Author: David Diego Rodríguez, Ph.D.

I teach Spanish and I am a standup comedian.

C.U.B.S.*


South side, Chicago, Illinois

Well, the Cubs are out of the playoffs after losing three games to the L.A. Dodgers. Even though I am a lifelong White Sox fan, I was rooting for the Cubs to go all the way to the World Series. But I did imagine them losing to the White Sox in four games. So, I am disappointed in their poor showing in the post-season after how well they played all season. This was supposed to be the year for the Cubs! And they played so well all year. The Cubs had a National League best ninety-seven wins, 636 walks, 855 runs scored, and a Major League best of 1264 pitching strikeouts. How could they lose? This has been the most disappointing Cubs season since 1969.

Who buys these shirts?

*Cubs’ Useless Baseball Season

DDR

iDrive


I love the GPS on my iPhone!

I was supposed to take my son Alex to a football game at 54th and Narragansett Avenue. I have a general idea of what the neighborhood is like because it’s near Midway Airport, my old stomping grounds. No problem, right? I mean how hard is it to find a football field? Well, when I get to where the football field is supposed to be, I see nothing but residential buildings. Someone didn’t give out the correct address for the game. And I don’t have any of the phone numbers for any of the coaches or the staff! What to do?

Luckily, I had my iPhone and I had used the calendar to schedule the game. So, I knew the game was supposed to be at Wentworth Park, at least according to football schedule that gave me the wrong address. I search for Wentworth Park using Google Maps and I discover that I’m in the general vicinity, but about a mile away. The map even indicated the traffic flow of one-way streets! Using the map on my iPhone, I successfully find Wentworth Park. This was actually one of the uses I had in mind when I bought the iPhone. I hope to use Google Maps a lot the next time I go to Mexico.

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$299!


My new computer!

Last week, I bought a brand-new HP desktop computer for $299! Yes, that’s after the sale price and two rebates, but still, I bought the best computer I have ever owned for the lowest price I have ever paid. In 2003, I bought a used Pentium 3 for $300, but it was already obsolete when I bought it.

In fact, that’s the computer that the new HP replaced. My old, obsolete PC was just so painfully slow. There was just no way to upgrade it anymore. I wanted to build my own computer, to my specifications, but it would have cost me about four times more than buying an already manufactured PC. Now this new computer of mine is the fastest computer I have ever owned. It has 3GB of memory, the most ever for me. And a 500GB hard drive that ties my largest hard drive. Of course, I could go on with the superlatives to describe my new computer.

Now that I think of it, this $299 computer cost as much as my iPhone 3G! But it’s a full-fledged computer. The iPhone 3G is only a computer wannabe. But of course, I can’t take my desktop PC with me wherever I go. I even hate to lug around my notebook PC everywhere I go. Well, that’s why I bought the iPhone. Not that I’m addicted to the Internet, but I like to check my e-mail no matter where I am.

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UIC Chess Club


My high school chess set

Well, last night I played chess again at the UIC Chess Club. It was my first time in about thirty years playing at a chess club. Yes, I was a bit rusty. And no, my moves didn’t suddenly come back to me. But I’m glad I went. I need some sort of intellectual stimulus to exercise my mind. I mean I go running to exercise my body, so I want my mind to be healthy, too. I enjoyed playing chess last night. I was easily the oldest one in the room. But I got along well with everyone there. I plan to play chess every Tuesday from now on. But I’m promising myself not to get too involved with chess so that it becomes an obsession. That’s why I haven’t played chess for years. I’m afraid to become addicted to it–again!

DDR

If it’s a wrong number, why did you answer?


My new iPhone!

I’ve had my iPhone for about a month now. And hardly anybody calls me! That’s because I didn’t really give out my phone number to very many people.

Then, suddenly, yesterday and today, my phone keeps ringing with phone numbers that I don’t even recognize. Everyone was calling for Tina. “Tina Who?” I wondered.

Finally, today, the woman on the other end asked to confirm the number that she dialed. It matched my phone number to the digit. Why else would we be talking to each other? She said that was the phone number that Tina gave to all her friends. I was getting tired of being Tina’s answering service, so I told this woman, “When you finally get a hold of Tina, would you please tell her to call everybody back and give them her correct phone number? I’m tired of getting all these phone calls for Tina!”

She laughed, but I thought I would surely be bombarded by more phone calls for Tina. Well, since that conversation, no one has called for Tina. In fact, no one has called me at all. I’m starting to miss Tina’s friends.

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