Home sweet home

The balcony has no light and has loads of laundry drying so will show that when the laundry is off and during daytime, with even closer view to the farm

Moving in...

The stupid pig moved out his crap this morning at 5am, disturbing me in my peaceful sleep. He won't get far hopefully, with all the curses I directed towards him!

That means today I can move in my new room, which has a balcony filled up with laundry ropes. But there are some funky fixtures on the walls and a big vertical tube in the balcony. Alas, it's not a pole worth dancing about. It's merely a passage for the dirty waters to go into the ground. Architecture over here is a mystery.As for now I'm using wet laundry to block the view from outside I will be putting up curtains shortly, after everything is stored and tidied up inside. I had to broom and mop the disgusting remains of a filthy immature bastard. I even found a condom behind the couch (arghhhh).

The room is now bleached and awaiting the lovely lady who will soon enjoy the sun and donkey (yup, I get closer to the farm). Which reminds me of a quote from Mr Sheeppy (yet another animal). I told him my room has 3 walls, so he said astonished:' do you live in a triangle?'.

It is with some sadness that I leave my beautiful room.


But hopefully I'll enjoy the big living room as well...Just went to Ikea yesterday (took me 3h total) and got some metal curtain cord. It' hard to imagine this is a living room with no curtains at all originally.

Trips...

So here I am trying to plan for the upcoming tax year. it's that time fo the year when I feel restless. I have 25 days to fill and just staying in London won't do, no matter ho fun it is here.
The options or wish list that always seem to be must-dos are:
-climbing Machu Pichu (May?)
-visiting Montreal (before June)
-going to Madagascar (May or November?)
-murder party in Brittany (October-November)
-South East Asia somewhere
-Malta
-Texas
-Madrid
-somewhere sunny and exotic where I've never been...(trouble is maybe I won't come back)
-christmas/New year will be with family (paris or wherever the family will be)
-Ireland

Am sure I'm forgetting some....

And even if all those could fit in 25 days, it will not fit in my budget unless I stop eating and resign myself to walk to work...ah well. Enough headcahe as it is!


So maybe I'll just make a trip to Ikea!

Flatmate sought...not anymore!!!

For the past week or so, we've been putting adverts online and on the market for my room to be let. I am moving in the bigger room/ex-living room at the end of this week so my current room will be vacated and let to a potentially really nice girl. Except it's very difficult: either the girl is very nice but doesn't like us or the room (i did tidy up the place, and we even vacuumed, scrubbed and burnt candles), or the girl that shows up to visit the room is completely opposite of the ones we usually get along with...meaning we didn't like them.

There are a few anecdotes worth mentioning though.
First there was the very butch girl from New Zealand. She didn't stay long but made such an impression on us we decided not to invite her for a second interview.

Second there was the really nice french girl who just moved to London. I think she was nice because she asked us what we were studying...ahem! We even offered her the flat but she found something else..which made us panick a bit because of all the dozen girls we've met, we only liked 3 of them.

Third, there was a girl called Ariane who wanted to visit the flat but when she called me she said her name was Ariana. So I asked her to pass by 19:00 and by 19:15 she finally found the gate. We opened the gate and waited for her to show up on our doorstep. Except she never did...she called later on asking where on the 3rd floor the flat was...given that it was on the 1st floor, she was never going to find it. Anyway she finally made it to our doorstep. She was very pretty and well dressed and well made up, with knee-high boots and flat blonde hair. She barely looked at the room, kitchen and bathroom, took a picture and left! later on that evening, she rang me panicked saying she couldn't find number 257...and I said I lived on number 5..obviously she mistakenly rang the wrong number...sweet and stupid. We were tempted to get her back to our house so that she can rest and have a cup of tea, because obviously she didn't know anything about the area..LOL

Anyway, we finally settled on a French girl from Lyon who made her decision at the last minute and paid the deposit in extremis. It was very stressful because we didn't want to go through the whole process of having strangers visit us again...
She works in beauty product marketing but wears no make up....I work in TV but don't watch TV, and Electra works in bars but doesn't drink alcohol, so it's a perfect fit really. So from next week, I will have a bigger room with a 3 seater, a balcony and not much closet space.

So to celebrate I'll be going to Brussels to stock up on chocolates...

Heart

Another overdose of chocolate today I suppose.
Thinking of family and friends...

Happy birthday to you!

A special thought for a little brother who now joins the world of late teens...and will soon face University life..good luck and happy birthday!

Sorrow

'As for us, our life is like grass.
We grow and flourish like a wild flower;
then the wind blows on it, and it is gone'




Reflecting my mood at best, the snow envelops me in its cold fluffy numbing coat. And I pray for my friend who is in pain, and wish I was by her side to hold her tight and close, to give her courage, for her to rest her head on my shoulder. I cannot hold my despair at being so physically far away.

For the first time in years, I implore the powers above to guide her and her family through this loss.

Time machine

If I had a time machine, I'd go back in time when I was a happier person, with no worries, and I would bring you there from the future so that I can enjoy it with you...

But I don't have a time machine so I am left to watch the clock like any other mortal, straining to hear the seconds tick by while the future gets hold of me slowly (is the future=death?).

When I'm not watching the time, I am watching likely happy events to be, such as:
-a real positive email for a date
-my body hitting the bed and fluffy pillows
-my trip to visit my family
-my promotion
-the 7th book of Harry Potter saga
-my accelerated weight loss (hmmm..crossing my fingers and toes)
-my nails grow...ugh, yup apart from my left thumb it looks almost normal

I am sure there are more..it's just I haven't got the time to list them all before they dissapear from my present...

'NaNa'

I don't have TV but I have an internet connection. And that means I can get addicted to series from far far away. In this case, I am addicted to an anime called 'Nana' I mentioned this before but I am at a point where I am collecting all reference to it, the way kids collect and trade cards about Yu-Gi-Oh or something.

The most addictive thing about Nana is that it has everything talked about: single mothers, friendship, forbidden love, abandoned child, etc...It is an anime, but it is based on a very popular manga. And it is now airing in Japane every thursday. It is also being turned into a movie, which is really strange to watch becaus eall the angles and camera point of views are the same than in the anime, only there are real people in there, not drawings..I kinda prefer the anime because at leas they can't be accused of being bad actors, as the voice actors are really good. I find myself collecting the songs from the anime..which is probably what the producers are expecting since it's the story of the members of two punk/rock bands (Trapnest and Blackstones).LOL.

Anyway here is one of the beginning credit song of the anime.

It's called 'Rose'


And here is one of the most famous theme ('Glamorous sky'), sung by Mika Nakashima who stars in the movie as rock n roll Nana.


And I just love the song for the one alternate ending credit:




And here is another one, called 'starless night'


So if you are passing by Japan and coming to the UK, please drop me a line and I'd beg you to bring me some Nana stuff...:)
Arigatoo gozaimasuuu!

I hope you dance (Lee Ann Womack)

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

In the country...

I live 5min from the City in London, where bankers, investment giants and towering glass buildings occupies the landscape and crowd the horizon. But I wake up with the sound of the dear donkey next door.


