Unexpected lastminute family trip

I cannot believe it. I probably won't believe it till I'm there. The whole thing happened so unexpectedly and so fast, my stepmother suddenly telling my mother to join them (my father and her) during our family wedding dinner, M immediately whispering to me that I should go with ("enjoy it for both of us since I can unfortunately not come along"), looking for lastminute tickets online, getting our touristcards...

It is happening though. I am flying to Havana Cuba with my mother on Sunday, meeting my stepmother and father there, as well as my brother who is "living" there for a couple of months; we'll spend 8 days there during the Film Festival, rediscovering Havana (for the second time for me), showing it to my mother who's never been there, living the soon-to-disappear Havana from Castro, watching artsy independant films, and as Hemingway said, drinking "my mojito in la Bodeguita, my daiquiri in el Floridita!"

I don't know what good I have done to deserve this. But I feel truly blessed.

Habaneando

"Habaneando, guitarreando, voy rumbeando

habaneando, negociando, pregonando

bicicleta calle abajo por el barrio belén

esta la habana oculta esa que tu nunca ves

llenas de gente especial

humildes por tradición

llevan la nostalgia y la resignación

buscando todas las puertas de la solución

El sistema aprieta y no quiere ceder

y la bolsa negra llega resolver lo justo

detrás de esa fachada tan turística que ves de cuba en un cartel

hay un obrero todo el puto dia dando luz y ser

tu sabes...la isla no es solo ron y tabaco, putas, varadero, cayo largo

no solo es eso, hay gente que pasa to el dia trabajando, de sol a sol

por un futuro mejor, asi que vamos

..."

Letras de "Habaneando" de la pelicula Habana Blues

Just married

It's official, we are now legally married. Friday was a beautiful sunny day, and we celebrated our civil wedding surrounded by all our close family, all except Yaya of course, who had to stay in Switzerland in the hospital. But my mother was there, which made me extremely happy. Everything went according to plan and we all had a wonderful time, smiling and laughing the entire day and well into the night. And to think it was only a warm-up and we will top that in May!

Civil wedding

In two days we will celebrate our civil wedding in Hannover's altes Rathaus. Because it is was only a formality for us, I was very surprised to see that my mother, father, and grandmother immediately decided to come to Hannover for the occasion, and spend the weekend all together. M’s parents consider November 24th as our real wedding day and have therefore organized the entire dinner celebration with both of our families. What was supposed to be a simple formality turned into a family event, we soon both looked forward to.

Everything is ready for the big day. Or at least everything was, as my grandmother will now most probably be unable to come, being sick in bed since last Thursday. Yaya can’t eat, can’t sleep, is therefore weak, and has pains in her stomach. The ultrasound showed nothing today, and so the next step is a blood test. My mother is extremely worried and will decide tomorrow, if she herself can come or if she needs to stay in Switzerland with her. I simply cannot imagine both my grandmother and my mother not being here on Friday. I honestly don’t know how I’ll be able to truly enjoy it without them there.

Stepmother problems

Organising this whole wedding thing has been tough. There are so many decisions that we had to take (where, when, with whom, etc.) and still so many others that we will have to take (menu, flowers, cake, music, seating, etc.), I sometimes feel overwhelmed. Although today I am not overwhelmed, but rather upset and frustrated. My stepmother has apparently been verbally inviting her brothers and sisters to our wedding, obviously without consulting us. And without knowing that we have a maximum seating capacity of 80, who have all already been invited. As we had to set her straight in a very diplomatic and nice way, it was extremely upsetting to read her vexed emails today. It must not be easy being a stepmother. That must be why she feels so sidelined, as she says. She's bothered because she was not consulted about our guest list. Nobody was. And my own father and mother are not bothered by it. A clear sign of lack of confidence on my stepmother's part I would say.

The whole nine yards

I never thought I'd do the wedding thing. I mean, I only changed my mind about getting married a few years ago, being highly against it previously. M. wanted a wedding and I started seeing it in a new light: the occasion to organise a BIG party where all the people I love will be together for an entire day. It sounded pretty good after all. Which does not mean I don't have a few problems with that day still. I just cannot see myself walking down the aisle of the f****ing church for example. (The only reason we're doing the whole church ceremony btw is because of my grandma's request.) I've never liked being the center of attention and so part of me really dreads this moment. As well as others of course, which I believe will be numerous on that day.

Then again, I also never thought I'd have a bachelorette party. But guess what, my friends are organising one for me. A solution has been found to gather all my girls spread around the world. It will be a weekend bachelorette party to be exact. In Madrid. And although the opportunity to be partying with all my girlfriends sounds wonderful, I must admit I also have some fears. I truly hope it won't be too crazy. As I said, I hate being the center of attention, and would therefore hate to have to perform some kind of bachelorette-typical dare(s)!

