Good times remembered

Stephanie, myself and SeSe.

Huna Huna Huna... Luau

Minot, ND/Aug 13 2003

ESPERANTO

In the last few years, I have developed an afinity to languages. I was raised in Costa Rica, speaking Spanish and at home we spoke both Mandarin and Taiwanese. We were fortunate enough to attend private schools that were trilingual. Besides Spanish, we had to learn English and French. I am not as fluent in Mandarin as I am in French, and I am not as fluent in French as I am in Spanish. Spanish has a slight similitude to Portuguese and Italian, so I tend to pick up on these last two fairly well.
In August of 2002 I was living in Masirah, an island off the coast of the Sultanate of Oman in the Middle East. I worked very closely with people from India, Pakistan, and the natives from Oman. So it was then when I took interest in learning very basic Arabic and Hindi. I am still disappointed that I did not go beyond what I needed to know in order to survive while there. But I was only there for three months and most of the locals knew English anyways. I think both Arabic and Hindi are extremely fascinating, but extremely difficult as well.
I have encountered several moments in my life at different levels, personal and professional, where I was thankful to know several languages. I would like to say that because of such skill I have saved lives and I am a financially secure, but that's not quite the case.
So in my efforts to stay awake on my working marathon this holiday week, I have been researching about languages over the internet. Google is such an amazing tool! I've heard about Esperanto before, but I didn't know much about it. I've heard a couple of songs from a Mexican pop group called Kabbah and they had a couple of really good songs in Esperanto. It sounds like a fascinating language, apparently easy to learn and it is very "international".
Here's what I found:
Americans have long heard the cliche that "Wherever you go, people speak English." In fact, at most ten percent of the world speaks English! Often, in other countries, only people in the best hotels of the largest cities can use English, and even they are often not very fluent. Anyone who has visited a foreign country and struggled with the language barriers understands this. Americans are at last discovering what the rest of the world has long known: there is a real need for an international language.
Fortunately, there is such a language... Its name is Esperanto. It was created by Dr. Ludwig L. Zamenhof, a Polish physician, who published it in 1887. Of the many projects and proposals for an international language over the centuries, Esperanto is the only one that has stood the test of time and is being spoken today. It is in daily use by millions of people all over the world, and the number is growing constantly.
Many international meetings are held in Esperanto. Some of the largest international firms put on special advertising campaigns in Esperanto. Hotels, restaurants and tourist resorts compete for the patronage of the Esperanto-speaking traveler.
Esperanto's impressive success as the language of international communication is due to three basic advantages. It is easy to learn. It is politically neutral. And it has many practical uses.
Esperanto is much easier to learn than any other language. In fact, it can be learned in a quarter of the time needed to learn a national language! The spelling is easy: each letter has exactly one sound. The pronunciation is easy: there are no strange combinations of letters to create new sounds, and the accent is always on the next to last syllable. The grammar is easy: there are only sixteen basic rules, with no exceptions. (That means, for example, that there are no irregular verbs.) The vocabulary is easy, too: many international words are used, such as telefono (telephone), biologio (biology), and matematiko (mathematics). Esperanto gives a very "natural" impression in spoken or written use; and, because of its high ratio of vowels to consonants, it is often said to resemble Spanish or Italian.
Esperanto also uses prefixes, suffixes, and interchangeable endings to reduce the number of words to be learned.
In short, Esperanto has been rationally constructed for ease of learning. This has made it especially popular with busy men and women who cannot spend years learning a foreign language, which would be useful in only a small part of the world.
Esperanto is neutral... The second major reason for Esperanto's success is that it is neutral. It belongs to no one country. Many people in America and England say that English is already spoken so widely and is such an "important" language in the world that it should be officially adopted by all nations as the international language. This view is very unpopular in many countries.
This attitude is not merely because English is one of the most difficult languages to learn. The newer nations of Africa and Asia are very reluctant to accept English (or any major language) for international communication because of the political overtones.
The Western nations have also shown their sensitivity to questions of linguistic equality.
Esperanto is not the property of any one nation, group of nations, or social class. It belongs to everyone. It has no political or historical implications to hinder its acceptance. Every person who uses Esperanto is on an equal linguistic footing with all other Esperantists. Esperanto's popularity in smaller nations and in Asian countries, such as Japan, is largely due to this neutrality. This promotes a spirit of friendship and brotherhood among Esperantists which is quite impressive to everyone who sees it in use.

