Back

Soo... I'm back. What riveting news.
(I apologise for the sarcastic edge, but I am just not THAT thrilled to be back in albeit autumn-y, not wintry, Switzerland. With the exception of seeing friends & family of course!)

Australia was fantastic.
A laidback and friendly country with beautiful scenery, intriguing animals and most importantly 35°C!
We flew to Sydney via Tokio, which was a bit of a strain. We arrived looking like wet, disheveled rags and envying all who managed to look fresh after our long flight. Having six hours in which to amuse ourselves at Tokio airport, we discovered the conveniency of their ‘Day rooms’. These rooms are very small single or double bedrooms, with a private bathroom, to be booked by the hour. After our gruelling flight a three hour kip was just what we needed!

Spending Christmas Day away from my family felt slightly strange. But as we were so jetlaged, we slept most of the day anyway. Boxing Day, I rose bright and early, all set to start the day with a good cup of coffee. The barrista was a chatty person and asked me if we were planning to hit the sales. “Sales?!” I squeeked. “Oh yes, Boxing Day Sales are THE sales of the year. Everyone looks forward to them.” Hmm. And here I was thinking that we may manage to travel without breaking the bank. Well, that apparently was not meant to be!

Sydney was lovely if windy. We took the ferry out to Manly beach and ended up having our first surf lesson there. It was fantastic, even if we did swallow half the ocean. Luckily the water there is soooo clean! A friend is / was taking an English course at a language school down on Bondi Beach. She introduced us to the Australian way of life by hosting a BBQ (or barbie) on the beach. We ate English sausages and a skippy (kangaroo), the latter unfortunately did not agree with everyone’s stomachs.

Driving down from Townsville to Airlie Beach was uneventful, even if we were driving on the “wrong” side of the road. We must have made a very half-baked impression on the Europcar guy... he even drew us a detailed map on how to get to airlie beach (ca. 3 hours drive straight down the coast). As I said, very kind and helpful people.

We saw the New Year in with a countdown and two Australian guys. Both had decided to come up to Airlie Beach by themselves for the New Year. Funny that.

As the beach was off limits on account of the stingers (jellyfish), we took a sailing boat trip out to Whitehaven beach. That was quite an experience!

On we drove down to Noosa, breaking the journey in Yeepoon, a town that could have been the setting for the film “psycho”. Needless to say, I did not sleep a wink in that motel!

Our next stop was Noosa, a lovely place, if catering solely for tourists. We discovered the many pleasures of Australian wine and bland food. (Even if everything sounds and looks so appealing, the Aussies do not know how to season their food! Such a disappointment!)

I met an English couple who had just been to Singapore and they were showing me a film of the sights. We kept chatting with me occasionally glancing down at the camera, when suddenly a lady from a nearby table stood up and approached me. "You do realise that you have been filming for quite some time with the cap still on the front of the camera!" She blurted out. I looked at her in amazement and tried to stifle a laugh. "I am not really filming, but watching a film. But thanks for your concern." All her friends fell about laughing at that. Thankfully she did too!

Instead of trying to spy Oz's wildlife in their natural habitat, we opted to spend one day at the Australia Zoo near Brisbane. (I mean, come on, flipflops - or thongs as the Aussies call them - are hardly ideal footwear for a trek through mosquito ridden rainforests, now are they?) The place was full of interesting animals. Amongst which we saw tasmanian devils, kangaroos, koalas (who seriously stink in the wild - not cute!), wombats, tigers, emus, kookaburras, and my new favorite animal, the echidna (looks like a hedghog with a straw for a nose).

Byron Bay was our last stop. We were told that it is such a fantastic place, we decided to stay a week. The initial pleasure at finding a cute, hippie-ish, design town was marred by not being able to find accommodation. In the end we had to opt for a bungalow a short way out of town. Still in walking distance, thankfully. This town's vibe seemed to be: surf or tan during the day, party hard late afternoon and at night. Right up our street! My fave cocktail turned out to be the Banana Beach Dream (or something like that!). Blend one banana with baileys, kaluha and a dash of cream. A few of those make a great liquid dinner!

On the whole we were very lucky with the weather. The only few rainy days we had, we spent driving. Great holidays, if slightly on the expensive side.

I'm off!

We arrive in Aussieland on Christmas Day; perfectly on time to celebrate at the beach with some turkey sandwiches. Wonder if they sell crackers down under too?

After ooh-ing and aah-ing at the Sydney Opera House, harbour and other similarly fantastic sights, we begin our trek by flying up to Townsville (as if we hadn’t flown enough!). From there we plan to drive down the East Coast until we reach Byron Bay (approx. 5 hours south of Brisbane), stopping along the way to poke and prod jellyfish and enjoy sights, surf and sun.

But all good things must end and in this case, our three week journey stops abruptly mid January, where we will be forced to fly back to wintry Europe from Brisbane.

Seven things

I came across this meme and as I am currently bored (I curse the fact that I don't have a TV), as well as too tired to think but not tired enough to go to bed, I figure this beats staring at the wall...

Seven Things I Can Do

• Play volleyball.
• Devour large quantities of chocolate and biscuits.
• Shop.
• Almost everything, if I put my mind to it. (Except of course the seven points immediately below.)
• Listen to someone spout absolute B***s*** and appear interested.
• Talk on the phone for hours. Face to face I am a relatively quiet person but pass me a phone and I can talk forever. The longest conversation I ever had was five hours, only broken because it was time to meet.
• Outfit other people. Well, that would go under "shop", too. I did say I was tired...
  

Seven Things I Can't Do

• Wait. I am a very impatient person. Although it has gotten better since I moved to Berne.
• Muster up any enthusiasm for cleaning. Hell no.
• Save.
• Do things in moderation.
• Maths in my head. 182-19= ??? Pass me my calculator!
  
