2018 in full effect!

If you noticed, I upgrade from 2.0 to 3.0. Why you might ask? Is there better writing? Did the posts become more intriguing and the journalism stepped up a notch? Are the updates finally arriving on a semi-regular basis? I do hope its a small portion of all three and it should reflect in the upcoming weeks.

It is a new year and 2017 was brutal for me with the loss of Mami Chulas and Halloway Bakery hitting especially hard. However, new places are here to replace these cherished institutions.

One place I have quickly learned to love is the Laredo Outlets. I'm not a fan of Mall del Norte, but the outdoor atmosphere and easy parking make the outlets a fun shopping experience for me (not a paid endorsement). I have found myself going back there for several purchases recently and the decent prices make it my worthwhile.

Unfortunately, many of the stores surrounding the outlets are vacant, probably due to risings rent costs. I love going downtown and to stores besides the outlets and slowly I see many locals also giving downtown another look that has long been forgotten.

Happy Thanksmas: Paisanos, Posadas and Party People

(from the archives)The following article was first found on the now defunct DeLaredo.Net, but its subject matter is still relevant today. Initially, I wrote it several days after Thanksgiving 2007. Please keep that in mind as you read the short opinion piece.

Happy ThanksMas: Paisanos, Posadas and Party People
by DeLaredo

Another holiday season is here upon us, and with it have arrived the long lines at the international bridges and the jam-packed crowds at the mall that makes shopping unbearable. Also, it's the season of endless posadas and a flooding of champurrado that brings smiles to even the most hardened Scrooges. Still, as much as I love this season of joy and giving, it seems that every year the Christmas season is extended and exploited further and combined into a two month extravaganza.

All around my subdivision, some of my eager neighbors have already put up their Christmas decorations right after Halloween. Turkey Day has not even passed and they are already looking forward to Santa. To them, it seems as if Thanksgiving and Christmas have been combined and intertwined into one mega-sized holiday that I call "Thanksmas". Even retail stores, in their greed and savvy business tactics begin to push all their Christmas items in mid-November. But what is all the hurry? Why don't we take it one holiday at a time? That way we can savor each holiday for what it is. They are not interchangeable and both have wonderful elements within themselves.

Still, things such as "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" seem to turn the season into nothing more than an empty and soulless materialistic grab-bag in which we, as consumers, seem to be bamboozled by the big media, into robotically attacking the malls in hordes like the zombies in Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Surely there is more to the holidays than buying senseless gadgets and spending hours of dead time in a mall and running around like ants in a rainstorm. But, don't get me wrong, I understand fully the need of buying and selling for our economy to remain robust and healthy, still, it seems that in the process we have to sell our souls to corporate giants that turn the importance of Christmas (xmas?) into sales, receipts, gift cards and mark-down prices.

Free Hugs in Laredo

Spread the love Laredo. I first ran across this video on youtube several months ago. A bunch of highschool kids go to mall del norte and give 'free hugs'. Its such a simple concept. In a town with such violence and bloodshed (especially across the border in Nuevo Laredo) lets give more hugs, less drugs. Come on people! Let's give peace a chance.

Mexican Shoppers

Mexican shoppers can be rude! Every time I go to Best Buy or Mall del Norte, the place is inundated by Mexican nationals gona amuk, hogging all the parking space, being rude and obnoxious, and they beat me to all the best early bird deals. Why cant they stay in Monterrey so that I can shop at my hometown stores in peace and quiet? Yeah, yeah I know our economy needs them, but they dont even pay taxes on the products they buy, never mind that they use our roads and services. It just seems unfair. And they irk me in everywhich way. Go to the parking lot of Best Buy or Academy and 4 out of 5 cars will have Mexican plates! Mall del Norte is worse; they should rename it Mall del Norte de Mexico! If I see another damn Nuevo Leon license plate, im gonna cut in front of them and point him to his 'cerro de la silla' with my middle finger. Haha. No I prolly won't do that, but am I the only one fed up with their driving and careless disregard for decency while shopping? BTW, dont even attempt to go the WalMart on SanBer. Not only is that place one rung below hell, you need a passport to go in and come out. That ain't no BS either.