This Is Freaky...I went to H.S. with this guy...

This happened in August of 2005. I had heard about it, but did not know who it was until recently. If the address in the article sounds familiar to you, it's because you probably know it. It's the same building where the Zapatas live. I went to H.S. with him...so weird to read news about somebody you went to school with. It happens. Unfortunately he is now out and about - on bail. How did his family raise the $50,000 dollar bail? If I were his family, I'd leave him in jail!

Man accused of molesting 9-year-old in park arraigned



A Queens man accused of molesting and punching a 9-year-old girl in Astoria Park was arraigned Tuesday on charges of sexual abuse, attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child and ordered held on $50,000 bail.

The suspect, Peter Belegrinos, 23, a former city hospital worker who lives near the park, did not speak during the proceeding in Queens County Criminal Court but his attorney said he pleads not guilty.

Belegrinos, of 20-64 24th St. in Astoria, who was wearing a blue T-shirt and long gray shorts, was arrested after the Monday attack after police matched him to the license plate of a car he left near the park. Police rushed to the park after receiving a 911 call about a child being assaulted.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Scotti told the court that the attack took place after Belegrinos approached the girl, her 12-year-old sister and a 9-year-old boy at Ditmars and Shore boulevards about 3 p.m. and asked them if they wanted to play "the kissing game."

The other two children ran away toward some bushes and Belegrinos told the 9-year-old girl to get into his car so they could catch up with them, Scotti said. But she ran off before he could get her in the car.

Scotti said Belegrinos then chased down the 9-year-old girl in his 1999 black Lincoln Town Car and grabbed her. He said Belegrinos punched her in the face, lifted her skirt, pulled down her underwear and groped her. The complaint said that as she tried to scream, he put his hand over her mouth and told her, "Can't you ever shut up."

Legal Aid attorney Howard Turman, in seeking $1,000 bail, said his client's recollection of what happened "differs dramatically than what the people claim."

Turman said Belegrinos, who plans to retain his own attorney, is in the Army Reserves, has an associate degree from Queensboro College and has been accepted into Lehman College to study nursing. He said his client has no criminal history.

The complaint says Belegrinos was suspended from his job at Psych Tech at Elmhurst Hospital in April.

At Turman's request, Criminal Court Judge Deborah Modica ordered that Belegrinos be held in protective custody.

Turman said that several relatives said they hoped to raise the bail money. In the meantime, several parents whose children play at the park expressed fear that such a thing could happen in what they said is normally a peaceful place."

BY DEBORAH S. MORRIS and PETE BOWLESSTAFF WRITERS
Staff writer Anthony Pardo contributed to this story.

Link to full story: http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-park0810,0,3391902.story?coll=nyc-moreny-headlines

My Cousins!

I've never met them...can you believe it?

Sad.... I have to visit them one day...

They look great! Gaelle just turned 21 (my favorite age). My boy cousin looks like my uncle...it caught me off guard when I first saw the pics.

Life and the perception of reality.

I feel ever so unsettled as I have no place to call home. I had this idea of maybe staying in New York...getting an apartment, joining a gym, disappearing into the normalcy of everyday...but I don't think it's going to fly. During this in-between stage, I found myself longing to visit my old backyard (to which I still have the key)...when I realized I was just looking for a place subconsciously, some sort of familiarity in which to indulge in.

Someone so nicely put it all together for me. They said "It's not where you are (physically) that defines where you are in life."

Words

You take lyrics and read them...they sound beautiful and deep, a form of poetry.

You put the lyrics together with music, and it is a marriage of word and song; forever cemented.
It is as if one could not exist without the other.

I thought of this one day as I contemplated the lyrics of a song....

Come on over for a "Raclette" Party!

Last night I went over someone's house for dinner...and had a special treat.

After we had our appetizer of bread, tomato salad (I know Cathy's gagging right now), and mixed vegetables, an interesting contraption was placed before us in the center of the table.

