Weekend bite size pleasures

Fantasy muffins

Stroll in Camden Market to see what's left from the fire

Blown away, or how NOT to start a good Monday

Unlike the movie that could be coming to mind, I was not in passionate romantic epoch piece or story. I was merely trying to wake up when getting off the train when the wind attacked me trough my very bones and started to fight against my poor umbrella. Halfway to work my umbrella gave up and flew away, leaving me with a pathetic metallic rod to protect me from the gale and wind along the few yards leading to work. Also my lunch box broke and I was left holding my 2 tupperwares of chinese curry and courgette like a famished vampire protecting its last drops of blood...Then in the lobby at work, I was told the elevators weren't working...so in my mindless state, I had to climb the stairs to the 7th floor.

I would like to think I was being punished but I am not sure for what. On the other hand I didn't go to the gym this evening.

My only consolation for tonight is to be able to post my letters, which are 1 week overdue, and to buy some lamb to cook that rendang one more time...to prove myself I didn't do it by mistake.

'I am not a target market'

I am re-reading Generation X from D. Coupland and it always makes me laugh and sad at the same time. Good read always. Otherwise I realize I am becoming a 'devil' wearing 'prada': my plastic glasses have that little logo I am afraid, and I've just accepted an invitation that another one of my colleguae, more senior than me, could have accepted as well. being a second choice though, I did not hesitate. Only upon knowing who the 3rd choice was I realized I migght have hurt his sensibilities. but I doubt he really wanted to attend this thing anyway...for me it's free lunch....:) I will try to be cute and well behaved but really I am there for the free food...nothing has changed much.
Still, there is this conscience whispering for 'justice' or order of things...ah well...I have to look after myself as well when that time comes. I will have to be super helpful in the future to make sure I don't run on my own but with everyone else. I am very gregarious when I think about it. I like to stay in the safety of the pack. I do my own things though,

I am preparing for a busy week as Zab is coming over to try out my new flat and to bring me some wine, and hopefully some Kambly...What to do?
Thursday we're going to see Wicked, the musical that tells the story of the witches of Oz
Friday, well hopefully if my body can handle it afte rmy early morning shift, we will hang out at the Big Chill or Guanabara, depending on the mood.
Saturday, some sightseeing could be nice, chilling and strolling, maybe a boat ride to Kew?
Sunday, I should rest, or hang out at Spitalfieds Market, weather permitting...especially if I need to replenish my fridge.

But today, I will need my beauty sleep.

The house has been warmed.

I can still remember my first kiss and my first gin and tonic. I also remeber my first heart ache, even if I am not too sure over which boy. There are litle things that I am not sure why I remeber, like the kid ritual to bury leaves to make the rain stop falling. Or the noise and bustle of a ballet class when I was barely 6 year old. I am sure I will remember my first housewarming decades from now though because I actually had to cook for 9 other people and they ate most of the food and even said it was good...It gives me a bit of confidence in my well renowned experimental bad-looking cooking. So let me write down the recipes of these dishes I served my first ever guests:
-Lamb Rendang: cook cubes of lamb with a bit of oil and basil leaves, adding boiling water and simmer for million years while I am cleaning frenetically the flat until midnight. The next evening, while the guests are trickling in, add the Indofood spice mix for Rendang beef and let simmer again for another 7000hours until you serve it to the guests. You can also add some coconut milk to make it cremy but I thought there was enough fat with all the oil...it turned out ver nice and sooo tender I was suprised myself (so I'll make sure to start simmering the day before to make somthing tender)
-Ikan Bumbu Bali: That's fish with some balinese spices. Again, fry the fish filets in the morning with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice, leave it in the fridge until coming back from work. Heat up some oil with the IndoFood Bumbu Bali spice mix, then add in the fish...I was supposed to add in some more fresh tomatoes and onions, but since the guys already ate up the lamb, and I was pretty drunk by 9pm, and I couldn't find any room to chop the veggies, I figured they're just going to eat fish...serve it up nice and warm
-Wonton: dump the wontons in boiling water. My pot was so small it ended up being a big block of wonton that we had to cut with a knife and serve with soy sauce and sweet and chili thai sauce.

