Sunday, June 21 News from LatinoLA

Happy Father's Day! Here a couple items of interest from various local sources:

LA Times poll: Mayor V ain't all that
56% of Latinos think the city of LA is on the wrong track. But 63% say he should run for governor. What, they want him out of here?

America's Most Wanted Captured in Bellflower
Lisa Monica Gonzalez, 36, was wanted on suspicion of being an accessory and conspiracy to commit murder in Oklahoma. This bad-ass member of Compton Varrio Tortilla Flats Gang tried to hide in plain sight.

Minneapolis

The company I work based Minneapolis. I've been there five years and a few months. I work out of my home in SoCal. But every now and then, I travel to HQ, for either a company or department meeting.

As with most meetings, there are lots of, well, meetings, to attend. I sit, listen, participate, watch the power points, take notes, and converse with my fellow employees. About half of us live in or near Minneapolis, the rest from all over the U.S., including both coasts and in-between. I enjoy getting together with the people I have day-to-day contact with, but rarely see. I work with a lot of smart people. We get work done, but we also have fun.

Being out of my normal environment, I tend to do things I normally wouldn't do at home, like watch David Letterman. Minneapolis is in a different time zone, two hours ahead, so when it's 8:30 pm here, it's 10:30 pm there, and for some reason, David Letterman is on at 10:30 pm in the Central Time Zone. The meals are usually buffet-style, so I tend to try as many new food items as possible. On my first trip, I had cheese soup. This time I tried a piecrust stuffed with brie - a kind of cheese - cherries and apples. It was gooey, but good. They must like cheese in Minneapolis.

A couple years ago, to help us bond, we went to a bowling alley/theatre, a combo which I think only happens in Minneapolis. I bowled, which I only did when I was in high school, mostly because the Cove Bowl was near my home in Wilmington. I also drank a couple beers, which I rarely do, which made it possible for a co-worker to talk me into doing karaoke, which I had never done before. James Brown had recently died, so in his honor I did "I Feel Good" and "Sex Machine". Totally out of character. I had fun, and I think my co-workers did, too.

This year, a co-worker IM'd me before the meeting to ask if I would join her in Bollywood-type dance. I agreed and suggested another co-worker who might go along with it. After I agreed, I logged on to the video that played the song and showed the moves. Here's the link.

As you no doubt would guess, I was appalled to have agreed to such a thing without know what was involved. But I couldn't back down. That's not the de la Peña way.

We finally got around to practicing the night before the performance. It was pretty pathetic, but fortunately, the two of us guys didn't have to learn all the steps. The next morning I woke up with my hip hurting, but tried to hide it from my co-workers. But as the time got nearer - we were on the agenda for after dinner - I was a bit freaked.

We practices again before dinner. A bit better, but still kind of week. I figured my Bramin co-worker would carry us. We were going to be in the background anyway. Dinner, a drink, then the time came. The lead got dressed in the Bollywood fashion, though not as revealing as the video dancer, but nice. My partner and I were in street clothes. Our co-workers moved their chairs in a semi-circle, the music came on and that was it.

The seven minute song went by pretty fast. I remembered most of the steps, and what we couldn't remember, we made up and improvised. Not my Bramin co-worker. She was mesmerizing and the crowd mostly focused on her, which was a good thing. We finished to applause and cheers and laughter. It worked out OK.

My hip still hurts, though.

El Abuelo

I am a grandfather, although I prefer being called "papa" by my six grandchildren. Actually, only three of them yell out "papa" when they see me, which isn't that often since they live out of state. Three -- Samina, 11 years-old, Valentina, who is six and Zaylah, 2 -- can talk. The other three: Jewel (9 months), Cassiopeia (8 months) and Mila Sol (6 months) can't talk yet, but I'm sure they'll call me papa, too.

Right now I am excited that Jewel is visiting. She and her mom, my daughter, Ana have been here for about a month, with less than a week to go before returning to New Orleans, where they've been living for a few months. Since I work out of the house, and Ana's been going to MDs and therapists for some medical conditions, I've been given the responsibility of taking care of Jewel. Not full-time, mind you, but at least a couple hours a day, and for the past week or two, longer than that.

