The Bad Girl (Travesura de la niña mala), by Mario Vargas Llosa, was a welcoming surprise in my readings this year. I remember having a professor in university recommending this book and his enthusiasm planted the title and the author in my mind.
This is the unconventional love story of Ricardo Somocurcio, a Peruvian translator whose only dream is to live in Paris, and Lily, his femme fatale love interest who comes in and out of his life as she pleases; each time with a new name, a new husband and a new location attached.
They meet in high school and Lily catches Somocurcio’s attention by being wilder and wittier than the other girls in his group of friends. Soon, he learns she is not who she said to be, but it does not matter anymore as he is already enamored with the girl.
The teenage romance carries on throughout their lives and while he becomes the purest source of love for her, she turns into is his fount of adventures and the only appearing moving force of his ordinary life.
The repetitiveness of the departures and arrivals is easily forgotten as the author always seems to find new ways to create conflicts and resolutions.
Another interesting component of this novel is the historical one. It travels through at least 30 years of social and political transformations, such as the Cuban revolution and the hippie movement.
As the end approached, I could not help, but wonder if the author was going to ruin his composition. Gladly, that was not the case. In fact, it was what made this book an unforgettable one for me.
Winner of the Nobel Prize Literature in 2010, Vargas Llosa narrates this captivating semi-autobiographical piece in a well-sewed way. He was simple and smart with his words and each page made me want to read the next one. And as I closed the book, I felt that famous joy of having read a beautiful story.
What about you? Do you have any books that made you feel this way? Let me know.
There is something about someone saying good things about someone else that makes me immediately appreciate the someone else in question. That is how I knew I would like Holly Golightly and Truman Capote’s most acclaimed novella, Breakfast At Tiffany’s.
Through the eyes of the unknown young writer and narrator, we can see how a nineteen-year-old girl with a captivating personality, was able to make acquaintances with people from different paths such as the bar owner Joe Bell, the Italian mafioso Sally Tomato and even the millionaire Rusty Trawler and find in all of them a source of admiration.
The story of Holly or Lulamae does not build up very steeply, probably because it was not written in the first person, but mainly because the events are not the focus, but herself and her ideas. No matter how simple she looked, she was real. To me, that is one of the most interesting aspects of a person, their authenticity.
She, like most youngsters, is trying to find her identity but is doing so in a genuine manner, looking for beauty along the way and following her instincts. It is only so often you see her mentioning how she is trying to find what is truly hers, her cat, her street, her apartment, her place in the world.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is when she refuses an opportunity to work in a film that could have made her a star. She’s talking to her wannabe agent, O. J. Berman, from New York:
“‘She says, this is Holly, I say, honey, you sound far away, she says I’m in New York, I say what the hell are you doing in New York when it’s Sunday and you got the test tomorrow? She says I’m in New York cause I’ve never been to New York. I say get your ass on a plane and get back here, she says I don’t want it. I say what’s your angle, doll? She says you got to want it to be good and I don’t want it, I say well, what the hell do you want, and she says when I find out you’ll be the first to know.’”
Holly is proof that being open to the universe, to the hardships, to the criticism, to adventure and to love is inspirational and it pays off.
I found this to be an easy, quick, and pleasant read and Capote got it right to have this piece written with such a simple, light, and charming aura, that is so Holly Golightly.
It’s official. We’re closer to the end of 2020 than to its beginning. Half of the year has gone by and this is why I want to write a little accountability article on the challenges and goals I set to myself this year.
It’s becoming a cliché to talk about this year with frustration and despair. The whole pandemic thing has been a wild card for most of us, with the exception of the forecasting companies and moguls of various industries.
But in here we’re not about feeling sorry for ourselves. Well, at least I’m trying to carry on with all my plans I had for this year.
One of my biggest goals was to read a book per week (as you can check in this post I did last year) and I feel immensely happy to tell you that, fortunately, I have accomplished it, so far.