It was called a "Raclette Grill" and it is used for grilling vegetables and potatoes on the top, and on the bottom it comes with little trays used to place a chunk of yummy "raclette" cheese that melts to a cheesy perfection. After the cheese has melted, you scrape it off and place it on top of your fresh ham cold cuts, potatoes and vegetables or any favorite item. It is fantastic, and SO entertaining!

It is so much fun...we have got to do one soon!

Here's a link to a site that sells them:

http://www.surlatable.com/common/products/product_details.cfm?PRRFNBR=5714

A lot is going on this week....

First of all, if you haven't already heard, NYC is facing a terrible transit strike. Although I work in Queens and drive to my job, I see the traffic on the otherside on my way to work. I feel bad for the commuters. I hear horror stories of carpooling and being stuck in traffic for 3 hours! And crazy stories of people walking all the way home. That's just nuts...but good for you! Don't let them paralyze you. Hopefully this will end soon...the newscasters are downright annoying with their dramatic phrases.

On another note, I just finished Memoirs of a Geisha. It was a really good book. Due to my slightly cynical nature I was surprised at the happy ending. It almost seemed unreal. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I am looking forward to it. The book was filled with descriptive passages so I expect to see the vivid imagery brought to life.

I was in a No Doubt faze last week, playing their tunes to and from work...and this week I hear Gwen is pregnant. Well, congrats...because I was skipping the songs that talk about her biological clock ticking. I'm happy for her, as long as she doesn't call the baby Harajuku! Maybe she'll be designing children's wear soon. Oh brother.


Lastly, an xmas pic of my two little cousins: (They look adorable, I had to share)

There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

Brrr!!!!!!

Teenage Yawning Max

3 Years: The New 7 Year Itch

It looks like America's favorite couple has split up. Yeah, it's typical for a hollywood power couple to go their separate ways, but for some sappy reason this split up is straight up sad. Well, I can't say I have never watched an episode of "The Newlyweds" 'cause I did. It was hard not to be amused by Jessica's brainless comments - because although she was dumb as a doorknob, she had a down to earth side to her. And even though they had $$$, Nick always insisted on getting things done himself - a quality to be admired.

So what went wrong?

It just goes to show you that no matter how georgeous you are, it takes a lot more than looks to hold a marriage together!

If His Dad Could See Him Now....

He'd be disowned! Ha ha!!!!

My two cats prefer him over me, isn't that sad?

Taking Tea With Catherine

This past weekend, it was nice to get away...especially with a friend. Catherine accompanied me to West Palm Beach. We haven't traveled together in soooo long - since England. Wow. Anyway, it was Cathy's first domestic flight & first time taking off from LaGuardia Airport. It was a good flight with good TV. We landed pretty late, like 12:30 and we took a cab to the house. We quickly shed our jackets, and were greeted with warm air and a light misting of rain. That night I was excited, so I cleaned all three toilets. (They were not really dirty, but they had water stains from the stagnant water).

The next morning the bright sun woke me up (I need curtains desperately!) so I embarked on another project, cleaning the melted chocolate ice cream from the freezer from when the power was out. (Thanks, Wilma). I also struggled with putting in a water filter in the refrigerator for the water/ice maker. Afterwards, we showered, got dressed to the nines and went out to tea. I was kinda nervous driving around with expired temporary plates, but I paid no mind. This tea house was very quaint (there's that word again) and smelled like an old apartment while still maintaining the charm of a quiet tea room. There were many tea rooms, and we were placed in the "Green Room." At first Cathy wasn't feeling well, but as the tea was poured and the little finger sandwiches were brought in I could see she was feeling better. Or maybe the drugs were kicking in. I enjoyed the sandwiches, it was after 1 and we were starving so we daintily wolfed them down while sipping on tea. I had Strawberry Black tea and Cathy, or Catherine (her tea name) had Darjeeling. After that, we took pictures in the garden (or gizarden) and since I didn't have a digital camera on me (shame!) I snapped this shot with my phone:



After that, I got my license surrendered at the DMV - and shred my last part of my New York identity! I know I sound dramatic, but I was actually very sad. Then we went to the Palm Beach Gardens Mall and the shopaholic (you know who you are) did not buy a thing. Very proud of her.

