Guatemala Update: Ex President Finally on Trial!

It's been a while since I posted any updates on Guatemala, but other than the escalating violence with gangs and drug cartels (which is just too depressing to write about), I haven't come across any crazy news. Until the last few days.

Some may recall my previous entries regarding ex-president Alfonso Portillo. He was president from 2000 to 2004, and in those four years he [allegedly] stole $15 million from the defense ministry, which were originally destined for public funds. After his presidency ended, he fled to Mexico but was sent back in 2008. It's taken over two years, but it seems he's finally on trial. His original trial date was postponed several times because of various legal challenges from his defense team, including allegations that the judge assigned was not an impartial judge.

This is a defining moment for Guatemala and its judicial system. I am hoping and praying that all parties play by the rules, and that Mr. Portillo doesn't get off the hook on some crazy technicality, or the judge rules important evidence is inadmissible for whatever reason she gets paid to bring up. Guatemala needs to prove it can punish criminal behavior, that corruption will not go unpunished. Here's their chance.

January 25, 2011

What I did:

• Spent some good time detailing certain areas of our apartment that I've been wanting to do for a long time (bathroom floor and baseboards, patio area)
• Went to the grocery store for some essential stuff, like toilet paper :)
• Called immigration court to confirm my motion to substitute counsel was granted
• Worked on agenda for Haiti Scholarships board meeting
• Worked on very important correspondence I need to mail out tomorrow
• Haiti Scholarships conference call with our Board of Directors
• Send out a very important email about my Haiti fundraiser

What I didn't do:

• I didn't go to the gym, but I DID do a little work out in the apartment for about 15 minutes...I think that should count for something.
• Work on asylum and VAWA petitions
• I didn't apply to jobs. I waited until the last minute, at which point the only jobs I wanted to apply to required me doing some intense editing and revising to my resume and cover letter. It's crazy how many jobs are listed, in general, and none of them sound appealing. Bleh.

What I need to do tomorrow:

• All the things I didn't do today. I really need to spend some time on my immigration cases and OCHBA stuff.
• Abby and I are going to start cleaning out my garage. It'll be nice to be able to use it for parking again :)
• I really, really need to update my resume and cover letter, and send it out to AT LEAST two different places.

January 24, 2010

My friend Shirley told me about this accountability thing she's doing, by tweeting. I'm going to try the same via blogging. I will try to post every night about what I accomplished throughout the day, in an effort to shame me into applying to jobs, getting in shape, and getting my projects done. These entries will probably be boring for most readers, so I apologize. From now on just know that if an entry is titled with a date, it will just list what I did or did not do. Feel free to hold me accountable if I fail to make an entry for a day, or fail to list any great achievements for the day. Or feel free to ignore these entries :)

Starting with yesterday, January 24th:

What I did:

• Looked online for jobs
• Spent quality time with mom
• Picked up the last two frames for the Haiti photo gallery which will be going up today. Spent some time with Dave at Chapman Law finishing up details on descriptions.
• Went to old work to clear up some stuff that needed clearing up
• Called immigration client and made appointment for next week. Need to work on her declaration before meeting with her.
• Followed up with Haiti Scholarship board of directors, sent documents for them to review before our conference call today.
• Conference call with OC Hispanic Bar Association for Dinner Committee

What I didn't do:

• Apply to jobs (fail, I know, but I really was busy all day!)
• Work on immigration cases
• Follow up on fundraiser for Haiti
• Go to the gym
• Follow up on sponsors and silent auction donations for OCHBA
• Get anything done around the house

Over all, not a great start. Hoping today will be better. It's already 9:25 am though, so I better get started.

Music Corner: Melissa Auf Der Maur

Out of Our Minds

Decisions, Decisions

"We expect to live our lives as expected but life has a way of making the expected never happen and the unexpected that which your life becomes."

