Somewhere in the Dominican Republic

The surprise of:

Crystalline sunlight and white sand
Stunning butterflies and a riot of bougainvillea
Gorgeous thunderheads

The delight of:

Packing light and still not needing 99% of what I packed
Naps under a palm tree
Long walk on the beach the promise of fresh mango slices
A quickly established routine

The blessing of:

Towns without shopping, without nightlife, without people
4 days with no cell phone and crackberry
Wild hair, no make-up and an Indian sarong
Early bedtime

The nuisance of:

Forgetting my camera
Arriving without our bags
Presence of Italian tourists
Realizing that people are slowly moving away from me

Color Magic

While roaming the shelves of a toy shop looking for a gift for a friend’s baby, I made a discover that, I believe, testifies to the downfall of civilization:

Crayola Colors: 1903
Black
Brown
Orange
Violet
Blue
Green
Red
Yellow

Crayola Colors: 2008
Awesome
Best Friends
Bear Hug
Happy Ever After
Super Happy
Fun in the Sun
Famous

AWESOME?! That was the best name people could come up with for "Orange"? I am not even going to comment on Super Happy, Best Friends and Famous as they are too unspeakable. Some people say that color is better than Prozac…...whoever chose these names must have been on Prozac.

If I were to chose the names for next season’s colors I would suggest:

Paris pink
Colombian slopes (white)
NYPD (blue)
Red necks'revenge
War against terror (black)

How’s that as color extravaganza?

Such is life

When good things happen unexpectedly, like a postcard from a friend you haven’t spoken in a long time, a gift that someone bought thinking of you for you when traveling in a far away place or sudden appearance of my preferite candie on the office’s desk, I can only assume it is because God saw some of my good deeds like giving up my seat on the subway to an heavily pregnant woman or doing charity. Such noble gestures indeed deserve a reward and the reward must humbly accepted and possibly eaten straight away….
But it’s not all candies and good surprises all the time. There are times when God sees me doing something unsavory or reads my ill-spirited mind and sends down a scourge to torment me.
Earlier this year I was beset by a fractured foot. I had an incident while traveling in a third-world country where health care is simply non existent….. Upon return from my travel, while dreaming of tranquility and repose, an unexplainable bug infestation of biblical memory forced me out of my apartment and condemned me to live a displaced life at the mercy of pious friends and colleagues. A few days later, on a rainy and hectic my wallet with all my documents and my life in it was inadvertently abandoned on a NY city cab.
In short, life can be very difficult sometime….Why I wonder? ….Why me ???….why now??? ….why all at the same time?

The List of Possible Causes

Gluttony (Gula) Eating too many of God’s candies and getting sick because of that. Is this punishment for being rewarded? Questionable..

Greed (Avaritia) make your friends walk 10 blocks to go and return the nine dollar book you find boring.

Lust (Luxuria) Is a friendship that borders on unconsummated romance a sin?? That is rather the plot of a movie.

Sloth (Acedia) Not keeping up with the running schedule like I said I would. Doing every possible to avoid it, including cleaning places that don’t need to be cleaned and re-arranging all closets.

Wrath (Ira) Since when leaving hungry messages on a voice mail is a sin after you have been trying to put a black cloud on me because you think we should all share your bitter life?

Envy (Invidia) Keira Kniegtley, lovely, talented, cute British accent. I want to you cut you in pieces.

Pride (Superbia) Refused Fauxhawk’s invitation for the week end with the pretext I was too busy as it would have exposed my fear of heights. Vain, yes - but also noble, as am saving hundreds from PTSD and save everybody’s time.

Shouldn’t I get a candie for that?

You go girl!

OK this is my new schedule. If I don't post again in the next weeks it means I have died of hearth-attack at the Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir. Good luck to me!

Week Tuesday Thursday Sat/Sun
1 1–1.5 miles 1–1.5 miles easy 1–1.5 miles easy
2 Repeat week 1 Repeat week 1 Repeat week 1
3 1.5 miles mod 1.5 miles mod 1.5 miles easy
4 Repeat week 3 Repeat week 3 Repeat week 3
5 1.5–2 miles mod 1.5–2 miles mod on hills 1.5–2 miles easy
6 2 miles mod 2 miles hard 2 miles easy
7 2.5 miles mod 2.5 miles mod on hills 2.5 miles mod
8 2.5 miles mod 2.5 miles hard 3 miles easy
9 Repeat week 8 Repeat week 8 Repeat week 8
10 3 miles mod 3 miles mod on hills 3.5 miles mod
11 3.5 miles mod 2.5 miles hard 4 miles mod
12 3 miles mod 2 miles easy Race

13 EASY RACE

Image from: www.nyc-architecture.com/CP/CP.htm

Uncertainty

I am crippled by the competing forces of blind optimism and pessimistic realism. I am drawn to - and repelled by – the idea of uncertainty about something. However, I must be mindful that often the allure of comfort and security unnerves me and a jump in the unknown has, in so far, been a good choice.

Cover by Kalman'sbook, The Principals of Uncertainty

Someone get that girl a drink!

So as not to feel the terrible burden of Time that breaks your shoulders and bends you toward the earth, you must get drunk without respite.But get drunk on what? On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you like. But get drunk.– Charles Baudelaire

Things to get drunk on:

1 a good laugh
2 friends
3 caixhinas de Caranguejos
4 weekends in Brooklyn
5 travels

These days I get a lot of 1,2,4,5 but I am nostalgicand wistful for # 3. Somenthing that I called home for a short-time and left without turning back. What are you wistful for?