I think, therefore I am

Whenever someone asks me my sign, I would respond "the cross". I know I am being facetious because I knew they really meant my astrological sign. I don't like telling people my sign because it leads them to make rash generalizations about me without getting to know me. My sister, Melanie is heavily interested in astrology. 

I was listening to a message from Pastor Bill Winston and he commented that astrology is stated all over the Bible from Mary - the virgin (Virgo) to Leo the Lion, etc. This piqued my interest. In my Google search bar, I entered biblical astrology - while I still think a lot of the information is overly vague, I found some of the following very interesting. 

• Gemini Motto: "I think, therefore I am."
• Gemini Careers: Communication (all means), information, inquiry, journalism, linguists, language, literature, broadcasting, writing, manuscripts, novelists, speaking, radio, engineers, television, publishing, printing, transportation, reporting, telephones, stories, office machines, post offices, river transportation, telegrams, telegraphs, telephones, trains, commercial travelers, travel agents, local travel, truck drivers, typewriters, wireless, writers, stenographers
• Gemini Character Traits: Intelligence, intellect, expressiveness, eloquence, trickiness, idealism, studious, inquiring mind, ambition, resourcefulness, dexterity, tolerance, courage, generosity, sympathy, temperance, liberalism, versatile, changeable
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• 
  
  GEMINI MONEY: Gemini's are the wheeler-dealers of the zodiac because they are the chameleon's of the zodiac. They thrive on excitement, change, variety and happen to be very cunning and crafty in order to get what they want or to make a sale. They make excellent sales people. When Gemini is placed in the middle of a party, they are looking for an opportunity within all of those personalities. Those at the party are not just people, they are contacts! Gemini is not only two people in one, they have the ability to morph into whatever they need to be in order to seize the opportunity. This comes in quite handy when creating money. By the way, Gemini's will definitely push the envelope to success and rarely will you see them cross the not-so-cool line.
  When it comes to handling money, they certainly live up to the youthness of their sign. They rarely worry about where their next dollar will originate. This optimistic and charismatic personality will certainly lead to something Good and they thrive on that way of thinking. It has to be Good. Rarely will you hear about a Gemini balancing their checkbook. Isn't that was ATM's are for . . to check your bank balance? Gemini has to have spontaneity and change in their Life, which is why you will rarely see a Gemini retire from a job that they were at after 20 years. Showing them your retirement plaque after 20 years will make them shutter and they will reall be thinking, "Thank God I didn't do that!" If Gemini is bored with their job, you can definitely count on them leaving for something better. And it will be better.
  If anyone can find a way to create more money, it is a Gemini. They have so many money making schemes up their sleeve that they are never out of Good ideas because they never plan to go without. Money is only necessary to get them to the place that they desire to be. They will work hard for their money because it will buy them a plane ticket to fun and adventure. Money is necessary for them to play. Gemini's are excited about the financial journey and not necessary the money itself. Gemini's are looking for financial freedom . . and their freedom means everything to them. Money is simply a means to an end.
  Many Gemini's are entrepreneurs because clocking into a regular job will just wear them out mentally. Gemini needs freedom and flexibility in their job because they know that they can count on themselves to provide what they need. Being limited by someone else telling them how much money they can make (a paycheck) does not rhyme with their spirit. Gemini needs unlimited possibility in their job. This is why jobs that are freelance or a job with commission will work well for them. It's all about flexibility. Gemini always has an ace up their sleeve and can always make more money in a pinch.

Wisdom

Wisdom, if personified, would be a woman with a camouflaged veil.
She is omnipresent and she dwells within everyone. The wise constantly recognize her omnipresence as her veil is removed to them. But she is hidden to the unwise, and only revealed once their decisions have been made.

~ Linda

Hurricane Sandy

This post will not be about the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I think we had enough media coverage.

I do want to thank all my loved ones for checking on me, offering support. Thankfully, I was not affected by the hurricane. I did not lose electricity, there were no downed trees in my area, no cases of flooding or any other issues.

Thanks to all!

You speak in punch lines

Linda: "You always have these philosophical sayings"

Ro: [laughs]

Linda: "Actually, you speak in punch lines"

Dating, Marriage, Sex (and everything in between)

Esther and I attended a panel discussion at Brooklyn Tabernacle, the topic was Dating, Marriage, Sex (and everything in between). Here are some highlights on Christian dating:

What girls wished guys knew about dating....

