Got A Present From Mexico!

Yay! ^_^ My Secret Santa from the Book Swapping Club was the lovely Dee Scissorhands! And my Goodness, was she grand! I've got TWO books instead of ONE! TWO AWESOME BOOKS! ^_^Well, with this I can just cross out one of my tasks from the List of 13: "Pick a Great Book to Read". Well, that will be... The Scarlet Letter + Hunger Games! ^_^ Okay, one... let's go Classic: The Scarlet Letter, but I'll read the Hunger Games too! Right after or before! It doesn't matter! Yay! Books!

I've also got a lovely letter and postcards from Mexico. One's a composite picture of different locations in Chiapas, the other is a picture of sailing at Playa del Carmen, and the last one is a super-cool, 3D postcard with a Mayan Calendar. The one that applied to the era that ended now with the "end of the world". I guess I'll have to wait for the next calendar now. It must be really interesting to study these ancient American cultures, and get to understand their symbols and messages, because I look at this picture and all I see is a stone disc with embossed designs. I couldn't tell you were it starts, where it ends or how on Earth do you know it meant for the Era to end on the dawn of 2012's Yule.

Days are peaceful now. There's no more rush about Christmas or presents, our only thoughts are about our upcoming trip to Cuba and that's it. For New Year? No plans, really. Maybe we'll stay home with a bottle of good champagne, or maybe we'll visit friends... no rush there either! Not the first New Year we spend together at home, though admitedly, since it's our Aniversary too, we tend to spend it abroad. :-D Wait, do we? Suddenly I can't remember how many years I've been with my boyfriend. A lot, I guess. Oh well, not like he's going anywhere, so why count the years, right? It's not like it's a prison sentence and I'm calculating how many years more I have to "endure" to gain freedom! ^_^ That's the attitude of "sentenced for life without parole". Yes, I know, I make relationships sound like the worse thing that could ever happen to you. In some cases it is.

I was going to pack my trusty Kindle for my trip to Cuba, but I think I'll rather go with one of my new books. Yay! I'm so excited!!! ^_^ Can you tell? Everything is just so awesome, the days ahead look so wonderful... Numerologically speaking 2013 will be a "6" type of year for me. What does that mean? I don't know, but it sure looks like AWESOME and HAPPY! ^_^

Isn't life lately just great! ^_^ Happy rest of the day for all!

Merry Christmas

When do you celebrate Christmas? That's a curious question you may not ask yourself, but actually in some countries it's celebrated on the morning of the 25th and in others it's celebrated on the evening of the 24th. At our place we celebrate it on the evening of the 24th, while the world around us celebrate it on the morning of the 25th. I woke up early to make jewelry - was actually awoken by an idea about how to make these present-jewelries for my mom and my sister-in-law - and also to get some last things - like the wrapping paper that's never enough because rolls and rolls have been used to Hyne-knows-what - and wrap. I've been wrapping presents for hours now!

Thoughts for Christmas? Ask me later, when I'm done wrapping. Having written letters yet, and I should seriously get done with all my letters - Christmas Resolution: reply to all of my letters before the year ends! - and then... and then. I read in the fabulous blog of LJ - Honey, hope you don't mind me mentioning you, but your blog is just FANTASTIC, I trully love it, people! - about this Dodo planner inserts that help you get on top of your events, and festivities so you don't forget about the cards you are supposed to send and the presents, parties, dinners, appointments and all that. And do you know who needs that? --->THIS<---- b="b"> gal here! 2013 shall be different, I must really be on top of everything, so that when the vacations finally arrive I don't have to rush or worry or anything, just extend my arm and wait for the Piña Colada magically appear in my hand.

I know I did it one year, and it was so weird - but good weird! - It must have been back when I worked with Skylar and we were all stressed out all the time, and I had my days planned to the minute in my trusty palm pilot. I remember that I hit December and everything was done and taken care of. All presents bought and wrapped, all the cards and letters sent, all tasks checked... the world swirled around me with ever increasing pace and desperation to get things by the 24th, desperately trying to come up with something new because the one thing they came up with turned out to be sold out...

So, for 2013 I'll rely on my filofax and the inserts I can come up with to make things happen - to make magic! - and once again be on the top of my game, at least organizationally speaking.

It's a night of hope and dreams, so let's hope and let's dream!

Merry Christmas!

Unexpected Letters

This will once again be a very quick and short post. I'm actually doing something I like a lot: reviewing a budget report. Don't look at me like that, I'm an economist, so it comes as second nature to love checking out numbers and trying to make sense of it. Tomorrow is our building's Tenants' Comitee Annual Meeting, where we are supposed to vote for the new directive board, review the budget balance of 2011 and approve the budget for 2012. I'm not an owner, but I'm still attending. :-) My boyfriend is the one with the vote, but we are in this together, and given my numeric expertise, I'm the think tank of our little team. Needless to say that I'm preparing wholeheartedly and happily to the meeting!

I've also been studying for any potential questions relating to the second round of these passing tests I've been lucky enough to be summoned up for. For this I've been reviewing all sorts of commercial contracts, and reading political and economical magazines, to get some actuality knowledge of Hungary, and get better acquinted with the regular conditions of the market. The second round is due on Wednesday, so let's hope everything goes well, and I get to take part on the third round. After that, it will be God's Will if I pass the tests and get the highest mark! If not, well, I still got the markers for the next time I take the rounds.

Among other excitements, today I've got notice from the Postal Service that I've received a recommended letter, which I had to go pick up at the Postal Office close to where we live. Since all I've been doing all day was studying, a break was welcomed, so I studied some more until the time arrived for me to go pick up the letter (I was out when the postman came, so if I picked up the letter today - which I did - I couldn't just go and pick it up, but had to wait until the postman returned to the Post Office, and that was at 18h). The letter was from my dear friend Dragonfly-cr, who had come back from a trip to the West Coast - specifically California - and sent me a beautiful gift. There was a wonderful key shaped keychain - and I LOVE key shaped keychains!!! - which I put in use right away, as you can see. (It's funny actually that here in Europe the old key shaped keys are still in use, so this lovely keychain key bears some resemblance with some of my actual keys!) My Nici leopard has been sent to rest for a while. :-)

Truth to be told, I was actually looking for a keychain for my keys, other than my stuffy turquoise spotted leopard, but couldn't find anything. Was missing my niqueled palmtree keychain I've got from my friend Roo or Lau - or both - etched with "California" in green. A simple keychain, but I loved it to bits and pieces. I would have brought it back with me if I wouldn't have mislayed it Costa Rica. Thanks heavens, my Mom found it when I was already here. Now, when I opened the envelope and the key keychain rolled out, with "Beverly Hills" etched in green, I was screaming in delight! My neighbours will probably have something to say about it on tomorrow's meeting, but still... I have a PERFECT keychain!!

