Friday, February 15, 2013

Friendship, random things about me and an award.

 



The lovely Louise Elisabeth from Liquorice and Pumps nominated me for a little blog award. This is a fun initiative (a mix between a slam book and a chain letter) to promote small blogs. I see it as a chance to share the random (which I love) and to start a conversation. I also love to know the person behind the blog, so I am playing along.

As a nominee you are supposed to  mention the blogger who nominated you, tell 11 little things about yourself, answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you, pass it on to 11 bloggers and ask them, in turn 11 questions. So, on to business , let's see, 11 random things about myself: 

-I have a brother and a sister, of which I am the oldest.
-I wanted to be so many things that deciding to pursue only one of those after high school was hard. Some of these things were: doctor, researcher on AIDS, Marine Biologist / Marine mammal trainer, Journalist, Café-bakery owner.
-I started a thesis on the egg-laying habits of the Axolotls, but never really finished. Veterinary medicine was pulling me hard. 
-At some point in my life I used to only wear pink.
-Then I used to only wear stripes. Colorful ones at that.
-Then I had a kind of Emo phase (before emos were even part of the urban subculture), so I guess it was more of a punk-not-quite-goth kind of phase where I would wear black and red t-shirts with slogans like: "I am so happy I could die" or "Here comes trouble" (with a drawing of a cute Japanese-like girl running around with a knife). 


-I was supposed to volunteer as a Human Rights observer in Chiapas, at a Zapatist community, but my parents did not allow it. 
-My best friend lives in Bolivia. 
-My second name is Leila, because my father has a special love for Middle-Eastern cultures. 
-I have yet another name, that means star in a different language.
-We really want to get a cat. A blue one, preferably.

Now, here are the 11 things Louise Elisabeth asked:
1.-What is your favorite color? 
Mmmm, this is a hard one. I think mint-aqua green. But red comes close behind.

2.-If you would get 1000 euro's what would you do with it?
I would probably enroll myself to a photography course. Or a baking class at Cakes Haute Couture. Or get a stack of books and baking supplies. Or buy an airplane ticket and just go.

3.-What makes your blog  a must read?
Hmmm, I wouldn't say my blog is a must-read, most of all I am honored / humbled that there are people actually reading my ramblings and (maybe) enjoying them.

4.-How many shoes do you own?
I had to go and count. That would be 18: 1 pair of boots, 1 pair of short booties, 1 pair of running sneakers, 2 pairs of black heels (high and low), 1 pair of very high nude heels, 1 pair of brown mary-janes (which I just realized have completely perforated soles), 1 pair of lilac heels, 1 pair of heels with a flower print, 4 pairs of ballerinas (fucsia, red, gray, pink), 2 pairs of sandals (both coral pink), 1 pair of white heels, 1 pair of vans-like shoes with a colorful print, 1 pair of crystal blue plastic flip-flops.

My new shoes arrived. Aren't they the cutest?

5.-If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
To have a biological baby. I wanted to say to get pregnant, have a healthy pregnancy, and a baby. But that sounded like 3 wishes. You get the idea.

6.-Where do you want to be in 5 years from now?
Physically? No idea... Mexico,the UK or Switzerland would all be nice. Holland as well. Mostly in 5 years I would like to have children and be in a good place (professionally), that is have a job that fulfills me, makes a difference in society and sustains us.

7.-What is your best health tip?
My mom used to say "somos lo que comemos" (We are what we eat), so I would say, read your labels, be very conscious of your eating habits, nurture your body (which includes being in a positive state of mind), and your body will be healthy too.

8.-If you could name any place, where would you go right now?
On a trip? I think that would be SouthEast Asia: Vietnam, Camodia, Thailand, Singapore... and Japan! Talk about needing to win the lottery.

9.-Addition to question 8 who would you take with you?
The boy of course. It would also be fun to travel with my brother, sister and their significant others.

10.-What is your best fashion tip for upcoming season?
Umm, I am clearly totally clueless here. I would say be yourself. Stay authentic and true to who you are. But apparently pastels are gonna be a big hit (yeah).

