The Last Cotto Fight

I have such great memories from watching Cotto's fights. This is really the end of an era for me. Here are some of the more memorable bouts (for me) from Cotto's career.

Cotto vs. Judah (June 9, 2007) I had just moved to New York City - barely been there a week - and my first order of business was to make a trip to Madison Square Garden. It's called boxing's Mecca for a reason. It was the night before the Puerto Rican day parade and as I looked around the stadium, I noticed the place was packed to the rafters with Puerto Rican Cotto fans. When they played the Puerto Rican national anthem (state song? U.S. territory ditty?), the whole pace sang along, including little children (Puerto Rican pride is no joke). I quickly realized that if Cotto didn't win, there would be a riot. I scanned my area for the nearest exit and worried about how fast I'd be able to move in a dress and heels. Luckily, Cotto won by TKO in the 11th round.

Motherhood Surprises

Things that surprised me/I wasn't expecting when I became a mother.

-I was a great babysitter and enjoyed playing with kids, but the thought of having my own seemed was not enticing. When I started to want a family, I figured I'd be the type of mom to go back to work two weeks after giving birth. I would drop off my baby at daycare, slowing down just enough for a caregiver to grab the car seat while I yelled, "Tuck and roll, baby!" and then speeding away. Fifteen months later and I'm still at home. I've never been away from my baby for longer than five hours. The thought of putting her in daycare makes me physically ill. I miss the intellectual stimulation of full-time work and being around adults, but not as much as I need to hear the sound of my baby's voice all day and be able to hug and kiss her whenever I want. She's my whole world and I adore her in ways I couldn't even imagine before I became a mother.

October 2017 Reading/Watching/Listening

READING

My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall - This has been on my list for a long time. It was so good. Seriously, five out of five stars. Her life was fascinating and I loved how she handled everything. I just want to be a cross between Penny Marshall and Dolly Parton. I didn't realize she had directed so many movies I love. I have seen and re-watched all of them except for one. However, there was a section of this book that gave me that yucky feeling in my stomach. I don't expect funny people to have funny life stories - quite the opposite - and her story isn't really sad, but there was something about it. First, her child was sort of taken from her and sort of abandoned by her when she was only a few years old. As a mom of a toddler, that was horrifying. I don't judge her.

September Watching/Reading/Listening

Watching:

Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin (HBO PPV): It's now on HBO Go, but I watched it live and it gave me life. So good. There was great action between two well-matched fighters who have good technique and hit hard. It was a thing of beauty. I didn't agree with the result, though.

One Mississippi Season 2 (Amazon Prime): Just as good as the previous season. Calm, sweet, dark, funny. The seasons are way too short! If you like Master of None, there's a good chance you'll like this one.

Transparent Season 4 (Amazon Prime): Still good. I hated Ali in the previous seasons, but that character is so great in this season. I feel you, girl!

Fuller House Season 3 (Netflix): It's still good. It just feels like there are too many characters and storylines. Was it like this when I was young, but I didn't care? Maybe I should watch old episodes, but I remember the show dealing with some real stuff every once in a while. Candace Cameron Bure is gorgeous. I just like staring her. I get mad when they light her poorly. I know it's an actress' job to stay in shape and look good and they have trainers and chefs and meal delivery services, etc., but still.

Louie Seasons 4 and 5 (Netflix): I don't know why I resisted this show. I saw half an episode a while ago with Parker Posey (I love her. She's so dark and funny), liked it, but didn't continue watching. It's low key insane. Super low key, but also super insane.

July/August Watching/Reading/Listening

WATCHING-

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2 seasons on Netflix): Severely emotionally damaged woman moves across the country to try to get back together with her summer camp boyfriend. LOVE this show so much that I was sad for a couple of days when I finished. I hate musicals. I thought it might be a good show to have on in the background when cleaning, but it's super addicting. (I do sometimes skip over the musical numbers.) It's crazy and stupid and so funny. I do regularly sing some of the songs I like (West Covina, Period Sex, Love Kernels, Rush to Be a Bride). Don't YouTube Rush to Be a Bride. You have to see it in the show. The transition is part of how amazing it is. THIS IS NOT A SHOW TO WATCH WITH KIDS OR YOUR PARENTS. NSFAnything really. New season on the CW starts October 13!

Friends from College (1 season Netflix show): People who would normally be okay turn into severely emotionally damaged people when they are around their college friends. And they can't stop being around each other. None of the characters are likable, but, again, I LOVE this show. It's dark, but funny. If you were super into the Wonder Years, Fred Savage in this show will make you so happy.

Life in Pieces (CBS show watched on Netflix): It's about siblings and their families. It's really funny sometimes, but sometimes it's offensive. Also, fairly unlikable and damaged characters. (Hmmmmm . . . I'm sensing a theme.)

April 2017 Read/Watched/Listened

Read:

Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison - I was riveted by the Girls Next Door. If you were, too, I recommend this book.

