AVUI FA UN ANY!

Avui fa un any va representar un abans i un desprès per la nostra família. Avui fa un any, la meva mare va tenir el primer d'una sèrie d'infarts que la van portar a una segona operació de cor a una edat avançada. Vam passar molts mesos entre hospitals, UMIs i UCIs, vam patir molt per ella, i vam tenir alguns dies molt crítics on ho vam veure tot perdut. Ja ha passat un any, i sí, la seva vida i mobilitat s'ha vist molt afectada i reduïda, però, i és el més important, encara és amb nosaltres i l'hem poguda gaudir a cada moment.

Quan em van trucar de matinada demanant ajut per portar-la a l'hospital a urgències, jo no era a casa meva, i vaig trigar hores en arribar a l'hospital amb la meva mare, ningú pot saber tot el que v apassar pel meu cap durant aquestes hores, l'angoixa que vaig sentir en sentir-me culpable per no ser a casa a prop seu per anar ràpid a l'hospital perquè la curessin com tantes altres vegades. M'ha costat molts mesos superar aquesta sensació d'impotència i malestar, però el temps ens aclareix tots els nostres problemes, dubtes i altres, i, en aquest cas, el temps ens ha apropat a tots molt més del que sempre ja ho hem estat.

Ara per ara, la mama està confinada a casa seva, pot moure's per la casa però no pot cansar-se gens, el seu cor no li permet, però és feliç. d'això en tinc proves! I realment la seva felicitat és el que més ens importa, la resta és secundari, ella és el realment important, la seva força d'esperit, la seva alegria permanent, el seu sentit de l'humor, veure-la com gaudeix de les petites coses que té a l'abast i veure-la somriure a tota hora, això és el que compta, i que sigui per molt temps!

CANADIAN SHORT FICTION

Canadian short fiction has always maintained close associations with the popular markets provided by newspapers and LITERARY MAGAZINES. A pattern of first publication in periodicals and subsequent collection in book form was established in the 19th century and has continued to the present day.
Portions of Susanna Moodie's ROUGHING IT IN THE BUSH were first published in The Literary Garland before appearing in book form in 1852. Stephen LEACOCK published SUNSHINE SKETCHES OF A LITTLE TOWN in The Montreal Daily Star (Feb-June 1912), then as a book later the same year.

Since the 1920s the connections between short fiction and newspapers or magazines have remained strong, as seen in the publication of work by Morley Callaghan, Mavis GALLANT, Alice MUNRO in periodicals. Several writers have also edited newspapers, magazines or anthologies.

Some critics define the sketch as "an apparently personal anecdote or memoir which focuses on one particular place, person, or experience, and is usually intended for magazine publication." Its colloquial tone and informal structure relate it to the epistolary form employed in several early Canadian works.
One common kind is the humorous or satirical sketch, as found in the works of Leacock.
A second kind is the autobiographical, descriptive or travel sketch, as practised by Archibald LAMPMAN and Duncan Campbell SCOTT.
The most distinctive early contribution by Canadians to short fiction was the animal stories of Roberts.

