from City Terrace

Merry Christmas...Why I hated the holidays...some other ramblings...

2011-12-26T22:38:00.002-07:00

So...been a while...living life.

Been happy , but the holidays are tough for me.

Any holiday meant my stepfather would peace out forth next few days...like for example this past weekend...Sat , Sun and Monday off meant Friday he was off and would disappear til we found him passed out in a bar or car or asleep somewhere Monday late or early Tuesday morning.

He would say nothing...why you drinking? My stepdads response...I don't know...why didn't you call us to pick you up?...I don't know....what happened to your paycheck? I don't know...

That's why for many years my favorite holiday...Halloween!

Nothing bad ever happened ...no drinking ...nothing...I'd have my Happy Halloween gig and all was well with the world :)

Now I'm getting older I love Christmas...my lil pumpkin takes care of me....I don't need a gift to be happy...just a minimal amount of easy to manage problems if any.

The best gift ever.

Happy Christmas. Happy new year! Happy life!

I grew in a not so good neighborhood with lots if hard working neighbors and friends.

I would not change anything...even the hard to swallow and sad parts...it made me who,where..what I am today.

For those that take the time to visit my blog from time to time Thank you ....for visiting...been feeling inspired lately working on some things...so 2012 will be a posting year....:)

Viva City Terrace!!

EvilChavo out.

Wingtips, suits and the right gear for worklife

2011-06-04T07:30:00.002-07:00

I learned from a very young age about the right gear to wear.

My mom dressed me up in suits until I was 4, crazy.

So as soon as I could dress myself I chose to wear jeans or when I got bigger cords and t-shirts.

Then Dickies, skate shirts, vans high tops and dickies jacket when dressed up.

As I got older I started wearing suits again.

It's funny how everything comes around full circle.

In my work life, I always wear the correct gear.

When I got my first job as an Ice Cream Scooper, I made my mom buy me a black suit from JC Penny ,white button up shirt from the clearance section and some wingtips from sears.

Cheap gear , nothing expensive....I was the only one at the interview with a suit.

I think I still have the suit and tie by the way.Needless to say, I got the Job, did not wear the suit for scooping Ice Cream just a white button up shirt with a tie and black dickies.

My second job, at Monterey Mall Cinemas in Monterey park ...went to the job interview in a suit....only one there with a suit and got the job.....

It has been the case for every job I have had, always getting better jobs always upgrading my gear.

Always working my ass off...always staying later that anyone else...always there no matter what...even if I hated the job.

Now being on time, thats a whole different story (Will write about that later) It is my one last things to fix....I just can't seem to get past the fact that I always end up 10-15 minutes later to jobs....there always seems to be something I need to go back for....something that I will need and not have and kick myself for not bringing. Crazy...I know.

Anyways back to what I was writting about, I wear wingtips to work....I have worn them ever since I started working...wether they be docs or cheapies....does not feel like work unless I have some form of wingtips on....square toe, traditional, black ,Brown, oxblood,Black and white (what I wear currently) all except for Square toe wingtip boots (More like botines) they don't seem normal to me....not sure why.

I have always been very carefull with my shoes...I learned early on...Because once I started wanting to wear docs I had to make them last....they were expensive ...usually about $125,Which meant that I had to make my docs last about 2 years at a minimum...which meant....no getting them wet....not letting them get dull....My mom worked but did not have that kind of money to waste....but when they had to get dirty, they had to get dirty and there was nothing that could be done about it.

I would shine my shoes...the way it said on the kiwi polish...but when I started working at the movie theatre...I was taught how to shine them the right way.

I would shine my shoes with parade gloss or black kiwi or kiwi depending on the color of the shoe every week and especially for meetings or interviews.......(Now that I think about it, I will post a tutorial on how to shine your shoes) Now I shine only when needed.

I was taught by my friend Mike and he would make it a point to shine his shoes often and that is where I picked up the habit.

Gear is very important to me, Don't misunderstand me ...I don't wear suits daily....I am a short sleeved checker shirt and jeans kinda guy most of the time...Just Like every other guy out there.

But there is just something about throwing on my suit , with shiny wingtips and tie and sometimes even hat that just makes me feel like am the king of all I see .

Evilchavo out.

Road trip, gaining some mileage,taking a nap while driving and the reason they call it Bourbon St....Az to Nola part 1

2010-11-06T19:55:00.017-07:00

October is my birthday month, when a teenager I used to have great big gigs in my backayard to celebrate my birthday.

Since I can't do that anymore.

I am enjoying my old age and wanted to go to one of the places I always wanted to visit when I was teenager, New Orleans.

So we rented a full size car (which ended up being a mini van) and packed our guidebooks and gear along with our two puppies...The Boy and the Mickey Doodle.

Headed out on the 10 East to New Orleans, of course we thought leaving on Saturday in the morning early after picking up the car...we would get there by Sunday in the Evening the latest.

Or that is what we figured, went to pick up the car and the lady said there were none. We had a reservation for a full size car since forever and were not going to go back home with our tails between our legs in defeat especially after needed to get on the road A.S.A.P.

So after about three hours of explaning our situation to as many different people as possible, we got ourselves a mini van...which I thought was cool due to the space but the little pumpkin was like boo! cause it was a mini van.

Got on the road, made our way out of Arizona, stopped in New Mexico to get a name tag for one of our boys and headed to Texas.

Wanted to make our way all the way to Midland Texas due to was actually in the middle of where we needed to be and where we left from.

In case you are needing to book accomodations for you and your pups , I highly recommend doing your homework first.....We stayed at the Marriot and they charge $150 per stay, which is cool if you are going to stay for more than a few nights, but we only stayed one night (we got there at about 2am) and left early the next day.

Taking the side roads, down to Houston, which was lots of fun..old school roads....that made me feel like taking some pictures on the road (I did not take any before then)

Made our way into Houston at about 9P.M. and stayed at the Sheraton and there was no dog fee and it was a suite.....it was really nice, we ordered in , has some steaks from the restaurant on site Omaha Steak House and had an awesome meal.

Woke up the next day took a drive across the remainder of Texas and drove into Louisianna, when you get back onto the 10 East past Houston, the road changes, things turn alot more rustic...there are malls and Targets and Walmart like any other place.

(driving into Louisianna) (Our Road warrior)( Chingon Bridge)

But the feeling is totally different, people start saying Hello to you as you walk into the stores and it just seems like things are a whole load more pleasant.

So did some research and made a decision to stay in La Quinta (no puppy fee)in the French Quarter..there is something awesome about the road over there ... Driving over swamps, looking at dead racoons , and old trees full of spanish moss.

Drove into New Orleans, settled into our room. I did not realize how awesome a spot we chose to stay at , having been to Madrid...last year for my bday...I did not realize how European it would be. The Old messed up streets, the old buildings, the dust.

We walked down the street (two blocks down) to the Palace Cafe...had one of the most extraordinary meals of my life...I ordered the pork shank...it was just like someone was pumping happy juice into me..like heaven was being injected into my veins...was so rich...so good...that I understood with that one meal why New Orleans was what it was...it was like the good and the bad were both sitting on my shoulder and beating each other up trying to get me to be good or stay bad.

They also had some of the most awesome french bread i have eaten, lets not get crazy it was not as good as the french bread in Madrid or the bolillos in City Terrace that used to cost 6 for a dollar and were baked fresh everyday.

So, that's part 1, more on the vaca and what else happened in New Orleans......to come

Evilchavo Out.

Chicano in Madrid| A journey back to the motherland

2010-05-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

Went to Madrid in Spain as mentioned in my previous post .

My first trip over seas!!

I am the first in my family to travel overseas!

After taking a Delta flight from Phx to Atlanta on a boeing 747_300er. (4 hours approx) and the a boeing 767 400er to Madrid( about an 8 hour flight)

We arrived at the Barajas airport,

I did alot of research before the trip and when we arrived I was still not sure if the Metro would be the way we would get to our rented apartment or if we would end up taking a taxi.

Thankfully that decision was made for us by the cab drivers due to a protest that they were having from 10am-12pm ... We were forced to take the Metro (which was the way I was hopeing to get around in while in Madrid)

After we picked up our bags at baggage claim , we walked by a both with a lady that was selling international sim cards, but us figuring this would not work for us and that it could not be that easy skipped her and instead paid 20 euros for a calling card on a machine that did not have any calling cards , we called the # and they gave me some code # that never worked and so I recommend that you don't buy a calling card because on the 3rd day we discovered that you could just use the payphones with euro coins and it was relatively cheap compared to what we thought it would cost.

Walked to the metro in terminals 1/2/3 and bought our 10 trip tickets and added the required airport supplements needed when traveling to or from any of the aiport terminals in Barajas in the automated machine.

There we were with our backpacks and carryon and 1 check in, ready for our Madrid adventure.

We did a lot of research and knew that our only point of vulnerability would be on the way to our rented apartment in the Metro (because we would have our passports, money and cameras)

So , we made sure to have our stuff put away securely before getting on and as they say" you are only as strong as your weakest player" we knew that there would be issues with my sis in law since she kept acting like she knew what she was doing and ignoring our suggestions because of that we had to take extra precautions to make sure we did not look like marks.

We took the pink line to the light blue line to the dark blue line , making changes for each different line and going thru the labyrinth of up and down stairwells and using the few but always appreciated escalators and a rare elevator.

We each had a bag or backpack and each a rolling suitcase.I would help whoever was tired with the ups and downs in the staircases and the sis in law gave her bag to her mom and I knew that this would cause some kind of issue.We get off the metro, walk up the hill to our rental and check in with the neighbor which has our keys and takes the rental fee for a 3 br 1 bath apartment on the 12floor (thankfully with an elevator)

It was a really cool rental , kitchen had a fridge , microwave and washer for our clothes and then living room with lcd tv and dining room table, all the windows opened up and we backed up to the beautifull retiro park.

We all go use the bathroom, settle in and find out that the sis in laws passport has gone missing.Surprise , Surprise.

The first night in Madrid:

That night after our siesta we made our way( 3 of us cause the sis in law was tired or more like ashamed for the passport being lost) to Atocha Renfe station (which was just a short walk down from our apartment) to see where we could buy our tickets to Toledo , one of our must sees and went into the metro station which was huge it had alleyways full of shops that sold everything you could ever need.

Got our info, found a really cool pond with 100's of happy swimming and thriving turtles and there we had our first Madrid meal.

How many turtles can you find in these pictures?

I read about all this awesome food and was so prepared to get my grub on...I thought some tapas the first night followed by some churros and chocolate and guess what my first meal was :

Burger King ;) whopper with cheese and Coca cola( which is how you ask for a coke in Madrid if not they politely correct you when you say coke) Diet coke is Coca Cola lite in case that's how you roll and of course you can buy a beer at burger king to go with your burger if that's how you roll.

It was about 9pm when we slowly walked back to our apartment, we could see that the night was just starting to get exciting but after our fun filled flight and Metro excursion to our apartment , our siesta and short tip to Atocha Renfe,we knew we should hit the hay , wake up with the Madrilenos and Make the most our days and time left.The plan was spend the next day at Retiro park,soak in the atmosphere and instead the next day was going to have to be to the US embassy to replace the stolen but most likely dropped passport. Boo ;(

Replacing the passport:

Having done my research I knew the address to the US embassy and found it on the metro map , walked down to the light blue metro and made our way to the embassy , after 5 hours including travel time she got her temp passport and this time made sure to give it to us for safe keeping : )

We got back to our apartment , tired and took a nice siesta in the afternoon before heading out to El Prado for the 6-8pm free entry time.

Dude, all we did...was walk down the hill to El Prado.

If you ever get a chance, got to El Prado...it rocks

We took lots of cheezy pictures by the fountains and cool statues that we found on the way to the entrance and then made our way in to see my favorite painting of all time "the garden of earthly delights" which was just as awesome as I remember seeing it in the books at the City Terrace library but in person it has this whole other level and its a 3 panel and the back and front have something painted on it....made my soul happy.

Spent lots of time walking and looking at the great works of art at the Prado and also looked at all the different tourists from other countries enjoying the art as well as the Madrilenos that I imagined had been there many times but just loved the art , Which I could totally understand where they would want to spend as much time as possible there.

Then we had our Second Madrid meal : Burger King , cause it was right by the bus stop on the way back to our apartment.

Safety Measures:

While in Madrid we only carried small amounts of euro in our fake wallet and used it to buy drinks or Metro tickets and hid larger but not much euro in our secret wallet....mine was a small leather pocket with an eyelet that I used with a camera strap to tie on to and inside my pants, the lil pumkin used the inside of her luggage strap that she would tie to her beltloop and tuck inside her pants also for security (she also carried a fake wallet in her front pocket).

Evilchavo Out.

Time and dreaming about being a hero instead of a zero

2009-12-03T13:45:00.011-07:00

Just a short post today, been away for some time, trying not to let go of the rollercoster that we have been going on for the last few months.

But that is how we roll lately, all of us.

or should I say most of us?

Went to the bay area, saw my little brother get married to the coolest woman with the most awesome family.

On the wedding: Was awesome , fun but don't ever leave to change without making sure all your party goes with you or is at least supervised while trying to win a tequila drinking contest with herself.

Went to Madrid in Spain for a bit and loved every minute of it.

On Madrid:

We rented a small flat by El Retiro Park up the hill from the Metro.

El Retiro Park is the coolest park, so much stuff going on.

Had Great views in our rented flat and emjoyed the use of public transportation while there....Metro, Bus and Walking...mostly bus and metro.

Los gatos de madrid are cool , up all nite and seem to live for non work related activities.

No one is out in the morning time unless you are are out because you are coming home from the night before.

Everyone walks, they love their doggies and always said Hello.

I blended in real good, all proper gear, but on our way to the airport on our way back home to Arizona, packed down with gear: a rollaway and a big old backpack...I must of seemed like the perfect target....for some kids that made the mistake of trying to open up my backpack...I felt the pull and could tell by the reaction of the people in front of me that I should turn around and I did.....these little kids freaked out...I chose to just stare them down ( I purposely did not put anything of value in those front pockets for this same reason) they got off at the next stop.

My battle ready little pumpkin wanted to smash them to bits and was mad because I did not tell her or do anything as it was happening.

But I knew that it was not worth being late for our plane or the damage that we both would of caused if we chose to fight.

Overall Madrid Rocked!! can't wait to go back to see all the spots we did not have time for, go back for the food we did not have time for.

Madrid is safe, you just have to make sure you don't look like a mark and take safety precautions with your money, I had a fake wallet where I would keep a small amount of euros (Under 10) that I would use openly for Coca Cola or snacks or the metro...big money was in a hidden pocket.

I will write a more detailed account of the activities and spots visited while in Spain.

But for now, Evilchavo Out.

The past| Looking back is hard to do

2009-08-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

My mind is filled with frustration.

Life has been great lately.

But inside a giant lingers waiting in the shadows for his return.

There was a time in my life where all I did was walk the streets angry looking for trouble.

My mom practically abandoned me and the rent was due and no matter what I did all of it would go to sh*t.

I remember my stepgrandma bringing me bolillos from the bakery and a carton of those little .25 cent fruit punches and a carton of eggs to last me a month.

I was so angry, Broke, Alone, there was no money for getting drunk or for anything else.

I would go walking and looking for my friends but they were all gone, it seemed like everyone just up and left.

The ones that were left , I could not face...I did not feel worthy.

Finally after some time , I managed to get my life in a pretty good place and made the decision to look up one of those friends but I was still not worthy.

I was still not a man, I wanted to be more and to do that I had to work harder.....I worked and worked and then all these years passed then and now they are all gone.

Should of just faced them, then I wouldnt have all these regrets.

I feel not worthy again like when I was a kid, I think I am at crossroads in my life.

What to do? How to play it? Which road to take?

My Brother is getting married next week , which is really cool and maybe seeing him happy with his wife will make me feel better about life in general.

Evilchavo Out.

Ruco alos 12 anos| old Man

2009-06-17T08:41:00.002-07:00

Been away for a while trying to figure some stuff out....but here is a post.....ThANks for reading.

I was 12 when my mom and dad got divorced.

That is when it happened, My first white hairs.

My dad had black and gray hair but his did not start until he got older.

I started getting white hairs at 12 and the older I get the more my hair turns black and white.

It rocks! I like getting older.

I like seeing ahead and figuring out the end result but sometimes I am still surprised and that is what makes life good. The little things , the little surprises.

I have always been the responsible one, the quiet one, the angry one, the one that has to take care of things and make things better .

We are going thru some rough times, the economy is not what it should be but everything in life is on a curve...has its ups and downs.

Sometimes all you have to do is hold on and then you will make it thru.

I regret nothing.

My life has been hard but I have stood by all my decisions , never doing something that I did not want to do.

Evilchavo Out.

Big Bear|29 palms|Teenager in a skate team|Part 4

2009-04-14T07:16:00.001-07:00

That night turned out to be one of the weirdest nights of my life.

After the kid got hit by his uncle and we being kids did not know how to deal with, we chose to do what most kids do and we ignored the situation.

When we got to the main cabin the uncle played our voicemails so that all the younger kids could listen to us and laugh , all the little kids had no idea that we were all dealing with a person that was a little off or maybe a lot .

The kid got sent out to a part of the cabin that we did not have access to...(really weird now that I think of it)

We were sent to out cabin were all the older teenagers would sleep.

And the uncle stood with the younger kids uphill at the main cabin.

An hour into our supposed to sleeping time the uncle came in ,we were all messing around trying our hardest to settle down because the long and crazy day that we had so far.

He told us that we were punished and because we were punished we had to give him all our blankets,pillows,jackets and stuff and that we were not allowed to have any comforts because of the trouble that we had been to him and that we should of never called him to come get us and that it was the only rule that he made for us and how could we not even follow that rule, he even took the phone.

We just wanted him out of the room so we agreed to his terms and he left. We had a rough night that night trying to keep warm in the middle of a mountain with only the mattresses to keep us warm....we built a fort made of the beds and laid in between them and tried our hardest to keep warm.

In the morning we were all angry and could not believe that we were made to survive in the cold like that.

So some of us, skated down the mountain to a store that we found and called our parents to come pick us up.

My parents came to get me and some of the other kids got rides back but there were still a few kids that were left behind that either did not want to call their parents or were not able to get their parents to come and give them a ride.

It was a really weird experience, we all just told our parents that we just did not want to be there anymore but I am pretty sure none of us gave our parents any details for fear that they would never let us out unsupervised again or at least thats why I did not tell my parents about it.

The skate team continued to form and I would see the truck full of kids heading out to the cabin every weekend and then one day they all came by to pick me up saying that the uncle bought a really big property in 29 palms and they were going to build a half pipe there for the skate team.

But I never went with them again, I knew things were not the way they were suppose to be with that kids uncle and made sure to keep my distance.

This survival skill kept me safe from alot of things in City Terrace and it is a tool that I still use in my everyday life to keep me well away from trouble.

If my gut says no then it Means "Hell NO!!" and stay away far, far away.

Always wondered who that guy really was and if he really was that kids uncle and I also wonder why this guy kept buying far away places to take all these kids to.

That's it , Thanks for reading...now to post some not so sour stuff if you know what I mean...

Evilchavo Out.

Big Bear|29 palms|Teenager in a skate team|Part 3

2009-04-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

So the kid called his uncle and told him around where we were....

The kid was frightened, we could tell and this did not seem normal to me...the amount of fear that this kid was showing made it seemed like he knew that he should not of called and that by him calling he had just something terribly, terribly wrong.

We could hear the truck before we saw it and we knew that it was not driving at a safe speed we all ducked out of the way when the truck came around the bend to pick us up.

He told us all to get in the back of the truck and yelled at him to get in the front, when he tried to explain that he got lost he was told to shut up.

As we drove off, The uncle hit the kid straight across the face...hard....this guy was big, not fat just thick like a bear. We all scattered across the back trying to figure out what happened and why the kid got hit so hard.

We were all from the neighborhood and all knew about violence, we grew up in it..but it was different this time...something was wrong...we knew that this was not the fantastic journey that it had started out as.

To Be continued...

Evilchavo Out.

Big Bear|29 palms|Teenager in a skate team|Part 2

2009-04-10T07:15:00.003-07:00

So , all the teenager got geared up and after listening to some Violent Femmes for inspiration, we headed down the paths to the center of town with the kid that knew his way around.

He was a teenager also so he was allowed to go with us , he took us down a path by a lake that we all skated down.

On our way down the path that is bordered with pine trees and air that smelled so clean and was so cold , we all realized that we in our cargo shorts and skate t-shirts were not properly dressed for Big Bear but did not care and our sense of adventure was the only thing on our mind.

We headed down the way to the center of town walking up to it and past all the weird houses with confederate flags and us flags flying high in the sky.

We felt like the only Mexican kids and did not feel weird about it , in fact we were glad that we were the only ones there that seemed Mexican and enjoyed what seemed like alot of attention.

As we walked into town with our skateboards in our arms the local police man drove by to say hello and we all said hello and laughed at the fact that he was so weird looking and weak compared to the bad ass La cops that we had to stare down on a daily basis.

We walked past all the tourists looking in the stores at stuff that we could not afford and wondering where the best spot to skate in this town would be and found basically nothing.

Nothing except for some other kids that were super excited that there were other kids in town their age that skated and they introduced us to the only two skate bettys (Chicks that dig skaters) the holy grail of girlfriends for us in those days.

We skated around for a while and then they all gave us a ride down to their house so we could party...was like 5 or 6 of us from City Terrace riding on the hood, trunk and crammed into this kids tiny little car.

We drank and had fun and I think one of the guys made good friend with one of the skate girls.....the kid got drunk and we did not know our way back to the cabin.

It was like 3 in the morning and we were all cold and tired and the buzz was fading and the kid with the car was gone and we had no idea where we were but did not want to go and wander around in town or the woods so we forced the kid to call his uncle, we called several times and left messages and he finally got a hold of his uncle.

We knew that this was something we were not suppose to do but did not see what the big deal was, The kid after talking his uncle sobered up real fast....He was scared , really scared..he turned really pale and told us his uncle was on his way.we did not know what he had been told but we assumed that he got yelled at and that his uncle would just come and pick us up.

He did, but that is not all that happened......To be continued

Evilchavo Out.

Big Bear|29 palms|Teenager in a skate team|Part 1

2009-04-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

I was a pretty good skater in my teens and I always skated at Robert F. Kennedy Elementary school in City Terrace it was my skate spot.

It had fiberglass benches and stairs and tables that we could skate all day and was always the place we would meet at before heading out to look for skate spots.

One of the guys that lived in the hills came by with a kid , kinda shy that had never been there before and was learning how to ollie so was not very good yet.

But as always if you could keep up ,you could go on the long trips with the more experienced skaters.

This kid was o.k. and could keep up but did not want to go anywhere with us and would always meet us at the school and would always leave when who we thought was his dad would come by in a pick up truck to pick him up but he said it was his uncle.

