Greetings from Philadelphia [email to Cherise]

Dear Cherise,

Before getting into everything else, I want to say that I hope that you and your family, and hopefully their property too, is safe from all the wildfires.

Next, I want to let you know that after your last email, I prayed every day for many, many days, asking God to allow you to regain your good health, with the eyes and ankle.  How are you now?  I hope you're healthy.

I'm sorry if my absence may have led you to false assumptions.  Unlike what you suggested to Jess, I haven't been "mad" at you.  If anything, I've been (and continue to be) confused and unsure of the possibility of any future relationship with you, while at the same time I've been extremely focused on myself, namely my career.

And as long as I've brought up that topic, you deserve to know the good news: I passed the PA bar, and I've already been sworn-in at City Hall and received my attorney ID number.  All of that means that I'm now officially an attorney.  I'm still waiting for the results from NJ, but I'm feeling optimistic, and they should be announced within the next 2 weeks or so.

As far as a job, I'm currently working full-time on a short-term legal project that's helping me to catch-up on the rent and all the bills.  It's not bad; let's just say that 1 week's paycheck pays for my monthly rent, all of my bills (gas, electric, and cell phone), and my groceries for the whole month.  At the moment, the only prospect for a full-time position is a meeting next week with a former City Solicitor.  Wish me luck!  If I get that position, I'll be working with some of the best and most well-connected people in Philly.  My future as a young leader of this city will then be well on its way to becoming reality.  I've been very persistent and aggressive in working all of my contacts to see about getting a full-time job at a firm.  I wanna get something at one of the best, because I know that once I'm settled in as an attorney, I'm gonna be one of the best.

Finally, Cherise, I've gotta tell you that I think about you here and there, probably a lot more than I even realize.  The truth is that I really don't know what the future holds, and so it naturally follows that I can make no promises of anything at all.

I don't really know what you're thinking these days, but that's where I'm at, for whatever it's worth.  The one thing I can definitely say is that I really care about you a lot.  You're a great girl, and that's really an understatement.

Take care Cherise.

More Than Just Ice Cream

I went to a great restaurant/eatery tonight: More Than Just Ice Cream, located on 10th and Locust. Really great food, pretty cool atmosphere, and hip, chill music. All in all, a great place to go to eat. I recommend it, and I'll be sure to go back there again some time.

For posterity's sake, here's what I had: a tall glass of pink grapefruit juice, a hot roasted turkey sandwich with a side of fries, and to finish it off, a walnut brownie topped with whipped cream. All very delicious.

Well, that's all for tonight, considering that it's kinda late, and I have to get up early in the morning. I've gotta start getting into a routine again; not easy for someone who's not really a morning person.

Chevy commercials are racist and anti-immigrant

Do you know those Chevy commercials featuring John Mellencamp singing "This is our country"? Well, those commercials are pretty damn racist and anti-immigrant.

Really, think about it. Every person in those commercials is a light-skinned person of European descent, i.e. white dudes. Put that together with the song "This is our country." So is the message being delivered by Chevy that this country belongs to white dudes only?

To add to the racist overtones, let's recall one version of that commercial which shows a long fence being built by white dudes. Is this an allusion to a fence being built along the Mexican-U.S. border? Quite isolationist; quite xenophobic; quite anti-immigrant. And to really add insult to injury, the sign at the head of the fence, featured at the end of the commercial, shows that the name of the ranch is the "KK." Hmmm, add one more "K" and whaddaya got?

I'd love to see a new version of that commercial featuring only Native American Indians, and put to the same song: This is our country.

Either that or a version that shows who's really working all the ranches out in the Midwest: a ton of Latin American immigrants, put to the song: "Este es nuestro pais."

I'm Back

Did you miss me? Well, I've been taking care of some personal business for the past couple of weeks. But I'm back, at least for tonight, and I do hope to continue checking-in on a more regular basis. So you do the same, why don'tcha?

So what's been going on? Well, this past Thursday, I attended an event at The Hub at Cira Centre. It was my first time in that building. I got there by walking through the main concourse of 30th Street Station, then heading back to where you pick-up the SEPTA regional rail trains, and continuing through the connecting bridge to Cira Centre. I must say, The Hub was a really nice venue. I enjoyed the event, due in great part to the open bar and complimentary hors d'oeuvres (a more sophisticated way of saying "free beer and food").

Today, I went past the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was very impressed to see so many people out and about. I realized that the Rocky statue at the base of the museum steps has really established itself as a major tourist draw; there were a ton of people there, waiting their turn to get a photo with the Italian Stallion. There were a lot of people outside today, no doubt because of the great autumn weather. It was really nice to see.

Well, that's all for now. Be sure to check back soon!

RE: Thanks and Request for a lil' help [email to Stephanie]

Hey Steph,

I took the NJ bar, and the results are still pending.  Once they're in, I'll be sure to let you know.

