U2 Concert, Vancouver October 28th 2009

And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage that you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing...
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can't steal it
No they can't even feel it
Walk on, walk on...
Stay safe tonight

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on
What you've got they can't deny it
Can't sell it, or buy it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Home... hard to know what it is if you've never had one
Home... I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the heart is

I know it aches
How your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Leave it behind
You got to leave it behind
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you feel
All this you can leave behind
All that you reason
All that you sense
All that you speak
All you dress-up
All that you scheme...

to mate or not to mate?

It’s sad to see that in a world that women have come such a long way some people still judge your success and happiness in life based only on your love life. It doesn’t matter if you went to University, speak five languages, work for a big company, have many close friends, travel around the world, take big steps in life and manage to be independent and knock out a different game everyday, there’s always going to be the questions coming your way.

Don’t get me wrong, as a friend recently said to me I am a relationship person, but I love myself more than a facebook status. No one should be in a hurry to get married and have children; instead everyone should figure out themselves first to then be able to share it with someone. Of course, there will always be those who fall in love in high school and mate for life, if it works for them then that’s good. But it didn’t work for me, I needed freedom much more than that.

If I take a little trip back in my life I can see how a serious commitment would have held me back, how I was not ready to let go of my goals just yet, and I don’t expect people to get it, I am happy with myself and loving where I stand. And let’s remember marriage is a choice and not an only way street. I am certain that it will come a day when someone will be worth to compromise, but until that day comes… I ain’t worried.

Cheers to that!

Sweet Addiction

You are alone in your car and when their song plays you turn it up as loud as you can and scream from the top of your lungs, you wake up early on your day off because they are playing a new hit at some TV show, you subscribe to their newsletter so you know all that’s going on, you follow and reply to their tweets, you have all their CDs and DVDs and you also download the songs from iTunes, you don’t care how much the first row ticket is all you know is that you have to be there, you know their wife, kids, uncle and dog’s name, when you are at their concert and they play your favorite song you actually feel they’re playing just for you (you actually think the lyrics were based on your life) , when you were a teenager you had posters of them all over your wall and you dreamed how your kids would look like, if they don’t play a concert at your city you’ll travel to Finland (if needed) to see them, you camp outside the arena so you can be center stage, you listen to the same song so many times you know it by heart, you know songs that not even the band know how to sing anymore, you count down the days for the new album release, you spend hours on youtube watching live videos from all over the world…

Sounds familiar? If any of the things I said up there fits in then welcome to the fan life! I am not here to say what’s right or wrong, even because I am a huge fan of a band and I feel I’ll always be. Their lyrics and song have been part of my life and the way I feel when I am at their show is something only I know. If it’s a drug so let it be my sweet addiction, if it makes you feel good, I say do it!

“We weren’t born to follow, come on and get up of your knees, when life is a bitter pill to swallow you gotta stand up for what you Believe!”

How free is our world?

As you walk down Vancouver you see, literally, people from all different parts of the world. Some are tourists, students and others are here to begin a new life. Now Canada is a country built by immigrants, everyone you meet that was born in here have parents or at least grandparents from somewhere in the globe. That’s a good mix if you think about it, since I was not born here I still feel like I belong in here.

I am sure if you’re reading this wherever you are right now you could also see many cultures in your city and it’s good to see that people are going out there to see the world and learn on their own and not from books what the different is all about. But what aren’t we seeing here?

On the corner of West Pender and Thurlow, in the heart of Vancouver there’s the United States consulate. Just the other day I stopped for a coffee and some people watching, just right on that corner of all places and I saw this line up of people holding documents and being bossed around by a Chinese door man and of course, those people were applying for visas. Been there done that. And of course, the US is not the only country to ask for a visa but it is certainly the most terrifying one to ask for with the ten print and American wannabe door men, not to mention the rates of visa denials.

A visa is an indication that a person is authorized to enter the country which "issued" the visa, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry….The possession of a visa is not in itself a guarantee of entry into the country that issued it, and a visa can be revoked at any time.

Now what makes me mad is how in the world someone can have the power of NOT letting you go freely in your own world? Yes it’s all very organize with the nationalities, taxes and labels but I am completely and 100 percent against the visa process nightmare that one have to go through to travel around a supposed “free world”. I’ve been in a lot of countries and I do think immigration check is necessary in a world of war – don’t even get me started on that – but it’s gotta be some other way to screen people. The right of come and go should be a human right because if you take a little trip to the south to see how not human the Brazilians are treated to see Mickey Mouse you’d take your kid to the Disneyland in Paris.

This is not a specific criticism to one country but to the whole visa issue, I had my share of that and I have seen many people shattered by it and it’s as bitter as it sound. I just want to say for the record I have friends from all over the world and I respect and care for every one of them, Americans, Canadians, Brazilians, Germans…we have to begin to act like ONE.

Mother Bridge of Love

Most of us were lucky enough to come to this world having a family, being the traditional mom, dad and siblings, step-parents, grandparents... we had the right of being children, to play, go to school, have tantrums, listen or not (because we knew our parents would love us no matter what) pick what we wanted to eat, what clothes to wear, what theme we wanted for our birthday party that was filled with people, presents and balloons.
Imagine not having that. Imagine not knowing family, never having the comforting hug from a mom and a dad to teach you how to fly a kite, imagine going to bed every night wondering how it would be and what it was. Just the thought of it make my world crumble. Family is the foundation of a life and being corky or not we were all or most of all blessed enough to have one.
Being able to experience adoption so close for the first time I begin to see things in a different way, the belonging of a child and parents that did not form it. It amazes to see how well they belong together as they were meant to be. I believe they were. If you look at it at first you’d think how lucky this child was being adopted and having a new life (she was indeed) but so were the people who got to be mom and dad.

Once there were two women
Who hardly knew each other
One you do not remember
The other you call mother
Two different lives shaped to make yours one
One becoming your guiding star
The other became your sun
The first gave you life
And the second taught you to live in it
The first gave you a need for love
And the second was there to give it
One gave you nationality
The other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent
The other gave you an aim
One gave you emotions
The other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile
The other dried your tears
The age old questions through the years;
Heredity or environment -which are you the product of ?
Both my darling – both
And two different kinds of love!

So they say it's your birthday!

Staring down another year of my life, it’s been a heck of a ride. So many things came together and some undone. The thing that I wanted the most finally happened and here I am… far to be completed but so happy. To know where I stand and to be living a plan for my life, not living for it but it’s certainly something that will set my path for a brand new life! I grew up, not old, but in many ways, I am not the same and everyday something else sparks in a different way. I’ve learned to wait, that you will never please everyone, that the world is such a small place, that you can be in different places at the same time, that love remains, that it will happen somehow, that there’s such a thing as miracles, that family is the most important thing ever, period. I’ve learned how good it is to have people you can rely to and I’ve lived something I’ve been picturing in my mind for three long years and to hear that “Juuuuuuuulie” at the airport made every second of my wait fade away, I’m blessed in so many ways today I can’t begin to put in words, I’m thankful and proud to be strong and to have my God watching over every step I take, not right now or in a little while but every second of my life. So here’s for the next 26 and more to count. Welcome to the best years of your life…

Sorry Oprah!

Rio Olympics 2016! I'll be home :)