My coworker (Little Chef) who knows how to cook brough 4 tons of rice (I had to buy a big pot to be able to heat it up), another potful of curried lentils, and made chicken tikka upon arrival at my house....It was really yummy and I am seriously glad he pitched in for the rice and all the chicken and lentils...Instead of waiting for monday to eat his lunch, I can now eat some of his cooking during this weekend..hehehhe

It was a night of missing pots and ustensils of all sorts to use (foil wrap, pots big enough to cook for 10 people, working space, soft drinks, ice cream, snacks). I had to ask another coworker (still can't find a name for him) to buy appetizer, beer, juice, and a pot to reheat the rice. I also had to go downstairs at the local supermarket buy ice cream, and another pot to reheat the lentils.

I ended up with 2 additional huge pots, 3L of vanilla ice cream, lemon tart, chocolate cheesecake, 1 Riesling, 1 red wine, a bottle of champagne we forgot in the fridge, 2 beers, 2 bricks of juice, 1 coke, millions of containers with leftovers so that I won't cook for next week, and a good feeling that I fed 10 people, including myself.

This morning I ate wonton for breakfast and froze the rest for next week. I also will have enough fruits for the week: melon, prunes, grapes, aple, banana.

It was a well behaved party, the place is intact and all tidied up by 2am, and I just need to figure out how to make the dishwasher work once I buy some soap....

At the end of the tunnel

Do you see my door at the end of this corridor?

I love this phone

So thanks to a colleague i get a basic slow internet connection by connecting my 3G enabled mobile to my laptop. I cant uplnad much but i can check my mails!

Sunset

Yup. From my messy new flat.

View from the flat

This morning i realize my windows face west. Nice sunset from the balcony to look forward to!

London 0, Fog 2

It's only the second foggy day but I kind of like the sight of it. When I wake up in the morning, everything beyond the 3m mark is masked by a thick white fluffy cotton fog. It's refreshing to walk into, and the light does not hurt my puffy eyes. When I get to work, the view from the 7th floor is magnificent: nothing but white cotton through the glass window and I get this feeling I am in space, up in the clouds...very uplifting.

Even better this morning when the shuttle driver decides to change route and cut through some 'residential' area with litle parks. I missed my camera and was too sleepy and dreamy to take out my phone and snap away the shapes of tortured naked trees in the fog. That other route was rubbish too as it wasn't quite a shortcut with all the constructions along the road, and the traffic jams along the way. I felt completely lost until we ended up at the roundabout next to our building.


I hope the fog continues, it completely fits my mood right now...I am quite poor after paying my deposit and rent for the new flat. So to relax a bit, I paied £21 more to have my hair washed, my head massaged and my hair cut. Now all i need to do is finish whatever is in the fridge and freezer and hope I won't have leftovers to throw away or carry over East London....

All I need now is a facelift because as my colleagues say, 'I look like shit recently'...charming

Mai, Mitoko, and me

Sometimes falling asleep while watching movies in the early mornings makes me so nostalgic. I do love following stories, whether in books, movies, ballet, stage, music...So today apart from moving dust around and a lame attempt to clear the room, the agenda was to take catnaps and watch all the movies I can watch. They are meant to inspire and give me courage.

Something funny: a night out on Brick lane was suggested at work..after I move away from the area..so ironic. But I guess I will enjoy coming back.
Something to plan: maybe this year I will give a Valentine's day present, if I remember in time to find and get it. This would be a first.
Something to remember: to remember
Something kinda gross yet lifesaving: inactivated forms of a virus must be grown inside chicken eggs. DNA vaccines, on the other hand, can be grown in bacteria,

'Ave Caesar, ave moi'

really even with the subtitles it would have been quite difficult to understand the jokes and references to French films and songs. But it was a good laugh, with loads of sports stars and actors.