The perfect keychain was accompanied by a bunny rattle - made in Japan. Oh man! A Bunny!!! A Bunny!!! I'm BONKERS for bunnies!!! ^_^ And the string is GREEN!! This one, however, got carefully hung from my corkboard. I won't have that one getting lost. Then there was a Kimmidoll pen! Kimmidoll as in the Kokeshi dolls. DREAM-COME-TRUE. How beautiful!!! And a PEN! A writing tool! It's like all my wishlists are being checked out and completed! Bunnies, green, writing tools, kokeshi dolls, key keychain...

But that was not all. Oh no, that was not! The best of all was a POSTCARD written by my friend telling me about her trip! A message! ^_^

I'm out of words to describe the absolute bliss and pleasure I've received from this letter. ^_^ Now, misunderstand me not, I love the letters I get and I enjoy terribly the letters from my penpals, and to each penpal there's a certain feeling attached. And yes, I admit I have my favorites (and you KNOW who you are). I've penpals that send me screaming and running around with my arms up in the air each time I receive mail from them. The continuation of the story, the extra bits about the work-related stuff, the latest developments in "those matters", the most recent review on a trip, the reply to our personal philosophy exchange, a book recommendation that makes your mind fly... And then there are the absolutely unexpected letters. The letters from people you didn't really expect to receive because either the Postal Service to-and-from those countries is beyong crappy, or the unexpected letter that shows just how well they know you.

Hope my reply can arrive in good health to her hands. :-)

Happy Walpurgis Night and Beltane!

Another Pagan Sabbath is around the corner, ready to be celebrated, and with it I prepare to take the message into my heart. The most part of the information you get - from the 101 point of view - talk to you about Beltane, but it wasn't until recently that I learned about Walpurgis Night. Then, given that I'd like to work out another topic for today (or more like a different approach), and yet I wanted to keep my Pagan Calendar updated, I decided to invoke the help of Walpurgis ^_^ for the task. It's late anyway - or late for me, so you'll be probably reading this entry already for Beltane - which is held on May 1st... though I've heard of May 2nd as well. (My trusty Witches' Datebook 2012 - which I of course got because I had to and it has been very useful in my research - places Beltane on the 1st.)

In the Wheel of the Year, Beltane marks the middle of the year, and is opposite to Samhain, which is the New Year of the witches or Pagans. It celebrates the coming of the summer, the begining of the longest days of the year, with hours and hours of light and sun. In Costa Rica you don't feel this all that much though you may notice (if you wake up early enough) that you have an extra 30 minutes of light at dawn and another extra at dusk. In Europe there's no mistaking when you notice that the sun is nowhere close to the horizon at 8 pm, and 4 pm and 7 pm look exactly the same.

For many Beltane is also a much favored celebration because it's about fertility. The courting of the Spring, the shy blooms are over and it's time to get the land and the stock pregnant. Time for sex, fire and passion related thoughts, intentions and activities. However lets take the line of thought we have been following through the other Sabbaths and think about this one as well as part of our life cycle. What is this celebration of fertility? It's a celebration of Labor, and as such, it's not so farfetched to imagine how Beltane and Labor's Day fall on one and the same day (in most countries). One is a celebration of sex and the other a celebration of work, of jobs as a dignified human activity that makes the world possible. It's also a day to celebrate the conquests of Labor, the social and labor guarantees that keep us from expliotion and from working in inhuman, abusive condition. From any angle you see it, it's a celebration - a happy and passionate celebration! - of fertility.

We have planned, prepared and with Beltane we go on the Fields and work them. On these long days, under this hard sun, many peasants worked from first light to last light on the fields, on meager food if any, taking care of the pregnant Mother Earth for from the good completition of her pregnancy all of us depend. From her dark, soft womb is born our bread, from it nurtures our meat. With the very passion of unleashed joy and gayness, we should work our projects, work the fields alotted to us, push ourselves, even if we still don't see the result, even if the impact of our work gets swallowed in an endless land of waying greens and yellows. The harvests will come, the results will always show, and now is the time when we can make the difference. Now is the time when we can give into it everything we have, do our best and try to surpass ourselves, show ourselves that yes, we can and we can go even further. Surprise yourself, impress yourself! Show yourself what are you made of and do the whole 9 and then add the extra mile!

Beltane is where the plans and preparations get in action. It's the time to show the passion, unleash the flame inside our souls.

Today we went to the Velence lake, where a friend of us has a lovely summer house. The place is in one  of the many little villages that ring the lake, and to my surprise, they had a May Tree. (To Sartassa: I guess you were right! Hungarians also celebrate the May Day!) It's not a pole like the May Pole, but rather a long, long, thin stick (probably from a very thin tree), with a few branches on top, which are richly decorated with colorful ribbons. This May Tree is located at a prominent area of the village, such as in front of the city hall or some place like that. Nobody would think that it's a Pagan thing (actually in this place the city hall was in front of the church and there seemed to be no problems with that), but an ancient tradition the village is very proud to keep.

After seeing this, and since my boyfriend repotted our plants, I decided to do my impromptu May Tree from a little stick that had been in one of the pots. (One of the plants we've got was a little gift from a wedding my boyfriend attended, and on the stick was a little paper bird with his name.) I took a few ribbons I had lying around and tied them securely on top of the stick, and then stuck it back in the new pot the plant received.

This is the moment to make things happen, so are you going to make things happen, or will you remain at the drawing desk, with the blueprints of your fabulous life?

