Just do it

Shortly, this year will go and will come another and between this coming and going, there is the famous New Year's Resolutions. The New Year's Resolutions, it's  the time of the year when we have to chance, to reflect on the past twelve months and look forward to the endless possibilities of the next twelve months. It's a time full of hope, positivity and a feeling of purpose.

As much as it is a beautiful notion, I'm totaly againts it. I think that it's a procrastinator's ideal defense: "I'll start in the New Year". According to Static Brain, a web page where people can say their new years resolution and then, ther is a ranking with the most said, the 45% of the people make a New Year's resolutions with the promises of "enjoying life to the fullest", "change my life" or "do something more/better" and being ones of the highest ranked, but I don't understand why wait to get started a new goal? I think that the date it's what matters the least, if you really whant to change something of your life or start a new way of life, why don't start right now? or if there is something going on in your life that you don't like, why you don't change it now? In fact, starting now will ultimately benefit you. I think that the countdown to a new beginning starts every day when you wake up, not every fisrt day of the New Year. If it feels right to start now, start now, it's not so complicated. Don't wait for tomorrow, next week or the 1st of January. What's the difference between starting on a Thursday, in November or in the secon weekend of a month? A date won't define your succes.

Maybe, you decide to put a date for make a change or take up something because you may never feel like you are entirely ready to start your next move and it's easier to make an excuse (that it's already say "tomorrow"), but waiting is just limiting yourself. For sure, that everybody has heard the typical  phrase "don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today" and this phrase have a lot of truth! If it's no like this, tell me what it's going to change tomorrow for do what you didn't dare to do today? What makes you belive that you will feel ready tomorrow or on 1st of January? We have to believe that we are capable  of doing wathever we put on our minds to.

Another typical phrase that also have a lot of truth is the next: "don't wait for the perfect moment, make the perfect moment". By starting now, you will be one step nearest of your objective than starting in January, I mean, where you thought you could be in January, you could be now, in December.  

We all have 365 days (sometimes up to 366) to take up something or make achange in our life, so please, use all of them.

Social networking sites

Social networking sites are not new. I have been investigating a little and I find out that they were first introduced to the world in the late 90s, but they don't became very popular until the new century because at first, not everybody used to have a computer at home and were thought to be too "advanced". Nowdays, for many people, mostly, the teenagers, visiting the social networks sites like Facebook, Twitter or MySpace are part of their daily routine. Sure it's a good way to keep in contact with your friends or family but in my opinion, this sites can be only beneficial if you know to use them in a certain way because these can also be detrimental if you use them in the worng way.

Firts of all, these sites make it possible to interact with people next door or even, across the world very fast and with a simple gesture: one click  This allows you to keep in touch with the people who lives far away from you whoever and whenever you wanted to. 

Second of all, one of the countless features that many of these sites have, is that allows you to upload or dowload pictures. This is very helpful for sharing pictures with friends and family, but there is one thing more that could be a good or a bad thing: the capacity of people to comment on your pictures. It's nice to see what people thinks about your pictures, but often times, some people don't have positives things to say.
Another drawback about the networking sites, is that some poeple act completly different over the internet than they would act in real life, or sometimes, people can trick you (there is a TV porgramme called CatFish that it's about these tricks through the internet). 

Finally, the most common disadvantage of social networking sites, is the addition. Often, users of these sites get addicted to it: they spend hours using these sites and it can cause mental health problems.  

The train of the Magic Kings

The longest train journey has just begun: 21 days and 13.052 kilometers across icy plains at -30ºC, deserts and hug mountain ranges where Marco Polo walked! From one of the extrems of China, across Russia, Poland, Germany, France,... definetly, up to eight different countries with one ojective: reach the Spain capital, Madrid (if all goes well, the train would arrive the 9 of November). In the picture you can see the route that the train will do, from China to Madrid and how exceeds the record of the TransSiberian Railway (that until now was the longest train journey made) by far. 

It's going to be many replacaents of enginers drivers and watchers. Acording with the calculations of an american journalist that reach the new for the The New York Times, only between Kazajistán and Polonia, more than 100 enginer drivers took the train control, what menas that there is a change every 800 km.

The initiative of this Yixin'Ou (the name of the train) starts in China when the chineses wanted to make the new Silk Road. In the last months, Xi Jimping, the precident the country, has been committed to invert 32.000 million of euros in rail infraestructures with the objective of be the center point of the economic belt of this 21st century Silk Road. 

The segurity is extremly for prevent thefts in lawless regions. The wagons are guarded by an armed guards the 24 hours of the day and all the wagons have the "GSM technology", a stamp that shoot an alarm if the wagon is manipulate. 

The train is formed by 82 blue wagons: 1.000 tones of weigh and with a dimensiones of 12 meters of lenght, 2,35 meters of with and 2,70 meters of height; in total, 30.560 cubic meters full of  "made in China" products.

In Spain, for the days that this train is going to enter in the country and for all the toys that bring in their blue wagons (8 wagons are reserved for the Spain marked), it's know as The Train of The Tree Magic Kings. 