1. Prioritize communication over romance ~ focus on deep meaningful communication, ask questions to get to know us, find out what makes us happy, angry, sad ~ that is real romance
2. We want to be your girlfriend, not your mother ~ be a leader - be worth following; make plans sometimes
3. Don't be a "playa" ~ guard our hearts, don't drag out a relationship that isn't going anywhere, be honest and open, don't mislead us
4. Stay away from excess physical pursuits ~ strength is in controlling your emotions, not muscles; your ability to restrain yourself makes us feel honored and valued
5. Attractiveness = character and authenticity ~that's sexyWhat girls wished men knew about dating...

What guys wished girls knew about dating....

1. Appreciate our battle against lust ~ don't make it harder, carry yourself like a lady and stick to your standards and boundaries
2. Don't smother us 24/7  ~ we need our space, if you want to spend every moment with us, it makes you seem clingy, controlling, emotionally needy and makes us feel trapped
3. Let me be the leader ~ express your opinions, don't be a puppet, be a woman and help with the decisions but let me be the ultimate leader
4. I would pursue you but you need to stop chasing me ~ you are viewed as easy and desperate  
5. Find your security in Christ, not in us ~ it is flattering to make us the center of your universe but eventually it becomes a turn off ~ be on fire for God, we don't want to be god in your life

Biblical Purpose for Marriage ~ the original design

1. Mutually complete each other ~ you can't do apart but you were intended to do together
2. Multiply a godly legacy ~ pass on faith to the next generation
3. Mirror God's image ~ be a reflection of God's love (commitment, forgiveness, love, long-suffering)

Steps to prepare for marriage

1. Turn desire into development ~ become the person you desire to be with
2. Serve in ministry ~ learn how to serve and put someone else's needs above your own, practice submission and be Kingdom minded
3. Get around some wise married people ~ ask questions
4. Don't sleep with someone who is not your spouse ~ this causes an unhealthy attachment  

READY - SET- GO

Ready

1. Develop my convictions or I'll live by default not design. Make decisions based on things that will benefit me and on purity, not on emotions.
2. Not ALL the time is a good time for a relationship. Get to know myself and God first. Honor old relationships and don't flaunt new relationships ~ the old partner may still be hurting

Set

1. Determine "what is important to me"
2. Set standards and stick to them
3. Set yourself in a position to receive wisdom
4. Set your private life in public view of a trusted select few 

Go

1. Keep up with God ~ more action, more belief
2. Set the past aside so the future can reside
3. Don't rush a relationship, it may lead to regret, don't awaken love before it desires

Don't go to God with your preferences but with an open and willing heart asking Him to reveal secrets and be sensitive to Him. God is a God of redemption and reconciliation.

Roxanne is in town!

Roxy came up to New York for a few days so of course we took advantage of the opportunity and met up. We met up with her hubby at their hotel, caught up and then headed over to one of our favorite places  ~ Nirvana Indian Restaurant.

There you are

Not sure why I like this message so much, it was a commercial I was waiting to skip before watching a Youtube clip, but the voice captured me (reminded me of intro to Inception). Nope, has nothing to do with Brad

It's not a journey, every journey ends, but we go on.

The world turns and we turn with it. Plans disappear. Dreams take over. But wherever I go, there you are. 

My luck, my fate, my fortune. 

A picture is worth a thousand words

Massage and a message

√ Great massage at Vada Spa tonight

Great opportunities must be prepared for, not waited for.
Have a habit of faith, don't use it conveniently or situationally but make it a lifestyle. Faith works if you work it.
Jesus had 30 years of preparation and 3 years of implementation. 
Opportunities do not come loudly but suddenly taking you unaware.

First Lady Ro featured on the French Blog Mad, Moi? Selle

Rose-Anne Central Park Automne | Autumn 2012

Everybody haffi ask weh mi get mi clarks

Yo tell me something, a weh yu get da new Clarks Daddy? 

My dad wanted Clarks so for his birthday (10/19/2012) I purchased him a pair of Clarks. He was in Jamaica for his birthday but he came to visit me today.

Clarks mi prefer...

