Basta del doble discurso, Partido Demócrata.

Por un lado los liberales y demócratas de los Estados Unidos sostienen que Juan Güaidó es un títere del partido republicano y no se abstienen de catalogarlo como un vendido. Por otro lado, estos liberales estadounidenses mantienen una perspectiva muy cerrada, porque queriendo rechazar toda opinión y acción del partido republicano, y sobre todo del presidente Donald Trump y el vice-presidente, Mike Pence, continúan ofreciéndole, aunque de manera indirecta, apoyo al dictador criminal Nicolás Maduro.

Yo he creído en este partido demócrata y he sido parte de ellos por su ideología humanista, por ser inclusivos de las clases bajas y las minorías, por querer proteger y dar refugio a los ilegales que huyen la violencia de sus países. Pero con la situación de Venezuela y su abstención contra el dictador, están demostrando que su ideología humanista es solo parte de su política y estrategia para ganar la aprobación de las minorías y sus constituyentes en los Estados Unidos.

Venezuela vive bajo un régimen que se burló de los pobres, ofreciéndoles una visión democrática-socialista que no se dio. El régimen de Maduro militarizó todos los organismos del poder nacional y el consejo electoral principalmente opera bajo su total jurisdicción y control. Este gobierno es un régimen militar y Uds., demócratas, lo saben. El régimen también opera dentro de un sistema capitalista. Viven como reyes, amasan fortunas, invierten fuera del país, envían a sus hijos a estudiar fuera del país, y no carecen de nada. Ellos manejan el dólar americano mientras que el pueblo recibe una miseria en la moneda devaluada del país. Por eso la gente está pasando hambre. Los niños van a sus escuelas con hambre. Los ancianos pasan horas en colas para comprar una u otra cosa al valor del bolívar y cuando llegan al final de la cola ya no hay. Mientras tanto, los enchufados del régimen venden bultos y bultos de comida en el mercado negro al valor del dólar americano. Las medicinas que no se consiguen en las farmacias, se consiguen en el mercado negro al valor del dólar. Los enfermos mueren por falta de medicinas. Ladrones corruptos.

Sepan que Nicolás Maduro representa para nosotros los Venezolanos lo que Trump representa para las minorías en los Estados Unidos. Maduro es un hombre sin moral que encarcela y asesina a todo aquel que se oponga a su dictadura. Basta del doble discurso, demócratas. Deben proclamarse en contra del dictador títere de Cuba y ayudar a los venezolanos a recobrar la integridad del sistema democrático.

Si Martin Luther King, Jr. estuviera vivo, ya le hubiera dicho BASTA a la dictadura criminal de Venezuela!



 

Gritemos con brío: ¡FUERA Maduro!

Extraño a la Venezuela de mi adolescencia. Venezuela fue un país rico y libre y no lo sabíamos. Recuerdo los potes de leche en polvo y las bolsas de azúcar en la despensa de mi casa y el vidón que nos dábamos comiendo leche en polvo con azúcar. Mi madre me freía huevos a cualquier hora del día porque no me gustaba la carne; mis hermanos eran los carnívoros. No hacíamos colas para comprar porque había muchos supermercados y mercados al aire libre con variedad de productos, legumbres, granos y todo tipo de comestibles necesarios para la casa, sobre todo la harina pan para las arepas. En la panadería siempre había pan caliente, jugos, queso, y jamón para la cena. Nunca pensábamos antes de salir a comprar si conseguiríamos los comestibles y la comida necesaria. Sabíamos que encontraríamos el jabón para lavar, los jabones de baño, el papel higiénico, el champú, y demás necesidades personales. 

Las medicinas eran subsidiadas por el gobierno y mis hermanos compraban en cualquier farmacia las medicinas de la tensión para mi mamá. Si nos enfermábamos, mamá nos llevaba al hospital público o a los ambulatorios del barrio. No eran como las clínicas privadas pero nunca padecimos o sufrimos y las medicinas se encontraban. La luz se iba, pero muy poco; el agua se iba, pero muy poco y los camiones del agua y los de las bombonas de gas pasaban con regularidad. Teníamos los servicios esenciales, el agua, la luz, el gas, el teléfono y después llegó el Internet. No éramos ricos, éramos una familia de clase baja pero aún así no nos faltaba nada. Íbamos a la escuela con nuestros uniformes y útiles y con las barriguitas llenas. Había trasporte público y podíamos pagar los pasajes para llegar a la escuela o liceos. Aprendíamos porque no teníamos otras preocupaciones y no nos afectaba la situación económica y política del país, no tan directamente como ahora. Había malandros, sí, pero nunca nos atracaron y nunca se metieron a robar a nuestra casa. Teníamos rejas en toda la casa, claro, pero no nos preocupábamos tanto. No se robaban las pertenencias que llevábamos o los carros como ahora. A nosotros nunca nadie nos robó.