11.-Are you an organ donor (this is very important to me, might be weird but hey you don't read my blog for its well normalness)
Currently, no, I am not. I feel very ambivalent on this, because coming from a medical profession I kind of know the kind of playing with bodies that takes place among students (that sounds awful) and the kind of crazy science that can happen if in the wrong hands. I have talked about this with the boy and I am ok with donating my organs if they would go to another person, save someone's life, but I am not so sure about giving my body to "Science". Difficult subject. 
Finally I would like to nominate the following blogs, some of which I recently found, some of which I've been reading for quite a (long) while, but all of which I find inspiring: 
  
Off to bright places 
Mockingjay... because we all need a little hope.
Pieces of Anna
Made in Morningside 
A little bite of everything 
Sara Bittner
The Smitten immigrant
De este lado de mi mundo 
The moon on a stick
Un nuevo nacimiento  
Zarawitta. Viaje al centro de la beca. 
Invincible Spring 

The questions I would like to ask are: 

1. Which is your favorite book?, 2. What is your favorite place in the World?, 3. What makes you happy?, 4. If you could go anywhere in the World, where would that be?, 5. Do you have a job / are you happy with it?, 6.  What is your favorite food?, 7. Can you maybe share a recipe? (or link to a favorite one?), 8. What is your favorite song / band ever?, 9. And your favorite cartoon as a child?, 10. What about your favorite movie? and 11. What is your most vivid childhood memory? 

* First image found on pinterest. Because like Kirsty said, blogging should be a conversation. A chat among friends. Second image from here.

32 comments:

  1. Ciao bella!thanks for you nomination! :) Im so happy jiji, disculpa para responder al premio debo colocar la foto soy novata ji.
    respecto a tus respuestas creo que estamos pasando por momentos similares (por ahora no busco b pero me gustaria) la busqueda de trabajo y la forma de comer a si! Y el amor por viajar. No te desanimes si es un bb natural o no siempre continua a ser un bb. Te mando mis mejores deseos.
    Un feliz dia
    Pd. Yo trabajo en mis momentos libres como babysister de bb holandeses jiji me toca mejorar mi holandes.

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    1. :) Puedes poner cualquier foto que tu quieras, o si pones en google "Liebster award" te salen unas fotos con corazoncitos que también puedes usar. Muchas gracias por tus deseos y ánimos y feliz día.
      Para los niños holandeses, si entras a schooltv.nl hay muchos videos / mini documentales (de 2 a 10 minutos) de muchos temas variados, en holandés y están por años, yo creo que hay hasta alguno de Colombia!
      Tal vez te sirve de entretenimiento en algún momento.

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  2. Aww, thank you for the nomination my dear. I have played along! It came just at the right time, I was finding writing inspiration lacking the last couple of days.

    I too love new shoes, I bump into things when I get them because I can't stop looking at them!!

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    1. Thanks :) I will go read you, I am very curious.
      I fell in love with those shoes when I saw them, I actually am a long time fan of Kickers shoes, had my first pair at 14, they were rare, as in, not sold in Mexico, and then, during college a friend and I would starve (well survive on pasta + tomato sauce) in order to save for a nice pair of shoes. Oh student days.

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  3. Ooh! Thanks for the nomination. I actually had two post ideas in my head already, but at least one of them can bear postponing :)

    Your thesis about Axolotls makes me very curious. Aren't they the strangest creatures? And I think you'd be such a great cafe / bakery owner.. ah.. Your food posts are always drool-inducing.

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    1. You're welcome :)

      Axolotls are truly fascinating animals. I have to confess I wanted to do a project 1. in Mexico 2. in Conservation Biology. Then I discovered the amazing Julio Cortazar, and read his short story, Axolotl, and I knew I had to work with them. You can read the short story here in English (of course the original in Spanish is better as originals always are). And you can see here more about the work that the lab is involved in. They have now established protected areas / chinampas in the Xochimilco lake / canal system and they managed to have Axolotls reproduce in the wild which is a huge deal. My thesis subject was to determine whether Axolotls had a preference for specific macrophytes (aquatic plants) in which to lay their eggs. The main problem was at the time we did not have enough adults, and I needed them to reproduce, and the zoo was supposed to lend them to me and they kept saying "yes, tomorrow" and I felt trapped, and like I was never going to finish, and I was itching to touch animals ( as in treat them, not just look at them) so that's when I decided to change studies.

