I finally made an online album so that everyone is able to view the photos from Jose & Thania's wedding. These are not the professional photos but the candid ones from Ed's camera. I think I sent an invite to everyone but if for some reason I missed you or you didn't receive anything then email me at oliviar@alumni.ufl.edu . Thanks and I hope everyone is well. Enjoy the photos.
Olivia
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Friday, March 18, 2005
My First Post
Ok, guys I was sitting here at work reading through all the posts and thinking Damn. I need to post something, so here it is.
I just wanted to give a shout out to all you guys say whats up.
And, I also wanted to say that if a trip to England is in the works PLEASE let me know b/c I will be all over that.
Alright I will talk with you soon.. And I will definitely try to make more appearances and these reunions.. Eventhough I am a new memeber to the StuCrew.
I'm out
--David Cortes (A red-headed Cuban for the ones that do not know me)
I just wanted to give a shout out to all you guys say whats up.
And, I also wanted to say that if a trip to England is in the works PLEASE let me know b/c I will be all over that.
Alright I will talk with you soon.. And I will definitely try to make more appearances and these reunions.. Eventhough I am a new memeber to the StuCrew.
I'm out
--David Cortes (A red-headed Cuban for the ones that do not know me)
Monday, March 07, 2005
Great Wedding
It's too bad the wedding is over. I think everyone had a blast! I just wanted to say thanks to Jose and Thania not only for the excellent reception, but also for making another Stu Crew reunion happen. We'll have to begin planning the next reunion soon. There have been talks of a trip to England in June. Perhaps we can have perfect attendance once again? Perhaps even enjoy the company of some of the extended crew?
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
It's Weddin' Time
The time is almost here for Thania's wedding. I plan on being there, and I even plan to wear a tuxedo. I am posting this in the hopes that at least some of the people involved can get a little bit more info about the big day.
REHEARSAL: The wedding rehearsal is on Friday (3/4/05) at 4:30 pm. All groomsmen and bridesmaids need to be there. This is where the priest tells us where to stand and where to look through the one-hour ceremony. It's pretty painless. However, to ease the minimal pain inflicted by this, we are having a REHEARSAL DINNER immediately following the rehearsal. It will take place at Giorgio's Mediterranean Grill (www.giorgiosgrill.com). As part of the dinner, we get one bottle of wine for every 2 people present. The food there is excellent, and the place becomes a salsa dance club at 10:30 pm. I will be staying Friday night at the Holiday Inn. I believe some of you are staying there as well, so we can hang out there after the dinner.
The following day is the wedding. We will make my room at the Holiday Inn the official groomsmen HQ. Whether you're staying at the Holiday Inn or not, plan to be at my room by 10:30 am. I want to treat the groomsmen to a lunch at the hotel before we get ready. Bring your tuxedoes and we can all get ready there, as well as have a couple of drinks.
At 1:20 pm the limo picks us up outside the Holiday Inn and takes us directly to St. Matthew Catholic Church. Even though the ceremony starts at 2 pm, we need to be there to escort the female guests to their seats and to pass out the programs. The bridesmaids shall arrive by 1:45 pm, and the bride (zilla) shall arrive shortly after 2 pm (fashionably late). The ceremony should last 1 hour, after which we remain in the church for photographs. Meanwhile, the guests go directly to the Diplomat Hotel (www.diplomatresort.com) and begin drinking and eating.
When we get to the Diplomat, the official reception begins. We have an open bar, a live band, a buffet dinner and desserts. The party is scheduled to last until 9:30 - 10 pm, depending on the guests.
Well, sorry for the long post, but I just want everyone to be on the same page. I'm going to the Bahamas this weekend, so let me know how everything turns out. Have fun!
