Magazine Says Albuquerque Is the Second Best City for Hispanics

Move over San Diego, Chicago and San Antonio, Texas. Albuquerque soared past them to the No. 2 spot on Hispanic magazine's 2005 list of the top cities for Hispanics to live in.

The article titled "Where Latinos Love to Live, Work and Play" described Albuquerque's "rich cultural scene, its promising economic future and its beautiful surroundings."
Austin led the list for the second consecutive year. Los Angeles Times staffer Hugo Martín, who compiled the list, said he studied statistics on education, crimes, job growth, housing prices, cultural institutions and the percentage of Hispanics active in local politics.

Martín also consulted national media sources such as Forbes.com, Sperling's Best Places, Morgan Quitno Press and Places Rated Almanac, which produce annual surveys on places to live or do business.
He ranked the cities as places to live from the perspective of "being a husband and a father." Of Albuquerque, he said, "I just found it to be a warm environment, whether you're Latino or not. It just seemed to be a great place to live."

Albuquerque has always been a good place for Hispanics to live, said Mayor Martin Chávez. Its improving economy means that Hispanics have the chance to share in opportunities.
"Hispanics in Albuquerque occupy almost every rung of the economic and social ladder. This is a full-opportunity city," he said.
Chávez said he believes Albuquerque should have netted the top spot. "I think they got it wrong.

We are by far the best city for Hispanics and everybody," he said. "We'll settle for No. 2 this year, but I hope they will get it straight next year."
Martín said Albuquerque's burgeoning job growth and its cultural amenities helped push it toward the top of the list. In previous years, Albuquerque has come well down the pack, ranking between sixth and eighth place. Based on his research and interviews with Hispanic residents, Martín wrote a brief portrait touting the qualities of each listed city.

He cited Albuquerque's climate, where residents can ski in the Sandias in the morning and play golf on the same day. He called Civic Plaza, "lined with art galleries, eateries and Native American crafts shops," the heart of Albuquerque. Or did he mean Old Town?

Martín is no stranger to Albuquerque. His in-laws live here and he has visited many times. "Whenever I go back there with my wife, the first thing we look for is some of that authentic Albuquerque food," he said.

Copyright 2005 Albuquerque Journal

Arti sebuah nama

Ada sebuah peribahasa yang berbunyi” apalah arti sebuah nama”. Di satu sisi,itu mungkin ada benarnya,tapi di lain sisi,kadang kala nama mempunyai makna yang sangat “dalam” artinya . Katakanlah,di Negara A, nama itu dianggap sangat keren ,bisa jadi menjadi nama “ancang-ancang” kelak bagi seorang calon ibu yg sedang mempersiapkan nama buat calon bayi-nya,tapi di Negara lain,nama itu bisa mempunyai arti yang aneh dan tidak masuk diakal . Oke ,baiklah,mari kita buktikan.


Saya sedang istrahat makan siang kemarin di tempat kerja(saya bekerja di airport di kota kami),ketika telingaku menangkap sebuah pengumuman dari loket costumer service agent DELTA AIRLINES yang membuat saya terbahak-bahak sendirian ketika sedang menghadapi makan siangku.
Sebenarnya ,isi pengumuman itu hanyalah pengumuman biasa yang akan di tanggapi biasa oleh siapapun yang mendengarnya,kecuali yang mendengarnya mengerti bahasa Indonesia.

Begini bunyi pengumumannya: passenger MONYET GREGIO,………MONYET GREGIO,please come to gate A5 for a message.Saya yang ketika itu sedang menyuapkan suapan terakhir kemulut,segera menajamkan pendengaran,dan berusaha untuk mendengar lebih jelas lagi ketika costumer service itu mengulangi lagi pengumumannya,dan benar saja,pendengaran saya memang tidak salah,penumpang yang di panggil memang ,bernama monyet.

Seketika,tanpa saya bisa bendung,saya tertawa terbahak-bahak sendirian karena nama “aneh” yang barusan saya dengar ,di saksikan tatapan penuh selidik oleh orang-orang,dan mungkin saja mereka merasa aku tiba-tiba kehilangan ingatan,sampai hilang control tertawa terbahak-bahak .

Tidak mau dianggap gila,aku segera angkat kaki dari restaurant ,dan sifat isengku langsung kumat,aku langsung datangi counter costumer service agent delta airlines itu,dan pura-pura serius bertanya:

Saya= “excuse me mam,did you call for my name?

Costumer service: yes true,did u have a name MONYET?

Saya: Oh sorry,I though I was wrong ,my name is “BODAT”(sambil pikiran nakalku bermain di kepala, “loe kagak tau sih artinya,..bodat ama monyet khan same aje artinya ,hehehhehe.

Nah,benar khan?ternyata nama mempunyai arti yang sangat dalam ,jadi,hati-hati ya memberi nama anak anda kalau tidak terlalu yakin artinya,nanti,bisa-bisa jadi bahan lelucon seperti pengalamanku diatas.

Bodat*

Dalam bahasa batak,mempunyai arti monyet

sebel !!!

sebel banget....
Nih kepala rasanya dah berasap saking kesalnya ,aku dah capek-capek nulis panjang lebar,eh ,....tau-tau pas mo di public post kok ilang semua.Wah,.kaget ,kesal,plus gregetan banget gak karu-karuan.gimana gak sebel aku nulisnya tuh sampe 2 jam lebih,mana aku nulisnya pake semangat empat lima,sampai lupa ngesev,pas ilang semua baru ingat,ya amplop,...kok sial benget sih .Duh kasiannya aku nih.

Akhirnya

senang plus lega rasanya,akhirnya musim semi/spring yg di tunggu-tunggu datang juga.Rasanya dah bete plus beku banget ama cuaca dingin yang menusuk tulang plus bikin kulit kering dan gak bisa gaya.Gimana mo gaya ,udah cantik-cantik dandan,tetap aja mesti pake jaket.Bagus aja klo jaketnya cuman buat gaya,lha ini ...,mesti pake jaket tebal berlapis-lapis klo gak mau gigi gemeluk saking dinginnya.Klo aku bisa ngeset temperature udara ,dah ku set temperature udara sekota biar spring sepanjang taon,klo ada yg mau dingin ato salju,ke kutub aja gih,hehhehe(mo menang sendiri mode on).
Eh, tapi benar loh,...banyak kok yang sebel ama musim dingin,gak ada asik-asiknya.Gak bisa pake baju seksi-seksi,jalananan macet karena salju,yang paling bikin puyeng,bill jadi nambah mahal di bulan -bulan winter,soalnya siapa sih yang kuat mandi air dingin?,tidur gak pake pemanas,nah,...semuanya khan mesti pake gas,gas khan nyedot duit alias mahal banget.
spring gini,di mana-mana orang klihatan jadi tambah ramah dan murah senyum.di campus,di mall,di kerjaanan,di coffe shop,orang-orang pada cerah ceria.khusus di coffe shop dan restaurant,orang-orang pada berebutan ngambil kursi yang diluar.ya sambil makan, ngopi,mejeng,dan yang paling utama,mandi matahari,dah gitu pada "gaya" deh dandanannya,ada yg begaya hippie,begaya kayak lagi di hawai,pokoknya heboh.kadang aku mikir ,nih orang-orang kok banyak banget berkeliaran pas musim semi gini, kayak semut aja,di mana-mana penuh ,mall,jalan,campus,restaurant,pokoknya penuh.jangan-jangan pas musim dingin, pada "semedi" kali ya hehhehe.