Migraines

I have always pittied my friends and their migraines in the past. But I really did not know what a migraine really meant until... until a few months ago when I started having them myself. I don't know if it is connected, but the truth is they have appeared around the same time I quit smoking in December!

I have to confess that I cope very well with not-smoking but if I have to choose between these atrocious migraines or smoking, I'd rather start smoking again in a heartbeat!

Thank God my two week vacation starts tomorrow afternoon....

Rancho Chico

On Saturday, Marc and I will be heading to Motril, in the South of Spain. After a five hour drive, we will arrive at my childhood Summerhouse, a haven called Rancho Chico surrounded only by avocado trees. We will spend two full weeks of much deserved farniente: reading, ocean/pool/and sun bathing; cocktailing, eating, wining, and playing chess.

Also, I will try to search the house and rescue old family photographs, diaries, and miscellanous items. Rancho Chico might be destroyed very soon by the damn highway. It just might be our last Summer there.

Never ending

The trip to Lausanne this weekend was never ending. Between all the train, airport and flights delays, I have spent approximately 20 hours in the above mentioned places. Evidently, I will send a very mean letter to Iberia today to get a much deserved compen-sation!

On the positive side, the short stay in the beautiful house overlooking the Lake Léman was wonderful: Summer temperatures, sun, pool, and delicious food surrounded by loved ones.

And on the excellent side, Marc's interview went extremely well, the conditions offered are close to sensational, and we should have a definite answer by the end of the week.

Today is the day

At 14h00 today (2pm for all ya Americans,) Marc will have his second and definite interview. This is it. It's now or never who knows when... Did I mention it was for a job at Mercedez Benz? I can totally see us driving a nice CLK Cabriolet or a SLK Roadster around Zurich ;-)

Cross your fingers! Inch'Allah!

New fave

I am reading quite a lot these days; pretty much devouring every book that falls into my hands, and starting a new one as soon as I finish another. I thus bought many books at various stores mostly located at airports, placed many orders at amazon and even sacked my father's flat. In the latest sack is where I found a new favourite: the book is titled 'Anthem' by Ayn Rand. It's a short novel depicting a world of the future, a society so collectivized that even the word "I" has vanished from the language:

"We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen."

It's extraordinary. What's incredible to me is that it was written in 1936. Ayn Rand, the woman, her life, is fascinating. Born and raised in Russia under Soviet tyranny, she leaves to the US where she becomes a writer, screenwriter, and founds the philosophy of Objectivism. Anyway, I am hooked on this amazing woman and have now started her 1075 pages masterpiece 'Atlas Shrugged'. Quite promising if you ask me.

PS: All book recommendations are more than welcome. Novels only please.

A memorable Saturday afternoon

My father had the wonderful idea of going to lunch and visit the Mezquita in Cordoba last Saturday. So we jumped on the AVE (fast train) at noon and two hours later we were in the Southern city of Cordoba. Yes, everything is feasible when you're not on a budget that is.

A small parenthesis to share with you a funny fact: on the way to the Atocha train station, my father took a taxi and was literally screamed at, laughed at and called a fool by the taxi driver for going to the hottest place in Spain on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a heat wave. Pure madness he called it. The fact of the matter is that the taxi driver was right: it was 43 degrees celsius (approx 106 Farenheit) when we arrived.

So after a supposedly nouvelle cuisine gourmet lunch at El Pais recommended Choco restaurant, we headed to the Mezquita, a mix of a mosque built by the Mores and Christian churches and chapels. A stunning combination of Jesus and Allah, crosses and mosaics, yet everything blending in. Esthetically extraordinary. It was beautiful, peaceful and by all means worth the sweat, the heat, the bad lunch, and even the indigestion!

Got to get one of those!

I absolutely have got to get me one of those fake croc laptop cases!

Working girlfriends out these, don't you simply love these colorful cases? Wouldn't you love to show up at your next business meeting with a flaming yet very affordable pink (for example) laptop case? I sure would and I will certainly get myself one as soon as I can decide on which color to buy!

Girls, shall we make a common order to save on shipping? Darn, they only ship to US and Canada! =(