. Happy Birthday Angel.

Angel and Tamara.

Tamara and her friends all came out.

Reymall came out and we chilled like always...

Rey doing his thing..

The focus group is still running right now... Becky is stressing over if the tape recording will work. I am wondering how much longer it will take. We are both procrastinating and not looking forward to the paper we have due this Tuesday for our Career Guidance class.

Spring Break is one week away...

Off to MGCA
This will be my fourth year attending the Mid-American Greek Council Association (MGCA) Conference. I attended twice as a student at Western Michigan and this will be my second time attending as a professional with GVSU.

This year is exciting because I am presenting and facilitating. Not only am I presenting, but I am doing three topics! I am doing one called "Your Council Dot Com", which is a program about why Greek councils need websites, ideas for building them, and resources to help them realize their online potential. I am doing one program with Aaron Haight, my supervisor at GVSU, called "My Culture, Your Culture, Greek Culture" which is about commonalities between Greek organizations and ideas for collaboration. My final presentation is with Michelle Goubadia who is a Zeta Phi Beta from North Carolina and that is called "Stepping, Handsigns and all those Shrieks: what's it all about?". That program will be fun! It is about the traditions of culturally based Greek organizations and how groups can respect the differences.

The University of Miami-Ohio Greek Life office has asked me to participate in a discussion with their students on Friday morning. I will provide the viewpoint of a member of a historically Latino fraternity and involved on the national level. I am pretty excited about this because it is something not normally done at MGCA. I am glad to be involved in this trial run. If I end up living in Chicago as planned I would like to get more involved with the MGCA Conference.

So needless to say I will have a busy weekend. I also will steal time away to see Novali of course! The last two years I took her with me to dinner with the Western Michigan crew. The GVSU group went to a rowdy bar for Friday dinner and I really didn't feel right taking Novali. Steve no longer works at WMU so I am not sure what my dinner plans will be this time.

Snowboarding update: I think I seriously injured my shoulder. It is still very sore and it has been three days now. I have a bad feeling that I might have really hurt something there... when I get back from Chicago I will have to get it checked out.

NX 2000 update: In a prior post I mentioned I had not talked about my car in a while. Now she is headed back to the shop... boo hoo... I am not sure how but I managed to crack one of my rear rotors. I have cross-drilled race prepped rotors.

I gave her a wash this week.

The cracked rotor.

I always figured I would blow one in a race... like I did my exhuast... not while tooling around Allendale! I have to make a special trip with her to Holland, MI to take her back to my shop. Not many places are willing to mess with my custom brake set up. If it was not so cold I would try it myself! Team PLP really needs a garage...

Whoa... lots of updates
A lot has happened in the last few days. First off my team did not win the GVSU CSAL Case Study Competition. I had a good time and learned a ton. Mike made a great partner and even though we did not spend a huge amount of time on the presentation I think it was awesome. I wish all three judges would have stayed awake for the presentation though...

The team in action.

Striking a pose with Mike.

On Friday I also got my pictures from Monsters, Inc. on Ice with Novali. They turned out pretty good. Go to Novali's website to see all the pictures. Novalí

It was great to watch the show with her.

She loved the $10 snowcone.

Saturday was the best valentines day I have had in a long time. I slept in, cleaned my room, then went out. Becky called and wanted to get some dinner. So Ramon and I headed out to Grandville. The lines at places were crazy, so we decided to go to the mall. I returned a few shirts to Banana Republic (I hate trying stuff on) and then ended up finding some awesome old guy shoes at the Buckle and a new Fossil watch. We ended up eating at Qdoba's. Then I went home and cleaned the bathroom (it is my turn in house duties). What a day.

Becky talked me into snowboarding today. It was something I wanted to try when I was younger and was a skater. I did not know anyone who did winter sports really. It is an expensive sport and I was all into my soccer once I got into high school and lost interest. We went with Tommy and his girlfriend Laura. I did not really dress for the occasion but it was fun. I am in a world of hurt right now from falling on my butt, my knees and twisting my arm pretty bad. Despite the pain I want to try it again, maybe I won't end up so sore this time.

Taking a break. I usually landed on my butt and would rest before trying to get up again.

Trying to ride down the hill. Notice the snow all over my jeans?

This weekend was relaxing, and this week will be fun. I am presenting three different programs at MGCA and am looking forward to have the "Presenter" tag on my name tag! Sam's all grown up.

And their off...
At 12:00 PM today the GVSU CSAL 2004 Case Study Competition kicked into high gear. Teams were randomly assigned this year and the competition looks great. We have 24 hours to come up with a solution to a case dealing with higher education administration. My team (I got paired with first year grad Mike Slocum) presents pretty early this year.

Last year Becky and I won this thing and took the $500 prize. I also won the national Order of Omega competition with Shawna in December 2003. So I have a lot of pressure to perform. I am trying to not think about that, I am doing this for the fun and hopefully $500. The excitement of the competition is there and it has gotten me excited. Too bad I work all afternoon and Mike has class tonight. We will have little prep time tonight.

I just want to wish everyone luck tomorrow. It will be a ton of fun.