New life

During my absence from Hannover, my friend Sus gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Meet Gabriel.

Off

Off we are! Miami here we come! See you when we return on the 13th. Bu'bye!

Escape

The Fall colors might still be here, but the grey rainy cold winter seems to have unfortunalety already arrived. I am not ready for it. I'm escaping it by surfing the webpages of the various shops we'll soon be visiting physically. Preselecting the various items of clothing I might buy -after a convincing fitting session that is- already has me in sunny warm Miami, where we will be flying on Friday to spend our annual one week vacation. Steve Madden, Abercrombie&Fitch, Anthropolgie, Arden B., Gap, Victoria's Secret, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Banana Republic, Ross, and so many more. Well well, time to continue my webpreselectionshopping!

Being reasonable

Mr. Heinrich immediately calmed down and started treating us with respect. Unfortunately, someone made a higher offer today, and their bid is higher than the market value. We will therefore be reasonable and move on. I know that we will find the right flat for us soon.

Dear Mr. H

I personally find frustrating how often you have to deal with imbeciles in life. These stupid and incompetent people are everywhere you go. And just our luck, the realtor we need to negotiate with is one of them. A little complexed man too.

After his last low blow, my only option was to send him this respectful yet sharp email. And I gotta to say that I am pretty happy with it. Let us see how he reacts now.

Dear Mr. H,

As I have family in the real estate business and it is not my first real estate purchase, I understand enough of the business to know that a first offer is a simple opening for negotiation. That was the purpose of our offer yesterday. We are interested in the appartement, if not we would not have sent you an offer. And if we are interested in this appartment, it also means that we can afford to buy it. Everything is negotiable, Mr H, and the fact that we negotiate does not mean that it is over our budget. It is not because we are young, or appear to be younger than we are, that you need to treat us with disrespect. I therefore ask you to please treat us like clients and not like young imbeciles.

We hereby send you a new offer, based on the estimate we have and the price market. We hope you will transmit our offer to the owner and hope to hear back from you soon.

Sincerely,

Les jeux sont ouverts

We had our second visit this morning. We now have the experts' opinion and have thus made an offer for the appartment. The negotiating game has started. Les jeux sont ouverts. Let's see where it will take us.

Next buy

Another project for our "new life", i.e. staying in Hannover for now, working again, getting married, is also buying our own appartment. Now that does not mean we are settling here forever. Absolutely not. But we both are firm believers that paying a mortgage every month is much more constructive as paying a rent, and the idea is to sell as soon as we have a concrete job opportunity who-knows-where.

We both have a very good idea of what we want. Hannover has many old beautiful buildings from the 19 hundreds, here called altbau, and that is one thing we want. Although that means having no elevator. We also know we want to stay in the List area, a happening yet quiet neighborhood full of shops and little cafés. We need a balcony, a guest bathroom, as well as a second bedroom, call it guest room for now, baby room in a possible near future.

We started visiting appartments a week ago and have since then seen quite a few, varying from horrible, cheap, needing to be completely redone, to ready to move in, expensive but within our limit, charming and beautiful. But we also saw THE one, i.e. the one we both fell in love with, the one we both feel is perfect for us, the one we want. It is more expensive than we had planned but also has many extras. We've been thinking it over, dreaming about it, and have now decided to have it professionnally valued and possibly make an offer. Saturday is the big day. And because a picture is sometimes worth more than a thousand words, here is one of the wonderful atouts of this appartment.

My life in bullet points

Did I mention that:

-the very simple self-designed invitations are printed and going out this week?

-I had a very good job interview last Friday and that I will most probably start working before the end of the year?

-I am leaving to Paris in 2 days to spend a girls' long weekend with Beanie and Nat?

-life is simply great? =)

Her latest idea

My mother has had many jobs in her life, always following her new dream. A few random examples would be: a hamburger fast-food cafeteria in the south of Spain in the early 70s, a chic nouvelle cuisine restaurant in the South of Spain in the mid 70s, a fashion boutique in a Swiss ski resort in the 80s, etc. Some of her projets lasted a few years, others a few months. I truly believe most of her ideas were good but ahead of their time, especially given the place where she developped them. These ideas would have most probably been extremely successful in other places where we later lived like Madrid or Lausanne. I therefore always stood behind her, helping and supporting her in whichever way I could.

