Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!

Posted on April 26, 2010 by MAL

Yes, my mom and dad have the same birthdays.

Days like these are when its hard to be away from home. My mom and I aren’t just mom and daughter – we’re much closer to best friends nowadays. She likes to say that me, my sister and she all lived in different lifetimes together which is where our close bond comes from. We just happened to be reincarnated as a family this time around. We are all eerily in tune with each other, and I am so grateful to have such an amazing group of women.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom was heading to her car after getting a pedicure and she was hit by a car. She laughed it off as if it were nothing, her first thought being “Oh, God, I hope I haven’t ruined my pedicure.” (An obvious first thought for any woman who just got a pedicure, and there is fear of it being smudged.) She went home, propped her feet up and went on with her day. However, further tests prove that its worse than she originally thought. There are fractures and torn ligaments, and she has to take, at the least, a month off work.

It could be worse. And, for that, we are grateful. However, it’s just another reminder that we can’t take any day for granted for it can all change in an instant. I love her to death, and wish I could be there to celebrate her – ah hem – <insert year here> birthday. Love you Momma, and can’t wait to see you soon!.

My Dad and I have never lived together – not even in the same city. I had the opportunity to go to high school in Mexico City, like my sister did, to get an International Bac from their British school system, and live with my dad. However, I had just gotten into Baltimore School for the Arts as a Theatre Major, and Theatre was my number one priority. (Sorry, Dad!). Mexico City’s high school didn’t have a theatre class, so I wasn’t moving.

He traveled a lot when we were children to various countries, cities, and I would wait eagerly by the mailbox for his letters. They came often and, in those days, were handwritten or sometimes typed on a typewriter! Emails didn’t exist and a computer was hard to come by, so real mail was the only way to go. He would send keepsakes as well – like a doll with wooden shoes from Holland or a bracelet he bought when he was in Germany. I still have most of the letters and keepsakes – packed away in a trunk in Baltimore or Charlie’s house in Long Beach. I have boxes with my memories scattered all over the country.

I still look forward to his emails. He now lives in Guadalajara. Dad, I hope you’re having a fantastic OLD man’s birthday. Cause let’s face it, you’re getting pretty old. Love you.

Love to both my parents! Wish I could be there!!

Happy Birthday to My Brother, Alex!

Posted on April 9, 2010 by MAL

Pin it

I’ve never lived with my brother (we have different mothers), and I wish I knew him a lot better than I actually do. Growing up, he lived in Florida when I lived in New Jersey and Tennessee, then he lived in Mexico when I lived in Maryland, then he finally moved to Maryland and I went off to college in California. We’ve never lived anywhere close to the other, but we’d manage to spend most summers together.

What I do know of Alex is this:

He’s honest. He can’t really tell a lie.
He wears his heart on his sleeve.
He’s the best gamer I’ve ever met.
He’s handsome. And, my Dad will try to take the credit for that, but we all know it’s his sisters!
He’s freaking 22 today! When did that happen?? I remember him like this (that’s him being held by Amanda as a baby):
He’s probably the smartest kid I know.
He’s so smart that he gets bored easily.
He’s so smart that he has so many options available to him.
He’s thoughtful. He bought me a poster of stamps of Alfred Hitchcock when he was like 10 because he knew how much I would appreciate that incredible filmmaker. I still have them.
He’s funny. I don’t know the full extent of his humor, but the few times I’ve seen it come out, it made me proud. Every gal likes a man who can make her laugh.
When we hung out in LA a few years back, he surprised me with how worldly he’d become. I half-expected him to shrivel in social situations (only because I had never seen him outside of our family circle), but he was more ballsy than I, and could carry a conversation with the best of the LA schmoozers. I took him to a pool party in Beverly Hills (snuck him in, I should say, since he was still underage). He acted as calm as a cucumber. Made me proud.
He’s a Lopez, and he acts like one. Take that how you wish. We Lopez’ know what it means.
And, finally, I know that I don’t know the half of him. And, I look forward to one day finding that other half (or maybe closer to three quarters) of him out.

