The point of no return

Applications have officially been sent in. There is no going back no. I've jumped into the deep end and there will be no way of getting out.

The conference starts in a week and I must defend my ideas with humble confidence and strength. We'll see if they snag me a good question, I'd be interested to find out how I'll react. If I'll give a witty answer or just fumble and babble.

Hmm, these are the times that make you stronger.

MC Christmas party

You wouldn't believe that it is 2am right now and the Mexican MC is listening to electronic, drinking beer and just enjoying a night together. We started at 10pm with an MC Christmas dinner. Everyone either cooked or brought something (yay for cracker and cheese platters from the supermarket :-) But seriously, aside from what I brought Carlos made stuffed peppers and cordon bleu, Ahmet made a dish from his mother's recipes, Ale made chinese rice, and Cindy brought the drinks. We included my Thanksgiving tradition of giving thanks for what we have and then we dug in. If I get the chance I'll upload photos. What a great night. We turned out the lights, lit candles and put on music that everyone was singing and then eventually dancing too.

And now at 2am we will sleep to wake up at 7/8am and start a new day of our last major work week before the long holidays. Happy holidays everyone. Take care and enjoy what you have and who you are with. Besos y abrazos

A brand new day

It's been a while since I have woken up smiling, I nearly forgot what it was like. But today I did. I didn't wake up elated, just smiling and thinking good thoughts, which is a change for me. I remember that when I first moved to Mexico I woke up ready for a beautiful new day, excited to be alive. I don't know what has changed in my life to give my subconscious attitude a readjustment but it's great to be back.

My problems and worries are still there but I'm changing my attitude towards them and have decided not to let them control my life.

I decide what kind of day it will.

Life is a rollercoaster

Ups and downs, twists and turns, moments of darkness, excitement, fear, aprehension, elation... life is a rollercoaster. But it's not so much fun when it all happens in one day :S So many things keep changing and on a daily basis that I can't keep up and I feel drowned in the very world I created for myself, out of control. But how can that be if I voluntarily put myself up to all of it. Interesting questions in life. Now more than ever do I feel truly grounded in my values, although I feel that I lack definition and clarity, but at least it's something and from here I can only go up. Knowing who you truly are is the key to success. Thoughts for the day :-P And if you were curious this was the breakdown of my day:

9:00am - Monday Morning Meeting with the team
10:30am - Phone call with Missy to get the update about sales in the US
12:00pm - Meeting over messenger with the Global Alumni Support Team
2:30pm - Lunch in the office, amazing lentil soup and a croissant sandwich from the nice lady... yummm
4:30pm - Meeting with an Alumni who has a proposal for getting AIESEC into his multimedia magazine
5:00pm - Chat over messenger with my Communications Crew to finish planning
6:00pm - Flowers arrive from Marco, embarrasing the hell out of me :-P
7:00pm - Time to leave the office and go out for a coffee before going home and continuing to work

Just another day at the office of AIESEC in Mexico City, neighborhood Roma Norte, on Alvaro Obregon between Jalapa y Orizaba :-P

It's a cold Saturday in Mexico City. I'm sitting at our rickety wood kitchen table with my laptop finishing up a few things that I didn't get to on Friday at work. I'm listening to 9.33 KTCL radio over the internet and wondering why the MCP applications didn't come out by the deadline (Dec 8) as outlined in the document about the selection process. I've got the slightest headache that has been bothering me since yesterday and I feel sick in the throat, most likely from the stress of the last week's events. It's going to be an intense two months, but there is no doubt that just going through the process of applying for President of AIESEC US will make me a stronger person. I'm looking forward to the experience, even though I know it will challenge me more than anything has this year. Well, I've got 2 weeks to get my thoughts organized and give my best effort for the election/selections. Wish me luck!

DECEMBER!

How is it December already? Half of our term is already over and there is still so much to do before before the year ends. The past week was crazy and calm all at the same time. I had a million things to do but I carried them out calmly and knowing how much time I had and needed. I'm quite impressed with myself actually. It's the first time in a while that I haven't freaked out from feeling late. Friday was a holiday in Mexico to observe the change of power in the government from one President to the next. I didn't see it on tv or anything but I felt the pain of traffic drams as they closed off a number of streets in the north of the city.

The 3 day weekend was awesome. I went to the wax and Ripley's museums on Friday with Marco. We went out for sushi and icecream later. On Saturday I went with Sebastian to an event organized by an NGO called Soñar Despierto, which means "Dream Awake". It was an event to celebrate christmas that united a bunch of volunteers (mostly high school students) with little kids and we just spent all day playing and eating a ton of candy. At night we went to see "The Departed" and I thought it was quite good, kept me on my toes and grabbing Marco's arm at every violent scene. No matter how many times I see this stuff it doesn't get any easier to take. Then on Sunday I went down town to the Computer Center of the city and bought some new headphones. But the big highlight was going to my very first soccer game ever and I was fortunate enough to see one of the biggest games of the year, America vs. Chivas in the Azteca stadium. The place was packed and it was freezing but we had a great time. Hopefully I'll have pictures soon!