AIG

AIG is getting bailed out and their top people still got their bonuses. Maybe when the company I work for declares bankruptcy, I'll get my bonus which I did not get this year and perhaps even a fat raise. I consider myself a "key" employee and thus should receive a few thousands dollars of tax payer money. I am not asking for 1 million or more, just a few thousand.
Yeah Right!
The company I work for, though private like AIG, will not affect the national economy if it goes bankrupt. It will also not receive a bail out from the Fed or even our state government. Imagine the uproar if we were to receive money from Uncle Sam so we can continue to build and run our gambling palaces like before. That might not be such a good idea, imagine the return on the government's investment (last year one of the big companies in town racked up 1.B in profit, just in the third quarter, though this year it was not as lucky.
I think it's wrong to bail out all these companies out of the troubles they placed themselves in. This did not happen overnight and someone should have seen this coming. Obama is not the reason this country is delving into socialism. You can't even call it socialism because we have yet to see medical care socialized. Should it be called selected socialism?
I can understand that many people may suffer if one of these "biggies" go down. the big question is, how many are already suffering because of the economic instability, myself included. Should I sell the house and save for what may come? or stay in it and wait for what may come without any savings to account for?.
Right now we just are sitting ducks waiting for the guns to fire.

MARCH ALREADY?

Some happenings

Olivia got the lead part(Gabrielle?) for High School Musical at her school. Not bad for a 5th grader. She is quite excited and she says that if the play was tomorrow, she's ready. Performances (3) are at the end of March.


This is Olivia singing El Shadai at church.

Anthony seems to be doing better at school. There have not been calls from her teacher wigging out! We both were sick last week, so we kind of paled around going out to breakfast, getting haircuts and such. Oh yeah!. watching lots of movies- All 3 of the Lord of the Rings -one per day. best movies when you are bed ridden. You start watching, then you take a long nap, wake up and movie is still on.

Melissa started on the South Beach diet again, that is very good, because it changes her whole personality and attitude. I remember the last time she tried it, it worked for her.

I have not been on the Wii for a while. Aside from sickness last week, I've just been tired from work, but I think things are getting back to "normal" which in this case is "slow" at work. I have not even been to take pictures or biking. Tonight Melissa and I are going out to a nice dinner to celebrate Valentines.

I have now been in Las Vegas for 10 years.
We moved here back in January of '99. Olivia was not even a year old, not even walking yet. We lived at the Durango apartments on Peace way. This was while we were looking to buy a house. I already had the job at Mandalay Bay, which I got without even an interview with the Room Service manager, my future boss at the time. I was just there for my initial interview with him and went to the trailers where they were doing all the processing. When I got there, of course he was not there, but rather inside the hotel doing a walk through of the Room Service area. When they called him to remind him about the appointment, the message relayed was, "Just go ahead and get him processed." So I went through processing and by the time I walked out of there, I had a job and an ID without even a face to face interview. I though to myself, Wow! am I that good that I didn't even know it?"
Of course this nagged at me so when I got home, I called him back to find out what that was all about.
Of course he was freaked out about it, then he remembered that he also had another appointment with another "Francisco" and since he had already interviewed him, etc. He was ready to hire him. Of course he hired the wrong Francisco for the wrong position.
I think to save face, he decided to hire me anyways so he took me to his VP's office for a follow up interview, not before instructing me to not say anything about being already processed and hired. The VP asked me a few standard questions, getting the standard answers and then he asked my future boss in front of me. "Are you happy with him" to which he answered in the affirmative.
That is how I got my first job in Vegas. Actually my first job was with the Four Seasons in the same building at the "Veranda Cafe". I had also been already hired - after the proper interviews, including one with the then General Manager of the hotel, and was ready to start. However, MB came up with a better offer ($$$) and so my career began at Mandalay Bay.

It was also during this time that Barb was diagnosed with A.L.L.

WHAT HAPPENED TO VALENTINES?