Scott's work looks back to 19th-century American gothic and romantic and local-colour writing, yet its ironic tone connects it with mid-20th-century writing, and his use of imagery anticipates the poetically conceived short stories written later in the century.
Morley Callaghan was "the first and most important of the modern short-story writers in Canada". Callaghan's stories were important for his choices of subject and situation; his modern, urban, even international outlook; his understanding of the importance and the difficulty of writing about everyday life; and the intimately human moral complexities that he explored. Furthermore, the stories created a strong feeling of immediacy because of his special and new way of using words plainly. Perhaps even more important to the succeeding generation of writers was the reputation that Callaghan had made for himself.
His short stories significantly influenced Canadian writers from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, including Margaret LAURENCE and Alice Munro, both major contributors to the history of short fiction in Canada. By the 1980s, Munro had the best popular and international reputation of Canadian short story writers. She emerged as the writer most often identified with the rebirth of the Canadian short story, and as the writer most prominently concerned with trying to shape short stories into coherent books or story cycles.
The most truly international of Canadian short-story writers, however, is Mavis Gallant. Her Stories of Paris (1985) brought a more intricate internationalism, a richly textured political awareness and exquisite craft to Canadian short fiction.
Where twenty years ago Canadian stories stressed content - what a story was about - the main emphasis now is on the story as verbal and rhetorical performance. " These differences can be perceived in the evolution of some writers' conceptions of the short story. Munro's stories, for example, move from her early narrative style towards a freer, more open, more dreamlike form evident in such collections as The Progress of Love.
Canadian writers of short fiction, like authors in other genres, are subject to fluctuations in popularity. As personal likes shift back and forth between plain style and verbal play or between realism and fantasy, individual writers' reputations rise and fall accordingly - regardless of their work's quality. Furthermore, attention is rarely given to a writer's literary development, to a writer's changing views of the form of the short story.

ROMANTICISM

The changing landscape of Britain brought about by the steam engine has two major outcomes:
- the boom of industrialism with the expansion of the city,
- and the consequent depopulation of the countryside as a result of the enclosures, or privatisation of pastures. Most peasants poured into the city to work in the new factories.
This abrupt change is revealed by the change of meaning in five key words:
1. industry (once meaning "creativity"),
2. democracy (once disparagingly used as "mob rule"),
3. class (from now also used with a social connotation),
4. art (once just meaning "craft"),
5. culture (once only belonging to farming).
But the poor condition of workers, the new class-conflicts and the pollution of the environment causes a reaction to urbanism and industrialisation prompting poets to rediscover the beauty and value of nature:
- Mother earth is seen as the only source of wisdom, the only solution to the ugliness caused by machines.
The superiority of nature and instinct over civilisation had been preached by Jean Jacques Rousseau and his message was picked by almost all European poets.
The first in England were the Lake Poets.
- a small group of friends including.
· William Wordsworth
· and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
- These early Romantic Poets brought a new emotionalism and introspection,
- and their emergence is marked by the first romantic Manifesto in English literature, the "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads":
· This collection was mostly contributed by Wordsworth, although Coleridge must be credited for his long and impressive Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a tragic ballad about the survival of one sailor through a series of supernatural events on his voyage through the south seas which involves the slaying of an albatross, the death of the rest of the crew, a visit from Death and his mate, Life-in-Death, and the eventual redemption of the Mariner.
· Coleridge and Wordsworth, however, understood romanticism in two entirely different ways:
1) while Coleridge sought to make the supernatural "real" (much like sci-fi movies use special effects to make unlikely plots believable),
2) Wordsworth sought to stir the imagination of readers through his down-to-earth characters taken from real life (for eg. in "The Idiot Boy"), or the beauty of the Lake District that largely inspired his production (as in "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey").
The "Second generation" of Romantic poets includes:
- Lord Byron,
- Percy Bysshe Shelley,
- Mary Shelley
- and John Keats.
- Byron, however, was still influenced by 18th-century satirists and was, perhaps the least 'romantic' of the three:
· His amours with a number of prominent but married ladies was also a way to voice his dissent on the hypocrisy of a high society that was only apparently religious but in fact largely libertine, the same that had derided him for being physically impaired.
· His first trip to Europe resulted in the first two cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a mock-heroic epic of a young man's adventures in Europe but also a sharp satire against London society.
· Despite Childe Harold's success on his return to England, accompanied by the publication of The Giaour and The Corsair his alleged incestuous affair with his half-sister Augusta Leigh in 1816 actually forced him to leave England for good and seek asylum on the continent.
· Here he joined Percy Bysshe Shelley, his wife Mary, with his secretary Dr. John Polidori on the shores of Lake Geneva during the 'year without a summer' of 1816.
· Although his is just a short story, Polidori must be credited for introducing The Vampyre, conceived from the same competition which spawned Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, to English literature.
· Percy Shelley, like Mary, had much in common with Byron:
1) he was an aristocrat from a famous and ancient family, had embraced atheism and free-thinking and, like him, was fleeing from scandal in England.
2) Shelley had been expelled from college for openly declaring his atheism.
3) He had married a 16-year-old girl, Harriet Westbrook whom he had abandoned soon after for Mary (Harriet took her own life after that):
1- Harriet did not embrace his ideals of free love and anarchism, and was not as educated as to contribute to literary debate.
2- Mary was different: the daughter of philosopher and revolutionary William Godwin, she was intellectually more of an equal, shared some of his ideals and was a feminist like her late mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, author of Vindication of the Rights of Women.
· One of Percy Shelley's most prominent works is the Ode to the West Wind. Despite his apparent refusal to believe in God, this poem is considered a homage to pantheism, the recognition of a spiritual presence in nature.

