Time to Fly!

When times seem to be difficult I can only imagine that I will temporarily go backwards in a slingshot, about to be released to fly indefinitely until I'm caught perhaps, to be thrown again. If thrown again, I would intend to go higher, farther...

The journey may be long and probably tiresome, but if the journey is enjoyed, it is worth getting tired. It is the reason why you wake up in the morning and look forward to this day.

In the end, I believe we all want to fall in the right hands, even though others may think of this differently. Who would be against a happy ending?

2012 Elections in Mexico

The results of the elections were what most of us expected: PRI won by a significant margin, though not as significant as polls showed. A 6.6 margin over the leftist candidate should be around 3 million votes. People complain that PRI gave gift cards for groceries, cash, food, etc. Some others claim that hundreds or tenths of votes were either added to PRI or subtracted from PRD in addition to "buying votes". 

3 million votes is a HUGE margin out of 50 million. While I don't believe that 3 million votes can be bought that easily, this does not mean that this should not be investigated. The fact that investigating this  will not change the results DOES NOT mean that the ones responsible should be left without punishment. A punishment's objective is to prevent inappropriate behavior from happening again.

Any stolen votes should be subtracted, and the election results should be left according to what that subtraction shows. The ones responsible should also be shown in the media by the authorities to all of us Mexicans. 

This is a great moment to evaluate which parties (especially PRI) have always done during elections, and change the rules in such a way that we Mexicans can rest assured that vote fraud will not be tolerated. While the current scandal shows PRI as guilty, does not mean that other parties or candidates did not do the same. 

It is a shame that doing the right thing most of the time will make you unpopular. As I can see that, that is why I voted for PAN. Many others in my state did too (the state of Nuevo Leon is colored blue), though barely with a 41%.

I am not a politician and will never be, but I know that being liberal, moderate, or conservative has nothing to do with political views in Mexico. The fact that people from PAN have been the least corrupt is the reason why I have voted from them most of the times. 

My political views have been and will continue to be independent, no party in Mexico is worth of having my vote guaranteed. I support democracy, but in a fair play. I pray we get to have it in the near future.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a place where people seem to take their time. No rush in traffic, people just walk happily...

And do some dancing too!

Call it fake, or maybe even modified Mexican food, as we don't eat cheddar cheese in Mexico, but these tacos were actually great:

These maple leaves will turn yellow, orange, red, or brown in a few months:

Seeing the Mexican flag in such a far away place is certainly appreciated:

This is the Amway Hotel. While my good health and wealth have come thanks to Omnilife, I must say that the place smelled nice, and never had I had such a great service from ALL of the staff.

The heat was tolerable, and the last day we got a cold front, so it actually felt slightly chilly during the late afternoon when the wind was blowing. I can't understand why people love summer when it's hot.

The Importance of being idle

The countdown continues, but I have not set a timer and I don't know when will it ring yet. This timer is not in my hands, and therefore I cannot control it. In the meantime, I just wait. By waiting I continue with everyday activities, so this DOES NOT mean that I will spend the time just counting the leaves on the trees or waiting for the next snowfall.

In the meantime, after working in the daytime, watching a spectacular sunset or nature's fireworks will relax your eyes, or mine at least.

The importance of being idle is that there is no other choice but to make the best of it, and listen to the song with the same title from Oasis.

A Dust Devil, The Countdown Begins

While looking at an unusual dust devil in the Monterrey metro area, this reminded me that summer is on its way, or perhaps it is already here. Due to our geographical location, continuous days with hot weather usually occur between April and September, but this will not be for long. I look forward to this new place that promises hotter, but shorter summers, as well as cooler weather during spring, fall, and winter. This would be more like having four different seasons throughout the year. The countdown begins, and just like the dust devil, time will spin faster and faster.

