Viva Las Vegas and more

I might have mentioned before that end of the year is the most depressing time of the year, at least for me. I want to disappear December 18 and come back January 11. So this year we went to Las Vegas. I thought would be the perfect choice to forget Christmas and on top is warmer than where I been spending winter lately, covered in snow. Got a good deal on the Hotel+Flight. Stayed at MGM hotel and had a nice view from the window. Vegas is really nice at night. The lights take you to a different world, never sleeping one and full of lust. During the day is good too but the light outside doesn't match the luxury indoors. It is better to spend the day indoors, walking from one hotel to the other, from one shop to the others, from one place to eat to others. I really liked Bellagio's water show, I had goose bumps when they played "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" and then smooth it up with "Santa Baby". The food is really good practically anywhere. Had a lunch to a Volfgang Puck "Bar & Grill", tried the breakfast Buffet at Paris and Bellagio, had a Mexican dinner at Diego (at MGM) and I have to say the food was good. Went around shopping at a Outlet mall and then shops at Cesar's Palace and Venetian. High end stuff, lots of glitter everywhere, everything lust oriented, everything screaming "Show me the money". My friend kept reminding me "Act rich!" all the time :) Went to Hoover Dam, a real nice engineering wonder, something that makes Americans proud when it comes to building. Wanted to go to Area 51 and Grand Canyon but didn't make it. My daughter got a little cold but at least not so bad as to make us go to see an American doctor and get through all the trouble of being reimbursed from the insurance. I didn't get lucky with the weather. Was actually cold and rainy. No snow at least. I didn't get lucky to win any money either. I mean, I didn't play because I know I am not lucky at gambling anyway, but I was hopping my husband was and he managed to win a little that he lost it back again :)
Back to Canada, the entrance to the driveway at home was blocked by a small hill of frozen snow. We had to get the snow blower at 11:00 PM to actually get the car in our driveway. Nice welcome! And at the door was a box waiting for us. The first reminder that Christmas actually happened and there are gifts send our way for my daughter and I have to actually send gifts to people, eventho' I escaped to Vegas. I am late with gifts, I still have to do some shopping for some toys for kids and small things for some friends. I will be meeting a lot of friends on New Year and I will have to go there loaded with gifts. Agrrrr.. how can you actually, really-really-really ever escape from Christmas????


Another thing I had planned was the Nutcracker ballet at the "Four Seasons" center in Toronto. What a nice place, well architected and neatly done. There were so many little girls dressed in pretty dresses, with long hair done nicely and with the desire to be a ballerina in their eyes. You had to see how they would look at the ballerinas during the break, when they were signing booklets!! Before the show, they had Story time where a girl and a guy did a small theater about what the ballet will be about. I thought that was a good idea and kids seemed to like it. Was a nice show and I enjoyed it... except... the Sugar Plum Fairy!!! She is supposed to be one of the most beautiful, gracious, elegant, delicate figures in that show. The one that danced that role was stalky,sort of chubby, with very muscly and curvy legs that were screaming to me "I have worked a lot to be in this place, I have overworked, I have done whatever it takes to be in this role, I have pushed with my elbows, I have kicked with my feet, I have spit to faces and I have kissed asses, JUST to be in this role". She had no elegance, no fragility but technically she was good. I am not a ballerina and I do not pretend to be a ballet critic, but that choice of Sugar Plum Fairy was not in my taste. A lot of other ballerinas that danced in that show looked much nicer and could have done a better Sugar Plum Fairy. I had no problems with the Ice Queen, she matched my expectation and so did the Soldier... except when he was wearing those tight sort of pants. Man, They should do something to create a better fabric that will make those guys look decent and not so "Show off my stuff" when dancing in stage, in front of a lot of little girls with the dream to become ballerinas in their eyes.


To come back to the Season, I sent yesterday a "Happy New Year" email to a bunch of friends in my email list that I do not keep in touch often. Some of them actually replied. I found out that one of them now is married and has a little girl (must have been a quick Pregnant-Oh Shit-Marry Me- story), another one is in Philippines which makes me think he likes that place and he must be attracted by a girl there (in my opinion, they are pretty and give to the guys the feeling that they will obey and love then un-conditionally). Another one told me that she is still working on her PHD and now is getting critical because her mother-in-low thinks she will never finish it :)At the end, I think was a good email the one I send because made me get back in touch with all these friends that are in my heart and mind but I never get time to actually write or call them.


In between, I have been in touch with some friends that I see and talk almost everyday when I am in my normal work-home routine. One is coming with me along all the stores to find any deals on clothes but nothing is working out. Another one is in love from head to toe and I'm happy for him, seems like he is getting what he has been wishing for during the year. The other one is giving me philosophical lessons that are challenging the amateur psychiatrist inside me. Another one told me she passed an exam that I want to take and don't feel ready yet. I felt jealous about that but I was told that is not jealousy, just a push to make me want to pass that exam more. Another one is going to Cuba for New Years and I wish him a warmer weather than what I had to Vegas. Another one just got married with a doctor and seems very happy with her new life.
The World keeps spinning, people keep living, things keep happening. All we have is HOPE.†

What did I learn from 2008

Was not a bad year at the end, if I look at everything that happened. Not a great one either.
As a woman I keep being reminded that we must be pretty, hot, smart, interesting, strong, intuitive, fertile, creative, busy but still, sometimes being a little silly-stupid is much appreciated and nicely received.
As an employer I learned that upper management must be reminded once in a while who you are, especially when you are not working on the project that is the hot subject of the day.If you make a deal with one of these people, the deal is never signed in stone and is subject of changes (not necessary favorable to you) at any moment. Don't break you back for work.
As a wife I keep learning that marriage is a better deal for men.
As a mother I learn that although we love our kids to death, we do need time away from them for the sake of mind sanity.
As a sister I learned that brother is a man that tells you the truth without looking at your breast or take the connection one step further.
As a daughter I learned that I will always be the daughter, no matter how old I get.
As a friend ...hmmmm... this is tough....as a friend I have learned that I should not get too attached but still be a good friend that is there with heart and soul to give a hand or a smile. I should make myself easy detachable to protect myself from feeling empty or used or misunderstood.
As a fighter I learned that being only strong will break you and being only soft will press you.
As a writer I have learned that people like to change your stories and take them to places you didn't want to go, so stick with your story.
As a human I have learned that life is beautiful, colorful, surprising, hurtful, painful and all the rainbow colors in between.
After all I have learned, I feel empty for some weird reasons. I have met some awesome people that have done some great things and that makes me feel unfulfilled. I have met some sad people that I was not able to make smile with my junior psychiatrist skills and that challenges me. I have met some people that fight with shadows in their heads and do not see that life can offer more if they look in a different direction. At the end, we all deserve what we get, because we did something to make it come our way.
I will add here my favorite song and video for this year and wish you all Love and Joy.

Sayings

I have lost my muse lately. Nothing special has happened, just no push to be creative.