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  4. Jeej! Je hebt hem gedaan! super cool :D Naast dat het gewoon leuk is dat je m gedaan hebt vind ik t zoals altijd heerlijk om je hersenspinsels te lezen. Ik hoop dat je dromen uit komen, dat je een keer een heerlijke taart voor me gaat bakken en dat je (bijna) alle plekken in de wereld gaat ontdekken, die je wilt ontdekken. Met man, en met of zonder familie haha.

    xx

    liquoriceandpumps.blogspot.com

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    1. Hello ! Ik kan zeker een taart voor je bakken, ik denk dat we in dezelfde regio wonen. En nog en keer bedankt voor de nominatie.

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    2. haha cool! Volgens mij wonen we zelfs in dezelfde buurt (haagse hout). Heel fijn weekend :D

      xx

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  5. I can so relate to the organ donor thing. Bunny is very pro-donation and has it noted on his driver's license which I do not. If it ever comes down to it though he's been given instructions that my organs can be donated to people in need of transplants. The whole idea makes me feel squicky, but at the same time if the issue ever comes up I won't really be in a position to notice or care.

    Unless the ancient Egyptians were right about the afterlife, in which case I'd be screwed.

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    1. Oops, unless the Egyptians were right. That would be scary. And I really do hope we are not able to care back then. I want to be cremated, but not immediately. I have this thing where I am afraid that your brain keeps working for a while even after your heart is dead and what if you feel stuff? It scares me to think about it, so better be safe, too bad if I won't smell like roses.

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    2. The mystery of life is still so mysterious that we just can't entirely know. It's what makes some of these decisions so hard. At the same time I won't let my "what ifs" stop me from helping someone else enjoy this life if I have the chance. All we can do is make the best decisions with the knowledge we have.

      I'd never really thought about being able to still feel pain after death. Now that one is going to creep me out a little. When we think about all the advances in medicine and science and our understanding of just how much later brain death can occur from the stopping of a heartbeat it's a valid concern. Luckily here cremation isn't immediate - so much has to occur before a body even gets into the hands of the people in charge of the project.

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  6. Thanks for the nomination! I'm exciting about playing along :)

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  7. AAAAAND I forgot to mention that now I realize we have a few things in common! At some point I also wanted to do something with Marine Biology, specially with sea turtles. The possibility/idea of opening a bakery is STILL very present. And I would most definitely do exactly the same things as you if I had some money to spear!

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    1. Sea turtles are the best, I once saw them egg-laying at the beach and it was magical, almost mystical.
      Bakeries seem such a fun job!

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  8. Qué divertido!Me encantan los premios y cómo pernmiten conocer más acerca de los bloggers que me gustan!
    Yo quiero que mis organos sean donados y el descarte sea cremado. Yo ya no estaré en mi cuerpo asi que sirva para algo lo que queda detrás de mí una vez que yo ya no esté. Pero no he puesto eso en mi pasaporte por el trafico de organos, el dia de mañana haré un testamento disponiendo mi última voluntad sobre mi cuerpo.

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    1. Marcelita, no te nominé porque miré que la primera vez hace ocho mil años que me saqué un award de estos, te nominé, pero que sepas que siempre pienso en tií, y si quieres contestar el cuestionario, adelante.
      Y sí, si es a personas, que donen los órganos...

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  9. Amanda, manda!

    Gracias por la nominación, tocaya... Haré lo posible por responder a tus preguntas en un futuro post. Tengo la cabeza llena de ideas para mi blog y quiero hacerlas todas pero no encuentro el momento (bah! Siempre hay momentos, es sólo la excusa de una perdedora que no tiene paciencia para las cosas buenas).

    Sabes, a mi siempre me preguntan de dónde sacaron mis papás ese nombre. Confieso que soy tajante y que siempre puntofinalizo con un "no sé", pero tu sabes, mientras uno se va haciendo más vieja y conoce más gente, debe tratar de ser un poco más agradable con todos... así que con tu permiso voy a anotar tus palabras que recitaré con mi proxima victima que pregunte sobre mi nombre.

    Besos por allá!

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    1. Oh... casi lo olvido...

