la casa de las tiranas
06.12.04 // 6:26 p.m.

Ome and I got drunk just for the hell of it Thursday night. She didn't want to work on her paper, and I had nothing better to do. Her friend, Oscar, came over to pick up some of my articles on bilingual education (thanks to my days as an intern for CABE).

He mentioned that he was going to head over to the supermarket to pick up some beer. Alcohol sounded like a great idea to us too, even if it meant going to the store in our pajamas. We hopped in Oscar�s car and headed to the store.

We were in the mood for margaritas. I bought the tequila (Jimador) and ice � because oddly enough we don�t have ice in our freezer. Ome bought the mix and some cider.

Oscar dropped us off at the apartment and we proceeded to try and mix our drinks. I say "try" because we had no idea how to make the drinks. Ome suggested I call Isa because she's only person who would help us out without making us feel like total idiots for not knowing how to mix a margarita. She helped. We drank, a lot.

I surpassed my "Cindylu gets two" rule. Ugh... and I hadn't eaten since dinner at the Lebanese restaurant. We were drinking at midnight. Not good. I felt it the next day.

It was fun though. We just talked and bonded like we hadn't bonded in a while. I caught her up on what's been going on with my love life. She asked if I'd miss her when she moved out [and Isa moved in], and I replied in the affirmative. How can I not? She'll only be in Boyle Heights, but for the past 5 years I've been sharing a room/apartment with her. I took it for granted that she'd be physically there to hear me whine about dramatic staff members or make me breakfast on Saturday morning.

She's moving out of the apartment at the end of July and back into her parent's house in Boyle Heights (East LA). It makes sense, especially because she'll be teaching somewhere on the Eastside. Plus, she'll save money and traffic sucks all over LA. So the closer she can be to the school where she�s teaching at, the better.

I won't really show it to her, but it makes me sad. She's been a great roommate and friend. I'm sure she'll continue being a good friend, but losing her as a roommate feels like the end of an era.

We (me, Ome, Pato, Chispa, Isa, Nahui, Laura, Maria, Andrea, Erika, Vane, Gabby, and Sandra) are all growing up now. We're scattered across the city, state and county in Nahui's case. It's odd...

I don't think I ever foresaw that we'd all be "doing big things." All the mujeres I listed entered UCLA in 1998 like I did. I either met them in the summer program, or during the quarter. We've all graduated by this point. Vane has her master's in education and is teaching full time. Pato is going to earn her master's in social welfare. Ome and Isa will soon begin the second year of their teacher education programs. Chispa is in law school. Nahui is getting a dual master's in public policy and urban planning. Laura is in a post-bac program. Maria is doing research at the local hospital. Erika will be in the teacher education program with Ome and Isa. Gabby is applying to law school while working full time. Sandra is getting married (we all saw this coming). Andrea is working for a non-profit with children and families. And me, well I'm staying at the school we all started at for about 5 more years to get three letters behind my name, PhD, or a Dr. at the beginning of my name.

We defied the odds, and I hope we continue to do so. It's amazing... I'm lucky to be around women who are going to be leaders and help change things in this society. The degrees are not what impress me, it's the fact that I know that the women of the class of 1998 (and 2002/2003) all have a commitment to social justice. We all view these degrees the same, they're just additional tools that are going to make us even stronger.

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Me siento: proud
Escuchando: "gone!" by the cure

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s


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