Je suis Marta.

01Nov09

dod1

dod3

dod4

dod2

ghost

tree2

Filed under: celebrations, holiday | Leave a Comment
Tags: celebrations, day of the dead, dia de los muertos, halloween, holidays

01Nov09

art1

art2

Filed under: architecture, art | Leave a Comment
Tags: art, buildings, sculpture

Light.

01Nov09

chandelier

trees

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Tags: trees, chandelier, light

Is there anything else to talk about?

29Oct09

I went to a friend’s baby shower a few days ago. I had never felt so unbelievably disconnected from other women as I did that day. I don’t have children so that already put me at a disadvantage from 90% of the other women who were there. However, as a young professional woman, as a woman who keeps abreast of the news, a woman who reads everything from the classics to trashy celebrity magazines, who loves films and music, who watches PBS and yes, even The Housewives of Atlanta, OC, New York and whatever other city they choose to make a show from, I couldn’t believe that I had nothing to talk about with the other women. They must have had at least one of my interests in common with me! Yet, I would try to start a conversation about anything un-child related, but they simply wouldn’t have it because all they cared to talk about were their kids.

Now, I understand that the environment we were in was conducive to such talk but did it have to revolve around children the entire time?!! Is that what happens to women after they have children? Does a woman’s identity pre-children disappear entirely?! And most importantly, does she stop caring about the world around her altogether? If so, I don’t think I want to ever have kids. I really like myself and I don’t want to change anything that makes me who I am.

Then today I read an excerpt from a Glamour interview with Michelle Obama, who said something I absolutely loved, that she puts herself a “really close second, as opposed to fifth or seventh” after her daughters. I don’t think the women at the baby shower I was at put themselves a really close second, maybe tenth. Furthermore, Michelle Obama also said something that I found quite poignant, “One thing that I’ve learned from male role models is that they don’t hesitate to invest in themselves.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think that mothers, good mothers, anyway, are the biggest blessing children can have, and I say this as the daughter of a wonderful woman. I also know that as women most of us are nurturers and I can only imagine that increasing two-fold as mothers, but I don’t think that keeping some interests alive (i.e. keeping invested in ourselves)in things that aren’t family or children oriented make a woman a bad mom. I also know that some women might argue that raising children, keeping a house together and working makes it difficult to maintain the interests from before, but I’m certain they must be aware of the other things happening around them besides Sesame Street, Baby Einstein and play dates.

I wish that as women and most importantly, as mothers, women would learn to value themselves in a way where they never stop investing in themselves intellectually, emotionally and yes, physically. Not only would that make them even better individuals but also great role models for their children, and who wouldn’t want that.

As for me, I think it’ll be a long time before I go to another baby shower unless it’s clearly stated that stimulating conversation will be included along with games and cake.

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Tags: babies, baby shower, children, first lady, glamour magazine, michelle obama, moms, motherhood

A never-ending love affair.

20Oct09

I’ve had a 24 year long love affair with a man I’ve never actually met. Yet strangely enough in some ways I feel he knows me and understands me better than most people. He’s been a loyal companion who never lets me down even in the darkest of moments. He speaks to me in a way that others don’t nor ever have and I doubt ever will. He says things that touch me deep in the core of who I am. He makes me think, laugh and cry, sometimes all at once. This may seem pathetic especially since I’ve only actually seen him once, and from afar, but I’m not alone in how I feel. You see, this man is Morrissey and I know, that like me, there’s thousands of others who feel the same way.

My love affair began when I was 12 on a sunny, Saturday morning. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was watching a music show hosted by Richard Blade (and no, it wasn’t Video One) when all of a sudden on my television screen there appeared a lanky, pale, bespectacled boy of 20-something. There was something about the way he looked. He was so different and his uniqueness drew me to him instantly, but even more than his appearance it was the things he was singing, “Why do I smile at people who’d I’d much rather kick in the eye?” As an extremely moody pre-teen and teen who didn’t really like too many people (some things never change!) those words resonated with me profoundly. But there was more, when he spoke he sounded so refined and even a little odd which I liked. He referred to Smiths fans as “apostles” and more significantly he handed out gladioli at live shows. Who did that?! I was in love.

My love for his words and the music of The Smiths grew to something I’d never experienced before. Although I’d grown up listening to a lot of different music and even then considered myself a true music lover, The Smiths and Morrissey changed my life forever. As a true-blue angst-ridden, hyper sensitive girl growing up in the 80s, The Smiths were a sort of comfort blankie that I could turn to…all the time! I don’t think there was a single day in my adolescence that I didn’t listen to them. My best friend who has known me since then, can vouch for that!

I bought every album, all the magazines that featured them and friends and family knew if they wanted to give me a present I was really going to like, they simply needed to give me something Smiths related. Ironically, things haven’t changed much to this day although now I’ve expanded my list of gifts to include fine jewelry as well!

Yet despite all my devotion The Smiths broke my heart. One of the worse news I ever heard took place in 1987 when after much speculation it was officially announced –The Smiths had split up. It was the end of an era, musically, and personally well, I felt as though someone had broken up with me. I felt all the angst and insecurities that proceed the end of a long-term relationship! What if I never heard anything new from Morrissey?! What if I never saw him …on TV again?!! This couldn’t end. There had to be more! I wanted more!

Luckily, for all of us fans there was. A year later Viva Hate would be released and I knew then he was not going anywhere. Like a loyal friend, he was here to stay…for good and those of us who loved him could rejoice. The albums continued to be released and all was well in the world once again. Through the years he’s helped me get through heartache, pain and made joy that much sweeter. All the while his soothing voice in the background.

At 50, he’s hinted at retiring in a few years. However, now I feel comfort in knowing that when and if he really does, I have a myriad of music to listen to that will be with me forever.

This coming December I will see him again, for the second time, and well, “now my heart is full and I just can’t explain, so I won’t even try to.” My love affair with the young man I first saw and heard many years ago on a warm summer day continues.