Pick n Pull

 Today I carried my Pa's tool box.

It was during the week that I had a craving for some Chinese food. There is this place in Irving I like to go, to bring some home. I save my fortune cookie to eat it later.  A while later I'm looking for my cookie. I could not find my cookie. I retraced my steps. I knew I had seen it but did not remember where I had placed it. Turns out I had thrown it away. Yes I decided to look in my trash and there it was still in its wrapper. I said to myself, how could I have thrown my fortune away. I opened it up and it read "you will do something different this weekend". I kept it like I keep all my fortunes. Just so you know fortunes are never true or actually happen it's just a fun thing to read. Almost like getting a fortune that belongs to someone else in this universe or just a pick me up note that needed to be read that day. 

It was nearing the weekend and I had that fortune still in my head. I kept thinking what if anything indeed happened this weekend that would be out of my norm. 

A while back my dad had been wanting to go to the Pick n Pull. The Pick n Pull you ask? It's a place where cars end up after they no longer have life. Cars that no longer are drivable end up in a place called Pick n Pull. You search for body parts that you need by picking a car and pulling the parts from it to replace them on your car. It's also a sad reality to think that these cars end here because of accidents. 

When I was little my dad would take me with him. I do not remember if I liked going or if I went because my dad was going. All I remember was that I liked to explore. It was like a playground for me. I used to go a lot with my dad. It was the cheapest way to find parts for his vehicles. As I got older I stopped going with him. 

Forward a few years later in life my close friend turned out to be a mechanic. I became that friend that would accompany him. As he picked parts I would wander around looking for things that amused me. I was an adult feeling like a kid again. I started going with him almost every month.  

On my unplanned weekend I called my dad and said "Pa you want to go to the Pick n Pull?" By the time I got to the house he had his tool box ready. The last time I had gone to the Pick n Pull was over a year ago. I'm going to go ahead and tell you that I was more excited than usual to go. It's not a place for children and not a place for women. If you have ever gone to a Pick n Pull then you can see It's not a safe place for children and it does not have a woman's vibe. There is an entrance fee but because I'm a lady I got in free. I laughed a little inside when he said ladies get in for free. It felt like the times the ladies get in for free at the club. We wandered up and down left and right till we found what we were looking for. We hit the car part jackpot it felt like the car was there waiting on us.

The years are catching up with my Pa. He does not carry the same strength as when I was little. As he would stop I would walk around to see what I could find. I do not know if he ever lost me when I went with him when I was a little girl. Now a grown woman calling out for my Pa because I lost him. 

You would be surprised with the things you find at a place like this. Since I like taking photos it has a totally different meaning for me. When I would go with my friend he noticed I would take pictures and there would be times I think he would take me so that I could explore. My Pa would take me so that he would have company. 

I guess you could say that for once my fortune cookie came to be true. It's a place out of the norm that I ended going to this weekend. I try to keep memories like this with me. When I would go with my friend it reminded me of when I was little. Reminded me the times I would go with my messy hair and come home with my dirty grease hands.  

When it's time to leave you go to the front desk to pay for your car part. What made this an awesome visit was the person at the desk let us have the part for free. Crazy to think about the things that bring me joy. Maybe fortunes in a cookie are meant for oneself to make them happen. 

Anti Trump Rally

I wonder at times if  some of us really know the meaning if Labor Day? What I remember about this day is barbecues and having the day off from school, but as you get older you realize that as an adult you will have to work on the day that contradicts itself. Labor Day is for the laborer. A day to appreciate the hard work one does. Who actually gets this day off? I want to take this moment to thank all the working class of America. Thank you for working hard as you do. I'm sorry we don't get much appreciation, or in my case when my managers think I'm stupid or as I'm told by some of the people I help, "just do my job". But luckily I just happen to be off this Labor Day.

