Blog Post #15

A portion of that day is somewhat of a blur. I remember it was a Saturday, though I’m not sure of the exact date. I alongside my family had gone down to San Diego for my sister’s wedding. My sister, Angelica, married Andrew her five year boyfriend and how she'd say the love of her life. After the ceremony, which took place in a beautifully adorned church previously picked out by the couple, there was a party to celebrate the newly wed. It was one hell of a party! Even though the beginning was somewhat dull after about an hour everyone was dancing and having a great time. I was somewhat skeptical at first so i decided to raid the freezer room and to my good fortune found just what I needed to loosen me up a bit. What had I found? Well it was nothing other than an 18 pack of Budlight beer. I felt a devious grin envelop my face as I plotted my own fun. And so I open up the pack and took out a beer and chugged it down in one immense gulp. It went down just like water! Completely stupefied I took another and then another and kept on going and then before I knew it and within no more than an hour and a half drank the entire eighteen pack by myself! I was fine after about the 10th beer when I started to buzz. By that point I’m pretty sure I thought, " Oh what the hell I'm already more than halfway through and you know that nothing should ever be done halfways". Well even though I had to go to the bathroom like ten thousand times I had achieved my goal. Which was not to get drunk, but to find the means of having a great time. After all I was at a party right? Well with my new found "courage", and after going through that eighteen pack of Budlight, I stepped out into the dance floor and danced the night away. Unfortunately, for me, as I was having a great time, the party ended quite early. Or maybe it was just me as when your a little drunk and having a great time people tend to lose track of time. After the party was over I went to have a talk with my sister and we both ended up in joyful tears. Well she was crying, as for me something had just gotten in my eyes and made them watery. After that i remember I went to kindly threaten my new brother-in-law to take care of my sister. Well it was not exactly a threat it was more like a promise of what would happen to him if he ever hurt her. Finally after finishing that delightful moment I went to hang out with my cousin for a little while. That’s when the a security guy came up to us and started to take advantage of the fact that I was drunk and asked me all kinds of silly questions. These of which I tried to answer as best as I could. Eventually I ended up sober the next morning at a hotel.

What Lies, Who Truth?

1) I drive a 1968 Ford Mustang.
2) I'm allergic to chocolate.
3) I'm turning 22 next month.
4) I live within 5 miles from the beach.
5) I may look thin on the outside, yet I weigh 185 lbs.
6) I'm an alien.

My Blood

A family is generally made up of a father, a mother, and their respective children. This however may not always be the case. Some families may have only one parent, no children, or may even include other members who aren’t immediate family. These other members may be the grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces, and so forth. I can thankfully say that my family is made up of my father, my mother, my three older sisters, and my three younger brothers.
 My father is a hardworking and stubborn man with a very traditional and old school mentality. He was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. My mother is also very stubborn and can be quite worrisome at times. She was born in Zacatecas, Mexico. They have been married for almost twenty-five years! The oldest of seven my first sister is twenty-four years old. She attend college where she studies to become a nurse. After her comes my other sister who graduated with a degree in psychology. She recently wed and by these days must be enjoying her new married life with my brother-in-law. My third sister also goes to college where she is undertaking studies to become a chef. A year younger than me my first brother goes to high school and unmistakably takes after my father in both appearance and mentality. He seems to be his mirror image. My second brother also attends high school. He is rather rebellious. My youngest brother is eight and attends elementary school. My two youngest brother’s look up to me and this motivates me to be a good role model for them. All of us were born here in the U.S. and with the exception of my youngest brother, were all born in L.A. This is my family and they are of upmost importance to me.    
I may not always express myself in such a manner towards my family but I can honestly say that I love and care for them very much. My family is very dear to me and I would meet no end to obliterate anyone or anything that would make the foolish mistake of harming them. They are my blood, their pain is my pain, their sorrow is my sorrow, and their joy is my joy.

Essay "Numero Uno"

Every day people go through different experiences that alter their way of thinking, interacting. These experiences can even modify their perspective of the world around them. As a child, ever since the first day that I attended school, I was an ideal student; hard working, competitive, confident, and smart. I had always made school a priority; I was always determined to be the best in all I did. By no means did I ever accept anything less than the best from myself, demanding constantly nothing else other than perfection. This approach towards school remained with me until I was about thirteen years old in the eighth grade of junior high when my inner demons began to emerge from within, yearning for freedom.

At first it was ditching class occasionally, turning in an assignment late, and verbal aggressiveness towards others. The eighth grade turned out to be not much more than an uncomplicated and effortlessly overcome bump in the road. But this “bump” was only a condensed appetizer to what was to come in my first year at Rio Mesa high school. The year started out the same for me as for any other student, as I attended my classes I was introduced to the new teachers, was given a quick overview of the course objectives, and made several new acquaintances. So the first semester went by without hardly any notice. I had adjusted myself quite well to high school. The “demons” made their presence early in the first fraction of the second semester.

