The first one interviewed was with The D, but now it is Average Jane’s turn. Dr Who (had to mention this just for a couple of friends that actually know who Dr Who is) fan that has talent to spare, make sure you check out her garage band… but for now lets go into the interview.

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So Bea and I are going to play cultural hosts of sorts for this Thursdays Blogger Meet Up.

Thursday May 8th, 6:30PM
at Rincon Colombiano
611 N 6th St
Kansas City, KS 66101
(913) 281-3900

I have written about it, Bea reviewed it on Yelp and we know the owner… go over to Spyder’s blog to RSVP so we know how much people are coming. It is a great place for a good meal, there are tons of meat to eat for you carnivores but also Plantains, Yuca, Beans, Rice and Arepas for Vegetarians Hope to see you there!

Deguia has put together a very interesting meme that I think is worth thinking about and doing. Some of us are lucky to still have both of our parents alive, some of us are not… but in the end I think remembering the good they did for us its what counts. So… lets do this for our Mother’s

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Mother’s Day will take place on May 11th and while I’m not a huge fan of the whole “Corporate America wants us all to honor our mothers on one day each year” thing, I do agree that doing something a little extra for your mom is never a bad thing.

From my experience, no matter how old you are, moms love it when their kids make something for them. Often times it’s difficult to think up something creative to do for your mother, so I thought it’d be fun to start a meme to help get the creative juices flowing.

Tell me about three things, in detail, that make you really appreciate your mom!

Be specific! Think about all of the things your mother may have done for you: things she may have sacrificed, times when she went WAY above and beyond for you, etc.

To kick things off, I’ll go first:

1. My mom has a warm meal for us every single day we were growing up. This might not mean much to some people, but I know it meant the world to me. I appreciate it even more in todays world of never ending work weeks and deadlines.
2. She stayed up with me every single time that I was sick. She would do special meals for me and nurse me back to health every single time.
3. My mom sacrificed the best days of her life for me. She was just 16 when she had me and growing up I never thought of her as one of the after school special girls. She never made me feel like I had stopped her life or was a big sacrifice.

Your turn! Leave me a comment at Deguia’s and let him know that you’ve done this meme, he really wants to check out what you wrote!

Humans are very curious beings, some of us a lot more than others but in the end we all want to know what is going on. I think that curiosity is what drives religion and faith. Most people want to know the reason why we are here, what is the meaning or purpose of life. I am extremely logical and could buy into the idea that there is no God and that we are all masters of our own destiny, but that is not an existence that excites me. While I can blame most of it on an upbringing in the church, it is still my personal choice and I have decided that the Catholic faith is the best for me.

I went to a Franciscan school that gave me some of the best education I could have asked for. Even though I did not actually graduate from there, I still feel part of that family in many ways. This weekend I heard one of the best sermons at church ever and the message was simple, evangelizing is not just about words but also actions. While not everyone can be a preacher, everyone can be a beacon of hope and happiness. Father Mark used a quote from St. Francis of Assisi and I was extremely proud to hear it,

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

Actions are louder than words, and so many people think that evangelizing is about standing in a corner and telling people that they are going to hell if they do not accept Jesus as their lord and savior. In reality, bringing the good news should not be just about that but also about bringing hope and kindness to others. That is what I think religion really has to offer.

When I go to church and I feel that the gospel is tailored just to me, but not in the sense that it is telling me I am not giving enough money, because it helps me cope with my every day life, I find true happiness from hearing the word. It is amazing how difficult life is at times, and having a place to get hope and understanding is excellent.

While some get strength from the concrete answer that there is no God and religion is actually a scam, I get a lot from going to Church. I think that having the ultimate and final answer is great, but more often than not I have found through life that what I was certain about was only a short sight. The older I get, the easier it is to have faith, not just because of the testimony I can give about God’s greatness, but because faith has helped me through some rough spots in life.

Many of my friends hate small talk. I am not taking the word hate lightly either, they totally despise it. I have come to realize that I use it as a tool in business settings, but with my friends I prefer actual conversations.

I have recently started exchanging e-mails with an old school friend. Not just Chicago friend, but back when I lived in Colombia friend. He is a civil engineer and knows how to use technology, but he made me take a step back when instead of replying to an instant message from me he wrote another well put together e-mail. His first sentence saying that he does not like monosyllable responses… it really got my brain going.

In Colombia humor is used as the instrument of small talk. Instead of an empty how is the weather? are the Bears gonna suck again? Is it 100 years for the Cubs? How long will the Royals winning last? you get more colorful conversations but alas just as empty of true substance. I think chatting and texting is taking that to a whole new level.

A couple of my cousins have access to the internet and we “talk” in a semi regular basis. When I started to think about it, we have not had a conversation in years really, but we exchange pleasantries and from “how is the family” to “how is work” we move onto, “good.” Don’t get me wrong, thanks to chat I have full conversations with some friends that are a good distance away from me, but it is easy to go into a routine of canned phrases and monosyllables very easily.

I am not sure if I can blame small talk, but I can surely blame technology for making it so easy to “communicate” while not saying much. Much like what twitter does to some blogs. I like substance, conversation, stories, anecdotes… I think many chat programs already have bots with pre-programmed responses. I want to have more meaningful conversations. What do you guys think?