It just happened that I read a saying by Mae West:
It is not important how many men are in your life, but rather how much life is in your men.
For some reasons this hit me, it makes so much sense if you think about it. And I think is the same for the other gender too. I need to have around me people that have something to say, something to tell and show, something to teach me, something new that I haven't heard before. These are the people that trigger a spark on me, that make me want more of them. We live in a busy world and we can meet new people every day.Not all of them stay with us. They need to say something to attract us, they need to know something to intrigue us, they need to have imagination to make us dream, they need to have a life that we like to live. People like this are rare and if you find one, you stop looking for a while for others. Just a pretty face doesn't work. Just a genius doesn't work. Just a rich person doesn't work. Just being nice doesn't work. We need the whole package.

And then a friend of mine told me one day: "You don't like calm, you like to make waves". Didn't think of that before. I actually thought that I like things to be smooth and people be able to communicate calmly. But if I like the saying from Mae West, then maybe I do make waves. I make waves to keep my life colorful, interesting, daring. I am not in any sense promiscuous. But I love life, I hate routines, I love cool, I hate bullshit. If this means making waves, then I am a wave maker ...and also a Mermaid! At the end, someone has to ride that wave and is not gonna be Santa Claus!

I have heard some other sayings that are not so interesting but maybe you will find them educative:
- If you do not inherit anything from your parents, you start your life twice poorer than your parents
- The baby was so ugly that the mother kept the stork
- "If someone will kidnap me and your mother, who would you be more worried about?" -"The kidnappers!"
- I do not get married because I do not like having strangers in my house

Dilemmas

So, last Saturday, I spent 3 hours driving in car with two girl friends of mine that think is better to marry someone from your culture and country.
On Sunday, I spent about one hour with about 4 moms that had minimum 3 children and were very much pro home schooling, very in touch with what was going on around their kids school and what teachers and principals were able to do or not.

The way my friends brought the argument was kind of no brainier to think that with people that have the same culture you will not argue small things that are common sense and well understood from the way you are grown up. With someone from another culture you have to argue small things that might end up to a big fight. But I think we need to move out of our culture to get better and learn the best of both sides. Yes there are things to argue, everyone thinks that the way they do things is right but at one point both agree that everyone can bring something into the relation and that is not just wrong or right but it might be just two different ways of getting to the same point. For me, getting married with a guy from the same culture is like getting married with your father or brother. He will make you face the same issues that the man in your family made you face all your childhood. You will not be able to be who you are because they will frame you just like you have been framed before, in the name of the morals and what is supposed to be right from the culture point of view.

The way those moms argued was that in school your kids are not able to be who they are because they will have to follow rules set by teacher. These rules sometimes are archaic and do not make sense. Also, principals are not always able to control teachers and force control. While in a home school, you let your child develop in a natural way. Looks like this kind of schooling was the latest fashion now in Guelph to keep bored housewives wired to something interesting. Museums are open during the week and it is nice to visit them when there are not too crowded. Sometimes, you get together with other families that do home schooling and you can invite a teacher that will come to your house and explain science in a fun way for your kids. At the end they all agreed that it can't last for long and they all had their kids in school now. So the topic now was discussions about how principal and teachers behave, how capable are they and how is the communication with them. They have interviews with teachers very often, they go to school meetings, they sign petitions on what the school should do or they can even start an anti-petition for what school decided to do. Did I mentioned that they were all home stay moms? I can't disagree more with any of them. I was screaming inside during all the time and couldn't connect with any of them. They were in a different World and different dimension for me. But they all introduced themselves as intellectuals, with work experiences that had stopped once their kids needed attention and they all had more kids than I did. But what do I know about kids? I have only one 4 year old and I haven't been in Canadian schools to be able to argue how they function. Another thing that surprised me a lot was the fact that they seemed to be happy and in love with their husbands. I found that very fake because never before I have been with other married women who had no issues with how little their husbands did at home, or how much attention they put to work rather than home and kids. In my opinion, these are real women in real relations.

I asked my husband about both.
For the first one he laughed and said that I did right to marry a Canadian guy. It's good to mix things and be open. Maybe it would have been different with someone else for both of us but we can't find that out, now that we are together :)
For the second one he said he is pro home schooling and he would love it if I could do that. He thinks is a good thing for the kid and for the mother. Saying mother here because he doesn't think that the father can do that, only mothers :) Well .... there goes the argument :)



The point is that I felt that on both these cases I had a dilemma going on. I do not agree with the fact that only couples of the same culture have no problems and I am against home schooling. Am I right or are these other people right? The way they were talking and explaining things, made me feel very naive. You know, one day you feel strong, confident, able to handle everything and then something happens and makes you feel like a child that knows life only from books and movies but has no real experience. My 35-th birthday is around the corner but when will I grow up ?

What I did these last weeks

Since the last time I wrote here, I have taken 2 trainings, missed about 10 of my Karate classes, moved from heel-open shoes to winter shoes, felt like starving and then very full....lots have changed. Most of the things have changed because Fall is in full speed and the temperature is changing so fast that you can't refuse to accept that Winter is just around the corner. Actually, not far North from here, there was already 5cm of snow already.
My first training was from work and about Leadership. Was in a very nice hotel/resort, with very good food and I was in good company. The training was fun and I was myself in a lot of way, there was no need to lie or fake who I was and at the end, I found out that people like me for who I am. One thing I learned is to be more sophisticated and the tool I decided to use to do that is to keep my mouth shut more. Lately i find myself speaking a lot, something that I haven't done before. I have no idea why do I have this need to talk so much but I know I have to put it on leash.
The second training was not from work. I found it myself and I thought is a very good one to help me with the career change I want to do. I registered for the training to be in a place less than a kilometer from where I live bur because they didn't have enough people registered for that location, I had to actually go to Pennsylvania for that. I was the only Canadian in a class with 9 students and one teacher. The place was not good at all, especially if compared with the hotel from the previous training. The food was horrible, so bad that I almost starved. I went to buy some food I could eat and I got apples, carrots and some low calorie Granola bars. The low calorie on the bars was not done by removing the high calorie ingredients but by cutting the size of the bar. I meet some nice people with whom I hang around after classes. Things that made me think from that week were the fact they were all overweight and I felt thin like a ballerina for the first time in my life. Although they seemed to be average smart, they like Sarah Palin because "She is nice". I had to bite my tong to not start a conversation with them about her.
The bad thing about leaving for a while is that when you are back at work, you realize that the others have been working meanwhile and now you have to deal with 1000 unread messages in your mailbox.



