Kids and men

It struck me that having kids and being together with a man has a lot of similarities. Ok, so it didn't struck me as lightning but rather reminded me today. I have a friend who occasionally calls me on Skype. Usually together with her two kids, and it always ends with a sort of disaster. One kid bits the other, or there is bloodshed, so she always hangs up abruptly, saying something like "gotta go". And then she's offline. Same thing happened today with newly-in-love. She calls me. We have a long interesting conversation, and before we got to the end it was like "oh, lover boy is calling, gotta go". Ok. So there I'm sitting with the old fashioned receiver in my hand, thinking, what happened? Men and kids, can't live with'm, can't shoot'm. Same shit, different age.

Mission accomplished

Had the meeting and got my future cats into the minutes. Me and four men (why is it that I'm always the only woman when it comes to serious business?). Which is about as many meatballs as there are left after the meeting.

Also, we got a plaque stating that our building is Minergie-certified. It means it is built and maintained with minimum use of energy. Or something like that.

All sorted

Svalbard

All of a sudden I am surrounded by people who find it necessary to marry. A couple I know are planning to get married at Svalbard! What a weird place to choose. Well, any place is weird if you ask me when it comes to marriage, but freezing your butt off on top of it? Hmmm.

But good luck to you. Second time lucky they say ;)

Planning

Usually I'm excelling in the art of organization and planning. But sometimes my finely honed antennas fail me (but thanks E for calling me. It was a long time ago, and a good time to catch up). Just realized that I tomorrow am hosting the annual building association meeting, and it would be a good idea to have something foodwise to offer. So now quickly defrosting some minced meat in hot water and will have a(nother) glass of wine before grating the onion, hoping my arm won't notice. Will do small, chili-spiced meatballs to pick-eat with toothpicks. Perfect for a serious meeting. Along with vino for those who like of course. I want them to agree to my having cats, and I want it to be written into the official minutes. Always an agenda me.

Everything's a competition

Haha, cousin beat Bro to it and married the other day without anybody knowing. There is a lot to be said for weddings like that. No trouble, no people, no organization, no nothing. Me likey very much.

Suppose it helps that they've been together for ages and already have two kids.

And from the pic you might think that the guy with the belly is my relative, but that's where you're wrong. I am related to the little one to the right. Blond and blue-eyed, what can I say? We're walking clichés.

But since we're family, good luck is what I really want to say.

Sunday ambiance

Sunday is a day of tranquillity and peace. And sometimes and little bit boring, at least when nobody calls or texts (it doesn't count when newly-in-love sends a message "sorry, no can do Friday, WE have plans." From I to WE in notime - remarkable).

So when nobody cares one has to take care of the ambiance oneself.

Pancakes

Got an impulse from somewhere to make pancakes. Probably from one of the food shows I'm watching. It is easy, and tastes oh so good. And when I get something in my head I keep on doing it. Every other day. Yum!

How I get them to be the same size? I use a smaller pan and fill it up. Easy-peasy.

Stanford

Next Friday I will do my very own Stanford experiment. It involves a friend wearing my "airbag" for a period of 24 hours. She has to take it on at 20.00 hours on Friday and wear it until the same time on Saturday. There shall be no exceptions. The only time she's allowed to take it off is for a shower. But then she has to hold her right arm in a firm position, and not use it for whatever she normally does in the shower. Unfortunately I cannot make her do it in a shielded area, with people watching her. I have to trust that she does what we agreed. Hmmm. But I did ask her to text me every hour about the experience, so you all can judge if she's really doing it. Personally, I can't wait!

Revenge

Today it's a month since we came back from Bulgaria, and not once since has gf contacted me to ask how I'm doing. Next time I'm seeing my lawyer I'm writing my will. HAHAHA!

When is afternoon?

Have a date with a friend for a drink tonight. She promised to get back to me "in the afternoon" today to agree on time to meet. Five minutes ago I wikipediad "afternoon" to certify that it ends at six o'clock. While I was busy compiling a sarcastic message on the phone she texted me. Talk about timing. So now we're to meet at eight. Will be an interesting evening I'm sure.

Certify or not certify

Have some trouble convincing the people who pay me that I am unfit to work, and without going too much into details I ended up asking doc for a certificate that I actually can work. In order for the idiots to pay me. Even if I am registered to have holiday right now. Doctor responds "In Switzerland we certify usually if a patient is unable to work, if it is limited as it is in your case you are ABLE to work 100% from January 10th, and I do not need to certify it." Right on. Perhaps the people who are supposed to pay me aren't Swiss?

