Category: beating

FAQs: JungleBoah is Going Back to the Jungle!

What?: After spending most of my adult life in Southern California, I’m moving back to my native Venezuela. Specifically, here. I came to SoCal after being awarded an academic scholarship by the government of Venezuela. After finishing my BS-ICS at the University of California, Irvine, I went back to Venezuela to get employment in the … Continue reading “FAQs: JungleBoah is Going Back to the Jungle!”

What?: After spending most of my adult life in Southern California, I’m moving back to my native Venezuela. Specifically, here. I came to SoCal after being awarded an academic scholarship by the government of Venezuela. After finishing my BS-ICS at the University of California, Irvine, I went back to Venezuela to get employment in the field as agreed. Unable to find employment, I returned to SoCal where I had already fallen in love with beautiful Mik. We married and I worked for a couple of companies before founding Intra Automation Software & Systems Inc. providing hardware, software and programming services to interested parties in the business field. I was lucky to spend most of my adult life in a great marriage that produced two outstanding human beings: our children, Xavier and Sasha

When?: ASAP, most likely before the end of this month of July.

Why?: One of my favorite casual eateries is the Lost Pier Cafe at Aliso Beach. If you ever visited this beach, you probably remember that it was home to one of the most unusual and beautiful piers in SoCal (It was square and had to be torn down because of structural damages). What you probably don’t know, is that there is a trail that ends in Marina Hills in beautiful Laguna Niguel where I resided for several years with Mik and where our children grew up in a beautiful home I was able to afford; The truth is that everything in SoCal reminds me of what I have lost! I don’t want to become an old man ruminating of what I have LOST!

• Will I return to the US and SoCal? Most likely not, only in the event of a business obligation.

• Do I expect family and friends to visit me? Most resoundingly yes! Although Venezuela has been saddled with a brutal socialist dictatorship for the last 27 years, things are quickly changing and it can only be for the better. Margarita Island happens to be a regular stop for many Caribbean cruises and home to an international airport.

•  I also want to provide as much love and affection to my mother while living together for as long as she wants (and who I know reciprocates the sentiments, very much). Of course, I have several family and friends in Venezuela and a half-sister in Margarita Island that will help me with some of the logistics of my move. My move wouldn’t be possible without the love, affection, emotional and financial support of my sister-cousin Anabella and my wonderful son Xavier.

It’s time to write not just the last chapter of my life but an all-together new book and I need a change of scenery to accomplish that.

𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍; 𝑨𝒍𝒐𝒉𝒂!

🎶 ¡¿Canciones Navideñas?!

Cantadas por uno de mis hermanos apureños hace muchas lunas:

                                                    

Los Tres Reyes Magos
vienen en gandola
porque a los camellos
le pesan las patas…     
En las Navidadess    
y en el Año Nuevo
al Niño Jesús  
le maman el gallo…
Yo no quiero hallaca
yo no quiero yuca
pues yo lo quiero es
que me den pollo…

    

🙏 I’m Thankful Because…

…my extraordinary parents gave me and my sister excellent DNA to pass along to future generations, along with great love and values that have served me well throughout my life.

..I grew up in a small town in Venezuela, with my beautiful sister, where I learned to forge long standing relationships with family and friends.

…my strong spirit and imagination that comes from a maternal Spanish ancestry as my mother’s family chose Venezuela when my grandfather was exiled during the Spanish Civil War. I keep in touch with my maternal relatives (godmother-aunt and first-cousins) on a daily basis.

…I won a Venezuelan academic scholarship that allowed me to study Information and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine and that would define my adult life as a ‘Californio’,

…I still keep in touch with my high school friends (In Venezuela the professors come to your classroom and one gets to know a good part of 40 classmates fairly well during crucial teenage years); We have a WhatsApp group and post all kinds of stuff on a daily basis.

…I achieved two great adventure feats in my youth with some of my best friends: Climbing the most difficult peak in my country, Pico Humboldt (snow in the tropics where the Andes begin) and crossing the Pacific Ocean on a racing sailing boat from Hawaii to California.

…I was fortunate to have several beautiful girlfriends prior to my marriage, many of whom I still keep in touch with.