One of the huge problems lately is the fact that the Economy is going down without any safety wire behind. This has affected my company as well by freezing on hiring. You would think this is ok as long as I still have a job. But on the other side, they go and buy a bundle of products from the competition and serve it to us as a good thing. I guess the company is doing well but there will be some people loosing their jobs.
At my work, every Halloween, we have a party and one of the things in the party is the Pumpkin carving competition. My team has been winning for the last 2 years and we are under a lot of pressure to win again so we are having meeting after meeting to decide on what is going to be and how can we realize that. You have no idea how much of technical skills you need for this competition. Let's hope we win again!
Tonight I meet a friend that doesn't live here but back home. She is here visiting. She started a conversation regarding couples that are from different countries and cultures. Another of my friends agreed with her. So both of them were under the impression that a couple that is made by people from different countries and cultures argue a lot about small things while couples from the same country and culture argue about important things. By this, it is better to be married with someone from your country. It might be true but I am not ok when it comes to marry guys from my country. Hmmmm.... I don't know. I remember a friend of mine (not from here) saying that girls from where he comes from are even better in bed (on top of being better in other things). Maybe we do want what is like us, even when it comes with problems.

To You

The song here is a love song, but I want to sing it to my daughter that tomorrow, at 7:14 am, will be 4 years old. It was after a long night under the sweet effect of the lovely Epidural, that she decided to finally come out, 9 days after the date that everyone was expecting her to show up. She didn't cry. 1 doctor and 3 nurses picked her up and I couldn't see what they were doing, I just remember telling my husband "Is not crying, is not crying". Must have been the most difficult 30 seconds of my life, until she cried. I cried too.

A TE (Jovanotti) A te che sei l’unico al mondo L’unica ragione per arrivare fino in fondo Ad ogni mio respiro Quando ti guardo Dopo un giorno pieno di parole Senza che tu mi dica niente Tutto si fa chiaro A te che mi hai trovato All’ angolo coi pugni chiusi Con le mie spalle contro il muro Pronto a difendermi Con gli occhi bassi Stavo in fila Con i disillusi Tu mi hai raccolto come un gatto E mi hai portato con te A te io canto una canzone Perche non ho altro Niente di meglio da offrirti Di tutto quello che ho Prendi il mio tempo E la magia Che con un solo salto Ci fa volare dentro all’aria Come bollicine A te che sei Semplicemente sei Sostanza dei giorni miei Sostanza dei giorni miei A te che sei il mio grande amore Ed il mio amore grande A te che hai preso la mia vita E ne hai fatto molto di più A te che hai dato senso al tempo Senza misurarlo A te che sei il mio amore grande Ed il mio grande amore A te che io Ti ho visto piangere nella mia mano Fragile che potevo ucciderti Stringendoti un po’ E poi ti ho visto Con la forza di un aeroplano Prendere in mano la tua vita E trascinarla in salvo A te che mi hai insegnato i sogni E l’arte dell’avventura A te che credi nel coraggio E anche nella paura A te che sei la miglior cosa Che mi sia successa A te che cambi tutti i giorni E resti sempre la stesso A te che sei Semplicemente sei Sostanza dei giorni miei Sostanza dei sogni miei A te che sei Essenzialmente sei Sostanza dei sogni miei Sostanza dei giorni miei A te che non ti piaci mai E sei una meraviglia Le forze della natura si concentrano in te Che sei una roccia sei una pianta sei un uragano Sei l’orizzonte che mi accoglie quando mi allontano A te che sei l’unico amico L’unico amore che vorrei Se io non ti avessi con me a te che hai reso la mia vita bella da morire, che riesci a render la fatica un' immenso piacere, a te che sei il mio grande amore ed il mio amore grande, a te che hai preso la mia vita e ne hai fatto molto di più, a te che hai dato senso al tempo senza misurarlo, a te che sei il mio amore grande ed il mio grande amore, a te che sei, semplicemente sei, sostanza dei giorni miei, sostanza dei sogni miei... e a te che sei, semplicemente sei, compagno dei giorni miei...sostanza dei giorni miei

TO YOU (Jovanotti) To you that are unique in the World The only reason to go to the end in every breath of mine When I see you after a day full of words without you saying anything all gets clear To you that have found me at the corner with closed fists With my shoulders against the wall Ready to defend myself With eyes looking down I was in line with the disappointed ones You picked me like a cat And took me with you To you I sing a song Because I have nothing better to give to you From everything I have take my time and the magic that with only one jump makes us fly in the air like bubbles To you that are Simply are The substance of my days The substance of my days To you that are my big love And the big love of mine To you that have taken my life And have done a lot more with it To you that have given meaning to time without measuring it To you that are my big love And the big love of mine To you that I have seen you crying in my hand Fragile that I could have killed you squeezing you a little bit And then I have seen you with the power of an airplane taking your life in your hands and move it where is safe To you that have taught me the dreams and the art of adventures To you that believe in courage and in the fear too To you that are the best thing that has happened to me To you that change all the days and stay always the same To you that are Simply are The substance of my days The substance of my dreams To you that are Essentially are The substance of my days The substance of my days To you that don’t like yourself But you are a miracle The powers of nature are inside you You are a rock, are a plant, Are a hurricane Are the horizon that invites me when I go away To you that are the only friend The only love I would want if I wouldn’t have you with me To you that have made my life so beautiful, that can make the fatigue be an immense pleasure, To you that are my big love And the big love of mine To you that have taken my life And have done a lot more with it To you that have given meaning to time Without measuring it To you that are my big love And the big love of mine To you that are Simply are The substance of my days The substance of my days To you that are Simply are The partner of my days The substance of my days

He says, She says

This German song, opened a discussion between a German friend of mine and myself. You can listen the song here and I hope you like the music. The words are translated below from him. The pictures are also from him. He told me that on the second and third picture, is the same guy but the pictures are taken in a 3 day time frame. Although the song gives the idea that the men are asked to fight in War, the idea behind is that the men are asked to fight for everything related to them, their home and their family. The song is not asking a woman to do that which opens the discussion - Why only men are the ones that fight? He says men are the the strong ones, the ones that are able to make a decision fast and the decision that will save life or at least will make the smallest damage. He says woman are the ones that think, that cool down and that makes them not able to fight. I say there are women in the army as well. The World would benefit if there were more women in power because will bring calm and logic to the decisions that will be made. At the end we both agree that in general, men are physically strong but women are the ones with sharper mind.
World needs strong men but they must be able to control their strength. A sharp knife that cuts a thin slice of bread is a good knife until it it put in our throat. Same with a strong man. Women are peace and logic. If I have to find a comparison with the knife, woman are like the sword of a Samurai that comes out only when necessary.
Well, here is the song, I'll leave it up to you to decide.