We are having great weather in Vegas with rain, snow in the mountains and still a bit of cold in the air. Yet, we've been very busy at work (thank goodness) that I have not had much time to get out biking or running. Aside from my last foray into Blue Diamond where I scraped my knees and a return trip last week into a new trail, I have not been outdoors much.
This is really the best time to get out there and probably once it warms out a bit, before temperatures reach 100+.
We did have another tequila tasting in our restaurant last week prior to Valentine's weekend and we've been busy since that I practically left Melissa out of Valentine's celebration, not that I celebrated anything or anywhere else.

I'm sorry I missed it. I know you like to celebrate Valentine's and other holidays that sometimes I do not even remember, sorry for that again.
My schedule has been all over the place as well that there have not been time for planning an outing or so, but I have an idea where I'd like to take you to celebrate our love.
It won't be biking or running,though I would like you to go next time, maybe running.
HAPPY VALENTINES anyways.
Love you on February 14Th and every day.

22 Miles and Counting

Today it was a 22 mile ride
View Larger Map through Lake Mead area. A good series of ups and downs-mostly down at first all the way into the Lake Mead Camping site from Lake Las Vegas area. Great road with no autos and not as many cyclists.
The pictures tell the story.

This is our departing point. Looking West towards Lake Las Vegas


Going down after a few downhills


Curvy road with no one around


The long road ahead


Looking north towards the main road (bridge)


Our destination in the distance - Lake Mead Camping Site


Pepe - on the way back


Yes. this is the 11 mile mark - now its back with nothing but uphill!


Pepe at the 11 mile mark


Oasis 1


Oasis 2


Some shots from the Lake Mead area




Back to Lake Las Vegas


Not before I saw this great shot!

Wii Age 37

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When Wii Fit came out I was very skeptical thinking, "Who needs a platform or wii game to lose weight or be fit?". What happened to just running or going to the gym?. Well boy was wrong!
I love Wii fit. the games of balance, yoga exercises and others are amazing. Why? It really is like having a trainer in front of you while you see "immediate" results right in front of you.
If someone looks at you they cannot tell whether you are putting more pressure on one leg over the other. However, the Wii, while you are standing on the board, measures every inch of pressure you are putting on each foot and that is what I mean when I say you see immediate results. It is also a scale, though not very accurate at times. but regardless, it shows progress and there is good direction and instructions for exercises, of course you could cheat but why bother. You Will get as much out of it as you put into it.
If you don't have one, Get it.
By the way that was a gift to our kids, who do not need to be or stay fit, so I am wondering if it was actually "for us"...
No matter, great gift!

A BRAND NEW DAY

Despite all the ugliness of politics, despite the name calling and at times, uncivilized behavior from our representatives in government, despite the scandals and greed, America is still a great country.
I am sitting here watching the Inaugural and what a show. It is a great show because of the attendance and participation of regular everyday Americans lining the streets, the mall and any open space in sight, including rooftops.
This is probably one of a kind of inauguration, will we see another African American elected? Maybe a woman?
I'm not sure. No one ever could have predicted that he'd get elected 2 years, or 5 years ago. So we cannot say that a woman may not get elected or another African American, who knows, maybe even a Latino president someday.
It took long enough for a minority representative to get elected. It's happened before, not in the U.S. but in other countries. Take Bolivia's current president, Evo Morales, an indigenous native of Bolivia and not a Harvard educated and trained economist.
250 years ago, Mexico elected a native indian form on its poorest states. Benito Juarez, who successfully expelled the French occupying forces at the time.
It was time for the U.S. to experience this kind of pride. It was time for us as Americans to feel proud again of being Americans.
I was telling my son this morning as we were watching the beginning of the inaugural that when the next inaugural happens again, he will be 14 years old, and eight years later, my daughter perhaps will be voting for and watching the first woman be elected to the presidency.
No matter what happens between now and then, whether Obama's presidency is a success or failure, the fact that he is speaking to the country as the new President, is a sign that we've come a long way as a country.
Indeed it's a brad new day.