• Drive slowly. Pair this with clumsiness and you can just imagine what my car looks like.
• Put my head under water whilst swimming.

Seven Things That Scare Me

• SPIDERS and any kind of creepy-crawly with more than six legs.
• Driving in heavy snow.
• Needles and nurses. A harried nurse once stabbed THROUGH my vein instead of into it. Went round with a black / blue / green / yellow elbow for a whole month. Charming. I'm sure she is a nice person underneath. Yeah right.
  
• My close family dying. It is inevitable, I know. But it will be very painful, nonetheless.
• Swimming in the open sea or in lakes. You never know what lurks beneath.
• The scary bits in films. I tend to spend a lot of the time behind a pillow or covering my eyes. Can’t stomach scary scenes at all.
• Drugs, or rather their effects.
  

Seven Things I Want To Do Before I Die

• Live abroad somewhere.
• Take a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
• Learn to speak Italian.
• Donate time and money to charity / volunteer work.
• Be able to do the splits.
• Start up my own business. Am open to any kind of ideas ;-)
• Have children. Maybe. Am still not quite sure if I want screaming brats. If one's children are always worse than oneself, I think I may reconsider this wonderful adventure.

Seven Random Facts About Me

• I hardly have any nail on my little toe.
• I can obsess about something for days.
• I adore shopping early in the morning. Well, actually I love shopping any time of the day. But it’s so much better when there’s no long queue in front of the dressing rooms.
• In the past five years, I have lived and worked in five countries and seven cities.
• I have black fingers (as opposed to green fingers). The life expectancy of every plant diminishes rapidly should I be looking after it. Wonder why?
• I love “Hello Kitty”.
• I was born April 4th (4 is unlucky in Asia) and for some reason I feel drawn to the number 13 and black cats (both unlucky in Europe).

24

After having spent the whole weekend watching the compelling "24" (yet again!), I have decided to dedicate an entry to this fantastic series.

The hero of the real-time show is Jack Bauer, a government agent of the CTU (Counter-terrorist Unit). Each season comprises 24 hours, one whole day in the life of Jack Bauer.

In the first season/day, he dealt with an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate, his daughter's disappearance as well as having to uncover a mole within the CTU. In the second season/day he is tortured and reborn, whilst trying to stop a massive nuclear weapon from destroying Los Angeles. And of course his daughter went missing… again.

I’m currently on season three… completely hooked.

Wonder what that will hold for Jack?

HERE are some facts about Jack Bauer... for the die-hard & interested.

And should you be interested in the guy behind Jack Bauer... say hello to Kiefer Sutherland.

Cupcakes & more

Guess the fact that I do not have a kitchen is slowly getting to me... I've taken to browsing recipe sites and through cookery books... :-) Found a fantastic food / recipe site today:
the scent of green bananas: food from the guambat

The pics of her achievements alone are works of art and definitely worth a peek.

Oh, Champs-Élysées....

Oh, Galeries Lafayette....
We just spent a very enjoyable three days in Paris, shopping until we dropped (literally!).
Needless to say, we had a great time.

Being back (last time I was in Paris was in 2001) reopened my eyes to Paris' beauty and reawakened my dormant desire to live in a large city. Hopefully one day...

The Sandoz Room

Last Friday I came across the most beautiful ballroom I've ever seen. We were wandering around the Hotel Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, when suddenly our guide led us into the Sandoz room. My knees went weak and my mouth dropped. Such beauty, such style... it was absolutly magnificent.

Failure

What does google consider to be the biggest or most important failure?
To find out, follow these four simple steps:

1. open google: www.google.com / google.de / google.ch / ...
2. type in "failure"
3. press "enter"
4. check out the first hit

I wonder how long it will take them to notice!

Ayurveda

Just had a very relaxing (or invigorating – cannot decide which) foot massage... as well as an interesting conversation.

I learnt that according to Ayurvedic philosophy, my dominant Dosha type is "Pitta" and I need to keep "cool". Unfortunately this goes hand in hand with avoiding all vegetables I like. Therefore I’m not so sure if I will fully buy into this philosophy… we’ll see. I did however book another foot massage; it really does wonders after a long session on the treadmill!

Will you... I do.

Last weekend I was awakened to the fact that time IS flying: a guy from my primary school class got married last year and a couple my age is planning to marry next summer. Yikes, it just made me feel so old! When I told M, he got this panicky look on his face, so I changed the subject quickly! Don’t want him to think that I am in any hurry to tie the knot.

Choices

The melancholy of autumn...

Our choices determine who we are, not our abilities.

waiting for... godot (?)

Sometimes I feel as if someone is playing a game of chess with my career. In that game I am a pawn, a mere figure, incapable of influencing the course of events that is my life.

Maybe it is time to move on, over and out.
The pawn is tired of being told what to do.
She wants to see or rather take some action.

Cars and shoes

I spent five minutes (!) looking for my car in the parking lot... I just could NOT remember where I had parked the darn thing... growing senile already... yikes!

Last Friday my clumsiness reared its head again...
I was at a hairdressers shop, walking up the staircase that leads to my client's office. I had almost reached the top, when suddenly my shoe shot off my foot and fell down onto the table below! Cringing with embarrassment, I crept down the stairs, hoping that nobody had noticed my malheur. But unfortunately a cute hairdresser had been working at that table. He received quite a shock when this shoe tumbled down out of nowhere and landed right in front of him! With a smile and a wink he passed me my shoe, stating: "thank you very much for thinking of me, but we already have bowls to mix the colours for our client."

Full-fledged employee

My 3 month probationary period ended september 30th.... jippee!

revenge is.... tasty(?)

