Gone till November...

We’ve had such a great time with the family in town… Marnix is such a treat to have at home. He’s so full of energy, loves counting numbers, staring at wheels, is infatuated with spiders, loves any kind of juice and playing outside (when he doesn’t get scared). Noah is a bit more chill, all he does is sleep, eat, and cry… which I guess is what 2 ½ month old babies are supposed to do. When I get home after work, Noah is already out for the day… but Marnix is still up and about an hour away from dinner, so I get to play with him a bit (I also get to see him a bit in the morning, as he usually wakes up around 7AM). I wish I could take some time off to spend with them, but I can’t take any vacation time in November or December, since it’s our busiest time of the year…. That’s BS!!!

Marnix! Playing with his numbers as usual...

Marnix and me... He must be admiring how good looking his uncle is.

Since the family is here, I wasn’t planning on going out, but on Friday everybody in the house went to sleep around 9PM (except my brother that was at his slowpitch game), so I headed down to Antigua. Antigua wasn’t as packed as usual, it could have been something to do with the weather, as it’s been extremely cold this past week (about 54 degrees… which for us is very cold). It was Carolina’s birthday, so she was with some friends at Monoloco… Had some mojitos and beer there, then headed out to Riley’s (Irish Pub) for another round. Bob was nice enough to serenade Carolina all night long… I actually left right after the bars closed, since I knew with the nephews at home, I wouldn’t be able to sleep in as usual.

Carlos, Bob, Kevin, and the birthday girl... Hopefully I haven't seen the last of my jacket!

Saturday morning I was woken up early by some baby crying and baby talk… I tried to keep on sleeping, but couldn’t, so I was tired the rest of the day. Didn’t do that much on Saturday, except play with the nephews (my sister went out to her 15 year HS reunion) and watched some TV later on in the evening. On Sunday I had a “football” game with some friends, were I only scored one touchdown and had three scored on the guy I was covering… not good! Later on we had lunch at Hacienda Real with my family and my cousin and her family, and then went to my aunts house for some dessert.

Finally, still in first place as far as my NFL picks go… with two people only two games back! I can feel the heat… but I won’t back down (as Tom Petty would say). By the way, Pats are 8 - 3… pretty good!

Good night and good luck,
CRCP

P.S. - Thanks for “stuff” Jud…
P.S. II - I need to practice Scrabble a bit more… though some of the words people come up with there… who knew!!!

Happy Turkey Day with the family....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m so jealous of all of you who are in the States right now… you get to indulge yourselves in turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry jello (or whatever that thing is), pumpkin pie, watch American football (I’ve got Miami, Dallas, and Denver winning tonight), and spend time with friends and loved ones. I always remember eating way too much, which I think is part of the tradition of Thanksgiving, and then trying to get up early the next day for Black Friday and try and catch some holiday deals.

Speaking of shopping, are any of you gonna be brave enough to go out on Black Friday? I remember I once got to Best Buy around 6:10 AM, and most of the specials were gone, since they usually only have about 10 or so per store (pure madness I tell you). Most of the stuff I’ve bough on Black Friday has been either DVDs or CDs for myself, and every once in awhile an early Xmas present for one of my relatives. I personally think that Black Friday is overrated, but it’s something to do the next day.

My family is in town! My sister, mom, Marnix and Noah came in on Tuesday night. I’m so excited that they’re here… talk about having a full house now. Marnix is so big and talking a lot more, he actually knows all the numbers in English (1 - 9). Noah, who is about two and a half months old, looks less than his dad and more like my sister, he actually looks a bit like my dad when he was a baby (not sure if you’ve seen pics of Marnix, but he’s exactly like his dad… poor baby!). They’ll be here for a month, so it should be really fun… I’ll post pics as soon as I can.

