Sunday Nights at Home

I'm spoiled. There, I've said it. My mother is an excellent cook, and now that she and my grandmother are home, I never go hungry. Between the two of them I'm in food heaven, and you know what? I'm done feeling guilty about it!

Sunday, Mi Cariño and I took our sweet time getting up and being productive, which is a nice thing to do once in a while. We followed that with rushing to the West Village for our first Volleyball Class. Thankfully this one didn't hurt the body as much as the try-outs did, but I didn't play as well as I did in the try outs. We'll see how it goes in the forthcoming lessons.

After the almost 3 hours of delicious torture I made my way back to Brooklyn where Mami and Abuela made sure I was hooked up with some locrío de pollo, with banana, and a side veggie and cabbage salad. Feast your eyes on this beautiful example of Dominican cooking:

For a close-up of the locrío:

And yes, banana and rice? beyond awesome.

Spike It!

I love Volleyball. I mean that; playing Volleyball has always given me an amazing feeling: I remember learning while still in Middle School, playing with one of my neighborhood friends in the middle of the street, daydreaming of High School when we'd be allowed to play in an actual team. That led to actually being in my High School Team, and two glorious seasons of Volleyball playing, plus two glorious seasons of training with the boys team.

After High School, I haven't really had many opportunities to play and so I was elated when my friend Marls suggested we join a Volleyball League. I remembered Gotham Volleyball, an LGBT league that plays in the Village and that I tried joining 10 years ago, and so here we are. Marls couldn't make it but we made our way there and played our butts off for over two hours. It was beyond amazing, running around the court behind a ball. I don't know how to explain it, I know it must be a mixture of adrenaline and endorphins and I don't know what, but it feels like more than that. It's almost... spiritual.

After I made my way to Bushwick, already sore but elated, and stopped by the Church for some free food.

Moro de habichuelas negra, corn, ensalada rusa, vegetable lasagna, veggie meat, garlic bread, plus awesome purple cabbage. It was so good, it was tough to only go for one serving, but the hurting body helped me remember one was enough.

The evening ended with an email from Gotham Volleyball letting me know that I made it into their class and so now I'm looking forward to practicing and playing Volleyball at least once a week. Huzzah!

Go Blue Raiders!

Our first full day recording in Murfreesboro, TN went by without a hitch, except for the fact that we didn't have much time to eat lunch. Thankfully both Gaspar and I had brought some food from the Hotel with us, and so we had a little something to snack on. However, by the end of the workday we were ready to eat and so we searched for something close by. Our only searching caveat: after the meat fiasco that had been the day before, we wanted vegetarian. Enter Thai Spice, which was quite near our recording location. We shared appetizers of Spring Rolls and Summer Rolls

I followed with my Thai staple: Tofu Pad Thai

The meal was good, although not mind blowing. I did wish I had gone with my second choice, but after the fiasco that was Sunday, this meal was awesome.

Afterwards, we decided that we sill needed to do a little something to shake the day off, and so we went to a run/walk right outside of Murfreesboro's Stones River National Battlefield, were several run loops surrounded a man made lake. It was pretty neat, the sound of sneakers on concrete as I walked. I recorded it for you:

All in all, not a bad way to end the day.

Charlotte, North Carolina

Last Post before I head to work!

Arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, yesterday afternoon. Susan and I had one goal: Barbecue. Our work contact hooked us up with a place, so we knew where to go right away: Mac's Speed Boat or something crazy like that. There are three of them in Charlotte, just search for Mac's. It's ostensibly, a biker restaurant, with an area outside specifically for bikers to park. The regular car folk have to make do with a dirt hill.

On our way to Mac's we asked our hotel receptionist if she knew anything about Mac's. Even though the place was 5 minutes away she said she had never heard of it (My pronunciation may have had something to do with that) and recommended we go someplace else. My co-worker and I wondered about that until we got to the place. Once we in, including the two of us, we realized there were only 4 people of color that we could see. I don't know why I'm always aware of when I'm in the minority - everyone there was super nice to us, with our waiter calling Susan and I baby, and no one doing any of those Hollywood double takes that are supposed to happen when you enter a place you're not welcome in. But Susan was aware too before I mentioned it, so I know I'm not alone in this. We wondered if it had more to do with socio-economic statuses in Charlotte, since Mac's was recommended by a hospital worker, and because the food was in the pricey side (although not NY price.) Regardless, I would be curious to go to a "cheaper" place and see if the atmosphere would be different or the bbq would taste different. But don't let this bit of wondering stop you: this had to be some of the best Barbecue I've had in my LIFE.

