In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. – Paul Harvey

It feels like since my last post, the world has turned upside down – literally. With the Japan earthquake causing another shift in the earth’s axis, it’s no wonder mayhem has erupted. I was disappointed to see that international military intervention (a fancier way of saying war) was necessary in Libya and who knows how many more casualties this will cause. And Libya is one of many countries facing unrest in the region…

Every once in a while, I get this feeling of doom and gloom. It seems like humans have made so many technological advances, but we still haven’t figured out how to settle disagreements without fighting. I always remember the irony of hearing how World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars only to say 21 years later – just kidding. Even after World War II (they were supposed to mean it that time), we still are trying to solve with problems with the same methods that we’ve seen fail over and over again.

It’s no secret that Venezuelans are very polarized when it comes to politics. I don’t know if it’s all the other disasters/unrest that’s been going on, but lately I’m getting the sense that Caraquenos are feeling the doom and gloom, as well. This may be limited to the places I frequent the most, however it’s there. I usually blame the media for over-reporting on certain issues, but this time I don’t think there’s any way around it…big stuff is going down all over the world.

As Mr. Harvey states, there’s nothing new happening here – simply history repeating itself. I only hope that these times hurry up and go away because I could sure use some good news for a change

P.S. If you’d like to help with the Japanese relief efforts, Google has set up this page to get you started.

There’s a saying that anything causing you stress right now will be irrelevant a year from now. Anyone close to me has most likely heard me dole out these words of encouragement whenever they’re telling me about a difficult situation. I also try to remind myself of this when I’m starting to feel overwhelmed by the every day.

I’ve decided to test this theory by looking back (as well as my memory serves) at the problems that I had last year to see if they have any relevance now.

Haiti’s earthquake: I can’t say that this is completely irrelevant now, but a lot of the things I was worried about last year have sorted themselves out. We were very fortunate to have not lost any friends or family and no belongings sustained any damage. It was a question of waiting to hear about people every time we heard about an aftershock. By April, we started to hear less about the earth shaking and people started getting back to their routines.

Housing: Last March we were really looking into moving from our first apartment. We were having a difficult time because housing prices had doubled since my husband arrived 6 months prior. To top it off, there weren’t a lot of options in the area. I recall finding one we really liked even though it was a little far from stores, the kids school, etc. and the landlord pulled out at the last minute. At that point, we decided whatever will be, will be. Within a month, we found the apartment that we currently live in which is much more conveniently located and cheaper. So, this one gets a check…

Employment: One of my biggest concerns before moving here was whether or not I’d be able to find work in my field. I was assured by many that I would, but my gut was telling me otherwise. Well, by this time last year I started to realize that my gut was right and it would be a long road to full-time work. Well, I’m still unemployed, but the difference is I’ve completely accepted that it’s not going to happen here and have since come up with a plan (which will be revealed at a later date ). I’d give this one a check, as well.

Learning Spanish: I wasn’t stressing myself a whole bunch about this last year, but I knew I wanted to feel a lot more comfortable going out on my own. I didn’t see much improvement by simply immersing myself and was always getting tripped up on grammar. I eventually found this course at the French Alliance and May will make it one year. As I mentioned, we’ve shifted into intensive format and I’m amazed at how much progress I’ve made (yes, I’m patting myself on the back). Even though this is a work in progress, it definitely gets a check!

So what, that’s 3 out of 4 – not bad. What do you think about this theory? Have you found it to be true for your stressful phases?