'Chasing Cars' - Snow Patrol

We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life



Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads

I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
------------------------------------------------------
Something that always brings tears to my eyes as I miss you

Bye bye 'twenies'

I love cartoons, I watch anime
I lick the Nutella pot clean with a finger, a spoon or a knife
I still bite my nails
I can't cook following a written recipe
I still cry loads when I like someone and I don't see why they don't like me
I am still not comfortable talking about sex in public
I can't drink more than 2 glasses of alcohol without being trashed
I still think I can do ballet with a 40kg buttock
I like fairy tales and read them from time to time.
My hair is till black and I haven't found a white hair yet but lots of split ends :(
I like sweet and candy, and carambar and malabar
I still hate waking up and going to work even if sometimes it's fun during the day
I like lego, a lot
And collage

Funny I got older supposedly!

Bears and bulls, rising prices etc...

Of course I now take some curious pleasure in reading some business section of some free newspapers. Having sat through a 2 hour introduction to financial data (which I requested), I should understand a bit more what those people in suit and ties are wasting lines and paper about. Well, it is still like chinese, but as exciting as learning a new language: as long as you know a little bit here and there, it is fun to recognize and understand words and concepts here and there. It is like grasping the 50% of a sentence, and the hilarious aprt is to try guessing what the real sentence was.

So sometimes I can make up a story and some reasoning or prediction, that eventually does not turn out to be real at all. The fact that it is usually in the morning, on my way to work does help a bit.

However, I first hand noticed the price rise i London: Yesterday on my way home I bought a kebab in r oll from the take away curry shop 'Sweet and Spicy' down Brick lane. I think it cost me £1.35. It was really nice, so this evening I got tempted again and ordered the same thing. He charged me £1.40 ! I was dressed exactly like yesterday so, with even the same hairdo.

So, either:
1- he really doesn't want me to eat that anymore, or eat there anymore, or
2- there is no fixed price and I should have bargained, or
3- this country has areally high inflation, or
4- he made a mistake, or
5- this time the spicy sauce was extra (and i got it for free ysterday), or
6- I should order the same thing tomorrow to confirm any theory above

Because really, if this price increase continues, I am better of going to the 'Lahore Express' on Bethnal Green where I can get a full wrap with veggies and meat and sauce and a smile, for like £1.50 instead of a spicy kebab in a pancake....

Moving pictures

Some may wonder why I watch anime so much. I don't watch the Powerpuff girls movies where everything is roundish and cute-ish. So far the ones I have been hooked on are very disturbing ones like 'Death note', sentimental and a bit girly (such as 'Nana'), or just adventurer type anime like 'Mushishi' or 'Claymore'.

I was blown away by all of them.

'Nana' dwelled so much into women feelings and friendships, as well as loneliness, it was quite refreshing to follow a storyline where things are not always happening according to a fairytale. 'Mushishi' on the other hand consists of tales that can only be possible because of the rich beliefs in spirits in the nippon culture. A bit like how a sorcerer or a traditional medicine man travelling around the country would encounter many strange cases that reveals some behavioural oddities (example the flower which blooms everyevening and makes you forget the previous day for the rest of your life once you inhale its scent: some people are better off forgetting and seeing a new day).
One of my favourites is 'Claymore', which follows the adventures of a girl named Claire who is 1/4 monster and 3/4 human (the other Claymores are traditionally half human half monster), and who exists to kill monsters that threaten the humans...a bit twisted really. However the Claymores get their strength from their monster side, but are trained to control the monster in them. I just found it very true as most humans are monsters and it's really our humanity that makes us 'civilized' or not eat each other's guts. This week though this anime came to mind when they granted 2 labs to start animal-human hybrid cells research. I am afraid it won't be long before a lab get broken and hybrid cells that are supposed to be destroyed after research get stolen and developed into chimeras: would it be or feel human or would it be animal? How would we judge? Not content with procreation, we human really are obsessed with creation.

