New version of GRAMPS

A new version of the genealogy program that I use came out this week, and I installed it this morning. I love it so far, and the use of pictures in the pedigree view has caused me to actually go through some of the pictures I've scanned from mom's photo albums and crop people's faces for their profile pages. It's about time I did that. :) So there are a couple of quirks that come along with major new releases, a few things that have changed for the better but require a little bit of effort on my part to fit my data into the new standard. It's okay though, I think that'll be a one-time thing. Well worth it in my opinion. Hats off to you, open source community!

Postponing visit with sister, new version of GRAMPS

I had planned to go to El Monte today and visit with my sister before a get together with some friends of mine. However, said get-together got re-scheduled for Thursday. So I'm going down Thursday morning to see sister instead.

This morning, I upgraded to the latest version of my genealogy software, GRAMPS. I like it so far, some data will have to be manipulated a bit. For example, my birth used to be a date in my profile, now it's an event that myself and my parents attended. It has to be named "birth of ..." so that it's human readable. Otherwise in the list of events, it just shows as being a birth on said date. It's not diminishing the integrity of the work any, but it's good to annotate such things for ease of use. Some may consider this tedious, but it's a major change in the branch of software, and I'm willing to do a little bit of work to keep up. It should be a one-time thing, and the program is definitely better for it.

I consider this good timing, I'll have today and tomorrow to play with the program a bit, so that on Thursday when I go see my sister I can show her how it works and she can help me with stuff.

Since she's 16 years older than me, she's closer to my dad's side of the family (he was second-youngest, so my cousins are about my sisters' age). I'm closer to my mom's side (she was second-oldest, so most of those cousins are about my age). Not that I'm closer to my mom's side than my sister is, she actually lived in Mexico with my grandparents for a while and got to know them.

Maybe she'll have some grandpa stories for me one day, but not this week. She'd probably get emotional about it, and it's not a good time for that.

Salvador Aceves requests out

This blog is going to serve as a to-do list for me, and a research log. For example, when I mail things or receive things in the mail related to my genealogy I'll post here to keep track of dates.

Today, I filled out applications for my grandfather's social security application ($27) and death certificate ($12). They're in tomorrow's mail, one to Baltimore and one to Sacramento.

By the way, I could never keep track of the postal service rates. I guess I don't send out enough letters for it to normally matter, I pay our bills online or over the phone. Anyhow, it's now 39 cents instead of 37. It was still 37 when we sent out our wedding announcements, from which we have many many 37 cent stamps left over. I know this is wasteful, but I put two stamps on each envelope rather than wait for the next opportunity to go to the post office to buy 2 cent stamps. Hopefully they won't think I'm a terrorist for over-paying!

The next things I send out should be the same two items for my grandfather's second wife Soledad.

Also, I hope to have a chat about living relatives (children of cousins and so on) with my sister tomorrow, and possibly go through some more stuff at mom's house some time soon.

Found the check

This entry has been deleted because I'm having a bad day.

Is it over?

After a month and 7 days, I am declaring our un-packing complete!

Just went through a couple of boxes and there’s still a few random things in the living room to be put away, but they’re out of the boxes and sorted. I’ve donated about 5 trash bags of clothes, thrown away more stuff than I thought I would, and set up the office pretty well. I’m going to sort some craft stuff and pictures next, but otherwise I’d say we’re pretty organized now!

I’ll check this goal off when I’ve organized the craft stuff and the files on my computer. =)

See more progress on: Get organized

Journalism these days

A message left after hours at Richard Wolfe's office was not immediately returned. A telephone message left at a listing with a similar name to Lil' Joe Wein Music was also not immediately returned.

Judge: 50 Cent no two-bit song stealer - Yahoo! News

Reading up on my internet news and ran across the above quote. I love how they make it sound like they've done some due diligence in this matter.

"We called him after hours and he didn't immediately call back, so we ran the story anyway. Oh, and we're not sure if the message we left for the other guy was actually his machine... or his listing... or his phone number... since it's not under his name, but it's close!"

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Working on mom's pictures

I have 587 files in the directory I’m scanning them to. I did all of the albums that had pocket style pages. The ones in the sticky pages are on my bookcase now (she hasn’t asked for them back, she knew I was going to scan “some” of her stuff while she was in Mexico) and I’ve been debating over how to tackle them.

My sister insists that mom will freak out if I take them out, so I have two options.

1. I photograph them through their plastic.
Pros: Less work, fewer fingerprints, no risk of damage from the removal itself.
Cons: Photos are still un-safe over time, possibly reduced quality or increased glare.

2. I take them out, scan then, then put them into something else. Probably a scrapbook for each one, or for each kind (my mom has an album for the wedding of each of her sisters, among other albums). I’ve long wanted to do a scrapbook where I’d have two copies of some pictures. I’d apply a coloring book filter and write in the names of people on their outline, and mom and dad could identify the people I can’t name.
Pros: Photos are safe, people can be identified for us and future generations, scrapbooks are cooler than photo albums.
Cons: Lots of work for something that might just make mom angry instead of happy. Very time consuming, I’m sure she’d wonder where her albums are by then, I might have to do one small one to sell her on the idea then go back and do the rest.

