David > Recent Status Updates

Interesting recollections of activities during blizzards when he was young. The bits about doing chores differently to avoid extra trips out brought back memories for me.

They're still trying to figure out how to travel to the border. Getting on a cargo train seemed like a good idea, until they saw how it had to be done, running alongside the already-moving train and climbing on without letting your legs get cut off by train wheels. So they manage to get to a shelter, where Luca has to deal with some diarrhea the first night that causes him to see a tattooed young man thrown out.

The dream of being able to fly to a city bordering the US has been shattered by the requirement of ID for Luca, such as his birth certificate, which they obviously did not bring with them. So now it looks like they'll be forced to try riding a freight train, a dangerous gamble but the only option she can see.

They don't worry about pleasing everyone. It can be easier for some to say yes to most requests or even every request rather than potentially disappointing someone by saying no. But saying yes to one thing means no to something else, which can impact relationships with those closest to us or just cause resentment in ourselves. Thinking also of martyr behavior, people who try to be indispensable, to do it all.

They end up riding with the youthful missionary kids from IN in vans to Mexico City, from whence they will have to get a plan for crossing the border in some way. During the van trip they have to go through a roadblock featuring AR-47s that generates a lot of adrenaline.

They don't focus on things they can't control (like the behavior of their ex), but they also avoid thinking they can do everything on their own.

A serious xmas with Junior sick with scarlet fever. The xmas had its humorous moments, though!

They don't shy away from change.
Several examples of people who were not ready or willing to make changes, but sometimes possibly getting motivated by the serious consequences of stasis (e.g. diabetes health complications or unpayable financial obligations).

Now she knows what he is (in the flashback that's filling in history).

They're making a connection with the dead husband's old friend, a couple hours bus ride from home, knowing they have a long way to go before they might start to think they are safe.

Ch. 1, "they don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves." Lots of example stories, likenthe opener about a kid hit by the bus and then over-protected by his parents into a state of depression.

They obviously have to escape, so they are fleeing, trying to get out of Acapulco without getting offed. Looks like they at least got on a bus after dodging some of the gang (evidently) chasing them (we don't have anything so close that we can see chasers, we just see signs and figure they must be coming).

After we get that initial shot of gruesome terror out of the way, after a few chapters, then we get to go back, to see something of how she came to know this gang leader as a principled man who reads interesting books, even books in English. And how her husband studied such men and wrote about them, surely the transgression that led to the execution of the family.

Well, it certainly draws you into the story quickly with the ruthless murder of a whole family, minus two who survive by managing to hide. Already the text has described how the "investigation" is likely to go, with nearly all the investigators on the payroll of the cartel. We're off to a dark start after just two chapters.

Well, it certainly draws you into the story quickly with the ruthless murder of a whole family, minus two who survive by managing to hide. Already the text has described how the "investigation" is likely to go, with nearly all the investigators on the payroll of the cartel. We're off to a dark start.

The inversion of Make it Easy, for trying to remove bad habits, is Make it Hard (or difficult or impossible), like Victor Hugo having all clothes but a shawl locked away to prevent his going out and therefore forcing him to stay home and write.

Also there are one-time changes that can impact us for the better, like buying a better mattress or installing dark curtains to help us sleep better.

Strengthen or weaken habits by making them attractive or unattractive. For example, weaken a smoking habit by listing all the things that are bad about it, like the smelliness and the cost. Or make exercising more attractive by thinking about feeling better as a result of improved strength and lung capacity.