The NATIONAL WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN for DIALOGUE

is a call for prayer,reflection, and dialogue
to advance a constructive debate on immigration reform in the United States.

If there is consensus on any one element of the nation’s difficult debate on immigration, it is that our nation’s immigration system is broken and badly in need of reform. It is also clear that, in this nation of immigrants, this debate is challenging, complex, and often deeply emotional. Reasonable people can and do differ in their views on the best way to reform our immigration laws; however, it is also true that the nation is best served by a debate in which these views can be brought forward in a civil, respectful manner.

We wear white ribbons to show our strong support for the goal of achieving a thoughtful, rational, and respectful debate on the complex issue of immigration reform which leads the country toward solutions rather than further division and frustration. We deplore the use of violence, intimidation, threats, and the spread of fear, hatred, and divisiveness as tools and tactics on immigration or any issue. We encourage others to join the White Ribbon Campaign as a demonstration of the value of reflection and thoughtful dialogue as a way to advance this debate in a manner that strengthens our country, rejects fear and hate, and helps Americans arrive at solutions to complex problems.

The Offer Is In

It's getting closer!!! I can't believe it, I think I found my new home. I submitted an offer and now we wait. The place is exactly what I was looking for. The neighborhood seems very nice, still very close to the expressway and a few minutes driving distance from my current place. It sits however in a different suburb, unfortunately not with a great reputation (Cicero). It is in the very end of it's limits closer to Stickney but in a nice very well kept neighborhood.

If the offer is accepted I may have closing before June! It is definitely earlier than I wanted. Oh well I hope all works out, what's meant to happen will happen. I hope it happens to be to my liking.

Good Times

I've truly enjoyed this past week. I think time has been progressing positively. I am feeling more involved and knowledgeable in all aspects of my life, personal and professional. I must admit that I have cut down a bit on the volunteering and made time to still go out and balance my work life. I am no longer feeling as sick as I have been practically all year. I still have a bit of the sniffles and a nagging cough here and there, but it's getting better day by day. This week was a bit hectic, with a couple highlights throughout the week. This Thursday I went to schubas to see a gig from one of my favorite inde performers. Ernie Halter as usual rocked. Along with him Leigh Nash and Tyrone Wells performed as well. I was truly impressed with Tyrone's performance and voice. Check out a short clip below of a Mary J Blige cover. I took a few more however they were too long to post on youtube.

Happy Easter

Don't worry I didn't dress up my dog like this. I found this picture through Google, I don't think any animals were harmed in the making of this picture. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing about the many chocolate bunnies.

Choosing The Right Home

I'm off to look at properties again today. This is the year I decided to move again. My plan was to move out of the home I own with my sister in late July. I like giving myself birthday gifts and this was to be a big one. I may have started the property search too early. I've already found a few very strong potentials. There are a few town homes I fell in love with, however I opted not to go forward with them because they are father away from the city. I've narrowed down my search to the be within the current area that I live in now or 10 minutes closer into the city.

I haven't decided yet what type of home to get though. I have seen a few condos packed with state of the art appliances, hardwood floors, granite tops, skylights, etc. I think I am leaning more towards town homes though. I prefer having more space and possibly a yard for Charlie to run through and a garage for my car. Another deciding factor for me is the investment possibility.

Today's plan is to see town homes, condos and small houses. I am truly enjoying just seeing the possibilities. The way it's going though I think I may move sooner than I thought. I wonder what I will end up with.

I Might Have Bronchitis

Woe is me with my sicky-ness. It bothers me that this bug has taken quite an affection to me and does not let me be. It left me for a good two weeks and I thought I was finally rid of it. This stalker virus though just teased me with health and sanity. It came back again un-welcomed and I''m tired of it, I desperately try to kill it. I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired! It truly is a love hate relationship. It loves me dearly and keeps coming back. I loathe and despise it and wish it never returns.

The Brain Test

What Your Brain Says About How You Think and Learn
Your brain is divided into two hemispheres, the right and the left. Just as you favor your left or right hand, you also favor the right or left hemisphere of your brain. The left hemisphere interprets details and reasoning, while the right hemisphere interprets information through visual or creative cues.

Find out which side of your brain you favor, and how to train your weaker brain hemisphere to process information better and faster. Take the brain test!

Happy St. Patrick's Weekend!

I missed posting the "Happy St. Patrick's Day" wish yesterday, but the good thing is that the partying continues through the weekend. It truly has been a festive weekend with the Irish green spirit and March Madness celebrations in many Chicago pubs. I've been out everyday since Thursday, not that happy seeing my teams lose though. I have two brackets formed, but Duke and Illinois loses has caused me to lose many points.

This morning I caught a few more basketball games and missed the parade. I was determined to at least catch some pictures of the green river, and fortunately made it out. As I drove through the loop area it was clear that MANY people had taken advantage of the sunny weather and ventured out. The pubs were packed and a few had lines forming outside. Cheers!

Chicago Skyline View

I love this city!