This kid always had money though and would always buy us soda or chips or whatever we wanted....he never went to the store with us...he would just give us the money and we would go and get him whatever he wanted....Mercado Hidalgo was just down the street so it was no big deal.

One day (When I was not around) they all went to the house of the kid and talked to the uncle who I thought was the dad and he said that he would sponsor them and that day they formed a skate team.

I don't rememder the name of the skate team anymore it was only a short time that I was in that skate team due to our trip to Big Bear.

So one day all the guys came over and told me that we were all going to Big Bear and that we were going to sleep over and be over there for three days .

My mom never let me sleep over anyones house , she always would say ..."I don't care what time you come home but come home"

We all got together and talked to my mom and stepdad and after lots of promises to clean the yard and the house and the car I was allowed to go but only after they met the kids uncle.

The uncle came to our house and talked to my parents and they deemed him trustworthy after he told them he would keep a close eye on us and make sure that none of us got into any trouble.

I was so excited, I had only gone back and forth to Mexico and never anywhere out of Los Angeles for anything and thought that this was an awesome thing to do....we of course convinced ourselves that we were and awesome skate team and that we deserved to be going on tour to have a demo and that no one in Big Bear skated and that we would be bringing skateboarding to a new place.

We all loaded up the truck with skateboards and parts for the skateboard and backpacks with clothes and got picked up by this kids uncle.

He drove and the kid sat right next to him for all of the trip and a few of the other friends but the rest of us sat in the back anticipating the awesome things that we were about to experience in this mountain lake area most of us had never been to.

We got there and it was a big parcel of Land with a main house by the roadway and another down the hill of what looked like a forest.

We were all gathered at the main house and told that we were going to have a meeting and that the kids uncle needed to talk to all of us at once.

He told us the rules.....basically I stay here with all the young kids cause they need supervision and all the teenagers stay at the house down the hill and could do whatever they want...there was one rule for us teenagers and that was if you go into town...you can't call up for a ride and if you do everyone will be in really big trouble.

It did not make much sense to us but we did not care all we wanted to do was skate down to the center or town and have fun. So we agreed and went on our way.

To be continued....

Evilchavo Out.

Fantasy Land| Twilight (forced upon)

2009-03-24T11:22:00.012-07:00

I have been in fantasy land these last few weeks....ah sweet fantasy land.

Life is good but sometimes when it is bad ,it is good to get your mind away from it all by reading or doing something productive....I read alot...but lately I have been sucked in by the internet and all I read is stuff that is posted online.....just me and the monitor.

But lately I have been getting bored , not of what people write but of the day to day ritual that I developed of turning on the computer and going to read off of some of my favorite websites.

The Little pumpkin forced me and I do mean FORCED me to read the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.

I reluctantly took the book from her and promised that I would read and I tried but was not fully into it(For the fist few chapters)....then one day I realized that I could not wait to read and that I was slowly putting the book in front of my face instead of the monitor and that I was enjoying what I read, I could not wait to get to the next book and the next book and the next.

I started reading at the City Terrace Library from an early age(I wrote about somewhere in the City Terrace Label on the side bar) The Anne Rice Interview with a Vampire book and because of it I read all the Anne Rice books , I kept reading all thru my teenage years and when I read the books from the Twilight series I was reminded of those days .

Yes Twilight is different that any of the Anne Rice vampire books and the vampires are totally different, the concept way different.

but ,The Cullens are really Similar to the way Louis is, does not like to drink human blood and that is one of the things that I really thought was original....also the story is really good.

The love story also reminded me of Louis and of how he would would probably be if we was the one to fall in love with a Human but there are other things there that attracted me to the books....The sense of family....the total loyalty that they have for each other...and their need of each other.

Yes I liked the books so much that I was kinda sad when I got to the last book because I felt that I had to go back to reality and deal with the everyday challenges that can't be solved by fighting or standing your ground with the ones that you love.....because real life does not work that way...in real life.....the bad guys win and the honorable things are not considered honorable but weak....and what happens when people misinterpret honor or kindness for weakness , they use against you to destroy you.

But that is how life goes, I am working on some good stuff for this blog and will hopefully post it online within the next week or two.

If you are still around , I appreciate it.

Evilchavo Out.

Great Moments in Music|The Chelsea Girls

2009-03-03T03:39:00.003-07:00

I dig me some Duane Peters & Corey Parks....

So while looking for cool skate videos of them or the band on youtube ,I came upon "The Chelsea Girls"

All woman cover band....they f+ckin Rock!

Drummer Sam Maloney from Hole on Drums
Guitar player Allison Robertson from the Donnas on Guitar
Corey Parks on Bass
and singing Tuesdae ?

I wish I still lived in LA so I could go hear this Ladies rock out.

They put some guy bands to shame.

They named themselves after this movie by Andy Warhol

Looks interesting.

Here's Duane and his old Lady on Bass

Evilchavo Out.

Don Pablitos in City Terrace

2009-03-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

Don Pablitos was located at the corner or City Terrace Drive and Carmelita.

Don Pablito the owner was a older man that wore a hard hat and a lab coat to tend to his store and always chatted up whomever came in to buy something.

Don Pablitos wife....scared me.

She looked like she would beat me up if I asked for the wrong thing.

I went to Don Pablitos since I was a little kid and thru little kid eyes she did not look like she liked kids.....(weird how we think when we are young)

They had so many things.

Don Pablitos was a corner store with a long walkway that had to large diplay windows down a narrow corridor that you walked thru to get the the door of the store and it contained..arcade games...a bunch display cased and shelves lots of shelves with a bunch of hidden treasures . The shelves were everywhere and extended all the way to the ceiling (or that is what I remember)

Don Pablitos had toys...from Mexico...Piñatas,candy,....all kinds of stuff.

I bought my little brother his first birthday present there...a wind up tin tricycle that I saved up for(see the City Terrace Label for the story) .

When you went into the store you were greeted by Don Pablito or his wife...they would ask you what you were looking for and in what price range and they would sort thru all their stuff and get it for you if they had it.

They even developed film...(probably sent it out) I was into taking pictures and would always be the one designated to go to Don Pablitos to get the film developed and pick it up when it was ready......

One day I forgot that I took the film in and about three weeks later my brother came running in the house to tell me that I had to go get the film from Don Pablitos...he was so upset and embarrased...

He said that Don Pablito posted one of our pictures on the display window of his shop and everyone could see that we did not pay for the pictures and that they were available for pick up.

I skated down the hill to Don Pablitos and looked at the picture that he had displayed and it was a picture of my cousins and my mom shaking hands with our relative that lived in TJ,.....My mom was sporting a I just woke up Fro and my aunts was also....it was a really funny picture....but not something I wanted displayed like a scarlet letter for everyone to see.

Don Pablitos is no longer there.....not sure what happened to Don Pablito and his wife...but his sons started BJ Brothers on Ford and Cesar Chavez street by the freeway(it is now called Party Planet) not sure if still owned by Don Pablitos family.

For those of you that have not been there it is a set of (What looks like) warehouses that are all on one huge lot and they sell party supplies....rent out brinca brincas and all kinds of other stuff...they even have a private investigator service in case you are looking for that long lost love.

Don pablitos was exactly like that but enclosed in a corner store that was about 40x10.

Funny how the things that you remember from your childhood are things that seemed so trivial , funny how all you want to do when you are young is get away to see new things and all you do when you get older is remember those little things that made that period of your life special.

Evilchavo Out.

Boarders|They were so close

2009-02-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

My Step uncle Largo was the second oldest brother of 12 and I am guessing that he was the way he was because he was the second born.

My Stepdad was the first born and the serious more lethal one and I am assuming that he helped raise his brother Largo.

I say this because they have always been really close but really different.

Towards the end of our runs to the border my stepdad started drinking and doing other stuff that none of us found out about until we were all much older and he no longer was able to hide his secrets...or most likely just did not want to hide them anymore.

So , what happened was they were starting to make it more and more difficult to sneak people across...asking more complicated questions, ,making it harder to get documents....and such....(Again this is more that 20 years ago or thereabout) so around this time they installed the big concrete barriers you see on the freeways in a zig zag formation behind the place where the immigration officers sit.

So prices were going up and because of my stepdads extra curricular activities we did not have any money for more than a month and my uncle that was living with us got tired of waiting for money and said that he would take care of it and go get our stepaunt that had been at our aunts house for more that 2 months now.

He did not understand that the reason most our adventures were succesful was because of careful planning and understanding of how the system that was in place worked...but now it was a totally different animal and we needed to understand in order to assist....(well I needed to understand in order to assist cause everyone was always wanting to jump the gun and say f-it)....no one understood that it was not a game and that their would be some serious consequences if we did things the wrong way.

So we got word that Largo was going to take care of it....I asked what he was going to do and he said he was not going to do anything.....I asked my Stepdad to find out what he was going to do and he told my Stepdad he was going to wait for him to get the money so we could do things the way we always did them.

I knew better, I knew that my Stepuncle always felt that we were too cautious and did too much thinking....he always felt that because of my age I did not know what I was talking about(This has been the story of all my life, people always thinking that because I look so young I can't think)....but I did and more importantly I did not want anyone to go to jail so I was overly cautious.

Another weekend went by and my stepuncle that did not live with us was nowhere to be found....a day later we get a call from our stepaunt saying that he was in jail...and that she wanted to go back to Mexico.

We asked her what happened and she said that they tried to cross the border and did not make it thru.....they arrested my stepuncle and let her go back across the border to Mexico.

We asked her what they did and my Stepaunt reluctantly said that he got there in the morning on his motorcycle and they went for a ride....they saw the way things were being run and he said that they were going to ride over the border to the U.S.

He told her that my stepdad had no money and that he checked in on pricing and they were charging too much and that he was not going to let her go thru the cerro(The hills...bad stuff happens to girls in the hills) without him (Way too dangerous)

They made their way down the line and went they got to the booth he gunned his motorcycle....he was almost past the concrete barriers but was not able to make it past the last one before all the immigration officers were upon them and putting them in hangcuffs.

He went to Jail for a good amount of time and we took care of his wife and kids while he was in jail, my stepdad sent money to my stepaunt so she could go back to MExico and was really dissapointed in the fact that he could not help to bring her over..not in the fact that it was a stupid idea and they should of waited for things to be done as usual without risk or not done at all.

This is one of the last times that I participated in this type of activity over 20 years ago.

I learned alot from these adventures, especially not to mess up my life and too cherish the good times cause you never know when they will end or change.

(If you are interested in some of these stories from all the boarders that lived with us and some of their stories see the label Boarders on the right hand side)

Evilchavo Out

Ranking out|Vision Psycho Stick

2009-02-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

I still remember it vividly, that Mini Vision psycho Stick.

When I started skating I would admire all the kids at The elementary and their skating of the school, I was happy just skating....no tricks needed.

But this was in the 80's were we were transitioning from old style skating to street skating and during this time launch ramps were very popular, everyone was just learning how to ollie.

They were about 2 1/2 feet tall and 4 feet x 8 feet...cause that is the size of a sheet plywood and most of the time these ramps were built with whatever scraps of wood could be found and then everyone would pitch in and buy a sheet of plywood for the top to make a smooth transition.

On this day I took my brand new Vision Psycho stick with awesome neon color cut up grip tape, tracker trucks,sawblade wheels, Rib bone, tail bone , coppers and side rails... that my mom bought for me after I taught myself how to skate (see sk8 label for that story) I rode on up to the school by the kindergarden area that had an incline that they would roll down then launch of the ramp into the grass.

I completely stood out...I did not look like any of the skaters...with my cords and irregular converse....I was also riding a brand new board which meant I was new, while everyone else was riding Powell and G & S skateboards that were well worn from constant use.

Superchicken, (which I have written about before just click on the superchicken tab for those stories) anyways, superchicken and I were not friends yet and he was really good at launching of the launch ramp and so were all his friends(Doing method airs and landing on the grass)...they were all older that me and the younger kids like me were just looking which is still the case when you are around someone that skates better than you.

It was an initiation of sorts...if you skated down the incline you were o.k. cause at the bottom of the incline right before the ramp was a 3 inch seam in the concrete that if you could survive and still keep going on meant you could skate around at least, if you made it past the bump and at least rolled fakie onto the ramp of turned on the middle of top of the ramp then you were really good and if you were really brave and went past the bump onto the ramp and then jumped off the board as you were in the air...then you would be considered part of them....and you could ride with them.

I rolled down the incline and fell , but tried it again and made it and to me that was a great achivement....Supechicken saw that I was scared to do the ramp and in an effort to encourage me to no be afraid made me bet that If I did not try the ramp then I had to give him my new Vision Psycho stick.....

I said I would do it , to be cool and fit in....hoping that I would have the huevos to do it and not lose my board....after trying to get over my fears and rolling down the incline several times and jumping off my board right before the ramp....I finally had to admit to being defeated......I could not give my board up.

I did the most cowardly thing that my 12 year old mind felt was the best way to salvage my reputation as a man of my word and not have to give up skating which was the most important thing in my life (Until I started dating :)

I gave Superchicken my brothers brand new Vision Mini Psycho stick with thunder trucks and powell wheels and cut up neon grip tape, set up was pretty much like mine except for the trucks and wheels...I did !!, I felt bad for what I did to my little brother and have carried that shame with me until recently.

My little brother would always bring it up when he wanted to hurt me and I had recently I started skating again and bought a second board of Ebay for myself....it was an awesome board, great deal on Ebay.

Brand new Steve Caballero Orange Dragon reissue with custom grip tape (Has a 1964 Lincoln cut into the grip tape) that I did because I have a 64 Lincoln, Independent Trucks and sector Nine wheels with Swiss Powell bearings.....and I gave it to him for Christmas...It was the perfect setup and I loved that board. What happened was that one day, when I was skating on it thinking about how awesome my new set up was...it struck me...this board needs to go to my brother....it is what I have to do.

He was very grateful , when I gave it to him....we drove over there to visit ( He lives in San Jose Ca. and I live in Phoenix Arizona)....He instantly got on it and started skating down the street around the block and did not come back until after a while......he still uses it everyday.

It is never to late to mend the wrongs ...sometimes it takes a little bit longer( It took me more that 20 years!!) for some of us to understand the impact that our actions cause..

Evilchavo Out.

(This video below kinda shows what that enviroment was like (FOund it on Youtube, pink border cause neon colors were in! :)

Movies|Grosse Pointe Blank

2009-02-25T10:52:00.006-07:00

I worked at a movie theatre for a very long time and was a certified projectionist so I have a fondness for movies and like to read the movie scripts to catch those little things that did not make it on the screen or where hard to understand, Grosse Pointe Blank is one of my favorite movies....here is one of my favorite scenes...

Some of whats happened before this scene.

So Martin is back in town to kill someone and not go to his 10 year high school reunion and needs to fix some things in his life that were left unfixed before he took off and left Grosse Pointe Behind...

if you have not seen this movie it is really good and alot of the back and forth is really great....I am trying to keep this post short so I found one of the short back and forths to give you and example of the cool stuff that goes on in this movie.

(This movie is one of the most underated movies of all time)

Martin walks in, not looking half bad,
considering. Debi looks up from some
reading. "Naïve Melody" by the Talking
Heads plays in the studio.

MARTIN
Are you going to the reunion?

DEBI
No. I'm not going. Is that why you're
here?

MARTIN
That's part of it.

DEBI
Well, you'll have a ball. You seem to
have everything everybody wants when they
go back. The car, the suit, the watch.
The look. That just leaves the little
things, like happiness, character, point
of view....

MARTIN
It's always the little things.

DEBI
Yep.

Beat.

MARTIN
I'm wondering how you've been. How you
are. I'd like to catch up with you. If
it's possible.

Beat as Debi considers. She spins her
seat to face him.

DEBI
Okay. Let's catch up. You go first.

MARTIN
Well, there's not much to tell.

DEBI
I'm sure you've done worthwhile things in
the last ten years. You've had
experiences.

MARTIN
Bad experiences.

DEBI
You met people.

MARTIN
Bad people.

DEBI
Watched television?

MARTIN
Bad television.

DEBI
(amused)
Jesus. Marty. You're pathetic. It sounds
like you need a Shockabuku.

MARTIN
What's that?

DEBI
It's a swift spiritual kick to the head
that alters your reality forever.

MARTIN
That'd be good.

Beat.

DEBI
What do you want?

The question is open.

MARTIN
I figured I could pick you up tomorrow
around seven o'clock.

DEBI
Let me get this straight, are you asking
me out?

MARTIN
Yes.

DEBI
Unbelievable.

MARTIN
Seven it is.

DEBI
I'll think about it.

(Have you heard the soundtrack for this movie, was on a loop in my car for many years!)

Evilchavo Out.

(Here is another scene from the movie, it happens before the scene from the script above, Martin just drops in on his girl that he abandoned 10 years ago)

Gone Daddy Gone| Great song

2009-02-24T17:52:00.003-07:00

Been a long time since I heard this song, Brings back alot of memories.

The Lyrics

Beautiful girl lovely dress
High school smiles oh yes
Beautiful girl lovely dress
Where she is now I can only guess
Cause its gone daddy gone
Your love is gone
Gone daddy gone
The love is gone away
When I see you
Eyes will turn blue
When I see you
Thousand eyes turnin blue
Tell by the way you that you switch and walk
I can see by the way that you baby talk
I can know by the way you treat your man
I can love you baby til its a cryin
Beatiful girl lovely dress
15 smiles oh yes
Beautiful girl lovely dress
Where she is now I can only guess

Evilchavo Out.

Corazón de pollo| My inheritance

2009-02-21T17:18:00.004-07:00

Corazón de pollo

Se referiere a alguien de corazón muy blando, que se conmueve muy fácilmente.

osea cuando uno es muy sentido....or when someone is very sensitive...

Its refers to someone with a soft heart, someone that is susceptible to impressionable things easily.

My mom was talking to me today...cause she is feeling sentimental.

Just like I felt yesterday...and she always comes up with some weird sayings.

She said that she will leave me as an inheritance her "Corazón de pollo" = heart of a chicken.

She said that no matter how hard we try to act we always give in and can't help but love those that we love.

I Never heard of "Corazón de pollo" it is a weird saying but....I guess when I think about it I do have one just like hers and my brother has the same one as us also.

and I guess my kids will have a chicken heart and so will their chickies....

weird saying but I totally am sentimental, when you get thru my black encrusted scarred up heart , all you get is feeling....100% emotion

Anger, Love or Sadness or a combination of the three.

But maybe I should not of posted this cause now you will know a little too much about me.

f*ck it. :]

Evilchavo Out.

La vida no vale nada|When I feel

2009-02-20T17:20:00.001-07:00

(I had another video with this posting but it is no longer on youtube)

When I feel this way, nothing takes away the pain, sorrow on my brain and no one can remedy it.

When I feel , I feel.

When I think of this song it makes me feel x100 but then it fades away...

but look at Chente in his fancy suit...it's making me feel better already.

Evilchavo Out.

sk8 balloons

2009-02-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

skate balloons.Found it on Youtube. KInda fullfills the popping and skating pleasure at the same time.

Evilchavo Out.

Earaches and Tequila|LIving the dream

2009-02-14T17:50:00.002-07:00

I have an earache...mindnuming...neverending

I need my mom. to get me some Ruda (Do you know what Ruda is?)

My mom does not know what it is called in english...Neither does my brother

"Just ask them for Ruda" they say.

It is some green twig or leaf thing you put on a gauze with something else and it makes the earache go away....

Don Julio my muse will have to make it all go away.

The pit of pain is in my brain and I need something to numb the pain.

A drink or two to make it all go away, to make it all fade away.

Happy Valentines Day!

Evilchavo Out.

Boarders|Friday the 13th

2009-02-13T16:23:00.001-07:00

It was on Friday the 13th that I made my step uncle Beto move back to Mexico , Many Many years ago now.

This is what happened:

My uncle Beto which is now my godfather.

Was heavy into Heavy Metal,He on one of the many trips that we took to DF a placed called Barrientos.

Let me sleep in his room and schooled me on Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin and Cream, some other stuff but these vinyl records were my schooling while I was there.

So when he decided to move back to the U.S. to see if he could make some money to take back to Mexico so that he could marry his girlfriend...I was very eager to show him a good time...I was 16...The day he got back seemed like a good day to take him out......I had a good amount of friends that spoke spanish and we needed someone to drive us around while we partied.

My uncle being the adult in the group , He was probably in his mid 20's reluctantly agreed to borrow my stepdads car and drive us around for the night...my uncle still had his California License from one of the many trips that he took back and forth to the US for work(He would come over work for a year or two , save all his money and then buy a bunch of stuff for his brothers and sisters and then take it all back with him)

I was dating a new girl at Wilson High school by the name of Sherry Rome( Name has been changed to protect the innocent) that moved here from New Orleans and lived in Pasadena with her family or at least that is what she said...not sure if she really was from New Orleans, but I was heavy into Anne Rice books so her being from New Orleans worked for me.

We met her and my friends at a gig , which I made my uncle come and experience, he enjoyed it and the year before I had gone out with him to some weird spots in Mexico so I figured it would be no big deal....

Sherry, My friends and I packed into my stepdads early 80's Cadillac and made our way to this park in pasadena....that has hill with a lake on top...I forget the name....but if you are from there you will know the spot....everyone in that are a partied there....we made my uncle buy us some 40's and some strawberry hill and made our way up the dark park, my friends were smoking out and asking my uncle if he wanted some...to which he replied no...all he smoked was Marlboros and all he drank was beer.

My uncle eventually just went back to the car (I did not know this because I was not around )and he did not want to come back up with my friends.It was about 3 in the morning and we were not done partying....We asked my Uncle to buy us some more beer and he said that he was not going to drink anymore.

We figured it was time to stop and he dropped us all off at home and went to sleep.

Next day, My mom wakes me up and asks what happened with my uncle Beto...I was like nothing...we went to a party then the park and hung out ...Why? Porque Ma?

My brother " What did they do to him?"

My mom said he wants to go back to Mexico...he said that he saw some crazy things last night with your friends and never wants to come back to the U.S.

I talked to my uncle and he said that he just had to go back..he said that he needed to be in Mexico....

I Never figured out what happened....My uncle, had been in jail and knew how to fight and by what he told me and what everyone else told me nothing happened...they said all he talked about was bands and stuff...I guess I will never know.

This would happen sometimes with our boarders, sometimes they just had to go back home and they would never tell us why.

I did not expect this from my uncle since he had been coming over for years , He married that girlfriend, had babies and made his life, a good life.

That same evening we bought him his ticket back to DF and he has never been back to the U.S. since.

Evilchavo Out.

Boarders|The Play

2009-02-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

This is what would happen mostly every other weekend in my life for many years.

We would meet someone at my stepdads aunts house in Tijuana (She had a home there and also across the border in San Isidro)They would come in from Mexico asking for my dad and never letting us know before hand that they were on their way.

Our stepdads Aunt would call us and says someone has been here for about a week they said that they talked to you and you told them to stay here until you came to get them.