What I've done/doing:

Diaper changing - I've always said that putting diaper on a squirming baby is like rolling a joint. Do it once, you never forget. But this little baby squirms like crazy when it's diaper changing time. I try to trick her to hold her attention. She sometimes gets away. But in the end (in the end, get it), the diaper goes on.

Feeding - I excel at feeding, with the say "ah" and the airplane trick. Jewel's eating jar baby food, some cool frozen stuff that's microwaved, bananas, melon, and baby food treats like cheetoh's and teddy grahams, but healthier (I hope). Kind of messy, of course, but that's half the fun.

Singing - I'm teaching her Spanish songs my mom taught me and that are on a cool CD by Jose Luis Orozco, like Barco Chiquito, La Granja, Buenos Dias, etc. But our favorite is Pon Pon, where you clap and then cover your head in the "me duela la cabecita" part. She claps along, covers her head and laughs. Other faves: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle.

Other music: I have a bunch of small percussion instruments laying around: maracas, shakers, chekere, min-steel drums. I also have a drum kit. I hand her a stick or mallet and she likes to bang on the cymbals while I hold her. She hits them with her hand, too. Then she hits me for good measure.

TV: Every morning Sesame Street. I would listen from my office, usually, glance in every now and then. but the last couple of days, it's been both her and I watching the familiar, but updated, show. It's quite entertaining, I have to tell you.

Outside: We go for small walks down the driveway and up the street, usually with our two chihuahas running around, getting into trouble. Jewel likes to touch the trees, the Nepalese prayer flags we have strung up in front of the house, walking barefoot on the grass. When we come back in, I break a dog biscuit in half and she feeds it to each dog. Sometimes she'll try to save it for herself, but I help her hand go down to their level and make sure the dogs don't nibble on her finger.

Bottle: She is breast fed. When my daughter is gone for an extended period, she's OK with taking water from a bottle, usually when she's eating or as a thirst quencher when she's crawling around and stuff. But if it's nap time and we try to give her a bottle filled with breast milk, forget it.

Bath time: I like to give her a bath. I don't prolong the process, just enough for her to play awhile, then a thorough hair and body cleaning, but it's really fun for the both of us.

My glasses: She loves to pull of my glasses, look into my eyes, really deep, then hand them back. It seems like she's looking into my papa soul and I think she likes what she sees.

I love my little Jewel and even though I am missing deadlines and somewhat behind in my work and will catch up when she leaves, but I will be crying a little inside.

Tomorrow, Samina arrives for the summer and next week, the youngest, Mila Sol, visits, along with her dad, for a week. Papa time never ends.

¡Ay, Dios!

Has it been more than a month since I've written on this blog? Yes, it has. But that doesn't mean I haven't been writing. Just not on this blog. But since these words will be up and out in a few minutes, I won't feel guilty in attending LAObserved's blogger get-together at the Formosa Cafe, taking place tonite. And I'm taking my wife, Linda, with me.

Above is a picture of me. Why I'm posting it, I don't know, but here goes.

Mexican Cultural Institute Update

I serve as acting director of the Mexican Cultural Institute at El Pueblo AKA Olvera Street. Just a few hours a week, thanks to the active work of other board members who are also volunteering their time and energy. Yesterday, I presented our annual report for 2008 to the El Pueblo commissioners. A simple power point presentation detailed the diverse programming of the Institute -- art shows, movie screenings, book readings, and more -- to an attentive audience. I wore a jacket, which must have been impressive, because they applauded at the end. I'm glad they appreciate the value of our mission, which we undertake under the various challenges that come with being a non-profit in these times.

We're working at making 2009 even better. Check out our MySpace page (needs updating ... sorry!).

If you have a few hours to give, think about getting involved with organizations / agencies / schools/etc. that meet your personal mission. You'll be applauded, too.