Physio

Went to physio again today. My therapist is really nice, and she thinks I'm doing tons of progress with mobility. Unfortunately she won't be there next week (going to an Elton John concert in Geneva, which led us into a discussion how old you can be getting kids - we agreed - 40 is the limit). So now it's up to me for the next 2 weeks to train myself. Shouldn't be a problem. I keep on doing what I shouldn't all the time anyway, like lifting things. Not supposed to lift anything, but unpacking groceries with the left takes too long. Stuff like that. Then I ran into a friend in the waiting room (he was there for his knee) and we decided that we deserved a drink after the sessions. So we did. Had a few. A good start to the weekend. And if I close my eyes and think about...somebody...I can hardly feel my shoulder at all.

Blogging

Another reason I haven't blogged much lately is that I have to have something to write about (and I haven't been out much lately meeting people and getting inspiration), which led me to think why I blog in the first case. For me it is because I want stuff I think about or people that irritate me out of my mind. It is actually less writing for people who likes to read it, even if that is a bonus. And I love comments, even if they are critical or not sharing my opinion. Which actually is more common (thanks Aussie girl :). If I blogged for people rather than myself, don't you think I would've stopped? It's not like there is so many of you out there who are interested in my life (why, oh why not?). My first blog item was on 22nd of November 2005. That's like eternity in internet time. But you gotta admit I've been consistent. Haven't given up. Did have some breaks when I was on holiday, but always came back. How's that for stamina? PS. Forgot to look for syrup in the shop. Darn.

Bread

Had a weird idea that I would bake bread and googled some recipes. Ran into a problem immediately. Dark bread usually contains syrup, and I have no clue what that is in German. Dictionary says "sirup", but that's what is says on the bottle for fruit drink. And I've never seen syrup in the food shop. Not that I looked. It got so complicated I gave up before I started. No stamina at all for the moment.

Pain

Just an FYI why I don't blog every day. It's called pain. Some days like yesterday are awful. I don't really see a correlation between too much movement and the pain, but I guess that must be the reason. Off to the pharmacy now to get some more pills. Later.

Untypical

In a week or so we will have our second annual meeting in the building association. Already (!) we have received the actual cost with a comparison to the budget. Overall it is not a bad outcome, almost spot on but the individual charges vary quite a bit. Turns out that we in the house use more than 60% less cold water than planned. This doesn't mean we use more warm water, but that we use less water overall. No wonder, since we only have one kid in the house and responsible people like myself (!) have chosen not to have a bath tub but showers only. Higher charges are for heating, which all of us think is too high anyway. We cannot really regulate it individually in our apartments, since it's done centrally. I cannot, however much I try, get the temperature lower than 23°C in my living room. This will be discussed at the meeting, I can assure you. And I very much like the fact that we are an untypical type of people. No wonder I feel I belong here!

I am sinking

Went to physio today and was told I'm uneven. My right shoulder is quite a bit lower than the left one. And she was right. When I was around 30 somebody told me that my left eye is located visibly (!) higher than my right eye. A fact that I had never noticed before. Consequently my left leg is about half a centimeter longer than my right leg. Which also means that my right shoulder is lower than my left. And after my operation not using the shoulder it has sank even more. I'm like the friggin Titanic!

7.6% to 8%

I have clearly been out of the loop for a while, and when I was sleeping the VAT rate in Switzerland has gone from a decent 7.6% to a whopping 8%. Ouch! The only consolation is that other countries are on average on 20%. You gotta love Switzerland. After all.

What did I do?

Did something today I haven't done many times in my life. It just doesn't appeal to me, and is one of these things I in my younger days kept on putting off. Until I absolutely had to do it. But after having done it, it did make me feel proud and a better person. Not only me, but everything around me. So what did I do?

Auntie

I know this couple I would like to invite for dinner. Problem is that they have three kids, whereof the youngest just stopped breastfeeding, and they have no babysitter. Was thinking of killing two birds with one stone by asking Bro and gf to babysit, thinking they would reconsider their plan to have their own. A cunning plan, but not sure they'd go along with it. Made me think of the first and only time (so far) I was called auntie. I was having my first summer job at the age of 15, working in a kiosk. This woman with her kid steps up to the window, lifting the toddler up, pointing to the sweets and saying "tell auntie what you want". I was friggin 15! Perhaps it was then I decided never ever to have my own kids. Because if you get that stupid being a parent, it's just not worth it.

