The loss of Seaside Heights, New Jersey due to Hurricane Sandy

 

In the Summer of 2008 I was fortunate enough to take a car ride trip to Seaside Heights with my husband and son which is about 1 1/2 hours away from where we live in the Bronx. We usually  vacation in Wildwood, New Jersey but wanted to take my son to Seaside Heights to try something new and to have fun with him walking on the boardwalk, playing games and putting him on rides in the amusement park. Since my son was 7 years old at the time, Seaside Heights was the perfect vacation spot. It was a short car ride away but yet felt worlds apart from the Bronx. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love to spend time at the beach during the summer so naturally I was also very excited and eager to experience the beauty of spending time close to the ocean, on the beach, at the Jersey Shore. The Highlight for us each night was walking from our hotel to the 2 1/2 mile boardwalk where we would talk, eat dinner, play games, go on rides and of course buy my yummy Fudge. To fathom that Seaside Heights no longer exits as we know it due to Hurricane Sandy is very heartbreaking. We created memories there in the Summer of 2008 that will never be forgotten and wanted to share my collage of pics with you so people who have never been there can see what a special and fun place it was. Hopefully over time, they will be able to re-build this seaside community to its natural beauty and restore the boardwalk so future generations of families can enjoy it and make memories as I had the great opportunity to do with my family. 

My passion for Freestyle Music

Me and my hubby, Charlie at the Lehman Center Freestyle Concert, March 2010

Lisa Lisa 

Corina

Noel

I grew up during the Freestyle Era of Dance Music during the 80's and early 90's and use to go freestyle dancing with my friends to Roseland, Studio 54, 1018, Palladium, The Tunnel, Cafe Society, Devil's Nest....just to name a few.  Freestyle Dancing has always been one of my passions because I love the beat and the lyrics of the music.  I use to love how I would feel after I danced to a freestyle song at a club.  It was so much fun just to let loose on the dance floor and dance all night long to some of the best songs ever produced.  The music nowadays does not compare to the original freestyle jams of the 80's and early 90's.  I am happy that freestyle music continues to live and I have attended all the freestyle concerts at Lehman Center for the past five years.  I am looking forward to the next freestyle concert planned there for March 2011.  I know it's going to be a night of great excitement and fun and I will continue to support freestyle music and introduce my son to the wonderful songs that shaped my youth and influenced the person I became today.    Freestyle Forever in my heart and soul!!!

Freestyle Forever

Freestyle Forever: "Freestyle Forever"

What it means to be a Nuyorican

Nuyorican is a blending of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants (especially those raised or still living in the New York area). This term could be used for Puerto Ricans living in other areas in the Northeast outside New York State. The term is also used by Boricuas (Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico) to differentiate those of Puerto Rican descent from the Puerto Rico-born. The term Nuyorican is also sometimes used to refer to the Spanish spoken by New York Puerto Ricans. An estimated 1,800,000 Nuyoricans are said to live in New York city, the largest Puerto Rican community outside Puerto Rico. Nuyoricans are not considered Puerto Ricans by island Puerto Ricans due to cultural differences; this is a very controversial topic amongst both groups of Puerto Ricans.^[1] Ethnic enclaves centered around Puerto Ricans include Spanish Harlem, Manhattan and the South Bronx.

Many Newyoricans are second- and third-generation Puerto Rican Americans whose parents or grandparents arrived in the New York metropolitan area during the Gran Migración. Puerto Ricans began to arrive in New York City following the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act on March 2, 1917, which granted U.S. citizenship to virtually all Puerto Ricans.^[3] The Gran Migración accelerated immigration from Puerto Rico to New York during the 1940s and 1950s, but such large-scale emigration began to slow by the late 1960s.^[4] Historically, Nuyoricans resided in the predominantly Hispanic/Latino section of Manhattan known as Spanish Harlem, and around the Loisaida section of the East Village, but later spread across the city into newly-created Puerto Rican/Nuyorican enclaves in Brooklyn, Queens and the South Bronx. Today, there are fewer island-born Puerto Ricans than mainland-born Puerto Ricans in New York City.

I love being a Nuyorican and exposing my son to the many Puerto Rican Cultural Events taking place in New York City.  I want to raise him to understand his cultural background and ethnicity and be proud to be a Puerto Rican!