Happy Birthday youngest Lopez! Make it a good one!

“Interview with Fam” Series – My Sister, Amanda Lee Lopez

Posted on December 24, 2009 by MAL

Pin it

Amanda Lopez is the much much MUCH older sister of mine. OK, she’s not that much older. Plus, I have to put that in in case you are like many other people who assume I’m older. So annoying!

Not Much Has Changed

: Seriously, Don’t Ask

Amanda now lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her five-year old son Brayden who is probably the coolest five year old I’ve ever met. He seriously makes me look like Martha Stewart. Watch out ladies because he will be a heartbreaker!

She went to high school at a British International School in Mexico City called Greengates International while I stayed in Baltimore to study theatre. It’s there that she became fluent in Spanish (whereas I never learned), and developed her love for fashion and culture.

She now runs her own green realty company called style|house realty, and also delights every once in a while in the social media tool that is twitter. She goes by @style_house

She’s vivacious, driven and always makes me laugh. She’s my gorgeous older sister, it’s A-MAN…DUH!

1. What was it like to move to Mexico at the age of 15? How did you adapt to another culture? Did you find it difficult or easy? Do you feel it was easier being so much younger?

I guess the initial decision was pretty easy. without much thought, i kind of figured that ‘sure, why not?’ i mean i could always come home. actually getting there though and trying to fit in was a whole other issue in itself. i remember getting there and arriving to school and the instant icy looks from all of the girls who were instantly jealous that an attractive american girl was now their competition for the boys attention… needless to say, i HATED it when i got there. i couldn’t wait to come home. so that Christmas was my first chance at coming back to the states and that is when everything changed. I remember going back and seeing all of my friends and realizing at that moment that everyone was still doing the exact same things and here I was living in another country. So that is when i decided to come back to Mexico and make the most of it and I ended up staying for another 2 years. Perhaps it was easier being younger although i think i could do it again, have the same problems, realizations and really be fine with it again.

2. Once you moved back to the states, you decided to go to University. Did you find the reverse culture shock any harder or easier? Were Americans all of a sudden strange creatures? Explain.

yes, coming back was a huge shock! being in Mexico, i had gotten used to people dressing up for every occasion and wearing nice clothes. and then coming back here i was seeing people grocery shopping in their pjs! and wearing old flip flops, hair messy and just plain bad fashion all the way around! it took me awhile to stop judging people on their overall sloppy appearance but that was probably one of the most noticeable things. i guess too the overweight issues and just people not really caring about their health and well being and the clothing was ultimately a reflection of this. i did however enjoy coming back to a place where the mail was delivered daily, people showed up for their work when they said they were going to and the much more high intensity at which expectations of the work life were made. i did greatly miss all the social aspects though like parties, mariachi’s, going to clubs at the ripe old age of 18 too!

3. You’ve mentioned that you’d like to continue to travel a little bit every year. (As we did with you this past February going to Spain.) However, now you have a five year old son, and many people would say it’s much harder to travel with children, and especially as a single mom. Do you agree or disagree? How did you do it and how will you continue to? Any advice for other single moms out there with an interest to travel.

of course it is going to be different, but i guess it’s what you get used to also. no, you can’t sight-see the nightlife, bar hop around town or things like that. but you can still have nice meals, as long as you don’t give in to your child only eating pizza, but that is another blog entirely! i tried not to cater completely to him and everything that he wanted to do because afterall, it was me paying for this trip and i wanted to do things that both of us would enjoy. you also realize that being in the same place, children experience things that perhaps you would never had paid attention too. like every playground that was passed, or the colors on the walls of buildings.

so it is also interesting to see the world through the eyes of the children and they make you go slower as to where you HAVE to pay more attention to your surroundings.

i will surely continue to travel. we went to Washington DC a few weeks ago and are spending Christmas in NYC just the 2 of us. We plan on seeing the Rockettes show on Christmas day, ice skating in central park, the natural history museum with the dinosaurs, FAO Schwartz, Rockefeller center and much more!