Interesting, huh? After reading about it, I have decided that I would love to learn it, it has all the basics from other languages that I already know. There are some free basic courses online and they seem fairly easy. I just signed up for one and I am ready to add it to my resumé.

Please Service Engine Soon

I am not a car expert, not at all. The most I know about the automobile industry is which luxury class vehicles I would like to own someday when all this hard work pays off. I can honestly tell you I don't know how to change the oil in my car. Why should I? About a year ago I bought some expensive tires and they came with a lifetime of free oil changes. I am fortunate enough that I have never had to change a flat tire, and I believe that I just jinxed myself for mentioning that, but that's the truth.
When I was 17, I was taught how to drive on a Dodge Colt, it was stick shift and I was sweating profusely after the first lesson, which was driving 3 blocks to the gas station down the street. So, the next lesson a few days later I did better, but then I never received anymore tutoring until my neighbor decided to move on in life and get rid of his 1986 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. So I decided to purchase that thing that looked like boat to me and with only less than basic driving skills, a lack of a driver's license, and 300 dollars later, I drove off from his driveway to mine. That was a big stepping stone in my life. At age 17 I've had purchased my first ride, I have never owned anything that big before. So with that mentioned, I was almost self taught on how to drive, so I must admit to not being the best driver on the block. That Caprice Classic at its price had some complications and since I wasn't eloquent enough to fix it, the next logical thing to do was to sell it and find another car in hopes of not having engine problems. I was glad to sell it for the amount of 500 dollars.
In essence, I've had a few numerable incidents with vehicles that just proofs my ignorance about mechanics. It truly scares me. I don't like to see all the lights shining telling me all this things that could be wrong. I work in healthcare and feces, urine, vomit, burnt skin, open fractures, lacerations and needles don't bother me at all, but once those beeping and blinking ornaments on the dashboard start flaring up I panic instantly. What could possibly be wrong? Let it be something minor! I pray each time that occurs.
I prayed today. My car decided to serenate me with sounds and visual effects of yellow and red colors. And naturally, I had some anxiety over the situation. I took instant action and I decided to take it to the shop, my car needed that free oil change anyways, so timing was perfect. What wasn't so perfect was the price to digitally diagnose what all those lights and beeps where all about. Seventy dollars to plug my car to a computer system and detect why was the Service Engine Soon light was on? Well, if i didn't done so, I would have never found out about some upstream and downstream caps, rear and front hoses that have been plugged up with some sort of buildup for quite some time, causing all the carbon monoxide to be enclosed, flowing into my ventilation system. Yes, you have guessed right. I was inhaling it. I've had some CO breathing treatments on my way to and from work. Oh, and to the grocery store, to the clubs, to the mall, and to the veterinary clinic. I had just figured that my brief daydreaming moments in front of the stoplights were just consequence of my physical and emotional exhaustion. I was getting high while listening to satellite radio. I was causing my blood to become bright red, since that wonderful gas tints your blood as a side effect.
What could've happened if I had ignored that signal? What would've happened if my car didn't have that feature? Could I have been one of those statistics of "driver falls asleep on road causing fatal accident"?
Was that light on my car today a double signal? Maybe it was my cue to wake up from my carbon monoxide dreams and start taking action about servicing my own engine soon.
Shouldn't life have that light that turns on when you confront a harsh emotional condition? Wouldn't things be much easier that way? Service Engine Soon, mend that broken heart, fix your unstable mind, and plug yourself to to get your own disfunctional feelings together.

A mad week

So here I am, trying to fight a sinus infection that has lead to severe headaches and congestion. I am also afraid that my digestive system is not acting properly. Timing couldn't have been worse. I am scheduled to work double shifts all week except Wednesday. I have to tough it out.

Mon 0700-1530 MRI
1700-2230 Peds
Tue 0700-1530 Surgery
1700-2230 Peds
Wed 0900-1730 MRI
Thurs 0900-1730 MRI
1745-2230 Peds
Fri 0900-1730MRI
1745-2230 Peds
Sat 0700-2300 Surgery Call
Sat/Sun 2300-0700 Radiology
Sun 1100-2230 Peds
Mon/Tue0700-0700Surgery Call

And it goes on and on... So, in order to survive this week I have decided to approach different methods. The first one is to think about all the money that I will be banking to stay warm, as you can recall, my heating bill exceeded 250 american dollars. My car payment is 260 bucks.
Also, I will also remember that I should be grateful to have excess opportunities to work and not lack of employment. And lastly, I must remember how my parents have continuously worked all their lives in worse conditions that I have without all the ammenities that I currently enjoy.
So here's to a great strong week. I am going to bed now.

