30 Day Writing Challenge

DAY 1

5 problems with social media… Well this could most definitely be more than 5 problems. so I’ll start with the most common complaint I hear from people everywhere…

1. Sharing too much.. We all tend to share too much, too many pictures, too many food shots, too much of our life, we rant too much etc etc.. What do I have to say about that.. well.. hide, unfollow me etc.. I write what I’m feeling in the moment.. sometimes I’ll go back and delete and sometimes.. oh well.. it’s what I was feeling right then. I try not to censor anyone on their own feeds of any of the social media outlets.. as I don’t want to be censored either. If I don’t want to see it.. I’ll hide/unfollow etc..

2. What we put on Social Media is usually if not FOREVER.. Pictures especially of those hard core party days, or doing really stupid things.. can come back to haunt you in your job search, college applications etc.. We forget these things and well.. it can go all bad!

3. People pretending to be someone they are not.. So many people come up with their own stories, they create these fictional characters .. sometimes simply because they aren’t confident enough as themselves but many times so that they can hurt others.

4. Predators.. I don’t think our youth of today and well let’s be honest adults believe that there are predators out there that hide in social media to hurt us.. but in 2016 this is very big deal that leads to human trafficking, kidnapping and the simple of it… robbery.

5. Finally, social media is addictive and you can lose hours of your life playing in FB, Twitter, Myspace etc.. I’ve been known to have that happen..lol it’s what it is.. an escape but we should all be aware of the time we spend on social media.. that much I am aware of..

So those are my thoughts on my 5 problems with social media.. and I’ve probably done a little of all of them except for #3..or #4.. but I have met people online and w/o even thinking about it.. met up wth them and never thought twice about it. Hello Duranie Days!!! Lol I’ve been fortunate that those I have met have become good friends of mine.

LUSO NEWCASTLE VISIT

As I get ready to move into another weekend of travel and my #LusoLife I have to remember my last visit in Newcastle. (I'm slacking here). I took my dads advice and headed up to Roseville on Saturday evening, spent some time at #ThunderValleyCasino, came back to the hotel with a whopping .77 cents (lets not talk about what I lost lol) and then vegged out until Sunday morning. 

I have to say that as I drive around California I have come to love these small towns and these historic buildings!!! We had the Newcastle Visit at the Newcastle Portuguese Hall that was built in 1918. What a treasure this building is!!

Its always a pleasure to arrive at visits and see familiar faces. Past Presidents, line officers and simply members that have known you since you were a kid. I grew up with some of the adult members of this council and have watched some of them grow up in other councils. Thank you Newcastle for the lovely afternoon filled with friendships and laughter, the delicious cake, dinner and flowers. BTW I love love the scentsy crown that we were given. Love it!!

To the Newcastle Youth Council... Keep it up, work hard and continue to do what you do best. Silvia Soares i don't know how you treck up there during the summer months for Luso practice but keep up the good work and holding on to our traditions!!! Can't wait to see what you guys bring to the table this year at the convention!!!!!

Thank you to Frankie Trovao and his family, Ethan Vieira and his parents and everyone else who spent the afternoon with us. These memories will be forever held dear to my heart!

See you all at the next visit..

#LusoPrez2015 #LusoFamily#LusoAmericanFraternalFederation #LusoLife

#RIPTigerBaby

Never thought that I would be so upset that I was losing my durango.. but I have been.. such an emotional thing for a materialistic piece of my life. its just a car.. but its part of a time of my life where I made big changes, bought the car, bought my home and got my puppy. of those 3 Diva is my last piece of that period.. My car signified some independence, it was mine, no payments, no anything. Now until I can decide what I want and afford I'm at the mercy (and thankful I have the opportunity).. of my parents and borrowing their car. 

with that.. #RIPTGRBBY you were my favorite car, took me everywhere and we had some wonderful memories.. I'm sorry I didn't take better care of you...

SACRAMENTO LUSO WEEKEND

Another great Luso weekend with my #LusoFamily. I started my weekend supporting Judy Mottini on her journey to Luso President in 2017 by finally being able to attend her Crab Feed in Sacramento. So glad i finally made it up there. What a great turn out and delicious crab!!! She most definitely deserves to have such a successful fundraiser as her year approaches. I'm looking forward to her convention at the Sacramento Hyatt in 2017, I know Judy and her committee are going to be spectacular!!!

After a nice evening at the crab feed and a good nights sleep at the Sutter House in Downtown Sac... I headed over to St. Elizabeths Church for Council 3c-33b, Region 7 and YC #4's annual visit. I was welcomed with open arms by my Luso Family. Thank you to everyone who worked so tirelessly all weekend to make sure that the visit was memorable and fun. Thank you for the lovely corsage, beautiful gift and delicious lunch but most importantly, thank you for making me feel so loved and cherished!!!

My standout moment was when i was greeted by Avo Perry as I have called her for the last 19 years... We met when I was 20-30's President in 98 and she traveled with her granddaugther the Youth President Jennifer Sanders (then Machado)... and she adopted me and I her as my Avo... I was thrilled to see her and so happy that she had come to see me!!! I adore her. I've said this before but sometimes people just touch your heart and they become the most special people in your journey in life. Thank you Avo Perry for joining us this weekend and Thank you Jennifer and Gracie M Pimentel for sharing your Avo with me!! :)

Thank you to my co presidents 20-30s PresidentFrankie Trovao and his family Marie Trovao, Maggie and Hailey and Youth President Ethan Vieira and his father and LALIS Director Joseph B. Vieira for making another one of our visits memorable and fun!