My friend Jaime shared that quote with me last week, and it made me think (once again) about what I'm really doing. I feel like I'm pushing so hard for something, and maybe it's just not meant to happen that way. On the other hand, people that make something of themselves usually have to go against all adds to get there. Where's the breaking point? At what point should I just sit back, stop swimming against the current, and just let life take me wherever the heck it wants me to go?

"There isn't any normal life guera. It's just life."

Turning a New Leaf

I think I hit my low last week. I knew that it would come, it was almost as if I was waiting for it to hit me. I sat around our apartment, got angry at hulu and netflix for not having more stuff that I was in the mood to watch, and blamed them for my boredom. Thing is, I have TONS of stuff to work on: pro bono cases, fundraising projects, working on developing a nonprofit, hundreds of little projects I need to do around the apartment, calls, emails, the list goes on and on. And yet, last week, I spent most of it on either the futon or the couch, wondering what I could possibly watch next on my laptop. It didn't help that I finally got confirmation that I didn't get the job I really wanted in LA, or that I received a piece of mail on Saturday that complicates my life a little more than I need right now.

It's pathetic. I'm healthy, I have two degrees I need to put to use, I have a supporting and loving husband, and so many other things I should give thanks for every day.

So my plan this week is to turn things around. Starting today, I'm applying to one or two jobs a day (at least), I'm going to leave the apartment more, I'm going to make myself go to the gym, I'm going to make progress on my projects before they blow up in my face for lack of attention. I'm going to do something different.

Personalized License Plates

I think you can go one of two ways when you see personalized license plates: 1) think the person is silly for spending money on a personalized license plate (to put it lightly) and ignore the content of said license plate, or 2) try to figure out what the heck they're trying to show off about. Personally, I go the latter route. My mom and I used to decipher license plates all the time when I was little, and it's a tradition I started with Jeff. I usually admire the persons creativity for fitting a phrase or quote or personification of the individual within seven characters.

Sometimes, sometimes, I'm stumped. At this point I blame the driver for spending money on trying to say something that people can't decipher, but before I throw my hands up in the air and give up (don't worry, I'm really good at steering with my knee), there's one more clue I look for: the license plate frame. And most of the time, most of the time, I'm not disappointed. It seems people who personalize license plates have so much passion for whatever they're trying to tell us they like, that the license plate frame ALSO conveys this passion. For example, one license plate went along the lines of Halo Fan (not that straightforward...but I forget what it said exactly). I commented to Jeff how amazing I was for figuring it out, then said, "they must be big Angels fans." At this point I was proud of knowing enough pop culture and sports trivia to know that Halo Fan's are from the Angel's baseball team. Then Jeff mentioned that maybe they were fans of the game. Drats! How will I ever know now what they really meant? *Ding* License plate frame read: LA Angels of Anaheim.

All I can say is...thank you dear Drivers for your dedication.

Reflections

I wasn't planning on writing anything on my blog about the one year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake--I figure today is the one day when everyone else will be talking about it, and I don't think there's much I can add that I haven't already shared with readers prior to today, and what every news broadcast is already doing. But I came across a blog entry of a good friend, so I wanted to share some of that with you guys. I'm only sharing a part here, but I recommend reading the whole thing. Here's the excerpt that got me:

"First, I ask you to take a moment of silence with the rest of the world at 4:53 eastern (2153 GMT) to remember the approximate quarter of million people who died in the disaster. But please go further than that. One moment of silent prayer or reflection is not enough for a disaster this large. It demands several moments.

So please also take a moment when you walk into your house. Remember those Haitians (about 1 million) still without a house.

Take a moment when you turn on your tap and water instantly appears. Remember those Haitians who must carry their water miles to and from clean water sources.

When you flush your toilet, remember those who are still using pit toilets, or having to flush only once a day to conserve water.

As you prepare to come back to school, or go to work, imagine your life totally upended. Family members no longer here, plans scrapped. That is reality for millions of Haitians."