La vida cambió con el gobierno chavista y cambió de una manera drástica. La falta de servicios públicos ha sido lo más duro y no se puede culpar a otro país (al imperio) por la falta de servicios. Las medicinas no se consiguen y los hospitales no tienen insumos para atender a la gente pobre. La comida escaseó por algunos años; no había pan en las panaderías y no había harina pan, no había jabón de baño ni papel higiénico ni otros productos para la higiene bucal y personal. También escaseó el efectivo y todavía escasea. Ahora se encuentran muchos artículos del consumo diario y hay pan en las panaderías y queso y jugo, pero en estos momentos, hoy 3 de marzo, el sueldo mínimo mensual es de 18.000 Bolívares fuertes ($5 en el mercado negro) y un champú cuesta más de 10.000 bolívares fuertes, un paquete de harina cuesta 5.000 Bs. F un kilo de queso cuesta 12.000 Bs. F y una docena de huevos cuesta 13.000 Bs. F.  Más crítico aún es que es en un par de semanas estos precios se doblarán o triplificarán, como ha ocurrido en los últimos años.

Es imposible para las familias pobres sobrevivir con este colapso total de la economía, la inflación de los precios, la desvalorización de la moneda nacional y esta crisis económica. Ya los pobres no pueden comer huevos fritos, comer sus arepas o tomarse un vaso de leche, ni siquiera un café con leche y los pocos niños que van a las escuelas no van con la barriguita llena, sino con hambre y cargados con las preocupaciones de los adultos.

El transporte público ha colapsado, los servicios públicos han colapsado, la mayoría de los hospitales no tienen los aparatos necesarios para hacer exámenes, no hay medicinas y si las hay están en poder de los chavistas y oficiales del régimen quienes  operan el mercado negro. Ellos son los que tienen acceso a los pocos recursos y artículos de consumo y necesidad diaria que ingresan al país o que se producen en el país y para enriquecerse ellos mismos, venden medicinas, pañales, bultos de comida en el mercado negro al precio del dólar americano.  

Este gobierno es el peor de los gobiernos que ha tenido nuestro país. Antes había corrupción, pero no nos faltaba lo necesario para vivir y podíamos ir a la escuela y regresar a casa sin mayores temores. Ahora, además de la corrupción, no hay servicios públicos, no hay medicinas (no para los pobres), no hay alimentos para los pobres–imposible comprar una docena de huevos con un sueldo mínimo, y la inseguridad mantiene a la gente atemorizada.

Este gobierno chavista ha ultrajado la inocencia de los pobres y se han aprovechado de su ingenuidad, su bondad de corazón y espiritu humanitario para alimentarlos de una ideología que no se puede llamar socialista, y que ellos mismos en el gobierno nunca han practicado. Han creado un enemigo foráneo a quien culpar por todas sus ineptitudes como gobierno y por el caos y colapso económico del cuál ellos mayormente son culpables, y han hecho que los pobres miren hacia fuera y no hacia adentro.

Mientras los miembros del régimen venezolano se llenan los bolsillos con los recursos del país y amasan fortunas en dólares americanos y hacen inversiones fuera del suelo venezolano, la gente pobre de Venezuela es sometida a un sistema desastroso y a una moneda sin valor alguno y sin fuerza para comprar comida y medicinas, sin fuerzas para vivir. Los pobres de mis país le han servido a este régimen como la cortina de humo para robar, encarcelar, reprimir y destruir la moral y dignidad de nuestro pueblo. Ver a personas de la tercera edad en colas por horas y más horas es imperdonable y es razón suficiente para aborrecer y odiar a este régimen de ricos que somete y castiga a un pueblo pobre.

