Thursday, July 31, 2003
Wednesday-7-30-03: Had the last of my summer sessions with my students. It was really great they ditched another class to stay in mine.(the other class wasn't important). We played set (crazy addictive card game) and talked about test scores and tracking. They all fell in to the rhetoric of it doesn't really matter nothing is ever going to change. They aren't going to listen to the parents of a bunch of minority students. Most of the time I don't believe that but sometimes it really seems that way ( you still have to act as though it could happen on the off chance that it does.) I really enjoy teaching and talking to students. It makes me feel like I am doing something right.
After I got home from that, I went to finish the sanding at my neighbors new apartment. 7 and a half hours later, were done and I am dead. I write to you now from beyond the grave, telling you to not volunteer to sand someone's floor. Heed my warning mortals, or burn in eternal hellfire, and sawdust, oh wait even better eternal burning hellfire brand sawdust. I'm tired and dead. Good night mortals. mgawahhaaaaa (evil haunting laugh) (that trails off in an echo)aaaaaa.
Posted by Edward @ 01:45 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
tuesday:7-29-03I am very itred. So tired I can't even spell it. I hlped my neighbor sand the floors of their apartment. Its not really just my neighbor. She is like a friend of the family. My family has been friends with her family since I was three. She is divorcing now after thirty years of marriage. Moving in with her mother in Law with one of her sons. I put on an anti dust suit, goggles and a mask and sweat like a fountain. Its ok though because she really ahs noone else that would do it for her. Her husband is a real ass, and her other kids don't care. I am supposed to help finish the job tomorrow, but i am so tired. I have been really busy. I came home from the sanding to help Cristin (o'keefe Aptowicz), finish her chapbook. It really came out well and I am really happy with the design, especially the cover(you'll see why). I really love photoshop and in design, you can do anything you want almost. There is very little outside of the realm of possibility. I like all that freedom .
Yesterday(monday) I had to do a lot of work from home, so I didn't go to bar 13. I heard that the nuyorican team this year won all three venues in the regional slam, even beating out 13 at home. This is very surprising, I want to see that team in Chicago, to see what they're all about. I wish the bar 13 team had someone on it who could do funny poems. Its all seriious topics all the time. It gets monotone after a while. Funny can really throw you a curve ball without being devoid of meaning.
Speaking of Nationals. I am not even sure when I am leaving to go to Nats, it seems to be happening so soon. I don't remember other years being like that. I'm sooo tired, have to teach my last summer class tomorrow. So good night, whoever is reading this. Sweet dreams.
Posted by Edward @ 02:24 AM EST [Link]
Monday, July 28, 2003
Sunday: So today I was supposed to go to the rock steady crew anniversary, for the first time since I've been back in NY, always been out of town the other years. It's not even in Rock steady park anymore. It's all in manhattan. They're charging 30 $ at the door. what? So I'm very dissapointed. My whole days plans shot. I got ichat av and did audio and video over IM, which was very cool. So easy. I realize that I am a total pc to mac convert. I don't know what I would do without my computer. So sad that I just said that. I need to eat a flavor ice.
Ok that was delicious. So after many hours of playing with that went to go have dinner at vegetarinan Dim Sum house again (love pan fried noodles)(mmm). then we were supposed to go to the movies but I ate too much. So i went home. Listened to the new Black eyed peas (great beats, real hot album) and then Mana, haven't heard them in a while ( the police, of sting and the police in spanish, for real, good stuff).
Played fishy for a while, its so addictive. Here you try: http://www.xgenstudios.com/fishy/index.htm
I got 15,837. Anyway I'm tired. I have to teach tomorrow. Good night.
Posted by Edward @ 12:48 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Ok so let me catch you up on my weekend. On Thursday night I went to Bassey's going away party thing. It's going to be sad without her here especially since I feel like i just reconnected with her ( via Im)I guess I can still do that. But I know she is going to have a great time in Scottland, and London. London is her kind of town, she'll probably get a harrods credit card too, she's gonna love it. I wasn't able to go to Urbana that night because the transition between restaurants for Bassey's thing was a bit arduous, but thats ok I'll see all the teams in Chicago. I went to veselka afterwards and had an undercooked turkey burger (half of which is still sitting in my fridge) With Jeannie,Omar, Pimpila and Anantha, Adrian, And Agelie most of whom are my friendster friends. I scare myself sometimes.
Friday:
Spent most of the day with a migraine, eating flavor ice and trying not to move. That lasted until like 6 PM. Then I went to vegetarian Dim sum house in Chinatown with Jeannie, and Omar. China town was pretty sparse for a friday night. I think they're still being affected by that stupid SARS scare and to some extent the 9/11 stuff. Its funny how they made a gigantic headline for the SARS warnings being placed but not for them being lifted. They have been lifted in all of the major cities in Asia, and Canada. This country is driven on fear. It really bothers me how people react in the face of such dumb shit. Sars wasn't even a death sentence you have a better rate of surviving it than you do of surviving west nile. Yet anythin to get you cowering and dependent.
