x i c a n o - x . o r g

x i c a n o - x . o r g

( 10:28:02 PM ) xicano x
:::on the fridge
the majority of us decorate our fridge with mementos that express little stories about our lives. these artifacts can include photographs, a child's drawing, memos, bills that need to be paid, grocery lists, magnets, or any other souvenir.

i'll show you mine if you show me yours.

send me a photograph of what you have on your fridge and i may post it here. (i won't divulge whose fridge it is unless you want me to.)

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( 7:56:07 PM ) xicano x
:::let's all go to the movies
seeing as how i had this urge to do something, i went to see blood work. that's another cool flick i highly recommend. (too bad the director gives such early hints as to who the bad guy is though.)

:::blog visitor
someone else has left a comment with their website address for me to check out. her multimedia-rich site is pretty cool. check it out.

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( 8:56:44 PM ) xicano x
:::labor day weekend
okay it's here, the traditional final weekend of summer. i still feel like doing something, going somewhere. maybe an excursion into sin city, a drive up to kings canyon, or maybe just food 4 less.

i just wish lucy were here so we could do something. it's been a few years since we've spent labor day together. she's always in chicagoland that weekend. in fact, i don't think she's ever been in socal on this holiday.

regardless, i have this urge to go somewhere. i'll probably just stay around the apartment and get shit-faced. at least until i pick up rachel on sunday. maybe i can talk her into going to magic mountain.

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( 8:27:13 PM ) xicano x
:::play ball
our question was answered this morning, no strike! now we can get on with rooting for our dodgers and angels.

not to forget our familia in chicago, it also oughta make tony's tío happy.

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      ( 9:18:24 PM ) xicano x
:::baseball
i guess the big question among sports fans is whether or not there will be a strike in major league baseball.

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      ( 5:11:40 PM ) xicano x
:::desayuno solo
during breakfast at sams burgers this morning i really wished that lucy and the kids were there. there is something romantic about sharing breakfast with those you care about. sitting there alone made me realize how much i miss lucy.

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      ( 12:00:53 AM ) xicano x
:::staff development day 2
although this workshop was very helpful (today we really got into focusing on those language arts standards ), i am still holding reservations about the direct instruction aspect though. if it is an updated distar or engelmann program, then i will truly be amused at the irony. after all, the approach seems so regimented (scripted), kind of like another program so reviled by those who portend to be concerned.

if all these research-based strategies are so pie-in-the-sky, does it mean they are also being used in places like palos verdes or marin county? (can you imagine george lucas promoting a drill and kill approach.)

articles to ponder:
Introducing Academic Strategies to Students: A Direct - Instruction Approach
Direct Instruction Model

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( 7:02:52 PM ) xicano x
:::staff development
i finally woke up a while ago from my post-workshop nap. waking up at my regular work hours this morning was not a party. (maybe i should've came back from chitown yesterday so i'd still be on central time.)

anyway, the inservice was actually very helpful. reps from action learning are going to be working with us on account of we're an hpsg school. the presentation and follow-up working session were very worthwhile.
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      ( 9:49:42 PM ) xicano x
:::back2work
tomorrow it's back to work. it's not our official day to report but it's what we voted on this past spring.

i wonder if we'll touch on our school's scores or the state's dropping of the sat9 in favor of the cat6.
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      ( 8:44:50 PM ) xicano x
:::cool flick
this afternoon rachel and i went to see my big fat greek wedding. it was the best movie i've seen all year. both of us, along with the rest of the audience, were busting up with laughter throughout the film. i highly recommend it!
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      ( 10:26:24 AM ) xicano x
:::just a thought
must be nice to have this job at o'hare. . .
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( 2:28:32 PM ) xicano x
:::adios verano
although only a week remains before we officially go back to work, it feels like only two more days. that's probably because of the inservice days this coming tuesday and wednesday. i'm glad i didn't teach summer school. this vacation was truly one of the best i've had in a long time. i'm definitely ready to go back to work.

i still feel like taking a short trip somewhere between now and labor day. it'll have to be alone however since lucy and the kids are still in chicagoland and rachel starts school this coming thursday.