Dallas City Hall September 7, 2015

Went to an Anti Trump Rally today. This should tell you if I'm for him or against him. When you vote for a president you vote for someone that will always represent you. So in my case why would I want an ignorant man filled with hate to represent me. He doesn't even know me, and dislikes me because I'm a woman, doesn't like me because I'm a daughter of Mexican immigrants, and being LGBT just puts the icing to the cake. If you are a single parent he also hates you. If you are an African American he also hates you.  My partner is white from German descent and I feel like he also attacks her because she is with me. How can you stand with someone with so much hate. He represents you.  IT was a peaceful rally, no one got hurt. Just proves we are not criminals. We had people from El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Mexico, along with others trying to make our voice be heard. The only way to do so is by voting. Our Anti Trump Rally was to get people involved by hearing us loud and clear at the voting booths. If you think it doesn't effect you, think again.

a child holding a drawing he made to say no to Donald Trump

I think it's a lack of not educating yourself on the issues or what you say about yourself when you are asked if you voted. You reply by saying, "no, what for?" just be honest to yourself and say that you don't know because you just live life thinking you are not affected by it.  

I know who I stand behind, who I'm voting for, do you?

If you think like Trump then you are against me. I don't have room in my life with all the bullshit in this world and hate is just part of it.

Lana what happened?

It's Saturday morning and I didn't plan anything because we wanted to save all our energy to go to the Lana del Rey concert. I bought the tickets in December and surprised Heather with the gift. A friend asked her, "hey, does Gabriela know you are in love with Lana"? Heather said yeah. We have listened to her cd in the car at least three times a week. If there were new songs that had emerged we wouldn't know of them. You either love Lana or you don't. Her music is listed under pop but I think it needs a different kind of category. It's the type of music that can make you get lost in time and makes you wander into a different era. At least that's my version.

We arrived late. Took the shortcut through the back of the arena. I've been through the neighborhood enough to know, to beat the car hold up on the highway, there is a faster way to get there. Even though we got there late the show hadn't started. The band Hole was to be the opening act. Lead singer Courtney Love. That's another reason we didn't want to be there on time because we didn't want to see her perform. But to our surprise she came on and late. She wasn't getting a reaction from the audience. She did try but just couldn't get to them. When she came out they cheered thinking it was Lana. The show was sold out and believe me the lawn was full. We wondered if it would go on but it said rain or shine. We bought ponchos and took an umbrella. We waited patiently seated on our neat sheet. When the band stopped playing it appeared as if the stage was being re arranged for the next performer.

fans wearing their flower crowns

Over an hour passed and some were already past drunk and others passed taking selfies, but still the skies were clear of rain. When an automated voice recording came on to tell us that the concert was going to be postponed due to weather. It mentioned a tornado and to take shelter. To proceed to leave and go to our cars. People started turning to their neighboring partner and asked if they heard correctly. We decided to wait and sit back down I think, because it felt like a joke. Others were ranting upset words. I don't blame them. We waited months and were over prepared to see our performer. Some drove from out of state. The audience mostly consisted of the younger crowd but there were adults as well. When some had to phone their parents to come get them it was more of a surprise. My first reaction was to ask questions, but they had closed the guest services. It's like they used all this free time to close up shop and then tell us the concert had been postponed. A guy asked when was the last call for alcohol and the hawker said ten. It was coincidentally ten minutes till ten.

Leaving was another story. Cars were at a stand still. We ended up staying inside our car for another hour before we could actually start to leave. People had her music playing on their stereos. We heard all her songs from others playing them as we headed to our car. It was a musical riot. People were mad. I was more upset at the fact that there had been no rain, not even after we left. They had claimed it was due to weather, but come to find out, she had never made it to the venue. I think that version made more sense. The fact that she was delayed and couldn't arrive on time for a sold out arena. I wonder if they would have told us before would we all have still stayed to watch Courtney. I wonder if they didn't tell us so that they could make their alcohol sales and lawn chair rentals. I do believe an apology is owed. I called the box office but haven't heard back. But I'm probably not the only one that left a voicemail. It's not a bad voicemail just me needing a question answered. A lot of people wore their flower crown and dressed their part for the night, just to have it postponed without telling us what really happened. I know I've had experiences with things back firing, but for us to sit there like we could have had better things to do. For the artist to not have shown up was just really rude.

I'm not the one in love with you Lana but if this offends you then just write a song about it.

el dia del amor y la amistad

Did you survived another Valentines day? If so good for you. If you are like me you will get that question asked. What did you get for Valentines? Somehow it's important that another individual that is not in your relationship to know. Why ask? It's because it's more like a competition. Who got what? How did it out do their gift?