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...
a German girl decided to teach her cheating boyfriend a lesson and bit off the top of his penis.... ugh!

Check out the pics (scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the left button) - seriously disgusting!

Birthday boy

Always looking for some excuse to celebrate (as if we needed excuses...), we decided to patronise the Hotel 3 König's Brasserie in honour of M's birthday yesterday. The food was good and the helpings ample. Highly recommendable.

Thinkpad

We got a new toy at work. Of course, it’s a darn sight heavier than the old machine, but in this case, BIG (or bigger to be more precise, compared to a laptop it isn’t really big) is beautiful!

The screen swivels round at 180° and it even has a fingerprint recognition sensor thingy! (This is, for those more au fait with computer terminology, an integrated fingerprint reader.)
Just stroke a finger over the sensor and the computer starts up. You don’t even have to enter a password; it allows you to bypasses most security. Quite the time saver!

I never knew I could get so excited about a machine. This just goes to show, wonders will never cease ;-)

10 eternal questions

Something to ponder if you're on a soul-searching mission or bored...
from the book by Zoë Sallis:

Question 1
What is your concept of God?

Question 2
Do you think this life is all there is, or do you believe in an afterlife?

Question 3
Do you accept the concept of karma, in the sense of cause and effect?

Question 4
What is your moral code, in relation to right and wrong?

Question 5
Do you believe you have a destiny and do you see yourself as here to fulfil it?

Question 6
What has life taught you so far?

Question 7
What advice or words of wisdom would you like to pass on to those close to you?

Question 8
Do you believe our survival on planet Earth is being threatened?

Question 9
Who do you most admire in this world, historical or living?

Question 10
How do you find peace within yourself? 

Last minute to Rhodes

We just spent a very nice week on the Greek island Rhodes. Despite numerous hiccups along the way:

> We arrived at the airport one day too early (AND our flight was sheduled for 5am!). Our driver did not thank us!
> The hotel was overbooked. Armed with nothing but a vague idea of where we had to go (name of town & hotel - no address!) we set off in our little car. Of course we couldn’t find the hotel (it was like looking for a needle in a haystack) and the owner ended up having to collect us.
> We both caught a violent stomach bug AND the hotel's watertank broke. No running water = no shower and most importantly, NO TOILET! Ugh.
> We lost the keys to our room and safe in the ocean, TWICE!
> On the flight back, my seat 21A did not exist.

Nevertheless, we returned relaxed (thanks to three days in bed), if not refreshed. ;-)

wind of change

Practically every day I hear that someone is radically changing (or planning to change) his/her life; be it moving abroad, changing careers, and breaking up, or wanting kids.... It seems that everything and everyone is on the move!

Speaking of which... my last few weeks have been quite interesting too:
I changed jobs (within the company), moved from Switzerland’s most dynamic city to its sweet but sleepy capital city, got a company car and cell phone and have been let loose to create havoc on the motorways for six months. In short, I am a sales rep.

Actually, it is quite interesting to meet my customers, chat a bit and try to get an order. Of course, at the moment I am in the honeymoon period, zooming around without any pressure. I wonder what it'll be like when the pressure kicks in... I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. ;-)

I was sad to leave my team, though. Everyone was great, all very warm characters. I had a good time these past 10 months and I do miss them a bit, to be honest. It's nice to get sentimental for a fleeting moment ;-)

Down under

I’m off to Australia!!! Jippee!
Not tomorrow, nor next week, but over Christmas & New Year. I'm going with a friend, arriving in Sydney Xmas Day.
Celebrating the holidays far away from everyone will be strange enough, besides it being a swealtering 40°C . Then again, the last time we had a white Xmas in Switzerland was ages ago, so might as well enjoy turkey sandwiches on the beach for once! ;-)

The weekend

Last weekend I returned to my home town after a longer period of absence. Quite joyfully I hurried out of the station, ready to start what was sure to be a promising weekend.

But just at the entrance / exit of the station, my heel got stuck in the grate. A sudden jerk backwards made me reel and I practically fell flat on my face, in front of the whole row of waiting taxi drivers.
Cringing with embarrassment I picked myself up and hopped back (the floor was wet and it was raining) to where my shoe was sitting innocently on the ground. Now it would have been embarrassing enough at that point. But when I tried to retrieve my shoe and scurry off, the shoe didn’t budge. It sat tight. What complicated matters was, that the heel was not stuck on firmly. If I broke off the heal, I would not have any shoes for the weekend!
So with a flaming face, I crouched down and ignoring the jibes from the taxi drivers, the annoyed “tss” from commuters jumping over me to reach their trains and the curious looks from passers-by, I gently see-sawed the shoe out of its prison.
How embarrassing!

Branded

Yesterday, on the spur of the moment, I took the plunge......... and got myself a tattoo.

The Chinese character for LOVE now sits proudly in the small of my back, there for life.

Toastmasters

At a Toastmasters workshop last Saturday we were introduced into the art of influential acting and speaking. Amy Caroll was our host and quite the star of the show. The participants were mostly expatriates and people who had settled in Switzerland.

Interestingly enough, a discussion led to quite a few stating that they had had problems getting accustomed to the Swiss reserved manner. Some spoke of how depressed they became whilst they tried to fit in. I got the impression that it was quite liberating for some to express these feelings and to find themselves amongst others who had gone (or were going) through a similar situations. Those who had been in Switzerland the longest shared their experiences of when and how they managed to stop trying to fit in. If Amy had not diffused the situation, I believe the workshop may have veered towards becoming a self-help group!
Nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to their opinions and experiences.