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( 11:59:47 PM ) xicano x
:::flying
this talk of flying back to chicago had me thinking about airport security in this post 9.11 world. in the past 12 months i've hopped on a plane at least eight times. during those times i've had to take my shoes off twice (both times at midway), flown on a half-empty plane once (two weeks after 9.11), and've been witness to passengers applauding upon landing. i know there are still people out there that won't get on a plane. as long as you stay away from no-fly zones and america west, there'll be nothing to worry about!
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( 7:10:01 PM ) xicano x
:::arrachera
i called lucy a while ago. she was telling me how her dad bought a new gas grill earlier today. after setting it up, he went out for arrachera to throw on the barb. mmm! i wish i were still back in chicagoland right now. i even looked on ata's website and found a 175 dollar fare for the weekend of my niece's birthday. hmm.
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( 6:15:40 PM ) xicano x
:::books 'n bush
i can't help it, i'm on my annual shopping spree for school! earlier this afternoon i drove down to martinez books in santa ana for more stuff for my classroom. besides a few books, i also bought a couple of posters, one was that famous 460 years of chicano history while the other was of emiliano zapata. i can't wait to put 'em up in my room.

the only inconvenience was having to detour a whole city block on account of bush's visit. apparently he was at the bowers museum which is on the same street as the bookstore.
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      ( 11:08:56 PM ) xicano x
:::sat9 scores
in today's press telegram there was an article about our sat9 scores. our side of the district was mentioned but not our school. it looks like our school's scores did a little better than last year. hey, look at those 6th grade scores!
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      ( 5:46:19 PM ) xicano x
:::spending money
after finding out my teaching assignment, i went to cm for some books, nameplates, and bulletin board posters. there went another 65 bucks.

afterward, i stopped at a liquor store for my lotto ticket. (hey, i'm a continual victim of lotto fever.)
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      ( 1:33:54 PM ) xicano x
:::assignment
okay, i just got off the phone with our secretary. i'm tentatively assigned to sixth grade. yeah! additionally, it looks like i'll be changing classrooms to be closer to the sixth grade team. she also told me i have 32 students on my roster as of now which means i'll need to go back to target.

i'm excited that i'll not have a combo class. it's going to be a cool year.
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      ( 12:53:23 PM ) xicano x
:::school stuff
i forgot to tell you yesterday that i had gone to target to stock up on a few school items. i bought 35 composition books for use as student journals and 30 one-subject spiral notebooks. (my kids last school year really liked the comp books since they lasted all 10 months.) along with a couple dozen stars 'n stripes pencils, it all came out to 35 bucks. not bad huh.

i only wish i knew what grade i'll teach and how many kids i'll have. when i call the office about next week i'll ask our secretary.
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( 4:04:31 PM ) xicano x
:::que haceres
what's one thing we all hate doing right after a vacation? chores! yuk, right now i'm stuck around here on account of laundry. (gotta wash all those fuchi socks, chonies and t-shirts!)

after picking up my mail earlier today, i sent out payments for the sparkletts and socal edison. i was also pleasantly surprised to see a check (only a couple of hundred) from the district. apparently it was issued a few weeks ago. it'll almost cover one week of the car rental.

oh yeah, there was a letter from school. those staff development days i mentioned before are scheduled for next tuesday and wednesday. the only thing though is that it didn't say whether we should call the office to confirm our attendance or not. i'll call anyway.
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( 11:22:44 PM ) xicano x
:::home again
just got home about 90 minutes ago. looks like abnormally cool weather for this time of summer in socal. (june gloom in august?) right now i'm hungry and tired. i can imagine how rachel feels.

tomorrow i'll need to go to the post office to pick up all the mail that's accumulated. i wonder if there'll be any notices of openings at other schools within our district. there still haven't been any messages left on our phone here. it's getting close to our official return to work. oh well.
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( 10:55:01 PM ) xicano x
:::wrigley
seeing as how we're going back home tomorrow, i had to go up the northside for some pix of wrigley field.

before that though i wanted to get some cta souvenirs at the merchandise mart upriver.

all this after a group of us stayed out all night at bourbon street.
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( 7:59:15 AM ) xicano x
:::skyscraping
i forgot to tell you. . . on saturday i took rachel to the sears tower. seeing as how it was weekend, we had to wait an hour in line just to get to the ticket booth! it was worth it though. once we got to the top, rachel was in awe of the views from so high up.

