What A Month For The Blog

Here is likely the last post for this month. And was this month ever a progressive one for the Herd.

With this post, there will be 29 posts for the month of November. That's just under one post per day on average. Yes, there is that much going on, that much to write, that many stories to tell.

On this main page, the newer posts are at the top, the older posts are at the bottom. Only the 25 most recent posts are on the front page. So, you'll notice that because of the number of posts this month, there are items from the beginning of the month that are already off the main page.

If you want to read older items, feel free to do so. On the right column you'll see a section with the header 'Blog Archive'. This, as well, is arranged so that the most recent months are at the top of this section. In parentheses next to each month it the number of posts for that particular month. Just click on any of these listed posts and months and you'll be able to read older items.

Also, you can browse through the section in the right column titled 'Labels'. As I said before, these are basically the subjects on which I have written. When someone gets mentioned, or some topic covered, I'll put a label to the post. So, you can look at different topics and see what I've written so far. If you are looking for people and wonder why you're not on the list of Labels, don't fret-- I just haven't had anything to write about you, and likely haven't been told what to write (so give me some info about you and I'll out it up!).

Thanks for the good times this month. I know it may not happen every month that there is something new every day, but let's enjoy every day nonetheless. Now, let's see what December has in store. Enjoy the weekend!

On A Sunday Afternoon

Of course it was Thanksgiving Weekend, but the pictures I took this past Sunday show what a typical Sunday is like in our family.

You’ve got people gathered in a circle and snacking and chatting.

You might have a little food prep and cook-off in one area.

And you’ll always have the guys chillin' off to the side.

There are only a few pics, but here is the photo album.

That's good times.

Surnames

This should be a fun one for y’all.

A Torres met a Hernandez, and before you knew it, we were here—all 100 and some.

Now, there is a mix of last names throughout the family tree. Truth be told, not only do we have some of the most common last names of any in the country, we also have some of the most rare.

I recently came across a New York Times article that uses Census info to track surnames. It gives the frequency (occurrence for every 100,000 people), the rank, and the change in rank since the 1990 Census.

The article mentions one important concept. During the influx of immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s, many Europeans came to the US bearing their given family names. However, thanks to US policy, many of these immigrants had their names changed—‘Anglican-ized’ to sound more American. Thus, connections to history and culture were set aside in the name of immersion and assimilation in a glaring example of inherent American xenophobia.

As an aside, I have to mention that during this period, the rate of immigration per US citizen was at its highest compared to any era in American history. That is, there were more immigrants coming in to the US per thousand citizens than any other time—even more than now. The difference is that back then, you went to Ellis Island, got your papers stamped, and you were here as long as you wanted to stay. Now, they give us b_llsh_t about resources, security, crime, wages, taxes and the rest. But that’s another story.

So I took a look at some of the surnames from our family to see where our names fell and put them into a spreadsheet (see below).





By the looks of it, there are plenty of Garcia's and Hernandez', the Aspuria's need to have more kids, and judging by that jump in rank the Jaimes' must be having plenty of kids. Just kidding!

But it is interesting to see that the ones we can track above, the Anglo names are falling while the Spanish names are going up.

Here is the Times article where you can search names from 2000.

Here is another website where you can find info from 1990.

Good times... good times...

November Poll Closed

The Poll for November closed last week. This poll had the highest response rate yet-- 8 people voted!

So, that might not even get to 10% of our family, but it's still the highest yet. I expect December's Poll to have more responses.

Th question was, "How many times have you traveled outside of California?" This isn't just a random question. Rather, it goes to the heart of one of the defining characteristics about who we are as a family. That is, we don't travel, we don't get out much.

It has been said that any person's best quality is also their worst flaw. Viewing the motivation for the Poll and results of the Poll under the guise of that statement, what can we say about our Family?

You may come to your own conclusions, and perhaps you had an opinion established beforehand, but my conclusion is as follows:

We are a close, tight-knit family. It is nothing for us to show up at any other's house on a random Tuesday, or even a Sunday. It doesn't take a birthday or wedding to get several dozen of us gathered for coffee, dinner, or just to sit and talk. And we happen to live in a city and in a state that together have some of the most beautiful views and weather in the world.

