The "Last Lecture"...

It amazes me the fact that I never need to go after inspiration to write here... and it is also great that it comes fom a series of different places... It can be from something I read, something I see, something that happens to me, a conversation with a friend... It really does not matter, all it matters is that it does come and I get to do one of my favorite things... Write here... We all complain about a lot of little things in life... lack of money, lack of things, we have to walk too much, to drive too much, I have to study a lot, I'm bored, I don't have anything to do and so on... Granted that any of those complaints can be valid within a certain context... However, once in a while something happens that makes us put it all in perspecive and simply appreciate all we have... Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, is dying from pancreatic cancer, He gave his last lecture at the university in Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his amazingly moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and helped people look at their own lives differently. (More info on: www.cmu.edu/randyslecture) His outcome in life is inspiring and even though he is dying and is gonna leave behind his wife and three kids, he has taken upon himself to leave behind his view of life... I watched his appearence on Oprah (Thanks to Jacob... :D), which was a small part of his full lecture... That was what inspired me to come here and write... He gave his "last lecture", which is some sort of tradition amonsgt professors... It's the last lecture they would give if they knew they didn't have much more time to live... In Randy's case, that is actually the reality... It made me think about my "last lecture"... granted that I have never given a lecture, but it made me think about what lessons I have learned in life and what would be my legacy... I don't compare my life to his of course... but, I have learned in first hand about a lot of things he talks about... never give up, live life with a smile, have fun... I was diagnosed with Poli arthritis Reumatoid when i was 11... It is an inflamation of the joints, in my case ALL joints (I know I know... old people's disease... what can I do lol)... I went from practicing pratically any sport out there, to not being able to simply ride a bike... It was hard and the pain was tough to deal with... However, I never let it get me down, I never let it take over me, I was always a happy kid... Despite the other kids, who were not very helpful... always making fun of me for limping and stuff like that... I got through it... and had a few other obstacles as well... There was a time no one believed I was gonna be able to work, drive... I was supposed to be in wheelchair... None of that took charge of my life... I did it all... I was a teacher for 6 years, I can drive (and love it) and no, Im not in a wheel chair... I have limitations, but they dont make me who I am... I own the disease, not the other way around... Don't feel sorry for me... I am thankful to the disease nowdays, it helpped me become the person I am today... an I really like that person... :) Life is supposed to be lived with a smile... Sometimes there are some not so great moments, but a good attitude can go the distance... Friends and family make all the difference and I am forever grateful to mine... I live life as fully as I can... everyday is a new adventure and there are no obstacles I can't surpass... Take a look at Randy's lecture... It is life changing at the least: Ps: no music today... The lecture sings enough :)

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Taking charge...

After more than a decade surfing the World Wide Web (Ouch! Im getting old lol) it still amazes me the thing we can find online. Last night I was doing my daily run through of my favorite blogs, and I came across a list on http://www.lista10.org/ (Its in portuguese :P - Original List: http://listverse.com/bizarre/top-10-incredible-recordings/) the list was of the top 10 incredible recordings of all time... Number 9 is a 44:30 minute recording of the Jonestown massacre... A bit of the background: "Jim Jones was the American founder of the People’s Temple group. The group became infamous after the November 18 1978 mass suicide/murder in Guyana where the group had moved after rising tensions in the USA. Nine-hundred-and-nine people drank cyanide after Jim Jones ordered his men to kill visiting Congressman Leo Ryan and numerous members of his entourage. In this horrifying recording you hear the last 30-45 minutes of Jones directing his followers to poison their children and then themselves. At one point one of the female voices on the tape is heard to say “It’s okay - they aren’t crying because of pain - it is just because of the bitter taste). Some of the bodies found had died of forced cyanide injection or gunshots. Jones was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head." I heard the whole recording last night, and it left me in shock... It was one the most horrid things I have ever heard... by the end you can hear babies crying and Jim Jones telling the mothers present to keep them quiet... one of the babies cry gave me a chill down my spine... The end of the recording is the loudest silence you'll ever hear... Now, you aske me why have I brought this up... That recording made me think, made me think why would 909 people do something like this? why would you let yourself be manipulated into "laying down your life", as jim Jones put it on the tape? He states that death is preferable to living in this inhumane world, is that so? This tape in from 1978, we can say that world is worse than it was then, cant we? Is it time for a world mass suicide? Should we give up hope of making this a better world and "lay down" our lives??? I don't know about you, but my answer is a resounding NO WAY!!!! Yes, the world is far from perfect, people are suffering in a lot of places, peace is practically a curse word in the middle east... But, there is still a lot to live for, isnt there? The birth of a new child... Sunsets, sunrises... Nature... Love... It might look like there really isnt much hope and that there is nothing to be done about it... But, that is exactly why we got to where we are... It's our job to not sit idle and watch it all go down... It's our job to something, even a small something... We usually think, "what can i do, Im only one person"... If we ALL think like that, we ARE doomed... You are ONE person, but if every ONE person out there do at least a little something... There is hope for us yet... Recycle, Use biodegradable bags when going to the store... something small can go a long way... I want to leave the best world I can to my children... and so should you... I know this post was a bit off my usual... But I felt I needed to say it... :D