And on a nice weekend like today, when I am so lazy I can't even cross the road to visit the farm, I just take pictures from my window, and try to block out the sound of the neighbours redecorating the nearby buildings, or the muffled sound of the trains passing 2 miles away.


No need to have a chalet in the mountains or a getaway manor in the country...East London has it all.

Relativity

I was knocked alive by my throat choking itself from a surreal feeling that last night never happened. Then it slowly damwned that it may have been a really happy day indeed despite the physical failings.

However I was soon reminded of my carelessness, not only towards my close friends who either got hurt or helpessly watched a train wreck, but by my own subtle memories that kept crawling back to mind, writing themselves on the 'shouldnt have said' and the 'shouldnt have done' lists. The whole night now seems like a horrible free fall to ridicule, but I was too lightheaded by the thrill of falling and what I saw (and ate and drunk), that I managed to pass out before hitting rock bottom.

It isnt just a hangover. I was living like there was no tomorrow, and waking up to realize I was not dead and now have to face and rebuilt everything I destroyed.

Ouhhhh Candles!!!

It's been a while since I blew out candles. or maybe I keep forgetting so I forget my age as well. Its a little trick of the mind when I don't want to admit how time flies. I had 6 candles, one for each person around the table, and 4 litle chocolate stars...
You missed all the waitresses and waiters who are singing for the nth time of the night (apparently on a football song's tune). And my corset was holdig fine despite all the food


A woman with a mission!

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and truly sincerely heartfelt thank you to all of you who were there...and for organizing this memorable day.

For reason of privacy I cannot show the members of the party...but all of them are very special to me.

Thank you thank you!

Ice Queens

Yup, last Friday we went to Canary Wharf to breathe the same air as bankers', financial advisors and all those people in suit that work in glass buildings. It is a part of London I am not very familiar with. And it was a surprise for me because we went there to ice skate!


Among shiny buildings, screaming scary kids and canal from the Thames, we skated for an hour.And after dinner we went down the famous tube entrance...I like it because it's kinda futuristic and modern yet very airy and spacious entrance.

Forcing myself and trying

I forced myself to go out last night and I dont regret it. No matter how sick, no matter how dead my body is, and no matter how annoyed I was to wake up from a 2h nap, the party was fun and I even got an early birthday card! So sweet!

Even going to work is not so bad because 'LIVE FROM AUSTRALIA, ITS THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN MEN'S FINAL'!

So maybe I'm not going to die now. Maybe I'll wait a bit...Oh and my horoscope says this:
'No one is standing in your way right now, so why are you standing still? Today the road ahead of you is clear, straight and flat -- perfect conditions for a gorgeous takeoff! One small effort will take you a lot further than you can imagine, so buck up the courage to start that conversation, smile in the direction of that cute stranger, or march into your supervisor's office and ask for that long-overdue raise! Prepare yourself for an enriching tomorrow. '


Hang on, I've got my dead-woman-from-the-grave-face with snout all over from my running nose. I aint gonna humiliate myself in front of some cute stranger! And my supervisors dont have a bloody office and dont work on Sundays....but am heading down somewhere..to my bed for a 3 day sleep hopefully

Malade!

I thought I was getting better, but once again I am sick as a dog. You know when your head is about to explode but all that happens in this dimension is that your nose and lungs explode...
Every little sound is amplified and am getting deaf from blowing my nose. My limbs are weaker than marshmallow and my belly and bladder have had enough of fluids.

Ironic: I live in London...
Which means sociall life to maintain, parties and drinks to go to, etc...I will leave my body at home and try to drag my soul out there to see how happy people are.

Superhero

Your results:
You are Hulk

Hulk 70% Spider-Man 70% Supergirl 67% Superman 65% Robin 62% Wonder Woman 57% Green Lantern 55% Catwoman 50% Batman 30% The Flash 25% Iron Man 25%

You are a wanderer with amazing strength.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test



I never thought I could be so green

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18)

Yes, once again I can post another horoscope in appropriate time.

'The wonderful thing about new people entering your life is that they bring new concepts with them. Do not be afraid of people from other cultures or belief systems, because they present no threat to you whatsoever today. On the contrary -- they represent some fresh new ideas that will ignite your creativity and burn brightly in your imagination. Friction causes heat, but it also smoothes away rough edges and creates something beautiful and precious'

And for more info about this beautiful sign, you can check here.

Tourist in London 102

This can be called the Time Wrap.
Pre-requisite: Tourist in London 101

Because a visit of London is not complete without seeing the famous Tower Bridge, it is always worth it to folow the horde of tourists or the open roof tour buses that goes east.

I however recommend to visit thispart of town on foot as the sight is very unique.



For the lazy tourist like me, it is nice to start the walk at Tower Bridge itself. This is the bridge that opens and splits to let boats with high mast pass through. Walking along the south bank of the Thames, following a path called the Queen's Walk, it's always very strange to see the odd mix of modern and ancient architecture across the river. The Tower of London and the modern glass building the Gerkin very much symbolizes the timelessness of London.

The Tower of London has a Traitor's gate that opens on the river. I heard once that the last traitor whose head hung above it was none other than Braveheart (no no, not Mel Gibson!).

Further up the river, a huge naval ship is anchored and has been recycled as a naval museum. It can probably be rented as well for Christmas parties and New Year's Eve dinners. A note for the die hard window shopper: there are no clothes shops at all on this walk. There are however lots of galleries along the way that can tempt the big spenders.

The next sight is the Shakespeare Globe Theatre.
This is truly amazing as it was built with the materials they would find in the 16th century.

There are no bolds, nails or anything in that whole building. Its all wooden knobs and big joints. The inside is amazing as well and watching a play in that theatre is sucha thrill (a few members of the audience faint) as the actors runs among the audience. The plays use 16th century sound effects and special effects (canons, nice gooeye red blood, pots and pans)and usually last 3h.


And of course, right next to this ancient architectural reproduction sits a red brick power plant. But instead of bringing the crowd some common electricity, it now hosts the Tate Modern, which is a free museum of modern and contemporary art, electrifying the public with its often strange exhibitions.


It is best to cross over to the north bank of the river at this point, using the millenium bridge. It's a pedestrian bridge that is quite slippery when it rains. Most importantly the view is beautiful from the south bank as it shows the dome of St Paul's cathedral in the background. You can either rest your feet inside the protective massive dome or start to roll down the hill along Fleet Street and end up in the West End where plays and musicals can be booked and enjoyed all year round (except Christmas, NOTHING is open on that day).

This can be done in an afternoon or on a much slower pace to fill the day. Besides, when the weather is that sunny, there is no rush really. If you have fog, rain and cold weather though, maybe you can take a boat tour instead...or enjoy one of the museums....indeed, there is a museum in every post!

There is hope

For once in my life...

(Lyrics by Ron Miller)

From 1968 to 2006




For once in my life I've got someone who needs me, someone I've needed so long
For once unafraid I can go where life leads me, and somehow I know I'll be strong
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of
Long before I knew someone warm like you
Could make my dreams come true
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me, not like it's hurt me before
For once I've got someone I know won't desert me, and I'm not alone anymore
For once I can say: "This is mine you can't take it"
As long as I've got love I know I can make it
For once in my life I've got someone who needs me

What happens in Vegas...