Weekend
I had some good travels the last few days. I got to run over to Detroit for some potential client meetings. I did not land any new business but it was a great trip. I got to run into some old friends over there, namely my good friend Megan! We met over in Birmingham which is one of my favorite places in Michigan. We had a great lunch and caught up on everything that has been going on in our lives. She is working her way up the Banana Republic ladder at Sommerset Mall and I am avoiding the real world at all costs. It was a great time over on the east side of the state.

Then it was off to Chicago cause it is my weekend to see Novali. My chapter Brothers also were heading out there to hangout and relax and celebrate Gary's birthday. I picked them up on my way and we went to Chicago to meet up with Rey. Friday night they went to Transit, a club in Chicago, and I went to sleep cause I had to take Novali to Monsters Inc. on Ice in the morning.

Monsters Inc. was fun! At first I think Novali was confused. Being only two she did not understand that this was not the movie she is used to watching. After time to adjust, and once the annoying people in front decided to sit down, she enjoyed the show. She got a Monsters Inc. coloring book and had a blast.

Then we went to meet some of Tamara's sisters at the Cheesecake factory. The Brothers were supposed to come as well but they fell behind and then decided not to come. Before dinner Novali got to watch her mom try on make up at the Estee Lader counter in Marshall Fields and then played hide-and-go-seek with me in all the clothes racks. I pretended I could afford a $250 Armani dress shirt and then we went to eat. Grisel and Veronica met us for dinner. It was nice to see them again. Grisel is getting married this summer so I got to hear all the exciting plans.

Then finally I met up with Brothers again. Rey, Gary and Ismael met with us over to club Red No Five. We had a good time. Some Brothers from the University of Illinios-Chicago were there and we danced, some drinks, and caught up. The club was fun, not what I had expected, and there was nearly a fight outside between the bouncers some people they would not let it. I kinda watched to watch the bouncers boot the guys out cause they were holding up the line and it was cold out... but we finally got in. Cover was too high (20) for a regular looking club with a pretty bad DJ. Drinks as usual cost twice as much as in Michigan, but us Brothers had a good time either way. Hurting for funds today... but that is alright. A little Greek food after the bar and then hit the hay.

Red No 5

The basement

In the morning I went out to Mt. Prospect (suburb north of Chicago where Rey lives) and picked up Gary and Ish. We had lunch with Rey at Denny's and then rolled out back to Michigan. It was a fun weekend. We got to have fun, talk a little business, and I got lots of time with Novali.

What was sad though was on Sunday morning when Novali heard me say I was leaving she got all sad. Generally leaving is tough for me cause I wish I could stay more with her, this made it worse. She got all pouty and did not even want to kiss me goodbye. Saying goodbye is so hard to do... two weeks and I will see her again.

OutSight Design & Consulting
It was one and half years ago that I decided to start my own company. Originally I just designed some websites, shirts and other promotional material for some WMU groups I had worked with during my undergrad time there. It has started to grow into something much more and I am really excited for my newest client and some future opportunities. I signed a new client with the Michigan Medical Billers Association (MMBA) and have started doing website development for them. I am heading to Detroit for some meetings tomorrow with another potential client and a new t-shirt vendor. Some cool things are happening for my little upstart company.

Last year I designed a lot of different shirts with a few different vendors, did websites for engineering companies, a real estate property, a few other fraternal sites, and lots of t-shirts. I have gotten involved with some other types of marketing materials as well and even done some consulting on application support.

Here are some samples of what I have been up to lately, click on the text below each picture to visit that site:

My Home Page.

WRGA

CompuCraft

WMU Betas

Home 4 Sale

GVSU Greeks

Prototype Express

Shirts for SLB, SLG, GVSU, etc.

I really enjoy working on all these different type of projects. It makes life a little more interesting and keeps me doing diverse things so I do not get tired of doing the same thing. It also means I get to travel a little more as well, can't beat that!

For your technology needs... please email me at sales@outsightdesign.com

I remember when...
So this weekend I was in Kalamazoo. It was great to catch up with some fraternity Brothers. I missed a few like Vic who I thought was in town but he is still not back from NY, and Rey who I just talked to on the phone instead. However I made a strange realization over the weekend. It is official ladies and gentlemen... I am old.

My plans were to hit some of my old hangouts. Top on the list was Burdick's Bar and Grill. Which is on the first floor of the Radisson Hotel. It was the place I would always go with the IFC guys. On Sunday's WMU students got half off and we ate like kings. The cheesy spinach dip is awesome and the prime rib... well you all know how I feel about well cooked meat. The food was the same, but the entire place changed. They remodeled everything! I had to call my best friend (counterpart as we call eachother) Megan and tell her! I felt all old after I heard myself say, "Man this place has changed since I went to Western." I sounded like those 50 year-old alums you would see in the bookstore over Homecoming weekend talking about college before there were computers on campus...

Then I took a quick tour of the new engineering college. They built a new campus for the engineering college. It started when I was there but it is now finally all coming online. The buildings were awesome! Then I said, "Man I wish they had this stuff when I went here." Another old person comment. Kinda like wishing cars had been invented or something so I did not have to walk to class.

The redone Kalamazoo Radisson Hotel.

The Engineering main buiding.