'Death Note' is about a psychological chase and mystery between a bored brilliant student who found a strange diary and the police led by a genius teenager. The diary allows its owner to kill anyone by visualizing the face of its victim and writing his name in the diary. Armed with the death note, he becomes drunken with ambition to create a world free of criminals, and to become the god of that world. He is challenged by the other genius who also remains anonymous. Think 'The departed' where each one tries to unmask and kill the other. This anime actually springs from a novel or a manga apparently, and there are also movies made of it. However, the characters are not as cute and polished as in the manga or anime.

Happy new Year!

Ah yes the long awaited new year...now that it is here, nothing much has changed though, so it is up to me (and all of you there, yes you! you!) to make change happen.

I am sticking to my new resolutions (okay, the ones I had last year too). I have managed to stop eating between meals, and I don't jump on snacks or croissant or sugar fix like a famished beggar anymore. Instead I painfully peel an orange and feed myself with its sticky juice.

I also discovered the joys and pains of wii. Santa Claus managed to reward our office with a wii for Christmas, so in addition to the table football, we now can play tennis, bowling, golf and boxing in the comfort of our 7th floor kitchen. I was KO by my teammate yesterday and believe me, my arms are still sore from that 5 minute match!

I will keep on swiming, and eating healthy, and hopefully will stop eating my nails along the way....add in to that the fact that i am looking for a flat for mid-february!

St Sylvestre

Oh so cold

Greetings

A straight line to the holidays

London is pretty festive these days. There are lights everywhere, company Christmas parties, sales, and so many lights we forget about the daylight. Strolling on Oxford Street becomes unbearable, because half of London showed up to shop, and also because there are so many temptations in the shops. I am supposed to save some money!


Even bank was illuminated with pink spots as a party was starting inside the Royal Exchange building.

A stroll on Portobello Road revealed a very empty market, where only a few tourists dared to stroll because each side of the road was littered with shops that you can see anywhere else in the capital. My little jamaican snack shop dissapeared and was replaced by a tapas restaurant. GNN GNNN GNNN

And then it hit me. The ones staying in London for the holidays are the very rich who revels in their £400/week apartment, the very poor who cannot afford a holiday like me, and the tourists. Even my usually lively area has become quiet, only disturbed by drunken beggars and their dogs.

So this year, I will attempt to attend the midnight mass, because I rise when I am surrounded by belivers, singing in a beautiful cathedral, echoing all the heartfelt songs on the cold hard marble. It sends shivers to my spine and reminds me that there is some good in this life worth a little exploration.

whats the integral of 1/cabin?

...beach hut (log cabin plus c).


Do not forget you maths, you still use it everyday at the most random times!
It's finally the weekend again and am so glad. I am seriously looking at important decisions to make.
What school to start enrolling for Japanese? Where to move house to? What to do with my pension, cash it in or transfer it? Should I eat the last cookie even if I ran out of milk? What's the budget for tomorrow's flowers? What curse to put on the people downstairs who woke me up with their home improvement noises? Which show should I book for the end of year festivities?

I know now why some people have a PA or a secretary to do everything. All these decision making are absolutely time consuming. It's barely 11am and am already tired!

On the upside, I got lazy staying under my white fluffy covers while thinking about my friends. Ahh I like saturday mornings after all...let's procrastinate until sunday morning...

December blues

Yesterday morning I saw the dawn of the much anticipated end of the week. It was such an intense week as it is very busy at work. My mornings are cold out there, and this particular one was very windy. So windy in fact a mini tornado downed 2 lamp posts inches away in front of me as I walked to the station. It actually woke my sleepwalking head, and made me quite nervous. So I speedwalked the rest of the street, watching out for other lamp posts to fall noisily on the street...pheww..that was too close.