$250.02

$250.02 That's how much my heating bill was. Absolutely ridiculous.

I love my weenies

Chachi Alfredo Hunter Lin Finkerdink is the red/dappled standard doxie. He's 3 y/o and is a mouthy little canine. I've had him since he was 7 weeks old.
Sherman Fonzirelli William Lin is the black/tan standard weenie. He is approximately 7 years old, not sure since he is a rescue from the Nebraska Humane Society. He's another lippy pup.

George's 2006 Strategic Plan

Ok, here's the time of the year for resolutions. It's that time of the year to look at your accomplishments and plan for new ones. Look at the scale and pray for a better one. Time of the year to attempt to be a better person.

GEORGE'S 2006 STRATEGIC PLAN

1. Get into the BSRT Program at UNMC, -it's a great way to get into Medical School.
2. Take the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists MRI Boards by April, -it will make me more marketable.
3. Succesfully complete the Air Force Diagnostic Craftsman, 7 Level Course, -once completed I will be elegible for promotion to Technical Sergeant (E-6)
4. Learn the Phillips-Marconi Eclipse Mobile scanner, -once again, for marketability purposes
5. Fly to Costa Rica, make sure to make plans to spend time with family. SAVE!
6. Complain less about trivial things, bitch more about relevant issues
7. LOSE WEIGHT. Keep up with fitday.com Maintain exercise habits, but change eating habits! I DON'T WANT TO BE A BEACH WHALE
8. Add more money to the Roth IRA on a monthly basis, -that's a big part for my dream retirement
9. Spend less money! Save save save save save... Sherman and Chachi don't need Kenneth Cole clothes or Burberry leashes.
10. Learn something new. Enroll in Violin lessons or Tae-kwon-do. Only one, not both of them.
11. Spend more time thinking before speaking
12. Watch less television
13. WIN THE POWERBALL, BECOME RICH AND F**K ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Since 1998

I hate the fact that this is going to sound like a pitty party but I'm homesick. It certainly is that time of the year when families get together. I don't get that chance. Maybe by choice but mostly because of the lack of monetary funds to afford to go back and see my family. I have made other choices, such as owning my first home at age 23, having an amazing credit card debt and having to work a second and a third job to pay them. Those choices are extremely rewarding, and constitute an enormous part of the American Dream, but keep me from going home right now, not so "dreamy" now, heh?
Even though I don't show it enough or say it enough, my family is the most important thing in my life. Yes, that same disfunctional and out of the ordinary family is the one that I terribly miss at the moment. You'd think that after me being away for 7 Holiday seasons I would be used to it by now. But I am not, that's not hardly the case.
It's hard to answer people asking you about what your plans for Christmas are. I just smile, tilt my head and say: "I'm working". Indeed, I do offer to work long shifts during the holidays to reward myself by letting my coworkers spend time with their families, they do have the chance. I also work a lot to avoid sitting at home with an empty dinning room table and a heart full of nostalgia staring at the TV. And I am fortunate enough to have friends in town that will offer me a seat in their table at their homes if I was not working. But I can't do that. It's like eating in front of the hungry. Watching other families getting together to celebrate is an act of masochism. I don't need to be reminded in a bold way that I am alone without a family nearby. And I know that those are not the intentions of those who invite me over, I know that their intentions are to make me feel welcomed, make me feel like I am part of their families. But no family can be compared to mine. It is a feeling that inevitably occurs.
I miss my mom's extravagant cooking. Her pride and joy. I miss the smell of the blend of traditional Costa Rican, American and Taiwanese food. Tamales, a turkey, and chop suey. That aromatic fusion that only my siblings, my parents and I would understand how to savour at two o'clock in the morning when we finally sat in our designated seats to enjoy that feast. It was like a secret code. I miss watching a movie after the early morning meal until the sun rised. I miss talking to my sisters about nothing and everything at once. I miss my mom's version of a Christmas tree. I miss my brother's silence. But most of all, I miss enjoying each other and being right next to each other. Physically.
I worry about how my brother feels when he thinks about his son not having his uncle around. I imagine my sisters' conversations, I miss them. I miss talking with my best friends. I ask myself if I have made my father proud. I wonder how my mom feels when she looks over and realizes that the seat that I once took is still empty. I hope it doesn't hurt her as much as it hurts me not to fill it. I hope she doesn't cry when she goes to bed on that night like I have been doing every single year, since 1998...

