Sad Sad Day :(

July = SAD SAD SAD 

I can't believe my Uncle Bob is gone. I was just with him and he was totally fine. I still have all these feeling of hurt, shock, sadness and closure I can never have. I missed out on everything that happened and when I come home, it's like he just isn't there anymore and I'll never see him again.  His funeral service was yesterday at the Glendale Forest Lawn. I'm going to miss him sooooo much. And I wasn't able to be there with my family. The reality is that he has passed and is buried now, but I wasn't there to witness anything so it's difficult to come to grips with. And I am so far away from my family. I will him soooo much. 

My cousin Jessica asked me if I wanted to write something last week on behalf of my cousins that she would read for me since I couldn't be there. I wanted to share my eulogy but I will need to change the extension first so that I can upload it. Thank you Jessica for your strength in reading the eulogy and paying tribute to our uncle and for representing our family. I know how difficult it must have been but you did an amazing job.

Edilberto "Bob" Rodriguez Braganza, Jr. June 17, 1949 - July 8, 2009

1969 University grad photo

Biscuit

July may mark a period of summer, fun, sunshine and vacations for many, but July has has been a month of sadness for me. My Uncle Bob (my Mom's brother) suddenly passed away last week (a few days after I arrived in Dublin on Day 2, another post to follow shortly) and my dog of 12 years passed away last year marking Sunday, July 12, Biscuit's 1 year death anniversary. She died last year of lymphoma. She passed away roughly about 2 1/2 weeks after her diagnosis. I was making plans for treatment and surgery, but she never made it. I think she only hung on because she felt I didn't want to let her go, which I didn't. Her old age was risky for treatment and surgery and I was warned she might not have been able to handle one or both as a result. I miss her so much. When I had to move around she was always with me. I took her everywhere. She was my BFF and kid. Believe me, she is totally one of a kind and  irreplaceable. 

Biscuit

10/17/1996 - 07/12/08

Little furball tail on the right belongs to Boo Boo.

Marcel Proust

I came across a modest collection of quotes I put together in 2002 or 2003 and I was quite impressed at the organization of how I compiled them. I completely forgot about it and it was amusing and heartfelt to read at the same time. Perhaps if I'm in the mood I'll post a few quotes of what I had written in my collection to share with you.

Since I am in the mood today and completely awake, I have to start with my favorite novelist (and essayist), Marcel Proust. He is known for writing Remembrance of Things Past (In Search of Lost Time), which was considered his masterpiece and quite a very moving piece in my opinion.

A little info on Marcel Proust:

Born July 10, 1871 in Auteuil, France, Proust was born to wealthy bourgeois parents. While making rounds as a young man in Parisian society, it was then that he began his writing. Proust was homosexual. After the death of his parents, he became a recluse and started writing his masterpiece novel roughly after 1907. He died in 1922. He is considered one of the great literary figures of modern times.

"It is wasted effort to seek to evoke our past. All efforts of our intelligence are useless. It is hidden beyond the intellect's domain and reach, in some material object we do not suspect."
Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past

Sweet Valley High and James Mathewuse

Sweet Valley High books ... oh the memories!

The memories are really coming back...

How I would make my Dad and my Aunt drive me to Waldenbooks or B. Dalton bookstore to see if the newest SVH book was out on their shelves. Sometimes I would also pick up a Baby-sitter's Club or Nancy Drew book along with my SVH. 

I would finish reading the book in one day or at most 2 because I always wanted to know how the twins were going to handle things or what story to expect in the next book so I can make plans to drag my Dad or Aunt again the following month. 

I hated when the story strayed away from the twins and focused on their dopey friends outside of their regular friends mentioned from #1 edition. Friends I loved to read about only include Lila Fowler (aka ultimate rich *top* bitch and Jessica Wakefield's BFF) and Bruce Patman (aka handsome but arrogant rich guy). They were full of drama which made SVH steamier. Enid Rollins (Liz's boring BFF) bored me to death each and every time the story was about her. I personally thought Liz should have hooked up with Nicholas Morrow because I couldn't stand Todd Wilkins and her story with Bruce Patman (Dear Sister #7) is probably the most memorable of all the SVH.

And the super editions! I absolutely *loved* those because reading the super editions was like being on a vacay with the twins. Seriously, it really felt like that!

During my breaks off from school, I would reread my favorite ones (including super editions) at my Grandma's house curled up somewhere in the house where it was quiet. Come to think of it, the house was always quiet with just them around. Oh, I how I miss my Grandma so much! But that's another story another time. 

I have my books stored somewhere (along with my baby-sitters club and the complete little house on the prairie) and I refuse to give them away. They are a part of my childhood that brings such happiness and I like being reminded if by chance I happen to stumble across a box of those books when I'm cleaning things out. 

Another thing that surfaces to mind is how I would stare so many times at the cover art of SVH. The twins and other characters looked sooo real. There was this depth to the cover art that drove me crazy wondering if those people actually existed and if not, who were those people that inspired the artist? The subtle touches he would include for each twin was just as important as their faces. Like their gold lavalieres, tiny dimples in their left cheek, Liz's barrettes and Jessica's loose 80's wavy hair with feather bangs. 

The realist drawings of the characters always remained the same from cover to cover. It was intoxicating staring at the cover. The interesting thing was that I never forgot the name of the artist who did the covers for SVH because the cover art sometimes played a huge role in me wanting to buy and read the book. When SVH started using real people at one point, it seemed like the magic was gone and I remember I stopped buying the books. 

Anyway, James Mathewuse was the artist who illustrated the covers for Sweet Valley High and Twins series. See his website below.

James Mathewuse

Author of SVH, Francine Pascal has mentioned talks of a SVH musical she hopes to open in L.A. soon. I can't wait! 

BTW, this entry was a direct result of the SVH game board I saw lying around. Yes, I do still own the Milton Bradley SVH board game.