It was a weekend of good memories. I looked through all of Geo's photo albums of his engagement, weddings and his last India trip. Man I had not been in his apartment for over a year! I remember when I used to go there like everyday after class to chill with him and Vic. I remember when you needed a place to stay over the summer... call Geo. I remember picking him up, and then heading over to get Vic for Club Soda every Thursday for Latin Night. Good times.

The guys had a little Superbowl gig at the house. I remember the days when I used to see them all the time. Now they don't even email (yeah I am talking to Gary and Rudy!) anyone. It was fun having to rush out and get Ish cause his car broke down, nothing like a last minute roadtrip like the "good old days"...

I remember...

Dashing through the Snow...
...in a one-horse open sleigh, over the hills we go... laughing on all the way... Ha Ha Ha.

No I am not in a one-horse sleigh or laughing all the way. I hate the snow, it sucks to drive in, the backs of your pant legs get that salt stripe on the back, your car always looks dirty, getting anywhere takes longer, you spend half the day putting warm clothes on and then taking them off, the inside of GVSU buildings are freezing, and dusting snow of your car is a pain!

So enough complaining. I needed to vent. I want to send a big shot out to the NX. My little NX 2000 has been a trooper. I have not gotten stuck, slid of the road, went out of control or had a hard time driving. She has been a total trooper. I was worried that with the winter rims and tires making her even lower to the ground she would struggle. But she is plowing through the snow and gripping the ice like a dream. I am so impressed. She just keeps on making me proud.

Piles of snow in front of the house.

The little NX, sitting on the winter rims.

I have not posted about the NX in a while. Mostly because I have not worked on her in a while. I do not have money to add any more cool things to her right now. She deserves something and I am not sure what right now. Maybe that MOMO steering wheel I have been meaning to install? Or how about finally hooking up the Satellite radio in her and getting the subs pumping. She deserves from TLC and I need to find the time to work on her.

At work, the NX gets me there on time and safely.

Here is the MOMO Wheel I have waiting to be installed.

This week I got a lot of things done. Wrapped up the Greek Leadership Conference stuff, just a few more things to do and that will be ready to get handed off to the new grad next year. Becky and I had a good thesis meeting and tonight we will crank out even more. And this weekend I am going to head to Kalamazoo to watch the SuperBowl with my chapter down there. It will be fun!

Oh The Snow
So we have a snow day. Classes as of 6pm were canceled at GVSU. So that meant no night class and I got to take a break for the night. So I am trying to get caught up on a few things. I finally got all my Bolivia pictures ready for the web. Here they are:

Bolivia 2003

Once you click on a thumbnailed picture you will get the full-size one with a description of the picture. If you follow them from the start to end they are in the same order as my trip. Also I explained most of the trips and other things in my blogs for the those days. Just look back for the details. The gallery will be up for a while, but I will delete it soon because it is using a lot of server space.

For the rest of my night I am planning to get some thesis work done, organize my room a little, finish some other class assignments, and also relax. I need to eat now and then get to work.

Maybe tomorrow will be another snow day. A man can always dream.

Michigan Weather
I think the conference was a success. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, the presentations all went very well and everything ran smoothly. I want to thank Shawna for putting up with my organizational style and we pulled this thing off. Good work. I am so proud of how it turned out.

I also want to thank Andres for being a presenter and all the Brothers of Sigma Lambda Beta who supported me and helped make this conference a success. I think multicultural Greek organizations made up about 15% of the participants. That speaks volumes on the direction of the leadership of those organizations (since we make up about 2% of the Greeks in the state). Thanks to the students who took a Saturday to come to GVSU. I hope you all had a good time while learning new things you can all apply back to your campus and local communities. Thanks again!

Alright... so today Andres and I came home to Saginaw to see Raquel and little Valerie. We also wanted to wish my mom happy birthday. Her birthday is this week so we wanted to come and have a family dinner. It was nice. But now I have a dilemma. Tomorrow I am supposed to have a meeting in Lansing with a client for Outsight. However the weather channel just posted a Severe Weather Alert until tomorrow, and are calling for severe weather until Tuesday! I can not be here that long. Here is the doppler now:

So... I am thinking of running to Lansing tonight so I can be there for my meeting. The weather forcast for the Grand Rapids area is not as bad. So maybe from Lansing to GR will be fine so I can get back to my place tomorrow afternoon to work at CompuCraft. Time will tell.

Well I got to check on my laundry (got to wash clothes when I go home, its free) and call Andres to see how the weather is there and decide if I make the drive tonight still. Wish me luck getting home.

The waiting game
T minus 24 hours to the Greek Leadership Conference... everything is ready. Just have to pick up booklets from the print shop, wait for shirts to arrive, get speakers from airport and keep Shawna (also know as Shauna Colin from having a nervous breakdown about the budget)... and we are a go for lift off!

We had a typical poorly written Grand Valley Lanthorn article about the conference. The article can be viewed here, Lathorn on-line. The picture is actually of Alpha Sigma Phi from recruitment. Half the quotes are wrong and none of the facts are right. But they wrote about Greeks, so in a way I am happy. We now have over 250 registered and maybe more registering on site. I am very excited, this is going to be great.