First, instead of bread they brought us Hush Puppies. Coors Light cans were on special, so I had me one, too.

Oh, they were tasty. After, I wondered about getting a Brisket Sandwich. The waiter babied me until I gave in and got the full Beef Brisket Plate, with Mac and Cheese, and Collard Greens.

Oh my God, I ate til I couldn't eat anymore. The Mac and Cheese was to die for. The Collard Greens were a little sweet, but still good. The Brisket... oh Sweet Jesus, the Brisket. Sigh, the Brisket. YUM.

If you're ever in this part of town, make a beeline for Mac's. We finished the night by listening to the Parody Kings.

A great way to end the day.


Walked 2.20 miles in 31 minutes at 6:00pm

Making Up is Hard to Do

Decided to continue on til I finish my 30 poems, even if it's no longer April. Doing great with Harry - will begin with Goblet of Fire a full week ahead of schedule, which will hopefully keep me in place once work and life gets really busy and the longer books come along. Haven't been doing great with the exercising - but every day is a new one!

Off to work I go.

April 9th

Sorry about the massive delay on posting all. I know, you've been waiting with baited breath. Saturday was a chill day, with the rare opportunity to actually wake up in my own bed and not have to run to go somewhere. I did a whole lotta nothing before Mami and I headed to Philadelphia to celebrate one of my niece's birthdays. This one just turned 4 and had her a Dora Birthday.

Family Time


Loudness
is just a word,
cacophony is more
like it. 


© Yazcaminante, 2011


Walked 4.0 miles in 60 minutes at 12:00pm

April 5th

Under Pressure


There's a point in the back
of my head, I can't touch it, it's inside
in the back
and I can feel it, squeezing, squeezing
squeezing
til I have no air left. My brain
has no room to breathe. 
When I think of a life 
with you
and without you. 


© yazcaminante, 2011.


Today John chose dinner. He wanted barbecue. Unfortunately, E&L does not serve anything other than pork, links, tips, catfish (with the bone in).
I went for the combo plate, which came with pork ribs, hot links, baked beans and potato salad (and two slices of bread.)

I managed to eat a link and a bite. Had them with the bread and some spoonfuls of the baked beans, which had sugar in them so blegh to them. I managed about a tiny try of the potato salad, but that was essentially mayo with potato and pieces of egg, so no thank you. I couldn't even bite into the ribs. I just couldn't do it. So John gets that for lunch tomorrow. And I choose the place.

Yoga at 7:00am for 33 minutes
Walked 2.1 miles in 35 minutes at 5:00pm
Lifted weights for 5 minutes at 5:35pm

April 4th

It's time to make a decision


Just one more minute, just one more minute
and it'll be worth it. 
Yet, step after step
I have no idea why
people run
for fun. 


© yazcaminante, 2011.


I know y'all - not the strongest poem in the world, but I want to make sure I write everyday even if it's crappy stuff. Today we had a Tornado Warning in Jackson, MS and the sky was looking ominous after a day of work. So we drove rather quickly to Kerfies, a Mediterranean place a lot of people and websites recommended. We picked the food to go and made it to our hotel just in time to have sheets and sheets of water and wind dropped on us. It was a bit scary actually - there was a lot of rain and the wind was so strong the car was shaking a little. After a bit we finally made a run for it though and it was at a good time because we didn't get drenched.

Before eating however, I made myself do my afternoon exercise, which I'm glad about. I don't feel energized though. I feel tired and headachy. It's tough to stay motivated when it's this way. I've downloaded the new Noom, which is a combination of Cardiotrainer and Calorific and that helps a bit. In any case, I did not take pictures of my food this time around, but Kerfie's was really good: I had a bit of hummus with pita bread, and a mushroom pita wrap, with sauteed onions and mushrooms, lettuce and a bit of feta cheese dressing, which the restaurant is apparently famous for. I wasn't that excited over it.