...Stays in Vegas...but here are some snippets...

First, we stayed in Circus Circus. We went out to see a show of Le Cirque du Soleil, and basically could not escape this whole circus that is Las Vegas (strip clubs, limousines, slots machines).



We didn't spend money on gambling: a mere $4 each, just enough for the waitress to bring us some free drinks. We basically played penny slots and made a dollar last forever! We did spend some money on shows and food, and shopping (that goes for me).

Of course there were the must sees, usually free. But my all time favourite is the dancing fountain in front of the Bellagio.


I could watch it over and over again and never get fed up with it. And I was so lucky on this one as I caught the show with the music from my all time favourite movie.

Happy New Year

And so I am once again in the country of big cars, big roads and food store filled with terribly tempting food. The trip was pretty awful and tiring, what with the 2h queue for securiy at Gatwick and the tiniest leg room ever fo a flight across the Atlantic. But I survived it so far, and was glad to get through another security check that took about 30minutes in Philadelphia. I got a pretzel and a small (american size so it's only 1L) pink lemonade...mmmmmm

I am now rested and sleepy. but it's nice to have daylight up till 5ish, give that so far I have slept throgh most part of the morning.

I expect no fireworks today. Just a bit of food, loud music, drunk college people.

Happy...happy Christmas and New Year

There are people who cry of joy and happiness, and those who blush and loose their tongue. And everyone should experience both at least once in their life. I did, after my belly filled up with Ikan Bumbu Bali and red wine, and with the warm confort and company of 2 great friends: Hobbes - aka Moo Moo- and Bambi. The light was right, the air got thick, and it was one of those moments that seem so bright in memory.

And so I go on facing the terrible grey fog around me, wrapped in that fuzzy warm feeling that will keep me cheered up for a long time again.

I have no words to convey my contentment. I do hope to spread the feeling around me.

Thank You.

Karaoke: All I want for Christmas...

Lost in fantasy

I forgot to metion that on Halloween day, a group of very excited people worked their back off to dig holes in the park and plant palm trees. But I suppose back then the weather was clear and warmish and din't remind them at all that it was autumn. As if in some part of their collective brain were bent to force the winter season to never touch this blessed island. Well, tough luck! Winter has now come to claim its hold, and I wonder what the palm trees' spirits would think in the 3C and -1C temperature.

Lately though, I felt that parallel worlds were more visible. Is it because of the magic of Christmas or the fact that the cold weather gives brain freeze and only the few sensitive cells to be working? After all, how do you differentiate a delirium with a legitimate out of this world vision?

In my case, it seems that all around me, fatanstic worlds are appearing and coexisting with this so called physical world. Reading Terry Pratchett's books populates my mind with wizards, giant turtles and clueless tourists in a world of almost believable dragons, octarine color and time travelling. My friend Zabador is being lured down the vortex of WOW (sniff, the World Of Warcraft is so big we cannot just ignore its impact on our lives). And I cannot make out what I really want for myself as a career or partnership.

It is only momentarily comforting to wrap oneself in the coziness of this end of year season, as the aftermath of the festivities is looming over our head, with grim work boredom, short dayligh, and emotional pain.

But as I close my eyes and see the sparkling and exciting worlds that could be, and the things that can or could have happen, I file the depressing physical world behind my image of Wentworth Miller, and will deal with it soon enough in time. Let me believe that people are good and kind, and that my loved ones are safe and happy as well.

Caro nome (Rigoletto-VERDI)

(Maria Callas, 1956)
Caro nome che il mio cor festi primo palpitar,
Le delizie dell'amor mi dêi sempre rammentar!

Col pensier il mio desir a te sempre volerà,
E fin l'ultimo sospir, caro nome, tuo sarà.

Col pensier il mio desir a te sempre volerà,
E fin l'ultimo mio sospir, caro nome, tuo sarà.

Col pensier il mio desir a te sempre volerà,
A te volerà, fin l'ultimo sospir, fin l'ultimo sospir, caro nome,
tuo sarà.

Caro nome tuo sarà, il mio desir a te ognora volerà,
Fin l'ultimo sospiro tuo sarà!

Gualtier Maldè!.. Gualtier Maldè!..
Caro nome che il mio cor festi primo palpitar, (Borsa: E là.)
E fin l'ultimo sospir, (Ceprano: Miratela.) (Cortigiani: Oh, quanto è bella!)
Caro nome tuo sarà. (Marullo: Par fata od angiol.)
Gualtier Maldè!.. Gualtier Maldè!.. (Cortigiani: L'amante è quella
di Rigoletto! Oh, quanto è bella!)

Order, Order

This is the Royal Courts of Justice. Across the road are the building of Kings college. And between them, a formidable dragon stands up to the traffic on a high column that splits the wind that flows up to St Paul Cathedral. Without the multicolored buses, cars, bicycles and other (almost)metallic machines, the date could be sometime in 19th century. Its gothic architecture and the dragon outside invites to toughts of magic, wizards, unexplained powers, strong and wise powers.

Upon entering the building (ignore the metal detectors), I felt tranported into that era of magic and fairy tales. It is the place where Justice prevails, in its cold and beautiful hard stone and wood temple. light would fall upon the blindfolded figure of the assembly, and Justice would be fairly delivered in a magical, satisfying, and beatifying way.

After wandering about the great corridors, and loosing ourselves like arguments thrown out between sollicitors, we finally decided on a court room to visit. Court room 19 held a hearing of a financial case that we didnt quite understand until 45minutes into the hearing. His Lordship the Judge had decided to clear his head and speak his thoughts to explain the matter at hand to himself. It was then made clear to himself, and to us poor bored ignorant, that the witness was complaining about some £100 000 that were due to his company by another fellow in the audience. But there were 6 big files of evidence that the sollicitors argued upon, and so many accountancy detailts that bothered us, so we fled the scene and let Justice work its way. That was not magic at work, it was poor human mind, obstructed by the heaviness of lunch and naptime trying to sort out among huge amount of details...a train wreck in the making.

So we were in the corridors again, spotting the black robes of sollicitors speeding with their grey curles wigs. And they indeed could pass for wizards (except for the wig part). One such big belly man invited us to another court room, which appreared to contain much uniformed policemen. The room was much bigger, with a really high ceiling that was adorned by a graceful candelabra (without the candles, alas). Dusty books filled both sidewalls, and on the right, a human cage contained another uniformed policeman in uniform (such an anachronism to my 19th century theme). We sat behind what looked like the prosecutor. Speaking before 2 judges was a man in a pink/salmon/orange polo shirt, with papers all over the table in front of him. He seemed panic-stricken and completely disorganized. We were a bit surprised he was not wearing the black robe. We tried to figure out from his references from the files dispersed in front of him the nature of the case, but it was a bit complicated and we gave up after 15 minutes fo pape discussion. Outside the court room, our kinf host inquired about us and explained the speaker was the prisoner defending himself and appealing for a case that happened in 1995 (a heist of thousands of pounds).

