podcasting equals sharing

Being abroad can give us this odd feeling of getting more and more apart from our family and friends. Different surroundings, different feel, which is pretty normal I guess but nevertheless painful sometimes.

A few years ago we found out about podcasts and it has been a pleasant ride ever since. We started with some of our favorite radio shows and widen our spectrum of audio and video “magazines” sharing with one another our discoveries.

When we go back home(s), everyday jokes don’t just fly by us anymore and we actually can laugh and discuss with our loved ones, society, economic and political issues that are in the air. And this way, we no longer feel that much “away”.

Him in his commute, me in my shopping trips, both in our own time listen to the news from home and laugh and come home to discuss the interesting things we’ve learnt around our dinner.

We’re in the subway, our earplugs on and smiling and laughing; and the bonus is that people around us end up smiling too (even if it’s at us!).

It feels so good to share a laugh.

lazy sunday

Há dias em que precisamos que o tempo pare para simplesmente aproveitar o momento.

Hoje foi um desses dias, um dia lindo de agradável e irrepreensível perguiça, e soube tão bem. 

We are Happy from Leiria!

A minha Cidade é linda e a sua gente tambem.

Saudades da Alegria de Leiria! :)

Expectation is a b**** but!!!

It’s amazing the amount of materials we can find on the internet regarding expectations being a whole bunch of negative adjectives, and I just don’t agree with what I’ve been seeing lately.

This is not a new feeling for me, I already gave this its fair share of thought but yesterday again, a friend of mine was posting comments about him being disappointed at someone and about this being his fault as he shouldn’t expect anything from anyone in the first place, and this made me angry, and made me think more about it, hence… here I am.

Come on people! What’s all this negativity all about!?

Obviously, if you don’t expect anything, you won’t get hurt, but helloooo isn’t this the same old issue: if you don’t risk it, you won’t get it! That’s the safe option of living but is it really living if you think of safety before thinking of living the most out of something? If you don’t take a few risks, if you don’t face your fears and yourself, you will most definitely miss opportunities too!

I feel like I am Lapalissading here but isn’t it duh??

We play the lotto or poker and we most probably won’t be a millionaire any time soon, but we keep investing a couple of dollars a day. We date this new guy we’re not sure we’re going to like but we do it anyway because we want to fall in love and live the dream. We send our CV for this great position we would love to get hired for even if we are aware that there will be plenty of other candidates. We buy these new shoes we are not sure we’ll be capable to walk in, but buy them anyway because they are so cute. Isn’t it how life is lived?

Only thing is true in all these negative posts or quotes we can find wide spread in the web, disappointment may occur, that’s the way it is, we can’t have everything going our way, all the time, it would mean that someone is not getting his way all the time too.

What I think is that we shouldn’t – no – we mustn’t rely on others when our own happiness is at stake! We are sole responsible for our choices and what they lead to.

In the end, I think I believe in Karma, do good and good will come back at you, give happiness to someone and he’ll give happiness back at you.

I saw this video a few years ago and I just love it, I hope you will too.

Praia de Pedrogao, Leiria. Portugal

Chuva. Vento. Escuridão. O inverno tem destas coisas. Só apetece ficar em casa, no quentinho, a lareira. 
Mas como nem tudo o que é "mau" o é inteira e somente, de vez em quando, aparece um arco-íris para alegrar as vistas e os corações. 
Hoje, estava assim. :) 

La pluie. Le vent. L’obscurité. C’est ça l’hiver. On a juste envie de rester bien au chaud à la maison, près d’un feu de cheminée.

Mas rien n’est complètement négatif. De temps en temps, un arc-en-ciel apparait pour égayer nos yeux et nos cœurs.

Aujourd’hui, c’était comme ça. :)

Rain. Wind. Darkness. This is winter. We just enjoy staying in at the warmth of a nice fireplace.

But nothing is completely bad. From time to time, a rainbow just pops up to enlighten our views and our hearts.

Today, we had such a day. :)

smoking. no smoking.

It was almost normal, a cigarette, many times an ice breaker. I was a social smoker.

As laws were passed to prevent smokers to pollute everyone else's fresh air, it almost left like I was an outlaw. Obviously, I am painting a much more dramatic picture here than what it really was, but this was the spirit of the situation, the pressure that I left at the time.

Today, It's been 8 months since my last cigarette. (In all fairness, I have had a couple of smokes since, in a few social situations, but that was it.) I feel liberated not to have to look for smoking coffee shops or where to buy my next pack, and this has been a very agreeable experience but on the other side, it brought me some weird feelings as well, something I wasn't prepared to face, the still-smoking-judgmental looks that would now be part of my new smoke free life. I don't quite understand why but it's like the still-smoking feel I am crying out loud that I succeeded where they failed, which I am not! But still, I feel I am guilty of something. When at a dinner party, people step outside to have a smoke and I decline the invite, I see those dark looks demanding that I mustn't show their better halves or their families, kids, that quitting is possible. It is quite a weight to bear to have quit smoking as my friends put all their I-can't-quit-smoking guilt on me. I sometimes just feel that maybe I used to be too harsh on the non-smokers and the new laws they keep finding to prevent smokers from polluting the environment.

So to avoid all this, I just accept all invites to step outside and have a smoke: no one realizes I am not smoking and I get to socialize with my dear friends; only down side is that I must find a way not to catch every single cold or virus the precious wind and air brings to me, but I'll manage.

just how good does it feel...

How good does it feel when you enter a place full with lots of dear friends?

A few days ago, I went to a special event and I experienced this very special feeling of entering into a room filled with people I love. 

It was a very special event indeed, don't get me wrong, but what I will cherish is first and foremost the ambiance of gathering, friendship, love and purpose, all the things that make me be so grateful for having such dear dear friends. Of course, none of it was meant for me, but in the end, that didn't really matter; what matters is what each and everyone of us makes of the opportunities that are given to us, and that's just what I did: I did the most of an opportunity given to me and enjoyed as much the event as I enjoyed being with these special friends of mine, the kind of friends who welcome you with a true warm hug, the kind of friend and the kind of hug that makes us feel whole.

There are no words to really describe any of it, so it's just a matter of enjoying the ride.

It's amazing how it just feels nice. Just so very nice.

So, cheers to friendship! Old. New. Intense. Joyful.