…I have great friendships with my UC Irvine College Buddies; We didn’t take any classes together but know each other because most of us were in sports teams. We have kept our friendships throughout all these years and even though we are scattered all over the US, we keep a daily SMS thread and have an ABT (All Boys Trip) once a year were we proceed to mostly make fun of each other for several days of great camaraderie.

…I had an idyllic marriage for 37 years to beautiful Mik (alas now my  ex-wife) that brought into existence two outstanding human beings:  My techy-artist son Xavier and my bona fide model daughter Sasha.

…I had my own software development and computer business (Intra Automation) a few years after college and during the computing heydays.

…I am still alive after suffering a catastrophic skiing misfortune that almost cost me my life and left me severely handicapped. I wouldn’t be alive without the love and attention of my ex-wife Mik and the support of family, friends and complete strangers.

…I am able to maintain a good standard of living and a rewarding professional life, even though I live alone, because of all the help from my caregivers and assistants.

…even with my disability and my mature age, I once again have found what makes life worth living: Romantic Love.

Courtesy of https://www.vecteezy.com/free-png/yin-yang

𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍; 𝑨𝒍𝒐𝒉𝒂!

Dusk: My Favorite Time of Day

Courtesy of https://explorebajacalifornia.com/things-to-do-in-bahia-de-los-angeles/

I know; I should like dawn as it promises many possibilities! But I always liked dusk better which should mean that one has taken advantage of the day.

It all goes back to one of my favorite literary elements from William Shakpeare’s Macbeth:

Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,
Till thou applaud the deed. 
Come, seeling night,
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day;
And with thy bloody and invisible hand
Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond
Which keeps me pale! 
Light thickens; and the crow
Makes wing to the rooky wood:
Good things of day begin to droop and drowse;
While night’s black agents to their preys do rouse.
Thou marvell’st at my words: but hold thee still;
Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.
So, prithee, go with me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth

💞 X-Man is 35!

First time in Yosemite for both of us!

X-Man: That’s what my College Buddies call him because of Professor X of the X-Men (the animated series, the movie didn’t exist yet when my son was born). To this day, that’s his nickname, although most of his buddies just call him Xavi. I picked the name —which means owner of the house in Basque— from a list I gave his mom, since the maternity nurses were getting pretty nervous as we only had a girl’s name chosen (Victoria like my grandmother).

Too many great memories to enumerate but the accompanying picture is from the first time we both visited Yosemite, a birthday present for me from wonderful Mik.

Does his birthday makes me feel old? Yes it does! But more importantly it makes me feel very proud of the fine man that Xavier has become.

Recently my Persian night caregivers (young men that have taken over their Mom’s night duties; we have a lot of fun together) went to Yosemite for the first time and I gave them the following links for “must do” while in Yosemite:

“Make sure you visit and if the budget permits have lunch!”

“Should be an easy and breath-taking hike!’

“Hike could be strenuous but it’ll be worthwhile!”

“Strenuous hike not to be missed!”

Alas, I found out that these young men did a total of 30 minutes hiking and none of my suggestions. I’ve learned that there was a lot of sleeping, blamed on their young sister!

Have an A+ Day © X-Man!

🎄¡Feliz Navidad 2023 y Próspero Año Nuevo 2024!

Nativity figurines made by my sister many moons ago and used by me every year!

If I don’t have the opportunity to speak with some of you on these dates, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. How lucky are some of us Spaniards and Latin Americans who do not wish a Happy New Year but a Prosperous New Year!

¡Feliz Navidad, Próspero Año y Felicidad!

💞 Bellaka is 30!

Sri & Sasha

Her nickname is a play of words in Spanish: Bella which she undoubtedly is! And Bella-ka (proper spelling is Bellaca) meaning deceitful which she was as a teenager, especially to her parents. The fact of the matter is that Sasha has grown even more beautiful and is always concerned for the well-being of family and friends. I don’t think that her teenage nickname applies anymore. I’ll have to come up with a better one; it will undoubtedly be based on bella!

Her age and the fact that one of my celebrity crushes is making ads for insomnia products has got me feeling pretty old.

By the way, she’s turning 31 tomorrow!

𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡; 𝘼𝙡𝙤𝙝𝙖!

Picture disclaimer: No child was hurt during this antiquated but effective tooth removal procedure and the adult was obviously having lots of fun.