Minion

First and foremost, I would like to apologize to my huge fan base (3 followers!) for slacking. I am back!

Since my last post, my world has changed a lot. In addition to becoming a cooler Mexican then I was before, I recently found out that I am going to be the proud father of a boy (AKA Minion). Awesome! Cool! Thank you God!

One of the best phrases I’ve ever heard was when our ultra sound person said to us “..oh, there you go, it’s definitely a boy!”  She didn’t say “It’s a boy” or “or congrats, you are having a boy”, she said “definitely. “ That was like music to my ears, not only do I get a boy, but I get a “definitely a boy!” No confusion, no “I think it’s a boy”, or “we are not sure what it is, there a little something that looks like it could be a…you know what. But we are just not sure.” None of that! “Definitely a boy J!

I have always wanted a baby boy first. Like most Mexican Men, I can’t wait to buy him his first Mexico Jersey, and have him wear it to his first Mexico game. I can’t wait to watch him share a tear or two because Mexico just got eliminated from the world cup. But I hope and pray that one day, we will experience the greatest imaginable sport glory together, watching Mexico win the world cup. Just typing all of these makes me overwhelmingly happy and excited.  

I dream of the day I take my son to the ballpark. I want to tell him all about baseball and let him experience the joy of watching your first homerun, eating your first ballpark hot dog, and catching your first ball. I excited to what him become a little fan and even watch him go through the unavoidable heartbreaking experience of watching the Padres finish in last place. At the same time, I can’t wait for our first playoff game, and maybe one day, experiencing the joy, that I can only imagine, comes to  a lifelong fans after watching his team break the curse and win their first world series title.

Also, i can't wait to teach him everything there is to know about being an awesome Mexican. What does someone need to know to be an awesome Mexican you ask?  Well, let me tell you

First, you have to be Mexican, sorry my dear white friends.

Second, you have to love Tacos. This is not an option! I am pretty sure that along with all of the healthy baby food my wife wants feed Minion; I am going to sneak in a taco once in a while, just to get him started. Can anyone imagine anything sadder than not having good Mexican Tacos!?

Third, you need “ness”. How one gets “ness” depends completely on your parents “ness”. BY birth Minion is super awesome! Lindsey super awesomeness + Orlando’s coolness= Minionness and Awesomeness. He’s a lucky boy.

Point being, I am so excited! Life can’t get any better. I got a wife who I adore and love, and now I have a baby boy that is just going to add to our already amazing life.

The thought of being a father has already changed my world around. I find myself being a little more Men , the best combination of Men, a husband and a father J. Sometimes, I close my eyes and try to imagine what he looks like. I already love you so much son.

Law School

Wow! That was a beatdown. Thanks you Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Legal Writing and Property for being alot harder than anyone ever told me. I really a appreciate the humbling right before Christmas. Also, i am supper thrilled that i don't get to find out what grades i got on you till like 10 years after i took the final.

P.S. If you are thinking about going to law school...do it! its awesome.

Four months of Law School flew by. I am officially done with my first semester of law school. I love it! Being a law student is alot of fun. It's supper crazy amounts of hard work, but the learning part of it is awesome. I've even enjoyed reading my casebooks (you don't really want to know what these are, they will haunt your dreams).

Cleveland is a great city, contrary to popular belief. Cleveland State is an awesome university and I am really happy Lindsey and I came here. We have met amazing people in our church and in school.

This Holiday season, i am gratefull for the gift of friendship. Thank you God for the people you have put in my path, thank you for allowing me to stop and talk to them, and thank you for the support and blessing they are to Lindsey and I, while we are far away from home.

I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

As promised, my next post will finish off the previous post about luchadores, pinatas, and how awesome is to be Mexican in general. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

The X-Men Season

Oh i love the holiday season. In our home, Christmas starts the day after Halloween :) I have always loved Christmas, then i married Lindsey and now Christmas is the holiday we look forward too the most.

I dont't know what it is about growing up, but somehow Christmas starts loosing its magic a little bit at a time. I remember that when i was a little boy,   used to look forward to Christmas so much. At first glance, it would seem that we loved getting presents. All year long we saw things we wanted and then we hoped and prayed that we would receive at least one of our favorite. Then Christmas came and for one hour we screamed and smiled or cried and mopped because we either got what we wanted or we didn't. But then something happened, most of us don't remember these moments, but right after the present opening was over, we played with our toys and soon forgot all about the presents and went back to doing that thing that Christmas is all about..being kids and and being happy, most importantly- celebrating the life that gave . I am happy to say that the little boy is back, has been for quite a while, the point is that its ok for the man to be a boy. I know i know... women thinks we are being boys all the time, so what's the difference? uhhhh, i don't really know except that it's ok to admit it during what i call the X-men season. No, i don't mean Wolverine, Cyclops and Xavier. Just be merry, be a man, and remember to be a boy.