And so when she shared with me her latest idea to buy a big house in the old city of Sion and do a B&B (an old dream of hers), I immediately cheered. This project seemed perfect for her soon-to-come retirement and I knew she'd be so good at it! And this time, it was the right place and the right time, as the city of Sion needs this kind of charming acomodation. So we went to see the house during my stay there, as she wanted my opinion. I fell in love with the house, just as she had. And so, before I was to return to Germany, the house was reserved and her project was taking shape.

Now that the way is clear, my mother has doubts. In the past, she's always followed her heart, acting immediately on it. This seems to have changed, as she's thinking it over and over and doubting more and more about the house. Thoughts like "I am too old for such a thing" and "what if I end up on a wheelchair" are preventing her to go through with this idea. I of course find it a pitty, because I know that she would have been happy with this and good at it. But I understand her fears, stand behind her and support her decision, whatever it might be. Sixty years might actually have brought her wisdom.

Bellbreakers

Can't say I was ever a big fan of metal/hard rock. But when M's childhood friends called and asked us to come to an AC/DC cover band concert they had organised in their village, we just had to go. To support them. But also out of curiosity of course.

They had rented an old farm, cleaned it up, decorated it (AC/DC style, mind you), set up a bar, hired the band, asked their biker friends to work the security, and let the word of mouth do the rest. They sold the tickets for 8 €, and beer and long-drinks for so cheap they actually made no profit at all. But that was actually the plan. They just wanted to have fun with their friends and have the event pay for itself. 350 people showed up.

The band was good. Not according to me, but to the many AC/DC fans present last night. I danced to the covers of "Money Talks", "Thunderstruck" and others. I enjoyed checking the people of all ages who were there for the music, the drinks, the partying. The band sure enjoyed itself too, as they kept playing long after their second encore, visibly not wanting to put an end to the night. They played 3 hours in total. We all had a good Saturday night out.

Giant steps

We have the date: May 5th 2007.
We have the location.
We have the budget.
Moving on to the next steps with a BIG smile on my face! =)

On the road

I leave to Switzerland today. Of course I will spend quality time with my mother, grandmother, and childhood friends; but the actual purpose of my trip is driving around Switzerland, visiting hotels and restaurants all over the country in order to find THE place for our wedding party. Wish me luck!

A good read

Stumbling on a good read is such a wonderful feeling that I need to share it here with you. I ordered "The Kite Runner" on Amazon, along many other books, liking the reviews I read about it. I am now only half way through it, but I am enjoying it so very much, that I find myself riding on a rollercoaster of emotions along with Amir, its main character. I look forward to going to bed each night and reading a new chapter of this wonderful and touching book; looking forward to seeing whether I will shed a tear of laughter or sadness tonight.

What a great feeling that is!

New "handy"

After working two years in the mobile industry, I must say I got used to getting and testing the new mobile phones on the market. It wasn't only a toy, it became a tool for my work. So, as I am now applying for a job in a small local mobile company (and it is therefore important to be "in" for the interview next week,) and as part of this week's getting-busy-program (in addition to car trips to IKEA, the Italian market, Hornbach, etc.), I went on the quest for a new "handy", i.e. mobile phone in German. Meet my new handy, never better said as it fits in my small hand ;-)

107 hours

M and I used to have what you call a long-distance relationship for two and half years, seeing each other on average twice a month. It was very hard. Letting him go after a wonderful long weekend together felt devastating. Each time. We indulged in hour long telephone conversations each night, or several times per day, spending a fortune on phone bills and airplane tickets. When we moved in together, I was actually really nervous and a bit worried that it would be a bit hard at times. It wasn't. Everything immediately felt natural and comfy. Home is where he is. And so Hannover is now my home.

Except that he is not here with me these days, as he was sent on a very important business trip. He left yesterday and is now so far away that I can hear the distance over the phone connection. And I feel as if half of me was missing. Lazy, vulnerable, and a bit sad. Especially when I count the hours till next Sunday morning, when I'll pick him up from the airport. 107 hours to go.

currently

Currently busy with ... not in order of importance ;-)

1. applying to any interesting job offer I see
2. finding a wedding dress
3. looking for wedding rings
4. organising a girls' weekend in Paris next month
5. organising my trip to Switzerland on the 19th with visits to all possible wedding locations
6. getting prices for the invitations from the various printers
7. helping M with the honeymoon destination (although it is technically his job and it will ultimately be a surprise for me, hints can't hurt can they?)
8. biting my nails and pulling my hair several times a day out of despair

Who said not having a full-time job was tedious?????

