Best lines I've read in a blog in the last ... uhmm.. two days:

• "Peer pressure caused me to jump off a cliff. Sorry mum, you taught me nothing."

Written by Urban Cowgirl at Adventures of an Urban Cowgirl in answer to a MEME where you're supposed to write about 5 things that people don't know about you. In her case it was to bungee jump from a 109 m-high platform. Fun!

• "I've floated on the remark "Been there, done that" for some time now, but the notion that the moment is approaching when I can no longer say this bothers me. The truth is, I don't want to go."

Written by Donald Crowdies from Don To Earth. Don is a 93 year old blogger who lives in Canada; a recent stroke has made him reflect on his life, the things he still has left to do, and how close he is to his death.
Needless to say, Don's is a very good blog to follow.

• "Nostalgia has been running deep here since our visit to Grandma's farm so I thought I better make tapioca pudding (insert GROSS or YUM here -- I know tapioca feelings run deep. I love it.)"

Written at Happy Things, a delightful blog about a mom, her husband, and their child. BTW... I love -LOVE- tapioca too!

Guardando mi historia

Hoy dia mi instinto conservacionista me llevo a sacar un backup de todos los 150 posts de este blog.

Porque? - Pues los que planeamos no tener hijos, no plantamos arboles y no escribimos libros debemos dejar un poquito de nosotros en este mundo de otras formas creativas, no?

Asi que ahi esta!


Que lindo.


:)

On Christmas

Christmas 2006 was a special one for me. It was the first Christmas that I was celebrating in my own apartment, with my own family, the first dinner party I was going to host by myself, the first Christmas with a salary of my own to expend in presents, and the first one that I really I took in my charge to make very special, for several good reasons.

You see, my brother moved to the US just a few months ago, and this Christmas was the first he would be without Mom and Dad; then, on the other hand, my boyfriend and I have been away from home for so many years that the feeling of having an actual family member present to share an special occasion with has an enormous significance; and then, there is my friend, Ana, whom I met when I was in kindergarten and in spite of the years and the distance, is still here with all the memories, the good times, and all the fun - what can be more valuable than that?

So today at work, listening to NPR, this essay by Melinda Shoaf comes to my ears and in just a few minutes summarizes what I felt all the way through the holiday season: to make Christmas just right for the people I love.

I don't know if it was as perfect as I hoped it would be, but I did the best I could: We had bags of goodies to share with the friends, we had a nice Christmas tree that we put up early in December (and as of today, is still up!), we had well thought and elaborated presents for one another, we had Christmas songs (that three weeks later, we are still singing), we had Christmas stories and Christmas movies, we made cookies, suspiros, and pot roast chicken, and now that I look back, I know that I have some very unforgettable memories - and for what I've heard from my brother and boyfriend, they do too! - for which, I am very happy.

I know there were some imperfections, but who cares? I know that we'll always have next Christmas to make it even better, and hopefully the loved ones will often come back to keep sharing the good food, the good wine, and the good times.

And now, just so you know where all this Christmas remembrance came from, I leave you to Melinda Shoaf and her essay, Designated Celebrator.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Designated Celebrator

by Melinda Shoaf

I believe that if you're the person in your family who arranged for and executed the celebration this past holiday season, well, you're probably still tired. You may be wondering why you spent so much on presents, why you had to have your house just right, why you had friends over for drinks when you were already weary and worn out. You may be thinking that you're getting too old for all of this or you may be thinking you're too young.

If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably your family's Designated Celebrator -- that is, the one who sees to it that a holiday actually happens in the lives of your loved ones.

After New Year's, I was sitting at the breakfast table in a stupor. My husband asked if I was all right.

"I'm exhausted," I answered. "I'm totally exhausted."

He looked puzzled. "Why do you do this to yourself every year?"

I have to admit that part of what I do around the winter holidays seems almost involuntary, innate. It's as if I'm driven by the ancient need to mark the darkness of winter with my little bit of light.

My answer to my husband's question is that I believe one of the most important things I can do while I'm on this planet is honor those I love through celebrations, and the older I get, the more I believe it.

When my children were small, their father lost his job. It took a decade to recover emotionally and financially. Hot water and electricity were luxuries that weren't always available; meals were a challenge. I tried to hide it from them, but I was constantly afraid of losing our home. Those celebrations were so sparse, the future so uncertain, that the ground seemed to be shifting beneath us.

So now, celebrations mean that much more to me. This year, I polished the silver, lit the candles, made sure a sprig of holly was carefully tacked above every window; I served a $12 bottle of wine instead of a $7 one; I bought lamb chops instead of a roast -- little things, just so we'd remember this day, this night.

