Comment ca va?

Ca va bien.

How's that for my first attempt at writing in French? That's right, I am taking French lessons... I never thought I would do this. I found some podcasts which are quite fun and easy to follow and so I am trying to learn a new language. A fourth language.... wow, I feel so smart! :) The only drawback is that since they are podcasts, I am only listening to the lessons. They offer a Premium Membership which includes visuals, so you can see the vocabulary, phrases and so on, but ofcourse you have to pay for this and right now that doesn't fit in the budget. But hey, training the ear and learning the pronunciation is hard enough for now. It's a start.

Merci, Coffee Break French et Radio Lingua Network. A la prochaine!!

Another one gone

It's a sad day... I just found out a couple of hours ago that my aunt passed away. She's been sick for a while so it's not a complete shock, but it's a loss. And again, I am here in NY and can't go and be with my family back home. I'm so sorry I can't be there for them and with them...

I will miss her.

Family visit

So my dad, my brother and my niece just spent a week here with us. It went by fast, especially since I don't have too much free time, but we had so much fun!! My niece is now 6 and she is amazing... I wish they didn't live so far away, I feel like I'm missing out in so much.

It's November already

How time flies... We came back to New York in May, and so many things have happened since then. The most exciting thing of all is that I finally went back home. After 11 years I went home and spent two weeks in Colombia. It was great seeing my family after such a long time, and it was great just being there. It's an entirely different world, some things better, some not.

I got to eat some great foods, many of which I hadn't eaten in 27 years.... can you even beging to understand what it feels like to experience something that has only lived in your memory for more than half your life? I also got to travel a bit, and see how beautiful my home is. Landscapes that lived in my memory came to life again, and overwhelmed me. I took so many pictures, I don't get tired of looking at them and I want to share them with everyone and anyone who will give me half a chance.

Now I can't wait to plan my next trip, which God willing will be next year. That's right, I want to go back soon, real soon; I miss my family and I miss my home. They say you can't go home again, and it's true. But you can't blame me for trying.

We're back in NYC

Well, we arrived last Tuesday and we're staying at my friend Emile's for a little while. Needless to say, I miss the warmth and bright sun of Puerto Rico, especially since it's been cold and raining here. I was out with my friend last night and it was a rainy 46 degrees at 1am. All I kept thinking was back in PR I'd be in my shorts listening to the ocean from my balcony.

It's going to take me a while to get used to this place again.

Good Bye Puerto Rico

This is our last night in Puerto Rico and I'm very sad. I'm sad to leave this beautiful island, our fabulous apartment, friends and "my beach".

I'm dreading the humid New York summers and icy cold winers. I'm dreading the subways, the filth and the rush and stress of the big city. I'm not looking forward to the "New York minute". But that's where work is, for me and for Joseph; he's only going to do one more trip on the cruises and then he'll be home full time again.

The time has come... I want to get out of the city in the next couple of years. I probably won't come back to Puerto Rico, but well definitelly look for a more peaceful, calmer place to live.

Good Bye Puerto Rico... Its not San Francisco, but I'm leaving a piece of me (of my my heart) here.

Sent from my iPhone

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He's home

Yes, Joseph's finally back. That's the good news; the bad news is that the car is acting up again. We have to have it towed tomorrow morning to a transmission shop to have it taken care of. I hope we can have it fixed fast.

Not everything was bad today. It seems Joseph has found us a really nice apartment in NY. I hope this works out, because it's in a great neighborhood, would be close to work for me and we'd be living by the beach again!!! How exciting!!

I love stuff like this

You got to admit, Bush is his own worst enemy. I swear I don't go around looking for stuff like this, I just stumble upon it. This from WFT is it now?:

It's official: Bush is the worst president evar
Disapproval of the aWol DisasterMonkey breaks all records, number of moron-Americans still high.
Bush has set a record he'd presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll.In a USA Toady/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing; 69% disapprove. The approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for any president since Franklin Roosevelt.Assessments of Bush's presidency are harsh. By 69-27%, those polled say Bush's tenure in general has been a failure, not a success.Why do Americans hate America?Not to worry, I'm sure his numbers will go up after his appearance on "Deal or No Deal" where he actually joked about the shitty economy.Asswipe.

He'll be home soon

Yes!! Joseph will be coming home on Saturday.... only 2 ½ days to go. We're both very excited, especially since this was his last tour away from home. Now, since we're going back to NY (oh, yeah... we decided to move back) he'll be able to stay home with me and get local work.

