The Marcos Kirsch Experience®

True story:

When I was a little kid, I used to hang out all the time at my grandmother’s small hotel in downtown Monterrey (accross the street from and yet vastly better than this one).

Visiting baseball teams and wrestlers would stay there. Obviously, my brothers and I would always harass the baseball players in order to score original, fitted baseball hats: the ultimate cool. Too big for me at the time and too small by the time I hit eleven.

The wrestlers, however, I wouldn’t dare bother.

One day, this very huge, very muscular dude with a J. Jonah Jameson-style mustache walks by me in the lobby. Chinto, the very small, very skinny bell boy with a Cantínflas-style mustache whispers to my ear: “That’s Mil Máscaras“.

Back then, and unlike other masked wrestlers, legend Mil Máscaras kept his identity completely secret. No one knew who he was. He was very, very secretive. Chinto also claimed that if you sneaked into his room and opened his closet, he’d have nothing but hundreds of masks (a thousand?) hanging from individual hangers. This second claim I never verified.

However, I did get his real name from the front desk. And I remembered it for many years. Finally, he retired and his real name is known. Another lose end in my life was tied up about twenty years later. Indeed it was him, Mil Máscaras: Aarón Rodriguez.

A few photos from Saturday’s party have been posted in The MKX® Photo Central.

The photos were collected from several cameras so as usual expect to see some people more frequently than others. The MKX® is not responsible for Andres following the photographer around all night long. Enjoy!

Last Saturday I threw a small gathering at my place together with Totah to celebrate the fact that we both just turned XXX.

Photos will be coming soon. However, it looks like my camera ate my memory card again so I don’t know how many I’ll be able to rescue. If you were there and took any photos, let me know (use the comments or email me) so that I can collect and post them. And expect photos of me running over my camera with my car.

However, I want to use this space to thank everyone who came from out of town. We had people from Dallas, Houston, Monterrey, New York. A record total of miles traveled. I really, really appreciate it, it was great having you all here (Tomer, Arturo, Arturo, Nathán, J.C., Tilón, etc.).

Also, thanks to everyone who helped out with the planning and the cleaning: No parties would happen without your help, can’t emphasize this enough. This year’s hero medal goes to D.J. Fucho who rushed to get a replacement for a burned stereo amplifier at 2 A.M. (with still another four hours of party to go!) and had it all working again with barely a hitch. Amazing stuff.

Read on for the original evite.

[Update 5/6/2008]: Photos posted.

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Last night, sometime in the middle of the night, I very suddenly woke up and literally jumped out of bed. Then I slipped and fell on my butt. Got up and went back to sleep. I can’t remember what the hell it was that I was dreaming.

This morning, at work, I went to the kitchen on my floor to make some coffee. After a minute I realized I changed the filter, washed the pot, turned on the machine - but forgot to add the coffee, ending up with a pot full of hot water.

I can’t wait to see what happens the rest of the day.

Wonderful timing by big brother Jaco who got me a replacement for my old and battered Lego Darth Vader keychain to go with my new car keys.

At first, Lego Darth Vader lost his hand, which I thought was cool, you know, because it was like in the movie.

Then it lost both its legs, most of the chest paint, and the sharp angles of the helmet were reduced to… rounded angles. Suddenly it dissolved into thin air, leaving behind only the black cape (cue The Imperial March).

My new keychain is the lower ranking Lego Stormtrooper. Pretty cool. If you want to be more like me, get plastic surgery. For something less drastic you can get your own keychain at the Lego Shop.

A few hours ago, I sold my companion of countless adventures in the last six years: My beloved Focus (a.k.a El Tlacuache).

We went to countless unforgettable adventures together, like the time when I accidentally left a full gallon of orange juice after grocery shopping in the trunk, which decided to break and spill all over the back including the replacement tire one day at midnight. Good times indeed.

May you find care and love with your new owner Tweedledum, who can be seen in the back talking on the phone.

My good pal Meir Sasson stopped by in town last weekend for some work related thing. We were co-madrichim in CYJ, summer of 1997. We were in Las Vegas in the summer of 1998 and in the beginning of 1999, while in Jerusalem, he introduced me to the wonderful world of Sachlav for which I’m eternally grateful. He’s now older and wiser and looks like a serious person (but he’s still the same). It had been six years since I last saw him. Last weekend we mostly ate a lot. It was fun.

