Rose of Damascus

Following up after my friend’s birthday party on Friday, my mom wanted to go to a flamenco performance that Saturday.  I had a migraine all day and it never went away.  I was getting burnt out by work and having to go to one thing after another.  I knew how much this meant to my mom since she personally knew people who would be performing.  I made a promise to myself not to get caught up with too many social activities.  It wasn’t fun anymore and I missed my time alone at my apartment.  Constantly having to turn on the switch of getting ready, catching up with different people and having the same conversation was getting to me.  I felt bad because I knew I wasn’t “myself”.  I did not want my friends to think they had done something wrong because I was always in a bad mood.  The worst part about all of this was that me and my mom had a bad argument leading up to this day in particular.  In the past, we’ve handled our differences by ignoring the issue and continuing on with our day, but sometimes that is hard for me because my blood is boiling.  It’s not easy for me to keep intense emotions bottled up.  But this is the dynamics of my family, and for her, I buried them once again to make her happy.  She wanted to see this and wanted me to go with her.  I could not object.

Back to the migraine.  It never went away.  And that day in particular the temperature was in the teens.  It was super cold.  We decided to meet up at Division street right off the Blue Line so we could have dinner nearby.  Because my mom was stressed with the flood issues in her apartment and dealing with her landlord, she moved back to her place but was still settling in.  She barely ate, but did manage to enjoy her meal. 

I ended up forgetting something that was SUPER IMPORTANT.  I knew I had screwed up big time.  I couldn’t go to the show just yet, but my mom insisted to ride with me back to my place to make sure everything was ok.  I ordered an uber and in no time, we both jumped in and headed back home.  Luckily, everything was fine so I ordered another uber and we headed back to the theater.  We made it right on time!!  My mom is a freak about time, so I know she was nervous we were going to miss some of the show.  Since we barely got to our seats, we managed to take some pictures before the show started.  It was beautiful!  We were hypnotized by the flamenco dancers and their beautiful dresses!  It was a lovely storyline about how flamenco was formed by migrants from various neighboring countries.  In the end, the message was loud and clear:  Love knows no borders…

A sad time indeed...

I've been MIA these past few weeks due to illness.  Nothing serious, I swear.  Just didn't do much because of it.  I've been suffering silently on my own. 
Obviously the attack in Brussels has brought me down.  What a sad time indeed.  Terrorist attacks are more frequent and horrifying.  What is impossible to imagine becomes possible.  Our fellow man has troubled thoughts and wants people to suffer.  No one wins ever.
Throughout time, we've seen acts of evil over and over again.  As we approach this holiday weekend, I am reminded that evil has existed as far back before biblical times.  Our world has been troubled before, and like all things, we do our best to move forward.  Is it hard to imagine living in a peaceful world?
I believe it CAN be possible.  But then something like this happens again, and my heart breaks.  Yet despite the tragedies, the world does suffer as a whole.  It affects everyone.  I know we can do better.  I know we can love one another.  It's hard especially with the elections taking place here in the U.S.  The ugly truths, the misleading lies.  I have a hard time believing anyone nowadays.   


To recap events leading up to the past few days:
About two weeks ago Chicago celebrated St. Patty's Day with an all weekend celebration.  The annual dying of the Chicago river brings out thousands of people to the downtown area.  Thus, every bar in town had some sort of St. Patrick's Day theme going on.  Regardless, I missed out in the fun.  Prior to that, I've been feeling under the weather.  That day in particular, my head was pounding with yet another migraine.  It could be allergies.  It could be my body is going through some changes.  All I know is that I've been miserable and I hate it.
People around me have been getting sick as well.  It's this crazy weather and it makes everyone vulnerable to colds and viruses.  Not to mention, when you're sick it drains you.  I've had no energy to do anything whatsoever.
I'm doing good with my financial diet!  I can't believe Easter is almost here and Lent will be over soon.  I'm proud to say that my credit cards look better than they did early in the year.  I feel pretty confident with my financial goals. 

I tried my best to smile but I had a migraine while I took this picture.  I never got a chance to celebrate.