The Bodega

"If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten." - George Carlin

Quick hurricane update. My family lost power, so they all went over to my sister Eliza's house who was one of the few places in the city with power. Now that it has passed, they are happy they didn't get much damage, but other places did. They feel kind of bored trapped in doors, with no power and such, but over all it was the best we could of hoped.

I got joyful news from Iris, a good college friend of mine on Wednesday. My B-town, TX- Cornell friend is getting married in a few days. I am genuinely happy and excited for her. It had been a while since we had really talked. [Join me for my trip down memory lane.] Iris was one of my closest friends in college. We did grow apart somewhat at the end, but for the first few years she was probably one of my best friends. We studied together, partied together, stole a car together, and even my favorite scarf was a gift from her. (why would I bring a scarf from Texas.) Actually, now that I think about it, she was the first person I met at Cornell. It was the spring of 98 and I was visiting Ithaca for the first time and we met up as she was too was visiting. I knew she was cool then. After bonding because we were from Texas, it all went from there. There are so many memories, I can't begin to recount. We ended up forming a crew in a sense and Iris was definitely one of the leaders. Watching her and Herbert go at it was always great. I remember one summer when Iris and I stayed in Ithaca. I think she was working for a program with incoming pre-freshmen. We really bonded that summer and I remember having a discussion where I was like damn, you are a great friend, you know what I'm going to say or do before I even say it. She even introduced me to her pre-freshman Karyna, a person who changed my life. I have embarrassing stories too, but I'll pass on those for the moment. Her and Maria were inseparable. Among the many things I give her credit for, one was her trip to Italy for a semester. It made me want to study aboard and even though I had to wait until law school (and it ended up not even counting for credit), I got to study in Europe. Second was her plans for law school, it helped keep me centered on the idea that I shouldn't give up on my goal. Then there was the drinking, oh how I miss the Bodega. Iris is headstrong, which made things sometimes more difficult, but man she has a great heart. She is a powerful Chicana. Well now my old college friend is getting married, joining what seems like everyone else now. Enjoy my friend, it will suit you well.

Speaking of Maria, I talked to her today. She caught me up with her life and her bout with cancer. It takes a second to sink in when she tells you she has been in and out of the emergency room for months because she says it in such a matter of fact, still happy in the moment type of way. Maybe there will be some updates coming soon to her blog. She told me how there is a casino that people can stay at for Jorge's wedding. Hummm...sounds like a good idea to me. She skipped over the Lion Video I had mentioned too. Maybe I'm just a sucker for large cats, but it is worth a watch. I was glad to hear she was doing well and I kept my super Marty chat down a bit.

Everyone knows the story of Superman, Clark Kent and Lois Lane. There are so may lessons you can take from classic comic book story lines. One problem Clark Kent always had was that he loved Lane, but Lois only had eyes for Superman. He could of easily just told her he was Superman and be set, but he wanted Lane to like him for Clark and not her idealized vision of Superman. The cool thing for Lane was that if she picked Clark, she also got the added surprise of Superman. It makes me think about myself, once when I was Clark things were not going well with a girl. Then she met the Superman me and everything changed. I wasn't sure if she was really into me for me and not Superman, so I went back to being Clark to find out. It did not go so well and I learned that Superman was in, but Clark was not. I'd rather be Superman than Clark any day, but only want a girl that would pick Clark over Superman. It was a great lesson.


Jon Stewart Jokes About Bob Novak's Hit-And-Run: "That's The Novak I Know And Despise!"

Wednesday night on "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart took some time to joke about Bob Novak's hit-and-run from earlier in the day (where he struck a pedestrian with his black corvette and kept driving until a bicyclist stopped him).

because i want to, not because I have to