Dog Days part 3

The second summit is almost here, after traveling to the first one I am now finishing my joruney to the second one. My commitment to get the ticket for a new adventure has not changed, except for more desire, passion, and preparation. The red haired lady that I met on my first summit was standing and looking to the other side. Even though I could clearly notice her back from where I was, she seemed to be talking to someone else, someone I could not see. I had no idea who she was talking to because I could not see anything in front of her.

"I'll get her, I'll get her... I will NOT die with my music still on, I'll get what I really really really really want. He, she, or it who gives me the chance will get more from me than what I am given. Life is about service, but the best service that can be given is what I know how to do and what I really enjoy doing."

I thought about these things as I remembered Wayne Dyer, but more importantly, common sense. I somehow knew that the red haired girl was reading my mind and I felt her looking just as anxious to meet me again as I was looking forward to meet her.

I got to the second summit, the red haired lady was still looking back, and all I saw was white light behind her. I started to run to get next to her, but as soon as I moved I fell over a sword that was partly buried upside down. It crossed from my stomach all the way to my back. I had no strength to yell in pain, but I was able to get up. The red haired lady looked at me as though nothing had happened and she said: "Welcome!"

I noticed that here was no blood in my body, not a scar, not even torn clothes. The pain was gone. "Congratulations, you did it, now we need to get your stuff ready. You will be moving here in July. This is your fast pass, so you will not need to climb this mountain again. We'll keep in touch, you've got my information in case you have any further questions." Just like the first time I met her, I was unable to say a word.

I took a look from above, to the place that I will be missing. With a fast pass, I will be able to move easily from time to time back to my hometown.

Can Procrastination be justified?

I had just begun to take more time to do what I really like to do during my free time. Part of this time includes doing homework anytime I feel like it, as long as it's done by the due date and hour. Photography has been the main distraction, or perhaps cooking. Walking up and down the mountain usually takes one hour.

This has been one of my few successful recipes that tasted perfectly well since I did it for the first time:

I've found the right amount of ingredients to make Chinese rice with COMMON ingredients, there was no green onion on the market this time:

Taste is first, appearance is worked later

The reason why I've been delaying my assignment is an error on the online course, in which we cannot see what the third activity is asking us to do. It's due the day after tomorrow, right before midnight. The teacher, (or perhaps I should call her grader, as she only grades) has simply asked us to contact the administrator, who works Monday through Friday only... I've had no other choice so far but to postpone this. As I'll be doing so until further resolution is given, maybe this is not called procrastination but resignation.

Talking directly to the administrator on Monday before it's too late will be something minor or irrelevant compared to the important choices I will be doing next week as well. I would compare these decisions to marriage arrangements or life or death situations.

What a Judge should do

I took a call the other day from (lets call her Ashley, in order to protect her privacy), calling to get cable boxes for the judges' tv, she worked for five of them. Once she verified the account to me (in order for me to give her information), I gave her all possible options, but told her that only Judge Q, whose name is on the account, is the ONLY authorized person to do this, so I advised her to have him call us and put her as an authorized person.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! I'M THE ONE WHO HANDLES THE ACCOUNT, THE ONE IN CHARGE OF PAYING THE BILLS... YOU DON'T EXPECT ME TO CALL THE JUDGE OUT OF COURT FOR THIS? THIS IS RIDICULOUS! CAN I SPEAK WITH A MANAGER PLEASE?

"Sure! I can let you talk to a manager, but let me tell you this first: Judge Q can call anytime he wants in order to put you as an authorized person, as we're here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We do this in order to comply with a federal law for the account holder's protection, as you work for judges, I hope you understand that we ought to comply with the law, we do not do this to cause any inconvenience"

Ashley was still angry, but I believe she understood, despite threatening to go to another company, as she did not insist in speaking with a manager. The judges must know by now what happened. What will the judges think about? I don't know. I hope they feel glad we did this, as Ashley could've done this without working for them anymore, and that is why we do this.