We would drive down to Tijuana on the otay border crossing and see who was there, My stepdad would ask them what the situation was and how much money they had and we would go and find a coyote for them that they could afford, if they did not have any money then usually we would tell them to stay there and find a job to get the money of wait for us to have it available to loan.

Sometimes we did not or were not able to get the money and the person in Tijuana could not or would not get a job and they would just go back home.

Of the people that we helped out with a loan, No one ever paid us back and most of the time, we just helped in order to get our stepdads nagging aunt off our back.

I am talking about 20 or so years ago when a Coyote would charge $500 bucks to bring someone over thru the line instead thru the fence.

It was always a hit or miss scenario, I would usually help them with how to look and act and my Stepdad would go talk to the coyotes to see what new methods were being the most affective and then we would negotiate a price and send them down the line.

Send them down the line , warning them about how to talk and how to act while in front of the border agents ...how not to act and how not to stand ....how to respond and what kind of mindset to have, with the warning that if they got caught they would be processed and released back to the Mexico and where to meet us if that happened.

This is how it played out with Huero from the last Boarders story but this is what would pretty much happen most of the time:

I would cross the border a few people behind him and met with him at the Churchs Chicken Down the Street, My parents that were crossing the border by car and met us at the Churchs chicken as soon as they crossed....we took our bucket of Chicken and we all went back to my Aunts house in San Isidro.

Usually it would take a few passes to get thru....does not always work on the first try.....you could get other docs from the Coyote if the one that he sold you did not work....but they did most of the time....if someone could not get thru it was because they did not follow the plan and messed up somewhere down the line..

I did not always go with them...sometimes it was my Stepdad while I would drive the rest of us thru the border...it all depended on the type of person and what help they needed and how much they were willing to listen.

Huero made it and made a pretty good life for himself. you can read his story and the story of other people that we helped at the "Boarders" label on the side bar.

Evilchavo Out.

Ode to u

2009-01-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

It is hard to describe , but I am going to try.

My feelings for you and how they have never changed.

I know that we met when I was really young but feel that with age my love for you has only grown stronger.

When I was younger I did not know how to appreciate you or the things that you did for me and in my young age I chose others over you.

I guess my mind was on other things and I was not able to fully appreciate you.

I did not realize that you were the light that shone on the path to my future.

When I was younger in City Terrace, u saved me...u helped me...u took me away from the pain and the sorrow and the difficulties of growing up.

With you I became strong and learned how to stand up for myself and no let anyone look down on me or belittle me.

U made it all go away...u helped me let it all out....you ...sometimes even let me take it out on you...like a punching bag....

YOu let me do things to you that I would not do to anyone else...I needed the release and you were always there waiting..even if I let someone else borrow you.or if I left you out in the rain..your were always there...even when I would go downhill....or threw you across the street....you were always there waiting....ready.

I remember how tight you were when I first started to ride you and after the many years you loosened up and so did I , you and I became one and we could do and conquer anything and everything...in my old age I miss you and wish I could caress the concave of your tail and ride you like I did when I was younger, I wish I could grind your trucks and tap your tail like I did back then, flipping you and landing on you and grabbing you when I threw you up in the air.

God, I miss my skateboard.....it is the fountain of youth.

EvilChavo Out

sk8 or die

Boarders|Taking advantage of a great opportunity

2009-01-13T13:33:00.001-07:00

Huero was a young guy that had alot of questions.

He also came to City Terrace Illegaly from Mexico D.F. In barrientos.

He was short and really skinny and had his hair long in the back and sides..kind of like a mullet but not so business if you know what I mean?

He was a friend of a friend of my stepdad and because apparently we were a boarding house he stayed with us for a few months.

He liked Def Leppard alot....alot.... he only had a gym bag filled with the few possessions that he brought with him from Mexico, it included some def leppard tapes.

He was wearing some boots that looked like leather uggs...but they were standard issue for all the guys came from there...it is as if someone told them that if they came to the US they had to wear these boots.

Which were cool but did not look like anything that we wore in East Los...

I figured we should not go with his look of a rocker with his preshrunk heavy metal 501'S and Def Leppard shirt and I let him borrow some of my gear for crossing the border, let him borrow my docs and a Janes Addiction Shirt and we both talked out bands as we walked down the line.

I told him to take out his just purchased birth certificate and id when he got to the border agent and to not mess with his pockets or fiddle with it until he was right in front of the border Agent, I told him to just relax talk to me and that we would be split up anyways as we walked down the line, so to not freak out when that happened.

I told him to always go with the flow and not cause any back up of delays and to not look for me after we split up because we wanted it to look like we just met in the line and got to talking about bands.

He came up to the border agent a few people ahead of me and was asked if he was a U.S. Citizen....He said " Yes" The border agent asked him for his documents and he took them out of his pocket and handed them to the agent....the agent asked him if he was from Los Angeles and he said "Yes" the border agent without looking at the documents he was just handed by Huero let him pass....We were lucky that day...."Def Leppard" and "Yes" were some of the only words besides "Thank you "that he knew.

He did good for himself, found a job a week into moving in with us and asked all kinds of questions on how to get around ,started taking the bus everywhere, bought a car, paid rent to my mom and stepdad and started taking classes to learn english...then saved up his money , learned english and moved out to a place of his own....got married, had kids fixed his legal status and made a good life for himself and his family, never got rid of the almost mullet hair cut, no matter how much we made fun of it :)

Evilchavo Out.

Boarders|Living with strangers

2009-01-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

When I was a teenager, My stepdad started having friends of his come in from Mexico often.

They would live with us from time to time and some would stay for long periods of time and other would last only a little while.

All of my Stepdad's friends were from DF (Distrito Federal) in the main city in Mexico.

All of them had some kind of Nickname...all except for my Stepdad.

I have been over there a few times and it is unlike anyplace I have ever been to....the best way to describe it to me ....would be like in the movie..."Man On Fire"

They lived in Barrientos, which is not a rich neighborhood by any means and is filled with selfmade homes with huge gates in front of the courtyard and walls made of cement.

Anyways on our first trip I met all of them.....there was lobo, quico, largo, beto, pelon, etc...etc....

A few months after that they started coming in.

One the first boarders that we had was a guy by the name of Lobo...he was called lobo because when they were at a bonfire.....he was drinking and fell in the fire...he burned his face and arms and it left scars all over his face....so they called him Lobo.

He was into heavy metal and played really good guitar, but after a few days of staying at our house and not being able to find any work he asked my stepdad for a loan and went back to Mexico.

I saw this happen many times after that ....people would spend all kinds of money on a coyote and then come to stay with us til they got back on their feet and they would get cage fever...after a few days.

They would get nervous because they thought that they were going to get arrested and sent back home...I also think that they were just bored. Where they were from....everything was action....no sitting around and waiting and I think that they needed to be moving.

The first time I went to Df with my family, all we did was move...get there....on a taxi.....hungry? go get some food....go to the tortilla place to get tortillas...go to the butcher for meat....go to get the refills for the envases of coke or pepsi and the chelas also....

We went everywhere walking or on the combi (Taxi) or bus and Subway....gotta stay on your feet...no lagging behind or you get left behind...all action...no stopping....

Huge difference from City Terrace....come in...go in the car..go get get everything at the carniceria....have a bbq....eat and sit and watch tv....

after that go to sleep...wake up...eat breakfast...watch tv....was really boring compared to the high pace life that they lived in DF....you did not just sit around and watch tv....you would go hang out with your friend....help your friends with this or that....go hustle....nonstop all day...everyday....

Lobo came back a few times....but would always go back within a week of staying with us...He stopped trying because no one would lend him the money to come back over.

I tried to help him by teaching him english and the way to be but after a while I could tell that he was just humoring me and I just let him do his thing.

Other boarders took advantage of the opportunity and made a good life for themselves in the us.

So it was not all sad news for the boarders.

Evilchavo Out.

ON the road again|Finding Therapy in the lines of the asphalt roadway

2009-01-10T11:27:00.006-07:00

I love road trips.

It is like therapy for me, all problems fade away on the road.

All that matters is whats in front of you.

This trip will be a short one that will lead us from our Almost Laveen residence and put us in San Diego with maybe a drive by thru my old neighborhood (City Terrace).

It is bittersweet like always.

Nothing good usually comes without the bad, we would rather take this kind of trip without any extra stuff to deal with but life does not work that way.

Maybe we will stop and get some tacos at King Taco or sopes at La Estrella.

Ride from Here to San Diego Thru the 8 then to la and back thru the 10....Fun

I will have my phone with me so if you know any good places to eat in San Diego or on our way to San Diego Post em (Never been down the 8 so not sure about what's out there).....I will only be there Sunday.

I have been there often but not lately and always ate in Tj ....Al Pastor Tacos ..........yum :]

No Trip to Tj this time though.

Evilchavo Out.

Living up to my roots|Someday I hope to be just like him.

2009-01-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

I always knew that my grandpa was a good person.

I knew my aunt Marcela and she was completely different than anyone that I was around and if he was anything like her then I knew that he would be cool.

I met my grandpa in Mexico when I was about 3, I don't remember any of it...just from stories.

This is one of the stories that my mom likes to tell , My mom called me Chavita in those days. My Grampa called me Duraznito (because I was always red cheeked from running around all day)

"When Chavita was young he was a little chubby ball and when we went to Mexico my Dad(My grampa) had the local shoemaker make him some custom "saca Jicamas" pointy charro boots after that went back to the ranch."

"Since he had his pointy boots I guess dad(My Grampa) thought that it was a good idea to put Chavita on a goat and he was so big that the poor goat could not carry his weight and just went flop and was crying and crying and all Chavita wanted to do was ride it....He kept on telling it to go....but the poor Chivo.....couldn't.

( I like that story, my grandpa made me custom boots ;)

I saw my Grampa a few more times after that.

(at my brothers baptism...Saint Lucy's church)

(from left to right) my Aunt, my Moms,My Brother,My Grampa,Evilchavo,My Grandma, My Aunt.)

I did not see my grampa often...he lived in Villa Corona Jalisco and Culiacan Sinaloa....and because my mom was broke and had no green card...we did not have the opportunity to go see him until amnesty was given and we were free to travel to Mexico again.

My Grandpa came to the us for my brothers baptism (see pic above) and one other time to get some treatment for his sinuses...he got really sick that last time and did not come back until he had to get his sinuses operated on.

I was lucky enough to be with my grampa in my teens when I needed him most....I was lost in my head and needed someone to look up to....my Stepdad was gradually getting worse and my mom was not working and depressed...

He was a great person....in Villa Corona everyone kept saying I looked like him when he was my age....everyone shook his hand... as we walked the dirt roads to the center of town where the older men would sit at park benches eating peanuts by the sack full by the church in the middle of the town square where the boys would walk one way and the girls the opposite in a ritual that had been happening in that little town for years and years and years.

In Culiacan....we would make our rounds....my Grampa , My brother and me....would wake up early and go take vegetables to the butcher....then he would give us meat in trade...go to the store to get sodas and chips for us.....he would give them fruits and vegetables in trade.

My Grampa owned a refresceria (it was like a Jamba Juice way before Jamba juice existed) in the main mercado in Culiacan....he had been there for many many years so everyone loved him and our family.He owned a farm (Which he called " El Campito") which was down the road from where they found Chalino Sanchez dead....The campito was in culiacan also and that is were he grew all the vegetables and fruits for the refresceria.

"The Campito" sat on 4 acres at the edge of Culiacan and my Grampa originally bought the 2 acre lot bare and then added the other 2 acres as they became available. My Grampa would walk us around his farm and show us the trees that he planted and the vegetables and fruits and would tell us how to care for them and what he did to make them grow as well as they did.

"The Campito" was his pride and joy..He loved it there....we would go on the weekends or after work and BBQ ....He had what looked like a garage with a covered patio on the side and under the covered patio was the grill made out of concrete that he would cook us all food on.

The Garage part of it stored all the tables and chairs that we would set up under the covered patio while he cooked...He would always feed the dogs first because they took care of his property he would say....so they always would get two big fat raw steaks before my grampa would start cooking...always making sure cut out a piece or raw meat for himself to chew on while he cooked.

He would always talk to his workers with respect and at "The Campito" They lived at the edge of the property and took care of everything when my grampa and the family where away in Villa Corona....they had homes that my Grampa built and gave them....real homes with water and electricity and full size bedrooms. He never asked them to do anything....it was as if they just wanted to help him and did and I never saw my Grampa tell them what to do or how to do it.

He was a man of respect...not just because he was respected but because everything he did he did with respect...when he talked to people he looked them in the eye without judgement...when he gave he gave wholeheartedly.....

Some of his ex workers became lawyers and doctors....and he put them thru school...he asked them for two things....no making trouble and good grades.

I try to live my life this way....I don't always succeed but at least I know what to live up to.

Evilchavo Out.

Blogs I read| Thank you to all the Bloggers| Feliz Año.

2008-12-31T12:28:00.002-07:00

I read alot of blogs.

It all Started with Loteria Chicana...I was looking online for stuff on East Los Angeles and found Cindylu's blog....

Her Stories are very informative, I see alot of my culture in her...I mean that in the most positive way possible...I know that If I would of stayed in school I would of ended up like her and reading her post makes me feel like I can make it..

From Her blog I found Hello World...Pear Mama...

Her blog inspires me , Her and her Husband and Kids are so Artistic and I know that If I would of Followed that Path in my life I would of been just like that or I wish I would of ended up just like that....they are very resiliant and an inspiration.

Then there is Swapmeet Chronicles....Doña Junta...I like her pics and stories they always make me take a second look and make me think, she has a really good blog roll that I like.

I really don't know how I found Alice Bag's (Armendariz) blog but she is the most punk rock chicana ...I remember seeing her in Decline and Fall of the Western Civilization and thinking that that is the most punk rock person on this video...I remember wishing they would of put more of her in the video......anyways....She has an awesome.....Awesome....Official Website with lots of stories from her punk rock years and many of the people that were involved in that scene in those days.

She also has a Blog ...Dairy of a Bad House Wife where she posts about her Family Life and a new blog with stories from her youth.....Violence Girl : The Autobiography of a punk.

I like her writting cause she grew up in the same enviroment that I grew up in and I always learn about new stuff from her writting about the area that I was raised in.....we grew up in the same place....and are just seperated by about 10 years from what I can tell....she overcame our enviroment and thrived in a whole other enviroment but if I would of taken that path , who knows what I could of been.

I also read Chanfles...My Tocallos blog....his stories are good and always make me think and he always finds the money shot....that makes me wonder how he did it....I always try and take pictures of people as they are doing things and can't ever get it done the correct way...but he does......he captures life.....and then there are all the food posts...that make me miss Los Angeles even more.

I also read LA Eastside and The Eastsider La....both rock , both have awesome stories and both have great pictures...

I recently found...Under the Alexandria.....has great stories and a really good blogroll.....also DowntownLaislooking up....has a great series called Why do you sleep on the streets...where she interviews people that she encounters in Downtown La that live on the streets....

I appreciate the people that read my blog ....I started this blog to get my thoughts out...to make a record of who I am and what I think.....I just hope that I can make others feel and think the way I feel and think after reading some of the blogs that I read.All blogs Mentioned in this post are on the side column under the heading "Good Reading"

Just found some food blogs on Swapmeet Chronicles....Doña Junta's website...called A Little Cup Of Mexican Hot Chocolate & More and Doña Lupe's Kitchen...gotta go see what that's all about :)

Happy New Year to all the bloggers and readers.....I hope this new year brings lots of inspiration and well being to you and your family and to those of you that have stumbled upon this blog thank you for visiting and Hope you have a great year also.

Evilchavo Out.

Working hard for a living

2008-12-29T12:12:00.002-07:00

I used to sell electronics door to door in City Terrace.

Pelon (One of my stepdads friends) came around one day and asked me for a ride to pick up some electronics.

I was bored at home and gave him a ride....I thought it will be a bunch of crap.

When we got to the shop I discovered that I was also going to be the translator...Pelon did not speak english and needed my assistance.

I talked to the guy at a tv repair shop and asked him what they had available....I found out they got their electronics cheap and just needed to sell them (Now I realize that they probably fell off a truck)

They asked me why the other guy was not there with Pelon and Pelon said the other guy did not know about him being there and that he was going to be using his own money and the other guys to make so money of his own.

We negotiated a price and I loaded up my Audi 5000 with a few boxes of electronics.

We got back to the house and I asked Pelon if he wanted me to help him sort out the stuff.

He asked me what certain things were for and I explained...since I was the one doing all the explaining I asked him if he wanted to leave the stuff at our house so I could find out what worked....what did not work and what we could sell...I told him I needed to see how much profit we could make from the stuff that he bought.

He left the stuff behind and the next day came over to see what pricing I had come up with.

I told him and he was shocked....he said that he and the other guy were selling the stuff for alot less....actually he said that the other guys was telling him that stuff was selling for less so that he could keep the unreported money.

I did my research and found out by visiting the electronic stores the day before that he has some pretty good stuff and that he was getting screwed by his partner.

He had Cd players, vacuums, dvd players....etc...etc...

So he asked me to help him sell the stuff....I was working at Thrifty on the weekends and did not mind having the extra money since my mom and stepdad were in Mexico.

I started knocking on the neighbors doors, talking to them about what I had and I made a few sales.....I made most sales because of my trustworthiness and knowledge of the product.

Sold a few vacuum cleaner and portable cd players and got tired of know so went back home to see what we had sold together....Pelon...sold nothing..I sold most of what I had.

We split the money....(I made more from a few hours of door knocking that from working 12 hours at Thrifty)....I learned some valuable lessons that day....

1) Always have a partner that is trustworthy if you have to have a partner

2) Never be afraid to ask for the sale

3) Learn as much as possible about the product that you are selling.

Needless to say , I quit my job at Thrifty scooping Ice Cream and started selling electronics door to door....We started making good money together...When we would buy our electronics I would do the research....teach Pelon about the product.. and go out to make some sales.

I started wearing my nice pants and shirt while selling and Pelon did too...we both worked hard....we started buying the electronics between both of us.

We made some pretty good money, but then my stepdad came back from Mexico and started taking Pelon with him to run "Errands"

Sold l the rest of my part of the stuff and retired from the selling electronics business.

Pelon would come around once in a while to get a ride of something but something was different about him now....he did not seem right...he smelled of alcohol and was not someone that I wanted to be around that often.

Then he finally CONnvinced me to take him on one last ride to to buy some electronics....we had the car filled up with vacuums and as I was making a right turn the axle on the Audi broke.

We called my stepdad , he came and picked up the vacuum cleaners and gave us both a ride home and that was the last time I did business with Pelon. He bought all the vacuums so he and my stepdad started selling them together and I got out of the electronic business for good.

Pelon was one of my stepdads many friends that would live with us from time to time, my stepdad is from the DF...all his friends had nicknames....

Pelon was nicknamed Pelon...but he was not a Pelon....he was missing and Eye and I think they called him Pelon from Childhood because his family made him keep his hair really short.

I will write about the different people that would come and stay with us from time to time....the little details that I can remember....Under the label boarders..

Evilchavo Out.

Merry Christmas and Where is the tequila?

2008-12-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about Chritmas and just like every other holiday and every other family we had alot of problems on that day.

My stepdad had a severe drinking problem and everytime a holiday came around he would disappear for a week at a time.

It was really weird because my stepdad was very quiet and did not talk to anyone about his problems he would always hide under a shy persons smile and when he was all happy during the holiday we knew but did not want to admit it to ourselves that he was drinking again.

He would go out for a soda and not come back gor 3 or 4 days and after I learned how to drive we would go find him at some dirty bar in the middle of nowhere or asleep in his car in a parking lot of dirty old bar.

Sad , Sad Sad.

My real dad he was never around and I would always see him a week before Chritmas down the street at the Mercado Hidalgo and tell him about the stuff that I wanted for Christmas and he would always say that he would get it for me and then on the 24th I would walk down to the Mercado Hidalgo to see my dad and he would always be gone....he was always on his way or at Mexico during Christmas (I never figured out why he would always tell me that he would get me things also not sure why I kept going to see him)

Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad.

But you know, there were some benefits from my stepdad being a drunk.

1) Learned how to drive at 12 (ON my way back from Mexico in the middle of nowhere)

2) Had lots and lots of alcohol in the house for ditching parties and get togethers

3) Learned about conflict resolution and last but not least.

4) Learned that I can't trust anyone no matter how genuine and honest they seem.

So now I don't drink....if I do...I never get drunk and disappear....and I always keep my promises....I always do what I say I will do and keep my word.

Merry Christmas and know this: things always change...sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.....but that is the one thing that you can count on CHANGE.

also if you drink Tequila make sure its Don Julio (accept no substitute)

Evilchavo Out.

Cutting the fan cord| Learning to stand up for myself

2008-12-24T15:15:00.002-07:00

Got in an argument with a coworker or mine over his shaddy business and his inability to understand that I will not compromise my morals by allowing him to take what is not his , just because he says so.

I learned this lesson long ago in my neighborhood of City Terrace....when I was younger before I lost the weight I was big chubby boy that did not like to comb his hair and carried large amount of candy in his pockets (Mostly Now and Laters) , I wore husky cords or jeans and swapmeet mismatched sneakers and pens in my pockets and (if I would of found one I would of also worn a pocket protector for all those pens)

So not to go into much more detail than that but I got picked on alot when I was a kid cause I was a big old NERD.

As i grew up (Puberty) and lost all the weight (when I started skating )I started to develop a sense of worth and learned to not back down ....I have always been kind and gentle and did not realize as a kid that many people would perceive it as weakness but once I figured it out I never had problems with bullies or anyone else for that matter.

And when I see it starting as an adult I put an end to it as soon as possible.

So this guy pissed me off, and I told him off...no mercy...no backing down.....but this guy is the kind of guy that has done this all his life and feels that no one is better than him....so It is taking a little bit more that usual to get him to back/shut the f*ck up.

I would like to dedicate this song to him Performed by the Master: Alice Bag.

He is just old and does not realize that I chose to be good and not shaddy a long time ago when I was young and that where I am from you can't take two paths....one is good...the other is not so good....but once you make your decision you have to stick to it and there is no backing down.

There is no inbeetween...you are either going to be a rock star(Live a regular life) or a bum on the street.

I call it cutting the fan cord when I have to regulate.....

Comes from and incident that happened to me in the bay area....my newly appointed boss made the decision that we could not have fans out our cubicles and I needed the fan to drown out the sound of all the other people that I worked with....I told him that I would take in down but I had to move some stuff around in my desk and would get to it after work so that I did not have interrupt my workflow with his stupid request.

So he talks to a newly appointed supervisor which was my friend and she keeps nagging me all day about taking the fan down..(Like a small 3 inch fan) and I trying to work and just don't want to be bothered with her and her fan request......after the fifth time in the same day ...I get angry and take a pair of Metal scissors and say " You want me to take this fan down?" Here is your fan! as I cut the (still plugged in fan) a huge spark like 6ft high comes out from where I cut the fan cord and everyone is looking at me like I am a crazy person.....I give her the fan and tell her to let me keep working.