ANY NOU, VIDA NOVA

Ja fa uns dies que hem començat l'any nou, però fins avui no he tingut temps per escriure un podcast nou.
He de dir que, malgrat l'any tan "diferent" que vaig tenir al 2011, enguany els Nadals no han sigut gens dolents, més ben al contrari! Hem pogut gaudir dels dies de festa en família, amb la gent que realment ens estimen, els amics de casa i els de lluny.
Pel que fa a mi, he de dir que vaig tenir l'honor de poder passar el Cap d'Any amb un grup de gent fantàstica i molt, molt generosa, que els meus amics Ana i Félix me van presentar al seu poble "d'adopció", Ayerbe, a la província d'Osca. Aquest grup de gent me van fer sentir com a casa en tot moment i espero, algun dia, poder tornar-los tot el que me van oferir quan vaig ser amb ells. Així mateix, també desitjo tenir-los com a amics per molts, molts anys!

I, en tornar, encara ens quedava la festa de Reis! I quina xalera amb els menuts de la casa! I quantes emocions i rialles nervioses en obrir els regals, en jugar la primera partida del joc pertinent, quins ullets quan han vist la pilota de futbol, ... i tantes i tantes altres emocions més. Però la més gran de totes ha sigut que tot això ho hem pogut gaudir amb la mama. Per a ella sí que han sigut uns Nadals molt especials, i per a nosaltres tota una joia poder gaudir-ne amb ella!

Ara, primer dia de cole i de feina , ens estem preparant mentalment per poder fer front a un any que se'ns presenta molt complicat a nivell professional, però hem de tirar endavant i sempre amb la veritat, el coneixement al seu lloc, les ganes de fer coses, les ànsies per continuar aprenent i cultivant-nos, i sobre tot poder ser bones persones al costat de la gent que estimem i que ens estimen. Tot això ens ajudarà a tirar endavant quan sentim que les forces ens fallen, quan sentim que no l'hi trobem sentit a la vida, quan pensem que ... En fi, no ens posem melodramàtics! Deixem tot el dolent de la'ny 2011 enrera, esborrem dels nostres cors i dels nostres caps tot allò i tots aquells que ens van ferir tant, i encarem l'any nou amb ganes, amb moltes ganes, perquè, com diu en Pep, "si ens aixequem ben d'hora, ningú no ens pot parar!".

PER MOLTS ANYS, ORI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Avui l'Oriol fa 14 anyets!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Va arribar en mig d'una gran ventada com la que hem tingut aquests dies, però la seva arribada va ser molt i molt esperada i celebrada!

Carinyet,

PER MOLTS ANYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

T'ESTIMO MOOOOOOOOOOOLT!!!!!!!!!!

