Monday, June 1, 2009

The other day my father joked that every man on Earth is reserved five women and one homo. I will conveniently ignore the part about the homo and say this: there’s probably a mofo out there enjoying my share of the female populace. Could it be Antonio Villaraigosa?

Friday, May 29, 2009

If I can only say one thing about kindergarteners, it is that they are easily impressed. Today I thought I came upon further proof when a student showed me something he wrote: “My tetr is btfo.” I looked at him and saw the best of intentions. Nonetheless, I responded, “I’m not beautiful!” He said, “No, not you, Ms. Roberts!” He was, of course, referring to my assistant. If you saw his mannerisms, you can imagine that my disappointment lasted only two seconds. Hehe.

I still cannot believe that there are only three weeks left in this school year. A teacher’s first generation of students is almost always the most special. And I have done a bad job of taking pictures to remember them by.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

After sitting on the kitchen table for almost a month, I finally made time to activate my new CITI Mastercard. The person on the other end of the phone spoke with an Indian accent. After telling me that my account had been activated, he proceeded to tell me about a special offer. Although my answer to “special offers” is always no, I didn’t want to cut him off, so I let him deliver all the lines. As I sat there listening, I wondered if speaking English was for him as troublesome as it sounded. As a man with an accent himself, I can tell you that talking non-stop is tiresome and at times even frustrating. Part of me let him speak his mind hoping it would lead him to ask himself, “Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? Talk for a living, when every syllable I utter takes great care and effort?” After he paused, I said, “No, thank you.” He proceeded to read me another offer…

Sunday, May 3, 2009

It just may be that I have not experienced many things in life, but one of the saddest things I’ve seen is… a woman in her late 40s leading a young man by the hand into what may be their home — a grassy area next to a freeway. This is not a regular young man… he seems to have down syndrome. I can only imagine the plight of a mother who will likely pass to better life before her child can fend for himself.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Judging by archived E-mails and text-messages I just read (exchanged during the early months of our relationship), Laura used to like me a whole lot more than now. She has said to me that she has made me a better man, and I cannot disagree with that. But where has my sweeter side gone? Below is an E-mail I sent her in the old days. I’m not sure what I was talking about in my E-mail, other than “we” refers to me and Gonzo (my fellow tech guy at the school where all three of us used to work). I think I was talking about me going into her room during her recess time as she spoke on the phone with a friend.

I said I was overwhelmed… but I lied. It was more than that. If it hadn’t
been for the fact that you had someone on the phone, I would have let my speechlessness say it all. But I knew you needed to get back to your convo, so I said the things I had practiced to say on my way to you… “we’re working on it.” Heh.

It was great seeing you. At 7:30… 7:37… 7:57… and specially 9:34.

King of Cornyism,
Fidencio Quiterio

If there’s one thing that irritates me about many men when it comes to courting women is that they say what they have to say to get what they want. Deception is the name of the game. I don’t consider myself that type of man, but given the fact that little remains of the old, corny me, there’s little reason for Laura not to feel deceived. I have become a little bit more responsible, and each step of the way she would say “welcome to life”… but was it all at the expense of my corniness? I know, I know… nothing says you can’t have one without the other…