This trip was pleasant, the weather was beautiful and just as we were settling in vacation mode...it was time to go home! I was really enjoying my Senseo coffee maker too! (The coffee pods beat scooping and measuring).



Oh well, until next time!

To The Anonymous Commenter:

Sombodie neds to lurn how to spel befoor makin comants on peepul’s blogs.

Also, they need to get a life if they spend that much time getting so upset over innocent bloggers and their musings. Honestly, there are so many stupid blogs out there…funny that they would choose ours.

I say, get your own blog!

And as for me, I will keep on bloggin' whether you like it or not.

"The Stranger"

I woke up to these words: “Who are you? Who ARE you?” The next thing I hear, “Marie! Anthony!” I jumped out of bed blinded in the darkness and I ran out. My aunt who was sleeping in the loft bed turned on the light because she thought my mom was dreaming, but what happens next is very real. I came out into the living room, and saw this six foot man standing on the foot of my mother’s bed, his hands outstretched waving them up and down saying: “Relax, relax…”

Seconds, just seconds pass…a million thoughts were running through my mind. One dominant thought rang clear that this man clearly does not belong here. What is he doing in our apartment? Does he have weapons? What did he come here to do? I was speechless, numb. I could hear my aunt frantic but no one moved. I glanced to the side and saw Anthony coming out; he woke up from the commotion. I now walked towards this man, I charged towards him determined to do one thing, to GET HIM OUT. Anthony did not realize there was a man in the house, and when he saw him he threatened calling the police. As we both walked towards him, he backed away and went to the door, and as he was leaving, he paused by the door and said “I said…okay.” I ran after the door, closed it and peeked through the peephole and saw him casually go down the stairs. I fumbled with the locks, I couldn’t even lock the door, I was so freaked.

We called the police and they came like 30 minutes later. We told them the story, and they were so quick to assume the guy was a drunk who thought he lived there. This guy was not drunk; he was very calm in an eerie, controlling way. And he didn't stumble around. There was no sign of forced entry, so we think someone may have left the door unlocked. But that still does not warrant the entry of a stranger. We gave the police our description of the creepy bearded six foot man wearing a backpack. We made the police look on the roof, down and around, but we didn’t hear back from them. So this incident remains a mystery. I am certain that his intent was to rape, rob or murder. He didn’t realize there were 4 people in the apartment that night. I am just so grateful that this man did not whip out a weapon and kill us all. Now we sleep with the door barricaded.