A petty yet disturbing matter

Following the wind of changes that are taking place in my life, I decided as I always do in these cases, to go to the hairdresser. I did not want a complete new hairstyle, but some highlights and a cut. She seemed to have understood me despite my basic German which completely lacks words like "highlights" or "shade". But she apparently did not. I wanted that Summer natural blonder look and my hair is now darker than it was! Gone are the natural blond highlights I got from the sun and the ocean! I know, it's a petty matter. But what can I say, it's disturbing to me. I hate it when a hairdresser does not do exactly what you pay him/her for.

Wounded

She has tried many times to talk to him. But every time she has, he has made her feel worse. Justifying himself and blaming everything on her. He is much better with words than she is. She therefore gave up on telling him how she feels a long time ago. But that does not solve the problem.

Many things he has done or said have hurt her. All these little things have created knots and they are eating her inside. She tries to ignore them. She tries to ignore the problem. She acts with him as if everything was perfect, although not being herself. But then another of his words, actions or lack of one penetrates her stomach like a dagger. Another knot is born. Another knot to join all the others. She can feel them wanting to explode and burst out of her throat. Sometimes they’re so strong she can’t help the tears falling down her cheeks silently. Not a sound comes out of her. She knows better than that. She can’t utter a word. She might drown in the avalanche of her own words if she let’s the first word out. For nothing as he won’t understand. And his defense will make her feel even worse. For he is much better with words than she is.

No, now is not the time yet. She does not feel ready to talk to him. She is not strong enough. Maybe she will never be. Or maybe he won’t be alive anymore when she finally is. He is getting older. She is petrified by the idea of him dying. For she loves him madly. Despite all the injustice he is putting her through. She is not angry at him. She already forgave him. She simply wishes he would open his eyes and be fair again. For there was a time when he was a just man.

Yes

"I think now is the perfect time to ask you. Will you marry me?"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am."
"In that case you know my answer. Yes. Of course I want to marry you."

This conversation happened seven weeks ago. We have since then decided that we will get married next spring in Switzerland, and have spent our three-week-holiday drinking champagne and announcing the big news to our family. They are all thrilled. As for me, I am starting to feel a bit stressed/overwhelmed. I actually need to organise this whole event. But first things first, I need to find the special place we have in mind for this big party!

Our last Summer

We're finally leaving. On Summer holidays that is. We're heading to the south of Spain as every year, but this time it really is our last Summer in Rancho Chico, as the highway will be built this Fall. As a result, we'll be getting lots of visits during our stay, as Günter and Monika will be coming with M's nephew, little M, as well as my Mother, Father, and sister. I regret not to be able to spend these three weeks relaxing alone with M, although I'm also glad to be able to share our oasis before it's completely gone.

Happy Summer! And see you in 3 weeks!

Pure marketing product

Talk about the perfect complete and pure marketing product! No need to know how to sing or compose anymore. This will sell millions.

This week

What a week. It's hard to imagine such things happening in this time and age. Human kind hasn't learned anything from its past. The Beirut urban warfare touches me in a special way, as I was very nearby and almost visited it not so long ago.

I need

Too hot.
Too many things to search for.
Too many question marks.
Too little time.
I need a break.
I need a bowl of fresh air.

Surprisefriday

"Get ready, we're leaving in one hour" M tells me Friday morning. "And pack an overnight bag 'cause we're not coming back till tomorrow. Don't ask any questions, it's a surprise." So began my Friday.

M had been planning everything for a long time, and hadn't said a word about it to me. Well yeah, that's what a surprise is all about you're probably thinking. But the fact is M has been very bad at keeping it to himself in the past. He would usually say something like "Darling, I have a surprise for you. Guess what it is", thus ruining the surprise effect. But he apparently learned his lesson.

My Friday ended at the Robbie Williams concert in Hamburg, surrounded by 80'000 people. Considering Robbie was our very first concert together in Madrid and "Feel" is our special song, it was a wonderful surprise. Although not the only one of the day. But that's another story and another post . . .

Holiday feeling

Every time I go to the sky beach, I get that wonderful holiday feeling. The sandy lounge bar with beds and transats is the perfect place to relax and lay in the sun during the day, especially since nobody is there during the week. But it is also the perfect place to have a fresh beer watching the sunset and cooling down before going back to our sauna under the roof! Hopefully the word of mouth is slow and I can enjoy it until the end of the Summer...

Helping paws

It's taking me much longer than expected. I knew from the start it was an ambitious time-consuming project, but did not realise to what extent. Especially since I've decided to finish my photo albums first. And that is not an easy task, when you have hundreds of pics to select, names and details to remember and write down, and a cat who wants to help constant attention.

