Monday, March 21, 2005
Daydreaming
¿Cuándo es que se va a acabar esta ceremonia? ¡Tengo hambre!
¿Y cuál será el equipo que me va a firmar?
Si el cangrejo camina de lado, ¿cómo es que va hacia adelante?
Espero que Tata me haya hecho mi arroz blanco, yo no soy muy amigo del chow fan...
Felicidades colega!
Aquí la vemos con su mentor, el Dr. Julio César Abréu, padrino de graduación.
¡Bienvenida formalmente al mundo legal!
Friday, March 18, 2005
Crónica de un rapto anunciado
¡Oh, la vida del que no tiene oficio!
Se sentó y me preguntó si tenía mucho trabajo. Ciertamente, las últimas 3 semanas he tenido más trabajo que lo normal, y la pobre Rosa está medio resentida porque no le he hecho mucho coro en cuestiones de salida, así que noté en su pregunta un dejo de nostalgia. Le dije que se sentara, que yo era capaz de multitask y que a las 5:00 p.m. tenía que ir a buscar un apquete que me había llegado de Miami y que estaba cordialmente invitada a acompañarme.
¡Craso error!
Los próximos 40 minutos se los pasó haciendo soniditos para que le hiciera caso, poniendo cara de perro arrepentido. Me comentó que el trainer del gimnasio la había matado y que casi no podía moverse (me dí cuenta cuando entró, estaba caminando medio chueca), pero que tenía ganas de beberse una Presidente Light, así que le dije que después de buscar el paquete, la acompañaría a beberse su cerveza.
Juntar a Jose y a Rosita fue como detonar una bomba. ¡Cual de los dos estaba más necio! Tenían la jodeína revolteada... se reían de todo y de todos, yo loca por llegar a mi casa a echarme...
Como soy una persona de palabra, tuve que pasar por el Trompo para que Rosita se comprara su Presidente Light.
De ahí fuimos a casa de Jose a probar el FinalScratch. Luego de 1 hora esperando que llegara la luz (la planta la prendían a las 7:00 p.m. y no era verdad que iba a subir 10 pisos por gusto), de conectar alambres y hacer pruebas, Rosita declaró que tenía hambre y que quería comerse una ensalada césar de Steak House. Luego d emucho rogar, accedí a llevarla, no sin que antes Jose se guillara y Carlos llamara para saber en qué estábamos y terminara acompañándonos a cenar.
Hacia hambre?
Desde un principio había dicho que quería estar en casa antes de las 9:00 p.m. para poder ver Will & Grace, pero los planes nunca resultan como una quiere.
Terminamos de cenar en Steak House y nos dirigimos hacia casa, todavía con 10 minutos de sobra. Saliendo de Steak llamó Judith para saber dónde estábamos (mejor dicho, dónde estaba su primogénito). Aquí vino lo peor: ayer estaban inaugurando una sucursal nueva de Sun Movies en Piantini y había un concierto gratis con El Jeffrey el Grupo Negros, y ella quería llevar a los niños...
¿Alguien me puede explicar por qué una mujer que fue primera bailarina del Ballet Santo Domingo, que de oir música clásica no sale, que ni siquiera prende el radio en el carro y cuando sus hijos lo hacen los manda a bajar el volumen, se le antoja ir a ver ese concierto?
El asunto que fue que la llevé, pero no me bajé. Ella se bajó con Camila para ver 5 minutos del concierto.
¡Caramba, ni siqiuera le gusta el merengue!
Como se podrán imaginar, llegué a mi casa cerca de las 9:30 p.m., y me perdí Will & Grace.
¡Qué perla!
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Murió dando vida
Gracias a Silvia por este hermoso mensaje:
Por Manuel Maza, S.J. / El Caribe
Miercoles 16 de marzo del 2005 actualizado a las 1:19 AM
La prensa mundial se ha hecho eco de la muerte heroica de Nicola Galipari, jefe del servicio de seguridad italiano en Irak, intentando salvar de un diluvio de balas norteamericanas a Giuliana Sgrena, periodista del diario Il Manifesto.
Todo ser humano se conmueve ante la generosidad de este militar que escudó con su cuerpo a la periodista. Galipari era un profesional que sobrellevó con paciencia la mala fama que rodea a todos los necesarios organismos de seguridad.
Más de una vez pensó en cambiar su trabajo de policía por otra profesión mejor remunerada y respetada. Caminó la ruta escarpada del servicio ciudadano, renunció a la vida cómoda, sacrificó la cercanía familiar de mujer e hijos.
Estoy seguro de que en adelante, la vida de Giuliana Sgrena estará marcada por la entrega de Nicola Galipari, mientras ponderamos los terribles interrogantes de este confuso incidente. La muerte de este hombre bueno arroja luz sobre tantas muertes de inocentes a manos de los señores del terror y de la guerra. Su acción generosa nos interpela.
El 25 de marzo volverá a ser Viernes Santo y conmemoraremos la muerte de Jesús de Nazaret. Aún mirada de cerca, la cruz de Jesús no es diferente de las otras dos donde murieron dos bandidos. ¿Cómo comprender esa muerte?
Basta mirar al crucifijo para captar que la muerte de Jesús fue violenta. Hubo un momento en que cayó preso, perdiendo el control sobre su vida, su mensaje y su destino. Otros pudieron acusarle de revoltoso y blasfemo, de ser otro líder popular contrario a la ocupación romana, "Hemos comprobado que éste anda agitando a nuestra nación, oponiéndose a que se pague tributos al César y diciendo que él es Mesías y rey" (Lucas 23, 2). Jesús no se opuso al pago de impuestos a Roma (lea Lucas 20, 20-26), sí se opuso a la divinización de César.
