I had to copy it from Ms. Lightshadow

Her blog is cooler than mine. She also knows how to do the trick that allows you to try the link right off the page, if you are reading me, you'll have to click it.

Anyhoo, went about her blog and found this link.... that will analyze your typing and tell give you new insights to add to your long list of psychological ailments.

http://www.typealyzer.com/index.php?lang=en

In summary:

• I am an artist (woohooo ?)
• Who worries a lot and people often try to take me for a sucker (I'm not fighting that one either)

The complaisant side of me says : "Good that I'm not doing artsy things right now because something tells me that I would go through the Starvation Road. May be that's it, darn it, there is an anemic writer in me waiting to come out!"

The compromised, Literature lover on the other hand, is scolding me for being a coward. Seriously, I have the utmost respect for people who are willing to what it takes to pursue their dream, maybe it's time for me to take that risk and stop taking it lightly.

The quote is what it really said (they left out the excessive drama aspect of it all)


"ISFP - The Artists
The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of.

They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living. "

TWILIGHT.... no words can describe

So many people are putting down this movie that I find it excessive to give my two cents.

Let's put it this way, if you like VAMPIRES in your VAMPIRE movies, then this is not your cup of tea.

However, if you like pale kids with emotional problems and control issues who happen to have a knack for deer blood and Glitter, then indulge!!!!!

I would write something coherent about the message of misinterpreted traditional values and the perpetual damsel in distress= tragic heroine= female incapable of self reliance= good girl by all means, but I am too depressed.

Did I mention they sorta become glittery when they are exposed to sunlight... MY EYES, MY EYES!!!!!

Thanksgiving 2008

The odds are definitely against it. I can mention at least 5 events on this past week alone that guarantee this is not the best year ever.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't be me and I'm bound to fail God and myself if I can't find something to be grateful for.

One year ago I was in Italy spending time and money because I could. Today I'm fixing a sweet potato casserole on a budget. The fact that Kendra woke up early to go shopping and take notes on my kick-ass rolled oats strudel topping and stayed to make it all with me is good enough to be thankful.

I had a loss in my family exactly a week ago. It has not been easy. Nevertheless, the chance to open up a box and look over old pictures surrounded by people we love and breaking out in laughter between quiet periods of reflection is enough to start healing.

I'm thankful for friends who are always there, even if I disconnect for longer periods that allowed by standard friendships. I'm grateful that they get me and once I call back, after 5 seconds of a lame excuse for my negligence, they are kind and gracious enough to keep it rolling.

I have a family worth looking towards heaven for, crazy as we might be. I'm grateful that we all get one and other- sharp edge puzzle that we are.

I'm grateful for faith itself, because it will see me through and for the fact that God has everlasting love and a great sense of humor and has never, ever failed, even if I do once in a while.

I guess I've covered it all, to all of you reading, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and all kinds of good stuff comprising of complex, delicious and sweet carbohydrates. Atkins can wait, South Beach will always be there, those guys from the Weight will be Watching the day after tomorrow... give a chance to food and love and fun and life will take care of itself.

The quote:

"Some people complain because God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns." Anonymous

I read your name on the paper today

I read your name on the paper today, it was attached to a summary statistic: Male, 28 years old, murdered. It didn't quite process at first, after all, these things just don't happen everyday, not to us.

It was a strange feeling, being granted the ability to detach myself from it all as I read. I was a stranger, reading a piece on the paper, going over details of yet another violent case in an Island that seemed distant. However, it started pulling me in. The name and the stats were not only familiar- they were mine, ours. It all became an unwelcome feeling as I realized that hundreds of people grazed through the pages of the paper today, reading your name giving it no more than a passing thought. Your name, your 28 years, the circumstances of your death were wiped away for a second to hundreds of memories that are unique. For the love of all that's holy, I was there when you were born.

Male, 28 years, murdered. A little boy with a bright smile and beautiful blond hair runs through the garden and hands Lysania a small wild flower. An eight year old tags along with his dad, because the day is way too long and there are things to do, business to attend and then maybe later, a chance to catch up with the cousins at Mama Elisa's, and boy are you planning to have fun. A young man way too thin for his frame who against all odds manages to throw our way a smile that is sincere and warm waves goodbye before speeding away in his bike. We loved you, we couldn't help it.

