About Mobility

This past weekend was very hard for me. I learned that my very good friend Alberto C. Rafols had just past away.

Rest in Peace my good friend…

Alberto was more than a good friend, he was my best friend, like a brother, the Godfather of my daughter. We grew up together back in Puerto Rico; same neighborhood. And great times we had together. We spent a lot of time together, had great times together, at school, at the beach, cycling, the girls, doing crazy things, and playing freestyle and Ultimate Frisbee and hacky sack; we were pretty good at it at a time when the sport was very new, and we even won competitions and appeared on local TV. We had so much fun together. And the many times that got in trouble together too. We were kids.

Life can take unexpected turns…

And while I haven’t seen him in years, here I’m remembering the good and bad times that we spent together. Over the years we grew “apart” as I moved to the USA, where I’ve been so heads down doing what I’ve been doing for many years now. And sometimes we forget of what is important. But Berto you always be on my mind. And I wish I could take it all back, and had been there for you, when he needed me the most. I’m sorry.

And I remember and I cry. And I remember the good times, and I try to comprehend why? And I think and write, which helps me comprehend a bit more about this very sad event and about life.

As I try to comprehend the loss of Alberto, I scramble to find pictures of him. And I found a couple, including the one below from 9 years ago. There they are, Berto and Luis, my two best friends, both lawyers, husbands, parents… and darn good friends. I wish I had more photos of him, of them, but I guess we just spent the whole time having a good time and forgot to carry a camera. I will ask my parents to see if they have more photos. Tomorrow I leave for Puerto Rico and will spend time with my parents and with my friends, and remember Alberto.

Life is way too short… let’s never forget about what really matters.

And as finish writing this, listening, I remember all the good times, and I smile. Love you my good friend, my brother… You will always be with me…

ceo

Last night, Rush played at the University of Texas (Austin). And they played awesome, as strong as the last time they visited, ~14 years ago; from 2112, to Tom Sawyer, and their new album… (but no Roll the Bones!)

Glad they stopped by…

ceo

Congratulations to my daughter’s team, the Lonestars 97G Blue, who had a fantastic season… (my daughter is the one standing 2nd from the left)…

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Classic Elite Riverwalk National Cup — Runnerup
• Austin Labor Day Cup — 1st Place
• Dallas Texans Fall Festival — Semi-Finalist
• Western District 2007 Fall Championship — 1st Place
• Season Stats — Overall: 20-3-3 scoring 82 goals and giving up 13
• Western District — 10-0-2 scoring 46 goals and giving up 0

ceo

Yes, to see them twice! I just bought tickets to see The Police again next Tuesday night, this time closer to Austin, in San Antonio (this stop wasn’t in the original schedule). And this time I am taking the family with me; and my daughter is going to love seeing them live (after listening to the band for so many years). Neat!

ceo

I can’t write much about this topic, because I am on the board of directors for the home owners association that fought this. But I am saying this though: “with perseverance (and as in all legal battles, negotiation), small communities can win against deep pocket corporations. We did, and we won…”

ceo

…I was in Houston enjoying The Police live in concert. And what a great concert it was; the original band and great performance. It was a full house — sold out.

The Police Tour 2007-2008. Photo taken by CEO on June 29 2007 in Houston Texas

The Police is one of the best rock bands ever… I've been waiting around 20 years for this concert, and it was awesome. If you have the chance, go see them…

ceo

Spring 2007 Season, Austin

The Blockbusters (Volleyball Men's League BB)


Regular Season: 9-1


1st Place @ Playoffs (Yeah, the Champs!)

Front Row (left to right): C. Enrique Ortiz (setter), Jeff Newberry


Back Row (left to right): Mike McKeon, Mike Stellfox, Edmund Troche, Roy Dutton


Not pictured: Al Benavides.

The Prize: A priced geeky T-Shirt that says “Champions 2007″, and bragging rights.

ceo

It was supposed to be a fun day at the park… but holding that gigantic rock from tipping over was hard work! At the end I had to let it go…

ceo

We are back from the Province of Quebec, Canada, where we were on vacation and had a great time…

Merry Christmas!

In the spirit of the Holidays, let me start with a photo of the Nativity taken at La basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal:

Here is my good friend Edmund Troche and his family, together with my wife and daughter in Montréal:

Views of Mont Tremblant Village from the window of the hotel room:

Last is a picture of us while at the top of the mountain:

We had a wonderful time @ Mont Tremblant and Montréal… Mont Tremblant is a wonderful place to visit; a beautiful picturesque village, and great ski resort. Montréal is a great and fun city, and their underground infrastructure is pretty impressive.

ceo

Perhaps the most gorgeous airplane ever built is the P-51D Mustang. Built by North American Aviation company and introduced in 1942, is just a flying beauty.

And while the Mustang I always liked since I was a child, it is not until two years ago, while picking up my brother from a small private airport here in town, that I saw a restored P-51D really up-close; it was there, chromed and shiny, like waiting for me… While salivating, I asked the person in the hangar who owned it, who replied “an astronaut” who had stopped by on his way to somewhere else. The P-51D is an awesome fast airplane that makes it perfect for racing, and I don't doubt that one in particular was fixed for that. I didn't have a camera with me, but I wish I did.

That day I vowed to myself that one day, if I make it big, I'll own one… why not? All my brothers and sister all are aviators except for me, so the day I become one, let's go big… there is nothing wrong with dreaming…

ceo

[Photo source: http://www.jetplanes.co.uk]

…neat, we are set for our winter ski vacation… Mont Tremblant… very nice… our first trip to Canada… I'm looking forward to it…

ceo

P.S.

Update Jun 26 ‘08 – removed Mont Tremblant photo, which I linked to directly to the Mont Tremblant website. But because an idiot continues to harass me about the copyright photo, even though I provided the source of the photo, but the idiot doesn’t identify himself (chicken), and I am tired of the idiot leaving comments, and have no time for the idiot, thus, I am removing the photo. There you go idiot. At the minimum have the decency of identifying yourself. No free advertisement for you. And since I don’t need the stupid photo anyways, was trying to help create awareness. But just because, I am still linking to it, here: this is the link to the photo. Ha! I win!

Update Jun 28 ‘08 – I’ve strike-out the comment above; I take back all the comments above; I was irrational when written. My apologies to the owner. My apologies. Next time, identify yourself, please. This would have been MUCH easier. Link has been strike-out. Let me know if you still want me to totally remove the link. I’ve lost. Done. I’m glad at least I was able to make you “identify” yourself vs. a true idiot just with nothing else to do. My apologies again.

Today I took my daughter, who this year started to play organized volleyball for the first time (and who has been a soccer player for a couple of years now), to the University of Texas vs. University of Oklahoma women's volleyball game… It was great to see her understand, and enjoy the game, and experience the UT spirit, and interact with the players. I enjoyed the game myself – it was a very good game, a close one, with the Lady Longhorns winning it… Go
Longhorns…

ceo

Like the 1975 Nazareth song, Love hurts… but this time is about soccer…

Soccer hurts, Soccer scars,
Soccer wounds, and marks...

If you follow soccer, and play soccer, you know how physical the game could be… And last week was my turn – an offensive move, a dribble towards the goal, shot, and a save by other team's goalkeeper, and the bloody goalkeeper hitting me in the ribs with his shoulder while I am in mid-air trying to avoid him. Today the Dr. confirmed that I don't have a broken rib, but boy, it really hurts – even sneezing is painful! Oh well, it could have been worst – I'll take a break from playing soccer and let it heal…

But what really, really hurt was seeing how Australia lost to Italia – unlucky defensive move…

My blog has been very quiet lately, but for good reasons:

ceo