For a minute I was cheering myself up, with the 'I am alive' motto, but I still didn't manage to feel any urgency to skip and jump with my arms in the air.
Was it because I still had to go to work? (oh shoot, it's only my first week!), or was it because I was just tired? In any case, I mainly thought about my family. I have always prouded myself in being ready and not being too afraid of death, but am I being honest? I wasn't ready then. For a start, I didn't have breakfast, because I wanted to arrive early at work to clean up my act and plan my strategy for the day. And then I realize it is most difficult to be ready to say goodbye to your loved ones.

I still wished I heard the cool enthusiastic backround music and the rush of ' I'm gonna do all the crazy things on my list' kind of feelings. The adrenaline picked up at work, and I ended the day without a single minute for myself (just once to pee). I grabbed a Coke can for the bus.

Almost just another ordinary day. I still hadn't seen an Ed Norton movie where he ends up on top...why? why?why?

I think I still want to change the world, so I am not too depressed yet...It's just that people get on my nerves and in my way too often...not to mention lamp posts...grrrrr

Surfing in the meeting room

Live from London

Sumo at work

Another fun friday last week

'Cause it's the wild wild west

At work...sometimes we work too, but since we were still in training then, we took advantage of all the fun activities organized...

What I did last Autumn

Fudgemaking in Baltimore, MD:


Library of Congress and Arlington cemetery in Washington DC:


Crazy night out in Montreal:

Remembering my first week at work

Well, I was lucky enough to start the job on the week they had a team building activity scheduled. And it sat right with me as it involved food!


And this coming Monday I will finally work as such as I completed my training!

zero degree

Yes, I am straddling the Greenwich timeline..you know...Half of me is east and half of me is West...and it was a cold evening. Photo thanks to HappyFeet by the way.

Hokies 33-21 over Cavaliers

Just in case you were wondering...
Go Hokies!
Next game is the ACC championship game, December 1st.

Tech fans

Watching game vs UVA

Tears

For the fleeting memories
And the good deeds
For the ones left behind
and the face I won't see again

To wash away the sorrow
And bring the family to mind
To swallow the bitter aftertaste of life
And hold the moments at heart

"The Blowers Daughter"- Damien Rice

And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes...

And so it is
Just like you said it should be
We'll both forget the breeze
Most of the time
And so it is
The colder water
The blower's daughter
The pupil in denial

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes...

Did I say that I loathe you?
Did I say that I want to
Leave it all behind?

I can't take my mind off of you
I can't take my mind off you

I can't take my mind...
My mind...my mind...
'Til I find somebody new

Sunset

Yesterday, feeling great as school/work finished early, I managed to catch the sunset on a different view: at Bank station, waiting for the bus. They just cleaned this part of the building so it's spanking and shining new.

And the end of the week seems sunny so far so I am not too fussed wearing skirts while all the trousers are at the cleaner's

Neighbourhood street art

A sample of what is nearby.

I see those almost everyday and never had a time to take proper pictures. These are taken from my phone, and I will have to make some by daylight too.

525600 minutes...

Very sweet memory of singing along in Atee's room and going to Burruss hall watching the show. I even remember where I was seated and how I got there late...

This was my first outing with people from work that I don't even know or work with. I am just that popular...hehehehe

Fire!

Something is burning across the road and the dark cloud is raining carbonized stuff on us at work. Apparently though some warehouse was burning, and there are more pictures of it here.

Sluggish

On a nice day, I can stare out of the window sometimes and see the view outside, on the river. On a bad day, I get to see more clouds than necessary and I am not seated next to the window.


And I also appreciate the heights and the empty space between my feet and the ground...

At least once the past week, I laid my head on the pillow feeling so numb and haggard and deaf I was just hoping to switch off. And then to be surprised the next morning to hear the alarm clock and realize I am still alive (sigh).

I really cannot think ahead enough to next year at this point. It's really living one day at a time, trying to keep my spirits and attention up everyday (thanks to vitamin c and multivitamin pills)...I love my bed...

And why do I only get along with friends who I can only see at most twice a year????

'La barre de faire'

花火 !!!

"Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason, and plot,
I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 't was his intent
To blow up the King and Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!"

