Unbelievable...

My grandma, who we've always called Tita, passed away last night at 10:45pm.

It doesn't seem possible because we were at her house on Sunday visiting and looking at pictures from the family reunion my mom and I attended.

Early the next morning she had a massive stroke while asleep and never regained consciousness.

The people in the room were my Uncle Beto and his girlfriend, my Uncle Ruben and Aunt Alicia, my mom, and me (the eldest grandchild.)

It was peaceful and quiet and we just watched the numbers on the monitors decrease. We could almost feel my grandpa--who passed in March of this year--there in the room ready to take her back with him. She always said that she didn't want to live long after he went--they were married 66 years--and I guess she got her wish.

For the rest of us, we've still been adjusting to not having my grandpa around, but we had more preparation because his decline was very gradual. Losing my grandma over a period of 3 days has blindsided us a little.

Today we begin preparations, which are going to be a duplicate of what we did in March for my grandpa. The picture above was from Father's Day when we went and visited my grandpa's grave. Ironically, my mom and I bought the plot next to it and finish paying for it today.

The really sad part is that my grandma's younger sister didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her. She flies in this afternoon. There were originally 4 sisters, and now there is only one left. The picture on the right shows them: My Aunt Berta (sister #2,) Aunt Hortensia (eldest,) my great grandma Mercedes, Luz (#3, my grandma,) and my Aunt Merce.

Well, I need to go and start the day. It's going to be a busy one.

Earthquakes and Intensive Care

A: Earthquake epicenter
San Dimas (circled): Where I was during the earthquake
X: Where I live. Click for a larger version.

What do they say? "When it rains it pours?"

Today was kind of like that.

It started out normal enough, although I knew that my grandma was in the hospital, so not completely normal.

I had made plans to visit my other grandma--my dad's mom--in San Dimas. I was only in her house for a moment when we heard, and then felt, the shaking. I pulled her under a doorway and we waited out an earthquake. There was a crash in the kitchen. She thought it was the ceiling, but it was only a glass container with chili that smashed and splattered all over the floor. Earthquakes are interesting, because you know that they are only a few seconds, but time slows down when you're in the middle of one.

The kitchen floor was a mess and it took me a good half hour to really clean it up so it wasn't slippery anymore. Little glass shards had sprayed on the counter and in all directions on the floor. No walking barefoot in there for a while.

Then we went to lunch, which was the original plan. My grandma was still, pardon the expression, "shook up" a bit for quite a while afterwards. I was OK, but I gained new respect for those earthquake drills at my school. After lunch I took my grandma to the nearby Stater Bros. market. What a mess. Tons of bottles of things were knocked over. Picture the "domino effect" all over the market.

I was glad that I was with my grandma when it happened. And, since it was east of where I live, I knew that my house wouldn't be in bad shape, which was a comfort. There were a couple of frames knocked over in the living room and that was it. Thank heavens. Same kind of damage at my mom's house across the street.

After dealing with the earthquake excitement, we had to deal with what is happening with my other grandma--my mom's mom--which is not good. After yesterday morning's massive stroke, things have worsened and will not likely get better. Her brain is hemorrhaging and herniating, which means that the pressure is causing the brain to move downward into the spinal column.

We are preparing for the end.

It hardly seems possible that we are going to be dealing with her loss when my grandpa just passed in March. After they were married for 66 years, it is like he is calling her back to him.

Today several relatives visited and her sister is flying in from Mexico on Thursday. But for the most part, all we can do is wait.

If this doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will...

Thanks, Bobby, for sharing this video! Have a tissue handy...

A Day of Waiting...

Once in a while I'll have a day where I feel like I spend the whole day waiting and, before I know it, the day is over.

Yesterday I was on the "schedule" to babysit my nephew. I was also expecting a friend to drop by for a few minutes at 10am.

At 9am I received a phone call from my mom, who was subbing at a year-round school for the day. She called to tell me that my grandma had a massive stroke. She turned 90 in April and lost my grandpa--to whom she was married for 66 years--on March 13. She had a tiny stroke in January and had become quite diminished since the, but still had many lucid days. Mostly she wasn't able to drive anymore, her strong personality was gone, and she would get overwhelmed very easily.