Today I mourn your death and it's been all stages. I was mad for a while, really, really pissed as I struggled to contain my mother's tears and then inevitably, I gave way to some of my own.

I will celebrate what is worth celebrating because we are beyond if, what or why. I will celebrate the boy you were, and the man you might have been. If anything John, I'll do my best.

You'll always be remembered cousin.

Veteran's Weekend 2008

In my lifetime, I’ve seen many. I was not aware of them as they came from Vietnam, since I was barely starting to scream and kick my way into this world, but as I grew up, I knew all about them. They were a weird bunch, some of them too quiet for comfort, others not quite. They hardly spoke about IT, and when they did- strange enough- they didn’t regret it. Don’t get me wrong, some of them were bitter, obsessed, angry with a country that did not get it. They might have frowned upon the circumstances, but none of them to whom I spoke to would have done differently. They fought their way through hell and madness for their buddies. Looking back on it, they made me redefine friendship.

As a little girl I over heard my grandparents talking about it. It was everywhere, from the Philippines to the heart of Europe. It was a war that was justified and uncontested in it’s righteousness. They served aboard ships and as foot soldiers and established the United States of America as a beacon among nations. They did it because it was in their hands- the hands of brave men who walked into harm’s way, not only for their country, but for all countries. Those men who took the step achieved their goal, destroying the enemy and shaping the world as we now know it. Besides being eternally grateful and looking back on it, they made me redefine courage.

I was 17 years old when my father told me it was his duty to leave. The Gulf was a short war, perhaps one of the shortest and just when we thought it was time to return, he stayed. He served for a whole year because no matter if people try to convince you otherwise, there is compassion and duty and honor and all the best is brought forward when the last shot is fired. My father served and then stayed with the Army Corps of Engineers, not only because it was required, but because it was the right thing to do. Sometimes the idea of winning hearts and minds is not a cynical political statement, is a exercise of humanity. That is what keeps you going, even if you miss the comfort and the warmth of home. Looking back on it, my dad made me redefine compromise.

On September 11, 2001, as I came out of the initial shock, the first word to escape my mouth was "mercy"... and in a moment of pure selfishness I thought "Thank you, thank you dear Lord, dad is not active anymore". However, I still saw them leave- friends, family, complete strangers. They signed their lives into Afghanistan and Iraq to fight a war as we have never seen. As I see them come back and hear their stories, it strikes me how similar they are to those before them. Those who return are blessed with their lives and afflicted by that they leave behind. However, they keep going back as we wait for a final safe return. In all honesty, they have it all against them. Most outlets savor every opportunity to point out the strategic failures, the collateral damage and the ill intents. And yet they keep going back, doing their thing, keeping us safe, earning the right to be a US Veteran, because they don’t do it for themselves, they don’t do it for 15 minutes of cable news fame. They do it for duty, for country, they do it for the guy standing beside them and they do it for us, so we don’t have to go through what they have to. Looking back on it this ongoing generation of veterans it made me redefine pride.

Thank you.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

PS- Courtesy of the Litte History Corner: I did not forget the "Forgotten War" (Korea) it is just that this is sorta like a chronological essay that relates my connection to family veterans and none of my guys ever went there. Nevertheless, if some one gives you a a tiny flower at a supermarket this weekend and tells you to remember, dust off your history books, they did their part, fighting the "commies" when they were really scary....

Historic Indeed...

Congratulations are in order for Barack Obama.

In what has been a record turn out, Senator Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States and the first African American to hold the Office. It all has the appeal of Sense of Destiny.

As you know I am part of the more than 20 million who voted against him on this election. It was my right, and I don't regret it. After all, I voted just like Martin Luther King told me to, not by color of skin, but by content of character. I swear I wanted to like him enough to vote for him. I must admit that I rode the Obama wagon for a while, after all I've crossed lines before (The world knows I love me some Bill Clinton). It took me a lot of discipline not to be swayed by the speeches and carried away by the rhetoric. Most of all it took a lot of to cast a ballot "against history." As part of a minority, I've longed for this "first" forever, but it was not enough.