The Taliban Shuffle (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) - Good, but kind of sad.

My Voice: A Memoir by Angie Martinez - If you came of age in the 90s and listened to hip-hop, I recommend it.

So, I think something is broken inside of me. I can't get into any fiction books. I even went back to my old standbys John Connolly and Walter Mosley. Nothing took. I don't even know who I am anymore.

Watched:

Life in Pieces - This show is weird and I can't figure out if in a good way or bad way. Some seriously offensive jokes in the show. A couple of good characters, though.

Chewing Gum Season Two. Michaela Coel is a global treasure. May the muses always be by her side.

Lost Girl - Love this show. So upset it's only five seasons long. I love it so much, I've actually been able to parcel it out to make it last.

Life - I liked it when it came out, but I had a feeling it would get canceled, so I stopped watching. Good show to have on in the background.

GirlBoss - Made it about five minutes into episode 1. No gracias.

Frasier - Series Rewatch #726

Netflix removed Buffy. I had a rough couple of days over it.

Joshua v. Klitschko - Damn good fight.

Listened: It was an Al Green, Emmylou Harris  type of month.

March 2017 Reading/Watching

March was absolutely pathetic reading-wise. It's even sadder, because it was my birthday month and reading is my favorite thing. Probably explains my janky-ass mood lately.

Books I finished:

-Difficult Women by Roxane Gay (Love her writing. Love her Twitter. Lover her. She is my Beyonce.)

-Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy (This is a graphic novel, but it counts, okay?! I put it on my Amazon wish list to remember to get it for my daughter when she's older. Husband purchased a couple of volumes for me for my birthday and I'm glad he did, because it was pretty good. I've started the second volume.)

-I re-read my favorite poem more than usual. (To You by Walt Whitman: http://www.bartleby.com/142/175.html - Get you some!)

Books I started, but didn't finish:

-Queen Sugar: A Novel by Natalie Baszile (Seemed promising, but it fizzled out. I think it's a TV show now, but I don't have cable, so . . .)

-A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (Look, I really tried. There were some good morsels in there, but wrap it up, sister.)

-The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert (Um, I checked it out from the library. This was supposed to be my non-fiction for the month.)

-The Wangs vs The World by Jade Chang (Too much set up. Maybe the whole book was set up? Made it about a quarter of the way through.)

-I Almost Forgot About You by Terry McMillan (I made it a third of the way through. It didn't grab me.)

-Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild (I read the first page of the preface and it's too soon and I'm still too pissed off and I don't see a lot of the right trying to understand us, so eat me.)

-I've started re-reading the Godfather. Still great.

Watched/Watching:

-Schitt's Creek (So good, just for Catherine O'Hara's accent alone.)

-One Mississippi (Dark and light and wonderful.)

-Transparent (Bummed I'm so late to this, but glad, because I was able to binge.)

-The Kettering Incident (Couldn't get into it. Kind of a cross between Top of the Lake, which I loved, and The OA, which was decent.)

-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Finished the second season.)

-Moonlight (I already posted about this. I still think about this movie on the regular.)

-Logan (Brutal. Dark. Gory. And I cried harder than I've cried at the movies in a long time. I watched the X-Men cartoons as an older kid when I thought I was done with cartoons. I've loved all of the movies, except X-Men: Apocalypse. I'm going to cry just thinking about it.)

-Lost Girl (Just started and it's surprisingly good if you choose to ignore the production value and some plot holes.)

-Rewatching Buffy (I start about halfway through season 3, skip the latter half of season 5, then finish it up. My gajillionth rewatch?)

Looking forward to:

-Getting my reading mojo back. (Pray for me, y'all. Also, any fiction recommendations? Ease me in with some detective novels or beach reads.)

-More Lumberjanes!

-The second season of Chewing Gum.

-Trying to get back into boxing. My multiple Kovalev sightings MUST BE a sign to get back into it.

January/February 2017 Reading/Watching/Listening

Read/Reading:
-And Sometimes I Wonder About You: A Leonid McGill Mystery
-The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Januarynon-fiction)
-Karma: A Leonid McGill Mystery
-A Little Life (Couldn't finish this one - lost interest)
-Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America (great read) (Februarynon-fiction)
-The Turner House (This book wasn't really about anything, but I couldn't put it down and the ending hit me sideways)
-The Third Life of Grange Copeland (Couldn't finish this one - managed to get about 10% of the way through it before it became too dark)
-Queen Sugar: A Novel (just started it - seems promising)

Watched/Watching:
-Fuller House (good)
-One Day at a Time (reboot - so good)
-The OA (pretty good)
-Chewing Gum (so good)
-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (good until halfway through season 2 - didn't finish)
-Crazyhead (hell yes this is so good)
-The Last Kingdom (can't believe I'm into this, but it's so good)

Listening To:
-My Nina Simone Pandora station (couldn't get through a night without it)