Finally, my American friend Bob that lives in Antigua, has a brother that’s actually a musician… Small world, he lives in the DC area and has actually played at the Jammin Java, which is about two miles away from where I lived in VA. He’s also played at Austin Grill (Springfield, VA) and on Ellington’s on 8th (DC). Bob sent me this song, King of Something Right, from his brother’s latest CD… I really like the song and would like someone to dedicate it to me at my funeral (hopefully that won’t be anytime soon). The song is acoustic, has amazing lyrics, and is very catchy… Have any of you heard the song or hear of him??? Here’s a link to the song, which you can download or just listen to (let me know what you think):

Tom Goss – King of Something Right
http://mp3download.myspace.com/music.ashx?bandid=73511228&songid=32809374&name=73511228_495e94b4


Hope everybody has a relaxed, long Thanksgiving weekend…
Keep on trucking,
CRCP

P.S.I - My dad turns 58 on Friday! Feliz cumpleaños Dr. Cruz!!!
P.S. II - Brenda also has a birthday on Friday…. Feliz Cumple Brendita!!!
P.S. III - Thanksgiving edition of Late Show Top…

Late Show’s Top Ten Signs You Had A Bad Thanksgiving
10. "You ran out of booze by 11am"
9. "Most frequently used word at dinner: Heimlich"
8. "Meal was leftovers from last Thanksgiving"
7. "Thanks to new electric knife, kids fought over wishbone and your severed thumb"
6. " The thing you were most thankful for? Everyone leaving”
5. “While you were stuffing the turkey, your brother was stuffing your wife.”
4. "Woke up from tryptophan-induced sleep to find yourself naked in the driveway"
3. "When dinner came out, so did your son"
2. "Laura and the twins lock you out"
1. "Your turkey dinner was the only breast you've touched all year"

Rattle N Hum + Family is coming...

This past week was pretty hectic at work. Not sure if you figured this out on your own or not, but November / December is one of our busiest times here at La Licorera... amazing the amount of alcohol that's sold and consumed for this time of year (not really sure that this is what Christmas is all about, but oh well). Anyway, had to do some new and exciting reports for this busy season, which meant that the week was extremely crazy... display, formats, presentation, etc... all was changed a number of times, and trying to land on some numbers took forever. So I was glad when Carlos Humberto (Margit's special friend) celebrated his b-day at TGIF on Wednesday, where I indulged myself to the Jack Daniel's Chicken along with a few beers... buenisimo!

Friday night, Bob and Jud were coming into the city for the evening, which does not happen that often (they were coming in separately). Bob asked me to pick him up around my house, since it's on the way to the city from Antigua... I was just coming back from the gym, so it worked out perfectly. Once at the house, I proceeded to take my protein strawberry shake (which I take after each work out), with Bob saying that I look like the kind of person who would take that (not sure what that means… It’s not like I’m taking steroids and have roid-rage). Anyways, after grabbing a quick bite to eat and watching Foxnews (really exciting stuff before heading on a Friday night), we headed down to Rattle N Hum (cool bar owned by this Australian dude) to meet up with Jud and his friends. We had a great time... had some beers (cubetazos), then had a bottle of rum (XL) and finished the night with more beers. I was quite happy, as I spilled a couple of drinks while acting crazy and sang a bunch of songs (though I don't remember which ones, but I think they were mostly in English). Estuardo, Marianna, and a friend came over to meet us as well...

Here's the evidence...

I thought these were ostriches, but apparently they're emus... who knew!

Here we are... except, who's that girl in the far right???

Estuardo, Marianna's friend, Marianna, and Bob

Jud and his broken finger being nursed

Saturday and Sunday were days spent getting ready for the arrival of my mom, my sister, and her two kids!!! Everything from washing, painting, cleaning, fixing up stuff, tiding up, receiving a bed, and buying / picking up baby stuff was done... Phew! Lots of stuff to do, but for the most part is done... My family gets in on Tuesday night, and I can't wait! Some bad news though, my mom's car was in the shop for about two months, and just when the car was almost completely repaired (she had a minor car accident before leaving for London), the shop loses the car keys, and they were the only set... not sure what's gonna happen now.

I did catch a couple of movies, "Thank you for smoking" (Katie Cruise is in the movie) and "Inside Man"... both very good movies in their genres. "Inside Man" was really good, and I had no clue of how it was all going to end, which is how I like my movies (I hate when they're so predictable).

What else? Hope all my American friends have a wonderful Turkey Day on Thursday... whether it's a real Turkey or a Tofu Turkey (Tofurkey?), hope you all get stuffed with food and catch some football games. Speaking of football, even though the MNF game is still to be played, I’m still in first place and did extremely well this week in my pics.

Abrazos,
CRCP

P.S. - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICITA! Hope you had a great day... te mando un fuerte abrazo!!! Mucha ropa!

