Lupe's Spot

School

2007-05-03T18:15:00.000-06:00

So I started class on Wednesday. I was thinking of just taking an elective for the linguistics program, and the only one available for the Spring was an Anthropology class. It sounded interesting, the idea behind the class is how language has evolved and plays a major part in human society. The only drawback is I'll need to do at least 50 pages of reading for each class, and write (2) 1-2 page papers. That's mucho trabajo for a spring class. I'm toying with the idea of re-taking one of the classes I dropped when I got sick... We'll see.

Oh, Wifey and I are going to see Spider-man 3 tonight at Midnight!!!

I think it's wifey's first time going to a midnight showing, and the last time I went was when I was 9 and my mom and I went to see Die Hard 2. By the way, not the best movie for a nine year old...

Update

2007-04-30T21:46:00.000-06:00

Ok folks, here's an update. The past three weeks have been pretty crappy. I don't know what the heck is going on, but my body and I just are not getting along. It feels like I've had the flu for 3 weeks now. Very not cool. Wifey and I were talking the other day, and I've come to the realization that when I get sick, I go into the "let's just get through it" mode. That involves chicken soup, sprite, toast, and Xbox. I do in fact get kinda depressed because I don't know how much longer this is all going to last. I was told over a year ago that everything would clear up soon. We're still waiting on that...

So, I don't deal with it well everytime I get sick. So, I'm going to see someone about that. I don't know if I need to see a counselor or a shrink, but I figure my bishop can point me in the right direction. I just figure it's been long enough, and as much as I like playing Xbox, I really want to move on in life.

But, on a lighter note, Spring is here and Summer isn't too far behind it. And you know what happens in the Summer? Summer time MOVIES!!!!

Here's a list of the movies Wifey and I (mostly me) are excited to go see:
1. Spider-man 3
2. Fantastic Four 2
3. Transformers
4. Evan Almighty
5. Pirates of the Caribbean 3
6. Bourne Ultimatum
7. Shrek 3
8. Ocean's Thirteen

Wifey's B-Day month continued

2007-04-15T12:06:00.000-06:00

So, Wifey's birthday was Tuesday. Monday night we went to see "Meet the Robinson's" but in 3-D! It was awesome. I am a big fan of the animated kids movies, I mean I am a big kid my self. This was by far the best one I've seen so far. It might have just been the 3-D that did it, but it was a really cool movie. Wifey loved it too, and that was what I was going for.

Tuesday, unfortunately, I was sick. I've been running fevers consistently for awhile. They come, and then they go. This week, however, they stayed, and I caught a stomach bug from some people at work. There is nothing that will make you feel lamer than being the party-pooper for someone's birthday. Wifey and I got pizza, and I watched her play her new games until I passed out on the couch (about 9:30).

The actual game that I bought her for her birthday is called "Oblivion." It's a pretty cool game, I rented it a few months ago, but I took it back early. The problem with this game, is that it never ends! I played for about 50 hours that week, and only completed 1 mission of the storyline. Some people might think that's cool, like Wifey, but she realized last night after playing for about 3 hours straight, that you can spend so much time doing things, and never actually get anywhere! But, it has boxes and hidden things, and Wifey is all over that. She loves it.

We're going to be celebrating with her familia this weekend, and I've been toying with the idea of picking up another surprise or two this week, but we'll see...

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T12:50:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I read a great chapter in the Bible this week about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the book of 1st Corinthians, Paul basically lets into the Christians in Corinth because they no longer believed in the doctrine of the resurrection. The Greeks believed the body was naturally evil, and becoming a spirit was their equivalent of reaching Heaven. Paul lets them know that the doctrine of the resurrection was actually one of the key points he hit on when he personally taught them, and their faith in Christ would have been in vain if there was no resurrection. I loved sharing this chapter with members of other faiths only because it helped them to see why the resurrection is so important. A lot of faiths consider resurrection to be the rebirth I call "conversion."

Anyways, to all those faithful loopy bloggers out there, have a great Easter, don't eat too much candy, and watch for more bloggin fun soon!

We lika do da cha cha

2007-04-03T23:27:00.000-06:00

OK, so with the xbox 360 you can download demos of the games without actually having to buy them. Very cool feature. So Wifey and I downloaded the demo for a game called "Viva Piñata." It's really a kids game, although it's kinda complicated. Actually, with kids these days, I wouldn't be surprised if a 5 year old could learn how to play faster than me.

Anyways, the premise of the game is you get a certain space of land, and you clean it up and start a garden to attract.... piñatas! You start out with a worm, then two worms, then a bird, then two birds and then the next thing you know there's foxes, badgers, alligators, frogs, snakes, moths, bees, etc etc etc. You have to feed them, build houses, plant flowers, trees, etc. AND, you need to protect your piñatas from the new ones wandering in. Wifey was pretty upset when a fox ate her "Bunnycomb." We played for about 4 hours last night, and Wifey absolutely loved it! ( I must admit, I did too...)