Advice? just do it. be prepared with some games for the travel time, but you are the adult, make the decision to travel and your child will learn. that that is the way of life and that’s just what you do.

4. You run your own business now as a realtor. (You can see style|house here!) Explain the challenges (good and bad) you face as a business owner. Do you prefer it over working for someone else?

i love working for myself! not because it’s any less work, and often times it’s more, but i had too many ideas swirling around in my head as to what i wanted a company to be like and maybe it’s a control thing i have going on but I had nothing and everything to lose and well… i decided to jump ship and go out on my own. time will tell as to whether or not i am crazy but in the meantime, i am super happy!

5. Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?

in five years…i plan to grow my business up to a point where i am mostly managing and opening up new offices and attracting awesome people to come work for the company. i want to franchise my brokerage firm and have style house realties all over the country. ie style house nyc, style house dc, etc.

in ten years… i plan to have several offices that i have either sold off and am recieving residual checks from or a much larger company will see my vision and buy me out and i can enjoy my life and continue to travel the world and provide the best education for my son.

6. As a fellow Lopez sister, what would you say the best thing about being a Lopez is? And, you can’t say being related to me because that’s too obvious!

damn meagan, you stole the words right out of my mouth!! haha. best thing about being a lopez? well, it’s really just about being me. and whether i was a lopez or a jones or whatever, i think i’ve always found my place because i have a strong sense of me. and you do realize that lopez is really the ‘smith’ of the latin last names don’t you? i mean the only thing that makes us different is that we are PALE and lopez!

Caged Animals

Posted on December 13, 2009 by MAL

Pin it

Jock’s sister, sister’s hubby, and children were over this weekend. Being the busiest shopping day of the year, his sister opted to go with the rest of the population and shop!

While they joined the masses, we took the girls to the Bristol Zoo. Mostly because Jock and I really wanted to go, and thought the kids could chaperone us around. They are seriously more well behaved than I am.

Jock the gorilla (yes, that’s what he’s actually called) was out in full force, eating a celery stick parked right in front of us. The penguins were feeding. Meerkats poking their heads out. Monkeys pee peeing in plain view. Lions pacing by our face. Seals doing back flips in the water We couldn’t have asked for a better trip.

And, the animals in England are just like the ones in America! Go figure!

Except, Santa went home early. The bastard!

“Interviews with Fam” – Daddy Lopez

Posted on December 4, 2009 by MAL

Pin it

Carlos Lopez is my Dad. He was born in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba either on April 26th or sometime in November, 1951. There was some dispute about this matter some years ago.

He now resides in Guadalajara, Mexico with his girlfriend Karina. This is him as a Marine looking very cool. My friends call him the Cuban George Clooney. I call him Daddy.

1. What was it like to leave Cuba when you left? What were the circumstances surrounding your leaving and how did it come about?
I WAS 10 YEARS OLD, SO, IT WAS STRANGE AND DISORIENTING. I REMEMBER THE DATE WE LEFT, IT WAS JUNE 13TH, 1961 AND CASTRO HAD BEEN IN POWER SINCE 1959. I WAS ALREADY STARTING TO BELIEVE THE COMUNIST PROPAGANDA AND THAT THE U.S. WAS AN EVIL POWER, SO I WAS NOT VERY HAPPY WHEN MY MOM TOLD ME WE WHERE GOING TO VISIT MY AUNT JUANITA IN THE STATES. IT WAS NOT UNTIL MANY YEARS LATER THAT I FOUND OUT THAT MY MOM AND DAD HAD SEPARATED AND SHE WAS ACTUALLY FOLLOWING HER BOYFRIEND TO NEW YORK TO START A NEW LIFE. SILLY ME!

