Years ago I signed up to get Google news alerts for any mention of my hometown. Most of the time the “news” is about sports or an announcement from a community center. Actual “real news” is rare, but when it happens it immediately makes me reach out to my family.

Yesterday “real news” popped up in my inbox.

Overheard statement leads to lockdown, search at Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights

HACIENDA HEIGHTS – School police and sheriff’s deputies found nothing suspicious as they searched Los Altos High School Wednesday after a student reported overhearing other students possibly talking about a gun in a campus bathroom.

The incident began about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday at the school…

“A student who was in one of the restrooms overheard two other students that were in one of the bathroom stalls saying, ‘it’s loaded,'” the lieutenant said. The student did not report seeing a gun.

The student reported the incident to administrators, who then checked the bathroom but found no one inside, Sotelo said.

Sheriff’s deputies assisted officers from the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District in locking down the school and looking for the student who made the alarming statement, as well as any weapon on campus, Sotelo said.

[Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune]

My first thought was “Oh, shit! That’s where my mom works.”

Naturally, I freaked out a little. I called my dad thinking mom might have checked in with him. He sounded too cheery and normal. I told him about the lockdown and he immediately hung up with me to get ahold of mom.

A few moments later dad got back to me. Thankfully, mom was okay as were her students. Almost as soon as I hung up with dad, mom called to check in.

She told me the students were getting antsy and uncomfortable not being able to get out to use the bathroom for a few hours. Their class was searched, but they didn’t really know what was going on. Later in the evening, I spoke to mom again. She was home after a longer than normal day thanks to the lockdown. Apparently, getting students picked up after a lockdown was a lengthy process as emergency contacts had to be verified.

I felt extremely grateful to hear that no one was hurt. More selfishly, I’m glad my mom was home last night and we could talk about mundane things like making tamales.

Sadly, I know there are lots of families who have been through something similar. Even worse, there are too many families who don’t know the feeling that everything is okay.

Tío Johnny passed away on Wednesday morning. These are the ways I’ll remember my uncle:

Playing guitar with dad at numerous parties and camping trips when I was young. Tía Susana even brought out the guitar so we could sing to him on Tuesday night. We sang his favorite Beatles songs as well hymns typically sung at funerals and wakes.

Playing guitar and jamming with the Marcianos — the band that formed out of their church youth group — at his 50th birthday party in 2005. Dad always said they called themselves Marcianos (Martians) because they “were out of this world.”

As the first person in the family to run the Los Angeles Marathon a couple of times. I remember thinking it was so cool. Dad displayed his brother’s finish line photo proudly in our home. During my first marathon, also LA, I got some strength thinking of tío Johnny and wanting to make him and Grandma and Grandpa proud.

At big and small Mosqueda family events for anniversaries, birthday parties and holidays.

Surrounded by a bunch of Marcianos (he’s in red, sitting in the center of the first row). I know they’ll all come out to sing for his services.

As devoted husband to tía Susana and father to their son, Johnny.

Cracking jokes and having a good time with his brothers.

I don’t have photos showing tío Johnny’s talent for massaging away aches and pains. He learned/inherited the gift from Grandpa Bartolo. I was lucky not to get injured much, but I know mom needed his help pretty often.

I definitely don’t have photos of what I’ll remember most. Whenever I saw tío Johnny he always asked, “What book are your reading now, mija?” I went from answering Babysitters Club books to educational theory books in grad school. I loved that he didn’t just think I was the bookworm in the corner.

Love you, tío Johnny. Rest in peace.

I’ve written before about my distaste for those pop-up Halloween store “Mexican” costumes. You know the kind, the ones with brightly colored sarapes, straw sombreros, and mustaches. The type that inspired the We’re a Culture, Not a Costume campaign.

Aside from the inherent ignorance and racism (considering the roots of such images) of such costumes the laziness also bugs me. You want to dress like a Mexican for Halloween? There are so many other options. Hell, you could go as George Romney. I heard he was born in Mexico, just like my dad!

Since 2007, I’ve modeled and featured creative and low-budget costumes. Some are based on Mexican and Chicano cultural icons. Some were based on scandals that year and have lost their humor. Anyway, if you need some last minute ideas, check out the list.

El Chapulín Colorado (or La Chapulina Colorada)

La Dama from La Lotería

Hairdresser on Fire (Morrissey inspired)

Mexican Calendar Girl

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“So, what’s new?”

I used to hate hearing that from friends. Well, it was one friend — more like ex-boyfriend — who would started conversations with that question.

What’s new with what? Can’t you be more specific?

Then there came a time when I hated the question simply because I didn’t have anything new to talk about. I was in the same city, same apartment, same graduate program, same part-time job, same relationship status, etc.

That’s changed recently. I left my graduate program*. I got a new job. My living situation will change. I’m getting married. There’s plenty of new in my life.

About the new job, it’s more new-ish than actually new. Since 2006 I’ve worked in a department that runs various undergraduate research programs for science students. In my half-time position, referred to previously as Job1, I was a coordinator for an academic support program for freshmen and sophomores. I loved working with [Program], but knew I couldn’t stay on if/when I left graduate school as the position is intended for a graduate student.

Leaving grad school became a lot easier when I was offered a full-time position in the same department/office. It was an easy to say yes to the job. Rather than go to a new company, university or even department I’m still in the same office just at a different desk. I’ll tangentially work with [Program], but the bulk of my job is managing research programs for upperclassmen. Even though I’ve been in this office for a while, I feel like the new kid as I attend various trainings and rely on co-workers to figure things out. At least it helps that I worked closely with the previous two people who held this position.

I’m grateful the timing worked out and that my boss thought I’d be a good fit for the position. I know the job market sucks right now; I’m lucky to have easily found something in my field and in a great work environment.

*Many thanks for the thoughtful and supportive comments on the graduate school post. It was a tough decision, but the support of friends, family and my Job1 supervisor made it much easier.