Close Up and Personal: Faces in the Crowd

[kikibalt]

Nice pic of the grandkids, Frank!

Thanks Juan.

Frank

[Juan C Ayllon]

You're welcome, Frank.

[Juan C Ayllon]

On another note, my journalism instructor, Kevin Williams, who as I understand serves as editor of the Weekender section--not the Metro Section, as I earlier thought--also competes in bicycle racing and is supposed to be the fourth fastest in the nation.

And, if I'm not mistaken, this is a photo of him racing:

[Juan C Ayllon]

Yeah, that was Kevin Williams in the photo above, all right. Apparently, he came back this year after a four-year layoff to indulge the hobby he loves. Very cool!

By the way, it hit me today that, a week from today, I'll be turning 46 years old. And still single.

Sheesh.



Man, things are, um, looking kinda silly when my head turns over a gal like this one in the Toshiba laptop ad.

Singleness. It has its perks, but sometimes, sometimes, it's pretty frustrating.

Oh well...

[Juan C Ayllon]

The Examiner today just ran a story I wrote on Louis Schavie, a writer with A.L.S., AKA Lou Gehrig's disease, based out of Streamwood, Illinois.

I'll have to post it up in a week or two, with their permission.

I get a kick out of the fact that I'm getting paid for freelance stories. It was only several years ago that I started writing for the CBZ just so I could get free ringside seats.

Ha! Now, I'm taking classes in writing and getting published more.

Incredulously,


Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

Rick Ramos forwarded me these pics. Check them out at the link below:



Mia St. John visits the CBOE Link

Happy Friday,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Oh boy! I'm bad. Feigning shooting pics of the featured singer, I shot this photo of Michelle (left) and another lady sitting in the rear of the room.



Later, I played some jazz CDs in between sets of live entertainment, and I shot this pic of Andy, an acquaintance, talking with Michelle. Andy's mom was at the other side of the table facing the camera.

Moments later, I sent Michelle the first photo of her to her cell phone and she laughed.

After the coffee house event, Michelle joined sometimes CBZ photographer and friend Tom Glunz and I for a late night trip to the Continental restaurant in Wheeling, Illinois for a late night bite and some laughs.

On the way to the Continental, we stopped by Michelle's apartment, where she unlocked the back for her 15 year-old son. As we were pulling away, her son pulled up with some friends and their mom.

Noting that she was riding with two guys in a car, she said, "Oh boy, this doesn't look good!"

I had a flashback to Beavis and Butthead, as I envisioned what Michelle's son's friends might be saying: "Heh, heh. Heh, heh. Hey, your mom's a slut! Heh, heh! Heh, heh!" Of course, I didn't share this with Michelle, as I didn't want to get smacked.

Actually, she's quite the sweetheart and a cool friend.

Still feeling a little obnoxious a little later, I sent her the other photo of her with Andy to her cell, with the caption below saying "Hey Baby--."

She wasn't too amused.

Afterwards, we yucked it up as we tooled around the countryside in Tom's car, listening to one of Tom's "Counting Crows" CDs, some Van Morrison, Otis Redding, and other tunes. Tom has an amazing amount of trivia tucked into that head of his. I'm not surprised at how effective he is as a programmer.

All in all, it was a cool night hanging out with friends.

Anyways, it's off to bed!

Cheers,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Wow! I don't know about you, but this time change this is rough, especially after a late night out.

Ugh! I was slurping down the coffee at church, Michelle said she's taking a nap this afternoon, as did Tom later, when I called him up to do lunch (he goes to another church). I'm looking to do the same in a few minutes.

Guess we're not kids any more! Those late nights can leave one feeling jagged the next day. Sheesh.

Anyhoots, have a great afternoon!



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

I just posted up my review of the Rocky Balboa movie. You can read it at the link below:

Rocky Balboa Review Link

Cheers,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

Jill Diamond from the WBC sent me these pics. Check them out at the link below:

World Boxing Cares Event Link

Regards,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Celestino Caballero (right) and Ricardo Castillo square off in anticipation of their WBA Super Bantamweight Title match

Hey,

I thought you might enjoy the pics Dalia Duran sent me that she shot at the weigh-in for tonight's fights in Hollywood, Florida:

Dalia Duran Weigh-In Pics Link

Dalia Duran is the daughter of all-time great boxer, Roberto Duran.

Regards,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

I thought you might enjoy my latest fight report. It's perhaps one of my better written boxing report pieces. This one featured the Bronx's welterweight Jeffrey Resto:




Friday's Fight Report Link

Although the lighting conditions were poor--akin to shooting action shots in living room lighting conditions with no flash--the photos Eddie Solis shot for me turned out pretty well.