Everyone had meeting with me that day....Manager....Asst Manager....a few different supervisors .....and they all apologized but from that day on ....they left me alone and let me do my work.....they let me keep my fan (because they realized that the reason for the initial request was for a really dumb reason) .

So I have some work issues to sort out but have been feeling really inspired to draw and write....I use to draw and write as a kid and teenager to let the demons out in high stress situations so everytime things like this happen I always feel inspired :)I thrive in chaos and destruction.

This album like on a loop in my head lately ...not sure why....Warren G. Regulate G. Funk Era.

Evilchavo Out.

Being an A-hole

2008-12-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

I never say that I am sorry I consider it a sign of weakness.

I don't feel good about it, but that is the way the I am.

I have learned to not take anything for granted and therefore don't like to give out respect as is it was something everyone deserves.

Respect is earned and in my lifetime only a few have heard me say that I am sorry.

I am sometimes considered an asshole....because I seem to not feel.

But people don't understand that showing weakness where I was raised meant attracting undo attention to myself ( that would usually mean a beatdown)

I was not beat up often but I know that uncomfortable situations were usually created because of my friends who did something to someone and because my friends could not be found I was the victim of their mistakes.

I feel and sometimes I think more that others will ever know...

Evilchavo Out.

Looking for a deal on Rockband 2 Special Edition for xbox 360 or PS3 at a really good price..?

2008-12-19T12:21:00.014-07:00

We would like to interrupt that really depressing Rata story with an important deal Announcement. (From now on these deals will be under the IDA label) I figure why not hook it up...if someone can benefit like I do from these deals...then so be it.

Here is a deal for that special someone that loves Rockband.

(This Deal is only good until the ad expires which is on 12/20/08 Saturday for the West Coasters)

If you can find it. update: they just got new shipment today by UPS at Toys R Us

This deal is only available for us West Coasters now.

Toys R us has the Special Edition Rockband 2 (The new one) with drums and mic and guitar for $109.99 and when you buy it they give you a $25 dollar Toys R Us gift card that can be used right away...card says can't be used until 12 hours later but people have been using it right away.

The hard part of this deal is finding the product in stock for the system that it is needed for.....their seems to be alot of PS3 Rockband 2's SE's left out there but all stores are running out of the XBOX 360 right away.

The really cool part is that if you don't want to deal with the Toys R Us crowd especially at this time of year...

You can pricematch it.....Walmart has done it and Circuit City....Best Buy is not pricematching this deal.

So what you do is take the Toys R Us ad (That was in last Sundays newspaper) or prinout of the ad..(Go to the Toys r Us website for that) you show it to the person that is ringing up your Rockband 2 Special Edition box and you make them pricematch.

I always make them get the product first then when we get to the register I bring out my ad and ask for the Pricematch.(That way they don't shoot you down before hand because they don't want to go thru the approval hassle) No cashier wants a long line behind them so they usually expedite the process if you are holding up the line.

Walmart is suppose to match all printed ads to 100% and Circuit City is suppose to match it to 110%...some people have used the print out from the Toys r Us website and other have used the real ad....really up to the person approving it and how much they don't want to give you the price.

Some people have been able to get the Rockband 2 Se for $84.99 which is the $109.99 Price - the $25 dollars for the gift card.And some people have been able to pricematch the Rockband 2 Special Edition for the Wii that just came out a few days ago. (Not even on the ad!)

But people that have been able to do Wii Rockband 2 Se have been minimal....this deal is good without the $25 dollar gift card pricematch (If you get the extra $25 off than that is really good) but don't push your luck...so if you get it for $109.99 that is a really good price....it is $189 regularly .

But Toys r Us is honoring their ad and that is by far the simplest way to go about it....no need to pricematch and have to go back and forth with the Cashier and Manager and whoever else needs to give the approval for the pricematch.

The Toys R Us is a really good way of buying it ..if they have it because....

$109.99_$25=$84.99 When you buy one and then you can use the $25 for something else at Toys R Us.

I used to be really shy about Pricematching but have learned that the best way to do it is to stand your ground and show them the proof...because you are doing nothing wrong and their the ones that want to pricematch and have a pricematch policy because they would rather sell their product to you than have someone else product sold. Also they might want to call the Toys R Us to see if they have anymore in stock....so depends on who answers the phone at the Toys R Us.

And if you get a Pricematch Nazi(Some Huevon that no matter what proof you give denies your pricematch) ....move on to the next department or store and someone will do the pricematch...sometimes it takes a little bit of legwork. And remember "El que se enoja pierde!"...He who gets angry loses....so be patient and don't be angry if you can't get the deal....just move on to the next cashier.....no sense if losing your soul over a deal.

Happy Hunting.

(This is what the box looks like) double check because some people have been getting the drumset only or the RockBand 1 Special Edition and what you want is the newest one...ROCKBAND 2 Special Edition for the xbox 360 or PS3...comes with game,drums,mike and guitar)

Included in the box
· Wireless Guitar
· Wireless Drum set
· Microphone
· Game Software
· 6 AA Batteries

This Deal is Only good Until Tomorrow 12/20/08

Evilchavo Out.

Rat Hunting in the Neighborhood|Bonding with the extended family

2008-12-19T11:50:00.006-07:00

Before the divorce, My parents and my brother and I lived in a 1 bedroom 1 bath apartment above two single car garages.

It was a really old apartment, well really more like a room.

I think I was about 10 when this happened.

One day while getting some no brand cereal that we bought at Best Buy at Soto and Cesar Chavez.

I took the box out of the kitchen cabinet and all the cereal fell out the back.

We had Rats.

Shortly thereafter my mom saw one...HUGE

So when we told my dad , he and his brothers and my older cousins went rat hunting.

We got bats and sticks and told my mom to stay at our aunts while the men did the hunting.

What we would do is poke the bottom of the cabinets for rats and if none were found then we would move on to under the sofa or under the bed or under the clothes.

When we found one...we would all make it come out in the open and then we would all bash it to death.

Pretty cruel, but my dad and most of the cousins were Ranch folk so they did not have any issues with killing and animal especial if it was messing up clothes and food.

Funny how I remember this as one of the few bonding moments I had with my Dads family.

After that we started buying rat poison and I had the awesome duty of picking up the rats and throwing them in the trash can.

When our neighbor saw me doing this she said that if I picked up a rat for her she would give me a dollar....so I did it...everytime a rat was found the kids would come to me and I would pick up the rat...I never touched it....I would always use a plastic bag to pick it up.

I would collect my dollar and go down to the store and buy myself some Chee-tos :) ahh what great memories.

Evilchavo Out.

Moving out of City Terrace|Taking City Terrace with me wherever I go

2008-12-08T06:00:00.001-07:00

I lived in City Terrace since I was a baby boy.
It was my neighborhood, I knew all the alleyways and shortcuts.
Where to get good food for cheap.
Where to skate when I was happy, Sad and angry.
I knew where to go when I had money and also when I had none.
Where to go with friends and where to go when by myself.
where to go to write and were to go to read.
I knew everything about the place. Everything.

Where to go and where not to go..How to be and how not to be.

I am much older now and you would think different, but I am still the same.

I am just farther away.

I miss the sense of community, the knowing that my neighbors would back me up....
The knowing that I would back them up also.

Reminds me of a story,

When I was a teenager....my neighbors were having fun with guns.

My neighbor happened to look and have the same name as me.

So the Cops came knocking on my door...looking for me.

They put my stepdad in handcuffs and drew their weapons while searching the home for me.

I was at "Phantom of the Opera" in downtown with my girlfriend.

Came home and my mom was freaking out and asked me if I had shot a gun.

I told her I did not have a gun and was at the opera.

Then she told me about what happened and that they needed to take me to the police station.

I had long bangs in the front with the rest of my head shaved and had blue and black streaks in my hair.

I entered the sheriffs station and my stepdad talked to the guy at the counter and he asked me to enter the door ....when I did he threw me up against the wall and tried to handcuff me (he could not get the 1 set of handcuffs so he had to use two) He freaked out when he realized that one was not going to work (It messed up his perfect handcuff manuever) the other cop at the counter realized what was going on (I guess they really can smell fear) so the other cop gave him another pair of cuffs and he was able to complete his awesome handcuff manuever.

I was just up against the wall telling them that I did Not shoot the gun and that they did not need to arrest me...I told them that I was at the "Phantom of the Opera" and I could show them the tickets and I had witnesses.

They told me to be quiet....Be quiet "Blue Streak" I then realized that I should not have blue hair going into jail....Just did not seem like a good idea for being in jail......I told them that I did not know who did the shooting (But I did) I was not a rat.

I had just turned 18 and knew that I would not go to Juvenile hall...so I was not happy about possibly going to Real jail as a youngster.

They kept on bringing in different detectives to "Talk" to me....they did good cop , bad cop.....we are just trying to keep you from going to jail....tell us who did it....my partner wants to just send you to jail...blah...blah...blah..."Bluestreak"

Do you know what happens to blue haired guys in real jail? blah..blah...blah.

My neighbors were not very friendly but they were my people....we all grew up together and even though we took different paths...I knew that I could of easily been them....I could of easily been shooting a gun in the sky to celebrate something.

So I gave the cops the tickets and they made a report....after hours of not getting anything out of me...they let me go.

I came home that night tired, angry, I keep thinking about the person that called the cops....

Next day while me and my brother were trimming the bushes in the front yard and picking up the leaves at our house....My neighbor (Who was making some carne asada) asked us if we wanted some....he hooked us up.

We were tired and dirty and our neighbors never hooked us up....never.

That day they thanked us for not turning in the person that really shot the gun....since that day....everytime they had a bbq we were hooked up....they always said "Hello" to us and showed us respect.

I know that shooting gun up in the air is dangerous, I know I could of turned in my neighbor...but what would of been gained...My neighbor thanked us without thanking us every single time we saw him after that.....

I learned alot in City Terrace...and I miss it everyday...even if City Terrace was not so good to me sometimes....

Evilchavo Out.

Buying my brother a wind up toy for his birthday

2008-12-02T15:43:00.002-07:00

My brother and I have alot of similarities,but are completely different.

I remember when he was born, I was so happy to have some company.

I was seven when he was born.

When he got a little bit older ...maybe 2 or 3 I bought him a wind up toy from Don Pablitos on City Terrace Drive for one of his birthdays.

I saved up for my brother...I was about 9...I had never saved up for anything.

It was made of tin and was of a kid riding a tricycle.

I went to Don Pablitos with a bag full of coin and then after we counted it all, he showed me what my options were......Just the one wind up tricycle thing.

(Like the one above it has been a while so I don't remember exactly what it looked like, just the way it looked but none of the details)

It came in a colorful box! I wrapped it in Newspaper(Which is still how I prefer to wrap things,then I just draw all over the newspaper)

Then I got a string from my mom and wrapped it around the gift and gave it to my little brother.......he tore it open and just put it aside....I did not understand why he did not play with it......

My brother has never liked toys.....never....I have been obsessed with toys ever since I can remember...I still collect toys....

He was into Nintendo and Arcade Games.....but just for like a month

Never any cartoons (Which I love) or Transformers (Rock!) or GI Joe's (were way too expensive for me) , He did like the Power Rangers (but for like a week)......

We have such different brains, but we have one connection....we both were raised in the same place and know all the same people...even though he did not hang out with all my friends he knew them and I knew his friends.....he was my witness.....he lived most of these times with me....

When we got older.....Before I started working at a Movie Theatre I had a car and we would all pack into it to go to the Dodger Games or Eat(Jack in Crack) or Just go to the Mall (Montebello) or Movies( Commerce or Monterey park Mall)

They were good times,

Now we are both far apart, being grown up is keeping us apart.

They can't leave work to come see us and we can't leave work to see them.

Time to save for my brother again, and this time for something he actually wants.

Hard to believe that My brother is getting married , but he has always been the type of person to do what he wants when he wants.....no one can keep him down when he sets his mind to it.

I like to believe that Ihad a hand in raising him to be different than me, so that he could not face the same obstacles as me....but I think he did it all.......I just witnessed it.

Happy Birthday Brother.

Evilchavo Out.

Black Friday|Why I don't need it as much anymore

2008-11-28T15:30:00.003-07:00

We loved Black Friday for many years. Our Loot

(Scroll down for El Dia del Guajolote Post)

It was a great ritual to go thru...research what was coming...scope out the stores the day before Thanksgiving and try to find out as much info as possible...and then hit the store that had the best deal on Black Friday as early as possible not matter what the weather was like.

We did not do it this year ... A few years back I found certain websites that enabled us to find deals that were available not only on Black Friday but throughout the year.

So since me and the Little Pumkin have become really good at finding deals all year long the Black Friday ads that came out this year did not impress us much.

Maybe a game here or there for me but nothing else to lose sleep over.

Like this last Thursday we did all our deals at CVS (Drug convenience store like Walgreens)...this what we got:

for about 3 dollars out of pocket.....combo of coupons/Cvs bucks/cash(not much)/and having a Cvs Card.

All of this + plus two big ticket items that can't be shown because they are gifts:)

This info is out there for everyone to use....all you have to do is look for it...I found the info by looking for blackfriday ads a few years ago and all you do is start small then as you learn you get better and better...the best of part of the whole thing is that it is legal and no one loses any money...Cvs gets reimbursed by the companies that make the products and it is a win win situation for everyone.

There are different stores you can do this at...Like Walgreens...but we don't do Walgreens often because the deals are a little harder to work out....It all depends on the info you have access to and the availability of the store...and your understanding of the deal and what to look out for.

Some people do only Walmart deals, other Target,Rte Aid etc...etc...

So Happy Shopping, and Don't wait til next Black Friday to find deals...they are available all year long.....The pics above are from this past ThursdayThanksgiving Morning)...but it is not a one time thing these deals are available weekly but the product varies from week to week...sometimes there are no deals.

And it is not only these type of products , you might be thinking what about TVs? or Game Consoles? Games? Toys? Clothes? Shoes? other electronics? or Gear?Deals are available out there for those also all you have to do is look out for them.

All our Christmas shopping got done early this year by looking for these deals and that is why we did not do Black Friday this year.

But I won't lie to you, I missed the rush of the people standing in line anticipating the great deal that is coming as soon as the doors open and the crowd rushes in.

But then, It was nice to sleep in...knowing that all our shopping is already done and the deals that are out there are not even close to as good as the deals that we found all year long.

R.I.P. to the 34 Year old Walmart worker that got killed by rushing stampede of Holiday shoppers tring to get into Walmart and the Lady that almost lost her unborn baby because of the same reason....Story at Yahoo

No deal is worth someone else's or your life.

Evilchavo out.

El dia del Guajolote| What I am thankful for

2008-11-26T17:10:00.015-07:00

Guajolote m. (Singular guajolote)

(Mexico, Central America) turkey

My dad always called tomorrow El dia del Guajolote (Thanksgiving day).

When I was growing up I was like dad ?Guajolote? Pavo Mijo....Turkey.O..o.k.

But my dad being from Totatiche...always used weird words that I never hear of...My mom used them sometimes..but I learned spanish two different ways.

My mom spoke more like a mix of caló and spanish and my dad Ranch and Spanish.

Like mom always says Chale(not acceptable) and Chido(Badass) and Chingon(A badass) and Filero(Knife) and Califas(California)...words like that.Look up Caló language to see what I mean

My dad uses word like Sensontle (Robin), Tecolote(Owl), Guajolote(Turkey).

I am thankful that my parents are so different, Because I learned how to be patient from My Dad and Hardcore from My Mom and from my stepdad I learned how to be the perfect dad and how to mess it all up......but because of them I learned how to find a happy medium.

I am thankful that I did not get shot in City Terrace when I was a kid.

I am thankful that I did not do so many drugs that I totally messed up my life.

I am thankful that I had some friends while growing up and that those friends for however amount of time where my friends were good. friends.

I am thankful that I saw my Grandfather before he passed away.

I am thankful that my brother saw alot of the mistakes that I made growing up and was able to learn and not repeat the same mistakes himself.

I am thankful for the Little Pumpkin and our family and the fact that even though I would of turned out all right on my own she managed to see the diamond in the turd and helped make me a million times better.

So I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving day and were able to get some good deals on Black Friday....

It's Tamale time!

and Charlie brown time....Happy Thanksgiving!!

Evilchavo Out.

I got Jacked or as my mom would say "A que p*nche suerte"

2008-11-24T13:54:00.005-07:00

I got jacked a few weeks ago.

It has only happened to me 3 times in all my lifetime.

When I was a kid someone stole my chopper trike (My neighbor)

When I was a teenager in Garfield High School (I went there for a few weeks after I got kicked out of Wilson for Ditching so much)

I took my moms video camera, one of those huge ones that we used to consider portable and made the decision to film my friends and I and what we did when we ditched....I was walking with my friends thru the park and after I spent about 15 minutes filming a mouse that was hidding underneath a bush....we made the decision to walk to our friends house at the projects that were close by.

I told my friends to walk ahead of me so that I could film them as they walked across the bridge over the freeway to the other side.

They did and in a great improvisational moment that made the decision to run instead of walk when they walked half way over the bridge.

I was so into this that I failed to see the guy creeping up behind me that said " Give the camera or I will kill you" ...I thought it was one of my other friends that had snuck up behind me when I turned around I saw that it was not my friend and some guy that looked at me like he meant what he was saying.....I always thought that he had a gun....but now I realize it must of just been a knife....

But in my moment of fear I made the decision that since my friends were nowhere to be found it would be in my best interest to hand over the camera....to my everlasting shame I did....(sorry had to steal that line from Count of Montecristo :)

View Larger Map
(THis is where I got jacked for my camera)

I just remember that after it happened I felt like I should of not given the camera up, I should of stood my ground and told him to f-off but I did not....I gave it up...but I did not get stabbed which would of been much worse.

I wish that I had an interesting story such as the one above for what happened to my cell...but I don't.

I was had just finished filling out a deposit slip at the credit union located inside the Walmart here in Arizona...and I reached down to get a deposit envelope...I set my phone down on the counter in front of me...(I remember telling myself don't forget your phone...it is on the counter) and then I made the deposit...it must of been less that two minutes from when I left the counter and turned to make the deposit (The counter was right next to the atm)

but alas my Cell phone was stolen....right in front of me...I pride myself in being aware of my surroundings and the fact that nothing like this ever happens to me because I am careful....but stuff like this happens....

I asked around the store and of course no one found a Blackberry...I ran outside to see if I someone was acting funny but no one was....I gathered all my suspects and retraced my steps and found nothing......

Went to customer service and was told nothing had been turned in...

The cell phone is not what mattered to me, what mattered is the fact that I got jacked ....Me.

I cancelled my cell service and my new cell has been received ( I got the exact same one and same color also)..but what about my pictures and music and phone #'s.

I don't even bother to memorize any since the advent of cell phones and being able to save caller ids....my rolas are gone now...some p*to is rocking them.

I even had a phantom cell phone ring while shopping at Safeway ....I reached for my cell but it was not there....

Just more proof that I am Jinxed.

Update:

I received a call from this guy saying they found my cell phone.....at the Walmart....I always lock my phone and have a code for it ...on the lock screen I put to call me if found for reward and they did.

They lived down the street and did not say who found it...I hooked em up with some feds and was happy to get my old cell and memory card back along with all my songs and pics.

I guess I am not as Jinxed as I thought .

Tamale season is in full effect and I will be documenting the process and posting pics soon.

Evilchavo Out.

Famous Enchilada Lasagna|Cooking with the Little Pumpkin and how you can make it also.

2008-11-15T17:56:00.002-07:00

So, The Little Pumkin let me get in her way while cooking and let me take some pictures of her Famous Enchilada Lasagna ....Yum!!

Famous Enchilada Lasagna is a Lasagna that is made by the Little Pumkin that is made with all the stuff that you would usually make Enchiladas with.

So what you will need:

a) Ground Beef or you could use something else if vegetarian...like eggplant or more cheese

b) Las Palmas Sauce (Hot or mild is up to you)

c) Corn Tortillas

d) Sliced can of Olives

e) Onion

f) Monterey Jack Cheese

g) a pot , a cheese grater (Or you can buy grated) 2 frying pans, a lasagna bowl or deep dish for the oven.

(You know what those look like)

h) Vegetable Oil

I am writting this post the way that The Lil Pumpkin cooks....

1) Brown the Ground Beef (you don't need anything to brown it, just brown it in its fat).....drain......put the ground beef back in the pot after draining and set aside.

2) Cut the onions (Freeze it the day before and it will keep you from crying, per Alton Brown) it works, set aside

3) Grate the cheese...set aside

4) Open the can of Olives and Drain....set aside.

5) Cut the Tortillas ....in Squares.....cut the round parts off...

Keep the left overs for eggs and tortillas.....my favorite.....kinda on the heartattack side but really good...I will post on how I cook that later.

6) Add 70% of the Las Palmas Sauce to the ground beef pot (that you set aside in step 1)add the sliced black olives (that you set aside earlier) and stir while heating up...turn off when the sauce starts to bubble, then set aside. (keep the other 30% Las Palmas sauce for later in the cooking)

7) In a frying pan..Fry the tortilla square until it's firm...golden...brown....set aside tortilla squares.

(I did not take pictures of this part,....must of been when I was making myself a ground beef taco with tapatio...limon and sal : )........basically you heat up the oil till its hot but not smoking then you fry the tortilla square....when fried you heat it up in the Las Palmas as below...Lil Pumkin does this all in one step...so fry in the oil...then fry in the las palmas....then put in the lasagna pyrex..like shown below)

8) In the other frying pan you put the remainder of the Las Palmas Sauce (30% left over from step 6 )you heat it up.....then you dip the indiviual squares into the hot Las Palmas Sauce..then...

9) You take the lasagna pan (pyrex pan)

10)then you line the bottom with the fried ... Las Palmas Sauced tortilla squares......you make one layer.....

10) Spoon the Las Palmas ground beef (that you set aside in step 6) onto the layer of tortillas (cover completely) flatten down to make an even layer.

11) sprinkle chopped onions into the meat

12) add a layer of Monterey Jack cheese (that was set aside in step 3) to create a layer of cheese on top of the ground beef, cover completely.

13) then repeat steps 10-12 until you reach the top.

so layering is as follows.(As shown above)

bottom of pan =tortillas, then ground beef, then onions, then cheese,then tortillas, then ground beef, then onions, then cheese....etc...etc

14) Then bake at 350 (no pre heating needed) until cheese is melted and has nice golden crust approx 20-30 minutes depending on the oven ...but keep an eye on it.

15) Take out of the oven , let sit for 20 minutes or as long as you can stand it...then eat.

Enjoy.

Thanksgiving is coming so lets see if I can convince The Lil Pumkin to let me document another one of her cooking things.

Thank you for visiting our blog, we hope that you enjoy cooking this for yourself and family.

In these hard times, it is good to know that many bellies will be filled with the warmth of The Little Pumkins Famous Enchilada Lasagna.