Berlin

February 1st saw me packing my bags and making my way to Zürich International Airport. On arrival I sought out a bakery and 50 Berliners (sweet bun filled with jam) heavier, I made my way to the check in counter. My colleagues were waiting for me, smiling and in good spirits. We were all going to Berlin, accompanying a group of wild hairdressers on a shopping spree! As a welcome gift, each participant received a Berliner. Which prompted the question: “what will we get if we ever go to Paris, a Pariser?!” (a Pariser is a condom).

A few of the participants had not flown before, which took me by surprise. It is strange to me that something I consider so normal can be new to someone else.

We arrived and had a sightseeing tour to the hotel. The bus was so hot that I fell asleep twenty minutes into the tour! I like to believe that no one noticed.
The hotel was nice and is highly recommendable: the Lindner Hotel am Ku’Damm.

In the evening we all trouped off to an apéro at Sastre’s an innovative hair salon. Innovative means the place was a bar-meets-salon-meets-club. The owner was a boisterous hairdresser wearing a Scottish kilt which stopped mid-thigh, and had no hair at all, except for a wisp in the middle of his forehead, which he had styled to look like a rooster’s comb. His beard mirrored the wisp of hair, pointing downward of course. He and a colleague picked a few volunteers from our audience and set about creating wild and wacky styles with the new REDKEN hairsprays. He worked and talked at top speed, which everyone enjoyed. But then he started praising the hairspray’s new technology whilst working with an old formula! Luckily no one noticed and he swapped the bottle quickly as soon as he noticed.

After the show, drinks were free until nine pm. I got some girls started on golden Tequila, they couldn’t thank me enough! That was quite an interesting evening.

The next day I teamed up with two girls and we went back to Sastre. There we got some more free booze and watched those participants who had returned for a new do. It was quite interesting listening to hairdressers philosophize about different cutting methods. I was called upon to tidy up some poor unsuspecting boy’s eyebrows. That was quite amusing, he told me his life story to distract himself from the pain. Thank goodness there’s not much you can do wrong with eyebrows!

Off we went to the Hackischen Hofe after that. There we patronised every shoe store available. One girl tried on a pair of shoes and the leather was sooo soft that it got stuck in the zipper and SHE COULD NOT GET THE SHOES OFF ANYMORE! Poor girl was nearly in hysterics after fifteen minutes. But eventually the shoe came off and she calmed down. I have never seen a girl leave a shoe shop that quickly.

Flying home went off without a hitch, apart from our early arrival at the airport. Everyone, including the bus driver, was overly punctual, so we arrived at five pm, which was the time we were scheduled to leave the hotel!

The only fly in the ointment was that my bag did not appear on the luggage belt in Zürich. That peeved me a bit, as I had packed my favourite boots. Fifteen minutes after leaving the airport I got a call on my mobile. They had found my bag. It had fallen off the wagon during transporting from the plane to the building.

What a trip!

normal holiday

Christmas was Christmas without the Christ in it. Although I thoroughly enjoyed being with my family, I missed the whole surreal, nostalgic feeling that usually surrounds this holiday. Maybe this lack of “Xmas-feeling” on my part was due to Zürich’s controversial Christmas lighting?

Anyway, the prize for my most interesting present goes to my aunt. She gave both my brother and me a goat (live, not stuffed). Now, contrary to expectation she is neither a farmer nor a shepherdess. She sponsored the goats from Oxfam. Oxfam is an international organisation dedicated to the alleviation of hunger, poverty and suffering in this world. Their ways to raise money can take on rather ingenious forms, so this is how both my brother and I came to be proud owners of goats.

New Year had an equally bizarre touch to it. We invited round some friends and dished up large amounts of fondue chinoise (everyone dunks meat into vegetable stock), sushi, red wine, golden tequila and absinth; a very interesting combination (unfortunately slightly toxic for the overenthusiastic).

winter warmth

A typical day in the life of me: After a hard day’s work zooming around the office, I made my way to the fitness studio and powered myself out completely, all intent on shedding the extra pounds I gained (courtesy of excessive chocolate binging at the office – this proves it, work is seriously bad for one’s health!). Feeling utterly elated after all that sweating, I shot back home, with the idea of going completely “zen” (which means indulging in some wellness). Spying a bottle of dessert wine standing innocently in the corner of my fridge and with the half thought of someone once telling me that a glass of wine or two is good for one’s health, me and the wine made our way to the bathroom. Luxuriously relaxing amidst the bubbles I suddenly became rather thirsty. Nothing if not lazy I just languorously reached for a glass of wine. After one glass I was, should we say, quite tipsy, and after quenching my thirst I barely managed to get out of the bath!
That was it for a day in the life of me. Isn’t winter marvellous?

sleepy girl

Nothing much has been going on lately. It’s just work, work and work at the moment.

I posed as a “hair model” on Monday for one of our colour sessions and nodded off in front of 20 peole! The person doing my hair was like: “Oh! I think my model has fallen asleep!” How embarrassing is that! I spent the rest of the hour sitting up as straight as I could and straining to keep my eyes open.

Saw a bus yesterday morning that read „Kaffee Pause“ (coffee break). I took that as a sign that weekend is on its way.

I graduated last Friday!!!

Late as usual, I just made it to the venue 5 minutes before the ceremony started. Having been pretty blasé about the whole graduation thing, I felt the adrenalin starting to flow when I saw the church full of many sharp looking individuals.

Rustle, rustle, cough, cough, amazing grace was sung and the speeches began. A few rousing monologues later, the audience’s woke up to the first few student graduates being invited up front to receive their diploma. As there were 126 students graduating we were called up in groups of eight.
In due course my name was called. I walked forward, collected my diploma and posed for photographs with my group. “So this is it,” I thought, feeling kind of flat. But then, back in my seat it really hit me: I had just graduated!

