So I have this little obsession that started over 20 years ago...it's an obsession with this boy group that was popular in the 80's. They're called NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!! Maybe you've heard of them. I type NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!! in all caps, with 3 exclamation points at the end, because that's how excited I am about them. You see, they have recently informed the world, via The Today Show, that they are reuniting. And they're going on tour! And boy am I excited. I'm all caps and 3 exclamation points excited.

So amidst my NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!! excitement, I registered on their website (http://www.nkotb.com/) so that I can be updated as to when and where they will be touring. And wouldn't you know it, there were no listed dates for Houston, Texas.

"Why, God, WHY???" I screamed out in horror when I read the news that I would not have the chance to see my beloved Joey McIntyre, wearing his hat with no top on it. "Why have you forsaken me???"

Soon, my anger turned to dispair, as I listened to my Hangin Tough CD, alone, in the dark. Tears streaming down my face as I remembered the days as a pre-pubescent girl, going to not one, but two NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!! concerts. Oh how I wish I could relive those days again and watch my one and only Joey McIntyre sing the song that I KNOW was meant for me:

"Please don't go giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl..."

But alas, just when I thought that there was no light at the end of the tunnel, my friend from work called me, early one moring, just after I had arrived to my dreaded job.

"Merry Widow, did you hear the news? New Kids On The Block are coming to Houston. October 16."

"What?" I screamed out as I quickly hopped on my computer to comfirm that she wasn't pulling one over on me. "You mean NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!!? I LOVE THEM!"

"ME TOO!" She screamed back at me. "Let's buy tickets!"

I am now happy to report that I am the proud proud owner of 5 NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!! tickets! Live, and in concert on October 16, 2008. Yes, I bought 5. And no, you can't have one. One is for me, three are for my co-worker and her 2 friends, and the other goes to my BFF of all time. The girl who was standing right by my side when I went to my first AND second NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!! concert. She's flying in from Indiana just to see the show. Oh yeah, and to see me too. :-)



It's hard to tell in this picture, but the top of Joey McIntyre's hat is missing. You can sort of see some of his hair poking through the top. He was oh so dreamy back then.


This is them now. Joey is the one on the left. He is still oh so dreamy. And is it me, or is Danny Wood hot now???

Labels: I'm all growed up now.

Shhhh....Don't tell anyone, but there are only 7 more days until I turn 30.

WTF??? I'm not too sure if I'll be able to accept that. People who are 30 are sooooooo grown up. People who are 30 are married, and have 2.5 kids, and a dog, and mow their own lawns. I, however, am single, have no kids, live with one of the most stuck-up cats on the face of this planet, and actually own a lawn mower, but have only used it once, before I decided that I would hire a gardener. (Hello, run on sentence!) People who are 30 live fabulous lives in New York City, hanging out in coffee shops with 5 of their closest friends, writing newspaper columns about the trials and tribulations of the dating world. I live in a suburb of Houston, Tex-ASS, hanging out with my friends at one of two local bars, singing along to David Allen Coe and Garth Brooks songs playing on the juke box, all while writing (sometimes) on this blog. But most of all, people who are 30 are no longer in their 20's. And I only have 7 more measly little teeny weeny itsy bitsy short days left of my 20's.


Ahhhhh...the decade of the 20's. The decade that I got my second tattoo. The decade that I went sky diving. The decade that I traveled to Europe. The decade that I was finally able to drink (legally.) The decade that I graduated from college and got a "real job." The decade that I got married and finally moved to an entirely different state from where my parents live. The decade that I became widowed. The decade that I figured out who my real friends were. The decade that I figured out how strong I really was. The decade that I faced life, after death, pulled myself together, found myself another "real job" and bought a house. The decade that I moved on. The decade that I did the wildest, most craziest, most dumbest thing that anyone could do ever. (No, I'm not gonna tell you what that is.) The decade that I lost and found hope. The decade that I lost and found love. The decade that I lost and found life.

Ooooooh...that last line sounded soooooo grown up.

Maybe I'm ready to turn 30 after all.

Labels: I'm all growed up now.

I found a caterpillar on the door knob of my front door last night. And I was so overcome with fear that I literally ran back to my garage and got back into my car, to protect myself from the evil gaze of that monstrous caterpillar's satanic eyes.

I then proceeded to yell at DJ for the next 2 minutes for not pulling some strings up in heaven to get rid of all the bugs and creepy crawlies that may or may not be invading my house at any given moment. I mean, he left me alone in the world to fend for myself, the least he could do is shoo a few bugs away so that I don't have to pee my pants every time one comes near me. Right? RIGHT???

But alas, I knew that I had to tackle this on my own, so I did what any sane, smart, logical, soon-to-be-30-years-old woman would do. I called my Daddy.

"There's a caterpillar on my door knob. What do I do?"
"Flick it off."
"With my BARE hands?"
"If you want. Or you could get a paper towel."
"BUT HOW DO I GET A PAPER TOWEL WHEN I CAN'T GET INSIDE MY HOUSE??? THERE'S A CATERPILLAR ON MY DOOR KNOB!!! I'M TRAPPED OUTSIDE FOREVER!!!"
"Mija, calm down. You can't find a leaf or a stick or something else to use?"
"Are you kidding? It's dark out here. And I bet everything is covered in some sort of poisonous, neurotoxic caterpillar goop that will paralyze me with agonizing, excruciating pain the instant I touch it, causing me to have epileptic-like grand mal seizures and die! DIE I TELL YOU!!! So what do I do? WHAT DO I DO???"
"Mija, you're gonna have to calm down..."
"...Oh wait...The caterpillar is gone now. It must have crawled away while I was in my car. Never mind!"