Once again, Thanks for the visits and hope you enjoy the food.

After cooking tell us how it went(Comment)...easy to cook? Taste as good as it looks?

Thanks to these blogs for their referrals, we appreciate the visits :)

EastsiderLa.com

LA Times Blogs/Daily dish

alterx.blogspot.com

Evilchavo Out

When I was young I wanted to be a Ninja|Living in fantasy land

2008-11-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

When I was young I wanted to be a Ninja.

I saw alot of tv in those days and loved....Loved action movies.

Especially martial arts movies....and most especially Ninja movies.

I wanted to be Sho Kosugi....the best ninja ever.

I would watch the movies over and over and imagine that I was a ninja and that no one would see me, I would imagine that I could things to people that picked on me.

I would buy martial arts magazines and in one of them I found....that Sho Kosugi had a Ninja shop in Monterey park.

On my birthday I made my mom and stepdad take me there and I bought some ninja gear.

I bought 2 Ninja stars,...one black and the other chrome and some disintegrating rice paper for my ninja notes (You put it in water and it turns to mush) and a mask (Of course) and some sleeves that cover the top of your hand(where you can hide your Ninja Stars) I lived in a Ninja Fantasy world.

I was thinking about this because I saw Kung-Fu Panda last nite and the Panda totally reminded me of me in those days......

I remember in the last days of Seventh Grade I showed everyone my dissintegrating paper and they thought it was awesome...and I even showed some kids my Ninja Stars...I even carried nunchucks under my members only jacket some times....talk about living in cartoon and movie land.

Luckily for everyone else I never had to use any of my weapons , cause I would of had the advantage being a Ninja and all. :)

Evilchavo Out.

And Now for your viewing pleasure....Sho Kosugi

Doing Laundry and another Superchiken adventure

2008-11-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

When my mom and dad broke up.

I was told that I was going to be the one doing the laundry.

I would get all clothes for my mom and brother and me and load it all up on my board and roll it down to City Terrace drive to the Coinwash(Laundromat) pictured above.

The most I was ever involved in doing the laudry was going to get my mom detergent from the Mercado Hidalgo or Plaza Market.

I did not know how to do the laundry.

My mom told me to read the labels and wash it like the labels said.....she said white with whites and black with blacks...and don't put bleach on the blacks.

She did not say anything about the lights..so I put all the lightest lights with the darks and the lightest with the whites.

She did not tell me anything about how the cold setting is for the blacks and the hot for whites or anything like that...

So I figured I would play it safe and I put all the clothes on the warm setting.

Needless to say it was not a good first attempt.

Some clothes shrunk...some lights got bleached and some whites did not get washed the way they should of been washed.

I was told that I needed to try again, My mom said she had told me how to wash the clothes many times and she did (But I was too busy reading my skateboard magazines or skating outside to care about laundry or how to do it)

One day on my way to the Laundromat I had my board all loaded up and was rolling down the hill trying to keep it from going away from me....when my friend Superchicken rolled up and said that he would go with me to the laundromat.

I told him I could not skate , I had to do the laundry......He said ....let's go I will show you how to do it fast.

We got there and he got the big cart and separated the clothes into....black, white, lights and other.....

Then we loaded the washers and he taught me how the whites go with hot water and Bleach (I was not using it properly or at all before) I would use the bleach money to buy my cheetos and Orange Crush....

He told me how the blacks go with the cold water and no bleach....then the lights with the darks only if there was not enough cash to wash it seperately... and to use warm water when washing lights on their own .....

I was told that for the others I had to read the labels and see what those clothes needed....some said hand wash seperate....(We put those in bag to send back home) then some said dry clean only (Those went back home also) then on the others it was just a matter or sorting out where it should go in the washers that were already loaded.....some needed their own small washer and he showed me how to take care of those.

While loading it up he showed me how to flip over the clothes (so the jeans would not fade)

He laughed at some of my mom's chonies and mostly mine...but that was a small price to pay ....for what I was learning.

Then he laughed at some of the clothes that I washed on my own before and saw that one of my skateshirts was bleached and said he would show me how to make designs in it with bleach and he did at home by tying rubber bands into the shirt and washing it in bleach with the whites.

The laundromat was run by a older man that looked like he was in the military in the past...he reminded me alot of Chilindrinas dad...he was tall and skinny and always looked like he was mad....but the laundromat was next to these apartments that had a bad reputation so I figured he had to deal with alot of crap from the residents most of the time.

While washing the clothes Superchicken asked me for the fabric softener, I had never used it and told him I did not even know what it was for....I did not have any money for it but he told me how to use and that he would help me next time and to make sure I had my mom buy some , cause it made a difference in how the clothes turned out.

He taught me how to sort out the clothes in the dryer and how many dryer sheets to put in it....I had enough money for those.

When I did the laundry by myself I would just throw it all in the dryer (No fabric sheets) and just keep adding quarters until it all was dry.

Superchicken started sorting all the clothes in how it would dry fastest.....jeans in one dryer...lights in another and misc in another.

He started opening up the dryers in between quarters and started taking clothes out as it dried...and then he asked me for hangers and I did not have any(He told me that I needed to bring hangers).....he showed me how to fold the clothes and we put it all back in the trashbags.

Then he took one of the Laundry carts and started loading it....(We were not suppose take the laundry cart out cause they had these tall poles on them so that they could not be rolled out of the laudromat) But he showed me how to get it out and I did....loaded up the cart and rolled up Van Pelt to my home....I was happy we did the laundry in half the time and I had a pocket full of quarters left over from not using it all for the dryers.

On our next trip he showed me how to put in on the hangers instead of folding everything, It made everything alot easier.

My mom did not like Superchicken when we first became friends because she thought that he would be a bad influence....but she never complained about him after that...

It saved me alot of money the way he showed me to do the laundry and was alot faster.....

Evilchavo Out.

My cousins and a lesson they would never forget|Why you should never mess with the quiet kid

2008-11-05T12:30:00.001-07:00

It started when I was very young...my cousins and uncles on my real dads side would mess with me because I was quiet and was no like any of them.

My mom was not my real dads wife, and those that were around (My cousins) made it their lifes work to harrass and mess with me...by telling me that my dad had another wife (A real wife) in Mexico and kids (Real Sons and Daughters)

One day when I was about nine, they made the decision to mess with me at our house...it was summer so I was home taking care of my little brother...when they started knocking on my door....trying to kick the door in, they made the decision to take the screen off the window......yelling and screaming at me that I was a "Bastard kid and that they were not my cousins" I was scared at first...but fed up with their bs...

I was nine and made the decision that I would not take it anymore...and that I would do whatever I had to do to protect my brother...I took a knife and started slashing at them thru the window closest to the door.....when I did this they all scattered like roaches when met by the light in the middle of the night.....

I did not think that they would run...I thought I would have to kill one of them.....I had heard this kind of talk from them from as young as I could remember and was not going to have them treat my brother the same way they treated me.

When they ran away they kept saying things...so I dropped the knife and ran after them and one of my cousins (The slowest one) tripped while running away from me , I pounced on him.....and started hitting him while I had him pinned down.....my cousins all gathered around and started telling to let him go...and I did but not until I saw the blood red coming out of his nose and mouth.....

My aunt came out and told them all to go in the house and when my mom got home they made sure to tell her all about me trying to get them with the knife and how I beat up one of my cousins.....My aunts (Of course) did not tell her about how their kids were harrassing me and harrassed me since I could remember.

My mom came home and asked me what happened (I never told her before this that they always told me that ...called me a bastard , I always kept it in) I told her and she was furious but proud of me for protecting my brother ....she did not talk to my aunt for a long time after that, and they all eventually moved away.

They never messed with me after that, and no one ever messed with my brother.

I know that if I would of hurt one of my cousins ...I would of ended up in Juvenile Hall but ....it would of been worth it because my brother did not need to go thru any of what I went thru as a kid....

Evilchavo Out.

Sneaking out in the middle of the night|Some won, some lost the fight

2008-11-03T11:42:00.019-07:00

Kids would play out in the street.

The new family would move into the neighborhood,

Some with moving trucks some without..

Some with kids , some without..

Some talked some did not..

The neighborhood was filling up..

I could see lights from their kitchen windows in the evening from families getting ready to eat.

I could smell the bbq's on the weekends.

The Neighborhood was filling up and kids would play in the streets ..

Mom's and Dads would walk their dogs in the evening glow of night..

Now the families have gone away..

Some snuck out in the middle of night, and some stayed.

Some fought hard to sell their home,and some did not..

Others bought somewhere else and let the other one go..

Now my street is empty again, there are no kids around to play..

Some snuck out in the middle of the night, some fought hard but lost the fight..

Some fought hard and were able to stay.

In the morning light I can see the new family moving in..

They have no idea of what has happened here..

They got a good deal and that is all that they care about.

Now it is there turn to live the American Dream.

Now the street is filling in again, you can see more kids in the streets again..

Not the same but it is getting better..

Hope it lasts longer this time, I like the sounds of families in the streets..

The sounds of Moms and Dads and kids getting ready to eat.

How great to smell the bbq's in the air, how great to see the kids back on the street and the Mom's and Dad's taking their dogs out for a treat.

Evilchavo Out.

One of my Favorite Movies:Born Losers

2008-10-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

I am not a big fan of Billy Jack....

But I remember the first time I saw Born Losers on Tv when I was a very young kid.

I remember it made me think of being a biker and causing all kinds of havoc on the road.

I wanted to be one of the bikers on this movie..I wanted to get into fights and ride off on my chopper with the hottest chick there.

I wanted to find an abandoned church and make it my base of operations.....

The Version I saw on tv was the edited for tv version...but when I got older I saw the unedited with alot more sex and fighting.

I wanted the bad guys to win, I wanted the gang of bikers to make a fool out of Billy Jack...

But Hollywood does not let the bad guys win, even thought they do sometimes.

Was looking for a good video on Youtube to post from this movie...but I found only Billy Jack Stuff....BOOOO!

Found this video,

Who do you think would win in a fight? The Warriors or The Born Losers (Two of my favorite movies)

My personal opinion? The warriors...straight fight (They fight better)....underhanded fight....Born Losers (they would do the worst things to win) .

Evilchavo Out. (apphy ! neewhaoll) click on the Halloween label on the left hand side for my Halloween post.

My first ditching party| Cheetos and Colt 45 do not mix well.

2008-10-29T17:48:00.016-07:00

When I was in at Belvedere Junior High School.

I was a really nerdy kid....I thought I would be a biologist when I grew up.

I was really good at math and science and felt that I would have no problem being a biologist....It was years and years of elementary that made me feel that I could be anything that I put my mind to.

I did not realize that reality is a whole different thing....I knew as I was on my way out of Junior High on my way To High School (Woodrow Wilson High School) that my dreams would not become a reality.

I knew that it would cost money and that my Mom would never be able to afford to pay for my education once I entered college...so I made the decision...No College...

No one in my family went past 1st or 2nd grade in Mexico, I knew that they stopped going to school because there was no money...and they had to work.

I had really good grades going into High School regardless of all the tardies and days that I missed in Junior High...I did not even go for the last quarter in Junior High school.

I entered Woodrow Wilson with really good grades...I , up to the 8th grade had never missed a day of school except for when I had an eye operation.

I met my friend Greg in Science class, I would help him whenever he had problems with our experiments or with the calculations needed for an exam.

I was trying to be good and stay in school, but one day my friend Greg asked me if I wanted to go to a ditching party....I said yes....we walked somewhere to El Sereno and picked up his friend Frank....We went to a liquor store and bought some colt 45's 40's cause they were on sale(it was so easy, my friends already knew where to go) and I bought a bag of cheetos.

We entered the ditching party and there was a punk band playing (in the middle of the day!)...I was nervous I had never been around this type of crowd before...I was a skater and that is who I hung out with...so I made a decision to down 2 36 oncers in a row after I ate a whole bag of cheetos....my friend and I did some shooters and I was having a great time....the band was playing.....people were forming a small pit in someones back yard.

Then all I remember is that the world started turning...I was in the pit....when all of a sudden people started looking at me funny....they kept asking me if I was sick and I told them I was fine...then all of a sudden......like in one of those movies.......I started projectile vomiting (I have not done that since that day) everyone got hit with Cheetos and Colt 45 and whatever else I drank before I went into that pit....

Everyone was looking at me.....My two friends picked me up and took me home....I don't remember how I made it home....I blanked out...I just remember holding onto my friends shoulders and they just kept telling me to keep walking...and I did....and we walked and walked and walked and I don't remember how I got home....last thing I remember is getting my docs off and going to sleep in my bed...I woke up the next day and my mom did not even notice that I came home drunk....

It was a very odd day....

After that I made a decision to keep ditching...was way too much fun...but no more cheetos and no more colt 45s or at least not combined...and not all at once....and never to let myself be in a situation I could not control. (Was lucky my friends were there to take me home that day)

Evilchavo Out.

Arizona State Fair| $10 dollar Corn Dogs

2008-10-29T15:51:00.078-07:00

So, Me and the little pumpkin went to Arizona State Fair this last Sunday.

It was free, hard to pass up free....We parked in the $5 dollar lot...They had a free shuttle from the Capitol Building in Downtown....but after seeing all the lines waiting for the bus, made the decision to pay for parking instead....parking was from 5-20 dollars and we parked in the $5 dollar lot....that was just a short distance away....and walked there...less than a block and the lot was secure.

The Little Pumpkin kept talking about how the fair seemed so much cooler when we were young and how it is not as cool as other fairs she has been to, I told her I did not really go to the fairs in our area except for the one at St. Lucy's and that this fair was Huge compared to the ones at St. Lucy's Church.

I know that the food had to of been less expensive then....because we paid $5 dollars for a Lemonade and $10 dollars for a corn dog...but the corn dog was huge...I mean Huge and we got in for free so we were not complaining.

As we entered the fair...we were greeted by two huge elephants that were giving people rides around their pen.....was like $5 to ride them...I was hoping that the elephants were a sign of good things to come....one of the things I miss about Los Angeles is going to the LA Zoo and thought it would be fun to pet and see some animals.

But the animals were nowhere to be found.....I would of settled for some chivos or chickens at that point....

Overall the Arizona State Fair was alot of fun. $5 dollars for parking, $5 dollars for a Lemonade and $10 dollars for a huge corn dog...that could of fed a family of five, not a bad day for $20 dollars.

There are also exhibits, and displays...but none were too impressive except for one of them....where people displayed their collections...like stamp collections...matchbook collection...toy collection....all I kept thinking is I should display all my stuff here.....

Then there were vendors...selling stuff.....the fair (To me) was like a huge swapmeet with carnival rides and an exhibits...while not overly impressive still lots of fun.

We did find more animals on the way out...it was called the Banana race...they have a track where monkeys chase a banana...I felt bad for the monkeys..so did not take a look.

Evilchavo Out.

Working at the Movie Theatre: Monterey Mall Cinemas

2008-10-23T11:18:00.015-07:00

I was a certified projectionist for many years.

I worked at the $1 and $3 Movie Theatre in Monterey Park....called Monterey Mall Cinemas owned by Edwards Cinemas.

It is no longer there...it has been torn down.

I would walk by there all the time , I would walk to Cal State, then down to Atlantic ave to Atlantic Square then to Tower Records....and walk back home thru East Los Angeles College to City Terrace park then walk home thru there....I liked to walk ...I was alone alot of the time so did not have anything to do at home...so would kill time by walking....I only worked on the weekend so I would have all week off.

On one of those walks.....while listening to Nine Inch Nails....My favorite band at the time that I would play on a loop in my walkman.

I saw that they had $1 and $3 dollar movies....just within my budget.

I went in and saw a movie...I don't remember the exact one....but I went in and was greeted by a bunch of young adults...just like me.

The enviroment was very cool...I could not buy any food at the snack bar so I just asked for some water and the girl at the concession stand asked me if I wanted some soda and popcorn...I told her I did not have any money and she said that she could give it to me for free.

I said sure...and she gave me a courtesy cup with sprite and a carryout tray with popcorn.....and butter.

It was great, she asked me if I was looking for a job and said that I should apply.

I did....I was working at Thrifty on the weekend only and needed something to do during the week....then she told me I could watch free movies....that was the closer.....I love movies.

I interviewed upstairs in the projection booth...The upstairs projection booth had a toilet....My boss was sitting on it as he interviewed me....the lid was closed so he was sitting on the lid ...but no matter how hard I tried I could not help but think that he was pooping....it was an easy interview ....I was wearing a black suit and tie with wingtips....I got the job.....

On my first day there....I was initiated....I was told to go get ice from upstairs....not sure why but that is where they decided to put the ice machine...so up I went.....with my two buckets ...there they showed me the theatre mascot....a frozen rat underneath the ice machine....scared the daylights out of me....A tradition that I continued for many years :)

It was a dollar movie theatre...so we never got first run movies....the movies that we got had been out in the theatres at least a few months before we got them....It meant that we received all the movies that other projectionists put together and showed.

Because of this...we would get some pretty messed up movies....but watching movies was the perfect escape from reality...I can't even begin to count the many times that I saw Pulp Fiction ......I had all the lines memorized...

I learned how to put movies together and tear them down....I learned to change bulbs and clean projectors, I learned how to deal with irrate customers (Try telling someone that you can't give them their dollar back because the movie broke) and work in a team enviroment.

I became assistant manager (A Key Twirler) and had free run of the place...on Thursday nights we would stay late tearing down movies...Movies come in usually about 6 seperate reels...in two big metal cans...to show a movie we had to use a machine that would feed the reels to a big platter......to tear it down....you would use the machine to put the movie back onto reels.

So anyways ....if we had 6 movies.....it meant that we had to wait until the last movie was finished to tear it down...usually at about midnight...so we very possibly could stay there until 3 in the morning or later.

When we all started to become close...the people that could leave at 10 or 11pm would stay behind to help and hang out.....we would go get food and eat it there....usually after all the work was done....we all were broke so we would pitch in for whoever did not have any money and everyone would eat.

I quit that job eventually...moved on to another Movie Theatre in Pasadena that paid more money...were I got certified as a Real Projectionist and ran first run movies in a 1000 seater movie theatre.....You should of seen the lines for the Star Wars movies...

I definitely recommend that if you have teens that want to work...that they try working at a movie theatre......or if you are looking for a part time job.....free movies...free stuff from the concession....and working with others.

Yes it is usually minimum wage, but can't beat free movies and food.

I don't work in a Movie Theatre anymore ... It has been a while...but I love movies...one thing that I can't stand is the smell of burnt popcorn ..... but I still love Movies and go watch a movie or two as often as possible.

Rip Montery Mall Cinemas 1979 to 2007 (Many good times)

EvilChavo Out.

Lance Mountain| Real Role Models

2008-10-17T07:28:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about Lance Mountain.

I was a Sk8er....I skated mostly street.

Lance Mountain lived in Alhambra behind Cal State La.

I did not personally know him, but I knew of him.

When I was a kid in City Terrace, my friends and I would have skate demos in our elementary school....Just and excuse for us kids to get our skate on...and hopefully bring in some people that skated that we did not know about already.

We would get our flyers together and passed them out at school hopeing that we could get some new faces in our neighborhood or maybe even some girls.

Anyways I was thinking about Lance Mountain because when I was young....and we had skate demos.....he actually came to one....that we had in El Sereno...this was in the late 80's when Lance Mountain was in The Bones Brigade and a superstar in everyskaters mind.

He skated for a little while....he gave out stickers....a used board ...some new wheels ....some autographs and left.

No one ever came to our side of the woods...for anything....unless they were looking for a vote or money....so it has remained a very special event in my life.

I found this video on google...that shows the way that he is....

I must give respect...when it is earned.

sk8 or die

He is still skating.....Here is with Grosso and Cab

Evilchavo Out

The First Ride on a big Bike

2008-10-16T11:50:00.002-07:00

Riding a big Bike.

I has a 2000 Polaris Victory cruiser.

It rocked.

When I was working the bay area , I made the decision that I could no longer drive my 64 Lincoln Continental to Pleasanton California from from Fremont Daily...I Just felt it was not fair to my Lincoln to put it thru all that work.

It enjoyed the taste of gas the way I enjoy sopes and burritos....way too much...after trying to start my Vespa (that is sitting at my mom's to this day) and not being able to.

I made the decision that it was time to get something ....a little bigger.....

I rode a Vespa for many year so figured that it would not be difficult at all.....

I tried to buy a Harley but after being told that I had to be put on a waiting list for a really long time....I was like f.... Harley let's see what else it out there....

My scooter was a 200e so had a big engine so I was able to drive a big bike and did not have to thru the hassles of training or anything else like that.

I went to Arlen Ness Motorcycles in San Leandro California and looked at the bikes....they were awesome...along with some choppers and other stuff that I could never afford was my bike....on sale for like 9k or 10k I can't remember the exact price.

After visiting with Yamaha and Honda and other companies I made the decision that this was the best deal for the money and it had a huge engine and the stance that I liked....looked chopped but was not....

So I talked my Credit union into giving me a loan and there I went with check in hand to get the bike....

My Friend Antonio and Marlon drove me there on one of our Friday Half Days and in I went to buy my bike...after some negotiation the bike was mine....

Silver and Black.....Chrome everywhere.....New had like 2 miles on it.

I got the keys to my bike and as I was getting ready to leave the Sales guy asked me if I had my Helmet? I was so excited that I forgot to bring my helmet from home with me and bought the cheapest helmet that they had.....ugliest helmet ever.

So , The Salesguy asked me if I had ever ridden a bike this big before and I say no....He showed me the controls and wished me luck.

I planned out my route home from Arlen Ness the night before and figured I would be fine ....I had never driven a bike like this before....Vespas have a gear shifter in the Left wrist...for when you put the clutch in....lever on the left...then you twist it to put it into gear....then you use the right wrist for gas and your front brake...the back brake is on a pedal on the floorboard....

This bike I just bought had ....the shifter in the right footboard....gas in the right wrist and brakes in the left and right levers...it had a toe and heel shifter (Right foot board)...

It was a completely different type of machine...I figured I would have not problem the weeks before I bought the bike and not knowing anyone that had a big bike , I had no one to tell me otherwise...

I remember looking up how to drive a big bike online and was not able to get a really good answer..

So there I was , Huge beast of a bike in the middle of San Leandro, with my maps to get to my house...

I put the bike in gear with the clutch on and tested the gas and engage to see how far I could go with the clutch and gas before stalling and off I went....

I was so freaked out , I don't even know how I got to the gas station...but I did.

At the gas station I remember thinking about how stupid I was and how I was going to kill myself and how my girlfriend was going to be so pissed if I told her I did not want the bike anymore because it was so difficult to ride.....

All of this While I was trying to fill up the gas.....gas started pouring on my new bike and all I could think is that it was not a good sign.

I made the decision to just stop there until my nerves were better because I knew that if I drove that way I was going crash into someone or make someone crash into me....

After about 10 minutes of just standing there with the bike on....I decided it was time to go.

