Atlanta or Bust!

Yesterday I officially registered for Alpha Phi Omega's National Convention. This time Nationals is taking place in Atlanta, GA! Today I got the official word that I have the 3 days off I needed to attend Nationals. Nationals goes from Dec. 27th- 30th. My company is closed on the day before New Year's Eve and of course on New Year's eve. So I am going to Atlanta!! This will be my second National Convention. I attended the 2004 National Convention in Denver, CO. An extra perk about Nationals in Denver, was that my uncle Milton lives in Denver. I had the opportunity to see my Uncle, my Aunt Angie, and my cousin Duke for the first time in over a decade. I had a great time at Nationals, I served as the voting delegate for my chapter, I got to see family and ring in the new year surrounded by hundreds of brothers. Normally, I have no clue what I am doing for New Year's until a few days before. This year I know what I'm doing, I will be surrounded by my brothers! Now I don't have family (blood family that is) in Atlanta, but I will have my brothers. I am sooo excited about this. I can't wait to go! I don't want to wish away the time, but I want to go now! I am going as an alumna, so not sure what my role will be. I know I will be volunteering to help out in whatever capacity I am needed. I am definately volunteering for "security patrol". It was called 'Ski Patrol' in Denver. Basically, its brothers patrolling the hallways of the hotels and keeping the peace. Doing things so the hotel doesn't have to worry about it and so we won't upset other visitors. Each shift is two hours long. When I volunteered I got to wander around 3 floors with two other guys talking/joking on the walkie-talkies with other brothers who were on different floors. I remember one brother reporting that an ice machine was leaking and there was a small puddle on the floor. We started trading jokes about it...a tiny puddle became a giant lake within minutes as we asked the brother if he needed a boat to get accross it. It was very funny. The shift was 10 to midnight and we needed something to keep us awake. Not all of us broke up parties. I look forward to seeing brothers I haven't seen in a while, meeting new brothers, and having a great time! Atlanta watch out! Alpha Phi Omega is coming and we are going to rock the city!!

My Heritage Part 2

Okay so now everyone knows I am Hispanic: Puerto Rican to be exact. The large part of my heritage is German ancestry. I am half German, I've never really looked into this side of my heritage b/c I don't feel the pull towards it like I do with my Puerto Rican heritage. I chose to learn Spanish in an effort to get closer to my roots. Another reason I didn't chose German: it doesn't sound as romantic as Spanish does. Some people may beg to differ but that was my reason, German has harsh sounds and is more guttural. Spanish flows and is kinda musical. Both of my parents have German heritage; Mom's mom was German (not sure on the percentage but she had a very German last name) and my grandma (dad's mom) was of German descent. Not sure about Grandpa- I think he was of German descent. Abuelo Milton (mom's dad) is my Puerto Rican connection. I know my dad's side of the family has been in the United States since before the 1900's as my grandmother was born in 1911 and always talked about her dad in his odd jobs, she never talked about him talking about where he was from. My great-grandfather had a lot of odd jobs; he sold fruit, he sold ice, he even sold cars and some of his customers paid in diamonds! Some of the diamonds went into my grandmother's wedding ring. When I was a teenager, my grandmother decided to break up the diamonds in the wedding ring and give each of her grandchildren one. My brother and I received diamonds which were turned into necklaces. My three cousins; Heather, Holly, and Heidi received diamond earrings. For the moment my mother has my brother's diamond. I wear the necklace on special occasions, its very special. Another item that I have of my grandmothers that I absolutely love is her opal ring. It is a small blue opal in a classic high set ring. This ring is more precious to me than I could describe. A friend found this ring while we were moving grandma out of her assisted living home. She found this opal mixed in with all of grandma's costume jewelery. Unlike the other jewelery or items my grandmother gave me, we don't know the back story on it. She didn't even know that we found it and that I started wearing it. Note, I did not steal this from her, her memory was fading due to dementia and Alzheimer's. Her short term memory was gone, so even if we told her she wouldn't remember. I know she would want me to have it, grandma was a very kind, loving person and wanted to make me and my family happy. She liked giving us little gifts. One time she gave me a ring that her father gave her upon her graduation from 8th grade, the completion of her education). The ring is a black rectangle (not sure of the stone), with a tiny diamond (I think) in the center. I felt really special when she gave it to me, and loved hearing her tell me the story behind it. I loved all of my grandma's stories; she told us all about growing up, stories about my dad when he was a kid. She had an exceptional memory, even when she got Alzheimer's, her long term memory was as good as it was a few years before the disease set in.
I am a mix of nationalities; German, Puerto Rican, English, and French. Those four we are certain of. We know of the English blood because we found a Noel family crest when we visited England. French because our last name is Christmas in French. Other than that I don't know. Maybe one day I will really delve deep into my heritage and get more details, when I have the time and the money. For now, I think I will settle for hearing stories about my family; both sides; the German and the Puerto Rican side.