The nerve!

It has come to be quite a surprise that while our society is opening-up and fighting hard to include women as equals in most aspects of modern life, we have forgotten one important thing that sets us apart from the boys: our period.

Because of this I think that now is the time to take a stand against male bosses around the world... specially that kind that tells you that you're not getting paid for the month 'because you did too much thesis-work' or give you penalties for taking your first vacation in three years. How dare they drop such news on you exactly when you are PMS'ing?

Women of the workforce, nay, of the world: unite against male bosses that only have blatant disregard for your womanly cycle!

There is no justice in the world.

Clouds

I think the world is a harsh place. Its hard, the people are not nice and life never turns out the way you think it will be. Sometimes, we just need a little self-imposed magic, a self-imposed naïve way of thinking that everything will be alright, that there is a rainbow with a big pot of gold at the end of what we are doing.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, maybe there is no rainbow. Maybe my being naïve is not self imposed at all... but maybe believing or thinking that way that is a good thing. Is that wrong? I know the pitfalls, I know the errors and still I choose to make them, so that I feel happier. Maybe I'm just chasing clouds and are doomed never to catch them.

one, two, three... ok... four will do it -for now

The way I see it, the world in going down the proverbial crapper. Earth has some serious issues (most of which originate directly from humans, but some from the methane that comes from cow-done -love the fundamentalist Christian folk that came up with that one!) like the economy, wars, over population, incurable illnesses and disease, and global warming.

I do believe in global warming, and I do believe its mostly a bad thing. The only thing that keeps it from being a completely bad thing is my selfish and unhealthy attachment to mangoes. It just so happens that when I was a little girl mango season would start around my birthday (March 22) but this year it started in early January... nothing wrong with that...

So its not that I don't feel bad for the poor little polar bears, the sad penguins and the plants that are burned every day in the amazonian region... its that today I sat down with three mangoes and had them for lunch, and then proceeded to get a fourth one. So world, I'm sorry but I refuse to feel guilty for an 8 month mango season.

NYC baby! -and an extra day to boot!

I keep hearing people taking these so-called 'vacations' that apparently involve having 'free time' to 'not work'. Those things sound fan-freaking-tastic, uh? Well,I haven't had one of those since I graduated from college back in the summer of 2004.

In a very impulsive move with my friend, we decided I should take some time off... and go visit said friend to New York. We found a great ticket and it all fell into place so we bought it. All that was left was actually telling my boss that I would not be working for a week. So two weeks after we got the ticket I finally got the nerve to tell him. What did he say? 'Good! its healthy to take time off!'.

So, not only do I have 'free time' to goof around in NYC and upstate, but I just noticed that I got my ticket for a day earlier than I thought... so I gots me an extra day of vacations! (that was a huge mistake and I'm blaming it on Mercury's retrograde... but heck, a great mistake, uh?)

This is what my name sounds like

A while ago I found out my name is a famous song from the US Civil War. Its kind of interesting how these things come to be...

So, after I found out about it I googled the lyrics but never thought to look for the actual song. So here, for you, this is what my name sounds like. I rather like it! :)



An these are the lyrics... in case you want to sing along!

The years creep slowly by, Lorena
The snow is on the grass again
The sun's low down the sky, Lorena
The frost gleams where the flowers have been
But the heart throbs on as warmly now
As when the summer days were nigh
Oh, the sun can never dip so low
A-down affection's cloudless sky.

A hundred months have passed, Lorena
Since last I held that hand in mine
And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena
Though mine beat faster far than thine
A hundred months...'twas flowery May
When up the hilly slope we climbed
To watch the dying of the day
And hear the distant church bells chime.

We loved each other then, Lorena
More than we ever dared to tell
And what we might have been, Lorena
Had but our loving prospered well
But then, 'tis past, the years have gone
I'll not call up their shadowy forms
I'll say to them, "Lost years, sleep on
Sleep on, nor heed life's pelting storms."

The story of the past, Lorena
Alas! I care not to repeat
The hopes that could not last, Lorena
They lived, but only lived to cheat
I would not cause e'en one regret
To rankle in your bosom now
"For if we try we may forget"
Were words of thine long years ago.

Yes, these were words of thine, Lorena
They are within my memory yet
They touched some tender chords, Lorena
Which thrill and tremble with regret
'Twas not the woman's heart which spoke
Thy heart was always true to me
A duty stern and piercing broke
The tie which linked my soul with thee.

It matters little now, Lorena
The past is in the eternal past
Our hearts will soon lie low, Lorena
Life's tide is ebbing out so fast
There is a future, oh, thank God!
Of life this is so small a part
'Tis dust to dust beneath the sod
But there, up there, 'tis heart to heart.

I can't believe it

So my car got broken into... 'broken' being the operative word as they shattered my driver side window. My poor Ford Fiesta looks sad and like she has no idea what's happening.

I wasn't mad when I first saw it... but as time passes I feel the sulfur rising. Someone broke into my property and had ample time to browse through my belongings. The worse part? After perusing through them they decided they didn't like anything so they left EVERYTHING.

I should be glad that all my stuff is still there but the fact that all I had in there were books (expensive, public health books in English), honey cookies and a couple of sweaters tells me a few things: the first one being that the idiots don't know how to read. Then... that they probably only eat crappy food, and finally that they don't like my fashion sense.

Well... I'd never!

Friends that are girls

One of the things I learned in 2008 is the importance of having friends... that are girls.

In these last twelve months I realized that surrounding yourself with caring, compassionate and understanding women makes you the same way. It softens you and makes you see the world in another light. I don't know why I didn't realize this sooner. Actually, I just realized it this week.

The last two weeks have been filled with girlfriends: some that live abroad where in town, others that are far away sent updates and chatted. The ones that are always around had time and opportunity so that we could open up and get to know each other a bit better. I talked about apples, boyfriends, kids, university and drank wine, tea and juice while we lit candles, sat in rooms with pretty flowers and had world class chocolate.

I just read a sappy book so know you all have to put up with my sappy 'I love you' to all my friends that had a beer in El Pilar, walked nine Antigua blocks, made rice for me and put up with me and my particular sense of humor (and moods) every day. I miss all of you.