DePedro

Mmmmhhh. It's been a long summer, and I will have to find some time for a long post about it, and a couple more about restaurants I have liked lately. But first, and before the hangover is gone, I want to write about a band I saw yesterday in Chicago, in a concert at the Instituto Cervantes. The are called DePedro, and I hadn't heard about them before. Living so far from Spain it's difficult to keep track of new bands, especially if they play in the indie circuit. I went by chance, and I loved it. My only complain is that being in an Auditorium, we weren't able to dance. Because some of their songs have contagious rhythms that your body is going to dance to even if you are sitting down, the lack of space was unfortunate. I liked the tunes, the lyrics, and the playfulness they instilled to their live show. It's always challenging to play in front of a small audience, but as we say in Spain, "se metieron al público en el bolsillo". Everyone seemed to love the band, the concert, and the optimistic tone of their songs. And they were pretty cool personally. We went for a beer at the Green Mill (which deserves an entry on its own) afterwards, and seeing a seasoned musician enjoy someone else's music so much is always refreshing. I'll leave a link to a beautiful song they perform with Russian Red, one of the trendiest songwriters in Spain right now. Go listen to them! You won't be disappointed, and in their albums you will be able to find music for all kind of moments. From dance worthy tunes to boleros. They are definitely joining my ITunes.
PD: credits to Natalia for sending me the video.
PPD: María, I hope we go together to another concert in Chicago. I missed you last night.

Are we all Apple crazy or what?

I certainly am. I'm trying to buy an IPad for my parents 50th wedding anniversary (I know it doesn't sound romantic, but I'm going to load it with pictures from the last 50 years). I've gone several times to the Apple store to no avail, they don't have the model I'm looking for. I've called every day this week to check if the received it, since they don't put items on hold. And today I finally got a positive answer. So I got quickly dressed and put my newborn on the carrier only for him to spit on me big time. I got him out, got rid of my bra and t-shirt, and put the Baby Bjorn back on. Only when I was by the door did I realize that I forgot to put another t-shirt on. I was in such a hurry that I almost exited my apartment half naked. I even drove with the Baby Bjorn still attached to me (don't worry, I put the baby on his car seat). I can't say much about the comfort level of that thing when worn underneath a belt.
And that IPad? By the time Ia arrived to the store, 15 minutes after my call, they were gone. Sigo buscando.

Going back to the mommyhood issues (and smoking)

As you see, I either don't post in months or do it twice in the same day. Yesterday was a crazy day, from start to finish. With two weeks left before we hop on a plane to Spain, i thought I could spend the day working on a project that was due on Christmas and that I have to finish by this weekend. I poured my tea, set up my laptop, had my newborn sleeping, and had been working for a good hour when the telephone rang. It was my four year old's school. He wasn't hurt. He was hurting others and I needed to go pick him up. I hadn't smoked since I got pregnant almost one year ago, but all I was able to think about at that time was a cigarette. And a glass of scotch. I don't even like whiskey, but it sounds dramatic for 12:30 pm.

I didn't do any, instead I put my baby in his Baby Bjorn (which I hate, but that belongs in another post), drove to the school crying hysterically, picked him up without a word (I probably should have talked to someone, but keeping my tears behind my sunglasses is all I could do by then) and I drove back home, letting the tears go down again. Actually they got worse when I was told that he had to stay home the next day too. I'm sure that at six weeks postpartum hormones are responsible for my reaction, but you have to admit that having your son expelled from school at the tender age of four is quite shocking. Where does he go from here? Straight to juvenile, and then jail? Will this stay on his academic record? What the heck was he thinking? What the heck were the teacher, principal, etc thinking to let the situation escalate to this point? Is he ok? What am I doing wrong?

At that time I was just mad as hell at the kiddo. I couldn't even talk to him for the first hour. He is been in his room since. But at least I extracted some information from him. His frustration was due to the rejection he felt from his peers (I know that classmates not wanting to see your really cool Bakugan may seem petty, but for a child this age it can be self-steem crushing). Knowing that, sending him home doesn't seem like the best solution, because it only makes him feel more rejected. God knows what will happen on Monday when he goes back. If were him I would be rather angry at all those people who kept punishing him without asking what was upsetting him. Thankfully he is not me, but a much better version, and probably he will just be fine. Until then, he is grounded. In his room during the hours when he should have been at school, no TV, no candy, no playing with him.

And of course we will have a little talk with the school about their handling of the situation. I don't want to turn into one of this moms who try to justify whatever bad behaviour their kids have. I'm not. My son's hitting and kicking was not acceptable under any circumstances. But I think they handled the situation poorly, to say the least. Sending him home for the rest of the day made sense. The second day at home sounds more like a tantrum thrown by a principal who is not used to disobedience. Leaving a preschooler alone in the corridor feet away from a door that leads directly into a very busy street doesn't seem safe. Doing it four times when it obviously is making him more frustrated and nervous and aggressive without trying to figure out what's the root of the problem doesn't seem very pedagogical. I guess we have some thinking to do.

And I ended up smoking that cigarette and two more, but it was much later, when I went out with my girlfriends. And just after spending a solid hour doing Internet research and making sure how long I had to wait before nursing in order for the nicotine to leave my organism. Hopefully, I won't need to smoke again anytime soon. Unless I'm sent to the Principal's office.

Fifty Words

A long time ago, back when I lived in a small city is Spain, I used to go to the theater quite often. A very good theater festival and a father an brother in law who were in politics and passed me the tickets they didn't want helped to feed my drama hunger.