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It's showtime...

What is there in a template? The blog would still be the same, while looking different? Of course guys, I finally got rid of the basic template offered by the Blogger (which I liked, btw... but I prefer using somehting out of the "basic" area) I got this template online and I am well aware more people have this one... but until someone doesn't make me a personalized one... this is it... and it's orange, which is ALWAYS good in my opinion... Let's change the subject a bit, shall we? while lazying around the house, on the "amazing" 10 day winter-break we had between end of finals and the second semester, internet, television and the telephone were my very best friend... during that time me and Vivi came across a couple of very interesting blogs... these blogs analyze the man/woman relationship... which is still a mistery to us all... The game is overplayed most times... we fell like a fresbee thrown around without a care in the world... and quoting an awsome brazillian blog "all men are clowns" and some are very skilled ones... they perform magic tricks (making themselves disappear), acrobacies (handling more than two women at a time)... and so on... if you really think about it... men are not just clowns... they are the whole circus... Before reading this blog, I never thought about that... but now it all makes sense... however, that realization will not help us in any way other than showing us that we should never expect much from them... well, I might be sounding cinical... and maybe I AM cinical at the moment... Vivi always tells me I am a romantic... and I am... but I have been screwed over a few too many times... I am on the fence now... for me the jury is out for the whole male genre... Besides all that, I am a romantic... so I will keep hoping someone comes along and proves me wrong...

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Bonus question...

Ok... I feel I have to share this with you guys (assuming more than one person reads this thing... lol... well, Helena, Babi, I know you girls do... but would it kill you to leave a comment??? just kidding... thanks for reading lol and btw, thanks to Vivi and SquareDevil who actually did leave comments...) WOW! long parenthesis... will I ever be able to be short and sweet?? lol Well, The following is an actual question given on a University ofWashington chemistry midterm. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, and now I do my part as a web surfer and spread it around... lol ENJOY!!!! "Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic(absorbs heat)?Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law(gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or somevariant.One student, however, wrote the following:First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate atwhich they are leaving.I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, itwill not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the differentReligions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions statethat if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Sincethere is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong tomore than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number ofsouls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change ofthe volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for thetemperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has toexpand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities: 1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which soulsenter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until allHell breaks loose. 2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the rate at which soulsenter Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezesover. So which is it?If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa, (Cheerleader Captainand Class Valedictorian) during my Freshman year that, "it will be a coldday in Hell before I sleep with you", and take into account the fact that Islept with her last night and again this morning, then number 2must be true,and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, itfollows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore,extinct...leaving only Heaven, and thereby proving the existence of adivine being which explains why, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God!!!" "THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A." - and let's agree people.. well deserved... lol

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