Throwback thursday ... From oct 24, 2012

How I get dressed when nobody is around: I DO NOT put one pant leg at a time... Thats for common folk... Rather, I hook one belt loop to the dresser, one to the doorknob (using bungie chords.. As I'm a plus sized man and don't wanna break the loops),  stand on the edge of the bed and JUMP into those MF's like Michael (Jackson, Jordan, take your pick... Game 6). Also: after every item of clothing put on I look in the mirror for 30-45 seconds and say,"SWAG" to myself ( making a mental note to high five myself at the end of the proccess) THEN: I spend 15 min giving my SnapBack the proper "gangsta lean"... If I'm not wearing a hat, I comb out my beard to give it a Rick Ross like body. If uninterrupted , I've got my total prep time down to 2 hrs, 15 min.... THIS is why I  say my look was premeditated, I'm not playing. Preferred music while doing all this: John Mayer's Your Body Is A Wonderland on repeat... Though Maroon 5 ""Moves like Jagger" sometimes works too... But only if it's Thursday .

Doughnuts, Baseball and all the memories in between...

I woke up Sunday morning and wanted a doughnut. 

And this made me think about my Dad.

It's funny how something so simple can remind you of something else entirely. 

And the thought of this reminded me of Sunday mornings when I was a little kid, waking up and always seeing that pink box that no doubt had my favorite, a chocolate old fashioned doughnut, inside waiting for me.

My parents worked all the time, often times early in the morning and until it was dark outside. I can clearly remember being literally carried (i.e.- dragged... See also: "hurry up boy, we are going to be late") down the stairs ( I'm sorry but a 5 year old legs don't work properly at 5am when he's tired) as they dropped me off at my Mamo & Papo's (my grandparents) house before they went to work. It was at Mamo & Papos house that I slept a few hours and Mamo ( later my Uncle Bobby) would take me to school. 

To say my parents worked hard would be an understatement... But Sunday was usually a day they had off together.

Now, as an adult, I realize you just can't turn off your internal alarm clock and though you don't have to, you still find yourself waking up early for some god awful reason ( as I type this it's just past 7:20 in the am on my day off).

So most Sundays my dad would get up before my mom and I and pick up doughnuts for the morning. 

 Don't get me wrong, this isn't the only thing I remember about my dad. I remember a bunch of other things about him... Being in the car as he drove, Waiting with him, for what seemed like an eternity at Bart, to pick up my mom... going to see wwf wrestling at the cow palace and later, when he worked a second job as a security guard there, telling me all the inside info of what the wrestlers were like backstage (" that George "The Animal" Steele is really smart, he signed this paper for you. And The Barbarian got drunk and tried to pick a fight with another security guy... I wasn't there but I heard about it."). 

 In the more than 20+ years since he passed away I, sadly, seem to forget more and more of him... I can't remember the sound of his voice or if he liked to read as much as I do (I'm going to assume I get that from my mom, who can tear though a huge novel in a few hours). The memory of those doughnuts and dozens of other little, small, memories I have, I hold onto. And treasure. They are all I have left.

My dad passed away on March 12, 1990... A year later, March 16, 1991, my family was gathered together in a memorial service for him... And it was on this morning that my Papo died.

To say my Papo was a larger than life character, at least to me, would be an understatement. I'm fortunate that, to this day, I still get to hear crazy Papo stories whenever my family gets together ( which happens less and less now). It seems he was always into something when he was younger. By the time I came around, he was older, walked with a cane, but we still managed to get into mischief. 

(both he and my dad, I think, passed away thinking THEY were each the first ones to give me my first sip of beer)

In the years before I started school (the years I can remember at least) I spent every day with my Mamo, Papo & Uncle Bobby, at their house, playing with my toys and making a mess. They never complained.

 I would also help Papo tend to the garden in the backyard as it was my job to stomp on the snails that were messing thing up ( I don't know HOW they were messing things up, but it kept me busy). 

More than anything else though, I remember being really little ( maybe 4 or 5 years old) and Papo turning on the tv and showing me the game of baseball, San Francisco Giants baseball to be specific. He and my Uncle Bobby explained the rules and all that and how The Dodgers were bums ( still are) and I was hooked. From then on, the Giants were my team. Sadly, he never got to see The Giants win that first World Series in 2010 but as they recorded that final out, I thought of him and all the other Giants fans that didn't get to see this and how they were there in spirit.

The love of the game, the love of the team... THAT was the greatest gift my Papo ever gave me.

I went back and forth all week, deciding if I was going to write something about the anniversary of their deaths. And if I did write something, would I even share it. I write this for nobody other than myself. 