Tic tac

Times they are changing. Again. Until recently it was friends moving in together, and ultimately getting married. But we’ve now entered the baby phase. Slowly but oh very surely. Seeing my girlfriends having babies these recent past years was wonderful and impressive to watch. Tic tac. Observing how their babies are now growing is magic. Tic tic tac. But as I am now starting to notice the little bellies on my two other newlypregnant girlfriends, dare I admit that I wish that for me too? Tictactic.

As we were all four having drinks last night, Sus said out loud what I am thinking and not saying: “You should get married as you wait for the job transfer. It would at least be easier on both of you financially, especially as V is not working.“ Well that’s not exactly what I think, but part of it. Getting married for financial reasons was and will never be a good enough reason for me.

But this temporary waitandpraytogetthenextjob stay in Hanover is definitely extending itself more than planned hoped. And the clock keeps ticking. Tictactictactictactictactic. And I know that M is The One for me and that we will marry. The plan was later, after the job, the move, the new life. But I reckon, why not now while we wait for this new life after all? And I’ll go even further: why not try the baby project now, as I have to wait till we move to continue with my career anyway? Why and yet why not. I do think about it. But I also have many doubts. Is it really good to precipitate things all the time? I am not quite sure about anything these days.

Is it serious Doc?

SOS! Help! I have been seriously contaminated! The very bad virus going around has gotten to me! And I thought it was not contagious for women...

Not only am I watching football every day since two weeks, not that I have a choice about it actually, but now we won the ebay auction for 4 tickets to the FIFA Worldchampionship 1/8 final in Hanover and I am actually very happy about it!!!! Is it serious Doc???????

Here & everywhere

It's here. It's everywhere you look. It's loud. It's colorful. It smells like beer and grilled sausage. It's often also takey. Since yesterday is Hanover completely upside down, overpopulated, invaded, unrecognisable, as the first local WM game was played here. And to think we I (seems to me I'm the only one having some trouble with it!) still have 30 days to go...

I therefore started a new project right here, the best way I found to 1. tell you all about my recent trip and 2. escape daily from this frenzy football atmosphere for a few minutes!

Wow!

I had little or no time to connect to the Internet during my trip, but had I discovered eyeOS before my departure, it would have been impossible for me to not connect from every computer I saw. Even if that meant sleeping only 4 hours at night. Mobile desktop, what an amazing invention! And how practical! Have you already heard about it? Have you already played around with it? I am sure most of you have, as I am always late for these kind of technical things. I am just speechless. I am hooked. WOW!

Pure magic

I am back. At least my body is. My mind has some trouble to leave all the wonderful places discovered, all the interesting people met, all those different flavors and hypnotic smells. It most probably will take me some time to land in rainy grey and cold Germany. But it should not take me long to process all the films I shot and start writing about my magic trip right here. A way to travel back to Damascus, Aleppo, Aman, Petra or the pink desert of the Wadi Rum again, at least for a few minutes... and a way to attempt to share it as much as possible with you.

Scale of adjectives

It was wonderful to be back in Madrid last weekend. Walking around the city, shopping, wining and dining, but most of all I cherished the moments spent with my family and friends. They were unfortunately too short, as always, but marvelous. Moments to keep me going on for some time until I'm lucky enough to see them again.

But in the scale of adjectives, the strongest ones is the one to come. I am heading to a fabulous trip with my mother tomorrow. We will spend 11 days visiting and discovering the marvels of Jordan and Syria. A trip like we used to to do often when I was younger. An exciting and long awaited adventure I have been looking forward to.

I will therefore be absent from this blog for the next two weeks. But returning with phenomenal stories, flavours, smells, colors, and images to share. Till then take care of yourselves please. And be happy.

Here we come!

Our very much desired trip to Madrid was yesterday impossible. But miracles do thankfully happen, or maybe good budgeting, or simply luck in finding a Schnäppchen (i.e.chollo/bargain) The fact of the matter is that I am finally coming to Madrid after 4 months. Four days will definitely not be enough to see everyone and go everywhere, but I am not complaining. I am happy and look forward to this long weekend. Did I mention M is coming with me? He seems to be missing Madrid even more than me ;-)

Geiz ist nicht immer geil

There's a very fashionable saying/philosophy in Germany these days. Geiz ist geil. In other words, stingy is cool. It is now indeed considered cool to shop for cheap and to say how little you paid by such and such store. Discount stores like Aldi are thus incredibly successful, their clientele ranging from students, unemployed, to the normal mid-class population.