It wasn’t easy and the last few weeks right before the middle of the year I was struggling and very behind on my readings. As my deadline was approaching, I had to cancel on friends and read a book per day.
Nonetheless, on week 26 I had read my 26 books and felt pretty accomplished about it.
Making this challenge had taught me this: to make goals/dreams true I have to focus on them, one at a time. I know many famous coaches love to talk about it, and IT’S SO REAL.
Concentrating on one thing and seeing it through also took a lot of the mental effort out of the way. It was similar to having a mission and not being able to stop until is done. Nothing else was on my mind and that, somehow, released me from a lot of stress.
On the other hand, I haven’t been consistent with my blogging. Which I’m trying to fix on the second half of the year.
COVID 19, a chaotic world, crises of all kinds… It took a toll on me. I self-isolated for almost three months and as much as it seemed like the perfect time to be productive and creative, to be honest, it wasn’t my reality.
In the first month of quarantine, Netflix was my BFF. I binge-watched so many shows and films to the point where, now, I can’t make myself watch anything anymore.
It’s been a little over a month since the government here in Portugal loosened up, a little, the rules relating to socializing, and I feel my groove is slowly coming back.
To end on a positive tone, I would like to register a little note to self (and to others who might be needing this): things may seem very intense, cramped, confusing and upsetting right now, but, as the saying goes, this too shall pass. We are going to be ok!
WARNING: The “hard words,” I write in this piece are for me, more than to anyone else.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been meaning to write about the future of work.
I read a book called 21 Lessons For The 21 Century, by Yuval Noah Harari. In that book, he explains that the automation of work that we’ve been seeing with the development of technology will only worsen in the future.
He’s not talking only about self-driven cars, but about robot surgeons and bankers. And probably other “terrible scenarios”.
According to Harari, the jobs in the public system are not that stable either. In fact, very few jobs will be considered stable in the future, if any.
The tech-employees seem to be in a slight advantage. But, with the everchanging improvement of technology, they will be forced to update themselves much more frequently.
Another thing he mentions is probable to happen is the complete change in careers, from time to time. A path for life? More like a path for 5-10 years. Then a complete shift.
Imagine, from lawyer to programmer. From programmer to driver. From driver to a profession that doesn’t even exist yet. Every seven years or so, until the rest of your life. Sounds harsh.
Although I did not like that book, and it appears that some of the things written are unlikely to happen in this era, we cannot deny: the world is changing. Very fast.
So, to my fellow writers and musicians, to the artists, to the entrepreneurs, to those with a clear vision for themselves…To all hustlers out there, such as myself, who are trying to grab their piece of the pie and who still have some stamina and courage to keep going even if it looks hard…
Here are some tips on how to approach this upcoming world:
* Go for what you love
If robots are going to replace us, we might as well risk it, don’t you think? This is harder for some than to others, but today more than ever it is the time to take to the next level and. Why invest time (our biggest asset) in something that will be gone tomorrow?
Going for what you love means that you have to LOVE it. Chances are that if you haven’t done it already it’s because it’s a hard road to walk. The “love” road is usually harder and if the sentiment isn’t real you might not last very long.
* Develop new soft skills
The other day I was in the supermarket and the attendant was a bit rude to
me. I thought to myself: “soon, machines might be doing his job and he is
losing a great opportunity to improve his attending soft skills.” This also
applies to me, of course. I often lose these opportunities to get better.
The one I’ve been working on, at the moment, is consistency as I said last year. Also, I’ve noticed it is a good idea to improve my endurance to go through the hardships. But there are many other things I could improve, such as my patience, my debating/persuasion skills, my self-marketing… The list is big.
This is highly useful if you’re a creative being. As creative beings, we tend to “rely” on our creativity and we often forget pragmatically. Yes, not every piece of painting is for selling, but if you want to make painting your living you got to find a way to make money with it. That usually comes by selling or exposing your work. If there’s no work to sell or expose, what now?
