The first thing that I noticed right away when I arrived in America was that the streets were deserted. Coming from Sao Paulo, where we chat walking shoulder to shoulder, I wondered… Where are the people in this country ..?

Is it because here, when it’s cold it’s very cold, and when it’s hot it’s too hot..?

Surely, this is not the place to be physically fit! Just seeing how people compete for a place to park, wasting time going around and around in the parking lot, while they could lose a few calories by taking a few more steps… I never could understand that…

My father always said that his going to church was walking, and that this exercise might be considered old fashion, but he considered it still the best and most modern. And I walked with him a LOT and always… Going fishing, going to watch car races, going to the horse races… Wherever he invited me I would hear him say that I walked really fast, but I didn’t really care because I loved to be considered the ‘girl walker’ that accompanied her idol anywhere… how I miss him…

Whoever has watched the Sissi movies with Romy Schneider, that’s how I was with him, always with my father, doing something interesting.

Now what motivates me are my dogs, my most faithful and best walking companions, and also because I can not disappoint those faces staring at me in the late afternoon. They keep me honest about it.

The other day someone doubted my photos, because they did not see what I saw near the place where I live. Is it my fault that others’ eyes do not detect the beautiful things that my eyes see?

As a simple dead tree on the edge of the water close to home… I thought it was beautiful!

Walking, of course, takes more time than any other form of locomotion, but it extends my time, extending my life, that is just too short to waste on speed. And you just go by car? Sorry…

As Thoreau said, “my thoughts are more clear at the moment my legs begin to move, and the ideas flow.”

So, make your feet your friends… But look what’s around me when I leave my computer.

And make of your legs, your doctors…

And more: if you need some creative ideas, get out walking! The angels like to ‘whisper’ while you move your body.

And do not let anyone make you crazy, go for a walk!

Did you like my cloud ‘snail?’

It is a good remedy for those who get ‘angry’….

Behind my house where every day I spy on what happens.

The body advances, while the mind flies like a bird…

Nature’s peace will pass through you as the sun passes through the trees.

And here comes another hot day coming to Texas.

Make a habit of walking, it helps your health, your weight and your mood.

On the web site at http://www.heart.org/start you answer 10 questions and they select a plan that matches walking with you, your level, reaching your goals and matching your lifestyle. You can even enter your ZipCode to find a neighborhood partner, as well as maps and routes around the place where you live or the locality of your choosing.

One more day goes by and the news talks about unemployment and the unemployed and the harsh reality becomes increasingly harder as the latest estimates of the unemployment rate reaches 7.6%.

Those who still have jobs are insecure, fearful and afraid and others are trying to make themselves indispensable and move upward…

The indexes have shown and that, more than 50% of workers are afraid to change jobs because they feel that the last to be hired, will be the first to be let go. This is what is called ‘forced loyalty’, or as Brazilians say: “devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.” 

Apparently, this idea does not apply to some companies because some of the smart ones are taking advantage of the large number of people who are looking for work and contracting people for lower salaries because they know that in the future the situation will improve, the economy will grow again and they get the best qualified candidates and keep more money in their pocket$$$. Hummm?

If you want to advance in your career, earn more money or change everything, take a look below, because I will show you how much you are worth and how much someone you know is worth…

The three sites below tell how much you’re worth or how much you ‘could’ be making,  now that wages that are no longer secrets to anybody, thanks to the Internet . Knowing this, you can negotiate a raise or just kill the curiosity to know what the guy in the next cubicle earns…

www.salary.com

www.payscle.com

www.glassdoor.com

In these 3 sites you can also fill out an anonymous questionnaire, especially the Glassdoor and have free access to 150,000 reviews of 18,000 companies.

It’s like the old saying ’it’s not what you know, it’s who you know ‘. The professional and social networking sites like Facebook are getting to be the fastest way to find the obvious truth. You. Add to that the 3 below:

www.linkedin.com

www.plaxo.com

www.careerbuilder.com

www.facebook.com

Whether you are looking for work or not, it always pays to know who is hiring and for what kind of work…

For those who are in Technology and Creation:

www.krop.com

www.dice.com

In the Health sector:

www.biospace.com

www.healthcareerweb.com

 Hospices and Hotels:

www.hcareers.com

Retail:

www.workinretail.com

Regional work:

www.jobing.com

Government Jobs:

www.usajobs.gov (over 31 thousand jobs)

Finance:

www.careerbank.com

www.efinancialcareers.com

Executive:

www.theladders.com

www.6figurejobs.com

Non Corporate:

www.snagajob.com

www.employmentguide.com

Nonprofit:

www.idealist.or

Other:

www.latpro.com - for those who speak English and Spanish

www.vetjobs.com - various jobs for those who have served in the military.