Negroni
REHEARSAL: The wedding rehearsal is on Friday (3/4/05) at 4:30 pm. All groomsmen and bridesmaids need to be there. This is where the priest tells us where to stand and where to look through the one-hour ceremony. It's pretty painless. However, to ease the minimal pain inflicted by this, we are having a REHEARSAL DINNER immediately following the rehearsal. It will take place at Giorgio's Mediterranean Grill (www.giorgiosgrill.com). As part of the dinner, we get one bottle of wine for every 2 people present. The food there is excellent, and the place becomes a salsa dance club at 10:30 pm. I will be staying Friday night at the Holiday Inn. I believe some of you are staying there as well, so we can hang out there after the dinner.
The following day is the wedding. We will make my room at the Holiday Inn the official groomsmen HQ. Whether you're staying at the Holiday Inn or not, plan to be at my room by 10:30 am. I want to treat the groomsmen to a lunch at the hotel before we get ready. Bring your tuxedoes and we can all get ready there, as well as have a couple of drinks.
At 1:20 pm the limo picks us up outside the Holiday Inn and takes us directly to St. Matthew Catholic Church. Even though the ceremony starts at 2 pm, we need to be there to escort the female guests to their seats and to pass out the programs. The bridesmaids shall arrive by 1:45 pm, and the bride (zilla) shall arrive shortly after 2 pm (fashionably late). The ceremony should last 1 hour, after which we remain in the church for photographs. Meanwhile, the guests go directly to the Diplomat Hotel (www.diplomatresort.com) and begin drinking and eating.
When we get to the Diplomat, the official reception begins. We have an open bar, a live band, a buffet dinner and desserts. The party is scheduled to last until 9:30 - 10 pm, depending on the guests.
Well, sorry for the long post, but I just want everyone to be on the same page. I'm going to the Bahamas this weekend, so let me know how everything turns out. Have fun!
Negroni
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Bachelor Party
Well, the time has come for my bachelor party. I have been a bit out of the loop as to who is going and who is not. It is my sincere wish that every one of us is able to attend, but I understand that circumstances don't always allow us to do so. I appreciate your support nonetheless, and I can't wait to see all the fellas at Thania's wedding. I know we will all have an excellent time.
As for the Bahamas, Chris Nager has been in charge of the details. I have not been privvy to those details, so I will find them out as we go. Today is Thursday. The plan is to hang out tomorrow (Friday) on the mainland. We are working on a location so we can play some poker, eat some food, drink some alcohol and enjoy some 'entertainment.' The spot I'm working on is really nice and will lend itself perfectly for this event.
On Saturday we fly out to the B-hamas and continue the party. I'm really looking forward to it.
Later Gaters
As for the Bahamas, Chris Nager has been in charge of the details. I have not been privvy to those details, so I will find them out as we go. Today is Thursday. The plan is to hang out tomorrow (Friday) on the mainland. We are working on a location so we can play some poker, eat some food, drink some alcohol and enjoy some 'entertainment.' The spot I'm working on is really nice and will lend itself perfectly for this event.
On Saturday we fly out to the B-hamas and continue the party. I'm really looking forward to it.
Later Gaters
Monday, February 07, 2005
Happy Birthday Daazler
Don't know if everyone realizes, but today (2/7/05) is Daazler's (Mark) birthday. He turns 21 today, so he can finally taste beer with the rest of us. Well, maybe I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Anyway, Mark I want to wish you a very happy birthday. I hope you enjoyed the little get-together at Jorge's last night. It's not every day a person can find such a good friend as you. I'm sure the rest of the fellas agree with that. Best wishes on your Daazling day.
Later,
JN
Later,
JN
Thursday, February 03, 2005
A bit more substantive news
Hello my brethren.
I figured I'd write a bit more substantive material about my life lately.
London is fantastic. It never gets too cold here -- just about down to freezing but no colder. This winter was supposed to be one of the coldest in years, but it has turned out so far to have been the mildest since 1990. I normally get by with my TPC, a sweater (here, called a "jumper") and my leather jacket. Oh yeah, and a scarf. Now I understand why you have to wear that crap -- makes a huge difference.