And that, my friends, is the solution to all of life's problems. When you are in a time of crisis, and you don't know what to do, just wait 5 minutes...it might crawl away on it's own. And if that doesn't work, call the ultimate superhero - your daddy.

Labels: I'm all growed up now., Parental Units, Widowness

This one time, when I was 15, my parents and I took a trip to Mexico to visit family. On our way back, my mom realized that she had forgotten her green card at home. When we got to immigration, my mom explained her situation to the boarder control man. The man told her that it wouldn't be a problem...if she had a green card, then she would be in the computer. There was just one little problem: my mom couldn't remember what name appeared on her green card. You see, my mom is one of those typical Mexican ladies with like 800 names. She has varied her name throughout her life, making it shorter and shorter, dropping certain names, or adding certain ones, until today, where she only has a first name and a last name. And acutally, her official U.S. first name, as listed on her U.S. Naturalization papers is actually her middle name. (She always hated her real first name.) But I digress. She couldn't remember if she had already dropped her first name when she receieved her green card over 15 years prior to that day. Nor could she remember if she used her married name when she received her green card. INS only gave her one chance at "guessing" her name. And she didn't guess correctly. So we had no choice but to leave my mom behind in Mexico. My dad and I travelled back to the U.S. without her and had to wait 3 weeks until my dad could get more vacation time for us to travel back to Mexico and pick her up. We weren't about to mail her green card to her...the mail system in Mexico is not to be trusted. Who knows what kind of thug would have ended up with her green card and all of her information. We had to bring it to her in person.

I remember during this time, during these 3 weeks, missing my mom immensely. But I was a kid back then. I was used to seeing my mom everyday...talking to her, laughing with her, crying on her shoulder...and during this time she was gone. She wasn't there for me. Not by her choice, of course, but gone nevertheless.

It has now been 10 years since I've lived with my mom. I went to a college that was about an hour and a half away from her and after I graduated and got married, I moved to an entirely different state than where she lives. So I've gotten used to being away from her. Of course I still miss her, but not like I did during those 3 weeks that she was trapped in Mexico.

That is, until she went back to Mexico 3 weeks ago to visit her mom. Ever since the day she left, I feel like I did during those 3 weeks when I was 15. I miss her immensely. I don't know what it is, or why I miss her more than I normally do. Maybe it's because I can't call her while she's there. (My grandma doesn't have a phone.) But it's just weird. It's not like I get to see her, even when she is in the U.S. But now that she's in another country, I miss her enough to make me cry. I miss her hugs, I miss her laugh, I miss her cooking, I miss her love.

She'll be back at home with my dad tomorrow. Even though she'll still be in another state, I'll be relieved to have her back. And I'm reminded that you're never too old to want a big hug from your mom. Because a hug from my mom (or my dad, for that matter) always made everything better.

Labels: I'm all growed up now., Parental Units, Viva Mexico

There's a reality show on MTV called "My super sweet 16" which features kids getting everything that they ask for on their 16th birthday on top of some extravagant million dollar party. And I'm not talking about a backyard BBQ or pool party...these parties are so over the top that even Paris Hilton and P.Diddy can't make it onto the guest list. Anywho, on one episode of this show, some little snot-nosed brat asks her dad for a Range Rover and then pouts when he suggests that maybe she get something a little smaller like a Mercedes, at which point she proclaims that she will never speak to her father again unless she gets the Range Rover.

Wow! I didn't know that life could be so simple. So today I picked up the phone and asked my dad to buy me a BMW. I explained to him that any 3-series BMW would suffice, as long as it had 4 doors, black leather interior, silver exterior, and a navigation system. I could even do without the upgraded rims as long as I was able to get the spoiler. My dad laughed at me and told me that he would buy me my BMW when he won the lottery, which basically meant that he wasn't going to buy me the car.

"But, Daddy," I explained, "The girl on MTV got a Range Rover for her Super Sweet 16."

"Mija, you're 28 years old...it's a little too late to ask for a sweet 16 gift. Besides, we're from Mexico. We don't do the sweet 16 thing. We do the quincenera thing."

"Then can I get a belated quincenera gift?"

"No."

"Damn."

So I hung up the phone and did what any logical 28 year old widow would do...I logged onto MTV.com to see if they would pimp my ride. If my dad won't buy me the car of my dreams, then maybe MTV would fix up my current set of wheels. And you know what? I don't qualify for that show. Not because my current car is too new...not because my current car has no visible exterior or interior body damage.... Do you wanna know the real reason why I don't qualify? I'm too old. "Must be between the ages of 18-22." Stupid MTV rules. Not only am I too old for a sweet 16 party or quincenera, but now I'm too old to be on MTV.

I will be turning 29 this year...maybe my dad will throw me a super-sweet-you're-almost-30-but-you still-have-one-more-year-left-in-your-twenties-fiesta-gigante. Then he'll buy me a 7 series BMW and I'll live happily ever after. But I'll probably just go out to dinner instead. (And still live happily ever after! Ha!)

Labels: I'm all growed up now., Viva Mexico