Pero ya no pueden engañarnos más y queremos que se vayan, que salgan del gobierno, que permitan otra visión para recuperar al país. No queremos que nuestros jóvenes y nuestro futuro siga huyendo del país. Más de 4 millones de venezolanos han salido del país buscando alivio económico y esperanza en otras fronteras. Tenemos que rescatar nuestros sueños y el futuro de nuestro gran país.

Gritemos con brío, muera la opresión. FUERA Maduro y el régimen y BASTA de robar. Son unos corruptos sin moral.

A quote worth pondering

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." ~ Theodore Rooselvelt

La mafia del efectivo

Esa mafia de bachaqueros vendiendo el efectivo en Venezuela es muestra de la peor calamidad q sufrimos como pueblo, la falta de conciencia y de moral de la gente misma. La Venezuela de hoy es eso y no lo que dicen ser...  porque la gente, la generación nuestra, sobre todo, y la generación q nos sigue, no recibió esos valores de moral y luces. No los tiene. Si la gente hace lo q hace ahora es porque tenemos una patria enferma y sin valores. Echémosles la culpa al régimen por lo q son culpables, pero la gente, los vivos, los aprovechadores, desde jueces hasta choferes y buhoneros, son muestra de lo enferma q está nuestra Venezuela. Un pueblo sin conciencia y sin valores no ayuda sino q más bien hunde al país y el régimen sabe q cuenta con un pueblo enfermo. Hemos fracasado como gente y pueblo decente y honesto y esa es la raíz q se esparce por todo el país. Si fuésemos otro pueblo, si tuviésemos los valores de nuestros padres y las generaciones trabajadoras y honestas pasadas, Venezuela no habría llegado hasta donde está hoy. Cómo ayudar a Venezuela si la gente misma es uno de los mayores problemas. Por ejemplo, para comprar pasajes de autobús para viajar de Maracay a Maracaibo, mi sobrino tuvo q comprar efectivo cinco veces por encima del valor del pasaje. ¿Qué diríamos? ¿Qué es supervivencia del mas vivo? ¿Qué es parte de este nuevo sistema de vida q se vive en Venezuela? ¿Cómo podemos cambiar esas mentes, ese modelo de vida q se vive ahora? Venezuela tiene q salir de esta oscuridad pero el pueblo, los ciudadanos, debemos reorientar nuestra capacidad de supervivencia y transformar este modelo carcomido por la viveza humana desenfrenada y pensar en todos y no solo en los nuestros. Cómo ayudar a nuestro pueblo a no contribuir y seguir dañando al país.... cómo podemos juntos levantarnos y apoyarnos para sacar a este país de esta etapa de oscuridad. Tenemos q pensar en esto. 

My friend is celebrating life!

Woke up this morning to wonderful news; my friend’s biopsy came back negative. Life is to be celebrated because it’s fleeting and sometimes we waste so much of it, investing in the wrong people and spending time in the wrong places. I myself have been guilty of throwing some of my pearls to the swine… My friend is celebrating life with the important people in her life; lucky me, I am one of them. I love you dear friend and look forward to many more years of discovery and wonderment together.

STANimal DID It!!!

Congrats beautiful Swiss!!! Best and most beautiful backhand in the business!!!

crossing new bridges

Got very little sleep finishing a linguistics paper about the value of language versus the geographic variants of dialect. I freaked out when I realized I might not finish it on time. Oh I am doomed, I thought. Then I checked my email and there I found a message from the professor giving everybody an extension. I couldn’t believe my luck! It’s almost done now and I even have time to get a run in before the French Open final…. 

The study of Linguistics always fascinated me and to be pursuing this discipline is a dream come true as I hope to make some major changes ahead. Changes excite me for all that they bring, new places, new people, new experiences and new opportunities, all to be harmoniously unified with the past. They go together––the past, the present and the future... and life's journey is made richer with every new connecting bridge we dare to cross to the other side. 

Happy day of rest!

A heartwrenching film

Just now getting to watch this movie. Javier Bardem was superb, but o the painful reality of human exploitation and injustice, and the tragic plight of the main character, Uxbal, make this a heart-wrenching and painful film to watch. I felt so much... sentí tanto...

heartbroken

i just found out from one of our maintenance guys here at the CAN that someone killed the white kitty i took to get fixed two weeks ago; Snow White was her name. She had bruises on her side and someone left her dead in the parking garage area. these people are so careless and heartless. i am so sick of this place. that kitty was so precious. i am heartbroken and in tears of course, wishing i could find homes for these cats. i have been waiting on the vet to start setting up the trap again to catch two other kitties in the courtyard. but the vet has been too busy for the last few days and we have to wait until she has some openings. next week, she said. meanwhile i am mourning, sad, heartbroken and angry all at once.