      Really?! Verde agua menta?!
      Eso se llama tener una gran gama de colores!

      lol

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    2. Jajaja, con toda confianza, usa esa explicación. Con esto del blog, al final yo me he puesto una especie de "horario" e hice una lista de temas para futuros posts, y los voy alternando con cualquier cosa que se me cruza por la mente.
      Espero tus respuestas, soy una chismosa y curiosa también jeje.

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  10. Verde menta!! me hace pensar en helado de menta con chispas de chocolate, qué delicia. Gracias por la nominación, qué entretenido responder, buscaré una receta de galletas. Aunque no tengo a quién nominar porque no tiene mucho que comencé a leer blogs. Lo de la donación de órganos no lo había pensado, si van a ser úiles para alguien más está bien pero si es para que alguien juegue con ellos nada más ayysss! Aunque imagina qué suerte terminar en una exposición como la de http://thbexhibition.com/about.asp, yo la he visto 2 veces y me parece asombrosa. Aunque bueno, una vez que te has ido yo no creo que te enteres de nada, es un asunto muy personal.

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    1. Súper ! EStaré al pendiente de tus respuestas. El verde menta me fascina, nuestra recámara está pintada de ese color. Y sí, esa exposición la fui a ver en Basilea en el 2000 o 2001 cuando acababa de salir, que impresión. La verdad si ya estás bien muerto no creo que sientas nada, pero mi duda es en el inter, entre que te entierran o te cremas, imagínate que te acabas de morir pero aun escuchas que miedo.

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  11. Thank you so much for the nomination, Amanda! As luck would have it, I was feeling uninspired the last few days, so this got me going...You can read my answers which I've just posted over on my blog.
    I went through a punk-not-quite-goth phase in my teens too, which involved combat boots and my hair in pigtails, in my case :)
    And I have a fascination with axolotl. Such wierd and cool creatures!

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    1. I just went through your answers! Thanks for playing along. Combat boots were the best. I also had black ones, inspired by MTV's Daria. I still kind of want some Doc Martens.
      And axolotls have a special place in my heart. Did you read Julio Cortazar's short story on them? I linked to it above in response to Smittenimmigrang.

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  12. Thank you so much for the nomination!

    I have been very bad with catching up on blogs in the last two weeks, since starting work, and I am so glad I caught up on your blog first!

    Btw, I am so impressed with the colors in your shoe collection. And those new shoes are lovely! I have quite a collection of shoes myself, but they are mostly boring neutral colors. I am never brave enough to buy shoes in some bold pattern or color, even though I always wish I did. (maybe I should just do it already, huh?)

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    1. You're welcome ! I have really enjoyed your writing and musings all this time. Looking forward to your answers!

      Thanks ! And yeah, just try it... maybe ballerinas are an easy place to start? And easy to find in lots of colors to. You can wear them with neutrals (like jeans and a simple t shirt or sweater).

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    2. I apologize profusely that it took me so long to respond to this award, but I finally did it! I hope it's not too late... :(

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    3. Oh no worries, of course it's not too late! I am off to read you, I'm curious!

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  13. ¡Ahh! se me fue el fin de semana sin responder... mil gracias por el detalle :) Prometo que esta semana sin falta respondo decentemente. Mucho que comentar de lo que has escrito... Abrazos.

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    1. Super ! Un abrazo, buena semana :) (Y de nada, me encanta leer tu blog, desvaríos y aventuras).

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    2. Ahora mismo estoy en ello, por cierto Leila me agrada el nombre. Anoche terminé "El albergue de las mujeres trsites", me causó sentimientos encontrados, pero disfruté sin duda mucho más la segunda mitad del libro. Ya te contaré. Curioso también que nuestros mejores amigos de cuando estábamos en Cuerna, antes de dejar México, son bolivianos viviendo allá. En fin mejor al post y el jueguito :)

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    3. Gracias! Sí a mi también me gusta llamarme Leila, sólo que nunca me acostumbré a que me llamaran así, todo mundo me dice Amanda.
      Y definitivamente la segunda parte del libro se pone más interesante. Y que chistoso de tus amigos bolivianos, una de mis amigas más cercanas es boliviana, y además ahora vive en Sucre y está (desde hace años) enamorada de un médico así es que era leer el libro y pensar en ella! Voy a tu post !

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