This diploma, this document, symbolises 4 years of hard slog; 8 semesters of fun, laughter, anxiety, frustration, putting up with people I did not like, and achievement. This piece of paper also stands for internships in Paris, New York, Lörrach, Kuala Lumpur and my diploma report in Basel. Wow!

Suddenly I was smiling, truly smiling. I had finally finished.

After all the graduates had received their diploma it was time for the award ceremony. Now I knew that the best of the year would receive a prize, but what I did not know was that it was the custom to honour the best three or four of the year. (I had tied for second place with two other girls.) As I was not expecting any special mention, it was quite a shock to be called up again with the other two. We were all suddenly very nervous and sort of slunk forward to collect our prize. I guess I just grinned from ear to ear like the village idiot, and walked up those few steps worrying that I would trip and fall flat on my face. But nothing happened and then suddenly I was calm. I managed to look out into the audience when posing for the photographer. My mind went blank and the only comprehensive thought that remained was “Oh wow!!” I guess I have half a brain after all.

In that moment I felt quite proud, and when I saw the happy faces of my parents, brother and boyfriend it really thrilled me. I had managed to make them proud – my true achievement.

Istanbul

Istanbul, where to begin, what to say? A fascinating city, yet I am quite lost for words when it comes to expressing my appreciation and impressions. Guidebooks and bloggers alike tend to describe Istanbul as an eclectic mix of east meets west (whatever that's supposed to mean).

I’m not sure if I suffered a slight culture shock. Istanbul is really unlike every other city I’ve ever been to. But weirdly enough at times every corner, every turn seemed to hold some kind of similarity to another place. Sometimes it’s narrow streets reminded me of Paris, the architecture of Budapest, some areas had a slight flair of KL, the Grand Bazaar took me back to Jerusalem’s old town, the bridge spanning the Bosporus vaguely reminded me of Basel’s Mittlere Brücke.
Everything I read beforehand did not do the city justice, in fact it just served to confuse me on arrival. Nonetheless, the city is definitely worth a trip, especially in the summer months!

Bazaar - with Swiss prices

Istanbul

nostalgic tram on a modern street

room with a view

spices

sweets

Aya Sofia

a new home

That brother of mine can’t go on holiday without catching some disease! He suffered a severe attack of bronchitis, besides being extremely dehydrated. Just back from Cyprus, this coming Tuesday he has to undergo the ordeal of having a wisdom tooth extracted. Talk about having a rough time!

Anyway, my news:
As of last Sunday I am now officially a Zürritussi (chick living in Zürich). My nice little flat is 5 minutes walk from the lake, has a yellow kitchen (I always wanted a room with a little colour to it) and is littered with bags and bags of clothes. It never occurred to me that a girl could have too many clothes until I moved!
On Saturday I dragged myself to IKEA, which turned out to be a horrific experience: screaming children running all over the place, harassed parents trying to keep an eye on their brat and simultaneously finding the furniture of their dreams, girlfriends dreamily contemplating which bathmat would bring out the colour of their lover’s eyes (I ask you – what rubbish!), grandmothers blocking the queue with their dithering.. battling through that crowd to find a cheap cupboard and sofa left me completely shattered. But at least I was successful, even if it did take me two (!) trips.

Last Wednesday I had a girl’s night in with two colleagues: we dyed our hair, gorged ourselves on sushi (healthy), drank plum wine (appropriate) and feasted our eyes on soap operas. Truly girly, what bliss.

Friday was my boyfriend’s birthday so I decided to treat him to a special night out. As I hardly know Zürich I asked around at work for some tips. Our education manager came up trumps: a friend of hers booked me a table at a private club. The place was at the top of a high riser, with glass windows all around providing a spectacular view of the city and the lake. We dined in leather couch seats and the food was imaginative and delicious. Needless to say, my boyfriend was impressed. Mission accomplished!

Today a friend held her goodbye party as she is leaving for India next Thursday. It’s kind of strange to think that she will be gone for two whole years. She’s off to teach the Indians how to do business with the Germans. All those intercultural competence classes are paying off after all!

twist of fate

I feel awful. My brother's gracing the local health institution in Cyprus.. apparently neither he nor I can travel without catching some horrible disease.

rote lippen sind zum küssen

Ladies and gentlemen
Please welcome the star act of tonight….
(appropriate drum roll)

Gloss posing as…
a BOMBAY HOOKER!
(appropriate applause)
Enter stage left, smile, smile, turn, smile, seductive glance, exit stage right.

My new job has all sorts of interesting twists and turns to it. Yesterday I was told that a model of our team’s colour tour fell ill and they needed a replacement. Always a willing subject for any sort of relooking, I willingly spent this afternoon at the hairdresser’s salon. I was poked and prodded, tugged this way and that and had to endure three rounds of colour and bleach (2 colour, 1 bleach). But the final result is a beautiful warm brown with cherry red streaks. Apart from the fact that it took the stylist five hours (no exaggeration!) I would say it’s a look well worth recommending!

When all four models were coloured accordingly, we rushed over to the venue. There I met with something I had not bargained for: red makeup! Red eye shadow, red rouge and red lipstick: I looked and felt like a true hooker. And guess who I had to thank for this getup: yours truly, myself! I had come up with the great idea that the models’ make up should reflect their hair colour and as I was sporting cherry red.. well, you can do the math!
Generally speaking I tend to go for the natural look (i.e. no or minimal makeup) – pure laziness on my part – therefore my reflection took some getting used to. But after an hour or so I began to fully appreciate the handiwork and judging from my boyfriend’s reaction I really need to get someone to teach me how to paint my face. Hmm, wonder if a trace of this motivation will still be around tomorrow.