Entitled

There's an interesting dicotomy in people, where on one side they are fearful and don't demand for what they are entitled to, and on the other side, they believe they are entitled to maybe more things than they should. They don't feel entitled to demand their Governments to serve them, work for them and show decent results based on what they promised they would achieve, don't feel entitled to oppose as a natio a reform, a bill or a law that serves only a small portion of society that doesn't really need any more favors, in detriment to a large segment that could use if not a little bit of help, at least a little bit of slack. Instead of facing up these things, people are content placing the blame on others or pretending they don't have the power to do a thing about this, letting people in very delicate, key positions loit the people and dispose of the taxpayers' money as if it where their private "Fund for Fun".

On the other side, however, people tend to feel entitled to small things that don't matter that much, that they don't really need, but which they snitch as if it were some sort of prize. Our bathroom, for instance, is filled with lots of little bottles of body cream, shampoo&shower gel and little soaps of the kind you see at hotels, just as shower caps, tiny show polishers, mini sewing kits and vanity sets. Yes, some are simply beautiful, but do you really need to take them home? Like, don't you have soap at home or a real, regular bottle of shampoo that fits the needs of your hair and scalp, rather than a generic one, no matter the type of hair you have? Sure, some people collect them, but collectors take as maximum one sample of each, not the whole set for every day they stay at a given hotel. And this is not only a quirk of someone I know who isn't me and will remain nameless, but that of a lot of people, who feel the compulsive need to take just about everything that's not nailed to the floor, walls or ceiling.

Cuttlery, dishes, pillows and blankets from airplanes, ashtrays from restaurants, mugs from coffeeshops, towels, and toiletry from hotels as just some of the things people take away with themselves because they claim that their cost is already included in the price they've paid, or that they are there so they'll use them up, so they'll use them up, or because if they don't take it someone else will (because, for instance, the chambermaid has nothing better to do that steal industrial amounts of toiletry from the hotel, nor the waiter has anything other in mind than taking away as many ashtrays as possible), or because they will actually use them up when they have an emergency. Well, so far I haven't been in a situation where a tiny soap bar would save my life, and nor me or my boyfriend carry them in our wallets -  or purse in my case - just in case we need to wash our hands and there's no soap to do so.

Yes, they are pretty, yes they are cute and maybe even a souvenir, but if you want a souvenir, why don't you make a picture? (Okay, I must admit that I have an unhealthy apetite for stationary and hotel pens/pencils. Only I often use them up right at the hotel, taking the sheet and writing to one of my penpals.) No, because that's not the point. The point of the whole maneuver is to take something that doesn't belong to you clearly, that hasn't been given to you expressly for you to take away, but to take a courtesy item, something offered to you to make your stay wherever you are more pleasant - be entirely consumed by you or not - and be left there. It's a small favour that's offered for your comfort, not a piece you have paid for and bought. Or are you also taking the phone with you? Maybe the chambermaid as well? (Okay, DSK is the only one I've heard of who would really take the chambermaid, but let's not go there.)

Why do we feel entitled to take - nearly hoard - whatever is free, or any gesture of kindness and courtesy as if it were owed to us? Standing in line to demand free samples of products you don't intend to buy and that probably aren't meant for you (like 20 year-old girls standing in line to get a sample of a wrinkle cream. Dude, come on!), or taking smiles for granted, and good customer service as owed to you. Perhaps many feel that if they don't take all they can, then they are being ripped off, or they are not as smart as they should be, but that's pretty lame. Actually what happens is that with such an attitude, people often contribute to polute the planet and make our living conditions worse.

For instance, if you take a small bottle of shower gel from the hotel - that you don't need - you take from stock a small plastic container that will have to be replaced. Remember that all these plastic bottles can be refilled a lot of times, but if you take one from the stock, that must be replaced. Most likely you won't reuse the plastic bottle (a few people do it... I'm one of them. Since we have so many, I often use the empty bottles to squeeze in them handcream and keep them in my purse. Well, that was until I've got hooked with L'Occitane's sheabutter handcream that comes in a size small enough to be carried in my purse), so either you use the shower gel or not, you will be throwing that plastic bottle away, and most likely into the regular garbage, not to a recycler. Even if you recycle it, the bottle would be chopped and turned into plastic pelts that would become a lower quality of plastic, and would be used in another product.

The hotel from where you took the shower gel, would need to replace the bottle. The more people take away the toiletry - thinking that it's their right to do so - will start to ball up the costs of the hotel, which will force them to either push up the price of the stay or cut costs by either letting go part of their personal - which will be detrimental to the quality of the service - cut other services and courtesies (lower the quality of the food, or the amount, maybe replace the shower gel for a mini soap bar or even offering only one set of toiletry per stay, and even charge extra if you ask for more toiletry items). You may be right not at a hotel, maybe glancing at the soapbars neatly tucked in your bag and thinking "Nah, that's too little, it won't make a difference". Yes, it does the difference.

It makes the difference if you are one of the people who is able to accept a courtesy for what it is, a gesture of kindness, meant to please you and make you feel more comfortable, not as something you were entitled for since the begining, thus every cut on it would make you feel like you are being robbed, when in reality you and people with that same attitude have been the ones shamelessly ripping off the place. It makes a difference also in you, for this way, instead of constantly being on an aggressive defensive attitude, you open yourself to be gladly surprised, to be pleased, to be treated with kindness, and give kindness and pleasure in return. By taking your thought of entitlement away from the small courtesies, you would be able to focus on what you are really entitled to, and on finding ways to enforce your right to demand accountability on them.

Please think, what do you want? A house decorated and set off entirely with hotel, restaurant and airplane items, free samples and all sorts of courtesies, or would you rather have a life and life conditions where you are more empowered to make things happen?

Irresponsible Service

Ok, time to denounce something that's pissing me off. Worry not, I'll keep it short, so that my liver doesn't explode in anger. It's upset, UPSET! with the Postal Service. As you may know by now, I've been sending out postcards, letters and even a couple of packages since I've got here. It's only normal, since I have penpals and also a large chunk of my friends live in Costa Rica.

Ever since I've got here I've sent these out to the United States, UK, Austria, Belgium, Malaysia, Germany and Costa Rica. I've got feedback from everywhere that they've got their postcards, their letters and even the small parcels I've sent for birthdays and special care-packages. All but those sent to Costa Rica.