You have every reason the world to achieve your wildest dreams. I like imagination + innovation, I believe that with the sum of these two you get… realization.

Women immigrants here, may think that the role of American women is different from the country they came from, and would be benefited by being “an American woman”. While maintaining cultural traditions, this usually creates many domestic problems and violence.

But in America you have rights even if you are ILLEGAL!

I read the other day, four women are murdered by husbands and partners every day in this country in addition to other abuses such as beatings, rape and other forms of sexual abuse. ALL THIS AND ‘Criminal Justice and the Center for Women in a situation like this, never see their migratory status and further states:

“You’re entitled to ALL SERVICES THAT ALL VICTIMS OF CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE.” (Those are their words, not mine).

So, to start with, if you have suffered from some kind of violence, you are entitled to a translator and a psychologist. On top of that, the authorities will NEVER take into consideration whether you are legal or illegal in the country; they never take action in a case such as this. So it is no use for the abuser to say, I will ‘report’ you to the authorities and blah blah blah…

Even if you depend on this person for your status of residence (GREEN CARD), after this, you will NO LONGER NEED THAT PERSON, if this be the case. (Again, I’m not saying this, the authorities are).

Of course the number to call is 911 and you should stay on the line until the police arrive, and if no one speaks your language when they arrive, you have the right to write down on paper what happened. This paper, plus the translation of it will be recorded in the files of the police.

Legal authorities WILL BE ON YOUR SIDE AND WILL HELP YOU IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF VIOLENCE OR ABUSE.

Now for the places that you can get assistance if you suffer any abuse:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

Support 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The direct-line has crisis intervention, safety plans, information and referrals to agencies in 50 states, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. The assistance is in English and Spanish, but there are interpreters who are available in 140 languages.

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). The direct-line is available 24 hours a day for the National Rape, Abuse and Incest.

National Domestic Violence Hotline:

http://www.ndvh.org/

United States Department of Justice: Office on Violence Against Women:

http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/

American Civil Liberties Union: Women’s Rights:

http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/index.html

Women’s Justice Center:

http://www.justicewomen.com

Domestic Violence Shelter:

http://www.safehorizon.org

National Organization for Women:

http://www.now.org

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

http://www.ncadv.org

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network:

http://www.rainn.org

State child support enforcement Web sites:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/extintf.html

Domestic Violence in Hispanic and Latino Cultures – AARDVARC.org:

http://www.aardvarc.org/dv/hispanic.shtml

National Network To End Violence Against Immigrant Women:

http://www.endabuse.org

The National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence:

http://www.dvalianza.org

National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute:

http://www.nlffi.org

National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc.:

http://nationalbreastcancer.org

I always watched and thought porters were a kind of ‘juggling geniuses’. How is it that they can open the door of your car, you help with the groceries and still always have a hand to get the tip?

Hmm …?

Of course I would like to give tips like crazy out there and always be remembered by everyone, but as I’m not a celebrity billionaire, I’ve had to learn a few little rules of etiquette which I want to share with you because this matter has always been kind of a mystery to me and also a dilemma. Here in America I’ve learned it’s a very serious thing, for example:

If I do not get good service in a restaurant, do I still tip or not?

Usually the tips given here are basically 15 to 20% of the bill, in which case the right thing is to give just 12%. These employees are paid such little money by their own employers, you are doing them wrong by not tipping, because they are forced to depend on the clients’ money. If you do not give a tip, you deprive that person of a kind of ‘cultural agreement’ in additional wages, … which you know are super low.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

 The right thing is to express your dissatisfaction by talking to the manager, but do not forget that the waiter/waitress was not the one who cooked for you, so don’t punish them when the bad service was the cook’s fault.

Another thing I noticed here in the USA, are the tip jars almost all the shops. Then there was the dilemma again: “Do I have to tip everybody?

No, no, no, these jars are for the kind of service that goes far beyond expectations.

For example, if you take the whole little league baseball team to the ice cream parlor and the employee gives extra topping to everybody, oh yeah, you should give a tip.

Another dilemma: Do I need to tip when I pick up a pizza at the pizza place myself? And the ones that say free delivery? How does that work?

Ok, this is how it works: The person who delivers the pizza, gets the tip, but the charge for the delivery goes to the restaurant. Just like I said above, if you pick up the pizza yourself, you do not need to tip, but if it is delivered to your house, the delivery person should receive 10% of your total bill. Another factor is the weather, if your pizza is warm and arrived on time as promised… especially if you usually make requests at the same restaurant.

Now go ahead and pass this tip forward.

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