Throughout the show I sat and smiled, being as friendly as possible with one’s fringe obscuring one’s view. It was quite funny; apparently the cherry red tone came out too “warm” on my hair. As it is supposed to have a “cold” effect the stylist explaining my look to the audience came up with a brilliant save: because my skin tone is quite “cold” she used this colour but because my eyes are surprisingly “warm” she did this and that to support the warmth of my eyes. (I was like: eh?! )

Hair Sun

Spent the whole day at the hairdressers on Friday „getting to know Redken’s customer“. I must say I am really glad I did not become a hairdresser, the people those poor girls have to deal with!
But the perks of my new job (so far) have been amazing: around midday I was approached by two trainees who announced that they would practise their pampering skills on me. Always one to help where I can I bowed to the call of duty! They gave me a thorough head & shoulder massage as well as the full works: scalp treatment, deep moisturising treatment & a special treatment against split ends! Highly recommendable!

Change

Today I finished my studies!!!! V.v.v. happy!
Totally shattered as well, spent the entire afternoon running around Zürich looking at flats.
A new life begins!
I cut my finger on a razor blade as well.
A bad omen?

Starbucks

"Seven Ways to Order Coffee"by John Lee

I
At dawn, the dark roast scents greet
each visitor as well as the soft
elevator music, bohemian style.
Grande latte for the earlyriser next in line.
The mid-lifer seeking
every excuse to wake from endless slumber.

II
For during the nine to fivers rush,
Skim latte, with a touch of cinnamon
and a scone for the businesswoman
sure of herself and her drink preference.

III
At ten and leisurely on his way to work,
with the chatter of technology
from cellphone rested to ear,
the young executive-to-be orders
the chocolate mocha, rich and creamy,
he's just not into coffee yet, but
seeks the comforts of conformity.

IV
From the mid-morning respite,
office workers make a trek,
two by two or four by four, they
make their way for morning seconds.
Ill to work, they seek the pleasure of a
gingerbread latte break, a special just in season.

V
Into lunch, the coffee grinds whir,
never ceasing until every last drop is poured.
An assistant pushed to the brink arrives,
sunglasses neatly on top, seeking sugar to burn.
Iced mochachino and an expensive sandwich for her.
She's got another five before it's off to do more.

VI
Black coffee for the afternoon gent.
He's realistic and experienced in the world.
Never embellishing and always forthright,
you can tell he's too honest for his own good.

VII
I stand behind them in line. Waiting
for a chance to order what I covet
--white chocolate mocha -- three pumps of chocolate please,
not four. Wondering what they will think of me

Thank you M for supporting my addiction! ;-)

Time

Two weeks have flown by and tomorrow I face the challenge of preparing for my final oral exam on Tuesday. As of Tuesday, 10 am, I will (hopefully – cross my fingers) be finished with my studies! Time surely has flown!
The highlight of my week so far has been a boat trip on the lake of Zürich last Tuesday. I accompanied my two bosses to a client’s salon, who as soon as we arrived informed us that there had been a change of plan and that she would like to invite us out on her new motorboat. We had so much fun and completely forgot the time that I ended up staying at a colleague’s place. I really need to find a flat or room in Zürich!

First day

My first day at Redken was quite eventful. I got to meet the entire team including sales force in a day long team meeting. As it was the last official meeting of my predecessor, to celebrate his departure and my welcome we all went to a nearby go-kart racing track and took turns displaying our speeding skills!

Binii & Sri Lanka

Two days in the Valais began with me missing my bus stop and taking a scenic tour of the surrounding villages before arriving at my destination one hour later than planned. But besides that slight glitch in the proceedings these past two days have been very relaxing; three girls intent on getting “back to nature” aided by Snacketti crisps, chocolate and cigarettes. Beautiful.

On my way back to civilisation, I was invited to an authentic Tamil lunch which was absolutely delicious. But the funny thing was, the hosts ate with knife and fork whilst the guests (including me) tried our hands at eating with our right hand only.

Changes

A, sweet A, has broken up with her boyfriend of eight years. Love at first sight can come true after all, even after an eight year relationship.
I was sure that she and her ex would eventually marry, have kids and live happily ever after. But lo and behold, a knight in shining armour (or on a shining bicycle) cycled into her life two months ago and struck a chord. She put it quite beautifully: “I knew that if I were to stay with my ex I would need to forget this new guy. It was then I realised, that I did not want to forget him.”

Luxury of doing nothing

I am supposed to be finalising (or finally beginning would be more accurate) a ppt presentation of my diploma report, but today I gave in to the luxury of procrastination. My excuse was that my computer was in need of intense defragmentation, therefore I spent the afternoon pretending to read trashy girly novels whilst keeping half an eye on my lovable “hunk of junk”.

Vienna was beautiful, the coffee fantastic and the Sachertorte absolute luxury. Mum and I are equally immune to the “Japanese-tourist-syndrome” which means that we gave the typical Wiener schnitzel and other delicacies a miss (well, ok, besides the Sachertorte obviously) and instead gorged ourselves on sushi and imaginative breakfasts at weird hours (the bar at the MuMAK is highly recommendable).

Darkness

To celebrate our 6th year anniversary I decided to test my boyfriend’s trust and lead him into darkness... which meant that I invited him to the Blinde Kuh. This restaurant (“blind cow”) is held in complete darkness (we’re talking pitch black) and staffed by blind waiters. To answer the inevitable question: no, the cooks are not blind and the food is pretty good.