Naturally, as precaution I've filled out forms similar to the one shown here for the parcels, because ALLEGEDLY you can track them down, and know at all times where the parcel is. Yeah right. I don't know how it works in other countries, but at least in Costa Rica and in Hungary, they track the package only INSIDE the country. Once it leaves the country, the parcel enters the Twilight Zone. That wouldn't be much of a problem if the package were received, such as it happened with all the other parcels and letters I've sent out, and which - to my amazement - were received in a week or two, which for me counts as "record time". However, this doesn't happen with Costa Rica, where over 10 postcards, 5 letters and a parcel have been sent since February and none have been received. From this lot, it happens that the parcel I sent has a tracking number. The number is RR214810410HU. This package left Hungary on March 5th, and since then the track is lost. From the other side the Costa Rican Postal Service simply pretends the parcel has never arrived to the country.

It's quite interesting because I know for a fact that the parcel was correctly addressed, so it's not possible to imagine that the package was mistakenly sent to Abu-Dabi or any other place. It was addressed to Costa Rica, to an address I know like the back of my hand. Still, the Costa Rican Post Service, Cortel, feings ignorance, though the parcel left to Costa Rica over six weeks ago. Through the Hungarian Postal Service we've sent to Costa Rica a formal request about the destiny of the package, whether it has been delievered, lost or returned, but they have failed to answer so far, something unheard of.

So, you pay EXTRA money to have some SECURITY about the things you send by the Postal Service, and STILL, it's a bogus? Nobody can tell me where the parcel is, and to top it all, there are no actual, real means to shake up the IRRESPONSIBLE counterparts from their comfortable position of not doung their job and still charging for it.

This should be stopped.

What's in Your Heart?

This is a Xmas with plenty of green, and no, I'm not in Costa Rica staring out of the window of my hut with a coconut in hand, listening to the ocean, as many people seem to believe. I'm in Hungary, wrapped in my boyfriend's robe, at night, in an apartment, surrounded by green fields. Weather these days seems to be somewhat bipolar, rather than the usual "maniac depressive" self, so proper of these changing, schedule oriented latitudes. Not that I mind, as this allows me to lose one layer of clothing, but still. A Christmas-in-three-acts has begun Today. Act one: Christmas with my family.

According to an impromptu plan communicated to us today in the morning, we had lunch at my aunt's place, where my brother and his family are currently lodged. The present-constriction due to the loss of the luggage (due to weather, KLM has blatantly decided to lose each and everyone of our 5 pieces of baggage - for which I was almost made pay $100 for 3 Kg in surplus on 2 suitcases, while the other 3 ever over 5 Kg under the maximal weight alotted, EACH), was somewhat felt, but everything did their best to shower with presents the children, who got an enormous amount of presents, and the two Costa Rican's  - 100% Costa Ricans -  with us.

Act two is to be done tomorrow, when we have lunch with my father-in-law, whom I love to madness. Act three will be the lunch-and-afternoon with The Hag, from which I've excused myself months ago, given the fact that I'm so freaking sick, like you can't believe. Thus my boyfriend will go to the lair of the Hag alone, while I have lunch with my family, and spend some quality me-time with me. :-D I'll be reporting about these if the happenings merit it.

In this Christmas time interesting sides of people surface. Some show out the Grinch side of them, openly hating Christmas, others pull out the Christmas Depression face, which often looks like something picked out of a Christmas story, others pull out the all-over-the-place-I-wish-Christmas-lasted-all-year kind of fever, or the gushy side, or the corny side, the uber-spender side, and other take out the "Gift Philosophy" side. Some get more religious, others suspitiously turn towards the "the best gifts are not the expensive ones" and so on. Now, I believe that the presents that matter  -for any occasion - are the presents that have a positive, unique, personal meaning and intention. Call it "presents from the heart" or "presents with love" or whatever, I'm talking about those presents that are not the ones you exactly needed, or the one's that you asked ofr, but those that tell you something about what the person giving them to you wants to say to you: the thing you share - a story, a hobby, a memory - or the way that person sees you. The money matter is a matter for the person giving the present, not for the one receiving it, so money doesn't come in consideration, however a lot of people don't think that way even if they say they do. 

It never fails to amaze me how this happens in Christmas.  Often people who say that "presents that matter cost nothing" basically are saying that they don't have enough money, so they are sending ahead the message that they will give "poor presents" and expect to be forgiven for it. So, exactly what do we see in a present? A tool or a needed produce we require - which by some social artifice we can't get ourselves and expect to be provided for by our friends and family? A way to measure love in regards of size, number and price of the gifts, or the rarity of them (again a matter of money)? A social obligation to exchange whatever thing impressing enough to be a present?

Perhaps we could think of presents as a way to communicate. In a present, this way isn't the matter to give someone what he or she needs - just as you don't say only the words others need to hear - but you say to him or her something in a language you share. Dragonfly, for instance, never fails to include something green in my presents. This way she says "I know you are crazy about green". It's not like she thinks I need more green in my life, but she knows it happens to be my favorite color. Skylar never fails to give me something related to writing and a book (at least one :-D), because she knows I've a never dying passion for reading and writing. My aunt always thinks about youthful, yet not trendy or too young things. She reminds me of our relationship, which is sweet, as we have the same name. My sister-in-law always gives me something related to clothing, in connection to our shared love for shopping, and my Mom always gives me things that have a sweet, soft nature. Soft fabrics, sweet colors, tender details. It's her way to say I'm still her little girl.

Kari basically asks me for guidelines, so I give him ideas, and he works around them. His message is "I'm listening to you, yet I will interpret you my way, and that way is always the most beautiful one I can think of". My friend Laura has this way to pick gifts that always go back to our days at the University. They have a youthful, bohemian, traveler quality you simply gara love. It's like being back in jeans and T-shirts before we used make-up and plucked our eyebrows. My friend Roo's presents are all about fun, party and guilty, guilty pleasures. Everything is "OMG, Roooo!!! Hahahahahahaha!". Carrie's presents are all about shared fangirling items. Those are the kind of things that send you shrieking like a groupie all around the place. Almost as if you had unwrapped the real Jesen Ackles with a bow and a smirk.