Being able to buy something for cheaper than budgeted is indeed quite nice. Especially now that we are pretty much living on one salary. But maybe just because of that, because we always need to budget everything in an attempt to save money, I have desires of all the things we cannot afford. Like a weekend trip to Madrid for example. IMHO (in my humble opinion) geiz ist nicht immer geil (i.e. stingy is not always cool!) Since when is Uncle Scrooge cool???

Tambo

I have a sister. Well a step-sister to be exact from my Dad's second marriage. She's ten years younger than me and a quite typical Miami girl. I love her dearly, even if she drives me completely nuts sometimes, and even if I really do not know her so well. At least not as good as I'd imagine sisters know each other. Blame it on the ten years difference, but mostly on shortly having lived together and definitely being raised very differently.

My sister Tambo sent me one of those 'get to know each other' forwards, which I want to share with you as I 1. find some of her answers hillarious and 2. some others have really surprised me. So here it goes:

WELCOME TO THE 2006 EDITION OF GETTING TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS. WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO IS COPY (NOT FORWARD) THIS ENTIRE E-MAIL AND PASTE IT ONTO A NEW E-MAIL THAT YOU'LL SEND. CHANGE ALL THE ANSWERS SO THEY APPLY TO YOU THEN SEND THIS TO A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE INCLUDING THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO YOU. THE THEORY IS THAT YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF LITTLE THINGS ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS THAT YOU WOULDN'T FIND OUT OTHERWISE.

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? it was afternoon
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? i prefer diamonds
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? just saw "Lucky # Slevin" with Josh Hartnett, what a hunk!
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? Family Guy now I guess. I really enjoy Conan and the late night talk shows.
5. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Today none bc Im broke. I dont usually do breakfast but I love a double shot of wheatgrass and a fresh squeezed fruit juice like from Liquiteria in NYC. I drink coffee when I need it. I aim for bloodymary's on Sunday for brunch w Abbey at Front Porch on Ocean.
6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? AIDA like the play on broadway. Its my Cuban grandmothers name (moms side)... I was named after her... Aida Prado
7. FAVORITE CUISINE? I love so many!! I love sushi! I love Thai! I love Italian, French is to die for, Indian is like another world in your mouth, Spain's got the Tapas, I love a good cheesburger! Flanigans!! Switzerland!!! Fondu and Raclet!! yummy! I cant decide. I'm a soup kinda girl 2.
8. WHAT FOODS DO YOU DISLIKE? I dont like anything GOOGLY like Oysters, Jello, raw egg. bleaghh! no jiggling aloud!
9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHIP FLAVOR? BBQ!! I love Lays BBQ! or Classic.
10.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD AT THE MOMENT? I think its T.I. but I'm getting over it.
11.WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? my little bro's black jeep. thanx roddy! haha!
12.FAVORITE SANDWICH? I choose Turkey, swiss, mayo, honey mustard, lettuce, tom, onion, salt pepper, and i like it to b pressed. I love this one at Quiznos too but forgot the name of it.
13.WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? I hate flaky people, ones who dont do what they say they will and sellout. the worst!
14.FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? I love wifebeaters and jeans. I love miniskirts! I love lingerie! I would like to spend lots of $$ on beautiful expensive lingerie one of these days.... maybe my next paycheck if I'm not in debt by then w my parents!! lol!
15.IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? I would go to St. Barths and relax. Egypt to see the pyramids, Brazil to check out some cute boys, Paris on a shopping spree if a hottie wants to pick up the tab. Hey why not? Burningman because Im dying to find the right crew to go on this very important journey with me... (u guys have no idea! its going to be the best trip of my life!)
16. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? Well lets see... I like Stella McCartney and Chloe I buy lots of vintage crap in general though. I love Gucci, McQueen etc. I should have my own.
17.TO WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE? I want to retire maybe somewhere with coast and cliffs and fine sandy beaches and breeze. Somewhere like Ibiza but without all the partying. I want chill moonlit nights with friends, wine and music. I want someone around who will make my bed with clean sheets and someone to drive my sailboat.
18.WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? I forgot. I forget those things, but if u remind me I might remember.
19. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? I like watching those crazy kids do karate chops on the mat with a stick and hearing the soundeffects they make.... Haiya! its halarious!
20. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS? whoever is on my list
21.WHO DO YOU LEAST EXPECT TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I dont expect anyone to fill this out.
22. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST? It will be like luck of the draw. no idea. I know nobody that predictable.
23. GOAL YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF? I'm shooting for a well renowned fashion stylist. Maybe dress some celebs or style some campaigns nothing too big... im not entirely doing this for money or fame its for the love i have for this type of art. I think I could be retty good at it though!!
24. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? 2-15-84 the day after valentines people!
25. WHEN IS YOUR ANNIVERSARY? I'm not married and far from it.
26. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? im a night person, but I wish i was more of a morning person.
27. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 7.5 or 8
28. PETS? someday a dog. maybe a french bulldog, hopefully one that wont drool or smell or shed or bark or shit for that matter! jk i will clean his shit ok! it'll be my little baby.
29. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? Yes my house in the south of Spain (Granada to be exact) will be bulldozed for a highway to be built on it and through it. Its a sad moment for my family. Its full of history and love. My dad practically built it with his bare hands in his hippy days... its an amazing avocado farm with a huge Olympic sized swimming pool. Its name is "Rancho Chico" (Little Ranch). I'm thinking about inviting everyone who may wana come and throwing a huge party! anyone? consider this ur invitation.
30. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? I always wanted to be a supermodel ...then a fashion designer, then an art director and now a stylist. Am i going down or up hill?
32. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? I love Sour patch kids! red and green only
33. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? a lot of em. Whatever ones u wana give me.
34. WHAT IS A DATE ON THE CALENDAR YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO? A wedding in May in LA that I may go to. moving back to nyc in june, and Burningman.
35. WHERE IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE EVER BEEN FROM HOME? pretty far
36. SMALL THING YOU REALLY ENJOY? sleep, eating, beach time, boating, magazines, talking shit etc