Last week marked the anniversary of their deaths. And though the time I got to spend with each man was not nearly long enough I'd like to think they'd be proud of the man I've become, the man my Mom & my Uncle Bobby raised me to be... The life I've made ( and am still carving out for myself) and...  last but not least, I'd at least get a high five or a slap on the back from both for the beautiful woman I've found to love and who I can't wait to call my wife. 

I suspect they are doing just that, high giving and, okay, maybe having a few beers, and still looking out for me from above.

I love and miss both of you more than simply writing a few memories down could ever express, 

Tommy

Large Marge

When I was little watching peewee big adventure and the part w/ large marge would come up, I'd ask my mom to come into the room and watch it with me, so I wouldn't be in the room by myself...thankfully she always did... 

Sadly, I can't watch Large Marge's ghost face to THIS day... seriously, when that part comes up, I look away... 

The 21 Most Traumatizing Moments From '80s Kids Films http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/the-21-most-traumatizing-moments-from-80s-kids-films

Goodbye, CandleStick Park

I only ever got to go to one 49er game (the only NFL game I've really ever been to, actually) and it was a preseason game against Seattle in '96 I think it was. Naturally,  the Niners won that game.

( side story: I gotten trouble after I got home from the game because I lied and told my mom that The bus I was taking home didn't show up till later, however we stayed and were on "the point after" post game show on KTVU. Since we are in the front and my mom watch the game she saw me on TV and caught me. Grounded for two weeks for lying.)

But for me, memories of BEING at candlestick ( or 3com or whatever they changed it too then changed it back to...) will ALWAYS be about San Francisco Giants baseball. 

I can remember, Clearly, in 1990 when my cousin Michael took me to my first game at The Stick. I was in the fourth grade and won some award that got me free Giants tickets. The game was in either April or May and I think my dad was supposed to take me but unfortunately he passed away in March of that year. My cousin took me and it's a day and game I've never forgotten. The San Francisco Giants lost the San Diego Padres with Kevin Mitchell popped up in the 9th. 

A few years later it was me who is the older cousin taking my cousin Chris to his first baseball game. 

It was during one of those games with Chris that I got my first and thus far only ball caught during batting practice. The ball ricocheted off one of the bleachers at candlestick and though he was caught on the bottom of a dog pile of people trying to get that ball... it rolled right over to me. I quickly tossed my hat over it and it was mine . ALL MINE. I have it to this day.

I Remember one Sunday in 1997 when my mom just randomly said "hey, do you want to go to a giants game this afternoon?" Naturally the answer was yes. I also Remember from that same game, her buying me a Giants shirt  that, I think, celebrated 40 years the team were in San Francisco..  I wore that shirt for so long, for years after, until it practically had holes in it and then I used it as a pajama shirt. 

Games with friends. Games ( both Giants and Niners) on TV. Wishing I was there in 1989 to see the the Battle Of The Bay World Series and then immediately not wishing I was there when the earthquake hit. 

Will Clark. Kevin Mitchell. Robby Thompson. Dave Dravecky. Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Steve Young. When neon Deion played for both the Giants and the Niners. Matt Williams .Barry Bonds. and being frustrated as hell when Rod Beck would blow a save. 

You know,  I might not have not realized it till just now but candlestick does represent a little bit of my childhood and several great memories that flood my mind at the mere mention of its name. 

I'm sure you, reading this right now, might feel the same way too. 

http://youtu.be/mS9eCDGaNwY 

Whatever happend to good customer service at Disneyland?

Several weeks ago I wrote an email to disney parks talking about the poor customer service I received on my last trip to Disneyland . 

In the letter I mentioned how if this last experience is any indication and the legendary customer service they USED to provide is gone... Then this email will probably go unnoticed .

It's been weeks... Thus far, my email has gone unresponsed.

Here is the original email: 

To whom it may concern ,

I've been hesitant to send this email. 

I hate that I feel the need to complain about places, Disneyland and California Adventure, that I love so much. However, I realize, it is BECAUSE I love your parks so much that I want you to notice an awful change taking place. What I'm talking about is the death of the legendary customer service your parks pride themselves on.

First, some background:

My wife and I do not live a life of luxury. Both hard workers, we get by paycheck to paycheck. Using the little money we have scraped together we decided, in May of this year, for our five year anniversary, to buy Disneyland Annual Passes.

Both of us are lifelong Disney fans (it was, in fact, on our first trip to Disneyland together that I proposed infront of the castle) and we always look forward to leaving the grind of working in the Bay Area and enjoying the wonder your parks provide. Our first trip this year, May 2013 was fantastic. 

When we decided to go back in 

September, we noticed a change... And not for the better.