See more progress on: Scan the old family photos

Adult ADD (this is SO me!)

From my inbox today. Except I'm not getting old, I've always been like this. Or maybe I am getting old? =/ RECENTLY, I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A. A . A . D . D . - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests itself: I decided to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I looked over at my car and decided my car needs washing. As I started toward the garage, I noticed that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left! My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find a can of Coke that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye-- they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. Then I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spilled on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill, then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: ----the car isn't washed, ----the bills aren't paid, ----there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, ----the flowers don't have enough water, ----there is still only 1 check in my checkbook, ----I can't find the remote, ----I can't find my glasses, ----and I don't remember what in the world I did with the car keys!! Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled, because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent. Don't laugh-- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!! Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Laughing at yourself is therapeutic. ( I do a lot of laughing ) P.S. I just walked outside and SOMEONE LEFT THE WATER RUNNING IN THE DRIVEWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting for husband

Okay, my desk is fully put together now. I put my laptop on it (not a huge step, I know) and that’s where I am now. However, it’s kind of in the middle of the office for now because I need to wait for my husband to get home to move the network gear and server so that we can move the little desk out of the way and push my desk to the wall. He said not to touch the stuff till he got home, so I’m not. Instead, I’m messing around online for a while. But it’s okay, I’m rewarding myself for a job well done!

See more progress on: Get organized

Racial observation

You know, I remembered something that I've been meaning to blog about for the past couple of days. I was born in California to Mexican-born parents. My mom was born in the state of Michoacan Mexico and her family moved to Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. My dad was born in Mexico City (I'm pretty sure, I'll have to confirm that with him) and also moved to Guadalajara. From there, my dad moved to California with his family (yes, legally). He returned to Mexico to marry my mom, then they both moved back up to California. Anyhow, what I'm getting at is that my parents are Mexican by birth and upbringing (but now US citizens), my grandparents are Mexican through and through. I'm an American citizen, and I consider myself Mexican-American culturally (having a Spanish-speaking family, I learned English and Spanish concurrently as a child). However, the standardized forms have squeezed me out more and more over time. I remember there being a Hispanic bubble back in the day. Then, I had to say yes or no to Hispanic origin, then pick a "race." I always picked other and then wrote/typed in "Hispanic." I took a survey a few days ago from a reputable company that I have taken surveys for many times in the past 5 years or so, and that option was no longer there. They didn't ask me if I was Hispanic or not, and there was no place for me to type in what my "other" signified. So basically, I had to choose between being Caucasian for the purposes of their survey, or an unspecified other, a statistic that can be overlooked, a person without an origin or classification. Honestly, I'm not comfortable re-assigning my heritage every time the powers that be re-design the forms. I'm not comfortable saying that I'm Caucasian, or black, or native American. To be quite honest, I could possibly be descended from "Caucasian" Spaniards, or indigenous Mexican people, I don't know. There's no "Native Mexican" bubble (or radio button) on those forms, there's no "I don't know, but they all meshed together hundreds of years ago and here I am," and there's no Hispanic. It's like we don't exist any longer. With the ongoing talk about the Hispanic vote, marketing to Hispanics (as opposed to translating your English ads, they've realized that Hispanics have different cultural references and purchasing trends), Hispanic-owned businesses, Hispanic scholarship funds, and even a Hispanic Heritage Month, I think we deserve a bubble, I think we deserve a radio button, I think we deserve a choice. I mean, look how many of us there are in the United States! By the way, feel free to substitute Latino or Chicano, personally I do not take offense to being Hispanic. I'm just not ready to be a Caucasian of Hispanic origin, or much less to deny my heritage completely.

Putting my desk together

I’m almost done putting my desk together. I went to Ikea and sat at many desks for a long time with a tape measure and stuff. I visualized where everything would go. I basically was choosing between the same desk my husband has and the same style in a “corner” desk, with a matching standalone drawer set. I picked the normal desk one, because I’m going to be adopting the network gear, the server, the flatscreen tv (that’s also a monitor for the server), and telephone. The desk one has more storage space and more counter space once you take that into consideration. If I made my husband adopt the network stuff, I would have taken the corner desk for the smaller footprint. It’s adequate space if I actually had all of it.

So, tomorrow I’ll be stashing away various craft stuff and office stuff. I bought magazine box things from Ikea for 25 cents each, that’ll help a lot too. They’re just plan brown cardboard, but I can get like a kajillion of them for the cost of a moderate number of the ones with the metallic frame and fittings. =)

See more progress on: Get organized

Recent purchases (AKA I love Ikea)

I plan to spend less money next year than we're spending this year. That's because we're actually furnishing this apartment like a real house. =P

We purchased:

• A desk for Charles (my desk will be an art desk)
  
• Lamps for the living room, bed room, and office
  
• A laptop stand for me
  
• Folding tables for the living room (between each of the chairs)
  
• A stepping stool (so I can clean the lizard tank, I can't unplug it to bring it down anymore now that it's on the tv cabinet)
  

Go us!