How much do they cost? I've no freaking idea. Some are handmade, some are bought, some might be expensive, some might be a bargain, but all of them are so freaking awesome! So, when people speak about the importance of the cost in gifts, I always wonder "the importance to whom?".

Beware What You Wish For

In a few days I'll have my Birthday. Yeah, one of my favorite days of the yeah... probably My Favorite Day of the whole year. It's the Day of Me. Birthday, of course means presents and booze, and sometimes someone comes up with some cake or something of the sort, which is really not all that important to me, as I place the weight of the celebration on what really, really, really matters: booze. No Booze, No Birthday. This is one of the perks of being finally over 18, and so I'm living it to the fullest for as long as I have a liver or any other ways, original part, transplanted or artificial to drain my body. What can I say? I'm a lass with her priorities in place. ^_^

I'm usually not the kind of person who asks for gifts or tells people what she wants to get. Nah, that's not me. It has been known to happen - like this year when I asked my folks for a car, but then again, it was now or never - but I usually prefer people to come up with something by themselves, if they feel like they want to give me something. Totally love these surprises, specially because these gifts tell you a lot of what the person who gives it to you thinks about you.

Okay, there's one thing I must admit I ask for, and give specific directions: fanfics. Yep, those I order. Snockhart, NC-17, Wincest NC-17 Third Season Fandom, and so on. But other than that I like to be surprised.

However it has been said that I'm a person quite difficult to please in the gift-sense since I have an expensive taste and, add to it, I always buy myself everything I want, so what could you possibly give me that I haven't already bought for myself? So I have made lists of ideas about what's a good gift idea, and so on. The 3B's are always a good way to go: Books-Booze-Boxes. I love books, I love booze and I have a thing for boxes I can't explain. Oh, BTW, I have no coffins, in case someone would like to come up with something cool and unique. Doesn't have to be a coffin-coffin, since those are expensive and I wouldn't have a place to put it, but coffin shaped boxes could be cool.

So, aside from my folks, who seem to have an exceedingly hard time picking up a gift for me, my dear boyfriend is another clueless litle sheep who needs the help of the sheppard to get on the good road regarding gifts. Then again he's a hopeless case that couldn't pick a gift for himself if he had to. Now, to be honest, his first gift was great: a Montblanc fountain pen. Then, his Christmas gift was less than perfect, so for this year we decided that help was needed. And so I picked a blouse. A traditional blouse. I had already asked my folks (before I went for the car) for a Matyó blouse, but I asked one from him anyway. Since he pointed out that I was going to get one from my folks, I decided to put into the formula an extra profit. You see, I want him to improve his German. To do so he must practice, to practice he must talk with others in German. To do so he must go where people speaks German. For that he could go to Vienna. Since it would take a natural disaster for him to go there, I decided to "nudge" him in the right direction: I asked for a traditional Austrian blouse. He agreed.

Wee!! I was happy! He didn't complain and he would go there and practice German. Thing is that I wanted to know what have I asked for, since I was actually imagining some pretty white blouse with pretty embroidery, kinda like what Kate Beckinsale wears in "Van Helsing"... minus the crippling corset and the coat. You know, some nice, hippie-like flax blouse in some soft color, with monochromatic cross stitched embroidery of undefined forms and so on. Perhaps with fluffly sleeves or lovely short sleeves or something. Either way, the important thing was that I've got away with what I wanted and I would have him speak German, since obviously I wasn't going to be there with him, so he couldn't rely on me doing all the talking... as he usually does, which doesn't please me at all.

However I really, really had no idea excatly what would I get, so I went to the trusty Internet and sought out what the hell had I asked for. Well, sadly, I did found a picture of what I asked for, and it wasn't what I wanted.

Yeah, no wonder he wasn't complaining. Once I found out I called him and told him to forget it. I'm not wearing a low clivage Oktoberfest blouse! Not only because I feel really uncomfortable with low clivage clothes, but also because I have nothing to fill that clivage with! So, since my folks are off the Matyó blouse due to the car, my boyfriend is on the Matyó blouse. Interestingly he did issued a complaint about the gift changing, claiming "it isn't that bad or that low the clivage".

Men.

Handmade Gifts

I may have not been able to send my Christmas Cards this year (and I not to myself that I will plan this better from now on), but I did manage to make some jewelry for some of my friends. Here are the pictures.

Nautica: Blue and Gold

Heart-in-Heart Lace Choker and matching Heart Pendant Earrings

Sunbead Flower: Amber Glass Flower necklace and matching earrings

Angel: Blue bead, pearl-like beads and wire angel "concept" with wing earrings.

A Murano Heart on Mother's Day

Today is mother's day in Costa Rica. I was supposed to go pay my bills but everything is closed, or should be, so I don't even bother going nowhere. Will have to run into a bank sometime these days before one of my cards goes bonkers on me and reaches "beyond due-days". I might be kind of crazy spending sometimes, but I'm very conscious about the pay dates. However I've work to do, related with the thesis. Hopefully my thesis-mate will be calling me during the day to work out details about the second chapter in order to conclude it and get on the third.

As most Saturdays, I woke up early to talk to my boyfriend, but today, while I was doing that I was also making my mom her present. Hell, hope he didn't feel offended because I wasn't paying him that much attention, though I tried (to pay him attention, not to offend him!).

The necklace I did to my mom was a pendant necklace with a medium "Murano" sky blue glass heart I've got at the local bead store. To make it a but more special I laced the necklace chain with small blue beads. The style is that of a rather short necklace, something of a choker, but it doesn't sit tight around the neck, but rather hangs down a bit resting the glass heart three fingers under the small hollow spot at the base of the neck. I loved doing it, it was fun, but the most important thing is that my Mom liked it.

"I love it! And I love blue so much!"

I know that. My mom has given me blue things for birthdays and Christmas regardless of the fact that blue is not my favorite color, but green. I guess mom forgets, and so she picks things she thinks of pretty, and being blue one of her favorite colors, she often picks blue things because she saws them as the most beautiful things. ^_^ This makes those blue things special for me, and that blue beautiful for me.

My mom is great. ^_^

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms out there, real moms, surrogate moms, adopted moms, spiritual moms and also my Aunty Zsuzsa too!!!!

It's Not "Slacking", It's Busy!

