Golden Girl, Golden Couples, First Loves and Haiti Telethon

Well, you heard it here first.  In my last posting I mentioned that it was a wonder that a beautiful woman like Jennifer Aniston was still playing the field.  I talked about the Golden Globes and though I noticed it, I forget to mention that the Golden Couple - Brad and Angelina, did not attend and his film Inglorious Bastards was up for an award.  Last night at the SAG awards (whose only highlight for me personally was watching Betty White get the Lifetime whatever it is award), Inglorious Bastards won for Best Ensemble Cast Movie and conspicuous by his absence from the whole cast on stage was - Brad.  Again, he and his beautiful partner were not in attendance.  Now (drum roll)  - the item below is from today's BARCELONA REPORTER -

"Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split

HOLLYWOOD golden pair Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have seen DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split deal, we can reveal.
Magazines are taking Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s relationship on the rocks to a whole new level.The world's most famous couple legally agreed how to divide their fortune and who gets custody of their six kids.
The megastars have agreed to equally divide their vast fortune - and to SHARE their six children.
Dynamite legal papers secretly signed by the couple this month detail how all their homes and assets will be carved up.
The agreement gives them joint custody of the kids - but all six will actually live full-time with their mum.
Preparations for a split began in early December when "Brangelina" visited a top Los Angeles divorce firm to begin thrashing out the deal.
An announcement of their separation is expected to be made soon - ending months of speculation that the five-year relationship is on the rocks.
A source told the News of the World: "The document was signed in early January. Both Brad and Angelina had signed it.
"The contract was like a tailor-made version of a pre-nuptial agreement except for an unmarried couple's split.
"It seemed clear they want the world to know they'll both play a part in the upbringing of the children.
"But Angelina will actually be the one who lives with them full-time."
The divorce lawyer they consulted is based in Beverly Hills and has worked on a string of celeb divorces and splits. He is widely regarded as "the best in the business".
Our source added: "There's no date for when the contract would come into effect.
"But the paperwork is already organised for a break- up - and for it to be as unmessy for them as possible. It is clear it's a case of when they break up rather than if."
The troubled couple have not been photographed together in public in recent days. On Friday night, Brad, 46, was snapped backstage at the Hope For Haiti concert in Los Angeles without Angelina, 34.
His ex-wife Jennifer Aniston was there - although not with him.
"Brangelina" fell for each other when they played a warring couple in Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004. They have three adopted children (Maddox, eight, Pax, six, and Zahara, five), and three biological kids (Shiloh, three, and 17- month-old twins Knox and Vivienne).
Both stars have been through high- profile splits before. Brad shocked the world when he split from Hollywood golden girl Jennifer, 40, in January 2005. They had been married for 4½ years.
He was first photographed with Oscar-winner Angelina three months after the split. Before Jen, he was engaged to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Jolie has been divorced twice - from Monster's Ball star Billy Bob Thornton in 2003, and Trainspotting actor Johnny Lee Miller in 1999.
Her joint fortune with Brad of $322 million (£205 million) includes mansions in France, California and New Orleans. But rumours have been circulating for months that the couple's relationship is doomed.
Last week they failed to show at the Golden Globe Awards even though Brad's film Inglourious Basterds was up for a several gongs.
Instead he went to watch the American football team New Orleans Saints, while Changeling star Angelina stayed in California. Also last week, Pitt bought the mansion next door to the family's LA home for £800,000.
His pals Guy Ritchie and wife Madonna famously bought their next-door pad in London before their split so they could share living space with their kids but keep away from each another.
Earlier this month, Angelina was snapped looking tense with an unsmiling Brad in New York.
And last month she said fidelity was over-rated - and if she or Brad had an affair it would not be a problem.
She told German magazine Das Neue: "Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other.
"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards."
Angelina, whose new film Salt is due in British cinemas this summer, also said: "The sparks fly at home if the nice Brad fails to see that he's wrong and reacts in a defiant way.
"Then I can get so angry that I tear his shirt."
Also this month, best-selling American biographer Ian Halperin released a revelation- packed insight into the Jolie- Pitt relationship.
He said when the couple first met they had 20-HOUR sex sessions.
In his book Brangelina: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Ian writes: "Brad had never had such incredible sex.
"My sources say that they sometimes spent 18 to 20 hours a day in bed. But sex eventually wears off.
"She has brought a lot of good things to him - the children, for example.
"But he didn't know what he was getting into, and that's why I think they're going to split."
We asked Brad, Angelina and the legal firm for their comments but they did not respond. "

Now, I'm not saying that Brad and Jennifer will get back together.  I think Jennifer has more gumption and pride than that BUT, does one REALLY ever get over that FIRST, full, complete, madly-in-love (or lust) LOVE??!!!  I'm just sayin.....