Xavier Naidoo Alle Männer müssen kämpfen Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen sagten sie mir Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen Das sag ich nur Dir. Viele Menschen werden sterben. Und ich bet ich wär nicht dabei Viele Männer werden sterben Und wenn's mich trifft hoff ich Du verzeihst Keiner weiss wer die Schlacht gewinnt Pass gut auf Dich auf und auf das ungeborene Kind Ich weiss noch nicht ob ich Dich wieder seh Auch weiss ich nicht, ob ich im Kampf besteh Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen sagten sie mir Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen Das sag ich nur Dir. Viele Menschen werden sterben. Und ich bet ich wär nicht dabei Viele Männer werden sterben Und wenn's mich trifft hoff ich Du verzeihst Ich warte Hier bis Du wiederkehrst Ich Glaube fest, dass Du Dich dem tod verwehrst Du wirst dein kind in meinen Armen sehen Denn Ich glaube fest, dass wir das überstehen Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen sagten sie mir Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen Das sag ich nur Dir. Viele Menschen werden sterben. Und ich bet ich wär nicht dabei Viele Männer werden sterben Und wenn's mich trifft hoff ich Du verzeihst Ich seh Dich an und ich glaub daran der krieg ist vorbei, ihrgendwann dann kehre ich wieder heim zu Frau und Kind Ich fände Euch, wär ich auch Taub und Blind Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen sagten sie mir Alle Männer müssen Kämpfen Das sag ich nur Dir. Viele Menschen werden sterben. Und ich bet ich wär nicht dabei Viele Männer werden sterben Und wenn's mich trifft hoff ich Du verzeihst Viele Männer werden sterben Ich muss Dich wiedersehen, ich muss dich wiedersehen. Der Krieg ist vorbei

Xavier Naidoo All men must fight (translated by Uwe) All men must fight they said to me “All men must fight” that is what I say now to you. Many humans will die and I do pray that I am not amongst the dead. Many men will die and if I will die I hope you will forgive. Nobody knows who wins the battle. Take care for you and on the unborn child. I do not know yet whether I see you again Also I do not know if I can survive the battle. All men must fight they said to me “All men must fight” that is what I say now to you. Many humans will die and I do pray that I am not amongst the dead. Many men will die and if I will die I hope you will forgive. (female voice) I wait here to you return I faith firmly, that you refuse yourself from death. You will see your child in my arms because I believe firmly that we get over that all. All men must fight they said to me “All men must fight” that is what I say now to you. Many humans will die and I do pray that I am not amongst the dead. Many men will die and if I will die I hope you will forgive. I see into your eyes and I believe that the war is past; sometimes you will turn again home to woman and child. I would find you, even when I would be deaf and blind. All men must fight they said to me “All men must fight” that is what I say now to you. Many humans will die and I do pray that I am not amongst the dead. Many men will die and if I will die I hope you will forgive. Many men will die. I have to see you again. I have to see you again The war is over

Leadership in Agenda

So again back to that show I watch once in a while, The Agenda. Today was Joseph Nye, a professor at Harvard University, and author of Powers to Lead.



There is some pages of the book where you will get hooked at the book. Find them here.
Was interesting guy, i liked how he spoke and the tone of his voice. Here a quick resume of the interview:

Great leaders are developed more than born.
Churchill was not a good leader until the war started so he got on top in the right context. If he had died earlier than the war, he wouldn't have gone down in history as a great leader. After war he was voted out because he was not the best leader to build the new England
Hitler was a good leader in the first decade but a bad person, so being a good or bad leader doesn't necessarily means they are good or bad people.
Bush is a decisioning decisive leader and if he keeps being decisive in the wrong direction he keeps making wrong decisions
Japanese leaders are not charismatics leaders and US and Canada leader are more and try more to be emotional. They must be able to reach out people, touch different levels of people and classes, have emotional intelligence
Now days we have mix leaders, old fashion (Zimbabwe) that give order and all follow, or the new type of giving order and cascade down
Best example of a leader today is Tony Blair, he draw people and rejuvenated his Party
Obama is good at that but maybe not sufficient to win elections
Leader is distributed in Democratic society, local schools, Party, reach out others, empower others and this is the kind of the leader now. Same in business :I'll give the order and you follow : is not sufficient anymore.
Contextual intelligence is important
The most disappointing leader is Nixon failed with emotional intelligence, was ahead of his time but no emotional intelligence, talks with kids and different people
If people will disagree with a leader, but he is able to work and reach them out, they might listen to him
Obama and McKain: who has better leader skills? - We don't know yet how can they lead large organizations, they come from different backgrounds and have made their way in different strategies
Obama has the ability to speak and reach out , he had the best speech in race since Luther King days. McKain can't give a speech to save his life

Just a song I had in mind today

Anyone that has listen a little bit of Italian music, knows who Adriano Celentano is. He had a nice album some years ago and this song just got stuck in me. I had it in my mind today and I though I can share it with you. He is handsome like a monkey but I love him :) Hope you like it too.

Gelosia Adriano Celentano Non ho nessuno a parte te che mi ha tradito come sai io mi sento un'auto che non ha, non ha più il motore e mi sento un uomo che vivrà, nel suo dolore nel dolore solo nel suo dolore ormai. Eppur mi sento forte, sai sarà perché non odio mai di certo non dovrei soffrir così, così inutilmente solamente perché hai detto un si stupidamente, stupidamente con il cervello assente. Amica mia, quanto costa una bugia un dolore che dividiamo in due, tra noi la gelosia quando arriva non va più via col silenzio tu mi rispondi che, col tuo pianto tu mi rispondi che coi tuoi occhi tu mi rispondi che lo sai. La gelosia più la scacci e più l'avrai tu eri mia di chi sei più no lo sai complicità ma che gran valore ha, sincerità che fortuna chi ce l'ha. E' qui il serpente, è arrivato è qui seduto in mezzo a noi lui ti mangia il cuore come fosse un pomodoro così diventi pazzo tu o come un toro come un toro purtroppo non ragioni più. Amica mia, quanto costa una bugia un dolore che dividiamo In due, tra noi la gelosia quando arriva non va più via col silenzio tu mi rispondi che, col tuo pianto tu mi rispondi che coi tuoi occhi tu mi rispondi che lo sai. La gelosia più la scacci e più l'avrai tu eri mia di chi sei più non lo sai complicità ma che gran valore ha, sincerità che fortuna chi ce l'ha.

Jealousy Adriano Celentano Don't know anyone else that has betrayed me like you I feel like a car that doesn't have doesn't have the engine anymore and I feel like a man that will live, in his pain in pain only on his pain from now on. But, you know, I feel strong it is because I never hate off course I don't have to suffer like this, uselessly like this only because you said a yes stupidly, stupidly, with an empty brain. My friend, how much costs a lie a pain that we share in two, between us the jealousy when arrives doesn't go away with silence you tell me that, with your cry you tell me that with your eyes you tell me that you know. The jealousy the more you kick it the more you have it you were mine don't know of whom you are now complicity what a great value has, sincerity how lucky who has it. The snake is here, has arrived and is sitting between us eats your heart like it was a tomato and so you become crazy and like a bull unfortunately can't use reason anymore. My friend, how much costs a lie a pain that we share in two, between us the jealousy when arrives doesn't go away with silence you tell me that, with your cry you tell me that with your eyes you tell me that you know. The jealousy the more you kick it the more you have it you were mine don't know of whom you are now complicity what a great value has, sincerity how lucky who has it.

