Do Unto Others

Everyone knows how 'Do unto others' continues, right? Isn't it called the golden rule with good reason? Is it so difficult to understand and follow? Apparently so! Two different incidents have happened recently to make me believe that so many have forgotten the valuable lessons they were taught as children. I've chosen a secret from Post Secret to begin with because one: I haven't posted one for a while and two: this isn't what I walk down the street thinking, although this is exactly what happened.

This past Thursday I went to one of my classes that I have with two brothers (separately, of course),which is about a couple of minutes' walk from where I live - they live just around the corner. When I got there, I realised I'd forgotten my glasses. I don't usually wear glasses in the street but I need them for reading and doing housework even. The fact that I don't wear them in the street perhaps accounts for the fact that I don't always see people I know, but I am wandering. I had no choice but to give the student an introductory text to read and go back to get my glasses, which should have taken 5 minutes at the most. On the way back to the class, I saw two men fall in the street. At first I thought they were probably drunk because this is still bullfighting season. I was intent on getting back to my class and remember I wasn't wearing glasses. No, they were two elderly men, one who had managed to get up by the time I reached them - the other one obviously couldn't. This isn't a street with a lot of pedestrian traffic. I stopped and asked them if they were alright. While I was talking to them, a man passed by us without looking. This is a narrow street too and he had to make an effort to get past us as we were blocking most of the street. I was wondering what to do when a couple of teenaged girls appeared and they stopped and asked if we needed help. It turns out one of them was a student of mine when I worked in the institute. I really couldn't help to get the old man on his feet. At the same time I couldn't just pass them like that other man had done. Could you? I hope not.

The second incident has to do with online bullying. One of my friends here is very upset because someone on her contact list has made some nasty comments on one of her friends' page. You know as well as I do that we all have problems, sometimes we're upset, hurting or whatever. Most of us use our site here to keep in touch with family, friends and people that we've met online and who we enjoy having contact with. So what if I don't agree with what someone is saying? Does that give me the right to say horrible things to them? Would I do that to them if I knew them personally? Again, I hope not. We need to remember that we're all a part of this great universe and that no one is the centre of it, and everyone is held responsible for their actions one way or the other. Capiche?

Post Secret just gets better and better and again I got an even number on the visitor counter: 240,639,040. Not only can you make friends on social networks, but you can find someone's telephone number in a Post Secret book and arrange to meet him or her - I'm not sure about that. There was at least one very sad one about a person who met her dad for the first time at the age of 19 and gave him a copy of all her favourite songs and a letter, which he returned unopened. The golden rule, you all!

Hope everybody has a good week and sure hope I don't lose any of my contacts because they don't like the new Multiply. I know I was quick to say the calendar was missing. It's not, as several people have told me. If you have any problems, just ask. There are lots of knowledgeable, nice people on here.

P.S. I'm going to be an aunt again!  

Calima Week (Weather)

Friday was the fifth wedding anniversary for Prince Felipe (Philip) and Princess Leticia. The day of their wedding  was cold and it didn't stop raining and raining hard at that. This last Friday was one of the hottest days that we've had so far. It was so hot in fact that I decided to put the ceiling fan on for a while.Then I was wondering why my dog had run into the bedroom and gone under the bed when I heard a big boom - thunder! (Zara is not thunderstruck)

'Calima' is one of those words that I have no idea what the exact translation is in English, or if there is one, or whether it might be the same word in both languages. My Collins Pocket Dictionary doesn't contemplate the word. It's not something that Madrid suffers from too often because of its location. You see the term refers to particles of dust  which are suspended in the air and which hide the sun completely making it seem like a cloudy hazy day only it gets oppressively hot. 'Calima' comes from the deserts of Africa. People with respiratory problems should be careful when there is 'calima' and it's always recommended not to do a lot of physical exercise outdoors. Luckily the rain that we had with the storm on Friday night washed all the dust away, but again we can't go to the park today because it'll be too muddy as it continued raining most of the day yesterday. Hope this week isn't as hot because I'm not ready for gazpacho weather yet and neither are my plants which I've had to trim several times. The poor lovely roses in the streets got beaten by the storm.

Today was another good day on Post Secret even though there were a couple that I didn't fully understand due to cultural differences - at least I hope that's what it was. Frank even left a secret in his hotel room in New York. Yesterday a note fell out of a book that a friend had lent me, but that would be something for Found Magazine. Anyway, this week I got an even number: 232,782,920.

Hope everybody who celebrates Memorial Day has a good holiday tomorrow and a good rest of the week  

Pisto

Description:
Don't confuse this with pesto. Here's another easy and cheap Spanish dish. Although it calls for fresh tomatoes, I usually use a small can of tomatoes, which helps shorten preparation time. Pisto can be used to make tapas, sandwiches, to accompany meat, and I like it with pasta instead of sauce. It can be eaten hot or cold. This I'm going to have with grilled chicken.

Ingredients:
4 ripe tomatoes
2 onions
2 green peppers (small ones)
1 red pepper
2 zucchinis (courgettes)
2-3 garlic cloves
olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
salt

Directions:
Step 1: Scald the tomatoes, remove the skin and chop.

Step 2: Peel and chop the onions and zucchini.

Step 3: Clean the seeds out of the peppers and cut into small chunks or strips.

Step 4: Fry the onion and garlic in a small amount of oil over moderate heat a couple of minutes.

Step 5: Add the peppers and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Step 6: Add the zucchini and cook for a couple more minutes, being careful that the onion doesn't burn and add the tomatoes.

Step 7: Let cook another 15 minutes or until the juice from the tomatoes has been absorbed.