Since I moved here I think i have attended four plays. In eight years. Sad, isn't it? The last one was yesterday night, with three friends, in a very cozy tiny theater in the north of Chicago called Profiles Theater. The play was Fifty Words, directed by Joe Jahraus. The theater itself is very interesting, a tiny place, probably not more than fifty seats, each half set on one side of the stage. It makes it feel very intimate. Which in a play that gets as intimate as this one, may be too close. Specially if you are in first row and things start flying out of the refrigerator (I forgot to mention that the whole action happens in a Kitchen) and break a mere foot from your own feet. Despite the risk it involves, I still loved the ambiance it gave to the night.

The play shows us a night in the life of a married couple, in particular the first one they spend alone since their son was born nine years before. The absence of their son makes them talk about things not related to him, and the underlying problems the couple faces start to surface. Infidelity, bankruptcy, anger, frustration, all drive the action to a climatic, violent and very graphic sex scene. I won't spoil the end, since I'm not a drama critic and I don't have the right to do so. It's worth going to see it and find out for yourselves.

The performances were both good, although i found Darrell W. Cox's Adam way more credible than Katherine Keberlein's Jan. Still, she has a difficult character to perform, going from coldness to giggles to rage in mere minutes.

I just hope this turns into a regular outing, because I really enjoyed the play, the company and the night out.

La vida de los peces

When I lived in Spain (single and childless) I used to go to the movies quite often, about twice a week. Since I moved to the States, got married, had kids, that doesn't happen any longer. Which is shame, because I really love film. But nowadays, I watch more children's movies in the theater than anything else. That's what makes occasions like yesterday special. About to give birth any day, and knowing that going out won't be an option in a while, I went to watch a movie from the Chicago Latino Film Festival with some friends. And it was great. From time to time I like a movie so much that I become sort of obsessed with it: I constantly listen to the soundtrack, research the director/actors and recommend it to everyone. My last addition to that list is La vida de los peces. It's a Chilean movie by young director Matías Bize (I want to think he is young because we were born on the same year). And it was great from start to finish, the setting, the characters, the performances, the screenplay, the music, the rhythm. If a drama can make me laugh hysterically, it has to be good. And there were hilarious moments in the plot, probably bizarre moments from an American point of view.

It tells the story of Andrés, a journalist who travels around the world and goes back to his native Chile after ten years. There he meets his old friends, and his former girlfriend, with whom he is still deeply in love. It is a great love story, and a very realistic one. Most of us are cowards regarding love, to scared of losing security over it. That's the lesson here, if there is one.

But apart from the great screenplay, technically is a very good movie. Bize manages to create an atmosphere that doesn't end up being claustrophobic even though the whole movie happens in a house. But the way the camera follows the characters around the rooms and garden, and the use of the focus and lighting makes it look like a magic underwater world.

And on top of everything else, and without wanting to sound frivolous (let's blame it on my nine months of pregnancy) the actor ho portrays Andrés, Santiago Cabrera, is as hot a s they come.

I hadn't been so impressed since Io sono l'amore, which I watched last summer. They share some common elements, and a topic, but at the same time couldn't be more different.

If you can, watch it. It's absolutely worth your time and money. I just wish Spain would produce movies as good as this one.

Da blizzard... or so they say

I have lived in Chicago for seven years, which means it's not the first time I hear about apocalyptic weather conditions, whether they are thunderstorms, tornadoes, rain... This time it's a winter blizzard, apparently monster size. I have spent all morning tracking different news pages, plus the University where I teach and my son's school. By now I know that De Paul is closed at least until Thursday, while my son is still in school. And all I can think about is a big fat chocolate cake from Bittersweet. It is one of my favorite cake shops in Chicago, and they have the most luscious velvety moist bittersweet chocolate cake I have ever tried. So yes, weather services, I'm going to brace myself, and while I wait for those flurries to come, I'm going to drive there on my way to pick little L from school, and get one. In case we cannot leave the house in the next couple of days. A pregnant woman shouldn't deny herself a craving, don't you think?

Family unfriendly Grounds

I'm mad. Very mad. Have you ever felt like you should have made a fuss about something and you didn't? Well, I did that today. And I have been left feeling like I should have punched the guy in the face. You know, that's my mama grizzly bear coming out. I was with "not that little anymore L" at Family Grounds, a local playground/coffee shop, when he was grabbed by the owner, walked across the room to where I was in a very violent manner, aggressively scolded, and left in tears. Regardless of what happened before, that kind of behavior is unacceptable from someone who works in contact with children. Whatever the kid is doing, you never grab a kid like that, especially if the kid is someone else's. On top of that I have trouble believing his accusations. I didn't see what was going on the exact moment before he brought L to me because the room was so packed that I couldn't see across it (probably too crowded, actually). I'm sure something happen, I'm not the kind of mom who thinks her son is a constant angel. But I find it hard to believe that he was banging other kids's heads against a wall. That would be a first for someone who calls me when another child pushes or hits him. The fact that he also accused him for interrupting his guitar performance endless times makes me even more hesitant. He had to stop twice, and the first time it was for no good reason. A girl grabbed a bongo from L's hands and he took it back. But of course the guy dropped his guitar to grab the toy from my son in return. Let's remember that this in an adult who should be trained in dealing with kids. Grabbing toys from them is a great way to teach through example. The second time was when the incident happened. I guess that, actually, if you don't want to be interrupted, you shouldn't perform for kids. They are not a calm and quiet audience.

Needless to say, I will never go back nor do I recommend it. A pity, since is one of the only places where you can take your kids to play in the cold Chicago winter. But since I don't think it is safe anymore, I won't go back. I don't think little L would want too, either.