At about 12:30, all of a sudden the demo ended. We were distraught.

So... today, I bought it for Wifey.

And played for 5 hours while she was at work.

General Conference weekend

2007-04-01T16:13:00.000-06:00

Our church had its semi-annual conference this weekend, and it was basically awesome. Conference weekend is a blast for many reasons. Let me share these reasons with you real quick:

1.) We get to listen to very uplifting, spiritual talks all weekend. 10 total hours of great pick-me-up lessons to get your batteries charged for the next 6 months. There were some really good ones too...

2.) Omelettes. Every General Conference since we've been married we've had omelettes right before the Saturday morning session. We had some friends over to partake as well. Very De-lish.

3.) The Salt Lake Tabernacle was rededicated. They've been doing a little renovating up there, and it's finally finished. It was great because the whole Sat afternoon session was about the history of the tabernacle, and a few of the amazing things that were brought to light in that building. Just a special part of our heritage. Good to see its finished and open again.

4.) Priesthood. I always look forward to it because you never know if it's going to be a lay-down-the-law talk or an encouraging one. This time was a little of both, but mostly encouraging. It's also cool cause it's just the men-folk. Just a different environment. The closing song was a new one, with the music of "Be still, my soul" and the lyrics from a passage in 2nd Nephi chapter 4. Very cool.

5.) This weekend we played a little Croquet and tried out a new RC plane that Wifey got. Wifey won a game of Croquet (my first time, so nicht so gut for me...) and we had a blast with the plane. I flew it full speed into a brick wall, and then into metal picnic tables. Wifey hit a few trees, and needless to say, it already is in need of serious repair.

6.) One of the best things is the fact I get to spend a full weekend with Wifey and snuggle. We definitely got our snuggle on this weekend...

Quote of the Day

2007-03-28T20:50:00.000-06:00

So we have a quote board, and the one that has been up for the past few months just got erased. Here it goes:

Lupe: "Crap!"
Wifey: "What?!?"
Lupe: "I forgot to put the cheese on my cheese sandwich!"

Update

2007-03-28T20:23:00.000-06:00

So, I found out the other day that people actually still check my blog. I figured I might as well post an update and let everyone know what's going on...

Since my last post a lot has happened. First, we now know for sure why I got sick. I had some blood work done that proves that I had a serious mold .... exposure? I had an antibody count up in the 3000's (yeah that's high) for toxic mold. The doctor explained to me that probably caused a huge impact on my immune system, which triggered the epstein barr. We're still contemplating a lawsuit, especially after I found out last week the people who moved in are getting sick too... And they have kids.

I went back to school in June, took a Spanish class, got an A. They screwed up my paperwork for the Fall, so I couldn't start on time, took a default Sociology class to fill a GE requirement, and got a C. Don't get me wrong. I'm a good student, and it was a great class... I just got the flu about 5 or 6 times that semester.

I took this semester off to recoup, and it's worked. I've been serious illness free for about 6 weeks, which is the longest I've gone without a serious setback in a loooong time. It's been real exciting.

Wifey and I are about to hit our 3 year anniversary (!!!) which is exciting. We're always looking back at the time we've been together, and we've had some challenges, but we're very much in love and looking forward to a forever together...

So... yeah. That's our life. I'm still working at Zonder. The company has been doing very well. We've got some big things happening in the next few months, and I've been assigned to work with PMCs (Property Management Companies). So instead of working with a husband and wife who occasionally rent out their beach house, I'm working with major companies whose business is vacation rentals.

So if anyone is looking for a place to stay on their next vacation... let me know.

I guess that's good for now. Thanks to all those who check the blog. Peace out.

It's Been Awhile....

2006-07-08T14:16:00.000-06:00

Ok, so here's ike a 3 month recap of everything that has been happening in the Lupe household. Ok, so for the past, I dunno, 3 or 4 months I have been trying to get back into school. My first two petitions to get in got turned down, and I could not understand it at all. Come to find out, the doctor who was supposed to have put in the note that would have clinched it for me only wrote" wasn't feeling well..." Well, of course they would have turned me down. I would have turned me down too.... So, the kind lady in the petitions office told me that anything and everything that I could get to support my case would help. So... about 40 pages of doctors' notes (I had seen 4 in total in the time that I have been sick), medical records, letters from teachers saying I wasn't a slacker, all stuffed in a manilla envelope did the trick. So, the petition passed.... Victory #1...