What happened yesterday was nothing like that. She's been unresponsive since her home health care worker discovered something was wrong at 5am. Now she's in Intensive Care for at lease 2 weeks and will be in the hospital for 3-4 weeks.

The immediate family--aunts, uncles, cousins--exchanged phone calls and emails back and forth all day yesterday. I called El Paso and told my aunt, who is the oldest child of my grandmother's younger sister.

All we can do is wait.

While facing that news I ended up waiting an extra 3 hours for my brother to bring my nephew over because his napping schedule got a little off. That forced me to stew even more in the helplessness of the situation with my grandma.

We don't know if she'll come out of this or not. If she does, we don't know how much. I had planned to go and see her at the hospital, but by the time the baby was picked up, the day was essentially over. My mom visited for an hour or so and said that her eyes are closed, her body is limp, and that she doesn't look good. She did, however, squeeze my mom's hand when she announced who she was. We don't know if there is any paralysis or not. If there is, it seems to be concentrating on one hand, because she has moved her feet and left hand.

We're just waiting.

Ironically, I had made plans for this afternoon to go and visit my other grandma, who is also 90 (one who had a surprise party in June.) She doesn't drive anymore either because she broke her foot last year, but otherwise is in decent shape. Still, as time marches on and you see your loved ones become more fragile at this age, it makes you want to savor every moment.

Go home with Bonnie Jean...

Tonight I went with a friend to see a stage production of Brigadoon. It was at the Glendale Center Theatre, where I've been many times before. They always do a sensational job on their little stage.

It was a good time, the music is very happy and catchy. I'm such a sucker for musical theater, but now I "canna" get the Bonnie Jean song out of my head! (Good movie too. Of course anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge Gene Kelly fan...)

A BIG Project--All done!

I feel so accomplished! The blog that I've been putting together on the recent family reunion is complete!

I've been working on it since returning from Mexico on 7/16, but yesterday I went into high gear. Literally, from 7:30am to 7:30pm, that all I did. (Good thing I'm on summer vacation, right?)

Partly it is for the family to see, but it is also for me to preserve all of the memories. Theoretically, I'd like to do one every summer after each upcoming reunion.

Everyone is invited to visit! CLICK the picture above to go directly there...

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

To continue that last post, I decided to see The Dark Knight instead of getting a manicure to sooth my sunburn pains...

I'm guessing that most people that go to see it are either big Batman fans or have a morbid curiosity to see Heath Ledger's performance. I'll admit that I'm somewhere in the middle. Partly I went because superhero movies are usually pretty fun, and partly I was curious about all of the hype surrounding Ledger's portrayal of the Joker.

So I'll answer the questions, in my own opinion, that people are asking about this movie:

• How good is it? If I had to give it an overall grade within its genre only, maybe a B+
• How good is it compared to all movies? Probably a C. Let's put it this way, I was looking at my watch a lot during the last half hour.
  
• Heath Ledger's Joker is...? Frighteningly good. The hype was not overdone. The character is psycho, intense, sickly humorous, and mesmerizing to watch. To say that it is an Oscar-worthy perfomance is not an overstatement.
• Favorite character? Jim Gordon was actually my favorite, but I'm biased because Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors. I like Christian Bale a lot too, and he makes an excellent Batman, but I wish he would tone down the intensity a little. Plus, that gravelly voice he uses whenever he's in the Batsuit makes me want to hurl cough drops at the screen.
• How was the story? Weak. But you kind of expect that in a movie like this. The writers were lucky they got such excellent A-list actors, because only they could give the story a little credibility. But not much.
• Overall impression: You won't remember the story much when you leave, but you will remember the characters and their performances. Aaron Eckhart did an impressive job as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Maggie Gyllenhaal--well, I've never liked her, she always seems very smug, so she did nothing for me here as Rachel Dawes, replacing Katie Holmes from Batman Begins.
• Would you recommend it? As a summer super-hero movie, sure. But as a life-changing film that you have to see again and again? Probably not.
• Final thoughts: This movie is definitely dark, intense, and violent. Personally, I think it borders on an R-rating, because of the extreme intensity of almost all of the characters and because much of the violence--even implied violence that you don't actually see--could be quite disturbing to younger kids. A lot of younger kids are going to see it (let's be realistic) and all they are going to take away from it are the visual images, which are often scary.
  