I truly love my Luso Life!!!!

Thank you again Sacramento for the lovely memories!!! See you all at the Convention!!!!!

 — 

LUSO VISIT WATSONVILLE COUNCIL 75B

This last weekend I started of 2016 with my first visit in Watsonville. Council 75B hosted a great luncheon for myself, youth president Ethan Vieiraand 20-30s president Frankie Trovao, officers and members. I was joined by my parents and my Tia Isabel. Mr. Joao Machado and his council put on as usual a great dish and welcomed us all with warm hugs and laughs. There is never a quiet moment with Frankie, Ethan and Myself, add in Danny and it gets a little out of control. Great memories though...

It was an emotional visit as Mr. Machado, his deceased wife and I formed a friendship/connection that has withstood approximately 20 years. Every so often people touch your heart and you know you will cherish them always. For me that was the Machados. The will forever be a huge part of my#LusoFamily.

Thank you to the officers and members that came to the visit and to 75b for putting on a delicious luncheon of 2 differents types of Tuna, fish soup and cake!! Thank you for the wonderful memories.

#LusoLife #lusoprez2015 #LusoAmerican#LusoPres

One thing I learned this weekend is that life is short. Really short and it doesn’t matter how old you are, how healthy you are or not healthy. When its your time its your time. Over the last 6 months I have known or have lost people in my life from natural causes or illness. I have found out that some people I have known all my life are having the battle of their life with cancer or other diseases that are killing them daily. It didn’t matter that they were young, old, bad karma or whatever. It makes me realize that no matter what is going in my world that there is someone out there who is in a worse position then me, unhealthier then me or grieving someone near and dear to their heart.

This weekend a very dear friend of mine is battling diabetes and acute pancreatis and is on a ventilator to help her breath and try and get her vitals under control. She is 24 years and vegetarian. She’s got a heart of gold, will give you the world if she can and yet here she is battling to stay alive while her loved ones pray that she will open her beautiful eyes and give us her big beautiful smile again.

Is life tough right now? Definitely, the economy is barely survivable. Can I change my life to make it a positive one? Of course I can and will do my best to live life completely and fully. Life is short, live it, love it and be grateful for all that we have. We only have one life to live and if we don’t live it, its taken sooner then we think.

Take a moment, tell those you care about that you love them, tell those your angry at that you forgive them and most importantly forgive yourself for all that you think you’ve done wrong. Love yourself so that you have the ability to love others.

Religulous

While in school we have had to write reading journals about readings, movies and topics that we discuss. This one really had me thinking and I thought I would post it. I am on some level catholic even though non practicing. I'm not against or for religion as a whole..just have a lot of questions.

written 04/26/10 for English

Watching Religulous made me realize how many questions about religion I do have. I mean why we believe in something that has never truly been proven. No one can actually answer if there was an Adam and Eve who created humanity. Why do we follow the preaching’s of something that was written by man regarding an entity that creates miracles, life and judges upon on our last day on earth? This person who sends us to a better place after death yet, causes war, catastrophes’ and fatal illnesses amongst people of all ages?

As a child I was raised catholic, went to church and went through the religious rites that my parents believed in. I followed the rules set forth by the church and didn’t ask any questions. As I got older though I found that I had issues with some of the rules and the idea that I had to go to a church and put my faith into one sole person who lived a life of celibacy and completely different then what they preached. I was told to confess my sins in order to receive the body of Christ. To confess to a man who has been ordained a priest, who has taken this vow and has the ability to judge me and what he thinks is a sin. Some of these men are men, who truly found inner peace as Gods messenger, but there are some who are hiding from their sexuality, there are pedophiles and men who do not abide by their celibacy vow and sleep with random women in their congregations. These men while may not be many have no business judging me and forgiving me in my opinion.

In Religulous I did notice that bill Maher seemed to stick to many overzealous religious people. Those that can’t be swayed, who won’t or don’t tolerate anything remotely questioning their god or bible. Why are we so intent on believing in this without research, without question? Why must we listen to the ramblings of others at face value but aren’t allowed to ask questions? My thought is that they really don’t know the answers. They can’t give us a firm answer on whether this was real.

Religion does have some good qualities. It gives people inner peace during tough times in life, in death and when they are sick. But in the same token it has created wars in the name of religion, violent murders and racism. I’m still trying to figure out how to balance all the bad with the good it can bring.

Having faith in God, Allah, Buddha, etc.is a wonderful thing. Everyone should have faith and how ever you find peace within yourself is your business. My problem with any religion is the pushing of your thoughts and beliefs on other people. What may work for you, may not work me or anyone else. For me having faith doesn’t mean that I can preach versus in the bible, go to church every Sunday or even know all the prayers. Faith for me comes from within me. I believe what I believe and I talk to god in my way and when I feel the need is there. Sometimes it’s because I’m praying for a friend, family member or even me and sometimes it’s just to say thank you for giving me the strength and faith to get through the tough times.