The train have a lot of advantatges as a trasnport methood, is faster than a boat, cheaper than a plane and can arrive to places that don't have port (like Madrid) and also, it doesn't miss anything from the trip, on his return to China, is going to pick up merchandises from all the countries crossed.

I think that the only fantastic thing about this train, is the long trip that it's going to do because the quantity of wagons that carries it's nothing compared with the high number of wagons that a cargo ship can carry (that is more than 10.000 wagons!). Anyway, it's incredible how chinese people always come up with new ways of surprise the world.

(Original new: http://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2014/11/30/5479b71ce2704e591e8b4577.html)

The gender violence

This last 25th of November was the international day against the gender violence and this reminded me some good avderstiments against this problem still present in our society  and actually, "supported" by the social nteworks. But first, a little introduction about the consequences of this problem.

The gender violence this year, only in Spain, has caused 45 deaths and in the last ten years, has been exceeded the 700 detahs. Is calculated than, more or less, 600.000 people in our country sufferd gener violence but only the 18% of this cases, dare to report. Otherside, there's also the gender violence from a women to a men and it's the 40% of the cases.

The gender violence is like an illness, the only solution is the education and the respect. There aren't any other solutions but the porcess of the total elimination it's very slow. All the people have to conscious that there are attiudes that are not tolerables and besides, all the girls have to be aware that they can not tolerate this attitudes. This is not a problem of the past or maybe, a problem of others generations, it's a problem of any and every and for this, everybody have to contribute to erradicate this social problem once and for all.

Now, here the advices!
The first on it's great because shows you the other side of gender violence that anyone sees or talks about probably becuase is less frequent; from a women to a man.

The last one is a song that it's not about the gender voiolence but talks about the geder difference.

Rayo Vallecano, the voice of the concience

The football team Rayo Vallecano is going to destine five euros of each ticket sold this Sunday for the match against Sevilla with the purpose of paying the rental of Carmen Martínez Ayuso, the old woman of 85 years old that was evicted from his house. This gesture adds to the engagement of all the players, the coach and the others members of the club that days latter, announced they intention of pay the rental until the institutional helps arrives. 

This is not the first time that this team makes this kind of works of charity: only this moth, they had participated and had made several donations to associations for the cancer researcher, for disabled childrens,... and the last month, the club, offered his training camp for the team Deportivo Aviación before the city hall destroyed their because they can not afford the maintenance bills and in this way, they allowed that 400 children could continue playing football.

It's incredible all that this football team do without having the same high wages as the other "big teams" like Madrid, Barça, Atleti,... (it's also true that this big clubs do great things too). I think that this is an important lesson for all the politics, bankers and others leaders, they had done what the administration or the city hall don't and have to, thanks to they, this old woman have a ceiling for live and this is fantastic, it’s like a Christmas story... I think that this is a gets that no one should forget and many should copy. 

(Original new: http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2014/11/24/actualidad/1416859062_787266.html)

This new stage

This year, I’m coursing first of Batxillerat and I think that the principal difference between this new curse or stage and the last years in the ESO is that you need to work harder than you used to work and I think that if you do it on anongoing basis, you would be able to pass the course.

For me, Batxillerat it isn’t so difficult than I thought this summer before started but you have to focus all your free time, or almost everything, in the studies and also, I think that the only you need for be successful with this new stage it’s have desires to work and time. Of course you can have free time for spend with your friends or for do whatever you like to do but you have to organize all your work and manage for do it (in a appropriately way, not in an either way –and I admit that I used to do things in a either way during the ESO-). You have to be conscious that maybe, you can not do anything you like because your first priority have to be the studies. This is what is happening to me this year: there are days that I have to stay at home studying instead of meet with my friends or go to a football training, but actually, I don’t mind to much because I know that I would have time for this during the holidays and it’s not so horrible study for get good marks… Summing up, you have to take advantage of the time that you have because sometimes, it’s not the time that you dedicate for something, it’s how you uses this time.

What I’m doing Batxillerat? At the moment, I don’t know what I’m going to do after Batxillerat but the most probably is that I will go to the University. I don’t know what I’m going to study there but I chose the “Social Batxillerat” because at least, I’m sure about one or two things: I don’t want to do anything related with sciences like medicine, physics or something like this, I know that if I were a nurse, would be wonderful have “the power” for heal people but I know that I’m not worth for that. The other think that I know, thanks God, is that I would like to do something related with marketing, journalism, audiovisuals,… The principal doubt that I have when I have o choose a career, is that I don’t know if I should choose something that I like although it hasn’t have many job opportunities or choose something that although it doesn’t excite me a lot, have more opportunities for find a job. Maybe, I should try to find something between this two points…the problem is WHAT? Anyway, even, I have to years ahead.