Todler humor

Real story 1
My daughter now has all under control. We go to the store, pick up what we want, mom pays somehow and we bring things home. So one day she was looking at the ceiling fan.
L- Mommy what is that?
M- A fan, makes it cooler when it's hot.
L- Did grandma buy that?
M- No, actually was there when we bought the house.
L- Mommy, did you buy the house?
M- Yes.
L- Mommy, was the house heavy?

Real story 2
My brother had a small ice cream for my daughter.
B- If you want this ice cream, you have to kiss me
L- (Giggling) Why?
B- This is how I make the girls kiss me, I give them ice cream.
She went, kissed him, took the ice cream, started eating it and...
L- So mommy, when we want the guys to kiss us, we give them lollipops, right?

Real story 3
One night, I found a piece of old bread in her room. The closest place to through it was the toilet and that's what I did, but didn't flush. Next morning, she wakes up and goes to pee-pee. Right after she comes all excited and wakes me up
L- Mommy, mommy... come and see this
M- (Still eyes closed) What is it?
L- There is bread coming out of my bum!!

My Italian trip

My aunt lives in Milano and I had made plans to spent 3 days there and shop till I drop. When I talked with her son to plan my trip there, he told me that as a surprise, he had booked a hotel in the middle of the mountains in the border with Austria.
I kept my hopes open thinking that there might be a city close to the hotel where I could go and spent time shopping. But in reality, my cousins picked us up from the airport, drove for 3 hours, about 30 minutes was around a mountain and the car was not happy at all getting there. We went 1732 Km up the sea level, there was no cell phone reception, the house were we stayed was wired using a solar panel, the lake was gorgeous but cold.


There were maybe about 50 people there all together but my cousins said "Even less would have been better". For three days i was trapped there, did a little bit of Sun bath , some rumors about the cousins that were not there, small talk about our personal lives, ate a lot good food and rested.

After leaving that place, went to Milano taking the out-ring to avoid the traffic, had a shower and lunch at my aunt, visted my uncle for 30 minutes and left to catch the plain for Paris.
Was nice to see my aunt. Last time I was in Milano I had no intention to shop, I just visited around the mandatory places to go when you are there. This time I had full intention to shop but just didn't work. Still, Milano is not a place I would like to live so no surprises there.
In this small little trip I did see one car like mine in Italy!
Off course, even on top of the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, if you are in Italy, Ave Maria is with you. Here is the picture of a little church 1732 Km above sea level.

And Paris

Hmm Paris! So much movies and stories and songs that had made Paris the city of love and dreams for me. Because of this, I think I had the bar of expectations too high.
(You have all seen Eiffel Tower from all angles but this is a picture of it from under)

The hotel I had booked was bad and a little far from the center. I had to take the Metro for 30 minutes to get downtown. For 2 days I was there, the weather played with my feelings. Just when I wanted to stop and walk around a nice neighborhood, the rain would start and ruin the whole plan. On top of all this, people in Paris are very un-friendly and speak only French. Thank God I knew a little French and I made it to survive because with English you can't even find the bathroom there. The driver of a tourist guide bus refused to speak any work in English, only French. Agrrrrrr, so arrogant and annoying!
Now don't get me wrong, Paris is beautiful! The buildings are just gorgeous and everywhere you look is history, art and care for beauty. I went on top of the Eiffel tower and was really nice. I happened to be there when the bells of Notre Dame de Paris where ringing. Sorry about the quality, but I was on a moving double deck bus and the wind messes up the sound for a while.

It was raining when the tour bus went close to Moulin Rouge so I didn't stop.
I stopped for one hour to some stores at Champs Elise and bought some clothes but nothing to be proud of. The World capital of size petite had nothing but size medium and up, up to XL for woman!
In short, a lot of things went wrong for me in Paris so even thought I was in love with Paris, I found out that Paris doesn't love me and it broke my heart. I do not want to live there and I do not see my self as part of that city. Everyone I know tells me that the rest of the France is not like that and Parisiens create that bad image for all the French people. Probablement c'est vrais!
(This is the latest bridge of Paris, Charles de Gaule, like there are not enough places under his name already!)

One night at the TV, I watched a movie of Luis De Fune. Brought back memories from when I was a child and those were movies we could watch on the communist TV after they were modified for us. The funny thing was that my daughter laughed like silly with him as well. I guess a good-easy movie is good-easy at any time :)
I did not see any car like mine in Paris. It was expectable because was full of those ugly Renaults that look like the hats of French police men.
(A side of Paris from the top of Eiffel tower)

Berlin,Berlin

Ah! What a nice place! There is so much history in every corner. Everywhere there is the distinction between East and West, Russians and Americans. People are very friendly and like to practice their English with you at any chance they get. I met about three people that have been in Canada before for different reasons and they all had good memories about it, which made me be a special visitor. A guy that was riding velo-cycles told me he was in Canada for 2 years and started pedaling very slow so he could talk longer :)
It helps to have friends that live in a city you travel. A friend of mine told me before hand where the right place for a hotel would be, where the nice places to go were and then also some night life from the city.
(The picture here is what they call Victoria, the Fat Lady of the town, foot size 93)
I stayed there 3 days and 3 nights. First day took a tourist bus that went all around the East and West. Changed the guide 3 times and each of them gave different flavor to the tour. One of them was simple and just explained what the buildings around were. The other must have been from the East because she was sort of angry about West. But she was well informed about the prices of everything that was being constructed or re-constructed. Here she is in this picture with mic on her hand while we are getting to the Gendarmenmarkt.
And believe you me, there was so much under construction there, unbelievable. The third guide was very patriotic. He said that he had shed a tier when in a train he found himself divided by a glass door from the first Class passengers. Also, he had all the ironic jokes about politicians and Obama that visited Berlin just one day before me.
(The picture here is the German White House. When the flag is up, Angela is in the house)
For tourist entertainment, there were a lot of people painted up in shiny colors that would stay like sculptures and move only when you get close. Typical of big cities. Here a picture of some tired soldiers eating McDonalds and chatting with a tourist :)
On the second day I visited Potsdam. What a lovely little town! If there is a place in the World where I would like to live, would be that one. So cute, so charming, with so much history, with so much art... just lovely! It was first build to be the place where Prussian Emperors wanted to spent their summer. Not in Berlin but yet close to it. All of them brought there something from their hobbies and desires. There was a part that looked like Tuscany, a Dutch neighborhood, wood barakes where Russian singers used to live, a copy of a Scottish castle, Dutch wind mill. There was the Cecilian palace where the fate of Second World War was discussed (Potsdam Conference) and Truman was telegraphed of having a son. One of the Kings wanted to have fresh fruits every day so he planted a lot of trees and vineyards. Sanssouci palace is just gorgeous! One of the Emperors had build a decoration monument on top of a Dom. There were three naked woman on their back representing the Empress of Austria, the Queen of France and the Empress of Russia. They were all positioned in a way so they were showing their naked bum to their own countries. What a funny Emperor!
(This picture is Potsdam's version of Branderburg Gate, build only 20 years after the original one in Berlin)
There was also the Forbidden city where the head of KGB used to be and nobody knew what went on there. The walls were painted white and the prisoners were dressed in black so they were visible if decided to escape. The Wall used to be just by the river side and nobody could see the river. There was a heavy bridge and that was where Americans and Russians used to exchange the spies. Here a picture of the bridge, sorry, not a good one!

