Rhyme

When I had a big party 5 years ago I made a rhyme for every person on the party. It was kinda difficult since I had people from nine countries and I tried to make it in their own language. Not that we're talking nine languages, it was three. Coincided with the three languages I spoke at the time.

So now, when I'm planning a new party I was thinking of doing the same. Only I am about to give up, it is difficult to rhyme in German. Not sure whether it is because I don't speak it fantastically good, or if it's the language. It's also the fact that if I rhyme in one language, most of the other people won't understand, and I will have to translate it. And rhyming is very very difficult to translate.

Have to admit I've given up. Will do a small introduction instead for the people who do not know each other. That I can do in three languages, no problem.

Problem solved :)

Güngel

Learned a new word today. This is supposedly nothing that you will find in a German dictionary (and indeed you don't, since I just checked). It means (apparently) something like thingie, thingy in English. Something you cannot just find the word for, the expression or indeed the person. In English they all become - in my words - thingies. In Swiss German apparently güngel. I like it.

Can also be güngeln, i.e. a verb. So if I say I need to güngel, it could mean just about anything. How very convenient!

X'cuse me, I have no time to blog, I need to güngel :)

Obnoxious

Met this guy the other night. Obnoxious in general. Old and ugly didn't exactly help. He approached, I got protected by my "bodyguards". Anyway, he pointed to the floor, and hey, there was a one franc coin lying about. I bent down to pick it up (ok, I don't bend over just for anything but a franc will do :). Saying very nicely thank you, since I had two francs in my pocket for bus money and thought I dropped one of them.

Only very much later I realized I had three francs in my pocket. Still wonder whether he threw it on the floor to get my interest...but I ended up one franc richer :). Ah gosh, the things you do...

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest coming up. Remember, it takes place in September (your guess is as good as mine as to why!). Suppose Septemberfest doesn't have the same ring to it.

They promise "Vollgas-Stimmung" which I interpret to be full gas atmosphere. Sort of. Meaning 100% speed.

Will keep you informed :)

Wine-tasting

So off to do some exquisite wine-tasting this evening. Have an appointment with the organizer at the restaurant where I plan to have my party in October. And of course I will appear very indecisive when it comes to which wine to serve :)...

And I know they have some seriously good stuff there. I'm sure it'll give me a few ideas to blog about :)

Canadian news

IKEA says catalogue photograph shows dog's leg, not animal's private parts. HAHAHA! Well, judge for yourself.

A concerned Canadian IKEA customer phoned the popular retail chain last week to inform it that a dog shown in its latest catalogue appears to have a large circumcised penis. "It does bear a resemblance to something else, but it is the dog's leg," said Madeline Frick, public relations manager for IKEA Canada. The photograph is on the inside cover of a catalogue mailed to millions of homes this summer. Shadows on the dog's leg make it look like a part of the male anatomy. Ms. Frick said IKEA executives in Sweden were aware of the issue, but she did not know if the store had received any additional complaints. "We hope people will focus on the good home furnishing offer that we're giving," she said. "And not this image."

Beauty

They say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Or like an sms said today: "in the eyes of the reader".

I got this sms saying SFLR. This abbreviation is new to me, so I thought it meant "so fucking late response" since it was an answer to a question sent 3 days ago. Makes sense, right?

Guess it's in the eye of the reader. What is supposedly meant is still a mystery to me...

Sms

Sms is the abbreviation for Short Message Service. In Europe we know all about it. For the American readers: this is like email on Blackberries. A quick way of communicating with people. Brilliant!

Only, got my monthly invoice from Orange today. 379 sms's (text messages) and one mms (multi-media service meaning a picture sent). Oh dear. That's a lot. In one month.

OK, so I'm a communicating type of person. And it costs. Not that much I admit, but still. 379 messages in one month. I really have to cut down. Difficult though. It's such an easy way to keep in touch with people all over the world. Instantly. Guess that's what I like about the whole thing. Instantly. Immediate. Now. Why wait if you can do it right this second? OK, I have to admit it's fun too. Don't have the same feeling about cleaning (don't, ever, since I have "Putz-Peter") or ironing (yes, I do it myself but not very often). You get my drift?

Instant is good. Living for today is good. Now is brilliant. And "Tomorrow is another day".

PS. My middle name is not Scarlett, but I wish it was...

Foot

This is really exciting...NOT :). Was gonna show you my tan by exposing my foot. This is how it turned out. Something for the equivalent of a graphologist to work on, hahaha!

Shower drain

OK, so it was time again to remove "aaaagh-that's-disgusting" things from the shower drain. Since I'm not very good at it (puking reflexes going as I think about it) I asked the "inmate". His solution to the problem was to pour baking powder down the drain. Excusez-moi. That's not exactly gonna help if you know there is about 2 kg's of hair down there. Yeah, so ok mine, cannot help it. I'm kinda like a dog in the hair losing department. And like a dog I grow new hairs, so no balding just yet :)

But like all things, better do it myself. So did. Fished as many hairs out as I could. Still 1,5 kg's down there though, so a friend of mine has promised to come by with a drainage thingie, like a pump or something.

Friends, where would I be without them? At least the ones with tools...;)

Sweet November

Saw this movie the other day. Always makes me cry. Think he did the wrong thing, even if she was the one walking away, he should've stayed. If friends/relatives/lovers cannot be there for you in bad times, what's the point, right?

But guess that is the nature of people. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. At least amongst animals. Perhaps we have a bit to learn there...

PS. Where is my Sweet September? Ah all right then, still a few days to go...

Jungefährlich

Ungefährlich = not dangerous. The J before indicates young. So this guy tonight came up to me and asked if I had a daughter. He was very young, like 20. His friend wasn't at all bothered about an age difference though. Had a bit of a tuff time trying to tell them I'm not a pedophile. But hey, what a nice feeling to still be wanted by men no matter the age.

And when we sorted out the "I'm not gonna sleep with you. Ever"-type of thing we had a fun time together. They were nice guys on an evening out. Good people.

And must admit, very cute :)...

Bodyguard

As it turns out I have one. Or five. My usual place. Any guy who puts their arm around me, or in any way approaches me gets first the glare and then a brush-off from the staff. I love it.

Like tonight, I was surrounded by four guys. The staff kinda made eye contact to make sure I was ok. Hell, who isn't ok with four guys asking for your attention? But it's still very nice to feel protected, because after all, they may be like the ETH guy. Not that he was threatening, and even if he would've been I can usually handle it. At one point he asked: "I don't think you're interested in me". I leaned over, and whispered back "I think you're right". Cat-and-mouse-game, love it. Especially when I'm the cat...

So bodyguards, I'm all for it. Makes me feel like Whitney Houston :)

Psycho

OK, was doing my usual observing thing, when this guy approached me. Started to talk, and he wasn't a quitter. I can be quite cold when I want to, and trust me I was. He first began with Swiss German. My response was "I don't speak your language" (in German). He continued and finally we started to have a conversation.

Turns out he was quite "interesting". He first said he was Swiss. I said I'm sorry. That didn't stop him. He continued "I'm a psychotherapist", and I went "well, can it be worse?". It could.

I won't bore you with the stuff but it did involve S&M, dark rooms, but only as he said "for scientific research reasons". Yeah right :)

And you know what? He works for the university here in Z, ETH. Not the first weird person I met from there I tell you. Another one who I saw yesterday, quite a fat guy dressed in a tight glittery outfit with high heals. Apparently is a professor at the university. Are there any "normal" people there?

Mating

OK, so this evening it was a 50-50 chance I'd go out. But considering it was dressage on Eurosport, topped by a Swedish movie dubbed to German on another channel, I didn't really have a choice.

So decided to go out and observe the mating rituals of the Zürich tribe. Indeed an interesting pastime. Wonder if somebody with a PhD ever made a degree on this particular subject?

Anyway, I was gonna report back to you that it actually exists some "normal" people. Until I met this guy.

So the so called normal people consisted of three girls exposing bare skin, singing along, having the moves. The guys in turn did some undressing like taking t-shirts off, flexing their muscles. You know. The Zürich tribe, doing the mating rituals. Just another evening out, right?

And gotta admit, I did enjoy the taking the t-shirt off thingie :)

Tan

I am very suntanned. Comes from spending a lot of time on the boat this summer. Met an acquaintance this evening. He was jealous. OK, so he is dark by nature, and I'm Scandinavian. And my skin is more brown than his. Ha!

He kept on remarking on this. And I felt "proud". Don't know why, since it's not a competition, but ok, as a Scandinavian, you're (I really) kinda proud of having a good tan. And I am.

So no conclusion. Too late, and I'm going to bed. But I gotta admit that a tan looks good. Coming out of the shower, I stand in front of the mirror, saying to myself, not bad for a 29+++-year-old :)

PS. Yes, it's late...;)

Canada

OK, so not certain how I got the logic together in last blog, but hey, it is 3.30 in the morning so gimme a break, ok?

Was approached tonight by a Swiss/Canadian guy. He wouldn't stop talking. Made me think about how things tie together. Before I left home tonight I was watching "The Office", you know the "manager". Believe his name is David Brent or similar. Anyway this Swiss/Canadian reminded me of him. Big time. Not only in personality but in body too...which is possible worse :)

Spent a whole hour (no, I wasn't counting the minutes but almost) telling me about his management style, how good he was, how much money he earned etc etc. Yawn!

Eventually I had to tell him I have a boyfriend (ok, so lying through my teeth, but in emergencies you sometimes have to drop a white lie)...and it worked! 2 seconds and he pissed off. Ah goody :)

So conclusion? Idiots come in all nationalities, races, colours, religion etc etc...

PS. I did have fun though, felt like I was playing with him like a cat plays with a mouse :)

Shoulder pads

So went out tonight, to experience the "Dörflifest". And since I had gotten good feedback on my skirt I decided to wear it. Only, I didn't have a jacket to go with it, so was searching my wardrobe and magically I found something. Something that had me going way back...and yes, it relates to a guy. And since I'm too much of a lady, hahahaha, I won't reveal it here.

Anyway, funny thing was that the jacket had shoulder pads...if you're old enough you remember the 80's where shoulder pads were big. So had to cut them off before wearing it. So did.

And whaddaya know, ended up in the place where I often go. Eventually. And they were like "you look different". Was kinda hoping for "you look good", but guess we have to work on that.

Goes to show that appearance is nothing, right?

Echidna

Apparently this is an echidna. Looks like a hedgehog to me.

Music

Something I blogged about before. OK, so here's the truth. I am tone-deaf. Totally. I used to play the flute (forced to in school), the piano (by choice, made my parents buy me a piano) and guitar (bought it myself and still have it!). And I was never very good at it. Totally loved it though. Music, passion, feelings, memories etc etc.

And yes, you can learn but if you don't have the talent forget it. Being kinda a perfectionist, I don't even wanna go there if I know I cannot do it well.

So, yes music is fantastic. And I have a funny taste in it. Like right now I'm listening to musical music. Love it. Also a fan of classic (ok, so not that strange), I even sometimes listen to "tacky" stuff like lederhosen tunes or even plain pop. Not a very hot thing to do I know, but hey! What's wrong with ABBA?

Comfort movies

Have a friend. He's very much into movies. So much that he rebuilt his entire basement (new roof and everything) in order to have a big-screen movie and surround system. This apparently makes him very happy. And indeed it is impressive.

Only, he has a shitty taste in movies. He (and the word he should give you a hint here) likes action movies, male-hero type of movies, you know, Matrix reloaded, Gladiator, Jackie Chan, that type of thing.

OK, so I'm a girl. Comfort movies for me is like Pretty woman, Love Actually, classics like Gone with the wine and Casablanca, anything really with Jack Nicholson like About Smith, One flew over the Cookoo's nest, The witches from Eastwick, even Anger Management (although the end is too Hollywood for me). And as it turned out, the wife agreed.

So, conclusion? Yes, women and men are different. Hey, what else is new :) ?

PS. We did agree on The green mile being a terrific movie though.

Takes one to know one

Had the dinner party tonight. It was fun. Good guests, good food (?), well I think so, good drinks, good company in general.

Only 3 of them had to work the next day so left early-ish. A friendgirl and I kept on talking. We do not know each other that well, but have been friends for about 3 years. Sometimes she gets a bit argumentative when having a few. I know what that is like. It's exactly like I get. Sometimes :)...ok, friends of mine...here's space for comments :)

Anyway, tonight I didn't feel like arguing, so kept on saying "can we change the subject please?". And eventually we did. So we ended on a good note. Actually I'm not sure we even argued, it was more like "why don't you wanna learn Swiss German?". Well, to anybody not from here it's obvious. But let's not go there...ok?

The one thing we did agree on was the guy in Lost. The dangerous and not-so-nice one, the blond, remember him? First time we were interested in the same type of man!

Comments

OK, I have now changed the settings so that you can comment without the word verification. This will hopefully mean that you can see the comments made immediately, rather than me first "publishing" them.

Look forward to more comments!

Pump

OK, was gonna quit blogging for today but did the mistake of reading the news first. This is (apparently) what happened.

Boy from Chicago boards a plane. Together with his Mum. Something showed up on the scan, looking like a grenade. Not a good thing to happen in these days. Boy (29 years old) didn't want to admit it was a penis pump (!!) so said to security it was a bomb. Big mistake.

PS. It is not known whether Mum found out what the "bomb" was...

Dinner party

Am having a small dinner party tomorrow. Only 4 people. But it still takes some planning. This is what I planned.

Starter: Bread sticks, cheese and chips. (Yes I know, not very healthy but delish).

Main: My very famous chili chicken (the one that the inmate ate all of, and left nothing to me) with potatoes made in the oven with olive oil and rosmarin from the balcony. Always a winner. Salad on the side.

Dessert: The always reliable Toffifee. Really tasty chocolate thingies containing nuts, cream, chocolate (obviously) and whatever else that makes it delicious. Only problem is, can I stop myself from eating it before the guests arrive?

OK, and wine. At first there'll be a spumante/bubbly white...and then red or white according to preference. With the coffee it could be anything from the "bar". Before I learned to cook I realized the only way to make your guests feel good is to feed them drinks BEFORE the dinner. I don't think that is necessary any more...:)...but look forward to the feedback.

Shopping

OK, last thought I had on the boat today. I am planning a party in October. I know, I'm a planning type of person. Sometimes. Anyway, my thought early this year (when I initially decided to have the party) was to go shopping for some nice clothes to wear for the occasion.

That was about 6 months ago. And guess what? I still haven't done it. Yes, spent a lot of the time on the boat, but still. I am indeed a very bad shopper. Just the thought makes me shiver.

Will probably end up wearing something old (no, not like me in case you thought that!) and classy (yes, that would indeed be me :)...

Accident

Had a bit of an "accident" today out on the lake. Dropped my cig butt into the lake. As said, by accident. Never ever do that otherwise. So rescue time, and I tell you, boats drift...quickly. So by almost braking my back I managed to pick it up again. Haaah!

I have no patience with people who litter. Especially not in the water (apart from the occasional wee-wee of course :)...

20°C

This is cold. Or so I used to think. Have this summer become a bit of a "viking" I think. Previously I never used to dip even a toe in the water if it wasn't at least 25°C. And now, look at me. I'm out there swimming, cannot wait to get in the water.

I'm sure it has nothing to do with me not having a toilet on the boat, having to wee-wee :)

Vespa vulgaris

This horrible insect (in English wasp, in German vespa) has now been terrorizing me on the boat big time. Last time I was out, I realized it was because I had ice-tea in a glass. They apparently LOVED that. That has taught me never ever to bring non-alcoholic drinks on the boat. Wine apparently they don't care about. Interesting that how we are different :)

I have an unnatural fear of wasps. Don't know why, since I'm not allergic but I go bananas with one of them around. You should've seen me today. One of them was sitting on the upper side of the boat. I smacked it with my hand (at the same time smacking my hand into the side of the boat almost becoming lame)...and actually managed to sweep it into the water. He (she?) was trying to swim, failing big time. And there was me screaming "die, you bastard!". I know, not very mature, but felt good nevertheless.

Been to Australia twice. Although I really loved the place I could never live there. Wasps in Australia is like nothing. Try cockroaches, snakes and spiders the size of your hand...thanks but no thanks!

Dörflifest

Heard from a reliable source yesterday that Dörflifest is about to take place this weekend. Not entirely sure what that means, but "party in Niederdorf" was mentioned. Niederdorf is the part of town where I usually hang out.

So fine with me. I'll hang out and party (like I don't usually :)...

85C

This is not a temperature which you may think, but a size. I'll let your imagination think which one. But women is a good start.

Funny that, my thought this afternoon was that women identify with each other. Whether it is about 85C or B neg (blood group). And not in a competitive kinda way, but more identifying. Conclusion? Heck if I know :)...as said, just an observation.

Friendly

One of the things that I like on the lake is that everybody is friendly. OK, so not everybody everybody, but like 90%. People wave, smile and are nice in general. Apart from the bstrd who almost sailed into my boat (10 cm from) and didn't even say hello, much less excuse me.

Anyway, today even the zeepolizei (lake police) waved to me. I'm sure it had nothing to do with me going topless :)

Radio Zürichsee

As the name implies this is a radio channel. Which supposedly is to be about Zürichsee. Or so I thought. Half of the time they'd like to share the worlds disasters with you. And trust me...lying there in the sun...that's the last thing I need to hear. All I want and need is music music music.

Why in the world do they think that people on the lake need news from the world (other than the odd weather forecast?) And even the weather forecasts I can live without. I just look at the sky...and feel the wind.

Call me captain :)...again!

Thoughts

Spent the afternoon on the lake. On my own (call me captain :). Amazing the thoughts that arise when lying there in the sun. Brought a book, didn't even open it. So much to see, so much to think about.

Which means that y'all will now enjoy the questionable pleasure of sharing...;)

Errand

Had an errand in town this evening. Only, it didn't turn out like I planned. So decided to pop into my regular place. My only excuse is that it is on the way to the bus stop (certainly not because of the band this week). Anyway, had a chat with one of the staff. At the same time another customer was leaving. He stopped by the waiter to say "how are you?". The waiter responded: "bored".

Yeah right. There is me standing next to him. Gave him a glare. Nice to feel welcome...but since he gave me a glass of wine for free...he's forgiven :)

Beggars & choosers

On the way home this evening a beggar approached me. Not the first time it happened, my bus stop is located next to the central station and that's where they hang. Anyway, got me to think about that they are polite. When you say no to their question if you have any coins, they wish you a good evening. I am fairly certain, they think something completely different (like you bastard or similar) but still.

Reminds me of Oslo. For the uneducated readers (i.e. everybody outside Scandinavia...oh gee, this is gonna give me some shit!) Oslo is the capital of Norway. Norway is supposedly one of the richest countries in the world. They have billions in their oil reserve. But I have never come across so many beggars as there.

The walk from the central station to the palace in Oslo (Karl Johan - the street) is the worst. You just cannot walk there in peace. They (the beggars) will approach you, and no way will they never ever wish you anything pleasant when you turn them down.

Mind you, the homeless in Norway get an allowance for a mobile phone. Just because they do not have a home. Makes you kinda reluctant to support their lifestyle, right?

So in order to make some kinda conclusion on the headline. Guess I'm a chooser, not a beggar...and I do have a mobile phone. Which I pay for all by myself :)

Alone

Alone again. Flatmate is travelling for about a month, so will enjoy the peace and quiet :) No, really, it was no hassle at all. I got used to having someone snoring in the guest room. And I must say, didn't realize that I would see so little from him. Ideal flat mate if you ask me (apart from the tiny hiccups in the beginning of course).

Interesting piece on Sweden

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_page_id=1787&in_article_id=391602

Abendessen

Which in English means dinner. Had a great one yesterday. Have this friend, who is all business-minded (well, sorta) during day time, and who turns into Jamie Oliver of Switzerland in his spare time. Lucky me. Who gets invited.

So, we had scallops, prawns, tuna fish (I was told it was red, not that I would've noticed the difference, what? Does yellow tuna fish exist? Or pink? Green?) and bread toasted in olive oil. Delish! And that was only the starter...

Main course was chicken made in a dish with olives, olive oil (obviously a favourite...and yes, it is with me too), potatoes, carrots, leek etc etc.

Dessert was chocolate mousse and tiramisu. And all through it was either margaritas or red wine. What can I say? The man knows how to cook...if nothing else :)

Cigar

Interesting. This cigar-smoking guy joined the table tonight. But when he dipped his soon-to-be-smoked cigar in my wine glass, I got kinda irritated. He then proceeded to toast me. You know, clinking your glasses, smiling and saying toast, pröschtli, skal, prost or whatever, I thought he went a bit too far. I mean, excuse me, first you stick your friggin cigar in my glass and then you want to toast?

So, in no uncertain terms I made my point. Which means he bought a bottle of wine. Only, not the wine I drink. Guess he missed the point completely. Mind you, he was German :)

Lake

Was out with the boat on Thursday. Very lucky with the weather. Clouds disappeared in the afternoon and we went out. Was swimming like 3 times, but only because I felt like perhaps this is the last time this year. Friggin cold I tell you, about 20°C.

Anyway, flatmate and I have a plan. Going out tomorrow. At 11. Am. That is about 6,5 hours from now. Not sure plan will work...but the idea is good. Buying breakfast at the bakery, taking the boat out, enjoy.

Then dinner at friends place in the evening. These particular friends are early type of people. So dinner starts at 6 pm...which means they start to yawn at about 9-10 pm. That is usually when I wake up...not literally...but mindwise. Guess diversity is a good thing...and when getting back to Zürich, there are places to see, people to go...;)

Casanova

Met one. "Hi, I'm Casanova". Yeah, right. Skinny little thing, short, and not my type. Which I guess he picked up on. And showed me his id. Oh dear, his name was indeed Casanova.

What a burden being so little, so skinny and so (well, at least in my eyes) unattractive, and have a name like that. Not that I knew the "real" Casanova, but still (although I've seen his house in Hollywood...at least so I was told by the money-grabbing taxi driver).

Trying to think of the female equivalent of Casanova...anyone?

Tricky business

It's strange, but sometimes I just cannot decide whether to party or not. Today is one of those days. Normally I just go for it, no second thoughts about the next day, but today is not one of those days.

But hang on! I might miss out on something...better go get dressed and hop to it :)...

Dilemma

It's late. Here in Europe. And I have two choices. The inmate sleeps in the guest room. My friendgirl sleeps in my bed. Both are snoring. Just trying to determine who snores the least. That's the bed I'll join.

But listening right now...perhaps I'll stay on the sofa :)

Door

So came home this evening, only to get the same kinda key feeling. Meaning it wouldn't turn in the lock. Wise from previous experiences, I realized it was because the door wasn't actually locked, but wide open.

Hmmm. So, inmate left it open again. Claims it was because he was waiting for me. Only, he looked very sleepy, emerging from the sofa. My friend and I walked in, in party mood, and he showed up in underpants and a sleepy-head look. Haha.

Guess his intentions were good, trying to be friendly and do the "welcome-home"-thing. Why? Beats me, since he's a sleeping partner, not a partner I sleep with ;)

Idiot

Know I blogged about this before, but what do you do when you have a really good friend (girl) who has an idiot boyfriend? I really like her, but her boyfriend? No bitte. Idiot, moron etc is what I think.

It's so difficult. Like her, but not him. On one hand, I have to accept him since she apparently loves him, on the other hand, I think he's not worthy. Hmmmm. Dilemma.

And yes, she knows how I feel. Doesn't make it any easier though. Advice, anyone?

Dinner

Had dinner tonight with a friend of mine. A gay friend. And there were three of us girls (ok, women, but you get my drift). Had a really good time. All of us interested in the same sex. Which helps. In understanding each other.

Anyway, good time, good people, good friends. What more can you ask for?

Servus

This I have learned is Austrian German for hello. Kinda sounds a bit latin to me so looked it up. It means slave or servant!

What kind of a funny language is that using slave as hello?

Schnuckiputzi

Apparently this is some sort of German and a term of endearment. Remind me never to get a German/Swiss boyfriend :)

Hair

Talking about hair. One evening there was a group of us discussing hair colour. Turns out the three women in the group had a bit of colouring done...you know, enhancing the natural colour or changing completely.

After a rather lengthy discussion on this semi-interesting topic, the guy in the group softly remarked: "well, mine is natural colour". We all looked at him, and couldn't stop laughing. He's 60+ and has grey/white hair...

Extension

Have a friendgirl who had a hair extension done. She claims it's natural hair (just not hers), whereas I tease her that it's probably horse hair. Anyway, must admit that it looks rather good. Only, she has developed this tendency to flick her hair about (guess she's still getting used to longer hair), usually in my face. Very irritating!

I sometimes try to get back at her, by flicking my own in her face (childish I know). Only mine isn't that long, so the effect is not really the same. But, at least my hair is natural :)

Lover boy update

Lover boy has shown his face again. In my regular place. Actually, I didn't see him first, friendgirl did. Instructed her to ignore him. Nobody plays games with me like that without "punishment" :)...living with me, leaving without saying thank you, not paying what we agreed on. A..hole.

So whenever I'll see him again, I will ignore. No point in being angry, is it?

You kissed me!

Very funny the other night out. In the end of the evening two guys bought us drinks (no chance to say no this time either...). Not because of me, but my friendgirl. One of them was interested in her. So we chatted to them, after all, they bought us drinks :)

All of a sudden friendgirl says to the guy "you kissed me once"! He looked very startled, but she wouldn't let it go. The woman was relentless. She continued to describe when, where and almost how. He was very embarrassed since he didn't remember. She then continued "but ok, you were drunk". He didn't know where to look...it was indeed very funny to watch.

Think he was sorry he didn't take the chance back then...

Street parade follow-up

This is what I missed by not going to the Street parade this year. Oh dear.

Bonus points

Oh dear. Internet's so easy to use, right? Yes it is, at least when you remember all the passwords and security codes.

I happen to have quite a few air miles left on Star Alliance. With an airline I haven't used since 2003. Since miles are expiring I thought I'd use them, which coincides fantastically well with my plan to go to the US later this year.

Only, as said, had forgotten password so couldn't check air miles status. Found out that the airline has a great instant support chat-line. Which works if you have a security code. Which I didn't. OK, so back to homepage where you can request a new code. Only, my old email address was registered so didn't get it.

Support asked me lots of questions, in order to establish that I was indeed I. Felt like they knew my bra size by the time they were convinced that Annika was Annika. Guess I have to understand them though.

So, finally got a new password so that I could log on and do all the changes on my personal details. Which will apparently take 3 days to appear on the site. 3 days! In these digital times. And that didn't help when I finally called them to check on the actual flight.

Anyway, the lady was real friendly and checked everything for me. Turns out that 4 months from now they only have one seat available on the flight I wanted to take. And I tell you, I was friggin flexible with dates.

Airlines, what a bunch of crooks! But since she was nice, and I really want to visit my friend, we agreed on a temporary booking which will last for 24 hours.

Only thing I have to do now is to check with my friend if dates are ok, buy some extra points (since I only had 66,600 and 70,000 are needed...which btw they will charge me handsomely for!) and pay the airport taxes. Total amount will be almost half a full-price ticket. I tell you. They know how to charge.

Ah well, it's only money I suppose. And I'm sure I will enjoy the visit to the US (not because of the country mind you, but my friends over there). So America, here I come...well almost :)...

Pick-up

Was out with a friendgirl this evening. This guy tried to pick me up. I thought he looked familiar. He started to speak and then it dawned on me. A friend of my ex.

So I said, "your name is xxx, isn't it?". He said yes and looked startled. I continued: "you lived with yyy for a while, didn't you?". He replied: "yes, until I got kicked out".

Long story but this guy is bad news. And funnily enough my ex just sms'd. I rang back to tell him the story, and he said "well, xxx said you were ugly". HAHA. Just jealous I'm sure.

Or let me rephrase, if he thought I was ugly, why try to pick me up? Guess desperate is his middle name ;)...

Not laughing

No, I'm not laughing at anybody trying to speak another language. Only sometimes. Today I got an sms containing "sik". Ok, the contents told me "sick", but could also be interpreted as "sikh". You know the guys from Punjab wearing a turban.

So, still not laughing. Only a little ;)

Frankie

Enjoyed some music of Frankie boy today. Like in Frank Sinatra for the younger crowd. New York, New York, that type of music. Great!

Spoke to my friendgirl, the one who didn't know Gone with the wind (turned out she did know it, only in German, which is something like "Wom winde verweht"...and yes, Clark Gable never spoke German :).

Anyway, she did know about Frank. Because that was the music in the Gremlins...hmmm...apparently...

I really have to educate her!

Leck mich am Arsch

I don't really mean this but if you happen to be German-speaking, please don't take offence. In English it means something like "lick my ass". Not a good thing to say to people, but apparently an expression used by (German, Swiss?) women when they have their days. And gotta say, it may come in handy one day :)

If you're not a single woman in her 29+ years, living in Zürich, having a boat, an inmate, a social life and so on, you may not know what I'm talking about ;)

Cat

My punishment for making fun of country life I guess. My aunt and uncle's cat got run over this weekend. So this is in memory of Nisse (who only enjoyed two good years living in the countryside.) May you chase mice forever wherever you are.

PS. Nisse wasn't the most communicative cat, but I still treasure the time when he was purring on my lap.

Sunday

Nice to have my inmate at home for once. Have hardly seem him last week. So we chatted away, talking about porn for one reason or another. I know, strange conversation for a Sunday but still. Made me think about the time when a friend of mine borrowed my computer.

Imagine that there are still people out there thinking that webpages cannot be traced. Not that I did check, but when I typed in hotmail something else came up. Hotgirls. I know for a fact that I didn't search for this. Clicked on it by mistake :)...and wow. Are there some dirty stuff out there! Not my style I must say.

And to think that people don't get that nothing is a secret on the net...

Parade

So missed the street parade yesterday. Several reasons. First of all must admit I was a bit hungover from Friday's splash. Second, the weather was crap. Third, I saw on local telly how packed it was in town. It was "only" 800,000 people instead of the usual million, but still. It was crowded big time.

And just didn't feel like it. Guess I'm not one for "a small fish in a big pond" - type of girl.

The only thing I regret is that I didn't get photos of my friends in latex-strings :)

Not to disappoint you though...here's a piccie from previous years...

Time-table

Told you my "inmate" and I have different time-tables. He got home this evening about 8 pm. I was on the phone. By the time I got off he was asleep. Woke him up, talked for 5 min, saying I'm going out. I might be home by the time you get up. And guess what? Time here is 4.08 am and he's getting up in 20 min.

The ideal "inmate" if you ask me. No problem at all. Except for the eating the food thing and not locking the door. But hey, that's immaterial, right?

Washing

Learned today that lederhosen are not washed. Ever. Hmmm. Was asked whether I wash my shoes. And yes I do. At least the sandals.

Was asked by the lederhosen-man to smell. Politely declined. Didn't feel like putting my nose into his crotch.

Why do I get into these situations? It's not exactly like I want to. Guess it's just me. Putting my nose in :)

Drunky-drunky

This is again an expression invented by a Swiss. Not a bad one I would say. Since I am :)...drunky-drunky i.e.

Had a really good time tonight. First of all I saw this guy. He saw me too. Things developed (as they do) and we hooked up. After about two sentences I realized he was not for me. So walked away. But as expected he (and his friend) placed their butts next to ours. And his friend wasn't any more attractive. In fact, he asked me if I was interested in men or women. HAHAHA! What do you answer to a question like that? So I said "I am all for men". He sighed and looked relieved. Then I said: "normally". HAHA again!

Some people say there are no stupid questions, but only stupid answers. I say, you get what you deserve. In terms of answers...

Insect

A slight variation to the standard joke when you find a bug in your drink.

The Swiss: waiter, there's a bug in my drink, can I please have a new one?

The American: waiter, there's a bug in my drink. Waiter: well, we won't charge you extra.

The Scottish: There's a bug in my drink. Spit it out you bastard!

3,000 visitors!

Hey, there must be something you like about my blog :)...I must be doing something right! Thanks all...whoever you are.

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Trap

After years and years of empirical studies, I have learned about men. I know exactly the traits I like, and the ones I don't. And yet, I am still walking into a trap. Or to be more precise, I think I am about to.

Remember the late guy? The one who didn't show up on time, but who I met later in the evening after all? He's made contact again. But in a sort of hinting kinda way. No real proposal for a date, just checking out if I'm free.

Still, I think I'd like to meet him again. There was a kinda attraction there. I know he's not good news, but hey, when hormones talk, who am I to object??

Secret

Some wise person said: "a secret between two people can only remain a secret if one of them is dead". This I believe to be true, even though I would like to think of myself as dependable and trustworthy. Not that I go around talking about other peoples lives, but a secret that is confided in you is sometimes a burden. You have to think about what you can say and to who.

Gossip is whole other ballgame though. That can be fun and is often a source of my blog items. A blog is not meant to be 100% truth, which means that I sometimes exaggerate a teeny, tiny bit :). However, I'd like to point out, that I do not make things up, which one of my visitors thought.

Going out tomorrow evening, hoping that I'll get some new blog ideas :)

The message

Guess my inmate got the message. Left some food in the fridge. Wasn't touched when I got home. Not that I would have minded. This time. Only left the stuff I didn't want :)...

And I'm not angry. Just amazed that somebody actually would do such a thing. Without asking. I tell you, men, I will never understand them....or maybe I do, just don't want to :)

City vs the rest

If you followed my blog you know I'm a city girl. Not everybody is. There are actually people who like the countryside, you know, living there, not only visiting for a day or buy a postcard. I know, strange but true.

Talked to a relative the other day. The big news was that a big dog was visiting. Scared the kitten away. Kitten disappeared. Was only found a day later. Big big drama.

And who I am to say that my life is more interesting? Guess we're all different. Ah gosh, what a revelation...I'm probably a walking talking living cliché :)

Trans

A couple of times now I have seen this "woman". I was so certain she was a he. I was wrong. Apparently. But I was told that she had about 20 plastic surgery operations. Why, oh why? She now looks like a transvestite. I read about this Botox lip thing. Guess she must have had about 20 of those injections + a lot of other things.

Sad girl. I never had any complaints, and trust me, I'm as natural as they come...

Fame

Sometimes I feel really sorry for these bands who try so hard. And most of them are really, really good. But like last week Rolling Stones were playing here in Zürich (not that I knew in time, only heard by the taxi driver the same evening...should probably read the local news more). Apparently they had 65,000 fans enjoying the music. In "my" place it's more about 65 people enjoying the covers.

But they chose their job, so guess they must like it...

Bonnie

This is semi-funny. The band playing this week in my usual place tells this story every time they are about to play My Bonnie. So here goes:

My Bonnie is over the ocean. My Bonnie is over the see. My father was over my mother, and that was the beginning of me.

OK, you have to speed up the last sentence a bit in order to make it fit, but as said, semi-funny. And if you're at least half-drunk, you laugh :)

2 deci

OK, so you're now familiar with the term of deci. This was later. I was actually packing up to go home getting the next last bus. Some spender (yes, he was drunk, what did you think?) bought a round for most people left. Including me. 2 deci this time, and I didn't really have a choice since the waiter just topped my existing glass. Oh gee.

What to do? Stay of course, I'm not THAT difficult :). But I had to leave about 1 deci in order to catch the last bus. Even I have limits...imagine that?

1 deci

This is German for 1 deciliter (yes, I know the British and the Americans are not familiar with this unit measure, but trust me, it's not much). It's basically a small glass of wine.

Got offered one today. The waiter came up to me and said: "would you like 1 deci of wine for free". I said: "who is offering?". He said: "he doesn't like me to tell you". So ok, no way I'm gonna accept wine from a stranger, who cannot be bothered to tell me who he is. So no.

Later it turned out it was a grandpa type with funny teeth. Good thing I'm a girl with principles...especially since it was only 1 deci :)

Earing

So, going downhill from last blog. If kissing is a verb, surely earing is too? Why do men think it's erotic to lick ears? At a first date? So bad kissing is one thing, but I surely don't want to stick my tongue into an ear I do not know from a hole in the wall. Gosh, that got to be funny, the hole thing :)

But really, I don't wanna have a tongue in my ear on the first date. And I surely don't wanna put my own in there, who knows when he cleaned it last?

OK, agreed, it could be part of foreplay, but surely not on the first date?

Sat is faction

OK, so not everybody is fluent in English. In writing i.e. A friendgirl of mine showed me this sms. I looked up faction in the dictionary and it actually means something. Faction = "a group within a larger group, especially one with slightly different ideas from the main group: the left-wing faction of the party." If the left-wing is an example only I have to admit that I might fit in there. But more like one person, not a group :). I don't do groups.

And Sat could mean Saturday, right? So on Saturdays I'm having different ideas, different in terms of ideas of others, meaning MY ideas. Hmmm.

So, Sat is faction, why not indeed?

Kissing

Saw a movie, and that made me think of men kissing. Why is it that so many men are bad kissers? They have a tendency of sticking their tongue down your throat, thinking it is penetration time from get-go. Whatever happened to flirting, letting things develop, building up the excitement?

Coming to think of it, long time ago since I met a good kisser...sad, isn't it?

Lunch

So inmate and I sorted the lock-the-door situation. He had plainly forgotten. Which can happen to anybody (only never happened to me :). He promised it won't happen again. Ok.

Only today when I was having lunch, I realized that he had eaten it yesterday. Without asking! Would you go in somebody else's fridge and get food without asking first? I wouldn't. Hmmm.

Well, he apologized on sms. Guess it's not the end of the world. Gosh, I'm being tolerant in my old(er) age :)

www

Did you know that it today was 15 years ago that www was launched? www = World Wide Web. Amazing, isn't it? Apparently there are over 92 million web-servers today. Fantastic evolution.

Think I'm happy to have been a part of such a change in lifestyle. I still remember the time without computers and mobiles. And yes, communication worked back then too. But slower. I am all for technology and advancement.

But are people happier? Of course not. Happiness doesn't come from fast communication. But it might help to get in touch with people. Quantity instead of quality? Hmm...philosophical, isn't it?

Lock

OK, so inmate and I may have had our first fight. Came home this evening only to realize that key didn't turn in lock. When you leave the key in the lock on the inside you cannot open from the outside. What to do? I knocked. Didn't work. So rang the door. Twice. He opened. Said, "but the door is open". Hello? Who in their right mind leaves a door unlocked. In the middle of Zürich.

Well, couldn't be angry. He was sleepy, and the time wasn't right to fight. But really? Would you do it? Will leave a note on the door (inside) asking him not to do that again.

Submarine

OK, this is funnier. This guy stands next to me. Wants to buy me a drink, but I politely declined. That didn't stop him, so he started to speak. OK, so I'm a polite person (at times), I listened. He said "I've spent 30 years in a submarine". Couldn't help myself so responded "And you just surfaced in Zürichsee?". Which is indeed funny (or so I thought, he was German so he of course didn't get it) since Zürichsee is a lake. HAHAHA!

I guess he meant well. But sometimes I cannot stop myself. These German/Swiss are sometimes too easy to make jokes about...even if they fall flat to the ground :) The jokes i.e. ;)))

Challenge

Just when I thought I learned a bit of German something is thrown in my face like "Bitte unterschätze die Wertoschätzung solcher Gasten nicht!!". Hmm. When I look it up in the dictionary the first thing that strucks me is that "Wertoschätzung" doesn't exist but "Wertschätzung" does. Goes to prove that the Swiss cannot spell (or speak high German for that matter :). Only this guy is a foreigner. Throws my theory off a bit.

My interpretation of this quote? Not sure. But should be something like "Do not underestimate the esteem of such customers". Which means? No clue to be honest. Not even sure it was a positive thing.

Hmm...really have to re-think visiting this place again...

Music

I love music. I just don't know anything about it. At home I listen mostly to classic, but out in town I prefer live. Whatever it is. Funny that, that I don't know shit about music, since I have friends who either work in the business, or are musicians themselves. Coming to think of it, I even lived with one (musician) for a year. Long time ago though.

Music for me means a good time. Remembering when I heard it last, when I danced to it in the 80's, a special guy, stuff like that. Ah gosh, starting to sound like an oldie :)...this cannot be good.

Anyway, a quick trip to town tonight. Some more music. And there might just be some input for more blog items...;)

Shit

Just realized there is a funny story I have not told you. Yet. Why? Guess I just forgot because so many odd things happen to me all the time. Or perhaps I just want to prevent you from understanding who it was :)...that would be too embarrassing. For him.

Anyway, to the story. We had been out in the boat. Came back and just anchored up. He said that he was just gonna go to the next bar, in urgent need of a toilet. I kept on closing up the boat, only to realize he was still standing there. So said, "why are you still here?". Through clenched teeth he whispered "I cannot move". Ah gee. A bit of a diarrhoea coming on. Didn't exactly fancy cleaning the boat after that, so suggested he went into the water. No, he really couldn't move.

Ended up closing up the boat, him shitting in a plastic bag placed in a bucket :)...HAHAHA! You gotta laugh even though it stank (and I was outside ok?). But boy, was there relief on his face when done!

Scary thing

The other evening when I was out, this guy in the bar said to me: "you live there, don't you?" and mentioned my street. What? Very scary. Lots of thoughts passing through my head, like he's a stalker, he spied on me, that type of thing. Turned out he lives on the same street, and had seen me before. Ugh! The reason I chose city-life is the anonymity. Don't feel at all comforted by being known by unknowns.

Good thing I'm not famous :)

Pistol

Just bought a water pistol. Birdies, I declare war. HA! Let's see if I cannot scare them off now. The birdies outside my house that is. Didn't exactly plan to hide in the boat, waiting for the little f...ers to move in again. Although, there is a thought.

Balls

Just an observation. Why is it that guys have to scratch their balls in public? To check they are still there? To show that they have them? A mystery to me.

Bar-hanging

I have a thing with hanging at bars. Feel kinda homely. Had once a really long narrow kitchen where you couldn't fit a table into. So specially ordered a bar counter. Everybody in the house were doubtful. Until they saw the result. They were all impressed (or so they said :).

Anyway, were hanging tonight. This guy was standing next to me. When I felt a bit uncomfortable because of the closeness I moved. So did he. It was fine as long as my friendgirl was there, but when she left it started to be a bit much. So moved again. Guess what? So did he. It was only until I started to talk with his mate, I realized that he didn't speak any of the languages I do. He spoke one. Albanian. So ok. After that I had no problems whatsoever to be "distant" :)

Clarification: after my stay in Hungary (for 5 friggin months) I have a thing against Eastern Europe. Not a racist at all, I like diversity big time, but no way I'd ever get involved with an Eastern Europe man. Especially when he doesn't speak a language I can understand :)...

Inmate

For the English-speaking audience the headline will be funny. But what I really mean is a mate who's a live-in, without being a sexual partner. For the Swiss: this means somebody who lives with you, but you don't fuck him.

So referring to the new "inmate". He's now lived with me for a week, and I have yet to meet him. Almost. He comes and goes at a different timetable than I. Sent him an sms this evening (ok, almost 1 o'clock) saying "are you at home sleeping?". I have to admit that this wasn't a brainy question. For the Swiss: if you're home sleeping it's not likely you answer an sms :).

OK stop me. Have a thing with the Swiss tonight. But truth be told, I really do like'm. And something I have discovered lately, as soon as you speak a bit of German, they are a friendly bunch. Ish :)

Guess I'm looking for a challenge here...

Eastwick

It dawned on me today that two of my friendgirls (together with myself) are like the witches of Eastwick. One is dark (black hair), one is a redhead (not sure it's natural but neither was Susan Sarandon) and me, a blond. The only thing that bothers me is that Michelle f...ing Pfeiffer was the wimp of the three. Me wimp? Nah, don't think so. So guess my theory was wrong.

And we have yet to find a Jack Nicholson stand-in. Someone all of us would like. Which may present a bit of an issue. The preference of the red-head I do not know, all I know is that she has one guy every day of the week. The dark one takes a liking to musicians. And me? Not that old yet so haven't turned into "I-take-what-I-can-get", but guys with a personality is a good start.

OK, so it won't work. But it was a thought (and it was pretty late in the evening :)...

Predictable

Those are the Swiss for you. Sometimes I do little experiments (can't help myself). I do not claim them to be scientific studies, but merely little empirical details.

Like today in an email I said "but as a true Swiss I'm sure you gonna tell me :)...". To me this implies that I cannot be bothered to google it myself, and am therefore not particularly interested in the answer.

And whaddayknow...in the reply there was the answer. No surprise there. Know what I mean with predictable? On the other hand, predictable can be good. I think :)

Weather

What happened to the sunny and hot weather I got so used to over the past 6 weeks? All of a sudden it's raining on a daily basis, being overcast and in general grey. I miss my boat...whhooooaaaaa. My tan will turn into rust.

Got so used to not having a jacket, just shorts and a top and sandals. Oh please sun, come back!

The only advantage is that it's easier to sleep at night I suppose. But who cares, one day we'll all be sleeping. Forever.

Ah gee, best go partying tonight. Drowning sorrows or something. Like I need a reason :)

Aug 1...cont'd

So, after all this hullabaloo with the breakfast we were finally (after visiting every relative of my friend...ok, slight exaggeration but it's my blog :) on our way back towards Zürich. Only none of us really had any plans, so decided to stop by some friends on the way. They live in a place called Gummiwald (yes I know it's not exactly that, but it sounds funnier to a foreign ear).

They had a little party going, so there we ended up sitting on a kinda in-door balcony with windows eating Alpenkäse (the smelly type), drinking wine and having a pleasant time in general. They had some interesting guests. And of course we stayed much much longer than we planned. Which meant I had to go directly to the next place...which was (yes, you guessed it...the place I often frequent).

So for your pleasure (?) here's a piccie of the Swiss flag, lederhosen and an Alphorn (the long thingie :).

Swiss National Day

This was last Tuesday, Aug 1. As said went to the mountains for this big farmers breakfast again. It's kind of a tradition that has run for two years in a row now :)

This year though it was raining, so we had to sit inside. Which means with all the people and the kids (!) it got to be really loud. Why oh why do people always have to bring kids? And perhaps the perceived "loudness" got from all of them speaking Swiss German?? Which again is no language, but rather a yes what? A sound? An accent? Or merely noise?

So here's a piccie to show you that it certainly was no day for a hike. Note the youngsters drinking (beer?).

Bodega

So another friendgirl and I went to a Spanish bodega type of place for a drink. After a while a couple of guys sat down next to us. We started a conversation (as you do). Turns out one of them worked as a kinda principal/behaviour science type of person, the other one had worked plenty of years in Africa and was currently fighting skin cancer (yes, he had the face covered in thingies and I asked...how else would you know?).

We got along fine, well sorta, until I discovered that they had no clue about feminism. They probably thought it was a "nice thing". And said "these things take time"...which is what I heard in the 80's...how long can it f... take?

And when one of them said that "I'm a socialist" I moved to the left. Well, only way to move so let's just say I moved away, ok? This is the stuff that destroyed countries so how can anybody still be a socialist?

French-German

I don't claim to be at all fluent in German, but wow. Today I spent a couple of hours with a friendgirl from France. We went to the same German class. And she does speak English, but we agreed to communicate in German in order to improve ourselves (why? You tell me). Anyway, we did. And I tell you, it is tiresome.

Which is why I had a few drinks after. Can you blame me :)?

The reason

...for having a guy is...now, what is it again :)? Ah yes, I remember. Yesterday I was gonna enjoy the "Schlesische Gurkenhappen", the marinated cucumbers and I couldn't open the friggin thing. Yes, that's one reason. Reason number two, yes, I think we all know :), reason number three, still thinking about it :)...

Small world

Spent the last weekend in Milan. With a friend. Had a really nice dinner on Saturday with the type of food you cook yourself at the table (not really fondue, not really raclette) but all types of meat like beef, chicken, pork, and veggies, and cheese, and just about everything. A salad on the side. A bottle of house wine, which I normally am very suspicious about but this one, wow! Coffee after.

Place in a garden with lots of greenery, candles, kinda romantic if you are the type. So indeed a very pleasant evening. And very reasonbly priced.

Coming back to Z, my friend went to work on Monday, only to have his boss asking "did you enjoy Milan?". "You have a very nice-looking girlfriend with long blond hair" (ah gosh, I like this guy already). "Wasn't the restaurant the best?" My friend was startled (and who wouldn't be). Turned out he was at the same place, staying in the same hotel (having also noticed when "my" guy was in the hotel bar in the morning getting coffee for me).

Ah the horror, having your boss knowing what you do in private...

In case you're interested and ever in Milan...this is the place:
www.abbadesseristorante.it

Blu-win

This is a matter of endurance. I had a message on my computer today that I had to delete some programs. So I did. I am (sometimes) very compliant :)...Not enough disc space. So I did like most people would. Went to add/remove programs and checked which ones I haven't used in a long time. You know "last time used 06.10.2004 or rarely". So deleted. Apparently I deleted too much since my connection to the net disappeared. WHAT?

Big big disaster. No connection to the world kinda thing. What to do? Called a friend. Friend not available. More hair-wringing, talking to meself, well more like shouting, being desperate in general. Finally caved in and called Blu-win support. After waiting like eternity finally got a very nice guy on the line. 30 min later all was sorted. 30 min!!! Anyway, I was happy.

Until coming home tonight. When it was the same problem. Wise from experience I immediately called support again. Another agent, but just as friendly. She told me that I'd better get a LAN-line. Gave me a number. Of course they wanted money for the upgrade. Told them "well, what if I keep on calling your helpline for 1 hour a day"? He told me "that's another division/department". How's that for economy, huh?

So, guess it's a matter of endurance, or me calling the big boss. Which I might.

Pidgin English

There is this place that I occasionally frequent. They always have live bands. Most of the bands come from Austria or Eastern Europe, so they speak German. Or some kind of version thereof. Rarely do they speak English.

But the other evening the band discovered some foreigners in the audience and started to have a halting conversation with them in English. At the same time a new customer walks in. So in the spirit the band says "Where are you from sir?". To which he replied "I'm from Switzerland". In English :)

Guess you had to be there...

Holiday

Ha! For somebody on holiday I am extremely busy. Left at 7.45 today and came back 00.30 the next day (i.e. today...confusing, isn't it?). Lots to blog about, but have to sort my mind first.

This is where I was:
http://www.alpsiez.ch/

PS. My fridge now smells like old socks, since I bought some "Alp-Käse" (cheese from the Alps)...

Smoking

I'm a smoking girl. Which gave me some challenges on the train to Milan. On the way to Milan you have to go several hours before they make a decent stop (not only 1 min stops) i.e. almost to Chiasso which is the border between Switzerland and Italy.

Chiasso is good. They send cute-looking uniformed guys (with weapons, oh gee) through the train to check passports. Which means you can go out of the train and have a much-needed ciggie.

But since I travelled with an inventive guy, he wrapped paper around the smoke alarm in the toilet, and would you believe it? They had a window in the toilet. So, there was me standing on the toilet, smoking out of the window. No probs. Who needs Chiasso? Well, maybe for a good look at the uniformed guys :)

Lederhosen

This is really embarrassing. Remember I was talking about this guy who's renting my guest room? He's moved in. Everything's fine. Or was fine. Until today when I did the wash and had to get a hanger out of the guestroom wardrobe. If you're really smart you can figure out what I found hanging there.

Yes, lederhosen! Ouch. Yes, I do admit to having a bit of a thing with yodelling bands, but at home? Puleeze!

Then again, money doesn't smell, right :) ? And I suppose I can always buy new hangers...

Hike

Just wanna show you what they made me do last year on Aug 1. Look how steep it is...and I can tell you, that one of the people in the group walked like a friggin mountain goat...one hour 45° uphill...talking all the time...didn't seem like she was breathing at all. Hey, I'm a citygirl, ok?

August 1

So it's August 1 again. Off early in the morning (oh dear, should really go to bed...but guess what? Not.) to the Swiss mountains for a big farmer breakfast. It's like this farmer's wifes kinda association who organizes a big do every year. All home-made, bread, cheese (you can see the friggin cows and they also have the cheese-factory next door), ham (you can guess where it comes from). They even have coffee, and I suppose that's the only thing they don't make themselves.

It's really great. You sit outside, watch the sun come up, eat eat eat, have a good talk, enjoy in general.

To give you a whiff I'll post a piccie from last year to give you an idea...

Hey Baberiba

Following up on the previous blog. Heard this song. Said: "that's what my parents used to listen to". She said: "yes, that's what my grandmother listens to". Hmmmm...

Do the young ones always have to be so honest :) ?

Classics

It is generally great to have friends all ages. Love it. Gives you new ideas, different views of life, that kinda thing.

But was very funny the other day. Have a young friendgirl. Very young. Apparently. We were talking about movies, and I said "don't you think Gone with the wind is the best movie ever"? She goes: "I don't know it but I've seen Dirty dancing". HAHAHA!

What is "nobody puts baby in the corner" to "tomorrow is another day" :) ??