YouTube

Yes, you can indeed see that old existing movie scenes are used, if you pay close attention that is. But you gotta admit that it's pretty well done! Which explains why so many people have so easily fallen for it...

Element of discord

It all began with a comment. A comment to be nice. A comment to make conversation. 'What a nice teapot!' I happened to say to M's mother one day. And I did find it nice. In her house. But I cannot say that I was happy as I opened my Christmas present from M's parents last December: the famous teapot every woman in M's family has in her household. I was actually horrified. For anyone who knows me well, that modern teapot is just not me. It just does not fit in my home.

I obviously fainted thankfullness in front of his parents, but could not lie to M afterwards. Naive me, I told him honestly how I felt about it. Which obviously led to a stupid argument. Aren't arguments between couples always caused by the stupidest worthless topics anyway? The goddamn teapot is since then the certain cause for conflict. The element of discord of our couple. I therefore never mention the word 'teapot' in front of M anymore. That word is now banished in our house. Please be advised if you ever come to visit and I serve you tea.

Moi aussi j'ai craqué

Yes I was against it. I refused to buy an mp3 or ipod, as it was my way to rebel against the industry not agreeing on one standard-fit-all format. But boy am I happy with my brand new ipod nano, birthday present from M. I can't help but feel 'so cool' with it ;-) Et oui, moi aussi j'ai fini par craquer! One more down. And counting.

Update

So many things have happened in the last week and yet so little time/inspiration to write about it. But I reckon a little summary update will do:

My mother came to visit us last Thursday. We visited the charming city of Bremen on Friday despite the rain and cold. Saturday was M's father's 60th birthday party and we thus all celebrated together (family and friends) until wee hours of the morning. I also celebrated my 32nd birthday but on a much lower scale: a nice dinner with my Mom and M was all I wanted. My Mom is now back in Switzerland and I am heading to the South of France tomorrow to meet Beanie for the long weekend.

On another note, my German classes are finished and I now need to find something to keep me busy. Whether it will be temporary job projects or classes of something in German, I don't know yet. I'll take care of that upon my return next week. Till then M might always get some feedback . . . never know and there's always hope!

Uncertain times

Is M going to get this job and will we thus be moving soon to the New World? Or will we stay here for a few more months and should I thus say 'yes' to Mrs.Headhunter and her quite interesting yet not perfect job proposal?

Uncertainty is strenous. Yet mine is nothing compared to what my dear friend and her family are going through. I think of you, hope that the operation will be successful, and that everything will turn out ok at the end. I pray that she will be as lucky in her unluck as my Mom.

That time again

Many of you had told me so. And you were right. But I still needed some time off, relaxing and doing as little as possible. Now, after two months of it, I can farely say that I am ready to work again. Or better said, that I would like to start working again. Nothing long-term of course, as the Hannover experience in itself is not long-term, but ideally working on temporary projects and events.

Isn't Hannover known as the city of fairs after all? Well there's an idea right there... I sent my cv this week and hope to be able to start soon. Too bad I was too late for the CeBIT, which has invaded the city since yesterday!