In short, lovely little town!
On the third day I took a tour with a boat around the river Spree. Nice but was only in German so can't say I learned a lot from it. But went behind some buildings hat looked very pretty from the front and just normal from the back. We counted 47 bridges going on. Here is a picture of some live-in boats in the river.

I had very little time to shop there but my hotel was very close to a big mall, KaDeWe. I had only one hour to shop there and I bought the only thing that I am proud to show off from this European trip. Is a HugoBoss shirt with an edge! Not so lucky with shoes! Those people are very tall and the cool shoes were flat, while I have the other problem (short and need high hills). I also went to a couple of bars, one of them by the river and my feet were in sand. Was in the Possessed district, a part of the city where artists took over the houses and refused to pay. They fought with police and continued to make their crazy art. Still, there was art made out of pieces of iron.
During all the time I was there, the weather was nice and warm. The hotel was good and I got it for half price deal. Trains were well organized. People friendly and good with English. In short, I liked Berlin and Berlin liked me. I believe that when you visit a place and things go right at the beginning, things will go right for a long time. From this idea, I would say that Berlin is a city I can live with pleasure :)
(This is a picture of a part of the Berlin Library, a very modern building)

I did see 2 cars like mine in Berlin :) 4 in general in Germany! A lot of BMW and Mercedes and Audis. Nice to see good cars. One nice thing in Germany is that radio stations have good decent music. I just ended up hearing some old songs, Italian, French and English ones that you do not hear in any Canadian radio.

Summer trip

For the last 3 weeks I've been on a trip to Europe. Last time I was there was 3 years ago so I needed the European shot on my blood to keep me going. This time family decided to get together at my brother's place in Germany. I have been there before and had no interest whatsoever to spent my all vacation there so I made it clear right from beginning that I will move around. Good girl as I am, I did spend some time with the family anyway, but I did also travel around. I went to Berlin, Lago Rosso (Italy) and Paris. I will write a blog for each of these trips and I will tell more about each. I do have tons of pictures from all the places I have been but I will pick only one for each trip.
In general, after visiting all these places I have learned:
1-Germans like Canadians
2-Even Italians that live on remote places in Italy, cook well
3-People in Paris are very un-friendly
4-You must visit Berlin before it becomes like Paris
I have traveled in airplanes, fast trains, subways, buses and cars. It is amazing how good the trains are in Europe. Here trains are like luxury. The other good thing is that trains are everywhere you go, close to airplanes, close to subways, close to other trains. So easy to use and so friendly in options. Love it! My daughter loved them too. Now she is an expert on trains. Which ones are supper fast and which ones are not so fast. Where does the garbage go, how do doors open, how does the small-tiny washrooms function, where do we put the big lugagges .... she knows them all.
There are some very cheap airlines within Europe that make the traveling so easy and affordable. The catch is that they use remote airports that have cheaper costs and taxes so the tickets are cheaper as well. I heard that there is a company doing the same in North America now but so far connects only 3 cities.
I was planning to do a lot of shopping but it just didn't work out very well. I bought very little stuff and no shoes!!! I am very disappointed about this, so much that I feel like planning another trip just for shopping and tell nobody that I am there so I don't have to visit any family and waste my shopping time wherever they plan to take me, which is usually away from stores I want to be.
Another thing I notices is that I keep being different from the rest of my family. I am very far from them in geographic and mental distance. Not sure if they are right or I am right but I have no hopes that my mom and dad will ever be content with me and my choices on life.

This picture is taken from Eifel tower. There was the distance of each capital city from there and I found mine :)

Back to songs

When I drive, I like to browse radio channels and stop when I hear a song I like. A couple of days ago I just happened to hear and Italian song by Tiziano Ferro that gave me goose bumps listening. So I went checking on youtube and found it. Listen here and below there are the lyrics in original (Italian) and my translation beside (English).
I also got the whole album where this song is "Nessuno e solo" and it is pretty good. I like "Stop!Dimentica", "E Raffaella e mia", "Baciano le donne". Cool guy :)


Tiziano Ferro: "Ed Ero Contentissimo"(And I was very happy)

Ora che sarai un po' sola Tra il lavoro e le lenzuola Presto dimmi tu come farai ? Ora che tutto va a caso Ora non sono più un peso Dimmi quali scuse inventerai ? Inventerai che non hai tempo Inventerai che tutto è spento Inventerai che ora ti ami un po' di più Inventerai che ora sei forte E chiuderai tutte le porte Ridendo troverai una scusa Una in più.. Ed ero contentissimo in ritardo sotto casa ed io che ti aspettavo Stringimi la mano e poi partiamo... In fondo eri contentissima quando guardando Amsterdam non ti importava della pioggia che cadeva... solo una candela era bellissima e il ricordo del ricordo che ci suggeriva che comunque tardi o prima ti dirò che ero contentissimo ma non te l'ho mai detto che chiedevo Dio ancora Ancora Ancora Qualche cosa ti consola Con gli amici il tempo vola Ma qualcosa che non torna c' è C' è che ho freddo e non mi copro C' è che tanto prima o dopo Convincendoti ci crederai Ci crederai che fa più caldo Da quando non mi hai ormai più accanto E forse è meglio perché sorridi un po' di po' di più un po' di più... Ed ero contentissimo in ritardo sotto casa ed io che ti aspettavo Stringimi la mano e poi partiamo... In fondo eri contentissima quando guardando Amsterdam non ti importava della pioggia che cadeva... solo una candela era bellissima e il ricordo del ricordo che ci suggeriva che comunque tardi o prima ti dirò che ero contentissimo ma non te l'ho mai detto che chiedevo Dio ancora Ancora Ancora Ancora E il mio ricordo ti verrà a trovare quando starai troppo male Quando invece starai bene resterò a guardare Perché ciò che ho sempre chiesto al cielo È che questa vita ti donasse gioia e amore vero E in fondo Ed ero contentissimo in ritardo sotto casa ed io che ti aspettavo Stringimi la mano e poi partiamo... In fondo eri contentissima quando guardando Amsterdam non ti importava della pioggia che cadeva... solo una candela era bellissima e il ricordo del ricordo che ci suggeriva che comunque tardi o prima ti dirò che ero contentissimo ma non te l'ho mai detto che chiedevo Dio ancora Ancora Ancora Ed ero contentissimo ma non te l' ho mai detto E dentro urlavo Dio ancora Ancora Ancora

