Heading back home...

I’m driving down a quiet road,

That is leading me back to my abode.

Driving gives me some time to reflect,

Today I’m thinking about a complicated subject.

You see, I’ve been thinking about my life.

I’ve come to realize that I need a wife.

Until now, my life was complete,

Everything was nice and sweet.

But now, I actually feel quite lonely,

I feel like a sailor out on an empty sea.

The worse is yet to come,

I will soon arrive at a place that is very lonesome.

The lonely place is my abode,

 I wish I had a wife to make it a true home.

Bittersweet Pain

I have gone through so much pain.

But, the tears have not been in vain.

It’s all caused much learning.

And that’s brought on the discerning.

You see, my suffering is quite unexplainable.

But it certainly is attainable.

It was brought on by those around me.

When they all decided to go on a hurting-spree.

They became the owners of my plans.

They took them away from my own hands.

Living life was no longer my mission.

They left me without an ounce of ambition.

I became so weak.

If you hit me, I turned the other cheek.

I don’t know where all my strength went.

I used to be as tough as cement.

I still pretended to be happy.

In reality, I felt crappy.

I covered my pain with a smile.

My fakeness lasted awhile.

But today, I say no more.

I’m tired of losing the war.

I’m glad that I’ve learned.

All the pain can be returned.

I certainly was hurt.

After all, they left me feeling like dirt.

They took everything that was mine.

Today, I draw the fine line.

This experience has taught me a lot.

And it left me with a thought.

Those around you teach you things.

Which are all part of the bittersweet gifts that life brings…

-Victor S. Barcenas

Expression through poetry

Dear readers,

It's been a long time since I've posted on my blog. But, I was on a long vacation. I've had some time to reflect and write some more for you. Recently, I have written some poems that I would like to share with you. I wrote them out of pure inspiration. I typically write poems when I have an emotion that I can't express in words, so I decide to release my feelings on a piece of paper. I am not a professional poet, but I hope that you enjoy the poems and in some way identify yourself with some of the emotions. As always, thanks for being a faithful reader!

Dedicate some time to yourself...

Once again, I must apologize for not posting any earlier. I have been very busy the past few days. Today, I attended Palm Sunday Mass. The Homily given by the pastor encouraged me to write today's post. Although I know not all of you may be Catholic or believe in God, I still think you will agree with me. Life goes by so fast that we often don't give ourselves a few moments to reflect. When we're not rushing to one place, we're so busy trying to get a million things done in one minute. The truth of the matter is that we are losing control over our lives. Our busy schedules don't allow us to dedicate some time to ourselves. So today, I plead you to give yourselves some time to reflect on life. Just step out of your busy schedule and give yourself some time to think and relax...

"Your" city?

I apologize for the long gap between this post and my previous post. But, I fell as a victim to America's busy lifestyle. My post today is about privatization in the city of Chicago. Mayor Daley is a big fan of privatization. First it was the parking meters and then the parking garages downtown. Now, the idea of privatizing the Department of Streets and Sanitation is being tossed up in the air. It's terrible to see our beautiful Windy City slowly becoming the City of Corporate America. City Council recognizes that privatizing the Dept. of Streets and Sanitation would save the city millions of dollars. But, at what other cost? The cost of turning over our city to the CEO of a big corporation. I'm sure that some where in the CEO's multi-million dollar bank account, he/she will be able to find the care and respect Chicagoans deserve. You may be asking yourself, "Does it really matter who picks up our garbage? After all, it's JUST garbage." This is where Mayor Daley's frame of thought comes in, "Does it really matter who controls the parking meters? Chicagoans will ONLY have to pay $4.00 an hour when parking." Chicago's future mayor, Rahm Emanuel is against the privatization of the Dept. of Streets and Sanitation. I applaud him for fighting the Daley culture of privatization. I hope that Emanuel keeps his word, after all he's no politician! But next time you tell someone that Chicago is "your" city, think about it twice!

Will the caterpillar leave the cacoon?

Governor Quinn's most recent tax hikes have caused much controversy in the state of Illinois. Perhaps one of the most affected companies is Caterpillar Inc. Caterpilllar's headquarters are in the state of Illinois and many of its branches can be found scattered throughout Illinois such as in Peoria, IL and Will County. The company employs more Caterpillar has threatened to leave Illinois due to Quinn's tax hikes. It seems that our current government believes it can make money on its own without the aid of businesses. Let me just say that if this idea has been pushed on you, you have been misled. Government needs to maintain a strong tie with the business sector. Businesses form the private sector. Without a private sector, there is no public sector. Businesses provide employment opportunities and products/services. In turn, employees and businesses provide tax dollars. But what happens if we increase taxes? Well, I think any business owner in the right state of mind would look for alternatives. These alternatives come in forms of offshoring or relocating businesses. Such alternatives take away the tax dollars that make up the public sector. If businesses are driven away, unemployment rises, products/services are lost, and government is forced to reduce funds to citizens that comes in forms of MAP grants, social services, etc. When government does not have the funds needed to function, then they have no alternative but to borrow money. I think our trillion dollar deficit is enough. Don't you think? It's time that we stop driving businesses, like Caterpillar, away. We need to provide companies with corporate tax breaks and give them incentives to stay at home. Why give other states their tax dollars? Giving incentives to companies will increase revenue and expand businesses. Thus, companies hire more employees. The unemployment rate goes down and if businesses are successful, employees are given incentives like better benefits, higher pay, etc. However the question remains, will Governor Quinn do the right thing and keep Caterpillar in Illinois or will the Caterpillar leave the cacoon?