In any case, the place was magical, but the exercise of Justice sure didn't feel like magic. Seemed all very bureaucratic (12 folders of evidences in the last case), and completely mind exhausting task. I love the atmosphere in the ground floor hall though, as it is a place where one is inspired by the balance of light, stone and wood. It is probbaly the only place where one can take a break peacefully under the eye of lady Justice.

Do you believe in Fairies?

Ahem, yes I do!
I wasn't too sure what sort of show I was going to see on Tuesday, but I knew it would be somewhere I have never been so that was already worth the trip. After a nice sunbath in bed (the only few times I get sunrays is between 08:00 and 10:30am), I equipped myself with my best mood and my strongest determiantion to have a walk in Wimbledon area (45min by tube). The weather was getting cloudy with all the polar winds blowing about (no tornadoes this time), but I had double dose of left over lasagna to keep me grounded.

Met a lonely colleague (still looking for her screename/alias), and was shown about the Wimbledon village. It reminded me of Paris suburb, the one in Sceaux or towards Versailles...so posh, clean and proper. I wondered if I could spit in the streets? maybe not. After walking to the Thai Budhist temple, and breathing so much clean air, I was offered some Chinese home cooking before we went on to the purporse of my visit...



And so it turned out that 'Fonzie' from 'Happy Days' was playing Captain Hook...It was my first ever pantomime: it started out like a musical, with dances and songs with the London skyline as a background. Then most characters asks the audience for its opinion ('do you know where Tinkerbell is hiding, boys and girls?'). They used and mixed songs from various movies, including Rocky, Star Wars, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and many more I did not recognize. They also have parents dancing and singing silly noises, and throw toilet paper rolls at the audience while we are singing from the top of our lungs (or was it just me?). And most importantly, they shot water from waterguns at the audience.

All in all, a quite fun experience even if we were among the oldest kids on the balcony. It was easy for Tinkerbekll to get better after drinking the poison intended for Peter Pan, given that in that area, most people probably believe in fairies...it is almost in the countryside after all, and the woods were not so far away.

Electra scissorhands

First off, the link to the song posted before. I have no idea why the cat meows in the song, but it must be some inside joke between the songwriters:)



And now for Electra....
She chose it because it means The Truth, Light, and anything blinding. She was meant to take advantage of free tickets for a great party and ended up spendin the evening beating me at Ligretto, then Mikado (I only won at dominoes and dodo:)

She was the more depressed as she tore off her pyjama to make up a stylish t-shirt with open back...LOL. So anyone who would be kind to her, please get her new PJs, preferably ones that she can rip off.

Note that similar ripped off tees are available on Brick Lane at a price no lower than £15...I wont leave her with my PJs.

All I do is dream of you

All I do is dream of you
The whole night through
With the dawn, I still go on
Dreaming of you
You're every thought
You're everything
You're every song I ever sing
Summer, winter, autumn and spring.

And were there more
Than twenty-four hours a day,
They'd be spent in sweet content
Dreamin' away

When skies are gray
When skies are blue
Morning, noon and nighttime too
All I do the whole day through
Is dream of you

It's cat's meow!

All I do the whole day through
Is dream of you!

[from Singin' in the rain]

Jingle bells

Saturday was sunny! So I escaped my newly curtained indoor to join the crowd on oxford Street, unsuspecting the major shopping spree that was going on until I realized they blocked off the street to all vehicle. Among the hordes of families and suburb gangstas, there were many Santas, a truck promoting the Tour de France, an asian/scottish band...


Then walking on to Oxford Circus, I came upon fake snow falling in the wind and four huge white balloons carrying dancers/acrobats moving along some deafening seasonal music. It was very nice but the cold was eating my ears despite the crowd packing itself together to watch the dancers and take pictures with their phones...and this is the kind of footage you get with a crappy mobile phone like mine:




On my way home, I managed to grab a program of the Spitalfields Festival and hopefully will catch a free concert or a choir sometime in the coming week..a yuletide season without music is unacceptable.

A special week

I am having a surreal week

Monday: Went to the free music recital in Covent Garden on Monday and really enjoyed it. Guitar and cello played some spanish and latin american music. It was full as usual and the average age was 60. We probably caught a disease in there but the music was nice. But then again we are 40 years too young, and still with our own teeth..I am mean. After that, we enjoyed the reasonably clement weather for 30min, just enough to head for a Japanese restaurant that specializes in okonomiyaki...very good stuff. It's a Japanese version of an omelette, with cabbage, onions and whatever you want int here, cooked with the love by the waitress that makes you wanna take her place because you want to play with food like her...An experience I would recommend. By the time we stuffed ourselves with okonomiyaki and green tea ice cream, it was time to walk to Oxford Street to buy some trousers, except it took us 3hours to get to H&M because we were also looking for f* me boots...ahhhh..And a big achievement (and a frustration) for me was that I bought nothing that day. Well except for food and tickets for ballet...they don't count, they're not clothes!

Tuesday: Am not sure what happened during the morning since I probably slept until I got to the eye test exam at midday. Then after being forced to read small letters, and had air blown at my pupils, I was too awake to miss some really cheap junk that I haven't even used yet...paint brushes, Christmas cards, backgammon travel set (how many of these do I buy? and where did they all go?), ribbons for my future curtains (still in design at the back of my head), and more I can't rememebr becasue it is lost in my junkyard bedroom. Even dragged Hobbes home to sort out my computer problems. I have a feeling he does that a lot...being patient toward us, internet novice. Then it was time for catching up with Bambi who obviously had a fun day at work, sorting out the workflow. Hot chocolate and crisps in good companyat tea time, which flew by smoothly like cold water running on your head on a hot summer day (feels good).

Wednesday: Work was hell. My heart felt like lead, my head hurt like acid, and it was busy like a Monday. Time was sluggish and wouldn't give me a break. I finished the day longing for a comatose sleep.

Thursday: Started with the all so not healthy English breakfast (yum), and a clear head (at least I was awake). Were pushed on the main stage by puppet master ( yes we have a dictator). It allowed me to see the gallery and the stage of some news broadcasts, which are cool but oh so not glamour...but at least I went in there..yay, and without asking..I was actually asked. Later on, got to tag along to go to the newsroom where a colony of journalists cram into an open space office and work..yikes..scary but had to feel like a tourist in there. So a pretty good day considering the previous day...not to forget: Congrats to Hobbes, good luck in being my boss!

Friday: Not sure if I'll live till tomorrow, but am sure it'll be alright
Saturday: Hope the weather is sunny, I'd like to smile in the sun
Sunday: Day of the Lord, I'll try to go to Church in St Paul...to say Thanks

Buy Nothing Day

in the US, they have 'Black Friday', the day after Thanksgiving that opens the Christmas shoppign season. Hordes of people rush to the stores to spend loads of money for presents or bargains. In the UK, they have 'Buy nothing day', which is today, and it apparently started as a way to remind the business the consumer's power...so You enter any shop and you can try, touch, play with everything, knowing that you will not buy it....and shopkeepers will have to stand you do it...Unfortunately I am working today so I cannot go out there and get tempted. It's probably better because they most probably put out so many nice and gorgeous things so that even if you went in the shops with the intention of buying nothing, you end up coming back home with bags of impulse buys...aaaaaaa, just thinking of it, I have shivers in my back (caused mainly by lack of sleep)

Outer Space

Surviving Monday

Some people should be neutered...