Anyway back to friday. We went to Chinatown Icecream factory afterwards, to have the most delicious mango papaya sorbet, then we took a cab to Nuyorican so Omar could slam in the regionals. I wasn't going to pay 10$, maybe 15$ so I went home. Like I said I'll see the teams at nationals. They all know I support them.
Saturday:
Woke up early and cleaned the house a little bit. Cristin O'keefe Aptowicz came over for some help formatting her new chapbook, and we had nachos supremos homemade, ( really it was supposed to be tacos but I didn't know I didn't have shells, so we ate them with chips instead). It was really good, although maybe i put too much salt on the guacamole (Jeannie was right). The chapbook was cool and went pretty quickly. Me and Cristin talked a lot, about alot of different stuff, mostly Nerd stuff and Shappy nerd related stuff. we haven't talked in a long time and it was cool. Ate lots and lots of flavor ice, mostly blue flavor and red flavor.
After that I went to my house to have dinner with my family and my aunt that came from El Salvador to visit. I'll probably go visit El Salvador in December. My younger brother was there with his girlfriend and my younger sister brought her boyfriend (Jeannie stayed home to do work stuff). It's still a little wierd that both of them are dating these very pale looking white blond haired people, with very sensetive skin. I guess if they like them who am I to say anything. Sheryl, my brother's girlfriend is very nice( they have been going out for a while), and Mark, my sister's boyfriend seems very nice although I don't know him as well (seems a little bit too touchy to me, although maybe it's the start of the relationship thing). Neither of their children (when they have them)will probably speak spanish and thats upsetting. (Note to self: I have to start writing more poems in spanish) Dinner was fine, it was lasagna, which my mom always makes when there's lots of people coming. After Dinner we went to my brother's new apartment to see his 42" plasma tv(my little brother is a very successful mortgage banker), it was nice (more than nice I love TV, must have TV) but the apartment seems a little lacking in warmth or personal touches. It seems like a catalog house, like in American Psycho or Fight Club. Its really good that he was able to buy something like that though(growing up who would have thought but the most optimistic of children). He's not even 27 and he owns his own place. I'm very happy for him although I don't always know who he is.
Posted by Edward @ 01:00 PM EST [Link]
Thursday, July 24, 2003
I've been denying it for a long time. Fooling myself into thinking that things would change that it would only be a passing thing, I now know it is gone forever. I just finished watching the fabulous life of Hip Hop stars on vh1. I know the culture that I know as hip hop is gone. It may live on the fringes as it always has, but the days when the mainstream is actually speaking for someone is gone. What kind of urban culture can you speak for when you're dictating your rhyme to a concierge in San Trope. It's sad how out of touch rap artists are now. As if diamonds could somehow erase their upbringing or their origins.
I felt hurt the other day when I went to see De La Soul at summerstage and realized I haven't listened to Hip Hop in a while. They reminded me of what it used to be like, and why i used to listen to it. It's not made for the same reasons anymore. The heart of Hip Hop is no longer in the people, it seems to be in the product placement now. There is no album I'm looking forward to in the next six months. I hope Hip Hop dies out and something original takes its place, even though a few artists will still probably move me every now and then.
Posted by Edward @ 12:20 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
so i have signed up for friendster, again on the advice of many of my friends. What is happening to me? I feel like buying a scooter, getting a deluxe salad at Mcdonalds, and cheering for that POW girl. I have to go lie down.
Posted by Edward @ 07:53 PM EST [Link]
So acentos was as good as always. It never seems to dissapoint. I get a lot of the same feelings from acentos that I used to get at Urbana when it was in th cbgb's basement or when I first started going to Bar 13. It's like a different vibe than is present in the venues now. Everything seems so forced and unnatural. Acentos seems very natural and I always have a good time, it doesn't even have to do with the quality of the poetry there is just another element there that can't be described. Congrats to Oscar and Fish for getting acentos off the ground, and making it so inclusive and welcoming.
On a different note, I am going to go over a grant at T&W today. Going to try and get some funding to do this film project I want to do. More on that later. Wish me luck.
Posted by Edward @ 11:22 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
This is Monday's log. I got a letter from the law school admission coucil a few days ago saying that my LSAT scores are about to expire. These last five years I always had the option to just pick up and go to Law School without too much effort, take the sure thing instead of the long shot. Now to go I would have to retake the test as well as a bunch of other stuff. There is no net to catch me, so why do I feel like taking up the unicycle.
