{"id":26394,"date":"2021-09-18T11:47:05","date_gmt":"2021-09-18T18:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=26394"},"modified":"2021-09-25T16:23:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T23:23:52","slug":"christmas-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Raoul’s Two Cents:<\/strong> September 17, 2021
<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Self Worth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the heat of an argument I was called names and I was deemed worthless. When insults are hurled at you it can hurt especially when it comes from people whose opinion you respect. I didn’t even think of returning the insult because it was clearly uttered in a moment of anger. As I calmed down, I remembered my Mom who had the super human ability to absorb insults and pain in order to preserve a relationship. So instead of being defensive, I used that incident to reflect on the merits of the insult.

Am I really that bad? Have I been in denial all these years? True or not, it still hurt. And then I remembered “Imago Dei” (the image of God). I am (all of us humans) created in the image of God. Even if the whole world believes we are the dumbest, most incompetent, ugliest, worthless creatures in the entire universe, God always sees our true worth. I believe I\u2019ve shared this before. No, it isn’t a silly mantra that you utter multiple times to brainwash yourself. This is the honest truth — see how God provides for the birds in the air, the beautifully decorated butterflies, etc. yet we are worth more to Him than any of the other creatures.

I was still feeling down when I went to do caricatures for a Grandparent’s Day in a retirement community. There were about 20 seniors sitting in a room waiting patiently. I thought it was going to be a big affair with festive decorations and music but I was the main event … the ONLY event. I was flattered. One by one, the residents took turns at the “hot seat” in front of me and they described how they wanted to be depicted in their caricature. They opened their lives to me and that helped me draw their pictures. I drew Chuck as a fireman driving a submarine. Ina was a trouble-maker with a set of gambling dice. Sharon was a champion bowler with a score of 126. Dorothy knitted her own name. A centenarian named Tony was married to Virginia the socialite — each was on their second marriage so in their cartoon they were complaining: “Of all the single people in the world, you gave me this?” Laughter and applause followed every finished work as the “victims” took their bow. It’s true. You are only as old as you think you are. These people were very young. Even a woman with scabs on her face and partially senile beamed with pride when she saw her portrait. (It hit me that the sketch would probably be the last she will ever have. What an honor to bestow on a life fully lived.)

I remember, when the pandemic hit, I thought I would never do this again but here I was bringing joy to all these people. I got a thank you note from my friend who contracted me: “It’s always super fun to work with you! All residents were very satisfied with their caricatures. Your work is amazing … even the way you always engage with them. Anyhow, I appreciate you were able to do it.”

Do you have a self-worth problem? Take it from me, the joy you bring to someone else will reflect back to you.

Do I have a self worth problem? Not anymore.

TGIF people!