I was walking quietly back to the office when someone walking behind me moaned about the weather being a bit chilly. In this country, that means they're trying to start a conversation. And it's considered polite to respond with a nod, a smile or something like grumpy 'yeah'. So I did emit some sounds repulsive sounds, but instead of discouraging the other person, he actuyally walked past, looked at me and said:
'can you give me your telephone number?'

In my head I imagined his head self-combusting and bursting into flames, him screaming in unberable pain, and dying slowly by suffocating on his own burnt flesh and fluids...

I said:' No, it's confidential. Good day'
Seriously, how dare he sneek on me like that and ambush me with a stupid question like that???Do I go to people and ask for their phone number? The mere fact that he has to do that for me means he's not worth my phone number...geez...

Anime-thon

I yielded to temptation yesterday by feasting on a Happy Meal in McDOnalds at the London old County Hall. There was nothing else open, and we had to get dinner one way or another before the next anime started. The 'meal' came in a colorful kiddie box, half occupied by a terrigying toy:



Without complaint, I choked on the chicken nuggets and was saved by the vanilla milkshake that tasted of my younger days. Then it was time to get kicked out of the premises at 19:00, and for a festival of weird anime series.

Elfen lied. Surely the genre is familiar: a naked female alien, with bouncy boobs and some form of horns of another on the head to differentiate her from human, lands in the care of an unsuspecting, naive young man. He is already struggling in a friendship/relationship with a human female, possibly a childhood friend. They end up living in the same house, and there are plenty of situations where the wholesome alien is naked...and slaps all over the place to punish him from being all over the alien. Really, not so much different from Lamu, Chobits ro Dears as far as I'm concerned. Just another male fantasy serie. In this one, it is made worse by the sexists dialogues and the bloody scene of chopped limbs and heads...not very enjoyable.

Next door was Yugo the negotiator. A bit of a Nicky Larson meets Cowboy Beebop. Except I like Cowboy Beebop...:) Later, it was a dark fanstasy story of travelling illusionist, writer, and unidentified woman who encounter characters that live in complete denial of their vice or past murders. The episode we saw was about this woman in a village who had an incestuous relationship with her father, and kept her litle sister in a closet while doing it...then it turned out she had complete control over her father, making him kill her mother and everything else that is in her path. She also already killer her litle sister so that she would not see her doing it with her Dad...very very sick indeed! All that with interesting graphics though, that really conveys the uneasiness or the disturbing feelings about the situation.

The last Anime was the best one so far. called Paranoia Agent, each episode is about acharacter struggling with its own mental condition. The beginning credit is very very strange and again, disturbing. The characters are all laughing, the lyrics talk about the mushroom cloud, and yes, they are laughing, and in the background the mushroom cloud erupts and seems not to affect their laughing. It is a s if the deaath and destruction that is to come has already been there, and everyone was detached from the usual feelings. In a sense, as the episodes showed, they all have some sorts of schizophrenia. One teenage boy struggles between being cool and being cruel. His cute timid teacher is fighting against her other self, called Maria who is a prostitute. Another woman, a designer, thinks her toy or plush animal can talk...all of them are very very insane, but they do show the inner voices distilled in us. Each character is legitimate and believable in their dialogues and storylines...very intersting and addictive anime.

And again we got kicked out of the building at 22:00...I wish I could go see Panda Z just for the name's sake but it is better to get back tor eality of rainy and sombre London, and pack my stuff for the upcoming flat move. Also, better food probably maked me feel happier...

Hush hush

I have a tendency to fall for the guy I dream him to be instead of the guy he is.

So I'm building myself up for a dissapointment. My horoscope didn't give much good news either:
'A romantic climate will reign and your heart will be on fire. Do not make any lavish investments for the time being; it is the opportune moment to tighten your belt. Examine your various projects more closely. At work, a situation that was shaky will improve, strengthen and solidify. Improve your health by limiting your consumption of alcohol and sweets. Take care of your appearance; this could help you to positively influence others.'

Soooo I need to save money, go on a diet, and stop biting my nails...this is worse that trying to fit my priorities and life goals into a sudoku grid. And my heart is so not on fire, more like hardening...just hoping it wont get brittle and break into pieces at the slightest shock...or high cholesterol level..arghhhhh

Sooooooo cold my bladder shrank!

Autumn finally dares show its chill after our version of indian summer. So I went south, to France...hehehe..looking for stinky cheese, sweet wine, and dessert. It's cold as well though..brrr....

BRAINFREEZE !!

Can't we maintain peace without guns, bombs etc...?

Note to selfL look up those paintings titled 'War' and 'Peace'

So last weekend with Zab, I finally bought my own rubber rain boots: brown with stylish pink flower petals. And I even wore them today as London weather poured its cool autumn sorrow onto the city. I did miss most of it as I slept though the whole day after my night shift. I woke up chilled by the lack of food in my belly (almost 24hr without solid food!).

An unsuccessful shopping trip on Monday was to look for Sun Tzu's Art of War in bookshops. They usually store it in the business and management aisles, but I couldn't find any. I guess I should have headed straight to the British Museum store. I also found my Janson & Janson History of Art book but it was so expensive (£54.90) I'll probably wait till January to buy it in the US online or something. I still have loads to read anyway.

There is a heaviness in the air. I feel like walking through fog and smoke (duh, it's London), and seeing different landscapes in the horizons through the clearings and sunny spots. And I am not sure how to get to any of them, because I don't really know what I am doing or what I want to do. It's quite frustrating and I fight the urge to close my eyes and let it pass. It's a balancing act I've never had to do before and it won't be the last one I face. Someon said to me once it looks so boring and common to be set for the postcard family in a house path. No matter how I long for adventure in the Sahara or in Asia, I know I still need that kind of comfort.

but then again I have been accumulating so much junk all my life. It is really a therapy but I need to find the source of it, not just to relieve the symptoms. Why do I keep buying trinkets and useless crap everywhere? Is it to remind me where I've been or to show off to my friends? Because most likely I would not give it away but keep it among my other junk. I rarely get it for charity and often buy because it's so pretty, colorful, strange, shiny. And in most cases, the items would have decreased value the following year, making them a very bad investment. Do I buy it because I can, so that it becomes a power trip? Or is it because I find the world ugly around me I need those trinkets to remind me of the beautiful countries, landscapes and people I encountered?


Greed. When I'm as spoiled and lucky as I am, it'll be the end of me. For those struggling to eat, sleep and drink properly, is it called differently?

Zab in London

So I managed to trap my friend Zab into coming to visit me in London, and I dragged her through the big touristy sites, as well as my favourite resto..yeah!!! Did the Queen's walk and attended the show 'Les Miserables', got drunk everyday, ate some good food (malaysian, korean, indian, mexican)...Also slid on the giant slides in Tate Modern, and knicked my right elbow.

This weekend though I hope to finally spend some quality time with mr John Smith, and not work and rush from work....who knows..maybe Brighton or Richmond area could be nice for a change of air.

