Looking back, way back and a little further… I realize, life has really been good to me in all shapes and forms. I realize that I’ve been lucky, I’ve pretty much reached every single goal I’ve set, I’ve loved and been loved, I’ve lived and traveled. The best moments are still yet to come.
I’ve…….
Walked Washington DC from beginning to end, twice.
Walked the Museum of Modern Art in New York for five hours
Visited Niagara Falls and CN Tower in many occasions
Swam at the hidden waterfalls at the peak of Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in Costa Rica
Did a fishing trip through Nebraska and down through Wyoming
Watched the Sea Lions play and rest on the shores of of California
Walked Chinatown in New York, Toronto and San Francisco
Ate a platter of yummy crab legs on a dock in Baltimore, Maryland
Walked in and back out of the crater at the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica
Got lost in the fog on Georgian Bay at night walking in the lake
Drove across Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Walked downtown of Salt Lake City, Utah
Visited the tomb of an ancient Indian chief and antique shops in the countryside of Delaware
Drove down the windy road of Lombard Street in San Francisco
Did geocashing in New Jersey and found the largest icicle ever
Walked the Barra Honda caves in Nicoya, Costa Rica
Walked at sunset with my feet in the water at Laguna Beach, California
Slow danced on the deck of the Detroit Princess at sunset over the Detroit River
Rode a dirt bike inside the Mojave Desert, Red Rock Canyon and Sequoya National Forest in California
Walked the streets of Las Vegas 4 times, attractions and parties included
Rode the California coastline from San Francisco to Los Angeles down through Big Sur
Snowboarded Breckenridge, Vail and Keystone in Colorado
Rode through fields of cacti in search of snow in Arizona
Walked the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Stood at the famous Loveland Pass in Colorado
Walked the whitest beaches and the colorful streets of the Art Deco District in Florida
Did a long weekend drive down from Toronto to Maryland
Kayaked the lake at the Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica
Visited every single Aztec pyramid from Guatemala to Mexico
Did a family road trip with my parents around Central America, from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras
Walked the beautiful hills of Park City, Utah
Climbed the pyramid of the Sun and of the Moon in Mexico
Visited the oldest cowboy bar in Prescott, Arizona
Snowmobiled the Rocky Mountains in Colorado
Had relaxing drinks at the top of the GM tower in Detroit, Michigan
Walked every single dock in downtown San Francisco, California
Walked the streets of London and Manchester in the UK with a short illegal stop at a local pub
Visited the German town of Frankenmuth in Detroit
But best of all, I’ve had the love and the company of 2 great people in my life: my kids… absolutely nothing beats that!
Back in August sometime I posted the lyrics of my favorite song in the whole world, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. I wrote a little short paragraph about how this song had so much meaning to me in various stages of my life… one of those being my good friend Mauricio whom I’ve known ever since we were about 13 yrs old. Mauricio was diagnosed with colon cancer last year and ever since then, gave a very fierce battle against this disease. This was also Mauricio’s favorite song and every time he would drive down from Honduras to Costa Rica he would play it over and over again in his car… something I can still relate to!
This past Wednesday November 25th, Mauricio passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by the people he loved the most, his family.
Although Mauricio lived in Honduras for many years, we always remained very close friends. The memories we had from our childhood were so many that we could talk for hours about them. We dated back in 1985, he was the love of my life, but then again, he was the love of every girl in the neighborhood lol! We would always hang out at the park together with our friends and as soon as it was time to go home he knew it was his duty to walk me over. Half a block before my house there was a tree (el palo de cas), it’s where we would make out before I got home, it was our thing… and of course, every time I was wearing my tight white pants, he always tried to cop a feel… unsuccessfully! :o) The most popular story was the one time he made out with 3 of us in one night, me and my friends Marcela and Rocío… we still gave him crap about that a couple years ago! Mauricio was my first teen love back in the 80’s and up to a few years ago he still had some of my handwritten letters from then and a photo of myself in a Brazilian red and white bikini… Read the rest of this entry »
In today’s world of new media, we have suddenly become accustomed to getting instant information, a click on our mouse and we’re surrounded by constant updates, both useless and useful. Be it Facebook or Twitter, we can see what our loved ones are up to, where they are, what they’re wearing, what mood they’re in… Carolina suddenly got married in NY, Viv is counting days before her trip to the beach, Horacio just consulted his tarot cards and is destined to have a good day, Dylan is drinking a coke, Jason is now friends with Charlene, Jeff is arguing whether or not Mrs. Clause has a beard and Laura is busy harvesting her crops…
Everything is instant, Google this, Google that, instant communication, instant social groups, instant news. But, what about instant results? Today I began to wonder, is this new trend making us all more impatient? Have we become so accustomed to instant information that we are impatient at the slightest shift in time to make things happen?
According to Wikipedia, patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset. Is there really a delay in our lives or have we just gotten into the bad habit of having and wanting everything right now?
I am normally a very patient person, sometimes too much, throughout life I have managed to learn (I think) when it’s time to say “Enough!” and when it’s ok to hold back and be patient. I can also be very spontaneous, which can be good or bad depending on the situation! I get a gut feeling and I never question it, I just get up and go… no patience here! So do we practice patience not to suffer any regrets? Maybe Wikipedia has hit the nail, because the minute we become annoyed, it’s certainly a sign that we’ve run out of patience, right?
I think patience can be a very good thing, something we should all practice more. It does have it’s perks, it can help you think things over, analyze situations (not too much!) and sometimes even puts you in a situation where it creates excitement and anticipation when something good is about to come your way.
So, although today’s technology is teaching us the bad habit of wanting to know everything at an instant, we must try to remember that there are also situations where patience and timing can be the key to success.
It’s been a while since I’ve written on my blog, anything I say would be taken as an excuse so I’ll leave it at that! lol… I’ve been meaning to write for a couple days but I’ve been busy unpacking from my latest adventure. I decided to take off to the city of Orem in Utah for a week and it turned out to be a great experience, so much that I was a little torn about coming back home.
Many a time I’ve written about the hardships of my life, people close to me know well that I’ve been through some hard times. Being alone with my kids has never been an easy task but at times it got pretty bad and I can say that I’ve really had it hard in the past. I know what it feels like to be a week away from pay day and only have about $10 for food and bills… or having your power and water cut off and have to ask for loans to get by… but all in all, I have gotten through it, I have become stronger and today I can say that they have been great lessons in my life.
During my stay in Utah, I had many flashbacks of stages in my life… I am grateful that I have managed to stand on my own two feet all on my own but I am also very compassionate about those who are going through the same troubles as I did. It’s not easy, it takes so much out of you…
A couple of days before I came home, I accompanied a friend to work. Our chore for the day was to “clean out” a home of a family who had been evicted. I showered, got dressed, got pretty, even put a bow in my hair. I packed my laptop thinking I’d sit around and work a little whilst I rested from cleaning house. As we arrived at the place, I was in total shock… the family had been evicted and 80% of their belongings had been thrown out on the street next to a dumpster. Chairs, clothes, toys, kitchen utensils, lamps, baby clothes… anything and everything had to be thrown into the dumpster, everything including photo albums and other personal items. It was heart-breaking… Read the rest of this entry »