Potential girlfriend

I have met quite a few people these past two months. At the schools of course, but also because M has been organising dinners or drinks with many of his co-workers and their wives/girlfriends. All the guys were always very nice and interesting but the girls tended to be quite strange and uninteresting. I never found something in common with them. I was thus never really looking forward to seeing them again. What on earth were we going to talk about this time around?!

Last night was an exception. We had drinks with a new couple, another colleague of M and his wife. I like her. Sus is interesting open-minded cosmopolite, and we have many things in common. We immediately connected and chatted the night away. I believe I finally met a potential girlfriend. Et d'une pierre deux coups: Girl talks with Sus will make me improve my speaking German.

Confirmed

I can't keep still. I can't keep it for myself. I am fidgeting from excitement since last night. But I am fidgeting even more since I clicked on 'confirm'. I have got to let it out: I cannot wait until Thursday April 6th, when I will take off to Nice, France, to spend 4 days with Beanie in Cannes. This means so much to look forward to: a new Girls' weekend, Sun & Ocean, indulging in luxury for four days (such as sipping a fresh strawberry juice on the terrace of the Carlton), seeing Beanie again in Europe after such a long time, getting to miss M and then celebrate our reencounter. . . My, Oh my, I cannot wait!

Oral improvements

On a un problème Françoise! I am here to learn German and I do go to 'intensive' classes where I learn a lot. But the classes focus mostly on grammar and exercises and as they finish end of March I would like to focus on oral expression after that, as I need to improve my speaking German. But where and how to do that is the question... Any ideas are welcome.

A Girls' Weekend

I went to Paris last weekend. Although I did not see much of Paris, I had a fabulous time. It was a Girls' Weekend with Nat and Mat, with everything it implies: big laughs, lots of wine, Mat's mom's world renown duck, luxurious brunches, loads of greens, cocktails, shopping, and oh so many new stories to remember with a smile. A big wonderful puff of oxygen!

Anti-Valentine's?

Not me. Not anymore. After refusing to celebrate it for so many years, criticizing it, calling it cheesy, and organizing anti-Valentine’s get-togethers with my single girlfriends, I’m actually through with my anti-Valentine’s phase.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still against its commercial and corny side; I don’t think we should wish and buy Valentine presents to all our friends and family members like they do in the United Sates. But I do think it’s a good occasion to be tastefully romantic and celebrate your love relationship when you have one. And I also think some people need the hint to show some romance to their partner, as many couples lack romance, even if everything seems perfect from the outside. Besides, correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t know any woman who does not appreciate a romantic surprise/gesture from her lover. On a controversial note, as I know many will disagree (especially male readers), I sincerely think that we women are generally better at having daily romantic details for our lover. So why should we be against Valentine's Day, the once-a-year certain occasion to be shown some romance in return?

A car week

I have never seen M so nervous. He just keeps acting very strange, not communicating and closing himself to any help. Until yesterday, when he finally accepted my helping him, which meant working together on an automobile launch until bedtime. Don't misunderstand me: I know absolutely nothing about the car industry, and was therefore just seating next to him and listening. The problem is that he now wants me to sit next to him every evening of this week, as if he couldn't do it alone. Did I mention that he will then present this exercise at his interview on Friday? Sorry, but no more details about it for now. You should be tired of reading about our various job applications around Europe anyway by now!

Headhunted

Remember how just last week, I told you that I don't even think about restarting to work for now? Let me actually be more specific on that one: I will continue with my German classes until the end, meaning March 23rd. After that, I might be open for suggestions.

Well anyway, I guess life might have other plans for me; at least it's sort of winking at me: I got an email yesterday from a headhunter requesting a conference call with me asap. Of course I will listen to what he has to say. You never know, don't cha? Keep you posted =)

PS: Gotta say it feels pretty good being headhunted

Happy New Year!!!!!

I'm back! At last! Finally connected to the world! But first things first, Happy New Year & may all your wishes and most secret desires become reality in 2006!

Secondly, please forgive me for my very long silence, but we have had some problems with our German Internet provider and just finally got our connection working.

As for my new life here in Germany, I don't really know where to start... I go to class and don't miss working. I have changed language schools after two weeks and now only study three days per week and find myself enjoying my new found free time in doing a million new things, or simply nothing at all. I actually enjoy walking up the stairs to our fourth floor flat. I wake up at dawn and am in bed by 11pm. I don't even consider the idea of going out during the week. I walk everywhere and enjoy it in spite of the awful cold. I wear sneakers and jeans every day and M tells me I look like a twenty year old. I don't read as much but watch lots of German television. I love our new home. I ponder the project of starting to paint again. I don't think about my future professional career, yet. I feel very relaxed and happy. Coming here was definitely the right decision.