Giving or receiving

Was watching a program about happiness. What makes people happy? Turns out that giving gives people more satisfaction than receiving. Hmmm. Personally I would rather receive a million francs, than giving it away. Helps that I do not have a million to give. But something called the Anonymous club do things like paying for an extra coffee in the cafeteria, to be given to another guest. Not telling the other guest who they are. Also that people want to give when they know it comes to use. Donating to big organizations when you half a year later read in the paper that a lot of the money have gone to bonuses for management, or that your help hasn't reached its target (Haiti only one example), is not on. This I can fully agree with. I had an idea that I would join a club for microloans, but could only find one in the US. Feels too far away to be honest. Mostly I'd like to help people in Zürich, which is perhaps weird since Switzerland is no poor country. Still there are people here who need help. I have an idea how, but I need it to ferment. Tbc (not the disease, the to be continued). PS. Received a free chocolate bar in Denner the other day. It made me happy.

The apple

Just before we flew off to Bulgaria at Christmas Bro stopped by. I was planning to do only some ready-made apero bits in the oven for dinner, but he brought a pork fillet and did a fabulous potato gratin to go with. Mind you, it was purely selfish reasons from Bro, but it was really a pleasure to eat properly cooked food for the first time in weeks (arm issue). However, weeks later when I was getting the pan out to cook something I realized it wasn't properly cleaned. It was still greasy and not appetizing at all. Reminded me of Dad. Once I came home to cook for him and got a bowl out of the cupboard. Only to find the bottom filled with leftover corn and salt from popcorn. The apple doesn't fall far from the pear tree. Good thing I take after Mum...

Mammoth

Read in the papers that they are trying to clone a mammoth. What happened to letting nature run its course?

Shit what happened?

I dunno what happened. When I came home last night everything was fine. This morning I woke up sneezing, took a look out the window and jumped. The whole of Zürich is covered in snow! This is so not good. A cold and winter again. Like I don't have enough dealing with my arm. Depressed!

Hammered in Hallau

Have a friend who thinks she's above me and my other friends. But I bet you a bunch that she doesn't have that much fun with her other friends. It reminds me of a girls evening in the big village of Hallau last year, where the four of us ended up absolutely plastered, hammered, drunk out of our minds. And where doctor-girl with a fancy education ended up in bed with me (ok, so not what you think, we were just sharing a double-bed sleeping) and we couldn't stop talking and laughing. The other two, in their own bedrooms were kinda irritated. Mind you, think it was about 5 in the morning. A bit hazy on the details. But I remember we had fun. So fun we giggled our way into coma some half-hour later. And fancy girl, you're gonna miss a fab girls evening beg February. Move you ass back to CH asap. Ok?

Sleeping pattern

With pain it is difficult to sleep. It doesn't matter how you twist and turn, and considering that I can only sleep on my left side or on my back, it is even more frustrating. Last night I fell asleep at 4.30 in the morning, waking up at 6.30 from the alarm. Had to get up for a meeting. Got home at about 10.30, had a construction worker visiting. Went to bed again at 12.00 and slept for an hour. Woke up from pain. Then another construction guy showed up at 16.30 (have a few things that still need to fixed in the flat), and went back to bed at 17.30. Slept until 19.00. With this lifestyle I have to get out of the house sometimes. Cannot just sit at home feeling sorry for myself, even though I've gotten pretty good at it! So went for a drink downtown. Takes the mind off the pain, at least for a while. And with a shot or three from Rakia, that Bulgarian schnapps, think I'll be able to sleep tonight. This Rakia is actually better than any painkiller I've come across. Bulgaria, not so bad after all...

Quality vs price

Sorry for not blogging that much, but on Sunday when I felt I owned the world I did a lot of physiotherapy and I have been paying for it since. The pain has been excruciating. I am now very very familiar with pain killers. Anyway, found a very expensive and exclusive creme that had been hiding in a cupboard for ages. Thought I'd treat myself (since I found it) and realized it's crap. First of all, the thingie on top that is supposed to splash out the creme doesn't work. Have to uncork it and smear the creme on my body. Second of all, it friggin stinks like a Spanish man going overboard with the perfume. Even though I'm sure this creme is expensive I much prefer the 2.95 francs Jovial. It isn't always expensive beats quality.

99

On Friday I called my friend who turned 99. He got a new coffee machine and a bottle of whisky. Asked him if he tasted the booze, and his response was "can you hear it?". Cool guy. Promised him if he hangs in there one more year I will actually travel to his 100th birthday. Only he said he might not. Hope he will. Apart from speaking a bit slow from the stroke about a year ago and that he cannot move around as quickly as before, he is more clear in his head than most people I know. So it either says something about the people I hang with, or that he is exceptional. I'll leave it up to you to decide.