I am so afraid for all the other kitties around here. Some of the people who live in this building are so cruel to cats. I even wonder if Snow White wasn’t victimized and killed by a dog. Some people here sick their dogs on the cats and I hate them for that. Snow White never came into the garage area and it’s hard to believe that she would have run under a car or that she would have been careless. She was feral. But I have to stop thinking about it because I can make myself throw up. I could not hold it in when I heard she was killed.

Love the freedom to be alone...

I have been with people almost every day since school ended. I enjoy very much being with people but I also require time alone to recharge and to remain socially adept. Last night I had some of my neighbors over for dinner and we had a delightful time together. I love my neighbors and I cherish the new and beautiful friendships I am building up with some of them. The previous night I had some of my students and colleagues over for dinner. We also had an excellent time together and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I also had friends over during the Bayou Boogaloo. Social connections and solid friendships are essential to our human existence. My mother was always a social butterfly and growing up we always had guests and people coming in and out of our house. Entertaining and cooking for others was one of her many gifts. She never stopped. I appreciated that side of her but I also liked my father’s ways. He enjoyed drinking with his buddies on occasions but for the most part, when he wasn’t working, he enjoyed spending time alone in his garage, working on his cars. He also loved his job because it took him away to isolated oil refineries and away from civilization for weeks at a time. I have that side of him and sometimes I want to shut out the entire world and exist in a very quiet universe of my own with only my pets. I can go weeks without turning on the TV. It’s a bit harder for me to stay away from social networking because I am always online reading, studying, teaching or doing some other kind of work. But I sometimes also disconnect completely and take long breaks from these cyber spaces. Then there are days when the best of me is found in the company of friends and people but one does not happen without the other. Being single allows me the freedom to be with people and to be totally alone when I want to. In the past, however, my need to be alone has been hugely misinterpreted as me no longer being interested in the other person. Upon entering a relationship, I need a disclaimer that says: time alone is a must for me to fully function and be my best self and it isn't at all a reflection of how I feel about you. Time alone for me includes traveling alone and taking long hiatuses from all routine, escaping from everything and everyone. I am at my best when I am given the freedom of doing that without the burden of making anyone around me feel unwanted.

Off to my spinning class…

Tuna this time!

Meet Snow White, a sibling of Camille, the kitty I caught yesterday. I got up at 5:30 this morning to set up the trap. Once the trap was up, I retrieved to my apartment to wait and watch from my window. A few minutes into it, my neighbor downstairs called me and told me the kitties were laying around the trap but not going in. They saw their sister trapped inside yesterday and were suspicious, but i hoped they would forget or rather be overcome by the smelly Tuna. At last I heard the trap snap and indeed this beautiful kitty had gone in. Tuna won! The other cat is already in the courtyard, having been spayed yesterday and she will be better off for years to come and so will Snow White. I hope the other two kitties follow suit in the days ahead. I will not stop until the entire litter is spayed and neutered. I think there is only one male cat in the litter. Meow, meow, meow!!!

Don't be afraid little angel; you are in good hands.

Pink salmon and a trap!

Success at 6am this morning! I set up the kitty trap in the courtyard and caught a female kitten. She will be fixed and I hope to catch her three other siblings in the next few days. Last week I noticed a new litter of kittens in the back alley; they are so tiny and adorable and live under our building, along with a slew of stray, and feral cats. It broke my heart to see them out there because that only means one thing–there will be more and more of them. They are proliferating at such rapid rate, it’s impossible to get them all fixed. Now that I have a little more time, however, I intend to catch the ones in our courtyard, at least. My good neighbors from downstairs are also helping and so is the vet who is willing to take them in when we catch them. It’s a team effort. 

 

Learn why like cows humans should not be RACIST!

Oh science what a powerful source of truth you
are! I fucking love science and well-read, critical-thinking people!!

Do I believe in some divine power and in some evil power?