The predicaments which I had found myself involved in eighth grade had completely developed into frequent ditching, rarely turning in assignments, and constantly engaging in brawls with whoever would, for one reason or another, enrage me. The fighting was the result of the most dreadful behavioral change that had developed or to be precise surfaced from within me, my inability to control my anger. This proved to be a constant dilemma with more than a few detentions, trips to the office, and suspensions. Adding to that was the fact that I ( trying not to brag as I’m not precisely proud of my past actions) was pretty darn good when it came to a clean fist fight and could easily hold my own against any one rival or opponent. This ability to “get down”(slang for fighting) elevated my confidence and arrogance to the point that at times I would just fight to prove to myself and my fellow peers that I wouldn’t be beaten. I got to the point that I came to challenge the wrong people.

 The biggest was called “Oso”, Spanish for bear. He was easily at the very least six feet tall, had a shaven head, diminutive eyes, and as his nickname suggest had a vast and hefty bulky build. The others were similar to “Oso”; they were “Ezequiel”, “Giant”, and “Little Giant” all three heavily built or maybe just fat, slightly shorter than him and had their heads unshaven. All four dressed similarly, wearing typically dark pants usually black or blue, long sleeve striped shirts buttoned all the way to the top, and regularly also wearing layers of clothing which only added to their already imposing size. They were the predominant gang members, within the school, from the local gang in El Rio, where Rio Mesa high school happens to be smack in the middle of nowhere surrounded by strawberry fields. Out of these four I only had the misfortune of crossing paths with “Little  Giant”, who wasn’t at all little and happened to be”Giant’s” brother. The other three had been incarcerated for apparently stabbing a rival gang member. Anyway, fighting “Little Giant” turned out to be an immense mistake, for his imposing size made it quite complicated for me to scarcely inflict any damage, while the hits he inflicted upon me I still remember. However this was merely an introduction to the next nuisance I was to face.

Thursday, at lunch time at school, I was hanging out with some friends in the usual spot next to my fifth period science class, which I was to attend after lunch, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a rather large group of suspects approaching. It was roughly about half a dozen of them and they weren’t exactly very gracious looking especially towards myself. Stupidly I went out, like a rooster before a fight, to face them and surprisingly enough, only one out of the group came up to me. He had a black hat, a gray long sleeve shirt, and black jeans. His facial expression wasn’t in the least welcoming; his eyes looked at me with the fury of a tornado almost as if to tear me apart. Then after some dim-witted remark he made towards me I hastily and recklessly let a fury of well aimed hits towards him. I hit him twice in the face the first hit directly at his nose which automatically made his head lunge backwards. The second hit him in the jaw almost instantly dropping him to the ground. As he began to pick himself up I saw the extension of the damage that I had dealt to him. He covered his nose with his right hand trying to cover the blood which had already engulfed it, while his jaw was as red as a ripe tomato. Then the unexpected happened, as I turned around bathing in glorious victory one his companions lunged at me. He nearly missed the back of my head and almost as if synchronized another half a dozen came at me. For a moment I froze in what I can most closely recall as fright.  Snapping out of it, I swung a couple of aimless hits in desperate hopes of halting my aggressors. My situation now was discouraging for I was outnumbered, as my “friends” decided not to get involved. By mere god-sent coincidence, a school employee passing by came to my aid before I was pummeled to a bloody pulp by these attackers. Just like roaches they swiftly scattered and blended in with the rest of the students out at lunch. Only I was taken away to the office to await the consequences of the incident that had happened.

There I sat alone in a room that was all too familiar now. There were a couple of chairs situated in front of a large brown desk with a chair behind that, a bookshelf with a diverse selection of books alongside several decorations, pictures, and photographs, and a couple of old apparently unwashed large windows on the opposite side. I was in the principal’s office once more. This not being the first I had been there I knew what to expect. My parents would be called; I would be lectured halfway to death, followed by a couple days suspension. The principal had become all but too predictable I thought to myself. This was not to be the case though. As misfortune would have it the principal wasn’t there that Thursday and instead I would have to deal with the assistant principal who wasn’t very fond of me. So I sat alongside my father, who was boiling furious, while he had a short but decisive discussion with the assistant principal. She determined, upon my resplendently bad school record, that it be best if I were out of the school permanently. My father sturdily disagreed but there was nothing he could do about it. I was to be expelled on the grounds that my being within that school had caused too many troubles and my previous history of violence had caused this consequence to be long overdue.

Upon my expulsion I continued school through independent study. This was much easier than regular school; I met my teacher once a week collected work, completed it, turned it in, and took a weekly test. Being able to work more or less at my own pace I managed to finish my work rather quickly giving me an abundance of spare time. Spare time which promoted and facilitated my reflection upon the course of actions that I had taken and what I could do to change myself in order to be a better person.