P.S. II - Mason lost it’s home opener in basketball in front of a sell out crowd… first ever in GMU history. Good thing they got to raise their Final Four banner.
P.S. III - Sung, trying the larger pic size, though I’m not sure I like it.
P.S. IV - Another Late Show Top Ten…

Late Show’s Ten Signs You're Watching A Bad James Bond Movie

10. Asks everyone to call him "Jimbo"
9. Villain's private "lair" is the corner booth at Pizzeria Uno
8. Bond misses a bad guy when he has to empty all gels and liquids at airport security
7. The Aston Martin won't start, so Bond drives a '95 Ford Focus
6. It's about Dr. No's even more evil brother, Dr. Phil
5. Most impressive gadget? A clock that's also a radio
4. Always being rescued by his clever pet squirrel, 008
3. Goodbye license to kill, hello license to inspect meat
2. Soundtrack by Kevin Federline
1. Halfway into the movie, James Bond is shot in the face by Dick Cheney

Fiesta XL Weekend...

This Friday was the huge Fiesta XL bash... For those of you that don't know, Ron Botran XL is one of the more popular brands that we have here at La Licorera Nacional (our closest competitor is Bacardi in this sector, but we basically have the monopoly of the market, age range 18 - 28). Annually, we have two huge Fiesta XL bashes at the beach... one for Easter and one around New Years, but this year, XL was supposed to sponsor a couple of events and concerts that didn't end up happening, so there was some money left over for a huge Fiesta XL. This is a private party, which you can only get into if you have this green bracelets that the company gives out to select people that represent the XL brand and it's all you can drink for free (we invite about 2,500 people expecting about 2,000 to show up). Only bad thing is, if you happened to get a bracelet and you don't fit the XL image, they won't let you into the party... rough!

The Fiesta XL was this Friday 10th... I had gotten about 24 bracelets, which I distributed to friends and family. I was not to work at the party, since I don't work in the Marketing department, I was only there to drink, dance, and have a good time. I had invited some of my American friends that live in Antigua to attend, but Jud and Zac backed out in the end.... losers! Bob, Carolina, and Kevin came up to the city around 7:30, met them up, and proceeded to the P-A-R-T-Y!!! So we get there around 8:30 or so and there was a line already formed with around 200 people there. I thought I would go up to the gate and say hi to some coworkers and try to see if we could avoid the line. The General Manager was there and asked me to help with entrance control, since apparently they were short of people, and I couldn't say no. From about 8:30 till 11:15, I had one of the most stressful times ever... trying to get people in line and not block the street, preventing people from sneaking in, refusing money in order to get them in faster, almost getting in a couple of fights, yelling at security to do their job, dealing with people trying to push the entrance get down, etc... I swear, I was so stressed out it wasn't even funny. The only good thing was I was able to sneak in some friends / cousins and they avoided the huge lines. Bob, Carolina, and Kevin left after a while and seeing that the line was not going down, it was actually getting bigger. They went to some random bar and had some drinks, coming back around 10PM, which was perfect, since I was able to get them in through a side entrance.

Around 11:30 PM, I was finally able to meet up with my friends inside (they were people still trying to get in, but the GM decided to stop letting people in) and have a few drinks with them. Apparently I missed a whole bunch of cool shows by some hot dancers, but I had a great time anyway, and so did all of my friends / cousins. Bob for sure was the "happiest" of the bunch... and about 2,500 showed up!!!

Kevin, Carlos H, Margit, Lucky, Bob (and his drunk face), and Carolina

Kevin, Carolina, Carlos H, Margit, Bob's hand, Lucky, Bob's forehead, and your host (doing the MJ tongue).

Carlos, Bob, Josely, Lupe's special friend, and Lupe

My brother (Rodolfo) and some of his friends at the party...

Make it extreme, make it XL (Bob and Carolina chilling by a XL poster)


Left the party around 2:45 AM, had a quick bite to eat, and then drove to Antigua to drop of the gringos... I actually ended up crashing at Bob's place since it was about 4:15 once we got there. I barely got any sleep, and the next day Bob and I grabbed some preparadas (similar to micheladas, except a little different.. actually, I had never had a preparada before and was a bit confused at first), chilled by the Central Park for awhile, and headed back to the city around 6 PM. Took a shower at home, made myself some burgers, watched the Best of Will Ferrell on SNL (his Harry Caray impression is the best), Snatch and went to bed around 12... I was sooooooo freaking tired.

