*Warning* This is a pretty long entry. Read at your own discretion.
I had a pretty damn good weekend. Not in the way that I normal have a good weekend, which is basically chillin' the whole day, play a bit of video games, and sleep in the next morning. My weekend consisted of a weekend retreat and a fun trip to place best suited for hot days such as yesterday (which was when the trip was). Unfortunately I didn't get much work done. I'll have to work my ass of now to make it up.
Friday night I went to the M.E.Ch.A. spring retreat, where we all go kick it a Mechista's place, go over the official documents that helped shape M.E.Ch.A., known as "Los Papeles." However, the main idea of the retreat is to bond. We arrived Friday night to Laura's aunt and uncle's house, who they left the house to for the weekend (really nice of them). That night we just kicked and decided to get everything underway when the rest of the Mechistas would arrive the next morning. Gabriel even brought his Nintendo Wii, so I once again got my Brawl on!!! On a side note, I should hang out with Gabriel more often, as he's a pretty cool dude.
The next day we all woke up at 8am, so it was clear that I would not be able to catch up on my sleep this weekend. Anyway, the whole day consisted of going over Los Papeles, like the UCI M.E.Ch.A. Constitution, El Plan de Santa Barbara, the Philosophy of M.E.Ch.A., and the more controversial Plan Espiritual de Aztlan. I really learned a lot from these documents, about what M.E.Ch.A. really stands for, what it means to be Chicano, etc. It was also made clear that all of us should also think critically about certain parts of Los Papeles, as these things were returned in a different time by a certain group of people (mainly men), and with a type of mindset. But that's with anything from the past, whether it be the Bible, the U.S. Constitution; it is up one's own interpretation, and should serve as a guide to form one's own beliefs.
But I digress, before we got to the fun, I also had two pretty good discussions. The first was about how many in the past have tried to infiltrate M.E.Ch.A. to further their own careers or organizations. There was a real complicated issue that the organization dealt with during my tenure at Lincoln High School (especially the good years of '05-'06, '06-'07). Apparently, there was this one self-righteous, hypocritical dude named Fernando [forgot his last name] that was using the organization to further some group named the WSA (Workers-Student Alliance), then tearing them up a new a-hole with a slanderous essay called Your Identity Should Revolve Around Your Politics, Not Your Politics Around Your Identity. And it's good that I hear about this a-hole and about another point of view of this issue, otherwise I might have believed that M.E.Ch.A. is no good, which I know is not true. After all, no organization is perfect.
The other discussion was among the men, as we were to draw how we saw male sexuality. Gabriel drew Chuck Norris killing ninjas while pushing a baby carriage, Jose drew a dog goin' for a small piece meat than a bigger one, etc. (if you want clarification on the drawings, ask in the comments). I drew a lion, which I believed that male sexuality can be a scary, strong, yet lazy beast. We also discussed some personal stuff dealing with some of own women problems, rap music, and the blurry line that seperates being promiscuous and being sexually active. I actually felt comfortable with these guys it was great. The jaccuzi we were in was great as well.
After a busy Saturday, it was time to kick it. We all chilled by the pool and jacuzzi, some gettin' their "drank" on or smokin' Black-Milds (type of cigar). I turned down drinkin' (which now I think was stupid, as it doesn't get as relaxing as this setting do so), but tried some of that Black-Mild shit. It smelled like strawberries, but it tasted like crap. I got to admit though... blowing the smoke from that cigar was fuckin' boss! It was about 3am when we all went to sleep for a morning of cleaning and final thoughts. And I gotta say that these were some deep words, especially for graduating Mechistas. Lot of love in the room (even I teared up a bit). This weekend showed me a lot of the good in this organization, which I hope to continue being part of, God willing.
I returned to Mesa Court in the afternoon, took a small nap, and headed out with my hall mates for a beach trip and bonfire. It was really relaxing being out in Corona Del Mar. I would love to live in this area, so beautiful! I played a little bit of frizbee, soccer, and sipped some Julius (Gessie's word for any drink, in my case it was Sierra Mist). It was also pretty fuckin' funny watching Gessie run in the sand. His soccer skills are somewhat limited on sand, especially right now with his bad ankle. By 7 or 8, we got the bonfire goin', ate some s'mores, and played some campfire games. It was such a great way to close my weekend... if I didn't have work to do...
Once back in my room, I had a math quiz to do, and a blog entry to write for my Writing class. And I also burnt my finger with some hot water from Cup Noodles. But all the work and hot water aside, it was one hell of a weekend. One of the best I've had this freshmen year of mine. No doubt I will remember my time here Jardin once in the future, as well as no doubt that I'll be attending the next retreat. This is Fernando Garcia signing off. Peace.
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