Sorry the post is short, but school is kicking my trash. That's one thing about being a man that i love, sometimes it feels good to get your trash kicked, and get a little humbling. Remember two things this Christmas. Remember to be greatful for the greatest gift of all, the atonement. And remember that Christmas is all about remembering our Lord.

"When A Man Loves A Woman"

No disrespect to Percy Sledge or Michael Bolton but they did not sing about the best parts of when a man loves a woman.

One of the manliest things a man can do is to love a woman. Remember that real man aren't afraid to use the word LOVE as if it was going out of style. Never let a day go by without telling her you love her.
The most beautiful and intelligent woman i have ever met turns 26 today! Happy Birthday Love. You are more beautiful today, than any other day i've been priviledged to share with you. By the way, you are not OLD! Just because a quarter of a century plus a year has passed since you were born does not mean you are old. Remember that 26 is the new 19. Also, it seems like yesterday when my Cafe Coyote co-workers thought you were my 14 year old sister who came to pick me up everyday from work. I can still see the shock in their faces when i told them that you were my wife and that you were 25. The Point is, you look young, are young, and are so beautiful! Happy Birthday again.

In honor of Lindsey's birthday i want to share with all of you just how amazing it has been to share my life with this woman that i love. I have learn so much about my self just by loving her, that i've come to the conclusion that these things that i've learned about her are the reasons why i love being a man.

I don't what it is about us man, but we love competition! Sometimes we get so competitive that it hurts. Really it does! just the other day i was getting killed in raquetball by the all powerful Codey (shout-out to my numero tres follower, what up!) my legs hurt, i could hardly stand, but i kept playing, hoping that someway, somehow i would beat him. I didn't! Instead i got handed a jumbo size piece of Codey humble pie. Winning feels great. I've never met anyone who didn't like winning, or that loved loosing (although the Padres sometimes make me question this).
Ever since i loved Lindsey, i've been on a winning streak. I am pretty sure that by the time i am super old, i would have shattered every winning streak in existance. Imagine waking up in the morning, and without even getting out of bed realizing that you've won again. Welcome to my world, the world of winning! That is how lindsey makes me feel, like a winner. She actually even calls me her "champion", whether she does it because she means it or because she know it makes my day, it does not matter. What matters is that she's made me the biggest winner!

I hope that all of you man have or find someone that makes you feel like a winner.

Feliz Cumpleanos Amor! You are the Best, thanks for being so amaizing and welcome to the "closer to thirty, than to twenty club" :) I Love You.

Being a Menxican

Webster Dictionary: Menxican: noun /menk-si-ken/
Definition:

1: a mexican man that is full of awesomeness and has learned to be as mainly as possible. Unable to ever lose his man card.

2: a person of extraordinary or superhuman power or achievements

Just in case anyone else out there is reading this blog (my wife has been a faithful follower), i thought i would introduce myself a little more in depth.

The Man Hour is about more then just me, but it's very important that you know the man behind the blog in order to understand what The Man Hour is all about.
I was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico (yes, it is a real place). The first thing you should know about me is that I love being Mexican (how do you like my super Mexican Logo?). Growing up in Mexico was the coolest thing ever! When i was about 5 or 6 years old my Grandma (not my Grandpa) used to take my brother and I to the "Coliseo" every single week. What is a coliseo you ask? well, it's where boys learned to become men and men become boys,  AKA the "Lucha Libres", Mexican wrestling was the best! The Coliseum (I know, it's sounds like Rome and the Gladiators all over right?! It was pretty close to it) was the place to be every friday night and my Grandma being an avid fan of grown men beating each other up wouldn't miss it, and i was lucky enough to get to tag along. My favorite Luchador when i was little was El Santo.

I know he might not look like much, but he was my hero. El Santo taught me manny things about being a man. Things like;

1. Grown men can wear stretchy pants. Many of you incorrectly attribute Nacho Libre with that phrase, but the real Luchador who really brough sexy into stretchy pants was El Santo.

2. Its ok to be a little thick. This picture actually makes him look thinner and a little tiny cut, but most of his life El Santo was defeating foes on the ring and the silver screen all while looking a lot like Nacho Libre. There's no shame in a soda belly.

3. Grown Men wear capes and its just fine. We do it as soon as we learn to tie a knot. Men like capes! I don't know why, it doesn't even really make sense but we like wearing capes, Superman does it, El Santo did it, Santa Clause probably should. I am just saying..

4. It's ok to add "The" to the front of your name. I had a friend named Chad that called himself "The Chad", that's ok. "El" means "The" therefore don't be scared to start calling yourself "The Brian" or "The Kevin" (a shout to my law school bud who just became my second follower on my blog, yeah!)

5. But the most important thing El Santo taugh me was to be comfertable in my own skin. Just look at him, if he can go out there day and night wearing tights, a mask and a cape, then i can go out there and be who i am.