TO DO LIST (part one)

Two years ago, on the way back to North Dakota from a long weekend trip to Nebraska, two of my dearest friends and I decided to have a check list of things to do before we die. It was an extensive yet realistic list of well planned objectives. No rules were stablished but the one that anyone of us could check the item off if accomplished. Not all participants were required to achieve the goal as long as one got it done. Well, SeSe and Steph... here's the list from what I can vaguely remember.

1. Take a picture of a rainbow ( I did this one about a year ago, and I think SeSe got it as well)
2. Take a picture of a lightning bolt- that shit is hard, by the way
3. Find out how mechanically separated chicken is created ( we found out, but we forgot)
4. Go to the Heineken brewery
5. Go to a Diva's Concert (I don't know about Se and Steph, but I went to Cher 7 or 8 times, Britney Spears, and let's not forget Clay Aiken)
6. Get the Oscar Meyer wienermobile and go barhopping (this one is the one that must be accomplished by all of us, and SeSe gets to drive. I called shotgun, sorry Steph)
7. Attend a PFLAG meeting

There were plenty of additional items but my head itches at the moment and I refuse to scratch it to bring my memory back.

Where's home?

Where's home? That's the most frequently asked question in my day to day survival rounds. Of course, that is followed by Are you Hawaiian?
Any one would think that such interrogation should be a fairly simple question to answer. A no brainer, one that should flow by inertia, one that you recite with your lips before your thought processes anything else. That's not the case for me.
Sometimes I wish I could just hand out a card with my background bio with pictures, maps and a glossary of terms that define my past. But if I did, no one would read it. Instead they would resource to gossip and start creating this persona errata. And that's when I suddenly become Laotian, Samoan, Peruvian, Japanese, Sri Lankan, Filipino, Chinese, Mongolian, and sometimes, believe it or not, Native American. But for the most part, I am defined as Hawaiian by remote guesses.
Its understood that for many caucasian Americans it is difficult to distinguish features and characteristics of the above mentioned. Which I totally comprehend. I can't tell you if my boss is Italian, Czech, Polish, German, French or Irish by her looks. But why so many unacertive guesses? Everytime that I am asked that question, seems like it's a drunk blind folded darts tournament and I am the board.
There is not a possible way for me to answer that question in one simple sentence. Maybe with my broken, limited, incomplete, and accented English I could do so. But I am certain that many English scholars would suffer an acute myocardial infarction and/or a rectal bleed from reading a punctuaction lacking paragraph transformed into one singular sentence explaining where I think home is.
And I don't think that I have ever given the same recited answer. Why should I? Everyone will ask me that question differently anyways. Not everyone knows where the places that conform the answer. Not everyone can decode my accent. And no one, definitely, no one can understand it.
Maybe we as a society tend to network with equals. It's just a natural trend. We try to stablish relationships at various levels with those who might have something in common with us. Gays will find gays. Boricuas will find boricuas. Hawaiians will find hawaiians. Because that is our packing nature and we can't help it.
And that's what I try to do with myself. I try to lean to my Asian side... my fellow Taiwanese inmigrants. But there is some resistance because of my accent when I speak Mandarin and my iliteracy in such language. I wish I would've learned how to write and read Chinese.
So then I lean towards my Spanish speaking side. Which I have to generalize to latinos since I haven't met more than a handful of Costa Ricans in the US the almost 8 years that I have lived here, granted not many Costa Ricans leave the pristine beaches to live in the cold frozen tundras of the northern plains like I did. And shortly after socializing with latinos, I realize I am just another outcast because of my looks.
I am to Mexicans, Nicaraguans, Guatemalans, and other latinos a chino that freakishly speaks perfect Spanish. But they don't trust me because I can be just a poser.
A US born citizen that can't speak perfect English that doesn't fit in middle America
A Taiwanese lost soul that can't read Mandarin
A Costa Rican shadow with almond eyes that speaks perfect Spanish and dances Salsa
A ceviche eating, mango loving, rice fed, hot dog craving, apple pie baking, black bean farting, pot sticker dipping, beer drinking kinda guy that knows how to tango, how to origami, and how to two step.
Home is Costa Rica, where I grew up. Home is New Orleans, where I matured. Home is Taiwan, where my parents call home. Home is San Antonio where I became a man. Home is Minot, where I met my best friends and had my first winter. Home is Omaha, where I bought my first home. Home is Hawaii, where I want to richly live.