After the conference I am heading to Saginaw. My brother Andres is coming and presenting at the conference, so he will stay with me and then off to Saginaw in the morning. I took Monday off work at GVSU so I just have to swing back in time to work at CompuCraft. Also... I have a meeting with a potential client for OutSight Design and Consulting. Wish me luck on that and the conference this weekend.

Peace!

Pictures
Yes I know, Bolivia pictures. They are coming, really they are. Just not this week. Getting everything done for this conference here at GVSU this weekend has consumed my time. However I did squeeze in some time to edit some Novali photos from her visit last weekend with my parents. I wanted to take a break this morning to do something fun, here they are:

Reading her LeapFrog book with my parents.

Running down the hallway, if you have ever seen her run you will find this funny.

Swimming with grandpa.

With her mami getting dry after the pool.

I also have a video here to post as well. I am putting this on her website as well, but here is the link. You need to have Quicktime loaded on your computer to view the video. Us Mac user will already have it loaded, you PC users might need to download it.
Video Clip

Alright I got to get back to work now. Finishing up a few things at Compucraft and now heading to GVSU for the rest of my day. Adios.

Single Genius
Becky IMed me today to tell me that she found that we have Aristotle and Plato to thank for Table of Contents and other writing items of interest. For some reason the first thing that popped in my head was to ask, "Were both of them single?"

Why would I ask such a question? They were both single (actually I just looked it up, and Aristotle was married, but briefly). Two of the greatest minds ever, were not only friends (Plato was Aristotle's tutor), but they both died single. They dedicated their lives to something besides the pursuit of love. They never had to worry about anniversary gifts, visiting in laws, finding a reception hall, or trolling the singles bars.

Is this a weird post? Yes. Maybe weirder then my spork one, but follow me here.

Greatness. What makes a man (or woman) great? How does one measure that? Is it the combination of all accomplishments; a body of work or an heir?

This weekend Becky and I went to the Detroit Autoshow. What beauty, what style, pure ingenuity. Many of those cars are a legacy of a mans work sculpted in metal, shrouded with electronic gadgets and sitting on rubber. As a small child I dreamed of designing one of those, being the man behind the design, to be the creator of the vision.

The closest I came was working in an interior auto design studio. I worked on concept cars (Ariston, Kion and Playseat) and new car launches (namely the famous PT Cuiser, 2002 Accord, 2003 M Class). Living my dream, designing cars, being in meetings with the minds behind some of the most popular metal on the road. All these men were single, or divorced and never saw their kids. We worked 70 hour weeks together. We slaved over every detail of those cars. Our lives revolved around making those awe inspiring cars, to make kid's eyes pop, and adult's mouths drool. Similarly to how Plato and the early philosophers treated their trade.

One day I realized I wanted something else for my life. Every human wants to leave a legacy, wants to think that once they are gone the world will remember them. I decided I did not want my work to be my life, but rather my life to be my work. I started doing more things I wanted, crafting my life like a designer crafts a car.

So what am I trying to say? Lots of things.

Keep things in perspective.

Do what makes you happy, but not at the expense of others.

What you do is your legacy, so think out each action carefully.

Sometimes your childhood dreams should stay where they were... in the mind of child.

Don't be afraid to try. Trying is the one thing you will always succeed at.

Or in the words of the famed Henry David Thoreau:

My life has been the poem I would have writ,
But I could not both live and utter it.

I want my life to be a poem. Memorable, fascinating, tear jerking, dream creating, and so good you can taste it... and yes I think it should rhyme.

To Do List
I have a long to-do-list. I am not complaining. I had a great vacation and one of the draw backs is having to miss some work and school and make it up. I am making it up now.

In trying to keep up with work I have forgone the fun things in life. Like writing on my blog and posting pictures of Novali and my Bolivia trip. This will all get done this weekend, but for now I want to post some teaser pictures of what is coming soon and give some updates on life in Allendale, MI.

Valerie

Little Valerie and bundled up

Naked in the tub

Raquel is doing well with her little girl. Her and Daniel are handling everything as well as can be expected of first time parents. I remember what it was like... not knowing what to do, asking mom everything, non-stop gifts from dad for the kid, and hoping things turn out good. I hate that I was never there everyday to get the full experience, I am jealous of Raquel for that. Great pictures from our dad. He got a digital camera. Can't wait to see the pictures of Novali from the weekend dad... still waiting.

Novalí

Hanging around the house with the famous bunny, Nono.

Getting ready for the day (thats her potty... yeah for no more diapers)

On the way to Michigan she wanted milk...

...and juice at the same time!

When my family was in town we went to my favorite little bar...

With her Tio Andres at none other then BFE.

It was great seeing Novali when getting back from Bolivia. I did not see her for four weeks and it was killing me! Andres came, my mom got her in the pool, and my dad snapped a million photos (which I need copies of...). The weekend was great and got me relaxed before starting this crazy week.

Bolivia Pics

In La Paz walking around with Miguel.

At Rio Pirai with Felipe and abuelito.

I know you all want to see the Bolivia pictures. I took nearly 800 pictures and now I need to sort them and see what I want to put online. They will be up hopefully early next week. It will be a huge gallery so look out. I also will write a little about each picture.