I did most of my life until it no longer made sense to me, at least not the way I was taught to believe. But I still believe: I believe in the power of love, in the intrinsic goodness of humans, and the numerous acts of selfless kindness I see in the world. I don’t have to call that a divine power but if poetic reason licenses us to think that to err is human and to love divine, it follows that, along with our propensity to err, we are also very much inclined to love and to show kindness; therein lies what I like to label the divine. Moreover, I think that we cannot escape the divine because we cannot escape the goodness that’s intrinsically in us. But when humans do escape love or are not encouraged to tap into it and are not themselves loved, the opposite side of it, namely our propensity to err (if I may label "err" bad or evil in its incipient form) could overtake us.

The evil we see in the world is also part of our intrinsic human dichotomy, but good and bad have to operate together. What happens is that in the absence of these favorable and ‘divine’ human responses: forgiveness, goodness, kindness and love, evil often flourishes in the likes of acts of greed, selfishness, cruelty, etc. If we want to overcome evil and keep it at bay, even our own evil, and most importantly, if we want to eradicate the greed, selfishness and cruelty in our world, then our own intrinsic divine power to love and to show kindness must be expressed and enacted daily, even in the most menial places of our existence. Go ye therefore and love thy neighbor as yourself. And who is thy neighbor? Family, friends, acquaintances, the entire human race, nature and animals alike; in that intrinsic power to love, there is no discrimination. Amen.

Gotta love running!

An elite runner once told me that maintenance is 50% of running and I understood him then but I am practicing that now. Distance running can be very taxing on the body and for that reason we must spend 50% of our training strengthening the core and making sure we have a proper nutrition regimen. Injuries are part of every sport and serious athletes have to contend with a number of them, sometimes having to be sidelined from their sports to allow time for treatment and recovery. We take the good with the not so good, but that’s precisely why core strengthening is so necessary. Right now I am sidelined with a hamstring injury I developed while training for the Boston Marathon. But being sidelined is giving me time to work on the rest of my body and I have been adding some weights, among other things, to my training.  I don’t wish to be bulky but a fair amount of muscle building can make a huge difference in my running, especially if I build up the muscles that protect my weak areas.

Naturally, I am bummed out about not being able to lace up my sneakers and get out there and run in the early mornings, especially now that I am off. But running teaches us patience and that is something that has helped me in other areas of my life. Running teaches us to be strong, disciplined, hopeful and optimistic about ultimately crossing the finish line, even if the task looks impossible from the start. Such was the case for me with the BM; it was the hardest race I have run because I was already injured, I felt exhausted, and the weather was yucky. But I climbed each of those hills with optimism and I took it one mile at a time; that’s how we must take life, one day at a time, one issue at a time, one challenge at a time; it works.

Diet is also extremely important for runners. We must eat enough and the right kind of stuff to fuel our bodies to go the distance. I am a health nut already and I keep a very strict pescetarian diet and, since I am injured and unable to run, I have modified my diet a bit. For now, I am consuming very little carbs because I don’t need them, because I am not burning enough calories.  My diet for the last two weeks has mainly consisted of kale and spinach salads, nuts, cheeses, avocados and lots of fruits. I am a fruit-holic and I can easily have a couple of mangos and a banana in place of a meal. My goal while I repair my body is to lose a few pounds and firm up some areas of my body to become a stronger runner. I will be chasing that 3:45 PR in my next marathon.

I am glad to have this downtime time and to add a different dimension to my training. It’s giving me time also to reflect on the important things in life and moving me away from nonsense and foolish distractions and on to a continuous and healthier way of thinking. Making the same mistakes twice and thrice is a sign of immaturity. There is always room for improvement and the idea is to never stop growing. GOTTA love running!

Off to watch my favorite fútbol team… Vamos Barça!

Breathing a huge sigh of relief...

When my students came to me this semester with their funny excuses about late homework and missing assignments, little did they know that I too was going to school full-time, besides working/teaching full time and training for a marathon. Poor students, I was so sleep deprived that at times they found little grace with me but in the end I am a softy and I cut them lots of slack. I need to show them my grades and perhaps motivate them to get more serious about their school: 

My sister was my inspiration

I drive myself to the brink of despair sometimes. For the past few months I felt as if I were living the life of three different people. First, training for the Boston Marathon required so much of my time and energy. Then four graduate classes at once, all so demanding; I had to burn the midnight oil. My neighbors commented about seeing my lights on past two and three in the morning. And, to lace up my sneakers and keep up with my marathon training with very little rest was extremely HARD!!! Most demanding of course was my job: teaching, grading, meetings, mentoring students, committees, office hours, travel conferences, writing, etc. 