Now, on the flip side of things, this is also what keeps us close to home and most-often within our own family circle. Who needs friends when you have such a big family? Why travel when we live in such a beautiful place? Our familiarity (pardon the pun) is our security blanket, comforting and warm, and always nearby.

This isn't to say that it's a bad thing-- not at all. We are close as a family, and we extend this to anyone who enters the circle, whether they are friends or significant others. Every in-law, boyfriend and girlfriend, cousin Wolf and Uncle Larry (Bob's brother) are a testament to that.

It is not all of these positives about us that are at issue. The issue is whether the comfort of the circle keeps us from doing things-- from travel, from trying new things, from meeting new people, from doing anything that might fall outside of what the Family considers normal or usual.

This is food for thought, to be sure. But that's all it should be. Do not take offense. This isn't an indictment, it is merely a topic for consideration. And after such consideration, no doubt we will get back to those things that make our family so great, and so rich with kindness.

Out of 8 responses, 3 have traveled outside of California 1-5 times, 2 have traveled outside of the state 6-10 times, 2 chose 11-15 times, and one 16 or more times. The votes are leaning toward staying close to home.

Now, you discuss.

More Thanksgiving Pics

Leah added a couple of nice pics to the Thanksgiving 2007 photo album.

Take a look if you haven't already!

And download them, or order prints online, if you see pictures you like.

Cheers!

The Day After

Though the moments with our Family are always memorable.....*cough*...... here are some of the good times I remember from the Friday of Thanksgiving Weekend 2007:

• -Natalie’s boyfriend, Jason, was asked about someone playfully hitting him. All he heard was “…she was about to hit you…” to which Jason replied, “Who? Peggy?” I guess he has a warm relationship with his future mother-in-law. But he laughed too, so it must be all good.

• -We were kicking back on Monica’s patio, and there was a few seconds of silence. Bosco turned to Louie and asked, out of nowhere, “Have you ever been stabbed?” Not “How is your job?” or “What’s the last movie you saw?” I guess we all have our own version of ‘small talk’.

• -When Uncle Vic told us he was going to play his ‘Benny and the Jets’ video (where he performs and lip-syncs the Elton John classic on the piano) at Leah’s wedding, someone asked Leah if she was going to keep the mic away from him. Leah said, “He already told me that my wedding is not about me and my fiancé David.” I wonder if, when Leah said about her wedding “Dad, you’re paying” he thought she said, “Dad, you’re playing” and Uncle Vic started working on his performance.

• -7 months after I left UPS, Gramma Connie says she barely found out this weekend. When I told her I had quit, you should have seen what happened. She pulled a comal and a rolling pin out of her purse and started looking left to right, about to throw down some matriarchal whoop-ass with a look that said, “I brought you into this world…”—and you know the rest. Not quite what happened, but that’s pretty close to it. Call her up and tell her things, y’all. She doesn’t like surprises.

Good times, indeed.

Dancing Rosie, Pt II

I just had to find out...

Here's the "Cha Cha Slide" video Rosie's dance is from.

And we were all wondering what the "Charlie Brown" is. This is as good a look as any.


Truth be told, boredom is a helluva thing...


Kidding!

New Photos In The Gallery

Hey, y'all. I broke into my older pictures and loaded up quite a few in the Family Album. I'll be adding a few more pictures to each album, but not too many.

Take a look at one of the new albums:

• -Memorial Day 2005

• -Independence Day 2005

• -Fiesta 2005
  

• -Marisa's 4th Birthday

• -Cousins February 2006

• -Family General '05-'06
  

Dancing Rosie

Take a look at the things we do... just because. Here's the video on YouTube.

Clips of Thanksgiving 2007

I hope y'all like the video. Click any of the two play buttons below (the little arrows) to start the movie. It might take a bit to load, but give it time and it'll play. You can also find it on YouTube.

And there are pictures in the Family Albums, too.

Comments

I've gathered that not everyone knows their way around the blog. Specifically, some have had a hard time writing comments. Some may not even know they can leave comments. So here are some quick tips on writing comments for a post...




