"Oh baby baby it's a wild world...."

Cat Stevens.

God Damn.

Let's not pretend to not know where this is going...oh wait this is the "internetz," and the gossamer veil of anonymity reigns supreme. Kinda. Thanks to blogs, social media, and compulsive instant gratification we've come to easily gain information on anyone anywhere. Personally, if you're one of my pals well then you know what happens when I start playing Cat Stevens on a loop. If not a pal, one google, or poking about in the facespace you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. However, if you're like me and happen to put limitations on socially acceptable internet stalking you have no idea what I'm talking about. If so...that's just grand. Swell. Gives me a reason to continue to write this silly little blog.


On the topic of Cat Stevens...it's a tall tale sign that I'm pining away for the people I love the most, they also happen to double as the people who I happen to deem as the most annoying. It's funny sort of cosmic biological joke, that the people that you love the most, parents, siblings, grandparents, whatever...these blood relations are so intricately woven into the makeup of your heart of hearts that it's impossible to not find them annoying. Get it? No? It's that whole idea of loving someone so much you find them annoying and having to live with one's parents for X amount of years well...it's easy to see how you , them, us...we're annoying. But you still love them. You still miss them and all those banal domestic eccentricities.

I miss it...I miss them.

I miss the sound of my Mother running in circles (literally) at an ungodly hour and her passive aggressive way of getting us up in the morning. She bangs pantry doors shut, whistles, doesn't turn on stove all the way so the stove does that blood curdling ticking sound so the gas is the only thing coming out, and then walks away to talk wayyyyyyyyy to loudly on the phone at 7 am! I miss it.

I miss my Dad's paranoia. I do. I miss the look of utter suspicion and indignity he give my brother and I when ever he catches us speaking English. He assumes that whenever it looks like we're having a deep conversation, IT HAS TO BE ABOUT HIM. NEGATIVELY ABOUT HIM! It's not. But he thinks so. I miss that craziness. 

I miss my Brother's know it all attitude. He's 18...he has no idea. I like watching him figure it all out and getting it all wrong. I miss that. Even his gross "mustache."

I miss my Grandmother's sly way to giving me a "jesus" talk. She fears me too progressive and masculine that my soul just may be in jeopardy! It's not. My soul is fine. Although, I love her for being so worried for it.

I'm the independent sort. It's not like I don't miss them when it's not the holiday season, it's just my absence from them is more apparent during this time of year. I won't be able to go home this Christmas or New Years. In fact this is the first time I'm away for such major holiday's. I know...in a functional family such a situation would be terrible, but not as depressing. I come from a classically dysfunctional Hispanic family... as crazy as we all are we're a tightly knit group of crazy.

A few weeks ago I got off the Harvard stop in Cambridge. As I made my way up the escalator to be at street level to meet a someone at Urban..I passed this little Chinese looking lady playing/singing "Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano.  This is going to read as terribly cheesy (as if it wasn't already), but fuck...I teared up. That's my favorite Christmas song. It just hit me all at once. No Rosca de Reyes. No aunts and uncles prodding me for information that really is none of their business. No cousins to get incredibly drunk with as we try to pay attention to our mothers recite something that mimics cult like chanting at the feet of one of family members JUMBO sized nativity scene. No kissing a plastic baby  jesus at midnight. No getting yelled at that doing do is like praising a false idol and hence a BIG TIME sin against their suddenly sprung  Catholicism. No wayy to much fun, churros, tamales, bunelos, queso fresco, rosca, frijoles de la hoya, salsa casera, tequila with tio pancho, no fixin' white russian's for the older ladies of the family, no...nothing.

Sigh. So I'm listening to Cat Stevens. It reminds me a lot of my Dad...and then it just snowballs. I'm not helping myself, I know.  Also, UM, soooo not funny whoever is pulling the strings of life! I've noticed this really strange pattern of having the charlie brown christmas song playing whenever I'm tired at work or when I get bad news of some sort. No really...it's been happening. Repeatedly.

It's silly to feel this way about a holiday...I know. I just love Christmas and my family. It's time like these I realize I haven't really grown up at all. It's gonna be rough Friday to Saturday. I think I've done a good job at hiding just how terribly I feel for not being present for the celebrations at home. I think? Maybe? Meh.

The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

....yep...just think about this and try not to laugh.

Flicking Your Switch! EVERYBODY DO THE ROBOT!

"923 816, is the sound of that flicking your switch..."

-Ladytron

So there's been this subtle theme throughout my life this past week. It's sort of strange how sometimes undeniably so there are patterns or fleeting threads of randomness in our lives. Sometimes we pick up on it, other times not so much. I'm usually oblivious when it comes to other people and their patterns, but I'm pretty keen on internalization and can tell when a particular pattern is developing within my own weird little world.

I'm getting to a point...promise. This past week, even up to the latest moments of me rambling on this my humble blog...the pattern continues. Robots. Robots abound.

Sound crazy? Probably, but hey I don't know why they have been popping in and out of my life as of late. I turn on my itunes to the Dj option. First song it plays is the monotone electronic infused voices of Ladytron. The song, "Flicking your switch." Then I fall asleep yesterday to the sweet sweet come sterile on's of "Gigolo Joe."

Jude Law as "Gigolo Joe," aka....SEX ROBOT!

                                                


Now as I'm all for the invention of sex robots, that's not my point here. He's just an aspect of the bigger theme. So the count thus far becomes 2 robotic renderings that have have popped up this week. The next....KEVIN! FROM SAVED BY THE BELL!

    "Kevin" Screech's robot on Saved by the Bell!

                                   
On Friday early morning before going into work I turn on the t.v. and Saved by the Bell comes on. My love for the mousse laden teen sitcom pretty much tracker beamed me into watching it. It was the episode where the gang forgets, but ultimately celebrates Screech's birthday in Belding's office. Anyway, in that episode we are introduced to the short lived but much loved (BY ME!) character Kevin. Screech's robot/friend. Um....if there is a way for me to have a robot pal I'd like to hear it VERY MUCH! Kevin was awesome, he could crack jokes, had excellent timing, and told time! It's was like having a blackberry and your best friend all rolled into one!  So that's robot number 3 that's cropped up in my life.

Number 4 on the list is.....

"Johnny 5" From the movie Short Circuit

 

So that very Friday I get into this conversation with one of my co-workers about Kevin and how cool it is and then he brings up...JOHNNY 5! J-Cinco as I like to call him is from the movie Short Circuit about this military robot that get's struck by lighting and has this massive transformation for the better! Many touching hi-jinks ensue, I suggest you watch it if you haven't. So on that note I come to my 5th robot reference!

"WALL-E" from er...Wall-e

 

 

Wall-e. I was walking to the T on my way from Cambridge back home before work on Saturday morning and I walked past this little girl pretty much chanting, "WALL-E WALL-E WALL-E WALL-E!" Another cinematic robot reference. Then I realized that Wall-e looks a lot like Johnny 5, long lost brother's maybe? Perhaps. I think the movie Wall-e has been the only movie besides "Simon Birch" that has blatantly made me cry. God-damned robot's in love...just warms the heart ya know? So that's it...robots. Not sure if this is a higher cosmic sign for something, but what I do know is that I've noticed the signs. Robots. Lot's of them. Random.

I do wish these lovely t.v./movie robot's would exist. That would be pretty neat....Gigolo Joe I'm looking in your direction! I keed I keed!

The End.