Women in an era of mess

"I used to dream radical dreams

of blowing everyone away with my perceptive powers

of correct analysis,

I even used to think I'd be the one

to stop the riot and negotiate the peace

then I awoke and dug

that if I dreamed natural dreams

of being a natural woman doing

what a woman does when she's natural

I would have a revolution"
Nikki Giovanni, "Revolutionary Dreams"

The ways women impact change in the different eras of humanity have changed through the years. However they all have one common denominator: labor against outstanding odds.

From Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, St. Catalina of Siena, St Theresa of Jesus, Marie Curie, Mother Terese, Anna Pavlova... even Chanel

Spirits full of life, love and an amazing common sense. A will to speak up when the cowards wouldn't, to come up with solutions out of desperation, to be respected leaders of families, nations or empires, to fight the world that would blame them for taking some action.

My mind goes now to Mukhtaran Bibi, an "indomitable peasant", sentenced in her tribe to be gang-raped because of some problems her brother has caused in her village. She then defied tradition by testifying against her attackers, sending them to prison, and she used compensation money to start elementary schools in her village, she is also campaigning against honor killings, rapes and acid attacks that disfigure women. Pakistan's president has tried to cover the problem up by trying to silence her voice, reason why she has been "retained" 3 times, but she always gets her freedom back. (Read the entire story)

Yes, aid and better governments may be a solution to some problems... but its a matter of will and the courage of people to make a place, any place, no matter the resources and conditions to improve there is always a road to improvement.

Rainy days, traffic and annoying people

Nature, invention and divine creation...

How lovely does it sounds, how awful when incorrectly combined.
Its a rainy day in San Salvador some sort of tropical depression just ruined my lunch hour.

That combined to the fact that it seems whenever it starts to rain, salvadoreans start to act as if struck by lightning and for some reason nothing is right, cars crash causing a tremendous traffic, all salvadoreans rush out of their office to the minor sign of rain thinking that having lunch at their house, in the warmth of their home, watching rain fall down in the company of their loved ones will be much better than the regular sandwich bought at the corner is actually a better option.

They go out, get soaked in the rain from their office to their car, get into traffic, realize their 1 and a half hour lunch time will be substantially reduced to 15 minutes, get annoyed... and end up ruining my lunch hour.

And now I am stuck... at the office... hungry.. and really considering a combination of ketchup and splenda...

Dream Job

In the midst of decision making times, specially career oriented... I began to wonder if the path I wanted to follow is the one I really am passionate about.

Wondering, rambling, putting thoughts into paper and numbers...

Could I try it out first and see if I like it, and if not, come back to the same old job I know but pays my bills?

Now you can... I found this interesting place called VocationVacations where you can experience what its like to be anything from a Cattle Rancher and Cowboy boot maker to an architect or a car racer.

It seems they give you 2 or 3 days of one-on-one mentoring for around USD$600 with an expert in the field in their own company.

It seems changing, and making drastic changes is becoming less risky than it used to be... of course it takes away all the adrenaline and emotion of it... but hey! it's an option!