A Novel Experience

A Novel Experience
I traveled to Cordoba to visit a dear friend of mine from high school. She is doing wonderfully in a gorgeous city in the south of Spain. I am so proud of her for following her heart. Let me tell you a little about my friend and what this woman is up to.

Of course it is important for everyone to case their dreams, but I would advise caution to most friends of mine who abandon their previous goals (being a larger than life lawyer in the US) to move to Spain, live with her first boyfriend ever, become a midwife, and live a beautiful life surrounded by family and friends and wine. After a year abroad in Spain, numerous Spanish and American friends, a little dancing, and a handsome and intelligent boyfriend, this is what Sarah is doing.

I would caution most people about this 180 degree change of plans. No, to most people, I would do more than caution, I would disbelieve. But not Sarah. This is a girl I have known since high school to be an incredibly studious, hard-working, opinionated, talented, motivated and ambitious girl. She was always grown up—more than grown up: mature with a twist of eccentricity—not being distracted by the high school pitfalls of boys and booze, being hyper-liberal while at the same time stunningly conservative in her own actions. A bit of an enigma—albeit an outspoken one.

I am so proud of her. It is really brave of her to embrace this capriccios change of plans. She is a very solid person, and I truly believe that things are relatively likely to work out for her. Even if they don’t, though, she will rebound being all the stronger because of this experience. As a person who is trying to do both—have fun and live in the moment AND pursue a career in law and maybe diplomacy—I know it is a difficult thing to do. I am proud of her for her conviction to make such a drastic but well-laid plan and stick to it. It is these decisions that will make for a happy life with no regrets, and I wish her all the best. Surely, though, a person as who is both as responsible and unafraid doesn’t need my support, as she is a truly a woman I admire for standing on her own.

I have always liked characters--people who could be in books because of their personalities. They remind me of reading novels---which I do with startling infrequency since law school. Sarah, right now, is a fantastic heroine for me.

Moderate or light drinking during pregnancy, a do or a don't?

What do you think?
Studies have shown that heavy drinking during pregnancy puts fetuses at great risk.
What about moderate drinking?

"Many women who choose to drink have pointed to the habits of European women who legendarily drink wine, eat raw-milk cheese and quaff Guinness to improve breast milk production, as justification for their own choices in pregnancy.

"Of course, those countries have their own taboos. “Just try to buy unpasteurized cheese in England, or to eat salad in France when you’re pregnant,” wrote a friend living in York, England. (Many French obstetricians warn patients that raw vegetables are risky.) However, she said, a drink a day is taken for granted. In those cultures, wine and beer are considered akin to food, part of daily life; in ours, they are treated more like drugs."

From NYTimes Article

Smells and the City

This is seriously one of the funniest things a person could find. Check it out.

"And once I've known you for long enough, my fears are your fears, my involvements are your involvements, I feel attacked when you feel attacked. This is what love is. And it is proof that we are human."
- T. Oey

The wonders of labratory science.

"After testing a variety of explosives, the FBI and other laboratories found that tiny amounts of substances -- so small they fit into a quart-size plastic bag -- can't blow up an airliner."

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Air-Travel-Security.html?hp&ex=1159329600&en=35d863b63667dc66&ei=5094&partner=homepage