Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn't Designed for You by Jenara Nerenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a bit hard to describe, part personal reflection, part report, the author shares a lot of info to the readers, the things that stick out the most are:

1. The author wants to reframe the language we use to talk about neurodiversity. This is because language does matter, the way we frame ADHD, HSD and Autism influences what we do, how we hire, fire, treat, judge and treat people who have a different wiritng

2. Women have been left out of medicine and that's starting to finally change. Historically, straight white males were the ones that started the field of psychology back then women were treated differently, women were simply ignored and left out of the research of ADHD as a result many women go through their whole lives without knowing they are living with ADHD or Aspergers.

3. Everyone needs to be aware of these conditions, nobody thinks adult women with careers and families are living with these conditions usually associated with boys. Women go all their life without a diagnosis.

I'm glad this book exists. I gave it four starts because at times I wasn't sure what the chapter was really about, like, it took me some effort to grasps the message, but maybe that's on me and not the author.

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My Review of "The FerryMan" by Justin Cronin on GoodReads

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Proctor Bennet works as the director of Human Transitions at Prospera, a perfect society where everything and everyone is thriving....or are they?

This was a fun sci-fi thriller. I liked the pace of the book, the narrative. The story was a bit too sentimental for me.


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I finally got Covid

 I can't believe that after 3.5 years of avoiding Covid I finally got it. SMH.

We were all vaccinated and boosted so we got a mild version, but still, that shit sucked. 

We must have gotten it on our way to Buenos Aires,  Martha had symptoms first, she wears an N95 mask every time we fly, so she must have gotten it at the airport, who knows. Gaby and I got sick later. All 3 of us tested positive when we got back from Argentina on the 9th. Martha tested negative the following day. Gaby tested negative yesterday and I tested negative today. 

I really hope I didn't give it to anyone else. I feel crappy about flying sick but we didn't know it was Covid.  We always wear masks, specially Martha. Glad we are past it. Yesterday I felt the worst, very congested, headache, low energy. Getting work done like that sucks. 

-JV

Argentina: The Good, the Bad and the Messi

 

In short:

We cut our trip to Argentina short, we were supposed to return on Monday the 13th, but we are flying out tonight, TL;DR: Gaby got sick and it was not fun for anyone so we are just going home. 

What went well:

- We met Pablo the "Beef Sommelier" IG we got a private cooking class from someone who truly cares about beef, our only regret is that we saw him first, after that, all the other beef we had did not compare in quality. He gave us a sampler of prime cuts from different cattle breeds, we got to taste grass versus grain-fed and compare the flavor difference.  He also showed us which local, cheap wines are actually really good, he taught me about Fernet and coke and Gancia with soda water and lime as apertiff. Highly recommend it!

- We had the "Famous 5PM Tea Time" at the Alvear hotel that was very nice, Great service, they serve their own blend of tea and it is delicious. 

- Uber, loved how we can get around easily and cheaply in the city with Uber. Also, I met many cool drivers, mostly immigrants from other Latin American countries, from a Colombian lady studying to be a dentist, to a fellow Venezuelan making a new life in Buenos Aires. 

- We saw the Andes Mountains.  This is something that I've wanted to do since I was little, finally was able to do it. 

- The hotels and Airbnb were on point. Comfortable and well priced. Must thank Martha for finding the best places with the best deals. Thanks babe!

What didn't go well

- We all got sick, but Gaby got sicker :(   we all got some kind of flu, Martha and I got over it quickly but Gaby has been sick the past four days. Life pro tip: Don't get sick when traveling, schedule your travels on days that you won't get sick. 

- There were some rude people. People are people everywhere, you can't say that all americans are this or all french people are that, but the douche to nice ratio in Argentina was a tad higher than average. The people sitting in front of us in the plane were super rude and disrespectful to the flight attendants and you can tell they are used to people like that, but wow.  

- Pricy restaurants with rude service:  We ended up in a restaurant that that had the trifecta combo: Overpriced, terrible food and bad service! Like, I have worked on the food and service industry before, I know that job is not easy, but these people were rude as fuck right off the bat, as if our mere existence annoyed them. WTF? and this happened at more than one place, I would dismiss one place as a one-off, but more than once it's a pattern. 

- Bariloche has no Uber and taxis are in high demand and low supply

our hotel was very nice, but it was located 20 minutes away from the town, going to town meant calling a taxi service, waiting 45 minutes to one hour, then expending 20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic in a tiny car, God help you trying to find a cab to come back! Also, taxis don't take cards there, so you have to get cash out, and good luck getting money out of the ATMs. 

- The snow in Bariloche was not good, they had a really bad ski season, warmer temperatures and very little snowfall this year. 

Conclusion

I am glad I was able to visit, other people in my family probably feel differently but I only wish I had planned the visit to Bariloche better, but other than that, I am happy I came and I am also very happy to be going home soon. 

My Review of "The Candy House" by Jennifer Egan on Goodreads

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book might not be for everyone. Each chapter is written from a different character's point of view using different writing styles. The event's are not told in chronological order, this could be considered a sequel to "Visit from the Goon Squad" it is set in the same world with the same set of characters. Like my teenage daughter likes to say, this book is a "vibe"

I can't explain why I liked it, it was interesting to read the weird things the weird people do in this book. There are layers in there I'm sure you have to dig to find the good stuff, but there are themes about tech, social media and isolation. I do sense a tinge of "adults dealing with childhood" trauma.

I enjoyed reading this book, but don't read it expecting a story you can explain in less than two sentences. At some points it sort of felt like reading "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace, but the light version. This is meant as a compliment.

-JV

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Day 1 Cooking Class with a Beef Summelier

 

Yesterday we had a chill day, we hung out the Airbnb for most of the day, we went to local supermarket to stock up on food that was fun in itself, we went to COTO a local supermarket chain that's more like a super target than anything else. Today I learned that Argentinians call Mantequilla Manteca, and Manteca is "grasa" good to know. 

Speaking of grasa, man, we had a cooking class with a "Beef Sommelier" We found this guy that gives private cooking lessons at Airbnb, he picked us up and took us to his house where we learned to make traditional empanadas from scratch, then he gave us an explanation of the different types of cattle breeds, cuts, and feeding methods, it was very educational, entertaining and now we see what the fuzz is about. The meat was delicious. It was a wonderful evening. 

Buenos Aires

 Just got to Buenos Aires last night. It's supposed to be winter but it's 73 degrees.  We're staying in an Airbnb in the Belgrano neighborhood, just north of downtown and walking distance from the River Plate soccer stadium. 

Last night we had empanadas and they were good af. 

Today we're doing a cooking class, we're going to learn how to make Argentinian empanadas as well as Asado. Grilled meat. 

It's nice here.