2. What were your first couple of years like in America? How did you adjust?
IT WAS HORRIBLE. REMEMBER THAT I WAS AN ONLY CHILD AND SPOILED. WE MOVED TO NYC AND MY MOM HAD TO GO TO WORK IMMEDIATELY, SO I WAS LEFT ALONE AT THE AGE OF TEN FROM MORNING TILL MY MOM ARRIVED FROM WORK AT 7PM, EVERYDAY. I WAS SHY AND AFRAID ALL THE TIME, DID NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE AND LIVED IN AN ITALIAN/IRISH/GERMAN NEIGHBORHOOD, SO, BEATINGS WERE FREQUENT. IT TOOK A COUPLE OF YEARS TO START HITTING BACK, BUT ONE LEARNS. LOOKING BACK, I WOULD NOT CHANGE A THING, BECAUSE IT’S TRUE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT WHAT DOES NOT KILL YOU, MAKES YOU STRONGER, NIETSCHE, I THINK.

3. When did you finally start feeling American? Did you ever?
GREAT QUESTION, NOT SO SIMPLE TO ANSWER. THE U.S. SCHOOL SYSTEM IS JUST AS GREAT AT PROPOGANDA AS WAS CASTRO’S DICTATORSHIP. IT IS SINGLEMINDEDLY DESIGNED TO PRODUCE GOOD, OBEDIENT, UNQUESTIONING CITIZENS. THAT’S WHY WE CAN CONTINUE TO ELECT PEOPLE LIKE GW BUSH. TO THAT END, IT FAILED MISERABLY WITH ME, SORT OF LIKE RELIGION, ACTUALLY. HOWEVER, THE AMERICAN STORY IS HARD TO DISMISS AND NOT FEEL SOME PRIDE IN HAVING A GROUP OF HIGHLY DISFUNCTIONAL, UNWANTED PEOPLE COME TOGETHER AND CREATE SUCH A COUNTRY, OF THAT, I AM PROUD.

4. Why did you choose to move to Mexico to live?
IF YOU EVER REALLY THINK YOU GET TO CHOOSE EVERYTHING IN LIFE, YOU’RE IN FOR A SAD AWAKENING. I DIDN’T CHOOSE, MEAGAN, I CHASED THE MONEY. I WAS MADE AN OFFER I COULDNT REFUSE, AS GRANDPA HARRY WOULD SAY, AND WHEN I TRY TO PULL OUT, THEY PULL ME BACK IN, AS THE GODFATHER WOULD SAY. NOW THAT I’M HERE, I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I ENJOY THE FREEDOM OF NOT HAVING GREEN, ORANGE, YELLOW, AND RED ALERTS FLASHED AT ME ALL THE TIME AS THEY DO IN THE STATES. ACTUALLY, I DON’T EVER RECALL A GREEN ALERT. I WONDER IF PEOPLE IN THE STATES ARE ACTUALLY AWARE OF THE CONSTANT FEAR LAVISHED ON THEM BY OUR OWN GOVERNMENT AND NEWS AGENCIES. THAT’S HOW IT ALWAYS BEGINS, PEOPLE USUALLY DESERVE THE GOVERNMENT THEY HAVE.

5. Do you think you’ve become accustomed to always being “the foreigner” in some way? How has that shaped your life?
NO, I NEVER FELT LIKE THAT. I ALWAYS FELT THAT I BELONGED NO MATTER WHERE I WAS. THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY SHAPED BY MY EARLY YOUTH, YOU ADJUST. JUST REMEMBER HOW MANY TIMES I’VE MOVED.

6. What gives you the most pleasure out of life? Has that changed over the years?
I KNOW IT SOUNDS CORNY, BUT SEEING HOW YOU KID’S ARE HANDLING YOUR LIVES AND HOW PROUD I AM OF ALL OF YOU GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE. THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN A CONSTANT. OH, OF COURSE, THERE IS GOLF, READING AND WAKING UP IN THE MORNING, BUT YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT.

7. And, finally, what would you like your children to learn from your mistakes? A piece of advice.
WHAT MISTAKES? I’VE MADE NONE THAT I KNOW OF OR I’M ABLE TO CHANGE, SO THERE IS NO POINT IN DWELLING ON IT. THAT’S MY ADVICE, DO THE BEST YOU KNOW HOW AND LIFE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST. LOVE YOU TOOTS!