are you a Dexter fan?

so I've been watching Dexter lately. I knew it was going to happen. It was inevitable. But I prolonged my obsession for it simply because I did not want to buy the DVDs or pay for Showtime.

The truth is that I was obsessed before even seeing a single episode. Why you might ask? Well it is simple really. He's a serial killer. And there is a whole show about him being a serial killer and living among you and me. How could that not spark a bit of your interest?


Now before you think that I am this crazy person that wants your blood, let me explain to you my interest.


When I was younger I lived in South Central LA. It definitely did not have the rep it has now, but it wasn't a walk in the park either. Occasionally we would hear rumors that some bum had taken residency in the closest abandoned apartment. And at the time we did not understand why all sorts of people constantly came in and out of one apartment. Can one person really have that many friends? I now know that is what you call a crack house.

Anywho - there was a point to all of this - one night while I slept on the roll out bed that I shared with my older sister (her on one end, me on another), someone tried to break into our apartment. Our apartments were one-story with no bars on the windows, so they were easy access to anyone and everyone. My sister and I slept in the living room because my mom, step dad and newborn sister slept in the room. It was summer time and since I was blessed with asthma I slept with my head to the window.
Of course, this would be the point of entry for our intruder. So there I was sleeping. And there he was cutting a hole on the screen of that window big enough for him to crawl in. He didn't know that he was in for a surprise. I didn't either.
He put his hands on each side of my head and started crawling in. This is when I decided to wake up and stare right into his face. Now keep in mind, I am only 7 years old so of course I did what any other 7 year old would do - scream bloody murder. The guy panicked, grabbed the pocket knife he had in his hand and backed out. My step dad ran out of the room in his boxers with a machete and rushed toward the door. He had caught a glimpse of what was going on.
My mom comes running after him with my little sister, Banani in her arms.
I was curled up next to my older sister on the other side of the bed waiting.
After about 5 minutes my step dad came back and told us the guy had disappeared. This is when the interrogation began - no, not from the police. My family did not bother calling them. The questions came pouring in from my mom and sister and the neighbors my screaming had woken up... what did he look like? I described a Hispanic male. Thin. I could see his cheekbones. Dark, kind of long, wavy hair. Dark eyes. His nose stuck out and his breath smelled bad. My step dad said that he was fairly tall, but had only seen his back.
After that, our bed was moved into their room and the screen was replaced - no bars added.

One day after school, I came home to the news being played on the television. They had caught the Night Stalker - Richard Ramirez. As they reported his capture, they started to show his booking picture and I realized that was him. He was the one that had crawled into our apartment and had stared me down. I told no one.

Keep in mind that I was only 7 years old at the time. So there is a huge possibility that my mind associated him as my intruder because of what I heard about him and what he had done. There is also a possibility that it was him. I did live in the area that he roamed. Whichever way, I did not fear him. Instead it made me wonder why he would do the things that he was doing. This is where my interest came about. My interest started with him at that age, and it expanded to others after a while. I was curious to find out who these people were. Not what they had done, but who they were before that time.

This also started a routine in my life that I follow on a nightly basis - all doors must be closed. My closets, bathroom, and bedroom doors have to be closed or else I will not sleep. Mr. Tortilla Face thinks I am weird because of this. What he doesn't know is that my older sister has this same routine.

This is why Dexter was so interesting to me. I wanted to see how they would portray a serial killer to society through a show. And let me tell you - awesome show. Season 3 is kind of dragging, but it is a good show nevertheless. Mr. Tortilla Face now watches the show with me and thinks that because they are both white that he can be like Dexter too. Silly Tortilla Face. He can't even kill the crickets that sneak into our living room.

Oh but don't worry. I was not left with a complex. I am not on the verge of murdering Mr. Tortilla Face. Even though he constantly tells me that I will end up on Snapped. What he doesn't know is that I love the little effer too much, plus I can't stand the sight of blood. I'm a wimp when they are drawing my blood.

enjoy the silence
-Cin