Now that you'll be a little lonely Between work and blankets Tell me quick how would you do it? Now that everything goes Now that I don't bother you Tell me what excuses will you make up? You will make up that you don't have time You will make up that all is off You will make up that now you are loved more You will make up that you are stronger And you'll close all the doors Smiling you'll find an excuse Another one... And I was very happy when late by your house I was waiting take my hand and let's go... Deep down you were very happy when looking Amsterdam and didn't care of the falling rain... only a candle was beautiful and the memory of the memory that was suggesting that however later or sooner I would tell you that I was very happy but i never told you that I was asking God for more More More Some things give you comfort With friends the time flies But there is something that doesn't return Is that I'm cold but I don't cover Is that sooner or later Convinced you will believe it You will believe that will warmer Since you don't have me beside And maybe is better because you will smile a little more a little more And I was very happy when late by your house I was waiting take my hand and let's go... Deep down you were very happy when looking Amsterdam and didn't care of the falling rain... only a candle was beautiful and the memory of the memory that was suggesting that however later or sooner I would tell you that I was very happy but i never told you that I was asking God for more More More And the memory of me will come to find you when you'll feel blue But when you will feel good I will just look at you Because I have always asked the sky That this life gives you joy and real love Deep down And I was very happy when late by your house I was waiting take my hand and let's go... Deep down you were very happy when looking Amsterdam and didn't care of the falling rain... only a candle was beautiful and the memory of the memory that was suggesting that however later or sooner I would tell you that I was very happy but i never told you that I was asking God for more More More And I was very happy but I never told you And inside I was screaming to God for more More More

1780 km

Last week I had one week off, forced vacation from my employer. Everyone had to take one week off so was good to go back, because there was not a lot of work piled up waiting for me.
So I had a plan to go for a trip to Montreal, first with my husband, then he was busy so a couple of girls from work planned to come with me and then at the very last moment, they bailed so I was left alone to go with my daughter. So I called the parents of my best friend. They are retired and bored, nothing to do, but they like to travel. So they jumped right in and they tagged with me alone to Montreal. Was better than I thought. Her father sat in the front seat and kept me busy with conversations and stories all the time. Her mother sat behind with my daughter and helped by giving her whatever she wanted to eat or drink or play with. At the very last minute, I booked a condominium with 2 bedrooms that worked perfect for our setup. Was a very nice place, the owner had done a very good job with renovations and decorations. There were some good places to eat around. Had the chance to meet two friends I have there and that was good because I got to see around places that only people that live there know. On the way back, we went to Ottawa for lunch time and spent there about 3 hours there. For dinner we stopped at the beginning of 1000 Islands and had a nice meal at the restaurant that was the closest to the lake. Sitting there we made plans for our next trip, where to go and what to visit. I ended up getting back home 3 days later at 11:30 pm.
The next day I left at noon to go to the beach. Better say to a small place close to a beach where another friend of mine lives. She is 9 months and 5 days pregnant. Her first child is 2 so was a good company for my daughter. We had fun but was all the time under the panic that she might scream for Hospital at any moment, which was fine to end up her pain. The beach was nice, I am sun burned because didn't feel the Sun that came to me mixed with a nice breeze. At night was cold, so cold that you needed a thick blanket on. Came back home Sunday at 7:30 pm, tired, sun burned, my car stinked and had a lot of sand, my car was counting 1780 km more than last week, but I was feeling good.
I was happy that I made it to leave and forget about work, about being constantly on email, about dragging with me everywhere the work problems. I went back to work next day and had no clean clothes to wear but a dress. Had a lot of phone calls and emails but didn't seem that bad. My head was much lighter!!

The Agenda

This is a show hosted on National Canadian channels at night time. The guy usually picks up interesting themes to discuss. Sometimes I like to listen, sometimes they are boring for me. Tonight he had "What's love got to do with it" and then after that "The secret of happiness".

On the first one there were 4 people, two professors, one matchmaker and one scientist for match making. The whole thing falled into comparing India with Western. In India, marriages are arranged, in Western people want romantic love right away. In India, people get married and then fall in love, in Western peopel fall in love and then get married. One of the guys said that the Western love is more of a lust while in India, love comes after a long period when people have lived together and learned how to live together. At the end, they all agreed that is the guy that takes teh check in any part of the World. You can go and check myloveskills.com, about 70 questions that might tell you something about yourself.
On the second discussion, the speaker was Arthur Brooks, a professor that just wrote a book about happines and that has been the reason he has been happy lately. He compared different religions, political belifes and geographics. Americans, althought they live to work, they were happier than French that work to live. Looks like in North America you have more options to have the job you like and that makes you happy. While in Europe this is not the case so people work jobs they do not like and that doesn't help to make them happy. And since people that are happy live longer, the average of North Americans that are happy with their jobs live longer than Europeans. Also, religion is one thing that brings happiness but is more into the people that practise religion than others that do not. Alos, Conservatives looks like to be happier than Liberals, based on what the basis of your life style is and what are you looking for. But being an extreme Liberal or extreme Conservative, they are happy equaly. This is because they have no doubts they are right! The bad thing is that they try to bring their extreme beliefes to others and make them un-happy! Go check thehappyway.com

My daughter made me cry

So this morning, I asked my little girl to get ready to leave home and go to daycare. Got the clothes for her ready and then I took the garbage out (was literally garbage day!) Made some milk and gave her a little banana for breakfast. She decided not to eat the banana, just hold it and altho' I kept asking her to eat the banana and put her shoes on, she didn't and after me asking about 3 times, she decided to start crying. When she cries, she considers me as a towel so was trying to come and put her head on me. Her mouth was open, with spit all over, tears too and I had on me a white shirt, all ready to leave for work any second. So I got irritated and raised my voice telling her to stop crying for no reason, just put the shoes on and let's go. No result. She actually called me "mean". Put the shoes on her myself (asking her to eat the banana meanwhile) and when she was ready I opened the door and asked her to come with me. By that time, my husband, still in bed, told her that she can wait and go to daycare with him instead. So instead of coming with me, she went upstairs to him. I left home, got in the car and on the way to work, I started crying. I felt horrible for leaving like that, she crying and me angry and my husband thinking he got the situation under control. It just made me feel not needed. Seemed like my presence was not required at all and I was the kind of person that is not able to give back what a child needs. I really felt a failure as a mother. So later on, I called my husband to check how did it go after I left and he said that things were just fine. Looks like the main issue was that she didn't want to eat the banana at home but at the daycare. He told me that she started eating the banana when she arrived at daycare and was showing to her teachers how she could eat that. I felt a little better but still I was not happy. When I picked her up from daycare, she seemed just fine, actually in love with Dimitri, one of the little guys at her daycare. The morning was completely forgotten, she was laughing with me again and we had fun in the evening.
So, she cries, she calls me mean, she gets over with it during the day and things are fine.
I take care of her, I forgive what she says to me, I cry and I can't get over with my day.
When do we start taking the kids seriously? When do we treat them like adults, when do we treat them like kids and when do we treat them like babies? I am sure that some of you that have kids, are probably laughing with me on this, but she made me cry this morning. And I try not to cry easy. Lyrics from Coldplay:

God give me style and give me grace
God put a smile upon my face

In other conditions I would have given more attention, but that is a luxury in the morning when you are already late and still at home discussing with your kid how to eat a banana. In other conditions, I wouldn't have tried to make her reason and put logic into what to do but rather just hug and kiss her and she would have forgotten the little protest against me. In other conditions, I wouldn't have cried today on my way to work. I guess I am just human and depending on the magnetism around me, I become a positive or a negative field of attraction.

