Sunday's post on a Monday

Yesterday was Sunday and I just did not have a moment even to post anything here, and trust me I keep loosing my internet connection last night.

I will post here as if it is Sunday (yes, even if we all know today is Monday).

Yesterday I was invited to this barbeque (BBQ) to a very nice palatial house in Vicente Lopez. It was planned for a few days and it being held in Buenos Aires was sort of an oxymoron , BsAs Barbeque, I mean.

The lack of spice here makes the barbeque part kindda not authentic but anyhoo...I volunteered to make the "american version" of a potato salad - it was popular of course and everyone enjoyed it, even those that were on the "not eating carbs diet" :-)

So this house was huge. When given the tour I stopped counting rooms when it hit 5 rooms with ample bathroon space. Just to get to the front door from the front gate was a long walk and I was not disappointed when I toured the house. There were more living rooms and sub-rooms than I have even see in any house here in Argentina. It was wow! The decor was "unique" but to each his own, so to speak.

The living room/dining room was huge, large wooden table that seated 15 people and even left room for more.

Barbeque burgers were served with all the trimmings. Coffee and cake were served in the end. I met loads of people. I like them all. After all I hardly meet a stranger I did not like, really. And yes even here in Argentina.

I drove there, and was amazed about the victorious feat. I was able to get there with minimal instructions and got back to the same autopista with little or no direction whatsoever. It was night time by the time I headed back but the drive I found lots of fun. When there is no pressure to be anywhere at any designated time, one gets to enjoy the drive. I love that part. I think I am learning to like driving again. I just had to re-think my whole concept of it. Leisurely and no stress, it was great.

I loved the change in activity for that Sunday. I missed church and that bums me out but I will go to church in the next day or so.

I am sure I will have to make up for it one way or another, but I liked the plannig, the trip there, meeting new people, dining with new people, gathered new info abotu BsAs restaurants and then the great drive home. It was great.

Oh and I got ice cream for everyone to enjoy on my way home. I wanted to share my nice day to everyone and all.

Cheers!

a quote from Nelson Mandela....

Today was a day like no other before. It was a very nice day. And to make it even more special, I chose this quote by Nelson Mandela...
"It seems impossible until it is done".
At this moment I cannot put into words what I feel, give me a day or two or even three and I am sure it will be duly noted here, one way or another.
Thank you.
I promise a more exciting post tomorrow.

take anything you want from me.anything.anything.

I confess I do not remember the very first time I heard these lyrics. But I know that though Sting has his version, there is nothing like Jimi Hendrix's version as he played it on 02-24-69, Little Wings.
Eric Clapton played it with Sheryl Crow in 2007, it was great (Eric in the guitar and Crow for vocals) but c'mon there is nothing like Hendrix, right?
It says...take anything you want from me. anything.anything.....
Now, how honey dripping sweet is that?! I la-la-loove it!!
There is no body alive that can stroke and strum the strings like Hendrix could. I am a child born in the 60's but not a product of the 60's (sadly) so I have this unexplained affinity to music that have connection and roots in the 60's.
I am partial to heavy metal strings (improv) with the beats of rock n roll - now that is purr-fection.
I think everyone should at one point in their lives have to listen to Little Wings as Hendrix played it live like the one in Paris or the one he did in Albert Hall. The song is short but the lyrics are great and the sound - well, do I need to describe it?
I do not listen to Little Wings often but when I am in a certain mood I look for this song, especially. It is that hard to explain. It is not just a bunch of notes and words strung together it is a feeling that one gets, the experience that makes it unique.
Listen to it at least just once. I swear if you thought Hendrix too heavy for your taste, this will change your perception of him and his talent.

Postcards..an open letter for Claudio

I swore that when I was going to write this post I will not cry. I lied.
Thursday 11th of June, 2009
My Dearest Claudio,

1001 disculpas. I am writing this postcard to you to tell you that I love you.

Thank you for being yourself. I will not dwell so much on what you mean to me because I would like to keep that special by keeping that closest to my heart and no one can ever touch that spot for I think talking about it will diminish its unadulterated meaning.

Allow me instead to share in here what I have learned from you. Thank you for everything, and if I do not say it often, for all times it will be here. Just read and remember me fondly.

I have learned from you that there are no perfect endings, that even in death and wilted flowers are just but part of life. You showed me strength during worst times, weakness in tender moments of recollecting memories, resilience in getting up when the wind is knocked out from under you and making the most out of the cards life has dealt you. You have shown me that you are what you want your life to be. And that you always find joy in the very simple things - I wish to emulate that. I want to be just simple and true to myself, like you are. I admire your dedication to your friendships, if I am ever half of what you are to R as his friend, I would be happy.