10K runlondon (8/10/2006)

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....that is the only sound I muttered when ...my browser showed up with the 'your connection was reset' message. This was supposed to be my spontaneous deluge of words after my mind went blank for ...ages!

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and that what came out of my beatiful mouth and soul when crossing the finish line of that 10km runin Hyde Park.

I did finish in good time, considering I have never run 10km in my entire life. I was aiming to run it in 90 minutes so that it wouldn't be too shameful. I am so happy I finished in 80mintes and 44seconds!!! The bagels, the pizzas, the shawarmas (carbs carbs carbs!), the curry, the chocolates, the nibbles, the thai chilli crisps, and the ice creams got the best of me. Of course you can imagine I didn't run all the way. By 2km, I had to walk..hehehhe..then at 3km, my colleague just said to run towards the sign...and it worked..basically walk fast, then when your breath is back, run as fast as you can..then walk again...if we see the sign for the kilometer, we run toward it like bugs to the light. By the 5th kilometer, we were dead..but the prospect of some water gave me wings and I almost ran up the hill to sign, then sprinted to get some water...had to cool down my face as it was a nice weather yet not hot..I did get a tan.

I have never felt this before. By the 6th kilometers, I was just running and walking for the sake of not collapsing on the spot. By the 8th kilometer, I was exulted because it was finally going down..and in the other direction I could see the other runners from the next wave running up the hill (yeah, like I did 40mintues earlier). My legs were not obeying me anymore, but I could finally see the arch at Hyde Park corner..which meant the finish line was near..and that sign that says 9km pumped the adrenaline in me and just made me run...until I realized that finish line was still so far!

Finally, as the crowd on the sidelines cheered, I ran to the finish line.....The time is not brilliant, but it's much better than I expected. During training, I ran 5km in 40mintes, so it's satisfactory for me.


Next time though, I'll train properly.

To be underestimated is...

- to be able to go about without effort and not being bothered by other people screaming after you to try harder...
- to be praised as soon as you do a little bit more than they expected
- knowing you can do more but just decided people around you do not deserve to see the best of you
- to never be blamed when you try something and you fail. You're disapointed at yourself but dont have to deal with everyone else being dissapointed at you.
- to be invisible when people discuss 'important' things. They think you are nothing and your presence or abscense doesn't really matter because you cannot possibly understand or be concerned about what they are dealing with. This is probably what most spies are counting on.
- to quiety suggest something and the others think it is their idea...and really, you wanted them to think that way anyway...most women can do this...if guys notice it, they call it manipulation:)

I am sure there are more but I am a bit tired and I don't want to give away some thousands year old secrets...

She says, He says

'Did you have your hair cut?'
'No, they fell by themselves'
'Oh, like a week ago!'

Typical exchange there. Now what guys don't usually understand is that if the haircut is horrible the ladies won't mention it at all because the change would be very obvious and it would save them a lie. In general though, the guys have a trim and it looks nice and neat. So the compliment is usually free. I missed that TV show where they try to investigate if we buy clothes for ourselves or to impress others...duh! Same for a haircut...we do it because we find it nice or necessary, or both. And we just hope everybody we care about would see it the same way we do. At the very least we do not want to hear that it is ugly. Let's face it, every investment we do is aimed at boosting our ego, because we hope it will be a success...whether a car (penis extention), a mansion, a factory, bling bling, etc...And a show of appreciation is always so welcome. And this is where guys usually fail our expectations.


So sure, guys don't notice haircuts as much as women. I think they notice it but then disregard it completely and put it on the hairstyling instead. Mind you, I cannot remember people's eye colours sometimes unless I make a consious note of it for its own sake. Hmmm, imagine some guy staring at you because he tries to remeber your hair, just in case it changes the next day...creeepy! Still, it is justified to expect a compliment about one's haircut or hair colour when so much effort and money have been put into it. Also maybe because they sometimes don't really realize we have a head. There are advantages at being underestimated, but that is another blog entry.

Addiction

According to Wikipedia, 'Addiction is a chronic disorder proposed to be precipitated by a combination of genetic, biological/pharmacological and social factors. Addiction is characterized by the repeated use of substances or behaviors despite clear evidence of morbidity secondary to such use.'



Having ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, I find I cannot find many things I can get addicted to. I am not sure I am addicted to the Internet for example. If I don't have it, and am somewhere beautiful and keeping busy, then I can forget about it, or at least stay away from my emails without going nuts...same thing for TV, or video games, even Cubis or Tetris. I get bored quite easily with everything so far. When first encountered, a situation or an activity or something is exciting because it is unusual. When I get used to it or if I think I to understand why or how it works, and if it does not change, then I am quite bored with it soon enough.

For instance I was so happy to be a volleyball referee (though it could be just a power trip), but then once the games got so uninteresting, it became boring. It was fun to play but after a while, with only 3 or 4 combinations of settings to work with, it also became routine. I can see the pattern already:
- discovery : the wow moment
- let live : enjoying it as it happens
- learning : figuring out the bits and parts
- assimilation : I dont even realize it's there anymore
- modification : trying to change it

If that last step fails, then it becomes routine. Most of my close friends being away from me, we are quite stuck in the discovery phase, or at most the learning phase. They usually have different specialties as well, so that I can listen for them for hours...Places I've lived in were places where I never got involved enough to learn the bits and parts of the way people lived or organized themselves to go about their daily worries and concerns. I was always in a transit mode. I suppose I still am, moving every 6 months and all that. I have never been interested in voting about anything, so detached I was from the issues to be dealt with.

My only true known addiction is biting my nails. Unlike TV or Internet, I cannot ignore them or forget about them. It has become as basic as breathing to bring my fingers to my mouth. Some therapist might have some complicated interpretations of it, say oral phases, etc...I can only resist for a few weeks at a time, with the help of gloves or a knitting kit. I can only knit scarves though so it becomes boring very quickly! Despite all the bitter nails polishes or even chilis smeared all over them, my nails still have that awesome taste! The chilis didn't work at all...it actually made them more delicious...LOL...I take my evil from them...

Spartacus?

I wonder if many people picked up on the fact that in the movie Ice Age 2: the Meltdown, the litle obsessed squirel gets to St Peter's gates of heaven, dancing ont he music of the classical ballet 'Spartacus' by Kachaturian...very funny, and yet so appropriate..what a parrallel, between Spartacus' yearning for freedom and the nameless squirel's hunger for nut...LOL
I didn't find this movie as hilarious as the first one though. Somehow I felt pity for the squirel, which in this one get a bigger part if not his nut. And it actually advances the storyline, not just an intermission scene...but his quest is sooooo painful. There were many issues in this movie and not that many one liners...

Who put the colours in the rainbow?

Can I add someone on my list? Ryan Philippe. Yesssssss.

I joined the very closed circle of sofa slackers...doesn't feel too good though, but it sounds like the first wives' club. Except I don't have a collection of expensive rings or wedding memorabilia to show off. Instead, I have bad memories of break ups. Mind you, after moult discussion, we got it to this point: women do not want to force their men to do anything. We obviously prefer that those men WANT to do what the women want. LOL. Reality bites though as we never want the same thing! A Saturday night well spent.