Regards,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

I also posted up this pic Eddie Solis shot of some of Chicago's boxers taking in Friday's fights. You might enjoy reading the tidbits I posted with it, which you can read at the link below:




From left to right: Jimmy Gonzalez, Kendall Gill, Rita Figueroa (AKA Fightgirl), David Diaz, Miguel Hernandez, Freddie Cuevas, Jorge Gonzalez, Jaime (Jimmy) Sandoval (the younger brother of Jesus Chavez), and an unidentified friend

Chi-Town Boxers Photo of the Day Link

[Juan C Ayllon]

And, what the heck, here's a snapshot of the ring card gals Eddie Solis shot before the fights started, ostensibly to make sure my Canon D20 EOS camera was working properly.



Funny, a lot of guys started lining up to see if their cameras were working, too...

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

One of my good friends sent me this belated birthday greeting. I think you'll get a kick out of his demented sense of humor....

Hi Juan,

Just wanted to say best wishes.....when we next get together in person I'll buy you a birthday beer. In the meantime, open up the attached image file for a picture of the present that I got for you!

Best,
Joseph

Ohhhh, boy!

[kikibalt]

Juan; I'm not trying to torture you!!

Frank

[kikibalt]

These two places are about 1/4 mile from my house.

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hi Frank,

Picture Homer Simpson drooling.



That's me right now.

Thanks, bud! I'll try and come out this summer and get my fill of In-N-Out Burgers, some oceanside action, and a tour up wine country.

Talk soon, my friend,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

This is how I kinda feel before taking my morning coffee, but perhaps a little grouchier:

[Enswell]

hey Juan: How often do they have boxing in Cicero?

Enswell

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hi Enswell,

Currently, boxing takes place in Cicero about once a month. Check our CBZ Newswire pages for updates, as I'm always posting Dominic Pesoli/8 Count's press releases when his PR guy, Bernie Bahrmasel, sends them out to me.

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/news

There's one coming up on April 13th, in fact. See the poster below:



Are you in the area often?

Regards,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey Enswell,

There's also an upcoming fight card on Saturday, April 7th in Peoria, Illinois. Check it out:



Upcoming Fight Card in Peoria Link

Do you do any writing?

Regards,



Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

My friend, Joseph, just bought a new bass. Check it out:




Joe's got a great touch on the keyboards and bass, and does some very interesting work with programming.

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

The band, "Uncle Boogie Pants" will be at Cabs tonight in Glen Ellyn, Illinois again tonight, starting around 10 PM. I'm planning on coming by sometime this evening to hang out and take some photos.

Please, stop by and say hello if you're in the area!

Regards,


Juan

[Juan C Ayllon]

Woo-hoo! Spring Break is about to start! And, I tell you what: It's as good a time to start as any!

Like a lot of my fellow teachers, I've been feeling burned out for the last several weeks.

[Juan C Ayllon]

I had a great time last night at Cabs, where the band, "Uncle Boogie Pants" played.

Dave Kinney, the harmonica player at right above, said that he talked with the owner of Relic magazine the other day. According to Dave, they're going to feature a piece of his in the upcoming June or July issue of Relic. If so, they may also use a photo or two of mine with that article.

We'll see...

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

Earlier this evening, I caught some minor league hockey action at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, where the Chicago Hounds beat the Rockford Gold 3-1.

The Hounds' goalie made an amazing 49 saves. Impressive.

I'm not a big hockey fan, but I was invited to join some singles. So, what the heck!

It was cool socializing and, all in all, it was kinda entertaining. Sort of.

Afterwards, I chatted on my cell with my friend, Michelle, who was exhausted from a day with her kids. She was relaxing and sipping some reisling on the couch.

Anyways...

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey,

My friend, Tom, and I got together and enjoyed the great weather driving his 1967 Mustang Fastback. I believe that was a GTO-A (?). Anyways, it had some pickup and that low, gutteral growl to it when Tom kicked in the power.

We drove down to a place called "The Continental" restaurant in Buffalo Grove just south of Dundee and Buffalo Grove Road.

I happened to shoot these pics afterwards before heading home.

[BDeskins]

I don't recall if I ever posted a photo of myself in the thread and didn't feel like going through all the pages to see if I had, so here is a rather recent photo. As to about myself...well most of you already know me so I won't go into that.

[Juan C Ayllon]

Hey Barry,

That's cool! I think you posted a photo of you with your dog lying on your chest about a year or two ago, but this photo gives us a better idea of what you look like.

How are things? Do you have any more articles you'd like to share with us on the CBZ Newswire?

Have a great day,



Juan