LORD OF THE FLEAS - The End of an Era

This was my first real job. I was so sad to hear that it closed; I almost felt that this legacy would keep on living. I was 17 when I started, and still in high school. I remember my first Saturday working there - it was strange, new, liberating. Every week I religiously deposited $100 in the bank from my tiny paycheck. But I had money for school and the 50% discount made me a regular customer at the store. I first started out working weekends. It was hard. On Sunday I had to go to other meetings. But it was fun being picked up from work on Friday night and going out somewhere like BBQ's. It was also nice getting visitors and seeing not so famous people. My co-workers were always sweet and since I was the baby, they took care of me. My tasks were straightening up and handling the register. After a year or so there was a job opening in the warehouse, and I said sure, why not? It was summer; I was off from school so I started working full time. So goodbye 2142 Broadway, hello 12th street & avenue A! It was not bad working there; I ordered lots of pasta from this fantastic little quaint Italian place called "La Casalinga". I worked for a husband and wife team, so I was now going to work under the husband, Jeremy Archer. Carol Archer mainly oversaw the uptown location (they also had a 9th street store location). And Jeremy spent every day in the warehouse. So now I handled all the new clothes that came in, put tags on them and created labels for them in the computer. I also managed inventory. Jeremy was a cool boss - and a workaholic. Quite an interesting individual. An Irishman by blood, but raised in England. (I think his Mother was Irish). He also spent some years living in Paris and Australia. So as you may imagine, he had this accent that you couldn't quite place - but your best guess would be English. He was into politics and he was vegan. He ate jalapeños all the time with his food because he believed it kept him from being sick. The job was flexible with my schedule when I started college. After deciding to spend the last year of school full time, I said goodbye…but it never quite felt like goodbye, because whenever I would visit, it kind of felt like home. But little by little all the familiar things were drifting away. Soon after I left, our UPS guy whom we befriended was transferred to another route. Also later, their bookkeeper and cousin who has worked for them for years started working as a paralegal. Things were definitely changing. So now, they have closed shop, and from what I hear they have opened a bed & breakfast. Sounds lovely…and totally different from the fashion industry. I know Jeremy was dabbling in real estate, and this must have come up as an opportunity for them to create a new business. Juggling both of the businesses would have been impossible, due to their deep involvement, and perhaps now husband and wife can work together under one roof. Sounds like a happy ending, doesn’t it? I wonder what the B&B is called, Lord of the Bed Bugs? Okay, I know – that was corny, but I couldn’t resist.

Some "Feel Good" Advice

Listen to music by a pop star you would never admit to liking

Schedule a girl's night out - and party like it's 1999

Be your own therapist

Spend some time alone - and enjoy it

Find out what your personality flaws are and work on them

Pour over old pictures and memories once in a while

Lucky jeans are worth every darn penny! (I'm not into status symbol clothing, but if you ever get a chance to snag a pair on sale, you will thank me!)

Can't think of anything else at the moment...

My baby, Isabel. When she closes her eyes, her face disappears.



__________________

Bought these boots recently. Shoot, Ima wear 'em in Florida!
I don't care if it's 90 degrees.

"Village Girl"

My boss said I looked like a "Village Girl" today. I guess I am wearing a fairly trendy outfit. (A tank w/ a short grey cable sweater with a antiqued jean mermaid skirt). It took me back to Junior High School when I saw these hispanic girls fighting, and the "big insult" was one calling the other a "village girl". How dumb.

Who the heck would want to live here???

Tractor trailer turned over in the Palm Beach Mall parking lot:


Marina by Riviera Beach (our town):


Construction site at Riviera Beach:


Lines for gas in Palm Beach Gardens:


Congress Avenue:


Gas Station on Belvedere Road:


Street on West Palm Beach:


Trailer in shambles in Riviera Beach:


All these pictures are in Palm Beach County, all in our neighborhood or nearby surrounding areas. We have NO shutters up, so imagine the anxiety. We are having somebody drive by the house today to take a look...

Who'd want to live here? Ha ha.

Brrrrr

The weather is cooler, heck. It's cold now. Daylight savings time ends this weekend...the rain...the cold...aaaagggghhh.

This weather is getting me down. Last year, I had the winter blues - big time. I'm probably going to stick around a bit longer, so I hope I don't have a repeat of last year's episode. I remember not feeling like myself...and looking back now, I wonder if I ever felt like myself again.

The stress of the holiday season at work brought on anxiety and panic. I was a real wreck. Funny how I thought I had problems. Your problems always seem smaller when bigger problems sit on top of it.

So for those who experience pitfalls in life; to all those who just can't see a light in the end of the tunnel...don't worry, it will get worse.

Enough pessimistic ideas, let me talk to you like a self-help book:

Life is a journey, and your happiness depends on you. Life may be bumpy, but take the time to enjoy the ride...

Had enough of that crap? I thought so.

On a positive note, I now live at my grandma's one bedroom apartment with 3-5 other people. I got the bedroom...and I have a really nice curtain for a door. My 2 cats don't really like my aunt's Maltese dog, but he doesn't stay all the time. And oh yeah, parking's a joy.