Vocal Expressions

Excellent movie. See synopsis below: Four brothers from the São Paulo slum navigate life in the 20 million-strong megacity and their own progress toward adulthood in this engrossing family drama. Dario has his heart set on making a top club soccer team, and knows at 18 it's his last chance to break in. Dingo holds down a job at a gas station, but finds more fulfillment attending his evangelical church. Dênis, the oldest, has a child he rarely sees and can't support with what little he earns as a motorcycle courier. Reginaldo, the youngest, dreams of finding his long-absent father, a bus driver, and plays detective exploring the city's public transportation. For her portrayal of Cleuza, the boys' harried, hard-working mother, desperate to conceal her latest pregnancy from her employers for fear of losing her housecleaning job, Sandra Corveloni deservedly won the Best Actress Prize at Cannes.

After a very hectic week, I joined a friend of mine for dinner at Stoney River Legendary Steaks, a restaurant known for its steaks. Although the wait was almost an hour, the food was worth it. The lump crab meat appetizer was delicious followed by the Szechuan Salmon with thai rice and spinach was mouth watering. Great dining experience! Check out their website at http://www.stoneyriver.com/

Part of the kick off for the mentoring program is the blessing of the program. Essentially, this means that the mentoring program is given a special "shout out" during the service and the mentees and mentors are called up to the front of the church and given a special blessing for the upcoming mentoring/school year. At the church service, the theme was "Faith In God." The message was that if we have faith (belief and trust) in Jesus Christ, the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains, and that all things are possible. The only thing that could get in our way of overcoming life's obstacles, strength to endure hardships, guidance in our life's journey and joy is fear and doubt. What I got from this sermon is that while prayer may not change our circumstances or make things happen quickly, it will definitely change you. Faith, as the pastor told the congregation is not a "get out of suffering card." Basically, it all in how you deal with life...

Today marked the beginning of the woman-to-woman mentoring program which I've been involved with for the past six years. It was great to see all the mentees and the mentors back together, excited and geared up for the new school year. I look forward to helping to shape young minds for the future.

Another Saturday night out at Half Note Lounge. As always the food was superb, the drinks especially the Strawberry Lemonade and the Bacardi Hawaiian Punch were the envy of some tables until the patrons ordered their own :) The band, Style, was off the chain. The singers did renditions of various songs including Erykah Badu's "Window Seat," some DC go go music, hip hop and had everyone on the dance floor working up a sweat - myself included. Time flew by and before we knew it - it was 1:30 a.m. On our way out, we met a few people, including - Chef Robert L. Jackson and thanked him for preparing the delicious dishes and dessert.

catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw5sJ9EdJXwBkIbdiHm-xuX8ZIFxEC6IiZeM_FD8nyY0urFroFeKOmtOP8-RV7V7fwOc426VAbe6jDZ9hyphenhyphengcn1gyPOPR4hsi-5-OgvboNogVfOQn9XyvA2Cbi9oAjRIiHdPD50AM2lSwPZ/s1600/DSCN0810.JPG"> Well Summer is on the verge of winding down, so my brother and I decided to head back to D.C. to visit a few more museums. This time we visited the following museums/gardens/sights: The Sackler Gallery/Freer Art Gallery - The Exhibitions were breathtaking (Perspectives - Hai Bo, this artist photographed himself in the same location during the four seasons; Gods of Angkor; Cornucopia - ceramics from Southern Japan; masterpieces of Chinese paintings; Arts of the Islamic World Galleries; Ancient Egyptian Art; Korean Art). When I was viewing some Hindu art, I noticed a very interesting belief held by the Hindus. They believed everyone should aspire to four gods for life on earth: 1. Dharma - righteous living 2. Artha - wealt...

Today, my brother and I spent the afternoon in Fell's Point, a historic waterfront neighborhood in Baltimore. We walked along the cobbled stone streets, browsed through a few boutique stores which offered a wide variety of jewelry, clothing, furnishings and antiques. We stopped at the Broadway Pier and watched folks lining up for the water taxi that would take them to different sides of the Harbor. Then we had lunch at The Waterfront Hotel - good food but service could have been a lot better...oh well, it appears not everyone is cut out for giving great customer service. So here are some pictures of my day :)