Summer 1975. Our group was getting ready to board a Canadian made Buffalo plane from the Brazilian Air Force and head to the Green Wonder, the Amazon. We were students of Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary, Nursing and also students of Pharmacy and Medical technicians. We were in great mood, very happy and positive, singing popular songs and playing guitar getting ready for an experience that would last a life time. Read more…

It feels like happened yesterday. When I came to Canada almost 30 years ago I was having a coffee with a Chinese gentleman, a witty businessman and his words sounded like a prophecy. He took a deep breath, his eyes looked like if he could envision the future and he said “In just a matter of few years, China will attain an immense growth and wealth and become incredibly powerful and this will surprise a lot of people”. The success of Great China in every front is something really awesome and undeniable. Read more…

To pick up the pieces of a broken heart and try to put them back together it is not an easy task, most people that have been there know this. In Part I we discussed scenarios that were guaranteed to destabilize any normal human being. I wrote about some extreme scenarios, very graphic, on purpose. The truth is that even if it is not that dramatic, it will still hurt us nevertheless. Perhaps the simplest ones are the worst, because it will keep resounding in our mind “why”? If there was not an obvious cause for the disruption, the mystery will haunt us and will drive us bananas. Read more…

You were feeling this for a while. Some strange and awkward thing kept lingering in the air. A ghostly sensation that something beyond your wildest dreams was about to unfold. The signs in the beginning were subtle and discrete. He/she would interrupt abruptly a phone conversation as soon as you got home (no kiss or greetings at the door anymore) or used an encrypted telephone “that was bought to prevent the competition to have access to sensitive information belonging to the company a.k.a. industrial espionage”. A Machiavellian excuse. Read more…

“Someone who thinks the world is always cheating him is right. He is missing that wonderful feeling of trust in someone or something”. Eric Hoffer Read more…

We do not live in a perfect world, but if we follow simple rules, just common sense, the world will be a lot better place for all of us. Read more…

Human beings are gregarious by nature. There will be a time in our lives when we will consciously or unconsciously engage in actively seeking a person; to live with us, start a family and it has been like this since the dawn of times. Christians and Jews believe that the first couple was hand picked by God Himself, well, it could not get any better than this, but for the rest of us we have to do the work ourselves. Hopefully, God will give a hand. Some call it fate, others destiny, some believe that is just luck, a love lottery, others that happen by chance. For some it happens accidentally in the most unexpected way while other get a little help from friends, family or even professional matchmakers. With today’s technologies, with the advent of the internet, we have the “dating sites” and I believe that saves us a lot of leg work and help to select a few people that are more suitable than others to share life with us. Read more…

First and foremost, I wish to all the CLM and ALM communities a belated Happy Valentine’s Day. For as long as we have love left in the world, there is still hope. Read more…

The news we read these days border the bizarre. I remember a column years ago in the Toronto Star which I liked very much, “News of the Weird”. At least their peculiar news made us laugh, a welcome change from horrible catastrophes, Economy crisis, tragedies and other nuisances or sadness that invade our houses and minds every day, almost as a routine. Things happen in a such a speed that we don’t even have time to digest and absorb one bad event, another one comes along. Read more…

Christmas morning in Canada, the sunrays were dancing and reflecting in the pristine fresh snow outside that was sparkling, looking alive and providing a spectacular show. The gorgeous winter wonderland was at its best, with Mother Nature dressing its majestic white coat. Read more…