The right direction

Today my lamp went on with the timer when it was still light outside. Oh joy - again. I changed to an hour later. It is definitely going in the right direction. It was 14°C today and sunlight, so bright I had to put the blinds down. In another 3 months I'll be cruising the Zürichsee. Can't wait!

Be happy about the little things in life

Who plans to be incapacitated? Not me. Of course I knew I was gonna have an operation, but did I think of the consequences? No, I did not. Fortunately I had cut my toe nails beforehand, but even though I'm not very hairy my hair kept on growing and since I'm usually quite anal about shaving my armpits and legs, it was difficult not to be able to do anything about it. Try yourself. Put shaving creme under your left armpit, using your left hand. Then apply the razor to your left armpit, still using your left hand. Correct. It's very very difficult. It's either missing the point (i.e. hair) or you're cutting yourself. Today was the first day I managed to stretch my tendon in the right arm enough to reach to the left armpit. Oh joy!

Wedding cancellation?

When I was part of the wedding planning session from hell it was decided that the invitations would be out to the invitees on the 15th of January. That was yesterday, and there is no invite in sight. I wonder if this means that the wedding will be postponed? Perhaps not happen at all?

Shopping

Guess where I was today...

...where I felt real happiness. The purple candles I planned to buy were on sale for only 95 rappen in comparison to full price 4.95 francs. Buying 6 I saved 24 francs right there. Which I immediately spent on other stuff.

Made all by myself

Yum!

No date with the priest

I have a neighbour and somebody who has become a very good friend in a short time. She is also religious. Very very religious. And she hasn't given up the effort of trying to convert me. The last one was an invitation to a series of seminars with a priest-like theologian. When I as politely as I could declined she suggested to set me up in a private session, but I think when I asked "is he single?", she kinda gave up. Where I come from you are automatically enrolled into christianity when you are born. Already there it made me a rebel, and 1989 I actively left by writing a letter. Cannot remember exactly what I wrote but you can probably guess what I wanted to write. There is no god. Remember where you heard it first.

Die Liebe

One of my friends is much more a Madonna than a Whore if you permit. And feel free to comment on which category I belong to :). However, recently she met somebody and gosh, did they move fast! The first week it was referral to boyfriend/girlfriend and the L word. The next week (which is now) it is talk about changing of surnames. Sometimes things happen fast even for me, think I got whiplash! But I'm so happy for her. Saw a pic of him on the net, and think they are made for each other. So my guess is there'll be more than one wedding this year!

Going wild

Went wild after shopping a purple shower curtain today and got some new candle holders. Elegant? Hell yeah.

Masterchef

Found a new soap run by this guy Gordon Ramsay who I have heard about, but never really knew who he was. English bloke who somehow ended up in the US of A as a judge, together with two others, of a competition for amateur chefs. The winner will be some 250K USD richer and crowned the Masterchef. It's fantastic. They get challenges like chopping onion, cooking for 300 marines, guessing ingredients in chilis, baking cupcakes and what have you. What I don't like in all those soaps (since I can never be completely happy :) is the re-run of previous events in the middle of the show, and in the beginning when they show what you can expect in the show (loadsa shows here). It's like you've seen the show before you even started. Do television people think viewers are stupid? Apparently so. And how stupid am I then for watching it?

Airbag history

Saw the doc today, and can take the airbag off! What a relief! Ok, so I don't have full mobility yet, and occasional pain but still. This is such a step forward. Now comes approx a month of physio, where I am to train the muscles again. Doc suggested swimming, but I don't think so. Don't like pools. Heck, I don't even have a bathtub. Progress, people.

Airbag on hold

Got a phone call today from a male friend saying "guess what I did today?". "Ironing". Haha. Good man. Now I'm just waiting for a photo of him dressed up. Otherwise I'm walking around this evening without my airbag. First time in 40 days. Feels really funny, and the mobility is not yet more than 75% but finally the pain have subsided. Was really miserable the last couple of days. Seeing the doc tomorrow. Hoping for a clean bill of health. And some more painkillers just in case.

Ironing

One of the things I still have trouble doing is ironing, and after having inexperienced friend do it a coupla times I took neighbour up on her offer. She's really sweet and so much wants to help. When I gave her the load to iron her first comment was "this is much less than I iron for my husband", at which time I wanted to ask "does he also have a bad arm?". But I am keen on keeping the neighbours happy so didn't. But seriously, a man who cannot iron his own shirts, is this really a man?

Sweetie - gaaaah!

Ok, I wasn't gonna do this and had already shut my computer down but hey. There comes a moment where you just cannot resist.