Well, I've finally entered into the mistical 33 year-old period. I'm still inclined to say I'm 35, but 33 it's such a fine number, I guess I'll keep it while it lasts. However, from next year and all the way to 2011 I'll be 35, and then 40 until 2016. Rounding up a few years is so convenient!

Inspite of me really, really wanting to write and write and write, I couldn't. Thanks Hyne I've developped the "Nin complex" a few years ago, and so I've my journal with me for me to delve and write whenever the time is right but the Internet is not available. Inspite of Mr. B behaving as the inssuferable s.o.w. he is, I had a wonderful time. Mr. B, thinking that inspite of me being a real little angel and not complaining about what an amazing, outrageous m.f. he can be 24/7, not to mention loading me with "urgent stuff" such as "make a project file out of this Excel sheet"... sheet which has no activities, btw, only articles from a regulation; decided that "we are too busy" for me to take half a day, even though I offered to work the hours off (an insana amount of 3 hours!), because I, in all honesty, and respecting our new agreement of "transparent conversation", told him that a few friends of mine wanted to celebrate with me, and he said that "there's no way I can give you permission for that because I can't explain it". Well, I thought that's what "personal matters" were for. But then again, a birthday is not explainable, like it is to take a day to take the car to the mechanic.

Of course, then I decided that if we are "so busy" I might as well make myself busy... with a meeting. And a meeting I've got, which turned into a HUGE blessing, because that way I could spend part of my birthday away from the s.o.w. Of course, unhappy because I "managed to escape" the s.o.w. did everything humanly and inhumanly possible to load me up with annoying tasks, such as adjusting over and over and over a project schedule, which his reduced, tiny brain-oide couldn't understand. Yeah, he finds it so hard to understand that tasks take "time", that "time" is "limited" and that ONE human being is able to do only a CERTAIN amount of work during a GIVEN period of time. Yeah, in his puny little brain, the job of twenty dedicated people with an arrange of different special skills can be done by one single person who has other duties too, and has none of the requiered skills or knowledge, within the same period of time, if said person "works hard".

Knowing that I had a meeting in the afternoon in San Pedro, my dear, dear, dear coworkers arranged a lovely celebration in of the offices with a huge, beautiful yellow cake, which looked like a smiling Sun and had scribbled on "Felicidades, Su" (Congratulations, Su). They've got bread, cheese and made this delicious hot, melted cheese sandwiches, brewed coffee and sang "happy birthday" two times for me. ^_^ Then I've got this deluxe "Casillero del Diablo" Historic Vintage 2007 bottle of wine. To say that I was impressed and swept off my feet would be a crass understatement. Really, my coworkers are simply adorable! I broght them some brownies and coke because I thought the wouldn't celebrate my birthday (I'm from a different department), but I wanted to share a little something with them.

I planned to be out by 11 am, since the meeting was at 1 pm, and I had to get my lunch before that (and the trip from Sabana Sur to San Pedro at that time of the day does take 1 hour, at least). I ended up leaving later, since I had to bound some documents, but I still made it in time, and had a wonderful meeting filled with reminiscense, tight, warm hugs, huge smiles and the camaraderie of those who once belonged to the same area and still think of themselves as "us, the Mobile Service area". Dude, those were hard, difficult times, but it was beautiful, the work hard and chellenging. Those were my best years in this company.

The meeting was amazing, not to mention I realized that my boss had lied about several things, have hid information, lied about who sent what and orchestrated a gigamontic chaos. It's only sheer luck that no one respect him, therefore no one followed his crazy ideas and kept working the way that has been done and has worked all this years.

Beauty came when I met with my dear, dear friends and workmates. Smiles, greetings and hugs from my old boss, Manuel Córdoba, and one of his men, Manuel Ramos, then there was Ivannia Conejo, Tavo, Melissa, David, Kenneth, Karol Núňez, Tatiana, Sonia, Pao, Ana Teresa...

I had a small lunch with my dear friend Skylar, who helped me get the meeting so fast. She surprised me with a lovely gift: a leather bound journal (in time, since I'm reaching the last pages of my current one, besides you never have "too many" journals), a bookmark so beautiful I'm afraid of removing it from the case, and the most interesting and funny book ever: a Harry Potter philosophy-like book which has been written assuming Aristotle ran Hogwarts, not Dumbledore. That might prove interesting. My Jetty hasn't changed a bit since we used to work together. She's ever so thoughtful! I gave her her birthday present with MONTHS of delay: brownies, Mozart Kugle, an Oriflame hand cream and Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 in English.

After the meeting I went to see my dear, dear friend Dragonfly, who had written an entry for me yesterday and made me a happy birthday card, God Bless her giving heart! Just as I did with Skylar, we sat and talked and talked about work, boys, stuff going on, and then oogled on the blog of a friend of hers, María Palito, who actually designs jewelry. I tell you, this Mary-girl is one talented person! My Dragonfly is preparing to go to Mexico, and she told me that she got the ticket in such an amazing price, I've been thinking in telling my beloved Kari to forget Panama, and let's go check out Mexico. ^_^ Dragonfly had a present prepared for me too. She gave me a lovely green bag (because green is my absolute favorite color) with a beautiful crocheted green scarf, made by her mom with a technique I have never seen before, a green bead keychain made by here, with a large medal-like bead with a design much like a rose, which is perfect because it's not only my middle name, but also my favorite flower... and in my favorite color! Green! With it was another gift, a prize I won on her blog for suggesting the most popular name for her laptop. It was a white and green mug with a spoon, all in ceramic. It was so surprising that I won and that the mug was precisely green, since she bought it before the poll was started.

My beloved, beloved, beloved boyfriend, God may forever bless his precious heart, called me like three times or so to greet me. He got me an amazing Mont Blanc fountain pen, which I started using yesterday (I never use my birthday presents before my birthday), and I guess it will be the only pen I'll use from now on. I totally adore my fountain pen!