4 Mile Run

I guess riding 3 miles uphill on a mountain bike and 3 miles downhill through rocks, gravel and mud is paying off.
Today I decided to go running after dropping my daughter off at school and I ran a little over 4 miles. Most of the time I have always gone no more than 3 miles, maybe 3.5. Today I felt good though and I could have kept on going; though I did not want to over do it and have Melissa get a call from the police saying I had passed out on the street from over exhaustion.
How do I know I went over 4 miles?
Thanks to the wonders of iphone and a neat program called Map my ride. It tracks your progress by using the GPS within the iphone.
I've been using it frequently to track distance when bike riding or just running. It is good app for your iphone if you run or bike.
4 miles though?.. I never though I could.

ENTERING INTO THE WILDERNESS

The trail begins on the side of the road. you park by the fence along with other cars and the trail is visible so it is the only one that you take.
As you begin the walk, you see the two huge mountains in front of you with the road clearly headed for the middle of them. The first part of the road is very flat though with lots of rocks around. You could ride and ATV through some areas but there comes a point where you'd have to turn around. The second picture shows a runner whom I encountered as I was going up. She was coming down. It isn't rare to see many people around these areas, particularly those who practice rock climbing since the mountain sides are so flat and steep.
Soon you reach a bit of higher ground with a meadow off to the left.
Looking left you realize that next to the meadow there is a hill of a good altitude which seen from the main road, it looks as though its just another feature of the huge mountain now behind it.

It takes about an hour to reach the base of the mountain. As you enter into the creek, you find yourself surrounded by lots of rocks, some as big as a small house. At this point any sign of a trail is gone. On both sides you have steep rocks with trees and bushes that make it hard to either climb or walk.

I still managed to climb on on side of the mountain till all that was above me was sheer rock. Looking on the other side, I saw a trail that continued upwards into the mountain. At that point I did not want to risk it so I returned. The hike took no more than 3 hours total.

On the way down, I walked into the meadow and found the creek. Currently there are a few waterfalls that feed the creek since we got so much snow over the Christmas week.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

CHRISTMAS

The Christmas season is here if you haven't noticed. This time it came with snow as well. On Monday we got at least about an inch and a half of the white stuff, which is a lot by our standards here in Vegas (0.in avg per year) Today it was supposed to start snowing at about 4:00in the morning but it only started to fall in the last hour. By tonight it should be everywhere. They are even predicting lots of snow along the strip.


Kipper seemed to enjoy the snow more than LuLu did. Every time we opened the back door, he jumped right outside and did not want to come in. Of course once he came in, what a mess!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in a church program where gifts were delivered to needy families here in Vegas. These are people who either do not have a job or have the means to provide gifts for their children. Some of these places did not have a single decoration or a small tree that tells them it's Christmas. There were about 60 families who received food boxes and gift certificates in addition to the actual gifts. It is something worth doing for people that deserve it. I got to do it as well through our workplace last week. In our department we adopted a family who scored really well with cash donated, gifts, gift certificates and more.





It hit close to home because as a child growing in Mexico, I saw "familiar faces" in the 3 homes we went to. I say familiar because frankly I do not remember having a Christmas as what my kids now do. We were also of limited resources so our Christmases as I remember them, were slim. They got better as I got older.

On to a different subject.

Last week our bike trip was through Red Rock National Park. A scenic loop that goes for about 12 miles through a beautiful area of Southern NV.




The first 4.5 miles was rough because of the climb - nothing but uphill. Once you reach the top, it goes down where you can go really fast and with a couple of long uphills. The previous week we went to Blue Diamond where I thought I had lost my friends. It turned out that they got too far ahead of me and by the time I found them, they were on top of a hill. By that time it was time to get back so I did not make it all the way to the top.

Here's wishing you all a Happy Merry Christmas and everything else good that you wish and desire. Hope you get it all.

THE SMELL OF CHRISTMAS

So it comes again.
December, Christmas and everything in between. Football Games (NFL). End of the College football season, College basketball defining who will be going to the "Big Dance" in March. Obviously I'm a sucker for college sports.
Oh yeah, Christmas.
What are you wishing for?.
It used to be very simple. you bought a few little things for your brothers, sisters or parents. A set of socks, perfume, a box of chocolates, a pretty sweater and you would also get something similar in return. You would also visit a friend's house and partake of whatever food or beverages they had to offer.
Indeed, very simple. You were able to "smell" Christmas in the air. The smell came from the boiling of fruit for "ponche" (hot fruit punch). It also came from the burning powder of fireworks - small tiny ones that you would light from the side of a box of matches and throw into the sky. There are lots where you could buy Christmas Trees, this must be universal around the world. The trees of course had their own smell, so all these assorted smells mixed in and that to me, that was the smell of "Christmas".
Of course that was also a long time ago in Mexico, prior to my move to the States.
My wish is to get a whiff of the Christmas smell.
What's your wish?