Spent the morning eating tropical flavor ice and watching short films. Then i went to work for a bit, went to eat Dinner at Lan with Jeannie. Their sunset special is fantastic its ike half price between 530 and 7pm. Some of the best Sushi in the city, for real. Then I went to 13. It was Danny Solis featruring and I had never seen a full set by him. I had seen a piece or two here and there at nationals, but hearing him yesterday really made me happy. I always feel like I have to be the funny latino when everybody else is doing serious stuff, or angry stuff. I get angry, too angry sometimes. I need to cut that anger with some humor, put it in perspective. I think Danny does that. He really made me laugh, like I haven't laughed in a while. I was there with an old friend Bolo and his little sister and at one point I couldn't stop laughing at the poem Danny has about making a fire in the backyard.
Someone else in the scene along those same lines of that humor is Rich Villar, part of the accentos crew. I'm gonna head up there tonight. It sould be a good time.
You know what this has just turned into Tuesdays log because I am really sad about Celia. It's raining and her carriage is being pulled down to St. Patricks Cathedral. I don't like funerals it always superimposes itself over the memories I have of that person being alive. I want remember her alive. I met Celia once in Miami. I was working at "Incredible Universe", this giant electronics and Musicchain, pre-cursor to Best Buy. They had a stage in the middle of the departments as a marketing ploy. They would always bring in artists to perform and promote their new record. I worked in the music dept. so I got to attend to her and stuff. She was much younger looking than I would have thought for someone her age. She had a bright red wig with a brown sequened dress, and high heels. Nose flat against her face like a photo I once saw of My father's Grandmother.
This was like 5 years ago, so she was already in her seventies. She performed there, dancing and singing, made a crowd of eighty seem like eight thousand the way everyone exploded into movement. Talked about it even after no one wanted to hear it. I still have the poster she signed to me at home. Take it out for my kids one day, hope they still know who she is.
Posted by Edward @ 02:44 PM EST [Link]
Why is he putting stuff up two days behind?
Its because I wanted to start this thing on Saturday but technical problems kept me from doing so, so I will catch up soon, maybe even today, since my meeting was cancelled with 45 minutes notice. But enough about today let me talk about Sunday. Woke up early to Go play Basketball with Celena in Brooklyn. Celena was eating an egg salad sandwhich when I got there, which I didn't think would stay down during the game, but it did. Beau, Sarin, Shawn, and Lili joined us for the game and everybody else who was supposed to show up flaked out, so we played three games in the noon day sun. It was the first time I ever played with contacts, I was used to everything being blurry and shifting my shots accordingly so my game was all off. I was soooo tired but it was good. I know I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, especially since I'm writing this on Tuesday so I already was sore. Oops I'm destroying the illusion. Anyway: Sunday,I had a lot of fun, but I didn't realize i got hit in the eye pretty bad so i have a bruise from the corner of my right eye to my eyebrow. It just kind of looks like I put eyeliner on that one eye. I'm like half a johnny depp from Pirates of the carribean. Which was a very enjoyable movie. Enjoyable is as strong a word as I'm using. Heard Ishle's CD today. It was amazing. All of the tracks have great music behind them, but not disruptively or forced. It's a really good CD. Afterwards spent some time with Omar before he went back to Philly. This was a good summer weekend.
Oh strange aside: witnessed a fist fight each day in manhattan. One in american burger on Sat.( three big guys against one woman and her boyfriend), and one in Astor place on Sun.( six gutter punks angainst a lone gutter punk), reminded me I haven't fought in a long time. Don't know why I would miss any part of it. Can't say I didn't feel like jumping in especially since the sides were so missmatched in both fights. I scare myself sometimes by wanting to throw myself into things I know won't turn out right. Glad I'm not dating anymore.
Posted by Edward @ 11:40 AM EST [Link]
So this is obviously the first entry in my journal. This will count as my entry for Sat.I am excited and nervous. I have been convinced to do this blogg for many reasons, and they have overcome my reasons against it like: the fear of people knowing too much about me, and getting in trouble for what I write (happened many times already), and just the plain fear of being boring.
But the reasons for it are much better and they go like this. On Saturday I went to Ishle's Cd release party at the Bowery poetry Club. It was such an amazing show that it made me feel like i need to document the feelings of that night. Everyone was wonderful, the music behind Ishle really accented her poems and her singing. I found myself mouthing the words under my breath like a fan boy. Got to perform on the stage with Bassey, Taito, Guy, and Ishle, which hasn't happened in much too long. The night just kept getting better because I went to Two boots later on that night to meet up with Bassey, Guy, Helen, and Omar. The only ones that could have made it a more uncommon meeting would have been the lockness monster and Big foot. We talked for two hours and touched on everything from the state of poetry to "Fear Factor". I am happy I did not become a lawyer.
Posted by Edward @ 01:53 AM EST [Link]
