HALLOWEEN 2007

I love dressing up. On Friday I was Punk Girl, on Saturday BatGirl and on tuesday maybe Flamenco Girl or Pirate. On Wednesday I will be teaching and then coming back home to have a spooky night infront of the TV.

WEDDINGS AND INTERNET DATING

While in Mexico I saw a few of my friends. I was telling them that I was on an dating internet site and they were all horrified, LOL.....first I become a salsa dancer and then I am on-line dating.... I'm sure they are wondering if I have lost my mind.

Well, the dating thing sucks. I've met some nice guys but most of them are boring, no gump, no joie-de-vivre...although everyone on the profiles say they are the last coca-cola in the desert....well, maybe they are but not for me. But to be honest, at least in Vancouver there are quality guys on the net. In fact, one of my best friends here, Renee, met her future husband on the net, that was a year ago after 2 years of being very diligent and dedicated dater. Ana Laura my sister met her husband on-line, I know of a few of such cases. So, eventhough I'm not looking for a husband, I think it's time for me to start dating, or at least thinking about it.

But in the meantime, I wish Renee and Wayne a short engaement and congratulations to you both!!!

CONGRATULATIONS LULI AND PABLO

Luli is the youngest of my cousins from my mother's side. Pablo is the son of my mother's best friend since they were 10 or 11 years old. They met 6 years ago while I went with my cousin and my aunt to visit Margarita, (my mom's friend), Euge (Pablo's sister) and Maria Emilia ( Euge's daughter). Pablo saw Luli and maybe it was love at first sight, or at least interest at first sight. After that they went on a date and 6 years later they got married. We've known each other forever, so it's nice that now we are "related" somehow. I'm sure that my mom was dancing of joy.

The wedding was beautiful, maybe one of the nicest weddings I've gone to. I was a bridesmaid, it's only the 3rd time in my life I do that. I've missed a few weddings, sniff, sniff. The whole thing was in an old Hacienda. The religious ceremony was in a part of the Haciend that had very high stone celings, surrounded by gardens. The priest was very light and modern. When Luli offered her bouquet to the Virgin Mary, she sang the Ave Maria....what a suprise, I knew she was part of a choir, but had no idea that she could sing like that. I think everyone cried. That was beautiful. She looked beautiful.

The reception was in a big colonial hall in the same Hacienda. The dinner was very nice and the band a lot of fun. We danced all night. I was so cool to see all my cousins, aunts and uncles and all of Pablo's family. It's so cool to call Eugenia "cousin", and the Ordonez "relatives". It was a very happy occassion. Most of the family came to the wedding. The only thing about this events is that it's hard to have any kind of real conversation with anybody.

I spend a good lenght of time with Lourdes, my cousin from Monterrey. We are the same age and both on our own. Her son, Sergio, was totally fascinated with Carlo, and Carlo fascinated with him. It was sooo sweet to see these two boys enjoying each other.

Euge and Pablo have been my friends forever, and now they are my cousins too, isn't that great!??

I wish Luli and Pablo and long and happy marriage!!!

MEXICO, MEXICO, RARARA

I haven't been to Mexico for 2 years. I went there last weekend on a flash trip. The airport is finished now, it's simple and uninviting. All those telcel billboards on the walls are ugly and a good example of visual pollution. There is one mural somewhere that is nice. The whole place smelled like sewage and gosh! that makes a very bad impression!!

I love flying over the city at night, it looks soooo big. I like to see the rows of traffic in the main avenues. One line of red line and one line of white lights, the cars stuck in traffic....it's nice! and the lines are endless. While we waited for the bus to take us to the hotel it started raining..... MEGA RAIN!! that was cool. I have kind of forgotten that. In Vancouver it rains 8 months a year, but never like those flash heaven-baths! We had a really nice dinner with Erwin at the hotel's restaurant. I asked for Mole at 11 pm...it was de-li-cious and BIG, of course I ate it all. The service was excellent and all the staff very, very polite and helpful so, for a quick stop in Mexico city near the airport keep in mind the Ramada Aeropuerto.


Next day took the bus to go to Cuernavaca. Very organized, clean, punctual and friendly service. We arrived to Cuernavaca and it was HOT!! I forgot it gets hot there. LOL. We checked in the hotel and went to find beauty salons to get ready for the wedding and then went downtown. I LOVE downtown. So festive, crowded, colourful, inviting, energized, buzzing, busy. All the typical street vendors: chicharrones, corn, balloons, magazines, soap bubbles, masks, candies, shoe shine. People walking up and down the Portales. Music everywhere, mothers with lots of kids, young girls strutting their stuff, old men with deep wrinkles and worn hats. Blue sky, hot weather, bright green trees, traffic, restaurants and everything you can think of for sale. This is the Mexico that is so fascinating and intoxicating. I learnt to enjoy that while growing up and now as a "tourist" I enjoy it even more. And that is the thing about Mexico, everything is Mega. Is as if the volume is to the maximum there. Here is tight. There is loose. Here is quiet. There is loud. Here is slow. There is fast. Here is green. There it is colourful. Not that one is better than the other. Is just that it is different.



The pace of the city is insane. The energy is almost palpable. And to me that is what makes it special and wonderful. But I have grown used to the more relaxed atmosphere of this town. I don't know that I could live in Mexico again. Maybe I could, is like everything, just to get used to the sense of greatness and the speed of life.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Through life, we all celebrate different rites of passage to mark important stages in our lives. Baby showers, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, bar mitzvahs, birthdays, graduations, engagements, anniversaries, first dates, marriages, promotions, retirements, and deaths.









Different cultures and different religions have their own celebrations.

In my life, besides all the ones mentioned above we also had some embarassing ones, like every time any girl in my family got their period, our mothers would call all the aunts and then we would get "the phone call" of congratulations! you are now a "senorita"!!! ARGGGHHH! that was embarassing, I didn't like it when I got that silly phone call, but looking back is a celebration and a nice welcome into womanhood from all the other women in the family.

Weddings, I love weddings. I think they are very important for everyone. It is a big deal to intend to committ to love someone for the rest of your life. It involves everyone close to you. When in love it's just so great to say that to the whole world. Too bad that too many people think marriage is a wedding, but well, that is another post.

Death: the only thing that we KNOW is going to happen. When my mother died I hated the funeral, and everyone in it. Again, the feelings of that day are worth another post, but in hindsight the funeral marks a turn in life. A change in life for everyone involved. At least in Mexico everyone goes to the room, have coffee, act sad and depressed and then leave. Here, the wakes are a big party. People dress up, watiers serve food and drinks, caterers deliver good food, I've seen "wake planners"...I kid you not!!! My mom died on Dec 30, so for some reason many people showed up to our house on the 31 for new year's dinner. I hated them all, I sat under the table for a couple of days. But I've heard people saying that for them having people around after a dead in the family was the best for them. So, anyway, it's up to each person.
So, all the big events in life that are marked by a celebration of sorts is generally a big and happy occassion (except the funerals). Now, what happens when someone gets a divorce, finds out they are very sick, go bankrupt....? These are also times in life that change things forever for everyone involved....so, thought I don't see them as occassions to celebrate, I think they should at least be acknolwedged.

Just as I was writing this post I found out that one of my best friends just got engaged. Of course I'm thinking about an engagement party ...
In a few weeks I'll be officialy divorced....should I have a divorce party? I think not. But I'll find a way to mark that turning point in my life.