I got on my bike and rode home....no more problems...I just remember how more powerfull the bike was than my scooter and how much heavier it was and how there was no way that I could hold it.....but I did.....I remember going into a Honda dealer and having the guy grill me with questions about what I rode before and how I should get a small beginner bike....

And that kept me going....I could not prove that a hole sales guy right....I made it home....

Drove into our parking spot at the apartments we were living in at the time ....took my left foot....pulled out the kickstand..leaned the bike and blam....the bike fell....I tried to hold it up but the weight of it and the sweat from the ride on my hands and my nerves made the bike slip out my hands.

I picked the bike back up and assesed the damage...broke the left floorboard...I was so upset but happy I made it home....

After that I made it a point to get the right gear for my bike and check the kickstand to make sure it was fully extended before I leaned the bike...I guess it was not like my Vespa after all.

I rode it for many years until my back started giving me problems...but don't regret ever buying it....no matter how many times my girlfriend made fun of me when I rode it in the rain....always telling me I should of bought a car instead.

I was not a biker guy, just seemed weird to me....I rode my bike the way I rode my scooter....huevos on....no band aid.....I did not want to be like the many riders I saw on the road.....

EvilChavo Out.

Being a grown up | I can't believe my parents did not tell me about this

2008-10-15T10:59:00.003-07:00

When I was a teenager....

I remember wishing that I was a grown up so that I could have my own place.

Put all my posters up, build a halfpipe in the living room.

Have Gigs every weekend and eat take out all the time.

Fill the fridge with 36 ounce Carta Blancas and just eat, skate, draw and drink all day.

Go to Concerts all the time.

But that is not reality and I can't believe that my parents did not tell me about real life.

I always wonder why I was never forwarned....why my parents did not say...when you grow up ...all you do is work, pay bills and rest when you can.

Life is good now, my family is good and I am happy....

Reality is.....

1) Gotta find deals to sell stuff to make money to pay for bills. (Hustle)
2) Gotta clean the house
3) Gotta do the laundry (Need to look sharp for work)
4) Gotta cook food (Cause eating out everyday gets expensive)
5) Gotta blog (Cause it is as close to being creative as possible without having to pick up a pen and paper to write or draw)
6) Gotta take out the trash (Cause if it piles up you get bugs and other critters and smells that just don't foster a great living enviroment)

Like I said Life is great.

Feels good to do good, feels good to work hard pay bills and do what has to be done.

Maybe I can still build that halfpipe in the living room?

Evilchavo Out.

King Taco Tacos

2008-10-10T15:17:00.016-07:00

King Taco

My dad hooked it up for me this last week.

By bringing me some tacos and burritos from King Taco on Third Street.

If you are from Los Angeles or from City Terrace or the surrounding areas you know about King Taco and most likely have already paid them a visit...

if you have not and eat meat...get on it...the address is :

4504 E 3rd StLos Angeles, CA 90022
(323) 264-4067

if you don't eat meat...then you can bean and cheese burrito it.....worked for me when I did not eat meat.

I like my tacos plain, cause when they are made the right way...you don't need a bunch of crap to hide the flavor.(they also keep better for when my dad brings them to me from LA)

If anything and depending on where I am at....lemon, Salt and some Tapatio...that's it....

I don't know what it is about King Taco....Just reminds me of my dad.

When I was younger and if my dad was around , if he had a car at the time he would take me to King Taco then to La Fama Panaderia on Ford...for some sugar Conchas....yum!

I would get me a burrito with all meat...Orange Bang....eat there....then go get some bread and he would drop me off at home with my mom.

Then when I got older, and the burritos got smaller, I started to just order the tacos like I used to when I was a kid......then the pollo asado with the yellow corn chips.

Here's the play by play.

(Threw this tacos into a microwave for a few minutes on a towel to keep the mess down)

Ate the first two, sorry no pics photographer was occupied eating the first two.

Almost done.

Best Combo when no Cactus Cooler or Orange Bang are around

Pepsi and Tacos.....Pepsi is in my blood...just ask my dad...

The last lonely taco....but not for long.

Evilchavo Out.

Learning from my Dreams.

2008-10-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have always been a dreamer.

When I was a kid , I would make it a point to pose my hands in a way in which it would influence my dream state....

(What I mean is)....that If I wanted to be a boxer in my dreams I would sleep with my fists clenched....if I wanted to be a soldier I would pose my hands as If I was carrying a gun.

It worked most of the time, I would be a boxer in my dreams and control them...I have always been able to control my dreams.

There was a time in my life, when all the friends disappeared and I just did not relate to anyone that I was around.

I needed change and fought so hard with myself in order to stay the same.

I had no one, at this time my mom and Stepdad would take my brother and go to Mexico for months at a time.

I was left alone to fend for myself.

I was in my late teens and ready to go.

I Started working for Thrifty the one off of Whittier Blvd (Next to the Commerce Movie Theatre) as an Ice Cream scooper and was making pretty good money by just working overtime on the weekends.

My hands got so beat up from the ice cream scooping and cold , because there was so much traffic, I did not really have a chance to take breaks or defrost the Ice Cream.

But it felt good to earn that dollar, go home at the end of my weekend and sleep.

Nice and tired , no one to bother me and no one to call me the devil (see evilchavo labeled post)

I would take the bus to work and back and during the week I would just sleep.

I was no longer drinking or partying so had alot of time to write and draw, Friends came around once in a while but always left cause I was just not fully there.

I would go Skating at night, down the hills of City Terrace....no one around....was awesome.

I ate what I bought on the way home and made for myself.

My StepGrandma would come around Twice a month and buy me a case of little juices,....the once that used to cost a .25 cents...the fruit punch or orange ones....and she would bring me a brick of cheese that her daughter would get for her and then she would leave.

I would just sleep all day and in dreams find peace and understanding.

My dreams would show me the way (Sounds weird to me now)

I would go to sleep....after watching tv or skating or drawing or writting or reading all night and .....when I would wake up I would write down my dreams...

Then I would go back to sleep....I would sleep for so many hours............wake up and read my dreams to see if I could understand them....

I finally just got rid of my dream book by burning it in a trash can because I was just wasting so much of my time in fantasy land.

I think I was depressed, but no one was around to be sad to....

I Learned alot those two years from my dreams, I learned that the only way to make them reality is to go out and make them happen......

I Learned that I was no longer a kid and needed to work for a living, I learned that whatever I wanted I had to get for myself.

I started forcing myself to go out , sometimes I would walk to Cal State to get the LA Weekly, sometimes I would just walk to Calvary, or to the City Terrace Library to read.

I Started going to the dollar Movie Theatre in Monterey park(No longer there) to kill time and to keep myself from staying at home and sleeping.

I Started going to Computer school and made a different set of friends, different enviroment....different Evilchavo.

I just needed to change and the timing was right so I did it.

Evilchavo Out.

Sopes from La Estrella in East Los Angeles| How to eat a sope without a fork

2008-10-05T08:04:00.008-07:00

I received a package from East Los Angeles...late last night.

A special delivery from La Estrella.

6 Carne Asada Sopes.

Yum....they will be eaten slowly....so that I can maximise my time with them.

(But this is the story of the first two)

Actually the last one, the first one....was too graphic to show....let's just say it was so fast, that it did not even know what was coming.

Carne asada....Refried beans....lettuce and Dry white cheese....

(This is what was left of the first victim)

They had sour cream.......yuck....but that was easily resolved by taking a spoon and taking the top part of the lettuce off.....they put all kinds of cheese...so I just shook off the excess...and added it to my sope....

A piece of heaven , not just because of how good they taste....but the memories of a world that not many people know about.....but I miss Los Angeles.....but the sopes just ease the heartache a little one bite at a time.

3/4 's gone (The stuff on the side is Grease (Flavor) and melted styrofoam , Don't eat that stuff no matter how good it looks....you will regret it later.

How to eat a sope without a fork and knife: I did not have a fork today so I had to use my hands to eat these sopes......

1) You wait for the sope to cool off, because you don't want to get Carne Asada burn.

2) Then you take all the extra crap off ....lettuce...cheese...etc...etc....

3) You take the sope and you wrap it in your hand like a taco.

4) Then you drop the extra meat on the plate (Styrofoam) so that you can eat it later.

5)Then you eat it. The Sope will fall apart, so watch you clothes...

Hope you enjoyed this lesson :)

almost gone

All gone

Must find a way to get some Chili Cheese Fries from the Hat....any ideas?

Next lesson....How to eat a burrito from King Taco...my Dad just drove by and hooked it up.....feels like my Birthday.....so many presents.

La Estrella is at 938 s. Lorena Street in East LA....closest intersection is Whittier Blvd and S. Lorena Street.They have good food at good prices.

EvilChavo Out

My first unofficial Girlfriend

2008-10-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

I was really young.

I had just lost all the weight(See my post on this)

And I met this girl by the name of Marie.

She actually approached me.

I was shocked.

I was not very good with girls at that time and was real shy about the whole situation.

I think I went to the movies with her....we held hands.

I just remember having sweaty hands.

I was broke and she paid for everything.

We walked home...from The Commerce Movie theatre.

I wish I remembered the movie but I was way to out of it due to my shyness that I really don't have any idea what movie it was.

We walked home and I wanted to go to the At and T building on the hills by frogland.

The hills by the AT and T building are just drainage away from the AT and T building,I wanted to go climbing so we did.

So we climbed and she was tripping out on me and I was so scared to make a move that I did a whole load of childish things to try and get her attention.

She finally gave up on me and went home.

I think that she was expecting me to be the guy that I looked like then...not a kid trapped in a teenagers body.

I sneaked out of the house to go on this date and did not tell my mom that I was going to be gone.

So I was scared to go back home.

I walked around the at and t building for hours until I could muster up enough courage to go back home.

I went back home and my mom was awake, she asked me where I was and I told her I went out with a girl.

She said that she knew it...and did not say anything else about it.

I think she was happy that I was a normal kid, My mom started giving me money to buy clothes on my own after that.....

Dickies, Vans and skate shirts. (My uniform at that time)

I never talked to Marie again, she ignored me after that.

I had my first official girlfriend shortly after that I did not make the same mistakes I made with Marie again.

My shyness was not all the way gone , just not around when it came to dating.

Evilchavo Out.

Happy Halloween (sorry, I know I am a little early)

2008-10-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

I Love Halloween.

In my youth there was something that I always looked forward to.

Halloween, It is magic.

Everyone dresses in costume and has fun.

In City Terrace, we would all gang up and go with our moms to the rich or perceived rich neighborhoods and trick or treat in hopes of getting big ticket items...like Snickers....M and M's or money.

Sometimes we would luck out and get Mcdonalds gift certificates....yum...free fries.

Everyone had a costume, and if they did not ....we would make one up....I was Dracula most of the time......but would change it up sometimes....I was a hobo once....I was Frankenstein....A pirate.....

We would always walk to Monterey park....and see what we could get there.

There were all these rich people that seemed to have alot of money because they always gave us so much.

It's funny how when you are young you see things so much differently that when you are older.

I wonder what they thought we they saw like 5 moms and 10-15 kids walking towards their house....I wonder if they freaked out and wondered if they had enough candy for all of us.

I carry the tradition and now in my older years have learned to prepare for lots of kids , just in case...I have learned that it is so much better to give than to receive.

And now I understand how good those people must of felt when giving all us kids all that candy.

The weather changes and it gets darker earlier, Here in Arizona the weather does not change much (but I can feel it in my bones) Halloween is coming.....woo hoo!

In the bay area....kids did not come trick or treating and that was kind of sad for me...I thought.....too bad all this candy and no one to give it to....

We have had some good showings since we moved to Arizona.....Last year we ran out of candy and had to run to the store to get some more....

This year, we will have plenty...now that we know what kinda traffic we are going to get.....

Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween!

Evilchavo Out

Have any good Halloween Stories?Giving out Candy or Other? Post if you got them.

Running Away from home part 3

2008-09-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

Me and my friend and his mom, made a good team.

We would go walk my friends mom to work in the mornings.....go to school.

Cook her diner and then walk her back home.

I had a place to sleep and shower and I felt appreciated.

One day , me and my friend went to a gig in the hills of Lincoln Heights.

My Stepdad showed up, and all of my friends asked if I needed help.

My friend that I was living with asked if I needed him to help me get my stepdad out of there.

I was shocked that my Stepdad came looking, He was furious.

He wanted to beat me to death , I could see it in his eyes.

When I asked him what he wanted he told me to get in the car.

I was not having any of that.....I was not going to be told what to do.

I told him to leave, I told him that my mom was wrong and that he should go tell her to leave me alone.

He left, but it left a really sour taste in my mouth.

I went looking for job the Monday after, I was underage but looked much older...

I applied as a counter...(A person that counts) for the Sears Warehouse that is (Was?) at Valley Blvd and Soto...under the overpass....to the east of the park.

I took a written test...I did a few interviews...I got the Job...then they called me and said that because I was not 18 I could not work for them.

I would of made good money for my age, I would of rented out my own place, bought my own car and made my own life.

But things happen for a reason....

Shortly there after , My mom showed up at one of the gigs and told me to come back home.

I told her if you want me to come back home, I can't be treated like I am the devil.

I will work and pay for things but need space...I really only went back home....because I missed my brother and I was afraid that he would hate me and that I could not bear to think that he would feel that way towards me......

I went to my friends house and told them that I could not longer stay there , I told them that I could not leave my brother alone.

They were very sad to see me go, I would visit for a while after that....and help them clean and we would have dinner together....but I always went home to sleep afterwards.

I later found out that one of my friends was giving my mom flyers to where she thought i would be and that my Stepdad would go in like a crazy man looking for me.

It always makes things complicated when people don't do the right thing....if my mom would of just let my friend sleep there...

But she didn't and it just added to my anger and frustration while growing up .

It just made me want to leave as soon as possible......

I never really ran away after that , I got a job scooping Ice Cream for Thrify on Whittier by the commerce Movie Theatre...I would work the weekend shift....

I worked over time..every day and had enough to buy gear for myself and my brother help my mom and stepdad with the groceries....and had all the Raibow Ice cream I could fit in my belly :)

Running away helped me appreciate a bed, a shower and a fridge full of food.

It also showed me how to work hard for myself, and it showed my mom that I was growing up and not a kid anymore.

Maybe it was a mean thing to do to my mom, but I think sometimes you just have to rip the band aid off...

Evilchavo Out.

Running Away from home part 2

2008-09-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

On day 3 My girlfriend went back home with her parents....I was happy to see her go back home......the streets are cold and not safe.

That night I slept at the railroad tracks by my mom's work..but I did not sleep at all that night...in the middle of the night...I heard crazy sounds (Like some being gutted) and in the middle of the night I was not about to go investigating by myself.

I Slowly picked up my Huge suitcase and walked away very slowly (without a sound) I made my way to Wilson High School and slept in the drainage area behind the visitor seats behind the football field.

On day 4 I went to a friends house in El Sereno and asked my So-called friend if I could stay there.

He said yes...I was so tired...that I went in his garage...where the band was practicing and passed out.....that evening he came in said....my mom says that you have to take your stuff and leave...you can't stay here.

I remember my mom telling a story on how no one will help you when you really need it and how friends aren't really friends and how no one will be there in time or real need.

My mom always says " Amigos....en la carcel....en el hospital o en la muerte is donde se encuentran" Translation....Friends ...in Jail....in the hospital or in death is where you will find them.....

but I made some phone calls...and found that I was all alone....no one could back me up....

I talked to my friend Greg and asked him if he could hold my suitcase.....I wanted to know if I needed a place to stay and I told him I was fine.

I slept at the Pasadena City Hall that night...on the floor.....then the next night I slept at some church in pasadena ...

That is where my girlfriend was...so I would just stay there so that I could visit her when her parents let me.(when she got back home she got grounded and was not alowed to talk to me) She would sneak out to see me whenever possible.

I was getting colder and colder...and no matter how I layered I was freezing at night...I would go to the Am/Pm and get some burgers whenever I had money and when I did not ...I would get crackers and mayo and packets of ketchup from there and eat (sometimes I would sneak into my moms house and get food or sleep)

It never occured to me that I should go with my dad....who lived down the street from me...I was not welcome and had not seem my dad for some time...he would say come back tomorrow...I would go back the next day and he would be gone for a month....so did not have that option.

I kept going to Wilson High and would meet up with my friends....would go to ditching parties and eat or sleep there and stay up all night and sleep where ever safe.

I even slept at Calvary Cemetery for about 2 1/2 weeks....in the stairs at the chapel to the east towards Eastern ave.

Then my friend confronted me when I went to his house in El Sereno to get clothes from my suitcase.....He said your staying here.....you can't be sleeping out in the streets....We wont let you.
He and his mom were all alone, but they had room for me....I would get up early and clean the house......dishes...do the laundry......all before they got up....

They would feed me and ask me not to do anything....

We would walk home from school and clean the house, we would cook his mom diner and we would have a family meal.

It was getting much better.

to be continued.........

Evilchavo out.

Running away from home

2008-09-27T04:55:00.001-07:00

I was a teenager when I ran away from home.

My mom kept harrasing me about who I was and who I hung out with.

My mom thought I was the devil.

She did not understand me and one day I came home with a girl.

I met this girl at Wilson High School.

She was goth and was having problems at home.

She was told that if she could not get home by 7pm that she could not come back home.

That day, we were hanging out and she missed her bus to Pasadena.

She could not go home, I took her with me and talked to my mom.

I said mom I am sorry but she needs to stay here tonight....

We lived in a 1 bedroom apartment....the 4 of us.

Me , My brother Mom and Stepdad.

I told my mom....I will sleep on the couch....you can sleep with her and my dad can sleep with my brother....

I told my mom....It is the right thing to to....I told her I made her late for the bus and that there was no way that they would let her in at home. (looking at this at my age, I have come to realize that ....they probably would of just let her back home)

But anyways with out teenager eyes ....there was no way that they would let her in...they told her....not home by 7....not home til the next day.

My mom said "No,NO! NO!!"

I can't have that girl here!!!.....she is not welcome!!!....we can't have her here!!!!

I did not understand her reasoning...my stepdad...just took her side...

I could not understand how she expected me to just leave her alone out in the streets.

That night, we slept at a friends house....the house was being remodeled and our friend snuck us in, but we had to promise to be quiet and not make any noise.

That night we slept ....it was so dark....so lonely....I was angry and frustrated.

Next day, we snuck into my house..I packed all my belongings...into a huge suitcase and left home.

I left my mom a note (In spanish) telling her that I was going to run away and that I would never come back and how I could not belive that she did not trust me.

Next night we slept out in the hills of City Terrace....by City Terrace Park....Where the police towers are.....It was so cold.

I just remember her being cold and thinking about how I could not believe that my mom did this to her and how she could not put her beliefs aside and help this girl.

We always helped people, there were times that my stepdad would come in with a friend from Mexico and he would stay with us for months....Months!!

Anyways, on day 3 ...the girl said she was going to go back home...I was left all alone....with my huge suitcase.....she said that she talked to her parents and they asked her to come home.

I would continue this adventure alone....

To be continued.........

Evilchavo Out.

Robert F. Kennedy school celebrations

2008-09-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Robert F. Kennedy Elementary school is where I went to Elementary school.

Robert F. Kennedy (When I went there) Celebrated.

One of my best memories is the Halloween Parade.

It was one of the many times that we saw the older kids come back to Kennedy to see the parade.

Our parents would dress us up and our teachers would dress up also and parade us around the school yard.

Then they would give prizes to the best costume...the most original....the most creative...the most funny....

It holds a special place for me because when my mom and dad divorced it was the one thing that I could always count my dad in on....he would always be there.....not by my mom...but in the crowd looking at me and my brother in our Halloween costumes and enjoying himself.

Kennedy would also have a Cinco De Mayo celebration....where they would build food and game booths and all the teachers and some students would work in them and after the dances they would sell drinks, nachos and other good stuff and play games for tickets and cheesy prizes.

My dad would always go and give us a few bucks to play with and it was a great time had by all.

When I became a teenager it was a place to go to to see your old teachers and see friends that did not go to the same school that you did...it was a place to catch up at.....to see the friends that still had younger brothers or sisters attending.

In my High school days, it became a place for me to hide out when I did not want to be home and I needed to write or draw or take the occasional girlfriend to (that my mom did not approve of.) It was the perfect place to hide out at.

Kennedy had the best chocolate chip cookies (Huge) hard as a rock for .25 cents.

I remember I used to think that I could fly, when I entered the first grade...I would ask my teachers for a pass to go to the bathroom and run.....jump...and I felt that I would temporarily leave the ground......until I got in trouble cause I was spending more time....in the restroom (Flying) than in class......I was and continue to be a dreamer.....I continue to believe that I can fly......even if just in my mind.

Evilchavo Out.

I want more.

2008-09-24T14:40:00.005-07:00

When I was a teenager, my family went to Mexico to visit our stepdads family.

They live in the border of Jalisco and Zacatecas.

In those days, it was a plot of land with a tiny little ranch.

The house was a kitchen, a bedroom and a outhouse.

They did not have gas or electricity.

In the morning if you wanted to take a shower, you would of had to bring water from the river in order to take one.

If you wanted to have a hot shower, you had start the fire to heat up your water before you took a shower.

If you wanted to eat , you had to kill your dinner.

In essence, life was not as easy as in the United States.....

One evening we watched the younger cousins kill some chickens, take the feathers off and cook them over a grill and me and my brother after eating them had not had our fill.

So we asked our mom for more.

Our mom told us that it was all there was and to not shame her by asking for more.

So we shut up....they took our plates ....and me and my brother ....because our mom always made us help when we were company....went into the kitchen....theyre they were... all my cousins....eating our leftovers....

Me and my brother never asked for seconds again and learned a valuable life lesson that day.

We have learned to not be greedy and to appreciate what we have.

Me and my brother have learned to be humble, we have learned to treat everyone with respect.

I was just thinking about this today .

They live in California now, but they still have the ranch...it is not lacking anything now.

It has been made into a home with electricity and running water,stucco walls, paved road to the house....they all drive new cars and have made a good life for themselves.

Evilchavo Out.

Reading outloud.

2008-09-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

I just got news that I will have to do a mock presentation.

I hate doing mock presentations, I feel it never fully replicates and actual event.

When talking to someone, you go with the flow....you adapt to the conversation and go.

I have read many books on this and there is always the Robot sales technique which is full of jargon and no veering from the script.(RObotS)

It sucks, I read about the best salesman in the world...sold american cars.

NO bs, kept getting sales from referrals cause he was a regular person...no bs

I worked in collections for a long time and the best collector was this little shy Mexican lady that no once could ever hear on the phone....she was nice...she did not belittle people and she always wanted to honestly help.

People would call her to pay her, they would hold for her on the phone.

But, I will just have to deal with it.

But it reminds me of when I was a kid........

I was in Robert F. Kennedy Elementary school. in 5th grade.

My teachers always wanted me to read out loud....cause I was the shyest (SP?)