After walking into Disneyland and enjoying a few rides we decided to park hop to California Adventure. However, before we could exit from Main St. we were stopped by a cast member asking if we would want to take a survey about any purchases of food we might've made during our time in the park. There was a number of cast members asking people if they would like to take the survey. And like the rest, this particular woman talking to us was polite ( at first). Before we could give her an answer she started asking the first question so my wife said, " oh, no thank you. Maybe we can take the survey later?"

This is when the cast members mood changed and she looked up from her electronic tablet she was using and told us, sharply, "FINE. WHY ARE YOU WASTING MY YIME THEN..." Before walking off.

We were stunned. The people next to us who heard were shocked too.

I would like to think this cast member was simply having a bad day, however later I would realize this poor display of customer service was NOT an isolated incident.

While eating lunch at California Adventure at the Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill we waited patiently while the only woman behind the register finished her conversation with another cast member. They were talking about what they had planned later that night. Once they were done the register woman looked at us and said,  " now WHAT do you want?" She was mad/annoyed that our waiting in line to order food was somehow interrupting her personal conversation .

The food was great... The people helping us buy it, not so much...

However, the worst was yet to come...

Later that day, in California Adventure, while exiting the Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror, we found cast members clearing a pathway for people to get by while an upcoming parade was about 15 min from starting. As I walked by I stepped off the curb wrong and fell to the ground, cutting my knee and seriously spraining my ankle in the process. Strangers waiting for the parade came over and asked if I was okay, asking if I needed help up ( I was still on the floor at this point). But instead of offering help, when your cast member came up to me, she started yelling, " SIR YOU NEED TO GET UP AND KEEP MOVING, I NEED TO KEEP THIS SPACE CLEAR SO PEOPLE CAN WALK !!!" I was still on the ground at this point, rubbing my ankle ( which I thought I had broke, but thankfully I did not). My wife and a few strangers said,  "can't you see he fell" to which your cast member replied, " I DONT CARE. YOU JUST NEED TO KEEP MOVING. I NEED THIS AREA CLEAR SO PEOPLE CAN WALK !"

With assistance from strangers I got up and hobbled over to the entrance of the Tower to sit for a second and see if my knee was bleeding but this same cast member came overly  and yelled " YOU CANT SIT, KEEP MOVING !! I NEED TO KEEP THIS AREA CLEAR SO PEOPLE CAN WALK THROUGH !!"

I limped from the Tower Of Terror to the first empty benches we could find, by Cars Land, in pain because of this woman. My ankle was swollen and hurting. The walk to our hotel was a slow and painful one . These incidents occurred on the first day of our trip and my ankle was bad enough that we were forced to cut our vacation short and return home the next day.

For years I know Disney parks have prided themselves on outstanding customer service. It's something I've come to expect and enjoy when visiting. And it's, sadly, something I found to be lacking on this most recent trip.

As Annual Pass members we had planned to visit  the park several more times in this year and the next. A trip for my birthday in November (in which we were thinking of splurging and staying at one of your on site hotels ) has been put on hold.

 We can be treated poorly at six flags for much less money, at Disney parks, you EXPECT the best. The best rides. The best shopping. The best dining. And yes, the best customer service and connections. Both my wife and I work in the service industry, dealing with people everyday and we know what legendary customer service looks and feels like, having provided just that for our customers on a daily basis.

I could let the rude cast members slide, but to not offer a man assistance when he's fallen is not only poor customer service on your part, but it's just plain rude. 

So that this doesn't go unnoticed, so that this doesn't happen to anyone else, THAT is the reason I felt I should write.

Hopefully , I'll hear back from you. But if the customer service in the park is a reflection of the NEW way Disney does things... I'm sure this email will go unnoticed. And ignored.

But it hope I'm wrong....

Thank you for reading, 

Tom Valdespino

September 14, 2013

Johnny Lawrence , the real Karate Kid

WARNING, THE FOLLOWING RANT CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM A MOVIE FROM 1984... (which you shouldve seen at least once by now):

I mean, homie comes to your school, plays a prank on you on halloween, F'n up your skeleton costume... gets THE SUPERINTENDENT FROM HIS  BUILDING ( who just happens to know a few moves) to kick your ass.... THEN, he tries (and eventually does) steal your chick. ... And after all that he trains for like A WEEK and beats you in ( the one thing your good at, the one thing you have left) a karate tournament ... The more I watch the original Karate Kid the more I dislike Daniel-San ... At the end, taking the high road, our REAL protagonist JOHNNY LAWRENCE  has tears in his eyes as he hands Daniel the trophy...Which Daniel grabs and celebrates with ( also leaves with Johnny's girl) and I ask you, my peeps, WHO was the bully here? In that situation , wouldn't you have swept the leg too...?