SIGHTS OF THANKSGIVING

Stuffing, made from scratch

Yummy Apple Pie

Seasoned Turkey, Can't wait to taste it

Cheescake, probably the best part of the meal


All these goodies brought to you by the talented Chef de Cuisine - Melissa. She's been working hard since yesterday and of course more cooking today to entertain her dad and friend. Me?... I gotta work.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Mountain Biking

So, for the last couple of weeks, I've taken up Mountain Biking seriously. I could not have done it on my own. I needed motivation, I needed someone to drag me out of the house and sit my ass on a bike and say, "Pedal".
That someone was a co-worker, one of our great bartenders at work. He seems to be a natural at it. while I struggle up a hill he seems like he's riding on a paved road. It started with just the 2 of us gong to a trail out by Blue Diamond and the group has grown to 5. I have also gotten back to running and biking around the neighborhood. Basically I am getting back into shape and Mountain biking is the perfect sport; outdoors, communing with nature and hanging out with friends who enjoy the same.



These were from our first outing with Red Rock National Park behind us.



These are from yesterday. On the left, Cesar the other bartender/tequila connoisseur, Pepe and Cisco.

PRESIDENT ELECT

It's very rare for someone to say, "I was there" when something historical occurs. Last night was one of those nights.
Though I was not in Chicago awaiting the news (which we already predicted), I feel I was also part of history.
Now the hard uphill climb begins for Obama. Though he received a majority of votes in the country, there are plenty of unhappy, dissatisfied people who call themselves "Americans" who will make that climb hard and dangerous. What they believe in is not what America is all about. They will seek to destabilize the country, they will put up road blocks to minimize and undermine the actions that Obama needs to do to get the country back into prominence.
There will also be plenty of people expecting that now that a "minority" candidate got elected, that Mana will fall from the sky and all we have to do is open our palms.
Bad news for this fringe for nothing will come easy.
We can only hope that the new President will take steps necessary to get our country out of the pit it's in.
4 years should be enough to see what he's made of, though not enough to turn everything around. For that, he will need 4 more years.
And the campaign for that begins today as well.

Si Se Puede

All it takes is for you to go vote

WHY OBAMA WILL WIN

If you want to understand the process of electoral college votes vs. popular votes or just get a good grasp on the projections, go to: Yahoo. It has great description and breakdown of what states may go to whom and the likelihood of a candidate winning a given state that is up for grabs like my home state, Nevada.
More than just the numbers, Obama is going to win the presidency because of the the complete dissatisfaction that people feel about George W. Bush and the last 4 years. People may point to the last 8 years and feel that it has been a wasted 4 years. If that is the case how come he was not voted out on the last election? You may argue that indeed he was voted out because Kerry received the majority of the popular vote. Nonetheless, Bush still got sworn in and look where we are now.
I have spoken to a few Republican "friends" and the agreement is that even they want to see change.
Obama represents change.
There are people that are not voting for him just because of his skin color but it is a minority that will not have any effect on the election. I originally wanted Hillary to get the nomination, not so much because she was a woman but rather because of the experience that she would have brought to the presidency. Obama may not have that much experience but the belief is that he will surround himself with the right cabinet and he showed that by selecting Biden as his V.P. Contrary to what McCain did, which was just to pander to a certain segment of the electorate and look at the shape that they are in now.
The race may still be close to the end despite; voter fraud, malfunctioning machines, voter suppression, rules that make it hard for certain people to vote and many more scenarios, Obama should and will win.
Have you seen so many people vote ahead of the election? Have you seen how long the lines are and that they go for the entire day? I did yesterday when I voted. Luckily the process was quick and painless. I can only imagine how long the lines are going to be next Tuesday.