People that are secure won't brag about how the day was rewarded with a gift. When you have been in a relationship as long as I have gifts don't matter. It's what you do for your love that out shines the money spent. I don't like gift getting from my partner, she does try, but I rather get something more personal. Spending the day doing things we love and making memories is more valuable than seeing how long my flowers will last alive. Some people love getting flowers.

I have single friends and I know that they lie to themselves and say that they are better off alone when deep down it isn't. You want love. You want someone to know you exist. I want my friends to have that feeling. I know from experience. I remember going through school and not getting a Valentine while some of the popular girls got not one but sometimes up to three admiring Valentines. I would get upset and wonder why couldn't just one of them give me a share. I did get lucky my senior year and a dear friend had a rose delivered to my classroom. He gave five of his friends a rose. Our school had that program on Valentines day. I'll never forget that. 

a photo taken from the book of Hearts 

Valentines is what we call in Spanish El Dia del Amor y la Amistad. The day of love and friendship. I end up mailing my friends Valentine cards. Everyone loves getting a card in the mail. Don't think it's just for the lovers but think about that special bond you have with your friends. I don't mean the friends that only get together to drink I mean the friends that share more than an evening.

For Valentines they had people go to a museum and place a heart on their favorite art piece #heartsforart. Being art lovers we went to the Amon Carter Museum and did just that. We went through the museum and placed our hearts under neath the art piece we loved. We also visited the book store our favorite one in Dallas. We assume we will only buy one book but end up leaving with a box. While going through the books to narrow my list down I came upon a book of hearts. Ironic to find it on Valentines day. Flipped through it and saw this picture of a woman visiting her love that had passed away. Thought to myself how lucky I was to still have my partner here with me. Some of us probably cried because we didn't have someone to give us a gift on this day but what about the ones who cried about having someone in their lives that couldn't share Valentines because they were no longer living.

Amon Carter Museum

Be thankful for the loves in your life, be it your children, your friends, or your significant other.

Have you ever seen a guy buy a basket full of bears and candy at a Wal-Mart. Not only did he get a deal but her gave all his girlfriends an even gift. If you are his girlfriend be thankful he didn't exclude you from all the rest.

Happy Valentines Day Friends

matrix-y

Earlier last month at S4 (it's a dance club in Dallas on Cedar Springs Rd) there was a competition that I wanted to attend. The competition was to get participants to dress up as Lady Gaga for a chance to win a pair of tickets to her concert here in Dallas. It was quite interesting to see the outfits that the participants were to create. My goal was to attend and decide for myself the winner. Not enough people participated so two guys from the audience got asked to join. No, their outfits didn't qualify and I thought that they shouldn't win but it was okay to participate. As the hour neared to the end the stage grew with less Gaga's. The best winner did indeed win. Happy for him. I feel like the best Gaga's will be a guy, maybe because they really go (all out) to make their costumes.

the participants

But it all really boils down to this.......I took my camera. Who takes their camera to the dance club? This girl right here.  I didn't want to go with my big camera bag or a purse. It's not ordinary to go dancing while having a purse. So I tucked it under my pull over shirt but over my tank top. When it was time to snap the photos I took it out but when it was time to leave I hid it again. They allow camera's but I didn't want anyone to bump into it so I wanted to keep it close to me. On the way out I spotted someone very characteristic and wanted to snap a photo. It was going to be a quick one so I kept it hidden. My Heather opened the door and within seconds I moved aside my pull over and reached across my body to grab my camera. The movement I had done was like a person reaching out for their gun. This is when I realized what I had done. Outside the doors there stood two police officers that had seen what they thought was a black object to be reached like a gun. They looked at each other with huge eyes. The look on their faces was priceless. Well it seemed at the moment that it was. There, o crap stuff is fixing to go down, face finally changed to a sigh of relief and laughed while they looked at each other.

the person in white was the winner

the photo that I just had to take

I still took my photo and began to realize that if the police officers weren't as smart safe as they were I could have had a gun drawn on me and well I would have been highly upset. My life has it's moments but my photography life has its risks.

not a clear cellphone pic but maybe you can see where my camera is

I'll be more aware and less matrix-y.