I never understood that concept, make the uncomfortable bearable by making the uncomfortable unbearable.

I always wondered if I was going to read one day and be like,...."Hey , this is no sweat....I don't know why I always freak out all the time...Look my hands they are not sweating profusely...I am cured!!"

I don't think that happens, I just learned how to read faster to get it over with.

I can read really fast because of it and it has helped in my work life because I can get things done quick....read...absorb...do.

The worst part is when you feel that you are being set up....feel like it was done on purpose to make you look bad or (Good?)....it makes me angry, what if I can't live up to the expectations...what if I fail? What if I suceed?.

fuel for the fire, because I don't want to look stupid I will have to study...get my presentation ready.....and get it over with as fast as possible.

Just like when I was a kid.....Just rip the band-aid off.

"Such things I do to make myself more attractive to you, Have I failed?"
Evilchavo Out.

Pico Rivera Sports Arena

2008-09-19T14:38:00.010-07:00

View Larger Map

The Pico Rivera Sports Arena.

There are certain things that I miss about California.

One of them is The Pico Rivera Sports Arena.

I have been going to the sports arena since I was a kid.

(The picture I use on my profile was taken at the sports arena)

(I am the little kid thats packing heat.)

I have seen so many performers there.

When I was a kid I just went because that is what we did.

Vicente Fernandez was in town.....go to the sports arena.

Antonio Aguilar was in town....go to the sports arena.

Los Tigres del Norte were in town...go to the sports arena.

since I was a little kid....go see the performers and the charreada.

Go have some churritos and soda.....

I have seen so many performers so many times.

I knew exactly what they were going to do and when they did it and I still liked the show.

As I got older and into punk music and skating and other alternative music.

I still went to the sports arena.

I was the only skater kid rockin a piteado and mustache and sideburns (ala chente) with my Vans and dickies when I was teenager.

I followed Chente, Antonio Aguilar (his son Pepe) Los Tigres,Banda Recodo,Joan Sebastian, Pedro Fernandez (from when he was a kid like me) Lorenzo de Monteclaro, Gerardo Reyes,El Piporro,Ezequiel Pena,Cadetes de Linares, Huracanes del Norte....etc...etc.....

Yeah I went to see alot of bands as a teenager that were at different places...Janes Addiction....Nine Inch Nails...Primus....Porno for Pyros...Social Distortion....Metallica....etc...etc.....but none meant as much as me sitting with my family signing our Saturday morning cleaning music with the original recorders.

Pride for my roots brings me to writting this , with the realization that it made me closer to my family , Because no matter how tight we were and if we did or did not have problems we always got the feds together to go to the show and watch our favorite singers sing.

Some of my favorite Pico Rivera performers on the you tube videos below.

Evilchavo Out (Pero sigo siendo el Reeeey!)

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

My 1964 Lincoln Continental

2008-09-17T14:30:00.002-07:00

My Lincoln Continental is called Rosie.

Not sure why.

Just is a good name.

She is a white 1964 Lincoln Continental with a 430 v8 engine with a 4 barrel carb. and a turbo automatic transmission. She has red leather seats and is all upholstered in red leather with chrome accents.

Rosie has power steering, power brakes, power 6 way front bench seat, power windows (even the vent windows are powered) power antenna . she runs like a dream.

When Rosie first came into my life she ran, but on my second drive after bringing her home (Overheated) got a whole new radiator, ran her again and would not start....rebuilt the carb....

Would not start after a few months ...due to ignition so I put a pertronics electronic ignition in her (Got rid of the points)

Moved to the bay area and you would not believe how much stuff you can cram into a car this big.

Transmission was having problems so it was rebuilt.....brakes messed up...so the whole set up was redone....new drums (Huge drums) lines and master cylinder were replaced....power steering blew out and had a new rebuilt power steering pump installed.

Ran like a dream but once I started daily driving the suspension started to give way, so got new shocks all around ...it's like driving on a cloud.

Drove it from the Bay area to Phoenix.....best roadtrip ever.

She has been good to me.

This is the backstory on my Rosie .

It all started with " El guero Yonkero" My stepdads friend.....He was the local " I can get anything for any price guy"

He would come around selling.....elotes......Sandias....peanuts....eggs.....cars....bicycles...etc....etc.....

Whatever he could get his hands on, When I was a teenager...he came to pick up my dad in a 77 Lincoln Continental......White.....with red Leather......

It was beautiful.

I asked him how much he wanted for it and he said " I could never afford that kind of car"

This guy that was a nobody....was talking down to me....telling me that I could never afford this car.......

He did not know what I had in me...or what I could do.....How dare he tell me that.....I was a teenager and full of anger...I had just lost tons of weight (see previous posts) got my first job and felt that no one could defeat me.

It took me a while, but I got her....actually a much better version of her.....not long after he told me that.....

When I was in the process of restoring her.....he was at one of the shops that I took her to get the radiator rebuilt at....and he asked me how much I wanted for her....

I told him " You can't afford this car"

He looked at me, laughed like he was thinking....can't believe you remember that....and walked away.

I have learned to never talk down to people cause you never know where you will see them again and how they will remember you.

Evilchavo Out.

Side Note on Parts for 1964 Lincoln Continental:

I found parts online for many of the repairs that I made.

Living in East Los Angeles had its benefits.

I could just go the the radiator shop....and they would rebuild the radiator or get me a new one from the back.....most of the times stock parts.

I got the complete original exhaust in el monte....

But since I moved away from East Los Angeles....most of my parts come from :

Lincoln Parts International in Perris California....they always delivered when they said they would and always stood by their products....They had a website that I would order from but it is no longer available.....

Lincoln Parts International 707 East 4th Street, Building G Perris, CA 925701

1-800-382-1656

I have not used Bakers....their info:
Bakers Auto - target="_blank">www.bakersauto.com 196 Providence Pike (Route 44 East)Putnam, CT 06260
(seems like they have good stuff)

There is also Lincoln Land

http://www.lincolnlandinc.com/
Parts/Service: 727-446-2193 Fax: 727-447-6179

(Never used them either)

But if their is one thing I have learned from this Lincoln is that you can't be picky with who you get your parts because they are hard to find and most of the time expensive.

And if you are looking for rims or a system....sorry can't help you there....my Rosie is stock...no need 4 extras......all the system I need is the sound of the 430 V8 with the dual exhaust and 4 barrel carb.......

Hope it helps....EvilChavo Out...Again.

City Terrace Library

2008-09-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

I would ditch school to go to the library.

It was my Sanctuary.

I could learn about whatever I wanted and did not need to hear someone else lecture me about how they felt I should understand the subject that I was reading about.

I was a sponge and I would read and read and read.

I remember the first time I went to the library on my own, I was already a teenager and on my way to high school.

I had been there many times before with my mom or teachers at Kennedy but never on my own.

I went in and towards the back of the library on the Northside.

I found the first full book I ever read by myself .

It was the Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice.

I remember it well because I stole it. (It was very hard for me to do that, read previous post on Stealing)

It was one of my most cherished treasures.

Reading is something that I love and when I started to get older I would pick out a book and read it in a few hours.....it was the perfect escape.

City Terrace Library was my sanctuary, It was a safe place...no one wanted to beat on me there and I was left completely alone.....it was beautiful.

Evilchavo Out.

Stealing from the liquor store or being taught a valuable lesson

2008-09-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

( I will post my Social Distortion paper later in the day, but I was just thinking about my favorite candy.....Now and Laters)

I was at Robert F. Kennedy elementary school when I made the decision to steal.

I was in between dads at the time ,so super broke.

My mom was busy working hard to get us fed and clothed.

I was not about to ask her for money for candy....

To be more specific: Now and Laters.....Cherry Flavor

I went down to the liquor store to the east of St. Lucys church (Did you know that there used to be a movie theatre where the church is before?)

The Liquor store was the kind where you walk in the door and directly to the left is a counter where they have a case full of candy by the register, the counter ran all along the west wall.

There they were, rows and rows of different flavored now and laters...mixed in with other assorted candies.

I...very, very quietly .....reached for the candy......I did not see it coming....the man behind the counter yelled at the top of his lungs that I was "Stealing!", "Stealing!!"" I will call the police"

I was so scarred that I nearly pissed myself.....He held my arm...and said "I was a thief"

I kept saying " I am sorry" "Please don't call the police" " I will never do it again"

He just looked at his wife and asked her if she was calling and she said "No"

She said that " she knew my dad and that she would talk to him"

I Never stole again, (until the library, just 1 more time,tomorrows post)

I an grateful that it happened, I know now that I probably would of never seen the cops.

They never came to City Terrace.

I know now that they could of just ignored the situation, I was only 15 cents for the now and laters.

But they did not and they taught me a valuable lesson that I will never forget.

Everytime in my teenage years that I thought of stealing....I remember that man...calling me a thief at the top if his lungs.

The liquor store is no longer there...it looks like (Per google Street view) it has been replaced by a used appliances store ...

Evilchavo Out

My first Concert| Social Distortion

2008-09-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

I was 13 when I went to my first concert.

I was looking thru my old docs and found a paper I wrote about my first concert experience.

I will type it out exactly the way I wrote it....So if there alot of grammatical errors I do apologize in advance.

I used to write alot when I was younger and recently found alot of my old writings....

I will post them as I find them.

They will be labeled as "archives from my youth"

Frustrations of a man of peace in a world of action

2008-09-13T10:33:00.001-07:00

In youth my anger filled blood pumped as if turbocharged by my hatred for all that I saw.

I made myself that way, in youth my peacefullness would cause all to think that I was weak.

so I would get picked on all the time.

I taught myself how to stand up for myself , I taught myself how to not take anything from anyone.

I have a hard time with disrespect as an adult and often times get anger filled like when I was younger and have to learn to check myself and take control of the situation.

I am chaos and like I said before I thrive in it and wonder if I just want action for the sake of action or if things are really as they seem.

Not sure what is up today, my brain is somewhere else....in a different time....it happens.

Cholo and how I learned to live within my enviroment

2008-09-09T09:09:00.002-07:00

I was not a cholo.

I lived in the enviroment and could of easily become a cholo.

My choice was made for me early in my life by my mom.

I never have met a cholo tougher than her.

When I lost all the weight I would get recruited by all the different gangs in the area.

But I did not join any of them.

I was in Junior High and this happened before I lost all the weight and one of the guys in my class was heavy into gangs from childhood due to generations of uncles and cousins and dad that were all involved in gang activity and had served of where serving time for various things that they had done.

He chose to pick on me the first day of school, he put me in a choke hold and made me drop to the floor in convulsions.

I did not even notice that he had crept up behind me , all I remember is struggling to get out of the hold and then falling to my knees and then I kept trying to snap myself back to reality and I could not.

Woke up on the floor , no one around me (I could feel everyone looking at me) and the guy was just standing over me.

The teacher came over , she asked me what happened and I told her I did not know.

That was the year I lost all the weight and by the end of that year, only a few kids would still mess with me.

He had not been around for a while, but came back the next year....looking for me and thanked me for not telling on him the year before. He apologized to me and said that no one would ever mess with me at that school again.

He left and the kids were asking me what he told me , I told them and they said that he was a gang leader now.......I went to lunch and the kids that would always mess with me....were quiet.

No one ever did anything to me that year, and I was surprised that someone that young could be a gang leader.

In one of my last jobs in the bay area, I was called ESE and Cholo by my co workers....I guess they could still notice the neighborhood in me.....

I always look for others like me, I like to call them undercovers.....or Suedeheads....I have met a few.....some of them gang members and gang leaders that chose to work hard to get out of the enviroment that they were raised in....others that were never in gangs but they were just like me.

I write this blog not only for me but so that maybe someone somewhere that feels some of what I have felt can feel that they are not alone....so that they understand that others have been through similar life experiences.......so that they know that even though others have not been thru the exact same life experience........we are all somewhat connected.....

No one ever told me that I could make it, no one ever told me that there were other options....no one ever told me that if I did not follow the mold of what everyone else did that I would still make it......

Everyone always told me I would be in Jail by 25 or dead or in the gutter.

Everyone was wrong.

EvilChavo (ESE) out.

My stepdads story , story by me, illustrations by loteria Mexicana| Warriors 2

2008-09-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before my stepdads family was/is nuts.

They loved aggression and would not hesitate to react when there was a fight brewing.

My uncles were trained from when they were young to fight .

All except for my stepdad were trained in martial arts and that is a very effective tool for ending a fight when confronted by #'s higher that your own.

But my Stepdad was very , very quiet and because of it I always wondered why he was so respected by all his younger brothers.

I asked one of my uncles once and he said that they had seen him do crazy things when they were younger and learned at a very early age not to mess with him.

He told me a story about how once in DF someone said something to one of his sisters and my stepdad got out and beat the living daylights out of the guys that said things (all by himself)

He also told me that because my stepdad was the oldest, he was already a teenager when they moved to Mexico City and he was totally ranch.

and totally uncool compared to all the City kids and that because of this he used to get beat up at first , until he started fighting back and defending all his brothers and sisters.

My younger brother idolized him

and he had good reason for it....my stepdad was the perfect employee ..was married to my mom for a long time , came right after work and spent all of his free time with us, he showed us what it was like to do the right thing.

He was employee of the year for 9 years, but did not get to his tenth year.

I imagine he had some demons in him that would not let him be, I feel there is something that he does not want to talk about, something that affects the core of who he is or who he feels that he is suppose to be.

It must be hard to carry the world on your shoulders.

I know that he is out there somewhere struggling and hope he snaps out of it, there is only so much support you can give someone before you have to let them go for your/their own good.

I hope he is well wherever he is and changes before its to late.

What's your favorite Loteria card?(this is mine)

Go get your frijoles?

Lineas, x ,cuadrito or ezquinas o carta llena?

EvilChavo Out.

My Dad playing pool at Yolies in City Terrace

2008-09-06T13:00:00.002-07:00

I have mentioned my dad before and how he was not around.

I imagine he had alot of things going on and most likely did not want to be around my mom.

But sometimes I wonder what he was doing all that time.

My dad when he was home , worked the late shift at Cp Auto Products.

He cleaned license plates for minimum wage and then moved up to punching holes in them with a big heavy duty machine.

He does not work with machinery any longer, after the getting injured a few times, last one was when the machine that punches the license plates....punched thru his hand instead.....ouch!

But he healed and is better now.

My dad is a fixture in City Terrace, He can be seen almost daily at Mercado Hidalgo.

They have known each other since they were both young and because of it have a really strong bond.

My dad has many friends.

I felt alot of resentment for my dad when I was young, He would say that he would be around,I would go looking for him he would be gone the next day....no going away for awhile...no be back in a month.

My dad is older now and has been visiting alot lately....I don't mind.

He travels alot, helping friends take cars to Mexico...he likes to drive so he has chosen a great profession.

He drives by (Like this Last Thursday) on his way to Mexico bringing with him stuff from Los Angeles that I miss.....like carnitas and handmade corn tortillas from 5 puntos (The miclos joint from Blood in Blood out) by El Pino.

I mostly like that he wants to be around....and calls and I feel that he has more than made up for his and my younger times.

I see he is older now and I see how much more I look like him everyday.

I see how my youth is also fading and I am not as agro as I used to be, I see that time changes and people change...I see that no matter how hard I try to not be like I am suppose to be the fundamentals of me are always going to be the same.

EvilchavO Out.

My other Life

2008-09-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

I take pride in my Bulldog mentality.

I learned at an early age that you have to work hard to live.

I learned that I was not like anyone else and that I did not fit in with most people.

Quiet as I seem, there have been times in my life where I have shocked or surprised those around me by navigation of the seas of poop like a sailor on his first ship.

I am chaos, I love Chaos, I was raised in it and try to keep myself away from it as much as possible due to its addicting personality.

Everywhere I have worked it has given me and edge, it has made me stand out.

Most people only work 25% where I work 110% , when I have a goal only one thing can stop me..........Me.

Evilchavo OUt.

The adventures of Super Chicken Part 4

2008-09-03T15:05:00.013-07:00

One of the many time that Super Chicken went awol from the institution.

He came home to see ....with the familiar "EvilChavooooooooo! EvilChavvvvvooooooooo!!"

I came out ready to sk8 but this was not the case this time.

My Friend Super Chicken had a girl with him.

He was dressed in nice gear for us which was our going to a gig wear.

Black dickies, black hi top vans and a skate shirt with a dickies jacket.

I knew this was serious because he had his arms wrapped around her like she was going to disappear if he let her go.

He introduced me to the Most blond girl I had ever seen.

He said they met in the institution and went awol together.

He said this is my Girlfriend "Megan"

To which she replied "That's not my name"

He said "Yes it is" , "Who is Megan I said"

The girl from the exorcist (A movie a have not ever seen to this day, It scared the crap out of me, when I heard about this movie when I was a kid ...I was forbidden from seeing it)

And have not seen it, not sure why but just have not.

Anyways , My friend Super Chicken was coming around less often I was already in High school and had a few friends I went to gigs and stuff with.

My friend took off that day, went home and did not come back.Not sure what happened.

(I think he went to his parents and they took him back to the institution.)

I was there with this guerra girl thinking "What do I have in common with this girl" she comes from a totally different place....we talked a little...I remember she was really into heavy metal and I was not at the time so that was the end of the music converstation.

My friend did not call and after about 6 hours it was time to get ready for the gig...so I put my gear on and asked if she wanted to come with us and she did.

She wanted to come with us (We did not go looking for my friend because I had no idea of where his parents lived now, they had moved away a long time ago when my friend jumped off the bridge( see previous Super Chicken posts for more info)

We went to a gig a my friends home in El Sereno and she was having a lot of fun.

Around 3 am she said she wanted to leave and I told her she could not come back to my house because my mom would freak out....she stood at my friends house and the next day all the people that stood over at my friends that night went to the beach.

I saw her that evening and she looked just like a lobster , I asked what happened and she said that she fell asleep face up at the beach....and no one woke her up.

I asked my friend what happened and they said that she fell asleep as soon as they got there and no one could wake her up.

That day my friend Super Chicken came back to get her and was so mad that he wanted to beat me up .....he said that I did that to her on purpose and all I said is she fell asleep in the sun.

He took her and I did not see him again until he went awol a few months later.

Evilchavo Out

Graduation from Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School

2008-09-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

I went to Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School off of Hazard in City Terrace.

I managed to salvage alot of old pictures from a storage unit that the rest of my family abandoned and took whatever pictures I could before the storage unit expired and everything got thrown away...no feds ....no storage....just how life goes sometimes.

I was looking at my old pics and found my Graduation from Elementary school pics.

(Here I am getting up to receive my diploma)

(Here I am picking up my diploma note: rockin the pumas & cords)
(Me and my only friend Eddie)

(that's me:) Figured out what the dark spots are?

Roaches,Roaches,Roaches....sux but no feds no money for for big buck cameras in those days.

Just how life goes sometimes.

Evilchavo Out.

The year I lost all the weight|Belvedere Junior High

2008-09-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

When I entered Junior High School,I was a super nerd, chess club, algebra club, computer club...

So I would obviously get picked on very often.

(New School,new b.s.)

I had a teacher in Junior High by the name of Ms. Gaughan (Not sure if she is still around)

but she was tough...I remember that she intimidated the hell out of me.

She would look at me ... just look at me like I was the most dissapointing student ever.

I was big and dorky and just must of been a really sad sight.

The first day of class she made us all run a mile.

I was the last one in and did not even get to finish the mile in a whole period.

I was out of shape.

Every class would start with , Evilchavo go run a mile....every single class.

I hated her, I hated that she was letting everyone else play soccer or baseball or racketball.

I hated all of those sports but felt bad because she would keep singleing me out.

I got so angry after about a week of this that I just took off running like a mad person.

Everyday I would come in hopeing that she would tell me to join the class.

All she would say was go run a lap, I would try to talk my way out of it .

And she would say "Go run a lap"

I lost alot of weight that year...her constant go run a lap....my skating.

Alot of things changed form me that year, I was in the eight grade.

I got my first kiss, my first girlfriend, made my first real friends, won the squat lifting contest at school along with the most push ups and most bench pressed and was even able to do pull ups.

Mrs Guaghan did not need to tell me to run a lap anymore, but I did everytime while everyone was getting ready to start the class, she would come in ask if I had already run my lap , I would say yes Mrs. Gaughan she would always say Ms. Not Mrs and would begin her class.

The year was 1987, The year of the Whittier Narrows Earthquake (I was 13)

(Wrote about the Earthquake earlier in this blog)

My brother also went to Belvedere, one day I heard him saying that he hated his P.E. Class.

I asked him who his teacher was and he said Mrs. Gaughan , I corrected him and said Ms. Gaughan ,Not Mrs and told him to go run a lap....my brother looked at me amazed and I told him that he needed to do everything that she told him to do...not matter what...

I told him she help change my life.

Evilchavo Out.

Now.....Go Run A lap!!

Skating the City Terrace park pool

2008-08-31T08:31:00.001-07:00

We were not pool skaters.

We had streets and curbs and ramps that we made.

So everywinter , we would skate the pool at City Terrace Park.

It was not all cool like in the skate videos or like in the movies.

We had to jump the fence , try and sweep up as much chlorine as possible.

But that pool was layered in Chlorine, so when skated the trail of chlorine would trail behind us, it was super toxic.

I was not very good in those days but felt that these type of opportunities were not always available.

So I would always try out my vert skills, but I was a street skater so it was just not that much fun for me.

The street skaters would always eventually get bored and go find stuff to skate at the park.

My friend that had just moved in to the neighborhood climbed the fence to the roof of the pool .

And we all started skating the roof.

This is what it looks like today.

It was so fast.(It runs from the park pool all the way down to the other side)

But the best and fastest spot is from the pool to just past the restrooms in the basketball court.

If you are ever in the area, and have your huevos on.

This is a fun place to sk8 (The pool was fun)

But the rooftops , fun ...fun...fun....

Watch out for the chota, cause they don't play.

Evilchavo sk8 the roof!

The Whittier Narrow Earthquake| Where were you?| 10/1/1987

2008-08-30T08:30:00.002-07:00

I remember the Whittier Narrows Earthquake.

It was on October 1, 1987 that the earthquake hit at 7:42 Am.

I was on my way to school. Late like always.

I was walking down Hazard ave. by the park when the earth starting moving.

I thought I was losing it, the ground was like a huge wave.

I did not know what to do , I kneeled down until it stopped and ran to school.

On my way to school I passed the retirement home on Hazard and Fairmont Street (across the street from the liquor store)

The older people were all standing in their pj's or in there nothing, yelling for help.

I was like a zombie movie and I don't know what scared me more the sight of them or the earthquake.

I should of gone back home but did not want to be alone.

I got to the school (Belvedere Junior High) and they made us all wait in the field.

Teachers said nothing, there were no cell phones around then so we just sat around and looked for our teachers so that they could tell us what was going on....but nothing was said.

Parents started coming to the school looking for their kids .

Teachers started calling out names and the crowd kept getting smaller and smaller.