In you I have come to understand that the world is round. A shape that has no beginning and no end. And that the endings are only in our minds and we limit them further by what we put in our hearts.

I will forever treasure the pictures that you have given me but most of all I have what I need etched in my memory to last me this lifetime.

I have the stone that you brought from your last fishing trip. I hold it on the palm of my hand and I see that though it is a triangle it has 3 rounded sides. It is domed on the top and with a flattened bottom. I clench my fist and it fits in there perfectly. My heart is said to be the size of my fist, maybe there is something to that. I see it as a symbol of strength and how the little glitters embedded in there from other minerals it has gathered from years of rolling on the riverbedd make the stone what it is. Each time I hold it, I will think of you. I promise you that I will keep it with me always. The day will come when I pick up that stone and I might forget who gave it to me and that would be a very sad day. But remember this, I hope never to forget who gave it to me, but I will never ever forget what a great feeling it has given me.

So for all my shortcomings I hope 1000 apologies in advance would be a good start and the 1 other apology is for the day that I might forget who gave me the stone. 1001 disculpas.

Claudio, now I get it, that happy endings cannot come in the middle of a story, and that even if I pray sometimes what I wish for do not turn out like I wish they would.

Let me leave you with this thought, for I could never explain fully what will be the ending to the story between R and myself but maybe this advise someone gave me would.

It goes something like this...In the end, we are all separate; no matter how similar, we come to a fork and diverge. We are drawn to each other because of our similarities but it is our differences we must learn to respect.

Claudio, you are such a very good person. I feel honored to have known you. You are R's friend and by association you have been so great to me. My life has been better because I have known you, what an honor!

I am sorry if knowing me brought a slight tug of pain in your heart.

I will always have my biggest hug saved for you.
Always,

La Diva

2 suitcases, a hot cup of coffee and lots of shoes..

Well, here I am listening to Bon Jovi on the ipod as I am packing my "stuff". This is the beginning of a new chapter of my life. The first step has been taken and packing it is. As I had unpacked years ago, today I find myself packing. The cycles we all go through in life, you can never really know.

I made myself a nice brew of coffee and tried on some nice shoes (spring and summer wear) before bagging them and placing them in the 2 red suitcases that are open before me. No one said this has to be an excruciating thing, right? I might as well enjoy my shoes, for I know it will be very long time before I meet up with them again.

Had to dig some plastic bags to wrap these babies up before putting them altogether in one suitcase. I am sure it will take several suitcases to empty this place up.

There is a sense of finality to this exercise. And so far I am doing well, emotionally I mean. I found a nice framed photo of R and me when we attended Lucia's baptismal from years ago. Lots of changes in me from then and now. Memories of good times.

I dug some more stuff, boy do I have loads of them! Purses of all sizes, shirts of various colors and things that I would like to take still with me to my next destination. I found some music CDs. It would be great to find forgotten "treasures" in them.

As I am doing this, I thought in one's life we have to learn to let go of people, situations, things and stuff, memories and most especially we have to learn to let go of ourselves. And letting go I ponder is a human attempt to correct what had happened in the past. Strength you might think may come from holding on but it takes a stronger person to let go. It is a form of acceptance that there are certain things that cannot be. And in my case, this is the sincerest and purest form of saying ...I love you.

Here on forward, we girls like to call this part "picking up the pieces" and that basically means... it is all over.

It is my belief that we never truly leave anyone behind. We leave a part of us in them and we take a piece of them with us.

There is no saying what tomorrow brings but for me, I have some serious packing to do and I better get a crack at it.

I am strong. I can do this and I am not alone.

Beauty in simplicity.

Every morning for the last month or so the moment I am aware that I am fully awake I tell myself, that today I am alive, have a purpose and will not waste today. And so far each daily affirmation of starting it positive have been very healthy and helpful for me. I know it is a very simple thing you might say, to make such a big difference in one's life, but to me I am all about simplifying my life. Complication never brought me the joy that simple stuff is bringing me now. Now I get it.

I smile when I see a blade of grass catch a sunray, it gives it length and makes it greener. I appreciate things now that before I barely even noticed. Simplicity is beauty. And there is beauty in simple things.

I work towards having my thoughts, my words and my action be just that... simple and harmony will follow. I believe harmony is also spelled P-E-A-C-E; and who doesn't want that?