The last 2 elections were not won by Bush, they were lost by the Democrats, they fumbled the ball and threw too many interceptions to a team that was less qualified than them. This time it will be different. The election will be won with a clear mandate for change. And the score will be 60 to 40.

Vote and vote with your conscience.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Elections, the economy, personal issues, work. What does it all mean? What does it all mean in my life?
Sometimes I feel as though I am living someone else's life. I should not be here, why am I here?.
I was born in a small village in Mexico that still stands with plenty of people in it. People that wake up, go about their daily chores,and feed themselves somehow. They die, they laugh, they cry the same as everyone else. Since I left that village, plenty of US presidential elections have come and gone, the market has dipped or gone down plenty as well; and that village still stands with the same people going through the same motions as they were 20, 30 years ago and perhaps even longer.
They did not have a housing bubble or worry about the price of gas. Maybe they worried about rain and or the lack of it which is more damaging for their crops. I do not think that they expect a bail out from their state government or federal government. Maybe a hand out from their relative living in "El Norte", but never from the government. If there is not food, they just do not eat, or maybe a neighbor or family member will help.
That could have been my life.
I could have also stayed in Mexico City where it would not have been as simple as in the village. It wasn't. I lived there plenty and was happy as well, not without some minor heartache. As Stitch (From Lilo and Stitch) said,"We were a broken family." I did not have a happy childhood according to most therapists or psychologists. According to them, I should have died at about my mid twenties; and did have friends that fit the profile and did not make it past 20 or 25. I considered myself happy regardless and made the best of it.
That is perhaps why I find myself where I am right now. I always sought a better way. A better something.
Somehow I landed in L.A. Another metropolis just like Mexico City, perhaps not as corrupt but still sinfull.
So much has happened that determined where I am today. many things that I did not have control over. Some of them I did. I have made some bad choices and decisions. I have also been lucky with the people I have met.
So I guess when you add app all the steps in my life, they have all led to where I am now.
I have very few regrets, but I am very happy where I am.

7 DEGREES OF SEPARATION - CHARLES KEATING

I had a chance to meet Charles Keating while his trial was going on in L.A. it seems like a long time ago. Now he is back in the news because of the current election. At the time I was working at Checkers a restaurant in a hotel by the same name, now owned by Hilton.
Charles Keating was a quiet and personable man. He never seemed mean and liked to eat well and drink wine along with his lawyers. Our restaurant was small and private so they always sat in the back of the room and go over the day's business; This also kept them away from the media. Their bill was always high by the time they were done, though Keating never paid; It was always his lawyer or family member who handled the bill. In previous posts I have written about this restaurant because it was here where Marcia Clark would sometimes come in and unwind after a rough day during the O.J. Simpson trial and also where Thomas Keller - Chef of the century - moved to after leaving N.Y.

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Yesterday may not have been Friday the 13th but for OJ Simpson it must have felt like it. 13 years after being acquitted in L.A. he is found guilty here in Las Vegas, of all places.
His lawyer summed it up by saying that it was "Stupid" to go into a room and attempt to recover personal belongings on your own without getting either cops or lawyers involved.
Perhaps he is right and O.J is simply stupid and somehow because of his money and bad police shenanigans in L.A, he got away with murder 13 years ago. Maybe he thought because of who he was, he could get away with it.
But does anyone really get away with anything?..
To me, clearly he was guilty of the murders in L.A. How he got away with it is still beyond me. Watching the proceedings here in Las vegas, the similarities were everywhere. the testimony from both sides clearly pointed to a crime being committed with his lawyers arguing that perhaps OJ did not see the gun in the room, thus not knowing that, he was not guilty, even though the law here in Nevada says the opposite.
In L.A. the knife still has not been found, had it been found then, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
Now, I do not think there is any satisfaction at all for anyone, maybe not even the Goldmans and Nicole's family including the kids, who are now of college age.
There is still an appeal to come and a lot could change at that point but I think finally, Karma has caught up with OJ for whatever bad things (very bad things) he did in the past.