cj CDMX

[Carlos Hazday]

6 hours ago, Daddydavek said:

I was raised that it is impolite to tease; these "snippets" sure have stirred my curiosity and January is such a long time to wait.

And yeah, that's a complaint!

You might be interested in knowing I finished writing the main part of the story yesterday. I have an epilogue left to deal with. About two thirds of the chapters have already been beta read and self edited.  There's this one chapter that takes place at the end of October/beginning of November 2021 in Mexico City. I'd like to preview a snippet from that one on the actual day the events I wrote about supposedly happen.

Let's see where I am by then. The pandemic has made many of us reevaluate how we do certain things, changes have at times been momentous (lots more people realizing it's better to work to live than to live to work.) Other changes are plain silly. My penchant for sharing a new story on the first day of the year is something I'm reconsidering. Maybe it's time to let that little tradition slip.

One aspect of my stories will not change; my cast of characters is multi-national and diverse as ever. Heck, I even have someone admit they hail from Missouri!

 

[chris191070]

14 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

You might be interested in knowing I finished writing the main part of the story yesterday. I have an epilogue left to deal with. About two thirds of the chapters have already been beta read and self edited.  There's this one chapter that takes place at the end of October/beginning of November 2021 in Mexico City. I'd like to preview a snippet from that one on the actual day the events I wrote about supposedly happen.

Let's see where I am by then. The pandemic has made many of us reevaluate how we do certain things, changes have at times been momentous (lots more people realizing it's better to work to live than to live to work.) Other changes are plain silly. My penchant for sharing a new story on the first day of the year is something I'm reconsidering. Maybe it's time to let that little tradition slip.

One aspect of my stories will not change; my cast of characters is multi-national and diverse as ever. Heck, I even have someone admit they hail from Missouri!

 

You mean we might get an early Christmas Present in the new CJ story. 

[Carlos Hazday]

@chris191070

LMAO If I don't start posting on Jan 1, there are plenty of holidays before on which I could make a splash. We'll see. Since my regular editor's unavailable, I'm leaning towards going without one, so there may be lots of typos and punctuation errors in what I post.

[Carlos Hazday]

I write about a couple of real estate transactions involving family in CDMX and Flying Circus. Of course, I tried to figure out if CJ or Ritch would give them names. Who knows what each of the houses the family owns is called?

[Reader1810]

18 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

I write about a couple of real estate transactions involving family in CDMX and Flying Circus. Of course, I tried to figure out if CJ or Ritch would give them names. Who knows what each of the houses the family owns is called?

On just one coffee, I’m going to say Everhope for CJ and Owen’s place. I can’t recall the second one, though. Perhaps coffee number two will help…

[Carlos Hazday]

That's one.

I think so far I've mentioned 12 different houses/apartments. Not all have names. 😁

[Reader1810]

Just now, Carlos Hazday said:

Not all have names. 😁

I’m running through the list in my head and have crossed off a few already. There are two I’m thinking of that might be the ones. I’ll let you know if I’m right. 

[Reader1810]

Okay, so I haven’t found the reference as yet, but my inner voice is telling me Randy and Tyler’s home has a name. Am I right about that at least?

Then again, maybe it’s just a sign(expressing their personal views on a certain cause I won’t name here) in their front window I’m thinking of, because I know that exists. 🤔

Edited October 18, 2021 by Reader1810

[Carlos Hazday]

20 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

Okay, so I haven’t found the reference as yet, but my inner voice is telling me Randy and Tyler’s home has a name. Am I right about that at least?

Then again, maybe it’s just a sign(expressing their personal views on a certain cause I won’t name here) in their front window I’m thinking of, because I know that exists. 🤔

What? You scared a moderator will jump all over you if you use the title of Thiago's story first chapter?

At least you recognized the Boystown house as one of the ones I referenced. There's also Rico and Lynne's suburban home in Chicago.

[Reader1810]

19 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

What? You scared a moderator will jump all over you if you use the title of Thiago's story first chapter?

At least you recognized the Boystown house as one of the ones I referenced. There's also Rico and Lynne's suburban home in Chicago.

Wut? Me scared of a moderator? 

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Reader1810

[Carlos Hazday]

Happy Halloween!

Even though @Daddydavekclaims teasing's not nice, I can't help myself. Right now, Dia de los Muertos celebrations are in full swing in Mexico. Starting at midnight tonight, the deceased come for their annual visit and the living welcome them with displays designed to honor them. Here's a glimpse into what CJ and Owen are doing today.

Spoiler

“Did you know UNESCO included Dia de los Muertos festivities in their intangibles list of humanity’s cultural heritage?” Elijah Sinclair, with his son, Nigel riding his shoulders, and CJ, with Liebe atop his, walked behind their spouses.

“That’s a new one for me. You mean like the parade and other events?” CJ and the New Zealander had hit it off as well as their kids had.

“Yeah… although the parade’s a recent addition to the festivities.”

“I know. Thanks to double O seven.”

