Don't Let Sodium Bicarbonate Scare You. It's Your Friend.

I am so glad I found this out. We are working hard in the Peña family to eat better and better and we must say that our weakness is the frying pan, but along with the obvious also come the oven wall oil/grease drips and the grease grill-filter covering our fan over our oven turns brown and so the guilt makes us fork up between $11-$23 for a new one several times a year. Not anymore...
You only need:
water holder (bucket, pot, etc)
water
old toothbrush
sodium bicarbonate A.K.A. baking soda, water softener

Get yourself a small bucket, plastic pan or even a pot fill it with the hottest water your faucet will give you (careful don't burn yourselves, doesn't have to be boiling)

Add a little baking soda ( I used 1 tablespoon for 1 gallon)

Sit your greasy oven grill-filter half way into the solution and lightly brush off the grease. Extremely easy. The tough part is disposing of the greasy water later.

Pour the dirty water into an old cleaned out juice or milk container, cap it and label it. Put it with your recyclables or drop it off yourself to the nearest Bio-diesel station or other recycling station and they will separate it and most likely reuse it.

Stuck Between A Rock & A Hard Place...

Stuck between a rock and a hard place that will also make you pay $500 in fees.
It's a hard place to be, but I guess I earned it. Per the video uploaded by the city of Menlo Park, California for whatever reason my attention must have been somewhere other than the yellow light for 1 - 2 seconds. I only experienced 2 seconds of the yellow light so I was not motivated to speed up or slam on my brakes. I cruised across the intersection at 37mph (they say) in a 35mph zone. I don't remember being preoccupied with anything at the time other than driving that would have made me miss 2 seconds of yellow light. I did NOT expect the light to turn red that quickly, which did leave me with a citation in the mail. I still haven't seen the actual monetary damage, but my previously mentioned fee estimate is a good average. The city says it's for safety sake since they say red light running in Menlo Park has contributed to 20% of their injury accidents and 17% of fatalities. Though I and at least one other individual feel that the placement of cameras, timing of lights (should be longer yellow) are adding to the increased potential of rear-end vehicle accidents. I am curious to see what their data says though I don't trust the videos they uploaded on their site (Photonotice.com). The site states next to the video:

"Due to formatting constraints this video is a representation of the original evidence and is not intended for court purposes.

The video you are viewing on this website is provided as a courtesy and convenience to you. The video is in no way purported to be a true and correct copy of evidence that will be presented in court. The format has been modified to provide a higher level of security and as a result may display slightly different than the original captured video. If you do want to view the original video please contact the citing agency located on your notice and follow the instructions for viewing the evidence from their location."

I strive to be and have improved my driving habits. I am even more mindful when driving with my children, but nonetheless always mindful.
Yes, there is a sign (In the middle of the busy commercial street on the curb) warning of "Photo  Enforced" red lights, doing their part in "openly telling you", but my dissatisfaction is the methodology. I am not a person looking to take advantage of the law, nor am I prone to cause accidents, but yet there seem to continually be people running the lights by accident or because the time lapse between changes in so minimal. A setup maybe not, but I am sure they definitely don't mind the extra income. That's the ethical malpractice that money $ creates, along with some drugs and other vices, but that's another post. Off to go make a few extra hundred bucks to make up for the hit and be thankful that it wasn't an actual accident or otherwise. Be extra cautious when crossing these intersections in Menlo Park, California cause someone/something will be watching.

• Bayfront Expressway at Willow Road
  
• El Camino Real and Ravenswood Avenue
• El Camino Real and Valparaiso Avenue

 Here is their site:

This happened several months ago and if you run into this situation the next best thing is to at least make a court date, which can buy you some time if you need it, but it usually results in a slightly lowered fine. Mine along with many others there receives a $100 discount, worth the gas and time.

BLACK

I have always first thought of myself as Dominican as most people had come to identify me for 25+ years and I would have accepted Hispanic, Latino or Spanish (wrongly so). Spanish being from Spain. Just because we speak Spanish doesn't make us Spanish. Anyhow after moving to California it became much more apparent that being Dominican wasn't obvious to most Bay area folks. It's not their fault either. Most have never seen more than two or three Caribbean Latinos in the same place at the same time, so I am not surprised and have come to enjoy the daily look I get when I confidently communicate in Spanish.
In my 10 years here I have almost always been considered African American unless I come across an X-resident or someone who has traveled to the New York metropolitan area. I've learned to expect that, but the strangest part is when I identify myself as a Spanish speaker the automatic response is usually, "so you're Mexican?" Mainly caused by ignorance as mentioned before, but I'd almost rather them just say, "so what are you?" And that is a serious question. People here are not used to seeing Caribbean Latinos, but there are plenty of dark skinned Mexicans and other dark skin Latin Americans so it shouldn't be a surprise right? Not to mention all of the blonde hair, blue eyes Spanish speaking Mexicans, Spaniards, Southern Latin American or Spanish as a second language speaker as there are more and more every day. Wouldn't you also figure that it could function the other way around? Even the island is hard for people to place correctly. Folks usually remember Cuba and Puerto Rico, but often forget us in between. You forget the tasty meat, crispy lettuce, tomatoes, etc in the middle? Just kidding, I guess we are only as important as we make us.
Oh well, its fun though watching the expression on their faces when I start a conversation with a Spanish speaker and I know it will be the same reaction my children will get when they speak the language to others in the future regardless of what people call them they will be speaking Spanish confidently.