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Decisions

My coworker has repeatedly invited me to take kickboxing classes and while exercising is the bane of my existence, I actually like kickboxing so if I am free, I will go. Tuesdays and Friday work for her but I would never commit on Friday. I wouldn't want to cancel on her if something better came up so I would just avoid Fridays altogether. Isn't that odd?!

I realized that I fear making decisions because I don't want to make the wrong decision or I would just be non-chalant about decisions

I am an extrovert and enjoy being surrounded by people, so it was very hard to decipher that I am a commitment phobe.:

• I cringe at two year phone plan commitments and look forward to my contract to be over
• I did not renew my apartment lease (My apartment lease ended February 2012 so I asked my landlord to allow me to live on a month to month lease even though I did not have any immediate plans to leave!) 
• I avoid making plans on weekends with people outside of my circle

The truth is I am afraid I will make the wrong decision so I choose not to decide ~ which is in fact a decision (deciding not to decide). Janet Finch says "I know it feels like you have all these options and when you make a decision, you lose a world of possibilities. But the reality is, until you make a decision, you have nothing at all."

Starting immediately I will not fear making decisions because God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power and a sound mind! I will rely on the wisdom that is within me.

Wisdom is knowing what to do when you don't know what to do!

Goals ~ chance or choice

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice! Make something happen

Worry is pointless

Worry is wasted mental energy!

Situation: I wanted something to happen but I had no control over it. I provided all the tools and information necessary to make it happen and then I left it alone. Of course, if said thing didn't happen, I would be disappointed, but if it happened, then I would have wasted time worrying that it was not going to happen; and if it didn't happen, I started being disappointed too early ~ more wasted time!

After considering this, I sent an e-mail to Linda who was considering a similar situation

Title: Moments of Clarity

I don’t believe in being very forceful, I think that’s very unattractive. I don’t believe in being secretive and expecting people to read my mind, I think that’s very immature. What I do believe in is a balance. I present my feelings, expectations to people very openly, I provide all the information necessary to execute and from there I allow nature to take its course. I do not worry because that doesn't change anything (except of course your life expectancy rate ~ a decrease)

While this was not a revelation (I always knew that worrying was pointless), it certainly changed my perspective and now I just do what I need to do and say "c'est la vie, what is meant to be will be."

By the way ~ this particular situation worked out better than I could have planned it!

I am because iMentor

Today was the first time meeting my mentee. We met at her high school and it was far from awkward. We have a lot in common and share similar interests.

In my own life, I have seen the impact my mentors have in my life. It is always refreshing to be around youth and today was no different.
""
Cheers to a great year Yolanda!

Expectations

I tried to find a quote that would shed some wisdom on unmet expectations but I did not. I didn't realize how ironic that was until I wrote it. My expectation was to find something about unmet expectations and my expectations were unmet.

My friend recently received a package from an unknown sender, she thought long and hard, called a few people and no one owned up to sending the package so she figured out who it could be. Her analysis came from a logical position (process of elimination) and a deep desire to be right. Two days later, the sender revealed himself and boy was she disappointed. She is someone I truly care about so I felt bad for her and within a matter of days I was able to relate to her on a personal level.

I was expecting a call from a friend who was visiting NY for a few days. My phone rang and it was a call from an unknown number, the biggest smile came across my face and I sweetly answered the phone, it was not who I expected it to be. The next day, the same thing happened and I gave the same response with equal excitement. It was an old friend, but not the one I was hoping to hear from. Immediately I felt guilty, I was so disappointed that it was not who I wanted it to be that I didn't even bother to extend a warm greeting. I quickly ended the call and promised to call back after work.

What can we learn from this? Should you continue to expect the best at the risk of being continually disappointed? Overly optimistic. Should you curb your expectation to prevent yourself from being disappointed? Isn't that a bit pessimistic?  Or should you just realize that life will have moments that live up to your expectations and others that don't ~ is that more realistic?

I'm deciding to just drink the water...

I do my thing and you do yours. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful. If not, it can't be helped.  Frederick Perls quotes

Out of Many One People

Growing up in Jamaica exposed me to different types of people and taught me not to judge someone based on their appearance. I would go to the store and speak to a "Chinese looking" person who had the thickest Jamaican accent ever. While America, New York specifically, is prided as the melting pot, I was never conscious of discrimination until I moved here! Now I have a heightened sensitivity, maybe we can learn something from Jamaica where we are able to live together in unity despite the color of your skin. 