Life
As crazy as work and things are I am feeling good about life right now. I made the decision that no matter what I am moving to Chicago this summer. I will not accept a job anywhere else. I had a hard time being away from Novali for four weeks, and I am tired of the long drives. I want to be closer. So Greek advisor job or not, I am moving to Chicago. I will find something, it is the one thing in life I can always count on, the unexpected good things. Life has a strange way of working itself out when you really need something, and I need to be closer. So that is that.

Car
No my car is not broken down, well not the Nissan. The Mercury just cost me a small fortune. Tamara lost the muffler to the car while driving over break, so I paid 200 bucks for that and an oil change. Then while on her way back to Chicago with Novali the car broke down... she needed to get towed. The bill for the repair was over 700 bucks. Ouch. When it snows it blizzards.

Weekend
Tonight: work and laundry. Not much fun. Tomorrow: work, meetings, and then thesis cram session with Becky. Not much fun. Saturday: Detroit Autoshow with Becky. Lots of fun! Sunday. Work, meetings, posting pictures, and maybe some time for fun, but I doubt it.

Life goes on. Thanks for reading and commenting folks. It makes my day.

Winter Wonderland
No it is not. I like sweater weather, but not snow and cold. Being dressed in layers is just fun. You can be wearing your favorite funky t shirt under a conservative sweater to work and no one knows. It's fun. However driving in snow sucks, being cold stinks, and wet floors in the apartment are a slip-and-fall hazard. Either way I am back in the Michigan, drove the NX this morning for the first time in nearly four weeks and am using Max (my laptop) again. Lets recap my return home.

Wednesday - in a plane all day. Left for the airport at 6am, landed in Chicago at 8pm. Kinda long. I did meet Sean Paul (reggae star) in Miami, almost got arrested for taking his picture. Who knew taking pictures near the airport security area was a federal offense? After a nice 30 minute interogation I will be sure to never take my camera out near there again! Novali and Tamara were waiting for me when I got to the luggage area. Novali's huge mouth when she saw me made the long hours of plane time melt away and she ran to hug her papi. I am home.

Thursday - Novali and I played all day.

Friday - came to Michigan finally. My parents are in town staying at the luxurious Sleep Inn right here in lovely Allendale, MI. We ate at the Country Cupboard and I got mad punches on my punch card, very happy about that. Three bucks off here I come!

Today - I am about to run and get Andres from the bus station. He will chill with the family this afternoon. I will hand out some xmas gifts and I am sure my mom will get Novali in the pool of the hotel. Good ol' Centellas family fun. Minus Miguel who is still in Bolivia and Raquel who is taking care of her now one week old baby Valerie.

Within the next few days expect to see a full photo on-line tour of my trip to Bolivia, some new Novali photos, and hear about my hair falling out as I mad dash to try to get caught up on four weeks of being gone. Ah. I am home...

Back in the Heat
Holy hot batman! Saturday night I arrived back in Santa Cruz, and what heat! La Paz has a great climate, a little cold in the mornings but in the afternoon a great cool temperature and then nice fresh cool evenings. Now Santa Cruz... is just plain nasty hot.

Yesterday we had an asado at my Tio Adrian´s house. Claudia got back from her trip so I finally got to see her. As the afternoon got hotter and reached 91 degrees we all went to the famous Rio Pirai. It was like I remembered, little stands selling all kinds of typical Bolivian food. You had to keep your hand on your wallet cause pick pockets and crooks were all over. I rented two four wheelers and Felipe and I took Tio Ruben´s girls out on the river banks. It was a fun and I got some more sun.

Last night had some duck with Tio Joge and his family. I have spent the most time with them. Oscar, Fernando and Ivan have been great. Tio Jorge has the closest family of all the uncles here. Two of his kids are married, Ivan with two kids and Oscar with one on the way, and Fernando enjoying the single life a little more.

Two more days in Bolivia. I will spend my last few times riding the Blue 21 Micro. Internet in Shopping Bolivar next to business men watching DVDs on lunch break and kids chatting on MSN. Getting hassled by taxi drivers and everyone else for a few extra pesos for the ´gringo´price. Ah...

Family Update - my sister had her little girl! Finally. She was getting very annoyed with being very big and pregnant. So on January 3rd, my sister Raquel had her little girl. Valerie Anne, who was born 7.2 pounds and 19,3/4 long. So now I am an uncle. Here is a link to a picture my dad sent me. Valerie.

Well now I am heading over to the Santa Cruz Social Club. Today will be my last try to get in there and have lunch. I just want something to eat, since I was a little kid I wanted to eat there. Wish me luck.

HAPPY NEW YEARS
Last night was an adventure. Miguel and I were going to spend new years with some of his American friends (also Fullbright Scholars) and go to a party some Brazilian´s were throwing. We finished our afternoon shopping and headed home to change.

12-31-2003 Four Americans, a Brazilian Party and Techno
We planned just a casual new years thinking the Brazilian party would be crazy. As we walked down to meet Steve and Maria we got a call from Steve. He was just told that the party has a theme, you had to be wearing blue and white, and bring a bottle of Rum or Wiskey. I brought nothing blue and white, and Miguel just dropped his white dress shirts off at the cleaners...Whatt to do?