My manly tip of the day is do something nice for someone else, and do a little grunt or something manly like that. 

Stay tune for my next installment of "Being a Menxican", where i discuss my unconditional love for soccer, pinatas, and mexican candy. Men, Remember to do something manly each day. Women, just let us open a powerade or a jar for you, it doesn't take a lot to make us happy.

When the Man Becomes a Dad

Today, I saw my son or daughter for the first time. It was one of the greatests moments of my life.

Today, I felt more than a man, I finally felt the joy and happiness of being a Dad. I have been waiting for this moment for along time, and it's finally here. Lindsey and I had our first ultrasound today. I never expected to feel so complete. I first got to see baby's tiny little head, than baby's belly. The baby was moving all over the place, but at one point, the nurse took a frame shot and captured his little hand. I immediately found myself counting his little fingers; one..two...three...four..and five. My first fatherly instinct kicked in :)

As i have previously mentioned, I love being a man. My favorite part of being a man is being a husband, at least the best one that i can be for Lindsey. Now i am looking forward to starting my second favorite part of being a man, being a Dad. I've sat and watched my father, my brother, and my best friend all be dads for years now, and it has been one of the greatest blessings of my entire life. Watching them be fathers had told me so much about the man that each of them is. The strenght, courage, dedication and hard work that these men have shown while being fathers has deeply influenced the kind of father I want to be. Thank you Papi, thank you Nando, and thank you Brian for being some of the best men in the world.

Random Note: As i was reading my last paragraph i though, wow, "that's pretty good Orlando. You are totally getting in touch with your feminine side." Than i tought, Do women have a masculine side they need to get in touch with more often? I find it really interesting that i have heard many times the words "you men just need to get in touch more with your feminine side" but i have never really heard anyone ever say to a woman that she needed to get in touch with her masculine side. That's probably a good thing. I hope my wife never get in touch with 'her masculine side' if there is such a thing. That would just be scary, wrong, and it just wouldn't be cool.

So, all i wanted to say to my son or daughter, welcome to the family! You are one lucky child. You are going to have the best mom in the entire world. You are going to be loved more than any child has ever been loved, and your old man is going to be the best father he can be. That is a promise!

Here are the top ten things i am looking forward to doing with you when you are born. (boy or girl)
1. Holding you.
2. Our first halloween together- your mom and i are dressing you up as either Nacho Libre, or Encarnacion. It's going to be legendary!
3. Teaching you everything about sports, specially that Blue runs deep!! Go Cougars!
4. Getting you your first soccer ball.
5. Naming you. For your sake, you should probably be a girl... your mom and i have no trouble coming up with girl names. But if you are a boy, you may or may not be named Optimus Prime, Wolverine, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, MichaelAngelo, or Chapulin Colorado.
6. Speaking spanish to you. Don't hold me to that one.
7. Having your first pinata! All of your birthdays will have a pinata breaking moment. The only thing i will do diferently then most mexican parents, is that i am actually going to get you a villain pinata to break instead of the traditional princess pinata or favorite superhero pinata. I 've always found it a little odd that we hang our favorite characters by their head and beat them with a stick. I'll probably get you yankee or ute pinatas, that seems a lot more enjoyabe to destroy.
8. Feeding you. Your mom has some awesome ideas about feeding you real food and stuff. I got your back! Don't worry.
9. I look forward to just watching you sleep.
10. last but definitely not least, watching the smile you are going to put on your mother's face everyday.

First things last

A shout out to all of us men for being such interesting creatures and being the inspiration of this blog.

I know, I know, writing a blog might not be the manliest thing ever, but just like pink got into most mens wardrove over the past decade, blogging is becoming just as sneaky, watch out!
Here is the jist. The Man Hour is meant to create a greater understanding of why we men are who we are in just one hour. Understanding a men can take a lifetime, and in most cases probably an eternity. Guys, lets not pretend that the only complicated humans in this world are girls. One of the best kept secrets (until today) in the history of the world is that men are just as complicated, if not more complicated than women.

Here are my top three myths about men.

Myth numero uno: Contrary to popular belief, we are that simple minded.
No comment.

Myth numero dos: We do have a time of the month. It happens when our favorite sports teams lose, when we don't want to do chores and specially when we are required to listen. Have you ever been talking to a men and and all of a sudden you realize that he is not even listening to you? It's not our fault, that's what happens to us, we just space out for no reason, it's a curse really.

Myth numero tres: Don't be fooled by us, we are amazing multi taskers.
For example, I've perfected the art of walking, reading and bumping into people all at the same time. I'll bet you anything that most women can't claim that.

Hi, I am Orlando. My wife's name is Lindsey. I love my family. I only take seriously the things i have to. I love Lindsey, I love to laugh. I love life and I love being a Man.

Bienvenidos to my blog amigos.

BTW: This blog has two purposes; 1) to laugh about anything and everything; and 2) to write about anything manly. Till next time.

Adios!