You know how sometimes people tell you to take time to smell the roses? Well I say take time to view the city - it can be very pretty.

This is a view from one of the corners from the Mid-Day Club located inside Chase Tower, 56th FL.

March Madness - My Bracket Picks

It's that time of the year again folks! It's time to choose your teams and pick your 'winners' and fill out your brackets. The Chicago Tribune has a neat little flash app that makes it very easy to make your selections. Choose your 2007 NCAA men's basketball championship brackets.

Go ahead study the stats, spin the bottle, close your eyes and pick via "eeni-meeni-minee-moe". Whatever your strategy make your picks. For the first time ever, I am publishing my choices. Now that I am, I know I will be jinxing myself - so don't make fun of my choices. I obviously gave into my favorites (Illinois & Duke). I'm not sure they will win as I jotted them to do so in my predictions. Go ahead click on my image and enlarge the picture to see my choices. Feel free to copy mines as you select yours - Good Luck!

Vista Has Won Me Over

I am really digging Windows Vista! If it wasn't for the fact that Vista came pre-installed with my new PC, I would not have tried the new Operating System on my own. I usually tend to wait several months even maybe a year before installing any new OS on my PC, to ensure all the major bugs and weird kinks are discovered and fixed. I set up my new HP desktop this weekend and clicked around and quickly fell in love. Granted I packed my machine with extra RAM and upgraded the processor, but the speed is wonderful. The interface itself is very user friendly and rather 'cool'! The new look is refreshing and very interactive. The Vista sidebar includes a clock displaying time, series of pictures I can skim through, top RSS headlines. I must humbly admit I am a fan, much to my many previous reservations. Windows Media player fits nicely on the task bar. The security may become a bit tiresome, because of how frequently you are asked whether to allow a download plug-in or app. You can refine your settings, but I prefer being asked. I don't usually say this but - Go get this Microsoft software! (Note: Your computer must meet the minimum system requirements.) Below is a screenshot of my current desktop.

It Will Be A While Before I Donate Blood Again

I am feeling so very good right now. It does not compared to the horrid feelings and anxiety I had this morning. I went in for my scheduled appointment to donate blood at a Life Source blood bank. I had donated blood a couple months before and all went well. This time however the experience was completely different. My body reacted very strangely compared to last time. I think I started feeling dizzy after only the first pint. My heart then felt to start to race and pounded heavily. I notified the nurse and she raised my chair back and elevated my feet. It didn't seem to help and I had them stop pulling more blood from me. The nurses placed a few ice packs on me and I took deep breaths so I wouldn't feel as nauseous as I felt. A couple of minutes after I seemed to feel a bit better. They had me sit up right slowly, but after few seconds I had to go back down again.

After 10 minutes I thought I felt OK to sit upright again. I just felt a little nauseous but the dizziness was no more. I walked to the snack table and began to drink some juice when I felt the lightheadedness come back once more. I told the volunteer who then called the nurses. Within a few seconds I was in vertigo! They say I might have actually passed out for a few seconds. I remember feeling my heart racing even faster than before and I remember saying "make it stop, make it stop!" I might have been shouting that. Everything darkened and I saw blurry shadows, the voices echoed and I heard them farther and farther away. My fingers began to clench and tingle. I recall a girl being amazed and tried to make me laugh. She mentioned that she heard how it felt and that I should just let myself go and embrace it. I immediately responded "No!" it felt horrible. I vaguely remember around four people holding me up with ice packs all over. I think everything was pitch black for a few seconds and slowly my vision began to come back. I still felt dizzy, nauseous, numb and out of breath. Again I had to lay down this time for several more minutes with ice packs all over.

I had to call my sister to pick me up. As I left I thanked everyone for taking care of me. They wished me well and hoped that the experience would not prevent me from making a donation in the future. It truly won't, it will just be a long while before I do.

Blogging fame

Out of the blue I received an email inviting me to attend a Maxim/Nautica Jeans launch party at a hip local night club. I've received other club invites from various promoters, after all I'm still a club head. Yes you might not have guessed it, but I love dancing and dance music. I even have trance music playing on my myspace background.

I digress, what makes this invite special is the invitation to take pictures and then blog about it on my Chicago photos blog. That is after all how this agency found me. They probably Googled Chicago photos or something and found my blog. I am looking forward to attending the event and taking pictures, however one big problem I am sick - AGAIN. I can't let this cold keep me down, there have been a few glitches pertaining to this party. I overcame a huge obstacle, my camera is still in the shop. Thankfully I was able to borrow one. I didn't want to go by myself. Almost all my friends all have plans, some of which I can to bail out on as well. I found received the email invitation this past Monday but didn't receive the VIP info& passes until today! It almost feels like it isn't meant to be. We'll see how it goes, pics to come hopefully this weekend.

