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