The power of social media, the power of Winnipeg supporters

Winnipeg has been the centre of attention on twitter and youtube this week. And it's all because of this video. 10-year Maria Aragon from Winnipeg has had the most incredible week. The impact this little girl has had on millions worldwide has left everyone in complete awe.

Just TWO days ago, the video of Maria's rendition of Lady Gaga's "Born this way" was posted on youtube. It was seen by celebrity gossip insider Perez Hilton, who passed it on to Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga tweeted "Can't stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future".  It immediately became a trending topic on twitter, with the majority of Winnipeg tweeters jumping on board, and as a result a #GetMariaOnEllen campaign began. 

Yesterday, a local radio station had her as a guest, she was on all the local news, national news and entertainment shows. Today, she was flown to Toronto, where she was a guest on another radio station where Lady Gaga herself, phoned the 10 year old. To top it off, Lady Gaga invited Maria to an on-stage performance with at a future concert. 

The amount of time this happened in is absolutely astounding. Ellen has now seen the video and tweeted about it, as well as many other celebrities. Furthermore, as of tonight, the video has reached well over 2 million views and over 14,000 comments! All this in just TWO DAYS! This article that appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press this morning, had to be updated numerous times today in order to keep up with the story. 

This isn't the first time something, like this has happened. This is exactly how Bieber fever came to be. It all started with a youtube video and was supplemented by twitter. The simple fact that it has stirred so much attention worldwide, is so little time is exhilirating! As a Winnpegger, I am proud that the city did it's part in making the video go viral. It was all I read on twitter, heard on the radio and saw on the news yesterday. 

I have no doubt this little girl will go far. And by the looks of it, she will continue to receive overwhelming support on her way to stardom. How does a little girl from Winnipeg catch a number one recording artist's eye? To be able to make Lady Gaga herself go gaga over something? Now that, is an accomplishment never to be forgotten by Maria I'm sure. 

**UPDATE (March 18)** - I was away fro a few weeks, and during that time Maria was a guest on Ellen. Her appearance at Lady Gaga's concert occured March 3rd. it has been a whirl wind of events for her this past month. There is no doubt she is very talented and we will hear from her in the future. But for now, the extensive tv coverage declined after the concert.

I Had 12 Babies This Year

I am at "that age" when all my friends are going through major life accomplishments: getting married, buying houses and having kids. The latter really hit me last year, and made me realize just how at "that age" I am.

Although there wasn't one born every month, there were 12 new babies brought into the world by my friends and acquaintances last year alone!

Not all of them are extremely close to me and in my life, but they have all touched my life somehow. They range in closeness from one of my best friend's beautiful baby boy (the first in our tight-knit circle of friends), to more casual friends, to my boyfriend's step sister, my old high school best friends, and not one or even two, but THREE coworkers!

This makes for a lot of time spent commenting and liking their photos on their facebook profiles when they post videos and pictures of the little ones. Which brings me to my point. Each set of parents have very different styles of parenting, and although they're barely one year old yet, you can already tell what kind of people they are destined to be. I'm not suggesting anyone's parenting style is better or worse. I have a friend who does not post pictures of her baby on facebook, and prefers to email her close family and friends the photos instead (which is much appreciated), and I have another who posts every moment of her baby's life, including photos taken during the birth.

But whatever their choices are, one thing I've learned is that being a mother is very hard work and requires a lot of planning and sacrifices. I have a friend who rarely goes out, although she could, but prefers to put her baby to bed every night, even on weekends, and I have an acquaintance who is out at the clubs drinking almost every weekend. She's obviously not putting her child to bed on the weekends; this takes me back to my days of Psychology 101 and the great debate of nature verses nurture. I've seen the stacks of books and heard the old wives' tales about doing things a certain way. But I've come to the conclusion you never really know what kind of pregnancy you're going to go through or baby what kind of baby you'll have until it's all said and done.
These 12 very different babies have made me realize I should not be in a rush to start a family just for the sake of "being at that age" (not that I'm feeling any pressure). Too often we see people use babies as a way to "fix" their relationships and this only creates more problems in the end. A baby should be brought into the world with love, and lots of planning. And from what I've seen, I know I will need to be good and ready. In the meantime, I have 12 that I can get my baby fix from, whom I can gladly hand back to mom when I don't know know what to do. The first my 12 babies just just turned one, and the last one won't turn one for another 10 months. That gives me lots of time to decide which ones I will offer to babysit for when they start turning 2.