Who wouldn’t do business with this guy?

Last Saturday, Luis, Lola, Gabriel and myself went to the appropriately named town of San Marcos, TX in order to jump off a plane at 11,000 feet of altitude.

Four brave souls.

Unfortunately, my car decided to break on our way there, so we had to give up and turn around… for the moment.

“El Tlacuache” did not behave

Undeterred by the seemingly clear sign from above, we went again on Sunday. It was a little bit warmer than Saturday and very sunny. The people at Skydive San Marcos were awesome and we were up in the sky within the hour. Lloyd is the guy I was literally strapped on for my life. He very coolly explained and got me through the whole process.

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If you haven’t read the previous post, do so before you continue.

On top of the vertical blinds that cover the sliding door to the backyard, I see the furry beast in all its glory: this is the ugliest and biggest squirrel I’ve ever seen (and will be referred to as Brutus the Squirrel from now on). I slowly drop the bag full of deadly rat traps and grab a broom (and my camera, of course). My plan is to get to the sliding door itself, only a few feet away from the monster, and slide the door open so as to give it an escape route. Then, help him choose the escape route by using the broom as the instrument of persuasion.

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I walk into my house from work this afternoon, through the laundry room which has a door to the garage. I notice something amiss: the little door to the water heater is open. Upon further inspection I see the piece of insulating foam that sits between the water heater’s chimney going up into the attic fell and pushed the door open.

“That’s odd”, I think.

As I walk into the living room, I could swear I heard something in the kitchen. Something. I go there, I look around and I see nothing.

“That’s odd”, I think again.

I spend the next few hours in the living room, watching TV, reading the news. Sitting next to the kitchen. No noises, no problems at all. Time to take a nap.

The phone wakes me up a couple of hours later. Then I hear some noises again: in the kitchen, then the vertical blinds in the living room (man how I hated having those in my room back in Riata), then I hear the distinct sound of little feet running around, the tiny claws hitting the pergo floor right outside my room. Clickity clack. Clickity clack. I must add it scared the sh*t out of me. I turn on the lights, put on shoes and open the door. And there it is. (more…)

I want to officially welcome my new housemate. Like Madonna, Cher, Beyoncé and Sting… she is simply known as “Totah”.

Check out the sheer amount of suitcases she brought. I think there’s a midget un one of them. I heard a voice coming out of it:

In any case… Welcome to Austin! Will be fun. My days of walking around naked are over… or are they? (Yes. They are.)

The A/C repair guy came today. Turns out the thingamajing in the watchamacallit needs to be replaced (for the educated: the 1/4 HP 110 V AC blower motor in the furnace). It’s expensive, but not iPhone-expensive. He’s coming back in the morning and that should be the end of it.In the meantime, the weather, which had been rainy and cloudy and relatively cool for the last two months and up until my A/C broke hit the relatively scorching 35 degrees today. So I stayed away from my house as long as I could. I stayed late at work. I went to Deep Eddy. I ate dinner out. I brought ice cream over to the Correas. Yes, I could sleep elsewhere, but I like it in my house with all my toys, even if I need to sleep naked and uncovered and hugging an electric fan (paparazzi, take note).

My air conditioning broke. This is hell. Brings back memories of summer at the kibbutz, except for the good parts.Will keep you posted as this develops.

Last night, my friends Pepe and Paty had their second child, a baby girl named Ana (not Dora, no matter how much I lobbied for it). Congratulations to the parents and to the older brother and long time drinking buddy Diego as well as to the rest of the family.Ana was born at 11:09 PM, with perfect timing: right after the U.S.A. VS Argentina matchand a the night before my trip to Houston to see The Police. She weighted 3.26 Kg. Everyone is healthy and happy, especially the mom who regains her mobility.

My next-door neighbor recently built this on her front yard:

click to enlarge

 I’m not sure what it is. My best guess so far is that it is a memorial monument commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Six Day War. Whatever it is, it makes it easier for people to find my house (”it’s the one by the trench”), so it is a welcome addition. I just hope that traffic in the block won’t increase too much, you know, with all the tourists showing up and stuff.Do you have any guesses? Please comment.