Yoga at 6:00am for 50 minutes
Walked 2.0 miles in 35 minutes at 5:30pm

April 1st.

Here's the first poem for National Poem Writing Month:


Sometimes


Sometimes I forget where I am
not just in place but also in time - 
find myself waiting for the J train on
Chamber Street and I can't remember
if it's 2004 and I'm coming back from school
or early 2000 when I didn't know the fastest
way to the Empire State Building. 
But it's 2011 and I return from the Upper East
a full day still ahead of me,
plans and hopes still percolating through
la cafetera of my mind.


The early early morning riders sport
a different kind of tired than
the late late night one's. The silence feels heavier
and less dangerous. Sometimes that helps
me tell the time. Sometimes I just have to
look down and see the mass of fat
hiding under my skin. This is not the body
I wore in 2000, or 2004. This 2011
body looks different and walks different
and finds it harder to squeeze between 
the two men and their perennially spread
legs taking over the subway seats. 
This body plans to Yoga, or something, 
when it gets home
but I already know that walking I'll 
convince myself to do it 
later
tomorrow
yes, yes
tomorrow I'll work out twice. 


Regardless of the time, I know the place:
stand right in front of the garbage can and then
I'll be right in front of the opening car doors and then
I'll be right in front of the first set of stairs
I'll need to climb down in order to get
home. 
Ride the track over and over
it'll take me to the same place. 
Maybe it's time to change
my way back home. 

© Y. Peña




I plan to post these once a day during the month of April. I've decided that accountability is the key here! Not just for writing, but for everything else in my life. Time to open the book and leave it open. I need to get healthier my peeps and so, this will be now more than just my traveling and the food I eat. I will keep y'all as my "live" journal and maybe this will shame me into making sure I stick to an exercise regimen.

The test will be when tomorrow/Sunday I have to measure and weight myself. I don't know yet if I'll share those numbers with you guys - I don't know if I'm ready! But if it'll help me, then it is what I'll have to do.

In the meantime, with every poem post (at least 5 days a week) there'll be the workout update. Here's today's:

Yoga at 7:45am for 35 minutes
Walked 2.4 miles in 35 minutes at 3:30pm

Of Unexpected Dates and What Not

So I'm working at the office late afternoon when I get a text from Mi Cariño asking if I feel like taking the train to Astoria to meet up with her. Since my evening plans consisted of me cross stitching as I watched several episodes of Friday Night Lights I said "Sure!" Plus I get to see her, so score.

And to Astoria I went, riding the yellow line all the way there and in the meantime getting to do some reading which I was quite happy about. I have to admit, as nice as it is to take around 30 minutes to get to work (and 18 of those I spend walking), I sometimes miss the hour commute into the city. It gave me so much time to read and write. I wrote so many poems riding to work, riding to school! Did so much homework!
Mi Cariño and I timed our arrival perfectly since we met as both walked down the elevated train steps.

After some shopping, we had dinner at Wave a, surprise surprise, Thai restaurant. Unto the food!
First some crispy spring rolls with pineapple sauce

Followed by Tofu Vegetables with Spicy Brown Sauce and White Rice.

I decided on this dish (instead of my usual pad thai) because it is chockfull of eggplants. Yum!

The dinner and conversation were just beyond delicious. We took our time walking back to the train, (not) enjoying the cold air. I have to say, I can't wait for Spring to get here people! Well, Spring weather. Can you believe, we're already "springing" forward next week?!

In another note, this is the third time I go to a Thai place without ordering pad thai. I think my culinary taste is growing!

In any case, off to Zumba! Today's will be hard - I have to do the Cardio Party and my body is still sore from the Zumba/3 mile walking I've subjected it to for two days. Oy.

Zumba

Today I began to Zumba. Let's see how this works out. So far, I'm way lost in the reggaeton steps, some of the salsa ones. Dodum!

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