Quand retoirnerai-je?

Quand retournerai-je ? Le compte des faits jusqu'à aujourd'hui n'ont pas été plus que des moments isolés qui en s'ajoutant comptent une histoire simple. Je n'ai jamais appris à chanter ni à toucher le piano. Mais si j'ai appris à admirer à Mecano. Je n'ai pas appris non plus à jouer aux échecs. La seule stratégie que j'ai eue a été celle de donner le maté jaque à mes pensées. Et peut-être avec faute, j'ai appris à être un de consommation, un de de ceux-là qu'il ne peut pas cesser d'obtenir des choses matérielles. Mais je ne puis pas non plus cesser d'obtenir des mémoires de jours passés. Mémoires de la mer et de sa chanson, oiseaux tropicaux en volant dans le ciel métropolitain, un théâtre inondé d'amis, l'arôme du café, la pluie en criant du pardon. Toutes ces choses triviales qui me remplissent le coeur avec celui-là battu instable.Quand retournerai-je ?

Cuando volveré?

El recuento de los hechos hasta el día de hoy no han sido mas que momentos aislados que al sumarse cuentan una historia simple. Nunca aprendí a cantar ni a tocar el piano. Pero si aprendí a admirar a Mecano. Tampoco aprendí a jugar al ajedrez. La única estrategia que tuve fue la de darle el jaque mate a mis pensamientos. Y quizás con culpa, aprendí a ser un consumista, uno de esos que no puede dejar de obtener cosas materiales. Pero tampoco puedo dejar de obtener memorias de días pasados. Recuerdos del mar y de su canto, aves tropicales volando en el cielo metropolitano, un teatro inundado de amigos, el aroma del café, la lluvia gritando perdón. Todas esas cosas triviales que me llenan el corazón con ese latido inestable.
Cuando volveré?

Holiday Bliss

OK, with the holidays in the air(gag), and all that white crap mixed with sand looking like a giant shit slush out there, I have decided share my own holiday spirit for a little bit. Here are the things that piss me off about the Christmas, Hannukah,Ramadan, and Kwanzaa seasons. Whatever you wanna call it. I personally prefer "that nasty fake cold season", but it's just a matter of opinions. Here's the list.

1. "Christmas" sweaters. If you are old enough to dress yourself, you should not be wearing one of them. Biggest holiday fashion faux pas. I don't care how cute the snowman in your sweater with blinking lights is. Look at yourself in the mirror, if you sport Santa Claus in your chest and you still think you look adorable, think again. Once again, you are old enough to know that Santa does NOT exist and he does not endorse you wearing his distorted image.

2. Expecting presents. Last time I checked it was Jesus' birthday. Mine is in August, then it will be my turn to receive presents.If yours is in November, then you should have received your presents already. If it is in January, then wait a couple of weeks and you will get your turn. Unless your birthday is Dec 25., then you have all the right to expect them. That just plain confuses me, who's birthday is it? yours or baby Jesus'? Who can afford to buy presents to all their family and friends? I think that is just rude. Not very holidayish when you are all broke after buying presents to people that you really don't like.

3. Hate crimes against fruitcakes. People talk trash about those baked goods but they still keep making them. Confuse me?

4. Not color coordinated Christmas trees. First of all, I think it is sad to kill a tree that is purifying air, doing its own thing in nature to decorate it in an unfashionable manner. But whatever, if you decided to kill a live one and then let it die sllowly inside your home at least you should consider decorating it decently. How many tress look like the rainbow fairy puked all over them?

5. Humming people. I don't understand why coworkers and random people in general decide to hum more often during this time of the year. Humming just signifies that you can't sing. And it is also an open invitation for me to kick your ass if you dont shut the hell up. (I get bonus points if you are humming Silent Night, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is coming to town or Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer)

6. Snow. Need I say more?

7. Happy faces where they don't belong. They say... "smile, it's the holiday season". I agree, go ahead and smile, be nice to me, let's be nice to each other... but not JUST this time of the year... What happens during the rest of the year? Do you say in July "Don't smile, it's not December yet"?

8. People calling me Scrooge. Just because I am not too fond of this time of the year because it's commercialism, doesn't mean that I am that character. Plus, unlike him, I do have some lights in my porch.

I hope you enjoyed my little holiday spirit, the only one that I have.