The Martinez Genius

It’s Friday night and my mind and body are exhausted, I’m walking myself to bed in a zombie like state. I bid goodnight to my roomie and say “must go to bed, getting up at six thirty.” The inevitable response “oh yeah? how come?” and I proceed to say “I’m helping my sister shoot for her music video at Liberty Park with Amanda and Stan, goodnight.” Her eyes go big and she says in a more excited voice “A music video? You and your siblings do the coolest stuff!!” Her comment took me by surprise for two seconds but then I realized that the reason that I mentioned my activity in a nonchalant verse is that I’m just so used to the Martinez Genius.

I’m very aware of the arrogance of the title, but you would write it too if you had siblings that really made you so unbelievably proud ALL the time. In December I hosted a boutique for my very talented sister Astrid who sews the most quaint and adorable things for children. The boutique was highly successful. The products she created were high quality and I couldn’t stop thinking about all the work and dedication she must’ve put in to her line. One of the ladies that came to her boutique was so impressed that she offered her big house to host the next one. It’s coming up in the spring so you all better come. She is also an artist and made me the coolest jellyfish design on a t-shirt ever!!

This past holiday season I accumulated lots of good memories. One of them being the piano tunes constantly played by my sissie Amanda.  Christmas Time is Here by Vince Guaraldi  is a song that is magical to me. And she made that magic happen with her fingers. Along with her magical fingers, she also possesses a fearless charisma to her. I mean who has the guts to dress up as a flower, Stich, and a Red Crayon for Halloween?  Only someone with genius behind them for sure!

Do you remember when Ska was the cool thing in the 90′s? The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, The Aquabats, and my first punk album: No Doubt? Well I do and I remember it well. I think it’s sad that masses gave up listening to Ska for the new best thing. However there lies beyond the pop music crowds, a silent mob who call themselves skaficionados (it’s also the name of a Ska band,) a subculture of awesome people who are slowly but surely reviving the Ska in our neighborhoods. One of the local bands who plays around the valley including Kilby Courty, is Back In Five. My brother Eduardo is the trombone player for this band. Their music is happy and can make a crowd start skanking in seconds. My brother can pick up any instrument known to man and just simply play it. His picture really is the definition of sensational in the dictionary.  His next show is actually next Friday at the Murray Theatre and ALL of you need to come with me.

This morning, Adriana (the film enthusiast) had Amanda, Stan and myself running all over Liberty Park. She was filming  Stan and Amanda for a YouTube Owl City Music Video Contest. But this isn’t the only cool thing that Adriana has done with her camera. Last year my Theatre Camp had the privilege to be the topic of her documentary project she created for Spyhop (a very cool program here in Salt Lake.) I was told by her educators that as an editor, she has an excellent eye for detail, and was the hardest working person in the group. I believe it too. A perfectionist with her work just like the rest of us. Go to youtube.com/user/mildysalty and check out the rest of her work. She has impeccable taste in music that adds an important element to her impressive videos.  After frozen buttocks and toes, a broken tripod, interrupted scenes by the assistant (me) accidently being in the shots, and people staring wondering what the hell you are doing, I thought the end product was quite beautiful. Make sure you go to her youtube page and tell her what you thought!

Aww…. My kinsfolk really do kick arse! As for the title… it was actually created by my friend Jordan one day when I told him not to worry about coming to Astrid’s boutique (there was a fierce storm that day) and he said “nope, I’ll be there, I want to support the Martinez genius.” I thought that it was incredibly nice.

Tom Ford Called Me

So I got an interesting phone call last night, it was Tom Ford. He told me he loves my blog and that he is looking forward to reading all the posts to come. Tom Ford however was a little upset at me, he gently let me know that I had written the title  of his latest movie wrong in my prior post and suggested that I fix it. As you can imagine I was so very embarrassed. The last thing I want to do is piss Mr. Ford off. So I bid him farewell, wished him luck in his future endeavours and quickly opened my laptop and corrected the ridiculous mistake!

 I swear sometimes I don’t know what the hell is going on in my head!