I felt like I was doing a balancing act, walking across a very tight rope. But how wonderful that all that pressure is behind me and yet another semester of life was lived to the fullest and so much was gained. I consider everything in life gain and nothing loss, including the set backs that keep us humble, and the hard earned merits and accomplishments we celebrate. No doubt the strength of my character was tested beyond limits. While I was running Boston and when I conquered Heartbreak hill I felt so strong like I could do anything in life. 

What a wonderful life!!!! Now it’s time for raucous gatherings, travel, and long walks with my dog… and sleeping in, if my cat allows it!!

No these are some amazing football tricks by boys and girls!www.artFido.com/popular-art
Posted by artFido - fetching art on Friday, May 8, 2015

I love Istanbul too, Roger!

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

The Blue Mosque is right across from the Hagia Sophia

Good luck in the semi-finals, Roger!

       Allez maestro! 

LOVE & AFFECTION by Joan Armatrading

What a treat to hear this great artist and beautiful person on her final world tour last night! Ah the little things that make life grand. Glad I was open to persuasion, dear friend... Love Love Love...

Joan Armatrading - Willow (Live in the Studio)

Going to hear this great singer and great person tonight. Perfect music for a rainy evening...

My favorite witch!

Totally digging the TV show, Salem, and its dramatic theme: the battle between good and evil–but sometimes good is evil and evil is good... so i think, abracadabra...hehe. I have been watching all the old episodes on Netflix before I spend a few days with friends in Salem, Massachusetts. While I am in Salem, I hope to spot a beautiful witch or two. Here is my favorite witch in the show. As she is ancient she is also lovely... oh and i so hope she kicks Rev. Mather's Puritan evil heart. Power to the witches!

training on the bike....

Staying off my my right hamstring until the race and keeping my fingers crossed....

 
i am sporting the nice shirt my running buddy game me.... thank you, Eve.

I have to train on the bike for these last few days to keep my form because i have not been able to run in the last few days. However, I did all the hard training already and ran my last long run of 23 miles two weeks ago... Whatever the outcome, I intend to have FUN in Boston!

Two weeks to my first Boston Marathon

This is what I am looking forward to the most this week: one 60-minute deep tissue massage with 15-minute application of moist heat @ The Bailey Institute Of Muscular Therapy. Oh yeah, baby!

Two weeks before my first Boston Marathon and I am struggling with a very tight and achy hamstring. I skipped my runs for the last two days and went swimming and biking instead. It all started last Sunday during my long 23 mile run. My right calf and right hamstring were feeling tight early that morning. I stopped a few times during the run to stretch my right leg and made it through the run just fine. I got home and rushed to start getting things ready for my road trip to Austin, Texas.  Because I was distracted I neglected to stretch after my long run– a big no-no after running for so long (almost a marathon). The next day I drove 8 hours straight to Austin. It was a relaxing drive but my hamstring was feeling tighter and tighter. I made it to Austin and went for a 9 mile run early the next day. I felt a bit of pain but ignored it and went about my business of sightseeing and having fun with friends. The next day I did my hill training and by Thursday my leg was bothering me even more. Still, I pushed through one last 10-mile run in Austin, and the next day I drove 8 hours straight back to New Orleans. I had a BLAST but I was not kind to my body. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope the achy hamstring does not become a major hindrance in Hopkinton on Patriots’ Day.  

I take so many liberties with my body because it feels so young. Yes, I am a middle-aged woman with a body that feels half my age. I am lucky but I must be more careful as I age; that I know. I hope a deep tissue massage two weeks before the race loosens me up a bit. 

More to come about my Boston bound experience. I returned to FB and will be posting pictures of my Boston-bound journey from there… 

Happy Easter Sunday! 

loving my neighbor...

