Happy Thanksgiving...

It's the time of year when we're reminded to give thanks.
Instead of waiting until next year to be reminded,
Let's make every day one of thanksgiving;
After all, each day is a unique gift.
So, give a hug for no reason;
Say I love you, just because;
Share a smile with a stranger;
Take the time to count your blessings;
Don't take anything or anyone for granted;
And end each day with no regrets.
Thank you, my friends and family,
For sharing, caring, laughing and crying with me.
I'm truly blessed to have each and every one of you in my life
And I am thankful you have allowed me
To be a part of yours.
May you and yours have a safe and memorable Thanksgiving.

Mejia Origens

I have been busy trying to find out the origin of our family name Mejia for quite some time and finally have made progress. Well at least enough progress that has satisfied myself. I can't say everything pertains to our family 100% but I would venture to say a lot of it does. I hope you enjoy the little bit of info I have been able to come up with.

The last name Mejia is of Spanish origin. The name is that which derive from the name of the place where the owner and founder of the land where the lineage began. In this case, the last name derives from the villa and house of Mexia, in the Spanish region of Galicia (one of the western most points of Spain).

The founder of this lineage was a certain Diego Oveques, Gentleman of the tower, villa and lot of Mexia (Galicia), vasallo of Don Fernando the Great, King of Leon, fact that comes confirmed by a diploma from this sovereign, dated in 1064. His son Gonzalo Mexia, that lived around the year 1140, during the reign of Alfonso VII.

It stands out by its value in the wars against the Moors, a branch of this family established in Trujillo (Extremadura), where one of its members held the position of commander of the Order of Santiago (Spanish Military order). Another descendant of this branch was Fernando Gonsalves Mexia, who because of one melee with hidalgo, was exilied to Portugal, where, beginning the Mexia lineage is said to have taken place.

Members of the branch of Trujillo were transferred to the American continent. Between the illustrious personages of this last name they emphasize: Jose Mejia de Cequerica (1775-1813), Ecuadorian politico that fought in Spain in the Napoleonic war; Vicente Mejia Colindres (1878-1966), Honduran poltical an medic, that held the position of president of the Republica of Honduras; Tomas Mejia (1815-1867), Mexican military man that fought against Juarez, was shot and killed by order of Maximiliano the then Emperor; Ernesto Mejia Sanchez (1923), Nicaraguense poet, author of "Spells and spells", "the contiguous meat" and "European Contemplations".

The following pertains to the logo on my blog;
Family Coat of Arms: Made of gold, with three boxes of blue.
Interpretation: The color gold means Generosity. The color blue means Loyalty and Truth.
Crest: Three ostrich feathers.

Food for Thought!

Does Swearing Corrode Society? Do young minds and civil society really crumble from four-letter words? Or does cursing play an important role in our language?

There's no social-science evidence that it's true, and the harm that befalls children is never specified [by groups like the Parents Television Council ]. There's no evidence that a word in and of itself has a negative effect on anyone. Cussing on TV may make naughty words more acceptable in everyday life, nevertheless, I'm hesitant to draw any conclusion that this influences behavior.

The PTC acknowledges that the specific harm caused by four-letter words is hard to pin down, but "the position seems fairly obvious," says Melissa Caldwell, director of research for the PTC. "Foul language is the language of aggression: It can lead to violent acts. And it impoverishes the English language."

I disagree on both counts. Swearing is basically a way to relieve anger and frustration in a nonphysical way. Because they're so uniquely expressive, curse words play an important—even privileged—role in our language and minds. They have a deep emotional tie—in that other words don't have, and they persist through the final stages of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, long after the rest of our vocabulary is gone.

The PTC's heart is in the right place, but protecting children shouldn't prevent adults from being able to enjoy grittier entertainment: We'd be left with the programming on the PAX network—Little House on the Prairie for everyone.

This Time of Year...

Certain parts of the year are supposedly supposed to lead to certain emotions. This time of year is one of them that is supposed to lead to happiness, my dad's birthday and Thanksgiving leading into Advent, which culminates in Christmas. But so far I'm not able to find it in me. I hope that changes but we'll just wait and see I guess...

Plus, the day after Thanksgiving just reminds me that we have to start shopping. And while I like to shop for people (other than myself, that is. I took after my dad, thanks old man!), I falsely believe that I have to buy things for people--I know that I'm being irrational here, but I just can't seem to help it. And given that I don't know what people want but would prefer to get them something that they do want, this just leads to stress. And given that the last month of the school term is probably the busiest part of it, the additional stress couldn't come at a worse time.

Well on a brighter note, I just read this: according to Google News, "Worldwide, 1.5 million gallons of coffee are consumed each day."

The world should be happy to know that I'm doing more than my fare share.