Category: Hugo Torres

Who’s the Boss

Now some may disagree but I happen to be a pretty good manager of things.
Under my watch my clients are kept up to date on their home purchases, kids are picked up from camp, laundry gets done, dogs get petted, and I even get some time to draft snappy little blog posts to all y’all.

That’s all great but some of it seems a little empty when the Torres Family CEO is not here at headquarters overlooking…and though I am proud to see her travel for work I am looking forward to that moment she sets foot back at Casa Torres so we can chill and watch some Netflix together.

Petty Grievance #62 – STRAWS!

Why? 
Just another unnecessary piece of plastic if you ask me!!! I don’t care for the super little ones they put in my Moscow Mules. Or those vacuum size ones that yank up boba balls indiscriminately. How about those swirly ones that are super hard to clean. Finally it’s the ones that they put in Squishies and/or Slurpies that don’t work right and you end up hurting the inside of your cheeks!
 Away with the lot of them…who’s with me?

Gray Matter

You see a photo and you wonder…you’re no longer the cute boy with sleek abs, tanned chest, muscled thighs and a plucky thesis research paper. Now you’re the dude that needs to make sure the olde land mower is working, that remains sensitively steadfast in a fast changing political/material world and who somehow remains the apple of the eye of those who matter most. 
You are tough, but sensitive. You are nerdy but cool. You are a hero but the heel who lays down the law. You’re a DAD and you do the best you can and hope one day over some BBQ you’ll overhear them saying. “Man you should have known my pop back in the day….”

A Fairy Accounting

Some days just turn on a dime and this afternoon I had to mange a fairly detailed and emotional audit.

Seem that because of the hectic nature of the last few days there were a few but significant miss-entries in the ledger. It’s all sorted out now and our accounting is reconciled but to imagine that this whole thing started because someone lost a tooth yesterday, the tooth-fairy made a late night deposit and we’ve been trying to teach the kids the pragmatism of keeping a check-book.

Naturalization

Odd to see the details of one’s life filtered to 21 pages of check-off boxes and info sections. As I fill out USCIS Form N-400 I am reminded of the first time I set foot this great land.

 With each section I complete think of old jobs, dramas, successes and promises afforded me by being a member of this great society. Interestingly enough my life seems to be fairly simple. I have had long tenures in my career, been with the same terrific woman for more than half my life and am raising two live-wire kids. Heck…3/4 of the dogs I’ve own have really loved me. 
I sit here and wonder what the person reviewing my application will think of the summary of my life thus far. I guess we’ll find out in about 7 months now won’t we?

Restauran Review of Noor’s Indian Bistro in Monrovia

My family has walked by this restaurant for many months and have not entered because we’d never had Indian food before. Needless to say, we have been missing out and we will be returning from now on.
Going with a friend who could recommend different dishes and tastes the afternoon started out with terrific appetizers and followed with a wide array of flavors that treated everyone in the group.
What really struck me is how our little ones enjoyed the food. Both under 10, they were not shy about trying a little bit from everyone at the table and they seldom turned anything down.
Seeking heat, I ordered the lamb vindaloo (which promised three hot peppers in its Spice Meter) and I was not let down. As spicy as it was, I couldn’t get enough and finished everything on my plate and would have gone for more if I wasn’t already full.
The staff was friendly and the ambiance romantic and calm. One may not think so from it’s location on the plaza but this is a terrific place for a date night.
The only downs is that the waitress could have come back to ask for refills on drinks a little more promptly and the temperature inside ranged from cold to warm very quickly.

Otherwise, this is a treat for the sense and a place you should try out.
Vindaloo hit the spot.

Morning of September 11 2001

I plopped down at my work chair and with a cup of coffee in hand turned the knob on the radio to KROQ. In minutes Ralph Garman on the airwaves started to talk about planes and New York and with an impulse I changed the station to Howard Stern. 

From moment to moment the news grew bleaker and then someone rolled the office TV out. The rest of the day flew by. We watched through the glass the pain of men, women and children at the other side of the nation. We worried about our own and knew the wold was changing in front of our eyes. On this day…every year hence I’m reminded of the fragility of life and the ugliness of people at their worst. 

Luckily for me I witnessed a throng of little minds pledging allegiance at their school today and it gave me hope.

Dad Stories – Death and Eggs

We had an unexpected talk about the meaning of death around the breakfast table this morning after listening to my kids telling silly scary stories that involved one another.
It’s challenging to hear your kids utter some words and as I heard them a twinge of pain fell over me. I stopped them and asked to talk.
We discussed the finality of death and what it means to loose someone close to our hearts. The dog we recently lost was brought up and that we would never see her again. This hit a nerve. A sad one.
I did not like to break up their imaginative silly talk with a serious conversation. But at that point my adventurers needed to know my feelings on the matter and how it was impacting me. 
It’s not easy this parenting gig and I can’t say I handled it perfectly but I think we all grew up a little over eggs and biscuits.

The Frill of Air Conditioning

My mother believed that cool air in the car is a luxury to be used sparingly even on hot East LA summer days. So wind swept hair that my kids consider a novelty is for me a reminder of sweaty backs, fried nerves and too little back seat space during scalding afternoon drives in our brown Izusu I-Mark.

Out Dated

While waiting to meet their new pediatrician my kiddos found an old typewriter to play with. With an office full of familiar toys and coloring books featuring their favorite characters, my children opted to explore the odd machine.

I watched from a fair distance. Seeing their fingers gravitate towards the metal keys and listening to the familiar clack. Like a piano they struck the keys quickly and they felt into a trance like state when the metal cracked against the black rolling pin.

Then my son discovered a piece of paper that bore letters. I think I saw the flash of the bulb go off in his head. “You use this to write words or even sentences” I’m sure he realized.

With their usual melodramatic energy they started the process of figuring out how to insert the paper into the machine and it was at this point in intervened. Without a word I fed the crisp white sheet into the slot and used the crank wheel to move it into place.

As they struggled searching for the letters that made up their names my son exclaimed loudly to his sister. “How did they ever survive with this technology.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud to the point where they both glanced back in confused amusement.

I don’t know kids. I just don’t know.

Artifact from a Land Before Time