I finally got to enjoy a quiet weekend. It hasn't happened in a while. Also realized that there is a price to pay in living in an popular area. It wa simpossible to go out and do groceries on Saturday and it was even worse on Sunday, with all the gallery goers. Because the Truman brewery is now such a trendy place to organize shows, there is a show in all galleries every weekend if not every day. This weekend, there were various exhibitions part of the London Design Expo. It is very interesting, especially the [Re]-Design section where artists recycle many things in totally awesome useable art: like the lamps made from milk bottles, or sofas made of cardboard, or old manuals transformed into bookshelves! There were also 2 routemaster buses in the outdoor parking lot instead of the sandy ebach (sniff)...It's always so exciting to see the staff setup the next expo, but it's such a drag to navigate the crowd sometimes.

I dreamt of MK last night, and since I still haven't heard from him, I just hope he's alright and kept me in the corner of his mind, somewhere between some musical notes, swing dancing, and rocket science.

secret life of dot dot dot

One day I met a guy who was almost perfect. By that I mean he's soft spoken, a bit timid, cute, charming and meant what he said. I could relax around him and feel secure. I could be silly and loving without feeling him recoil in his privacy. We shared intimate laughs and silent moments. Time might have stopped in our infinite bliss. But then other events changed its pace. At least for me.
From slow motion embraces and gazing into each other's eyes to frantic smiling and hugging other people. Not only could I feel his head next to my ear, I could also see others entertain him and make stories about him. You may call it jealousy, and I have never been able to share. He became a public person and I could not cope with his public life: the cheers, the laughs, the praises of the crowd. The nameless faces that mentions his life or inquires about him to me. I could have become his spokesperson or his shadow, but I could no longer speak for him as he was no longer mine or was never one with me, and I would not be a shadow.

I much prefer our interaction to stay how it used to be...silent understanding and caring. In other words, telepathic.

:)

Mind you, I love movie stars like Orlando bloom and Wentworth Miller (gasp)...Aquarius woman, I am. Lunatic.

Keeping mum

The title of a quite funny film.

These few days have been a bit strange. Had fun with a college friend and rediscovered London all over again. Have been living away from everyone else for almost a week, despite some rare human contacts. And am a bit curious about the return to reality and the state of my motivation. There's an eerie feeling about it allt hat makes it confusing (discombobulating?).

I feel I am at a crossroad again in my life where I need to choose fast if I need to move on. I haven't identified the options yet though. In any case I don't like the pressure. I alwyas wish there was someone to motivate me and push me along the way but I realize it's a journey I have to take by myself. No matter how insoiring Coco or Purplina can be, the decisions are all mine and there is quite noone to catch me when I fall (some song lyrics, right there...aww).

So, in the meantime, let autumn fall and winter chill our bones...maybe my dozing mind would awake some day

What happens in Amsterdam...

Hopefully stays in Amsterdam.

I've been bad. I'm sorry. The weather was perfect, sunny and a bit breezy, but it was so nice. And I spent most of my time inside, smiling with my yellow teeth and standing on my blistered and bloodied feet. Time flew by...and I may have managed to annoy or hurt some. I'll make it up to them someday.

It's good to get back, the way it's good to wake up from a dream, no matter how nice the dream is. And at least dreams are private. This trip was experienced by so many people, it'll be impossible to repress everyone's memeory of it. LOL

Ah well, it's called dealing with reality and I'll have to learn how to do that..

Let's buy a conscious

Lately, it's been very easy to make yourself good and empowered and deserving of heaven: all you need to do is buy a certain brand of water bottles and you help Africa drink. Buy or use a certain credit card and you help raise funds for AIDS research.

So now you can spend money, indulge in all luxury, and still fell great and guiltless because you are doing it for a good cause...doesn'it remind you of something..ah yeah, when catholics used to give money to the Church to have their sins erased from the God's log...

a British weekend

There are a few things that I'd say are specifically British, if not just English. I managed to do a lot of those things this whole weekend alone. Forget sailing on the Thames, going to Westminster, drinking in a pub. Those are all very much acccessible to anyone visiting London, doing touristy stuff.

This weekend, I came back from work, had a drink with my flatmate and got so hammered there was no way I could drag myself to the gym. Okay, that is not exceptionally British, I admit, it's just me. However, having a full English breakfast the next morning is quite unusual for me. Imagine: fried egg, baked beans in tomato sauce (mmmm), mushrooms, sausage, and most of all...2 fried toasts! My life span just shortened by 10 years. It also brought back childhood memories of breakfast while travelling with the family.

Another novelty for me was catalog shopping. Even in Africa we used to buy cereals by catalog (and ginger cookies..mm) along with housekeeping items and electronics. That was home shopping though, as we comfortably order from the safety of our sofas. A quite different catalog shopping in London is through Argos. This shop has all invetories on catalog that you can pick up from several 'stores'. For the first time since I've moved to London, I finally got the courage to try shopping from Argos. In the 'store' you get to browse the ctalog as well if you think you can bring it home by yourself. You get to mark the catalog number of the item you need (in my case, blank DVDs), then proceeed to a cashier to pay for it, then wait for the items to be delivered to another counter...and it's really fast!!! It's as fast as ordering and getting a burger!!

It's surprising I haven't seen similar shops anywhere else because the company saves money on retail space by just having stocks out of the way of the customers. Saves them money from theft and magnetic antitheft machine that rings annoyingly at the door. At this point I just imagine everything is automated (like those electronically sorted wardrobes)...

Anyway, it's been a weekend full of new experiences! Next weekend will be a bit different though...

Anime otaku

Yes, I am shameless and admit I still watch japanese animes. The ones I have however have no cyborg or cars transforming into a giant fighter by combining with other truck or flying jumbo jet. There are real soap opera anime out there, and it is more fun to watch than real bad actors. I must say I like the voice actors in these anime as well, as even when I don't understand much (well, I can only order food, let's face it), I enjoy watching the unsubtitled episodes.

A shortlist of what's out there for instance, all followed weekly:
- Ouran Host club
-Nana

I also started watching Kasimasi but it seems a bit too slow and boring. And of course I sometimes try to catch up on Bleach.

It's really only because there is nothing on tv and I am too lazy to go to the movies. And there is nothing out there anyway..I mean...snakes on a plane..hahahaha what kind of a plot is that? Now that you can take matches and cigarettes but no lipstick or eye drops on a plane...

Cars and disco

Ahh.. so am actually enjoying this 'Top Gear' show on TV..I can only watch it from time to time. My knowledge of car is still very inexistent: 4 wheels, seats, steering wheel, stick shift...really, the rest is if it looks cute or not...those guys go on and on about the model V50K or ZER-O serie (hahahaha)...ah well, let me be girly.

It is september already so I'll get more depressed each day again until next spring...I need to get out more...am serious! But before I can get into the skimpy outfit and show some meat (arghh) I need to face up to the daunting challenge of running the 10Km (yeah yeah, it haunts me...why did I even sign up?)

Until then, I have laundry to do, room to sweep, data to backup, and most frightening, I need to live for 7 days without my dear cocovanille (I can't let go).

You're just too good to be true

Really, one of my favourite songs.