Ok, so I go to register for classes, and try to take care of insurance issues, and it says that there is still a problem... Come to find out, I had an incomplete in a course that I was supposed to finish up about a month or two after I got sick. Of course, I wasn't feeling well enough to prepare or to get the tutoring or any of that, and I had forgotten to get an extension ( too busy just trying to stay alive, not cough up an entire lung, and working on getting back into school...not a good multi-tasking project.) OK... so now I had to file another petition. Let me tell you... I was nervous. I got the paperwork for the extension, and I went to find the Professor. Turns out he is in Jordan (as in the middle east, not the city in Utah.) Luckily the director of the department has his office right next door. Ok, so I turn it in right after the summer term had started and they told me that it might take a few weeks since not everyone from the committe was around for the summer. I called twice after about 2 weeks, and my wife called once. Then....I got the letter saying that my extension was granted. Victory #2.

Now that I have the suspensions "lifted," I am eligible for student insurance. I had been talking to this wonderful lady in the insurance office who now knows me by name, and she actually wasn't there when I went in with the letters from school. Funny thing was that the other lady that was there had heard about everything that was happening to us, and she was so excited for me. So she made copies of all the right things, and told me it would be submitted ASAP. Victory #3

So, I want to get back into school. I have to reapply, and it is now 2 weeks before the summer term starts. I fill out all the paperwork, and get an interview with my ecclesiatical leaders, and the stake president says that he will drop off the last thing I need because he works at the school. Ok, well it took him about a week to drop it off, so it has become a bad nail-biting situation. We were house sitting at the time, and the family had moved in, and we were still looking for a place. We came down to Provo to stay with some friends for a night or two (we have been blessed with some great people around us who have helped us out so much when we have needed them the most!!!) We ended up finding 4 places that would work, and we had to make a decision within just a few days. Turns out 2 of the 4 had mold in them, one of them we had actually decided to live in, we had the rent check in hand and I looked and saw the air vents were a little shady. So, we go with our #2 choice, and they say we can move in the same day. Ok so this is the thursday before school starts. I get a phone call at about 10 in the morning from the academic support people saying I need to get all the paperwork filled out so that I could go to school on Monday! So, I made about 10 phone calls, met with all the right people, and was registered for class before 3 pm. Victory #4. We got into our apartment that Sat with the herculian support from our bro-in-law ( a little shout out there) and we settled in that week. Victory #5.

School started fine, but I need to pay tuition soon. We have decided that I really, really, REALLY needed to find a job, and so I set last thursday to be the day I would go for interviews, call people, etc. Well, by 4 pm I had a job, and I start on Monday. Victory #6.

Even though everything is far from over, we have really been blessed with some HUGE progress. We thank God everyday for everything he has done for us. And to all those who might be reading this, know that we thank Him for blessing us with you as friends and family too.

ok, so I know this is what you have been waiting for... the Quote of the Day.

Lupe: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, no matter what time you wake up!

(we woke up a little before noon today...)

Quote of the day

2006-04-23T11:42:00.000-06:00

This one is from "Everybody Loves Raymond." Raymond convinces his wife to let him stay home to work on a book while she takes the kids on a camping trip. She warns him that if he doesn't work, she will hurt him. So, of course she comes home a day early, and he walks in the door a few minutes later with his golf clubs in hand....

Raymond: Listen, I know exactly what you're thinking....

Deborah: Oh, really...? THEN WHY AREN'T YOU PROTECTING YOURSELF?!?

Radio

2006-04-21T15:54:00.000-06:00

So, since I've been sick I like to listen to the radio a lot more. I listen to some of the more politically charged shows, and they are always entertaining. I've been tempted quite a few times to call in and voice my opinion, but have always wussed out. I had to laught this morning because they were talking again about illegal immigration and how a wall should be built between the U.S. and Mexico. And here goes the quote of the day

This is from a comedian named Mencia
M: So I heard they wanted to ship all the illegal immigrants out of the country, get all the mexicans back to Mexico, then build a wall to keep them there.... Right, ok, so who's gonna build the wall?

This morning though, I dialed the number on the cell, and almost hit "send." They were talking about violent video games, bullying and the school shooting that was in the news today. A guy called in and said that he himself had brought a gun to school about 25 years ago and had planned on shooting someone who had picked on him.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think that violent video games are "good," I don't think that violence is the answer to anything, and I definitely don't think that anyone should be shooting anyone. The thing is, I was bullied as a kid, I got jumped a few times, played violent video games, but I never killed anyone. My uncles always bullied me. Now that I think of it, I might have bullied my little brothers and sisters a little. I lived in the ghetto growing up, saw plenty of violence, but never even had the urge to get "even." I got into a couple of fights at school, but it was with fists not firearms. And it wasn't to get even. It was self defense.

