Life of a systematist, nomad, and double Ph.D (or a look into the mind of someone who is questionably sane).

29 December 2011

Birthday party

0910- trying to delay getting up as long as possible
1617- cleaning up after the party
1743- trying to decide what bar to go to (criteria- have a fireplace and alcohol)
2006- eating dinner back at the house

Lunch- red chile enchiladas with beef and a sopapilla at PCs
Dinner- Posole

Random fact- the prison riot in 1980 is one of the deadliest on record (at least 33 inmates killed, possibly more).  Apparently the signal to start was when my uncle (who worked at the prison) left work for the day.  Over the next 2 days the inmates took 12 guards hostage some of whom were tortured (while others were protected/hid by prisoners by dressing them in prison uniforms, stashing them in the gas chamber, or hiding them in the ceiling).  Crazily enough my grandfather (a prison guard) was off work for the weekend when it happened, and didn't find out it was going down until my dad called him early the following morning to make sure he was OK.  He ended up being on a crew that had to go in and clean it all up.  He said it was one of the most awful things he'd ever seen.

Today was the birthday party for my grandpa Ikie- we got the family, the aunts (which always refers to my grandmothers sisters), and a couple of my dad's cousins together at PCs for a late lunch.  After lunch we all gathered back at my grandpas house and my Uncle Mariano got out his guitar then played Las Mananitas and the Catanach Drinking Song.  Then they all talked about the old times- mostly stories of parties when they were younger, adventures from working at the State Pen (my grandma and 2 of the neighbor ladies once loaded up the station wagon with all the kids to try and find an escaped convict since there husbands were out looking- apparently someone saw them and made them go back home, my dad said one of the other kids threw up, and that was worse than confronting the convict).  There was also a lot of talk about the prison riot, a topic I've always found interesting for some reason.  After everyone left we went out for beer with Pre, Roch, Sarah, Travis, and Carol at the Staab House in La Posada- a haunted (my grandma saw the ghost) house which is now where the hotel bar is.

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