Being expelled from high school made me think of that child that I once was, that child who put nothing else above his priorities. It also made me think of how proud that child’s parents were, of what I had become, of how I coveted that child’s mindset to return. Since then I have once again taken a look at my priorities in life and how only through hard work, determination, self control and, discipline anyone can achieve any aspiration they have in life, always taking into consideration lessons learned from past experiences.

Mc Donalds, Burger King, Carls Jr., Wendy’s, Jack N The Box, I could go almost endlessly or at least it seems like naming the vast variety of fast food restaurants. Most of them have an extended history of service and great tasting food. As for my history with them I can say it’s been a pleasurable, enjoyable, and best of all a gratifyingly great tasting one for the most part.
As a child I remember I would visit, along with my family, a Mc Donalds restaurant every once in a while, not more than once a week a few times a month perhaps. It was definitely a treat that I was treated to whenever I excelled in school. I saw it as a price for winning an award and being so fond of the gratifying moments that this would bring I would naturally try harder, in school, knowing that if I received some sort of award there I would then again be compensated by my parents for my hard work. What made my experiences of going there so pleasant was perhaps that for the moment there I was surrounded by my family enjoying a satisfying meal. We would talk, laugh, and just enjoy ourselves and each other’s company. When we would go I would always order the same thing, never getting tired of it, a Big Mac meal. Sometimes I wouldn’t even be able to eat all, for at the time being a small scrawny child it would seem like just too much for me to consume. Nevertheless any leftovers would be saved and I would eat them later. It really takes me back remembering those times which I grew to become so fond of.
Now a day’s my selection of fast food places is a bit varied. I tend to go to whichever is nearest to my location. Having these be a Mc Donalds, Jack N The Box, Wendy’s, INNOUT Burger, Del Taco, Taco Bell, and a few others that I will exclude in mentioning as to not put you, the reader, to sleep with an overwhelmingly long list of fast food places. The frequency in which I go to these places varies mostly with how much extra cash I have available. For now it’s not a reward for anything but more of just going to a fast food restaurant for the convenience of having a meal ready within a few minutes. I would say though that I generally visit a fast food restaurant perhaps more than a couple times a month. Most notably I still prefer to go to a Mc Donalds whenever the opportunity presents itself. Once there I tend to order the usual, what I have ordered now for many years, the Big Mac meal. The only difference is that now unlike that young scrawny child that couldn’t even, at times, finish a single Big Mac I order two along with the meal. In contrast with the past I now tend to go by myself or some friends and sometimes, though not as often as when I was a child, along with my family.
My present view of fast food restaurants has most certainly changed over the years. I’ve seen plenty of reports, documentary, and other pieces of persuasive propaganda that has most definitely revealed that fast food restaurants aren’t always what they are pictured to be. Nevertheless, I still continue to occasionally enjoy a meal in a fast food restaurant with pleasant company much like I when I was child.  

Past,Present,Future

Febuary 6 ,1993 at around eleven almost twelve midnight the first boy in a growing family of then 6 ( including this newborn) was born. He lived his first few years in a small home near the city of Los Angeles. There he spent his time like all other young children do, he ate, slept ,and pooped or at least that’s what I would think this child did. When he was about four he along with his family went for a vacation to Mexico. Nothing much there right? Well not much indeed the fun came when this family returned to the US. He rapidly realized that the family had a new home in the city Oxnard. There this child spent almost twelve years. Enough time for his parents to gift him with a couple of brothers more. The family had grown and decided to once again move to a new home. That’s is how this child, now a grown man, came to be seated in front of a computer writing about his past.
The present!? What time frame fits into the present?Today,this week,this month,this year all of these can fall within the present but which one? I dont see much of a present in life i can most clearly think of the past and future. For example, the past is something i did or have done such as typing these past couple of words and the future would be somehing i will do such finishing this assignment.I think of the present as alwalys becoming the past because the present would, to me, be this very second ,but its gone already. Anyway my name is Sal, im eighteen years old, and live in the city of Oxnard. I began to attend Oxnard College in the month of August and have classes monday thru friday in the afternoon. This is what i believe would probably fit in as my "present" because these are thing that will remain constant for some time or actually overlap into the future.
The few. The proud. The Marines. Sound familiar well thats where im headed. I will join the USMC upon completion of college. Im not certain wether i would want to spend my life as a marine or maybe take advantage of the G.I. Bill and further my studies. I ofcourse plan to make the most of it and gain multiple skills and abilties as a marine. After that who knows the future can be quite uncertain specialy when oneself doesn't have life planed out. Though this means not that i dont have a couple of goals already set in mind. I want to go around the world see and explore, meet different people, and acquire knowledge. I may eventualy want to settle down marry have kids and all that other good stuff but for now the future, at least for me, remains somewhat uncertain.