This is something that was really difficult to deal with when I first returned from my trip, and something I know is constantly on mine and Abby's mind. How can we not feel guilty about everything we have, when people around the world have so little? How is this fair?

I'm not five years old anymore, so I don't need my mom to tell me that life isn't fair...I know it isn't...but I don't know why is has to be SO unfair (ok, maybe I'm still five). I think about how much water we use just to shower or wash our hands...and people in Africa don't even have enough water to drink. It's crazy, right? (or is it just me...?)

I came across an interesting passage in a book I just finished, called The Blue Sweater, by Jacqueline Novogratz. Novogratz is talking about celebrating the wrap up of a big project in Rwanda, and standing in line at a local store with two bottles of champagne. While in line it hit her that these two bottles cost more than most Rwandans made in a whole year--she was embarrassed when it came time for the Rwandan store clerk to ring her up. In the end, her companion convinced her to buy them: " 'I know it doesn't make a lot of sense on one level. We're working with the really poor, and you and I couldn't be more privileged in relative terms. But don't pretend to be someone you aren't. If you were at home, you'd celebrate with champagne. If you want to remain happy and alive in this work, you need to reconcile this part of who you are and understand the inconsistencies with the work you do and how it all fits into your whole way of being.' " (page 115).

The whole "don't pretend to be someone you're not" is pretty intense, and true. We have been born into privilege, maybe not rich-trust-fund kind of privilege, but we have abundant resources nonetheless. We can't deny that, and we shouldn't. As Novogratz puts it: "The challenge wasn't whether to buy a couple of bottles of champagne; it was instead not to take our privilege for granted and to use it in a way that served the world and our highest purpose" (116, emphasis added).

So today, take a minute to reflect. How can you use your privileges to serve the highest purpose?

Music Corner: Latin Wedding Music

A true Latin wedding will have most, if not all, of these mandatory songs...

An oldie but goodie: Oye mi Amor, by Mana:

Throw in a little salsa...Elvis Crespo, Suavemente:

I don't know if Carlos Vives is necessarily a classic for weddings, but I think it should be...

Last but not least, Matador by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs:

Yes, we are stuck in the 80s/early 90s. And quite proudly :)

You'd also have to throw in some Pepe Aguilar, Pedro Fernandez, Vicente Fernandez, but I couldn't make up my mind. Other suggestions?

Charity of the Month: FEED Projects

I recently started to discover the usefulness of Twitter. Criticize what you may about it, but if you use it correctly, it's actually a great resource for news and updates on things you're interested in. And it's how I came across this month's Charity of the Month: FEED Projects.

Basically, you buy a bag, and the proceeds of that purchase go towards providing free meals to children in schools, usually through the UN World Food Program.

One of the most useful items is the FEED 100 bag: for $30, you provide 100 schools meals to children in Rwanda. There is also the FEED 1 bag, for $60 you feed one child for a whole year. As FEED points out, this school meal is the ONLY meal that these children get. All day. We may get hungry and grumpy if we don't have our morning snack, but imagine going hungry all day...or several days. $60 means you are allowing a child the satisfaction of going home without being hungry, for a whole year.

The FEED shop also features Kenyan scarves and bracelets,

FEED t-shirts, and pouches that can be used as clutches, make up bags, etc. The pouches go for $25 and provide food and job skill training for 10 women.

It would be a sin not to put a plug in for the FEED 3 Guatemala bag, which, personally, is the coolest one...Sadly, these and others are only sold in certain stores, so check the FEED Store for details.

And if you want to support children close to home, you can purchase the FEED USA bag. The cool thing about this bag is that you get to choose which school food improvement program you want to fund!

"I can't afford to buy a bag right now." Well you're in luck. There are so many ways to support an organization, that doesn't involve spending money. Mainly, help spread the word. Share what FEED is doing with your friends and family, and ask them to spread the word as well.

On a side note, please let me know if you have an organization that is near and dear to your heart, that you think would be a good feature for this blog in 2011 :)