On arrival we were asked to lock away all cell phones, watches, bracelets, jewelry, etc. anything that could or would give off light. The menu of the week was displayed on the wall in the foyer and we were told that we should choose beforehand to be able to place our order inside. After having mentally selected from the menu, we gave the sign that we were ready to enter the restaurant. Our waiter of the evening appeared and along with three other guests we formed a conga line. First he led us to a section which was slightly darker to let our eyes adjust, then, exited and not a little apprehensive, we were led into the pitch black. It was a weird feeling being unable to recognize anything at all, not even a shadow. We were led to our seats and when the waiter brought our order he told us exactly where he had put the drink / dish. I liked the way the waiter took his time to make sure that every guest was comfortable and reassured. At first I was quite alarmed, my heartbeat quickened and my breathing grew shallow. I do sometimes suffer from a slight claustrophobia. But having settled down and gotten used to the darkness, a strange sense of timelessness crept over me. I became very relaxed and still. It was as if a soft blanket was enveloping me, evoking a sense of safety and security. Not even the shrill voices of housewives discussing the sex life of a friend could disturb this lovely feeling. (I must admit, their conversation was at times quite amusing.) It is funny how darkness can make one lose one’s inhibitions. Dinner itself was quite good, but my table manners were completely lacking. I tried to eat with the cutlery, but gave up after deciding that finger food is by far my preferred mode of eating. All senses were sharpened and just touching the warm items was quite thrilling. Every sip I took and every bite I ate tickled my taste buds, making this an unforgettable culinary experience. When it came to dessert, I was just raring for a food fight. But reason triumphed over childishness and I ate my cinnamon ice-cream dutifully, savoring every little bit.
Relying on my hearing in the darkness, I could fully appreciate the beauty of Manuel’s voice. I have always been extremely sensitive about the sound of people’s voices and cannot stand shrillness. But I was glad to get out of the darkness after the meal. That was what made this experience so enjoyable, the knowledge that one’s time in darkness was limited and could be controlled at will. On the whole a highly recommendable experience for all looking for an extraordinary meal!

Posh Porn

Just finished an extremely interesting (and not unduly thought provoking) book: The Diary of a Nymphomaniac by a prostitute called Valerie Tasso. It is interesting to note that suddenly many women have taken to writing, with what one can only describe as complete and utter candor, about their sex lives.

According to the Telegraph (English newspaper), Belle de Jour, a 20-something, who claims to be a working prostitute, has been writing a hugely entertaining weblog since last year. It was so successful that she published a book - guess what I'll be reading next!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will finally be sitting in a plane again, experiencing the rush of adrenalin & fear at the take-off and landing. Mum was so kind as to invite me on a 3 day trip to one of Europe’s beautiful cities: Vienna. What is more, she has booked us into a “design” hotel! The pics look quite stylish - absolutely fantastic for a hotel-adorer like me.

memory lane

Wow, I cannot believe today is our 6-year anniversary.
M, let me take you down memory lane:

8 years ago I was cursing my luck when the most conceited blond smiley-boy joined our class in the Wirtschaftsgymnasium. I remember he sat behind me, next to A, as they knew each other from secondary school. I got him into trouble in his first English lesson by suggesting he give a smart answer to our military-minded teacher. Stupidly he did. Yes, I can be mean and I did not like him. His arrogant manner, the way he started hanging around with the people I liked, that he always needed to be centre of attention, his clothes, the colour of his hair, the way he walked, just everything made me wish he had not come into my life. When M (another classmate) and I decided to initiate special days (suit-day, blue hair day, etc.) he was the first to comment negatively. But surprise, surprise, he did turn up in a suit and agreed to put blue gunk on his hair.

He really brought out the worst in me: I remember trying to throw a wet sponge in his face during lesson time. I cannot remember the full turn of events, only that he sat behind me and for some reason pissed me off. Hot headed as I was, I stood up in the middle of the maths lesson and strode towards the blackboard. There I picked up the wet sponge, turned around and walked back to my place. I cannot remember if I threw the sponge at that point, or if M had jumped out of his seat and had moved away. The next memory I have is of me standing in front of the maths teacher with the sponge, trying to get a good aim at M who was hiding BEHIND the teacher. WHAT the teacher must have thought is beyond me! Anyway, I was sent from the room for “unruly conduct”. Good thing too, I guess.

But the idiot always used to take any opportunity to put my back up: I used to visit C at the Freies Gymnasium during her lunch hour on Fridays and of course came back stoned out of my mind. He was the one who got the WHOLE class singing “En Haifisch, en Haifisch, das isch en Fisch wo high isch”. Every Friday I would have to listen to a choir of young halfwits singing that song. Thankfully the weed was of very good quality.

I will never forget the first time he called me. At that time I used to hold regular telephone marathons with two classmates. But anyway, in those days we did not have ISDN so when M introduced himself I nearly dropped the phone in shock. I was so taken aback that I forgot to be polite and asked him straight out: “why on earth are you calling me?!”
But we chatted, I was civil, unsure if his calling was some elaborate trick of his mates. Somehow we started to get on and very soon after I found out that he was a Jehovah’s Witness. My interest in him increased tenfold! Conversations on “the meaning of life” and “God” were my favourite at that time. So I began to pick his brains on the Bible, the holy trinity, no sex before marriage, etc. Our telephone conversations became longer but I remained unsure if I liked him, as he still acted as if he was God’s gift to mankind.

He turned 18 and inherited a little Polo car from his brother. Our telephone conversations gave way to regular (almost daily) night time visits during which we talked until the wee hours of the morning. I believe many discussions were about my heavy consumption of illegal substances which he could and did not want to accept. Our feelings for each other were growing, but this budding relationship was further hampered by his baptism as a JW. Besides disapproving of smoking in general, the JW do not encourage relationships with people outside their religion. Cue a hard time for both of us, during which we maintained the status “just good friends”.