RESUM DE L’ANY

Hauria de començar dient que aquest ha estat un any atípic totalment. La malaltia de la mama ha acaparat la meva atenció la major part de l’any i això ha comportat que li dediqui un percentatge força elevat del meu temps. Però, vull oblidar els moments durs i dolorosos d’abans, durant i desprès de l’operació també. Vull recordar tots els moments bonics viscuts amb ella i veure-la com dia a dia va guanyant, poc, realment poc, però més val poc que res! Veure-la a diari com té il·lusió per la vida malgrat les seves condicions físiques, il·lusió pels néts, il·lusió pels fills, il·lusió pel Barça! Un dels moments més bonics que hem viscuts enguany va ser quan el Barça va guanyar la seva quarta Champions League a Wembley. Ella, la mama, no va poder veure el partit perquè encara estava massa dèbil desprès de l’operació i ara ha d’evitar situacions nervioses com aquesta, nosaltres ho vam estar veient al poliesportiu del poble on es va reunir una gran part dels seus habitants però acte seguit d’acabar-se el partit, vam anar a casa la mama per celebrar-ho amb ella, i així ho vam fer. Un cop passats els nervis, va poder gaudir del triomf com ella volia, amb els seus i el seu Barça!
Un altre dels moments bonics per a ella va ser el dia de la primera comunió dels seus néts. Aquell va ser un dia molt esperat per tota la família perquè no sabíem si podríem celebrar-ho, però així va ser! I què guapa estava la mama! I què be s’ho va passar!
I això ha estat la seva vida fins ara, però ella està contenta amb el que li ha tocat viure i dona gràcies per poder continuar amb nosaltres.
Però, cada dia és un bon moment per a mi si la mama se troba be! I això és el que vull recordar d’aquest any que està a punt d’acabar!
Vaig començar l’any amb part de la família, la Marta, el Rodri i l’Oriol. Quan soc per les TTEE per Cap d’Any, sempre passo aquesta festa amb ells, però enguany ho faré amb una altra part de la gent que estimo, els meus amics Ana, Félix, Elisa, Maria i Àlvaro. Aquest estiu em van convidar a passar el Cap d’Any amb ells, no a Canàries com és l’habitual, sinó al pre-Pirineu d’Osca, on s’han comprat una casa. Així que enguany acabaré i començaré l’any a Ayerbe, amb una festa, pel que m’han dit, molt concorreguda i ball i molt, però molt fred! De totes maneres, encara que ens trobem lluny, sempre tenim al cor els que hem deixat a casa, però amb ells ens veurem a la tornada!
Pel que fa al tema professional, be, no cal ni dir com funciona Ensenyament al nostre país, o sigui que la feina per l’educació pública s’ha reduït a tres setmanes al mes de juny i no presenta bona cara, però hem de ser realistes i fer front al present. Ja vindran temps millors! De moment, he d’agrair al meu amic Mike Murphy que m’hagi contractat un parell de cops per cobrir baixes a la seva escola. Gràcies, Mike!
Pel que fa al tema d’esbarjo, hem continuat ballant la jota de les TTEE, i hem après força. Cada dia m’agrada més i m’encanta poder aprendre coses noves i intentar ballar les coreografies que anem aprenent. A més, hem començat a fer linedance i està agradant força a tot el grup. També formo part d’un grup de gent que es dedica a caminar i, si tot va be, podria intentar fer un tros del “Camí de Santiago” a l’estiu, però això ja són figues d’un altre paner.
Pel que fa a tema amics, què puc dir? Que tinc un grapat de gent que m’estima i pensa amb mi, que me recolza i em renya quan m’equivoco i que, especialment aquest any tan dur emocionalment, m’han demostrat que són bons amics, i que puc comptar amb ells quan els necessiti. I això és molt en els temps que corren avui en dia.
I ja vull acabar recordant les tres perles del meu cor, l’Ori, la Rosa i el Guillem. Saben que me tenen el cor robat i que si algun dia els renyo o els castigo ho faig perquè els estimo i vull que siguin personetes com cal. No cal ni dir que aprofito cada moment que puc per apretar-los i abraçar-los! Però mentre se deixen...
Doncs això ha estat el meu any. Coses bones i coses doloroses, però, oblidem el dolor i agafem-nos als bons records, perquè al final només les coses bones són les que valen la pena!