What flavor of ice cream are you?

Answer: Neopolitan!

Yesterday I drove down to San Diego and spent the day with my cousin, Laura, and her daughter, Cassidy. We went swimming in the pool at their apartment complex for only 1 hour and last night when I arrived home my shoulders and back were all pink. Between pink shoulders, white where the swimsuit was, and very tan arms, I'm more multi-colored than I have ever been in recent memory.

Oh well, that's OK. It looks worse than it is, and we had fun chatting about the Twilight books, eating a greasy breakfast at Denny's, unpacking a couple of boxes, and swimming. On the 2 1/2-hour drive home I blasted the Hairspray soundtrack and some Richard Marx--good driving music. And, for the first time, Disneyland actually seemed close! Only 30 miles from home as opposed to the 275-mile round trip I drove yesterday.

Laura & Cassidy: Love ya! (I'll think of you every time I wince with pain as my sunburn heals! I might need to comfort myself with some sushi and a manicure...)

The many faces of Alexander Jonathan...

I can't get enough of my darling nephew! My sister-in-law just sent these. Click ON the pictures to see the full-sized versions.

I CAN BE...

CUTE--
CURIOUS--
and even...SCARY!

Dorothy was right...

"There's no place like home."

It's true that I can relax at home more than anywhere else, but it also comes with the added responsibilities from which a vacation gives you a break.

I have been thinking about my family so much. It is very odd to go from being surrounded by so many people to being in a house by yourself. Fortunately, there are plenty of pictures to keep the memories of the Amaya family reunion alive and well.

Yesterday turned out to be quite busy. I took my dog, Bailey, to the groomer for a bath. He was pretty dirty from being outside so much. Then I went to the mall to Eddie Bauer to exchange the umbrella I took on my trip because it broke on day 4. After the mall I stopped by and visited with my grandma for awhile. She had a lot of questions about the Amayada. I'll show her the pictures in a couple of days.

Then...I had to pick up Bailey from the groomer and rush home because the repair guy was coming to fix my leaky clothes washer. Luckily, he found the problem quickly. But it cost $147. $119 was just the labor--which took about 20 minutes. Sheesh! We are at their mercy.

By the time he left it was around 4:30 and I just wanted to be home. I did more laundry, did some picking up in the house, made dinner, and cleaned the kitchen. Not very glamorous, but I never mind cleaning the house. Bailey went on his first walk in 9 days and he was so happy to walk and to be clean, that he strutted down the street like a furry peacock.

Throughout the day I sat at the computer and worked on uploading my pictures from the trip. For whatever reason, some of them came off the memory stick out of order. Those I uploaded one at a time. The rest I uploaded in reverse so that they are displayed in the correct order on Photobucket. It was much more complicated than it should have been.

I wrote to my mom and a couple of cousins. One of the emails got bounced back to me, so I'll have to try something different. I was trying to send a short video as an attachment, and I guess it didn't like that.

Today I woke up surrounded by my pets. I guess they missed me! I had one cat on my pillow, another balled up in the crook of my arm, and my dog licking my elbow to get me to wake up and give him breakfast. I wasn't ready to get up yet, though, and part of me wants to climb back into bed. My body is still recovering from all the traveling.

Hmm...tempting! We'll see...

Here are a few group photos from the trip. If you're family, you know who everyone is. I just don't have the energy right now to label everything in detail. That will be on the separate AMAYADA 2008 page.

Thanks for reading and visiting!

(above) The busy scene on Saturday, July 12, 2008. The rest of the pictures below are from Sunday, July 13th.

(above) The male cousins wanted their own picture. Look at these good-looking fellas!

(above) Descendants of my Uncle Fernando Amaya

(above) Descendants of my Uncle Leopoldo Amaya

(above) Descendants of my Uncle Jose Maria (Chalia) Amaya

My mom and I--the only ones in attendance descended from Mercedes Amaya de Aguirre, my great-grandmother. We need to remedy that for next year!

Nearly home...

Wow, what a day.