Still to buy: my desk, and maybe one day a couch. :)

I have a built-in tutor...

My husband and his family sign. Some of his siblings are speech-delayed, and everyone there signs, including the baby. (Which I have determined all babies should do!)

I’ve told him several times that I want to learn more, I took an intro class but forgot most of it, my friend used to work at a school for the deaf and we signed Christmas carols together a few years ago, but I don’t have a good memory for that sort of thing apparently, because I keep forgetting the signs that I used to know. I need to get my husband to sign with me so that I can retain what I learn.

See more progress on: learn sign language

Class at the Y

My husband and I joined the YMCA, and I’ve now gone to two of their weekly belly dancing classes. There’s a family class (which on average is 2-3 girls between 8 and 12 and the rest adults) and then it’s immediately followed by one for adults only. I’ve been doing both, which is good for beginners I think. So, two hours once a week, I love it so far.

See more progress on: learn to belly dance

We have returned! +Aquatics rant

So, after two visits from the phone company (the first time, they couldn't get into the telcom room because the key wasn't in the lock box and the manager wasn't home), two tech support calls (the installation CD is Windows/Mac, so we didn't have a user name), and two weeks at our new apartment, our DSL is up and running!

So, here's the latest goings on:

• We bought a TV cabinet at Best Buy. It took forever to put together (with just one person anyway) but it matches the wood floors and holds all of our DVDs and VHS tapes with room to spare. We put our lizards on top of it so we can watch them while we watch tv. The only other place for them for now was the kitchen table, because the fireplace mantle was only wide enough for the smaller tank.
• We're waiting to hear back about our application for an Ikea credit card. We've got a shopping list that'll go by quicker if we get that. :)
• I've been sorting clothes, trying to donate about half of my pants and maybe as many of my shirts and sweatshirts and such. It was about time I did that, I have too much clothes.
• The cable that the last resident forgot to turn off was finally shut off yesterday. Now we have to give some consideration about whether we want to pay for cable or not. If not, we need to get an antenna for the TV, beause we're currently not getting any channels at all.

On a side note, I've always heard bad things about YMCA aquatics... don't ask me why, but everyone I know who's worked for a Y never liked it, and I always hear stories about their lifeguards doing homework on duty and generally not doing their jobs. This spans four counties, and more than that many Y locations. Well, yesterday I was in the water for an hour and a half... when the lifeguard on duty started teaching aerobics, another lifeguard arrived, sat down on a plastic chair to put his shoes on, did a head count, and then went in the office never to be seen again. An hour later, he re-appears, puts in the lane lines, then goes away through the locker room. The next lifeguard arrives, now the only guard on duty, does a chem check, and sits at the table. A few minutes later, a lady with a YMCA employee badge, real clothes (not a uniform), and flip flops on comes to stand next to him. He shows her the chem check and they proceed to talk for a good ten minutes before they both go into the office. It appeared that the visitor was a supervisory aquatics employee.

For the last 250 yards or so that I swam, there was absolutely no employee on the pool deck and about 12 people in the water, 3 of whom were non-swimmers with aqua jogger belts. I did not feel safe in that situation... I left a comment in their comment box at the main counter saying "Please have the lifeguards watch the water."
 

What is it with YMCAs and bad lifeguarding? Someone out there have a YMCA lifeguarding text book? Are they telling them something different than we Red Cross people would come to expect?

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Belly Dancing & Health

I went to my first belly dancing class yesterday. It was fun, and a pretty good workout. It reminds me of my knee issues, and actually my shoulder issues too. The instructor said I might need to get a massage, because one of my shoulders looks higher than the other. I've also had shoulder pain from sleeping on my side recently. My right shoulder had an injury many years ago when I pulled a muscle in my freshman PE class. My left shoulder got injured at work the following summer. More things to add to my "when we have insurance" list.

Another thing on that list is a podiatrist. Many many years of flip flops or bare feet at work, and how my feet hurt any time I wear "real" shoes, including my new tennis shoes with fancy insoles.  I think my feet are flat or something, and I want to ask someone who knows better whether the real shoes can correct the damage or not.

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Woot! (Moving update)

We have finished moving out of the old place. Upon further thought I realized the one thing we left behind- the locks on the garage. Oh well.

It's nice having a fridge again! We went out for groceries last night, and had home made food for the first time since about the 20th of last month. I'm planning to learn to cook more things, one of my tasks this week will be going through some cookbooks I have and picking out things that Charles and I would like to eat and I'd like to cook!

Our anniversary is on Friday, we're probably going to go to see some movies this weekend and also go to Magic Mountain. :)

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