Above you will see a picture of the information commonly seen at the bottom of each post. You can see the Labels, the time of the posting, and the number of Comments to that particular post. The 'Labels' are the topics or subjects mentioned in a post. When I assign labels to a post, this goes on the right hand column. If you look at the list of Labels you might see your name and, in parentheses, it will show how many times you were mentioned and Labeled in a blog post. As I mentioned earlier, we will cover the Comments in this post.

To post a Comment, click on 'Comments'.




A new window will pop up, and you will see a box like the one above. Inside this box you can type any message you want. Type in some words, then you are ready to move on to the next step.




Right below the box where you type your comment, you will see options for your identity. You can choose how you will be identified with your comment.




If you choose 'Anonymous', your comment will show up as 'anonymous said...'. So, if you don't want to be identified and want to leave a comment, choose 'Anonymous'. However, you may still identify yourself in the comment you type.

When you are ready to go, click 'Publish Your Comment'.




You may also choose to identify yourself, or pick a name to go by. As shown above, you can enter your name, or you can pick a fake name. If I were to put 'The Herd SB' in the Name box, the comment would show 'The Herd SB said...' If I were to put my real name, it my comment would say 'David said...'

You can leave the 'Web Page' box blank. I suggest you do.

When you are ready to go, click 'Publish Your Comment'.

You will then have to close that 'Comment' window.




In order to see your comment show up on the blog, you will have to click the 'Refresh' button at the top of your screen or browser window. The Refresh button looks like a circle with an arrow at then end, much like a recycling symbol (see the blue button in the image above). This will re-load the blog page. Once this is complete, you should be able to see your comment on the main blog page.




Once you have refreshed the page, you will be able to see your comment. Look above for an example. The number of comments will change to show your comment has been added. As in the example above, there are 2 comments to this post.

Click on 'Comments' to read the comments. A new window will pop up, showing the comments.




As you can see, the 2 comments will show up. The first comment goes at the top, and the later comments show up at the bottom. You can scroll down in this comment window to read the later comments and to get to the comments box where you can type in your own comment.

Follow the instructions outlined in this post to add your comment to the list of comments.


If all goes well, y'all should be able to write about a post. I hope you do, because it makes the blog even more fun.

How Many Sisters Does It Take

So, one Auntie says to the other, “I went to that new store on State and Anapamu…”

And it was downhill from there.

Insisting she knew the store’s name, the Auntie repeated it again and again, even after being called on it.

“The name of the store is Navy Blue!”

Then, another Auntie had to correct her. “It’s not Navy Blue—it’s Blue Navy!”

Oh, lordie…

Finally, a third Auntie said, “Both of you are wrong. The store is called OLD NAVY!”

And laughter broke out in the room.

One-third ain’t bad……… I guess……… I hope……. *gulp*

hehehe... ;)

Good times... good times...

Third Saturday: November '07 Edition

So it looks like Saturdays are a hit. We had 10 people at the table, but there were a lot more family members who showed up.

Junior, Peggy, Natalie, Sara, Isaac, Jesse, and the two boyfriends, Jason and Marcos, also happened to be there for breakfast by coincidence.

Marina, Ronny Chackel and Ruben hosted their own table with Matt, Reina, Victoria, Jessica and David.

At our table were Ronny, Danny, Renee, Robert, Raquel, Wolf, Bosco, Joseph, Gabriel and myself.

So there were 24 family members (Wolf is family), plus two more, at the restaurant. Three separate tables, but it’s good times all the same.


Here’s some of the funnier moments of the morning:

• - I don’t know if this is true. Wolf and Danny went to see a movie. Mind you, they’re about a decade and a half apart in age. The movie didn’t work out, so they went to Sharkees, a lower State Street bar, instead. Not like Sharkees is next door to the theater, either.

• - Matt was on his route on Friday when the earthquake struck. He called the UPS Center and told them he had to get off work early to check on his stuff at home—cuz a 3.4 earthquake is violent, right? The response from the Center: “Finish your route!”

• - Robert was miffed because he hadn’t had a mention in this blog. I told him that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He’s a straight and narrow guy, not too up, not too down. He’s like his favorite drink—a glass of milk. There’s your mention, Rob. Now buck up, buttercup.

• - Bosco looked at his watch and said “It’s 11 already. It’s late. You should start drinking by 9.”

