Crazy December 08.

"December 1, marked the 20th annual World AIDS Day, a special day to remind us that HIV is still a global epidemic with millions of carriers and AIDS victims of all ethnicities and orientations.

As in past years, the Chorus participated by singing at the lighting ceremony for Mama's Kitchen's Tree of Life in Village Hillcrest plaza. Before singing, the Chorus lit candles with hundreds of other attendees and observed a moment of silence to remember those in our lives who have succumbed to AIDS."



This month was very busy between work and the Chorus but it was an awesome month. My work schedule was one of the best I have ever had with 3 trips to Australia (my favorite destination for work). I also had all the days off I needed for the Chorus without having to change a thing. Pretty lucky when you consider that I needed the whole week before our shows since we had rehearsal almost every night. Lots of work since I took the helms of the Production team at the last minute. A week of sleepless nights and busy days, sewing, cutting, painting, etc... I was afraid I would be so tired I would not be able to sing but all went well. The shows were great and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Norman and I were asked by the Artistic Director to produce the next show as well but I have not given an answer yet. It is a LOT of work, and it is also hard to sing and produce at the same time.


Even though, I realize more and more that I love the behind the scenes aspect of production. I love being on stage singing but it is a completely different satisfaction to produce. To have a vision and see it come to life is exhilarating. The behind the scenes portion of DVDs always fascinates me. I love to see how they did this and that and how with some fabric, 2 nails and 3 safety pins they build a city... :-)
I used that in this show. Illusions and trompe-l'oeils.


Otherwise work has been great. My last trip to Australia was I believe last May so I was eager to go back. It's summer there right night so it's the perfect time to go. All 3 flights were good and the lay-overs were awesome. I worked with some friends or met some down there who had arrived on other flights. Lots of hiking, laying on the beach, little soirees in one of our hotel rooms. On Christmas' Eve day, I met with Scott, Karl and Kurt, and had probably the best day of my whole career at United. We met for lunch, went shopping in the afternoon, and had our get together that evening until 2am. We laughed so much all day that our jaws were hurting (and that was before we even started to drink!). I am surprised we did not get kicked out of the mall in the afternoon and that the hotel did not call security because we were having too much fun and were too loud.


Not a bad way to end the year. 2008 was tough for most of us and hopefully 2009 will bring some good things in our lives.

Sock It To The Holidays!

So funny but so sadly true!!!

Prop 8, religion, politics

Proposition 8 passed in November while I was on vacations. Everybody at home was happy that Senator Obama was elected President but were not aware of the other propositions on the ballot especially Prop 8 in California. I explained to them a little bit of the process and the difficulty to choose one side or another on a lot of the issues. In my case I had chosen to only vote on the ones of which I had a clear understanding. Of course Prop 8 was one of them. Since I have been back I have read articles, listened to interviews and some of my friends reactions. I don't even want to start on the issue. There are so many things wrong with this. Again Church dictated the State what to do, once again ignoring the "Separation of Church and State"....

Keith Olbermann on his TV show put it plain and simple to the people who voted for this proposition.



Another journalist, Lisa Miller, wrote an article in Newsweek covering some more specific points. The article is called "Our Mutual Joy".

"Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scriptures. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?

Of course not, yet the religious opponents of gay marriage would have it be so." (click here to read more)
By Lisa Miller | NEWSWEEK
Published Dec 6, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Dec 15, 2008

As 2009 approaches I can only hope that people will educate themselves and search for the truth, not let only tradition, ignorance and fear forge their beliefs.

Blind faith was probably invented to deter people's questions. If I do not want to answer you all I have to say is if you need to ask then you are not a believer. And people fell for that. The same way nowadays some politicians say that if you criticize your government you are unpatriotic. That is exactly the opposite. Only one who cares enough would question and criticize. Not to just do so, but to make change happen, to advance and be better. Religious systems have hidden so many facts for so long in order to keep their power over the people that of course they are scared of anyone asking questions. You can ask questions without questioning your faith. I have read Bishop John Shelby Spong's book "Jesus for the non-religious" and am now reading "Born of a woman". You probably would have a hard time finding a more religious person. He is a believer in God and Christ and have read passages of the Bible every day since he was 12 years old. His questions have never strayed him from his faith. If anything his quest has only made his faith stronger because he understands so many things so much better now. Still, he is perceived as some kind of a heretic in some religious circles. I guess that is the fate of those who seek the truth. It always has been and maybe will always be. It is so much easier to just go along with what we are being told. We don't have to do any work, any thinking, any research, nothing.
History tells us though that in the end, the "heretics" are vindicated and the truth does prevail no matter how hard some try to bind it. Not that long ago, we thought the Earth was flat.

Back home

I am a flight attendant. For the past 14 years I have gone from one time zone to the next and from one country to another. I have always been able to get back in my own time once back home, if not right away at least in a couple of days. I have been back in San Diego for 4 days now. I am still jet-lagged. I cannot seem to be able to get back in Pacific time. But I think it's more than that. I barely eat, hardly leave the house and have not had a good night sleep yet.
It's been weirder than usual because I stayed longer with my family this time. Usually, I'm there for a week or 10 days max but I was there for 16 days and it made a big difference. The only nice thing coming back home was to find the beautiful weather and feel the sun without the 90% humidity and the sudden tropical deluge. I tend to think that I get along with my family because we are so far away and I only get to see them twice a year. I know better. Maybe that is why I try not to stay too long because it makes it that much harder to leave them. The bond between us is so strong. We care about and love each other not because we are family, but because we genuinely like each other as individuals. I guess I have been down since my return because I miss them.
We have started to work on our family tree and have uncovered some things that we were not aware of. Both because as kids we never asked and because we were never told by the adults. We asked mom and dad lots of questions about their family, especially our great grand-parents and beyond. We have learned some amazing facts completely unknown to us. We saw pictures we had never seen before like the ones of my father's dad and mom when they were young and his maternal grand-mother who raised him. I learned that my maternal grand-mother had 4 husbands and not 3 as I always believed. All this is just fascinating. We are learning about people that we knew as kids but could not tell what the family relation was until now. Pretty sad when you think of it but at the same time normal I guess. As kids you know "uncle this" and "auntie that" but do not really know how they are related to you unless they are your parents' siblings or own parents. We have learned more in those past 2 weeks than we have in 40 years! And we are just starting...

Here are some pictures of my stay.

Gwada 10th and 11th day

Yesterday for the first time I was without my family. The kids were in school and everybody else was working. I had breakfast by myself then did some laundry. My highschool friend Pascal came and picked me up around noon, and we stopped by his parent's (my highschool adopted family). Pascal and I had lunch together then hung out and saw some other friends in the afternoon. I got back to my sister's around 6pm and we all went to my brother's for dinner.

I spent the night here. This morning I watched TV with my brother until the others woke up. My nephew Florian prepared breakfast for me and we all ate together. Today is a beautiful clear day. We have a beautiful view of the mountain from my brother's. No clouds blocking the top; the sun is rising and even with the breeze it is getting hot already.

Today we are going to my sister's for lunch.