It's the season again: bonfires and fireworks, whether for Halloween or Guy Fawkes failed explosion. From every corner and alleys leading to a small park, colorful light erupts in cheerful bangs and fizzes.

But the big one is in 2008..and to give a taste, here's from last year

How to stop biting nails

So the week started slowly, with work giving me more headaches than usual because I am getting sicker and sicker with the flu and can't seem to have any more medication at home. I was very happy to see Mr and Mrs Denmark though , who enjoyed a bit of typical rainy weather in Chinatown.

Hopefully they got home alright and managed to get some rest in their Paddington hotel last weekend.
During their visit, we managed to eat Bengladeshi (of course!), delicious burger and milkshakes at Ed's Diner at Leicester Sq, the good old sandwich at Subway (they're crazy about this), chinese food in Chinatown, and sushi in Little Tokyo (aka Brewer St).

In all that frenzy, I started biting my nails again...after it gre the whole summer..sniff. And no, putting on acrylic fake nails does not help as they are too long and I am unable to use a keyboard with them, or pick my nose, ears and scratch my eyballs. So really...please, show me the will to stoooop...

The alternative so far has been to wear gloves..but I believe I am weird enough at work without it so no need to stand out even more...

Sunday football

Obviously i was rooting for the New York Giants, but I felt I could not wear any of their shirts or caps because ...really...does it make sense for me to wear something with 'GIANTS' written on it??

Something to look forward to

I have no more trip planned this year. It's sad. I already miss my friends. And the ones I know in London are travelling abroad (or not really friendly, or autistic). Everyone I like here is away, out of London or moving away.

Fortunately work is pretty intense and lots of interesting concepts and opportunities flying about, as well as germs...but the company is offerning vaccine shots (ok, for only £12)...should I get them? Am not a big syringe fan. But again if I want to continue swimming and working with coughing and sneezing colleagues and survive the winter, maybe I should...but I don't have time to go...I have work to do....or cheese to buy ...or cake to buy....or some other food...for the team...am glad they love food, and I miss the adrenaline rush of being on the desk..because for now I am stuck doing e-learning (some of it ok, some of it are like fire prevention and safety at work..very boring). I can't wait to install my first product and then tear it apart and re-install it...something I like to do with some people's brain.

I can't wait for the year to finish..because next year:
-I will have an extra holiday (as per company policy, 1 additional day off /year, max 30 days...so after 30 years service one has 55 days off/year..LOL)
-My Maman will come to visit me...yeah (inch'Allah)
-I will get older (boooooo)
-Maybe I'll get my own apartment , no more sharing, if my bank lends me some money
-I will have vacation days to spend wisely in various trips

So seriously, for once I want time to go faster...Like I want to wake up and it's 2008.

The end of autumn

The sun sets before 6 these days already, and soon I will go home everyday seeing this when coming out of the office.

It can be worse (yes, in about a month or so).

To fight the season's gloom, I finally managed to run outside (after a self adminstered pep talk) and even dragged my flatmate out (she walks, I run). Time flew again this weekend and I didn't even have time to iron or stich up my trousers or even pamper myself to a girly mask or shop till I drop....

Instead I only got groceries (the fridge is full) and cooked for the week (the freezer is full), and cleaned my room again after buying another wardrobe for my winter clothes. The keyboard is back on the balcony, and an aloe vera and another cactus are keeping company to each other on the windows. Hopefully they'll survive winter with me.

The resolution for the week is to stop eating at work. It has been a very excessive week because each memeber of the team keeps bringing food in turns!! From croissants, pain au chocolat, english fry up breakfast, it didn't stop!! Tryly, they socialize around food, but I must stay away from it. Matter of fact I now sit at the end of the desk, isolated by my 3 screens (yes, three, don't ask me why, I am a very busy important person!NOT). I can pick my nose and make faces to myself and nobody can see me.

'A life of happiness or a life of meaning'..or else?