• - We saw Cousins Yolie and Linda (Borrayo) at the bar. At the bar. Interesting. They asked if Bosco’s two boys were twins. The responses from the group:
• - They’re just a year apart
• - They’re 9 months apart
• - They were born at the same time from two different moms.
  

• - Someone asked Marina if she was sitting with us. She said no, because it was for the cousins. The she pointed to two of the little ones and said “They’re cousins, they’re sitting with you guys.” And Matt had to correct her: “Mom-- Danny and David are brothers, not cousins.”

• - Someone reminded Wolf that his movie came out this week. Wolf said “Which movie?” So they told him: “Be A Wolf”. The movie is actually “Beowulf”, but they told Wolf he should ask to get in free since he is, you know, a Wolf.

New Pics: San Jose Visits

Err'one. I got a new batch of pictures from the Nor Cal Contingent.

Can't exactly remember the date, but it must have been 2 or 3 months ago that The San Jose Hernandez's'z's' came for a visit. They camped out at Rufugio State Beach, and a few of the fam made it up there for a day trip.

Look here at Uncle Vic and Auntie Gina, using the VW to put a nice twist on Grampa Sal's old school sensibilities.

Can't hardly tell these guys apart, can you? ;)

And here's one of all them kids, the ones to carry on the traditions.

Here's the whole album.

Good times!

It's Official: Gramma's Lompoc House for Sale

So the papers have been signed and now Gramma's Lompoc Estate is on the market. In a few days, I'll have a link so people can see the details.

• 505 North 1st, Lompoc Ca 93436
• Listed at $325,000

As I said before, Dolly's the Realtor on this one, so if you have questions, give her a call:

Teresa Arellanes
805-252-0347

Didn't Take Long

By Popular Demand, we're changing the Third Sunday Breakfasts to the Third Saturday of each month.

So now people will have money for breakfast AND get to sleep off the hangover on Sunday. What a deal!

See y'all on Saturday.

Update on Ronny

Arrests have been made. Read below from the Santa Barbara Daily Sound, a local daily newspaper...


Arrests Made in Stabbing at Local Strip Club

Santa Barbara Police have arrested two men who they say stabbed a man three times in the parking lot of Spearmint Rhino in October, after the man they originally attempted to assault escaped...


Click on the headline for the rest of the story.

Third Sunday Breakfast

Cousins, don't forget. This Sunday is the Third Sunday.

See y'all at Mesa Cafe @ 10am.

CORRECTED: Marina's Surgery, Part II

Thanks for the comment, Modlins. Here's the corrected post:

I posted about Marina and her aneurysm a while back. She’s been doing well since then, and the doctors have continued to monitor her health and the other possible aneurysm.

She goes in for a second surgery on Wednesday November 21, the day before Thanksgiving. I don’t know if she’ll be well enough to attend the Dinner and Dessert on Thursday, but hopefully she will. Wednesday December 5.

Let’s wish her well, and keep her in our thoughts and prayers.

Danny Takes Care of Gramma

Danny takes care of Gramma Connie. He's already dressing her.

At least, I hope it was Danny. She didn't do that on her own, right?

RIGHT?!

Laura's Baby Shower

As you all know, Papas and his girlfriend Laura Rodriguez are having a baby boy. This Saturday November 10, Laura had a Baby Shower.

She's due some time in January, a month before Renee. But if that's true, Renee must be having triplets (smile, cousin... smile).

And what's Rosie doing? Was it her party too? Kidding, Rosie! :)

Here's the album.

Cheers!

The Cleaners

I heard a few Aunties were going over to Gramma Connie's house to clean up yesterday. Though we continue to fight the stereotypes every day, we have to admit that Mexicans are good at cleaning house.

I'm not sure if they were working, or just having fun. But from the looks of it, I think hazard pay is in order-- either from the many views, or the stress.

At least Gramma looks like she was enjoying herself. And that cup of coffee. And checking her mail....

Here's the few pictures from that day.

Good times, y'all.

Updated November Birthdays

I'm glad word is getting out. It means the Birthdays on the Calendar will be more accurate. If we took all of our family and averaged the birthdays over a year, we'd be celebrating twice a week for the entire year. Wow.