My job search kind of took a pause over Christmas. I kept collecting data on firms, but I didn't send anything out, just in case they wanted to take it easy or if they were on vacation -- or, holiday in EE. English stands for "English English". That is, as opposed to ME, or "'Murican English", the native language of 'Murica, also known as the Central North American Republic, or the United States of America (as opposed to the United States of Mexico).
Anyway, now I have a few job leads, so we'll see if something happens shortly.
I have been walking in London quite a bit, and I'm getting to know some parts of it. There is no grid, and very little rhyme or reason to it. That's kind of nice, because there are always new and interesting places to discover, each with their own local flavor.
There are a lot of pubs here. Most English pubs have dark wood all over, and usually a dark red or blue carpet with designs in it, stained from -- on average -- about ten or twelve years of beer spills, cigarette ash, and street muck. During the day, they all seem to smell of last night's cigarette smoke, and at night, of that particular night's cigarette smoke.
There are a lot of United Statians all over London. As irony would have it, in my neighborhood, there is the large American School in London. This is a school for American people who want their kids to attend an American school. I know, I don't understand it either. Maybe they are afraid there's no pledge of alleigance to the Union Jack. I see a lot of USans on vacation in the more touristy locations, and there are a hell of a lot of them.
London is really picturesque, with the extremely quaint stone and brick facades reaching even into the dodgiest of neighborhoods. I've even seen nice stone entryways and quaint black iron fences along the facades of housing projects. There are typically white window frames with high ceilings. Along the handsome homes that line Regents Park, you can see chandeliers glowing through fluffy white drapes. I just know that Mr. Peanut is in there somewhere, getting home from a hard day at the peanut factory, taking off his top hat and putting down his cane, reading the Evening Standard through his peanut-eye-sized monocle.
I really like the subway -- the London Underground, or the "Tube". Tenacious D's decree that we will all travel in tubes has already been carried out here. It's really great. It's like going on an amusement park ride as a mandatory part of every single day! It's expensive though. A single one-way ride will cost you £2.30, which is about $4.30 at the current exchange rate (the dollar currently gets you 53p, and yes, Mark, I do thoroughly enjoy the fact identifying the prices of items by saying "p"). When I was in New York in July, a one-way subway ride was $2.00. There are six zones for the tube, and the rates go up as you travel through more zones. Fortunately, we live in Zone 2, and all the stations I go to are in Zones 1 and 2. A one-week unlimited pass for Zones 1 and 2 is £21.40 -- more than $40.
Gosh, that's kind of depressing!
In any case, life is great here. We went to Bath a few weeks ago, where there are some Roman ruins. There is a natural spring from which very hot water flows. Apparently, the pre-Roman inhabitants had a shrine there to a god named Sul. So the Romans named the place Sulis Minerva and established a colony there. Around 400 A.D., when the Romans abandoned England altogether, they likewise abandoned their settlement at what is today Bath. There are not many remains from the Roman period anymore. It reminds me of that Sting song "All This Time": "They lived and they died; they prayed to their gods, but the stone gods did not make a sound. Then their empire crumbled, and all that was left were the stones the workmen found."
Well, I'd better leave it at that for now. I hope all of you are well, and I'll hopefully be getting a telephone call out there soon.
Thinking of you guys, and hoping for some improvement in this job situation so we can start making crazy plans again!
All the best,
Juan
P.S. Gregg was correct. That was a Magnum P.I. episode. However, you and I used to have conversations in my car -- named "Kitt" -- over a videophone, whilst you rode around in a semi-truck computer laboratory with Rachel, and later, Bonnie. Man, it used to get so hot when I would wear my leather jacket right in the middle of the summer. I don't know what I was thinking!
I figured I'd write a bit more substantive material about my life lately.