That's the choice given to a character in an episode of Heroes. And it explains the difference too: A life of happiness, where one does not dwell on the past and doesn't worry about the future; Or a life of meaning, whereby one is haunted by the past and spends all the present worrying sick and working for the future around him....Obviously most people want both...But is it really feasible?
At the time I watched the episode I was wondering why another alternative wasn't considered. A life where one feels happy about what he/she had lived and done; To be able to be satisfied and feel complete.
But when I think about it, the subtle difference is that the 3rd option can only be decided or assigned as such on one's deathbed, whereas the 1st two can be a daily conscious decision.

Do I eat the tiramisu now and get fat or not eat it and be healthy? The decision is now. But whatever decision I take now will ensure my level of satisfaction if I die in the next 3seconds, 3 months or 3 centuries. Yes, I am pretty much trying to live a life of happiness most times....take it now, worry later. It feels simple enough.

Alas, it's all different when it involves other people. Other people I love, other people I fancy or care about, and other people I don't like. Still, I usually do whatever I want because why wait?? I might die in a second.

Nine years later

But who's counting? A few things changed, but the jeans still don't fit on the first try, the memories always look better than reality.

It's like meeting for the first time packed with the familiarity of past lives! And I am feeling great stitching together my two lives as things come rushing back to mind.

It's amazing how life can be so sweet!

Lone star

I feel very lucky that there are so many places/people I feel at home and at ease with. I am travelling great distances at times and finding the company of old friends so soothing and comforting. They are my real destinations. Maybe am finding out what happiness is in its infinitely small unassuming quiet appearance.

It is not the long journey that makes the destination more rewarding. The journey brings about the physical challenges, the time for reflection and retrospective, the rest that awaken the eyes. It makes me consider the value of what has been left behind, and what is worth coming back to.

I often feel anonymous on a journey, a blank slate ready for any imprint. New faces, attitudes, emotions that reflect or clash against my own. I bask in adventurous foods, dances, beliefs. I often find beauty that give me faith in life and people. But I don't stay because there is more elsewhere to live.

The men that make the law and those who die defending it

I did not see the Confressmen in session but I visited the Library of Congress where they do research and consult previous cases.

Then in the afternoon I went to the Arlington National Cemetery where I shed a tear at the tomb of the unknown soldier, hearing the lament of the lonely bugle at the changing of the guard.

I have never been surrounded by so many dead people before!

Traditions and progress on the Mall

Of course I hit the Mall! I stuck to the Smithonian building, the Space Museum and the new Museum of Native Americans.


I tried to join a guided tour in the Smithonian, but all the participants were over 80 year old, so I felt a bit too young. Besides, the inside of the castle wasn't that exciting..beauty was truly only outside for this one!

I know I have been into the Space Museum on the Mall before but somwhow I cannot find any picture of it. So this time I snapped away and listened carefully to what Billy said (that's the dguide's name). And once again I touched the moon.

And the control module that held the astronauts that flew the Apollo 11 mission and walked on the moon.


And then I got lost in the Universe!

The tour lasted about 90min, and because there was no restaurant nearby, just museums, I was forced to eat at Mc*Ronalds...happy meal for me.

Next to that hall full of powerful engines and amazing feats of engineering sit the new museum of native american. It's a beautiful building. I cuold look at it forever and feel so peaceful.

It's a very nice museum that gives lots of information on the beliefs, customs and way of life of Native Americans, from the tribes in south america to the ones living in Alaska. There are loads of workshops and hands on activities as well to discover the crafts and music.



This is what the conquistadores were after though: GOLD

Hello Baltimore!

Why isn't it Friday?

Of course, it's whining day today. AM waiting for the weekend with much impatience, mainly because I get to sleep without an alarm clock, like billions of people. The extra reason is that I need to forget the traumatizing audition I had with the Philharmonic Choir last night. Surprisingly then, I wasn't loud enough (gasp), but then again I never auditioned in a huge hall. As expected my sight reading was catastrophic, and my scales were probably hardly passing grades...
Why did I bother? Because in my haste and enthusiasm I didn't realize who I was auditioning for! Go figure. On the other hand the rehearsal was very enjoyable, and it gives me even more strength to visit more choirs and work on my piece.

