My Love Affair With Dance

You are standing in a dark crowded room. You feel the beat of the music pulse through your veins. You slowly scan the room, taking in the surroundings, when suddenly you lock eyes with a stranger from across the floor. You flash a smile, as he extends his hand to you. You squeeze the palm of his hand and slowly follow him to the dance-floor.

You stand face to face as you put your hand around his shoulder.You listen. You feel. You take a small step as you begin to sense the feel and rhythm of each others bodies.

There is a fire burning inside of you. You're enveloped by the senses- the look of his gaze, the feel of his touch, the smell of his cologne, the sound of the music, the thirst for another breath of air.

You lose complete control as you give in to the beat of the music. You don't think, you just feel. It's raw emotion. It's pure passion. Your feet flawlessly fall into step, your arms swing around each other, your hips move to the beat of the drum, your back arches, your hair sways, you breathe harder and harder. 

You twist. And turn. And dip. And twirl.

Your heart is beating a thousand times a minute as you desperately grasp for air. The world around you blends with colors and the images becomes abstract.

Your bodies are completely consumed by the rhythm.

Your spirit soars.

That beat, that rhythm, the connection, the movement, the passion- that is what creates the magic in dance.

It's style. It's art. It's my inspiration.

The Lens Through Which We View The World

"It's not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality."

Shawn Anchor, a positive psychologist and Harvard lecturer, shares some funny stories and offers some great advice in helping us understand the happy secret to better work. He argues that actually happiness inspires productivity, rather than the other way around. And we can control our happiness  through the lenses in which we view the world. 

This is one of the best speaker videos I've seen. I hope you like it.

Around Town Chicago With OJ [VIDEO]

Lights. Camera. Action!

Featuring my first on-camera debut:

Whether you're a thousand miles away from home or in your hometown, we never stop exploring. Join me as I show you around my hometown, Chicago.

On my way to becoming a TV travel host, maybe?

A special thanks to my devilishly handsome cameraman, Zach, and personal English coach, Nick. We ended up with 30 minutes of footage, but only a small portion of the actual content was used to create this 90second rated-G clip, as all the background inappropriate comments and shots from the very mature and professional aforementioned production crew had to be cut out. Always a blast! Stay tuned for the blooper video...

Chicago skyline aerial view

I Am Left Brain. I Am Right Brain.

From adsoftheworld.com,  Paint by Mercedes Benz

Left Brain says:

“I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.”

Right Brain says:

Do Not Forget To Be Happy!

Pablo Neruda, a poet and a legend, always captures my heart through the way he paints with words. 

In fact, it was through his love poems that I was learning Italian when I was in Rome. My Couchsurfing host had a book of love sonnets by Pablo Neruda that were in Spanish on one page and Italian on the other. Every night before I went to sleep, I would read his poems as my heart melted and I soared through dreamland. Yep, I'm now one of those- a hopeless romantic. You would be, too.

Below is one of my favorite poems, not a a love poem, but just as good. It offers us a reflection about the way we live our daily lives: (English version below)


Original Version in Spanish

Muere lentamente quien no viaja,
quien no lee, 

quien no escucha música,
quien no halla encanto en si mismo.