The four of us went to dinner and discussed plans. Neither knew who was throwing the party, or even where it was. We ate at a great little Cuban place and came to the conclusion that if we did not go dressed it up it would be fine. Figuring after some drinks and partying with Brazilians they would not care anyways.

While at the store getting the drinks, I had a novel idea...Why not get white lab coats from a grocery store and wear those? The gang loved the idea and we asked. The first few places said no, and looked at us very strangely for asking. Finally as we headed to Steve´s apartment a little hair salon let us borrow two of their little outfits. Miguel and I, wearing the least blue and white (non actually) got the two smocks. Maria had a light blue sweater on and then tied a sheet around her waist for the blue and white thing. Steve wore a white undershirt on top of his shirt and wore bluish green leather jacket on top. We were ready for the party, bring on the Samba!

We met up with the Brazilian girl, who dressed nicely as opposed to our ragtag outfits, who knew the place and off we went. As we came close to the place we realized this was not what we had expected. This party was not an apartment party, with tons of crazy partying Brazilians. The place was a house, three stories with a huge courtyard and straight up money. There was a guest list. Most of the people in suits, or dressed like rock stars. Free drinks, free food, free champagne, and even a fireworks show at midnight (4th of July type private show). It was amazing.

Throughout the night in the yard there was a DJ, a live band, and even a girl who twirled these ropes with fireballs on the ends. It was crazy. The crowd was mixed, half people above 40, then other all about our age (20-30). The music was all house trance (techno kinda), no samba but still towards the end even the old people danced. People were showing up all night, we left at 4am and people were still just coming in. I had fun getting to know Miguel´s friends and just having a cool new years. Very memorable. What a house! What a party! What a new Year!

Resolution? Not going to share those here. But I want to highlight some interesting Bolivian traditions. Underwear. All week they have been selling at all the stores and local stands lots of red and yellow underwear for women. Finally we asked what was up with that (it is strange to see cholas selling red and yellow thongs all over the streets)? The vendor said that if a girl wears red it means she wants love this year, and especially tonight. The yellow are hoping for a good fortune and money. Pink ones were hoping for good health for the year.

Another tradition. Counting money. In all the streets you could buy fake American money, in large quantities. At midnight they said if you count tons of money you will have a good new year financially. The Brazilians put 12 grapes in their champagne, and as they eat each grape hey say a wish for the new year. Interesting traditions.

1-01-2004 Whole New Year!
This morning I still got up early. I ventured out around 10:30am and saw this town deserted. I mean totally empty. I took a cab to the market area we went to yesterday afternoon and it was dead. One or two little stands were open, but that was it. The once jammed intersectionion was completely clear and crossing the street did not make me fear my life.

I went back home and woke up Miguel. We got lunch, I had fricase and now we are waiting for a Bolivian movie to start. Los Hijos del Ultimo Jardin. Looks pretty interesting.

Peanut Soup
I find La Paz about the same as last time. Little has changed, names of restaurants have changed but the city seems about the same. I am enjoying having Miguel as a tour guide, he loves to immerse himself in a city and really get to know it, that makes it easy for me to learn the ins-and-outs of the city quickly. I was his tour guide in Santa Cruz, now the roles are reversed.

12-29-2003 Lunch with an Aussie
We had a great lunch. At Gringo Limon we met up with Miguel's friend Daniel's sister. Monica married an Australian who speaks little Spanish. They have a little boy, exactly Novali's age; he was born on April 12th, two days after Novali. It was funny cause I saw the same language struggle as Novali in Benjamin. We exchanged funny kid stories and ate a great lunch. Darrel said he loves Bolivian asado (BBQ), so we became friends right away. Nothing like a big piece of well cooked Bolivian food, yum. Surprisingly though I only ate peanut soup and chu\'96o, no red meat. I will make up for that at dinner I am sure.

Then Miguel and I headed to the bank, the same one I used to change money in Santa Cruz. I was surprised to not find two hot Bolivian girls (Cruceñas) working the door, all the banks in Santa Cruz would have hot chicks there. They usually were just standing around doing nothing, maybe helping someone use an ATM, or trying to give directions, but mostly just beautifying the environment.

Off to the market. Miguel just moved, so we had to restock his fridge. We went to his little neighborhood market to get the essentials, well what Miguel calls essentials. This being yogurt, crackers, jam, granola, you know... all that healthy stuff. Miguel is preparing his kitchen (the only room that actually really has stuff in it) and I am blogging waiting for some coffee. While I wait I will describe Miguel's new place (photo coming soon as well).

You enter into the living room, beautiful hardwood floors with windows lining one wall, and no furniture. That room blends into the dinning room, same flooring and windows, except here we find a small breakfast table, two chairs and a big cardboard box holding up Miguel's comics and a few books. To your left is the hallway; the first left is a nice spacious bedroom and to the right the huge bathroom, down the hall the kitchen and breakfast nook. The bedroom is really nice, big and roomy. Right now just a bed, suitcases and a speaker set (the woofer is Miguel's makeshift desk) fill the room. The kitchen is at the complete end of the hallway, small but has everything a one-bedroom apartment needs, except a working outlet. The nook has the fridge (no outlet in the kitchen) and has cool square windows lining one wall giving a great natural light into the room. Matched with a beautiful view out the front door, close market and internet cafes, pretty much the prefect apartment. ~ Does this sound like a real estate add or what?