I know that it’s a little precipitate talk about were I want to study without knowing what I want to study but the reality is that I think about this even before knowing what I’m going to do… Well, my idea is going to study to Barcelona or to Madrid like my brother that actually, he’s studying INEF in this city. Of course, my parents wants me near of home and they want me to study in Girona, anyway, if my brother could go to Madrid, me too (I’m like a child, I know).

Well, firts of all, I have to focus on this two years that I have ahead  and try to get the best marks that I could because if I do it well, I would can choose watherver I like to study so good luck to me!

  

The consumerism

Last Friday, I saw a film called "Confessions of a Shopaholic". It's about a girl obsessed with the clothes and she can't stop of buy things that she don't need. The worst thing is that she became a famous writter in a newspaper thanks to a differents articles that she write talking about the waste of money. 

I find it an interesting film becuase, actually, the society is very consuming, especially, the teenargers. For this, I decides to talk about this topic.

Consumerim is the term used today to describe our obssesion with buying things. Some would say that is has become a way of life. In fact, for many people, spending money equals happines and in this group, teenagers are the most affected. 

Years ago, the pocket money teenagers got would not allow them to buy an iPod, the trendy oufit or anything more expensive than some magazines, sweets or a CD. But today things are different. In a web page, I had find an interview made to a differents teenagers in a shopping center about their consumer habits  and I'm going to talka about two of these. This is what two adolescents girls had say:

The firts girl interviewed was Rebecca and she was 16 years old. Just starting the interview, she admitted that she was a fashion victim. She said that she spent at least, six hours a week shopping clothes and shoes, she buy most clothes when the sales are on and she also said spending so much time in window-shopping compring prices for this, knows were to get the best bergains. She love it and she also said that she would not want to spend her time in anything else. When the interviewer asked Rebecca how she gets the money for buy so many clothes, she asked that she was working. She have a part-time job working as a cashier in a local supermarket on Friday nights after school and on Saturday mornings. Also, she ask for cash presents for her birthday and Christmas. 

I think that the only good thing that Rebecca does is use her own money: she works for it and of course, she can spend it in whats she likes but she should have limits. The thing that impresed me the most was that she showed to the interviewer a pictures of a shoes that she had just buoght and the, admitted, that she had another new shoes without clothing in her wardrobe. 

The other teenager interviewer was Kathy, she was15 years old. Although she was younger than Rebecca, she was more careful with her money. She said that she don't need to buy a lot of jeans or shoes to be happy, she thinks that it's a waste of money with needlessly, she save her money and waste it whe it's absolutly necessary. She said that she have hobbies, family and friends for spend the time and for it, she don't need to spend all her free time in the shopping center. 

I'm totally agree with Katy and I thing that people needs to know that there are other things in life than can make us happpy apart of shopping, in fact, when you have the "fixation" of buy a lot of things, then, you cyou can't never be totally happy because you never will value waht you have, you only think in what you don't have. But actually, it's normal because fashion changes every year and so, to keep up, you have to buy more things every year. Perhaps, if we weren't so easily infuenced by fashion magazines, we could see that all is like an speending tramp and we also could see that we could do another activities instead of go shopping, although it's difficult because every day more and more shopping centers are built around us instead of parks (for example).

Nightmares before Christmas

How this last Friday was Halloween, I have remembered one of my favorites films of when I was little: Nightmares after Christmas. I thought that it was a Halloween film and I haven't remembered that it was also a Christmas movie... it doesn't matter, also Christmas it's above to arrive.

I used to watch this film with my siblings because it was my brother's favorite film too, we will have seen more than thirty times!

The film starts in the cemetery where once a year, the city of Halloween where monsters, ghosts, zombies and all kind of this "dead creatures" lives, is the responsible of the preparing of the day of Halloween for the "real world". Jack Skellington is the king of this city and he's the one that decides what to do, even so, he's tired of having to prepare always the same. One night, while Jack is walking his dog Zero through the forest a little worried, he get lost and then, he find out something that he doesn't expected to find: the city of Christmas. Jack is hold spellbound for the decoration of the streets, all the colors, the lights, the snow,... but the thing that impresses him the most was Santa Claus, a friendly and a loving big man who was the king of this fantastic city. Is then when Jack decide to replace Santa Claus for create his own version of Christmas. For get his objective, he convinces all his friends from the Halloween city that, inmediately starts to work making his own versions of gifts, of sweets,...

At the same time, Jack meets the doll Sally who is in love with him.

I love this film because it isn't like the typical Christmas films: it's a gothic story were "the bad" charcter is a big bag full of worms and his helpers are the three troublemakers from school, a doll full of sewings is the slae of Dr. Frankenstein, who is invalid and he's the most unpleasant character and besides that, she fall in love with a skeleton! In adittion, Santa Claus is battered. Another think that I like about the film is that it's like a scary movie for childrens. I remembered that the fisrt time I watched this film, I was very scared and I had nightmares but the next day, I saw the film again and I continue watching the film and  I continue feeling a little scared.

I really like the music of this film and I still remember the lyrics of the first song that appears in the film that was my favorite song too. Following, you have the video where you can also see all the characters of the city of Halloween!