Right now I'm in a Best Western Hotel in El Paso, TX. This morning I drove with my Aunt Rosamaria from Chihuahua, Mexico to here. She wanted to leave at 7am (yikes) and we did, along with a very nice lady friend that she invited so that she wouldn't have to drive home alone.

I was supposed to stay in El Paso with my Aunt Marta, but we got our wires crossed. I arrived much earlier than anticipated and the phone number I had for her was wrong. When Rosie and her friend Coco checked into a hotel it was just too tempting. My own room...my own bed...my own bathroom. I couldn't pass it up. I finally did get a hold of Marta, but by then I had already checked into my room. It is probably a blessing in disguise, because she and my cousin, Veronica, both have very busy days tomorrow. I can get a shuttle to the airport from here.

At the moment I'm tired, happy, sad, and trying to figure out the best way to preserve the experience from these last few days. Another blog called Amayada 2008 is in the works. But mostly, I am deeply in awe. My family is amazing. Being with so many of them this last week has restored my faith in many things.

If you are a relative who just received an email from me and are visiting this page for the first time, welcome. This is my personal blog where I jot down this and that.

Now I need to fulfill my promise to myself and add to my journal of the trip...

Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Surprise post!

Hi to my little handful of readers! No, I´m not home. I am at my aunt´s house in Chihuahua, Mexico, and she has a computer. My mom and I arrived in Chihuahua yesterday afternoon around 2pm and spent the night at my Aunt Rosie´s house. She is my grandma´s first cousin and lots of fun with a lovely house. Her house is also more on the modern side, which is convenient for us spoiled Americans...

Yesterday afternoon we went and had a wonderful seafood meal and then went and spent several hours visiting my Aunt Merce, my grandma´s sister. One of her 3 daughters was also there and it was great to see her too. I have the coolest aunts.

I was very tired when we got back to Rosie´s house and relaxed by adding 3 pages to my Mexico journal, which I will publish on a separate blog when I get back. Then I plugged myself into my Zune player for a while before falling into a very deep sleep.

We´ve moved slowly this morning and just had a late breakfast. Soon we´re going to go and visit my Uncle Fernie, who is my Aunt Merce´s son. He is suffering from severe emphysema after years of smoking and my mom wants to see her first cousin.

At 4pm today my Uncle Abelardo and Aunt Carmela are coming from Guerrero (our final destination) to go to the dentist and then drive my mom and I back with them. My Uncle Aberlardo is my grandma´s first cousin and owner of the family ranch, Casa Blanca, where the family reunion will take place on Saturday. Like last year, we´ll have a smaller gathering on Friday night for the early-birds and another on Sunday for the "hangers-on."

I'm trying to take out the little white laptop I brought and add a little to my journal each day. This will most likely be my last post until at least Monday or Tuesday, when I´ll be back in this house for one more night. There is a tiny computer place in Guerrero, but I don´t know if I´ll make it there...we have a lot of visiting ahead of us in these next few days.

It is great to be with family. They are so wonderful and loving and they welcome us with open arms and giant hugs and kisses. That kind of graciousness is a definite motivation to make this trip and I am, as I knew I would be, glad I decided to come.

I hope everyone reading this is having a good week and can have opportunities like this some day.

This Spanish keyboard is very different, so I´m going to stop here! I have to think harder than usual to type!

Last post before my trip...

To my loyal handful of readers--I leave tomorrow afternoon for my trip to Mexico. No internet where I'll be, so this is my last post until I return.

But, since I have several cousins who want to know how things go at the reunion, I'm going to try and keep a journal of the trip. When I return I hope to create a blog dedicated to the experience with many of the pictures I plan to take.

Today was spent running all of those last minute errands and now, at almost 8pm, I get to start packing...

See you later until I return next week! Up, up, and away...

A fine frenzy...

Whoo...the crunch of time is upon me! Now I can really feel how much there is to be done for my Mexico trip. I have lists of what to pack, lists for the house-sitters, lists of toiletries I cannot forget--yes, I'm a list person.

Tomorrow is the last "full day" before I leave and I ended up with 3 different appointments in addition to packing. How did that happen? All I know is that I'm going to have to be very efficient with my time so I don't get overwhelmed. Whoops, too late.

