That was a rad time...

"Life is not measured
by the number of
breaths we take but by
the places and moments

that take our breath away."
                                                - Anonymous

To all those far and near

 who have contributed

to making the past 5 weeks

dreamlike,

thank you 

from the bottom of my heart!

XOXO

I'm back!

See Ya!

Apparently, and according to the the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

most working Americans

(and by default all of us who live, work, pay taxes

and are not teachers in the USA)

GIVE UP their VACATION DAYS

(those four words sort of don't go together)

Per the stats, we gave up an estimated 226 million vacation days in 2011

which is $34.3 billion worth of vacation time wasted!

Can you believe that crazyness????

I am determined to put an end to this

and make good use of my rights

and benefits...

See Ya!

XOXO

A lot going on

We are living another of my fave times of the year,

the beginning of summer.

Oh, la la...

So much going on

So much in the air

You can sense it, feel it

anywhere and everywhere.

A supercharged energy

establishes itself "out there"

and takes us over

mercilessly.

Yesterday was 

Summer Solstice: the longest day of the year

(l o v e)

 and tonight we'll have

a Huge Super Full Moon:

when the moon is the closest to the Earth

and we can see it bigger, brighter and more powerful.

Well, listen to this, not only we will have a Super Full Moon

but it will be the brightest and closest Super Moon

of the year!

Talk about a supercharged energy 

taking over ...

What else can we ask for?!?!?

(don't take the question literally...of course)

In past entries, I talked about La Vie en Rose,

this time of the year I talk about La Vie en Jaune,

everything seems

to have an orange/yellow glow.

Call me crazy

but this supercharged energy doesn't allow you to be sad, 

to not dream or aim high.

How could you when you look outside

and everything is glowing

and you can almost touch the moon?

Shake off any remaining winter blues, 

lighten up, 

put your headphones on

and enjoy this summer 2013!

There will only be one.

(Al fin y al cabo, nuestras amigas siempre nos lo han dicho)

I wish for each of you to

enjoy the beach, the sun and the ocean 

(these three make a magical combination),

encounter summer romances 

(if you are single),

experience new adventures

(be safe),

laugh, eat and drink pleasurably,

have tireless nights

grooving to those summer songs,

and catch at least one awing sunrise.

XOXO

Blogging girl 

; )

A shared weekend

Hi All,

I have invited young-writer/artist, Anais, to contribute
to today's post.

Anais 

Below her account
of a "Shared Weekend"
(with a few intrusions from yours truly)

***

It was 6 o'clock pm,

I was ready at the door.

My shoes were on

My bag was packed

I was ready to go.

The doorman called

I came down to the lobby

all happy and free.

We hugged and exchanged kisses

and off we went.

The subways were terrible.

No A/C

Delays up ahead.

A fight going on.

Finally the adventure had started!

We went to Whole Foods

filling our grocery bags with goods.

There was some trouble at the check out,

but we still headed forward to our amazing weekend.

We dropped off our stuff

taking Pia to the park

the June day was beautiful.

We walked along the river side.

Got back home to watch a movie ("LOL"),

and have an amazing dinner.

Then off it was to bed.

Day one was complete.

In the morning we had breakfast,

there were waffles and smoothies,

sausages too.

We went to do laundry

bringing the little dog too.

Later in the day,

we watched the "Bling Ring"
(OMG, what rich teenagers are able to do!)

We ate a huge bag of popcorn and candy.

We followed and went to the park with a blanket and Pia.

All the way there Pia ate sticks for who knows what.
(new phase in her life)

I took pictures of the beautiful sky and the person who I was with,

The sail boats tilting in the summers breeze.

At home we watched "Something Borrowed"
(was long and not good)

We ate a dinner of Mexican food and salad.

Then went to bed
(midnight express).

We woke up for breackfast,
almost the same one as before.
But a new day had started,
Could it be better than the one before?

***

It was.

Anais just left.

Love,

Us.

what can I say

...that I haven't said already 

when this long absences occur.