This made me think about a judge's role. Unfortunately, a judge's role IS NOT to do what is right, but to comply with the law and make sure that people don't go against it, or at least not without having appropriate consequences. If we take a look into controversial issues such as abortion, if it is permitted, well, despite being conservative, a judge will not punish these actions. Laws are written in such a way, that all judges can understand, but the problem is that judges DO NOT ALWAYS abide to them. I'm not a lawyer, but could it be as simple as saying that abortion is unconstitutional as it is a murder to kill a human life? Perhaps the fact that some judges will say yes, and others will say no is the reason why there are multiple disputes, lawsuits, attorneys defending in favor or against many cases...

The day in which we have ALL AND NOT MOST of our laws that are morally right, and all judges that act honestly and WITHOUT subjectivity, that is when we will truely say that a perfect justice system is what we have. This will include, without limiting to the fact that cases will be resolved in a timely manner. If you have not watched it, I advise you to check "Presumed Guilty" documentary.

Seeking Equilibrium

Working full-time for six days a week and taking your day off to do homework eventually drives you mad. This is not because of any difficulties encountered, but because of the lack of days off.

I'm no exercise fan, but a brisk walk twice or thrice a week used to be part of my schedule. Initially, I needed the money to pay some debt and continue paying my masters degree, but now that my debt has gone down and now that I'm more than halfway done with my classes, it's time to slow down a bit. I'm going to be working five days a week now, I expect to have two days to do homework, take a walk, go to church without being on a rush and dedicate some time to those who will not be here indefinitely. I want to see my friends more often, just as I used to.

Cooking and photography will be a must. I'm thinking about trying marbled brownies with M&M Almonds... or with peanuts, as I've eaten those already. I'm still developing my own Chinese rice recipe. I've been unable to match Chef Boyardee's pizza sauce. The good thing about creating and/or seeking to make better/healthier recipes as a scientist is the fact that no failed experiment is done twice, and the learning process is fun.

The Woodlands, a Place where the Fall Foliage peaks in Winter

This place cannot be described with pictures or words, but I'll do my best. In the outskirts of Houston, a soon to be suburb has the ammenities of a big city, but with a REAL small town environment. In order to take many of these pictures, I had to park in a middle school. Fortunately, all streets seemed to have a sidewalk, for people to walk, and in some others, there was place for people riding a bicycle.

This small town was built in the middle of a forest, but contrary to a typical US city, except for the freeway, all businesses have NO big ads, so you really have to know where you're going, because everything is hidden beneath the evergreen pine trees and decidious trees (those that stay without leaves in the winter, and replace them every spring). Talking about trees, this was the time of the year in which most of the trees had their best fall color.

There is a lake with HUGE houses around. I did not take pictures there because the only place where this was visible was on a busy street. A golf course surrounded by houses can also be found along The Woodlands Parkway.

This is the St. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, but other christian churches are also found nearby in the same area.

The mall is located right next to the I-45, and there is a riverwalk (which I was not able to walk through because it rained later on) with hotels and restaurants around.

This is definitely a good place to live, work, and take a walk through the forest anytime you want, but frequent visits back home would be a must do.

It's been such a long time...

It's been such a long time since I took the last picture, such a long time since I cooked, such a long time since I took a day off... I remember those days in which I could take an evening walk, take time to simply look at the city from above, or simply do nothing at all. Killing time all day "for inspirational purposes" leads to depression, but one or two days a week might be healthy for any living person. I don't mean by this to kill time for a full day, but taking a stroll, going somewhere else to take pictures (or taking the type of pictures that you've never taken), hanging out with friends or the yet to meet girl is good. Playing with food ingredients attempting to get (and often getting) a new delicious recipe without rushing is fun to do.

Going out for a big butterfinger blizzard or stopping by the new Krispy Kreme which will be less than ten minutes away from home would be cool.

Once I'm done with my master's, I will NOT study while I work ever again. Just as in college, as much as there has been useful knowledge, some things are just a waste of time.