Step 8: Add the sugar and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Special Messengers - Daily OM

I imagine that Donna will have read, and possibly kept, this particular reading. I think it deserves to be shared and re-read.


Reconnecting with Friends

Every person that passes through our lives makes a contribution to our life stories. There are those who play large roles and make deep impressions, but sometimes a brief special appearance before life takes them in another direction creates a meaningful connection. It is a rare gift when they suddenly reappear in our lives after a long absence.

Though the world may seem full of more people than we could ever know, we are often drawn to people with similar energy, which brings us together time and time again. On first meeting, the characters in our life stories may seem familiar. We may know each other from past lives or perhaps we merely recognize the energy of a kindred spirit. But when fate brings old friends back into our lives, there is always a reason. They may act as messengers, reminding us of a part of ourselves we have forgotten to nurture. They might appear to give us a chance to react in a new way to an old situation. They may even bring up unresolved issues so that we may complete them, giving us the chance to move forward on our life path. Whether old friends, previous romances, or once and future partners, their reappearance is more than mere chance. They may never know what they bring into our lives, but the renewed contact is a gift.

If this hasn’t happened to you, maybe you are meant to initiate contact by seeking out old friends. If old friends come to mind or into your dreams, use their appearance as an excuse to get in touch. If an old song or movie reminds you of them, reach out to share the gift of renewed contact. Wherever you fall in the circle of connection and reconnection, be sure to look beyond the surprise of the moment to enjoy the deeper gift that this revelation brings.

San Isidro Has Begun

* Hoping to get tickets

If Hemingway were alive today, I'm sure he'd be in Madrid. He'd also be in Pamplona in July for the 'Running of the Bulls'. San Isidro is the patron saint of Madrid, and we have over a month of daily bullfights to look forward to along with monumental traffic jams, crowds blocking the pavements outside the bars so that you have to turn matador and fight your way through like I had to when I went to my classes on Friday afternoon, lots of noise and other inconveniences. Before the season starts people camp out near the bullring in hopes of getting tickets, that is those without season tickets. After the bullfighting season is over (though some are celebrated on Sundays especially in the summer), we have the summer concerts in the bullring. We don't need to buy tickets for these events because we hear them perfectly and also the noise afterwards that we wouldn't buy tickets for anyway. Not only does the heat keep one from sleeping in the summer but so does the noise from the street - not good for people who have to work. Nevertheless, bullfights and concerts keep bars and places in this area going. There are lots of outdoor terraces (sidewalk cafés) that do good business when the weather is nice like it has been. Nobody was sitting out last night though because the heavens opened up (just when I was taking Zara out. Needless to say, she ran back in). 

I finally posted the photos I'd taken in the park recently. I dont think we´ll be going today because it'll be too muddy. Zara doesn't like the rain and I don't like mud. I don't think I really liked making mud pies when I was little. In all the photos I take of Madrid, everything is always so green because they water. If I decide to go to the park tomorrow, I'm sure they'll be watering even though it rained quite a bit last night (hasn't rained yet today but possibly will). The only time I've seen a lot of brown dead grass is when the caretakers were on strike in the summer, of course. It was extremely unpleasant and sad to go to the parks then.

I often think of Chinese food when I read Post Secret - you know sweet and sour. I guess being Mother's Day in a good portion of the world this is a good description of today's secrets. I got an odd number again on the visitor counter: 236,141,477. Seems like I most usually get an odd number.

Not all is quiet on the western front in my building. We still don't have an administrator, and, to tell the truth, I can't imagine the 'right' one turning up in the near future. I've made my feelings on the subject known. What is that saying about biting off your nose to spite your face? She can bite off whatever she likes.

Hope everybody is having a good Sunday. We're having a sweet and sour day - sun and clouds. Have a good middle week of May.

Uprising in Madrid and Maintenance on Multiply

I'm late in posting because Multiply was going through a long, long maintenance period - at least here in Spain it was. I was going to entitle this just 'Uprising in Madrid'. Yesterday was a holiday in the Community of  Madrid to mark the anniversary of the rebellion against the occupation of Napoleon's troops. This is something I'm sure I wrote about this time last year. However, this year I was the one participating in the uprising.

I sure hope nobody thinks I'm inventing this never-ending battle with the 'power-that-be'. Notice I say power and not powers. If I were to invent something, I'd make it something incredible like all the money I won playing blackjack or something similar. Donna is right when she says a new hairdo won't make any difference with this person, and no my man won't be getting the job as administrator of the building, Deb. Without consulting me to see if the time was convenient for me, which it wasn't, she informed me that she'd asked Carlos (the administrator) to come round at 11 AM this past Wednesday. Now this woman's convinced that only her time is important and she's always right so at 11:15 she says she's leaving. I have no idea where she went because I got really angry and told her exactly what I thought of her. Carlos arrived just before 11:30 because he'd written in his diary to come at 11:30. Both the president, or the 'power-that-be'. and her parrot said he could have written down 12 midnight or whatever. Well, if she'd really wanted him as the administrator, she could have waited. I've had to wait for her before, but this time I'm really burnt and I don't care if she ever finds the 'right' administrator and I told her so. She said the other day as a favour she was going to ask someone she knew to do the accounting, which you know I've been doing these past 5 years. Can she ever jerk people around but I'm not going to dance to her tune!

On to more pleasant things. We've had a long weekend. Friday was our Labour Day, yesterday was the 2nd of May and today is Mother's Day so lots of shops were open. We had a very warm day and Zara took me to the park. I've got some photos to post from last weekend and this one whenever I get round to it. Earlier today I visited Post Secret, as always, and I was visitor 234,547,985. Well, I'm off to make something nice for lunch tomorrow. Hope everybody has a good week and don't dance to anyone's tune but your own.