Now, on a the really important tragedy of the new millenium - Haiti.  Hope you all watched the telethon hosted by George Clooney on Friday night.  I thought it short.  It could've gone on an hour longer.  All the performances were great but I thought Taylor Swift a bit out of place.  Christina Aguilera is one fantastic singer.  She's beautiful and has a voice!  All the rest were great too and I hear they raised more than 50 million dollars!  Way to go guys.

And now, back to padding around in my pajamas on a gloomy Sunday morning.  Went to Mass yesterday afternoon.  A friend wanted to see "Avatar" today and I'm still undecided.  Everyone says its fantastic but I never was into fantasy movies and as wonderful as it is, can I stand watching blue people for over 2 hours and a half?  Maybe not.  Rather see something else or stay home and watch really GOOD movies free on Netflix.  I rate whoever thought up the idea of Netflix right up there with e-mail, Amazon, the Kindle and the world wide web!!

Hasta pasta folks.....

End of a book, the Golden Globes and lazy day chores...

Well, I finished the book - Dias de ....(I can't write the Spanish enye in the blog), and its good.  Would I have read it had I not known the author?  Probably not.  On the other hand, had I read the book without knowing who the author was, I would've guessed it was MJPM as his entire persona, his character, his profession and his love of the sea especially the Mediterranean is evident in the book.  Moving on....

The Golden Globes - I guessed right on almost all categories except for the music and I couldn't chose in the best actor/actress/picture category though in the latter, I guessed Avatar even if I haven't seen the movie.  I adore George Clooney,and I still wonder why Jennifer Aniston hasn't found a partner after Brad but maybe because one doesn't really get over the first great love of one's life.  I knew "Broken Embraces" wasn't going to win and I did guess The White Ribbon for best foreign film.  (I read a lot of reviews.)  I guessed Mo'Nique and since I love "The Good Wife" I guessed correctly and was happy Juliana Marguollis (Sp?) won.  Didn't we all love her AND George in ER?!!! Julia Roberts put her foot in her mouth during the red carpet interview when she tells the guy interviewing her,(that young annoying guy with the blonde hair), that "You guys are in the toilet now" meaning NBC with its bad ratings and the Jay Leno/Connan drama and the channel airing the Globes was NBC!  The guy was so flusterred.  I bet NBC is not inviting Julia for any interviews anytime soon.  I thought Marion Cotillard stunning, Meryl Streep, was, well, Meryl Streep, and Helen Mirren is classy, gorgeous and everything one should be and can't at past 60!  Love that Jeff Bridges won, even if I was rooting for George and omygod, just had a senior moment and can't remember who got best actress award.  Anyway, the Golden Globes is my favorite award show so I had a nice evening looking at the beautiful people and clothes and reactions, etc., etc.  Just remembered - Sandra Bullock - best actress!!

As a sidebar, I think Matt Daimon the nicest guy!!

So, we continue to watch the horror of Haiti.  It sure makes one appreciate how good we have it.  I hope all of you who can have donated whatever you can to this cause.  You can do it by texting 90999 and the word HAITI and $10 will be added to your phone bill but donated to Haiti.  Also, on-line, the Red Cross and Catholic Charities are legitimate organizations to contribute to.  The same way Banda Asche has been rebuilt 4 years after the tsunami, maybe the same will be true of Haiti.  Pray God.

Happy MLK Day.  Its nice to have the day off and since I have to start using up my vacation days, I am taking tomorrow off also. 

So, I'm off to do dishes I left in the sink last night.  I know, my bad, but I was watching the Globes!  Then, I am cleaning out a bit more of my closet and throwing away clothes I haven't put on my body in a year!  Of course, if I keep throwing things away, I'll be left with four pairs of slacks, 2 blouses and 14 tees to wear!!

Earthquake!