London is fantastic. It never gets too cold here -- just about down to freezing but no colder. This winter was supposed to be one of the coldest in years, but it has turned out so far to have been the mildest since 1990. I normally get by with my TPC, a sweater (here, called a "jumper") and my leather jacket. Oh yeah, and a scarf. Now I understand why you have to wear that crap -- makes a huge difference.
My job search kind of took a pause over Christmas. I kept collecting data on firms, but I didn't send anything out, just in case they wanted to take it easy or if they were on vacation -- or, holiday in EE. English stands for "English English". That is, as opposed to ME, or "'Murican English", the native language of 'Murica, also known as the Central North American Republic, or the United States of America (as opposed to the United States of Mexico).
Anyway, now I have a few job leads, so we'll see if something happens shortly.
I have been walking in London quite a bit, and I'm getting to know some parts of it. There is no grid, and very little rhyme or reason to it. That's kind of nice, because there are always new and interesting places to discover, each with their own local flavor.
There are a lot of pubs here. Most English pubs have dark wood all over, and usually a dark red or blue carpet with designs in it, stained from -- on average -- about ten or twelve years of beer spills, cigarette ash, and street muck. During the day, they all seem to smell of last night's cigarette smoke, and at night, of that particular night's cigarette smoke.
There are a lot of United Statians all over London. As irony would have it, in my neighborhood, there is the large American School in London. This is a school for American people who want their kids to attend an American school. I know, I don't understand it either. Maybe they are afraid there's no pledge of alleigance to the Union Jack. I see a lot of USans on vacation in the more touristy locations, and there are a hell of a lot of them.
London is really picturesque, with the extremely quaint stone and brick facades reaching even into the dodgiest of neighborhoods. I've even seen nice stone entryways and quaint black iron fences along the facades of housing projects. There are typically white window frames with high ceilings. Along the handsome homes that line Regents Park, you can see chandeliers glowing through fluffy white drapes. I just know that Mr. Peanut is in there somewhere, getting home from a hard day at the peanut factory, taking off his top hat and putting down his cane, reading the Evening Standard through his peanut-eye-sized monocle.
I really like the subway -- the London Underground, or the "Tube". Tenacious D's decree that we will all travel in tubes has already been carried out here. It's really great. It's like going on an amusement park ride as a mandatory part of every single day! It's expensive though. A single one-way ride will cost you £2.30, which is about $4.30 at the current exchange rate (the dollar currently gets you 53p, and yes, Mark, I do thoroughly enjoy the fact identifying the prices of items by saying "p"). When I was in New York in July, a one-way subway ride was $2.00. There are six zones for the tube, and the rates go up as you travel through more zones. Fortunately, we live in Zone 2, and all the stations I go to are in Zones 1 and 2. A one-week unlimited pass for Zones 1 and 2 is £21.40 -- more than $40.
Gosh, that's kind of depressing!
In any case, life is great here. We went to Bath a few weeks ago, where there are some Roman ruins. There is a natural spring from which very hot water flows. Apparently, the pre-Roman inhabitants had a shrine there to a god named Sul. So the Romans named the place Sulis Minerva and established a colony there. Around 400 A.D., when the Romans abandoned England altogether, they likewise abandoned their settlement at what is today Bath. There are not many remains from the Roman period anymore. It reminds me of that Sting song "All This Time": "They lived and they died; they prayed to their gods, but the stone gods did not make a sound. Then their empire crumbled, and all that was left were the stones the workmen found."
Well, I'd better leave it at that for now. I hope all of you are well, and I'll hopefully be getting a telephone call out there soon.
Thinking of you guys, and hoping for some improvement in this job situation so we can start making crazy plans again!
All the best,
Juan
P.S. Gregg was correct. That was a Magnum P.I. episode. However, you and I used to have conversations in my car -- named "Kitt" -- over a videophone, whilst you rode around in a semi-truck computer laboratory with Rachel, and later, Bonnie. Man, it used to get so hot when I would wear my leather jacket right in the middle of the summer. I don't know what I was thinking!
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