A single woman

Friday January 22, I went to the Broadway Theatre and watched A Single Man by Tom Ford. The film was an absolute work of art. One of the things I took from this memorable movie was a line Colin Firth’s character delivers. He says that the only thing that has made life worth living for him was the people he connected with. It was an appropriate time to watch the movie for me, I was celebrating my 28th birthday. The thing about birthdays is that it allows you an opportunity to see who really cares that you are still a part of this world. A simple birthday wish can bring such a small inexplicable lurch of joy.

The film left the lingering thought of the kind of connections I have in my life. The people who now surround me and even the special connections from the past. I thought about the role that everyone plays in my life. The night before I saw A Single Man, I spent the evening in the company of the folk I love the most, my family. I am fortunate to have the kind of love that goes beyond the simple dictionary definition for this clan of mine. The kind of love that hurts at the mere thought of losing one of them. I’m realistic, it’s not always or has been a bed of roses, but through all the dirt you find the roots bonded by love running deep in the ground.

I make it a point to focus on all that makes a person good; I extract and compound those observations and throw them in to my jar of self-improvement (a never-ending task.) I’ve met people who have taught me a lot. I’ve met characters that taught me little. I’ve had the privilege to come across people now and then that I believe to be indispensable for leaving a deep imprint in my soul. People with unique substance; wanting nothing more than to soak in their infectious energy. And even more rare are the people who understood you completely, and you felt like you could finally exhale and just truly be. All your defects and glitches completely exposed. Nothing Hidden. Absolute truth. I sat around in my living room Saturday night and tried hard to observe (intoxication makes the task a bit difficult) all my friends laughing and having a really good time. I felt very lucky that I was encircled by people who thought I was alright enough to be sharing that moment with me. I was appreciating the role they individually play in my life teaching me different things, and I felt a deeper adoration for the ones in the room who I undoubtedly know are my kindred spirits.

Sunday morning as I layed in bed, I faded the hang over pounding headache (lack of water apparently) with the thought of gratitude. I was grateful for the fantastic pancake, sausage and coffee breakfast. I was grateful for the surprise of donuts and orange juice for my classroom accompanied by a beautiful card. The exquisite tostada dinner. The very special card. The cake. The jellyfish and I was very grateful for the beautiful people who kept me company as I transcended in to my 28th step.

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.    Albert Einstein

Red Moose

Welcome to my “Happenings”  blog. The goal is to record all the exquisite little happenings in my life.   There’s always something new to discover. Someone’s story to hear. A new lesson to learn. And maybe, you can utilize this blog to enhance your life. Like, you wake up one morning and say “I want to do something cool, maybe go somewhere new, but where?” seconds later… “Oh easy, I’ll just look at Ingrid’s Blog.” Yeah.

My first exploration takes me to the Red Moose Café. A friend suggested the place Sunday morning and so I went. The place is tucked in the north-east corner of 900 east and 1700 south. I walk up to the man behind the counter dressed in red plaid and wearing a bright inviting smile; I quickly ask him his name. I think he was surprised at my intrusive approach, but after I karate slammed him with my charm he relaxes and tells me a little bit about his new café which opened on December 12, 2009  at 6:00 AM. Rob said their specialty is their Honey Latte which of course I proceed to order and let me tell you, the drink does not disappoint. FYI for all the buy local fans, the honey comes from his friend’s farm!  I take in the mood of the place, a cabin like feel to it. Pictures of bears looking like they are ready to attack the photographer at any moment and moose  fill the old wood covered walls. Rustic and with the familiar smells of enticing brew floating in the air. Maybe this was Rob’s long life dream and it was finally happening for him in spite of the hard economic times. Rob,  I hope this place is here to stay for a very long time.  After an intense game of Scrabble and a  latte and a salad later (The Wasatch)  I’m ready to say goodbye to a very lovely place I’m sure I’ll be visiting a lot in my year to come. Grab your phone, stroll down your contacts, pick a person you love beating at games, call them and invite them to meet you at Red Moose.

I raise my mug of honey latte in the air and make a toast…. To a good year.