Here's November's Birthday list, updated to include Louie Hernandez and CJ Hernandez:

• Carmen Garcia, November 3

• Meagan Berendt, November 3

• Louie Hernandez, November 10
  

• Lizzy Cook, November 5

• Eric 'Lil Eric' Garcia, November 19

• Christian James 'CJ', 'Ceej' Hernandez, November 29

Good times, folks.

Leah's Wedding: The Date is Set

Alright, y'all. Here it is, word from Uncle Vic himself.

Leah's Wedding will be held on Saturday August 30, 2008 in Morgan Hill, California.

As Uncle Vic says, Morgan Hill is 45 minutes closer to Santa Barbara, so the drive will be easier for us. The time allows us to get our planners and calendars out so we can schedule everything WAY ahead of time. Invitations, he said, will be coming soon.

Uncle Vic guarantees we'll all have a good time, even if he has to get on stage and perform 'Reasons' by Earth, Wind & Fire to make sure...... kidding about that last part, but we know it'll be good times.

Mark your Calendars, folks!

New Poll

How's things, y'all?

There's a new poll up on the right. It asks:

How many times have you traveled outside of California?

I'm not counting Las Vegas because it's like going to Canada and saying you've been to a foreign country-- it's really not that out-of-the-way.

I'm trying to gauge our level of travel, to see if it's true that, as a whole, we tend to stay at home where things are nice and cozy.

If we took it back to early man on the plains of the Serengeti, back when we were hunter-gatherers living on piles of grass, we wouldn't be the ones to look out over the horizon and wonder "What's over there?" We'd have thrown some more grass on the pile, picked a root to gnaw on, and lounged under a tree until the sun went down. Then we would have gone to sleep, to have the energy to do it all over again the next day.

Just kidding, folks.

Cheers!

Thanksgiving Update

Y'all, I've got the word.


November 22, 2007: Thanksgiving Dinner is going to be at Monica's house at 1119, with dessert to follow at Gramma Connie's house at 2210.


When I get the menu, and the list of cooks, I'll be sure to post that too.

Three weeks to go (check the Calendar). See everyone then!

Vegas Pictures

So remember I said something about Monica's friends loving their martinis? Look here for proof!

Lots of nice photos from the trip. I'm glad they all had a good time. Here's all of the pictures they took in the album Las Vegas October 2007.

And here's the group, looking all glamorous and stuff...

So, who wishes they would have gone? ;)

How Lucky Are We

I was reminded by a comment Salene left in the 'Update on Ronny' post. She said:

"we are the luckiest family i know. very fortunate and protected."

That statement is, pardon the pun, dead-on.

We are truly the most fortunate family I know. There are over 100 of us, and we defy the percentages that say we should have been hit with tragedy at least dozens of times. The population of California, the US, and the world sees heartache more than we do-- by far.

Though we have lost loved ones, they left us with indelible marks of love, respect, and an assurance in their goodness. By whatever means-- Gramma Connie's prayers and God's protection, knowledge to take caution and care, or by pure chance and happenstance-- we have been proven fortunate.

Just in case you needed a story to accompany this, here's a little tidbit on one of us who happens to walk in the shadow of angels...

• Ronny is more lucky than we realize.

• When he was an adult for nary a couple years, he drove to work at 3am from Lompoc to the UPS center in Goleta. One morning, Ronny, tired from the odd hours, dozed off and fell asleep at the wheel. Word is he woke up on a stretcher, after his car overturned, and with Ronny thrown from the car.

• A few years later, when Ronny was working for a tree-trimming company, a bad combination of chain-saws, branches, and height caused him to fall. As his brother Matt tells it, he fell from the tree, onto the roof of the house. And then from the roof of the two-story house onto the ground below.

• As we know, Ronny was stabbed three times in an unprovoked attack just a few weeks ago.

• After all this, he is otherwise healthy. No lost limbs, he walks, and there's not much left besides a few scars to serve as a reminder.

I'd say we're lucky. And some of us are more luck than others.

November Birthdays

Here's what I have of the November Birthdays. Wish well on another trip around the sun, y'all!

• Carmen Garcia, November 3

• Meagan Berendt, November 3

• Lizzy Cook, November 5

• Eric 'Lil Eric' Garcia, November 19

Here's the Calendar as well. If you have any events, let me know and I'll put them up.