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( 12:35:07 PM ) xicano x
:::chitown

on thursday we went downtown for a walk. rachel had a good time even though we did a lot of walking.

the afternoon was kind of cloudy and it did end up sprinkling quite a bit. still, it made for some awesome views of the city.
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( 11:01:36 PM ) xicano x
:::indiana

sorry i didn't talk to you yesterday but we returned home kinda late and tired. we had gone to a place called indiana beach in monticello, indiana. as you can tell, mayra had a good time.

indiana beach is one of those good old-fashioned amusement parks we rarely experience in these times of technology-driven theme parks. it's one of those places parents can let their kids roam freely with no worries. i doubt if most parents in our metroplex would dare do that!

it was obvious that the families there had worked hard to have a good time there. the roller coasters were those wooden kind from yesteryear. the kiddieland was wholesome fun for the little ones. we all had fun.
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( 10:50:43 PM ) xicano x
:::navy pier
today we went to navy pier again, this time rachel was there. i hope she had a good time. here are a couple of pix.

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( 8:03:39 AM ) xicano x
:::while waiting
rachel just got ready and i'm watching the moring news. channel 5 is reporting a house explosion in torrance. sure looks like a mess.

anyway, yeah we're waiting for isadora to arrive so we can head over to lax. our flight is scheduled for 10:45 this morning. as usual with this flight, our estimated time of arrival at mdw is 4:40pm (cst). i just hope it's not storming when we get there.
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( 5:04:32 PM ) xicano x
:::stagnant
still no calls regarding any openings in the district. while in chicago i made sure to check for messages every day but to no avail. tomorrow rachel and i fly back to chitown and i'll continue phoning in for calls. three more weeks before teachers officially report back to work. i think i remember something about planning days towards the last couple of weeks of this month. seeing as how i haven't been picked up anywhere else, i should plan on attending.
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( 10:56:04 PM ) xicano x
:::posted pix
finally got around to uploading some photographs (dial-up users beware). gallery 2 is a set of downtown chicago while gallery 3 is comprised of only 4 pix of our wisconsin dells weekend. either click the links on the right-hand column or in this post to check them out.
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( 9:49:15 PM ) xicano x
:::we're everywhere
right now while you were sleeping is on cinemax. last night, save the last dance was on some other cable channel. when i think of other set-in-chicago movies, it feels as though latinos are a miniscule presence in the windy city.

far from reality. our people are a vital entity in the city.
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( 11:59:43 PM ) xicano x
:::regrets
sometimes i think that i will die without ever having:

been asked to be in somebody's wedding,

the honor of being a padrino,

lived in a house that's mine,

had a friend stick up for me,

shelter from the storm,

recognition.
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( 12:09:50 AM ) xicano x
:::home
it's always a welcome sight to see our metroplex from the air. i know there are a lot of people that prefer small towns or rural villages but gimme densely populated urban cities anytime! i'm home.

yup, i'm back in socal for a few days before i return to chicago with rachel on tuesday. for now though, i'll get some rest. i'll post some more chicago pix this weekend seeing as how our dsl line here at home is a little faster than the 28k dial-up at my suegra's.
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( 11:02:56 AM ) xicano x
:::more pix
seeing as how i was sort of tired last night, here are some more pics to share with you. (now that i've had a somewhat good night sleep)
isadora and mayra in front of buckingham fountain

tallest building in north america

mayra and isadora atop the sears tower

view of downtown from the tower's skydeck

looking skyward with calder sculpture in foreground

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( 10:20:20 PM ) xicano x
:::back in the burbs
came back sunday night. it's been sort of busy. yesterday i took isadora to the field museum, grant park (and the buckingham fountain), and the sears tower. Wisconsin was alright. you should've seen how crowded it was! anyway, here are a couple of pix, the first from wisconsin dells, the second is back in pilsen, my old neighborhood in chicago.

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( 11:58:05 PM ) xicano x
:::tourists
okay . . .today we were tourists. it was cool though. we went down by the lakefront and took pics of the city's skyline. check these out.

tomorrow we're heading up to wisconsin dells so i might not be back here 'til monday. take care.
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june 2002
july 1-4, 2002
july 6-31, 2002
august 2002

Before the world, before all of North America, before all our brothers and sisters in the bronze continent, we are a nation, we are a union of free pueblos, we are Aztlan.

familia photos
chicago loop photos
road trip photos
downtown chicago photos
wisconsin dells photos
indiana beach photos