Maybe I am no longer interested in 

blogging/sharing my thoughts and creating this archive

or maybe I am in the process of figuring out

where thisthatyotrascosasmas fits in my life

almost two years later.

Regardless,

I feel I have a creative freeze when it comes to 

thisthatyotrascosasmas.

That said, I still don't want to close this venture,

so please stand by me for a bit longer.

I will sooner or later come up with a decision.

If I don't have a chance to talk to you sooner, 

enjoy the last few days of spring.

Besos, 

Sil

"Unexpected intrusions of beauty.  That is what life is."
(Saul Bellow, Herzog)

NYC + May = La Vie en Rose

This year I realized that 

I <3 May!

I heart the fresh, crispy sunny mornings 

the new green on the streets 

the multicolor sunsets

and the excitement of leaving all those layers of 

clothing at home.

Besides, people seem to be in a better mood, 

don't they?

NYC in particular, 

shines during this time of the year.

It only takes a few days for New Yorkers

to shake off the winter flakes

and hit all those outdoor cafes, beer gardens and rooftops 

spread throughout the city.

All of a sudden, 

La Vie becomes Bella again!

(or at least that's how it feels)

How would a mythical May weekend 

in NYC look like?

Friday, 6PM -- happy hour at the closest beer garden. 

Whether you are in Manhattan, Queens or Brooklyn, it will be crowded.  

Guaranteed.  

The good thing is that after a few pitchers, 

you forget who is around you 

and how long you have to wait in the bathroom line. 

Remember, La Vie Est Belle!

Saturday -- wake up excited 'cause it's Saturday,

 have a leisurely walk with your dog, 

grab a coffee and call your fam.

By 1PM -- be showered and ready to hit the the flea markets. 

After taking part of an exhausting 3-4hr treasure hunt, 

grab a quick bite, and recharge to meet friends 

and enjoy the sunset

while chugging a few cold beers.  

What comes after the sun is gone

is only up to you...

Sunday -- wake up a bit concerned 'cause it's Sunday already,

do house chores

and have brunch....

what would NYC be without a brunch?

In most cases, brunch leads to dinner

but if not, hop on your bike and 

spend those final hours of the weekend

in solitude, regrouping yourself 

and getting ready 

for the next five days

before the weekend is back again.

"Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward"

I have never been scared of being old.

Well, maybe a few times but in general, 

I've always been the kind of kid who wanted to pretend to be older.

Yours Truly and Her

What you want me to say...

I thought being older was cooler than being young.

Clearly, it was all based on the underlying assumption

that being young = immature = wrong 

and therefore, 

being old = mature = good.

F***ed up, I know but c'on, 

we are all f***ed up in our own ways, 

so leave your judgments aside.

So, life has been determined to show me that my assumption

was indeed, f***ed up.

You can read past entries to see what I mean,

so will just say

that life is a huge collage.

"A wise realization" my mom and dad would say.

"Yeah, whatever" I would respond.

I have been having backwards moments

like never before.

This is how it goes:

I enter my own mental space

I sit down and begin to see my life projected 

in the screen of my own mind.

I go back to my early years when I used to spend my summers 

with my two favorite people at the time, my grandparents.

And then very consciously, 

I see the passing of time

and for a few seconds

I can subtly get a grasp of the impermanence 

and connectedness in life.

Pretty amazing the routes that life takes you.

Pretty scary the decisions that we ought to make.

So much fun all the adventures, trips and laughter that we experience.

So fucked up all the tears, heartbreaks, and pain.

So amazing the countries, cities and places that we visit.

So sad all the people that come and go.

So delicious all the flavors that we taste.

So lucky to experience it all.

Intense.

I know.

But by now you should know me

and none of this should catch you by surprise.

Anyhoo, a random entry without "pies y cabeza"

for a humid and raining

Saturday evening in May.

Hasta la proxima, 

Sil

P.S. The quote from the title is from Abraham Verghese, Cutting for Stone.