CHICAGO!!!

I spent the last few days in Chicago! yep, ooo getting on a plane, sooo good! even though it was not that comfortable. From Seattle to Chicago I asked for an emergency exit seat and.....they charge! can you imagine, $44 US (w/United). No wonder why airlines do so bad, crappy customer service and charging for breathing. Anyway, I got safe and sound to the windy city.

Ana Laura (my sis) was already waiting there. We went to get the car and got a mini-van, gross, they are truly ugly! but it was good to have some wheels. We stayed in a hotel close to the airport, very nice with awsome pillows (part of the Hilton), as it was late we just went to a nearby mall where everything was closed so we ended up going to a late night movie... V for Vendetta, amusing!


Next day we decided to go to Cereal City - the Kellog's plant to visit the frosted flake Tigre Tono. We saw the brochure in the hotel rack and the directions were: take I-90 and exit on #90 to a street, and it is 5 miles from there. OK, so there we go....the #$%^&* brochure didn't bother to say that it was something like 3 hours away and that you had to cross 3 states!!


Ana Laura called in the morning and they were opened until 5. On the map we found the highway and there we go, and then crossed to another state and then to another. We kept saying that we should go back, but as we didn't know how far it was we kept going. We arrived at 4:15 (left at 1:30) to find out that it was CLOSED!!! can you imagine!! we laughed (what else to do) but I sure gave the finger to the Tigre!






So we went back to town and got back at around 9 pm so we basically blew the whole day royally. We went for a nice steak dinner and as usual I had a date with the porcelain god, severe vomiting and feeling like dying the whole night. I don't know why my stomach is soooooo sensitive!

The next day we went for a good walk to half of the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave.)
and as it was a very nice day we went up the Sears Tower...103 floors!
it takes de elevator I think 50 seconds to go from the bottom to the top1. We had amazing views of Lake Michigan and you could see over 50 miles (we couldn't see the %^&^&* cereal city....hahaha). There is a very good, fun, informative and well designed exhibit about the history of Chicago, the famous people, their industry, arts, sports, architecture, etc. So it was a very educational and informative way to spend a couple of hours.

Then we went to walk around the Mile and I wanted to go to a Piano Bar called the Red Hair Girl but it was closed (lucky for AL!),. so instead we went for Mexican dinner...lots of mexican places, there is a big MX community there as well as latin americans.

On Tuesday we took an architectural tour of "old high rises". Architectura - the architects association has this great shop with awsome thingys and all the tours are provided by academics. OUr guide was Lee, an retired professor. She explained things in a very animated, fun, informative and well informed way so it was a very fun tour. At some point in time a high-rise had 9 stories!! imagine. Chicago is like Gothic City or Spiderman's city, I know it doesn't sound like a very cultured view of it but I just kept waiting to see Batman in his car or Spiderman hanging from some modern-gothic-art deco styled building! I love high rises and Chicago has plenty of them. The downtown core is very attractive but once you are out of there is nothing very nice. All the surrounding areas are FLAT...buildings are very short and everything is brown. Of course it is still wnter but I don't think the whole of Chicagoland gets much green! The "city" is modern, happening, gorgeous buildings, nice little bridges, the lake, people are very friendly and warm though not particularly good looking nor well dressed, it's pretty "average", which I found a little weird.


There are plenty of swanky restaurants and bars, coffee and chocolate shops, blues and jazz joints and of course Chicago's famous Giordianos deep dish pizza! We had a little one between the two of us and it was more than plenty! eating one of those guarantees a major cheese ball in the stomach!!! hahaha
After getting culturized we spend the rest of the day at Marshal Fields, a Chicago's icon of a department store. Chicagoans are upset as this store has been bought by Macy's and soon it will become one. Marshall Fields is to Chicago as The Bay is to Canada (mmmhhh, and The Bay was recently sold to JC Penny's - *&%^$# - if they are going to be selling national identity icons at least they should sell them to more upscale entities like Nordstrom, buy JC Penny? arggg. OK that is another blog entry). So apparently there is much discontent that they are going to change the name and look of the store!

OK I'll continue with this later, and I'll post pictures too!