My mom did not have a car , so I figured she would come pick me up after work (or would come if she was able to get ride)

My girlfriend at the time, got picked up and so did all my other friends.

The crowd that was left started jumping the fence and nearly broke it down cause they all left at once.

I stood there and around 2Pm (My Dad) picked me up, My Dad.

I did not expect him to come , but he told me that my mom called and that they were not letting her out of work.

That night we slept in the school yard behind our house.

We met all the neighbors and everyone tallked about where they were when it happened.
We all shared our food and blankets and made beds out of the school benches.

We became real close with all out neighbors because of that day.

What is really funny to me is how scared we all were, but after that we were all like "What Earthquake? You call that an Earthquake? Like we were all badass and not super scared that day.

The adventures of super chicken part 3

2008-08-29T08:29:00.003-07:00

My friend Superchicken jumped off a bridge.

He survived (He was not defeated)

His parents did not want to tell me where he was.

He went AWOL from the Institution that he was in.

He stopped taking his meds.

He came to pick me up one of the many times he went AWOL and we went skating.

He told me that I needed to get him a skateboard.

The kids down the street where skating.

My friend asked(More like told) the kid if he could borrow his skateboard.

and off we went.

Took the 70 to the General Hospital .

He said that he found the perfect spot for skating.

We went up to where they had the Institution and down to the service entrance of the hospital.

We skated the Hospital, the hallway...it is a short incline and then its all down corridors (you go thru the hospital from one side to the other) Fast....

All I remember is being scared of hitting someone, people were being taken back and forth on gurneys and doctors and nurses were yelling at us, security guards chasing us......but we did not get caught.....we were way to fast......it was one of the best experiences ever.

We went back to my house...he gave me the skateboard and told me to take it back to the kid.

When we got off the bus.....He crossed the street.

I asked him where he was going and he said that he had to go back to the institution...he took the 70 back to general hospital.

He told me he needed to make sure he got me back home safe .

sk8 or die Evilchavo out.

The Adventures of Super Chicken part 2

2008-08-28T08:28:00.003-07:00

SuperChicken never let me do any drugs and rarely let me ditch school, he always stood up for me and never let anyone talk down to me or hurt me.

SuperChicken had a rough childhood , he sniffed spraypaint and never told me to participate.

SuperChicken would come to me when he was stressed out and I would always calm him down...

(He would never talk about what happened at home)

But I knew he never wanted to be there and when I was not around is when he would go see his old friends and sniff spraypaint.

One day I was in Mexico with my parents when he came around (Crying according to the neighbors) and that same day he tried to jump off a bridge.

I saw him when he went AWAL from the Institution they put him in after he healed from the fall.

He was gone, they had him so drugged up that he only seemed like half of the guy he used to be.

I saw him a few times after that and the last time (He just kept talking to himself) when I asked him who he was talking to he said that they didn't think I would understand.

On his last visit I gave him my Sk8board (He did not have one and I knew that was one of the only things that he still enjoyed doing and kept him away from trouble)

He got on the board skated away and he looked just like in the old days (Badass) .

It was towards the end of my days in City Terrace, I have no seen SuperChicken since.

I have asked old friends about him and the ones that are left don't even remember him.

Everyone else has moved away as have I , I hope he is good wherever he is, I hope he is sk8ing.

Evilchavo Sk8 or die

Daewoo lanos, Dead 2000-2008 R.I.P.

2008-08-27T15:13:00.008-07:00

Just got the News from my Mechanic, The Daewoo Lanos is Dead!

Checked compression and timing belt, changed plugs and plug wires.

But the car is gone, Why is it that cars always mess up on me after I make a repairs to their appearance.....I just changed the cracked windshield, added a new Optima Red Top and Cleaned it all up.

I guess I was just doing the prep work for its death....At least it was taken care of in the end.

Time to fix the Lincoln or find a new car.

Evilchavo (Jinx) out

The Adventures of Super Chicken part 1

2008-08-27T08:27:00.002-07:00

When I started skating, I was overweight, a very insecure kid.

I learned about confidence and how to carry myself not from my Dad (he was not around)

Or my Stepdad( He was not around at that time either,Until Later)

But from my friend Super Chicken (His Nickname, he had big pointy nose)

My Friend Super Chicken was a few years older than me and I remember seeing him down the street at the Mercado Hidalgo ( BreakDancing )

During the big break dancing craze alot of the neighborhood kids would turn into crews and breakdance.....my friend was one of them...they would lay their cardboard down in front of the Mercado Hidalgo and break dance against other crews.

When I started Sk8ing he was one of the first people that I saw sk8ing at the school.

After I thought myself how to sk8 I met him, he laughed at me cause of the skateboard that I had and called me a poser.

I did not even know what that meant but everyone started laughing at me...so I said " I am not a poser"

He said you skate like a poser...what is a poser? I said...then my mom called me in and I left.

I lived by the Elementary school (actually all you had to do was jump the fence to get to my house)

The next day he was on the street yelling out my name....I did not have any friends at the time so I was shocked that anyone was calling for me.

I came out and there he was , he asked if I wanted to skate and I said yes.

Then we went skating.....all the way to the Wedge (skatespot) by Montebello....7.3 mi – about 21 mins per google ( I had only sk8ted at the school by my house, street in front of my house and nothing else!)

I was overweight and not that good at skating, but my friend kept asking me if I was a poser when I would say "No" he would tell me to keep going.....when I wanted to quit he told me that I was a mommas boy and if I wanted he could call my mom.....so I kept skating.

When we finally made it there , I watched him skate cause there was no way that I could do anything at the ditch and then we went home on the bus.

Superchicken paid, I never had any money.....but the next weekend he came around again and off we went...but before we went...I was having an identify crisis....I felt Like a poser I did not have the right gear....so he said that he would tell me what to wear so that I did not look like such a poser.

He made me wear two different kinds of shoes, I wore them all day and felt so weird at the end of the day he told me that I should never worry about what other people think and to just wear what I wanted , He said to never let anyone tell me what to do.

SuperChicken taught me alot of lessons, how to talk to girls, how to fight, how to do laundry, how to cook churros,how to skate,how to make friends.

I will write more about all my adventures with SuperChicken and the lessons that he forced me to learn.

Evilchavo Out.

The Railroad tracks on the way to school

2008-08-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before ,I was a big fan of ditching.

There were these railroad tracks on my way to Wilson High that were really hard to cross for me for some reason.

I hated school, fun was more interesting for me at the time( But I wasn't always like that)

When I was younger I was a super nerdy kid, all the way until Junior High (Belvedere) I was in the chess club, the Algebra Club and wanted to be a Bio Chemist( In fact one of the only classes that I would attend in High School was Chemistry or anything to do with science and math)

My Grades from Junior High let me coast until the 11th grade.

Mom had to go to the school to talk to my teachers (She did not talk English!) and I imagine that this must of been really hard for her (I was a mean kid) she likes to tell this story :

When I went to school looking for my son, I had to go to all his classes to have them sign the attendance card and he was not there.

I went to his history class and his teacher said that he had no problems with me and my attendance (My mom was very happy, but I was nowhere to be found)

He pointed down at the bleachers and said that her son is always on time (He's right there)

Everyday he goes under those bleachers at the exact time(Right before my class starts) and when the bell rings...he hops the fence and leaves.

I liked to ditch, It was always an adventure(Had lots of adventures and met alot of really cool people)....I hated school.

Evilchavo out.

Car Trouble....Again...

2008-08-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it was bound to happen again.

I seems I have lived up to my expectations as a human being once Again.

I have always had bad luck at one point in time I had so much bad luck they called me "Jinx"

We received a Daewoo Lanos from the Inlaws for free. (That rocked)

Having one vehicle and two different people driving to two totally different places meant we had to get another car and the opportunity presented itself in the form of someone needed a new car and us conveniently needed an old car.

I washed the new car (as is my custom) mostly to see what condition the car is in and what I need to repair or replace to keep the unit on the road.

Drove it for about a month and then it died, ....changed the plugs, plug wires, put in a new battery and checked all the electrical connections and nothing....just tries to engage and does not start.

It is a Daewoo Lanos (Not the coolest) but you would be amazed at how roomy this little green giant is. But now it is not running and I have used all my tricks and still no start.

What to do? Will see if I can get a mechanic out here to work on it.

Some of the cars that I have had have died out of neglect (bad evilchavo) other's well.....did I mention that I am Jinxed.

Here is a list of the cars that I have had and their cause of death....RIP

1) Motobecane (a scooter bike) magneto died after just a few days (paid $50 for it in Tijuana) had no papers

2) Ford Granada (got towed the day after I got it, bad tags)No paperwork

3) Audi 5000 (died on the side of the road due to broken axle),No money to fix.

4) Cadillac Deville (Stepdad sold it to his friend and never gave me the money for it) died on the way to the airport , they picked it up and never returned it.

5) Chevy Celebrity (Got Repoed, Stepdad did not tell me the payments were not being made) No money to get it back.

6) another Audi 5000 (same exact color) On our way to a wedding in Fresno, the wheel bearing deteriorated and the wheel fell off ( We hit the median , made out of oleanders and flipped over a few times) needless to say it was totalled (won't buy one of those again)

7) Dodge Plymouth Arrow (ran for many, many miles and was a very good truck) did not really die as much as we sold it for cheap to someone that needed it...many repairs were needed.

8) 1971 Cutlass Supreme (dad...not stepdad...borrowed it, the distributor was not working properly my dad was pushing it and got run over by a semitruck....but he made it...He was in the hospital for almost a year.)

9) 1999 Mercury Cougar (Right had passenger side melted) due to apartment next to us did not turn off their bbq , it caught their patio on fire and the heat from the fire melted the right hand passenger side.

10) 1964 Lincoln Continental , (Just sits there) needs power steering pump,carb rebuild,new ignition....willl work on it when I can devote to it the love it requires.

11) 2000 Polaris Victory v92c (Sold it)after many miles and riding and 2 burnt fuel pumps( bad evilchavo)

12) 1977(8) Vespa P200E ( Needs to be restored) is sitting at my moms apartment.

13) 2000 Daewoo Lanos (Not Starting)Should be able to get it fixed....won't let this one go.

Well cross your toes, hopefully will get this one running soon.....Love car shopping but not sure what kind of car to get if this one does not work out.

Might just get the Lincoln Running, :)

Sux mechanics not answering the phone....told you I am jinxed

The Vespa and our first ride together

2008-08-22T17:55:00.001-07:00

I did not fully know how to ride it when I went on my first real ride with a group of scooter riders.

We drove down to Whittier and thru the hills on that first ride I did not crash on the steep hills....I was so proud of myself ....on our way home we drove down Whittier blvd on a Saturday night (When everyone is cruising) and at the intersection of Atlantic Blvd and Whittier...I had my crowning moment......

The light turned green and everyone took off...I was left behind.....I am guessing that I was pretty nervous because of the enviroment because I did not go....I kept twisting the grip for gas and nothing happened (just reviving) I was holding up the line....people started honking and laughing at me cause I could not go....I twisted the throttle....put it in gear and did the coolest wheelie ever....but I over did it and smack...fell on my side.

Never dropped my scooter again....rode a bunch of rallies with it....drove as far as San Luis Obispo down the Pacific Coast Highway once...was even in a magazine for one the rallies I went to. (I will look for that picture and post it on this thread if I can find it)

Now it sits at my moms house, rusting away...poor little Vespa...I think I will have to ressurect it now that I wrote this...poor little Vespa , rotting away, can't wait till I resurrect you , cant wait to kick over the engine and hear the sweet pitter patter of that 2 stroke engine.

1977(8)spa P200E|

2008-08-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

My Vespa p200 , was the most efficient running vehicle that I have ever owned.

The coolest next to my 1964 Lincoln Continental and the most fun to drive.

I already had experience with organizing events due my fondness for ditching and the ditching parties I would have at my home.

So the next step was easy.....have gigs....make money ....get me a scooter.

I had my first gig on my birthday and I figured no one would show, but I had my friend (who was good at drawing) make flyers( he also got the bands to play for free ), (my friend that had a real job) made the copies at his work, and I took the flyers to the Montebello mall , the record shop on whittier and to some of the local high schools.

People showed up.. ( my friends were the security) and I was the one at the door getting money.

I made about two hundred dollars that first gig, (while at the door on that first gig I told people to bring their pennies and change and stuff to trade for the entry fee for the gig next week)

They did , they brought me pennies, loose coin, beer, candy, soda and other stuff.

I threw 3 more gigs and made a good amount and figured it was time to buy a scooter....I drove one once before and thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

My friend had a 1964 vbb (if my memory serves me correctly)he bought at a scooter fair at Atomic Scooters (Not sure if they are still in the Griffith park area)

I told my friend to find out if they had any scooters they were selling at the bulleting board in the scooter shop and he did....he brought me a pink index card that said p200e in red ink.

I called the # and the guy said he still had it.

Drove to Hollywood the next day and paid my $850 for it.....I went to bank on my way over there and changed my 83 dollars I had in coin and the remainder in 1 dollar and 5 dollar bills (I think there might of been 1 ten dollar bill in the mix)

My friend drove it home and he loved it and kept talking about how much more powerfull it was than his.

Got it home told my mom I bought a scooter, and she thought it was so funny this little scooter that I bought for myself...my mom helped me clean it that day. It was red (just like the pic above) but it had grey cowls.

Tomorrow I will write about my first real ride on my Vespa.

Baseball in Arizona vs Los Angeles

2008-08-20T13:19:00.028-07:00

I was going to write about my Vespa but will save that one for tomorrow or a later date.

I have written mostly about the past so far, and wanted to change the pace by writting about the present.

(Sorry about the pics were taken with my cell)

I went to a company function yesterday , My first baseball game here in Arizona @ Chase Field in Phoenix (Been here more that 4 years and never made it to one of the games ) The Arizona Diamonbacks played against the San Diego Padres.

The tickets were Free , and we had a party suite.....Never seen the game like that before.

When I was younger I went to the Dodger games as often as possible as soon as I started driving and for a few years my friends+ my brother would go to everygame.

These were fun times, a sea of blue and noise that would drown out all the problems that we had at home and in school.....all that existed was the enviroment that we were in.

We always bought whatever tickets were cheapest and covered whoever did not have enough for their ticket....we would load up on Dodgerdogs and sodas and watch the game in peace....joking around with each other all game...not really caring about the game in general just being happy when the Dodgers won and upset when they did not win.

Totally different vibe here in Arizona....the Stadium was half full....people only cheared when something happened. Even though we had a box with a bar and food and great seat with tvs in the room (It was just not fun)

We left early to try and sit in the regular seats and there just was no action.....sad....(people talking on their cell phone not even enjoying the game)

I think I have to make it out to Los Angeles for a game (and a Dodgerdog) and some La Estrella or some King Taco or maybe some Shakeys or at a minimum go to a Diamondback against the Dodgers game here in Phoenix to see if I could get into the game with my people in attendance

(No harm in giving Chase Field a second chance)

Evilchavo out (feeling nostalgic)

The Golden Ford Granada | My first car

2008-08-19T11:30:00.010-07:00

My first car was a 1977 Ford Granada that I bought from my friend for $200 dollars.

I gave my friend a deposit of $25 dollars and drove us around in it all day and night.

It was most likely a stolen car. Plates were expired, no paperwork.

The first day I bought it, I drove it all over Los Angeles.

Ending the day with a trip to Hollywood for a cruise in the golded Ford Granada.

On my Way home at about 3am, I fell asleep at the wheel, about 5 houses from mine.I remember thinking that I could not belive I wrecked the car that I had just bought and that I was going to be in really big trouble due to I did not have a drivers license at the time.

I parked the car down at City Terrace park on Van Pelt and ran down to Kennedy Elementary school to hide out. Slept at the school for about 4 hours and went back home to see what damage I had caused to the car I crashed into.

I was so scared thinking that everyone was going to be outside looking for the person that wrecked the neighborhood car and to my surprise found that no one was out.

Checked over the car that I hit and found not one scratch, I must of just bumped into the car and because of how tired I was ,did not see things for what they were.

Walked down to City Terrace park and picked up my car.Went home and told my mom I bought a car and washed it all day.

I told my friends(2) that I had a car and everyone was excited, we planned a trip to the desert and were getting ready for it ...when we heard a tow truck.....towing my car away because of the plates that were expired.

Did not have any kind of documentation for the car and felt it was better it I just let it go, one the best $25 dollars I ever spent.

Have had many vehicles since, and tomorrow, I will talk about one of my favorite vehicles my Vespa P200.

Which brings me to these questions.

What was your first vehicle? any interesting stories? Name it?

Roots, Where my heart grew from

2008-08-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

I was looking at some the videos that I have on the bottom of this page that show the different kinds of music that I have been influenced by in my life and found one of my favorite songs.

When I was younger and coming from a really poor family my dad would always play this song over and over again(when he was down) or mom would play it on Saturday morning while she cleaned the house.

I heard it again today while working on this blog and I wanted to post the lyrics along with a translation. This is where I come from, This is part of the root of the root.

Gerardo Reyes : Sin Fortuna (Without Fortune)

Yo naci sin fortuna y sin nada (I was born without fortune or anything)
desafiando al destino de frente (defying my destiny)
hasta el mas infeliz me humillaba (I was humiliated by the most miserable)
ignorandome toda la gente (Ignored by everybody)
mas de pronto mi suerte ha cambiado (but my luck has changed very rapidly)
y de pronto me vi entre la gente. (all of a sudden I am among people)

Y esa gente al fingirse dichosa (an those people fake their happiness)
frente a un mundo vulgar y embustero (in front of a vulgar and lying world)
gente hipocrita, ruin, vanidosa (hypocrite people, ruined people,vain people)
que de nada le sirve el dinero (that is no good regardless of money)
que se muere lo mismo que el pobre (that dies just like a poor person)
y su tumba es el mismo agujero (and their tomb is the same hole)

Ahora voy por distintos caminos (Now I have a different path)
voy siguiendo tan solo al destino (I chase my own fortune)
y entre pobres me siento dichoso!! (and amongst the poor I am happy)
si es amando doy mi amor entero (If I love , I love entirely)
con los pobres me quito el sombrero (amongst the poor I take off my hat)Respect
y desprecio hasta el mas poderoso (and I snub the most powerfull)

Soy cabal y sincero les digo (I am honest and I can sincerely tell you)
he labrado mi propio destino (I have made my own destiny)
yo le tiendo la mano al amigo (I extend my hand to a friend)
pero al rico jamas me le humillo!!! (but to a rich person I will never bow)

Talking part:
(Yo nunca tuve el calor de un beso! (I never had the heat of a kiss)
mis pobres viejos trabajaban tanto (My poor parents worked so much)
que nunca tuvieron tiempo para eso (that they never had time for that)
y asi creci! (and that is how I grew up)
sin ignorar el llanto (without ignoring the crying (pain))
no fui a la escuela (I did not go to school)
yo aprendi de grande (I learned when grown up)
las letras no entran cuando se tiene hambre (Words don't go in when you are hungry)
y no hay quien te de la mano si eres pobre! (their is no one to help when your poor)
por eso vuelvo a este pueblo viejo (Thats why I come back to this old town)
donde la vida me trato tan mal! (Where life has treated me bad)
y esta es mi raza (This is my Raza)
que por nada dejo! (That I will leave for nothing)
aunque volviera yo a sufrir igual!!!) (even if I was to suffer less)

Soy cabal y sincero les digo (I am honest and I can sincerely tell you)
he labrado mi propio destino (I have made my own destiny)
yo le tiendo la mano al amigo (I extend my hand to a friend)
pero al rico jamas me le humillo!!! (but to a rich person I will never bow)

There is No shame in being from where I am from and proud to come from parents that worked so hard to make me who I am today.

I appreciate the sacrifices that they made for me when they were young ,I can survive in this jungle we call life because of them.

Evilchavo out.

Why I did not become a Cholo

2008-08-17T12:00:00.005-07:00

Being a cholo in City Terrace was not an easy process to go thru.

You had to know certain people and you had to prove that you were down for the neighborhood.

You had to get jumped in(get beat down by several of your soon to be homies), shaved down (get your head shaved all the way down to a bald head) and you had to do work (represent your neighborhood no matter what) for your neighborhood when necessary.

I have never been a good team player and could not understand the reasoning behind taking orders from people that were full of aggression and only acted when in groups.

My mom (single mother at the time) bought my first skateboard a Variflex complete ($45, a fortune) at a sporting good store .

I was scared, I did not want to fall in front of people.

When I did not open package for about a week ,my mom tagged along with our neighbors and we went to the park (Whittier Narrows) there is a very private section of the park by the freeway , away from the soccer field.

The kids at the school skated all day and they made it all look so easy.

I took the complete Variflex board out of packaging , put both feet at the same time on the board and stood on it (in the grass) and I thought to myself (I can do this)

Put the board on the walkway, put both feet on the either side of the board and......smack

Fell on my face.

Then I tried to pedal down this small hill and the board zoomed out in from of me and ....smack I fell again...did the splits this time.

Did it again and my back foot just missed the back of the board and ....smack fell on my hands

I fell so many times that by the end of the day I was sore and bruised and all my clothes(Cord Huskies, Pumas, black T shirt) were dirty.

Got back to where my mom was and they had been looking for me for about two hours and as I walked toward them I could tell that she was furious but when she saw me she must of thought that I got run over or something because she just checked me over to make sure I was o.k.

She asked me what I was doing and I answered "soy a skater Ma'"

Un skater ma'?

Que es un skater mijo? Translation : What is a skater son?

Then I showed her ,I rolled down the parking lot..... she was so impressed.

She told the neighbors I was un Skater.

To which they replied "Con que se come" Translation : What do you eat that with? (Phrase used when you have no idea what someone is talking about)

Then I showed them I could skate. They laughed and said it was a "Patin del diablo"

I lost alot of weight in the following months ,got better gear and started hanging out with the local skaters that were a few years older that me.

We started going on field trips to Monterey park (Atlantic Square) to skate, to Whittier( The Wedge) , Pasadena, Hollywood, Downtown....all over the place.

When there was no money for bus fare we would skate there....when we had no money for food we would just drink water or hit the 7 eleven by the (closed along time ago) Sundown drive in (right before EastLa College) and drink the soda when no one was looking.

I was in Junior High (Belvedere) when I started skating and once I lost all the weight the local gangs would always try and recruit me.(but I could not be a part of that world I had my own skateworld that they could never touch) They would always tell me "Skate or Die" "Skate or Die"

Little did my mom know that her gift would give me so much freedom and that it would keep me away from gangs for the remainder of my time in City Terrace.

Gangs and being a cholo seemed like a really bad thing to be when I was young, but I have met many ex-cholos/as that have turned into great friends and have been in positions as executives to many companies that I have worked for and they have always recognized me as one of their own and have helped me in one way or another.

So you can't judge anyone by who they were because you never know who you are going to be working for when you get older or when you will need someones help or backup.

Evilchavo sk8 or die.