I did have a nice visit with my uncle at my grandma's house today, though. I went over there to visit her before leaving on my trip and she ended up napping and I ended up chatting with my uncle for about 45 minutes about his artwork, music, gadgets, life, etc. He's great to talk to.

It was my hope to finish Eclipse before leaving, but I don't know if I'll make it. It doesn't seem worth taking such a big book when there is so little left to read. (Of course I could just stop writing this rambling blog and go read now...)

And to top it off, my dog is starting to get really clingy, like he is sensing that he's going to be babysat for several days...

I've created a monster...

This one is for you, Laura!

My cousin, Laura, and I have been emailing back and forth for the past week as she's kept me updated on her progress reading the Twilight series. When I started reading I realized this would be a series she would love and, boy, was I right?

So I've been playing Santa and sending her copies of the books. It's been fun. I've been like the Book Fairy. And now I've just received an email from her saying that she stayed up until 5:30am reading New Moon. Amazing! But this is the effect these books have on people.

Eclipse has taken me days and days because life has gotten busier and I've been wanting to draw out the reading experience, but I'm determined to finish before I leave for Mexico on Tuesday. There's *maybe* 150 pages left to get through. A big climactic battle still awaits.

Thank goodness for the podcasts out there to feed my Twilight obsession while on vacation!

Headline: "Suburban Woman Mocked by Cat"

Doesn't it always seem like someone is lounging around when you're busy? Today I was making a list of what I needed to pack for the upcoming family reunion, doing dishes, running to the dry cleaners and the pet store and there was my cat, Darcy, sitting in the window and reminding me to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n...

Every house should have a cat, if only to make you think about the "good life..."

3 years Over the Rainbow

Today is a special anniversary for me. It is the 3-year anniversary of when I moved into my house.

I LOVE my house. It was built in 1941, like the other houses on my street, and has a lot of charm that I haven't seen in newer homes. It is also really well-built, which is comforting. After living with my mom for 5 years saving, saving, saving and going to--literally--every open house I saw, who would've thought that the home that suited me best was just across the street from where I grew up?

Interestingly enough, I had never been in it until the owner let me see the inside for the first time. (Interesting because I had seen the inside of most of the houses on my street over the years.) I guess this was a case of saving the best for last. When I walked in the front door and saw the living room lead into the sunroom with those enormous windows I just knew that I was home. I've never seen any house with as much natural light and I love it. Every morning I wake up feeling grateful that I live in this magical little place.

So this morning I walked around my house and snapped a few pictures on this 3-year anniversary. To me, I'm as thrilled to live here as the day I moved in. One of the other great things that happened when I was preparing to move was that there was a stream of local estate, moving, and yard sales that had amazing items I was able to use. It was truly a blessed time. Can you tell which things were bought 2nd hand?

Living in my house is being over the rainbow for me.



I recorded this last night. I think it turned out pretty good!

Podcasts, pasta, and... the Amish? Oh my...

After hemming and hawing for weeks, I decided to buy a plane ticket to El Paso, TX so I can attend my family reunion in Mexico in 2 weeks. I've been looking forward to it for months and, now that I've been home for the summer, the thought of leaving home so soon feels a little overwhelming. In my heart, though, I know that I would feel awful if I wasn't there.

The traveling part is not your typical "point-A-to-point-B" kind of thing. It involves flying from LA to El Paso (about 2 hours,) taking a 6-hour bus ride to Chihuahua, Mexico, and then another 3-hour ride to Guerrero, Mexico. Guerrero is a small, charming town where in the outskirts lies Casa Blanca, a ranch that has been in my mom's family since the late 1700's. (yes you read that correct) It is at Casa Blanca that the reunion, called Amayada (Amaya is the family name,) will take place.

All of my issues are really MY issues. I have found myself focusing on the negative things like the traveling when I know that the positives far outweigh them. I don't know why. I think I was giving myself an excuse to be lazy and not go. If I could only twitch my nose like Samantha on Bewitched and get there, I go in a blink. If only...