At four or so, I met with my friend Carrie, with whom I usually spend my birthday, for a small celebration of sorts. We went to the Terramall, a land of evil, where we went to our usual bookstorem where there were no worthy books, and add to it, the changed the conditions of the Birthday promotion, which upset me terribly. The Swatch store there had no decent Swatch, and those that were nice, I already had. That was terribly disappointing, but then again, I guess I'll have to extend my "hunt for my Birthday gift" for a few days more. After all, I do deserve a 22dn Swatch. ^_^

Carrie surprised me also with an extremely amazing birthday gift. I almost cried in joy and spent the whole night telling her how much I love her. She got me the Third Season of Supernatural, John Winchester's journal and a tiny, lovely bunny, which she explained to me, is a plot bunny, therefore will be known from now on as Plot.

My friend Jules called me, as usual, and it was lovely to hear his voice. Laura called me, but she had her personal tormentor on her back, so she couldn't say much, but hinted that her personal s.o.b. was driving her up the wall. Roo called me at night, when I was with Carrie, and told me, God bless her heart, that she was sending me the trilogy of the Sleeping Beauty from Anne Rice.

Carrie and I had coke and some foccaccia, but then we had to leave because my folks were waiting for me at home to toast for my birthday. Carrie's sister, Isis, wasn't half as dismissing as she usually is with me, which I found it... strange. Is she... getting to like me? Nahhhhhh....

The traffic from Cartago to Heredia was murderous, and even though we left rather early, I've got home by 10 pm. My mom and dad were waiting for me with an amazing present: a beautiful huge blue cord bag with white mooses, which I started using today, very, very comfortable and cool, really, a dream come true, and two CDs: one of Strauss and one of Baroque Music. Oh my Hyne! It made me remember when I was a child, and an early teen, when all my friends and cousins were crazy for groups as A-Ha, Wham, Menudo, Los Chicos and all the stuff from the eighties and the only thing I listened and the only thing I liked was classical music and my favorite above all was Strauss. Johann Sebastian Strauss. More than Bach, more than Brams, more than Mozart (have never been a big Mozart fan), more than Bethoveen or Franz List.

You know, this has been an AMAZING birthday! ^_^

Crafty Gifts

I'm trying, and I'm quite happy with the results. This is a necklace with matching earrings I made for my friend Laura, for her birthday, which was on May 14th.

Yes, I know I gara work more with my timing, but at least I've got it, right? This is, at the same time, the first necklace I do using chain links. I imagined it to be far more complicated, but it turned out to be quite easy. Now I've gara get a new chain and green beads for my mom. ^_^ My mom likes my craft, maybe only because she's my mom, you know, and moms always support their kids.

It's amazin, but working on things like these, making necklaces, knitting and things like that, calm me a great deal. I don't think I'll be able to make a living out of either of them, basically because I suck at selling things like this (but I'm amazing at selling corporative products, which is amazing), but I love doing them and giving them away. At the same time, it makes me think of my friend Drangonfly, to whom I'm grateful, because she was the one giving me the inspiration to start doing my own jewelry, and then she took from her time to teach me.

Then, like she said, it feels so much better to give someone something you made, rather than getting something bought. Of course, when you buy somthing special, something that connects you to someone, it's the best gift ever, but when a gift has that extra kick, that extra thing, that it has not only your thoughts, but also your effort, your work, your time and it's unique, that makes it unvaluable.

Yes, I can think of gifts you can buy that mean the world more than anything, like getting someone you love that watch you know they've been dreaming about, or but them that one book you read once when you were younger, or get that one volume, that one book, that one DVD, as soon as it hits the stores (Supernatural 3rd Season, With Caution, Haru wo Daiteita, Kizuna... you know what I mean), a rare first edition, the best chocolates ever... there are things that you can buy and they are special, but you can also give great gifts without spending a fortune, because the point of a gift is not the money spent on it, but the thought behind it.

I'm Handy

My friend Dragonfly sent me over a few pictures she took when I was learning to make necklaces at her place, and so I've decided to share them with you. Well, not exactly "them", but one of them. Yes, I know you can't see me, but I believe I have very particular hands, and if that doesn't help you, there's still my trademark green cord on my right wrist and the Swatch watch on the left. The pretty necklace you see in steel tones was the model I was using to guide my work and match the length. That beautiful thing was made by Dragonfly.

Yesterday I finally started my "blue" proyect, which is the necklace I'm preparing for another friend of mine. This is the first one I'll be doing entirely on my own and I has me a little bit nervous. I've made my best at getting the right coloured beads, but the store where I use to go is not very asorted, so I had a hard time finding the right beads. At the end, when I started working on them it happened that they didn't match really, and the smaller ones are far more transparent than I expected them to be. Bummer. It doesn't look bad, and it actually looks as if the necklace had some frosting on, but I wanted them rather to blend and create a different visual pattern. Oh well, I'm left to my own devices.

I've been thinking that I'd like to work more on these things, and perhaps this year make the gifts of all my girlfriends with my own two hands. This means, of course, to practice many other techniques so, not everybody end up with the same type of necklace from me. ^_^ It means also to stock up on more beads and material. Perhaps even get my own pliers instead of always snitching away Dad's. ^_^ Or maybe not, after all, in less than two years I'll be flying back home, and I don't think that carrying hardware would be such a good idea. Then again, maybe I'll have to took around there and see if I can get the same tools and goods.

We shall see, we shall see. Well, the first birthday on the row is that of Roo, so maybe I could work a bit on that and see how it comes out.

My mom wears my stuff. ^_^ Yesterday she told me her friends admired a simple blue-and-green necklace I made for her last year. It makes me happy to see her happy.

Oh Hyne, I forgot!

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I was supposed to post this yesterday, but I'll do it now:

Dear Shimmy Gin,

The stars shine for you and the Sun rises each day to praise your greatness. The moon wishes to be as bright and magnificent as you are! You helped me fix my Nagi and then fix our Internet connection AGAIN and told us about True Blood. (I hate Sookie, btw.) May the greatness of your actions surpass history and become the tale of which the children with the future are raised!

You are MAGNIFICENT, my friend!! ^_^

Our hearts are with you.

It's Not 20 Yet!