So, the weather is better, not so cold, but any complacency we may have been tempted to indulge in after the Christmas holiday has been shaken by the horrible earthquake in Haiti.  I think Hillary Clinton had it right when she said "it is biblical."  Those poor people.  Everyone has said it all in the news.  I'm glued to the news on TV everyday because it doesn't seem to get better.  All that aid is coming in but nothing is really being released to the people.....I know there is no infrastructure available to do this formally but the heck with crowds and pushing - (reasons why some US military person said why the goods were still sitting on the airport tarmac), just get a couple of big trucks that roll over concrete rubble and distribute the food and water, blankets and tents throughout the city and so what if its not in an orderly military manner - who cares! Worry about order later, these people are dying.  As for the dead, God rest their poor souls - use people in protective clothing - get trucks and stuff and bury them in mass graves - its Dantenesque, but better that than start an epidemic if these things are not addressed.  This is the 5th (or 6th) day after the earthquake and people are still lying around the streets.  I hope presidents Clinton and Bush Sr. can do for Haiti what they did for New Orleans - though this is 100 times worse.  Now let's hope, this poor island isn't hit by heavy rains.

On a lighter note - I'm in the middle of my book "Dias de otono....donde esta el Rey?" and its really getting interesting.  I never read the end of a book first but I am so tempted this time.  BUT, I am resisting.  In the meantime, my Spanish is improving and and I am getting back into the rhythm of reading Spanish and after this book, I should read two books that were sent to me by a good friend in Spain, that were best-sellers there and continue to read more books in Spanish.  Actually, one of the books has an English translation but I didn't like it in English.  Of course I can't download onto my Kindle, but like the present books, I read before going to sleep.

Anyway, its the dull days of January which will lead to the dull days of February but I prefer dull to the awful news like earthquakes reducing a nation to nothing.

A couple of books, cold weather and a wedding.

Hey there folks.  I know I have been silent since January 6th but, truthfully, there is nothing that moved me to write as I have been COLD!!  I know, I know, its winter and I live in New York.  So maybe I've been spoiled as it seems the winters in the past many years have not been this cold nor for so long, in consecutive days.  So, during the day I'm at the office and when I come home at night, I check Facebook (recently for new pictures of Patricia Muniosguren Yulo's wedding in Manila on January 10) or watching "The Forsyte Saga" on Netflix. (I first watched it on PBS and loved it, so I am watching the series all over again.)  I've also really beginning to enjoy "Dias de otono.....donde esta el Rey?" fiction-based-on-fact novel written by an old love.  When I started it, I couldn't get into it - I found the Spanish difficult and I couldn't concentrate which was weird since I know off the plot of the book.  Then I realized I was mentally blocked by the fact that I was reading it with the presence of the man who wrote it looking over my shoulder so I told myself - the heck with this - I started the book all over again forgetting who wrote it and now I am swimming smoothly through it and enjoying the story and its nuances.  Though of course, now and then finding little pieces of the author in a character or a description of a manner of dressing or the ambiance of a city - Barcelona, which I can relate to as well.  Fascinating. I also realize that my Spanish vocabulary needs stretching so I am writing down the words I don't know the exact meaning off and will look them up in my Spanish dictionary.  Not a Spanish/English dictionary but a Spanish one alone. 

Aside from the reasons above that I haven't written is that I've been paying more attention to friends from the past on Facebook which have now become - PRESENT!  How great is that?! 

In case y'all think I've abandoned my Kindle, I haven't.  I read the book mentioned above before going to sleep here at home and the Kindle I carry in my handbag to read on the subway or during my lunch hour at the office.  Therein I am reading the novel "Wolf Hall" which is a more mature and very interesting novel about Henry VIII's court, the major character being Thomas Cromwell.  The book is on the New York Times best seller list and since it is fairly new, in hardcover and a fairly long book, what better way to read it than in my slim, portable Kindle! 

And so it goes for today....

Now I will leave you to see if there are more pictures of Patricia's wedding.....

Happy Three Kings!

HAPPY THREE KINGS or Feliz Dia de los Reyes - everyone!

Still getting connected with old friends like Danny Hernandez, Laura Peragallo, Elisa Llamoglia, Ernie Racz (son), Sue Karavolas, Miren Berenguer, etc.

And best of all, my wonderful cousin Carlos in Madrid came through and I did get my old love's just published book from Spain como regalo para los Reyes.  I've already started to read it and I see that my Spanish needs updating because there are words therein I never heard before, or to put it another way, I should be reading more Spanish and keep my Spanish/English dictionary handy.  It's a good way to brush up on my Spanish but to think that for nine years I only read, thought and wrote in Spanish!  Talk about verguenza! 

I know I am weather obsessive but consider the title of this blog and you'll get why I am miserable when I hear the weather is getting even colder and that it might snow tomorrow.  Aaaarrrgghhhh.

So were the Three Kings, Santa, the Blue Smurfs (or whatever you believe in) good to you this holiday season?  I'm not complaining....got the book, good wine, cava, prosecco, a cashmere sweater, a year's subscription to Netflix among other things.  More importantly, I spent time with my daughter and granddaughter and I've "discovered" my old gang in Manila all over again.  So life is good.