As a Nuyorican I also love listening to great Salsa Music and have been taking salsa lesson for the past two years with my husband.  Dancing Salsa is a huge part of my life and brings much joy to my heart and soul, especially when I dance salsa to the hits of Hector Lavoe

My love for Cruising and exploring other parts of the world

Traveling is one of my passions in life, even though I hate packing and I'm not a fan of flying. However, I get really excited and happy just knowing I will be exploring a different part of the world, especially the Caribbean.  I had always wanted to try Cruising but my husband was always resistant to trying a Cruise because he thought you would get sick from the amount of germs floating around on the Cruise Ship due to the amount of people on the ship. However, in the summer of 2009 my hubby finally agreed to try a Cruise and that was the beginning of our love for Cruising. Our first  Cruise was on the Carnival Miracle which sailed out of New York.  Sailing out of New York was a great experience because we were able to save on air fare and when the Cruise departed we had the most amazing view of the NYC skyline and the New York Harbour.  One of the Memories I will not forget is when we were sailing away, I was in the pool enjoying the ambiance and all of a sudden the Cruise Ship was right underneath the Verrazano Bridge

(The Verrazano Bridge: connects Brooklyn to Staten Island)

This was such a surreal moment for me.  Imagine yourself laying in the pool and right above your head you had the most awesome view of one of the most famous bridges in NYC.  At that moment I felt so appreciative to be alive and was soaking in all that was New York and was looking forward to seeing and exploring the ports of San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk during our first Cruise.

We had a great time on our first Cruise so we decided to try another Cruise in August 2010 with some friends of ours. During our Second Cruise we sailed on the Carnival Victory out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.   During this Cruise we explored Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and we went to the following ports: Dominica, St; Lucia, Barbados,  St. Thomas, St. Kitts and St. Maarten.  We enjoyed ourselves tremendously on this Cruise and knew that we were now definitely Cruising Fanatics.  If you've never been on a Cruise I highly recommend you try one.  Who know's you might just like it and get addicted like we did! 

How Time Flies....My Baby boy is growing so fast!

Me and my baby boy Charles when he was in the NICU

Me and my baby boy at 9 years old

Almost ten year's ago on 4/8/01 my baby boy, Charles was born two months premature.  He suffered many hardships and was hospitalized for two months after he was born and had to undergo several surgeries.  It was a very trying time for myself, my husband and my family. As time went on and I saw my son develop and achieve his developmental milestones I began to worry less and less.  However, a high percentage of premature babies experience developmental delays and Charles falled into this category.  I feared for Charles academic future and have been a tireless advocate to ensure he received all the necessary services he needed in order to give him the best possible outcome for a successful future.  Charles received early intervention services (Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Special Instruction and Speech Therapy) from six months old until he aged out at age three.  Charles then attended an Integrated Special Education Pre-School Program from ages 3-5.  Even though Charles was progressing as he was developing, he still exhibited academic delays that had me worried but I decided to enroll him into his local public school for Kindergarten.  I hoped and prayed Charles would "catch up" and succeed in a General Education classroom with SETSS (Special Education Teacher Support Services and Occupational Therapy).  I worried a lot and had to advocate for Charles' academic needs each and every year with each new teacher he had at his local public school.  I never had to worry about Charles' behavior since he is a very well behaved and sweet boy.  However, Charles struggled with his reading, writing and math skills and would progress but at his own pace and within his own time frame.  With all the emphasis on "test prep" I grew very concerned that Charles would fall way behind.  Charles has taught me to be an advocate for children with disabilities and he has shown that any child can make progress if given the appropriate services, supports, love, understanding and patience to develop and grow on their own and within thier own time frame, not by some "State Standard".  I can't believe almost 10 years have gone by and within this 10 years, my son has taught me to become a better human being by being more compassionate, understanding and patient and for that I am eternally grateful for my baby boy and I will always be his number one advocate and "cheerleader" in all areas of his life.

Anticipating a "Snow Day"

Everyone has been talking about this impending storm since Monday.  The teacher's at work were so happy and the student's have been hoping and praying for our first "snow day" of the season.  Unfortunately, since we live in the Bronx we have to wait and pray for our wonderful Mayor Bloomy to declare a snow day while many schools in Westchestr County, Rockland County and Long Island have already declared it a snow day and are closing their schools.  What I never understood is why is it so easy for other school districts to close but yet in NYC where we have the largest amount of children and staff attending and working in our schools, the city always seems to drag their feet in giving us a snow day.  I feel it's better to keep people off the roads and safe in their homes as opposed to risking one's life to go to work and school in a foot of snow trying to walk and drive in hazardous conditions.  The way I see it if there are less people on the road it will provide ample time for the plow crews to hit the roads and clean up the mess more quickly.  Only time will tell....