It bugs me that people will automatically blame the video games. I love playing video games. Granted their are some pretty scary ones out there, but then comes my next point. These violent video games that are so bad have ratings. Any game that is rated "M for Mature" cannot be bought by anyone under 17. You can't get into an "R" rated movie under 17 without an adult. So here's my question... Where are all the adults in these kids' lives? How did they get these video games that turned them into the mindless zombies that will imitate the fantasy that they see on the tv screen?

I've worked with teenagers closely in the past 5 years, during a religious mission for my church and afterwards, and I have a theory. Some of this is from my own experience. I don't mean to judge, I just like to figure out why things are the way they are. I think that parents get wrapped up in their own lives so much that they don't ever really develop a good communicative relationship with their children. We just don't communicate as well with our parents. I think some of it has to do with the fact that parents don't want to intrude or be overbearing, they want to give their kids space as they grow up. Some of it might have to do with the fact that kids today learn more about life and the world from the tv than from the family. I think some of it has to do with the fact that a lot of families have 2 parents in the work place, and there is little or no parent child relationship. I really admire my mother-in-law, because she "gave up" a career to be at home with her kids. Wifey always talks about how she admires her for that, and how grateful she is for the relationship she has with her mother. Wifey freely admits that she was a strong-headed teenager and did those dumb things that teenagers do, but she now knows that her mom always wanted the best for her. I hope that when we have kids, and -GULP- teenagers, that we can have a great relationship with them, and that we can communicate freely. I know that sounds weird, but I know from personal experience that if your kids can't talk to you, they look for anyone or anything that will listen, and then cling to that more than to their own family.

So moral of the stories boys and girls....

And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.

Mosiah 4:14,15

My life as of late

2006-04-20T21:20:00.000-06:00

I guess since this is my blog, I can talk about stuff that's going on en mi vida. Wifey and I recently found out that the air vents in our home are infested with mold. Not just any mold, toxic mold. What's even better is that we also found out that our building is not up to code, and that because of this, the nasty, polluted air is flowing freely into our home. So we figure the owner is liable, and we are planning to take them court. I've been researching the mold that we found and its nasty. We're just very worried about the effects, and whether or not they're permanent. Its kinda scary.

But, good news. We moved out of our little, crappy, moldy apartment and we are now in a 5 bedroom, 3 and a half bath house. We don't own it, but we have family that are moving up from California in June and need a housesitter. So yeah, life is pretty rough right now...

Ok, so after all that, here's the quote of the day. this one is from my grandmother Rosa. I was telling her about our situation and the fact we're gonna be taking these people to court, and this is what she said:

Grandma: You don't know what effects this is gonna have on you, this is your life, your future! And you've been miserabe!

Me: Yeah. Maybe we should charge them for me being miserable. What is the going rate for being miserable per hour?

(I think it's funny)

Quote of the Day

2006-03-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the background. It's 8:30 at night, and Wifey wants something to eat. I think it was Friday too... My appetite is pretty non-existent somedays, and this was one of those days... And without further ado...

Wifey: Do you think we're gonna have "real" dinner tonight, or should I just bless my ice cream?

Quote of the Day

2006-03-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

(Okay so it may seem like Quote of the Month, but I promise to get back on track... Didn't know so many would be interested in Quote of the Day.)

Wifey: "Are there meetings for Chocoholics Anoymous?"
Lupe: "Yeah, sure. It's called Relief Society."

Quote of the Day

2006-03-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Ok , here's a little intro... In our last apartment, Wifey and I had a quote board in our kitchen. Any funny quote we heard, or sometimes the stupid things people would say that we thought was funny, got written on the board. The board got lost in our last move, so a lot of the funny stuff got lost, so we've had to start over. Hope you enjoy...

The voices in my mind don't like you... They want me to hurt you...
(-Wifey)

NeW YorK

2006-03-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Wifey and I are back in good ole New York for a little vacation. Ahhh... the ghetto. We flew in last night, got home about 2 in the am. We sat next to an engineer originally from Oklahoma, but now living in Westchester County. He was a great guy, and talking the whole flight made it go faster. We're gonna be in NY for about 2 weeks, and we've got plans to go to the St Patty's Day Parade next week. If you've never been, man your missin out!

InTrO

2006-03-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well, the wifey convinced me to start blogging. It seems like everyone is blogging these days...So here I am in our little crappy apartment writing an intro blog. I don't know what I'm gonna write about, but we'll see how it develops.

About me... I'm 24, a Linguistics major, Russian minor, maybe a Spanish Interpretation major will get thrown in there too. I'm a native of good ole New York, born and raised in the ghetto... Been living in Utah for awhile, and yes, like the majority of the population here I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Been married for about 2 years, to the sweetest, most loving little lady in the world, and I'm not just saying that because she's probably going to read this... :) We're gonna hit our 2 year anniversary this April.

So, yeah that's me, or us... Yeah, so let's do some blogging. Keep it interesting, and keep it clean.