More tomorrow....

Connections with old friends!!!!

Well, today was an embarrassment of riches on finding old friends through Facebook and my blog - who knew?!!  Nadia Rindler and I reconnected after more than 45 years of separation.  Which in turn I found my best friend Mercy's youngest son Johann who lives in Australia and then a woman who read my blog and knew many of the main characters from My Diaries who went to the American School the same time that Kathy Bruns and Carlos Garcia and Ginny were there! Her name is Christine Korfhage (don't know if Korfhage is her maiden name) but she has written a book of poems which a lot has to do with our young days in Manila - I found it on Amazon like she suggested and its titled "We Are Who We Are and this world isn't either." I have ordered it and can't wait to see what's its about.  Incidentally, I've never met her but aint the Manila connection wonderful?!!!

I also "found" Danny Hernandez" on Facebook, brother of Marimil and Freddy and though I've contacted him he hasn't confirmed the connection.  Can't win them all I guess.  So, through Lyn Muniosguren I found Nadia and through Nadia I found Johann Gallent....and it goes on.  Also some of the pictures I've posted have brought back good memories to the parties therein so it makes me happy that I've connected to yet more of the great Gang of Manila in the 60s! I have promised to post more pictures of my last stay in Manila but for some reason, this particular Facebook endeavor I haven't mastered yet.  Sometimes I get it and I have a lot of pictures therein and sometimes, it slips by me. 

Margotin (Magu) Ubago Ripoll keeps in touch through the blog too and keeps me grounded to that other great part of my life there - my high school days at St. Paul's.  Also just received Monnette Martinez's SPU newsletter, which honestly, I haven't read yet.  I have to wait to get home to indulge in personal web and email monitoring so I am doing this at 9 pm at night. 

So, I received an email from my cousin in Madrid that the book written by a special man in my life is arriving by Fedex tomorrow - just in time for my Three Kings present.  Can't wait!
Is it just me that can't get over how Tiger Woods mucked up his life?!!  I've always thought that most men are fickle and so far, I haven't been proven wrong but the man had everything going for him and he blows it all on a bit of .....well, you know what I want going to say. The last person I thought that would be caught like this.  Ok, I've gotten that off my chest.

In four days (New York time), Patricia Muniosguren and Anton Yulo will celebrate their wedding in Manila.  How I wish I could be there but then I've haven't attended not one wedding of any of my friends or friends' children.  I little cross to bear and one that saddens me but thank goodness for Facebook, email and the internet.  Pictures will be forthcoming and shared.  Yay!

Alright folks, enough for today.  Keep in touch.  It's not a bad world afer all.

Good advise from my parish priest and a warning......

Hi all,

Well, first day back to work after 13 days off for the Christmas and New Year's holidays.  Of course, its bitterly cold and just heard on the evening news that it will get colder toward the coming weekend and that this may turn out to be the coldest winter in 25 years.  Oh joy.  Oh where are my palm trees!!

Anyway, yesterday the flyer we pick up after Mass had the following list "for a better life" in 2010.  I thought I'd share with you.

- NO ONE is in charge of your happiness except you!
- Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In 5 years, will this matter?"
- What other people think of you is none of your business. (I really like this one.)
- However good or bad a situation is, it will change. (in other words, there is no status quo)
- Envy is a waste of time and energy.
- Each night before you to to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for _______. Today I accomplished ____________.
- No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up!
- Forgive everyone for everything.
- Make peace with your past so it won't spoil your future.
- Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
- Life is too short to waste on hating anyone.
- Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
- Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
- Call your family often or email them to death.  (I think we ALL do this anyway.)
- Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
- Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride!

I just found out that a whole lot of "freebies" that I got from points from a credit card weren't free at all.  I looked at my statement and found more than $100 shipping charge - which $$ amount is much more than the stuff I chose from the freebies offered is worth!!!  Goes to show, there really are NO free lunches.  Anyway, I called the number on the statement and they said if I returned it all, they would credit my account.  I usually am pretty smart about stuff like this but I didn't see anything about shipping charges - trouble is I threw away the original offer after I got the stuff in the mail.  I am sharing this with you so you don't fall for the same "come-on." By the way, it was not Chase but American Express.  I got the offer through my boss's corporate American Express card.  I AM RETURNING EVERYTHING TOMORROW.  It was silly junky stuff anyway.  Que sinverguenzas!!!! Y, que tonta yo.

Keep warm those of you in the US because it seems it is even cold in Florida!