Until then it's goign to be much noise in my area...

Can you read my mind

Can you read my mind?
Do you know what it is you do to me?
Don't know who you are,
Just a friend from another star
Here I am like a kid at a school
Holding hands with a god, I'm a fool
Will you look at me quivering
Like a little girl shivering?
You can see right through me
Can you read my mind?
Can you picture the things I'm thinking of?
Wondering why you are
All the wonderful things you are
You can fly, you belong to the sky
You and I could belong to each other
If you need a friend,
I'm the one to fly to
If you need to be loved,
Here I am, read my mind!

Thank you for Friday

Oh Lord, this has been a funny tiring week. Work has taught me phone manners in French (yes yes, I am clueless), and tested my own limits in social interactions (because we all know I am a bear when it comes to it). But it seems I survived the first week and therefore more weeks are to be spent reading, learning, practicing, annoying people trying to work, bringing coffee (ahh yes, I have to give some to get some), more reading, picking up the phone (no, I don't use the sexy voice!), and resist the temptation of hitting everyone (mainly because they don't know me well enough), though some one was unfortunate enough to be around me one afternoon and got hit as I instinctively reacted in rage and moved my hand (ok I dont know my own strengh).

In any case, the techie part is fun, even if I haven't had a chance to break anything yet (muahahaha). The main drawback? The whole ironing business...I miss my baggy-out-of-bed jogging pants and plain old crumpled jeans. And at the same time I kinda enjoy to dress smart:) At least I don't look 12 in those clothes...

TGIF though...my poor brain is saturating with acronyms...I am so traumatized I am starting to think with them

CD: completely Dead
BMC: 'Bring Me Coffee'
MHH: My Head Hurts
ALU: Am Liking U
OFL: Out For Lunch

It's depressing when words in a whole conversation dont exceed 4 letters, but I'll have to get used to it....mama mia! Tatsukete!!!

Street party

So last sunday was pretty cool, for an indian summer..hehehe

In line for buses

I am the new kid

Sometimes it is quite fun to be thrown into a new environment: new people, new canteen, new boss, new work...mostly, I get to find everything new so it's all exciting and shining and oh so motivating.
Even if I can't access the material I need to work on, I did a good impersonation of the annoying kid who goes from grown up to grown ups asking aboutt heir job, sitting on their (......not that!)...their calls, and doing chit chat...it's a bit awkward though because it's a fine line between annoying bitch and cute first-starter.

In any case, I survived my first day and even booked my holidays..yatta!
God, 4 more days before the weekend...am not made for regular office hours (sigh)

Festival on Regent street

Hey mr dj

City beach

Indian summer

Ugly green sofa

I still havent bought a sofa cover so it is very greem while the white sheets covering it are drying. And this is my 1st mobile blog. Am a geek!

Post-trip blues

However sweet it is to find my own bed, it's a bit depressing to get back to the various bills awaiting me as well. Added to that slap-in-your-face confrontation with reality is the feeling that I left a friend in emotional confusion and that I could do nothing really but share my point of view and hope she'll be alright. The inability to help is very distressing. No matter how hard I try though, I know that it is her choice ultimately and that the best I can do is be there for her.

The trip back was unusual, on one of those planes with the wings on the roof, so that even if one is seated mid aircraft, one sees nothing but the earth below. Oh how I missed having the view of the landscape blocked by those large wings! Instead I was staring straight at heights and vertigo soon clouded my brain. I could also hear and feel every roar of the engines in the wing next to me. Landing was a chair gripping affair, with loads of turns and changes of accelerations. Nevertheless, the City airport was small enough to let me out with my luggage merely 20min after touchdown...

I passed by my future work on the way home. Enough said, stress is paralyzing me.
I will hibernate this weekend and finish my first homework.