Brunch in Soho

Brunch at a cute restaurant Freeman's ~ tucked away in a little alley in the Lower East Side. We pretty much ordered everything on the menu; conversation was great and the food was good.

Energy ~ Physics 101 recap

Energy is neither lost or destroyed, its merely transferred from one party to another. In layman's terms, think about the following two scenarios:

~ You are having a discussion with someone who has a "chip on their shoulder" (grudge or feeling of inferiority).  In the beginning, you are cool and calm, eventually the argument escalates and you become upset. By the end of the conversation, the other person is smiling because they managed to "ruffle your feathers" but you are agitated. The positive energy you walked in with was not lost or destroyed, it was simply transferred from you to the other party. 

Emotion is simply energy in motion. That's why when we fear things it happens because thoughts are creative (congeal) so we attract what we fear. 

What if we could manipulate and control energy and matter? Wouldn't it be great if we could rearrange and redistribute energy? Maybe we can...

I can be, do and have whatever I imagine ~ I am a creative force. 

“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” - Frank Lloyd Wright

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” - Charles F. Kettering

Love Languages

If you only speak English and someone told you "I love you" in Afrikaans, you would not understand. You may even accuse the person that they don't love you. Eventually the person will also become frustrated because they are constantly reassuring you of their love, but you have not accepted it. The premise is that people communicate in one of the five love languages (in order of my most fluent languages):

1. Quality Time
2. Physical Touch
3. Words of Affirmation
4. Acts of Service
5. Receiving Gifts

If I love you, I want to spend as much time with you as possible ~ this has to be quality time though, if I spend an hour with you and you are on the phone for 40 minutes of that time, that is not exactly my idea of quality time. Maybe that's why I am not a big fan of social networks. I much rather the personal expression through a personalized email, card or time spent in each other's presence. 

My friend's know how important quality time is to me and try to keep my proverbial love tank filled. I was talking to Daniel and he said "your correspondence/emails are like car notes or mortgages; you have to keep updated to avoid repossession." "The point is" ~ fill me up

Something told me...

Call me crazy if you must, but I believe that God talks to me. He actually speaks to us all, the issue is who listens? Would it be easier to grasp if I said that God and I “communicate” – perhaps “talk” sounds too “human-like” whereas communicate is open to interpretation. Animals communicate, babies who are unable to speak communicate. Now that the issue is not the ability to hear “words” or “hear” with an “audible voice”; besides, if we limit conversation to words, how do you explain body language? Someone once said that coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous. I do not believe in coincidences and in my life, these “coincidences” have God’s handprint all over it. Ever had something happen to you and you knew you should respond one way but didn’t? For example, someone invites you somewhere and you don’t think it’s a good idea to go, you can’t rationalize why, so you go anyways and regret the decision? Trust your peace. Later you say something like “”Something told me that I should have…” or “my instincts/intuition told me not to go” All these thoughts, images, recollections, feelings, signs are ways of God communicating with us! Now do you think that the God who created the universe communicates with you?


Over the next few weeks, I intend to be very sensitive to what we can call…uncommon dialogue. Join me on this journey and hopefully "something" will become more personal

Bike riding in Central Park with Tahisha

We left sunny Brooklyn and exited the train to a rainy Manhattan. It was a very light drizzle so it did not interfere with our plans to go bike riding. But as you can see, it got dark, pretty quickly!

Sent from Tahisha Salmon

La La Ladika

Apart of my mantra is to "do what you love and do it often" I love hanging out with Ladika, so I do it often. We had plans to go to the Empire State Building after work but the weather was not favorable and I was not feeling well- weather changes.

I'm not an achiever, I am a receiver

Thought for the day: Be a receiver, not an achiever – if it’s* already done, why reinvent the wheel? {*It – whatever you want it to be!}


1 Corinthians 1:30 states “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” Righteous

My understanding is that Jesus is my wisdom, He makes me blameless before God (righteous), He makes me one with God (holy) and took away my sins ~ past, present and future (redeemed). Why do we keep trying to acquire wisdom, holiness, righteousness and redemption without Jesus?

Jude 1:24 ~ Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.

He is able to keep us from falling, He is able to bring us great joy. Do you know how liberating it is to know there is Someone greater who loves you and is completely willing and able to help you? Stop trying to achieve it, just receive it!