We are heading out to explore La Paz a little more and meet up with Darrel. So more pictures and walking up-and-down and then more up-and-down, and then up-and-down through the streets of La Paz. Our first trip was to the Valle de la Luna. Which is high up on the outside of La Paz. Talk about an amazing view. You could see the city and how it is nestled right in the valley, or get a close look at a few houses and how they built them on the edges of cliffs, and finally a great view of the La Paz golf course, which Darrel said is awesome to play.

Then we headed to San Miguel, always the popular spot. We were looking for a place to get some coffee and an afternoon bite. We found a nice place on a corner and enjoyed more conversation. We parted ways and headed home.

Our nighttime activity would be a peña. This is when you get a late dinner, and there is a folkloric show during your dinner. Our Tio Eduardo and Tia Teresa invited us, tio said he called and found a place open on a Monday night (most are just weekends). So we met up with them and headed out. Too bad the place was a closed, so we droving trying to find something else to do, and luckily we found another place.

It was great, the five-man band played songs from all the regions of Bolivia. They played some great songs, and one of my favorite salles. I had the best piece of trout ever and everyone ate like kings. Afterwards we went driving and stopped at this place called las belas. It is a late night food place (it was now 12:30) and they have everything from antecucho (heart meat and potato on a shish kabob) and chicharron (kind like Mexican chorrizo) sandwiches. I got a sandwich, and much to Miguel's disgust even got the lettuce on it. I have no fear on eating street food, maybe that is why my stomach hurts so much here. Either way my tongue is happy and I can say I tried it all!

12-30-2003 Oruro
We got to the bus station at 6:30am. Tickets to Oruro were only 10bs, which means about $1.40, cheap! Martin, Miguel and I slept the entire way on the bus. I love those buses, huge, you can recline nearly all the way back, and kids are in the aisles selling things in case you forgot something. It was a fast 3-hour trip and a brand-new highway.

We arrived and the city was exactly what I expected, not much. The city is an old mining town, of which nearly all the mines are closed and the city survives off of a little tourism and mostly off carnival, which is the biggest in Bolivia there. They practice all year round and have many famous dances, but this is not carnival season.

The museums were cool, we walked through and old mine and saw many ancient artifacts. The old world culture was very evident in the town. The plaza was well kept the municiple building had a long line of people there complaining about something, just like any good Bolivian town. We walked and saw the old buildings and then headed to lunch. We ate a feast. I got lamb ribs, but I swear they brought half of the lamb! It was served with just one potato, meat and potatoes. I was in heaven. Some ice cream to finish the meal and then we headed back to the bus terminal. It was a short visit, Martin had to be back for a dinner and there was not much to see anyways. The trip was well worth it! The stories from the bus terminal, sellers on the bus, goofy tour guides, old buildings, and a hot mom (right Martin?). Too many stories to post here, but pictures will be coming soon.

We got back and relaxed a little and got ready to go out. Daniel called and we met up with him and another of Miguel's friends and went to the coolest little bar. It was like just out of the movie swingers! Slow music playing, nearly empty, bartender knows everyone and tells jokes, no sign out front, and you know you are with good company. The bartender and I had fun making new drinks and trying to stump me on what was in them. I learned some awesome drinks, Illimani, we made a new one called 'Samuel', rusty nail, etc. It was great.

Paola and a friend showed up as well, just after Daniel left. I almost felt like a regular by then, had my same seat as new people came in and cracking jokes with the barkeep. Good times. We finished our drink and went to Cafe Ciudad. It was past 10 and I had not eaten since 1 so I was hungry. A pique machu later we took off. They were heading home, and I was off to meet my primo Martin to see more of the La Paz nightlife.

I met him and a one of his girlfriends at a bar called Green. It was decorated with all old rock memorabilia. Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Beatles, Elton John, etc. The music was great and they taught me a card came. As usual I had beginners luck and we had a good time chatting. Then off to Mangos.

Mangos is a famous bar here. It was where most tourists go, and the Bolivian girls go to pick up rich foreigners; well that is what Miguel said. I am not rich, and only half foreign so I did not worry a lot about it. The place was different then I expected. Yes a lot of travelers, but not much 'picking up' was going on. We got a table and I tried a few different drinks, a special micro brew, a 'latin lover', and some white russians later we took off. Time for bed.

12-31-2003 Cafe con leche
I got up early today and ran down (you literally run down because Miguel lives on a major hill, you have a to take a taxi home it is so steep) to the local wireless coffee shop. Miguel was still sleeping and I am not sure when he will show up. I like being alone and walking the streets at my own pace and stopping when I want. Right now 'The Lady in Red' is playing, kind weird.

Once he arrives we are off to the San Francisco plaza area. That is the big old cathedral in La Paz, and also the big tourist area. We will hit up the witches market (I need some eye of newt and cat nail), get some touristy things and just chill. Then lunch with more family. Still no defined plans for tonight. We have several options, Miguel runs with a few different clicks here. Either way I am excited for a New Years in La Paz.