I believe that in this world there is and always has been so much sadness and sorrow, so much uncertainty, that if we didn't set aside time for merriment, gifts, music and laughter with family and friends, we might just forget to celebrate all together. We'd just plod along in life.

I believe in the importance of celebrations. As my family's Designated Celebrator I may be tired and I may not have done all that I set out to do, but I believe that this year, I celebrated the ones I love, and I hope with all my heart that I celebrated them well.

Primer post del 2007!

Y en fin, se acabaron las fiestas y se acabo el 2006 – Feliz Anio, por cierto!

Con esto de que ha llegado Enero de nuevo tambien ha llegado el primer aniversario de nuestro regreso a USA, y bueno, no tengo mas comentarios al respecto que decir: YA ME QUIERO IR DE AQUÍ!!!!

He tenido suficiente de esta ciudad y de este pais (por el momento), y ademas esto del sedentarismo no va bien conmigo. Necesito viajar, moverme, sentir esa emocion de empacar y desempacar, de hacer que mi vida alcance en una maleta y de aprender a llevar un panty y un cepillo de dientes a todo lado para quedarme en donde me agarra la noche.

Estoy sedienta de culturas nuevas, de colores diferentes, de climas variados, de sol!

Buffalo ha estado nublado por casi un mes, hoy dia salio un poquito de sol pero yo estaba encerrada en un edificio, trabajando, y apenas vi unos rayitos de luz entrar por la puerta y luego segui con lo mio – por cierto, “lo mio” últimamente se refiere a pasar frente a un computador respondiendo e-mails a Hong Kong, escribiendo protocolos para Guatemala, discutiendo costos con clientes locales, y leyendo el NY Times.

Al regresar a casa no tengo cerebro para mucho mas que no sea hacer suspiros (fotos en flickr), galletas (mas fotos en flickr), y deambular por las mismas paginas de Internet que veo todos los dias.

Si, estoy aburrida. Necesito un cambio urgente. No puedo ver mi vida irse en un trabajo, pero si me salgo de mi trabajo puedo morir de aburrimiento en este hueco en donde no hay nada que hacer.

Ya, ya … estoy tremendamente negativa. A que hora me hice asi? Pues siempre he sido super negativa, eso no es nada nuevo (desde chiquita mi Papa me revolvia el temperamento criticando mi negativismo, asi que me acuerdo bien que siempre he sido asi medio maligna). En fin, no me molesta tanto estar tan negativa, pero lo que si me molesta es el aburrimiento. Yo de aburrida hago webadas y me porto bien maldita, y solo el prospecto me preocupa, y de ahí se desenvuelve una bola gigante de aburrimiento, preocupación, stress y depre. Puf… que sombrias se ven las semanas que vienen!

En fin. Hablando del clima… fatal esta el clima por estos lares. Es la primera semana de enero y no hemos visto ni un poquito de nieve por aquí (primera vez en 129 anios que esto pasa!), asi que todo lo atribuimos al calentamiento global.

Dicen que si se re-calienta la tierra todo el hielo en la corona del mundo se va a derretir y luego chau civilización al norte del continente. Yo lo veia todo esto bien sombrio, sobre todo por que yo vivo super al norte y hay un magno descongelamiento pues puede suceder que yo marque calabera – nah! ignoremos este factor y digamos que yo sobrevivo por milagro. En fin, con el prospecto de millones de galones de agua inundando las ciudades, uno de mis amigos hizo el desinteresado comentario: se imaginan lo fenomenal que va a ser busear por aquí?!?! Y yo que no habia pensando en eso, sino solamente en las millones de personas muertas, he tenido un absoluto levanton de animo! Que chévere seria esta nuevo hobby! Que lindo, busear por las calles desiertas de gente y solo habitadas por vida maritima …! Solo de imaginarme me pongo toda sonriente.

Pero ya, en serio, he decidido dejar de preocuparme por el calentamiento global. Desde mi punto de vista, estamos acabando con los recursos naturales de este planeta que nos van a mantener vivos a los humanos, y la verdad es que nosotros, como especie, vamos a desaparecer en algun momento sea lo que sea lo que se haga con el ambiente. Una vez muertos los humanos el planeta seguira aquí, vivito, por que eso si, no vamos a acabar con la vida, la vida sigue, la energia se recicla, y puede que los seres que estan vivos ahora no van a estar vivos en el futuro, pero y??? Que seria del mundo si tuvieramos aun tiranosaurios correteando por las ciudades? Es todo parte de la evolucion. Y al fin y al cabo, la contaminación es causada por materiales con los que la naturaleza mismo nos ha provisto.

(I know these few lines are going to come back and bite me – but what the hell)

Y ya pues. Me voy a comer.