Man ~ Machines making money

Ro on Work and Money

It is no secret that work is the bane of my existence :) I am thankful to have a job, however I do not believe that so much time should be spent making money. I think we need a soul revolution. Here are a few people who agree with me:

Dalai Lama

German artist Martin Zobel 

sings about the sad situation ~ we have become like machines making money

(shout out to Nycrophone for introducing this artist)

The Cure

(Thanks to Linda for her thought-provoking blog)

Face your fears

I got home around 6:30 PM and quickly settled in to read an email that I had been anticipating. The e-mail was not disturbing because I was told something that I did not know, but because it confirmed something I already knew ~ that I hoped was not true or had changed. So what did I do? Sleep. I admit that sleep as a coping mechanism is not ideal but it sure beats drowning my problems into a bottle or glass of alcohol. No judgment :)

The shocking thing I realized is.... not only was the e-mail still there when I woke up but so was the problem! OK fine, it wasn't shocking but I decided that I needed to face my fear. I responded to the email very transparently and I felt a huge relief for a few reasons:
- I was honest with the recipient
- I was honest with myself
- I had a clearer understanding of the problem and the solution
- I realized that I lived as if life were an emergency and it's truly not

QT with Dru and Linda

After work, Dru and I met up for an evening at MOMA and dinner. MOMA was closed so we walked over to 9th Ave restaurant strip and decided on Southern cuisine at Delta Grill. We had a very inspiring conversation as I caught up on his life.

After dinner, I went to visit Linda. On the way, I spoke to my parents and was amused by my father's expected humor. As usual, we had a great time, what was meant to be a 30 minute visit turned into two hours and at 11pm, a very tired Ro walked three blocks home.

2/3 - Work :( | Priya :) | Church :)

Today was by far, potentially the second worse day of my current career. Nothing major happened, but a number of minor things happened including blame shifts, unsupportive management and my vacation request to attend a wedding being denied. It was also the last day on a project I worked on for the past few months. I was counting down the minutes to 5:30 PM. Immediately as the clock turned, Ro made like Elvis and left the building.

And then I met up with Priya. The first word that comes to mind when I think of Priya is sage. She is filled with little gems of wisdom. She always sheds a new perspective on situations. We were supposed to meet the previous week but we had to take a literal rain check. We met up very briefly because we were both operating on the NY agenda with back to back engagements but we wanted to see each other for how long we could spare. Now that I think about it, I hope I didn't drain her because I walked in feeling like crap and left feeling inspired. Where did all that energy go?

After we parted, I went to refuel. I am like a car who goes to church to fill up on fuel. The message was very encouraging. A guest speaker from Colorado, Pastor John Bevere taught a message on Daniel, the fear of the Lord and focused on the truism "getting wisdom is the principle thing"

The EARTH without art is just eh

Prior to today, I always thought that

You know, art just makes everything so much better, and so less “eh”/ “blah”

My company recently invested in a series of paintings. As I walked around yesterday, I glanced in an attempt to “appreciate art” and I was not intrigued by any of them. I had various thoughts from “my niece could have painted that” to “I don’t even know what I am looking at!” am I going to be one of those people who pretend to appreciate art? I actually enjoy going to some museums, I think the art was just really bad! Watch this funny clip from Pete Holmes about going to museums (special thanks to Daniel for putting me on to this vid!)

Ro learns French

My friend Linda speaks French fluently, came to visit me today and I told her that I wanted her to sing a song with me because I was pretty confident that I was butchering the pronunciation.

Enjoy the French-English translation of “Helene je m’appelle Helene”

We get to this line:

And she sings “je vujtrais” but I sing “je vudray”. I promptly stop the video to inquire where she saw a “t” in the word “voudrais”. She explains to me how it should be pronounced. I guess the best explanation is when you have a dry cough and you are inflicted with excess phlegm that you need to eliminate.




Linda: voudrais
Ro: voudrais
Linda: keep saying it, you will get it
Ro: voudrais
Linda: let me say it again, it will come
Ro: what are all these words in the future, what do you mean “it will come?” It came! I am saying it (in my head, not only am I saying exactly what she is saying but I am probably saying it better!)

She blurts out laughing and I insist that she watches the video below of the Friends episode of Phoebe trying to teach Joey how to speak French - must watch (special thanks to Daniel for showing me this clip!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yJ_HrZImWQ