Was washing for a friend tonight, long story, nevermind, and agreed to hang it up to dry. No worries, still have one arm.

And amongst the normal clothes I came across this! Gaaaah! Don't know the word, cheesy?

Was surprised not to find the Monday, Tuesday etc underwear...

Pointy boob

This thing with wearing an "airbag" 24/7 do have some side effects. All of them negative. One of them is that it presses against my right boob, making it pointy. Downwards. So not good. I have enough of dealing with gravity as it is. But I so look forward to friend who promised to wear my airbag when I'm done with it for a whole day and a whole night. She doesn't have to worry about a pointy boob though, more like a flat pancake. A small one. Hahaha!

Another shelf

The metal construction builder guy did such a good job with my kitchen shelf, so am hiring him again. He was just here doing the measurements (he has a laser thingie, very cool) and discussing the design. In the corner goes a mirror, lit up by a purple light (what else?) and on the sides there will be space for all my dvd's and cd's. No more cheap wood from Ikea. A designer piece. Better start saving up now!

Dishwasher upgrade

Bauknecht guy was here to check on the dishwasher. Turns out it needed a software upgrade for the sense function. So up he packed his computer, did some screwing around (hehe) and now it's supposed to work. V good.

честита нова година!

Forgot to tell you I'm fluent in Bulgarian. You don't understand the message above? Well, google it.

Yes is no and no is yes

In Bulgaria that is. When I asked the parents if they liked my Christmas presents they both shook their heads. Which I at first thought was a bit...hmmm...straightforward, but kinda appreciated their candor, until I was told that shaking your head means yes. In Bulgarian. When you nod, but only moving your head backwards, not nodding like we do when we mean yes, it means no. How weird is that?!?

Apparatus

That machine I was supposed to get on the 29th, moving my arm around, never appeared. Haven't heard beep from those people, and now I'm hoping it's too late. Had physio yesterday, and again on Thursday so fuck'm. If they don't wanna do business, I ain't buying. But the machine I already have, my dishwasher, was evil enough to break down on the 30th. Great! Now I have to do the dishes manually with only one hand. Fortunately a good friend stayed over on the 31st and when I got up the next morning it was all done. Washed, rinsed, dried and back in the drawers and cupboards. And next week I'm seeing the doctor. Then it'll be 6 weeks since the op. Keep your fingers crossed I can get rid of the airbag, and more importantly, that my shoulder is well again!

New Years

Promised you pics from New Years.

This is all I managed. Late at night, not sure what we talked about but was fun as I remember.

Even though one is texting and one is looking bored.

Must have gotten'm at a bad moment. And this was even before I had a fit.

You know, having pain for a month wearing a friggin airbag can get to anyone I'm sure. Especially fuelled by some alcohol.

But there was a reason for it. And in those alco-hazed moments you learn things about your friends. Some good, some bad, but always educational. Ok, 'nuff about that.

This is a new year, and it can only get better!

Exit Zürich

Gosh, was I glad to come home! No way back? Fine with me.

New design

When my flat was built I was advised to have discreet colours in the bathroom on the floor and walls, like the tiles. For once I am glad I learned from other peoples mistakes.

Having grey and white means I can change the colour scheme with bathmats and towels. And now I have. Going from a happy blue-yellow to the favourite...wait for it...purple.

I am aiming for a colour scheme in the whole flat. Black and white as a base, with purple in different nuances in all the rooms. Even found a toilet brush in purple, how cool is that :)?

Know what I paid for the towel in my bathroom? 45 friggin francs. But considering that full price was 125 and it's Egyptian cotton, I thought it was a bargain. Because I'm worth it!

Austria

When we flew to Bulgaria over Christmas we had a brief stop-over in Vienna. I have only passed thru Austria before (late 80's on the way south, and last decade on the way to Munich), and never really stayed. Which is probably why I had a view of Austria containing yodeling, people learning to play accordion in school, goulash soup and in general a sorta mini-Swiss/German but with a nicer manner. And with some dark secrets a la Fritzl. But going to the bathroom in Vienna airport changed all that. Toilet paper holder broken, the urine smell, no soap for washing hands. In general not a welcoming country. It really is the threshold to Eastern Europe. Now I know.

Broken glass

They say that a broken glass gives luck. Then I ought to be very lucky 2011. First I broke a red wine glass with a little help from my "airbag" on New Years Eve. Another white wine glass broke in the dishwasher, and to top it all off I managed to drop a glass on my stone floor today. 1,000 pieces and I'm not exaggerating. I was down on my knees, picking up glass with my left hand for ages. Yes, 2011 is gonna be a great year!