Happy New Year 2004!
As we get closer to changing years —in some parts of the world it is already 2004— I feel like going over the things that happened to us (the Collantes’ family) during 2003. I may not have enough to write about to make this a serious entry, but here I go.

This year we are leaving behind brought very few things, but some made a deep impact in our lives at this point. To start with, we turned out one year older (duh!) and, hence, gained on experience (yeah, right!). We reached our 5th … ⌘ Read more

I will never be happy in this lifetime
Recently I received an email from a friend that has been on Iraq since the beginning of the war. He keeps us up-to-date of his experiences on the front and every email from him brings amazing details and interesting perspectives of the daily life on the liberated Iraq.

This last email was specially interesting because, as he mentions, it brings a part of Iraq that our news sources seems to have forgotten about, they haven’t picked up or they, simply … ⌘ Read more

Circa 1984
I guess a fitting way to “welcome” myself to the collantes.us posting forum is to also give a brief rehashing of my digital lifestyle.

Rumor has it that nineteen years ago, in the summer of 1984, two brand new bundles of joy rolled into the Canzolino household. The first was a shiny new Macintosh; the second, coming six weeks or so later, was a baby girl. I’ve been raised on computers ever since, tinkering away at little games and clicking that little one button ever since.

My first experience w … ⌘ Read more

It is that time of the year: Halloween
Well, you goblins, witches, bats, ghosts… Frankenstein lovers, here it comes your day, once again. Of course, I do not look at Halloween as such, it is just another day, like the others, with the subtle difference that is the day where kids go around, having fun, asking for sweet little treats, dressed up as the unimaginable.

Considering I never knew what Halloween was until I came to America and, hence, I did not experience the fun that it can bring … ⌘ Read more

It is over now, or it isn’t
Well, I got my car back today and it seems to be functioning all right. After this experience the only conclusion I can draw is: definitely, “Holler Mitsubishi” service completely sucks, their Service Manager does not have a slight idea on what customer service is, their mechanics — or, at least, one of them — do not know what the heck they are doing… to sum it up: do not take your car there. Trust me. I will wait one or two days, to make sure the car is fine and then I … ⌘ Read more