Leon

While I don't like to call myself successful, I feel as if I have accomplished a lot more than some of my family and friends. It has gotten to a point where I feel they tend to envy me when I tell them how I'm doing. For that reason I have started practicing not talking about myself and just listening to them. However, that has made me feel very lonely because sometimes I do need advise on certain topics but have no one to turn to or to go to.

I never ran more than one mile. At 33 years old I ran 3 miles with no difficulty. The trick was to look down. Somehow I feel I can maintain more balance and focus. Can offer any advise?

I have a five hour lay over in San Jose, Costa Rica and wanted to know what I can explore within that time frame. I know it is limited but I rather do that than sit around around in the airport for five hours.

I'd like to know if educating oneself is considered a hobby. For example, I have been taking an online courses on innovation for a learning experience on my own time.

Our baby is about a month old and she seems to have a lot of gases. I've heard of suggestions that gripe water is good to help ease the gases. Has anyone tried this? Is it good for new borns?

Besides Angie, I'm not sure what else there is? My daughter is a newborn so any suggestions from any age group are welcomed. Her middle name is Marie.

Here are a few of mine....

OOOOOK.......when something is awkward

No Like...........when I dont like something

I Like...............when I like something

Not too much....confirming I don't like something

Its probably about two years old. It was about a woman who was having a really bad day on Christmas eve. Her husband had just verbally abused her and she went to the mall to do some last minute shopping. Things just went downhill after that. Four teenagers assaulted her and as a mall cop stood in their way, she became a witness to a murder. Fleeing the scene, the four teenagers chased her through the remainder of the movie in a wooded area.

I've been wanting to see this movie again but I can't recall the name.

I saw a movie a few weeks ago but I can't recall the name of it. I also don't recall ever seeing any of the actors or actresses in any other movies. It was a comedy filmed in the early 2000's. It was about a guy who was hired as an assistant administrator to a law firm. He was given a bunch of written documents by his supervisor and asked him to type them up and mail them on his first day on the job and while he did most of the work that day, he didn't finish it. Every day after that, something would happen and he would not finish it. It even got to the point where he was hesitant to even go to work anymore because he was embarassed that he hadn't completed the assignment! I was cracking up and I've been wanting to tell my friends about it but they don't know which movie I'm talking about. Can you help?

I was listening to a radio show a few mornings ago while on my way to work when they brought this topic up. It immediately brought back some memories. When I was younger, I was so shy that I could barely say a word to a girl I liked. Since I was so shy and under estimated my potential for attracting girls, I played by the following rule: if you ignore them and make them believe that you are confident and not needy, they will believe you must be doing something right and that in itself will make you attractive. Although it didn't work every time, it did work with my wife. Well, enough about myself. I'd like to hear about your strategy and how it seems to be working or not working.

When I was younger I really didn't join the crowd a lot but this year I have seen so many people watching it, or at least keeping track of it, that it begs me to ask this question. Surely it had a great deal to do with the U.S. team showing some form but even when they were eliminated, I still notice a lot of people watching.

I don't know what my baby will be (my wife is two months pregnant) so I'm open to both boy and girl suggestions. Thanks for your help.

I had no idea what to answer since the races you could choose from only included white, black, American Indian, and all other were Asian or Pacific Islander. I would have put Mestizo - Spaniard/American Indian under other race but I'm not sure that is considered a race at all.

By relationships I mean family, friends, spouses, co-workers, etc.

We all know that there are certain stereotypes one becomes accustomed to when they hear the name of a country. Most of these stereotypes have been created by images hollywood and television have presented us with. Although some of them are somewhat true, a lot of them are not entirely true. When traveling I have discovered that there are images that most people would never imagine when relating to a country. So, I ask everyone this question.

For me, my country is Nicaragua. Most people don't know that Nicaragua is divided into two distinct regions - the East and the West. The major differences are that the West is populated by mostly people of Spanish and Mestizo descent. The main language is Spanish. People follow Spanish traditions. In the East, the people that mostly populate that region are of African and Amerindian descent. The main language is English. Spanish traditions are not that common.

Everytime I go to a buffet I'm not sure whether I should tip or not. I mean, you are getting up to serve your own food. The server simply asks you what drink you would like and picks up the dishes when you're done. I tip all the time but maybe between $1-$3 and not more.

If you have, what have you learned from it and how has it changed your perspective on the other person's race/culture? What has changed in your life. What things have you grown to like or dislike?

I myself am in an interracial/multicultural relationship. I'm Hispanic, from Nicaragua, and my wife is from the Philippines. Having been with her for eight years now, I have learned that their culture is very unique from all other Asian cultures. It stems from native, Spanish, American, and other Asian cultures. Filipinos love to dance (line dancing) and sing karaoke. They are very close to one another and have some really good food. She has learned from me that Nicaraguans are diverse in race - white, mestizo, black, and Amerindian. She has also learned that Nicaraguans are very family oriented and fun people. She pretty much learned to distinguish all the Hispanic music and even likes to listen to pop music in Spanish! What has changed in our lives? We love each other and are very respectful to each others' culture. I now love seafood (some of it at least) and she loves to use tomato's and lime on food just as Nicaraguans do!

I'm Hispanic. While hanging out with my friend, who is Asian, this weekend, he said that he would never date a girl who had very dark skin tone. I thought about it and I have actually met a girl who has very dark skin tone (she is African) who I find to be very beautiful. I told him that skin tones didn't matter and that what matters is how beautiful the person is. I thought about it some more later and I actually came to the conclusion that although I know there are beautiful girls of all skin tones, I actually happen to like girls with darker skin tone no matter what their race is, whether they are White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, etc. I thought about it some more and I wonder, am I one of the few that thinks this?

What is your race, ethnicity, and nationality?

What race, ethnicity, and nationality made you a victim?

All of us, at some point in our lives, have been a victim of victim of racism or discrimination. How much of it we have had, and how we coped with it varies from person to person.

I'm interesting in knowing the stories of people who have been greatly affected by it. What effect has it had in your life? Have you been able to overcome it?

I was once a victim of racism. When I was in grade school I attended a school that was 98% white. I'm a mestizo Hispanic and my skin color and features are closer to my Amerindian ancestors. I was the victim of racism for the two years I spent in that school. I felt sad, helpless, insecure, and anger. I hated everyone who made me feel miserable. Becoming an adult, and thanks to a very special person in my life who helped me gain my self confidence, I became accepting that this was part of life and I had to put it behind me. As an adult today, I am over that portion of my life but the effects it has had on me is mostly towards people of the white race. A lot of times I just don't trust them.

I'm not into hip hop at all and whenever I do watch some of the videos that is all I see. Most of their music seems to be about their possessions and I ask myself - why do people enjoy this? I don't want to be disrespectful to any-ones opinion its just a question on throwing out there.