artsy weekends

April showers bring May flowers. Have you heard of it before? April is the perfect month to be outdoors. Its not too cold or hot but in today's forecast it is really cold. Loving the rain we have been getting here in the area. Today is putting on warm pj's and sipping on some hot coffee. April is a great month for art festivals. I am a lover of the arts so being able to attend these festivals is a plus. The Deep Ellum Arts Festival was last weekend and this past weekend was the Main St. Ft. Worth Arts Festival. While it rained in Dallas it was windy for Ft Worth. It also got canceled Sunday due to the raining and winds. If you missed them that's okay there is always next year. If you have visited both art festivals you will see that they are different in some ways. For instance the Deep Ellum is more about the people and the place. Love the Deep Ellum Festival and I get to do what I call, people watch. See some interesting characters. The one in Ft. Worth is all about the art. People all over the United States come to show us their work. States like Oregon, Tennessee, Florida, Rhode Island, are a few but the list is endless, and of course locals. The vendors in Ft. Worth also get awards for their art. It gets jammed pack. Feels like you are in traffic but walking without music as riding bumper to bumper in the car.


Deep Ellum Arts Festival (Dallas)

The month is almost halfway over but there is still time to squeeze in the arts if you live in the DFW area. This coming Saturday is the Cedar Springs Art Festival, on yes, Cedar Springs. Hope to go down and check it out. Have you ever been on Cedar Springs in the day light?  It is totally different than at night. just hope they had enough vendors for the event. At the end of the month, the last weekend of April, there will also be a gallery walk. A Deep Ellum Art Walk. This also allows you to visit galleries you would normally not get acquainted with.

Main St. Arts Festival (Ft. Worth)

Before the month is over enjoy the outdoors because May is around the corner and it will get H.O.T.

I've heard "I'm bored is there anything to do?" many times from many people. There is always something to do just feed your brain and pump your inner soul with art.

CBC taste and tour

Did a Community Beer Company Taste and Tour last Saturday. It was interestingly fun. We were a group of six friends. The tour started at two and ended at five. While you got to tour the brewery every hour you could relax and have some quality time looking at the local art of the day artist or catching up with friends lives. You get three tickets to try their beer on tap of choice for that day for only ten bucks. Not bad considering you get a good size on the beverages. When you finish one beer just go up to the counter and take your next pick. I'm not a beer drinker. I just don't care for the taste. I know that when it is hot outside and you have been working up a sweat at work you enjoy coming home to a cold beer. It just tastes sour to me. I need a little sweet flavor in my mouth and in my belly.

 

Even though I was down for the tour I was willing to take on the challenge. One thing is for sure, if you decide to do the actual brewery tour make sure you haven't had that much to drink. I say this because I was already on my third beer when we decided to do the tour. All I could hear was the voices in my head telling me blah blah blah blah blah. I recommend you taking it earlier than later. Besides checking out the art they also had food trucks available for the hungry. Dress is casual you don't really go to impress the guys because it's one of those places where it's only about the beer not what you look like to the guys drinking the beer. I enjoyed myself but after a while started feeling tired and sleepy. After the taste and tour I continue to stick with what I know, I'm not a beer drinker.  One thing I did like was that it was indoors with a back opening which means if it's cold or hot outside you are kept inside a big spacious room and can also go outside to drink. The one that I would love to do is the tour beer bus. But that is for the future. After drinking the beer I checked to see if I had grown any chest hair. Good to say I didn't.

The beers that I tried were:
Pale Ale, Public Ale, Mosaic IPA, and Vienna Lager the one that I liked was Vienna Lager.

They have them every Saturday this is the address
Community Beer Company
1520 Inspiration Dr
Dallas, TX

I'm going to share a story that happened in the bathroom that will have you saying beer is not for the girly girls.
I'm in the stall while another friend is in the lady's room as well. It's already filled with lady's trying to handle their business while all of a sudden a lady tells her friend "you are fabulous". Then the friend tells her friend "no, you are fabulous". While a third lady says"you have a good friend, telling you you're fabulous". So they all say it to each other "we are fabulous" 
I didn't get to see the ladies for I would have to pretend to be tipsy and say "y'all are all fabulous"
Instead when I came out of my stall I looked at my friend and said"OMG did you know we are so fabulous" in a fabulouish voice.  
I know I should be nice since we are all fabulous.