Jesús murió una muerte violenta, porque escogió libremente ejercer su ministerio en el corazón mismo del poder en Palestina. Subiendo a Jerusalén, Jesús escogió enfrentar en su propio terreno a los intereses del templo, a los especialistas de la ley, escribas y fariseos que oprimían al pueblo con pesadas cargas, y al poder interventor romano y sus aliados saduceos.
La ida a Jerusalén no fue una decisión fácil. Lucas lo reseña: "Jesús decidió irrevocablemente ir a Jerusalén" (9,51). Jesús confrontó todos estos poderes, no porque ambicionara el poder, sino porque el templo, la ley y la maldad humana y sus mil caras destruían la verdadera vocación humana, eran contrarios a la Buena Noticia del Reino.
Si sus enemigos pudieron apresarlo y darle muerte, fue porque Él libremente escogió ser fiel a su mensaje y su ministerio. Jesús lo afirmó claramente, "Nadie me quita la vida, yo me desprendo de ella por decisión propia" (Juan 10,18). Pudieron matarlo, porque escogió afirmar radicalmente la Buena Noticia. La única forma de acallar su voz era quitarle la vida.
En el Evangelio de Juan, Jesús explica su muerte e ilumina la de Galipari: "nadie tiene amor más grande por los amigos que uno que da la vida por ellos" (Juan 15, 13). Murió dando vida.
Natural Highs
Thank you Mariu for this email. I hope you feel better...
1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake. (or vanilla or strawberry!)
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Smiling just because you can.
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke.
24. Friends.
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
29. Playing with a new puppy.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trips with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38. Holding hands with someone you care about.
39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish christians. Saint Patrick described himself as a "most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God."
Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.
So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.
For more info, click here and here.
Text courtesy of www.st-patricks-day.com
¡Justicia para Orlando!
Hoy se cumplen 30 años del asesianto del periodista Orlando Martínez Howley...
Saquen su revista
Tarta helada!
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
I think it's going to be one of those days...
Anyways, I got out of bed around 7:50 and kissed my parents good morning. I gave my mom a big hug since it's her birthday and then took the newspapers from her (I always leave her in the middle of an article every morning with the excuse that I leave for the office and she stays home, so she has more time than me to read them). I asked Carmen to bring me my breakfast and proceeded to read El Dia and El Diario Libre while listening to Robin Meade on the TV.
After reading the papers and having breakfast I went to the bathroom to get a shower. I was thinking about Mariu and how she's been sick for the past few weeks. A while ago doctors diagnosed her with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, something local doctors hadn't been able to discover. She had spent the last 5 years suffering from sudden drops in blood pressure and she kept on fainting all the time. Local doctors said she had diabetes, but after medicating her the symptoms just kept getting worse until finally my brother and my sister in law decided to take her to Ohio, where my mom's sister and her family lives. My uncle and cousin are very respected doctors over there, so we were sure she was getting the best help available. After more than a month, they finally discovered she was suffering from this syndrome and medicated her. The doctor told her it was going to be a few years before she would get back to normal, but that she would start feeling better as time went on.
Apparently, the medication has been affecting her digestive system and she's now suffering from gastritis. Today she is undergoing a colonoscopy to see what wrong with her insides.
As you can imagine, I'm very worried about her.
Aside from that, yesterday I went to see my grandmother (she lives in the same building I do, on the 3rd floor, with my aunt). Honestly, I didn't like the way she looked. She's not getting any better and things are just going downhill. I don't know what's going to happen to her.
As all these thoughts were going thru my mind, I took my glasses off to get in the shower. As I was holding them in my hands, they suddenly broke in two pieces, precisely where they hold the lenses. Well, I'm not blind as a bat, but I certainly can't see without them. After moving up my daily schedule, I called the office and told them I was going to get in late 'cause I had to get a new pair of glasses ASAP.
After I got there, I had to get a checkup on my sight (it had been more than 2 years since the last one). I went into the doctor's office and sat down in that special chair they have with the big machinery attached to it.
After struggling with it for a while, the doctor couldn't get it to work, so we had to proceed with the exam the old fashioned way.
Almost an hour later I left with the promise that my glasses were going to be ready for this afternoon.
My head was starting to ache because I have to wink a lot in order to see anything...
I was driving up Lincoln Avenue heading for the office. Since I couldn't see, I was not driving very fast, but at a logical speed. Suddenly, apparently the chick that was driving the white Toyota RAV4 to my left decided to make my day, so she veered towards me (I was in the middle lane). I had to make a strong right in order to keep our suv's from kissing and got very pissed when I saw her picking up her cellphone, not aware that she had just put ourselves in the straight road to an accident.
I kept on driving (after wishing her mother a couple of things), and I saw in my rearview mirror that a red Ford F150 was driving too close to me. I had my window down (don't ask me why), so I could clearly see it. Just as he was driving past me, apparently his wheels caught a little rock in the middle of the street and sent it my way. I felt it cross straight in front of me (I couldn't see it, of course), hit the passenger side door and land on the passenger seat. Now, if I'd had my window up, it would've certainly broken it, so I guess it was just pure luck I had rolled it down just a few seconds before to vent my road rage. Needless to say, I can barely see. Right now my head is pounding and I'm 1 inch away from the computer monitor in order to write this. I don't think I'll be able to do much work today...
And it's not even noon yet...
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Entertainment | In a Diaz after fall (13-03-2005)
Que camping gear ni que camping gear! Estaba haciéndole el "Salto del Tigre" a Justin!