On Sunday, we got together with the family to celebrate my uncle's b-day... plus, we had a mini FIFA07 tournament, which I ended up being fourth again. Later on the night, I chilled to my Jack Johnson CD "Some live songs" which has this great song by ALO featuring Jack Johnson called "Girl, I wanna lay you down". Not sure if any of you guys have heard it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-6N1Vkitr8
(thanks for the link Dr. Kelley)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it...
Aloha,
CRCP

Halloween and other scary adventures...

As all of you know, last Tuesday was Halloween and I was scheduled to work late since it was also closing at work. I hadn’t made any plans to dress up or go anywhere, since I usually don’t get out till 11PM or so during close. Plenty of friends had plans to go to different events, especially since November 1st is a Holiday in Guatemala (one of my friends was dressing up as a character from Ice Age, and his girlfriend was the nut this Ice Age character is obsessed with). Anyways, because of we’re changing system here at work, from Oracle to SAP, some of the info could not be generated and close could not be completed till this week… so I was able to leave work around 6 PM. Since I had no costume I didn’t want to go to some dress up party, so I called up my friends in Antigua and headed down there to Riki's. Plenty of people dressed up in different outfits, though all of my friends were in regular clothes (I was sporting my GuteAmala! shirt, which got a lot of comments www.guateamala.com ).

Wyoming, Zac, and Alex (at Riki's for Halloween)

On Friday we got together with about ten friends and played Taboo. I’m sure most of you’ve played this word guessing game, as it is a bunch of fun to play. We divided into the guys vs. girls, with the guys winning the first round, tying the second round, and losing the third…

On Saturday, there was this Japanese group called AUN that was giving a concert in Antigua that I wanted to go to (most people were going to the Shakira concert in the city). The group was a couple of twin brothers playing some Japanese drums (taiko) and a Japanese flute (shinobue), + a violinist. Pretty good stuff, though they tried to speak Spanish, but it was hard to understand (at least they tried). See Eri, getting exposed to some Japanese culture down here!

AUN... One of the twins and his drums.

After the concert, we headed to the Rainbow Bar and Café for some drinks and a quick bite to eat. Then it was off to the Motherland Flava, for $US 1 vodkas or rums… so freaking cheap and good! Bob, Zac and I chilled to some reggae music and chatted with some friends before heading out to Monoloco, which was pretty fun. Talked to some random girls there, exchange phone numbers (not sure why, I didn’t like her that much… she actually called me the next morning… of course, I didn’t answer… hehe), and made the final pit stop at some girl’s house that Jud and Bob knew. Pics of the chaos…

Bob, Alicia (Motherland Flava bartender), and Zac

Your host, Bob, and Zac... and I didn't hit on ther bartender this time.

Willie, Jud, Sheny, and Bob at some house in Antigua

Sunday, woke up extremely late (since I got home around 4AM), and met up with Bob, Laura and Erin who came to city for the day. We walked around Zona Viva for awhile, grabbed a bite to eat (I had some really good soup and michelada at Tacontento), and then I dropped them off so that they could catch a bus back to Antigua. Sunday evening was bad cause the NE Patriots lost after committing 5 turnover, including 4 interceptions by Tom Brady. Happy to report that I’m still in first place as far as my picks goes, though I’m tied with two other people.

Aloha,
CRCP

P.S. - Sorry DC United fans for the loss… just wait till next year! The Skins had one of the most bizarre wins evers (reminds me of how the Browns lost a couple of years ago).
P.S. II – Did any of you guys see the Borat movie? It was # 1 over the weekend… can’t wait till they show it down here.
P.S. III - Another Late Show Top Ten

Late Show’s Top Ten Things Overheard At The White House Halloween Party

10. "Hey look, it's the Michelin Man! Oh wait -- it's just Senator Kennedy"
9. "That's no goblin, that's Helen Thomas"
8. "Wow, I haven't seen bobbing this good since Clinton left office
7. "I was going to wear a WMD costume, but I couldn't find any"
6. "Hey, would someone tell Cheney's daughter to quit hitting on the Bush twins?
5. "That's an amazing Frankenstein costume...oops, sorry Senator Kerry"
4. "Yes, George, I promise we can go trick or treating as soon as we finish this"
3. "Mr. President, a new poll shows you've jumped 45 points by wearing that Bill Clinton mask"
2. "I heard that instead of candy, Foley was passing out his e-mail address"
1. "Chaney's come as a duck hunter. Run for your lives!"