For A Musing Monday

"I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language.
Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

-- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Source: alimapure.tumblr.com via Mariana on Pinterest

Calaveras & Diablitos

¡Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

Ah, November. One of my favourite months.
Winter is fast approaching as the days are now shorter and the cool breezes (even in Mexico City) nip at your nose and fingers.

My mother made some delicious candied pumpkin: chopped up pieces boiled in water with cinnamon sticks and piloncillo.
It's one of my favourite treats!

She also put up an ofrenda* with food, sweets and candles.
I placed my (last minute) jack-o-lantern beneath it.

Not pictured, but present beneath the ofrenda, are the typical ofrenda flowers: the marigold (or cempasuchil).
 Their bright orange petals really seem to radiate life.

I found the stencil online and I nearly backed out a couple of times, but pressed on and am pleased with the result.
It's the cat bus from Totoro!

Afterwards, I experimented a little with the shutter speed.
Had I been in a white lace dress and not in my PJs, this picture might've been more effective...

And if you're still in the Halloween/ All Soul's Day mood:

Can't get enough of skeleton dances?
Check out the Mickey Mouse Haunted House 1929 short. They don't make cartoons like they used to... I'm off to watch The Corpse Bride (for some more skeleton dances), eat  pan de muerto** and drink hot chocolate. Happy Weekend!

* An offering for those we've lost. ** A delicious sugary bread made especially in November for Day of the Dead.

On Bullying (& Después de Lucía)

I think we've all been bullied one time (or more) in our lives. I also think we've been guilty of bullying to some degree.

When I turned 12 I moved back to Mexico, after living 6 years in Brazil. I had a hard time adapting and fitting in at my new school- I was a somewhat awkward (pre)pubescent girl.
It didn't helpt that my skirt was below my knees, that I wore long socks ie. that I actually wore the school uniform in its entirety (the cool girls wore the boy shirt, not the frilly-pouffy-sleeves girl shirt).
I recall boys, on several occasions, pointing out my hairy legs (I still hadn't begun shaving my legs) and  the lack of a bra (I wore undershirts since there still wasn't anything a bra could hold).
One time I was taken off guard by the lockers- alone and getting school books out, a group of boys walked by, claimed I was in their way and slammed me back into the lockers. This was as nasty as it ever got for me.
I later learned that ignoring them was effective; they found others to bother. *

Then, we all grew up.
Luckily, I was with a group of people I am lucky enough to still call my best friends.
I 'wisened' and toughened up.
Which is not to say hard times were amiss as the years went by.

My last year of high-school, three different students took their own lives.
One was a classmate of mine.
All three were considered to be 'outsiders', 'loners'.

I'm not saying they were bullied into their decision, but they certainly weren't getting encouragement or positive behaviour from others.

Don't forget, we're all fighting hard battles.
Be kind.

Source: google.co.uk via rik on Pinterest

Después de Lucía follows Alejandra, a 17-year old girl new to the city after her mother's death.
After a wild night out with her new 'friends', she gains notoriety and becomes an easy target.
 What starts out as verbal harassment turns into physical abuse.

For fear of speaking up, many lives are changed.

On a different and lighter note: Tessa Ia's wardrobe was super cute. #want

(images via IMDb )

I left the movie theater feeling all sorts of things; disheartened, impotent, angry, upset and grateful. Grateful because I've never lived such abuse or humiliation.

It's not right to treat each other like shit. It's not right to hurt or violate the rights of another human being. It's not right to keep quiet. It's not right to pretend it's not an issue because it is.

Sometimes, the brave thing to do is to ask for help.

To talk. And talk. And keep talking.

We must never keep silent.
Después de Lucía urges people to talk and open their eyes.

I asked a young girl today on her thoughts on bullying, she said, "Well, that seems to be the way life goes nowadays. You're either the bully or the bullied. It's how people get by."
I understood what she was saying, but I just wanted to scream.

No. No. No.
We're human beings. We should treat each other as such. We should respect. We should love, ourselves and others.
We should be happy.
We should revel in our differences.

I encourage you to.

See also:
-My friend's blog post on bullying HERE

- My thoughts on happiness

* I feel like that's not the case anymore.

This is Just to Say...

I've been busy with school and "work".*

I've been listening to this non-stop this week.

I spent some time with my nephew.

I built a bear (or rather, rabbit)!

I got my All Hallow's Read book in the mail!**


I also may or may not dress up for Halloween...

Hope everyone's enjoying the weekend!
And stay safe if Hurricane Sandy is approaching your whereabouts.

* I am actually working- it's still a little hard to believe at times.
** Ana from Things Mean A Lot organized a book swap. This was the original post :)