85

My aunt died tonight. She was 85. I was watching the Bears game when we got a phone call. My dad left yesterday night on the bus. He will get there to bury her. I hope he is not shocked. It's happened before one gets to the town, only to find out a family member has just been buried.

My uncle is in the hospital again. He will have his other leg amputated this week. It's almost the end of the year... when these things happen.

mocos

La interrumpio de sus tareas para contarle una anecdota que no podia esperar.

--Holy shit! I've never seen anything like this! Listen: Me subi al CTA y venia un cabron sentado casi al frente de mi... I don't wanna take the CTA anymore, dude. It seems like I fucking come across the most disgusting motherfuckers... Well, this dude had beard like ZZTop, all the way down his chest, and moustache that covered his lips. And who knows how long he'd been sleeping, but the snot had been dripping from his nose for so long that it had created puddles the size of golf balls on his beard. And there was a line of snot still connected from his nose to the puddles on his beard. And as he snored, the lines of snot flexed in the air and swung back down to skin his lips... I wanted to fucking vomit! I couldn't help it--I wanted to stop looking, I should have stopped looking... but I couldn't!

And with that I took the tale to the blogger.

How work silences you...

Get this: Tubas just got terminated from his job for speaking up against the system. He wrote in the company suggestion box the following:

Improving shop efficiency chi-town style.

After reasonably milking their shop staff, I am proud to say that Chicago management has formulated an even more effective way to wring out work from their shop staff. Shop managers take note, this is the perfect way to get your shop to work against you.
1. Keep mechanics from leaving their 30' X 15' bays
2. Absolutely no talking amongst mechanics (includes cell phones)
3. Keep your mechanics staff from writing
4. No radio playing
5. Time your staff trips to the restroom (you might be losing a few work minutes)
6. Remove their labor book-- if the pre-inspector missed it and mechanics can't claim it they'll have to work harder to meet their required efficiency)
7. Overwork your salary people (they are salary which means you can work them as hard as you want
8. Cut your office staff and force the extra work on your salary people (if they refuse remind them what is stated at the end of each job description "your job is to do whatever management says")
9. Change shop manager consistently (this will cause chaos, save your shop manager pay until you find a replacement, and keep employees from asking for their do reviews)
10. If you absolutely must review with a raise, do it late. You won't have to review them again until that same date the following year.
11. Eliminate any program that will heighten shop morale, i.e. monthly barbecues, etc.
12. Fire those who speak up--this will frighten the staff and keep them from complaining.

And what were the grounds for firing him? Insubordination. What is this, the military? Incredible how the workplace inhibits any human being from being human. Talk about censorship. I think they were so mad to hear a worker speak up that they couldn't do anything but react by firing him. Ironically, they've reacted just how Tubas claimed they would.

Todo sobre coyote...

That night, the night before Valentine's Day, she hit the sack early. Her back was in pain. She dreaded work the next day. Always so much to do. Te pega de un putazo tanto trabajo despues de un fin de semana tranquilo sin mas que la companhia de las amigas y unas cervezas. Pero bueno, estaba hablando de ella y de sus ganas de dormir...

Nada, que el coyote se mete con ella a sus cobijas. Durmieron tranquilamente por varias horas cuando derepente el coyote se pone agresivo. Olio que alguien entraba a la casa y se puso a hacer escandalo. Ella se levanto pronto, ni se puso la ropa; penso que algo sucedia afuera. Pero cuando llego a la puerta vio que estaba completamente abierta y el frio entrando. Se espanto. El coyote seguia ladrando. Cerro la puerta, y el hombre estaba escondido atras de esta, con flores en la mano. Ella lo miro detenidamente, porque estaba desnuda. Y no era su esposo, sino su vecino que habia entrado a la casa equivocada. En eso, el coyote siguio mas loco que antes. Le ladraba a su esposo que apenas venia entrando, y los sorprendio ahi parados, el vecino con flores y ella desnuda recien levantada de la cama.