I can't say I'm entirely happy about going back to NY; I really grew to love it here and really feel my quality of life is better here. Unfortunately, going back to NY is the better thing for us right now. But Joseph keeps telling me that we'll come back, and we still want to buy a home here. I'm just not sure it will be easy to come back once we leave.

I can tell you one thing, I didn't shed a tear leaving NY a year and a half ago. But I've already been crying at the thought of leaving San Juan. This is going to be very hard for me, but I've accepted it and just have to get through it. At least I know I have a couple of good friends in Puerto Rico who I can keep in touch with and come back to visit.

Earth Hour

I just heard about Earth Hour in CNN. I remember when Sydney, Australia turned off their lights last year and I thought... what an incredible thing to do. Well, apparently this year several cities around the world are participating. Today!

It's things like this that give me hope; I'm not alone, there are thousands, millions of people who care and who want to do something about our environment. I will deffinitely turn off my lights and relax by candlelight possibly downstairs by the beach or maybe in my balcony. FYI, Earth Hour tonight between 8-9pm.

Do your part.

Coastal Flood Warning

There is a winter storm system over the Northwest Atlantic which is affecting the north part of the island, and is putting a damper on Easter week vacations.

This from my WeatherBug and the National Weather Service: "This coastal flooding is the greatest non-tropical cyclone related swell event experienced in the local area since the Perfect storm of 1991." We are experiencing 12 feet swells, coastal flooding, breaking waves between 15-25 feet, there is a high surf warning in effect thru Friday, possibly to be extended over the weekend. In other words, it's not pretty. This picture is of the building grounds leading out to the beach. As you can see, the sea weed and sand were thrown easily 50+ feet into the grounds as the tides have come and gone.

Here's to everyone back at home in NY who tells me how jealous they are of me... living by the beach, enjoying the sun and surf. It is great most of the year, and then you have weeks when you think the ocean is just going to swallow the island. Get this, usually I have about 40+ feet of beach right outside the building grounds, now watch the video.

Paz Sin Fronteras JUANES

Necesitamos paz, la anhelamos, soñamos con ella... pero cuando??

We need peace, we long for it, we dream of it... but when??

Colombia is passion

You gotta watch this.

This or That?

randomness...feed your mind and your blog

Would you rather...

1. Sky dive or bungee jump? Sky dive, eventhough I had an opportunity and talked my self out of it.

2. Eat a hissing cockroach or eat a slug? I'd rather starve.

3. Have lifelong free entry to all theme parks or lifetime free entry to all movie theaters? Although I love theme parks, lifetime free entry to all movie theaters would be awsome. Each time you go you get to see a new movie.

4. Spend one month without books or one month without tv? One month without books. I enjoy reading, but it's not something I do a whole lot. However, I am a tv junkie.

5. Have the ability to fly or be able to become invisible? Hummm... that's a tough one, probably the ability to fly. I think the freedom of movement and oportunity to see things from an entirely different perspective would be cool.

6. To have a personal shopper for life or a personal fitness trainer for life? Deffinitely a personal fitness trainer for life. That way I will always be motivated, and won't be able to make excuses. And by the way, why would I not want to do my own shopping? To me that is such a stress relieving and comforting experience.

7. Be spiderman or be superman? I'm stumped. Both.

8. Be stuck in the 70's or be stuck in the 80's? I lived the 80's and they were pretty wacked, but the 70's are not my cup of tea. Deffinitely the 80's..... love that music!!

Till next time....

Back to NY?

I don't want to go back to NY yet, but there is a chance I may have to. I'm happy here, I love the place where I live, my surroundings, the slower pace, less worries and less stress. I don't think I have too much time to decide, but I need to figure out how can I do it? How can we do it?

I need help!!!

Leaving again

Yes, He's going away to work again. Luggage is ready, but I'm not.


Sent from my iPhone

Emile was here

My friend Emile was here to spend 5 days with me and Joseph. It should be illegal to have so much fun!!! We laughed so much we were all complaining of aching heads, faces and bellies. I'll post a few pics in the next few days.

One of the memorable experiences of this visit was the sunburn I got. OMG!! My whole body turned a golden red, which never happens. I n e v e r burn but this time that caribean sun did a job on me. Right now my back is still peeling a little bit and is still sensitive to the touch. ouch. But I must confess.... I'd do it all over again.