It's funny how being out of my element makes me notice the smallest details about people and their effor tot blend in or not. This is one of those occasions where I assume the form of a wall or blend into the wallpaer to observe what people are doing when they think noone is watching.

Another funny, yet typical of me as well at least, is to almost forget about someone, and then be completely overwhelmed by surprise and mixed feelings when that person is mentioned. More suprising even is the fact that the particular person actually seems responsive from miles away...it is a hell of a rollercoaster ride! It's like when you give up waiting for someone at dinner, order some food, and they just turn up when the food has come...


Note to self:running gives me sore shoulders...unbelievable!

Covent Garden

So here is the inside of the Royal Opera House. Been there again for the Premiere of Don Quixote by the Bolshoi.

Hang on, Irina! I'm being sued!

really, some people have a rich imagination!

CSI: Completely socially incapacitated

Ah yes I spent my evenings watching CSI for the past 2 days. I did miss watching it on TNT and Fox with all those Pizza Hut and Wendy's commercials..heheheh. But now I'm up to date and I can't wait for the next season. My social skills aren't improving and I suprise myself in preferring to stay indoors and watch a serie than go clubbing...yikes! am getting old!

Which reminds me: I need to train for the freaking 10k coming up in October.

I also suprise myself in not being worried about all the news at the moment. Maybe because I don't care anymore, or just because it really doesn't concern me for now. I'd pay attention to it if I was travelling...being self centered really does help not being worried to much and enjoy life as much as I can.:)

My cousin asked why I was working all the time. He's right, I need a holiday! I'm just trying to afford it so that I won't worry so much about how much would be left in the bank (if anything). Which reminds me of that dissertation I had to write in high school (philosophy class):' what is work and why do we work?' ...What i never understand is why they ask that kind of question to 15 year old kids whose only jobs were probably to wash the car, wait tables (with variable amount of clothes) and do other people's homeworks...ahem. How can you write a 4 page paper if all you can find is ' i do it for the money'? At least now I can add ' and also to kill some time otherwise I'll be so bored'...

'Ring ring' by ABBA..LOL

I was sitting by the phone
I was waiting all alone
Baby, by myself I sit and wait and wonder about you
It's a dark and dreary night
Seems like nothing's going right
Won't you tell me honey how can I go on here without you

Yes, I'm down and feeling blue
And I don't know what to do, oh-oh

Ring, ring, why don't you give me a call
Ring, ring, the happiest sound of them all
Ring, ring, I stare at the phone on the wall
And I sit all alone impatiently
Won't you please understand the need in me
So, ring, ring, why don't you give me a call
So, ring, ring, why don't you give me a call

You were here and now you're gone
Hey, did I do something wrong
I just can't believe that I could be so badly mistaken
Was it me or was it you
Tell me, are we really through
Won't you hear me cry and you will know that my heart is breaking

Please forgive and then forget
Or maybe darling better yet, oh-oh

Ring, ring, why don't you give me a call
Ring, ring, the happiest sound of them all
Ring, ring, I stare at the phone on the wall
And I sit all alone impatiently
Won't you please understand the need in me
So, ring, ring, why don't you give me a call
So, ring, ring, why don't you give me a call
Oh-oh, ring, ring, why don't you give me a call
So, ring, ring, why don't you give me a call

Musical moment

Our sunday morning concert in Wien

Schonbrunn garden & zoo

So this is the castle where Sissi used to hang out in the summer..lucky girl

We visited the zoo with Caroline's Melman

Wien Rathaus

Last June in front of the Wien rathaus, they had a stage up for worker's day or something. Professions showcasing were hairdressers, fashion clothes makers, dancers, etc...



We just sat on the ground and hummed with them..ok, sometimes scaring the people around us as usual

Codes, ciphers and languages

Ciphers

Am reading this litle book (10cmx10cm) on codes and ciphers at the moment, just hoping it is a good short version of the other serious 'intro to cryptography' book I borrowed for life from my prof. And in paralle, am also reading another book, also borrowed, on the English language. Made me realize some langugae actually express some thought sbetter than others...learned for example that in English there is 'home' and 'house' but only one word in French, 'maison'. I am sure there are words in French as well that have no direct equivalent in English (I can't think of any at the moment because am tired and I don't want to switch my brain to French). Mostly though, there are some things that are shorter to say in a language or other, so my lazy brain just picks that up.

The worst thing though is trying to quote or repeat someone, usually a line in a movie or book, then realizing I cannot remeber in which language it was...Follows a series of bactracking in time and space to figure out when where and with whom the episode was, and by the time I get the correct quote in the correct language, nobody is interested anymore!

This is why I am much more comfortable writing that talking. I have more time to think about each word, and to use it with its full meaning. I'd be interested if you have an example of the 'house-home' subtelty in French or Spanish though...

And to finish on a suspense, tonight I'll upload some videos about my trip in Vienna...

Ohayoo gozaimasu!

Darn, it's monday...and I'm not sleepy despite an all nighter.
Thoughts for today:
-happy and chilled: weather is rainy and I have to catch up on sleep!
-wishing to dream of flying. Well given my weight at the moment it'll be a welcomed miracle!
-I need to do more mental math exercises, because I can't multiply anymore.
-Am actually thinking in Japanese sometimes, thanks to all these animes I watch...sugoi!
-The radio keeps mentioning '6 weeks of summer'...how depressing...I wish there were 6 months of summer!
-A special comforting thought to Zab who must not feel very good these days. Life really sucks at times.

Alright, the God of my dreams calls me into sleep (ahem, Wentworth Miller)..MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

More seriously, someone told me once I am using comedy or laughter to mask everything and don't allow anyone to get close to me...maybe. I only feel I enjoy a good time in good company though, even if sometimes I also enjoy the silence of an early morning by myself.

A day in the life of -H-

This looks more and more like a diary entry:
Today, walked across London for an hour to buy shoes (yes, I needed a pair after I couldn't find one that satisfied my fancy from my cupboard). To afford these new ones I will have to sell my old clothes and shoes that bore me next week. Then went for drink in Notting Hill with a coworker (sorry I metion work). On my way back, saw a disgraceful woman in the bus: wearing a lycra top too small for her, and a pair of tight jeans also too small for her. It was so small she was showing her full black laced panties to the whole bus..beuark. Viva liberty of expression...

Thought about something I discussed earlier in the evening: I do envy people with childhood friends. I have great friends but I don't see them very often. Someone asked if our time spent together were fantastic, joyful, awesome, yet superficial moments as they are only blips in time. For me they are not, as I give myself heart and soul to that moment, forgeting how ugly and miserable life can be, rejoicing only in the time spent together. They may be mere blips in time, but they are happy blips that make it worth waiting for the next blips.

I'm not even sure how you spell that word: bleeps, blips, bleaps...

And there is no childhood friend for me to share the stories of the past.

Oh and i've been let down quite unexpectedly by a local good friend who decided to go to the beach with some other girls without telling me (let alone inviting me). I always expect so much of people and let myself be disapointed.

I'm afraid to be blue in a white rage, green hatred and red anger so I'll just get in my shell and stay brown and spicy

Until all is rosy again...(think of a happy thought)