--Que chinga'os pasa aqui?
--Te estaba esperando toda la tarde? En donde andabas?
--Y que hace este imbecil aqui?
--No se... no vendrian juntos? Dos pendejos, uno tras otro, el coyote no se puede equivocar dos veces.

Los dejo ahi parados, en silencio los dos hombres, y se dio la vuelta, otra vez a la cama con coyote.

"todo sobre mi madre"

Cuando primero vi una pelicula de almodovar estaba en el DF. En aquel entonces andaba yo terriblemente enamorada de un tipo que decian era el mismo diablo. Creo que lo decian porque era feo, segun los estandares mexicanos. Rasgos indigenas. Moreno intenso, tono rojizo. Pero ademas un barbaro con las palabras y sarcastico hasta la madre. En fin, un dios para mi. El no tenia miedo al sexo o nada que ver con el sistema orgasmico. Y almodovar nos complacio en todo. Una pelicula sin barreras. Asi fue esta que acabo de ver. A pesar de ser triste de muchas maneras, era bastante abierta. Yo le llamo libertad, yo le llamo humanidad. Le llamo, no actuar, como el mismo almodovar le dice, pero improvisar en la vida. Asi es la vida, y no nos queda mas que improvisar para vivirla plenamente. Los planes no son de la vida, son del miedo de no poder vivir sin mapas, a ciegas. Prefiero menos leyes. Y prefiero que almodovar me recuerdo esto en estos dias tan apagados por la monotonia. Ultimamente, he pecado mucho de lo convencional.

viva mexico, chicago

I just watched some coverage on the 10pm news noticiero in Spanish on the celebration of Mexican independence. It was weird. The reporters were very excited to be covering the event, and proudly commending us for being well-behaved. They mentioned how on huge -scale events we had demonstrated once again that we could 'estar a la altura'; how the event had ocurred without any 'events.' In other words, they meant to congratulate us because: we hadn't stirred up any trouble, there had been no fights, no police force was necessary to put us in order. One reporter even mentioned it was a first-class type of event, for a first-class crowd.

I thought it was lamentable that they should have to mention that as a highlight of the celebration. Do we need to be congratulated for breaking with the stereotypes as 'troublemakers,' 'disorganized,' 'violent,' etc.? Even among our own people, we find ourselves believing the expectations that others groups have placed on us. I found myself wondering, what were the newscasters (and others) proud of the amazingly well-behaved mexican crowd or relieved that all had transcurred without any major incidents?

viva mexico. viva.

Desaparecer del olvido

It's not impossible to run out of writing. This we all know. Nunca lo crei posible. Pero ahora estoy llegando a esa conclusion. I may be jaded. Or is it that I have spent so much effort in love emesis that I have few things left for anything else? Hace meses, mientras dormia sola en las habitaciones vacias de mi casa en Mexico, desperte mucho antes de la media noche para no volver a dormir por dias. Me atormentaba mi crimen: habia llegado al limite de la cursileria, con mis poemas y prosas cargadas de mi corazon pesado, corazon alegre, corazon necesitado, coqueto... y me di cuenta de todo eso antes de la media noche. Que pena!, dije.

Pero aunque me aseguraba el sujeto de mis poemas y prosa que todo era lindo, recorde la frase que algun dia emplee como mi guia para no caer en tal verguenza: "do not overcook!" Lastima que ahora he recaido. He dejado de intentar salir de esta fase, tal vez porque siento que no se puede forzar. Me revolcare en cursileria hasta que llene. Pero tampoco creo que necesito pasar otro desaire amoroso para poder escribir algo que valga la pena. Es mas, prefiero no pasarlo. Les temo, en verdad, porque le temo al invierno y el frio espantoso que me ha aplastado con todo eso.

En fin, he concluido con este breve ejercicio: prefiero la cursileria al invierno prolifico de negras creaciones. Si no fuera asi, yo viviria muerta en ese frio desertico.