I love presents

Today I picked up my costum made presents for a baby girl and a baby boy. Lucia and Aedan.

They are now ready to be mailed tomorrow. They are so adorable, I love them and am almost sure the new parents will too. I just love giving presents.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thanksgiving tradition

I would have never thought that Thanksgiving would be something I'd miss from my eight years living in the States. Don't get me wrong, I don't miss the turkey (which tends to be always dry and insipid,) the green beens, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce (that last one makes me invariably and uncontrollably do a disgusted expression.) It's not even the two days off work. No, what I miss is everyone getting together for the long 4 day weekend. Family, or adopted family (when you have an American stepmother like me,) and friends who are in town alone, all come together that day. Wherever they live, they all jump on a plane/car and spend the holiday at home with their grandparents, brothers, cousins, sisters, nephews, children, and parents. It's a tradition that Americans observe religiously, and the spirit is beautiful: it's just about all getting together and having Thanksgiving dinner. No presents necessary unlike Christmas, the only other occasion when an entire family gets together. And that's what I actually miss, that special spirit of love, peace and forgiveness among all the guests.

If you ask me, it would be much better for us Non-Americans to adopt and copy the Thanksgiving tradition instead of the much less significant Halloween. And so I will celebrate it tonight in Madrid, with my father, my stepmother and my friend Amélie.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Simply craquant

I've always had a weakness for Chris Martin. I find him simply 'craquant.' In Spanish, the closest I can find is 'está para comerselo'. He basically makes me melt. And he was especially 'craquant' last night, during the concert Coldplay performed in a completely full Palacio de los Deportes, as he attempted to communicate in Spanish with the audience. He kept repeating the few words and expressions he knew such as '¿Todos contentos?', 'Joder, que bueno!', 'Gracias', 'Madrid es guapo' accentuated by his cute British pronunciation.

The concert was fantastic: the sound was perfect, the song selection couldn't be better, and the energy on stage contagious. Chris kept jumping, running, and performing risky yet funny acrobatic moves, as he sang away his oh so beautiful lyrics. He joked, he laughed, and I melted.

I also laughed and jumped and sang and danced, happy to be there, with my school friend Amélie who's visiting for a few days, and extatic about my resignation and the new phase of my life which is just about to start.

Tchin tchin

I have a plane to catch in less than 3 hours. I am flying to Bordeaux, France, for the surprise birthday party of my friend Mathilde and meeting Nat at the airport. Everything has been organised by Mathilde's sister and the birthday girl has absolutely NO IDEA of what's expecting her tonight. 50 of her friends will be in the room when she arrives.

I have not seen Mathilde since she left Madrid more than a year and half ago. Those were the times when the 'Blondes Club' - Mathilde, Nat and I - (I realize this requires an explanation but it will have to be in another post!) would hang out at each other's houses almost every night, tasting Spanish wines (with the excuse of Mathilde's profession: oenology), French cheese, home-made foie gras, tapas, and of course chatting the night away. Nights which would often finish at 5am with one of us saying the famous: 'I don't think I am gonna go to work tomorrow.'

This weekend is synonym of celebrationS: her 25th birthday, The 'Blondes Club' reencounter, my moving, and who knows what else we'll find as a cause for more celebration. Tchin tchin!

Wish you all a great weekend!