What I learned from my January blah's

January is officially over! Seemed to be going by like a blur up until mid-month then suddenly it slowed down. Or maybe that was only for Winnipeggers? We always justify our winter blahs by blaming it on the weather.

I have always thought January wouldn't be so bad, if I didn't spend it in -40 conditions. I still believe that, because this January, I paid close attention to the things that gave me the winter blah's, and yes indeed, it can be blamed on weather. Hence the "winter" in winter blah's.

However, I tried to stay positive and came up with little ways to brighten up my January, since I did not have a vacation beach getaway to look forward to.

Traffic

Winter driving conditions are brutal. Winter driving conditions in Winnipeg are horrific. The main route from the south end of the city to downtown from my neighborhood is closed down to one lane in each direction. Take a moment to imagine what six lanes of traffic (three in each direction) crammed into two (one in each direction) looks like. Multiply that by 100 and add 20 cm of snow. Don't forget to factor in the fact that leaving for work in the dark and driving home from work in the dark makes for some unhappy and not-so-courteous drivers.

My solution for this: take a new route whenever possible. That may be easier said than done here, but even just turning down a different street to avoid stopping at the exact same set of lights at least once in your commute, will not only give you new scenery to look at it, but it will also make you a more alert driver. I've made a game of this. I can choose street a or b that run parallel, to drive down for the second half of my commute. Every morning, I chose a new street that runs from a to get to b.

Another tip: turn off your radio and play your favorite cd or playlist. Especially in the morning. On those mornings when you're grumpy, all morning radio personalities will piss you off, and all the news will make you want to scream. That is the perfect moment to play something you like and have control over, your spirits will be instantly lifted, and your coworkers will appreciate it.

Boredom

This is one department we should not, especially people in Winnipeg, have a problem with. There are so many winter activities and sports the city and province is set up for, that you could try something new every weekend. It is not only cool to skate on the river trail at The Forks, but just about every park or community centre has a skating rink. Take a drive to Assessippi for a day on the Manitoba slopes, snowshoe in Bird's Hill Park, or check out your local recreation activities and fitness classes going on in your community. Still hate the snow and cold? Try a hot yoga class  (it is suitable for everyone and nothing feels better on the -40 days), visit a museum,  or  stay home and curl up with a good book, magazine, newspaper, or even celebrity gossip magazine if that will make you happy.

Get physical

This one ties in nicely with the issue of boredom. Most activities mention above are going to get you moving and active, which will result in a much happier you. No matter what type of work you do, it is also important to take a moment each day to stretch. Whether you are doing physical labour, or spend your day sitting at a desk, take 5-10 minutes a day to stretch your body. Set an alarm for a random time in the afternoon everyday, and get up, move away from my desk to stretch. You will come back to your desk and the task you were working on, refreshed.

Something to look forward to

Setting your sight on something in the near future ahead will help keep you motivated on those dark, cold days. Maybe the reason you couldn't go on that beach vacation this month is because you have an exciting trip planned for the summer. Or, if not, at least you have warmer weather to look forward to. Start planning ahead for something that excites you and leave yourself reminders of it. Make the photo of your cabin your desktop, clip a picture of last year's road trip on your fridge, or start planning your garden and start your seeds because soon enough, spring will be here.

Breathe deeply

In moments of frustration, just remember to breathe deeply. Of course, this will be better done when you are not sick. January seems to be a time of cold and flu's. Taking vitamin c will help boost your immune system fight off infections. Oil of Oregano is also  an excellent early defense mechanism. When you feel a cold coming on,  take 3 drops of Oregano Oil once per day (also available in pill form) and you should notice results within a few hours.

So if you aren't already feeling the blah's, and you can make it through February, you are almost home free! After living in Winnipeg for 23 years, I am still not used to it. Did I mention I am warm blooded and was born 20 minutes away from the Pacific Ocean in Central America?