Well back to my coffee, waiting for Miguel, and high school memories of the lady in red song. Ah...

HAPPY NEW YEARS to all! See you all soon!

El Alto
When most people arrive in La Paz the altitude hits them and they have a hard time breathing and getting around. The city sits at about 3,700 meters, I say about because it varies. The city is in valley, the high points get to around 4000, and the low parts to 3200. All that up and down wears you out, not to mention I was sick when I got here. I am going to have a tough first few days. Here is the count.

12-27-2003 Dumbos
We arrived in La Paz. I could feel the altitude right away. The beauty of the city, chizeled out of a rocky mountain valley, lights climbing and dropping over the sloped horizon, and our taxi hurling down the windy road hugging curves and mounting speeds bumps... Ah, La Paz. We stopped at Miguel's new apartment in Sopocachi for just long enough to drop off our bags and then we headed to the San Miguel neighborhood to meet our cousin Martin for dinner.

Walking through San Miguel brought back great memories. The small little village style neighborhoods present a unique style of created communities with their own everything. One found memory of this area was at the Dumbo ice cream shop when we ran into some of the Bolivian national soccer team. So when they mentioned that place to eat, I was all for it. Some Pique Macho, and coca tea and now I really am reminded of my previous trips here. Then we walked to Martin's house. Our tio Juan (abuelito's brother) was there and we said hello, he was on his way out. So we grabbed a few of Miguel's things he left there and headed home.

Tomorrow we will move the last of Miguel's things from his old apartment on the Prado. Then an afternoon asado at Martin's and some relaxing. We are planning a Monday trip to Oruro, which is one of the older and more untouched cities in Bolivia, and it is were my dad was born.

12-28-2003 Soroche
We woke up and headed to the Prado, which is the main downtown strip. That is where Miguel used to live and we went to get a few more of his things. Then we went to his wireless internet cafe right there and I had more Mate de Coca cause the altitude was bothering me.

As we started to walk towards the street to get a MiniBus to the San Miguel district we saw clouds moving in. The beauty of being in such a high city was that the clouds were barely above our heads. It was a great site, until it started raining. Then we hussled a little. We caught our mini and made it to San Miguel, from there on foot we went to the house. We hiked pretty fast. On arrival I felt terrible, but I sucked it up and just drank some mate de coca and went on with the day. They cooked a great feast, an asado, grilled meat, coclo (corn on the cob), salad, and little potatoes (seriously the little ones taste better). I, of course, ate a lot and it was awesome.

However the altitude made it worse. My head started to pound and now my chest was hurting. I had to lay down. After a long nap and more mate de coca I started to feel better. Miguel got me some Sorojchi(that is the name of altitude sickness) pills and after relaxing on the couch and talking politics and other world issues I felt better.

We decided to take off and head back downtown. I wanted something light, like soup or something to help get me adjusted to La Paz. We went to another cafe Miguel likes, and there we were met by Miguel's friend Daniel Bustillos. He studied at CMU with Miguel and they have remained friends. I had only met him the one time at our house and Saginaw and he was very nice. He met us with his wife and one year old little girl. It was a nice relaxing light dinner and coffee catching up on things. Then we drove around a little and saw some more plazas (La Paz has a little plaza on every other corner) and he dropped us off.

Tomorrow we will sleep in, the Oruro trip has been moved to Tuesday due to me probably not being ready for the high alto tomorrow. So we will do some shopping, see some sights and relax. My blogs will also be a little shorter, I had been using the computer my cousin Martin bought that I was bringing for him. Now he has his machine, and I am without a computer... very hard for me, but I will survive. I have my trusty jumpdrive and my digital camera and with internet cafe's costing only 3Bs an hour I will be fine.

12-29-2003 Sweater Weather
While Miguel is showering and getting ready I am taking the chance to write from his computer. Today is another sweater day, well actaully everyday in La Paz is sweater day. Everyone wears a sweater in the morning, it starts out about 4 degree centigrade. By afternoon it will be a nice calm 25 degree, big change huh. Then by night time you need the sweater again as it starts to cool down. Such a change from Santa Cruz were it is so hot and humid you wear no undershirt and buy the coolest polyester shirts you can to stop from sweating all day. Now I leave the house in 3 or 4 layers and carry a bag with me for when I need to remove layers. I need to get one of those cool little Bolivia auyao bags.

We walked to get Miguel's mail, all along the way I took pictures. We stopped to eat some tucumanas, which are a mix between salteñas and empanadas, very good. Then we walked some more on the what feels like always uphill terrain. I am quite the tourist with my digi cam. It was a good experience to watch Miguel get his mail. First we went to his post office box, he grabbed his mail and had a slip stating he had a package (comics for sure). Then he had to ask around at which desk to go for his package. They have desks for people with big packages, small packages, medium packages, international packages, etc. Miguel had to go to one desk, pay more money, and then was given his package to take to customs. They opened it, looked at, then stamped his four different forms he had for that package. What fun.

Now we are at the wireless cafe, I am using his laptop and waiting for our coffee. After I post this he will use the computer and I will sneak into the United Colors of Benneton store next door. Then for lunch we are going to this place called the Gringo Limon for some good Fricase. Yum yum.