Tonight like every other night before midnight, Jesse and I walked outside our apartment building, where I routinely stretch while she takes care of her business before bedtime. With hardly anybody around at that time, we rushed back inside and took the elevator back to our floor. Although I was going left, when I came out the elevator my eyes glanced over to the right side of me and there on the hallway floor a few yards away, a woman was laying on the floor in a fetal position, barefooted, her body uncovered and very quiet. Jesse and I rushed over and my sweet dog kissed the lady’s face. I asked the elderly woman if she were fine and she said in a very soft voice that she had fallen but that she was going to get up in a little while. I noticed right away that she was confused. I tried to lift her up but the weight of her lifeless body was too much for me to handle. She looked fine with nothing broken but I did not want to leave her on the floor while I reached the first floor lobby on the other side of the building. Then I wondered if this lady was the mother of my neighbor Bob who had occasionally mentioned that both of his parents live on our floor and they both have dementia. I had seen him carry trays of food to his elderly parents from his apartment to the other side of our floor. I knocked on his door immediately and mentioned the elderly woman on the floor. He wasted no time and rushed out to indeed discover the woman was his mother. He was kind to her and very gently picked her up, while asking her why she was outside her apartment. Her responses made no sense of course and he played along with humorous remarks. He walked her slowly by the hand and Jesse and I followed along, holding her other hand. Once we reached the entrance door to her apartment, I wished Bob and his elderly mother good night.

I am writing this while it’s still fresh on my mind because I want to remember the kindness and love my neighbor Bob showed to his mother. I have been critical of Bob for petty things, but tonight I felt ashamed because we never know what kind of fight people around us are battling in their personal lives. His parents are fortunate to have a kind son like Bob. Be of good cheer dear neighbor!

Doris came out of hiding today...

She hid all week from her caretakers while I was gone but came out meowing up a storm when she heard my voice. I missed her too. She turned a year old this week. Feliz cumpleaños mi gatita bella!

 

Taking a 40 day pause for Lent season...

Not a religious practice but rather a contemplative or meditative-yoga-like time for me... Happy Lent season!

Do what is healing to your spirit, and without effort you will bring the world healing in return     ~Alan Cohen

Ash Wednesday reflection...

Early morning fun with my two loves...

Feliz día de San Valentín! Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Love and kindness are our absolutes.

Mi primo Chef in Chile

At my cousin's insistence, I finally watched the movie Chef and how cool to watch the scenes shot in New Orleans. Good luck to my dear cousin Leonel who is starting his own food truck in Chile this summer. I shall make plans to visit him there and watch him in action. He is as passionate about cooking as chef Casper. Ándale primo bello!

Yes, take your brain with you... but follow your heart too. Love it!

and running always helps...

training and life...

My day started with a 7-mile run early this morning with Michael and Jonathan. We ran pretty fast today. As soon as I got home I took a quick shower, grabbed a quick bite, drank more coffee and headed off to teach my 11am class.
 
By the time I was done with classes I felt totally depleted of energy. I did not eat enough for the amount of calories I burned–always a good problem and very easy to solve at Gracious Bakery where I often indulge. Hehe. Yes, I run for French pastries!

My dog also had a pretty good day. I was recharged and energized by the time I got home and took her for a nice long walk around the entire bayou. She chased birds and yapped away running back and forth. Her sweet love is an amazing gift to me. I love my little mutt so much! 
 
Then as I was grading papers this evening and thinking about dinner, the guys surprised me with this yummy dinner–grilled salmon and a delicious salad. Yummy! 

It’s back to the Fontainebleau State Park trails on the Northshore this Friday and it’s going to be cold. Brrrr! Then a 15 mile-run on Valentine’s Day and hopefully my legs can still hold me up to hail the Krewe of Endymion!!!! 
I LOVE IT ALL!

Boston training continues…

Running twelve miles on trails left me aching all over. That kind of running is very different and it's more challenging than running on the road. I was aching in places I never ached before and it took me a whole day to recover. But this morning we were back at it again but this time a short run on the road and through our lovely City Park. The Park is the main reason I moved to this part of town. There is just no better place for a runner plus my dog enjoys it too. Yesterday I took her for a long walk at the Park and today she walked the Lafitte Greenway Corridor that is right in our back yard. But going back to my early run, my running buddies, Michael and Jonathan, are in super great shape and are pushing me to run faster to keep up with them. I am so thrilled to have them! But we are more than running buddies, we are friends and together we care for the feral cats in our building. Now we have four new kittens and after Mardi Gras we plan to get them spayed and neutered, provided we are able to trap them. We have been trying to do as much of that as possible with the cats that come around but it seems the cat population continues to grow and people don’t think twice about dumping their cats on our doorsteps. Ay caramba!

Enjoy this picture perfect day!

the adorable little monster in my life...

What are you waiting for my human....

 



















This soft little belly isn't going to rub itself...