One of my issues--I know it sounds really ridiculous--is just being cut off from everything (by that I mean the internet!) for 8 days. Yes, I'll be in comfy homes staying with wonderful relatives, but for me, not being able to email and blog, etc., is like being a contestant on Survivor. Sad, isn't it? Really, really sad.

So, like a little kid packing up their toys for a trip, I've been preparing myself. Man, it feels dunb even when I write about it! But, yes, I've been downloading a bunch of podcasts to keep me in touch with what's comfortable. I even put several movies on my ZUNE player to keep me entertained on the bus or in the car for those long trips. No reading in the car for me. It makes me ill.

Tonight I went to Olive Garden with a friend and while listening to the latest episode of Mugglecast in the car, the Mugglecasters said that they are putting out a new Twilight podcast called Imprint. There's only one episode out so far, but there will be another before my trip. I also found 2 other Twilight podcasts, one called Fire and Ice and another called Beautiful Monsters. I hope they're good, because the Mugglecasters have spoiled me with their shows.

So, yes, I'm not thinking about which clothes I'll pack, the liquids I'll have to keep under 3 ounces, or even freaking out over my scary passport picture. I'm packing my entertainment--my books, my music, my podcasts, my Palm Treo. How sad am I? I've embraced the digital age. Maybe a little too tightly. You don't realize how much some of these "conveniences" become a part of us until the prospect of having to do without them for a few days becomes a huge inconvenience.

A week ago I was having dinner with my mom and we were watching a documentary on the Amish. There is something truly beautiful in the simplicity in which they live. Is it weird that I found myself coveting their lifestyle?

Rediscovery of a masterpiece...again...

When I went to bed last night I decided to put in my DVD of Amazing Grace. I figured I'd watch about half an hour of it and fall asleep. Before I knew it, I'd watched the whole film. It had been several months since I'd seen it and I had forgotten how incredible it is. It seems that whenever I watch it I want to write and tell others about it. I'm sure this won't be the last time.

It is the true story of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffud,) an MP (minister of parliament) in the late 18th century. When his best friend, William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch,) becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain, he appeals to Wilberforce's sense of fairness and morality and challenges him to take on the daunting task to push for the abolition of the slave trade throughout the British empire.

Wilberforce's efforts go on for years, mostly unsuccessful. However, he has Pitt on his side, a few maverick abolitionists, and John Newton--his former preacher in school and a former slave ship owner who repented of his sins and has sought to redeem himself in his later years. Newton (Albert Finney)also penned the famous hymn Amazing Grace. Wilber (the nickname Wilberforce is known by) visits him periodically for pep talks and encouragement.

After years and years, Wilberforce is tired, sick, discouraged, and ready to let someone else try what he has failed to do. But what he doesn't realize is how many admirers he's amassed, among them, Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai), who, thanks to the efforts of his cousin, Henry, he keeps getting thrown together with. After a luncheon at Henry's house, Barbara persuades Wilber to tell her about his work. His explanation becomes the film we see, which is told in flashbacks up until that point in time.

After that conversation, Wilber is inspired to try to get his bill passed in parliament one last time.

Amazing Grace is one of those special films that is perfect from start to finish. The story and acting are SUPERB. It did not get a lot of publicity and it's almost *too* good to appeal to the masses. There are no impressive special effects and adventure scenes, as it is mostly dialogue. It is also interesting to note that a movie about slavery hardly shows any slaves. To illustrate the mentality of the arguing lawmakers and social elite, the images of slavery are kept in the distance by showing us empty ships and a few haunting images that invade Wilberforce's dreams. But for the most part, you don't think about it until Wilberforce comes along and forces you to think about it. Yet somehow, slavery's looming presence is the strongest character in the film, only making its entrance at the most powerful moments.

Nothing I can say about this film is enough to do it justice, but at this time of year when many of us are thinking about America and freedom, what better time than now to learn about the struggles of others? Amazing Grace's story is one more piece of the puzzle that tries to unite all of humanity. It boggles the mind at how many were and still are resistant to do so.



“The grand object of my parliamentary existence is the abolition of
the slave trade. Before this great cause all others dwindle in my eyes.
If it please God to honor me so far, may I be the instrument of stopping
such a course of wickedness and cruelty as never before disgraced a
Christian country.”
--William Wilberforce