When Simple Isn’t So Easy: Sensory Overload
It was supposed to be a simple drive home. Then he threw the tablet out the window.
Adam Ray Live
My husband had bought tickets for Adam Ray’s tour stop in Philadelphia last year but the show got pushed back to March. “Dr. Phil” started getting big on Kill Tony, and he was doing YouTube videos with the character as well, that it seemed like the Dr. Phil Live show Adam was touring replaced our show date. We held onto our tickets because we were interested in seeing Adam Ray as himself after watching him kill so many times as “Dr. Phil”. We saw his show last weekend where he performed at the Punch Line Philly comedy club for just one out of six sold-out shows that weekend at the club.
Claressa Shields: From Flint to the Olympics
The Fire Inside, directed by Rachel Morrison in her directorial debut and distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, was in theaters last Christmas but I didn’t get a chance to watch it until it was streaming. The movie is based on the true story of boxer Claressa Shields from Flint, Michigan, who at just 17 years old wins an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. If that wasn’t impressive enough, USA boxing hadn’t won a gold medal since 2004 and women couldn’t compete in the sport before 2012.
“Unstoppable”: A Man’s Character is His Fate
Unstoppable streaming on Amazon is a film based on the true story of Anthony Robles, a wrestler born with one leg. I wanted to watch it because it was a movie about a Latino that starred Jharrel Jerome from When They See Us and Moonlight as Anthony, and the iconic Jennifer Lopez as his mom Judy. Michael Peña also stars as his high school coach Bobby Williams. Unstoppable is an inspiring story but what surprised me most was Anthony’s character.
5 Ways Critical Thinking Skills Can Increase Your Happiness
Writer Margarita Diaz recently wrote about Happiness and how to take the route that causes you the least angst. I reached out to her and asked if she would contribute a piece about this for this month’s blog. Read more to learn tips on how to navigate life better to bring us more happiness and peace.
12 Summers
On a Monday off from work last month, as I walked Sebastian into school with the sun shining on us, it hit me that it was my first summer since I’d found a new job. Exactly two years ago, I went to a tarot reader to ask when I would find a new job, and she said it wouldn’t be soon but that I did have options. Now, I was finally on the other side of that with a new job. I was immediately filled with joy and had one of the best days ever. My old job was twelve years of most of my adult life, with the end of my time there feeling drained. For the first time, I thought I had moved a mountain, leaving an unhappy situation.
Shane Gillis Stars in “Tires”
The coolest thing about Tires, the Netflix comedy series set in the workplace, is that one of its creators wasn’t supposed to get this opportunity. Shane Gillis, a comic from Philly, was canceled in 2019 and subsequently fired before his SNL debut. Comics rallied behind him, he continued doing his stand-up, and today joins comedians Mark Normand and Ari Shaffir on the Joe Rogan Experience to host “Protect Our Parks.” Last year, his second comedy special, Beautiful Dogs, premiered on Netflix, and earlier this year, he hosted SNL. His popularity is just undeniable.
A New Chapter
At the start of the year, I wrote Looking Back At 2023 about my less-than-fun year. Well, I’m happy to report that in February, only two months into the new year, things took a turn with the job hunt. Back in December, I shifted my expectations and reset my job alerts with Indeed for case management positions instead of being so stubborn with only looking for writing jobs. I wanted to get my resume noticed with my twelve years of experience in that field and applied to any agency where I could do something different.
Gen V: Superheroes Becoming Humans
To appreciate the spin-off show, Gen V, you have to watch The Boys, Amazon’s original show, which has aired three seasons since 2019 and is based on a comic book series. I only started watching The Boys last year because when my husband first told me about the show years ago, I wasn’t interested in something called The Boys. I just didn’t think it was for me or that I would like it. I’m glad I gave it a chance, though, because I fell in love with the premise: What about the innocent casualties of the superheros’ powers?
Looking Back At 2023
If you saw people posting highlights of their 2023 on Instagram and cringed, you’re not alone. While last year wasn’t my favorite, and I’m glad it’s over, I’ll start this post with gratitude. You can’t do anything without good physical health, and you can’t be happy if you don’t have the ones you love close to you. I’m grateful to say that I was blessed with another year of health and still have my family and friends by my side. As I look back on 2023, I realize it was a year of learning for me that will flow into the growth I expect to see in 2024.
One Piece: The Great Pirate Era
One Piece, the Netflix live-action series based on the Japanese manga series created by Eiichiro Oda, aired its first season at the end of the summer. It’s set in a made-up world during a great pirate era where the seas are divided into four quadrants: East Blue, North Blue, West, and South. I had never heard of this massively popular manga until someone recommended it to my husband, and we decided to watch it. I fell in love right away with the story and the main character, Monkey D. Luffy, whose dream is to find the hidden treasure, the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates.
My First Runes Reading
Lately, I’ve been thinking about why things don’t happen when I want them to, so I scheduled my first runes reading in the same center where I got My First Tarot Reading. I had wanted to try a coffee reading for the first time, but that service wasn’t available. Before I booked the appointment, I had to ask the woman scheduling my session what a runes reading was. She provided me with the definition, and I was intrigued enough to make an appointment immediately
Our First ER Trip
I was in the kitchen washing dishes when I heard a loud crash followed by my son crying. It wasn’t the sort of cry that lasted only a moment meaning his injury was inconsequential; it was the kind of cry that meant he had hurt himself pretty good. For any parent your child getting hurt is a rational fear. After all you’ve been tenderly caring for them since they were an infant neurotically ensuring their safety and well-being. But when your child is non-verbal, which is the case for my 4-year-old son Sebastian, it’s a whole other level of worry.
The House on Spruce Street
Reading Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street reminded me of when my family and I moved into our first house because the book follows Esperanza Cordero as she and her family move into their first house on Mango Street. I didn’t love The House on Mango Street only because it’s a book of vignettes and I’m more into traditional novels, but I fell in love with the author’s introduction where she talks about becoming an author.
Quantum Leap
While watching an interview with the creator of the television show Workin’ Moms’ Catherin Reitman on BUILD Series, I connected right away with her words when she mentioned the rapid turn-around we often expect when it comes to establishing the life we envision for ourselves. We imagine taking a quantum leap when it comes to achieving our dreams, as if there can only be one fixed outcome and one arbitrary date of when everything must be accomplished.
Anti-Confederate
Early this year while I was walking my Schipperke around my suburban neighborhood, I saw something that struck me so deeply I had to do a double-take. Surely, I hadn’t just seen what I saw: Positioned on the upper right hand corner, on the back windshield of a blue Ford truck, fastened like a badge, was the unmistakable “Southern cross” of the Confederate flag; to add insult to injury, the statement “Never Apologize For Being Right!” was emblazoned across the front.
F.A.I.L.
Fall and Invite Loss. The best piece of advice I never got was to fail and to fail constantly. Lessons I could’ve learned in my adolescence evaded me because I wanted to stay in my shell. I didn’t go through the same experiences as my peers because I was so shy and preferred to stay out of things and be more of an observer. While my friends had jobs in high school and were able to buy the clothes they wanted to wear, which our parents couldn’t afford, I was constantly told I didn’t have to work.
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