Today's find

We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle

RESPONSES

Lots of times I go to my blog only to see that there are no comments! arrrgghh! it's so sad....so if you read the blogs comment! that's the whole point no? to create on-line communities, exchange ideas, say JE_LL_OU?? A little ranting is good! ha

FEBRERO LOCO....MARZO OTRO POCO

We had snow last week!....can you belive it, snow in Vancouver in the middle of March. I went to visit Lorena and Andres to their new house in Surrey....beautiful place, I am soooo happy for them, but it is the Sister Republic of Surrey, about 45 minute drive (or more) from my place. Coming accross Richmond it was snowing really hard, biiiiiiig snow flakes the size of a mmmhh, Kranky on steroids and white...mmh, so Kranky not such a good example, nor like a big chunk of skin one pulls off the face or the back after a bad case of sun burn (yummy!), but maybe more like the size of a mini-Oreo cookie....big. I had to drive really slow but it looks sooooo pretty.
Didn't take any pictures, and the snow didn't stay, but the mountains are all white. So on Sunday I went for a long snow shoe trek in Cypress Mountain. Did some black diamond trails and my calfs have been in pain, not my butt or my legs, just my calfs, so I guess I am getting back in shape, fast...! of course today I had training and Alex is really a torturer, but works! so, whatever works right? I will post a picutre of Alex soon so you can see his beady eyes...hahaha.
OK to dinner and then......SALSA!!!

More about friends

The previous post I was talking about what ignites a friendship? what propels us into seeking and nurturing new friendships with strangers - because all friends at some point were strangers.

I think it might be recognition at a primitive level, perhaps at an esoterical or really subconcios level (met them in my previous life), perhaps it's that you see the good parts of yourself reflected on them, I don't know, I haven't made up my mind about this one. But nevertheless throughout my life I have been blessed with excellent friends, o yeah!, how sweet is that.

In the last couple of years I've had the luck to meet some Mexican women that are all truly amazing, we are all very different in many things and very similar in others. A little group was formed and every time we get together is the Mexican Beauties Night. We talk about everything. One night the topic of conversation was cleaning, cooking, what broom you use, if we clean the toilet or the fridge, etc, etc, it was really, really funny, we laughed our heads off and as we are all educated, professional women we laughed even more at the topic of conversation. Other days we talk about politics, or our plans, goals and dreams; the other night the main topic was about violence in Mexico city and the experiences we've had with robberies, kidnappings, etc. The point is that it is a bond forming, life lines, a zone where we can be ourselves with each other, no barriers, and the best is that there is this raw honesty from all of us, in a way the quote I read when I was 9 is true, as all these women are becoming my "sisters". I talk about this particular group of women as they are my newest friends, sometimes when we are together I start thinking, OK, so how did all started? what was the glue? Perhaps it is a silly thing to try to understand "the mechanics" simply it IS, but I like pondering with those kinds of questions in my head.



Lupita(Daniela's mom), Beatriz, Daniela, Yo, Raquel, Marga, Marcela


And this other photo is a photomontage created by Marga (she is also a designer). I got it while I was travelling, when I opened the file I was very touched and at the same time I bursted into laughter as I find it to be such a great image, it captures a lot of the feeling going on with the Mexican Beauties Night...

Welcome Back Party

It was really nice of David and Mariana to have this party for me. It was really fun and we spend a great evening together. They bought and renovated their place and it soooooo beautiful, attention to every detail and very, very good taste. I ate all the guacamole and edamame, mmmmhhh, yummy, and saw a few friends that I haven't seen since I came back, so great to see ya'll. I love Vancouver parties, there is always people from all over the world, this time lots of Latinamericans from Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela others from Australia, Italia, Ukrain, Israel and yep, somo of the minority group, a couple of original Canadians...Dean and David, Mariana's husband, ahhh, multiculturalism...