Yes, it's Christmas, thanks for noticing. I've called my friends and my friends have called me. Others sent me SMS and others... well, others are out there waiting for a very, very long talk about what does it mean to be my friend and when the boundaries start in aboundless friendship when a third party, namely some real pain in the ass girlfriend is brought into the mix. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do not wish for my friends to end up all alone like me, even though I believe that the freedom conquered through eternal singlehood is the mankinds natural and most blessed state, BUT please let me stress this out loud and clear: your relationship is YOURS so no bring no shit of it to me! I no getting to rubba-dubb-dubb outta it, then I no want to part of it. Very nice, yeah, keep all the luvin' for yo'selves and THEN include me into the frott'n drama! C'mon Dude, get real! I have no problem lending ya an ear when you want to bitch or share, but I don't see why I have to be forcefully included in the drama by witnesing how you SMS with 'er when you are supposed to be talking to me, or that you won't even answer my greeting through the MSN because you are waiting for 'er. Okay, maybe have no idea about how to handle it. Here, lemme help you:

"Hi! Sorry, I'm kind of busy right now. Please don't get upset, but though I wish to speak to you, I really can't. can I get back to you some other time?"

Guess what? Works like a charm. Worry, not. I'm not charging for the advise.

Anyways, Xmas is in town, and we celebrated. I couldn't contact many of my friends, but I know their love reach me just as my love reach them all, from Sweden to South Africa, and from Malasia to California. Hey there, I feel ya! ^_^ Keep it real!

Gara go now. Battery is low and I have no place to plug Nagi in this room. I love you all.

Oh, and the 20 Thing? I don't have 20 Swatch watches just yet. Today I bought my number 19... and received one previously bought, and selected by me. Number 20 is saved to be ourchased in Paris.

Holla! -- MOVIE SPOILERS!!

First of all, if you are reading this through the FB: sorry I have not been able to connect lately to it, so of course it's kinda neglected, but I really won't connect to the FB at 23:46 when I gara wake up at 05:00 the next day, so that ain't happening, homie! And why am I getting home so late? Dude, blame that on the men.

BTW, I did went to the movies on Wednesday, to watch "Eagle Eye" for the second time in a row. I loved it. At the movies I ran into Heidy and her friend, who took their seats at the movie theatre at 18:09 when their movie was to start at 18:45. Reason? They wanted to "EAT". Hmmm... I've heard that one already. My movie was also due to 18:45, so I went first windowshopping, stopping at a Tommy Hilfiger Contemporary to check on a nice blouse. Maybe I would have bought it, but it had a terrible back. I mean, it was nice and the concept was cool (save that they only had sheer-transparent-white and navy-blue), but the back was so badly done it created a HUGE bubble into which you could fit a backpack. So, of course I didn't buy it.

This time around, I ACTUALLY paid attention to a few interesting details of the movie. Among them it caught my attention that the name of the FBI agent is THOMAS while out hero's name is Jerry. Tom & Jerry. Add to it, Mr. Thornton is greying and has this very thick black eyebrows, just like our Tom cat. Also, on a second review, you tend to catch the little details, and not so little that you missed the first time around. Plus, I stated for myself once again, that I love the scene where LaBeouf jumps on a table clad in police uniform, face casted down and shoots a few rounds into the ceiling. Hyne, I even find him hot lying on a non existing pool of blood between the seats and the table, on the floor, face down, with an incredibly poor effect on the blood matter. The way he's shot, how he falls... the way he asks to be killed when... I'm spoling, right? Anyway, I just love the way he looks in those scenes. His humanity, in my eyes is pumped up so much!

Love when he talks about Ethan, love when he tries to make his father understand that he has his own life. Love when he cires before the casket of Ethan, love when he smiles at the end, love when he thinks Rachel is going to smooch him, and you can see in his face that he goes there mentally and dies to do it and then... +_+ Yep, I love that kid, in that role. In any other? Most likely hate him.

One that should be driving me crazy is "Twighlight" where Pattinson acts, but it's doing nothing for me. It's a "oh, you again. Hi, I see you still have your maze-eyebrows. Good". Sorry, it's a phase I've already outgrown. Now, misunderstand me not, I still believe he's a looker, only... Well, his type just reached the Expiration Date with me. Besides, right now I like the more "human", more "real", more... well... roughed and therefore more prone to turn to basic human elements. In otherwords, who is more prone to drop the socially imposed masks to be a "natural man". Then again as you see both pictures, one next to the other, you'd say also that it's an Eyebrow Battle. The Iron Eyebrow. Who's Eyebrows will reign SUPREME. (And facial hair might be a welcomed chavalry...). Anyway, the Status Qvo currently is: LaBeouf ↑ Pattinson↓.

Yesterday my dear friend Kat sent me a little package to the office. She made me a small notepad pack of A4 sheets printed with little bunnies, and tied with a green ribbon. ^_^ I must say I'm touched. They are so perfect! Kat is a very, very creative and talented woman, who can do just about anything and does it beautifully. She told me this year, that she has decided to do all the presents she'll give to her friends and family this year. The idea is cool and due to it's implications (can made more eco-friendly things, make personalized, truly unique things, get them exactly what you want to give them) I was soon thinking the same: Dude! I could make the presents myself! How cool is that! Then I remembered that, for real, the only thing I do well is writing. What kind of present could I really make for my friends and family? Embroid them handkerchiefs? Write them a non-rhyming poem? Write them a story? Okay, that's one present down, BUT not everybody would be interested in reading a Snupin, or yet another Krumggory. Maybe I should stick to the good ol' shopping.

I'll let you know.

Subtle

It's June. We all know that. The 30th is my birthday. We all know that.

Boss: What kind of smell-stuff you you prefer? These burning slapsh thingies or the burning sticks of inciense?
Me: ... (GO FOR BOOKS!!! BOOKS! I LOVE BOOKS! MEDIEVAL STUFF IS ALWAYS A SURE WINNER!!!) Well... due to my asthma... these burners. They use oils.
Boss: But there are so many of these scents. Which do you like.
Me: (My favorite scent is the "book" scent. Want me to make you a list of books I like? Please? There are some great books on Serbia... Or how about something about Bulgaria? Monasteries in the Middle Ages, or a book by Umberto Eco?) ... China Rain...
Boss: Does it smell like rain? Hahahaha!
Me: (Yeah, like you raining on my party...) Hahaha! No, it's just the name. Like with perfumes, you know? I don't actually smell like Hera, but that's the name of my parfume.
Boss: Really?

In which world does he live in?