Last, but not least,
* Have a plan and stick to it, patiently
I got to say, this is the hardest for me. That’s why I’m working on my consistency and endurance. A good plan may look like shit when others seem to be way ahead of you. Social media contributes to that feeling. The world itself contributes to that feeling.
Sometimes an opportunity that has nothing to do with what you want arises and takes you out of your route and you spend some time on this new route for a while only to realize it is taking you nowhere. Have a plan and stick to it. Hard work rarely fails on people.
Without doubts, there is more to this. It is a topic very recurrent in my conversations in my mind and I will, most likely, be talking about in the future, so stay tuned.
For now,
what do you think about the professional world of today? Do you have some other
tips to share? Let me know, I’m truly interested.
One time a
had an argument with a friend. The reason? Me, not being very careful with my cellphone,
which was not a lie.
I have lost
several phones in the past. And the one I currently have, although
long-lasting, has had its ups and downs. Mostly downs for the past couple of
years.
It has been
repaired more times than it probably should, and my friend told me I was just
“not careful enough”.
I used to
consider myself a very attentive and cautious person, especially with my
personal belongings and there I was confronted with another truth.
Past the denial phase, I began to examine the consequences, in case that scenario confirmed to be true. Was I making the same mistake over and over? And if so, how many times was I allowed to do so? Mostly, how could I stop the vicious cycle?
I once
heard, from a Buddhist friend, that one of the beliefs of Buddhism is that a
person will go through the same “problem”/situation until a lesson is learned.
It took me a while to even notice the repetition of a pattern. At last, I recognized what I was doing and began to hone my mind and senses to identify elements of a situation already lived.
I haven’t mastered it yet and and to be honest, I am far from it. I can say, though, I improved by about 40%.
It is actually one of the reasons why I write because once I materialize thoughts and learnings into words, they become more clear and real.
People
always say you are supposed to learn from your mistakes. And at a deeper level,
the connotation is that you are supposed to learn fast.
Learning is
often not fast, however.
Jesus
Christ, when asked about how many times people were to forgive others, answered
not only seven, but seventy times seven. If I should forgive others these many
times, let alone myself.
To me, it
means I am allowed to get it wrong as many times as I want and be forgiven each
time and not be judged by anyone.
Logically, it
does not seem smart to willingly engage in destructive behaviors just because.
On the other hand, it is comforting to know if I do, I should not be shamed by
it. Forgiving is a virtue.
I don’t know if you can tell yet, but I am all about personal growth and self-development. Whenever a less ideal situation takes place in my life I want to, at least, learn something from it.
How I am avoiding making the same mistakes more than once
I analyze the steps that took me to the error in the first place
Many decisions did not seem like a mistake to me at the moment I took
them. In fact, based on the knowledge I had at the time, they looked like
really good solutions.
Some time and a fair amount of distance from the happening could tell me
where I got it wrong.
In the case of my phone, I started noticing myself placing it dangerously in bad compartments or not being mindful of actions done moments before
I try to be present and realize when the same or very similar situation is taking place
Being mindful is indeed an essential trait to develop which not only helps in the “frivolous” and material world but most definitely in the deep, interior and very conflicting interior one.
Noticing the same elements seen before it is very empowering. Whenever I realize a déjà vu atmosphere, I feel like a sage who holds the knowledge of many domains and who is able to make a wise decision. Which, again, does not always happen.
Finally,
I take a different course of action (preferably a thoroughly thought one) than I did before
As Albert Einstein would say, “the definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
What I like to do is watch, ask and read about others who have tried to
do the same.
It is in my nature to want to brave the world according to the way I see
it, but I find it very helpful and humbling to ask questions and even ask for
help when it is needed.
I end today’s article with a quote of the most unrelatable character of Game of Thrones, who became 100% relatable after saying:
![[Book review] The Bad Girl](https://anazarb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/book-review-the-bad-girl2-1080x675.jpg)
![[Book Review] Breakfast At Tiffany’s](https://anazarb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/book-review-breakfast-at-tiffanys-e1598400348934.jpg)
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