As celebration unfolds as it is expected, I reexamine my position to see if there is something I could have done differently and find myself saying absolutely nothing.

This is not the lonely rant of a bitter American who clings to her gun and her Bible . It is a plea to the new man in charge, please, please, prove me wrong. Nothing would make me happier.

Mr. Obama, the majority of the United States of America, in their wisdom is putting in your hands the biggest economic debacle since the Great Depression. Don't feed me the idea that you will try to solve it by sheer will power and magic... Prove me wrong and make people accountable, because it is not only W.'s war expenses or the fat cats in Wall Street, it is also the people that were meant to look out for our interests, people that we empowered and trusted to look out for us. Don't just slap them in the wrist CUT THEM DOWN AND MAKE THEM PAY; even if some of them turn out to be from your own party. That will be a heck of a start. While at it, be upfront about the repercussions the 700 billion will have on your original plan for this Country, tell me the new measure, so we can hold our ground.

As far as MY issues go, don't worry I'm not that hard to please.

You may do as you see fit with the situation in Iraq, after all, you will be the President. But please, take care of the troops. You are about to be Commander in Chief of the same people you said went overseas to air-raid villages and kill civilians. As a person who is closely linked to the US Army, I found that statement deeply disturbing. In fact it was the one statement that guaranteed the total loss of my sympathy for you in this race. Call me out, make me wrong and give them their place. Supply for them while they are still in harm's way and bring them safely home. After all, unlike many of us who can still say hell no to you or your policies, these men and women are subject to you. They have freely sworn to bleed and die upon your command. Don't forget it, until the last one of them is safely back home.

Allow me to remind you that there are countries other than Venezuela and Cuba. In fact there is a whole bunch of countries collectively known as Latin America. Extend your hand in partnership, please don't forget Colombia- a lot of issues, including a possible economic and political debacle depends upon the Free Trade Pact you have carefully avoided discussing. As far as illegal immigration goes, leave out the drama. The idea of families separated breaks our heart, however handing out pretty driving licenses to illegal immigrants or chewing on the same recycled ideas will solve nothing. I know there are a lot of things on your agenda, however in honor of those Latinos who could vote and did right by you in states like Florida and New Mexico, bring the start of the comprehensive reform within the first 100 days of your administration. My bet is it won't even be brought to mind, I beg of you, make me wrong.

I love my knish with a lot of mustard, my corned beef sandwiches in rye bread and my prayers facing Jerusalem. Hell, I am a strange breed of wacky Puertorrican Zionist. Sue me. Please, reconsider your idea about Iran being a tiny country that poses no threat. Look, I am not going the the extreme that other people went on this campaign, questioning your commitment to Israel. I'm just saying that a threat as palpable as that of Ajmadenijad is not to be taken lightly. While you are at it, and since the stance of Israel in teh Middle East is so linked to America, take in consideration that whole business of no preconditions. I really hope you could prove me wrong, but the odds are against you. You know it well, you have said so yourself, Ajmadenijad is not the true leader of Iran, it is the Ayatollah Khamenei, the same man who a couple of weeks ago expressed deep hatred for America based not on political grounds, but in religious philosophy. To sit down with these bozos without preconditions is to open the door for a public humiliation of every principle the United States stands for, based on the silly premise of their concept God being better than ours.

I've had my say. Does this mean that through this next four years I'll turn into an ultraconservative, sore looser, solely Fox News watching, Rabid Bible Thumping, NRA carding Obama hatin' gal? Not at all. If something we have learned of this campaign, is that the things that define us as a country are bigger and better than the things that we pride as individuals. Country First is more than a slogan to me, I'm here to do my part. After all, hating the player is divisive and amounts to nothing. I'll do as I always do once the last vote is counted. I'll stand at the center - good moderate girl that I am- and scream only as needed.

Please, Mr. O., do right by us all proving me wrong. Win me over. I guess it won't be difficult. You have been granted all, having the House, the Senate and the Judges on your side of the court!!!!!

God bless you and Good night.

PS: Props and love to McCain, it was an honorable retreat, my friend :p