CEO blogs

I was trapped to spent some time in a room with some geeks and the most interesting thing I found was a magazine (off course on IT). Was reading through and found a piece that was talking about these COE-s in some big companies, that were having their personal blogs open for anyone on internet. So I came back to my computer and I thought I will check out their blog sites. It is interesting to see how these successful guys think and it is a privilege to be able to read and learn from them.

1- http://www.jimestill.com/
Quite interesting. I like the fact that you can see he is a smart chap and takes only what he needs out of a situation, book, email or meeting. He is also funny in some of them, nice sense of humor that doesn't hurt. I especially enjoyed "World as 100 people".

2-http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/
More related to work, not very personal and I like that he is visual too, tries to put pictures and faces on the things he talks about. He seems sort of laid back guy.

3-http://blogwrite.blogs.com/
Apparently she is considered the Queen of blogs because she knows allt he trick someone needs to know when writing a blog. From that IT magazine I was reading, she said that the blog has to be no more than 500 letters, has to be updated often, no need to put company confidential information (Figure!), need to be attractive enough so it doesn't get dull. In short, she was saying that when a CEO writes a blog, is almost as preparing a speech or writing an email that will be received by public.

4-http://marklogic.blogspot.com/
More theoretical and old school. I do not get the vibe of humor or being up with the "day-to-day what the teenagers are doing" kind of guy, very business oriented but definitely smart and intelligent. His blogs are long and I can loose attention before the end. But that's just me!

5-http://www.blogmaverick.com/
He is a very successful entrepreneur and there is a lot about him if you just Google his name. His blogs are long and you can see that all he cares is "money making ideas". You have to speak a certain language to understand and enjoy him.

6-http://www.klynch.com/
Is more of "How I think we should advertise Adobe" kind of site, very much oriented to his personal business.

7-http://www.novell.com/company/blogs/cmo/
Sleek looking blog. He is actually Chief Marketing so his blog is more into marketing. He is also work oriented but has some good thoughts on how marketing should be the key to promote something that is not doing very well. I enjoyed "Fat free French fries"




Well, there are tons like these out there but I will stop here and let you check the rest and decide what you like. This was just some food for your thoughts and now that you are hungry, let's get the menu :)

Kite runner

A friend of mine has been telling me for a long time to read this book. I value his opinion on these matters so I would have read this book but lately I haven't had any chance to read anything that is not related to my work and the project I am working on like a donkey. Browsing the TV tonight, I found that this movie was showing. Didn't catch it from beginning but was early enough for the story to make sense and be linked. At the end, I give two thumbs up. Wonderful story, one of those that stay with you, in your mind late after the movie is over and you are confused with a couple of bright-colorful-happy advertisements about good products being sold in North America. Is a powerful story that, although I am not from that part of the World, I understand how it works and what is respected, by choice or not. It is refreshing to read how life is seen from that side of the fence. All we hear is the story that media gives to us. Can be American media or European one, it doesn't matter. The voice of the people from Afghanistan is rarely heard and taken seriously. Even the guy that helped him from Pakistan, represents a whole country that is not taken with respect and right attention. It is almost as calling someone mother f@#&^$ if you call them Paki, and yet again, he was human and put himself in trouble. One other thing that this movie brings is the way the new generation of the people from these countries, is changing and how they are looking at things with more tolerance. The old generation represented by their parents at the end of the movie falls down, all that "Keep your head up", "Don't embarrass the family", "Respect older man".... all these big words and "lessons for life", are all a big bubble that is not what it seems. The new generation is between these "rules" put in front of them from their families and the other open-kind of life seen around them from other people in North America.

Before and After a gift

Maybe I'm writing this too soon and it would be wiser if I wait a little longer to understand what is going on but I just feel like I have to get this garbage out of my mind and chest. At the end, that's why I have opened this blog for!





So we all have been in the circumstances when a special friend or family member has the birthday coming soon and you put some thoughts to find a gift that doesn't have to be expensive, just thoughtful, nice and will bring a smile on their face. And sometimes you do actually get an idea on what it will be and you feel good about it! Depending on what it is, you arrange it so they get it on time. There are two parts on the gift, the Giving part and the Receiving part. So in this case you are the Giving part. You Give your idea wrapped with whatever took to deliver it (it can be hand work, time, money, material, etc). They Receive your idea but might actually not notice the wrapping. And if you notice that the wrapping is taken for granted, then you expect at least the gift itself to turn on some smiles and "Thank you"'s, hoping that the person at least will mean some of it. We all know that the gifts we get are usually useless but at least we all say "Waw, this is great!! Thank you so much" and stuff like that to make the Giving part feel appreciated and good about what they did.
So if you have done all what the Giving part should do but was not in person, face-to-face because of the circumstances, you at least expect an e-mail or some sort of message to tell you that the Receiving part did get the gift, did open the gift and did 'like' the gift. But what you get is actually a message that has nothing to do about your wrapping or your gift, nothing, nada, zip! The message is about how nice the day was and how the others have called them to wish them happy birthday and how much they liked that!
So today I learned something new and actually helpful: Do not spend time, energy or anything to wish someone's Happy Birthday! All you have to do is to have their number on your phone and give a ring sometime during the day! That will be considered a nice surprise, you will hear the "Waw", maybe a fake one but you will hear them say it. And everyone will be happy! Yep! that's it!
Again, because this was not face-to-face but all by e-mail, things are not very clear on what happened. I do not think that is all finished here or I will not hear something about what I did. What makes me write this is that I am not hearing that today. It will come later and will be explained why and I might change my mind and feel better but right now, is good that we are not face-to-face. Is sort of a test for how can I handle cases that make me angry in a modern, cold blood, non emotional and business like manner. I am growing every day :)

Old friends

Today went out with some friends, all of them old friends. We know each-other for about 15 years now, so yes we are old friends. I am very close with two of them but one of them is not much in touch with us. 15 years ago, i used to be a very naive and shy girl, much more than now. In these 15 years i have changed a lot, but this friend doesn't know the new me very well now. So today, while talking, I noticed that he was surprised about somethings about me that I do consider now very normal and very common. In a way it pissed me off the fact that he remembers me like that girl 15 years ago, he doesn't know how much I have done, how strong I am now, maybe stronger than him.
It reminded me an episode from "Gray's Anatomy", where at the end she said " I am the chief of surgeons in a huge hospital and he still considers me like that shy girl from high school". felt the same for me today. It feels strange that I wanted to tell him how different I am and change the image of me in his head, but it is not easy, and maybe not worth it.
So, anyway, old friends are good, but it is better when you are often in touch with them, when you grow together.