Raoul<\/p>\n\n\n\n



Joke of the Week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA  for this joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Artwork by Raoul Pascual<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Parting Shots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA for this joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Mel of Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Peter Paul of South Pasadena, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Raoul’s 2 Cents:<\/b> In the heat of an argument I was called names and I was deemed worthless. When insults are hurled at you it can hurt especially when it comes from people whose opinion you respect. I didn’t even think of returning the insult because it was clearly uttered in a moment of anger. As I calmed down, I remembered my Mom who had the super human ability to absorb insults and pain in order to preserve a relationship. So instead of being defensive, I used that incident to reflect on the merits of the insult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[818],"tags":[5481,5477,5482,5483,5480,5479,5487,5484,5485,5486,5478],"class_list":["post-26394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-raouls-tgif","tag-call-is-important","tag-cat-christmas","tag-do-i-look-fat","tag-electric-fence","tag-imago-dei","tag-insults","tag-lavatory-dog","tag-pastor","tag-quarter-pound","tag-scarecrow","tag-self-worth"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas Cat - Traveling Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas Cat - Traveling Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Raoul's 2 Cents: In the heat of an argument I was called names and I was deemed worthless. When insults are hurled at you it can hurt especially when it comes from people whose opinion you respect. I didn't even think of returning the insult because it was clearly uttered in a moment of anger. As I calmed down, I remembered my Mom who had the super human ability to absorb insults and pain in order to preserve a relationship. So instead of being defensive, I used that incident to reflect on the merits of the insult.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Traveling Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-18T18:47:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-25T23:23:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"514\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raoul Pascual\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raoul Pascual\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raoul Pascual\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/da2bf36e934548106547a1c158d82d95\"},\"headline\":\"Christmas Cat\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-18T18:47:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-25T23:23:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"commentCount\":12,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif\",\"keywords\":[\"call is important\",\"Cat Christmas\",\"Do I look fat\",\"electric fence\",\"Imago Dei\",\"insults\",\"lavatory dog\",\"pastor\",\"quarter pound\",\"scarecrow\",\"Self worth\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Raoul's TGIF\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/\",\"name\":\"Christmas Cat - Traveling Archive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-18T18:47:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-25T23:23:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/da2bf36e934548106547a1c158d82d95\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif\",\"width\":360,\"height\":514},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Christmas Cat\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/\",\"name\":\"Traveling Archive\",\"description\":\"Traveling Adventures\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/da2bf36e934548106547a1c158d82d95\",\"name\":\"Raoul Pascual\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4215f1a148fed81f64677d13a312e17b4e54248300ddf6633271cf8df61b8638?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4215f1a148fed81f64677d13a312e17b4e54248300ddf6633271cf8df61b8638?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Raoul Pascual\"},\"description\":\"Raoul Pascual is a man of many talents (and personalities) ... at least that's what he claims to be. He is an artist turned businessman who runs WYNK Marketing and dabbles in illustration, graphic design, web design and marketing campaigns. When he isn\u2019t out doing any of that, he seeks refuge in his cave and turns out his Friday Joke mailing known as Raoul\u2019s TGIF Jokes. People from all over the world send him jokes and Raoul sends those jokes back with his original sketches. Some of his cartoons grace the pages of Traveling Boy. He enjoys traveling but, more than the places, he enjoys the people he meets. One day he hopes to fulfill his promise to his wife \u2014 to bring her to Italy and the rest of Europe.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/travelingboy.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/author\/tboyadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christmas Cat - Traveling Archive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christmas Cat - Traveling Archive","og_description":"Raoul's 2 Cents: In the heat of an argument I was called names and I was deemed worthless. When insults are hurled at you it can hurt especially when it comes from people whose opinion you respect. I didn't even think of returning the insult because it was clearly uttered in a moment of anger. As I calmed down, I remembered my Mom who had the super human ability to absorb insults and pain in order to preserve a relationship. So instead of being defensive, I used that incident to reflect on the merits of the insult.","og_url":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/","og_site_name":"Traveling Archive","article_published_time":"2021-09-18T18:47:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-25T23:23:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":360,"height":514,"url":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif","type":"image\/gif"}],"author":"Raoul Pascual","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Raoul Pascual","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/"},"author":{"name":"Raoul Pascual","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/da2bf36e934548106547a1c158d82d95"},"headline":"Christmas Cat","datePublished":"2021-09-18T18:47:05+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-25T23:23:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/"},"wordCount":626,"commentCount":12,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif","keywords":["call is important","Cat Christmas","Do I look fat","electric fence","Imago Dei","insults","lavatory dog","pastor","quarter pound","scarecrow","Self worth"],"articleSection":["Raoul's TGIF"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/","url":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/","name":"Christmas Cat - Traveling Archive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif","datePublished":"2021-09-18T18:47:05+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-25T23:23:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/da2bf36e934548106547a1c158d82d95"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CatxmasLead.gif","width":360,"height":514},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/christmas-cat\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Christmas Cat"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#website","url":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/","name":"Traveling Archive","description":"Traveling Adventures","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/da2bf36e934548106547a1c158d82d95","name":"Raoul Pascual","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4215f1a148fed81f64677d13a312e17b4e54248300ddf6633271cf8df61b8638?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4215f1a148fed81f64677d13a312e17b4e54248300ddf6633271cf8df61b8638?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Raoul Pascual"},"description":"Raoul Pascual is a man of many talents (and personalities) ... at least that's what he claims to be. He is an artist turned businessman who runs WYNK Marketing and dabbles in illustration, graphic design, web design and marketing campaigns. When he isn\u2019t out doing any of that, he seeks refuge in his cave and turns out his Friday Joke mailing known as Raoul\u2019s TGIF Jokes. People from all over the world send him jokes and Raoul sends those jokes back with his original sketches. Some of his cartoons grace the pages of Traveling Boy. He enjoys traveling but, more than the places, he enjoys the people he meets. One day he hopes to fulfill his promise to his wife \u2014 to bring her to Italy and the rest of Europe.","sameAs":["http:\/\/travelingboy.com"],"url":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/author\/tboyadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26394"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26566,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26394\/revisions\/26566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}