Good Week

I say good week for a couple reasons, but after my first week back from vaca, I wish I could take another one. The trip would definitely be to a country I've never travelled to. 1) My poetry was published at the San Francisco Peace and Hope Poetry Journal. Yeah!! The night I decided to send my poetry to them for consideration was a week where I scanned 100s of craigslist entries for quick design jobs. I sent several emails and the entry for SF's peace hope journal seemed kinda out of my league, but I had been writing poetry for several years and sitting on it. I figured sending the latest three to them wouldn't hurt. They accepted two and published them here. And if you don't feel like clicking that link, here are the poems.

Hopefuls

Up
and out of this dim alley
my bones ache and are pulled
I take steps towards the sliver of light
careening from fruit and window sills.

To the left, whizzing one ways
cars speed as those destination deficient ones.
To my right a wise woman's hands
busy weaving her clothes on.

Migration of migrations,
those who are free to speak and step
gather their pace on the sidewalk
in slow dreary form this congregation stops.

Watching the sun rise from over there
to inside our eyes like a distant surprise unwrapped.
Glowing light bounces from cheek to cheek
and all who are grown are born again.

Ruben Brito

Face

Escaped words
float up
side scroll
to go beyond.
Disbelief rolls away
when your face
engulfs faith.
All suffering as an arrow shot skyward
departing like a cloaked rider.
The land's bullseye is a pearly entry
releasing this vague memory. 

Ruben Brito 

The beauty of the internet shows I can submit a poem as a Hispanic in my 30s and not get beat up for it.  It can rest quietly with the works of other more talented beings and look up and around.

2) My design for quirky's Butter Boss won a design round.  It was merged with 2 other design suggestions and this means my name will be written on a patent.  FOR THE FIRST TIME!! Woo!  This one really makes me feel good, because there's been no other opportunity I've had to have the thousands of dollars to patent a design.  Quirky's open process makes it much more accessible.

3) I got my first paying rendering client!  She is a great person to work with.  Here's one of the renders she paid for and the link to the idea submission.

http://www.quirky.com/ideations/507011

I'm really not into celebrating my own wins, but I've grown to see the value of sharing anything accomplished, created, or completed and how it acts as a reset button.  Taking life's events out... externalizing them through writing, singing, dancing, or painting helps you see who you really are.  I get to see that despite my fatal fetish for being creative, my creations don't define me.  I am who I am.  Approaching this reality and appreciating others just for who they are is truly worth celebrating.

Father's Day

With all the father's day hub bub I look at myself and take a deep dive to see what can be done better. You see the truth is cartoons are great, but they polarize a simple truth residing in each individual. We all have the capacity to do good and bad to ourselves and others.

We all are the good guy and bad guy inside and in the world. A He-man and a Skeletor all in one package. So the true question is, how are we doing in this fight? To be less bad and more good? I assume in this sort of struggle we are all in the same boat and agree that being more good is better for the world. It is also easy to continue doing the same amount of good as I did last year.

But doing more good is the true goal. As a dad I need to lay myself on the surgery table and see what makes me tick. What am I excited about? Am I excited about the things my kids get excited about? How often do I play with them versus do my own thing? Can I share my passions with my kids + wife? Is my job sending me back home a happy dad or an angry dad?

That last point really hits home, because my son new we were done with our last vacation from looking at my face the first day coming back from work.

He said I stopped smiling.

I do have an obligation to work and pay the bills. And I have the good fortune to have clients lining up for design jobs, and rendering work for side income, but me coming home with a frown means whatever time I do have, lunch time, time before I go to work, needs to be hacked so my mind isn't dwelling on the worst events from the day. I know father's day is holiday to celebrate dads, but for me it is more of a call to be a better dad. To give my kids a life experience boosting them out to be determined flourish.

The me that comes home from work is nowhere near there and this Father's day, like a late New Years Resolution, is a quiet and strong reminder that I need to continue finding environments where I thrive and teaching my kids to do the same.

The Gardens

Just as the sun was rising I ran out to check on my plants.  Over the weekend I tossed Swiss chard, romaine lettuce, and broccoli into the ground from Gillis Landscaping, our local garden work supply shop.

To the left of these well established plants, were the 4 corn shoots I brought out early.  One one has survived due to this Monday's temperatures slipping into the low 30s.  I rounded the garden to the back where 3 of the 9 tomato plants where  tucked into the ground.  There's something magical about tending your garden in the early morning hours.  There is a special light and silence that makes everything look new born.  Bird calls stand out against the resting car engines.

I have been walking during lunch, but I wanted to incorporate exercise a bit more challenging.  I grabbed my bike, pumped up the tires, and rolled off down my street.  Before my ride, I set my timer to 15 minutes.  I figured I'd bike 15 minutes and give myself the same time to return.

It had been months since I biked and the simple aspects of rolling along a road at a fraction of a car's width became entertaining.  I rolled up a few streets, enjoyed a hand full of hills, and found myself passing a large well organized garden.  There was a sign casually placed on the ground, but I figured I'd check it out on my way back.

I rolled up to a river and saw someone had beat me to this spot.  Someone sat in there car immersed in the tranquility of the moment.  There was a low and slow fog adorning this river and several avian creatures soaking in the silence.  The river went beyond this person's car and scurried off to go under a bridge.  I crossed the bridge on my bike and I started hearing my timer.

I turned around and went back over the bridge.  Sped past the hushed driver, and stopped by the large garden.  One of the gate doors was unlocked.  I pushed it open and peered in to see everything neatly organized and in boxes.  Chives, tomatoes, beans, and more spring friendly plants thriving in their environment.  Certain boxes were completely empty.  I kept walking and seeing row after row of gardens all tucked into little spaces.  I worked my way back to the front to see the barely noticeable sign and it appears this well kept space is my town's community garden.