Mariana and Carolina


Ran, Me, Veronica, Rodolfo


Bea, Ivan, Luis

THE RACOON

On Friday morning I had invited my friend Daniela and her mom Lupita to come for coffee to my place. [I just love that of inviting girlfriends for coffee on a workday morning!! hihihi]. I broke the lid of the butter thingy and there was glass all over the kitchen, so I went out to the patio to get my broom. On the chair there was this big, brown, curled up furry thing. First I thought it was a cat, too big...then a dog... to curled up and Bea told me to be careful as it might be a racoon. So we went inside to the bedroom window, made some noise and this super cute racoon kind' of woke up, looked at us like saying..."hey ladies, I had a rough night and I want to sleep", and then curled up again and went back to sleep!!!



The racoons are SO cute, I could just hugh it, too bad that they are very agressive, eat garbage and are likely carriers of rabies. But any way, here are the pictures, thinking about it, I could have made a cute little bolero jacket! hahaha
The racoon was rather large, my friend Ran suggested that it might be pregnant and when the little racoons are born they are going to think that I am their mother, I just have to make sure to wear a mask...hahaha, funny Ran.

I called Wildlife rescue and they told me to leave alone as he was probably going to leave at night, he left at around 6:50, I'm sure going to a party somewhere close.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP

What is friendship really? how do you define it? is it love, compassion, company, fun, all of the above? how does it develop? where does it start? why does it start? what factors make people friends and what keeps them as acquaintances? is it all about chemistry? of course common interests, values but not necessarily goals play an important part. Why is it easier -many times- to deal with friends that with family? Is it blood? familiarity? "rights"? If your sibling is your friend as well, how is that different from a non-blood friend?

Well, I am sure that everyone has different ideas about the questions above. Once I heard that there are friends for a reason, friends for a season and friends for a lifetime....and that made sense. I have had them all...the friends for a lifetime still my friends, and some are really from a life time, some we met when we were 3.

So, going back to what starts a friendship....when a new "romantic" relationship starts, the usual motivator or hook is physical attraction, mmmhh, he is cute/she's gorgeous and the list goes on. But, what about friendships?, what is the initial attraction? what keeps us motivated to nurture and grow our friends?

When I was about 9 I read in a bood a quote that says "a friend, is our chosen brother", that really stuck to my head since then. I know why I keep my friends: because I love them, I respect them, I admire them, because I get a lot of them, different from each one and because I am able to give some of myself to them. Because in hard times you really know who is there for you, with their help, love and support and you give that in return tenfold when it's their time of need. Because there is nothing better than share the good times with them, but what starts, ignites a friendship? how does it work, maybe that is one of the few cases when incoditional love exists? What do you think? I really want to know what you think....so.....

SETTLING DOWN

It is 3 weeks since I came back and I feel that I am just starting to settle down. I have been sick on and off for the last 2 weeks with some bug going around, it doesn't feel good to have so much stuff in the brain, the nose, achy body, fatigue but not feeling sick enough to just stay in bed and rest. Fresh ground ginger, squeezed lemon and honey in hot water does wonders for a sore throat.

I have seen almost all of my friends though not all of them. Got lots of good news like my friends Veronica and Rodolfo bought their first place together, Lorena and Andres finally bought a townhouse and Renee got a new pair of tatas. This Saturday Mariana and David are having a dinner party at their house, as some sort of Welcome back! that is so sweet, so I'll see some of the people i am missing and haven't had a chance to see.

As well, I will be starting a new company as I am no longer part of KUBE. That is a very hard deal for me as I have grown very attached to the company we started and I loooove my office, at least but we got it off to a good start together...so, off I go to start a new venture .... again!!
I am getting really good at getting businesses started, so I am confident that things will work out just fine. I will be going after a different target market and my company and KUBE will be able to pass clients back and forth. I will let you know all the details once I work them out as I will be needing all your support (and referals) to get this new thing going.
The horrendous thought of having to get a job is enough inspiration and gives me enough drive to get into starting someting else, I know what I am getting into and I know it's not easy.
Honestly 9-5, monday to friday, 2 week vacation after one year sounds like hell to me....gives me the hibbyjibbies!!

Back into salsa and getting better at it, dancing is such a joy. Back to the gym and with Alex the torturer (trainer), he is evil really evil man, I am in pain eventhough I am not fully back into my work outs as I have been sick.

So life is moving at a very very fast speed, I hope not to get dizzy and throw up!! But it's good to have so much ahead of me so I can start thinking t r i p again soon!