...You just grow into an animal yourself!

As everyone who reads this blog knows, the racoon and the cosmic mouse are obsessed with the chinese rat and Kanga-roo. We live and breathe with them, and thrive in their little eyes and with their larger-than-life personalities. They are an endless source of love and fun, because most of the time they are, well, lovely and hilarious!

The symbiosis between species can be mind-blowing. I know that some of you will say that I am a romantic, and that I am ignoring the fact that all of these creatures start out and can end up being perfectly wild but, hey, so do we. But sharing your life with other species is a a learning adventure, in which all those things that define "human superiority" can be re-interpreted.

Just watch this penguin, and smile...

On sundays and family traditions...

For many years, decades even, I used to abhor sundays. Sundays were the epitome of everything that was wrong in my life. While my friends would spend the day at the club, playing tennis and hanging out, having big family lunches, or watching movies, I would be at home, embedded in my dysfunctional family--barely eating, cleaning after everyone, surrounded by never-ending arguments, no VCR in existence, no phone to speak with my friends and, at least, vicariously experience a nice sunday. Nowhere to go.

Weekends were a monstrosity, because there was no place to hide, and reality would hit me right in my face.

Everything that made me hate sundays is behind what makes me LOVE them now. Sunday is the favorite day of this extraterrestrial rodent, for sooooooo many reasons... Just read some of them below, and tell me if they also stand for you:

1. Wake up without the alarm clock going off,
2. Breakfast in bed,
3. Endless minutes, even hours, cuddling with the racoon and the two little rats,
4. No need to leave bed, if wanted,
5. Long morning strolls through a beautiful neighborhood,
6. Buying fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese and flowers at the market, without having to drive,
7. Setting the flowers up at home,
8. Preparing lunch, or going out for lunch, without a hurry,
9. In season, spend hours watching American football, with friends, chatting, and having fun,
10. Continue to be in bed, if wanted...
11. No need to shower,
12. Read magazines, books,
13. Have dinner in bed, watching a movie...

POWER to the PEOPLE!!!!

It gives me the shivers... Goosebumps.

The scenes from Cairo, now that Mubarak finally stepped down, are amazing. It is an example of what can happen when people decide that enough is enough. To think that we were in Egypt two months ago, and none of this was in the air. And then, all of the sudden, people take Tahrir square, refuse to leave, and bring Mubarak to his knees.

History unfolding.

The big question is what comes next. Hopefully, the people of Egypt will not allow their victory to fade away. Hopefully, they will push for a transition from current military authority to a civil government that can develop the basis for institutional democracy. Hopefully, the will not give up the power they claimed, and continue to transform their reality.

The social network...

After seeing that the Social Network has been nominated and won a series of awards, I definitely wanted to see it. Located at Harvard, it depicts a story that, in terms of its cybernetic hallmarks, would have been impossible to imagine when I was dreaming about studying at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The greed, competition and drive to excel, if possible by stepping on others, is as old as humanity.

To think that exactly that was the environment that I wanted to be in, seems unreal. The Colmex certainly qualifies. And it wasn't that much fun. But it didn't seem to be enough. I was convinced that if I wanted to be successful, outstanding, and compensate for "years of powerlessness", I needed to be far beyond average, top of the top. Of course I wanted to go to Harvard--nowhere else.

The one piece that did not really match with my theory is my dislike of elitism. The arrogance, detachment and stupid vanity of social, economic and political elites makes me want to throw up. As the racoon says, I have the gene of rebellion hardwired into my brain, blood, heart and soul.
Ultimately, this gene made me take a sharp turn, trash the Harvard dream, and go down a different path. Looking back, there might be no other detour as important as this one in my life. The ride has been fantastic!

And just to close the subject... I don't think that The Social Network has anything extraordinary in it. It is, quite frankly, average.