On my first post on STEEMIT was putting my toes in the water saying hi to see what happened. I was very curious and a bit wary of what it would be like. As on many things, I tend to go head first without having a lot of information and I tend to land on my feet or create an airplane as I am falling. I think that after three weeks I have a good sense of what this is like, who my new friends are and connecting with old friends.
This time around I will let you in on Luis the person and not just the journalist, consultant, or writer, in hopes that I can connect with more of you and create some cool relationships.
As most of you know, I am from Mexico City. As the large majority, raised in a Catholic household and went to Catholic schools. I got kicked out of school in the 7th grade because I was "insubordinate" and would challenge the tyrannical tendencies of certain teachers. It was a bit of a shame, since it was the same school Tenor Placido Domingo went to, but looking back was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. This school was rather puritan and kept only for male children, and when I enrolled in the new school, for 8th grade, I discovered the beauty of being surrounded by girls. This was a huge incentive to lose the gut, get in shape, and even join the varsity basketball and track teams. Became the most popular kid at school and got to date the prettiest girls there.
TURNING POINT
My dad played professional soccer back in the late 60's but realized he would not make any money and started his career as an engineer. However, he kept playing on Sundays with his friends in the "retired" league. When I was 16, he died from a myocardial infarction and my mum decided to leave the country so she would not have to live with memories haunting her. Dad's business partner stole 500k (including cars) and tried to go after our house but did not succeed. Mother sold the house and we moved to Texas.
This was super dark times for me. Going from being a preppy kid in private schools, used to getting anything at any given moment, owning a car at age 14, to living in a tiny house in the middle of rural Arlington, Texas off my mother's trust. My brother was living in these United States already and he helped us out a lot. I ended up finishing high school and working various jobs such as cleaning Barnes and Noble stores before they opened, and other places of commerce. When I finished high school, at 17 years old (only one year in government school, thank goodness) I decided to get a real job and forego my allowance and I started working at Dickey's BBQ and stayed there for about 5 years and moved up the ranks until I became an Assistant Manager. During this time, I discovered marijuana, cocaine, escorts, and excess alcohol.
It was a time of experimenting and discovery in my own person as well as the outside world. Eventually, I was pulled to reading the bible and other magnificent religious texts and frequented the local Buddhist meditation center where I became a daily visitor. This propelled my thirst for knowledge and awareness and helped me do away with a lot of bad habits picked up during previous years. Here, I would go to Barnes and Noble almost every day to sip on some Frappuccino and read as many books as I could get my hands on; anything between quantum physics, astrophysics, history, philosophy, and other cultures. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started following the edicts of my soul and eventually I met my wife... at Dickeys BBQ. She came in selling necklaces for her parents' church, a form of fundraising... we exchanged emails and kept in touch for a while.
One day, during a phone call we said we should meet to have some coffee and I went to North Carolina to visit her for a few days. Then, she came to Texas to see me and our long distance relationship was getting closer and closer. Eventually we decided to get married and we did so three times. Two religious weddings to please our parents and the civil ceremony. The first wedding was the civil one in Arlington, Tx and the second one in Atlanta, Ga under her parents' cult. The third one was in North Carolina under my mom's cult as well.
At this point, we decided to live in North Carolina while she was finishing her massage therapy certification. While we lived in NC, we were so poor that we did not even have a mattress and we lived in her parents' basement until we got enough cash to rent their mother-in-law house. All we had to eat at times was tomato and mayo sandwiches but we were happy together. We kept growing and learning one another.
While we were in North Carolina, I mowed for a friend that lived on 10 acres and helped him work on his rental properties where I learned a great deal about landscaping and repairs. Then I started working at a construction company where I was the only Mexican... it was a town of 2,500 people. Here, I also taught ESL and I became a Spanish tutor. I was also invited to join the local radio station and ended up working with the Mayor or Sylva with a handful of people planning and executing celebrations in the town.
As you remember from my article on Time Perception, I could not wait to leave Western North Carolina. Partially because I was bored there and partially because I did not want to be poor for the rest of my natural life. I finally persuaded my wife to come back to the land of milk and honey (Texas) and create a new life for ourselves... with our 1.5 year old daughter.
PLEASE, STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO!