Random Xmas dinner

Went out with the girls last Thursday for Xmas drinks before everyone went to spend holidays with family. I accidentally met in that place a friend of a friend who we went out with about two months ago. After countless glasses of wine on both sides, he invited us on Sunday at their place for Xmas dinner.
What followed was utterly unexpected. We had a proper English Xmas dinner: chicken (well, usually it's turkey, but chicken was better!), roast vegetables, filling, bacon and sausages, gravy and of course Christmas pudding. We had the best laugh in ages, playing drinking games and drinking a queer alcohol (can't remember the name, but will sureley find it out for everyone) which reminded me with equal vigour of anti-freeze liquid and mouthwash. I almost had a heart attack from the bright pink anti-freeze alcohol, but the best time I've had in ages with English people.
That makes me think about stopping to be judgemental once and for all. I have met so many lovely people lately in so many unsual circumstances that I am starting to believe that the most random ocassions turn out to be the best.

New Year resolutions

Today we went for a Xmas lunch with our Boss, bought him a pressie and started talking about all kinds of random things as we usually do. Then we suddenly started talking about New Year resolutions. I haven't really thought about it, but more than ever, I feel that this year's end truly means an end to an era and next year will bring a start to a whole new dimension in my life. I can feel it.
This year I have finally made peace with a lot of issues that were troubling me. This year I am finishing with my Masters, I've got my blue card, I've moved, I've travelled, I've made a lot of new friends and I started to finally love London. I can now see the London I was suppose to see when I first came, with that naive fresh vision that I had back when I was 23, with that hunger for life and adventure that I then lost along the way. I know I have completely lost myself at some point and I am glad to say that I found myself once again. That feeling of "I am not where I am supose to be" is gone and now if I do wake up in the middle of the night I think " Hell, yeah, I am exactly where I am suppose to be, I'm on my way".
I went the other day to Gloucester Road to the Thai Embassy. God, I know this place very well. I think I came to Gloucester Road tons of times to work or to check the staff at Millenium Gloucester Hotel during my days back at the agency. I do not recall pleasant feelings about the area... Though I remember one sunny day when I was smoking a cigarette on a bench outside the tube station and thought about how maybe my life will be different one day, I would go to University and be a full righted citizen in he UK. Now thinking about it, I am all that. And with that thought in mind, I made up with Gloucester Road as well.

But coming back to New Year resolutions, although I have not really though about it in a serious way (as I usually do when it comes to those things), I kind of have a pretty good idea what I want to achieve for myself in the next year.
Firstly, next year I'll be 30 and as I promised myself a while ago, there are a few things that I probably always dreamt about doing and I wanted to do them before I turn 30. I will make a list and try to stick to that list if it kills me! I could mention a few from the top of my mind: learn how to dance tango, go to Argetina, go to New York and get a ride in a limo and finally write that book I have been toying with. I think I am ready for the biggest challenge of my life: writing. I always had a sense of mediocracy attached to me, but as time goes by I am becoming more confident and things don't happen overnight but they require hard work and many failures before something good is achieved. I know that I cannot bear to be ridiculed as a writer and also prefer to spare myself the disapointment of bad writing, but then again, I owe to myself to try and fail if necessary. At least I won't be longing for it for the rest of my life.
I must say that writing on this blog helped me a great deal to come to terms with the ideas that are always running around inside my head and also getting some kind of feed-back from people gave me a boost and the confidence to keep doing it. Perhaps it is some kind of mental preparation for what it is still to come.
Well, there you go. Quite bold and outrageous New Year resolutions. I remember the times when I was writing down in my diary that in the New Year I will go to gym and lose weight. This is now a part of my life that I don't even think of anymore, I just do it.
Another funny thought I had at lunch today. Aga was saying that she thinks that she must have lived in an Arabic country in another life. All that talk about past lives sprung some strange ideas to my mind: would I ever start over again?... I know we all feel nostalgic about losing chidlhood and adolescence and all, but when I think about it when you are mature you have it all. Plus, at any given age you are probably the best version of a your younger self and you keep growing into a better you until the day you die. Probably even old age has some magic attached to it. You see things with clarity and serenity and gone are the days of struggling to find out who you really are. Therefore I ask, would I ever turn back the clock and start all over again. Hell, no! And that is a crazy feeling. You're not yearning for the past anymore, you just want to embrace the future and what it holds for you... And that is probably a sign that you are happy...

There and back again

I have a feeling that I am finally living the life I have been longing for all my life.
Funny, it had to when I am almost 30. Guess what, this doesn't scare me anymore!

I remember last year I was full of anguish and had a sense of my-life-is-not-going-anywhere... How big a difference a year makes... I am amazed...

It's Christmas time and I am trying to recall the Christmases I have spent in London. I don't remember the first one, nor the second... I remember the third Christmas when I was working in Marriott Park Lane and it wasn't actually that bad, I could see the skating rink in Hyde Park and it was probably the first time I spent the night in a 5 stars hotel and indulged myself in a long bubble bath. Then I remember the last two Christmases I spent home in Sinaia with family and friends and that was really lovely but then again I wasn't in London... I have a feeling this is going to be the first really nice and proper Christmas I'll spend in London.

New Year will be on the beach in Koh Phagnan. My first New Years Eve in the UK found me at work in Novotel Hammersmith and we had a brief glass of champagne at midnight and then rushed back to work with heavy trays and trolleys. Then I've had an awful New Years Eve in Cardiff at the Millenium Stadium, arguably the worst New Years Eve in my life.

This year I'll turn 29 on te beach in Thailand and I'll look back and think: " I did allright."

My friend had her first fight with her boyfriend and thought it was all over before it even started properly. I urged her to do her best to clear the situation. She was so depressed. I've never seen her like that. I knew it must have been serious by the looks of it. We spent a lot of time talking about the ugly reality of relationships and misleading behaviour, bad luck and imposibility of love. On the back of my mind I was hoping they would make up. I had to believe that love and relationships are still possible. If that happened to her, why would I have been luckier? They made up and yesterday at a friendly Xmas party I met a man that reminded me of Mr Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.

Is it all then just a matter of time?...

A beautiful day

I've had one of the best Sunday today. Though Magda was a bit upset, we went to the Shoreditch Flower Market on Columbia Road (we actually walked all the way there and the air was full of the Christmasy spirit you usually get on a cold winter day near Christmas time) and discovered the most beautiful place. Secluded somehow, it's a street full of flowers, Xmas trees, wraths and misteltoes and bordered by lovely boutique shops on both sides selling candy, pop art, photographs and interior design.
We went to this precious italian cafe that was so pretty and so small that people stepped on each other's toes to pass through the tables. It was incredibly crowded, but still very cosy. I had left my heart there and promised myself to come back for a nice ciabatta with young gorgonzola and sun dried tomatoes.
Then we bought the Xmas tree and still lots of goodies, candles and heart shaped gigantic tree decorations.
And tonight we went to the Coldplay concert at the O2. I am not particularly impressed with Coldplay's music as I find it a bit soft for a rock band, but I knew they are incredibly good at live shows and was expecting for the best. What I experienced was a not only a fantastic performance, Chris Martin's unbelievable voice and fabulous sound, but also the closest and most honest interaction with the audience I've ever seen from any artist so far. When they came on the stage, Chris said: "Back in London town... It's great to be home! You're the best!" You could see they are having the time at their life and feeling like home, as if every single person in the crowd was a personal friend. And also something that made me think highly about them is the fact that they all can sing and they all can play several instruments. They function like an entity, like a single organism with four heads. Truly amazing. Apart of that, I fell in love with the bassist Guy Berryman :)) And it seems I am not the only one. Check this link out :))

London Tube Party

I am going to talk about the Tube Party organized on Saturday by hundreds of London revelers due to the drinking ban to take place from last Sunday.
So here is the situation: now it is illegal in London to drink alcohol in the tube (tough I always thought it was) and hundreds of people came together thanks to Facebook and MySpace guerilla marketing of the event to drink on the Circle line the night before the ban came into action.
I have not been there but I know people who were and they say it was a blast. I can't help smiling thinking about how complete strangers come together and party as if they were part of the same cult and about the originality of the partying concept. However, when I think about the reason for the protest I can't help feeling cynical about how ridiculous it is to protest against drinking on public transport. I would totally understand if people would be celebrating England winning the Football World Cup or would be protesting against war and poverty...
Judge for yourself...

Rubaiyats By Omar Khayyam

For some we loved, the loveliest and the best
That from his Vintage rolling Time hath prest,
Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,
And one by one crept silently to rest.


And we, that now make merry in the Room
They left, and Summer dresses in new bloom
Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth
Descend--ourselves to make a Couch--for whom?


Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and--sans End!

How I didn't go to Berlin today...

It comes a day in life when... you miss your flight!

It starts like any other day. You wake up on time, the luggage is ready since the day before, you take some time to wash your hair and shave your legs, but everything is calculated to the minute. You know exactly how much time you need for everything and how much it will take to get to the airport, you've already been there many times before.

You were planning to go to Berlin for months now. You even mentioned to a couple of friends and then a whole bunch of them decided to take the trip on Bank Holiday week-end to Berlin, the uber cool place to be!

You didn't forget to slip in your hand bag the German manual and the Berlin guide, thinking that you'd read them through on the plane. You put your make-up on and you leave on time.

You catch the bus to the nearest tube station, you get there and the tube comes spot on. Nothing left to do, but dream about the trip...

Then you're in Kings Cross station just on time to hop on the train to the airport. Then something stupid happens, you go to the wrong side of the station. But you are still on time and if you could only buy a ticket quickly enough, there's no more to worry about. But the next train leaves in two minutes and you try to get in thinking you'll buy the extension on the train. Then this overly zealous guy stops you and asks you were are you going. Then he sends you back to the ticket office and you reckon you're still on time. The queue is not long, but there's this guy at the cashier's asking all kinds of stupid questions and the guy behind is checking some map for him for about 10 minutes. You're starting to lose your composure. You finally get to buy a ticket and you run for the train, while the language gets in your way and you almost brake your neck on the stairs. This can't be good omen, you think. But you still have time to get there. You wait for the train, when, fatality, the train is delayed. You really start to worry. This French guys comes over and asks you if you are going to the airport. You say yes and then he asks you what train to take. You advise him on the best possible option: the fast train, as they are both delayed, at least the fast train will be, err..., faster! He says his check in closes at 12.50 and you relax thinking that at least you're not the only one worrying about being late for the flight. The train finally comes and you pray that it will go as fast as the speed of light. Of courses it goes as fast as it normally does, and, should you not have been worried about every minute passing by by now, you'd realize that it is actually very fast.

You arrive at the airport station. Oh, if only you could fly. To take a rapid pace and hope to find a taxi in front of the train station exit to take you quickly to departures. Normally there's a bus for everyone to take but it seems that it would take forever. The French guy appears again and is also looking for a taxi. He spots one and hails it. You ask if you could go with them. They agree. You joke a bit in the taxi, trying to remain calm. They ask you what time is your flight and you say 1 o'clock. They say that you are even later then them, as their flight is at 1.20. You start panicking quietly. You finally arrive at departures, go to the check-in points and realize that the check-in for Berlin closed two minutes before!...

You look around thinking that it might be a bad joke, not believing that this has actually happened to you. But it did. You feel tears in the corner of your eyes. But no, you are determined to fight and find a solution. All those expectations of the trip going down the drain...

You go back to Easy Jet desk and ask for a seat on another flight. They haven't got any. You try Ryanair, the same story. You feel hungry after having smoked two cigarettes in a hurry trying to calm yourself down. Nobody believes that this has happened to you, they are all trying to help, but there is no solution. You buy a pot of noodles and eat them at the airport thinking about how you're eating microwaved noodles in a place where you shouldn't be...

Bye bye, Berlin!

Now you have to change the stupid desktop picture of the Branderburg Gate...