As far as [...], I've spoken with Anita, Richard, and Sue.  Right now, it seems that someone else had the inside track on Cynthia's position, so I'm second in the deli line.  Something may or may not open up, so we'll see about that.

I do intend on being an active member of the HBA, especially once I'm practicing.  I honestly don't have the money for dues right now.  But I'll check the website and start going to meetings.

Finally, thanks for your help.  Please let me know what you hear from your immigration contacts.  I'm really eager to put my skills into practice.  And I know once I settle in somewhere, I'm gonna be a solid attorney.

THANKS AGAIN!!!

[.....]

PS. Since you intimated it in your email: MANY, MANY CONGRATS on being pregnant again!  That's gotta be exciting!!!

RE: sup [email to Pito]

The weekend was fine, but busy.  Somehow I've gotten into the habit of getting up every day by around 8am, and then getting things started right away.  So I worked out both Saturday and Sunday, mopped up the floors of the whole apartment on Saturday, went to church on Sunday, etc.  Saturday night was the dinner at Bill and Nancy's.  Only Paul showed up out of the rest of the guys.  We just ate pizza, played some Nintendo Wii (the new gaming console where you actually get up and move around), and then watched the Phillies game.  I was tired, though, so I was back home by midnight and in bed shortly afterward.  Then Sunday, after all my stuff in the morning, my friend Patricia (la cubana) picked me up here in Philly and we went out to Wayne, where she lives.  We spent the day drinking a whole bottle of wine and walking.  Later her mom cooked us "ropa vieja," a traditional Cuban dish, to celebrate me passing the bar, and she talked with us about Cuba and her friend's contact with Che.  So the food was delicious and the conversation was very interesting.  I dead-headed back into Philly around 11pm, so I made a full day out of it.  Yesterday was disappointing with literally only 1 job listing; maybe b/c of the holiday.  Today I'm looking again, but also disappointed b/c I think my cell phone has been cut-off.  So I emailed Mike and Richard to see if anyone has any yard work or house work for a few bucks.  I will be so grateful once I have a job and my money situation is not so wretched.

Listen

The slow chugging of an engine, maybe a bus or a garbage truck.
Then, the sound of a car going by and glass clinks and clanks,
so it's probably a garbage truck. The engine chugs, and a couple
short sounds of horn, not too loud though. Another car goes by,
then a loud humming engine of a truck goes by. The slight
screech of a brake. Then, silence. My pen stops moving for a
second. But another two or maybe three cars go by. The city is
waking. But silence again. No sounds but engines and car wheels whizzing
by. Vague noises of sleepiness. What else to be heard?

Let your voice be heard

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Hispanic Heritage Month

Well, we're halfway through Hispanic Heritage Month (Mes de la Herencia Hispana), which is observed every year from September 15th -- the Independence Day of five Latin American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) -- to October 15th. (source)

The theme of this year's National Hispanic Heritage Month is Hispanic Americans: Making a Positive Impact on American Society. (source)

WHO IS A HISPANIC?
The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. Thus, the term Hispanic is broader than any racial category. In other words, the term Hispanic is not a racial identification. There are black, red, white, and yellow Hispanics, as well as those that are brown. Also, there are Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant Hispanics, as well as those that are Catholic. (source)

On the 2000 Census form, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as 1) Mexican, 2) Puerto Rican, 3) Cuban, or 4) "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census.

Many non-Hispanics jump to the conclusion that a Hispanic must necessarily fall into one of two archetypes -- Mexican or Puerto Rican -- or, if in Florida, then possibly a third -- Cuban. The numbers clarify this common prejudgment. 64% of Hispanic-origin people are of Mexican background. Another approximately 10% are of Puerto Rican background. This means that 1 out of every 4 people of Hispanic-origin are of neither Mexican nor Puerto Rican background. Continuing with the stats, Hispanics of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins account for about 3% -- each group -- of the total Hispanic population . The remainder are of some other Central American, South American or other Hispanic or Latino origins. (secondary source; primary source: AmericanFactFinder).

GROWTH OF THE U.S. HISPANIC POPULATION
42.7 million: the estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2005, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. (This estimate does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico.)

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are now over 44 million people of Hispanic origin in the United States. That's about 14% of us!

102.6 million: the projected Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2050. According to this projection, Hispanics will constitute 24% of the nation’s total population on that date.

OTHER RESOURCES
--> Read here the President's Proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2007
--> Click here for a list of links to celebrate and research our Hispanic heritage

So celebrate the second half of Hispanic Heritage Month by eating Hispanic food, listening to Spanish-language music, supporting Hispanic businesses, and learning Spanish. That last point will be brought up in a later entry, when I will discuss the inevitable, already-occurring evolution of the United States as a bilingual nation. So listen up, juevon: aprenda hablar espanol ya!