A healthcare reform without a reform...

Many of you may be aware of President Obama's most recent healthcare reform bill. One of the many things included in the bill is cheaper prescriptions for patients and lower healthcare costs for senior citizens and college students. President Obama spent nearly a year pushing his healthcare bill through Congress, without noticing the real healthcare issues lingering in the alley of Main Street. It would be nice and pretty if all the healthcare problems in America could be solved by offering cheaper prescriptions. But in reality, the problem goes beyond that. The problem lies next to the King's Triple Texas Whopper, above the Colonel's Double Down, and next to Wendy's Twisted Frosty. The source for America's obesity doesn't lie in cheaper insurance premiums, but in every other corner of America. The worst part is that we like to spread our obesity. China gave us pandas and we gave them McDonald's. We need to rely less on government to make unhealthy lifestyles cheaper and we need to take more initiative. The key to making America healthier isn't in your insurance company's office, but in your house. Exercising more, eating healthier, and having self-control is the key to a healthy country. So any time you hear a government official telling you that America is enduring a healthcare reform, think twice about what they're telling! As long as The Colonel, The King, and Wendy remain our best friends, America will endure NO reform!

A Society with a Blindfold

Chicago's most recent sunny weather has inspired me to write today's blog. Mother nature's persistence has persuaded me to lose the blindfold that I had on for so much time. I think that you will agree with me when I say that our busy lives cause us to wear a blindfold that is sometimes hard to pull down. But, we are guilty of our convictions. Whether it's updating our Facebook and Twitter or texting our lives away until our thumbs can no longer function, we ALWAYS find something to do. Our busy lives put a blindfold on us and that blindfold does not allow us to enjoy the real gifts that we are given. The world's greatest gifts don't come through texts or tweets, but through the beautiful things mother nature has laid out for us. But, we would never appreciate the world's greatness if we don't take off that blindfold. The next time you are walking to school, work, the store, or just out to your car: stop, listen, and observe. You may just lose the blindfold...

"Born this way"

As some of you may know, I am a big Lady Gaga fan. I previously stated that her songs "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face" are some of my favorite songs of all times. However, her most recent song, "Born this Way" is quickly becoming my favorite song. In this song, Gaga speaks of a conversation she had with her mother. The lyrics of the song bring home the topic of acceptance; for we are all born a certain way. This song made me reflect a lot about me and who I am. The first thing that came to mind is my ethnicity. I was born into a Mexican family. I am very proud to be a Mexican American and  I consider my culture unique. But in past few years, being a Mexican has been everything but unique. For those of you who are not aware, Mexico is currently fighting a battle against cartels. Many innocent lives are lost in Mexico on a daily basis; the most recent count has a total of 34,600 lives lost. Everyday, President Calderon's administration finds enemies out in the battle field. One of the most beautiful countries in the world has become one of the most dangerous. Through it's violence and blooshed, I sometimes think that Mexico would be a much better place for a Mexican American to live. The opposition and unacceptance that Mexicans have received in "the land of hope" is quite heartbreaking. The most notable unacceptance has come in one of the many lines of SB 1070, Arizona's most recent legislative law. This new provision allowed police officers to stop drivers, if they believed they were in the U.S. illegally. My initial thought was, "The state of Arizona better start hiring a lot more officers since they will be pulling over ALL drivers." Perhaps Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, has used some intelligence to create a new device to tell apart citizens from undocumented aliens. Who knows? What I do know is that Governor Brewer has established that this new legislation will make communities safer and restore peace in her state. I think Governor Brewer and I need to take a road trip through Arizona and stop at every gun store in that state. Maybe her "new device" will be able to track all the guns that leave Arizona and end up in Mexico. It may come as no surprise that the Governor believes that most guns in Arizona come from Mexico. The worst thing for a Mexican American is hearing statements like, "Illegal immigrants take jobs away from American citizens." I wish people were just as competitve in trying to restore world peace as they are in competing for jobs. This "land of hope" that I live in is becoming the "land of opposition." The country that the American founding fathers established is beginning to close its doors to a group of people. As I stated before, I am very proud of who I am. Perhaps, Lady Gaga's song comes into play when I ask, "Is it my fault that I was born this way?...A colored man?"

Guns and butter

Our most recent involvement in Libya has sparked much internal questioning about America's foreign policy. Some of you may be aware of the humanitarian air strikes that the U.S. has launched at Libya, or about the "American-only fly" zone that the U.S. has established over Libya; also known as the "no-fly" zone. America hopes that its air strikes will scare Gaddafi and force him to step down. Perhaps, the hope is that Gaddafi gets a heart attack rather than step down for he refuses to do so. Gaddafi, himself, is an interesting character. Even with his death-like face, Gaddafi stands strong in his country; a country about the size of Alaska with a military force equivalent to the NYC police department. Many political "experts" believe that the U.S. is only involved for humanitarian reasons, not connected to oil. Although I would advice you that any time you hear an expert, expert he is not! Of course, we can always count on our Secretary of State to deliver the truth for she has nothing to lose but her job. The latest reports show that President Obama hopes France will take over the job. It would be my hope the sound of a cash register has gone off in Obama's head. I have yet to hear our "experts" ponder the question, "How much would another war cost us?" Perhaps, we should mention an increase in education funds to have a red flag go up. I leave you with President Johnson's phrase of "guns and butter". Will our dollars go into buying more guns or will our dollars go into buying essential ingredients such as butter?