Seeking Sponsors

I am raising money for Junior Achievement of Chicago and would really welcome your support. Please take a moment to visit my online fundraising page and make a donation. It's really easy - you can donate by debit or credit card and receive a record of your donation. Please visit my page and donate now: www.firstgiving.com/HSBC_N2STeam

Please join me in supporting Junior Achievement of Chicago and a fabulous cause!

Thanks for your support!

Chicago Elections 2007

Congratulations to the elected officials: Mayor - Richard Daley Clerk - Miguel Del Valle 1st Ward - Manuel "Manny" Flores 12th Ward - George Cardenas 22nd Ward - Ricardo Muñoz 25th Ward - Daniel "Danny" Solis 26th Ward - Billy Ocasio 30th Ward - Ariel Reboyras 31st Ward - Ray Suarez 42nd Ward - Brendan Reilly

Source: ChicagoTribune.com

Mayor Daley win his 6th term as the Chicago City Mayor. Voters decided to forgive or forget or deny corruption scandals. Forget the Box war veto! No - I am not saying that at all. I did not forget but I made a choice. I voted for Daley again because I am still seeing progress in Chicago. I am seeing beauty and increase tourism, which in turn brings in money. You have to consider all the pros and cons and weigh in the better benefit.

Post Oscars

My opinion of the Oscars last night was average. I must admit that last night I did not pay 100% of attention, I was at home updating myspace and babysitting at the same time. I think Ellen did a pretty good job, although the Ellen I've seen is much more hilarious. A night full of surprises, my jaw literally dropped as they announce Jennifer Hudson as the winner for best supporting actress. Not a bad welcoming gift from the academy for this newbie actor huh? Through out it all, acceptance speech and post interviews she seem to take it in very well, as if she was part of the business for many years prior. I've heard her refer to herself in the third person in other interviews from winning a Golden Globe. I hope this sudden success doesn't all go to her head.

Goodbye My Vaio

The time has come to say goodbye to my favorite PC. I've tried to upgrade my computer every two years. My current PC is a Sony Vaio and it has been my favorite so far. It has been actually four years that I've had it. There was a few ups and downs these past years, but my trusty computer has hung on with me. Granted I've added so much into it (RAM, new DVD drive, TV output card and more). I've reformatted the drive twice after very bad crashes and did lose very dear photograph memories, that being said I still preferred it over other brands I've had in the past. I've owned an apple, Hewlett Packard, Compaq and have worked with Mac, Dell, Gateway, IBM and eMachines.

This Friday I committed to let my Vaio go. It will fine a new home with a family friend. Today I purchased my new PC - an HP. It should arrive in 2-3 weeks. I costumed ordered what to include, it will be a pimped out PC. I will have to start my backup to transfer to the new PC. I am looking forward to play with the new one, but transfering all my apps and files.

Ash Wednesday

Lent season started today and like many other times before I have opted to give up something during this time. I am giving up soda this year. NOT JUST COKE all carbonated SUGAR FILLED SODA! Let me tell you - THIS IS HUGE for me. I love my Coca Cola, cherry Coke, Pepsi and Sprite. I have at least a glass a day (12oz) and many days where I consume more than that. I have given up Coke during lent before, but I would sometimes substitute a Sprite here and there. This time there will be only a very limited amount of options. Water, milk, juice(although not too much), ice tea, tea, coffee (not too much) and liquor are my only beverage choices. Wish me luck!

Web 2.0 Impact Surprised Me

I can admit where I was wrong. I've been reading up on my web 2.0 technology blogs and deemed that it is just interesting information to know for my own interest. I assumed that the industry I am in was very traditional and had no dire need implement web 2.0 technologies, I went as far as to believe that my industry wasn't even affected that much and it was too early to look for any trends.

After reading a few trade articles and blogs I stand corrected. It still holds true that the degree of web 2.0 technology is not in forefront as other online sites, however the web 2.0 design is still being followed. I read a review for a competitor website redesign and was surprised to see that the author noted the use of web 2.0 colors and button structure. Thinking in terms of the look and feel for web 2.0 does make sense! In the age of another boom of new online sites, users are becoming accustomed to the new trend of design. Orange buttons and larger fonts! When other sites don't update their design they truly look dated and out of touch.

My industry may not have the dire need to seek web 2.0 technology - although I now believe that we have a need to keep abreast of the changes and seek opportunities, there is a dire need to implement web 2.0 design.

My New Gadget

I did it again, I purchased another camera! The HP Photosmart R967 arrived today. - WOohoo! I was actually surprised how quickly it arrived. I placed the order in this past Tuesday and three days later, via standard delivery, I received it at my office. Fortunately, I am able to get a pretty decent discount from work for HP products and decided to take advantage of it. My new camera seems like a pretty sweet piece of machinery and I've obtained it at a great price. I am excited to use it soon. My SLR is still in the shop with more that four weeks to go. I messed up the zoom function from my other point and shoot camera and I quickly used that excuse to seek to buy a new one. I figured it was time anyway. The technology in digital cameras these days keep improving and similar to computers I find it worth while to upgrade every two years.