Producers of James Bond’s 2015 film, Spectre, created the event for the movie’s opening scene. The year after it hit theatres, Mexico City’s officials duplicated the effort, and the parade had become an annual event.

“I think it proves the holiday’s connection to indigenous celebrations’ tenuous at best. I mean, I’ve read a bunch of stuff speculating on how it ties to Aztecs’ honoring their dead, but I think it’s really a Catholic celebration, once again adapting to be palatable to the masses.” Jah smirked. “And the government encouraging anything that brings in tourist money.”

CJ chuckled. “You sound as much of a heathen as Ozzie accuses me of.”

“Nope. I’m pretty religious, but I’m also a realist. Just like All Hallows Eve became Halloween, a pretty secular event, this has turned into a party. Even though it does display some of its church roots.”

The celebrations, in Mexico and elsewhere, straddled the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, annually held on November 1 and 2. Although the country’s population was mostly Catholic, following the Mexican Revolution, government officials diligently tried to separate church and state. It did not work as they intended, and Mexican citizens remained faithful to the church introduced by the conquistadors.

The parade began at the Angel de la Independencia obelisk, near the northeast corner of Bosque de Chapultepec, close to CJ and Owen’s apartment. Instead of standing still, the two couples meandered through the route, eventually detouring through side streets to catch an Uber. Mexico’s population was nearly twenty-two million, and CJ swore half of them were out and about that Saturday morning. The streets were jammed with people, and roads were just as congested with vehicles and pedestrian overflow. Reaching their destination, they encountered a sea of humanity strolling through the Plaza.

“Bloody crowded, ain’t it?” Owen glanced at CJ and Elijah. “If either one of you gets tired, let me know. I can carry one of the kids for a while.”

The common practice of erecting home altars to honor the dead was extrapolated into large displays in public spaces. Photographs and personal items of the deceased, religious iconography, candles, and flowers—primarily Mexican marigolds—were recurring items in the displays. The color riot helped punctuate the celebration of life was not a sad occasion.

 

[chris191070]

Another great tease to the new story 

[Carlos Hazday]

Bosque de Chapultepec in Mexico City is considered the best urban park in the world by some...

 

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Carlos Hazday

[tabaqui]

On 11/24/2021 at 10:20 PM, Carlos Hazday said:

Bosque de Chapultepec in Mexico City is considered the best urban park in the world by some...

 

 

I would add Mexico City on my travel list for this park alone after viewing this.

[Carlos Hazday]

19 minutes ago, tabaqui said:

I would add Mexico City on my travel list for this park alone after viewing this.

Gorgeous, ain't it? It kinda reminds me of Central Park in NYC. A zoo, athletic fields, museums, and what not.

[frosenblum]

Based on that delightful video, it reminds me of Bronx Park with it's large forested areas. Thanks for sharing the video. 

The colorful CDMX sculpture with the kids sitting on it would be cool for the story logo/photo.

I just figured out how to navigate and follow individual forums. Sneaky putting the Follow button at the end of a forum, rather than the start like for stories. 

And thanks for the shower of CDMX chapters launching the series.

[Carlos Hazday]

22 minutes ago, frosenblum said:

Based on that delightful video, it reminds me of Bronx Park with it's large forested areas. Thanks for sharing the video. 

The colorful CDMX sculpture with the kids sitting on it would be cool for the story logo/photo.

I just figured out how to navigate and follow individual forums. Sneaky putting the Follow button at the end of a forum, rather than the start like for stories. 

And thanks for the shower of CDMX chapters launching the series.

I set a bunch of scenes in the park. If you split the image vertically in fourths, CJ and Owen's building would be in the second one from the left. There are so many I interesting spots, I only used a few for fear of turning the story into a commercial for VISIT CDMX.

The sculpture could have been a decent choice for a cover/banner image. I decided to keep it simple by using a representation of the Mexican flag as background and a white script. The font's the same one I've used in every CJ banner except for Ripper Christmas.

[Carlos Hazday]

@Daddydavek Calum?

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Carlos Hazday

[Wesley8890]

21 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

@Daddydavek Calum?

Oh my damn!

[Carlos Hazday]

@Wesley8890

I gather you approve of my casting choice?

[Daddydavek]

1 hour ago, Carlos Hazday said:

@Daddydavek Calum?

Oh hell yeah!

[Carlos Hazday]

@Daddydavek

Where was he hiding when I was in my 20s and 30s?

[Daddydavek]

1 minute ago, Carlos Hazday said:

@Daddydavek

Where was he hiding when I was in my 20s and 30s?

While I've always appreciated eye candy, I think I appreciate it even more so as I've gotten old...I meant older!

[Carlos Hazday]

42 minutes ago, Daddydavek said:

While I've always appreciated eye candy, I think I appreciate it even more so as I've gotten old...I meant older!

But nowadays I look at someone like that and all I can think is he's a kid.

[Daddydavek]

Of course, but the point is it reminds me of when I was of a similar age and could attract a second look.