BON NADAL I FELIÇ ANY NOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Signs of Verbal Abuse

This article is intended to help women and men to understand and identify the signs of verbal abuse. Because of events in my life, I have been wandering through life asking myself what is my purpose as I know we all have a purpose to let people know about verbal abuse and hopefully to help at least one person from its grips. I hope to help many but if I help only one then my idea has fulfilled its purpose.

I don’t claim to be an expert in this field but because of personal experiences I want to guide those that I can.

Verbal abuse can come from parent, spouse, boss, friend, child. It is a confusing situation to be in because, without the knowledge and understanding of this “violence”, you remain in an internal battle trying to decipher what is happening. What you need is knowledge, and as the saying goes, knowledge is power. And power is what you need to stop the verbal abuse.

I highly recommend reading every book by Patricia Evans on this topic such as "Controlling People", "The Verbally Abusive Relationship", "Abusive Survivors Speak Out".

If you are reading this article you are probably confused and needing some type of direction, or it may be just a fact of gossiping. Anyway, at least you'll take your time to decipher what I'm writing bout.

There are signs that will help you identify if you are caught up in a verbal abusive situation. Such as:

• Do you spend your days with your spouse/person in your relationship wondering when the next little thing is going to cause them to “dump” on you?
• Do you tip toe around hoping to keep things calm?
• Do you constantly wonder what you are doing wrong to cause this person to act out to you in a way that is demeaning?
• Do you treat this person nicer and nicer in hopes that he/she will see you are a nice person and start treating you better?
• Do you find yourself emotionally troubled to the point of staying sick?
• Do you find this person picking fights with you over things that are insignificant?
• Does this person treat you wonderful in public, in front of family and friends, but once you are out of site of others you are verbally “attacked”?
• Does this person drive recklessly with you in the car when they have reached one of their anger moments?
• Is this person inconsiderate of your feelings, wants or desires?
• Do you feel like your self-esteem has been stolen?
• Is it your relationship getting you down?

7 signs you’re in a verbally abusive relationship. These are from Patricia Evan’s book: Verbal Abuse, "How to Save Yourself":

1. He seems irritated or angry with you several times a week. When you ask why he’s mad, he either denies it or tells you it’s in some way your fault.
2.When you feel hurt and try to talk to him, the issues never get resolved. He might refuse to discuss your upset feelings by saying “You’re just trying to start an argument!” or claiming he has no idea what you’re talking about.
3.You frequently feel frustrated because you can’t get him to understand your intentions.
4.You’re upset-not so much about concrete issues like how much time to spend together, but about communication: what he thinks you said and what you heard him say.
5.You sometimes think, “What’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t feel so bad.”
6.He seems to take the opposite view from you on almost everything, and his opinion isn’t stated as “I think” but as if you’re wrong and he’s right.
7.You can’t recall saying “Cut it out!” or “Stop it!”

And here, I'm providing you with some writings from the Bible, for those of you who are believers:
- Proverbs 23:9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. Have you tried to reason with your verbal abuser and got nowhere? That is because the abuser despises the wisdom of your words. Your abuser will not hear you or admit that you are correct in your observation of what is taking place. Your abuser lives in denial about their behavior. You CANNOT fix your abuser. They have to find help. Finding help means stating and admitting they have a problem with how they treat the person closest to them. And unless that happens, nothing will change.
- Proverbs 13:10 By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom. - Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.
- Proverbs 17:1 to paraphrase- a house full of sacrifices with strife is not pleasing to the Lord.

Love is action, what type of action is your abuser showing you, actions that show love? Don’t let that abuser convince you that it is your fault. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!!! The abuser cannot and will not take responsibility for their actions. You are walking on a road that will stay full of strife. Your abuser will not take the steps to search for God’s power to enable them for what needs to be done