Fast forward to August 11, 1999, the day of the total solar eclipse. A few classmates & I had decided to drive up to a field in France somewhere to witness the spectacle. It was just after the summer holidays and M had been to America. He used to go on about me wearing flared trousers (I was a regular little hippie – sort of flower girl meets Dracula type of gal) and I positively HATED the clothes that he wore (disgusting fleece jackets and sensible tapered brown jeans - Mummy's choice). So imagine my pleasure when the boys came to pick me up and he stepped from the bus in absolutely gorgeous black flares! Apart from really liking those trousers (yes, I know) I interpreted his change of style as a sign that he really did like me.
Actually our getting together is not romantic at all. It was, so to speak, a third-party decision. After having “lost” the rest of the class at the Grün 99 (a class trip where we sort of forgot that we were with the class), some stunts where we went walking in the 9 o’clock break and came back one HOUR later claiming that we had not heard the bell (so embarrassing) or sitting in front of the classroom talking whilst the others were inside having a lesson, the others had finally tired of our repeated “no we are not together” and decided that as of that day we were.

A week or so later, tragedy hit my life when a good friend got hit by a drunk driver and died. My world came crashing down, leaving me reeling. C and M both helped me through those dark weeks, even though they intensely disliked each other (and still do, although both have grudgingly come to accept the other’s presence in my life). It was during that phase that M really established himself as someone I could lean on and I began to trust him.

The latest

France sent us the plan for our “soutenance” (final presentation of our work) yesterday and isn’t it just my luck: I get to present in front of all 3 headmasters. Great.
OH MY GOD!!!
Great.

If last year is anything to go by: the Swiss headmaster will favour me (at least that’s what I am hoping) as I am Swiss. The German headmaster will mark me down because I’m not German and the French headmaster will mark me down because as far as I know he doesn’t understand any English so he won’t understand a word I say. Consequently I will either be wearing a very short skirt with high heels or donning a blouse cut to the navel to increase my chance of a passing grade. Hmm. I may get marked down for flashing.

On a happier note, Mum’s taking me to Lisbon for a few days to soak up some sun. Let’s just hope the weather’s better over there than it is here!

wise words

In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary:
"come again"

thoughts

Is it possible to ever trust someone fully?
Can I honestly say that I am worthy of another’s trust?
What is trust?
What is betrayal?
Is a white lie already betrayal?
What qualifies as a white lie?
Can someone’s white lie be considered betrayal by another?
Is it worse to lie with intent to deceive than with intent to protect someone’s feelings?
Is there a difference?

Is this relevant?
I guess not.

The last Samurai (Tom Cruise was a complete waste of space)

kawaii (cute in Japanese)

so near and yet so far

I am sick to the back teeth of SRI, the pharmaceutical industry and anything else remotely related to my report. Who would have though that a few pages would have me tearing my hair out, spitting fire and snapping around like an irate crocodile! I am seriously considering dying my hair blond.. you don’t need to be a genius to figure out why..

cows - the true source of global warming?

Scientists are trying to prove that a herd of cows causes more pollution than a car.
So who knows, in a few years time our dear cows may be sporting sexy little machines (similar to catalytic converters) to help save our environment.

Conversation in 2020
Mum: "Look Harry, a cow!"
Little Harry: "cow!"
Mum: "Cows go moo, Harry. Moo moo and brrum brrum!"

Yap, yap, yap!

My family is driving me nuts! Completely insane! They will not stop talking to me. I am trapped & have no means of escape! My old room is now my parents’ dressing room (how appropriate), the kitchen is cramped, my brother’s room is bare, the TV room is taken up by my father, the computer room is stuffed to the brim with computers and I wont set foot in the cellar for fear of spiders, so there is nowhere to hide!

Ah good, in the time that it took to write this they all buggered off. Peace. What bliss.

6 down, 1 to go

Last night I cast all pretence of composure and self-constraint into the winds and read Harry Potter cover to cover. It is quite a short book thankfully, only took me a couple of hours. Now my curiosity is stilled, I find that what is left is just a strange feeling of emptiness. Is it because of how Dumbledore died? No. Is it because the next Harry Potter will essentially be a showdown? Maybe. Is it because despite the constant reference to Voldemort the book failed to conjure up a certain sense of fear? Possible. Am I disappointed by the lack of adrenalin rush I anticipated? Of course.
On the whole the book was good (final verdict). JKR curbed her inclination to ramble on, thankfully, so the flow of the book was pretty good.

But still, somehow, I feel empty.

Rest in peace

Oh my god Dumbledore dies! A horrible death. How inhuman of JKR!!!!! Admittedly I haven’t read the book yet, but just the fact that JKR killed off my favorite figure is soooooooooooooooooo disturbing. And of course HP lives on. His young spirit reeling from the traumatic events. Ugh. Couldn't she have killed off Ginny or Ron Weasley?!

I am disgusted.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

My heart is racing, blood is coursing through my veins, my whole body is tense. Lust has struck me like a bolt of lightning and I stare at the object of my desire with hungry eyes. Can it be, is it true? Yes, google.com has appeared on my screen and I am finally ONLINE AGAIN!
My heart goes out to my (second) love - the internet – which has welcomed me back warmly, albeit for a short time only. Mmmh.. Absolutely fantastic !

(I really hate Tele2 for keeping us waiting indefinitely for ADSL access – from now on I do not care how much money I can save by waiting just a little bit longer – my new motto is: now, now, NOW ! Ok. I am done. Bloody Tele2.)

clean baby, clean

Today was the final day of one WHOLE MONTH of moving. Hallelujah! Moving isnt’t that bad really, but the worst was the cleaning. No matter how long we cleaned, there always seemed to be something else that needed attention. Well, at least it has shown me why on earth I study: to be able to get a job that will afford a cleaning lady! (Or a cleaning service on moving day!)